In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 64: Movie Star Dad (2)

Qi Sheng sat down opposite Qi Rui. Seeing the boy’s eyes darting around mischievously, he suppressed a smile and kept a straight face as he said, “Same two questions as before. Tell me, why did you skip class again today?”

Qi Rui drooped his head and mumbled, “Couldn’t understand the lessons. Didn’t want to go.”

Qi Sheng frowned and scolded him, “Sit up straight and speak properly.”

Although Qi Rui was unhappy inside, he didn’t want to get beaten again, so he reluctantly straightened up and, glaring at the “stinky guy,” answered loudly, “Couldn’t understand, didn’t want to go!”

Qi Sheng wasn’t angry when he heard this. He thought for a moment and said, “I remember you did pretty well back in elementary school. How come now you can’t even keep up in class?”

Qi Rui pouted, even more unwilling to answer. Seeing the “stinky guy” still with a stern face, he simply stood up. If you’re going to hit me, just get it over with. Why so much pointless talking?

Qi Sheng saw his attitude and knew it would take some effort to get the kid to cooperate. He pointed at the sofa and said, “Sit down. My neck hurts looking up at you like this.”

Qi Rui was a little surprised. By the usual routine, he should be pinning me down for a beating by now. Has he really changed today? He obediently sat back down, wanting to see what else this “stinky guy” would say.

Returning to the first question, Qi Sheng continued to ask, “Let’s put the skipping class aside for now. Why didn’t you answer my calls or reply to my texts?”

Qi Rui stayed silent, muttering inwardly, Why? Don’t you know yourself? You still have the nerve to ask me! Seeing the boy staying silent again, Qi Sheng could only take the initiative to speak, “Still mad at me for hitting you last time?”

The boy remained silent, head lowered stubbornly.

Qi Sheng rubbed his nose awkwardly and said helplessly, “Ahem, Dad admits I was too harsh last time. But think about it — if you hadn’t caused such a big mess, would I have been so angry?”

The moment the boy heard this, he got even more upset. His eyes reddened as he glared at Qi Sheng and shouted, “I’ve told you so many times already! I didn’t start it! Someone hit me first — am I supposed to just stand there and take it?”

Then he looked at Qi Sheng full of sarcasm and said, “Don’t try to sound so righteous. You just think that my identity being exposed embarrassed you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even bother with me.”

Qi Sheng sighed inwardly — the boy wasn’t wrong.

The original Qi Sheng had been extremely career-driven, fixated on reaching the highest achievements in the entertainment industry. If it hadn’t been for Xia Li’s persistent pursuit — and the accidental pregnancy — he probably wouldn’t have married or had children so early.

Back then, the entertainment circle wasn’t as lenient as it is now about actors’ marriages and personal relationships.

To minimize the impact, after getting married, Qi Sheng rarely allowed the media to capture photos of him with his wife and son together.

Qi Sheng spent most of his time on film sets, barely caring for his wife and son. At that time, Xia Li, who had some fame herself, initially stayed home patiently to care for their child. But being a housewife — struggling alone to raise a child while watching her husband constantly surrounded by tabloid scandals — eventually wore her down.

Qi Sheng’s looks were outstanding even by entertainment industry standards. There were plenty of female celebrities who were infatuated with him — many as crazed as Xia Li had once been. Having used her pregnancy to solidify her position, Xia Li naturally couldn’t help overthinking.

Seeing all those glamorous actresses circling around her husband, Xia Li felt not just anxiety but real fear. To avoid becoming a resentful, abandoned wife, after four years away from the spotlight, she made up her mind to return to the battlefield of showbiz.

Her son, although still young, was already three years old. Hardening her heart, Xia Li left the child to be raised by Qi Sheng’s parents.

The couple both became increasingly active in the entertainment industry. Qi Sheng steadily advanced toward the title of Best Actor, while although Xia Li didn’t move onto the big screen, she was making strong strides in television, winning several Best Actress awards.

Both of them were constantly busy outside, and young Qi Rui could only see his parents through TV shows and movies.

Fortunately, Qi Sheng’s parents doted on the child. Although Qi Rui lacked the love and attention of his parents, the affection he received from his grandparents was no less than that of other children.

Unfortunately, the old man was getting on in years. Before retiring, he had been a surgeon, and back in the day, he had often neglected his health because of work. Now, staying at home post-retirement, his health was steadily deteriorating. As for the old lady, she had been a university professor before retiring, but her health wasn’t very robust either.

Qi Sheng, worried about the two elders, arranged for them to live in a high-end retirement home, hoping they could enjoy their later years in peace.

Qi Rui, seen as a burden by the old couple, was forcibly brought back to live with Qi Sheng. Unfortunately, while the child was brought back, the couple still didn’t have much time to properly raise him and simply entrusted him to a reliable nanny for care.

That nanny had watched Qi Rui grow up and naturally spoiled him to no end, indulging his every whim without question.

At a young age, without grandparents to discipline him or parents to supervise him, Qi Rui enjoyed unchecked freedom. Even when his grades began to slip, all he ever got from his parents was a phone call scolding him a little. Gradually, he grew bolder and bolder.

When he entered middle school, he made friends with a few classmates from wealthy families and slowly began to be influenced by their habits, getting used to fooling around with them.

The last time he got into trouble, it was because he had sneaked out with those rich kids to play video games. Those boys were all unruly by nature, standing out conspicuously in the quiet internet café. A few young men from society, annoyed by their loud behavior disrupting their own gaming, ended up getting into a fight with them.

At that time, Qi Sheng had just won an international award and was at the height of his fame. Naturally, there were plenty of jealous people just waiting to find a scandal to drag him down. Once they found this piece of dirt, they wasted no time spreading it everywhere — headlines like “Spoiled Celebrity’s Child” and “Qi Sheng’s Failure in Parenting” flooded the media.

Qi Sheng had never expected that the son he left at home would become a liability. In a fit of rage, he rushed back and gave the boy a severe beating, also harshly criticizing Xia Li for not staying home properly to watch over their child.

Although Xia Li had a fierce argument with Qi Sheng, in the end, she didn’t want to provoke him further. She had no choice but to push off her recent projects and return home.

Unfortunately, Xia Li, when faced with her child, couldn’t muster any authority. Even after returning, she couldn’t manage to discipline the boy properly.

Qi Sheng rubbed his temples, looking at the boy’s reddened eyes, and solemnly apologized, “Dad really shouldn’t have hit you without listening to your explanation last time. But you little rascal — skipping class without permission, isn’t that wrong? If you had obediently stayed at school and studied, would any of this have happened?”

Seeing the boy lower his head again without speaking, Qi Sheng said helplessly, “I admit I spent too little time at home before and even less time with you. But this time, didn’t I come back just to spend time with you?”

Qi Rui looked at him in surprise, then pouted and muttered, “Sounds nice now, but who knows how many days you’ll actually stay at home.”

Qi Sheng vigorously ruffled the boy’s hair and promised, “As long as you want, I can stay as long as you like.”

Seeing the boy’s disbelieving expression, Qi Sheng didn’t make any more promises — after all, no amount of words could compare to actual actions.

“Alright, now let’s get back to talking about your studies.”

The moment he heard this, Qi Rui immediately wilted. Knew it! This stinky guy didn’t come back for anything good!

“Do your grandparents know about your grades? Aren’t you afraid of disappointing them?”

Qi Rui scratched his head and said nothing. But Qi Sheng wasn’t planning to let him off easily.

“Your grandparents never said anything?”

Qi Rui guiltily looked left and right but still didn’t answer. Qi Sheng chuckled, “Let me guess — you haven’t dared to show your grades to them these past few years, huh?”

Qi Rui gritted his teeth and nodded slightly. He sneaked a few glances at the “stinky guy,” and seeing that he wasn’t angry, he finally plucked up the courage to defend himself, “I just didn’t want to upset Grandpa and Grandma!”

Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow and said, “Hmm, and now the whole country knows.”

Qi Rui drooped his head in frustration. Thinking back to the scene that day — when they were in the middle of a brawl and suddenly surrounded by a bunch of paparazzi frantically snapping photos — he couldn’t help but want to laugh again.

That day, the two groups were fighting fiercely when suddenly a few people appeared out of nowhere, immediately bombarding them with flashing cameras. Everyone was left dumbfounded and confused.

Qi Rui’s classmates couldn’t help but curse, Damn, even us rich kids ditching school are being tailed by paparazzi now?

The group of street youths weren’t any better off either. Were even unemployed bums like them about to make it onto the evening news?

Only Qi Rui had a vague idea of what was happening. Without bothering about his classmates, he turned and ran off.

The paparazzi were there mainly for Qi Rui. Ignoring the others, they all quickly chased after him, leaving his classmates back at the internet café gossiping about what kind of background Qi Rui had to warrant such attention.

Seeing him silent, Qi Sheng started lecturing, “You’re about to take your high school entrance exams. With your grades right now, you won’t even have a shot at a decent school. From today on, I’ll personally tutor you. Let’s at least get through the entrance exams first.”

“Ah!”

Qi Rui wailed miserably. Before, he had been so excited at the idea of the “stinky guy” coming home to spend time with him. Now it turned out he had come back just to crush him under mountains of homework!

At noon, after lunch, Qi Sheng personally drove Qi Rui to the school gate, instructing him, “Behave yourself and focus on class. Starting tonight, I’ll tutor you.”

Qi Rui drooped his head in gloom, his whole face screaming unhappiness. But seeing the “stinky guy” waiting for his reply, he could only accept his fate and nod, muttering, “Got it.”

Back home, Qi Sheng saw his wife sitting absentmindedly on the sofa in the living room. He walked over, pulled her into his arms, and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Xia Li raised her eyes to look at the man in front of her, still feeling a little unbelievable. This morning he hadn’t gotten into a huge fight with their son, and now he was even talking to her so patiently?

“Did something happen?” Unable to figure it out, Xia Li asked directly.

Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow and laughed, “What could have happened? Why would I come home in a bad mood? Haven’t you always wanted me to take time off to spend with you and our son?”

Xia Li looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to say he wanted to stay home for a while. For a moment, she felt both happy and confused, asking, “Aren’t you busy? What about your work?”

Qi Sheng let her go, picked up an orange from the table, peeled it, and handed it to her, “Work never ends. These past years, I’ve been too selfish, and I’ve wronged you and our son. Xiao Rui’s high school entrance exam is coming up. No matter how he does, I should be by his side.”

Xia Li took the orange from his hand. Seeing this gentle side of him, she felt a flash of happiness but couldn’t help but ask, “Do you still blame me for working outside all these years and not taking good care of our home?”

Qi Sheng shook his head, “How could I blame you? It was me who didn’t do well. Let’s just leave the past in the past. From now on, I’ll do my best to be with you and Xiao Rui.”

Back then, if Qi Sheng hadn’t been so absent from home, Xia Li wouldn’t have been so worried and scared that she went back to acting. She had been afraid that if she fell too far behind him, she would eventually lose him.

Even now, although she didn’t quite understand why he had suddenly changed, she still couldn’t help but feel happy. After more than a decade of waiting, he was finally willing to slow down and care about her and their son.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Qi Rui wore a face full of gloom, catching the attention of his curious friend.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t coming today? Why are you here now?”

Qi Rui threw his backpack onto the desk with an air of misery and complained, “Don’t even mention it! That stinky guy showed up out of nowhere this morning and said he’s going to tutor me tonight. Ah! My good days are over!”

Usually, Qi Rui rarely mentioned his dad, so his classmate didn’t react right away and asked, “Who’s the ‘stinky guy’?”

Qi Rui shot him a glance and said, “My dad.”

Coincidentally, this classmate happened to be a fan of Qi Sheng. He immediately got excited and asked, “Brother Sheng is back?! Really?! Can I come over to your place tonight?”

Qi Rui, furious, kicked him and snapped, “Who are you calling ‘brother’?!”

His classmate chuckled awkwardly, looking a bit innocent, “That’s just what all the fans call him! And now, because of you, I’m a whole generation younger than the rest of them.”

Qi Rui rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to argue. But unfortunately, it wasn’t just this classmate who was excited — even a few girls sitting in front, who had been eavesdropping, turned around excitedly and asked, “Qi Rui, can we come over to your house tonight too?”

Qi Rui felt both helpless and annoyed, snapping impatiently, “Go back to your own homes! What’s so great about that stinky guy anyway?”

But the girls weren’t discouraged at all by his bad attitude and immediately started chattering away, enthusiastically discussing Qi Sheng.