“No…I didn’t call you.”
Su Cha’s father thought about something and became nervous, “Did you receive a call from me?”
He seemed to be seeking confirmation from her. Su Cha answered quietly, “Uh-huh.”
Her father breathed heavily, which revealed who had called her.
“Fine.”
Her father took a long breath and tried to calm down, “Maybe I called you by mistake.”
He pretended to be off-hand. But Su Cha said, “Did she find out that you have given me money?”
She knew it. Otherwise, her father would not say so.
All of a sudden, her father fell silent. His silence proved Su Cha’s guess.
“That’s OK.”
Her father sounded bitter and awkward, “She doesn’t know how much.”
In other words, she knew her father had given her money.
She had probably called her to ask about it.
In Su Cha’s memory, her step-mother had always been harsh on her. She would ask Su Cha how much she had taken from her father.
It might not matter if it were just a few hundreds. But if she found out that it was five thousand, there would be a big fight.
Luckily, Su Cha did not take the call.
Su Cha did the math. Now her stepmother had known about the money, she would fight with her father. Su Cha did not want to bring her father any trouble, so she said, “I’ll pay you back immediately.”
She had planned to return her father’s ten grand after she earned enough money. Now that her stepmother had found it out, she would use Zhai Yao’s money to pay it back.
“No. You don’t have to.”
Her father sounded exhausted and ashamed, “A daughter owes nothing to her father. You have to take the national college entrance exam soon and leave for college. These five grand would be your travel cost and a part of your living expenses. Have you thought about which college you would pick?”
Su Cha paused a while and said, “A university in Imperial Capital.”
But not Imperial Capital University.
It was impossible for her to go to Imperial Capital University in her father’s eyes, so she did not want to say it to cause trouble.
“Imperial Capital?”
Her father sounded anxious, “Why do you choose Imperial capital? You can’t! It’s too far away!”
Su Cha found her father strange instantly, “Is it? It’s not far.”
Her father was nervous.
He was not nervous about the distance, but the name of Imperial Capital.
Why should he become nervous about Imperial Capital?
“It’s too far. You can’t go. You can’t, Su Cha!”
In the end, her father became very firm and stern, which was rare. “You are too young to go to Imperial Capital alone. I won’t allow it. There are colleges in Yonggu Town. Or you can choose any city in Jiang’an Province. Imperial Capital is too far away. Everything is expensive there. You can’t live easily over there.”
Yonggu Town belonged to Jiang’an Province.
Her father sounded strange. He resisted the idea that Su Cha was going to go to Imperial Capital. Su Cha did not know why, but she did not rush to answer.
She was quiet for a long while before she asked gently, “Well, dad, do you think there is any difference for me to live in Yonggu Town or Imperial Capital alone?”
She did not blame nor question him. She just said it easily. But it struck her father hard as if it weighed thousands of pounds.
“No…I didn’t call you.”
Su Cha’s father thought about something and became nervous, “Did you receive a call from me?”
He seemed to be seeking confirmation from her. Su Cha answered quietly, “Uh-huh.”
Her father breathed heavily, which revealed who had called her.
“Fine.”
Her father took a long breath and tried to calm down, “Maybe I called you by mistake.”
He pretended to be off-hand. But Su Cha said, “Did she find out that you have given me money?”
She knew it. Otherwise, her father would not say so.
All of a sudden, her father fell silent. His silence proved Su Cha’s guess.
“That’s OK.”
Her father sounded bitter and awkward, “She doesn’t know how much.”
In other words, she knew her father had given her money.
She had probably called her to ask about it.
In Su Cha’s memory, her step-mother had always been harsh on her. She would ask Su Cha how much she had taken from her father.
It might not matter if it were just a few hundreds. But if she found out that it was five thousand, there would be a big fight.
Luckily, Su Cha did not take the call.
Su Cha did the math. Now her stepmother had known about the money, she would fight with her father. Su Cha did not want to bring her father any trouble, so she said, “I’ll pay you back immediately.”
She had planned to return her father’s ten grand after she earned enough money. Now that her stepmother had found it out, she would use Zhai Yao’s money to pay it back.
“No. You don’t have to.”
Her father sounded exhausted and ashamed, “A daughter owes nothing to her father. You have to take the national college entrance exam soon and leave for college. These five grand would be your travel cost and a part of your living expenses. Have you thought about which college you would pick?”
Su Cha paused a while and said, “A university in Imperial Capital.”
But not Imperial Capital University.
It was impossible for her to go to Imperial Capital University in her father’s eyes, so she did not want to say it to cause trouble.
“Imperial Capital?”
Her father sounded anxious, “Why do you choose Imperial capital? You can’t! It’s too far away!”
Su Cha found her father strange instantly, “Is it? It’s not far.”
Her father was nervous.
He was not nervous about the distance, but the name of Imperial Capital.
Why should he become nervous about Imperial Capital?
“It’s too far. You can’t go. You can’t, Su Cha!”
In the end, her father became very firm and stern, which was rare. “You are too young to go to Imperial Capital alone. I won’t allow it. There are colleges in Yonggu Town. Or you can choose any city in Jiang’an Province. Imperial Capital is too far away. Everything is expensive there. You can’t live easily over there.”
Yonggu Town belonged to Jiang’an Province.
Her father sounded strange. He resisted the idea that Su Cha was going to go to Imperial Capital. Su Cha did not know why, but she did not rush to answer.
She was quiet for a long while before she asked gently, “Well, dad, do you think there is any difference for me to live in Yonggu Town or Imperial Capital alone?”
She did not blame nor question him. She just said it easily. But it struck her father hard as if it weighed thousands of pounds.
