Chapter 27: Dad, Please Don’t Leave Me!

Night, half past ten.

The sky was pitch black, with not a star or a sliver of moonlight in sight. The streetlights on either side of the road struggled feebly against the surrounding darkness.

A cool wind swept by. Lin Chuan, who had just stepped out of a taxi, shivered involuntarily.

At this rate, it looked like it was going to rain tonight.

After leaving the bar, Lin Chuan had first called a designated driver for Yuan Ye, then hailed a cab himself to pick up his son from the apartment complex where Wang Yue lived.

“That little rascal must be asleep by now,” Lin Chuan muttered to himself as he walked. Lin Yiyang hadn’t seen him all day—who knew if he’d cried or thrown a tantrum, or whether he’d be angry when they met. Lin Chuan had already thought up explanations on his way over.

Once downstairs, Lin Chuan took out his phone, found Wang Yue’s number, and dialed.

“Hello?” After a short wait, a soft feminine voice answered.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so late,” Lin Chuan said apologetically.

“It’s fine. Are you finished?” Wang Yue replied quietly.

Lin Chuan smiled. “Yes, I’m downstairs now.”

“Come on up then, Yiyang’s asleep.” After a brief hesitation, Wang Yue spoke in a calm tone.

“Uh, would that be all right? I mean, after all, you…” Lin Chuan hesitated.

The apartment was co-rented by Tang Qinru and Wang Yue. Rarely did people come to visit them, let alone a man. Lin Chuan, a grown man, showing up at a women’s residence in the dead of night—if the neighbors saw, it would be sure to stir up gossip.

Besides, he and Wang Yue weren’t exactly close. Her invitation might just be out of courtesy. Accepting so readily would be a bit shameless.

Wang Yue understood what Lin Chuan was worrying about and didn’t insist. “Alright, then wait for me downstairs. I’ll bring Yiyang down.”

“Thank you, and sorry for the trouble,” Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

If Wang Yue had insisted he go up, Lin Chuan really wouldn’t have found a reason to refuse.

Not long after, the corridor lights flickered on. Wang Yue appeared, hair loose, wearing pale yellow pajamas with a jacket draped over her shoulders, carrying the still-sleeping Lin Yiyang in her arms.

Lin Chuan hurried over, about to speak when Wang Yue glanced at him and said, “Have you been drinking?”

“Heh, met up with a friend today, had a few drinks. Yiyang wasn’t any trouble at kindergarten, was he?” Lin Chuan laughed awkwardly.

“Yiyang is very well-behaved, got along well with the other children. It’s just, when he heard you wouldn’t be picking him up tonight, he seemed a bit unhappy,” Wang Yue said flatly.

Hearing this, Lin Chuan glanced guiltily at his son and sighed, “It won’t happen again.”

“You’d better get going. Looks like it’s going to rain tonight—be careful on the road,” Wang Yue said, handing the child over and giving a few more reminders.

Lin Chuan nodded gratefully, exchanged a few more polite words, then turned and left, carrying his sleeping son.

Wang Yue stood there, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. She watched the father and son walk away, but the frown on her face did not ease.

From their very first meeting, she hadn’t thought much of Lin Chuan. Though subsequent encounters had lessened her initial dislike, some reservations remained.

Perhaps it was her profession that made her hope Lin Yiyang could have a happy, complete family. Or perhaps, from start to finish, she had always harbored a certain prejudice against single fathers like Lin Chuan.

As for the true reason—who could say? It was best for men not to try to guess a woman’s heart.

By the time Lin Chuan got home, it was already past eleven. Lin Yiyang hadn’t woken even once along the way, which eased Lin Chuan’s worries considerably.

He gently laid his son on the bed and tucked him in, then went to freshen up in the bathroom.

That night, Lin Chuan did not sleep well. Several times he was startled awake by nightmares, always calling out the same words—“Cousin, don’t…”

Early the next morning, Lin Chuan had just finished preparing breakfast and was about to wake Lin Yiyang.

When he entered the room, he found the little one sitting by the window, staring outside in a daze.

“Well, look at you—up so early for once!” Lin Chuan said with a smile as he walked over.

Lin Yiyang said nothing, not even turning his head, continuing to look out the window with his back to Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan frowned, approaching. “What are you looking at? See anything interesting out there? Tell Dad, let’s share.”

“Dad, why don’t you want me anymore?” Suddenly, Lin Yiyang turned to him, blurting out the question.

“Don’t want you? Son, are you still half-asleep?” Lin Chuan’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Why didn’t you pick me up from kindergarten yesterday? Is it because you don’t want me anymore?” As he finished speaking, a layer of moisture formed in Lin Yiyang’s beautiful eyes, his nose twitching as he fought back tears.

“Silly boy, how could Dad not want you? Your uncle came yesterday, so I went to have a drink with him,” Lin Chuan scooped his son up and explained with a smile.

A child’s world is simple. Lin Chuan hadn’t come to pick him up the day before, and it triggered a sense of crisis in Lin Yiyang’s heart. He feared being disliked, and even more, he feared that his father might abandon him.

Or perhaps, while Lin Yiyang seemed mature for his age—growing up in an incomplete family—he wasn’t truly more grown-up than his peers.

Since he could remember, his mother had never been around. The reason he acted so mature was, in fact, to protect himself, to protect his already fractured family.

He was terrified of being abandoned again, of his only father turning away from him as his mother had. At just five years old, Lin Yiyang had been deeply deprived of any sense of security from the moment he learned to understand the world.

“I hate uncle, I hate both of you…” Lin Yiyang broke free from Lin Chuan’s arms and ran, shouting, into the bathroom.

“What a temper he’s got,” Lin Chuan laughed awkwardly to himself, then turned and headed for the kitchen.

When Lin Yiyang emerged from the bathroom, he had already washed his face and brushed his teeth, but his little face was still clouded with gloom.

“Come eat, Dad will take you to kindergarten in a bit,” Lin Chuan called, breakfast ready.

Lin Yiyang said nothing, silently taking his seat at the table, lowering his head to sip his thin porridge.

On any other day, the father and son would be chatting and laughing, sometimes even playfully roughhousing. But today was different—Lin Yiyang still hadn’t forgiven yesterday’s slight, and didn’t so much as lift his head.

To break the heavy silence, Lin Chuan searched for something to say. “Yiyang, did you have fun at kindergarten yesterday? Made lots of friends, right?”

“…”

Lin Yiyang acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to drink his porridge.

Unfazed, Lin Chuan pressed on, “Let me tell you, no puppy love, okay? At least not yet. But if there’s someone you like, you can introduce them to Dad first…”

What kind of talk was that? Forbidding puppy love, but clearly encouraging it at the same time.

“…”

Lin Yiyang still ignored him.

Lin Chuan shook his head with a wry smile. His son’s stubbornness was truly unyielding.

After a while, Lin Chuan tried again, “What did you learn in kindergarten? How about a little quiz? I’ll give you a riddle. Suppose I’m a monkey—what’s the first thing you’d want to say to me?”

After thinking for a moment, he actually threw out the tricky question that had stumped that taxi driver the other day.

Ordinarily, it was parents making things hard for their own kids, but this was just shameless.

He expected Lin Yiyang to keep ignoring him and drink his porridge in silence.

But to his surprise, as soon as Lin Chuan finished asking, Lin Yiyang stopped eating, shot him a disdainful look, and said impatiently, “Monkey, I ate your master.”

With that, he went back to his porridge.

Lin Chuan frowned, chewing over those words: “I ate your master? What does that mean?”

After pondering for quite a while, Lin Chuan suddenly slapped his thigh, startling Lin Yiyang.

“Hahaha! ‘I ate your master…’”

Watching his father laugh like an idiot, Lin Yiyang pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly.

All morning, Lin Chuan couldn’t stop chuckling over that answer. In truth, it wasn’t so much a riddle as a cold joke.

That’s precisely why most people would overthink it, searching for complex or obscure answers, never hitting upon the real one.

At the kindergarten gate, Lin Chuan waved goodbye repeatedly, while Lin Yiyang kept looking back, his eyes full of reluctance.

Just as he was about to go in, he suddenly turned and ran back to Lin Chuan.

“Dad, you must come pick me up tonight!” Lin Yiyang threw himself into his father’s arms, teary-eyed.

“Don’t worry, Dad will be there. And no fighting with your classmates, listen to your teachers, and if you need anything, look for Miss Yue, alright?” Lin Chuan’s nose tingled, his voice soft.

Lin Yiyang nodded, wiped away his tears, and headed inside.

Only when his son’s figure had disappeared inside the building did Lin Chuan breathe out and turn for home.

Shortly after he got back and was tidying up in the kitchen, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Lin, I’m not stepping foot in your cramped little place. I’m waiting for you downstairs—get moving!” Yuan Ye shouted.

Last night at the bar, Lin Chuan had promised to accompany Yuan Ye to discuss some sponsorship business. He said nothing more, gave his word, hung up, and hurried out the door.