The sumr night in the mountains had already dissipated the day’s heat, and with gentle breezes caressing the face, it felt like a baby’s soft hand.
The distant mountains, shrouded in the night, appeared serene and mysterious.
Flutter, flutter, a disturbance; a night-flying bird flew overhead, startling the crickets in the grass, silencing their chorus.
Lu Yi, seeing An Ran sitting elsewhere in the courtyard staring into the distance in a daze, patted Changsheng’s little head, instructing him to go inside to sleep, and walked over directly.
The big yellow dog lay by An Ran’s feet, dozing, wagged its tail without even lifting its head upon hearing the sound.
These past few days, these people have been coming in and out daily; it already knew they were guests of the family, even distinguished ones.
Lu Yi grabbed a stool and sat beside An Ran, idly stroking the big yellow dog’s fur, noticing An Ran’s heavy expression, he asked, "An Ran, what’s wrong?"
An Ran, surprised by his presence, startled, rubbed her sore eyes, smiled, and shook her head, "I’m fine."
"Missing Instructor Mu, maybe?"
Lu Yi was one of the few who knew about An Ran’s relationship with Mu Xingfeng. He knew Mu Xingfeng’s unique status, usually refraining from teasing her about it. But now, An Ran’s aura was too gloomy, that despair and lancholy openly radiating.
He had never seen An Ran like this before.
"Lu Yi, what do you think a biological father should be like?" An Ran asked, not answering his question, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Biological father?
Lu Yi glanced at An Ran again. He knew An Ran was an orphan, raised by the An Family, and later, from Xiao Xiao’s remarks, learned that it seed her foster parents weren’t kind to her. Later, due to Mu Xingfeng, she severed ties with them.
An Ran bringing this up now made him feel a twinge of pity. Perhaps she, who never experienced paternal love, still longed for both paternal and maternal affection.
Lu Yi withdrew his gaze, speaking softly, "In a boy’s mind, a father is a mountain, always rising tall before you, sheltering from wind and rain. He may not express care verbally like a mother, but his heart is always concerned for you. When you’re happy, he’ll share in your joy. When you achieve, he’ll be proud of your accomplishnts. When you’re willful, he’ll indulge your whims, and when you stray, he’ll reach out to guide you from the mire..."
He didn’t know what An Ran imagined her father to be like, only felt his dad cherished him deeply since childhood. To him, all fathers should be like this—more than a title, it’s a responsibility.
Listening to Lu Yi’s depiction of a father, An Youcai’s face appeared once more before her eyes.
In her mories, facing her, An Youcai’s eyes lacked the doting fondness for An Sijia and the pride for An Sicheng. What she saw was always helpless remorse and guilt.
She once thought his remorse and guilt stemd from bringing her into the An Family, unable to offer the sa treatnt as An Sijia. She had felt heartache for An Youcai’s remorse and guilt.
She understood the father’s difficulty wedged between her and the foster mother, but now...
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