Cub's Dad Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Good morning, Bo Zai." Xie Yishu rubbed Bo Zai's little head, closed the rice cooker, and prepared to let the porridge simmer for a while longer. He then turned to look at Gu Yanzhi.

Gu Yanzhi was still standing at the bedroom door, staring at him without blinking. He looked like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey and tear it apart, yet he made no move.

Xie Yishu walked up to him.

Gu Yanzhi remained in the same position, gripping the door handle.

Xie Yishu noticed the bulging veins on the back of his hand and reached out to cover Gu Yanzhi's hand with his own.

Gu Yanzhi's hand trembled slightly.

Xie Yishu bit his lip in heartache, took a step forward, and hugged Gu Yanzhi. Before he could say anything, Gu Yanzhi tightly encircled his waist.

Gu Yanzhi's grip was so strong it felt like he wanted to merge Xie Yishu into his own body. It hurt a bit, but it also gave Xie Yishu a sense of reassurance. Xie Yishu could sense Gu Yanzhi's unsteady breathing, so he raised his hand to smooth Gu Yanzhi's hair and softly said, "I'm sorry for making you search for so long."

Gu Yanzhi buried his face in Xie Yishu's shoulder, inhaling the fresh scent of Xie Yishu. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Will you leave again?"

He didn't know what he would do if he heard Xie Yishu say he would leave again.

Gu Yanzhi held Xie Yishu's waist tightly. He felt as if he were being torn in two. One half screamed to lock his Xiao Shu away in a place only he knew, while the other half couldn't bear to do it. He couldn't bear to take away Xiao Shu's freedom or make him sad.

Fortunately, Xie Yishu told him, "I won't leave."

"I will never leave you again."

Bo Zai looked up, glancing at Dad and then at Mom. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and stretched out his chubby arms to hug both Dad's and Mom's legs.

He wanted to join in the hug with his parents too.

The three of them quietly embraced for a while.

Xie Yishu felt that the man holding him should be calming down by now. He hugged Gu Yanzhi tightly once more, then reached out to pat the arm wrapped around his waist, signaling Gu Yanzhi to let go of him first.

Gu Yanzhi was somewhat reluctant, but when Xie Yishu patted him a second time, he slowly let go.

Xie Yishu held Gu Yanzhi's hand. "I know you have a lot of questions for me. Let's talk about them after breakfast. I made you a bowl of millet porridge, though it's a bit thin..."

Gu Yanzhi shook his head and tightened his grip, saying softly, "I like it thin."

Xie Yishu didn't take Gu Yanzhi's words seriously.

He knew that if he had accidentally added too little water and turned the porridge into a thick paste, Gu Yanzhi would have said he liked it thick. Gu Yanzhi's words to comfort him weren't reliable; he still needed to observe him in daily life.

From his three years of observation in university, Xie Yishu knew that Gu Yanzhi actually preferred thicker porridge, with some pickles on the side, and could eat a big bowl of it.

It was just that he had accidentally made it thin this time.

Xie Yishu led Gu Yanzhi to the dining table, let go of his hand, and walked towards the kitchen. "You and Bo Zai sit at the table first, I'll go serve the porridge."

Gu Yanzhi responded with a soft "mm," pulled out a chair, and sat down, facing the kitchen, his gaze never leaving Xie Yishu. Bo Zai tiptoed and climbed onto the chair next to Gu Yanzhi, happily swinging his short legs.

Since there was no bib for him here, he pulled out a napkin and placed it in front of him as a makeshift bib.

When Xie Yishu came out with the millet porridge, he saw that the little chubby boy* was already fully prepared to eat.

*will be little chubby boy from now on instead of little chubby cub

Xie Yishu paused for a moment, placed the millet porridge in front of Gu Yanzhi, and turned to negotiate with the little chubby boy, "Bo Zai, how about we have noodles for breakfast?"

He had also added too little rice.

Bo Zai nodded blankly, not understanding why Dad had millet porridge while he didn't. Xie Yishu pinched his chubby cheek and said, "I'll go cook it, it will be ready in a little while," then went back into the kitchen.

Gu Yanzhi stirred the porridge in his bowl.

Bo Zai stared intently at the porcelain bowl in Gu Yanzhi's hand and couldn't help but say, "Dad, the porridge is hot. Can Bo Zai help you blow on it?"

He really wanted to taste the porridge that Mom had made.

Gu Yanzhi glanced at the little chubby boy and, sensing his intention, refused, "No need, Dad can blow on it himself."

Gu Yanzhi scooped a spoonful of porridge and, remembering something, looked at Bo Zai again. "Bo Zai, was it Mom who brought you to see Dad yesterday?"

Bo Zai, enviously eyeing the porridge in front of Gu Yanzhi, didn't pay attention to what Dad was saying and simply nodded his little head absentmindedly.

"How did Mom find me? Is he..." Gu Yanzhi paused, considering a possibility, "Is Mom now your activity teacher at the kindergarten?"

Bo Zai, still fixated on the porridge, nodded.

"You recognized him as Mom from the beginning?"

Nod.

"...But you didn't tell Dad?"

Nod, nod.

Bo Zai snapped out of his daze, realizing he had been nodding enthusiastically. He looked up at Dad, suddenly stiffening.

Dad's expression didn't look good.

The little chubby boy panicked and, in a rush, explained everything: how he met Mom, why he didn't dare tell Dad that he had seen Mom, and although he didn't tell Dad he met Mom, he did bring home the little bread and cakes Mom gave him to share with Dad.

Finally, he cautiously called out, "Dad?"

Gu Yanzhi's thin lips pressed into a straight line.

For a moment, he really wanted to pull his son over and give him a couple of firm spanks.

Bo Zai looked at Dad's expression and lowered his chubby face.

At the beginning, Mom didn't acknowledge him because he wasn't behaving well. He was worried that Dad would be angry if he found out, so he thought he would wait until he made Mom like him again before telling Dad everything.

But now he knew that what he did was wrong.

He shouldn't have only thought about himself.

Bo Zai mumbled, "Dad, I'm sorry."

Gu Yanzhi let out a sigh.

He couldn't bring himself to scold Bo Zai or spank him. Bo Zai was only five years old and didn't understand much yet. It was something that needed to be taught gradually. In this matter, Bo Zai had made mistakes, but he wasn't the only one at fault; Gu Yanzhi had made mistakes too.

If he had taught Bo Zai earlier that he should always tell adults about things and not try to handle them on his own, he might have reunited with Xiao Shu a week ago.

Moreover, if he had investigated "Teacher Xie" the day he found out about him... Gu Yanzhi pressed his lips together in regret.

"Dad, the sponges on Bo Zai's butt can be taken off tonight." Bo Zai said, hanging his little head. "Then, you can spank Bo Zai."

Gu Yanzhi was silent for a moment before speaking, "Dad won't spank you."

"In this matter, Dad is also at fault."

The fault lay in not telling Bo Zai that Xie Yishu didn't know about his existence; the fault lay in not teaching Bo Zai to tell him about things and communicate with him.

"Did Dad scare you just now? I'm sorry, it's Dad's first time being a dad, so please be understanding."

Bo Zai nodded his chubby face, thought for a moment, and said to Gu Yanzhi, "Dad, it's also Bo Zai's first time being a son, so please forgive Bo Zai this time too."

Gu Yanzhi nodded, "Bo Zai, this afternoon, think about what you did wrong in this matter. Dad will also reflect on it this afternoon. In the evening, we will review our mistakes together."

Bo Zai quickly responded, "Okay."

While the father and son were talking, Xie Yishu had finished cooking the noodles.

He put a large handful into the pot and used a soup bowl to serve them. He also took out three small bowls and three pairs of chopsticks.

Gu Yanzhi didn't want to lose his composure in front of Xie Yishu, so he slowed down his pace when eating. After finishing the millet porridge, he picked up the bowl and chopsticks then slowly ate the remaining noodles in the soup bowl.

Bo Zai usually used a fork to eat noodles, so he was a bit unskilled with chopsticks, making his noodle-slurping speed slower.

By the time Gu Yanzhi and Xie Yishu had finished eating, his small bowl was still half full.

The little chubby boy wasn't one to waste food, and he indeed wasn't full yet, so for once, he didn't finish at the same time as Dad and Mom. Instead, he continued to focus on seriously slurping his noodles.

Xie Yishu looked at Gu Yanzhi, who was also looking at him.

Xie Yishu lowered his head to avoid Gu Yanzhi's gaze and softly said, "These past five years..."

He paused, unsure of how to continue.

He didn't know how to tell Gu Yanzhi that five years ago, he had transmigrated to another world, and recently, he had returned, bound to an internship system that required him to help promote the civilization of Ancient Blue Planet.

But he didn't want to use the excuse of "misdiagnosis" to deceive Gu Yanzhi.

Gu Yanzhi was different from the dean, Ning Buzhuo, and Wei Shi.

He could fabricate a story about being "misdiagnosed with a terminal illness" to prevent the dean and Ning Buzhuo from worrying because they were his family.

Gu Yanzhi was not only his family but also his lover.

He didn't want Gu Yanzhi to hide things from him, so he wouldn't hide things from Gu Yanzhi either.

They should be honest with each other.

"I haven't figured out how to say it yet, Gu Yan. Let me tell you when I'm ready, okay?"

Gu Yanzhi nodded, adding a condition, "As long as you don't leave again."

He wanted to know what had happened to Xie Yishu in the past five years, why he had suddenly disappeared, as if vanishing from Atlantis. He and the team he hired had searched through thirty-six star systems but couldn't find him.

But all of that was insignificant compared to Xie Yishu himself. As long as Xie Yishu didn't leave his side again, he could wait—wait until Xie Yishu was ready to tell him everything.

After Gu Yanzhi finished speaking, he quietly looked at Xie Yishu.

He hadn't seen Xie Yishu for five years, and no matter how much he looked, it was never enough.

Xie Yishu understood Gu Yanzhi's unease and reassured him once more, "I won't leave again this time."

He thought for a moment and decided that if Gu Yanzhi knew he wouldn't leave even after finding out about the large debt, it might put him at ease. So he asked, "Gu Yan, how much debt do you have? I'll help you solve it together."

Gu Yanzhi was stunned.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Xie Yishu worried that he might be unwilling to talk, so he added, "Now that I'm back, we can figure it out together. We can definitely pay it off."

Gu Yanzhi didn't understand why Xie Yishu thought he had debts. Just as he was about to say he didn't owe any money, he caught sight of Bo Zai's serious little face as he put down his chopsticks.

Bo Zai gently kicked him.

The little chubby hand opened under the table, showing him the number "five."

Grandma Qiu had told him that in the new kindergarten, he shouldn't let others know that his dad had money. So when others asked, he followed what he saw on TV, saying his dad was a mechanic, had no money, and owed a lot of debt.

Mom might have heard about this from someone else, leading to the misunderstanding.

But it didn't matter.

Because he hadn't told anyone exactly how much Dad owed.

Dad had set his weekly allowance limit at one hundred interstellar credits, and Tori had told him that the platform would split the tips he gave to Mom fifty-fifty.

As long as Dad told Mom he owed fifty interstellar credits, then after he sent Mom the "Blossoming Flowers" this week, Mom could withdraw the credits to help Dad "pay off the debt."

Bo Zai calmly hinted for Dad to say "fifty."

The next second, he heard Dad hesitantly say, "F-Fifty million."

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