Yi Hansheng found his bratty son’s reaction too amusing to resist teasing him a bit.
Who would’ve thought Yici’s response would be even more dramatic than expected: “You—you—you—!”
He was trembling all over.
“What about me?” Yi Hansheng raised a brow.
“You like Jiang Fuyue?!”
“Is that a problem?” Old Yi grinned.
“Of course it’s a problem! A huge problem! How could you like her?!”
“Why not? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t mind me finding you a stepmother?”
Yici was nearly frantic. “I did say that, but I didn’t say you could pick Jiang Fuyue! Jeez!”
The smile on Old Yi’s face deepened. “Why not Jiang Fuyue? Didn’t you praise her for having great grades and being gorgeous? As a stepmom, she could tutor you and be nice to look at at home—two birds, one stone!”
Yici looked at him like he was a deranged old pervert. That expression basically screamed: You? Jiang Fuyue wouldn’t even glance at you—cut off my head and use it as a soccer ball if I’m wrong.
Yi Hansheng’s smile froze. “Watch your mouth! What do you mean ‘me’? What’s wrong with your old man, huh? I’ve got looks and money, I’m generous—plenty of young women are all over me, willing to die for a chance! I’m sure Jiang Fuyue wouldn’t be an exception either!”
That last line was mumbled a bit, clearly guilty. He’d only dare bluster like this behind her back. In front of her, he wouldn’t even dare brag unless drugged and hypnotized.
But Yici didn’t catch that. He replied dead seriously: “But you’re old!”
Yi Hansheng: “?”
“You’re nearly fifty! People say men are like flowers at forty, but you’re about to wilt! How do you even have the face to like Jiang Fuyue? You’re a grown-*ss man—no self-awareness at all?”
Yi Hansheng: “???”
Yici was on a roll now. “Okay, being old isn’t your fault. But who told you to be born so much earlier? A proper match would be you finding a forty-something auntie to be my stepmom, right? Why go for something that’s clearly not yours? It’s like forcing down hot food—you’ll get burned, got it?”
Yi Hansheng: “…” I don’t wanna get it!
“And another thing—”
“Alright, alright! Enough already!” Old Yi hastily cut him off, afraid this brat would flay him alive with words.
“You little punk, I’m telling you—no one in this world is more worthy of Jiang Fuyue than me!”
A desperate attempt to save face. Most lethal kind.
Yici gave him a “give me a break” look. “Don’t be ridiculous. Even if she did have to pick between us, it wouldn’t be you.”
“What?”
“First off, I have the absolute advantage in age. Think about it—would a young and beautiful girl pick a charming, handsome peer as a boyfriend, or an old guy who looks like he’s a sugar daddy?”
Yi Old Cabbage Hansheng: “???”
“I know, I know—you’ll say you’ve got more money. But hello? I’m your only kid. Your money is my money! In other words, our wealth is the same, but I’m younger, hotter, and full of energy. If you were a girl, who would you pick?”
“Obviously me!” Yici puffed up proudly.
“Little punk! You’re itching for a beating!”
“What are you gonna do?” Yici immediately leapt three steps away, looking alert. “We’re just talking! Don’t start swinging when you can’t win an argument!”
“I’ll show you what winning looks like—!”
“No way! You’re really hitting me?!” Yici bolted.
Yi Hansheng chased after him. “Come back here!”
“What, you think I’m stupid? If I stop, you’ll land the hit!”
Of course, Yi Hansheng wasn’t seventeen anymore. After just half a lap around the little garden, he was already gasping for air. “You ungrateful brat!”
Yici stopped about ten meters away, fresh as a daisy. “Told you—you’re old. You can’t even run anymore and still think you can compete with me?”
“D*mn—if I don’t beat you today, I’ll take your last name!”
Yici: “You already do have my last name.”
Yi Hansheng: “?!”
The father-son duo kept up the chase until they were stopped by the hospital’s security guard—
“What are you two running around for?! This is a hospital! What if you crash into a patient?!”
Only then did the two calm down.
Yici suddenly turned serious. “Old man, be real—no jokes. Do you really have feelings for Jiang Fuyue?”
“I still have shame, okay?!”
That white moonlight in the sky—he’d never dreamed of reaching for it.
Not back then, and not now.
“Phew… Good. Haha.” The teen chuckled like an idiot.
“Tsk. What are you so happy about? Just ‘cause I don’t like her doesn’t mean no one else does. You think you can chase Jiang Fuyue?”
“What? I can’t?”
“Kid, hate to break it to you, but with the way you are now… you don’t even meet the minimum qualifications.”
That was the former heir of the Lou family.
A living legend.
Trying to pursue her?
Back then it was nearly impossible—now, even more so.
But instead of getting mad, Yici grinned wide—far more chill than Yi Hansheng had expected.
Under the sun, the teenager was bursting with youthful confidence.
“I don’t have the qualifications now, but I can work toward them. I’m still young, with time and energy to try again and again. But if I don’t even have the courage to try, wouldn’t that be too pathetic?”
Yi Hansheng was stunned for a moment. Then he reached out and patted his son’s shoulder.
“…You’ve got more promise than your old man.”
“Heh. Of course I do—”
Author’s Note:
This is the pure, burning sincerity of youth.
Even if you fail, it’s okay—because once, you loved wildly, and that in itself is beautiful.
