Page Seventy-Nine Another Pair of Parent and Child
The old lady accepted the terms and left with Sister Zǐ and me.
“Ma, Master~”
As soon as we came out, Yòu Zi, who had been suffering, leaped out from the chopping board of Xiǎo Lěi, rolling in the air and landing precisely in the old lady’s arms, trying to burrow into her clothes but was pulled out by the back of her neck.
At this moment, her marten fur was slicked to a shine by Lǐn Huā and the others, looking much like aged fur coats.
“Chief? How come you’re here too?”
After getting over the initial shock of seeing three people suddenly appear, Sister Tāo greeted the former leader, and Sister Zǐ stepped forward to take Sister Tāo’s hand.
She said, “I came for other reasons. I heard there were developments here and stopped by. But it’s good that you came today… Just relax, just say what you want to say.”
I turned to look at Sister Yǐjī, the other main character of this conversation, who was huddled in the corner of the box, trying to minimize her presence—she didn’t even sit at the table and didn’t dare look towards the door.
Timid like an ostrich, frozen like a statue.
I knew she wasn’t ready yet.
AJ, as usual, was shameless and didn’t care about Sister Tāo’s expression or the eye rolls, smiling and moving closer.
“Sister Tāo~ It’s really great that you came… Hey~ Don’t be so resistant… We’ve even bathed together, so what’s wrong with a hug?”
But it was effective. Sister Tāo just sighed, unable to bear being harsh on this increasingly beautiful boyfriend.
As the host of this dinner party, Lǐn Huā stood up to greet everyone.
“Alright, it’s almost seven o’clock. Since everyone is here, let’s get seated. I’ll have the food served right away.”
Lǐn Huā and Xiǎo Lěi usually liked sitting on either side of me, but today they generously gave their seats to Cherry Sauce and the old lady…
But Lǐn Huā is still Lǐn Huā; she sat next to the old lady herself and asked, “Um… How should we address you?”
The old lady patted Lǐn Huā’s head and smiled, “Little Lǐn Huā, no need to be so formal. There’s nothing to show respect for, and as for how to address me, just call me Qiǎnxià.”
Huh, she even wants to steal her half-daughter’s name?
Although Cherry Sauce also stole her name…
—”I know you’re not used to it, but we should call her that. After all, she’s now known as Qiǎnxià in the eyes of Heaven’s Path.”—
Lǐn Huā quickly accepted it and said, “Then… Big Sister Qiǎnxià, is this okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
Both of them wore similar smiles. Their personalities overlapped in some ways—they both enjoyed mischief, being willful, and being extroverted. The old lady was more prominent in disregarding others’ feelings. Ignoring external factors, they were more like a mother and daughter…
“But the three of you sitting together is still strange!”
Looking back and forth between me, Cherry Sauce, and the old lady, Xiǎo Lěi suddenly started singing.
“This is your excuse for breaking up~~ Ouch!”
Then she was hit on the head by Cherry Sauce.
“Idiot, we don’t need this kind of background music!”
Compared to the laughter over here, the atmosphere at the round table across was much heavier. As for Sister Tāo and Sister Yǐjī, their circumstances were different, and Sister Zǐ could only suppress her desire to catch up due to the atmosphere, leaving only AJ awkwardly speaking.
“Cough cough… Before the food is served, you can chat for a bit.”
Logically, Sister Tāo and Sister Yǐjī should sit next to each other to facilitate dialogue, but since one is timid and the other is upset, AJ was needed as a buffer to ease the increasingly cold atmosphere between them.
“Tao… That… It was my fault in the past, abandoning Ze Lan… I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I hope you can give me a chance to make amends.”
Sister Yǐjī started speaking with a pleading and weak tone, as if addressing a creditor rather than her own daughter.
Sister Tāo did not avoid it. She sighed and said, “I came here to give you a chance, but if all you intend to say is this, then I might as well have not come… AJ, stop coming over!”
Slapping away the sneaky head, Sister Tāo continued, “Show some action. What do you plan to do next, and how do you think we should proceed? You must have some ideas, right?”
After spending time with Senior Shén Guāng, Sister Tāo’s demeanor changed. She became more assertive and her tone more forceful.
Sister Yǐjī nodded.
“I hope… I can live with you!”
Her voice grew louder, and Sister Tāo looked slightly surprised. AJ raised her hand to interject, “And me! The Glorious Family exposed our address, so to avoid trouble, we can’t stay in the low-rent apartment anymore.”
Living together?
I tried to imagine…
Though it was a bit odd, it felt like a family of three. The live-streaming mom (Sister Yǐjī), the modeling dad (AJ) who goes out to work every day, and the high school daughter (Sister Tāo) who is a bit haughty.
“…I can’t accept that.”
Though the image was beautiful, Sister Tāo shook her head.
“Living together with you is impossible. It would be a betrayal of my mother.”
Sister Yǐjī gritted her teeth and said, “You can reveal my identity publicly. I’m not afraid of being despised. I can even reveal myself in the live stream…”
“Save it. With your current appearance, who would believe you are my father? And what benefit would it bring me?”
Sister Yǐjī made a pitiful face again, and Sister Tāo, frustrated by her father’s incompetence, rubbed her forehead and sighed helplessly.
“After all, I said I’d give you a chance, so I should make demands.”
“Sister Tāo is still soft-hearted~”
Ignoring AJ’s words, Sister Tāo said seriously, “I do have some ideas… Since everyone is here, I also want you to act as witnesses to supervise her behavior later.”
I asked, “What do you want Sister Yǐjī to do? About living together?”
“Not considering living together for now, but as part of the compensation for this phase.”
Sister Tāo seemed very rational. She had thought a lot during the journey here, but… This phase?
Making Sister Yǐjī a somewhat popular streamer was just the first step of her plan… Could this be some sort of idol parent cultivation plan?
Shouldn’t Long Gong Yǐjī be called Mom? Dragon Mom?
The waiter who knocked on the door started serving the appetizers: tropical wind sweet soup, green papaya salad, and some spicy bean snacks.
Seeing the triplets’ faces, the two female waiters were surprised, but their professional etiquette kept them from asking any questions.
“So what’s the second phase about?”
After the waiter left, Sister Zǐ asked and offered to help strategize.
Sister Tāo shook her head. “I appreciate your kindness, but no need for advice. You couldn’t handle your own sister and had to ask Lingmeng multiple times for help. This family matter is best left alone…”
This comment made Sister Zǐ feel uncomfortable.
Sister Tāo had indeed changed a lot. To argue with Sister Zǐ like this was unimaginable before.
“The second phase has three requirements.”
She held up three fingers and continued, “First, Long Gong Yǐjī’s live streams cannot stop. The popularity gained through cunning today needs to be maintained.”
“Ah, saying it was through cunning…”
AJ frowned and whispered, “Sister Tāo, we went through great efforts to win this battle. Calling it cunning is unfair, isn’t it?”
“At least without this, you wouldn’t have met the targets, right?”
Seeing AJ silent, Sister Tāo continued.
“As for the second requirement… No, perhaps it shouldn’t be considered a requirement? Although we can’t live together, we can meet regularly. So I require you to come out once a week, and we’ll find time alone.”
This ‘requirement’ delighted Sister Yǐjī. AJ muttered, “Sister Tāo is just not straightforward. You still want to be close to your father—”
Before AJ finished, Sister Tāo pushed her head away forcefully, making a clear sound, and AJ slumped in the chair, motionless… Hoping she was fine.
Sister Zǐ checked AJ’s breathing and, confirming she was fine, urged,
“She’s breathing. Tell us the third point.”
Seeming to have something significant to say, Sister Tāo looked seriously at Sister Yǐjī, who waited nervously, swallowing frequently.
Sister Tāo spoke.
“I want to sever our father-daughter relationship.”
“…What?”
“Even though we never had such a relationship, I need to make it clear. I will never acknowledge you as my father.”
“…”
Sister Yǐjī was completely stunned, biting her lip to restrain her emotions. Her tearful expression resembled a small animal about to be abandoned…
Speaking of small animals, the old lady fed Yòu Zi some spicy beans. Yòu Zi was squinting and sticking out her tongue while wriggling.
In place of the speechless Sister Yǐjī, AJ asked, “Sister Tāo, why are you being so decisive? Isn’t there room for negotiation?”
“Do you still not understand? We can start over and recognize each other, but not as father and daughter. This is my final demand.”
“Tao…”
Sister Yǐjī’s plea was interrupted by Sister Tāo, “Don’t call me that!”
Accepting the current Long Gong Yǐjī, but never acknowledging the past Long Hào.
In other words… If you want to improve relations with Sister Tāo, Sister Yǐjī shouldn’t think about changing back.
“She is negating the parent-child relationship.”
Lowering to play with Yòu Zi’s tail, the old lady commented on the conversation on the other side of the table.
She asked, “Xiao Kai, if you were Little Dragon Tao, what would you do? Would you forgive everything Long Yǐjī did in the past?”
Not likely.
After all, abandoning Sister Tāo’s mother was a serious offense.
But Lǐn Huā answered for me, “No, if it were Kǎi-Chan, she would definitely choose to forgive.”
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugged.
“Why, because you are that kind of person.”
I couldn’t tell if this was praise or criticism.
“…I accept.”
Sister Yǐjī finally calmed down. She swept her long bangs to the back, revealing a face similar to Sister Tāo’s, but with a different look in her eyes, a determination in her gaze.
She clenched her teeth tightly and said word by word, “We are not father and daughter, but we can become mother and daughter again!”
