Chapter 166: Stepchild × Stepfather 04

Chapter 166 Stepchild × Stepfather 04

Zhou Erdong had been sensible and obedient since childhood. This wasn’t innate; it was mainly because crying or throwing fits was useless.

What’s more, his mother was not very dependable. She lacked the responsibility expected of an adult and easily fell in love due to sweet talk from unfamiliar men.

Time and again, she was deceived by men, forcing her son to worry about her love life, take care of her, and chase away those men with ulterior motives…

This reversal of roles between parent and child is known in psychology as "parentification."

In a normal family, children depend on their parents—the adults—for survival. Parents are undoubtedly strong, authoritative figures, the foundation of a child’s psychological world and the source of their sense of security.

But if a parent repeatedly cries, appears helpless, or acts fragile in front of a child who needs care themselves, the child will feel deeply unsettled.

To counteract this anxiety, the child is forced to take care of themselves and exhibit maturity beyond their years, even tending to their mother’s emotional needs, trying to "save" her. Psychologically, they become their mother’s "mother."

*

Zhou Erdong read all this from a random book—a book Du Bin had given him.

He thought it was pretty ridiculous back then.

It must have been around the time Du Bin was first getting to know Chen Xinhui. He remembered he happened to overhear Du Bin on a phone call with his assistant downstairs.

By the time Zhou Erdong approached, the call was wrapping up. He didn’t catch what Du Bin had said earlier, but he heard him ask, "...Is it really impossible?"

There was a long silence on the other end.

"Boss, it’s highly unlikely. Even if you were already married to Ms. Chen, as a stepfather, your chances of winning custody against the biological mother are very slim…"

"...Really?" Du Bin frowned slightly, deep in thought. "There’s no other way?"

"If you don’t believe me, you can try. See if you can actually get custody."

The voice on the other end sounded frustrated.

"Think about it—what does her ex-husband’s child have to do with you? As a stranger, trying to take someone else’s child—doesn’t that seem absurd? What judge would ever rule in your favor…"

Although Zhou Erdong didn’t know what they had discussed earlier, based on this part of the conversation, he could guess the topic.

He almost laughed out loud.

Custody? Ownership? Was this guy out of his mind? Though Zhou Erdong didn’t know Du Bin well at the time, he already labeled him as having problems.

Later, Du Bin’s actions only reinforced this impression. He really was out of his mind.

*

Zhou Erdong had never met anyone more despicable. Now that I think about it, was their first meeting really at home? Was it really that time Chen Xinhui introduced him and told him to call Du Bin "Uncle Du"?

After taking medicine and falling asleep, Zhou Erdong dreamed of many past events—scenes from his childhood and later years. He remembered them clearly right after waking up, but in the blink of an eye, he forgot everything.

"What’s wrong?"

Du Bin pushed the door open and saw the boy sitting on the bed, looking confused. He seemed to be struggling to recall something but couldn’t.

"I just had a dream. I feel like I dreamed about you, but I can’t remember what it was about."

Zhou Erdong frowned, trying hard to recall, but gave up after a moment. He shifted his gaze to Du Bin. "What are you…?"

"Oh… cooking." Du Bin wiped his hands on his apron a few times before stepping closer to feel Zhou Erdong’s forehead. "Hmm, you don’t feel as feverish as before. How are you feeling now? Still unwell?"

After taking medicine and napping, Zhou Erdong was thinking much more clearly. He nodded. "Better. What time is it?"

"2:30 p.m.," Du Bin added. "You slept for twenty-six minutes."

Not long, but enough to make him feel better. Zhou Erdong asked a few more questions about school…

Just as he was asking about homework assignments, he caught a strong burnt smell and sniffed. "What’s that smell?!"

"Ah!!! The pot!"

The next second, Du Bin rushed out of the room.

Honestly, Du Bin didn’t have to keep living in this old apartment with him. He had plenty of other places—he’d even taken Zhou Erdong to one of them once.

*

He'd been shocked, almost like stepping into another world.

Compared to Du Bin’s luxurious villas with high ceilings, the old rental apartment Zhou Erdong’s family lived in was as cramped as a tiny matchbox.

Chen Xinhui must have visited one of those properties before, which was why she couldn’t wait to move in after getting married.

But Zhou Erdong stayed behind in the old rental apartment because it was closer to his school, for several reasons. He lived alone in the old neighborhood.

This gave Du Bin plenty of opportunities. He often came over unannounced and would invent excuses to stay overnight.

Once, while kneeling beside Zhou Erdong and gently tugging at his pants zipper, Du Bin received a call from Chen Xinhui and coolly lied that he was still away on business.

He was such a jerk.

Aside from occasional physical harassment, Du Bin mostly took care of him—cooking, cleaning his room, and bringing him bowls of perfectly cooked bird's nest tonic while he studied or did homework.

"Come on, Dong Dong, just one sip. Just one."

"You didn’t eat much for dinner…"

Du Bin patiently brought spoonful after spoonful of expensive supplements to the focused boy’s lips, feeding him who knows what amount of it.

All that supplementing at a young age eventually backfired. Once, Zhou Erdong overdid the supplements and got overheated. He woke up with a nosebleed and restlessly turned all night, unable to sleep.

Du Bin slyly moved closer, saying he could "help" with a concerned expression, claiming he couldn’t bear to see Zhou Erdong suffer. But his eyes were fixed on Zhou Erdong’s crotch, and he subconsciously gulped.

This only made Zhou Erdong, already irritated, even angrier. He remembered clearly how he grabbed Du Bin’s hair and used his mouth like some lifeless tool, demanding complete silence. And Du Bin… agreed to everything.

It was awful. Even worse, Du Bin seemed happy about it afterward, even looking questioningly to ask if he could speak. Baffling. Truly unfathomable.

"Dong Dong, the smell is strong here. Why don’t you wait on the balcony for a bit?"

*

Thick black smoke billowed from the scorched pot. The old vent hood, which should have started working, had long since stopped working.

The thick smoke filled the small kitchen and was already spreading into the living room.

Du Bin was coughing heavily but still waved at Zhou Erdong, who had come to check, urging him to stay outside on the balcony.

"Dong Dong, why are you still standing there? I think this smoke could be poisonous. You shouldn’t be here…"

The smoke did contain toxins, depending on the pot’s material and what was burnt, but it wasn’t that severe. It wasn’t as if one breath would kill you instantly—any claim about toxicity without considering dosage was just ridiculous.

"Enough. Stop messing with the vent hood—it’s broken. Pushing buttons won’t help. Leave the pot too. You can’t clean it now anyway. Wait until the smoke clears to take care of it."

He spoke to his stepfather in a commanding tone.

Du Bin usually listened to him without question. He dropped the spatula, opened the kitchen windows all the way, and gripping Zhou Erdong's shoulders, guided him toward the balcony.

*

The ventilation made all the difference. A refreshing breeze blew in, instantly clearing the smoke from his head and making him feel better.

"I was going to make you some potstickers..."

Truth be told, Du Bin wasn’t particularly talented at cooking. His early attempts were just okay, but he gradually improved through daily practice.

Zhou Erdong, however, wasn’t picky about food. No matter how it turned out, he could eat it. As Du Bin put it, he was even easier to feed than he thought.

"Should we eat out or order delivery today?"

"Either is fine."

"Then let’s just eat in."

The balcony’s outer railing had been replaced by workers with new materials. It looked sturdy enough to hold several people without it giving way.

The once somewhat shabby awning had also been renovated and extended outward, so rainwater wouldn’t splash onto the railing anymore.

On the drying rack hung their laundry from a couple of days ago, with Zhou Erdong’s school uniform most noticeable.

Below were three pots of succulents and one of spider plants.

Originally, there was only one pot of succulents; the other two were transplanted from it. They had won these plants together at a night market playing ring toss.

Du Bin held a small watering can in one hand, watering the plants, while his other hand held a phone, probably texting someone: "Dong Dong, what would you like for dinner? There’s some ground meat left in the fridge. How about making meatball soup?"

"...Hmm, maybe let’s eat out instead," Zhou Erdong suddenly changed his tune. "Let’s go to the BBQ joint downstairs. I’m really craving barbecue."

Du Bin didn’t say anything, just gave him a look. Zhou Erdong immediately understood what he was thinking: "I’ll give you the key later."

A flock of unfamiliar birds flew across the distant sky, and Zhou Erdong’s gaze unconsciously followed their trajectory: "Du Bin, have you ever thought about untying it?"

He wasn’t asking about untying it just this once...

This kind of game was really hard on the body, almost equivalent to taking away basic freedoms in a way, and it was quite humiliating. Any self-respecting, normal person shouldn’t get addicted to this kind of game, right?

Zhou Erdong had once asked Du Bin what he'd do if, after keeping this up for so long, "that thing" stopped functioning. Du Bin said it didn’t matter since he wasn’t using it anyway, and it wouldn’t be a big deal if it stopped functioning.

"And... if it stops functioning, will you remember me?" Du Bin instead asked this question. "If that happens, would you feel even a little guilty or reluctant toward me?"

Zhou Erdong’s response at the time was a long silence.

He remembered this absurd game had been going on for almost three months now. Zhou Erdong asked him again: "Should we untie it?"

Du Bin didn’t answer yes or no. Gazing at the birds that had vanished into tiny black dots in the sky, he sighed: "Dong Dong, I really want to know... where are you planning to apply for college?"

That answer was completely off-topic, like asking about the east and answering about the west, or asking about the sky and answering about the earth. Weird.

"I’ll tell you on my birthday."

Zhou Erdong didn’t answer directly either. He pulled out his keys from his pocket and tossed them to Du Bin: "By the way, you probably need to use the bathroom, right? Go ahead. I could tell from the way you were standing earlier."

Du Bin probably didn’t expect him to be so accommodating today. He seemed surprised but happy, as if being allowed to use the bathroom was some big deal.

"Dong Dong, you’re so good to me."

Zhou Erdong was feeling too mixed up at that moment to find the right words. He silently averted his gaze.

"Oh, and... four minutes."

Ten minutes later, the two of them walked out of the building one after the other. Zhou Erdong was slightly ahead, while Du Bin followed, going over his plans as if giving a work update.

After all, Du Bin wasn’t some bum with nothing to do. Though he had nothing going on tonight, he would likely be busy with a big event tomorrow and the day after.

"I’ll have Xiao Wang pick you up then. You can do your homework in the office, and if you want to eat anything, just let the assistant know..."

Zhou Erdong: "Yeah."

*

Speaking of Du Bin’s companies...

Zhou Erdong remembered the first time he visited. Looking at the office building, he asked, "Which floor is your company on?"

In a very calm voice, Du Bin replied:

"Actually... this entire building is mine."

Du Bin was completely different in front of others compared to when he was alone with Zhou Erdong. Tall and solemn, he carried a strong presence.

As they headed straight for the private elevator, many people nodded and bowed to him. The chorus of "President Du" gave Zhou Erdong a slightly different impression of Du Bin.

—He’s actually quite handsome.

That’s what he thought at the time.

But before that thought could fully form, as the elevator doors slowly closed, leaving just the two of them, the private Du Bin took his hand, kissed the back of it, and flashed him an eager-to-please smile: "Of course, it’s all yours too."