Chapter 81 – Bookshelves and Stuff
After successfully dealing with the bratty child, Xiao Fang, being a man, had no desire to linger and chat with a group of women. Besides, no one in this large family, aside from Grandpa, was interested in Da Bao. He simply had the nanny take Da Bao to a guest room for a nap and followed Fei Xiangnan to his old room, a place that had piqued Xiao Fang’s interest for a long time.
Xiao Fang had expected to see a luxurious and sophisticated guest room, but his expression changed the moment he saw its true appearance. The room was large, but two-thirds of it was dedicated to books, and half of the remaining space was taken up by a desk. The scene was overwhelmingly nerdy. The room already had an entire wall of bookshelves, but apparently, that wasn’t enough for President Fei, who had used the remaining space for even more shelves. As an underachiever, Xiao Fang couldn’t help but get goosebumps.
There wasn’t a single leisure book on the shelves; they were all filled with tedious tomes on economics, management, law, accounting, and even psychology. The entire room was saturated with an academic atmosphere, making the underachiever feel completely out of place.
“You’ve read all these books?” Xiao Fang asked in shock.
Fei Xiangnan nodded, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
The aura of a top student radiating from Fei Xiangnan was so bright that Xiao Fang could barely keep his eyes open. He had absolutely no desire to continue this conversation.
“I plan to set up an identical one for our son in the future,” Fei Xiangnan said, his eyes gleaming with premeditated excitement.
Xiao Fang was sweating profusely. “That’s not necessary, is it?”
Fei Xiangnan looked at Xiao Fang, confused, and said with baffling confidence, “He’ll love it!”
“So if he doesn’t like it, you won’t do it, right?” Xiao Fang began to probe for a loophole. For the sake of his son’s bright future, he had to do something as a father.
Fei Xiangnan smiled, cupped Xiao Fang’s face, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then, he said ominously, “Would he dare?”
Xiao Fang’s lips twitched as he fought back tears. He understood. It wasn’t a question of whether their son would dare, but whether he himself would dare to incite him.
“I feel like you’re threatening me,” Xiao Fang quietly protested, stating the obvious.
Fei Xiangnan smiled without denying it, instead offering comfort. “Be good. I’m doing this for our old age. Besides, my son can’t be a good-for-nothing. I’ll teach him well.”
To hell with your old age! With our current wealth, we could live extravagantly for eight lifetimes and still not run out.
Xiao Fang boldly pinched Fei Xiangnan’s cheek back. “A little less.”
Fei Xiangnan raised an eyebrow, looking as if he were open to negotiation, but his smile held a cunning calculation that seemed… odd.
Being very familiar with Fei Xiangnan’s nature, Xiao Fang subconsciously prepared to flee, but Fei Xiangnan easily clamped him in his arms, rendering him immobile. A sense of crisis began to creep over Xiao Fang. “What are you trying to do?”
Fei Xiangnan let out a soft chuckle. “I was just thinking about how to reduce our son’s homework, and I suddenly realized how useful this bookshelf is. It used to hold books, but now it can hold…” Fei Xiangnan leaned in and whispered something utterly shameless into Xiao Fang’s ear.
As expected, Xiao Fang’s face turned beet red. “We’re… we’re… we’re at the main residence, and you’re still acting like a hooligan!”
Old Rogue Fei, feeling no guilt whatsoever, patted Xiao Fang’s head and said in a very understanding tone, “This is about whether our son will have a happy childhood or not.”
Xiao Fang was on the verge of tears. “Our son’s happiness depends entirely on your whims, doesn’t it?!”
Old Rogue Fei paid no mind to such details. He pressed Xiao Fang against a bookshelf by the wall and started kissing him. Xiao Fang was both mortified and furious. If someone walked in now, the respectable image he had built up in the Fei family would be completely shattered! Unable to push him away or escape, Xiao Fang could only suffer being bullied.
“Mmph,” Xiao Fang finally managed to catch his breath, looking at Fei Xiangnan, who was now licking his earlobe, with teary eyes. “Xiangnan, that’s enough, enough. Let’s do this when we get back, mmph…”
Fei Xiangnan once again silenced that chattering mouth, his hand circling the nape of Xiao Fang’s neck while the other braced against a shelf about twenty centimeters above his head. He followed Xiao Fang’s adorable reactions, brazenly continuing down his path as an old rogue.
“Ngh, Bro… Bro, stop,” Xiao Fang, under the pressure of the tense situation, was forced into an emergency response. In the past, when he was gaming alone and getting dominated by an overpowered opponent, he would shamelessly call them “Bro.” It worked every single time.
But those words sounded different in Fei Xiangnan’s ears. When Xiao Fang was being bullied, his voice would always become much softer than usual, tinged with a hint of a sob. The more Xiao Fang spoke at times like this, the more excited Fei Xiangnan became, wanting nothing more than to make him cry on the spot. That single “Bro” caused the last shred of reason in Fei Xiangnan’s mind to crumble with a loud bang. There was no way he would let him off easily now.
Fei Xiangnan lowered his head and bit the earlobe with the earring, teasing it with his lips. He lowered his voice, thick with restraint, and said, “Say it a few more times. Call me ‘Brother.’ Call me ‘Brother,’ and I’ll let you go.”
The corners of Xiao Fang’s eyes were red. He had no desire to play this kind of embarrassing game with Fei Xiangnan, okay?!
Old Rogue Fei’s hand sneakily crept downwards. Xiao Fang was so scared that all his dignity and pride vanished, and his cowardly nature immediately took over.
“Bro, Bro… Brother, let’s not do this here,” Xiao Fang said, knowing when to yield.
He had thought Old Rogue Fei would stop, but instead, the man gave him a comforting kiss on the forehead. “It’s okay, Brother will protect you.” And then, his movements didn’t stop.
Xiao Fang went from anxious to desperate, and finally, to a state of boundless pleasure, collapsing limply in Fei Xiangnan’s arms and weakly calling out “Brother.”
In the very end, Xiao Bunny angrily perked up his ears. The blush on his face had yet to fade as he sat on Fei Xiangnan’s bed with his back turned, refusing to look at him. As the saying goes, if you don’t establish rules, President Fei will tear the house down. Xiao Fang felt it was time to start setting some boundaries!
“Did that feel good just now?” a certain someone asked, completely oblivious to his wrongdoing and still full of enthusiasm.
“Hmph!” Xiao Fang snorted coldly, not even glancing at Fei Xiangnan. He even scooted his butt further away, determined to make him understand what he had done wrong.
“Sigh,” Fei Xiangnan, sitting beside him, sighed unexpectedly, not playing by the rules. Xiao Fang couldn’t help but perk up his ears.
“This room… it’s been like this for as long as I can remember. The bed, the bookshelves, the desk. I’d come back from school every day and just stay in here, studying the tasks Grandpa gave me. Later, I stopped going to school altogether. The things they taught at school were too slow, the content too simple, too basic. So I spent my entire high school life in here. Three years later, I went straight to the exam hall. On the third shelf from the left, there’s an economics book I flipped through the most because I couldn’t grasp it. That was when I was about a sophomore in high school. I was unwilling to accept it. Back then, I didn’t like outsiders; everything in the outside world could be converted into data through profit. I learned everything on my own, stubbornly pushing through. When I felt frustrated, I’d read psychology books to pull myself out of a depressive state as quickly as possible.”
Xiao Fang’s temple throbbed. Damn it, this self-pity ploy was hitting all the right notes. He felt like he was about to cave!
“Today, being able to discuss our child’s future in this room… I got a little carried away with happiness. Is Fangfang angry?” Xiao Fang didn’t look directly into Fei Xiangnan’s eyes, but he was nearly beaten into submission by that pitiful tone.
Imagining a tiny President Fei sitting alone in a cold room, constantly reading, studying, and working, with the only sound being the ticking second hand of a clock above his head, Xiao Fang’s heart instantly softened.
Xiao Fang slowly turned around and saw a dejected Fei Xiangnan. Alright, he had lost!
He slowly hugged Fei Xiangnan. “I forgive you,” Xiao Fang said in a muffled voice. Out of Xiao Fang’s sight, the black-bellied President Fei broke into a calculating smile. This trick really worked wonders.
President Fei thought to himself with satisfaction.
Lunch was normal. The perpetually noisy family members didn’t dare make a peep from the moment Xiao Fang and Fei Xiangnan sat down. In front of his idol, Old Master Fei didn’t notice these details; he just found the unusual quiet rather pleasant. In the afternoon, the official Full Moon Banquet began. If the morning guests were a group of nobodies, then the ones who arrived later were all heavyweights. Xiao Fang was forced to carry Da Bao and make the rounds.
The guests were all from major corporations whose names Xiao Fang had heard of. When those bosses saw Xiao Fang, they were more than just a little surprised. But these old foxes knew the score. While actors were pawns that made them money, some were not to be trifled with, like Xiao Fang. The thought of casting Xiao Fang in a film even crossed their minds. Currying favor with Xiao Fang was the same as currying favor with Fei Xiangnan—a move with all benefits and no drawbacks.
Xiao Fang had to maintain a fake smile for an hour before he finally had a moment to sit down on the sofa. Fei Xiangnan was off schmoozing somewhere, and even his maternal grandparents had been cornered by a group of calligraphy and painting enthusiasts. He couldn’t be bothered to look for them, so he held his baby in one arm and reached for the small desserts on the table with the other.
“Aww~” Da Bao was so bored he was about to yawn, his little hands starting to paw at Xiao Fang. Xiao Fang offered a finger for his son to play with. Da Bao, whose instincts were limited to sleeping and drinking milk, subconsciously put Xiao Fang’s finger in his mouth and began to suck. Xiao Fang had just eaten cake, so his finger had a hint of sweetness. Da Bao sucked on it addictively, his little eyes squinting in pleasure.
Also on the sofa were Zhang Yuliu’s brother and his family. The great-aunt’s sister had left after giving a red envelope at lunch, and the great-aunt herself had gone upstairs to nap. Now, this branch of the family was just sitting on the sofa. The brother, who relied on his sister for a living and lacked a decent job, had almost no one trying to curry favor with him. Those bosses didn’t even give him a second glance. He had always felt he had status when he came to this house, but this was the first time he’d attended such a grand celebration at the Fei family’s home and been completely ignored. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
“Brother, have something to eat. These desserts were just made,” Zhang Yuliu said, doting on her brother. It wasn’t just her; the entire Zhang family spoiled this son, which made him increasingly arrogant and dismissive of others.
“Eat what? I’m so full of anger I could burst!” Facing Zhang Yuliu, who had married into a wealthy family, her brother didn’t hold back at all.
His wife and nephew, sitting to the side, said nothing, as if they were used to this. Zhang Yuliu laughed dryly and could only hand the cake to her nephew. Fortunately, the nephew accepted the food, which saved her from complete embarrassment.
She certainly knew what was bothering her brother. After handing over the cake, she moved closer to Xiao Fang.
“The little grandnephew is so cute. Xiao Fang, can Auntie hold him?” Zhang Yuliu said sweetly. To Xiao Fang, it sounded like a spider demon from a fairy tale speaking to a holy monk; it made his skin crawl.
Xiao Fang politely refused, “Little children cry easily. I wouldn’t want to trouble Auntie.”
Zhang Yuliu smiled, forcing a smile so hard it felt like her cheeks were weighed down by lead sinkers. She could barely keep it up. He really wasn’t giving her any face at all.
“Aww?” Da Bao, in his arms, blinked. Why wasn’t the finger sweet anymore? He hugged his father’s finger with his small hands and licked it again. No more sweetness. He was unhappy.
Xiao Fang understood his son’s intention, ate another cream cake, and left a little cream on his finger for his son to eat. Once he tasted the sweetness, Da Bao stopped fussing and happily sucked on the finger.
Zhang Yuliu watched from the side, unwilling to give up. “It’s fine. As a woman, Auntie knows more about these things than you do. Even though you’re a Third Gender, you’re not as meticulous as us girls. Auntie won’t find it troublesome.” As Zhang Yuliu spoke, she extended her hands, making it clear she was determined to hold the baby.
“My sister means no harm. Xiao Fang, you’re a junior. Won’t you yield to an elder?” Zhang Yuliu’s brother chimed in, his courage growing in Fei Xiangnan’s absence.
Xiao Fang couldn’t be bothered with this kind of emotional blackmail. No meant no. Before he could retort, Fei Xiangnan, who had been chatting with guests, walked over. Instantly, Zhang Yuliu and her brother fell silent, their hands retracting.
Fei Xiangnan glanced at them suspiciously, causing Zhang Yuliu to break out in a cold sweat, too scared to speak. Her brother also cowardly lowered his head.
“What’s wrong?” Xiao Fang looked up at him, secretly despising the group that had just been threatening him.
Feeling that his wife was incredibly cute, Fei Xiangnan resisted the urge to hug her and got down to business. “Auntie will be here soon. Come wait outside with me. Are you cold? Do you want to put on a jacket first?” After all, there was no air conditioning outside.
“I’m fine. This shirt has a cotton lining; it’s quite warm,” Xiao Fang said as he stood up. Without a backward glance, he walked out with Fei Xiangnan, leaving the people on the sofa with absolutely no face.
Meeting the aunt and all was also very nerve-wracking.