CH 12

The sudden appearance of Luo Qin made Lin Zhixia’s soul restless for several days.

He was very confident when he confronted Luo Qin that day but when he thought about what Luo Qin had said, Lin Zhixia felt that some of the man’s reasoning made sense. 

It was true that Lin Zhixia had purposefully hidden Luo Qin from Xiao Ai. Lin Keai was still young and content with the fact that he had only one father. But what about in the future? 

Before Luo Qin had found them, Lin Zhixia rarely felt guilty about concealing his other father from Xiao Ai. But now it was inevitable that one day his little bean would realize what a powerful man his father is. What will he think?

Lin Zhixia had never thought about these things before. He had always imagined that if one day Luo Qin found out about Xiao Ai that he wouldn’t care at all about his long lost son and would pretend to not recognize them for fear of the Luo family’s reputation. 

Lin Zhixia never imagined that Luo Qin would want to take Lin Keai back to the Luo family manor. 

Lin Zhixia sat in the restaurant thinking about all of this and finally let out a sad sigh. 

The cashier girl looked at the clock hanging overhead and reminded Lin Zhixia, “Boss, isn’t it time to go pick up the baby?”

Lin Zhixia looked at the time. She was right and he hurried out, walking towards the Little Sun Kindergarten.

By the time school was over, Lin Keai and Chu Xun were standing at the door holding hands. Xiao Ai was taking out candy from his pockets and giving them to Chu Xun. He took five of them out and three fell to the floor. He bent over to pick them up causing the chocolate balls in his other pocket to roll out.

Lin Keai wasn’t annoyed by the accident and he smiled as he picked up the chocolate balls and the candies. 

Chu Xun took one of the candies and peeled the wrapper off. Lin Keai seemed to have forgotten that this candy was for someone else and he unselfconsciously reached out to take it, stuffing it into his mouth. His already round cheeks were stuffed full, like a little hamster. 

Lin Zhixia arrived as Lin Keai was still happily eating his candies. Sharp eyed little Chu Xun saw him first and patted Lin Keai, pointing.

Lin Keai turned his head and shouted happily, “Dad!”

He rushed over, stretched out his arms to beg for a hug. Lin Zhixia took him into his arms and Xiao Ai waved his hand at Chu Xun, “Bye bye, Xiao Xun.”  

Lin Zhixia also smiled and said goodbye loudly to Chu Xun. Chu Xun was a little embarrassed because of them and he waved his hand quickly. Then he stood to the side, waiting for his grandma to pick him up.

Lin Keai looked at his dad with a smile, “Dad! Can we eat fast food today?”

The other children like similar greasy food but Lin Keai never ate much when Lin Zhixia took him there. But he liked to feel included and do what the other kids talked about doing. 

It had been almost three weeks since they last went to KFC. When Xiao Ai was hospitalized, his dad made him drink porridge every day. It made the little guy hungry and thin. Since the restaurant wasn’t too busy right now, Lin Zhixia nodded, “Okay, okay. Let’s eat fast food.”

Lin Keai happily kissed Lin Zhixia’s cheek.

Deciding on their course, Lin Zhixia took a few steps towards the intersection near them. Suddenly, the sound of a car slowing down behind them came and a car horn rang out. Lin Zhixia subconsciously turned to look at it. 

It was a familiar black sports car. 

Lin Zhixia’s initial instinct was to run. But thinking of his previous discussion with Luo Qin, Lin Zhixia felt that he didn’t have the right to keep Lin Keai from his other father. 

Luo Qin parked not far from the kindergarten and stepped out, still wearing a black suit from work. His elegant bearing was a sharp contrast to the fatigued parents picking up their boisterous kids that stood around him. 

Lin Zhixia sighed in his heart. Luo Qin was really too f***ing handsome!

Luo Qin strolled up to them without a care and it put Lin Zhixia instantly on guard. He looked at the man with suspicion but Luo Qin only said, “Don’t worry. I’m just here to invite you to dinner.”

Lin Zhixia glanced at the little bean in his arms and found that Lin Keai was looking at Luo Qin with round, curious eyes. 

Luo Qin also noticed Lin Keai’s gaze and he bent down to smile at the child, “Hello, little one.”

Lin Keai returned his greeting, his voice soft and sweet, “Hello, Uncle.”

Luo Qin’s smile widened, “How about Uncle treats you and your dad to a delicious meal?”

Lin Keai’s eyes lit up, “Fast food!”

Luo Qin looked at Lin Zhixia somewhat blankly. He didn’t understand what the little guy was talking about.

Lin Zhixia explained, “You know, like burgers…”

After finishing speaking, he pointed to the KFC near them, “I already promised Xiao Ai that we could eat fast food. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Wait a minute,” Luo Qin walked back and took something from the car before returning to Lin Zhixia, “This is for Xiao Ai.”

Lin Zhixia was a little surprised. Luo Qin was acting very differently from what he imagined. Not only was he not acting like he hated Xiao Ai, he was actively trying to look after him. 

It’s just that…

Lin Zhixia sighed, “Why did you buy this kind of puzzle for a kid? I wouldn’t necessarily be able to put this together in a week. It’s too hard for the baby.”

Luo Qin froze and tried to retract the gift quickly but Lin Zhixia was faster, plucking the puzzle from his hand. 

Lin Zhixia said in a low voice, “It’s fine. Buy anything you want for him.”

The two adults held one of Lin Keai’s hands as they ordered. Xiao Ai didn’t know any big words but he still liked to pretend to be grown up so he lingered a long time on what he wanted to order, visibly unsure. 

Luo Qin hadn’t eaten a big meal in a long time so he said to the cashier, “One of everything.”

“Are you crazy?” Lin Zhixia instinctively pulled on the back of Luo Qin’s shirt to get him away from the cashier and said, “Don’t listen to him. Just give the baby a kid’s meal.”

Luo Qin turned to Lin Zhixia, looking surprised, “Did you just scold me?”

Lin Zhixia didn’t look at him, “You heard it wrong.”

Luo Qin was still looking at him with a dazed expression and Lin Zhixia ignored him, going to sit down holding Lin Keai in his lap. After a moment, Luo Qin followed. 

Since first seeing Luo Qin, Lin Keai had been openly staring at him with big, curious eyes. Now sitting face to face, Luo Qin could feel the little bean’s burning gaze. 

Luo Qin, the all powerful protagonist, was at a complete loss for what to say to Xiao Ai. After a long while, he opened his arms to Lin Keai and said, “Little one, can Uncle have a hug?”

Lin Keai looked back at Lin Zhixia and when his dad didn’t say anything, Xiao Ai slowly moved off his dad’s lap. He moved his short, chubby legs and cautiously made his way to Luo Qin. 

He climbed into Luo Qin’s lap and quickly made himself comfortable. 

Lin Zhixia was shocked. 

Lin Keai had always been very scared of other people and life in general. When Qin Zhe first met him, Xiao Ai avoided him for almost a month before accepting the new stranger. 

But he didn’t resist Luo Qin at all. He only met Luo Qin twice and already he was running into Luo Qin’s arms and acting cute. 

Lin Zhixia thought that being blood related was indeed no joke. 

After Xiao Ai climbed into his lap, Luo Qin had no idea where to put his hands. He awkwardly hovered them in the air. 

Oblivious, Lin Keai picked up a french fry, slathered it in ketchup and held it out for Lin Zhixia, “Dad, say ah!”

Lin Zhixia leaned over the table, took the fry with his mouth and smiled, “Thank you, Xiao Ai.”

From where Luo Qin was, he could clearly see Lin Zhixia’s bright, smiling eyes turn into crescents. He looked very charming and beautiful. 

Luo Qin had never seen Lin Zhixia look like this. 

After Lin Zhixia had left the Luo family, he endured four years of lonely strife. But compared to his time married to Luo Qin, the Lin Zhixia of now was full of life. 

He was like a small sapling forced to grow in barren soil, weathering hard wind and rain only to flourish and bloom with breathtaking vitality. 

Luo Qin had also had a similar thought the last time they met. 

“Uncle, say ah!”

Xiao Ai held up a french fry for Luo Qin, interrupting his thoughts. Luo Qin looked at the fry with a big dollop of ketchup on it and frowned subconsciously. 

Lin Zhixia knew that he wouldn’t eat it and said, “Xiao Ai, let Dad eat that instead-”

Before he finished speaking , Luo Qin took the french fry with his mouth and chewed slowly.

After eating, he said to the baby, “Thank you, Xiao Ai. It’s delicious.”

Lin Keai’s cheeks reddened at the praise, looking a little embarrassed but he smiled wider, eyes squinting. 

He seemed to like Luo Qin very much. 

Seeing Lin Keai like this with Luo Qin, Lin Zhixia felt a little unhappy.