Chapter 26 The Old Man

  "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, after all these years, you're still so stubborn!" The old man chuckled and shook his head.

  Zhang Lao Ye Zi is a hot-tempered man, if it were someone else who laughed at him like this in front of his face, he would have already turned against them and hit them. But the person in front of him was not only his brother for many years but also an arch-nemesis that he couldn't defeat no matter how hard he tried. Years of experience told him that in front of this person, he must hold back, hold back, and hold back again.

  The old man patted his shoulder, "You don't really think that copying a few days of broken books can make a person's temperament change greatly, do you? In that case, there is no need to build prisons either. Let those poor and extremely evil prisoners all copy books instead."

  "What prison?" Old Zhang said with a look of discontent.

  "This granddaughter of yours is not a personality that can be cultivated overnight, perhaps she has always been a quiet girl at heart, and the previous recklessness was just an act." The old man looked at Fang Xue with appreciation for a few more moments. The dignified and elegant aura emanating from her bones was something that couldn't deceive someone as discerning as him. She absolutely wasn't the kind of girl who would indulge in self-destruction. If such a good girl were his own daughter, she would truly be a precious jade worth fine-tuning.

  "How is that possible?" Old Man Zhang looked at him incredulously, he really wanted to know how someone could fake being hospitalized after a car accident.

  "What's so strange about that? If Ayun's family didn't pretend to be dissolute and reckless, how would they attract your attention?" The old man's smile was not without sarcasm. He had advised his old friend not to marry his daughter into the Fang family in the first place. One look at Fang Jianlin was enough to know that he wasn't a good match, but his friend had been too indulgent towards his daughter after all.

  Mr. Zhang suddenly realized that he had indeed heard that many children who did not get their parents' attention would try to attract their parents' attention by making trouble, and wondered if Fang Zixuan had done the same thing before?

  "What's wrong with her now?" He furrowed his brow, why didn't she continue making a scene?

  "You can't even see through such a simple truth?" The old man smiled sympathetically, "The little girl has lost heart and interest, the care of you elders is no longer important to her now."

  Old Zhang was stunned, seemingly not quite believing his words.

  The old man smiled slightly and said carelessly, "If you don't believe me, try it out yourself. Be good to her or be bad to her, see if she cares."

  Mr. Zhang didn't say a word, he just looked at Fang Zixuan with a complex expression, who was standing still. He had to admit that his old friend was right, these days he also felt the polite yet distant aura around her, no matter what they asked her to do, she wouldn't resist or argue, she would just quietly obey with a gentle and respectful attitude, but she would rather hide in her room reading books alone than talk to them more than necessary, as if she was living happily in her own world, where nobody could enter.

  "If you're really worried, I'll have my grandson recommend a good psychologist for the kid." The old man patted his shoulder reassuringly.

  "If it's really like you said, would she be willing to see a psychologist?" Old Zhang shook his head with some guilt. He had only started paying attention to this granddaughter of his since the summer vacation. Before that, he just thought she was bringing shame to the family and felt annoyed and frustrated with her in his heart. He had planned to discipline her well this time so that she wouldn't dare to misbehave again, but he didn't expect that this child, who wasn't very old, had been hiding so much sorrow in her heart.

  Actually, if he thought about it carefully, he would understand that his family's Ah Yun was stubborn and often hid things from him, but in his heart, he knew clearly. This rascal son-in-law spent every day outside drinking and fooling around, what kind of messy things hadn't he done? His own daughter was also a proud and arrogant person, the two naturally quarreled at home every day, sometimes even physically fighting. Ah Yun had been disheartened in recent years, so she simply gave up and didn't care about anything else, only understanding how to play cards, go shopping, and do beauty treatments. She was not capable of teaching her children well, with such a pair of parents, the two children grew up in this environment, he really shouldn't have high hopes for their physical and mental health, optimism and positivity.

  Fang Zi Xuan was indeed very serious about fishing, but the fish wouldn't take the bait just because of the angler's sincerity. No matter how hard she concentrated, the fish still didn't seem to want to bite. The two old men had already caught a full basket of fish, but she hadn't even gotten a nibble. Despite this, she remained calm and composed, without showing any signs of anxiety.

  He's indeed a man who can sit still, the old man thought to himself in admiration. But on the surface, he changed the subject and said to Zhang Lao Ye, "A few days ago, your in-laws had a scandal."

  As soon as he heard the old man's tone, which was slightly disdainful, Zhang Lao's eyebrows twitched slightly. Among his relatives, only the Fang family could make him feel so disdained.

  "Your family's Zi Xuan's second older sister was played by that young master of the Yan family, and it is said that she is now crying and wailing as if her life depended on it." The old man did not hide his schadenfreude.

  "Hasn't Yan Jia's that concubine returned to the capital yet?" Old Master Zhang frowned in displeasure, unable to comprehend why Old Master Yan, a cunning old fox from the capital, would place such importance on Yan Jia's incomprehensible and unmanageable official.

  "Yan's family that kid has been abroad for years, rarely returning to the country. Can't you spoil him a bit? You also pamper your own Congwen like he's the apple of your eye."

  Zhang Lao Ye Zi's face turned black, how could the young master of Yan family be compared to their treasured golden grandson? Although they couldn't compare to the Yan family's true aristocratic lineage that had been passed down for generations, Yan San's absurdity was known from Beijing to S province, causing all the people in the circle to look down on him yet still having to flatter him because of his family background.

  "Have you seen him before?" Seeing his appearance, the old man smiled and shook his head. Many things are not necessarily as simple as they seem on the surface, let alone those who have seen Yan San are few and far between.

  "Even if he is the golden grandson of the Yan family, must I also fawn over a junior like those people?" Old Master Zhang sneered.

  "You're a man of integrity, but unfortunately, your family doesn't resemble you." The old man chuckled and said, "Even your own granddaughter is involved, it's really a joke."

  "I'm getting more and more puzzled by that relative of mine." Old Master Zhang sighed, not avoiding Fang Zixuan.

  "When did you ever understand him?" A glint of sharp light flashed in the old man's eyes, "That old guy isn't as silly as you think, his recent moves have been getting bigger and bigger, you should also be aware of it."

  "Mr. Fang is a man with high ambitions but low abilities, and Fang Ruzhong is also getting old, I don't know if he's doing it on purpose or being manipulated by Fang Jianping." Old Master Zhang shook his head and sighed.