Chapter 32: Father-Daughter Heart-to-Heart Talk
Within a few minutes, Jiang Yan came over, clutching her stomach and holding a handful of tissues. “Class monitor, I need to use the restroom.”
“Mm.” He Sheng saw that she wasn’t pretending and adjusted his glasses, nodding.
“Yan Yan, are you okay?” Wen Xia asked worriedly, looking at her.
Jiang Yan waved her hand and quickly ran out of the classroom.
Ten minutes later, when she came out of the restroom, her peripheral vision accidentally caught sight of Wen De and Cao Jun standing under the parallel bars. At first glance, she thought she was mistaken, but she looked again—and then a third time.
It was indeed Wen De and Cao Jun.
There was an unspoken rule at No.2 Middle School: no one invited parents for good news, only for bad.
To put it plainly, if parents were called, it was never for anything good!
She quickly slipped back into the classroom, bypassed He Sheng’s desk, and interrupted Wen Xia and Jiang Xu’s question discussion. “Xia Xia, Uncle Wen is here. He’s chatting with Old Cao.”
Wen Xia froze for a moment, immediately remembering No.2 Middle School’s rule: no one invited parents for good news, only for bad.
She hadn’t done anything wrong recently.
She thought about it for a few seconds and could only come up with one possibility—Wen De must have come to ask about her academic progress.
With that in mind, she continued calmly explaining the question to Jiang Xu.
When Cao Jun brought Wen De to the classroom, they walked in just in time to catch the two students in the middle of their “early romance.”
Cao Jun cleared his throat, trying to sound as natural as possible. “Jiang Xu, back to your seat. Wen Xia, come out for a moment.”
Wen Xia looked toward the classroom door and saw Wen De in a black sports-casual outfit. His medium-length black hair naturally framed his face, looking much more approachable than when he slicked it back.
She quickly set down her pen, ran out of the classroom, flashed a bright smile, and cheerfully said, “Dad.”
“Mm,” he replied.
Wen De swallowed the words he had carefully prepared. Facing this version of Wen Xia, he felt even more at a loss than before.
But he liked this Wen Xia more.
Now, he could have calm and peaceful conversations with her.
Wen De led Wen Xia out of the school gates and into her favorite milk tea shop. At this hour, there were no other customers besides them.
He pushed the menu across the table to her. “What do you want to drink?”
“Dad, how did you know I like the milk tea here?” Wen Xia chuckled.
There were several milk tea shops nearby, but Wen De had brought her straight to this one.
She didn’t believe it was a coincidence.
Following her usual order, she chose a half-sugar milk tea for herself and packed two full-sugar milk teas.
As his eyes fell on her beaming smile, Wen De pressed his lips together. He didn’t blame her—it was his fault for not caring enough about her.
Even her favorite milk tea shop was something he had learned from someone else.
“If you like it, drink more,” he said.
“Dad, you’re the best. You’re the best dad in the whole world,” Wen Xia said, determined to tell Wen De everything she hadn’t said in her previous life.
Wen De, used to her sweet talk, remained habitually silent.
Wen Xia was also used to this and didn’t mind. She grabbed two napkins to wipe the table and casually asked, “Dad, what did Teacher Cao say to you?”
“He said you’re in a relationship.”
Wen De’s voice wasn’t loud, but it hit Wen Xia like a bombshell.
After a brief moment of shock, Wen Xia: “……”
The next second, she choked on her own saliva. “Cough, cough…”
Teacher Cao said she was in a relationship?
Did he find out Qin Mo wasn’t actually her cousin?
She glanced nervously at Wen De. His expression seemed normal, as though he had known for a long time.
Wen De’s hands were clasped tightly on his lap in a slightly tense posture, but the table blocked the view, so Wen Xia couldn’t see it.
He said, “Xia Xia, you’re still young. You’ve only walked a small part of life’s path. The people you meet now may not be the ones who are right for you.”
“I’ve been your age before, and I’ve been through what you’re experiencing. It’s normal to feel fondness for a male classmate.”
“But at your age, you don’t yet understand what you’ll face in the future. A relationship isn’t just about feelings; it’s also about being able to face life together.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Xia Xia, your dad can’t take care of you forever. There will be parts of the journey you’ll need to walk on your own. You have to learn to become excellent yourself to secure your future.”
“I know you blame me for divorcing your mom. I blame myself too—for not giving you a complete family.”
“That’s why I don’t want you to follow the same path I did.”
This was the first time he had tried to have a proper conversation with Wen Xia. Teacher Cao had shown him Wen Xia’s essay from the recent monthly exam.
The topic was My Father.
There was a line in the essay: My father is silent, yet his love is deep and strong.
It turned out that Wen Xia had always understood him. It was he who lacked the patience to guide her.
Wen Xia lowered her head, her eyes filling with tears. She said hoarsely, “Dad, I don’t blame you. I’m just grateful that you still wanted me.”
If in her past life Wen De had given up on her like Liu Yan did, her life would have been much worse.
Wen De stared at her in a brief daze, guilt flooding his heart. His voice grew firm as he said, “You are my child. I will never give up on you.”
At those words, Wen Xia couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.
If she had heard Wen De say this in her previous life, would their relationship have been so strained for so many years?
She blamed herself—for never trying to truly understand Wen De.
It had been a long time since he had seen her cry. Wen De tightened his grip for a moment, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how.
At that moment, the milk tea arrived at the table.
He took a straw, inserted it into the milk tea, and pushed it toward her. “Drink up, and if it’s not enough, we can buy more.”
After all, Wen Xia was in her twenties, an adult, and her emotions quickly settled down. After wiping away her tears, she held the milk tea, the comfortable warmth of the drink soothing her heart.
She looked at Wen De. “Dad, I love you.”
Wen De remained silent. Xia Xia, I love you too.
Both of them were silent.
Wen Xia took a few sips of her milk tea and said seriously, “Dad, I won’t let my studies suffer.”
She couldn’t tell Wen De about her and Qin Mo’s ridiculous rebirth.
Wen De met her clear gaze, falling silent again. After a minute or two, he finally relented with a soft “Hmm.”
Wen Xia let out a sigh of relief, but the next second, Wen De spoke again, his tone a little unnatural. “You’re older now, and there are some things you should understand. You must cherish yourself.”
Wen Xia, having been through similar experiences, immediately understood what he meant.
“……”
…
By the time they returned to school, the first class had already started—Teacher Cao’s physics class.
“Excuse me.” Wen Xia raised her hand, and with her other hand, she nudged the two cups of milk tea slightly behind her.
Teacher Cao glanced at her, her eyes a little red. He softened his tone deliberately. “Come in.”
As the class continued, he made a point to pay more attention to Wen Xia. She still listened attentively and took notes, which reassured him a little.
After class, he called Wen Xia out to the balcony outside the classroom, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Xu and Su Bo, who were pretending to casually glance at them from behind.
He scolded them sternly, “What are you staring at? Hurry back to the classroom and do your homework. If I find out you haven’t done it, I’ll have you copy the third chapter of the textbook word for word three times.”
Once the two of them entered the classroom, he turned his attention back to Wen Xia, his expression softening. “Are you upset with the teacher?”
Wen Xia shook her head. Having been a class teacher herself, she understood the good intentions behind a teacher’s actions.
She was just a bit surprised that Teacher Cao knew about her and Qin Mo.
“Teacher is doing this for your own good, both for you and Jiang Xu. Recently, I’ve noticed your efforts, and I’m very pleased.”
“I hope you both continue to work hard. After the college entrance exam, you’ll have plenty of time to be in a relationship. By then, neither I nor your family will interfere with you,” Teacher Cao said earnestly.
