In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 34: The Partial Dad (14)

Qi Xiangnan closed the door behind him, walked into the bedroom, and sat down on the sofa opposite Qi Sheng. Looking at him, he said, “I heard one of my colleagues talking about one of his patients—a girl. She had parents and an older sister. Apparently, her parents always favored the sister. The girl had a fight with her sister and ran away from home, only to get into a car accident. Now she’s paralyzed and bedridden. Her parents don’t care about her at all. What kind of heartless parents would do something like that?”

Qi Sheng nodded. “That is indeed heartless.”

Qi Xiangnan continued, “Her parents even said that if she hadn’t insisted on arguing with her sister and running away, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. Do you think that’s fair?”

Qi Sheng sighed. “In that kind of situation, as long as the parents had handled things properly and hadn’t let her feel wronged, none of that would have happened.”

Qi Xiangnan kept his eyes on him and continued, “I heard that girl died full of hatred for her parents. Tell me—if she could recover and meet her parents again, what should she do?”

At that moment, Qi Xiangnan was nervous. He didn’t know how the man would answer. He hoped for a certain response, but he was also afraid it wouldn’t be the one he wanted.

Qi Sheng understood the deeper meaning behind his son’s words. He habitually reached out to pat his head—this time, Qi Xiangnan didn’t avoid it. He kept his eyes fixed on him seriously. Qi Sheng thought for a moment and said, “Since she’s been given a second chance at life, she should cherish it. As for… as for the hatred in her heart—if she truly can’t let go, then she should find a proper way to take revenge. Just don’t let the hatred ruin her new life.”

Qi Xiangnan lowered his head and was silent for a long time. Then, suddenly, he looked up at Qi Sheng and asked, “Do you think ghosts and gods really exist in this world?”

Qi Sheng: “…”

His younger son’s script was getting hard to follow. Qi Sheng replied, “We should still believe in science.”

Qi Sheng thought that would be the end of the questioning, but unexpectedly, Qi Xiangnan’s voice came again, low and heavy: “Do you think… years from now, his parents will regret how they treated him?”

Would they? That was hard to say. Human nature can change with the grind of life. Some people soften over time, while others cling tightly to their past selves.

Qi Sheng couldn’t speak for others. But as for the original person he had replaced—perhaps that man occasionally regretted yelling at his younger son that day, but he never regretted leaving and never looking back.

Not everyone who makes mistakes is punished by heaven. For example, the original Qi Sheng—after leaving his hometown, he used his savings and the compensation from the car accident to settle in a new city. Thanks to his cooking skills, he opened a thriving restaurant and even bought two properties.

Qi Xiangdong, though a bit of a mess, still got married and had children with the original Qi Sheng’s support. The rest of the man’s life went smoothly—why would he regret the heartless decision to leave?

Qi Sheng didn’t answer for a long time. Qi Xiangnan understood. He couldn’t help but sneer—so that man really was that cold-blooded, not even regretting his death.

Qi Sheng didn’t want to comfort his son with lies. At this moment, he finally realized—his son might have already guessed that he was not the same person as “him.”

Seeing Qi Xiangnan sink back into silence, Qi Sheng thought the conversation would end there. But then, Qi Xiangnan walked over and knelt in front of him, looking up into his eyes as if searching for the truth.

“You’re not him, are you?”

His voice trembled, and there was a trace of hope in it.

Qi Sheng looked at the young man in front of him and, through him, seemed to see the tormented soul crying out for redemption.

“Silly child, haven’t you already guessed?”

“I want to hear you say it. I don’t want to guess…”

Looking at the boy, his voice hoarse and on the verge of tears, Qi Sheng finally gave him the answer he had longed for.

“…Yes. I’m not him.”

As soon as the words fell, the young man who had longed for that answer finally relaxed. He buried his face in Qi Sheng’s arms and, at last, let himself cry.

Qi Sheng gently comforted the son in his arms, his heart aching. In that moment, he even wished the boy didn’t have memories of his previous life.

Qi Xiangnan cried for a long time—so long that he nearly ran out of tears. Only then did he lift his head somewhat sheepishly to look at Qi Sheng.

“Dad, I’m sorry. My attitude toward you at the hospital that day wasn’t good.”

Qi Sheng chuckled and ruffled his younger son’s hair. “Since you’ve cried enough, go wash your face. You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

Qi Xiangnan didn’t get up immediately. Instead, he looked at Qi Sheng and said, “Come with me.”

The next morning, Qi Sheng was still enjoying a lazy sleep when he heard a knock at the door from outside.

“Dad, I’m off to work. You should get up soon and eat breakfast.”

Half-awake, Qi Sheng cracked open his eyes and murmured a response before rolling over to catch a bit more sleep. In truth, he hadn’t slept well the night before either.

He had traveled through so many worlds and played so many roles, but this was the first time he had revealed that he wasn’t the original person. It felt… strange. So strange that he ended up chatting with 277 about life philosophies and views of the universe deep into the night.

After dozing off for a while longer, Qi Sheng finally got up and went downstairs to have breakfast. He figured, though his younger son no longer held a grudge against him, the same couldn’t be said for the older one. To avoid letting their relationship spiral beyond repair, Qi Sheng sighed and resigned himself to visiting his eldest son once more.

These days, Qi Xiangdong had been working from home. Because of Qi Xiangnan, he hadn’t even dared step foot outside their own yard, leaving Lin Yu puzzled.

On the first day when Lin Yu came home from work and saw the injury on Qi Xiangdong’s face, she was utterly shocked. Unfortunately, no matter how much she asked, Qi Xiangdong wouldn’t come clean. She even secretly asked the housekeeper, and the answer she got only deepened her surprise. Still, seeing that Qi Xiangdong didn’t seem emotionally distressed, she figured it was probably just some misunderstanding between brothers and didn’t press further.

By the time Qi Sheng arrived, Lin Yu had already gone to work, and Qi Xiangdong was in the study. Seeing his father, he looked quite excited.

“Dad, you’re finally back!”

“How did little brother react? He didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”

Qi Sheng waved his hand and smiled at his eldest. “I’m his biological father—how could he throw a tantrum at me? Your little brother’s much more sensible now.”

Qi Xiangdong brightened. “Then I’ll head over and apologize today too—cheer him up a bit!”

Qi Sheng: “……”

The smile on Qi Sheng’s face faded. He hesitated, looking at his eldest son with a complicated expression, which made Qi Xiangdong sense that something was off.

“Dad, why are you looking at me like that? If you have something to say, just say it!”

“Ahem… Son, even though your brother’s no longer upset with me, he still suffered a lot from how we treated him in the past. He’s got to let off some steam, right…”

Qi Xiangdong’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Dad! What are you saying? Are you sacrificing me to save yourself?”

Qi Sheng quickly explained, “No, no! I’m not abandoning you! I came especially to warn you in advance so you could prepare yourself mentally!”

Qi Xiangdong curled his lips, realizing how unreliable his father could be. Still, he couldn’t help guessing, “So how’s he planning to take it out on me? Beat me up again?”

Thinking about the bruises still healing on his face—and the fact that he now ran a huge company—he knew if he got new injuries, it would be difficult to show his face in public. And if word got out that he’d been beaten up by Qi Xiangnan, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing for him; it would make the whole Qi family look bad.

So, Qi Xiangdong reluctantly told his dad, “Fine. If beating me up really helps him move on, I’ll just go back and let him do it. But you have to remind him—no hitting the face!”

Qi Sheng was quite pleased with that attitude. When two people have a falling-out, as long as one is willing to take a step back, things won’t escalate too far. Still, he had no idea what his younger son was planning, so he hesitated again, making Qi Xiangdong increasingly nervous.

“Dad, just give it to me straight. What exactly is he planning to do to let off steam?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet. But I doubt it’ll be anything easy. Son, you’re his older brother. If he does go a bit overboard, try not to hold it against him. Just go along with it.”

Qi Xiangdong frowned. This felt like living under a guillotine.

“No, I can’t take it. I have to ask him myself. If I don’t find out what he’s planning, I’m going to be on edge all day.”

Qi Sheng stopped him. “Ask him tonight when he gets home. He’s still at work right now.”

Left with no choice, Qi Xiangdong had to wait until evening. Distracted and uneasy, he couldn’t focus on work, so the father and son just sat on the sofa—one genuinely worried, the other pretending to be.

That evening, when Qi Xiangnan came home, he immediately saw that annoying jerk sitting beside his dad. They were chatting and laughing like a proper father-and-son duo.

Qi Xiangnan felt a surge of anger. He strode over and asked coldly, “What are you doing here? Didn’t I say you’re not allowed to take a single step into my house?”

Qi Xiangdong looked at his scowling brother and, putting on his most sincere expression, said humbly, “Bro, I know I was a jerk before. I made you suffer a lot. I’m here today to formally apologize. If you’re still upset, you can beat me up—I promise I won’t fight back.”

With that, he gave a deep, solemn bow.

Qi Xiangnan narrowed his eyes, staring at this newly “remorseful” man, and said, “I won’t beat you. As long as you agree to one condition.”