Chapter 83

As soon as Mr. Zhou heard those words, his expression immediately turned serious. He reached out and picked up the crying Dadan, holding him in his arms like he would with his own daughter at home, gently patting his back to comfort him.

“Dadan, don’t panic. Come, slowly tell Uncle—when did your dad disappear?”

With Ji Chenbiao’s strong build, there was no way an average person could have abducted him.

Mr. Zhou was more inclined to believe that Ji Chenbiao had simply stepped out.
But he couldn’t say that to Dadan. As a father who had been personally involved in raising his child, Mr. Zhou knew all too well that in many situations, when a child was caught up in their own thoughts, they wouldn’t want to hear what others had to say—they only believed in what they thought was true.

“In the morning.”

When Dadan said this, Mr. Zhou’s expression instantly grew even more solemn.

If it had been in the afternoon or evening, it might’ve been possible that Ji Chenbiao had just gone out for a bit. But if he had left the hotel in the morning, that just didn’t make sense no matter how he looked at it.

After all, with how much Ji Chenbiao cared about Dadan, there was no way he would leave a child this young alone in a hotel.

“Don’t worry, Dadan. Uncle will get someone to help look for him right away.”

Mr. Zhou forced himself to stay calm. After a round of frantic thinking, he realized that his seemingly flawless disguise must’ve still been noticed by someone.

Whoever had called Ji Chenbiao over must have detected something unusual about him.

Just thinking about what Ji Chenbiao might be going through now filled Mr. Zhou with guilt. He glanced at his assistant, giving him a meaningful look.

There were some things that were clearly not suitable to say in front of a child.

Most of the time, Dadan was obedient and easy to comfort, but not having his father around was clearly an exception. He didn’t throw tantrums or roll around on the ground, but he kept repeating the same sentence over and over: “I want to wait for Daddy to come back.”

Mr. Zhou had originally planned to coax Dadan to sleep and then go deal with the matter himself. But to his surprise, Dadan was not easy to fool this time.

So he could only bite the bullet and stay behind, occasionally reaching out to gently pat Dadan and wipe away his tears.

Still, there was no news. As time passed and it grew later, even Mr. Zhou started to lose his composure. He didn’t have the patience to keep placating Dadan and decided it was better to tell him part of the truth.

“Dadan, no one has found any leads about your dad yet, so Uncle is going to help look for him too. After you finish your formula, can you be good and go to sleep?”

“Uncle, I’ll be good. I’ll just wait for Daddy right here.”

Dadan’s beautiful eyes were slightly red and puffy from crying for so long. When he looked up at Mr. Zhou with those tearful eyes, even someone like Mr. Zhou found it hard to stay tough.

Helpless, he shook his head and agreed.

“Okay, but you must not leave this place, understand?”

“Mm.”

Dadan nodded especially obediently. To prove himself, he even put both hands on his knees and sat up straight.

Mr. Zhou left one assistant behind to stay with Dadan, then hurried out himself.

He had a pretty good guess about who might have targeted Ji Chenbiao, but couldn’t be sure yet.

If he really thought it through, there were plenty of people it could be.

Fortunately, Mr. Zhou had been in this business for a while and had built up some connections in Myanmar. That night, he personally went to some people’s doors and explained the situation. A few of them willingly agreed to help.

After getting those responses, Mr. Zhou let out a long sigh of relief.

Having help wasn’t enough—he also went around searching on his own, personally visiting the homes of those he suspected.

Since he was the one who had brought Ji Chenbiao to Myanmar, he was determined to bring him back safe and sound.

Mr. Zhou had only visited two households when he received a message from his assistant: Ji Chenbiao had already returned to the hotel. He looked a bit disheveled, but otherwise seemed okay. Only then did Mr. Zhou halt his ongoing efforts.

As Dadan lay dozing on the hotel sofa, the moment he heard that familiar voice, his eyes shot open.

“Daddy!”

Ji Chenbiao stepped forward, scooped Dadan into his arms, and kissed him on the cheek as he softly said:

“I’m here, I’m here. It’s just that it’s hard to find traditional Huaguo food around here, so I went a little farther. Dadan’s not mad at me for that, is he?”

Earlier, Dadan had been so anxious and terrified, but now he felt like he’d been completely tricked.

He stared wide-eyed and fiercely smacked away the hand his dad had placed on his shoulder, looking like a puffed-up furball ready to fight, radiating a don’t-mess-with-me energy from head to toe.

“I am mad!”

He felt like he’d worried for nothing all that time. He didn’t know whether it was the anger of being lied to or the relief of knowing his dad was okay—but all sorts of emotions clashed inside him, leaving him feeling incredibly mixed-up.

“Don’t touch me, dammit!”

When Ji Chenbiao heard him even use the phrase “dammit” to refer to himself, a smile flickered in his eyes. He grabbed Dadan and pulled him into his arms with a bit of force, carrying him back to their room.

Earlier, Mr. Zhou’s assistant had prepared some food for Dadan, but he hadn’t had much appetite.

Now that Ji Chenbiao was back, the assistant reheated the meal and brought it over again.

Having barely eaten all day, Dadan was actually quite hungry by now. Without needing anyone to coax him, he grabbed the plate himself and started wolfing it down.

As he ate, he kept glaring fiercely at his dad. Ji Chenbiao waited patiently until he finished, then helped him wash up and change into a soft, comfy set of pajamas.

This time, Dadan didn’t need to be carried at all. Once he had his slippers on, he marched straight into the bedroom on his own and burrowed into the blankets.

Ji Chenbiao waited until he was asleep before quietly stepping out. Just then, Mr. Zhou returned from outside.

On his way back, Mr. Zhou had already heard from his assistant that Ji Chenbiao had simply gone farther out to buy some Huaguo food.

Such a clumsy lie—of course Mr. Zhou didn’t believe it.

Once inside, Mr. Zhou tossed his hat aside and asked in a low voice:

“Someone deliberately took you there, didn’t they?”

“Yeah.”

Ji Chenbiao nodded. He had just wanted to get some meat buns Dadan liked, but shortly after leaving the hotel, someone pressed something against him and took him to a luxurious and unfamiliar villa.

“So they did suspect something. How’d you get away?”

“The guy got a phone call, and after that, he let me go.”

Talking about it, Ji Chenbiao still felt a chill down his spine. He’d never imagined that even in this peaceful era, something like that could happen to him.

Looking at the time, it lined up exactly with when Mr. Zhou had decided to swallow his pride and start knocking on doors.

The room was silent for a long while. Eventually, Mr. Zhou could more or less figure out what had happened—even though he had people return those rough stones in batches, it still must’ve made them suspicious.

After all, many of the people present back then were from jade and stone aristocratic families, and their years of heritage had at least allowed them to accumulate some experience.

Mr. Zhou reflected seriously on himself—it was his own greed to blame. Dadan had only marked the raw stones that might contain jade, but he had wanted to swallow them all in one go.

And well, he had almost choked to death because of it.

“Mr. Zhou, when are we going back?”

Jichenbiao didn’t want to stay another second in this place without any kind of public safety. To him, it was pure torture.

“I’ve asked my assistant to book the earliest flight. We’ll try to leave as soon as possible.”

“Good.”

Jichenbiao had no intention of blaming Mr. Zhou. He knew very well that if he had been alone, there was no way he would have made it back safely.

Seeing that Mr. Zhou was still outside this late, there was no doubt he had made great efforts.

“This is my fault—I didn’t think it through and made you suffer. Don’t worry, once we’re back home, let Dadan pick whichever raw stone he likes from the batch.”

Mr. Zhou was a very competent businessman. To him, there was nothing money couldn’t solve.

Now that everything had already happened, there was no use regretting or trying to make up for it hastily. Instead of offering empty apologies, it was better to directly provide compensation.

Mr. Zhou was well aware of Dadan’s abilities. The moment he said that, it was essentially a tacit promise that even if Dadan chose the most expensive one, he would still agree.

“Thank you.”

Jichenbiao nodded slightly in gratitude, not intending to refuse, and thanked him straightforwardly.

On the way back to his room, he couldn’t help but marvel at Mr. Zhou’s generosity. If Dadan picked the most expensive one, it would be enough to buy his life.

The next day, they returned home. Neither Mr. Zhou nor Jichenbiao planned to tell Dadan what had happened. They didn’t want to scare him, so they simply let him believe that Dad had just gone out to buy food and lost track of time.

After returning, Mr. Zhou told Jichenbiao to take three days to rest. After that, he was to take Dadan to the warehouse where the raw stones were stored and let him pick one.

Besides that, any jade that might be extracted from those raw stones would be calculated at their original market value, and five percent would go to Dadan as his reward.

Getting rich overnight—it was just that simple.

It wasn’t until they were back in the country that Jichenbiao finally relaxed.

Compared to that, the domestic public safety situation was much, much better. At the very least, there was no way someone would hold him at gunpoint.

Once he got home, Jichenbiao collapsed straight onto the bed and slept for a whole day and night before he recovered.

Fortunately, before all this, he’d realized he wasn’t great at taking care of kids, so he had hired a temporary nanny to look after Dadan. Otherwise, this little ancestor might have starved during his absence.

Dadan wasn’t incapable of understanding how hard his dad had it—he was just still holding a grudge about being scared by him earlier.

After they got home, he was even more unwilling to talk to him.

After he recovered, Jichenbiao took a shower, changed clothes, and walked over to the little Dadan who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a book, sulking.

He picked him up and asked with a grin, “What’s wrong, little Dadan? Did you miss Daddy?”

“Hmph~”

Dadan didn’t want to talk to his dad. He just gave a soft snort to show he was still mad.

Jichenbiao gently pinched his chubby cheeks, not taking his pouting seriously at all. He even pretended not to care and asked, “Did the nanny make milk for you yesterday?”

Dadan might not care about other things, but when it came to this, he suddenly perked up and shook his head with a wronged expression.

“Nanny didn’t know where it was.”

As a temporary hire, the nanny didn’t dare rummage around, so she had just cooked kid-friendly foods like wontons, rice noodles, noodles, and porridge. Her cooking was great, but Dadan still missed his formula milk.

“Daddy will make you a bottle. Will you stop being mad, okay?”

Dadan thought it over seriously, clearly wondering whether it would be too easy to forgive him like this. But after some back-and-forth in his little brain, he gave in to the temptation of milk.

He silently reached out his hand and made a peace sign at his dad.

“Two bottles? How about saving the other one for noon, okay? Look, Dadan’s tummy is only this big—two bottles will make you too full.”

Following his dad’s words, Dadan rubbed his tummy and, after thinking it over carefully, agreed.

He nodded with a serious little face and stuck out his pinky.

Jichenbiao immediately understood what that meant and smiled as he hooked his finger on his son’s.

“Pinky swear.”

“Okay, pinky swear.”

“Hurry up. Milk.”

After sealing the deal with a pinky swear, Dadan saw his dad still sitting there motionless and couldn’t help reaching out to give him a little push.

He’d never seen anyone as clueless as his dad!

“Alright, I’m going. My little ancestor.”

Jichenbiao headed to the kitchen with a helpless smile. From fumbling at the start to now, he’d gotten pretty good at sterilizing the bottle and making the milk at just the right temperature.

He no longer needed to test it with a thermometer—just a drop and he could feel if it was right.

When the bottle was ready, he handed it to Dadan, who held it with one hand and flipped through a picture book with the other. The sight of him enjoying himself so peacefully made Jichenbiao suddenly want to ruffle his hair just to see if he’d get mad.

“Dadan, your Uncle Zhou said we worked hard going to Myanmar with him this time, so he’s letting you pick any raw stone you like from the batch we brought back. It’s yours.”

“Eh?”

The first thing that popped into Dadan’s head was the one that felt the richest in spiritual energy. If he hadn’t been afraid of drawing attention back then, he would have snuggled up to that stone for hours.

“Dadan, you can’t pick the best one, okay?”

When it came to what kind of jade could come out of those raw stones, Jichenbiao honestly had no clue.

In the jade business, no matter how long he’d been involved, he was still a complete outsider.

He had no way of judging which raw stones might yield jade, and he had no idea how Dadan managed to be so accurate in his choices.

But he believed in his son—believed that Dadan’s instincts in this area would never steer him wrong.

Mr. Zhou’s offer to give them a piece was his way of making amends, and it showed his generosity.

But they couldn’t take advantage of that generosity as if it were a matter of course.

Even the legitimate profits they earned from their trip to Myanmar would be enough to ensure a lifetime of comfort.

“Why not?”

Dadan was confused—why couldn’t he keep the better jade pieces he picked out with his own skills? To him, it felt no different from someone reaching into his pocket and taking his money. It hurt.

“Because Mr. Zhou likes that piece. Dadan, if it’s money that doesn’t belong to us, we shouldn’t take it, understand?”

“But Daddy, I like it too.”

Dadan didn’t understand—why couldn’t he like something just because Uncle Zhou liked it too? According to what his father had said before, Uncle Zhou had clearly told him he could pick whatever he wanted.

“Because that jade belongs to Uncle Zhou. It’s already very generous of him to give you something. Should you really pick the one he likes the most?”

Dadan was still reluctant. He stubbornly clung to his belief—he liked it, Uncle Zhou said he could pick whatever he wanted, so why couldn’t he choose the one he liked best?

Seeing how resolute Dadan was, Ji Chenbiao rubbed his forehead with a headache, then finally said:

“Alright, I’ll go ask your Uncle Zhou.”

Ji Chenbiao’s personality was just like that—he hadn’t changed at all despite all the time that had passed. If anyone treated him even a little kindly, he felt compelled to repay them tenfold, a hundredfold, terrified of owing anyone anything.

Seeing how much Dadan really liked that jade, Ji Chenbiao couldn’t bear to let him be disappointed. So he decided to talk with Mr. Zhou and offer to reduce their commission from this Myanmar trip by one percent.

Ji Chenbiao wasn’t blind to what kind of enormous fortune that one percent might represent—but he couldn’t shake the guilt in his heart.

When Mr. Zhou received this message, he couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. He had never doubted Dadan’s ability to judge jade.

He had made that promise fully prepared. Even if Dadan picked the most valuable piece from the pile, it was still a loss he could easily afford.

If Mr. Zhou were a more petty man, he might’ve even suspected that Ji Chenbiao looked down on him for making such an offer.

But being very familiar with Ji Chenbiao’s character, Mr. Zhou understood perfectly—he just didn’t want to take too much advantage.

After years of scheming and deceit in the business world, a straightforward man like Ji Chenbiao, who refused to take even the slightest advantage, was all the more rare and precious.

“You don’t need to warn Dadan about anything. Don’t worry, I can afford this much. Besides, Dadan has already made me a ton of money. If I start nitpicking now, that just means I’m the one without sense.”

“Tell him to go ahead—pick whatever he wants.”

When the appointed time came, Ji Chenbiao brought Dadan to the raw jade cutting warehouse.

In order to let Dadan pick a piece he truly liked, Mr. Zhou hadn’t touched any of the raw stones after they were shipped back to China.

Dadan ran around the warehouse, the rich spiritual energy in the air making him feel so comfortable that it was like every pore on his body had opened up. He looked here, then there.

When he couldn’t make a decision, he even covered his eyes with his hands.

“Dadan, pick whatever you like!”

Mr. Zhou waved his hand generously, looking completely unfazed.

Although Dadan had mentioned before that there was something even more beautiful than that piece of Imperial Green jade among these, Mr. Zhou hadn’t taken it seriously.

To him, as long as he could buy the jade he fancied, that was enough. The rest didn’t matter.

No matter which raw stone Dadan chose, he could afford it!

Mr. Zhou had a very open mindset. Before the stones were cut, they were all priced as raw jade—nothing more. That amount of money was insignificant to him.

Even if Dadan happened to crack open a stone and find something extraordinarily valuable inside, that would just be his own good luck.

“Thank you, Uncle Zhou!”

Dadan responded cheerfully, and then, like a little dog with a sharp nose, he scurried around, sniffing out the piece he truly wanted.

It had been too long since he’d found that spiritually abundant jade in Myanmar. He couldn’t even remember what it looked like anymore, so he could only start searching from scratch.

While Ji Chenbiao and Mr. Zhou sat off to the side drinking tea, Mr. Zhou chuckled watching Dadan’s lively movements.

“He’s really adorable.”

“Mr. Zhou, I have an idea. I’m not sure if you’d be willing to consider it.”

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

Mr. Zhou paused briefly, teacup in hand. Though Ji Chenbiao hadn’t brought this up before, the timing—right after returning from Myanmar—told him all he needed to know.

“To be honest, Mr. Zhou, I was really scared when I got taken away that time. I don’t even know which group it was—I was blindfolded the whole time.”

Anyone would be terrified in such a situation, and Mr. Zhou nodded, understanding.

“Yes, I know.”

Seeing Mr. Zhou’s attitude now, Ji Chenbiao felt a little more at ease and went on to speak from his heart.

“I believe that once all the raw stones are cut, you’ll give me a substantial reward. If you’re willing, I’d like to use that reward… to work with you.”

Having said everything in one go, Ji Chenbiao visibly relaxed.

This idea had been lingering in his mind ever since the kidnapping incident. He knew how small and powerless he was—he couldn’t even protect himself, let alone protect Dadan.

If Dadan were just an ordinary child, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But he wasn’t—he was the legendary Jade Child. No jade family, no matter how powerful, could resist the allure of someone like that.

For Dadan’s safety, Ji Chenbiao had to start planning ahead.

Usually Mr. Zhou would respond quickly, but this time, after Ji Chenbiao’s proposal, he stayed silent for a long time—so long that his tea had gone cold—before finally smiling and answering:

“If that’s what you want, of course you can.”

Up until now, their relationship had been more like a special kind of employer and employee arrangement. Mr. Zhou had taken Ji Chenbiao under his wing purely because he was a kind man.

But to Ji Chenbiao, that kind of arrangement brought no sense of security.

He didn’t want Dadan’s future safety to hinge on Mr. Zhou’s whims.

And besides, even if things were going well now, what if one day he did something Mr. Zhou couldn’t accept? What if Mr. Zhou suddenly decided not to protect them anymore?

These were things Ji Chenbiao had to consider.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Zhou.”

It had taken a lot of courage for Ji Chenbiao to say all this. He knew that the very capital he was using to negotiate with Mr. Zhou—the promised reward—was something Mr. Zhou had given him in the first place.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how someone might see him as an ungrateful backstabber.

After his initial surprise, Mr. Zhou regained his usual composure. Smiling, he poured Ji Chenbiao another cup of tea and replied:

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Since you’ve had this thought and are now willing to work with me, that means you trust me.”

“If you took my money and went to work with someone else, that would be the real betrayal.”

The contract they signed previously was still in effect. Now that Ji Chenbiao said he wanted to work with him, it was really just a shift in status.

For Mr. Zhou, the things he used to do for Ji Chenbiao, he would still continue doing.

In fact, now that their relationship included this new layer of cooperation, he might even put more heart into it than before.

“Don’t worry about that. I remember all the kindness you’ve shown me. Even if you weren’t willing to take me along, I would never do something so ungrateful.”

Ji Chenbiao lifted his teacup in a toast to Mr. Zhou, as if it were wine.

Regardless of what Mr. Zhou decided, the kindness he had shown him before was real and substantial.

“Now that is something I like to hear.”

Mr. Zhou smiled and took a sip of tea. At that moment, Dadan also found the piece he wanted from the pile of raw jade stones.

Mr. Zhou had already prepared himself for a big loss, but to his surprise, the piece Dadan brought over was just an ordinary chunk, no larger than a fist.

“Dadan, are you sure you want to choose this one?”

“Mhm.”

Dadan nodded seriously. He could feel that the spiritual energy coming from this piece was the most abundant.

He couldn’t find the large raw material he previously sensed back in Myanmar, so he had to settle for this one instead.

He could’ve kept digging through the pile and probably found something else, but after running around so much, he was tired—and besides, he was still thinking about what his dad had said earlier.

He liked this one, but he didn’t want to make things difficult for his father.

“Come on, Dadan, let me open it for you.”

Ji Chenbiao hadn’t personally opened a raw stone in a long time, and his hands were itching to give it a try.

Mr. Zhou gave his assistant a meaningful glance, and the assistant sensibly brought over the tools.

When Dadan saw that his dad was going to personally open the stone for him, he pulled up a small stool, sat obediently to the side, rested his chin on his hands, and waited expectantly, eyes full of anticipation.

“Dadan, why did you choose such a small piece?”

Mr. Zhou didn’t mean to criticize; he just felt that, with Dadan’s jade-divining ability, he could’ve picked something much better than this.

“Um… Daddy said Uncle Zhou likes it.”

When Ji Chenbiao heard his son directly exposing him like that, his hand trembled, and he almost dropped the raw stone.

Dadan blinked innocently, seemingly confused as to why his dad had such a strong reaction, his face full of bewilderment, which made Mr. Zhou chuckle with delight.

“I already told your dad—don’t talk you out of these things. Seriously.”

Mr. Zhou looked like he didn’t get it on the surface, but inside he was actually very touched by Ji Chenbiao’s gesture.

The piece of raw jade was small, and with just a flashlight, you could already see that it indeed contained jade inside.

Though not large, this piece had actually cost Mr. Zhou a fair bit back when he bought it.

Bit by bit, Ji Chenbiao polished off the outer layer. The vivid green jade inside had great translucency—it was beautiful, though still a step below the imperial green jade they’d found at the exhibition.

Dadan held the jade up to his dad’s neck, trying to measure it.

“Dadan, are you thinking of making a necklace for your dad?”

“Mhm!”

Mr. Zhou’s guess was spot on. Dadan nodded eagerly.

He remembered Uncle Zhou once said that jade nurtures people, and he had been thinking ever since that he wanted to get a piece for his dad. Unfortunately, he was too young to do much yet.

This time, Uncle Zhou had given him the perfect opportunity, and there was no way Dadan would let it slip by.

The reason he’d argued with his dad earlier about which jade piece was better was because he wanted to give his dad the very best.

When Ji Chenbiao met his son’s clear and earnest gaze, he suddenly felt that many of his own thoughts were misplaced. He’d been too caught up in favors and social expectations, while a child’s world was so much purer.

“Thank you, Dadan.”

“Since we’re partners now… how about using one of our company’s jade carvers?”

“Yes, please~”

Afraid that his dad would keep being polite and decline, Dadan jumped in before he could say anything. Seeing his son so eager, Ji Chenbiao found himself at a loss for words.

“Oh right—by now, Dadan must be about ready for kindergarten, right?”

“Yeah, I was planning to send him in the fall.”

Before moving to Mountain City, Ji Chenbiao hadn’t even heard of preschool education.

But after spending some time here and meeting so many people in a short period, he came to understand just how important early childhood education is for ordinary children.

That saying—“Don’t let your child lose at the starting line”—wasn’t entirely without merit.

Mr. Zhou had previously reminded Ji Chenbiao not to forget about this. Hearing that he already had a plan reassured him.

He had his assistant pack up the piece of raw jade. The fact that Dadan had picked a piece with jade inside brought Mr. Zhou a sense of relief.

Now, looking around at the room full of raw materials, it felt like looking at piles of silver.

After the last mishap, Mr. Zhou had become much more cautious. Even though there was a lot of material here, he didn’t plan to bring in all the jade carvers.

He would only select a few people he really trusted. Even if the process took longer, the raw jade wasn’t going anywhere.

The important thing was not to let anyone else find out. If every piece really did contain jade, it would definitely raise suspicion.

“Dadan, can you tell Uncle how you tell which stones have jade in them?”

Mr. Zhou saw Dadan sitting there nibbling on a biscuit with his little hands, looking just like a little hamster. He couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“Um… I don’t really know~”

In truth, Dadan didn’t fully understand how he could tell either.

When he picked the stones, he just followed his instincts—if something looked nice, he marked it; if it felt good, he marked it too.

Mr. Zhou didn’t push for an answer. He’d more or less expected this response and just smiled, letting it go.

“By the way, Chenbiao, about sending Dadan to kindergarten—you know, I suddenly thought maybe you could try putting him in an interest class first.”

“Most kids around here go to those before kindergarten, just to help them adjust.”

“Otherwise, when they get to kindergarten and it’s their first time encountering everything, they’ll need more time to adapt.”

Ji Chenbiao took Dadan’s education very seriously. Even though they now had money that most people wouldn’t earn in a lifetime, to Ji Chenbiao, education was still vitally important.

Back when he was young, he didn’t have much talent for studying, so he could only stay in the small village to farm and support the family.

His younger sister, on the other hand, was very smart. She made it into college and became one of the very few university students in their entire village—something that brought great honor to the family. Some even joked that their ancestors must be blessing them from above.

“Mr. Zhou, I’m really not very familiar with this kind of thing. I wonder if you could…”

“Sure, leave it to me. The child is still young. He can start by learning calligraphy—there’s no harm in that anyway.”

“Alright.”

Mr. Zhou was very efficient. Within just two days, he had everything arranged for the interest class. His assistant took Ji Chenbiao to see the venue together—it was nicely renovated, and the learning atmosphere was strong.

The walls were adorned with works from previous students. Ji Chenbiao couldn’t recognize many of the characters, but he could feel the rich literary vibe.

He patiently talked it over with Dadan, and on the first day, Dadan happily carried his little backpack and went to the class.

Just as Ji Chenbiao was about to go find Mr. Zhou to discuss the details of their cooperation, he received a call from the interest class teacher. In the background, he could vaguely hear Dadan crying.

“Teacher, what’s wrong?”

“Sir, would you be able to come over? Your child is crying really badly.”