In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 106: The Abusive Dad (12)

Before Qi Yang graduated from elementary school, he had already represented his class in several school swimming competitions — and every time, the little guy managed to take first place.

As Qi Yang’s swimming coach, Qi Sheng couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.

During the summer break of fifth grade, Qi Sheng brought his son to the neighborhood swimming pool to learn how to swim.

Facing the pool — having never been in the water and even harboring a mild fear of deep water — Qi Yang instinctively took a step back.

Ugh, why did I suddenly get the idea to learn swimming? he thought. The air conditioning at home is so nice — it’s not worse than being in water!

After changing Qi Yang into his swim trunks, Qi Sheng saw the boy backing away from the pool and quickly pulled him closer. “Come on, Yang Yang, let’s do some warm-ups first.”

Relieved that he didn’t have to get into the water immediately, Qi Yang happily and obediently followed his father’s instructions to stretch and warm up.

“Yang Yang, warm-ups are about done — time to get in.”

Qi Yang gulped when he heard this, glancing at the surface of the water with hesitation.

“Dad…” Seeing that his son was worried, Qi Sheng quickly reassured him, “Don’t be scared, it’s fun in the water.”

Qi Yang nodded. Encouraged by his father’s warm smile, he began considering what kind of dive would look best — when suddenly he felt a push from behind.

“Dad!” Qi Yang shrieked.

Qi Sheng calmly retracted his foot and quickly jumped into the water to steady his son. “See? That wasn’t so hard!”

Qi Yang wiped the water off his face and glared at his shameless father, snorting angrily. This guy really is my biological dad — he never misses a chance to mess with me!

Although the beginning made Qi Yang want to bite someone, the rest of the experience was actually great. That summer, he spent much of his free time swimming with his dad, and not only did his form improve — his speed increased as well.

Before long, the little guy was hooked on swimming like he’d discovered a new continent.

“Dad, once I get better, does that mean I can swim with the baby dolphins?”

Every month, without fail, Qi Yang insisted on going to see the baby dolphins. He was so obsessed that Qi Sheng once wondered if his son might become an animal trainer in the future — and even sat down for a deep conversation with him about it.

“Yang Yang, do you like dolphins so much that you want to be a dolphin trainer?”

He expected a firm yes — but the boy shook his head. “No, Dad. I’ve watched a lot of documentaries about dolphins. I think baby dolphins belong in the ocean. Even though they’re well-fed here, they have to perform for people every day. They must be really tired.”

Qi Yang loved baby dolphins — but even more, he wanted them to live freely. His dream had always been to become a psychologist — a career he saw as the most noble and magical of all.

Once again, Qi Sheng missed the chance to learn about his son’s dream job ahead of time. Seeing how much the boy longed to swim with the dolphins, he had no choice but to pour a little cold water on the idea: “The dolphins at the aquarium have their own specially maintained pools. Even though your Uncle Li takes good care of you and lets you play with them often, swimming with them is out of the question.”

Qi Yang looked disappointed for a second, but quickly bounced back. Looking at his dad, who was still sitting by the pool paddling with his feet, he urged, “Dad, hurry up! Let’s race again!”

In high school, Qi Yang — blessed with stunning looks, always topping the academic rankings, and excelling in every sport — had become the school’s undisputed male idol. Right after a basketball game, a girl approached him with a bottle of water.

Qi Yang politely declined and instead snatched a bottle from his friend Lin Xuan, who had been sitting nearby playing a game on his phone the entire time.

“Hey, what kind of cheerleader are you? I have to get my own water?”

“You should be glad I even showed up. And how many times have you rejected teaming up with me in-game now?”

Qi Yang felt a little guilty. “You know I prefer outdoor sports to video games.”

But just as he finished saying that, he saw his friend giving him a pitiful look and quickly backed down. “Alright, alright — I’ll play with you tonight. Happy now?”

“My skills aren’t even that great. Why do you insist on dragging me in?”

Lin Xuan rolled his eyes. “You think I want to? The school belle is joining our team this time, and she specifically asked for you!”

Qi Yang frowned. “Didn’t Guo Hao and the others have a thing for her? And now they’re okay with teaming up with me?”

Lin Xuan smirked. “They weren’t, at first. But then they came to ask me about you. When they heard you’re not that good at gaming, they suddenly insisted you join.”

Hearing that, Qi Yang narrowed his eyes and stared at Lin Xuan. “So… what did you get out of this?”

Now it was Lin Xuan’s turn to look sheepish. “The newest limited-edition Cultivation God figurine… Yang’er, come on, I’ve searched everywhere for that figure. Help me out, won’t you?”

Qi Yang was so annoyed he wanted to hit him with a basketball. Every single time, Lin Xuan sold him out like a pro!

“Stop spending so much on figures. How much allowance do you even have left? Don’t forget we’re supposed to go on a trip after the college entrance exam.”

Lin Xuan puffed out his chest proudly. “Relax — I’ve secured a travel sponsor. My grandpa said if I get into F University, he’ll give me at least ten thousand yuan in red envelopes!”

Then he turned to his friend curiously. “You’re still planning to apply for psychology, right? Does Uncle Qi know?”

Qi Yang looked troubled. “No. I haven’t told him. I’m afraid he’ll overthink it.”

Lin Xuan tried to reassure him. “What’s there to be afraid of? Uncle Qi hasn’t hit you in years — this probably won’t be the exception.”

“But the ways he punishes me now are getting weirder and weirder,” Qi Yang said grimly. “Last time in Rong City, when he found out I can’t stand fish mint, and I annoyed him after we got back, he made me eat a giant plate of it cold…”

Over the years, Lin Xuan had also been dragged into eating plenty of disgusting foods thanks to hanging out with Qi Yang, so he completely understood the torment of being forced to eat something you hate. Seeing Qi Yang’s miserable expression, he immediately sympathized. “Whether you say it now or later, it’s going to hurt either way. Better to rip the bandage off early — or you might be forced to eat several more plates.”

“Come on, time to go home. Don’t forget to log in and play tonight!”

Qi Yang waved goodbye to Lin Xuan and thought about what he said on the way home. He was right — maybe if he said something early, Dad wouldn’t be so mad.

So that evening, after dinner and tidying up the kitchen, Qi Yang noticed his father heading to the study and quickly followed.

Qi Sheng turned around. “Something you want to talk about?”

“Dad, I wanted to talk to you about my college major choices.”

Qi Sheng was momentarily stunned at the mention of the college entrance exam. It felt like in the blink of an eye, his little boy would be sitting for it in just six months.

The father and son sat on the study’s couch. Qi Yang looked at his dad, hesitated for a long time, and didn’t know how to begin.

Qi Sheng looked puzzled. “You already have a major in mind? Tell me, I’ll look into it for you. Don’t worry, I’m very open-minded — as long as it’s not something super weird, I’ll support you.”

Qi Yang glanced up at him, scratched his head, and looked back down again — still not saying a word.

Now Qi Sheng was genuinely curious.

“Come on, what’s so hard to say?”

“I… Dad, I want to study psychology…”

The moment he said it, Qi Yang clammed up again, anxiously sneaking a glance at his dad — only to find his father’s expression hadn’t changed.

Huh? Did Dad not react?

Qi Sheng really hadn’t reacted at first. But when he caught his son sneaking looks at him with a guilty and nervous face, a realization hit him.

Wait… Does my kid think all my improvements are thanks to psychologists?!

Qi Sheng felt like he had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat. The indignation of someone else taking all the credit made his face darken.

That expression confirmed all of Qi Yang’s suspicions: Dad was bothered by it.

“Dad, I didn’t mean anything by it — I just really find the subject interesting,” Qi Yang added quickly, still smiling to appease him.

Qi Sheng looked at his son’s pleading face and finally swallowed his frustration. “Psychology is a good major. If you like it, go for it.”

When Qi Sheng realized that his son had developed an interest in psychology because of his personal experiences, he couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: You’d be better off studying law. Sure, psychological factors play a role in domestic violence, but the real issue is the lenient punishment. Try enforcing stricter penalties—how many people would still dare act so brazenly? At least in the U.S., no one would dare keep hitting their kid once the police get involved!

Still, Qi Sheng understood that his transformation from a violent temper to a “good dad” image couldn’t be explained without some sort of catalyst. So, he reluctantly gave the psychologists their due credit.

Qi Yang was pleasantly surprised to find that his dad neither objected nor voiced any complaints. His heart was practically bursting with joy, but he didn’t dare show it on his face.

“Thanks, Dad! Um… are you busy with work? I’ll go make you a cup of coffee.” Seeing his father nod, Qi Yang happily gave himself a silent victory sign. Passed!

With his choice of major settled, Qi Yang brewed the coffee and brought it into the study, then returned to his bedroom.

He was just about to share the good news with Lin Xuan when he saw a WeChat message from him.

“Yang’er, get on the game! You’re the last one we’re waiting for!”

Qi Yang thought of his friend’s long-coveted limited-edition figurine and knew that if he didn’t log in tonight, Lin Xuan would definitely hunt him down tomorrow. So, without another word, he launched the game.

It was a competitive mobile game — 5-player teams facing off. As soon as Qi Yang logged in, he received Lin Xuan’s invite. When he accepted, the team lineup showed Lin Xuan along with three other names: Strawberry Ice Cream, Battle the World, and Little Bird Flies.

Qi Yang wasn’t friends with these three, but thanks to Lin Xuan’s earlier introductions, he could more or less match the names: they were probably the school belle Wen Qingxue, and her two die-hard followers, Guo Hao and Jiang Da.

While Qi Yang was still mentally matching names to people, the game had already started.

As someone who preferred outdoor sports and didn’t care much for games, Qi Yang didn’t have any natural talent to fall back on.

So the moment he reached the bottom lane and used up all his ultimates, he promptly died a glorious death.

Lin Xuan: “Yang’er! How’d you die that fast?!”

Completely stunned by his friend’s noob skills, Lin Xuan realized — yep, still just as terrible as ever!

While Lin Xuan was busy ranting about his friend’s incompetence, Guo Hao and Jiang Da exchanged amused smiles. Both were top players. Seeing Qi Yang die right at the start didn’t make them angry — quite the opposite, they were thrilled. Nice. Lin Xuan wasn’t lying.

With that reassurance, the two began flexing their skills in full force.

“First Blood!”

“Double Kill!”

…

“Penta Kill!”

Guo Hao managed to snag a pentakill just before Jiang Da, and the moment the system’s notification chimed, he was glowing with pride. He couldn’t help but imagine the school belle watching his dazzling display with stars in her eyes.

Just as the corners of Guo Hao’s mouth began to rise smugly, he happened to glance at the position of his teammates on the minimap — and his expression froze completely.

What the hell is this situation?!

Instead of the goddess holding her heart in awe like he imagined, what he saw nearly made him cough up blood.

Because his dream girl — while he was busy sweating and slaying for a good score — had run over to Qi Yang’s side and was playing protector of the trash player!

What the hell?!

While Guo Hao was suffering from mental breakdown, Wen Qingxue was absolutely thrilled on her end.

Lin Xuan really didn’t lie to me. That Naruto figurine was totally worth it. Qi Yang is such a noob! Hahaha, so great, I finally get to protect him! I wonder if he noticed how cool I looked earlier!

And so, Qi Yang remained completely unaware that his good buddy had a real talent for selling him out — and could even sell him off to two different parties in the same match!