Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Pure Jade Idol Is Not to Be Provoked 14

The courtyard was somewhat quiet.

Du Ya still held a machete in her hand. The gate was already locked, and she stood behind the gate, somewhat reluctant to look in Ah Chen’s direction.

She felt guilty for not being able to provide Xiao Chen with a complete family.

However, she couldn’t keep living with someone like Zhao Peijun, who was cowardly and selfish.

The darkest days of her life were during her confinement after childbirth, with every day being unbearably torturous. If not for her daughter, she might have given up long ago.

Luckily, she persevered, otherwise she couldn’t imagine how her daughter would face the Zhao Family.

“Mom, isn’t it tiring to stand?” Ah Chen took the machete from Du Ya’s hand, easily handling it and placing it aside.

Du Ya finally snapped back to reality and spoke with difficulty, “That was Zhao Peijun, your biological father by blood. We divorced a month after you were born because…”

Zhao Peijun dared to come looking, and to prevent their daughter from being deceived, Du Ya planned to tell her everything from back then.

Ah Chen could understand now why there was almost no reaction from Du Ya when the child was switched.

In such a situation, Du Ya surviving was already fortunate.

It should be said that for Du Ya to survive, and make decisions so quickly, she was decisive and strong enough, which was beyond what most ordinary people could achieve.

“I’ve already explained everything to you, how you deal with him is up to you. After the divorce, he did come to see me and tried to give some money and food, but of course, none of that worked out because Zhao Family’s elders stopped him. Nobody knows what happened there, and afterward, he didn’t come again.”

“Don’t be fooled by his seemingly conscious appearance; most of the time it’s just a show. He’s quite concerned about reputation and saving face. On the surface, he appears weak and indecisive, but in reality, he has his calculations. Since someone is willing to fight for him, why should he hurry to be the bad guy?”

Like the time when Zhao Family’s elders felt she couldn’t have a child, Zhao Peijun didn’t say it, but he agreed to the divorce not only out of filial piety to listen to his parents, but he thought so himself.

And the money and food attempts after the divorce.

If he genuinely wanted to give, could the Zhao Family’s elders have caused a ruckus? Even if they did, if he insisted, nobody could stop him.

He knew the Zhao Family’s elders would cause a scene, using that scene to ensure he wouldn’t have to care for her in the future. Whenever outsiders mentioned it later, they’d say Zhao Peijun had no choice, with the family’s elders looking out for his new family, which seemed understandable in hindsight.

This man has it all calculated.

Du Ya was really afraid that her daughter would be moved by Zhao Peijun’s pitiful appearance.

If he borrowed, would he ever return it?

Someone like Zhao Peijun, giving him even a penny felt like waste.

Why does he only come to borrow money when her daughter is around, she knew perfectly well what his intentions were.

Yet, he was still her daughter’s father, and she understood how much her daughter cherished familial bonds.

The experiences from years ago made her afraid to speak harshly to stop her daughter from seeing Zhao Peijun, fearing it would backfire.

Ah Chen detected Du Ya’s unease and hugged her as they walked inside, “Mom, don’t worry, I can tell who is good to me and who is bad.”

Du Ya let out a slight sigh of relief; her daughter’s words were clear.

“I’m afraid they’ll create some trouble, now that you’re a public figure…”

Ah Chen patted Du Ya’s hand, “Mom, everyone has weaknesses. If they dare to act recklessly because I’m a public figure, I have my ways. Doesn’t Zhao Family hold their only offspring in high regard?”

Du Ya was a bit stunned and quickly looked at Ah Chen.

With a gentle smile on her obedient face, suddenly her face seemed to be concealing a little Demon underneath.

She hurriedly held onto Ah Chen’s hand, “Xiao Chen, we’re not doing anything illegal.”

Xiao Chen’s mental health wasn’t the best, she hadn’t forgotten this matter.

Though she worried Zhao Peijun might exacerbate Xiao Chen’s psychological issues, should anything happen to Xiao Chen, she’d fight Zhao Peijun to the end.

“Rest assured, Mom, I won’t do such things,” Ah Chen’s smile was faint, “Just talking.”

She wouldn’t stoop to doing those things.

Generally, she adhered to world rules.

But talking tough in front of the Zhao Family was enough to scare them.

She wouldn’t actually do anything, what could they do to her?

Considering the age, Zhao Family’s only offspring should be about the age to marry, and Zhao Peijun came to borrow money likely for that reason.

Tomorrow, she’d depart to a new place to record a show, wouldn’t be back for a few days, would the Zhao Family stir up trouble during that time?

Based on this, Ah Chen decided to meet with the Zhao Family in advance.

“While it’s not dark yet, I’d like to go to the fields to pick some cucumbers to take tomorrow,” Ah Chen said.

Du Ya looked at her suspiciously, “You’re not doing anything else besides picking cucumbers?”

Ah Chen answered honestly, “I’ll be doing a bit more.”

Du Ya’s heart jumped uneasily, holding onto Ah Chen’s hand.

“I’m going to warn them,” Ah Chen leaned in toward Du Ya, “won’t be doing anything bad.”

Du Ya thought for a moment, Ah Chen being open like this didn’t seem like she was about to do anything wrong, but she still worried her little girl might be bullied by the Zhao Family.

“Mom, I do have some real skills,” Ah Chen picked up the machete beside her, then grabbed a piece of wood, and with a single slash, it split the wood in two.

Du Ya was stunned for a moment, realizing her daughter learned a lot. It made sense; her daughter was an actress, learning some skills was normal, otherwise many actions would require a stunt double.

Yet, she still wanted to follow along.

Ah Chen said, “Mom, you’re too formidable; if you’re there, they wouldn’t dare to come.”

“If you’re worried, you could hide quietly.”

Du Ya’s eyes lit up, “Alright, then I’ll quietly hide.”

Not watching, she really couldn’t be at ease.

Ah Chen took a bamboo basket and left, the houses in this village were built quite densely, and she had to pass many neighbors’ homes to get to the fields. To ensure the Zhao Family saw her, she detoured a bit.

When she was sure they’d spotted her, she quickly walked to the cucumber fields.

By the time she’d picked her fifth cucumber, Zhao Peijun had stealthily approached.

She suddenly turned, startling Zhao Peijun.

His appearance seemed somewhat honest, even weak, a very typical portrait of a middle-aged man with no opinions.

His weathered face appeared pitiful, combined with those rough hands, it easily drew sympathy.

“Xiao Chen, I…” Zhao Peijun stammered, “I’m your dad, Xiao Chen.”

Ah Chen placed a cucumber in the basket and replied coolly, “Hmm.”

Zhao Peijun rubbed his face, eyes redder than before, making him more sympathetic: “Du Ya probably told you about the past, right? Dad was forced, I never wanted to divorce your mom, but filial duty is paramount, Dad couldn’t be an unfilial person, they are the parents who gave me life and raised me.”

“What could I do?”

“Xiao Chen, can you understand Dad?”

“Then what do you want from me? To compensate me?” Ah Chen asked.

“I’ve grown up, what can you compensate? Half of the child support from growing up?”

“It’s not impossible,” Ah Chen finally showed a hint of a smile, “After all, it’s your duty. When will you compensate?”

Zhao Peijun was a bit dumbfounded; he came here not to compensate child support but to borrow money for his son’s wedding house.

Xiao Bo was in his twenties, didn’t make it into college, spent a lot on technical school, didn’t learn much, and didn’t know how many jobs he’d switched but couldn’t save any money, barely supporting himself.

Wanting to get married, without preparing a wedding house was hopeless.

Initially, if they pooled resources, they could buy a two-bedroom apartment in the county, but not a good location.

Recently, they heard Du Chen had returned, reconciling with Du Ya.

Du Chen was quite famous; buying the best house in the county, or even in a big city, was no problem.

No matter what, Xiao Bo was Xiao Chen’s brother, and borrowing a little to buy a city house seemed reasonable. It truly was an essential need, not greed.

Coming back to reality, Zhao Peijun saw Ah Chen had already picked most of a basket of cucumbers and some red tomatoes. Seeing she was about to leave, he hurriedly moved closer.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep