Chapter 52

52 I won’t sell my grandson

Dean Kerensky had just been taking a sip of his midday espresso when the door was knocked. Before he could even answer it was pushed open only for a bruised faced Yi Chen and a hot mess Zi Han to walk into his office.

In shock, he spat out a mouthful of his very expensive espresso staining the forms he was holding in his hand. When his gaze fell on Zi Han’s uniform his heart sank. It only took four hours for Zi Han to look like this which was a new record for him. At least Zi Xingxi survived half a day. Her son on the other hand only lasted a couple of hours.

He suddenly had a massive headache. It seemed Zi Han was far worse than his mother which means for this entire semester he would be cleaning after Zi Han. Was this behaviour hereditary or was it a product of their environment? If it was their environment then how come Zi Feiji was normal? Well, he was normal for the most part.

He hastily plucked a few tissues from the dispenser and wiped away the coffee stains on the forms and his desk while asking, “Who did he fight with?” Soon he had the answer he had been looking for. Yi Chen had a swollen nose and Zi Han looked like he had survived a category five hurricane.

‘Damn it,’ he swore internally when he realized he had to call two guardians who hated each other so much that even their mechs would snort at each other upon sight. That’s how strong the bad blood between them was.

He really didn’t want to make this call so he asked again, “So you are sure you didn’t accidentally run into a door or something? I mean..... no shame in that. It happens.”

“Sir, he hit me while I was trying to break up the fight he was actively engaged in,” said Yi Chen while pinching his nose.

“Accidentally.... I accidentally hit you,” replied Zi Han now wishing he had done it on purpose. He suddenly felt a little better about that punch in the alley. To him, vengeance was vengeance whether it be accidental or purposeful. The universe had finally served Yi Chen with a steaming bowl of karma and boy, did it feel good.

His expression looked sullen but on the inside, he was laughing like a villain after screwing the protagonist over.

.....

“Sigh..... go to the infirmary. I will deal with this,” said the Dean looking like he had aged ten years in less than five minutes.

Yi Chen walked out of the room leaving only the two of them staring at each other gloomily. “Can we not call my grandpa?” asked Zi Han looking like he seriously regretted his actions.

“Sorry pal, not going to happen,” replied the Dean as he searched his recent calls to make the most dreaded call of his life.

Zi Feiji had just been lying on a lawn chaise on his rooftop garden when he received the call.

He had already changed into his beach shorts with pineapples printed on them and a white short-sleeved t-shirt printed with the words ‘Proud dad’ then below ‘Proud grandpa’ with a tick box after each sentence.

Guess which box was ticked. It was the ‘Proud grandpa’ tick box. If only he knew it was bad luck wearing this t-shirt today he wouldn’t have worn it.

He had spent three hours basking in the great compliments in his circle of friends on Starnet after posting Zi Han’s picture in his uniform.

This put him in such a good mood that he requested an afternoon cocktail only for everything to go to shit. As he received his tequila sunrise his light brain rang.

“Master? It is Dean Kerensky. Would you like to accept his call?” asked the AI in his new mech that replaced Chronos.

He casually answered, “Accept,” before raising the glass to take a sip from his straw shaped like an umbrella. Two seconds later the contents in his mouth aerosolized as he spat it out.

Old Lu who had been snipping some orchids rushed over only to hear the proud grandpa curse his grandson

“That little brat..... Ugh, he fought with that Yi kid! I am going to kill him..... I am going to fuckin kill him,” he said with his voice getting lower and lower. It only took four hours..... just four hours for him to screw up.

Old steward, “...”

Zi Han who was obediently sitting in the Dean’s office suddenly sneezed for some reason. “Dean Kerensky, I think I am catching a cold,” said Zi Han trying to gain sympathy but his pity card was invalid.

The dean looked at him through his lowered glasses and said, “No you aren’t. That’s just your grandfather figuring out ways to murder you. That’s why you are sneezing.

Zi Han, “.....” QAQ

Was it too late to call his mother instead?

Two hours later...

“I need a sincere apology. Look at him? You are lucky his nose isn’t broken,” yelled Marshal Yi his voice pensive but his expression looked like he was having the time of his life.

Zi Feiji leaned back in his chair while closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing. He was attempting to cool himself down otherwise he would say something he shouldn’t. After chanting some Buddhist mantras he opened his eyes and said,

“Your son is not a delicate little princess. It was an accident after all so why make all this noise? An apology, in this case, would be..... it would be meaningless.”

“Whether he is a delicate little princess is none of your business. I just need an apology from you. Now go on... apologize,” said the Marshal the smile on his face growing bigger.

Zi Feiji, “.....”

“I am going to kill him..... I am absolutely going to kill him,” he mumbled under his breath with his fist clenching and unclenching. The word reluctant was clearly written all over his face.

Marshal Yi raked his fingers through his hair as a wolfish grin spread across his face. “If you don’t want to apologize we can work out some sort of arrangement. How does that sound?”

Zi Feiji, “.....”

“Nope, no.... not happening. I would rather apologize. I won’t sell my grandson to you,” he said having misunderstood the Marshal.

“Who the fuck wants your grandson? I want the framed map behind you? Isn’t that the world map of the old earth? That’s an ancient artefact from the Exodus. Give it to me and we can forget this entire thing,” said the Marshal with a rare glow in his eyes.

Zi Feiji who was reluctant to part with his precious artefact lowered his head before whispering, “Are you sure you don’t want Han Han? Yi Chen can boss him around for a day or two to make up for it.”

Marshal Yi, “.....”

“You old bastard. It’s either you apologize or I am coming to your house tomorrow morning to get that artefact.” After saying this the video call ended leaving a flustered Zi Feiji.