Reboot the heyday

"why?"

"Yeah, I feel like it will hold her back."

"Father, aren't you ashamed to say that? Haven't you delayed enough people along the way?"

Wang Taika, enraged and embarrassed, retorted: "You deserve a beating!"

The goldfish pursed its lips: "Who told you to lie even to your own daughter!"

Wang Taika sighed helplessly. He said, "To be honest, I think her choice was more based on reality than on feelings. But you know, I'm still young and haven't thought about these things. I told her I can't make a single choice. So she realized she couldn't accept it. Later, she chose to give up."

Goldfish didn't react to this. Although the appearance of Cheng Gymnastics was unexpected, the subsequent development of the story was as expected.

Wang Taika continued, "Recently, she accepted a suitor's confession and started a new relationship. That's it. I don't regret it; I still wish her well. But I also know that this kind of relationship will only drift apart in the future. So I feel a little sad. I'm the kind of person who dislikes this feeling of parting."

"Father, you still care a little, don't you?" the goldfish asked softly.

"To be honest, I don't really care. I just don't like this feeling of drifting apart, and it doesn't matter who it is," Wang Taika said. "Besides, to put it another way, I've known her for many years and we've been through a lot together. It's just a pity that things have come to this. But I wish her well. After all, she made the best choice for herself, and I'm happy for her. I can't let my mess prevent her from pursuing a normal happiness."

Wang Taika's eyes were clear when he said this, and it was truly his heartfelt statement. Given his current status and state of mind, he wouldn't be so bothered by a girl's choice; it was more of a sigh for the past.

This is not surprising; Wang Taika has always been this kind of person, always holding grudges about relationships that have already expired.

However, after hearing this, Goldfish gave a mysterious smile. She shook her finger and said in an almost certain tone, "Dad, I'll bet you. This one will definitely come back to you in six months—or at most a year."

Wang Taika was taken aback and frowned at Jinyu: "Don't talk nonsense. Since she has chosen to start a new relationship, she is determined to move forward. I know her, she is not the kind of person who will easily turn back."

“I’m not saying she’ll be unfaithful to her new relationship,” Goldfish explained, her eyes sparkling with a sly wisdom that seemed to see through the world. “What I mean is, once she’s actually tried it and compared it, she’ll find it’s different, and everything is different from what she imagined.”

Wang Taika was both amused and exasperated: "You're really good at giving advice."

"Dad, you're blinded by your own feelings. You think she's different because she's not Korean, and you can't accept having many connections. Dad wants to become rich and powerful to keep everything you have now. Is that what you think? But... are Koreans really that stupid? As long as they have money, they'll throw themselves at one person without any regard for anything else?"

The goldfish counted on its fingers: "Senior Jieun, senior Taeyeon, senior Yoona, and so many other seniors, were they all after your money and power? At their level, it's not like they absolutely need that. In the end, it's because they can't bear to part with it, it's because they like you. Because this liking even surpasses your womanizing, Dad. Why is that?"

Wang Taika thought for a moment and said, "I just like it."

"That's superficial!" Goldfish laughed. "It's charm! Dad's actually a bit insecure, isn't he? Doesn't he think he's charming, or is he afraid to admit it? But charm is a strange thing. In some people's eyes, smoking, drinking, and tattoos are all forms of charm. Of course, Dad isn't that low-level, but he definitely has a different kind of charm. So, it has nothing to do with nationality. Just wait, she will definitely come back."

Wang Taika laughed: "Whether it's true or not, it sounds really cool."

“Of course it’s true,” Goldfish said. “Having met someone like you, Dad, and experienced that feeling of being with you—well, it’s troublesome but profound enough—she’ll find those ordinary, conventional guys utterly uninteresting. Everyone says they want a simple, peaceful happiness. But if simplicity truly brings satisfaction, there would be no such thing as infidelity. Especially after going through so much with Dad, that kind of simple happiness might not be what she truly finds sweet.”

Wang Taika scratched his head: "Troublesome but profound enough. Yeah, I do have a habit of causing trouble for others."

Jin Yu pursed her lips, looking at Wang Taika's somewhat astonished expression, and added with a grin, "It's the same principle as going from frugality to extravagance being easy, but going from extravagance to frugality being difficult. Dad, you're the 'extravagant' one, you have a strong palate. Once you've seen it all, it's hard to be content with the ordinary anymore, and everything you eat will taste bland. So, I bet she'll figure it out sooner or later and come back. But whether you take her on then, Dad, that depends on your mood!"

Wang Taika was a little happy: "Am I that good?" "Not that good, it's precisely because you're so bad that you're like this," the goldfish said.

"You're asking for it!" Wang Taika reached out and gave the goldfish a sharp rap on the head.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Goldfish rubbed his forehead and muttered, "I'm not making this up! This is just a reasonable deduction based on human nature! Dad, do you dare to bet with me?"

“No betting.” Wang Taika refused decisively, picked up his drink and took a sip: “There’s no need to gamble with someone else’s feelings. As long as she’s doing well, whether she comes back or not is her own choice.”

The goldfish covered its head and said, "Women all like men who become honest bad guys for them, not real honest guys. Becoming bad doesn't work either."

Wang Taika was both amused and exasperated by the goldfish's profound remarks, but upon closer reflection, they seemed to make perfect sense.

The goldfish, still unwilling to give up, said, "Dad, are you afraid to gamble?"

Wang Taika asked, "What do you want to bet?"

When Jin Yu heard Wang Taika ask what the bet was, her eyes lit up. She lowered her hand from her forehead, leaned forward slightly, and said with eager anticipation, "Then..."

Wang Taika raised an eyebrow: "Be more specific, don't keep me in suspense. I won't agree to anything too outrageous."

"What? What kind of person do you think I am, Dad? Because of Dad's bad influence, my heart is becoming more and more impure," the goldfish said with a righteous expression.

Wang Taika said helplessly, "Go ahead and say it."

"Don't worry, it's absolutely legal and compliant, and it won't hurt anyone or cause you any real loss." Goldfish smiled slyly: "It's just that... well, if I win, Dad, you have to put down all your work and spend the whole day with me, living a day like an ordinary father and daughter."

"An ordinary father and daughter?" Wang Taika asked, somewhat puzzled. "What do you mean by 'ordinary'?"

“It’s like this,” Goldfish counted on her fingers, “In the morning you have to make me breakfast, then take me to school, then accompany me to my acting or vocal lessons, and then wait for me outside after class, just like other parents. At noon, we’ll eat a regular, inexpensive student meal together. In the afternoon, you’ll take me to the amusement park or zoo, and you have to scream with me on the roller coaster. When we eat ice cream, you have to let me take ugly pictures. In the evening, we have to go see a regular movie, not a private screening, but just blend into the crowd. Finally, we have to take a walk along the Han River and buy some unhygienic rice cakes and fish cakes from street vendors. In short, for the whole day, I have to forget all your status and airs, and just treat us like an ordinary father and daughter. How about that? Isn’t that harder for you than asking you to hold a concert?”

Wang Taika was genuinely stunned after hearing this. The bet seemed harmless enough, but it had a strange, devastating effect on him. Asking someone like him—accustomed to control, to special treatment, to be a deep thinker, and somewhat concerned with appearances—to play the role of an ordinary father for an entire day, mingling with the crowd, truly pushed him to the edge of his comfort zone.

The main problem is that it's too embarrassing, like playing house. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.

“Your bet is really tricky,” Wang Taika chuckled and shook his head.

"So, Dad, do you dare to gamble? Are you afraid of losing? Even if you lose, you won't lose out, there's always someone who will change their mind." The goldfish pressed its advantage.

Wang Taika pondered for a moment, then said, "Fine, I'll take the bet. But since it's a bet, the terms have to be equal. If you lose..."

"If I lose, I'll let Father do whatever he wants with me!" the goldfish blurted out, looking like he was ready to risk everything.

"If the punishment is too lenient, what can I do to you? It's pointless." Wang Taika shook his head and said, "Fine, if you lose, go to the household registration department and change your surname to be the same as mine. Wang Jinyu, or Wang Yu, or Wang Yuanxi, which sounds better?"

The goldfish was both amused and exasperated: "Neither of them sound good, but since they share the same surname as my father, I'm genuinely interested!" (End of Chapter)