Jian Dan let out a sigh of relief, got up and scurried like a little rabbit. Bo Qin called her back, "Jianjian."
Jian Dan was taken aback and stopped in her tracks. After hesitating for a moment, she turned around, her big eyes looking at Bo Qin, "Uncle Qin."
Bo Qin sighed, not knowing why she was so afraid of him, "Jianjian, I am your family, and you have the right to make demands on me. If what I said earlier about getting married makes you unhappy, you can tell me."
Jian Dan hadn’t expected Bo Qin to say something like that. She quickly shook her head, then nodded. She despised herself inwardly. What right did she have to demand that Uncle Qin shouldn’t do this or that?
Her head hung low, her voice barely audible even to herself, "Uncle Qin, it’s okay for you to get married; you don’t have to worry about me—I’ve grown up."
With every word, she felt unbearably miserable.
Bo Qin could see her emotions but didn’t understand why she was unhappy. He sighed, "You should go to sleep now. Let’s leave this matter here, and find some time to have a good talk."
Jian Dan went back to her room to rest. Lin Ma brought Bo Qin a late-night snack as well. Bo Qin, not wanting to disappoint Lin Ma’s kindness, took it while rubbing his tired brow, "Eldest Young Master, actually Little Jian Dan does care about you. When she first started living here, she was so little, asking us every day when you would come back;
Maybe the surroundings were too unfamiliar, and you were her only relative. In her repeated anticipation, she gradually lost that hope, so don’t blame Little Jian Dan for being distant from you;
She has her thoughts. After all, she doesn’t want to expect too much, just afraid to hope too much."
Lin Ma had watched Jian Dan grow up. Her name really suited her character, just like her, Bo Qin chuckled, "It seems I was wrong."
Lin Ma quickly said, "No, no, Eldest Young Master, I didn’t mean that."
"Lin Ma, don’t be nervous, I know what you mean. I indeed have overlooked Jian Dan a lot, and it’s understandable that she feels distant from me now."
"You’ve never been a father before; being able to manage this much is already great."
Whether this was comforting or just contradictory, Bo Qin could only cry and laugh.
Returning to her room, Jian Dan leaned against the door, unable to tell if she was sad or despondent. Hearing the words "getting married" made her very unhappy. She did not know what Bo Qin meant by that, but she was certain of one thing.
Bo Qin would definitely get married in the future.
If Bo Qin got married, could she bear to see him affectionate with someone else in front of her? The answer was no. But could she ask Bo Qin not to get married?
She knew Bo Qin would never love her. Bo Qin had always seen her as a child, a grown-up. How could he think of spending a lifetime with his own child?
Jian Dan wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. She took a bath, tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, deeply saddened, feeling somewhat mournful, hating herself for being born too late. Yet, she was grateful that she was her father’s child, only because of this had she such an interaction with Bo Qin.
A sleepless night resulted in dark circles under her eyes the next morning that couldn’t be hidden. She applied concealer in her room but couldn’t cover them well. As soon as she went downstairs, she met Bo Qin’s half-smiling face, "Uncle Qin."
"Didn’t sleep well? The panda eyes are quite obvious."
Jian Dan couldn’t help but smile awkwardly. "I slept too much during the day and couldn’t sleep at night. When I wanted to sleep, I couldn’t fall asleep anymore."
"Come eat, and I’ll take you to school afterwards. You can sleep a bit in the car."
Jian Dan walked over and pulled out a chair next to Bo Qin, "I won’t be able to sleep much in the car anyway; might as well not sleep."
"Are you complaining now?"
"No, it’s just not enough sleep. It’s okay, I can concentrate on my classes and sleep well in the dorm tonight."
"That’s possible too."
Lin Ma brought over two baskets of buns and placed them in front of them, then returned to the kitchen, bringing three dishes and white rice porridge. Jian Dan, nibbling on the corn in her hand, suddenly lost her appetite, "Lin Ma, there’s so much delicious food, are you planning to feed me like a pig?"
Lin Ma laughed, "If only you could eat like a pig, I’d be half as worried. I make so much delicious food, but you hardly eat much."
Jian Dan giggled and stuck out her tongue, "I ate a lot, the sweet and sour pork ribs are the best."
"Shall I make some for you tonight?" Lin Ma was very willing to cook for Jian Dan.
Jian Dan shook her head, "Lin Ma, you forgot, I’m boarding now. I won’t come back tonight; make it over the weekend. And Lin Ma, about the cat you mentioned, go ahead and buy it for me. I’ll buy cat food online, and then you can use it to feed my cat. I’ll take care of it when I come back on weekends."