Chapter 88 Uncle [VIP]
Xing Chao suddenly looked up.
If he wasn't mistaken, the person in front of him had just called out "Changqing".
Evergreen, like the evergreen pine and cypress, and the ever-shining sun and moon.
May it be evergreen and healthy year after year, like pine and cypress trees; and bright and dazzling, radiating light, like the sun and moon.
This was Grandpa's wish for his brother back then.
His older brother, Xing Changqing, lived up to expectations and grew into the successor his grandfather had hoped for. He was outstanding and dazzling, as bright as the sun and moon, and as radiant as the stars.
He should have had a bright and wonderful life, with family, friends, and... a lover.
The sky had darkened without us even noticing, and the unlit room was a dark, gloomy blue, casting a faint shadow over everything inside.
Even the bouquet of roses picked that afternoon, that rich, dazzling red, has now turned into a bleak, somber gray.
The woman he should call his sister-in-law stood in front of him, looking at him. Her usually smiling eyes were shrouded in shadow by the twilight, and the smile in her eyes stopped flowing, becoming as still as water without ripples.
It's like a signal.
The emotions that Xing Chao had suppressed suddenly surged again, carrying countless regrets, reluctance, dull pain, and numbness, roaring in and stirring up a silent black tsunami.
My throat felt like it was blocked by something invisible, dry and hard to describe.
Did you blurt it out subconsciously, or did you, at this moment, see me, the one handing over the ring, as a person named Xing Changqing?
Xing Chao couldn't get any information out of him.
He silently lowered his gaze and took the young man's outstretched hand.
These hands are long, smooth, and delicate, with a slightly cool temperature, and have an exquisite quality as if they were carved from jade.
It should have been lifted up by another man.
Now, however, it is held in his hands, by him, the man who ethically belongs to the other party's younger brother.
Xing Chao picked up the remaining rings from the box with one hand. The jewelry box, now without support, fell to the ground with a loud "thud," the sound echoing deafeningly in the deathly silent room.
In the dim light, the tall young man slowly placed the wedding ring, symbolizing a perfect union, onto his slender ring finger.
Thump, thump, thump.
Their two heartbeats seemed to quietly overlap at that moment.
The young man's voice was low and husky as he held the hand with the ring on it and said, "Sister-in-law, I will take care of you in place of my brother."
*
As long as Qingran doesn't want to leave, let him stay in the Xing family forever—this was Xing Wendao's dying wish, which he asked the old man to grant.
So Qingran attended Xing Wendao's funeral as his partner.
The relatives and friends who came to pay their respects were clearly very surprised.
However, since the person was already dead, what did it matter that Xing Wendao was gay and had a male wife? After a moment of astonishment, the crowd discussed it privately for a few moments and then moved on.
The old man, a white-haired man, had to bury his black-haired son. He mustered his strength to hold the funeral, but then fell seriously ill.
However, time is the fairest thing in the world, and it is also the most terrifying thing. It can smooth over all traces, including regrets and pain.
Gradually, the old man recovered from his illness, and Xing Chao returned to school after the holiday, starting his busy life of running between school and company, unable to be in two places at once.
Life seemed to have returned to its former tranquility, except that one person was completely absent from my life.
Thanks to Xing Wendao's arrangements and Xing Chao's unwavering persistence, Qingran was able to stay in the Xing family with peace of mind and become a true member of the Xing family.
He remained as respectful and filial to the old man as before, taking everything to heart, but he no longer needed to report on his condition three times a day, nor did he need to pay his respects to him morning and evening.
He had much more freedom at the Xing family's house.
"Aaaaaah, Black Whirlwind, don't run away! Look what you've done!" A girl's frantic voice rang out from the lawn.
Black Whirlwind, running with its tongue lolling out, pretended not to hear and transformed into a black shadow, rushing towards the tall, elegant young man standing at the edge of the lawn.
Qingran looked away from her phone screen and fixed her gaze on the five black dogs that were about to pounce on her.
Upon receiving the warning, Black Whirlwind suddenly braked and stopped three steps away, then sat up and frantically wagged its tail at Qingran.
Look, even Black Whirlwind has long since emerged from the shadows of the past.
I still remember that it had a poor appetite and howled every night for a long time.
[Tsk tsk tsk, this dog is no good.] The system commented in its mind, its energy wings flashing.
"Black, Black Whirlwind!" Su Xiaobai, who had finally caught up to him, leaned on his knees and gasped for breath.
Qingran noticed that her off-white uniform and face were covered in mud splatters, and the five black dogs squatting on the ground pretending to be well-behaved looked like they had been wading through mud.
"What's going on here?" he asked in surprise.
Catching her breath, Su Xiaobai stood up straight, put her hands on her hips, and glared at the dog on the ground with a mixture of love and hate.
"It's Black Whirlwind again. He wouldn't play properly on the lawn, he just had to step into the mud puddles. I couldn't stop him!"
"It rained a couple of days ago, and there was a puddle in the woods that hadn't completely dried up. I don't know how it found it..."
Su Xiaobai, whose clothes were dirty, started to complain incessantly.
It's worth mentioning that after being tempted by delicious food for almost a year, Black Whirlwind finally agreed to let Su Xiaobai play with him when his owner was unavailable.
Congratulations!
But getting it to obediently let its head be petted? That's a long and arduous task.
"Did you hear that, Black Whirlwind? I'm talking to you." Qingran glanced at the dog sitting and wagging its tail.
Black Whirlwind tilted its head, stuck out its tongue and panted, sticking its head back so Qingran could touch it.
Qingran could only stroke its head and say to Su Xiaobai, "Go back and change your clothes and wash your face."
Su Xiaobai looked at the dog's dirty legs: "Shouldn't Black Whirlwind take a bath too?"
Qingran nodded: "Okay, let's talk about this when I get back. I have to go out right away."
Black Whirlwind recognizes people. To make it stay still while taking a bath, it either needs to be someone it approves of, such as Qing Ran or Xing Chao, and in the past, Xing Wendao would also be included, or someone it approves of needs to be watching nearby.
Besides, anyone else who tries to bathe it only makes it dirtier.
As they were talking, Qingran's phone vibrated; a new message had come in.
[Xing Chao: Sister-in-law, when are you coming? The competition is about to start]
[Qingran: Give Black Whirlwind a kick and I'll be right there.]
[Xing Chao: ! What bad thing did it do?!]
[Qingran: I secretly stepped into a mud puddle [smirk]]
[Xing Chao: Go back and discipline it again. Just give it a quick rinse, sister-in-law, come quick.]
【青染: Okay~】
"Hey, Xing Chao, who are you messaging now?"
At the Muda Gymnasium, seeing Xing Chao sitting on a bench in the rest area with his phone glued to his hand, his teammates couldn't help but tease him.
"The game is about to start and you're still so distracted."
After sending the message, Xing Chao put down his phone and walked towards his teammates, answering very naturally, "My sister-in-law."
After Xing Wendao's death, Xing Chao and Qing Ran became much closer.
Xing Chao likes sports, and Qing Ran would go to the gym to watch him play when she had time. Naturally, she got to know Xing Chao and became friends with him.
These friends include wealthy young men from well-off families, as well as ordinary people from average backgrounds.
Xing Chao hesitated about how to introduce his relationship with Qing Ran to his friends and how to address her. But seeing that Qing Ran didn't mind, he just kept calling her "sister-in-law".
Anyway, even if these people had their own thoughts, they didn't dare to show them in front of him.
Like now.
Wow, is my sister-in-law coming?
"Is my sister-in-law going to treat us to something delicious again?"
"Xing Chao, you and your sister-in-law have such a good relationship..."
Xing Chao didn't seem to care, but he actually quite liked hearing others say that he had a good relationship with his sister-in-law.
He seemed to have transferred his feelings for his brother to Yun Qingran, but the feeling was slightly different, and he couldn't quite tell for the time being.
"Let's go, get ready for the match."
During the preparation, Xing Chao would occasionally look up to check the direction of the entrance. When Qing Ran didn't come, his brows would unconsciously furrow.
It wasn't until the starting whistle blew and the familiar slender figure appeared in the front row of the family section of the stands that Xing Chao's face, which had been cold for a long time, finally brightened.
Qingran met his gaze, smiled, and mouthed two words: "Keep it up."
Xing Chao pursed his lips and nodded slightly, turning around to play ball with even more energy.
This was a joint school-level basketball tournament organized by universities. There were quite a few students who came to watch the game, and Xing Chao, a famous player, was also participating. The stadium was filled with cheers and was extremely lively.
Qingran's gaze followed the figures moving through the crowd.
Official ball games have height and physique requirements for participants. Xing Chao may not be the tallest or strongest among all the players on the field, but he has the most balanced and perfect body proportions, like a sculpture precisely sculpted by an artist.
And this tall young man with perfect proportions didn't forget to glance at him during breaks in the competition.
Qingran couldn't help but chuckle.
He was bored, so he counted the number of times Xing Chao looked at him during the hour-long match.
Qingran tapped her leg with her finger, seemingly lost in thought.
After the game ended, in this match that determined the champion and runner-up, Xing Chao's Muda basketball team ultimately won the championship with a large lead of 21 points.
While the school leaders on stage were giving speeches and presenting awards to the participating teams, Xing Chao left his teammates and sneaked over to the audience.
He was wearing a black and red number one jersey, and his short, cropped hair, which he could barely hold in one hand, was soaked with sweat, making it look even rougher and harder.
His sharply defined eyebrows slanted towards his temples, beneath which lay a three-dimensional and deep-set face. His exposed arms and calves had smooth muscle lines, and sweat glistened on them, exuding a masculine charm without restraint.
"Have some water."
Qingran took a bottle of electrolyte water from the plastic bag she had brought and handed it to him, a flash of light appearing on her left ring finger.
"Thank you." Xing Chao took the water and stepped back a few paces.
Qingran watched his actions with amusement: "Why are you standing so far away? Are you afraid I'll eat you?"
“No,” Xing Chao glanced at the clean-looking young man who seemed to smell of fragrance, then turned his face away. “I’m sweating.”
I always feel that getting close to this person is like defiling or desecrating them.
"Chaochao is so thoughtful," Qingran praised gently, noticing that the black earring on Chaochao's ear was slightly red, and smiled. "Is there anything else later?"
Xing Chao unscrewed the bottle cap and gulped down the entire bottle of water, then shook his head: "Sister-in-law, is something wrong?"
Qingran: "Didn't Chaochao just win the championship? Please have a celebration banquet with your teammates."
"Sister-in-law, we'll be fine from now on!"
"Yes, yes, it's okay. Where shall we eat?"
"How about some barbecue? A new barbecue restaurant just opened outside the north gate of the school. Has anyone been there? What's it like?"
"I've been there, I'll cast my vote."
After receiving the trophy, the team members chattered excitedly, acting as if they were family.
Qingran smiled at the group of energetic young men, picked up the plastic bag, and said, "I bought water, you guys—"
Xing Chao snatched it away and stuffed it into a friend's arms.
Xing Chao said expressionlessly, "Take them and distribute them yourselves." At the same time, he stopped these sweaty people from getting close to his clean and fragrant sister-in-law.
The teammates chatted and laughed as they distributed drinks.
"Don't be so stingy, Xing Chao, you're always guarding against thieves."
"That's right, your sister-in-law is my sister-in-law. I've always considered her family. Why be so polite?"
"..."
After listening to the young people laughing and joking for a while, Qingran said at the right time, "You guys go take a shower and change your clothes first, I'll wait for you at the school gate."
"Yes, sister-in-law!" everyone said in unison.
Xing Chao's face darkened.
Why are you calling each other so affectionately? Don't you have sisters-in-law yourselves?
Qingran waited outside the school for a while before Xing Chao came out carrying dirty clothes.
The young man changed into a more energetic short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his face was cool but lively, and you could not tell that he had once worn a suit to go to the company with the old man.
Qingran drove himself here today. Xing Chao asked where he parked and then put the dirty laundry bag in the back seat of the car.
Then he said, "Let's go, sister-in-law, let's go over first."
Qingran asked, "Aren't you waiting for your friends?"
Xing Chao: "They know the location."
After Qingran turned around, he took out his phone and sent a message in the group chat.
[Xing Chao: [Address] Come here yourself]
The barbecue restaurant wasn't far away, but worried about parking, the two walked there.
They had to cross two traffic lights along the way. During this time, Xing Chao stayed at a distance from Qing Ran, keeping a part of his attention on him.
Perhaps Xing Chao himself didn't even realize when he developed this habit.
Upon arriving at the barbecue restaurant, the waiter asked about the number of diners and led them to their seats.
Xing Chao then gestured for Qing Ran to sit in the corner against the wall, while he himself sat outside.
After doing as instructed, Qingran jokingly asked, "Is Chaochao really preventing me from contacting them?"
"It's to prevent them from getting close to you." Xing Chao subconsciously corrected him, then explained, "They're too noisy."
He instinctively didn't want these people to get too close to Qingran. As for the reason, perhaps it was because, as he had just said, these people were too noisy.
My sister-in-law is so dignified and composed; she's clearly not one of those frivolous and impetuous people.
"Does your sister-in-law mind?" Xing Chao asked uncertainly.
Qingran smiled and said, "As long as I am more important than those friends in Chaochao's heart, I don't mind. That way I'll know that Chaochao's intentions are for my own good."
“Of course your sister-in-law is more important than them,” Xing Chao said in a lower voice, then suddenly felt a little hot in his ears and added inexplicably, “I promised my brother I would take care of you.”
Qingran was quiet for a while.
"Just because of Evergreen?"
Xing Chao's heart skipped a beat. What did his sister-in-law mean by that?
He couldn't ask the question because his other friends had arrived at the door.
A swarm of young men broke the delicate atmosphere that was just beginning to descend between the two.
Once they found a spot, these people casually picked out seats and sat down. When they learned that the two hadn't ordered yet, they picked up the menu and started offering their opinions one after another.
The small space immediately became as noisy as a vegetable market.
"Brother Chao, squeeze in, there's no room outside," someone urged Xing Chao.
Xing Chao moved further in and immediately realized that his knee had bumped into something.
He had been sitting with his legs wide open, but he quietly closed them when he suddenly heard a pleasant chuckle from beside him.
"Isn't it uncomfortable to sit with your legs tucked in?" the voice asked softly, with a smile. "Just be natural, why be awkward with your sister-in-law?"
Xing Chao paused, then silently relaxed his legs.
Sitting with your legs tucked in can be really cramped and uncomfortable, making you feel suffocated.
His knees touched the rough fabric again, and he glanced down to see that his knees were pressed against the thigh of the person next to him.
The loose, close-fitting fabric accentuated the woman's rounded and well-proportioned legs.
Xing Chao suddenly realized something: his sister-in-law seemed to have never worn pants other than long pants.
Except for Xing Chao occasionally getting distracted, everyone ate their meal to their heart's content.
As the oldest person present, Qingran didn't need to be involved in the grilling process at all; initially, there were waiters, and later, this group of energetic male college students.
She was not only energetic, but also had a big appetite; one meal cost her over three thousand yuan.
It's a small amount of money for Qingran.
Although he lost his annual salary of 50 million, he is now a wealthy man thanks to the large sum of assets left to him by Xing Wendao.
It was past 8 p.m. when we left the barbecue restaurant, and the night had fallen.
The boarding students weren't in a hurry to go back to school, but Qingran and Xingchao still had to drive home, so the group said goodbye in front of the barbecue restaurant.
"Thank you for treating, sister-in-law."
Goodbye, sister-in-law.
"You're welcome, goodbye everyone."
After the two figures disappeared, someone suddenly said, "I wonder which sister-in-law they were calling."
"What do you mean?" The person next to him didn't understand.
The person who spoke first grinned mischievously: "Isn't Yun Qingran the wife of Xing Chao's deceased elder brother? That means she likes men, right?"
The person next to you rolled their eyes: "Aren't you worried that the other person will have a crush on you?"
The person who spoke first said, "I'm not worried that he'll take a liking to me, but others are. Haven't you noticed that Xing Chao treats us like thieves? That 'sister-in-law' might just be..."
He gave a knowing look.
As a result, someone slapped him on the head from behind.
"You've been eating and drinking for free so much and still can't shut you up?"
Then everyone swarmed around the man, punching and kicking him.
"Hey, hey, be gentle, I was just talking nonsense, okay?"
"Damn it! Who's taking revenge on me by poking my ass?!"
On the other side, Xing Chaoxian, having returned to the parking spot, opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.
He remembered that his sister-in-law didn't seem to like driving.
Qingran readily agreed and got into the car from the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and saw that the young man was holding the steering wheel and seemed to have no intention of leaving.
"Chao Chao?" he called out in confusion.
Xing Chao tightened his grip on the steering wheel, concealing the probing in his voice, and started the accelerator.
"My sister-in-law asked me a question before dinner, but I didn't hear it clearly. Could you ask it again?"
A note from the author:
The author writes very slowly. Although there aren't double updates, if each chapter is 3000 words, that's still about 1.5 updates a day. [fingers emoji]
Finally, thank you all for the free tickets and nutrient solutions, thank you to all the lovely readers, and thank you for supporting the official version. See you tomorrow, muah!
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