Therefore, compromise is the only option.
Only after compromising can a father retain a shred of dignity in his heart—for such a big matter, his daughter would rather fabricate nonexistent people and events than reveal a single detail to him.
Shen Wuqiu also sensed the emotion in his tone. When she was young, she had indeed resented this father. But later she understood that, whether she wanted to admit it or not, her resentment stemmed from love. These father-daughter instincts, rooted in blood ties, had preserved in her bones a deep-seated reverence and love for people.
"No...it's not what you think." She wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin. "I'm just afraid...you won't be able to accept it."
Mr. Shen looked up at her and said, "If these people don't come to the door today... are you planning to keep this from me forever?"
Shen Wuqiu shook her head, "I never thought that way. The reason I didn't tell you the truth at first was because..."
"That's good." Mr. Shen breathed a long sigh of relief and straightened his expression. "Come inside quickly. You're still in your postpartum period. Although it's warm outside with the sun out, it's still very windy."
"dad……"
After several seconds, Mr. Shen finally uttered an "Oh," and then reached out his hand to the person who had been kneeling on the spot, saying, "Get up."
Gu Lingyu didn't rush to stand up, but instead looked up at him and asked, "Can I call you Dad now?"
Unable to bear it any longer, Mr. Shen's outstretched hand landed directly on her head.
The punching motion was fierce, but when it landed, it wasn't delivered with any real force.
In the end, she couldn't bear it; after all, he was a child who had been jumping around in front of her for so long.
Seeing that she was still kneeling upright, Mr. Shen was furious again and said to Shen Wuqiu, "You saw it too, she wanted to kneel down herself, don't blame me for feeling sorry for her later."
Shen Wuqiu smiled and nodded, but felt a little soreness in her nose.
The awkward old father is already trying very hard to love her.
After finishing his sentence, Mr. Shen walked to the large round basket of glutinous rice that Sheng Gang had just steamed in the corridor. He poked at the completely cooled glutinous rice and complained, "The yeast hasn't been added yet. The first batch of wine we've steamed today is a waste..."
After saying that, he deliberately glanced at the people in the yard who were still standing there in a daze, and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "What are you all standing there for? Although our house is a bit old and run-down, we can still have a cup of tea."
With mixed feelings, Su Yunzhi seemed to have been granted a pardon and hurriedly invited the handsome men and beautiful women in the courtyard into the house: "You have come from afar, you must be tired. Please come in and have a cup of tea."
The three Gu family members glanced at their parents before daring to bring their wives into the house.
As they passed by a certain cat, none of the brothers and sisters-in-law even glanced at it.
Although they didn't know the full story, the brothers and sisters-in-law were all very intelligent. They listened to the whole story and got the gist of it. They knew that their sister had done something like having sex before marriage and then buying a ticket later. As long as she could get her father-in-law's forgiveness by kneeling down, it wouldn't be a big deal.
So, in the end, everyone went into the hall, leaving only Mr. Shen, who was pretending to fiddle with the yeast, and Gu Miaomiao, who was kneeling on the ground with her head hanging down, outside.
Ten minutes passed, and Mr. Shen was still pretending to grind the yeast.
Gu Miaomiao glanced at it but didn't say anything.
Another ten minutes passed, and Mr. Shen remained the same.
Gu Miaomiao secretly touched her knee and carefully cleared away the pebbles under it.
Another ten minutes passed, and Gu Miaomiao glanced at the pile of firewood, which now only had a few embers left. "Uncle, the fire's gone..."
Mr. Shen then glanced at her and asked, "What did you call me?"
Gu Miaomiao: "Uncle."
Mr. Shen: "What did you call me?"
Gu Miaomiao: "Uncle."
Mr. Shen threw down the small stone bowl in his hand: "I asked you what you called me?"
Gu Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Dad..."
Mr. Shen rubbed his hands together, then casually grabbed a handful of sticky rice and tossed it to her: "Didn't my family give you any food?"
Gu Miaomiao quickly reached out and took it, then called out loudly, "Dad..."
Mr. Shen snorted coldly, put his hands behind his back, and went into the house. "Aren't you going to start a fire?"
Once Gu Miaomiao understood, she immediately stood up and continued to struggle with the firewood.
Mr. Shen glanced at her sideways and muttered, "No wonder I've always disliked this girl; it turns out he's the one who kidnapped my precious daughter..."
Chapter 89 Sanmao
In the lobby.
Su Yunzhi greeted the distinguished guests who had come from afar and invited them to sit down. She poured tea, offered them wine, and gave them plenty of melon seeds, peanuts, and candy. She seemed quite hospitable, but her feelings after being hit by a bolt from the blue were indescribably complicated.
Not only was their eldest daughter, whom they had finally grown attached to, snatched away by some young girl, but their long-cherished dream of having a daughter-in-law also vanished.
I have a feeling that the losses have been enormous.
The Gu family responded warmly to her busy service, but after politely enjoying the tea, everyone eagerly turned their attention to the family's smaller animals.
"Our clan hasn't had so many cubs in a long time. Everyone in the clan will definitely be very happy."
"That's right. The last cub was a little girl, and the whole tribe was overjoyed. Now, Qiuqiu has given birth to four girls at once. I wonder how the tribe will react when they find out..."
"Little Qiuqiu, Er Mao smiled at me..."
“Afei, look, doesn’t Sanmao look exactly like Ayu when she was little? Look at how she licks her lips while she’s asleep, she looks just like Ayu when she was little…”
When Mr. Shen came in, he heard this sentence, which made his already unsettled mood even more unsettled. He walked over and said coldly, "Nonsense. This is my daughter's daughter. Of course she looks more like my daughter."
Upon hearing his words, Gu Lingchen immediately changed his tune, "Yes, yes, upon closer inspection, she doesn't seem to resemble Ayu much; she looks more like Qiuqiu..."
After all, everyone knew that the old father had just been traumatized and was somewhat irrational, and no one wanted to provoke him further.
Mr. Shen merely snorted at his attempts to curry favor, then turned to Su Yunzhi and asked, "Should we still distill the remaining vats of wine?"
Su Yunzhi glanced at the wall clock in the living room and said, "The glutinous rice is all soaking there; it'll probably need to be steamed by now. But it's almost ten o'clock; I need to prepare lunch..."
The implication was that the task of distilling the liquor should be handed over to Mr. Shen.
Mr. Shen glanced at the Gu family, who had filled his sofa to the brim, and felt quite uncomfortable. His tone was naturally sarcastic as he said, "They're all all show and no substance..."
Shen Wuqiu felt extremely embarrassed.
Fortunately, the entire Gu family, young and old, are all excellent actors. They can all pretend not to hear these unpleasant words and accept them calmly without changing their expressions.
Mr. Shen muttered to himself in the living room for a while, drank a large cup of tea, and then went out again, still grumbling.
Feeling sullen and with nowhere to vent, he naturally took it out on the cat outside:
"They can't even start a fire properly, I don't know what else they can do?"
"Hey, hey, hey... get out of the way! I just finished building it perfectly, why are you adding fuel to the fire?"
"I really don't know what Qiuqiu saw in you. You're useless at everything, but you're number one in being greedy and lazy."
...
After muttering to himself for a while, Mr. Chen got angry when the man remained silent. "Are you mute? I've been talking to you for so long, and you haven't said a word..."
Gu Miaomiao was quite honest: "You always say I'm the dumbest and worst at talking, right? I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and make you angry. You're already so angry today, so I'd better say as little as possible..."
"..." Mr. Shen choked, then sighed with regret: "Look at you, your mother is eloquent, and I think your brothers are all very talkative, so how come you become such a simpleton? I don't know what Qiuqiu saw in you?"
Gu Lingyu silently used tongs to sift out the ashes from the pile of firewood. "Maybe Qiuqiu thinks I'm good-looking."
"...Can good looks put food on the table? Besides, isn't Qiuqiu pretty? What, would she, a young woman, be attracted to your beauty?"
Gu Lingyu began to doubt his words, so she looked up and asked him sincerely and questioningly, "Dad, then tell me, what does Qiuqiu like about me?"
"..." Mr. Shen felt so bad that his lungs ached from being choked by her. He wished he could kick this thing into a fire pit. He held back for a moment and swallowed hard. "Alright, you'd better not say anything."
Gu Lingyu cautiously said "Oh," and continued to rummage through the ashes.
"..." The more Mr. Shen looked at her, the angrier he became, so he simply left her there to start the fire while he went off to fiddle with the yeast.
****
It wasn't until after dinner that the uninvited younger members of the Gu family took their leave.
Su Yunzhi originally wanted to exchange a few polite words, but Mr. Shen seemed eager to urge them to leave: "It gets dark early today, so you should hurry up and leave, otherwise it will be difficult to drive on the mountain road after dark."
Fortunately, Gu Miaomiao's brothers and sisters-in-law are all sensible people. Even though they sensed that the other party was not welcoming to them, they maintained a polite and courteous smile as they said goodbye.
Mr. Shen didn't pay much attention to him. Before the man even left, Mr. Shen went back to his room in a huff.
Shen Wuqiu knew what her father was upset about. To be honest, she was also feeling a little bad herself. After thinking about it, she decided to have a good talk with her father.
So, at 10 p.m., after everyone had gone back to their rooms, she went downstairs again.
Su Yunzhi was still awake. "Are you hungry?"
Shen Wuqiu shook her head. "Is Daddy asleep?"
"Not yet. He's wearing his reading glasses and fiddling with his phone, I don't know what." Su Yunzhi poured her a glass of warm water and whispered, "Your dad's just a stubborn old man. Don't worry, he'll figure it out soon."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, took the water she poured, and took a small sip. "And you? Were you frightened by what happened today?"
“Of course…” Su Yunzhi said, then pretended to touch her hair and added, “Don’t overthink it. It’s not that I can’t accept it, I’m just a little surprised.”
Shen Wuqiu glanced towards the bedroom. "I didn't mean to lie to you, it's just that... it was a bit sudden for me at the time..."
Su Yunzhi comforted her understandingly, "Don't worry about your dad. Once he's thought things through, you can talk to him properly. Right now, he's being stubborn, and he won't listen to anything you say."
Shen Wuqiu thought about it and felt that what she said made some sense. "Then please help me persuade my father." She paused and then added, "I hope that what happened today did not make you feel uncomfortable."
Su Yunzhi sighed, "To be honest, when I heard you say that you and Lingyu had that kind of relationship, I felt a bit conflicted... Lingyu is a pretty girl with a good personality. I thought she was innocent and lively and didn't know anything about love and romance. I was even thinking of setting her up with Junjun when she grew up."
Shen Wuqiu spat out the mouthful of water she had just taken a sip: "..."
"Be careful, don't choke." Su Yunzhi quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth. "Don't laugh at me, who would have thought you two were a couple..."
Shen Wuqiu shook her head. "I'm not making fun of you... I just think... well, it's strange."
Su Yunzhi pouted: "Now that I know this person is yours, I think about it again and it still feels strange..."
Shen Wuqiu found this stepmother rather adorable and couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, Wujun will definitely find you an even better daughter-in-law in the future."
Su Yunzhi sighed, "He's such a blockhead... I'm already lucky to have found him, I don't have many other requirements."
After offering a few words of comfort, Shen Wuqiu was sent back upstairs to rest by Su Yunzhi.
****
When Mr. Shen, the head of the family, is in a bad mood, the atmosphere at home is naturally tense.