I Am Your Father

The air fell silent for 0.1 seconds.

Then, a terrified scream erupted from the man on the stairs.

"Ahhh!!"

"Who are you?!" The man froze for a split second upon seeing Su Yang before his entire body trembled. He tried to bolt upstairs but lost his footing, tripping over the steps and landing hard on his backside.

At this point, Su Yang was absolutely certain—this guy was a thief.

Only a thief would instinctively try to run when the homeowner showed up.

And who in their right mind would bundle up in heavy clothing indoors during the peak of summer?

What else could he be but a burglar?

Su Yang had mentally prepared himself, so when the man screamed, he didn’t even flinch. If anything, he felt a surge of excitement.

Finally, someone to test his Intermediate Combat Skills on.

Once the man finished shouting, Su Yang smirked and strode forward.

Seeing him approach, the man let out another yell and hurled a black leather bag at him.

Su Yang sidestepped effortlessly.

Gulping, the man scrambled to his feet, jabbing a finger at Su Yang. "Who the hell are you?!"

Su Yang scoffed. "I’m your damn father!"

"You—!"

Furious, the man glanced around wildly before spinning on his heel and dashing upstairs.

Su Yang laughed. "Trying to run? If I let you get away today, I’ll write my name backward! You’ve got some nerve, breaking into my wife’s place!"

As he spoke, he took off after the man, his long legs eating up the stairs.

Rounding a corner on the second floor, he saw the black-clad figure shove through a transparent glass door leading to the terrace.

Su Yang didn’t slow down. He charged after him.

Bang!

He slammed the door open and burst onto the terrace.

The moment he stepped outside, a black blur whipped toward his face.

No time to think—Su Yang instinctively jerked his head back and dropped into a crouch.

The shadow streaked past, just missing his forehead.

Dodging the strike, Su Yang retreated two steps, steadying himself as he glared at the man now two meters to his right.

The guy was suddenly gripping a long wooden rod—the weapon behind that sneak attack.

Su Yang glared. "Oh, so you’re a cheap-shot artist, huh?"

Without waiting for a reply, he lunged forward.

The man’s eyes bulged. He was armed—yet this lunatic wasn’t backing off. If anything, he was coming at him harder.

Rage exploded in his chest. Gripping the rod with both hands, he timed his swing and brought it crashing down toward Su Yang.

Su Yang dodged with a cold laugh.

Now in close range, he drew his right arm back like a bowstring—then unleashed a vicious punch straight into the man’s masked face.

Thud!!

"AAARGH!"

The impact sent the man flying backward. He crashed into a wooden chair on the terrace, howling as he rolled twice before clutching his cheek, his eyes burning with malice.

"Damn, you’re fragile," Su Yang muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

He’d hoped for a decent fight, but this guy was barely putting up resistance.

With a dismissive snort, he advanced.

The man, still on the ground, jabbed a finger at him. "You little bastard! Do you even know who I am?!"

Su Yang paused, tilting his head with a grin. "Oh? Putting on airs now? What, are you the local crime boss or something?"

The man stiffened, then snapped, "You’d better think twice. This whole neighborhood’s under surveillance, and I’ve already called security."

Su Yang frowned, baffled. "What kind of play is this? If security shows up, they’ll be hauling you away."

"Hauling me away?"

"Yeah, you. The thief." Su Yang pointed at himself. "Or did you mean me?"

The man burst into harsh laughter. "Hah! You break in to rob the place, and you think they’ll arrest me?"

"Me? Robbing this place?" Su Yang blinked.

"Who else?!" the man shot back.

Su Yang was speechless. Since when did thieves have this much audacity?

He took another step forward—then halted as a sinking feeling twisted in his gut.

Wait.

This isn’t adding up.

If this guy were really a thief, would he be acting this bold?

"Holy shit."

After a two-second mental scramble, Su Yang eyed the man warily. "Do you know whose house this is?"

"Of course I do! That’s my question for you! You’ve got some nerve, targeting this place. You thugs really have a death wish."

"Are you... the owner?"

"No."

"Then why—"

Before Su Yang could finish, the man cut in, "But this is my daughter’s house. Got a problem with that?"

"Your daught—"

In an instant, Su Yang’s face went slack.

Oh.

Oh no.

If his guess was right... he’d just punched his potential father-in-law.

And, uh, might’ve also claimed to be the man’s father.

Still, he wasn’t ready to concede. This could be a bluff.

"What’s your last name?" he demanded.

"Pan!" The man spat it without hesitation.

Fuck.

It really was Pan Ning’s dad.

Su Yang scratched his head, forcing a grin. "Haha, you know what? Just remembered I left the faucet running at home. Gotta dash!"

He turned to leave.

"Stop!" the man bellowed. "Too late!"

Right on cue, voices erupted from the villa’s front yard.

Click.

A property manager, summoned by security, unlocked the gate with a spare key. Su Yang peered over the terrace railing to see four or five black-uniformed guards, batons in hand, jogging toward the house.

Su Yang took a deep breath and turned back to the man still on the ground.

The man struggled up, bracing against the chair. "Kid, security’s here. Don’t try anything stupid. Just accept the consequences. Hand over whatever you stole—might shave some time off your sentence."

Su Yang gave a wry laugh. "Seriously, old man, if you’re Pan Ning’s dad, you should’ve led with that!"

The man’s expression shifted. "You—a thief—know my daughter?"

"I’m not a thief. I’m a friend of your daughter’s."

"What?!" The man looked utterly stunned. "My daughter would never associate with a criminal!"

"I’m not a criminal. I’m Su Yang, her friend. Call her if you don’t believe me."

"You’re sure about that?"

"Dead sure."

Just then, the guards swarmed onto the terrace, zeroing in on Su Yang.

"Hold it!"

The man raised a hand.

The guards skidded to a stop. "Mr. Pan... we’re not apprehending him?"

"Not yet. Give me two minutes."

He pulled out his phone and dialed Pan Ning’s number.

The phone rang twice before being answered. The man switched to speaker mode and instantly put on a cheerful tone, asking, "Pan Ning, where are you?"

"I'm at a friend's place. What's up, Dad?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask—do you know someone named Su... Su what was it again?" The man glanced at Su Yang for clarification.

Su Yang smiled helplessly. "Su Yang."

"Oh, right. He says his name is Su Yang."