Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

Ai Qing: "..."

No need for novels!

[Rise, my subject]: Then be mindful of the time. We're coming back here for dinner tonight. Don't turn into a mortal by then.

[Ai Eats Fish]: Then brother, come back soon.

[Rise, my dear subject]: I'll be back after I finish eating. There's nothing else to do today.

【Ai Eats Fish】: Okay~ Then the little fish will be waiting for you at home.

[Ai Eats Fish]: I cleaned the house after I finished eating. Did you change your clothes yesterday, brother?

[Rise, my subject]: Hmm, the dirty clothes are all piled up in the bathroom.

[Ai Chi Yu]: Then I'll go wash it in a bit. I'll also tidy up the clothes that I hung out to dry and put them in the closet for you.

[Rise, my subject]: Well, thank you for your hard work. If you have time after you finish, you can play on my computer for a while. The password is my birthday.

[Ai Eats Fish]: Okay! Brother is the best!

"Who are you chatting with?" Yao Qiang walked into the elevator, glanced at Ai Qing's phone, and saw that he was chatting enthusiastically with someone on WeChat. She couldn't help but ask curiously.

“I’m chatting with Gui Gui, Kong Fugui.” Ai Qing turned off her phone and made up a story. “I’m thinking of buying a desktop computer recently, so I asked him if he had any recommendations.”

"He just recently got a new computer with the latest specs, so he didn't need the old one anymore and gave it to me to use."

Yao Qiang was a little disappointed, probably because it didn't quite meet her expectations, but she still asked, "It wasn't given to you directly, was it?"

"No, I bought it at the market price for secondhand goods."

“That’s fine.” Yao Qiang nodded and added, “If you need money, just tell your mother. Don’t tell your father. He’s quit his job again and isn’t getting paid.”

"Huh?!" Upon hearing this, Ai Qing was stunned.

Just then, the elevator arrived at the fourth floor, and Yao Qiang stepped out. Ai Qing didn't have time to ask her any further questions.

After the two stepped out of the elevator, they headed towards Asakusa-ya.

"Hello, are there two of you?" The waiter greeted the two guests politely as they entered.

"Yes, you two have a reservation." Ai Qing took out her reservation code and had the waiter scan it.

After scanning the code, the waiter led the two to their seats.

After the two sat down, the waiter glanced at Ai Qing, paused for a moment, and felt that this customer looked quite familiar.

Did you come here yesterday as well?

Ai Qing didn't notice the waiter's strange look; her attention was entirely on her mother, captivated by what she had just said.

While scanning the QR code to order food, Ai Qing asked, "What's going on? Why did Dad quit his job again?"

"His company took on a commercial order to produce various articles to whitewash a certain celebrity, requiring copywriting from all angles and styles, which is a complete distortion of the truth," Yao Qiang sighed helplessly.

“He couldn’t take it anymore a few days ago and finally chose to resign. He hasn’t been in a good mood since.”

"He'll be a little happier if you buy him a gift today."

Hearing this, Ai Qing rubbed her forehead helplessly: "So now he has to find a new job again?"

“I doubt it will be easy to find one,” Yao Qiang shook her head. “These days, it’s not hard for a writer to make a living, but it’s quite difficult to earn a decent living.”

"You know your dad's personality. It was already a miracle he was willing to write articles related to the entertainment industry before."

"Now that this kind of thing has happened, how can I possibly bear it?"

Ai Qing shook her head helplessly: "Then don't look for a job. He's over fifty years old. Can't he just retire? He can help his grandparents run the shop."

Their small supermarket is located next to the entrance of the residential area, where there is usually a lot of foot traffic, especially among primary and secondary school students going to and from school every day.

Their monthly income is not low, and the grandparents don't spend much. Even if the whole family relies on this small supermarket, they can live quite comfortably.

They don't need Ai Zhongguo's salary at all.

Not to mention that Yao Qiang was still at work.

“It’s still different.” Yao Qiang shook her head and chuckled. “He always has to find something to do. That’s just the kind of person he is. I know him best after all these years.”

"So, you're a chauvinist now?" Ai Qing complained behind her father's back. "Do you feel like you don't earn as much money as your mom, so you can't stand it?"

"How dare you talk like that?" Yao Qiang rolled her eyes at him. "Your dad isn't that kind of person."

"Maybe a little, but he wouldn't go so far as to look for a job because of that."

At this point, Yao Qiang paused, asked the waiter to place the plate in front of her, and then continued, "You probably don't know, do you? How your father and I met."

"Didn't you say you were the one who pursued him?" Ai Qing said with a grin. "Dad used to brag about this all the time, but I don't know if it's true."

“It’s true.” Yao Qiang rested her chin on her hands, recalling the past, a smile playing on her lips, and said to her son, “And it took quite a bit of effort.”

"How could that be? Mom, you're so outstanding. If you really wanted to pursue Dad, it would be a piece of cake." Ai Qing looked incredulous.

“It’s different,” Yao Qiang said, shaking her head. “When I first met your dad, I was only 16 years old, and he was already 24. So he always treated me like a little girl. It was only with great difficulty that I made him realize that your mom is also a girl who can date.”

Ai Qing: "..."

Why does this age sound so familiar?

Is a cat's one-year-old age equivalent to a human's 16-year-old age?

If that's the case, Ai Qing met Xiao Yu when she turned into a human, when he was 24 and Xiao Yu was 16.

"You probably don't know this, do you?" Yao Qiang picked up a piece of sushi, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it before continuing, "Your maternal grandparents passed away a long time ago, and I've lived with my uncle and aunt since I was little."

“My uncle is alright, but my aunt basically doesn’t treat me like a human being. She keeps saying that when I’m old enough, she’ll find someone to marry and ask for a dowry for my cousin’s wedding.”

"Later, my cousin left the countryside to do business in the big city. Once, he called the village and told his family that there was a good business opportunity there and asked me to come and help him with the work."

"I didn't think much about it at the time. I just didn't want to be married off to another man, so I went with him. I never expected it to be a pyramid scheme den. I was tricked into going there by my cousin."

"But I was lucky; I was only detained for a few days before the den was destroyed."

At this point, Yao Qiang touched the web between the thumb and index finger of her left hand: "Look, this wound is from back then."

Ai Qing opened her mouth, momentarily forgetting to eat: "Why didn't any of you tell me about this?"

"There's not much to say, I just want you to not misunderstand your dad."

"Does this have anything to do with my dad? Did he ever get involved in pyramid schemes before?"

"What are you thinking about?" Yao Qiang said irritably. "Your dad was a reporter back then, and he was the one who went to the scene to investigate. At that time, he and his colleagues discovered a suspected pyramid scheme den in the alley and they staked out the area for a long time."

"After collecting the evidence, we secretly called the police, and they raided the entire operation. That's when I was released."

"And then?" Ai Qing couldn't help but ask.

"Then we were checked, and after our identities were confirmed to be in order, we were released on the spot." Yao Qiang couldn't help but fall into her memories and continued, "At that time, I had nowhere to go. I stood there all alone and didn't want to go home."

“I’m afraid that if I go back, my aunt will marry me off to someone else. My cousin was also scammed out of a lot of money. It’s said that my uncle and aunt were tricked into sending a lot of money over there, which was all taken by the pyramid scheme people.”

“If I had gone back then, I was afraid they would have used it to exchange for a bride price.”

“That’s when your dad showed up.” Yao Qiang said, her eyes shining with happiness. “When he saw that I didn’t leave after I was laid off, he asked me where my home was and offered to pay for my train ticket if I wanted to go back.”

"I heard from the police that he was one of the reporters who called the police."

“Back then, your dad was still very young. He was a top student who had just graduated from university and was working as a field reporter for a publishing house.”

“I told him I had nowhere to go, and I grabbed his clothes and asked him if he could take me in for a few days. I could do the laundry and cook, and your dad took pity on me and took me in temporarily.”

Ai Qing: "...Dad doesn't seem to have mentioned this before?"

“He said I should have a certain level of authority in front of my son. I used to be so stupid and even got tricked into joining a pyramid scheme, so I shouldn’t let my son know about it.”

Yao Qiang picked up a piece of sushi for Ai Qing and said, "That's why I told you, you have to believe that your dad isn't that kind of person."

"He took me in for four or five years, taught me to read and write, and arranged for me to go to school and get my diploma."

"Later, at my request, he arranged for me to work in the factory to earn money and help supplement his household expenses."

"After that, he taught me how to use a computer and how to use the office software on it."

"After I learned these skills, the factory leaders promoted people who knew them, and I gradually climbed up the ranks to where I am today."

At this point, Yao Qiang's eyes shone with tenderness, "Your father is a remarkable person. I admire his integrity and honesty as a journalist."

"So if he loses his job because of this quality, I don't mind working and earning money to support him."

After hearing her parents' story, Ai Qing fell into a long silence.

Ai Qing didn't come to her senses until Yao Qiang smiled and waved her hand in front of her son.

"So, Aiqing, your name is the most sincere expression of our feelings for each other. Your mother believes in love the most, and I hope you feel the same way."

Chapter 111 Departure

Ai Qing never expected that when she treated her mother to dinner after earning her royalties, she would hear such a long-forgotten story.

And the sense of déjà vu is just too strong...

While feeling emotional, Ai Qing couldn't help but look at her mother and reasonably suspect that her own mother might also be a cat in disguise.

Fortunately, her mother didn't have cat ears or a cat tail, which relieved Ai Qing.

He then mentally recounted the stories between his mother and father, and couldn't help but feel a little envious.

He never expected that his father was quite handsome when he was young, and that he had even reported and busted a pyramid scheme den with his colleagues.

He also brought his future wife home and raised her to adulthood by himself.

Looking at her mother, Ai Qing recalled her mother's diligent and capable work style over the years, and found it hard to reconcile her with the image of the 16-year-old rural girl who had been tricked into a pyramid scheme.

On second thought, although Ai Qing was reluctant to admit it, she had to admit that her personality was quite similar to her father's in some ways.

Just like how her father was willing to spend time and effort to provide Yao Qiang, who was only 16 years old at the time, with the appropriate education.

Ai Qing also spent a lot of effort nurturing Xiaoyu from a naive and ignorant little girl into someone who is now gradually developing normal thinking and abilities.

She really did inherit her father's fine traditions...

"It's delicious."

After finishing her meal, Yao Qiang wiped her mouth with a napkin and asked Ai Qing, "Where are we going later?"

"I'll go home after I finish eating."