CH 19

The old Luo family mansion. 

In the study, a middle aged man sat face to face with a small child. 

Lin Keai sat sideways with his arms crossed, one leg on the sofa and one hanging off. He was angry, refusing to look at the old man opposite him. His face was scrunched up like an aggravated kitten, his lips pulled into a pout. The backpack on his back was crooked, the strap slipping down one arm. 

A moment ago, someone had approached him to take his backpack away but Lin Keai rolled around on the ground and yelled, not letting this person touch him. 

Lin Keai secretly glanced at the older man and then looked away quickly. 

Xiao Ai didn’t recognize this fierce looking person. One minute he was helping someone retrieve their ball at the kindergarten and the next this man had captured him. 

He sniffed loudly, trying to not let the tears in his eyes escape. His heart felt heavy. He was very sad that this bad man had taken him away. 

Xiao Ai missed his Dad so much! What if he never saw him again??

Luo Zhengyan tried his best to smile, the change in his face didn’t soften his intimidating expression at all. He asked slowly, “Little guy, what’s your name?”

Lin Keai glanced at him a few times and took a long while to whisper, “Keai.”

Luo Zhengyan frowned and then forced another smile, “Keai, do you know who I am?”

Lin Keai shook his head honestly and Luo Zhengyan asked, “Do you know Luo Qin?”

Lin Keai paused, the name sounded very familiar. He tilted his head to the side and asked, “Uncle Luo?”

“Yes, I am Luo Qin’s father,” Luo Zhengyan was still smiling, “you should call me grandpa.”

*

Luo Qin sped in his car all the way to the kindergarten. 

When he arrived, he saw Lin Zhixia hunched over in front of the school gate. He raised his head quickly when he heard Luo Qin slam his car door shut. 

Lin Zhixia’s nose felt very stuffy and he was fighting back tears. When he reached out to him, Lin Zhixia hadn’t expected Luo Qin to come so quickly. He also wasn’t prepared for the wave of relief that washed over him when he saw the man. 

Lin Zhixia’s voice was hoarse, “You came.”

He wanted to stand up straight but he had been squatting for a long time. When he moved too quickly, his vision went dark, his knees softened and he started to fall. Luo Qin reached out to support Lin Zhixia before he could embarrass himself further. 

Luo Qin felt how cold his hands were and immediately removed his own jacket, putting it around Lin Zhixia’s shoulders. 

“Let’s talk in the car.”

He half embraced Lin Zhixia and led him to the car. The contrast of the cold outside air and the warm air in the car put Lin Zhixia in a momentary trance. Luo Qin rushed to a nearby stall to buy him a hot drink and waited for Lin Zhixia to come back to himself. 

“Aunty Qin helped me by going to pick up Xiao Ai today. She was late to pick him up and he wasn’t there. I immediately investigated the security footage. It happened right after the kindergarten let out but I couldn’t see who took him.”

Lin Zhixia’s eyes were very red, “It’s my fault. I should have just picked him up myself. What if something bad happens to him? What if he was kidnapped by traffickers?”

Lin Zhixia had been holding in his emotions since everything began and even comforted Aunty Qin because she blamed herself too much. He had been so panicked that his hands were trembling as he adjusted the security footage earlier. 

But it was only at this moment that he let himself fully feel his anxiety, collapsing in despair in front of Luo Qin. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. I already reported him missing to the police. There are so many businesses on this street. Some of them have to have security footage that will help.”

Luo Qin gently brushed Lin Zhixia’s bangs from his forehead. 

“Don’t despair, I will definitely find him.”

Lin Zhixia could tell that Luo Qin was anxious that Lin Keai was missing but he stayed outwardly strong. 

His methodical and calm voice was a comfort to Lin Zhixia. 

“You’re so much better than me,” Lin Zhixia said with a wry smile, “You were right, I can’t take care of Xiao Ai.”

Luo Qin frowned and comforted him, “Don’t say that. It’s not true.”

Luo Qin moved to leave the car and then his phone rang loudly. Luo Qin answered it impatiently. Lin Zhixia couldn’t hear what the other side said but he watched as Luo Qin’s face suddenly changed. 

Sensing that this call was related to Lin Keai, Lin Zhixia straightened and paid closer attention. 

Luo Qin glanced at Lin Zhixia and then put the call on speaker. 

He heard Lin Keai’s voice, full of tears, “Dad, are you there? Where are you? Come pick me up right away!”

Lin Zhixia grabbed Luo Qin’s arm and said excitedly, “Xiao Ai? Where are you? I’m coming right now!”

“I’m with grandpa.”

“Grandpa?”

Lin Zhixia looked at Luo Qin suspiciously. Luo Qin said in a low voice, “My dad.”

Lin Zhixia’s eyes widened. “You mean, Xiao Ai is with your dad?”

“Yes, I know exactly where he is,” Luo Qin responded, “Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to him there. I will take you to pick him up.”

“Why is he with your dad?”

Lin Zhixia was a little relieved to know that Lin Keai had not been taken away by a stranger but he was still anxious. His mind started to overthink everything. 

“How could he know about Xiao Ai? Why did he take him so suddenly? Isn’t he going to bring Xiao Ai back to your house?”

“It’s alright. Take a deep breath.”

Lin Zhixia’s anxiety made him question Luo Qin intensely but Luo Qin wasn’t annoyed. He looked at Lin Zhixia with a gentle expression. 

“I promise, Xiao Ai will be fine. We’ll go get him and take him back to your home.”

The light from the streetlamps lit up the inside of the car. The gentle yellow glow lit up every shadowy corner and softened the sharp edges. 

Lin Zhixia looked at Luo Qin’s calm face and listened to his confident voice. Suddenly, his anxious heart was soothed. 

The Luo family’s main mansion was on the other side of the city, far away from the kindergarten. Luo Qin wasted no time and drove there quickly. 

The whole way there, Lin Zhixia stared at Luo Qin’s profile, thinking deeply. He thought about how he let Lin Keai get taken and how Luo Qin had come so quickly and comforted him. Here in the car, next to Luo Qin, Lin Zhixia felt safe. 

He leaned back in his seat and murmured, “Thank you.”

“You’re thanking me?” Luo Qin smiled faintly, “Isn’t Xiao Ai my child, too?”

Lin Zhixia’s lips also raised slightly. How unexpected, that he and Luo Qin would one day speak so harmoniously to each other. 

“Actually, I always wanted to ask…why do you treat Keai so well? I really thought you would hate him for being my child.”

Luo Qin thought for a long, silent moment and then said, “I don’t want him to be like me.”

Luo Qin believed that his own cold and indifferent character was because of growing up in the Luo family. In life, he found his own personality to be an irreparable shortcoming. He didn’t want Lin Keai to have the same problems. 

Saying something so vague, Luo Qin was prepared for Lin Zhixia to ask more questions but all Luo Qin heard in response was deep, even breathing. 

The drive was a long one and Lin Zhixia had unconsciously fallen asleep. 

Luo Qin was stopped at a long red light and he used those few seconds to gaze deeply at Lin Zhixia’s sleeping face. 

Despite his calm outer appearance, Luo Qin was just as anxious as Lin Zhixia. 

He recalled the look in Lin Zhixia’s eyes as he arrived at the kindergarten; full of tears and sorrow, like an abandoned puppy. He had looked wronged, helpless and so fragile. Luo Qin couldn’t bear to see that look on his face. 

Unlike before, Luo Qin was not surprised that he would have these feelings for Lin Zhixia. 

Since their reunion, Lin Zhixia had completely subverted everything Luo Qin thought he knew about him. It was difficult to reconcile the Lin Zhixia he saw before him and the gloomy, scheming Lin Zhixia of the past. 

From personality to personal habits, the more Luo Qin observed him, the more he felt that these two Lin Zhixias were completely different people. 

How could a person be so dissimilar to before after only four years?

Luo Qin used to gaze at Lin Zhixia with such disgust in his heart. 

But now when Luo Qin looked at Lin Zhixia, he felt like he owed the young man a great debt for how he was treated in the past. He felt unbearable guilt.