Chapter 18: The School Bully (18)

“Such a cute bear!” Yu Qian exclaimed, expressing her love for the two-meter-tall teddy bear.

On their way home, Zai Ye carried her in one arm and the bear in the other. Yu Qian kept trying to reach over his head to hug the bear, causing him no small amount of trouble. Finally, he positioned her against his chest, sandwiched between himself and the bear, which finally settled her down.

The bear’s long legs wrapped around Zai Ye’s waist and tied into a knot behind him, creating quite a spectacle. Zai Ye quickened his pace homeward.

Even after reaching home, Yu Qian refused to let go of her new toy.

The bear, whose origin remained a mystery, wasn’t just adorable but exceptionally soft to the touch. Yu Qian buried herself completely in its embrace. When Zai Ye grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and took a few sips, he glanced over to see the bear sprawled on the sofa with the little girl on top – compared to the giant bear, she looked like nothing more than a tiny cub herself.

At bedtime, Zai Ye emerged from the bathroom in his pajamas to find the child struggling to drag the bear from the living room sofa to the bedroom.

Her tiny frame made the task comical – most of the bear dragged along the floor, completely hiding her from view. At first glance, Zai Ye thought the bear had come alive and was crawling across the floor.

Thankfully, the cleaning lady was thorough with her work, keeping the floors and carpets spotless. Otherwise, Zai Ye would never have allowed Yu Qian to drag the bear around like that.

On its very first day in their home, the bear successfully wedged itself between father and daughter, becoming the third occupant of their bed.

The once-spacious bed became notably cramped. After being pushed aside by the bear one too many times late that night, Zai Ye irritably yanked it out and tossed it to the headboard, converting it into a pillow.

He rested his head on one of the bear’s feet while Yu Qian claimed one of its arms as her pillow.

Zai Ye tolerated this arrangement solely because Yu Qian adored the bear. However, what followed next seemed like a coordinated effort – everyone started sending stuffed toys, one after another.

The palm-sized collection of bears and bunnies was manageable enough. The half-human-sized ducks and geese were tolerable. Even the life-sized Ultraman and monster plushies, Zai Ye could endure. But the most outrageous was Li Xiu’s contribution – a custom-made, four-meter-long sprawled-out bear.

When Zai Ye first saw it, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you out of your mind?”

Li Xiu defended himself righteously, “As Xiao Qian’s godfather, besides you, I’m the closest to her! Of course my gift has to be the biggest!”

Zai Ye couldn’t comprehend this strange competitive spirit and was more concerned with another issue entirely: “Since when did you become Qian’s godfather?”

Li Xiu retorted, “I’ve been helping you take care of her for so long! Don’t I at least deserve that title?”

Zai Ye: “…”

Li Xiu added, “You ungrateful guy! Summer vacation is coming up – you can take care of her yourself. Big brother won’t help anymore. Soaring Lounge will be closed for the entire summer vacation; I’m going to enjoy myself for two months.”

Zai Ye: “Wait…”

By the time summer vacation arrived, their home had transformed into an ocean of stuffed toys, completely losing its former spacious and serene atmosphere. If anything, it had become overwhelmingly crowded. Even sitting on the sofa required first clearing away an assortment of plush cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, and geese to find space.

He would toss the toys aside, but Yu Qian would diligently return them to their places.

Zai Ye once attempted to store most of the toys in empty rooms and cabinets, but before long, he discovered Yu Qian dragging them back out, positioning them where they could be seen. Even when he hid them in high cabinets, she would persistently demand he bring them down.

While Zai Ye couldn’t remember all the toys, Yu Qian had memorized every single one. If even one went missing, she would plant herself in front of him, relentlessly asking about its whereabouts. Only when Zai Ye, unable to bear her nagging, retrieved the toy from its hiding place would she finally be satisfied.

As time passed, Zai Ye grew accustomed to it. He no longer bothered clearing the sofa, instead sprawling directly atop the plushies to play his games, feet propped on a dog plushie’s back or resting on a rabbit’s ears.

During the first few days of summer vacation, Zai Ye stayed home playing games, living a decadent but comfortable life. While he played, the child watched TV intently beside him. But after a while, boredom set in – he couldn’t stay cooped up at home forever.

Going out meant taking the child with him, and with a child in tow, most activities he wanted to do weren’t suitable.

One night, after the child had gone to bed early, Zai Ye was still on his phone when he received a message from his friend inviting him out for late-night snacks.

Having been house-bound for days, Zai Ye was sorely tempted. He checked that the child was sound asleep, then snuck out like a thief, changing into sportswear and donning a cap before leaving.

The outside air felt intoxicatingly free. The high school student Zai Ye bounded down the steps, every movement filled with vigor. He mounted his long-unused motorcycle, speeding through the night streets.

After enjoying half an hour of freedom, he couldn’t resist checking his phone’s surveillance feed. The bedroom appeared exactly as he’d left it, with a small bump under the covers where the child’s head peeked out.

The young people’s nightlife was just beginning. Zai Ye inhaled the smoky night market air as he found his friends waiting with grilled skewers and beer.

He took an empty seat as the others greeted him enthusiastically.

“Brother Ye, you finally came! What have you been up to lately?”

“Brother Ye, pulling an all-nighter today?”

“Brother Ye, let’s play some games!”

Zai Ye responded casually while cracking open a cold beer with one hand, taking a couple of gulps and exhaling contentedly.

Barely ten minutes later, he checked the surveillance again.

Zai Ye: “…!”

He suddenly spat out his beer, set it down, and stared intently at the monitor. The small bump under the covers that indicated the child was gone!

The bathroom light wasn’t on, so she couldn’t be there. He switched to the living room and kitchen feeds, but everywhere was silent, with no sign of the child.

“Hey, the beef’s ready, come eat… eh, Brother Ye, where are you going!”

Zai Ye stood abruptly, saying, “Something came up, I need to go.”

Before finishing his sentence, he had already pushed past dozens of late-night diners, rushing to where he’d parked.

Racing home, Zai Ye burst into the bedroom and flipped on the lights. Yanking back the covers revealed no child, not under the big bear at the headboard, not under the bed.

He searched the bathroom again, still nothing. Cabinet after cabinet yielded the same result.

“Qian?”

“Zai Qian!”

After searching the living room and kitchen without success, he stood frozen, frowning deeply. Suddenly he remembered he could review the surveillance footage.

He really had panicked.

Pulling out his phone and scrolling through the footage, Zai Ye watched as the child suddenly woke up, sat up from under the covers, wobbled to the bathroom, then wobbled back out. But instead of returning to bed, she had plunged headfirst into the bedroom corner.

That corner housed Li Xiu’s four-meter-long bear, which had barely squeezed through the door when it arrived and now lay folded up alongside some smaller plush toys.

The child, being so small, had crawled into the space within the giant bear and was hidden from view. No wonder he couldn’t find her.

Zai Ye felt both annoyed and amused, along with profound relief after the scare. Back in the bedroom, he spotted the child’s short, chubby feet peeking out from the toys. The little troublemaker was sleeping soundly there, still clutching a rabbit’s ear.

Zai Ye sat cross-legged on the floor, watching her wake up groggily. He pinched her cheeks and demanded, “Why aren’t you sleeping in bed? Why are you hiding here?”

Yu Qian rubbed her eyes, sniffed, and catching the smell of food on him, suddenly said, “Late-night snacks! I want some too!”

Zai Ye grumbled, “What late-night snacks? You’ve already scared me plenty!”

A few days after this false alarm, Zai Ye received another invitation, this time from Ning Zeyi to go mountain racing. It had been ages since he’d properly ridden the mountain roads, and he was itching to go.

This time, learning from experience, he locked the door and arranged all the stuffed toys from the bedroom corner to eliminate any surveillance blind spots before quietly leaving.

On Huayun Mountain’s road, the long-absent Flame Ghost made its reappearance.

After two exhilarating laps, at the finish line, he checked his phone again. The child was sleeping soundly in bed.

Noticing his frequent phone checks, Ning Zeyi pulled up beside him: “What are you looking at?”

Zai Ye planted one foot on the ground to steady his bike, removed his helmet and held it in front of him, his sweat-dampened hair swaying in the wind. He closed the surveillance app, tucked away his phone, and suddenly said, “Kids are really troublesome.”

Leaving her alone, not watching her, his heart couldn’t help but worry, constantly concerned about what might happen.

Ning Zeyi recalled what he’d heard about Zai Ye’s daughter and began gossiping with interest: “Zai Ye, I heard you have a daughter, could it be the one you brought last time…”

Zai Ye didn’t let him finish, donning his helmet and starting his bike again: “That’s it for today, I’m heading back.”

Ning Zeyi: “Hey, at least let me finish!”

The mountain road lights passed by one after another, wind howling through his clothes.

Even though the child was still sleeping soundly and nothing had happened, he wanted to return early. Really frustrating..

Back home, Zai Ye approached the bedside and stroked the child’s black hair, turning her onto her back. He couldn’t understand why she preferred sleeping on her stomach – wouldn’t she feel suffocated?

Yu Qian stirred at being moved, blinked at him twice, apparently realizing he’d gone out, and called drowsily: “Daddy.”

“Hmm?” Zai Ye sat on the bed, hearing her tender voice, feeling his heart soften.

“I want… late-night snacks too,” the child mumbled.

Zai Ye’s heart hardened again, even feeling a bit choked: “I didn’t even go for late-night snacks today. How do you know about those?”

The child mumbled: “Daddy, want late-night snacks, want to eat… eat lobster!”

Zai Ye: “No lobster, no late-night snacks, go to sleep!”