"Well, I was a little surprised.”

 

Zhu Fei sighed. She sat down and drank a mouthful of mineral water. She began her story, "My father and mother got divorced when I was very young. My father was gentle, an honest man. At the time, he worked at the Tianhe State Refinery. His skills were great, but because he didn't know how to drill, he couldn't get promoted. Later, the refinery was reformed. See, he belonged to the first batch of skilled workers who had been relocated to Tianhe from southern Jiangsu, all of those workers were laid off. At the time, my mother couldn't stand it and the situation it put us in, so she divorced him. I was only 10 years old at the time. I liked being with my father as a child, he was very kind to me. Everything revolved around me, I was his little princess. After the divorce, I wanted to go with him, but the court ruled against it. They believed my father couldn’t afford to support me as a laid-off worker with no steady income. Soon, my mother remarried. She married a rich businessman in our hometown of Sunan; that man had a lot of money. I lived with them until a few months ago, then I couldn't stand it anymore. My stepdad was drunk one night... and he tried to take advantage of me. I didn't want to tell my mom about it, because she was too fond of her rich lifestyle. If I told her, I knew she would fight with my stepfather. After she gave birth to me, she could not give birth anymore because of congenital fallopian tube problems. They never really had a strong emotional foundation, so I knew if they were to quarrel, my mother would get kicked out of the house. My stepfather also wanted to introduce his business partner’s son to me, with hopes that he could arrange that marriage. I took that opportunity to pretend to be upset and ran away from home. Back then, I had a big fight with my mother, but my stepfather didn’t take it seriously. He said that he would let me go out and experience the cruelty of society firsthand. He said I only knew the warmth of home because I’d lived in a honeypot ever since I was a child; that I was born blessed and do not know it. I would definitely come back on my own initiative. I scoffed at him. I did not believe it. I was sure I could support myself. That night, I drove from Sunan to Tianhe City. In order to better adapt myself to civilian life and feel that ‘cruelty of society’, I rented in this run-down house, but after a few days, I found that life was not as simple as I thought. Then... I began to spend money to redecorate. After all, it was my own place to live. There was no need for it to be too humble."

 

Hearing this, Qin Feng chuckled. He understood the matter thoroughly, and he kept his calm demeaner. "I see. No wonder I felt there was something unusual about you. You clearly had the temperament of a girl from a well-off family. This attitude cannot be faked; it is formed by having wealth from a young age. You feel a little regret about renting in that house, but you do not want to be defeated by life so soon. You do not want to talk to your family and do not want to rent a fancy apartment, but you can allow yourself to decorate your place a little." He laughed, “Isn’t that right?”

 

"Um, yes."

 

Zhu Fei continued contemptuously, "You have no idea. When I first shared the bathroom with the others, it wasn’t easy! I am not afraid of you making fun of me, so I’ll be straight with you. When I first moved in, I was constipated for five days."

 

"Oh, is there something wrong with your butt?"

 

Qin Feng looked Zhu Fei up and down. Qin Feng’s squinting eyes made her visibly uncomfortable. She could not help pushing him away. "Oh, you’re so annoying!"

 

Now that she was getting more familiar with Qin Feng, Zhu Fei relinquished her haughty air. Over the past 10 years, she was treated like a princess wrapped in money and with a very chic lifestyle that kept everyone around her envious. Deep down however, Zhu Fei had the spirit of a commoner’s child. Her nature was just like her biological father’s. Her first 10 years of living a simple life left a deep impression on her.

 

All these years, she had not met her father. Now that she finally had the opportunity to go back to Tianhe, to take good care of him, that was what she wanted to do.

 

"When you first found your father, did he recognize you?"

 

Qin Feng asked seriously.

 

Children of divorced families often had sensitive personalities. Qin Feng did not want to pry too deep, being afraid of reaching Zhu Fei’s limits.

 

"I’ll never forget it, it was six o'clock in the evening. I had spent hours inquiring from any source I could find, only to discover that he was now a sanitation worker. I drove around and looked for a long, long time before I found him by the roadside. On that hot summer day, he sat wearily on a rock at the roadside, nibbling on cold steamed bread and pickles, and drinking boiled water... To be perfectly honest, when I saw this scene, I cried. My heart was sour. The memory of my childhood was still so clear to me. Back then, he was such a strong man, who held me in his arms every day, played games with me, and bought me bubble gum every day. Now, he was...”

 

When Zhu Fei said that, her eyes were red, and she burst into tears.

 

Qin Feng knew that something had happened, and was anxious to appease her, patting her on the back. "Oh, don't cry," he said. "It will look like I did something to you. There are so many people coming and going around us. Control yourself a bit."

 

"This is all your fault. Who told you to ask me these things?!"

 

Zhu Fei lifted her body, and a small fist flew at Qin Feng. He did not dodge the small fist tapping his ribcage. It was not painful, just strange.

 

A few fists rained down on him before Qin Feng caught Zhu Fei's fine jade hand. "OK, don't make a fuss. In a moment your father will come out. When he sees your eyes red, he will worry."

 

Zhu Fei was anxious to wipe away her tears, while Qin Feng handed her a piece of tissue paper. "Your father is sure to recover. Now is your chance show good filial piety. Has he been alone all these years?"

 

Zhufei wiped her tears, sniffed, and said, "Well, yes, after divorcing with my mother, he hasn’t remarried. When he was young he was so handsome, a little like Zhou Runfa. Now he is thin and his back is bent. He’s tanned and wrinkled from working outdoors. How much dust must he inhale every day? I told him to quit, but he didn't listen."

 

"Surely, he is old, and therefore he is stubborn. Now you intend to take care of him?"

 

Qin Feng sighed and said, "To tell the truth, this is fate. If your parents did not go through the divorce, you may have had a complete family, but you could not live the rich life you have now. Now you’re sick of the rich life and want to come back to enjoy a few days of hardship, and when you can't stand it, you’ll still be able to go back. Your father certainly does not want you to suffer with him. I am sure that when you are with him, he is very resistant. He doesn't want to reconnect with you, does he?"

 

Zhu Fei turned her face sharply. She stared at Qin Feng like he was an alien. Her beautiful eyelashes blinked a few times and she said, "How did you know? It’s just like you said! I drove over to deliver him some food, but he did not want it. He said that he likes to eat steamed buns and pickled vegetables and drink water. I gave him towels and clothes, but he didn’t want them. He said he got used to wearing a uniform. The towel he used was issued by the refinery a few decades ago and he still uses it today. I invited him out to dinner, but he kept saying that he couldn't be in the same table, that going to a restaurant with him was a disgrace to me. I felt a really crushed… no matter how hard I tried, he would not accept me! Once, I ran in tears to the roadside, screaming to the sky. Why was my life so? When I was a child in Sunan, I knew nothing but comfort. But now, I want to come back. I want to recognize my ancestors, but his attitude it won’t let me... "