Upon noticing the scowl on his father’s face, Dabao hurriedly said, “Mommy, Daddy’s right too…”
“I know he’s right. But he’s just saying that to spite me,” Ning Ran snapped.
Sensing the tense atmosphere between his parents, Dabao did the only thing he could think of. “Shall we call it a night? I’m kinda tired and sleepy.”
“Alright. Children should get more sleep so they can grow big and strong!” Ning Ran agreed.
After taking a shower, Ning Ran flopped on her bed, prepared to play on her phone for a bit before going to sleep. At that moment, Nan Chen entered the room.
He had been particularly argumentative tonight, a fact that pissed her off.
Rolling her eyes at him, she growled, “What are you doing here?”
“This house is mine. This bedroom is also mine. In fact, everything here is mine,” he threw back.
“I know they all belong to you. You don’t need to put so much emphasis on it. If I had known back then that this was your house, I wouldn’t have moved here! You can take it back if you want to!”
Nan Chen frowned at her irritable words. What’s wrong with her tonight? Her temper’s out of control!
“The report’s out,” he informed.
“What report?”
“The paternity test report.”
“What paternity test report?”
He did not bother replying and simply waited for her to come up with the answer herself.
A few seconds passed before she abruptly recalled what Ning Ziqiang had said a while ago. He had told her she was not his biological daughter.
At the time, Nan Chen had said they would run a DNA paternity test.
He must be referring to that report.
“Where is it? I want to see!” Anxiety welled in her.
“What was with your attitude just now?” he demanded.
She paused in surprise. Is he threatening me?
“I wasn’t being very nice just now but that was because you were…”
He cut her off, “What was your attitude?”
“Fine! My attitude was horrible.”
For the sake of getting that report, she would endure.
“Horrible in what way?”
Gritting her teeth, she had to restrain herself from leaping to her feet in anger. He’s really pushing it!
However, judging from the hard look on his face, she knew he would not let her off so easily.
I have to act a little more humble!
“I shouldn’t have talked back to you. I shouldn’t have said you were spoiling the kids…”
“I am spoiling them though. Why shouldn’t you have said that?”
Err, what? What trickery is this? How am I supposed to answer that!
“You can do whatever you like. Whatever you do is always right,” she managed to murmur vaguely.
“And why am I always right?”
“Because you’re Sir Chen.”
By that point, Ning Ran felt like she was as insignificant as a speck of dust. At this rate, she would rather not read the report.
It’s not like I actually want that man as my father. Who cares if I’m not his biological daughter!
Thankfully, he stopped bullying her and left the room.
A short while later, he returned with the report and handed it to her.
She ignored the technical jargon and skipped right to the conclusion. It showed that she really did not have any relation to Ning Ziqiang at all.
Even though she had been expecting this, her knees still wobbled, threatening to give out from under her. She felt empty like everything had been scooped out of her, leaving nothing but a hollow shell behind.
Setting down the report, she headed for the window and stared out at the lights in the courtyard. Unbidden, tears trailed down her cheeks.
Ning Ziqiang had never been a very good father. On the contrary, he could even be said to be a terrible father.
Losing such a man as a father honestly did not bother her much.
And yet, here she was, crying because of that man.
The last connection to her family was gone.
The only thing that had been linked to those memories of her past was Ning Ziqiang.
Now, even he was gone.
She was weeping, not because she had lost a father, but because she felt like she had been cut off from her past.
Like a dandelion, she was left adrift in the winds with nothing to root her to the ground. She did not know where she had come from or where she would end up.
With her back toward him, Nan Chen could not see her face.
Even so, he knew that she was crying.
A wave of regret crashed over him at his earlier actions. He should not have bullied her so.
Then again, he had not actually meant to bully her. He was just trying to tease her. But he was not very good at being playful. That was why everything he did always came out wrong.
He did not comfort her. Like a shadow, he sat there silently as he kept her company.
Ten minutes later, Ning Ran slowly turned back around. Her face was back to normal, not a hint of grief or tears were in sight.
“Thank you for helping me with this,” she murmured courteously.
Nan Chen was distinctly unnerved by her sudden and uncharacteristic politeness. She had always been rather disrespectful toward him that he had long since gotten used to her crude attitude.
“You’re welcome. That man is not worthy of being your father anyway.”
He was clearly uncomfortable and at a loss on how to comfort her. That was not surprising as he had always dealt with his sadness alone. He had never needed anyone to console him.
“I know. I’m not sad because of him,” she answered.
After a short pause where Nan Chen kept silent, she continued, “I just feel so sorry for my mother. She was a good woman who chose to give birth to me because she loved me. But why didn’t she ever tell me that Ning Ziqiang was not my father?”
Even though Nan Chen did not say anything, she still felt like she had to get these words off her chest. Otherwise, she would never be able to sleep tonight.
“Maybe I was too young and my mother was afraid that I wouldn’t understand. But she still should have told me when I was a little older. Why did she keep this a secret from me?”
At last, Nan Chen spoke up, “She probably had her reasons.”
“What should I do now? My mother is dead and I don’t even know who my biological father is. Other people might not think this is important and I’m inclined to agree. However, I at least need to know where I came from, right? I’m human, not a piece of floating duckweed!”
Near the end, she was so agitated she was nearly shouting.
“I’ll find out for you,” Nan Chen promised calmly.
“My mother’s dead. Where are you even going to start? It’s impossible.”
“There are always clues.”
“That reminds me! My mother left me a USB drive a long time ago. Luo Fei said she was going to give it to me but kept forgetting. I wonder if Ning Ziqiang knows where that USB drive is now. If we can find it, there might be some clues on it.”
“I’ll find it for you.”
His words had her breathing a sigh of relief. If it had been anyone else, she might have thought they were empty promises.
However, this was Nan Chen. The words coming out of his mouth were a solemn promise and she trusted him to keep it.
“Thank you.”
“You know, Ning Ziqiang might have an idea of who your biological father is. It’s just whether he’s willing to say or not. If he does know something, I’ll think of a way to make him talk.”
Lost for what else to say, she thanked him again.
“Go to sleep. Don’t think about it so much.”
“Okay.”
Just then, Ning Ran’s phone rang. Wondering who would call in the middle of the night, she brought her phone closer to check the screen.
Speak of the devil…
“It’s Ning Ziqiang. Should I answer?” she asked Nan Chen.
“Yes. Let’s see what he has to say. There must be a reason why he called you so late at night.”
