Back to My Dad's Youth

🎙️ The audio drama of the same name is now available on Mao Er FM. 📖 For updates on the print edition, see Weibo: @Jinjiang Li Chengcheng. The full novel includes 50,000 words of bonus chapters. The completed novel set in the same world, Stop Talking Nonsense!, is available in the author’s collection. >> Reborn one day, Lin Wangye finds himself twenty years in the past, before he was even born. The young master can’t stand the indignity of being broke and homeless, so in desperation he has a sudden idea. I’ll go find my eighteen-year-old rich-kid dad and keep living off him! Full of hopeful anticipation, Lin Wangye asks around at school, eventually arriving at an internet cafe. His dad is there, cursing at a black-and-white game screen as he waits to respawn. Lin Wangye can’t stand watching. He hauls his dad off the sofa, takes his seat, and proceeds to wipe the floor with everyone. His dad: “My long-lost wild dad! I’m useless, carry me!” Lin Wangye: “…?” And that’s how Lin Wangye met his dad, Lin Shen. For a while, he can’t decide which is more absurd: “His dad calling him Dad” or “His dad falling out with his own father and losing his allowance, so now Lin Wangye has to support him.” What shocks him most is discovering that his dad isn’t into women at all. Help! Then where did I come from?! With that question on his mind, Lin Wangye becomes Lin Shen’s best buddy, hoping to figure out what happened back then. When Lin Shen was young, he flirted with everyone and was a bit of a player. He got tangled up in ambiguous relationships with people like a cocky, handsome internet cafe attendant and a gentle bookstore owner. But from what Lin Wangye can tell, the person his dad really cares about… should be that aloof, handsome desk mate who’s always secretly watching the two of them. Even as a teenager, it’s easy to see that this is the man who will become his dad’s business rival for many years to come: Lu Chengxuan. * Besides looking for his father, Lin Wangye keeps searching for someone else. He doesn’t know when they’ll meet, but he’s certain that they will. Just as he expected, he runs into the once-elegant uncle he’d admired from afar. In his previous life, that man was far beyond his reach, and his love went unanswered. Let’s see how I make you mine this time, with barely any effort! Lin Wangye puts on his sunglasses. “Hey, handsome. Want to date?” Handsome guy: “Aren’t you dating Lin Shen?” Lin Wangye: “?” Handsome guy: “?” Lin Shen: “?” Lu Chengxuan: “?” -+- ⭐ Reading tips ⭐ 1. There are four male leads, and both the son and the father have romantic storylines. The son’s romance comes first, the father’s later. Neither is secondary. The story is mainly told from the son’s perspective, and the two couples are foils to each other: one is direct and playful, the other full of push and pull. Son’s couple: [a cheerful puppy-like bottom who fishes with a straight hook × a handsome, strong, tragic, devoted, jealous top] Dad’s couple: [a stubborn bottom who’s tough on the outside but soft inside × a cool, reserved, powerful top] 2. Extreme character stan, self-insert, or anti-pairing discourse is prohibited. Such comments will be deleted as soon as they’re seen. 3. 【No mpreg】, 【no sham marriage】, 【no wife who is married to a gay man】. The four main characters are not related by blood. 4. Inspired by Keigo Higashino’s Toki o Kakeru Shoujo and the film Goodbye Mr. Loser. Details are in the author’s note for chapter one. 【Please don’t make baseless plagiarism accusations】. If you still have concerns after reading the sample, please report it through the proper channel. Thank you for your cooperation. 5. The cover features [Lin Wangye]. *Recommendations for a friend’s completed novel, a good choice if you’re short on reading material* My Personal Doctor, the Sick and Cruel Tyrant, by Ting Wu I was called to treat him in the middle of the night, so I punched the crazed top lead and knocked him out! 【A short-tempered but sweet personal doctor × a sick, cruel tyrant who goes crazy every so often】 ● Completed novel set in the same world: Stop Talking Nonsense! [an innocent, flirtatious, sunny deaf-mute bottom × a talkative, straightforward college guy top] Yan Ning suffered an accident as a child. When he woke up, he could no longer hear a thing, and he had also lost the ability to speak. To make ends meet, he worked as an assistant at a sign-language class during the day and set up a stall selling handmade dolls in the shopping district at night. There was a very handsome street musician who always sang across from him. Yan Ning couldn’t hear him, but he was bored at his stall, so every day he rested his chin in his hands and watched the man’s strumming with wide, blinking eyes. He passed the time by reading the lyrics from his lips. Everyone had a hard time making a living, so he sometimes tossed five yuan into the man’s guitar case. It was much later that he learned the whole shopping district belonged to the singer’s family. - Lu Chengchen was born rebellious and refused to inherit his family’s throne. Even though he had no musical ear, he insisted on defying convention and becoming a singer. He firmly believed he was a musical genius. Friend: “People compliment you because you’re handsome.” Lu Chengchen: “You’re talking nonsense. That shy stall owner across the street, the one who never talks to anyone, listens to me so attentively! He hasn’t asked for my contact information, but his eyes practically sparkle when he looks at me. He even spends money on me. He’s definitely my loyal fan!” Friend: “( ° △ °|||) Bro, wake up.” Lu Chengchen: “(*￣︶￣) I have to achieve my musical dream. I can’t let him down.” After receiving professional feedback from his mentor, Lu Chengchen’s musical dream shattered. One day, as the stall owner across the way was packing up, Lu Chengchen couldn’t help grabbing him and pouring out all the frustrations and disappointment he’d been holding in since his youth. Yan Ning blinked at him, his bright eyes full of confusion. The man spoke too quickly and said too much. Yan Ning couldn’t understand him. In the end, Lu Chengchen accepted that the Chinese music scene had moved on without him. He went home to inherit the throne and support his boyfriend. Bonus scene: One day, Lu Chengchen catches the little stall owner skipping work to buy milk tea. “Ningning, treat me.” Yan Ning, who controls the finances, glances up, checks that he’s reading Lu Chengchen’s eyes correctly, then rises onto his toes and plants a quick kiss just below the corner of Lu Chengchen’s mouth. Lu Chengchen’s brain freezes. His face turns scarlet, and he stammers an explanation. “I meant treat me to milk tea…” Yan Ning looks confused, but still gives the milk tea he just bought a kiss. Theme: Respect and love your parents, and care for the elderly.