It was clear that his father had been a pretty outgoing guy when he was younger. Just a few words and he had come up with that absurd nickname. Lin Wangye guessed his dad had probably said it just for fun, so he didn’t bother correcting him, letting out a quiet sigh instead.
He had secretly hoped that his dad had been reborn like him.
But his hopes were dashed.
His father was still his father, but not exactly the same.
Still, at least he had managed to find his dad that much was good.
Even though they would undoubtedly face countless challenges and unavoidable troubles in the future, at least there was a sense of belonging now.
People always realize how important something is only after they’ve lost it.
His father’s sudden death felt like a heavy blow from fate, shattering the dream that had lasted for eighteen years. All that was left were sharp, painful shards that cut deep, no matter how lightly they were touched.
Standing at the funeral, Lin Wangye’s most overwhelming feeling wasn’t even sadness—it was confusion.
Like when he had just arrived in this world, unsure of anything.
To be honest, he and his father were never close.
Ever since he could remember, Lin Shen had never had a moment when he wasn’t busy with work—he barely had any personal time. Most of the time, he was in meetings, discussing projects, or traveling for work, whether it was in another city or overseas.
The father and son might meet once a quarter, if they were lucky.
Lin Wangye had grown up almost completely on his own, never having met his mother, and the few exchanges he had with his father were mostly limited to his father asking if he had any money, and him either saying yes or no.
His father had always been like a mountain standing behind him, giving him the confidence to do whatever he wanted.
He never had to worry about what the future would bring, nor did he need to look back.
Everyone said he was a true lucky one.
Because his grandfather and father had already laid the foundation for the family’s future, all he had to do was follow the path they had set out for him, and he wouldn’t make any mistakes.
But the moment that mountain collapsed, the cold winds from all directions began to creep into his skin, clawing through his bones without mercy.
It was a chill Lin Wangye had never known before.
Lin Shen was still going through his battle record, ranting endlessly about all the teammates who had let him down in game after game, the list of failures stretching on.
Meanwhile, Lin Wangye felt the warmth from his side and couldn’t control the sting in his eyes.
Whether it was helplessness or frustration, all the emotions that had piled up since his father’s death felt like an entire building collapsing, kicking up dirt and dust. No matter how hard he tried to stop it, he felt powerless.
It wasn’t until he heard someone nearby sniffle that Lin Shen realized something was off.
He turned to look at Lin Wangye, who was still hunched over, silent, and noticed the glistening tears on his face. His eyes widened in shock, and he whispered in disbelief.
“Godfather, why are your eyes… leaking?”
Lin Wangye couldn’t hold it in. It was hard to accept hearing such words from the father figure in his memory, the one who had always been calm and steady. It completely broke his defenses, and he almost snorted out loud, fighting back the tears.
At the counter, besides Lin Shen, there was a young cashier girl who had been watching curiously. She’d been glancing over with increasing interest as she saw the pretty boy suddenly cling to Lin Shen and cry. Her eyes became more intense with each passing second.
Lin Shen felt more and more uncomfortable under the gaze, quickly releasing his arm from around Lin Wangye’s neck and giving his shoulder a firm slap.
“A grown man crying like this, what’s it look like? People might think I’ve been bullying you. Stop crying.”
Lin Wangye felt embarrassed, quickly wiping away his tears with his sleeve. He decided to play along and said casually, “If you keep calling me that, I’ll start thinking of my dad. I haven’t had a father since I was little…”
In the world of boys, it was normal to joke around calling each other ‘father’ or ‘godfather.’
Lin Shen hadn’t expected such a story and gasped in surprise, quickly apologizing, “My bad, my bad. I didn’t know, sorry. I won’t talk to you like that again.”
“Alright,” Lin Wangye sniffed, his emotions instantly calming down.
The sudden shift in mood was so dramatic that even Lin Shen was left stunned, taking a few seconds to process what had just happened.
The space behind the counter was cramped, and with all the clutter piled up, it was hard to move around. Lin Shen stood up, pulled Lin Wangye to his feet, and guided him through a maze of narrow paths, eventually leading him into a small private room. He turned back, lifting the curtain to shout at the manager.
“Xiao Wang, open a card for these two machines.”
“Got it, bro.”
The private room wasn’t very big, just enough space for two machines and a small sofa. The environment was cozy though, separated from the main hall by a curtain, creating a more private space. A few potted plants were placed on the table, adding some greenery to the room.
The manager soon came in with two membership cards.
Lin Shen expertly powered up the machine, swiped his card, and entered the password. From the garbled characters in the ID number section on the screen, Lin Wangye guessed this must be an internal member card for the internet cafe—one that allowed unlimited access with no time limit.
While waiting for the system to boot up, Lin Wangye, curious, asked, “Are you close with the boss?”
Lin Shen grabbed two cans of cola, opened one with a single hand, and shook his head.
“No, not really.”
“Then how come you can just ask someone to open a card for you?” Lin Wangye pressed, his curiosity growing. “The manager even calls you ‘bro.’”
Lin Shen took a cigarette, glancing at the lighter on the table, and gave a mysterious smile.
Lin Wangye was a little speechless at how childish his dad was.
But out of curiosity, he still went ahead and lit the cigarette for him, waiting for his slow reply.
“I’m not close with the boss, but I’m close with his son. You get it? It’s all about connections, bro,” Lin Shen said with a wink.
“…”
Lin Wangye set the lighter down, staring at his dad in silence. He turned back to the screen and tried to log into the game, failing several times with incorrect username or password, until it hit him.
He didn’t have a game account.
His account wouldn’t even be created until more than a decade later, so it was impossible for him to log in now.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Shen asked, turning to him. “Did you forget your password?”
Lin Wangye sighed lightly and quickly came up with a lie. “My account got hacked.”
Lin Shen frowned. “If it was hacked, you can just recover it.”
Lin Wangye shook his head. “Can’t recover it.”
Lin Shen raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
Lin Wangye, without missing a beat, replied, “I used my dad’s ID to create the account to get around the anti-addiction system.”
There was a brief silence after his words, and Lin Shen stared at him, bewildered. “But your dad passed away when you were little, right? This game only went into open beta a couple of years ago.”
In the past, Lin Wangye would never have dared lie in front of his father.
But for some reason, the eighteen-year-old version of his dad seemed to exude a kind of pure, naive foolishness, making Lin Wangye feel like he could easily make up stories and subconsciously believed he wouldn’t be caught.
As for the logical flaw in his story, Lin Wangye quickly found another explanation.
“I feel like the version of myself from two years ago was really young,” Lin Wangye said with a small frown.
Lin Shen hesitated for a couple of seconds, then nodded, completely believing it.
Since the game account was lost, he needed to apply for a new one. After all, ‘Heroes of Glory’ was a MOBA-style competitive game, so there was no need to grind monsters and level up. As long as you had an account, you could play. Lin Wangye opened the official website, staring blankly at the fields for ‘Name’ and ‘ID number’.
Why does this crappy game require ID registration even twenty years ago?!
Isn’t this just messing with me, the poor guy with no official record?
Fortunately, just as he was about to give up, Lin Shen leaned over, saw what he was doing, and stopped him with a hand, pulling out his phone. “No need, I’ll just lend you mine.”
“Okay.”
Lin Wangye released the mouse, switched back to the login screen, and slouched comfortably on the couch. Whether it was because he had finally found his dad or just because he had relaxed so much, he soon felt hungry.
He rubbed his stomach, then turned to Lin Shen. “I’m hungry.”
Lin Shen looked up from his phone screen, stood up, and pulled the curtain aside. “Xiao Wang!”
A moment later, Lin Shen returned, sat down, leaned forward to pull the keyboard toward himself, typed in the account and password, then sat back and started logging into his own game.
Lin Wangye, bored, propped his head up and started looking through ‘Heroes of Glory’ from 20 years ago. He browsed the account’s background and found it had quite a few limited-edition skins. Given that most of those skins were priced over 500 yuan each, this definitely wasn’t the kind of account someone from a regular family would be able to afford.
“Whose account is this?” Lin Wangye asked casually. “These skins aren’t cheap, who’s the rich guy?”
Lin Shen answered without hesitation. “Mine.”
Lin Wangye blinked. “Huh? Why are you letting me play on yours?”
Lin Shen shrugged. “The skins are better. It’s more comfortable to play.”
Perhaps because of the restriction on minors, the Qing Sen internet cafe wasn’t very noisy. Plus, the private room they were in was far from the most crowded area, so the atmosphere was very calm.
The only sounds in the air were the crisp clattering of mechanical keyboards.
The lighting was dim, with the glow from the monitors casting a soft light on their faces. Lin Wangye turned his head and saw Lin Shen typing in the account details while looking at his phone screen. His emotions almost snapped again.
Even though their relationship hadn’t been that close in the past life, Lin Wangye had never doubted his father’s love for him.
Even in this new timeline, it seemed like his dad was still subconsciously looking out for him.
Damn, it felt like his eyes were watering again.
And the atmosphere… suddenly felt way too sentimental.
‘Time, time, slow down! Don’t let him get any older!’
‘I would trade my entire life just to keep his years flowing!’
The soundtrack that didn’t even exist in this timeline looped in Lin Wangye’s mind, and he silently made a vow to work hard and be filial to his dad this lifetime. That resolve quickly faded when Lin Shen hummed a little tune while logging into the game. A moment later, the internet cafe worker, Xiao Wang, walked in with food and placed it on the table.
The aroma of braised beef noodles filled the private room, and Lin Wangye fell silent again.
“Why instant noodles?” he asked.
“Why not?” Lin Shen shot back, “What else would you eat at an internet cafe? Should I get you a whole roasted lamb?”
Lin Wangye, who’d rarely eaten this stuff growing up, reluctantly accepted his dad’s answer. He picked up a fork, about to dig in, when his peripheral vision caught something on Lin Shen’s screen.
[Limited Skins: 58]
Huh?
Wait a minute!
Lin Wangye grabbed the mouse, clicked on his own game window, and checked the account he had logged into. He confirmed that the account only had 27 limited skins.
So the account you lent me is the less impressive one?!
I even sang ‘Father’ from start to finish in my head, all moved and emotional for nothing!
Such a waste of feelings!
Lin Wangye, frustrated, slurped a bite of noodles, beginning to seriously suspect that his dad must have heard a kid crying near a trash can in his past life, and that’s what led to their father-son relationship.
Sooner or later, he was going to drag him to do a DNA test!
The boy ate quickly, and before long, they’d finished their noodles and started queueing for another round of the game. Although the versions were different, the playstyle in MOBA games were easy to adapt to. With his understanding of the game from twenty years in the future and his solid gameplay skills, Lin Wangye easily led his dad to a four-game winning streak.
The sweet taste of winning made Lin Shen excited, and he clicked for another round while happily commenting, “We’re so good!”
Lin Wangye: “…”
What does winning this game have to do with you?!
You’re 0-8-5!
Even delivery services are more reliable than you!
With a sigh, Lin Wangye was about to join the game when he noticed the time displayed in the bottom-right corner of the computer screen—it was already past nine. The evening study session had long started.
He took off his headphones. “Aren’t you going back to school?”
“Going to evening study?” Lin Shen replied. “I finished my homework hours ago, and I’ve already previewed everything. Sitting in the classroom is no different from being in prison.”
Perhaps because the more special one’s status, the more they didn’t want others to think they were getting special treatment. In his past life, Lin Wangye had never skipped class, even though the headteacher wouldn’t invite Chairman Lin over like they would for other students’ parents.
“Doesn’t the Seventh High School require evening study?” Lin Wangye asked.
“No.” Lin Shen shrugged casually, but his next words were a shock. “But what’s going to happen if I don’t go? Are they going to kill me?”
Lin Wangye was at a loss for words and silently gave him a thumbs-up.
Lin Shen took a sip of cola, unconcerned, and shrugged again. “The most they’ll do is call my dad and annoy him. It doesn’t affect me. I kind of want them to annoy him.”
Suddenly, realizing a blind spot, Lin Wangye immediately asked, “You and your dad don’t get along?”
Lin Shen let out a faint, indifferent laugh. “I’m not a good son, and he’s not a good father. We both despise each other, and keeping our distance is the kindest thing we can do for each other.”
Going back in time, Lin Wangye had countless advantages in terms of information.
This would give him control over many things, and he could change a lot with his knowledge alone. But he had lived too freely in his past life, never caring about things he wasn’t interested in. So, there was a lot he didn’t know.
For example, he had never heard his dad speak poorly of his grandfather.
But one thing he was sure of was that his grandfather had passed away not long after he was born.
Calculating backwards, it doesn’t seem like it would take too long for that to happen.
Lin Shen clearly didn’t have any preconceived notions about it, and his attitude suggested he didn’t want to talk about it any further.
No matter how bad the father-son relationship was, learning such bad news would still be a big blow.
The more Lin Wangye thought about it, the more worried he became, afraid that his dad might end up like him in the future. But first, he didn’t know why his dad and grandfather’s relationship was so strained, and second, he had just met his dad. It wasn’t the right time to probe into such a sensitive matter.
After thinking it over, Lin Wangye decided to put the issue aside for now.
There was still time. It would be more sensible to understand the situation first before preparing a response.
Still, while he couldn’t ask about this, he could try asking about other things.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Lin Wangye rubbed his hands together in excitement and cautiously asked, “So, do you have a girlfriend?”
From Lin Wangye’s perspective, this seemed like a completely natural question to ask.
Since he was young, Lin Wangye had always been most curious about the whereabouts of his mother. But every time he asked Lin Shen, no matter how tactful or official the answer was, it always boiled down to the simple explanation: ‘Your mother abandoned you.’
But this was obviously unreasonable.
Let alone whether his mother could truly abandon her newborn child, given his dad’s status back then, if he had ever had such a past with a woman, there was no way she could have completely vanished from the world.
Yet no matter how much Lin Wangye searched, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
Unless his mother had really passed away long ago.
But if that were the case, his dad wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of fabricating a story about abandonment to deceive him.
So, Lin Wangye always believed that there was some complicated and tangled history between his parents that his dad had covered up.
According to his birth timeline, it was highly likely that his mother had been with his father during this time.
But for Lin Shen, they had just been talking about his father, and then out of nowhere, Lin Wangye asked him if he had a girlfriend. The sudden shift in topic seemed a bit too abrupt. Lin Shen turned his head to look at the young man in front of him, realizing that the boy’s dark eyes were gleaming with excitement, his whole demeanor clearly full of anticipation for the answer.
“Why are you asking that out of the blue?” Lin Shen asked suspiciously.
“Just curious! Or maybe… do you have a girl you like?” Lin Wangye asked, clenching his fist with burning eagerness, his face practically shouting ‘Tell me, I’m dying to know!’
Lin Shen sized him up, and for a moment seemed like he was going to say something, but then hesitated and seemed to change his mind.
“No, I don’t. Is that answer satisfactory to you?”
Lin Wangye was, of course, not satisfied.
Because it made it even harder for him to find his mother.
But he couldn’t show that too obviously, so he followed the conversation with a flippant comment, pretending to maintain the mood.
“I knew it! With how handsome you are, no one would be good enough for you.”
Seeing Lin Wangye so pleased with himself, Lin Shen’s expression turned complicated. After thinking for a moment, he subtly shifted a little farther away.
Wait, this kid isn’t falling for me, is he?
For some reason, Lin Wangye’s handsome appearance perfectly fit Lin Shen’s taste, but Lin Shen didn’t feel any romantic attraction at all.
Lin Shen himself was puzzled.
This is totally not my style!
If it were anyone else, I would’ve already flirted back shamelessly.
Why does it feel like my heart is shattering after realizing this kid might have fallen for me at first sight?
After a few seconds of deep thought, Lin Shen lifted his gaze and seriously looked at Lin Wangye.
“Xiao Lin.”
“Huh?”
“I’m a mysterious man. Don’t develop feelings for me. It’s dangerous.”
Lin Wangye: “…”
TL: New chapters will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
