The company followed procedure and reported the incident to the police first. However, everyone gave the same account—that the Fat Manager had insulted others and struck first. As for the boss, there was no chance he would protect him. The police merely gave both men a warning. Seeing that the Fat Manager only had a slap mark on his face and no other injuries, they left the two to sort things out themselves.
In the end, Fang Zhiyi was naturally fired. But because it was a termination, he successfully secured a hefty compensation payout. After all, he had worked at the company for a long time and wasn’t the primary instigator. Most importantly, the boss didn’t want him spreading rumors after leaving. The boss had no idea how much Fang Zhiyi had learned from the Fat Manager’s loose lips. Two days after Fang Zhiyi was dismissed, the Fat Manager was also fired for violating multiple company policies and even faced further repercussions.
However, Fang Zhiyi, having already gotten his satisfaction, paid no mind to the matter. He had already bought a plane ticket to return to his hometown.
Seriously, the original owner had slaved away like a workhorse for so many years—voluntarily resigning? That would’ve been idiotic.
Fang Ruoruo watched with longing as her Eldest Cousin chewed bubblegum. He had shared some with his Younger Brother but deliberately left her out. Noticing her expression, he sneered, "If you want some, ask your dad to buy it for you. This was bought by my dad!"
Fang Ruoruo lowered her head. Her mother had told her many times—she didn’t have a father.
Just as she was feeling upset, she heard Eldest Aunt call out, "Fang Ruoruo! Fang Ruoruo! You wretched child, running off to play without washing the dishes? No wonder your parents abandoned you."
Fang Ruoruo’s small heart clenched. She distinctly remembered her mother saying she’d be back that evening when she left in the morning.
Still, she hurried toward the kitchen. She had to be obedient—otherwise, she’d be kicked out. That’s what Eldest Aunt always said.
Eldest Aunt tossed out a few more mocking remarks before sashaying away.
Fang Ruoruo struggled to drag a stool over, stepping onto it so she could reach the sink. She washed the dishes carefully and was about to climb down when she suddenly noticed a face pressed against the kitchen window.
Startled, she nearly lost her balance but managed to steady herself.
The person outside tapped on the glass. Fang Ruoruo felt a flicker of fear—she’d heard the adults talk about kidnappers before.
But the man smiled kindly at her, mouthing something silently with exaggerated movements.
Fang Ruoruo stared blankly for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise. The person outside seemed to be saying… "Dad"?
Hesitantly, she reached out, unlatched the window, and pushed it open.
Fang Zhiyi finally relaxed. Dealing with kids wasn’t easy—especially since Fang Ruoruo had been very young when he and Li Mei divorced, so her memories of him were hazy.
"Who are you looking for?" Fang Ruoruo’s voice was soft and sweet.
Fang Zhiyi gazed at the thin little girl. "You."
"Me? Are you a kidnapper?" She shrank back slightly.
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "I’m not a kidnapper. But first, I need to make a deal with you."
"A deal?" Fang Ruoruo eyed him suspiciously.
Fang Zhiyi pulled a lollipop from his bag. "That’s right. If you agree, this is yours." No child could resist candy—especially one who was constantly treated with disdain.
Fang Ruoruo finally nodded and accepted the lollipop.
Fang Zhiyi said, "I’m your dad."
Fang Ruoruo, distracted by the candy in her hands, didn’t react immediately. "Huh?"
"I’m your dad," Fang Zhiyi repeated gently. "I came to see you."
Fang Ruoruo stared at him in disbelief before murmuring, "My… my dad went far away. He didn’t want me or Mom anymore."
"Bullsh—" Fang Zhiyi caught himself. "It’s complicated, but I never stopped wanting you, okay?" Seeing her lingering doubt, he added, "Your name is Fang Ruoruo, right?"
She nodded.
"My name is Fang Zhiyi."
Fang Ruoruo thought for a moment before it clicked. None of her relatives shared her surname—only her. It was why her cousins often mocked her.
"Dad…" she whispered.
Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth. "Be good, and I’ll visit you often from now on."
Fang Ruoruo nodded eagerly. "I’ll be good." Her voice trembled, her eyes reddening.
Fang Zhiyi sighed. "Our deal is this—you can’t tell anyone you saw me. Understand?"
She nodded emphatically.
After comforting her a little longer, Fang Zhiyi left. He needed to find a lawyer to see if he could fight for custody, though he suspected it wouldn’t be easy. After all, the original owner had voluntarily relinquished his rights.
What kind of nightmare difficulty was this? He couldn’t help complaining to Xiao Hei again.
Though Fang Ruoruo wanted to eat the candy, the thought of her father made her hide the lollipop instead. But since she didn’t even have her own room, her Eldest Cousin stumbled upon it that very night. Teasing her, he popped it into his own mouth.
She tried to snatch it back, but her mother’s sharp glare stopped her.
Eldest Aunt scoffed, "Tsk, so young and already so possessive?"
Her mother only demanded where she’d gotten the lollipop. Fang Ruoruo opened her mouth but stayed silent—she remembered her father’s promise.
"Bet she stole it," Eldest Aunt sneered. "Fourth Sister, petty theft leads to grand larceny."
That night, her mother lost her temper. Fang Ruoruo kept her head down, tears falling silently even as her mother shoved her. In the end, she reluctantly apologized—though she didn’t understand why she had to apologize to her Eldest Cousin too.
The next day, Fang Ruoruo trailed behind her cousins on the way to school. They ignored her because of her outdated clothes and worn-out backpack.
Just as they neared the school, a hand yanked her into an alley.
Terrified, she looked up—only to see the same face from yesterday.
"Dad!" She had secretly flipped through her mother’s photo album last night after she fell asleep. Among the few remaining pictures, she had indeed found this man.
Fang Zhiyi patted her head, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing…" she mumbled.
He crouched down. "First, good girls don’t lie—well, at least not to their dads. Second, you have to speak up when something feels unfair. Got it?"
His tone made Fang Ruoruo’s grievances spill over, tears streaming down. Fang Zhiyi panicked slightly—handling kids, especially little girls, was nerve-wracking.
Finally, under his coaxing, she recounted what had happened the night before. Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. "It’s just a lollipop. Go to class first—I’ll buy you another one later."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
