Chapter 6: The School Bully (6)

Unable to find someone to help with childcare, Zai Ye had no choice but to manage on his own. After hearing the bad news last night, he set his phone to reject all calls and took Yu Qian out early in the morning—to get a haircut.

This was truly the pressing matter..

This morning, he had already wasted half an hour in the bathroom trying to style the child’s hair.

When he applied even slight pressure, Yu Qian would clutch her head and whimper in pain, but without enough force, her fine, slippery hair wouldn’t stay together. Even when he finally managed to gather it all in his hands, it would either puff up awkwardly or stick out in odd places. The child would then rub her head, complaining that her scalp hurt.

In the end, he let her keep her hair down and took her to a salon.

“What a cute little sister! Did big brother bring you for a haircut?” the stylist smiled warmly.

Zai Ye saw Yu Qian’s mouth begin to form the word “daddy” and quickly covered it, telling the stylist, “Cut her hair short, as short as possible.”

“Such a pretty little girl shouldn’t have very short hair. How about I just trim it a bit and style it?”

“No need, just cut it short.”

“With short hair, she won’t be able to wear pretty braids! Maybe we could add some curls at the ends…” the stylist tried to persuade them.

“Can you cut it or not? If not, we’ll go somewhere else,” Zai Ye started to stand up after just sitting down.

The stylist picked up her scissors with a smile: “Of course. Would you like it below or above the ears?”

In the end, the stylist gave her a bob cut that fell just past her ears, making the child look even more like an adorable doll with her face appearing smaller.

While trimming the bangs, the stylist said, “The child has really nice hair texture, but it grows quickly and will need regular trimming, or you’ll have to tie it up. By the way, we’re running a promotion: recharge 500 yuan and get an extra 50 yuan credit. Plus, if you come in for a haircut, you get a free wash. Would you like to know more?”

Zai Ye’s ears perked up. Although he never fell for these merchant membership promotions, this time, thinking about how troublesome it would be when her hair grew long, and the free hair wash…

“Come back soon, sweetheart!” the stylist warmly bid them farewell.

Yu Qian played with the VIP card while swaying the hair beside her ears.

“If you keep swaying like that, you’ll have to walk by yourself,” Zai Ye threatened.

Yu Qian didn’t want to walk, so she tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder.

In just a few days, Zai Ye realized he had become quite skilled at carrying children.

He called a car and took Yu Qian to the nearest daycare center to inquire about their services. Before coming, Zai Ye had researched some information online, but seeing the place in person made him frown.

Was this place really suitable? It was small, overcrowded with children, clearly understaffed, and the facilities weren’t very new. Zai Ye even witnessed two children fighting over a toy, scratching at each other’s faces before teachers quickly intervened.

Zai Ye looked at the lazy child in his arms. This little one was so passive and barely spoke—if someone bullied her, she would probably just cry. The thought of leaving her in such a place made him frown.

Even before completing the identity documentation, Zai Ye had already visited three daycare centers with Yu Qian.

The other two facilities were better equipped, but there was always something that didn’t sit right with Zai Ye.

He bought water and cigarettes from a store and squatted in the shade of a roadside tree, his brows furrowed: “Why are you so troublesome?”

He wasn’t a heavy smoker and had been too busy these past few days to think about it, but now feeling truly frustrated, he lit a cigarette and took two deep drags.

The smoke made Yu Qian scrunch up her face as she cried out: “Stinky! Stinky! Stinky! Stinky stinky stinky!”

Zai Ye stared blankly into space, ignoring her.

Yu Qian suddenly headbutted his shoulder. Zai Ye held up his cigarette with one hand while pressing her forehead with the other.

The child rammed against his palm like a little wild boar. Exasperated, Zai Ye quickly extinguished the cigarette and tossed it in a nearby trash bin.

“Alright, alright.”

How could a child be so troublesome?

But an even bigger trouble awaited him.

Returning home with Yu Qian, they walked through the entrance, and he set her down.

Yu Qian looked up: “I want yogurt!”

Zai Ye: “Only one bottle.”

As they walked into the living room together, Zai Ye suddenly locked eyes with two people sitting on the sofa.

Zai Ye: “!!!”

To avoid being detected, these two hadn’t even taken off their shoes at the entrance, instead lying in wait quietly. Zai Ye’s eyebrow twitched as he quickly bent down to pick up Yu Qian, turning to flee.

Smack!

A slipper flew past his head, hitting the shoe cabinet at the entrance, successfully stopping Zai Ye’s escape attempt.

“Xiao Ye, come here,” said his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in ages, holding another slipper.

Behind her sat a middle-aged man in a suit who looked like he’d just left some meeting—undoubtedly his father.

His father, Mr. Zai Yan, and his mother, Mrs. Wen Ling, hadn’t seen each other for several years since their divorce.

Their divorce had been incredibly bitter, with both sides tearing each other apart and vowing never to cross paths again. Surprisingly, after years apart, they now sat peacefully in the same room, brought together by their son who had become a single father at such a young age.

On the long sofa, the middle-aged couple sat with grave expressions, facing Zai Ye and the child. Three identical DNA test reports lay on the coffee table between them, one of which was severely crumpled.

After staring at the child for a while, Mr. Zai and Mrs. Wen finally turned their complicated gazes toward Zai Ye.

Mr. Zai spoke first: “I must have been too lax in disciplining you. You had a child right after becoming an adult? And kept it hidden until now?”

Zai Ye’s face remained expressionless as he retorted: “It’s hereditary.”

Those three words were dripping with sarcasm.

This was why Mr. Zai disliked interacting with his son—every conversation risked raising his blood pressure, and he’d never heard a kind word from the boy’s mouth.

“What kind of talk is that? Did I teach you to have children out of wedlock?”

“Words are actions; how can that not count? If your upper beam is crooked, then your lower beam will be skewed.”^[1] Basically: “Leading by example—isn’t that teaching? Like father, like son.”

These two sentences made the business-savvy Mr. Zai breathe heavily in anger. He almost grabbed the nearby broom to hit his son, only restraining himself because his young granddaughter was watching.

At this point, Mrs. Wen spoke up, her tone less aggressive than Mr. Zai’s, but filled with grief: “I’ve paid too little attention to you these years. Xiao Ye, I always thought you were a good child, but how could you do something so irresponsible?”

The young man who could brazenly talk back to Mr. Zai fell silent, responding to his mother’s disappointment with silence alone.

“Who is this child’s mother? Since the child is already born, let’s arrange a wedding first?” Mrs. Wen suggested without further scolding.

Zai Ye’s expression remained blank: “I don’t know who her mother is.”

Mrs. Wen and Mr. Zai: “?”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You don’t even know who you slept with?” Mr. Zai’s voice rose.

Mrs. Wen, imagining who knows what, clutched her chest and pounded the sofa armrest: “How could this happen!”

Since he’d already started, Zai Ye decided to finish: “I don’t know anything. Would you believe me if I said I think I’m still a virgin?”

“What nonsense! How could you have a daughter if you’re a virgin!” Mr. Zai shouted.

“Tsk, I don’t know how she came to be, don’t know who her mother is, and don’t know where she’s been these past two years. I picked her up from the police station a few days ago, initially thinking she was dad’s illegitimate child.”

Not stopping there, Zai Ye turned to Mrs. Wen: “I’m an adult now, and I’ve lived independently longer than you’ve raised me. If I turned out to be trash, it’s not your concern anymore. You should go back and focus on raising your second son instead of wasting time here.”

Mr. Zai exploded: “What did you say! You ungrateful beast!”

He grabbed the plastic broom and swung it at Zai Ye.

Mrs. Wen’s expression changed as she took off her slipper: “What did you say? Say it again!”

Having successfully provoked both parents, Zai Ye dodged his father’s broom, pressed against the sofa back, vaulted over it, and quickly scooped up the innocent and confused Yu Qian, fleeing through the house.

“You dare run? Come back here, you little brat!” Mr. Zai instinctively picked up the broom and gave chase.

Mrs. Wen anxiously followed, shouting: “Put the child down, don’t scare her! Zai Ye!”

The middle-aged ex-couple, both respectable people in public, now chased their son—one wielding a broom, the other a slipper—but couldn’t catch up. After all, the one running ahead was an energetic high school boy in his prime.

Zai Ye ran to his bedroom, locked the door, keeping the two outside.

Ignoring the knocking and angry shouts from outside, Zai Ye carried Yu Qian to the bed, unfolded the blanket to wrap her up, then put headphones on her, covering both her ears and the headphones with his hands.

His face still showed traces of defiance, but he spoke softly to Yu Qian: “Don’t listen.”

Yu Qian watched him for a moment, then slowly leaned forward.

Zai Ye: “What are you doing? Sleepy?”

He had to free one hand to control her forward tilt. Yu Qian rested her chin in his palm, tilted her head, and fell asleep.

Zai Ye: “…”

She could sleep even in this situation? They’d only been out for a day, was she really that tired?

But strangely, the weight of her head in his palm, the soft child leaning against him, her heartbeat like a little rabbit in his arms—it all felt very real, making even the banging on the door less bothersome.

The noise outside gradually died down, and Zai Ye tucked the sleeping child into the pile of blankets before opening the door and walking out.

His parents appeared to have calmed down, sitting on the sofa in silence, quietly discussing something. They stopped when Zai Ye appeared.

“What’s done is done, and nothing we say now will change anything, but what are you going to do about this child?” Mr. Zai’s tone was authoritative.

“You’re still in school yourself, how can you take care of such a young child?”Mrs. Wen’s voice carried more worry than anger.

Zai Ye: “I’m not being sarcastic, just stating facts. You barely managed me when I was underage, and now that I’ve been an adult for so long, you need to manage me even less. I’ll take care of my daughter myself.”

“Such big talk. You know how to take care of a child?” Mr. Zai snorted.

Zai Ye thought about getting up at night to wash T-shirts soaked with the child’s urine, washing her hair and tying it up, buying her food, carrying her around to inspect daycares all day—he somehow stood straighter.

“I’m better than you.”