Chapter 25: A Man’s Voice Came

Tao Lijun, the biological father of the original owner.

Before Tao Yu arrived, Tao Lijun secretly sold off the property and all valuable household items, running away with the money, disappearing without a trace.

After more than half a year, why has he suddenly appeared again?

What is Tao Lijun’s purpose in showing up…

Tao Yu paused for a moment in thought, then took a step closer to the courtyard gate.

The gate was half closed, with the other half open.

Tao Yu didn’t rush inside, but instead stood silently outside, using the half-closed gate as cover, observing quietly.

Tao Lijun was 43, Li Juan was 36, and she was 18.

Li Juan was from another province. It was said that after her entire family perished in a disaster, she wandered alone and eventually settled in a rural area near Bei Cheng, specifically in the Cha Yazi commune.

At the age of 17, Li Juan was introduced to Tao Lijun, who also lived in the Cha Yazi commune. They married, and the following year, she gave birth to the original owner.

Shortly after the original owner was born, Tao Lijun said he was going to the city to find work.

Once in the city, Tao Lijun used some clever tricks to make an elderly couple from the city recognize him as their godson. Then, Tao Lijun persuaded them to use their connections to get him a job at a canned food factory as a temporary worker.

Before long, that elderly couple passed away, and Tao Lijun naturally inherited their room in a large courtyard.

Once his goal was achieved, Tao Lijun brought Li Juan and their daughter to the city to take care of his life.

After arriving in the city, life began to change for Li Juan.

Tao Lijun was, by nature, a man with high ambitions but no skills, lazy by nature.

He didn’t last long at the canned food factory, and eventually, someone used their connections to replace him.

After all, there were always people with stronger connections than his.

Then, unemployed, Tao Lijun spent his days in the city idling away, not doing anything productive.

The family survived solely because Li Juan worked tirelessly, taking on odd jobs and caring for both the child and the household.

Even so, Tao Lijun would still ask Li Juan for money to spend.

A man like this, running away with money only to come back…

Had he spent all the money and come back to ask for more?

Tao Yu felt an uneasy sense of something being off.

She searched her mind for the original owner’s memories, hoping to find some clues about Tao Lijun’s abandonment of his family before he disappeared.

But Tao Yu found nothing.

The original owner had spent most of her time in her own world, detached from everything happening around her. Her memories were filled with nothing but the bleak fragments of daily life.

So how could the original owner have noticed any clues before Tao Lijun disappeared?

Tao Yu recalled the original owner’s memories of this world.

That sense of bleakness, she was indeed familiar with it.

A long time ago, she had looked out at the world in the same hopeless way…

In the yard.

Li Juan sat on a chair, her face full of despair, while Tao Lijun was kneeling on the ground, crying and begging for forgiveness.

Tao Lijun, tears and snot streaming down his face, placed his hand on Li Juan’s knee.

“Juan’er, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have gone south to do that stupid business! I lost all our money!”

“Juan’er, please, you have to understand me. I’ll change. We can live well in the future. After all, I’m still the father of our daughter…”

Li Juan’s face darkened, and before Tao Lijun could finish, she forcefully swatted his hand off her knee.

She stood up with a sudden “huh,” glaring down at the man on the ground.

“Tao Lijun, you’ve done everything vile. Don’t pretend to be sincere with me!”

“Tomorrow, we’re going to the civil affairs bureau to get a divorce. I, Li Juan, don’t owe you anything! Our daughter is about to come back from work, you’d better leave quickly!”

When Tao Lijun heard Li Juan mention Tao Yu, he immediately wiped away his tears and snot, crawling closer to Li Juan on his knees, clinging to her pants leg.

He knew that Li Juan was tolerant and always gave in to him. If he begged just a little more, she might soften.

“Juan’er, give me another chance. You can’t let our daughter grow up without a father. How can you bear to do that? Think of our daughter!”

But instead of softening, Li Juan only grew angrier.

She tugged at her pants leg with all her strength, but when she couldn’t free herself, she spat fiercely at Tao Lijun.

“Bah! Shameless! When you abandoned us, I already considered you dead! Our daughter doesn’t have you as a father! Get lost!”

Tao Lijun ignored her, tightening his grip on her leg and continuing to play the pitiful card.

His tearful, self-slapping act looked truly pathetic.

Had Li Juan been a bit softer, she might have been moved.

Tao Yu stood behind the door, expressionless, watching the struggle inside for a while before losing patience.

Tao Lijun’s crying made her feel disgusted.

It even made her feel nauseous.

Tao Yu coldly pushed open the half-closed door.

As the door opened, Li Juan immediately turned her head, noticing her daughter had returned.

She quickly wiped away the fierce expression, her face frozen, unsure how to react.

Tao Lijun, on the other hand, reacted quickly.

He immediately stopped kneeling, got up, wiped his face, and his tears stopped instantly.

Then he patted the dust off his knees and straightened his shirt, no longer looking pitiful.

Tao Lijun cleared his throat, not an ounce of awkwardness in his demeanor.

He pretended to greet Tao Yu casually.

“Yu’er’s back. Was the work at the mechanical factory exhausting?”

Then, he lifted his hand to fix his hair, smoothing his part as he nonchalantly continued, “Yu’er, your dad went down south for business, but now he’s back. From now on, I’ll stay at home and never leave!”

Li Juan, hearing this, clenched her teeth, her face dark with anger.

But when she saw her daughter’s emotionless face, she held back, saying nothing.

Tao Yu remained silent, standing in the yard, her face cold, staring at Tao Lijun without uttering a word.

Tao Lijun, seeing Tao Yu ignore him, didn’t find it strange.

This brat always acted like this.

Gloomy, pulling a long face every day, just like her mother.

If it wasn’t for Li Juan stubbornly raising her, he would’ve sold this girl off when she was eight or nine years old!

Tao Lijun glanced at Li Juan, who was holding back her anger, then looked back at the silent Tao Yu.

It was as if he had found Li Juan’s weak spot and began to take control again.

He immediately regained his cocky attitude, acting like the head of the household.

Tao Lijun casually patted his pants and sat down on the chair where Li Juan had just been sitting.

He started ordering Tao Yu around.

“Yu’er, go to the kitchen and make something good for your dad. Your mom hasn’t even gotten me a drink all afternoon!”

Then, Tao Lijun half-smiled, provoking Li Juan.

“Seems like living in a big house makes people forget their manners…”

“You!”

Li Juan’s face turned black with anger, but she still managed to bite her tongue and hold back.

She was indeed provoked, but since her daughter was watching, Li Juan reminded herself not to let her daughter be affected.

In the end, Li Juan, forcing herself to calm down, glared at Tao Lijun and said,

“Tao Lijun, stop bossing me around. I’ll go get it!”

Seeing Li Juan compromise, Tao Lijun became even more smug.

He hadn’t expected that after kneeling and begging for so long, it was less effective than when his crazy daughter came back.

Had he known, he wouldn’t have bothered begging that woman—he could have just pressured her, and it would’ve worked fine.

Tao Lijun smugly crossed his legs, then began to berate Li Juan.

“Ah… This is more like it. A woman should act like a woman, be more virtuous.”

“How can a woman not serve her own husband when he comes back? From now on, just settle down and live with me. Stop doing those useless things.”

“You can keep making your clothes, but try to hire more people. I won’t stop you. Once you earn the money, I’ll manage it for you. I’ll keep a close eye on it.”

Li Juan’s anger flared up again, but she forced herself to stay calm. She tried her best to act composed while addressing Tao Yu.

“Yu’er, are you hungry? Come to the kitchen, and I’ll fix you something to eat.”

Tao Yu didn’t move.

She finally spoke, her first words since entering the yard.

“Wait a minute.”

Tao Lijun noticed Tao Yu wasn’t moving and, after a quick glance, began to plot again.

He had just observed that the house was not only spacious and clean, but also furnished with high-quality materials.

The rent was probably not cheap!

Moreover, both mother and daughter were wearing clothes made from fine fabric.

It seemed his informant was right; Li Juan had indeed struck it rich.

With this in mind, Tao Lijun began to formulate a plan.

Li Juan, that wretched woman, still thought she could drive him away?

“No way!”

Tao Lijun stood up and, taking a few steps closer to Tao Yu, assumed a domineering stance.

“Yu’er, you’ve become a canteen worker at the mechanical factory, right? You must be making at least 20 bucks a month?”

Then he extended his hand, with a hypocritical and deeply disrespectful look.

“Don’t try to fool me. I’ve already inquired. Besides, what money can a girl like you spend? Hurry up and give it to Dad, I’ll save it for you!”

Tao Yu’s expression darkened as she stared at the outstretched hand, her gaze as if looking at some filthy garbage. The gloom in her eyes was thick, almost suffocating.

Li Juan, noticing her daughter’s abnormal reaction, was about to speak when Tao Yu calmly said two words:

“Wait here.”