I Have a Daughter Too Now

I Have a Daughter Too Now

Alvin stayed busy until one in the afternoon, when all fifty steaks had sold out. With nothing else to do, he walked over to the bar, rummaged out a jar of goji berries from the cabinet, and brewed himself a cup of Goji Berry Tea.

Back in his previous life, whenever he left for work, his wife would brew a cup for him in a thermos. He would make a dirty joke about the goji berries, earn a few embarrassed, angry Iron Fist punches from his wife, and head to work feeling refreshed.

Now, he could only brew himself a cup like some retired old cadre and indulge in a little nostalgia.

After spacing out for a while, he was startled awake by tapping on the bar. His eyes refocused, and he found Jessica standing there.

"What is it? Did you give the wrong change again? I told you to study more, but you never listen!" Alvin said groggily, completely ignoring Jessica's ugly expression.

After taking an Iron Fist punch, Alvin finally woke up completely. "Hey, how can a lady hit her own boss? I'm docking your pay."

Jessica wasn't afraid in the slightest. She glared at Alvin and muttered softly, "It'd be better if you docked it all. Then you'd have to support me for the rest of my life."

Alvin curled his index finger and flicked Jessica on the forehead. "What does a young woman like you think about all day? Support you for life? If some man tells you he'll support you for life in the future, punch him. You definitely won't be wrong. Idiot!"

Jessica pulled a miserable face and looked ready to cry, staring at Alvin with big deer-like eyes.

Alvin crossed his arms and tried to calm the goosebumps rising all over his body. "Go get to work. An idiot like you should just work honestly for me. If someone starts chasing you in the future, bring him here and I'll check him out for you, so you don't get tricked without even realizing it."

Jessica frowned and let out a "Hmph!" "I don't need you to worry about it. I know what kind of man I should find!"

"Well, just don't find someone like me. You won't be able to find one anyway. And I won't settle for you either. Any woman of mine has to be at least a 36D." Alvin said, glancing at Jessica's rather average chest.

Jessica thought of the women who made her boss so pleasant and agreeable—Dalia and Lilith—and both of them were generously endowed. Her face darkened. She wrinkled her nose and huffed before turning away proudly to clear the tables, forgetting what she had wanted to tell him in the first place.

"Boss, that's quite a nice girl. You're not being very gentlemanly to her." A blond young man with an elite air sidled over, casually bumping fists with Alvin. He even made a few gestures like a Black street thug, hoping Alvin would play along.

Alvin looked at him as though he were watching a joke. The blond young man wasn't discouraged. He gave an awkward laugh and said, "Really great steak!" Then he turned to join his companions waiting at the door and bragged to them, "See? I know the owner here. He's the Godfather of this street."

Not long after the young men left, an old Ford sedan stopped outside the Restaurant. The driver's door opened, and JJ got out. He went around to the passenger seat and pulled out a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Black boy. The boy's arm was wrapped in bandages, and judging by the bloodstains, the injury was serious.

Professor Wilson got out of the back seat with a five- or six-year-old brown-haired girl. He entered the Restaurant with JJ and the boy.

Seeing that the old professor didn't look well, Alvin's heart sank slightly.

Jessica thoughtfully led Professor Wilson and the little girl to a table and poured each of them a glass of water.

Alvin looked at JJ and asked gravely, "What happened?"

JJ slapped the Black boy hard on the back of the head, making him bend over. Then he raised a hand to restrain Black Kid, who wanted to turn around and fight back. "This brat hurt Mrs. Wilson."

Seeing Alvin about to lose his temper, Professor Wilson hurriedly stood up and waved his hands. "She wasn't hurt. She was only pushed and took a fall. The doctor said she'll be fine after resting for two days."

After stopping Alvin, Professor Wilson instead apologized. "Ginny scratched Jason's arm, so I came to find you, Alvin. I'm sorry to trouble you."

Hearing that Mrs. Wilson was all right, Alvin relaxed a little. The Wilsons were the pillars of the school now.

He ignored the boy struggling in JJ's grasp for the moment. Instead, he looked at the little girl who had been clutching the old professor's sleeve. He knew she was the girl Professor Wilson had mentioned that morning, the one he wanted Alvin to adopt.

Before being transported to this world, Alvin had always wanted a daughter. But he and his wife had never been well-off, and they worried that if they had another son, life would become even harder. So they had never made up their minds.

He wasn't even married in this life yet, and a daughter had already been delivered to his door. Although he had been a little unhappy that Professor Wilson had made the decision without asking him that morning, seeing this delicate little girl looking at him with the frightened eyes of a small beast made Alvin's heart melt. How could he possibly spare a thought for that obvious gang recruit raised on the streets of Hell's Kitchen?

Alvin crouched down and looked at the little girl with a gentle smile. "You're Ginny, right? My name is Alvin." As he spoke, Alvin held out his hand to Ginny.

At that moment, Alvin looked like a kindly father, a sunshine-warm smile on his face as he looked expectantly at his daughter. Such an expression would have seemed strange on an ordinary twenty-five-year-old man, yet it suited Alvin remarkably well, as though he had been born this way.

Whether she was affected by Alvin or encouraged by Professor Wilson, Ginny slowly stretched out her hand. Her fingers touched Alvin's open palm for an instant before she quickly pulled them back. Her snowy little face held fear, uncertainty, and hope.

Alvin kept his hand open and didn't move. He simply looked at Ginny expectantly, his gaze full of encouragement.

Ginny looked at Alvin, then at Professor Wilson. Seeing the professor nod encouragingly at her, she slowly let go of his sleeve. Like a small beast searching for food, her little hand tentatively reached for Alvin's palm.

Alvin waited patiently, the smile on his face growing brighter. This was a little girl who was terribly insecure and extremely sensitive. Alvin would not hesitate to pour all the love he should have given his daughter in his previous life into her.

Finally, the tiny hand rested in the large one. Ginny felt the warmth of Alvin's palm. It was so warm. Ginny liked that feeling very much.

In her memories, only Alvin had ever made her feel this way. It was cozy and safe. She had wandered through many places, yet in a Restaurant called Peace Hotel in a chaotic, rundown neighborhood, she had felt something she had never felt before.

The old professor and his wife made her feel kindness and goodwill, while Alvin gave her warmth and protection.

The little girl clung to the warmth of Alvin's palm and didn't want to let go. Timidly, she pointed to herself with her left hand and said softly, "Ginny. Me, Ginny."

Happily, Alvin gently closed his right hand, wrapping Ginny's little hand in his own. Mimicking her, he pointed to himself with his left hand and said, "Alvin. Me, Alvin."

Ginny finally lowered her guard. A small smile bloomed on her face as she pointed at Alvin. "Alvin. You, Daddy." Clearly, Professor Wilson had prepared Ginny mentally before coming here.

But who cared? Alvin only felt as if his heart were about to burst with happiness. He laughed happily, nodded, and pointed at himself. "Me, Alvin, Daddy."

Ginny's smile grew wider. Pulling Alvin's hand closer, she buried her little face in it. Like a puppy returning home, she narrowed her eyes and greedily breathed in Alvin's scent.

Alvin cupped Ginny's little face with one hand and stroked her brown hair with the other, his heart overflowing with fulfillment. I have a daughter too now.