I may be a fool, but that only means I occasionally make silly mistakes when dealing with people; it doesn’t mean I can’t pick up on the hidden meanings in my father’s words.
No matter how much I am moved inside, or how much I long to feel the long-lost fatherly love here, I still have to seek my mother’s opinion first and can’t make a decision on my own.
In a way, I could be considered the pampered cat my mother raised with great effort. When she’s not present, as the pet, I can’t just let outsiders stroke my head as they please.
Even more importantly, the one who wants to interact with me now has a huge, irreparable rift with my mother. I’m not some ungrateful, disloyal cat; naturally, I won’t accept the olive branch my father is offering.
The ‘Mr. Lin’ I rejected so coldly stiffened a bit, but after all, he’s someone who’s struggled for over a decade in the business world and made a name for himself. My little protest didn’t really bother him much.
He first waved at my grandmother, who was about to stand up to greet him, signaling for her to remain seated and not to be so formal.
Then, from the pocket of his dark blue trench coat, he pulled out a necklace and handed it toward me.
I don’t know much about jade, but I could tell this flawless green jade dog pendant was definitely not a cheap trinket.
I quietly took two steps back, racking my brain for an excuse to reject my father’s offer, when he suddenly spoke in a calm tone.
“Zhi Nian, can you help Dad give this pendant to your grandmother? A few days ago, she specifically asked me to go to the mountain temple to pray for this zodiac blessing jade. Now that the task is done, the item should be given back to the person who asked for it, don’t you think? Sorry to trouble you.”
My father’s smile was as gentle as always, with a faint, almost imperceptible charm. Faced with that tone and expression, it’s hard to muster the will to resist him.
It’s like knowing I’m a ‘frog in warm water’, yet unable to think of any reason to refuse or force myself to act otherwise.
The cat ears atop my head curled up in confusion. If there were a full-length mirror in front of me now, I’d probably see a round-headed catgirl frowning deeply, as if I’d meow in protest at any moment, then bend down slightly, turning into a spiny-backed dinosaur glaring at him.
I didn’t rush to respond to my father, and he calmly kept holding out the necklace, motionless, not showing the slightest hint of embarrassment or annoyance—there was even a faint smile on his lips.
If an uninformed onlooker saw this scene, they’d probably think I was just a rebellious, disobedient daughter.
And this smiling ‘Lin Chengxiao’ would be seen as an exceedingly tolerant father, gently communicating with his daughter and subtly changing her mind until she obediently softened up.
Like taming a stray cat, from an outsider’s perspective, my father’s current words and actions are almost flawless.
Taking a deep breath, I turned my head to look at Grandma, hoping to see in her expression how true my father’s words were.
But I saw her brows furrow in confusion as well—she didn’t seem to know when this “something you entrusted to me” was actually given to him.
She was probably racking her brain, wondering if she’d forgotten it due to old age.
Seeing this, I was about to firmly refuse my father’s request and tell him to give it to Grandma himself, that it had nothing to do with me. But then I saw Grandma’s face relax as she calmly spoke.
“Ah… Yes, I did ask Chengxiao to go to Huacheng to find a famous master and get this jade. Child, you take it and hold onto it for Grandma for now, I’m not feeling strong, and want to sit and rest for a while longer.”
“…..All right.”
I had been planning to hand over this hot potato of a jade pendant to Grandma and be done with it, but seeing her gently shake her head at me, my heart suddenly softened.
Hardening my resolve, I simply took a tissue from my dress pocket, accepted the glistening jade dog pendant from my father’s palm, wrapped it up, and stuffed it back into my skirt pocket.
I’ll just treat it as compensation from my father for all these years—when the time comes, I’ll either hand it over to my mother, find an excuse to return it to him, or give it to Grandma.
Of course, if possible, I’d consider just selling it for cash.
Frankly, I’d rather take it as part of the dowry for marrying Gu Fan. It’s not much, is it? After all, it’s just a jade pendant—it probably won’t sell for much.
I’m about to become an adult, after all. With the pressure of independence on my shoulders, who cares about face and dignity? What matters is the money in hand.
That’s also why I admire my mother all the more, for her courage in decisively divorcing my father back then—her strength is far beyond my own soft-hearted cowardice.
If, in the future, Gu Fan cheated on me, I’d probably just grumble on the side and throw a tantrum, but ultimately accept things as they were.
Of course… who can really predict the future? Maybe once I have children, my temperament will change completely, and I’ll reject all the apologies Gu Fan offers. Maybe I’ll storm into the kitchen for a knife and show off my best intimidation skills.
That’s what really suits me… When pushed to the limit, I can bare my fangs and hiss with the best of them.
Gu Fan, you’d better not turn out like my father, a “good dad” on the surface who uses his charming looks to hook up with all sorts of wealthy, powerful women behind the scenes.
Otherwise, I dare not imagine what I’d do. Being able to part ways as peacefully as my mother did would be the mildest possible outcome.
After seeing me accept the jade pendant, my father quietly withdrew his hand, steadily stepped to the side, and casually said,
“I’ll go in and see Shen Yuan for a bit. Zhi Nian, would you like to come with me? If you don’t want to, you can stay outside and chat with your grandmother. I’ll be back soon.”
“……”
I said nothing, just silently made way for him, lowering my eyes to the floor and refusing to watch my father walk into the main house.
Only when the sound of his leather shoes faded away did I finally let out a slow breath.
Though being with my father doesn’t give me the oppressive heaviness I feel from my mother,
In my mind, I always see his cold, heartless face from when he abandoned my mother and me—that shadow is branded into the depths of my memory, forever reminding me not to be fooled by this man’s facade.
The reason my mother insisted I return home today is probably related to my father. I have to be extra cautious—men as purposeful as him don’t show “fatherly love” without a reason. There must be something more behind it.