As soon as Shen Yuan got home, he started rattling on to Qiao Hailou: “I just got off the phone with you and ran into my dad.”
“I haven’t seen him in almost five years.”
“The last time was after Mom passed. He showed up wanting me to live with him, thinking I’d be easy to manipulate. I realized he was really after Mom’s inheritance.”
“I figured there was no good reason for him to come—I knew it was about money.”
“Sure enough, the first thing he asked for was money. Ever since Grandpa took me in when I was six, he’d only shown up three or four times, and every single time, it was to ask for money.”
“He didn’t ask for much—just a couple thousand. I figured, whatever, I gave it to him and got it over with.”
Qiao Hailou shook his head. “Once you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. It never ends.”
Shen Yuan frowned. “If I didn’t give him anything at all, he’d make a scene at school, and I’d be laughed at. I already told him this is the only time. If he asks again, let him take me to court—I won’t give him anything. If he comes back, next time I won’t hold back.”
Qiao Hailou chuckled. “You’re fierce at home but weak in public. You dare to defy me, but out there, you let people push you around.”
Shen Yuan shot back, “What am I supposed to do? Blood ties and the law say he’s my dad. I can’t just deny it.”
The hardest thing in the world is when your own parents are contemptible. Their disgrace reflects on you as a child. Either you assimilate or, if you keep your wits, you end up looking down on them yourself. The world can criticize them all it wants—but as their child, you’re not allowed.
Qiao Hailou put it plainly: “You’ve got two options: one, endure it until one day you snap; two, don’t endure it and snap immediately. Don’t waste time saving someone useless. He’s older now, idle, without an income—your dad will come looking for you again eventually. Just wait and see.”
Shen Yuan asked, “I haven’t even told you what he’s like. How do you know he’s unemployed?”
Qiao Hailou said confidently, “A man in his forties, shamelessly asking a still-studying kid for money? That’s not hard to figure out—he’s just lazy.”
Seeing Shen Yuan still conflicted, Qiao Hailou added with certainty, “Dealing with shameless people requires even more shamelessness. Next time he shows up, hide with your Uncle Qiao. I’ll protect you. Against shamelessness, he doesn’t stand a chance with me.”
Shen Yuan, still worried, couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, okay. You’re the shamelessest of all.”
Then he hesitated. “There’s one more thing… I think he’s sick. He’s frighteningly thin, exhausted, pale and gaunt. His eyes… they don’t look right.”
He paused, unwilling to voice the worst of his suspicion. Qiao Hailou took over: “Like… drugs?”
Shen Yuan nodded hesitantly. “Yeah.”
Having a biological father who’s an addict is hardly something to boast about.
Qiao Hailou’s expression turned serious. After a moment’s thought, he reached out and took Shen Yuan’s hand. “It’s okay. I’ll look into it. Addicts will betray everyone around them—especially your dad, who’s already alienated everyone. You need to be extra careful when you’re out. Keep your phone GPS on at all times.”
Shen Yuan muttered, “I already have it on. You need to watch closely. If one day I don’t check in or disappear, come rescue me, okay?”
Qiao Hailou smiled. “You’re suspicious of your own dad?”
Shen Yuan sighed. “He never raised me. Since I was six, I’ve lived apart from him. Holidays, birthdays—I barely saw him. What bond could there be? Honestly, I had a closer relationship with the aunt at the early morning shop than with him. Even strangers treat me better. After Mom died, I already saw through him.”
He forced a smile. “I’m aware. I don’t feel sorry for him, and I’m not trying to be filial. I’m selfish. I just… want to save face for myself.”
Qiao Hailou didn’t push. “Good. Stay selfish. Keep it up.”
Shen Yuan laughed at his own selfishness, and then Xiao Lin came looking for him. “Brother, he saved you, sure, but do you really need to live with him to take care of him? Just thank him, give a gift.”
Xiao Lin was suspicious. He had disliked Qiao Hailou at first sight. “Aren’t you getting too close to him?”
Shen Yuan answered calmly. “Thanks shouldn’t just be words. Uncle Qiao isn’t short on money. Anything I give would be insulting. Better to show it through actions.”
Xiao Lin warned, “You’re too kind. You see everyone as good. You never know someone’s heart. I know you admire him, but my gut says he’s not a good person. Don’t trust him too much.”
Shen Yuan felt slightly guilty. He almost blushed, unsure if it was from Xiao Lin calling him kind, or recalling the lie about the red-and-white incident, or remembering that Qiao Hailou still did ‘bad things’ even with a broken leg. “Yeah, I know. I’ll be careful.”
He hadn’t told the Li family about his father’s visit—not wanting to trouble Uncle. After giving him money, a week passed and Shen Xuanwen didn’t show again. Maybe he wouldn’t come back, or maybe he was just laying low.
Even so, Shen Yuan remained uneasy, always half-expecting trouble.
That day, he told Qiao Hailou in advance that he couldn’t pick him up after school. He’d take care of him after dinner. Lin Zhihui was taking him out to dinner with some crew members to network—a good opportunity.
Shen Yuan tidied himself up a bit—nothing fancy, just dinner. Still, Lin Zhihui’s arrival turned heads.
The director joked, “Zhihui, why didn’t you say our little designer is this handsome?”
Lin Zhihui waved him off. “He draws the designs. Not auditioning for a role. Or are you offering him jobs because of looks?”
The director slapped his chest. “Sure, anytime.”
Shen Yuan smiled and declined. “Don’t joke. I’d just embarrass myself. For design work, though, you can call me.”
After dinner, Lin Zhihui drove him to Qiao Hailou’s house.
She hadn’t been drinking. Teasingly, she said, “I won’t take you to these dinners anymore. Some of those old lechers… well, you just focus on your work.”
Shen Yuan stared at her, unsure how to respond. Did she really see him as that innocent?
She continued: “Did you meet Deputy Director Fang today? He’s in his forties, never married, now living with a girl in her early twenties. Two years ago, another young woman. He’s been with several.”
Shen Yuan didn’t quite understand. He listened quietly as she went on:
“The girl he lived with before… I knew her. Thought she was smart but actually very innocent. A couple years back she got sick. Fang didn’t abandon her. He paid for treatment, took her to the best doctors. Six months without work, he stayed with her.”
“After she recovered, she wanted to marry him. He broke up with her. She cried, then gave up.”
“If you ask if he truly cared, yes, a bit. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stuck with her. But not enough to stay together for life. From the start, she should have known a man in his forties who won’t marry… won’t marry. She just hoped to be the exception. Loved him, overestimated his love, thought he’d be the one. Got her heart broken.”
Shen Yuan, precocious since childhood, realized she was hinting at him and Qiao Hailou.
Because he didn’t acknowledge their relationship, she had to explain indirectly. No wonder she’d brought him out to dinner. Shen Yuan felt uneasy. He’d told Qiao Hailou he wasn’t responsible. He never planned for a future with him.
They were both men. His body was atypical. Qiao Hailou might not accept him. He was young, living day by day, knowing that one day they’d part ways. He just didn’t want to think about that yet.
He never fantasized about taming a rogue.
After listening, he asked off-topic: “And you? Why did you get together with Uncle?”
Lin Zhihui blinked, surprised. “Me? At my age, there’s no time for romance. Among my options, your uncle has the best conditions, best character, most suitable as a husband. He pursued me, so I agreed.”
Shen Yuan asked, “You don’t like him?”
She smiled. “Of course I like him. He’s kind, gentle, attentive. I’m lucky he likes me at all.”
Meanwhile, Qiao Hailou was still at the office. The new investigation files were neatly laid out on his desk.
He sighed heavily, flipping through a 13-year-old newspaper clipping. Headline: Man Leaves Home for Half a Month, Locks Young Child Inside, Child Found Near Death
“…Man Shen, divorced, living with child alone, idle, not working.”
“…Neighbors thought he had taken the child with him.”
“…YuanYuan (pseudonym) was found by community workers after three days of starvation, in a coma. Doctors said a delay could have been fatal.”