Cub's Dad Chapter 25

 Chapter 25

Mistaken for the little chubby cub's parent, Xie Yishu didn't think much of it. He hurriedly grabbed the jacket from the back of his chair and went out the door, speaking to the little chubby cub on the other end of the light brain device, "Bo Zai, wait for me there. I'll be there soon."

The little chubby cub nodded tearfully.

The young man holding the light brain device interjected, "I'll hang up now and send you the location."

"Okay, thank you."

"No problem at all." Lin Yang ended the video call, sent the location to Xie Yishu, closed the children's light brain device, and patted the little chubby cub's head. "Alright, don't cry. Your mom will be here soon."

Bo Zai sniffled softly, then turned his chubby face away in frustration, not appreciating the gesture.

Just now, he was knocked down by this older brother, landing squarely on his bottom, which still hurts! Then, he was embarrassed in front of his mom... The little man's pride was severely wounded, and now his mood was very low, not wanting to talk to anyone!

Lin Yang smiled helplessly, "Sorry, brother wasn't watching where he was going. Does your bottom still hurt?"

The response was a sullen little back of the head.

Lin Yang had no choice but to touch his nose and not bother him anymore.

Seeing this, Gu Heng chuckled, "Don't you have a younger brother? Use the tricks you use to coax him."

"My brother is easy to please; a couple of spins and he's happy," Lin Yang looked at his partner holding the little chubby cub and suggested, "How about I carry him and spin him around a couple of times? Kids usually like that."

Gu Heng didn't comment, but he nodded towards Lin Yang, "Alright, you take him. He's heavy."

"Bo Zai is not heavy!" This statement hit the little chubby cub's sore spot precisely. He struggled like a little penguin flapping its short fins, righteously defending himself, "Bo Zai is just slightly chubby!"

A chubby bird on the tree hopped twice, tilting its head and looking at him with its little black bean eyes, "Chirp?"

Bo Zai, feeling a bit guilty, tucked in his little belly, but still confidently emphasized again, "Just slightly chubby!"

The scene of the little chubby cub emphasizing in his baby voice that he was just slightly chubby was really funny.

Lin Yang held back his laughter, took the little chubby cub from Gu Heng's hands, weighed him a couple of times, and coaxed, "Yes, indeed, just slightly chubby."

Gu Heng crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Lin Yang spin around with the little chubby cub. After a while, feeling a bit thirsty, he said to Lin Yang, "I'm going to buy some water. What do you want to drink?"

"Let me think... herbal tea."

Gu Heng nodded but didn't leave, looking at the little chubby cub expectantly.

Bo Zai then realized that the other was waiting for him to speak. His chubby face turned red, and he awkwardly said, "Bo Zai wants Awang milk."

Gu Heng turned and went to the nearby convenience store. After a while, he came out with two bottles of herbal tea and a box of milk. He handed the herbal tea to Lin Yang and, after inserting a straw into the milk, handed it to the little chubby cub. "Here you go."

Bo Zai took the Awang milk and softly thanked him, "Thank you."

When someone gives you food, you can't be picky, and when someone gives you something, you can't be ungrateful. A box of Awang milk was enough to turn the little chubby cub from a tough little steel ball into a soft, sticky rice dumpling.

Bo Zai sipped on his Awang Milk, his cheeks puffing up with each sip.

Even when Lin Yang squatted down to poke his little belly and chubby cheeks, Bo Zai only glanced at him before continuing to drink his milk earnestly.

Not far away, a taxi stopped, and someone hurriedly got out.

When Bo Zai saw the person, his eyes lit up. He stopped drinking his milk, handed the milk box to Lin Yang, and dashed forward on his short legs. He couldn't reach Xie Yishu's waist, so he hugged his leg instead, looking up with his chubby face and obediently saying, "Teacher Xie!"

He had just cried, so his eyes were a bit red, and there were still tear stains on his chubby cheeks, making him look very pitiful.

Xie Yishu nervously checked Bo Zai over and, seeing no external injuries, finally relaxed.

Lin Yang and Gu Heng walked over.

Xie Yishu recognized them as the two young men who had contacted him and, holding Bo Zai's hand, thanked them again, "Thank you for reaching out to me."

Seeing this, Bo Zai clumsily bowed as well.

"It's nothing, no need to thank us," Lin Yang waved his hand. He looked at Xie Yishu, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen him before.

Gu Heng took out a child safety harness he had just bought from the convenience store and handed it to Xie Yishu. "It's busy outside on weekend nights. Don't let the child get lost again."

Xie Yishu was momentarily stunned but accepted the safety harness, appreciating the gesture without offering much explanation. "Alright, thank you."

Bo Zai looked at the harness. He knew what it was; he had seen many uncles and aunts using it for their little babies when playing outside.

Grandma Qiu had also wanted to use it for him, but he thought it was childish and refused.

But if it was with Mom, it might be okay.

Bo Zai imagined the scene of Xie Yishu taking him out to play and using the harness to lead him, feeling a bit eager.

As he imagined, his stomach growled.

Gurgle.

The sound from below caught the attention of the three adults present.

Bo Zai's chubby face turned red. Seeing that they were all looking at him, he quickly lowered his chubby face.

He had eaten dinner.

Bo Zai fiddled with his fingers.

It was just that after drinking the milk, he felt a little bit hungry again.

Xie Yishu chuckled and reached out to ruffle the soft hair of the little chubby cub. "I'll take you for a late-night snack in a bit."

He then looked at the two young men. "Would you like to join us? My treat."

"No, thank you." Lin Yang thought for a while but still couldn't remember where he had seen the little chubby cub's parent before. He smiled and said, "We need to get home early."

Recently, he had been learning to make toys from a craft streamer, hoping to bring some back to District 21 for his younger brother during the next holiday. The live stream usually started at 8 PM, and although he had missed the beginning today, he could still catch up if he hurried back now.

After Lin Yang and Gu Heng left, Xie Yishu took Bo Zai for a walk around the area. He had taken a leave from his live stream, so they had plenty of time.

Besides a 24-hour convenience store, there was also a bakery still open.

Xie Yishu let the little chubby cub decide, "Bo Zai, where do you want to go?"

Bo Zai pointed to the bakery.

The bakery didn't have many options left, so Xie Yishu bought a chocolate tart for the little chubby cub. Seeing Bo Zai's hands and mouth covered in chocolate, he took him to the convenience store to buy a pack of wet wipes.

After Bo Zai was full, Xie Yishu wiped his hands and face with the wipes and got to the point, "Bo Zai, were you outside alone? Where is your dad?"

Bo Zai paused his hand on his little belly, sat up straight, and guiltily avoided Xie Yishu's gaze, looking down and obediently saying, "Bo Zai came out to find Dad."

"In the future, you can't come out alone so late. You need to call Teacher." Even though there are personal terminals now, which reduce the risk of abduction or getting lost, it's still very dangerous for a child to be outside alone at night. "Do you know where your dad is? Teacher will take you to find him."

Bo Zai nodded his chubby face, opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. After a long pause, he tentatively said, "Zero, zero plus zero?"

He couldn't quite remember the name of the neighborhood where his parents used to live, only vaguely recalling that it sounded like a math problem.

Hearing the familiar name, Xie Yishu was momentarily stunned. "Lin Jia Li*?"

*zero plus zero is líng jiā líng, it's a phonetic approximation of Bo Zai

"Yes, yes, that's it." Bo Zai nodded vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice. "Lin Jia Li."

Lin Jia Li was a bit far from here, about an hour's drive. It was near Nanxi University, where Xie Yishu had co-rented an apartment with Gu Yan during his junior and senior years.

He had also visited there not long ago, hoping to find Gu Yan, but was told that the apartment had been vacant for a long time.

"Which building and unit?"

The little chubby cub was stumped by the question.

He was only five years old, and there was only so much he could remember. Being able to recall "zero plus zero" was already quite impressive. As for the exact building, unit, and apartment number, he racked his brains but couldn't remember.

"Teacher Xie, Bo Zai will call and ask."

As Bo Zai spoke, he dialed Gu Yanzhi's number and put the light brain device to his little ear, only to hear the electronic voice: "The number you have dialed is not answering..."

Bo Zai put down the light brain device, feeling a bit lost. "Teacher Xie, no one is answering..."

Dad rarely didn't answer his calls.

With the other party not answering, Xie Yishu was also at a loss.

Xie Yishu thought for a moment and then said to Bo Zai, "How about this, Bo Zai? You send a text message to your dad, telling him that you are with Teacher. Teacher will take you back to the kindergarten, and you can sleep with Teacher tonight, okay?"

Since Bo Zai had run out alone, there probably weren't any adults at home. Xie Yishu didn't feel comfortable sending him back to an empty house.

Bo Zai's eyes lit up instantly. He was just about to nod and say yes, yes, when he remembered the two layers of "super shield" on his bottom.

Bo Zai's chubby face wrinkled.

He looked at Xie Yishu, then touched his chubby bottom, and after a while, he had an idea.

He opened the children's light brain device, pulled up a photo of Gu Yanzhi, and handed the device to Xie Yishu, hesitantly saying, "Teacher Xie, look at Bo Zai's dad's photo."

He didn't know where his parents used to live, but his mom definitely would.

Xie Yishu looked at the screen, and when he saw the man in the photo, his expression froze.

"Teacher Xie?"

It took Xie Yishu a while to find his voice again. "Bo Zai, is this your dad?"

Bo Zai nodded his chubby face.

"Your dad's name is Gu Yan?"

"Zhi," Bo Zai corrected, "Gu Yanzhi."

Gu Yan.

Gu Yanzhi.

Missing one character, Xie Yishu felt this couldn't be a coincidence.

Moreover, this photo... Xie Yishu closed his eyes, then opened them again to look at the photo.

The man in the photo had slightly shorter hair than Gu Yan did in college. Under the cool lighting, he appeared somewhat stern but also more composed.

It was the Gu Yan he knew so well.

"Bo Zai." Xie Yishu felt his voice tighten. He tried to sound more relaxed, but he failed. He knew how nervous he was and how afraid he was of hearing an unwanted answer from the little chubby cub. "Bo Zai, your mom is..."

"It's you." Bo Zai's chubby face was full of tension, looking even more afraid of hearing an unexpected answer than Xie Yishu. "Teacher Xie, aren't you Bo Zai's mom?"

Xie Yishu looked at Bo Zai, and Bo Zai nervously looked back at Xie Yishu.

Three minutes later, Xie Yishu had digested the fact that he had a five-year-old son.

The little chubby cub had recognized him from the start but didn't dare to acknowledge him because of his "stranger" attitude.

He thought he also understood why Gu Yanzhi was heavily in debt.

The "Incubation Pod Program" had a fixed number of slots each year. Some were selected from families that submitted applications, while a smaller portion could be bought.

Xie Yishu didn't know the exact price, but he knew it was astronomical.

Bo Zai tugged at Xie Yishu's clothes and tentatively called out, "Mom?"

Although Xie Yishu had come to terms with the fact, being suddenly called "Mom" still felt a bit strange.

He thought for a moment and said to Bo Zai, "Call me Little Dad."

"Little Dad!" The little chubby cub was excited, tiptoeing and hugging Xie Yishu's waist, rubbing his chubby face against Xie Yishu, "Little Dad! Little Dad!"

Xie Yishu's heart melted into a puddle.

He already liked Bo Zai a lot, and now that he knew about their relationship with him and Gu Yanzhi, this liking had become even more complex and hard to describe.

Xie Yishu bent down and picked up the little chubby cub, feeling a strange sensation when his arm touched Bo Zai's bottom.

He put Bo Zai down and squatted to ask him, "...... Bo Zai, did you put something in your pants?"

Bo Zai glanced at Xie Yishu, then looked down at the tips of his little shoes, feeling he couldn't hide it any longer. He whispered to his fingers, "Bo Zai put two small stainless steel bowls."

Xie Yishu couldn't help but laugh and cry after hearing the reason why the little chubby cub had stuck stainless steel bowls in his pants.

He repeatedly assured that he wouldn't let Gu Yanzhi have a chance to harm Bo Zai's chubby bottom, and took the little chubby cub to the restroom to remove the pants and retrieve the bowls.

"You can't do this next time." Xie Yishu said, while separating the bowls from the little pants.

Although the super glue was very sticky, fortunately, the contact area between the bowls and the pants was small. Xie Yishu easily removed the two small stainless steel bowls, only to turn his head and see two dishwashing sponges peeking out from the little underwear.

Xie Yishu tried to tug at the sponges, but they didn't budge.

"Bo Zai, did you... did you use super glue on the sponges too?"

Bo Zai silently nodded his little head.

Xie Yishu was amused by the little chubby cub's calmness. Holding back his laughter, he said to Bo Zai, "It's okay, they'll naturally come off by tomorrow."

He put Bo Zai's pants back on, picked up the little chubby cub, and gave him a little bounce.

The little chubby cub was already very soft, and now with two sponges padding his bottom, he felt quite nice to hold.

But he was a bit heavy.

A solid little chubby cub.

Xie Yishu patted Bo Zai's back. "Let's go, I'll take you to find your dad."

There were still many people in the nighttime maglev bus.

Xie Yishu was quite lucky to find the last available seat for the little chubby cub.

Bo Zai usually traveled by car. This was his first time on a maglev bus, and he was a bit excited, his short legs swinging back and forth. He was still a bit reluctant to get off when it was time.

"Little Dad, can we ride the bus again sometime?"

Thinking about the life Gu Yanzhi and Bo Zai had been living these past years, Xie Yishu felt a pang of heartache. "Sure."

"You can ride as many times as you want." He held Bo Zai's hand and walked towards Building 17, Unit 3. "Little Dad will take you."

Lin Jia Li, Building 17, Unit 3, Apartment 501.

Xie Yishu stood at the door with the little chubby cub, hesitating to press the doorbell.

He had imagined the scene of reuniting with Gu Yanzhi.

Imagined saying to Gu Yanzhi, "Long time no see, how have you been these years?"

Imagined that one of them might hug the other, and also imagined that they might be at a loss for words.

He had rehearsed each scenario in his mind several times.

But he hadn't expected that the reunion would happen here. He was holding the little chubby cub's hand, bringing him to find his dad.

What should he say to start?

Long time no see?

I'm Bo Zai's life teacher, bringing him to find his dad, and I didn't expect his dad to be you?

I missed you?

Xie Yishu's mind was in a mess.

Bo Zai glanced at the door, then at Xie Yishu, tilting his little head in confusion. "Little Dad?"

Why wasn't Little Dad knocking on the door?

Hearing Bo Zai's urging, Xie Yishu responded. Looking at the familiar security door, he took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

There was no response from inside.

Xie Yishu pressed it again.

Still no response.

Just as Xie Yishu was about to press it a third time, the door opened in front of him.

Gu Yanzhi stood behind the door, looking at him coldly.

Like a dangerous wolf.

Neither Xie Yishu nor Bo Zai had ever seen Gu Yanzhi like this.

Xie Yishu managed better, but Bo Zai was clearly frightened. He swallowed and called out softly, "Dad?"

Gu Yanzhi ignored him, his eyes fixed intently on Xie Yishu.

Then he stepped closer, one step at a time, and hugged him tightly.

"Where did you go?"

Gu Yanzhi's voice was somewhat hoarse, and the hands clasped around Xie Yishu's waist trembled slightly. Like an abandoned dog, he murmured, "I couldn't find you."

"I didn't mean to drink so much."

"But only then would you come out to see me."

"Xiao Shu." Gu Yanzhi buried his face in Xie Yishu's shoulder, his voice carrying a barely perceptible fragility. "Where did you go?"

"I..." Xie Yishu managed to utter a syllable before realizing how dry his throat was. He blinked away the moisture in his eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I'm back."

The old rental apartment had a faint smell of alcohol.

Bo Zai watched from the side, and Xie Yishu didn't want to linger on the sorrowful topic for too long.

He raised his hand and patted Gu Yanzhi's head, as if soothing a large dog, and asked, "How much did you drink tonight?"

Gu Yanzhi mumbled, "I don't remember."

Unlike on Gulan Star, the alcohol in Atlantis didn't leave a lingering smell. Xie Yishu couldn't judge how much Gu Yanzhi had drunk, but the smell of alcohol in the room suggested it was quite a bit.

Xie Yishu stroked his slightly short hair and asked, "Do we have ingredients for sobering soup at home? I'll make you a bowl, okay?"

Gu Yanzhi was silent for a moment, then tightened his grip around Xie Yishu's waist, stating in a low voice, "Then you'll leave again."

Dealing with a drunk Gu Yanzhi was challenging.

Xie Yishu said to Bo Zai, "Bo Zai, you go inside first." Once Bo Zai was inside, Xie Yishu began to slowly move towards the house. Although Gu Yanzhi wouldn't let go, he moved a step, and Gu Yanzhi followed.

After both of them were inside, Xie Yishu closed the security door.

"This time, I won't leave again."

"I promise."

As he spoke, something fell out of Xie Yishu's pocket.

Xie Yishu looked at the child safety harness on the ground and suddenly had a bad feeling.

The next second, his premonition came true.

Gu Yanzhi picked up the harness, his gaze shifting from the harness to Xie Yishu's face, his voice hoarse, "How can you promise that?"

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