Chapter 404: – Dad’s Phone Call
When Lin Jin returned on Sunday afternoon, she had completed her task.
She lazily checked the item inventory in her phone app. The so called Anywhere Door had already appeared the moment the task was completed.
But this kind of thing seemed to be useless to Lin Jin.
Unless she suddenly had the urge to go on a spontaneous trip abroad or something. But if she used it to travel out of the country, there would be no way to send her back.
Because it was a one time use.
Unless there was some really special situation that required Lin Jin to urgently go somewhere, this Anywhere Door was basically useless.
She bought some cheap vegetables and fish at the grocery market across from her apartment and brought them home.
Even though she had gotten used to her current life, Lin Jin still felt kind of tired every day.
Last week, she could take a good nap for an hour or two every afternoon and had gotten used to it. This meant that she would start to feel sleepy every afternoon. If she didn’t sleep, the sleepiness would just continue into the evening, lasting all the way until she finally got into bed.
Since she now had to go to the welfare institute every afternoon, taking naps was naturally impossible. So, she could only come back home at six every day, make herself some dinner, and then get in the bed around seven and sleep until eight or nine.
Even so, Lin Jin could still go to sleep before twelve o’clock at night. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was just too sleep deprived.
After eating, Lin Jin lazily laid on the bed and blankly stared at the ceiling, not really sure what she should be doing right now.
She closed her eyes, wanting to take a nap, but suddenly heard her phone vibrating.
Frowning, she picked up the phone and saw that the caller ID was apparently her dad.
Dad?
If her father had called before, Lin Jin wouldn’t have been very surprised. But she had now become a woman. In her father’s eyes, she had gone against his wishes and went for surgery. He didn’t seem to want to see her.
If it were a normal father daughter relationship, then after Lin Jin had surgery… at least her parents thought she had surgery, her dad should have at least called to offer some comfort no matter how unhappy he was with her. But what about her father? Lin Jin had already been a woman for two months now, but her father actually hadn’t called until now.
So that was to say, this phone call might actually be something important, right?
Lin Jin frowned as she answered the call, silently waiting for her dad to speak first.
“Hello?” Her dad’s deep and serious voice came from the other end of the line.
“Whatt?” Lin Jin's tone was a bit impatient. She heard from her mom that her dad had even said he didn’t want her anymore. So Lin Jin didn’t really miss this dad who she had taken care of for so many years.
On the other end, her dad was a bit taken aback by Lin Jin's impatient tone. He hesitated for a moment before asking: "It’s school break soon, right?"
“Soon.”
Time passed really fast, it was inexplicably already June. If nothing unexpected happened, then in half a month, Lin Jin would be on school break.
“Then during break, will you be back?” Her dad’s tone sounded somewhat cautious.
Lin Jin was a little confused by her dad’s question.
“Why wouldn’t I go back?” Lin Jin suddenly realized that her dad might be worried she wouldn’t come home for the summer, which is why he was asking like this.
But if he was worried she wouldn’t come home, why did he seem to dislike her so much? Especially when he said those things to her mom before.
“I’m probably going to Guangdong for the summer. Mom’s been nagging me every day to go.” Lin Jin quickly changed her tune. “Or I might go to Guangdong to work a summer job with my younger brother. I probably won’t be going to your place.”
“Then I’ll come find you?”
Lin Jin clearly sensed that her dad probably had something he wanted to talk to her about. Otherwise, why would he say something like that?
"What do you want?" Lin Jin frowned, thinking she should just get straight to the point. "Didn’t you not like me becoming a girl? Didn’t you tell mom you didn’t want me anymore? And now you’re telling me this?"
"That..."
"During the Chinese New Year, you and Mom were getting along just fine, but as soon as she left, what’d you do?" Lin Jin with a cold expression, softly scoffed and said "If you have something then just say it. I'll decide if I feel like it or not."
Lin Jin didn’t feel like she owed her dad anything. Ever since her parents divorced when she was ten, her dad lost his job and with his gambling habits, they often didn’t even have rice to eat. She had to rely on help from neighbors and relatives. Later, when her mom’s business took off in Guangdong, only then did Lin Jin’s life become slightly better.
Moreover, from the age of ten to until she went to college, Lin Jin had never really enjoyed any familial affection. She did all the housework and cooked for her dad every day, almost like an unpaid maid.
Added with the things her mom had told her about her dad, Lin Jin had started to feel aversion towards him.
"That... do you still have some money over there?" her dad let out a dry laugh and said "Doing business, but no capital."
That business of yours is just gambling, right?
"Don't worry, once my business turns a profit, I’ll definitely pay you back!"
Only ghosts would believe that.
But in the end, Lin Jin let out a sigh and still said: "I still have two thousand. How much do you need?"
"Five hundred’s enough!" Her dad’s voice sounded a bit anxious.
Five hundred was enough for you to gamble for a night? Or maybe you planned to find a woman somewhere?
"Alright then, what's your account number? Or should I use Alipay?" Lin Jin leaned against the headboard, looked down and played with her fingers.
"Alipay."
Lin Jin unwillingly transferred her dad five hundred yuan. Then before he could say anything else, she hung up the phone.
To be honest, if her dad had asked her for money in the past, back when he still had some integrity left and said it was for starting a business, Lin Jin might have believed him. But the problem was, over the past ten years, her dad had used this excuse to con who knows how many friends and relatives.
Most of the money went to gambling, and the small amount left was spent on drinking and dining with his shady buddies.
For about five or six years, Lin Jin had hardly received a single cent from her dad.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Jin felt a bit depressed. After all, he was her father, and she always felt it wasn’t that good for her to treat him so coldly.
But then again, he was seeking ruin himself. What did she need to feel guilty about?
After calming down a bit, Lin Jin wanted to take a nap, but found that the phone call had left her unable to sleep. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her life with her dad over the years.
Even though he wasn’t exactly a good father, he was still her dad, wasn’t he?
If possible, Lin Jin didn’t want to completely break ties with her dad, and she didn’t want to see him in such a miserable state either.
Maybe during the summer break, she really should go back and check on him, at least to see what kind of situation he’s really in.