Chapter 81

Chapter 81

"What's wrong?"

Everyone noticed something was off about him as he came out of the room.

They all had a vague, uneasy feeling that something was wrong.

"Where's An'an?"

Pei Qingji didn't speak, just kept his head down, clutching the letter in his hand.

"He's gone..."

"Gone? Where'd he go? Why didn't he tell me?"

Brother Zhou's brow furrowed deeply.

It seemed to dawn on him, and he nearly gritted his teeth.

"Pei Qingji, explain yourself. What the hell do you mean?"

Xiao Ling grabbed Brother Zhou's wrist and shook her head, telling him to calm down.

Just then, his phone dinged.

Brother Zhou quickly opened it—it was a message from Cheng Yuan.

"Brother Zhou, I'm leaving."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you again this time."

"Don't blame Pei Qingji. He wasn't mean to me. I just need some time to myself."

"I'm doing fine over here, so don't worry about me."

"Grandma's getting old. Please take good care of her."

Cheng Yuan also transferred him some money to help care for Grandma.

"...I'll explain it to Grandma."

Brother Zhou stared at the screen for a long time, his eyes downcast.

In the end, he let out a deep sigh and respected his decision.

Xiao Ling craned her neck to see what was on the screen.

She lowered her gaze too and said nothing more.

She believed Brother An'an had his reasons for leaving—it wasn't for no reason.

Brother Zhou finally turned to Pei Qingji. "You..."

This was indeed their fault.

Pei Qingji stayed silent the whole time, just keeping his head down.

His knuckles went white as he gripped the letter, his teeth chattering.

His messy hair covered his red-rimmed eyes.

Suddenly, the baby's cries came from the room, and a tear silently slid down his cheek.

He didn't have time to grieve—he quickly pushed open the door and scooped up the baby from the stroller.

Pei Qingji paced back and forth, trying to soothe the baby.

But the baby wouldn't stop crying. Maybe it had just realized it was going to lose its little dad, and that's why it was crying.

Pei Qingji was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.

He thought the baby was hungry, so he made formula, but the baby wouldn't take it.

Suddenly, Pei Qingji couldn't hold it together anymore. His eyes reddened, and his voice shook as he whispered.

"Baby, what am I gonna do?"

The spacious room no longer held the laughter it once had—only the baby's cries and the emptiness they highlighted remained.

"Do you know he's not coming back?"

He kept his head down, his voice heavy with sadness.

_

"Qingji, Xiaoyu, he..."

Pei's mother rushed over when she heard what happened.

She thought he wouldn't respond, but Pei Qingji said, "He asked me to pass along a message. He said he's really sorry..."

Pei's mother was stunned for a moment.

Seeing Pei Qingji so lost and dejected, she couldn't help but worry: "Son, are you alright..."

Pei Qingji didn't answer. He just sat on the sofa, his messy hair covering his eyes, his expression unreadable.

Pei's father watched, stepped forward, put his arm around her shoulder, and sighed.

"Let him have some time alone."

Pei's mother nodded.

They walked out of the room, and Grandpa Pei and Grandpa Xie rushed over.

"What exactly happened?"

"Xiaoyu's gone."

Grandpa Pei was taken aback, then let out a deep sigh.

"Ah, how did things end up like this?"

Grandpa Xie frowned, feeling regretful.

"Xiaoyu's a good kid. He must have his reasons for leaving."

"Let's respect the kids' decision."

Grandpa Pei added.

As for later, we'll see. If they're still meant to be, they'll run into each other again...

What matters most now is whether Qingji can get past this.

"Just give him some time to process it..."

_

Three years went by in the blink of an eye.

The little one is three now—he can talk and walk.

The kindergarten's closed today, so Sister Chen is taking him out to play in the garden.

"Young master."

Assistant Lin said.

"Uncle Lin, is Daddy home yet?"

A chubby little dumpling in a straw hat toddled over, holding Sister Chen's hand.

Cheng Yan had big, round, bright eyes, and his thick, long black lashes blinked like little fans.

His skin was fair, and his cheeks were all puffy and round.

Just one look at him and your heart would melt.

Assistant Lin answered respectfully, "Not yet."

Cheng Yan hadn't seen Daddy in a few days.

"I wanna go see Daddy."

Assistant Lin looked a little uncomfortable. "Sorry, young master, but the boss is busy right now..."

Cheng Yan pouted. "No, I wanna go anyway."

Seeing that Assistant Lin wasn't budging, his dark eyes darted around slyly.

Then he trotted over to Assistant Lin, looked up, and stared at him with those big, shiny eyes.

"Please, Uncle Lin~"

It was impossible to say no to that face.

Assistant Lin didn't know what to do, so he just stayed quiet.

"Uncle Lin, when's Little Daddy coming back?"

Assistant Lin had no idea why the kid suddenly changed the subject.

But this question was even harder to answer than the last.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Uh..."

Cheng Yan looked a little disappointed when he didn't get an answer.

"All the other kids at kindergarten have two dads. I want that too."

"Little Daddy, when are you gonna come back and be with me?"

He looked up at the person on the right in the family photo hanging in the living room.

He knew that was Little Daddy, because Daddy would stare at that photo for ages.

But Cheng Yan had never actually met him.

Daddy said he'd seen him right after he was born, but he was too little to remember.

Assistant Lin's heart ached at the sight, but he really couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, young master."

Cheng Yan was a little upset but didn't argue. He just said, "Then take me to see Daddy."

If you won't tell me, I'll just go ask him myself.

Assistant Lin wanted to say no, but he was afraid the kid would start asking about Little Daddy again, so he gave in and took him.

Dige.

"How've you been?"

It had been years since anyone had last seen Pei Qingji.

Some of the guys had settled down and started families; others were still out there playing the field.

Pei Qingji sat on the sofa, froze for a second, then said flatly.

"I'm alright."

"So... has your wife been in touch with you at all these past few years?"

Maybe he was too drunk to think straight, because by the time he realized what he'd said, he quickly shut his mouth.

But to his surprise, Pei Qingji actually answered.

"No."

Three years. It had already been three whole years, and Cheng Yuan hadn't reached out even once—hadn't even come to see the kid.

Pei Qingji lowered his head and gave a bitter smile.

Just then, his phone rang—it was Assistant Lin.

"Sir, has the young master shown up at your place?"

He'd just parked the car, and when he turned around, the kid was gone.

Assistant Lin searched everywhere but couldn't find him, so he had no choice but to call the boss.

"What? You brought him here?!"

Pei Qingji's brows knit tightly, and his voice turned cold.

He was just about to get up and go look for him when there was a knock at the door.

"Mr. Pei, there's a kid out here asking for you."

“I told you my dad is here, let me go!”

That was definitely Cheng Yan's voice from outside the door.

Pei Qingji quickly opened the door.

“Big Dad.”

Seeing Pei Qingji, Cheng Yan wriggled free and latched onto his leg.

“Why are you out here running around when you should be home?”

When he learned Cheng Yan was missing, Pei Qingji felt a surge of panic.

Only when he actually saw the boy did he breathe a sigh of relief, but then a wave of after-fear hit him.

His voice came out harsher than he intended.

Scolded, Cheng Yan couldn't hold back his tears and started crying.

“You're being so mean to me!”

“You think I wanted to come looking for you? You haven't been home for days—are you gonna leave me?”

Pei Qingji froze, staring at the face that looked five parts like Cheng Yuan's. After a beat, he crouched down slowly and gently wiped the tears off Cheng Yan's face.

“I'm sorry, it's Big Dad's fault. Big Dad won't yell at you anymore. Please don't cry, okay?”

Assistant Lin rushed over as soon as he heard the boy was found.

“Big Dad, you... don't blame Uncle Lin. I was the one who panicked and came to find you.”

Cheng Yan, still hiccupping with grievance, was pleading for someone else.

Assistant Lin had already prepared himself to be punished, but he never expected the young master to speak up for him.

“Boss, it's my fault for not keeping an eye on the young master. I messed up. Dock my pay.”

Pei Qingji didn't say anything, just watched quietly, then finally ruffled Cheng Yan's hair.

“Owning up to your mistakes is what makes you a good kid.”

“Who are you guys? Are you my dad's friends?”

Only then did Cheng Yan seem to notice the people around him, peeking out at them curiously.

He'd heard Uncle Lin say Big Dad was eating dinner with friends.

Are all these people Big Dad's friends?

When Cheng Yuan left, Pei Qingji took care of the baby all by himself—mixing formula, changing diapers.

Sometimes the baby would cry for no reason, but he never got annoyed. He'd just soothe him in a low voice, incredibly patiently.

Other than the one-month celebration when they'd gone to see the baby, this was probably only the third time they'd seen Cheng Yan.

Three years had flown by.

“This kid really takes after his mom.”

“Hi, uncles! My name is Cheng Yan.”

Cheng Yan didn't seem scared of anyone at all. His eyelashes were still soaked with tears, but he smiled and greeted them anyway.

That cute little look just melted everyone's hearts.

“What are you even doing here?”

Pei Qingji ordered a warm milk and brought it over, then had him sit up properly on the sofa.

Cheng Yan held the warm milk, looked up at his dad, and said in a sad voice.

“I miss Little Dad...”

“Big Dad, when is Little Dad coming back?”

The second those words left his mouth, the whole private room went dead silent.

Pei Qingji paused, and his voice softened.

“Why are you thinking about Little Dad?”

“All the other kids in my kindergarten have two dads or a mom and a dad. Why don't I?”

Cheng Yan's soft, clear voice was so innocent.

He sounded really sad.

“Every time we have a parent-child event at school, everyone's parents show up. But mine never do.”

Pei Qingji was always busy, so he rarely had time to go. Sometimes Uncle Lin would go in his place.

“Big Dad, do you know where Little Dad is?”

“I wanna go find him.”

Go find him?

Pei Qingji was stunned.

“Big Dad... does Little Dad not like me? Is that why he left?”

Cheng Yan couldn't stop himself from thinking that.

“Did I do something wrong and make him mad, so he doesn't wanna see me? No, it's not that he doesn't wanna see you. He really likes you.”

Pei Qingji shook his head and explained.

“Then let's go find him and say sorry. My teachers at school say if you do something wrong, you have to apologize...”

Cheng Yan said.

But then he suddenly remembered he didn't know where Little Dad was, and he wasn't allowed to go looking for him either.

“I heard the missus went back to his hometown.”

Assistant Lin suddenly chimed in.

If he wouldn't make the first move, why couldn't he take the initiative himself...

Pei Qingji was afraid he'd be angry, so he didn't dare do anything.

Three years had already passed. If he waited for the day they'd meet again, who knew how much longer that would take.

Maybe the two of them would never see each other again.

This time, he would make the first move...

At that thought, a sparkle suddenly lit up Pei Qingji's eyes.

His voice was unbelievably soft.

"Alright, I'll take you to find your little dad."

"Really? Yay!" Cheng Yan followed behind him, bouncing happily.

"So where is little dad? Is it like Uncle Lin said—did he go back home?"

"Yes, we're going to your little dad's hometown..."

Author's note:

N/A