To admit or not to admit, that is the question.
Compared to myself dressing up in women's clothes, the sudden addition of a girl at home shouldn't be too strange... right?
Seeing Xu Wenbin's face darken, Xu Qing's thoughts raced.
He could keep the secret for now, but not forever. His dad only had to bump into Mrs. Cheng and exchange a few words, and those big mouths would certainly spill the beans about the girl at home.
"She's my friend's!"
"...Oh?" Xu Wenbin clearly didn't believe it and waited with a stern face for him to continue explaining.
"It's a long story; I have a friend, uh... his sister, right, my friend's sister, came to stay for a few days—Jiang He, please open the door."
As Xu Qing spoke, he walked up to the storage room door and gave two light knocks, all the while thinking about how to smoothly resolve the situation.
Creak.
The door to the room opened, and Jiang He appeared charmingly at the doorway. Seeing Xu Qing wink at her, she looked somewhat puzzled.
"This is my dad... Dad, her name is Jiang He."
Xu Qing introduced her with a stiff upper lip, hoping Jiang He wouldn't show any signs of oddity.
"b..." Jiang He started speaking and then stopped abruptly, turning her head to quietly ask Xu Qing, "How should I address him?"
"..."
The previously stunned Xu Wenbin had just relaxed a bit when his expression became complicated again, looking at Xu Qing without saying a word.
That girl just now was about to call him dad, wasn't she?!
Definitely!
The forty-something Xu Wenbin suddenly wondered if he'd done something wrong when he left the house today to warrant such strange occurrences.
"Ahem... call him Uncle!" Xu Qing coughed lightly, pretending not to notice his old man's look.
"Uncle, hello."
"Hello, hello."
Xu Wenbin contained his expression, responding casually as if nothing was amiss.
"Anyway... that's basically it, she will stay here for a while." Xu Qing didn't elaborate on the details, figuring it was best to muddle through for now.
"Yeah." Jiang He nodded.
"That, come here for a second." Xu Wenbin pulled Xu Qing into the bedroom, then gave Jiang He a glance, saying, "Jiang... Jiang He, right? Don't worry, carry on with what you were doing."
After closing the door, he turned and stared at Xu Qing, his expression darkening again.
"What's the matter?!"
"That's the matter, a friend came to stay... don't just come here for no reason, you'll scare the girl. Hand over the spare key as well, let her have it for now, and I'll return it to you when she leaves."
Xu Qing assertively reached out for the key; he had to take it. Otherwise, if his dad or mom came by one day when he wasn't there and ran into Jiang He alone at home, it could lead to unnecessary trouble.
"Your girlfriend." Xu Wenbin stared at him.
"No, she's not."
"She almost called me dad just now."
"..." Xu Qing scratched his head, "You saw it wrong."
Xu Wenbin stared at him a bit longer, then moved on from the topic, "How old is she?"
"Eighteen."
"..."
"..."
"What a sin..."
"What's a sin about it?" Xu Qing felt annoyed, "She's just here to stay for a while—even if we take ten, a hundred steps back, even if we were dating, that would be perfectly normal and legal, so what sin?"
Xu Wenbin smacked his lips, not knowing what to say.
He had come to urge his son to pay rent and find a job, only to end up with a girl who nearly called him dad?
His feelings were quite complex.
"You don't even have a job, kid."
"All I need is to make money, what's the job for? It's the information age, you… there, just sent you the money. Rent's paid, leave the keys."
Xu Qing couldn't be bothered to argue for what felt like the umpteenth time, explaining that being an uploader is a job to his old man—though even if he did manage to explain it, the old man would continue to fuss about lack of insurance, pension, or social security.
"How much is the utility bill?"
"Two hundred thirty-eight."
Ignoring his dad's dilemma, Xu Qing efficiently completed the transfer, showed the phone to him for a second, "Done, give me the keys, I've never heard of a landlord keeping a spare key to come and go as they please."
"My house!"
"I've rented it."
"..."
Xu Wenbin glared at him, handed over the spare key, "Remember to pay on time, don't make me chase after you every time."
"The contract doesn't specify any date, I'll transfer it when I remember."
Xu Qing brushed it off.
The house was his own, yet he still had to pay rent.
Not only did he have to pay rent, but it was also more expensive than other apartments of the same type in the same building.
According to Xu Wenbin, it was: if you find a job, you can live here for free; if not, you pay rent every month, not just any rent, but more expensive than others'.
When Xu Qing asked why it should be more expensive, suggesting he might as well rent from someone else, Xu Wenbin said that was fine.
Xu Qing thought it over and realized, aha!
The old man was playing a game of strategy with him; renting his own family's apartment might be more expensive, but eventually both the money and the house would still be his. If he rented from someone else, then the money would be truly gone.
"Where's mom? Off on an inspection trip again?"
"No, at home playing mahjong." Xu Wenbin checked his phone, "She wanted you to come home for a meal, you…"
He paused mid-sentence, looking toward the door, wondering if he should mention this to Xu Qing's mom.
"I'm busy at the moment, I'll come over when I have time," Xu Qing caught on to what he was thinking, "She's just a friend, not a girlfriend."
"Hmph, do you think your dad is a fool?"
Xu Wenbin's face darkened, and after a pause, he tried to sound casual, "Be safe."
"Safe from what! She's just a friend!"
Xu Qing turned exasperatedly to open the door, "We done here? If there's nothing else, hurry back, I'm working."
"I'm not saying that, but you young people getting involved too early can lead to problems, it turns into a situation like with that last girl, Zhu…"
"Dad." Xu Qing interrupted.
"…Right, let's not talk about the past. Hurry up and find a job, get to work."
Xu Wenbin stood up to look outside; the living room was empty, Jiang He had gone back to her room, so he stepped outside.
It wasn't really his place to interfere with his son having an eighteen-year-old girlfriend, but bringing her to live at home was a bit much—torn between wanting and not wanting to interfere, since it's normal for a kid his age to be in love… He'd have to discuss it with Xu Qing's mother.
Both of them left the room, and just as Xu Qing was about to see the old man out, he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait… Dad, come back in for a sec."
He pulled his dad back inside and closed the door, then turned to rummage around the head of the bed.
"What for?" Xu Wenbin was puzzled.
"This, take a look."
Xu Qing pulled out a pair of worn straw sandals, placed them mysteriously in front of Xu Wenbin, "Check these out, Tang Dynasty antiques, how much could they sell for?"
His dad was an archaeologist, had been for half a lifetime, he knew his stuff, so asking him was right.
"Which dynasty's antiques did you say?" Xu Wenbin glanced at the sandals, dug his pinky in his ear, wondering if he heard wrong.
"Tang Dynasty, probably from Li Longji's time." Xu Qing was utterly convinced, if this item could make money, he'd be on easy street, could practically smash his way through any problem, even a lost ID.
Seeing his dad's expression turn odd, Xu Qing got a little excited, "So, worth something?"
"Go to Nanshan Second Hospital for a psychological evaluation."
Xu Wenbin looked at him with a complex expression.
Wondering if it wasn't too late to have a second child.