Chapter 33: Truth

A night of sweet dreams.

Qi Xing slept until he naturally woke up, feeling energetic and full of enthusiasm. Opening the door, he found his son standing in the corner, avoiding eye contact, looking like he had done something wrong and wanted to escape.

With just a glance, Qi Xing knew his son had caused trouble again, and a sense of helplessness rose within him.

“What’s going on?”

His son had only left the house once recently; could something have gone wrong at the auction?

Qi Huan was tempted to shift the blame onto the anonymous pharmacist, but he couldn’t erase the foolish act of spending 120,000 credit on a piece of warm jade.

He mumbled vaguely, focusing on Qian Xin. He emphasized that, due to the unexpected appearance of a competitor, he unintentionally spoke out of turn to Xu Jiahui and failed to bid on the scar-removing ointment.

After listening, Qi Xing slapped his son on the head without hesitation, his expression stern.

“Be honest and explain the whole thing. I’ve given you a good amount of cash, and Qian Xin can’t have more money on her. Even if she can raise funds through her contacts, three minutes later, you would have already won the item, and her raising money wouldn’t matter.”

Qi Huan held his head, whimpering, and remained silent for a while.

Qi Xing turned to leave, saying, “You won’t talk? I’ll ask Wang Feng.”

Qi Huan quickly stopped him. Confessing on his own was at least a sign of a good attitude. If someone else said it, who knows what version of events they might hear.

He explained the situation in detail, admitting his mistakes. When it came to buying small items and being tricked by the anonymous pharmacist, Qi Xing’s expression remained unchanged.

As he revisited the memory of overthinking, splurging 120,000 credits, and skillfully securing the coveted warm jade from the pharmacist, Qi Xing’s complexion paled. With a deep breath, he composed himself, exerting forceful control over the swirl of emotions within him.

When he reached the part where Qian Xin spoke up and, three minutes later, she successfully outbid him for the scar-removing ointment, Qi Xing couldn’t hold back any longer.

He harshly grabbed Qi Huan’s neck. “You’re incredibly foolish!”

If Qi Huan had decisively bid a high price, Qian Xin might not have had time to raise the money. Even if he couldn’t win the ointment, at least making an effort to bid would have been better for Xu Jiahui.

What would Xu Jiahui feel seeing Qi Huan just watching Qian Xin take away the ointment?

Qi Huan’s face turned blue from being choked.

Seeing his son’s face, Qi Xing finally let go.

Qi Huan shivered all over, collapsing on the ground. Just now, he thought he was going to die.

“If you weren’t my biological son, I would have personally strangled you to death. Look at what foolish things you’ve done!”

Qi Xing’s face showed anger.

Qi Huan coughed a few times and defended himself. “Qian Xin made it clear. Her younger sister needs the scar-removing ointment. If I competed with her, I would definitely offend the Qian family.”

“Offend the Qian family?”

Since when did my son consider whether his actions would offend someone or not? Qi Xing laughed in anger. “When you beat Zhao Min’s brothers, did you ever think about offending the Zhao family?”

“It’s different this time. It’s not the same as last time.”

“It is different. If you had been more assertive at the auction, with the likelihood that Qian Xin has less money than you, you had a great chance of snatching the ointment. If you could have preemptively bid on the ointment before she raised the money and then willingly given her two boxes, how could she blame you? Not only would Qian Xin appreciate your gesture, but the Qian family would also willingly assist, and there would be no need to escalate the situation,” Qi Xing said, getting frustrated with his son.

Completely lacking in means and cunning, Qi Huan only knew how to spend money recklessly.

“Ahem… well, is it that I don’t know how to handle things, or is it that you are interested in that woman?” Qi Huan, feeling aggrieved, blurted out the truth.

“What are you talking about?” Qi Xing frowned.

Qi Huan poured out his innermost thoughts: “Everyone in the Qi family knows she wants to become Mrs. Qi. She stays in the Qi family without status or title, wholeheartedly working for you. Do you really not see through her intentions? You always say I’m foolish, but even if I am, I can still see through her scheming.”

“My mother died a long time ago, and there will never be a second Mrs. Qi in the Qi family.”

“At the cost of everything, buying the scar-removing ointment for her? Yes, I didn’t expect Qian Xin to intervene. But failing to buy the ointment actually makes me quite happy!”

Qi Xing was surprised, looking at his son, whose face resembled his wife’s, revealing a deep-seated resentment. Eventually, he couldn’t help but soften his heart.

He and his wife had been childhood sweethearts, growing up together with deep feelings for each other. His wife was frail and sickly, and even as the top pharmacist of the Huangsha Star, he couldn’t cure her.

When his wife passed away, their son was only eight years old. Because the two looked so much alike, he often couldn’t help but spoil his son, turning him into a pampered playboy.

Both in character and integrity, there was nothing to boast about.

Later, he thought that his wife, in the afterlife, wouldn’t want to see their son like this. So he became stricter with his son, trying to correct the bad habits that had already formed.

However, it was too late, and the ingrained vices were hard to change.

And he, from time to time, wavered.

At times, he felt like just letting his son live carefreely for the rest of his life. Other times, he thought he should cultivate his son’s abilities. What if one day he wasn’t around? Then he’d get angry because his son was too foolish.

He was always decisive in his decision-making, except when it came to raising his son. He hesitated, almost bipolar.

The result of his indecision was that he appeared capricious, and his son became increasingly useless, unable to stand on his own.

If one were to trace it back, it was all because he didn’t properly teach his son.