A few days after I gave Ai Mi my dad's practice script, I received a strange phone call at home.
It was already 10 at night and I was about to go to bed. My dad was still busy answering questions from customers and explaining the 101 reasons why a blow-up doll is better than a girlfriend.
"Hello? This is the Happy Valley Love Shop … "
I skillfully introduced myself. I thought it was a call from an impatient customer. Does he really want the blow-up doll to arrive that much?
Unexpectedly, after a long silence, Peng TouSi's voice was heard:
"Lin, I hope you're mentally prepared …"
Eh? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? You want me to mentally prepare myself? Are you going to send a hundred homos to burst my chrysanthemum? It's not like I offended you! I just didn't personally pay Obama back last time, you don't have to be so heartless!
"The next call will be from Madam Ai ShuQiao. Although it's unlikely, I hope you can calmly listen to her."
Who? Who's Ai ShuQiao? Is she calling from America? Our family doesn't have international calls? Transfer? Is she referring to the old-fashioned method of connecting two phones together, or something more advanced? In short, as long as you don't charge us for international calls, we can't afford it!
After a series of static noises, a woman's voice came from the other side. She spoke at a moderate pace and revealed the maturity and confidence of an elite.
"Tell your dad to come to the phone."
As an elite in the United States, her opening remarks were like that of a class teacher looking for a parent. It was really unlikeable.
"My dad is busy with business! You can tell me if you need anything! Also, who are you? "
"… Tell your dad to come to the phone."
She repeated with a faintly discernible anger in her voice.
Eh? You're actually quite angry to disturb our rest in the middle of the night! Don't look at how my dad is just sitting in front of the computer and chatting with people. There are some customers who come to our store because of my dad's patient explanations! As a H expert, my dad is very popular with customers! If you interfere with our business, we'll go hungry!
"My dad can't leave right now, so you can let me pass on the message. Also, since your call was transferred by Peng TouSi … you should be on Ai Mi's side, right? If you want to look for someone, you should look for me. My dad has never seen Ai Mi. "
"It's best if he hasn't …" The woman's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, "If you don't know who I am, I can tell you that I'm Ai Mi's manager and also her mother."
"Oh, it's Madam Ai! My apologies for not recognizing you! "
I never had a good impression of Ai Mi's mother. Isn't she a tiger mother who forces her daughter to play the violin and doesn't even give her cola and chips? Also, when you introduced yourself, you first said that you were a manager, then you said that you were a mother. You don't have to show off your professionalism here, do you?
"Then Madam Ai, why are you looking for my dad? Although I've received a lot of 'care' from your daughter, it's not to the extent that I need to look for my parents, right? "
The other party was silent for a while. I could hear the nasal sound of her laughter.
"Ye Lin … … That's his name, right? I didn't expect you to be so talkative … But you are a bit like your father when he was in school … "
What did that mean? Based on her tone, it seems like Madam Ai knew my dad before? Maybe they were even classmates! This world is too small!
"… Anyway, tell your dad to answer the phone. Tell him Ai ShuQiao is looking for him."
I couldn't help but treat her words seriously. I pushed open the door of my dad's study and pointed to the extension on the computer desk.
"A woman called Ai ShuQiao is looking for you …"
I stopped mid-sentence because the expression on my dad's face could no longer be described as astonishment. It was a mixture of fear, pain, sadness, and confusion.
He grabbed the receiver like a drowning man grabbing at a life-saving straw.
I don't know what Ai ShuQiao said to him, but it should only be enough time for a greeting before my dad started crying.
He rarely cries in front of me when he is not drunk.
He spoke to the woman on the phone with a trembling voice: "ShuQiao, you …"
With great difficulty, his father finally managed to stop his tears and asked with deep sadness, "How have you been all these years?"
I was struck by a bolt of lightning. Maybe it was because of the expression on my dad's face, or maybe it was because the cursed name was gradually awakening in my childhood memories …
My legs were trembling. Was it because of anger or some other emotion? The only thing I did, I don't know, was to go into the living room and pick up the receiver from the mainframe and put it to my ear again.
Although it's immoral to eavesdrop on other people's phones, I felt like I had the right to do it this time.
My gaze swept around the room and I couldn't calm down no matter what. I saw Xiao Qin's eavesdropping cooker was on top of the TV. I probably forgot to put it away after I broadcast the news to her. But I wasn't in the mood to do anything else. I was completely focused on the conversation between my dad and Ai ShuQiao.
"… Is that so? Then you and John had a daughter? He didn't bully you in America, right? "
Is this John referring to the foreign teacher who NTRed my dad in university? Although I could only hear my dad's voice, I could feel his heart bleeding!
"Bully me?" Ai ShuQiao sneered, "He doesn't have the guts or the ability. I was the one who seduced him in China. Although he used to be the sole heir of a large financial company, he's now a figurehead and a full-time stay-at-home man."
As my dad's wife, she had an affair with someone else, yet she just casually brushed it off and didn't feel the slightest bit of shame?
My dad's voice seemed to have aged ten years, "ShuQiao, tell me, you have to tell me … Do you love him that much? Is it worth it to leave me and our son behind? "
"Love?" It was as if Ai ShuQiao heard the funniest word in the world, "When did I say I loved him? When did I say I loved you? When you proposed to me, I clearly told you that I don't believe in love. Love is just an unreliable chemical reaction between the sexes. The chemical reaction can start and stop at any time. It's independent of a person's will. "
"I … I thought you were joking at the time …"
"Ai ShuQiao doesn't joke with people! Don't forget, I only agreed to marry you after you accepted this point. At the time, I was indeed interested in you, but that interest didn't last long. I quickly found out that John was more interesting than you. As the heir of a large company, because of his idealism, he paid his own way to a small city in China to volunteer as a teacher … At the time, his cheerful personality and handsome appearance made many female students fall for him. However, he abided by the rule of not dating between teachers and students and did not develop any inappropriate relationships with any girls … "
"I felt that this person's persistence was very interesting, so I used my identity as a teacher to seduce him into doing even more inappropriate things …"
It's hard to imagine the pain in my dad's heart when he heard his wife bragging about her extramarital relationship.
"An idealist is different from others. He took my 'interest' in him as love, but he also felt that he had tarnished the teaching profession and his own ideals. For this reason, after I gave birth to your child, he found a way to bring me along and fled all the way back to the United States in a panic."
"He's a very interesting guy, isn't he? He married me despite his father's opposition and became the chairman of a large company after his father had a heart attack … The luxury of America's upper class and the way idealists stick to their bottom line even when their wings are scattered. It was a novelty to me for a long time. "
"But like I said, the disappearance of interest doesn't depend on a person's will. After I gave birth to John's daughter and gradually took away his authority in the company, my interest in him became less and less. The only things that satisfy me now are the poached eggs in the morning and the foot massages at night. "
"As for my current interest, it became the entertainment industry, a management company, and my daughter's, Ai Mi's, path to stardom."
So the name Ai Mi wasn't just a transliteration? Ai ShuQiao treats her daughter as her own property, so even her Chinese name has to follow her surname? Although Auntie Ren's situation is similar, Auntie Ren's heart was broken by her fickle husband. Did Ai Mi's father, John, offend you?
I can't believe I actually helped John in my heart.
One of the reasons why I like Bruce Lee is because I hope that one day, I can beat up foreigners like brother Long, like John, who kidnaps other people's wives.
Calling out "Uncle ~ Uncle" and using magical Jeet Kune Do to beat John's sinister face into a lump of pork belly, it used to be a beautiful dream of mine when I was young.
But I don't really want to do that anymore. I suddenly feel that John and my dad aren't fundamentally different, they're both pitiful people who are played by Ai ShuQiao.
Also, the person I should call my mom still wants to continue playing with her own daughter, my sister.
Something in my heart tightened.
Because I was a bit lost in thought, I didn't seem to hear the conversation in the middle. When I returned my attention, I heard my dad say:
"… It's been so many years, yet you can still recognize my handwriting?"
"That's one of your few strengths, isn't it? You first attracted my interest because of the beautiful handwriting on the love letters. "
"… ShuQiao, you said your daughter … is actually very close to our son?"
"That's right, although I was worried for a moment when I let Ai Mi follow the crew to Dong Shan city, I never thought my nightmare would come true."
"Nightmare? It can't be that bad, right? Although Xiao Lin isn't particularly outstanding, he's not a bad kid either … "
"Let's end the small talk here!" Ai ShuQiao's tone suddenly became more serious and cold, "I didn't call to reminisce about old times! You just need to know: I don't want anyone outside of my plan to affect Ai Mi's path to stardom. She will do the right thing at the right time, and she will also marry the right person in the future — — she doesn't need a brother who suddenly appeared out of nowhere! "
"So, please don't give me any trouble. Move away from that city, the further the better, it's best if you never cross paths with us again."
Every word that Ai ShuQiao blurted out was like a sharp poisonous needle that stabbed into my dad's heart, I could feel it.
"I will compensate you in terms of money. Other than the relocation allowance, there will also be a sum of hush money to keep this a secret. If you're not too greedy, that amount should be enough for you."
"5 million USD in exchange for moving at least 4000 kilometers away from Dong Shan city. Also, you have to promise to keep this matter a secret, don't tell the media, and don't come looking for us. Otherwise, I won't rule out the possibility of using people from the underworld to deal with you — — please remember, Ai ShuQiao doesn't joke around."
I have never been this angry before.
I have never been this angry even when the Little Tyrant pressed my face into a mud pit, pinched my nose, and forced me to drink the dirty water from the mud pit.
Turning away from our lives without a trace of nostalgia, and now rudely driving us away from the city where we were born and bred, because we accidentally disturbed their peace?
Although I don't have many friends in this city, it is still a city I am familiar with, cherished, and left with many memories!
Do you think money can make up for everything? Do you think you can change other people's lives as long as you have money? Do you think that your husband and son should kneel before your grace?
Like a crazed beast, I hissed through gritted teeth, "You're the one who should … scram as far away as you can!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
