Chapter 8: I Am Your Father

Even though the noodles were piping hot, they wolfed them down ravenously.

It was not just because they were starving, but because it had been a very long time since they had eaten anything so delicious.

To get a full, satisfying meal like this before dying made it all worth it.

Watching them treat ordinary bowls of beef noodles as if they were the ultimate delicacy, Chen Liyang felt a pang of heartache.

He did not know what kind of mindset the author of this book had to give them such tragic childhoods.

But right now, in his eyes, they were not just characters on a page, but real, living people of flesh and blood.

He wanted to change their fate. Their lives should not march toward the tragic end written in the book.

No one’s destiny should be controlled by someone else.

Remembering the little girl still in his arms, Chen Liyang pulled himself together and picked up a clean pair of chopsticks.

He lifted a mouthful of noodles from the other bowl, blew on them gently a few times, and then fed them to Zhou Wanning. “Here, open wide!”

He had thought he would need to coax the child for a while, but as soon as the noodles reached her lips, Zhou Wanning started eating.

Sure enough, the kid was just little, not stupid.

Just like that, she ate every bite Chen Liyang fed her, completely obedient and making things much easier for him.

Meanwhile, the four boys slurping down their noodles finally remembered they had been so caught up in eating that they had completely forgotten their little sister.

Instead, the person they hated most had been the first to think of their sister.

“I… I’ll feed her…” Zhou Chengdong’s expression was awkward, his tone stiff and unnatural.

Chen Liyang did not even look at him, continuing to feed her without pausing. “You just eat yours. If it’s not enough, you can get more!”

Although he could not afford to treat them to a grand feast, he could at least make sure they had a full meal.

Looking down at the empty bowl, Zhou Chengdong felt even more ashamed. “No, I’m full. Let me feed my sister!”

As the eldest brother, he was supposed to take care of his younger siblings, yet because of a single bowl of noodles, he had forgotten about his sister for the first time in his life.

He really was terrible…

Only then did Chen Liyang stop what he was doing. He glanced at the boy’s bowl; the noodles were completely gone, with only a bit of broth left at the bottom.

It had barely been three minutes since the noodles were served, yet he had already finished a piping hot bowl. His speed was astonishing.

But it also reflected just how starving the boy must have been to devour a bowl of noodles in such a short time.

“Extra noodles are free here. If you don’t eat more, we’re missing out. So, are you sure you don’t want a bit more?” He knew Zhou Chengdong was not full. After all, a growing teenage boy needed plenty of food.

The other three, who had been eating with their heads down, all raised their heads the instant they heard about free refills, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

If refills were really free, did that mean they could finally eat their fill today?

In the end, Zhou Chengdong could not resist the temptation of food after all, getting up to get a refill.

Chen Liyang did not show it on his face, but inside he was secretly pleased. The boy really was still just a child after all.

A few simple words were all it took to get him to obey…

Zhou Wanning was only a five-year-old girl, after all. Before long, she had eaten her fill and refused to open her mouth no matter how Chen Liyang tried to feed her.

“Wanning, are you full? If you’re full, can you give me a nod?” Chen Liyang asked softly.

Zhou Wanning didn’t move, not even sparing Chen Liyang a single glance.

Chen Liyang put down his chopsticks and was about to reach out to wipe the grease from the corner of her mouth.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Chengdong immediately tensed up.

He knew Chen Liyang had never been a patient man.

He had put on an act for the five siblings long enough today; he was probably tired of pretending by now.

Therefore, he concluded that Chen Liyang was reaching out to strike his sister.

Chen Liyang wiped Wanning’s mouth before looking at the eldest boy with confusion. “I was just wiping your sister’s mouth. What did you think I was going to do?”

His words caused Zhou Chengdong’s face to flush slightly. He admitted he had held a prejudice against Chen Liyang just now.

But those prejudices were not without foundation.

Looking at the silent boy, Chen Liyang said earnestly, “I told you, I am your father. No matter what I do, I will never hurt you.”

As for those words, they took them with a grain of salt; to believe them would be foolish.

He was certainly less obnoxious today than before, but that did not erase the things he had done. In their eyes, he had never been a good person.

Knowing that a few words would not instantly dispel their prejudice, Chen Liyang did not dwell on what they were thinking and resumed eating his noodles.

If not for the sake of the future, he probably wouldn’t be noble enough to starve himself just to feed someone else.

He ate rapidly, wolfing it down so greedily he practically swallowed the chopsticks whole.

As he ate, he did not forget to keep one arm protectively around Zhou Wanning.

The father and children ate with immense relish, but the shop owner looked utterly miserable.

The shop did offer free noodle refills, but their standard portions were already generous, so customers rarely asked for seconds.

Even when people did, it was usually just one extra serving, but this father and his kids were acting like starved ghosts reincarnated^[1].

They had already gotten several refills, making it impossible for him to even break even.

If he did not value honesty in business, he probably would have kicked them out long ago.

Feeling almost full, Chen Liyang saw that the four of them were still eating. Fearing they might overeat and get sick, he quickly stopped the fourth child from getting another refill. “Don’t eat anymore. Eating too much at night is bad for your health.”

His words successfully convinced the other three to give up on getting refills as well.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know they were full, but it was so rare for them to eat to their hearts’ content like this.

So they wanted to seize this opportunity to stuff themselves to the brim.

That way, even if they had to go hungry for two days afterward, it wouldn’t be as hard to endure.

No one was happier than the shop owner, to whom those words sounded like heavenly music. They were finally done eating!

Otherwise, if they kept eating, his entire day’s profit would be wiped out.

At the same time, it made him even more curious: were they really father and sons?

From the moment the kids entered the shop, they hadn’t once called the man “Dad,” nor had they initiated any conversation with him.

Rather than father and sons, they looked more like familiar strangers.

If the children hadn’t shown any sign of resistance, the shopkeeper would have called the police already.

The meal cost Chen Liyang a total of 126 Yuan: 18 Yuan a bowl for the beef noodles, plus 3 Yuan per marinated egg.

After paying, Chen Liyang glanced at the balance alert on his phone: 884 Yuan, 5 Jiao^[2], and 4 Fen. A melancholy look settled over his face.

With so little money, even if he pinched every penny, after setting aside 500 Yuan for rent, the remainder would last a week at most. Going to the company to demand his back pay had clearly become an urgent priority.

Seeing that Chen Liyang had settled the bill, the four brothers reluctantly drank down every last drop of noodle broth in their bowls before finally standing up.

Their shriveled bellies were now visibly bulging, inflated like balloons.

Yet at the sight of Chen Liyang’s troubled expression, their hearts instantly clutched into a knot.