The fog spread thickly, narrowing the sight of pedestrians on the road, yet it couldn’t dampen their enthusiasm for life.
Early in the morning, vehicles already came and went along the city streets, the sound of horns and bustling chatter filling the air.
Though not as bustling as a big city, the atmosphere was warm and lively…
Last night’s sleep had not been good for the girl.
Since coming back, except for the first day, today was the first time she experienced insomnia…
She constantly felt a throbbing sensation at her temples, and her eyelids kept twitching, as if something bad was about to happen.
Lin Xinyuan irritably rubbed her hair, but the stubborn cowlick on the top of her head refused to lay flat.
The exhaustion in her body combined with an inability to sleep was tormenting.
Unable to fall asleep, she had no choice but to climb out of bed.
After freshening up in the bathroom, she headed to the refrigerator, planning to grab some ingredients to cook breakfast with the loose noodles she had.
Her mother had prepared a lot of dishes before, almost filling the entire fridge.
Plus, since her own appetite was small, not much of the food had been consumed.
She took some spare ribs and a few greens, then entered the kitchen and started fiddling around.
Before long, Lin Xinyuan had prepared a simple bowl of noodle soup.
Sitting at the dining table, she began eating while scrolling through her phone…
After finishing breakfast, she went on to write her novel.
For now, this was her only source of income.
By noon, she repeated the same routine, casually cooking a dish and boiling less than a cup of rice to get by.
The daylight faded quickly; the day flew by in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lin Xinyu did come to invite her to play games, but after some thought, she refused—she really didn’t feel like playing today.
Although a little disappointed, Lin Xinyu didn’t press the issue and went back to play games with his friends.
Lin Xinyuan spent the entire day at home until she noticed the growing dimness inside the room, signaling it was time to end her writing work for the day.
After saving her draft, she walked into the living room and turned on the light.
Half of the noon dishes were still left.
Lin Xinyuan didn’t feel like cooking again, so she planned to just boil some rice and have the leftovers for dinner—just enough to finish it without wasting any.
But just as she was about to enter the kitchen, the sound of a key turning in the lock suddenly came from outside the door…
A flicker of joy stirred in Lin Xinyuan’s heart.
Could it be her mother returning?
But… why hadn’t her mother told her she was coming back? Didn’t she say she would give her a heads-up before coming home?
With mixed feelings of happiness and a hint of confusion, Lin Xinyuan put down the inner pot filled with uncooked rice and slowly walked toward the front door.
Outside was quiet except for the sounds of fumbling with the lock.
The person outside was unfamiliar with the lock, struggling for quite a while.
Listening to the noise, Lin Xinyuan’s previously calm heart began to tighten with unease—she sensed something was wrong.
This sound definitely wasn’t her mother’s…
Before she could think much further, the tinkering outside stopped.
Accompanied by an almost nerve-grating creak, the door was pushed open.
Seeing the person who stepped inside, Lin Xinyuan’s pupils trembled, suddenly widening as she instinctively took two steps back.
The good mood she had vanished like cold water poured all over her, from beginning to end.
W
After a long silence, Lin Xinyuan finally whispered the word in a trembling voice, “Dad…”
Her voice was dry as she awkwardly lowered her head, feeling her heart being squeezed tightly.
Her delicate fingers, pale as scallions, pressed hard against her palm, growing tense.
The person outside was not the mother she had been waiting for, but the father she hadn’t seen in nearly a year—
Lin Chongshan.
She never expected Father to come back this early.
Based on previous years, he wouldn’t return until early January…
Especially since she had overheard their phone call and knew Father’s attitude toward her.
Lin Chongshan was about 1.78 meters tall, and standing before the petite girl, he appeared quite imposing.
She could feel his gaze locked onto her without letting go…
After a while, Father finally dragged his suitcase inside and closed the door behind him.
Expressionless, he carried his luggage without glancing at Lin Xinyuan, walking straight through the hall.
“Didn’t cook?”
A hoarse, low voice reached Lin Xinyuan’s ears, making her shiver.
She secretly lifted her head and saw Father looking toward the kitchen.
There was little emotion in his voice.
Lin Xinyuan bit her silver teeth lightly and mumbled, “Not yet…”
Upon hearing this, Father nodded slightly. “Hmm… I’ll eat too.”
Saying that, he walked toward the bedroom, pushing open the door that hadn’t been opened for a long time.
He didn’t leave her a word or even a glance, going about packing his things on his own…
Lin Xinyuan didn’t dare to linger.
She quickened her steps to the kitchen and began preparing.
Rinsing rice and cooking it, she remembered Father’s big appetite since he did physical labor.
So she cooked extra, afraid that it wouldn’t be enough.
Then she took some more ingredients from the fridge, made two extra dishes, a pot of soup, and a pan-fried Spanish mackerel.
After finishing, she reheated the leftover stir-fried tomatoes and eggs from noon and placed all the dishes on the table.
The rice was nearly done.
She washed two pairs of bowls and chopsticks and completed all the pre-meal preparations.
Only then did the girl timidly head toward her father’s room…
But no matter how much she wanted to stall, the house wasn’t that big, and soon she reached the door.
The door was tightly shut; sounds of tidying up continued from inside.
After hesitating for a while, Lin Xinyuan cautiously knocked on the door. “Dad… it’s time to eat…”
Suddenly, all movement stopped inside, and soon her father’s voice came, “You eat first, I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay…”
The sound of packing resumed.
She had no choice but to return to the dining table.
She served herself a bowl of rice and started eating absentmindedly.
Perhaps due to lack of appetite, she ate slowly, not as quickly as usual.
One bite of food, one bite of rice; when her small bowl was only half empty, she already felt a bit full…
Finally, at this moment, the tightly shut door opened.
Father came out and sat directly across from her at the table.
Lin Xinyuan quickly stood, ready to serve him a bowl of rice.
After sitting, Father didn’t say a word, silently watching her until the bowl was placed in front of him.
Picking up his chopsticks, he began eating.
The two ate quietly, without any intention to speak.
The girl didn’t know what her father was thinking; in any case, she didn’t dare to speak.
Father’s demeanor was cold, almost like Mother’s…
But so far, there were no signs of any negative emotions… yet?
When there was only a little rice left in her bowl, she forced down the lingering nausea and finished her rice cleanly before standing up, not wanting the soup.
“I’m full…”
She whispered, somewhat apprehensive, and walked toward the kitchen.
“Wait.”
Father’s indifferent voice suddenly came from behind, carrying an unmistakable tone of command that made the girl shudder and stop in her tracks.
Breathing out lightly, she stiffly turned around, seeing Father staring intently into the rice pot.
His brows furrowed deeply.
At over forty, perhaps due to years of physical labor, his skin was darkened, but his features remained dignified.
Yet now, his face flickered with unstable emotions.
The girl’s hands holding the chopsticks began to tremble, clutching them tighter and tighter until she could no longer tighten her grip.
“When did you start eating so little?”
The man set down the rice pot, his eyes locked straight onto the stunned, delicate girl, staring at the familiar yet strange face.
His originally calm gaze darkened like black fog, a thread of loathing surfacing, piercing the girl’s already fragile heart…
No hysteria, no impotent rage—just a look and a single sentence left Lin Xinyuan sinking deep into that murky, bottomless quagmire…
The more she struggled, the harder she was pushed back.
Choked and silenced, not a single sound could escape her throat…