Chapter 47: Greetings, Father-in-Law

Not long after Christmas, New Year 1998 arrived. Then, coming soon afterward, it was almost time for the Spring Festival.

As the time for the Spring Festival approached, Xiaotu’s father, who was in the military, had finally received some time off to return home to visit his family.

The day before Xiaotu’s father was set to return, Xiaotu kept rolling around in her bed, too excited to fall asleep.

Cheng Zhiyan was surprised as he watched Xiaotu tossing and turning in her bed. He couldn’t help saying, “It’s already ten o’clock at night. Why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?”

Xiaotu poked her little head up out of her blankets and looked at Cheng Zhiyan gleefully as she said, “Because Mommy said that Daddy is coming back tomorrow.”

“Then you should go to sleep early, so that you’ll be ready to pick him up tomorrow morning.” Cheng Zhiyan lay on his bed looking at her as he spoke.

“I’m so happy that I can’t fall asleep.” Xiaotu rolled over and sat up, still wrapped in her blanket. “Brother Orange Juice, I haven’t seen my daddy for a long time now. I can barely even remember what he looks like.”

“Doesn’t your mom show you pictures of him?”

“Yes, but I always feel like Daddy looks different in every picture…” Xiaotu pouted, then said in a sad voice, “Mommy always tells me that at night Daddy comes back to see me and he even kisses my cheeks, but she never wakes me up. If she had woken me up, I would’ve been able to kiss Daddy as well.”

“…”

Your mother is lying to you.

Cheng Zhiyan nearly blurted this out, but managed to suppress it in the end.

Now that it was winter it was very cold, and, even though the heater was turned up, one could still feel the piercing chill.

Cheng Zhiyan heard the wind blowing outside the window, and, after remaining silent for a little while, he suddenly asked Xiaotu, “Are you still having trouble falling asleep?”

“Yep.” Xiaotu sat up, wrapped in her blanket. She looked like a little ball, and she reached out to rub her drowsy eyes.

“Come here.”

Cheng Zhiyan waved her over to sit beside him.

Xiaotu crawled over, like a baby turtle, to Cheng Zhiyan’s side where she stopped.

“How about if I try and coax you to sleep?”

“Yes, please. I want to listen to “Finding Father” please. Xiaotu nodded, lay down next to Cheng Zhiyan, and obediently closed her eyes.

It was rare for Brother Orange Juice to offer to coax her to sleep, so Xiaotu seized the chance to make a request.

“How come you want to listen to that song again?” Cheng Zhiyan was somewhat annoyed. It seemed as if Xiaotu really liked making him sing this song to her. Sometimes, he would have to sing it multiple times before she fell asleep.

“I just like listening to this song.” Xiaotu opened her eyes and seemed wide awake as she looked at Cheng Zhiyan and said, “You’re the one who offered to coax me to sleep.”

“All right, okay…” Cheng Zhiyan reached out his hand, and, patting the blanket covering Xiaotu’s body, he sang in a low voice:

“I’m not afraid of the pouring rain, nor am I afraid of the snow. Even if there is a blizzard, as long as I can see him, and can see his face every day, no amount of heavy snowstorm will frighten me. I want to look for my father, no matter where I go, I will still look for my father. I couldn’t find my good father, if you see him please persuade him to come home…”

During that silent night, Cheng Zhiyan’s childish voice, accompanied by the whistling of the wind outside the window, rang out beside Xiaotu. This melodious children’s song was the ending theme song of a cartoon that aired on TV. This was Xiaotu’s favorite song because she thought that the main character who was running through the snowy forest in search of his father was extremely similar to how she felt herself…

Even though she had never even seen snow before…