Father-in-Law 09

"Well then, I'll go... sigh..." Fang Zhiyi said, turning and walking out the door. It was only then that Fang Yunyun noticed many people gathered around their house entrance, watching Fang Zhiyi leave, their faces full of sympathy.

He's my father, and he's actually harming me! Fang Yunyun instantly felt her hands and feet turn cold. Realizing her earlier words had been overheard, she made what she thought was the right decision: she rushed forward and slammed the door shut with a bang. The loud noise made the onlookers startle.

"What kind of person is she!"

"Old Mr. Fang is such a good man!"

"Exactly, and he ended up with an ungrateful daughter! I heard he raised her all by himself and even developed health problems because of it."

"This Fang Yunyun is even worse. She usually acts so well-behaved and sensible, who knew she was actually this kind of person!"

"I have her on social media. She's always showing off about how harmonious her family is. Turns out it was all fake."

"Her husband is something else too. Last time he let their son hit someone, and it was still Old Mr. Fang who had to go apologize."

"Did you hear what she said? It sounds like she thinks Old Mr. Fang is supposed to slave away for their whole family."

"Now that the old man isn't willing to sacrifice anymore, their true colors are showing."

News about the Fang family quickly spread throughout the neighborhood. From that day on, Fang Yunyun clearly felt she was being shunned. Even neighbors she usually knew well would give her the cold shoulder. Chen Xiaoqun had it even worse. With no school to attend, he went downstairs to play, but the other children would run far away as soon as they saw him. Enraged, he tried to chase and hit them, only to get a stern talking-to from their parents.

Fuming, Chen Xiaoqun went home to complain, but Chen Cai was still fuming over the issue with his "artworks" and paid him no mind. Chen Xiaoqun clenched his fists in anger.

Fang Zhiyi never returned home.

No one knew he had directly signed up for a senior citizens' tour group and gone off traveling.

Honestly, it was a real bargain, though his backside ached from sitting so long—the bus rides were endless. Nowadays, tour guides aren't allowed to force shopping, but they couldn't stop the elderly's love for a good deal. When the bus of old folks returned, they were all loaded down with bags big and small.

Fang Zhiyi went on three or four trips, completely unaware of the chaos unfolding at home.

Without him, the so-called "harmonious family" gradually revealed its true form. Chen Xiaoqun, who already had a mean streak, became utterly lawless without any restraint. His parents' sudden shift to harsh discipline only accelerated his descent. When he finally returned to school, he slept in class, ate snacks, talked to others, and bullied classmates during breaks—a perfect little tyrant.

Fang Yunyun was run ragged. Lately, for some reason, her company superiors seemed extremely dissatisfied with her, always finding fault. This made her sense danger—if she lost her job, what would happen to Chen Cai? She believed that given enough time, Chen Cai would surely become a great artist. But until then, wasn't it her job to shelter him from the storm?

So she discussed it with Chen Cai, asking him to take charge of Chen Xiaoqun.

Chen Cai was very reluctant, but he had no choice. Who told that old man to quit? Now he just hoped the old man would die out there, then the house would fall into Yunyun's hands, and then...

But when he took over managing Chen Xiaoqun, Chen Cai realized just how difficult this child was to handle. The boy's mouth was full of the very phrases he and Fang Yunyun had used to mock Fang Zhiyi. Chen Cai didn't care about not doing homework or getting zeroes on tests, but being summoned to the school every few days was unbearable—it was disrupting his refined lifestyle!

In a fit of anger, he first gave Chen Xiaoqun another beating, then decisively had him withdraw from school.

By the time Fang Yunyun found out, Chen Xiaoqun was already stuck at home. And that very day was also when Fang Yunyun got fired.

The supervisor was an old friend of her father's. He suddenly told her today that her services were no longer needed. Fang Yunyun found this very hard to accept, but when he presented complaint after complaint from her colleagues, she could only slink back home in disgrace.

Discussing it with Chen Cai, he figured it out: "It must be your dad!"

Fang Yunyun nodded, gritting her teeth. "I suspect him too! We have one argument, and he gets me fired! How does someone like him deserve to be a father!"

Looking at the living room Chen Cai had turned into a mess, and at her son holed up in his room refusing to come out, Fang Yunyun's resentment peaked. Fine, you care about face, don't you? She remembered her father was a proud man; even when things were toughest back in the day, he never lost face in front of relatives and friends. Well then, don't blame me for being ruthless!

Fang Zhiyi was still picking his next travel destination when he received a call from a relative.

Listening to the voice on the other end, Fang Zhiyi slowly put down the travel guide in his hand, a smile curling on his lips. So she couldn't sit still anymore?

Fang Yunyun had invited all their relatives over, supposedly for Xiaoqun's birthday, but actually to pressure Fang Zhiyi. She didn't believe her face-conscious father would dare say in front of everyone that he would no longer take care of the child. She could also conveniently bring up transferring the house deed to her.

To save her own face, she didn't call Fang Zhiyi, just sent a text message.

She knew Fang Zhiyi would definitely come. That's just how he was.

Sure enough, on the day of the birthday gathering, the relatives arrived, and so did Fang Zhiyi.

"Grandpa!" Chen Xiaoqun saw Fang Zhiyi and immediately ran forward. Fang Zhiyi smiled.

It wasn't that Chen Xiaoqun missed Fang Zhiyi so much; before coming, Chen Cai had said if he could sweet-talk Grandpa today, he'd get more pocket money.

Seeing Fang Zhiyi looking clean, well-dressed, and in good spirits didn't sit well with Fang Yunyun.

"How can he be like this? Our home is in complete disarray, and he's off living comfortably by himself!" Fang Yunyun felt a surge of resentment rush to her head. Forgetting all else, she stepped forward and complained, "Dad, where have you been running off to? Are you just abandoning the family?"

Fang Zhiyi was taken aback. "I went traveling. A four-day tour for five hundred ninety-nine. You have no idea how interesting it was..."

He actually went traveling!

Fang Yunyun was furious. "You're Xiaoqun's grandfather! How can you not take care of him? Do you know he's been taken out of school now?"

She had thought Fang Zhiyi would be angry upon hearing this news, but he remained perfectly calm. "It wasn't me who took him out of school."

"It's because of you!" Fang Yunyun was getting flustered. Her father's reaction wasn't what she had expected.

"Because of me, how? You didn't consult me when you decided to get married, did you? I didn't even ask for a bride price, and I still paid for your wedding," Fang Zhiyi said slowly. "Later, when you had the child, formula, diapers, kindergarten—which part didn't I pay for? Now that I'm letting you handle things yourselves, it's suddenly my problem?"

"You!" Fang Yunyun stamped her foot. "I knew it! You never liked me! You never liked me! How can you treat me like this and face my mother!"