Zhuang Qilin did not know how to surf at all, but Zhuang Long’s surfing skills were not bad.

  After teaching Zhuang Qilin for more than half an hour, this brat did not improve at all. Zhuang Long simply let Zhuang Qilin sit on his shoulder while he played on his back. The two of them followed the waves and surfed on the sea. Zhuang Qilin hugged Zhuang Long’s neck. He was already eight or nine years old. It was a little difficult for Zhuang Long to carry him, but Zhuang Long enjoyed this heavy happiness.

  The two of them played at sea for a long time. Seeing that the sky was filled with dark clouds, as if it was about to rain, they ended the surfing. When they returned to the shore, Zhuang Long bought two ice creams, one for each father and son.

  “Dad, they said that there will be a mermaid parade at the Luna-Park amusement park tomorrow! We won’t go back today. We’ll stay here and watch the mermaid parade tomorrow before going back, okay?”


  When Zhuang Qilin was young, Xiao Li had brought him to see the mermaid parade, but that was a long time ago. He had long forgotten about it.

  Knowing that tomorrow was the mermaid parade, Zhuang Qilin had to take a look no matter what.

  Zhuang Long had always doted on Zhuang Qilin, so how could he reject him? Hearing this, Zhuang Long agreed without hesitation. “Okay.”


  Seeing that his father had agreed, Zhuang Qilin was even happier. “If only Mom was here too.” With that, Zhuang Qilin also felt that he had said a joke, so he lowered his head and remained silent. Zhuang Long saw Zhuang Qilin’s expression, and his heart ached. He felt especially terrible.

  Zhuang Qilin could have had a normal family like other children. His parents loved each other, and he would have grown up healthy under their love. Unlike now, wanting his parents to watch the mermaid parade with him was just an extravagant hope.

  And all of this was because of his irresponsibility.

  Zhuang Long felt very guilty towards his son.

  If he had not been so arrogant at that time and not valued his pride more than anything else, he would not have sat down with her calmly when he realized that he liked Xiao Li. They would have apologized to each other and lived a good life together. Then, today would not have happened.

  Just like how the pharmacy did not sell regret medicine, reality did not have many ifs that could be realized.

  There were no ifs in this world. He would only suffer the consequences.

  When they returned to the hotel, Zhuang Long was lying on the bed like a dead fish. “What’s wrong?” He had bought some grapes on the way back. There was a bin in front of Zhuang Qilin. He sat by the bed and picked the grapes to eat one by one.

  He ate the grapes without spitting out the grape skin or the grape seeds.

  Zhuang Long stared at his mouth that had not stopped since he entered the house and could not help but ask, “Is it delicious?”


  “Not bad.”


  Zhuang Qilin continued to eat excitedly.

  Seeing that his son had no intention of being filial to his father, Zhuang Long kicked Zhuang Qilin gently and said, “Give me one.”


  Zhuang Qilin stared at the grapes, chose the largest one, and handed it to Zhuang Long.

  Zhuang Long was deeply relieved that he knew to give him the biggest.

  He ate grapes the same way Zhuang Qilin did. When he sent them into his mouth, he did not spit them out, as if it was a waste to spit them out. After eating the grapes, Zhuang Long snorted and said softly, “Qilin, Dad’s shoulder is very sore. Come and massage it for me.”


  Zhuang Qilin put down the grapes and stared at his father. He sighed and said, “You’re old. You only carried me for half a day, but your back is starting to ache. You can’t do this. Let me tell you, if your stamina isn’t good, you won’t be able to find a wife.” After saying that, Zhuang Long shook his head exaggeratedly and looked sad.

  Zhuang Long was silent for a long time.

  Zhuang Qilin washed his hands and climbed onto the bed. He sat on Zhuang Long’s waist and massaged his back.

  Zhuang Long then asked, “Do you understand what you meant just now?”


  Zhuang Qilin nodded. Seeing that Zhuang Long seemed a little surprised, Zhuang Qilin said disdainfully, “I’m already nine years old. Our physiology teacher has already told us about sex between men and women. He said that men have to have good stamina! If they don’t have good stamina, they will be despised by their wives.”


  Zhuang Qilin had watched many melodramatic dramas when he was young. He casually said something indecent. He said, “If you want a husband and wife to have a deep relationship, a man has to have good stamina. If the wind can blow him down, he will definitely be cuckolded”


  Zhuang Long was speechless.

  Zhuang Qilin seriously massaged Zhuang Long for a while. After a while, he realized that his father had not made a sound. He looked down and saw that Zhuang Long had already fallen asleep with his eyes closed.

  “Go to sleep…”


  After confirming that Zhuang Long was asleep, Zhuang Qilin found his phone. He thought for a while before sending a message to Xiao Li.

  Zhuang Qilin: [We’ll watch the mermaid parade tomorrow. Mom, are you coming?]

  Xiao Li: [What do you hope?]

  Zhuang Qilin: [Come on.]

  Xiao Li: [Okay.]

  Zhuang Qilin was in a good mood and even smiled. He thought of something and sent another message.

  Xiao Li was in a meeting in the meeting room, and her assistant was sending documents to her subordinates. Xiao Li took the time to pick up her phone and saw Zhuang Qilin’s message—


  [If he recovers, will you remarry him?]

  Xiao Li was not in a hurry to reply.

  After the meeting ended, Xiao Li leaned back in her chair and looked at her phone in silence for a long time before returning to Zhuang Qilin.

  Ding dong—


  Zhuang Qilin, who was eating grapes, did not wash his hands and directly opened the message. He saw Xiao Li’s reply: [As long as he needs me, I will appear by his side anytime.]

  Zhuang Qilin: [Then aren’t you going to tell him the truth? He seems to really think that you married him because you love Uncle Bruce.]

  Xiao Li: [No.]

  Zhuang Qilin: [… I don’t understand what you adults are thinking.] He instantly felt that the grapes were not delicious. He threw away the grapes in his hand and wrote: [He was surfing on the sea with me on his back for the entire morning. Mom, I especially hope that our family can live together.]

  Realizing that he was being unreasonable, Zhuang Qilin pondered for a moment and sent another message: [Mom, I will always respect your choice.]

  After reading the two messages, Xiao Li’s heart was heavy.

  Zhuang Qilin was only nine years old. He could clearly be as noisy as other children and make all kinds of unreasonable requests. However, he did not. He hoped that Xiao Li and Zhuang Long could remarry, but he especially respected his mother.

  His thoughtfulness made Xiao Li’s heart ache.

  After work, Xiao Li reminded a female secretary, “Sonny, make time tomorrow. I have a private matter.”


  Sunny replied loudly, “Okay.”


  …


  The next morning, Zhuang Long and Zhuang Qilin put on the same t-shirt and walked onto the streets.

  There were especially many tourists on the streets. They stood on the sidewalk. There were guardrails on both sides of the road that did not allow pedestrians to enter. The streets were especially crowded and noisy. Many couples and parents with children brought their children to watch the mermaid parade.