Qi Fenglian only had that thought because she was really furious at the time; now, after hearing what Cheng Su said, she fell a bit silent.
"Sheâs seen for herself how her dad behaves." Qi Fenglian said about Xiao Yun, "Sheâs such a big girl now, she can tell right from wrong. Her dadâs so untrustworthy, what is there to pin any hopes on him for? All these years, her schooling, her living expenses, has he given a single cent? Having a dad like that is no different from not having one."
This was her speaking out of resentment.
Cheng Su said, "No matter what, in a childâs heart, sheâll always know who her real father is. It doesnât mean she isnât close to her stepfather or anything. But after all, sheâs spent over ten years calling someone âDadâ. If you make her change her surname, will she feel like from now on she really doesnât have a dad anymore?"
Qi Fenglian opened her mouth, but didnât say anything.
"A girlâs thoughts are especially delicate, especially Xiao Yun, that child is very sensitive. When you two divorced a few years back, itâs not like she wouldâve felt completely fine about it. Now youâve both remarried, no matter how happy she looks on the surface, what sheâs really thinking inside, only she herself knows." Cheng Su gently advised, "Just like you said, sheâs already a teenage girl, she can tell right from wrong, and sheâs not an ungrateful person."
A surname really isnât worth that much; what matters is the person.
If Qi Fenglian insisted on changing the surname, what if the child didnât want it?
"Whether she changes her surname or not isnât the important thing, what matters is how you raise her well." Cheng Su patted Qi Fenglian on the shoulder and said, "Donât, just because of a moment of anger, make the child end up resenting you."
Qi Fenglian let out a sigh. "Bad fate, to end up with that kind of father."
"But having a mother like youâthatâs her blessing!" Cheng Su hastily comforted her.
Qi Fenglian was amused by her and felt her mood lift; she also started to laugh.
Seeing this, Cheng Su naturally shifted the topic and asked where theyâd been staying these past two days.
"...That night we just found a hotel and stayed there, stayed two days. Today we came back, had a meal, and on the fifth day of the New Year weâll go to his hometown to visit the relatives, and also invite his uncles and such from back home to a meal, count it as formally acknowledging kinship!" Qi Fenglian said, talking about their plans for the New Year days.
"His parents back home, theyâve both passed away, havenât they?" Cheng Su asked.
"Yes, theyâre gone. Heâs got an older brother back home, and I think two younger sisters, married far away. From what he says, they havenât been back in years, not much contact." Qi Fenglian replied.
Listening, Cheng Su then asked about Chu Zheng, "He seems to be quite good with people. When he called us just now, I didnât feel the least bit awkward. Does he normally address you that way too?"
"Yes!" Qi Fenglian showed a contented smile. "I told him, if heâs not used to it, he can call me Aunt Lian, but he insists on calling me Mom."
"And with his birth motherâs side..."
"No contact!" Qi Fenglianâs smile faded a little as she said, "From what Changxing said, he hates his real mom to the bone. When he was little, he didnât even want to mention her. And really, she left him when he was so youngâhow could he not hate her? Later on she seems to have come looking for him, but this kid wouldnât acknowledge her, refused to. His heart was hurt."
No wonderâprecisely because he has no feelings for his birth mother, he shifted his feelings over to Qi Fenglian.
So Cheng Su said, "That actually gives you two a reason to get along well, you can have a good relationship."
"Exactly. The other day I also told him, the money his dad saved up to help him get a wife, weâll try not to touch it. If he finds a good girl, he can bring her home. And he said thereâs no rush, that if we need money we should just use it..." Qi Fenglian chattered on about how she got along with her stepson.
Listening to her, Cheng Su also felt this truly was a rare sort of harmony; this marriage could be counted as not a bad match at all.