After My Engagement Was Broken, I Married My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 19.1

“Ninth Uncle, please have some tea.” Jiang Xingyuan gave a pitiful, pleading look. “Ninth Uncle, after you drink this tea, can we make a deal? Let’s skip the scripture copying from yesterday, okay?”

Xie Junqing found the boy’s pitiful act amusing. “This… I’ll need to consider it.”

“Ninth Uncle, it’s just a sentence, don’t overthink it.”

Holding the tea cup, Xie Junqing’s eyes still held a smile. Catching the aroma of the tea, he suddenly thought of the tea scent he had smelled earlier. He paused for a few seconds as if comparing the two, then took a small sip. Soon, a faint bitterness spread, carrying the fruitiness from before as he swallowed. After a moment, a sweet aftertaste bloomed in his mouth.

“Ninth Uncle, this tea is so bitter!” Jiang Xingyuan stuck out his tongue, his face wrinkling up. He had stealthily poured a cup for himself while serving Xie Jiu. The moment it touched his tongue, he almost sprayed it out. If Xie Junqing hadn’t been there, he would have spat it out. How could it be this foul?

“Is it bitter?” Xie Junqing watched Jiang Xingyuan scramble for water and couldn’t help but laugh. He actually thought it was quite sweet.

After drinking a glass of water to clear the bitterness, Jiang Xingyuan felt better.

“Isn’t your pheromone this flavor? Why is it so hard for you to accept?”

Jiang Xingyuan, who was currently drinking water, choked instantly. He coughed violently. “Cough, cough! What… what the hell?”

Xie Junqing saw his distress and reached out to pat his back gently. “Drink slowly.”

Jiang Xingyuan struggled to straighten up, his face flushed red as he managed to choke out, “Bull… cough… whose pheromone is this crap? Cough… I hate green tea most in my life!”

Xie Junqing frowned as he saw how much Jiang Xingyuan was struggling to speak. “Stop talking for a moment.”

“I’ll be fine in a second, Ninth Uncle, don’t worry about me.” Jiang Xingyuan coughed heavily a few more times to clear his airway. “Ninth Uncle, I’m okay now.” His voice was slightly hoarse from the effort.

Then, he suddenly realized something! How did Xie Jiu smell his pheromones?! He lowered his head and started sniffing his own collar. But he couldn’t smell anything!

Jiang Xingyuan’s face went pale. Since his surgery, his pheromones had been very docile and usually didn’t appear. And green tea flavor? What kind of joke was this? He felt a wave of despair.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Junqing noticed the sudden change in his expression.

Jiang Xingyuan looked at him with teary eyes, his voice trembling. “Ninth Uncle, could you smell me again? Is my pheromone really green tea flavored?”

He was doomed! As he spoke, he pulled open his collar, exposing his sensitive gland to the air. The sweet tea scent in the room seemed to intensify instantly.

Seeing the back of the boy’s neck offered so freely, Xie Junqing froze. The boy’s smooth neck was exposed to him without any defense. His eyes flickered. To expose one’s gland so casually… did he trust him that much?

As his gaze moved down, his eyes suddenly stopped. He saw an ugly scar on the boy’s gland, which should have been flawless. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch it, his finger tracing the protruding texture.

Xie Junqing’s brow furrowed. “What happened here?” His voice carried a coldness he didn’t even notice.

Jiang Xingyuan hadn’t expected Xie Junqing to touch his gland. For an Alpha, that was the most sensitive spot besides certain other areas. The touch felt like an electric shock, his body jolted, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

“Ninth Uncle!!! Can you give me a heads-up next time?!”

Jiang Xingyuan’s face turned bright red. He just wanted Xie Jiu to check if his pheromone was acting up, not give him a physical exam. Besides, that was a doctor’s job. Even if they were both Alphas, being touched there by another male felt very strange.

“Apologies.” Xie Junqing realized his slip and immediately withdrew his hand. Looking at the blushing Jiang Xingyuan, he explained gently, “I just saw a scar on your gland and was curious.”

“That’s from a previous surgery.”

“Surgery?”

Jiang Xingyuan still felt a lingering itch on his gland and couldn’t help but rub it. “Yeah, just a minor one.”

Seeing that Jiang Xingyuan didn’t want to talk about it, Xie Junqing changed the subject. “The scent I smelled earlier was indeed the fragrance of tea.”

Jiang Xingyuan scratched his head, feeling frustrated. Is it a post-surgery side effect? “Ninth Uncle, I’d like to take a day off tomorrow. I want to go to the hospital.”

“Of course, that’s fine,” Xie Junqing said. “The Xie family has a private hospital. If you’re willing, I can take you there tomorrow for a proper check-up.”

Jiang Xingyuan figured he was going to visit Xie Huai tomorrow anyway, so it was on the way. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Xie Junqing smiled. “You’re welcome. Now, about today’s lesson…”

“Ninth Uncle, waaaaah~” Jiang Xingyuan dragged out his voice, acting like a spoiled brat. He sounded like he was about to cry. “I’m so miserable today, I really don’t have the heart to read scriptures. Please let me off.”

Xie Junqing sighed softly. He tapped the boy lightly with the scripture book and smiled. “Then I’ll let you off for today.”

Jiang Xingyuan jumped for joy. “Ninth Uncle, you’re the best!”

After the excitement, he planned to leave. As nice as it was here, it wasn’t as comfortable as being alone in his room. “Ninth Uncle, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back.”

“I have nothing else,” Xie Junqing said, seeing right through him. “But you do.”

Jiang Xingyuan was dazed. “What do I have to do?”

“School homework. Have you finished? You’re in your second year; you’ll have the college entrance exams next year. Don’t be careless.”

Jiang Xingyuan was stunned. Homework? Did he even have that? And the exams? He hadn’t thought about them at all! Studying was too hard, he’d be happy just to get a high school diploma. He didn’t have to worry about food or clothes. As long as he stayed away from trouble, the money his father gave him was enough to last a lifetime. Not to mention he was now close with the Xie family. A crumb from them would last several lifetimes.

But he knew he couldn’t say that to Xie Jiu. In front of such a kind and caring uncle, he had to maintain the image of a positive, good kid. He thought of a way to solve this once and for all. Tutoring a kid was exhausting and annoying. He didn’t believe Xie Junqing would have the patience.

“I think I have a bit of homework. I was going to do it at home, but having Ninth Uncle tutor me is a huge honor.” He opened his empty bag and pulled out a crumpled workbook. His eyes were bright and mischievous. “Then I’ll trouble you, Ninth Uncle.”

To his surprise, Xie Junqing agreed immediately. “Good. Since you trust me so much, I won’t let you down. But let’s be clear, there will be rewards and punishments!”

Jiang Xingyuan: “…” This was not what he planned. “Actually, tutoring is very tiring. Ninth Uncle, do you want to reconsider?”

“It’s fine. For the sake of your grades, a little exhaustion is nothing.”

“But it might waste your time.”

“No, I have plenty of time lately.” Xie Junqing looked at him. “Are you saying you don’t want me to tutor you?”

Jiang Xingyuan forced a bitter smile. “Of course I want you to…”

So, he stayed and worked on the exercises until evening. He had to admit, Xie Junqing was an incredibly patient “teacher.” Even when Jiang Xingyuan got every question wrong or misread the prompts, Xie Jiu didn’t get angry. Instead, he patiently corrected his pronunciation and explained the principles and stories behind the lessons.

This patience almost moved Jiang Xingyuan to tears! He cried silently in his heart, wondering when this would end. Just then, his phone rang. Seeing it was a video call from Jiang Hongyuan, he was so excited he could cry.

“Ninth Uncle, my dad is calling. You don’t mind if I take it here, do you?”

“Please, go ahead.”

The moment the call connected, Jiang Hongyuan appeared, looking furious.

[You little brat, why did it take so long to answer?!]

Jiang Xingyuan held the phone away to save his ears. “I was busy studying! If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you!” He intentionally caught half of Xie Junqing’s body in the frame.

[How are things going with Xie Huai?]

“Hey, didn’t I tell you? Don’t rush. I’m still pursuing him, feelings take time to grow. Your son is handsome and charming, who wouldn’t be easy to catch?” He made a bold guarantee. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely bring Xie Huai home as my wife.”

Then, he pretended to look cautiously at Xie Junqing and whispered into the phone, “Dad, keep it down, there’s an elder here!”

Jiang Hongyuan seemed to realize there was someone else there. The fact that Jiang Xingyuan hadn’t said anything was definitely intentional. He suppressed his anger and softened his voice. [Who is next to you?]

“It’s Xie Huai’s Ninth Uncle,” Jiang Xingyuan said happily. “Ninth Uncle is so nice! He’s even helping me with my homework.” He turned the camera slightly, and Xie Junqing’s face appeared on the screen.

The moment Jiang Hongyuan saw Xie Junqing, his heart skipped a beat. His hand shook, and his phone fell to the ground.

“Dad, hurry up and say hello to Ninth Uncle!”

Jiang Hongyuan was so scared he hung up immediately, breaking into a cold sweat. His soul had almost left his body, how could he be in the mood to say hello? Hadn’t Jiang Xingyuan read the Xie family files?! How did he manage to provoke that “God of Death” Xie Jiu without a word of warning?!

Jiang Xingyuan stared at the disconnected call. What happened? Is my old man suddenly unable to hold a phone properly? He looked at the slightly cold-faced Xie Jiu, assuming he was unhappy about the hang-up. He quickly explained, “My dad isn’t usually like this, he’s actually very polite!”

He’d have to have a serious talk with his cheap dad later. He made him lose face in front of Ninth Uncle!