Chapter 045

Mornings at the Lin residence were filled with delicious aromas.

There was lightly charred, crispy toast, sweet and soft pancakes, glistening bacon, and savory porridge. The breakfast spread offered both Chinese and Western options, laid out on a long table for everyone to choose from.

Unfortunately, more than half of the masters of this house were not fond of waking up early.

When Qiao Man and Xiao Jing arrived at the dining room one after the other, the only ones at the long table were President Lin, who was reading financial news, and Lu Jianxing, who had also risen early.

“Xingxing, good morning,” Qiao Man said as he climbed onto a chair, then waved toward the other side. “Good morning, Uncle Lin.”

Xiao Jing climbed onto the chair next to him. “Good morning, Papa, Brother Xingxing.”

President Lin looked up from the financial news and responded warmly, “Good morning.”

“Papa, can I let Xiao Man stay and play at our house for one more day?” Xiao Jing asked.

“Xingxing, I want to stay and play here for another day too,” Qiao Man added.

President Lin naturally did not refuse, and Lu Jianxing nodded in agreement as well.

It was the first time the young boy had a friend his own age to play with. Since they still had one day of vacation left, there was no rush to head back.

Having received permission, the two children happily ate their breakfast and then ran outside one after the other. Soon, the two-seater toy car went whirring out into the courtyard.

They drove under a tree, hiding in the shade, and pressed their two little heads together.

“Xiao Man, what did you mean by kinship?”

“Kinship is just kinship. You and Uncle Lin are family, that’s kinship.”

Invisible, thin lines were wound around people’s bodies, connecting one person to another. Some were deep, some were shallow, some were as delicate as spider silk, and others were indestructible.

Xiao Jing asked expectantly, “Then is the line between me and Mama very thick?”

Qiao Man shook his head.

The bond between relatives connected by blood was, of course, the deepest and heaviest. From the moment of birth, their connection was tightly wound together. This applied to his connection with President Lin, with Mrs. Lin, and with his older brother and sister. However, the Kinship Line connecting Xiao Jing to Mrs. Lin was not even as thick as the one connecting him to President Lin.

Xiao Jing actually knew the answer. He pursed his lips and said, “My Papa and Mama are getting divorced.”

President Lin and his wife had been making a fuss about their divorce for a long time. It had even made the news, so even a child like him knew about it.

Just last night, President Lin had finally made up his mind and agreed to the divorce. The two children sat in the toy car under the tree, watching as a large black car pulled up to the entrance. Several lawyers dressed in formal suits and leather shoes walked into the big house to help President Lin handle the divorce proceedings.

As a successful entrepreneur, President Lin made sure every divorce ended on amicable terms. He was very generous to his ex-wives, and Mrs. Lin was no exception. Although he could not give her shares in his most important company, he provided plenty of assets, including cash, real estate, and small businesses. Even after the divorce, Mrs. Lin could continue to live a wealthy life relying on these assets.

“If they divorce, I’ll probably be assigned to my Papa,” Xiao Jing said dejectedly. “My Mama will move out. She won’t be with me every day, and she won’t read me stories anymore.”

Qiao Man also felt a bit sad. “I just want to stay with Xingxing every day. I’m Xingxing’s father, so I can’t bear to leave him at all.”

Xiao Jing glanced at him.

“Is there a line like that connecting you and Brother Xingxing too?”

Qiao Man nodded firmly. “That’s right!”

“What does it look like? Is it very thick?”

“I can’t see it. I can’t see my own,” Qiao Man said with certainty. “But the bond between me and Xingxing is definitely the thickest, thickest kind in the whole world!”

Xiao Jing looked at him with envy.

“Xiao Man, you said yesterday that I have another Kinship Line connected to someone outside. What did that mean?”

This was also what puzzled Qiao Man. He said troubledly, “Your Papa and Mama are both right here, so how can there be a Kinship Line connecting you to someone else? And that Kinship Line is so very thick, almost as thick as the one to your Papa. It’s so strange. Usually, only parents have a bond like that.”

“Ah…” Xiao Jing was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he said, “Could that be my stepmother?”

Qiao Man was also stunned.

He… he hadn’t thought of that possibility!

His parents were preparing for a divorce. Perhaps he would welcome a new mother, and perhaps in the future, he would develop more and better feelings for that new mother. Perhaps their connection would be even deeper than the one with his biological mother. But at this moment, Xiao Jing could not bring himself to be happy. He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a lonely shadow. “I only want my Mama.”

Xiao Man understood.

Just as he only had one son, Xingxing. No other sun or moon would do. It was irreplaceable.

He reached out his small hand and hugged his newly made friend, patting him on the back comfortingly.

Xiao Jing rubbed his eyes against Xiao Man’s clothes and quickly cheered up. “Xiao Man, let me take you swimming. Do you know how to swim? My house has a swimming pool. My Papa was the one who first taught me. I swim really fast. I’m even the champion at my kindergarten!”

“Okay!”

The toy car whirred off again, heading toward the swimming pool.

After changing into a spare pair of new swimming trunks from Xiao Jing, Qiao Man jumped into the pool with his new friend. Just as Xiao Jing had said, he swam very fast. Once he hit the water, he shot forward like a little fish. But Qiao Man was not slow either. He also knew how to swim, having learned from his master back on the mountain. When the weather was hot, the master and disciple would often soak in the mountain lake.

Xiao Jing paddled his arms with all his might, but he felt someone beside him kick their legs, sending up a large spray of water as they zipped right past him.

By the time he swam to the edge, Qiao Man was already there kicking at the water. Out of breath, Xiao Jing asked, “Xiao Man, how do you swim so fast?”

“If you swim slowly, you can’t catch any fish,” Qiao Man said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “My master said you have to swim even faster than the fish.”

“Faster than the fish?”

Xiao Jing listened, completely dazed.

I see, so they’re putting fish in the pool?

While they were swimming, the rest of the people who had been sleeping in also got out of bed. A sports car roared as it drove out, and Lin Qing joined them to play with great interest. It wasn’t until noon that the three of them climbed out of the pool, dripping wet.

By the end of the morning, President Lin and Mrs. Lin had already settled the details of their divorce. There wasn’t much of a dispute over child custody; as expected, Xiao Jing was assigned to his father. Consequently, Mrs. Lin demanded more property for herself as a safeguard for her future. The lawyers left the Lin residence before lunch began.

Perhaps because he had prepared himself mentally long ago, Xiao Jing didn’t show much emotion when the matter was announced at the dining table. He simply looked over at his mother. Mrs. Lin explained, “You’ll have better opportunities for development staying with your father. Xiao Jing, Mommy will come back to visit you often.”

Xiao Jing lowered his head and gave a dejected “Oh.” President Lin cast a cold glance at her.

Feeling the disappointment in his new friend’s heart, Qiao Man felt a bit sad. Although the food on the table was just as delicious as it had been the night before, it tasted somewhat bland to him now. He sat a little closer to Lu Jianxing.

After lunch, the Lin household became busy.

Following the divorce, Mrs. Lin had to move out of the house. She had lived there for many years and had many belongings. Several maids were helping her pack, and the sound of things being moved around echoed everywhere.

The children couldn’t help much amidst the chaos. Mrs. Lin was busy directing the maids and only had time to offer a few words of comfort. Since Qiao Man would be leaving that evening, the two children retreated to the toy room again.

Today was Sunday, and Sunday afternoon was the time for Xiao Jing’s piano lesson.

Even today was no exception. While the two children were playing in the toy room, Teacher Cheng, the piano instructor, arrived at the Lin residence right on time. Xiao Jing climbed up from the floor and took the initiative to invite him, “Xiao Man, I’ll play the piano for you.”

“Okay!”

In the piano room, Teacher Cheng was already seated by the piano. Seeing an extra child, she proactively brought over a chair and placed it next to the piano; this was Qiao Man’s spot.

Once settled in his seat, Qiao Man widened his eyes, looking curiously at the white piano before him. Whether it was the elegant appearance of the instrument or the black and white keys, it was all unfamiliar territory to him. Teacher Cheng was a musician who usually worked in an orchestra. With her long, flowing skirt, she looked exceptionally elegant and beautiful sitting beside the white piano.

Qiao Man clenched his small fists and made a silent resolution in his heart: He… he had to sign Xingxing up for piano lessons!

Xingxing would definitely look wonderful playing the piano!

Before the lesson began, Xiao Jing went to push open the glass balcony doors. He glanced outside, then stood frozen in place for a moment.

“Xiao Jing?” Teacher Cheng called to him from the piano. “Xiao Jing, it’s time to start the lesson.”

Xiao Jing pursed his lips. “I know, Teacher Cheng.” He turned and walked back into the room, but he didn’t close the glass doors. The white gauze curtains swayed gently in the breeze.

Sensing something, Qiao Man hopped off his chair and walked to where Xiao Jing had been standing. He looked down, but the area below was empty. No one was at the white tables and chairs in the courtyard; there was only a gardener pruning the bushes, trimming the blooming flowers into neat shapes.

She didn’t come.

Xiao Jing’s mother didn’t come today either.

The piano lesson began. Tinkling music flowed from their fingertips, drifting out through the open glass doors and into the courtyard. The gardener heard the music, but he soon finished his work and left. Before long, the courtyard was completely deserted.

Qiao Man quietly pushed open the door to the piano room and ran out.

Following the sounds of activity, he found Mrs. Lin standing at the entrance of her walk-in closet, directing the maids as they packed her things. She had many expensive bags and jewelry, all of which were being taken away, packed into boxes one by one. Because she was so busy organizing her luggage, she didn’t have time to listen to her younger son’s piano lesson.

How could she not go?

Xiao Jing was clearly waiting for her.

Qiao Man looked at Mrs. Lin’s still gentle and beautiful face. The connection linking her to Xiao Jing was gradually fading. After she moved out of this house, even if she came back to visit her son from time to time, she might have a new family and new children in the future. Eventually, one day, this connection would be neglected like a forgotten promise.

But Xiao Man knew that just as he couldn’t bear to leave Xingxing, Xingxing actually couldn’t bear to be without him either.

Every morning, if Xiao Man woke up first, he would find himself held tightly in Xingxing’s arms. He always had to put in quite a bit of effort to dig himself out of Xingxing’s embrace. Although Xingxing didn’t constantly say things out loud like Xiao Man did, he never forgot Xiao Man’s words and never missed a single one of his requests.

Just as he didn’t know why Qiao Daman had abandoned his own child, he now didn’t understand why Mrs. Lin hadn’t appeared in the courtyard for afternoon tea.

“Xiao Man, baby?”

Lin Qing, dressed up and ready to head out, passed by. She stopped and followed Qiao Man’s gaze, seeing Mrs. Lin packing her bags. She quickly looked away with an air of boredom.

“She’s finally divorced my dad. She looks pretty happy,” Lin Qing said. “But that’s normal. No matter who it is, no one can stand being suspected by their husband of being possessed by a ghost every single day. It’s better now. She got a smooth divorce and a huge chunk of money. She’ll probably go back to being a designer in the future.”

“A designer?”

“Yeah, she was originally a designer at our family’s company. She clearly had a bright future, but for some reason, she decided to marry my dad.”

Qiao Man looked at Mrs. Lin again. “But she won’t go back to being a designer.”

“Really? Is she switching careers?” Lin Qing wasn’t particularly interested in Mrs. Lin’s future, but she was very intrigued by his words. “How can you tell? Can you see people’s futures?”

Lin Qing crouched down beside him and asked curiously, “Then help me take a look. Will the husband I marry in the future be handsome?”

Qiao Man turned to look at her, then held out his chubby wrist, showing the payment QR code on his smartwatch. “Ten yuan per reading. I charge for fortune-telling.”

Lin Qing scanned it readily. Only after the notification for the ten-yuan payment sounded did Qiao Man speak. “Even though you have many romantic prospects, it looks like you won’t get married.”

Lin Qing: “…”

“Mm, because you’ll be too busy with work,” Qiao Man continued. “But your Career Luck is excellent. You’re going to be very successful in the future.”

Lin Qing blinked, then her face broke into a wide grin. “That’s great!”

Lin Qing cupped his soft, squishy cheeks and gave him a happy kiss on each side, leaving two bright lipstick marks. She was a top-tier student, the kind who earned scholarships every semester. Unlike her older brother, who was still wasting his life partying after graduation, she had clear goals. She intended to join the family business as soon as she graduated.

Seeing the boy clutching his face with a dazed look, Lin Qing pinched his fleshy cheek. “It wouldn’t be so bad to have a child as talented and cute as you,” she said with a hint of regret. “But I’m not like my stepmother. I won’t give up on my own goals just to have a child.”

“Xiao Jing?”

“Exactly, Xiao Jing. She apparently won some major awards back in the day. She was quite the high-achiever. After she had Xiao Jing, she almost suffered a miscarriage once because she was so busy with work, which is why she retired to become Mrs. Lin.” Lin Qing shrugged. “Then again, she has so much money now that she could never spend it all. She probably doesn’t want to do anything else. Spending her days on beauty treatments and shopping is plenty for her.”

Qiao Man stared at her blankly. “What kind of awards?”

“I don’t remember. Maybe my dad or Xiao Jing would know.”

Lin Qing’s phone chimed with a couple of notifications. Seeing the new messages, she patted his cheek and walked off, the rhythmic click-clack of her high heels fading into the distance.

Qiao Man looked back at Mrs. Lin.

Her career line was faint, suggesting a total lack of ambition. Whether in the past or the future, she seemed destined to be exactly as her stepdaughter described, lounging on a mountain of money and wanting to do nothing but enjoy a life of beauty treatments and shopping.

Qiao Man stood in place for a moment, lost in thought. Then he turned and ran down the long corridor, bursting into President Lin’s study.

“Something’s not right!”

He shouted at President Lin, who jumped in surprise behind his desk. “Something is very wrong!”