Chapter 4: Is This Even Reasonable?!

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Cheng Shi was in high spirits. After buying some things, he hurried home. After his elder sister passed away, his mother often wept bitterly, sinking into deep sorrow, and she too passed away within a few years. Despite his desperate efforts and devoted care, his father lived into his seventies but remained like a lost soul wandering in the shadows. For others, returning home after work was an ordinary routine; for Cheng Shi, it was like a prodigal son returning after decades, a joyful family reunion. The overwhelming rush of happiness and excitement made his steps lighter than usual.

Cheng Shi’s home was on the top floor, the seventh floor. Since no one liked living on the top floor, it was left for the Cheng family. The narrow, pitch-dark stairwell was cluttered with heaps of coal briquettes, discarded bottles, jars, and all sorts of miscellaneous items. As every day before, a skinny yellow tabby cat squatted in the hallway, meowing at him. Cheng Shi rarely paid it any mind before, but today even seeing it felt profoundly heartwarming. He reached out and petted its head before climbing the stairs. At the door, he called, “Dad, Mom, I’m home.”

Instead of his mother coming out as usual, a rolling pin flew at him. Cheng Shi turned his head just in time to dodge it, grinning mischievously as he said, “Comrade Cheng Yongjin, why so angry? Wait until I come in before you start swinging. We wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt the neighbors downstairs.”

Cheng Yongjin, seeing he missed, was furious that Cheng Shi even called him by name and grabbed a clothes hanger. “You good-for-nothing bastard! I’m going to beat you to death today. You quit your job for no reason, took out a huge loan to buy a pile of junk machines—are you trying to drive me crazy?”

Back then, to help Cheng Shi secure a permanent position, Cheng Yongjin had retired early and accepted the lowest pension, barely twenty-some yuan a month—almost nothing. Now that Cheng Shi had quit, the whole family was left to starve.

Cheng Shi’s mother, Cai Aiping, grabbed his arm. “Don’t hurt the boy. Let’s talk it out.”

Usually timid before Cheng Yongjin, Cai Aiping only dared to object when he was about to strike Cheng Shi. Cheng Yongjin glared at her and shouted, “You’ve spoiled him rotten, and you still want to coddle him? If you protect him this time, I’ll hit you too!”

Cai Aiping’s eyes welled with tears from his shouting. She let go, saying bitterly, “Hit him, go ahead, beat him to death. If anything happens to him, I won’t want to live either.”

Cheng Shi quickly stepped between them. “Dad, I’m not running away. Don’t let yourself get too upset, and please don’t yell at Mom. It’s all my fault.”

Only after fifty do you realize how fortunate it is for parents to nag you. He would rather have his father chase him fiercely than see him become a quiet shadow as he did later.

Cheng Yongjin paused, lowering his hand, then looked Cheng Shi over with a hint of shock. “Did you get hit on the head in a fight or something?”

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Cheng Juan had just returned and took the clothes hanger from their father’s hand while he was still stunned, tossing it aside. Cheng Shi said, “No, I just suddenly came to understand some things. Dad, you didn’t let me attend high school or take the university entrance exam. I resented you for that and haven’t worked properly these last two years, trying to rebel against the world. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have been so stubborn. If I wanted to go to university, I could have taken night classes. All this messing around just wasted my own time.”

Cheng Yongjin’s eyes moistened. Cheng Shi had never been easy to manage. Seeing his son’s poor grades made him anxious; it was uncertain whether he’d even get a job, let alone get into university. So he had pulled strings to get him a permanent position before the system closed, hoping to give him a secure future. But the boy had only brought trouble, draining everyone’s energy. Now he’d quit altogether.

Growing angrier, Cheng Yongjin said roughly, “I know you’re upset about being transferred to a contract worker. So what if you’re a contract worker? As long as you have a contract, every day you workI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.