Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 307 - 302: Seeking Solutions in the Unsolvability (3)
Qi Yi had never even considered asking his father to buy him a house.
If Qi Yi had bothered to check the bank card his father gave him even once or twice, he would have realized that the money his father deposited was more than enough to buy several decent houses in Wenzhou.
Buying three of the type of houses he had bought for his mother a few years ago would have been easily manageable.
In Qi Yi’s family, the nature of his father’s and mother’s relationship was always defined by his mother.
It was during this meeting that Qi Yi learned from his father the real reason behind his parents’ separation.
It had nothing to do with a third party meddling; it was simply a mismatch of personalities.
Qi Yi’s mother was the kind of person who refused to make even the slightest concession in her well-laid plans.
If anything deviated from the trajectory she envisaged, even slightly against Qi Yi’s mother’s wishes, she would do everything in her power to steer things back to her predetermined course.
Sometimes, the methods used by Qi Yi’s mother were quite subtle.
Whether it was acting coquettishly or hinting indirectly, there was always a multitude of ways to achieve her ends.
Qi Yi’s mother mostly still employed such tactics with her own son.
But more often, especially regarding matters related to Qi Yi’s father, she would straightforwardly use arguments to gain the victories she desired.
Even if his father suddenly craved a flavor of ice cream they had never bought before, it could cause Qi Yi’s mother to fuss about it, either subtly or outright, for most of the day.
What to wear, which restaurants to dine at, what items to buy—these had to be selected and executed precisely as per Qi Yi’s mother’s wishes, without any deviation.
But these were just trivial matters of daily life, and Qi Yi’s father was willing to accommodate them.
When Qi Yi’s father left Wenzhou, he told Qi Yi it was to earn money to buy him a house—and that was indeed the truth.
It was also the direct cause of his parents’ arguments.
When Qi Yi was in primary school, his father had an opportunity to start a business.
It was a good chance, but his father couldn’t make up his mind to resign from his job at the time.
So he discussed it with his mother, seeking her opinion on the feasibility of the business venture.
Perhaps it was because a friend of Qi Yi’s mother had just divorced, but as soon as she heard that Qi Yi’s father wanted to do business in Yiwu, she accused him of surely having a vixen on the side.
Mr. Qi was quite helpless and immediately pledged his loyalty, declaring that he would not pursue the opportunity if his wife disagreed.
Qi Yi’s father did have feelings for his mother.
But from that moment, Qi Yi’s mother became convinced that her husband had a vixen out there.
She linked everything to the supposed other woman, searching daily for the slightest hint or trace.
Such a life might be endearing for a short time, but ultimately, no one could endure it for long.
Time would erode even the deepest affection through constant quarreling.
When Qi Yi’s father left Wenzhou with resignation, he just wanted both of them to cool off.
He had no intention of cheating and no one to cheat with.
No matter how much chaos his mother caused, she couldn’t fabricate a vixen out of thin air.
When Qi Yi’s father left, he had no intention of getting a divorce; he thought that after a period of uproar, things would settle down.
After Qi Yi’s father settled in Yiwu, he even asked his mother if she wanted to join him.
But by then, Qi Yi’s mother had become an unsolvable equation.
His father’s efforts were futile regardless of how hard he tried.
The first time he returned from Yiwu to Wenzhou for the New Year, his father had handed over a sum of money he earned to Qi Yi’s mother.
At that time, his father’s small commodities business was just starting and didn’t have much money.
Upon seeing the money, Qi Yi’s mother thought his father was keeping a vixen on the side and wanted to use that sum of money to buy his freedom from her.
She chased his father out of the house, money and all.
As his mother’s verbal abuse worsened, Qi Yi’s parents drifted further apart.
Back then, Qi Yi’s academic performance was quite erratic.
After noticing her son’s issues, Qi Yi’s mother began to secretly argue with Qi Yi’s father while weaving a facade of marital harmony for Qi Yi.
Originally, going to Yiwu to do business was just a proposition to be discussed with Qi Yi’s father to see if it was feasible; it wasn’t a decision that had been formally made yet.
Somehow, it inexplicably turned into an irreconcilable conflict between husband and wife.
.........
"Yi, did you come to see your father this time because of your ’ex-girlfriend’?" Qi Yi’s father asked him.
"How did you know I had an ex-girlfriend?" Qi Yi was a bit surprised after hearing this.
"Your mother and I used to work at the same place. With the number of people you’ve met through matchmaking, news about you easily reaches your father’s ears," Qi Yi’s father lightly explained.
Over the years, the father and son had grown accustomed to not contacting each other. But a lack of contact didn’t mean Qi Yi’s father wasn’t concerned about his son’s current situation.
"I see..." Qi Yi felt a bit embarrassed.
He couldn’t possibly be unaware of the poor reputation he had in the matchmaking world.
That was, after all, something he had done on purpose.
"After hearing about it, dad knew you were doing it intentionally," Qi Yi’s father confidently smiled and told Qi Yi.
Sometimes, father-son affection doesn’t need too many words.
The money Mr. Qi deposited in Qi Yi’s account for buying a house wasn’t the amount for just one house.
Instead, it was transferred over many years, little by little.
When Qi Yi was accepted into college, when Qi Yi went to the United States to study, Qi Yi’s father felt he should cover his son’s tuition and living expenses.
Although Mr. Qi didn’t directly ask Qi Yi, he had many ways to keep up with Qi Yi’s situation.
This was why, after Qi Yi’s mother cut off his communication with his son, Mr. Qi didn’t insist on calling home or using other methods to contact his son, to prevent further hysterics from those already overwrought at home.
Qi Yi didn’t realize his father was expressing his care by giving him money.
Qi Yi’s father’s care for him had never ceased.
Whether it was Chinese New Year, Qi Yi’s birthday, graduation, or any significant day when Mr. Qi felt his son needed to celebrate with others and would need money, he would deposit funds into Qi Yi’s account.
The card was in Qi Yi’s possession and registered in Qi Yi’s name.
Mr. Qi never imagined that his son had never touched the money inside the account.
Mr. Qi had always believed that his communication channels with his son were open.
That’s why when he received Qi Yi’s call, he didn’t find it startling at all.
