Chapter 246 - 244: Parents (Emotionless)

Chapter 246: Chapter 244: Parents (Emotionless)

Fang Tao believed he was a person with superpowers.

Or rather, that he possessed an extraordinary, superhuman ability.

Whatever he wished for would soon come true.

When did this ability awaken? It was probably around the time he turned twenty-two.

Back then, he had just married his wife, Yang Huaqin. They had only recently entered the workforce, so life was a struggle. They had to pinch every penny, stretching each one as if it were two.

But because they hadn’t been careful enough, when his wife told him she was pregnant, Fang Tao felt no great joy. Instead, the thought of an abortion immediately came to mind.

A poor family like theirs couldn’t afford to raise a little cash-devouring monster.

With this thought weighing on him, Fang Tao began mentally rehearsing how he would persuade his wife.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want a child. But ’if we can’t afford to raise one now, we shouldn’t have one!’

But before he could say a word, he was thrilled to find that his fortunes were finally turning, as if he had spent too long at rock bottom.

Just as he was worrying about money, a bout of intense office politics broke out. Everyone else was busy tearing each other down, but since he had no connections, no one bothered to target him. Instead, he ended up getting promoted three ranks in a row.

Looking at the promotion letter in his hand and the joy in his wife’s eyes, he silently swallowed the idea of an abortion.

Over the ten months of his wife’s pregnancy, his career continued to advance. He became a department head at a young age, with an annual salary of 100,000.

Now that he had money and a decent position, Fang Tao wished for a well-behaved, sensible child.

Sure enough, his wish came true. His child was very sensible—in fact, he was practically a prodigy.

Raised on some expensive brand-name formula, the baby could walk three days after birth, talk at five days, and hold a fluent conversation at ten. Aside from the occasional minor illness, he was perfect.

Later, in middle school, Fang Can shattered his arm in three places while playing with a classmate. Desperate to save his son, Fang Tao immediately won a ten-million prize in the lottery.

Then there was the time his son was kidnapped, but even that ended up being just a scare with no real harm done.

All these incidents, one after another, made Fang Tao feel as if he were some kind of Child of Destiny. ’Maybe I really do have superpowers?’

’How can all the good things happen to me, while every crisis resolves itself without issue?’

But then, during the Carnival Day livestream, his hopes were utterly shattered.

It turned out the real one with superpowers wasn’t him, but his son.

’So in other words, all my luck over the years was just borrowed from my son?’

The thought of his son on the other end of the line, whom he hadn’t seen in four or five years, made Fang Tao uneasy.

They had talked from time to time for the first year or two, but as they grew more distant and his son’s replies became colder, they hadn’t spoken in a long time.

’When was the last time they’d spoken?’

Fang Tao thought for a moment. He seemed to recall it was about half a year ago. He had heard Fang Can was about to take his college entrance exams and had called to urge him to study hard.

Fang Can had seemed to have a cold back then, a bit under the weather. They had only exchanged a few words—he’d told his son to take care of himself, and then they’d hung up.

And now, listening to Fang Can’s reply, Fang Tao paid no mind to his son’s tone. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The truth was, he didn’t dare to see his son on his own initiative. He was afraid of being killed. After all, many parents of the superpowered had been murdered by their own children as payback for childhood neglect.

But he had no choice. The relatives who knew the whole story had all persuaded him to make this call.

After all, it was better to clear the air now than to let their relationship grow even more distant later on.

"No, really, it’s nothing. We’re doing just fine now, no need for you to worry about us."

Fang Tao explained, "I just wanted to check in on you. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself, not pushing yourself too hard. We haven’t seen each other in so long, and we happen to be in Z City now, so maybe we could meet up sometime...?"

"Forget it," Fang Can refused coldly.

"You’ve been traveling for so long, you should just keep enjoying yourselves. I’m very busy. If it’s not something important, there’s no need for us to meet."

"And another thing. There are a lot of superpowered people out there now. Don’t go around causing trouble and dropping my name. Otherwise, if I hear about it from any of your victims, I’ll be the one to clean house," Fang Can said coldly.

Fang Can couldn’t control what other superpowered people did, nor could he be bothered to try.

Their power and status didn’t come from him, and they would get along just fine even in his absence. So if they went around bullying people, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.

But the benefits these relatives of his enjoyed all came from him. Letting them live in luxury was already going above and beyond.

If these relatives started messing around and a Victim showed up at his door in tears, then Fang Can would have an obligation to clean house.

After issuing a few simple commands, Fang Can hung up. He had no intention of saying anything more. They could barely exchange a few words on a normal day, let alone now when he had more important things to deal with.

’As for my parents? They can just stay on the road, traveling happily. For the rest of their lives, they never have to come back.’

...

Listening to the dial tone on the other end, the assembled relatives exchanged glances. They all gave awkward, embarrassed laughs.

Any arrogant thoughts they’d had about their meteoric rise vanished into thin air.

After hanging up, Fang Can tucked his phone back into his pocket. The moment he walked back into the room, Liu Qingmeng came skipping over and threw her arms around him.

"Time for today’s friend fee!" As she spoke, Liu Qingmeng sank her teeth into Fang Can’s neck.

Thanks to these recent "mana infusions," the girl had gained enough energy to revert to her original form. However, she insisted on maintaining her cute loli physique, acting adorable every day just like a real little girl.

Fang Can had asked her why she didn’t change back, but her answer was that she wanted to make a clean break from her "original self."

She wanted Fang Can to think of her as a cute, sweet young girl, while her original self would be remembered as a cold, frosty, hundred-something-year-old spinster.

↓Concept art for the old spinster↓

Feeling the wet, sucking sensation on his neck, Fang Can complained with a laugh:

"Being your friend is an expensive business, Elder Liu. The amount you absorb every day is enough to drain ten ordinary First Turns dry."

"Hmph. Just let me have my fill. You talk too much," Liu Qingmeng huffed. "You only think it’s expensive because you don’t know how to make proper use of me."

"In exchange, I can offer bed-warming, conversation, back-scrubbing, bathing, feeding..."

Liu Qingmeng listed them off one by one. "There are so many services you could unlock, but you’ve only used a few. You have a feast laid out before you, but you’re only eating the vegetables. You’re the one being wasteful."

Faced with the girl’s blatant hints, Fang Can could only manage an awkward smile and said no more.

’None of that is what friends do,’

’that’s what friends with benefits do. If we did all that, our relationship would be set in stone. And Jiang Ning’an is still right here in the villa.’

The last time she’d been feeding him cake, Jiang Ning’an had walked in on them halfway through. The situation had devolved from him being fed by one person to being fed by two, making the atmosphere incredibly awkward.

’No wonder they say a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its burrow. Sometimes it’s just not convenient to make a move on someone you’re too close with.’

Still, compared to the situation with his parents, having this master and disciple duo for company meant he wasn’t so lonely.

’As for his parents?’

’They’re not needed anymore.’ (No emotion.)