Chapter 25 The Jealous Dad
When they got home, Xixi was still crying. She buried her face in Pei Yiyan's shoulder and wailed so loudly that the whole building could hear her. She looked like she had been abandoned by the whole world.
Pei Yiyan was conflicted. He accepted Xixi's identity as a little monster, but he did not believe that he was a tree spirit.
He is who he is, not a substitute for anyone else.
The little girl cried and called for the tree spirit father, making him feel as if his daughter had been taken away by someone else. He barely suppressed his displeasure and asked:
"You saw him?"
"I see it."
"Where?"
Xi Xi pointed at him with her finger and hummed, "Dad, behind Dad, Dad called Xi Xi baby and kissed Xi Xi's hand."
Pei Yiyan's face was grim. He touched the child's forehead; it wasn't hot.
Could it be that that damned tree spirit father is always by his side, waiting for a chance to steal his cub? Pei Yiyan felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on his back stood on end.
He couldn't help but hug the soft little thing in his arms tighter, and said coldly and stiffly, "You're mistaken, he's been dead for a long time."
The grass on the grave is already ten meters high.
"No way!"
Xixi remembered everything that had just happened clearly, and she firmly believed that her Tree Spirit father had appeared.
Xi Xi blinked away the tears on her eyelashes, a touch of peach pink tinged the tip of her nose, and denied with tears streaming down her cheeks: "Xi Xi can't be mistaken, Xi Xi saw it with both eyes."
“But he’s dead, isn’t he? How can someone who’s been dead for twenty years come back to life?” Pei Yiyan’s eyes were sharp, and he deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of two certain words, highlighting the fact about Xi Xi.
"You're just hallucinating because you're missing someone too much."
Xi Xi's little face puffed up like a pufferfish: "No, no, Daddy, you just can't see it. Xi Xi is a little monster, Xi Xi can see it!"
"So no one else can see it except you, right?"
Xi Xi opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly paused, her face lighting up with delight, and said, "No, the flowers and plants saw it too."
Flowers and plants are of the same kind as them. The aura of the Tree Spirit Father is like a sweet cream cake to the flower and plant race. Even ordinary flowers and plants that have not yet developed intelligence can sense it.
She rushed to the balcony and mumbled a string of words to the potted plants in the house.
Pei Yiyan: "Reciting scriptures?"
"I asked it in the demon language if it had seen the tree spirit father, and they said no." The little girl turned away dejectedly.
"See, I told you so." Pei Yiyan smiled and squatted down to wipe her face with a tissue. "You're still young. When you're older, you'll understand that Daddy was right."
Xi Xi: "But Xi Xi is already three hundred years old."
Pei Yiyan raised an eyebrow: "Three hundred years old is nothing. Real great demons are tens of thousands of years old."
"?"
"ah??"
The little monster was shocked: "Tens of thousands of years old, that must be incredibly old!"
Pei Yiyan led her to the sand and sat down, then turned on the TV and found the latest fantasy drama: "The male and female leads in this drama are 20,000 years apart in age. Do you think they look old?"
Good heavens! They've used so much skin smoothing that the under-eye bags have disappeared, the bridge of the nose is gone, and everyone's skin is more supple than a three-year-old's.
Xi Xi was deeply impressed when she first encountered a fantasy drama series.
It turns out that Tree Spirit Dad is just a two-thousand-year-old baby!
The Meng family.
With winter break coming to an end and the date she had agreed to fly to the United States with Song Ling drawing ever closer, Meng Zhiyao knew she couldn't delay any longer.
Whether she cowers or braces, she'll still get hurt; she has to make a decision today.
Meng Zhiyao stood at the top of the spiral staircase, gazing at the figure brewing tea in the living room downstairs. Her long eyelashes fluttered gently, and she resolutely took that step.
The warm, spring-like living room was filled with the rich aroma of rose tea. Song Ling held a gilded teacup in her slender, snow-white hand, leisurely sipping her tea.
Meng Zhi tugged at the hem of her clothes: "Mom, do you have time now? I want to discuss something with you."
"Yaoyao, you're awake! Come, sit next to Mommy." Song Ling gestured for her daughter to come over. "Did you sleep well?"
"I've been sleeping very well lately," Meng Zhiyao replied softly.
Thanks to Xixi.
Every night, she would place the small ginseng root that Xixi had given her by her pillow. She would sleep soundly through the night without any dreams, and wake up refreshed and clear-eyed all day long.
She used to feel weak and dizzy after practicing the piano for a while, but now she can practice for an extra hour without any problems. She seems to be integrating into the life of a healthy and normal person.
"That's good." Song Ling also felt that her daughter's complexion had improved recently; her lips were not as pale as before, and she was eating half a bowl more rice every day.
She gently stroked the back of her daughter's head with her soft, delicate hand: "Tell me, what do you want to discuss with Mom?"
"Mom, I," Meng Zhiyao took a few deep breaths, her bright almond-shaped eyes slightly raised, "I don't want to go to the United States for treatment anymore. I want to stay in China to take the college entrance examination and go to a university in China."
Song Ling's hand, which was gently stroking, paused, her expression stiffening, her beautiful face filled with astonishment:
"Why? Yaoyao, do you know what you're saying?"
Meng Zhi shook her head: "I know, Mom, I'm not a little kid."
Song Ling frowned, her chest heaving: "Then why did you suddenly change your mind? Didn't we agree to go abroad for treatment after the New Year?"
The plane tickets to the United States were booked before the new year, and they were supposed to board the flight to the United States next Monday. Song Ling was caught off guard by Meng Zhi's last-minute change of mind.
“Mom, my condition has improved a lot, and I don’t think it’s necessary to go abroad for treatment.” Meng Zhi shook her head and held Song Ling’s hand. “The domestic environment is more suitable for me to recuperate. I don’t want to go to America, where I don’t know anyone.”
"Nonsense."
Song Ling scolded in bewilderment: "Yaoyao, you can't be so willful. Mom has prepared everything long ago. Besides, if your illness could be cured in China, it would have been cured long ago. Why wait until now? Yesterday, they called from the United States, urging us to go there as soon as possible. There is a healthy heart waiting for you there. As long as you get a heart transplant, your illness will be cured."
Meng Zhiyao lowered her eyes and whispered, "What if we fail?"
Song Ling's heart skipped a beat.
She knew that heart transplant surgery was extremely risky, and even if the surgery was successful, the patient might fail due to severe rejection after the surgery.
However, without surgery, Meng Zhiyao's condition would only allow her to live for two more years at most. Doctors in the United States told her that the success rate of the surgery was 70%, and such a high success rate was hard for her to refuse.
She has to take a gamble.
“It won’t fail.” Song Ling’s eyes were cold as she said, word by word, “Yaoyao, be good, Mommy won’t hurt you.”
Meng Zhi shook off Song Ling's hand and said guiltily in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Mom, this time I want to listen to myself."
She can't leave; Xixi needs her mother, and she has a responsibility she needs to fulfill.
Meng Zhiyao left home amidst Song Ling's repeated questioning and accusations.
A cold wind brushed her face, and she silently wrapped her coat tighter around herself, walking silently through the bustling crowd. Because of her plan to go abroad for medical treatment, Meng Zhiyao had spent most of her free time visiting relatives and friends with her parents during the Spring Festival.
Now, being able to wander aimlessly and relax is a rare moment of leisure.
"Mother!"
It's Xi Xi and Pei Yiyan.
Meng Zhi shook herself awake. The little girl in front of her had two small pigtails, one tall and one short, with red butterfly hair clips. She was wearing a scarlet Hanfu jacket and skirt, with fair skin and black hair. She looked just like a pretty little princess.
She never imagined the world was so small, that she would run into the father and daughter in her most vulnerable moment.
Meng Zhiyao couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "Xixi, what are you doing here?"
Xixi pointed to her chest and said sweetly, "Because Mommy is unhappy here, Xixi and Daddy came to find you."
Meng Zhiyao's first reaction was that she and her daughter Xixi were of one heart, and she was immediately moved by the little one.
In reality, it was pretty much the same. The ginseng root that Xixi gave Meng Zhi could not only cure illnesses, but also monitor the other party's physical signs. When Meng Zhi was in a strong emotional state, Xixi would sense it even though she was thousands of miles away.
"Mommy, don't be sad. Let's go home. Xixi will protect you."
As the little girl spoke, she held Meng Zhi's hand with one hand and Pei Yiyan's hand with the other.
The child's straightforward and warm words touched Meng Zhiyao's most tender spot. Her nose tingled, her eyes reddened, and she obediently followed them home.
Pei Yiyan wasn't good at comforting people, so he poured her a glass of warm water with honey and went to the kitchen to cut a plate of fruit.
Looking at the carefully arranged fruit, Meng Zhiyao was surprised, and her impression of Pei Yiyan was refreshed.
"Mom, Dad cooks really well, why don't you stay?"
It was still early, just past four in the afternoon, but the little guy couldn't wait to invite her to stay.
Meng Zhi hesitated for a moment. Her family controlled her very strictly, and if she didn't come home for dinner, her parents would definitely come looking for her.
But looking into the little girl's expectant eyes, she suddenly felt that she was a very incompetent mother.
He neither spent time with Xixi every day, played with her, or told her bedtime stories, nor did they eat together more than a few times; he only gave her money every month.
Money is cold; it can't buy warmth.
Compared to her father, Pei Yiyan, Meng Zhiyao felt utterly ashamed of herself.
She nodded: "Okay, I'll stay."
I'll let Cheng Xiaocen know in a bit, and tell her that I'll have dinner at her house, so that Song Ling won't worry and come looking for her.
Xi Xi was overjoyed, probably not expecting Meng Zhiyao to agree so readily. She rushed into her mother's arms, hugging and kissing her. Pei Yiyan's indifferent eyes revealed a soft light.
He got up and put on his coat: "Then I'll go buy groceries, you two stay home and rest."
Meng Zhiyao was quite embarrassed, and stood up, saying, "Let's go with you."
It's freezing outside. She can't cook, but she can help carry the groceries. She can't just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor.
“That’s right, Dad, you don’t know what dishes Mom likes to eat. Let’s go pick them out with you!” Xi Xi said cleverly.
Pei Yiyan thought for a moment. The little girl had just cried, and it would be good for her to go out for some fresh air with Meng Zhiyao.
"Okay, let's go together."
Meng Zhiyao comes from a wealthy family. Apart from making some small desserts, she has never cooked properly and is completely clueless about food prices.
Pei Yiyan was originally like that, living a carefree life without worrying about anyone else, but this unrestrained, wandering life came to an abrupt end after he had a child.
Unable to find a satisfactory temporary nanny, he has recently taken on the main responsibility of caring for the child himself, including grocery shopping and cooking.
After this period of training, he memorized the price of each dish and even learned how to get a discount from the vendors based on personal connections.
Meng Zhi watched in stunned silence as Pei Yiyan haggled over the price of vegetables.
"Black-boned chicken is 70 yuan per catty. Our chickens are not raised on feed. The meat is tender and firm, and the taste is amazing."
"60 yuan per jin, the chicken skin is too fat, it's a feed chicken."
Meng Zhi shook her eyes so hard they almost pierced two holes in the chicken, but she still couldn't see the slightest difference.
He was such a man of few words, yet he could bargain so skillfully and effortlessly.
He can even tell whether the chickens have eaten feed or not. Did he install surveillance cameras on the chickens' heads?
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