RIRW – Chapter 176

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When it came to the matter of the newspaper announcement, Wang Sinan felt even worse. Her father didn’t just kick her out of the house — he even published a notice in the paper letting everyone know he no longer wanted her as his daughter.

With reddened eyes, Wang Sinan angrily asked, “Was it you, Chen Pingping? Were you the one who spoke badly of me in front of my dad?”

Chen Pingping looked at her with contempt. “I couldn’t be bothered to talk bad about you. My Fifth Uncle already made it clear long ago: he’d only raise you two until you became adults. He didn’t take you in because he liked you — it was to repay the kindness your parents showed him back then. That debt is paid now, and you still want to cling on? Wang Sinan, let me tell you, don’t think just because my Fifth Uncle isn’t one to lose his temper that you can freeload off him. Our Chen family won’t allow it.”

“Why? What did I do wrong? Why doesn’t he want me anymore? I’ve always been obedient. I always listened to him. Even though he never cared about me, I never blamed him. I knew he was busy with work and couldn’t be with me. All these years, he’s hardly even had a few meals with me. And I never resented him. So why doesn’t he want me now?”

Tears streamed down Wang Sinan’s face as she sobbed in grievance.

Chen Pingping looked at her and curled her lips. Her Fifth Uncle wasn’t too busy to care — he just didn’t want to. Just look at now: even when going out to meetings, he brings his grandson along.

That’s the difference between obligation and true kinship.

“You two aren’t homeless, so go back to your own place. I’m going to bed.”

Wang Nianjiang walked over helplessly and tugged Wang Sinan. “Sinan, let’s go home.”

“I want to see Dad,” Wang Sinan cried. She was part of the Fifth Branch of the Chen family — she didn’t want to be a member of the Wang family.

“Zhang Ma, see the guests out,” Chen Pingping said to the housekeeper nearby. She couldn’t be bothered with these two anymore. Speaking of which, there was still an empty room at the Shen family’s place. She wondered if moving over there would make her unwelcome. But she didn’t eat much, was usually quiet, and was somewhat educated — she could even help Shen Youyou with her homework. If she moved in, she might be able to contribute in some way.

This big empty house — she really didn’t want to live here anymore.

Zhang Ma escorted the two out. “Don’t come back. Sir doesn’t live here anymore either. Coming here won’t do you any good.” Then she shut the door.

They weren’t even his biological children, yet he raised them to adulthood and gave them such a good environment. For poor folks like them, this kind of kindness should’ve been more than enough. If it were her, she’d feel grateful.

Outside, Wang Sinan and Wang Nianjiang stood quietly. After a long silence, listening to Wang Sinan’s sobs, Nianjiang felt increasingly agitated. But the matter was settled. The newspaper had published the announcement severing ties — from now on, they were no longer related.

He grabbed Wang Sinan’s arm. “Sinan, let’s go back.”

“Brother, are we no longer members of the Chen family?” Wang Sinan looked at him.

Wang Nianjiang shook his head. “Sinan, we were never really part of the Chen family. Don’t go looking for Dad again. If you make him angry…”

He didn’t want to leave the Chen family either. Or leave Chen Zhisen — the man he had always respected and looked up to. How he wished he were Chen Zhisen’s biological son, able to receive his direct guidance, and grow into someone as outstanding as him.

But he wasn’t. He was just a farmer’s son. Running through his veins was the most ordinary kind of blood.

The next morning, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming officially began classes. Although they woke up early, they were still later than Chen Zhisen and Shen Youyou — when they came out, grandfather and grandson were already walking in the courtyard. Chen Zhisen even had a foreign book in hand, teaching Shen Youyou. Whether Youyou understood or not didn’t seem to matter — Chen Zhisen was enjoying himself.

As for Grandma, she was nowhere to be seen. When the housekeeper saw them awake, she quickly brought over breakfast.

While Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming were eating, Grandma came back from outside. She was dressed in loose clothing that looked like specially made exercise wear and was holding a peachwood sword.

“Grandma, where did you go?” Zuo Dan asked in surprise.

Grandma set down the sword. “Your dad got me this outfit and a peachwood sword. I went for a walk in the nearby park and practiced a bit with some old neighbors. Felt pretty good. I need to eat quickly and go back to the park to train with them again later.”

Zuo Dan glanced at Chen Zhisen, who was coaxing Shen Youyou to walk in the courtyard. She leaned in and whispered to Grandma, “Grandma, my dad spends time with Youyou every day — doesn’t that bother you? If you mind, I can go talk to him.”

Grandma looked curious. “Why would I mind?”

“Aren’t you worried that Youyou will become closer to Dad?”

Grandma shrugged carefreely. “So what if he does? He’s still a grandson of the Shen family. Besides, I’m old now — whether I’ll even live to see him grow up is uncertain. It’s good for him to be close with your dad. More love from an elder never hurts. It’s even better for a boy to be raised around male elders. And now I’m free and unburdened — I get to do tai chi, practice swordplay, and chat with others. Life’s been wonderful. Dandan, don’t overthink things.”

“…” Zuo Dan felt like she really was overthinking it. How come in other families, grandmas and maternal grandmas fought over the child, but in her family, that just didn’t seem to happen?

Because Chen Zhisen was going to renovate the bathroom at home, Xiao Qiu brought the workers over early in the morning.

With so many people at home, Chen Zhisen didn’t plan to stay with the kids. Instead, he planned to take Shen Youyou out to visit friends. After telling Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming that he wouldn’t be coming back for lunch, he took the child and left by car.

Shen Youyou happily clung to Chen Zhisen’s shoulder and waved goodbye to his mom and dad. “Daddy, goodbye! Mommy, goodbye!”

Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming: “……”

When Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming left for class, Xiao Qiu was still negotiating with the workers on how to make the house more convenient without altering the overall structure or appearance.

After they got on their bicycle, Zuo Dan wrapped her arms around his waist. “Shen Yiming, I think it’s actually a good thing Dad is making some changes to the house. It’ll be more convenient for us in the future. You don’t have any objections, do you?”

As a smart wife, she needed to maintain a good relationship between her husband and her natal family. She had noticed that her father seemed to exert some unspoken pressure on Shen Yiming. So she wanted to ease his feelings.

“What objection could I have? Dad is actually being considerate of our feelings. If he were a little more forceful, he wouldn’t be living with us — we’d be moving in with him instead. The fact that he takes my feelings as a son-in-law into account — I’m quite satisfied with that,” Shen Yiming said helplessly.

Hearing the helplessness in his tone, Zuo Dan covered her mouth and giggled. “You’re younger than him, with decades less life experience. It’s normal to lose out a little.”

Shen Yiming also laughed. “Fathers-in-law rarely treat sons-in-law kindly. Back when we got married, wasn’t Zuo Dad also unhappy with me? Not to mention this is just Chen Dad, who’s only recently recognized his daughter. Chen Dad is willing to take care of Shen Youyou and even raise him by his side — I really am grateful. I don’t have to worry about anything at home anymore. Once we start working, we’ll definitely be busy, and we won’t have time to teach our kid. Now, at least, that’s off our plate.”

“Yeah, it’s really great this way,” Zuo Dan agreed sincerely. “Comrade Yiming, I suddenly feel like I’m so lucky. I have two dads who love me so much.”

Then thinking of Shen Yiming’s own father… Zuo Dan hugged him tightly. “Yiming, I’ll be good to you and love you.”

Shen Yiming grinned mischievously, “Great. Then show me that love tonight.”

“…!” Zuo Dan gave him a hard pinch. “You scoundrel!”

After the long holiday, when they returned to school, Zuo Dan quickly got back into her routine.

After class, Professor Qin called her in for a chat and said she wanted Zuo Dan to come with her to an elementary school for a site visit.

After all, book knowledge needed to be tied to real-life practice. As her star pupil, Professor Qin was willing to invest effort in nurturing her.

Zuo Dan was immediately excited and promised to write a field report after the visit.

Back in the classroom, Xiang Honghua ran over to her. “Dandan, have you heard the news?”

“What news?” Zuo Dan opened her textbook to preview the new material.

Xiang Honghua said excitedly, “It’s about that Chen Sinan — her adoptive father has publicly announced in the newspaper that he’s severed ties with her. She’s now called Wang Sinan. I heard from someone in my department that she didn’t even show up to class yesterday. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to adopt someone like that either.”

Zuo Dan had already known about this and wasn’t surprised. But she still disapproved of the fact that Wang Sinan had skipped school. So many people don’t even have the chance to study.

Still, for someone like that, as long as she didn’t cause trouble for her, Zuo Dan wouldn’t bother getting involved.

“Honghua, people who don’t cherish their chance to go to school — let’s just not bother with them,” Zuo Dan said indignantly. “I feel ashamed on behalf of people like that.”

Xiang Honghua: “…” Zuo Dan really only focused on the fact that Wang Sinan wasn’t going to school. As expected, she wasn’t someone to hold grudges. Her mind was solely on her studies.

At noon, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming biked home for lunch. The workers were still working. Zuo Dan checked in and estimated the renovations would be done in a couple of days. After that, they’d have a toilet and shower at home.

Shen Youyou and Chen Zhisen weren’t home. Only Grandma and Chen Pingping were there.

During the meal, Chen Pingping kept sighing. Zuo Dan raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

Chen Pingping, looking miserable, said, “Dandan, why haven’t you asked me why I’m sighing?”

Zuo Dan replied, “I figured you’d tell me yourself.”

“… Dandan, I was late to school today,” Chen Pingping said with a distressed expression.

“Huh? Don’t you usually leave really early?” Zuo Dan asked in surprise. Chen Pingping had never been late back when they attended class together.

Chen Pingping said in frustration, “Yeah, because before, my fifth uncle always got up early. But now I live alone, and my house is far from here, so I ended up late.” She looked at Zuo Dan. “Dandan, if I could go to school with you, I wouldn’t be late. And on weekends, I could help you take care of the child too.”

Zuo Dan: “…” She only had one child. Did she really need that many people to help raise him? She looked at Shen Yiming, who just smiled and said nothing.

After swallowing a mouthful of food and taking a sip of soup, Zuo Dan smiled and said, “There’s still an empty room at home. Come stay for a few days and see if you like it.”

“Of course I’ll like it. I think the courtyard house is great. Way more comfortable than the western-style house. You have no idea how empty and lifeless that other house feels,” Chen Pingping said happily. “And Wang Sinan even came back to the western-style house looking for trouble. I didn’t sleep well at all.”

Hearing that, Zuo Dan frowned. “Didn’t they sever ties? Why is she still going back there?”

“She can’t bear to part with the good life at the Chen household, of course. When my fifth uncle returns, I’m definitely going to tell him about this. Don’t worry about it. Let Xiao Qiu handle it.”

“How’s Xiao Qiu going to handle it?”

“Send her to Africa to dig mines,” Chen Pingping said with a grin.

Zuo Dan burst out laughing. She really liked Chen Pingping’s sense of humor.