In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 101: The Abusive Dad (7)

Delicious food is something that can easily become addictive. Lin Xuan used to happily eat the lunch his mom made for him, but now, seeing the ever-changing variety in his little buddy’s lunchbox, he couldn’t help but swallow enviously while eating his own.

Ugh, the big boss made shrimp for Yang Yang today, and there are even two chicken wings inside—it looks so tasty!

“Ahem, Yang Yang…”

Qi Yang had just finished enjoying a large shrimp and was planning to have a bite of greens to balance the meal when he heard his friend’s pitiful voice. Turning his head, he saw Lin Xuan blinking at him cutely.

“Xuan Xuan?”

“D… does your dad always pack you this much food? Can you even finish it all? The teacher says wasting food isn’t good.”

Lin Xuan nearly blurted out “big devil,” but alas, Yang Yang was no longer the adorable little kid he used to be. Last time Lin Xuan used that name, Yang Yang almost got upset. And now that he was eyeing the food made by the big devil, it felt a bit much to still call him that.

Qi Yang glanced at his lunchbox and seriously replied, “I can finish it. Even though there are a lot of dishes, my dad doesn’t pack much rice. And my appetite has gotten bigger too.”

He remembered his dad telling him he was too skinny and needed to eat properly, so he buried his head and started eating again. Mm, the food Dad makes is so delicious—I’d eat even more if I could.

Lin Xuan, realizing his friend didn’t get his hint, continued to sneak glances at his lunchbox miserably. Ugh, there aren’t many shrimp left, and Yang Yang already finished one chicken wing! Feeling that snatching food from a friend would be a bit too much, Lin Xuan had a brilliant idea.

“Yang Yang, how about we swap lunches today? This is red-braised pork ribs my mom made—they’re just as good as your dad’s!” Actually, they weren’t nearly as good, but Lin Xuan instinctively sugar-coated the flavor.

Qi Yang looked doubtfully at Lin Xuan’s lunchbox. With oily hands, he tilted his head instead of scratching it. I’ve eaten food made by Teacher Wang before… She’s very nice, but her cooking doesn’t come close to my dad’s.

The two little guys tilted their heads, staring at each other. Qi Yang finally realized what was going on—Xuan Xuan wanted to eat his dad’s cooking!

Qi Yang felt a little proud, even a little smug. Xuan Xuan is starting to envy me now!

“Xuan Xuan, do you want to eat my dad’s food?”

Lin Xuan hesitated, not wanting to admit it but afraid to miss out on the shrimp. He could only nod helplessly. Ugh, even I’ve surrendered to the big devil.

Smiling brightly, Qi Yang began promoting his dad: “My dad can cook so many dishes! He even said he’ll make a whole chicken feast for me this weekend. Want to come to my house?”

Lin Xuan perked up immediately and nodded eagerly, “Sure, sure!” Then his chopsticks were already reaching toward Qi Yang’s lunchbox.

Mm, shrimp, here I come!

That afternoon, after school was dismissed, Qi Yang walked with the crowd to the school gate. As expected, his dad’s car showed up within a few minutes. Mm, Dad got off work early again today.

Qi Yang happily ran over. His backpack was taken from him, and that warm palm once again rested on his head.

“Dad, you don’t have to pick me up every day. I can take the school bus.”

“The company is running smoothly now. Leaving work early doesn’t affect anything. Don’t you like it when I pick you up?”

Qi Yang blushed slightly at that but still obediently answered, “I do.”

Qi Sheng smiled and ruffled his son’s soft hair again, opened the car door, and motioned for him to get in.

They were low on groceries at home, so Qi Sheng stopped by the supermarket. Looking at the dazzling variety of goods on the shelves, he rubbed his son’s head and said, “See if there are any snacks you like. You can pick up to five.”

Qi Sheng had long noticed that his child was overly cautious—likely due to past experiences, he always retreated into a shell he thought was safe and didn’t dare make choices. While Qi Sheng had no complaints about his son, he knew that personality would make people underestimate him in the real world. So now, no matter what they did, he encouraged his son to make his own decisions.

Qi Yang nodded obediently and looked back at the shelves full of snacks, eyes lighting up. Mm, this time I get to choose!

Five snacks—not too many, not too few—were just enough for the little one to pick for a while. Qi Sheng went to a nearby section to weigh some meat and vegetables. When he came back, he saw his son had only picked three. One was something he used to eat often, while the other two were new.

Qi Sheng nodded inwardly. Good, he’s willing to try new things. That’s progress!

Silly Dad Qi Sheng looked at his precious son examining things carefully and suddenly wanted to say, Son, pick whatever you want—Daddy’s loaded!

But he restrained himself. As satisfying as it was to act like a generous dad, steering a child from one extreme to another wasn’t good parenting.

While he was still pondering parenting philosophy, Qi Yang had already made his choices.

“Dad, I haven’t tried these three before, so I only took one pack of each. This one is something Xuan Xuan used to like. I’ve had it a few times and think it’s pretty good, so I took two packs. Is that okay?”

Qi Sheng took the snacks and seriously praised his son: “Of course it’s okay. Our Yang Yang is so smart, knowing not to get too much of something you’re trying for the first time.”

Qi Yang smiled happily at the praise, feeling a bit proud. Teacher Wang praised me today too!

Wang Qing had watched Qi Yang change little by little recently. The once silent, withdrawn boy who always sat quietly in his seat was finally beginning to open up to the world.

She remembered how her son came home a few times and talked about the “big devil”—how he did this or made that delicious dish—and still found it hard to believe. Who would’ve thought that violent man Qi Sheng actually turned over a new leaf?!

She sighed, feeling both heartache over Qi Yang’s past and joy for his present. After ten long years of hardship, the child was finally seeing a bright dawn.

On Sunday, Lin Xuan ran eagerly to Qi Yang’s house right after breakfast. Seriously, Yang Yang went to the zoo yesterday! I spent the whole night dreaming about food instead! What’s so great about the zoo? I’ve seen enough animals!

After checking off the aquarium visit, Qi Sheng had taken his son to the zoo yesterday. The little one was still sharing his thoughts: “Dad, I really miss that little dolphin. Can we go see it again next weekend?”

During their last aquarium trip, Qi Yang had been lucky enough to be chosen by the trainer to participate in a show because he looked cute and had a good seat. Nervous and timid, he went on stage, and before he even knew what was happening, that mischievous little dolphin stole a kiss from him. His heart was instantly captured.

He completely forgot his earlier dream of becoming a psychologist. Now, not only had he looked up documentaries and pictures of dolphins, but he even wanted to raise one himself.

Seeing how obsessed his son was, Qi Sheng decided to show him more of the world—to let him experience the feeling of having an entire forest, not just a single tree.

Unfortunately, the little guy was just too “devoted” and “loyal”—after being sneakily kissed once, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Qi Sheng: “You like her that much? How about Daddy buys you a little turtle? It also lives in the sea. You can look at the turtle and think about the dolphin.”

“Daddy, can I really keep one?!”

“Of course, you can even raise a few fish too.”

Qi Yang instantly lit up with joy. When he saw Lin Xuan coming to find him, he excitedly grabbed his little friend and headed downstairs to check out the flower-and-bird market.

Lin Xuan: ???

Weren’t they supposed to play PUBG today? Why are they buying fish now? But thinking about it—fish made by the big boss must be delicious too!

So when the two arrived at the flower-and-bird market, Lin Xuan, who had food on his mind the whole time, looked at his buddy circling the pretty fish tanks and protested, “Yang Yang, these fish are so small—they won’t taste good, right?”

Qi Yang: “……” Why is Xuan Xuan still thinking about food at this point?!

Qi Yang picked out several pretty little fish. Once he was almost done choosing, he got ready to pay. Hmm… he still had a lot of allowance left from Dad. He could buy two more!

So Qi Yang happily went back to picking. The shopkeeper, seeing this “big” customer, began explaining earnestly the things to keep in mind when keeping fish: “You need to change the water regularly, once a week is best… You’ve bought five little fish, so the tank can’t be too small or they won’t have enough space to swim…”

Qi Yang, still choosing fish: …Fish tank? He didn’t have one!

“Boss, do you sell fish tanks here?”

The shopkeeper nodded with a smile: “Of course we do!”

And so Qi Yang resumed his joyful choosing. The whole time, Lin Xuan stared at the fish and let his imagination run wild: braised fish? Sweet-and-sour Mandarin fish? Spicy boiled fish? Fried mini fish? …A whole fish banquet wouldn’t be bad either!

Since fish tanks are quite heavy, the kind shopkeeper had one of the shop assistants deliver it to their home. So Lin Xuan ended up back at Qi Yang’s house again. It was still not even 10:30 yet, and Qi Sheng hadn’t started cooking. Lin Xuan peeked at the kitchen and sighed in disappointment—were they still eating chicken or not today?!

Qi Yang had no idea his little buddy was once again lost in food dreams. He started promoting his dream lover instead: “Xuan Xuan, that dolphin was so beautiful. She could smile, and do math, and…”

Still thinking about food, Lin Xuan reflexively asked, “Is dolphin meat tasty?”

And then Classmate Lin Xuan felt the icy glare from his little buddy. Wuwuwu—his Yang Yang had changed!

Qi Sheng had promised early on to make a full chicken feast for the little guy, and he wasn’t going to go back on his word. By 11 o’clock, he headed to the kitchen to start prepping. As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Xuan, who had been playing with goldfish with his son in the living room, blinking his shiny eyes and watching him.

“Xuan Xuan, are you hungry?”

“I’m okay, Uncle Qi.”

Lin Xuan scratched his head, feeling a little awkward talking so calmly with the big boss in his mind. But knowing he was about to be fed, he wisely kept his manners in check.

Qi Sheng just smiled and didn’t say much. Seeing his son, who had just been staring at fish, rush over to help, he ruffled his head and pushed him back out. “Since Xuan Xuan is here, go play with him. Daddy can handle this.”

Qi Yang turned to look at his little friend. After a moment of hesitation, he gave up on helping and dragged Lin Xuan into his bedroom: “Xuan Xuan, my dad bought me a bunch of toys, even two planes! Let’s play with those!”

Lin Xuan agreed with an enthusiastic nod. Talking about toys brought him back from food thoughts. When they entered Qi Yang’s room again, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but gape.

“Yang Yang, how do you have so many toys?!”

Didn’t he have almost none last time?

Qi Yang puffed up his little chest proudly: “My daddy bought them! This ship was a reward from the day before yesterday because I ate my meal properly!”

Lin Xuan looked at his little buddy’s complete set of land, sea, air vehicles and robots. A trace of unexplainable envy passed through his heart. Wuwu—Yang Yang had gone from poor kid to mini-rich boy in a flash!

The two began joyfully playing with toys. Meanwhile, Qi Sheng spent nearly two hours cooking and finally completed the full chicken feast.

The main dishes were clay pot chicken and dry pot chicken wings, both moderate in size. The side dishes—spicy chicken, kung pao chicken, and mouthwatering chicken—were smaller in portion. There were also three golden-fried chicken drumsticks and a corn-and-shiitake soup made with chicken broth.

“Yang Yang, take Xuan Xuan to wash your hands. It’s time to eat.”

Actually, he didn’t even need to call them. The two little ones had already smelled the delicious aroma and went to wash their hands on their own.

From the moment Lin Xuan sat down at the table, his eyes didn’t budge. Just looking at the delicious-looking chicken feast, he couldn’t help but swallow even before starting.

Mmm, the drumstick was crispy and tender, fully flavored—better than anything he’d ever eaten outside! He wanted another one!

Too bad there were only three drumsticks. After finishing one, Lin Xuan moved on to the dry pot chicken wings.

Mmm… why were Uncle Qi’s chicken wings so uniquely flavored, and every style so delicious? Last time’s fried wings were great, but this time’s dry pot wings were even better! Must have another!

After devouring his second chicken wing, Lin Xuan still wanted more. Seeing how focused he was on the wings, Qi Sheng helpfully suggested: “Xuan Xuan, the pan-fried bread on the edge of the clay pot chicken is very tasty too—you should try it.”

Lin Xuan looked at the bread stuck to the edge of the pot and instinctively declined. What’s so great about bread? He wanted to save room for more wings. But since Uncle Qi suggested it, he couldn’t refuse outright—otherwise Yang Yang might get upset.

Wanting to show respect to the chef, Lin Xuan reluctantly picked up a piece of the pan-fried bread.

Qi Sheng, sitting across from him, watched his expressions the entire time. Seeing his reluctance at first, he chuckled inwardly. Just wait—you’ll change your mind.

Sure enough, after Lin Xuan took a small bite of the bread, he started chewing and couldn’t help but squint his eyes in delight. Huh?! How could a simple piece of bread taste so good?

It was almost criminal!

Compared to Lin Xuan, who was in pure food bliss, Qi Yang was a bit calmer—but he didn’t eat any slower. Mmm, his daddy was amazing. This mouthwatering chicken was super tasty. He loved it!

The two little guys buried their heads in their plates. Qi Sheng, the hidden master chef, smiled to himself—there wasn’t a kid he couldn’t win over!

After that full chicken feast, Lin Xuan looked at Qi Sheng with completely different eyes. Wuwu—why was Uncle Qi so amazing?!

The two kids collapsed on the sofa, holding their round bellies, trying to digest. Lin Xuan saw Qi Sheng clean up the kitchen and head to the study. Thinking of the food they just had and the toys in Qi Yang’s room, he suddenly remembered a popular line from the internet. He turned to Qi Yang with sparkling eyes, and with deep emotion, said word by word:

“Yang Yang—if—you—get—rich—don’t—you—forget—me!”