The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits
Chapter 652 - 656: DINK Family (19)

Chapter 652: Chapter 656: DINK Family (19)

Ning Zhiyuan wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye and muttered to himself, unsure whether he was answering his daughter’s question or just talking to himself.

"She, she... of course, I know her... how could I ever forget..."

Ning Linglan looked at the dignified old lady in the video and then at her unkempt father, highly skeptical.

"Dad, stop joking. How could you possibly know someone of her stature..."

Being refuted by his daughter, and seeing the skepticism on Ning Linglan’s face, struck a sensitive chord in Ning Zhiyuan’s heart.

He suddenly jumped up, shouting, "Who says I don’t know her? Of course, I know her, how could I not recognize my ex-wife..."

Nearly twenty years had passed, yet Su Li had become ever more refined; the older she got, the more exquisite she became.

As for him, they were as different as heaven and earth, as different as clouds and mud.

Ning Linglan covered her small mouth in shock and said incredulously, "Dad, you can’t be senile, can you? Don’t lie to people."

"I’m young, I’ll take it seriously."

Ning Linglan knew that before she was born, her father had a long marriage.

Later on, it was because of her that they divorced.

Moreover, her father was already no spring chicken when he planned to have her; she was indeed a child born to him in his later years.

One could imagine that his ex-wife would be someone around his age.

Ning Linglan simply couldn’t imagine how the Immortal Grandma in the video could have any connection with someone like her father.

She had never even dreamt of such a thing.

It’s like encountering a beggar on the street who grabs your hand and says, "You see, the movie star on the big screen in the high-rise across the street, she’s related to me..."

Although the description is exaggerated, this was exactly how Ning Linglan felt at that moment.

A million "grass mud horses" (an internet expression of frustration) galloped through her mind.

Faced with his daughter’s repeated questioning, Ning Zhiyuan was truly angry and said, "Why would I lie to you, would I spout nonsense for no reason?"

Ning Linglan muttered under her breath, "That’s debatable."

"Just wait, I..." Ning Zhiyuan’s speech abruptly halted midway through.

He had intended to find a few photos of them together to prove it, but then he remembered that many belongings had been lost in the midst of moving time and again.

Among them were the early photos of him with his ex-wife and pictures from when he was successful and full of pride.

Without these, whenever he talked to his daughter about the glory of his past life, Ning Linglan always disbelieved.

Looking at their current shabby home, the estranged relatives, and her father’s miserly demeanor, one simply couldn’t connect them to the stories he told.

The person in those stories seemed like someone he made up, someone he brought out now and then to make himself feel significant.

This behavior could be summed up in one phrase: loves to brag.

It’s a common trait among many older people.

It seems to fortify their sense of presence.

Ning Zhiyuan was familiar with the scornful expression on his daughter’s face.

Because he had seen that look for many years now.

From when his daughter was young until now.

Ning Zhiyuan couldn’t help but feel a bitter regret, wondering what had driven him to abandon the DINK lifestyle in favor of having children.

The warm and joyful life he had hoped for didn’t seem to have materialized; instead, the arrival of a child had turned his life into a complete mess.

After experiencing all sorts of breakdowns during her birth and upbringing, he had held onto the belief that if he could just get through this period, things would get better.

But no one had told him that after surviving the little monster phase of a child, there would come the rebellious phase, the adolescent period...

No one had told him that raising a child would require such a tremendous amount of energy.

You need to be extremely careful, not only looking after her physical development but also attending to her psychological growth, and dealing with all sorts of emergencies along the way.

But what chilled his heart the most was that the child for whom he had given so much did not understand him.

Instead, due to their family’s differences from others, she became noticeably more rebellious.

She was even ashamed to acknowledge his identity.

Even now, as his daughter had grown up, she never brought her boyfriends around him.

The more he gave, the more he found it hard to let go, and the more his daughter despised him – a vicious, continuing cycle.

Today, Ning Linglan’s piercing gaze deeply wounded Ning Zhiyuan’s heart.

All of a sudden, he shouted like a madman, "What gives you the right not to believe that, if it weren’t for you, my life could have been so much better?"

Ning Linglan had heard this kind of talk countless times throughout her growing up.

Just like Xianglin’s wife, her old father brought this up at every opportunity.

He always said that it was because of her, that his own life was dragged down because of her existence...

For her education and growth, he had cashed out his company, sold his house...

But she, the prime culprit, had hardly enjoyed much of it at all.

Ning Zhiyuan became furious too, raising his voice, "Who asked you to bring me into this world?"

"Besides, when you brought me into this world, did you have my consent? How do you know if I ever wanted to be born to you?"

It was just a routine conversation, and once again, Ning Zhiyuan and his daughter parted on bad terms.

Scenes like this were commonplace, as every day the father and daughter would argue over various reasons.

Ning Zhiyuan, filled with rage, slammed the door and left, while Ning Linglan could only shake her head and helplessly let out a long sigh.

With a father like this, who could know the pressure and exhaustion she carried?

Life is hard for everyone.

Yet, Ning Linglan always felt that her old father was lying.

Imagining Immortal Grandma, such an exquisite person alongside her father, seemed quite absurd.

In reality, sometimes the things you think are the least likely are the actual truths.

The door-slamming Ning Zhiyuan, tremblingly leaning on a cane, made his way to his favorite spot where he loved to spend his time every day.

The only run-down convenience store in the neighborhood.

Ning Zhiyuan’s body, due to years of hard work and neglect in self-care, was a shadow of its former self.

Now, walking had become difficult, relying on the assistance of a cane.

Feeling the disobedience of his aging body, he was reminded of his ex-wife’s appearance that he had just seen in a short video.

Sorrow welled up within him.

Had he not seen her, there would be nothing to miss.

But having seen Su Li’s figure, it was as if he caught a glimpse of the alternate life he could have lived.

He too could have lived a refined and dignified life like Su Li.

But all that was ruined by his own choices.

The more he reflected on this, the more vexed he became.

This regret, a deep entanglement, was inextricably bound to his heart, leaving him without escape.