You Guessed Correctly, You’re a Grandfather Now

Chapter 13: You Guessed Correctly, You’re a Grandfather Now

On a crisp weekend morning, at the S City high-speed rail station, Zhou Haochen, holding the little one’s hand, was bidding farewell to Bai Sha.

Bai Sha knelt before the little one, smoothing her slightly disheveled hair, and gently instructed, “When you see Grandma and Grandpa, make sure to say hello. Listen to Daddy, and don’t pester them for a phone to play with.”

Seeing the little one’s exuberant expression, Bai Sha had reason to suspect that she might feel completely unsupervised once away from her.

Bai Sha then turned her gaze to Zhou Haochen, who was undeniably a doting father, usually leaving her to play the strict parent while he took the gentle role.

“Don’t worry, Mama! Baby is very well-behaved! Grandma and Grandpa absolutely adore Baby!”

“Hmm,” Bai Sha said, rising to address Zhou Haochen, “Did you hear that? Keep an eye on her. Haven’t you heard that doting fathers often spoil their daughters?”

Zhou Haochen chuckled, “Alright, I’ll definitely keep her in check. Well then, we’re off. You take care of yourself at home.”

Bai Sha nodded, watching the father and daughter disappear into the station. A shadow then crossed her face, as they had said they would stay overnight and only return tomorrow morning.

Spending an entire day alone at home, she wasn’t sure what she would do. Her only option seemed to be streaming, though she would also need to buy a slightly blurry webcam, just in case the chat noticed anything amiss.

****

On the high-speed train, Zhou Haochen called his parents to inform them he was coming home again.

–What? You’re coming home again! Are you even at university? Or are you in boarding school? You come back once a week!

–This time, something truly important has come up. I have a surprise for you both.

–What kind of surprise could you possibly have for us? Are you going to bring back a grandson?

–…Does my dad have any leave? I can’t do this without him.

–He does. Your workaholic father has accumulated a lot of leave.

Zhou Haochen hung up the phone. He glanced at Zhou Yuying, who was munching on snacks beside him, marveling at how accurately his mother had guessed, even if it was a granddaughter, not a grandson.

Seeing her father looking at her, Zhou Yuying grinned foolishly at him.

“Daddy, I want a phone too.”

Zhou Haochen paused. ‘My dear child, it’s not that your dad doesn’t want to fulfill your wish. If your dad dared to buy you one today, your mom would be here from S City, carrying a high-speed train, to beat your dad into a phone by this afternoon.’

“You’re so little; what would you do with a phone?”

“Just! Just make calls!” The little one mimed holding a phone to her ear with her thumb and pinky, “That way, when Baby can’t find Mama and Daddy, I can still call them, *doo-doo-doo*!”

Zhou Haochen pondered this. Given her reasoning, a smartphone was out of the question, but a phone watch could certainly be arranged.

“How about Daddy buys Baby a phone watch?” Fearing she wouldn’t know what it was, Zhou Haochen even pulled up an advertisement for a ‘Little Genius’ (TL Note: A popular brand of children’s smartwatches in China) to show her.

After watching, the little one reluctantly accepted, “Hmm… that works, I guess! Can Daddy buy it for Baby?”

“Of course.”

“Oh yeah! Daddy is the best! This way, Baby won’t ever get lost from Mama and Daddy!”

Zhou Haochen ruffled the little one’s hair and gently instructed, “Actually, for anything truly useful to you, you don’t always have to specifically ask Daddy. Mama isn’t unreasonable; if Baby discusses it properly with Mama, she will agree too.”

The little one nodded, seemingly understanding yet not quite.

As the speeding train neared its destination, the little one pressed her face to the window, swaying her head, evidently quite fond of her grandparents.

Of course, this didn’t rule out Bai Sha’s suspicion: the possibility that her grandparents would utterly spoil her.

Once the train came to a complete stop, and it being no major holiday, the station wasn’t crowded, allowing the father and daughter to exit with ease.

From a distance, Zhou Haochen spotted his father’s old Alto. The little one’s eyes lit up as well, and she immediately scampered towards Zhou Senior, who was leaning against the car.

“Grandpa!! Baby missed you so much! (～(つˆДˆ)つ｡☆)”

This sudden rush startled the robust Zhou Senior, causing him to stumble. He instinctively scooped up the child and asked his son, “What’s going on?”

Zhou Haochen spread his hands in a bear-like shrug 乁[ ◕ ᴥ ◕ ]ㄏ, “Didn’t she just say it? It’s exactly as you’re thinking.”

Zhou Senior exclaimed, flustered, “Nonsense! How old is this child, and how old are you?! Is she five and you twenty?”

Zhou Haochen took the little one, who was looking confused as to why Grandpa wasn’t being affectionate, and said, “Let’s go home first and explain it with Mom. The paternity test results are in my bag, so don’t struggle against it.”

After Zhou Senior drove them home, the three sat on the sofa, waiting for Madam Qin to return from grocery shopping.

“Oh? Why are you all sitting here? My, whose adorable little girl is this?”

Zhou Yuying, who had been playfully wrestling with her father, looked up and sweetly called out, “Hello, Grandma!”

“Oh my goodness! What… what is going on here?”

A moment later, Zhou Haochen turned on the television for the little one, while he and his parents moved to the dining room to face the interrogation.

“I know what you’re going to say. But please, hear me out first.”

Zhou Haochen pulled out the little one’s original birth certificate from his backpack, along with his own paternity test results with her.

“Please take a look at these first, then listen to my explanation. This child both is and isn’t mine. In other words, this child might be mine from the future, or from a parallel world.”

The scholarly Zhou Senior’s eyebrows twitched. “It’s not April Fools’ Day, is it? Why are we suddenly talking about science fiction?”

Madam Qin, however, immediately understood. “Isn’t this what they show on TV? Such things actually happen?”

As a doctor, Zhou Senior meticulously examined both documents. “Are you sure you haven’t been swindled? Could this be a honey trap (TL Note: ‘Xianren Tiao’ refers to a scam where a person is lured into a compromising situation, often with a sexual component, for blackmail or robbery)?”

Zhou Haochen refuted, “The child’s current guardian, Little Yu’s mother, has an annual income in the tens of millions. She wouldn’t stoop to swindling a university student like me.”

Madam Qin exclaimed in surprise, “Tens of millions a year! What does the child’s mother do? Is she a big celebrity?”

Zhou Senior, with a look of disdain, said to Madam Qin, “Go on, get out of here. What does it matter what she does? Is this the time to discuss that? You’re a grandmother now!”

Madam Qin immediately gave Zhou Senior a playful smack on the back. “Fine! You’re the sensible one! You talk to your son; I’m going to see my little granddaughter.”

“Hehe | ᐕ)⁾⁾, Little Yuying, I’m Grandma!”

Zhou Senior massaged his forehead. ‘There’s not a single normal person in this house apart from me.’

“You didn’t hide this; bringing her back, is there something going on?”

Zhou Haochen nodded and said, “It would be impossible to hide it forever, so it’s better to be open and honest. Also, I won’t be coming back this year.”

“Because of her mother, right?”

Zhou Haochen didn’t deny it. He continued, “Her mother has cut ties with her family and spends every New Year alone in S City. This year, I want to be with her.”

Zhou Senior nodded. “I have no objections, and I doubt your mother will either. You’ve always been full of ideas since you were little, and I haven’t interfered much, but remember, if anything truly goes wrong, your family will always have your back.”

“There’s truly nothing wrong. I have my own little family now.”

Zhou Senior suddenly burst into laughter, “That’s right! I’m a grandfather now too, but this is happening so fast!”

Zhou Haochen watched Madam Qin happily teasing the child outside. “My mom seems to be accepting it pretty quickly.”

“Your mom is carefree, of course she’ll accept it quickly, and she doesn’t even have to raise her. Just wait until you tell her to take care of the child for a month, then she won’t be smiling anymore.”

****

In Fox’s live stream.

“Streamer, is your webcam from the year you won the championship? It’s so blurry!”

“Streamer, hurry and replace this. I suggest the old one…”

Bai Sha looked at her blurry avatar in the live stream, which made her look almost like a man, and nodded with satisfaction:

“Don’t just talk big, guys. Buy a couple of books and see my skills. The streamer really doesn’t have money for a webcam anymore.”

The chat was filled with “??” “??” “Are you serious?” “Low-end!”

“Oh, thank you to Optimus Prime for subscribing! Thank you, boss!”

Inside Room 503, Li Qingyu felt strange ever since he found out Fox was his sister-in-law. After sending a few gifts, he prepared to withdraw.