CH 6

Four years later.

At the entrance of Little Sun Kindergarten stood a young female teacher and two children.

One of the small beans had curly chestnut hair and looked very beautiful. He looked like he had a small amount of foriegn blood with big amber eyes, thick curled eyelashes and skin white like milk. He wore thick white winter clothes and his jacket was lined with white fluff. He looked like a little snowball, round and very cute.

Another kid stood beside the snowball with his mouth pursed, frowning with an aloof face. But he was still a kid, and with this expression, he looked very funny. 

He was also a rare beautiful child but the clothes he wore looked a bit old. The cuffs were worn out with fabric burrs and the blue school bag on his back had obvious oil spots. Standing next to the carefully crafted little one, he looked a lot rougher. 

The female teacher squatted down to comfort the most beautiful and obedient little boy in their class.

“Xiao Ai, don’t cry. Dad will be here soon.”

Lin Keai nodded, clutching his school bag strap with soft fingers. 

He stood at the school gate and looked around for a long time, watching the children around him being picked up by their parents one by one. He pouted, sniffed and wanted to cry but tried to hold back the tears.

After repeating this action many times, the little guy’s tears couldn’t be held back. A bean-sized teardrop fell from the corner of his eye and he immediately wiped it with his finger.

The kid standing nearby took a crumpled napkin from his pocket and wiped his hands.

Teacher Fang was very distressed. There were many children in their class and all of them were very noisy. When they cried, they lifted the roof up and rolled around on the ground but Lin Keai never did that, even when he was bullied. He just smiled softly. He was crying so sadly now but he didn’t make a sound. Such a sweet little guy, among the other beasts, seemed particularly painful.

From around the corner, Lin Zhixia hurried over.

Lin Keai burst into laughter immediately, waved to him vigorously and shouted, “Dad!!!”

Lin Zhixia ran to him breathlessly, repeatedly apologizing to the teacher, “I’m sorry, the restaurant is a bit busy. I’m late.”

“It’s okay,” Teacher Fang smiled and looked at the young father who was only two years younger than her. She knew that he was usually very busy and also took care of the child alone, “Pay attention next time.”

“Okay,” Lin Zhixia picked up Lin Keai, saw his nose was flushed from the cold air and whispered, “Sorry. Dad is late.”

Lin Keai shook his head vigorously and his voice was sticky like rice cake, “Daddy works hard.”

Lin Zhixia smiled and hugged him then turned to Teacher Fang, “Xiao Ai, say goodbye to Teacher Fang and Xiao Xun.” 

Xiao Xun clenched his fist and released it, repeating this action twice. This was his unique way of saying goodbye.

Lin Keai said softly, “Goodbye teacher, goodbye Xiao Xun.”

Teacher Fang smiled and said goodbye to him but Xiao Xun turned around in silence and coolly left.

Lin Zhixia looked at his back and thought, they are all small beans, why is the gap in maturity so big?

Lin Keai turned around and hugged Lin Zhixia’s neck, pressing his face into his dad’s ear and said, “Dad, I’m hungry.”

Lin Zhixia smiled and turned to the small bean curd. Recently, he had grown a little meat on his bones and his face had become much more rounded.

“Then let’s go to the shop and eat something delicious, okay~”

Lin Keai lay in his arms, “Yeah!”

Lin Zhixia was exhausted after a busy day but at this moment, holding Lin Keai, he was not tired at all.

When Lin Zhixia had left the Luo family four years ago, all his savings were less than 10,000, which can be said to be very embarrassing.

But he hadn’t been discouraged. He wanted to survive on his own in this city.

The first thing solved was his housing problem. Tongcheng was a big city and every inch of land was worth a lot of money. But still, Lin Zhixia didn’t want to leave.

This city was the place where Lin Zhixia grew up outside of the novel and it was also the only city he knew well. It would be more difficult to adapt to other places.

He interviewed several homeowners and then chose a suburban house. It was a small house but with a bathroom and kitchen and the monthly rent was under 1,000, which was very cost-effective.

The landlord was an Aunty in her fifties who was very kind. She said that she worried about him renting alone. It was difficult to see him so independent at such a young age and she wanted to help him.

Lin Zhixia was very moved and signed a contract with her.

He lived in that house for almost a year. After he had his child, he resolved to move to the one bedroom and one living room he currently lived in.

For Lin Zhixia at that time, it was more difficult to solve the problem of work than housing. Lin Zhixia didn’t have a diploma. After graduating from high school, he was adrift in life. But eventually, he found that there was a small restaurant downstairs from his apartment recruiting cooks.

The small restaurant was opened by a young couple that were new to the city. They were more than ten years older than Lin Zhixia. In their eyes, Lin Zhixia was still a child, so they treated him very well.

He worked in the restaurant for two months and suddenly fainted at noon one day.

The boss sent him to the hospital and the result of the examination was that Lin Zhixia was pregnant.

He was shocked when he heard the news but the reaction of the doctors and nurses present at that time was very calm.

So Lin Zhixia accepted that in this world, it was very normal for men to birth children.

No wonder he often saw two men taking their children to dinner in restaurants. He hadn’t thought much about it at the time.

The doctor asked him if he wanted an abortion and Lin Zhixia said no without hesitation.

He wanted to keep his child.

This was Lin Zhixia’s first and only family in this world and he didn’t want to deprive the child of life just like that.

He had a dream the night after he found out he was pregnant. He dreamed of Lin Keai, who was so small and so behaved. He crawled into his father’s arms, hooked his hand with his tiny finger and called out to his father sweetly. 

Lin Zhixia became even more determined.

He named him Lin Keai, which was a homophone for cute or lovely. His nickname was Xiao* Ai. 

He hoped that his baby could have boundless happiness and not be as unlucky as Lin Zhixia who was always being rejected. He hoped his little love would always be loved by others.

Lin Zhixia would work hard to let Xiao Ai live a good life and have a happy childhood.

Recently, the couple who owned the small restaurant wanted to go back to their hometown. So Lin Zhixia borrowed some money from a friend and bought the small restaurant.

His restaurant’s business was doing very well. 

The location was in the suburbs, which was not ideal. However, in recent years the area had been included in an urban development plan. The location was not particularly bad, the taste was delicious and the price was cheap. The surrounding residents enjoyed going to the small restaurant to eat.

Although Lin Zhixia was still in debt, he believed that soon he would bring Lin Keai to live in a better house and lead a better life.

“Dad, Uncle Qin said yesterday that he would play with me tonight.”

‘Uncle Qin’ referred to Qin Zhe. He was the son of the Aunty landlord from their first apartment. He was a university teacher.

Aunty knew that Lin Zhixia was working in a small restaurant. She felt that having to work and take care of a child was too hard, so she often helped watch Xiao Ai. Aunty said she felt too idle at home so it was better for her to find something to do. Qin Zhe was often visiting his mother and he also came around the restaurant.  

Lin Zhixia and Qin Zhe became friends. Qin Zhe was also the friend who loaned him the money to buy the restaurant. 

“Do you like playing with Uncle Qin?”

“Yes, like!” Lin Keai clapped excitedly and then turned an affectionate gaze on his father, like the sun shining through the forest, “but I still like playing with Daddy best!”

Lin Zhixia kissed Xiao Ai’s face, feeling warm in his heart and tightened his arms around the child. 

Lin Keai was out of school at this time of day when the store was the busiest. The tables were full of customers but there were not many employees. Old Aunty Qin was helping where she could. 

Seeing him come back, she immediately took hold of Xiao Ai, “Xiao Lin, the back kitchen is too busy, go and help! I will take the baby!”

Lin Zhixia nodded and then went to the kitchen.

Lin Keai was pulled along by Old Aunty Qin and wanted to take him square dancing with her. He refused, wanting to stay by his father’s side. He stayed in the restaurant, sitting quietly, reading and drawing. 

“Xiao Ai!” Qin Zhe called out as he came inside. 

Lin Keai’s eyes lit up and he jumped off the stool. But his legs were too short and he fell to the ground with a ‘BANG’.

Lin Zhixia heard the cry of a child from the back kitchen. He quickly walked out and saw Qin Zhe holding a devastated Xiao Ai. He had stopped sobbing but he covered his forehead with two little hands and cried quietly. 

Lin Zhixia was distressed. Qin Zhe saw him come out and apologized to him, looking embarrassed, “I’m sorry, maybe I startled him just now. Xiao Ai jumped off the stool and knocked his head.”

“I don’t blame you, Brother Qin. It was Xiao Ai who wasn’t careful.”

Lin Keai pouted and looked at him wide-eyed. Lin Zhixia took away his hand and saw that his forehead was indeed swollen. He blew on it gently, then hugged Lin Keai and coaxed him, “Daddy will take you out for a walk, okay?”

Lin Keai nodded, then buried his face into Lin Zhixia’s shoulder. Lin Zhixia took him outside. 

The street where the restaurant was located was called Yanyu Street. In recent years, it had become a key development project in the city. In addition to the old shops, many new fashionable shops were opened. The area was well developed and there were even street food stalls because of the university nearby. It was lively. 

Every night, Lin Zhixia would take Lin Keai for a walk. And every night, they would be watched by all the young female college students.  

The beautiful dad with his beautiful son was really eye catching. Especially because Lin Keai was very cute and he looked so plump in his winter clothes. The white wool hat he wore had two balls on both sides, which was too cute and made hearts burst. 

Lin Zhixia bought a roasted sweet potato for Lin Keai to coax him. Lin Keai held the big sweet potato tightly and the pain on his forehead immediately disappeared.

On the long street less than 100 meters away from this little family, a black sports car was driving fast.

The person sitting in the car was wearing a black suit. His hair was combed meticulously, showcasing a young, exquisite and unique face. But his beautiful eyes at that moment were dark and cloudy. He didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Luo Qin had quarreled with the board of directors at his company and he decided to drive around to relax. He accidentally came to this place, far away from the city center.

Coincidentally, he was responsible for the development of this area. But he hadn’t come by for a while after the completion of the project.

Luo Qin casually scanned the streets around him. The long streets were brightly lit and there were a lot of people because it was the weekend. Luo Qin thought that when he first took over the project, this piece of land was an out-and-out “wasteland.”

The development had turned out well and the sense of accomplishment made his furrowed brows relax slightly.

Suddenly Luo Qin turned away, his eyes fixed on a certain place in the crowd.

He seemed to have noticed…Lin Zhixia.

t/n:

* ‘xiao’ as a nickname means ‘little’.