[116] A Fight Breaks Out

Luguo Fang's family arrived shortly after. Luyong Fang then came over to call his second brother's family to head over to the front house.

The courtyard where Fukang Fang and his wife used to live had been demolished a few years ago to build a new house for Luyong. They now lived in the adjacent backyard, which was originally Luguo's residence. It wasn't large, so family gatherings were always held at Luyong's place.

Luyong also had a son and a daughter; the elder was not yet three years old, and the younger had not even reached their first birthday. With the whole family gathered, it was only natural to play with the little ones, and the conversation that followed mostly revolved around the children.

Speaking of the next generation, Luguo and his wife were both teachers. Their children, Changqing and Danran, had excelled in school since childhood and were naturally the role models of the family. As for Chang'an, his grades were poor when he first started school, but after learning from his shame and striving to improve, he caught up and generally ranked near the top of his class.

However, Changqing and Danran's academic success meant they were at the top of the town's school. Thus, even if Chang'an occasionally placed first in his primary school, everyone still didn't compare him to the siblings, tacitly assuming they were on different levels.

This time, Chang'an had placed first in the entire school at the No. 2 Middle School. Even though it was only a diagnostic exam, it caused a massive stir within the extended family, completely overturning their long-held assumptions.

After chatting for a while, Luyong suggested playing cards. Lujun eagerly agreed, and Luguo was also somewhat tempted. He looked at Xianyu Tang, who in turn looked at Peng Shan and said, "I won't play. You guys go ahead."

Peng Shan didn't care much for cards—just "not much," mostly because he was afraid of losing money. Once he confirmed that the stakes were small and realized that among relatives, one could get away without paying if they lost, he decided to join in for a few rounds.

The weather was pleasant, so Luyong moved the table from the main room to a corner of the courtyard. They sat around it to play cards, with Xianyu Tang watching from the side.

The women gathered to prepare dinner together.

With nothing to do, Chang'an wandered into the house. Changming was playing Animal Chess with Fei Shan, while Yanran and Xiang Shan watched. Changqing and Danran, rarely having the chance to watch television at home, were in the inner room—which was Luyong and Yuxiu Wang's bedroom—watching TV.

The baby cousin, still in swaddling clothes, had been taken to the west room to sleep, so they didn't have to worry about disturbing her. Xi Tang and Xian Tang were also inside watching TV.

Chang'an went inside as well. Xi Tang made room for him, and he sat down to watch TV with them, chatting casually with his cousins.

Not long after, a sudden commotion came from the outer living room, accompanied by a faint girl's voice. Chang'an immediately stood up.

He quickly stepped out into the living room and saw the brothers, Fei and Xiang Shan, pinning Changming to the floor. Changming had grabbed Fei's collar with one hand, while Fei was choking him and Xiang was pinning his legs down.

Yanran, trying to help her second brother, reached out to pull Xiang away, but he shoved her back, sending her sprawling onto the floor. She looked on the verge of tears but bit her lip to hold them back, standing up again to pull at Xiang.

In that instant, something seemed to explode in Chang'an's mind. He rushed over in two strides, kicked Xiang to the ground, and grabbed Fei by the hair, yanking it upward with all his might.

Wincing in pain, Fei instinctively looked up. When he saw Chang'an, his eyes instantly turned fierce, filled with a threatening look as he tried to speak.

Chang'an glared back with unyielding ferocity. Fei's gaze faltered instantly. Then, his hair was yanked back again, forcing a cry of pain from him as his body tilted backward, his hands reaching up to grab Chang'an's hair.

Chang'an tripped him, using his other hand to choke him and pin him to the floor. Seeing that Xiang had already scrambled up and was rushing forward with a raised foot, seemingly intending to kick Chang'an to save his older brother, Chang'an swept a sharp, piercing glare over.

Xiang flinched under his gaze, his movements faltering slightly. Chang'an released his right hand from Fei's hair, keeping his left hand clamped around Fei's neck, and slapped Xiang across the face without hesitation. With a loud, crisp crack, the blow landed squarely on Xiang's cheek.

In his fury, Chang'an hadn't realized that he currently only possessed the weak body of a twelve-year-old. Fortunately, Xiang was a year younger than Changming and stood under a meter and a half tall, making him even weaker.

Having trained diligently for nearly a month, combined with the powerful soul and will of his past life, the strength Chang'an unleashed in his rage was far beyond what Xiang could match. Though the slap left Chang'an's own palm stinging and numb, it sent Xiang stumbling back, nearly falling over again.

Xiang clearly hadn't expected this cousin, who was usually quiet and cowardly, to become so ruthless. Stunned by the blow, he stood there staring at Chang'an, seemingly processing it for a few seconds before bursting into loud, wailing tears.

Taking advantage of Chang'an releasing his hair, Fei grabbed Chang'an's clothes and struggled desperately to break free. Although he was a year younger than Chang'an, there wasn't much difference in their heights. Once he fought back in earnest, Chang'an couldn't completely pin him down with just one hand.

Changming had already gotten up. Though startled by his older brother's outburst, his reactions were quick. Seeing Fei about to break free, he immediately rushed over, grabbed Fei's flailing legs, and yanked them hard. Deprived of leverage, Fei almost fell flat on his back onto the concrete floor.

If the back of Fei's head hit the ground, it could cause serious injury. Although the probability wasn't very high, Chang'an didn't want to take any chances. He quickly reached out with his other hand to grab Fei's hair again, cushioning the fall, and then, still choking him, slammed him firmly back onto the floor.

"Dad! Mom! Ahhh!" Xiang wailed at the top of his lungs.

Hearing his brother's cries, the fear in Fei's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a fierce glare directed at Chang'an. Chang'an bent his leg and drove his knee directly into Fei's abdomen. As Fei grimaced in pain, Chang'an backhanded him across the face, leaning down slightly to hiss, "Idiot!"

"You..."

Fei tried to curse back while clawing at Chang'an's arms, face, hair—anything he could reach. But Chang'an pressed down hard with his knee once more, cutting off his strength.

Leaning in close, Chang'an warned him, "Try laying a hand on them again, and I'll kill you!"

With that, Chang'an slapped Fei across the face one more time, then turned to Changming and barked, "Run!"

Changming froze for a second, but Chang'an had already let go of Fei without hesitation and bolted toward the courtyard. Seething with hatred, Fei scrambled to his feet and chased after him, gritting his teeth, not caring why Chang'an was running.

The three Fang brothers, Peng Shan, and Xianyu Tang, who were playing cards in the corner by the west room, were startled by Xiang's wailing. Peng was particularly fast, dropping his cards immediately and running over.

Just as he reached the door of the main room, he saw Chang'an burst out, followed by his son Fei, whose face was flushed red and eyes bloodshot as he gave chase with gritted teeth.

"What are you doing? Stop right there!" Peng shouted, having guessed they were fighting. But Fei completely ignored him, keeping his eyes locked onto Chang'an.

"I told you to stop, did you hear me?" Peng roared again, though he didn't reach out to stop his son.

From the kitchen, Jing Xu, Xia Fang, Rong Cong, Yan Fang, and Yuxiu Wang were already walking over. Yan shouted, "Fei! What do you think you're doing?"

Chang'an hadn't expected Peng or his aunt to stop Fei anyway. Over where the card game had been, Luguo, Luyong, and Lujun had all stood up.

Luguo called out, "Hey! Hey! Don't fight!"

Xianyu Tang shouted, "Fei, stop, let's talk this out."

Luyong pointed at Fei and barked, "Fei, what are you trying to do?"

Chang'an ignored everyone else and ran straight to his uncle Luyong's side. Luyong immediately shielded him, blocking him behind his back. Without a second thought, Fei charged right up to Luyong, flailing his arms and legs in an attempt to grab and kick Chang'an.

Luyong was the tallest of the three brothers at 1.78 meters, and also the youngest. Though he was somewhat of a loafer, he still did farm work, and his build was sturdy. Grabbing Fei by the shoulders with both hands, he kept the boy from reaching Chang'an no matter how hard Fei tried.

"Let go of me! Let go of me! I'm going to kill him!" Fei screamed, his face flushed red. Seeing that he couldn't reach Chang'an, he began clawing and kicking at Luyong. He managed to land a couple of kicks on Luyong's legs, but they did no damage to the grown man.

Seeing Chang'an peeking out from behind Luyong's back, Fei grew even more infuriated. He thrashed and kicked wildly, screaming louder and louder, "You coward! Get out here! I'll beat you to death... Fuck your grandmother!"

For the same reasons as Lujun, Luyong had never liked Peng Shan, and by extension, wasn't close to his two spoiled nephews. Seeing Fei making a scene in his own home and using such foul language, Luyong squeezed the boy's shoulders hard and said with a dark expression, "Watch your mouth! Ask your parents if that's how you should speak to family, huh?"

Peng ran over, pulling his son into his arms and swatting at his shoulders. "I told you not to curse! Huh? You still dare to curse? Will you do it again?"

"Yes, I will! I want to curse him!" Peng hadn't used any real force, and Fei didn't fear his father at all. He broke free and rushed back to Luyong, raising his foot to kick at Chang'an.

Chang'an nimbly dodged to the side behind Luyong. Luyong shifted along with him, using his body to block Fei, who almost fell over from the collision. Luyong quickly grabbed him to keep him still, saying to Peng, "Brother Peng, as his father, you really need to discipline him."

No matter what had started the fight, the moment Fei uttered that curse, Peng had no choice but to apologize. He hurried over, dragged his son to the middle of the courtyard, and pulled him away from Chang'an and Luyong.

"Let go of me! Let go of me! I'm going to kill him... I..." Fei tried to curse again, but Yan Fang walked over and slapped him across the face. With a dark expression, she glared at him. "Say one more word, I dare you."

Fei didn't fear his father, but he seemed somewhat afraid of Yan. He instantly quieted down, pointing at Chang'an. "He hit me! Why aren't you doing anything about him?"

Yan glanced at Chang'an, who was still hiding behind Luyong, and let out a slow sigh. Peng let go of Fei and asked, "How did Chang'an hit you? Tell us."

Fei pointed at Chang'an. "He pulled my hair and slapped me!"

All the adults turned their gazes toward Chang'an. Standing beside his uncle, Chang'an's hands seemed to tremble slightly. He looked nervous, and his voice shook a little as he spoke.

"He and Xiang pinned Changming to the ground and were choking him. I couldn't pull them off, so I had to grab his hair."

"I was inside watching TV at first. I only went out because they started fighting. If you don't believe me, you can ask Danran and Changqing."

Changqing, Danran, Xi Tang, and Xian Tang, along with Xiang and Yanran—both with tear-stained faces—had also come out of the house and stood in the courtyard watching.

Hearing Chang'an's words, all four of them nodded in unison. Danran said, "Yes, Chang'an was indeed watching TV with us inside at first. He only went out when he heard the noise."

What they confirmed was simply that Chang'an had been watching TV inside initially. However, because Chang'an had first framed it as pulling Fei's hair to save Changming, everyone unconsciously assumed their confirmation applied to the entire sequence of events.

Fei yelled furiously, "You choked me too, and you slapped me!"

The adults looked at Chang'an again.

Chang'an shook his head vigorously.

Seeing him deny it, Fei pointed at his still-burning cheek and shouted, "Right here! It still hurts!"

Chang'an said nothing, only shifting his gaze to his aunt, Yan Fang, who had just slapped Fei across the face.