A Single Father’s Troubles - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Birthday

Lin Tingwan’s personality was quite introverted. He wasn’t very good at dealing with people, especially getting along with superiors.

Hearing Pei Shaoyu’s monotone inquiry, Lin Tingwan’s heart skipped a beat. Pei Shaoyu’s “warning signal” immediately flashed through his mind.

He lowered his head in shame.

“Kuang Ye and I… were alumni in university. We haven’t been in contact for many years and only became reacquainted because of work. That’s why I… lied to you.”

“President Pei, I’m sorry. I accept whatever punishment.”

Lin Tingwan’s face was full of shame as he looked at Pei Shaoyu with wide, watery eyes. His eyes were filled with panic and guilt, making him look pitiable. A trace of pity suddenly rose in Pei Shaoyu’s heart: “Although this is a small matter, President Kuang is a member of Fuchuan after all. You understand what I mean, Xiao Lin?”

“Yes, I understand. I won’t do it again.” Lin Tingwan lowered his head deeply.

Pei Shaoyu’s tone softened, “Forget it this time, but I hope it won’t happen again. I don’t like it, understood?”

“Mhm, mhm. I’ll remember.”

Lin Tingwan was truly frightened; his face was pale, and his long eyelashes were fluttering rapidly like two brushes.

Looking at that pitiful, teary-eyed appearance, Pei Shaoyu imperceptibly tugged at his collar.

The air conditioning felt a bit too hot.

“Go on out.”

Lin Tingwan kept his head down and left without a word.

For a long while, Pei Shaoyu sat motionless at his desk, those beautiful eyes which seemed to be covered in a layer of mist lingering in his mind.

He closed his eyes tightly, and when he reopened them, his gaze had gradually regained its clarity.

When Lin Tingwan came out of Pei Shaoyu’s office and saw Kuang Ye sitting in his chair playing with his phone, his forward steps gradually slowed down.

Kuang Ye looked up, a smile appearing on his lips as he was about to speak, but the smile froze when he saw Lin Tingwan’s expression.

He stood up and mouthed a word.

Lin Tingwan kept his head down and followed behind him into the smoking room.

The smoking room was empty at the moment, and Kuang Ye locked the door behind him. He turned around and looked at Lin Tingwan, who stood there with his head down in silence. He reached out to hook Lin Tingwan’s chin, but Lin Tingwan dodged it.

Kuang Ye withdrew his hand naturally. Looking into Lin Tingwan’s eyes, he asked, “What happened?”

Lin Tingwan turned his head away and said gloomily, “The wind blew it.”

Kuang Ye looked at him coldly and said with a fake smile, “At least put some effort into it even if you’re perfunctory with me.”

Lin Tingwan was not in a good mood, staring down at his toes: “What do you want with me?”

Kuang Ye was practically about to explode seeing this attitude of refusing to communicate. He turned his head and took several deep breaths before calming down, “Nothing, just wanted to ask how old your kid is.”

Lin Tingwan suddenly looked up, staring deathly at Kuang Ye. His hands at his sides unconsciously clenched into fists, his voice tight: “W-why are you asking this?”

Seeing him with his fur standing up, looking like he was about to enter a combat state the next second, Kuang Ye’s eyes were icy cold, and his heart nearly froze over.

Lin Tingwan was that afraid of him disturbing his family!

Kuang Ye sneered incessantly in his heart, his facial expression very calm, “I heard your kid’s birthday is coming up soon. I want to prepare a gift for him, is that okay?”

Lin Tingwan said without thinking, “There’s no need to waste money.”

“It’s a token of my heart.” Kuang Ye was persistent.

Lin Tingwan’s brow was locked tight, his face tensed in silence.

Kuang Ye let out a long sigh and said with a dejected expression, “Rest assured, I won’t disturb your family. Your kid is having a birthday, and I want to give him a gift. It’s just a token of my heart as an uncle.”

Looking at Kuang Ye’s sad expression and his pleading tone, Lin Tingwan’s heart softened. He bit his lower lip hard, hesitated for a moment, and explained with downcast eyes: “He doesn’t even know you. If you suddenly give him things, I won’t know how to introduce you to him.”

Kuang Ye took a step forward, seemingly wanting to take his hand, but withdrew it halfway. He followed Lin Tingwan’s words: “This is a good opportunity. If I send a gift over, won’t we get to know each other?”

Before Lin Tingwan could say anything, Kuang Ye added: “Giving an inexpensive gift to the child of a good colleague is just a gesture of goodwill; it’s not out of line, right?”

Lin Tingwan was speechless.

Kuang Ye used to speak very little; it turned out that when Kuang Ye wanted to talk, he was quite eloquent.

“Tingwan, I’ve truly let go of our past relationship. We agreed to be colleagues, so let’s just be good colleagues, okay?”

Lin Tingwan couldn’t find words to argue back. Even if he did, it would be useless; Kuang Ye could always rebut them one by one. In the end, he nodded in a daze.

Seeing the little fool was disoriented, Kuang Ye immediately pushed his luck: “Will there be a birthday dinner for friends? Can I come along?”

Lin Tingwan snapped awake instantly, shook his head in refusal, and left the smoking room quickly.

He couldn’t stay with Kuang Ye any longer; this man was terrifying!

Guagua’s birthday happened to be on a Saturday.

Early that morning, before the alarm even rang, Guagua climbed out of bed by himself. Likely because he was too happy, he even forgot his wake-up grump.

The first thing the chubby boy in diapers did was pick out his own clothes.

He was small and couldn’t reach the hangers, but this kid had his own way he grabbed the sleeves and pulled down any clothes he liked. After haphazardly putting them on, he looked in the mirror; those he liked were tossed onto the bed, and those he didn’t were tossed onto the floor.

When Lin Tingwan heard the noise and came in, the floor was covered in scattered clothes, and the bed wasn’t much better. He bent down with a smile to pick the clothes up one by one, asking the little fatty who was still trying things on: “Guabao, haven’t you chosen yet?”

One truly wondered who he took after with this vain streak.

Guagua stood before the mirror, looking at the little boy inside. The little fatty wore a yellow fleece jacket with a red elf hat, blue bloomers underneath, and a small green frog bag hanging on his shoulder.

“Mhm! Chosen!”

Lin Tingwan looked at the child who was as colorful as a billboard and felt his vision go dark. It was a good thing the child was good-looking fair and tender so everything looked good on him; otherwise, this outfit would have been a total disaster.

Seeing the child’s jubilant look, Lin Tingwan silently swallowed the suggestion of “should we change outfits.”

As long as the child was happy.

Once settled, Lin Tingwan led his “billboard” son out the door amidst a patch of “Gua-Gua” croaking.

Thinking that Guagua’s frog shoes had been causing quite a bit of noise pollution lately, Lin Tingwan specially prepared a small gift box and two boiled eggs to place on the mat outside the neighbor’s door.

Lin Tingwan heard an older sister in the office say that in her hometown, there was a custom where on a child’s birthday, you had to “roll eggs” for the child and invite more people to eat boiled eggs to “bite off the disaster.” This morning, Lin Tingwan boiled over twenty eggs. He ate four himself and had over a dozen left, intending to distribute them at lunch.

Kuang Ye also got up very early today. He saw the father and son’s actions clearly through the visual doorbell screen. As soon as Lin Tingwan left, Kuang Ye couldn’t wait to pull the door open and shove the boiled eggs into his pocket; they were warm, just like holding Lin Tingwan’s hand.

He carefully opened the box, holding his breath, unfolding it layer by layer as if he were unfolding his own heart.

Inside the box lay six candies—all the milk candies, chocolates, and such that kids like.

He poked the candies in the box with his finger. He poked them for a long time, unwilling to eat a single one. Along with the small note hand-written by Lin Tingwan, he placed them by his bed, adjusting the position several times before he was satisfied.

After taking a dozen photos, the eggs in his pocket were getting a bit cold. Kuang Ye took the eggs out and took another dozen photos from different angles before slowly eating the two eggs.

After eating, Kuang Ye lay back on the sofa, patting his flat stomach and feeling even hungrier. He opened his phone and sent a hypocritical message to the person who could fill his belly.

yeeze: Is the kid’s birthday today? Remember to say happy birthday to him for me.

After a while, a reply came.

Lin Tingwan: Okay.

yeeze: Does he like the gift?

Sitting in the taxi, Lin Tingwan looked at Guagua playing with that transforming frog robot as if he couldn’t bear to let go of it, feeling quite helpless.

Could there really be a connection between father and son? Why was Kuang Ye’s gift so precise?

Lin Tingwan: He likes it very much, thank you.

yeeze: That’s good.

Lin Tingwan gripped his phone and waited for a while, but Kuang Ye didn’t reply again. He selected “Don’t Show” for the message before putting his phone back into his pocket, letting out a sigh of relief.

“We’re here,” the driver said.

“Thank you, Master.” Lin Tingwan paid the money and led Guagua toward the camping site.

This was Guagua’s first birthday in City B, and Lin Tingwan wanted to leave him with beautiful memories. He had worried about the birthday venue for a long time, and finally, under Zhou Zhou’s suggestion, he booked a relatively good camping ground. This place not only offered barbecue but also many amusement facilities, making it perfect for a parent-child trip.

When they arrived, the staff had already cleared the site. Knowing it was for a child’s birthday, they had even prepared some balloons and fake flowers. Although the decorations were simple, Guagua liked them quite a bit.

Watching the child tilt his head up like a happy little prince, Lin Tingwan ignored the venue fee that had made his heart ache.

After putting the things away, Lin Tingwan told Guagua to go play, but Guagua refused, sticking by Lin Tingwan’s side and running back and forth with him, busy as could be.

“Guabao!”

Guagua saw Bian Wang trotting over and let out a “Wow,” immediately turning to say to Lin Tingwan with great emotion: “Daddy, Brother Wangwang is so handsome he’s making me faint today!”

Bian Wang had dressed up exceptionally handsomely today; not only had he styled his hair, but his clothes and shoes were also carefully selected. Hearing Guagua say that, Bian Wang ruffled Guagua’s fluffy head with a big hand and said with a smile: “Did you eat candy first thing this morning? Your mouth is so sweet?”

Guagua covered his mouth, his eyes wide and round: “Brother Wangwang, how… how do you even know I ate candy this morning?”

Seeing his silly look, Bian Wang and Lin Tingwan laughed at the same time.

“I am the omnipotent Brother Wangwang.” Bian Wang was triumphant, and seeing Lin Tingwan laugh made him even happier.

He looked at Lin Tingwan’s beautiful face, his gaze suddenly softening, “Brother Tingwan, I’m back!”

Bian Wang had to go out for matches every few days, and this time he had been gone for nearly half a month.

“Mhm, welcome back.”

Hearing his gentle voice, Bian Wang felt warm all over. He broke into a grin.

“Guabao, unwrap gifts first or go play first?”

Guagua said without a second thought: “Play!”

Lin Tingwan’s eyes curved, “Go on.”

Bian Wang was a bit dazed by that smile, and didn’t react until Guagua tugged at his hoodie strings. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and take Guagua to play.

Not long after, Feng Xueqing and her husband arrived with Bengbeng. Bengbeng saw Guagua calling him from high up on a slide, greeted Lin Tingwan, and ran off.

Feng Xueqing’s husband was named Luo Hao. He was usually very busy at work, and this was the first time Lin Tingwan had met him. Luo Hao was a very amiable person. After greeting Lin Tingwan, he proactively went to the barbecue grill to get busy.

A moment later, Zhou Zhou arrived. However, his expression was very strange, and he looked like he was about to cry when he saw Lin Tingwan, “Tingwan, I’ve failed you!”

Lin Tingwan was just feeling dazed when he suddenly saw a man who looked very much like Pei Shaoyu, leading a little boy, walking over from a distance.

Lin Tingwan’s eyes widened, thinking he had seen wrongly, and turned to stare at Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou covered his face in shame.

Dressed in casual clothes, the exceptionally handsome Pei Shaoyu walked over with the child and gave a slight smile to the dazed Lin Tingwan.

“Tingwan, you don’t mind me coming uninvited, do you?”

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