AGRCIW CH12

“Can Huhu have a twist?” Tang Huhu was eating when he saw the twists in Uncle’s bag.

The little fella, who absolutely loved twists, immediately put down his spoon, propped himself against the coffee table, his gaze almost level with the twists on it.

Lin Songyu said without thinking, “Yes, Uncle bought them for you.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Tang Huhu hadn’t grown all his milk teeth yet, missing two molars, but his front teeth were more than enough to gnaw on a big twist.

Xie Zhuo glanced at the leftover food in the little fella’s bowl, wanting to speak but holding back. If he ate a twist before finishing his meal, he wouldn’t want to eat anything else afterwards. However, he indulged Tang Huhu; it was fine just this once.

Lin Songyu watched the little fella eat the twist. Kids don’t eat neatly; they take a bite and then another, and before long, half the twist would be sticky with saliva, except for the part he couldn’t get to.

“Like a puppy chewing a bone.” Lin Songyu narrowed his eyes, suddenly remembering something. At the age when the little fella was most curious about snacks, he hadn’t bought any for Huhu yet. Should he buy some for the plane?

He hadn’t seen any large snack stores when he arrived, so he called Gao Yang and asked him to buy some children’s snacks and send them over.

“Ones that can be taken on the plane,” Lin Songyu thought that the Lunar New Year was approaching, and normal children’s homes would stock up on many snacks.

“Buy two boxes… no, just a small bag.”

Xie Zhuo was already having enough trouble traveling with the child; he couldn’t carry too many snacks. 

What if he was so focused on carrying snacks that he lost the child? He could send them by express delivery. He’d go to the snack store himself later that evening to browse.

“I’ll take you to the airport later. You two can go through the VIP lounge. I’ll upgrade Huhu to business class.”

Xie Zhuo said, “Thank you, but no need. Infant tickets don’t have separate seats.”

Lin Songyu frowned. A 1.9-meter adult holding Huhu crammed into economy class—how uncomfortable would that be for the whole journey?

 “Then I’ll upgrade your seat.”

“It’s Huhu’s first time flying. Won’t he have a spacious area?”

Xie Zhuo was silent. It was true that flights were expensive near the Lunar New Year, and Tang Huhu would be two years old after the New Year, so he instinctively used the one-time lap infant ticket. Now that Lin Songyu pointed it out, it felt as if he had treated Tang Huhu poorly.

“I’ll upgrade myself.”

Lin Songyu said, “You upgrade yours, I’ll buy another ticket for Huhu.”

One cannot stop others from spending money, especially when President Lin can directly call the airline and request a seat reservation.

Owing more and more…

Xie Zhuo looked at the little fella who was focused on eating the twist. “Don’t eat yet, do some work.” He held Tang Huhu’s hand, stopping the twist from entering his mouth, and said to the bewildered fella, “Uncle has to spend an extra two thousand yuan to buy you a seat.”

Tang Huhu didn’t quite understand what “buy a seat” meant, but he knew what two thousand yuan was: it had three zeros.

“Huhu doesn’t want it!” The little fella shook his head vigorously, shaking off the twist crumbs on his cheeks.

Lin Songyu gritted his teeth. Is this how Xie Zhuo usually educates his child? Deliberately fostering Huhu’s habit of checking prices? It was enough to infuriate him.

Lin Songyu felt annoyed with Xie Zhuo again. He had originally thought he was pitiful for being in a car accident and having no wife. Really, how did his wife tolerate him? Anyone she found in her next life would be better than Xie Zhuo.

Lin Songyu put away his phone.

Tang Huhu: “Did Uncle buy it?”

Lin Songyu: “No.”

Tang Huhu: “Really, really no?”

Lin Songyu remembered this little fella could read bills, and, with the idea of teasing him, opened his bank statement. “Look, no payment.”

Tang Huhu immediately saw a shocking expense that startled the little fella: “Did Uncle also lend money to Uncle Yang He?!”

Lin Songyu looked and saw it was the 200,000 yuan deposit for the watch his assistant had just ordered.

Lin Songyu felt that saying “it was spent” might cause some commotion, so he said, “…Uh, yes.”

Was Yang He a bank in Tang Huhu’s mind? If he had money, he had to give it to him. Was he supposed to say, “This money is only enough for Uncle to buy a watch”? Lin Songyu didn’t dare say it out loud.

Lin Songyu sat cross-legged beside the little fella, resting his chin on one hand, his upper arm propped on the coffee table, watching Tang Huhu eat his twist stick. So cute, each bite only managed to graze the twist; if he couldn’t bite here, he’d move to another spot.

“Uncle, have a bite.”

Suddenly, the little fella held the drool-covered twist to his mouth. Lin Songyu pursed his lips, his head instinctively tilting back. He was on high alert, his brain rapidly calculating: Should he eat it? Would not eating it affect their relationship?

“Does your—does your dad eat the twists you’ve eaten?”

Tang Huhu nodded without hesitation: “Yes!”

A sense of competition surfaced like a gourd in water. Lin Songyu gritted his teeth; he couldn’t lose to Xie Zhuo. If Xie Zhuo dared, so did he. Lin Songyu closed his eyes, slightly opened his mouth—

“Tang Huhu,” Xie Zhuo called. “Dad said if you get food all covered in saliva, Dad won’t help you finish it.”

Don’t trick Uncle.

“Aw.” Tang Huhu pulled back the twist. It was a bit big; he couldn’t finish it. It would be too wasteful to throw it away! Huhu would eat a little more.

Lin Songyu pulled out a tissue, wrapped the drool-covered upper part, turned it upside down, and took a small bite from the end. It was crispy, sweet, and had a savory scallion flavor.

“Uncle helped you eat a bite. Now it’s not a shame to throw it away,” Lin Songyu gently coaxed the conflicted little fella. Based on his experience with “eating the sugar off the tanghulu and then throwing it away” last time, he understood what Tang Huhu cared about.

Tang Huhu’s dark, round pupils brightened: “Thank you, Uncle.”

Xie Zhuo paused his action of spreading the dust cover, watching the two interact. Lin Songyu was actually willing to eat Tang Huhu’s leftovers. Xie Zhuo wouldn’t dislike eating what his own son had eaten, but Lin Songyu… why?

He took a wet wipe to clean Tang Huhu’s hands. After Tang Huhu finished, he hugged Lin Songyu, as if their relationship was especially good. Lin Songyu sat on the floor, Tang Huhu in his arms, both with equally round, almond-shaped eyes, watching Xie Zhuo… work alone.

They watched him cover the sofa with a dust cover and pack Tang Huhu’s essential clothes and toys. Tang Huhu suddenly crawled out of his embrace, ran into the bedroom, and after a while, came out with a calculator, which he put into the suitcase.

Xie Zhuo took out the batteries and put them separately in his carry-on backpack.

Lin Songyu was puzzled: “Why bring a calculator?”

“It’s his most important toy,” Xie Zhuo stroked his son’s head. Someone who never posted pictures of his child on social media suddenly felt a little desire to share. “Huhu likes arithmetic and remembers numbers quickly. Last month he asked me why the daycare teacher wasn’t teaching arithmetic yet.”

The little fella thought daycare, like the older boy downstairs, was for learning. What could Xie Zhuo do? He could only inquire widely for a daycare that “taught arithmetic” and switch to one next year. In reality, daycares offering such teaching were usually just to satisfy “tiger parents” and their desire to push their children, boasting about arithmetic enlightenment and even Olympiad math enlightenment.

Lin Songyu couldn’t help but start considering how to customize a daycare, needing to hire famous early childhood educators, nutritionists, music masters…

The atmosphere had been harmonious until Xie Zhuo, carrying a large backpack and a 20kg suitcase, prepared to go downstairs. Tang Huhu was also ready to go; both father and son were accustomed to the seven flights of stairs.

“Next year, let’s get a different house.”

“This one’s fine.”

Lin Songyu was too lazy to argue and said to Tang Huhu, “Uncle will carry you.”

Tang Huhu, however, shook his head and actively stood on Xie Zhuo’s left side: “Huhu wants to hold Papa’s hand, Papa might fall.”

“Fall?” Lin Songyu frowned.

Tang Huhu was about to speak when Xie Zhuo interrupted him: “Don’t look at the sky when you walk, look at your feet.”

As soon as Tang Huhu spoke, he wanted to turn his head to look at Lin Songyu, but hearing the command, he obediently lowered his head and looked at his feet. Lin Songyu folded his arms and watched Xie Zhuo carry the suitcase in his right hand and hold Tang Huhu’s hand in his left, descending the stairs slowly and steadily, step by step. Tang Huhu was too short; he thought he was holding his dad’s hand, but in reality, Xie Zhuo had to bend down to hold him.

By the third floor, Tang Huhu said, “Huhu wants to rest for a bit!”

Xie Zhuo put the suitcase down. Tang Huhu lay on the suitcase, it was unclear if he genuinely wanted to rest or was just playing while resting. Lin Songyu felt a bit stifled. He had already said he would carry the luggage. What kind of male chauvinism was Xie Zhuo displaying?

On the remaining stairs, Lin Songyu remembered Tang Huhu’s words about “falling” and couldn’t help but stare at Xie Zhuo’s left leg, trying to find evidence of him struggling to support himself. Then he’d mock him, shove him into the car and send him to the hospital, preferably not the airport. Xie Zhuo must have fallen in front of Huhu for the little fella to remember it.

Lin Songyu remained silent the whole way, dropping the two off at the airport. Finally, he couldn’t help but say, “You have a cold; why are you still bothering? Can’t you just not go back?”

Xie Zhuo: “No.”

Lin Songyu looked at the little fella. Tang Huhu also looked up at him. Lin Songyu, from his elevated position, thought—If you were sensible enough to cling to Uncle’s leg and say you’ll miss me, see, like that wailing child next door, whose parents haven’t had their holiday yet, so his grandparents took him back to their hometown first, crying loudly because of the separation. Then he would reluctantly buy a plane ticket.

Tang Huhu hugged his leg: “Goodbye, Uncle.”

Lin Songyu: “…” Not that.

Xie Zhuo lifted the little fella onto the suitcase, looked deeply at Lin Songyu, a fleeting, incomprehensible emotion in his eyes: “Goodbye, thank you.”

Lin Songyu didn’t want to escort the two stubborn father and son to the VIP lounge anymore and stood watching them enter. After Tang Huhu went inside, his eyes turned red as he asked his dad, “Will I not see Uncle for a very, very long time?” He touched a bag of snacks tied to the suitcase, “Uncle bought them, for Huhu.”

Xie Zhuo: “Hmm, but Huhu will see buffaloes, goats, ducks, big white geese… how does a buffalo moo…”

…

Lin Songyu called Yang He, asking for Xie Zhuo’s old home address to send things. Yang He had no idea: “How would I know the house number? Xie Zhuo hasn’t been back in so many years, why would I remember that?”

Lin Songyu wasn’t annoyed. The contract had a copy of the ID card, which had the address and house number clearly stated. “Oh, right, you owe me 200,000. Don’t let it slip in front of Huhu.”

Yang He was utterly defeated by this pair of men. Each owed 200,000, right? Couldn’t they just borrow from someone else? “You’re so much like Tang Yu, no wonder Xie Zhuo lets you get close to Huhu.”

Lin Songyu paused, then said, “Really? Do others not get close?”

Yang He slapped his thigh and said, “Of course! Your walking postures are exactly the same. I guarantee Xie Zhuo thinks of his wife every time he sees you!”

Lin Songyu’s expression turned cold: “But you’ve never met Tang Yu, have you? How do you know our walking postures are the same?”

Yang He stammered: “…Uh.”

Lin Songyu pressed on: “Did he tell you to say that?”

Yang He immediately broke out in a cold sweat, as if he’d seen a ghost, and bluffed, “No, how could that be?”

Lin Songyu hung up the phone, so angry that he threw his phone into the supermarket shopping cart, sending a pile of snacks crashing down. He wanted to use Yang He’s mouth to let him know he was like Tang Yu, didn’t he?

Xie Zhuo was reminding him that his difference from others with this father and son lay in his resemblance to Tang Yu, and if he continued to interact, it would only deepen this misunderstanding. With his pride, he would absolutely not be willing to be anyone’s stand-in, and would definitely “keep his distance.” It wasn’t the person he wanted. Xie Zhuo’s methods of driving people away were truly subtle, ruthless, and self-serving. As long as someone approached him and Huhu, exceeding a normal social distance, he would change his tactics to be indifferent, disheartening, and draw boundaries by any means necessary. Since that was the case, he could only accept Xie Zhuo’s “kindness.”

Lin Songyu picked up his phone, paid for the messy pile of snacks, and then, as he left, placed them in the shopping cart of a child behind him, “These are for you.”

“You saved my life!” Yang He was almost scared out of his wits on the phone, complaining bitterly to Xie Zhuo: “I told you Tang Yu is a woman, President Lin is a man, their pelvises aren’t even the same, how could their walking be similar!”

“You said he was like a woman, and he immediately got angry! He even knew you made me say it!”

Xie Zhuo was silent for a long time, then murmured: “He knows.”

Yang He: “He knows.”

Xie Zhuo: “I didn’t tell you to say the part about walking being similar.”

Yang He shivered. Indeed, Xie Zhuo had only told him to say, “You’re so much like Tang Yu, no wonder you can get close to Huhu,” and not to say anything superfluous. That last sentence was something Xie Zhuo muttered when he hung up the phone. But Lin Songyu had asked where they were similar, and under the onslaught of a powerful figure, he simply couldn’t control his mouth.

“Is it serious?” Yang He asked fearfully, feeling that his brother’s condition wasn’t good; why was he coughing so much?

After a long pause, Xie Zhuo said, “It’s nothing.” Lin Songyu always had to know. Otherwise, he would eventually get hurt. But this time, he must be very, very angry, having seen through his not-so-clever methods.

“Cough, cough, cough…” The cold wind at night would worsen his cough.

In a low, single-story house, a light was on. Over the past twenty years of economic boom, the surrounding neighbors had all added one or two stories and renovated, with small Western-style houses springing up, sandwiching Xie’s house in the middle, making it look like a dangerous building left from the last century. A thousand sails passed by a sinking boat; no one was obligated to wait for the sunken ship to surface.

Tang Huhu rummaged through the medicine bag Uncle gave him and found a bottle of medicine: “Uncle said to take this for a cough!” It was funny; someone would give medical advice to a little fella under two, but not to an adult.

Xie Zhuo coughed until his chest hurt. He drank some water, and his throat finally eased enough for him to speak. He took the medicine and said softly, “Okay, Papa will be fine after taking it.”