The last few sentences made Father Tian feel aggrieved.
Now, in this family, they had no status anymore. In other words, they could not compare to Xiao Bao.
Tian Dong patted his father on the shoulder and encouraged him. "Just try it. It's been long since we had a National Day holiday. Even if Hua Hua didn't come back, knowing Xiao Bao, he would definitely pester Mom to bring him over to the Zhai family's house to play. Since Xiao Bao won't be around, Mom will be bored to death either way. Maybe if you tell her that, she might agree. Dad, I believe in you. You can do it."
He thought about how his parents were already advanced in age. When they had left China for America that year, they had not exactly done it voluntarily.