Chapter 19: I Hoped My Father Would Become a Great Man, Part 4

Qin Zhan excused himself to go to the bathroom and stepped out.
This floor of the building didn’t have private bathrooms for each household.
There were three families living on the first floor, and the common area was fairly spacious; some families had even placed stoves by their doors and cooked meals outside.
The only bathroom for the floor was located in the shared space.
The tap was outside as well; Qin Zhan unlocked it with his key, scooped cold water into his hands, and splashed it over his face.
“What fatherly love? Qin Zhan, are you so desperate for a father that you’ve lost your mind?”
He mocked himself coldly in his heart. When the ridicule was done, he straightened up and headed back inside.
Qin Ye acted as if this were his own home, even getting up to crush every empty bottle Qin Zhan had brought back last night, flattening them under his foot one by one.
He was dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, the kind whose quality was obvious at a glance—clearly not something a door-to-door insurance agent would wear.
On his feet were gleaming black leather shoes, which he now used, without a trace of pity, to stomp on the bottles.
At the barbecue restaurant where Qin Zhan worked odd jobs, customers usually ordered drinks or beer. The empty bottles left behind were all collected and brought home by Qin Zhan, after he’d asked his boss.
Every time Yang Xiufen came home, she’d scold him, telling him not to bother with such things and to focus on his studies.
But Qin Zhan stuck to his ways.
On one hand, Yang Xiufen was comforted that her child didn’t feel ashamed of picking up recyclables, but rather cared about her and even helped collect bottles. On the other, her heart ached for him.
She blamed herself for not being able to give her son a better life.
As for why Qin Ye was so skilled at this, it was because Second Dog Qin had done the same.
After seeing an elderly person ask passersby for bottles and, upon inquiring, learning from a coworker that bottles could be sold at the recycling station, Second Dog developed a fondness for collecting them.
The difference was that, unlike Yang Xiufen, Second Dog wasn’t so tidy; his bedroom was like a kennel, filled with things others would call trash.
Now, faced with these unprocessed bottles, Qin Ye felt an itch to flatten every single one.
So, after Qin Zhan’s short trip out, he returned to see Qin Ye expertly crushing the bottles.
Qin Zhan: ...
He had originally intended to pretend to be the old man’s son, fish for the family’s phone number, and call them to pick up their relative. Who could have guessed he’d end up experiencing “fatherly love” himself?
What a joke.
Was this love like a landslide?
And then, in the brief time he’d stepped out to wash his face, this man—dressed as if he were screaming “I’m rich”—had started crushing bottles in his home?
Was the world really that surreal, or was high school so stressful these days that he was hallucinating?
Qin Ye moved quickly; at first, he’d thought Second Dog’s habit was a bit embarrassing, but after actually doing it, he found that crushing bottles was oddly therapeutic.
One stomp per bottle, and soon he was done.
Not quite satisfied, Qin Ye even asked Qin Zhan, “Are there any more?”
“No, that’s all.”
What a pity.
With a hint of regret, Qin Ye sat back down on the sofa.
At that moment, the sound of a key turning the lock came from the door—Yang Xiufen was home early, her expression a bit unusual.
When she saw Qin Zhan at home, her face immediately changed.
“Tuantuan, are you going to your classmate’s place to study again today? You go every day—don’t their family mind?”

Yang Xiufen spoke casually, setting down her small bag and tying on her apron to head to the kitchen.
“Xiuer!”
Qin Ye called out in a trembling voice.
Only then did Yang Xiufen notice there was someone else in the house beside her son—a stranger, who looked oddly familiar.
She narrowed her eyes, staring at him intently, her sense of familiarity growing stronger, until suddenly her eyes widened, as if recalling something. “You... you’re... Second Dog!”
Qin Ye: ...
What kind of name is that?
But before he could respond, Yang Xiufen gritted her teeth, grabbed a broom, and brought it down on him, scolding as she struck.
“So it’s true what they said about you—not dead, just got rich and abandoned your family! I’ll beat the heartless wretch out of you!”
“Wait, let me explain! I didn’t abandon you—I was tricked by that bastard Yang Hong into mining in the mountains. It took me ages to escape!”
Qin Ye dodged the broom skillfully as he explained.
This damned mission—let it all end, he was exhausted.
“So it was Yang Hong... No wonder he kept taking villagers away and only ever came back alone. After taking several groups, he moved away and vanished. So that’s what he was up to—heartless scum.”
Yang Xiufen hadn’t really meant to hurt Qin Ye.
Hearing his explanation, she lowered the broom and looked him over, noticing he seemed even older than her. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Second Dog, how much suffering have you endured to end up looking so old?”
Qin Ye sighed, his face weathered. “Over ten years in illegal mines. The only thing that kept me alive was worrying about you and Tuantuan. Otherwise, I’d have died out there.”
In reality, the original had not died elsewhere, but at home. Without any identification, missing for more than a decade, he died without a trace, even causing trouble for the kind-hearted landlady who couldn’t rent out her property anymore.
Yang Xiufen asked a few more questions, and Qin Ye, not hiding anything, recounted the original’s miserable experience, adding just a few embellishments.
For instance, there was a learned teacher among the miners, and by studying with him before bed, he’d picked up a lot and could now read many words.
“That bastard deserves to be shot—how many has he killed? He broke up our family for over a decade...”
Yang Xiufen wept and cursed.
Seeing her health wasn’t good, Qin Ye worried she might faint from crying, so he changed the subject.
While the long-separated couple embraced and sobbed, Qin Zhan felt like he’d turned to wood—unable to move, unsure what to do, or even what he could do.
“Tuantuan, come here—this is your father! Didn’t I always say he wasn’t dead? Look, he’s really back!”
Yang Xiufen was delighted, but Qin Zhan remained cold and indifferent.
He didn’t believe a word Qin Ye said about mining.
“Tuantuan?”
Qin Zhan, unwilling to upset his mother, forced himself to walk over and gave Qin Ye a perfunctory nod.
Qin Ye: ...
Oh dear, it seemed his good son didn’t believe him at all.
“By the way, Second Dog, what are you doing now?”

After the tears and the reunion, and after making Qin Zhan greet his father, Yang Xiufen finally noticed Qin Ye’s attire. She hesitated.
Qin Zhan could tell at a glance that Qin Ye’s clothes were expensive—which was exactly why he didn’t believe his story.
Over a decade in illegal mines, then in just a few years after escaping, he’d amassed a fortune?
That might fool a toddler, but he was nearly an adult.
With a world-weary look, Qin Ye spun another tale—one even less believable.
He claimed he’d saved an elderly man who turned out to be extremely wealthy, and who insisted on thanking him.
Learning that he had no money and no ID, the old man helped him get his documents and a bank card, and finally gave him a million yuan as thanks.
Once again, Yang Xiufen believed him.
“You shouldn’t have accepted so much—how are we supposed to face him after that?”
Qin Ye waved it off. “I refused, but he insisted, saying his life was worth far more.
He only gave me a million because he didn’t want to bring me trouble.
He told me that even if I didn’t care about myself, I should think of my family.
The first thing I thought of was you and Tuantuan, so I accepted.
It’s a good thing I did. Xiuer, you and Tuantuan have suffered so much all these years!”
At these words, Yang Xiufen started crying again. “It wasn’t hard. My brother-in-law kept saying you were dead, that the family house shouldn’t go to an outsider like me, and tried to drive me out.
I refused and chased them away with a knife.
They clearly wanted to seize your house. If I’d left, Tuantuan would have been left with them—who knows what they’d have done to him?”
Realizing Qin Zhan was still present, Yang Xiufen became embarrassed and told him to go to his room to do homework.
She never discussed such matters with him; he was just a child, and it would only distract him from his studies.
This was the first time Qin Zhan had ever heard any of this from his mother.
Of course, he refused to go to his room and instead came up with an excuse to stay.
Qin Zhan forced a smile. “I just... want to spend a little more time with him.”
He still couldn’t bring himself to say “Dad”—there was a pause, and he changed the word to “him.”
Since he insisted, Yang Xiufen couldn’t send him away.
Qin Ye had expected that, without the original, his wife and child would have struggled—and he’d been right.
No wonder the original’s obsession was so strong—unable to let go even in death, eternally yearning for home.
Qin Ye and Yang Xiufen talked late into the night. Qin Zhan had school the next day but stubbornly refused to leave, wanting to stay with his parents.
Yang Xiufen tried to force him to bed, but Qin Ye stopped her.
This stubborn child didn’t want to spend time with him—he just didn’t trust him.
So be it. At least this way, he wouldn’t have to endure those wary, accusing looks forever.