I put you in charge of the child, and you raised a monster!

It was already evening when the car drove back into the city.

The grassland outside the window gradually receded into the distance, replaced by rows of houses and streetlights that came on.

Shen Ling'er leaned against Yang Mi, holding the large dolphin in her arms. A wooden box rested on her lap, containing several balls of wool yarn and a small, uneven piece of grayish-white thread.

Shen Fei sat on her other side.

He remained quiet the entire way.

Yang Mi glanced at him every now and then.

It was as if they were afraid that if they blinked, this person would disappear from the car again.

Shen Fei noticed her gaze and reached out to take her hand.

"I am here."

Yang Mi pursed her lips slightly.

"After you came back, are these the only two words you can say?"

"Enough."

"It's enough for you, but not enough for me."

Shen Fei thought for a moment.

"Say it more later."

Yang Mi then smiled.

Zhao Lei, who was sitting in front, turned around.

"Mr. Shen, you'd better write this guarantee down."

Shen Fei looked at him.

Zhao Lei immediately turned back.

"I'm not urging you, I just feel that verbal promises are easily blown away by the wind."

Shen Ling'er hugged the giant dolphin tightly.

Stop worrying about other people.

"I'm just concerned about family stability."

"Take care of yourself first."

Zhao Lei looked down at his hands.

"I'm quite stable."

Shen Ling'er stretched out her hand and pointed to his feet.

His long-handled umbrella was there.

The tip of the umbrella was pointing directly at the aisle.

Zhao Lei paused for two seconds, then immediately bent down and laid the umbrella horizontally.

"It's more stable now."

Shen Ling'er nodded.

"Um."

"See, I can already identify problems myself."

"The umbrella was discovered first."

"It reminded me."

"It can't talk."

"So I'll speak for it."

A burst of laughter came from the back row.

The last bit of tension in the car dissipated.

……

The production team did not continue filming.

The director originally wanted to keep the scene of Shen Fei's return, and even had the cinematographer prepare the equipment in advance.

But Shen Fei only glanced at the camera.

"I won't film."

The director was stunned.

"This is a very important reunion."

"Family reunions are not for show."

One sentence was enough to make the director put down his camera completely.

In the end, the program only showed the grassy slope outside the car window and Shen Ling'er's back as she carried the wooden box toward Shen Fei.

No front view.

There was no explanation.

No identification information provided.

All the audience knows is that the father whom Shen Ling'er has mentioned many times has finally returned.

As for who he is, what he has done, and why he raised such a daughter, the program did not provide any answers.

The internet is already in an uproar.

Some people say he is a retired special forces soldier.

Some say he is an advisor to some mysterious department.

Some people even dug up all the details from the early episodes, trying to piece together Shen Fei's background from what Shen Ling'er said.

Shen Ling'er glanced at the comments and then pushed the tablet aside.

"They guessed wrong."

Yang Mi is cutting fruit in the kitchen.

"What did you guess?"

"They say Dad can fly."

Shen Fei sat on the living room sofa, placing the spindle on the table as his daughter had requested.

He raised his eyes upon hearing this.

"Won't."

"I know."

Shen Ling'er picked up a ball of wool and placed it in front of him.

"Pull it first."

Shen Fei reached out and pinched the wool.

It broke.

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Lei stood to the side, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

Shen Ling'er looked at the broken wool, but wasn't angry. She simply handed him the other end again.

"Be gentle."

Shen Fei nodded.

Pull again.

This time the wool was stretched very thin, but it didn't break.

Shen Ling'er withdrew her hand with satisfaction.

"Can."

Zhao Lei finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mr. Shen, is this your first time learning to spin thread?"

"Um."

"When you were teaching Ling'er before—"

"Read a book."

Zhao Lei paused.

"You can't?"

"Won't."

Shen Ling'er immediately looked up.

"You didn't say that before."

Shen Fei looked down at her.

"I knew a little before."

"You said you could do anything."

"You've got it wrong."

The little girl squinted her eyes.

Yang Mi came out carrying a fruit platter and happened to hear the last sentence.

"Ling'er, did your father lie to you before?"

"It's not a lie."

Shen Fei said.

"The explanation was incomplete."

Zhao Lei nodded in agreement.

"I know that line well."

Shen Ling'er picked up a small piece of wool and stuffed it into Shen Fei's hand.

"Then explain it completely now."

Shen Fei looked at his daughter.

"I'm not very good at spinning thread."

"so?"

"Your mother taught you."

Yang Mi sat down next to her daughter.

"I'll teach you two."

Shen Fei nodded.

Shen Ling'er thought for a moment and then pushed the spindle in front of him.

"Then you can't just look."

"it is good."

"It's not impossible."

"it is good."

"And you absolutely cannot leave halfway through."

Shen Fei nodded again.

"it is good."

Zhao Lei was stunned.

"Mr. Shen, did you agree to this when you were out in public?"

Shen Fei looked at him.

"no."

"Then why now—"

"She is my daughter."

Zhao Lei was speechless.

Shen Ling'er lowered her head and straightened a small tuft of wool.

"You sit down too."

Zhao Lei was taken aback.

"I?"

"Didn't you want to learn?"

"Can I?"

"Can."

"real?"

"Put the umbrella further away first."

Zhao Lei immediately got up and took the umbrella to the door.

When he returned, he deliberately sat far away from the table, with his hands neatly placed on his knees.

Shen Ling'er glanced at it.

"You're sitting too far away."

Zhao Lei moved forward.

"And now?"

"Can."

"I finally got to attend a formal class today."

Shen Ling'er handed him the spindle.

"Don't turn too fast."

"Know."

"Don't squeeze too tightly either."

"Know."

"Don't blame the wool if it breaks."

"Know."

"Don't get the thread tangled in your own hands."

Zhao Lei looked down at his tools.

"Do you think I'm capable of anything?"

Shen Ling'er nodded.

"Um."

Zhao Lei remained silent for a moment.

"You have a high opinion of me."

"It's high-risk."

Yang Mi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

……

That evening, the entire production team had their last meal together.

Zhou Chen and Su Wan brought Zhou Xiaoyu over, and Chen Hao and Lin Jia also arrived with Chen Doudou.

Zhao Mengmeng sat next to Shen Ling'er, holding a newly bought sheep doll.

The children laid out the wool they had brought back from the ranch on the table and discussed what to do with it.

Zhou Xiaoyu wants to make a small ball.

Chen Doudou wants to be a big wolf.

Zhao Mengmeng wants to be a butterfly.

After listening, Shen Ling'er took out paper and pen.

"Draw it first."

Chen Doudou immediately asked, "Can we do it once we've drawn it?"

"You can't draw badly."

Chen Doudou lowered her head and drew a picture of an animal with four legs of different lengths, very seriously.

Shen Ling'er looked at it for a moment.

"Is that a wolf?"

"Um."

"Is its leg broken?"

"No, it's running."

"Then what you drew is someone falling down."

Chen Doudou thought for a moment, then took the paper and redrawn.

Lin Jia sat beside her son and pressed the paper down for him.

Take your time.

On the other side, Zhou Xiaoyu handed the small ball she had drawn to Zhao Lei.

"Uncle Zhao, can you make this?"

Zhao Lei took the paper.

"meeting."

Shen Ling'er looked up.

Zhao Lei immediately changed his tune.

"I'll give it a try."

"That's more like it."

"Teacher Ling'er, can't you let me retain a little authority in front of the children?"

Do you have it?

Zhou Xiaoyu and Zhao Mengmeng shook their heads at the same time.

Zhao Lei clutched his chest.

"My status within the family has been severely affected."

Bai Sisi picked up a piece of meat for him.

"Let's eat first."

"You're still the best."

"Spin the thread straighter."

Just as Zhao Lei was getting emotional, Bai Sisi added a comment.

He looked down at the meat in the bowl.

"You've all learned to give the candy first, then the task."

Shen Ling'er took a sip of soup.

"My father once said, if you want someone to do something, you have to feed them first."

Shen Fei is peeling shrimp for Yang Mi.

Hearing this, he looked up at his daughter.

Did I say that?

"I did say that."

"When?"

"You forgot."

Shen Fei paused for a moment.

"possible."

Zhao Lei's eyes lit up.

"You'd say 'maybe' too?"

Shen Fei nodded.

"If it's something you can't do, say you can't. If it's something you haven't confirmed, say you might."

Lin Yan, sitting opposite, suddenly smiled upon hearing this.

Over the past few months, everyone has been corrected by Shen Ling'er many times.

You can't guess.

Don't touch it carelessly.

You can't say "I'm sure" when you "see a little".

We cannot skip confirmation just because it seems similar to our experience.

Those words that were once considered nitpicky by young girls eventually became rules they kept in their hearts.

Shen Ling'er glanced at the people on the table.

"You all remembered it?"

Zhao Lei raised his hand.

"I've got it."

What did you remember?

"Don't touch it, don't chase it, don't make wild guesses."

"Anything else?"

Zhao Lei thought for a moment.

"Look at your feet, look at the road, look at the window, look at the chair, look—"

Shen Ling'er tapped him with her dolphin tail.

Snapped.

"Have a meal."

Zhao Lei immediately lowered his head.

……

After the meal, Qin Zheng called.

Qin Zheng is now the bureau chief, and his voice is much more composed than before.

"Is Shen Ling'er here?"

"exist."

The little girl took the phone.

"Uncle Qin."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Have you finally found your dad?"

"Um."

"Will you still help your uncle investigate cases in the future?"

Shen Ling'er hugged the dolphin and thought about it seriously.

"It depends."

"What's going on?"

"It's dangerous, I'm not going."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Let's see if Mom agrees."

Yang Mi immediately said from the side, "Let's see if your father agrees first."

Qin Zheng's laughter came from the other end of the phone.

"Alright. Then I wish your family a happy reunion."

Shen Ling'er looked up at Shen Fei.

Uncle Qin said he wished our family a reunion.

Shen Fei nodded.

"Thanks."

Upon hearing his voice, Qin Zheng's tone became noticeably more serious.

"Mr. Shen, when are you free to come to the station for a visit?"

Shen Fei calmly replied, "I'm not going."

"Shall I go and pay them a visit?"

"No need."

Why?

"We've just started teaching our family how to spin yarn."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Qin Zheng clearly hadn't expected this answer.

"Then... I won't bother you."

The phone hangs up.

Zhao Lei looked on with curiosity.

"Does Director Qin know you?"

"I've seen it."

"When?"

"before."

"What exactly are you—"

Shen Ling'er raised her hand.

Zhao Lei, shut up.

Lin Yan looked at Shen Fei and finally asked, "Mr. Shen, what happened before—"

Shen Fei put the peeled shrimp into Yang Mi's bowl.

"Things from the past."

Will you leave again in the future?

Yang Mi stopped moving.

The sounds inside the room gradually quieted down.

Shen Fei did not answer immediately.

He glanced at his daughter.

Shen Ling'er was tidying up the name tag for the dolphin when she heard the question, and her finger stopped on the gray-white line.

Shen Fei reached out and gently pressed the back of her hand.

"Won't."

This time, Yang Mi did not ask any further questions.

Shen Ling'er didn't have it either.

Because she had already heard the answer.

……

A few days later, the show officially came to an end.

In the final episode, the director did not reveal Shen Fei's past, nor did he arrange for his identity to be revealed.

He only focused his camera on each family.

Zhou Chen and Su Wan helped Zhou Xiaoyu complete the sheep migration that their daughter had wanted to see.

Chen Hao and Lin Jia helped Chen Doudou build a wooden house that wouldn't collapse.

Zhao Lei finally spun a thread that wasn't perfect, but it wasn't broken.

Bai Sisi sewed the thread into Zhao Mengmeng's cloth bag.

Zhao Mengmeng was very satisfied with this.

"Dad made it."

Zhao Lei looked at the camera, his chest out.

"Yes, Dad made it."

Shen Ling'er walked by and said casually, "Mom helped you revise it three times."

Zhao Lei's chest slowly slumped down.

The director didn't cut it.

The audience laughed for a long time.

The last scene shows Yang Mi sitting in the courtyard, teaching Shen Ling'er and Shen Fei how to spin wool into yarn.

Shen Ling'er's movements were practiced.

Yang Mi was patient and gentle.

Shen Fei initially kept breaking the wires, but gradually learned to control his strength.

The large dolphin was placed in the middle of the three people.

The gray-white lines on the nameplate swayed gently in the sunlight.

Off-camera, the director asked, "Mr. Shen, how does it feel to be on a show for the first time?"

Shen Fei bent down to tidy up the loose threads.

"Quarrel."

The director was taken aback.

"Anything else?"

"The food is good."

"That's all?"

Shen Fei thought for a moment.

"My daughter is happy."

Yang Mi turned his head and glanced at him.

Shen Ling'er also raised her head.

Shen Fei reached out and pressed her wind-blown hair back down.

"So it's possible."

The director looked at the family of three and finally didn't ask any more questions.

Some answers don't need to be said too much.

……

Even after the program ended, online speculation about Shen Fei's identity continued.

Some say he is a reclusive master.

Some say he used to work for a special department.

Some say he is skilled in lock picking, drawing, gambling, grappling, and wilderness survival, and could not possibly be just an ordinary person.

Qin Zheng looked at the online discussions, smiled, and placed his phone face down on the table.

The officer next to him asked, "Chief, who exactly is Mr. Shen?"

Qin Zheng remained silent for a moment.

"He is a father."

"this one?"

"That's it."

"But he helped us with so many cases before."

"That's because Ling'er wants to know the answer."

"Then Mr. Shen—"

Qin Zheng raised his eyes.

"He only cares about his daughter and wife."

The police officer nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Qin Zheng did not offer any further explanation.

Because he knows that some people don't need to be deified.

They are simply willing to patiently teach what they know to the people they care about most.

That's it.

……

Six months later.

Yang Mi's new job has started again.

Shen Fei stayed at home.

Every day after school, the first thing Shen Ling'er does is not to do her homework, but to check if Uncle Zhao Lei has taken away the tools on her desk.

Zhao Lei comes occasionally.

But I always put the umbrella away before entering the room.

The soles of the shoes will also be wiped clean outside the door.

On one occasion, he even stood at the door and asked, "May I come in?"

Shen Ling'er looked up from inside the room.

"Look at the feet."

Zhao Lei lowered his head.

The soles of the shoes are clean.

"Look at your hands."

He spread his hands.

There is no mud.

"Look behind you."

Zhao Lei slowly turned around.

Only Bai Sisi and Zhao Mengmeng were behind him.

"No problem."

Shen Ling'er nodded.

"Come in."

Zhao Lei immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"I finally passed the test."

"no."

"What is that?"

There is no danger at home today.

Zhao Lei looked around the room.

Shen Fei is chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Yang Mi was collecting clothes on the balcony.

The dolphin was lying on the sofa, and its name tag had been replaced; the lines were much more even than before.

Zhao Lei suddenly felt that this kind of life seemed easier than finding a way in the forest.

But the next second, Shen Ling'er pointed to the kitchen.

"Go help Dad pick vegetables."

Zhao Lei looked at Shen Fei.

Shen Fei handed him the vegetable basket.

"Don't pick them and damage them."

Zhao Lei took it, and his expression immediately became serious.

"I can."

Shen Ling'er lowered her head and continued writing.

Yang Mi walked in from the balcony and casually touched her daughter's hair.

What will we learn today?

"Knots".

"Learning something new again?"

"Dad said that we should also know how to fix things around the house."

Yang Mi looked toward the kitchen.

Shen Fei was bending down, teaching Zhao Lei how to re-tie a loose rope.

Zhao Lei tried twice, but still failed.

Shen Ling'er glanced at it.

"That's outrageous."

Zhao Lei quickly opened it.

"I know, I did it on purpose."

"You do it on purpose every time."

"That makes the teacher seem useful."

Shen Ling'er thought for a moment.

"Then continue."

Zhao Lei: "..."

Yang Mi smiled and sat down next to her daughter.

The sunlight outside the window is just right.

There was no rain.

There was no warning tape.

There were no footprints hidden in the woods, and no one was standing in the distance waiting to be discovered.

Shen Ling'er picked up a pen and drew a small house on the paper.

There were three people next to the house.

a woman.

A man.

There was also a little girl holding a dolphin.

Yang Mi glanced down.

"Is this our home?"

"Um."

"Why did Dad draw it so high?"

"He's tall."

"Where's Mom?"

"Right next to me."

"And you?"

Shen Ling'er pointed to the smallest person in the middle.

"I'm here."

Yang Mi reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Shen Ling'er did not dodge.

Leaning against her mother, she added another door and a lamp next to the house.

Zhao Lei poked his head out from the kitchen.

"Teacher Ling'er, I've tied this knot."

Shen Ling'er turned around and glanced back.

"pull."

Zhao Lei gently pulled.

The knot did not come undone.

His eyes lit up.

"It's a success!"

Shen Ling'er nodded.

"Um."

Just as Zhao Lei was about to celebrate, Shen Fei asked from the side, "Have you finished picking the vegetables?"

Zhao Lei lowered his head.

Only a few vegetable leaves remained in the basket.

"I was too focused just now."

Shen Ling'er walked over, carrying the dolphin.

"Go wash the vegetables."

Zhao Lei immediately picked up the vegetable basket.

As they walked to the pool, he turned back and asked, "How many times should I wash?"

"Whether it's dirty or not."

"How do you determine this?"

"Look at the water."

Zhao Lei looked down at the faucet.

Shen Ling'er stood at the door and said earnestly:

"This time, don't just look at the clouds in the water."

Zhao Lei immediately understood.

"I'm looking at the dishes."

"Um."

"It also depends on the hands."

"Um."

"Keep an eye on your feet."

Shen Ling'er nodded.

"You finally remembered."

Zhao Lei turned around with a smile.

Soon, the sound of water came from the kitchen.

Yang Mi leaned against the door, watching her daughter and Shen Fei stand side by side.

Shen Fei is putting the chopped vegetables into a plate.

The movements remained calm.

There was no obvious emotion on his face.

But when Shen Ling'er reached for a piece of carrot, he still raised his hand to stop her.

Don't eat it before meals.

The little girl looked at him.

Just one.

"no."

"Half a piece."

"no."

"Didn't you say before that you could eat first if you were hungry?"

I'm not hungry right now.

Shen Ling'er stared at him.

Shen Fei handed a piece of carrot to Yang Mi.

"Mom, eat."

Yang Mi took it, smiled, and took a bite.

Shen Ling'er pursed her lips.

A moment later, she turned and left.

Shen Fei asked, "Where to?"

"Write teaching materials."

"Write what?"

The little girl sat back down at the table, picked up her pen, and carefully wrote a line on the paper.

Let's eat first.

Let's reason with them again.

Zhao Lei came out of the kitchen carrying washed vegetables.

"Who is this addressed to?"

Shen Ling'er didn't even raise her head.

"Everyone."

Yang Mi looked at the words and smiled as he picked up his daughter and placed her on his lap.

Shen Fei brought the last dish to the table.

The family gathered together.

Outside the window, the city lights are coming on one by one.

Shen Ling'er stopped counting the distance and calculating the time it took for the thunder to reach her.

She simply reached out and took her father's and mother's hands respectively.

The one on the left is Shen Fei.

The one on the right is Yang Mi.

Both hands are there.

did not leave.

It hasn't loosened.

She no longer had to remember every single way home.

Because home is here.

And everyone who wanted to come back has already returned.

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