Wei Ying and A-Yuan were still smiling even after they returned to the shelter. The former checked them in at the front desk before taking the elevator upstairs and going to their room.
As he had told Lan Zhan earlier, it was quite small. It consisted of a small bathroom, two beds, a TV, and a mini-fridge. A number of boxes containing their belongings lined the wall too, but that was it.
Wei Ying grinned at A-Yuan as he unbuckled him from the stroller. "Don't take your jacket off, all right, baby? I need you to help me put some of our snacks and drinks in the fridge. After that, I will take you out to the play area before dinner," he remarked.
His son nodded happily. "Okay! May I put the fruit cocktail in myself? Please?" he all but implored.
"Of course you may. And if you behave, you can have one later."
"Yaaaaaaaay! Thank you, A-Die! I'll behave. I give my word."
He raised three fingers up to his head, making Wei Ying laugh loudly. It was the same thing he did whenever he made a promise.
"Good," the latter praised. "Let's hurry, though. We don't want anything to go bad."
A-Yuan certainly didn't. He couldn't stand smelly, moldy food.
"Okay. A-Die?" he said as they began to remove the bags that were hanging on the stroller.
"Yeah?" he inquired.
"Do you think we'll see Youjian-gege again soon?"
Wei Ying sighed. "I don't know, baby. Why? Did you like him?"
He grinned and nodded a second time. "Yes. I was glad to meet him. He was really nice to us."
"Yeah...he was."
Wei Ying found himself thinking that Lan Zhan was quite handsome too. But, of course, he would never say this out loud.
"Did you like him too, A-Die?" A-Yuan inquired next.
"I have to admit that I did, yeah. It was good to talk to him. And he knows how to have fun," Wei Ying said.
For he was pleased to have met Lan Zhan too. He had a strange feeling that he did before. But if he had, he didn't know or remember where.
Either way, he was happy that they ran into him. He doubted that he would have found the mailbox if it wasn't for his kindness. Almost everyone at the store had ignored him, and the few who tried to help only gave him puzzling directions.
Sadly, Wei Ying was accustomed to most people being less than generous to him.
For one, he had been thrown out of his Uncle Jiang's house by his wife - Madam Yu - soon after she found out that he was pregnant with A-Yuan. It was completely unfair, especially since he didn't know that he was able to have children. He knew that there were some men who could, but he never imagined that he was one of them.
Uncle Jiang and his foster siblings, Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng, took his side because they also thought that she was being irrational. They weren't even too upset that he truly had no idea who was the other father of his son. He never remembered having sex with another man. As far as he knew, he was a virgin. Or so he thought.
But whether it was fair or not, Madam Yu refused to listen to any of their arguments or pleas. She only allowed him to stay long enough to find an apartment before making him leave. The last thing she was ready to deal with was another baby.
Wei Ying eventually managed to acquire a cheap one not too far from "her house". Uncle Jiang secretly provided him with the money for the first three months' rent. He appreciated this very much; the job he had at the time barely paid enough for one. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng chipped in as well. The former also helped him buy baby food and clothes.
After that, he was pretty much on his own.
Of course, Wei Ying had the misfortune of being used to this too. He was on his own when his parents, Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren, died not long before he turned seven. Even though he was subsequently taken to an orphanage, it was so horrible there that he ran away.
He managed to escape and spent months wandering around alone. He was usually ignored because few people were interested in helping a homeless child. But living on the street was better than that dreadful place in comparison. At least, that was how he felt about it.
All of that changed when Uncle Jiang happened to run across him in the city one day. Wei Ying later learned that he had been searching for him since he found out about his parents. They were his friends since before he was born, and the news of their death saddened him.
Uncle Jiang took him in after treating him to a big lunch at a restaurant. Madam Yu had been highly displeased about this. She wanted nothing to do with him because of the resentment she harbored for Wei Ying's mother. Uncle Jiang had been in love with her, and Madam Yu couldn't understand why he chose to marry her instead. They weren't loving couple she obviously wished that they were, and she resented him for that too.
However, Uncle Jiang refused to send Wei Ying away. He would live with them for nearly eleven years until she finally kicked him out.
Being pregnant and almost entirely alone was exceedingly hard. He still had to work so that he would be able to pay the bills after the third month. Plus, he needed food and other essentials for himself and the baby. There were some days when he chose to work overtime just so he could have enough money. In spite of how exhausted he soon became, and achy, and moody, he did what he had to do.
He was often scared as well. He was only seventeen, going on eighteen. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a baby. He didn't know how he would do it.
A part of him already feared that something terrible would happen to his son because of how much he was exerting himself. And what if it did?
What if he couldn't support him as a result and had to give him up for adoption? That was the last thing Wei Ying wanted to do. Even though he never expected to have him, he wanted to keep him no matter what.
And worst of all, what if he messed everything up? What if he ended up ruining his son's life?
Those questions kept him up late for many nights.
And he felt lonely most of time. So, very lonely. The world in general could have cared less about him. A lot of people showed outright disdain for him because of the fact that he was a single, pregnant father. He endured name-calling and ridicule, some insults wounding him to the core, even though he pretended they didn't.
His manager at work had little patience for him. He actually threatened to fire him several times if he showed up late even once. Or if his till came up even one note short. So what if he was having a baby? He had a business to run.
Yet, he never said this to one of his female coworkers who had also been expecting at the time. Only him, since he was supposed to tough it out "like a man".
The owner of the apartment building was no better either. He didn't care that it was practically crumbling even at that time. He didn't care when his tenants lamented that it was too hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. He was only there for the money.
Wei Ying had made one such complaint early that December, when he was eight months along. He informed him that it was cold in his room and asked if he could please turn the heat on. The owner just huffed, called him an over-sized whale, and told him to stop whining.
Wei Ying cried all night about that. His emotions were already fragile before he went to speak to him, and there was nothing for them to do but crack from his mockery.
If it wasn't for Jiang Yanli's and Jiang Cheng's visits, he was sure that neither he nor A-Yuan would have made it at all. Uncle Jiang also came to see him whenever he had the chance. So did his friends Nie Huaisang, Wen Ning, and his sister Wen Qing, who he had known since high school.
All of them helped him through his pregnancy as best as they could. They gave him whatever he needed, though they couldn't always spare as much as they would have liked to at times. And if they weren't able to visit, they made sure to call him every day.
Uncle Jiang enrolled Wei Ying in parenting classes too, so that he could learn how to provide for his son. He also confronted the owner of the apartment after he told him about he said to him. Everyone in the complex was shocked when they heard him yelling at the owner all the way from the office afterwards. No one had ever had the gall to do that before. And it was one of the few times that Wei Ying had ever seen him so outraged.
Then, before he knew it, A-Yuan was born. He had been a pound or two underweight, but was otherwise healthy. He was adorable too, with his clear, bright face, and his eyes seemed to sparkle even then. Just seeing him and holding him in his arms made everything he had been through worth it.
His family and friends had no trouble agreeing with this when they came to visit Wei Ying during his hospital stay. Jiang Yanli, who had been there for A-Yuan's birth along with Uncle Jiang, told him that he was the cutest baby she had ever seen.
Everything was much different after he returned home. Now that he had his son, life became even more challenging. However, Wei Ying did the best that he could by A-Yuan.
He made sure that he was always bathed and clothed properly.
He fed him whenever it was time for him to eat.
He sang to him, played his flute for him. Bought him toys when he could manage it. Taught him things. Kept him as safe as he possibly could.
And most of all, he told him that he loved him every day, because how could he not? A-Yuan was such an angel!
As his son grew older, Wei Ying found free or low-cost things for them to do together when he wasn't working. He would take him to the playground that was near the apartment if the weather was good. They looked at picture-books in the library. Went out to eat every once in a while. Spent all day at the the fair that came to town every summer.
His family and friends visited them too, or Wei Ying and A-Yuan would go to see them. The latter enjoyed spending time with them because they adored him and spoiled him silly. In turn, they loved babysitting him whenever they were able to. This was particularly favorable for Wei Ying, who had to go back to his job eight weeks after having A-Yuan.
On Mondays and Tuesdays, Jiang Yanli watched him. She had gotten her own place by then. Uncle Jiang did on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Madam Yu had came around somewhat at this time, enough to allow this without - thankfully - complaining too much. And Wen Ning and Wen Qing were free on Saturdays.
It was not all sunshine and rainbows, of course. A-Yuan occasionally had diaper blowouts when he was an infant. He cried for hours when he was teething. Sometimes he just wouldn't go to sleep, and nothing Wei Ying did could get him to. He was ill on and off every winter. And he occasionally had nightmares.
A-Yuan was not always an angel either. He would irritate Wei Ying by talking too much or asking a lot of questions. He threw an occasional temper tantrum if he didn't get something he really wanted. There were instances when he wouldn't listen to Wei Ying or whoever was babysitting him. He would do what he was told not to do, or refused to do what he was told.
One time, Wei Ying had to spank him when he broke something on purpose during one of said tantrums. He prayed that he would never have to do that again. It hurt him to.
In addition to that, he was soon forced to work two jobs because he was having trouble with money. Even then, the bills were often late. There were also days when he could only buy food and other necessities for A-Yuan and not himself. He was too proud to ask his family and friends for any. He knew that they wouldn't have minded it, but they had already done so much for him as it was.
Everything came to a head just the week before. The apartment building had gotten so run-down by then that it was deemed uninhabitable. Its owner had been too lazy to have the necessary repairs done and make it presentable. Thus, everyone was forced to pack whatever they had and move in only a few short days.
But in spite of all this, A-Yuan's childhood was a happy one. He was optimistic even when everything was falling apart around him.
Wei Ying was glad and relieved about that. The last thing he wanted was for him to be as miserable and afraid as he was every now and then. He never let this show when he was in his presence, however. Just seeing him look sad nearly made A-Yuan cry.
And during all of this time, Wei Ying was still curious as to who his son's other father was. Was it someone that he actually knew, or was he a stranger?
How did they meet? What made them want to have sex in first place? (At least, he hoped it was sex.) Did this man even remember who he was, or had he forgotten their encounter as well?
Where was he now? What kind of life did he have?
And most importantly, why had he left him and their son to fend for themselves?
Wei Ying knew that he should be furious at him, whoever he was. Perhaps he should even hate him. However, he couldn't bring himself to do either. Not until he found him and knew all of the facts. But that would almost impossible to do since he had no idea who he was.
And if this man had indeed forgotten him too, then he wasn't even aware that he had a son.
Sighing deeply, Wei Ying pushed these thoughts away and continued to help A-Yuan put their snacks in the mini-fridge. He smiled at him when they were done and gave him a high-five.
"Good job, baby. Thank you. Come on, now. Let's go outside before it gets too late," he remarked.
A-Yuan embraced him. "You're welcome, A-Die. May I bring one of my Easter eggs with me?" he queried.
Neither of them celebrated that holiday, but Wen Qing had given him a few in April simply because he thought they were cute. He kept one on him almost everywhere he went.
"Sure. But zip it up in your pocket, all right? You don't want to lose it."
"Okay. A-Die?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope we'll see Youjian-gege again. I really do."
Wei Ying had to chuckle as he bent down to kiss him. His son had really taken a shine to Lan Zhan. "Me too, baby," he agreed earnestly. "Me too."
And after A-Yuan had secured an egg in his pocket, they left the room. He didn't mention Lan Zhan again for the rest of the day, but he was still on both of their minds.
Author's note: Whew. This chapter is longer than I expected it to be! But I hope all of you liked it. I wish a Happy Easter to those of you who do celebrate it, and I will see you next time!