[117] Seeking Revenge at No. 2 Middle School for Fang Chang'an

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Shan Fei was first grabbed by Fang Chang’an by the throat, his abdomen brutally pressed several times with a knee. Then Fang Chang’an relentlessly chased after him. Out of breath and angered, whenever anyone saw him, his face was flushed red, and the slap marks on his face were not very obvious. Later, Fang Yan slapped him—this was witnessed by everyone. Because of this, Fang Chang’an quickly changed his story, refusing to admit anything and looking at his aunt with a clear message in his eyes: even if there were slap marks on his face, it was his mother who hit him, not me.

He wasn’t afraid to tell the truth; rather, he thought that admitting it would make both sides seem at fault, complicating matters. It was better to keep things simple and clearly define right and wrong to make it easier for the elders to judge.

—Of course, this was his private sarcasm, but he felt no pressure about lying.

First, the other party started the fight, and since they had already gang-up on Fang Changming, adding him to the fray seemed reasonable. Second, having faced family upheaval in his youth, his personality naturally had a certain degree of extremism and selfishness.

Though he had gradually matured and consciously tried to correct this after self-reflection, his current behavior was still far from requiring deep introspection.

Taking a step back, if Shan Fei and Shan Xiang suffered some grievances, maybe it would prompt their aunt to strengthen her education of her two sons, which could be beneficial for their growth—better than becoming the heartless scoundrels they once were in a past life.

Shan Peng knew asking more wouldn’t yield results, so he turned to his younger son, Shan Xiang. “What did you just shout?”

Shan Xiang had stopped crying, though tears still streaked his face. Hearing his father’s question, he pointed at Fang Chang’an, just like his older brother, and said, “Brother Chang’an hit me and kicked me down.”

Shan Peng and the other elders looked toward Fang Chang’an again.

Fang Chang’an said, “He and Shan Fei were pinning down Changming. Shan Fei was choking him until his face turned red, almost suffocating him. I couldn’t pull them apart, so I had to push him away.”

“He kicked me, and you slapped me!” Shan Xiang shouted, glaring at him with eyes wide open, calling out the lie.

Fang Chang’an glanced at him, then at the elders, his expression showing the stubbornness of an honest man, repeating, “I pushed him!”

Conge calmly asked Fang Changming and Fang Yanran, “Weren’t you playing? How did you end up fighting?”

Fang Yanran hadn’t cried when pushed down but burst into tears upon seeing her big brother. Now, hearing her mother’s question, she choked up again and pointed at Shan Fei. “I was watching second brother and him play chess, then Shan Xiang scolded me, second brother scolded Shan Xiang, and then the two of them started hitting second brother…”

In the backyard, the elderly Fang Fukang and his wife heard the commotion and came over. Grandma overheard Fang Yanran’s words and sighed, saying, “Kids will be kids, just playing and fighting. It’s no big deal. Stop fighting and play nicely.”

Among the elder’s five children, Fang Lujun was the least favored, and her three children were also unwelcome. Grandma only heard Fang Yanran’s words and assumed Shan Fei and Shan Peng had beaten up Fang Changming, so she began to smooth things over.

Fang Chang’an understood grandma’s perspective and, since he hadn’t lost out anyway, spoke a little aggrieved while the elders were still judging: “Grandma, you’re right. We’ll all listen to you.”

“Since grandma says so, Changming, don’t blame Shan Fei and Shan Xiang anymore. After all, this is your uncle’s home. Don’t make a fuss. They came from far away as guests; let’s just drop it.”

Fang Luguo, the peacemaker, nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, we’re all family. Don’t ruin the harmony.”

Shan Fei wasn’t willing to accept this. He and Shan Xiang had only pinned Fang Changming to the ground, and he had been grabbed by the hair, choked, kneed, and slapped twice by Fang Chang’an. Pointing at him, he shouted, “He hit me! Why should it just be dropped like this?”

He had never suffered such a great loss before. Being a child, he was angry and aggrieved, his voice trembling with tears.

Shan Peng had long guessed that both his sons had suffered badly; otherwise, they wouldn’t behave like this. He said, “Yes, we are family; we can’t let the harmony be broken. Kids fighting is nothing, but the truth must be made clear.”

Fang Chang’an said, “I think what grandma said makes sense. Uncle, if you don’t listen, there’s nothing I can do. Ask Shan Fei and Shan Xiang if they both fought Changming together.”

Shan Peng hurried to explain to the silent Fang Fukang and Grandma, “No, no, it’s not that I won’t listen. I just want to know what really happened.”

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Fang Yan asked Shan Fei, “Did you and Shan Xiang both hit Changming?”

“So what if we did?”

Shan Fei wiped the tears from his face, looked defiantly at his mother, and pointed at Fang Chang’an. “He hit me too!”

He glared angrily at Fang Chang’an. Seeing all the elders’ attention on Shan Fei and no one watching him, Fang Chang’an silently mouthed two words at him: “Idiot!”

Already feeling wronged and furious, Shan Fei exploded at this provocation. His eyes wide, he lunged at Fang Chang’an, shouting through tears, “I’ll beat you to death!”

Fang Chang’an sprinted away, running in front of his mother Conge. Fang Xia and Wang Yuxiu quickly reached out to hold him behind them for protection.

Fang Yan and Shan Peng hadn’t expected their son to throw such a tantrum and were caught off guard. Tang Xianyu, knowing Fang Luyong’s short temper and that he might kick Shan Fei if angry, rushed over and hugged Shan Fei, gently persuading, “Good child, you can’t do this; fighting is not allowed…”

“No! I want to beat him to death!” Shan Fei struggled, yelling wildly.

Fang Chang’an looked up at his mother and said, “Mom, how about we go home to eat? Not here.”

This family gathering was for Fang Lujun. If her family left, what would be the point of continuing the meal?

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuxiu and Fang Xia hurried to persuade.

Fang Luyong saw Shan Fei yelling and rushing at Fang Chang’an in front of all the elders and was really angered. If Tang Xianyu hadn’t held Shan Fei back first, he might have lost control and kicked him.

Fang Chang’an’s words were like adding fuel to the fire. Fang Luyong’s temper flared; he shouted, “What do you mean ‘go’? If anyone’s leaving, it’s not you!”

This was basically an eviction!

Though the family gathering was supposedly to visit the elders, this was still Fang Luyong’s home. His words made Shan Peng and Fang Yan look displeased.

Fang Fukang grunted and scolded with a stern face, “How can you talk like that? Who’s leaving, huh?”

Grandma also got angry, slapping Fang Luyong’s arm, “How can you say that?”

Shan Peng fell silent, glanced at Fang Yan, who looked somewhat angry but kept quiet since both parents had spoken.

Fang Luyong regretted his words somewhat but couldn’t bring himself to apologize. Instead, after being scolded by his parents, he got more angry and pointed at Shan Fei, “All of you be quiet! Stop making trouble! Why didn’t I see you being so capable when you were in school?”

This was Shan Fei’s biggest weakness. Both he and Shan Xiang had poor grades, but this matter clearly had nothing to do with academics, which made him even more resentful. He stiffened his neck and shouted, “What does that have to do with grades? He hit me and insulted me!”

“Shan Fei, behave yourself!”

Shan Peng saw the situation escalating and that his son had clearly lost the argument. Regardless of the facts, it was impossible to pursue it further now. So he rushed over and pulled Shan Fei back.

“Let me go!”

Shan Fei struggled more fiercely as his father held him.

Fang Chang’an looked at Shan Fei and said, “Shan Fei, even though we just fought, I still want to give you some advice.”

The elders were momentarily stunned. Shan Fei also stopped struggling and turned to stare at Fang Chang’an.

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Fang Chang’an said, “Today’s matter is actually related to your grades. You don’t study seriously, and you must have caused trouble at school. That’s why you have this kind of temper and get into fights so easily.”

“Look at me. I study seriously every day, don’t fight or cause trouble. That’s why when you hit me, I ran away instead of fighting back.”

Shan Fei was about to retort at such shameless words when Fang Chang’an continued, “Besides, you’re already in fifth grade this year. Next year you’ll enter middle school. The high school entrance exam is very important. If you keep not studying seriously and can’t pass the exam, what will you do?”

“You’ll definitely want to go to Second Middle School next year. If you get in, that’s good. If not, you’ll have to rely on your uncle pulling strings for you. This is all because you don’t study seriously, so the elders have to worry about you.”

“Entering middle school means you’re almost a grown-up. You have to be sensible. Aunt and uncle work hard every day. Don’t make them worry about us as if they were our parents.”

“There’s still a year before the entrance exam. If you study seriously now, it’s not too late. If you have questions and don’t want to ask teachers, I’ll be at Second Middle School; it’s not far from your home. If you don’t understand something, you can ask me. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Fang Chang’an’s words fell in the silent courtyard. Even Shan Peng and Fang Yan, who had some resentment inside, felt the words struck a chord.

Their two sons’ immaturity had always been their greatest worry and burden. Hearing Fang Chang’an’s sincere advice, the couple secretly felt grateful for their nephew’s understanding. Their resentment faded.

Fang Fukang was also very surprised. He nodded at Fang Chang’an and said, “Well said! This is what it means to be family.”

He then said to Shan Fei and Shan Xiang, “Did you hear that? Look up to Brother Chang’an, study hard, only then will you succeed.”

Fang Luguo also nodded repeatedly, praising the silent Fang Lujun, “Chang’an is indeed sensible, very sensible!”

Meanwhile, Xu Jing was saying similar things to Fang Xia, Wang Yuxiu, and Conge.

Shan Fei was furious that Fang Chang’an was two-faced. A group of elders even praised him, which made Shan Fei’s face turn red with rage. He said nothing and simply glared at Fang Chang’an.

Fang Chang’an said, “Grandpa also said to just let it go. If you’re still not satisfied, I can apologize to you.”

No one else dared to accept this offer—Shan Peng quickly said, “No, no, no, why apologize? Shan Fei should apologize to you!”

Then he smacked the back of Shan Fei’s head. “Aren’t you going to apologize to Brother Chang’an?”

Like Grandpa, he habitually omitted “your” before “Brother Chang’an,” which was common speech, but to Fang Chang’an, used to the name, it sounded a bit strange.

Knowing there was no way to settle things with Fang Chang’an, Shan Fei swore quietly, “When I go to Second Middle School next year, I’ll get my classmates to beat you up badly!”

He had made up his mind. Then he thought of what Fang Chang’an said and worried that if he really failed to get into Second Middle School and his uncle wouldn’t help, he wouldn’t get in. So he felt he still had to study seriously.

Only by getting into Second Middle School could he take revenge on Fang Chang’an!

He imagined fighting at school, and when Fang Chang’an complained on Sunday, he would still deny everything, just like now. What could he do?

Thinking this made Shan Fei feel better inside, but he was definitely unwilling to apologize to Fang Chang’an. He turned his head and said nothing.

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