Call Me Daddy

“Yi Xing…”

Dean Mother Ji hadn’t expected that Su Yixing was just outside the door while they were talking. Did that mean the child heard their entire conversation?

The father and daughter had already been estranged for 9 years. Now, if Yi Xing overheard what he had just said, it was likely that the child would be unable to accept him as a father.

Dean Mother Ji was both angry and anxious, wishing he could drag Su Aobai back and scold him again. Did he really not want the child to acknowledge him as a father?

“Why aren’t you at school?”

She glanced at her watch; it wasn’t even time for school to be out yet.

“There’s a sports meet at school these days.”

So, school ended early.

Yi Xing was deeply dejected, but faced with the pained look of the Dean, she still forced a smile and pretended not to care.

“I’m not upset. I have you, Dean Grandma. If he doesn’t want me, I don’t want him either.”

She smiled, but tears still fell uncontrollably.

Although Yi Xing had never actively brought up her father and had even blamed him countless times due to the ridicule from others as being the daughter of a murderer, as a child, she couldn’t be entirely indifferent to her parents.

Though she had never met her parents, her Dean Grandma occasionally told stories about them. She spoke of how much they loved each other, how intelligent and kind her mother was, and how much her father loved her mother and cared for her.

In Dean Grandma’s stories, her father worked on construction sites during the day and came home at night to change diapers and feed her. Despite being so tired during the day, he would wake up countless times in the middle of the night because of her crying, yet he would still patiently soothe her to sleep and then go back to work the next day with dark circles under his eyes.

Because she was her mother’s child, her father loved her and compensated her with twice the affection he had for her mother.

When Yi Xing was upset due to the discrimination from others, Dean Grandma would comfort her, saying that her father had indeed made a mistake in a moment of impulse. His imprisonment was the punishment for his wrongdoing. Her father must have regretted his actions in prison, regretted causing the separation between them for so many years, and when he came out, he would surely repent sincerely and shower her with even more love.

But the reality was that her father didn’t love her at all and even hated her.

Seeing her cry so heartbreakingly, the old lady’s heart was shattered.

“Your father, your father…”

Dean Mother Ji racked her brain for a suitable explanation. She wanted to say that her father had indeed cared for her when she was a baby.

But upon reflection; It seemed that when the child was just born, Xiao Bai couldn’t accept her either.

He had stayed by Ji Xing’s grave, and it was only when she could no longer bear to see this that she brought the child to him and placed her in his arms, which was when he first confronted the child and named her Su Yixing.

Because of this name, Dean Mother Ji thought that Su Aobai must have cared for the child.

“He just hadn’t seen you for too long.”

Yes, that must be it. Dean Mother Ji still couldn’t believe that he had no feelings for the child at all.

Perhaps the 9 years had made them strangers. At this moment, Dean Mother Ji deeply regretted that she hadn’t been able to accept his impulsive crime and had never taken the child to visit him in prison over those 9 years.

Perhaps the fault lay with her.

“It’s my fault, my fault for not taking you to see him all these years. He might think we didn’t want him.”

The old lady kept blaming herself.

Before, she had also been angry, blaming the child for not controlling herself, getting pregnant at such a young age, and ultimately losing her life because of this child. She had blamed him for knowing he had a child to care for but still losing his temper and committing murder.

That was why she had hardened her heart and hadn’t visited him during his imprisonment, hoping he would understand his mistake.

But seeing the child again after 9 years, seeing how aged he had become, looking more lifeless than her, an old woman with one foot in the grave, made her heart soften. She couldn’t help but feel regret.

If she had taken the child to visit him regularly during his imprisonment, would he have realized that there were people outside who cared about him and were waiting for his release, making him still hold some hope for life?

If she had taken the child to visit him regularly during those years, would he have become more familiar with the child, watching her grow up and resemble Ji Xing more and more, transferring his feelings for Ji Xing to this child?

Dean Mother Ji felt that her incompetence as a mother had widened the gap and estrangement between them.

“I don’t want him; I don’t want him!”

Yi Xing wouldn’t listen to these pale excuses. She just kept wiping her tears and repeating that she didn’t want that father.

Seeing the attitude of the father and daughter, Dean Mother Ji felt utterly exhausted.

***

“…Xiao Bai?”

One day, while Su Aobai was unloading bricks from a truck, a middle-aged man with a slightly chubby build and wearing a safety helmet suddenly approached him and tentatively called out.

Su Aobai turned to look at him.

“It’s really you. You’re out of prison?”

After clearly seeing his face, the man exclaimed in surprise, causing those around them to turn their heads and look.

The speaker seemed to realize his own audacity and awkwardly smiled.

“Well, if there’s a chance, let’s have a meal together sometime.”

He raised his hand, intending to pat Su Aobai on the shoulder but hesitated. In the end, he merely waved his hand in the air a couple of times as a gesture of greeting.

At this moment, Su Aobai also recognized the man. He had been a coworker of Su Aobai’s when he worked at the construction site. From the looks of him, it seemed he had moved up from a laborer to a contractor.

However, this site had been divided among several contractors by the real estate company, and another small boss was employing Su Aobai.

When he applied for the job, he had disclosed his criminal record to the small contractor. Due to the shortage of manpower, the contractor hired him but also cut his wages. While other workers earned 450 yuan a day for the same work, Su Aobai only got 300, with the implication that he could leave if he didn’t like it.

Even if he hadn’t disclosed it, any formal employment unit checking criminal records with the police would have discovered his past conviction for murder and his 12-year prison sentence.

According to the law, only those who committed crimes before turning 18 and received sentences of less than 5 years would have their criminal records sealed by relevant units.

Though Su Aobai was under 18 when he committed the crime, his sentence had exceeded 5 years.

It was for man-slaughter, and a 12-year sentence was already lenient given his confession, and his age at the time being over 16 but under 18 was also considered.

Regardless of the contractor’s reasons, he didn’t disclose Su Aobai’s past. Thus, during his time working, many coworkers had invited him to buy box lunches with them.

After being recognized by that man today, Su Aobai understood that his quiet life might be coming to an end.

As expected, after the man walked a short distance away, he was immediately surrounded by several curious workers who began inquiring about Su Aobai’s time in prison.

Petty theft could be overlooked; one could simply be more cautious with their wallet. But a murderer—who wouldn’t be afraid of that?

Pursuing benefit and avoiding harm was human instinct. When the other workers learned about Su Aobai’s past; how he had killed someone over a minor dispute, they were terrified.

This person’s temper was too extreme. To kill someone over a disagreement was alarming. After spending so many years in prison among criminals, his hostility might have grown even worse. If one were to offend him while working, it could be a matter of life and death.

There were many tools on the construction site that could be used as weapons. Even a steel bar or a brick could become a deadly weapon.

No, such a frightening person shouldn’t be allowed to stay on the construction site!