Chapter 2

My dad is a very sociable person, occasionally impulsive, but hitting someone over a seat dispute is just too unreasonable.

I quickly grabbed my phone and dashed out of the school, frantically calling my dad all the way, but no one answered.

When I finally reached the front door of our apartment, the elevator wouldn't come down, so I anxiously ran up the stairs.

Before entering the house, I steadied my trembling legs, took a deep breath, and slapped my face to snap out of it.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my dad standing on the balcony, staring blankly outside, with cigarette butts scattered all over the floor.

He heard the noise, turned to look at me, and forced a smile that was more like a grimace.

"Haohao, did you see the video..."

His head drooped to his chest as if it couldn't bear the weight, and he spoke in a barely audible voice:

"I'm sorry, son..."

"It's all my fault. I lost my temper. Haohao, don't worry. Dad will move to another city to work. I won't let your classmates know about this..."

"Anyway, I've been fired. Moving to another city won't change anything..."

Looking at the man in front of me, with graying temples and a dejected demeanor, I suddenly realized that my father had aged without me noticing.

My mom left us for someone else when I was very young. It was a snowy day, and she left without looking back.

And my father, holding me tightly, only said one thing:

"Haohao, I don't need anything else, as long as I have you."

Since that day, he took on both roles, raising me on his own.

Every night, he would whisper by my bedside, "Why don't you ask where your mom went? Don't hate her..."

All these years, he never looked for anyone else, doing his best to give me everything I needed.

In my eyes, he was always invincible. I thought I would come home to see him cursing and figuring out how to fix everything.

I never expected to see his vulnerable side.

At that moment, I felt like I had become the pillar of the family. I bit my lip hard, trying to hold back my emotions.

"Dad! Don't be so down! Tell me what happened. If it's our fault, we'll admit it!

If not, no one can pin this on us!"

"The Wu family doesn't take crap from anyone!"

I mimicked his usual tone, glaring as I pulled him to the sofa.

My dad looked at my forced bravado, and his eyes slowly filled with tears.

Then he began to tell me what happened.

After he got on the bus, he heard a young man swearing non-stop. At first, my dad didn't want to respond.

But unexpectedly, the young man started cursing directly at my dad:

"Why are old people like you still alive, wasting society's resources? At your age, you still take the bus. Your kids must be just like you, living filthy, stinking lives forever."

My father frowned in anger, "What's your problem, kid? Didn't anyone teach you manners?"

Hearing my dad respond, the boy glanced behind him and became even more aggressive.

"Hah, you old geezer, already one foot in the grave, and you still think you can lecture people. Oh, even if you have kids, they're probably crippled."

My dad, provoked, went up and pinned the boy down. He didn't mean to hit him, just to scare him into shutting up.

But unfortunately, the boy's nose hit the bus seat and started bleeding instantly.

Seeing this, my dad, thinking the boy was about my age, was about to let go.

But the young man, knowing what would provoke him, suddenly whispered in his ear, "Hah, with trash like you, be careful your kid doesn't get hit by a car tomorrow."

That did it. My dad, blood boiling, held the boy's mouth shut, preventing him from saying another word.