A Single Father’s Troubles - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Male Virtue

Guagua was a particularly sturdy child, the kind who would fall down while walking, pat the dust off his own knees, and endure the pain without crying.

However, at this moment, Guagua was sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. Tears flowed turbulently as his chest heaved up and down.

Lin Tingwan immediately pulled the child into his arms, patting his back and comforting him anxiously, “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Guagua raised his hand to wipe his tears with his tiny fingers. Instead of drying them, he smeared them all over his face, and bean-sized teardrops continued to roll out of his eyes incessantly.

He whimpered between sobs, “Wooo… the kids at kindergarten all have so many, many relatives… I, I don’t have any… wooo…”

“I, I want relatives… Daddy…”

Lin Tingwan’s heart and soul were shaken. His own parents had passed away early; he didn’t even have a father or mother anymore. Where would Guagua get maternal grandparents from?

Lin Tingwan’s hand trembled as he stroked his son’s head, his face filled with agony and his voice choked, “I’m sorry, baby… Daddy is sorry…”

Guagua was already completely immersed in his own grief, wailing loudly, “Dongdong’s uncle buys him delicious food every day… and there’s Paopao’s grandma, Paopao’s grandma is so, so good… Baby doesn’t have any, Baby has no relatives… wooo… Baby only has Daddy…”

The child was only so small, yet he had been forced to mature early because of his upbringing. These words had been hidden in Guagua’s heart for a long time. At this moment, he could no longer hold them back, pouring out all his grievances and sadness like beans falling out of a bag.

He didn’t know how long he had been crying when suddenly, a drop of water landed on his forehead. The child’s crying paused—was it raining?

Guagua looked up in confusion, only to find water dripping from his daddy’s chin. He followed the source of the water and saw Lin Tingwan’s eyes closed in pain, tears streaming steadily from the corners of his eyes.

The child’s eyes widened in terror, and he panicked instantly. He knelt on Lin Tingwan, clumsily trying to wipe his tears with his small hands, his own tears surging out again in his urgency. “Daddy, Daddy don’t cry, Baby doesn’t want relatives anymore… Baby just wants Daddy…”

The child shouted loudly in urgent panic, his cries thick with heavy regret.

He shouldn’t have said those things! He shouldn’t have said those things!

Hearing the child’s wails, Lin Tingwan realized he was crying. Seeing his son’s face pale with fear, Lin Tingwan wiped his face forcefully and coaxed, “Good baby, good baby, don’t be afraid. Daddy is fine.”

Guagua didn’t believe him, his eyes red as he looked at him. “You cried, you cried!”

“Daddy was just… well, just a little sad.” Lin Tingwan was in so much pain he couldn’t find words of comfort; his mouth felt incredibly bitter.

He closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself, masking the agony in his gaze.

“Baby, having you is enough for Daddy.” Lin Tingwan spoke very slowly, gradually taking Guagua’s small hand and pressing it against his own cheek.

They stayed in that quiet embrace for a while until Lin Tingwan’s shaking body gradually returned to calm.

Guagua clutched his clothes tightly, tears flowing silently. “Daddy, I don’t want relatives anymore. Daddy, don’t be sad… I only want Daddy…”

“Mhm, Daddy knows. Stop crying, baby. Or Daddy will be sad too.”

Lin Tingwan held Guagua like an infant, pacing back and forth in the bedroom. Under Lin Tingwan’s gentle coaxing, Guagua’s cries gradually subsided, and he eventually fell asleep while crying. However, his sleep was restless; even in his dreams, he let out soft whimpers.

Looking at the child’s eyelashes wet with tears, Lin Tingwan felt as if his heart had been crushed. He leaned down and nuzzled the child affectionately.

Back then, his parents had passed away one after the other. His maternal grandparents, who loved their daughter like life itself, would think of his mother every time they saw him, often falling seriously ill from excessive grief. For the sake of the two elders’ health, Lin Tingwan had almost stopped disturbing them altogether.

As for the relatives on his father’s side… there wasn’t much to say. As soon as his parents died, his uncle and grandmother tried to kick him out of the house, even nearly snatching away the house and the things inside that his mother had left for him…

He had no relatives left to contact.

Before he had a child, he could allow himself to live like an isolated island, staying within his own small territory. But that wouldn’t work anymore. Humans are social animals. He already couldn’t give Guagua a normal family with two parents; he couldn’t let Guagua have no relatives at all.

Kuang Ye’s face floated into Lin Tingwan’s mind. He couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.

Kuang Ye’s family was likely very happy. If they knew about Guagua’s existence, even if Kuang Ye didn’t accept him, his parents would probably… would probably love and care for Guagua very much, right? But if they knew about Guagua, would they still allow Guagua to stay by his side? Perhaps they could accept Guagua, but what about himself? Where would he fit in then?

Lin Tingwan tossed and turned all night thinking about these things and didn’t sleep well. He rarely woke up late the next morning.

After dropping Guagua off at kindergarten, he rushed toward the office. Before he even reached the office door, he saw a very familiar figure standing at the end of the hallway from a distance. Kuang Ye stood against the light, his silhouette appearing very handsome.

Seeing one of the culprits behind his heavy heart, Lin Tingwan really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. He turned around, wanting to leave.

“Lin Tingwan. Where are you going?”

Lin Tingwan’s back stiffened. He slowly turned around, forcing a smile: “I—I’m going to get some water!”

Kuang Ye was holding two insulated bags. His gaze fell on the backpack on Lin Tingwan’s shoulder, his eyes full of suspicion. “Going to get water with your bag on?”

“Mhm, mhm. I’m a bit thirsty.” Lin Tingwan licked his lips to cover his tracks. “I came in such a hurry I didn’t drink any water.”

“Oh.” Kuang Ye strode over. Seeing Lin Tingwan wasn’t moving, he gave his shoulder a gentle nudge. “Go get water then. After you get it, we’ll eat breakfast together.”

With a bitter face, Lin Tingwan followed him into the breakroom. Wasn’t Phase One of the project over?! The Fuchuan team had already withdrawn, so why was Kuang Ye still coming here!

After closing the door, Kuang Ye’s gaze landed on the two large dark circles under Lin Tingwan’s eyes. He said dissatisfiedly, “Why are your dark circles so heavy? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

The area under Lin Tingwan’s eyes was bruised dark, and his eyeballs were bloodshot; he couldn’t hide his exhausted expression.

Lin Tingwan didn’t expect him to reach out, so he was startled and quickly dodged his hand, reminding him: “There are cameras!”

“No one will be watching.” Kuang Ye frowned. “The brat was bothering you?”

“No, just insomnia.” Lin Tingwan tilted his face away slightly, not looking at Kuang Ye. He looked down at the breakfast on the table and said stiffly, “You… you eat. I’m going to work.”

Kuang Ye grabbed his hand. “Eat with me.”

Lin Tingwan frowned as he looked at Kuang Ye. No matter how well Kuang Ye treated him, it couldn’t offset the troubles Kuang Ye brought him. If Kuang Ye hadn’t suddenly shown up, he could have lived a peaceful life with his son. If Kuang Ye were acting tough with him now, he would definitely leave immediately. But Kuang Ye was speaking to him in that tone he usually used when Guagua acted spoiled; he really didn’t know how to refuse.

“…It—it can’t be for too long.”

Kuang Ye gave a light snort, picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks, and held it to Lin Tingwan’s lips. “Try it, the taste is good.”

Lin Tingwan truly had no appetite and hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning. But smelling the fragrant pan-fried dumplings, he actually felt a bit hungry.

He opened his lips and bit the dumpling, his tender red tongue flashing momentarily.

Kuang Ye’s throat rolled at the sight. Then, thinking that the number of times he could enjoy such a beautiful sight would drop sharply in the future, his mood soured again: “Tsk, once the project here ends, we’ll have even fewer chances to meet… Do you want to change jobs? How about coming to work at my company? I can have the old man appoint me as a director at a branch office. You can be my secretary.”

He was currently studying under Sun Qing and would go to be the top leader at another Fuchuan branch in B City after the New Year. This was the path Kuang Yü had arranged for him—to rise steadily step-by-step. Eventually, the great ship of Fuchuan would be handed over to him.

He would be the boss at the branch office, and Lin Tingwan would be the secretary.

The secretary does the work when there’s work, and when there isn’t… cough.

Lin Tingwan chewed the dumpling, his cheeks puffing out like a little hamster. Kuang Ye found joy in feeding him and couldn’t help but keep offering food to his lips.

“Mmph… can’t eat anymore.” The spring roll was slightly hot, and Lin Tingwan’s eyes were full of water.

Kuang Ye felt a pang of regret, thinking it would be better if those words were said in bed.

He stuffed the half-eaten spring roll Lin Tingwan hadn’t finished into his own mouth, then polished off the rest of the breakfast in a few bites. Lin Tingwan watched in shock—with that appetite, no wonder he was so big; even his hands were a size larger than his own.

Kuang Ye took a tissue and carefully wiped the corner of Lin Tingwan’s mouth, continuing the previous topic: “Come be my secretary?”

Lin Tingwan swallowed the food in his mouth and rejected him very tactfully: “I’m quite satisfied with my current job.”

Kuang Ye snorted heavily. “What’s so good about a crappy job that doesn’t even let you afford a nanny?”

Speaking of nannies brought it back to the child. Speaking of the child concerned the time the two of them spent together. So the root of the issue was right there. Regarding the topic of the child, Lin Tingwan would absolutely not engage with Kuang Ye, nor would he tell Kuang Ye that he was already looking for a nanny.

He looked down and pointed at the half-eaten containers on the table, asking: “Still eating?”

Kuang Ye, having his topic forced away, grit his teeth and said: “…No appetite anymore!”

“Oh.” Lin Tingwan acted as if nothing was wrong, briskly tidying up the trash on the table and pretending not to see Kuang Ye’s dark face. “Then, then I’m going to work?”

Kuang Ye crossed his arms and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Seeing that Kuang Ye didn’t refuse, Lin Tingwan took it as agreement, picked up the trash, pushed open the door, and went out.

Kuang Ye didn’t expect this guy to be so irritating. He wanted to shout for Lin Tingwan to stop, but he was afraid his emotions would get the better of him and he’d have a bad attitude toward him. He stayed and sulked by himself for a while. Only when his anger had mostly subsided did he chase after him.

Just as he walked into the hallway, he heard Lin Tingwan talking to someone. Kuang Ye slowed his pace.

“…I completely understand. But President Pei, I have to go back and ask Guagua before giving you a reply, okay?”

“No problem, I’ll wait for your news.”

After Lin Tingwan separated from Pei Shaoyü, he threw the trash into the bin.

His arm was suddenly grabbed forcefully. Lin Tingwan let out a startled cry.

“What did you promise that guy Pei?!” Kuang Ye grit his teeth, pressing close to Lin Tingwan and trapping him between himself and the wall. He was like a great lion whose territory had been invaded, sniffed around Lin Tingwan’s body irritably.

“It—it’s a children’s play. Yuanyuan… that’s President Pei’s child, wanted to invite Guagua to watch it together…”

“What exactly is that guy Pei trying to do?! Stay far away from that old pervert in the future!” Kuang Ye was fuming. That guy had ill intentions, actually using his son as an emotional card—shameless!

“…Which old pervert?”

Kuang Ye glared. “Are you playing dumb?”

Lin Tingwan thought about Pei Shaoyü’s face; he couldn’t see where he was “old,” let alone “perverted.” He felt that Kuang Ye’s bad habit of accusing people indiscriminately was quite unreasonable. Moreover, the two of them were just bed partners (the unsuccessful version), and Kuang Ye was controlling far too much.

He had realized it: Kuang Ye was possessive and domineering. Even if they only had this kind of relationship, Kuang Ye couldn’t tolerate anyone else being around him.

But Pei Shaoyü was a good boss. These days, finding a normal boss was as hard as finding a good partner; one had to cherish them.

Lin Tingwan held it in for a long while before he couldn’t help but defend him: “What are you thinking? President Pei has no such feelings for me at all. He only invited me because Yuanyuan and Guagua get along very well. And he’s only four years older than me!”

“Do you understand men, or do I understand men?” Hearing him speak up for Pei Shaoyü, Kuang Ye’s face darkened again.

Lin Tingwan saw his expression was twisting, shrank his neck, and reluctantly spat out a word, “…You.”

“Stay away from him!” The more Kuang Ye thought about it, the angrier he got. He pinched Lin Tingwan’s cheeks with both hands and pulled. He was so good-looking yet had zero defensiveness—whose little naive sweetie was this!

“That guy Bian’s gaze isn’t clean either; you should have less contact with him too!”

Seeing him getting more and more ridiculous, Lin Tingwan somewhat admired Kuang Ye’s ability to over-imagine things.

“Kuang Ye, not everyone is like you… thinking I… look alright.”

He originally wanted to say, “Not everyone thinks I’m as great as you do.” But he felt saying that would be too narcissistic, so he didn’t have the nerve. He was so ordinary; was there any reason for others to pursue him? No matter how you looked at it, Kuang Ye was the popular one.

Kuang Ye cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “You are great. Pretty and cute, anyone would like you.”

Lin Tingwan felt a flush gradually rising on his face.

The conversation was getting weirder and weirder.

Kuang Ye looked at his clean, elegant face tinged with two streaks of red, and his clear eyes filled with mist, looking at him bashfully and timidly. His gaze was incredibly pure, like some kind of young animal.

This guy, did he have any idea how charming he was?

Kuang Ye cursed inwardly. Unable to hold back any longer, he pulled him by the waist and kissed him deeply.

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