The Villainess's Uncle 04

Lanhua went back to her parents' home.

However, in the Fang Family, such scenes happened several times a year, so no one paid much attention. What they found more surprising was that Fang Xiaoxiao was wearing new clothes, and Fang Zhiyi had even brought her a maid.

Fang Wenrui was entirely absorbed in his books and didn’t care about these matters, but Gong Hui couldn’t sit still. If things continued like this, wouldn’t she lose control of that shop in her hands?

At her urging, Fang Wenrui finally asked his younger brother what he was up to.

Fang Zhiyi looked at his bug-eyed elder brother, unsure whether he should punch him or not. To be fair, Fang Wenrui hadn’t done anything to Fang Xiaoxiao, but he hadn’t stopped anything either—meaning everything had happened with his silent approval.

"I dreamed of Third Sister," Fang Zhiyi insisted firmly. "For three nights in a row. I’ve already discussed it with her. Since I don’t have any children of my own, her daughter will be my daughter from now on. Of course, she’ll still call me Uncle. What I mean is, I’ll take care of her from now on."

After saying this, Fang Zhiyi glanced around the room. Except for the fourth brother, who wasn’t present, everyone was there—Gong Hui’s two maids, the old woman who tended the vegetable garden, and the family’s coachman.

"You all know my temper. If anyone treats her the way they did before, my fists won’t show mercy!"

Everyone thought Fang Zhiyi was possessed, but hearing his words, they nodded silently—still the same reckless second son, pure troublemaker! Only Gong Hui fidgeted uneasily, her mind fixated on that shop.

Fang Xiaoxiao sat to the side, head bowed, unable to believe this was real. But seeing her second uncle waving his fists around gave her an inexplicable sense of security. Second Uncle said he dreamed of Mother? Why had Mother never appeared in her own dreams?

That night, Fang Zhiyi personally carried two new quilts to Fang Xiaoxiao’s room and made her bed while saying, "In the past, I was a bastard. I blamed you because I thought your father was the reason my sister died, so I treated you poorly. But after dreaming of your mother, I’ve let go of that grudge. If you’re still angry, you can hit me."

With that, he crouched down and covered his head, just as Fang Xiaoxiao used to do when she was beaten.

Tears slipped from Fang Xiaoxiao’s eyes as she reached out to pull her uncle up. "Second Uncle, I don’t blame you!"

Fang Zhiyi finally relaxed. She believed him now? Good!

The next day, he went to his sister-in-law to demand the deed to the shop.

"Second Brother, it’s better if I keep managing this shop," Gong Hui said hesitantly.

Fang Zhiyi didn’t respond. Instead, he punched the window, smashing a hole straight through the wooden lattice.

"Sister-in-law, you know I don’t like reasoning things out." The original owner of this body had been a street thug, and fighting was second nature to him.

After a long hesitation, seeing Fang Zhiyi roll up his sleeves, Gong Hui hurriedly dug out the deed hidden under her pillow and handed it over.

"This is for Xiaoxiao—you can’t keep it for yourself," she added.

Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. "Keep it for myself? That’s an interesting thing to say, Sister-in-law." He flicked the deed in his hand and left.

"Adopting that little bastard as your own daughter—I bet you just wanted that shop!" Gong Hui’s face twisted in anger once he was out of earshot.

Having spent her days working nonstop before, Fang Xiaoxiao now found herself with nothing to do and felt oddly restless. Watching her second uncle scribble and sketch on paper, she cautiously moved closer to look. Having attended school for a year, she could recognize quite a few characters.

"Fash... design? Braised food? Second Uncle, what are you writing?" Her voice was soft.

Fang Zhiyi looked up. "Didn’t you eat? Speak up!"

Fang Xiaoxiao flinched at first, but seeing that her uncle didn’t seem angry, she mustered her courage. "Second Uncle, what is all this?"

"This? This is how we’re going to get rich!" Fang Zhiyi declared proudly, shaking his head with a grin.

Fang Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but smile. Though her second uncle had started treating her better, he still seemed as unreliable and boastful as ever.

But then Fang Zhiyi frowned. In his past life, he had been a novelist, so he’d researched many topics for his writing. He knew that in the current political climate, ventures like fashion design or restaurants would be nearly impossible to pull off.

Over the next few days, he took Fang Xiaoxiao out to explore the city, sometimes spending entire afternoons sitting in the largest teahouse in Jiang City. Gradually, Fang Xiaoxiao became more outgoing, even offering suggestions of her own.

Just as they were about to leave one day, the long-absent system suddenly appeared. "Host, look at that man."

Fang Zhiyi turned in confusion toward a figure in the corner wearing a bowler hat.

"Host, for one point, I’ll tell you his background," the system said smugly. Fang Zhiyi shot it a sidelong glance—he knew that tone meant it already had the information.

But he was in no position to argue. Reluctantly, he handed over one point. Calculating his meager savings—five points initially, minus one used, plus four from the second world, minus another point to restore the female lead’s memory—he was left with only thirteen points. Now, after this greedy system took another, he had twelve left.

"Zhou Huaqiang. He’s about to hit the jackpot—soon, he’ll become the secretary to the mayor of Guang City. Right now, he’s in Jiang City searching for his sister."

Fang Zhiyi’s mind raced. "You mean the port city Guang City?"

The system confirmed it.

"Where’s his sister?"

"One point."

"Damn it—" He had no choice but to comply.

Eleven points left.

"His sister is at Baihua Men—a dance hall. But you’d better hurry, Host. She’ll die today. In the original plot, her death leads him to trace the clues back to the location, where he befriends a Jiang City crime boss."

"You—! Shouldn’t this have been part of the original briefing?" Fang Zhiyi was furious.

The system feigned innocence. "Host, I can only provide details relevant to your character’s storyline. They belong to a separate subplot, barely connected to the main protagonist."

"Bullshit!" Fang Zhiyi turned and strode off. "Just tell me her name, what she looks like, and what’s going to happen! If you don’t, don’t even think about getting another point from me, no matter how hard you beg!"

Fang Xiaoxiao watched as her second uncle stood frozen for a moment before suddenly rushing off. She hurried after him but realized they weren’t heading home.

"Second Uncle—"

Fang Zhiyi finally remembered his little shadow. "Go home first. I have something to take care of—I’ll be back tonight." After a pause, he added sternly, "If I’m not around, don’t listen to anyone else. Got it?"

Fang Xiaoxiao nodded and turned to leave in the opposite direction.

"What a good kid. That idiot original owner—ugh." Fang Zhiyi watched her walk away before turning toward Baihua Men.