Chapter Twenty-Four: Voluntary Surrender

  It's a tradition for A to start supplementary classes during the summer vacation of high school. Summer Dream's parents drove her back to City A a week in advance and went to visit her maternal grandparents together. Summer Dream's grandfather was a retired veteran who had participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, but he had been in poor health in recent years and his grandmother took care of him.

  Xia Meng grew up in her maternal grandmother's home in the countryside. After starting school, her grandmother also followed her to the city to take care of her and the whole family's daily life until her grandfather had a stroke and was paralyzed, after which her grandmother left Xia Meng to return to her husband's side.

  Summer Dream's grandmother was born into a family of scholars, diligent and kind, gentle and virtuous, knowledgeable and reasonable. She had never seen her grandmother with a messy hair or dirty face, nor had she ever seen her grandmother blush or get angry. Her grandmother always spoke in a gentle breeze-like tone, neither too fast nor too slow.

  Seeing Xia Meng and her family arrive, Grandma was overjoyed. She pulled Xia Meng left and right, looking at her with great satisfaction.

  Xia Meng's father-in-law was reading a newspaper. Xia Xiuke walked over and naturally started discussing domestic and international current events with his elderly relative.

  Xia Meng's grandfather is very fond of this son-in-law. Xia Meng's grandparents' living expenses are all taken care of by Xia Meng's father, Xia Xiuke. In recent years, Xia Meng's father even invested in building a new house for the two elderly people in the countryside, and all the furniture and electrical appliances at home were also paid for by Xia Xiuke. He is very filial to the two elderly people, and whenever he returns to A City, he will visit them in the countryside as soon as possible.

  Xia Meng's aunt, Xia Meng's mother's sister, is a kindergarten teacher in City A. Her husband is a high school Chinese teacher, and they have twin sons. They live a tight life. Xia Meng's father often helps out his sister-in-law's family financially, and the money for their house and car was also borrowed from Xia Meng's father.

  From this perspective, Xia Meng felt that her father was really great, supporting so many people without complaint.

  After returning from her grandmother's house, Xia Meng and her family of three returned directly to their home in A City. In the evening, Father was responsible for stir-frying dishes and cooking rice. After dinner, Xia Meng's mother tidied up at home. "Mengmeng, go for a walk downstairs with Dad!"

  The father and daughter walked along the riverbank, with a gentle breeze blowing. On this clear night, the starry sky twinkled with countless silver beads densely embedded in the dark night sky. The Milky Way was like a faintly glowing white ribbon stretching across the star-filled sky.

  "Xiaomeng, we used to take walks together when you were very little!" Dad smiled and patted Xiaomeng's head. "Back then, you would ride on my back. Now, look at how tall you've grown! Our beautiful little princess has grown up, and boys are even coming to our house to chase after her!"

  Xia Meng burst out laughing: "Dad, you said Li Han, I have nothing to do with him! Originally I especially disliked him, because he always pestered me!"

  "Is it because Dad always warned you that you can't hang out with boys, so you're rejecting him?" Xia Xiuke asked Xia Meng with narrowed eyes.

  "Uh, well, there's a reason for that." Xia Meng glanced at her father and saw that his expression hadn't changed, so she plucked up the courage to continue: "Dad, do you remember when our neighbor's daughter was in junior high and got caught having an early romance? You said to the neighbor, 'If it were my daughter, I'd break her legs!' But Li Han really is detestable. I especially hated him back then - before high school, he was always at the bottom of the class in every way, dragging our whole class down." Xia Meng said indignantly.

  Xia Meng was originally the class monitor, with a strong competitive spirit. She hated that every time the school classes were evaluated, her class could not be ranked first, but because of Li Han, each evaluation was full of suspense and uncertainty.

  "Daughter, do you know why Daddy is so against early romance?" Xia Xiuke asked solemnly.

  Her father had never mentioned past events to Xia Meng, and Xia Meng had never asked about them. Only at her grandfather's place did Xia Meng vaguely know that the combination of her parents was also full of drama.

  "When I was young, I had big dreams for the future and a passion to achieve great things. But because of early marriage, by the time I was 22, I already had you, so my whole life plan was disrupted. I missed out on many opportunities for development, including the chance to study abroad, which I also gave up. The path of life that followed was extremely difficult, with each step forward feeling like a heavy burden, and no way to stop, not even to catch my breath." Xia Xiuke gazed ahead, his eyes shrouded in mist. In fact, he hadn't fully explained his true experiences to his daughter.

  "While the emotions of youth are too simple, they cannot withstand the impact of future realistic society. Because of youth, there is no mature value, worldview and outlook on life, the choices made may make you regret for a lifetime." Xia Xiuke looked at his daughter with love and worry, "Daughter, you are Daddy's most beloved person, Daddy doesn't want you to get hurt!"

  "Xia Meng grasped her father's arm, 'Daddy, I will listen to you.'"

  "That Li Han is not an ordinary person. In the future, if you are with him, you must keep learning and improving yourself constantly, otherwise, you will not be able to keep up with his pace and he will leave you behind!" Xia Xiuke actually understood this very well.

  "Dad, I don't dislike him as much as I used to, but he's not the type I like. The one I like is..." Xia Meng nervously glanced at her father and quickly shut her mouth, almost slipping up.

  "It's not that you like him, right? Dad believes in your judgment." Xia Xiuke looked at his daughter's unnatural expression and continued: "However, your most important task now is to study. Emotions can wait until you grow up and are capable of handling them. Dad hopes you become stronger and stronger, strong enough that one day if I'm no longer in this world, you can take my place as the pillar of this family. You're Xia Xiuke's daughter, responsibility comes first."

  "Dad, don't talk nonsense! What are you talking about, saying you're not in this world?" Xia Meng pouted at her father, "We three will always be together!"

  "Ah!" Xia Xiuke sighed. "Mengmeng, Dad intentionally let you stay alone in A City to study, it's to train your strong independence and resistance to pressure. Dad said that if one day I'm not around, you can still take over for Dad."

  "Dad, I'm your daughter, of course I'll take the responsibility! From now on, I will respect and care for Grandpa and Grandma, as well as you and Mom!" Xia Meng promised in front of her father.

  "You must remember what I said today, the responsibility of taking care of your family cannot be shirked. Including your grandfather, he may be hateful, but he is also your father's biological father and needs to be supported and taken care of." Father felt like entrusting his last words, making Xia Meng feel very nervous.

  "Dad, you're not hiding anything from Mom and me, are you?"

  "Silly child, where did you think you were going!" Xia Xiuke's slightly worried face immediately broke into a smile. "I heard from the teacher that you came in second on this final exam! My daughter is so great! I was worried that after entering high school, your studies would decline, but it seems I was worrying for nothing!"

  "Yeah, I'm doing pretty well in science, luckily my IQ is inherited from my dad, not biased towards any subject! If I had inherited my mom's IQ, my math would be a disaster!"

  "Haha, looks are inherited from dad, that's why you're so beautiful!" Xia Xiuke chuckled.

  "That's it! Junior three graduation dance party, Dad you dressed up to attend, fainted many girls in our class oh! Not to mention attracting the attention of many classmates' mothers!"

  "Haha, your high school prom, Dad has to go and show his face too!"

  "Dad, you don't need to watch me so closely about having a crush, Dad is so handsome that other boys can't catch my eye!" Xia Meng hugged her dad and smiled happily.

  "Even Li Han is someone you find disgusting, I think the boy who can make you look up to him must be quite something!" Xia Xiuke smiled and nodded in agreement, "But that Li Han really isn't bad!"

  Is Dad bribed by Li Han? Why does he frequently praise him? If so, has he already told Father the secret in her heart? If so, it's better to confess actively.

  "Dad, actually... I have a crush on a boy!" Xia Meng's face turned bright red as she mustered up the courage to say: "Dad, but nothing has happened between us, you can rest assured. I just admire him in my heart! It hasn't affected our studies!"

  Xia Xiuke's smile disappeared, and he asked sternly, "Who is he?"