Chapter 15

When the familiar round body blocked his path, Li Datao’s hand, which was about to touch the knife, recoiled as if shocked by an electric current.

An’an was so angry that his body trembled slightly, but his speech was clearer than ever.

“You’re the one who should have no descendants! You still have a house full of grandchildren!”

In the alley where they lived, many people often spoke in a vulgar manner after meals, and An’an had heard a few such words. He never thought that they would come in handy at this moment.

The middle-aged man, enraged by An’an’s words, raised his hand as if to strike him, but Li Datao, unable to tolerate it any longer, quickly grabbed his wrist and forcefully pushed him back. The man stumbled and fell to the ground.

“You—You deaf bastard still have some strength! Damn it, I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

“Stop!”

When the incident first happened, someone had already called the police. Just then, the police arrived and were informed of the general situation by the onlookers.

The reason was simple: there had been many cases where recycling businesses weighed less or even skimmed off a few extra coins, and Li Datao was not the only one who had encountered such dishonest bosses. Many others did the same.

But there weren’t many people collecting recyclables, so even if the others knew that the bosses were taking advantage of them, they had to endure it.

Now, things were different. There was not only Li Datao but also many others who dared to conduct honest small businesses. They sold to him after they finished collecting.

On one side, there were fair prices and a reliable service, while on the other side, there were dishonest people who even took advantage of the small amount they were supposed to pay.

Over time, those dishonest people found themselves out of business and had heard about Li Datao, so they began to cause trouble for him.

Li Datao had a good temper and couldn’t hear what others said. In his earlier years, he had suffered a lot, and his body had been weak, so his first impression was that he was easy to bully.

The man confessed clearly to the police, saying he intended to intimidate Li Datao today so that he would not dare to steal their business in the future.

Throughout the whole incident, Li Datao had not done anything wrong. He couldn’t hear what was being said, so the police, after asking a few questions, allowed him to go home.

After such a big event, he had no mind to continue working. Just as he was leaving the police station, Li Datao felt someone tugging at his clothes.

Looking down, he saw his son on tiptoe, reaching out his hands toward him.

When Fan Chunxiang saw this, she initially wanted to take An’an in her arms first. She felt sorry for her husband’s situation and feared that An’an, who wasn’t light, might tire Li Datao out.

But to her surprise, Li Datao crouched down and lifted An’an up first.

An’an’s chubby arms wrapped around his father’s neck. The sense of holding a child in his arms gradually soothed the bitterness in Li Datao’s heart.

An’an could feel his father was still upset and a little sad. Knowing that his father couldn’t hear his words, he kept rubbing his head or face against him.

He was using actions to tell Li Datao that, unlike what others might say, he had An’an.

On the way home, they passed a mall. Li Datao immediately noticed a beautiful orange coat inside and walked in while holding An’an.

He asked the salesperson to take the coat down for An’an to try on. The bright color made An’an’s skin appear even fairer, and the already adorable little child looked even cuter.

Although the price was a bit high, Li Datao didn’t hesitate when paying.

As they left the store with shopping bags, Li Datao noticed a lovely piece of clothing in a nearby women’s clothing store. He realized that his wife’s clothes were patched up quite a lot, and it suddenly hit him that he had neglected her for a long time.

Usually, Fan Chunxiang would have stopped him, since she had already bought clothes for An’an for the season, and she didn’t need the expensive jacket for herself.

But today, seeing that Li Datao had a lot of pent-up frustration, she figured that if buying clothes for her and An’an could make him feel better, she didn’t need to say much.

An’an got two coats, and Fan Chunxiang bought an outfit. When they left the mall, Li Datao’s expression was clearly more relaxed than before.

They saw a candy seller on the street, and Li Datao walked over with An’an. He let An’an pick one out and pay for it.

An’an, holding the candied fruit, leaned over and kissed his father’s cheek.

On the way home, Fan Chunxiang mimed to Li Datao, saying there was another mall ahead. Since she and An’an had already bought new clothes, it was only fair for him to get something too.

Li Datao gently shook his head. Seeing his wife and son in their new clothes gave him a sense of accomplishment. He felt more at ease seeing them dressed well than if the new clothes were for him.

In the end, today’s incident happened because the people who used to be dishonest in the business wanted to make more money with a guilty conscience.

Li Datao, who ran an honest business, had been doing well since he started, even helping others to follow his example.

Although today’s incident made its way to the police station, and the middle-aged man was at fault, Li Datao knew the punishment wouldn’t be severe.

But at least after all this commotion, it was unlikely that such a thing would happen again, which would make his life a lot easier.

Holding An’an’s chubby body and watching him grimace as he ate the sour hawthorn, Li Datao’s lips slightly curled up.

Had An’an arrived even a little later, Li Datao would have been overwhelmed by anger and might have picked up the knife to kill the man who insulted him. In that emotional, impulsive state, he wouldn’t have thought of the consequences.

Now, in hindsight, he was scared. Thankfully, An’an arrived in time.

If not, he would have broken the law and ended up in prison, leaving Fan Chunxiang and An’an behind. He didn’t know how he could go on living after that.

Before Li Datao could finish his thoughts, An’an plucked a piece of hawthorn from the skewer and offered it to his mouth.

Adults didn’t have the patience to slowly lick the sugar coating like children, so Li Datao chewed it and tasted the sourness inside, which mixed well with the sugary coating. It was a nice sour-sweet flavor.

The family walked home together, their shadows stretching long and far.

Before entering the yard, Li Datao silently promised to himself that no matter what happened in the future, he would never again react like he did today.

He wouldn’t just leave everything behind or go to jail, throwing all the responsibility onto Fan Chunxiang. That would make him worse than an animal.

An’an was smart and adorable, and he was still young. Unlike them, who had lived half their lives, An’an’s future held infinite possibilities.

He couldn’t bear to destroy An’an’s future.

Back home, An’an ran around excitedly. Li Datao didn’t know why, but he was happy just because the whole family had returned together.

As a system, 250 could analyze the potential actions of everyone through precise data, and at that moment, it was so shocked by the situation that its program stuttered for a moment.

“Host.”

Hearing the voice in his mind, An’an instinctively stopped, sat on a stool, and then responded.

“Hmm?”

“The system suggests that you spend more time with your father.”

Although 250 always said that An’an was its own child and it watched him grow, it knew in its heart that for An’an, the only real family members were Fan Chunxiang and Li Datao.

As for 250, it could only be considered a helpful friend.

Li Datao’s situation was worse than Fan Chunxiang’s. Although she couldn’t speak, she could still hear the outside world.

Disabled people were more likely to experience various psychological problems, and that’s what people commonly referred to as having a bad temper.

“I understand.”

After An’an agreed, he planned to run to find his father and play with him, being the dutiful little shadow.

Even when Li Datao returned home, he couldn’t sit still. He tidied up the yard a bit and, seeing An’an approach, handed him the book he had set aside.

He never wanted to use An’an’s good luck to help him achieve anything, but today, it was because of An’an. He felt a bit conflicted.

He was touched by An’an’s constant consideration for him but also guilty that, as a grown man, he had to rely on a child to help.

An’an took the book and wanted to find his father to play, but unexpectedly, Li Datao dismissed him as a hindrance and sat him on a high stool.

Once he was sure he was still near his father, An’an didn’t complain. He flipped through the book, getting lost in it and unconsciously swinging his feet in mid-air.

After a while, he would turn and look at his father. Whenever their eyes met, he would smile brightly.

The reason the man targeted Li Datao was because his business was going too smoothly.

That night, after An’an had gone to bed, Li Datao began discussing with his wife. He was thinking about renting a bigger factory to store their goods.

Their small yard was no longer enough to accommodate the scale of Li Datao’s current business.

Fan Chunxiang fully supported his decision, and the two agreed to visit when they had time.

She even took out the account book from the cabinet, flipped it little by little under the light, and slowly calculated how much money they had on hand.

After finishing the calculations, the two exchanged glances, both somewhat in disbelief at how much they had earned in such a short time. No wonder others were envious.

Li Datao closed the account book and straightened his back.

If he worked just a little harder, he was sure he could buy a house outside before An’an started school.

In that situation, An’an’s words of support made him feel touched, but he also realized it wasn’t good for such a young child to understand so much.

Li Datao would rather see An’an enjoying a happy, healthy childhood like other children, rather than growing up with a mouth full of vulgarities to protect his parents.

He had no happy memories of his own childhood and was acutely aware of the long-lasting effects that time had on him. All he wanted was for An’an to have a different future, a better one.

Walking into the house with the account book, Li Datao silently vowed that, as a father, he would use his not-so-strong body to provide a better life for his precious An’an.