Chapter 7 - 6: Me Too

"Daddy, I don’t blame you! You’re the best!"

Jiang Liu was filled with self-reproach. It was all his fault for being so careless and almost forgetting his daughter.

’I guess men really aren’t cut out for raising kids!’

"Look what I brought you. Ta-da!"

Jiang Liu opened the bag, revealing the fruit inside.

"Wow, wow, wow!"

"So much fruit! More fruit than Tongtong can eat in a day!"

Jiang Tongtong’s eyes widened, and she clapped her little hands.

"Here, it’s all yours. How about we have a fruit feast tonight?"

"Yay, yay!"

Jiang Liu hung the bag around Tongtong’s neck.

He ignored her bewildered expression.

He stood up and said apologetically to Jun Qingmeng,

"Teacher Qingmeng, I’m so sorry. I really troubled you. I had something come up today and accidentally lost track of time, hehe."

Jiang Liu felt a bit awkward. He was such a scatterbrained father.

He was always making a fool of himself.

An evening breeze stirred.

Jun Qingmeng brushed back the hair that the wind had mussed, revealing her fair, smooth face. Her expression was neutral as she gave a slight shake of her head.

"It’s fine. Just be more careful next time. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back now."

With that, Jun Qingmeng turned and walked away.

After she had walked some distance away,

Jiang Tongtong, laden with bags big and small, started chuckling mischievously.

She looked for all the world like she was gloating.

"What’s so funny? Let’s go home!"

Jiang Liu grabbed Tongtong’s little hand. He felt like he’d completely lost face.

He casually slung his daughter’s schoolbag and the fruit over his own shoulders.

"Daddy, you made Teacher Qingmeng mad, didn’t you? Hmph! Men are no good!"

"Hey, hey, hey, where did you learn that? And how did I make your teacher mad?"

"I’m not telling you!" Tongtong pouted.

She skipped and bounced as she walked. If Jiang Liu hadn’t been holding her hand, she probably would have fallen a few times.

"Fine, don’t tell me. But don’t you dare try to sleep on top of me tonight."

"Aah! Daddy, Daddy, I want to!!"

"Go on, don’t bother me."

"Daddy, I love you the most. You’re the best in the whole world."

"Heh, you little flatterer, Tongtong."

"I’m not! I’m not, I’m not!"

"Daddy, can I have fried chicken? Can I? I’m begging you!"

"How about I give you a smack instead?"

"Daddy, I’m... I’m going to be angrily mad at you!!"

A little over ten minutes later, the father-daughter duo arrived home.

Jiang Liu was renting a furnished two-bedroom, one-living-room, one-bathroom apartment.

It had a large balcony where he usually liked to do sit-ups and pull-ups.

"Daddy, let me help you take off your shoes."

Tongtong pushed Jiang Liu with her little hands, nudging him toward a chair.

"Sit down, hurry and sit down!"

"Alright, alright, I’m sitting."

Jiang Liu couldn’t resist the little rascal’s enthusiasm and happily sat down on a small stool.

"Daddy, you’ve worked hard. Tongtong will take care of you. We don’t need that bad woman!"

Jiang Liu: ???

"Ew! Your feet stink! Daddy, you’re not fragrant at all!"

Tongtong pinched her nose with the hand she had just used to touch Jiang Liu’s foot.

A moment later, Tongtong came over carrying Jiang Liu’s washbasin.

"Here, be a good Daddy. I’ll wash your feet for you."

"Haha, okay. Tongtong is such a good girl. You really are Daddy’s little sweetheart."

"I am, I am! Tongtong is a little sweetheart, hehe."

Tongtong pushed Jiang Liu’s feet into the cool water,

and carefully scrubbed them with her little hands.

Every few scrubs, she would sniff her little hands and mumble, "So stinky. Not as fragrant as my feet, hehe."

Jiang Liu simply leaned back on the sofa and started playing on his phone.

While he was doing that, Xue Guang sent him a message, saying they were installing the shop sign and asking how he wanted it designed.

Jiang Liu sent his requirements, transferred the money, and added an extra fifty yuan for the workers to buy cigarettes and water.

But Xue Guang sent it back.

"Daddy, let’s watch TV together!"

"Okay, how about SpongeBob?"

"Uh-huh! Let’s watch!"

Tongtong changed into her dinosaur pajamas and wriggled around in Jiang Liu’s arms.

The two of them snuggled on the sofa and started watching SpongeBob.

"Daddy, Brother Octopus has so many legs. He must be able to run really fast."

"Daddy, I want to eat a Crab Roe Burger."

After a little while, Jiang Liu bought some pork, corn, and seasonings from the [Gourmet Album].

He paired it with the spiral peppers they had at home and made a small dish of stir-fried pork.

SIZZLE... The fragrant aroma of meat filled the living room.

Jiang Liu was surprised to find that his cooking skills had actually improved quite a bit.

"Daddy, I’ll help you!"

"Go on, get out of the way."

"Hmph, I want to!"

Tongtong picked up a cob of corn from the table, stood on her tiptoes, and helped Jiang Liu wash it.

Seeing that there was no danger, Jiang Liu shook his head with an amused smile and didn’t refuse her this time.

Then, he used the corn and some regular rice to cook a pot of porridge.

"Time to eat, time to eat."

Jiang Liu came out carrying two bowls of porridge and a plate of red and green stir-fried pork.

The moment he stepped out of the kitchen, Tongtong eagerly hopped off the sofa.

Her little bare feet padded across the clean, gray tiles.

"Wow, it smells so good! Daddy, you’re amazing!"

"If you like it, then eat up."

"Uh-huh!"

The father and daughter polished off the entire plate of food and both bowls of porridge.

After eating, they both lay back on the sofa, patting their bellies.

Their movements were surprisingly in sync—truly father and daughter.

"Tongtong, are you sad that you don’t have a mommy?"

Jiang Liu gently pinched his daughter’s plump, pinchable cheek.

"Nope."

"Why not? Don’t you envy other kids who have a mommy?"

"Daddy, Tongtong is happy just having you. Tongtong just wants to have Daddy forever and ever!"

"Okay, I understand."

Jiang Liu finally felt relieved. As long as his daughter was happy, that was all that mattered.

Jiang Tongtong rolled her eyes.

’I don’t even like that mommy. She was always so cold,’

’and she didn’t care about me!’

’She didn’t love me at all, really.’

Tongtong’s eyes darted slyly.

"Daddy, do you want a wife?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Jiang Liu looked at his precocious daughter, a stunned and suspicious look on his face.

Tongtong climbed into Jiang Liu’s lap and took the opportunity to rub her face against him a few times.

’There, my mouth is clean now.’

She cupped her hand over Jiang Liu’s ear and said, "I’ll tell you a secret, Daddy. Teacher Qingmeng doesn’t have a boyfriend!"

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"Hehe, Daddy, can you bring Teacher Qingmeng home so we can all sleep together?"

"What is going on in that little head of yours!"

Jiang Liu tapped her on the head, though he couldn’t bring himself to use any force.

"No, really! I’ve already noticed that Teacher Qingmeng treats you differently from other people. She never smiles at the other parents! And also, Teacher Qingmeng is super rich!"

"Daddy, money can buy lots and lots of fried chicken. I won’t eat it, you can have it all."

Jiang Tongtong said with a dreamy look on her little face, already drooling.

...Jiang Liu took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling.

His thoughts were in turmoil.

’Why isn’t my daughter like other kids?’

’This is exhausting. I’ve worried myself sick over her.’

"Daddy?"

Tongtong, lying on his arm, bit down hard enough to leave a tooth mark and then giggled mischievously.

She just wanted to be clingy with her daddy.

"Oh, right. Tongtong, Daddy has opened a food shop. I have to get up early tomorrow to make money. You be a good girl and stay asleep at home, and wait for Daddy to come back, okay?"

Jiang Liu planned to close the shop at 7:30 to come back and take Tongtong to kindergarten.

The round trip would only take half an hour, so it wasn’t a big deal.

"Opening a shop? Making money?!"

Tongtong got excited, her eyes lighting up.

"Me too, me too! Daddy, take me with you! Take me, I want to make money too!"