Repairing A Broken Home With My Patriarch System

Ethan held Nora’s hand and led her around the market, heading for a shop that he usually visited for fast food.

The girl remained silent as they walked, her head lowered. Ethan could no longer bear the silence, so he broke it.

”Hey, Nora. What would you like to eat?” He asked, trying to sound as natural as possible.

Nora paused and raised her head. ”Why?”

Ethan was taken aback by her question, and asked back, ”What do you mean ’why’?”

Her lips curled into a frown. ”You don’t usually care about what I eat. Why are you asking now?”

Ethan sighed and let go of her hand. Then, he gently ruffled her hair.

”Because I now care about what you eat. Got it?”

Nora still looked confused, but perhaps because she was a child, she accepted his reasoning easily.

”So, tell me. What do you want to eat?”

Nora pondered for a few seconds, then said, ”Can I have chicken and fries?”

Ethan nodded with a smile, then led her to the familiar restaurant. It was just a simple, modest restaurant managed by a single family.

There were barely any customers when they entered, and a young waiter quickly approached them.

”Good morning. What would you like to order?”

Ethan glanced at the young man and answered. ”Chicken and fries for the two of us. Also, prepare an extra takeaway.”

The young man wrote down the order, then walked away.

Ethan turned to the little girl sitting opposite him, trying to hide her excitement.

He chuckled at the sight. ”You were reading a mermaid story earlier, right? What’s it about?”

Nora avoided his gaze for a few seconds, then looked back at him and answered, ”It’s just a story about how a mermaid fell in love with a prince, and decided to leave with him. She didn’t even hesitate to leave her father and mother.”

Ethan nodded with a smile and said, ”It’s a bit interesting. Do you have other stories?”

Nora shook her head.

”Alright, I’ll remember to help you get other stories, then.”

Hearing this, her eyes lit up, and she looked at him with a surprised expression. ”Really...?”

Ethan nodded, his gaze warm and gentle. ”Trust me.”

Nora’s eyes narrowed, but when she couldn’t sense anything deceitful in his expression she lowered her head and nodded with a shy smile.

Ethan blinked.

[Hidden task—Make your daughter smile once—completed!]

[You have received Clear Insight. Claim reward?]

He truly hadn’t expected this, but it was a boon gladly welcomed. Once he claimed the reward, he felt as if his mind had been refreshed, and he could think clearly about a particular thing without being distracted.

’Nice and easy...’

Soon, the waiter came again, serving them with two plates of chicken and fries.

Ethan smiled at Nora and said, ”Eat up.”

Without waiting, he began to dig in. Seeing him eat without care, Nora’s hesitation vanished, and she began to eat too. Her eyes sparkled as she bit into the meat, and she was quickly enraptured by the taste.

At their table, the father and daughter ate quietly and speedily, as if trying to outpace each other. Ethan didn’t know when it started, but by the time they finished eating, they were glaring at each other competitively.

Nora won by a slight margin when Ethan pretended he was full and deliberately ate the last fry too late.

After gulping down a glass of water, he sighed in defeat. ”Looks like you win.”

Nora smiled slightly, then immediately avoided his gaze.

Ethan chuckled and stood up, moving to the counter to pay. The takeaway had been prepared, so he took it and paid for the meal of three people.

Thankfully, he still had some money on him so he didn’t have to use the one Evelyn gave him.

Holding the small plastic bag in one hand, he held Nora’s hand with the other and led her out of the restaurant.

They began making their way back to the fruit stall, but Ethan deliberately slowed their pace. He noticed Nora’s gaze lingering on the mermaid toys, and after spotting a particularly beautiful one, he stopped and asked her.

”Do you want that?”

Nora looked up, surprised. ”I... want it?”

She sounded unsure. After all, she wasn’t used to buying toys.

Ethan didn’t say anything and pulled her towards the shop. After checking the price of the little toy, he bought it, he bought it with Evelyn’s money, then handed it to Nora.

”Here, you can play with it when you read later.”

She hesitated to accept it, but eventually did when he pushed it towards her.

’She must be pretty confused right now. An adult would probably think I’m trying to scheme something.’

Ethan thought, chuckling as they walked back to their own shop. Although this family wasn’t really his, he didn’t mind. The longing for a family of his own made him easily accept them.

Soon, they arrived at the fruit stall, and Ethan immediately frowned.

’Who is... this guy?’

Chatting happily with Evelyn was a young man with blonde hair and handsome features. He was dressed in neat, expensive clothes, and had a scholarly aura around him.

It didn’t take long before Ethan recognized him.

’Oh, Evelyn’s classmate back in high school. Why is he...?’

Seeing Evelyn laugh happily with him, something dark twisted in his heart, and his gaze darkened.

”Daddy?”

Beside him, Nora instinctively called out to him when she noticed him stop. Her voice snapped him out of it, and he sighed.

’Was that jealousy? Ridiculous. I’ve known this woman for less than a day.’

He shook his head and decided to file the thoughts away for later. Holding Nora’s hand, he approached the shop with calm steps.

Evelyn and the young man looked over, and he could see the surprise in their eyes.

Evelyn was surprised to see Nora holding a small toy. And she was even the one holding Ethan’s hand. What had happened?

Meanwhile, the blonde young man was totally surprised to see Ethan, as he hadn’t expected him to come to the shop at all.

Still, his surprise didn’t last. It quickly shifted to contempt, and a sneer appeared on his lips.

His first words definitely weren’t going to be nice.