Sorry, My Beloved Is The Motherland - Chapter 13.1 - Winning Over Dad is Better Than Dating

Having a meal with the “high-ranking officer,” even the usually talkative Cui Guofu was much more restrained.

—However, everyone’s chopsticks still frequently reached for the dishes with meat.

Major General Ning Boyuan was indeed not what one would call amiable.

Even with his daughter Ning Fu, he maintained the same stern demeanor he used with his soldiers.

“Eat, you’re too thin.”

—When Ning Fu had eaten her third piece of braised pork and was about to put down her chopsticks, the Major General added a large serving of scrambled eggs to her bowl, piling it up once again.

The local specialty of scrambled eggs with flaxseed oil, seasoned with just salt and scallions, and drizzled with a small spoonful of vinegar after cooking, was oily, fragrant, and tender.

Ning Boyuan, having spent his life in the military (constantly surrounded by men), was upright and unyielding (with a fiery temper and no skill in comforting people), and didn’t know how to express his love for his daughter—

So he could only show his care by aggressively piling food onto her plate.

Ning Fu felt the food in her stomach was almost up to her throat. She struggled to swallow two pieces of egg, “I’m really full.”

Ning Boyuan paused his relentless food-piling, reluctantly redirecting the braised pork meant for Ning Fu’s bowl into his own mouth.

“You’re eating too little.” General Ning assessed his daughter’s small frame with a critical eye, somewhat doubting whether her claims of “participating in production and engaging in large-scale construction” in Tula Gaqi were a bit exaggerated.

This was Ning Fu’s first time interacting with the “father” who never truly appeared in the original story, and she was unsure if General Ning’s comment was a serious criticism.

Cui Guofu sensed the atmosphere gradually becoming tense. Realizing that they, as outsiders who had come to freeload, had no reason to stay and watch the drama, he wisely pulled Du Qingquan up to leave.

They didn’t belong there. Moreover, Du Qingquan was someone who neither read the room well nor spoke appropriately, and who knew what trouble he might cause.

But Du Qingquan stubbornly stood for an extra two seconds, and in those two seconds, Cui Guofu’s ominous premonition… came true.

—This fool actually asked Ning Fu in front of the Major General, “After the exam, can I… still study with you?”

Ning Boyuan’s face immediately darkened like the bottom of a pot.

Du Qingquan was dragged away by Cui Guofu at a speed akin to fleeing for their lives, with Liang Huixue and Gao Han following closely behind.

“Is this the one you like?” Ning Boyuan’s voice grew even colder.

Ning Fu shook her head innocently.

Ning Boyuan knew that Ning Fu had someone she fancied.

If it hadn’t been for her mother softening and opening the door for the hunger-striking Ning Fu, allowing her to actually go and sign up for the “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement, he would have already sent this unruly child onto a military train to join the army.

Ning Fu’s reluctance to return to the city was because she had a relationship in Inner Mongolia, something her parents had long suspected. Coupled with Ning Fu’s sudden change in behavior, taking her studies seriously and aiming for the college entrance exam, it further confirmed Ning Boyuan’s suspicions.

The college entrance exam was just an excuse to avoid returning to the city. It was obvious that she wanted to stay with the person she liked!

General Ning repeatedly took deep breaths to calm himself.

If Ning Fu were his soldier, he would have already ordered her to run a fifty-kilometer weighted cross-country to clear her head! But unfortunately, she was his daughter.

Young girls always seem to be filled with what is it called… romanticism? Yes, romanticism!

Ning Boyuan didn’t understand.

Such a prime youth, not thinking about serving the country, but constantly preoccupied with a man—what was the point?

But she was his daughter, going on a hunger strike and threatening to harm herself just to date a boy who was still wet behind the ears.

He couldn’t really watch her be miserable and suicidal all the time.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t scolded or punished her, but this child had inherited his stubbornness, unyielding to the core.

As a father, he was the first to be worn down.

…If she could truly focus on her studies and get on the right track, then the matter of dating… he could tolerate it.

Ning Boyuan said, “If you are in a relationship, let the family know. Getting into college would be great, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll arrange for both of you to come back.” He wanted to reach out and touch his daughter’s hair but ultimately didn’t, maintaining his stern demeanor, “If you don’t want to join the military, I won’t force you.”

As he spoke, he sighed.

Ning Fu didn’t realize that her father had already concluded that her talk of college entrance exams and serving the country were just excuses to be with her lover. She earnestly made a promise, “I’m not dating anyone. I will get into college, really.”

She looked at her father with doe-like eyes, thinking, loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled. In the future, if she dedicates herself to the country, she might not be able to stay by his side, so he should support her career ambitions.

Her father, struck by her innocent gaze, thought, why force a girl to pursue a grand career? As long as she can live well, he would turn a blind eye and do his best to make her happy.

Their thought processes completely missed each other, without even a single point of intersection.

After finishing the meal, Ning Fu needed to return to her studies.

“Thank you for ‘passing by’ to see me,” she said.

Ning Boyuan waved his hand nonchalantly, “I just happened to have some business here. I’m leaving this afternoon.”

He felt a bit disappointed but also somewhat relieved. As long as Ning Fu was still willing to listen to the family, it was fine.