Chapter 646: Chapter 604: The Old Man and the Child! (4)
As soon as Xiao Fan spoke, the salesperson named Bing glared and shouted, "Xiao Fan, are you crazy? That’s your commission! Why are you throwing it in? Are you an idiot?"
Before Xiao Fan could respond, Qin Fan smiled and said, "Yes, she’s right. You deserve it. I’m not worried about a discount of a few hundred yuan. Go ahead and swipe the card. In any case, it’s the thought that counts. I thank you on this gentleman’s behalf."
"No. Your money is your business, but this is a gesture from my heart," Xiao Fan said firmly, taking Qin Fan’s bank card. She then entered the amount with a two percent discount.
What could Qin Fan say to that? He could only smile and let it go.
He entered his PIN and signed his name. Amidst many astonished stares, Qin Fan handed the bag to the old man. "Sir, take this. I’ll go with you to deliver it to that ungrateful son of yours."
SWOOSH!
The old man, who had been stunned ever since Qin Fan had first put a hand on his shoulder, began to tremble at Qin Fan’s words and actions. In a quavering voice, he cried out, "No, child, no! I can’t take this from you, I can’t!"
As he spoke, he waved his hands frantically. There was no greed in his eyes, only pure, simple panic. Faced with this unexpected gift, he had no desire to possess it.
"Sir, I’m also a student at Jinling University," Qin Fan said, gently patting the old man’s shoulder to soothe him. "Take it. Let’s go give it to him together, alright?"
"You’re also a student at Jinling University?" Hearing this, the old man’s eyes widened. Forgetting all about the phone, he exclaimed in surprise.
"That’s right, I just enrolled this year. I’m a freshman. Now, let’s not get in the way of their business. Let’s go. I’ll take you to him." With that, Qin Fan hung the bag containing the phone onto the old man’s hand.
But the next moment, the old man immediately tried to thrust the bag back at him. "Child, it’s not easy to make money. You’re still a student, so you must be spending your parents’ money. I can’t take this from you, whether you earned it yourself or it’s from your parents. I am poor and incapable, but this isn’t ten or eight yuan—it’s nine thousand! If I took it, the guilt would stay with me forever. Child, can you understand? I don’t have enough money now, but I can work overtime and save up for a while longer. I absolutely cannot take your money!"
"Alright, forget the phone then. How about I take you into the university to find your son? How long has it been since you’ve seen him? Do you miss him?" Qin Fan asked with a soft smile, no longer insisting. He put an arm around the old man’s shoulder, and they walked out of the store under countless stares.
Seeing that Qin Fan was no longer forcing him to accept the Feces Fork, the old man breathed a small sigh of relief.
At the mention of his son, a proud grin initially appeared on his face, but it quickly dissolved into endless melancholy. He sighed in self-mockery. "Of course, I miss him. What father doesn’t miss his son? I’m originally from Hunan. After Zhou Shen was accepted into Jinling University, I came to Jinling and found a job as a sanitation worker. I just thought we shouldn’t be too far apart, so I could be nearby to look after him if he needed anything. But the boy refuses to see me. Last time, I was sweeping the street and called out to him. I just wanted to remind him to keep warm since the weather was getting cold, but he completely ignored me. Later, he even called to scold me! He said that without his permission, I had to pretend we were strangers, no matter where we were.
"As for how long it’s been since I saw him... it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve gotten a good look at him. The last time I saw him was that brief glance on the street. Before that, it was when his acceptance letter arrived at the house. He was working a part-time job during the holidays, staying elsewhere. He came back, grabbed the letter, and left immediately. I had prepared a whole table of food for him, but I ended up eating it all myself.
"I usually don’t treat myself to shrimp, but I wanted to make a nice meal for his return. I never expected he’d just say he wasn’t hungry, grab the letter, and turn to leave. It was a feast for one, I suppose. I ate a whole table of food I could never normally afford.
"When was it before that? I can’t quite remember... I’m getting old, a bit forgetful. Was it his second or third year of high school? I forget. He wouldn’t let me see him, said I’d embarrass him. The kid was still great back in middle school. It was after he got into that top-tier high school that he slowly started drawing a line between us.
"Honestly, I understand him. Having a street-sweeper for a father is pretty embarrassing. I’m not angry. I only blame myself for not being more capable. If I were, my son wouldn’t have grown so distant."
As he spoke, tears welled up and trickled from the old man’s cloudy eyes.
He gave a bitter laugh, wiped away the tears, and continued, "I don’t want anything now. I just want my son to be well. As long as I can see him succeed, I’ll be able to face my ancestors when I pass on. I can tell them that the Zhou Family has produced a talented man, that Xiao Shen has brought honor to our ancestors!"
Qin Fan silently listened to the old man’s outpouring as they walked slowly, his arm still around the man’s shoulder. He offered no comment.
Does the old man hate his son? He knew he didn’t. No father could truly hate his own son. But in his voice, Qin Fan could hear the desperate pleading—a plea for a chance to be close to his son. Yet that ungrateful beast wouldn’t even grant him that.
Though Qin Fan remained silent, it didn’t mean he didn’t have a plan. Once the old man’s voice trailed off, he said, "Sir, do you want to see him? To get a proper look at him?"
"I do! I dream about it! But it’s useless. I can’t see him, and it’s hard to even hear his voice unless he calls me. My calls never go through to him. Besides, every time he calls, it’s just to ask for money. We never have a proper father-son chat. The second we’re done talking about money, he cuts me off and hangs up," the old man said, his heart aching.
He didn’t hate Zhou Shen; he hated himself. He hated his own incompetence. If only he were more capable, would his son have pushed him away? Never. That was what the simple old man had always believed.
"So, Sir, how much living expense do you give him each month?" Qin Fan asked, trying to avoid any more painful topics.
"My salary is eighteen hundred a month, and I send all of it to him. I cover my own food and rent by delivering takeout as a side job. I saved up that four thousand or so, bit by bit, thinking I could help him out if he ever needed anything. Then he told me all the other students were using Feces Forks and asked me to find the money to buy him one. So I planned to empty my savings to make my boy happy and maybe use the chance to see him. I just never expected a Feces Fork would be so ridiculously expensive." When speaking of his hardships, the old man’s voice held little emotion, but as he finished, it was filled with self-reproach.
He blamed himself for being unable to provide for his son, for his own uselessness.
"How about this, Sir? I’ll take you to the school to find him. I’ll make sure you get a good look at him, alright?" Qin Fan asked gently, keeping his own emotions in check.
"Really?" The old man’s eyes widened with excitement for a moment. But then he shook his head violently. "No, no, I can’t. If I go to the school, I’ll definitely embarrass Xiao Shen. He’ll hate me even more!"
Torn by his inner conflict, the old man began to cry again.
There is nothing more sorrowful in this world than this kind of yearning for someone who is so close yet agonizingly out of reach. For this man, who was only in his fifties but looked over sixty, his wish was not extravagant. He just wanted to see his son. That was all.
Yet even this simple right had been stripped from him by his own child.
He suffered, not just from the hardships of life, but from the ache in his heart.
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