Chapter 369 – All is but a Fleeting Cloud
This was undoubtedly a joke, a colossal one.
Wei Zhenxiong had once suspected that it was just the old man’s way of striking him, deliberately saying so. Yet, Wei Zhenxiong knew that if it wasn’t true, the old man wouldn’t have said it, for he was a man who valued tradition above all.
So, for more than twenty years, he had held resentment and ignored Wei Chen, only to find out that he was his child, and this calamity was something he had orchestrated himself.
What an enormous joke it was, an enormous joke indeed.
As Wei Chen looked at Wei Zhenxiong, seeing him staring blankly, he spoke, “Is there something you need?”
Wei Zhenxiong snapped out of his thoughts, putting on a placating smile. “Achen, I have something to discuss with you. Can we find a place to sit and talk?”
Wei Chen somewhat guessed Wei Zhenxiong’s intention, but when Wei Zhenxiong caught Fang Yun and imprisoned her, he and Wei Zhenxiong had nothing left to say to each other. “Sorry, someone’s waiting for me at home,” Wei Chen directly refused.
“You won’t spare me any time? I’m your father!” Wei Zhenxiong roared at Wei Chen.
“So what?” His voice tinged with scorn.
For over twenty years, had Wei Zhenxiong ever acted like a father? Now that he was in dire straits, facing difficulties, only now did he remember he had a son?
Meeting Wei Chen’s slightly mocking gaze, Wei Zhenxiong felt half of his confidence vanish.
But what could guilt do? Wasn’t it natural for a son to help his father?
After some self-reassurance, Wei Zhenxiong swallowed hard and said firmly, “So, now you must help me.”
If Wei Chen could express a smiling expression on his face, he would be laughing out loud in front of Wei Zhenxiong at this moment.
“Why should I?” Wei Chen’s gaze turned icy. “Just because you provided a single sperm when I was born?”
Wei Zhenxiong was left speechless by Wei Chen’s counterquestion but persisted, “Just because I’m your father.”
At this moment, Wei Zhenxiong was being unreasonable, and Wei Chen realized it. Unwilling to further entangle himself with Wei Zhenxiong, for the umpteenth time, Wei Chen’s temper flared up.
He reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, extracted all the cash, and tossed it in front of Wei Zhenxiong.
“Go clean yourself up; you look terrible right now.” Each word spoken was cold and merciless.
Father? Someone who was only responsible for conception but not upbringing, was he worthy of being called his father?
After dropping the cash, Wei Chen briskly walked away.
Wei Zhenxiong hadn’t expected Wei Chen to be so heartless. He stared blankly at the scattered cash in front of him and finally, as if all his strength had been drained, he sat on the ground.
He had never experienced this before—surrendering his pride to be trampled under someone’s feet so ruthlessly.
Was this still him? Was he still Wei Zhenxiong? The same Wei Zhenxiong who once held sway in the bustling city, commanding winds and rains?
How had he fallen to such depths, where even his own son disregarded him, crushing his dignity mercilessly? Perhaps, in his current state, he had no shred of dignity left.
Wei Zhenxiong remained on the ground for a while until a phone call interrupted his thoughts.
It was from the company, indicating someone was willing to invest in Wei Corporation, aiming to help it rise from its low point.
Upon hearing this news, Wei Zhenxiong immediately jumped up from the ground, purchased a high-speed train ticket, and hurried back to the bustling city without delay.
Meanwhile, Wei Chen sat in the car, watching Wei Zhenxiong’s retreating figure with fatigue, rubbing his temples wearily.
This was Wei Zhenxiong’s final chance. Wei Chen hoped he could seize this opportunity. Sighing, Wei Chen started the car and headed back to Xie Chunsheng’s house, where his Li Li and his chubby little son were eagerly awaiting him.
Upon returning home, as his son toddled over with unsteady steps, exclaiming, “Da da, Da da,” having missed his father all day, his affectionate calling made Chen Li envious.
Wei Chen lifted his little cub into his arms, planting a kiss on the tender face, eliciting giggles from his child who responded with a face full of drool.
Chen Li walked over, planting a kiss on Wei Chen’s face, yet he sensed a slight negative energy in his mood and worriedly asked, “Achen, what’s wrong?”
Wei Chen, holding his child on one side and Chen Li on the other, replied, “It’s nothing, just feeling a bit tired.”
Unconvinced, Chen Li said, “Then let me take care of Qiuqiu tonight. You should rest early.”
“Okay,” Wei Chen responded, resting his chin on Chen Li’s shoulder. Having two important people in his embrace made him feel like all the negativity had vanished.
In his heart, only pure happiness remained.
The following days passed uneventfully, peaceful and calm, with nothing out of the ordinary.
One weekend afternoon, Chen Li received a call from Chen Yunlan, saying that he’d be back home in about an hour.
Chen Yunlan and Xie Chunsheng had been in the bustling city for several days, and now they were finally returning home. Chen Li was especially eager because Chen Yunlan had mentioned introducing someone to him.
“Achen, Dad and Uncle Xie are coming back,” Chen Li said to Wei Chen, after ending the call, while he was playing with Qiuqiu.
Wei Chen nodded. “I know. I’ll prepare a few more dishes tonight.” Even though Xie Chunsheng’s villa had a chef, during weekends, Wei Chen preferred to cook himself. It wasn’t that he enjoyed cooking; he just liked seeing Chen Li’s satisfied expression after eating his food.
Chen Li walked over to Wei Chen, took the toy from Qiuqiu’s hand, and moved a little farther away to encourage Qiuqiu to walk more. Otherwise, the chubby little cub would just sit in one place for the whole afternoon.
If not encouraged to walk more, Qiuqiu would have turned into a ball himself. Well, he wasn’t too far from that already—a love for eating coupled with laziness; who did he inherit these traits from?
Certainly, Chen Li wouldn’t attribute these traits to himself, even though he was the perfect spokesperson for these characteristics.
Seeing his beloved toy taken away, Qiuqiu climbed up from the ground and wobbled towards Chen Li, extending his chubby little hands, asking for something.
“Da da, bunny. Mine.”
Qiuqiu loved his bunny toy. The previous bunny teether had been taken away by Chen Li because it was worn out. Qiuqiu had been asking for it for days, sometimes even calling out for it in his sleep.
However, when this new bunny toy entered Qiuqiu’s sight, he no longer looked for his bunny teether. Chen Li teased him with it, moving a few steps backward whenever Qiuqiu came close, but Qiuqiu didn’t budge when tired and sat down, ignoring Chen Li’s calls.
“Qiuqiu, do you want the bunny?” Chen Li asked.
Qiuqiu pouted, playing with his fingers, ignoring Chen Li.
“Qiuqiu, Daddy wants to go out to play. Do you want to come with Daddy?”
Qiuqiu remained indifferent.
Chen Li had managed to annoy Qiuqiu. However, he wasn’t worried; he had a trump card. He smiled and said, “Daddy and Grandpa are going out to eat. Does Qiuqiu want to come?”
Indeed, the word “eat” successfully caught Qiuqiu’s attention. He quickly got up and toddled toward Chen Li.
“Da da, Qiuqiu, eat, eat.”
At that moment, whatever bunny toy or whatever grudge about Daddy, in the face of food, all is but a fleeting cloud. Big Qiuqiu showed that he didn’t care at all.
Wei Chen watched the father-son interaction tenderly, his gaze reflecting a hint of warmth.
Sometimes, Wei Chen suspected that Qiuqiu would become rounder and rounder, possibly due to Chen Li’s long-term coaxing. He liked to tease Qiuqiu, and when he teased too much, Qiuqiu would get upset, ignoring Chen Li. Then, Chen Li would use food to coax him.
Qiuqiu loved eating, and using food to coax him was always effective—never failed. Consequently, while Qiuqiu grew rounder from eating, Chen Li also gained some weight.
Chen Li already had a somewhat babyish face, and now, with a rounder face, he appeared increasingly youthful. However, despite his rounder face, he had a constitution that didn’t put on weight easily. Despite eating so much, all the weight went to his face and bottom.
Sometimes, when Wei Chen teased him too much in bed, Chen Li’s tearful and aggrieved expression always made Wei Chen unable to resist.
Wei Chen cleared his throat, reining in his runaway thoughts and looked back at Chen Li and Qiuqiu. Sure enough, he saw the pair looking at him with their similarly pleading eyes.
Yes, it was always like this. Every time Chen Li finished coaxing Qiuqiu with food, the responsibility of making the food fell on Wei Chen’s shoulders. Then, Chen Li and Qiuqiu, this father-son duo, only needed to open their mouths to eat.
“Alright, I’ll prepare for you now,” Wei Chen sighed, standing up reluctantly, resignedly heading into the kitchen.
Therefore, it could be inferred that the main culprit causing Qiuqiu and Chen Li’s sideways development was Wei Chen’s indulgence.
When Chen Yunlan and Xie Chunsheng returned, they saw Chen Li and Qiuqiu sharing a bowl of noodles while Wei Chen sat beside them reading a book—a heartwarming scene.
Chen Yunlan immediately guessed the situation and couldn’t help but jokingly say, “Achen, stop spoiling Xiao Li and Qiuqiu. If Qiuqiu keeps eating like this, he won’t be able to move soon.”
Hearing the voice, Chen Li turned around, smiling, “Dad, Uncle Xie, you’re back?”
Qiuqiu, mouth full of noodles, also mumbled, “Pa pa.”
Chen Yunlan walked over, scooped Qiuqiu up, not minding the food residue on his face, and gave him a kiss. “My big Qiuqiu, do you miss Grandpa?”
Qiuqiu nodded, swallowed the food in his mouth, and softly replied, “Miss, Pa pa.”
This melted Chen Yunlan’s heart, and he personally fed Qiuqiu a spoonful of noodles, likely forgetting what he just said. With such an adorable chubby grandson, there was too much affection to consider restricting him.
Chen Li remembered Chen Yunlan mentioning introducing someone to him and asked, “Dad, are you going to introduce someone to me?”
