RCAC chapter 9

The next day, when Qiao Shen woke up, Qi Shuo was already gone from the room. Accustomed to Qi Shuo’s early waking routine, Qiao Shen didn’t think much of it. After lazing in bed for a while, Qiao Shen mentally prepared himself: what’s there to be awkward about? The one who should feel awkward is Qi Shuo, whose advances were rejected. Taking a deep breath and wiping his face, Qiao Shen stepped out of the room.

But to his surprise, Qi Shuo was already gone from the courtyard. What’s going on? Really angry? Qiao Shen wondered to himself.

Pushing the empty cart back to the yard, Qiao Shen went into the kitchen to start preparing lunch.

“Changle, don’t go out of the yard, understand?” Hearing Xiao Changle happily playing by himself in the yard, Qiao Shen walked to the kitchen door to take a look, gave a reminder, and then went back to chopping vegetables.

“Mm!” Xiao Changle squatted beside the wooden basin and replied without even turning his head.

At noon, he made braised cured pork with baby potatoes. The cured pork was from his last trip back to the village—Qi’s mother saw that her little grandson loved it and insisted on giving a big piece for Qiao Shen to take back. Qiao Shen turned off the heat and was about to take the pot off the stove when he heard Xiao Changle crying in the yard.

“Da da… wuwawa… ah… wuwu… da da…” Xiao Changle’s way of calling ‘dad’ isn’t very clear yet; ‘da da’ is how he calls dad.

Qiao Shen hurried over, and the dirty clothes he had just soaked in the wooden basin were thrown onto the ground by Xiao Changle. Meanwhile, Xiao Changle sat in a small wooden tub nearby, completely soaked and crying pitifully.

It was hot, and Xiao Changle reached for the water whenever he saw it. He had completely played with the water in the wooden basin full of soaked clothes, but he wasn’t satisfied yet and now had his sights set on the small wooden tub next to him.

He was actually pretty smart. His little hands had already touched the water, but his little feet hadn’t yet. So when he lifted his feet, they went in, and when he wanted to get out, he couldn’t. He twisted his little body, struggling to get out, and as a result, the small wooden bucket couldn’t hold up, and both he and the bucket fell over. Xiao Changle shouted ‘Dad!’ in his sharp, tender little voice.

Qiao Shen scooped up the soaking wet Xiao Changle, stripped him in the yard, and threw the wet clothes into a wooden basin.

He reached out and lightly patted Xiao Changle’s tender little butt and said, “Go ahead and be naughty. Are you just afraid your dad will have nothing to do and make trouble for him?”

Xiao Changle didn’t understand. He touched his spanked little butt and, inspired, said, ‘pa…’

Xiao Changle actually imitated the sound of his own spanking just now. Holding the bare Xiao Changle, Qiao Shen let out a snicker, bending over with laughter.

Xiao Changle, puzzled and clueless, tugged at his dad’s collar, and after a while, also started laughing along with Qiao Shen.

In the Qi family courtyard, Xiao Changle sat happily next to his dad, his little bum bare and wearing only a tiny bellyband tied at the back with two thin cloth strings, scooping up meat with a spoon.

Qiao Shen looked on worriedly at Xiao Changle—his son seemed different every day, getting more and more mischievous.

Nowadays, he sometimes had to bathe him three times a day and change his clothes four or five times—exhausting poor Qiao Shen as a dad.

Moreover, every time Xiao Changle caused trouble, he would look at his dad with a soft, fluffy smile. When he grinned, a little set of white teeth showed, and every time he managed to get away with it cutely.

After cleaning up the mess, Qiao Shen would forget to be angry.

After lunch, he rubbed Xiao Changle’s chubby little belly and placed him on the bed, gently fanning him a few times, and Xiao Changle slowly drifted off to sleep.

Looking at Xiao Changle’s thin eyelids and chubby little mouth pouting, Qiao Shen’s heart softened into a mush. He gently pinched his son’s little cheeks, then got up to go wash clothes in the yard.

Lately, Qi Shuo had been acting a bit off. For several days, except for facing each other after meals, he couldn’t be seen going back to his room before bed every night.

So, Qi Shuo was trying to give him the cold shoulder all by himself? Qiao Shen propped his chin on his hand, sitting in the yard, lost in thought.

That night, Xiao Changle lay sprawled in the middle of the bed, his small body stretched out in all directions. Qiao Shen gently stroked Xiao Changle’s chubby belly, and only after his son fell asleep did Qiao Shen quietly slip out of the room.

Walking into the yard, he saw Qi Shuo lying on the lounge chair under the willow tree, so Qiao Shen went over and sat beside him.

“Come on, how long are you planning to hide from me?” Qiao Shen said, glaring at Qi Shuo, not trying to be nice.

Qi Shuo sat up and looked at the fuming Qiao Shen, denying it with a word.

“Still saying you haven’t? In a few days, I’m afraid Xiao Changle won’t even recognize his own father.” Except during dinner in the evening, the three of them sat face to face, but at dinner, Xiao Changle acted like a little glutton, practically wanting to bury his head in the bowl.

“These past few days, I’ve really been busy with work.” Since Qiao Shen woke up, every word and action of his caught Qi Shuo’s attention. Qiao Shen, who carefully took care of his son, Qiao Shen, who was the first to bring delicious food for himself to eat, Qiao Shen, who acted cute to make him wash the dishes, even simple wooden items made for Qiao Shen would earn his surprised praise.

The awake Qiao Shen filled the Qi family courtyard with the breath of life, yet the awake Qiao Shen still refused him.

Qi Shuo was a little hurt, but he really didn’t mean to avoid Qiao Shen. Even when he was working in the shop, he would think about Qiao Shen’s smiling face—how could he possibly avoid him?

Mid-Autumn Festival was only half a month away, and Qi Shuo was thinking of rushing his work so he could take his fulang and son back to the village to celebrate together. He just didn’t expect that one unintentional move of his would make Qiao Shen upset.

“Shuo Ge, give me some time. I don’t know how to say this, but the me now is not the me I used to be. You can think of us as two different people, do you understand?” Seeing Qi Shuo frown in confusion, Qiao Shen said, “Anyway, I… um… I just am not ready yet.”

Qi Shuo didn’t expect Qiao Shen to take the initiative to explain. Qi Shuo thought for a moment before speaking: “I like the current you.”

“Huh?” That’s a confession already? Oh my god, Qiao Shen has lived for over twenty years, and this is the first time a man has confessed to him! Strange, why does my heart feel a little secretly happy?

Qi Shuo looked at Qiao Shen. Qiao Shen’s mouth was slightly open, his deer-like eyes wide. The moonlight fell on his face, casting a soft glow. The two of them stared at each other, and Qi Shuo suddenly reached out and pulled Qiao Shen into his arms. The sudden lift in the air startled Qiao Shen, making him freeze and grab onto Qi Shuo’s collar.

Qi Shuo held Qiao Shen in his arms, leaning close to Qiao Shen’s ear and asked softly, “Do you dislike it?”

Qiao Shen thought for a moment and shook his head.

So Qi Shuo just hugged Qiao Shen and lay back in the recliner. Qiao Shen lay in Qi Shuo’s arms, and seeing that Qi Shuo was only holding him without any other actions, gradually relaxed his body.

The moonlight shone on the two people lying on the reclining chair, and the moon shyly grabbed a black cloud to cover its eyes. Listening to Qiao Shen’s breathing while he slept, Qi Shuo carried Qiao Shen back to the room, and then held his fulang and son close as he fell into a deep sleep.

‘I can’t believe I got so flustered by an ancient man!’ Qiao Shen thought, watching Qi Shuo walk away, this sentence flashing through his mind.

Ever since that night’s confession, Qiao Shen felt like Qi Shuo had turned into a completely different person.

Evidence 1: In the past, whenever Qi Shuo went out, he’d just say a word and promptly disappear.

But now, just a moment ago, he was saying goodbye to his son, and yet his hand was wrapped around Qiao Shen, who’s holding Xiao Changle, his right hand patting Qiao Shen’s back like he was comforting a kid.

Evidence 2: In the past, after finishing a meal, Qi Shuo would promptly take his bowl to wash it.

But now, after eating, he still has to hold Qiao Shen’s hand for a while, and only after that does he go wash up.

Evidence 3: Before, when going out, he would walk beside Qiao Shen with his hands behind his back, protecting him. But now, Qiao Shen is holding Xiao Changle with his left hand, and his right hand… is being held by Qi Shuo.

Evidence 4…

Thinking about this, Qiao Shen’s face flushed. I have to say, being deliberately flirted with like this feels really good!

Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and on the day of reunion, mooncakes¹ are a must. Among the diverse modern mooncake varieties, Qiao Shen’s favorite is the lotus seed paste with double yolk². He once saw someone making mooncakes on a video app, and he added some of his own ideas, planning to make some himself to satisfy his craving.

After selling the last batch of aiyu jelly, the air wasn’t so scorching anymore, and there was still some time before dinner. Qiao Shen grabbed his money pouch and held Xiao Changle’s hand as they walked down the street.

He took Xiao Changle to the carpenter’s shop. In the front hall of the shop, there were tables and chairs for receiving guests, made of solid wood, luxurious and imposing. The materials for the workbench were stacked in the backyard, and Qi Shuo was sawing wood in the backyard.

“I’ll wait for you in the front hall. Take it slow, but be careful not to hurt yourself,” Qiao Shen reminded him with some concern.

“All right, I’ll be careful.” Qi Shuo quickened his movements, not wanting Qiao Shen to wait too long.

Qiao Shen held Xiao Changle and gestured for Qi Shuo to continue, then after taking a look around, he returned to the front hall.

The carpenter’s shop closed early today. The owner of the shop took his son in his arms and walked with his husband to the street to buy groceries.

Qiao Shen bought eggs, lotus seeds, flour, and sugar. After returning home, he took a plate and covered it with salt, then used a spoon to separate the egg yolks, neatly placing the slippery yolks on the salt-covered plate. He then sprinkled another layer of salt to cure the yolks. The lotus seeds he bought were soaked in a small water container, waiting to be used for making something the next day.

Seeing the leftover egg whites, Qiao Shen planned to make a steamed cake³ for Xiao Changle. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks, wrapped the tips with a cloth, then crossed the chopsticks and wrapped them together so there was cloth between them, making a simple handheld whisk.

He whipped the egg whites into a fluffy foam, added a little flour and sugar, mixed it evenly, added a bit more flour, and repeated this process a few times. Then he brushed a layer of oil in a ceramic bowl, poured in the batter, and steamed it until done.

For dinner, meat soup was cooked, and some flatbreads were also baked. Xiao Changle hugged a cake and ate until his belly was full, and Qiao Shen watched Xiao Changle’s satisfied expression and couldn’t help laughing. Such a rough cake, in modern times, he wouldn’t even glance at it.​

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