Chapter 13: Leaving Home, Inside and Out

Fang Chuning felt something was a bit strange. Typically, Father Fang rarely missed having dinner with them.

Just as she was wondering if something had happened, out of the corner of her eye she saw the young boy put a piece of beef into her bowl. She glanced at the meat and then at him.

Su Qi put on an adorable smile. “This beef is really good.”

Fang Tianli, sitting across from them, chimed in at the right moment, pretending to complain, “Qi Qi, you didn’t give me any. You’re biased!”

Su Qi reflexively looked up at the girl, his face flushed as he put a piece for him too. “Li Li, you have some too.”

“Thanks.” Fang Tianli winked at him. Fang Chuning noticed the boy’s ears turning even redder. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the two, not knowing what little secret they were up to.

After dinner, Fang Chuning didn’t return to her room. After showering, she sat on the first floor sofa playing on her phone. It wasn’t until around 9 PM that she saw Father Fang enter with a cold expression, his steps swift. He didn’t even glance at her.

“Dad?”

Father Fang still ignored her, going upstairs and slamming the bedroom door shut with a bang.

Not long after, Fang Hong also hurried in from outside. Her face looked a bit unsightly, usually stern and serious, this was a rare sight.

Fang Chuning watched as she went upstairs and stood outside the bedroom knocking on the door. “A Zi, let me explain!”

A Zi was Father Fang’s pet name. Fang Hong rarely called him that, usually cloyingly addressing him as “dear” or “baby”. Even at their age, she had no sense of being sickeningly sweet.

Fang Chuning leaned on the stair railing. “What happened to Dad?”

Seeing the tightly closed door, Fang Hong felt a pang of anxiety. She waved her daughter over from the first floor. “Come up here.”

When she came up, Fang Hong motioned for her to knock, looking as if she was afraid Father Fang might do something rash inside.

“What on earth happened?”

Fang Hong didn’t say anything. Sweeping a glance at her, she took out a cigarette from her suit pocket, looking a bit irritated, wanting to light it. But halfway through the motion she remembered her promise not to smoke in the house. Enduring it, she put the cigarette back.

Fang Chuning stared at her intently, her face showing suspicion.

Just as Fang Hong was considering whether to kick the door open, it suddenly opened without warning. The two people outside looked over in unison.

Father Fang’s face was expressionless, but looking closely, one could see his eyes were slightly moist, obviously from crying.

Fang Hong reached out wanting to wipe the corner of his eye, but was ruthlessly swatted away. Father Fang didn’t look at her, instead turning to his dumbstruck daughter. “Dad is going back to Grandma’s house. Do you want to come with me?”

Although still unclear about what happened between the two, of course Fang Chuning unconditionally stood on Father Fang’s side. “Okay!”

With that, she ran upstairs at full speed to pack her luggage.

Father Fang wanted to close the door again but the woman blocked it. He ignored her as if not seeing her, returning to the room to pick out some clothes from the dressing room to put in his suitcase. Fang Hong followed closely behind, continuously trying to explain what happened today.

“A Zi, don’t be like this, okay? There’s really nothing between me and Secretary Li! He had a bit to drink then, I was just worried and wanted to give him a ride home. We just happened to be seen by you.”

Father Fang paused in packing clothes and turned to look straight at her. “It’s not that you happened to be seen by me. It’s that you two don’t know how to pick a place for your affair. If my friend hadn’t told me, I’d still be in the dark now.”

His expression was exceptionally calm as he spoke, making Fang Hong a bit flustered instead. She walked around to face him, cupping his face, sincerely explaining, “I can swear to you, I have absolutely no relationship with Secretary Li.”

“No relationship and he can be in your arms? No relationship and you wouldn’t push him away? He was about to kiss you and you didn’t push him away!” Towards the end, Father Fang shoved her away, his eyes red-rimmed. Although almost forty, his face had no wrinkles. Coupled with his handsome features, his tearful look was especially heartbreaking.

Fang Hong was speechless. Today it was as if she was possessed, having no resistance at all to Secretary Li.

“A Zi, I promise you, what happened today won’t happen again.”

The corner of Father Fang’s mouth curled coldly. “Fine. If you want my forgiveness, kick that homewrecker out of Fang Group. I don’t want to see him again.”

Fang Hong, who had just been making earnest promises, frowned slightly at those words, rejecting the idea in a disapproving tone, “Secretary Li is still very helpful at work. If I fire him, I’ll have to train a new person from scratch. That takes time and energy. There’s no need for that at all.”

Always thinking from a business perspective about profits, even at a time like this she wouldn’t change her mind. Father Fang ignored her, shoving a few clothes into the suitcase and stepping around her to leave.

Fang Hong followed closely. “A Zi, you didn’t used to be someone so unreasonable.”

Father Fang suddenly turned back. “You’d better not let me feel the most unreasonable thing I’ve done is marrying you.”

Fang Hong stiffened. Her mouth moved slightly but in the end she didn’t say anything more. At this time, Fang Chuning, who had finished packing upstairs, ran down with her suitcase. “Dad, I’m ready!”

She considerately took his suitcase too.

Seeing this, Fang Hong’s eyelid twitched. Her own daughter looked so eager, as if she couldn’t wait to leave the Fang home immediately.

With such a commotion, Fang Tianli on the same floor also heard. Wearing cartoon pajamas and hugging a teddy bear half his size, he slowly walked over, still a bit dazed from being woken up. “What’s going on with you?”

Fang Hong was afraid he would also leave with them. She quickly walked over, gently covering his eyes with her hand and turning him around, her voice gentle, “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“Oh.” The boy was like a silly goose. Hugging the teddy bear in his arms, he slowly returned to his room.

Only when the door closed did Fang Hong breathe a sigh of relief. Turning back, the two were no longer on the second floor. She looked downstairs and saw they had already reached the door. “Ningning!”

Fang Chuning paused and looked back upstairs.

Fang Hong looked a bit tired between her brows. Closing her eyes, she urged, “Take good care of your dad.”

“I know.” Fang Chuning hesitated for a moment. “Mom, you should have a sense of which is more important. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong. If you won’t admit it yourself, I can’t help you.”

With that, she ran out dragging her suitcase, leaving the woman alone in the desolate villa.

The father and daughter moved overnight to the Liang home, which was Father Fang’s parents’ home. The elderly couple were used to a simple life. Instead of living in their big house, they bought a hundred square meter flat in a remote area of the city, saying the air was good and suitable for retirement.

The two elders were overjoyed at their arrival, taking out all the delicious food in the house and putting it on the table. “Ningning, how did you get so thin? You must eat what you should eat. You can’t starve yourself to lose weight like other young people.”

Fang Chuning thought that the last time she weighed herself, she had gained two pounds. How could she look thinner?

This was probably because people who love you always think you eat too little.

Seeing his parents, Father Fang was like a wronged child pouring out his grievances. Fang Chuning played on her phone beside him, listening from beginning to end. It turned out Fang Hong had intimate contact with Secretary Li while eating out and was caught by Father Fang, so Father Fang was so upset he left home.

Fang Chuning had seen that Secretary Li. He was indeed quite good-looking, wearing makeup like some enchanting spirit. No wonder Father Fang couldn’t stand the sight of him.

The Liang elders comforted him, deeply understanding their son’s unyielding character. They didn’t speak up for Fang Hong. If this matter wasn’t given a satisfactory “resolution”, not only would their son not agree, but the two elders wouldn’t agree either.

After pouring out his grievances, Father Fang, who had always been pampered since birth, quickly started complaining about this house. “Mom and Dad, how can you live in a place like this? It’s as small as a dog house.”

“It’s just right for the two of us living in a place this size. But since you and Ningning moved over, we’ll move back to the east district first. That way it’ll be more convenient for Ningning to go to school. What do you say, Ningning?”

Fang Chuning was sprawled on the sofa sending messages to Gao Qiong. When her name was called, she didn’t even raise her head. “Either is fine.”

…

Fang Tianli only found out the next day that his dad and sister had left home. He felt resentful, wondering why they didn’t take him with them when they left.

Because of the displeasure of “being abandoned”, Fang Tianli was still in a gloomy mood even after going to school. Su Qi asked him about it but he wouldn’t say.

As the two were on their way to the classroom, a girl suddenly jumped out to stop them. Fang Tianli thought it was another one of his senseless pursuers. With a nasty look on his face, he shooed the person away. “Go away! Don’t block my way!”

The girl didn’t move aside. Instead, she looked at Su Qi beside him. “Um, I have something I want to say to classmate Su Qi.”

Only then did Fang Tianli realize he had been thinking too much of himself. Even more annoyed, he said, “Didn’t you hear me telling you to go away?!”

The girl hesitated a bit, her eyes staring straight at Su Qi beside him.

Su Qi looked away slightly, his fingers lightly tugging Fang Tianli’s school uniform. He said in a soft voice, “Li Li, you go back to the classroom first. I’ll be right there.”

“Why should you pay attention to her? Don’t you like my sister? Since you like my sister, you can’t be flirting with other girls.”

Such direct and even slightly sharp words made the already thin-skinned Su Qi’s ears turn bright red. A bit embarrassed and annoyed, he said, “Li Li!”

Fang Tianli had a look of “Did I say something wrong?” on his face.

Su Qi glanced at the girl and slightly tip-toed to say something in his ear. Only then did Fang Tianli unwillingly snort and leave first.

Only after he had walked far away did Su Qi slowly turn his gaze back to the girl in front of him. Pressing his lips together, he weakly said, “I told you, I can’t be with you.”

With Fang Tianli gone, the girl’s courage grew. She reached out and excitedly grabbed his arm. “You like Fang Tianli’s sister? What’s so good about her? She just has a bit more money. My family also has money, and I’m willing to spend it on you!”

Su Qi seemed to be frightened, his eyelashes trembling. He became even more timid. “D-don’t be like this…”

His other hand lightly pushed her away, but without much strength. Although his features weren’t as glamorous and eye-catching as Fang Tianli’s, they were delicate and cute. Especially now with his helpless and weak appearance, it made one feel the urge to wantonly possess him.

The girl took out a small gift box from her school uniform pocket and stuffed it into his hand. “This is Swarovski’s latest bracelet. It’s for you!”

Su Qi looked at the box that was stuffed into his hand. He lowered his eyes, resisting slightly. “I don’t want it…”

The girl persisted willfully. “I just want to give it to you. It’s okay if you don’t agree. I can wait!”

Su Qi pressed his lips together without saying anything.

The girl felt he must have softened a bit. She took the timely opportunity to give him a sense of security. “Even if you never agree, I’ll wait for you until you agree to be my boyfriend.”

The girl felt no boy could withstand this kind of romantic talk, let alone this kind of inexperienced virgin. Thinking herself tactful, she let go of his hand. Before leaving, she even gave him a smile with a hint of sleaziness. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

Only after the girl’s figure disappeared did Su Qi retract his gaze. His hand slowly opened the small gift box. Inside was an exquisite decorative bracelet. Although it couldn’t be considered that expensive, it was still something he couldn’t afford.

He took out the bracelet and put it on. The rose gold color made his skin look delicate and white. The corner of Su Qi’s mouth curled up slightly. He pulled his sleeve over the bracelet and walked away with light steps.