Qi Lei wasn’t keen on sleeping in the sa bed as the man in front of him—especially not for several days. So he specifically ran off to his grandparents’ room, hoping he might be able to sleep on the floor there.
Qi Sheng, watching his son run off, didn’t seem worried. He knew the elderly couple wouldn’t let their precious grandson sleep on the floor, and the boy himself likely wouldn’t want to disturb their rest either.
Sure enough, not long after, Qi Lei returned, his expression cool.
“Lei Lei, it’s getting late. Stop wandering around and get so rest,” Qi Sheng said, acting as if he hadn’t noticed his son’s reluctance, casually chalking up his brief departure to going out to play.
Qi Lei frowned and glanced at the man already lying in bed with his phone in hand, unable to figure out what was going through his head.
Wasn’t this guy the one who used to say he didn’t want to see him at all?
The bed was large—more than enough space for two people. Still, Qi Lei, after a glance at Qi Sheng, turned and pulled out so bedding from the cabinet. He folded it in half and laid it out in a spacious spot on the floor.
Seeing this, Qi Sheng understood exactly what the boy was thinking: he’d rather sleep on the floor than share a bed with him.
Qi Sheng put down his phone and walked over to the makeshift bed. With a few quick movents, he packed it up again. Looking at the child standing there watching him, he said, “Don’t be difficult. Co on, get in bed. It’s a big bed—plenty of room for both of us.”
He returned the bedding to the cabinet and raised an eyebrow at Qi Lei. “Be good. We’re going furniture shopping tomorrow as a family, so we need a good night’s sleep.”
Qi Sheng’s tone was too firm. Though Qi Lei still kept an emotional distance, he no longer openly argued with him, so he didn’t push back anymore.
Qi Lei finally climbed into bed obediently. Qi Sheng had planned to have a heart-to-heart, but the boy made his refusal clear—he lay down and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep right away.
Qi Sheng took the hint. Knowing these things couldn’t be rushed, he didn’t press further.
The next day, Qi Sheng planned to take the elderly couple and Qi Lei shopping for furniture to decorate their new ho.
Trying to win favor with the three of them, he declared generously, “We’re going to the furniture mall today. Pick whatever you like—we’ll buy whatever catches your eye!”
The old lady shot him a sideways glance. “You just finished building a house—what money do you have left? The old furniture we had will do fine. No need to waste money.”
“Mom, I already told you—I’ve still got money. Buying furniture won’t be a problem.”
She didn’t quite believe him, so Qi Sheng spun another story: “I’m serious, Mom. I’ve secretly been investing in stocks for years. The initial capital has grown a lot over ti. I just got really lucky recently and made a good profit. Otherwise, how could I have had enough to pay for the house all at once?”
The old lady didn’t know much about stocks, but the old man had heard a little.
“Stocks? You? All I’ve heard is that nine out of ten people lose money trading. How did you get so lucky?”
The old man wasn’t convinced. He’d noticed his son spending quite freely lately and worried that the source of his money might be questionable.
Qi Sheng chuckled. “Those who lose money are usually clueless investors. I’ve been studying the market for years because I knew teaching wouldn’t bring in much. I just never told you before.”
The elderly couple exchanged a look and didn’t press further. They suddenly rembered that Qi Sheng’s ex-wife had left him because she thought he’d never amount to more than a poor school teacher.
Afraid of reopening old wounds, they chose not to pursue the topic.
Qi Sheng drove the three of them to the city’s furniture mall. With the New Year approaching, all the malls were running promotions and discounts. The lively atmosphere gave no hint of any looming disaster.
The elderly couple hadn’t visited a furniture mall in a long ti. Seeing all the sales and special deals put them in high spirits. Qi Lei, seeing how happy his grandparents were, felt better himself.
Qi Sheng took the opportunity to make his presence known: “Dad, Mom—look, that’s the living room section over there. Should we go check it out first?”
The old lady glanced around the mall, then shook her head and said, “Let’s check out the bedroom section first. I need to pick out a comfortable bed for Lei Lei. The one he used to sleep on really does need replacing.”
The old man also prioritized their grandson. As soon as he heard his wife say that, he nodded in agreent. Qi Sheng naturally had no objections, so the four of them headed directly toward the bedroom area.
On the way, Qi Sheng teased the boy, “Let’s pick out a nice, spacious bed. Then, if there’s a chance in the future, Dad can still sleep with you sotis.”
Qi Lei didn’t respond. He rely gave him a look, then quietly moved over to the old man’s left side and gently supported him—using his actions to show that he absolutely refused to be associated with Qi Sheng!
Compared to the crowded chaos of supermarkets, the furniture mall was much quieter. Even though many families were renovating or building new hos lately, not that many people were actually shopping for furniture.
A sales assistant, who had been worried about her monthly performance, suddenly spotted Qi Sheng’s group—a big-spending family—and was thrilled. She enthusiastically gave them a detailed introduction to all the furniture, offering excellent service with an attitude that was impossible to fault.
Qi Sheng, who had originally wanted to take this opportunity to personally introduce everything to the family: “…”
Although he didn’t manage to have much conversation with Qi Lei during this shopping trip, overall, the outing was pleasant. Or rather, the other three enjoyed it very much. The old lady, in particular, was so happy with the shopping experience that she was unusually kind and friendly to Qi Sheng afterward.
That evening, Qi Sheng even sent photos of the furniture to Tian Yue. However, Tian Yue hadn’t really co to terms with the idea of eventually moving back to their hotown, so she wasn’t particularly excited about the new furniture. In fact, she was a bit annoyed at how Qi Sheng was spending money so freely.
The couple had a brief conversation to update each other on their respective family situations. When Tian Yue heard that the Qi family currently didn’t have a proper place to stay, she decided to delay her return a bit longer.
This ant Qi Sheng would get to continue sharing a room with his eldest son for a while—but unfortunately, the two of them were sharing a bed with very different mindsets.
Over the past few days, in order to avoid spending ti alone with Qi Sheng, Qi Lei stayed in the living room downstairs for most of the day, only returning upstairs at bedti. At the mont, he was playing a mobile ga (Honor of Kings) with his uncle Qi Sen and Qi Sen’s wife. Just as they were getting into it, Qi Sheng appeared.
“Lei Lei, you’re gaming? Count
in!” he said.
Qi Lei paused for a mont but kept his eyes on the ga and said nothing.
Qi Sen, however, was surprised: “Bro, you ga? You’re a teacher—I thought you’d want to confiscate our phones the mont you saw us playing!”
“What are you talking about? I’m super open-minded! Don’t underestimate —I’m actually great at gas.”
Qi Sen didn’t believe him and enthusiastically tried to drag him into a match. Just then, Qi Lei finally spoke up: “It’s ti for Grandpa’s leg massage. I’m heading upstairs.”
Without waiting for a reply, he picked up his phone and dashed upstairs two steps at a ti. Qi Sheng didn’t have ti to stop him, and any interest he had in gaming was pretty much gone.
Qi Sen, who had been watching the awkward tension between the father and son, looked a little puzzled and turned to Qi Sheng. “Bro… are you still my bro? You’ve changed since you got back. What’s going on?”
“Changed how?”
“You used to avoid spending ti with Lei Lei. What’s with this sudden effort? Did your conscience finally wake up?”
“Shut up. Next ti sothing like this happens, cooperate with . The past is the past.”
Qi Sen, seeing his brother deflated, gave a nonchalant “oh” and then, after Qi Sheng also went upstairs, blinked and grinned with gloating amusent.
His wife, who had been sitting next to him, noticed and glanced at him curiously, but Qi Sen didn’t explain. He couldn’t help but recall the way Qi Lei looked when they first took him away from Qi Sheng’s ho—bruised and battered, emotionally shut down. He thought that, given all that, Qi Lei’s attitude now was perfectly normal.
That child had returned ho covered in wounds and didn’t speak for nearly six months. Wounds like that don’t heal easily.
Back in his room, Qi Sheng’s expression had returned to normal. With nothing better to do, he picked up his phone and started browsing the news.
As the New Year approached, more and more people were returning to their hotowns. It was supposed to be a ti for joyful family reunions—yet suddenly, a terrible piece of news ca from the neighboring country, R.
R, already a country with limited land area, had half of its territory subrged overnight.
The natural disaster shocked the entire world. No one had ever imagined that nature’s retaliation could be so devastating.
For three whole days, the eyes of the world were fixed on Country R. Driven by humanitarian concern, people around the globe initially intended to extend their aid. However, just three days later, both the previously peaceful and serene Southeast Asian peninsula and a small country in the Aricas were struck almost simultaneously by massive earthquakes.
Cities made of concrete and steel turned to rubble overnight. The sheer magnitude of the quakes once again stunned the world.
It wasn’t until days later that the news gradually began reporting the true scale of the quakes—nearly magnitude ten. The world finally descended into panic.
Qi Sheng, observing this string of disasters, wasn’t having an easy ti either. A heavy blizzard had suddenly hit their area.
Watching the thick snow falling like goose feathers outside the window, the whole family sat in the living room in silence, no one in the mood to talk.
Qi Lei and Qi Sen were glued to their phones, scrolling through news updates. Qi Sheng, anwhile, stared out the window, silently worrying about the progress on the new house’s renovations.
At the mont, the bedrooms were finished, the kitchen nearly done, but the two storerooms, the small shop, and the garage were still bare and unfinished.
No one knew how long this blizzard would last. Qi Sheng could only pray that the next disaster would co a little slower.
“Are we really facing the end of the world? Is heaven planning to wipe out humanity bit by bit?”
One city at a ti, half a country at a ti—those who had yet to experience disaster were now on edge, their nerves frayed to the limit. At the slightest sign of trouble, they feared the next calamity might strike them.
“Qi Sen, I’m scared…” Qi Sen’s wife, Lin iyi, broke into tears the mont she heard the word “apocalypse.”
The young couple leaned on each other for comfort, and Qi Lei silently ca over to stand beside the elderly couple, taking their hands in a gesture of mutual support.
He sneaked a glance at Qi Sheng, who was standing by the window, then quietly looked away again.
Qi Sheng didn’t notice his son’s gaze. After finishing his thoughts, he turned around—only to be t with the sight of his family in a scene of grim determination.
“It’s not as bad as you all think,” he said. “There hasn’t been any bad news these past couple of days, has there?”
Qi Sen, however, was not reassured. “That may be true, but who knows if we’re the next disaster zone—”
“Watch your mouth! Don’t jinx it!” Lin iyi imdiately snapped, scolding him sharply. Qi Sen, who had been pessimistic just monts earlier, instantly quieted down.
“If it’s a big disaster, there’s no running from it. If it’s a smaller one, we might just get a little hurt at most.”
Everyone wasn’t quite sure whether Qi Sheng’s words were ant to be comforting or discouraging. But when they thought about it, it made sense. If a catastrophe like those of the past few days really hit them, there would be no way to resist it. As for minor disasters—thankfully, they lived on the plains, and most of the houses were only one or two stories tall. They’d probably have a chance to escape.
Because of these major disasters, the New Year in China was far from festive. Tian Yue had been staying at the Tian family ho. A few days ago, she had planned for Qi Sheng to co pick them up—but then the heavy blizzard hit, completely cutting off any chance of the family reuniting.
The snow seed never-ending, and the people of Qijia Village could only sigh as they looked out at the thick layers of it.
“The crops in the fields are probably all frozen to death…”
Even though many households had stockpiled food well in advance, it still pained them to watch their hard work vanish before their eyes.
The cities were now in full-blown panic, especially residents living in high-rise buildings. Every mont was filled with anxiety over possible earthquakes. This was particularly true in the south, where people feared they wouldn’t be able to escape tall buildings. Those with rural hos had returned to them, and those whose old hos were no longer habitable had gone to stay with relatives.
This New Year, the cities had turned into ghost towns.
The only small consolation was that their area’s water, electricity, and heating hadn’t been cut off—perhaps the greatest effort the governnt could make before disaster struck.
That night, when it was ti to rest, Qi Sheng saw how quiet and withdrawn the child had beco. Unable to hold back, he walked over and pulled him into his arms.
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, Dad’s here for you.”
The child in his arms stiffened and tried to pull away, but Qi Sheng didn’t give him the chance.
“In a little while, our new ho will be ready, and we’ll be able to live together again.”
Upon hearing that, Qi Lei finally couldn’t stand this strange new version of Qi Sheng anymore. He couldn’t help but mock him: “Didn’t you say just the sight of
made you sick? What are you trying to do now?!”
Qi Sheng gently ruffled Qi Lei’s hair and replied with a calm tone, “I was drunk that ti. I said a lot of stupid things. Can we just forget all that?”
Qi Lei didn’t respond. He simply stood there quietly, no longer struggling to break free.
Looking at his son in that state, Qi Sheng sighed. Letting go of him, he said seriously, “Don’t take today’s words too much to heart. Just rember—no matter what difficulties co, I’ll be the one to take them on for you.”
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