Chapter 6 - You Will Go To School

Somewhere in Li Xia's family tree was an ancestor with green eyes. That person gave Li Xia an eye colour which tried to mix with the usual hazel eyes of her parents. The result was a unique eye colour that was a deep grey-brown with pale green.

It was quite striking.

Zhao JingShi looked into those eyes sincerely and with a little guilt, saying, "A few days ago I arranged with the head of the Han Family. The Hans have a very good school from kindergarten to high school.” His son, standing between his knees while Zhao JingShi crouched before him, squirmed away. Zhao JingShi caught the boy’s arms to keep him close. “Dad has decided you will go to school tomorrow."

YuShi's lips trembled. His eyes turned down. “Dad! I’m so young. How is it you want to send me away?”

Zhao JingShi sighed. He glanced over the breakfast table at the housekeeper and part time nanny for YuShi. The old woman in her fifties, Aunt Zu, pretended she couldn’t see them as she cleared the table. Her face said ‘You are on your own, sir.’

“Dad!” Small hands framed his face and yanked his head over so he could look into his wayward son’s eyes again. “Look at me Dad. If you want to send me away like that Lady yesterday said, you have to look at me and tell me.”

How did Li Xia give birth to such a son? Li Xia was calm and sweet and a little silly. This boy’s personality was too big to have come from her.

“Little boy –”

“If I had a mom she would make you treat me better!” His son cried. Light tears formed in the little eyes he inherited from his mother. “My mom would make you do better.”

“I’m not sending you away,” Zhao JingShi coaxed hurriedly. What he hated to see most was tears of distress in those gray-green eyes. “Listen to Dad for a bit okay?”

YuShi bowed his head to hide his tears. He hurriedly wiped them away with small clenched fists but he nodded. His lips turned down at the sides and trembled even more.

Zhao JingShi avoided reaching over to hug him. His son was not a girl to be pampered. He needed to be firm with YuShi because one day the boy would grow up and Zhao JingShi needed to be able to toss the whole Zhao Group to him.

“But Dad, I’m so small,” YuShi protested.

“You’ll be smaller than the others in your class but you are smart,” Zhao JingShi rubbed the little guy’s head, proud. “You’re smarter than other children your age.” He sighed, “Dad has kept you close all the time but I can’t do that forever. You need to go out and get friends your age.”

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“I have friends my age,” YuShi’s mouth firmed seriously. “There is Han HaoRan!” He named Zhao JingShi’s friend’s son. “He’s only three years older than me.”

Zhao JingShi pounced the moment his son fell into his trap, “Yes! There’s Han HaoRan. His family owns the school. Little HaoRan also goes to the school.”

YuShi blinked. Some of the water disappeared from his eyes. “Really?”

“Of course! The Han Family owns the school, can Han HaoRan go anywhere else?”

YuShi peered at him curiously.

“Little HaoRan is in his first year of primary school. His building is different to yours but still close in the same compound. You can see each other during school breaks.”

YuShi tilted his head, thinking.

Zhao JingShi tightened his trap. “Here,” he pulled his phone from his pocket and put it in the boy’s hand. “It’s not too early. Little HaoRan should be getting ready for school so don’t talk long.”

Zhao JingShi had already arranged the time of a call with Han HaoRan’s father, Han LianZhen whose number was already prepared on the phone screen. YuShi only had to press ‘Call’.

YuShi took the phone, looked at the number, looked at Zhao JingShi, and looked at the number again. He gave Zhao JingShi a look of 'Dad, you want to fool me.'

Zhao JingShi kept his face steady, feeling no guilt. He really wanted to laugh; this was indeed his own child.

He tilted his chin at the phone, prompting the little guy to call.

“Since you promised to call, I can’t let my friend down,” YuShi solemnly and responsibly pressed the call button. He lifted the phone to his own ear.

No matter how good a model of a cellphone was, in this close proximity, Zhao JingShi could hear the other side of the dialogue.

“Little YuShi!” Han HaoRan directly answered his father’s phone.

The two middle-men Zhao JingShi and Han YanZhen were ignored.

“Are you coming to my school today?”

YuShi’s reticence about school turned into: “No, my father arranged for me to go tomorrow. Brother HaoRan, is your class far from mine?”

“No. It is close. I will come to see you at lunch time tomorrow.”

“Good!”

“Little YuShi, don’t worry! This older brother will look after you!”

“Okay! See you tomorrow!”

The pair ended the call at the same time and YuShi looked at Zhao JingShi, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Okay Dad, I will accompany HaoRan to school tomorrow.”

Zhao JingShi refrained from gloating at the little guy. Children were easy to deceive, even the smart ones.

However... “Dad, are you sure? What will you do when I am at school? Won’t you be lonely?”

Zhao JingShi: “...”

Son, Dad has a huge company to run. Does Dad have time to miss you?

He smoothed his precious little son’s head again, proud that his son cared for his old father. “You will only go to school for three days for the week and you will come home every day. Not long. You still have time to accompany this old man to work.”

YuShi nodded seriously. He handed over Zhao JingShi’s phone. “I will go to school and I will also accompany Dad to work.” He patted his little chest, “Don’t worry, you can depend on me Dad! I will study hard.”

Zhao JingShi’s eye twitched. He tried to keep his face straight. Kindergarten at the Taiji Academy was more difficult than other kindergartens because of the type of students that went to school there. Zhao JingShi himself was an alumni of the Taiji Academy. However, despite an early start on difficult courses, a kindergarten was still a kindergarten.

In honour of his son’s developing sense of responsibility, he matched YuShi’s seriousness when he nodded once, “In the future, Dad will count on you.”