Chapter 14
There was a furtive sound from behind the bedroom door, clearly the “thump” of a little boy pressing his cheek against the door to eavesdrop.
Basic adult morality was not to argue in front of a child.
So He Renyuan forced down the questions that were about to come out, “Does my aunt know?”
Only I don’t know?
Bai Qingyu’s face was embarrassed. He didn’t want to implicate the housekeeper and wanted to say that he had just brought the child in yesterday. But if He Renyuan became suspicious, he could easily open any of the surveillance cameras in the house and see the child’s active figure.
“I’m sorry.”
He Renyuan took a step closer and lowered his voice, “Do you really think I don’t dare to fire you?”
Bai Qingyu, “Of course you dare.”
He Renyuan looked at the completely subdued housekeeper, feeling no satisfaction, only resentment at being deceived. He attributed this to the egregious act of his aunt and housekeeper colluding to deceive him, to cover up a certain insignificant bitterness.
He finally understood why Bai Qingyu, who was physically healthy and not brain-damaged, would appear here. It turned out that it was difficult for him to find a job with a child.
The child was Bai Qingyu’s weakness. Only now would this person be so obedient and not talk back.
He Renyuan’s lips tightened, his peripheral vision sweeping over the door. The little boy behind the door must be listening intently, his round eyes blinking, just like when he was looking at him earlier.
It was so late, and none of them who should be sleeping were asleep.
An untimely softness rose in He Renyuan’s heart. He despised this indecisiveness, but he had to say, “Go to sleep, I’ll deal with you tomorrow.”
Bai Qingyu was surprised. Huh, the boss just said three words and left?
Luckily, he was going to resign. After he left, He Renyuan should calm down.
Bai Qingyu looked at He Renyuan’s back worriedly. Did he seem to have hurt He Renyuan?
Bai Qingyu lowered his eyes, knocked on the door, and said softly, “Baby, step back, I’m going to open the door.”
He Renyuan heard this gentle coaxing at the turn of the stairs and paused.
Bai Qingyu entered the room and carried the little one to the bed, “Go to sleep.”
Since He Renyuan had already found out, there was no need to stay up all night erasing Bai Xiaocha’s handprints.
Bai Xiaocha, “Dad, is Uncle Boss angry?”
Bai Qingyu, “No, Uncle Boss just doesn’t like to smile.”
…
The next day at 6:30, Bai Qingyu packed the father and son’s clothes and placed them at the bottom of the large green bin. The bin was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, small items were placed at the bottom. Finally, he took the small quilt from the little one, folded it, and placed it on top.
Bai Qingyu put a spring jacket on the sleeping Cha Bao, placed him on the soft quilt, and then clipped a clip to the edge of the bin. When the lid was closed, it was propped open a crack for ventilation.
He hadn’t bought anything since arriving in Nancheng. With another bag on his back, that was all his luggage.
Bai Qingyu pushed the trash can, the wheels making a slight noise on the floor. He stopped in front of the elevator.
He looked back at the third floor and took a picture with his phone.
He didn’t often take pictures, but this was his and Bai Xiaocha’s second home in the human world, it was worth commemorating.
The elevator descended and stopped. Bai Qingyu thought he had reached the first floor, but when he looked up, he found that it had stopped on the second floor. The elevator doors slid open, and He Renyuan was standing outside.
He Renyuan stood still. He never took the elevator with the trash can. Was Bai Qingyu taking out the trash so early? Would raising a child produce so much trash every day?
He remembered the children he had seen at his clients’ homes before. How long he talked with the client, the child would tear tissues for that long, piling them up into a small mountain.
No… Did he need to pack his bags to take out the trash?
He Renyuan immediately stepped in, lifted the lid, and saw a little boy lying inside. His face darkened.
He hadn’t fired Bai Qingyu yet, and Bai Qingyu was actually leaving? And leaving in such an undignified way? Using a trash can to carry a child? Couldn’t he afford a stroller working as a housekeeper in his house?
He Renyuan’s blood rushed to his head. So he bought the trash can to secretly transport the child in and out under his nose?! Had he watched too many crime dramas?
Bai Qingyu pinched Bai Xiaocha’s cheek, using the child to ease the atmosphere, “His name is Bai Xiaocha, isn’t he cute?”
He Renyuan didn’t say anything.
Bai Qingyu let go of his hand. Okay, not all humans liked children.
The elevator stopped on the first floor. Seeing that the boss wasn’t moving, Bai Qingyu pushed the child out first.
The housekeeper was telling Auntie Liu to steam more buns for Bai Qingyu today. He turned around and saw the young master and Bai Qingyu coming out of the elevator together. He looked at their faces and knew something was wrong.
“Uncle Qi, I’m going to my rich fellow villager’s place.” Bai Qingyu looked at He Renyuan, “I won’t be coming back. Thank you and Auntie Liu for taking care of me during this time, and thank you, boss, for your generosity.”
He Renyuan walked over and sat at the dining table without saying a word.
The housekeeper was anxious, “Young master, say something.”
He Renyuan, “He’s going to rely on his rich fellow villager, should I try to keep him?”
The housekeeper whispered, “That fellow villager is definitely not as rich as you.” You can also throw money to keep him.
Auntie Liu only learned this morning that Bai Qingyu was leaving, her eyes had been red. Li Ru, Li Yuan, and Jiang Mengmeng looked shocked.
He Renyuan pursed his lips. Yes, he was the only bully in the whole family. You were all in cahoots, why weren’t you holding onto Bai Qingyu’s leg and preventing him from leaving?!
Bai Qingyu smiled and said, “Then I’ll be going, I still have to catch the early bus.”
The housekeeper lifted the lid of the trash can and saw Bai Xiaocha. He finally understood what Bai Qingyu bought this trash can for. The corner of his eye twitched, “Wait, I’ll get you some buns for breakfast.”
The housekeeper hurriedly ran into the kitchen, ignoring the heat, grabbed seven or eight steamed buns, meat buns, and custard buns from the pot, put them in a paper bag, and handed them to Bai Qingyu.
The aroma of the hot buns woke up Bai Xiaocha, whose sleep had been disturbed several times.
He lifted the green lid like a little gopher, and as soon as he popped his head out, he saw Grandpa Housekeeper’s buns, “Grandpa Housekeeper.”
The innocent, milky voice injected a bit of life into the stagnant atmosphere of the mansion.
“Here you go.” Bai Qingyu wrapped the hot steamed bun in paper. He didn’t dare to give Bai Xiaocha filled buns, he would be burned by the filling if he took a bite.
“Thank you, Dad.”
“Look, such a well-behaved child…” The housekeeper glanced at He Renyuan with his eyes. Weren’t you moved by such a well-behaved child?
He Renyuan remained unmoved.
The housekeeper didn’t get a response from He Renyuan and could only awkwardly explain to Bai Qingyu in a low voice, “The young master was pushed off a cliff by a child three years ago and is a bit resistant to children.”
At that time, the law firm partner tricked He Renyuan into going to Wuyi Mountain to take on a pro bono case. As a result, he bribed a mentally challenged but strong boy on the mountain to pretend to approach He Renyuan and ask for directions, and suddenly pushed him…
He Renyuan dealt with many people afterwards, but the person who actually did it, the law couldn’t do anything to him because of his mental state and age. So he hated children.
Bai Qingyu suddenly understood. Then it was really tragic. His actions had touched He Renyuan’s sore spot.
All he could do was disappear from the young master’s sight quickly.
Bai Qingyu quickened his pace.
“Stop.” He Renyuan suddenly said.
The housekeeper’s face lit up.
He Renyuan paused for ten seconds before forcing out a sentence, “Leave the tea.”
Bai Xiaocha, who was eating, said, “Oh? Is Uncle Boss here too?”
Bai Qingyu, “There’s no more.”
He Renyuan, “Do you think I’ll believe—”
Bai Xiaocha repeated, “Uncle Boss, there’s no more tea.”
“Baby finished it all.” Bai Xiaocha took a bite of the steamed bun, “Dad doesn’t have any more.”
Bai Qingyu, “That’s right.”
Two against one, he couldn’t win at all. He Renyuan had no room to question.
He could still maintain his boss’s authority in front of Bai Qingyu, but with a child added, he had to maintain his dignity as an adult.
Also, the words “Uncle Boss” sounded jarring to him. It meant that even if Bai Xiaocha was so cute that he wanted to hug him, he still didn’t like children that much.
Bai Qingyu successfully ran away with Bai Xiaocha. The lid wasn’t closed, and Bai Xiaocha gnawed on the steamed bun in the morning light, lying on the soft quilt, as comfortable as in first class.
Bai Qingyu sent a message to his new employer, Mr. Jiang, saying that he would arrive a little earlier than expected and was already on his way.
Jiang Libo was on a business trip abroad and didn’t reply immediately due to the time difference.
Bai Qingyu wasn’t in a hurry, he slowly pushed Bai Xiaocha, strolling.
After leaving the He family’s villa area, there were more people on the road. Seeing Bai Qingyu’s actions, they all looked sideways, their eyes glued to the scene – could the child in the trash can be picked up?
Bai Qingyu didn’t want to be the center of attention, so he urged Bai Xiaocha to finish eating quickly, “Baby, you’re too conspicuous, I’m going to close the lid.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Oh.”
It was a bit difficult for the trash can to squeeze through the bus door. Bai Qingyu thought for a moment, there was plenty of time, so he might as well walk. It would only take two hours.
At the He residence.
The housekeeper was still adding fuel to the fire, “Qingyu is very frugal, he’s reluctant to spend money on food or clothes. The father and son live a hard life.”
“I’ve never seen such a well-behaved child, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to hide for so long.”
“Qingyu came to our place as soon as he arrived in the city. He’s like a blank slate when he goes out, I don’t know if he’ll be cheated.”
“I’ve never met his fellow villager either. Could he be tricked into going to Southeast Asia, the adult having his organs harvested and the child sold?”
He Renyuan couldn’t listen anymore, grabbed his car keys, and rushed out.
“Where are you going, young master?”
“To work.”
“You haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“I’m not eating.”
…
Bai Qingyu looked around and saw a breakfast shop. He wanted to buy Bai Xiaocha some soy milk.
He pushed the cart over and saw that there were more than just soy milk. A child had just happily bought milk tea.
Milk tea was a new venture jointly created by tea and milk, and it was said to be very delicious.
Bai Qingyu also bought milk tea for his son, three yuan, with the same packaging as soy milk.
“Drink your milk tea obediently and hide in the cart.”
“Okay.” Bai Xiaocha took a sip of milk tea. When it touched his taste buds, his whole face froze. He swallowed with difficulty and said, “Dad, it’s not good.”
Bai Xiaocha rarely gave negative comments about human food, except for tea-related things. He could immediately tell if it was low-quality tea powder.
There were actually things in the world that tasted bad!
Bai Qingyu took the milk tea and also took a sip. His brows furrowed immediately. It was too awful, was this real tea or fake tea?
He quickly threw away the milk tea and bought a cup of soy milk instead.
Because Bai Xiaocha said the milk tea wasn’t good, the shop owner, feeling both guilty and enthusiastic, gave him the soy milk for free.
Bai Qingyu closed the lid, pushed the cart towards the Jiang family’s direction. At this time, it started to drizzle. The fine rain fell on his body, without the feeling of rain, but with the coolness of rain.
Spring rain was as precious as oil. It was a bit chilly for humans, but just right for the tea deity.
Bai Qingyu didn’t bring an umbrella and didn’t want to use one either. If they were in Wuyi Mountain, where spring came earlier, he would have already taken Bai Xiaocha for a walk in the rain in the mountains.
But it wasn’t convenient to change clothes on the road, so Bai Qingyu didn’t plan to let Bai Xiaocha get rained on.
The rain got heavier. The little tea deity was naturally sensitive to spring rain, like a small grass seed under a rock, sprouting at the call of nature.
“Dad, I also want to be in the rain.”
“Alright.”
Bai Qingyu stopped, lifted the lid, and took out the dry little one.
Bai Xiaocha’s eyes curved into a smile. He took small steps, pushing the large green bin with all his might, like an ant trying to shake a tree.
The rain got heavier, and the wipers on the cars on the road worked more diligently. Passengers on a bus looked out the window and saw a city sanitation worker working in the rain, his hair soaked, with a toddler beside him. They couldn’t help but take a picture with their phones and post it on their Moments with a compassionate caption.
[He is a sanitation worker, and also a father.]
The bus wheels rolled through the water, and the splashed water droplets landed precisely on the little one’s head.
Bai Xiaocha touched his head, it was wet like Dad’s!
Bai Qingyu received a message from Jiang Libo, asking if he had a lot of luggage. He asked a friend to pick him up.
Since it was raining, Bai Qingyu didn’t refuse. He saw a bus stop ahead where he could take shelter from the rain and sent the name of the stop to Jiang Libo.
“It’s raining too hard, let’s take shelter,” Bai Qingyu said.
“Okay.”
The father and son walked under the bus stop. The heavy rain was blocked, but some drizzle still drifted in.
Not far away, a black car with flashing hazard lights stopped by the roadside.
He Renyuan didn’t know where Bai Qingyu would go. He searched seven or eight bus stops and subway stations along the way and finally saw Bai Qingyu.
He looked at the drenched father and son, as if all the rain in Nancheng was falling into his heart, making his heart almost burst.
Bai Qingyu would rather brave the rain with his son than stay at the He family?
The temperature outside was around 20 degrees Celsius. Getting drenched and blown by the wind, it would be strange if they didn’t catch a cold.
Yes, they would catch a cold.
He Renyuan had finally found the moral high ground and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Bai Xiaocha’s cloth shoes were soaked, and he was stepping around, making squishing sounds.
Bai Qingyu lifted him by the back of his neck, “The water here is dirty.”
He opened the lid of the cart, took out a dry towel from inside, and wiped the little one’s face.
Bai Xiaocha raised his head, closed his eyes, and his long eyelashes were wiped askew by the towel.
Bai Qingyu’s lips curled up. Luckily, he had the foresight to buy a covered “stroller.” Although it was a bit special, it had no shortcomings.
A student hurriedly walked by with an umbrella. He was carrying a garbage bag containing the trash his family produced after breakfast, including milk cartons, fruit peels, and paper. His mother asked him to take it downstairs and throw it away, but he didn’t see a trash can when he went out.
It was already annoying enough for him to hold an umbrella in one hand and a garbage bag in the other on a rainy day. Seeing a brand new green trash can, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly threw the garbage in.
Thump.
Bai Qingyu was stunned. He went over and took it out. He found the shortcoming of the trash can.
Bai Xiaocha thought it was funny, “Dad, my nest has become a trash can!”
Bai Qingyu, “Yes.”
He Renyuan witnessed this unfortunate scene, and seeing the father and son trying to be optimistic, his heart felt like it was being crushed.
If this was Bai Qingyu’s ploy for sympathy, it couldn’t have been more successful.
He Renyuan was about to call someone when a Mercedes-Benz suddenly stopped at the bus stop.
A sunny and handsome young man got out of the car, looking like a sports student, with a big smile, “Qingyu, I’m Jiang Libo’s friend, I’m here to pick you up.”
Jiang Libo had described him as a father with a child. The child was particularly cute, he could recognize him without a photo.
“Where’s your luggage? I’ll carry it to the car.”
Bai Qingyu said embarrassedly, “This is it.”
The young man was stunned for a second when he saw the trash can, then opened the trunk and lifted the trash can with great strength, placing it with the opening facing inward. The trunk space was limited, so the lid couldn’t be closed.
“Get in the car.”
Bai Qingyu carried the little one into the car.
The young man turned up the air conditioning and said, “Sorry I’m late, we’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Here, have some hot water.”
Bai Qingyu took it, “You’re too kind.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Thank you, uncle.”
The young man glanced back at Bai Xiaocha, his eyes sparkling with anticipation, “You’re welcome, my happiness depends on you, little friend.”
Bai Qingyu was a little puzzled, huh? What did this have to do with anything?
The Mercedes-Benz started and drove into the heavy rain.
Bai Xiaocha was leaning against the window when he suddenly pointed outside, “That’s Uncle Boss’s car.”
The young man’s lips curled up, with a hint of showing off, “Ah, is it that obvious? This is indeed Professor Jiang’s car.”
Bai Xiaocha’s attention was diverted. Oh, he had a new Uncle Boss.
It was raining heavily, and there were few people at the bus stop. After Bai Qingyu left, no one else came.
He Renyuan stood still for a long time, raising his hand to wipe the rainwater off his face.
He seemed to have suddenly lost something, his heart empty, but quickly filled with cold rainwater.
Good, he knew that person, a slightly rich second-generation, with good character. His close friends probably wouldn’t trick people into going to Southeast Asia. Bai Qingyu wasn’t stupid at all, he knew to rely on his fellow villager to get ahead.
Then what was he still doing here?
————————
Mr. He still doesn’t know that his wife and child have gone to be housekeepers again.
