Chapter 157 My Identity Is About to Be Revealed (Revised)

Jiang Anchao paused in his action of picking up the crispy pork with his chopsticks, "Who did I try to hook?"

"nest!"

The little girl spoke with a firm and strong tone. She jumped off the stool and walked over to her father, scrutinizing him closely.

"Single eyelids! A high, prominent nose! Thin lips! They all match up!"

Jiang Zhizhi tiptoed and tried to wipe her father's nose, discovering that he didn't have any moles on his nose.

She frowned, her eyes widening. "Dad, you've disguised yourself! When you saw me at the black market this afternoon, you had a mole on your nose, and your hair was darker than it was this afternoon. Tell me the truth, why did you go to the black market to scare me this afternoon? I thought we'd run into the cops!"

She learned the word "cop" from watching police dramas on TV.

It's a general term for urban management police.

"You can't just say that!" Jiang Anchao wanted to raise his hands in surrender and cry foul. He had been busy writing his year-end report at the army all morning, and his hands were sore from writing. He had just sat down and hadn't even warmed his seat when his daughter questioned him.

He was so resentful; even Dou E, who suffered from snow in June, was not as resentful as him.

“I really didn’t go looking for you. Besides, if I had gone, would I have denied it? The crackdown on street vendors was years ago. The government’s attitude toward street vending to revive the economy has softened considerably. Who would bother arresting you for no reason?”

Deng Qiu walked over with the last plate of luncheon meat, and seemed thoughtful as she listened to the confrontation between the father and daughter.

"Zhizhi, do you mean... that strange uncle looks exactly like your dad?"

"right!"

Zhizhi puffed out her chest and pointed confidently at her father's face, "They both look fierce, but they sound very gentle when they speak. That one is Dad!"

'Bang!'

Jiang Anchao dropped the crispy pork from his chopsticks into his bowl, and his expression went blank for a moment.

"Wait! Zhizhi, are you saying you saw someone who looks a lot like me?!"

He hurriedly put down his chopsticks, grabbed his daughter's hand, and asked in an even more anxious tone, "Where did he go? What does he look like? Tell me everything! And why did he go to see you?!"

"Old Jiang, what's wrong with you?"

Deng Qiu was completely surprised; she hadn't expected Jiang Anchao to react so strongly.

Jiang An's heart pounded violently, like a drum pounding against his chest, shaking him to the point of almost losing his mind.

"This is very important!"

Seeing her father's anxious expression, Zhizhi looked even more puzzled.

"Dad... if it's not you, then who could it be?"

She recounted in detail the person she had met that day, and after hearing her story, Jiang Anchao looked somewhat dazed.

His brows were furrowed, his eyelids drooped, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The living room remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, Jiang Anchao stood up. "Do you still have that phone number?"

"Here it is."

Deng Qiu took it out and handed it to him.

Jiang Anchao took the food and prepared to leave, saying, "You guys eat first, don't wait for me."

Zhizhi watched her father leave, confused. She turned to her mother and asked cautiously, "Did I get into trouble?"

Deng Qiu hugged her and said calmly, "Daddy has some things to take care of. It has nothing to do with you, sweetie. Let's eat first."

Zhizhi nodded understandingly and sat back down in her seat.

After lunch, Zhizhi went back to her room for a nap, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned in bed.

She couldn't understand why.

Why did Dad react so strongly? Could that strange uncle be a relative of Dad?

But if it's a family member, there's no need to be so sensitive, right?

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly heard a noise outside the door.

Then came the sound of her mother and father talking. Although they tried their best to keep their voices down, Zhizhi could still vaguely hear the gist of it.

Who exactly is that person?

"I called, and they hung up as soon as they heard my voice. I'm not sure yet."

"Old Jiang, you're hiding something from me. You haven't told me everything since we went back to our parents' home together, and now you still don't want to tell me?"

“Honey, this isn’t a matter of whether I tell you or not. Give me some time, and once I find him, I’ll give you a complete explanation.”

Zhizhi tiptoed out of bed and peeked through the crack in the bedroom door to see what was happening in the living room.

Jiang Anchao, unusually, lit a cigarette in the room.

The pungent smell quickly spread.

Deng Qiu got angry, ignored him, and went straight to work with her bag.

Zhizhi's eyes were filled with worry.

My father's worried expression must be because of that strange uncle. How can I find out what's going on?

...Oh, right! The phone!

Without hesitation, Zhizhi waited until her father finished smoking and went to his bedroom before rushing out, picking up the phone slip on the table, and running out of the military dependents' compound with her short legs.

"Auntie, how much does it cost to make a phone call from here?"

The little cub came to a general store and saw a red telephone in the window.

The shopkeeper told her the approximate cost and then helped Zhizhi make a phone call. The little one stood on tiptoe, holding the large phone in both hands, waiting for a response from the other end.

'Beep—beep—'

After a long period of busy signals, Zhizhi finally heard a voice coming from the other end.

"I didn't call you to listen to your interrogation. Don't call again."

"Don't hang up!" Zhizhi recognized the voice as that of the strange uncle. She knew that the strange uncle mistook her for the father who had just called.

She quickly answered, "Uncle, we met today, don't you remember?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a cough to clear the throat. "Um, Zhizhi... what do you need from your uncle?"

The little cub got straight to the point: "I want to meet you. You can choose the place, but I want to see you today."

"you... ..."

The voice on the other end chuckled helplessly, "You and your father have the exact same personality, even your opening lines are identical."

“Uncle, you must have your reasons for coming to see me today. I asked you to meet so that you can make things clear.”

Zhizhi's tone was very serious.

All that could be heard from the other side was the scratching sound of a pen tip writing on paper.

After a long time, she started to get angry.

A "good" came from the other end.

Tell me the location, and I'll come find you!

Zhizhi insisted that he give her a seat, but the other end of the phone hung up.

She stomped her feet in frustration.

hateful!

He agreed to meet, so why isn't he telling us where to meet now?

Wait a moment... ...

Suddenly, Zhizhi remembered something. After paying the phone bill, she ran home.

... ...

She sat on the bed, biting her nails, and anxiously glancing at the clock on the wall every now and then.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Okay, let's go!

Without hesitation, Zhizhi ran out of the military dependents' compound with her little bunny bag on her back.

After hanging up the phone and calming down, she figured it out.

Why did you arrange a meeting place with him?

That strange uncle even knows my name and where I live, which means that no matter where I go, he can see me anytime he wants.

All I need to do is find a quiet park and wait for him to appear.

Zhizhi gave herself a thumbs up for her cleverness, and after many twists and turns, she entered Su Garden.

The little child sat alone on the bench, waiting and waiting, until she got a little cold.

She even started counting the ants moving house under her feet out of boredom.

Just when she was about to give up, someone suddenly appeared in her line of sight, with shiny leather shoes and specially dressed clothes.

Zhizhi looked up and saw that the strange uncle had changed into a suit and was even holding a large bouquet of... White Rabbit candy flowers in his arms?

"This is for you, consider it a small gift."

Zhizhi narrowed her eyes and looked at him seriously, "Who exactly are you?"

The man placed the flowers next to the child, then sat down himself. He took off his glasses and took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket to wipe them.

Then, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Your dad didn't tell you? I thought he would have guessed... ...Well, how should I introduce my name to you? I'm not even sure what my name should be."

"snort!"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhizhi was not convinced at all.

She stared blankly at the strange man, her childish voice tinged with arrogance.

"Little Uncle, how ridiculous! Look at what you're saying, does it make sense? Huh?! Huh! How can someone not know their own name? Didn't your parents give you a name?"

"Don't you have a name? What's your name? Passerby A?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you look like my dad, do you think I would tolerate you?! Watch out, or I'll give you a couple of punches!"

The little cub jumped up, struggling as if it wanted to wave its little fists right in front of him and perform a military boxing routine.

A hint of surprise flashed in the depths of the man's eyes, and after a long while, the corners of his tightly pursed lips gradually relaxed.

Even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes revealed a faint smile.

"Girls should have a bit of a temper. You and she are really different. It seems that Xiao Er has taught you very well."

Beneath his thin eyelids, his deep, dark eyes slowly fell on the little cub's face, looking at her beautiful and lovely features, but his gaze gradually began to become complicated.

It's as if, through this tiny figure, she is reminiscing about someone who is very similar to her.

After a long pause, he spoke to himself:

"Perhaps you can call me Jiang Yan for now..."

Jiang Yan?

Um?

Zhizhi blinked suspiciously, "What Jiang? What Yan?"

“Jiang as in Jiang Zhixian, Yan as in 'meeting stones'.” Jiang Yan’s voice was gentle, showing no impatience even with the cub’s wary attitude. Instead, he took her hand and carefully wrote his name in her palm, stroke by stroke. “... ...That’s how you write it. Did you learn it?”

Zhizhi looked up at Jiang Yan's expression.

Zhizhi lowered her head and looked at her palm again.

There was a brief pause in the air. She slapped Jiang Yan's hand away, her cheeks puffed out like a sulking pufferfish.

"What kind of babbling is this! Don't you know what 'wobuyinsi' means?"

She stiffened her neck in embarrassment and annoyance, looking like she was being unreasonable, but in reality, her ears were so red they seemed to be dripping blood, and the redness seemed to spread all the way to her entire face.

Jiang Yan paused for a second, then smiled helplessly.

"You're three and a half years old already, can't you even write your own name?"

Zhizhi stared wide-eyed innocently at the question, then covered her neck with both hands and took a big step back.

"So what? Is illiteracy a crime?"

"I'm only three years old, not thirty!"

“My daddy said he doesn’t have high expectations of me! As long as I eat well and poop properly, I’m his good daughter! Why do you insist that I learn to read!”

Jiang Yan sighed, smiled, and shook her head. "Well, you'll have to learn to write your own name eventually, right? And you'll have to go to kindergarten eventually, won't you?"

"Ha! My dad says, even when I grow up, as long as I know to run home on rainy days, that's fine. Learning to read and going to school are things that only older kids need to do. Is it wrong for me not to like school? Is it wrong for me not to like to work hard? Nobody is born liking to study. Everyone is born lazy!"

After Xiao Zhizhi finished speaking, she puffed out her little chest, so proud that she wanted to shake her little skirt and show off her gorgeous feathers to everyone.

"Besides, I can do math! I'm super fast at calculating when I sell vegetables!"

"Oh? That's impressive?" A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes. He cleared his throat and asked casually, "What is 34.85 yuan plus 12.3 yuan?"

Without hesitation, Zhizhi replied, "47.1 yuan, rounded down, plus some cilantro or half a jin of loquat, and the deal is done. I'll make sure you're a repeat customer, come again next time!"

She quickly covered her mouth after saying that. Oh no! She'd developed a conditioned reflex from selling vegetables; she was subconsciously treating it like a business transaction!

Jiang Yan's eyes lit up with surprise. "You're so good at mental arithmetic?"

What is mental arithmetic?

The little cub didn't understand what she meant. She struggled to pull a small abacus from her pocket and held it up to him. "I have an abacus too. I use it when I sell vegetables. How can I make money if I can't calculate quickly? You're really stupid!"

Wait, something's not right!

Why does she feel like she's been tricked into revealing information?

Zhizhi shook her head, bringing her thoughts back to the main topic. She pointed at the strange man with a serious face, "What are you doing here? What's your purpose? Do you know my dad? Speak up! Speak up!"

If he confesses honestly, I might be able to get leniency!

Yes, it's not stamped!

That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas!

When the protagonist of justice is judging the villains, he must be imposing!

Seeing the little guy's excited expression, Jiang Yan felt a warm current flow through his heart.

He sighed softly and lovingly stroked her soft hair. "You must have had a hard time in Sangjiapo, right? When I went to Sangjiapo, you had already been taken away, Zhizhi... I'm so glad to see you again in Suzhou."

Zhizhi frowned deeply, as if she could trap a fly in her furrow. "Wrong answer! You jerk! Don't change the subject!"