Slacker Second Gen C03

Chapter 3: School Tyrant 3

Li Xiu arrived early in the morning with breakfast at the soaring playhouse.

“Hey, Xiu Ge brought breakfast, come eat… Huh? Where is he?” He didn’t see Zai Ye, and even the child was missing. He pulled out his phone.

“Hello, Xiao Ye, where did you take the child?”

“To the nearby supermarket.”

Zai Ye answered while casually picking a toothbrush off the shelf, then grabbing a towel. Yu Qian followed at his feet, the two neat little tufts of hair, which had become messy and spread out overnight, stood up in soft little spires.

When Zai Ye was on the phone and didn’t see, Yu Qian struggled to place a bottle of cola into the shopping cart.

When they reached the checkout, Zai Ye noticed the extra bottle of cola. He looked at the child at his feet but said nothing, scanned the items, paid, and carried everything back to the soaring playhouse.

“Wash your face, brush your teeth,” he said, pulling out a towel and toothbrush for Yu Qian.

Li Xiu, standing beside him, asked, “This child is only two years old, right? Can she really brush her teeth and wash her face by herself?”

However, neither the child nor Zai Ye paid him any mind. The little one, clutching her new toothbrush and towel, waddled into the bathroom. The bathroom had a wet-dry separation, with a washstand set up to adult standards, so the child couldn’t even reach the countertop.

Li Xiu, curious, followed and saw the situation. He said, “Little sister, you can’t reach it, what should we do? How about asking your brother for help?”

Yu Qian walked past him, dragged a chair from outside, climbed onto it, and began to brush her teeth and wash her face with practiced movements.

However, the toothbrush Zai Ye bought was an adult-sized one, a bit too big, and after applying toothpaste, it was quite difficult to brush with it.

Even though she was now a child, Yu Qian’s mindset as an adult still influenced her. She was much smarter and calmer than a typical two-year-old. Faced with a small difficulty, she didn’t ask for help but took matters into her own hands, holding the toothbrush with both hands and brushing away with effort.

Li Xiu watched her actions and then sighed at Zai Ye, “This kid is so smart and well-behaved.”

She’s really cute; he even started thinking about getting married and having a sweet daughter. No, this thought is too dangerous; he’s still so young and hasn’t had enough fun yet. How could he have such a terrifying idea?

Outside, Zai Ye was unpacking the breakfast Li Xiu had brought and grunted upon hearing this.

Children are such a hassle. He had started his morning by brushing his teeth and washing his face, with no plans to take care of the child. But as soon as he started brushing, the child stood behind him, eventually hugging his leg, and no matter how he shook it off, the child wouldn’t let go. This made it impossible for Zai Ye to even go to the bathroom.

After holding it for more than ten minutes, his face turned blue, and he finally compromised. He agreed to buy her a new toothbrush and towel so she could wash her face. Only then could he remove her from his leg and finally take care of his physical needs.

Yu Qian couldn’t wring the towel dry, so she started applying it to her face while it was still damp. After washing her face, her sleeves were soaked, and her bangs were stuck to her forehead.

Li Xiu watched, smiling, and followed her to the hall, where she sat next to Zai Ye.

“Hey, why don’t you comb her hair? It looks so messy like this.”

“I don’t know how,” Zai Ye responded dismissively.

Yu Qian pulled the fragrant porridge in front of herself and started eating with a spoon.

Li Xiu was amazed, “She can eat by herself!”

Zai Ye frowned. “Can you not act like a creep?”

Li Xiu sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t be so irritable. It’s just for today that you need to take care of her. I sent the dna sample to my brother’s testing center this morning for expedited results, eight hours to get the results. We’ll know by tonight.”

Zai Ye didn’t say anything. He ate a bun in just a few bites. His age made him especially hungry, and Li Xiu had bought three servings of breakfast. Within a short time, Zai Ye had eaten more than half.

Yu Qian drank her porridge while watching him eat the bun. It looked so good to her that she reached out and grabbed one. The small bun in Zai Ye’s hand suddenly became huge in hers. She took a bite, but there was still a long way to go before she reached the filling.

Children can’t eat much, and indeed, Yu Qian didn’t finish the bun. After she was full, she put down the spoon, wiped her hands and mouth with a tissue, then eyed the bottle of cola on the table.

It was the one she had struggled to place in the shopping cart at the supermarket. Zai Ye had taken it out and placed it on the table before eating.

Earlier, when she took something from the table, Zai Ye hadn’t paid attention, but now, as Yu Qian leaned over to grab the cola, Zai Ye swiftly snatched it up.

His long arms and quick movements made it impossible for her to react. He opened the bottle and took a long swig, then gave her a mocking look.

Yu Qian climbed down from the chair, walked up to him, and pounded his knee to express her dissatisfaction.

Zai Ye: “Tch.”

He took another big gulp and shot her a defiant look.

Watching him almost finish the bottle of cola, Yu Qian suddenly ran into Zai Ye’s stomach. He wasn’t expecting it, and before he could swallow the cola in his mouth, he spat it out, spraying it all over the child’s head.

The cola was everywhere—on Zai Ye’s body and in Yu Qian’s hair.

Zai Ye: “…”

Yu Qian: “…”

Li Xiu, who had been watching their interactions, burst into laughter, “Hahahahahaha!”

Yu Qian told herself not to get angry, but she couldn’t hold it in. After all, she was just a child, and she didn’t have much self-control. So she clenched her little fist, feeling the sticky liquid on her head, and slowly opened her mouth.

Anyone could see that this was the sign of a child about to cry. Zai Ye felt something was off and tried to stop her, “Wait!”

“Don’t…!”

“Waaaaaaahhh!” A deafening cry erupted almost simultaneously with his voice.

Half an hour later, Li Xiu returned with a shopping bag full of children’s clothes. When he saw Zai Ye standing outside the bathroom with a dark and foul expression, he asked, “Is she done? She’s so young, can she really do it by herself?”

“Otherwise, should I help her wash?” Zai Ye said stiffly.

He had just managed to calm the child down. Now he was about to let her bathe, but he hadn’t changed his clothes yet.

Li Xiu grumbled, “It’s so inconvenient. The store should hire a female staff member; it would help with situations like this. It’s all Jing Yijia’s fault. He says hiring a female staff member would make his wife insecure, creating family instability. Is he that scared of his wife?”

Jing Yijia was the big boss of the store, Li Xiu’s good friend. He used to be a second-generation playboy, but ever since meeting his true love and getting married, he had transformed into a good family man. He didn’t like going out anymore and left everything to Li Xiu.

“By the way, speaking of Jing Yijia, he just had a son. He’s so obsessed with him, his entire social media is full of baby pictures. I almost want to block him; he’s just a slave to his son now.” Li Xiu scrolled through his friend’s moments.

Zai Ye glanced at it disinterestedly, then coldly said, “What’s so cute about kids? They’re annoying. Keep them away.”

Li Xiu replied, “Well, you can’t say that. If it were a cute daughter, it wouldn’t be bad. You’ll understand once you’re a dad.”

“Hah,” Zai Ye scoffed. “I don’t want kids, and I won’t be a father.”

He couldn’t be bothered to discuss this further. He knocked on the bathroom door, “Are you done?”

“The clothes are here. I picked them out after a long time,” Li Xiu handed over the bag in his hand.

Zai Ye took it, glanced at it, “…What is this?”

Li Xiu: “A princess dress, look.”

He took out a shiny little skirt from the bag, a pink and purple gradient flower-bud skirt, with flowers and small pearls sewn onto it. The back even had two little wings.

“Look, it even comes with accessories—flower bud clips, butterfly headbands!”

Zai Ye’s disdain was evident as he stared at the items.

When Yu Qian finally came out in the little skirt, Li Xiu immediately pulled out his phone and took several pictures of her. While snapping, he said, “Smile, smile, don’t make the same face as Zai Ye Ge. That’s not cute! Why aren’t you wearing the wings? It looks so cute!”

The flowers and pearls sewn onto the skirt were uncomfortable, and it was a hassle to wear. Yu Qian didn’t like it. Her little face showed half the expression of Zai Ye’s disapproval.

While taking pictures, Li Xiu suddenly burst into laughter, “Hahaha, it really looks like Zai Ye in a little skirt! I’m sharing this with Wen Cheng!”

Zai Ye finally realized his malicious intent and grabbed the tissue box on the table to throw at him.

After a small setback in the morning, the rest of the day was relatively calm. Zai Ye lounged on the sofa in the playhouse, playing on his phone. In the meantime, he received messages from several of his underlings complaining about being scolded by the head teacher and expressing envy over Zai Ye’s skipping class.

“Yé Ge, why didn’t you come to school today? Are you coming to play basketball this afternoon?”

“I’m busy, not going.”

Zai Ye replied simply, continuing to play his game. Yu Qian leaned against the sofa watching him, occasionally wandering around.

At noon, Zai Ye took her to eat at a nearby shop, and after eating, she took a nap. She was very easygoing.

In the afternoon, Li Xiu returned.

“I was eating at Fish Flavor Restaurant with Lao Si and the others. They have fresh furong fish today, so I packed some for you guys.” Li Xiu was known for his loyalty and good temper in their circle, and his relationship with Zai Ye was even better than with his cousin Wen Cheng.

Having been stuck in the store all day, Zai Ye was eager to leave and asked, “Have the results come in yet?”

Li Xiu: “Why the hurry? I just got a message, I’m going to pick it up now. I’ll be back after you finish eating.”

After lunch, Zai Ye played a few more rounds of games until he saw Li Xiu walking in, waving a set of keys and carrying a bag. He swung the bag. “Want me to take a look at it for you?”

Zai Ye casually replied, “You can look, just tell me the result.”

Li Xiu grinned, “You really don’t treat me like an outsider, huh? Okay, I’ll look.”

Zai Ye snorted. “Anyway, it’s not embarrassing for me. Who in the circle doesn’t know about my dad’s mess? If it’s true, it just means my dad has another illegitimate daughter.”

Li Xiu opened the bag, and his expression gradually grew strange.

After a long silence, Zai Ye frowned, “Say something, does she have blood relations with me?”

Li Xiu: “…She does.”

“Hah, as expected,” Zai Ye sneered.

Li Xiu: “But there’s a small problem.”

Zai Ye: “What problem?”

Li Xiu: “This child’s blood relation to you seems closer than her relation to your dad.”

He flipped over the report and showed Zai Ye the result: “It says here, you are this child’s biological father.”

Zai Ye: “…?”

———
—Adding “哥” (ge) to a name in Chinese is a way to show familiarity or respect toward a male, similar to calling someone “brother” in English. It can be used for friends, older male figures, or peers.