Chapter 99: The Abandoned Panda Cub..

After the butler’s reminder, Xie Hui finally remembered this matter. At first, he wasn’t used to not having the big, soft glutinous rice ball by his side, but as work became more demanding, and since he could monitor his son’s daily life through his phone, he gradually got used to it.

Previously, because very few non-human cubs grew up with their parents during their early years, the bond with their parents was usually shallow. Parents didn’t pay much attention to the children, so not many people knew how students interacted in the Imperial Academy.

At the start, Xie Hui was uneasy and wanted to keep watch over his son all the time, unable to stop glancing at the computer screen. After all, even though his son had become an adult male, he was still clumsy and could even wear his clothes backward.

Once at the Imperial Academy, these students, taller than their teachers, behaved like children in kindergarten.

Later, Xie Hui found their daily interactions quite amusing. For instance, during physical education class, his foolish son was accidentally hit on the head with a basketball.

He was standing at the back, waiting for the teacher, when a basketball hit his head. The tall, 1.8-meter boy instinctively let out a soft “ying” sound.

At the time, Xie Hui was negotiating a contract with an entertainer, and when he casually glanced at the computer screen, he couldn’t help but smile, even in the serious atmosphere, with others in the room.

Unfortunately, the children at this school were very well-behaved. There were few arguments or conflicts. The teachers often stepped in to mediate before any conflicts even occurred.

The scenes of their fights, though, Xie Hui could watch a hundred times and never get bored.

For example, one kid argued about flying to crush another, flapping their arms for a while but never managing to lift off, and then got scolded by the teacher.

Another girl, with a ponytail and a gentle demeanor, got so angry that she threatened to scratch someone, saying she’d been a leopard for 18 years and was quite fierce.

After watching the surveillance, Xie Hui realized his son was doing fine. Other kids couldn’t even walk steadily, let alone dress themselves properly. He had heard it was because they were used to standing on one leg when they were birds.

The Imperial Academy required two years of study, divided into four semesters. The first semester didn’t count, and new students were often put in as temporary ones, with teachers helping to correct their animal habits.

They were taught how to walk, speak, dress, take care of themselves, and tidy their rooms, among other things.

After mastering these, they were taught knowledge. After graduating from the Imperial Academy, if their grades were good enough, they could attend other schools to continue their education.

The Imperial Academy gave students one month off every year. If the butler hadn’t reminded him, Xie Hui probably would have finished his document and gone out to negotiate a contract with a partner.

“Has Xie Jia’s room been tidied up?”

“Yes, sir. As per your instructions, we’ve prepared a special room for him on the third floor.”

“Good. Have the chef prepare dishes Xie Jia likes for lunch. He prefers spicy food.”

Having been secretly watching his son’s life at the academy for so long wasn’t for nothing. Xie Hui knew that his son didn’t like the relatively bland dishes at the school’s cafeteria, so he always ate the same few dishes.

The original room was better suited for the big, soft glutinous rice ball, and now that Xie Jia had become human, it wasn’t appropriate to leave the toys in the room.

Xie Hui didn’t want to ruin the room’s setup or destroy Xie Jia’s childhood memories. With the resources at home, he had the butler arrange a new room for him.

It wasn’t too bad when he hadn’t known about it, but now, after the butler mentioned it, Xie Hui couldn’t sit still. The documents were sitting on the table, but he couldn’t focus, glancing up every two or three minutes to check if Xie Jia had returned.

Eventually, he turned off the computer and went downstairs, grabbing an apron from the cupboard and putting it over his shirt.

He had originally planned to go out after finishing the document and meet with a business partner, dressed formally in a light blue shirt, a tie, and a suit jacket for a business gathering.

He’d already contacted the partner from the study, and now he couldn’t be bothered to change. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

After checking the ingredients the housekeeper bought today, Xie Hui decided to make spicy chicken, boiled pork slices, and Mapo tofu.

While handling the chicken, he remembered the two fish Secretary Li had sent last week from a fishing trip his wife’s brother had taken, and decided to ask the butler to fish them out and prepare a chopped pepper fish head.

The smell of the food slowly spread through the kitchen when a car pulled up outside. After Xie Jia got out, the butler opened the door.

Xie Jia, wearing the Imperial Academy uniform, was tall, holding a paper bag and carrying a backpack. When he entered the living room, he could see his father busy in the kitchen through the window.

He put the paper bag and backpack on the sofa and walked toward the kitchen.

“Dad.”

“Go wash the scallions for me, I forgot to do it.”

Xie Hui casually instructed him while lowering his head to chop vegetables, not even looking at his son.

“Oh.”

Xie Jia instinctively followed his father’s instructions, peeling off the outer skin of the scallions and carefully washing them under the faucet before placing them in the empty bowl beside him.

The kitchen was spacious, but with an extra person there, Xie Hui felt inconvenienced as he moved around to get things. He glanced at Xie Jia, standing right in the middle, unaware of being in the way.

“Help me get a plate.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Pass me that seasoning in the cupboard.”

“Sure.”

Since it was his own son, Xie Hui used to be reluctant to even let him help with something small like handing over a bamboo shoot when he was just a soft rice ball, and he’d use his paws to wave around and mutter things Xie Hui couldn’t understand.

Now that he had become human, it was much easier. Xie Hui quickly instructed him to fetch things, and once everything was ready, Xie Jia stood there as if waiting for Xie Hui’s next command.

The food in the pot still needed a little more cooking. Seeing Xie Jia standing there, Xie Hui thought of starting a conversation.

Xie Jia, wearing the Imperial Academy uniform, looked quite handsome. The uniform was famous for being stylish, and Xie Jia had a good appearance with a cold and aloof aura.

He stood there looking like a handsome young man, but unfortunately, Xie Hui’s mind was still filled with the memory of his round little son clinging to his thigh.

“How’s school? Is there anything you’re unfamiliar with?”

“Hmm, it’s all good.”

Under the teacher’s guidance, Xie Jia had already learned to speak clearly, though when he spoke for longer, he still stumbled a bit. To hide this, he instinctively shortened his sentences.

Xie Hui noticed his son’s unease immediately. He served some boiled pork slices into a bowl and handed it to him with a spoon.

“Help me taste the saltiness. Should I add more salt?”

Xie Hui had added plenty of chili to the boiled pork slices. It smelled quite spicy to him, but when Xie Jia tasted it, his eyes lit up, so he probably liked it.

“No need. It tastes good.”

“Serve the rice. I’ll bring the dishes over and we can start eating.”

“Okay.”

As Xie Hui was carrying the dishes, he noticed that if he didn’t know better, he would never have guessed that this child had not been normal before. Now, there wasn’t the slightest trace of it in Xie Jia.

“The food at the school cafeteria doesn’t suit your taste, does it? Luckily, I have to pass by your school every day for work. If you’re free, I can bring you lunch.”

“Okay.”

After lunch, Xie Hui took him to look at his new room. It was decorated with elements that boys nowadays liked, though he wasn’t sure if Xie Jia liked it.

“Do you like it?”

“I like it.”

When they left Xie Jia’s new room, Xie Hui noticed him silently following him. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what was going on with this child.

Even when he was the big, fluffy rice ball, he used to love hugging his leg and whining, but now, he had to ask first for Xie Jia to respond.

On the second-floor balcony, Xie Hui rested his arm on the railing, looking down at the healthy bamboo growing in the yard below.

“Did something happen at school? You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

“No, nothing.”

Since this was his own son, Xie Hui couldn’t be bothered to be evasive. He turned to look directly at Xie Jia.

“Then why have you become so quiet?”

Hearing this, Xie Jia thought back to things from his memories. His ears started to burn, and he coughed a couple of times.

“I don’t know what to say…”

“I don’t know what to say either.”

Xie Hui reached out, wanting to ruffle his head like he used to when Xie Jia was still a little kid, but it wasn’t as easy as before. This made Xie Hui keenly realize that his child had really grown up.

“As long as nothing’s happened, it’s okay. Not knowing what to say is fine. Don’t overthink it. Just think of yourself as a human child.”

Based on Xie Hui’s guess, the child’s thoughts were already like those of an adult, but he still needed time to adjust. His childhood memories were still in his mind and would continue to affect him.

There wasn’t really a good solution, except to give him time to grow and process things on his own.

What a parent could do seemed to be simply patiently accepting him and comforting him that this was all normal.

“Dad, you… seem different from other fathers.”

Xie Jia imitated his father’s posture, resting his arm on the balcony railing. When he said this, there was a hint of uncertainty and confusion on his face.

“Everyone has a different personality. There’s no such thing as two fathers exactly alike.”

Xie Hui was somewhat amused by his words and laughed. However, his casual comment was something Xie Jia took to heart. If possible, he wanted to be the kind of father his own father was.

At the Imperial Academy, the teachers played a recording for them. Xie Jia instantly recognized that the troublesome panda in the video was his younger self.

In class, the teacher praised his father a lot, and among the classmates was a lion-cat that had come from an orphanage. It was so envious that it tried to challenge Xie Jia to a fight.

Xie Jia felt that his father was like the warm sun in winter—not hot, but warm enough to be comforting.