Ms. Chu was surprised to see Zhang Liling stepping into the house together with Mr. Fang.
Both were dressed in a formal attire, and looked like the perfect couple.
That moment she saw them, something clicked in her head, but she quickly shook that thought away.
"Thank you Mr. Fang for the ride back home," Zhang Liling said with a smile just before his foot could land on the stairs.
Mr. Fang paused and turned to glance at her. The space between his brows were knitted as he stared hard at her.
"Zhang Liling?" He called out calmly.
Zhang Liling felt a bit uneasy by his voice. Why did he stop? Was he going to scold her?
"Yes, Mr. Fang," She answered back while flashing her two roles of white teeth.
Mr. Fang's glance hovered around her. From her face to her bare shoulders and down to the length of her gown before shifting back to her face.
"Do you only have these kind of dresses in your wardrobe?" He asked.
"What's wrong with my outfits?" Zhang Liling asked wih drawn brows. There was a little confusion on her face as her gaze moved downwards to glance at her clothes before settling on his face.
Mr. Fang let out a deep breath before turning back to take steps up the stairs.
'He is leaving like that without saying anything?'
Before Zhang Liling could voice any questions, she heard his voice. "Forget it!"
'Weird man!' Zhang Liling thought before turning to walk away.
*******
Zhang Renshu has been in a bad mood since the last time he spoke to Song Jujing, and today, he decided to call her out of guilt.
He shouldn't have spoken to her that way, but it was just hard for him to admit defeat. As a man, his pride was at stake.
He has been thinking of letting his daughter live in a different house. Zhang Liling was his daughter for goodness sake, why would she have to be mistreated in his house? Why would she have to be afraid of anybody?
Even while asking himself those question, he knew deep down that he wasn't going to keep watch over her personally, and that wife of his that usually did as she pleased, might do something in private.
Sighing to himself, he picked up his phone from his work desk. As his finger swiped the screen, he hesitated before making up his mind and going on to dial Song Jujing's contact.
The phone at the other end rang for a while and at the end, no one answered. Zhang Renshu tried two more times and the result came up the same, so he put his phone down.
Just then, as he brushed his fingers along his frontal hairline, he saw her calling back and picked up his phone immediately.
"It looks like you are very busy these days," He said in an amicable tone.
There was a shuffling sound from two nylon bags at the other end before he was able to hear her voice.
"Yes, I have been busy. Why did you call?" Song Jujing asked directly. Her tone sounded like the opposite of his.
Zhang Renshu thought that she was still angry with him because of last time and hurriedly apologized.
"Jujing, are you still angry about last time? I didn't mean any of that."
"If you don't mean any of that, it's good. I just hope that I won't have to go back and forth with you in an argument today, otherwise I would stop attending to your calls."
This was a warning coming from her. If every time he called and they would end up in argument, she was going to start avoiding his calls.
Zhang Renshu didn't look happy to hear that. His brows furrowed in a frown. He really wanted to talk to her to stop acting childish, but he knew better to refrain from using such words on her.
"I called to talk about Liling. I have plans for her entering the company as soon as her graduation ceremony is done. I don't think it would look good for her to live outside the family. I am her father, and I will work hard for her not to be mistreated."
The man was trying to negotiate to make her change her mind and talk to their daughter, but Song Jujing was not going to fall for it.
"Zhang Renshu, my daughter has suffered enough while living in your house. I was indeed crazy to have let her come down to City S and live in that house with the woman that ruined our relationship."
There was hurt in her tone, but it was not from being betrayed by him so many years ago as she has long looked past that.
She was hurt because she acted foolishly by letting her daughter go to live in the same house as the woman that wrecked her marriage, a housekeeper for that matter!
Who knows what her daughter had to endure for a moment of weakness from her side? She was not going to let that mistake repeat itself.
"Jujing, is not like that. All this happened because I was negligent. I didn't keep an eye out for her and it's my fault. This is why I'm promising to take proper care of her now." Zhang Renshu said in a sad tone.
He did not fully understand since his emotions needed to be checked. But for the fact that Zhang Liling was his daughter, he wouldn't allow her to be mistreated in his house anymore.
Her mother was the only woman he ever loved more than the others.
Song Jujing was not interested in what he had to explain. She insisted on Zhang Liling completely moving out of the house.
"Zhang Renshu, give a date for my daughter to come and move her things. If you don't do that within 2 days, I will really call the people from my Song family."
'Song family? Has she reconciled with her family?' Zhang Renshu thought with a frown. He was worried and curious at the same time.
He really wanted to ask about it, but she did not give him the chance as if knowing that he would be interested in that topic.
"If you want to see Liling, call her out, but don't go to visit her because I don't want that woman to find out where she is living. When I come back for her graduation ceremony, we can talk about business."
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