In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 30: The Partial Dad (10)

After the successful launch of the chili sauce sales, the “Dongnan” brand gradually became more and more well-known. Once their capital became sufficient, Qi Sheng began guiding Qi Xiangdong to branch out into other industries—instant noodles, beverages, mineral water… As essential consumer goods, these sectors became the next target of Dongnan Food Group’s expansion.

In less than six years, products under the Dongnan Food Group had already won over consumers across the board. Watching Qi Xiangdong grow from a half-reliant slacker into a capable professional who could take charge of operations, Qi Sheng finally felt relieved.

Even though Qi Xiangdong had made many mistakes in his past life—some of which even indirectly harmed Qi Xiangnan—Qi Sheng was still willing to give him a chance, as long as he was heading in a better direction.

Fortunately, Qi Xiangdong had been living up to expectations these past few years. He no longer acted as recklessly as he once had and had even grown more considerate of his younger brother. Qi Sheng had watched all of this quietly over the years. As a result, he no longer dwelled on the fact that Qi Xiangdong had escaped punishment for his previous wrongdoings. Compared to giving Qi Xiangnan a terrible, useless older brother, it was much better to give him a reliable sibling who could offer mutual support.

Qi Xiangdong wasn’t aware of what Qi Sheng was thinking. But he had indeed changed a lot over these years. When his career hit a temporary plateau a few years ago, he even followed Qi Sheng’s advice and enrolled in adult night school. As his company expanded, his personal shortcomings began to show. Once he realized this, he no longer resisted learning and attending classes. In fact, that was how he met his current wife, Lin Yu.

Heaven knows how someone like Qi Xiangdong, who had disliked school since he was young, actually managed to win over his “temporary teacher.” When he brought Lin Yu home, even Qi Sheng couldn’t help but be curious about how their relationship had come about.

It was truly a twist of fate. Lin Yu had only just returned from the U.S. when a friend dragged her out to dinner, and she got roped into substituting as a teacher for a week. She didn’t mind, since she was free anyway. Technically, she and Qi Xiangdong only had two chances to interact during that week—both times were in class, and both times it was Lin Yu answering his questions when he didn’t understand something.

After his experience with his first girlfriend, Qi Xiangdong had developed a subtle wariness toward highly educated women. So even though Lin Yu was stunning, he didn’t think about her in any romantic way and just focused on being a good student in class.

Still, fate had other plans. At the time, Qi Xiangdong was young and already fairly successful in business. Some of his business partners wanted to introduce their daughters to him. After turning them down a few times, he reluctantly agreed to a few blind dates.

On the other hand, Lin Yu was also getting pressured by her parents to go on blind dates. It was infuriating. She was a top graduate from a world-renowned university, freshly returned to China, and hadn’t even had a chance to establish her career before being pushed to marry and have kids! Her mother said, “You promised when you went overseas to study that once you came back, you’d listen to everything I say!”

Seeing her daughter still reluctant, her mom went on, “Your dad and I have seen that young man. He’s good-looking, capable, and doesn’t have any bad habits. He doesn’t have many elders in his family—just his father. But your dad said the young man’s father is very competent and has a great temper too. If you marry into that family, you won’t have to worry about being mistreated!”

Lin Yu couldn’t help but twitch her lips. Her parents’ far-reaching plans left her feeling completely drained. It was almost the 21st century, so why was a woman’s top priority still getting married?

Then her mother added, “Just… there’s one thing you might not like. He didn’t graduate from high school…”

Lin Yu was stunned. She knew her parents had high standards, and yet they were considering a son-in-law who hadn’t even finished high school? That piqued her curiosity.

Her mom continued, “But your dad looked into it. The young man is quite driven. He’s even enrolled in night school for further education. I think your dad’s right about one thing—being hardworking and dependable is what matters most. There really aren’t many young men these days who are as grounded and mature as he is.”

If Qi Xiangdong had heard his future mother-in-law speak so highly of him, he probably would’ve blushed. But given that his father had always been subtly encouraging him to take the lead in business negotiations, he had gotten used to handling himself well—and it was finally starting to pay off.

For some reason, when Lin Yu heard the mention of night school, she couldn’t help but think of one of the students from the class she temporarily taught. The two of them were likely around the same age. That student had a weak grasp of theory but picked things up instantly when explained. She’d noticed him discussing a problem with his deskmate and, out of curiosity, had gone over to listen in. The young man hadn’t been shy or embarrassed at all—despite not understanding, he maintained a calm demeanor. Lin Yu had a good impression of him. However, since she only taught for a short time, she never even learned his name.

For some unknown reason, Lin Yu didn’t refuse her parents’ arrangement this time and eventually agreed to the blind date. Coincidentally, when they met—it turned out they already knew each other!

At the age of fifty, Qi Sheng happily welcomed a grandson into the world and began enjoying a leisurely retirement. He occasionally helped guide his eldest son’s business, but as long as it stayed on the right path, his son could handle things himself. Now that his eldest son wanted to enter the high-end liquor market, Qi Sheng had no objections. Focusing on the mid-to-low-end while developing a premium line on the side would be beneficial for the brand’s long-term success.

His younger son now worked at the city hospital, highly competent and well regarded by his superiors. Of course, it also helped that his direct superior’s superior happened to be his father-in-law…

When both sons decided to get married, Qi Sheng paid for two newly built villas located in the city for their convenience in commuting to work.

Currently, he lived with his younger son’s family. With time on his hands, he played with his granddaughter and doted on his grandson. Occasionally, he’d invest a little here and there to help his younger son build up his savings. Life was going smoothly.

One day, as usual, Qi Sheng was holding his granddaughter and entertaining his grandson when he suddenly received a call from his daughter-in-law. That’s how he found out that his younger son had fainted right after coming out of surgery due to prolonged overwork!

Just a few days earlier, there had been a major traffic accident in the capital. Several major hospitals had been overwhelmed with emergency cases. As someone young yet capable of performing surgeries as the lead surgeon, his younger son had naturally taken on a heavy workload.

Qi Sheng was worried and couldn’t sit still. Since both his eldest son and daughter-in-law were at the company, he left the children with the nanny and rushed to the hospital.

When he arrived, he found his daughter-in-law, Shen Qinglan, crying beside the hospital bed.

“Qinglan, didn’t they say he just fainted from exhaustion? Let him rest, maybe he’ll wake up tomorrow. Don’t worry too much,” Qi Sheng comforted her.

“Sob… Dad, Brother Nan fainted yesterday afternoon. I also thought he’d be fine after a night’s rest, but he’s been asleep for over a day and hasn’t stirred at all!” Shen Qinglan explained tearfully once her father-in-law arrived.

Qi Sheng frowned. “What did the doctors say? Any issues?”

Shen Qinglan wiped her tears and replied, “Brother Chen came by just now to do another check-up. All his vital signs are normal…”

Qi Sheng grew more concerned. Looking at his pale, sleeping son, he could only try to console her. “Maybe he’s just too exhausted. Let’s wait a bit longer—he might wake up tonight.”

Shen Qinglan nodded and once again buried her face in Qi Xiangnan’s hand.

They waited into the evening, but Qi Xiangnan still didn’t wake up. Qi Sheng took the dinner delivered by the nanny and, seeing his daughter-in-law still sitting at the bedside, urged her, “Qinglan, come eat first. Dr. Chen already said it’s not serious. Let’s just be patient. Xiangnan hasn’t rested in a while—maybe this is just his body’s way of catching up.”

Shen Qinglan obediently nodded. After dinner, she carried the food containers to the sink to wash them.

Seeing that she had left, Qi Sheng quietly closed the door and walked over to the bed. Using the cover of the blanket, he discreetly checked his son’s pulse.

Unfortunately, no matter how carefully he examined him, he couldn’t detect any issues with his son’s body. Helpless, he withdrew his hand and tucked the blanket back in. Maybe his son was simply too exhausted?

Before Shen Qinglan returned, Qi Xiangdong and his wife came in. Seeing the frown on their father’s face, Qi Xiangdong asked worriedly, “Dad, is little brother okay?”

“He’s been asleep for more than a day. He must be completely drained. You’ve seen him now—go on home. It shouldn’t be anything serious.”

Qi Xiangdong stayed for a while longer before finally leaving when Shen Qinglan returned.

By 9 p.m., seeing that Qi Xiangnan still hadn’t regained consciousness, Shen Qinglan gently urged, “Dad, you should head home. I’ll stay here with him. When Brother Nan wakes up, I’ll call you right away.”

Qi Sheng looked at his daughter-in-law’s red, swollen eyes and said, “You should go home tonight. I’ll stay and watch over him. You haven’t rested properly all day.”

“No need, Dad. If I get tired, I’ll sleep on the bed next to him. It’s no trouble. I can’t sleep if I’m not by Brother Nan’s side. You should go—I’m worried about Niu Niu being home alone.”

Thinking of his little granddaughter, Qi Sheng didn’t insist any further. He glanced at his son lying on the bed, still unconscious, then left the hospital with a heavy heart.