This Is Not the End of the World 09

Hu Yuqian looked at the hung-up phone, cursed indignantly, then turned and smiled at the boy beside her who had just invited her out: "Sure, let's go sing karaoke after school!"

She did like Fang Zhiyi, but that was only because he was great at taking care of people and could help her with her homework. It was just a pity that Fang Zhiyi had no money.

Aside from Hu Yuqian, the Fang family hadn't been having a peaceful time recently either.

Without Fang Zhiyi at home, Fang Jianshu always felt like something was missing. However, upon seeing his adorable younger son, he brushed those thoughts aside. But soon enough, they discovered a problem.

In the past, when Fang Zhiyi was home, he was either cleaning the house or running errands to buy things. Sometimes he even had to deliver this and that to Fang Chengci, never uttering a single complaint.

Now that Fang Zhiyi was gone, all of Fang Chengci's demands fell onto Fang's Mother.

"Mom, I forgot my pen, bring it to me."

"Mom, when you come to pick me up later, buy me the fried skewers from that place I like."

"Mom..."

After cleaning the house, Fang's Mother had to rush to cook. Whenever she finally got a moment to rest, she still had to cater to Fang Chengci's demands, leaving her completely exhausted. Every time she went out, the neighbors would point and gossip about her. Everyone knew they had forced their own son away. Even if she wanted to explain, no one would listen, causing her to constantly suppress a great deal of negative energy.

Because of this, for the first time, she realized that this younger son was a bit high-maintenance and demanding.

"It's cold! I'm not eating it!" Fang Chengci threw the fried skewers straight onto the ground. In the past, his older brother would have silently picked them up and thrown them in the trash, but Fang's Mother's expression was noticeably dark.

"Let's go!" Without Fang Zhiyi there to keep him in check, Fang Chengci's true nature gradually revealed itself.

Fang's Mother got on her bike without a word. Fang Chengci hopped on the back, constantly chattering about what new things this classmate or that classmate had bought, making Fang's Mother frown incessantly.

Not to mention the fact that the trouble Fang Zhiyi caused earlier made them pay a lot of compensation, he had also taken some money when he left. The family's financial situation was not optimistic lately, so they temporarily hadn't bought anything new for Fang Chengci.

This led to Fang Chengci's endless complaining.

Fang's Mother felt an immense amount of pressure. That very night, a huge argument broke out between her and Fang Jianshu.

Their quarrel initially revolved around Fang Zhiyi, with both accusing the other of not raising him properly. Fang Chengci just watched from the side, occasionally giggling foolishly. His behavior ended up triggering Fang's Mother. In the heat of the moment, she immediately turned her anger toward Fang Chengci.

"You're still laughing! Still eating! Look at how fat you've gotten! Do you know how much your dad and I even make? We buy you fried skewers and you just throw them away? You're not even as good as your brother!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the house fell silent.

"Don't compare Xiao Ci to that rebellious son!" Fang Jianshu shouted angrily.

Fang's Mother also felt she had been too impulsive, but before she could even defend herself, Fang Chengci jumped up, ran straight back to his room, and slammed the door shut: "If you like my brother so much, go tell him to come back! He wouldn't put up with you guys anyway!"

Mr. and Mrs. Fang looked at each other in dismay.

"Are you happy now!" Fang Jianshu scolded, hurriedly going to coax his son.

Fang's Mother's eyes filled with hot tears: "Right, right, right, you guys are always right, I'm the only one who's wrong!"

In the past, she always thought Fang Jianshu's ideas were right, but now that she was the one bearing all this pressure, she started to feel that something was off.

Having figured things out, Fang's Mother gritted her teeth and quit doing all the work. She left the house cleaning for Fang Jianshu to do himself when he got off work. She cooked when she felt like it, and ignored it when she didn't. But even so, she still habitually satisfied Fang Chengci's demands.

However, the family's finances were indeed poor right now. They hadn't bought the shoes Fang Chengci wanted, so he refused to go to school and threw massive tantrums at home. Fang Jianshu tried coaxing him for a long time to no avail, so he finally gritted his teeth and forced himself to buy them.

The consequence was that the family's meals became very poor for the next half month.

Fang Chengci was naturally unhappy, either throwing his chopsticks or wearing a dark scowl.

After the umpteenth time he threw his chopsticks, an exhausted Fang Jianshu yelled at him for the first time: "Are you going to eat or not? If not, get back to your room!"

"Dad, you're scolding me too?" Fang Chengci looked at his father in disbelief.

Fang's Mother pretended not to see anything.

With Fang Zhiyi gone, they had to face Fang Chengci's tantrums directly. Coupled with the financial pressure and the neighbors' disdain, these long-suppressed emotions finally erupted.

"So what if I scold you? You still have the nerve to throw your chopsticks! Look at your mother and me, we skimp on food and clothes so we can buy you whatever you want. What are you still dissatisfied with? Are your grades even good? You're at the bottom of the class every single time!" Fang Jianshu also let out everything he had been holding in.

Fang Chengci's face was full of disbelief. He abruptly stood up and ran toward the door: "If that's how it is, I'm leaving too! Are you happy now!"

Of course, he didn't run far, only making it to the neighborhood gate. Sure enough, his parents, having cooled down, hurried over. After lots of apologies and coaxing, Fang Chengci finally wiped his tears and went home.

Little Hei told Fang Zhiyi about this, but Fang Zhiyi didn't really care.

"Did you think their bias would be cured that easily? Some people are just born biased, biased all the way out of their asses."

Just as he was speaking, his phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, he was a bit puzzled, but he picked it up anyway.

"Um, son, are you still mad at Mom and Dad?" It was Fang Jianshu's voice on the other end.

"Who are you calling son? I'm your daddy!" Fang Zhiyi cursed right off the bat.

Fang Jianshu was so angry he almost smashed his phone, but he couldn't bear to do it: "It's me, it's me!"

Fang Zhiyi just said, "Oh. I thought some blind fool was making a tasteless joke. Don't they know I'm an orphan?"

"You..." Fang Jianshu wanted to explode, but looking at the eyes of his wife and younger son, he forcefully suppressed his anger. "Come back, you have exams coming up, right?"

"I'm not going back. Exams? Didn't you know I already finished them?"

"Ah? You finished them?" Fang Jianshu was a bit stunned.

But Fang Zhiyi wasn't lying. He really had gone and taken the exams. With the accumulated knowledge of multiple worlds, handling a test was simple enough.

"You can't even remember when my exams are. What kind of father are you?"

"Your mom misses you. We're a family, and families don't hold grudges overnight," Fang Jianshu continued.

But Fang Zhiyi directly punctured his facade: "Cut the crap. Just say it—do you want me to go back to do chores, or tutor that retard? If you didn't need something, you'd never think of me."

"Uh... your little brother has exams coming up too. Your mom and I are both busy, so we thought you could come back and help take care of him. How about it?"

"Get lost."

Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Fang Jianshu gritted his teeth. "I've raised an ungrateful wretch!" His hands trembled with anger. Fang's Mother had no other choice either, only able to sigh: "If it doesn't work out, I guess I'll just keep taking care of Xiao Ci for now."

Fang Chengci, on the other hand, was quite happy. It was best if that fierce and intimidating Fang Zhiyi never came back!