The world is broken, the cubs mend it

"I think Dad looks good in this, too."

Yuanyuan has never seen her father wearing clothes of this color. Most of them are black, gray, or old plaid.

"Then... take this..."

Chen Jiahe touched his earlobe embarrassedly. He was not used to wearing new clothes.

He usually wears gray-blue work clothes to work, and he bought a neat new set of clothes because he planned to wear them when he takes his children out to play.

Ma Zi also tried on some new clothes. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Although his appearance was not outstanding, his temperament was elevated to a higher level when he put on the neat new clothes.

"Uncle Wang, you look very energetic in this."

Yuanyuan was like a little staff officer, giving advice from the side.

"Why don't you praise me for being handsome?"

Wang Mazi was adjusting his collar in front of the mirror. Just now, when Chen Jiahe was trying on clothes, she said it looked good.

"The teacher doesn't let me lie..."

Yuanyuan pursed her lips. Lying is cheating. Uncle Wang is good to her, and she can't deceive Uncle Wang.

"..."

Wang Mazi felt as if his heart was stabbed hard, and he hated himself for asking that question just now.

After shopping, the three of them bought some vegetables and returned to the rental house. Chen Jiahe was cooking in the kitchen and Wang Mazi was leaning against the kitchen door.

He still remembered the day when he came to see the house. It was narrow and messy, but now he has tidied it up.

"How are you and Fang Jie? I see you guys have dinner together a lot recently."

Chen Jiahe turned around and glanced at him. The day before yesterday, when he was calling his name from behind after work, he followed him happily without even turning his head.

"Just...just like that..."

"You don't like her?"

"This...this, what do you want me to say?"

Wang Mazi didn't expect that he asked so directly. What's the point of liking someone? He needs the other person to like him too.

"Just ask! What if that person likes you too?"

Chen Jiahe felt that he had a good chance this time, as the girl would wait for him to leave together every time she got off work.

"How is that possible? What good do I have..."

Wang Mazi shrugged. He didn't dare to ask. What if he offended the other person, they wouldn't even be able to be friends anymore.

"You have your merits, too. What if someone agrees?"

"What are my strengths? Tell me about them."

"..."

Chen Jiahe was silent. Ma Zi did have many good qualities, but when he was asked this question, he couldn't say anything.

"..."

His silence was deafening, and Wang Mazi felt that his young heart had been hit hard again.

"you……"

Just as Chen Jiahe was about to praise him, he had already gone out to accompany the children, so he could only sigh and swallow his words.

"Uncle Wang, I think you are a very nice person."

Yuanyuan heard their conversation. She couldn’t say in detail what was good about him, but she just felt that he was a nice person.

"Little rascal..."

After hearing this, Wang Mazi's eyes revealed a sad look. This was what Chunhong had said when she rejected him before.

He didn't dare to have any improper thoughts about Fang Jie, and he was already satisfied just talking to her as a friend.

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye they had been living in this strange city for almost a year.

The rental house is extremely hot in the summer, making it hard to breathe.

Every evening, Yuanyuan sat in the yard with a group of uncles and aunts to enjoy the cool air. During the summer vacation, the sister next door went to her grandmother's house to play.

The kids in her class were all going to move on to the first grade, but she had to continue studying in the Yuhong class. Everyone said this was called repeating a grade.

She also wanted to go to first grade with everyone, but she was not old enough to enter the first grade at five years old.

Yingying and Lele are about to enter the second grade. During the Chinese New Year, she returned to the village and played with everyone for a few days.

She would occasionally write a letter and send it to everyone, but unfortunately she never received a reply.

Dad said that the village was too remote to send letters, and Yingying and Lele didn’t have the spare money to write back to her.

Chen Jiahe didn't expect that the summer in the city would be so hot. After get off work, he went to the grocery market and bought a second-hand electric fan and also bought a big watermelon.

He saved some money over the past year, and last month he was promoted to team leader, with a significant salary increase and bonuses.

By next summer he can move to a more spacious house with his children. The little ones have grown up and can no longer sleep together.

Wang Ziheng didn't expect that he would be promoted so quickly. His abilities are truly impressive.

At the beginning, Chen Jiahe was indeed not very good at getting along with others, but he would slowly learn what he didn't know.

The position of the previous team leader became vacant after his promotion, and the factory manager has always been optimistic about him.

He also wanted to climb up to this position, so he negotiated with the factory manager, but he didn't expect that the other party actually promoted him.

As soon as he stepped into the door of the slum, the little guy ran towards him.

Yuanyuan's hair reached her shoulders and was divided into two braids. She wore loose short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and the baby fat on her face was gradually fading.

"Dad, did you buy an electric fan?"

"Well, let's go home and eat watermelon."

Chen Jiahe took the child's hand, and all the stuffiness and irritability along the way disappeared.

"Great, we have a fan too, Dad, I'm almost cooked!"

It was very hot outside during the day, with heat waves from the road hitting us layer by layer. It was even more stuffy at home, and Yuanyuan was sweating even when she was sitting on a stool.

"Next year, when we move into a spacious and well-ventilated house, it won't be as hot as it is now."

Chen Jiahe calculated the savings he had and thought that if he saved a little more, it should be enough to buy a house in the city.

The factory manager told him that housing prices have not been expensive in the past two years, so if he wants to buy a house, he should do so as soon as possible, as housing prices may go up in a few years.

The old electric fan made a squeaking sound when it was powered on. It was a bit noisy but it was still cool, and the father and daughter could have a good sleep tonight.

Yuanyuan sat in front of the electric fan holding a watermelon, squinting her eyes comfortably.

There was a knock on the door. She put down the watermelon and went to open the door. Standing at the door were Wang Mazi and a young and fashionable aunt.

"Yuanyuan, long time no see!"

Fang Jie often heard Ma Zi mention her. She met her on a long-distance bus last year. In the blink of an eye, she has grown up so much.

"Auntie, do you know me?"

Yuanyuan opened the door and let them in. So much time had passed that she no longer had any impression of the person in front of her.

"I heard your uncle Wang mention it."

Fang Jie looked around and found the house simple but clean and tidy.

The little guy moved a stool for them to sit on. Chen Jiahe also put down the work in his hands. When he saw the two of them coming together, he was slightly surprised.

"I've asked for leave to go back to my hometown. I'll book a ticket for tomorrow. Don't worry about it. Take the kids and let's go out for dinner."

Wang Mazi couldn't hide the smile on his face and urged him to take off his apron and go out.

"You guys..." Chen Jiahe slapped his hand away and untied her apron herself, looking at them suspiciously: "Are you together? Who said it first?"

"Of course... I said it first. Stop asking. Let's go get Ziheng. You should pack up quickly."

Wang Mazi stuttered and his face turned red to his ears. He carefully grabbed Fang Jie's sleeve and went out.

After closing the door, Fang Jie suddenly took his hand and looked at him with a smile in her beautiful eyes: "Why are you still embarrassed to hold hands?"

"I... where do I have..."

Wang Mazi looked away awkwardly. In fact, he had just lied.

It was not that he confessed his love to Fang Jie. He knew his own worth. Fang Jie was beautiful and gentle. He felt that he was not worthy of her, so how could he dare to say those words to her.

Last month, an employee confessed his love to Fang Jie. He saw it at the time and felt jealous and sad, but he also knew that he had no right to be jealous.

Afterwards, Fang Jie didn't speak to him for almost a week, and Wang Mazi thought they were together, so he didn't have the courage to talk to her.

Later, a co-worker who shared the same dormitory with Fang Jie brought him a message, saying that Fang Jie asked him if he was still a man.

He was completely confused and had no idea what it meant. Two days later he mustered up the courage to ask her.

It turned out that Fang Jie rejected the man's pursuit and asked herself what he meant to her. If she liked him, she should say so and if she didn't, she should not contact him in the future.

He was completely stunned at the time and stammered for a long time before he reacted. When he returned to the dormitory, he pinched himself hard to make sure whether it was a dream or not.

No one expected that someone like him could still pursue Fang Jie.

He also wondered why Fang Jie liked him. Fang Jie said that she also thought he was ugly at first.

But after getting to know him for a long time, I found that he was a nice person, attentive, tactful, caring, and had no bad habits. Gradually, his appearance became unimportant, and I actually liked him after looking at him for a long time.

In fact, Fang Jie didn't know when she fell in love with Ma Zi. Maybe she realized it when someone confessed his love to her and she felt angry about his indifference.

Both of them took leave to go back and see their parents, and after things were settled, they came back to work with peace of mind.

Although they have not been in the relationship for long, they have been together for a long time and know each other well.

"Dad, was that auntie just now Uncle Wang's girlfriend?"

Yuanyuan scooped some water from the basin to wash her hands. Her hands were sticky from eating some watermelon just now.

"Yes…"

Chen Jiahe was not surprised. He had met many different kinds of people since he was a child.

Although Ma Zi's outward appearance is not good, he is a simple and honest person at heart. It is not surprising that he is liked by others. Not everyone in this world pays attention to appearance.

The two of them booked a hotel in advance, which was a bit far from here and took half an hour to walk there.

Wang Mazi, who had been emotionally hit hard, hadn't been this happy for a long time. He drank a lot of wine at the dinner table and felt a little dizzy.

He patted Chen Jiahe on the shoulder and talked about his childhood, mostly about interesting things like robbing bird nests and catching river shrimps.

"I still remember when you were a kid, you climbed a tree and you lost your balance and fell off the tree, and your pants got caught on them."

Wang Ziheng had the best alcohol tolerance, and with his cheeks slightly flushed, he recalled the past with him.

"Of course not. At that time, Jiahe rarely had the chance to go out and play. He was ordered around to work every day. His parents were like stepfathers and stepmothers."

Wang Mazi was holding a wine glass in his hand, his head was dizzy, and he was shaking his head as he spoke.

After saying this, he suddenly remembered something, stood up from his seat, and put one hand on Chen Jiahe's shoulder.

"What stepfather and stepmother? Now I remember, you were not born by your parents at all. You are the child of that woman's sister. Your parents died when you were very young."

"What did you say?"

Chen Jiahe looked up in surprise. Maybe it was because of the alcohol or something else, but his heartbeat suddenly accelerated and he felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.

"Ma Zi, you've drunk too much!"

Wang Ziheng quickly stepped forward and pushed him back to his seat. Such words should not be spoken casually.

Unexpectedly, Ma Zi suddenly pushed him away, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.

"I have kept this matter in my heart for more than ten years. I heard it with my own ears when I passed by your house that day. You are not their biological child.

They took the compensation money from your parents, so they raised you. They couldn't have children, so you are the only one left."

"Ma Zi, stop talking and drink less..." Fang Jie snatched the wine glass from his hand, looked at Chen Jiahe's ugly face and said hurriedly: "He drank too much, he must be talking nonsense, don't take it seriously."

She had never heard Ma Zi mention this before, and she didn't know whether it was true or not.

"Are you telling the truth?"

Chen Jiahe sneered, not at him, but just because he thought it was ridiculous.

"How could I lie to you all these years, brother? My mom didn't let me tell you at the time, so I never dared to tell you."

If he hadn't been drunk today, Wang Mazi might never have told him this secret in his entire life. He felt very uncomfortable keeping it in his heart.

"Jia He, let's talk about it tomorrow. He's drunk and his mind is not clear."

Wang Ziheng comforted him, saying that it was hard to tell whether the news was good or bad, and he just hoped that he would not take it to heart.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?"

Yuanyuan put down the chopsticks in her hand. She didn’t know much about her grandparents, she only knew that they were not nice to her father.

"It's okay. Are you full?"

Chen Jiahe let out a breath, but he couldn't calm down his emotions.

"I am full!"

The food in this restaurant tastes good. Yuanyuan likes potato chips the most. She ate a lot and her belly was full.

"Then let's go home..." Chen Jiahe stood up, holding the child's hand, and looked back at them: "I'm going home first, let's get together another day, I'll treat you."

"Be careful on the road."

Wang Ziheng wanted to see him off, but Ma Zi was drunk and Fang Jie was a girl, so it was inconvenient for her to go home, so he had to take him back to the factory dormitory.

The old-fashioned street lamps emitted a dim yellow light, illuminating only one side of the road, while the other side was shrouded in shadow.

The smell of alcohol on Chen Jiahe's body was blown away by the wind, and he looked up at the moon in the sky.

When he was a child, he always longed for his parents' love, hoping that they could be nicer to him and be more friendly to him.

The wounds of childhood are difficult to heal and can only be forgotten slowly, but he still feels touched whenever he thinks of it.

When he learned the truth, he suddenly realized that the reason they hurt him like this was because he was not their biological son.

But it was precisely because of this that he found it even more ridiculous, and he had no place to put his previous emotions.

"Dad, don't be sad."

Yuanyuan walked slowly and felt that her father was so sad that he was about to cry.

"I'm not sad, I just figured it out."

Chen Jiahe didn't want to cry, but too many emotions piled up together, making it impossible for him to suppress the grievances in his heart.

"Dad, grandpa and grandma are not my biological parents, but I am." Yuanyuan stopped and held her father's finger, looking at him seriously: "The teacher said that it is not shameful for adults to cry."