The Great Benefactor 02

She and Fang Jianguo had just donated ten thousand yuan to a child with leukemia. The family sent them messages of gratitude, but now they had no money left.

Chen Meihua took Fang Xiao home and told Fang Jianguo about it.

Fang Jianguo was stunned for a moment, looking at his feverish son: "But... I’ve already advanced next month’s salary..."

Chen Meihua pursed her lips and said after a pause, "I’ll have the clinic give him a couple of shots. He’s our son, after all—strong enough to tough it out."

Fang Xiao lay on the cold wooden bed, his mind in chaos, while Chen Meihua posted a long social media update with a photo of the donation, recounting the story of the leukemia-stricken child and urging her friends to join the cause.

Fang Xiao pulled through. Chen Meihua claimed it was because she and her husband had done so much good that their family was blessed—but no one knew Fang Xiao had been left with lasting health issues.

Then, just before the college entrance exams, the hidden time bomb in Fang Xiao’s body detonated. The surgery cost a staggering hundred thousand yuan, but Fang Jianguo and his wife couldn’t afford it—or rather, they couldn’t bear to tarnish their reputation by refusing those who sought their help. So they begged the doctors for conservative treatment instead.

Fang Xiao died like that. The doctor said he had given up on living.

After Fang Xiao’s death, Fang Yang began to see his parents for what they were. He understood how his older brother must have felt.

Finally, one day, he lashed out at them. Fang Jianguo and his wife didn’t understand, but they were in a hurry to meet a student from a poor mountain village who had come to visit them, so they ignored him. Fang Yang ran away from home.

Only Fang Yue stayed by their side.

She, too, found joy in doing good deeds, though her classmates always looked at her strangely.

Rumors said someone resembling Fang Yang had been spotted in a coastal city, but he was killed in a gang fight.

After learning the full story, Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath. "I never wrote this part!?"

Little Hei muttered, "Because these are just side characters. Like I said before, the world fills in the gaps logically. This has happened before."

Fang Zhiyi thought for a while. "What about the protagonist?"

"The protagonist is an orphan Fang Jianguo and his wife helped."

The scene shifted—a luxury car picked up Fang Jianguo and his wife, taking them to a mansion. This was the protagonist’s way of repaying their kindness.

"......" Fang Zhiyi rubbed his head. "Wait, who am I?"

"You’re Fang Jianguo’s father."

"Huh?" Fang Zhiyi nearly jumped. "Fine, I’ll go strangle him right now."

"Calm down. Murder is illegal. He’s already married to Chen Meihua."

A neighbor saw Fang Zhiyi packing his bags and asked, "Old Fang, going on a trip?"

Without looking up, Fang Zhiyi replied, "I miss my grandkids." Little Hei explained that the original owner was eccentric—he never visited the city or cared about his grandchildren. Sometimes, when neighbors mentioned seeing his son in the news and praised him, he’d puff up with pride, bragging about his parenting skills. But his presence was always faint.

"You little bastard, your dad’s coming for you!" Fang Zhiyi finished packing and strode toward the bus stop.

"Fang Jianguo, eating vegetable scraps with plain rice again? You’re too frugal," a coworker teased.

Fang Jianguo chuckled sheepishly. "Well, the kid from the mountains wrote saying his grandfather broke his leg. My wife and I were so worried, we sent him some money." He pulled out his cracked phone to show the thank-you letter.

The coworker clicked his tongue and gave a thumbs-up. "You two really are a match."

Only the receptionist muttered, "What if it’s a scam?"

Fang Jianguo heard her. "How could it be a scam?" He scrolled through his photos. "Look how poor they are. See?"

The receptionist lowered her head to eat, just curling her lip.

After work, Fang Jianguo kept texting—urging the kid to study hard and promising to send whatever he needed.

Suddenly, a sharp slap to the back of his head nearly knocked him over. Fang Jianguo turned around in shock. "Dad?"

Fang Zhiyi shoved his luggage at him. "Carry this!"

Fang Jianguo hesitated but took it. "Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?"

"How? I don’t even have a phone!" Fang Zhiyi marched ahead, hands behind his back, then turned. "Hurry up! You trying to starve your old man?" His booming voice drew stares from passersby.

Fang Jianguo hurried after him. "Dad, keep it down."

"Now you’re lecturing me?" Fang Zhiyi glared and smacked him again. Fang Jianguo froze for two seconds—since when was his father this strong?

Inside the house, Fang Zhiyi looked around in disgust—cheap decor, shabby furniture, and... three scrawny kids.

The children stared at him blankly.

"Dad, who’s this grandpa? Does he need your help too?" Fang Yue blinked.

Fang Xiao tugged her sleeve. "This is Grandpa."

Fang Yue gasped. "Hi, Grandpa!"

"Hey, kids." Fang Zhiyi scooped her up, his heart sinking at how light she was.

"Grandpa," Fang Xiao and Fang Yang greeted. They rarely saw him, their memories limited to his temper when they were little.

Fang Zhiyi eyed the boys and gave a stiff nod.

"Fang Jianguo, I ran into Granny Wang after work today. Poor thing was picking through rotten vegetables at the market, so I gave her the groceries I bought..." Chen Meihua’s voice trailed off as she closed the door and noticed Fang Zhiyi.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

Fang Zhiyi scowled. "What, I can’t visit? His mother died young, and I raised this idiot alone. Now I’m not welcome?"

"No, no!" Chen Meihua didn’t know why her father-in-law was so aggressive, but then again, he’d always been like this.

"I’m hungry!" Fang Zhiyi set Fang Yue down and plopped onto the creaky sofa.

"I’ll start cooking right away!"

At the dinner table, Fang Zhiyi nearly laughed in frustration—a bowl of plain vegetable soup, two salted duck eggs, and a dish of pickles.

The kids didn’t even blink.

"Chen Meihua, you said you gave your groceries to some old lady?" Fang Zhiyi asked sharply.

Chen Meihua paused. "Yes. I swapped with her. An elderly woman shouldn’t eat spoiled food."

"Oh, so I’m not elderly? I can eat garbage?"