It’s possible that my old man could never figure out why I, who had been acting like an autistic youth ever since I was caught and brought back, suddenly turned the house upside down that day.
After seeing that my attitude was extremely firm, he had no choice but to propose his conditions.
This was clearly much shorter than the time my dad had initially expected.
But I no longer had time for anything else; the goddess I had guarded for so many years was about to leave me.
Dignity, ideals, all of it could be pushed aside.
Even if the groom wasn’t me, I had to watch my goddess get married.
So, at the time, I agreed to the conditions my dad proposed without even letting them cross my mind.
Even then, my dad was still quite hesitant, until finally, the little stepmom standing beside him spoke up to plead for mercy.
“Hubby, Quanquan must have something urgent. After all these days, the lesson has been enough. Let it be.”
How should I put it? My little stepmom’s voice wasn’t exactly unpleasant, it was thin. I don’t know if it’s because I was home, but her pitch was always kept very low.
I always had a feeling that she was a woman with quite a lot of schemes, wearing the skin of a fox-spirit.
Even though she was speaking up for me now, hearing her call me “Quanquan” still gave me a whole arm’s worth of goosebumps.
But I only felt uncomfortable for a brief moment; the desire to get out triumphed over everything, so I immediately nodded in agreement.
While the old man was frowning and hesitating, I increased the stakes for my release.
“Dad, don’t you just want me to do a proper internship at the company? As long as you let me out tomorrow, I’ll listen to you from now on. If you tell me to go up a mountain of knives, I certainly won’t go down into a sea of fire.”
The words I blurted out just to get out caused Old Comrade You Qian, who had been about to nod in agreement upon hearing the first half, to speak up with “hate for iron not becoming steel” when he heard the rest.
“Get the hell out of here! Who’s asking you to go up mountains of knives or seas of fire? Would I, your father, harm you? If you say one more nonsense word, believe it or not, I’ll keep you locked up for a lifetime. Anyway, I, You Qian, don’t need you out there showing your face.”
How could this be allowed?
If I really provoked this old man, he might actually do such a thing.
When one is under someone else’s roof, one must bow one’s head; indeed, the economic base determines the superstructure.
Right now, my dad has a beautiful wife by his side, sons in pairs, and his body still looks robust. I truly have no interest in his business; my current pocket money is enough, and I have no intentions of usurping the throne.
So I immediately changed my tune, wishing I could step forward and hug my dad’s thigh while speaking.
“Dad, didn’t I just say that out of desperation and let it slip? How could you possibly harm me? I was being small-minded.”
Old Comrade You Qian looked at me with a very surprised gaze, a probing look that seemed to say:
“Speak, you little brat, what exactly are you up to? Why are you being so obedient?”
True, even though I rarely had direct conflicts with him before, I was far from being as easy to talk to as I was today.
We’re father and son; who doesn’t understand whom?
I could see that Comrade You Qian, who was originally as firm as a rock in his plan to lock me up for several months, had a tiny, tiny bit of wavering under my guarantee and the little stepmom’s urging.
It was as if I saw the dawn of victory, but I still suppressed the wild joy in my heart.
If I provoked this old man who had become increasingly eccentric in recent years—I wouldn’t just lose the chance to be my goddess’s groom.
I wouldn’t even have the status of a groomsman.
I spoke cautiously and very obediently.
“Dad, why don’t you believe me? It’s really just to go to a wedding banquet. My high school math teacher, you remember her, right?”
Looking at my dad’s oblivious face, I knew that the teacher who had a huge impact on my life wasn’t very important to him.
So I had no choice but to express again with tears and a running nose how good that teacher was to me back then, how she looked after me, and how I who was originally one foot on the dead-end path of illiteracy — was pulled back.
The explanation process was full of deep emotion, falling just short of actual sobbing.
When my little stepmom heard me say, in a tone resembling a poetry recital, “Ah, she is a great mother…”, she let out a low laugh.
My dad also seemed unable to stand my nonsense anymore. He raised a hand to stop my performance: “She’s been single until now?”
I told you, my dad and I are not on the same wavelength.
When I knew my teacher, she wasn’t young in her thirties. Now she’s a woman in her forties getting married.
Only an unreliable father like You Qian could say something so unreliable.
To prevent him from using his boundless divergent thinking again, I interrupted him.
“Dad, it’s her precious niece, who is also my classmate. I’m really not going out to play; I really have something to do.”
After speaking, I looked at him with eyes full of expectation and secretly decided in my heart:
If my dad didn’t relent, I would jailbreak from my bedroom balcony tonight.
This house is no longer my home; another family lives here. I might as well go out and find my own life.
Then, from not far away, came a low laugh: “Heh.”
I looked up and saw my dad, wearing a Zhongshan suit, looking at me from a few steps away with a smile on his lips, clearly in a good mood.
At that moment, I realized he was probably just teasing me.
As expected, I still couldn’t keep my cool as well as that old fox but then again, who could keep their cool in my current situation?
I had just made a solemn vow on the phone that I would definitely attend tomorrow. A man must do what he says, especially a promise to a goddess; one must go through fire and water without hesitation.
“Dad, what do you say, exactly?”
Actually, I didn’t realize that my words at that time already carried a hint of acting like a spoiled child.
Just kidding, ever since the “Zeroes” incident, I had drawn a line with Old Comrade You Qian.
Each of us walking our own path, not interfering with the other.
But these last two years, as my little brother was born, Old Comrade You Qian’s behavior toward me became increasingly bizarre.
It was as if he couldn’t get through the day without teasing me or making me angry.
Comrade You Qian smiled and said to me:
“So you know how to be anxious now?”
I looked at the expression on my dad’s face, not knowing what he was referring to. Our communication over these years has always been lacking.
Even if I can judge his general mood, I often fail to get the hidden meaning in his words.
I could only nod: “Mmh. Anxious.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as my voice fell, Comrade You Qian began to explode.
“Do you have the nerve to be anxious? Do you have any idea how it felt when I and your little stepmom traveled over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers to attend your graduation ceremony, only to find that the guest of honor had long since disappeared to go fool around somewhere?”
Ah, this I truly didn’t know. I hadn’t even called back to say approximately when my graduation ceremony was.
I didn’t know Old Comrade You Qian had put on such a show; it’s just that I didn’t make an appearance in it.
Consequently, my little heart which I thought had grown cold toward Old Comrade You Qian actually felt a surge of groundless gloom.
Every time I encountered places where families gathered, I avoided them as far as possible; who told Old Comrade You Qian to be so busy that his feet never touched the ground?
So I didn’t argue with him; it was indeed true that I left early.
“Dad, I was wrong.” The sincerity of my attitude was staggering.
So my dad took the opportunity to give me a harsh lecture. Just as my ears were about to grow callouses, the little stepmom pulled his hand.
“Hubby, time to eat…”
Just like that, a great war over the selective problem of going out or not going out came to a close.
It’s just that, immersed as I was in the mental torment of my own joy and suffering, I never imagined that this one trip would completely change the trajectory of my future life.
That day, I got up early and fixed myself up to be handsome and dashing. I spent a long time grooming myself in front of the full-length mirror, and before leaving, I even sprayed some perfume that I had rarely used since buying it.
Then, looking in the mirror at my handsome self who looked like a groom, I nodded with satisfaction and drove the little red sports car from the house out the door.
In the matter of spending money, Old Comrade You Qian upheld the principle: “If it’s a problem that can be solved with money, then throw money at it and say nothing more.”
So, I still have a few cars at home.
Once the sports car was on the road, it finally dawned on me: where did my goddess, Su Xiaoxiao, get a partner to marry?
I’ve been quite close to her; I didn’t notice her having a boyfriend she was very close with.
In this moment of distraction, I, who was waiting for a green light at an intersection—started a few seconds late. I can swear it was truly only a few seconds.
When the “beep” of a horn from behind entered my ears, I was very annoyed.
You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m not some female driver; to think there would be a day when I, driving my little sports car “wife,” would be disdained for my speed.
If this can be endured, what can’t?
I deliberately didn’t hit the gas immediately and just stayed stopped at the intersection.
Cars were passing one after another on both sides; the car behind me couldn’t easily change lanes.
At that time, I was secretly delighted: “Humph, dare to provoke this young master? I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine. Dream on.”
Two more “beeps” came from behind.
Then, the drivers passing my car all looked curiously at me, sitting leisurely in my flashy sports car, stopped at the red-green light intersection without any intention of getting angry.
I was counting the beats in my heart. The car behind me only honked three times.
And then there was no “then”…
I felt a bit of regret, thinking wickedly in my heart, “This must be a woman; such endurance is not a man’s.”
On second thought, how could I bicker with a woman? I’d better start moving.
Just as my left foot was releasing the brake and my right foot was preparing to step on the gas, the horns of several different cars sounded from behind.
This couldn’t be delayed. I stepped on the gas, the car was just about to move forward, and then a Mercedes-Benz drove past me.
The window rolled down, and I saw a man who looked quite handsome. He took off his sunglasses and mouthed a word to me:
“Dumbass.”
But my mind wasn’t on what he said at all because, after he took off his sunglasses, I saw those beautiful eyes. Only then did I realize that I had actually run into an acquaintance.
I told you, if there is fate, we will meet again.
A small joy in my heart caused my feet to lose control; I accidentally stepped on the brake.
And then a rear-end collision occurred. The car behind, seeing that I finally had a tendency to start moving, was just about to follow, never expecting that I would stop at this critical moment.
Consequently, before I could say a single word to that so-called acquaintance, they had already “set sail” into the sun.
I didn’t expect that every time I met this handsome older brother, I would be in such a mess.
I was even certain that the person didn’t recognize me.
Because the gaze directed at me just now was incredibly cold, as if at a stranger.
I confirmed once again that even if this older brother had beautiful eyes, his eyesight was not very good.
He and I could be considered to have gone through a catastrophe together; how could I have left no impression on him?
By the time I handled the accident and rushed to the wedding venue, the banquet was about to start.
As soon as I entered, I saw Su Xiaoxiao on the lawn, holding a bouquet and taking photos with some people.
In the spare time while handling the accident, I had called my goddess to explain the situation and expressed my apologies for not being able to be the groom.
Su Xiaoxiao asked about my situation, and after confirming I was fine, she said slowly:
“It’s okay. Come over slowly then; it’s more important to appease the other party in the accident.”
Sometimes I can’t even distinguish whether I like Su Xiaoxiao or if I like Su Xiaoxiao’s extreme thoughtfulness.
She is so gentle, always speaking softly to me.
Even though she has never accepted my advances.
After she saw me, she nodded and gave a sweet smile.
There was still some time left; I planned to get something to drink. To avoid missing the lunch banquet just now, I had even jogged a bit.
It was all because of that older brother with the amber-brown eyes; I actually couldn’t distinguish between the brake and the gas the moment I saw him.
This situation was truly f***ed up. The main thing was that the other person’s departure was cool and natural, while I was miserable.
However, that person was truly good-looking. Today, in a well-tailored suit, the image of one hand on the steering wheel and the other sliding his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose looked quite pleasing to the eye.
While I was recalling the scene of meeting him just now, I wasn’t paying attention and my forehead bumped into something. From the feel of it, it should be someone’s back.
Then, clutching my head and preparing to say an apology, I saw the face of the person who turned around. I was dumbstruck…
“What fate…”