Chen Zhao only worried about money when heâd first arrived in America. At that time, he didnât have any source of income. Holding $10,000 wasnât able to give him a sense of security.
Later, Chen Zhao became an illegal doctor and no longer had to worry about money. He only had headaches because he couldnât make enough.
Now, he was worried about money again.
He really wanted to buy that land and he could do something good too. It was two birds with one stone. However, he couldnât produce all that money.
He was renting his home now, after all. As a Chinese man, he had a longing for land. He always thought that he would only feel secure if he had his own house.
No matter what happened, if the house was still there, everything would still be there.
Should he bring all his demons to do something big?
No, this wasnât realistic. He could only entertain it in his mind.
Chen Zhao sat in the swing in his yard. Fali made the swing. Watching the girl play with Obitos, Beelzebub and the others, he called out, âHey, we know each other now, but I donât know your name yet.â
âAzina Lincoln.â
âWhere are your parents?â
âWhy are you asking?â Azina suddenly grew cautious.
Chen Zhao wondered if heâd asked a wrong question. âFine, you donât have to tell me if you donât want to.â
âWho said I donât want to tell you?â
âThen tell me.â
âWhy should I?â she asked matter-of-factly.
âFine, pretend I didnât say anything. Itâs getting dark. You should go home.â
âSo what if itâs dark? Thereâs no one home anyway.â
Did her parents leave her here alone while they worked? But according to American laws, underage kids couldnât live alone.
âMy dad is busy with work every day. I only said two sentences to him this month.â
âWhat two sentences?â
âGood morning, good night.â
âWhat about your mom?â
âShe divorced my dad. She comes to see me once a month, but she already has her own family.â
Azina had matured early. Chen Zhao could no longer hear childish innocence from her words.
âIs that your girlfriend?â Azina suddenly pointed at Fali whoâd just come back.
âNo, weâre roommates.â
âYou donât like her? Or she doesnât like you?â
âThis has nothing to do with liking each other.â
âIf a woman is willing to live with a man not related to her, then it means that she has feelings for him.â
Chen Zhao rolled his eyes. âWho taught you that?â
âThey have it in the books.â
Chen Zhao didnât think that Fali came to live with him because she had feelings for him. Sheâd come to live with Walter, not him.
âHey, beauty.â Fali came into the backyard. âWhatâs your name?â
âAzina Lincoln. I live around the corner.â Azina looked at Walter. âThatâs a big dog. Does it bite?â
âHeâs really nice. His name is Walter.â
Walter was friendly with everyone. He went over to lick Azinaâs face.
âChen, how do you train all your pets?â Azina asked curiously as she petted Walterâs neck. âWhy are they all so smart? I feel like they can understand what Iâm saying.â
Fali was used to all this. These werenât regular petsâespecially the huge red lizard on the ground. According to Sienna and David, this was a real fire dragon.
âYou two play. Iâll go make dinner. Azina, do you want to stay for dinner?â
âCan I?â She looked at Chen Zhao with uncertainty.
âOf course. Iâm honored to invite you to dinner with us.â
Azina was having fun. Walter and Obitos both let her ride them. Her past pets could never do this. They were also really obedient and would react to whatever she said.
Just then, Bant and Mary came over from across the street with a huge pizza.
âAzina, you know Chen?â Mary was surprised to find Azina here.
âHi Bant, Mary.â Azina greeted them but seemed a bit cold.
Chen Zhao welcomed them in and hugged them both.
âChen, I heard from Ken what happened when I was gone. I donât know how to thank you.â
Chen Zhao accepted the pizza. âThis is the best thanks for me. Oh, you should know Azinaâs father, right? If possible, can you tell him that sheâs playing in my house and come here to pick her up?â
âYou donât know who her father is?â
âShould I know?â
âHer father is Deon Slote.â
âWhat? Then shouldnât her last name be Slote?â
âHer full name is Azina Lincoln Slote,â Bant said. âLincoln is her motherâs last name.â
âDoes she have a bad relationship with her father?â Chen Zhao asked curiously.
âBecause of her father, the kids bully her in school and donât want to be her friend. Thatâs why she doesnât have many friends.â
Chen Zhao realized that the rumors in town had affected Azina. This was why she was so withdrawn.
âBut itâs good that she can play here. I was afraid that sheâll really have a traumatic childhood because of this.â
Chen Zhao glanced at Azina. She was riding Walter, yelling excitedly, âWalter, go, go, catch up to Obitos!â
Chen Zhao felt powerless too. He wasnât part of the neighborhood committee. He couldnât help with their family problems or neighborly relationships. He just felt that problems between adults shouldnât affect the kids.
Kids might not understand this though. Adult problems often affected them.
âWe should go.â
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âOkay, bye.â
Fali happened to announce that dinner was ready. Walter shot into the house with Azina on his back.
Walter was really big now, but he was still growing. He had a shocking appetite. Chen Zhao had no clue how much he could grow.
He felt that if Walter continued growing like this, he could try for some world record. Of course, this could only happen if he didnât somehow get mutated. If he ended up looking like the Bloody Hunter, Chen Zhao wouldnât be able to accept it.