Father Wen stayed home for a month. He was a father who deeply loved his children – though his personality was dominated by military ruggedness, he showed extraordinary patience and gentleness with the children. In the mornings, he would occasionally visit the bird market, and in the evenings, he would take his daughter to teahouses to drink tea and gather with old friends.

Speaking of coincidences, they once met Officer Fu while having tea.

Officer Fu brightened upon seeing A Heng: “Guozi, is this your daughter?”

Father Wen smiled and nodded yes.

“Hey, now it all makes sense. I was wondering why this child had such a silly streak – turns out she takes after you.”

Father Wen was quite puzzled: “You’ve met my daughter before?”

“Yes. A little girl who followed behind with a first aid kit while her brothers were fighting in front.” Officer Fu winked at A Heng.

Father Wen looked at A Heng questioningly.

A Heng remained calm: “Uncle, you must have me confused with someone else?”

Officer Fu was straightforward, slapping his thigh: “How could I mistake you? It was you, child, so distinctive!”

A Heng broke into a cold sweat, sat up straight, not daring to look at Father Wen: “You’re… mistaken, I don’t know… you, uncle…”

Father Wen understood somewhat in his heart but said nothing.

Officer Fu grew anxious: “It was you! Speaking so haltingly – how could I mistake that!”

A Heng sniffled, unconvinced: “Who’s halting… I’m not halting…”

“Right, I remember, there was one called something-something Yan Xi who was injured, wasn’t there?” Officer Fu’s memory was quite good.

A Heng shook her head, putting on a confused face to play dumb: “Uncle, what are you saying, I don’t understand, don’t understand at all.”

I’m from Wu Shui, a country child who can’t understand Beijing people’s talk…

“Is Little Xi’s leg injury better?” Father Wen casually set a trap.

“It wasn’t his leg, it was his shoulder!” A Heng responded reflexively.

“See, see, I told you it was you, and you wouldn’t admit it…” Officer Fu pointed at the little girl.

A Heng fell silent.

Father Wen gave A Heng a meaningful look, then turned to Officer Fu: “Old Fu, how was the battle situation with them at the time?”

Officer Fu smiled, animated: “These kids were something, just three of them, taking on a whole group…”

“Uncle Fu, have some candied hawthorns!” A Heng shouted to interrupt him, stiffly thrusting her newly bought candied hawthorns in front of Officer Fu.

Officer Fu was startled, then waved his hand: “Thanks, but uncle doesn’t eat sweets. Guozi, let me tell you, when I arrived it was at the most dangerous moment…”

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

Father Wen maintained an expressionless face, just nodding repeatedly.

A Heng licked her candied hawthorns, eyes fixed on Officer Fu, quietly muttering in her heart: “This uncle is too mean, too mean!”

That day after afternoon tea, all the way home, Father Wen’s walking posture was standard – he nearly started goose-stepping in the street. A Heng followed behind with her tail between her legs, looking dejected.

Upon reaching home, Father Wen said to A Heng with extraordinary gentleness and love: “Go, call your brother down…”

“Dad, can we not call him?” A Heng asked seriously in a small voice.

“What do you think?” His expression grew even more kindly.

“Oh.”

A Heng stood at the stairs, making a small trumpet with her hands: “Si Wan, Si Wan, come down…” Her voice carried this child’s unique soft and tender tone, extremely gentle, extremely… feeble.

After a while, no response.

“Dad, look look, Si Wan’s not here.” A Heng smiled, her expression particularly sincere.

Father Wen spoke like a holy father: “Is that so?”

He turned and roared: “Wen Si Wan, get your ass down here right now! One, two, three!”

At this, the youth came running down in pajamas, inelegantly clomping in slippers, standing at attention: “Here, here!”

A Heng was dumbfounded, quite admiring Si Wan’s speed – surely it was well-practiced.

“Speak! What wrong have you done!” Father Wen’s anger, bottled up outside, now erupted.

Si Wan was startled, speaking sheepishly: “Haven’t done anything.”

“Hmm?”

Si Wan broke into a cold sweat, secretly glancing at A Heng.

A Heng looked at the sky.

“You’ve been causing trouble again with Little Xi and Dayi, haven’t you?” Father Wen snorted coldly.

“No.” Si Wan stubbornly played dumb, pretending to be calm.

“Stop playing fool, I know what you’re like – I made you!”

Si Wan grew anxious, feeling the truth was about to come out, bright eyes glaring at A Heng: “A Heng, I told you not to tell, why did you tell the adults?”

A Heng felt wronged: “It wasn’t me, that police officer that day… knows dad…”

Si Wan trembled – how could it be such a coincidence…

“Wen Si Wan, you have the nerve to blame your sister! You bunch of troublemakers getting caught fighting and taken to the police station is shameful enough, but your sister is a young lady – why did you let her get involved in men’s business!” Father Wen clapped his hands.

“Dad, I can be… manly too!” A Heng interjected.

Father Wen turned to his daughter, expression serious: “Darling, we’re a proper young lady, let’s not be perverted, okay!”

“Oh.” A Heng nodded, thinking he had a point.

“I didn’t let her come, she insisted on following.” Si Wan felt wrong too.

She was a whole person with legs – while he was busy fighting, how could he keep track of her moving silently?

“Now you’re trying to justify it!” Father Wen grew angry, eyes widening.

Si Wan pouted, falling silent.

“Getting worse and worse – how did I teach you when you were little? Not to fight with people – did those words just blow away in the northwest wind?”

“Others were bullying A Xi, Dayi and I couldn’t just watch him get bullied, right!” Si Wan was a passionate good child.

“Don’t try to fool me, Little Xi has been a troublemaker since he was small! You all grew up together – his causing trouble isn’t new. What good have you two done besides following behind him making a racket? Is Yan Xi getting bullied? People should be burning incense in thanks if he’s not bullying others!” Father Wen’s spittle flew as he ranted, not feeling better until he’d finished scolding.

“Anyway, it’s not okay for others to bully Yan Xi!” Si Wan had steeled himself.

“Wen Si Wan, talk back again, want to see if I’ll hit you?”

Si Wan felt righteous, thinking he had made a fearless stand for Yan Xi: “I’m not afraid!”

Father Wen trembled with anger, took a breath, and pointed at A Heng: “Daughter, go back to your room first, don’t come out no matter what you hear!”

“Dad, dad, Si Wan, he didn’t mean to, make you angry!” A Heng grabbed her father’s clothes.

“He didn’t mean to, he did it on purpose! Your brother, if you don’t watch him, he’ll walk all over you! Don’t mind him, go to your room!” Father Wen patted A Heng’s shoulder, pushing her aside as he raised his palm to strike the youth’s back.

A Heng saw this and grew anxious. In the heat of the moment, she pointed at the ceiling: “Dad, look, a UFO!”

The world fell silent.

Father Wen was stunned.

Si Wan’s eyes had been rimmed with red, but A Heng’s words made his tears spin around, unable to fall.

Three seconds later, they burst into laughter.

When Mother Wen returned home from work, she saw an adorably silly scene: her daughter chuckling; her husband laughing heartily, his large hand ruffling their daughter’s hair; her son rolling on the ground in his pajamas, the dimple on his cheek about to overflow with wine.

“What’s so funny?” Mother Wen was puzzled but found the scene before her truly heartwarming.

Si Wan raised his head from the floor, saw mom, and laughed even harder, breathless: “Mom… mom… quick look quick look…”

“What?” Mother Wen tried to pull the youth up from the floor.

“There’s A Heng’s UFO in the sky!” Si Wan grabbed mom’s hand but was laughing too hard to use any strength.

“Si Wan, you’re too mean too mean, I said that, to save you!” A Heng blushed, feeling she’d lost face in front of mom, looking at her mother sheepishly.

Mother Wen paused, looked at A Heng, saw her features mirroring her own as if in a mirror, and felt something strange arise in her heart. This feeling seemed to have existed before but had always been suppressed, until this moment when it could no longer be controlled and came surging forth.

“Mom, why are you crying?” Si Wan stood up, eyes wide.

But Father Wen understood, his expression softening as he sighed and walked to his wife’s side, taking her into his arms: “Yun Yi, look look, A Heng’s UFO has come and brought our daughter back to us, why are you still crying? Like such a silly child…”

Those tears, crystalline, slowly falling, gentle, mother’s tears.

A Heng looked at mom, and stared blankly, tears as if long-lasting, climbing from the depths of her heart to her eyes.

She could not absorb the beautiful light of this world, because these tears were too scalding. After all, she had gathered all love in her eyes in an instant. And this love, surging, had a name to proclaim, proud and high-headed, washing away pity, becoming flawless…

A Heng knew that at this moment, she had finally slowly, weakly, and painfully taken root in this land that didn’t belong to her. This land had accepted her, gradually merging into her blood, becoming hers, loving her, cherishing her…

And so, at last, she choked up.

Father Wen only had a month of annual leave. When it was over, he hurriedly returned to the military headquarters on orders from above. Before leaving, he instructed A Heng: “Our A Heng is such a pure and kind child, you can’t learn bad things from these rascals, understand?”

As a father who hoped his daughter would be virtuous and skilled in all eighteen martial arts, these concerns were necessary. Though he said “these rascals,” in his heart, he meant only one – Yan Xi.

Yan Xi was a child with magical power, always making life full of variables. He had no intention of demonizing the youth he cared about, but Yan Xi always went to extremes yet made things unimpeachable, leaving elders completely unable to intervene. His growth trajectory always followed its direction, making it impossible to guess his future and ending – completely foggy.

His private wish was naturally for his daughter to live worry-free and peaceful throughout her life, preferably maintaining a little girl’s demeanor until the end of time.

For this reason, even though the father had agreed, he was unwilling to let A Heng and Yan Xi be together.

If possible, when A Heng grew up, he wanted to follow his heart and find a safer, happier destination for his daughter.

This destination would certainly not be Yan Xi.

He smiled teasingly at his daughter: “A Heng, what kind of boy do you like?”

A Heng tilted her head and joked with her father, looking completely foolish: “One who has a house to live in and doesn’t think A Heng is ugly.”

Father Wen was embarrassed – such men seemed… not hard to find…

So, for a long time after that, he followed his daughter’s wishes, sitting steady as a fisherman trying to catch a golden son-in-law, fishing for a long time.

Speaking of which, it was all bitter tears.

He had planned everything properly, thinking to pave a broad road for his biological daughter, but never expected that in this mortal world, one word would overturn all his plans: fate.

You see, if fate hadn’t intervened, with Yan Xi and A Heng holding fast to two extremes, how could they have met that year, that month, that day…

Father Wen watched Yan Xi and understood him well, trembling as he felt this youth was an anomaly, yet didn’t know that in this joke, this one-sided wish, his daughter had precisely become an anomaly in Yan Xi’s life.

He saw through Yan Xi but overlooked how he should regard his daughter…

For some things, foreseeing them is one matter.

If you want to prevent them, that’s another matter entirely.

Moreover, how could those who have met know if they were destined to fall in love?

Just as those who fall in love may not be blessed to stay together.

Such careful planning – what was gained, what was lost.