Chapter 351 - 216: Jiang Silu: Mom, I want to forgive Dad

Chapter 351: Chapter 216: Jiang Silu: Mom, I want to forgive Dad

Pan Lanfang was even more pleased to hear this.

She stood up, looking as if she had made some sort of decision. "I’m going to the vegetable patch to pick some vegetables. I’ll call Yixia tonight and have her come over for dinner this weekend."

"Tricking her into coming back again?" Jiang Guoqiang asked, a little surprised.

"What do you mean, ’trick’?" Pan Lanfang gave him a look. "Isn’t it only natural for a daughter to come home and see her parents?"

Jiang Guoqiang just smiled and said nothing more.

Pan Lanfang grabbed a basket and headed out to the vegetable patch.

As she picked vegetables, she thought, ’When Yixia comes back, I need to have a good talk with her.’

’That girl... She’s wonderful in every way, just too stubborn.’

She picked a bunch of greens and a few radishes, mentally planning what to cook for the weekend.

’Xiaolu likes braised pork, so I’ll have to go into town early to buy the meat.’

’Yixia likes fish. I’ll have the old man go down to the river and catch a couple.’

A smile spread across her face as she thought about it.

’These days, there’s more and more to look forward to.’

...

Jiang Silu and Lu Fan had been wandering the old streets of Suzhou for over an hour.

She clutched a tanghulu in one hand and chewed on a freshly bought osmanthus cake, her eyes already fixed on a small wonton stall up ahead.

"You want to try that, too?" Lu Fan asked with a smile.

Jiang Silu nodded shyly. "Just a taste..."

Lu Fan walked over and ordered a bowl from the owner.

The small wontons arrived in a clear broth, with bits of scallion and dried shrimp floating on top.

Jiang Silu spooned one into her mouth, and her eyebrows shot up at the savory flavor.

"So good!" she couldn’t help but exclaim.

Lu Fan felt happy himself as he watched her look of pure contentment.

’I never took her out to eat things like this before,’ he thought.

’All those years with her mother... I can only imagine how much she must have suffered.’

"Silu," he said suddenly.

Jiang Silu looked up, her mouth still full of wonton, and mumbled, "Hm?"

Lu Fan looked at her and said earnestly, "From now on, just tell me whatever you want to eat. I’ll take you."

Jiang Silu froze for a second, then lowered her head and nodded, her face turning red. "Okay."

She went back to eating her wontons, but her eyes began to well up.

It wasn’t because of the delicious wontons. It was because she had been waiting to hear those words for many, many years.

When she was a little girl, she’d always been secretly envious whenever she saw other kids being taken out for treats by their fathers.

Now, she had that too.

Jiang Silu finished the last wonton in her bowl, then looked up at Lu Fan and smiled.

Lu Fan smiled back.

That night, Jiang Silu lay in her hotel bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

’She thought about being on the food street today, and how happy her dad looked when the owner said they looked like brother and sister.’

’She remembered the earnest look on his face when he said, "From now on, just tell me whatever you want to eat."’

She picked up her phone, thinking of sending her mom a message.

She typed a few words, then deleted them.

Typed again, and deleted again.

Finally, she sent a message: [Mom, I went to Suzhou to consult with Teacher He today. I got a lot out of it.]

Yixia replied quickly: [That’s good. Focus on preparing for your competition, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.]

Silu stared at the message, hesitated for a moment, then sent another: [Dad took me to a food street today. We ate so many good things.]

After sending it, she stared at the screen, waiting for a long moment.

Yixia’s reply finally came: [Okay, so you ate. Just don’t eat too much, or you’ll get a stomachache.]

Silu couldn’t help but smile.

’Mom was always like this,’ she thought. ’She clearly cares, but she’ll never say it out loud.’

She sent another message: [Mom, Dad said you two have been getting along pretty well lately. He said you even made him tea.]

This time, Yixia’s reply was much faster: [I just poured him a glass of water.]

Seeing this message, Silu’s smile grew even wider.

’Mom’s still so stubborn,’ she thought.

After a moment of thought, she sent: [Mom, I feel like Dad is being really good to me, and I don’t hate him so much anymore. Is it okay for me to forgive him?]

Yixia: [Silly girl, you never need my permission for that. Besides, your father didn’t even know you and your brother had been born back then. Now he’s making an effort to be there for you two. Of course you can forgive him. He’s your father, after all.]

Silu was deeply moved when she saw the message.

Silu: [Okay~ Mom, I really hope that you and my brother can forgive him one day, too~ Then our family of four can all live happily together.]

At that moment, Yixia stared at the message from Silu, hesitating for a long time.

Fragments of memories swirled through her mind.

Finally, she replied: [Okay. It will.]