Chapter 2: Farewell, Father of My Child
“I’m here. What’s up?”
Bai Sha gently set down the sleeping child and picked up his phone to see the message.
“I don’t have any malicious intent, but some things are better discussed in person. Do you have some time? I’d like to meet with you. xxxxxxxx… my WeChat ID, please add me.”
Bai Sha couldn’t add the stranger, so he had to let him add him instead.
Seeing no response, Bai Sha got up to freshen up.
The morning was gray and overcast, and Bai Sha hadn’t woken up this early in a long time. Usually, he would still be asleep at this hour.
While washing up, he looked at his reflection. Before Zhou Yuying arrived, he had a clean, youthful appearance, but since then, his facial features had softened. With his long, shoulder-length hair, he could easily pass for either gender, and his voice…
“Ah… Ah… Ah…”
Bai Sha sighed, feeling his voice growing softer.
“What a mess,” he thought. “What am I going to do?”
“Ding!”
He picked up his phone to see a friend request: “I am Zhou Haochen.”
After accepting the request, Bai Sha sent over photos of Zhou Yuying and her birth certificate.
“This is your daughter, from either the future or a parallel world. I want to do a paternity test.”
Bai Sha stared at his phone, watching as the other person typed and erased messages repeatedly. He felt both anxious and secretly pleased.
He still remembered how terrified he was when the child suddenly appeared.
“Y-you’re serious?”
After typing this, Zhou Haochen put down his phone and looked at his roommates.
“Guys, who’s messing with me?”
Roommate 1: “Huh?”
Roommate 3: “Get help.”
Roommate 4: “Man, you’re at A University? Nah, you guys are just messing with me, right?”
Zhou Haochen couldn’t believe it. No one seemed to be joking, but who would believe this?
“How about we meet at the Old Partner Restaurant by the school gate at 1 p.m.?”
After much hesitation, Zhou Haochen decided to meet. He was a grown man, and it was broad daylight at the school gate, so nothing should go wrong.
At home, Bai Sha was eagerly waiting for a response from Zhou Haochen. When he finally got an “OK,” he smiled and said, “Finally, my dear, you’ve completed your mom’s task.”
“Good morning, Mommy~” A little girl in a new pajama set rubbed her eyes and walked out.
Bai Sha excitedly knelt in front of Zhou Yuying and waved his phone. “We’ll see Daddy at noon! Aren’t you excited, sweetheart?”
The little girl yawned, as if processing the information, and then her eyes widened. “Daddy?”
Bai Sha smiled and pinched her chubby cheeks. “Yes, Daddy.”
The little girl jumped into Bai Sha’s arms, beaming. “Yay! Daddy’s finally back!”
“So, do you love Daddy or Mommy more?”
“Both!”
“But if you had to choose one?” This was a tricky question.
“The mommy told me that whoever asks this question is a big meanie!”
“So, is Mommy a meanie?”
The little girl frowned, thinking hard. “Mommy’s not a meanie. Mommy is the bestest mommy ever.”
Bai Sha beamed with pride, looking at the adorable child. Whether she was a boy or a girl, he was her best mommy now.
****
By noon, the mother and daughter were ready to leave. The little girl was bundled up in a puffy coat, and Bai Sha wore a baseball cap, hoping to avoid recognition as a semi-public figure.
At the entrance, Bai Sha wondered if Zhou Haochen, studying at an elite university, would mind if he enrolled Zhou Yuying in school next year. Bai Sha himself had dropped out of middle school and moved to S City for professional training. Not finishing school was a regret, but he would choose the same path a million times over. He had no doubt about his decision.
“Yuying, do you like playing games?”
“Games?” Zhou Yuying tilted her head, scratching it. “I like Dragon Milk! And I like Peppa Pig! Oh, and…”
Bai Sha felt a pang of despair but consoled himself that not liking games might be a good thing for her future studies.
The BMW started, and they drove to Zhou Haochen’s school, which was quite far. Otherwise, they might have taken a scooter.
At the Old Partner Restaurant, Zhou Haochen was already waiting in a private room, looking nervous.
As the door opened, he saw a tall, slender figure with long hair and a baseball cap, accompanied by a small, chubby-faced child in a pink coat. The child’s eyes lit up at the sight of him.
Zhou Haochen stood up and greeted, “Hello, I’m Zhou Haochen.”
Bai Sha, with short hair and standing a head taller, thought, “Cute, but not my type.”
“Hi, I’m Bai Sha.”
Seeing no strong reaction, Bai Sha relaxed. If Zhou Haochen was a fan, it would have been awkward. However, during Bai Sha’s championship, Zhou Haochen was still a child, so not recognizing him was normal.
“And you must be the little one, Zhou Yuying?” Zhou Haochen knelt and patted the child’s head.
The child didn’t shy away from the stranger but hugged Zhou Haochen tightly, nodding happily.
“Um, the dishes are ordered as per our WeChat conversation. I’ll call them to bring the food.”
The father and daughter left the room.
“Wait, she’s hugging him already?” Bai Sha thought, surprised. The child didn’t seem this attached at home.
When they returned and the food was served, they finally started talking.
“I found the child two weeks ago. She just appeared in my home. I sent you the security footage.”
“Right now, the issue is that we need to do a paternity test, right?”
“To be safe, you’re still a student, so I’ll cover the costs. And do you mind having a sudden daughter?”
“No need for the money. I can accept it. Honestly, I don’t like complaining. If she is my daughter, I’ll try to accept her.”
“I want to give her a stable home. Sometimes, I can’t be there because of work. Can you spend some time with her when you’re not in class?”
“Sure, when I don’t have classes.”
“Thank you!”
“It’s no problem! It’s my duty.”
Zhou Haochen hugged the child, messing up her hair with a smile. “She looks a lot like me, doesn’t she?”
He held the child up, and Bai Sha saw their faces side by side. Even with the baby fat, the resemblance was clear, especially in the eyes.
“She will look even more like you when she grows up,” Bai Sha said, admiring Zhou Haochen’s height, which was unusually tall in their professional circle.
“Zhou Haochen, how tall are you?”
“I’m 187 cm.”
“Wow! You’re the tallest person I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Hey, Zhou Haochen, why did you give her your phone?”
“She asked for it.”
“She asked, and you gave it to her? Zhou Yuying! I told you no phones during meals and bath time.”
The little girl looked up at her dad with tearful eyes, but Zhou Haochen was just as flustered, watching Bai Sha scold her.
****
At the restaurant exit, the Zhou father and daughter held hands, ready to go to the hospital for the paternity test. Bai Sha, playing the role of the mother, finally felt relieved: “Goodbye, father of my child.”
In the car, Bai Sha realized: “Wait, I’m a guy, not a… O(≧V≦)O, w(ﾟДﾟ)w.”