In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 134: The Hypocritical Stepfather (13)

Seeing that the old lady was frightened, Qi Sheng immediately explained: “She wouldn’t do that now. Even if she had that thought, I could just have Lele cry and make a fuss in front of her, and she’d stay. I’m only worried about the future. Think about it—if I earn more and more money, that means she’ll also become wealthier. When Lele grows up and she feels she doesn’t need to worry about him anymore, would she still be willing to stay in our family and keep putting up with all this? If she holds a grudge and deliberately tries to fight me for custody of Lele, I’d lose both my family and my money. I wouldn’t even have a place to cry.”

Hearing this, the old man glared at Qi Sheng and scolded him: “Nonsense! I know Mi Fei—she’s got a good temper. She would never do what you’re suggesting.”

Then he turned to the old lady and said: “You’d better watch yourself too. Don’t go picking fights for no reason. Qi Sheng and his wife are getting along well right now, and things will only get better. Don’t go messing things up.”

The old lady felt upset, but thinking about Mi Fei’s quiet, reserved nature, she really was a bit worried. If Mi Fei couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly divorced her son without a word, and most of the family assets were taken away, she would be heartbroken.

Still, being lectured by her son hurt her pride. She glared at Qi Sheng and grumbled: “When did I ever make things hard for her? I told you I didn’t, so I didn’t!”

After saying that, the old lady huffed and walked out of the main room. Qi Sheng, hearing her final words, knew that she had taken his message to heart. The first step was a success. He was pleased inside, but wore a worried expression as he looked after her and said: “Dad, you’ve got to help me keep an eye on Mom. Don’t let her drag me down.”

The old man nodded: “Don’t worry, Xiao Sheng. Mi Fei is a good girl—I’ve always liked her. I won’t let your mom make things hard for her. You don’t need to worry.”

With his wife’s situation handled, Qi Sheng decided to take a break and wait a few days before dealing with the matter of his eldest son. On New Year’s Eve, while the old lady and others were busy preparing the family dinner, he took out his phone and called Mi Fei and the kids.

“Daddy!”

As soon as the call connected, he heard his eldest son’s happy voice. Qi Sheng smiled and asked: “What’s Grandma cooking for you tonight?” Haohao didn’t know, so he immediately ran back to the kitchen to check. Then he returned and reported over the phone: “Grandma said—everything!”

Qi Sheng laughed and continued asking what Haohao had been up to lately. Haohao answered everything honestly, and the two chatted happily. While father and son talked and caught up, Mi Fei had no room to chime in, so she turned and went back to the kitchen.

Lin Yufen looked at the clearly excited child and couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile: “This kid, he’s only really smiled this brightly today. I think he’s more attached to Qi Sheng.”

Mi Fei smiled: “Boys tend to be closer to their fathers. Besides, Qi Sheng treats him well—he knows that in his heart.”

“That’s true. Seeing Haohao like this, I’m not worried anymore. But after the New Year, I still plan to buy a house in Su City. No matter what happens, I won’t have to worry that Haohao won’t have someone to take care of him.”

“Whatever you think is best, Mom. Thank you.” Mi Fei knew what her mother was thinking—she was worried about a big gap in financial support between the two kids, and that it might make Haohao feel bad.

Qi Sheng and his son talked for nearly half an hour. Lele also joined in and chatted with her big brother for quite a while. Finally, when the phone was passed to Mi Fei, Qi Sheng was able to send his New Year’s greetings to her and the two elders.

Having been so engrossed in chatting with his son, Qi Sheng didn’t notice the old lady glaring at him every now and then. When he hung up the phone and saw the sour look on her face, he gave a helpless smile: “Mom, what’s wrong now?”

“What’s wrong? You talked for half an hour! You think phone calls are free? And what on earth do you have to say to that brat for so long? It’s not like he’s your only child!”

Qi Sheng sent Lele off and went into the kitchen, where the old man was tending the fire on a small stool and the old lady was standing and chopping vegetables. He looked at her with a “you don’t understand anything” expression and said: “Mom, I’m doing this for Lele’s sake. Think about it—my biggest investor in the store is my mother-in-law. She already feels sorry that Haohao can’t grow up with his biological father. If I now start favoring Lele too much, she’ll feel that Haohao’s been completely abandoned. Naturally, she’ll lean more toward Haohao. Then, when the time comes to divide assets, she’ll think that Lele still has me, and she might want to leave all her money to Haohao.”

Hearing this, Li Lilan put down her knife and turned to Qi Sheng angrily: “She wouldn’t dare! Lele is her own flesh and blood too! If she dares to be that biased, I’ll go right over and confront her!”

“Mom, when it comes to dividing assets, you need to use strategy. The money is in her hands. No matter how much noise you make, if she doesn’t listen, there’s nothing you can do. That’s why I’ve come up with a good plan—treat Haohao better on the surface, so she’ll treat Lele more fairly in return.”

Old Man Qi had been quietly feeding the firewood, but upon hearing Qi Sheng’s plan, he agreed, saying, “Sheng’s mom, what Xiao Sheng said makes sense. Stop thinking about picking fights with everyone. Look at how smart our son is. That child is still young, raise him well—he’ll still be part of our Qi family in the future.”

The old lady still felt uneasy. She brooded for a while, thinking how uncomfortable it was to be good to a child who wasn’t her biological grandchild. Seeing her reaction, Qi Sheng planned to drop another hard truth, but before he could speak, the old lady suddenly asked, “Is that child still in contact with his biological father? It’s the holidays, didn’t his dad come visit?”

Qi Sheng replied, “No. That guy’s new wife had twins, a boy and a girl. When he and Mi Fei divorced, he gave Mi Fei 18 years’ worth of child support in a lump sum. I was also worried the child wouldn’t be easy to raise, so I looked into it. That guy moved his whole family to Shenzhen. Not to mention visiting during the holidays, he hasn’t even called once.”

The old lady frowned, “What kind of father is that? Not even bothering about his own son?!”

Qi Sheng nodded, “I heard his new wife has him wrapped around her finger. She controls him completely. All these years, I’ve never seen anyone come visit Haohao.”

The old lady clicked her tongue in disapproval and even cursed the woman as a seductress. Seeing this, Qi Sheng pushed further, “Mom, you don’t know this, but I invested all of Haohao’s child support money into my business last year. I used the money meant for his living expenses, so morally and practically, I must treat him well.”

Finally, the old lady softened a bit and asked with concern, “It’s right to treat him well, but what if we raise him for ten or twenty years with the best food and care, and then he sees his biological father and just leaves? Wouldn’t that be for nothing?”

“Mom, that’s impossible! You don’t know how much that kid depends on me. When I wanted to start my business and none of you would lend me money, Haohao gave me all his pocket money he had saved up—several hundred yuan! He’s more generous to me than you all are!”

Hearing her son bring up the past again, the old lady felt a bit guilty. She awkwardly smiled, “Back then, I was just worried you’d squander the money. Who knew you’d actually make something of yourself.”

Qi Sheng snorted proudly, “So basically, you didn’t believe in me. But look at Haohao—he supported me unconditionally!”

The old lady felt embarrassed by her son’s reproach. She wiped her hands on her apron and began shooing him away: “Alright, alright, get out of here and let me work. How you raise that child is your business. He’s not even living with me!”

Qi Sheng clung to the doorframe, refusing to leave: “Mom, you have to promise me one thing first. Don’t deliberately try to drive a wedge between Haohao and Lele, and don’t give him the cold shoulder on purpose.”

“Just go already.”

She threw him a scolding smile and said, “Ever since you came back, all you do is lecture me. I’m sick of seeing you already. After the New Year, just hurry back!”

Getting brushed off again, Qi Sheng didn’t mind. At least now everything was laid out clearly—so even if the old lady cared only about money, she’d still treat Haohao better going forward.

It was still the fourth day of the Lunar New Year when Qi Sheng took Lele back to Su City. Before leaving, he promised that once work resumed in the city, he’d let Lele help out at the factory or clothing store.

Back in Su City, Qi Sheng took Lele to Mi Fei’s parents’ house that afternoon to pay New Year’s respects. Seeing his excited eldest son, he couldn’t resist lifting him up and bouncing him: “Let me see, has our Haohao gotten chubbier?”

Caught off guard by being lifted, Haohao squealed with joy, which triggered Lele’s jealousy. The little one clung to Qi Sheng’s waist and started climbing up. With both boys hanging on him, Qi Sheng was overwhelmed—his poor back!

After Qi Sheng’s return, Haohao’s mood was completely lifted. The two brothers were glued together every day, and the house returned to its lively, chaotic rhythm.

When Lele started first grade, Qi Sheng’s clothing business in Su City had already stabilized. He was always good at planning professionally, but with a mischievous son, life never stayed quiet for long.

“Qi Wenle, what’s the meaning of this report card?!”

Same parenting, but he never had to worry about the older son. The younger one, though, had his teachers calling home every few days.

Qi Sheng glared at the currently well-behaved little rascal and, exhausted, said, “Go stand in the corner. I’ll deal with you later!”

Once the child obediently stood in the corner, Qi Sheng entered the bedroom to discuss with Mi Fei: “Feifei, for the parent-teacher meetings the day after tomorrow, I think I should go to Haohao’s, and you go to Lele’s. I used to attend Haohao’s meetings when Lele didn’t have any. We shouldn’t neglect Haohao just because it’s Lele’s first time.”

Hearing his righteous reasoning, Mi Fei turned and looked at him speechlessly: “Are you sure that’s the real reason?”

Qi Sheng couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly, “Lele’s teacher never stops talking. I don’t have the heart to interrupt. It gives me a headache! You’re both women—you’ll communicate better.”

Mi Fei chuckled, knowing he was truly fed up with the constant complaint calls. She nodded, “Alright. But what are we going to do about Lele’s grades? We’ve tried teaching him everything, but he just can’t absorb it.”

Qi Sheng sighed. They had tried every teaching method—even Haohao had become a temporary tutor. But despite the whole family’s efforts, Lele stayed willfully forgetful. He even got spanked twice, but being the type to forget pain as soon as the tears dried, he’d happily run off to play with his brother again.

Qi Sheng was completely worn down by the little rascal and had become much more easygoing. Looking at his equally worried wife, he comforted her, “Let’s take it slow. He’s probably just not grasping the basics yet. Let’s pay more attention to what he’s interested in. If academics really don’t work, we can nurture his hobbies more.”

Mi Fei weakly nodded. She had always been a top student and never expected her younger son to take after her not at all!

She gave Qi Sheng a long look and sighed again—this definitely wasn’t her genes at work!

Qi Sheng, now thoroughly confused by his wife’s look: “What was that supposed to mean?”