Today, Qiao Muyu deeply understood the truth behind the saying, “Choosing the wrong friend leads to eternal regret.”
After spending the entire afternoon being teased by his classmates thanks to the “wedding photo” Xu Rongcan had passionately photoshopped, Qiao Muyu finally dragged his exhausted body and soul back home.
He dropped his backpack and sat at his desk, staring blankly for a while. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He reached into his drawer, pulled out a cigarette, brought it to his lips, and lit it, silently beginning to puff out clouds of smoke.
Suddenly, the ringing of a WeChat voice call shattered his attempt to recharge.
Startled, Qiao Muyu immediately crushed the cigarette out with his fingertips and grabbed his phone. Only after seeing the name “Qiao Miaoying” on the screen did he let out a small sigh of relief.
Qiao Miaoying was the youngest daughter of Qiao Yongde’s eldest brother—Qiao Muyu’s cousin.
When Qiao Muyu was first adopted into the Qiao family, his grandfather and his uncle’s family didn’t care much for an adopted son with no blood relation. Only Qiao Miaoying had been both curious and warm toward him, proactively dragging him around to play.
The girl had a sunny, lively personality and was very outgoing. Since she and Qiao Muyu were the same age—with birthdays only a few days apart—they had always gotten along and remained close.
However, they were now at different schools; one at Nanjian No. 3 High and the other at Luhe No. 3 High. The schools were far apart, and with the heavy workload of high school, they hadn’t seen each other in months.
Feeling gloomy all day, seeing a call from a family member made Qiao Muyu feel like his mood wasn’t quite so bad after all.
He pressed “Accept.” He had barely uttered a gentle “Hello” when Qiao Miaoying’s excited voice blasted from the other end:
“Ahhh! Xiao Yu-ge! I saw your interview video on the official account today! Why didn’t you tell me about something so interesting beforehand? My classmate sent it to me and it gave me such a shock, hahaha!”
Hearing this, Qiao Muyu instantly felt the urge to hang up.
No way, even you didn’t let me off the hook!
Seeing that no one replied for a long time, Qiao Miaoying asked confusedly, “Hello? Xiao Yu-ge? Why aren’t you talking? Hello, hello, hello?”
“…I’m here.”
Qiao Muyu rubbed his brow helplessly.
“Did you call just to tell me this?”
Qiao Miaoying: “I haven’t seen you in so long, I missed you! Plus, I have a tiny little request.”
Qiao Muyu: “What is it?”
Qiao Miaoying spoke in an affected, high-pitched “cute” voice: “Well, you see, I noticed you have a pretty good relationship with that handsome top student in the interview. Could you give me his contact info? I have a few math problems I’d like to ‘ask’ him about~”
Qiao Muyu froze for a second before answering decisively: “No!”
Qiao Miaoying was disappointed: “Eh? Why not?”
“Because he…”
Qiao Muyu paused subtly for two seconds, at a loss for words.
He knew this girl was always boy-crazy, but he didn’t expect her to be boy-crazy over his own boyfriend. She really knew how to pick them.
Qiao Muyu cleared his throat and feigned a serious tone: “Because he already has a partner.”
Qiao Miaoying: “Real or fake? Who!”
“It’s a secret,” Qiao Muyu brushed her off guiltily. “Curiosity killed the cat. Knowing too much won’t do you any good.”
“Sigh, okay. I guess all the handsome guys are taken,” Qiao Miaoying sighed, then shifted the topic. “Brother, what about you, then?”
Qiao Muyu: “How did this get back to me?”
“You have no idea. After seeing that interview, so many of my classmates came to me asking for your contact info. I couldn’t bear to give it away,” Qiao Miaoying said. “But if you ever want to date someone, you have to tell me.”
Qiao Muyu scratched his face, feeling a bit embarrassed. He had indeed seen people asking for his WeChat in the comment section.
“……If you have time to worry about me, you should worry about your own studies.”
Moving to end the conversation, he used his ultimate conversation-killer: “By the way, how did your midterms go?”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Miaoying let out a sharp, piercing shriek that nearly burst Qiao Muyu’s eardrums: “Ahhhh! Brother! Why are you asking me that too? Don’t turn into one of those annoying adults!”
With that, she hung up with a click.
Qiao Muyu: “……”
He just wanted to change the subject; he didn’t expect such a massive reaction.
However, the girl had never cared much for studying. Especially compared to her biological older brother—a top student who got into Tsinghua University—her grades were practically disastrous. It was a sore spot for her.
Awkwardly, Qiao Muyu “nudged” her on WeChat.
Qiao Muyu: Are you really mad?
Qiao Miaoying: Not mad at you, just mad at myself for being useless. I messed up the midterms again [Heartbreak]
Qiao Miaoying: Thinking about the parent-teacher meeting next week makes me collapse. My dad is definitely going to scold me to death [Cry][Cry][Cry]
Qiao Miaoying: Brother, can you come and attend the meeting for me? Since you’re my cousin, you count as a guardian, right?
Qiao Muyu: [Sweat]
Qiao Muyu: Sister, I’m still a “baby” myself. How am I supposed to attend for you?
Qiao Muyu: Why don’t you ask your brother?
Qiao Miaoying: That nerd? He spends all day in the lab doing research; he doesn’t have time for me.
Qiao Miaoying: Sigh, senior year is too bitter. All we do is study, study, study. I’m about to vomit! I really want to go see you.
Qiao Miaoying: [Puppy pouncing for hugs.gif]
Qiao Muyu: Let’s talk about it when the holiday comes. I’m not going anywhere.
Qiao Miaoying: Then I’ll come find you during New Year’s! ^O^!
Qiao Muyu: Okay, I’ll wait for you. ^^
…
The excitement over the interview lasted only half a day, as the students’ attention was quickly diverted by the parent-teacher meeting scheduled for Saturday morning.
It was late November in Nanjian City, and withered leaves fell like snow.
After a lingering autumn rain, the colors of the street faded. The temperature dropped sharply, and pedestrians wrapped themselves in thick coats.
After the first period of the morning, Wan Qianghai called everyone to arrange the classroom to welcome the arriving parents.
A few students on duty cleaned the room, while class monitors distributed bottled water and “A Letter to Parents” to every desk. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
While Qiao Muyu used his left hand to draw the blackboard layout for the meeting theme, his mind drifted.
When he told Qiao Yongde about the meeting a few days ago, he received the expected cold mockery.
Qiao Yongde complained that Qiao Muyu hadn’t taken first place this time and felt it would be embarrassing to go. He refused to attend, claiming he had to deliver goods out of town and told Qiao Muyu not to bother him with such things.
Left with no choice, Qiao Muyu had made up an excuse to explain the situation to Wan Qianghai in advance.
Because of his trust in him, Wan Qianghai didn’t suspect anything, but while Qiao Muyu felt relieved, he also felt a sense of shame.
If every other student’s parents showed up and his seat was the only one empty, how awkward would that be?
Amidst his wandering thoughts, a familiar voice suddenly whispered in his ear: “You wrote a character wrong.”
“Huh?”
Qiao Muyu snapped back to reality and turned to look at Lu Zhen. Lu Zhen pointed at the half-finished blackboard: “Here. You missed a stroke in the word ‘Welcome’.
Qiao Muyu looked closely and realized he had finished writing “Happy” and skipped straight to “Family”.
“Oh, right.” He wiped away the mistake and started redrawing.
Lu Zhen stood by, watching him write. “Who’s coming from your house?”
Qiao Muyu paused, pretending to be nonchalant. “My dad is too busy; he can’t make it today.”
“What about your mom?”
“She passed away many years ago.”
Lu Zhen pursed his lips. “I’m sorry.”
Qiao Muyu shook his head. “It’s okay.”
Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Qiao Muyu proactively changed the subject. “What about you? Who’s coming for you today?”
“My mom is coming.”
As Lu Zhen spoke, he reached out and used his thumb to gently wipe a smudge of chalk dust off the tip of Qiao Muyu’s nose.
“I hope you can meet her. I think she’ll like you.”
Qiao Muyu’s fingers trembled, causing the chalk to draw a crooked little tail. He didn’t know how to respond.
Wait, brother, don’t you think we’re moving a bit too fast?
They had only been together for a week and he was already “meeting the parent.” Although this was a passive event, it was way outside Qiao Muyu’s plan.
Mainly, he knew that “tricking” someone’s precious son into a secret relationship was a bit unethical. It wouldn’t be undeserved if Lu Zhen’s mom broke his leg with a broom right then and there.
“Haha,” Qiao Muyu gave a fake smile, forcing out the words: “I… look forward to meeting her too.”
…
Once the classroom was ready, the students were dismissed for free time.
Relishing the rare break, the library, playground, basketball courts, and the small campus shop were instantly crowded.
Seeing Qiao Muyu still sitting at his desk doing problems, Lu Zhen walked over. “Not leaving?”
“Can’t.”
Qiao Muyu pointed at the sign-in sheet on the corner of the desk and sighed.
“I have a task. Old Wan asked me to stay and track the parents’ sign-ins. I can’t leave until they’ve all signed.”
Lu Zhen understood. “Then I’ll wait for you.”
Qiao Muyu felt bad making him wait, but seeing Lu Zhen just put in one earbud to listen to music and lean against his desk for a nap, he didn’t say anything more.
A moment later, parents began arriving one after another.
Qiao Muyu put away his exercises and sat at the teacher’s podium with the sign-in sheet to guide the parents.
A few minutes later, a young and beautiful lady appeared at the door. She looked to be in her thirties, with exquisite makeup, wearing a designer navy-blue long dress and a cream-colored shawl. A pair of round, lustrous pearl earrings highlighted her elegant temperament.
She peeked into the room, then knocked on the door and looked at Qiao Muyu. “Hello, student. Is this Class 1, Grade 12?”
“Yes,” Qiao Muyu stood up to greet her. “Are you a parent? Please come sign in first.”
“Alright.”
The woman walked to the podium in her high heels. As she set down her expensive handbag, she observed him with a gentle gaze and suddenly asked, “You must be Qiao Muyu, right?”
Qiao Muyu blinked in surprise. “You know me?”
The woman nodded, smiling brightly. “I saw the interview video of you and A-Zhen. You’re very cute.”
A-Zhen?
Qiao Muyu instantly realized who she was. He looked up and saw Lu Zhen standing up and walking over. In a moment of pure panic and brain fog, his tongue slipped. He blurted out a single word:
“Mom.”
Lu Zhen: !
Lu Zhen’s Mom: ?
Qiao Muyu: ……
Damn. Is it too late for me to go jump off the roof?