"Father!"
Looking at the young man with curly hair and a rather handsome face, who stood respectfully before him and called him father, Jia Xiu was utterly confused.
What was he supposed to do when an upperclassman called him Dad on his first day in the lab? This was urgent.
The person before him, who had mistaken "Dad" for a "Godfather," was Juan, a second-year senior Margaret had assigned to show Jia Xiu and the others around the lab.
He was also the one who'd been soundly beaten in last year's Grand Five-Academy Tournament.
After Margaret gave him his assignment and left, Juan had been so obsequious that Jia Xiu felt a little uncomfortable.
What was this about?
Was this some kind of lab culture?
That was a pretty unusual culture.
He'd heard of seniors bullying juniors, but he'd never seen a senior volunteer to be bullied.
Ram scratched his head. "Boss, is he your illegitimate son? He doesn't look like you."
Mia had already figured out what Juan was after.
He was trying to cozy up to the boss.
Trying to take her place.
She'd only called Jia Xiu her boss. How had someone gone straight to calling him Dad?
Startled by Juan, Jia Xiu came to his senses and thought it over.
In the common language, the same word was used for father, priest, and godfather. Jia Xiu figured Juan must have meant godfather, but he wasn't part of any religious order.
So, by the meaning of the word, the closest concept was one that didn't exist here: godfather in the sense of a sworn father.
That was a lot more familiar.
Back in school, he'd played sworn father to his roommates plenty of times.
Which raised the question: why was Juan asking him to be his sworn