Unfilial Son

Nie Yugang dragged his weary body back to the empty apartment.

In the simple three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, almost every wall was adorned with photos of him and his son, from infancy to starting school, from elementary to high school, from high school to university, and then photos of them together after his son entered society.

Looking at the decades of photos hanging on the wall, they felt like mountains pressing down on Nie Yugang's heart, heavy and suffocating.

He sat on the sofa, hesitated for a moment, then picked up the landline phone beside him and dialed his son's workplace.

His son had inherited his stubbornness!

Because they had argued about him wanting to find his birth parents, his phone number had been blacklisted by his son and remained there to this day!

Every time he wanted to call, he had to do it through his son's work number.

And even then, he couldn't always get through.

"Half a month, and I still have to be the one to contact him!"

Old Nie muttered to himself, his fingers moving over the keypad with a practiced, albeit slow, muscle memory.

The phone rang, and his mood rose and fell with each ring.

A moment later, He hung up the phone in disappointment:

"That ungrateful brat, he won't even answer my calls anymore!"

When one is sick, the heart feels wronged.

He looked at the photos on the wall, his heart filled with a thousand mixed emotions.

He had called his son today to tell him that he would no longer stand in the way of him finding his birth parents and wanted him to come back for a visit.

After all, he might not have much time left, and he couldn't imagine or accept his son not being by his side when he was gone.

Three years ago, his son had gone to the capital for a business trip, saying he was going to be promoted. After happily sending his son off, Old Nie never expected that he wouldn't see him again.

For three years, the father and son could only communicate by phone. Worried about his son, a sixty-year-old illiterate man had taught himself to type on a mobile phone, send text messages, and even use WeChat.

It was only when he saw the occasional photos of his son's life that he could feel a little more at ease.

Young people were ambitious and faced a lot of work pressure.

So, he missed his son dearly but restrained himself.

But in the last six months, as his health declined, Old Nie felt his longing for his son even more intensely!

He had also learned to video call, but his son didn't have much time for video calls; at most, he would send a few photos, and that was it.

Once, when he showed Old Wang a photo his son had sent, Old Wang's son, who was standing nearby, commented, "This looks like a load of crap!"

This had infuriated Old Nie!

He had forgotten their years of friendship and had given Young Wang a beating on the spot.

His precious son's photo, and he called it crap?

How could he not be angry?

Because of this, Young Wang would lower his head and avoid him every time he saw him.

Just then, the apartment door was pushed open, and an elderly figure walked in.

"Haha, isn't this Old Nie? How did your hospital check-up go today? Interested in playing a couple of games of chess with me?"

Old Wang shuffled into the living room with his trembling steps, smiling as he asked Old Nie, who was sitting on the sofa.

He held a box of chess pieces in his hand.

When they were young, both had worked in the same factory. Old Wang prided himself on being a junior high school graduate, while Old Nie hadn't even finished elementary school, so he always sought to compare himself to Old Nie to gain a sense of superiority.

He was quite boastful normally~

He was a good person, just with this one flaw!

However, despite having read a few books, he was often completely defeated by Old Nie in chess, which frustrated him greatly. He would often seek Old Nie out for a game or two.

Today was undoubtedly another attempt to 'get revenge,' and it also served as a way for them to relieve their boredom.

"Alright! Let's play two games!"

Old Nie put aside his complicated thoughts and nodded.

His condition was clearly not good.

Old Wang naturally pulled over a chair, sat opposite Old Nie, and placed the chess set between them on the coffee table!

He slowly began to arrange the pieces.

"You still haven't answered me, how was your hospital check-up?"

Old Wang asked, his hands busy with the chess pieces, but his mouth not idle.

Old Nie gave a wry smile, not hiding anything, his eyes filled with dimness as he said:

"You were right, it's cancerous, I don't have long to live!"

"You!."

Old Wang's hand trembled as he held the chess piece, looking at him in disbelief!

He wanted to say something, but it was stuck in his throat, unable to speak.

Just earlier, he had teased Old Nie, telling him to get a check-up at the hospital quickly, lest he find out he had cancer and be done for.

He never expected that a casual joke back then would now become a reality.

Old Wang, usually cheerful, couldn't smile at all now.

Instead, Old Nie gave a wry smile:

"Life and death are fated, riches and honor are secondary. Come, come, let's play a few more rounds while I can still move!"

"And him? Isn't he coming back yet?"

Old Wang's expression turned grim, and his movements stopped.

He knew that Old Nie's lifelong hope was that adopted son!

He'd heard that the adopted son recently wanted to go find his biological parents, which had angered Old Nie so much that he hadn't contacted him for half a month.

"Haven't told him about this yet!"

Old Nie sighed deeply, the disappointment in his eyes impossible to hide.

Now, he just wanted to see his child, even if the child came back angry.

He even regretted it.

Why couldn't he swallow his pride back then?

If the child wanted to find his biological parents, then let him!

A complex mix of emotions surged through him, making Old Nie feel even worse.

Seeing this, Old Wang felt both sad and angry!

He put down his chess piece and looked at Old Nie with a somber expression:

"Call that adopted son right now and tell him you're sick! If he doesn't come back, then consider him never having been your son! Don't worry, if he refuses to come back, I'll have my son take care of your final years! I don't believe any damn job is more important than his father's life!?"

"In my opinion, he's just gotten too big for his britches and wants to fly away from you! After all these years, how can you not see it?"

"I told you long ago you needed to consider your own future, but you wouldn't listen! Look at this adopted son, can he be relied upon!?"

Old Wang was genuinely angry, feeling it was unfair to Old Nie!

After all, what kind of job required someone to not come home for three consecutive years?

And every time, he only sent photos, not even video calls, who was he trying to fool!?

Knowing that Old Wang meant well, Old Nie said helplessly:

"I tried calling, but it didn't go through!"

"Did you call his work number again? Call his personal number!"

Old Wang urged anxiously.

But Old Nie shook his head:

"Didn't we have a fight because he wanted to see his biological parents? I don't know what happened, but later, whenever I called him, it was an invalid number!"

"Heh? This guy is really something, blocking your number too? No, give me his number, I'll call him! He wouldn't block me, right? Don't worry, I'll call!"

Old Wang was so angry he laughed. He took the adopted son's number from Old Nie and dialed!

A voice indeed came from the other end:

"Sorry,"

PS:

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