Overdo

Grandfather laughed heartily, picked me up and kissed me, calling me "silly Nannan."

But when I was six years old, Grandfather fell seriously ill. He was so gravely ill that everyone had to send him to the hospital, and the house was thrown into chaos as if doomsday had arrived. Grandmother and my aunts were all crying. Every day, the nanny took me to the hospital room to see Grandfather. It was in Grandfather's hospital room that I first met Father after becoming aware of my surroundings.

He had just rushed back from abroad, and Grandmother told me to call him Father. I stayed silent like a clamped clam. Father looked me over, frowned, and said, "How did she grow so tall?"

Grandmother said, "She's six years old now, of course she's this tall."

I knew from that first meeting that Father didn't like me. Later, after Grandfather passed away, I was sent back to live with Father. He stopped going abroad, but I still rarely saw him. He was very busy, never coming home every day, and even when he did, I couldn't see him...

The following year, he got married again. I instinctively resented this. I threw a tantrum and refused to attend his wedding. He was furious and hit me for the first time, dragging me over his knee to spank me. Because of this beating, my grudge against her grew deep.

I think she initially tried to win me over, buying me many toys and new clothes. I threw all the toys and clothes out the window and secretly went into her room, cutting all her beautiful cheongsams to shreds with scissors. She angrily told Father, and as a result, I was beaten again.

I still remember the scene clearly: I stood in the middle of the room without shedding a single tear, my head held high, my back straight, my fists clenched tightly, and I cursed at her clearly: "You witch! You evil queen! My mother is watching you from heaven! You'll be struck by lightning!"

She was furious, and Father's face changed too. From then on, Father rarely intervened in the conflicts between her and me. Later, when Father fell out with her and often opposed her, he actually started taking my side instead.

But Father ultimately didn't like me - he would get angry after speaking just three words with me. Like tonight, when he wasn't in a good mood, I pretended to be mute and didn't interrupt. After dinner, he sat in the small parlor with his brothers drinking tea and chatting. Uncle Wang suddenly remembered something and said, "Sir, something interesting happened today."

Father asked, "What interesting thing?"

He said, "Today, the promotion roster for the Second Fleet was submitted. While they were reviewing it, they saw someone's photo and were startled. Coincidentally, I passed by, and they pulled me over to look. I was shocked too - I thought someone was playing a joke, mixing in an old photo of you from your youth to mess with us. As your former aide-de-camp, that photo looked incredibly similar to how you looked when you were young."

Uncle Li laughed, "Could it really be that similar? I find it hard to believe."

Uncle Wang said, "Several people said it looked like you. Only Jilai insisted it didn't. He took it and looked for a long time before saying, 'How does it look like the sir? I think it looks quite like Mr. Murong Feng.' Everyone burst out laughing at that."

Father also laughed, "Only Jilai loves to argue. If you say it looks like me, he would absolutely never agree and would definitely oppose you just for the sake of it. It must have been so similar that he couldn't deny it, so he had to say it didn't look like me but like Father - but don't I look like Father?"The uncles all laughed. Uncle Chen said, "What a coincidence in this world! Last time we were also checking documents and came across someone's photo. Everyone who saw it said he looked like me. Old He joked, 'Hey, Old Chen, better confess your romantic debts from your youth! Think hard if you were acquainted with his mother—you might gain a son in your old age!' They teased me for a good three or four days before finally letting it go."

Father’s mood gradually lifted. He pretended to ponder and said, "Oh? Then should I also try to recall now whether I knew his mother?" The uncles laughed, and I lowered my head, secretly smiling too. Uncle Wang remarked casually, "Sir, if you really did know his mother, you must give me a hint. I’ll hurry to flatter the young master—this time he’s being promoted from lieutenant to captain. I’ll tell them, 'Why stop at captain? Hand over the form, and I’ll fill in "general" for him!'"

Father laughed heartily and said, "Nonsense!"

Uncle Wang rummaged through his briefcase, smiling as he said, "I’ve brought his file with me. Take a look." He pulled out a dossier and handed it to Father with both hands. "See for yourself—doesn’t he look just like you?"

Father was a bit farsighted and held it at a distance to see clearly. I seized the chance to glance over as well. Not only Father, but even I was taken aback. Our home had many photos of Father from his youth, and if this one were mixed among them, I’d bet even Aunt wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. He had the same thick, dark eyebrows as Father, deeply set, piercing eyes, and that straight nose bridge—a hallmark of the Murong family. Even I, who inherited almost all my looks from Mother, have a nose that resembles Father’s exactly.

If you looked very closely, the only differences were his lips, which weren’t quite like Father’s—Father’s lips are thin, while his were slightly fuller. Also, both have square faces, but his chin was a bit more pointed than Father’s. Still—he was a handsome young man!

Father was genuinely startled too. After a long pause, he finally said, "He does resemble me! Truly." He examined it carefully, studying the photo. "When I was his age, I was also in the military, though the uniforms were the old style back then. If he were wearing one of those old uniforms, the resemblance would be even more striking!"

Uncle Lei chuckled and said, "Your rank in the military was higher than his—if I recall correctly, your last promotion was to brigadier general."

Father asked, "How old is this person?"