Chapter 52: A Father |
Because he had finished the entire week's Work yesterday, this morning was time for slacking off.
Aside from handling some issues flagged by Customer Service, he basically spent his time playing games and browsing websites.
It wasn't until nearly ten o'clock that the Express Delivery master came to pick up packages.
He wasn't the only one in the Company with a delivery; the courier came to collect them at ten every morning.
You could either fill out the address in advance on your Mobile Phone or grab a reserved waybill from the Terrace to save time.
The Express Delivery master's surname was Zhu; everyone called him Master Zhu, but no one knew his full name.
A buzz cut, a large round face, a double chin, a potbelly, and two full-sleeve tattoos—he looked like a man with a story to tell.
Although he looked fierce, he had a particularly good personality, speaking in a soft and gentle voice.
Sometimes, if someone forgot to fill out a form, he would wait patiently. If a package was heavy, he would even help carry it to their desk.
At first, Master Zhu would always refuse, but when they insisted, he would eventually accept them.
"I'll take them home for my Daughter to eat," he would say.
Only then did everyone find out he had a Daughter, though none of them had ever seen her.
But whenever he spoke of his Daughter, his eyes would be filled with tenderness.
"He'd say his Daughter is very well-behaved…"
"He'd say his Daughter's math grades are poor, and he can't help her with homework…"
"He'd say the Teacher asked parents to perform on stage, which troubled him greatly…"
"He'd say his Daughter loves to dance, and when she does, she looks just like a princess…"
…
Whenever this swarthy man, who was often covered in grime, spoke of his Daughter, he would flash a set of pearly white teeth, his face beaming with a brilliant smile.
A colleague once joked, "Your Daughter doesn't look like you, does she? That would be a disaster!"
Master Zhu wouldn't get angry, just laugh heartily and say, "No, my Daughter looks like her mother.
She's very pretty."
No one believed him, but Master Zhu never tried to argue, only smiled.
But Shen Siyuan believed him now. His Wife was indeed beautiful, with shoulder-length hair and two faint dimples when she smiled.
She looked delicate and gentle, and standing next to Master Zhu, they gave off a real "beauty and the beast" vibe.
Shen Siyuan saw her, and she naturally saw him too.
First, her face filled with astonishment, an expression of disbelief, and then she looked as if she wanted to approach.
But just then, a look of terror appeared on her face, and she took several steps back.
Shen Siyuan was a little confused, but then he realized. He turned to look behind him and saw Doudou poking her little head out from behind him.
The Netherfire on her head flared up. It looked mystical, but it was in fact incredibly dangerous.
Even from a great distance, the woman felt a piercing pain all over her body, which made her retreat in fear.
"Go back. Don't cause trouble here."
Shen Siyuan placed a hand on Doudou's head and pushed her back.
"But I want to play with you…" Doudou said, sounding a bit wronged.
"You should spend more time learning to control the Flames on your body. Otherwise, no one will want to play with you."
"Elder Sister is willing to play with me," Doudou retorted, unconvinced.
"That's because Elder Sister is the same as you."
"The same? You mean breathing fire?"
Doudou opened her mouth and let out a little roar.
Then, a stream of Blue Flame shot out from her mouth.
"I'm a Fire-breathing Dragon," she declared.
Shen Siyuan's jaw nearly dropped.
She never learned when he taught her to retract her Flames, and she had no idea what he meant by "calm your mind and focus your spirit."
But now, she was spewing Netherfire from her mouth as if it were a game.
"How did you do that?" Shen Siyuan asked in astonishment.
"Because I'm a Fire-breathing Dragon," Doudou replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Alright, Cultivation Practice was actually a very mind-based Method, so it wasn't surprising at all that Doudou could breathe fire from her mouth.
Perhaps one day, if she thought she was a little rocket, she could shoot fire from her butt too.
Thinking of this, Shen Siyuan was no longer surprised. He said to her, "Go find your Mom.
Stop making trouble for me."
Shen Siyuan shooed her away with his hand, which made Doudou very unhappy.
"Hmph, grown-ups are all like that, always finding kids troublesome. You're not cute at all."
After saying that, she turned and ran off.
After running a short distance, she stopped and looked back, seemingly to check if Shen Siyuan was chasing her.
Seeing that he wasn't, she seemed a bit disappointed, muttered to herself, and walked toward the Finance Department to find her mother.
While Shen Siyuan was talking to Doudou, the woman had been watching from afar. Seeing Doudou leave, she finally walked over and said cautiously, "The little Baobei is very cute."
Shen Siyuan nodded.
"And very mischievous. She's quite a handful."
"All children are the same.
This is also their cutest age," the woman said with an experienced air.
"Are you Master Zhu's wife?" Shen Siyuan asked.
He had seen the woman follow Master Zhu in just now. Then, when Master Zhu went back downstairs to get more packages, she saw Shen Siyuan and didn't follow him down.
The woman nodded, then asked with some curiosity, "And may I ask who you are?"
She was very curious about Shen Siyuan's identity; he was the first person who could see her.
"Just think of me as someone with some special abilities," Shen Siyuan said with a smile.
Shen Siyuan said this, but the woman didn't believe him one bit.
That little girl named Doudou, whose flames made her heart palpitate with just a glance and whose soul ached from a dozen feet away, was still so obedient in front of him.
Just a person with "some special abilities"? Whoever believed that was a fool.
So she respectfully introduced herself first before asking about Shen Siyuan.
"Oh, my name is Du Xiuzhi. I am Zhu Guangfa's wife.
May I ask for your esteemed name, Great Master?"
"You can drop the 'esteemed.' My surname is Shen, and my given name is Siyuan," Shen Siyuan said.
"Great Master Shen," Du Xiuzhi said.
This woman, whether in her demeanor or her speech, seemed extremely cultured.
From this, one could tell that not only was she educated, but she must have also come from a good family. For some reason, she had chosen to marry that rough fellow, Zhu Guangfa.
"Don't call me Great Master Shen, it makes me sound like a charlatan. Just call me Mr.
Shen," Shen Siyuan said with a smile.
Shen Siyuan's attitude toward her was a world apart from his attitude toward Lu Guanchang.
It wasn't because Du Xiuzhi was a beautiful woman, but because Du Xiuzhi had no Karmic Force attached to her; her body and mind were one.
As the two were talking, Zhu Guangfa came in carrying a package.
Seeing Shen Siyuan standing at the Reception with a package in his hand, he immediately said, "Got a delivery to send? You go on with your business, just leave it on the desk."
"I still have to pay," Shen Siyuan said.
"It's fine, you can pay next time," Zhu Guangfa said with an honest and good-natured smile.
"I'm afraid I'll forget.
Take a look and see how much it is," Shen Siyuan said, handing over the package.
Zhu Guangfa took it and gave it a light squeeze.
"Documents?"
"Mhm." Shen Siyuan naturally didn't elaborate.
"It's cheap to Ci'en, only eight yuan," Zhu Guangfa said."I'll scan to pay you."
Shen Siyuan paid the money directly, then turned and walked toward his Office.
Du Xiuzhi looked at her husband, then at Shen Siyuan's retreating back. After a moment's hesitation, she followed him.