As soon as Su Ze caught sight of Aunt Fen, he beamed and greeted her warmly:
"Aunt Fen, we're in for a real treat today—look at this fish of mine!"
With that, he picked a lively, thrashing mandarin fish out of his creel and held it out toward Xiao Tiantian:
"Tiantian, look at this fish. Daddy caught it just for you. Go on, touch it."
Xiao Tiantian opened her big eyes and stared fixedly at the fish, her face brimming with surprise.
She cautiously extended a chubby little hand, gently brushed against the fish scales, and then quickly pulled it back, bursting into a giggle:
"Fish! Fish!"
Su Ze affectionately ruffled his daughter's little head:
"Do you want to eat fish? Daddy will cook it for you, and I promise it'll be delicious."
He squatted down and asked with a deadpan earnestness:
"Tiantian, do you want to come home with Daddy? We'll cook the fish and eat it, how does that sound?"
Hearing this, Xiao Tiantian's eyes lit up. She immediately raised both hands and reached out toward Su Ze:
"Daddy~~!"
"Eat fish, eat fish!"
Her voice was crisp and sweet, carrying the childlike innocence unique to little ones.
Her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her mouth parted slightly,
revealing two tiny milk teeth.
Aunt Fen watched from the side. Although a hint of a smile lingered on her face, her heart was filled with utter disdain.
She thought to herself, what kind of blind luck had struck Su Ze today?
A good-for-nothing hoodlum who usually idled about all day managed to get his hands on a whole creel of mandarin fish?
It was probably just dumb luck.
Her impression of Su Ze had never changed, and she muttered inwardly:
"Just a street thug, he'll never amount to anything decent."
Indifferent to Aunt Fen's gaze, Su Ze scooped up Tiantian in his arms and turned to walk inside,
humming a little tune under his breath that kept Tiantian giggling away.
Back inside, he set the fish creel down,
washed his hands, and began preparing to cook the fish.
In his past life, even though he had been a Shamate punk, surviving on the streets hadn't meant just knowing how to throw punches.
He had worked on assembly lines tightening screws and prepped vegetables in restaurant kitchens.
Though his culinary skills weren't exceptionally advanced,However, making something like Steamed Mandarin Fish was still a piece of cake for him.
He picked out the largest and fattest mandarin fish, scraped off its scales with a knife, moving with practiced, effortless skill from start to finish. Next, he gutted it, cleaned out the internal organs, and made a few incisions along the fish's body before placing it on a plate to set aside.
He brought water to a boil in a pot, and once it was boiling, he put the plate of fish into the steamer and closed the lid. While the fish was steaming, Su Ze nimbly sliced ginger, cut scallions into sections, added a splash of cooking wine, and got the seasonings ready.
When the time was up, he quickly turned off the heat and opened the lid. Billowing steam rose, carrying a rich, savory aroma. The flesh of the mandarin fish was crystal clear and emitted an enticing fragrance.
"Come on, Tiantian, Daddy made Steamed Mandarin Fish. It's delicious."
Su Ze picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down on a small dish, and held it to his daughter's lips.
Tiantian bit right into it, a look of utter satisfaction instantly spreading across her face as she mumbled indistinctly, "So good! Daddy's fish is so good!"As soon as Xiao Tiantian saw that plate of tender, snow-white Steamed Mandarin Fish, her little face flushed instantly. Her eyes locked onto the fish meat, her mouth opened slightly, and she was almost drooling. Waving her little hands in the air, she chanted incessantly, "Daddy, fish, eat fish! I want to eat fish!"
As she spoke, she anxiously licked her lips with her tiny tongue, looking so ravenous she was practically on the verge of tears.
Seeing his daughter like this, Su Ze couldn't help laughing out loud. He quickly picked up another piece of fish, carefully blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to her. Tiantian took a huge bite. The moment the fish touched her mouth, her eyes crinkled into happy crescents as she let out a satisfied hum of contentment.
Just at that moment, Aunt Fen happened to be walking down the stairwell, holding the money she had just made from selling fish.The moment she caught the aroma of fish drifting through the air, she frowned and guessed to herself:
"With a smell this rich, it's probably that punk sneaking off to cook something special for himself at home again."
"He's probably even having a few drinks on the side."
She curled her lips in a sneer, full of contempt.
Aunt Fen let out a sigh.
Su Ze was just that kind of person.
Aunt Fen let out a long sigh, her disappointment in Su Ze deepening a notch.
The man was just like that—only ever thinking of his own enjoyment, hoarding any good things for himself, and never giving a damn whether his wife and daughter lived or died.
He was eating to his heart's content!
While his wife was still toiling away at the factory!
She shook her head slightly.
Especially when it came to Xiao Tiantian.
Such an obedient and adorable child, yet she had to live with a father like that. It was truly pitiful.
She couldn't help frowning as a wave of intense disgust welled up in her heart once more.
An image flashed through her mind.
Inside the room,
Su Ze, sporting a head of fluffy dyed-yellow hair, sat at the table sipping hard liquor while listening to Shamate DJ music,
a cigarette dangling from his lips as he lived in a drunken stupor.
Meanwhile, little Xiao Tiantian was rolling around on the floor, wearing tattered clothes and covered in mud.
A pair of bright, sparkling eyes revealed utter misery and bewilderment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
"With a father like that, Tiantian's entire life is practically ruined!"
"That little punk doesn't do a single decent thing!"
At this thought, Aunt Fen's heart tightened involuntarily.
However,
just as these thoughts ran through her head,
the front door suddenly cracked open.
Instantly, a rich fragrance of Steamed Mandarin Fish rushed out, flooding into her nostrils wave after wave.
Aunt Fen instinctively sniffed the air, and the mouth-watering aroma made her stomach let out a loud rumble.
Hunger surged into her instantly.
Peeking stealthily through the crack in the door, she happened to see Xiao Tiantian sitting by the table.
The little girl's mouth was oily with food, and she was using her small hands to grab chopsticks, stuffing pieces of fish into her mouth non-stop.
Her round little belly was puffed out like a little basketball, full to bursting.
Yet her face was beaming with a look of pure satisfaction, her eyes curved into crescent slits.
Her rosy, tender cheeks flushed pink,
making her look as adorable as could be!
Aunt Fen was utterly startled!
That yellow-haired punk actually knew how to cook?!
And he was feeding his child?!
"Oh, Aunt Fen, you're out here at the door. I was just about to go looking for you."
The next second,
Su Ze suddenly poked his head out, holding a bowl containing half a steamed fish.
It was very neat—evidently portioned out the moment it came out of the pot. The fish meat was plump and looked mouth-watering at first glance.
"Aunt Fen, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"I specially saved half for you. Take it and have a nice treat."
"Still... I've got a few things to take care of right now. Could I trouble you to help look after Xiao Tiantian for a bit? I'll be right back."
Looking at Su Ze's enthusiastic demeanor, Aunt Fen glanced at the well-behaved Xiao Tiantian sitting off to the side, then back at Su Ze, her eyes filled with knowing insight.
Ha! This brat was trying to dump his daughter on her again so he could run off to play!
She could hear the clacking of his abodus scheming clear through his belly.
Yet what could she do?
Seeing how cute, small, and helpless Xiao Tiantian looked, Aunt Fen simply couldn't harden her heart enough to leave the child by herself.
And they were on the second floor, too—what if the little girl started playing around and hurt herself...
Aunt Fen didn't even dare to imagine further.
"Fine, leave the kid here. I'll keep an eye on her."
"As for this fish, ugh! Forget it!"
Though she said that,
as Aunt Fen looked at the fish meat, her throat still involuntarily twitched.
She swallowed hard!