4 A Good Father

Monday morning, He Si arrived at the office carrying steamed buns and soy milk. No sooner had he sat down than the manager came over and tossed a set of documents onto his desk.

He Si was holding a straw, about to poke it into the soy milk cup, but seeing this, he put it down and picked up the papers.

The pages were still warm.

They must have just been printed.

He Si glanced at the manager’s face, noticing the dark bruises beneath the thin layer of foundation, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The competition was fierce.

Really, unbearably fierce!

“The date for the annual party is set—December 29th, two days before the New Year’s holiday. Here’s the script for the event. Take a look first; we’ll start working on this this afternoon,” the manager said.

He Si squeezed the documents; they were quite thick.

He nodded in agreement.

As the manager left, Qin Hua, sitting opposite, appeared carrying a takeout bowl of lamb noodles. He hissed twice at He Si and nodded toward the manager’s office.

“What did he say?”

“About the annual party,” He Si lifted the papers and set them on the desk before picking up his straw to continue drinking his soy milk.

He was the only intern in the office; the others were seasoned veterans adept at all manner of time-wasting skills, including paid lunch breaks and extended bathroom breaks.

He Si was different. Not yet past his probation, he had to show initiative. Even though he was usually among the first two to arrive—along with the hyper-competitive manager—he tried to finish breakfast within three minutes.

By the time Qin Hua slowly finished his lamb noodles, He Si had already read through the script.

He stood up to head to the manager’s office when Qin Hua called after him, “I heard this year’s party is going to be a big deal. The people from the High-Tech Zone company will be coming too?”

There was another company in the High-Tech Zone, not a branch but another firm owned by their boss. It was a media company with close ties to their own.

And the boss owned more than just these two companies.

From what Qin Hua said, their boss was a wealthy second-generation heir who inherited family businesses and had the capacity to expand them, though their company wasn’t part of those holdings.

Although their company looked sizable, it had been established less than ten years ago. Initially, a classmate of the boss wanted to start a business and sought the boss’s help. The classmate contributed technology while the boss invested capital. Later, when the classmate’s family ran into trouble, they sold all their shares to the boss.

In the past, each company held its own annual party, but this year, somehow, they decided to join forces.

He Si guessed the boss was trying to cut costs—given the economic downturn, this could save a lot of money. If they could find a suitable venue, the boss might even gather everyone together.

He Si thought this but said only, “They’ll all come.”

“Wow, such a big event. Looks like the boss hasn’t forgotten he has a favorite son like us,” Qin Hua clicked his tongue and looked at He Si with sympathy. “You’re pretty unlucky, just starting your internship and already stuck with the annual party. It’s a heavy workload at year-end. I bet you have plenty to do besides this and won’t get a break until it’s over.”

He Si smiled. “It’s fine. It’s training.”

After all, he was an intern.

A hardworking horse among hardworking horses.

At 1:30 p.m., before lunch break had even ended, the manager called He Si out on a field task to finalize the venue.

The manager personally selected eight locations scattered across the four corners of City C. They spent the entire afternoon visiting three sites in the western part of the city.

By the time the manager drove He Si back to the company, dusk was settling.

The manager asked, “What do you think of the three places we saw today?”

He Si replied, “The grand ones aren’t economical, and the economical ones aren’t grand enough.”

The manager hadn’t expected such blunt honesty and chuckled, “So none of them work?”

“Let’s keep looking,” He Si offered his thoughts. “Personally, I think the location can be a bit less ideal, but the facilities can’t be too poor. We can pick a venue with a high cost-performance ratio but can’t scrimp too much. If it were just our company, cost-saving would be the priority. But Jiayi is a media company; their external image is very important. If the photos and videos from the event don’t look good, the losses could be significant.”

The manager was surprised, tilting his head. “You actually know about Jiayi?”

He Si said, “I heard the annual party is joint with Jiayi this year, so I took some time to research.”

Jiayi was the media company in the High-Tech Zone, part of the boss’s inherited holdings, even larger in scale than their own. As Qin Hua put it, Jiayi was the boss’s “legitimate eldest son,” a golden goose laying daily eggs, deeply treasured.

As a company oriented toward the internet, image and branding were crucial. Only by maintaining a good appearance could they gain leverage in client negotiations. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen such a prime location for their headquarters.

He Si naturally looked up photos of Jiayi—it occupied an entire office building, with a lavishly decorated lobby so dazzling that it shone through the pictures alone.

This annual party was more than just a party—it was also Jiayi’s yearly promotional event.

“You’re really thoughtful,” the manager said with a smile, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

The following week, He Si spent all his time with the manager confirming venues. His regular duties remained heavy too, often making him work late into the evening. After eating and showering, he would collapse into bed.

By Saturday, exhausted, He Si finally had a chance to rest. He slept until noon, then casually cooked two dishes for lunch. After eating, he went upstairs and knocked on Aunt Cai’s door.

Aunt Cai’s husband was a long-distance truck driver, earning a hard living and often away for ten days or more. Aunt Cai didn’t work outside and stayed home to care for their two children. The elder daughter, Qiao Siyu, was a high school sophomore under academic pressure, while the little boy, three years old, was carefree.

This time, it was the little one, Xiaobao, who opened the door.

As soon as it opened, Xiaobao darted like a cannonball into He Si’s arms. “Brother He!”

He Si exclaimed softly and lifted him high. “Xiaobao’s gotten heavier again. Looks like you’ve been eating well lately. Good job.”

Xiaobao loved being lifted and waved his chubby hands, giggling.

Aunt Cai came over, placed slippers by He Si’s feet, and gently took Xiaobao down.

“Xiaobao asks every day when Brother He will come to play. If you don’t come soon, I think he’s going to run over to your place.”

“I’m here now,” He Si smiled. “Come as part of my family—I live alone; it gets lonely.”

Aunt Cai shook her head helplessly. “You say that now, but after spending time with him, he’ll drive you crazy.”

At that, Xiaobao clung to He Si again.

After He Si put on slippers, Xiaobao grabbed one of his legs. He Si didn’t resist and limped toward the dining room.

Qiao Siyu was already waiting in the dining room with books and notebooks, and seeing Xiaobao cling to He Si, she gave Xiaobao two sharp pats on his back.

Xiaobao was hit hard, crying and throwing a tantrum.

Qiao Siyu was also upset, yelling for their mother, “Control Xiaobao! I have to study for extra classes, and he’s disturbing me.”

Aunt Cai, cutting fruit in the kitchen, hurried out to pull Xiaobao away, but Xiaobao suddenly found some strength and refused to let go of He Si.

He Si stayed silent until his calf began to ache from Xiaobao’s grip. He bent down, pinned Xiaobao’s chubby hands firmly, and managed to pull them off the fabric of his pants.

He Si’s strength far exceeded Xiaobao’s, leaving the little boy helpless.

But instead of handing him over to Aunt Cai, He Si picked up Xiaobao and sat him on a dining chair, placing a sketchbook and crayons before him.

“You’ll join the class too. Sister does exercises; you draw. Then I’ll check your work. Okay?” He Si asked.

Xiaobao, flushed and tear-streaked from his earlier tantrum, quieted instantly, picked a crayon from the box, and whispered, “Okay.”

Aunt Cai looked apologetic. “Brother He, sorry about this…”

He Si smiled. “It’s okay.”

Children naturally want to be where the fun is. Kicking them out at times like this feels like excluding them from the fun, so of course they fuss.

And his instinct proved right.

Within ten minutes, Xiaobao’s head slowly leaned against He Si’s chest, and he fell asleep.

He Si gave Qiao Siyu private lessons in math and physics nearly every weekend. After months of tutoring, he was familiar with the flow. With his left arm holding Xiaobao, his right hand scribbled on scrap paper, completely undisturbed.

“This question shouldn’t have cost you points. You’ve done it many times before, just in a different form, but you didn’t recognize it. Look at the later ones first; I’ll find similar problems for you. If you tend to make mistakes, do more practice.”

He Si put down his pen and flipped through the reference book.

Qiao Siyu murmured in response, distractedly flipping through her error notebook. Her gaze soon settled on the sleeping Xiaobao in He Si’s arms.

Then she looked at He Si himself.

He Si wore a gray sweater, tall and lean. Under Xiaobao’s weight, the sweater stretched tight against his skin, clearly revealing his toned muscles.

Though Qiao Siyu was still underage, she had reached an age where she could appreciate the opposite sex. Previously, when He Si delivered something to her school for her mother, he had attracted a crowd of girls both inside and outside the class. The scene was quite a spectacle, and even now, people still asked about him.

He Si was indeed handsome.

Even dressed plainly, without any styled hair or flashy behavior, just quietly sitting and reading, he seemed to glow with charm.

Usually, Qiao Siyu’s heart would race if she looked too long, but today, she felt something different.

She looked at He Si and suddenly said, “Brother He, you’re definitely going to be a good father someday.”

He Si was caught off guard, his mind stumbling.

“Huh?”

Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Qiao Siyu quickly explained, “I just think you love kids and are so good with them. You’ll definitely love your own children and treat them well.”

“...”

He Si was stunned into silence, and the atmosphere fell into a strange quiet.

After a moment, his brow relaxed, and a smile appeared. “Really?”

Qiao Siyu felt embarrassed and, remembering what her mother had said about He Si’s family situation, regretted her impulsiveness.

By the time tutoring ended, it was past five in the afternoon. He Si declined Aunt Cai’s invitation to stay for dinner and went home to cook instant noodles. While washing his bowl, the manager called urgently.

“Do you have an electronic copy of the party script?”

“No,” He Si replied, hanging the dishcloth on the faucet and shaking his hands dry. “You only gave me a paper copy. I didn’t get an electronic version.”

Normally, the manager should have sent him a digital copy, but since they’d been busy scouting venues all week and the preparations hadn’t fully started, He Si assumed the manager was still revising the script, so he hadn’t brought it up.

“Sigh, my oversight. I’ve been swamped and even forgot something this important,” the manager sighed, then perked up. “You still have the paper copy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you put it?”

“At the office. I didn’t bring it home.”

“Okay then, help me out. I’m on a business trip in Q City, and the electronic version is on my other computer, which I didn’t bring. The boss wants to review the process now. Go to the office, make a copy of the paper script, and deliver it to the boss. Just take it straight to Jiayi.”