SMMW | Chapter 43

In the living room, Wen Manqiu and Jiang Hong sat in silence, waiting for Wen Qing to come home.

“Mom! Uncle Jiang?” The moment Wen Qing opened the door, he saw this strange scene.

Jiang Hong was the first to attack. “What do you mean, Uncle Jiang? I’m your dad!”

Then he turned his fire on Wen Manqiu. “It’s all because of you, not letting me see the child. How can he grow up properly without a father’s guidance, huh? And now look what happened, he’s gotten mixed up with a man!”

Wen Manqiu shot him a glare, and Jiang Hong instantly shut his mouth.

She turned to Wen Qing, who was still standing by the door, and her expression softened. “Qing Qing, sit down first. Mom wants to ask you something.”

“Okay…”

Wen Qing went around Jiang Hong and sat on the single armchair on his mother’s side.

Wen Manqiu organized her words and asked as carefully as she could, “You’ve been staying out these past two days. What were you doing?”

“I went to see a friend.”

“Which friend? Do I know him?”

Looking at Wen Manqiu’s gentle but cautious gaze, although Wen Qing did not want Jiang Hong to know, he still told the truth. “My boyfriend, Song Hao.”

Wen Manqiu was so shocked that she clutched her chest and could not speak.

“Mom…”

“Did you hear that? Boyfriend!” Jiang Hong became full of himself again at once. “I told you already and you still wouldn’t believe it. Now you’ve finally given up, haven’t you!”

Seeing Jiang Hong act like he knew everything, Wen Qing said angrily, “You… you had someone follow me?”

“What do you mean, follow? I’m your dad. You just recovered from being sick, so what’s wrong with me having someone keep an eye on you?” Jiang Hong spoke with complete confidence. “And that so-called boyfriend of yours, he’s just some poor bum. The work he does isn’t decent either. Break up with him as soon as possible. Stop messing around!”

“What right do you have to investigate him, and what right do you have to say that about him! You’re violating a citizen’s right to privacy!”

“I’m your dad, I can do whatev…”

A throw pillow smashed into Jiang Hong’s face, cutting him off.

Wen Manqiu stood up with a dark face. “Jiang Hong, I’ll say this one more time. Wen Qing does not have a father. If you keep making noise, then get out.”

Jiang Hong’s momentum clearly weakened quite a bit. “You’re the one who raised your son wrong, and now you’re taking your temper out on me.”

“What do you mean, raised wrong? Whether he wants to like boys or girls, what does that have to do with you?!”

“How does it not have anything to do with me? He’s the Jiang family’s only bloodline. He’s supposed to carry on the Jiang family line!”

“Hah.” Wen Manqiu laughed from sheer anger, and Wen Qing hurriedly supported her in worry. “Wen Qing’s surname is Wen. He has nothing to do with your Jiang family. At your age, you’ve already been married twice, and not a single one of your children has your surname. Do you really not think there’s something wrong with you?”

Jiang Hong stubbornly refused to back down. “I don’t care about that little girl. If you’d told me sooner that you were pregnant with a son, I wouldn’t have divorced you. Ow!”

A slipper flew into Jiang Hong’s face. Jiang Hong was so angry he was about to stand up, but Wen Qing spread his arms and shielded his mother. He was thin, but at nearly one meter eighty, he was still quite intimidating. Jiang Hong sulked, muttered something about a shrew, and sat back down.

Wen Manqiu was in the middle of her rage, so she did not care about exposing more of his disgrace. “You say you don’t care? What are you acting tough for, when you were the one who married into the family? If they hadn’t come asking, I still wouldn’t have known you’d lied to them and said it was your first marriage. Hahahahahaha, left with nothing after the divorce, right, President Jiang? Do you know why that mother and daughter went abroad? Because they didn’t want to get stuck to a rotten mess like you!”

Jiang Hong flew into impotent fury. “Why are you saying all this in front of the child!”

Wen Manqiu patted Wen Qing on the shoulder, stepped forward two paces, and faced Jiang Hong directly.

“I’m saying it because I want to. The most right thing I ever did in this life was divorce you. The father column on Qing Qing’s birth certificate is blank, and just seeing it makes me happy. I could wake up laughing in the middle of the night. Stop coming around and pestering us!”

“When Qing Qing was little, my parents raised him. After my parents passed away, I raised him myself. He’s smart and sensible. What right do you have to scold him, and what qualifications do you have to scold him!? If he wants to have a boyfriend, then he can have a boyfriend. The Wen family’s affairs are none of your concern!”

“Only now do you realize you’re all alone? What about that mistress you kept? You even had her bear you a child. Hahahahahaha, she ran off with the money, didn’t she? You deserve it!”

Jiang Hong was trembling with rage on the sofa.

Wen Manqiu ignored him, hands on her hips as she looked up at the ceiling, looking like she had finally cursed him out to her satisfaction.

“Get out. I’ve been exhausted lately, but cursing you out once made me feel a lot better.”

“Huh???”

Wen Manqiu did not waste another word. She grabbed an umbrella and started hitting him with it, and Jiang Hong yelped his way rolling out the door.

Wen Manqiu sat back down on the sofa and looked at Wen Qing, who was still standing there stupidly. Helpless, she smiled. “Stop making yourself stand there like you’re being punished. Tell me about your boyfriend.”

Wen Qing sat down close beside Wen Manqiu. Only now did he start to feel embarrassed. “We met through gaming. We’ve known each other for a long time, and only recently confirmed the relationship.”

“What game? Wangchao?”

“Mm.”

Wen Manqiu was a little unhappy. “Then you were sick for so long, why didn’t he come see you?”

“It’s not like that.” Wen Qing quickly explained. “Before that, we only contacted each other online. We’d never met in person. Then I got sick and lost contact, so he didn’t know. He was really worried and couldn’t find me. I only got back in touch with him after I woke up, and then we met… and started dating.”

When Wen Qing saw that his mother was not saying anything, he secretly added, “And we’re planning to live together.”

“What!?”

Wen Qing said nothing.

“You’ve only been dating for how long, and you already want to live together?”

“About… three months?” Wen Qing counted their time in the game too.

“…” Of course Wen Manqiu did not buy that.

“No,” Wen Manqiu said decisively. “If you want to live together, then at the very least I need to meet him first!”

Before Wen Manqiu got the chance to meet him, Jiang Hong, this self-appointed father, came knocking first.

Across several marriages, not a single one of Jiang Hong’s children had taken his surname, and Wen Qing did not acknowledge him either. So his original plan had been that after Wen Qing got married, one of his sons could be given the surname Jiang, and then his future property could be inherited by that grandson.

But now things had turned out like this. Wen Qing had gotten himself a boyfriend. How the hell was he supposed to have a child now!

Jiang Hong came to the area near where Song Hao worked and found a place for tea. He directly stated that he was Wen Qing’s father and called Song Hao to ask him out for a meeting.

Song Hao agreed.

Jiang Hong waited slowly in the private room. Before long, a tall young man walked in, and the moment he saw him he blurted out, “Lord Jiang!?”

“???”

Jiang Hong was full of question marks, but he still nodded with feigned composure. “I’m Wen Qing’s father, Jiang Hong. Did he mention me to you?”

Song Hao sat down across from him, looking excited. “I’ve heard of you.”

What was this kid so happy about???

But the possibility that Wen Qing had introduced him to outsiders in some way was something Jiang Hong liked very much, so his expression was no longer quite so severe.

He looked Song Hao up and down once and thought to himself that, looking like that, he really was the sort who did indecent work. He was clearly using his looks to cheat his son out of money!

Jiang Hong deliberately lowered his voice. “Then you already know why I’m here. You’ve already been found out. This won’t last. Break up cleanly as soon as possible, and stop clinging to my son.”

Song Hao did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Your surname is Jiang, so why is Wen Qing’s surname Wen?”

“…”

That really was a good question, one that stabbed straight into the heart.

Jiang Hong suppressed his anger. “That’s none of your concern. Just tell me whether you’ll break up or not.”

Song Hao waited a moment, then said, “And then?”

“What do you mean, and then?”

“Usually when someone wants people to break up, isn’t it always something like, ‘Here’s five million, leave my son’?”

“…”

This brat was money-crazy! What right did he have to ask me for five million! Was he worth five million! He was being so blunt about it too, not even bothering to dress it up with anything about true love or whatever?

Still, it would be easier to deal with this kid if he cared about money. Now he could start bargaining.

Jiang Hong swallowed back fifty wan. Too much. Then he swallowed back fifty thousand. Too little.

In the end, he named his price. “One hundred thousand. Leave my son.”

Song Hao looked quite unhappy. Jiang Hong thought he was about to ask for more, but instead Song Hao said, “Fine. But you have to pay half as a deposit first.”

“?” Since when was there such a thing as a deposit for this?

Apparently noticing his confusion, Song Hao shamelessly explained, “What if I break up and then you refuse to pay? I can’t exactly call the police, can I? I’m not doing something where I lose both the person and the money.”

“Heh.” Jiang Hong pulled out his checkbook holder and tapped it with one finger after another, his face full of disdain. “Aren’t you afraid Wen Qing will find out about this?”

“Wen Qing probably already knows.”

“!”

“There’s a camera here, or you turned on a recording, or you simply made a call. Someone’s been listening to our conversation the whole time, right?”

Song Hao wore an obedient expression. “Your routine is too old, Uncle Jiang.”

Jiang Hong froze where he was.

Song Hao reached out and flipped over the phone Jiang Hong had pinned face-down on the table. “Yo. An online meeting. Pretty trendy. Three people online.”

The only problem was that he had not paid for membership, so each meeting could only last thirty minutes.

Of the participants in the call, the first was Jiang Hong, the second was someone unfamiliar, and the third, judging by the profile picture, was clearly Wen Qing. Since Jiang Hong did not stop him, Song Hao unmuted the call and cautiously called into the microphone, “Qing Qing?”

The other side replied at once, and there was even laughter in Wen Qing’s voice. “Song Hao, my mom and I will be there soon. Wait for us a moment.”

The moment he heard that Wen’s mother was coming too, Song Hao became visibly nervous. It was a sharp contrast to the careless manner he had shown in front of Jiang Hong.

“Okay. Hello, Aunt Wen, I’m Song Hao. I’m in the tea room. No rush. Be careful on the way, and stay safe.”

Wen’s mother’s voice came through the microphone, sounding very kind. “Thank you, Xiao Song. We’ll be there in five minutes.” After saying that, her tone suddenly turned stern. “Jiang Hong, don’t leave either.”

Jiang Hong coughed twice. He did not respond, and he did not dare leave either.

Not long after, the private room door was pulled open again. The first to walk in was an extremely capable-looking woman in her early forties, and behind her came Wen Qing.

Song Hao knew at once that this had to be Wen’s mother. And Wen Qing had told him before that because the game had merged with part of his memories, the character models had also been based on those memories. Lord Jiang, after shaving off his beard, looked exactly like Jiang Hong, and Wen’s mother looked very similar to the one in the game too.

Song Hao immediately stood up and respectfully said, “Hello, Aunt Wen.”

After greeting her, he secretly looked toward Wen Qing. Wen Qing nodded at him, signaling that it was fine.

As for Wen Manqiu, she first shot a fierce glare at Jiang Hong, who was cowering off to the side. Then when she saw Song Hao, even the remaining thirty percent of her displeasure turned into helplessness.

There was no other reason. Song Hao really was good-looking.

He looked a head taller than Wen Qing, dressed neatly and refreshing, and he himself looked energetic, bright, and not greasy at all. He also kept secretly glancing behind her, with the unmistakable air of someone deep in love.

Wen Manqiu turned her head, and sure enough, her son looked exactly the same. He could not even hold back his smile.

“Mom.” After being caught, Wen Qing called out awkwardly.

Wen Manqiu sighed. It really had to be said that he was her biological son. Just like she had been when she was young, he liked handsome poor boys.

She had originally thought that since she had given birth to a son, she would have one less kind of worry to deal with. In the end, that was not the case either.

“Sit down, all of you. Opportunities like this are rare. And since President Jiang, an outsider, happens to be here too, we might as well all talk together.”

…

…

…

The livestream had fifty thousand people online, and the streamer had one hand propping up his head while the other clicked the mouse. On the screen was the game Synthetic Big Watermelon.

[Padding stream time?]

[This is what you’re showing me?]

[Put it on the left, there’s a kiwi there]

[Who even likes watching this?]

[I’m just here for the face, the rest of you do whatever]

Song Hao checked the time, then looked at the scrolling comments and yawned. “I’m out of gold coins. I can’t get past this. I have to wait until tomorrow’s sign-in to claim the treasure chest.”

[Can’t you just top up, seriously?]

[You must be new. This is a zero-spend livestream]

[My bro won’t spend even one mao. He’d rather grind maps for two hours]

[Actually, he did spend money back when he first started streaming, and he spent quite a lot]

[That’s definitely Wangchao, a legend in the world of forcing players to pay. Even someone as stingy as our streamer still couldn’t get through]

[That doesn’t count as topping up, okay? Bro spent for love. He didn’t spend a cent on himself]

[He really smashed the spending on the last day. You can search the recording, the one with hundreds of thousands of views]

[Linking the true-love highlight clips of bro and sis-in-law here →]

[Wuwuwu HaoQing forever]

[Sis-in-law! I miss you, sis-in-law!]

[When is that damned game Wangchao going to be reanimated so my bro and sis-in-law can continue their past-life bond!]

[I heard it’s next year, sisters. It’ll even connect to a full-dive game pod]

[Holy crap holy crap holy crap, I’m so looking forward to it. How is that any different from dating for real]

[Will bro really buy a game pod? It’s pretty expensive…]

[Who cares! If he won’t buy it, I will! Even if I have to tie him up, I’m stuffing him in there to meet sis-in-law]

[Overbearing fans love fiercely~]

[That’s what us HaoQing fans are like]

[I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. See that silver-gray machine showing on the far left of his camera? Doesn’t it look like a game pod connector?]

[!!! Bro, you haven’t forgotten either, have you? You’re already prepared, aren’t you?]

[999999999]

“Big White Potato, it’s raining. Do you want hotpot for lunch…” A voice came from far away and drew closer.

Song Hao instantly became energetic. He straightened up and looked toward the doorway, even reaching out to stop the person. “Hey, hey, hey, don’t come over. I haven’t turned off the stream yet. If you come any closer, you’ll be in the frame.”

“Ah! Sorry, sorry. I thought it was already over.”

Song Hao smiled. “It’s okay. There are still about ten minutes left.”

“Oh, okay.”

[Suddenly from dead fish to handsome guy]

[Hahahahahahaha his face value really is unstable]

[Being one of the looks fans is honestly hard]

[Who’s the guy talking?]

[A friend?]

“Then let’s have hotpot. Wait for me a bit, and we’ll prep the ingredients together.”

“It’s okay, I’ll wash the vegetables first. You go ahead and stay busy.”

From the sound of the footsteps, the person had already left. But Song Hao was so reluctant to part that he kept looking toward the door, and only after a long while did he turn back to the camera. Then he went right back to resting his cheek on one hand, instantly returning to his dead-fish face.

[Magic! This is the great Chuan-style face-changing!]

[Who was that? A roommate he shares with?]

[His younger brother?]

[I’m suddenly really curious]

[The streamer’s expression isn’t right]

Song Hao checked the time again, then looked at the comments again, then yawned again. In a listless voice, he said, “I’m going to get some water,” then hurried off.

In reality, the moment he stepped out the door, he could already be heard shouting, “Qing Qing, I’ll peel the potatoes.”

[Qing Qing!? I didn’t hear wrong, right? Is it sis-in-law? Sis-in-law crossed dimensions to come see bro!]

[He said qinqin, right? Like baby or darling]

[Be rational. Crossing dimensions is way too bizarre]

[I also heard Qing Qing. Is it possible bro was so crazed by love that he found a partner who’s also named Qing Qing?]

[Holy crap, substitute-lover trope, I can ship that too!]

[Qing Qing is a girl’s name. His partner should be female]

[??? Straight-bro, have you lost your mind]

[Stop struggling. Even if you played that for a ninety-year-old great-grandma, she’d still hear a man]

[The truth is, the streamer is so stingy that there’s no way he could find a partner]

[But he can marry a husband!]

…

—end—