Generally speaking, once Ning Zhijing immersed himself in his research, he was oblivious to the outside world.
In this regard, he and his daughter had the same temperament.
So, Ning Anmiao tiptoed towards the door with a teapot in hand. She turned the doorknob slowly, opening the door just a crack.
There sat Ning Zhijing, slightly hunched over, wearing thick reading glasses, and poring over an ancient book.
The afternoon sun shone warmly on him.
Ning Anmiao smiled softly and crept over to the table beside him. She gently placed the teapot on it.
Ning Zhijing adjusted his glasses and said slowly, "You should take a good nap during lunch break from now on. Don't bother making tea for me."
He didn't look up. Ning Anmiao couldn't help but laugh softly. "Mom is already asleep. It's me, Dad."
Hearing this, Ning Zhijing finally looked up and took off his glasses.
"Rare visit," he said casually. He put down the ancient book in his hand and was about to get up when Ning Anmiao walked over with a cup of freshly brewed tea.
"What are you saying, Dad? It's only right for a daughter to make tea for her father," she said, her voice clear and gentle.
Ning Zhijing took the cup and took a small sip. The slight bitterness and aftertaste of the tea lingered on his lips.
He closed his eyes contentedly.
Ning Anmiao stood beside him, looking docile and well - behaved.
A few seconds later, Ning Zhijing slowly opened his eyes. It seemed that he had savored the tea to his heart's content. He glanced up at her and said unhurriedly, "You're being overly kind. There must be something on your mind."
Ning Anmiao's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
As expected of her father. She hadn't even said a word about her intention since she came in, but he had already seen through her.
"Am I such a calculating person in your eyes, Dad?" Ning Anmiao forced a smile and walked behind him to massage his shoulders gently.
Ning Zhijing didn't expose her. He leaned back slightly, enjoying his daughter's "kindness." "I hope I'm misinterpreting your intentions."
Ning Anmiao gave an awkward smile. She knew her father was giving her a way out. If she didn't speak up now, she might lose the chance.
"Dad, I want to talk to you about my future... our previous conversation," she said, biting her lower lip gently as she tried to find the right words.
"Still haven't decided which university to go to?"
Ning Zhijing half - closed his eyes and said slowly, "I've already made arrangements for you. Go to Qingmu University. There are many senior scholars in Sinology there. You can continue your in - depth studies."
Ning Anmiao listened silently, saying nothing.
Apparently, Ning Zhijing had already made the decision for her.
"Some of my colleagues were quite interested in your previous thesis. They want to have a good discussion with you. You haven't forgotten all the knowledge you've learned, have you?"
Ning Anmiao lowered her head, unable to answer.
Seeing that she remained silent, Ning Zhijing's originally calm expression gradually turned serious, and his voice grew cold. "Ning Anmiao, come here."
She obediently stood in front of him.
The atmosphere in the study grew cold. The afternoon sun didn't seem as warm as before, leaving only a faint shadow on the floor.
"Are you not going to listen to me at all?" Ning Zhijing said coldly. Although it was a question, he had already guessed her intention.
Her silence since she entered the room said it all.
"Dad, please listen to me..."
Ning Zhijing looked disappointed. "Ning Anmiao, do you have to make me angry?"
He slapped the table hard. His temper flared up suddenly. "Three years have passed. Why are you still so naive?"
"Have you not suffered enough outside? Do you still want to challenge my bottom line?" Ning Zhijing coughed violently in anger, his eyes filled with annoyance.
The little daughter he had raised with his own hands, the flower he had nurtured in the palm of his hand, had grown thorns when she grew up!
Ning Anmiao couldn't bear to see her father angry. She panicked immediately. "Dad, don't be angry. Let me finish my words."
"Fine. I'd like to hear what excuse you can come up with!"
Perhaps because both of them had tasted the bitter fruit of their stubbornness three years ago, Ning Zhijing managed to suppress his anger a little, but his eyes still showed reproach.
Ning Anmiao shivered when she met her father's stern gaze.
She pursed her lips, clenched her hands by her sides, and took a deep breath. "Dad, I know your arrangements are for my own good."
"I know that if I go to Qingmu University, I'll have a worry - free future. I can smoothly engage in Sinology research and be respected like you."
At this point, Ning Anmiao observed her father's expression.
His face was still solemn, but calmer than before.
"You love Sinology. Everyone knows that. Then why do you have wooden carvings in your bookcase?"
Ning Zhijing was slightly taken aback.
Ning Anmiao looked up, her eyes so similar to her father's, and stared directly at him. "I've often seen wooden carvings and carving tools at home since I was a child."
She walked to the bookcase and slowly took out a lump of wood, a half - finished carving. "Mom told me that you loved to tinker with these little things when you were young."
As she said this, Ning Anmiao could still picture the smile on her mother's face when she recalled those days.
Bai Jiaying said that when her father was young, he loved to carve small things for her, sometimes a little rabbit, or a kitten or puppy. They were all so lifelike.
He had never received formal training, but he was very skillful.
However, after Grandpa passed away and the family business was passed on to him, he never touched these things again.
The wooden carvings, just like those lumps of wood, were sealed in the cabinet and never mentioned again.
"Why didn't you continue?" Her tone changed, and her voice was soft. "Don't you feel regretful about giving up something you like?"
Ning Zhijing watched her holding the wooden carving he hadn't touched for a long time. His voice, full of vicissitudes, trembled slightly. "You little rascal. Don't think you know your dad so well!"
"I never liked wooden carvings. I only did it to please your mom. It's a useless hobby. It's not something to be proud of!"
Ning Anmiao grew bold and shouted back, her eyes slightly red. "Because Grandpa said such things to you, do you want to impose the same on me?"
Ning Zhijing gasped, and his raised hand trembled slightly.
Ning Anmiao tightened her grip on the lump of wood. "Just tell me that you've never liked wooden carvings. I'll break this right now!"
"If you don't like them, what's the point of keeping these things in the cabinet?"
With that, she raised her hand high. The lump of wood was about to be smashed to the ground!