BTYFOV Chapter 46

 Chapter 46: Letter from Abroad

I have no intention of taking care of him either.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Qin Feng's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, "From overseas?"

“Yes.” The gatekeeper pointed, "the top line is in foreign language, and the bottom line is Qin Feng, Binhai City Northern Railway Factory. This foreign language looks familiar to me, is it English?”

Qin Feng subconsciously looked over, “Yes”

The gatekeeper handed him the letter, “Is it your classmate?”

Qin Feng shook his head.

His close classmates and alumni with whom he had a good relationship were all like him, swiftly returned after completing their studies abroad. Those who stayed overseas had different ambitions, not bothering to write to him.

“Well, look who it is.” The gatekeeper handed it over and asked in a low voice, "Are they trying to recruit you, hoping you'll help them with something abroad?"

Gu Wuyi snapped to look at his dad.

Qin Feng ruffled his son's hair, "Your dad isn't a researcher. After so many years back, who still misses me?”

“Then who could it be?” Gu Wuyi was also curious.

Qin Feng pocketed the letter, “I don't know.” 

The gatekeeper couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to read it?"

“I have to take him to buy stationery and a school bag, I'll read it later.”

The gatekeeper couldn't help but tsk, “You really have seen the world. If a foreigner came to me, I'd be so happy I wouldn't know what to do.”

“It's just a letter, not money.” Qin Feng shook his head in amusement and pulled Gu Wuyi's arm to the bus stop.

Gu Wuyi couldn't quite believe that his old man was so calm, “Do you know who it is?”

“Guess.”

Gu Wuyi: “Miaomiao's mom?”

Qin Feng's footsteps paused. "If Miaomiao's mom really had that intention, she wouldn’t be writing me a letter— she would come directly to snatch him away from me.”

Gu Wuyi still didn't believe it, “Can you show me?”

"If you can understand it, go ahead." Qin Feng handed him the letter.

Gu Wu Yi opened the letter, the greeting at the beginning was understandable, and then—it was mutual ignorance.

Feeling disappointed, he handed the letter back and silently vowed to study English harder.

Qin Feng took the letter, glanced at the signature, and frowned. He quickly looked at Gu Wuyi.

Seeing that he was mumbling under his breath and not paying attention to the letter, he immediately put it away without making a sound.

Originally, Miaomiao and the others wanted to come on this trip. Qin Feng had wanted to broaden Gu Wuyi’s horizons before he started middle school. But six-year-old Miaomiao and eight-year-old Lingyun couldn't walk such a long way, so he didn't let them come.

Yet, the signature on the letter made Qin Feng lose all interest in shopping.

When they arrived at the department store, Qin Feng gave Gu Wuyi money and let him choose.

Gu Wuyi picked a moderately priced backpack and pencil case, then looked for something to buy for his younger siblings.

Since they were in a stationery store, it was impossible to buy good food. Gu Wuyi bought each of them an eraser and a nice-looking pencil.

Qin Feng saw his thoughtfulness and, thinking of the letter in his pocket, decided to reconnect with his former classmates and schoolmates.

In fact, there has always been contact, but everyone was busy. At most, they exchanged one or two letters or made a phone call once a year.

As someone who built cars, there wasn’t much he could do to help others. Over time, after ten-plus years, those old school friendships had inevitably faded.

"Dad—Dad?"

Qin Feng was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask, “Calling me?”

“If not you, who should I call? You're the only father I have. What are you thinking about?"

Qin Feng blurted out, "Work stuff."

“Since you have something to do, let's go back.”

Qin Feng asked, "You’re done shopping?"

"Yeah. Here." Gu Wuyi handed him the change.

Qin Feng didn’t take it. “Keep it. Middle schoolers are different from primary schoolers. Occasionally, invite your classmates to drink a bottle of soda, eat something, and when a classmate has a birthday, give them a compass or a notebook. Otherwise, you might find yourself without friends."

Having gone through everything again, Gu Wuyi now understood the importance of friendships. "Then I’ll hold onto it?"

Qin Feng put an arm around his shoulders. "Let’s go!"

"Are we heading straight home?"

Qin Feng stopped in his tracks. "Got something else to do?"

"I don’t."

Qin Feng said, "I don’t either."

Gu Wuyi was sure that something was wrong with his father, maybe it had something to do with the letter. Because every time his father came to the city, even when he was busy receiving factory leaders or hosting visiting officials and clients, he never forgot to buy them some treats.

It's a pity that his English wasn’t good enough.

But then it hit him—if I couldn’t read it, someone else could.

Xiao’er and Lingyun had been to college.

Even after all these years, reading a letter shouldn’t be a problem for them.

Gu Wuyi followed Qin Feng home without showing any emotion, then secretly told his two younger brothers about the letter.

After hearing the story, Fu Lingyun shook his head.

Gu Xiao’er spread his hands helplessly.

Gu Wuyi glared at them. "Did you guys just mess around in college?"

Gu Xiao’er said, "Our college was pretty average, and we didn’t exactly slack off in our studies, but when it came to English… yeah, we kind of coasted through."

Gu Wuyi was about to lecture them but stopped himself. He suddenly recalled their past lives—when Gu Xiao’er took the college entrance exam, he had been recovering in the hospital. The fact that Xiao’er even managed to complete the exam was already impressive, let alone that he actually got into college.

When Fu Lingyun took his college entrance exam, their family was doing well, and Gu Wuyi’s health had fully recovered. But Fu Lingyun never liked studying—he had wanted to start a business with Gu Wuyi and earn money for the family. It was only because Gu Wuyi had forced him that he ended up going to college.

The only reason Fu Lingyun even got into an average university was that he was naturally smart. Otherwise, with his half-hearted attitude, even a vocational school would’ve been a challenge.

"So what do we do now?" Gu Wuyi asked.

Gu Xiao’er shrugged. "Find someone else?"

Gu Wuyi shook his head. "What if it’s… one of Dad’s romantic debts from the past?"

The two brothers exchanged a look and then turned to stare at Gu Wuyi.

"What?" Gu Wuyi asked, confused.

Fu Lingyun probed: “There's not going to be another brother, is there?”

Gu Wuyi laughed, “What are you talking about—”But his smile froze. Suddenly, it didn’t seem impossible. "I’m going to find Dad." He threw open the door and ran downstairs.

"Slow down!"

Gu Wuyi halted and turned toward the voice.

Standing at the study door was a figure.

"Dad?"

“Looking for me?”

Gu Wuyi hesitated. "That letter… that letter, is it—" He couldn't help but scratch his head, then figured that since they were all older now, if their dad was worried about raising another child, they could help out. "Are we getting another little brother or sister?"

"What are you talking about?" Qin Feng frowned.

Gu Xiao’er stepped out of the next room. "Wasn’t that letter you received basically saying, ‘A child is on the way, please prepare to receive them’?"

Qin Feng let out an exasperated laugh. "Is that really how you guys see me?”

Gu Wuyi shook his head. "Of course not. But men like you— good looks, no shortcomings in body, educated, and without any bad habits—aren't exactly common."

“I'll take that as a compliment.” Qin Feng waved his hand, forgiving their wild speculation.

Then, a thought suddenly struck him.

In the book, the reason why Gu Wuyi was cheated out of a kidney was that apart from the fact that Gu Xiao’er needed his parents to help him solve the registration problem for his college entrance exams, there was also the possibility that he lacked love.

In this life, he wasn’t lacking love. But what if those people tried a different approach?

What if they threatened Gu Wuyi with his job? Or worse, used little Miaomiao, the youngest, to manipulate him? If Gu Wuyi wanted to shoulder the burden alone and keep it from him, it wasn’t impossible that he’d agree to give up a kidney.

At such a young age, he wouldn’t even understand what it meant to lose one.

Qin Feng asked, "You really want to know what’s in that letter?"

Gu Wuyi said, "It’s not that I have to know. I just want to make sure it’s not—"

"It’s not!" Qin Feng shot him a glare. "You’re too young to be thinking such nonsense. Wait here, I’ll get it."

He went to the study, slipped a matchbox into his pocket, and grabbed the letter along with the envelope.

Then he handed the envelope to Gu Wuyi first.

Gu Wuyi looked at it, puzzled.

Qin Feng, “Look at the address on it.”

The sender's address is in English, Gu Wuyi can’t read it, so he can only give it to his two younger brothers.

Fu Lingyun would like to understand it, but he is a primary school student who doesn't dare to understand it, “Dad, where is your English dictionary?”

Qin Feng chuckled. “It will be dark by the time you find out. I'll translate it for you.” He started by translating the address and name.

The address and name sounded very foreign, but none of them had ever heard of them before.

Gu Wuyi then asked him to translate the letter itself.

As Qin Feng translated more and more, the three brothers grew increasingly shocked. By the time he was done, both Gu Wuyi and Gu Xiao’er were completely stunned.

Qin Feng looked at the still-conscious Fu Lingyun. "Now do you understand why I didn’t want to tell you?"

Because the sender wasn’t just anyone—it was Gu Wuyi’s biological father who has disappeared for nearly eight years.

Back then, he believed the moon overseas shone brighter than at home. He had gone abroad at the public’s expense to finish his studies, and thought that he could survive in foreign countries, so he severed his ties with the embassy.

But now, with the country opening up and foreign investment being welcomed, many Chinese who had left years ago were returning. That cunning biological father of Gu Wuyi also wanted to come back and see if he could claim a share of the pie.

However, he had a criminal record and was afraid that the state would come after him. So, instead of returning directly, he reached out to Qin Feng. After all, before Qin Feng returned home, he had tried to persuade him to do the same and had mentioned that he would be serving the country at the Northern Railway Factory.

Fu Lingyun did not care why, but only concerned about one thing: “They just want to come back, not want to recognize big brother and second brother?”

"What, do they think the Public Security Bureau is run by his family?” Qin Feng laughed.

In a few more years, the country’s adoption laws would become more complete. At that point, even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to give up custody of Gu Wuyi and Gu Qingkuang.

Fu Lingyun was relieved. "Then how are you going to respond?"

"Respond to what?" Gu Wuyi snapped back to his senses and immediately declared, "We’re not responding!"

Qin Feng nodded. "I wasn’t planning to bother with him anyway."

Fu Lingyun: “I heard that our city welcomes foreigners to invest in it, what if they are looking for the mayor of the city or something?”

Qin Feng shook his head, “He doesn't have that much money. Besides, there is no shortage of enterprises in our city, and the city leaders who oversees the Northern Railway Factory are people who have seen the world and are not so easy to be fooled.”

“But the North Depot belongs to the state."

Qin Feng said, "Most of the workers in the factory are from Binhai City."

Gu Wuyi understood, “He may not be as powerful as our factory director in front of the city leaders?”

Qin Feng nodded: “Smart! He'd better not come to Binhai City. Otherwise, your grandfather's old colleagues would be enough to give him a hard time."

Gu Wuyi suddenly realized, no wonder they didn't come to him when he was in Binhai in his previous life. As soon as he arrived in the capital, they came to him.

If he had known this back then, he could have reached out to his grandfather’s former colleagues. They could have helped with the household registration issue and warned his naïve past self that his biological parents had bad intentions. Maybe then, things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.

Qin Feng asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Wuyi pointed at the letter.

Qin Feng: “You don't believe I can handle it?”

Gu Wuyi was willing to believe.

In the years he had been with him, he had never seen anything that could be difficult for him.

Qin Feng pointed at the letter, “Don't tell Grandpa and Grandma. Otherwise, they’ll overthink it again. And don’t mention it to Qin Miaomiao either."

The child was still too young—if he tried to keep a secret, it would be easy to trick it out of him.

Gu Wuyi heard "Miaomiao" and couldn't help but ask, "Miaomiao will be in second grade when school starts. Can he grow out his hair now?"

Qin Feng: "Let him keep a buzz cut. His hair isn’t suited for growing long."

Fu Lingyun had examined his brother’s hair and it was not suitable in summer, but it was suitable in winter when he needed to wear a hat.

His hair is stiff and grows like a hedgehog, so he can only wear a hat to keep it down. Once it got long enough to settle naturally, a little trimming would make it look just like theirs.

Fu Lingyun shared this thought with Qin Feng.

Qin Feng considered it. "Then let’s try when the weather gets colder. If it doesn’t work, she can just wear a hat, and no one will notice." After saying that, he waved them off.

The three brothers went downstairs to find Fu Qingyun and Miaomiao.

At the staircase, Gu Xiao’er suddenly stopped and grabbed them.

They were puzzled.

Gu Xiao’er asked in a low voice: “If Dad doesn't reply to their letter, won’t they get mad at him?"

Fu Lingyun thought about it, “The first thing they’ll suspect is that the country is failing and the letter didn't arrive.”

Gu Wuyi agreed.

Gu Xiao’er thought about their biological father and mother's virtues, scoffed at how they had looked down on the country that had sent them abroad for further studies. "Let’s hope they don’t come back too soon. Otherwise, with my small frame, I wouldn’t even be able to reach high enough to slap them.”

Gu Wuyi shook his head, “It won't happen.”

Fu Lingyun: “Even if they came to Binhai City, they wouldn't dare to come here.”

Gu Xiao’er thought about their family’s daily routine—school to home, or work to home, back and forth with no detours. That scheming couple wouldn’t have any opportunity to act. He immediately lost interest in the letter.

"Miaomiao!" He ran ahead, shouting loudly.

Qin Miaomiao was on the swing and was so startled by his sudden yell that he almost fell off. "What?!" he shouted back in annoyance.

Gu Xiao’er stopped, “Come down, let brother sit for a while.”

Miaomiao glared at him and pulled Fu Qingyun, who was about to get off the swing. "No way!"

Gu Xiao’er went over and pressed down on his bald head, “Little brat--”

Miaomiao smacked his hand away.

“Brat, dare to hit me?” Gu Xiao’er cracked his knuckles, pretending he was about to teach her a lesson.

Qin Feng, already having a headache, scolded, "Can you keep it down?"

The brothers immediately quieted down.

Qin Feng shot them a glare and shut the window.

Though it was early autumn, the lingering summer heat was still intense, and the daytime remained sweltering.

Seeing this, Gu Wuyi said, "We're heading to the village to play, don't close the window.” After saying this, he carried Miaomiao down.

Miaomiao couldn't help but stomp on his second brother's foot, "This is all your fault!"

Gu Xiao’er huffed in pain and limped after him, “Stop right there!”

Qin Feng couldn't help but rub his temples. Why couldn’t even one of these five be a girl?

Gu Wuyi subconsciously looked upstairs and saw his father's helpless face, he couldn't help but sympathize with him—but also wanted to laugh.

Qin Feng looked down and saw it. Without thinking, he crumpled the paper in his hand and threw it.

Gu Wuyi dodged and, recognizing the crumpled paper, curiously picked it up and unfolded it. Sure enough, it was the envelope from earlier.

For his father to casually toss something with an address on it, it was clear that he truly didn’t care about his biological father.

Gu Wuyi, pretending to be responsible, said he would throw it in the trash. But as soon as he stepped out the door, he made a beeline for Wuli Village across the way.

Once he reached the village, he borrowed a match and burned the envelope—better to eliminate any unnecessary trouble.

As for Qin Feng, he truly had no intention of dealing with Gu Wuyi’s biological parents. Since the market was still unstable and Gu Wuyi’s father had no local connections to assist him, he didn’t dare to return hastily.

Perhaps he also knew that Qin Feng found him annoying, and since he had no idea that Gu Wuyi and Gu Qingkuang were with Qin Feng, he didn’t send another letter to bother him for the rest of the year.

As the New Year approached, Qin Feng’s work temporarily eased, giving him time to go home and help his parents prepare for the festivities.

Previously, due to his busy schedule, Qin Feng would only stop by for meals before leaving again.

Now that he had some free time, he stayed in the village for a while and noticed something—his hometown seemed to have become wealthier.

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