Imperfect Desires

"Is this your way of comforting?" questioned Xin Zimen with a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Nah. I think bro and I are just trying to comfort ourselves," said Ah-Si. "You're the strongest person we know, you don't need comforting."

Xin Zimen rolled his eyes at these two sons of his, "I knew it!"

Xiao Li looked at his father and said, "Dad, it's because we can't comfort you. We can only remind you that you have us. As for us, we definitely need you to comfort us because we also only have you."

Xin Zimen scoffed, "When it comes to making life decisions, you both even tend to forget that I exist. And after messing up, you both want me to comfort you. I used to think you're not like your mother but I was wrong. You both are exactly like her."

Both Ah-Si and Xiao Li shared a look before shrugging their shoulders. They looked in the direction of Xiu who was still held in the arms of Xin Zemin and Zhao Huan, and Xiao Li sighed out in disappointment, "Dad, we can't adopt her anymore."

Xin Zimen's brows furrowed up and he said, "Why do we have to? Now, she's already your sister. If you dare let her be bullied again, I'm gonna tear you both apart."

Both of them flinched at their father's reaction and Ah-Si called out, "Yo, sis! Why is dad still biased towards you? No, it seems now he is even more biased than before."

Xiu looked in their direction and giggled saying, "That's because I'm so cute."

Everyone burst out laughing at cheekiness and Xin Zimen couldn't help agreeing, "Indeed. You're the cutest! It's still a mystery to me how such a cutie like you has such an uncute father."

"Little brother, do you have to drag me into this?" retorted Xin Zemin.

Zimen showed him a smile that wasn't really a smile and replied, "I wasn't lying and I wasn't talking to you either."

"But you're talking about me," reminded Xin Zemin.

"So?" was Zimen's response. "It's my mouth, I can talk about anything I want."

"Why are you always in the mood of an argument with me?"

Before they could continue, Xiu chimed in, "Do you both really hate each other?" Both Zemin and Zimen looked at her inquisitively. "It seems more like siblings are squabbling over nothing."

"Of course, I hate him!" Zimen hurriedly put forth his stance.

"Do you think my feelings changed? The more you act like it, the more I hate you," shot back Xin Zemin and both brothers ended up glaring at each other hatefully.

While Xiu was looking at them with a baffling look, Zhao Huan whispered, "You can simply ignore them. This will continue. It's very normal. They both really don't hate each other as much as they claim to but none of them is ready to have that discussion."

"Get used to it, sister! There'll be days when they both be at each other's throats. Just one piece of advice, don't ever choose sides when they are fighting."

Xiu nodded her head at Xiao Li's advice while Zimen stared his son down, "What nonsense are you telling her? She doesn't need to know any of that. Because she'd never had to choose sides." He took a pause and added, "Stop this nonsense and ask someone to clean up the villa beside ours."

Xiao Li's eyes brightened up, "Xiu is gonna live with us now?"

"Yes," replied Zimen.

"And who said that?" questioned Xin Zemin unhappily.

"I said that," was Zimen's reply. "In this condition, I'm not letting her stay anywhere else. She is either gonna live close to me or live with us in the same house."

"Just a reminder, she is my daughter!"

"Can you guarantee that you can keep her safe?" retorted Zimen. "Besides, I know more about her condition than you do. The doctor said to give her a peaceful environment. Living in a villa will be better with a garden view, fresh air, tranquil environment."

"Is he a mind reader?" questioned Xiu as she looked at her husband. "How does he know we were looking for a house?"

"Uncle Zi is not a mind reader, he is just unwilling to send you away."

Zimen didn't even feel embarrassed at being caught. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"

Darren hurriedly shook his head, "Definitely not. Uncle Zi is always right."

"So, it's settled."

"You!" Xin Zemin opened his mouth to say something but Zhao Huan held him back and shook her head gesturing him to not say anything. In the end, he could only sigh, "Fine. Don't think you won! It's just that my daughter is not against this idea. So, I'll reluctantly not say anything." He then looked at Darren and said, "It seems I got a son-in-law along with a daughter."

Darren flashed him a smile, "Yes, we come in a package."

"Hahahaha!"

"Is this a time for jokes?"

Darren gave his mother a nod, "Yes, it is! Or else they'll start arguing again."

"Son-in-law, you should not be worried about our arguments," said Xin Zemin. "You should be more worried about yourself. Now, you have two fathers-in-law to keep you in check."

"I think there is some miscalculation here," spoke up Darren.

"Miscalculation? How so?" questioned Zimen.

Darren looked at Xiu who was pursing her lips and added, "With the addition of you two, now I have three fathers-in-law. And all have the same agenda."

"Three?"

As soon as this question was asked, the door of the room was burst open. While everyone stared at the door in surprise, Darren reacted like it was the most obvious thing as he said, "Here comes the third one!"

Seeing the man at the door, Xiu's eyes brightened up, "Uncle Jing!" Yes, it was indeed Jing Ge who had come rushing here. He looked travel-worn, his hair was out of place but he didn't pay attention to anything else. He came straight to Xiu's side and hugged her.

"I'm getting a lot of hugs today," giggled Xiu while hugging him back.