"Done whispering?"
Father ground out his cigarette butt in the ashtray, got up, and opened the window to air the room out, scattering the smell of smoke in the Living Room.
Ever since Younger Sister was born, he had rarely smoked at home.
Only after Younger Sister went back to her room to rest would he take a few puffs, then air the place out once he was done.
"Mm..."
Yao Wan murmured softly, but for a moment, she did not know what to say.
It seemed to have always been like this between them.
Father was always a man of few words, while she had been born with a fear of him.
Only, for some reason, Younger Sister was the opposite. She could roughhouse and joke with Father, yet when facing Mother, she was always timid and shrinking.
"Leaving already? Not staying a little longer?"
Yao Wan only shook her head. "I still have things to do."
"Oh."
Father merely answered with a sound of deep understanding. It was so familiar it could not have been more familiar; the way she refused people now had naturally been learned from him from the very beginning.
"Then go. Be careful in all things. Be bold, but meticulous."
Father fell silent again for a moment. "That bastard... how does he treat you?"
"Pretty well."
"He doesn't look like any kind of good person."
Yao Wan frowned and was just about to argue back when she heard him sigh.
"Mm... if he's not a good person, then so be it. Being a good person isn't easy. A little bad is fine too. At least he won't get bullied."
In the end, Yao Wan still held back the thought of arguing with him. Although the memories of the past were gradually fading, the impression