Chapter 149: Morning Exercises

The headlights merged into a shimmering river, flowing endlessly along the road.

The nightscape outside the window was surreal. Living in the most bustling part of the city center, the nights here were never lacking in beautiful, azure-gold lights and the constant stream of traffic.

Chang Yu had always had a small quirk: he loved to turn off all the lights in his room at night, stand alone by the window, and gaze at the myriad of twinkling lights dotting the city outside. He had done this in his previous apartment, and he did it here as well.

His mood was terrible, and he needed alcohol to numb himself. Fortunately, the liquor at home was free, so he could drink to his heart's content.

After hearing what Yangyang had said to him, Chang Yu suddenly remembered himself as a child. When he was very, very young, he too had questioned the Director—the old man who ran the orphanage—why the children next door could eat meat at every meal, while they, the orphans, could only eat cabbage soup every single day with the Director. He remembered the Director looking very downcast and guilty back then, his expression identical to the one Chang Yu wore now.

No one does not wish for their children to have a good life, and no one does not hope their children can lead a better life. But hope is just hope; reality, in the end, is dictated by one's strength. Not every family has that strength. More than ninety percent of the people in this world lack it, and as it happened, Chang Yu belonged to that ninety percent.

Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point, as if following the laws of the universe—cause and effect. He had once questioned the Director with that same problem, and now, it was his turn.

On a whim, he took out his phone and searched online, discovering that he was far from the only one who shared these thoughts with Yangyang. The results surprised him; records showed that many children from poor families had asked their fathers the same question: "Why do you earn so little? Why aren't you a mayor or a provincial governor? Why can't you buy me a house or a car?" This question seemed to be the great, insurmountable chasm that stood between every father and son.

Only then did he suddenly realize how difficult it must have been for the Director to support a massive orphanage all on his own. He also realized that it had been two years since he last visited that old man.

"Perhaps I should go back and visit the Director tomorrow?" Chang Yu thought, letting the blue smoke from his cigarette shroud him in the night.

Chang Yu hoped to provide a good life for his children, so that one day in the future, they wouldn't end up like him—getting blind drunk at a gathering with friends, full of resentment toward the world.

He returned to the bedroom, drunk, and looked at Yangyang, who was already fast asleep. Chang Yu slowly reached out. He stroked Yangyang's soft, rosy cheek, smoothed out his messy hair, and patted his little head.

"I'm sorry," Chang Yu’s face wore a complex, unreadable expression. "Although it feels a bit late to say this now, I still want to say it: I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up from school today."

"It was your first day of kindergarten. On such a historic day, I should have been there in person to bring you home."

"But who knew I would suddenly have work? To complete the tasks assigned to me from above, I had to leave you behind. I am not a good father."

Chang Yu felt heartbroken saying these words. At this moment, he was like every other father in the world, finding it difficult to express his true feelings to his child face-to-face. He could only wait until the dead of night, when the child was asleep, to secretly speak his heart.

After saying this, Chang Yu turned and went to bed.

At that moment, Yangyang’s eyelashes suddenly fluttered. His nose tingled, and two crystalline tears silently rolled from the corners of his eyes. As it turned out, Yangyang had been feigning sleep the whole time; he had never truly drifted off. He pretended to be asleep because he didn't know what expression to wear when facing Chang Yu. And this was something Chang Yu would never know.

The next day, when Yangyang woke up, Chang Yu had already prepared breakfast for him as usual.

"Oh, you're up?" Chang Yu greeted him cheerfully, just like always. "Eat up since you're awake."

"Ah... oh!" Yangyang had assumed Chang Yu would still be angry, so his attitude towards him was slightly distant. He sat on the bench, feeling uneasy, and picked up the bowl and chopsticks Chang Yu had prepared.

Like many other breakfasts, it consisted of a few fried eggs, slices of bread, and a glass of warm milk. Eating sporadically, Yangyang secretly observed Chang Yu as he packed his schoolbag, trying to find any sign of displeasure or impatience on his face.

There was no change in Chang Yu’s attitude towards Yangyang; there was not a hint of anger to be seen. It was as if nothing had happened yesterday, and that argument between them had never existed.

"Aren't you angry?" Yangyang asked, trying to sound casual but actually caring deeply.

"What is there to be angry about?" Chang Yu replied while busy with his tasks. "Hurry up and eat."

Well... a child is a piece of flesh fallen from their father’s own body; how could Chang Yu truly be angry with him? Patiently waiting for Yangyang to finish his meal, Chang Yu helped him carefully put on his kindergarten uniform.

"Let's go, I'll take you to school." As he spoke, he naturally took Yangyang’s hand, just as all fathers in the world would do for their sons. It was natural and harmonious.

...

"The sun in the east smiles slightly, the little birds on the trees chirp and tweet."

"The cute baby goes to school, a happy day begins."

"Good morning, teacher, good morning, dear teacher!"

"Good morning, classmates, good morning, dear classmates!"

Early this morning, Prince and Princess Kindergarten organized their morning exercises. Aside from the children, the head teachers of each class led the dancing. In a small square cordoned off by fences, the children jumped along to the music and rhythm playing from the speakers. Their faces were full of sunshine and happy smiles; they clapped their hands and stomped their feet, embodying the very essence of the word "cute." Occasionally, they would forget the dance moves, and whenever that happened, they would look around in a daze until, guided by their teachers, they remembered the steps again.

Yangyang was one of these children doing the morning exercises. Although he wasn't standing in the front, he performed every movement the teacher had taught him with earnest focus. It was evident that because he was new, Yangyang wasn't familiar with the routine, making his movements look a bit awkward.

"Though a bit unpracticed, the movements are very standard. It shows that our Yangyang has been learning very hard and seriously," Chang Yu said, leaning against the fence and smoking, watching Yangyang's every move with a sense of relief. He felt like an old father who found everything his son did pleasing.

After watching for a while, he couldn't help but sigh, "It's so good, so youthful!"

"Looking at these children's vibrant faces and happy smiles, it feels like I've become decades younger myself, haha..."

It was a rare opportunity to be able to settle down and watch his child happily performing the dance under the teacher's guidance along with the other children; such moments were not to be missed. There were many other parents like Chang Yu, standing outside the fence watching their children. The parents looked on with smiles, especially when they saw their children's dazed, cute expressions; many of them felt their hearts melting. Whenever this happened, there would always be a parent proudly showing off to others: "Look, that's our child, see how cute he looks dancing!"

After all, it was a rare memory, and many parents even took out their phones to record these precious childhood moments. Of course, parents who did this were usually couples who had come together to drop off their child.

Someone like Chang Yu, who came to school all alone, was in the minority. So, when he saw many young couples showing affection right in front of him, his fragile heart suffered a blow of ten thousand points of damage.

Well... was this the "dimensional strike" of couples against a single person? Chang Yu felt he had truly been hit.

The kindergarten's morning exercises finally ended, and the onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving only Chang Yu standing by the fence. Before long, he waited for the person he needed to see.

"Chief!" Comrade Xiao Li pulled the black sedan up in front of Chang Yu.

"Did you bring what I wanted?" Through the half-lowered window, Chang Yu saw Comrade Xiao Li’s statue-like profile.

"It's all in the back seat. Would you like to get in and take a look?" Xiao Li invited.

"That's fine," Chang Yu said, opening the back door and getting in.

In the back seat sat a large black plastic bag, looking stuffed with many items. Opening it, he found four bottles of Moutai liquor and two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes.

"This will be enough." Chang Yu nodded in satisfaction, feeling relieved.

He had specifically asked Xiao Li to bring these cigarettes and liquor, all of which had been collected for free from the logistics department of the Disaster Investigation Bureau. After all, he was going to visit an elder; he couldn't show up empty-handed.

"Chief, where are we going?"

"We're heading out of the city and onto the highway, to No. XX, XX Road, A County!"

"Understood!"