"Dad."
Jiang Fan called out, finally snapping the middle-aged man out of his daze.
"Huh? Mm." Tang Fugui picked the paper airplane up off the floor, recalling what had just happened.
Had he imagined it? Why had that paper airplane shooting toward him felt like a bullet fired from a gun?
At that thought, Tang Fugui looked again at Jiang Fan, who lay on the bed with a sickly complexion, looking utterly drained.
He chuckled inwardly. Xiao Fan had been frail since birth and had just suffered such a serious illness. Even a three-year-old could probably knock him down with one punch. How could he possibly have that kind of strength?
Casting aside the jumble of thoughts in his head, Tang Fugui limped over to Jiang Fan with the paper airplane in hand.
"Honestly, you're still playing with paper airplanes at your age?"
Jiang Fan smiled sheepishly. In truth, he could easily have told Tang Fugui that he was a psychic.
But the tree that rose above the forest would surely be battered by the wind. He had yet to grow strong enough to show his edge.
After all, his vitality value was far too low-so low it made him question life itself.
If someone with ill intentions set their sights on him, an open spear would be easy to dodge, but an arrow from the shadows would be hard to guard against. To avoid unknown dangers, he felt it was better to keep his edge hidden for now.
"Xiao Fan." Tang Fugui's expression was serious. "Tell me, what exactly happened? Why did the Jiang Family throw you out?"
Jiang Fan froze. "How did you find out?"
Tang Fugui took out his phone and handed it to Jiang Fan. "See for yourself."
Jiang Fan took the phone and saw the announcement on it.
Official website of the Jiang Family of Ancheng: Today, we expel our unfilial son from the family. He has three days to kowtow and apologize to Jiang Youtian, or he will never be allowed to return!
What a joke. They wanted him to apologize? Three days? Even if they gave him three hundred years, he, Jiang Fan, would never apologize to Jiang Youtian, much less bow his head to their Jiang Family!
"Xiao Fan, did you and... did you and Youtian have some sort of misunderstanding? I know what you're like. You couldn't possibly bully Youtian. No, I have to go to the Jiang Family and find Youtian. I'll explain everything to him and ask him to help persuade your dad to let you come back." As Tang Fugui spoke, he started to rise, looking ready to act immediately.
Jiang Fan caught hold of Tang Fugui and said earnestly, "Dad, don't go. I'm not going back to the Jiang Family."
Then he added, "That man isn't my dad. You're my only real father."
Seeing Jiang Fan's stubborn insistence, Tang Fugui was deeply moved. Then he lowered his eyelids, hiding the thoughts in his eyes.
"Xiao Fan, you must be hungry. Come on, let's go eat. Your mom and little sister are waiting outside."
"Okay."
Jiang Fan got out of bed and left the room.
The next second, a little girl came flying over and wrapped her arms around his thigh.
The girl was young, only seven, but her grip on Jiang Fan was anything but weak.
The sight reminded Jiang Fan of when the Jiang Family had come to take him away four years ago. The tiny girl, only three then, had cried and shouted as she chased the departing car, falling several times along the way. Only after she finally fell into a muddy pit and truly couldn't get back up did she stop chasing.
The little girl had wailed, crying so heart-wrenchingly that he had wanted to get out of the car several times. But Jiang Qifeng had warned and threatened him, and only then had he given up.
Returning from his thoughts, Jiang Fan raised a hand and rubbed the little girl's head.
Soft and fluffy, exactly as it had felt before.
"Guoguo, let go first. It's time to eat."
"No! If I let go, you'll leave!" Tang Guo pouted, speaking in her childish voice as she hugged Jiang Fan's leg even tighter.
Jiang Fan smiled, his hand growing gentler as he stroked Tang Guo's hair.
"Don't worry. I'm not leaving. Never again."
"You're lying!" Tang Guo didn't believe him.
Jiang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just then, Tang Fugui spoke up. "Guoguo, don't squeeze so hard. Have you forgotten? Xiao Fan isn't in good health, and he's just had a serious illness."
At Tang Fugui's reminder, Tang Guo hurriedly released him. Her big, round eyes stared at Jiang Fan's leg, terrified that it would split into pieces the next second because she had squeezed too hard.
Guessing what she was thinking from her expression, Jiang Fan immediately looked torn between laughter and tears.
He wasn't that fragile, was he?
Besides, he was a Junior Psychic now.
Uh, his vitality value was still frighteningly low, definitely lower than Tang Guo's.
At that thought, Jiang Fan couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
He crouched down and pinched Tang Guo's rosy little cheeks. Looking straight into her eyes, he said firmly, "If I'm lying, I'm a puppy. Even if I lied to anyone else, I'd never lie to Guoguo."
Tang Guo's little face instantly turned red, and her little heart thumped like a beating drum.
"All right, hurry up and eat. The food will get cold if you wait any longer. Guoguo, hurry and bring your big brother Xiao Fan over to eat." The middle-aged woman, Jiang Fan's adoptive mother, Wang Shuqin, called out warmly.
"Mom," Jiang Fan called to Wang Shuqin.
"Yes, yes!" Wang Shuqin answered twice in succession, her eyes red.
Clearly, she hadn't expected Jiang Fan, who had already returned to his wealthy family, to come back again and still call her Mom.
Noticing Wang Shuqin's reddened eyes, Jiang Fan pressed his lips together, his mouth tasting bitter and astringent.
After sitting down at the table, where there were only the four of them, Jiang Fan asked, "Where's my sister?"
"Duoduo is still at school in Xijiao City. She won't be back until summer vacation," Wang Shuqin replied.
"Oh."
Jiang Fan remembered that, at this point in time, Tang Duo was attending a liberal arts university in the neighboring city. In his previous life, he had gotten into the same university.
But the Jiang Family had forbidden him from associating with the Tang Family, saying that doing so was willingly sinking into degradation and would damage the Jiang Family's reputation. So throughout university, he hadn't dared say even a single word to Tang Duo, afraid of upsetting his father and mother and making them dislike him.
Thinking back now, his attempts to please them had been so laughable. As for Tang Duo... he truly owed her far too much.
"Woof, woof!" A dog barked.
Jiang Fan's attention was drawn to it. Looking down, he discovered that it was actually the stray dog he had encountered earlier.
"Dad, this dog..."
"Isn't it yours? Yesterday, when you weren't feeling well, it kept circling around you, worried out of its mind. So I brought it home too."
Hearing Jiang Qifeng's explanation, Jiang Fan understood.
He looked at the incredibly well-behaved stray dog with its tongue hanging out and smiled.
From now on, we both have a home.
"Here, have some chicken soup. Build your strength back up." Wang Shuqin ladled out a bowl of chicken soup and handed it to Jiang Fan.
Looking at the chicken soup before him, Jiang Fan froze for a moment. "Chicken... soup?!"
Given how poor they were, they usually ate only pickled vegetables, rarely buying any vegetables to stir-fry. Even eggs were something they only got to eat on holidays or before exams.
As for an old hen, they weren't guaranteed to have one even at New Year's.
In fact, a long time ago, even the poorest people could generally live a moderately comfortable family life.