I’ve Never Had a Husband Since I Was Young 30

Chapter 30

Jiang Chaochao felt that today was truly not his day.

Just as the car was leaving the bustling streets, while Jiang Chaochao was still reading the group members’ excited teasing about his uncle and xuechang, a message popped up in his music festival group chat.

Group message: “@everyone Very sorry to disturb you so late. We just received notice from the organizers that due to weather reasons, the originally scheduled “Heroes Showcase” tomorrow night has been changed from 6 PM tomorrow night to 2 PM tomorrow afternoon. Please adjust your schedules accordingly.”

Group message: “We’re truly sorry. Because it’s an outdoor event, it might rain tomorrow night, and if it rains, the venue will be closed. So after discussion, we decided to change the time, start early, finish early.”

Group message: “If you’ve made arrangements to watch, please note the change in time.”

Jiang Chaochao’s smile instantly vanished after seeing this message.

There were only three people in this group, two teachers from A City, including Jiang Chaochao, and a person in charge assigned by the organizers.

The other teacher had already replied with “Received” in the group. He also sent a “Received.”

Jiang Chaochao looked at the message again, processing it for a few seconds before putting down his phone.

“Uh…”

Jiang Chaochao started.

Xiang Ye asked: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chaochao: “I just received a notification from the event organizers. An event tomorrow night has been changed to the afternoon.”

Xiang Ye immediately understood the underlying meaning, “You have to leave tomorrow morning.”

Jiang Chaochao sighed: “Yes.”

“It doesn’t matter to me whether I watch this event or not,” Jiang Chaochao continued explaining, “But some of the kids I’m teaching want to watch it, so I have to go.”

Xiang Ye said: “Change your tickets then.”

Jiang Chaochao gave an “mm-hmm,” he was already doing it on his phone.

He not only had to change his own ticket, but also the children’s, and he also had to notify each of their parents.

Fortunately, young people these days went to bed late, so the five parents all replied quickly and were very cooperative.

C City was relatively close, and there were plenty of tickets, so the change went smoothly, somewhat easing his mood.

“Meeting at nine tomorrow morning.”

After finishing everything, Jiang Chaochao locked his phone and said this listlessly.

Jiang Chaochao felt he was really being a killjoy. Every word he said made him feel annoyed.

“How many kids?” Xiang Ye asked.

Jiang Chaochao said, “Five.”

Xiang Ye: “How old are they?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade,” he thought for a moment and added, “Two fourth graders, one fifth grader, two sixth graders.”

“They really are kids,” he said, then added, “I’ll take you home first.”

Jiang Chaochao was silent for half a second: “Okay.”

Another half a second of silence.

“Sorry,” Jiang Chaochao said.

Xiang Ye: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Is this considered standing you up?”

“It is.”

“Of course not.”

They spoke at the same time.

Xiang Ye made a helpless sound, “So that’s what you were thinking about.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Yes.”

Xiang Ye drew out a long “ah”: “Really wanted to have a drink with me?”

Jiang Chaochao paused: “Is that how you interpret it?”

Xiang Ye asked, “Isn’t it?”

Jiang Chaochao opened his mouth then closed it, closed it then opened it again: “Then, yes.”

Xiang Ye said: “Wait until you get back.”

“Okay,” Jiang Chaochao said, then added, “I’ll be back soon, in three days.”

Xiang Ye: “Okay.”

Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment and said again, “Then you have to save that bottle of alcohol for me, don’t give it to your friend.”

Xiang Ye: “What friend?”

Jiang Chaochao: “The one who wanted the alcohol.”

Xiang Ye: “Who? Don’t know him.”

Jiang Chaochao made a soft “ah” sound.

Oh.

What kind of power did Xiang Ye possess? Just a minute ago, Jiang Chaochao was gloomy, and now, with just a few words, his mood had soared.

Jiang Chaochao didn’t know exactly where Xiang Ye’s apartment was. As he drove, he quietly made a U-turn, taking Jiang Chaochao back to familiar streets.

So Jiang Chaochao clearly knew that they would be home in ten minutes.

Eight minutes until they were home.

Two minutes until they were home.

“I’m home again.”

The car stopped in the basement parking, and Jiang Chaochao said this.

Xiang Ye chuckled, “You’re home again.”

This time, they simply said bye-bye, and the routine “Message me when you get home.” Then Jiang Chaochao went upstairs.

Since he had to leave tomorrow morning, Jiang Chaochao immediately started packing, and also sent a message in his family group chat.

Halfway through packing, he received Xiang Ye’s message saying he was home.

Jiang Chaochao happened to be grabbing his little duck brooch. He thought for a moment, picked up the little ugly duck figurine that Xiang Ye gave him, and placed it among his clothes in the suitcase.

And took a picture.

Sent it to Xiang Ye.

Jiang Chaochao: [Picture]

Jiang Chaochao: “Bringing him along.”

XY: “Why are you even bringing him?”

Jiang Chaochao: “He needs a companion.”

Jiang Chaochao felt quite daring now.

He dared to say anything.

But also cowardly. Xiang Ye hadn’t replied after several seconds, and he started to feel nervous.

If Xiang Ye didn’t reply, he would…

He would!

Retract it…

Jiang Chaochao couldn’t do anything, just stared at the screen.

After what he perceived as a long time, but wasn’t actually that long, the screen lit up.

XY: “You’re teasing me.”

Jiang Chaochao’s vision went black first, then his senses returned.

He almost cried out and collapsed onto his luggage.

Ignoring his current state, Jiang Chaochao picked up his phone, a huge smile on his face, and sent Xiang Ye an emoji.

Jiang Chaochao: [Stunned]

Yes! He chickened out! So what!

After sending it, Jiang Chaochao pressed his phone face down, taking a moment to compose himself.

Picking it up again, Xiang Ye had sent a new message.

XY: [Picture]

XY: “Is this your train?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Yes.”

XY: “I heard there’s a very good milk tea place in C City. I’ll order some for you when you arrive at the hotel.”

Jiang Chaochao: “That’s too much.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Thank you, gege!”

XY: “Send a voice message.”

Jiang Chaochao couldn’t help but chuckle, sat up, and pressed the voice message button, “Thank you, gege.”

The moment he sent it, he mentally cursed.

Damn it, who was being so suggestive?

XY: “You’re welcome, didi.”

Jiang Chaochao: “You…”

Jiang Chaochao: “Also send a voice message.”

XY: “You’re welcome, didi.”

Jiang Chaochao smiled foolishly, hugging his phone.

Such a pleasant voice.

He’d listen to it again.

After that, Jiang Chaochao put down his phone.

It seemed like he had been very busy, but in reality, he finished showering and packing before midnight.

But the next day’s busyness was different. Jiang Chaochao woke up early with the alarm, then went to the station to meet everyone. Because of the ticket change, they couldn’t sit together, so he had to confirm everyone’s carriage.

Fortunately, two children had their parents with them this time, saving Jiang Chaochao some trouble.

After arriving at the hotel and settling everyone in, Jiang Chaochao contacted the organizers. After a busy period, it was already one o’clock in the afternoon when he returned to the hotel.

“The milk tea your friend bought has arrived,” several children were playing in a large room. One of the parents saw Jiang Chaochao enter and immediately gave him the milk tea. “It’s so good, Jiang laoshi, drink it quickly, before it gets warm.”

It was a bit of a humorous remark, but Jiang Chaochao didn’t laugh, and just nodded seriously, “Okay,” he gave the children’s name tags to the parent, “You’ll need these tomorrow, can you distribute them?”

Parent: “Sure.”

The other parent suddenly called out to everyone, “You should thank Jiang laoshi for the milk tea.”

All the children suddenly stopped what they were doing and said in unison, “Thank you, Jiang laoshi.”

“You’re welcome,” Jiang Chaochao smiled, “The event is at two o’clock, and it’s a bit of a walk, so let’s meet downstairs at 1:50 to leave.”

The children continued: “Okay, Jiang laoshi.”

Jiang Chaochao almost laughed.

Returning to his room, the first thing Jiang Chaochao did was take a picture of the milk tea, which he had already taken a big gulp of, and send it to Xiang Ye.

Jiang Chaochao: “This is so good! Thank you, gege!”

XY: “Done with work?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Temporarily.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Have to go downstairs again after a short break.”

XY: “Jiang laoshi has worked hard.”

Jiang Chaochao: “I realized after a sip that I’ve had this milk tea before.”

Jiang Chaochao: “The legendary best milk tea in C City.”

Jiang Chaochao: “I came to C City for a competition before, and the teacher who brought us bought it for us then.”

XY: “I see.”

XY: “Then it seems I’m not the first person to buy this for you.”

Jiang Chaochao: “That’s not good.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Lost the first place.”

XY: “Then you have to make it up to me.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Huh?”

XY: “Mm-hmm.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Make it up with what?”

XY: “Make it up with what?”

It seemed like Jiang Chaochao had to think about it, so he thought for a moment, “Can’t think of anything.”

XY: “Think slowly, and when you do, come to me to fulfill it.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”

Xiang Ye: “Okay.”

Jiang Chaochao didn’t know what Xiang Ye meant by “okay,” so…

Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”

Xiang Ye: “Okay.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”

Xiang Ye: “Okay.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”

Xiang Ye couldn’t take it anymore, he sent: “Go rest.”

Jiang Chaochao burst out laughing.

But he still replied: “Okay.”

Okay, okay, okay.

He didn’t know what was so good about it, but it was just…

Okay.

Jiang Chaochao’s plan was to take a twenty-minute nap at noon.

He and Xiang Ye had only exchanged a few messages, twenty minutes was definitely enough.

But Jiang Chaochao…

It was really hard to fall asleep when he was so excited.

And it was really difficult to cure.

They didn’t even talk about anything much, what was there to be happy about?

Hee hee.

He wouldn’t sleep then, closing his eyes was also considered resting.

So, the busy afternoon began.

It wasn’t Jiang Chaochao’s first time taking children out, whether for competitions or other events.

Thankfully, the children this time were all very well-behaved, and with the two parents, his work today was much easier than expected.

What was even more worth mentioning was that these two parents today were a bit too socially adept and lively.

Whenever Jiang Chaochao turned around to look at them, they were either chatting away or laughing together.

It was hard to believe that they had just met this morning.

Thanks to these two parents livening up the atmosphere at dinner, telling stories, cracking jokes, and even performing magic tricks, the children, in comparison, were much quieter.

“They even offered to set me up on a date.”

Jiang Chaochao was already back at the hotel, sitting by the window, talking to Xiang Ye on the phone.

How did it get to this point?

Very simple and straightforward, a minute ago:

Jiang Chaochao: “Done with work, what are you doing?”

Xiang Ye: “Want to talk on the phone?”

And then they were.

Xiang Ye’s conciseness.

Want a drink?

Want to talk on the phone?

Always very sudden, always, seemingly acceptable.

“Set you up on a date.”

Xiang Ye repeated these four words.

Jiang Chaochao wanted to laugh: “Yes,” he added, “Very enthusiastic, even showed me pictures.”

Xiang Ye asked: “Were they good-looking?”

Jiang Chaochao said honestly, “Quite good-looking.”

Xiang Ye went straight to the point, “Did you add them on WeChat?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Of course not,” Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment and added, “I don’t like girls.”

“Okay,” Xiang Ye seemed to chuckle, “Understood, Jiang laoshi.”

Jiang Chaochao: “You understand again.”

Xiang Ye: “I understand again.”

Jiang Chaochao: “You didn’t understand before?”

Xiang Ye paused for half a second, “Maybe I did.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Then what do you understand today?”

Xiang Ye: “What you told me today.”

Jiang Chaochao, inexplicably, hummed.

Xiang Ye laughed and returned Jiang Chaochao’s words to him, “Handsome guys should be gay.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Yes, very true.”

Since Xiang Ye was the one who called, Jiang Chaochao thanked him again for the milk tea, because he had relied on that large cup of milk tea to survive the afternoon.

He also told Xiang Ye about how he got the milk tea from the parents earlier.

After listening to the story, Xiang Ye summarized and asked, “Is Jiang laoshi very strict in front of the children?”

Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment, “Probably, I’m quite strict when they practice.”

Xiang Ye: “When will Jiang laoshi invite me to watch him work?”

Jiang Chaochao: “What’s there to see?”

Xiang Ye: “I want to see.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Then I’ll have to let you see.”

Xiang Ye chuckled: “Damn, so obedient.”

The corners of Jiang Chaochao’s lips curled upwards again, but he said, “I’m not obedient.”

Xiang Ye: “How are you not obedient?”

Jiang Chaochao couldn’t think of anything at the moment, but he said, “Just you wait.”

Xiang Ye chuckled again, “Okay, I’ll wait.”

He continued laughing after finishing.

After laughing, he said, “Damn, so cute.”

So cute.

Jiang Chaochao suddenly remembered a saying he had read before.

If you think someone is handsome, it might just be an assessment of their appearance. But if you think someone is cute…

You’re doomed.

Now Xiang Ye was calling Jiang Chaochao cute.