Chapter 154 Chapter 154 Father's Favoritism 3
The dark blue sky was dotted with a few stars, tiny crescents like the marks left by a fingernail on a mosquito bite. The night breeze blew gently. Zhuozhuo's head drooped, and he slumped bonelessly in Zhao Hongwei's arms, unconsciously being led out of the house.
Zhao Hongwei, carrying his bedding roll, glanced back at his elder brother, waving him off. After a few steps, a voice of self-pity drifted in the wind, "Brother, it's my fault I'm incompetent."
Zhao Hongwei raised his hand and shouted to the front, "Go back!"
Zhuozhuo was startled awake again. She stared blankly at the dim scenery for a moment before realizing she was being held. She looked up and saw a cold, hard jaw.
Don’t know.
Zhuozhuo immediately raised his little hands, hugged the head above and pulled it down, stretching his neck to look.
Zhao Hongwei's neck stiffened, and he raised his head again, frowning and scolding, "What are you doing!"
Zhuozhuo wasn't afraid of him and responded fiercely in a childish voice, "What are you doing, Zhao Hongwei?"
"Tiantian, Zhao Hongwei, Zhao Hongwei, I'm your father! Call me daddy!"
Zhuozhuo yelled back even louder, "I'm your father!"
The shrill child's voice traveled far away, startling a series of barking dogs.
Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!
Zhuozhuo huddled in Zhao Hongwei's arms, a little scared. He deliberately threatened her, "From now on, you'll just follow me. If you don't listen to me, I'll..."
The word "throw it away" rolled around on his tongue but he didn't utter it. He lowered his voice and threatened, "I'll beat your ass to pieces!"
"Beat your ass!"
Zhuozhuo finished his argument in a babyish voice, blinked, and blinked again. Finally, he realized something was wrong and said childishly, "Where are you going? Zhuozhuo doesn't want to go with you."
"I'm your father, if you don't follow me, who will you follow?"
"Hmph. I'm living with my sister, not you."
Thinking of the two cents he had saved, Zhuozhuo said proudly, kicking his legs and about to go down.
Zhao Hongwei held Zhuozhuo tightly with one arm. Perhaps because of the force, his voice was also tense. "Where are you going? Back? That's not your home."
He emphasized again, "That's not your home."
Zhuozhuo's struggles subsided. She tilted her head to look at Zhao Hongwei, sensing his loneliness and confusion. But Zhuozhuo didn't want to coax him. She asked childishly, "Isn't that your home? It's your home, and it's my home, huh."
Don’t think she doesn’t understand. A father must raise his daughter. If he doesn’t, it’s abandonment and he will go to jail!
Zhao Hongwei felt like Zhuozhuo's words were tiny daggers, piercing his heart. He was silent for a moment, his sentimentality vanishing. He said bluntly, "Where is my home? That's Zhao Hongqi's home. It has nothing to do with me, Zhao Hongwei, or you, Zhao Zhuozhuo! From now on, you're going to wander with me!"
The words came out, and his mind was clear with the reality. There was no more sadness or hesitation. The mountain that had been weighing on Zhao Hongwei's heart since last night was pulverized and dispersed by the wind. He smiled at the rising sun and whispered, "I haven't even gotten married yet, but I'm going out to make a living with this little burden."
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongwei wanted to sigh. He was a grown man, so he could accommodate her in any way. But he couldn't just let Zhuozhuo sleep on the street with him, could he? He wished there were so many ways to make money out there!
Zhuozhuo maintained a bewildered expression, and only after 9972's explanation did she realize that she and Zhao Hongwei were homeless. Instantly, tears welled up in Zhuozhuo's large eyes. She pursed her lips and shouted, "Zhao Hongwei!"
"Call me daddy!"
"No, no, no! I want to go back. I haven't eaten my loach yet--!!!"
Zhuozhuo screamed at the top of her lungs, with a heartbroken expression on her face. She lay on Zhao Hongwei's shoulder, with her two little hands stretched out in the direction she came from, as if she was experiencing a life-and-death separation with her loach.
Zhao Hongwei then realized what Zhuozhuo had done yesterday afternoon and casually asked, "Can you still dig up loaches?"
"I dug a basin! A big basin!"
"Oh. Don't dig anymore. Little girls should be clean..."
“Ahhhhhhhh——!!!” Zhuozhuo covered her ears and screamed, unwilling to listen to Zhao Hongwei’s nonsense.
On the dirt road in the countryside, people who got up early to make a living were walking silently. When they heard the fresh and harsh sound, they couldn't help but look over.
Zhao Hongwei covered Zhuozhuo's mouth and said impatiently, "Stop yelling! It's just a few loaches. I'll buy them for you!"
Thinking of his property and current situation, Zhao Hongwei changed his tone and said, "I'll dig it for you!"
Zhuozhuo forcefully moved Zhao Hongwei's hand away, and said in a milky voice with full momentum, "Dig now!"
"We can't dig now. We have to go to the station. If we go too late, we won't be able to buy tickets and will have to wait at the station for a whole day and a night." Zhao Hongwei regretted bringing Zhuozhuo out, but he couldn't leave her to his elder brother and sister-in-law. He took a deep breath and explained with a fake smile on his face, hoping that Zhuozhuo would be reasonable.
Zhuozhuo said, "Wait. Let's dig loaches now."
Zhao Hongwei took a breath again and smiled, "Zhuozhuo, be obedient."
"I won't listen!"
"What's wrong with you? You were so well behaved when you were with Xiaofang, why are you so noisy now?" Zhao Hongwei suddenly had an idea and grabbed a life-saving straw, "Didn't you sleep well? Go to sleep."
He began to rock her, hoping to rock her to sleep, or even until she fainted.
Zhuozhuo opened his eyes wide, his eyes sparkling, and said with full energy, "Are you Xiaofang? Why should I listen to you?"
"I'm your father!"
"Hmph, you're not nice to Zhuo Zhuo, and Zhuo Zhuo doesn't listen to you."
Zhao Hongwei said painfully, "I'm good to you. I'll be good to you from now on."
"snort."
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
He actually saw mockery in the three-year-old child.
Unable to convince him, Zhao Hongwei decided to stop trying to reason with him and start using force. He covered Zhuo Zhuo's mouth again and, ignoring the gazes of passersby, broke into a run.
Perhaps knowing she couldn't resist, Zhuozhuo struggled for a moment before quieting down. Zhao Hongwei suddenly felt like a fool for trying to reason with Zhuozhuo, and decided to manually mute her microphone whenever they argued. But the next second, Zhao Hongwei noticed something was wrong. Why were his palms so wet?
Zhao Hongwei looked down and saw Zhuozhuo crying silently, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were sad and stubborn, looking pitiful. He moved his hand away as if he had received an electric shock, his head spinning. "Why are you crying?"
Zhuozhuo raised his hand to wipe away his tears and said with a sob, "I want loach."
Zhao Hongwei pretended not to hear and walked away quickly.
Zhuozhuo's eyes flashed red, and he said in a muffled voice, "I want loach."
Zhao Hongwei continued to pretend to be deaf.
Zhuozhuo also remained silent.
After walking for a while, Zhao Hongwei's eyelids drooped. He wanted to see if Zhuozhuo was still crying, but he was caught off guard and met her eyes. "..."
Zhuozhuo shed tears silently: "I want loach."
Zhao Hongwei glanced at Zhuozhuo's half-soaked clothes, fearing she would cry herself to death, so he gave in and said, "Okay, I'll dig loaches for you. Will you still cry after I dig loaches?"
Zhuozhuo shook his head slightly.
There was a river with water on the roadside not far away. Zhao Hongwei jumped down in three or two steps, untied the bedding roll, put Zhuozhuo on it, and asked her to sit there and not move. He took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, and waded into the water to dig loaches.
As soon as he bent down, he heard a scorching voice behind him, "Don't dig in the water, dig in the mud."
"There's also something in the water..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhao Hongwei saw Zhuozhuo pouting, about to cry. He immediately surrendered, turned around and dug in the mud. He didn't know if there were no loaches in the area, or if Zhao Hongwei was just unlucky, but he turned the mud over and over again but didn't find a single loach.
The sun was growing brighter. Zhao Hongwei suppressed his unwillingness to admit defeat and looked at Zhuozhuo. "It's not that I don't want to dig, it's just that there's nothing here. Let's go to the station first?"
Zhuozhuo lay on the rolled-up bed, revealing his fair and tender little face. His bright eyes twinkled adorably, and he said softly, "Zhao Hongwei is stupid. Only if you say 'Loach, loach, come out!' will the loach come out."
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
Zhao Hongwei suppressed his temper and said with a fake smile: "Loach doesn't understand human language."
Zhuozhuo pouted and said, "If you don't tell me, you won't be able to dig up any loaches."
Seeing that Zhuozhuo would not give up until he found the loach, Zhao Hongwei had no choice but to negotiate, "I'll say this. If I tell you and you still can't find the loach, we'll go to the station and not waste time here. If you agree, I'll tell you."
Zhuozhuo didn't want to agree and said confidently, "If Zhao Hongwei can't dig it out, Zhuozhuo can."
Zhao Hongwei immediately got furious. "If you dare to come down, I'll leave immediately!"
After she finished speaking, Zhuozhuo had already crawled halfway down from the bedding roll. Seeing that Zhao Hongwei's attitude showed no room for maneuver, she crawled back silently.
Zhao Hongwei just wanted to get out of this broken river channel as soon as possible. He looked around to see if there was anyone else, then he said to the mud with all his heart, "Loach, loach, come out!"
He flipped his hand and the tail of a loach flashed. He dug hard subconsciously, splashing mud everywhere, and dug out a big, thick, long, fat loach.
Zhuozhuo was pleasantly surprised but not surprised at all. He raised his chin proudly and said, "Look, the loach is coming!"
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
He felt his intelligence was insulted.
But I was truly relieved.
Zhao Hongwei pinched the loach and showed it to Zhuozhuo, "We found it. Can we leave now? We can't take the loach with us now, so I put it back."
He let go, and the loach fell into the mud and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Zhuozhuo looked at it and suddenly took two quick breaths. Tears welled up in his eyes and he cried heartbrokenly, "Zhuozhuo didn't bring the loach home, so my sister didn't get to eat it. Zhuozhuo dug for a long, long time, sob, sob, sob..."
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
He rinsed his hands in the river water, wiped them on his clothes, walked over and wiped them on Zhuozhuo's face, "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't cry after digging loaches?"
Zhuozhuo turned a deaf ear to it.
"Stop crying, or I'll feed you to the loaches."
Zhuozhuo paused in crying, and then cried even louder.
Children are really gifted when it comes to crying. They can start crying anytime and anywhere, get into the mood in a second, and are full of emotions and tears, and they have super long crying endurance.
Zhao Hongwei felt like he was about to be killed by Zhuozhuo's tears. He held his head in his hands dejectedly. A minute later, he looked at Zhuozhuo again and said earnestly, "Zhuozhuo, ancestor, what do you want? As long as you don't cry, I will do anything you ask."
Zhuozhuo sobbed and said, "My hand pricked Zhuozhuo's face, it hurts."
Zhao Hongwei understood for a moment, looked at his hands, rough and calloused from hard work, and at his tender, fair face, with its red scratches. Feeling guilty and short of breath, he whispered, "I won't touch your face anymore."
Zhuozhuo didn't respond, and it wasn't clear whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the answer.
Zhao Hongwei recalled, "You were crying on the road just now. Was it my hand that scratched your face and hurt you?"
Zhuozhuo nodded while crying, tears splashing everywhere with her movements.
Zhao Hongwei was a little angry, "Then why did you say you wanted loach?"
Zhuozhuo said haltingly but confidently, "My face hurts, I'm crying... Loach, cry too!"
Zhao Hongwei: “…”
Okay, you are awesome, your dad respects you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
