Chapter 93 Don’t you regret it?
“You brat, this is inappropriate.
In the courtyard, Zefa and Darren were sitting on the steps, each holding a cigar, puffing away at the smoke.
Zefa's tone was a little low, and he looked deeply at the maple leaves slowly falling in the courtyard, and finally shook his head and said:
"You should choose your child's name."
It was late autumn, and the maple trees planted in the courtyard were a fiery red, exuding the unique desolation and sadness of autumn, like burning flames.
Darren smiled nonchalantly and said in a relaxed tone:
"In my hometown, it is a tradition for respected elders to name the younger ones."
"Besides, I don't have any good ideas... After all, I am taking advantage. You will name my child. Now when he is born, don't you need to take more care of him?"
Teacher Zefa cares so much about Ah Shi and the unborn child, and Darren naturally knows why.
The neglect of care for his wife and children in the past led to that tragedy... Now seeing his happy family, and Ah Shi's character that the old man liked very much, the way Zefa looked at Ah Shi was simply... It's the same as looking at your daughter-in-law or even your own daughter.
Perhaps deep down in his heart, this seemingly resolute and stubborn purple-haired old man also wanted to make up for his debt to his wife and children, so as not to let the guilt in his heart torture him too deeply.
Of course, Darren really didn’t have any special ideas about the name.
The culture of this world is also far different from the original one. After much thought, I can't think of a meaningful name. It can't be called "Runnosuke" or something like that, right?
Thinking of this, Darren burst into laughter:
"As soon as he was born, a powerful former navy admiral took great care of him. This is something that not many people would envy."
Zefa was silent.
"Boy Darren, do you know why I ask you to come home often?"
He stared blankly at the fiery red maple tree and whispered.
Before Darren could answer, Zefa continued speaking on his own.
"I don't want you to regret it."
He took a long drag on his cigar.
"Success and fame are naturally a good thing. No matter what your original intention is, you continue to go out to sea to defeat pirates and perform tasks. It is indeed to protect the tranquility of this sea and protect the families of countless civilians."
"I used to do the same thing as you."
"But what I didn't expect was that when I went to protect other people's families, to be everyone's hero, and to be so high-spirited and glorious...it was them who were frightened."
When he said the word "them", Darren could clearly hear a slight tremor in Zefa's voice.
"She... is actually very scared."
Zefa slowly exhaled a stream of smoke, his voice hoarse.
Infected by Zefa's heavy emotion, Darren's voice also became lower.
He turned his head and glanced at Zefa's side face, and found that the latter's purple-haired temples were slightly gray.
"So, do you regret it? Teacher Zefa."
Zefa pursed his chapped lips and suddenly laughed indifferently.
"I have no regrets."
Darren stopped talking.
If you don’t regret it, why bother saying it?
If you don’t regret it, why bother trying to persuade me?
Zefa forced a smile:
"Someone has to do some things."
Darren thought for a while and asked:
"That incident back then was really about pirates..."
"--It does not matter."
Zefa suddenly interrupted him, turned his head, and stared at Darren seriously:
"It doesn't matter at all, does it?"
"...I understand." Darren was silent for a moment and nodded.
"You brat, take good care of your family, your happiness, your life..."
Zefa smiled freely again, raised his hand and patted Darren on the shoulder.
"About this name..."
"——We will be very happy." Ah Shi came behind the two of them at some unknown time and said in a calm tone.
Zefa was stunned and turned his head.
A soft but firm smile appeared on the lips of Tianyue, who was wearing a kimono:
"If Mr. Zefa, no, Teacher Zefa can name the child, we will all be very happy..."
She looked at Darren, tilted her head and asked:
"Really, husband?"
Darren was startled.
From Ah Shi's gentle eyes, he saw sadness and compassion.
Ah Shi was still as smart as ever... He could see at a glance the guilt in Zefa's heart that had almost swallowed him up over the years.
"Yes, please, Teacher Zefa."
Darren smiled and nodded.
Zefa was stunned.
When he looked at the sky and the moon, he looked at Darren again. For some reason, his rock-solid hands were trembling.
"Are you sure... is this okay?"
After getting a reaffirmed answer from Darren's eyes and smiles, Zefa took a deep breath, and his eyes were actually a little moist.
He pursed his lips again, his old eyes filled with cautious...expectation.
"Then do you think...Ron is okay?"
"Ron...?" Darren pondered the pronunciation of the name.
Ah Shi next to him pursed his lips and smiled:
"What a great name, Teacher Zefa."
"If I remember correctly, the meaning of this name is victory, integrity, gentleness, honesty, not fickle, and "strong leader", right?"
Zefa's eyes lit up, he smiled and nodded heavily:
"That's right!"
"This child is a fusion of the two of you, well, mainly your strengths, Ah Shi."
Darren:…
What's wrong, don't I have these advantages?
But he couldn't argue.
After all, "integrity, gentleness, integrity, and non-changeability"...well, these adjectives are indeed not very relevant to me.
Darren couldn't help but curl his lips.
How can he be as handsome as "The Navy's Biggest Scum"?
"Husband, I think this name is very good, what do you think?"
Tianyueshi took Darren's hand and asked softly.
"Well, I think it's pretty good too." Darren said with a smile.
Ah Shi smiled happily, his eyebrows curved:
"It seems that our child will grow into a man who is upright and upright..."
…
Zefa left.
Looking at the burly but slightly stooped figure, Darren felt inexplicably heavy.
The maple leaves are flying and swirling to the ground.
"Ron...so, my child's name is Ron?"
He murmured softly, unable to help but smile.
It can be seen that this bad old man Zefa is indeed very dissatisfied with his reputation as a "naval scum", and he has begun to hope that his next generation will be an upright and gentle man.
"Ron...Ron..." (Note 1)
Darren murmured the name repeatedly, raised his head, and his eyes subconsciously fell on the maple leaves fluttering in the wind, his eyes dazed.
"It's indeed a good name..."
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Note 1: It’s an Easter egg, as all old readers know.
The plot immediately became compact.
