A widower's entertainment

Chapter 302 [Same Identity] (Please Subscribe)
The arrival of 1990 was no different for many people, but for Xie Shuhua's family in Tianjin, it brought about a great change, or rather, a major upheaval.

Xie Shuhua's father, Xie Zelin, was a high school math teacher, and her mother, Zhang Aiqin, was an employee of a state-owned store. Her family was well-off from a young age, and as an only child, she was always well taken care of as she grew up. Especially after Xie Shuhua was admitted to the Department of Literature at Yenching University and was assigned to work as an editor at the "Fiction Monthly" in Tianjin after graduation, her family's fortunes undoubtedly continued to improve.

What worries Xie's parents the most right now is Xie Shuhua's lifelong happiness and marriage.

Since Xie Shuhua graduated, many people have tried to introduce her to potential partners, but Xie Shuhua has refused them all.

This put pressure on both Xie Zelin and Zhang Aiqin, especially now that Xie Shuhua has refused the introduction from Xie Zelin's colleague, which has undoubtedly made Xie Zelin, the father, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Shuhua, Teacher Jiang kindly introduced you to him, why did you just refuse?"

Hearing her mother Zhang Aiqin's words, Xie Shuhua hesitated. This wasn't the first time she'd been introduced to someone. After thinking for a moment, she said directly, "I already have someone I like."

"who is it?"

Xie Shuhua's father, Xie Zelin, took off his reading glasses and looked at Xie Shuhua with surprise. He also felt that his daughter Xie Shuhua seemed to have someone she liked, otherwise she would have rejected all the introductions she had received since graduating in the past two years. He asked, "Where is she from?"

Xie Shuhua hesitated. She didn't know whether she should tell him or not. She didn't know if her feelings would have a future, nor did she know what her parents would think if she told them.

Xie Shuhua's mother, Zhang Aiqin, noticed Xie Shuhua's hesitation and difficulty. She walked over to Xie Shuhua and said, "Shuhua, your father and I are not urging you to get married early. It's just that if you really have someone you like, you should tell your father and me so that we can know."

Xie Shuhua knew that her parents were actually quite open-minded, but she was still hesitant, worried that her parents would not accept that she liked a widower.

The key point is that this widower is older than her and has six children.

Although she herself didn't care, she felt that even if her parents were very open-minded, they probably wouldn't agree.

But for some reason, at this moment, Xie Shuhua suddenly thought of Lin Youcheng's novel "Atonement". Lin Yu was so brave in love. Even though Luo Yang was just a housekeeper and servant, and his social class was not compatible with hers, Lin Yu still loved Luo Yang without hesitation and broke with that family for Luo Yang.

Xie Shuhua seemed to see Lin Yu's courage. Looking at her parents, she said very seriously, "The person I like has been married before and has children."

Married and has children?

Clearly, these words stunned both Xie's father and mother.

Zhang Aiqin's entire expression changed, becoming extremely solemn. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She looked at Xie Zelin, as if wanting to see what he was going to say.

Xie Zelin was clearly not expecting Xie Shuhua to say such a thing to him. He knew his daughter well and could tell that she was very serious when she said it.

He had always refused matchmaking attempts, which made him suspect that the person might have someone else in mind. Now he had spoken up even more directly, but he never expected that the person he had never met was actually married and had children.

"He was married before, but is he divorced now? What was the reason for the divorce? How old is he?"

Xie Zelin asked several questions in a row, looking at Xie Shuhua and waiting for her to answer.

In fact, there are far more questions that Xie Shuhua needs to answer than just these few.

Xie Shuhua looked at her father, seemingly more at ease now that she had spoken, and replied, "He is not divorced."

"Not divorced? That won't do!"

Zhang Aiqin panicked instantly. She couldn't believe her daughter was with a married man and couldn't accept it at all.

"He did not divorce because his wife died long ago."

"Is he a widower?"

Xie Zelin's expression also turned somewhat solemn, as if he hadn't expected his daughter to fall in love with a widower, which was hard for him to accept.

“He is fifteen years older than me, and he has six children.”

"..."

This was a complete shock!
Zhang Aiqin felt a sudden darkness before her eyes; the news hit her so hard that her head ached and she almost fainted.

The fact that her daughter had fallen for a widower in his late forties with six children made her heart ache; she simply couldn't accept it.

Fifteen years older!

Six children!

Each of these numbers is pushing Xie Zelin, the math teacher, to his psychological limits.

Because he is not only a math teacher, but also a father, he simply cannot imagine that his daughter would fall in love with a widower who is fifteen years older than him and whose wife has died. This man is only ten years younger than him, and the widower has six children!
Xie Zelin had always been in good health and had never had any heart problems, but at this moment he felt a slight pain in his heart.

"Shuhua, do you know what you're saying?"

Xie Shuhua looked at her father, seemingly having anticipated her parents' reaction. She shook her head and said, "This is just because I like him; he might not necessarily be with me."

Upon hearing her daughter Xie Shuhua's words, Zhang Aiqin felt as if she had grasped a lifeline, as if her heart could still be saved.

But then Zhang Aiqin thought again, given the old widower's circumstances, it turns out that it was actually her daughter who had a one-sided crush on him.
Zhang Aiqin's heart seemed to start throbbing with pain again.

Xie Zelin was equally shocked. He tried to calm himself down and asked, "Where is he from? What does he do?"

"He's a writer, and he now lives in Beijing." A writer? Beijing?
Upon hearing Xie Shuhua's two answers, Xie Zelin suddenly thought of a name and asked, "Are you talking about Lin Youcheng?"

Although Xie Zelin wasn't a Chinese language teacher, he was familiar with some literary works and knew about the author Lin Youcheng. He had read all of Lin Youcheng's works, and even had some of his books in his daughter's room.

Most importantly, he also knew that the writer Lin Youcheng was a widower who had lost his wife a long time ago and was raising six children alone.

Xie Shuhua nodded.

Seeing Xie Shuhua nod and admit it was Lin Youcheng, Xie Zelin was still somewhat upset. He hadn't expected his daughter to fall for a widower with six children, but deep down he had to admit that Lin Youcheng was a very talented writer.

It's not just his literary talent, but also his mathematical knowledge. Xie Zelin is a high school math teacher who has also attended university. He knows about the Euler conjecture equation, and later, Lin Youcheng, in his novel "The Devotion of Suspect X," provides a counterexample using the mathematical genius Shi Hong, who solves the math problem.

It seems like a coincidence, but in the mathematical community, it is seen as an unknowable coincidence like in "The Devotion of Suspect X". Even if it is a coincidence as Lin Youcheng said, the appearance of a counterexample may be a coincidence. After all, the progress of computers will naturally give the result of that counterexample, and there will be more than one. However, the fact that a coincidental answer was given several years ago has still caused quite a bit of discussion in the mathematical community.

Xie Zelin naturally knew that the details in "The Devotion of Suspect X" were just a minor episode that many people didn't pay attention to, but he had always known about this special counterexample.

Of course, Xie Zelin also greatly admired Lin Youcheng's creative talent and imagination. After watching Lin Youcheng's crime methods in "The Devotion of Suspect X" a few years ago, he was truly amazed.

Even so, Xie Zelin only sincerely admired the talent of the author Lin Youcheng. He did not think that his daughter should be with such a widower.

Like Lin Youcheng, he was also a father; he was Xie Shuhua's father.

In this matter, he did not believe that his daughter should marry a widower with six children.

"Shuhua, I disagree."

Xie Zelin gave his answer.

Xie Shuhua didn't seem surprised when she heard her father's words, because she didn't think her parents would agree. She simply said, "I know you will disagree, but it doesn't matter if you disagree or not. What matters is his opinion."

"All I care about is his opinion."

Clearly, Xie Shuhua's words surprised her father, Xie Zelin. He could tell that his daughter Xie Shuhua really liked Lin Youcheng, and it was this liking, or rather, love, that allowed Xie Shuhua to speak so frankly about her feelings.

Xie Zelin glanced at Zhang Aiqin, and it seemed that both of them could see that Xie Shuhua was very serious.

Xie Zelin now understands why Xie Shuhua told them back then that she went to Lin Youcheng's house to tutor Lin Youcheng's daughter in English; clearly, she had already set her sights on that at that time.

Clearly, Xie Zelin was unaware that Xie Shuhua had harbored such intentions even earlier, back when Xie Shuhua was still in university.

After this matter is brought up, there won't be an immediate result. Naturally, Xie Zelin and Zhang Aiqin's parents need time to calm down and process the whole thing.

Clearly, the elderly couple cannot accept what their daughter Xie Shuhua said. After all, no parent can easily accept their daughter marrying a man more than ten years older than her and becoming a stepmother to his children, especially six.

Thinking about it now gives Zhang Aiqin a headache.

Of course, the most crucial point is that this matter might also be a one-sided love affair between Xie Shuhua and her daughter. Lin Youcheng has no feelings for her daughter at all, and it's all just Xie Shuhua's one-sided enthusiasm.

Zhang Aiqin looked at Xie Zelin and said, "You'd better make a decision about this!"

Xie Zelin put down the book "The Devotion of Suspect X" in his hand, shook his head, and said, "Your daughter has her own ideas. Don't you know her personality? Once she's made up her mind, there's no point in trying to persuade her, let alone when it comes to matters of the heart."

"But that man has been married before and has six children. How can this be allowed!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Zelin couldn't help but say, "If I had known, I should have let her study math instead. She had to study literature. Those comrades who are into literature—sigh!"

Although Xie Zelin was a math teacher, he knew that some young women were madly infatuated with talented writers. Of course, he himself also had a yearning for literature, but he was more rational. After all, he studied mathematics, and he simply couldn't accept that a female editor would be willing to confess her love to a married poet and become a third party for love. He also couldn't accept those who shouted about so-called freedom of love disregarding morality, as if love really was everything.

Xie Zelin thought Xie Shuhua was difficult to persuade because he understood his daughter's personality. He had previously advised Xie Shuhua not to study literature and instead to study mathematics or something like him. However, Xie Shuhua loved literature and later went to the literature department of Yenching University, which was quite remarkable.

Zhang Aiqin didn't understand those things, nor did she know much about literature. She only knew of the writer Lin Youcheng, had heard of his books, and had seen the TV series he wrote. She asked, "Do you know Lin Youcheng? It seems that the TV series 'My Brothers and Sisters' that was broadcast on Tianjin TV not long ago was written by him."

Xie Zelin nodded and said, "Yes, the previous film 'The Message' was also adapted from his novel, and his novels have even won the Mao Dun Literature Prize."

Although Xie Zelin didn't want his daughter to become someone else's stepmother, he had to admit that Lin Youcheng's talent was truly outstanding.

Listening to Xie Zelin's words, Zhang Aiqin had heard of the writer Lin Youcheng before and could imagine how amazing he was. After all, even she, who didn't care much about literature, knew about him. Of course, another reason was that her daughter's room had many collections of Lin Youcheng's works.

"Then what do you say? I'm worried that Shu Hua is just acting impulsively. This can't go on like this!"

Xie Zelin had also heard about Lin Youcheng. His wife died several years ago, and he hasn't remarried since. He's fifteen years older than Xie Shuhua, making him thirty-nine this year, and he has six children…

Thinking about this, Xie Zelin felt a headache coming on again.

"Last time Shuhua went to tutor someone's daughter in English, I didn't pay much attention at the time, but now I think Shuhua really had that idea. I don't know what's going on with Lin Youcheng not remarrying for so many years."

"I'd like to go to Beijing after the New Year."

No matter what Xie Zelin does, he and Lin Youcheng share the same identity: fathers. And ultimately, a father will always stand by his daughter's side.

(End of this chapter)