Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 5: A Dark Rainy Night (5)

Dragon Raja 2

During breaks, Chu Zihang kept looking towards the parking lot, intentionally or not. The flashy Maybach never appeared, but “dad’s” Mercedes S500 was always parked there. Old Shun, the driver, wore dark sunglasses, his neck thicker than a person’s head, exuding the aura of a bodyguard. He called Chu Zihang “Young Master” everywhere, drawing everyone’s attention to Chu Zihang.

Then there was the disastrous middle school entrance ceremony. It happened to coincide with Mom and “dad’s” wedding anniversary, and they were going on a vacation to Northern Europe. Chu Zihang thought for a long time and called the man, asking if he could come. The man was happy but also hesitated, asking, “What about your mom and your stepdad?” Chu Zihang was silent for a long time and said, “Just say you’re my uncle.” The man didn’t think it was a loss of face at all, chuckling and saying, “Just make sure to call me uncle and not slip up.” In the end, Chu Zihang was the only student at the ceremony without a parent standing behind him. He stood in the most prominent position, as the principal awarded him the “New Student Scholarship.” He was the top incoming student at Shilan Middle School. He had planned to give the man a surprise.

“Hey, hey, I really didn’t forget, but that day the boss suddenly said an important client was coming and we had to go to the bathhouse. I had no choice but to drive them there, and who knew they’d be there until the next morning…” The man scratched his head, mumbling an explanation.

Chu Zihang vaguely knew what kind of person the man’s “boss” was and what the “bathhouse” referred to.

A classmate had once told Chu Zihang, “I saw that Maybach from your house parked outside the bathhouse last time,” then lowered his voice, “That place is for shady stuff.”

No kidding. The entrance was decorated like a Roman palace, with seven or eight girls in short skirts that couldn’t be any shorter, and plunging necklines that couldn’t plunge any lower, welcoming guests in heavy makeup. All sorts of luxury cars arrived, with all sorts of middle-aged men, bellies bulging, strutting inside. Chu Zihang once passed by, glancing from a distance, thinking of the man’s boss and clients reveling in the night while the man leaned on his prized Maybach, smoking, the smoke blending into the darkness.

Chu Zihang didn’t blame him too much—this was just the kind of man he was, living that kind of life, far, far away from Chu Zihang’s.

“Going abroad isn’t good,” the man muttered, “It’s not trendy anymore. Look at how fast the country is developing—there are opportunities everywhere. In my opinion, stay here for college, study finance, and then have your stepdad pull some strings.”

It felt like a needle had pricked Chu Zihang’s chest. He shivered in discomfort. “Have your stepdad pull some strings.” Could he have a little dignity? Not be so shameless?

“Shut up!” Chu Zihang growled.

“What?” The man didn’t hear clearly.

“I said shut up!” Chu Zihang was like a lion cub bristling with anger.

“No manners at all, I’m only doing this for your sake.” The man was taken aback. “You need to listen to adults’ advice…”

“Is your advice worth listening to? Will following your advice let me marry a girl without ending up divorced? Will following your advice allow me to attend my son’s graduation on time? Will following your advice allow me to pick him up from school on time? Following your advice, I’d just need my stepdad to pull some strings for me!” Chu Zihang stared at the man in the rearview mirror, hoping to see his disappointment or anger.

Every word pierced the heart.

Most people thought Chu Zihang never used harsh language, let alone spoke so sharply. Even on the basketball court, when fouled, he wouldn’t get angry—just raise his hand to call the referee. But who couldn’t say harsh words? As long as there was needle-like anger buried in one’s heart. Now he was furious, wanting to stab the man with those needles deep inside him. The words slipped out without a second thought.

“You’re still young. Family matters—you’ll understand in the future.” The man indeed looked flustered. He reached out as if to pat Chu Zihang in the backseat but hesitated, pulling his hand back to scratch his head.

Always the same answer: “You’ll understand when you’re older,” “You’re too young to understand,” “It’s not what you think.” Lies! When those two fools divorced back then, Chu Zihang was still young. He cried, thinking it was the end of the world, and the man comforted him, saying, “It’s not what you think,” “Mom and Dad are just not living together anymore,” and “We’ll still take you out on Sundays.” Chu Zihang believed it, believing the family was still the three of them—this man, that woman, and himself. Then he walked through the door of their new home with Mom and saw a man with a slick haircut in a bathrobe with two hairy legs sticking out politely opening the door. Chu Zihang didn’t know who this guy was, and in his shock, he smashed his ice cream into the man’s face.

“All these years, the kid’s all grown up, and you’re still lying? Lying to who, ghosts?”

“Enough! Just drive, don’t interfere in my business! And when we get home, don’t come inside. ‘Dad’ wouldn’t be happy!” Chu Zihang gritted his teeth, turning his head to one side.

“Listen to yourself… I’m your real dad. If he’s unhappy, let him be. Who the hell does he think he is?” The man’s dignity was finally a little hurt.

“He’s not my real dad, but he comes to my parent-teacher conferences, he knows to take me to the amusement park on weekends, he knows my final grades, and at least he buys me a backpack for my birthday!” Chu Zihang slammed his Hermes bag on the car seat. “Do you even remember my birthday?”

“How could I forget your birthday?” The man’s face turned red as he argued, “You’re my son, born from me and your mother… As soon as we found out she was pregnant, we counted the days—when you were conceived, when the due date was, eagerly waiting for you. And you just wouldn’t come out—you stayed in there for two extra months! How could I forget? Haven’t you taken health class? It takes a man to make a baby too. You’re so smart because I made you well!”

Chu Zihang was so angry he almost laughed. How could there be a man with such thick skin?

“Really difficult? Marrying a beautiful woman and letting her have a baby—is that so remarkable?” Chu Zihang’s voice trembled. “I’ve taken health class! It’s the woman who suffers for ten months during pregnancy. What about the man? What did you go through?”

The man fell silent, his voice dropping, “I don’t want to talk about health education with my son…”

“After I was born, did you ever suffer? Did you take care of me? Why do you call yourself my ‘real dad’? Just because you and Mom ‘made me together’? Like you produced some kind of product? What does ‘real dad’ even mean to you?” Chu Zihang was in an incredibly foul mood, and the rage that had subsided flared up again.

“A real dad means… you… have my blood,” the man hesitated over his words. “You’re my successor in this world, don’t you understand? You are half of me. I know I haven’t really been there for you all these years. I’ve failed you, but what father doesn’t care about his child? We share the same bloodline, we…”