The Male Protagonist’s Daughter

Shen Yan knew that a few thousand made a huge difference.
After all, his mother’s salary was only a few hundred a month.

However, to him, although a few thousand was a lot, Luo Shuyan’s feelings were more important.

He didn’t want Luo Shuyan to be unhappy over this issue.
He wasn’t sure if she would throw a tantrum at Uncle Luo.
They’d be walking on eggshells thereafter.

The best solution was for his mother to not buy the apartment!

Luo Shuyan was shocked when she heard Shen Yan’s ‘solution’.

If she were an actual six year old, she wouldn’t have understood where Shen Yan was coming from and she wouldn’t have been able to see the light that encompassed him when he announced his suggestion.

She knew that Aunty Shen had always wanted a house of their own, same went for Shen Yan.
Since he could remember, he had moved from place to place.
Out of all the places they’ve stayed at, he really liked this place and also loved his neighbors.

One time, a child from the floor above came over to play and drew a line on the apartment’s wall.
Shen Yan had been quite angry and he thought of different ways to remove the stain.

’

Aunty Shen and Shen Yan both really wanted a house of their own.

Yet, to be considerate over her feelings, he made such a decision.
She was in tears, this boy cared so much about her!!

How could she be worthy of such genuine friendship!

She thought they were merely fake friends!

Shen Yan noticed the dazzled look on Luo Shuyan’s face.

She paced forward and backward along the dining room.
She bit her lips and said, “I’m not lying, I’m really not angry.
Yesterday night, Papa had explained his plans to me.
He’s not buying a car just to save face.
He plans to buy a bigger house later on after he’s earned enough money.
Shen Yan, it’s a very good idea for your family to buy the apartment.
Wouldn’t it be a huge waste if Aunty Shen were to not buy it? It’s near to the school, and the piano studio Aunty Shen’s working at is also nearby.
It’s perfect…”

Subsequently, Luo Shuyan proceeded to list down the benefits of the apartment the Shens were staying in.
She could pass as a capable real estate agent.

’

In the end, as Shen Yan was heading home, these phrases continued to ring in his ears ——

“The apartment is in a good direction.
There’s enough natural sunlight with no obstructions in the way…”

“The buildings are spread apart, there’s enough space between them.
Plus, it’s also located near our elementary school, so it’s very safe…”

“You’ll never get an opportunity like this elsewhere!”

Shen Qingruo was about to head out when Shen Yan reached home.
She realized that he was out of it and hurriedly grabbed his arm.
She worriedly asked, “Son, are you not feeling well? Have you gotten a sunstroke?”

Shen Yan soon came back to his senses and shook his head.
He pointed at his ear and said, “It was noisy.”

Shen Qingruo gently touched his forehead, and when she realized that he was alright, she allowed him to get back into the house.

Her neighbor’s door was open, and when she made her way down, she heard the sound of the TV.
She smiled and realized that the noise her son was talking about was from the TV next door.

’

***

Thanks to the circulation of information around the neighborhood, everyone who thought Luo Tianyuan had made it big found out about the ‘truth’.

The conservative older generation took Luo Tianyuan as an example for what their children and grandchildren should NOT do.
They told them to never be like him; to sell a house just for a car.
It’s a good thing that Grandma and Grandpa Luo weren’t around anymore, if not, they might die from anger.

To put it simply, in front of Luo Tianyuan, everyone praised him for his hard working spirit and intelligence to find different opportunities.
However, most people in this era believed that working a stable job and saving money was the best way of life.

After Luo Tianyuan came back with some bao and Chinese crullers, the father and daughter ate breakfast together.
Generally, if Luo Tianyuan were home, they’d go out for food or would cook at home.
They would not go to Shen Qingruo’s to eat.
As mentioned by Luo Tianyuan, he believed that they shouldn’t develop a habit of eating together because they didn’t have the intention to become a family.
They both had young children of their own, so it would be best to not eat together.

Luo Tianyuan and Shen Qingruo were on the same page; Luo Tianyuan was worried that Luo Shuyan would overthink and Shen Qingruo was also worried that Shen Yan would overthink about the situation.

“Shuyan, would you like to go to a restaurant for lunch? Or how about the usual dumpling shop?”

’

Luo Shuyan was reading, so she raised her head and sighed internally.
She softly said, “Let’s not eat out today.
We can cook some noodles at home.
Didn’t Aunty Shen give us some stewed beef yesterday?”

No wonder the aunties and grandmothers* around the area said that her father wasn’t someone to marry to.
Papa was supposed to live a simple life and try to save money after buying a car, but he was suggesting to eat out…

*Aunties and grandmothers are the way Chinese address middle-aged and elderly women.

It didn’t occur to Luo Tianyuan that his daughter was trying to be frugal.
After all, despite playing the role of a poor man, he was actually rich.
Thus, the mindset of the rich and the poor were entirely different.
Luo Tianyuan would’ve never expected that despite his perfect reasoning of buying a car, this would cause his daughter to worry about money.

Ning City wasn’t a big city, so the restaurants around the area usually served simple dishes found at home.
Sometimes, young children would like to try something different.
Luo Tianyuan thought that he understood where his daughter was coming from and said, “Rather than going to a restaurant, what do you think about McDonalds?”

A McDonalds and a KFC outlet was opened in the city center three years ago.
Whenever Luo Tianyuan was free, he’d bring Luo Shuyan to those places for food.

McDonalds and KFC were not cheap options for a middle-class family.
Before this, Luo Shuyan hadn’t felt bad for eating there because her family wasn’t in debt and they owned two properties.
Her father was also a high income earner in Ning City.
However, now that her father was in debt and had sold one of their apartments away, there was no way she’d be able to swallow a hamburger!

Luo Shuyan looked at her father’s smiling face, who lacked any self-consciousness of their current predicament.
She couldn’t help but think, ‘How should I gently remind Papa that we are very poor now?’