Chapter Fifteen: Fabrications and Nonsense

Zhao Fan was inside, pondering whether he should go into business or start a company. When he heard the sounds of his parents returning and heard his mother mention his older brother, he immediately stepped out of his room.

He asked, “What’s the matter?”

His mother and father turned at the same time, a little uneasy to find Zhao Fan at home.

His father waved a hand. “It’s nothing.”

Zhao Fan sighed. “I heard everything just now. You mentioned my brother. Tell me, what’s going on?”

“It’s really nothing. By the way, what about you and that Wang Ying? Are you really not planning to get married?”

His father brought up Wang Ying, and Zhao Fan’s eyes flashed with impatience. “What’s there to say? If I say the wedding’s off, it’s off.”

A woman like Wang Ying was more than he could handle. The sooner he put her out of his life, the safer his family would be.

“What about the money…”

“Where it came from, it goes back. Dad, Mom, I’ll be the one to support this family from now on. Let’s not talk about this. Recently, I’ve been doing some business, made a small profit, and I want to go back to school.”

Doing business?

His father and mother were startled, each grabbing Zhao Fan by an arm.

His mother asked, “What kind of business?”

“Just buying and selling things. I handle the transport.”

As for the money he had, Zhao Fan had thought it over. He could never tell the whole truth. His parents were ordinary, honest people, not worldly or knowledgeable. Rather than worry them unnecessarily, it was better to invent a business story.

Earlier, when he went to handle the insurance, Zhao Fan had deliberately set aside part of the money—not much, just two hundred thousand.

He acted mysterious, took out a bank card, and explained about the two hundred thousand.

“Dad, Mom, I earned this money from business. They said if I do well, I’ll be the boss of the new company. That’s a big deal! You’ll enjoy good days ahead—house, car…”

Zhao Fan exaggerated, painting a vivid picture of the future, voicing all the hopes he’d once held in his previous life.

His mother took a deep breath. “Fan, I understand you’re under pressure, but we must never do anything immoral, do you understand?”

Zhao Fan was stunned. Immoral? How was earning money immoral?

His father wore a worried look. “Fan, we may not know much, but even we know you can’t earn that much, honestly, in such a short time. Tell us, where did this money really come from?”

“Fan, our family has no money, but we have our hands. We can’t take money like this…”

His parents spoke one after the other, growing more frightened, insisting they go find whoever brought Zhao Fan into business.

Dragged a few steps, Zhao Fan could only laugh, yet his heart was warmed. Their first reaction to seeing money wasn’t joy, but concern for him.

Thinking of his previous life, Zhao Fan’s gaze darkened. Such good parents, he’d failed them once. This time, he’d give everything to take care of them.

“Don’t worry, let me explain slowly.”

He pulled them back, one in each hand, seating them beside the table, and took out Wu Qingfeng’s business card.

Ahem, to ease their worries, he’d have to borrow Wu Qingfeng’s company name for now.

“Dad, Mom, have you heard of Yuanhong Group? Their boss talked to me—”

He hadn’t finished when a loud knocking sounded at the door.

Zhao Fan frowned. Who could be coming at this hour?

“Zhao Fan! Zhao Fan! Open the door!”

“Zhao Fan, you useless fool, open up!”

It was Wang Ying and her brother, Wang Qiang.

His parents exchanged glances. His mother instinctively stood up to answer.

“Mom, sit down.”

Zhao Fan pressed her shoulder, hiding the anger in his eyes. “I’ll handle it.”

His mother hesitated. “Fan, are you sure you’re not holding onto anything? With the two hundred thousand in your account, the marriage…”

“Mom, I already said I won’t marry her, and I mean it. I plan to use this money to go back to school. I won’t have anything to do with Wang Ying.”

Zhao Fan’s tone was firm. Then he sent his parents back to their room.

“Lock the door. I’ll take care of it out here.”

His mother wanted to say more, but his father gently pulled her back.

“Fan, your father trusts you.”

Without another word, his father led his mother into their room and locked the door.

Outside, Wang Ying was still shouting. Zhao Fan glanced around, went into the kitchen, and took up a knife.

As soon as he opened the door, Zhao Fan pointed the knife at Wang Ying. “What are you doing here again?”

“Zhao Fan, you—”

Wang Ying was suddenly like a duck with its neck squeezed, her voice cut off, fear flashing in her eyes as she stumbled backward.

“Ah! Zhao Fan, what are you—what do you want?”

Knife in hand, Zhao Fan grinned cruelly. “What do you think I want?”

Wang Ying swallowed, recalling how Zhao Fan had always obeyed her in the past. She figured he’d been shocked so badly he’d lost his mind.

“Zhao Fan, I’m Wang Ying. Don’t you want to marry me? I thought about it and realized you were right before—our marriage has nothing to do with our elders. How about this: let’s forget the dowry, just get married. Tomorrow’s a good day, let’s go register.”

At first, Wang Ying was intimidated by the knife. But as she spoke, her eyes brightened, as if she was already at the registry office.

Looking at Wang Ying’s shamelessness, Zhao Fan laughed in anger. “Wang Ying, I really didn’t expect your skin to be so thick. No dowry? Ha! You just want my money, don’t you?”

He’d bought a villa, with Wang Ying present. She must have figured out he had money and now came crawling over.

All that talk about reason and no dowry—it was nonsense. She was after his money.

Wang Qiang poked his head out, angrily accusing Zhao Fan. “How can you talk like that? If my sister only cared about money, why did she agree to marry you before? You couldn’t even get a dowry together. Now she’s not asking for one, and you—”

Zhao Fan flicked the knife toward him. Wang Qiang shrank back instantly, hiding behind Wang Ying.

Zhao Fan mocked him. “You dare shout at me with that little courage? Wang Qiang, don’t play dumb. If you mess around and end up pregnant, looking for someone to take responsibility, you’d better show some humility. Who are you trying to impress?”

Wang Ying’s face turned pale. “Zhao—Zhao Fan, what do you mean? I’m not—no—”

“Enough, Wang Ying. Stop pretending. You know exactly why you’re here. I warn you, keep your schemes to yourself. I’m not patient, and with one slip of my hand, it’s easy to ruin someone.”

Zhao Fan’s gaze grew sharp. If she wanted to plot against him, she’d better have some skill.

Wang Ying wavered, clutching her chest, eyes brimming with tears. “If…if I abort the child, will you forgive me?”