Estrangement Between Father and Daughter, and the Presence of a Stepmother

Lin Yu wasn't afraid of level-headed people seeing him having dinner with Huang Feiya.

With a simple excuse, he could easily smooth things over.

His biggest fear was running into an opponent like Shen Buyao, who was brainless and prone to wild imagination.

If Shen Buyao bumped into them...

Just thinking about the consequences sent a chill of lingering fear down Lin Yu's spine.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was safer for him to pick the location himself.

At the same time.

This also gave Huang Feiya an opportunity to get close to him.

Let's see exactly what she has up her sleeve!

...

Meanwhile.

At Huang Feiya's home.

Sitting on the sofa and mindlessly flipping through channels, Huang Feiya heard a WeChat notification chime and immediately grabbed her phone.

Beside her, watching TV with her, Huang Daoqi held a purple clay teapot in his hands.

Seeing the smile on his daughter's face, Huang Daoqi asked in an unhurried tone:

"Xiaoya, who are you chatting with that's making you so happy?"

"You've even stopped flipping channels."

"This health program... isn't really interesting, is it?"

While typing a reply to Lin Yu, Huang Feiya said to her father:

"It's a message from Lin Yu. I'm having dinner with him tonight."

"Dad, do you know where the Golden Garden Restaurant is?"

Hearing Lin Yu's name, the expression on Huang Daoqi's face became particularly intriguing.

He swirled the tea in his pot, shook his head, and said:

"Never heard of it. Just look it up on the GPS, sweetie."

"Let me ask you seriously, do you really have feelings for that boy?"

Having finished her reply, Huang Feiya put down her phone and looked at Huang Daoqi.

He rarely asked about her daily life.

It had been like this when she was in school, and it remained the same now that she was working.

It was quite unusual for Huang Daoqi to proactively ask about such things today.

Huang Feiya answered nonchalantly:

"Dad, haven't you always thought I should find a suitable partner?"

"Young men like Lin Yu aren't exactly common in our circles, are they?"

"Does it bother you if I'm interested in him?"

The conversational atmosphere between the father and daughter felt quite bizarre.

Confronted by his daughter's counter-questions, Huang Daoqi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Taking a tactical sip of tea, he forced a cheerful tone and continued:

"Of course, I won't interfere with my daughter's personal love life."

"What I mean is, you shouldn't act on impulse. Now that I'm older, I see many things differently than I used to."

"When it comes to dating, you don't necessarily have to just look for someone suitable."

Huang Feiya's eyes flickered, and she looked at her father in slight astonishment.

Soon.

A smile returned to her face as she said:

"I honestly can't imagine those words coming out of your mouth, Huang Daoqi."

"Are you saying..."

"If I don't look for someone suitable, I should look for someone I actually love?"

"Do you realize how fake it sounds when you try to talk about feelings?"

"Just relax and enjoy your family life. Sticking to watching TV is good enough for you."

With that.

Huang Feiya picked up the remote control again and went back to flipping through the channels.

Huang Daoqi opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the words stopped at his lips, and he swallowed them back down.

He truly had no right to lecture his daughter about anything happening in her life.

An incompetent father and an incompetent husband—how could he possibly teach his child well?

The father and daughter sat on the sofa, watching TV in relative silence for over ten minutes.

Huang Feiya's WeChat notifications never stopped.

They chimed and pinged continuously for quite a while.

Every time she replied to a message, Huang Feiya would unconsciously smile.

But seeing this smile made Huang Daoqi feel deeply unsettled.

If his daughter were truly experiencing a sweet romance and immersed in love.

He wouldn't feel bad; instead, he would feel greatly comforted.

However, Huang Daoqi knew very well in his heart.

His daughter's smile didn't convey sweetness...

It was the expression of a hunter spotting prey, or a climber discovering a towering mountain.

It was as if.

To Huang Feiya, Lin Yu wasn't an object of affection to pursue.

He was more like a challenging project to conquer!

Huang Daoqi had forgotten exactly when it began.

But his daughter's behavioral mindset had evolved far beyond his comprehension.

Regarding this.

He was completely powerless, only able to watch helplessly as everything unfolded.

After replying to Lin Yu's message once more.

Huang Feiya stood up, walked over to Huang Daoqi, and handed him the remote control:

"Dad, find whatever you want to watch yourself."

"Tell the housekeeper she doesn't need to prepare dinner for me. She probably wasn't planning to anyway."

"I'm leaving, bye."

Huang Daoqi looked at the remote in his hand, turned toward the door, and said:

"Tomorrow we..."

Slam!

Before he could finish his sentence.

A heavy slam of the door echoed from the entryway.

Hearing the noise, a woman wearing a facial mask walked over from another part of the living room.

The woman glared irritably at the door and said:

"She's getting more and more out of line. Whose door does she think she's slamming?"

"Old Huang, you're her father, why don't you discipline her!"

"I'm warning you, if you keep spoiling her, and she dares to speak to me like that next time, I absolutely won't tolerate it."

"I really don't know how your relationship ended up like this!"

"If things are so bad, you just shouldn't see each other so often. Even if you don't consider my feelings, shouldn't you consider the child in my belly?"

The woman's words made Huang Daoqi feel even more miserable.

Why had his relationship with his daughter deteriorated to this point?

Wasn't it entirely because of this woman's arrival!

"Alright, if you don't want to hear it, go back and rest."

"Can't you just let me have a moment of peace and quiet?"

Huang Daoqi snapped irritably.

The woman, however, only became more fired up.

Marching straight toward him, she kept ranting:

"You don't dare speak harshly to your daughter, but you have the nerve to snap at your woman, is that it?"