Since the beef had already been prepared and marinated by Huangniu Village, even with the half-baked barbecue skills of Zi Yan and his father, the flavor turned out quite good.
Without mentioning the hair issue again, the atmosphere between the two instantly became harmonious.
A faint smile of happiness appeared on Zi Yan’s face; he had little resistance to delicious food.
Although his appetite was small and he would get full after just a bit, the feeling of savoring delicious flavors in his mouth was truly addictive.
Having eaten his fill but still wanting more, Zi Yan took a sip of cola.
“Dad, can you help me wash my back after I shower later?”
“Sure,” Zheng Quan said as he cleared the table. “Why the sudden urge for someone to wash your back?”
Zi Yan pressed on his shoulders. “I’m a bit tired today. I think it’d be inconvenient if I tried to wash my own back.”
Because he habitually slept without clothes, Zi Yan always took a shower every night before bed.
Just now, when he lifted his arm to pinch the meat into the grill, he felt soreness in his shoulder, and raising his arm was a little difficult.
It was probably from the bus ride earlier— since there was no seat at first, holding onto the handrails made him tired.
Sigh, his body really was fragile.
Also, Zi Yan had his hair trimmed today— though just a simple edge trim to tidy his hairstyle— but no matter what, some fine hairs still fell inside his clothes, irritating his skin and feeling prickly and uncomfortable.
Taking a shower was definitely the most comfortable.
Zheng Quan’s apartment dormitory wasn’t large; the bathroom and toilet were combined, so there was naturally no bathtub like at the Huguang Shanse Hotel.
Fortunately, Zheng Quan had installed a thermostatic showerhead, with the water temperature perfectly set at 40 degrees Celsius, making the shower experience quite enjoyable— almost luxurious.
The living room curtains had long been drawn; only Zi Yan and his father were at home.
Zi Yan took off his clothes, leaving only his underwear, and stepped into the bathroom.
Seeing this, Zheng Quan said, “Better keep your clothes on and turn on the heater in the bathroom before taking them off. It’s cold—be careful not to catch a cold.”
“Click.”
The bathroom door closed, but it wasn’t locked.
Zi Yan’s voice came softly from the other side of the door: “It’s just a few steps. The thermostatic showerhead provides hot water immediately, no problem.”
Then the sound of water droplets striking the tiles came, along with the faint yellow glow of the bathroom heater light.
“Ah,” Zheng Quan sighed, smiling and shaking his head.
Zi Yan’s immunity had been weak since he was a child—Zheng Quan knew this well.
He recalled when Zi Yan was three years old, a cold and fever lasted more than twenty days before he got better.
Though he had grown up, it was still better to be cautious.
After all, it was already autumn, and the room was quite chilly.
After tidying the table, since work at the office was light today, Zheng Quan picked up his quiet phone, checked for messages, found none, and put it down, feeling bored.
He switched on the TV to watch Haizhou TV Station’s news.
The screen showed Zheng Quan himself, expression calm and eyes composed, delivering a speech.
“Haizhou’s framework as a major city has been completed; the next focus should be—”
Watching himself give a speech felt quite strange.
Zheng Quan sat on the sofa and stretched.
Haizhou…
He had been working hard for Haizhou for seven years, but he didn’t know what kind of person would lead Haizhou after the next term.
Zheng Quan felt toward Haizhou as he did toward Zi Yan.
From a small city with just one district, to expansion, then gradually opening transportation routes to surrounding counties and cities.
One tall building after another rose, large shopping centers settled in Haizhou, and Zheng Quan carefully orchestrated it all like building a block tower—step by step constructing the framework of a big city.
This was his life’s work.
“Dad, can you come help wash my back now?”
The water stopped abruptly in the bathroom, and Zi Yan opened the door crack and said.
The bathroom was warm; outside it was cold.
The temperature difference was quite big; Zi Yan shivered as he opened the door, quickly closing it again.
“Coming.”
The bathroom was humid; Zheng Quan felt sticky as soon as he entered.
“Son, aren’t you turning on the exhaust fan?”
Hearing this, Zi Yan instantly gave him a deadpan look.
“Dad, how many days has it been since you last showered?”
“A week. Why?”
Zi Yan remembered.
At Huguang Shanse, with such excellent bathing facilities, Zheng Quan hadn’t showered even once.
“I’ll just quickly rinse off after you finish,” Zheng Quan said, reaching to press the exhaust fan button, but nothing happened.
“Is it broken?”
“Yeah,” Zi Yan said, sitting obediently on the plastic stool under the showerhead, gathering his long hair in front of his chest. “It broke right after the National Day holiday. I thought you’d notice and get it fixed when you showered.”
Zheng Quan said, “It’s probably just the switch. I’ll take it apart and check later.”
But that would be after some time.
Zheng Quan wetted his hands at the sink, picked up the goat milk soap, rubbed it to create foam, then began applying it in circles on Zi Yan’s back.
“By the way, Dad,” Zi Yan suddenly said, “can you try pressing the part of my back that corresponds to the heart area?”
“Here?” Zheng Quan asked, puzzled, found the spot, and pressed lightly.
“Ooh, exactly.”
It wasn’t quite sore or numb, but a bit hard to bear and uncomfortable, yet there was a faint urge to feel it again, which struck Zi Yan’s little mind.
“What’s wrong?” Zheng Quan asked.
“Nothing, it just feels strange when you press here…”
“How about I take you to the hospital for a check-up one day?” Zheng Quan suggested.
“Hospital…” Zi Yan frowned and shook his head. “I don’t feel unwell, so I really don’t want to go to a place like that.”
And so the father-son conversation ended there.
“…” Zheng Quan said no more, gently spreading the goat milk soap foam over Zi Yan’s entire back.
Indeed.
While washing Zi Yan’s back, Zheng Quan quietly observed.
Although he had already seen his son’s body during Zi Yan’s sleeping without clothes, being this close still made it hard for Zheng Quan to subjectively think of him as a boy.
The feel of his back was so soft and delicate…
How did his son develop like this?
He was almost like a girl.
“Dad, it’s time to use the wet towel now, right?” Zi Yan asked after a while; Zheng Quan had been applying foam for some time.
“Oh, oh.”
Zheng Quan came back to his senses and grabbed the milky white towel nearby.
He soaked it in hot water, wrung it out until damp, and started wiping Zi Yan’s back.
This bathing method was the exclusive secret of Zheng Quan’s wife, Katharina Zweigert, so he was very familiar with it.
First, cover the body with soap, then wipe with a damp towel wrung nearly dry to clean.
After that, apply some foam from the soap again, then rinse directly with the shower.
After washing this way, the towel might turn gray-black, but the body would be thoroughly clean.