When Zi Yan was a child in Antwerp, ever since that time he ran home crying from school, he became unwilling to communicate with others.
In fact, Zi Yan was already very close to being autistic at that time.
If it weren’t for his mother Lina spending a great deal of time and love, patiently and meticulously caring for him, along with those lovely students of Lina who accompanied and guided Zi Yan,
he would have been ruined long ago.
However, even so, Zi Yan still lacked much experience in interacting with others.
“What shampoo do you use? Your hair looks so well taken care of.”
“Huh? You grew up abroad? Belgium? What’s it like there?”
“……”
Just like now, completely clueless about how to continue the conversation, Zi Yan could only respond mechanically and stiffly to the endless questions from this curious kid, truly stuck in an awkward situation.
(Who will save me…)
Fortunately, at this moment, Zheng Quan, who had just finished discussing Zi Yan’s enrollment with Principal Wei, walked out of the teaching building together with him.
“Secretary Zheng, here’s the tuition invoice. Please keep it.” Principal Wei handed over the receipt and said, “The school uniforms will be delivered to your home in a few days. We really appreciate your understanding.”
Haizhou No. 3 Middle School has arguably the most varied school uniform styles in Haizhou City.
There is a summer uniform set— short sleeves and shorts; a spring and autumn set— long sleeves and long pants; during the transition between autumn and winter, there’s a windbreaker jacket; and the winter uniform is a padded cotton jacket and pants.
But if a student only studies here for one year, hardly any parents would agree to buy so many uniforms that can only be worn at Haizhou No. 3 Middle School.
“No problem.” Zheng Quan smiled and nodded at Principal Wei, then called out to Zi Yan from a distance, “Let’s go home!”
Wow!
Zi Yan felt instantly liberated.
He stood up decisively, opened his umbrella, turned back with a polite smile, waved goodbye to Wei Lai, then turned and ran away from Haizhou No. 3 Middle School as if fleeing for his life.
Good grief, finally some peace and quiet.
For a child like Wei Lai, who is outgoing and overly enthusiastic, forgive Zi Yan, he really couldn’t handle it.
……
At noon, Zheng Quan and his son grabbed a quick bite at the Shanxi Knife-Cut Noodle Restaurant right across from Haizhou No. 3 Middle School.
But just as Zi Yan escaped from the tiger’s mouth, he fell into the wolf’s den again.
This noodle shop was anything but quiet.
Probably because the prices were low, the portions generous, and the flavor quite good, it was beloved by the working class.
When Zi Yan pushed open the door, besides being greeted by the warm aroma of noodles, his ears were immediately filled with a kaleidoscope of noisy sounds.
“Boss, two big bowls spicy!”
“Alright!”
“Boss, five yuan for mixed vegetables, plus two yuan cucumber!”
“Alright! Spicy?”
“Yes!”
“Ha ha ha, Old Zhang, I’m eating noodles, will go out to drive after a bit!”
Zi Yan’s meal was an unpleasant experience, giving him a headache even though the noodles tasted very good, and just five yuan for a small bowl was enough to fill his stomach.
Cheap and tasty, but honestly just too noisy.
It was only because Zheng Quan promised Zi Yan that he’d take him to Haizhou’s best barbecue in the evening, guaranteed a private room and absolutely no noise, that Zi Yan’s mood eased a little.
“That girl who was chatting with you earlier— is she Principal Wei’s daughter?” On the bus home after eating, father and son sat side by side. Zheng Quan asked, fishing for conversation.
When he talked with the principal, the principal said that since he was on duty today and didn’t want to leave his daughter home alone, he brought her to school.
So the girl chatting with Zi Yan in the playground wasn’t Principal Wei’s daughter—then whose child was she?
“Uh, uh… ah…” Zi Yan was so sleepy he just yawned, leaning against the seat wanting to sleep.
Thankfully, it was afternoon, and the sun was fully up, striking hard and quickly dispersing the few remaining clouds.
Considering Zi Yan’s health condition, Zheng Quan made sure to take the bus where they had seats and something to lean on.
Though it was only four stops from Haizhou No. 3 Middle School to home… better take the bus anyway.
“Interacting with others more is a good thing; you can’t be too reclusive.” Zheng Quan didn’t mention that Wei Lai and Zi Yan would be in the same class.
Looking at his son’s little face yawning nonstop from exhaustion, he suddenly found him adorable and reached out to tickle Zi Yan’s nose. “Look how sleepy you are. Sleep a bit when we get home. What time is it in Belgium now? About three in the morning? Have you adjusted to the time difference yet?”
“Maybe?” Shrugging for a few seconds, Zi Yan gave a half-hearted stretch.
Though he didn’t fall asleep until late last night, he still woke up at eight in the morning and had over seven hours of sleep, so he should be well-rested.
Probably chatting with Wei Lai just now, not knowing what to say, overloading his brain, made him tired and start to shut down.
Brain shutting down and wanting to sleep isn’t unusual.
“Talking to others… such a tiring thing, don’t come to me with it…”
So after getting off the bus and entering the house, Zi Yan collapsed onto his bed and instantly felt his spirit turn sticky and fuzzy.
———No more, no more, author’s nap break divider———
Zheng Quan, using the rare excuse of accompanying his son just returned to Sunflower Country, took a day off. After Zi Yan fell asleep, he enjoyed a satisfying nap.
Middle age really affects stamina. Staying up late, driving to pick up his child, then hustling through the morning, Zheng Quan felt exhausted.
And since he usually didn’t take naps, this one was especially deep and sweet—so sweet he only woke up groggily at seven in the evening.
“Oh no!”
Zheng Quan looked at his watch and cursed under his breath.
He promised his son he’d take him to Haizhou’s best barbecue tonight, then go shopping at Wanda Plaza.
But now it was past dinner time, and he hadn’t booked a private room at the restaurant.
Would the barbecue place still have a private room available?
If not, eating at a table wouldn’t make Zi Yan happy since he preferred quiet.
Terrible, terrible, terrible.
“Huff… huff…”
While Zheng Quan was thinking of ways to fix this, he suddenly heard soft snoring from Zi Yan’s bedroom.
Looks like his son was still asleep.
Zheng Quan instantly had his excuse (and reason) ready.
He hadn’t had the heart to wake his son because he was so tired, which was why they missed dinner time.
Quietly closing the door, Zheng Quan called the barbecue restaurant. Luckily, there was still a four-person private room available, so he quickly made a reservation.
Then he tiptoed to the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face to refresh, and tidied himself up, pretending he hadn’t just slept.
Time to wake up his son.
Knock knock.
“Son, wake up, time for barbecue.”
“……”
No response.
Zheng Quan smiled, realizing his son was really exhausted.
Indeed, who wouldn’t be tired after flying more than ten hours and being dragged out all morning the next day?
Click.
He turned the doorknob and entered, switching on the light.
“Son…?”
Before Zheng Quan could fully call out, he froze on the spot.
Even back at the airport when he picked him up, he was surprised at how beautifully his son had grown after ten years apart.
Though “beautiful” isn’t usually used for males, Zheng Quan couldn’t find the word “handsome” fitting either. Zi Yan’s gentle kind of beauty was unique.
And now—
His son was asleep.
Lying on his side, hugging the blanket, sleeping naked.
Zi Yan’s exposed skin was delicate and pale. His eyes were tightly closed, a smile on his face, softly mumbling as if dreaming a sweet dream.
His smooth back showed a slenderness and slimness rare even from a girl’s perspective. Even his bone structure was petite, with an hourglass figure close to that of a girl.
His legs, wrapped in the blanket, were white, slender, and straight. His small round bottom had a faint hint of pertness.
In a daze, Zheng Quan even saw a resemblance to his wife Lina’s youthful appearance in Zi Yan.
Truly too alike…
If he didn’t know this sleeping beauty was his son, Zheng Quan might have thought the peaceful sleeper was a girl.
This reality— where removing the clothes made it impossible to tell male from female—
To be honest, in Zheng Quan’s tangled thoughts, there was even a trace of fear.
Where this fear came from, and what exactly he feared, he did not know.
He just blamed it on having not spent time with his son in ten years, and that they were still strangers to each other.
Next time, remind his son to wear pajamas to bed. Right, he’d buy a set at Wanda later.
“Son, wake up.”
Zheng Quan reached out and gently but slowly pushed Zi Yan’s shoulder.
“Ugh ugh.”
Zi Yan furrowed his brows when touched and made some indistinct sounds, probably meaning he was still sleepy and wanted to sleep a little longer.
“Mama… ich bin
m ude gu.” Zi Yan mumbled.
This murmured phrase suddenly stunned Zheng Quan.
Perhaps German was his son’s native tongue, not Sunflower Country’s language.
Moreover, having studied economics for his doctorate in Germany, Zheng Quan could understand this sentence—
Mama, I’m so tired gu…
Yes, that last “gu” must be a sound effect.
“I’m your father.” Zheng Quan sighed helplessly and smiled, pinching Zi Yan’s small nose.
“Get up, we’re going out for barbecue!”