Changed to Calling Him Dad

After eating and drinking his fill, Wang Yan pretended to be drunk again. He had drunk even more than last time, and if he was going to pretend, he had to do it convincingly.

It was still Gu Jia who got the two of them back.

This time, Wang Yan was much more honest. He couldn't keep pulling little tricks. What if he accidentally lost control? That would be bad.

The first time was unfamiliar, but the second time was easy. This time, Gu Jia knew the way around. She had the access card and the password, so she settled Wang Yan in with practiced ease.

As for Wang Yan, he slept soundly.

The next day, he got up and went to the company to handle some matters. His subordinates really couldn't deal with certain things, so he had to take action himself. Besides, if they could handle absolutely everything, he wouldn't feel safe using them.

After this period of development, Wang Yan had been operating on multiple fronts.

He successfully sold off all the stocks, securities, and other miscellaneous assets he had previously held. At the same time, he had people make small moves in the international market. His scale was nowhere near enough to stir up a storm, and he could easily be crushed. Keeping things small was fine. His assets were steadily growing; even if they hadn't doubled, they were close.

His company also did more than simply work for him. It raised part of its funds like a private-equity firm. The returns were quite good, and the investors were fairly satisfied. Good performance was the best publicity. Rich people's money sat piled up in banks all day, and watching it depreciate day by day made them tremble with anxiety.

They searched everywhere for good projects that could guarantee returns and keep their wealth from shrinking. Through word of mouth, Wang Yan became somewhat famous. He had attracted quite a bit of capital, enough for his current scale. More importantly, he had expanded his network. After all, having connections made everything easier.

As a manager and a person in control, he naturally wouldn't handle every little matter personally.

Wang Yan used most of his ample free time to improve himself. He never slacked off in that regard.

Being able to clearly feel himself improving was an incredible sensation. He simply didn't want to stop.

Wang Yan was lucky enough to experience that pleasure. Whether useful or not, whenever he mastered something to a certain level, the System Panel would display a corresponding skill. That sense of accomplishment truly had no equal.

Now Wang Yan could write code fairly convincingly, and he was building a small website. There was no need to discuss the underlying principles. Once he learned the basic syntax and spent a couple of days studying various frameworks, he could get started.

And Wang Yan's learning ability made things even easier. He couldn't claim to have mastered everything, but knowing how most things worked was enough. For problems he couldn't solve, there were open-source communities and all kinds of forums, filled with programmers arguing away. Looking through them occasionally was usually enough.

Just as Wang Yan was typing away enthusiastically, he received an unexpected phone call.

It turned out Xu Huanshan and his good friend Shen Jie had been playing soccer when they got into an argument with several young men. They had come to blows and lost. They had been beaten black and blue and taken to the police station. Xu Huanshan was embarrassed to let Gu Jia know, or she would never stop lecturing him. After thinking it over, he remembered Wang Yan, who had drunk heavily with him the day before—his son's godfather, guiding light, and life mentor.

He immediately called Wang Yan and hoped he would come help handle the matter.

Wang Yan was speechless. You got beaten into that state, and how are you going to explain it to Gu Jia when you get home? With her brains, she'd figure everything out in two or three sentences, and you still want to hide it from her?

Since Xu Huanshan had called, Wang Yan couldn't refuse. He readily agreed, telling him to wait while he came over immediately. A free chance to increase their goodwill, practically handed to him—he had to seize it.

Wang Yan tidied himself up, went downstairs, and drove to the police station where Xu Huanshan was being held.

Seeing a row of people squatting inside, Wang Yan found Xu Huanshan among them, his face battered and swollen.

When Xu Huanshan saw Wang Yan arrive, it was like seeing a savior. He sprang to his feet. "Old Wang, you finally came. Kids these days have no sense of honor. When they hit people, they only aim for the face. Look what they did to me."

The others who had been playing soccer with him also stood when they saw help arrive.

Shen Jie, beside him, chimed in, "They were ridiculously brutal. They even wrecked my shoes."

That amused Wang Yan so much he burst out laughing. "Haha, you must be Shen Jie, right? Old Xu mentioned you the last time we drank."

"Brother, you're hilarious. This is a serious situation, so don't make me laugh."

Wang Yan shook his head. "All right, keep squatting. I'll go settle this."

Wang Yan walked over to the police officer. "Hello, Officer. I'm Xu Huanshan's friend. I'm here to resolve this matter."

The officer shook his hand, then called Xu Huanshan over to identify him. "These kids are all students. We talked it over just now, and they don't want to settle privately."

Wang Yan thought for a moment. "How about this? I'll go talk to them again and try my best to persuade them. If we can settle privately, let's do that. Legal resources are limited, after all. We shouldn't waste them. Wouldn't you agree?"

The officer thought the same way and immediately agreed.

Wang Yan went over to the students squatting on the other side. "Who's in charge here? Let's work this out."

One of the youths said, "You don't have to talk. We don't want money. There's no way we're letting this go."

Clearly, they had been discussing it for quite a while. One way or another, they wanted an explanation.

If Chen Xu could deal with students, Wang Yan naturally could do so even more easily.

He walked up to them. "Let me say one thing. You're all students. If this gets blown up, what do you think the consequences will be for an organized and disciplined group fight? And what do you think your parents will do?"

Wang Yan swept his gaze around. "I'm not trying to scare you. Think about it carefully."

When they heard Wang Yan, their expressions changed.

Seeing this, Wang Yan continued, "This matter isn't really that serious. As the old saying goes, it's better to resolve grudges than create them."

"You beat them badly, so you didn't lose out either."

"They're all business owners. They definitely aren't short of money."

"How about this? Since you like playing soccer, I'll have them buy each of you a membership card at the field. You can go play whenever you want."

"And I'll get each of you a pair of soccer shoes as a token gesture. What do you think?"

They looked at one another and exchanged glances. The young man who had spoken earlier said, "All right, let's do that. We don't want this to get too serious either. We'll do as you say."

Seeing that they were reasonably cooperative, Wang Yan said, "Good. You've been playing soccer and fighting for half the day, so you must be hungry."

"Once everything's settled, I'll take you somewhere. Eat and drink whatever you like."

Seeing how enthusiastic Wang Yan was, they didn't object. They were hungry anyway, and who would turn down a free meal?

After reaching an agreement, Wang Yan had Xu Huanshan find someone to take the students shopping for shoes, buy their cards, and treat them to food. He then found the police officer, signed the letter of understanding, completed the various procedures, and brought the matter to an end.

After finishing the formalities and leaving the police station, the person Xu Huanshan had called finally arrived. Naturally, it was Chen Xu.

Wang Yan called Chen Xu over and took fifty thousand yuan in cash from the car, handing it to him.

Chen Xu was one of the more normal people among them. He had plenty of faults, but his way of thinking was still all right. He had no idea exactly how much the students would spend. There were more than ten of them, and he estimated that forty or fifty thousand should be enough.

Wang Yan told Chen Xu to accompany them and gave him his contact information. If the money wasn't enough, he could call him. If there was any left over, Chen Xu could keep it.

Xu Huanshan also gave Chen Xu a few instructions, mainly telling him not to let Gu Jia know.

Afterward, Chen Xu left happily. Buying food and drinks and paying for the shoes wouldn't cost much. If he handled things well, he could probably keep ten or twenty thousand.

After Xu Huanshan finished instructing Chen Xu, he came over to Wang Yan. "Ah, Old Wang, I'm really sorry to make you come all this way."

"I'll count that money as a loan. I'll bring it to you when I get home."

Wang Yan shook his head. "Forget it. It wasn't much. What kind of relationship do we have? Don't bother with that empty formality. Let it go. Just treat me to a meal next time."

He turned to Shen Jie. "We're all friends, so I'll call you Old Shen. Don't be polite either—just call me Old Wang."

"I heard from Old Xu that you're also in the fireworks business. I told Old Xu this too, but you have to be careful about safety. If something goes wrong with that stuff, it isn't a minor matter."

Wang Yan gave Shen Jie a reminder. Shen Jie was only around for a couple of episodes before being sent away. Wang Yan was merely mentioning it in passing. Whether Shen Jie listened was up to him.

Shen Jie nodded. Although this was his first time meeting Wang Yan, Xu Huanshan had mentioned him often and always said he would introduce them someday. A friend's friend was also a friend, and Wang Yan wasn't cursing him or anything. The fact that Wang Yan warned him at their first meeting showed that he wasn't treating him like an outsider, and Shen Jie was quite pleased.

"I really have let things slide lately. Should I go back and take a look?" Shen Jie thought.

The three of them smoked a cigarette outside the police station and chatted for a while.

The two men had absolutely no sense of proportion. After getting beaten into that state, they still had the energy to brag to Wang Yan about how fierce they had been in the fight.

Wang Yan understood. Men's happiness was limited to those few things. Although they had lost, the pressure from life and work had still been released, and both men were genuinely happy.

Understanding was one thing, but Wang Yan couldn't be bothered with them. What was so interesting about children fighting? If Wang Yan truly became furious, one look from him, backed by the threat of the dozens of lives he carried, would be no joke. Those few weaklings might not wet themselves, but their legs would definitely go soft.

After listening to them boast for a while, Wang Yan said, "All right, let's go. Get in the car. I'll take you both home."

"That's enough for today. We'll have a proper drink another day."

The two men had no other thoughts. They got into the car without saying anything, each wondering how to explain things to his wife once he got home.

Going home with battered and swollen faces without a reasonable explanation simply wouldn't do.

Shen Jie's home was a little farther away, but it was still considered central. After all, he was a businessman worth tens of millions. Even if his home wasn't in the best area, it certainly wasn't remote.

Before long, after dropping off Shen Jie, Wang Yan drove Xu Huanshan back to Junyue Mansion.

In the elevator, as they were about to reach the twelfth floor, Wang Yan said nothing more. He merely gave Xu Huanshan a look that said he was on his own. He didn't have much confidence in Xu Huanshan. Gu Jia would definitely call him or come upstairs to find him.

As expected, when Gu Jia saw Xu Huanshan return home with a battered face, she hurriedly asked what had happened.

In front of Gu Jia, Xu Huanshan was like a mouse before a cat. He stammered out the excuse he had spent ages fabricating. The two had been together for so many years, and Gu Jia knew him too well. One look at him and she knew he was lying through his teeth.

After a few questions, she forcefully got him to reveal the whole story.

When Gu Jia heard that he had gotten into a fight with students while playing soccer and had lost, she remembered that he had to fly to the capital the next day to draft a proposal and discuss cooperation for the amusement park. She was furious and gave him a thorough scolding.

Xu Huanshan grew tired of her nagging and finally fought back. He said a few things from the heart, including how she kept talking about their eldest son and devoted herself to climbing the social ladder among wealthy wives.

Why did she work so hard and flatter everyone? Who was it all for? Wasn't it for their happy life? Faced with her husband, the man who shared her bed, refusing to acknowledge her efforts, Gu Jia was deeply hurt. But she also considered that Xu Huanshan disliked that lifestyle. Didn't she love this kind of Xu Huanshan too? She forcefully suppressed her anger and began persuading him gently.

Xu Huanshan was like a stubborn mule who calmed down when petted. Gu Jia had kept him firmly under control with this approach for years. After only a few words, his anger vanished, and the two returned to their usual affectionate harmony.

After applying medicine to Xu Huanshan, Gu Jia had him play with the child. She busied herself for a while making some pastries, then brought them upstairs for Wang Yan to taste her handiwork as a small expression of gratitude.

Wang Yan invited Gu Jia inside to sit for a while, but she declined with a smile. Whenever she was alone with Wang Yan, she always felt uncomfortable.

Wang Yan didn't mind Gu Jia's refusal at all. Didn't it just show that she had something on her mind? The two of them exchanged a few words at the door. He also reminded her to bring his godson over to play sometime, then saw Gu Jia downstairs.

After seeing Gu Jia off, he returned to the apartment and sat down on the cushion in the living room.

Wang Yan brewed a pot of tea and ate the pastries Gu Jia had brought over. They really did taste good. If they could earn praise from a group of wealthy wives accustomed to lavish lives and delicacies, then the quality was certainly more than adequate.

Xu Huanshan had been beaten today and would fly to the capital tomorrow. Lin Youyou should be making her entrance soon.

As he ate, he called the two useless fellows under him and told them to send someone to keep an eye on Xu Huanshan's movements. Once those two were connected, Wang Yan would begin taking action as well.

Xu Huanshan had gone to the capital and would need ten days to half a month before returning.

That left Gu Jia at home. When she had nothing to do, she looked after the child, ran her dessert shop, and mingled with the wealthy wives to improve her social standing. Naturally, Wang Yan was involved throughout the process. He couldn't become a godfather for nothing. Xu Ziyan often clamored to play with his godfather. Sometimes Gu Jia was too busy to look after the child, and besides the nanny, she had another option: Wang Yan.

Moreover, in Gu Jia's heart, she preferred having Wang Yan look after the child to having the nanny do it. Trust grew step by step. As time passed, Gu Jia simply stopped asking the nanny and called Wang Yan directly whenever she needed someone to take care of him.

To be honest, Gu Jia and Xu Huanshan also envied Wang Yan. He seemed to have nothing to do all day. Every time they called him, he was either studying or playing somewhere. It wasn't that they knew nothing about finance; they simply had never seen anyone in the field as idle and carefree as Wang Yan, wandering around all day.

Xu Huanshan knew that Wang Yan was looking after the child, but he didn't say anything. In fact, whenever he saw Xu Ziyan laughing happily, he was very grateful to Wang Yan.

Sometimes Wang Yan picked him up after school, and sometimes he took him all over Shanghai on days off. At other times, to maintain his physical condition, Wang Yan went to a martial arts gym he had acquired and loosened up a little. Every child had a hero's dream. Seeing Wang Yan practice with such power and imposing style, Xu Ziyan worshiped him completely. He hugged Wang Yan's leg, threw tantrums, acted cute, and rolled around, begging Wang Yan to teach him.

Wang Yan thought about it and asked Gu Jia and Xu Huanshan, though mainly Gu Jia, for their opinion. When Gu Jia heard him ask, she was somewhat surprised. She thought, No wonder it felt so firm when I touched him back then. He really has trained.

Gu Jia had always given Xu Ziyan an elite education, and she supported letting the child practice martial arts to strengthen his body. This was especially true because the suggestion came from Wang Yan, who was becoming increasingly important in her heart.

Gu Jia's education was fairly effective. Whatever else could be said, at least his persistence had genuinely been cultivated by her. Martial arts training was difficult. Even though Xu Ziyan was only four and did not train intensely, it was still a significant challenge for him. His own persistence, combined with Wang Yan performing a routine in front of him whenever he was about to give up, gave him the motivation to continue. His progress was fairly good. Overall, it was going well—at least he hadn't quit halfway.

Whenever Gu Jia saw Xu Ziyan return with Wang Yan, happy, energetic, and increasingly boyish, she was delighted. She could tell that Xu Ziyan was genuinely happy, livelier and more cheerful than when she looked after him herself.

After spending more time together, Wang Yan found it awkward that the child kept calling him godfather. In the end, he discussed it with Gu Jia and the others and told Xu Ziyan to simply call him Dad. To make the distinction clear, Xu Ziyan would call Xu Huanshan Father. It was only a form of address, and neither of them objected. Xu Ziyan soon began calling out "Dad" so naturally that it rolled off his tongue.

Sometimes Xu Huanshan couldn't help wondering whether Xu Ziyan felt closer to Dad than Father. But whenever he saw Xu Ziyan laughing and joking with him, he let it go.

Besides, he would soon be completely bewitched by Lin Youyou. How could he have time to care about his wife and child? In the end, it only benefited his life mentor, guiding light, and good friend, Old Wang.

With Gu Jia, he couldn't find even a trace of confidence as a man. With Lin Youyou, things were different. She acted exactly like a fangirl conquered by Xu Huanshan's masculine charm—warm, considerate, lively, and adorable. Through Lin Youyou, Xu Huanshan found the confidence that belonged to a man, and before he realized it, he had become deeply addicted to her.