When I mentioned the words my father had said—“If he can’t make something of himself, I won’t acknowledge him as my son”—Grandpa slammed his hand on the table with a loud bang.

“That brat!”

He shot up from his chair, chest heaving with anger.

“I see he’s grown some backbone now! How dare he treat you like that? This cannot go on…” He pulled out his old phone and dialed my father’s number.

The moment the call connected, he roared into the receiver.

“Wayne Thompson Crowe! You get your ass back here right now! I don’t care if you’re in the middle of meeting, you dropped it and drive here this instant!”

Whatever my father tried to say on the other end, Grandpa didn’t give him the chance—he hung up straight away.

A few hours later, my father’s Maybach pulled up in front of Grandpa’s house.

He stepped out, frowning, clearly impatient.

“Dad, I’ve got things to handle at the company. What’s so urgent? What’s this about?”

When his eyes landed on me sitting beside my grandparents, his expression shifted—first irritation, then realization.

“What’s this about?” Grandpa repeated; fought to keep his anger in check. “How could you treat your own son like that?

“He just graduated from college and you kicked him out with two hundred bucks? Are you out of your mind?”

A flicker of guilt crossed my father’s face, but he quickly straightened his back and spoke self-righteously.

“Dad, I did this for his own good! It’s called adversity education—the most popular teaching method abroad! He’s twenty-two, an adult. You expect him to just keep sponging off me? In other countries, kids move out at eighteen. I’m already being generous!”

He sounded like he was giving a lecture, so sure of himself.

Grandma shot him a sharp look. “Adversity education, my foot! I bet it was that snake woman, Linda, who told you to do this. She can’t stand Leo and you just went along with her to mistreat my grandson!”

Father’s face changed instantly. “Mom! What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with Linda—it was my decision! For the record, Leroy’s my son too. I’ll treat them both the same way!”

He said it firmly, as if he truly believed it.

But he seemed to forget how furious he’d been just yesterday when I mentioned Leroy.

“Same way? Oh, what a fair father you are!” Grandpa let out a cold laugh, dripping with sarcasm and disappointment.

“I see you’ve grown smart Wayne. You’ve learned new stuff—using ‘independence’ nonsense to justify treating your own son unfairly!”

Grandpa stood, his sharp eyes locked on my father.

“Since you think grown children shouldn’t depend on their parents and should stand on their own—fine. But first, let me ask you: how old are you now?”

“Fifty-three… But what does that have to do with this?” Father froze, not understanding where this was going.

“Fifty-three, huh? That’s three decades away from twenty-two!” Grandpa’s voice suddenly boomed. “You keep saying Leo shouldn’t live off of you—but what about you?

“That manor you live in, the three commercial buildings you collect rent from every month, the startup capital for your company—did you earn any of those yourself? Weren’t they all built from my hard work back in the day?”

Father’s face turned pale in an instant.

Sensing where this was headed, he stammered, “Dad, that’s… that’s different! I’m your son! Those properties will all be mine eventually—”

“Eventually?” Grandpa cut him off coldly. “There is no ‘eventually.’ The future isn’t fixed. You say a young man relying on his parents is shameful and should be independent? Very well then. I will treat you that way. Starting today, I’ll inform the tenants to transfer all rent directly to your mother’s account.”

“And I’m taking it back the manor you’re living in!”

“You three can pack your things and move out. From now on, live on your own ways!”

Those words struck like thunder on a clear day. My father froze, his face drained of color.

The pretense of his so-called ‘parenting method’ shattered instantly. Panic and disbelief spread across his face.

“Dad! You can’t do this!” he shouted.

“I’m your only son! How could you take everything back? How are we supposed to live now? Even the company’s cash flow depends on the rent!”

He stumbled forward, voice full of desperation and confusion, completely different from the confident man who had been preaching about independence just minutes ago.

Grandpa looked at him with growing disappointment, his gaze colder than ever.

“Only son? Now you remember you’re my son? When you kicked my grandson out, did you remember that? You’re in your fifties, forcing your newly graduated son to live on his own, while you live comfortably off your old man’s money! Don’t you have any shame, Wayne?” His voiced cracked with deep disappointment.

“Get out! Leave this house right now! Go live your life ‘independently’!”

My father froze in place, his face shifting from pale to green, then to red.

He glanced at Grandpa’s icy expression, then at Grandma’s tearful yet resolute eyes.

Finally, his gaze fell on me.

His eyes were complicated—filled with anger, resentment and perhaps, somewhere deep down, a hint of regret.

The air was thick with silence.

“Dad, Mom, I... I was wrong,” he finally said, his voice dry and forced, deliberately softening.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly. I shouldn’t have treated Leo that way.”

Grandpa stared at him coldly, saying nothing. Grandma turned away, wiping the corners of her eyes.

Sensing the tension, my father quickly turned to me.

“I’m sorry, Leo. I just wanted you to succeed—I didn’t realize that I pushed you too hard. Please don’t take it to heart, okay? I’ll do better, I promise.” His tone was sincere, his expression full of regret.

But I remembered everything from my past life.

It was raining hard that night. I was riding my electric bike when a sudden sharp pain hit my chest. I lost control and fell on the side of the road.

My vision blurred, rain mixed with mud filling my nose and mouth. Just before I lost consciousness, I saw a familiar black Maybach slowly passing by. Traffic forced it to slow down—it even stopped five meters away at a red light.

The window rolled down and our eyes met.

My father’s eyes swept over me casually. No pause. No confusion. Not even a flicker of emotion. Just like seeing a dying stray dog by the roadside. Then the window rolled up again and as the light turned green, the car drove away.

So now, hearing his so-called apology, all I felt was disgust.

He wasn’t admitting fault—he was surrendering because Grandpa had cut off his money.

Once the crisis passed, he’d go back to being the same man as before—probably even worse after the humiliation he received today.

Unfortunate to me, Grandpa and Grandma’s hearts softened in the end.

Grandpa snorted. 

“Now you realize you were wrong? Where was that sense before?” Grandpa snorted. 

“This is the last time! If you dare mistreat my grandson again, I’ll write my will and donate everything immediately, you won’t get a single penny! You hear me, Wayne?” Grandpa warned. 

My father looked relieved, nodding over and over.

“Yeah, of course! I’ll change, I promise! Don’t worry, Dad!”

Before we left, I told Grandpa I wanted to stop by the store at the end of the village. He agreed to walk with me.

When we returned to Calviera, my father had me move back into the manor and arranged a mid-level position for me in the company.

For a while, life seemed calm.

Linda and Leroy greeted me with smiles whenever they saw me. But I knew that calm was only on the surface—deep down, a storm of problems was quietly brewing.

During the company’s Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, the higher-ups lined up to have a toast with me. After a few rounds, my head was spinning and I slipped into an empty room next door to rest.

Just as I started to doze off, the door burst open.

A woman I didn’t know stumbled in. Before I could react, she screamed, “Help! He’s trying to rape me!” Then she began tearing at her own dress and ripping her stockings, exposing her fair thighs.

The shock sobered me instantly. Before I could respond, Linda barged in with several colleagues and pinned me down. Chaos erupted.

Someone called the police immediately. By the time the officers arrived, my father appeared —at last, standing beside them, his face full of feigned sorrow.

“This is my fault, Officer. I have failed as a father,” he said gravely.

“I never thought he’d do something like this. Please handle it according to the law. I won’t interfere. If he is proven guilty, punish him to the full extent of the law. Our family will not protect a criminal.”

Linda pointed at me, wailing, “He’s always been pervert, Officer! He used to peek on our maids in the shower when he was a boy! I never dared say anything before, but now… just thinking about it now gives me chills!”

Leroy quickly added, “Yeah, he stole their stockings too! I’ve seen it more than once! And… his computer’s full of blue films and their sites!”

Their accusations caused an uproar among the onlookers. My coworkers whispered to each other:

“You never really know someone, huh? He always seemed like a decent man.”

“I’ve noticed him staring at our female-coworkers’ legs.”

“Guess the alcohol brought out his true colors—a total pervert.”

“It breaks my heart to see Mr. Crowe turned his own son in. Must be tough.”

“He makes our working-environment not save for women. Put him in jail.”

Their voices weren’t loud, but every word hit my ears clearly.

When the police came forward, just as the handcuffs were about to close around my wrists, I spoke calmly.

“Officer, before you take me away, I’d like to make a phone call.”

“Who are you gonna call?” My father sneered, crossing his arms. “Go ahead. Not like it’s gonna do you, anyway. Not even your grandpa can save you this time.”

Leroy laughed beside him, his tone mocking.

“Just admit it, Leo. They’d probably cut your prison-time if you admit it.”

I ignored them.

“By procedure, I have the right to contact a family member or lawyer before any measures are taken,” I said. 

The officer hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay.”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, I took out a crumpled piece of paper—one of Grandpa’s cigarette wrappers.

When my father saw the number written on it, his pupils shrank sharply.