Chapter 78 – Severing the Brotherly Relationship

Xiao Qi’s torrent of grievances was suddenly cut short by Xiao Fang’s words. His lips trembled as he tried to find an excuse for himself.

Fei Xiangnan nodded, his eyes coldly fixed on Xiao Qi. It seemed he hadn’t learned his lesson.

“It’s not like I killed your mom, so why should I have to bear all this?” Xiao Qi’s brain suddenly short-circuited and he blurted this out.

“Xiao Qi!” Father Xiao, who had been lost in a daze of pain, snapped Xiao Qi back to his senses with a single shout. Xiao Fang’s temper had improved since getting married. If this were the past, he probably would have fought him to the death.

Xiao Qi immediately fell silent. What was wrong with him? He grabbed onto Yan Yunyang as if he were a lifeline. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Xiao Qi pulled Yan Yunyang towards the door, completely panicked.

Fei Xiangnan suddenly stood up, blocking the doorway. Did he think he could just leave after saying such pig-headed things? Not on Fei Xiangnan’s watch!

“You haven’t finished talking, where are you going? Are you looking down on me? Big Star Xiao, President Yan?”

Yan Yunyang had been humiliated by Fei Xiangnan once before, and that time had been a major low point in his life. If Xiao Fang hadn’t intervened back then, he wouldn’t have been able to get back on his feet even now. Even today, the entire Yan Family was no match for Fei Xiangnan. Under Fei Xiangnan’s pressure, both of their faces turned extremely ugly as they stopped in their tracks.

“Fei Xiangnan, don’t push it too far!” Yan Yunyang said angrily. Even if his strength didn’t allow it, he had to put up a fight with his presence.

Fei Xiangnan sneered mockingly. “You can say all sorts of pig-headed things, and now you’re blaming me for bullying you? If you have the guts, bully me back.”

The answer, of course, was no!

Yan Yunyang’s face was so grim he couldn’t utter a word. Xiao Qi was even angrier. Just then, Grandfather spoke up. If his previous words had been heavy blows, this sentence practically cut off all of Xiao Qi’s escape routes.

“When your mother was being lovey-dovey with another family’s husband, did she ever think about the seriously ill wife he had at home? What did my daughter do wrong? Why did she have to attract such a husband and such a heartless other woman? My daughter is gone, and now you want to send Xiao Fang’s child away too?” Xiao Qi’s words had completely enraged Grandfather. Xiao Qi’s very existence was a reminder of how tragically his daughter had died. But as an old artist who kept up with the times, he had repeatedly told himself that all people were people and he couldn’t be so unfair. But in the end…

Zhuo Deben’s words stabbed into the hearts of Xiao Qi and Father Xiao, one by one. If they were to talk about unfairness, who was truly the most wronged? This family should know.

Hearing this, Xiao Fang’s heart ached. The original owner’s mother had died a miserable death, and now Xiao Qi was bringing it up again. He finally understood. In the protagonist’s mind, there was no other meaning than “it’s not me who’s wrong, it’s the world.” But how much did this world owe him? It was useless to say any more to this kind of person.

Xiao Fang fixed his gaze on Xiao Qi. “In your heart, the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ can no longer be picked up or put down. Now that you’ve said this today, there’s nothing left for us to say. I bullied you when we were in school, and I helped you after we grew up. In the end, you tried to harm my child. Adding the grievances of the previous generation, we’re even. I don’t care how much unhappiness you have in your heart, but you need to understand the bottom line of being a human being. There are some things I won’t spell out here. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways. Neither of us owes the other anything. If you ever use your background to play the victim again, I won’t be soft-hearted either!”

This was the final ultimatum Xiao Fang gave to Xiao Qi.

Xiao Fang was stunned for a moment, then a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips. “Fine, it’s better not to be brothers. I’d rather have never had you as a brother in my life.”

And Yan Yunyang, watching the Xiao Fang before him, suddenly felt like he didn’t recognize him. Was this still the arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable Great Young Master Xiao he knew? Now, he was calm and rational. He used to be so crazily in love with him, but now he didn’t even spare him a second glance, as if looking at a stranger. Or was it that his past self was just using him to get back at this illegitimate younger brother of his?

Xiao Fang had finally torn through the last layer of paper. From now on, they would go their separate ways. Father Xiao was heartbroken, but he was powerless to turn things back. In the past, he thought that as long as he earned enough money to raise his two sons well, that would be enough. He had never considered the pain in their hearts, which had festered into this state as they grew up.

This was exactly what Xiao Qi had hoped for, but his heart felt as if a sharp nail had been driven into it, causing an unbearable pain. Why? Because these words should have been said by him with righteous indignation!

Yan Yunyang wanted to say something at this moment, but all the blame was pointed at them. He couldn’t find any reason to be angry.

“Are you satisfied with this result?” Grandfather stood up at this moment. Grandmother also stood up with a cold face. She didn’t want to stay in this house for another second.

“Dad, Mom, can we not move Zhuo Zhi’s grave? It was my fault as a father. I didn’t listen to my son’s explanation back then and even wanted to abort my grandson. But I’ve thought it through now. Dad, let’s talk things over properly!” Father Xiao watched as Zhuo Deben was about to leave, feeling like his whole world was collapsing.

Grandfather stared coldly at his son-in-law. “I wanted to take my daughter home back then, but Fangfang was still in this family. I thought my daughter might want to spend more time with her son, so I gave up that idea. But, when you thought about aborting the child in Fangfang’s belly, you should have known that Xiao Zhi no longer needed any connection with the Xiao family. As for Fangfang, that’s a problem for you, his father, to solve yourself. I don’t want to say any more about these things.”

Grandfather was a man with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He had made such a difficult decision to leave his daughter behind back then, and now he no longer needed to endure it.

The light in Father Xiao’s eyes was completely extinguished by Zhuo Deben’s words. He collapsed onto the ground, dejected. It was all his cowardice and hesitation that had led to the current situation.

Grandfather didn’t want to stay any longer and left without looking back.

Xiao Fang sighed and walked over to pull his father up. Despite all his faults, he couldn’t forget the grace of being raised.

“Dad,” Xiao Fang called out to Father Xiao. Father Xiao immediately responded, as if afraid of losing something.

“Son, I’ve grown up. I know how to live my life. I will never forget your kindness to me and will definitely repay you. You have high blood pressure, so you shouldn’t be getting worked up over these things. I just want you to live a healthy life. I won’t rely on you for everything in the future. You should stop working so hard too. Eight drinking parties in ten days is not a life you should be living.”

Father Xiao had never heard Xiao Fang say such considerate words before. His eyes turned red in an instant, and waves of regret and guilt washed over him.

“Xiao Fang, Dad… Dad was just afraid for you,” Father Xiao tried his best to explain.

Xiao Fang shook his head, unwilling to hear more.

“Dad, I’m going home now.” Xiao Fang didn’t say any more. Some things, gradually, everyone would understand.

President Fei stood ahead, extending a hand to Xiao Fang. As if he had found a harbor, Xiao Fang quickly walked over and took his hand. The warm, dry palm transmitted a continuous stream of security to him. The two of them, fingers intertwined, disappeared around the corner.

Only then did Auntie Zhang dare to come out of the kitchen. She wanted so much to call out to Xiao Fang and ask him to stay for dinner, but now there was no chance.

“Young Master, Mr. Yan, Mr. Xiao, should we serve dinner now?” Auntie Zhang asked cautiously.

Father Xiao hadn’t snapped out of it for a long time.

Xiao Qi looked at this useless father and felt a surge of anger. He had given birth to him but couldn’t protect him, only letting him be bullied by his brother and mocked by the so-called legitimate family.

“Let’s go,” Xiao Qi said, looking away in disgust. One day, he would make everyone who looked down on him look up to him.

Yan Yunyang said nothing. Staying would only be awkward.

“Xiao Qi, aren’t you going to have dinner at home before you leave?” Seeing his younger son already at the door, Father Xiao immediately stood up to stop him.

“I suddenly remembered I have to rush to a shoot this afternoon, so I won’t eat.” Anyone could see he was lying, and it was a very clumsy lie. Xiao Qi, who had acted in so many dramas, could have said it with a more convincing tone, but now he didn’t even want to waste a single thought on this man.

The next second, the sound of the main door closing was heard. Auntie Zhang looked at all this, then at her master who had collapsed onto the sofa, and suddenly felt that he had aged a dozen years.

At this moment, something in Yan Yunyang’s heart also changed. Was this person really the hardworking and innocent Xiao Qi he had met in university?

The consequence of the fight at home was that Xiao Fang had a simple lunch and then lay on the bed, not wanting to get up. Fei Xiangnan settled his grandfather-in-law to sunbathe on the roof, even moving the tea set up there. His grandmother-in-law was looking at the flowers and watching her great-grandson on the roof. The two old folks also needed to calm down. The pain of more than a decade had finally been resolved today.

“Take off your coat before you sleep.” President Fei came in from outside and saw Xiao Fang lying on the bed in his clothes, looking extremely tired. When Xiao Fang didn’t move after being told, President Fei had no choice but to do it himself.

He first picked up the entire Baby Xiao, then pulled off his coat, followed by his outer pants, revealing black long johns. The color was old-fashioned, but they were warm. Xiao Fang hadn’t wanted to wear them at all; they weren’t fashionable in the slightest. But under President Fei’s violent suppression, that thought had been completely annihilated.

Xiao Fang, being stripped of his coat, tried to wriggle into the warm quilt like a caterpillar, but Fei Xiangnan suddenly grabbed the waistband of his pants, pulling on both pairs.

Xiao Fang did a carp-like jump, trying to sit up, but was held down firmly by Fei Xiangnan. Helpless, Xiao Fang could only clutch his little underpants tightly.

“I want to sleep!” Xiao Fang looked pitifully at Fei Xiangnan, his heart trembling.

“Go ahead and sleep, I’m not stopping you,” President Fei said nonchalantly, but the old rogue’s actions didn’t stop. He was being incredibly wild.

Xiao Fang gestured with his eyes at President Fei’s wolfish claws. Fei Xiangnan acted as if he didn’t see, as if he wasn’t the one holding onto his underpants.

Xiao Fang looked like he was about to cry. He was still feeling a bit down after coming back. How did it suddenly… suddenly… Xiao “inner-virgin” Fang’s heart really began to panic.

“You… this doesn’t look like you’re letting me sleep, does it?” Xiao Bunny was on the verge of tears.

Fei Xiangnan chuckled lightly, then suddenly pressed Xiao Bunny down onto his body, comforting him, “This will help you sleep, trust me.”

Xiao Fang watched as Fei Xiangnan’s face drew closer, his breathing becoming difficult. He wasn’t prepared at all! If he had known, he would have practiced more! Aaaaaah, would it hurt a lot to be on the bottom? Did they have that stuff at home? Could it be in the drawer? No, that couldn’t be right, he always hoarded snacks in there and had never seen anything like that! Did he mean to go in directly? No, no, no, that would kill him!!!

As Xiao Fang’s thoughts spiraled into chaos, his grip on his pants weakened.

Suddenly, a cool touch on his lips, there and gone in an instant, like a drop of water falling into a lake, leaving only calm after the ripples. “Feeling better? Go to sleep. Don’t think so much. I’m still here.”

Xiao Fang blinked. So he was just worried about him. Xiao Fang hummed in agreement, his heart calming down a lot. He took Fei Xiangnan’s hand and said in a spoiled tone, “Stay with me.”

Fei Xiangnan gently ruffled Xiao Fang’s hair, took off his own outer clothes, and slipped into the quilt with him. His broad embrace enveloped Xiao Fang completely. Xiao Fang snuggled contentedly in Fei Xiangnan’s arms, feeling incredibly warm.

“We went there today to solve a problem. Don’t get yourself dragged into it. It’s not worth it.” President Fei’s way of comforting people was always direct and clear, without too many pretty words, but Xiao Fang was already touched enough. After all, President Fei was the main villain of this book, and he had never even comforted Xiao Qi. He had really lucked out.

“I know. I was just feeling a bit emotional. Grandpa must have had a hard time all these years. If it weren’t for me, he would have wanted to take Mom home long ago. And my dad, he’s lived half his life in a muddle. Sigh.” Xiao Fang didn’t belong to this world. Even if he knew the original owner’s entire story, he wouldn’t invest too much precious emotion into it. What was in front of him was what he cherished.

“That was all Grandpa’s choice. He genuinely dotes on you, his grandson. Just remember his kindness in your heart. As for your dad, no one can be muddled for a lifetime. He’ll have to wake up eventually. You can deal with your relationship with him after he’s figured things out.”

Xiao Fang hummed in agreement. That’s right, there was no use thinking so much now. His relationship with the protagonist was broken, even worsened to the extreme. The life ahead was what was most important. Elder Liu’s plotline was coming up soon. He had to pull himself together!

“Were you very disappointed just now?” President Fei, who had been serious for only a moment, started to be playful again.

Xiao Fang broke out in a cold sweat and moved a little away from Fei Xiangnan. “No, of course not.”

Fei Xiangnan relentlessly closed the distance, guessing in his ear, “Were you thinking about where the stuff is kept?”

Xiao Fang’s eyes widened, his heart panicking, but he put on a brave face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Fei Xiangnan looked at Xiao Fang with a grin, his all-seeing eyes piercing through the disguise. A smiling President Fei was even more terrifying!!!

Xiao Bunny couldn’t help but try to escape, but was pulled back by the all-seeing President Fei. “You just finished your postpartum confinement. How could I be so excessive?”

Xiao Fang relaxed slightly.

“Let’s wait until after the New Year,” Fei Xiangnan said with a grin, accurately booking the time for his little chrysanthemum to bloom. He had been a gentleman for a year already. It would be too unreasonable to make any more concessions.

Eek! Xiao Fang subconsciously covered his butt, his face screaming “I don’t want to.”

President Fei said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Or you could choose now?”

“I’m sleeping!” Xiao Fang closed his eyes in extreme anguish. He’d just have to delay it for as long as he could! Boo-hoo~