Chapter 30: I Wish My Father Could Become a Dragon

Qin Zhan: …

He sneered, “Stop dreaming. Even if I used to like you, that was in the past.”

“Hah, so you did like me! No wonder you refused to pass on my love letter. Fine, I won’t bother you anymore,” Ruan Jiaojiao laughed like a fox who had just stolen a chicken and ran off.

Qin Zhan: …

Afterward, Qin Zhan realized his tribulations had begun.

Ruan Jiaojiao always sought him out for conversation. Bothered, he asked her what she wanted.

Her answer was always the same: she pitied him for liking her without reciprocation, so she talked to him more to offer comfort.

Qin Zhan: …

“I don’t like you!”

His tone was nearly gritted with exasperation.

“I know, I understand, it’s all right, I get it.”

You don’t get it at all!

Ruan Jiaojiao truly didn’t get it. She seemed convinced Qin Zhan was hopelessly in love with her, so her treatment of him grew even worse, as if no matter how she acted, he could never get angry.

Qin Zhan had stressed countless times that he really, truly didn’t like her, but it was all to no avail.

In the end, Qin Zhan treated Ruan Jiaojiao as a plague, avoiding her at all costs whenever he saw her.

Ruan Jiaojiao, stubborn as ever, would not change her mind no matter what anyone said.

Her behavior stunned Shen Lanzhou, who, though he had remembered her and had a fairly deep impression, found that impression fading rapidly.

After that, whatever Ruan Jiaojiao did, Shen Lanzhou had no desire to pay her any mind.

Ruan Jiaojiao blamed Qin Zhan for all her troubles, confronting him loudly, “Just because you like me doesn’t mean I can’t like someone else! You’re so selfish, Qin Zhan! I could never love someone as selfish as you!”

Passing students: …

Wow, what a juicy bit of gossip.

The teachers, who caught wind of the rumors: …

Oh, my poor prodigy! At such a crucial time, don’t let yourself be distracted!

Would it kill you to postpone love just a little while?

Treating the situation as a crisis, the teachers immediately contacted Qin Zhan’s parents.

Qin Ye, after a long, heartfelt talk with the teachers, was left exhausted.

Worn out, Qin Ye decided to shift the pain elsewhere.

“Tuan Tuan, you can date if you like, but don’t let it affect your studies. Can you manage that?”

Qin Zhan: “I’m not dating anyone!”

He was on the verge of a breakdown—he really wasn’t!

“Yes, yes, you’re not dating, that’s fine. I understand. I was your age once, too. Though I didn’t have the chance for an education, when I was your age, I’d already set my sights on your mother. Later, through sheer persistence and determination, I managed to win her over, and that’s how you came to be.”

Qin Zhan, deadpan: “Oh? And then?”

“And then you were born.”

“Oh~~”

Happiness never disappears; it just shifts from one place to another.

Feeling suddenly cheerful, Qin Ye ended the conversation with his beloved son, feeling completely refreshed.

And as for his beloved son—an utterly blank, dead-eyed expression.

See? The happiness has returned.

Qin Zhan really wasn’t affected by any of this. As for Shen Lanzhou, he did start working hard, but with too little time left, he couldn’t achieve the results he wanted in the college entrance exams.

Why did he start working hard? Well, perhaps he was spurred on by a living example of someone else’s successful child flaunting their achievements in front of him.

In the past, Old Master Shen had no “other people’s child” to compare his grandson to, but now he had one right in front of him.

The more he disdained Shen Lanzhou, the more satisfied he was with Qin Zhan.

The favoritism was so blatant that Shen Lanzhou even wondered if his grandfather had disowned him as a grandson.

After a few such encounters, Shen Lanzhou, in the agony of realization, resolved: Fine, you prefer model students? I’ll study, all right?

When the exams ended, Qin Ye confidently hosted a grand banquet, inviting every friend and relative, even those he hadn’t seen or visited since his return.

It didn’t matter whether they were close or not; the important thing was for everyone to witness how outstanding his son was.

Yes, this banquet was purely to show off his child.

Guests didn’t have to bring anything—just themselves.

But once they arrived, everyone wore a look of pained resignation—Qin Ye truly could brag.

Every sentence revolved around his beloved son, Tuan Tuan.

And the scale of the event made it obvious he’d become successful.

The town was so small, yet not a word of this had leaked out—Qin Ergou’s own elder brother’s family hadn’t even known he’d returned.

In the past, because they didn’t get Qin Ergou’s house, his brother’s family had been bitter, even vowing that if Yang Xiufen and her son died out there, they wouldn’t lift a finger to help.

And indeed, they hadn’t cared, even feeling pleased at Yang Xiufen’s misfortune.

Now, being invited to this banquet hosted by the very brother they’d presumed dead, Qin Ergou’s elder brother was skeptical, yet still dressed his family in their best, only to be shamefully outdone.

He found it hard to swallow his pride—he was a man of reputation, after all. To profit off a presumed dead relative was embarrassing enough, and worse still, they’d failed to get anything.

Now, with his own wife outclassed in every way by his sister-in-law, and his brother’s sudden reversal of fortune overtaking his own family, Qin Ergou’s elder brother was utterly miserable.

He was uncomfortable, but his wife wasn’t—she dragged their children over to cozy up to Qin Ye.

Unfortunately, all they heard was endless bragging, every story beginning with “my Tuan Tuan this, my Tuan Tuan that,” but not a single favor achieved.

The daughter couldn’t stand it: “His results aren’t even out yet. How can he be so smug?”

“Your second uncle made a bit of money and loves to show off—let him. When the results come out and he embarrasses himself, it’ll be his problem, not ours,” her mother replied.

Meanwhile, the son went to check out Qin Ye’s car parked outside, coming back visibly dazed.

Qin Zhan did not disappoint Qin Ye. When the results were released, he swept the field, ranking first in the city.

Though not the top in the province, Qin Ye threw a second banquet, inviting all friends and relatives again, this time including the teachers who had taught Qin Zhan.

He didn’t invite classmates—when some do well, others don’t, and to invite everyone to a celebration would be rubbing salt into wounds.

Qin Ye was a good man—he couldn’t do such a thing.

Oh, and if any relatives’ children also took the exams that year? Well, they didn’t have to come—no one was forcing them.

Old Master Shen joined in the festivities, watching Qin Ye boast with increasing envy.

But as for Shen Lanzhou…

Sigh.

The old man let out a long sigh, and after returning home, continued sighing and fretting in front of Shen Lanzhou, his back hunched, looking as if he’d aged ten years in an instant.

Shen Lanzhou’s expression froze; he broke out in a cold sweat, utterly at a loss.

He quietly declined all invitations from his friends, determined to study hard, hoping that after another year of repeating the grade, he could let his grandfather brag about him just as Qin Zhan’s father did.

Later, Old Master Shen boasted to Qin Ye, “Your tactic was brilliant! Xiao Zhou is now studying diligently at home without anyone even needing to urge him.”

Qin Ye simply smiled in response.

Come on, his daily performances of crying at the drop of a hat in front of his son and wife were not for nothing.

After the college entrance exams, Qin Zhan’s life fell into place: university, graduation, then work.

Whether he wanted to return home or stay out in the world, Qin Ye never interfered.

After working away for a few years, Qin Zhan eventually returned home and began to take over Qin Ye’s work.

Qin Ye patted the now much more mature Qin Zhan on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Even if you bankrupt our family, your old man can always make a comeback.”

Qin Zhan simply replied, not wanting to dampen his father’s spirits.

Why? He was afraid his father would cry again.

By then, Qin Ye no longer bothered dyeing his hair black, keeping it white, and even got himself a cane, for which Old Master Shen scolded him for being a copycat.

Of course, after seeing Qin Ye’s even worse health report, the old man’s regret and guilt hardly needed to be mentioned.

Qin Ye often claimed he was living on borrowed time, so who could blame him for indulging in video games like the younger generation?

His collection of dire medical reports became his best excuse.

During the height of eSports fever, Qin Ye would gather his team’s kids, have them carry him to easy victories, all for the joy of winning effortlessly.

And what could Qin Zhan, now in charge of his father’s business, do?

Just indulge him.

With a father like that, who had suffered so much, how could he be scolded or hit?

And as Qin Ye continued to complain about his declining health year after year, growing older and weaker, he still managed to hang on. Even when ill and bedridden, he would eventually recover his spirit.

It wasn’t until Yang Xiufen passed away, and Qin Zhan was no longer young, that Qin Ye finally closed his eyes in peace.

Before passing, he muttered, “This time, I’ve gone after your mother, just as she said I should—always staying by your side, never missing a moment of your life. He should be satisfied now, shouldn’t he?”

He, meaning the original soul of this body.

Qin Zhan, no longer young, thought he meant his mother. His nose stung and tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Don’t cry…”

Even speaking was a struggle for this body—if Qin Zhan hadn’t been close enough, he might not have caught those last words.

After Qin Ye’s passing, Qin Zhan took care of his affairs and then set out to travel the vast and beautiful country.

He never married. While Yang Xiufen was alive, she worried and tried to urge him, but Qin Ye always stopped her.

The child is grown—let him live however he wants. Life is short; why shackle him with unnecessary burdens?

As for the male and female leads, well, their original story seemed to have been thoroughly derailed.

The male lead never fell for the female lead as the plot intended. Instead, the female lead remained steadfast in her belief that he loved her.

This time, no matter how Shen Lanzhou rejected her, Ruan Jiaojiao stubbornly insisted he only pretended not to like her out of helplessness.

Shen Lanzhou had originally planned to repeat a year at the same school, but eventually fled, unable to bear Ruan Jiaojiao’s persistence.

Ruan Jiaojiao’s repeat year didn’t amount to much—she still failed her exams, and her parents had no choice but to accept reality, comforting themselves that all they wanted was for their child to be safe and healthy.

Still, Ruan Jiaojiao insisted she had a lover who had sworn eternal devotion to her—a lover who just happened to be Shen Lanzhou, who had taken over his family business and made something of himself.

She told everyone about their moving love story, so much so that Shen Lanzhou eventually took her to court for defamation and rumor-mongering.

Qin Ye paid no attention to any of this. He still firmly believed that the world’s main characters were quite normal.

As for the “third party”: …

Well, as long as he was happy, nothing else mattered.