Chapter 950: You Are Your Father’s Everything
Yes, in these four short years, his father had been promoted from major general to general. The honor of his name had increased.
The children did not know the difference between major general and general, but they were impressed by the way it sounded. They retorted, “Zhou Sileng, are you bluffing? Is your father… really… the leader?”
“That’s right, Zhou Sileng. I saw on the television that leaders of the People’s Liberation Army are all very old. Even the youngest one is already over fifty years old. Haha, Zhou Sileng, is your daddy an old man?”
Although Zhou Sileng did not have a good impression of his daddy, his youthful eyes were filled with pride. “My Daddy is only thirty-two years old. He is the most… handsome and stylish man I have ever seen in the world!”
His tone was so certain that the children did not know how to refute. However, they did not believe that Zhou Sileng’s father was that admirable. A leader who’s young and handsome? Who did he think he was?
“Zhou Sileng, what about your mommy? What kind of person is your mommy?” Someone asked.
Mommy?
This word p.r.i.c.ked Zhou Sileng’s heart deeply. His proud expression diminished. Good question, what kind of person was his mommy?
He had never seen his mommy before.
“My mommy is… the most beautiful and gentle woman in this world. She prepares delicious food for me to eat, she hugs me to sleep, she sings nursery rhymes for me, and most importantly, every time my daddy punishes me, my mommy protects me. My mommy cannot bear to see my father punish me.”
This was the mother of Zhou Sileng’s imagination. His mommy was the best in this world. If mommy was here, Daddy would not punish him, because Mommy would protect him.
He did not have a mother around since he could remember, but he had a mommy in his heart.
He loved his mommy.
…
One day went by quickly and kindergarten was over. Zhou Sileng was walking towards the exit when a group of children gathered behind him. They were gossiping constantly…
“Zhou Sileng, Where’s your daddy? School is over now. So your daddy should be here to pick you up, right? We all want to meet your General Daddy.”
“Yeah, Zhou Sileng. Today is your first day. Your daddy and mommy will be here, right? We can’t wait to meet them since they are so handsome and great.”
Zhou sileng ignored them and walked out of the gate.
A black car parked by the road. Mother Zhou ran over from afar. She hugged Zhou Sileng and kissed him twice. “Sileng, You’re dismissed? How’s school? Did anybody bully you?”
“No.” Zhou sileng shook his head.
“That’s good. Let’s go home.” Mother Zhou held Zhou Sileng’s small hand.
Then, Zhou Sileng heard the disappointed voices behind him. The kids were gossiping…
“Is that Zhou Sileng’s grandmother? Why aren’t his father and mother here?”
“We all had our father and mother pick us up on our first day here. This is an important day that is worth commemorating, so parents must partic.i.p.ate. But Zhou Sileng only has his grandmother. Could it be that his father and mother don’t love him?”
Zhou Sileng got into the car, and Mother Zhou sat beside him. “Sileng, what do you want for dinner? I can ask Auntie Ni to…”
“Grandma, Where’s daddy? It’s my first day at kindergarten today. Why didn’t he come?”
Zhou Sileng carried a big blue school bag on his back. He was still a child, so his feet couldn’t reach the ground when he sat in the backseat. He casually folded his snow-white ankles together while looking at Mother Zhou with his amber clear eyes in seriousness.
Mother Zhou was stunned, then she smiled and said, “Sileng, daddy is very busy. He is a soldier.”
“Humph,” Zhou Sileng pouted his little pink lips and snorted. He looked out of the window unhappily, “You guys always say that, but he is also my daddy apart from being a soldier! I haven’t seen him for almost three months. He didn’t come on my first day of kindergarten. I think he has forgotten about me.”
“Sileng, you can’t say that. You’re your daddy’s only son. Daddy really loves you.”
Zhou Sileng didn’t say anything. He didn’t believe it. He couldn’t feel one bit of his father’s love.
“Sileng, your daddy really do love you. You were born prematurely at only eight and a half months. At that time, you were in an incubator at the hospital. Your daddy guarded outside the incubator day and night. He leaned against the window to watch you. He didn’t even dare to blink. He was afraid that if he blinked, you would end up like…”
Mother Zhou recalled the past and her expression was sorrowful. “Two months later, you were released. However, your body was still weak, and you would often catch a cold or have a fever. Your daddy didn’t go to the military base for more than half a year. He stayed at home to take care of you. He didn’t let us touch you, and would feed you milk, and changed your diapers personally. Sometimes, when you have a high fever at night, your daddy would hold you all night long to comfort you. He didn’t sleep at all…”
“During that period of time, your father didn’t talk to anyone. He was a soldier with rough hands and had no experience in raising children. Sometimes, when I stood outside the door, I could see how clumsy he was. Especially when you were crying at the top of your lungs, it made him fell on edge. If you smiled at him, he would smile back…”
“Sileng, you are all that your father has. All these years, he has been both a father and a mother, raising you. Perhaps he doesn’t know how to communicate well, but there is one thing that you must not doubt. You are his lifeline!”
Zhou Sileng watched the pa.s.sing scenery outside the window. He parted his lips and said, “Grandma, you have said these words countless times. You bend my ear. At that time, I was young, so I don’t remember. Now that I can remember, he no longer spends time with me.”
“That’s because…”Mother Zhou looked at the small red bracelet on Zhou Sileng’s right wrist.
It had been four years, and this small bracelet made of red yarn looked as good as new. The small bells on it always made a crisp and melodious sound. This had become Zhou Sileng’s exclusive note.
“Because what?” Zhou Sileng turned to look at Mother Zhou. “Grandma, what kind of person is my mommy?”
“Your mommy…” Mother Zhou’s instantly teared up. She covered her mouth with her hand, but hot tears were already flowing down her cheeks.
Zhou Sileng gave up. Ever since he could remember, no matter who he asked the question to, his great grandfather, grandfather, or grandmother, everyone reacted like so. The topic was too heavy for discussion.
He wanted to ask daddy, but his grandmother wouldn’t let him. His mommy had already become a forbidden topic for the entire family. They couldn’t touch the topic because it would hurt for days.
Zhou Sileng lowered his eyes and looked at the small bracelet on his wrist. His mood gradually improved. This was a gift from his mommy. Mommy had always been by his side, she never left.
…
Zhou Sileng’s kindergarten life was very peaceful. Until one day…