After the Traffic Jam

After a bout of fussing, by the time Lin Xiaolu combed her hair, shuffled over to the dining table in her slippers, and finished breakfast, the time had already reached seven-twenty-five.

During this time, presumably feeling that Lin Yun as an ordinary person could not see fairies, she and Moko also glared at each other from time to time, extending the Cold War from the bathroom to the dining table.

Lin Yun gave full play to his acting skills, feigning ignorance and turning a blind eye to it. He silently gathered the bowls and chopsticks, rinsed them a few times simply before putting them into the sterilizing cabinet, and then picked up his things, looking at Lin Xiaolu.

Although he did not speak, the meaning he wanted to convey was very obvious: do you want me to drive you?

Lin Xiaolu remained silent.

For Lin Yun to choose to drive her to school at this hour meant that he had already prepared himself to be late, a consideration she simply did not want to accept rather than failing to understand.

Every time she accepted a fraction of her old man's goodwill, she lost a fraction of her reason to hold a grudge against him. She did not want their relationship to simply improve like this, to the end where she would be unable to hate him—otherwise, who else would remember her mother's grievances?

So she lowered her head, dodging Lin Yun's gaze.

This was probably a silent refusal.

"If you really want to go by yourself, don't blame me if you're late."

Lin Yun was accustomed to this, and his mood did not fluctuate much. Anyway, Lin Xiaolu throwing a tantrum with him was not a matter of a day or two; it would be a rarity if she actually agreed readily. Since she did not want to go with him, there was no need to force it.

After finishing packing her things and changing into her leather shoes, he pushed the door open, stepped into the apartment hallway, and walked toward the elevator bay.

Screech!

Yet before he had even walked ten meters, the door behind him opened again.

He looked back, only to see Lin Xiaolu poking half her body out from the crack of the door, still tilting her head with lowered eyes, her lips moving as if she were whispering something.

"Your voice is too soft, I can't hear you." He said this.

Lin Xiaolu stopped her movement.

Her gaze shifted around, looking at the floor and then at the wall, her gaze sweeping past Moko who was snickering, and she even took a stealthy glance at her old man.

Finally, she took a deep breath, turned her head to face Lin Yun, closed her eyes, and shouted:

"I said, wait for me to go back and get my schoolbag!"

Luoming District, Xidian Road, beneath the elevated road bridge.

Lin Yun looked at the stagnant traffic ahead, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

Fortunately, he had already made ample expectations for the traffic jam, so he was unhurried and impatient at the moment; anyway, he was destined to be late himself, so it was enough to ensure his daughter arrived at school on time before eight o'clock.

Lin Xiaolu, sitting in the back seat, looked out the window without a word, and there was no telling what she was thinking. Inside the schoolbag beside her, Moko poked her head out and looked at the two people inside the car.

Taking a look at his daughter's state through the rearview mirror, Lin Yun thought for a moment, feeling that certain topics still had to be brought up, so he simply spoke, "Lulu, do you guys have your final exams next week?"

Mentioning exams at a time like this was naturally hitting a sore spot for a child.

"Mm." Thus Lin Xiaolu's reaction was flat, obviously not wanting to delve deeply into this topic.

"How is the preparation?" Lin Yun let his tone be as calm as possible, avoiding placing pressure on his daughter.

"So-so, I guess."

"I remember you said you ranked in the middle at the end of last semester?"

"About that."

"Then do you have any target ranking this time? If you achieve it, Dad can buy you a small gift."

"...Unnecessary."

Lin Xiaolu paused, her voice muffled: "You already bought one for my birthday before."

What she referred to was a matter from May; strictly speaking, her birthday was on May fifth. At that time, Lin Xiaolu had yet to meet Moko, nor had she become a Magical Girl—she was merely an ordinary junior high school student troubled by youth and life.

On her birthday, she stubbornly refused Lin Yun's proposal to spend it together, saying she had other arrangements to go out and play with friends, telling him to go busy himself with his own matters.

Unable to talk her out of it, Lin Yun had no choice but to attend a company business dinner, and because he could not settle his mind, he left midway, hurrying back home early with a birthday gift he had bought for Lin Xiaolu—a new mobile phone.

And it was not until he returned home that he discovered that Lin Xiaolu on that night had no "other arrangements" at all. She did not go out to play with friends; instead, she stayed home alone, sang a birthday song to herself, and finally blew out the birthday candles by herself.

Such a scene happened to be bumped into by Lin Yun, and he only felt both heartache and anger. He questioned his daughter why she was self-inflicting such harm, and Lin Xiaolu threw a fit of anger and refused to answer, the relationship between father and daughter cooling down once again, not speaking a single word for quite a long time.

It was not until many days later that Lin Yun saw Lin Xiaolu, who had become a Magical Girl, in a television report, and the two people's stagnant relationship slowly moved forward once more.

"I'm sorry, Lulu."

Looking at the traffic beginning to move ahead, Lin Yun suddenly said, "On the day of your birthday before, I should have insisted on staying behind to accompany you."

"Saying this now?"

Lin Xiaolu opened her eyes slightly wide in surprise, but after glancing at Moko in the schoolbag beside her, she put on an indifferent attitude again: "Doesn't matter, anyway it's already been so long."

"It has nothing to do with how long ago it was."

Lin Yun shifted into reverse gear and gently stepped on the accelerator, the vehicle slowly starting up: "Because I will remember, and I will feel uneasy."

"...Remember?"

Lin Xiaolu recited the word in her mouth.

She first wore a blank expression, then revealed a smile-that-was-not-a-smile expression, but finally her eyebrows stood up straight like a bristling small animal, and she retorted sharply: "You can actually still say that word? Remember? Did you forget what you said when Mom died?"

She would not forget what this man had said to her before her mother's funeral, because he had said to "forget her." Yet now of all times he was saying he wanted to "remember" and would feel "uneasy"—how on earth was she supposed to trust him?

"I'm very sorry about your mother's matter."

Facing Lin Xiaolu's anger, Lin Yun's tone remained calm throughout. Holding the steering wheel, he looked at the road ahead: "I really didn't know how to tell you at the time, so I could only use such a vague statement."

"Because I remember her affairs, and I will feel sorrow and pain, so I hoped that you, at a young age, would forget her and shed your grief with time, and be able to grow up happily."

"It's just that I didn't expect you were actually more sensible than I imagined, and my concealment failed to let you let go of these things and become happy, always feeling gloomy instead."

"If you feel chilled by what I said at the time, or continue to hold doubts about her death, I think... we can find some time to talk it over properly."

The final sentence made Lin Xiaolu in the back seat stop breathing.

It took her several seconds to comprehend what Lin Yun meant, and she even forgot to be angry, leaving only doubt in her heart: "Talk it over, what is there to talk about?"

"Naturally your mother's affairs, as well as my affairs."

Lin Yun sighed with emotion: "You have already grown up now, and things I didn't tell you before are all at the time to confess. It's just that I still need some preparation, some time; can you wait for me a little longer? I promise this period of time won't be too long, and when that day comes, I will naturally tell you everything."

When the words reached here, he paused, took a deep breath again, and finally uttered his heartfelt thoughts that he had held all along: "So, give me a chance to make amends, okay, Lulu? Your mother's matter, the matter of running away from home in the past, and your birthday matter—give me a chance to make amends, okay?"

The interior of the car fell into a prolonged silence.

Lin Yun waited for Lin Xiaolu's answer, while Lin Xiaolu digested what he had said. She pondered, hesitated, and ultimately made a decision.

"...The parent-teacher meeting." Lin Xiaolu's muffled voice sounded from the back seat.

"What?"

"After the final exams end, next week, the school is going to hold a parent-teacher meeting."

Lin Xiaolu rested her chin in her hand, continuing to look at the flowing scenery outside the window: "If you're willing, then come."

"A parent-teacher meeting?"

Lin Yun, whose expression had never been particularly rich, could not remain calm for a moment after receiving this answer: "You mean..."

"Let's make it clear first, you're the one who wants to come."

Interrupting his words, Lin Xiaolu suddenly turned her head, her gaze meeting Lin Yun's in the rearview mirror, and she said somewhat viciously: "So if you break your promise with an excuse this time, I won't talk to you for a whole year after this!"

"...Heh."

Lin Yun suddenly laughed.

He laughed happily and somewhat with a sense of relief, as if he had not been this happy in a very long time.

This abrupt laughter, however, made Lin Xiaolu feel shy and annoyed: "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I'm just really happy." Lin Yun said with the corners of his mouth upturned.

"What's there to be happy about for a thing like this? So annoying!" Lin Xiaolu drooped her eyelids.

"I promise you."

"What?"

"A year... no, let alone a year, if I break my promise this time, you can ignore me for the rest of your life."

"A boring stakes raise, I'm not interested."

"Then never mind these; in short, I will definitely go."

Lin Yun's solemn promise also touched Lin Xiaolu somewhat, but she still suppressed her emotions, put on a tight face, and said, "...Hmph, let's hope so."

Amidst the morning light, the car that had climbed onto the elevated road finally broke through the obstacles of the traffic flow, and was able to step on the gas and gallop away toward the distance.