Residents of Qingdao, Shandong were shocked last week to discover a man lying unconscious face down in the street at Pukou and Shenyang Road. Mr. Du, who was at the scene, said bystanders came to the man’s aid only to discover that he was drunk and didn’t want anyone’s help.

It’s not clear why the inebriated man refused help, but he wasn’t alone. The man’s three year-old son stood loyally by his father’s side and protected him from harm. Not only did the boy prevent the man from being run over by passing traffic, he also cleaned up the vomit from his father’s clothes.

Qingdao residents were as impressed with the boy’s love of his father as they were angry with the father’s lack of responsibility for the boy. One person said, “This father has no sense of responsibility, but the child is great. The boy stood in the freezing wind taking care of his father.” Some of the crowd reacted by giving the boy warm clothes to wear.

And as bystanders discovered, the three year-old boy’s love of his father extended to protecting him against the criticism from the crowd. A man named Wang said, “At the beginning, some of the bystanders criticized the man for being irresponsible. So it was unexpected when the boy came to his father’s defense. He said, this is his father. He stopped people from criticizing him, and protected him.”

There are differing accounts of how the story ends. After lying on the road for two hours, one report claims bystanders called police, but by the time they arrived, the man had disappeared with his son. Another report claims police briefly spoke with the man, and he and his son left soon after, ignoring offers of help.

Either way, there’s no denying the man is very lucky to have such a loyal and loving son.