Slacker Second Gen C09

Chapter 9: School Tyrant 9

“You only bought her two sets of clothes like this? This child will feel uncomfortable wearing them.”

“……”

“You didn’t buy her any baby face cream? Her face will easily crack if she doesn’t use it. Also, the body wash and shampoo—how can you use the same kind that you use for yourself?”

“……”

“What have you been feeding her these past few days? You should give her less fried and no fast food.”

“……”

“How could you let her bathe by herself? She’s so young, she doesn’t know how to bathe herself. Look at this, she didn’t even clean herself properly.”

Upon hearing her mother’s words, Zai Ye finally didn’t just listen obediently. He raised his head and said, “I can’t bathe her myself.”

Wen Ling sighed, “That’s why I said you can’t raise a child on your own.”

Zai Ye lowered his head again.

When it came to raising a child, he could mock and look down on his irresponsible father, but when it came to his experienced mother, he had nothing to say. After all, before his parents’ divorce, his mother had taken very good care of him.

There was still no news about Yu Qian’s mother. It was easy to predict that, for a long time, taking care of this child would be his responsibility, so he could only listen to his mother’s guidance.

At that moment, he was observing and learning as his mother washed little Qian’s hair. He didn’t see her do anything special, but the child obediently lay on her knee, her head being gently massaged.

Was this the same child who refused to cooperate when he tried to rub her head?

Zai Ye frowned, “Why does she move around when I wash her?”

His daughter didn’t respond. Wen Ling, however, happily said, “You can’t pull her hair too hard. Don’t pour water directly on her head, either. It’s uncomfortable when water or foam gets into her eyes or ears. Like this, you pour water slowly and wash gently. Use a comb to brush her hair…”

“Look at you, you didn’t wash her properly. She didn’t even get behind her ears.”

Yu Qian lay on Wen Ling’s lap like a small teddy bear being rubbed back and forth, her eyes squinting with comfort. Meanwhile, her hapless, rookie father was squatting nearby, listening to his mother’s instructions, noting down the tedious baby care tips, more attentively than in any class.

Because if he didn’t pay attention in class, it would just mean bad grades. But if he didn’t listen closely now, his delicate child could actually fall ill.

A child who couldn’t even be woken up when running a fever, who lay limp and didn’t move, had truly scared Zai Ye quite a bit.

Fortunately, there was no requirement for him to learn how to bathe the child—Wen Ling handled that.

Since Yu Qian was sick, Zai Ye took two days off from school, rightfully avoiding class. With the weekend, he could stay home for three days.

Wen Ling took him and the child shopping.

Buying things for the child was an important lesson.

They started at the large supermarket on the bottom floor of a big mall. Wen Ling picked up a children’s toothbrush. “Look, a child’s mouth isn’t very big, and their teeth are small. Don’t buy them a big toothbrush. Buy one with soft bristles. If she doesn’t know how to brush, you’ll need to do it for her.”

She then picked two for Yu Qian to see. “Which one does little Qian like?”

Yu Qian pointed at one. Wen Ling placed it in the shopping cart and educated her son. “You need to let the child make their own choice. Don’t just grab one and think that’s enough.”

Zai Ye nodded, learned, and picked up two tubes of toothpaste from the shelf, asking Yu Qian, “Which one do you like?”

Yu Qian took a moment to look and pointed at another one.

Zai Ye: “…Are you trying to go against me?”

After purchasing a variety of daily care products, they had to go buy clothes. The third and fourth floors had several children’s clothing stores. Zai Ye had rarely come to places like this. As he looked at the various beautiful little clothes around, he didn’t know where to begin.

“Buy a few sets of short-sleeved clothes for her to wear, but right now it’s a bit cold when it rains. You should buy long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and a light jacket. At least three or four sets, or else she won’t have anything to change into.”

“Mm.” In this completely new area, Zai Ye carefully followed his mother and daughter. As a tall young man in a children’s clothing store, he seemed to stand out, his presence unusually strong. He felt like a large dog that had wandered into unfamiliar territory, overly concerned and suspicious of every gaze around him.

Trying to keep a straight face and not reveal his discomfort, Zai Ye picked up a pink short-sleeve shirt and asked, “How about this one?”

Wen Ling glanced at it. “That’s for a five-year-old girl. Little Qian will be too small for it.”

Zai Ye put it down, remaining silent. If he spoke, it would expose him.

After that, all that could be heard was him occasionally asking, “Is that enough?”

“Are we done buying?”

“Didn’t you say that as long as she has something to change into, it’s fine?”

Wen Ling knew that most men weren’t patient enough for shopping. She saw her son’s discomfort and said, “Little Qian doesn’t have many clothes. Buying a few more sets won’t hurt.”

She suddenly winced, frowning. “My stomach hurts a little. I’ll go to the bathroom. You stay here and look at the other clothes with little Qian, or go check out the shoes.”

Before Zai Ye could respond, she turned and walked away without looking back.

Zai Ye almost reached out to stop her: “… Don’t leave me here!”

Left in Zai Ye’s hands, Yu Qian didn’t care about her school tyrant dad’s mood. She tugged on his fingers and walked between the racks of clothes. Then she pointed at an outfit. “This one.”

Zai Ye had no choice but to imitate his mother’s earlier actions. He took the piece of clothing and checked the tag, but couldn’t figure anything out. He had no choice but to hold it up against Yu Qian’s body. But it was a disaster—he still couldn’t tell whether it was suitable. He instinctively looked up for help and, in that instant, locked eyes with a shop assistant.

At that moment, it felt like he was in a classroom, making eye contact with the teacher just as he was about to ask a question.

Sure enough, the shop assistant seemed to have received some signal and quickly approached, smiling. “Sir, do you need help?”

Although Zai Ye didn’t want help, he replied, “… Does this fit her?”

The assistant looked at him. “Your child looks around two years old, right? This one won’t fit. But we have smaller sizes in stock. Wait a moment, I’ll ask my colleague to bring them.” She quickly contacted her coworker, not giving Zai Ye a chance to refuse.

“Sir, this piece you like is a new arrival. It’s very popular. The material is skin-friendly and won’t irritate the child’s delicate skin. It’s made from…”

Zai Ye could hardly find an opening to interject, as the assistant kept talking until her colleague brought the smaller size. She then skillfully stopped, and at that point, Zai Ye felt that he had no choice but to buy it.

Little Qian, feeling that shopping was fun, quickly dragged Zai Ye to another shelf, and the assistant followed. Sandwiched between them, Zai Ye unconsciously glanced at the direction where his mother had disappeared.

Why hadn’t she come back yet?

The short fifteen minutes felt unusually long for Zai Ye. When Wen Ling finally returned, she found that her son now had several more pieces of clothing in his hands. Hadn’t he just said that they were almost done?

“Are we done? Can we leave?” Zai Ye’s voice sounded almost pleading.

Wen Ling: “… Mm, almost. We just need to buy some socks and a few pairs of shoes for little Qian.”

Zai Ye’s expression dropped.

He held little Qian, who seemed somewhat excited, with one hand under her butt and the other across her chest, acting as a human scooter.

As soon as they entered the shoe store, Wen Ling quickly selected two pairs of shoes and handed them to Zai Ye. “Try these on for little Qian,” she said before walking to the other side.

Zai Ye had no choice but to sit little Qian down on the shoe fitting bench and squat in front of her, resigned to changing her shoes.

Children are always fidgeting. Little Qian swung her legs, and Zai Ye grabbed her foot. “Don’t swing your legs.”

Little Qian glanced around and then stared at the big boy in front of her, suddenly saying, “Giant panda!”

Zai Ye was wearing a black and white sweatshirt, and with the color scheme, he did indeed resemble a panda. He was speechless: “Do I look like a panda? Do I look like your dad when you look at me again?”

He finished saying that, only to see little Qian suddenly curl her shoulders and cover her mouth, sneaking a smile that was both mischievous and cute, her face showing that she had done something wrong but wasn’t going to admit it.

Zai Ye grew wary. “What are you laughing about? Did you do something bad?”

Little Qian: “Hee hee!”

Zai Ye didn’t know, but System 65, which had been observing, felt particularly sympathetic. Originally, this school tyrant was supposed to be dating a beautiful girl and enjoying the bittersweetness of youth, not changing diapers and feeding the child.

Little Qian mysteriously leaned close, whispering, “I’ll tell you a secret.”

She waved for him to come closer, looking adorably innocent. Zai Ye skeptically leaned in, only to have this little rascal (the brat) suddenly declare, “I’m not telling you. You’ve been tricked!”

Zai Ye: “…” Damn, he wanted to hit the child.

He took a deep breath.

After finishing the shopping, they exited the mall with many bags. Just as they were walking through the plaza, a few boys approached. One of them, seeing Zai Ye’s cold face, suddenly brightened up and shouted, “Hey! Is that Zai Ye!”

The group of boys all turned toward him, greeting him from afar and quickly walking up.

Wen Ling was holding Yu Qian: “Who are they?”

Zai Ye: “My classmates.”

The boys finally noticed the parent beside him and became more polite, greeting her as “auntie,” with some curiously eyeing Yu Qian. One of them, who had once been dragged into the police station with Zai Ye for fighting, absentmindedly laughed. “Zai Ye, is this your sister? She used to call you ‘dad’ back then, haha!”

Zai Ye: I think you’re the one who’s silly.

The four-hour-long shopping had completely drained Zai Ye’s patience and expression. Now, he didn’t want to say another word.

But the enthusiastic boys weren’t about to let him off the hook. One of them greeted, “Zai Ye, after dinner, we’re going to Willow Tree Park to play basketball. You should come too. You haven’t played with us in so long!”

Zai Ye’s eyes moved. It wasn’t that he wanted to play basketball, but he wanted a temporary escape from the hell of child-rearing.

Wen Ling saw him looking at her with a questioning expression, almost laughing, and kindly said, “It’s fine. Go and play with your friends.”

Zai Ye glanced at the blinking little monster, afraid that she would suddenly cry if she didn’t get what she wanted.

Wen Ling reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of little Qian. You go and enjoy yourself.”