UNCLTRD chapter 13

It was a coincidence that Yang Shao’s phone buzzed with a message just then. Unsure of whether to accept Chen Qiusu’s proposal, he decided to check the message first. It turned out to be a credit card repayment reminder.

Reality was laid bare before him. He couldn’t work, the mortgage on the house still needed paying, his uncle required money for his recovery, and Yang Tao needed food and schooling. He wasn’t living alone and carefree; he genuinely needed money.

Why was he even worrying about how Chen Qiusu would explain things to his family? That was Chen Qiusu’s problem. All he wanted was money.

Once he came to terms with the thought that “this is what Chen Qiusu owes me, and I’m just taking what I deserve,” Yang Shao no longer felt burdened.

“Alright.”

Hearing Yang Shao agree, Chen Qiusu sighed in relief. Just as he was about to discuss the details, Yang Shao suddenly looked at him and said, “Yang Tao is still upstairs.”

The two of them quickly got out of the car and headed back to the hospital room. Yang Tao, bold and outgoing, wouldn’t feel intimidated by his mother or grandmother’s questioning. He would probably tell them everything he knew.

As expected, when they entered the hospital room, Chen Qiusu forgot all decorum and barged in. Sure enough, his grandmother and mother were sitting on the sofa, while Yang Tao stood before them, animatedly recounting his story. Unexpectedly, even Chen Qiusu’s father, Chen Shiliang, was there.

Sitting upright and formal, Chen Shiliang’s expression was unreadable as his gaze swept over Chen Qiusu and Yang Shao.

“This is where it happened. I got a big bump here because that bad uncle pushed me, and I hit the wall… He even fought with my dad…”

The grandmother and mother cooperatively examined the bump on his head with a look of concern. “Oh, poor thing. Have you had it checked? Let’s call the doctor right away.”

Doctors were Yang Tao’s nemesis, so he quickly said, “I already got scanned by the big machine earlier.”

The “big machine” referred to the x-ray scanner. Yang Tao had no intention of stepping into that room again.

“It must hurt.” Chen’s mother lifted Yang Tao onto the sofa, letting him sit and continue his story. When she saw Chen Qiusu and Yang Shao return, she chided them, “How could you two be so careless with the child? How could you let him play alone in a place like that? You can’t take head injuries lightly.”

The injuries on Yang Shao’s face were quite obvious. Earlier, they had heard from Yang Tao that his dad got hurt protecting him. Chen’s mother shook her head and scolded Chen Qiusu, “You couldn’t even look after one father and son properly.”

If it weren’t for Chen Qiusu, he might have ended up with a cracked skull. Although the scolding was a bit unfair, Yang Shao strangely found it satisfying.

Chen Qiusu didn’t bother defending himself. “Yes, I was too careless.”

“That alpha was also outrageous. How could he fight over something with a child? It’s unacceptable! We must seek justice for our Yang Tao!”

Chen Qiusu replied, “He should be at the police station after finishing the check-up. I’ve already asked someone to handle it.”

Chen’s father, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke up, “Take the child out first. I have a few questions for the two of you.”

Yang Shao had seen many situations, but the atmosphere of a storm about to break made him uneasy. Although he had agreed to Chen Qiusu’s request, he hadn’t yet passed the test of Chen Qiusu’s family.

“This child was born after you graduated and returned to the country?”

“Yes.”

When Chen Shiliang received the call from his wife, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that Chen Qiusu would be so reckless, nor could he believe that Chen Qiusu had been hiding two living people for years without any suspicion or a single hint of it.

Chen Qiusu had never been in a relationship, living a simple and ascetic life. Before meeting Yang Shao, Chen Shiliang had thought the other person must be some extraordinary figure to have attracted his son. He was surprised to find out it was just an ordinary beta.

“When did you meet?” Chen Shiliang turned to look at his son.

Chen Qiusu had already prepared to lie. He came up with a flawless story, saying he and Yang Shao had met after returning to the country. They had an argument, and Yang Shao left with the child. He had only found them recently.

The clever part of the story was that it was half true, half false. He and Yang Shao did have a past, and after that night, he had indeed searched for them.

The story of lovers arguing, separating, and then reuniting was a typical melodramatic love tale. Yang Shao couldn’t help but admire Chen Qiusu in his heart. He was so clever, smoothly telling lies without blinking.

No wonder the family hadn’t known anything before.

After a brief silence, Chen Shiliang asked, “Are there others in your family?”

Yang Shao had been playing along with Chen Qiusu’s performance, but now he was distracted. When both the Chen father and son were looking at him, he snapped back to reality, realizing that Chen Shiliang was talking to him.

He responded calmly, “My parents passed away when I was young. My uncle raised me.”

“Grandpa, I’m looking for my daddy…” The door to the hospital room was slightly open, and Yang Tao’s little head poked inside. From the fast food restaurant to the hospital, it was Uncle Chen who carried him, and now there were so many people talking to him. He hadn’t been alone with his dad for a long time and was getting tired, searching for him everywhere.

The sudden “Grandpa” caught Chen Shiliang off guard, and the words he was about to say got swallowed back. “Let’s check on the child first.”

Chen Qiusu didn’t rush to go out. After Yang Shao left the room, he lowered his tone, “Dad, for the past few years, Yang Shao has been raising the child alone. They haven’t had an easy life. Now that I’ve appeared, Yang Tao will need some time to adjust. This is my responsibility. I hope our family won’t make things difficult for him.”

This was probably also the reason why Chen Qiusu hadn’t revealed Yang Shao’s existence to his family earlier. Yang Shao’s family wasn’t well-off, and he was worried his family wouldn’t accept such an ordinary beta.

Chen Shiliang patted Chen Qiusu’s shoulder. Now that there was a child, the Chen family no longer cared about status or wealth. As long as Yang Shao’s family was of good reputation, they wouldn’t pressure him.

….

Yang Tao was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open. When the little one said he wanted to sleep, he couldn’t hold back the urge to cry and wanted his dad to hold him.

Luckily, Yang Shao was strong, and it wasn’t difficult to carry him with one hand. When Chen Qiusu and his father came out, the doctor also arrived.

Chen Shiliang hurriedly asked, “Is the child’s head okay? He’s been saying it hurts. Is it serious?”

The answer was reassuring: Yang Tao was fine, and the bump on his head would go down in a few days as long as he avoided hitting it again.

Even so, the Chen family wasn’t entirely at ease. For safety’s sake, they wanted Yang Shao and his son to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Yang Shao didn’t mind, but he was worried that Yang Tao would wake up and cause a fuss. Having Yang Tao stay in the hospital overnight would have been a nightmare for him.

After arranging the admission, Chen’s mother dismissed the other visitors, leaving only the family. He Yudong, however, didn’t want to leave. He craned his neck, trying to find out what the final situation was, but was eventually shooed away.

“What’s your plan?” Chen Shiliang asked.

“We’ll get married once Yang Shao and the child are discharged.”

Yang Shao was in the room with Yang Tao, letting him rest. Chen Shiliang lowered his voice to avoid waking the child, “What do you mean by having Yang Shao and his son stay outside? Are you hiding a lover in a golden house?”

Fortunately, Yang Shao didn’t hear this term.

“We’ll bring them back home once they’re discharged.”

Grandma couldn’t hold back anymore. “The wedding can’t be so rushed. We need to invite all the relatives and friends. The wedding should be prepared slowly. Even the day to register for the marriage needs to be chosen. It has to be a good date. How long has it been since we had a joyful occasion? It’s a pity we didn’t even hold a hundred-day celebration for Yang Tao.”

“Grandma, you and mom can take care of it,” Chen Qiusu replied.

This whole ordeal left Yang Shao quite tired. Seeing how capable Chen Qiusu was and not needing his help, he decided to stop thinking about it and fell asleep next to Yang Tao.

When he woke up, the sky had already darkened, and no one had woken him up. He glanced to the side and saw that Yang Tao was already awake, playfully gesturing with his hands.

“Daddy, you’re awake?”

Rarely this relaxed, Yang Shao stretched lazily and stayed in bed without getting up. “Aren’t you hungry? You didn’t even wake me up.”

“I’m a little hungry,” Yang Tao said, but since his dad was sleeping so soundly, he didn’t want to disturb him. “Daddy, where are we?”

The VIP ward didn’t look like a hospital room. Yang Shao didn’t want to explain, so he just lied, “We’re staying in a hotel.”

“When are we going home?”

After waking up, Yang Shao felt especially clear-headed. He thought it was necessary to explain things to Yang Tao. After all, Yang Tao was also part of this “arrangement.”

“Son, if… if we have to live with Uncle Chen in the future, then his parents will be your grandparents. The old lady you just saw is your great-grandmother… Is that okay?”

Living with Uncle Chen was fine, but Yang Tao didn’t understand why he suddenly had grandparents and a great grandparent.

“Why?”

“Ugh…” Yang Shao made full use of his ability to make up stories. “Your Uncle Chen is having a bit of trouble right now. Grandpa and Grandma are pressuring him to get married, but he doesn’t want to. We need to help him.”

Yang Tao didn’t understand what getting married meant. “Daddy, are we going to marry Uncle Chen?”

“No, not us, just me. Once I get married, Grandpa and Grandma won’t pressure him to marry someone else.”

Yang Tao still didn’t understand. He blinked. “So are we lying?”

“No! Of course not!” At least it wasn’t a lie that Yang Tao was part of the Chen family. Everything else was a white lie, a kind lie that adults sometimes need. “We’re helping your Uncle Chen. It’s a good deed. Don’t you want to help him?”

Yang Tao nodded. “I want to help.”

“That’s right! Then we’ll live with Uncle Chen from now on. You’ll have grandparents. There’s no special reason, okay?”

Yang Tao seemed to understand a little, as long as it meant helping Uncle Chen.

There was a light knock on the door, so soft that if they hadn’t both woken up, they wouldn’t have heard it. The door then opened, and Chen Qiusu’s tall figure blocked most of the light from behind him. Seeing that both of them were awake, he reached over to turn on the light.

“I had someone prepare some food. Get up and eat.” Chen Qiusu held a lunchbox, pulled over a small table, and began to lay out the simple meal.

Yang Shao glanced outside but saw only soft light. Chen Qiusu seemed to understand what he was looking at. “My parents and my grandmother have gone home. They saw you two were resting, so they didn’t wake you.”

It was a bit impolite not to send them off properly, and Yang Shao felt bad. Suddenly, he saw Chen Qiusu take out a familiar-looking bag.

“Yours broke, so I had the driver buy you a new one.”

Yang Tao took it and saw it was a tape recorder. “Daddy! It’s a tape recorder! Thank you, Uncle Chen!”

It was good that Yang Tao thanked him, since Yang Shao felt a bit awkward saying thank you to Chen Qiusu. He hadn’t expected him to notice such small details.

Now that the issue of the tape recorder was solved, Yang Tao felt a bit better. He wasn’t a picky eater and didn’t need someone to feed him. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and nudged his plate slightly toward Chen Qiusu. “Uncle Chen, you eat too.”

Chen Qiusu smiled and, instead of patting Yang Tao on the head, he scratched his nose.

“Daddy already talked to me. Don’t worry, we’ll help you.”