adbindia Chapter 177: I’m in Charge Today
Chapter 177: I’m in Charge Today
"Captain, this can’t go on. Miss Shanshan sleeps until noon every day. Isn’t that a bit too lazy? Shouldn’t you say something? If a girl carries on like this, what man will dare to marry her in the future? She’s not young anymore. If you don’t discipline her now, it’ll be trouble later..."
His tone carried a hint of self-righteous concern as he spoke.
Before he could finish, Ling Anxun’s head snapped up, and he looked the man up and down.
The air froze in an instant. Everyone else who had been talking fell silent.
Ling Anxun stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"My daughter can wake up whenever she pleases. I’d happily let her eat in bed if she wanted. Is it your place to stand here and criticize?"
"I... I didn’t mean it like that... Captain, please don’t misunderstand..."
The man stammered, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He tried to explain further, but Ling Anxun didn’t give him the chance, cutting him off coldly. "Get out."
The man opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing. He turned and left quickly.
Just then, Shanshan walked over, yawning. Her hair was a little messy, and her eyes were still heavy with sleep.
She ran right into the soldier who had just been kicked out, the two of them passing almost face-to-face.
The man was fuming, his chest heaving.
Seeing that she was the cause of it all, his eyes immediately shot her a glare.
Shanshan, having received an eye-roll for no reason, couldn’t be bothered to engage. She just rolled her eyes back at him, even wider.
Then she sidestepped around him and continued into the room without saying a single word.
She was nothing like a well-bred young lady, which only served to irritate the man further.
But in Ling Anxun’s eyes, this was her at her most real and endearing.
Ling Anxun saw her from inside the room and took a few steps forward to open the door and welcome her.
"Shanshan, you’re here? Come in, come in! The pastries just came out of the oven. I saved them especially for you."
As he spoke, he moved aside to make room for her and pushed the nearby bowl and chopsticks toward her.
He lifted the pot lid just a crack, and a sweet fragrance immediately wafted out.
"Okay, okay, I’m coming!"
She trotted over, her face all smiles, completely unfazed by the glare she’d just received.
She entered, closed the door behind her, neatly arranged her slippers, and sat at the table to lift the lid.
’She and her dad were close. What business was that of anyone else’s?’
’It’s not like she was living in their heads. Why should they care so much?’
She had long since stopped letting such idle gossip get to her.
As long as she and her father were happy, what did it matter what outsiders thought? How could it change anything?
After staying at the camp for nearly a week, Shanshan finally started to find her rhythm.
Gradually, the surrounding soldiers stopped treating her like an outsider.
She adjusted her schedule and, taking advantage of Ling Anxun’s day off, dragged him out with her.
She had washed up early, changed into clean clothes, slung a small bag over her shoulder, and stood by the door waiting for him with an excited look on her face.
Seeing he was still adjusting his belt, she hurriedly urged him on.
"Dad, hurry up! The mall’s going to be packed if we’re any later."
"Dad, your room is so plain, it looks like a warehouse. I’m taking charge today. We absolutely have to spruce it up!"
After speaking, she didn’t forget to look back to see his reaction.
When she saw him nod with a smile, she immediately cheered and clapped her hands.
Shanshan, full of energy, declared they were going to do a major overhaul.
Ling Anxun had originally planned to use this rare day off to take his daughter out for a stroll to relax.
He never expected that before they even left, he’d be dragged to the mall for a shopping spree.
The moment they entered, she was pulling him left and right.
The shopping cart was soon piled high with all sorts of small items...
Ling Anxun followed behind, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the products on the shelves. Occasionally, a decorative piece would catch his eye, but before he could take a closer look, Shanshan would pull him away to check the color of a different throw pillow.
One piece of clothing after another was handed into his arms.
Seeing this, a sales associate proactively offered to get sizes, occasionally chiming in to ask if he needed styling advice.
Shanshan completely ignored the stares of others, focused on rummaging for suitable styles.
"Dad, you can’t just be wrapped up in your uniform every day like you’re on guard duty. You need to wear more casual clothes. Otherwise, when a bunch of young girls start chasing you, I won’t be able to handle it."
Her words drew a soft chuckle from a nearby customer.
The tips of Ling Anxun’s ears twitched, but he didn’t argue. He just gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment and turned to enter the fitting room.
He came out wearing a loose, off-white sweater with slightly long sleeves.
Shanshan walked a circle around him, nodded in approval, and immediately pushed him back in to change into the next outfit.
Shanshan muttered to herself as she flipped through the clothes.
’She talked about dressing him up to look frumpy, but every single piece she picked out was ridiculously handsome.’
Ling Anxun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He could only follow silently behind her like a walking coat rack.
Trying on one thing after another, he didn’t even have a chance to catch his breath.
At one point, a customer accidentally bumped into him and quickly apologized.
He just nodded to show it was fine and went back to looking at his phone to confirm the location of the next brand.
Shanshan, on the other hand, was full of energy, discussing how they still needed to hit the shoe and accessory sections as they walked.
While she was busy, Shanshan suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the women’s clothing section.
She squinted to get a better look. The figure was thin, wearing a faded sweatshirt, with her hair tied in a ponytail.
Over there, Cao Jiajia asked in a low voice, "Mom, can I try on that dress?"
She was pointing at a light blue floral dress not far away.
The style was simple and the fabric wasn’t high-end, but it had a refreshingly clean look.
Liu Yingzi glanced over, casually grabbed the price tag to look at it, and immediately shook her head.
"You’re just a kid, what’s the point of spending that much money? Just pick something cheap. You’ll outgrow it in a couple of years anyway. It’s a waste."
After saying that, she turned toward the discount section and started rummaging through the sale T-shirts and jeans.
With that, she walked off on her own to pick out clothes.
Cao Jiajia bit her lip, her fingers tightening around the edge of her sweatshirt pocket.
She paused for a few seconds before taking a step to follow her.
As she walked between the racks, her gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the floral dress, which someone else had now taken to try on.
A pang of sadness shot through Cao Jiajia’s heart as she watched this.
’It wasn’t like this before.’
’Her mom used to ask her which one she liked, and she’d even give in once if it was over budget.’
’Sometimes she would even take her to a children’s specialty store, pick out brightly colored dresses, and tell her how pretty she looked in them.’
’When did it all change?’
’She couldn’t understand.’
’Was it after Dad left?’
’Or was it when her grades started slipping after she entered middle school?’
In the past, she would have thrown a fit and started an argument.
But now, she could only swallow her grievances.
She was even more afraid that she might lose this weekly opportunity to go out with her mom to buy necessities.
As she was looking down, searching between the racks for a more affordable yet decent style, she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
’Ling Xueshan?’
Before she could process it, her gaze shifted and she saw Ling Anxun standing behind Shanshan, his hands full of shopping bags.
Ling Anxun’s expression was calm as he accepted a bottle of water from a store clerk, murmuring a quiet "thank you."
A burning sense of shame shot up to her cheeks.
She ducked her head and quickly hid behind a clothing rack.
But it was too late.
Shanshan had already seen her.
The other girl froze for a second, then a surprised expression appeared on her face, her mouth slightly agape.
But she didn’t move, only staring in that direction for two seconds before quickly looking away.
To make matters more awkward, they ran right into each other at the checkout.
They ended up in adjacent checkout lanes while queuing, no more than three meters apart.