A Single Father’s Troubles - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Liking

Kuang Ye calmed down immediately after he finished roaring. He knew Lin Tingwan’s personality; he responded to the carrot, not the stick. Once he settled down, Kuang Ye wanted to explain a few things, but Lin Tingwan didn’t give him a chance to remedy the situation at all; the phone emitted a “busy” tone.

Lin Tingwan actually dared to hang up on him!

Kuang Ye was deathly angry. With a sour face, he redialed, but the call would no longer go through. Kuang Ye raised his hand and smashed his phone, gave the shattered pieces a fierce kick, and muttered a low curse word.

Lin Tingwan stood there, lost in spirit. He wasn’t guilty; he was afraid. If Kuang Ye really barged in, what was he supposed to do?

Zhou Zhou stood to the side, holding her breath. Having known Lin Tingwan for over a year, she had never seen him look so despondent and uneasy. She couldn’t help but worry: “Tingwan, are you okay?”

“Ah?” Lin Tingwan snapped back to reality in a daze, gave a tired smile, and whispered: “…It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

He wanted to say let’s end it here for today. But looking at the busy Pei Shaoyu and Luo Hao, and looking at Guagua and Yuanyuan playing so happily not far away… Lin Tingwan really couldn’t bring himself to say something so disappointing. He could only pray in his heart that Kuang Ye wouldn’t show up.

Fortunately, the heavens heard his plea. Right until the end of the activity, Kuang Ye never appeared. The heart that Lin Tingwan had kept suspended all afternoon finally settled back into his chest.

“…Tingwan?”

“Ah? What?” Hearing someone call him, Lin Tingwan looked up.

Pei Shaoyu’s eyes flickered. “You’ve been distracted this whole time. Did something happen?”

Zhou Zhou stood by, not daring to say a word.

Lin Tingwan managed a forced smile. “Just a bit tired.”

Bian Wang quickly interjected: “Then let’s go back! Playing all day is indeed tiring, and the little ones have all fallen asleep!”

Zhou Zhou and the Feng Xueqing couple left one after another.

Standing by the car, Pei Shaoyu asked Lin Tingwan, who was holding the child: “Xiao Lin, how are you getting back? You live in Luhu, right? I’m heading that way, shall I give you a lift?”

Bian Wang stepped in front of Lin Tingwan, flashing a row of grimly white teeth at Pei Shaoyu with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: “Mr. Pei, I’ll take them back. I brought my car.”

Pei Shaoyu’s gaze swept over the hostility in Bian Wang’s eyes and asked Lin Tingwan: “And this is… your younger brother?”

Bian Wang: “…”

Talking about the pot calling the kettle black!

“Mhm, yes. President Pei, thank you for the kindness, but I’ll take Bian Wang’s car.”

As if receiving a royal decree, Bian Wang light-footedly took the sleeping Guagua from Lin Tingwan’s arms and placed him in the child safety seat.

Lin Tingwan leaned in to get into the car and waved at Pei Shaoyu: “President Pei, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Pei Shaoyu watched them get into the car before getting back into his own.

The movement of the car door opening and closing woke the light-sleeping Yuanyuan. Yuanyuan rubbed his eyes, looked left and right, and looked up blankly: “Daddy, where is Little Brother Guagua?”

“They went home.”

“Oh.” Yuanyuan hung his head gloomily, staring at his snowy-white fingertips.

He didn’t like himself; he was too white. But Little Brother Guagua said he was a snow doll and was very pretty. He also felt like he had become a bit cuter.

Pei Shaoyu used a wet wipe to clean Yuanyuan’s face, which had gotten dirty from playing. His movements were very gentle: “Did you have fun today?”

“Mhm.” Thinking of the afternoon, Yuanyuan slowly revealed a soft smile, his eyes sparkling: “I like Little Brother Guagua.”

As if remembering something, he urgently grabbed Pei Shaoyu’s hand and pleaded: “Daddy, can Little Brother Guagua be my brother?”

“Little Brother Guagua only has one daddy.”

“I also only have one daddy.”

“If Little Brother Guagua and I are together, we’ll have two daddies.”

Pei Shaoyu looked at those exceptionally bright eyes on his tired little face, and Lin Tingwan’s beautiful face involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He narrowed his eyes and promised his son while stroking his small head: “Daddy will try his best.”

Bian Wang was still driving his father’s Volvo.

Guagua was fast asleep. Lin Tingwan sat quietly in the back seat, his head turned toward the window, his gaze falling into the thick night.

Through the rearview mirror, Bian Wang looked at that elegant profile and spoke softly: “Brother Tingwan? Who are you thinking about? Are you thinking about Pei Shaoyu?”

Lin Tingwan looked up at him with some surprise, shook his head, and said curiously: “No, why would I be thinking about him?”

Bian Wang said gloomily: “You look a bit off. I thought… Brother Tingwan, are you facing some difficult situation?”

“Just a bit tired from playing.” Lin Tingwan closed his eyes wearily and didn’t speak further.

Bian Wang also fell silent, struggling over whether to say something he shouldn’t.

Thinking like this all the way, by the time Bian Wang finally made up his mind and wanted to ask Lin Tingwan if he planned to find another father for Guagua, he discovered that Lin Tingwan had fallen asleep at some unknown point. He was pressed close to Guagua, his sleeping face peaceful and defenseless.

Bian Wang’s heart suddenly softened.

Forget it, I’ll talk about it next time there’s a chance.

He thought this with a smile on his lips.

Lin Tingwan had a dream.

The dream was full of Kuang Ye’s face. At first, it was just static images, then suddenly Kuang Ye started talking and it wasn’t anything nice. He pressed close to his ear and barked his name fiercely. It gave Lin Tingwan such a palpitation that he snapped his eyes open and woke up.

Lin Tingwan clutched his chest in distress, closed his eyes, and took a few breaths. When he opened them again, he finally regained a sliver of clarity.

Looking up, he met Guagua’s eyes, which were full of worry: “Daddy, did you have a nightmare?”

Lin Tingwan let out a slow breath and stroked his son’s head without speaking.

Although he was quite tired today, Guagua was indeed incredibly happy. After getting home, he was still chirping to Lin Tingwan about how delicious the cake was today and how beautiful the gifts he received were.

“Eh.”

Guagua squatted down and poked a small box inside a gift bag on the rug, asking Lin Tingwan: “Daddy, was this sent by a delivery guy?”

Guagua observed for a while and found a sticky note on the back of the box. He picked up the paper and read it out loud: “Wish… Little… Moon… Moon… another… happy… birthday!”

“Daddy, is it the delivery guy’s birthday?” Guagua pointed at the gift, asking curiously.

Lin Tingwan picked it up and saw it said [Wish the little friend a happy birthday].

Lin Tingwan smiled and stroked his son’s head: “It’s not ‘Little Moon Moon,’ it’s ‘Friend’ (Pengyou). This word is read as ‘Friend’.”

“Oh, wish the little friend a happy birthday.” Guagua was quite bright; holding the paper, he read “little friend” to himself twice and asked Lin Tingwan: “Daddy, is it for me?”

“Yes, you are a little friend.”

Guagua was puzzled: “Is the smoking guy next door a delivery guy?”

Kuang “Delivery Guy” Ye, who had returned a step ahead of them and was standing in front of the visual doorbell listening to the father and son talk in circles: “…”

He grumbled in his heart: This son of Lin Tingwan’s must have genes that take after the mom a little dummy.

“He isn’t a delivery guy. It’s likely because we gave him candy this morning, so he gave you a gift.”

“Oh! It’s the good guy brother!”

Lin Tingwan hadn’t expected this neighbor he’d never met to give Guagua a gift. Stroking his son’s head, he suggested: “Baby, let’s go say thank you to the neighbor?”

“Mhm, mhm, yes, yes. Thank the good neighbor for giving baby a gift.”

Guagua stood on his tiptoes and gently pressed the little bell on the code lock, as if afraid that using too much force would break it.

He pressed the doorbell three times in total, but no one opened the door.

“Daddy, the good neighbor isn’t home.”

“Mhm, then let’s go inside first. We’ll come back to thank him later.”

Around eight o’clock, Lin Tingwan brought Guagua to knock again, but still no one opened the door. After he finished bathing Guagua and telling him a story, he went out and placed the box of imported cherries that Zhou Zhou had given him at the other’s door.

When he went out the next morning, Lin Tingwan saw that the box of cherries had been taken inside, and only then did he feel relieved.

Lin Tingwan didn’t sleep well that night; he couldn’t help but keep thinking about Kuang Ye’s words. Lin Tingwan decided to find a time to talk to Kuang Ye.

Saturday, just after he and Guagua finished breakfast, Zhao Congfang gave him a call. She said the school was organizing an autumn outing for staff, and if Lin Tingwan didn’t plan on taking Guagua out to play, they wanted to “borrow” Guagua to show him off as their grandson.

The elderly Bian couple loved Guagua. After they moved to Luhu, Zhao Congfang also came to visit every few days. After Lin Tingwan asked for Guagua’s opinion, he sent Guagua over to the Bian house.

The weather was very good today. At nine o’clock, the warm sunlight shone on him, giving Lin Tingwan an inexplicable bit of courage. After dropping off the child, Lin Tingwan sat on a bench downstairs in the compound and dialed Kuang Ye’s number.

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