In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 154: Flirtatious Father of the Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (8)

Even though Qi Xinglin had been silently competing with Chu Yi—and even believed it was all Chu Yi’s fault—when it came time to actually say it out loud, she felt awkward. So she fell into a sudden silence.

Qi Sheng wasn’t in a rush when she didn’t respond.

He’d brought up the topic not only to help this silly girl work through things, but also out of curiosity—he genuinely wanted to understand what kind of strange logic a cannon-fodder character like her might have.

He gave her ten minutes to gather her thoughts, but when she still couldn’t say anything, he deliberately tried to provoke her: “If you won’t tell me, I’ll look into it myself. And if I come to a different conclusion, you can’t blame me for that.”

Qi Xinglin panicked the moment she heard that. She glared at him with a mix of grievance and fury. “You damn playboy! Do you really take interest in every woman you see? You jerk!”

Qi Sheng laughed. “Your dad’s been like this for decades. It’s rare to see you voluntarily introduce me to a mistress. Honestly, I really am a bit curious now.”

Qi Xinglin was furious, even more so when she thought of Chu Yi.

“She’s hideous! Always acting out, mean and totally annoying!”

Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Sweetheart, from the pictures I just saw, are you sure you don’t mean the opposite of what you just said?”

Qi Xinglin snapped, “I do not! She is mean.” Qi Sheng chuckled. “So what did she do? Did she plot against you like that Sun Qi girl last time?”

Qi Xinglin really wanted to smear Chu Yi, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie. She couldn’t honestly claim that Chu Yi had schemed against her.

And since she didn’t want to reveal her own petty thoughts either, she went quiet again.

Qi Sheng continued to threaten: “If you don’t tell me the truth today, I’ll investigate on my own. You know your dad—I can easily find out anything I want.”

Qi Xinglin regretted even bringing up Xiao Ge today. Why on earth had she mentioned both Xiao Ge and Chu Yi? It was all Xiao Ge’s fault. Just wait till she saw him again—she was going to teach him a lesson!

Reluctantly, Qi Xinglin mumbled, “She always steals the spotlight from me and turns the other classmates against me, like she’s brainwashing them into only being nice to her!”

Qi Sheng asked at the perfect time, “And how exactly did you determine that?”

Qi Xinglin responded with righteous indignation, “I could feel it!” Then she realized that wasn’t convincing enough, so she added, “It’s a girl’s sixth sense. Dad, you wouldn’t understand.”

Qi Sheng: “Oh.”

More like a cannon fodder’s sixth sense.

He pressed further, “How exactly did she steal your spotlight? Can you give an example?”

Qi Xinglin was stunned. She couldn’t actually think of a single thing Chu Yi had taken from her. But not wanting to sound unreasonable, she pivoted, “Forget school stuff. Just look at the entertainment industry! I’ve been working my butt off filming, but people still bash me online. Meanwhile, she gets smooth sailing and tons of praise from netizens. It’s honestly so frustrating!”

To bolster her case, she brought up Xiao Ge again. “I used to want to be friends with him, but he kept avoiding me. Yet with Chu Yi, he acts totally normal. Dad, if it were you, wouldn’t you be mad too?”

Qi Sheng blinked in confusion. “What’s there to be mad about? Is Xiao Ge cold toward everyone else too, or just you?”

Qi Xinglin was stunned again. Now that she thought about it, back in school, Xiao Ge seemed to be fine with everyone else—it was just her he avoided. That realization made her even angrier. Alright, Xiao Ge—just wait till I get back. We’ve got a score to settle!

Qi Sheng kept asking questions, and finally, he pieced together the full picture:

His daughter hadn’t made any close friends in college and didn’t have great social standing. She wanted to get close to the school heartthrob, Xiao Ge, but was kept at arm’s length. That led to jealousy toward Chu Yi.

On top of that, she had hoped to enter the entertainment industry and outshine Chu Yi. But not only did she fail to do that, she ended up getting criticized herself, while Chu Yi’s reputation kept improving. And the more attention she paid to Chu Yi, the more obsessed she became with competing against her.

That, in a nutshell, was the roundabout logic and twisted mindset of Qi Xinglin.

Qi Sheng laughed. “Silly girl, why do you feel the need to compare yourself to her? You two aren’t even on the same level.”

Though Qi Sheng didn’t personally believe in ranking people, in this world—and in every world he’d traveled through—social classes and personal status were always clearly defined.

Unless someone had ulterior motives, who would genuinely want to be friends with someone way beneath them?

Take something as simple as shopping or hanging out—how many regular people could spend time with people from Qi Xinglin’s social circle and not end up feeling off-balance?

Rather than end up uncomfortable or estranged, most people instinctively avoid friendships that cross too many class boundaries.

Back in college, Qi Xinglin didn’t follow Qi Sheng’s plan to attend a top-tier university, nor did she study abroad with her close friends. Instead, she muddled her way into a completely unfamiliar environment.

Once she was cut off from her usual network, earning recognition and affection again became both easy and hard. Easy—if you could charm others. Hard—if, like Qi Xinglin, you came across as a pampered little princess. With that kind of image, few people dared to befriend her casually.

Seeing that his daughter didn’t get it, Qi Sheng explained, “Why must you compare yourself to Chu Yi? Do you really think it’s a fair competition between the two of you? Take your current drama, for example—do you think just anyone can land the lead role in a Director Liu production?”

“Even that Chu Yi you keep talking about—sure, she has some popularity now, but to be taken seriously by a director of Liu’s caliber, you need real acting chops and a standout performance history. Otherwise, there’s no way you’d get the lead role. But you? You just whined to your mom a bit and got something others have to fight tooth and nail to achieve.”

Qi Xinglin was confused. “Dad, why are you telling me all this? I mean, you’re not wrong, but the fact is—Chu Yi’s TV performance was a success, people are even praising her on variety shows. And look at me—I’ve lost all my allowance, and no one online is saying anything nice about me!”

That did sound kind of tragic. But the reason things turned out this way wasn’t hard to figure out.

“You’re only seeing her success. Why don’t you compare the effort she put in? I can’t speak for others, but you—can you name one thing in your life you’ve truly worked hard at?”

The question was blunt, and Qi Xinglin couldn’t answer right away. She grew flustered and protested, “Dad, why are you always putting me down? I’ve tried! Even a little effort should count!”

Qi Sheng laughed. “I’m not trying to discourage you. I’m just saying—with our family’s resources, you can get everything others dream of without even trying. From the moment you were born, your starting line was someone else’s finish line. With advantages like that, why would you waste time feeling jealous of others?”

If she’d been a more motivated child, Qi Sheng wouldn’t be feeding her this borderline indulgent “enjoy life” philosophy. But since her nature was already set—and short of some major upheaval, unlikely to change—it made more sense to just let her live a relaxed and carefree little princess life after clearing up her head.

Qi Xinglin knew what her dad said made sense, yet she still wasn’t entirely convinced. “It’s not like I have everything I want. For one, Xiao Ge hasn’t said he likes me. And those netizens still haven’t praised me!”

“Sweetheart, if you’re too greedy, you’ll end up with nothing at all.”

Qi Sheng figured that was enough lecturing for one day. He never expected to fix her attitude in one sitting. So he stood up, stretched, and said, “Alright, go upstairs and wash your face. If your eyes get all puffy tomorrow, you won’t look pretty.”

Qi Xinglin had still wanted to argue, but the moment she heard the words “not pretty,” she forgot everything else. She dashed upstairs, and even as she entered the bathroom, she was already thinking—Tomorrow I’m definitely going to ask Xiao Ge what’s going on!

However, when the next day came, Qi Xinglin found out—Xiao Ge had actually taken the day off!

“Director, where did Xiao Ge go?”

Director Liu, eyes glued to the monitor as other actors performed, responded without even looking up, “He went to an audition.”

Qi Xinglin muttered an “oh” and turned to leave. Director Liu didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t press.

Before filming began, Director Liu had first locked in Xiao Ge as the male lead. No one expected Qi Xinglin to suddenly get added to the cast. What should’ve been a three-month shoot got dragged out to nearly five because of her. Though Qi President compensated Xiao Ge financially, Director Liu still felt a bit guilty.

Over those five months, many actors who shared scenes with Qi Xinglin found it difficult to cope. But Xiao Ge, who had the most scenes with her, never once voiced a complaint or showed dissatisfaction.

That made Director Liu feel even more indebted to him. Plus, he already admired Xiao Ge’s acting. So when his internationally-renowned director friend, Xu Ying, started prepping a new film, Director Liu recommended Xiao Ge for it.

He’d already mentioned it a few days ago. Today was Xiao Ge’s audition.

Qi Xinglin, who had rehearsed lines the night before, suddenly had nowhere to use them. With all that pent-up energy stuck inside her, she felt incredibly off.

She kind of hoped filming would wrap up soon, but she also didn’t want to part ways with Xiao Ge. Feeling bored again, she opened Weibo.

The talent competition show Chu Yi had joined was blowing up recently. Every day, both the contestants and mentors were trending. Just seeing Chu Yi’s name made Qi Xinglin irritable again, so she simply turned her phone off.

Lying in the lounge, Qi Xinglin was still thinking about whether Xiao Ge actually liked her. But before she could come to any conclusion, she received messages from her girlfriends.

“Linlin, we’re at the Minghao Club tonight—come drink with us!”

Qi Xinglin felt uninterested in everything at the moment and replied, “Not going.”

Her friend quickly messaged back: “Don’t tell me you’re still filming? Hahaha, what’s gotten into you? Are you seriously trying to be an actress now?”

Qi Xinglin thought about it—she didn’t really like being an actress, and she hadn’t found any joy in it either. It had all started on a whim, but with everything that had happened lately, she’d long wanted to be done with it. Right now, the only thing she was reluctant to let go of was Xiao Ge.

So she replied, “I’ve got something going on today. You guys have fun.”

Didn’t her dad say she’d never truly worked hard for anything? Hmph! Today, she was going to see it through—she had to catch Xiao Ge and get a clear answer from him!

Around 5 p.m., Xiao Ge returned. After chatting with Director Liu for nearly two hours, he was just about to head to the lounge to grab something when he found Qi Xinglin waiting outside the door.

As soon as she saw him, she walked right up. “Let’s have a serious talk today.”

Xiao Ge had been about to refuse, but something about the serious look on her face made him nod before he realized what he was doing.

It wasn’t convenient to talk at the film set, and Qi Xinglin had prepared for this. She led them to a high-end restaurant under the Qi Group’s name nearby. Once they were in a private room, Qi Xinglin took off her sunglasses and stared at Xiao Ge with an expression full of accusation.

Xiao Ge sighed internally but kept his face calm. “What do you want to talk about?”

His clueless tone made Qi Xinglin furious. “You know exactly what I want to talk about!”

Xiao Ge said nothing. He still hadn’t figured out how to handle their relationship. But Qi Xinglin couldn’t wait anymore. She blurted out, “You like me, don’t you? I can feel it!”

Xiao Ge smiled. “No, you’re mistaken.”

Qi Xinglin didn’t believe him. “That’s not true. I felt it…”

Being outright rejected was too much. Somehow, the usually carefree Qi Xinglin started crying again.

“You men are all jerks. Total pigs! My dad’s terrible, you’re terrible—you’re all mean to me!”

It was the first time Xiao Ge had seen Qi Xinglin cry, and he immediately panicked. He didn’t know how Qi President had wronged her, but he definitely felt a little guilty himself.

He grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. “Don’t cry. Let’s talk things through.”

“Talk about what… sob… You’re just avoiding me!”

Maybe Xiao Ge had been dodging her too many times lately, because all of Qi Xinglin’s long-repressed grievances poured out at once. She forgot all about her image as she cried and glared at him accusingly.

Seeing her like that, Xiao Ge didn’t know what to do. His plan to quietly move on after the drama wrapped was already slipping away.

“We’re not a good match. I have work. I’ll be really busy, and I won’t have much time for you.”

Now that he finally said something, Qi Xinglin snapped back, “Excuses! I don’t have to work—I can spend time with you!”

Xiao Ge replied, “The filming environments vary. When we’re in a studio it’s okay, but real location shoots? That’s often in the mountains or countryside. I might be gone for two to three months, even six. Can you handle that?”

“What’s the problem? If I miss you, I’ll just come find you.”

Xiao Ge realized she hadn’t even considered what being in a relationship with him would really be like. But looking at her tear-streaked, normally proud face, he felt a little soft-hearted.

In the end, he offered a compromise. “Let’s try being friends for six months, and if—”

“No! We’ll date! As boyfriend and girlfriend!”

“I know what you’re trying to say. I agree with everything else—but on this, we’re doing it my way!”

Xiao Ge couldn’t help but laugh and nodded. Their relationship was finally clear.

Qi Xinglin stopped crying the moment she got the answer she wanted. She looked at Xiao Ge proudly and declared, “I knew you liked me!”

They chatted a little longer, and though she was reluctant to part, Qi Xinglin left the restaurant in high spirits. When she got home and saw her dad, she plopped down in front of him with a smug look on her face.

“Dad, you don’t have to worry about my love life anymore. I’ve successfully married myself off!”

Qi Sheng, who had been reading the news: ????