Chapter 342 339. Father
After finishing the meal and tidying up, her father—who had originally planned to take a stroll around An Han’s school—was no longer in the mood. He sat on the sofa, frowning, elbows on his knees, hunched over as he sighed and brewed some tea.
The tea leaves and the tea set had been prepared by Su Peng in advance, but since they had been short on money recently, it was just the cheapest tea bought from a street stall.
Her father didn’t complain. His mind wasn’t really on the tea anyway.
“Dad, I’m going to take a nap, okay?”
An Han came out of the bathroom and looked at her father’s troubled expression. She spoke cautiously, afraid of provoking even more dissatisfaction from him.
“Go ahead.”
Her father waved his hand and took a sip of tea.
Just as An Han turned and headed toward the bedroom, her father suddenly asked, “What do you think about me coming back to work in the country?”
“Huh?”
“It’s not like twenty years ago anymore. Overseas isn’t necessarily more developed than back home.” He leaned against the sofa, asking An Han for her opinion. “Twenty years ago the pound exchange rate was fifteen. Now it’s dropped to eight. When you calculate it, I’m not earning nearly as much as before. I might as well come back and find a job here…”
“Would you even be able to find a good job?” An Han interrupted reflexively.
After all, competition in the country was intense, and her father was already in his forties.
Her father sighed. “True… And I just bought a house, still have the mortgage to pay.”
An Han secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If her father really came back to work in the country, it would bring along plenty of trouble.
She returned to the bedroom. The moment she closed and locked the door, she immediately took out her phone, threw herself onto the bed, and messaged Su Peng to ask about his situation.
“How’s it going? What are you doing?”
“I’m still squatting outside the door.”
“……”
An Han could practically picture Su Peng squatting pitifully outside.
She couldn’t help laughing out loud, but then quickly stiffened her face and forced herself into a serious expression.
Su Peng was really suffering from a disaster out of nowhere.
“What exactly happened?”
“My sweater was discovered.”
“Why was he rummaging through your wardrobe when he had nothing better to do… That sweater doesn’t have anything to do with me anyway, right? Didn’t you buy it yourself?”
Even through the phone, An Han could sense Su Peng’s grievance.
Actually, it did have a little to do with her—after all, she was the only one who had seen him wearing it.
She tried to soothe him. “It’s fine. Once my dad leaves, I’ll treat you to something good to eat. Anyway, he’s leaving the country again soon. Just muddle through this for now. Later you can build a good relationship with him online.”
By then Su Peng and her father wouldn’t be able to meet in person, so chatting online would probably be friendlier—unlike their tense face-to-face interactions.
“That’s it?”
“What else?” An Han had already guessed what Su Peng was about to say next, and her face began to heat up.
“I don’t want good food. How about after our dad leaves… we try kissing?”
If they were face to face, Su Peng definitely wouldn’t dare say something like that. But over the phone he sounded completely confident.
An Han was both embarrassed and annoyed. She simply ignored him, tossed her phone onto the bedside table, rolled over, and angrily cursed, “LSP! Pervert!”
She absolutely couldn’t accept that!
After eating well, she usually took a nap for about an hour every afternoon. Lying on the bed and chatting with Su Peng had already made her sleepy earlier.
But now all the sleepiness had vanished. Her mind was full of the “study materials” she had watched before, and her brain automatically replaced the male and female leads in those videos with her and Su Peng.
“Pervert!”
Grumbling under her breath, An Han tossed and turned on the bed. Unable to fall asleep, she simply got up to play games.
She had just sat down at the computer when—perhaps because he heard the movement—her father knocked on her bedroom door not long after.
“An Han, I’m heading out for a walk. What do you want for dinner? I’ll stop by the nearby market to buy groceries.”
“Just buy whatever.”
She suddenly paused, quickly sending Su Peng a message telling him that her father was about to go out.
Once her father left, Su Peng could come inside and sit for a while. He could also finish the leftover food they hadn’t eaten earlier.
“Alright.”
“Oh right! Dad, the door password’s been changed. It’s my birthday now.”
“Got it.”
Her father responded. A few minutes later, An Han heard the sound of the front door opening and closing in the living room, indicating that he had left.
Now she was even less sleepy. She suddenly sprang up from the computer desk and excitedly rushed out of the bedroom toward the front door. She opened it quickly and poked her head into the hallway, looking around.
She didn’t see Su Peng anywhere—he had probably hidden upstairs.
After observing for a moment and estimating that her father had already left the building, she was about to call out to Su Peng.
But at that moment, a sharp sensation suddenly stabbed into her forehead, as if a needle were pressing against it.
Feeling that gaze, An Han froze. Confused, she turned her head back—
Her father was standing at the bathroom door, staring at her with a deep, unreadable look.
“……”
The father and daughter stared at each other in silence.
An Han was the first to lose her composure. She awkwardly and guiltily looked away.
“Dad… didn’t you leave?”
“When I opened the door, I suddenly needed to use the bathroom.”
“Oh~ I actually need to go to school for something.” An Han quickly came up with a clumsy excuse. “I can’t find the pair of shoes I wanted to wear.”
“Then just come out and walk around with me.”
“…Okay.”
It was obvious her father had seen through her intentions.
But since he didn’t expose her, she went along with him. Following her own excuse, she found a pair of low heels in the shoe cabinet that she rarely wore, tidied herself up a bit, and left the apartment with her father.
Because her father spent most of the year away from home, An Han rarely had the chance to go out alone with him.
She walked absent-mindedly behind him, feeling slightly uneasy as she avoided the glances he occasionally cast at her. The two of them slowly strolled along the road from their residential complex to the school.
Her father seemed interested in everything. He looked around here and there, sometimes even walking into roadside shops to browse, though he never bought anything.
He seemed to really enjoy the feeling of strolling around with An Han. His normally stiff and serious expression softened somewhat.
“If you get married in the future, remember to come home at least once a year.”
“Mm, I know.”
“I’ve spent the past decade or so working outside, paying the mortgage and saving a bit of dowry for you. That way when you get married, you won’t go empty-handed and get looked down on.”
“That won’t happen…”
“Once the mortgage is paid off, I’ll probably be able to retire and come back to enjoy life.”
Unfortunately, An Han had become a girl. The scene he once imagined—children and grandchildren surrounding him—would probably never come true.
Her father turned around and looked at An Han’s somewhat distracted expression.
“Every time I talk to you, you never want to listen.”
“I am listening.”
An Han helplessly pursed her lips.
Growing up, she had rarely had conversations like this with her father. It made her uncomfortable; she didn’t know what kind of expression she should wear or what she should say in response.
But somehow the conversation also felt warm, as if it was quietly narrowing the distance and barrier between them.
She pressed her lips together, lowered her eyes, and said softly,
“Don’t worry. I’ll come back home to visit whenever I have time in the future.”
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