Any sci-fi stories that send chills down your spine?

In 2022, the “Parent Qualification Review Program” will be officially implemented. All couples who wish to have children must pass the exam and obtain a qualification certificate before they can have children. Those who give birth without obtaining a qualification certificate will be considered a crime.

1

Liu Qi was born in a remote rural area in 1992. He has an older sister named Liu Di, who is five years older than him.

Before Liu Di was born, her parents had already aborted two daughters. When they found out that Liu Di was a girl, they wanted to abort the baby again. However, the doctor said that if they had another abortion, it might cause Liu Di’s mother to lose her fertility. So Liu Di was kept.

On the day of Liu Qi’s full moon, his parents pulled together all the resources in the family to prepare a banquet with twenty tables to entertain relatives and friends to celebrate the birth of a successor to the Liu family.

At that time, five-year-old Liu Di was already able to help in the kitchen. She was of course happy about the birth of her younger brother, but when she saw the adults holding gifts and celebrating the occasion, she felt something was not right.

Did her parents celebrate like this when she was born?

No one could answer her question, and she didn’t dare to ask more.

The kitchen was very busy, so she helped serve the dishes and then ate the full moon banquet with the other women in the family at a small table in the inner room.

After the full-moon banquet was the hundred-day banquet, and after the hundred-day banquet was the one-year-old banquet. Liu Qi’s arrival made this not-so-wealthy rural family spend money again and again, but his parents were happy to do it.

They were so happy that their hearts and eyes were filled with their big fat son.

They gave him the best clothes to wear, the best snacks to eat, and sent him to kindergarten in the county town. He was sent directly to a private school that had just become popular at the time. The tuition at that private school was very expensive, but they didn’t care.

Even when he wanted to hit his sister during play, Mr. and Mrs. Liu would each hold down Liu Di with one hand and let him hit her as he pleased, turning the children’s play into an atmosphere of torture.

Anyway, my son is always right.

But their daughter Liu Di was becoming more and more annoying to them, because her academic performance was so good that even her teachers and the principal knew about it. As a result, they didn’t know how to ask her to stop studying after graduating from junior high school.

They knew that she also wanted to go to college, but how much would that cost?

For a girl who can read and do math, which is enough for her to make a living, why should she go to university, spend so much money and time, and finally give herself to someone else as a wife or daughter-in-law? Isn’t this nonsense?

Mr. and Mrs. Liu are determined not to do this losing business.

They have already arranged a marriage for Liu Di. The man is a little old and has a limp, but he is an honest man and his parents are kind. As soon as Liu Di reaches the age, the marriage can be arranged.

At that time, the betrothal gift will be received and the daughter will be given away, killing two birds with one stone and everyone will be happy.

All the girls went through this. They didn’t understand what Liu Di was feeling awkward about and why she refused to agree.

They beat her and scolded her, but even though Liu Di was covered in wounds and bruises, she gritted her teeth and refused to drop out of school, let alone marry a lame old man whom she didn’t even know.

She locked herself at home and went on a hunger strike in protest, thinking that this would let her parents know her determination. However, her parents did not take it seriously at all.

She was still too young at that time and did not understand that a hunger strike could only hurt those who loved her. If her parents did not care about her life or death from the beginning, then the only person who would be hurt by a hunger strike would be herself.

She was covered in wounds and went on a hunger strike for four days, but her parents didn’t react at all. They just put food at her door every day and she could eat it or not.

Liu Di then realized in despair that no one in this family cared about her. They didn’t care about her life or her death. She could even vaguely hear through the door that her parents were preparing to send her to her husband’s house early.

“It’s only a matter of time anyway. There’s no point in keeping her at home and eating idle meals for five more years,” said my father.

“But what if she refuses?” Mother was a little worried.

“You don’t want to? Then tie her up! She’s just a little girl, how can she defeat us?” The father was firm.

“Yeah, this child is so ignorant.” The mother echoed.

Only then did Liu Di feel truly desperate.

They blamed her for being willful, for being ignorant, and for being stupid from reading too much. Now they also blamed her for being disobedient and for not marrying a random lame old man she didn’t know.

That night, she quietly opened the door and ate all the food that had gone stale at the door. She carefully packed up the scholarship money and a few clothes that she had secretly saved.

She wants to leave this heartless and ungrateful home.

When she opened the lock of the gate, she turned around and wanted to take a last look at the courtyard where she was born and raised, but she saw Liu Qi who had gotten up at night.

Liu Qi saw her with a bag on her back with sleepy eyes and immediately understood what she was going to do. Before she could react, Liu Qi shouted, “Mom! My sister is running away!”

Liu Di was shocked, turned around and ran, running like crazy as if she didn’t care about her life.

That night, she forgot how long she had been running or where she had been running to.

She just knew that she would never go back.

2

After his sister left, Liu Qi rarely thought of her.

In this family, my elder sister is an insignificant person. When she is around, there is just one more person to boil water and cook. When she is not around, my mother will take care of everything.

Using her to exchange for some betrothal money was not a big deal. After all, everything in this house originally belonged to him.

He never really understood why his sister ran away. It was so good to be at home. No matter what bad things he did or what disasters he got into, his parents would always help him clean up the mess.

Can running away by yourself be more comfortable than being loved by your father and mother at home?

He doesn’t believe it.

Liu Qi’s academic performance was not good, but not bad either. He always maintained a middle level. But even so, his parents were thankful.

They spent a lot of money to send him to better schools again and again, but before he even finished high school, he had already drained most of the family’s savings.

But it doesn’t matter. If you don’t have money, go and earn it. If you can’t earn money, borrow it. Your parents always have a way.

Since he could no longer buy his way into university, he only got into a third-rate university in the capital, but his parents felt that he had brought honor to the family.

That’s the capital, and no one in the Liu family has ever been to the capital in several lifetimes.

So, there was another grand banquet for the guests.

Liu Qi left home and started the life of an ordinary male college student: attending classes, skipping classes, falling in love, and playing games.

In 2013, when Liu Qi was a junior, his girlfriend Lily became pregnant.

Liu Qi really wanted a child. He was obsessed with leaving descendants for the Liu family, and even more so with raising children to provide for him in his old age. Children were a very important part of his life plan.

But it was not the right time to have a child. He and Lily were just two college students with nothing. If they had a child, wouldn’t it be tantamount to ruining their future?

“College students can get married and have children now,” Lily said. “If I have a child now, I can minimize the impact of having a child on my future work and promotion, and my body can recover better while I’m still young.”

“But if we get married now, how will we support her?” Liu Qi was getting angry while calculating whether he would have enough living expenses for this month if he gave the money to Lily for an abortion. If not, what excuse would he use to ask his parents for more.

“But this is our child.” Lily shed tears.

“We are still too young, we will have children in the future.” Liu Qi has made up his mind.

Besides, what kind of child is that? It’s just a bunch of cells now. Liu Qi doesn’t care at all.

He still has to graduate, make money, achieve great things, and move towards a bright future. How can he be tied down by a bunch of cells now?

Lily was finally taken by him to have an abortion.

He waited for her in the hospital corridor for less than half an hour before he saw her walking out, holding on to the wall.

It seemed like it was just a small operation, but why did she look so pale, as if she was really in great pain?

He suppressed his impatience, stepped forward, held her hand and asked, “Do you want to eat something?”

Lily didn’t answer. She just looked up and glanced at him indifferently. Her eyes looked so cold and distant, as if suddenly she had become another person.

She shook off his hand, held on to the wall of the hospital corridor, and walked out slowly step by step.

Liu Qi looked at her back and breathed a sigh of relief.

3

In 2014, Liu Qi graduated from university and joined an Internet company, working overtime until late at night every day.

In 2015, Liu Qi married Lily.

Half a year later, Lily became pregnant again. This time Liu Qi insisted on keeping the child, but Lily didn’t want it.

Lily said, “You have a stable job, but I have just started my career. If I take a year of maternity leave, will I still be able to work?”

Liu Qi said, “But this is the price of having children, isn’t it?”

When Lily heard this, she became even angrier: “Why do you force me to have an abortion when it’s your turn to pay the price, and why do you think it’s my duty when it’s my turn to pay the price?”

“Then when is the right time to have a child? According to what you said, never is the right time!” Liu Qi was also very angry.

Lily stared at him seriously for a long time, then said, “Wait until you are ready to pay the price.”

Liu Qi didn’t understand what she meant.

He really wanted a child, but when a couple wants a child, one person will always give more and the other will give less.

As a wife and a mother, isn’t it natural for me to give more?

This truth, which was engraved in Liu Qi’s mind like the justice of heaven, was actually not agreed by Lily.

Of course, the child could not be kept. Liu Qi did not think he had done anything wrong. He just felt that Lily had no awareness of being a woman.

In 2019, Lily became pregnant for the third time, and this time Liu Qi’s parents found out.

After learning that Lily had had two abortions, her parents reprimanded Liu Qi, saying that he should have discussed it with them first.

After all, they are the blood and bones of the Liu family and cannot be disposed of so hastily.

But this time the baby still could not be saved because Lily was not pregnant with a boy.

When Liu Qi’s parents accompanied Lily for the prenatal checkup, they secretly gave her money to add a gender test. After finding out it was a girl, they persuaded Lily to have an abortion.

Lily looked at her parents-in-law and couldn’t believe her ears.

“It would be great if you had a son first and then a daughter, and the brother brought up his sister.” The mother-in-law said earnestly, “If you had a daughter first and then a son, you would always end up raising them as enemies.”

Lily said, “Isn’t it good to have just one daughter?”

“How can that be possible?” the father-in-law also interrupted, “Wouldn’t our Liu family be extinct then?”

“Don’t worry, Lily. I had several miscarriages in my past. It’s not a big deal. Just take good care of yourself.” My mother-in-law looked like someone who had experienced it all.

Lily looked at Liu Qi, who remained silent.

Liu Qi had the same idea as his parents. No, rather than saying that Liu Qi wanted “a brother to raise his sister”, it would be better to say that Liu Qi “only wanted a son”.

Therefore, under the pressure and insistence of Liu Qi’s parents, Liu Qi and Lili’s third child was still not kept.

But after this incident, Liu Qi’s parents paid more attention to the young couple.

They sold their house in their hometown, borrowed money from everywhere, and used all their life’s efforts to help Liu Qi pay the down payment for a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment.

They also promised that after the grandson was born, they would help raise him and would never hinder the young couple from working and earning money. Using this as an excuse, they decided to stay there permanently.

But Lily was a little discouraged and didn’t mention having children for a long time.

4

In 2022, the “Parent Qualification Test” will be officially implemented. Any couple who want to have children must pass this test and obtain a parent qualification certificate before they can officially and legally become pregnant.

If you want to have a child without obtaining a certificate, it is a criminal act.

This exam is held four times a year on a quarterly basis, and passing any of them will earn you a qualification certificate.

This year, Liu Qi was already 30 years old. With the help of his parents, he had a house and a car, a stable job, was a middle-level manager, and had a good income. Seeing that his colleagues all had children of their own, he became more and more anxious. If he didn’t have children now, he was afraid that he would grow old and die before he had children to take care of him in his old age.

So he took Lily to sign up for the exam.

Lily thought that he had finally changed his personality, so she asked him to promise that he would keep the next baby no matter whether it was a boy or a girl. Liu Qi naturally agreed readily.

Anyway, we can talk about it after she gets pregnant, Liu Qi thought.

Neither of them took the exam seriously, thinking it was just a formality.

But they took the test four times and still failed.

They couldn’t understand why this happened. They clearly prepared seriously for the exams every time, and after the exams they didn’t feel like there were many questions they couldn’t answer, but their names were never on the list of qualified candidates.

After four consecutive failures, Liu Qi finally couldn’t stand it anymore and rushed to the Parent Qualification Review Department with his parents.

They were received by a middle-aged female clerk.

“We have our own review rules, and the exam is only a part of it. It doesn’t mean you will pass the review just by answering the questions correctly,” said the clerk.

“Then what’s the point of the exam?” Liu Qi was furious.

“But if you don’t pass the exam, you definitely won’t be able to pass the review.” The clerk still smiled.

“I think you are just trying to make things difficult for me.” Liu Qi’s father said as he was about to open the window and grab the clerk’s collar, but the clerk dodged it lightly.

“We have our own review standards, I hope you can understand.” The clerk spoke gently, but it was obvious that he didn’t care about them at all.

“Where is your leader! I want to see your leader!” said Liu Qi’s mother.

“Our leader is very busy.” The clerk said as he was about to close the window.

Seeing this, Liu Qi’s mother quickly stretched out her arm to hold the window: “I won’t be able to see your leader today! I will die here with you!”

As she spoke, Liu Qi’s mother burst into tears, cursing the government for being incompetent and for only knowing how to make things difficult for the people.

The clerk then showed an embarrassment. When the two sides were in a stalemate, a person came up from behind the clerk.

“You go and have a rest, leave this to me.” The man said to the clerk.

The clerk stood up and left, and the person behind him came forward.

When they saw the man’s face, the family of three outside the window were all stunned, as if they had seen a ghost.

The person sitting in the window was Liu Di, who had been away from home for many years and whose whereabouts were unknown, the Liu Di who had long been completely forgotten by her entire family.

“I am responsible for proposing and promoting the parent qualification exam. Do you have any questions?” Liu Di said with a cold face.

“Didi, is that you?” Liu Qi’s mother looked at Liu Di doubtfully.

“Do you have any questions?” Liu Di ignored her.

Liu Qi and his father didn’t say anything. They never imagined that it was Liu Di who came up with this harmful exam. They felt mixed emotions for a moment.

But Liu Qi’s mother immediately leaned over and said, “Didi, you have to help your brother. He can’t have a child now. You are in charge now, so you must help him.”

Liu Di still didn’t say anything. After a while of typing on the keyboard, she turned around and said, “According to our records, Liu Qi and his wife Li Lili had three abortions without reason. This alone does not meet the review standards, so they will not pass the exam.”

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Why did you make us take the exam again and again? Are you treating us like fools?” Liu Qi said angrily.

“You didn’t just fail this one of the review criteria. This is just the most serious one,” Liu Di said expressionlessly. “Besides, compared to the three innocent children you killed, what’s the cost of failing four qualification exams?”

“You…” Liu Qi was speechless after being questioned by Liu Di.

“By the way, let me remind you that if you dare to have children without permission, your children will be taken away by welfare institutions and put into the adoption system the moment they are born. It is not possible to have children secretly.” Liu Di said as she closed the window.

“People who are not worthy of being parents should not be qualified to have children.”

Liu Di slammed the window shut.

5

Liu Qi was unwilling to accept this. He was the only one who didn’t want children. How could he want children but not be able to have them?

Since they can’t pass the exam themselves, they find someone to take the exam on their behalf.

Liu Qi found a couple named Qin through a black intermediary. Mr. Qin and his wife lived in poverty, but they had a clean background and were well-known for being professional test takers.

Of course, the prices are ridiculously high.

Brother Qi, the boss of the black agency, is a thin and serious man. His company is the largest black agency in the field of cheating and taking exams for others, and he is the only one that can guarantee a 100% pass rate.

Brother Qi saw Liu Qi hesitated about the price, so he said indifferently: “Nowadays, if you want to have a child of your own, you have to pay a little. Just think of it as hiring a nanny. There is no reason to raise a child without spending money.”

Seeing that Liu Qi still seemed to be in a dilemma, Brother Qi continued, “I have heard that there will be new regulations in the future. If you want to have a child by then, it won’t be as simple as just hiring someone to take the exam for you.”

When Liu Qi heard this, he did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately placed the order and signed the contract.

“That’s right. I guarantee that you and your wife will get what you wish for.” Brother Qi put away the contract with satisfaction.

Sure enough, everything went smoothly by cheating and taking the exam for someone else, and the qualification certificate was issued quickly.

Liu Qi was very surprised by this. He asked Qi Ge how he did it, but Qi Ge was mysterious and refused to reveal anything, only saying that he had his own ways.

Four months later, Lily was pregnant again.

In 2024, Lily gave birth to a son. Of course, the hospitalization procedures and birth certificate were handled in the name of Lao Qin and Mrs. Qin, otherwise their child would be taken away immediately after birth.

They named the child Huaiyi. The name registered on his ID card was “Qin Huaiyi”, but they usually just called him Huaiyi and pretended that the word “Qin” did not exist.

“It’s really a sin.” Liu Qi’s mother said in the hospital room while holding her finally born grandson, “This grandson can’t have the surname Liu, but has to take someone else’s surname.”

“It’s good to have a grandson. It doesn’t matter what the surname is. You can change it after you turn 18.” Liu Qi’s father said to the child kindly.

Liu Qi originally thought that everything would be fine once the child was born, but things were not as simple and smooth as he had imagined.

As Brother Qi said, the new regulations supporting the “Parent Qualification Examination” were soon introduced.

Passing the exam and obtaining the qualification certificate does not mean a permanent solution. After giving birth to a child, the couple must undergo a re-examination every year. Each year’s re-examination is designed to address the parenting issues of children of different age groups. If you fail the re-examination for three consecutive years, you will be deprived of custody of your child.

This move is intended to prevent some parents from thinking that as long as they pass the exam once, they can sit back and relax and have children forever.

After all, becoming a qualified parent is something that requires constant learning and improvement.

Liu Qi had no choice but to ask Brother Qi to invite the Qin couple again. Their child was registered under the names of the Qin couple, so they could only ask the Qin couple to take the exam for them again.

They were forced to be tied together with the Qin couple.

Liu Qi felt painful when he thought about spending a large sum of money every year to ask them to take the exam on behalf of himself and Lily. This was all the hard-earned money he earned by working overtime and staying up late.

However, this is not the end, there are things waiting for them that are even more terrifying than the re-examination.

One summer night when his son was two years old, when Liu Qi came home from get off work, he opened the door and saw two strange women sitting in the house, and Lily was entertaining them with a flattering face.

Seeing him come in, Lily hurried over to stop him from speaking, and while helping him with his bag, she whispered, “It’s someone from the Parent Qualification Review Department.”

“What are they here for?” Liu Qi got angry when he heard the name.

“They say it’s a random check. If we fail even one random check, they will take my son away.” Lily couldn’t hide her panic.

“Then what do you tell them now?” Liu Qi suppressed his anger.

“I said we are the nannies of this family, responsible for taking care of the children. The host couple, Mr. and Mrs. Qin, are out traveling.” Lily said in a low voice.

“Nanny? This is my home, but I have become a nanny?” Liu Qi couldn’t help but get angry.

“Keep your voice down!” Lily stopped him. “There’s no other way now! How about letting them take the child away?”

Liu Qi felt a breath stuck in his chest and couldn’t let it go, but he still forced himself to endure it.

That was the most humiliating day in Liu Qi’s life.

In the house he bought, facing two condescending women, he said that he was just a nanny responsible for taking care of the children in this family.

At the end of the random inspection that day, Liu Qi asked the two women, “Will random inspections like this be frequent?”

A woman said arrogantly, “Not necessarily. There may be a lot, or there may not be any more. Everything is for the children of our country to have a good growth environment. But one thing I can tell you clearly is that we may come to check again at any time before the child reaches 18 years old.”

“Moreover,” the other woman emphasized again, “unlike the retest, where you are given three chances, if you fail the random check once, your custody rights will be immediately revoked. You must convey this to your employer.”

After saying that, the two of them left, leaving Liu Qi and Lily with stunned looks on their faces.

What is this? Will there be no peace from now on?

If the re-examination is still a fixed torture on a fixed day every year, then the random inspection is a sword hanging over their heads at all times.

You don’t know whether it will fall, you don’t know when it will fall, and you don’t know how it will fall.

“What should we do, husband?” Lily said, “If they find out that we cheated in the exam, our son will be taken away.”

“It’s okay. I’ll find a way.” Liu Qi gritted his teeth.

The next day, Liu Qi found Brother Qi again.

This time, he invited the Qin couple and their luggage into his home.

6

Since the child is registered under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Qin, and since no one knows when the random inspection will take place, and since the child will be taken away if he fails the inspection.

Then just keep the Qin couple at home and help take care of the child. On the one hand, it can deal with the random checks of the Inspection Department, and on the other hand, it can also be regarded as hiring a pair of 24-hour nannies for my son.

Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Qin have no means of livelihood and make a living by taking exams for others. Now if they are given a stable living environment and a stable source of income, they will naturally be happy to accept it.

As Brother Qi said, “This is the cost of raising children nowadays. You have to accept the reality.”

Of course they have to accept the reality. Now, apart from accepting the reality, they have no way to go and no way to retreat.

But in this case, three bedrooms and two living rooms would no longer be enough.

Liu Qi and his wife had one room, the child had one room, and naturally the old Qin couple also had to have a room, so Liu Qi’s parents had no place to live.

Liu Qi confessed his current predicament to his parents without any hesitation. They had no other choice but hoped that his parents could understand.

Liu Qi’s mother sighed and said, “Then let’s go back home.”

Liu Qi’s father said, “Don’t let others bully you. After all, they are not our family members. We should be on guard against them.”

The old couple returned to their hometown sadly.

As for where his parents would live after their house in his hometown was sold, Liu Qi had never thought about it.

Liu Qi didn’t feel sad, or rather, he didn’t have time to feel sad.

Suddenly, there were two more adults in the family. Not only did they have to take care of their food, accommodation and transportation, but they also had to pay their salaries and bonuses, plus the mortgage and car loans. The burden on the couple suddenly became several times heavier.

So, the two of them started to work overtime even more frantically.

Every day and every night, as long as they are awake, they are thinking about how to make money.

Not only full-time jobs, they also started doing part-time jobs. Liu Qi drove a special car in the morning and evening, and Lily also took on more tutoring jobs.

The two of them go out before dawn every day and return home late at night. The total time they can see their son is less than an hour a day.

Fortunately, the old Qin couple are reliable. Not only do they help them deal with the random inspections that may occur at any time, they also help them take good care of Huaiyi.

Three meals a day, school pick-up, parent activities, and weekend outings, the Qin couple takes Huaiyi with them.

Liu Qi felt very guilty about this. They had originally just asked the old Qin couple to come over to deal with the spot check and help take care of Huaiyi, but now the old Qin couple have almost taken on all the responsibilities of being parents.

“You work hard to earn money, and we certainly can’t eat and drink for free at your home. Just rest assured and let us take care of the child,” Lao Qin said sympathetically.

Mrs. Qin is an even more caring woman: “Huaiyi is also very sensible, rarely mischievous, and rarely asks for his parents. He is a good child who is worry-free.”

Liu Qi then slowly felt relieved, but Lily felt vaguely uneasy.

That day, they had a rare chance to chat before going to bed: “We are so busy all the time, the children almost don’t recognize me anymore. When they saw me today, they didn’t even go to my arms.”

Liu Qi disagreed: “The child is still young. When he grows up, he will understand our good intentions. We work so hard to make money, isn’t it all for him?”

“Is that so?” Lily was still uneasy. “I teach other people’s children outside every day, but I can’t teach my own children in person. I feel bad.”

“Stop thinking about it and go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow.” Liu Qi turned over and fell asleep.

They thought their lives would go on peacefully like this, but little did they know that a greater disaster was slowly approaching them.

7

The first eight years were peaceful.

Although Liu Qi and Lili are exhausted and are overwhelmed by the pressure of making money to support their family as soon as they open their eyes every day, they feel that all the hard work is worth it when they think that all this is done to keep their son.

Until one day, the couple who hired Lily as a tutor were too busy with work to accompany their child to the spring trip for parents organized by the school, so they asked Lily to accompany their son and offered her three times the overtime pay. Lily readily agreed.

As a result, in the forest park on the outskirts of the city, Lily saw Mrs. Qin who brought Huaiyi to participate in the school’s spring outing.

Lily felt like she was struck by lightning. She stood there in a daze, unable to move.

She saw Mrs. Qin taking Huaiyi, just like every ordinary mother and son, chatting with the teacher and playing with other children. She saw Mrs. Qin encouraging Huaiyi to take bold risks with a gentle look on her face. She saw the teacher chatting with Mrs. Qin about Huaiyi’s academic performance as if it was normal.

Mrs. Qin is just like Huaiyi’s mother.

Only then did Lily realize what a ridiculous life she was living.

In order to make money and keep her own child, she had no choice but to be a mother to other people’s children, but her own child had completely distanced himself from her and looked more like mother and son with other women.

She let go of her employer’s child and rushed forward to stop Huaiyi who was running wildly, but Huaiyi ignored her. She reached out to grab him, but Huaiyi struggled to break free from her hand and turned around to dive into Mrs. Qin’s arms.

When Mrs. Qin saw that it was Lily, she said a little embarrassedly, “Lily, don’t mind it. The child is still young and doesn’t understand.”

Lily ignored her. She turned around dejectedly to find her employer’s child and spent that day’s spring outing in a daze.

That night, she proposed to Liu Qi that he should fire the Qin couple and drive them away.

But things were no longer under their control.

Liu Qi sighed and said, “Now, it’s us two who can’t live without them.”

Liu Qi carefully calculated that in the past eight years, there were five to ten random inspections almost every year, and sometimes even one or two every month. The frequency was astonishingly high.

People in the review department will observe whether the child and parents get along harmoniously and happily. They will test whether the parents still have full enthusiasm and love for their children, and they will also examine whether the parents have a healthy educational philosophy.

Liu Qi and Lili were not good at doing these things, and they had been busy making money in recent years, so they had no time and energy to cultivate feelings with Huaiyi.

On the contrary, the Qin couple became more and more familiar with all of this as they got along with Huaiyi day after day, and they were able to pass the spot checks perfectly every time.

If the spot checks can go so smoothly, let alone the annual re-examinations.

The Qin couple have become an indispensable part of their relationship to keep their child. Once they leave, it will inevitably mean that they will lose Huaiyi.

Now it is no longer the Qin couple who need them, but they need the Qin couple.

But Lily was really unwilling to accept this. They worked so hard to earn money to support the family, but their children were becoming more and more distant from them.

Liu Qi could only comfort her: “It will be soon. When the child turns 18, there will be no more re-examinations or spot checks. Then we can let the old Qin couple go, and the child will still be ours.”

8

In 2042, Huaiyi turned 18 years old.

Liu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. After celebrating Huaiyi’s birthday that day, they immediately fired and drove away the old Qin couple.

Although they had a hard life in the past eighteen years, they had finally raised their child successfully. There would no longer be any re-examinations or spot checks, and they could finally live a peaceful life.

Liu Qi and Lily are already middle-aged. They have no more expectations and just hope to live a peaceful life.

They sent Huaiyi home and enjoyed some time alone together after a long absence.

The moonlight was so beautiful that day. We both drank some wine and then walked back home while looking at the moon.

But when they returned home, they found Huaiyi missing and no one answered his phone call. Both of them sobered up all of a sudden.

“The child must have been kidnapped by Lao Qin and his gang.” said Lily.

“Shameless!” Liu Qi was filled with indignation, “I’ll go find them!”

At this time, they found that they didn’t know where the Qin couple lived at all. They didn’t understand the Qin couple at all, just like they didn’t understand Huaiyi at all.

They hurriedly called Brother Qi, but Brother Qi, who was always available at any time, did not answer the call this time.

They had no choice but to call the police.

The police locked down Huaiyi’s location through his cell phone and found that he was now on the highway leaving the city.

“It’s Lao Qin! They want to escape! They want to kidnap my child!” Liu Qi shouted like a madman.

The police hurriedly asked Lily to calm him down, and immediately arranged a car to chase him. Liu Qi and Lily insisted on going with them, so the police had no choice but to take them along.

They stopped the Qin couple and Huaiyi outside the toll booth on the way out of the city.

In the darkness of the night, the old Qin couple were a little flustered, but Huaiyi looked calm.

“I told you this wouldn’t work…” Old Qin whispered to Huaiyi.

Huaiyi didn’t say anything, he just stared at Liu Qi with indifference in his eyes.

“Come home with me.” Liu Qi took Huaiyi’s hand and was about to leave.

Huaiyi shook off Liu Qi’s hand, and Liu Qi lost his balance and almost fell on the asphalt road.

Huaiyi is now a young man who is taller than him when he stands up, but he just noticed it now.

“I won’t go back. Wherever they are is my home.” Huaiyi said, looking at the Qin couple.

“What are you talking about?” Lily’s tears fell, “We are your parents.”

“You have never been with me, and you have never participated in any stage of my growth. Are we familiar with each other? Do you know anything about me? What makes you say that you are my parents? You are not qualified to be my parents.” Huaiyi remained indifferent.

“Aren’t we doing all that for you? We work hard from dawn to dusk to make money, aren’t we doing it so that you can have a better life?” Liu Qi was angry.

“Are you doing this for me or for yourselves? You just want to keep me!” Huaiyi’s eyes were full of mockery, “Did you really give birth to me because you love me? You just want to use all means to keep me so that you can have a tool for your old age, right?”

Liu Qi didn’t know how to answer for a moment, because he knew that what Huaiyi said was right, he just didn’t want to admit it.

At this time, Lao Qin came up and held Liu Qi’s shoulders: “Give the child some time, he will figure it out.”

“Get out of here!” Liu Qi didn’t want to listen to his excuses anymore and pushed Lao Qin away. It must be the Lao Qin couple who instigated Huaiyi to become what he is now.

When Mrs. Qin saw her man being pushed to the ground, she immediately flew into a rage and rushed up to hit Liu Qi. Naturally, Lily was not willing to be outdone, and the scene fell into chaos for a while.

People passing by also gathered around and watched the embarrassing noise.

“Calm down, everyone!” the police shouted.

“We just checked and found that you and your wife don’t have any children.” The police said to Liu Qi, “This child’s name is Qin Huaiyi, not Liu. He is not your child.”

“Our situation is rather complicated. Once we do a paternity test, we’ll know whose son he is!” Liu Qi said excitedly.

The police burst out laughing.

“If blood relationship alone can determine who the child belongs to, then what’s the point of the parent qualification test?” the police officer said. “It’s because there are always people who think they won’t lose their children because of blood relationship, and they think they can be irresponsible parents, so the government introduced the parent qualification test, right?”

Liu Qi was speechless.

“Then…what can determine whose child this is?” Lily asked carefully.

“Qin Huaiyi is an adult. He is fully qualified and has the right to decide who his parents are. If he does not recognize you as his parents, then you are not his parents,” the police explained patiently.

Liu Qi felt a chill on his back.

“It is impossible to develop feelings and bonds with children without spending time and love. It is also impossible for children to recognize you as their parents. These are all in the parent qualification test and the re-examination. How come you seem to know nothing about this?” The policeman was very confused.

Because we have never participated in the exams every year, those are all taken by Mr. and Mrs. Qin.

Liu Qi shouted in his heart, but he didn’t dare to say it out loud, because taking exams for others and cheating were both illegal. Once the evidence was conclusive, they would be guilty of having children without permission and would be punishable by death.

“So… he is not my son?” Lily couldn’t believe it, and Liu Qi looked even more stunned.

“It’s obvious that Qin Huaiyi has made his choice,” the police said calmly.

The crowd was talking about it for a while.

Liu Qi collapsed to the ground on the spot. The wind from the suburban highway blew coldly across his face, and he felt as if all the strength in his body had been drained away in an instant.

9

After losing his son, Liu Qi’s relationship with Lily plummeted.

Lily blamed Liu Qi for asking the Qin couple to cheat in the exam for her, and Liu Qi blamed Lily for having an abortion.

A few years later, the two divorced.

When Liu Qi’s parents learned that the child they had raised for 18 years had become someone else’s son, they were so angry that they were both hospitalized. After lying in bed for several months, they died one after another.

Liu Qi’s health was getting worse day by day.

In order to make money when he was young, he worked too hard and his body was already full of holes and vulnerable. When the company saw that his body could not hold out, they found an opportunity to optimize and lay him off.

He also tried to find some jobs, but as he got older, he could no longer work overtime or stay up late. The jobs he got were worse than the last, and finally no company was willing to hire him.

People of his age are either enjoying a leisurely retirement life or living a happy life with children and grandchildren. Only he has lost his son, his wife, his parents, and now his job.

He had been spoiled and arrogant all his life, but now he had become a useless person who no one cared about. He was unwilling to accept this, but he could do nothing about it.

Finally, in 2057, he joined the government’s retiree placement program and did some simple clerical and cleaning work in a government department.

The Parent Qualification Review Department was also in the same building, but he never met Liu Di again.

I think Liu Di is already seventy years old now and should have retired long ago.

The sun was very hot that day. After he delivered the printed materials, he saw a familiar figure in the service hall. It was Huaiyi, who came to collect his parents’ qualification certificate.

Yes, Huaiyi is now old enough to have children.

But what Liu Qi didn’t expect was that the people who came with Huaiyi, in addition to the old Qin couple, also included his sister Liu Di and the black intermediary boss Qi Ge.

“I just want to hand the certificate to you personally.” He heard Liu Di say to Huaiyi earnestly.

“I know how important this is. I will be a good father, aunt.” Huaiyi’s face was serious.

“Well, aunt believes you.” Liu Di said emotionally.

He called her aunt? Why did he call her aunt? He didn’t even recognize me as his father, so why should he recognize her as his aunt?

Liu Qi stood there in a daze, his brain unable to react at all, but this was not the end yet.

After Huaiyi left, the old Qin couple bowed to Liu Di repeatedly to express their gratitude.

“We didn’t have much hope. We couldn’t have children. We had given up hope a long time ago. We only hoped to be with Huaiyi until he was 18 years old, and that would have been enough.” Lao Qin said, “We didn’t expect that Huaiyi would really become our son.”

“This is all because you are good parents. Lao Qi and I just created an opportunity for you. Whether you can grasp it or not is up to you.” Liu Di said calmly, “You should thank yourselves.”

The old Qin couple nodded heavily.

“However, Brother Qi should have no business these years. After all, the examination has been so successful that fewer and fewer people would have such evil thoughts as cheating.” Mrs. Qin said with a sigh.

“Isn’t this great? Ever since I started doing this, our goal has been to have nothing to do one day in the future.” Brother Qi’s tone was also very satisfied. “I came here today not only for Huaiyi, but also to meet a client. This is the only order I have received in the past six months. We are not far from success.”

“It’s a pity for you that you and Brother Qi never have your own children.” Mrs. Qin said regretfully.

“We won’t be good parents. Not having children is for the good of the children.” Liu Di said while holding Brother Qi’s hand.

Old Qin and Mrs. Qin sighed again.

They finished their chat and left.

The old Qin couple left, and Brother Qi also left first because he had to do a long-awaited “business deal”, leaving Liu Di alone as she slowly walked out of the hall.

What on earth was going on? Liu Qi’s mind was in a mess.

Brother Qi is Liu Di’s husband? The Qin couple and Liu Di actually know each other?

He rushed forward and grabbed Liu Di who was about to leave. Liu Di turned around and saw him. She was not panicked at all, but looked calm instead.

“Did you see everything?” Liu Di asked in a relaxed tone.

Liu Qi didn’t say anything.

Liu Di smiled and didn’t seem to intend to explain any further.

The people coming and going around him were all there to get their qualification certificates, which made Liu Qi look even more ridiculous at the moment.

“Why?” Liu Qi asked in a low voice, gritting his teeth.

“You ask me why? Don’t you know why?” Liu Di said with her back to Liu Qi, “Because you are not worthy of being parents.”

“For him, I have lived a life like a half-human for eighteen years. If I am not worthy of him, who is?” Liu Qi finally got angry.

“Why don’t you understand yet? Whether it’s a relative, a lover, a friend, or even a pet, you need to spend time with him before he can really establish a connection with you.” Liu Di walked in front of him, “But that’s true. Your parents never taught you this, so how could you understand it?”

Liu Qi was stunned.

“Our parents are selfish, mean, cowardly, and cruel. They raised you, just like you raised Huaiyi, with the utilitarianism of continuing the family line and the transaction mentality of raising children to provide for their old age. That’s why they raised you, who doesn’t know how to respect life and express love. It’s also because of this that you have become an adult who is unable to raise children in a healthy way.” Liu Di continued.

“But I was the one who spent money to raise him. Without me, where would the money come from, where would Old Qin and Mrs. Qin come from, and how could he grow up safely?” Liu Qi was dissatisfied.

“Money? Go to the street and throw a handful of money to stray cats and dogs. Do you think they will follow you home?” Liu Di said sarcastically. “Humans are animals after all. It is their instinct to be close to those who spend time on them, not those who spend money on them. You only know how to spend money, so they will only be close to money, not you.”

“This is also the core meaning of our entire parent qualification review program. You must love your child in a healthy way in order to win your child’s heart and the qualification to raise your child, instead of just taking shortcuts and paying money to get the job done. Having a child is not a transaction, and raising a child is even less of a transaction.” Liu Di looked at Liu Qi and said, “If you don’t know how to love your child in a healthy way, then you are certainly not a parent.”

“You…you are talking nonsense!” Liu Qi still refused to believe it.

“If there are people like you who refuse to give up and try to have a child by cheating and taking exams for others, you will fall into Lao Qi’s hands,” Liu Di continued.

“Why is Brother Qi yours?” Liu Qi tried hard to hold up his last bit of spirit.

“Because we share the same ideal, which is to prevent people who are not qualified to be parents from having the opportunity to raise children,” Liu Di said with a smile, “so I promoted the parent qualification review plan, and he checked for loopholes in the plan.”

Liu Qi didn’t understand what she meant.

“If someone tries to cheat, he will help you find someone to take the exam for you. He is the biggest black broker in this country. He will find volunteer couples who cannot have children. These couples will enter the families of you cheaters and raise your children instead. In the end, they will take your children away step by step, and at the same time, the children will have a pair of healthy parents.” Liu Di said, “What Lao Qi did was tacitly approved by the government, otherwise how could those cheating be so smooth.”

It turns out that all of this was part of Liu Di’s plan: “Are you doing this to get revenge on me?”

“Revenge you? Yes and no. I am of course very happy to be able to take revenge on you and your parents.” Liu Di said with a smile, “But in fact, you are not that important. You, Lily, and our parents are just a tiny part of our entire plan. We designed all this for all the people and children.”

Liu Qi felt his legs go weak and his head go dizzy, as if he had instantly fallen into a meaningless, dark and empty hell.

“If our parents had raised you well, if you hadn’t grown up to be a selfish man who forced his wife to have an abortion, if you had passed the exam, if you hadn’t tried to cheat to have a child.” Liu Di looked into Liu Qi’s eyes and said, “If you hadn’t done these things, how could I possibly get revenge on you?”

“I did set the trap, but it was you who jumped into it,” Liu Di said. “You ruined your own wrong lives step by step.”

It turns out that we were the ones who made one mistake after another and fell into this mistake.

It turns out that my life was just a trivial mistake.

“For many years, every generation has been raised in an environment where they don’t know how to love, and then they give birth to and raise children in this environment where they don’t know how to love. Thus, they raise a group of children who don’t know how to love. Generation after generation is trapped in this sad cycle, raising batch after batch of unhealthy, unhappy people who don’t know how to love and be loved.”

Liu Di said without changing her expression.

Liu Qi was already so angry that his whole body was shaking slightly. He stared at Liu Di as if he was staring at his mortal enemy.

“The Parent Qualification Review Program is designed to correct this mistake and stop this tragic cycle in our generation, so that those who are not qualified to be parents and do not know how to be parents will never be able to become parents again,” Liu Di said calmly.

After she finished speaking, she turned around and prepared to leave.

Liu Qi looked at her back viciously, and a deep anger suddenly rose from his body.

It’s all this woman’s fault. She tried every possible means and deliberately set up such a huge conspiracy. She spent her entire life making my life a joke!

My parents, my marriage, my children, my obsession, my pain, my despair… everything in my life has become a ridiculous farce!

After completely destroying me, she still wanted to leave so easily!

Why does she do that!

She is just a woman that no one cares about!

Liu Qi could no longer suppress his anger. He rushed forward, kicked Liu Di to the ground, sat on her chest and strangled her neck.

“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” Liu Qi grabbed Liu Di tightly like a madman.

Liu Di struggled desperately and called for help. The security guard in the hall immediately noticed the unusual situation and rushed over to pull the two people apart.

Liu Qi was still shouting and jumping around wildly, but now his parents were no longer there to help him hold down Liu Di with one hand each, and now he was the one being held down.

He didn’t seem to realize that he no longer had parents to help him clean up everything and withstand everything.

“It’s all her! She runs a black agency! She abuses public resources for personal gain! She is a devil! I will let everyone know your true face!” Liu Qi was held up by the security guards, but he was still screaming like a mad child.

Seeing that he still intended to hurt people, the security guard pinned him to the ground, making him unable to move.

A security guard recognized Liu Di as a former leader of the Inspection Department. He carefully supported her and asked her if she was injured.

Liu Di waved her hands to indicate that it was nothing serious.

“Who is this person? Do you know him?” the security guard asked her in a low voice.

She looked down at Liu Qi’s desperate and crazy eyes on the floor and said, “I don’t know him. He must be a madman.”

After saying that, she turned and left the hall.

Behind her, the entire hall was filled with Liu Qi’s crazy roars, as if he was roaring out all his life.

In 2057, retired employee Liu Qi suddenly went crazy in the government administrative hall and intended to kill government workers. After a doctor’s diagnosis, he was sent to a mental hospital.

A year later, Liu Qi died in a nursing home. Until his death, he was still calling for his parents day and night.

In 2062, 40 years after the implementation of the “Parental Eligibility Review Program”, the fertility rate began to rise steadily after a sharp drop in the initial stage, and the citizens’ mental health and life happiness index have improved significantly.