In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 135: The Hypocritical Stepfather (14)

When Qi Sheng returned early from a business trip, he was already thinking to himself: would those two little brats be sneaking around and playing on the computer again?

It had already been four years since then. Haohao had just finished his elementary school graduation exam. Qi Sheng wasn’t worried about his grades, but now that summer vacation had started, it was nearly impossible to stop the two boys from teaming up to play video games.

Qi Sheng wasn’t worried about Haohao’s grades, and as for Lele, he wasn’t really concerned either—not because the little guy had suddenly gotten better at studying, but because… frankly, there wasn’t much room left for him to do any worse.

Just thinking about it gave Qi Sheng a headache!

Coming home early from a business trip could sometimes end in disaster. He no longer received the grand welcome he once did. The moment he opened the door, he heard a clatter coming from the study upstairs. Then little Lele, that sneaky rascal, poked his head out of the study, and upon seeing it was Qi Sheng, immediately stood at attention and shouted, “Dad!”

Qi Sheng immediately knew what was going on—they’d obviously been secretly playing games again and way over the time limit he’d set.

He carried his suitcase upstairs and put it in the bedroom. As the two boys stood side-by-side, grinning sheepishly, he reached out to feel the warmth of the computer tower.

“Well now, this thing’s been running at least the whole morning, huh?”

“No, Dad! My brother and I were taking turns—that’s why it feels so hot!”

Qi Sheng turned to give him a look. See? The little guy could lie fluently with zero hesitation—he sure didn’t struggle this much when it came to schoolwork! Ignoring him, Qi Sheng turned to his older son and asked, “Haohao, when did you guys start playing?”

Haohao glanced up at him guiltily, ignored his dumb brother tugging on his shirt, and admitted honestly, “After Mom went to work.”

Qi Sheng shot Lele a sharp glare and said, “Go stand in the living room. Two hours.”

“What? Dad, that’s too long!”

Qi Sheng replied, “Not long at all. Or I can give you a second option—ten lashes with the belt?”

Lele instantly quieted down, grabbed his brother’s shirt, and dashed downstairs to the familiar punishment spot.

Qi Sheng looked down from the top of the stairs before returning to the bedroom to unpack.

This villa had been bought two and a half years ago. After renovations and some time airing it out, the family of four moved in. Half a year ago, he bought two more villas nearby in a newly developed phase—one for each set of parents.

Thanks to Qi Sheng’s earlier warnings, Mother Qi no longer dared to openly give Mi Fei or Haohao a hard time. But she was naturally restless, and after living with them for two months, she couldn’t stand the boredom and left.

Qi Sheng couldn’t do anything about it. His older brother and sister-in-law were busy running their supermarket and looking after their own two kids, so they couldn’t take care of the elderly either. In the end, the old couple quietly discussed it and moved back to their hometown.

Since Qi Sheng rarely had time to visit the old home anymore, once he had extra money this year, he decisively resolved the retirement issue for all four elders—one villa each, plus a live-in housekeeper. Perfect.

At first, both sets of parents were stunned by his generosity. Mother Qi, distressed over the money, even came to ask how much he’d spent.

Qi Sheng told her, “Mom, it wasn’t that much. And anyway, your house was paid for by me. My mother-in-law’s house was actually paid for with their own money.”

Mother Qi didn’t know he was bluffing. After hearing his explanation, she cheered up immediately and secretly thought that maybe in the future, their villa could be left to Lele. Pleased with the idea of scoring a huge bargain, she settled in happily.

Though the three families lived nearby, they didn’t see each other every day, so Qi Sheng’s little family of four enjoyed their peace. And with no one around to step in and defend the kids when they misbehaved, discipline was much easier.

Downstairs, Lele was standing in the living room for his punishment. He stared out at the flower bed, then turned and glared at his brother in frustration. “Why’d you confess everything again? We agreed to stick together!”

Haohao didn’t even bother looking at him. He kept his eyes forward, staring at the lone lotus flower their mom had carefully cultivated. With a faintly scornful tone, he replied, “Are you dumb? You think Dad wouldn’t know even if we kept quiet? Look at your record. I was being honest to get a lighter sentence.”

Lele turned his head back guiltily and stared at the sunflowers in front of him. With a grumble, he muttered, “You call this lighter? It used to be just one hour. Now it’s double. I say that’s harsher!”

Haohao sighed at that. “Sigh, maybe it’s because we leveled up again.”

Lele wasn’t convinced. “It’s not like I wanted to level up—I could stay in third grade forever!”

“…”

Once again defeated by his dumb little brother’s IQ, Haohao felt too exhausted to speak. Unfortunately, the little guy beside him wasn’t exactly the quiet type.

“Brother, look at that patch of jasmine—it’s almost wilting. Let’s go water it later!”

“Don’t even think about it!”

Afraid he’d get dragged into trouble by his dumb brother again, Haohao explained tiredly, “If you want to water it, wait until the evening. It’s noon right now—you wanna kill the plants with heat shock? Then Mom’s gonna explode, and when she does, Dad will too.”

“Then I’ll just water a little.”

“If you dare water it, I’m never letting you play games with me again!”

That one sentence instantly made Lele drop the idea. As a weak student who couldn’t even manage games without his brother’s help, his chances of survival were already slim.

Lele looked disappointed for a second, then perked right up again and started on a new topic. “Brother, since Dad won’t let us play games, let’s go outside and play soccer later!”

Haohao glanced out at the blazing sun and sighed again. “Can’t you just be a quiet little angel for once?”

“But I am a little angel, even if I’m not quiet.”

The brothers were back to bickering, trading one line after another. Qi Sheng came downstairs and cleared his throat twice to cut them off at just the right moment. “Did I tell you two you could chat?”

The two little guys who were just at each other’s throats immediately fell silent, stood at attention, and puffed out their chests.

Qi Sheng warned them, “If I catch you at it again, you’d better be ready to choose option two.”

In the sweltering midday heat, only these two little rascals had the energy to squabble. If it weren’t lunchtime, Qi Sheng would’ve gone back upstairs for a nap already.

Lunch wasn’t something he needed to worry about anyway. When Mi Fei was at work, the housekeepers from the grandparents’ homes usually cooked and sent over food. Seeing the boys behaving again, Qi Sheng turned and headed upstairs to the study—to play a round of his own game. He hadn’t finished this week’s raid yet!

After secretly finishing one round behind his sons’ backs, Qi Sheng figured the housekeeper would be arriving with lunch any minute now, so he shut down the computer a little guiltily.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the punished brothers had long forgotten about soccer.

“Ow, brother, my legs are numb!”

“Mine too…”

“I should’ve chosen the belt!” Lele rubbed his legs while no one was around and asked curiously, “Brother, does it hurt when you get hit with a belt?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been hit.”

“Aw, brother, how about you try it next time? I remember you used to rather take a beating than stand like this!”

Haohao gave Lele a dark look when he heard that—no matter how many times he tried to teach him something, Lele would forget it in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, he still remembered his own embarrassing past like it was yesterday.

With a cold face, Haohao said, “I’ve already tried it. That means it’s your turn this time.”

“But you’re the big brother! You should set the example!”

“And you’re the younger brother! You’re supposed to charge into battle for your big bro!”

The brothers were bickering again when Qi Sheng showed up behind them at just the right time. “What is this—do you want me to make the choice for you?”

The two immediately cowered. Lele whined pitifully, “Daddy, I was wrong! My legs are all numb, please have mercy!”

Even Haohao tried to look pitiful. “Dad…”

Qi Sheng had already seen Lele rubbing his legs earlier. Figuring the two had more or less behaved during their punishment, he softened a little. “Fine, I’ll let you off this time. Go rest on the couch.” But before the kids could cheer, he added with a grin, “Weren’t you two curious about what the belt felt like? I’ll be sure to satisfy your curiosity next time!”

Qi Sheng couldn’t help chuckling to himself after that. Lele immediately wailed in horror, while Haohao gave his dumb little brother a glance and sighed inwardly: This idiot, there’s nothing he isn’t curious about!

Qi Wenle’s glorious journey as an academic underachiever began in sixth grade. He’d always loved reading storybooks, and later even made his way through famous domestic and international novels. He liked anime too. So when he first encountered web novels, it was like a whole new world opened up. From then on, he even stopped watching anime and playing games as much.

When Qi Sheng noticed how obsessed Lele was with web novels, he initially tried to steer him back on track. But then, one of Lele’s essays won a top prize in a writing competition—and suddenly, Qi Sheng found a glimmer of hope in his underperforming son. He was shocked to discover that the kid actually had a talent!

Looking back on it now, Qi Sheng felt like a man in the desert finding a bottle of water, like someone starving suddenly being fed a spoonful of rice—a lifeline in a moment of despair!

Excited by the thought that his son might actually have a future, Qi Sheng shared it with Mi Fei. At first, she couldn’t accept web literature as a serious path, but Qi Sheng eventually convinced her. With both parents and Haohao pitching in, they began guiding Lele toward becoming a writer.

Initially, Mi Fei hoped that since Lele loved books and writing, he might become a serious literary author. But that dream quickly died. After finishing a fantasy novel and staring at its dazzling cover, Lele’s eyes lit up. Full of excitement, he eagerly began writing his own.

At first, he sent short stories to fiction magazines. Unfortunately, his writing was still immature, and his submissions were rejected twice. Qi Sheng knew Lele was feeling frustrated, but he deliberately didn’t help—he wasn’t yet sure if the kid truly loved this or was just acting on a whim.

Luckily, Lele soon gave him the answer. Though the second rejection did disappoint him briefly, it didn’t discourage him. He bounced right back and dove into revising and writing more. By the third submission, before the family could even offer suggestions, Lele had already received his first payment.

From that moment, the kid’s confidence soared. He officially began his long writing journey. By his second year of high school, his second full-length fantasy novel had won over a large number of web novel fans and was even successfully published.

Not even an adult yet, Lele already had a passion he loved and worked hard at. His cheerful personality became even more pronounced. Although his academic performance remained average, he was full of energy after the college entrance exam and was already planning his next trip—definitely not your typical homebody.

“Bro, let’s go traveling! I’ll cover all the expenses!”

Haohao, who had already been accepted into a top university in Haishi and made his third pot of gold through coding: “Sure.”

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to say, ‘As the big brother, of course it should be my treat!’?” Lele grumbled. “Why aren’t you sticking to the script?!”

Haohao grinned smugly. “What’s a script? Can you eat it?”