Return of the Antagonistic Lady Boss

Chapter 1204: Chapter 1176: But It’s All for You, Old Man

The screen finally froze on Qiuqiu sitting in the boss chair, looking out the window, his eyes so empty. Judging from the date, it was shot just yesterday.

You could feel his unhappiness even through the screen.

Suddenly, the screen went black.

Qiuqiu’s dad felt a jolt in his heart. At this point he couldn’t even tell if it was a dream or reality. It was like he had just relived Qiuqiu’s whole growth, like that life-flashback people say you get before you die.

The darkened wall seemed to sense his panic and lines of text appeared again, one after another, not all at once, but line by line.

He used to be her, but he wasn’t happy.

In order to find himself, he’s been lost, he’s tried hard.

He’s been misunderstood by the world, yet still filled with sunny hope that tomorrow will be better.

But the person closest to him is the one who despises him the most.

Now his family is at death’s door, and he chose to burn up his own feelings in exchange for his family’s safety.

But...

The screen went black again, and a second later all those words vanished, leaving only four characters.

He is not happy.

Then the words drifted away, disappearing like dust in the wind.

This slideshow was something Chen Xiaoqian had someone make. From the choice of photos to how long each line of text stayed, all of it was designed to stomp right on the psychological bottom line.

Qiuqiu’s dad realized at some point he was already in tears. The room dimmed again, and Qian’s voice sounded at just the right moment in this overly quiet space.

”If you had to choose between Qiuqiu being safe and Qiuqiu being happy, which would you pick?”

”I’d choose...for him to be safe and happy.”

Compared to life and death, some things really aren’t important anymore.

”But it’s too late. Because of your stubbornness, he’s already down in the pit.”

”Qiuqiu! My son!” Qiuqiu’s dad broke down sobbing. ”Why did Heaven take you away? If someone has to go it should be me, the one with a terminal illness!”

”Do you still want him to be a woman, still want him to have kids?”

”As long as he’s alive, whatever he wants is fine. I wronged him!”

...

”Where’s my dad?” Qiuqiu rushed in from outside, anxious as hell. He’d just gotten off the plane when he got Qian’s call saying his dad had passed out.

His cousin pointed toward the inner room. Qiuqiu hurried over. The door was shut. He tried the handle a few times, couldn’t get it open, and suddenly heard his old man’s voice booming out, scaring him half to death.

”Qiuqiu, Dad is sorry to you!”

The voice was so loud it was terrifying, and that was when Qiuqiu noticed the two external speakers set by the door.

They were transmitting the sound from inside.

”Quit howling. There’s a ton of stuff you’re sorry about; it’s not like I can really stay mad at you. Hurry up and open the door.” Qiuqiu slapped the door twice, but his voice couldn’t get through to the inside.

This room had already been specially treated ahead of time on Qian’s orders. The soundproofing was excellent.

”Do you still insist on making him be a woman?” Qian’s voice came through as well.

Qiuqiu got it now. Qian was up to something!

”As long as he’s still alive, it doesn’t matter what he is...” Qiuqiu’s dad sobbed. His good child, how could he be so short-lived?

In the darkness, light slowly seeped in. The door opened. Qiuqiu’s dad squinted, and saw a tall, handsome figure in the doorway—wasn’t that his Qiuqiu?

”Qian, you tied my old man up?” Qiuqiu turned his head and asked.

Qian was right beside him, holding a microphone. She had been outside controlling everything just now.

”If I don’t tie him up, will he listen?”

Qiuqiu’s dad’s tears stopped abruptly. What the hell was going on?

Was he dreaming or what?

”Tsk tsk, this tied-up look is pretty good, kind of like when the village slaughters a pig.” Qiuqiu came over and poked the rope binding his dad. Qian really was a genius.

”You, you two, what on earth—?” Qiuqiu’s dad was completely baffled now.

”The mine did collapse, but it was someone else’s mine. Qiuqiu is indeed down in a pit, but the pit he’s in didn’t collapse.”

Qian patted Qiuqiu’s shoulder. ”Today’s treatment is free. Consider it a friendly giveaway from me.”

Pregnant women, you know, love to do charity. Doing a little good now and then counts as accumulating some virtue for the baby.

Qiuqiu’s dad had just gone through extreme sorrow and extreme joy. Seeing his kid safe, he was happy for barely two seconds before flaring up again.

”Mr Chen, you tricked me! That’s not decent!”

”I didn’t trick you. I just chose to conceal part of the facts. You could also say I cleverly assembled the truth.”

”Too outrageous. All of you get out! Get lost, lost, lost, lost!” Qiuqiu’s dad exploded.

Qiuqiu nodded. ”Let’s go, Qian. Let’s grab a drink.”

”You get back here! Untie these ropes on me!” Qiuqiu’s dad shouted after him.

Qiuqiu glanced at him. ”I think you look quite pleasing all tied up like that. You just keep this look for a while.”

With that he led Qian out. Qiuqiu’s dad howled with rage. He didn’t manage to call Qiuqiu back, but he did call his cousin in.

The cousin untied him, and Qiuqiu’s dad was so mad he was jumping up and down cursing. ”How could you join in their nonsense!”

”Uncle, Qiuqiu didn’t know about this either. It was Mr Chen’s and my idea.”

”I’ll beat your ’idea’! How could you follow that little girl and mess around with me!” Just thinking about himself bawling with tears streaming down his face made him feel utterly mortified!

”Uncle, if it makes you feel better, go ahead and hit me.”

”Bunch of idiots! Tell me, why are you helping Chen Xiaoqian? You also think I’ve been bad to Qiuqiu and want to vent for him? Or you see I’m about to kick the bucket and you’re in a hurry to suck up to Qiuqiu?”

The cousin was helpless. ”Uncle, what are you talking about? I really didn’t do this for Qiuqiu. I did it for your own good.”

”Explain!”

This kid had been following him around all this time, basically half a son. Qiuqiu’s dad wanted to know how he, at this age, had ended up with everyone turning against him.

”Qiuqiu really isn’t happy. I’ve been with him these months and seen him hardly eat, just work. The day before yesterday his stomach flared up and he had to go to the hospital for an IV. No one should push themselves like this... I’m scared he’ll end up like you: work himself to death, make heaps of money and still not be happy. And when the time comes, the one who’ll feel the worst is still you.”

”By then I’ll be dead. How would I still be worrying about that little bastard?” Qiuqiu’s dad said sourly.

The cousin didn’t dare say anything more.

Qiuqiu’s dad looked at the now-empty wall, thought about the photos Qian had just projected, and let out a sigh.

”Sigh, everyone talks about carrying on the family line, but Mr Chen also said, ’Once you’re dead you know everything is empty.’ While we’re alive we all think people have souls, have a next life, have karma. But until the day you actually die, nobody knows whether those things exist. Tell me, do you think there are ghosts in this world?”

”Uh... maybe?”

Qiuqiu’s dad shook his head. ”That’s all nonsense. If there really were ghosts, with thousands of years of our history and that many ancestral souls, how come they just watched while those damned little Japanese bullied us back then? If the ancestors showed themselves even a bit, one twitch of their underwear and a whole batch would drop dead—why would we need such a bitter war of resistance? Back home we’re big on ancestor worship, the rituals alone are enough to exhaust a person. But times change—can any ancestor guarantee their descendants will prosper forever? ’The swallows that once nested in the mansions of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of common folk’—that one line already says it all. Wealth doesn’t last more than three generations, you know!”