Qie Xieling stood by the corner in tears but when he heard the door close he hastily wiped away his tears and put on a stern expression pretending like he heard nothing.
Qie Ranzhe walked downstairs while tugging his tie down. Halfway down he called out, "Lin Lin, you can come out of time out now."
Qie Xieling pursed his lips as he turned to look at his father who had on a dark face after being chewed out by his dad. He could tell that his father had been kicked out of the master bedroom again and it was because of him this time.
When they entered Qie Xieling's bedroom, his father wordlessly entered the walk-in closet looking for pyjamas. Qie Xieling nervously bit his index finger while standing by the door not sure how to ask.
After gathering some courage, he asked, "Will dad... ever forgive me?" his voice barely audible but Qie Ranzhe heard it.
He turned to look at his son and said, "He will... What you did was very wrong. You shouldn't have hit that boy more especially for a girl."
Qie Xieling knew he was wrong and shouldn't have done that but if he was being honest with himself he might have done it again just that this time he would do it with no witnesses around. Yah, that's how much he didn't like Luo Muchen.
"Here, let's get you ready for bed and we can figure it out tomorrow," he continued to say as he walked out of the walk-in closet with a set of pyjamas in his hand.
While he was running a bath for Qie Xieling and Qie Xieling telling him that he was doing it wrong, Wen Qinxi was sitting in the bathtub soaking with a glass of wine in hand.
He knew parenting was especially rewarding but it was also hard. Lin Lin had done so many things in the past that would have him pulling his hair out but he didn't think he would get called to school because his son beat another kid worse off for a girl.
He knew his son thought of her as his only friend but still. Maybe if he were to have a second one his son wouldn't feel so lonely or have a strong attachment to his first friend.
Scratch that. There was no way he was having two Lin Lins running around his house. One of him was already a handful.
Just as he was devising a plan to get Qie Xieling more friends, Wen Danzhe called him. Wen Qinxi sighed before accepting the call and putting it on loudspeaker.
"What?" he said and Wen Danzhe placed his hand on his chest pretending to be hurt.
"You... how could you treat me like this. I used to be your most favourite person," he said while his mother who was standing in the kitchen smacked his hand away when he was reaching for the dumpling.
"Uh Uh spill it. I know you want something," he said and Wen Danzhe couldn't help but laugh nervously while trying to walk away from his mother.
"Nooo why would you say that? I just called to check in on my nephew that's all," he said but in truth, he was calling to ask about the female celebrity who GameX had just contracted to advertise their updates.
"Can you believe that brat beat someone today? I am so mad at him. You should have seen the little boy. He looked like he had survived a fucking tornado," said Wen Qinxi unable to hold back.
The cell phone was suddenly grabbed out of Wen Danzhe's hand and the voice of his mother came through with slight anxiety. "Who beat Lin Lin? I will go beat up their entire family. Who dares bully my angelic little grandson," she said having not heard what her son said clearly.
"No ma, it was Lin Lin who beat another kid not the other way around," explained Wen Qinxi only for a du du du tone to sound on his cell phone as another call was incoming.
He cut his mother off while she was yelling saying, "Wait a minute." When he saw it was his mother-in-law he patched her into the call.
Half a second later Grandma Qie's voice came through. "Xi Xi, where is your husband? I have been trying to call him since afternoon but he hasn't picked up my calls," she said only for Wen Danzhe to jump the gun and say,
"Lin Lin hit someone."
Grandma Qie's response wasn't at all as expected. She let out a low, "Oh," and that was it.
Everyone, "..."
"His father was like that when he was young. He got angered easily and he was so fucking petty. I bet the other kid looks way worse than my little fighter."
Wen Qinxi, "..."
"That's where he got it from. It definitely runs in the family," said nana Wen and madam Qie couldn't even refute that.
"I know he didn't suffer a loss but I did. You three have a habit of leaving me out of things. If I didn't call you would have continued with your group call without me," she continued to say and Wen Qinxi could see it clearly now.
Lin Lin attached strongly to his first friend the same way Qie Ranzhe's mother attached to them. From the day they got married his mother and his mother-in-law became so close that you would think they grew up together.
They did everything together whether it be manicures or drinking champagne on a yacht. You wouldn't see one without the other.
"What secret group call. You promised you would come here to play mahjong but cancelled our plans last minute," said nana Wen and Wen Qinxi realised that this call was going to end up being a banter between these two.
"Didn't I tell you that I was going to terrorise my ex-husband's wife today? She had the balls to sell gossip about my son in law and she thought I wouldn't find out that it was her. So I had to humiliate her. Hahaha, you should have seen her face."
Nana Wen angrily interjected saying, "We could have done it together. I also wanted to see it. You are no fun."
Wen Qinxi, "..."
Wen Danzhe, 'Can I just have my cell phone back?'