Ji Xu watched the red light ahead, gradually bringing the car to a stop. He turned his head, frowning at Cheng Yue, who had been engrossed in his phone since they got in the car.
Nowadays, kids love playing with their phones, even during meals, sleep, and drinking water.
But from Ji Xu’s observation, Cheng Yue was quite good in this regard; he didn’t have the habit of staring at his phone constantly while eating or doing other things.
When the light turned green, Ji Xu drove on and casually asked, “What are you looking at?”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue glanced over, “I’m looking at your Moments. Honestly, your Moments are kind of boring; I almost fell asleep halfway through.”
“Looking at my Moments?” Ji Xu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Aren’t you chatting with those two girls?”
“I was chatting too.” Cheng Yue stuffed his phone into his pocket, adjusted his posture against the seat, and sighed contentedly.
“They said they wanted to be friends with me, and I said okay. Then they asked what my username meant, so I said it was my English name. Then they asked if I was free tomorrow. I told them I’m like an encyclopedia, and they stopped replying.”
Ji Xu almost laughed but decided to remind him, “No dating until you’re of legal age.”
“Okay.” Cheng Yue nodded cheerfully. If he couldn’t date, then he couldn’t date; he didn’t really like girls anyway.
Ji Xu was surprised at how quickly Cheng Yue agreed and thought that the kid might not have figured out much about this yet.
It was getting late, around ten o’clock, and Ji Xu needed to take Cheng Yue to school the next day before heading to the office.
So, as soon as they got home, Ji Xu sent Cheng Yue to the bathroom to take a shower.
Although Cheng Yue mumbled to himself, he obediently took his clothes and went into the bathroom.
After Ji Xu sat on the sofa and discussed the situation with Tang Jing, Cheng Yue came out of the bathroom.
There was a puddle of water outside the bathroom door, and as Cheng Yue stepped into it, he started to fall backward. Ji Xu quickly reached out to steady him.
“Hey!” Cheng Yue’s bathrobe was loosely tied, and when Ji Xu pulled him, his chest was exposed.
Ji Xu saw Cheng Yue’s still-wet hair and let go. “Dry your hair and go to bed early. No playing with your phone.”
“Got it.” Cheng Yue nodded and then asked, “Where’s the hairdryer?”
Ji Xu pointed him to the location, watching as Cheng Yue obediently retrieved the hairdryer. He felt something was off.
Cheng Yue was being too compliant.
Ji Xu worried that the events of the day had affected Cheng Yue. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Cheng Yue pointing the hairdryer at his head. Ji Xu sighed and grabbed a clean towel, draping it over Cheng Yue’s head.
As Cheng Yue prepared to dry his hair, his vision went dark, and he felt dazed. He probably had washed his hair too many times today and felt like his head was filled with water.
When he was in the shower earlier, he hadn’t planned to wash his hair, but once the water was on, he just let it soak.
Seeing Cheng Yue not moving, Ji Xu used the towel to rub his head and said, “If you have any problems, you can talk to me. For something like today, you should call me immediately and let me handle it, don’t…”
“Thank you…”
Cheng Yue interrupted Ji Xu, understanding what he was about to say. He knew Ji Xu’s intentions and felt that no matter what he said now, it would be hollow. But Cheng Yue wanted to show Ji Xu his sincere heart. He wasn’t ungrateful; he appreciated everything done for him.
Cheng Yue lifted his head, looking up at Ji Xu with a somewhat muffled but firm voice, “My mom told me… to be grateful and repay kindness. If you’re taking care of me now, I’ll take care of you in the future. When you’re old, I’ll support you and take you for drives every day. I see you like that… And if you’re unhappy, it’s okay to mock me or scold me. I’ll forget it quickly…”
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who was barely reaching his shoulder, seriously talking about taking care of him when he was old. Ji Xu felt a bit of a headache.
He poked Cheng Yue’s smooth forehead with a finger and said helplessly, “Your head isn’t very big, but you sure think a lot. Go to bed now. If you’re not up by six tomorrow morning…”
“I’ll definitely be up!” Cheng Yue shouted, rushing to his room and shouting back, “If not, I’m your son!”
The next morning, at six a.m..
“No…”
Cheng Yue, groggy, buried his head in the pillow while holding half the blanket, not wanting to get up. He used half of his mom’s tactics to plead, “I need to sleep a bit longer… Just a bit… Five more minutes?”
“Call me ‘Dad’.” Ji Xu looked down at the lingering figure on the bed.
“Dad…” Cheng Yue reluctantly complied, “Dad, let me sleep a little longer…”
“Alright.” Ji Xu looked at his watch. “I’ll give you five more minutes.”
Cheng Yue, hearing this, immediately turned off the alarm and half-buried himself in the blanket, falling back to sleep.
Two minutes later, Cheng Yue suddenly dreamt that he was late because he got up late, and Ji Xu was very disappointed, pointing at his nose and saying, ‘I don’t have a son as foolish as you!’
Cheng Yue was startled awake, almost jumping up from the bed.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue and said calmly, “There are still three minutes. You can sleep a bit more.”
“I’m not sleeping anymore!” Cheng Yue sniffed, threw off the blanket, and jumped out of bed.
Cheng Yue got himself ready in just ten minutes and nervously walked up to Ji Xu, who was sitting on the sofa drinking water.
“I’m done.”
“Have breakfast first,” Ji Xu said, not looking away from his computer screen. “It’s on the dining table.”
“Okay, okay.” Cheng Yue turned and headed to the table.
In just the blink of an eye, Ji Xu was about to close his laptop when he saw Cheng Yue, who had just turned to the dining table, stuff his mouth full of bread.
“Mmmph…” Cheng Yue spoke with his mouth full, unable to articulate clearly.
Ji Xu found it both amusing and exasperating. He poured a glass of water and handed it to Cheng Yue, “Eat slowly. I’m not rushing you.”
“I’m in a hurry.” Cheng Yue took a sip of water, his cheeks puffed up like a chubby hamster.
Ji Xu couldn’t resist giving his cheek a pinch and asked, “What’s the hurry? It’s not time yet.”
“I’m afraid you’ll get anxious.” Cheng Yue finally swallowed the food in his mouth and said, “Let’s go.”
“Are you full?” Ji Xu asked.
Cheng Yue nodded quickly.
“Take the milk from the table with you,” Ji Xu said.
There wasn’t much traffic in the morning. After Ji Xu dropped Cheng Yue off at school, he still had more than ten minutes before his scheduled time to meet Cheng Yue’s homeroom teacher.
There weren’t many people around the school, but once Ji Xu and Cheng Yue entered the building, the sounds of reading indicated that the students were likely having morning reading sessions.
As they went upstairs past several classrooms, Cheng Yue curiously looked into those classrooms and then turned to Ji Xu, asking, “What are they reading?”
“Morning reading,” Ji Xu explained briefly.
Cheng Yue snorted dismissively. High school in China seemed so boring to him.
Ji Xu heard the snort, turned to look at him, and noticed Cheng Yue’s red cheek. Frowning, he asked, “Why is your face red?”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue touched his face, “Really? I think you pinched me this morning.”
Ji Xu recalled how much force he had used in the morning, frowning in confusion. He hadn’t pinched him hard, but seeing Cheng Yue’s clearly red cheek, he leaned in to take a closer look.
“It’s nothing. It’ll fade later. I didn’t even feel it,” Cheng Yue said, trying to downplay it, though he actually felt sore on his face for a while.
Ji Xu was about to say something when a middle-aged woman appeared in the classroom ahead. She frowned when she saw them and waved them over.
“Mr. Ji?” the middle-aged woman asked softly.
“Yes.” Ji Xu looked at her attire and smiled, extending his hand. “Good morning, Teacher Chen.”
“Good morning.”
Teacher Chen quickly shook his hand and then looked at Cheng Yue, who was staring at her with wide eyes.
“This must be your brother, Cheng Yue?”
“Yes.” Ji Xu turned to Cheng Yue and introduced, “This is your homeroom teacher. You should call her Teacher Chen.”
“Hello, Teacher Chen.” Cheng Yue extended his hand in a well-mannered manner.
Teacher Chen led them to her office, where they talked for a while. During this time, the school bell rang, and a few girls carrying their homework came into the office.
When they saw Cheng Yue, their faces turned red as they lingered, placing their homework aside but not leaving.
When the class bell rang again, Teacher Chen clapped her hands and said, “I have understood the basic situation about Cheng Yue. Mr. Ji, you can rest assured. The child’s issue isn’t significant. His grades might lag behind, but I will do my best to help him.”
After Ji Xu thanked her again with a smile, he gave Cheng Yue a few reminders before turning to leave the school.
At that moment, Cheng Yue was standing on the stage with Teacher Chen.
The stage was crowded with heads, probably forty or fifty students.
With almost eighty pairs of eyes fixed on him from below, Cheng Yue felt overwhelmed. He lowered his head and adjusted his cap down further.
“New student Cheng Yue has just transferred from the United States. Please help him get familiar with the environment,” Teacher Chen said with a smile, trying to put her hand on Cheng Yue’s shoulder. However, due to her height, she couldn’t quite reach him.
Seeing her trying to stand on tiptoe, Cheng Yue, remembering Ji Xu’s repeated emphasis on respecting teachers, bent his knees and squatted down a bit, resembling a horse stance.
Now, Teacher Chen’s hand was successfully placed on his shoulder.
The students below the stage erupted in laughter, finding the new and handsome student a bit silly.
