In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 112: Cuckold Dad (5)

Qi Sheng had already seen the failed dishes thrown out in the kitchen. Now, comparing them to the colorful, fragrant, and decently presented dinner on the table—it was obvious his son had put in a lot of effort!

He was served breakfast in the morning and now a rich dinner at night. After enjoying the meal, Qi Sheng noticed his eldest son getting ready to clean up the dishes, and he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “What’s going on with you two today?”

The intentions were just too obvious!

Qi Sheng couldn’t help but press further. “Xiao Chen, did you skip school again today?”

Qi Yuancheng paused, hand still on the dishes, and nodded sheepishly from the side.

Seeing his older brother about to get questioned, Qi Yuanzhe quickly ran up to Qi Sheng, acting cute as a distraction. “Dad, the food my brother made today was so yummy!”

Qi Sheng ruffled his younger son’s hair, then pushed him aside. “You stand properly too. The both of you are acting suspicious today. Out with it—did you get into trouble again?”

Qi Yuancheng had already come up with an excuse beforehand. Seeing his father’s suspicion, he immediately began to explain: “I didn’t get into any trouble. I’ve been working on a program the past few days, and it’s just reached a crucial point. I got really into it and wanted to finish it, so I didn’t go to school.”

Qi Sheng didn’t buy it. “You’ve barely ever made more than a bowl of instant noodles for me before. And now suddenly you’re whipping up four dishes and a soup? That’s definitely suspicious!”

“Tell me—did you beat someone up again? Or get into a group fight? Is that why you’re acting all sweet today?” Qi Sheng deliberately glared at his son with an exaggerated expression, and sure enough, Qi Yuancheng looked helpless and speechless.

“Dad, can you not jump to wild conclusions? I’m being good to you and you’re still suspicious? I just happened to hear about a classmate’s classmate whose dad got into a car accident and ended up in a coma. That guy only realized how much he regretted not getting along with his dad after the accident. It made me want to treat you better.”

Qi Sheng nodded, finally buying his son’s explanation. Looking at his two sons staring at him like this, he couldn’t help but think to himself—Wow, the kid even prepared a whole backstory.

“Oh, I see. That’s unfortunate.”

He looked at the two boys again and decided to go along with their little act. “So that’s why you two are being so obedient today? Even Xiao Zhe lined up my slippers—something I haven’t experienced since before he turned five!”

Hearing that, Qi Yuanzhe wrinkled his nose and muttered in protest, “Dad, that just proves I’ve always been a good kid. Today was just to help you relive that experience!”

Qi Sheng chuckled, letting the matter slide. But he still gave a stern warning to his older son. “No more skipping school. You’re still in high school. Your top priority is keeping your grades up. I know you want to study abroad in the future, but without a solid academic foundation, it’ll only make applying to good schools harder.”

Qi Yuancheng nodded and obediently agreed.

He had never liked the domestic education system or the grind for the college entrance exam. He preferred to follow his interests and had long planned to go abroad for university. But now… he had changed his mind.

In the past, he wouldn’t think too much about it—if he liked something, he would pursue it. But now things were different. He didn’t want to be far from his dad. Without the bond of blood tying them together, he was afraid that if he left for years, the feelings his father had for him might fade. And his little brother was still here too—he didn’t feel comfortable leaving him behind alone.

Still, Qi Yuancheng didn’t say any of this aloud. He had insisted on studying abroad for so long—suddenly changing his tune would seem strange. His dad was already surprised enough today, and he didn’t want to do anything else to raise further suspicion.

“Oh right, Dad, from now on, don’t give Mom money to waste. Whenever she has money, she runs around all over the place. Last time, she even followed Auntie Zhang and them to some fancy club to ogle handsome guys—you really need to keep her in check.”

Qi Sheng’s expression immediately darkened. “She’s still hanging out with Zhang Yu and that group? Alright then, I’ll listen to you. I’ll cut back on her allowance!”

Zhang Yu was considered the leader of Zhong Jin’s social circle. She could come up with all kinds of ways to spend money and kill time. The original owner of this body never liked his wife hanging out with people like her. But since his wife never listened, he eventually started cutting her spending money as a way to deal with it. Now Qi Sheng could take advantage of that and use it as an excuse to refuse any of Zhong Jin’s future requests.

Qi Sheng was secretly pleased—this mission was turning out to be way easier than he’d thought. It seemed like he didn’t even need to do anything about Zhong Jin himself. Just his eldest son alone was enough to handle her.

Zhong Jin, still in the bedroom, was furious to hear that Qi Yuancheng had actually gone and tattled. She stormed out and sweetly clung to Qi Sheng. “Honey, don’t listen to our son’s nonsense. He’s just—”

She originally wanted to say, He’s just mad I scolded him earlier and is trying to smear me on purpose. In the past, the two of them often clashed like this. But just as she met her son’s cold, unfeeling gaze, Zhong Jin suddenly remembered—she had to rely on him from now on. She couldn’t afford to ruin their relationship.

Qi Sheng asked, “He’s just what?”

Zhong Jin suppressed her fury and forced a smile. “Honey, I barely talk to Zhang Yu these days. How can you cut my allowance just based on one thing the boy said?”

Before Qi Sheng could respond, Qi Yuancheng smiled as he stared at her and said, “Mom, didn’t you say this afternoon that you wouldn’t spend Dad’s money so casually anymore? You said you wanted to be an independent woman and go find a job to earn your own money.”

Zhong Jin glared at him—When did I ever say that!?

Qi Sheng, seeing his son go after Zhong Jin, immediately played along. “Oh? You said that too? Well, you’re not young anymore. If you’re going to find a job now, what kind of work can you do? Still, if you’re really serious about it, I won’t object. But let’s keep your allowance as it is for now. Otherwise, I really will worry about you running around with Zhang Yu again.”

The father and son teamed up perfectly, making Zhong Jin so angry she could barely breathe.

Seeing she was about to lose her temper, Qi Yuancheng gave his younger brother a subtle signal to take their dad out for a walk.

Qi Yuanzhe caught the cue and quickly sprang into action. “Dad, it’s rare for you to get off work early today. Let’s go for a walk downstairs! It’s so boring just being cooped up inside.”

Qi Sheng asked, “Did you finish your homework today?”

“I got most of it done at school. Come on, Dad, I’ll go with you.”

“How did it turn into you accompanying me?”

Even though he teased his son, Qi Sheng still cooperated and went downstairs. Watching his younger son running around playfully, Qi Sheng thought to himself—Looks like in this world, all I have to do is go along with the act!

Upstairs in the Qi household, Qi Yuancheng confirmed they had gone downstairs. He dropped his obedient act from earlier and stared coldly at Zhong Jin, completely indifferent to her growing anger.

Zhong Jin was absolutely livid at her son’s current attitude. She had wanted to reconcile with him, but clearly, he had no such intention. She was still his biological mother, yet this brat showed her no respect at all—and even found new ways to torment her!

Zhong Jin snapped. “You’re not afraid I’ll tell Qi Sheng right now that neither of you are his biological sons? Qi Yuancheng, if you keep treating me like this, I won’t let you live peacefully just because I’m miserable!”

Qi Yuancheng laughed coldly. “You really want to tell Dad the truth? If he finds out that neither Xiao Zhe nor I are his children, who do you think he’ll hate the most?”

He took a step forward and stared at her fiercely. “Even if all three of us are kicked out of the house, I’ll make sure Xiao Zhe doesn’t go hungry. But you, Mom… if you expect me to support you in your old age, you’d better keep paying for our living expenses now. Otherwise, are you sure you’ll even have a single penny left to your name in the future?”

“I…”

Zhong Jin faltered under her son’s hostile gaze. She could tell he truly hated her now. Since intimidation didn’t work, she had no choice but to change tactics.

“Xiao Chen, if I hadn’t gone to your dad back then, maybe you wouldn’t even be alive now. I only did it so you could have a proper home. How can you treat me like this?”

“I know I haven’t been caring enough to you or Xiao Zhe over the years… but I’m still your real mother. When I was pregnant with you, it was so hard. And with Xiao Zhe, I nearly bled to death during childbirth. Your dad told you all this himself, didn’t he? Xiao Chen… sob… just think about how much I suffered back then. You can’t be this heartless to your own mother.”

It was precisely because Zhong Jin had suffered so much during Qi Yuanzhe’s birth that the three men in the family had always spoiled her. And now, Zhong Jin was using that same story again as her protective shield.

Even though Qi Yuancheng knew her words were nothing more than a tactic to make peace, he had no choice but to take a step back.

He looked at the woman crying in front of him, took a deep breath, then closed his eyes for a moment. After calming down, he finally spoke. “I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life—but only on one condition: you can’t scheme against Dad anymore. That’s my bottom line.”

Seeing her son back down, Zhong Jin immediately nodded. If it had been before today, she might still have felt a bit unwilling to yield. But after being pushed by Qi Yuancheng about their background earlier, she had a new realization: there was no gain to be had from Qi Sheng. But wasn’t Qi Yuancheng still her biological son?

And if all else failed, even if the Kang family was completely unreliable now, she still had her younger son’s biological father!

Zhong Jin had found a new path. She knew both boys still saw Qi Sheng as their father, so she quickly promised: “Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll never ask your dad for anything recklessly. If he gives me money, I’ll spend it. If he doesn’t, I won’t ask. Okay?”

Qi Yuancheng gave a small “mm” in response—he’d decided to trust her for now.

“Go wash your face. Don’t let Dad notice anything’s wrong.”

The two of them had finally reached a temporary understanding. Qi Yuancheng knew his mom still had her little schemes, but as long as she didn’t target his father, he didn’t have the energy to worry about the rest.

He sent a message to his younger brother letting him know it was safe to come back, then began tidying up the dining table.

Downstairs, Qi Sheng was keeping his younger son company—getting eaten by mosquitoes—when the boy’s phone buzzed. Qi Sheng figured it probably meant they could finally go back upstairs.

“Dad, my classmate invited me to play a game. Let’s head back in.”

Qi Sheng nodded in cooperation. “Don’t play too long when we get back. Are you sure you’ve finished your homework?”

“All done, all done. Come on, Dad!”

When they returned home, Qi Sheng saw that the living room looked normal, so he simply headed to the study to enjoy some peace and quiet.

He had just settled into his chair and opened the computer to read some news when his eldest son, Qi Yuancheng, came in carrying a plate of fruit.

Qi Sheng looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Huh? You’re really being unusually considerate today.”

Qi Yuancheng smiled. “I’m being considerate and you’re still not satisfied?”

Qi Sheng laughed too. “I’m satisfied, of course I’m satisfied. Come on, grab a chair and eat with me.”

The father and son ate fruit together. Qi Sheng asked, “How’s that program you were working on? Want me to take a look?”

Qi Yuancheng shook his head. “No need. I’ve got the basic idea figured out. I should be able to finish it in a couple of days.”

Qi Sheng didn’t insist since his son didn’t need help. After they finished the fruit, he thought his son would leave—but to his surprise, he didn’t.

Just as Qi Sheng started to wonder why, he suddenly felt a pair of hands gently massaging his shoulders.

Qi Sheng: Whoa, isn’t this treatment a little too fancy!?