Chapter 4: The School Bully (4)

Zai Ye doubted his hearing. “What?”

Li Xiu repeated with a peculiar tone, “According to the DNA test, you’re this child’s biological father.”

This time, hearing it crystal clear, Zai Ye denied it without hesitation: “Impossible!”

After speaking, he realized he might be the target of a prank. “Stop joking around!”

“I’m not joking. See for yourself.” Li Xiu handed over the report.

Zai Ye snatched the report, immediately turning to the results section.

“There must be a mistake. How could I not know if I had a daughter? I’ve never even… It’s just impossible.”

Li Xiu patted his shoulder with an odd expression. “I always thought you were the most innocent among us. Yet here we are… Is this child even two years old? You must have… right after becoming an adult? Tsk tsk, young people these days are something else. Who’s the mother?”

“How would I know who the mother is? Whoever it is has nothing to do with me. Tell me straight—are you pranking me?” Zai Ye was convinced Li Xiu had fabricated the test results to mess with him.

Seeing Zai Ye’s adamant disbelief, Li Xiu felt wronged. Sure, he had played some jokes on these younger guys when he was a teenager, but he had matured and left those pranks behind.

“I swear on my luxury cars and yachts, I haven’t tampered with this report,” Li Xiu protested. “In fact, I was just as shocked when I saw it. Didn’t you see my jaw nearly hit the floor?”

Indeed, his expression wasn’t faked—his acting skills weren’t that good. He usually broke character halfway through a joke, unlike now, where his face still showed genuine amazement and curiosity.

Zai Ye tossed the report aside. “Then it’s definitely a mistake.”

“Want to get another test done?”

“Yes.”

Zai Ye glanced at Yu Qian lounging on the opposite sofa.

While the two adults had been grappling with the shocking revelation, she had been lying there carelessly, swinging one leg and even yawning from boredom.

Beneath her indifferent demeanor, Zai Ye sensed an inexplicable mockery.

He suddenly stood and crouched before Yu Qian. “Who are your parents, really?”

Yu Qian, drowsy after eating, couldn’t comprehend the emotional turmoil of a young man suddenly thrust into fatherhood. She tilted her head slightly, delivering another blow.

“Daddy.” She pointed at Zai Ye’s nose. After becoming smaller, while other memories had grown hazy, this fact remained crystal clear.

Zai Ye: “…”

Turning to Li Xiu, his voice strained, Zai Ye demanded, “We’re going to another testing center. Right now!”

For Zai Ye, no wait had ever felt longer than this one.

He found another facility, paid extra for rushed processing, and pulled strings to get results by early morning.

“Well? What’s the verdict? Was the first one wrong?” Li Xiu asked beside him.

“This is insane.” Zai Ye’s face was expressionless as he crumpled the report. “We’re trying another place.”

Li Xiu sighed inwardly—the result was clearly the same.

“Here.” Li Xiu handed the sleeping child to Zai Ye, watching him instinctively catch her. He patted Zai Ye’s shoulder sympathetically. “Better get used to holding your kid.”

Morning light streamed through the windows, illuminating their faces—the child smiling sweetly in her dreams while the handsome young man’s face was etched with despair.

Morning light should bring hope—how had it come to this?

“You haven’t slept all night, and I’ve kept you company as long as I could. Should we head home to rest?”

“No!” Zai Ye refused. Sleep was out of the question now.

Li Xiu, used to his stubborn nature, sighed. “Alright, I’ll head back. Want me to call Wen Cheng to keep you company?”

The stubborn youth was adamant: “No need. I’ll handle this myself.”

This day marked the darkest and most bewildering chapter in school bully Zai Ye’s life. The third DNA report lay before him, identical to the first two. Having a biological daughter was now an undeniable fact.

He slumped onto a bench outside the testing center, legs spread apart, elbows on knees, hands clutching his forehead as he stared at the ground. His mind raced with questions about his past, his memories. Had he really done that with someone? Why couldn’t he remember?

Yu Qian sat beside him, holding a McDonald’s toy in one hand and a cone-shaped candy in the other, occasionally taking a lick. Her gaze wandered from the dejected Zai Ye to an advertisement on the wall nearby.

The poster showed a middle-aged man with a troubled, weathered expression, hunched in similar defeat. The bold text beside him read: “Rediscover the Feeling of Youth. Revitalize Your Life.”

As evening approached and Zai Ye remained motionless, Yu Qian tugged his sleeve. “Hungry, Daddy!”

That “Daddy” made Zai Ye’s whole body shudder.

His perspective had completely shifted. Before, he’d seen her as his worthless father’s mistake—now she was his own.

He looked up, truly examining Yu Qian for the first time. She still wore the dress Li Xiu had bought, her hair neatly redone by a kind woman at the testing center. Her big eyes sparkled with carefree innocence.

Zai Ye’s expression was so complex that Yu Qian couldn’t begin to decipher it.

Only System 65, invisible to him, flashed frantically by Yu Qian’s ear, its voice full of sympathy: 「He must be questioning his whole existence right now. Poor guy.」

Yu Qian couldn’t care less about the big guy’s or the tiny light’s feelings—a hungry child needs food!

“Daddy! Want more McDonald’s!” Yu Qian raised her arms high.

Zai Ye: “…Fine, just stop shouting.”

Yu Qian ate with her usual enthusiasm while Zai Ye barely tasted his food. After dinner, he took her to the Soaring Lounge. Yu Qian clutched a large soda bottle, contentedly leaning against Zai Ye’s stiff embrace.

As expected, Li Xiu waited for them there.

“How are you holding up?”

Zai Ye pressed his lips together before speaking: “Brother Xiu, keep this quiet for now.”

Li Xiu understood immediately. “It’s rare to hear you call me Brother Xiu. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe. But what’s your plan now?”

Zai Ye fell silent again, then awkwardly asked, “Her clothes… where do you buy kids’ clothes?”

After a daze-filled shopping trip, Zai Ye couldn’t even remember what he’d bought. Like a lost soul, he brought Yu Qian back to his apartment.

The place was close to his school, just a ten-minute walk away. He’d lived here since middle school, alone except for a housekeeper who came weekly to clean.

The nearly 300-square-meter apartment always felt empty with just one person. Zai Ye usually only used the bedroom and living room.

He set Yu Qian down, watching her bounce onto the sofa as he silently headed for a cold shower.

While water rushed in the bathroom, Yu Qian happily twisted open her half-finished soda bottle and took several large gulps.

Post-shower, Zai Ye looked even more exhausted—shower time often led to deeper contemplation.

Changed into loose sleepwear, he approached the sofa. He moved the half-empty soda to the coffee table, lifted Yu Qian by her arms, and carried her to the bathroom where he’d prepared a small tub of water.

“Bath’s ready. Wash yourself.”

He went out to rummage through the shopping bags, only to realize he’d forgotten to buy her pajamas – there were only two princess dresses with puffy skirts and sequins. He had to get one of his own T-shirts for her to make do with.

Sitting outside the master bathroom door, Zai Ye held his head in his hands.

The child seemed more interested in playing with water than actually bathing.

Predictably, the bathroom ended up a mess. Yu Qian emerged stepping on the edges of his oversized T-shirt, at risk of tripping with every step.

Zai Ye carried her to his bedroom and set her on the bed.

Having only this bed—the guest room hadn’t been cleaned up—he was thankful it was large enough that the small child barely took up space.

“Sleep,” Zai Ye muttered, feeling bone-deep exhaustion.

He’d have preferred leaving her in the guest room, but remembered Li Xiu’s warning about keeping young children close for supervision.

Despite his racing thoughts, the sound of tiny snores beside him eventually lulled Zai Ye to sleep.

In the middle of the night, soft crying woke him. Frowning, he opened his eyes to see a small figure sitting up, shoulders trembling in the darkness.

“Click.” He switched on the light. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

The child wouldn’t speak, just continued crying softly. Confused, Zai Ye lifted the blanket and froze.

A wet patch spread across the sheets.

“You… wet the bed?”

Mentioning it only made things worse—her soft cries erupted into full sobs.

Though her mind and body had become childlike, Yu Qian felt overwhelming shame. She cried breathlessly, refusing to look at Zai Ye.

He grabbed his phone, scrolled briefly, then mechanically recited: “It says here bed-wetting is normal for children under five. You drank too much soda before bed.”

Yu Qian: “Wuu wuu wuu wuu wuu!”

Zai Ye: “Stop crying.”

Seeing her nearly hyperventilating, he tentatively tried picking her up, but his touch only made her tremble more violently.

Running a hand through his hair, Zai Ye attempted a gentler tone: “Stop crying. It’s just an accident. I’m not angry—all kids wet the bed sometimes.”

Each mention of bed-wetting made her cry harder. At his wit’s end, Zai Ye carried the continuously wailing child to the bathroom, using a wet towel to wipe away her tears until the sobs finally subsided.