In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 136: The Hypocritical Stepfather (End)

In his junior year of college, Qi Chenghao was preparing for exams to pursue graduate studies abroad. He had a like-minded friend working hard alongside him.
One afternoon, the two of them went out for lunch. Qi Chenghao glanced over at a black sedan parked nearby. It seemed like no one was inside, so he turned back around and followed his friend toward the restaurant.
His friend, He Jun, noticed his behavior and asked curiously, “What were you just looking at?”
“Nothing. I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong.”
After the two of them walked away, the man who had been hiding behind the steering wheel let out a long sigh as he watched Qi Chenghao’s retreating figure. He stayed there for a while longer before finally starting the car and driving away from F University’s campus.
When Lin Yongbin got home, he didn’t even have a chance to sit down before a beautiful woman in a tight red dress walked out of the bedroom. She had a curvaceous figure and rushed over as soon as she saw him.
“Well? Did you see him? What did he say?”
Lin Yongbin looked troubled as he glanced at the woman—his wife, Yin Youshan. He sighed, lowered his head, and covered his face with his hand. “I didn’t see him. It’s been nearly twenty years since we last met. You want me to suddenly go talk to him—what reason do I even have?!”
Yin Youshan was clearly annoyed by his failure again. “What do you mean you don’t have a reason? You’re his biological father! It’s not like he can pretend you don’t exist! Just say you miss him and want to reconnect. Isn’t that enough? It’s a simple matter, but you insist on making it so complicated!”
“Simple? Oh, sure. I’ve never raised him a day in my life, and now I’m showing up because I need something. And you really think he’ll help me? I say we just declare bankruptcy. With the little money we have left, the four of us can tighten our belts and still get by.”
“Get by? Lin Yongbin, can you think clearly for once? You know exactly what kind of lifestyle your son and daughter have. If we go bankrupt, how are they supposed to survive?”
“Why wouldn’t they survive? There are plenty of people in this world getting by just fine. Are they some kind of exception? Less money just means spending less. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Yin Youshan rolled her eyes and, seeing his utterly defeated attitude, said with a blank expression, “I didn’t tell you earlier because you were already in a bad mood—but your son got into a street race a few days ago and crashed into someone. The person’s fine, but the car was wrecked. The insurance company won’t pay, so we have to cover it ourselves. The lowest estimate is a million. They said if we don’t pay within three days, they’ll send loan sharks after him.”
Lin Yongbin’s eyes widened. The exhaustion and frustration he had been bottling up burst out at once, and he shook his head repeatedly in disbelief. He glared at Yin Youshan in fury. “When did this happen? Don’t lie to me!”
“You’ll know if I’m lying when the debt collectors show up in a few days. Oh, and he was racing through a busy street, so the traffic police caught him. If you don’t take care of this, your son’s going to jail!” She turned away and began silently crying.
Seeing her like this, Lin Yongbin felt overwhelmed. His body slumped onto the couch, and he held his head in despair. The sound of her sobbing continued in the background. Thinking of his son still in detention, he grabbed his coat and left the house again. After visiting the police station, he gritted his teeth and drove once more toward F University.
As dusk fell and dinnertime approached, Qi Chenghao and his friend left the library and headed to eat. But halfway there, someone unexpected blocked his path.
“Chenghao, I… um, can we talk?”
Qi Chenghao frowned and stared at the man in front of him, stunned for a moment before finally recognizing who he was. The man looked much older than he remembered and lacked the vigor he had in the old photos. As a child, Chenghao had gone through a phase where he was jealous of his younger brother for having all of their father’s attention. No matter how much he acted out, that man never seemed to care. At one point, he had secretly wondered—maybe only his real father would care about him completely?
But in the end, he forgot all about that man.
Because he realized that he already had the best father in the world.
“Did you want something from me?”
Qi Chenghao couldn’t figure out why this man would suddenly seek him out. After twenty years of complete indifference, he highly doubted it was because the man missed him.
Lin Yongbin’s face lit up with surprise and delight. “You recognized me? Chenghao, I—”
“Sir, if there’s nothing urgent, I’m going to have dinner. I’ve got plans later.”
“Oh, then… then go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”
Qi Chenghao didn’t hesitate at all. He turned around and headed for the restaurant. His friend beside him, sensing something unusual, was full of curiosity. “Hao’er, who was that guy?”
“My mom’s old classmate.”
“You just left him like that… is that okay? Won’t it…” —come off as rude?
Qi Chenghao’s expression remained unchanged. He knew exactly what his friend was implying and responded, “He and my mom haven’t been in contact for twenty years. We’re not close.”
He Jun nodded in understanding, then suddenly raised his brows and winked. “After twenty years without contact, and now he suddenly shows up—bet he’s here to borrow money, huh, young master?”
Qi Chenghao froze. Part of him was skeptical, unwilling to believe his friend’s guess might be true—but thinking back to how dejected and haggard the man looked, it did seem like he was going through something difficult.
He turned around—and happened to meet Lin Yongbin’s eyes, who hadn’t walked far.
Lin Yongbin had overheard the entire conversation. At first, he felt hurt by the boy’s distance, but upon hearing that last remark, he felt a rush of embarrassment and shame. He wanted to flee, but there was no way out anymore. All he could do was stand there, forcing himself to endure it.
Qi Chenghao walked over and asked, curious, “Did you come to borrow money from me?”
Lin Yongbin couldn’t bring himself to speak. He wanted to deny it, wanted to claim he’d just come to see him—but reality wouldn’t allow it. In the end, he remained silent, which said everything.
Qi Chenghao, seeing his silence, was briefly at a loss for words. In that moment, it felt like his whole worldview shattered. This was a hundred times worse than the ridiculous stunts his dumb little brother pulled. At least with that idiot, he could still find some room in his heart for tolerance—suddenly, his annoying brother didn’t seem so bad.
“I’m just a student. I don’t have money.”
Of course he had money—but Qi Chenghao would rather hand it to his dumb brother to waste than give it to this man.
Lin Yongbin hadn’t expected such a blunt refusal. Flushed with embarrassment, he lowered his head and didn’t dare meet Qi Chenghao’s gaze. Hesitating and pleading, he said, “Chenghao, I… I didn’t come to borrow from you. Could you… could you ask Mr. Qi to invest in my company? Just an investment. I’m facing a cash flow crisis, but you can tell him it’s just temporary. Once the company recovers, it will definitely make him a lot of money!”
Qi Chenghao responded flatly, “If that’s the case, you could try saying that to any investment firm. Maybe one of them would be interested. My father’s just a regular businessman. He probably wouldn’t be interested in funding a company on the verge of bankruptcy.”
He Jun, standing to the side, twitched at those words and quickly looked away, struggling to keep his expression under control. Internally, he was screaming: Did I hear that right? In Qi Chenghao’s eyes, Boss Qi is just a regular businessman?! Unbelievable! No wonder Boss Wang always says his first goal is to make a hundred million from him—he really is living in a completely different world than us.
Lin Yongbin hadn’t expected Qi Chenghao to leave him absolutely no room to maneuver. His emotions were even more complicated than He Jun’s. The mother and son he had once abandoned had now transformed—into the wife and eldest son of one of Huaguo’s top tycoons.
Perhaps it was the sting of such ruthless rejection that pushed him past the point of pride. Suddenly, he grabbed Qi Chenghao’s arm and said, “Chenghao, listen to me—I’m doing this for your good. That man will never truly treat you as his own. Someday, he’ll leave everything to his real child. You need to plan ahead. Look—once the company pulls through, I’ll transfer all of its shares to you. How about that?”
Qi Chenghao listened silently until the man finished. His face remained expressionless, but internally, his thoughts were a storm: It’s over. My worldview has completely shattered. If Qi Wenle hears about this, I’ll never hear the end of it for years!
He said nothing. Lin Yongbin took that as a sign of hope. His heart fluttered with a bit of excitement. He’d poured more than twenty years of effort into the company—if it could be saved, even if it ended up in the hands of a son he had little affection for, it would be worth it.
Meanwhile, He Jun, who had been eavesdropping, was frozen stiff in shock. Wait… what did that man just say? “His own child”? What does that mean?! Isn’t my friend Boss Qi’s son?!
Feeling like he’d accidentally stumbled into a massive scandal, He Jun suddenly wanted to flee. But at the same time, he couldn’t resist the urge to keep watching. Then he heard his friend speak again.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be easier if my dad just transferred the investment funds directly to me?”
He Jun, torn between wanting to bolt and being nosy, couldn’t help silently giving a thumbs-up. Not dumb at all. This guy really thinks everyone else is a fool, huh? A dying company, and he thinks it’s not just a money pit?
Qi Chenghao pulled his arm free, face expressionless. “You’d better not come looking for me again. You’ve already made it twenty years without seeing me—another twenty shouldn’t be too hard.”
Lin Yongbin was choked by his words, but seeing that he was about to leave, he quickly stopped him again. “Chenghao, Chenghao, please help me this time—your younger brother is still in prison—”
“I only have one younger brother, and he’s doing just fine. Mr. Lin, please let’s at least preserve a little dignity for both of us.”
With that, he didn’t care about the arm blocking his way and pushed past, walking away in long strides. His back was resolute and carefree, but internally he was thinking: I absolutely cannot let my dumb little brother find out about today—otherwise that guy will definitely use this embarrassing episode as material for one of his wild web novels and let all those clueless readers laugh at my expense!
He was followed by He Jun, who, despite being a strapping six-footer, was hunched and timid, trailing behind his friend with the full demeanor of a bullied, obedient little wife.
Qi Chenghao was nearly blinded by the stupidity in his expression. He rolled his eyes in an ungraceful manner. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it! Quit pretending to be all cute!” You don’t even have my little brother’s adorable, handsome face!
“Well… Chenghao, who exactly was that guy?”
Qi Chenghao glanced at him and answered blandly, “Him? Biologically speaking, before I even became a fertilized egg, he was the provider of the sperm.”
“Oh…” ???
He Jun felt like he’d just been handed a giant bombshell. He swallowed hard in shock, screaming inwardly: Dear lord, am I going to get silenced tonight?!
“Chenghao, do you need a little brother? One who can do anything for you!” Please don’t silence me!
“Scram!”
He Jun burst out laughing and returned to his usual self. After dinner, as he watched the powerful Qi patriarch arrive to pick up his son, he couldn’t help feeling a little regretful. Why didn’t my mom find me such a badass and doting stepfather? …Oops, that’s something his real dad must never hear!
After earning his master’s degree abroad, Qi Chenghao returned to China and founded his own gaming company. In just two years, he became a sensation in the industry thanks to a globally popular multiplayer holographic online game. Tomorrow, he would represent the company in a media interview, so company executive—and his other close friend—Wang Ying approached him with a rolled-up paper pretending it was a microphone.
“President Qi, can you tell us how you built Chengle Gaming from scratch?”
Qi Chenghao couldn’t be bothered to respond. He Jun, sitting nearby, picked up a canned drink from the table and tossed it at him out of mischief. “Built from scratch, my ass! You burned through ten billion from your daddy!”
“Dad’s money is our money. Doesn’t count! We’re still young entrepreneurs who built it all from nothing!”
“Shameless! Where do you get the guts?!”
The office turned into a chaotic mess of friends joking around. Qi Chenghao ignored them and packed up to leave. He had a press conference the next day—no time to fool around.
The next day, at the press conference, gaming fans from around the world tuned in to the livestream to watch the young, handsome, and brilliant CEO speak eloquently. Among the viewers was Lin Yongbin, now living an ordinary life.
He had divorced six months earlier, and what little wealth he had left was split in half. Still, without the debt collectors hounding him, life was peaceful. But watching this livestream and listening to the young man speak, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
“I’d like to thank my father for his unwavering support… and also thank my little brother, whose creativity brought this incredible game world to life…”
The young man on screen was radiant and confident, while outside the screen, Lin Yongbin’s eyes were already blurred with tears. If only I hadn’t been blinded by worldly pleasures back then… even if my career failed, at least my wife wouldn’t have cheated on me. Maybe I would still have a well-behaved son—one who wouldn’t blame me for my failures, who would comfort me, help me, and face life’s difficulties with me…
But no amount of regret could change the past. Lin Yongbin could only cover his face and weep.
Qi Chenghao had no idea that somewhere in the world, someone was crying in remorse. After the interview, he returned backstage, where he saw his dumb little brother harassing an AI robot.
“Qi Wenle, can you act like a proper person for once?”
“I’m bored! Bro, I want a robot.”
“Fine, I’ll buy you one later.”
“But I want this one!”
Qi Chenghao: …
Another day, another headache caused by my dumb little brother!