Lately, It's Winter Season.

Chapter 56 -Epilogue: Special chapter 4

As time went by, our relationship grew stronger. Fei gradually opened up and accepted us more. What made me incredibly happy was that Fei finally called me "Dad"! And she also called Tiger "Dad." Fei also became more comfortable in her new home; from a child who was always wary and fearful, she had become happy.

Fei is a very well-behaved child and very good at housework. Although this is a consequence of her parents in her previous family doing nothing and making the children do everything. But the good thing is that now Fei does housework because she wants to, not because she's afraid of being punished. Honestly, who would dare to hit Fei? She's so adorable.

"Fei," I called from the kitchen, washing dishes since Tiger was already out working, "Uncle North will be here soon."

"Yes," Fei smiled happily, "Let me prepare some water and pastries and put them on the table."

"YES."

What a good child. 

"Dad"

"Yes, what's wrong, Fei?"

"Dad, did Uncle North like the chocolate cake we bought last time? If he did, Fei would put it on the table."

"That's the note," I replied with a smile, thinking to myself, North eats everything. Shortly after, the doorbell rang.

"Let Fei go open the door," Fei said, then ran to open it. Seeing Uncle North, the little girl's face lit up with joy. "Hello, Uncle North, Uncle Johan!"

"Hello, little one~ It still feels strange every time I'm called 'uncle'." North chuckled, then lowered his voice and continued, "Here, I brought you some cakes and toys; the cakes are from France. I just got back from a trip to France and bought lots of cakes for Fei."

"Thank you, Uncle," Fei said, taking the food. 

"Let's eat together, Uncle. You're too thin, you need to eat more!"

"Okay," North said, then turned to ask, 

"Where's Ger?"

"He's gone out to work."

"Ah ha..."

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More than a month has passed since we adopted Fei, and, as I said before, I initially thought I was fulfilling Nao's wish because he wanted a child. But from the very first day Fei came home, when I felt that this child was ours, my heart was filled once again – even though Nao had already filled it before. And I love this baby with all my heart.

The moments when the three of us are together are when I feel the happiest, as if I need nothing more in life.

"Dad, " a small voice called from behind, making me turn around. "Welcome home, Dad. Are you tired?"

"Not tired at all." I sat down and patted her head. "What did Fei and Daddy do today?"

"I'm getting ready for school tomorrow," Fei replied. "It's my first time going to school, so I don't know what it will be like. Dad and Grandma are coming with me, are they?"

"That's right. Dad and I will drop Fei off at the school gate and pick her up in the afternoon."

"Yes."

"Fei, you must be well-behaved towards your friends and teachers."

"Fei will always be well-behaved towards everyone."

Aaa, so cute…

"That's excellent."

I feel so proud that Nao and I helped Fei open up. From a quiet, withdrawn child who didn't say a word on our first meeting, she's now become such a bright and lively girl.

Dad… Dad is really proud of you.

"Ger", Nao called from the kitchen, "Let's take Fei for a walk in the newly opened park while we wait for dinner."

"Are you planning to cook?" I asked.

"Hmm."

"You can eat it, but is the baby okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Mom is here too," Nao replied.

"Okay, then," I said, extending my hand to Fei, "Come on, honey, let's go to the park with Dad while we wait for dinner."

"Yes"

I took Fei to the newly opened park. It was late afternoon, so the air was quite pleasant. Fei gently pulled my hand and pointed towards the swings.

"Can Fei sit there, Dad?"

"Okay."

I led my child to the swing and gently pushed her.

"Go higher", I laughed and pushed a little harder. Fei giggled with delight.

"One last time~ really, really high!" I moved behind her and pushed harder. But then Fei fell to the ground. I panicked and ran over to see that her hand was scratched.

“Fei… I’m sorry.  Does it hurt a lot? It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have done that. ”

"Fei is fine," Fei replied, "It doesn't hurt at all."

“Fei… *sobbing*… Daddy… Daddy’s sorry…” I hugged her tightly, and Fei gently hugged me back.

"Why are you crying, Dad?" Fei patted my back reassuringly. "Don't cry, Dad. Fei isn't in any pain. Just blow on it as you did, and it'll be fine."

“Sob… sob…” I couldn’t hold back my tears, so all I could do was blame myself for hurting my child, “Fei… Sob… Dad…”

"Dad, don't cry. Don't cry anymore, Fei will take you home."

—

"Huh, what's going on?" Nao asked, surprised to see Fei leading me home instead of the other way around, while I was still crying uncontrollably.

"Dad, please help Dad. He keeps crying non-stop, and Fei doesn't know what to do."

"So what happened at the park?"

"Fei is injured," Fei said, showing Nao his hand.

"It was me... *sobbing*... I pushed the swing too hard, and Fei fell... *sobbing*."

"You're injured, and you still have to hold your dad's hand all the way home?" Nao sighed.

"I don't know what to do... *sobs*."

"Dad, please don't scold Dad," Fei protested. "Dad didn't do it on purpose, Fei... Fei wasn't holding onto the swing properly either... So please don't scold Dad."

"Okay, I won't scold you. Let me put some medicine on you," Nao looked at Fei with affectionate eyes. "Ger, don't cry anymore. The baby is fine, it hasn't even cried once."

"Hic... Yes..."

The next day was Fei's first day of school. After handing her over to the teacher, we hid behind the fence and watched her. Thankfully, Fei was still cheerful and lively. Even so, we didn't leave and stayed by the fence for almost half the day, until school ended. A year later, Fei was six years old and in elementary school. Everything was going smoothly in the family until one day, while I was at work, I received a call from Nao saying the teacher had called the parents to report that Fei had gotten into a fight with a classmate.

"Sing, I'm going first," I said, then stood up. We were in a business meeting at the time.

"What's wrong?"

"My daughter caused trouble."

"Causing trouble? Getting into a fight?"

"Yeah."

"What grade is your child in?"

Level 1.

"My niece is only in elementary school, and she’s already causing trouble?" Sing teased, 

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead, don't let anyone bully my niece!"

"Yeah."

I sped to school as fast as I could. When I arrived, I saw Nao hugging Fei, who was crying in the principal's office. The other parent was also hugging their child and crying; it seemed to be a boy.

"Are you Fei's father? The thing is..." The teacher was about to explain, but I didn't bother listening and went straight to grab the boy by the collar.

"Hey, sir!!" the boy's mother shouted.

"What did you do to my daughter?!" I yelled, making the boy cry even louder. If he weren't just a child, I would have punched him until he fell over before asking him what was wrong.

"Sir, please calm down first, Fei's father." The teacher also quickly intervened, "Akhin didn't do anything. Fei was the one who bullied Akhin first."

"Huh?" I frowned, released my grip on the boy's collar, and turned to ask Fei: "Fei, tell me what happened."

"No, that's not true!" Fei ran up and grabbed my shirt, "Fei... *sobs* Fei has to protect Dad! Akhin is bad! Akhin said Dad is a 'wrong prophet’. Fei doesn't understand what it means, but Fei knows he's insulting Dad and Father! Fei can't stand it... *sobs*... Fei won't let anyone bully Dad and Father!"

The room fell silent for a few seconds before I lunged forward, genuinely wanting to punch that disrespectful kid.

!!

Nao rushed over and held me back.

"Ger, no! Don't hit the child!"

"You damn scoundrel! How dare you insult my wife? I will..."

The little boy cried even louder, hiding behind his mother. The mother's face was pale, and she looked very frightened. After regaining our composure, we sat down to talk, but I couldn't just ignore it.

“My child is just a child, only six years old, Principal. Can’t this just be overlooked? Besides, Fei…” The woman said, trembling, “That little girl even bit my child’s hand until it bled! I should really sue that child, too!”

I was about to yell back, but Nao raised his hand to stop me.

“My child is six years old, and your child is also six. So why didn't my child say such terrible things? What does that mean? Does that mean you're not raising your child properly, right? A child's character reflects their parents' upbringing, so don't use the excuse that children don't know any better. If we overlook it today, what kind of person will they become when they grow up? Are you really going to let them become someone who speaks harshly and insults others like that? Fei said this isn't the first time your child has bullied her. Akhin frequently teases, insults, and even steals things from Fei. He even encouraged his classmates not to play with Fei just because Fei's father is gay, saying that playing with Fei would spread diseases, like AIDS. Then he pushed Fei, causing her to fall and get injured, yet Fei still told us she fell on the playground. So if you have any sense left, you should understand how much you've failed in raising your child. Do you really want your child to grow up to be like that?”

The mother was stunned, unable to believe her ears. Then she burst into tears, crying and hitting her son: "Akhin! How can you be such a child! Did I... did I not raise you well? Why did you do this?!"

It all ended when Nao and I decided to transfer Fei to another school. From now on, we'll find a better school, a better environment for our child. We consider this a big lesson for us as parents.

"Fei," Nao called.

"Yes, Dad?"

“I’m sorry I didn’t know you were being bullied, that you were being told hurtful things too.” Nao looked like he was about to cry, which made me want to cry too. Fei pulled us both down to sit beside her and hugged them tightly:

“Dad… *sobs* Dad should have cared more about Fei… please forgive me.”

"And your father too… Fei, I'm sorry as well."

"It's okay, Dad, please don't cry anymore," Fei comforted us in a warm voice. "It's just a small thing, Fei is fine. Fei could have retaliated when teased, but Fei tried to endure it because she thought it would pass. Fei didn't want Dad to worry or get tired because of her."

"No way," Nao said. "Fei doesn't have to suffer anymore. From now on, if anything happens, Fei must tell Dad right away, okay?"

"Yes, Fei will tell you everything. Fei apologises for hiding it from everyone."

"And… Fei did a great job." Nao gently stroked Fei's head, "Fei was so brave to stand up and protect Dad like that."

Fei smiled brightly: "Fei will protect both of you!"

"It seems like Fei is really okay, just like she said," I said. Even though it was over, Nao and I still felt a pang of sadness. "She's so strong, unlike us. We cry all the time."

"Yeah," Nao leaned against my shoulder, "A child who thinks more maturely than their age... I hope they don't have to push themselves too hard."

"Whether you push yourself or not is up to you. You're a very capable child. When I was Fei's age, I couldn't have done this."

"Haha, yes. So what will you do next?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's about my child's school."

"I'll take care of that. Don't worry."

“I just hope my child has a good environment, grows up in a good society,” Nao said softly. 

“Actually, I’m very happy that Fei is such a strong child. But… I don’t know, Ger. I want to protect Fei forever, but I probably can’t do that forever, right? One day, she’ll grow up, enter a new society, encounter bad people, and face all sorts of difficulties.”

"Yes, we can't protect her forever, so we can only help her grow up strong," I said, gently stroking Nao's head to comfort her. "But what reassures us is that Fei is truly a strong child."

"Yes, that's true..."

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Around one o'clock in the morning, when Nao was asleep, I prepared to go out to work as usual. After changing my clothes, I quietly slipped out so as not to wake anyone. But to my surprise, Fei was waiting at the door.

"F-Fei, what are you doing out here? Are you going to the bathroom?"

"Dad, are you about to go out to work?"

“Uh… um.” I stammered in reply. Actually, I’d never told my daughter about my work, even though Sing insisted Fei was his successor. Since Sing and Ben had no children, Fei was the only one left in the family. But she was too young, and I didn’t want her involved. Even when she grew up, I wouldn’t force her. 

“Dad’ll take you upstairs to sleep.”

"Dad, you have a dangerous job, right?"

“…”

“Fei… Fei saw Dad often leave the house in the middle of the night, and when he was doing laundry, there were bloodstains. And Fei also overheard Dad talking to Uncle Leo. Fei didn’t intentionally eavesdrop; Fei only intended to bring Dad water.” Fei said hesitantly, “Fei saw it in a movie… called the mafia, right?”

"Fei. Actually, he's my dad. "

“Dad.” Fei’s voice trailed off. I felt my face turn pale, my heart tighten. If Fei knew about my job, would she hate me? Before I could say anything more, Fei ran and hugged my legs tightly.

"Let Fei come along!"

Huh!?

"Fei knows it's very dangerous. B-but Fei wants to protect Dad, wants to protect Father. Fei wants to be like Dad! Fei will do it! Fei will inherit what Uncle Leo said!"

“Fei!” I called, then knelt, looking into her eyes. “What is Fei saying? No, you’re too young to understand how cruel it is!”

"B-but Dad said he would let Fei do whatever she wanted, right?"

"You heard about that too?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for eavesdropping."

"But Dad can't take you with him," I said honestly. "Wait until Fei is older."

"When Fei grows up, Dad will let Fei work with him, right? How old does Fei need to be to be eligible?"

"When I see that you're ready and you still haven't changed your mind, then I'll take you with me."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Fei smiled.

"In the meantime, Dad, could you teach Fei how to fight?"

"Huh?"

"To protect someone, you have to be strong first."

"Who told you that, for heaven's sake?" I smiled faintly.

"Fei came up with that idea. Fei is Dad's daughter, so Fei will definitely protect everyone she loves. Whether it's Dad, Uncle Nuea, or Grandma, Fei will try her best to protect them, and Fei will become a fearsome mafia boss whose name alone will strike fear into everyone!

I stroked her head affectionately.

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"What are you two doing?" Nao walked into the house, looking at us in surprise, "Fei?"

"Fei is practising kicking the sandbag, Dad!" Fei replied, then delivered a powerful kick to the sandbag. "How does it feel, Dad?"

"Well done," I praised, slightly surprised to see how hard my daughter kicked. "Come on, kick again!"

"Ugh!"