My Dad Fell in Love… With Someone My Age - Chapter 10

Li Chong was Tao Xin’s first love.

They both attended a certain school for the children of officials. When Tao Xin was in her first year of high school, the school had only recently transitioned into a semi-private, state-run institution. Some of the old hierarchy and culture lingered.

Students like Tao Xin, whose parents had gone into business, were at the very bottom of the social ladder. If she wanted to make friends with the students who prided themselves on their family background, she had to play the part of a sycophant—and even then, those students barely tolerated her presence.

But Tao Xin, like Yao Xuena—another girl of similar background—was spoiled at home and refused to grovel. They generally stayed out of each other’s way with the so-called “compound kids.”

However, Tao Xin was beautiful—she was the school belle—and received markedly different treatment than Yao Xuena. The boys were always especially kind to her, many even sent her love letters. Meanwhile, the girls who liked those boys would target Tao Xin, overtly or covertly, with petty jealousy.

Tao Xin had no interest in that kind of attention and disliked being singled out. She maintained a cold demeanor toward her male classmates, which earned her a somewhat sarcastic nickname: “The Ice Beauty.”

At that time, Tao Xin genuinely hated going to school. She had already made up her mind to transfer. While her parents were pulling strings to get the paperwork sorted, Li Chong unexpectedly entered her world.

Li Chong came from a good family, and he was handsome—big eyes, single eyelids, always smiling. He was one of the most popular figures at school, constantly surrounded by a crowd. Before the umbrella incident, he and Tao Xin had never even spoken.

That day, it rained heavily, and the downpour hadn’t let up by the time school ended. Many students without umbrellas were stuck in the school building. The school enforced strict military-style management, and parents weren’t allowed to enter the campus easily—many stood outside, anxious but helpless.

There was a stretch between the academic building and the school gate. Without an umbrella, anyone would be soaked. Like the others, Tao Xin waited in the building, hoping the rain would ease up.

Just then, Li Chong appeared through the curtain of rain, drenched but holding two umbrellas. His usual group of friends laughed when they saw him.

“No surprise there! You came back just to rescue us with umbrellas, huh?” one of them joked.

Li Chong smiled, said something to his friends, then turned and walked straight up to Tao Xin, handing her the extra umbrella.

Tao Xin stared at him, stunned. He just smiled quietly and left, sharing a single umbrella with two or three other boys.

There were dozens of students in the lobby. He gave the umbrella to her alone. Tao Xin knew exactly what that meant—and her heart wasn’t unaffected. But with her transfer already in motion, she didn’t want to complicate things. She decided she would return the umbrella the next day and explain things clearly to Li Chong.

But the next day, Li Chong had caught a cold. He was blowing his nose constantly, red-nosed and bleary-eyed, clearly worn out.

It was October. Getting sick after a cold downpour was no surprise. Tao Xin returned the umbrella and offered him a cup of hot water.

After that, they gradually grew closer—studying together, eating together, going out together. They became inseparable. With Li Chong around, Tao Xin’s school life became much easier. Naturally, their relationship evolved into a romantic one. Like many young couples, they held hands, hugged, kissed, and dreamed about going to college and even their future lives abroad.

If Tao Xin hadn’t overheard Li Chong telling his friends that he’d only pursued her as part of a bet, she might never have met Zhou Tingzhi. She would’ve gone to study in the U.S. with Li Chong as they had planned.

Tao Xin had once loved Li Chong with all her heart—and hated him just as deeply when they broke up. But now, seeing him from a distance, all she felt was the melancholy nostalgia of running into an old friend.

Compared to his confident youth, Li Chong was now more composed, but still strikingly handsome and well-mannered. His every gesture still had the power to put people at ease. Tao Xin could see that he and

Zhou Tingzhi were getting along well—they clearly had a good relationship.

She had only ever had two relationships in her life. The odds of witnessing both her ex and her current boyfriend meet? Tao Xin figured fate must really have a sense of humor.

What Li Chong didn’t expect, however, was that the “Daji” his nephew kept mentioning was none other than Tao Xin.

“You said you added who on WeChat? Daji?”

“Uncle Zhou’s girlfriend. Zhou Nian calls her Daji.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about her.”

“Probably from my mom. She’s like a walking news broadcast.”

“Actually, no. A friend happened to run into them at dinner last night.”

Zhou Tingzhi had always been famously aloof, rarely seen with women. That he suddenly had a young girlfriend sent shockwaves through his social circle. In just two days, the news had spread like wildfire. Li Chong was curious too.

“You saw her? What’s she like?”

Li Lequan thought for a moment.

“Hard to say. She’s really pretty, though. Looks kind of familiar—I think I might’ve seen her online or something.”

“You think she’s an influencer? That doesn’t sound like Zhou Tingzhi’s type.”

Li Chong laughed. “Didn’t you add her on WeChat? No photos?”

Li Lequan unlocked his phone and opened Tao Xin’s profile—only to be greeted by a horizontal line indicating her posts were hidden.

“Huh? I thought we were getting along. She actually blocked me from seeing her Moments?”

Li Chong just said calmly, “That means she knows how to maintain boundaries. You two are about the same age—you’re bound to run into each other at the Zhou household. Keep your distance.”

Tao Xin never mentioned Li Chong to Zhou Tingzhi.

Technically, she should’ve informed her guardian about this according to the protocol. But considering she’d just teased Zhou Tingzhi by comparing his 20-year-old self to her ex, it felt awkward to suddenly bring up another ex. Besides, it wasn’t like Li Lequan came around often, and it was even rarer for Li Chong to show up in person. As long as they didn’t run into each other, she could just pretend nothing happened.

Whatever happened in the future could be dealt with then.

With that logic, Tao Xin temporarily shelved Li Chong under non-urgent matters.

Not that she had any urgent ones at the moment either.

Zhou Tingzhi’s job required long-term focus—each project had countless people working day and night behind the scenes. He couldn’t just drop everything midway. And Zhou Nian was on summer break before his final year of high school—unstoppable and wild, out the door the moment he woke up, and not returning until nightfall.

During the day, only Tao Xin and Aunt Qin were home. One had nothing to do, the other had too much. They barely spoke.

Tao Xin was bored out of her mind. Within a week, she couldn’t sit still anymore.

In the group chat, she tagged Chen Ping:

[Tao Xin: Can I go to school or get a job or something? I need to do something, or I’m going to turn into the madwoman in the attic.]

The moment Chen Ping saw the words “madwoman,” he went into high alert:

[Chen Ping: What happened? Weren’t you living a fulfilling life lately?]

True, Tao Xin’s life was fulfilling—on paper.

Zhou Tingzhi had arranged for the third floor to be cleaned out just for her. She redesigned the space, bought new furniture, decorated to her tastes, tended plants, exercised, and even gamed.

But it was still too boring.

[Tao Xin: There’s a huge difference between “making up things to do” and actually having something meaningful to do. Plus, I’m living in Zhou Tingzhi’s house with nothing better to do than wait for him to come home—isn’t that ridiculous? Don’t you guys see how weird that is?]

[Tao Xin: And those terrible soap operas you all recommended? I’m telling you right now, they’re the reason I’m going insane!]

Chen Ping stared at her messages, falling into deep thought.

He had to admit—Tao Xin’s current lifestyle was like a caged songbird, very much at odds with the core values of socialism. As a woman of the new era, she should have her own goals, step out of the house, and explore the world with her own eyes.

But then again… she barely understood the year 2020. Modern scams were sophisticated—Chen Ping was genuinely worried she’d get tricked and swindled before she even realized it.

After careful consideration, Chen Ping proposed a compromise at the bureau’s meeting:

“At this stage, we should keep Tao Xin within our supervision while still giving her some independence. That way, we can step in if anything happens. A full-time job or school is too big a step right now. I suggest part-time work—preferably entry-level. It would also help her develop a healthy attitude toward money.”

His well-reasoned suggestion passed unanimously. That evening, Tao Xin was notified: she would be handing out flyers at a local shopping plaza.

The next morning, Tao Xin got up early and had breakfast with Zhou Tingzhi. Over breakfast, she announced,

“I’m going to work today. Xiao Man and Zhao Ge will pick me up.”

Zhou Tingzhi had been about to take a sip of soy milk but set his cup down instead.

“Work? You’re still a student.”

“Just part-time. I’m handing out flyers.”

“Flyers?”

Tao Xin nodded, anticipating his concern. She explained,

“Chen Ping said I need to take things one step at a time. I’m out of touch with modern life and lacking basic skills. This is like a beginner’s quest in a game. Flyers are my tutorial mission.”

Zhou Tingzhi looked at her for a long moment.

“But it’s really hot out. Aren’t you worried about heatstroke?”

“Don’t worry!” Tao Xin said confidently. “Xiao Man and Zhao Ge will be with me.”

Seeing her so excited, Zhou Tingzhi didn’t have the heart to argue.

“I’ll drive you there. It’s out of the way for them.”

“Great! I’ll let Zhao Ge know.”

Zhao Ge, knowing he wouldn’t have to make the long round trip, happily agreed to the new plan and told Tao Xin they’d meet directly at the plaza.

He and Xiao Man arrived early and waited in the shade, enjoying ice pops.

Before long, a black Bentley pulled up by the curb. Tao Xin stepped out, dressed head-to-toe in high-end designer gear. She even wore a baseball cap—for the flyer gig, no less.

It was a Louis Vuitton cap.

Xiao Man secretly Googled it—worth three months of his salary.