Chapter 14: Dad's cooking skills are really good

Dad, where did you go? We couldn't reach you, we were almost going crazy.

Xiao Ming had just entered the door when Yuchun came up to meet him, tears still on her face.

"Couldn't reach you?" Xiao Ming took out his phone, looked, and apologetically patted his daughter's shoulder: "Sorry, my phone died, I made you worry."

The three siblings happily moved their luggage into the villa, only to find their father had vanished.

The phone still wouldn't go through.

The two sisters were frightened to tears, thinking their father didn't want them anymore.

They also thought these happy days of late had all been a dream.

Finally, seeing XiaoMo return home, the two sisters breathed a sigh of relief.

"I said Dad must have something going on, you still didn't believe me—look, he's back," Yun Zhe muttered.

"Dad, you're not allowed to make us lose you again," Yuchun said pitifully, especially worried that after finally finding their biological father, he'd abandon them again.

She tightly linked her arm with Xiao Ming's: "Dad, wherever you go these days, I'll follow; you must take me with you wherever you go."

"Right, you must take me with you wherever you go," Jingrou also echoed.

The two sisters wished they could find a rope to tie themselves to their father to feel at ease.

"Fine, I'll take you wherever I go, okay?" Xiao Ming said, laughing and crying at once.

He deeply realized something.

His two daughters might be so lacking in paternal love that, after all these years of searching for him, they now feel utterly insecure.

They're grown women in their twenties, yet they cry like children at the drop of a hat.

And they're so clingy.

Their feelings are also overly exaggerated; after all, the daughters are grown, loving their father is right, but it seems a bit excessive.

He didn't dislike it that way; he just also enjoyed having the kids with him, but some feelings are better kept inside.

Never mind, as long as the kids are happy.

He put away all those messy thoughts in his heart.

Nothing is more important than the children's happiness.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you; from now on, I'll never leave you again."

"I will spend the rest of my life making up for the paternal love I owed you these past years," Xiao Ming solemnly promised.

"Huh? Is that a parrot?"

Xiao Ming walked into the house; Yuchun saw him holding a twisted bird cage and curiously approached.

"Yeah, it's a parrot, named DouDouBao."

Xiao Ming indulgingly handed the Diamond Parrot to Yuchun.

"Goodness, it's so beautiful."

In an instant, the three siblings' attention was drawn to the Diamond Parrot.

Yuchun and Jingrou couldn't put down the parrot cage, placing it on the table and began to tease the Diamond Parrot.

"Goodness, Dad, this parrot you brought is so pretty."

"DouDouBao? What a cute name."

"I never expected to see such a good-looking parrot; this is my first time."

The two sisters happily teased the Diamond Parrot, overjoyed.

"This is a Diamond Parrot, after all—a very valuable breed among parrots, costing a lot to buy." Yun Zhe also came to join the fun: "I've seen this breed in a magazine; it's extremely rare."

He looked at XiaoMo with eyes full of surprise.

Could their father afford such a valuable parrot?

Xiao Ming turned and happened to see Yun Zhe's inquisitive gaze, then explained: "A valuable breed? I'm not sure; a friend gave it to me, he doesn't know much either."

Xiao Ming spoke earnestly while telling a lie.

Since having this Diamond Parrot, his life has become a bit more interesting, not so dull.

So, whenever he stays somewhere for a few days, he likes to bring this parrot along.

Many women, knowing he likes this parrot, have lavished attention on it.

Too bad, those women—Xiao Ming could take a liking to every one of them.

"Hehe, really interesting."

After getting the parrot, the two daughters completely ignored Xiao Ming.

"Ah!" Xiao Ming felt a bit helpless—was the parrot really that popular? Receiving such favor from his daughters, he was almost jealous.

……

It was dinnertime.

The two sisters and Xiao Ming were in the kitchen helping their father, washing and chopping vegetables.

They were busy having a blast!

Xiao Ming was in charge of stir-frying, while Yun Zhe, who never went into the kitchen from the start, just watched TV in the living room waiting to eat.

"Dad, have you been busy these two days?" Yuchun asked while washing vegetables, turning her head idly.

"Not busy lately," Xiao Ming replied: "Do you want to go somewhere?"

In fact, although he had become a hands-off manager, occasionally some matters still required his personal involvement.

These days, the Group happened to have a shareholders' meeting to discuss building a tourist attraction in Leaf Prosper City, but for Xiao Ming at this moment, no matter how big the affair, it couldn't affect his enjoyment of family bliss with his children.

"Let's go out and play first; the weather's been nice lately, we want to go on an autumn outing—will you join us?" Yuchun asked coquettishly.

"Sure."

Xiao Ming readily agreed.

The dishes were ready quickly.

The dishes included mapo tofu, fish-fragrant shredded pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, a few vegetable sides, and the two sisters' favorite spicy crayfish.

"Ah, it smells so good, I can't help drooling—let's dig in." After everyone sat down, Wen Yuchun was the first to start eating.

Wen Yunzhe also followed suit and started eating.

The aroma of the food had already whetted his appetite; he didn't even know how much saliva he had produced.

At first, he thought the only advantage of living together with Xiao Ming was that the three siblings no longer had to worry about rent.

Now it seems the benefits are far more than that.

Dad's cooking skills are really not bad.

Over these years, his stomach has suffered terribly.

The two younger sisters are sensible and thoughtful, but their cooking is so bad that Wen Yunzhe can't even bring himself to give them insincere praise.

It's too awful to eat.

"Hurry up and eat."

Seeing how pleased the three siblings were with the food, Xiao Ming also felt delighted.

This feeling of being together as a family is truly wonderful.

These past few days, every meal shared with the children has given him an unprecedented sense of happiness.

"Dad, I'm not holding back—you should eat quickly too."

Wen Jingrou also dove in with a huge appetite.

The family chatted while eating.

In the course of chatting, listening to his two daughters, Wen Yunzhe had actually graduated from the Finance Department of Zhehai University, and at the time he had even been exceptionally admitted by the top institution of Mi Guo.

But because he was uneasy about leaving his two younger sisters behind in the country, he gave up the opportunity for further study.

"Not bad—I never expected Yunzhe to be this capable."

"In that case, you're still a talent." Xiao Ming felt relieved, then proceeded to assess his son's ability: "Yunzhe, what do you think of our country's financial market right now?"