Father and daughter walked to the pedestrian street. Han Doudou was exhausted and refused to take another step. Scanning the area, she found a clean stone bench, sat down, and refused to move. Pouting, she complained, “I said we should take the bus, but you insisted on walking. My legs are about to fall off. It’s only a two-yuan fare; I really don’t know why you’re being so cheap.”
Han Ze glanced at her. “Is two yuan not money? Besides, walking has nothing to do with the fare. I drive all day and lack exercise; consider this as accompanying me for a workout. You can’t even walk this short distance without your legs giving out? It’s clear you need the exercise too. Don’t just sit there—get up, let’s go get breakfast.”
Han Han Doudou slumped onto the bench like a noodle. “You go buy it and bring it back for me. I’m resting here.”
Han Ze let it go. “What do you want to eat?”
“Whatever,” Han Doudou replied lazily.
Han Ze smiled and headed off. Twenty minutes later, he returned and handed the breakfast to her. Han Doudou opened the bag and frowned. “Why is it steamed buns and soy milk? You know I don’t like those, and yet you still bought them.”
Han Ze replied calmly, “I asked you what you wanted, and you said ‘whatever.'”
Choking on her words, Han Doudou argued, “But you know I don’t like buns and soy milk! Besides, the buns from this shop are gross.”
Han Ze’s expression turned serious. “I worked hard to go buy you breakfast. You should be saying ‘thank you,’ not complaining to me.”
Stunned, Han Doudou snapped back, “Why are you being so serious? You’re my dad. Buying me breakfast is just what you do. What’s all this about ‘thank you’ or not?”
Han Ze suddenly asked, “Han Han Doudou, how old are you this year?”
“Seventeen,” she replied, her tone impatient.
“I remember when you were in kindergarten,” Han Ze began. “Whenever I served you rice, you’d cutely say ‘thank you.’ Now you’re seventeen and in your second year of high school, and you don’t even know how to say ‘thank you’ to your father? Is it that the older you get, the less grateful you become? Or do you think because I’m your father, it’s my duty to serve you, and thus unworthy of a simple ‘thank you’?”
Han Doudou turned her head away, silenced. She felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill.
“Since you don’t like the buns and soy milk,” Han Ze said gently, “give them to me. I’ll eat them.”
“Didn’t you eat yet?” Han Doudou handed them over without a second thought.
“I only had two earlier,” Han Ze said. He finished the food and stood up. “Let’s go buy your shoes.”
Han Doudou looked at him in shock. “I haven’t had breakfast yet!”
Han Ze tossed the trash into a bin. “What does that have to do with me?”
“You’re my dad!” Han Doudou glared.
“Yes, I am. I asked what you wanted, you said ‘whatever.’ I bought something ‘whatever,’ and you rejected it. Therefore, if you want breakfast, you’ll have to find a way yourself.”
…
They arrived at the mall. Han Doudou ran toward her favorite brand, but Han Ze slowed down. He stopped at a rack and asked the clerk, “Are these on sale?”
“The new arrivals aren’t, but these models are 50% off,” the clerk explained.
Han Ze turned to Han Doudou. “These shoes are on sale. Why don’t you try a pair?”
Han Doudou glanced at them—they were last year’s models. “Dad, our budget was 1,000 yuan.”
“They’re the same brand,” Han Ze countered. “They were 1,200 before; now they’re 600. It’s the same quality.”
Han Doudou pouted. “But I want the new style! You’re breaking your promise! If you’re going to be like this, I’m going to go play video games.”
Han Ze’s voice grew stern. “If you’re going to play games, then we won’t even buy the 600-yuan shoes. Let’s go home.”
“My shoes are broken!” Han Doudou cried, grabbing his arm.
“What does that have to do with me?” Han Ze echoed her earlier logic.
“How can you be like this?” Han Doudou questioned, her eyes red. “You promised 1,000 yuan. If you go back on your word, how can I trust you?”
Han Ze smiled thinly. “I learned it from you. You always promise to study hard, but then you just play games anyway. This is a lesson: you shouldn’t trust anyone blindly—not even your father. Sometimes even I can’t trust myself to keep a resolution.”
In the end, Han Doudou had no choice but to buy the discounted shoes. However, as she walked out of the mall in them, she realized she still liked the brand and the style. Her anger began to dissipate.
When they got home, Han Ze slumped onto the sofa. “My legs hurt from all that walking. You cook lunch.”
“Me? Cook?” Han Doudou looked at him suspiciously.
“You’re seventeen. Cooking is a basic skill,” Han Ze said. “Whatever my daughter makes, I will eat. I won’t complain.”
Under his guidance, Han Doudou fumbled through cooking rice and steaming a fish. It took her an hour and a half. When she finally tasted it, she winced. “It’s not as good as yours. It’s too salty.”
Han Ze, however, kept eating with a smile. “It’s not bad. Next time, just a bit less salt.”
Seeing her father’s attitude compared to how she used to scream and refuse to eat if his cooking was slightly off, Han Doudou felt a pang of guilt. She realized she had been acting like a “household tyrant.”
As Han Doudou was preparing to head back to school that afternoon, Han Ze handed her two small notebooks.
“What are these?” she asked.
“I spent the afternoon thinking,” Han Ze said seriously. “This one is the ‘Daughter’s Code.’ And this one is the ‘Dad’s Code.’ You will write down the rules for me in the ‘Dad’s Code,’ and I will follow them. In return, you must follow the ‘Daughter’s Code.'”
“Are you for real?” Han Doudou shouted.
“Absolutely. If you don’t follow your code, I won’t follow mine. If I lose hope in this system, I’ll go back to being strict and working with your teachers to force you to study. You choose: mutual respect and supervision via the rulebooks, or total academic crackdown.”
Han Doudou looked at the notebooks. She realized this was an opportunity. If she could write “Don’t nag about grades” in the Dad’s Code, maybe she could get some peace.
“Fine,” she muttered, “I’ll do it.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152