It's said that the crying child gets the candy. In fact, the child who neither cries nor makes a fuss deserves the most concern.
Father Chen paused for a while and replied stammeringly, "I... I got it, teacher. Thank you."
After saying that, Father Chen fled out of the office as if he were being chased. Chen Er bowed to the head - teacher. Her small face was full of stubbornness. "Thank you for your kindness, teacher, but I don't need it. Dad is already good enough like this. I shouldn't ask for too much."
The head - teacher gently patted Chen Er on the shoulder and sighed, "Well, since that's the case, if you encounter any problems in the future, remember to tell the teacher. The teacher will help you as much as possible."
Chen Er nodded and then left the office.
She thought Father Chen had already left, but at a corner, she saw the hunched and gradually aging back. Chen Er tiptoed up behind Father Chen.
Father Chen was lost in his own world and didn't notice Chen Er approaching.
"Dad," Chen Er tugged at Father Chen's sleeve and called out. By the way, she moved her legs that had gone numb from squatting for too long.
Father Chen came to his senses. He turned his head as if waking from a long dream and looked at Chen Er.
Over the years, he had always blamed Chen Er for Mother Chen's death. He thought that if it weren't for Chen Er, Mother Chen wouldn't have died.
But he had forgotten that before Mother Chen died, she had tightly held Father Chen's hand and asked him to take good care of Chen Er.
"Chen Jianping, you're a coward!" Remembering the scene when his late wife was dying, Father Chen slapped himself like a madman. He didn't stop even when blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
"Stop hitting yourself! Mom wouldn't want to see you like this," Chen Er took advantage of Chen Jianping's inattention and held his hand to stop him. Chen Jianping was very strong.
"I'm sorry, Chen Er, I'm sorry..." Chen Jianping hugged Chen Er tightly, tears streaming down his old face. If it weren't for attending Chen Er's parent - teacher meeting today, he might still be immersed in the past and reluctant to move forward.
Chen Er shook her head. She looked straight into Chen Jianping's guilty eyes and said word by word, "I've never blamed Dad. Because of you, I have a home. I'm already very content."
Chen Jianping was speechless. The guilt in his heart almost drowned him.
He had thought about pulling himself together, but he couldn't accept the fact that his beloved had left. He escaped from everything in reality and vented his dissatisfaction and misfortune on Chen Er.
After all, what right did he have to blame Chen Er?
Mother Chen's death was ultimately his fault.
At that time, Chen Jianping's mother threatened to kill herself if Mother Chen didn't have another son. Chen Jianping originally firmly protected his wife, but as time passed and his mother kept nagging, he began to waver.
Mother Chen knew exactly what her husband was thinking, so she started to seek medical advice everywhere. She drank all kinds of Chinese herbal medicine every day to condition her body, just to get pregnant again.
But because she had left some root causes of illness when giving birth to Chen Huan, and it hadn't fully recovered, the doctor didn't recommend her to get pregnant.
Mother Chen was determined and endured all the pressure alone. Finally, after much anticipation, Mother Chen successfully conceived Chen Er when Chen Huan was four years old.
The whole family had great expectations for the child in Mother Chen's womb. Mother Chen cherished this hard - won child even more.
However, because her body was too weak, Mother Chen had a massive hemorrhage after giving birth to Chen Er and died of difficult childbirth.
She didn't even have time to take a look at Chen Er before she left this world.
Chen Jianping was greatly shocked. He hugged the cold body of Mother Chen tightly and refused to let go. Finally, he was knocked out, and only then could Mother Chen be cremated in peace.
When Chen Jianping woke up, what was in front of him was Mother Chen's urn. From that moment on, Chen Jianping became crazy, drank alcohol, and suffered from insomnia day after day.
Chen Jianping's mother saw that he had become like this because of a woman. She was so disappointed that after several fruitless persuasions, she cut off contact with Chen Jianping's family.
Now, waking up from a long dream, Chen Jianping felt extremely embarrassed. He wanted to make up for something, but he didn't know where to start.
"Dad won't drink anymore. I'll work hard, earn money to support the family, and make you and Huanhuan live a good life," Chen Jianping said as he stroked Chen Er's head with his rough big hand.
Chen Er was flattered. She pinched herself hard, and the corners of her mouth almost reached her ears.
"That's great, Dad. I love you!" Chen Er buried her face in Chen Jianping's arms and shed touched tears.
"At that time, I naively thought that everything was getting better gradually," Chen Er still looked nostalgic and sad when mentioning Chen Jianping.
It was the first time she had felt fatherly love, but she didn't expect it to be so short. In just a few years, everything had changed and fallen apart.
Jiang Cong pulled Chen Er into his arms and kissed her slightly wet eyes. "If you don't want to talk, just pause for a while. Talk when you're in a better mood."
Chen Er's past was clearly and painfully presented in front of Jiang Cong. He even hated himself for not showing up earlier to accompany Chen Er through that most painful time.
"I'm okay. I just miss Dad and sister a little. Do you think they're doing well there? Do they miss me?" Chen Er smiled, but tears welled up in her eyes. She still bit her lips tightly to hold back the tears.
"Yes, they also hope that you can live a better life," Jiang Cong gently took a tissue and wiped the tears off Chen Er's face.
Chen Er broke into a smile through her tears. She hugged her knees and continued to tell what happened next.
After the parent - teacher meeting that day, Chen Jianping really did as he said. He found a job and started to work regularly. Chen Er and Chen Huan also went to school respectively.
Chen Huan was promoted to the best high school in Beicheng with the first - place score in the whole county, and Chen Er entered the first grade of junior high school.
Chen Er became more smiling and finally regained some of the liveliness of her peers. But somehow, Chen Er felt that Chen Huan was becoming more and more silent and always sat there in a daze alone.
"Sister, what's wrong? Do you have any troubles?" Chen Er sat next to Chen Huan and asked softly.
Hearing the sound, Chen Huan reflexively pulled away from Chen Er. After realizing her own abnormality, Chen Huan forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I'm just not used to it since I got into high school. You know, it's not easy to cross the mountain of the college entrance examination."
Chen Er understood. She comforted Chen Huan, "My sister is the best sister in the world. This little thing is a piece of cake. If you keep worrying like this, you'll turn into an old woman."