Chapter 159: Conversation by the River
The Hua family's mansion was just as luxurious as Xu Shu's villa. Walking into the living room, I saw the legendary living Bodhisattva, Hua Jingjing's grandmother. With Hua Jingjing's introduction, I met her family.
Jingjing's grandmother is about 70 years old. Her long years of Buddhist practice have made her look dignified and kind. But her bald head looks strange. The old lady is very kind. After a few words, you can't help but feel close to her. I am very respectful and humble to her, and my gratitude is expressed in words.
Hua Qiming didn't mention him. Jingjing's mother was a middle-aged lady in her forties, who looked vaguely like Jingjing. She stayed beside her mother and asked me some random questions.
I also met Jingjing's brother and her cousin Liu Qing, but they all surrounded Xu Shu. After all, the charm of celebrities is huge.
During the meal, Jingjing sat next to me. She was the happiest person at the table. At the signal from Jingjing's grandmother, Hua Qiming raised his glass and formally apologized to me. Although he was the person I hated the most, he was Jingjing's father, so I still drank the glass of wine. But my attitude was still cold and I didn't say anything polite.
After the meal, Jingjing's grandmother called Jingjing and me into the study. She said to me kindly, "Xiao Tang, I admire your character. I feel relieved to leave Jingjing to you. Although Jingjing's father has nothing to say now, I know he is very unhappy in his heart. After I die, you should be prepared for him to treat you badly."
I said, "Old man, please don't say that. I am already very happy to have Jingjing. No matter how difficult the rest is, I will endure it with a smile."
Grandma nodded and said, "I'm glad you think so." She hugged Jingjing and stroked her hair lovingly. Hua Jingjing called out "Grandma!" like a spoiled child, then leaned into her arms, looking at me happily with her big, lively eyes.
Grandma added, "Xiao Tang, I only have this one precious granddaughter. After I hand her over to you, if you treat her badly, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
I hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, old man. I love Jingjing more than I love myself. How could I possibly treat her badly? I will definitely do my best to make Jingjing happy."
Hua Jingjing also twisted her body in her grandmother's arms and said unwillingly, "Grandma! Tang Qian won't do that, don't scare him!" Grandma laughed, stretched out her hand and pinched Jingjing's nose, saying, "I'm just giving him a vaccination, and you don't agree with it. Girls are really outgoing."
Hua Jingjing had no choice but to act like a spoiled brat, shouting, "Grandma, you're bullying me!"
Grandma laughed for a while, and then said to me, "Xiao Tang, although I have handed Jingjing over to you, her studies cannot be terminated. I think you should find a good day to arrange your marriage. Three years later, when Jingjing returns with her degree, you can get married. You must also work harder in these three years and succeed in your career so that Jingjing's father will not look down on you."
I said respectfully: "Please rest assured, old man, I will never let you down."
Grandma nodded and said, "I won't say anything else. You can go out now. Jingjing, go and call your beautiful classmate in. I have been a nun for twelve years. Even the sisters in the nunnery are familiar with her name. Does your brother like her very much? Haha!"
Hua Jingjing smiled and said, "Grandma, you can see this? Have you really become a Buddha?"
Grandma smiled and said, "Go! I came back this time just to worry about you. How can an old woman become a Buddha if her six senses are not pure?" Hua Jingjing smiled and took my hand and said, "Tang Qian, let's go out. My grandma wants to match another couple."
I said "oh" and followed her out of the study. The first thing I saw was Xu Shu and Jingjing's brother sitting together and talking happily. I felt a pang in my heart for no reason and turned my head away from them.
Jingjing let go of my hand, ran to , and whispered something in her ear. Xu Shu immediately blushed and reached out to hit Jingjing lightly.
I saw that Xu Xin and Liu Qing were missing from the living room. I wondered where they had gone. Xu Shu stood up and hurried into the study. Jing Jing sat next to her brother and whispered something to him. I felt bored for a moment, so I walked outside the living room and stared at a large fountain outside.
In fact, I don’t know what I’m thinking, I just feel a sense of emptiness in my heart , a kind of emptiness that comes from having gained something and at the same time lost something.
"Mr. Tang!"
I turned around and saw Hua Qiming standing beside me. He was smoking a cigar, looking at me and said, "If you don't mind, let's go for a walk?"
I was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he wanted to say to me. But he was Jingjing's father, and I couldn't avoid him. So I nodded and said, "Okay!"
Hua Qiming and I walked slowly along the river. After a long time, he finally spoke again: "Mr. Tang, I actually knew you a long time ago. I know that Jingjing spent a lot of money on you for a while. Because I love my daughter so much, I investigated you and found that while you were dating my daughter, you also had another girlfriend. And..." He stopped and stared at me and said: "You also have an unclear relationship with your former boss Gu Ruoyan in the company. You have stayed overnight at her house many times. Are what I said true?"
I was stunned. Although what Hua Qiming said was true, the whole story could not be explained in just a few words. Moreover, only I, the person involved, knew the truth. From the perspective of others, I did have ambiguous relationships with multiple women.
I began to understand why Hua Qiming hated me so much. I said, "Mr. Hua, you have no right to investigate other people's privacy, and the truth is not what you think."
Hua Qiming took a puff of his cigar and threw the rest into the river. He said, "If you were me, I believe you would do the same. There is no father in the world who doesn't care about his daughter. Don't you think so?"
I was silent for a while and nodded.
Hua Qiming added: "So I have always believed that you are a pervert who deceives women, and I think your motives for dating my daughter are not pure. I have never had a good impression of you!"
I sneered, "Do you think I approached your daughter just to get your property?"
Hua Qiming asked: "What do you think?"
I said, "I'm not interested in your dirty money at all!"
"Well, now I know! Even though you play with women, you still have some ambition."
I am speechless!
Hua Qiming added: "As a man, I can understand that you like to play with women! But as a father, I can never tolerate it. At first, I didn't want to interfere with my daughter's private life. The money she spent on you was just a drizzle . I didn't care at all. I thought that no matter how stupid my daughter was, she would stick to her bottom line in the end. Just like when she was studying in the United States, that foreigner was so outstanding and so passionate, but my daughter still cherished herself and didn't give herself up easily."
Hua Qiming sighed and looked at Yudaijiang, "Besides, I have confidence in my daughter. Sooner or later, she will see through a philandering man like you. Plus, something big happened to my European branch during that time, and I was busy dealing with it, so I didn't have time to stop you. But... I still underestimated you! Not long after I came back, I found out that my daughter was played by you. At that time, my European branch collapsed and lost nearly 300 million euros. Stimulated by this, I got angry. I admit that I was indeed very irrational at the time, and I was a little harsh on you. If you hate me, I have nothing to say, I just hope that this hatred will not involve my daughter, she is innocent."
I sneered and said, "I will never forgive you! But you can rest assured about Jingjing. I am not like you who is confused about right and wrong and loves to anger others! You can be cruel to me, but how can you be so cruel to your own daughter and torture her like this? What did Jingjing do wrong? You put her under house arrest for a long time and restricted her freedom in life. You said you care about your daughter, but why can't I feel it at all?"
Hua Qiming was stunned for a moment, and said: "Maybe... the deeper the love, the deeper the hatred! She loves you so much that she went on a hunger strike to fight with me for you. I... was jealous! And I always believe that I am right. I made a three-year vow with my daughter not to let you meet. I just think that you, a promiscuous man, will never wait for my daughter for three years. By then, you will have a new lover, and my daughter will recognize you without me saying anything. Then my painstaking efforts will not be in vain!"
I said, "If that's the case, why don't you continue to stop us now?"
Hua Qiming smiled, took out a cigar from his pocket, and asked me, "You really don't want to smoke one? I know you used to be a heavy smoker."
I shook my head and said, "No need! My quitting smoking is the only benefit you have brought me. You don't want to take back even this little benefit, do you?"
Hua Qiming smiled bitterly, took out his lighter and lit the cigar, took a deep puff, and then said, "In fact, I regretted it a long time ago. It really hurts to see my daughter getting thinner and thinner because she misses you. So I turned a blind eye to your secret correspondence, just because I couldn't bring myself to admit my mistake. Moreover, I have been secretly observing you for the past six months, and I found that you suddenly cut off all contact with women and devoted yourself to work. I still admire your current achievements. Yejianxiang tea does have a unique taste. I tried you for the last time, and then I really understood that you are still upright. A man who refuses to sell his conscience and friends is a real man. Compared with your promiscuous love, this is the character I admire. As long as you stop having promiscuous relationships with men and women from now on and devote yourself to my daughter, I will not stop you."
I said seriously, "I have never had any casual relationships with either man or woman. The only woman I have ever had is your daughter!"
"Really?" Hua Qiming smiled and said, "We are all men, there is no need to tell lies! It doesn't matter whether you admit it or not. Anyway, it's all in the past. Jingjing's grandmother's return is just an opportunity for me to step down. Otherwise, Jingjing is my biological daughter. If I don't agree, no one can interfere. The reason why I handed my daughter to you is, first, I recognize your character and achievements. Second, I believe you are sincere to my daughter. There are few men in the world who will not give up love under the huge temptation of money. I couldn't do it back then, but you did. Although I hit you, I actually admire you very much."
Hua Qiming threw away his cigar again and said to me, "I have seen a lot of fighting and deception in the business world, so I have always been ruthless to my enemies and opponents. It's a habit, so I haven't been kind to you either. But a real man can distinguish between gratitude and resentment. If something is wrong, it is wrong. I don't ask for your forgiveness. As long as you treat my daughter well, I don't care if you retaliate against me!"
I straightened my chest and said, "A real man should distinguish between gratitude and resentment, but he should also know right from wrong! Of course I won't forgive you, but you are Jingjing's father, and I won't make things difficult for Jingjing. Even if I become your son-in-law in the future, I won't call you dad. Even if you give me a cold shoulder, I can't do it!"
Hua Qiming laughed and said, "You brat! Then I won't call you son-in-law either. I'll just call you brat!"
I refused to give in and said, "Then I'll call you old man!"
Hua Qiming laughed and said, "It doesn't matter! An old man is an old man! Boy, let's go back. They saw that we two have been missing for such a long time, they won't think we went to fight, right? Haha!"
I was so amused by Old Man Hua's self-conciliation attitude that I had no choice but to follow him back. After walking a few steps, I saw Jingjing rushing towards me and calling out from a distance, "Dad! Tang Qian! Where have you been?"
Jingjing ran to us and looked at us with a worried look on her face. Old Man Hua smiled and put his arm around her, saying, "Tang Qian and I practiced boxing and kicking by the river, but now we are old and useless!"
Hua Jingjing got anxious when she heard this and shouted at me, "Tang Qian! How could you hit my dad? You promised me that you wouldn't take revenge, but you... you don't keep your word!"
I sighed in my heart. Looking at this situation, the beating I received before was in vain! There is no hope of revenge in this life. But I got the final consent of Jingjing's family, so I have no regrets. Although old man Hua is hateful, he is Jingjing's father after all. What else can I do to him?
Besides, Old Man Hua is indeed an old fox. His words by the river almost made me forgive him. It seems that old ginger is really spicy! Oh! Forget it! Men should be more magnanimous. For Jingjing, just treat the past as if it never happened!
I also smiled and said, "No way! Actually, your dad beat me up again! My hatred for him has deepened!"
