In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 1: The Playboy Dad (1)

Just after confirming his travel destination, Qi Sheng was approached by System 277. He frowned, vaguely guessing that a new mission was coming.
But when he looked at his system, now appearing as an adorable child, Qi Sheng couldn’t help but sigh: This pig-teammate who used to be both dumb and bad at acting cute finally realized that a makeover was the first step to improvement!
The chubby and pretty little dumpling greatly improved Qi Sheng’s mood. Knowing that the system never showed up without a reason, he asked, “What is it?”
Qi Sheng vaguely remembered that he had once been the spoiled second-generation heir of a coal mine boss. He had decent reincarnation luck, but unfortunately, his body wasn’t strong. He died young—before turning twenty—in a hospital reeking of disinfectant.
At the moment of death, he was chosen by System 277 to carry out missions issued by the system in exchange for a long and extended life journey.
Qi Sheng, who wasn’t ready to die yet, didn’t hesitate after learning the mission details. He accepted immediately. Together with the bumbling system, he fumbled through mission after mission, finally completing all the tasks for cannon-fodder male supporting roles. Throughout the process, Qi Sheng played all sorts of cannon-fodder types: brainless, neurotic, shameless, arrogant, infatuated, unlucky… In short, while helping the plot progress, he also had to drag along his constantly dragging-him-down and dumb-as-rocks system to level up and fight bosses.
The only perk? He could use the mission reward points to shop in the system’s marketplace.
Through a series of efforts, Qi Sheng finally turned himself into a perfect male god with countless skills and sky-high IQ and EQ. He figured he was now totally ready for any kind of protagonist-style leveling missions—he’d become a god-tier character in no time.
Unfortunately…
“Be someone’s dad!?” Was that literal? Or was he finally getting his turn to teach those cannon-fodders a lesson?
“You’ll go back in time to become all kinds of ‘scumbag’ dads, and raise the kids properly,” System 277 explained, a bit guilty. It had originally promised Qi Sheng a protagonist-style boss fight mission, but unfortunately, its authority was limited. Even though it had just been rated as an ‘Outstanding System,’ it still couldn’t compete with the elite systems and ended up with this relatively decent but niche mission.
Qi Sheng: “…”
Curious, Qi Sheng asked, “Is the mission urgent? Why come to me now?”
After playing all kinds of weird cannon-fodder roles as stepping stones for the protagonists, Qi Sheng’s heart was a little scarred. He had been planning to enjoy a well-deserved break and heal his “fragile” soul. He hadn’t even set off yet, and here came his system, blocking his door.
277 looked helpless too. “I originally planned to finalize the next mission and let you know after your vacation. But the Main Brain suddenly issued a notice—the theme mission needs to start ASAP…”
Speaking in a soft, adorable baby voice and staring at him with big watery eyes, 277 made it impossible for Qi Sheng to stay angry. After all, they’d been through countless worlds together. Even if 277 wasn’t great at what it did, it was considerate, and Qi Sheng already saw him as a friend. So he said, “Show me the mission details.”
He wasn’t expecting much, but the more he read, the more Qi Sheng was shocked by just how creatively awful these “scumbag dads” could be. The children, despite being innocent, always ended up in tragic states—either disabled and miserable or meeting tragic ends.
Qi Sheng understood now. He thought about it and realized this mission wasn’t so bad. As long as he raised the kids well, he could live out his days like an old grandpa enjoying his twilight years. Compared to endless worlds of tragic cannon-fodder roles, this sounded like an upgrade.
Then 277 added, “This time, the reward points are higher! And you don’t have to worry about being thrown into the system’s ‘black room’ if you fail!”
Qi Sheng, curious, opened the points panel, and sure enough, it read:
Mission Theme: Save the Children
Assigned System: 277
Executor: Qi Sheng
Main Mission Reward: 10 points
Main Mission Penalty: -20 points
Hidden Mission Reward: 5 points
Hidden Mission Penalty: None
Hmm, that was a big improvement. The previous cannon-fodder missions only gave 5 points. This was double that, and even the hidden mission reward had increased. Even if not every world triggered a hidden mission, the occasional bonus was a nice touch. Plus, failure now just meant losing points—no more worrying about solitary confinement in the dreaded system punishment room. Compared to his very first mission, this was a much better deal.
Mission points were pegged to the marketplace prices. For example, a high-grade gene enhancement serum—which could completely transform a person—cost only 20 points. After four missions, Qi Sheng had saved up enough to buy that, along with things like brain enhancement fluids and skill manuals that ranged from 10 to 30 points each. System-issued skill books could instantly raise a skill level to 80 points—expert level, even if not a full score. For people who hated studying, it was a total cheat. But Qi Sheng treasured his points. He had his eye on the 200-point Soul Space, and preferred to study skills on his own to save up.
Now that the mission rewards were higher, he figured he could get the Soul Space in just two more worlds. The thought filled him with excitement.
Without hesitation, Qi Sheng looked at his system and said, “Let’s begin.”
Qi Sheng went downstairs to eat. Just after finishing his meal, the butler, Uncle Zhang, informed him that the old master was waiting for him in the study. Rubbing his aching head from a hangover, Qi Sheng got up and made his way there.
“Dad, you wanted to see me?” Qi Sheng asked, feigning ignorance, his casual and flippant attitude instantly riling up Father Qi.
Qi Bodong, Qi Sheng’s father, had built his empire from the ground up—starting out as a bricklayer and eventually becoming the head of one of China’s top real estate conglomerates. In the early years, he worked tirelessly and had little time for his family. By the time he realized this, the obedient and sensible son he remembered had already changed beyond recognition. Though he hadn’t fallen into drug use, he had become well-versed in nearly every other type of debauchery.
At that point, Qi Sheng was already in college, his personality already skewed. With both his grandparents and mother constantly shielding him, there was no way to correct his course. Qi Bodong tried for a few years, but Qi Sheng never showed any improvement, and eventually, his father gave up in despair.
Qi Bodong figured he was still relatively young and full of energy. If his son was a lost cause, he could still raise his grandson properly.
After shifting his focus, both father and son relaxed a bit. Qi Sheng didn’t care much about marriage, so he simply went along with his father’s arrangement and married Bai Ruoqing, a woman Father Qi approved of from the Bai family.
Back then, Qi Sheng had genuinely liked Bai Ruoqing. She was a rich and beautiful young woman. Though her family wasn’t as powerful as the Qi family, they were still a well-known household in Haishi.
Qi Sheng had even pursued her once, but Bai Ruoqing wasn’t interested in a frivolous playboy like him. Eventually, the two drifted apart, and Qi Sheng, who had been in the world of indulgence too long, was hardly the loyal type.
Later, after a failed investment left the Bai family’s business in crisis, they were left with nowhere to turn. Around that time, Father Qi was looking for a morally upright daughter-in-law. One thing led to another, and the Qi and Bai families agreed to a political marriage.
Qi Sheng behaved for the first couple of years after the wedding. After all, his wife was someone he had once liked, and his father kept him in line. But after their son was born, Qi Sheng quickly reverted to his old ways, resuming his hedonistic lifestyle.
Bai Ruoqing, busy raising their child, didn’t have time to care about him. The couple slowly became husband and wife in name only.
Father Qi had already given up on cultivating his son. As long as Qi Sheng didn’t break the law, he turned a blind eye. All his attention went into the company and his grandson.
Fortunately, the grandson didn’t disappoint. With his grandfather’s careful guidance, he grew up steady and sensible. After taking the college entrance exams, Father Qi immediately brought him into the company to start at the grassroots level. Watching him become more and more competent at work, Father Qi was so proud it felt like a dream come true.
But then heaven played a cruel joke—the grandson he had poured his heart into, Qi Wenyu, turned out not to be his biological grandchild at all!
Qi Bodong couldn’t handle the blow and passed out from the shock. By the time he was discharged from the hospital, he learned that Qi Wenyu had already been kicked out of the Qi family by Qi Sheng.
“I don’t care what method you use—bring Xiao Yu back immediately! Otherwise, you can get out of the Qi family too!”
Father Qi’s face was thunderous. He’d always thought the father-son relationship between Qi Sheng and his grandson was just lukewarm—he never imagined his son could be so heartless, casting out a child who’d been raised in their home for nearly twenty years.
“Dad, what are you saying? That brat turned out to be an ungrateful little snake. Why bring him back? For all we know, he’s probably playing happy family with that bitch Xu Ning right now. Why do you insist on dragging him back?!”
Qi Sheng looked disgruntled and continued persuading the old man, “Dad, didn’t you already bring your real grandson home? If you want an heir, just groom him. And if you think Wen Yan isn’t promising, there’s still Xiao Feng.”
“You worthless bastard—do you hear yourself?! Wenyu grew up right beside me. I trust his character completely. And you—at your age—still let yourself be manipulated by a few careless words. That extra money Xu Ning had—don’t you even suspect who gave it to her?”
Qi Sheng pretended not to know and argued, “Who else could it be but that little bastard? Xu Ning herself admitted it!”
The old man was so angry he was trembling. He couldn’t believe how stupid his son was. Still, because he cared deeply for that child, he forced himself to explain patiently.
“Think about it—who benefits the most from Wenyu being cast out?”
Seeing his son remain silent, the old man laughed bitterly, “What’s wrong? You really can’t figure it out, or you just don’t dare say it?”
Qi Sheng frowned and looked at his father in disbelief. “Dad, don’t tell me you suspect Zhou Yan again? She had nothing to do with this.”
Zhou Yan was Qi Sheng’s longest-standing mistress—and Qi Wenfeng’s biological mother.
“Then tell me this—considering how cautious Wenyu is, if he really wanted to secretly send money to his biological mother, would he use a frequently used card? Would it have been that easy for you to find out?”
Qi Sheng was speechless, frowning as though he couldn’t quite make sense of it.
Qi Bodong looked at his incredibly dense son and was furious. He’d raised a venomous snake at his side and didn’t even know it!
He had never taken Zhou Yan seriously before. This incident had happened so suddenly, and though it didn’t take much thinking to realize it was her scheme, he had no concrete evidence yet.
Still, that didn’t stop him from wanting Wenyu back. If he hadn’t known how much that child cared about Qi Sheng as a father, he would’ve kicked this bastard son out long ago.
“You must bring Xiao Yu back home as soon as possible. As for whether Zhou Yan is involved—if you have doubts, investigate it yourself. But I’m warning you: if you don’t bring Wenyu back, then you’re done in this family too!”
With that, he waved for Qi Sheng to get out of the study.
Qi Sheng touched his nose, frowning as he mulled it over. Seeing the old man was really driving him out, he left the study in frustration.
He put on a show of nonchalance all the way to the garage, but once he got into the car, Qi Sheng finally rubbed his brow in exasperation.