In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 129: The Hypocritical Stepfather (8)

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Qi Sheng figured it was time to take his wife and child to visit his mother-in-law. He planned to leave around noon and was initially worried that the old lady might object. But to his surprise, as soon as he mentioned his intention to leave, the old lady visibly perked up.
Qi Sheng said, “Mom, why do I get the feeling you’re hoping I leave sooner rather than later?”
The old lady gave a guilty smile and replied, “What are you talking about? I just think it’s good for you to head back early and visit your mother-in-law. Don’t you still want to borrow money from them?”
Qi Sheng chuckled inwardly but simply nodded on the surface. “Mom, you really support me. Alright then, we’ll head out today.”
“Okay, go on. Be safe on the road.”
With the departure time set, both camps in the Qi household breathed a collective sigh of relief. Although Mi Fei and Qi Chenghao hadn’t been mistreated this time, their past experiences still left them disliking the place. As for the others—basically everyone in the Qi family except for Qi Sheng and Lele—they had been hoping he would leave as soon as possible, afraid he might suddenly bring up borrowing money again and cling to them relentlessly.
The past few days had been nerve-wracking for everyone in the old house, and now that Qi Sheng was gone, they all felt like a heavy weight had been lifted.
Qi Sheng, meanwhile, had no idea that he had become something of a plague god in the eyes of his family. On the drive back, his eldest son was finally sitting quietly next to him, relaxed enough to take in the scenery outside.
Lele, never one to sit still, saw his big brother gazing out the window and immediately reached over to join him. Qi Sheng saw how excited he looked and leaned over to lift him into the middle seat.
“Big brother, what are you looking at?”
Lele widened his curious eyes and looked out the window, then asked with even more confusion—there wasn’t anything special out there, just some farmland, and even that wasn’t sprouting yet.
Because Li Lilan had been too preoccupied this time to stir up drama in front of her grandson, Lele’s experience at the old house had been just like it was at home—everything Big Brother said was right, and his admiration for Chenghao hadn’t changed at all.
“Just looking outside. See over there? There’s even a horse cart!”
Lele instantly perked up, and the two boys leaned against the window, heads together, as if there was something extraordinary outside. Qi Sheng watched them play and left them alone. He glanced at his wife sitting in the aisle seat, and seeing her relaxed expression, he felt a swell of satisfaction—there’s nothing he couldn’t handle!
The day after returning home, they headed to Mi Fei’s parents’ place. It wasn’t far, and they often saw each other, but this year, her parents were especially happy to see their daughter and grandsons before the New Year was officially over.
Qi Sheng sat in the living room drinking tea with his father-in-law, while the two kids watched cartoons together. Meanwhile, Lin Yufen, Mi Fei’s mother, quietly pulled her daughter into the kitchen for a private talk.
“Did your mother-in-law give you any attitude this time?”
Mi Fei shook her head while picking vegetables. “Not this time. Qi Sheng had some business to talk over with them, so the old lady didn’t really pay me much attention.”
Hearing this, Lin Yufen finally relaxed. She took some meat out of the fridge and looked at her daughter. “Good thing she didn’t. If she had, I wouldn’t have let it go so easily this time!” Then she peeked out toward the kitchen door and asked, “How’s Qi Sheng treating Haohao now? I’ve noticed the two boys seem to be getting along a lot better lately.”
This time, Mi Fei didn’t even look up. Her mood noticeably better, she replied, “Mom, maybe I was too sensitive before. Qi Sheng isn’t the kind of person I thought he was. He’s really good to Haohao—Haohao actually cares more about him now than about me.”
Lin Yufen didn’t believe it. She dropped what she was doing, leaned in close, and asked, “Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”
Mi Fei smiled. “No, Mom, really. My mother-in-law is one thing—I’m not going to write off Qi Sheng just because of her. I used to jump to conclusions, but now I see clearly—he really does care about me and Haohao.”
Although Lin Yufen still found it hard to believe after her daughter’s repeated reassurances, when she thought about how much more cheerful Haohao had become, she felt that Mi Fei wasn’t entirely wrong. They couldn’t judge Qi Sheng solely based on his family background.
While the mother and daughter were preparing dinner in the kitchen, Mi Fei couldn’t help but frown as she recalled Qi Sheng’s mention of borrowing money back at his old home. Didn’t he say he needed money to start a factory? He hadn’t brought it up on the road yesterday, nor did he mention it before bed. She genuinely couldn’t figure out what Qi Sheng was thinking. Wasn’t he short on money for the factory?
Even after dinner, Qi Sheng still didn’t bring up the topic. After they had washed up and were getting ready for bed, Mi Fei couldn’t hold back and asked, “How much are you actually short on right now?”
Qi Sheng was momentarily confused. “Short on what?”
“Aren’t you planning to start a factory? Or was that just something you said to your mom and the others?”
Changing into his pajamas, Qi Sheng glanced at their two sons who were already on the bed goofing around together. He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Not much, really. I’ve still got enough on hand. Don’t worry about it.”
Seeing the brightness in her eyes, he grinned and added, “Want to go see a movie with me tomorrow?”
Before Mi Fei could reply, Haohao and Lele immediately perked up, their eyes lighting up as they looked at Qi Sheng.
“Tomorrow, you two are staying home. Be good and keep your grandparents company,” he said firmly.
Lele pouted. “Daddy, why aren’t you taking us? Me and Big Brother want to watch a movie too.”
Haohao also looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Daddy, we want to go too!”
Qi Sheng usually indulged them, but this time, his tone was unyielding. “Nope. Tomorrow, you two must stay at home. Don’t even think about pestering Grandpa and Grandma to take you out. If you don’t behave, Daddy will spank your little bottoms right now.”
Hearing this, Lele immediately buried himself in Qi Sheng’s arms, aggrieved. “Daddy, I want to go. Please take us.”
Haohao crawled over and tugged on Qi Sheng’s arm. “Daddy…”
Both kids looked at him pitifully. Qi Sheng softened. “Tomorrow, Daddy’s taking Mommy out. In a couple of days… let’s say two days, I’ll take you both to see a movie, okay?”
But the kids weren’t too thrilled about having to wait two days. In their minds, We could go tomorrow—why wait at all?!
Even seeing their pouty faces, Qi Sheng stuck to his decision. Mi Fei couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. She tugged his hand and said, “Why don’t we just take them tomorrow? They wouldn’t cause trouble during a movie anyway.”
She assumed Qi Sheng was planning a romantic date. And while the idea of some alone time with him was appealing, she felt bad about leaving their kids behind if they were this upset.
Qi Sheng shook his head. “I said I’m taking just you tomorrow. Don’t worry about them.” Seeing that the kids were still unhappy, he tried to coax them. “Mommy and Daddy just want one day alone together. Can you two be good and stay home tomorrow?”
No! was what both boys wanted to say, but they glanced at each other and, realizing their normally indulgent father wasn’t budging, and not wanting to risk a spanking, they reluctantly nodded.
After that, the two little guys stopped playing on the bed. Instead, they both huffed and went to lie down on the other side of Mi Fei, protesting their father’s “tyranny” with their actions.
Qi Sheng couldn’t help but find their sulking funny. He got up and pulled Haohao, who was sleeping on the edge, into his arms. Seeing the little guy clearly annoyed but too timid to push back made him burst out laughing.
“Be good. Next time, I’ll definitely take you. Now go to sleep.”
The next morning, after breakfast, Qi Sheng walked to the door under the pleading gaze of his two sons and gave them a stern warning: “Stay home and be good for Grandpa and Grandma. If I find out you snuck out, just wait and see how I’ll deal with you!” Then he turned to his mother-in-law and said, “Mom, I’m taking Feifei out for a while. If the boys act up, I’ll handle them when we get back.”
And so, under the disapproving glares of his sons, Qi Sheng took his wife and headed out.
Qi Sheng didn’t actually insist on going out alone with Mi Fei just for a date. He mainly wanted to see if the “incident” that had once happened would occur again.
According to the original timeline, Mi Fei didn’t go back to Qi Sheng’s family home this year with Haohao. While she was mild-tempered, she wasn’t someone who would put up with everything. Besides, even for Haohao’s sake, she didn’t want to return to that house.
Her decision, though seemingly disrespectful to Qi Sheng’s family, had been out of helplessness. She could endure grievances herself, but she couldn’t bear to see her son treated with disdain.
Unfortunately, the original Qi Sheng couldn’t understand Mi Fei’s reasoning. He returned to his hometown alone with his younger son. Besides being questioned by the Qi family, even the villagers looked at him mockingly, asking why he hadn’t brought his wife back—was it that his city wife looked down on them?
During the New Year, visiting relatives and chatting with neighbors is customary. So when the original Qi Sheng showed up with only his younger son, many people speculated wildly about the reasons. Around that time, he was already frustrated because his work unit had stopped allocating housing, so after just a few days in his hometown, he returned to Su City with his son.
After coming back, his attitude toward Haohao changed significantly. Though he remained polite and mild on the surface, inwardly he began to feel irritated and resentful toward this “in-the-way” stepson.
It just so happened that day Lele was fussing about wanting to watch a movie. Mi Fei, always doting on the kids, agreed. So the family of four went to a bustling movie theater located in the largest department store in the city.
During the New Year season, the streets were teeming with people. Not only did the usually busy workers finally have time to go out and enjoy themselves, but the number of thieves and robbers had also increased significantly—including child traffickers.
Qi Sheng couldn’t help gritting his teeth in anger when he thought about how the original version of himself had clearly seen Haohao being taken away and loaded into a car but hadn’t uttered a word. No one’s perfect—if he couldn’t be a good stepfather, Qi Sheng could understand. But to be so heartless, to watch a small child be abducted just to preserve his pride or out of selfish spite, and to do nothing—now that was the lowest of the low.
Although Haohao managed to escape on his own five years later, those five years spent in a remote mountain village left psychological scars that could never fully heal.
With this in mind, Qi Sheng made a silent vow—this time, he would make sure those traffickers paid!
He brought Mi Fei to the department store, and they lined up to buy movie tickets. Not long after they entered the theater, Qi Sheng checked the time and told Mi Fei, “I’m going to the restroom.”
After leaving the theater, he went straight to the first floor. People bustled back and forth, and everything seemed perfectly normal—no hint that anything shady was going on.
Still uneasy, wondering if the traffickers would appear as they had in the original timeline, Qi Sheng pretended to be looking for the restroom and made his way to the stairwell.
The stairwell was located in a very secluded part of the department store. Though the place wasn’t huge, occasionally someone would pass by, so Qi Sheng’s presence didn’t seem out of place.
He spotted a man sitting on the lid of a large trash bin and politely asked, “Hey bro, do you know where the restroom is?”
The man didn’t even look up from his newspaper. “No idea. But it’s not this way.”
Qi Sheng thanked him and walked away without hesitation. The man, seeing he didn’t linger, paid him no mind. But he was clearly anxious—why hadn’t his companions come back yet? Despite his nerves, years of doing this kind of dirty work had given him solid nerves, so he continued pretending to be an ordinary passerby, calmly reading his paper.
A while later, he became increasingly uneasy. Not only had his partners not shown up, but he also noticed several people heading his way at once. His heart sank. Something wasn’t right. He gave up on the child hidden in the trash bin and tried to sneak out the back door—but as soon as he stepped out, he was pinned down by two security guards waiting there.
So when Mi Fei finished the movie and stepped out of the department store, she found out that a group of child traffickers had just been caught trying to kidnap two kids.
“These heartless monsters! Thank goodness they were all caught!” she said. Then she remembered how her two sons had almost come along, and her legs nearly gave out from fear. “Good thing we didn’t bring them today. I probably wouldn’t even be able to walk right now if they had been with us. We’d better not take them out in the next few days either. There are too many people around—it’s safer for them to just stay home.”
Qi Sheng, the unsung hero who had just prevented a major tragedy, nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s fine. Let them stay home and watch cartoons instead.”
Meanwhile, the two little ones, who had just recovered their spirits after a full day of cartoons, had been eagerly expecting Dad to take them out the next day. But to their dismay, they were locked down at home again.
The boys sulked: Daddy doesn’t keep his word! Special circumstances? We don’t care!