Chapter Seventy-One: Dealing with Family Matters

“Are you really not thinking about this?” Father Zhao asked again.

Zhao Fan gave a wry smile. “Dad, as you said, I’ve already paid all of Yun’er’s medical expenses. How could I see them as a burden? I just think Yun’er is still young. If we hide the divorce from her, it’ll be easy for Yang Qingqing to deceive her. You know as well as I do how deep a child’s attachment to her mother can be.”

Father Zhao’s eyes flickered; of course he understood.

Even if Yang Qingqing wasn’t a qualified mother, in Zhao Yun’er’s eyes, she was still someone irreplaceable.

“But if you go about it this way, your brother might misunderstand.”

Zhao Haitian had once cut off contact with the family because of Yang Qingqing. With Zhao Fan stirring things up like this, how could Zhao Haitian not wonder?

Father Zhao sighed. Every time he thought of Zhao Haitian severing ties with the family over Yang Qingqing, his heart ached.

No matter how painful, he was still his son. Blood is thicker than water; Father Zhao cared about both sides.

“Let him misunderstand, then.”

“Xiaofan!”

“Dad, if Big Brother really misunderstands because of what I said, he’s welcome to go back to the Yang family. I don’t mind. But in the future, he shouldn’t expect me to have any contact with him.”

Before, it was Zhao Haitian who cut ties with the family. From now on, it would be Zhao Fan who cut ties with Zhao Haitian.

“Don’t worry, Dad. Big Brother will make the right choice.”

Zhao Fan lowered his gaze. The members of the Zhao family all had cold, resolute hearts. Once they made a decision, they rarely wavered.

His brother would choose what was best for his daughter.

Father Zhao looked steadily at Zhao Fan. “Xiaofan.”

“Yes?”

“It seems like you…”

Zhao Fan waited quietly.

Father Zhao shook his head. “Never mind. I’m going to check on your mother.”

He couldn’t shake the feeling that his son had some ulterior motive in all this.

Recalling the villa from before, Father Zhao chose to remain silent. Whatever the motive, Zhao Fan would never harm his own family.

At the kitchen door, Father Zhao suddenly turned back. “I know you get annoyed when I talk too much, but there’s something I have to say anyway: never do anything illegal.”

Zhao Fan was silent. After Father Zhao’s figure disappeared into the kitchen, he couldn’t help but find it both exasperating and touching.

No matter what he did, his father had only one request of him: never break the law.

From the kitchen came the sound of his parents talking. Zhao Fan moved his fingers and returned to his room.

With the company officially launched and the second supermarket successfully opened, the next step was to stabilize things and then use this as a foundation for further ambitions.

“Xiaofan, come and eat,” his mother’s voice called, breaking his thoughts. He answered casually, put away his planning notebook, and joined his parents for dinner.

At the table, Zhao Fan brought up the villa.

“The villa at Yilan Tianju should be ready for us to move in soon, right?”

At the mention of the villa, Father Zhao hesitated. “Xiaofan, do we really have to move there?”

Zhao Fan was taken aback. “Why not?”

It was more spacious and had a better environment. Wouldn’t moving be an improvement?

That was what he thought, and he said as much.

Father Zhao replied, “The place is indeed spacious and nice, but it’s far from our workplaces.”

Zhao Fan blurted out, “You still want to keep working?”

At that, both parents shot him a glare.

“Who doesn’t work?” Father Zhao retorted.

Mother Zhao nodded in agreement. “That’s right. I need to find another job in a few days. With no kids to look after now, I can’t stand sitting at home doing nothing.”

Zhao Fan was speechless.

He’d been so wrapped up in his own business that he’d truly forgotten his parents also worked.

Though his own company was operating at a loss, the supermarkets were making good money.

Setting down his chopsticks, Zhao Fan said seriously, “Dad, Mom, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Sensing his tone, his parents also set down their chopsticks and looked at him with grave expressions.

“You’ve heard of Feiteng Supermarket, right, Dad?”

Since his mother worked at the hospital, Zhao Fan didn’t need to ask—she wouldn’t know. But his father worked at a construction site and moved around a lot; he’d definitely heard of it.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Fan finished, his father nodded. “I know it. It’s a newly opened store in Yangcheng. I heard business is booming.”

His mother was surprised. “Really? What do they sell?”

“It’s a supermarket. They have everything. I heard they even opened a second, bigger store.”

“Is that so? I haven’t been yet.”

“We can go have a look later.”

While his parents chatted, Zhao Fan cleared his throat, drawing their attention, a trace of pride flickering across his face.

“That Feiteng Supermarket is mine.”

Silence.

A few minutes later, Father Zhao sighed. “Xiaofan, Feiteng Supermarket is certainly profitable, but you can’t just claim it as your own.”

“That’s right,” his mother added. “Don’t take credit for someone else’s business. That only causes trouble.”

The two of them took turns scolding him until Zhao Fan couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

“Come on, do I look like someone who would claim someone else’s achievements as my own?”

Father and Mother Zhao exchanged a glance but said nothing.

In the strange silence that followed, Zhao Fan pressed a hand to his forehead. “Fine. I’ll take you there myself and show you.”

Outside Feiteng Supermarket No. 1, Zhao Fan led his parents inside. The place was bustling with shoppers, and employees in vests guided customers to find what they needed.

Music played from the speakers above, and the bright lights seemed to cast an extra aura over everyone.

Clean, beautiful, orderly.

Mother Zhao lowered her voice. “Xiaofan, this supermarket…”

“It really is mine,” Zhao Fan whispered back, his voice full of certainty.

She was skeptical. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Just then, the store manager, Chen Da, walked over.

“Boss Zhao, what brings you here? And these two are…?”

“My father and mother. Chen Da is the manager here.”

Hearing that these were Zhao Fan’s parents, Chen Da beamed. “Welcome! Are you here to inspect the store? Our staff are all very diligent and careful.”

As Chen Da led his parents away, Zhao Fan shook his head with a smile and sat down nearby.

About half an hour later, his parents returned, looking dazed.

Chen Da bowed slightly. “Boss, I’ve given them a full tour.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

“Dad, Mom, do you want to keep looking around?”

Both parents, still in a daze, quickly shook their heads.

“No, no, let’s save it for another time.”

“Yes, yes, another time.”

After saying goodbye to Chen Da, Zhao Fan led his parents away.

Standing there, Chen Da watched the three of them leave—the couple in their faded clothes walking with Zhao Fan. They didn’t look like parents and son at all, more like grandparents and grandson.