Chapter 30: Daughter, Call Me Dad Again

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Daughter, Call Me Dad Again

She paused for a few seconds, then gently patted his back.

"Don’t cry. Look, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?"

Her voice was stiff.

But those words only made Shen Zhenwu break down even more.

He threw his head back abruptly, his body lurching forward so hard he nearly fell to his knees.

Tears and snot splattered onto the floor. He couldn’t care less about his appearance.

He lifted his sleeve to roughly wipe his face, then reached for Song Yao’s hand.

The thought of all the years of suffering his daughter had endured felt like a knife twisting in his heart.

Zhang Jianwei and the others were perceptive enough to quietly slip out of the room.

The moment the door closed, the room fell silent.

Song Yao stood beside him, not speaking, just patting his back again and again.

Finally, Shen Zhenwu raised an arm and messily wiped his face.

When he looked up again, the fury in his eyes was carefully hidden, replaced by pure joy.

"My girl, call me Dad one more time, will you?"

Song Yao’s toes unconsciously curled against the floor. She felt a little embarrassed.

The word "Dad" was still new to her.

She had never had a chance to say it before.

Nor had she ever imagined she would one day face a scene like this.

After all, a man like Song Shunqiang was completely unworthy of being sincerely called "Dad."

But looking into Shen Zhenwu’s expectant eyes, the image of him from just moments ago flashed through her mind.

He said he’d spent twenty years looking for her.

He said he was sorry, his face streaked with tears.

He said she was his pride, his voice firm and absolute.

And then, the word that had felt so awkward before slipped out with surprising ease.

"Dad."

"Yes!"

Shen Zhenwu answered immediately, so happy he nearly jumped for joy.

He slapped his thigh and repeated himself again and again.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

He stood up and spun around in place.

Then he stopped abruptly, grinning foolishly at Song Yao.

Song Yao scratched her head.

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

Shen Zhenwu grinned, his voice booming.

"Of course it is! This is the second happiest moment of my life!"

"Second?"

Song Yao raised an eyebrow.

"Then what was the first?"

Shen Zhenwu laughed heartily.

"What else could it be? The day you were born, of course! The sun was beautiful that morning, shining right into the room, making everything bright. Your mother had been so nervous, but the moment she heard you cry, all the worry vanished from her face."

"I was pacing outside the delivery room, my palms drenched in sweat. When the nurse came out and said mother and daughter were both safe and sound, my knees went weak. I held you the entire way home, terrified you’d get bumped or jostled. All I could think was, ’This little one is my daughter. I have to protect her for the rest of my life.’"

Song Yao froze.

She had never heard these stories before.

No one had ever told her that someone had once awaited her arrival into this world with such anticipation.

Her childhood memories held no warm scenes, only cold words and harsh remarks.

Now, listening to Shen Zhenwu ramble on about these old details, she felt a little unsteady on her feet.

She lowered her head and secretly pinched her palm, wanting to make sure this wasn’t a dream.

A real jolt of pain shot through her, and she realized this was what it felt like to be cherished.

"Oh my god, sweetheart, why are you barefoot?"

Shen Zhenwu’s voice suddenly shot up.

He frowned deeply and spun around, rushing toward the shoe cabinet.

He yanked the cabinet door open and pulled out a pair of cotton slippers.

"Put these on, quickly! Your back injury hasn’t fully healed, what if you catch a chill! The weather is so damp right now, and the floors are cold and damp. If this leads to a chronic problem, you’ll be the one suffering later!"

Song Yao was a little stunned.

’Growing up, who ever cared if I was cold or hungry? Even when my fever hit 102, all I got was a scolding: "Stop faking it."’

But this man in front of her, his expression had changed just from seeing her without shoes.

Her normally quick-witted mind felt like it had jammed, unable to process anything.

She subconsciously tried to brush it off.

"It’s fine. I have a strong constitution. A little cold won’t kill me."

"Don’t say that."

Shen Zhenwu’s voice grew hoarse.

"You have no idea how that girl from their family was treated in ours. When she ate fish, your mother would painstakingly pick out every single bone for her. She didn’t like radishes? We wouldn’t dare say a harsh word. I wanted to be a little stricter, but your mom would just glare at me until I backed down."

"If she so much as coughed twice, I’d say some medicine would be fine, but no, she absolutely had to be rushed to the hospital. We couldn’t hit her, couldn’t scold her. We treated her like a queen..."

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, and his eyes dimmed.

He wasn’t blaming the child, but hating himself for being too weak back then, for failing to protect his family.

SLAP!

The sharp sound exploded in the room. Song Yao was stunned.

Shen Zhenwu had just slapped himself hard across the face.

"I was such a fucking idiot! I should have just thrown her out! They did that to my own daughter, and I was still raising their brat for them! Was my head caught in a door?!"

Song Yao said nothing in response to his words.

She looked at Shen Zhenwu’s stooped back and suddenly felt he looked much older than she remembered.

But the stagnant pool of her heart finally stirred with ripples.

"That’s right..."

Her gaze lost focus.

’Why? On what grounds is she considered innocent? On what grounds should I forgive? On what grounds must I be magnanimous?’

The knot she could never untie in her past life was now being torn open by Shen Zhenwu in a completely different way.

"Innocent my ass! In my eyes, their whole family is filthier than the last! If it weren’t for that child, what could Liu Yumin have used to switch you? If the child was missing, who would have called me crazy? I would have called in my men and turned that hospital upside down! Couldn’t find you? Then I would have torn apart all of Yunan! There’s no way I wouldn’t have found you!"

The more Shen Zhenwu thought about it, the more he seethed with hatred.

Back then, he had screamed himself hoarse, but no one believed a word he said.

Everyone thought he was delirious from exhaustion, that he was hallucinating.

His wife, especially, not only refused to believe him but also accused him of causing trouble for no reason.

He was afraid of upsetting her, so he swallowed all his anger and endured it in silence.

CRASH!

A sudden noise of something hitting the floor came from outside, and they both whipped their heads around.

The door had opened at some point.

Shen Shuangshuang stood there, her face covered in tears, two food containers toppled on the floor by her feet.

She had originally come to deliver dinner.

Shen Zhenwu had been eating and sleeping in his office for the past two days.

She was worried his stomach problems would act up, so she had specially brought him some millet porridge from home.

When she reached the door, she had intended to just leave the food and go, but she heard the intense voices from inside.

She stopped and pressed her ear against the door, listening for a moment.

Then, she heard her own name.

Shen Zhenwu hadn’t expected her to come at all.

But he only frowned, showing no intention of backing down.

He knew she had heard, and he knew she would have to hear these words sooner or later.

Better to rip the bandage off face-to-face than to try and hide it.

Shen Shuangshuang asked, choking back sobs.

"Dad... what you just said... did you mean all of it?"

Just as Shen Zhenwu was about to speak, she clapped her hands over her ears and shrieked.

"Don’t say it! I don’t want to hear it!"

She stumbled back a few steps, turned, and ran with all her might.

Song Yao was at a loss for words.

Xiao Li scratched his head and blurted out a comment.

"What’s she crying for? Shouldn’t she be happy? She went from being the despised daughter of the Song Family to the pampered, treasured young lady of a wealthy one. That’s a pretty sweet deal."

Song Yao couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up.

"Xiao Li, you hit the nail on the head."

Only then did the others react, each pretending to study the ceiling or pick at their fingers.

No one suggested going after her.