Chapter 23: The Expert Is Unreliable? He’s Always Been Reliable, All Right!

He Chen dropped a bombshell and walked away. After all, a real man never looks back at an explosion. The effect of the explosion was exactly as he had anticipated.

Fang Yifan was already thrown into complete disarray, persistently badgering his goddess: "Don't fall for his tricks! He’s ill-intentioned; he’s just trying to hurt me through you! Tell me, what exactly did he say to you?"

"It really was nothing!" Huang Zhitao genuinely didn't want to discuss this. In her eyes, there was nothing to talk about. The message He Chen had asked Ruan Liuzheng to pass on was simply to share the experience of what it’s like to be the child of two doctors. To her, this wasn't malicious at all—it was completely normal.

After all, she had already taken the initiative to learn from Ruan Liuzheng that He Chen had taken her to meet the renowned emergency physician, Du Xiaoqing, to help Ruan gain a clearer concept of studying medicine and the future life of a doctor. How heartwarming and enviable that was! At the very least, she desperately wished she had such an older brother, rather than having to bear everything all by herself. Besides, given He Chen’s appearance, she found it difficult and unwilling to think the worst of him.

As for why she didn't want to say more? It wasn't because of some forced misunderstanding; she truly didn't want to discuss it. Firstly, in her view, the reason this situation existed was due to her unique family circumstances: her parents were Doctors Without Borders, often leaving her alone in the country for years. Who could understand such sorrow? Perhaps only Ji Yangyang, whose parents were also away for long stretches, could relate. That was why she had always been closer to him. What He Chen was asking of her now was, in effect, to share the bitterness and sadness she usually kept to herself—but he was far more tactful than Fang Yifan. He hadn't come to her directly, choosing instead to have a female classmate speak with her privately, which spared her from further embarrassment and discomfort, making it much easier for her to accept.

Secondly, there was no need. She and Fang Yifan were merely classmates, and she was an honors student constantly harassed by him, a slacker. She didn't need to explain anything to him at all, let alone endure his tone, as if he had some right to her privacy.

"Fang Monkey, cut it out!" Seeing the atmosphere sour—with Huang Zhitao’s growing impatience and displeasure, and Fang Yifan losing his usual sycophancy, looking instead like a man with bloodshot eyes—Qiao Yingzi, the glue of the trio, quickly tried to smooth things over. "He Chen didn't have Ruan Liuzheng tell Taozi anything, I promise!"

"What do you mean 'nothing'? What could be so secret?" Fang Yifan grew even more agitated. "And 'I promise'? You won't even look that bastard in the eye. Don't think I’m blind to what you're thinking!"

These words left Qiao Yingzi both ashamed and furious. She pointed at her childhood friend and snapped, "Are you crazy? I know you're upset about what happened with Uncle Fang, but don't take it out on us! Instead of wasting time here, you should go home and check on him!" With that, she pulled Huang Zhitao away.

She was genuinely incensed by her childhood friend. No matter how much they fooled around before, he had never said such hurtful things. In the past, he was always grinning, coaxing her with care whenever she felt stifled or unhappy, which she found very touching. Now, it seemed that was all just an act. And as for why she didn't dare make eye contact with He Chen? Wasn't it because of Fang Yifan’s telescope peeping, which led to that moment where she and He Chen locked eyes through the lens, and her heart was struck by the sudden, starry gaze he turned back with? Before that, crushed by her mother’s high-pressure parenting, she had been completely face-blind to He Chen’s reputation as a school heartthrob. She had no romantic thoughts whatsoever—much like the oblivious Lin Miaomiao—and simply viewed He Chen as a peer in her grade.

Seeing both his childhood friend and his goddess leave in anger, Fang Yifan finally snapped out of his agitation. He stood blankly in place for a long time, a stifled, bitter resentment burning within him. He didn't adjust his attitude or chase after them with his usual grin to apologize; instead, he trudged home, defeated.

As soon as he arrived, he saw his mother, Tong Wenjie, sitting on the sofa with a dark expression.

"Mom, I’m home," he said cautiously.

"Where have you been?" Tong Wenjie asked, arms crossed, her temper flaring.

"I went to see a movie with Yingzi and the others," Fang Yifan replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"You have the heart to watch a movie at a time like this?!" Tong Wenjie scolded. "Your father is inside because of you, the family is in such turmoil, and you still want to watch a movie?!"

"How is Dad?" Fang Yifan asked, keeping his head low.

"Now you care about your father?" Tong Wenjie fumed. "He confessed, and he’s going to be detained for a month!"

"I thought cases like this usually end in probation? He Chen, I’m not finished with you!!!" Fang Yifan’s eyes turned red again as the realization hit him. Usually, it would be probation, but his father worked in law; he had committed a crime while knowing the law, which led to an aggravated sentence.

"What do you think you're doing? Haven't you caused enough trouble? Do you want your father to spend months more in jail, or do you want to send your mother in there too?" Seeing her son losing control, Tong Wenjie stopped scolding him. She took a deep breath to suppress her rage, patted the sofa beside her, and said, "Come here, let’s talk."

"Mom~" Fang Yifan immediately seized the opportunity to cozy up to her and act spoiled.

"Fanfan, even if this hadn't happened, I would still need to have a serious talk with you." Tong Wenjie stroked her son’s hair for a moment before pushing him back to sit upright. "Teacher Li wanted you to repeat a grade. I didn't agree at first, but later I did. I’ve even found a tutoring center for you..."

As she spoke, she glanced at her son, and as expected, he immediately grew anxious, launching into a long explanation of his determination and reasons for not wanting to repeat the grade. She had said it on purpose to provoke him, hoping to stir his sense of shame into courage.

"Don't get excited. Later, Teacher Li said you wouldn't have to repeat, but what does that mean? It means you have to catch up on everything you’ve missed to even have a chance at a good university. But with your current slacker attitude, is that how one studies? At a time like this, you’re still playing on your phone, playing games, watching movies. Where is your mind on your studies?"

Her emotions flared again. She pointed at her son and lashed out, "I was supposed to fly out tonight to pick up your cousin. Your aunt passed away, and your cousin’s heartless father found him a stepmother in less than a year. Now, I’m the only one left to care for him. He’s your blood relative! But now everything is in chaos because of you. Fanfan, don't look at the fact that we live in the capital, in a house worth over ten million, or that I carry a seventy-thousand-yuan bag and wear a fifty-thousand-yuan watch, or that I never wear the same outfit or jewelry twice in a month with our fifty-thousand-yuan monthly expenses—we are truly just an ordinary family. We cannot provide you with a shortcut. In the end, you have to rely on yourself! Your father is going to be locked up for a month, and his job will certainly be gone when he gets out. The days ahead for this family will be hard. You have to step up!"

"I know, Mom," Fang Yifan promised quickly, though neither of them was truly invested in the sentiment. Tong Wenjie looked anxious, but it was superficial; as her son, he could read her well enough to know that these so-called hardships could be easily overcome.

It was an "ordinary family," after all—everyone understands what that means! They had plenty of confidence. If things really got tough, they could always just sell off some of their surplus luxuries to tide themselves over. He really didn't understand why people online were always complaining that expert advice was unreliable; he thought those suggestions were perfectly reasonable.