Downtown.
Several Maybachs parked at the entrance of a detached villa.
In front, there was a stretched Lincoln.
Five or six bodyguards in suits and sunglasses got out of the cars, opened the front door, and a middle-aged man with a cane stepped out.
The man was clad in a tailored, vintage suit and had a slightly lean figure. As he walked, it was apparent he had a limp.
Yet his presence was so commanding it felt difficult to breathe.
"You all go back first," he said.
The man's voice had a slightly more aged rasp to it than his actual years.
"Yes," ca the chorus of replies.
The guards, after responding, got back into their cars and left.
Only one bodyguard remained in the car, waiting.
The man gazed at the detached villa in front of him.
His eyes glazed over with mories of years past flooding into his mind, and at last, he sighed and entered.
Walking into the house,
The elderly lady continued to knit.
"Mother, I'm back," said An Shanhai, his voice slightly hoarse. It had been a year or two since his last visit.
The old lady put down her knitting, looking at her son. It had been so long, and though he was only fifty, he looked older than his peers.
She had wanted to scold him, but all her reproaches turned into a sigh.
"Sit down and have so water."
An Shanhai nodded, went to the table beside his mother, and poured two cups of hot tea, watching the knitting in his aged mother's hands.
She was advanced in years; when she was young, needlework was an essential skill for any well-brought-up lady.
In her youth, she was renowned for her knitting and embroidery skills.
But now, her years weighed on her, and knitting seed an effortful task.
"Mother, you can just get clothes tailored now; don't strain yourself," he said.
"All I can do now is make so clothes, which Nuannuan and Xiao Xiang can still wear. Maybe in a few years, I won't have the chance anymore," she replied.
An Shanhai fell silent for a mont, "Mother, I've just been busy these past few years. In a little while..."
"In a little while, Nuannuan might be getting married, and Xiao Xiang might hardly recognize you. No matter how busy you are, you only have these two daughters."
Her words left An Shanhai in silence.
His face, weathered beyond his years, was marked by guilt and a deep-seated sorrow he couldn't quite let go.
The old lady put down her knitting and began, "I know that ever since Nuannuan's mother passed away, you've been blaming yourself for not being able to save her. Afraid that your daughters would hate or resent you, you've thrown yourself into your business. But children will eventually grow up, and you will always be their father."
An Shanhai nodded quietly, then brought up another matter, "Mother, you ntioned, Nuannuan, sothing about a boyfriend. What's going on?"
The old lady briefly filled him in on recent events.
Though he was rarely ho, he constantly worried and felt guilty about his daughters, unsure of how to face them.
But after all, they were his own flesh and blood, the last remnants of his spirit tied to his wife.
When An Shanhai learned that Nuannuan was considering romance, he dropped everything and hurried back from abroad.
He was afraid his daughter might fall for so bad guy.
"This boy is the sa one, six years ago, before Nuannuan's surgery, who sent her a cake. She's rembered him up to this day.
She's wanted to transfer to Fourth Middle School for two years now; looking back, it was probably to be closer to him."
"That won't do. Nuannuan, this girl doesn't understand that gratitude isn't the sa as romantic feelings," An Shanhai frowned.
The old lady shook her head, "Now I'm afraid it's no longer just gratitude, the two children have been together for half a year. Kids their age develop feelings easily, and besides, Nuannuan said a few days ago that she wanted to co ho to talk to us about sothing. It's probably about this."
"How could this be okay? Nuannuan has almost never been in contact with boys. She doesn't have the discernnt yet. What if she's deceived?" An Shanhai spoke with growing unrest, "I could talk to the boy..."
"What are you planning to say? Threaten them to break up or give the boy money to leave?"
An Shanhai was taken aback; for a mont, he had indeed considered such ideas.
Composedly, the old lady said, "I've t this boy a few tis already. His character is quite good, and he genuinely cares for Nuannuan. And when they first t, he didn't even know about our family's situation.
Xiao Xiang told that at first, this boy even thought Nuannuan was poor and offered her fifty yuan to help him with a drawing."
As she spoke, a knowing smile touched the old woman's weathered face.
An Shanhai, caught off guard, thought about it, fifty yuan.
Nuannuan was quite talented in drawing; her childhood artwork had won many awards, with even a simple piece easily bringing in six figures. In truth, fifty yuan couldn't even cover the cost of the drawing paper and pignts.
"Even so, Nuannuan has just started university. Isn't it too early? What if she's made a mistake?"
"It is a bit early, but as a girl grows up, she'll have her own ideas."
Looking at her son, the grandmother finally spoke with a rebuking tone, "As a father, how many tis a year do you visit them? Even if Nuannuan has chosen the wrong person, it wouldn't be her fault but yours. After all these years, we finally have soone Nuannuan is close to. It's not wrong for her to like soone, but it's our duty, especially yours, to help her choose the right person."
The grandmother's words cald An Shanhai, who had been on the verge of losing his temper.
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