My Bizarre Relatives 05

Watching Fang Ruoruo enter the school with lingering glances, Fang Zhiyi turned and headed straight for a nearby arcade. After giving a few young troublemakers a "lesson," he declared, "Remember this—from now on, this is Xu Jiaqing's turf! Get lost!"

The youths looked bewildered. Who the hell was Xu Jiaqing?

Once Fang Zhiyi left, they scrambled to gather intel. All they did was occasionally bully students for game tokens—how had they managed to piss off some big shot?

When school let out in the afternoon, Fang Ruoruo didn’t see her father waiting, and her heart sank. Head down, she trudged home, completely oblivious to her older cousin Xu Jiaqing being cornered not far away.

"So you’re Xu Jiaqing?" The leader of the gang sported an outrageous emo hairstyle and black-painted lips.

Xu Jiaqing trembled. "Y-yes, I am..."

Behind him, Xu Jiayuan wished he could melt into the background.

"You the one who sent people to beat up my boys?"

"What? No—"

"Still playing dumb? Beat his ass!"

It was the first time Xu Jiaqing had ever been roughed up. Thankfully, the thugs went easy on him—just a few slaps before demanding his money and warning him to cough up "protection fees" every week from then on.

Back home, Xu Jiaqing was on the verge of tears. Too scared to tell his parents, he even threatened his younger brother into silence—these guys had genuinely terrified him.

Spotting the absent-minded Fang Ruoruo, he shoved her in frustration, nearly knocking her over.

Fang Ruoruo just rubbed her shoulder and stayed quiet.

With her mother working late, her aunt once again relegated her to the far end of the dinner table. She knew better than to reach for the ribs in front of her cousins.

When the front door creaked open, Fang Ruoruo thought her mother had returned. Glancing at her aunt for permission, she hurried to answer—only to freeze.

Her father stood there, flanked by a bespectacled man and a woman in stilettos.

"Dad..."

Fang Zhiyi patted her head and strode inside, scanning the room with a scoff before zeroing in on her seat at the table.

"Fang, you’ve got some nerve showing up!" Her aunt snapped out of her shock. This good-for-nothing ex-brother-in-law—what was he doing here?

Fang Zhiyi ignored her. The bespectacled man stepped in smoothly. "As Fang Ruoruo’s father, Mr. Fang Zhiyi has the legal right to inspect her living conditions and ensure his child support is being used appropriately."

Fang Zhiyi shrugged. "Lawyer Yu, as you can see, I suspect my ex-wife isn’t spending a cent of it on our daughter."

Lawyer Yu nodded, jotting notes.

At the mention of child support, Li Xue stiffened but quickly recovered. "Who do you think you are? This girl is my sister’s responsibility! You think bringing some lawyer scares me?"

The woman in heels finally spoke, her voice dripping with mockery. "Well, well—if it isn’t Li Xue. My, how you’ve aged. Almost didn’t recognize you."

Li Xue whirled around, rage flashing—until she registered the woman’s face.

"Fang Yu?"

Fang Yu smirked, oozing disdain. "Sharp eyes, at least."

Li Xue shot to her feet, spewing venom. "Heard you got dumped again? Caught sleeping with married men, you shameless whore!"

Fang Yu’s eyes narrowed. "You seem awfully fixated on affairs. What’s wrong? Too old to keep your own husband faithful?" Her shrill voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

Xu Li, still processing the scene, choked on his rice. Li Xue turned even more livid, jabbing a finger at Fang Yu. "You trash! You’ve got no right to talk! Everyone knows you’re just used goods!"

Fang Yu’s face darkened. "Look who’s talking. Lazing around all day, stirring up drama. That face of yours could curdle milk—good thing I skipped lunch, or I’d puke right here!"

The insults escalated, their shrieks filling the house.

Fang Zhiyi, meanwhile, made a silly face at his daughter. He’d specifically recruited Fang Yu—his estranged but formidable sister-in-law. While the original Fang Zhiyi had barely interacted with her, this Fang Yu was a force of nature: a master of brawling, scheming, and verbal warfare. If she’d been on the opposing side, she’d have been a nightmare. But why let such a weapon go to waste?

A few well-placed words had Fang Yu storming in here with him.

The trigger? Li Xue calling her a homewrecker. Fang Zhiyi hadn’t expected his offhand excuse to hit so close to the truth.

As Fang Zhiyi amused his daughter, Li Xue and Fang Yu’s spat had devolved into a full-blown screaming match—with Fang Yu dominating. Lawyer Yu scribbled furiously, while Li Xue’s husband and kids stood paralyzed, unable to get a word in.

The commotion drew relatives into the yard—just as Li Mei pushed through the door.

She froze at the crowd, then spotted Fang Zhiyi. Disgust flashed across her face as she yanked Fang Ruoruo away from him. "What are you doing here?"

Lawyer Yu cleared his throat. "By law, Mr. Fang Zhiyi retains visitation rights. We also have reason to believe the child support he provides isn’t being used for Fang Ruoruo’s welfare."

"Lies!" Li Mei jabbed a finger at Fang Zhiyi. "You waived your rights! What’s your game now?"

"No game. But seeing my daughter in hand-me-downs, eating scraps, and treated like a servant? Is this how you mother?"

"You—!" Li Mei floundered. "What’s wrong with Ruoruo? We live with her aunt—helping out is normal! If you weren’t such a failure, if you’d owned even a damn apartment, we wouldn’t be here!"

"Ah, so you never wanted to come back to this 'dump' in the first place." Fang Zhiyi clapped.

The relatives in the yard—especially Li Mei’s mother—stared.

Li Mei backpedaled. "That’s not what I meant! I meant you—you can’t even provide—"

Fang Zhiyi nodded sympathetically. "Now I remember. You once told me your eldest sister’s a snob, your second brother’s a deadbeat, and your third sister’s a loose cannon. My bad—I never considered how hard this must’ve been for you." His tone was so sincere, no one doubted his words.

"Fine! Li Mei, so this is how you talk about me?" Unable to win the argument with Fang Yu, the aunt turned her glare toward Li Mei, while the other relatives who had been named also shot her hostile looks.

"I didn’t! He’s lying!" Li Mei was frantic. Why was this useless fool suddenly so talkative today?

"Whether it’s a lie or not, I can’t say for sure. But I’m telling you now—I have every right to suspect you of child abuse and embezzling child support. Expect a court summons." Fang Zhiyi firmly took Fang Ruoruo’s hand. "Right now, I’m taking the child for a medical checkup. Understood?"

"Let go!" Li Mei lunged forward in panic.

Fang Zhiyi coolly added, "Oh, and you also said your mother plays favorites."