In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 60: The Weak Dad (6)

After being stopped by Auntie Zhang, Lin Hui finally calmed down. Looking at the poster of Qi Jin, she couldn’t help but think of the phone call from Zhang Xue at noon.

Whirlwind Team? Jin Dynasty?

Lin Hui took out her phone and searched online, and to her surprise, she really found information about Qi Jin.

Lin Hui curled her lips in disdain. Just some game competition — only internet-addicted teenagers would care about that. She had said it before, that father and son wouldn’t amount to anything.

When Wan Hui came back, he saw his girlfriend sitting on the sofa with a sullen face.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Hui glared at him, motioned him to look at the living room, and said, “Your son’s doing. I spoke to him nicely, but he just had to stir up trouble. Wan Hui, when you proposed to me, you promised you wouldn’t let me suffer any grievances!”

Wan Hui looked at the large poster in the living room, confused, thinking Lin Hui simply disliked it. He tried to coax her, “He’s done this before too. This is his home, decorating it a little isn’t worth getting so angry about, right?”

Lin Hui, annoyed, had to explain, “It’s not that I’m being unreasonable. It’s his home, he can decorate it however he likes. But putting up this poster is clearly aimed at provoking me.”

Seeing that Wan Hui still didn’t understand, she had to say, “The person on this poster is my son with my ex-husband. What now? Are you still planning to keep it up?” Wan Hui was shocked. He walked closer to examine the poster and couldn’t help but remark, “This kid looks really good — just like you!”

Lin Hui rolled her eyes and urged, “Hurry up and tear it down already! What are you staring at?”

Wan Hui wasn’t in a hurry. Smiling, he walked back and said, “It’s just a photo of your son. I’m not angry — why are you?”

Then he recalled something and asked in confusion, “But looking at the poster… it seems like a gaming poster?”

This was a poster from when Qi Jin and his character had appeared together during an international tournament. Wan Hui knew his son liked games and had seen similar wallpapers on his son’s computer before, so it looked somewhat familiar.

Seeing that Wan Hui didn’t seem to care much, Lin Hui felt powerless and said, “I’m not too clear about it either — my ex-husband and I have been divorced for three years, and the child was given to him. That kid was already addicted to games back then, and now he’s off playing competitions. His father doesn’t discipline him, what can I do?”

Wan Hui knew a bit about Lin Hui’s past and wanted to comfort her, but before he could say anything, Wan Cong came downstairs.

“Dad.”

Wan Cong greeted his father, completely ignoring Lin Hui sitting on the other sofa. Wan Hui glared at him, but it had no effect.

Not wanting to keep scolding his son, Wan Hui changed the subject, “Why did you put up a poster of Auntie Lin’s son? When did you two meet?”

Wan Cong smirked and said shamelessly, “I don’t know him. But he’s my recent favorite idol. What’s wrong with putting up a poster of my idol?”

Wan Hui was surprised, not expecting this. Seeing his girlfriend’s grim expression, he tried to soothe the situation, “Didn’t expect Xiao Cong to be so fond of your son. Why not contact him and invite him to stay with us for a bit? Even if the court awarded custody to your ex-husband, he’s still your child. Surely your ex-husband wouldn’t stop you from maintaining a mother-son relationship?”

Lin Hui felt a little guilty. Looking at the smug Wan Cong, she couldn’t help but suspect he knew something, but she quickly regained her composure. She had nothing to feel guilty about — she had done everything for that brat’s own good.

She said, “There’s no need. When he was little, he had bad grades and resented my discipline. His father spoiled him in everything. When we divorced, he chose to stay with his dad. Now that he’s doing well, I don’t need to go and make a fool of myself.”

Wan Hui, not knowing the truth, assumed the child had broken Lin Hui’s heart and said to his son, “If you like the poster, put it up in your room. We still have guests visiting the living room — a big poster there doesn’t look good.”

Wan Cong shrugged, ignored his father, and went upstairs.

Later that night, before going to bed, Wan Hui went to his son’s room and saw him playing a mobile game. He sat beside him and tried coaxing him, “Auntie Lin is strong-willed. You keep opposing her, but she never makes a fuss — isn’t it because she doesn’t want to make things difficult for me? Can’t you think about me and stop causing trouble?”

Wan Cong tossed aside his phone, looked at his dad, and curiously asked, “Dad, what do you actually like about her? She does look good, but compared to those girls in their twenties, she’s just average. If you were just having fun with some young starlet, I wouldn’t even say anything. But you’re almost fifty! What — are you still chasing after love like some teenager?”

Wan Hui twitched his mouth and laughed, cursing, “What nonsense! You think your old man is that type of guy? Even at fifty, can’t I look for a life companion? I stayed single all these years for you. Now that you’re grown up, should I still be living alone?”

Wan Cong rolled his eyes in disdain, “If you’re looking for a partner, at least find a better one. I just can’t approve of this one.”

Furious but still laughing, Wan Hui gave him a slap and asked, “Then tell me, what kind of woman would you approve of?”

Wan Cong glanced sideways at his father and asked back, “Dad, how much do you really know about your girlfriend? And about her ex-husband? Do you even know why they divorced?”

Wan Hui frowned, thought for a moment, and said, “I know a little. Her ex-husband was an unambitious man, and she’s a bit strong-willed. They often quarreled over raising their child, and eventually they divorced.”

Wan Cong curled his lips and said, “And that’s what she told you, right? Have you even met her ex-husband?”

Seeing his son’s confident look, Wan Hui grew curious and asked, “You seem to know something? Look, she may have her flaws, but nobody’s perfect. I really thought it through — she’s someone who can live life with me and still give me face outside. If you’re worried, let me promise you this: we won’t have any more kids, and the family assets will all be left to you.”

Wan Cong smiled at his father and asked, “Dad, did you tell her that? Or is it just your own plan? What if you marry her and realize she doesn’t think the same?”

Lin Hui indeed didn’t like kids, and she had said she wouldn’t have any more. As for the family assets, they hadn’t discussed that, but Wan Hui felt that he wouldn’t wrong Lin Hui. His son would inherit the family business, and Lin Hui would still be well provided for. In his mind, everything would balance out perfectly.

However, seeing his son’s expression, Wan Hui finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and said, “If you know something, hurry up and make it clear. Otherwise, when your Aunt Lin and I get married, you won’t be allowed to oppose it anymore.”

Wan Cong no longer kept him in suspense. He took a stack of documents out of the safe and placed them in front of Wan Hui.

Wan Hui was surprised. He couldn’t help but look at his son, signaling him to explain.

“You suddenly decided to marry someone out of nowhere. Shouldn’t I at least investigate her a bit?” Wan Cong said bluntly.

Wan Hui pointed at him, deciding to read the documents first before scolding him.

Unfortunately, after he finished reading, before he could even speak, he heard his son say, “Dad, take a good look. If you and her ex-husband were standing together, and people didn’t know either of your net worths, what woman wouldn’t choose him? Don’t even mention ‘lack of ambition’—he teaches at a prestigious high school, wins Excellent Teacher awards every year, and even published a series of must-have math analysis books for high school students. In most people’s eyes, he’s clearly successful. When they divorced, she left him almost penniless and even left the child to him. Honestly, he’s a decent man.”

Wan Cong continued, “Just because Qi Jin didn’t develop the way she wanted, she was heartless enough to try to send him to one of those disgusting behavior correction schools. Didn’t the news recently report students getting abused by instructors in those kinds of schools? Sending a kid there would be like peeling off his skin.”

The more Wan Cong thought about it, the more disgusted he felt. If Lin Hui were just materialistic, he wouldn’t even care much—after all, his dad’s wealth made it inevitable that people would be drawn to him for that reason. As long as she truly cared for his father, he could have tolerated it.

But after hiring a private investigator and learning about her plan to send Qi Jin to that kind of school, he completely lost any good opinion of her.

Wan Hui fell silent for a while. He looked at Qi Sheng’s photo. Even though they were only a few years apart, time seemed to have left no marks on Qi Sheng. In the picture, he appeared refined and elegant. Wan Hui had met countless people in his life; he could tell at a glance that this wasn’t someone lacking ambition or interests.

If he weren’t a wealthy CEO, it really would have been hard for many women to choose him over someone like Qi Sheng based purely on appearance and presence.

Then he looked at the enrollment forms for the youth management school. Wan Hui could hardly believe it. He himself had always been especially indulgent toward his son and couldn’t understand how any parent could entrust their child to strangers for rough and even abusive discipline just because they couldn’t handle them.

His heart sank. Even when his son had gone through a particularly rebellious phase, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to beat him. Yet Lin Hui had been willing to send her own child into such a place…

Seeing his father remain silent, Wan Cong, who was about to offer some comfort, heard a knock on the door—Lin Hui was outside. Wan Cong couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. Now they couldn’t even have a father-son chat in peace?

Wan Hui quickly tidied up the documents, placed them neatly on the sofa, got up, and before leaving, instructed, “Sleep early. Don’t stay up too late.”

Back in his bedroom, lying on the bed and looking at the beautifully decorated ceiling, Wan Hui still felt distracted.

Lin Hui, noticing his heavy expression, nudged him twice and asked, “What’s wrong with you? If you have something to say, just say it!”

After a long silence, Wan Hui said with a bitter smile, “I just realized that you and I have very different values.”

Lin Hui, initially thinking it was no big deal, sat up immediately when she heard this, facing him and questioning, “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with you tonight? Did Wan Cong say something to you?”

Wan Hui hadn’t planned to continue discussing it, but faced with her aggressive questioning, he couldn’t help but counter, “Did you really try to send your son to a youth management training school?”

Lin Hui hadn’t expected him to bring up that issue. Seeing his serious expression, she had to explain softly, “I was impulsive at the time. That kid was stubborn and hard to discipline, and my ex-husband spoiled him terribly. I just wanted to find a more disciplined, closed-off environment to straighten him out. I even carefully researched the school. I did it for his own good.”

Wan Hui nodded but felt a wave of deep disappointment inside. It was only now he realized: the woman he had thought he could spend the rest of his life with…he didn’t really know her at all.

With a bitter smile, he got up, put on his slippers, and said to the woman still sitting on the bed, “I’m going to sleep in the guest room tonight. You get some rest.”

Lin Hui was alarmed. She quickly got up and questioned him, “What do you mean by that?”

But Wan Hui didn’t respond and simply walked out.

Lin Hui grabbed her hair in frustration, her heart filled with anger. Everyone acted like she was the villain. She had been trying to help the child, yet now she was the one at fault!

Over the next few days, Wan Hui continued to give her the cold shoulder. Unable to endure the situation any longer, Lin Hui was about to go talk to him when unexpectedly, Wan Hui took the initiative.

“Let’s break up.”

Lin Hui’s eyes widened in disbelief. She asked, “Just because I once almost sent my son to that behavior correction school?”

Wan Hui nodded, then shook his head, and said, “I’ve just come to realize we have fundamentally different views. Even though we don’t have children together, I still have Xiao Cong. No matter what, he can’t accept you. I think…we’re really not suited to be together.”

Lin Hui was on the verge of madness. She pressed on, “He’s already an adult! If he doesn’t accept me, we can just live separately! Besides—”

She had more to say, but when she saw Wan Hui’s firm expression, she nearly exploded from anger. “Fine, break up then! As if I cared about his acceptance!”

Lin Hui originally wanted to leave immediately, but remembering her things still upstairs, she clenched her fists and went upstairs to pack.

After moving into the Wan household, all the clothes and jewelry Wan Hui had given her had been placed in their bedroom. Lin Hui opened her suitcase and carefully packed up every piece of jewelry.

Wan Hui remained seated, unmoving. He didn’t stop her from packing either. Even though they were breaking up, gifts he had given her naturally belonged to her.

After Lin Hui left, it was a long time before Wan Hui finally went back into the bedroom. Looking at the now-empty vanity and jewelry boxes, he simply shook his head without a word.

He then called Auntie Zhang to clean up thoroughly and arranged for the bedroom to be remodeled into a guest room.