Chapter 7 Section VII

I went upstairs and rang the doorbell for a long time, but no one opened the door for a long time. I looked at my watch, it was five o'clock.There should be a while before dinner time.I found the key from the inside of the bag and opened the door.The house is neat and tidy, which is his usual style.Chicken soup was still stewing in the kitchen, with a small fire and steaming.Presumably he won't go far. I went back to my room and nothing changed.Even the sheets seemed to have been washed yesterday, exuding the fragrance of soap.I was so exhausted that I took off my shoes and fell on the bed, and soon fell asleep.When he woke up, he was covered with a quilt, and he was sitting on the small sofa in my room, looking at me with a smile and asking, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." I sat up. "Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, I didn't bother to call you, why did you come home suddenly?" "School has a holiday, come back to see you." I don't know why, so I lied.He looked haggard and had a long beard, as if he hadn't rested for many days. "I don't know how to make a phone call. I was shocked. I thought there was a thief in the house." He got up and said, "It's getting late, you are hungry, come out and eat something." I looked at my watch, it was nearly eight o'clock, and I had slept for so long.

I followed him to the living room, and he heated up the meals, including my favorite sweet and sour fish.I served two bowls of rice, and he shared a bowl with him. He took out a bottle of wine from under the table and said to me, "Happy, have a drink." "What is so happy about?" "There's no need to ask!" he said, "You're back." I went to the kitchen to get a wine glass and poured wine for him. He took a sip, raised his head, looked around the house and said to me, "By the way, I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to sell this house. The value has risen a lot over the years, so it's a bargain."

"Why are you closing the supermarket?" I asked him. "Oh," he said, "I'm old and going to rest." "You are so lazy." I said, "You are in your prime when you are in your forties. What are you doing for a rest?" He smiled: "Your grandma is not used to living here either. She likes to stay in the county and play mahjong. After you leave, I live alone in such a big house and feel very lonely. It's not interesting." "But," I put down my chopsticks, "even if you go to Beijing, I don't have time to accompany you."

"I don't want you to accompany me." He froze for a moment and said, "I have my own business." "Dad," I said, "may I not do this?" "What not?" he said. "Wherever I go, you will follow. I have grown up, and I want to live my own life. You will make me feel bad, do you understand?" He looked at me with a strange expression, like looking at an alien. It took him a long time before he said, "Are you afraid that I will disturb you?" I tried to make him understand: "I just want to be independent, sooner or later I have to rely on myself, I can't always rely on you."

"Are you still studying--" "Graduating soon," I interrupted, "I'm going to find a job and support myself and, of course, you." He shook his head: "I don't want you to support me!" These years, I owe you too much. He said with a hurt expression, "Why do you actually use the word 'ow'?" "I'm sorry, maybe I used the wrong word. I understand that I am blessed that you treat me well, but you also need to understand that I have grown up and I can take care of myself. You can't always hang around me , you always have your own life, get married, have children, and live with the person you like!"

"You mean I've become your burden?" I quickly said, "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean that—" "Then what do you mean?" he said angrily. "Are you going to settle the score with me and make a clean break?" Oh my God. I thought we could talk on an equal footing, and I thought that as long as I spoke nicely to him, he would understand me.I had no idea that things could get so bad.He was really angry, drank the wine in the glass, then stood up, went back to his own room, and didn't come out for a long time. I also completely lost my appetite.After sitting on the sofa and thinking for a while, I decided to knock on the door of his room.

He didn't answer me. I turned open the door and saw him sitting on the rocking chair by the window with his eyes closed, wondering if he was asleep.The night in the south is colder than in the north because there is no heating.I walked up to him stiffly, bent down, and covered him with a small blanket.He frowned, he must have not fallen asleep, but he just didn't want to talk to me.I sat down on the floor next to his chair, and saw that there was still the photo of Ling Guoguo on the head of his bed.After so many years of being away, her smile seems to have never changed, and the same unchangeable fact is that I am more and more like her.All of this is like an insoluble curse, reminding me to beware of the traps and accidents of fate day and night, and I am always restless.

"Don't be angry, okay?" I begged him, "You know what I mean." He still ignores me. "Give me some time, let me do what I want to do, don't support me every step of the way, I will have a sense of accomplishment, don't you think?" He finally opened his eyes and looked at me, but he still didn't speak. "I'm going to heat up the food. Let's eat it, shall we?" "When will you go back?" I heard his question when I got up and walked to the door. "The last flight is tomorrow night," I said. "I'll drive you to the airport," he said, "while I still have some use."

I know he's talking angry, but I'm not going to be mad at him. When the dinner started again, I received a call from Lawyer Fang. His tone and attitude were not very good, and he directly asked me what happened to Luo Diu. I asked him, "What do you mean?" "She said you ordered someone to kidnap her and extort money from her mother." "Nothing." I said, "I'll explain it to you when I get back." "I'm going to explain now." Attorney Fang said. I had no choice but to put down the bowls and chopsticks, go back to the back room, and tell Lawyer Fang the ins and outs of the matter.After Mr. Fang finished listening, he only asked me: "Why did you leave her alone?"

"They won't do anything to her. I think she should be taught a lesson, otherwise she will never learn well." "Do you think, how capable are you that you can feel for yourself? Do you know that she was nearly disabled by them, and if something happened to her, how can we explain to her mother!" "Sorry." I said. "Forget it, don't talk about it. Come back as soon as possible, pack up all your things, and leave my office." Lawyer Fang hung up the phone after finishing speaking.I called again, but he didn't answer.I fully believe that for a person like Luo Diudu, in order to retaliate against me, she can do it by carving scars on her body with a knife. I don't blame Lawyer Fang for getting angry, I just blame me for being too careless. Maybe I should have handled this matter better. I went back to the living room, and because of something on my mind, I ate half of the meal and couldn't eat any more.Anan asked me, "What happened?" "It's nothing." I said, "I had a small problem at work and was scolded by the lawyer." "It doesn't matter," Anan said, "You can learn to work by cursing. When I was a porter, I was scolded by the boss a hundred times a day. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to make up my mind to open a supermarket and be the boss." I forced a smile. "If you're not happy, don't do it. It might be better to change your job." His unprincipled accommodation came again.