In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 104: The Abusive Dad (10)

On the third day, Qi Yang, finally bidding farewell to the bitter melon feast, was nearly moved to tears when he saw the egg cups on the breakfast table. Wuwu, their meals had finally returned to normal!

Qi Sheng warmed the milk and, seeing his son happily squinting his eyes while enjoying breakfast, almost couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yang Yang, slow down. It’s still early. The roller skating club probably hasn’t opened yet.”

Qi Yang obediently nodded, still a bit excited about learning roller skating later.

After the past two days, Qi Sheng realized that the little guy was still a bit timid. So after some thought, he decided to let him try more outdoor activities to build his physical fitness and gradually nurture a more independent and courageous personality.

He selected several sports as options, like swimming, roller skating, taekwondo, tennis, and soccer. Among them, the little guy was most interested in three: roller skating, taekwondo, and swimming.

Since it was already winter, they finally decided to start with roller skating and taekwondo.

“I’ll take you to the mall in a bit to buy a pair of roller skates first.”

Qi Yang nodded happily and couldn’t help speeding up his eating. But when he noticed his father giving him a disapproving look about his eating speed, he had to slow down again and gave Qi Sheng a sweet, placating smile.

After breakfast, Qi Yang was especially well-behaved. He helped clean the table, and was even more proactive than usual in washing the dishes and wiping the counters. Once the kitchen was tidied up, he went straight back to his room, grabbed the small backpack he had packed the night before, and sat obediently on the sofa with his big eyes wide open, waiting for Qi Sheng to finish getting ready. Each time Qi Sheng came out of the bedroom, the little guy would look at him with sparkling eyes. But when he realized they weren’t heading out yet, he said nothing, just blinked his big eyes at him.

Qi Sheng actually didn’t have much to prepare, but seeing how excited the child was today, he deliberately teased him. He had already eaten breakfast slowly, and now he was dragging out the time even more.

After going back and forth three times, Qi Sheng finally came out of the bedroom again. Seeing the little guy looking at him with his adorable, slightly aggrieved eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Let’s go, Yang Yang. Time to change shoes.”

The little face that looked pitiful just a moment ago instantly bloomed into a radiant smile. Qi Yang changed his shoes faster than ever before. Seeing this, Qi Sheng couldn’t help rubbing his little head. “You like roller skating this much?”

Qi Yang nodded vigorously.

He really did like it. When he was younger and passed through the neighborhood, he always saw other kids skating freely with their parents and was incredibly envious.

There was a time when he got beaten so badly he had to take time off school. Even though he was in pain, he refused to just lie in bed all day and instead liked to watch the other kids skating around in the courtyard outside his window, doing cool tricks.

Back then, Qi Yang didn’t have any lofty dreams. He just looked at the kids downstairs with envy and thought that when he grew up, he would buy himself a pair of roller skates too. Now that this wish could come true without having to wait until he grew up, he had been rolling around excitedly in bed last night. Even the suffering from drinking bitter melon juice was long forgotten.

When they arrived at the mall, it was just after 10 a.m.—about the time most stores opened. Qi Sheng took the child to a sports gear shop first, bought a pair of blue-green roller skates and matching protective gear, and then headed to the roller skating club on the third floor.

Most of the kids who came to the club to learn were around five or six years old, so when Qi Yang came here for the first time and saw a bunch of kids already wearing their skates and protective gear, he felt a little shy.

“Dad, maybe I should just practice downstairs at home instead. I looked it up online—self-learning is totally doable.”

Sure, self-learning was possible. But Qi Sheng worried that improper posture could easily lead to injury, so he firmly insisted on enrolling him in a class. Seeing the little guy hesitate now, he simply pulled him inside and pointed to several older kids on the rink. “Look over there—those few are about your age too. They’re not backing out. What are you afraid of?”

Qi Yang’s eyes lit up when he saw other boys around his age. Hmm, if he wasn’t the only big kid, this place didn’t seem so bad.

Qi Sheng continued to reassure him. “I signed you up for one-on-one lessons, so you don’t need to worry about learning with the younger kids.”

Only then did Qi Yang fully relax. When they arrived at the front desk, Qi Sheng completed the registration, and soon a coach came over to meet them.

The coach first guided Qi Yang in putting on the skates and protective gear, then explained the safety precautions for skating. After covering the basics, the coach began teaching Qi Yang the fundamentals of skating.

Once Qi Yang had the skates on, he couldn’t stop clinging to his dad for support. When the coach finished teaching how to stand properly, Qi Sheng, who had been supporting him the whole time, started to let go.

Qi Yang grabbed his dad’s arm tightly, looking at him pitifully. “Dad, don’t let go yet.”

Qi Sheng smiled and comforted him, “It’s okay, I’m right here watching. Try standing on your own first.”

Qi Yang glanced at the little kids around him skating freely like birds, then braced himself, nodded, and stretched his arms out a bit to keep balance, still a little nervous.

Luckily, the coach was professional and roller skating wasn’t too difficult. Though at first Qi Yang thought he’d never be able to stand on his own, he gradually managed to balance and stand steadily.

Qi Sheng praised him just in time: “Nice job!” Qi Yang beamed happily at the compliment.

The coach standing nearby watched the father and son proudly celebrating and felt a bit speechless.

You’ve only just begun. Isn’t it a bit too early to be praising him like this?

But the customer is king—since the father wanted to pamper his child, what could the coach say? He could only silently sigh: it was truly rare to see someone take such meticulous care of a child this age.

Qi Yang, unaware of the coach’s thoughts, was fully focused on following the coach’s instructions step by step.

Standing still, marching in place, pushing forward… the difficulty of the moves gradually increased, and several times, Qi Yang nearly lost his balance.

Initially, the coach considered reaching out to steady him, but when he saw the child instinctively reach toward his parent and the parent respond swiftly to help him up, he could only keep a smile on his face and continue being a human demonstration machine.

The coach couldn’t help complaining in his heart: This parent is really too patient. Since starting this job, he’d taught plenty of students. Many parents either went shopping or sat in the lounge playing on their phones after dropping their kids off—rarely did any stick around like this.

Aside from the basic techniques, the coach also began teaching Qi Yang how to fall correctly. Falling was unavoidable when first learning rollerblading, and knowing how to fall to minimize injury was an essential lesson.

This time, Qi Sheng had to step back and watch his child try on his own. And he discovered that when the little guy realized his dad wasn’t close by, he actually grew braver—sometimes even regaining his balance by himself when he was about to fall.

Seeing this, Qi Sheng simply stepped all the way back to the edge of the rink and sat on a bench set aside for resting, observing the little one’s performance.

Out from under his father’s protective wing, Qi Yang gradually began to calm down and focus on feeling the movement of his feet. Following the coach’s guidance, he practiced the same movements over and over in the rink. After nearly an hour of effort, he was finally able to slowly glide forward.

He was feeling a little tired now—and a bit like he needed to use the bathroom—so he turned toward where Qi Sheng was sitting and began gliding over. As he approached, a playful mood overtook him. He dared to push off harder, and his body sped forward uncontrollably.

Qi Sheng had already been watching his son’s movements. As soon as he saw the child speed up, he opened his arms to catch him.

Qi Yang flew into his father’s arms, laughing with joy. “Daddy, I can skate now!”

Qi Sheng praised him, “Our Yang Yang is amazing. Want to rest a bit and then practice more?”

Qi Yang nodded and, holding onto his dad’s shoulders, sat down. He had been too happy earlier to notice, but now he realized two kids not far away were curiously tilting their heads to look at him.

Qi Yang remembered the way he had just acted spoiled and immediately felt embarrassed. Ugh, those kids are going to laugh at me…

That morning passed with Qi Yang immersed in rollerblading practice. Qi Sheng stayed by his side the whole time, and whenever the boy performed well, he’d give a little thumbs-up—making the already slightly proud Qi Yang even more delighted.

At noon, the two had lunch at the mall. After ordering, while waiting for the food, Qi Yang was still thinking about how fun rollerblading had been. Then, remembering he could also learn Taekwondo soon, he perked up again.

“Daddy, can I go to Taekwondo class with Xuan Xuan?”

“Of course. Next time he has class, I’ll go with you and sign you up.”

“Daddy, will you still come with me for rollerblading next week?”

“Of course. My weekends belong to you.”

Qi Yang was delighted and began to chatter about what he had learned while rollerblading.

Qi Sheng watched the little guy talk nonstop, his big eyes sparkling with joy. Both father and son were in excellent spirits—until someone interrupted them.

“President Qi, out eating with your son? What a coincidence to run into you here. Mind if I join you?”

Both father and son looked up at the woman speaking. Qi Yang immediately went quiet in front of the stranger, and Qi Sheng maintained a polite smile, though it leaned more toward courteous than warm.

The woman’s name was Cen Han, an executive at another company—and currently one of Qi Sheng’s admirers.

Qi Sheng felt helpless. He hadn’t expected to bump into her here of all places.

“Sorry, Miss Cen. My child is a little shy around strangers. I’m afraid he won’t eat well if there’s someone unfamiliar at the table.”

Cen Han smiled, undeterred. She even sat down directly in the seat next to Qi Sheng.

“Shyness isn’t a big deal. He’ll get used to me in time.” She turned to Qi Yang with an especially gentle smile. “You must be Yang Yang. Your dad always talks about you. You really are a well-behaved and sensible little guy.”

Qi Yang politely called her “Auntie,” then didn’t say another word.

Cen Han liked Qi Sheng and naturally knew he had a son. She didn’t mind the idea of being a stepmother—in any case, the boy was already fairly grown and would be off to school in a few years. He wouldn’t affect her future family much. So, looking at this potential future stepson, she wanted to win his favor.

“Yang Yang, were you just talking about rollerblading? Auntie used to be great at that when she was younger. How about I take you out to skate sometime?”

Qi Yang glanced at his dad, unsure how to respond. He didn’t like the way this woman looked at his father. He was old enough now to guess what was going on.

Hmph! Ever since Dad got better, all these aunties trying to cozy up to him kept showing up. Didn’t Xuan Xuan say most women didn’t like men who were divorced and had kids? Then why does Dad have so many admirers?

Qi Yang felt unhappy, but still responded politely: “Thank you, Auntie, but I usually practice with other kids. I probably can’t go skating with just you.”

After lying, Qi Yang nervously glanced at his father. Seeing that he wasn’t angry and had simply gone back to sipping his juice, Qi Yang lowered his head again. Even if Dad punished him with bitter melon juice every day, he’d still have said that.

Qi Yang was very upset!

Hmph! Back when he wanted someone to take Dad away, there wasn’t even a shadow of a person. Now that Dad’s treating him well, they’re all coming out to steal him away!