novel
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Chapter 96
Qiao Shao also looked over...
He saw the other boy bathed in the twilight afterglow. He was dressed in a handsome suit, with a tall and tender physique befitting a red carpet celebrity. His hair had been combed back, revealing a rarely seen smooth forehead. It was a look that made him increasingly handsome and added a somewhat mature charm.
He-He Shen?!
Qiao Shao's mind went blank, all his systems have crashed.
After the brief moment that their eyes locked, He Shen quickly recovered. He humbly greeted Qiao Zongmin. Qiao Zongmin noticed his son's strange behavior, and so gave a distracted response.
He Shen looked at Qiao Shao, his black eyes were clear and tranquil. And the words from his thin lips were also clear."Is this Qiao Yi?"
Qiao Zongmin couldn't have recognized He Shen. During He Shen's stint as a summer worker, he had deliberately avoided them. He also didn't have time to watch any of the surveillance, so he had no idea what He Shen looked like. At this moment, when he saw that Qiao Shao was distracted, he still though that their arrival at the Xie Family's house had triggered a memory in his son...
But being that they were in front of a lot of people, it wasn't a good time for Qiao Zongmin to ask. He could only introduce him first, "That was his previous name. He is now called Qiao Shao."
Upon hearing these two words, He Shen's pupils shrank sharply, exposing the turmoil under his calm surface.
He Shen reached out to Qiao Shao, a barely perceptible tremble in his fingertips."Hello, I am Xie Shen."
A familiar voice, a familiar hand, but the person himself was unfamiliar...
In a flash, Qiao Shao collected his thoughts. He took his hand, "Hello, I am Qiao Shao."
The two had held hands so many times before — clenched tightly, with interlocking fingers, an intimate kind of friction... but never before had it been this stiff and awkward.
After releasing his hand, He Shen stepped aside, "Please, come in."
Qiao Zongmin kept casting glances at his son. Seeing him look pale, he started to feel a bit anxious, but there were no signs of Qiao Shao having an episode. He decided to stay a little longer, fearing he'd interrupt the return of Qiao Shao's memories.
The banquet hall was elegantly and magnificently decorated. These two words seem to be a bit contradictory, but in order to create a pleasing style, elegance must certainly be offset by magnificence.
Qiao Shao didn't have it in him to pay the least bit of attention to the decor. His head was full of punctuation marks — question marks, exclamation marks followed by countless ellipses.
What was going on here! How could He Shen be at the Xie Family's house! He Shen is Xie Shen?
What happened to struggling to pay off his mountain of debts!
He thought his boyfriend was poor, so how did he suddenly turn into a bonafide rich young master?
Wait, He Shen also knows who he is! In this kind of situation, without any time to research, he already knows!
The rest were all just ellipsis. Qiao Shao simply couldn't think of any reason why and his mind was flooded with dots&#k2026;
It was obvious that Qiao Shao's mind had completely flown away. Qiao Zongmin couldn't help it anymore. Just when he was about to speak, He Shen asked, "Is Qiao Shao feeling a little unwell?"
Qiao Zongmin was immediately on alert and he said, "It might be a bit of motion sickness."
He Shen said, "Then I'll take him to take a rest in the guest room upstairs."
Qiao Zongmin was about to refuse but Qiao Shao recovered his senses and said, "Okay."
Qiao Zongmin looked at his son, his eyebrows slightly raised.
Qiao Shao was itching to be alone with He Shen and he couldn't attend to anything else. He hurriedly turned to his dad and said, "It's still early for dinner, I will come back after a bit."
Qiao Zongmin didn't say anything but his eyes were throwing hints. The translation would probably be: You mustn't go with the Xie Family's kid. This kid's bad news. He'll trick you until you no longer know what's up from down.
Qiao Shao understood but pretended not to see. He turned at He Shen."I'll... be troubling you."
He Shen said warmly, "It's alright. Please come with me."
Qiao Shao widened his strides to keep up, leaving an angry Comrade Da Qiao behind. What could he do? With so many people watching, he couldn't forcibly hold back his son. Qiao Zongmin comforted himself. Forget it, these two have just met, they could cut off contact later.
The Xie Family's banquet hall was huge. It was almost six o'clock, and a lot of the guests had already arrived.
Fortunately, He Shen found a good route and they managed to avoid having to exchange greeting with any of the other guests. Qiao Shao only needed to follow behind him, and avoid eye contact with others.
Bypassing the main hall, He Shen stepped up the white marble paved spiral staircase. Qiao Shao followed up step by step. The sound of leather shoes falling on the marble was particularly distinct, as if each one was a drumbeat in his chest.
On the second floor, He Shen said politely, "Please step this way."
Qiao Shao followed.
They stepped onto the soft carpet and walked past three rooms. He Shen pushed open the door to the southernmost room."Please."
Qiao Shao sucked in a breath and stepped inside.
Qiao Shao didn't even have time to see the furnishings in the room. As soon as the door closed, he was pressed against the wall.
His eyes went wide.
He Shen looked unblinkingly at him, taking in his entire person.
Their breaths slammed together, and they could clearly hear even the other's heartbeats.
The two spoke almost at the same time: "You..." and they both stopped at the same time.
Qiao Shao was looking at He Shen, and He Shen was also looking at him. It was as though they were just recognizing each other, wishing to know each other clearly inside out.
After who knows how long, Qiao Shao whispered, "My dad really is Qiao Zongmin..."
He Shen: "..."
Qiao Shao lowered his eyes and said, "I said..."
He suddenly realized... He Shen had also told him...
At that time, they had been talking after they'd gone ice-skating. He Shen said to him, "Actually, this is my family's test. If I earn 10 million before I turn 20, I can stand on my own. Otherwise, I'll have to go back and inherit the family business."
At that time, Qiao Shao hadn't believed even half a word of what he said. He always thought that he was paying back his father's debts. Given how things were now, looks like it was all true!
Would the Xie Family be short of 10 million? If the Xie Family were really on their way down, their debt would probably be in the tens of billions!
At this time, He Shen finally spoke. His voice had lost that assumed calm he had displayed outside. It now had a trembling and hoarseness he couldn't hide."You really are Qiao Yi."
Qiao Shao's heart was seized with an indescribable feeling."En, but I had changed names a long time ago."
For a while, it was as though something was blocking He Shen. When he spoke once again, his voice shook even more."... The reason you're afraid of silence is because of that year?"
Qiao Shao wasn't expecting He Shen to ask this question. The two had met in such a dramatic fashion, finding out each other's identity in such an inconceivable manner. Shouldn't He Shen be as surprised and astonished as he was? Why was he so sad...
Yes, he was sad for him, sad for the boy who was once Qiao Yi.
Qiao Shao's heart was instantly filled with gurgling heat. The inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity instantly disappeared. He knew clearly who this person in front of him was.
He Shen is He Shen, the He Shen he knew.
"That doesn't matter anymore, " Qiao Shao said to him, "Since I went to East High... Since I met you, I have been much better."
He Shen hugged him tightly, as if to press him into his chest to soothe his internal turmoil.
The moment when he confirmed Qiao Shao's identity, he was surprised, but it was immediately followed by suffocating pain.
Two pictures alternated in his mind—one was Qiao Yi, guileless and innocent when he was ten years old, and the other was a skinny and emaciated Qiao Yi held in Qiao Zongming's arms.
Once he knew that it was all Qiao Shao, He Shen felt his eyes go completely dark, as though he had been thrown into an ice-cold, dark pool, freezing him to the bone.
"It's really okay, " Qiao Shao felt that both their suits were now wrinkled, but he was reluctant to push him away. He said warmly, "This time I came here to find more memories..."
He Shen loosened his hold and asked, "Recover memories?"
Qiao Shao said, "Yes, I came here when I was a kid, and I remembered quite a lot of things that happened here, so I wanted to revisit this place to see if I can trigger more memories."
He Shen was concerned about his health."Did you remember anything?"
Qiao Shao smiled helplessly."I was almost scared to death when I saw you, how could I remember anything?"
He Shen was startled and finally returned to normal."I'm sorry, I hadn't told you clearly."
Qiao Shao quickly said, "Same goes for me."
He Shen was stabbed in his heart and said, "You said it so many times before though."
Qiao Shao said, "I didn't say it seriously. If I wanted to let you know I wouldn't have said it like that."
Qiao Shao's expression was quite relaxed, but the furrow on He Shen's brow wouldn't smooth out. He asked softly, "Are you... afraid of me?" The last three words were said very softly.
Qiao Shao said, "Is there anything scary about you?"
He Shen whispered, "Mr. Qiao must have told you. The Xie Family..."
"The Xie family is the Xie family and you are you. I like you!" Qiao Shao suddenly remembered, "Ah, we mustn't let Da Qiao know about us yet. My dad really is a bit prejudiced against you, I have to persuade him first..."
Before he finished talking, He Shen's eyebrows slightly ticked up. He took his hand and said, "Come with me."
Qiao Shao didn't understand why."Huh?"
As soon as they went out, they ran straight into Zhuang Xinyi, dressed her best.
Zhuang Xinyi had intentionally been waiting here. She had immediately recognized Qiao Shao as the boy in the photo and sneered."Xie Shen, you are something else. You've even taking you little lover home? Is he here to give his birthday greetings to your grandfather!"
Because Xie Chengyu had deliberately avoided Qiao Zongmin, Zhuang Xinyi hadn't had a chance to see Qiao Zongmin and his spoiled and pampered only son.
The author has something to say:
Their identities have been revealed to each other but it will be a while before its revealed to everyone else.
| ← Ch. 095 | Ch. 097 → |