Phillips Hathaway wiped her tears, nodded with a smile, and said, "Alright! I won’t disturb your meal. Is your mom doing well? Can you give me her contact information? I’d like to talk to her. Maybe I don’t need a test to know if you are my daughter. I believe Laura wouldn’t lie to me. If possible, I want to make it up to her properly."
Laura was probably the English name Zhang Lihua used when she was in the United States.
Jenny Hathaway shook her head and said, "No! My mom is doing well now. Not disturbing her is the best compensation you can give her."
Yang Chen advised, "Jenny, I think you can choose not to acknowledge him, but you shouldn’t make the decision for your mom about whether she wants to reunite with him. Just give it to him, let the adults handle their matters. From what he says, he was on a mission back then, not deliberately abandoning you. All these years, he’s been single, waiting for you to find him. From a man’s perspective, I think he’s alright; you could let your mom talk to him."
Phillips Hathaway looked eagerly at Yang Chen, then turned with a hopeful expression to Jenny Hathaway.
Buffett and Gates also chimed in, persuading Jenny to give Phillips the phone number, leaving the adults to resolve their issues.
Jenny silently ate her steak, and after a while, she took a sip of borscht, slowly took out her phone, and showed her mom’s number to Phillips Hathaway.
Phillips was overjoyed, quickly jotted down the number, and then said with a smile, "Then you all keep eating, I’ll step out to call Laura. If you finish before I return, please wait for me. Thank you."
Phillips Hathaway then hurried out to make the call.
Jenny Hathaway didn’t look happy, and Yang Chen comforted her, "You’re an adult now, and even if you acknowledge him, how your life goes on is up to you. He can’t affect you."
Jenny Hathaway replied, "I’m just suddenly having a dad, it’s a bit overwhelming. If my mom decides to be with him again, I won’t oppose it."
Yang Chen could empathize with her; after living 25 years without a dad, suddenly having one appear is indeed hard to accept.
Buffett and Gates also encouraged Jenny to look on the bright side; no matter what, she now has a dad, filling a major gap in her life.
Jenny Hathaway nodded and said, "I understand, no need to worry about me, I’ll be fine after a while."
Meanwhile, Phillips was expressing his feelings to Zhang Lihua.
Phillips apologized to Zhang Lihua, asking for her forgiveness for leaving abruptly on a mission back then.
After all these years, Zhang Lihua had long moved past the phase of being enamored with foreigners.
Though she never remarried, she has a stable relationship now.
She doesn’t want any entanglement with Phillips Hathaway, as for whether her daughter acknowledges him, that’s her daughter’s decision, she wouldn’t interfere.
Phillips Hathaway asked, "Do you think I’m not good enough for you now? I’m the governor of Alierse State; I can provide you and Jenny with an excellent life."
Zhang Lihua replied, "No need, I’m doing fine now. I was immature back then, like those girls fawning over foreigners, that’s why I was with you when you were jobless."
Phillips said, "But I was undercover on a mission then, not truly jobless."
Zhang Lihua responded, "But I didn’t know! I really thought you were jobless, but because you were a foreigner, I saw you differently, even abandoning my first love for you. Looking back, it was so foolish. Dragon Country men are family-oriented and caring, much better than you foreigners who always go Dutch, independence, and so on. Alright, I won’t say more, I’m fine now, please don’t disturb me. I won’t oppose Jenny acknowledging you, but I also won’t encourage her. That’s it, don’t call me again, or I’ll make Jenny not acknowledge you."
After saying that, Zhang Lihua hung up the call.
Phillips Hathaway was left feeling helpless. Back then, when he had nothing, Zhang Lihua was willing to have a child with him; now he’s a governor, yet she doesn’t want to be with him. What went wrong?
This boils down to Dragon Country people’s national confidence, cultural confidence. Decades ago, everyone was infatuated with foreigners, thinking anything foreign was good. Now that Dragon Country is thriving and a world power, barring a few late-starting industries, most others are top-notch globally. What’s there to fawn over?
When Yang Chen and the rest finished their meal, Phillips Hathaway cautiously approached them.
He was worried his daughter wouldn’t acknowledge him, appearing somewhat humble.
"Jenny, your mom said you are indeed our child, and she doesn’t object to you acknowledging me. Will you?" Phillips Hathaway asked.
Jenny Hathaway replied, "It’s all too sudden, I can’t process it. Give me some time to think it over."
Phillips Hathaway nodded, "Sure! No problem! Where are you staying? Perhaps come home with me tonight."
Jenny Hathaway shook her head, "No need! President Yang and I will stay at the hotel."
Phillips Hathaway looked over at Yang Chen, after taking a good look, he smiled and asked, "What’s your relationship? Are you two dating?"