Dramas and daddy issues

Hao Sheng got a taxi and went home to his apartment.

By the time he actually made it back, it was fully dark outside. He went inside and switched on the lights.

The apartment wasn't bad. It wasn't what you would call "small," but it was pretty big for one person.

There was a lounge when you entered, and to the right of the lounge, was the kitchen. There was a dining room near the kitchen. To the left of the lounge, there was a passage leading to the two bedrooms and the bathroom. At the end of the passage, there was a home office. Straight past the lounge, there was a floor-to-ceiling window that showcased the beautiful cityscape.

The building itself was pretty posh. It was a high-end apartment building that looked super expensive. They offered extra services like a gym, indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, a basketball court, and a volleyball court. They also had an entertainment room, a bar, a little restaurant, a PC room (with gaming capsules and VR goggles), and finally, an underground garage.

Overall, it was a very comfortable place and a person could basically live here as a shut-in and still have access to the basic things.

Hao Sheng walked over to the master bedroom and changed into some more comfortable clothes.

He went back to the kitchen and cooked up a quick and light dinner to eat. He wasn't really that hungry since it hadn't been long since he last ate.

He sat with a bowel of noodles on the sofa and switched on some TV.

It was at this time that 333 decided to rear his head.

[Say host, how was your little date?]

Hao Sheng turned up the volume, even though it wouldn't help, and pretended he didn't hear anything.

333 was annoyed. This fucking host. He was acting up again. What is it now?

[Host why are you ignoring me?!]

Hao Sheng sighed.

"Why should I talk to you? All you're going to do is nag me about raising the love gauge and reducing the blackening! ", Hao Sheng folded his arms over his chest, pouting. "I have a life too, you know! I already made a lot of progress today, so I'm going to take a rest for now".

Geez. 333 was feeling aggrieved. All he did was try to check on the host, but all he got in return was accusations. The host made him sound like some sort of tyrant or an overbearing boss who wouldn't give his workers some time off. He was totally slandering 333's name! How dare he?!

[Fine! If that's how you want to be, then so be it. I'm going to go back to my little space in the system.] [

Call me when you need me. OR NOT!]

Hao Sheng silently laughed and decided to stop teasing 333. He seemed to be so easy to annoy, and he couldn't help but want to provoke him every time they interacted. It was fun!

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was mistaken, all-powerful 333.Thank you for checking up on me. The date went well. ", he says as he changes the channel to a movie channel.

Hmph. It looks like this silly host finally came to his senses and realised he needed him in his life. GOOD. It was about time he realised who was in charge in this relationship.

[Hmph. Since you asked so nicely, I've decided to forgive you.]

As he reflected on 333's arrogance, Hao Sheng cracked a small smile. It looks like he was just as easy to provoke as he was to appease.

[So do you have any further plans from here host?]

Hao Sheng groaned reluctantly, slouching deeper into the couch. "See, I knew you were here to nag me!".

333 swore a bit, holding it back and Hao Sheng when he heard his response.

"Kidding kidding", he said lightly as he waved the matter away.

"I'm kind of playing it by ear at this point. For now, all I have planned is to enjoy all this luxury for a while before I get serious again", he stood up and took the now empty bowel to the sink and washed it.

[What do you mean by that?!]

Hao Sheng was about to reply when he heard his phone chime from his pocket.

He took it out and found a message from Luxia.

Luxia: There's a party next Saturday. Want to go 2gether?

Hao Shwng looked up and smiled.

"See 333, an opportunity has already presented itself to me. I can chill a bit and then work hard on Saturday to progress the mission", he said this smugly, which pissed off 333, but he held it back since, he had a feeling it would only please the host if he acted out.

[Hmph. Just because it worked out this time, doesn't mean it's going to work out next time. It's always good to plan ahead.]

Hao Sheng just hummed in response, deciding not to grace 333 with an answer. He put the bowel in the cupboard and replied to Luxia.

Hao Sheng: Sure, I don't mind.

He put his phone back in his pocket and went back to the lounge to watch some more TV.

He sank into the couch and flipped through channels until he stopped on a C-drama one.

There was some drama on about a guy who suddenly transmigrated to ancient times and used his modern knowledge to dominate.

For a while, it was quiet between 333 and Hao Sheng as they watched the drama.

Suddenly, 333 spoke up, during an ad break.

[What is this?]

Hao Sheng smiled. "This, my friend, is what they call a drama", he paused a bit before continuing, "Why? Do you like it?"

333 was embarrassed. He refused to admit that he found something produced by humans good, so he brushed it off.

[Of course not. I'm just making sure you're using your time wisely, that's all.]

Hao Sheng rolled his eyes at 333's blatant lie but chose not to call him out on it for once. So they sat there and continued watching the drama together, with Hao Sheng occasionally talking to Luxia on his phone.

In a villa somewhere else in the city. There were two people who were sitting and bonding over dinner.

Well... maybe bonding was not the right word.

As soon as Malakai got home, Isaac informed him that his father was home and he hoped to have dinner with him if he wanted to.

Even though it seemed like he had a choice, it was pretty clear that he had to go to that dinner whether he wanted to or not.

Malakai sighed. "Okay, tell him, I'll be there in a few minutes. Let me just go freshen up a bit".

After running a cloth over his face and fixing his hair a bit, he went to the dining hall.

And that's what brought him to this uncomfortable situation.

His father, William Astor, was seated at the head of the table, and he sat 2 seats away from him, on his left side.

William Astor was a handsome man. Despite being in his mid 40's, he still looked as good as any 30 year old. It was clear that he took care of himself.

There was no one who didn't know who he was and his achievements. He had graduated at the top of his class from China's number one university at the early age of 20. From there, he went on to create a new type of microchip that completely changed the technology field. He went on to open his own tech company, which became the biggest in China and one of the leading ones in the world. There was almost no technology business that the Astor Group had no fingers in, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was extremely influential.

What is more noteworthy about his though is that he came from poor backgrounds, being an orphan himself. He clawed his way from poverty and made a name for himself and has come to amass billions now.

This man had become a living legend.

And that very legend was sitting right in front of him, playing at being a good father.

His father suddenly put his fork down and turned to him.

"So how was your day? I heard you went out with a friend today. Did you have fun?", he asked, aloof.

Malakai felt his throat close up, but he forced himself to take a sip of water before answering.

"Oh yeah, I did have fun. Thank you for asking". Malakai cleared his throat. "So, uhm, how was your business trip?", he asked.

Astor snr. nodded his head, "It went well".

Then there was silence again.

Malakai felt like the silence was suffocating him. It was like a constant reminder that he didn't have his father's affection or love. He thought he had gotten over it at this stage, but for some reason, it stung every time he thought about it. He pushed his emotions down. This was not the time or place to be thinking about this.

He continued eating, but he couldn't taste any of what he was eating.

After a while, his father spoke up again.

"So is it anyone I know?", he asked, voice as monotone as before.

Malakai looked up suddenly, surprised.

"Sorry?", he asked.

"Your friend, I mean. Is it anyone I know? ", William asked again.

Malakai was startled. He looked at his face, but it didn't reveal what he was thinking. Was he trying to make sure he hung out with the right people so he wouldn't tarnish the family name?

Malakai inwardly sighed. He wanted to shout at his father to react a bit more, to tell him what he was thinking, but instead he held it in. Like always.

"Oh yeah, uhm, it's Hao Sheng. He recently came back, so we were catching up", Malakai smiled a bit as he thought of Hao Sheng.

Something shocking happened to his father, though. Although his expression didn't change much, he seemed to be much happier than before.

"Ah so that boy is back! Good good! He's a good kid! You should tell him to drop by the house one day for dinner. It's been a while since I last saw him, afterall.", he said appreciatively.

Malakai felt a sting of jealously hit him when he saw how happy his father was to hear about Hao Sheng.

Growing up, he had never really gotten much of his father's attention. He usually let him do whatever he wanted and gave him money whenever he wanted.

It hurt to see him so easily moved by another person.

Malakai logically knew it wasn't Hao Sheng's fault, but he felt bitter just thinking about it. But he didn't blame Hao Sheng. After all, he was an innocent party.

The only guilty person here was the negligent parent in front of him.

He forced a smile. "I will", he confirmed. "I'm kind of full though. May I be excused?", he asked. He didn't feel like being here anymore. He came home in such a good mood, and now he was feeling low again.

His father nodded, not seeming to mind, and with that confirmation, he left the dining hall and went back to his room.

When he got there, he changed into his pyjamas and fell straight onto his bed.

He felt so drained and tired compared to earlier.

It was all because of this little game his father liked playing with him.

He would barely pay attention to him and when he did, it was always at these random dinners he was invited to. Even when he did something wrong or did things that weren't expected of someone of his station, he didn't reprimand him. He just sort of let him do whatever he wanted.

At least most parents, even if they were indifferent, actually cared about their child's image. But with him... he just didn't care what he did...

Every interaction with him was always exhausting.

What was more annoying was that, even though he told himself he didn't care, subconsciously he would try to impress him whenever they met, and he hated it.

What was even more annoying was the fact that he had his stupid face. They looked very much alike, except for his eye color, which he got from his mother. It killed him to see this face in the mirror, as it was a constant reminder of something he couldn't have.

Arg!

He felt even more tired just thinking about this. This beautiful day ended in a bust.

Just as he got into bed, preparing to go to sleep early, he heard his phone chime. He debated whether he should check it or not, but decided that it might serve as a much needed distraction, so he picked it up.

Much to his pleasure, he found it was a message from Hao Sheng.

Hao Sheng: Did you get home okay?

And just like that, his mood was uplifted. It was like he had been given a serotonin shot.

Maybe everything wasn't so bad after all...