Principal 04

Hong Yanwen and Fang Chenghan were both stunned.

"But the timing is always a bit imprecise," Fang Zhiyi sighed. "It should be about time."

Just as his voice faded, the landline in Hong Yanwen's office rang.

Confused, Hong Yanwen picked up the receiver. Hearing the voice on the other end, his expression shifted from respectful to smiling, and then to sheer shock.

Fang Chenghan watched as beads of sweat broke out on the forehead of this beast in human clothing, who finally hung up the phone in a panic.

Fang Zhiyi asked with a beaming smile, "What's wrong?"

Hong Yanwen glared at Fang Zhiyi. He would be an absolute fool if he couldn't guess what was going on.

"Fang Zhiyi, what did you do?" All of his previous confidence had vanished, replaced by extreme agitation.

"Nothing much, just reached out to a few friends... and told them there's a slight issue with your loans. You know, banks have risk control departments. Under these circumstances, they have every right to demand their money back." Fang Zhiyi leaned back, looking completely at ease.

"I don't have any grudge against you, do I? I merely wanted to open a school to save children abandoned by society and their families! You agreed with it too! You even said you would invest in me later!" Hong Yanwen was bewildered.

"Of course, of course. But then I thought about it, and the risks of investing these days are just too high. If my calculations are correct, you're going to be bankrupt very soon, aren't you?" Fang Zhiyi's face was full of smiles.

"It's just some loans. If you think you can..."

Fang Zhiyi suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, "Oh, and another thing. I bought the land you used to build this school. Naturally, the owner didn't want to sell, but I offered him a price he couldn't refuse. You understand." He spoke slowly and deliberately. "Tell me, if I were to use this land for something else, wouldn't your school be unable to operate? Isn't that a huge risk?"

Hong Yanwen began to tremble all over. "That's a breach of contract! Even if you bought the land, the lease I signed is for a full twenty years! Even if you own it, you still have to rent it to me!"

Fang Zhiyi spread his hands. "Exactly, I breached the contract, so I'll just pay the penalty. Of course, you'll have to sue me first." He winked at Hong Yanwen. "But I tend to drag things out sometimes. I'm not sure if you can hold on until the day I actually pay the compensation."

He smiled with a rogueish charm. "I've looked into you. All your certificates and degrees were bought, and even this school was built entirely on loans. I don't think you stand a chance against me."

"You!" Hong Yanwen stopped wondering why Fang Zhiyi was suddenly targeting him. The thought of his painstakingly built life collapsing drove him to the edge of hysteria. "Do you think you can take me down with a few cheap tricks? Do you know how many people rely on this school to eat? Do you think you can walk out of here?"

Fang Chenghan's brain had been in overdrive. Just as he felt he was finally making sense of things, Fang Zhiyi pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and handed it to Hong Yanwen. Confused, Hong Yanwen took the phone.

A little boy's voice came from the other end.

"Daddy, the amusement park is so fun! Your friend brought me here to play. You have to bring me next time, okay?"

Hong Yanwen froze completely. After a moment, he stared at Fang Zhiyi, his eyes practically shooting fire. "You kidnapped my son!"

Fang Zhiyi quickly waved his hands. "Don't talk nonsense. I just saw how busy you were and specifically had someone take him to the amusement park. How is that kidnapping?"

"You..." The phone in Hong Yanwen's hand suddenly chimed. He looked down to see a message. There was no text, only a photo of his parents back in his hometown, sitting on a sofa and smiling happily.

"Me? I'm being so nice to you! Look at how you exhaust yourself every day worrying about these little brats. How long has it been since you went home to see your parents? I was thoughtful enough to arrange for someone to send them some rice and flour." Fang Zhiyi reached over, plucked the phone from Hong's hand, and slipped it into his own bag.

Hong Yanwen stared at the nouveau riche man before him. Right now, Fang Zhiyi didn't feel like a wealthy, greasy upstart; he felt like an extremely dangerous lunatic!

By now, he had figured it out. "What good do you think ruining this school will do for you? Are you some kind of messenger of justice?"

Fang Zhiyi looked puzzled. "When did I ever say I wanted to ruin the school? I want to ruin you."

"You..." Hong Yanwen slammed his hand hard onto the desk.

The two burly men guarding the door pushed it open and barged in. Fang Chenghan had never seen his father fight anyone before, nor had he ever realized his dad was so... strong.

The large man, whom the students viewed as a demon, was grabbed by the neck, slammed onto the desk, and then kicked precisely in the back of the knee. The brute cried out and collapsed to the floor, his body twisting like a maggot.

The other man threw a punch. Fang Zhiyi dodged sideways and raised his hand, delivering a slap that left the man seeing stars. Just as he steadied himself, another slap landed. After three resounding slaps, the large man sat on the floor, clutching his face.

Hong Yanwen watched the entire scene in terror. "What... what else are you going to do? I'm calling the police!"

Fang Zhiyi spread his hands. "Be my guest."

The hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

"At most, I'll get charged with brawling. According to the laws of the Li State, I'll be detained for five days. But your crimes are going to get you a lot more than five days, aren't they?" Fang Zhiyi's words were like the whispers of a demon, making Hong Yanwen shudder involuntarily.

Suddenly, as if drained of all his strength, he slumped heavily into his chair.

"Why? Why?" He couldn't understand. His business was just taking off, his advertisements had just been launched, and the results were looking good. Who could have expected that at this critical juncture, Fang Zhiyi would do so much to target him!

"Right now, you only have one way out. Package the school and sell it to me. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to ruin you." Fang Zhiyi's phone chimed again. He glanced at it, then held it up to show Hong Yanwen a photo of his son riding a drop tower.

Hong Yanwen gritted his teeth. "You... you want this school... you're an absolute..." But he didn't dare finish the insult.

Fang Zhiyi ignored him, stood up, and walked straight toward the door. Fang Chenghan was still sitting there dumbfounded until Fang Zhiyi scolded him, prompting him to quickly scramble after his father.

"You have one hour to consider."

It wasn't until they reached the school gates that Fang Chenghan finally voiced what he had been thinking. "That's great. A dump like this deserves to be shut down!"

Fang Zhiyi suddenly stopped and looked back at him. "Who said this place is going to shut down?"

"Huh?" Fang Chenghan was confused.

"I'm a businessman. I've invested so much money into this; you can't expect me to lose it all, can you?"

"Huh?"

Fang Zhiyi's phone rang. He answered it right in front of Fang Chenghan.

"Made up your mind? I knew it. Principal Hong is a man who understands the times."