Chapter 3: 3. Zhang Sicheng

Zhang Sicheng felt exhausted at this moment; if his colleague hadn't reminded him just now, he would have already missed his stop on the subway.

He had been working overtime for a week straight, without a single moment of rest during this week; every day was nothing but work, and he didn't even have time to scroll through the news.

Fortunately, he had finally finished most of his work today, so he could be a little more relaxed tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Zhang Sicheng's mood lifted slightly, but when he returned to the residential complex where he rented, his mood sank again.

He was already twenty-seven years old this year; after graduating from high school, he began to struggle in society, working and studying hard every day. It could be said that his current knowledge base was much stronger than that of most undergraduates, not to mention his experience.

But it was still far from enough to buy a house in Shanghai; even now, they hadn't saved up enough for a down payment.

Especially after his son was born, the idea of buying a house in Shanghai had faded more and more.

Many times he thought about fleeing Shanghai to live in a small city, where life would at least not be so tiring.

But whenever this happened, he would think of his late mother and that father who had passed away without him ever having met him.

For so many years, his mother's only thought was to settle down in Shanghai—not for a Shanghai household registration, nor for the future of the two siblings, but just to wait for that man.

Even though she had long known that he had encountered a shipwreck while returning by boat, in his mother's heart, he was still alive.

This city held the most beautiful memories of his mother and him!

They had met, known, and loved each other in this city.

Regarding this father he had never met, Zhang Sicheng's feelings were actually quite complex.

Everything he knew about his father came from his mother, and in his mother's words, his father's image was incomparably tall.

It seemed that in his mother's eyes, his father was omnipotent; although for so many years, he had actually admired this father he had never met from the bottom of his heart.

When they were young, his mother would often repeat things his father had said; at that time, it seemed like fantasy to him. Even though he was young then, he knew his father seemed to be dreaming.

For example, when they were still going to supermarkets and shops to buy things, his mother said that in a few years, there would be no need to go out to buy things, as they could be bought online and delivered to the house in a single day.

When they were still enviously watching others use mobile phones, his mother said that in ten years at most, these phones would all be obsolete.

When they were still drooling in front of restaurants, his mother said that in a dozen years or so, as long as you placed an order on your phone, someone would deliver the cooked food to your doorstep.

He used to think these things were just his father's way of coaxing his mother, but as society began to develop rapidly, he discovered that all of this had actually come true!

He could hardly imagine what kind of achievements his father would have had today if he hadn't met with an accident back then!

But these were all just fantasies; their deadbeat father had disappeared without a trace in a shipwreck twenty-eight years ago.

"Wife, I'm home." Zhang Sicheng composed himself downstairs before going up, trying his best to hide the exhaustion on his face.

"Daddy, you're back." The first to greet Zhang Sicheng was his son, Zhang Xiaotao; the little guy was already six years old and was currently in the first grade.

"Where's your mom? Not back yet?" Zhang Sicheng asked after changing his shoes and picking up his son.

"Yeah, Mom is working overtime tonight," Zhang Xiaotao said.

"Alright, then it'll just be us two guys tonight. Tell me, what do you want to eat? Daddy is treating," Zhang Sicheng said with a smile.

"Yay! Daddy, I want to eat chicken cutlets, extra spicy, and I also want to drink cola," Zhang Xiaotao said excitedly upon hearing his father say this.

It seemed all parents in the world were the same; when Mom was home, basically everything that could or couldn't be eaten was strictly regulated, and no one would dare to object.

But as long as Mom wasn't home and the child was left to Dad, the taboos previously set by Mom would be forgotten by them in an instant.

"Good, Daddy will place the order now," Zhang Sicheng replied with a smile.

After placing the order, he first sent a message to his wife; his wife, Liu Lu, was a nurse and often worked the night shift, which was determined by the nature of her job.

"Daddy, when are we going to visit Susu to play? I miss Susu," Zhang Xiaotao said expectantly, lying on his father's lap.

Zhang Sicheng's expression soured instantly, but he quickly composed himself. "Your sister isn't home lately. How about we go visit Susu after a while?"

"Okay, I've saved up a lot of money, I'll buy toys for Susu then," Zhang Xiaotao said very happily.

The "sister" he spoke of was the daughter of Zhang Sicheng's own younger sister. Thinking of his sister, Zhang Siyan, Zhang Sicheng's expression turned grim; what he hated most now was his own incompetence and that he hadn't been able to stop that marriage back then.

The delivery came quickly, arriving in about ten minutes. The father and son quickly took the fast-food boxes, then looked at each other and started grabbing food with a chuckle.

"Daddy, let's watch cartoons while we eat," Zhang Xiaotao said expectantly.

Such a thing would never be allowed when Mom was around.

"Sure," Zhang Sicheng agreed immediately.

Then the two watched TV while eating. By the time they finished their meal, the cartoon had just ended, and it was time for commercials.

"Daddy, I've finished all my homework. Can I go to bed a little later tonight?" Zhang Xiaotao was pushing his luck.

On this point, Zhang Sicheng rarely disagreed. He stiffened his face and said, "No. If you sleep late, you won't be able to get up tomorrow, and then Mom will scold you."

"Alright, then I'll go take a shower first," Zhang Xiaotao walked away, feeling dejected.

Seeing his son go to shower, Zhang Sicheng began to change channels casually, preparing to shower after his son finished, and then he could go to sleep.

But soon, his body, which had been lounging on the sofa, suddenly went rigid, and his eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he had seen something that shocked him immensely.

At this moment, the TV was playing the news, which was exactly the news about the Goddess of Destiny today; the state had already acknowledged the accuracy of this news.

Zhang Sicheng didn't react at first, but soon, he was as if frozen in place, because the name "Goddess of Destiny" had been deeply etched in his memory; it was something his mother often talked about.

Zhang Sicheng's hands began to tremble, and subconsciously, he wanted to call his sister to verify if his memory had gone wrong.

Actually, he knew that if the matter was true, his memory was definitely not wrong, because for so many years, there had been very few cruise ship accidents, and there was only one case like the Goddess of Destiny cruise ship back then.

Zhang Sicheng just wanted to seek peace of mind, or rather, it was a subconscious act after being unable to believe it.

However, he found that he couldn't get through, or rather, no one answered.

Just like that, he sat stiffly on the sofa for half an hour, not taking in any of the other news on the TV; he didn't know what to do, or rather, what to think.

He only came back to his senses when Zhang Xiaotao came out of the bathroom and asked him with concern upon seeing his appearance.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Zhang Xiaotao asked with some worry; the little guy was very sensible and knew that his father had encountered something.

"It's nothing, Taotao. You go back to sleep first. Daddy won't keep you company tonight; Daddy has some work to attend to," Zhang Sicheng said, barely holding his thoughts together.

"Okay, then Daddy, don't be too tired," Zhang Xiaotao said sensibly.

"Mm, go to sleep," Zhang Sicheng said with a forced smile.

Once his son left, Zhang Sicheng immediately began to frantically search for information about this Goddess of Destiny on his phone.

Right now, the internet is completely filled with information regarding this, and it contains the photos and names of all the members of the Goddess of Destiny.

At first glance, Sicheng saw the name that had been lingering in his ears, yet which he had never seen before: Zhang Ran!