Luo Zhenggang stared at Luo Ye for quite a while, and seeing that his daughter didn't flinch from his gaze, his furrowed brow slightly relaxed: "So you're saying, you didn't intentionally go to find Uncle Liu?"
"No!" Luo Ye shook her head, her eyes reflecting determination.
Luo Zhenggang waved his hand: "Alright, let this not be a precedent."
"What if I have something and need to find dad? Can't I go then?" Luo Ye was very displeased with Luo Zhenggang's uncompromising tone.
Luo Zhenggang's brow furrowed: "Luo Ye, how did you become ? Have you forgotten all about home education and manners? Who gave you permission to speak to your dad ?"
Wen Xin considerately moved behind Luo Zhenggang to massage his head: "Husband, didn't we agree yesterday, our children are all grown up, we need to communicate with them as equals, look at you, why are you getting angry again?"
Luo Zhenggang sighed helplessly: "Wen Xin, your daughter has turned from a mouse into a porcupine in an instant, how do you expect me to communicate with her?"
Wen Xin giggled: "Ye'er is my daughter and not yours? Who talks about their own daughter like that."
Luo Ye couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile as well. Her dad's comparison was quite apt. Due to the resentment caused by the family tragedy he once brought about, her tone always carried some emotion when speaking to him, indeed, she was more thorny than before!
After clarifying today that Liu Zhengxing was not reincarnated, a great weight fell from her heart. As long as she worked hard and also strove to change her family, the past tragedy would surely not recur.
In fact, her father was a genuinely good official; he himself had worked hard to succeed from a rural background, he was particularly mindful of the common people's hardships. It was unfortunate in her past life that he trusted the wrong people, took the wrong side!
In this life, she believed she could help her father shine brightly in his career, of course, she would also need to shed her own resentment, just wanting to argue with her father upon seeing him. Some problems cannot be solved by arguing!
In the span of a mere instant, her thoughts ran wild, but Luo Ye rarely smiled at Luo Zhenggang: "Dad, I must clarify, I will try my best not to be a porcupine, but I absolutely will not become a mouse again!"
Luo Zhenggang looked at his daughter with interest: "Then what do you want to be?"
"A tiger!" Luo Ye extended her slender small claws and made a pouncing gesture: "I will not offend unless I am offended, but if someone offends me, I shall never endure it again!"
"With your small size, you shall never endure it again?" Wen Xin laughed and went to the kitchen: "I'm cooking, you father and daughter have a good talk, no more arguing!"
Luo Zhenggang looked at Luo Ye with a serious expression: "Ye'er, one must always act within one's capabilities. One day you will understand, when your dad tells you to endure, it's truly for your own good!"
Looking at the fleeting helplessness in Luo Zhenggang's eyes, Luo Ye's heart stirred, could it be that her father had already anticipated future events? Or had he accepted some unequal treaties since being reused?
Sitting beside Luo Zhenggang, Luo Ye looked earnestly at her father: "Dad, do you like being an official?"
"I both like and dislike it... Ye'er, these are not things you should worry about. Focus your energy on your studies, you have to rely on yourself for your future path, you need to lay a solid foundation now, understand?" Luo Zhenggang was rarely genial.
Luo Ye tentatively asked: "In the future... will dad not care about me and my brother anymore?"
Looking at his daughter's apprehensive face, Luo Zhenggang smiled: "Even if dad does care, you and your brother should also have the capability. In this life, we mostly have to rely on ourselves!"
Luo Ye was already somewhat certain that Dad must have reached some agreement with Liu Zhengxing. Not arranging things well for them, her siblings, in her previous life was surely because he didn't expect the other party to take action so quickly. Poor father!
"Dad..." Luo Ye circled to Luo Zhenggang's back, nestling her head in the nape of his neck and embracing him, tears uncontrollably spilling out.
Her resentment towards her father vanished in an instant. It wasn't that he didn't want to protect them, he just couldn't. The wheels of history ruthlessly rolled over him; he had no choice in the matter.
In others' eyes, he was a lucky man, but who could understand the pressure he was under? All the education he gave her and her brother seemed always to prepare for the family becoming commoners. Perhaps, Dad never imagined that being the worst wouldn't be as simple as just becoming commoners, right?
Although she still wasn't clear about the exact facts, she had decided to let go of her grudges. Only by having a good relationship with Dad could the trouble be resolved in the shortest time.
Dad wasn't a brainless fool; from the beginning, he was the one who was chosen. He wasn't a saint and naturally couldn't treat power as if it were dirt. Given that, what was there that couldn't be forgiven?
The sudden closeness of his daughter startled Luo Zhenggang. It had been perhaps ten years since he had been this physically close with her. It took him a long while before he reached out to pat her: "Ye'er, what's wrong?"
Luo Ye sniffled, "Nothing much, I just suddenly felt very aggrieved and wanted to cry in Dad's arms, to vent a little, and it would be best to hear some comforting words from Dad."
Luo Zhenggang intended to console his daughter with a few words, but what came out was, "Get up quickly. Don't get my clothes dirty. You'll tire out your mother!"
Luo Ye couldn't help but laugh and cry as she raised her head; this old dad of hers, just as she was finally softening to get close to him, she really couldn't with him!
Wen Xin, busy in the kitchen, saw the rare closeness of father and daughter, happily wiped her tears. Her husband and children had always been like wolves and sheep in a standoff. She had not been happy about it, but her husband was her heaven, and her children were her treasures. What could she do?
"Oh no, it must be Brother!" Annoyed, Luo Ye smacked her head and ran to answer the phone. Before she could speak, Luo Feng's anxious voice came through, "Mom, Ye'er still hasn't come; I am going to check her school. You and Dad have dinner first!"
Luo Ye shouted anxiously, "Brother! Brother!... Don't hang up, don't hang up, I'm home, I forgot to call you! Sorry! Sorry!"
Luo Feng's voice instantly turned joyful, "Ye'er, you're home already? I habitually thought it must be Mom answering, and was scared to death waiting for you. Alright, I am hanging up and coming back immediately!"
This silly brother of hers! Luo Ye was moved and sniffed, such a life, long missed! Her heart, wounded and cold, began to slowly warm up.
Wen Xin suddenly poked her head out from the kitchen, "Right, Ye'er, did you call Grandpa today?"
"Yes, I missed Grandpa, so I called him and told him I'd go to stay with him during the summer holidays!" Luo Ye reported to her mother at the kitchen door.
Holding the newspaper, Luo Zhenggang nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, you've become more sensible. It seems that besides developing from a mouse into a hedgehog which gives people headaches, you're doing quite well in other areas!"
"Dad!" Luo Ye frowned and glared at Luo Zhenggang, "I'm a tiger!"
Wen Xin smiled and patted her daughter's head: "Alright, Tiger, little Tiger. Your Grandpa said he and Uncle Feng reserved a foxhound for you. Last year when you went, they had all been claimed and you cried. Grandpa has always remembered that!"
The first update for Nu'an is here, special thanks to "Luo Huayu Wudie" Qiuqiu, "Ah Xing little girl" Xue Qiu, ゐ恋猫﹏ "Nan Xiaoqiong" Demon Treasure for their PK tickets, pink tickets, a kiss for each! Hehe~~