"Zhentian, what do you an? Why are you avoiding ?" My father instantly put on a cold face.
"Dad, it’s getting late. You should sleep early. I’ll just throw this out and be right back." I darted away, but Old Master Zhang called back.
"Stop right there, Zhentian. Cut the act; don’t think I don’t know what’s inside. Did you bring alcohol to your room again?" Old Master Zhang was done with beating around the bush and got straight to the point.
I realized then that my father had been playing a cat-and-mouse ga with all along.
I threw what I had in my hand on the ground and said, "Since you already know, I won’t hide it. Yes, I brought the alcohol to my room to drink. Do what you want to punish ."
"Straightforward, you said it yourself. You haven’t forgotten the family rules, have you?"
"I haven’t!" I replied decisively.
"Good, deal with it yourself then." With that, Old Master Zhang left without looking at . I hadn’t expected my father to find out in the end.
At that ti, you might think I was scary. You might have never thought that the man you considered a real man was actually such a coward. You never considered how much pain I felt inside then. I endured the tornt of suffering, wanting to declare to the world that everything I did was right. I wanted everyone to know that I was just trying to make my family happy and content. I lived a tough life, yet who considered things from my perspective even a little? I tried hard to live, wanting everyone to know that everything I did was for the family’s good, not because I was a selfish person.
I went back to my room and couldn’t help but sigh. My father reflected on everything from when I t Xia Jing to her departure. He said, "Was it really being too much? Is my current treatnt of him because I shouldn’t have been so harsh on Xia Jing back then? Is everything that’s happening a deserved retribution? Oh, Xia Jing, tell —did Uncle make a mistake? Should I not have kept the secret for you? Should I have told Zhentian where you were?"
He talked to himself in the room, uncertain about what was right. From the bottom of his heart, he started to accept Xia Jing as his daughter-in-law. He didn’t want to lose her. Previously, he thought Xia Jing wasn’t suitable for his son, but after so events, he saw many things clearly. Now he gradually felt that it wasn’t Xia Jing who was unworthy of his son, but rather his son who was unworthy of Xia Jing.
Old Master Zhang grew tired with these thoughts and raised his hand to check his watch: "No wonder I’m tired; it’s already early morning. Ah! Enough thinking, ti to sleep."
As soon as Old Master Zhang lay down, he fell asleep and started snoring.
Old Master Zhang slept comfortably, but I did not. Caught drinking by him, I returned to my room and started standing on my head. According to the family rules, if caught secretly drinking, you had to stand on your head for the night. Despite being upside down, I kept wondering where Xia Jing had gone. And if my mind hadn’t been elsewhere when I accidentally spilled hot water on my father, I certainly would have known who Xia Jing went to see at the company that day.
"Ah, it’s all my fault. Better endure the punishnt well. Tomorrow I’ll ask Dad again. Yes, that’s what I’ll do," I thought.
I looked at the sky outside with furrowed brows, waiting for dawn. Standing on my head, every minute felt like a century.
In the latter half of the night.
I grew exhausted and inadvertently fell asleep while upside down. With sleep, ti flew by; a minute ticked past, and it gradually grew bright.
In the morning, a ray of sunlight pierced into my room, stinging my eyes. Zhang Zhentian opened his drowsy eyes in a haze, and, turning them, he saw the risen sun. Instantly, he sat up, "Finally, daylight! Sleeping made ti fly; a blink and morning ca."
Delighted, I flung open the wardrobe doors and pulled out a casual outfit—a pair of gray pants, a gray shirt, and a white tee. After changing quickly, I rushed downstairs and saw my father sitting on the sofa. Gathering courage, I went over and sat down.
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