Zhao Haochen was a deeply calculating man who excelled at putting on a facade, and this personality made him particularly outstanding among his peers. Whether in cultivation Grade Realm, comprehension and talent, or his gentle, easygoing manner toward others, he gave people the impression that he would be Delusion Village's foremost figure in the next generation.
But that calculation and pretense also inevitably forged a suspicious, complicated inner world. He wanted everything to be foolproof and perfect, yet that cost him some human authenticity and even more of the ordinary warmth he ought to have had.
Although Zhao Mi's question had come suddenly, he was still his father. A son with a normal personality might not have thought anything of it at all, simply opening his mouth to reply, "Can't we each have half a bowl? Give me half, and when you're old, I'll find you a new wife. Otherwise, if I starve to death, who's going to clean up your shit and piss when you get old...?"
At the dinner table, amid casual conversation, a father and son ought to have been relaxed with each other. He could just have said whatever came to mind.
But Zhao Haochen was different. After hearing his father's words, he thought far too much. He felt it was a test, a warning, and, more than that, an assertion of paternal authority within a great family. As a result, he was completely bewildered, holding the bowl of congee in both hands, unsure how to respond.
Across the table, Zhao Mi saw him freeze and answered first with a brilliant smile. "Heh, if there really were only one bowl of congee left, I would let you have it."
Only then did Zhao Haochen abruptly come to his senses and immediately add, "How could a father