CH 20

When Lin Zhixia woke up, they had already arrived at their destination and Luo Qin was no longer in the car. Groggy, Lin Zhixia exited the car and found Luo Qin standing next to it, staring at the building in front of them in a daze. 

He stepped forward and handed Luo Qin the jacket the man had draped on Lin Zhixia while he had been asleep. 

After a moment, Luo Qin whispered, “Let’s go.”

Lin Zhixia followed Luo Qin as he opened the door and went inside. He squinted in the sudden light as a surprised voice called out, “Master! What brings you back here so late?”

“Where is my father?”

“Oh, in the study upstairs.”

Lin Zhixia trailed after Luo Qin as they went upstairs. His mind felt like it had turned to mush and he was dizzy, so he followed after the man in a daze. 

The house around them reminded him suddenly of Luo Qin’s house, where Lin Zhixia had lived for only a few months. That house also had a study, one that Lin Zhixia had only entered once, to show Luo Qin their divorce papers. 

Luo Qin opened the study door and they saw Lin Keai sitting on a sofa, pouting and holding back tears. The people in the room turned towards the open door and saw them standing there. 

Lin Keai gasped and stumbled towards them, tears falling from his eyes as he cried out, “Dad! I thought I would never see you again!”

Lin Zhixia was distressed by his son’s crying and he fell to his knees to embrace him. Lin Keai put his arms around Lin Zhixia’s neck, sobbing loudly, sounding deathly aggrieved. 

“My bean cakes! My bean cakes are gone!”

Although he was very young, Lin Keai always listened diligently to his dad’s words. Lin Zhixia always told him to never go away with a stranger so when he was captured today, he fought fiercely. It wasn’t until just now that Lin Keai realized that his snack pockets had been dumped out in the struggle. 

His dad had only just bought him those red bean cakes! Lin Keai had only gotten to take one little nibble!

Lin Keai was sobbing so hard that he was having trouble catching his breath. 

“Sorry, It’s all Dad’s fault.” Lin Zhixia rubbed Xiao Ai’s back, “Dad will buy more cakes for you.”

Only then did Lin Keai’s cries start to quiet down. Luo Qin’s heart felt twisted around in his chest to see Lin Keai so upset. 

He turned to coldly look at Luo Zhengyan, who was still sitting on the sofa. Luo Zhengyan felt his glare and turned his eyes away from Lin Zhixia and Lin Keai, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Luo Qin’s low voice was sullen, “Do I really need to explain why? How do you know about Xiao Ai and why would you bring him here?”

“Why can’t I bring the child here? He’s my grandson!”

When Lin Zhixia heard Luo Zhengyan’s words, his arms holding Lin Keai tightened. He looked up at Luo Qin with a worried expression and received a reassuring look.

“Lin Zhixia and I are already divorced. He’s the one raising Lin Keai. You took the child away without a word to anyone. Do you realize how worried we were?”

“Hah!” Luo Zhengyan sneered, “Speaking of Lin Zhixia, I would like to ask this person; Lin Zhixia, how dare you hide this child’s existence from Luo Qin!”

“Dad, what are you going on about?” Luo Qin said helplessly. He turned to look at Lin Zhixia and saw the expression on his face become enraged. 

Lin Zhixia had never seen Luo Zhengyan before today. Even speaking of the original owner of this body, he had only seen this man on his wedding day and Luo Zhengyan had barely given him a glance. 

In the novel, the description of Luo Zhengyan was that he was very rigid and stubborn. He and Luo Qin had very similar facial features but his domineering arrogance was a step above his son’s. 

Luo Zhengyan sat gracefully on the sofa, looking naturally aristocratic, with an extraordinary presence. He was a high class snob and in his eyes, Lin Zhixia looked no better than trash. 

The meaning in Luo Zhengyan’s words was obvious; Lin Zhixia didn’t deserve to give birth to Luo Qin’s child. 

Lin Zhixia was stunned by his hostility and didn’t know how to respond for a long moment. 

Lin Keai looked at Lin Zhixia with tears in his eyes and then looked back at Luo Zhengyan. Although he didn’t understand what Luo Zhengyan’s words meant, he could see that Lin Zhixia was sad and unhappy. 

Lin Keai broke free from his dad’s arms and ran to Luo Zhengyan, hammering his leg with a small fist, “Shut up! You aren’t allowed to bully my Dad!”

After that, he ran back to Lin Zhixia and hugged him tightly, making sad whimpering noises like a sniffling kitten. Lin Zhixia rubbed the little guy’s hair and coaxed him quietly.

Luo Qin stood silently and witnessed Lin Zhixia’s embarrassment and pain. He was worried that Luo Zhengyan would say more unpleasant words so he hurriedly said to Lin Zhixia softly, “You haven’t eaten anything. I’ll take you to rest and ask the staff to prepare some food for you.”

Luo Qin took Lin Zhixia and Lin Keai to his own bedroom and asked someone to prepare food for them. Then he went back to the study again.

His heart full of anger, Luo Qin deliberately slammed the door closed. The loud noise startled Luo Zhengyan and his face darkened. 

“Why are you playing with fire like this?” Luo Zhengyan said coldly, “You found out that Lin Zhixia gave birth to a child and you don’t bring him back to the Luo family? Are you waiting for him to grow up and become an embarrassment to us!?”

Luo Qin was stunned. “Why would Xiao Ai become an embarrassment to the Luo family?”

“You know what kind of person Lin Zhixia is! You remember how he manipulated you into marrying him. Why would he give birth to a child? What is he planning? How could I feel at ease with this situation?”

Luo Zhengyan sneered, “If outsiders knew that we abandoned a Luo child, how could we save face? What about the Luo family reputation!?”

Luo Zhengyan snorted, looking disgusted, “That child is only a few years old and he’s already hitting people! And the name that man gave him! What a joke!”

Luo Zhengyan pointed a finger at Luo Qin, “I’m warning you! Since that child has already been born, you should take him home and raise him properly. Don’t let Lin Zhixia keep teaching him bad things!”

“Dad, this is a matter between me and Lin Zhixia and I can solve it myself. Why did you have to get involved?” Luo Qin sneered back, “Why do you consider the Luo family superior? Can he grow up well just from being brought back to the manor? I think Keai is a good boy. At least better than I was at his age.”

Luo Zhengyan was furious. He picked up the glass cup next to him and threw it at Luo Qin. Luo Qin didn’t try to dodge and the glass hit him squarely and then fell to shatter on the floor. 

Luo Zhengyan was frozen in shock and Luo Qin looked at him, laughing, “You see? We aren’t any better.”

Luo Qin didn’t want to bother with Luo Zhengyan anymore and he moved to leave the room. 

“Luo Qin, stop right there!”

*

Lin Zhixia sat on the edge of the bed, feeling nervous. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Luo Zhengyan had said. Usually, he would be able to let such ugly words wash over him, leaving him mentally unharmed. Even though Lin Zhixia had heard worse accusations in his life, he still felt a little wronged by Luo Zhengyan. 

Lin Keai was very traumatized by the events today and kept clinging on to Lin Zhixia, refusing to let go and whimpering. Lin Zhixia picked up a bite of food to give to Keai but he refused to eat, hugging his dad tightly. 

After a while, the little guy whispered hoarsely, “Dad, where is this place?”

Lin Zhixia grabbed his hand and kissed his cheek, whispering back, “This is Uncle Luo’s house.”

“Uncle Luo’s home? Is this his room?” 

Lin Keai’s big eyes began to look around the room and he suddenly pointed at something, calling out, “It’s me!”

Lin Zhixia followed his finger and saw that he was looking at a picture frame on the bedside table. It looked like a childhood picture of Luo Qin. Luo Qin as a child and Lin Keai had the same doll-like features and at a glance, it was easy to mistake this picture as one of Xiao Ai. Father and son were really carved from the same mold. 

Lin Keai reached out to the picture so Lin Zhixia picked him up and started walking closer. Just as Lin Zhixia picked it up, the bedroom door opened and Luo Qin walked in. 

Lin Zhixia was caught holding the picture frame and he quickly put it down. His movements reflected that of someone doing something bad and feeling guilty for it. 

Luo Qin looked a little surprised and Lin Zhixia gave him an awkward smile and said, “Can we leave yet?”

Luo Qin nodded, “I will send you back home.”

He looked at Lin Zhixia’s pale face, walked over to him and gently touched Lin Keai’s head, “Keai, would it be okay if uncle gave you a hug?”

“No,” Lin Keai refused in a small voice and then buried his face into Lin Zhixia’s neck, “I only want Dad to hug me.”

Lin Zhixia stroked Xiao Ai’s back and said to Luo Qin, “He was really scared today.”

Luo Qin nodded his head with understanding.

As they left, Lin Zhixia glanced at the upstairs study with lingering anxiety. Although the door was closed and he couldn’t see Luo Zhengyan, Lin Zhixia was still very nervous. He instinctively felt that Luo Zhengyan would not let Lin Keai go so easily. He would take Xiao Ai away. 

Lin Zhixia didn’t let down his guard until he entered Luo Qin’s car. There was still some lingering exhaustion from being sick recently and the terrifying events of the day made Lin Zhixia very tired. He quickly fell asleep. 

The night was dark and cold. 

Luo Qin sighed as he looked at the two of them sweetly sleeping in the back seat. 

It was very late when Luo Qin arrived at their home. Just as Luo Qin parked the car in a nearby alley, Lin Zhixia awoke with a jolt. Since the alley was too narrow for the car to drive further, Lin Zhixia didn’t hesitate to exit the car holding Lin Keai in his arms. 

The little one also woke up from his nap as Lin Zhixia began walking and he rubbed his eyes, letting out a big yawn, “Dad, home?”

“Yep,” Lin Zhixia said with a smile, “We’re home.”

Luo Qin also got out of the car, coming to stand in front of them. 

“Thank you for everything today,” Lin Zhixia smiled, “Be careful on your way home.”

Luo Qin was silent for a moment, staring at Lin Zhixia. He looked like he was struggling to speak. 

“Lin Zhixia,” Luo Qin hesitated and then continued, “let Lin Keai come back to the Luo family-”

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed Lin Zhixia’s posture go rigid. 

Lin Zhixia was still recovering from his cold and so much had happened today. He was already feeling dizzy and exhausted. As soon as he heard Luo Qin’s words, his knees softened and he started to faint. 

Luo Qin lurched forward to catch him. 

Before Luo Qin’s hand could make contact with his body, Lin Zhixia spoke, his voice loud and icy in the cold winter air. 

“Don’t. Touch. Me.”