Chapter 10 Does Your Father Like You?

An'an couldn't quite understand why, but she suddenly felt an urgent need to show off her father in front of Doudou.

Doudou, thinking about that tall and handsome uncle, rolled her eyes and asked, "Does your dad like you?"

An'an lifted his chin and replied in a tone that left no room for doubt, "Of course he does."

Doudou thought An'an was boasting. "If your dad liked you, he would have come back to claim you long ago."

Hearing this, An'an's little face instantly darkened with displeasure, but he still argued, "That's not true! He's just busy with work. He came to see me yesterday, and he'll come again tonight. He'll come every day from now on."

Doudou pursed her lips skeptically. "I don't believe you."

An'an didn't want to talk to Doudou anymore. "Believe it or not, I'm going to read now. You can go."

Doudou made a face at An'an. "So what if you have a dad? You still don't have any friends."

An'an didn't care at all. "I don't need friends."

After what happened last time, Doudou didn’t dare try to snatch An'an’s things again. She glanced longingly at the robot clutched in An'an’s hands, then reluctantly left.

It wasn't until Doudou had left the room that An'an finally sighed in relief.

…

After finishing her work, Shen Qingyi walked out of her room and saw An'an happily playing with the robot in his hands.

She hadn't expected the robot to actually walk and talk. Curious, Shen Qingyi moved closer for a look. An'an immediately picked up the robot and held it up to her, showing off, "Mom, look, this robot can use batteries!"

Shen Qingyi was intrigued. "Did you put them in yourself?"

An'an blinked his big eyes and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"He didn’t teach you yesterday?" From the way her son spoke, it sounded as if he’d only just discovered this.

"Who?"

"Your dad!" Perhaps out of habit, Shen Qingyi still felt a little awkward saying those three words.

An'an smiled. "When he put the robot on the table yesterday, we weren’t talking to him at all."

Shen Qingyi had a bad feeling. "Then where did you get the batteries?"

An'an pointed at the small radio on the table. "I took them out of the little radio Uncle Xia brought over."

After saying this, he hurried to explain, "I didn’t break it. I put it all back together. Once I’m done playing, I’ll put them back."

Shen Qingyi knew her son liked to take things apart and put them back together, so she nodded. "Make sure you put them back later. Mom wants to listen to the radio."

An'an pouted, bargaining, "Can I do it tomorrow?"

"Why?" Shen Qingyi raised her eyebrows.

An'an replied softly, "When Dad comes tonight, I want to ask him if there are other ways to play with this robot."

Shen Qingyi smiled. "Alright!"

She hadn’t expected that yesterday her son had been so resistant, but today he had not only accepted everything, but was even looking forward to it.

Without thinking too much about it, she went to the kitchen to cook. After lunch, while An'an napped, he woke up and ran off to the backyard to look at the grapevines.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingyi took a book and sat in a bamboo chair in the backyard, reading while keeping an eye on her son.

At that moment, Doudou’s mother, Wang Chunlian, approached carrying a small bamboo basket. She wore a smile, none of her previous arrogance remaining, and Doudou trailed behind her.

"Qingyi, what happened the other day was really a misunderstanding. My mother-in-law brought some eggs from the countryside yesterday. I brought them for An'an, to help him grow strong," Wang Chunlian said in a flattering tone, setting the basket on the table.

An'an didn’t move. Shen Qingyi put down her book, walked over, picked up the basket that had just been set down, and handed it back to Wang Chunlian. "Sister Wang, since Doudou admitted her mistake in front of everyone the other day, I'll count it as her apology. Take the eggs back."

Wang Chunlian didn’t take them. She smiled, "Are you still upset? Kids fight and make up—it's normal. We’ve been neighbors for years; there’s no need to hold grudges."

Shen Qingyi kept a polite smile on her face. "Given our family’s situation, there’s really nothing we can do to help others right now."

After so many years as neighbors, she knew exactly what kind of person Wang Chunlian was.

Having her intentions guessed, Wang Chunlian looked a bit embarrassed and forced a laugh. "Oh, it's nothing really, just one word from Engineer Lu is all that's needed."

Doudou’s father worked under Lu Yan. Today, after Doudou went home talking about how nice An'an’s dad was to him and how he’d been coming around lately, Wang Chunlian finally got the idea.

Shen Qingyi had already expected this. She shoved the basket back into Wang Chunlian’s hands. "Sister Wang, I can’t help you with this."

Wang Chunlian frowned. "Qingyi, about what happened the other day, please... don’t take it to heart. What do you want me to say to make it up to you?"

Shen Qingyi’s smile stayed gentle, but her eyes held no warmth. "No need. Just as before is fine."

Wang Chunlian didn’t take the basket, but stepped back a couple of paces, glancing around. To be honest, life here seemed pretty good; who else in the neighborhood had a fridge or a pressure cooker in their kitchen?

She laughed again, "Doudou was just talking nonsense with the others. If Lu Yan really didn’t recognize An'an, he wouldn’t have been sending his salary home to you both all these years."

Noticing Wang Chunlian’s roving eyes, Shen Qingyi could guess what she was thinking. She didn’t bother to deny or confirm anything. "I need to get dinner started. If you don’t want me to bring the eggs back to your place, you’d better take them now."

Wang Chunlian’s expression turned awkward. "Well... I’ll take Doudou home then. If you ever need anything, just give us a shout next door."

With that, she left.

Shen Qingyi called out to An'an, "Mom’s making rice and vegetables for dinner. Do you want to help or keep watching the grapes?"

An'an ignored her, and Shen Qingyi knew he’d rather stay with the grapevines.

She turned and went to the kitchen.

After putting the rice on to steam and washing and chopping the vegetables, she checked her watch—it was almost seven. He should be here soon.

An'an was already sitting on the sofa in the living room, waiting.

Shen Qingyi finished cooking and set the dishes on the table. She saw An'an clutching the robot, running to the door every so often to look out. She called, "An'an, come eat."

An'an turned around, disappointed, set the robot down on the sofa, and sat at the table, listless.

"Alright, An'an, maybe something came up. Let’s eat," Shen Qingyi said softly. She didn’t feel particularly let down herself, but seeing the look on her son’s face, she couldn’t help but feel a little resentful.

An'an picked up his chopsticks and ate without saying a word, chewing slowly.

Shen Qingyi put some duck meat in his bowl and coaxed him gently, "Eat up—eating well will help you grow tall."

An'an looked at her. "Mom, why aren’t you sad?"

Shen Qingyi smiled. "I only get sad when you’re unhappy, An'an."

An'an didn’t quite understand, but he didn’t want his mother to be sad. He quickly shoveled rice into his mouth.

After dinner, An'an obediently returned to the sofa, not touching the robot again, but watching TV quietly instead, while Shen Qingyi washed the dishes in the kitchen.

At that moment, Doudou passed by An'an’s door, looking left and right. Then she called out loudly, "An'an, has your dad come yet?"