Slacker Second Gen C14

Chapter 14: School Tyrant 14

Zai Ye tightly held onto the child. This was a strange child of unknown origin. Because of her appearance, he had gone through a tough and chaotic period, and he was still getting used to her presence. Sometimes, when he felt particularly anxious, he wished that the child didn’t exist.

However, at this moment, he suddenly realized that he and this little child had formed a new family. Just like his mother, he had found his own new home.

In this home, he was no longer the child who needed protection, the one filled with fear and anger from being abandoned. Instead, he had become the protector of another child.

He would never become the kind of parent who abandoned their own child.

At just two years old, Yu Qian still couldn’t sort out many of the memories in her mind, let alone understand the strange actions of her father. She didn’t know why, just from buying a cup she wanted, he suddenly became so affectionate toward her.

His cotton-padded jacket, which had just emitted some warmth and light,she started to struggle. She felt uncomfortable being hugged too tightly.

When he felt the hair on his head being tugged painfully, Zai Ye finally recovered from his complicated emotions and released the wriggling child.

The child looked at him innocently, holding her little yellow duck cup and saying, “Pour the yogurt.”

Now, yogurt had replaced cola as her designated drink.

Zai Ye: “…” He took her little yellow duck cup, washed it, and poured her a half-cup of yogurt.

Yu Qian, however, seemed somewhat dissatisfied as she took the yogurt bottle into her hands.

Zai Ye: “Drink it up before I pour more. If I fill it too much, it will spill out…”

Yu Qian didn’t pour it into her own little yellow duck cup, but instead into his handmade yellow cup. Both cups were filled with yogurt. Only then did she seem satisfied. She held her little yellow duck cup, swaying as she bumped it against the other yellow cup and loudly said, “Cheers!”

Zai Ye leaned against the kitchen counter, silent for a moment, before picking up the cup of yogurt and taking a sip. Even though the cup wasn’t washed, he silently finished the yogurt offered by the cotton-padded jacket.

The weekend quickly passed, and Zai Ye went back to school. Yu Qian was temporarily left at the Skyhigh Game Lounge.

Zai Ye had originally planned to try asking Aunt Wu to take care of the child for a day if Li Xiu didn’t agree, as he had already set up a surveillance system in the house, which he could monitor directly from his phone. This way, he’d have a bit of assurance.

However, after calling Li Xiu, he pretended to complain with a “Ah, this is troublesome,” but before Zai Ye could say anything else, he immediately agreed, “Send her over, send her over. I’ll watch the child for a while.”

Zai Ye: “…” His tone clearly sounded like someone who was enjoying the situation.

On Monday, Yu Qian wasn’t in the mood. Though she was just a child who didn’t need to go to school or work, the dreaded Monday biological clock seemed to be responding in her body, making her feel particularly tired and unwilling to move.

So, that day, Yu Qian spent her time watching movies in the screening room at Skyhigh Game Lounge. This small room had an enormous screen, comfortable seats, and regularly replenished snacks and drinks. Li Xiu didn’t often use this room, but his cousin Liang Hao did, often bringing friends to watch movies.

Today, it was Yu Qian who occupied the room. Li Xiu selected the film, coming and going. By the time the child was almost falling asleep, he finally chose a youth romance movie.

“This ‘First Love Letter’ has a school tyrant as the male lead. Xiao Qian, what do you think? Doesn’t he look like your dad?”

The male lead on screen, dressed inappropriately, with ear piercings and dyed hair, exuded an aura of rebelliousness. Honestly, he bore no resemblance to Zai Ye.

Li Xiu sat next to Yu Qian, watching the screen with inexplicable emotion as he said to her, “Your dad went through a rebellious phase a couple of years ago, dyed his hair, and got called into the headmaster’s office three times. He was so annoyed they kept talking to him, so he dyed it back. He used to wear an earring too, only one though, trying to act cool… Look, see? The attitude, the raised chin, thinking no one matters—hahaha!”

On screen, the school tyrant walked through the hallway with a defiant swagger, while the girls around screamed. The scene had the feel of a typical shoujo manga.

The next moment, a girl, blushing, stopped him to confess, and the school tyrant glanced at her disdainfully and coldly asked, “Who are you?” Then he turned and swaggered away as the girl cried, covering her face.

System 65 seemed inexplicably attached to this kind of plot. It flashed continuously, giving its opinion: 【The female lead hasn’t appeared yet. It’s going to be the tough, innocent girl who bumps into the school tyrant around the corner and spills her milk on him! Classic trope—physical contact ignites love! Wow, this is so good!】

Li Xiu continued rambling: “Your dad is even more handsome than this guy in the movie. I don’t even know if he has a girlfriend in school. Xiao Qian, what if your dad gets a girlfriend, you’ll have a stepmother. Oh, my Xiao Qian, what will you do then?”

He suddenly thought far ahead and started worrying about the child.

Sitting on the wide cushion, Yu Qian ignored the buzzing noise from both sides, sipping yogurt and watching the movie.

“Ye Ge, what are you watching?” A boy leaned over from the back to ask.

Lately, they had been seeing their leader, Zai Ye, browsing something on his phone, sometimes showing a frustrated or thoughtful expression. Today, they saw him holding the phone and browsing again. Instead of playing games, what was he looking at?

One of the boys invited him to play a game: “Ye Ge, want to play a round?”

Zai Ye glanced at his phone without raising his head, swiping up with his finger: “No.”

“Huh? Ye Ge, you’re shopping on Taobao, huh? What are you planning to buy? Girls’… clothes?”

Looking at Zai Ye’s school uniform jacket, the unchanged black T-shirt underneath, his wristband, and his youthful vibe, the boys couldn’t help but find the situation odd as they saw girls’ clothes on his phone’s shopping page.

Zai Ye ignored their odd expressions and opened the product detail page, frowning as he looked at the clothes. He asked, “Which one do you think looks better—the little yellow duck dress or the pink strawberry dress?”

The boys around him immediately gave different answers: “Strawberry!” “Of course, little yellow duck!”

The competitive high school boys exchanged glances, and an argument quickly broke out over their differing tastes.

“Strawberry isn’t as cute as little yellow duck!”

“Bullshit! The pink strawberry dress is way cuter for little girls, don’t you get it?”

“Tacky! So tacky! Ask the girls in our class which one is cuter!”

“Let’s ask!”

The discussion quickly spread throughout the whole class, and the debate even reached the neighboring class, sparking more arguments. Within a single break time, someone had posted the question on the school forum and started a poll.

The source of this whole issue, Zai Ye, could only shake his head and silently added both dresses to his shopping cart, too lazy to deal with the meaningless arguments.

Recently, he had become a bit addicted to shopping on Taobao. After he casually searched for girls’ clothes, his recommendations were full of related products, and he found himself clicking on them.

During the last physical education class in the afternoon, the rare occurrence of the PE teacher not taking a sick day allowed them to go outside for some fresh air.

Zai Ye walked at the back of the group. The boys who had been chatting in front turned around to look at him, unable to resist asking, “Ye Ge, are you still browsing Taobao buying clothes?”

“No,” Zai Ye replied. He was now looking at children’s water bottles, which had interesting designs.

Another class of freshmen were also in PE, and as Zai Ye walked, he heard laughter up ahead, with someone calling him.

“Ye Ge!”

“Ye Ge, someone’s looking for you!” The boys teased.

Zai Ye raised his head uninterestedly, only to see two girls walking toward him, their faces awkward but somewhat excited.

“Do you remember us? We’re from Class 7 of Grade 10.”

Zai Ye gave them a questioning look.

The girl explained, “We were almost bullied at Willow Park’s basketball court before, and you helped us out. Remember?”

Zai Ye recalled the event. The two girls were dressed in casual clothes, and one had makeup on. He hadn’t paid much attention to their appearances.

“What’s the matter?”

The girl hesitated before replying, “It’s just… I just found out that we’re in the same school. We’re in Grade 10, and you’re a senior in Grade 11.”

The other girl nudged her, and with a flushed face, she suddenly asked, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Zai Ye then realized what she meant and frowned involuntarily.

The girl, still shy, gathered her courage and confessed, “If you don’t have a girlfriend, would you consider me?”

Zai Ye’s face darkened, and with a harsh tone, he asked, “How old are you?”

The girl was stunned, “16…”

Zai Ye: “You’re only 16, not even an adult. It’s too early for you to be in a relationship. At least wait until university or after graduation.”

The girl’s expression became awkward. “Huh?”

Zai Ye frowned disapprovingly, looking at the girl in front of him: “Have you considered how your parents would feel if they found out about your early relationship? How angry would your dad be?”

The girl was crushed, feeling not only rejected but also lectured. And why did he bring up her dad!

“Impossible to tell the parents, we can just keep it a secret!” The girl said, almost in tears.

Zai Ye’s expression grew worse: “Dating without telling your parents, with an irresponsible and unreliable guy, do you know how dangerous that is?”

What kind of position are you thinking from? The girl looked miserable, feeling as though she was hearing her father speak.

“Why do you talk like that, sob sob!” The girl almost cried.

Zai Ye: “Still crying? Let me ask you, what do you get from early relationships?”

The girl couldn’t answer and dragged her friend away.

Zai Ye went to pick up Yu Qian and walked into the screening room, only to see a couple in school uniforms kissing on the big screen.

Zai Ye: “…”

Li Xiu was dozing off on a lounge chair, when he was suddenly woken up. Zai Ye’s displeased face appeared in front of him as he questioned, “How can you let a child watch this?”

Li Xiu looked confused and glanced at the screen: “What’s the big deal? Kids don’t understand.”

Zai Ye stood in front of Yu Qian, holding back his anger: “What if she watches this and starts thinking about early relationships?”

Li Xiu rolled his eyes: “Xiao Qian is only two years old?”

He casually turned off the movie and, chatting with Zai Ye as he walked out with the child, said, “What’s wrong? Who are you mad at this time?”

Zai Ye told him about the confession incident at school and finished with, “Sixteen-year-old early relationships are unacceptable.”

Li Xiu fell silent for a moment and placed his hand on Zai Ye’s shoulder: “Getting a kid at 18 isn’t much better, is it?”

In the awkward silence, the little one suddenly laughed twice.

Yu Qian: “Hee hee.”

Zai Ye’s face turned as dark as a bottomless pot. He felt wronged but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

———

—The term “cotton-padded jacket” is a cultural metaphor in Chinese, symbolizing a daughter who is warm, comforting, and cherished, much like a jacket that provides warmth.