The feeling of "home"
The next morning, Lan Tongtong was woken by the ringing of her cell phone. Seeing that the caller ID was Mo Zhichi, she sat up with a start and quickly answered the call, wondering about the effect of the card.
"Tongtong, are you up?" On the other end of the phone, Mo Zhichi's voice was filled with a hint of relief, and even a little bit of... rare excitement?
"Brother Mo, good morning! What happened?" Lan Tongtong asked impatiently.
"I gave it to her." Mo Zhichi said briefly, but in a relaxed tone. "I slipped it under her door just before dawn. She came out for breakfast just now. Although she didn't say much, she didn't turn her face away. She even ate my burnt eggs."
Lan Tongtong could almost imagine the slight smile on Mo Zhichi's face as he said this. She was genuinely happy: "That's great, Brother Mo! This is a great start!"
"But," Mo Zhichi's tone returned to its usual rigor, tinged with new confusion, "and then what? What should I do next? I can't just keep writing cards and frying mushy eggs to get by."
Lan Tongtong was amused by his words. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The weather is nice today. Why don't you take Xiaochi out to play? Don't just stay at home and stare at each other. Find a place she might be interested in?"
"Play?" Mo Zhichi seemed unfamiliar with the word. "Where to play? The playground? She's that old... shopping? I'm not good at that..."
Lan Tongtong tried hard to search for activities suitable for this special father and daughter: "Or... go hiking? The air is good, you can exercise, and you can talk on the way. Xishan is a good place, it's not high, and the scenery is nice." She felt that hiking, a relatively static activity that requires a little perseverance, might be more suitable for Mo Zhichi than a noisy playground.
"Climbing a mountain..." Mo Zhichi pondered for a moment, as if evaluating the feasibility of this plan. "Well, that's fine. I'll go ask her right away."
After hanging up the phone, Lan Tongtong silently wished for the best, hoping that this outdoor activity would further ease the relationship.
However, that afternoon, Lan Tongtong was processing tensioning data at the construction site when her phone rang again. It was Mo Zhichi. She picked up the phone, only to hear a breathless, sobbing female voice—Mo Xiaochi!
"Sister Tongtong! Help! No, Aunt Lan! Please come and take care of your brother!" Mo Xiaochi's voice was filled with exaggerated wails, "Is he playing with me? He's trying to kill me!"
Lan Tongtong's heart sank: "Xiao Chi? What's wrong? Tell me slowly, where's Brother Mo?"
"He's ahead! Like nothing happened!" Mo Xiaochi practically complained. "We agreed to climb West Mountain! But he took me straight to the Wild Great Wall! Is this a walkable path?! It's so steep it's like vertical! I've been climbing for three hours! My legs don't even feel like they belong to me! He said we're almost there, almost there, and he's said that eight hundred times! I won't trust him anymore! I'll never go out with him again, even if you kill me!"
Lan Tongtong was stunned, nearly bursting out laughing before quickly covering her mouth. She'd let Mo Zhichi take their daughter hiking, but she'd forgotten to consider that the chief supervising engineer might have a different definition of "mountain" and "climbing" than the average person. In his eyes, perhaps only challenging "unpaved paths" could be considered true mountain climbing; the park-like West Mountain wouldn't even register.
"Uh...Xiao Chi, you...you give the phone to Brother Mo." Lan Tongtong said while trying hard to suppress her smile.
After a while, Mo Zhichi's voice came from the other end of the line. It was still steady, but when you listened carefully, it seemed a little helpless: "Tongtong."
"Brother Mo..." Lan Tongtong didn't know what to say. "Why did you take Xiaochi to climb the Wild Great Wall? She probably doesn't get enough exercise. How could she handle this?"
"West Hill is too low and not challenging," Mo Zhichi said with a very good reason. "I've climbed this section of the Great Wall before when I was surveying the terrain. It's beautiful and it helps to strengthen your willpower. Young people, more exercise is good for you."
Lan Tongtong held her forehead in her hand. This father's thinking was indeed an engineering-style. "But Brother Mo, Xiao Chi isn't here for a field training exercise... She's here to cultivate a relationship with you! Now that you've exhausted her, how can she still be in the mood to enjoy the scenery and chat with you?"
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then Mo Zhichi's voice came, as if he had just realized the problem: "...What should we do now? We've already climbed more than halfway, and the way down the mountain is just as far."
In the end, under Lan Tongtong's "remote control", Mo Zhichi had to slow down, and with a combination of coaxing and deceiving (probably mainly deceiving), and promising countless big meals and gifts, he was able to reluctantly drag Mo Xiaochi, who was so tired that his soul was about to leave his body, down the mountain.
It is said that the first thing Mo Xiaochi did after coming down the mountain was to post a status on his WeChat Moments: "Lesson learned the hard way: Never go on any so-called 'leisure activities' with your engineer dad!!! [fainting face expression][sore muscles expression]" and posted a selfie of himself looking hopeless and Mo Zhichi's still upright but slightly innocent back in the distance.
Lan Tongtong finally burst out laughing when she saw this post on WeChat Moments. Although this mountain climbing "adventure" was full of twists and turns, perhaps this uniquely "Mo-style" companionship, both hilarious and heartwarming, will become an unforgettable, painful yet somewhat heartwarming memory between father and daughter. At least, they accomplished a "daunting" task together, didn't they?
On the evening of the second day after the mountain climbing incident, Lan Tongtong received another "urgent summons" call from Mo Zhichi. The reason was still high-sounding - "There are a few details of the first document that need final confirmation. Please come to the supervision office."
With the experience from last time, Lan Tongtong understood the situation tacitly. After reporting to Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao, she left the project department smoothly. When she arrived at the agreed location, she found Mo Zhichi's car waiting, with Mo Xiaochi sitting in the passenger seat, winking at her.
"Hurry up and get in the car, 'Blue Worker'!" Mo Xiaochi grinned as he opened the back door. "My dad said that to thank you for saving my life yesterday and to mend my broken heart, he's treating us to dinner and shopping tonight, and you have to come!"
Lan Tongtong looked at Mo Zhichi who was in the driver's seat. He coughed lightly, feeling a little awkward, and looked straight ahead: "Well, get in the car."
Dinner was at a well-known restaurant in an upscale shopping mall, boasting an elegant setting. When ordering, Mo Xiaochi was unceremonious, choosing only the expensive dishes. While ordering, she said to Lan Tongtong, "Sister Tongtong, don't be polite. Rip off my dad! He cheated me so much yesterday!"
Mo Zhichi let his daughter make a scene. Although his face was expressionless, his eyes showed indulgence. He even took the initiative to recommend a few of Lan Tongtong's signature dishes, which made her feel flattered.
After finishing the meal, Mo Xiaochi touched his stomach, feeling unsatisfied: "I'm full, time to digest the food - let's go shopping!" After saying that, he pulled Lan Tongtong and rushed to the brand store downstairs.
Mo Xiaochi was clearly an expert, wandering through the shops, trying on clothes, shoes, and bags with great enthusiasm. Not only did she choose for herself, she also dragged Lan Tongtong along to try them on.
"Sister Tongtong, try this windbreaker. You're tall, so it will definitely look good on you!"
"The color of this skirt really suits you!"
"These shoes are completely different from the ones you usually wear on the construction site!"
Lan Tongtong was usually used to wearing work clothes and casual clothes, but after being dressed up like this by Mo Xiaochi, she looked at herself in the mirror with a completely new look and was a little unrecognizable. Mo Zhichi sat in the rest area of the store, quietly reading a magazine, occasionally looking up at them. When Mo Xiaochi asked him loudly, "Dad, how about this one?", he would take a closer look and then give a concise evaluation: "It's okay." Or "The color is too bright."
In the end, Mo Xiaochi picked out a whole bunch of loot for herself. When checking out, she pointed to a few clothes and a pair of shoes that Lan Tongtong had tried on and that clearly fit her perfectly, and she had a look of fondness in her eyes. She said to Mo Zhichi, "Dad, these, and these, let's buy them together!"
Lan Tongtong was startled and quickly waved her hands: "No, no! Xiaochi, I really don't need it! I have clothes to wear!" The price tags of those clothes made her shudder.
Mo Zhichi had already taken out his bank card and gestured to the clerk, "Pack them all up."
"Brother Mo! This is too expensive! We really can't accept it!" Lan Tongtong's face turned red with anxiety, and she stepped forward to stop him.
Mo Zhichi turned his head and looked at her. His tone was the kind of unquestionable calmness common on construction sites, but with the decisiveness of a "domineering president": "I bought it for you, so take it. It's... a thank you for your help. It's also a little token of my appreciation."
"But……"
"No buts." Mo Zhichi interrupted her, having already signed the bill. "Xiaochi is right. Girls should have a few decent clothes."
Mo Xiaochi proudly took Lan Tongtong's arm and winked at her. "See, my dad is quite sensible sometimes. Just accept it, Sister Tongtong, or he'll be too embarrassed to discuss information with you next time."
Carrying her bags, Lan Tongtong walked out of the mall with mixed feelings: uneasy about the unexpected generous gift, yet warmed by the thoughtfulness of the Mo family father and daughter. She quietly took out her phone and tried to transfer money to Mo Zhichi.
Mo Zhichi seemed to have eyes on his back, and without even turning his head, he said, "Don't turn around. If you do, I'll think you look down on me as your brother."
Lan Tongtong's fingers froze on the screen, staring at the tall, slightly stubborn figure in front of her. Finally, helplessly yet moved, she put away her phone. This feeling of being strongly cared for was both unfamiliar and endearing.
On the way home, Mo Xiaochi, sated with victory, fell asleep in the car seat. The car was quiet. Lan Tongtong stared at the neon lights outside the window, then glanced through the rearview mirror at Mo Zhichi, who was concentrating on driving. This seemingly cold and hard man, in his clumsy yet incredibly practical way, was carefully mending his relationship with his daughter and expressing his sincere gratitude to his "godsister."
Perhaps this is what family is. Within the rules are principles; beyond them, there's his quietly expressed, unexpressed warmth, weightless yet as heavy as a mountain. Tonight, I gained more than just a few new clothes; I also gained a profound sense of belonging called "family."
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