Chapter 744 Ideals and Reality

Why couldn’t she feel it at all?

“Of course I’m praising you.” Shi Peng was amused. “When you step out into society in the future, I would rather you bully others than the other way round.” One would dote on their own child. Shi Peng had never changed his perspective regarding this. “Right, you can learn from Qiao Nan about everything but this. If you really live in this way, I will have to grieve for you until I die.”

“Dad, don’t say that. Qiao Nan grew up in such an environment. With such a mother and sister, she wouldn’t be able to continue living without such a character. She’s considered not too bad. She knows how to retaliate to reduce bullying.” Shi Peng was commending Shi Qing, yet Shi Qiao Nan now felt embarrassed and started to put in good words for Qiao Nan.

“I’m glad you know.” Shi Peng smiled.

“Dad!” So, her father was not speaking from his heart earlier. He was trying to avoid making her feel unhappy about Qiao Nan out of a moment of spite. “Dad, am I really your daughter? Or is Qiao Nan your daughter?”

“Ideally, Qiao Nan is. But in reality, you are.”

“Dad, will you feel unwell if you don’t tease me for a day!!” Shi Qing was nearly jumping.

The stronger his daughter reacted, the wider the smile on Shi Peng’s face was. “I won’t feel unwell but I won’t be able to sleep at night. I can only tease you once or twice in half a month’s time. If I miss this week, I will have to wait for half a month again. It’s an opportunity that can’t be missed. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Don’t you know this?”.

“I have a fake father.” Shi Qing, who had been pierced in the heart, felt extremely sore. Was this really her biological father? He would feel so bad and suffer from sleepless nights if he did not chide or tease her every half a month. The one who was feeling depressed now was her!

“It’s okay. I’m content with having a real daughter.” Since he left the army, Shi Peng’s mindset became increasingly younger. He was able to understand and follow what Shi Qing was referring to. There was no sense of a generation gap at all.

Shi Qing was furious. “It’s Qiao Nan who has led you astray!” Where did Qiao Nan hide his father who was full of a sense of righteousness, justice, and military manners? Return him to her!

“There’s still room to be more astray,” Shi Peng said humorously. He was already a few decades old, yet instead of influencing his junior, he was influenced by her.

Three years ago, if anyone were to tell him that this day would come, Shi Peng would express that it was a joke. He would not believe any of it.

However, three years later, the reality was as such.

He was even feeling quite good about it. It was as if he had turned back in time, more than a decade at that. He felt wonderful.

“Alright. Hurry. Others are waiting for the two of us to have dinner. Let’s wash our hands.” After discussing the main topic, Shi Peng had not forgotten that they had not taken their dinner. The father-daughter of the Qiao family must have been sitting and waiting for them.

Shi Qing jumped. “It’s all your fault. I’ve forgotten about it while chatting with you. Hurry. The summer vacation is over and Qiao Nan has lost quite a lot of weight. Uncle Qiao has been thinking about how to nourish Qiao Nan’s health to make her put on weight. If Qiao Nan starves and becomes thinner, Uncle Qiao won’t let us join them for meals then.”

“The two of you can take your meal first. It’s rare that Qing Qing is back. We had a longer chat than usual. Please don’t mind us.” True enough, when Shi Peng and Shi Qing arrived, the table was already full of rice and dishes. Nevertheless, Qiao Nan and Qiao Dongliang had not touched any of them.

“It’s alright.” Qiao Dongliang looked a little embarrassed.

It was not because of other reasons. It was because he and Qiao Nan did not interact much when Shi Peng and Shi Qing were chatting so enthusiastically until they forgot about dinner. The television was switched on and they made comments about the show once in a while.

The more detailed interactions were limited. Qiao Dongliang asked a couple of times about how Qiao Nan was doing in her studies, whether she found it tiring or tough, or if she were getting along fine with her classmates.

He had been asking and chatting about the same thing all the time. As the frequency increased, Qiao Dongliang did not know what to say either.

At the thought that Shi Peng and Shi Qing were so close to each other, Qiao Dongliang felt very envious.

“Qiao Nan, quickly have your meal. I’m hungry too.” Shi Qing naturally sat beside Qiao Nan and pushed a bowl of rice before Qiao Nan. She then picked up the bowl and started to eat.

“Right, have your meal, everyone.” Qiao Dongliang was holding on to his bowl of rice and looking at Qiao Nan from the corners of his eyes. He did not feel good in his heart.

He had thought that he was on quite good terms with Nan Nan, but it was not really so. Director Shi and Shi Qing were the ones who truly had a close relationship.

After dinner, while clearing up the table, Qiao Nan reminded Shi Qing. “Watch your behavior with your dad. Your father is in a younger mindset nowadays whereas my dad is feeling more sensitive. Don’t deliberately show off your deep father-daughter relationship in front of us. It’s too much.”

Qiao Nan was so sharp. When Qiao Dongliang moved his eyes, she could guess his thoughts.

“Too much?” Shi Qing refused to admit.

“Do you want to cause another family dispute in my family?” Qiao Nan rolled her eyes hard. Humans were always like that. Clearly, they had not done well enough but they still wished that they could receive similar or better treatment than others.

Shi Peng only had Shi Qing as his daughter. He treated Shi Qing as his precious treasure as he doted on, pampered, and protected her.

She was different. It had been two lifetimes. If she did not fight for it herself, her father’s love and protection for her were only so much.

When compared to her mother, her father was considered better. However, in comparison to other fathers, his performance was, at most, below average.

He was clearly below average as a father, yet he wished to receive a treatment that belonged to an excellent father. Qiao Nan sighed. It was also difficult for her.

Shi Qing patted Qiao Nan’s shoulders smilingly. “Don’t mind it too much. At most, my dad and I will pay more attention in the future. We will restrain ourselves a little. Will that do? I really can’t tell that Uncle Qiao has this kind of mindset as if he’s a king.” In the past, she did not really understand what Qiao Nan meant when she said that.

However, when she saw Uncle Qiao’s behavior today, she finally understood. He really had the mindset of a ‘little king’.

“Since you know now, pay more attention in the future.” After Qiao Nan dried the utensils, she put them away in the cupboard.

At the sight of Qiao Nan’s actions, which were even swifter than that of her housekeeper, Shi Qing said with empathy, “Qiao Nan, it must have been quite tough on you in the past, right?”

“…” Qiao Nan paused what she was doing. “The past is not important. The present and future are more important.”

“That’s right. Brother Zhai sides with and protects you so much. I don’t need to worry about your present and future.” No wonder Brother Zhai did not want Qiao Nan to know about Xu Tingting. So, it was because of this.

With Brother Zhai, Xu Tingting could not bully Qiao Nan. It would also be impossible for others to bully Qiao Nan.

At the thought of this, Shi Qing could not understand why some people wanted to test their own limits even though they knew that they could not do certain things? The problem was, what if they succeeded eventually?

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