In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 121: Cuckold Dad (End)

Qi Sheng had only just sent Xu Ruhuan away a few days ago when, one afternoon after school, Qi Yuancheng had just picked up his younger brother when someone stopped them on the way.

He watched as a man got out of a car and said in a professionally polite tone, “Hello, our boss would like to speak with you. Please get in the car.”

Qi Yuancheng frowned. He recognized the man—it was one of Kang Hongxing’s personal assistants. Which meant the boss he spoke of was Kang Hongxing himself.

Qi Yuancheng glanced at the figure hidden behind the dark car window, then looked at the assistant and said, “I have things to do. It’s not convenient.” With that, he turned to leave.

The driver naturally followed him. As they moved, the car window on Yuancheng’s side rolled down, revealing the man inside.

Qi Yuancheng gave him just a glance before turning away again, but his younger brother, Qi Yuanzhe, looked at the man in the car with curiosity.

Kang Hongxing showed no particular reaction to the boy’s indifference. He simply said, “Are you that afraid of talking to me?”

Qi Yuancheng stopped at those words and looked at the man in the car with a frown. “What do you want to say?” His first impression was that this man was arrogant—and it made him appreciate his current father even more.

Kang Hongxing replied, “Get in the car first. Do you really want me to talk to you in the middle of the street?”

Qi Yuancheng didn’t want to get into his car. Looking around, he noticed a café just ahead. “If you really want to talk, let’s go there,” he said, watching Kang Hongxing closely—hoping he’d refuse so Yuancheng could take his brother and go home. Unfortunately, Kang Hongxing didn’t want their first meeting to end badly. He told the driver, “Go to the café ahead.” Then turned to Qi Yuancheng and said, “I’ll wait for you there.”

Qi Yuancheng frowned instinctively. He glanced at his worried younger brother and gently ruffled his hair. “Come on, let’s sit there for a while.”

While waiting inside the café, Kang Hongxing noticed that the teenager didn’t approach him immediately. Instead, he went to the counter, ordered a small cake and a drink for the younger boy, and only walked over to Kang once his brother was seated and eating.

Kang Hongxing frowned, but quickly composed himself. By the time Qi Yuancheng sat across from him, he was back to a benevolent expression.

“I believe you know who I am.”

Qi Yuancheng gave a light “mm” and said nothing more.

His passive attitude annoyed Kang Hongxing slightly, but his many years of experience kept his emotions in check.

“You don’t have any thoughts after seeing me?”

Qi Yuancheng replied, “No. But sir, I have things to do later. Please speak quickly if you have something to say.”

Kang Hongxing was visibly displeased by his tone. He frowned and said, “Things to do? Don’t tell me you’re going home to cook again. Is this how your adoptive father takes care of you?”

He had been having Qi Yuancheng followed recently and knew that after school, he always picked up his brother, then went grocery shopping. A few days of surveillance revealed that the cooking was done by the two children themselves! Kang Hongxing was highly displeased with Qi Sheng, thinking: Of course, since the boy isn’t his biological son, he’s being neglected like this.

Qi Yuancheng couldn’t tolerate anyone insulting Qi Sheng, not even his so-called biological father. He looked straight at Kang Hongxing and said, “Mr. Kang, how my father raises us has nothing to do with you. He is a good father. If you don’t know him, please don’t make assumptions. Speaking ill of others without understanding them is not a good habit.”

Kang Hongxing hadn’t expected the usually quiet boy to instantly retort after just one slight against Qi Sheng. He looked at Yuancheng and chuckled. “He’s raised you all these years, so of course you defend him. But I thought you were smart enough to know what kind of choice is best for you.”

Qi Yuancheng nodded. “I’ve already made the best choice.”

Kang Hongxing wasn’t in a hurry. Stirring his coffee, he looked out the window and said calmly, “With your abilities, you must understand the power of the Kang family. You may be only 17 now, but you should already know something about the adult world. You don’t need me to spell out which starting point is more advantageous for you.”

He turned back and looked at Qi Yuancheng, shaking his head. “Before I came, I thought you were a clever child. I didn’t expect reality to disappoint me. You’re too emotional—you’ll never accomplish anything big.”

Qi Yuancheng just shrugged and smiled. “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed again in the future. My choice will never change. My surname is Qi. I have only one father—Qi Sheng. In the future, my children will bear the Qi surname, and my home will always be by my father’s side.”

Upon hearing this, the last trace of warmth on Kang Hongxing’s face disappeared, replaced by his usual coldness. He locked eyes with Qi Yuancheng.

He seemed to want to use his presence to intimidate the boy, but the teenager maintained the same calm and firm demeanor throughout. Losing patience, Kang Hongxing put his spoon down on the coaster, looked at Qi Yuancheng, and spoke with the tone of someone in a higher position: “Let’s hope you can stand by your decision. If you ever can’t, you can come to me. For the sake of our blood relation, I’ll give you another chance.”

After speaking, without waiting for Qi Yuancheng to respond, Kang Hongxing stood up and left directly. Although he wanted a successor with his bloodline, he had no intention of begging anyone. Besides, Kang Hongxing was confident—one day, reality would teach this child how to make the right choice.

After Kang Hongxing and his men left, Qi Yuanzhe, who had been watching them closely the entire time, immediately put down his drink and ran over to his brother. “Bro, that guy didn’t threaten you or anything, right?”

Qi Yuancheng smiled. “What are you imagining? Let’s go. If we don’t hurry home, we won’t have time to cook dinner.”

Qi Yuanzhe hummed in agreement and happily followed his brother. “Bro, you really have no intention of going back to the Kang family?”

Qi Yuancheng knocked lightly on his head. “No. If you were me, would you want to go back?”

Qi Yuanzhe quickly shook his head. “I wouldn’t go back! Dad’s place is the best. I’ll only stay by Dad’s side!”

The brothers looked at each other and smiled, chatting and laughing as they walked home—the place where their father was, the home they cared about most, and one that would never change.

That evening at dinner, Qi Yuancheng didn’t hide what happened in the afternoon from Qi Sheng.

Qi Sheng added some dishes to their plates and said, “Not bad, clearly raised by me.”

Qi Yuancheng smiled and returned the favor by giving Qi Sheng a bite. “Dad, tomorrow’s the weekend. Let’s go hiking again.”

Qi Sheng smiled and agreed. Upon hearing about hiking again, Qi Yuanzhe wrinkled his nose but didn’t dare protest. He took a big bite of chicken, thinking of the hot springs at the mountaintop and comforted himself: Hmm, I’ll just think of it as going for the hot springs.

Life for the three of them finally returned to peaceful normalcy. However, Zhong Jin’s dream of living a wealthy life could only remain in her imagination.

Although Xu Ruhuan had been warned by Qi Sheng not to go too far, watching her son lie unconscious day after day made it hard for her to control her anger. She inevitably sought an outlet.

Kang Chengzhi, even without her interference, had already fallen deep into drug addiction and couldn’t extricate himself. Because of his own terrible character, he had caused no small amount of trouble recently. Seeing that it was enough, Xu Ruhuan shifted her attention to Zhong Jin.

She didn’t take extreme action—just worsened Zhong Jin’s living conditions again. Even when Zhong Jin found someone willing to support her because of her looks, Xu Ruhuan’s people quickly sabotaged that as well.

Zhong Jin now had no source of income. Her two sons used the excuse that “Dad’s money isn’t ours to give” to refuse to help her. With no other choice, Zhong Jin had to resign herself to working hard jobs just to get by.

Qi Yuancheng knew about all of this but ultimately didn’t feel any sympathy. He thought: Some lessons can only be taught by life itself.

In the second semester of his third year of university, Qi Yuancheng started a business with a few like-minded friends. When he earned his first real sum of money, he didn’t invest it or put it into savings. Instead, on Father’s Day, he bought Qi Sheng an expensive gift.

So when Qi Sheng got off work and was wondering what kind of gift his two sons had prepared, he arrived at the garage downstairs and, just as he was about to park, noticed a flashy Mercedes-Benz parked inside.

Qi Sheng: Did someone park in the wrong spot? Huh, why does this look like the model I’ve been eyeing lately?

Just as he was still puzzling over it, the car door opened, and someone stepped out.

Raising an eyebrow, Qi Sheng looked at the person walking toward him—Who’s this?

The person soon cleared up his confusion. Qi Yuancheng leaned proudly against the window of Qi Sheng’s car, shook the car keys in his hand, and smiled. “Dad, want to take it for a spin?”

So, that year’s Father’s Day, Qi Sheng truly felt the grand gesture of his eldest son’s filial piety.

And then came the younger son, unwilling to fall behind: “Dad, I might not be as rich as big bro, but I’ve spent almost half a year making this comic for you. Take a look—do you like it?!”

So Qi Sheng flipped through a thick, illustrated comic book of their family’s daily life and once again couldn’t stop smiling.

By the time Qi Yuancheng was 28, he had made a name for himself in the tech world. With a globally popular holographic online game, he became one of Huaguo’s youngest and most valuable tech tycoons, worth billions.

Qi Sheng, by virtue of his son’s success, effortlessly became a high-status and respected elder of the elite class.

Meanwhile, Zhong Jin, who had worked hard to make ends meet all these years, finally saw her son soften. After years of pleading, she was finally given some support.

Just when she thought she could finally enjoy the high life, she looked at the small two-bedroom apartment in front of her, held back her dissatisfaction, and said, “Xiao Chen, you’re really okay with your mom living in a place like this? Let me live in your house, okay?”

Qi Yuancheng replied, “I live with Dad. He doesn’t want to see you.”

Zhong Jin gritted her teeth but didn’t dare show her anger. “Then at least arrange a better place for Mom to live in. Compared to your net worth, this place is way too shabby. If others find out, what would they think of you?”

Qi Yuancheng responded, “Then don’t let anyone know we’re related.”

Zhong Jin was momentarily speechless. She still wanted to argue, but then heard her son say, “If you really don’t want to live here, go back to where you came from. I won’t stop you.”

So Zhong Jin didn’t dare cause a scene. After over a decade, she finally understood: if she continued to act out, this son of hers would still be ruthless enough to cut her off completely.

Back home, Qi Yuancheng told Qi Sheng about his arrangements for Zhong Jin. Qi Sheng didn’t show any discontent. Instead, he looked at his eldest son with the usual concern of a typical father and said, “So, when are you going to give me a grandchild?”

Qi Yuancheng, who had developed a psychological aversion to women because of his biological mother, said, “Dad, give me a bit more time. I’m still young.”

Qi Sheng rolled his eyes. “Where do you get the face to say you’re still young?!”