novelraw Chapter 96: The Abusive Dad (2)
Chapter 96: The Abusive Dad (2)
Qi Yang’s fever subsided around midnight. The nurse removed the IV from his hand. Seeing that the child, aside from his external injuries, had no other problems, she returned to the duty room.
Qi Sheng had been watching over him the whole night until after 7 a.m. The child was still asleep. Qi Sheng stepped out of the hospital room, splashed some water on his face, and planned to go downstairs to buy breakfast.
On the way to the breakfast shop, Qi Sheng pulled out his phone and called Qi Yang’s homeroom teacher. Since the child was seriously injured, Qi Sheng intended to ask for a week off for him.
The homeroom teacher paused momentarily after picking up the call. After some hesitation, she couldn’t help but gently urge him again: “Mr. Qi, Qi Yang has always been very obedient in school, and his grades are excellent. Not only we teachers but even the other students’ parents like him a lot. Many envy that you have such a well-behaved and thoughtful child. If he does anything wrong, just a few words from you and he’ll understand. Of course, you’re the parent and have your own ways of educating, but please be more careful next time so it doesn’t interfere with his classes.”
Teacher Wang Qing didn’t even need to ask to know what had happened. Qi Yang had taken three or four sick leaves just this half semester, and each time, without asking, she knew it was because the child had been beaten so badly he couldn’t get out of bed. Not to mention the smaller bruises and injuries he often came to school with.
It wasn’t that Wang Qing didn’t want to intervene — she simply couldn’t. Qi Yang’s previous homeroom teacher had done everything: home visits, advice, and eventually even calling the police. But the end result was just that the adult was given a mild warning by the authorities, and the child had to transfer schools.
Wang Qing happened to know that teacher and felt heartbroken hearing Qi Yang’s story. But since Qi Sheng was the legal guardian and even the police had limited power, there was nothing more she could do.
The police had suggested trying to get the child’s mother to fight for custody — but that wasn’t an option either. After talking with Qi Yang several times, they learned that his mother had run away because of abuse too.
With his only protector having disappeared without a trace, all they could do was cautiously advise Qi Sheng, not daring to say anything too harsh for fear he would take it out on the child.
Qi Sheng understood her meaning. Although he knew any promises he made now lacked credibility, he still replied, “Don’t worry. This time it was my fault. I won’t hit him again in the future.” Wang Qing rolled her eyes (thankfully, the call wasn’t video). Disgusted internally, she still replied sincerely on the surface: “I’m relieved to hear that, Mr. Qi. Don’t worry about Yang Yang’s studies. In a few days, I’ll prepare the necessary materials and bring them over to your house myself.”
Qi Sheng didn’t refuse and thanked her again before ending the call.
Back on Wang Qing’s side, just after she hung up, her son Lin Xuan exclaimed, “Mom, did Yang Yang get beaten again? I’m not going to school today — I want to stay with him!”
Wang Qing was already in a bad mood after Qi Sheng’s call. Seeing her son like this, she couldn’t help but scold him: “Yang Yang is probably still lying on the bed. Don’t go cause trouble. If you really care about him, study hard these days so when he comes back, you can help him with what he doesn’t understand.”
Lin Xuan pouted and said angrily, “Mom, I want to learn taekwondo, judo, sanda, and Muay Thai. Once I master them, I’ll beat that devil until he can’t find his teeth!”
Wang Qing was amused by her son’s righteous anger and said, “Alright, alright. Haven’t I already signed you up for a taekwondo class? It’s starting in a few days — make sure you pay attention.”
Lin Xuan nodded eagerly: “I’ll study hard and teach Yang Yang too. Then if that devil dares to hit him again, Yang Yang can kick him flying!”
While little Lin Xuan was righteously planning how to defeat the evil Qi Sheng, Qi Sheng had already returned to the hospital with breakfast.
Considering how the nurse had looked after his son the previous night, Qi Sheng bought extra and delivered it to the nurse’s station.
A new young nurse on duty who didn’t yet know the full story saw the breakfast and couldn’t help but swoon: “Wow, that family member is so considerate! He even brought breakfast — and it’s from Pearl’s, right? That place is expensive, and he bought so much! He really looks like a classy professional. So generous… and so handsome too…”
While she was still starry-eyed, Nurse Ling — who had been with Qi Yang all night — gave a dismissive sneer at the food.
The young nurse was puzzled: “Sister Ling, why are you leaving? Aren’t you going to eat?”
Sister Ling replied disdainfully: “I’d just puke it out. You eat if you want. Oh, and that kid in bed seventeen — he’s the son of your handsome heartthrob.”
The younger nurse, still unaware of the situation, gave a cheerful ‘OK’ sign and dug into the food. But when she officially started rounds and checked Qi Yang’s condition, she was so horrified she nearly vomited up the food.
Damn it! What the hell did I just eat?
After delivering the breakfast, Qi Sheng brought the food he had specifically bought for Qi Yang back to the room. The child was already awake. Qi Sheng walked over, set the breakfast bag down, inserted a straw into the soy milk, and handed it over.
“Here, Yang Yang, have a sip of soy milk first.”
Qi Yang took it with both hands and quietly said, “Thank you, Dad,” then lowered his head and drank slowly, one sip at a time.
His long eyelashes shaded his downcast eyes. Seeing his gentle profile, Qi Sheng felt a deep softness in his heart. He took out the beautifully packaged steamed buns, opened the lid, picked up one, and brought it to the boy’s mouth.
“Yang Yang, try it and see if you like it. It’s your favorite beef bun.”
Qi Yang was obedient the whole time. He didn’t refuse anything Qi Sheng offered. But when a piece of meat filling accidentally fell and landed on Qi Sheng’s left hand under the chopsticks, Qi Yang visibly flinched.
Qi Sheng pretended not to notice and continued feeding him the next bite.
After breakfast, now that Qi Yang had food in his stomach, he couldn’t go back to lying on his stomach. During the meal, the child had been kneeling on the bed, and Qi Sheng had been so focused on feeding him that he hadn’t noticed. Now, seeing that the child couldn’t sit or lie down comfortably, he felt a deep pang of regret.
“Yang Yang, why don’t you get down and stand for a bit to help with digestion?”
Qi Yang nodded and agreed. He originally wanted to climb down by himself, but a pair of big hands lifted him from under the armpits and set him gently on the floor.
Qi Yang stood quietly, not moving at all. Qi Sheng had intended to eat some breakfast, but seeing him like this, he simply pulled him over, took out his phone, opened the game section of the app store, and turned to the child.
“Yang Yang, is there a game you like to play? Daddy can download it for you.”
Qi Yang glanced at the phone silently, pointed at one game randomly, and then softly said, “Thank you, Daddy.”
Qi Sheng had been watching the child’s expression closely and could clearly see his indifference. He understood that the child was still afraid of him, so he went ahead and downloaded a few more popular mini-games on his own.
“Here, Yang Yang, play some games for a while. Daddy will eat breakfast, okay?”
Qi Yang took the phone and said okay, then opened the game he had just pointed at. He tapped on it absentmindedly, but his eyes kept sneaking glances at Qi Sheng.
In the past, the day after getting beaten, this man would behave differently—sometimes with disgust, sometimes with more scolding. Of course, there were also times he seemed remorseful, but even then, it usually just meant giving Qi Yang a little pocket money to pacify him before leaving for work.
Today felt different. Qi Sheng seemed clearly regretful—but for the first time, he was also being gentle.
Qi Yang couldn’t figure it out. He thought maybe this man was just suddenly feeling “charitable.”
In fact, while eating, Qi Sheng was also secretly watching Qi Yang. He noticed the child had glanced at him a few times, which gave him some comfort. Qi Yang’s spirit hadn’t been completely crushed—there was still hope for redemption. Remembering that the child had committed suicide in the previous life, Qi Sheng felt an ache in his heart. In this lifetime, he was determined to spoil Qi Yang and make him the happiest child.
After breakfast, Qi Sheng quickly cleaned up the trash and took it out of the hospital room. When he returned, a nurse was already applying medicine to the child. The nurse who had smiled at him earlier now looked at him with visible disgust. Qi Sheng had gotten somewhat used to this by now. He sat on the other side of the hospital bed, carefully watching the nurse’s technique so he could be more gentle when he applied medicine at home.
Technically, in Qi Yang’s condition, he could be discharged already. Usually, wounds like his would be left for the family to care for. But Dr. Xu was worried that Qi Yang wouldn’t receive proper care at home. Seeing that Qi Sheng didn’t look poor, the doctor decided to arrange for a three-day hospital stay.
Qi Sheng had no objections to this decision. Staying in the hospital a few more days was good. For the child, that house was probably the place of all his nightmares. With that in mind, Qi Sheng began considering changing homes.
The original Qi Sheng had been something of a social elite—he started a business in his twenties, and the company had grown to a decent size. At the very least, it made several million yuan in profit annually, and in good years, even tens of millions.
After several years of this, the original Qi Sheng had amassed assets worth tens of millions, which made it easier for the current Qi Sheng to act on the plan to move.
Their current home was in the city, close to the office but far from Qi Yang’s school. In fact, his previous elementary school had been nearby, but the original Qi Sheng thought the teachers were “too nosy,” so he unilaterally decided to transfer Qi Yang to a farther school.
After the transfer, the original Qi Sheng was unaffected, but Qi Yang suffered—he had to get up at least half an hour earlier every day to catch the school bus.
Qi Sheng was a man of action. Since he had decided to move, he immediately began researching routes between schools and the company. He had zero interest in the clients the original Qi Sheng had been so concerned with. Even when the vice president called to urge him, he brushed it off with, “I’m spending time with my son,” and sent him to handle the meetings. This surprised the senior staff at the company—when did President Qi become so family-oriented?
Qi Sheng didn’t care what others thought. Over those three days, he fully embodied the role of a model father—feeding food and water, applying medicine, reading storybooks, and even teaching the child how to play games. If it weren’t for the glaring wounds on Qi Yang’s back, the nurses who came for daily checkups might have truly believed Qi Sheng was a good man.
Over those days, Qi Yang had secretly observed Qi Sheng several times. He couldn’t understand it—was this time’s remorse lasting a little too long?
To Qi Yang, the three days flew by. When he thought about going back home soon, he lowered his head in disappointment. How nice it would be if they could just stay in the hospital forever.
Qi Sheng loaded Qi Yang’s clothes and belongings into the car. When he returned to the room, he saw the child looking especially downcast.
He walked over and scooped him up in his arms. The ten-year-old weighed less than 50 pounds—far too light—which solidified Qi Sheng’s resolve to properly nourish him.
“Let’s go, Yang Yang. We’re going home.”
Qi Yang clung to Qi Sheng’s neck and lay against him. Even when he was gently placed in the back seat, he was still secretly wondering—how much longer until this man “goes back to normal”?
The house had already been thoroughly cleaned and reorganized by Qi Sheng. To minimize the psychological impact on Qi Yang, he had even rearranged the furniture. So when Qi Yang was carried inside and saw that the familiar house had changed somewhat, the rejection he felt wasn’t as intense.
That evening, Qi Sheng specially made sweet and sour fish—one of the child’s favorites. He carefully removed all the bones and fed the little guy until he was full.
Qi Sheng particularly enjoyed feeding the child. Watching that tender little face puff up while eating filled him with a strong sense of accomplishment.
After dinner, Qi Yang instinctively went to clean up the dishes but was stopped by Qi Sheng.
“Be good, stand up and digest for a bit. Daddy will take care of this.”
The child nodded blankly and watched Qi Sheng’s back, deep in thought. Is he still pretending like he did in the hospital?
Hmm… he cooked for me today too, and it was delicious. I didn’t know Dad could cook so well…
Qi Yang couldn’t help but wonder—can he keep pretending a bit longer?
Qi Sheng had no idea what the child was thinking. After tidying up the kitchen, he saw his son standing quietly in the living room, lost in thought.
He walked over naturally, but still managed to startle the child who was deep in thought.
Qi Sheng ruffled the child’s hair to comfort him, then knelt down and held his little hands. Looking into his bright black eyes, he said seriously: “Yang Yang, everything in the past was Daddy’s fault. I promise you I’ll never hit you again. And I’ll never drink again either.”
A flicker of light appeared in the boy’s quiet eyes. This person had said before he wouldn’t hit him again—but those words usually didn’t last more than a few days. But this was the first time he ever promised not to drink!
Qi Sheng noticed the child’s reaction and took it a step further by pulling out his phone. He showed him an appointment with a psychologist.
“Daddy had a lot of problems before, so I especially found a psychologist these past couple of days. The doctor said my behavior is caused by psychological issues. If I cooperate with treatment, I won’t lose control and hurt you again.”
Qi Yang’s eyes lit up again. He carefully took the phone and looked at it. Though he was young, he actually knew a bit about these things. His former homeroom teacher once said that Qi Sheng had psychological problems. Qi Yang had remembered that clearly.
Once, during a relatively calm period, Qi Yang had worked up the courage to suggest to his father that he see a doctor—but that had ended with a brutal beating. After that, he didn’t dare hope for it again. But now… had that wish come true?
Qi Yang suddenly saw hope. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Qi Sheng and obediently said, “I believe you, Daddy.”
Qi Sheng was encouraged by his response. He smiled and patted his head, solemnly promising: “Daddy will work hard to become normal.”
After helping him digest in the living room for a bit, Qi Sheng carried him to bed, applied his medicine again, and even stayed to watch cartoons with him. He only left the bedroom after the child fell asleep.
But what Qi Sheng didn’t know was that shortly after he left, Qi Yang opened his eyes.
Everything that happened over the past few days made Qi Yang feel like he was dreaming. Thinking about the psychologist appointment on his dad’s phone, he couldn’t help but imagine—Can Daddy really be cured this time? Is it true he won’t hit me anymore? Will he really stop drinking?
These questions kept swirling in his mind and made it hard for him to fall asleep. And eventually, those hopeful thoughts turned into sadness again—What if he can’t be cured after all?