Chapter 497. Father and Daughter
As night fell deeper, Ning Chu lazily sprawled on the sofa, her legs in stockings propped high on the armrest, her skirt haphazardly arranged, revealing the edges of her underwear.
She gently swung her legs, playing on her phone while poking at the apple chunks her mother had cut with a toothpick, completely lacking any semblance of a lady, causing her mother to shake her head.
It’s lucky that the house was filled with women—no one seemed to care how unruly her daughter was.
“I really don’t understand how Wen Yang could fall for you, with how you sit and stand.”
Ning Chu confidently replied, “I’m good-looking, aren’t I? That’s your gene working, okay?”
“And I can only relax a bit at home, right?”
Her flattery immediately wiped her mother’s frown away; her daughter’s slightly spoiled tone even made her abandon her lecturing mindset. She sat on a single sofa nearby and affectionately ruffled Ning Chu’s hair.
“Your hair has grown so fast! Shall I take you to get a haircut tomorrow?”
“No need, right? I think it looks pretty good like this.”
Now, Ning Chu’s hair had already reached her shoulders, black and shiny, flowing as smoothly as silk, with bangs falling naturally, giving a slightly messy look.
She brushed away the irritating strands, mumbling, “I think just trimming my bangs would be enough. Otherwise, they get in my eyes.”
“What style do you want your hair to be?”
Upon hearing this question, the image of Lily’s long black hair immediately flashed in her mind.
“Just long and black!”
It wasn’t that she was deliberately trying to copy Lily; it was just that when she was still a man, she had a special fondness for long black hair.
Now, she felt like she was getting closer to the XP she had fantasized about.
Having grown a bit tired of lounging on the sofa, Ning Chu sat up: “I’ll go downstairs to find Hei Dou to play!”
“Bring her back by nine; she has class tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
“Don’t take her to eat late-night snacks; look at how chubby she is getting, look at that little belly.”
“I know, it’s not that she’s that chubby…”
Ning Chu brushed off her mother’s warnings, casually tidying up her outfit before stepping outside in slippers.
Their home was in an old neighborhood with not many buildings. The property management had ceased years ago, relying instead on the elderly in the community for security.
Once downstairs, Ning Chu looked around for Hei Dou and Wen Yang, walking towards the corner store.
That was most likely the place where Hei Dou could be refreshed.
However, when she spotted the corner store, she saw someone unexpected.
The white-haired man sat at the entrance of the store, gazing pensively at the balcony of Ning Chu’s home. Perhaps sensing something, he suddenly turned around, meeting Ning Chu’s gaze.
“Out for some fun?” Her father immediately stood up and approached with a beaming smile, “Where do you want to go?”
His overly enthusiastic demeanor made Ning Chu take a step back in resistance, frowning slightly.
To be honest, she hadn’t expected her father to have this kind of attitude upon returning.
Clearly, her son had turned into her daughter…
Could it be that her father had never really felt much for that little son, which is why he accepted things so quickly?
“I’m looking for Ning Xin.”
After her initial instinct to resist, Ning Chu quickly hardened her face, coldly bypassing her father and striding directly towards the neighborhood entrance.
Didn’t she say she was going to a restaurant for seafood? Had she finished eating and come back? Why was he here?
Noticing her slight confusion, her father followed closely behind, explaining, “I rented a place in the neighborhood.”
“Oh.”
“Ning Xin should be at the entrance. I saw her just a bit ago.”
“……”
“She’s your mom and…”
Ning Chu succinctly interrupted, “Picked up.”
Whether her father believed it or not didn’t matter; that was the fact, just that when she first picked her up, Ning Xin was still just a little black cat.
She used indifference to resist her father’s warmth, but it evidently had no effect, as he continued to trail behind her like a shadow, overly attentive.
“There’s still time; how about I take you both shopping for some clothes?”
“Are you hungry? How about some late-night snacks?”
“Are you used to your phone? By the way, I have receipts over there; I’m not sure if the overseas purchase can be repaired domestically.”
Where had he been all this time…
Ning Chu grumbled inside, quickening her pace to shake off the man following her.
Arriving at the neighborhood entrance, she still found no trace of Hei Dou or Wen Yang, and her father remained stubbornly behind her, attempting to strike up a conversation.
“Ning Yuan can also earn a living now; I saw him a few days ago, he’s taller than me.”
“When I left, he wasn’t even as tall as my legs.”
Ning Chu felt a surge of impatience boiling inside her after hearing her father’s words. She stopped, took a deep breath, her chest puffing up before deflating again.
Damn it! I can’t hold it in anymore!
“Don’t bother me!”
She abruptly turned around, her voice sharp and piercing, even to the point of hurting her vocal cords.
Her father was clearly taken aback, frozen on the spot, then turned away with a touch of melancholy.
Seeing that look, Ning Chu instinctively felt guilty. Her eyes darted away, her face flushed as she hurriedly walked away.
Internally, she tried to soothe herself, desperately trying to quash that guilt.
What’s with the pity party?!
Where were you when my brother and I didn’t have a father, when our family was so poor that Mom had to work multiple jobs?
Where were you when Mom fell ill from overwork and passed away?!
Now that things are better, you suddenly remember to come back?
All sorts of grievances from her past flooded into her mind, causing Ning Chu’s nose to tingle and her eyes to redden.
After taking a few steps, Hei Dou came running towards her.
“I heard my sister’s voice!”
Seeing Ning Chu, whose steps were hurried, Hei Dou’s eyes lit up as she excitedly ran over, wrapping her arms around Ning Chu’s arm: “Sis! I want to eat barbecue! I haven’t had it for a month!”
“During New Year’s, you promised that for every page of workbook you did, you’d treat me to a late-night snack! No backing out! You still owe me… ten late-night snacks?”
Hei Dou’s lively enthusiasm calmed Ning Chu’s mood a lot. She took a breath and quickly put on a gentle smile as the big sister: “Alright, but we can only spend twenty bucks; Mom said you’ve gotten chubby like a pig.”
“How could that be?”
Excitedly, Hei Dou skipped towards the nearest barbecue place, chanting, “Eat barbecue~ eat barbecue~”
Wen Yang followed Hei Dou to Ning Chu’s side and immediately noticed something odd about her. Turning around, he caught sight of the man at a distance.
Having a suspicion after piecing things together, Wen Yang asked, “What? Did he upset you?”
Ning Chu’s forced smile faded. She bit her lip, leaning into Wen Yang’s shoulder: “Annoying.”
Her pretty face was mixed with disappointment, carrying a hint of grievance, and her reddening eyes made her delicate features appear more fragile.
“Just ignore him.”
“Give me a hug…”
Wen Yang wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer: “Alright, alright, your eyes are all red now; you’ll look bad if you cry in front of Hei Dou later.”
“If he annoys you again, I’ll beat him up! Stop making my Ning Chu angry!”
“Yes, beat him up.”
“With his little body, I can send him straight to ICU with one punch!”
“Hey? Isn’t that too much?”
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