Chapter 649: Chapter 607: Stop Right There! (3)
"How could it be?"
"How could it be?"
"How could it be him!"
No, it must be an illusion. It has to be an illusion. How could he come here? How could he dare?!
Looking at the weathered face he least wanted to see, Zhou Shen muttered to himself in disbelief. His stunned pause allowed the old man, who was sitting on a stone stool with a timid, fearful expression, to spot him.
The moment he saw Zhou Shen, he reflexively sprang up from the stool and shouted excitedly, "Shen!"
As the name left his lips, tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks. This face... it’s the face I see even in my dreams!
Just as he started to run toward Zhou Shen, the latter, as if to deceive himself, flinched violently before turning and walking away at a brisk pace.
I don’t want anyone to know my father is a poor old man. I especially don’t want anyone to know that my poor father is a sanitation worker who sweeps the streets! I told my dorm mates that my dad was a small business owner. I told Xiao Ru that we’d get a new Feces Fork, one that costs eight or nine thousand, by New Year’s Day. Every time we went out, I was the one who insisted on paying for everything, acting far richer than I was and claiming I didn’t care about a couple thousand here or there. My acquaintances all think my family is well-off. But if I acknowledge this poor old man, it’s not just about my lies being exposed. A father like this would tarnish my image and bring me nothing but shame! I can’t afford to lose face like this, especially not on campus! If word gets out, will my friends still want to be around me? Will Xiao Ru still be my girlfriend? Won’t everyone at school laugh at me?
As this tangled mess of thoughts raced through his mind, he panicked. He was in turmoil. At that moment, all he wanted was to escape the sight of his destitute father.
"Shen!"
"Shen!"
"Shen!"
Watching Zhou Shen’s fleeing figure, the old man instinctively began to shout through his tears. But from beginning to end, Zhou Shen never once responded, turning a deaf ear.
This scene stunned everyone present. Suddenly, the entire area fell silent, save for the old man’s desperate cries. Everyone stood agape, watching the bizarre spectacle of the old man chasing the young one.
What the hell is going on? What kind of plot twist is this?
"Stop right there!"
A sudden, deafening roar erupted, striking directly at Zhou Shen’s ears. Startled by the shout, he shuddered in his panic, tripped, and went sprawling to the ground.
"Shen!"
Seeing his precious son fall, the old man momentarily forgot the disdain and rejection he had just faced. His heart ached as he ran, stumbling and trembling, toward Zhou Shen, who was already some distance away.
"AH! AH! AH!"
Zhou Shen tried to scramble up and continue running, but to his dismay, he found his legs were numb from the fall, leaving him unable to stand. With a ferocious expression, he began slapping the ground violently with his open palms. This supposedly model student was introverted in elementary and middle school but had won countless academic awards. Now, under this sudden, shocking blow, he had become completely frenzied.
"My son! My dear boy! Where did you fall? Does it hurt? Tell me, does it hurt?" the old man cried, his voice choked with grief as he hobbled over and knelt before Zhou Shen, his heart burning with anxiety.
However, the moment he knelt, Zhou Shen lashed out, sweeping him to the ground. The old man’s cry of "My dear boy!" had sent him into a blind rage born of humiliation.
"I’m not your son! Get lost! Just get lost!" A burning blush spread across Zhou Shen’s face, reaching the tips of his ears. At that moment, he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. This was an unbearable humiliation, one that could make it impossible for him to ever show his face at Jinling University again.
"My son! Let Dad see where you’re hurt! Let me see, just let me see!" the old man pleaded, scrambling up from the ground, unbothered by the push as he cried out in a fluster.
"Get lost! Go away! Just GO! Why? Why did you have to come find me? WHY! How am I supposed to face anyone at school now? Damn it, this is all your fault! It’s all you! Why are you my dad? Why do I have a street sweeper for a father? Why? WHY!"
Growing more agitated with every word, Zhou Shen no longer cared that their father-son relationship was being exposed. With a scene like this, it was already an established fact. Finally, he broke down completely, screaming hysterically through a flood of tears.
Struck by his son’s heart-wrenching outburst, the old man collapsed onto the ground. His bewildered eyes suddenly turned vacant and empty.
"A father like him embarrasses you, is that it? Tell me, how did he embarrass you? How!"
A figure shot forward. Qin Fan rushed to Zhou Shen, hauled him up from the ground, and roared his question. Before Zhou Shen could respond, the furious shouts continued, "It was him! He single-handedly built your entire world! Without him, you’d be a wandering orphan! You’d be fucking fighting with dogs for scraps of food! Without him, would you be here, dressed so nicely, enjoying the good life in the ivory tower of Jinling University? You piece of trash! You’re nothing but a worthless piece of trash! Without his back-breaking labor, would you have a life today where you don’t have to worry about your next meal or the clothes on your back? You know he’s poor, but did you ever fucking stop to think how much of his own blood and sweat he had to pour out just to pay your tuition? You know he’s poor, but did you ever wonder why he endured poverty, barely eating or clothing himself, just to send you to school? He could have thrown you out to work and help the family after middle school, or even elementary school, but he didn’t! You curse him, you despise him, you look down on him, you refuse to see him, and he just swallows all that pain! He never held it against you. He was still thinking about working himself to death to earn a little more to fulfill your demands! You tell me, in what way has he wronged you? In WHAT WAY!
"He earns eighteen hundred a month as a sanitation worker, and he gives it all to you for living expenses! Then he uses his old arms and legs to deliver food in the wind and rain, just to scrape together some extra cash to cover his own costs! Tell me, what more do you expect from him? WHAT MORE! You said you wanted a phone, so he bought you one. But you fucking complained it was too cheap, smashed it, and demanded he buy you a Feces Fork, is that right? A Feces Fork that costs 8,999! Do you have any idea that all he had left in the world was the four thousand-something he was saving for your emergencies? Do you have any idea how many looks of contempt and disdain he had to endure when he pulled out that pile of small bills at the phone counter? HUH?! You’re nothing but a thankless wolf—an ungrateful wretch who bites the hand that feeds you!
"In all my life, I have never seen anyone as shameless and despicable as you! You say he brings you shame? No! You bring HIM shame! You’ve disgraced every last one of your ancestors! So what if he’s poor? If you weren’t fated to be a rich heir, then you should fucking strive to make your father the dad of a self-made millionaire, not despise him for not giving you that life! In this vast world, throughout all of history, tell me, how many great men succeeded because of their fathers? Tell me! Genghis Khan started as a mere cowherd, but in light of his monumental achievements, does anyone mock him for his humble origins? Do they?! You scum, you are a disgrace to Jinling University! And for your father to have a son like you, that is an even greater disgrace! A DISGRACE! You want a Feces Fork, don’t you? Fine! Here, I’ll give it to you!"
As he finished roaring, Qin Fan violently slapped the unopened iPhone box he was holding across Zhou Shen’s face.
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