Foolish Kindness 07

"He's a child? He's almost as tall as me!" Fang Ning shouted angrily.

"Why are you so unreasonable, kid? You have to yield to the younger ones, that's the Fang family tradition, understand?" Fang Wenxia said.

"Yield to the younger ones? Did he yield to my little sister?" Fang Ning pointed at Li Xiaojun.

"You're making a scene out of nothing! You're getting more and more impolite! Is that how you speak to your aunt?" Li Jianguo scolded. "Didn't he just draw a little bit with a pen? It's just a child's innocence. He doesn't know any better, but do you not know any better either?"

"You..." Fang Ning wanted to say more, but then he saw Fang Zhiyi squeeze in. He first glanced around, then stared at Li Xiaojun.

Li Xiaojun's eyes darted away evasively.

Seeing Fang Zhiyi, Fang Wenxia finally remembered that she was in someone else's house.

"Brother, the kid is just being mischievous, I'm sorry about that."

Fang Zhiyi waved his hand dismissively, crouched down, looked at Li Xiaojun, and asked, "Did you draw this?"

Li Xiaojun nodded hesitantly.

Fang Zhiyi suddenly reached out to rub his head, then pinched his cheek. "Well drawn! Looks like you have a talent for painting!"

As soon as he said this, Fang Wenxia's expression softened considerably, and Li Jianguo also started laughing.

"A painter must paint whenever and wherever. When inspiration strikes, it shouldn't be wasted. You will definitely become someone amazing in the future."

Li Xiaojun felt a bit smug from the praise. "Exactly!" He even stuck his tongue out at Fang Ning.

Just as everyone was leaving, Fang Zhiyi pulled out a hundred yuan bill and secretly slipped it to Li Xiaojun, winking at him. "Keep it up."

Li Xiaojun was thrilled. He quickly glanced at his parents and stuffed the money into his pants pocket.

Fang Zhiyi stood up, watching them walk out with a smile on his face. Fang Ning's face was dark. This was his normal dad, always favoring the relatives' kids no matter what.

But when Fang Zhiyi turned back to look at him, there wasn't a trace of a smile on his face. Fang Ning inexplicably shuddered.

Seeing Fang Zhiyi reach out, he subconsciously closed his eyes again, but Fang Zhiyi just patted his head. "A little impatience ruins a great plan. They taught you that in your textbooks. You can't just read; you have to understand."

Fang Ning looked at his father in confusion as he walked out. He turned to look at the scribbled wall, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Liu Mei, who was in the room, had a look of schadenfreude on her face.

That day, after Fang Wenxia's family left, Fang Zhiyi suggested taking the two kids to the night market. Fang Ting was very happy, while Fang Ning was reluctant, but he couldn't resist Fang Zhiyi's dragging.

At the bustling night market, Fang Zhiyi generously bought his daughter a stick of candied hawthorn. Fang Ting ate it carefully. Although their family was doing okay financially, her chances of eating snacks were very rare. She could only get a little when snacks were bought for her other siblings, and if she ate even slightly more, her mother would scold her.

Fang Zhiyi looked at his son playfully. To be fair, the boy had a certain aura, he just wasn't very cheerful. However, this kind of vibe was quite attractive to young girls. At this moment, Fang Ning stood there looking cool and aloof.

"Do you want some candied hawthorn? Hey!" Fang Zhiyi naturally had to ask him.

"No."

"What?" There were a lot of people at the night market, so Fang Zhiyi asked again.

"I don't want any!!" Fang Ning raised his voice. Fang Zhiyi nodded. He suddenly noticed two young girls nearby checking Fang Ning out. Fang Zhiyi immediately wore a wicked grin. According to his experience, this kid was going to get lucky with the ladies today.

Sure enough, the two girls nudged each other a few times, and one of them shyly stepped forward to ask Fang Ning, "Um, what's your name?"

Fang Zhiyi's ears perked up, and even Fang Ting looked at her brother curiously.

Fang Ning turned his head and stared at the girl's slightly flushed cheeks.

Fang Zhiyi wanted to kick him. Hurry up and answer!

"This night market is so loud, and you don't care when others yell, but you have a problem when I yell once? Are you looking for trouble?"

Fang Zhiyi was petrified.

The girl's expression also went from maidenly shyness to absolute shock.

"Idiot, so what if I yelled? Call the cops then!" Fang Ning looked like he was ready to eat someone alive.

The girl turned and ran away.

Fang Ning turned his head, his face full of indignation, locked eyes with his dad, and then looked away.

Fang Zhiyi gave him a thumbs up. "No wonder you didn't have a partner in the original plot. You deserve it, you absolutely deserve it."

With his reluctant cooperation, Fang Zhiyi bought him a new outfit and a pair of shoes. This gave Fang Ning a constant feeling of unreality. Looking at his happily smiling sister, his heart softened just a little.

But thinking about the situation at home, Fang Ning began to recalculate his own path.

The next day, Fang Zhiyi was leisurely enjoying his retirement time. Liu Mei had gone out, and both kids were at school. It was a rare moment of peace, but then there was a knock on the door.

He got up somewhat grumpily and opened the door, only to see his son walk in with a black eye, followed by several unfamiliar adults.

"Hello, are you Fang Ning's parent?" The man in the lead reached out his hand.

Fang Zhiyi also reached out his hand. "Yes, and you are?"

"I am Dean Huang of Fang Ning's school."

"Hello, Dean Huang." Fang Zhiyi smiled. "Come in and have a seat?"

The few people walked in, looking around. After a moment, Dean Huang pointed at Fang Ning. "We came today to report something. Your son has been collecting protection money at school and got into a fight, causing bad consequences. He refused to call you, so we had no choice but to bring him home to find you."

Fang Zhiyi cast a surprised glance at Fang Ning. Although Fang Ning had his head down, his eyes remained stubborn.

"You collect protection money?"

Fang Ning did not speak.

Dean Huang said, "This child, Fang Ning, used to have good grades. I originally thought your family situation might be a bit poor, but looking at it today... I hope you discipline him more. Because this child used to be very well-behaved, the school has decided to give him a major demerit and have him reflect on his actions."

"How can you be a parent?" someone suddenly spoke up and questioned. "My son just borrowed an eraser from him in the morning, and the next day he demanded my son pay him back a hundred yuan!"

Fang Zhiyi gasped and looked at Fang Ning in astonishment. Even loan sharks weren't this ruthless!

Fang Ning muttered, "Well, he shouldn't have refused to give it back."

"No, wait. You're so ruthless, so how did you still get beaten up?" Fang Zhiyi's focus was very strange.

"Shao Zhijie came looking for trouble with me first. He got people to hit me first, and only then did I fight back," Fang Ning said.

Just then, a voice rang out, and everyone turned around to see Liu Mei, who had just gotten off work.

"If there's nothing wrong with you, why would they hit you? With so many people around, why did they hit you and not someone else?"

Fang Ning buried his head lower.

Fang Zhiyi frowned. The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and this piece of work thought she could throw her weight around again.