Zheng Shiqiang watched Zheng Yang belittling himself while trying to appear strong, and couldn’t help saying, “Yangyang, you don’t have to work so hard…”
“I…” Zheng Yang hesitated.
“None of this is your responsibility.”
Zheng Shiqiang sighed.
“You’re a victim too.”
Zheng Yang couldn’t stand this kind of understanding talk.
Tears welled up again.
Zheng Shiqiang continued, “For example, when you and I met at Golden Era, when I hit you, forced you to wear that Bell Collar, made you call me Dad… looking back now, the humiliation you felt back then must have been doubled…”
“No, no, no! Not at all…”
Zheng Yang waved her hands frantically.
She didn’t want Zheng Shiqiang to feel any guilt because of her.
Zheng Shiqiang raised a hand to signal her not to argue, and went on, “Second, you never had any intention of harming me. Instead, you brought me a lot of fun. And if I’m not mistaken, you’d never try to harm me in the future either. Am I right?”
“I… how could I ever harm you? Except for making you take in a fake daughter…”
Zheng Yang’s voice was full of guilt.
“That brings me to my third point. You’re now a woman, genuine and real, not a man. Society sees you as nothing more than a girl named ‘Zheng Yangyang.’ Do you disagree with that?”
“I…”
“Good. You could have kept all this to yourself, enjoyed the benefits of being my daughter in peace, but you still told me. Even though that Lili forced you, you didn’t run away. That takes tremendous courage.”
“You… please stop praising me!”
She wasn’t trying to be modest; she genuinely couldn’t handle hearing this kind of talk.
Zheng Shiqiang laughed.
“Is this praise? Isn’t it the truth? You’re not a child who lies. Would you deny it against your conscience?”
“I’m just… not as good as you say…”
“Heh. The ancients said a gentleman is judged by his deeds, not his heart. Judge by the heart, and no one is perfect. But you, your heart toward me is good, and your actions toward me are good. And…” Zheng Shiqiang gave a playful smile, rubbing his chin, “You’re this beautiful and adorable too. What’s wrong with you?”
Zheng Yang let out a small laugh, then quickly got serious again.
“As for you saying you’re 38. Age-wise, I’m 50 by the traditional count this year. If you treat me as your adoptive father and call me Dad, that doesn’t seem too unreasonable, does it?”
Zheng Yang nodded instinctively, then quickly shook her head.
“Then what you value most, or what you think I value most, is the soul. You think I’d despise your male soul. But in my view, soul and body together make a true person. The relationship between soul and body isn’t what you think it is—like old wine in a new bottle. No. It’s more like…”
Zheng Shiqiang drew a Taiji double-fish diagram in the air with his finger.
“…the two sides of the Dao, one in the same. Yin and Yang coexist, intermingle, influence each other, react to each other. If that sounds too mystical, then—you went to high school, you know about acid-base neutralization reactions. In fact, all chemical reactions, broadly speaking, are reactions of Yin and Yang. So I ask you: when hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide react to form salt, can you still say the salt is hydrochloric acid, or that the salt is sodium hydroxide?”
Zheng Yang listened, her mouth unconsciously hanging open, her eyes blinking rapidly in shock.
“So, Yangyang, the you now is a completely new you. No longer just the Director Zheng of before. Do you disagree with that?”
“I… I…”
Zheng Yang laughed bitterly.
Dad… no, President Zheng… pfft, whatever the title, anyway, what he said couldn’t be more thorough, and the face he gave her couldn’t be bigger.
If she still didn’t appreciate it, she’d be utterly ungrateful.
But wasn’t it Lili who told her to overcome her own difficulties, to fight for this so-called happiness herself?
Yet here Zheng Shiqiang was, fighting for her, convincing her… She felt she didn’t deserve such an outcome.
Zheng Shiqiang finally asked, “So, are you choosing to go back to Golden Era, or stay home?”
“I… I’m willing to be President Zheng’s housekeeper for life, without taking a single cent…”
“Don’t say things I don’t want to hear!”
Zheng Shiqiang smiled faintly, carrying the authority and unshakable certainty of a big shot.
“I…” Zheng Yang felt utterly powerless in words. She could only thud to her knees before Zheng Shiqiang, knocking her forehead to the ground. “Dad! No words can express my gratitude. You are my second parent!”
Zheng Shiqiang watched this quintessentially male behavior and turned his head away.
“Still don’t want to hear it.”
Zheng Yang lifted her tear-streaked face, let out a laugh, stood up, and sat beside Zheng Shiqiang.
In embarrassment, she linked her arm through his and shook it gently.
“Dad, good dad, dear dad~ I… your daughter knows she was wrong. Please forgive your daughter…”
Zheng Shiqiang snorted.
“That’s more like it!”
Then he added, “But don’t get too happy too soon. I’m not going to treat you the same way anymore. From now on, if you act stupid again, I’ll spank your bottom just like I would a son!”
Zheng Yang laughed again, but felt incredibly warm inside, and deeply admired Zheng Shiqiang.
Zheng Shiqiang patted Zheng Yang’s shoulder.
“Alright, while the mood is good, tell me all the other things weighing on your heart.”
“Mm… Dad, since I’m not leaving, there are actually two more things…”
“Go ahead.”
“One is, should I confess to Wu Chun…”
“Confess that you’re a man?”
“Mm…”
“Tsk… Yangyang, do you have a thing for exposing yourself?”
“Hey, Dad~ That’s what Lili said—that I need to let my closest people know…”
“Your closest person can only be me!”
Zheng Shiqiang’s tone seemed very displeased, but Zheng Yang felt an immense sense of security from it.
Zheng Shiqiang shot her a sideways glance.
“First problem solved. Next!”
Zheng Yang hummed in acknowledgment, pursed her lips, and lowered her head.
“The other thing is… since Dad already knows my identity, I want to find out which high school my son Zheng Siyuan got into. After all, on the day I transformed, my ex-wife was still pushing me to go see the principal of No. 2 Middle School…”
This time, Zheng Shiqiang laughed.
“In the future, you can talk about these things, but don’t keep saying ‘my son’ and ‘my ex-wife.’ It sounds weird to me.”
Zheng Yang nodded repeatedly.
“Got it, Dad!”
“Besides, you can just sneak off to do that kind of thing. Why do you need to tell me? Trying to remind me of your old identity?”
“No way, Dad! You’re always accusing me unfairly~” Zheng Yang leaned her head on Zheng Shiqiang’s shoulder.
“I just feel like, from now on, I don’t want to hide even a single thing from you anymore.”
Zheng Shiqiang lay in bed that night and suddenly realized—thank goodness Zheng Yang had reminded him, otherwise he might have missed out on the most interesting thing of all.