Chapter 12: Father Bai Lie (1)

Chapter 12: Daddy Bai Lie (1)

Er Ya patted her small chest.

"How could that be? Grandma, you already said we couldn't go, so how would we dare to go!" As she spoke, she stretched out her arms and legs. "Look, my clothes are all dry."

"That's good."

The old lady's voice was faint.

Shuyue, who didn't know what had happened outside, had already gone back into the room and fished out two strips of dried sweet potato.

The sweet potato strips were limp and torn into irregular shapes. One bite would pull out long, fibrous threads. By common standards, this stuff didn't seem very appetizing, but there's no harm without comparison. Compared to the wild vegetable gruel, the sweet potato strips, with their mild, chewy sweetness, were already quite good.

Shuyue ate slowly, taking small bites...

Outside the window on the back wall.

A young man stood by the window, his handsome, well-defined features slightly raised. Seeing this scene, the shallow smile in his glistening eyes froze for a moment, but it only lasted an instant before he returned to normal.

"Yo, is little Yue'er having a midnight snack?"

A low, magnetic, and lazy voice suddenly sounded not far away. Shuyue, who was biting into a sweet potato strip, was startled. She bit the bullet and turned around, only to see a young man propping himself up on the window frame and nimbly vaulting into the room.

Shuyue didn't dare to act rashly, her clean, clear, watery eyes blinking unceasingly.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, tall and sturdy. He wore a semi-old, patched Zhongshan suit with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The ankles of his work pants were torn in several places, and he looked travel-worn.

He completely overlapped with the blurry figure in her memories.

So...

This is her dad?

Thinking of what Er Ya said—that this man had gotten himself thrown into the police station for acting tough and fighting hooligans over a woman...

Shuyue felt that everything about Bai Lie seemed wrong.

Look at how nimbly he vaulted through the window; who would believe he wasn't used to climbing walls and windows?

Look at this face, which could easily score over ninety points, and that smile—how many young girls must this attract!

Look at the aura about him, which one couldn't tell if it was roguish or bandit-like...

Oh my!

How worrying!

Her head ached.

Unaware of what his daughter was worrying about, Bai Lie’s tense nerves relaxed the moment he saw Shuyue.

Getting taken to the police station this time wasn't a big deal, and he hadn't really been in any trouble.

But he had been locked up for the past few days, his personal freedom restricted!

Having lived here for so many years, Bai Lie knew exactly what the situation was like at home.

A four or five-year-old girl, suddenly arriving in a strange environment facing strangers, not used to the living conditions, having nothing tasty to eat or warm to drink, and perhaps being afraid of the dark at night—all Bai Lie could imagine were scenes of his tender, spirited little treasure bumping into things, getting hurt, going hungry, and wiping away tears of grievance.

Even...

What if, when no one was looking after her, she wandered off and got lost? What if she couldn't find her way back, or was deceived or kidnapped?

The more he thought about it, the more anxious Bai Lie became.

He felt some regret. He regretted being impulsive and sticking his nose into other people's business; wouldn't it have been better to let others go to hell?

He even thought, if he hadn't insisted on bringing her back and let her continue living at that uncle's house, would she still be eating well, dressing well, and living a comfortable life where she was waited on hand and foot?

Bai Lie thought a lot, and the more he thought, the more anxious he became, to the point where blisters formed on his lips.

Fortunately, when he returned, his daughter was still there.

Seeing the little girl healthy, spirited, pretty, and clean, all his fatigue vanished.

Bai Lie saw his daughter sizing him up. He raised an eyebrow, lowered his head, and, taking advantage of Shuyue's small hand, bit into the half-eaten sweet potato strip she was holding. He chewed it twice and swallowed it directly.

Shuyue didn't notice him frown while chewing; she just stared blankly at her own fair, empty little hand, her tense face instantly cracking.

Seriously!

He even steals food from a child!