I’ve Never Had a Husband Since I Was Young 54

Chapter 54

Jiang Chaochao wasn’t sure how long this business trip would last, so he replied to his mother: “I’m on a business trip, haven’t decided when I’ll be back yet.”

Then he asked: “Are you still in A City?”

“Nothing much,” Jiang Chaochao replied to Xiang Ye. “Every time she comes to A City, she wants to see me, usually just for dinner.”

Xiang Ye asked Jiang Chaochao, “Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Not sure, but it should be done in four or five days. You?”

Xiang Ye was also on a business trip, hundreds of kilometers away.

“Then I’ll also be done in four or five days,” Xiang Ye said.

Jiang Chaochao laughed: “Who is this, so clingy?”

Xiang Ye: “Say that again and I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Come then.”

Xiang Ye: “I really will.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Then don’t.”

Xiang Ye chuckled, “What’s this, Jiang laoshi?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Jiang laoshi is very busy.”

Xiang Ye: “Okay, I understand, I’m disturbing Jiang laoshi.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Just get lost.”

Jiang Chaochao then asked, “What if it takes me six or seven days?”

Xiang Ye: “Then I’ll be back in six or seven days.”

Jiang Chaochao: “What about half a month?”

Xiang Ye: “Me too, half a month.”

Jiang Chaochao: “What about a month?”

Xiang Ye: “Then you’re dead.”

Jiang Chaochao laughed, “How will I die?”

Xiang Ye: “Really want me to say it?”

Jiang Chaochao paused, “No, don’t say it, shut up.”

Who would have thought, a perfectly decent gege, now so suggestive.

Shici was even complaining in the group chat that her uncle hadn’t come home for several nights. He never liked staying at his own apartment before, now, for some reason, he loved it.

Guys, do you know why?

The guys said, we don’t know, ask Teacher Bianbian, maybe he knows.

Shici then said, his Moments posts were also unbearable. Just a few days ago, xuechang picked up a fallen parasol leaf for him, and he even posted it on Moments, truly unbearable.

Just then, the guys said:

“I love it, I love it, where can I see Uncle’s Moments?!”

“Shici, you don’t know how lucky you are!”

“I’ll be the niece if you don’t want to be! Where do I sign up?!”

“Does Uncle need another niece? Or does xuechang need another xuemei? I’m not very capable, but I’m super good at liking and complimenting.”

“Shici, do you even appreciate this? Let me be the niece!”

Now they no longer cared about Teacher Bianbian’s drawings, they were all over Shici, wanting information.

He said four or five days, and he meant four or five days. Five days later, Jiang Chaochao boarded the plane back to A City.

He also messaged his mother.

His mother was still in A City, but Jiang Chaochao didn’t ask if she had been there the whole time, or if she had just returned.

Perhaps she had business in A City.

Strangely, after that conversation with Xiang Ye, Jiang Chaochao felt much more at ease with his mother. Plus, he always supported his mother living her life the way she wanted, so there wasn’t any conflict, and he didn’t need to change anything.

After getting off the plane, his mother’s reply arrived. She asked if Jiang Chaochao was free tonight.

Jiang Chaochao said no.

So they arranged to meet tomorrow night.

Half an hour later, Jiang Chaochao told Xiang Ye, who was picking him up, about this.

“I’m having dinner with my mother tomorrow night,” Jiang Chaochao said.

Xiang Ye said “ah”: “I was planning to take you for beef hot pot tomorrow night.”

Jiang Chaochao happily replied, “The day after tomorrow then!”

Xiang Ye: “Okay.”

Jiang Chaochao wasn’t free tonight because he was going to a party with Xiang Ye.

“Xu Hengzhi used to ask me to go to parties too,” Jiang Chaochao said, “He said they were boring.”

Xiang Ye: “Just that?”

Jiang Chaochao didn’t understand for a moment: “What do you mean?”

Xiang Ye chuckled: “No taking you to see handsome guys or anything like that.”

Jiang Chaochao instantly cowered, “Haha.”

Xiang Ye pinched Jiang Chaochao’s cheek.

“Think about it,” Jiang Chaochao said, “If I didn’t have this hobby, how would our story have unfolded?” He thought for a moment and added, “Just based on your fleeting glance last year, how long would I have had to wait for you?”

Xiang Ye, who had already let go of Jiang Chaochao’s cheek, pinched it again after he said this.

Someone was also called by his full name: “Jiang Chaochao.”

Jiang Chaochao felt awkward, but his tone was defiant, “What? Am I wrong?”

Xiang Ye: “Right, very right, I didn’t have the ability to run into you, it’s all my fault, I wasn’t good enough.”

Jiang Chaochao gritted his teeth, “You!”

Xiang Ye: “Hmm?”

Jiang Chaochao relented, “But I’m cured now, aren’t I? I’m not interested in looking at any handsome guys now. I suspect my hobby of looking at handsome guys was just so I could meet you.”

Xiang Ye turned to stare at Jiang Chaochao, his gaze seeming to say, Not bad, Jiang Chaochao, you’re saying these things now.

So Jiang Chaochao turned his head away: “Who was talking just now?”

Xiang Ye laughed and held Jiang Chaochao’s hand: “Good Xiao Chao.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Hmph.”

After getting into the car, Jiang Chaochao asked Xiang Ye, “What kind of party are we going to tonight?”

Xiang Ye: “A cosmetics company party.”

“Cosmetics,” Jiang Chaochao repeated.

Xiang Ye: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chaochao: “My mom is also in the cosmetics industry.”

Xiang Ye: “Maybe we’ll run into your mom tonight.”

Jiang Chaochao instinctively rejected this, “No, no, no.”

Xiang Ye asked: “Afraid of what?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Not really afraid of anything.”

Who wanted to run into their mother when they were out having fun?

But life, this thing, how interesting.

They actually did run into her that night.

Before going to the party with Xiang Ye, Jiang Chaochao thought Xiang Ye asked him to come because he was afraid he would be bored, since that was always Xu Hengzhi’s intention.

It turned out that Xiang Ye wasn’t bored at all. Not long after they arrived, people kept coming over to chat with him, one after another. Jiang Chaochao wanted to comment on the painting on the wall, which he thought was quite good, but he didn’t have the chance.

Finally, when Xiang Ye was free, Jiang Chaochao stood up from his chair, “Mr. Xiang, let’s have a drink.”

Xiang Ye smiled and clinked glasses with Jiang Chaochao.

Jiang Chaochao then said what he wanted to say: “This painting is pretty good.”

Xiang Ye even knew who the artist was, “It was painted by Shici’s classmate.”

Jiang Chaochao was surprised: “Really?”

Xiang Ye: “A long-time friend. She went to the old house to find Shici yesterday and we happened to chat.”

Jiang Chaochao smiled, “What a coincidence.”

Poor Shici’s grandmother’s house, not only did Xiang Ye not stay there recently, he even called it the “old house.”

“There’s an even bigger coincidence,” Xiang Ye suddenly looked in a certain direction, “She’s here tonight too.”

Jiang Chaochao followed Xiang Ye’s gaze, but the first person he saw wasn’t a young lady Shici’s age, but…

“Wait,” Jiang Chaochao instinctively hid behind Xiang Ye, “No way.”

Xiang Ye turned around and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Holy shit, I saw my mom.”

Xiang Ye was puzzled, “Which one?”

Jiang Chaochao hid further, “The one in the purplish-pink suit, walking towards the middle.”

Xiang Ye: “Do you see the girl behind her?”

Only then did Jiang Chaochao notice that there was a young lady following his mother.

His mother wasn’t alone; she was with another woman. Based on common sense, the girl behind them should be that woman’s daughter.

“Could Shici’s classmate be that girl?” Jiang Chaochao whispered, as if afraid of being overheard.

Xiang Ye also whispered, “She is.”

Jiang Chaochao: “…”

Xiang Ye asked, “Want to leave?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Can you?”

Xiang Ye: “I can.”

Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment, “Let’s stay a bit longer.”

Although Xiang Ye said he could leave, Jiang Chaochao was still worried that he had a reason for being here and didn’t want to delay anything important.

Just as Xiang Ye finished this conversation with Jiang Chaochao, someone came over to toast him.

Jiang Chaochao naturally couldn’t keep hiding behind Xiang Ye, and the hall wasn’t that big, so soon, his mother spotted him.

About ten meters away, their eyes met, and his mother was clearly stunned for a moment. Then Jiang Chaochao raised his glass.

After clinking glasses with Jiang Chaochao from afar, his mother walked over.

Since it had come to this, Jiang Chaochao also walked over.

“Why are you here?” His mother was very surprised.

Jiang Chaochao said, “Came with a friend.”

His mother chuckled, “I was planning to bring you here today.”

Jiang Chaochao was puzzled, “Bring me here? Why?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman who was with his mother earlier walked over.

“Run into someone you know?” the woman asked his mother.

His mother smiled: “My son.”

The woman was surprised and pulled her daughter over, “Jiang Chaochao, is it?”

His mother said to Jiang Chaochao: “Mom’s friend.”

Jiang Chaochao said politely, “Hello, Auntie.”

The woman’s eyes crinkled with a smile, “This is my daughter, Tang Yi, you can also call her Tangtang.”

“Uncle,” Tang Yi suddenly called out.

The woman said, “Why are you calling him ‘uncle’? You should call him…”

Tang Yi was a bit impatient, “I wasn’t talking to you.”

The “other person” was Xiang Ye. Jiang Chaochao just turned his head, and he was already standing beside him.

Tang Yi, as if seeing her savior, exclaimed, “Uncle, you’re here too!”

Xiang Ye: “I’ve been here for a while.”

The woman also smiled: “Mr. Xiang, hello.”

So the few people present started shaking hands and exchanging greetings.

“Mr. Xiang is Shici’s uncle,” Tang Yi said to her mother after the greetings.

Her mother drew out a long “ah,” “What a coincidence.”

Xiang Ye also greeted Jiang Chaochao’s mother at this time, “Hello, Auntie.”

The scene was a bit chaotic, so…

“Someone was looking for you just now,” Jiang Chaochao said to Xiang Ye, “Let’s go.”

Might as well leave.

After saying this, Jiang Chaochao smiled at his mother and the other woman and left with Xiang Ye.

This small interlude sped things up.

While walking with Xiang Ye, Jiang Chaochao also kept an eye on his mother and the other woman’s location. As long as they didn’t come right up to him, he could avoid them.

Xiang Ye also cooperated with him, sometimes even moving before Jiang Chaochao noticed.

Xiang Ye quickly finished meeting the people he needed to meet, and after exchanging a look with Jiang Chaochao, they left.

Since Xiang Ye had some alcohol, they called a designated driver.

After getting into the car, Xiang Ye asked Jiang Chaochao, “Does your mother know you left?”

Jiang Chaochao: “I don’t know. She’ll probably guess if she didn’t see me.”

Silence filled the car for a while.

Xiang Ye spoke again, “A blind date?”

Jiang Chaochao hesitated.

It wasn’t hard to guess, but thankfully…

“Thankfully my mom isn’t pushy,” Jiang Chaochao said honestly, “She didn’t seem very enthusiastic.”

Just as he finished speaking, Jiang Chaochao’s phone rang.

Jiang Chaochao saw the caller ID, and Xiang Ye also saw it.

“Mom.”

Jiang Chaochao answered the call.

His mother asked, “Did you leave? I didn’t see you.”

Jiang Chaochao simply gave an “mm-hmm” before asking, “You originally planned to take me to the party so I could meet that girl, right?”

His mother was silent for a moment: “Sorry.”

Jiang Chaochao: “Very pointless.”

His mother sighed: “I know, my fault.”

Jiang Chaochao gave an “mm-hmm.”

His mother thought for a moment, then said, “It’s because I thought that Tangtang was quite nice, I thought…”

Jiang Chaochao didn’t want to hear any more of it, “I don’t like girls.”

After he said this, Xiang Ye held his hand.

His mother repeated his words, “You don’t like girls,” she seemed to pause for a moment, “What do you mean?”

Jiang Chaochao: “It means I don’t like girls.”

“Don’t tell me,” his mother sounded a bit uncertain, “You’re gay?”

Jiang Chaochao: “Yes.”

Mom: “That Mr. Xiang, is he your boyfriend?”