In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 122: The Hypocritical Stepfather (1)

Qi Sheng had just finished receiving the plot details when he was abruptly awakened by the noisy racket of children playing outside the room. He opened his eyes lazily. Despite the crying and yelling coming from outside the door, he didn’t get up right away. In fact, he had planned to finish his nap. Unfortunately, it was wishful thinking—soon, the bedroom door was pounded on with loud thud thud thud noises by the children outside.
Qi Sheng got up and opened the door. As his gaze shifted downward, he saw a little one outside making thunderous noise with no rain, complaining as he sobbed.
“Waaah, Daddy, Qi Chenghao bullied me! He pushed me down!”
Another child standing to the side quickly refuted upon seeing him and hearing the little one’s accusation: “I didn’t bully him! He tried to grab my new book. I didn’t let him, so he came over to snatch it and tripped on his own.”
After speaking, Qi Chenghao stood alone to the side, stiff-necked with his head down, saying nothing more.
Qi Sheng looked at the silent child in the distance, then glanced at the little one before him who howled once and then peeked at him. He felt both a headache and amusement.
He deliberately put on a stern face and asked the little one, “What happened? Did you try to take your brother’s new book?”
The little one pouted, “No, I just wanted to look at it. Waaah, Daddy, Qi Chenghao is so stingy. He’s not really my brother!”
The child standing nearby looked slightly hurt upon hearing that, though the expression quickly faded and he returned to his stubborn stance.
Qi Sheng lightly flicked the little one on the forehead and glared at him with mock fierceness: “What nonsense are you spouting? How is he not your brother? No manners! From now on, you’re not allowed to call your brother by name.”
The little one wasn’t scared at all. He clung to Qi Sheng’s leg and started whining, “Daddy, you’re bullying me too! I want a new book too—will you buy me one?”
Qi Sheng refused, “You haven’t even promised not to call your brother by name anymore. And just now—weren’t you bullying your brother on purpose?”
The little one looked annoyed and complained, “Daddy, why are you siding with him? He’s the one who bullied me! He wouldn’t even let me see his book!”
Qi Sheng chuckled, “Why do you want to read the book? Can you even understand your brother’s book?”
The little one blinked, “I just want to look at it. Besides, Grandma said I can use everything that belongs to Qi Chenghao. I was just looking, and he already got upset!”
After that, he turned to glare at Qi Chenghao before snuggling up again and whining, “Daddy, take me to buy a book! I want the kind with pictures!”
Qi Sheng looked at the arrogant little guy, then at the child silently standing off to the side, and frowned: “Qi Wenle, stand properly. How dare you still bully your brother in front of me?”
The little one who had just been whining instantly quieted down when he saw Qi Sheng get serious. Qi Sheng still had strong authority in his heart, and now that he saw the stern look, he backed away in fear.
“Waaah… Daddy, what are you doing?”
This time, the little one really started crying, feeling wronged that even Daddy was scolding him.
Qi Sheng didn’t soften just because he cried. He crouched down, looked at the teary child, and scolded gently, “If you want to use your brother’s things in the future, you must get his permission. No grabbing, no whining. Do you hear me?”
The little one didn’t respond, just kept crying. Seeing Qi Sheng still staring at him, he finally protested, “But what if I ask and he still says no? Isn’t he my brother? Why won’t he let me look?”
Qi Sheng wiped away his tears and softened his tone: “Ask him nicely. If your brother still says no, come find me and I’ll think of something.”
The little one immediately latched on to that, “Well, he said no now—will you buy me a book?”
Qi Sheng noticed how sharp the little guy’s thinking was and laughed: “First promise me you won’t bully your brother anymore, and I’ll consider it.”
The little one quickly adapted and nodded: “I promise! I promise! Daddy, let’s go now!”
With that, his tears disappeared and he cheerfully hugged Qi Sheng’s neck.
Qi Sheng scooped him up effortlessly, but after a few steps, he put him down again: “As punishment for bullying your brother, you have to stand in timeout for twenty minutes.”
The little one was not pleased at all. He tried to wiggle away, but Qi Sheng stopped him: “If you don’t behave and take your punishment, Daddy will spank you ten times. Lele, which do you choose?”
Terrified of being spanked, the little one immediately froze. With big round eyes full of tears, he looked pitifully at Qi Sheng: “Daddy…”
Qi Sheng said sternly, “Stand still now. I’m timing you. If you move again, I’ll assume you’re choosing the second punishment.”
The little one realized Qi Sheng meant it and dared not move. His tears welled up again. Waaah, Daddy is so mean today!
After settling the little one, Qi Sheng walked over to Qi Chenghao. Seeing the child looking uneasy since he arrived, Qi Sheng asked, “Haohao, can you tell Daddy why you didn’t want to let your brother see your new book?”
Qi Chenghao took a step back and looked uneasy. When he saw Qi Sheng still waiting for an answer, he replied hesitantly, “I… I was afraid he’d ruin it.”
Qi Sheng gently rubbed the boy’s head to comfort him, “Don’t worry, Daddy isn’t blaming you. But can you be honest with me—were you really just afraid he’d ruin it, or did you not want him touching your things at all?”
Qi Chenghao glanced quickly at Qi Sheng before lowering his head again. He hadn’t expected his hidden feelings to be seen through. Looking at his younger brother in timeout, he suddenly said, a little defiantly, “I just didn’t want him to touch it.”
After saying that, he didn’t dare look at Qi Sheng again and kept staring at his toes.
Qi Sheng asked again, “So when your brother tried to grab your book earlier, you first refused and then let go on purpose?”
Qi Chenghao’s eyes widened in disbelief. Wasn’t this man just napping in the room? How did he know everything?
His stubborn streak flared up. Thinking about how close this father-son pair had seemed just moments ago, he snapped back defiantly, “Yeah, so what? He tried to snatch it first!”
Then he glanced anxiously at Qi Sheng, but seeing no change in his expression, he lowered his head again, disappointment blooming in his chest. He and Qi Wenle really were different.
Qi Chenghao snuck a look at his brother still standing in punishment and couldn’t help but give a bitter laugh. Was he actually jealous of being punished?
Qi Sheng saw right through the boy’s thoughts. He knew exactly what this child cared about most.
The original body of Qi Sheng, as the stepfather, hadn’t been the stereotypical abusive or biased step-parent. He was gentle with the child—never hitting or yelling, even when Qi Chenghao was clearly in the wrong. On the surface, he looked like a kind stepfather. But only he knew that he was just putting on a show for his wife. Deep down, he never truly cared about the boy.
Whenever situations like this happened, even if Qi Chenghao admitted his mistakes or showed defiance, the original Qi Sheng would just smile and tell him to go play on his own. He didn’t see the child as his responsibility and wasn’t interested in disciplining him.
Whether intentional or not, this approach had gradually isolated Qi Chenghao—leading to his stubbornness and rebellious behavior.
He was jealous that no matter what his little brother did, he would always receive Qi Sheng’s full attention. He envied his brother’s ability to be spoiled and playful around Qi Sheng. He even envied his brother getting punished—because Qi Sheng had never once treated him like that.
He didn’t really like his younger brother. Before Wenle was born, Qi Chenghao didn’t quite understand the special dynamics between himself and Qi Sheng. He called him “Dad” just like other kids did, and his dad seemed gentle, kind, and never scolded or punished him—even when he made mistakes.
Back then, little Qi Chenghao believed he had a good father.
It wasn’t until his brother started growing up that he gradually realized things were different.
Qi Chenghao was very sensitive. He could feel that the man in front of him didn’t truly like him. Even though Qi Sheng still acted gentle, something always felt off.
Classmates who did poorly on tests would get scolded by their parents. His mom would nag and punish him too, but Qi Sheng always stayed calm and mild. Sometimes he’d even stop his mom from hitting him.
At first, Qi Chenghao thought it meant his dad was protecting him. But when his younger brother slacked off at kindergarten and Qi Sheng did scold and punish him, Qi Chenghao realized something wasn’t right.
When both he and his brother did well, they were equally praised. But when both made mistakes, he never had to worry about punishment. Just like now—his brother was being punished for what happened earlier, and he’d assumed he’d just be sent back to his room to “play.”
Still holding back his disappointment and expecting to be dismissed as usual, Qi Chenghao was startled when Qi Sheng suddenly said in a serious tone: “Chenghao, you’re the older brother. You can’t keep teasing your brother on purpose, okay?”
Qi Chenghao nodded out of habit. Seeing that Qi Sheng didn’t leave, he mumbled another “Mm.”
On the surface, he agreed. But inside, he wasn’t buying it. If Wenle acted smug again, he’d still find a way to put him in his place!
With that thought, he turned to leave—but before he took more than a couple steps, Qi Sheng stopped him. Puzzled, Qi Chenghao wondered, Why isn’t it over yet?
Qi Sheng looked at the confused little face and had to fight back a smile. These little ones, for all their age, sure had complex thoughts.
Qi Sheng deliberately put on a stern face. “Chenghao, you did something wrong earlier too. Don’t you think you should be punished as well?”
Qi Chenghao: “?”
He hadn’t expected this. Since he could remember, this man had never punished or hit him. What was going on today?
He glanced at his little brother standing quietly in the corner, then looked at Qi Sheng, who still had that serious expression. Summoning his courage, he said, “I don’t want to be punished!” and turned his head away, though his eyes sneakily watched Qi Sheng from the corner. Would he let it slide again? Would he just mention it vaguely to Mom later?
Qi Sheng looked at the kid’s mix of fear and arrogance and chuckled. “If you don’t want to stand in punishment, then you’ll have to get a spanking. I’m counting to three. If you’re not standing next to your brother by then, I won’t go easy on you.”
“One… Two… Chenghao, still not moving?”
Qi Chenghao turned to look at him with his big bright eyes, still unmoving. Inside, though, he was a bundle of nerves and curiosity. If I really disobey him, what will he do?
Before he could finish the thought, he suddenly found himself lifted into the air. By the time he realized what was happening, his face was inches from the wooden floor—and the next second, he felt a sharp pain on his backside.
“Ugh…”
Qi Sheng spanked him ten times—not too hard, but not light either. He checked afterward to make sure it wasn’t serious. But the boy hadn’t made a peep. That was odd. Was it too painful? Or not painful enough?
He picked him up and sat him in front of him, only to see the boy staring at him with wide eyes.
Qi Sheng: Did I smack the thoughts out of him?
Suppressing his amusement, Qi Sheng kept his expression serious. “You need to get along with your brother. Understand?”
The boy still didn’t respond.
Qi Sheng frowned. “Want another round?”
The lingering pain in his backside made Qi Chenghao’s body react faster than his brain. He shook his head furiously. Seeing Qi Sheng still displeased, he quickly added, “I understand.”
Then came the line he had heard countless times but never liked: “Alright, go back to your room and rest.”
Qi Chenghao nodded blankly. Normally, that line would make him roll his eyes internally. But this time—it actually sounded… nice?
He gave his brother, still standing in the corner, another look—and caught the other boy giving him a look like he was staring at an idiot.
Qi Chenghao shuffled back to his room. When he sat down, a jolt of pain reminded him of what just happened.
Ouch… Why did I get spanked today?!