In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 105: The Abusive Dad (11)

Cen Han’s expression didn’t change after hearing Qi Yang’s rejection. She planned to change the topic to continue bonding with the child, but before she could speak, she was cut off by Qi Sheng, who had been observing his son the entire time.
“Miss Cen, the Xinmei headquarters—”
“Qi Sheng, are you only planning to talk business when you see me? It’s the weekend and mealtime; why don’t we talk about something else?”
Qi Sheng smiled. “It’s better if we stick to business.”
Cen Han was momentarily choked by Qi Sheng’s bluntness. Was this man really completely uninterested in her?
She had a good family background, was beautiful and well-proportioned, and had both high IQ and EQ. At a young age, she had relied on her own abilities to become a company director. Many pursued her, but she had taken a liking to Qi Sheng—a divorced man with a ten-year-old son—after a business collaboration!
Cen Han had struggled with the idea for a while, but ultimately couldn’t resist her feelings for Qi Sheng. She had even mentally prepared herself to be a stepmother. Who would’ve thought he still didn’t want her?
Being pushed away by Qi Sheng again made Cen Han so angry that she couldn’t even maintain her surface smile. She looked at Qi Sheng, then glanced at Qi Yang across the table and gritted her teeth. “Qi Sheng, I have something to say to you in private. Can you come out for a moment?”
Qi Sheng originally wanted to refuse, but seeing Cen Han’s persistence, he decided to speak plainly with her once and for all.
“Yang Yang, stay here and finish your meal. Don’t go anywhere, understand? Daddy is just stepping out for a moment to talk.”
Qi Yang didn’t want his dad to go. He even considered crying to make him stay. But in the end, he just nodded obediently and lowered his head, hiding his teary eyes.
Qi Sheng had already stood up and didn’t see how his simple words nearly made his son cry. He and Cen Han stepped into a quiet corridor outside the restaurant, where he could still see his son sitting obediently in his seat.
The little one had his head down, and Qi Sheng knew he was upset. He decided to make it quick so he could return to comfort his son.
“Miss Cen, I’m really sorry—”
“Qi Sheng, can’t you use a different phrase? I don’t want to hear you say sorry anymore. What’s wrong with me? Can’t you at least give us a chance to get to know each other better? Maybe once you’re familiar with me, you’ll truly fall in love.”
Seeing Qi Sheng still shaking his head, Cen Han pursed her lips and frowned. “Qi Sheng, do you think I would treat Qi Yang badly if I were with you? If that’s your concern, you can rest assured. While I may not be able to love him as unconditionally as a biological mother, I’m not a bad person. I’d do my best to be a good stepmother to him. Isn’t that enough?”
Qi Sheng looked at the beautiful woman in front of him and sighed. “Miss Cen, everything I told you before was the truth. I used to be a bad father. Due to psychological issues, I hurt Yang Yang many times. He became withdrawn and timid because of it. Now I’ve finally recovered, but I haven’t even given him all the love he deserves. If I were to start a new family now, he wouldn’t be able to accept it, and I wouldn’t want to break his heart again.”
“Besides, Miss Cen, you’re excellent and deserve someone far better than me. My heart is entirely with Yang Yang right now—I can’t offer you wholehearted love or a complete family. That’s not fair to you. You deserve much more.”
Cen Han gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to cry at being rejected again. “But I think you’re the best.”
Qi Sheng sighed helplessly. “Miss Cen, I have to be honest. If we were truly together, and someday you and Yang Yang had a disagreement—even if it was his fault—I would still side with him. That wouldn’t be fair to you, and it wouldn’t be fair to any future children we might have either.”
After a pause, seeing that the woman in front of him still looked stubborn, Qi Sheng continued, “Miss Cen, you don’t even fully know me. Why put your future in a situation you can’t control just because of a crush? Also, would your family even approve of you suddenly choosing to marry a divorced man with a child?”
“Enough. Stop talking. All those reasons just boil down to one thing—you don’t like me. If I keep pestering you, would you start bringing up national affairs to lecture me too?!”
Cen Han glared at Qi Sheng, feeling utterly miserable. She had finally fallen for someone, and he wouldn’t even give her a chance. She didn’t believe his past trauma excuse entirely—after all, one of her greatest strengths as a young executive was her sharp judgment.
She still wanted to persevere, but seeing how resolute Qi Sheng was made her feel defeated. After a long moment of silence between them, Cen Han finally found her voice again. “Forget it. Someone like me—with such good conditions and so many admirers—why should I suffer and become someone’s stepmother? But Qi Sheng, remember this: missing out on me is the biggest loss of your life!”
With that, she turned around, flung her bag over her shoulder, and stormed off without waiting for Qi Sheng’s response. She had so much going for her—why should she waste her time on someone who didn’t appreciate her?
Qi Sheng watched as Cen Han left without looking back, and although he felt a bit guilty, he finally felt at ease as he returned to the restaurant.
At that moment, the child was still sitting exactly as he had been when Qi Sheng left, head down, silent, not even glancing at the delicious food on the table.
Qi Sheng sat beside him and pulled him into his arms. It took a while before the little one relaxed and wrapped his small arms tightly around him.
Qi Sheng kissed the top of his son’s head and comforted him. “Silly Yang Yang, why are you getting upset without even hearing what Daddy had to say? Why didn’t you ask what my stance was first?”
Qi Yang wiped the tears he hadn’t managed to hold back, eyes red as he looked at Qi Sheng and asked in a wronged voice, “Daddy, are you going to marry that lady?”
There had been other ladies who tried to be nice to him before, but none as pretty as the one just now. And Daddy had actually left him to go off with her—that really made Qi Yang sad and scared. It felt like Daddy was about to stop being just his.
“Daddy won’t marry that lady,” Qi Sheng replied. “I just told her that my heart is already full—with our Yang Yang. I want to give all my love and care to just you. No one else can share it.”
When Qi Yang heard that, he quickly raised his head, wiped his tears again, and looked at Qi Sheng with sparkling eyes. “Daddy, is what you said true?”
“Of course it’s true. When have I ever broken a promise in the past six months?”
Qi Yang immediately burst into a smile through his tears, wiping his face and couldn’t help but pledge his loyalty in front of Qi Sheng. “I only have Daddy in my heart too!”
Qi Sheng chuckled and, looking at his obedient son, couldn’t help but ruffle the little guy’s hair again.
Having finally coaxed the child out of his sadness, Qi Sheng enthusiastically began feeding him delicious food. Seeing the little one eat happily also lifted his own mood.
Qi Sheng truly had no intention of starting a new family in this world. Although he was still relatively young, the child before him was already more than enough to worry about. Just like he told Cen Han, it was hard for him to divide his affection and love among others.
He had been through too many lifetimes. His attachment to romantic love or even physical needs had already faded significantly. Of course, he didn’t rule out the possibility of suddenly falling in love with someone in some world in the future, but in this world, having this little one was enough.
No longer having to fear that his father would revert to his old self, or worry about others trying to take his father away, the deep-seated anxiety in Qi Yang’s heart finally began to fade.
Life for the father and son returned to peace, though Qi Yang’s daily schedule remained quite full.
Every evening after dinner, he would first do his homework, and once the food in his belly was digested, he would follow his dad downstairs to the neighborhood courtyard to practice roller skating.
The neighborhood where Qi Sheng had recently bought a home had a beautiful environment and plenty of open space. With separated paths for pedestrians and vehicles, there was no worry about cars while kids played. In the evenings, quite a few people came out for a walk, and many kids could be seen playing or practicing roller skating.
In less than three months, Qi Yang had already become skilled at roller skating. Thanks to the guidance of a professional coach, he could even perform a few flashy moves.
“Brother Yang Yang, wait for me!”
After practicing in the neighborhood for a while, he naturally attracted the attention of many other children who came out to play. Roller skating was already widely popular among kids, so eventually, a group of little ones started following Qi Yang around.
They didn’t just follow him because he was good at skating — the main reason was his looks!
Among a bunch of small kids, who didn’t understand much else, the first reaction when they saw Qi Yang skating downstairs was: That Brother is so pretty!
At first, it was the little girls who liked to chase after him. Later, even little boys enjoyed playing with him.
“Brother Yang Yang, why didn’t you bring your drone? Let’s have a battle!”
Besides roller skating, they played with all sorts of toys. The families in this neighborhood were all middle-income or above, so the kids were very well-equipped with toys. One day, Qi Yang got the idea to bring two drones and have a one-on-one battle with his dad. He even found a less crowded area to do so — but it still attracted a bunch of nearby kids who were roller skating.
Qi Yang looked at the little boys and girls in front of him with a troubled face and patiently coaxed, “How about Brother teaches you to roller skate today?”
Some of the boys looked reluctant, but the surrounding girls were already jumping with excitement, so they could only nod along.
“Yang Yang, why are you playing with them again? Come on, let’s go play basketball.”
A boy’s older brother had just come downstairs holding a basketball, planning to go to the nearby court. When he saw Qi Yang, his eyes lit up, but when he noticed the group of little kids around him, his face darkened.
“Yang Yang, let them play on their own. I already asked Zhang Fan to come. Let’s go shoot some hoops.”
Before Qi Yang could even respond, the group of little ones with him protested loudly.
“Brother, Brother Yang Yang is going to play with us! He won’t go play basketball with you!”
The little boy who spoke first snorted and felt a little smug — That’s what you get for not bringing me to play basketball. Brother Yang Yang is still the best. He always includes me!
The girls were also unhappy. They looked at the older boy holding the basketball and pouted. “Brother Yang Yang isn’t going anywhere. Brother Yang Yang belongs to us!”
Qi Yang actually did want to go play basketball when he heard Bai Lu’s invitation, but as the kids’ unwilling king, he looked at the eager big eyes staring up at him and couldn’t bring himself to leave them behind.
“Lulu, go ahead and play. I’ll reschedule with you.”
Bai Lu shrugged and muttered in his heart, Yang Yang really has too much patience. Those noisy little brats — I hide as soon as I see them!
After Bai Lu left with the basketball, Qi Yang also began to move. His skating posture was graceful, and the group of little followers behind him imitated his every move.
Nearby, the parents watching their cheerful kids happily playing began to come over to Qi Sheng to praise Qi Yang.
A little girl’s grandma said, “Xiao Qi, your Yang Yang is really thoughtful — even takes the little ones to play. My Lele insists on coming out every evening to look for Brother Yang Yang.”
A little boy’s dad chimed in, “Brother Qi, it’s great having your Yang Yang around. My little rascal finally stopped pestering me.”
Another little girl’s mom laughed, “You don’t know how popular Yang Yang is. My Tianniu keeps chanting ‘Brother Yang Yang’ all day and even says she wants to marry him in the future.”
Another mom nodded in agreement. The dad of the girl sitting next to her had a darkened expression when he heard this. This Qi Yang really has my precious daughter wrapped around his finger.
Throughout the compliments, Qi Sheng remained modest and low-key on the surface, but inwardly, he was beaming with pride. My Yang Yang is simply beloved by all. With his charm, I’ll never have to worry about him finding a wife in the future!