My Dad is My Mom’s Mortal Enemy

Cheng LiQi saw that her dad and mom were not saying anything, thinking she had guessed right, she shook her finger at her dad, "Dad, you can't climb over the wall, it's dangerous, you might hurt your leg," she whispered into her dad's ear, "Dad, you can use a ladder, with a ladder you don't have to worry about hurting your leg."

Shao ChengZe laughed out loud, amused by his precious daughter's uncanny words, he ruffled her fluffy bangs, "Dad knows, we happen to have a ladder at home, when Dad wants to see little LiQi, I'll just climb over with the ladder."

Cheng LiQi happily nodded, it would be so fun to have Dad come over on a ladder to see her.

Shao ChengZe didn't actually need to climb over walls now, but it was barely any better than that, coming and going in the dark of night, not allowed to be seen by anyone, he was still a man that couldn't stand the light of day.

But things had to be taken one step at a time, at least now he had some "status" with her, legitimate reasons, if she accepted his ring, it would be even more legitimate.

Too bad...the ring was returned, this box had been sitting in Cheng Jinlan's bag the whole time, last night was too chaotic, she forgot to give it to him, when the father and daughter were talking about climbing over walls versus using ladders, she remembered.

Seeing the small box pushed over to him, Shao ChengZe knew what was inside, it was the expected result. Rejected this time, next time he'd look for an opportunity to propose again. For a proposal, his psychological expectation was to try at least ten times, with no upper limit.

Seeing the small box, Cheng LiQi thought it was a gift Mom gave Dad, she scratched her forehead, feeling a little awkward, "Dad, I didn't prepare a gift for you."

She had only received so many gifts from Dad, with nothing prepared to give back.

Shao ChengZe squeezed her little hand, "Little LiQi coming to the airport with Mom to pick up Dad is already the best gift, you even gave Dad flowers, it was Dad's first time receiving flowers from someone else."

The corners of Cheng LiQi's mouth curled up high, oh right, she gave Dad beautiful flowers.

"I picked the flowers, Mom paid, it was from me and Mom together to Dad."

The corners of Shao ChengZe's mouth bent into the same arc as hers, "Dad really liked them."

They didn't eat dinner together, Shao ChengZe said he had a dinner appointment that night, would put down his luggage and immediately head out. This line finally got a proper look from Cheng Jinlan, he was sensible enough to know to make an excuse on his own, without needing her to say anything.

Although Shao ChengZe really wanted to have a family dinner with the three of them, sometimes you had to advance inch by inch, sometimes you also needed to quit while you were ahead. Her agreeing to come to the airport to pick him up was already an unexpected joy, if he insisted on having dinner together now, it would likely cause her to resent it.

After Shao ChengZe returned home, just as he finished showering, he got a call from his mom telling him to go to Songlin Apartments as soon as he finished his business, she would be waiting for him there.

From his mom's tone, Shao ChengZe thought something had happened with Shen XiWen. As soon as he entered the door without even changing his shoes, a face full of feathers greeted him.

With one hand blocking the feather duster, and the other supporting his mom, he didn't know where her anger came from, "Unlike other mothers who would hit their kids, you specifically aim for the face, what offense has my face caused you?"

Lv Siwei spat at him, "You still have the cheek, your dad's face, and our Lv family's reputation have nearly been ruined by you."

"What's happened?" This was the first time Shao ChengZe saw his mom so furious.

Lv Siwei pointed at his nose with the feather duster, "Don't you have a daughter?"

Shao ChengZe was stunned, "Who told you?"

Lv Siwei whacked him hard on the back with the feather duster, "Just answer yes or no. No need for all that extra chatter."

If he dared to keep hiding it from her, she would beat him into a pig head today.

Shao ChengZe answered firmly, "Yes. She's six this year, named Cheng LiQi, beautiful and cute, extremely well-behaved."

After hearing this, Lv Siwei hit him fiercely, hands shaking.

"She's already six, the girl gave you a daughter, already six, and you still haven't offered the girl a commitment till now, Shao ChengZe how did your dad teach you, do you even know how to write the word responsibility, when that well-behaved little girl calls you dad, you happily agree, don't you feel ashamed!"

Shao ChengZe sighed, letting the feather duster fall on him.

"Because I made mistakes back then, causing our separation, I found out about my daughter's existence only a few months earlier than you, I'm now working hard to take responsibility, but I was absent for seven years, for the child and for her, it's not easy for them to accept me again, so you probably can't meet your granddaughter for now."

The feather duster stopped as Lv Siwei looked at him, "Then what's the story with you telling me before you had a girl you liked?"

"It's her." He felt a little awkward, not used to talking about his feelings in front of elders, but his expression was also solemn, "All these years, I never got over her."

Lv Siwei wanted to hit him again.

"Never got over her, yet you made mistakes, never got over her, so many years yet you never went back to find her. Making mistakes means you should apologize, explain, kneel, which have you done? She was unlucky to be liked by you, keeping everything bottled up, you like her yet you refuse to make it clear, what kind of liking is that, who would know you like her? Even your introverted dad still remembered to tell me 'I like you' three times a day when pursuing me."

Lv Siwei seemed to recall something as she raised the feather duster again, "No wait, what mistake did you make back then? If you did anything indecent, forget taking responsibility, you should get as far away from the mother and daughter as possible, granddaughter, how could I claim she's my granddaughter."

Shao ChengZe felt utterly ashamed from his mother's words, she was right, if it wasn't for him bottling everything up back then, perhaps there wouldn't have been so many misunderstandings, they wouldn't have missed out on so many years together.

"It's complicated, but not what you think, in short it was my mistake."

Only then did Lv Siwei breathe a slight sigh of relief, leaning on her knees as she sat on the foyer chair, "You're not lying to me?"

"No." He sat next to the old woman, patting her back to help her calm down, "How did you find out?"

Lv Siwei glared at him, still annoyed, "How I found out, I saw when I got off the plane, I was debating whether or not to come over, fortunately I did." Her tone softened, "You said your daughter is called Cheng LiQi, what characters?"

"Cheng as in future, Li as in clever, Qi with the water radical."

"Good name. I saw her from afar, could tell she was a clever little girl, voice crisp and lively like a little milk bun, fair and tender as a steamed bun, so beautiful, her mom is beautiful too, one look and you know she's a good girl. Shao ChengZe, listen, you need to admit your mistake with the right attitude, and pursue her with the attitude of pursuing someone, none of that putting on airs and thinking about face or acting cool, and especially no shady tricks, if she can accept you then good, count yourself lucky, if she doesn't accept you, then you can't continue disturbing the mother and daughter's peaceful life, and materially you have to compensate them as much as you possibly can, otherwise I'll have your dad come out and teach you a lesson."

"Alright, if you can get my dad to come out, he probably won't have time to teach me a lesson, only thinking about getting intimate with you."

"You little brat, still have the heart to tease me." Lv Siwei gave him another whack with the feather duster, she felt her son was different than before, his eyes were lively now, even making cheeky jokes, she cleared her throat, unable to resist asking, "Seeing you like this, the situation now isn't a dead end?"

Shao ChengZe picked off the feathers stuck to his clothes, "Not exactly, I'm trying to turn the dead end into an open end."

"Not trying, you must turn the dead end into an open end."

If it didn't become an active situation, according to ChengZe's temperament, he would probably end up alone for the rest of his life. The key was that he didn't care about being single, but she still wanted to see that well-behaved and clever little girl, as well as that girl as beautiful as a fairy that she didn't even get a clear look at in the airport.

Shao ChengZe said, "She is the young lady from the Cheng family."

Lv Siwei was startled, "The Cheng family? That Cheng family?"

"Mm, her father didn't say anything else, just that he would not let his daughter enter the Shao family, so I thought, can I marry into her family instead?"

Lv Siwei slapped his shoulder, "Marry in, your dad just said to get back what your grandmother deserved from the Shao family, he didn't say to sell your life for them! If you ask me, just take back everything you deserve, then take that as a dowry and marry into the Cheng family. That way you might still have a glimmer of hope." The old lady looked at him disdainfully, "The girl's father is reasonable enough, how could he not beat you half to death?"

Shao ChengZe smiled and asked the old lady, "Do you want to see the photos?"

Lv Siwei was excited, "You have them?"

Shao ChengZe took out his phone. They were screenshots he took of the TV when watching LiQi's Children's Day performance. There were a few of her holding LiQi.

"Her name is Cheng Jinlan."

Lv Siwei held the phone with both hands, swiping through one by one. When she got to the last one, she took a deep breath, "Shao ChengZe, hurry up now, do you hear me, hurry up and take action. A girl this good, if you don't make a move there will be countless people chasing her. Use every skill you've got, don't hold anything back," she thought for a moment, "Seems you don't actually have that many skills. Should I order some how-to guides online about chasing girls?"

Shao ChengZe pressed the old lady's hand, "No need for guides, since you're here this time, stay a few more days. If you have time, you can make some candied haw fruit, she likes eating them, LiQi probably would too."

He had brought her some before, and she really liked them.

Lv Siwei was happy, "Great, I have plenty of time. I'll go to the supermarket tomorrow to buy ingredients, I can have them made by noon." The old lady stood up as she spoke, and went to the study to find a pen and paper to write down what she needed to buy tomorrow.

Shao ChengZe sent Jinlan a message, [Want to eat candied haw fruit?]

After a short while, Jinlan replied, [Are you making them?]

Shao ChengZe's eyebrows quirked up, [I can try making them, but can't guarantee the taste]

[Then I won't eat them, you can keep them for yourself]

Shao ChengZe's smiling eyes spilled over, [I'll come pick you up after work tomorrow?]

[I have a cocktail party tomorrow night, don't know when it will end]

[Where?]

Right before going to sleep, Jinlan replied, [No need for you to pick me up, I have a driver]

Shao ChengZe laughed to himself, this was her passive aggressive way of scolding him, saying she has a driver so doesn't need him to specially come pick her up from the airport that one time.

His phone vibrated again, it was a message from Yuan Zhongzhou, sending a few photos of who JingYao had been meeting with recently. Shao ChengZe's gaze turned cold, this aunt-in-law of his was not so simple. She knew he had a daughter now, and that it involved the Cheng family, yet she had been holding herself back without making any moves. That in itself was abnormal. He had been having people keep an eye on her and Shao Zhangting, seeing her recent string of actions, it seemed she wanted to drain the pond to catch the fish. Since she wanted to play this game, he was very willing to entertain her.

The cocktail party was not an excuse from Jinlan, it was real. Originally her brother JinChuan was supposed to attend, but he went on a business trip to Lin City, so the job fell onto her. It was simple enough, she only needed to make an appearance representing the Cheng family.

She didn't expect to run into someone unexpected at the party, He ZhiJian. They had been on a blind date once before.

He ZhiJian was also surprised to see her, walked over with a wine glass raised and took the initiative to chat, "Miss Cheng, long time no see, I thought your brother would be coming today."

Jinlan was poised and casual, "My brother is away on business, so I'm here in his place."

He ZhiJian expressed understanding, "Right, the restaurant you mentioned, I went. The taste is great, I really liked it."

When they went out for a meal, most of the time was spent talking about food. He ZhiJian wanted authentic Cantonese cuisine, so Jinlan recommended a place. Their conversation was just small talk, she didn't expect he would actually go eat there.

Jinlan replied, "That's good that you liked it."

"Does Miss Cheng have any other recommendations? I feel like Miss Cheng's taste is very similar to mine, anything Miss Cheng likes, I would probably like too."

Jinlan's eyes shifted slightly. He ZhiJian was acting very odd. They had only shared one meal together, with no contact after that, barely more than strangers. But looking at where He ZhiJian's gaze landed, Jinlan seemed to understand something. A short-haired woman in a black fish tail dress, probably the one who made him waver that he mentioned.

Jinlan asked, "Mister He, are you trying to use me as a tool?"

Not that she was unwilling to be a tool, but she couldn't do it unknowingly.

He ZhiJian was startled, seeing where her gaze went, his expression a little embarrassed at his rudeness, "Sorry, of all the ladies here besides her, I only know you."

Jinlan clinked glasses with him, indicating it was fine, "If you like Cantonese food, Jin Yue in the east side is pretty good too."

He ZhiJian laughed openly, "Miss Cheng really is different from the rumors."

Jinlan also smiled, "Rumors are mostly false rather than true."

Her smiling face froze when she saw the person raising a glass to her from the corner of the room. Then her phone lit up, Jinlan apologized to He ZhiJian and went to a quiet corner to answer the call.

"Chatting about something happy?" The tone was undisguised sourness. From some point on, she had never smiled at him again.

Jinlan asked, "How did you get here?"

Cheng family events basically would not invite the Shaos, and vice versa, so it was rare they would run into each other at these kinds of occasions.

"Here to drink free wine, and to steal a driver's job, to take my girlfriend home."

He emphasized "girlfriend".

"Oh, then please drink up Mister Shao. Unless you're afraid your stomach will get upset and run a fever again." Jinlan did not take his bait about "girlfriend", and was about to hang up after speaking.

Shao ChengZe chuckled lowly, "I'm not drinking alcohol, just water. How can I drink if I'm going to drive? When are you leaving?"

Jinlan replied, "Whenever I feel like leaving."

"Leaving in my car?"

"My driver is already waiting for me outside."

"Then I'll leave in your car?"

Jinlan refused, "My car doesn't have your seat."

The two were in the same venue, standing in different corners, talking on the phone about this meaningless conversation. It was very strange, strange enough that Jinlan kind of wanted to leave this boring party and continue this pointless chat. So, in the next second, she hung up the call. She couldn't indulge that thought any further.

When the party reached intermission, Jinlan bid the host farewell. Seeing her about to leave, He ZhiJian chatted with her a couple more meaningless pleasantries before she left. She didn't look back at the person behind her. Right as the elevator doors were slowly closing, someone stretched out a hand to stop the doors, and they opened again.

The owner of the black leather shoes walked in and came to stand beside her, grasping her hand. "Not even waiting for me."

Jinlan's hand twitched slightly, but Shao ChengZe didn't use force, only saying, "Just until the first floor."

Slender snow-white fingers rested between long articulate ones. Black suit and white silk dress were reflected on the smooth elevator walls.

Others boarding the elevator after them would inevitably steal a glance at the man and woman in the corner. Between them there was no communication, yet it seemed something was flowing between them.

Even when seated in the car, the warmth in her hand still hadn't dispersed. Jinlan rubbed at the empty palm, gazing out at the city lights outside the window.

Driver Xiao Liu took another look in the rearview mirror, and finally confirmed that the car following behind them was the same one as last time, which had been parked next to Miss's home last time.

When Jinlan got home, LiQi was already asleep. With no child around, she drank half a glass more red wine with the lingering cocktail party buzz before going to shower. After the bath she still went out on the balcony to air dry her hair.

The balcony light had been on for less than half a minute when Cheng Jinlan's phone received a WeChat message.

[Want some candied hawthorn?]

Cheng Jinlan didn't reply to him. If she did, he would only try to trick her into opening the door again, and nothing good ever came of that.

Leaning back in a deck chair, she gazed at the stars in the sky, losing herself in thought. Some distance away, she could hear the faint twittering of birds, which puzzled her. Where were they coming from? Just then, she noticed a figure appear atop the neighboring wall.

He sat lazily on a ladder, surrounded by crape myrtle blossoms. The moon seemed to hang right above his head. Give him a jug of wine, and he would look just like one of those carefree knights-errant of old, gazing at the moon and drinking wine on a rooftop.

Cheng Jinlan ambled slowly to the base of the wall and craned her neck to look up at him, the hint of a smile playing about her lips. "What exactly are you doing up there? Playing the honorable man on the beam? I could call for help and have you arrested as a thief."

Shao Chengze peered down at her intently. "You didn't reply to my message, so I had to come over the wall to bid you goodnight."

"Mr. Shao is too kind to bother bidding me goodnight." From the moon-shaped gate across the yard, Cheng Shanhe's deep, ominous gaze fixed Shao Chengze in place atop the ladder, his hands clasped behind his back.