Slacker Second Gen C23

Chapter 23: School Tyrant 23

When Zai Ye brought the child into the classroom, there were not many parents yet, and the students were scattered in small groups.

After placing the child in her seat, Zai Ye leaned against the side, peeling a boiled egg. Once peeled, he handed it to the child, watching as she took a bite of the egg and drank some milk. His position was a classic back row seat by the window, from which he could see the students gathered on the playground, unable to go anywhere.

Yu Qian was still slowly eating, her hand exploring the seemingly clean and tidy desk. Compared to the desks of others, which were piled with books, papers, and various materials, this one looked much emptier, and the books were brand new and clean. After surveying the desk, the child almost stuck her head into the desk drawer.

Zai Ye grabbed the back of her collar and said, “Eat properly, what are you looking at?”

Yu Qian rummaged around, pulling out a cigarette box from his messy drawer. Zai Ye quickly grabbed the box and threw it into the trash behind him.

Yu Qian continued rummaging, pulling out a pink-blue envelope wedged between the pages of a book, only a corner exposed. Zai Ye’s eyelid twitched, and he immediately snatched it away and crumpled it up, throwing it into the trash.

Yu Qian kept digging, and this time she pulled out a deck of cards from the drawer. This time, Zai Ye didn’t need to intervene. She had learned and immediately grabbed the cards and threw them into the trash herself.

Zai Ye: “…”

He casually pulled out a book and placed it in front of the child, hoping to distract her from rummaging through his drawer.

The child opened the book and, holding the only pen on the desk, doodled small flowers next to the title of the book to pass the time. The small black flowers formed neat rows, making Zai Ye think of the little red flowers the child had received, and he couldn’t help but feel his eyelid twitch.

More parents gradually entered the classroom, each stealing curious glances at them.

Finally, the homeroom teacher entered. He was the classic teacher type, wearing a striped shirt, a watch, and always holding a thermos cup. He glanced at Zai Ye and the child sitting in Zai Ye’s seat and asked, “Zai Ye, has anyone from your family arrived?”

Zai Ye pressed his hand on the child’s head and replied, “Just this one.”

Homeroom Teacher: “… You had your sister come to the parent-teacher meeting? Come on, let’s go, take the child out to play.”

Zai Ye, who only wanted to find a place for the child to finish her breakfast, walked out of the classroom holding the child, under the gaze of the other parents.

Zai Ye took the child to the playground, where a group of his underlings were chatting.

At this point, they were no longer worried about being scolded after the parent-teacher meeting. Instead, they were only thinking about the upcoming sports meet after the meeting ended.

The school’s sports meet was scheduled to start after the parent-teacher meeting, and some school leader, in a moment of brilliance, decided that parents should also get a chance to see their children’s athletic abilities.

Because the sports meet was after the parent-teacher meeting, Zai Ye, who originally planned not to participate, was insisted by the homeroom teacher to attend. The teacher, very focused on ritual, was adamant that the class couldn’t be short one person at the opening ceremony of the sports meet.

Yu Qian, nestled in Zai Ye’s arms, was immediately noticed by over ten boys.

“Hey, isn’t this Wild Brother’s sister? Why did you bring your sister along?”

Zai Ye didn’t answer but instead turned to two boys who were smoking, “Put out your cigarettes.”

The two quickly extinguished their cigarettes and, with the others, surrounded Yu Qian, talking to her all at once. “Little sister, we’re your brother’s friends. Call him ‘brother’!”

“Can she even call anyone? Say ‘brother,’ say ‘brother!’”

Zai Ye looked at the goofy group and suddenly smiled, saying to Yu Qian, “Call them ‘brother.’”

Fortunately, his windproof cotton coat was considerate enough, and she obediently called out “brother” to each of them.

Once she finished, the air was filled with a happy atmosphere. Zai Ye slowly introduced, “This is Zai Qian, my daughter.”

The underlings: “…”

“Damn, Wild Brother, you’re taking advantage of us!”

“Ugh, we got played!”

The group of boys laughed and shouted, not taking Zai Ye’s words seriously, thinking he was joking. After all, they often teased their friends and pretended to be their fathers.

The underlings kept laughing. “Hahaha! Then the little sister can’t call us ‘brother,’ call us ‘uncle!’”

“Yeah, I don’t mind if the little sister calls me ‘uncle!’”

Yu Qian, holding onto Zai Ye’s coat, ignored their teasing and continued to call them ‘brother.’

After a while, their playful banter caught the attention of the girls from their class, and Yu Qian ended up calling out “sister” to them as well.

Zai Ye: “…”

The family hierarchy suddenly skyrocketed.

After the parent-teacher meeting ended, teachers began organizing the students into lines.

A middle-aged man with a thermos cup came over to check if anyone was missing in his class’s group. After counting, he noticed not only was no one missing, but there was one extra.

“Zai Ye, are you planning to carry your sister in the group?”

“She can walk on her own.”

The homeroom teacher thought for a moment. “That’s fine.”

Since the school leaders had mandated that students must wear the school uniform and avoid strange outfits, the parade during the opening ceremony of the sports meet was quite boring, with each class looking identical.

Suddenly, one class caught everyone’s attention with something different. Instead of the class leaders or the most popular students holding the class sign at the front, it was a child.

The child, holding the class sign, looked like a little duck lost among a group of geese, walking ahead while constantly looking back. Her confused expression and the effort to keep up with the group in front were clear.

The class walking ahead couldn’t help but glance back at her, whispering among themselves.

They walked past the podium, where the school leaders and parents in the stands were all watching the little intruder. No one said anything, and everyone just watched her as she passed by.

When the child almost tripped while looking up at the podium, the parents in the stands gasped in concern.

As they walked, the child almost followed the wrong group, but a student quickly stepped out from behind and pulled her back, causing laughter from the nearby crowd.

This was just a small incident at the beginning of the sports meet. After Yu Qian held up the sign, she was passed along to others in the class because Zai Ye had an event to participate in. She was taken to the stands.

Zai Ye, drenched in sweat and running under the hot sun, passed by the stands again, noticing the girls from his class sharing snacks with Yu Qian.

“Zai Qian! Don’t eat too many snacks!” The father shouted from below.

The child glanced at him from afar, covered her mouth, and turned away to hide as she ate, as though thinking he wouldn’t notice—an expression of someone trying to cover up their actions.

When Zai Ye passed by again, he found Yu Qian missing. A girl preparing for her event pointed him in the direction of where she had gone: “She’s over there. We’re about to do a relay race. Let the old teacher watch her for now.”

Zai Ye then noticed the child sitting at the edge of the podium. The podium was too high, so only her head was visible. The homeroom teacher, holding her small water bottle, had just gone to refill it for her.

On their way back, Zai Ye heard her sigh, holding her empty bottle. “So tired.”

Zai Ye: “You’ve been sitting up there watching us run, how are you tired?”

The child squatted down and reached up for a hug.

The tired father, who had been running all day, picked her up.

On the second day of the sports meet, Zai Ye took the child to school again. However, because of her excessive snacking the previous day, Zai Ye put her in a T-shirt that read “No Feeding,” hoping to reduce the number of snacks she received.

After the sports meet, the classmates all knew that the School Tyrant Zai Ye had an adorable sister. They understood his occasional online purchases for children or asking others which small dress was prettier.

Zai Ye’s underlings, occasionally coming across interesting things suitable for kids, would show them to him, urging him to buy them for the child.

After all, it was the final year of high school. There weren’t many carefree and happy days like the sports day. Even if Zai Ye was not in the mainstream, he still couldn’t escape the bombardment of various learning urges. Yet, amidst this indiscriminate barrage, Zai Ye maintained his usual state, playing his games, occasionally arriving late or leaving early to pick up his child, living confidently and on his own terms.

At the end of the semester, the students had a short winter break. No matter how their exams went, they all had to go home for the New Year.

Zai Ye had planned not to return home as usual, but this year, he had a daughter. His father, who couldn’t ignore him anymore, called as soon as his winter vacation started, insisting that he bring his granddaughter home for the New Year. The calls continued until New Year’s Eve, they even arranged a car to pick them up.

When the car arrived downstairs, father and daughter were staring at the table, where Zai Ye had made some poorly made dumplings, eyeing each other.

“Are you going to eat?” Zai Ye asked.

The child shook her head.

“You said it didn’t taste good, but didn’t I add salt?”

“It’s not good.” The child lay on the table, her face buried in her arms, showing her determination through action.

In previous years, Zai Ye could manage with just frozen dumplings for the New Year, but this year, he couldn’t get away with it. At this time, even the large supermarkets in his district were closed, not to mention the various restaurants, and he was unprepared. There was no choice; in order not to let the child go hungry, he took her to the car that was sent to pick them up, planning to grab a meal.

Once they got home, as expected, the moment the father and son saw each other, a fight immediately broke out.

The cause was Zai Ye’s studies.

Zai Yan had long since stopped having any expectations for his rebellious son’s education and simply told him to prepare for studying abroad.

Children of wealthy families with poor grades often choose to go abroad for university to gain an international edge. As long as they have money and connections, getting into a well-known university isn’t difficult. But in China, if the grades are too bad, it’s much harder to get into a good university.

“I’m not going,” Zai Ye said without even looking up, directly rejecting Zai Yan’s suggestion of studying abroad.

“Not going? With your grades, you’re just going to attend some crappy university here? I can’t bear the shame!” Zai Yan snorted coldly.

Zai Ye spoke to him with an air of sarcasm: “I know what I want to do, I know what I want to achieve. Don’t waste your time thinking about me.”

Father and son ended up at odds over this matter, parting unhappily.

The adults’ argument had nothing to do with the child. Yu Qian only remembered the abundance of the New Year’s Eve dinner that night, how she ate her fill and took home a pile of red envelopes.

In previous years, on New Year’s Eve, Zai Ye didn’t have a meal and fell asleep after playing games all day, just like any ordinary day.

Last New Year’s Eve, Zai Ye rode his bike up a mountain trail and stayed alone at the mountaintop until midnight. That night, it snowed in the second half, and it was extremely cold.

But this New Year’s Eve, he and his daughter were in a room filled with stuffed toys, watching TV. The living room was also full of New Year gifts sent early by Li Xiu and others. They had only opened a few, and the rest were still piled up.

The reason only a few were opened was because the gifts they sent were all hard to describe, like a half-person-high robot holding two glowing balls. When you pressed the switch, it would start to twist magically, with the glowing balls and its head spinning and flashing colorful lights, while it also sang songs.

When Zai Ye noticed that the child was imitating the toy’s movements, he promptly turned it off and shoved it into the cupboard.

Some people also sent two large fresh turtles. Zai Ye stared at them for a long time and didn’t know how to handle them, so he just stuffed them into a basin and placed it on the coffee table for the child to play with.

Additionally, someone gave a set of bright red parent-child outfits, and Zai Ye looked at them and thought that wearing them out could probably scare ten pedestrians at night.

With the messy gifts set aside, tonight they loosened up on the cola restrictions. Yu Qian poured a large cup for herself in her little yellow duck cup, and also poured a big cup for Zai Ye in his yellow cup.

“Cheers!”

This was the first year they had lived together.