It wasn’t until he returned home and saw the little guy, holding his soft body in his arms, that He Jingyao felt a bit of the true sensation of being a father.
But soon after, there came a trace of... helplessness, although he didn’t want to admit it.
He had imagined himself in the role of a father before, but he hadn’t expected this identity to come so unexpectedly that he had no psychological preparation whatsoever.
Just recently, he was still immersed in the fact that Su Zixi had died, even forcing himself to accept this fact... But in the blink of an eye, not only had she come back, but she had also brought back their son.
Thinking about this, he involuntarily rubbed his temples.
When he saw this woman, he had a lot of scores to settle with her.
"Daddy, you’re the best." The little guy hugged his neck and acted coy.
He Jingyao looked down at the ingratiating smile on his face—it reminded him of a certain woman.
He suddenly remembered something: "Xiaobao, can you read?"
Xiaobao’s voice suddenly fell: "A... a little bit."
"How much is a little bit, hmm?" He Jingyao didn’t give him a chance to escape.
He twisted his fingers, his eyes starting to dart around.
He Jingyao laughed out of irritation, holding him and heading back to the room, walking over to the desk: "It looks like we have some work to do."
Xiaobao heard this and quickly became anxious, skillfully beginning to play dumb: "Oh, my head hurts..."
"Really?" He Jingyao glanced at him, "Should I have a doctor come to give you an injection at home?"
The little guy shivered, quickly shaking his head: "No... it doesn’t hurt anymore."
He Jingyao subtly curved the corner of his lips.
Xiaobao suddenly realized that Dad and Mom really were not the same at all.
Every time Mom led him to learn characters, although she would also appear very strict, she was actually very soft-hearted. Xiaobao had seen through her long ago; he would act cute or babble about something nonsensical, and Mom would easily get sidetracked.
However, these tactics didn’t work at all with Dad.
Dad wouldn’t scold him, nor would he openly accuse him, but whenever he tried to shirk, Dad would either scoff or give a half-smile, and his eyes occasionally showed some disdain, forcing him to learn whether he wanted to or not.
So, after one morning, he had learned more characters than he had in a month with Mom.
With his eyes brimming with tears, he said: "Daddy, I don’t love you anymore, I want to go home."
He Jingyao was indifferent: "This is your home."
"Hmm..." he puffed out his cheeks, "I haven’t seen Grandpa in several days, I want to see Grandpa! And Qixi... I want to see Qixi!"
He Jingyao lifted his eyes and closed the book: "Your Grandpa... I do need to meet him formally. In a few days. But who is Qixi?"
"Dad, you don’t even know Qixi!" Xiaobao exclaimed in disbelief, "Haven’t you heard her songs?"
He Jingyao glanced at him: "Are those the ones you’ve been playing these last few days?"
"Yeah!" Xiaobao’s face lit up at the mention of his idol, "When I grow up, I want to marry Qixi."
He Jingyao looked at his son’s tiny stature, hooked his lips, and said nothing to discourage him.
He glanced at the time, stood up, and picked up the little guy: "Come on, let’s go down for dinner."
"Then when can I meet Qixi?" Xiaobao asked persistently.
"After you’ve learned a hundred characters."