The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits
Chapter 655 - 659: DINK Family (22)

Chapter 655: Chapter 659: DINK Family (22)

Just looking at this little essay, there didn’t seem to be any problems.

But if you consider the actual situation, the problem became significant.

The father in Ning Linglan’s essay, was he the same person as her real-life father?

Not at all.

Ning Zhiyuan admitted that he used to be quite handsome, but that was a long time ago.

And to say he was completely incapable was utterly absurd.

Due to his age, he couldn’t participate in many activities that other students’ parents could do with their children.

The father in the essay seemed more like a character Ning Linglan had imagined.

Ning Zhiyuan suddenly realized that his daughter’s perception seemed very problematic.

He decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ning Linglan the next day.

He needed to correct his daughter’s perception; he had to tell her that no matter what her father’s real image was, she had to learn to accept it.

Because no matter what, a father’s love for his daughter was all the same.

But the next day, her stubborn, indifferent face prevented Ning Zhiyuan from finding the opportunity to have a serious conversation with her.

Because he was preoccupied all day, Ning Zhiyuan couldn’t even concentrate on his work.

Before the end of the working day, he left the company early and waited at the elementary school gate.

This was the first time he had come to pick her up since she had started elementary school.

He had always been too busy reviving the business to have time before.

Although he had spent most of his energy on his work, the company’s situation was still deteriorating.

Well, that was getting off track.

Ning Zhiyuan felt that the company was important, but so was his daughter.

Today’s weather was very hot, so hot that even waiting under the shade of a tree was unbearable.

As the time for school to let out drew nearer, and more and more parents gathered around, his feelings were mixed.

If he had known earlier that raising a child was such arduous work, perhaps he would have thought it over more carefully when he was making his decision.

Some of the people here to pick up their children were the family’s elderly, like grandparents or maternal grandparents.

And the other part was young parents.

This difference was evident at the school gate.

The old men and women seemed to like grouping together, while the young ones stood apart, as if they had a private agreement.

When the school bell rang and the doors opened, the children charged out cheering, and one by one, they ran excitedly to their waiting parents.

Ning Zhiyuan also immediately stood up, leaning on the nearby tree pole and craning his neck, trying hard to find his daughter in the swarm of children.

After much effort, he spotted Ning Linglan in the crowd, but before Ning Zhiyuan could open his mouth to call out to her, Ning Linglan turned and gestured to a classmate and swiftly walked in another direction.

The smile on Ning Zhiyuan’s face instantly froze.

He was certain that his daughter had seen him just a moment ago.

After their eyes met, Ning Linglan quickly looked away.

Although he didn’t understand why his little girl would act this way, the behavior still made Ning Zhiyuan very unhappy.

He quickened his pace as well.

A child’s short legs couldn’t outpace an adult’s long ones.

After a few quick strides, Ning Zhiyuan stretched out his arm to block the path of the two little girls.

"Ling Lan."

Ning Zhiyuan called out.

At that moment, Ning Zhiyuan clearly saw the rapid change in the expressions of his two daughters.

Ning Linglan hadn’t had a chance to speak yet when the little girl holding her hand affectionately spoke up first.

With a joyful expression, she asked her good friend, "Linglan, is this your grandfather?"

"Hello Grandpa, I’m Ming Lan, I’m super good friends with Linglan because both of our names have the character ’Lan’."

Ming Lan’s words not only made Ning Zhiyuan feel extremely embarrassed, but also caused Ning Linglan to purse her lips tightly.

Ning Zhiyuan gave an awkward smile and tried to correct Ming Lan.

"Classmate, you’ve got it wrong, I am not..."

But then...

Ning Linglan suddenly gripped Ning Zhiyuan’s hand tightly and said, "That’s right, he’s my grandfather. Today my grandma had something and couldn’t come, so my grandfather came to pick me up."

"Right, Ming Lan, I need to hurry back with my grandpa, so we will be leaving first. Your grandpa should be coming to pick you up too, right?"

"No, it’s not my grandpa picking me up today, I’m waiting for my daddy to pick me up safely."

Ming Lan was so cheerful when she mentioned her dad.

Ning Linglan had no heart to share in her friend’s joy, gave her friend a perfunctory greeting, and hurriedly pulled Ning Zhiyuan away.

After walking for a while, Ning Linglan fiercely let go of her old father’s hand and asked unhappily, "Why are you here to pick me up today, where’s grandma?"

The ’grandma’ Ning Linglan referred to was not Ms. Liao—her biological grandmother.

One could imagine that at this time of day, Ms. Liao would be quite old, and it was already comforting enough that she could take care of herself, let alone expect her to pick up and drop off a child, which would be completely unrealistic.

The ’grandma’ Ning Linglan referred to was the caretaker Ning Zhiyuan had gritted his teeth to hire, who on regular days looked after the daily meals and other needs of the two elderly members of the Gu Family and also took care of picking up and dropping off the child at school.

Ning Zhiyuan did not answer his daughter’s question, but instead asked with a steely face, "Why did you tell your classmate that I’m your grandpa?"

Ning Linglan guiltily lowered her head and remained silent, refusing to answer.

Ning Zhiyuan felt very irritated and, after pacing back and forth on the spot a few times, said, "Linglan, I am clearly your daddy... What you did was not right..."

Ning Zhiyuan also somewhat understood what was going through his little girl’s mind.

She was simply ashamed of his old age.

A father whose age was similar to her classmates’ grandparents seemed too embarrassing for her to admit.

At such a young age, the child had developed a strong sense of pride.

"Linglan, this is your daddy? Then why did you just say he was your grandpa... Your dad looks quite old..."

Ming Lan, who had already left, inexplicably returned.

She covered her little mouth as if shocked, then kept chattering nonstop.

It seemed that was the only way she could express her surprise.

Before Ming Lan could finish, a young man following behind her quickly spoke up to stop her.

Then the young man awkwardly kept apologizing to Ning Zhiyuan and Ning Linglan.

"Sorry about that, Ming Lan always talks nonsense."

He then turned and said to his own daughter, "Ming Lan, apologize to your friend right now."

Ming Lan lifted her innocent little face and asked confusedly, "Why apologize? What did I say wrong?"

"Just now, Linglan really said that this is her grandpa..."

"Alright, alright, let’s not talk about it anymore, we should head home." To prevent his daughter from saying anything more embarrassing, the young father quickly ushered Ming Lan away.

Ning Linglan, who remained where she was, had eyes that were beginning to redden, and tears swirled in her eyes.

She glared furiously at her old father and shouted, "It’s all your fault, why did you have to come pick me up?"

All of a sudden, Ning Zhiyuan, who had been angry just moments before, deflated like a balloon, visibly shrunk down, crestfallen and extremely conflicted.