Going back to being twenty, taking her heartbroken son to a massage parlor.

After chasing away the annoying flies, the corner of the cafeteria finally regained a moment of peace.

Su Mu sat down again, facing his daughter.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warmly bathing the dining table and giving the plates a golden rim.

He felt a mix of emotions.

It's been almost a year now.

The father and daughter hadn't sat face to face like this in a long time.

Su Zhiling seemed to be in a much better mood because of the farce just now. The tight lines at the corners of her mouth softened a bit. She was looking down and quickly swiping her fingers on her phone screen.

The atmosphere was just right.

This was truly a golden moment to thaw the ice in the father-daughter relationship.

Su Mu cleared his throat, preparing to say something tender.

"Old Deng."

Su Zhiling didn't even look up, and suddenly blurted out two words.

"Don't think that I'll be eternally grateful just because you helped me out of a predicament."

"Our relationship right now is only slightly better than that of strangers, so don't overthink it."

The words that Su Mu was about to say were instantly swallowed back, leaving him feeling a tightness in his chest.

This unfilial daughter has absolutely no conscience.

Su Mu leaned forward, placing both hands on the edge of the table.

"Zhiling, look how long it's been since we last saw each other, can't we just have a proper chat?"

"Besides, calling him Old Deng sounds awful."

"It's been so long, and I still haven't heard you call me 'Dad' properly."

As far as I can remember, my daughter stopped calling me "Dad" very often after she started high school.

I miss it so much.

Su Zhiling turned her face to the side, leaving Su Mu with a stubborn back of her head.

Refuse to communicate.

Undeterred, Su Mu leaned forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of coaxing.

"Come on, call me 'Dad' and let me hear it."

Su Zhiling lowered her head and ignored him.

Su Mu's eyes darted around, and suddenly he slid under the table.

Immediately afterwards, a head popped out from below Su Zhiling's line of sight, right in front of her face as she played on her phone.

He still had a sly smile on his face.

"Call me Dad."

Su Zhiling was startled and almost dropped her phone.

Looking at the large face before her, she felt for the first time that her father had a somewhat sleazy air about him, and said irritably:

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Are you a weasel seeking an official title?"

Su Mu's face darkened.

This girl has such a sharp tongue.

His previous assessment of his daughter's mental state was seriously flawed.

This is nothing like Xia Qingwu, the withdrawn and quiet type.

This is clearly a combination of autism and sharp tongue; he looks listless on the outside, but once he opens his mouth, he can choke you to death.

Su Mu sat up straight again, his expression becoming more serious as he carefully considered his words.

"Daughter, I heard from your roommates that you haven't been doing well lately?"

"You haven't been talking to people much. Is something wrong? Can you talk to your father?"

Su Zhiling remained silent, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of her phone case.

Su Mu tried to make his tone sound more like a friend.

"Look, I made a special trip here today just to have a heart-to-heart talk with you."

"Tell me what's bothering you, and I'll help you solve it."

"You can treat me as your friend, not your dad."

This is his advice on how to build a good relationship with his son: start by being friends.

Su Zhiling finally reacted.

She raised her head, a hint of mockery in her beautiful eyes.

"solve?"

"Fine, if you want to solve the problem, then I'll give you a chance."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"I'm severing all ties with you, now, immediately."

Su Mu raised an eyebrow.

That girl is really ruthless.

Su Mu answered crisply and decisively.

"That's impossible."

"The law doesn't support it, and I'm reluctant to give it up. Let's find another one."

Su Zhiling didn't show much disappointment on her face, as if she had expected him to say that.

She immediately presented her second condition, raising her voice slightly.

"Then I want to drop out of school."

"I don't want to read this lousy book anymore, it's boring."

"I want to travel like my mom, anywhere is fine, I just don't want to stay in this awful school anymore!"

After saying that, she stiffened her neck, waiting for Su Mu to get angry.

In the past, whenever she expressed a desire not to go to school, Su Mu would put on a stern face and begin his long, clichéd lecture.

What does "knowledge changes destiny" mean?

What does "getting into a good university is the only way out" mean?

She's heard it so many times she's tired of it.

This time, it will definitely be the same.

As soon as he starts lecturing, I have a reason to overturn the table and leave.

However, to her surprise...

Su Mu leaned back in his chair, his hands outstretched, his expression unusually relaxed.

"It's not impossible, we can consider it."

Su Zhiling's eyes widened instantly, as if she were seeing this man for the first time.

"What did you say?"

Su Mu repeated it, his tone revealing no hint of a joke.

I said, "I can consider it."

As the ancients said, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

"If you really feel uncomfortable staying at school, going out for a walk and clearing your head is a good idea."

Anyway, our family doesn't need your future salary to support us.

This……

Something's not right!

Wasn't he the one who valued academic qualifications the most? Wasn't he the one who cared the most about his image? How come he's suddenly become so open-minded?

It's definitely an act!

Su Zhiling bit her lip, but instead of calming down, her anger flared up even more.

The feeling was like she had thrown a punch with all her might, only to land hard on a ball of cotton.

Wrong!

I feel awful!

"Stop pretending to be enlightened!"

Su Zhiling suddenly stood up from her seat, the chair legs scraping against the ground with a piercing scream.

"I want more..."

Her chest heaved violently, as if she had made up her mind, and with all her might, she shouted:

"I want you to win Mom back! I want you two to remarry!"

That shout was earth-shattering.

All the students who were still peeking in this corner of the cafeteria were startled.

Hiding behind a pillar not far away, Shang Xiuyan's heart skipped a beat; this was no good.

Su Zhiling stared intently at Su Mu, her eyes instantly reddening.

This is her deepest obsession, and also the hurdle she has never been able to overcome.

It was also a task that she believed Su Mu absolutely could not complete.

The relaxed expression on Su Mu's face finally disappeared.

He looked at his daughter's reddened eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"I'm sorry, I... can't do that."

Su Zhiling's heart sank with those words.

She pressed on, unwilling to give up, her voice trembling with tears:

Why?

"Didn't you say you could solve it? Then go and solve it! Go and solve it!"

Su Mu's voice was resolute.

"Your mother and I have separated."

"She chose the path she wanted to take, and I'm living the life I wanted to live."

"The way we are now is good for each other."

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for us to get back together.

The adult world is never a children's game; it's not something you can simply say "I want to" and go back to the past.

"I don't want to!"

Su Zhiling shouted in a tearful voice,

"Couldn't you try to keep her? Couldn't you beg her for my sake?"

"You say exactly what my mother said: you're a useless man!"

She had heard the words "useless man" since she was a child.

Now I just blurted it out.

But this time, Su Mu wasn't angry.

He simply looked at his daughter, his eyes filled with a hint of adult pity for a child.

"Zhiling, you don't understand. There's no love left between your mother and me."

"It's not that I didn't wait for her to turn back; I gave her many chances."

That woman, in order to get a divorce, even went so far as to set him up in a honey trap.

This has crossed his bottom line.

Su Zhiling wouldn't listen at all:

"You're lying!"

"You're selfish! You only care about your own pleasure!"

"Have you ever thought about me? What you're doing will make me the subject of gossip and people saying I'm from a divorced family!"

You made me lose my mother!

"You've made me feel no love!!"

She became more and more aggrieved as she spoke.

Every sentence is a statement of your initial responsibility.

The students around them started whispering and pointing.

"Oh dear, this girl is so pitiful."

"Yes, children from divorced families are indeed more sensitive."

"This father, why can't he just put up with it for the sake of the child?"

Public opinion seems to be shifting in favor of the underdog.

Seeing his daughter finally release all the grievances and pain that had been building up in her heart for years, Su Mu actually breathed a sigh of relief.

It's a good thing that they're willing to speak out.

Isn't this just like opening a crack in your heart?

Su Mu reached out and pulled out a tissue, handing it to him.

"No mother?"

"What's the big deal?"

Su Zhiling slapped his hand away, sobbing:

"Isn't this a big deal?"

"Everyone else has their mom picking them up from school and cooking for them, but I have nothing!"

Su Mu silently complained in his heart: Your mother, who never lifts a finger, how many meals has she ever cooked for you in her life?

And there's no mother?

What kind of question is this?

This is practically the easiest problem to solve.

Su Mu looked at his daughter, who was crying her eyes out, and suddenly smiled.

"Do you want your mom?"

"Isn't that simple?"

"Mom has plenty of choices for you."

Su Zhiling was stunned by his words and forgot to shed tears.

"What...what do you mean by this?"

Su Mu did not answer her. Instead, he raised his head, looked past the crowd, and waved to a pillar not far away.

In that direction, Shang Xiuyan was peeking out and looking this way.

When Su Mu spotted her, she was startled and her body stiffened. Then, under Su Mu's encouraging gaze, she gritted her teeth and walked over step by step.

Su Zhiling followed Su Mu's gaze.

When she saw the woman walking gracefully towards her.

His eyes widened even more.