Chapter 48 The Fang Sisters

Old Man Fang took out a gold-rimmed pen, wrote the address on a small piece of paper, and handed it to Zhong Qiao.

"Zhong family girl, just write the letter and send it to this place."

Zhong Qiao took it carefully.

There is a nice name written on it.

——No. 101, Haitang Courtyard, Dongfu, Yunong Street.

Fang Nan was curious and came over to take a look. He tutted his tongue twice, "What? This rich man has a cultured name? Does he really have a crabapple tree at home? I remember it's a very valuable flower."

Old Man Fang glanced at her sideways and said, "There is no wife in the wife cake, and there are no crabapples in this Dongfu Crabapple Courtyard."

"Then what's the purpose of this name?"

Fang Nan suddenly glanced at Zhong Qiao, and seemed to be thinking of something. She leaned on her shoulder and laughed so hard that her body trembled.

"Could the owner of this courtyard be Qian Cheng? He loves to show off his little knowledge."

"Xiao Qiao, please don't borrow these books. I'm afraid you'll be affected by Qian Cheng's bad luck."

Zhong Qiao chuckled and was also amused by her joke.

Old Man Fang watched them playing and laughed dryly.

He said to Zhong Qiao, "If you live nearby, you can also go and visit him directly. He lacks everything else, but books are the last thing he needs. Just tell him that it was Old Man Fang who asked you to come."

Zhong Qiao nodded, hugged the books, and said thank you gratefully.

After dealing with these things, I said goodbye to Old Man Fang.

She and Fang Nan walked side by side in the narrow alley.

Fang Nan spoke incoherently.

"Now that we know each other, next time you come to my house, I'll ask my dad to make you his signature dish, braised meatballs and roast chicken. You've definitely never had it before, it's incredibly delicious. The braised meatballs are even more fragrant than the chicken."

Zhong Qiao was still thinking about the things about the South in his previous life and had not yet come up with a solution. He looked up perfunctorily and asked a question.

"Braised dumplings?"

Fang Nan smiled with her eyes curved, showing an expression that said "I knew you would ask."

"Everyone has the same reaction as you when they hear the name of this dish. My grandparents and my dad are all from Suzhou, and my mom is from Shandong. She's a picky eater, but she loves Anhui cuisine, especially Huangshan stinky mandarin fish and this local specialty, braised chicken with meatballs."

"My dad, in order to woo my mom, mastered Anhui cuisine. These braised dumplings are made with what looks like sweet potato flour. Just add water and mix well, steam them, and then cook them with fresh chicken or pork belly. It's so delicious, I guarantee you won't be able to get it in Suzhou."

"Just based on these two dishes, my mother was completely controlled by her. Otherwise, how could my sister and I exist?"

Zhong Qiao was choked by her words and suddenly wanted to ask, "Then why did your mother divorce your father?" But it was really hard to say such hurtful words openly, so he swallowed the words in his throat.

But Fang Nan had sharp eyes and could see some meaning in Zhong Qiao's eyes, and his expression became lonely for a moment.

But after a moment, Fang Nan smiled faintly, and regained his former liveliness as if rekindled from the ashes, and even took the initiative to talk about his family matters naturally.

"Hey, Xiao Qiao, you can't act at all. I know what you want to say. Just ask whatever you want. Don't be restrained by me. My parents divorced when I was very young, but it's not a big deal. At least I'm quite happy now."

After hearing what she said, Zhong Qiao recalled what Nan Fang had said to her.

The accident happened to Nanfang's sister when she was in college. Since they are sisters, they should be only a few years apart in age. That means it is very likely that something happened to the Fang family in the past two years.

Zhong Qiao looked at Fang Nan and forced a smile, with several indescribable emotions flowing in his eyes.

Fang Nan didn't notice and kicked the pebbles on the roadside randomly, making them roll around.

She suddenly lowered her head and asked, "After listening to what I said, do you think my dad treats my mom very well?"

Zhong Qiao hesitated for a moment, shook his head and then nodded.

Ever since her divorce, she has always assumed the worst of others.

If Zhong Qiao was unmarried, she would definitely be moved after hearing what Fang Nan said, and would also envy Fang Nan's father for being so attentive to her mother.

But--

After going through all this, Zhong Qiao has become a complete pessimist about marriage.

Now, this young body contains the soul of a married woman. She knows very well that after marriage, some men, no matter how good they appear in public, are actually rotten inside.

For example, Xu Shaojun.

so--

Some words, some behaviors in front of others, just smile and keep silent.

Fang Nan smiled casually, "Could such a good husband and father in front of others cheat on his wife? I sometimes ask myself this question."

Her gaze gradually shifted, as if she was recalling something.

"My dad treated his colleagues, subordinates, my mom, me, and my grandparents very well. But it was this kind and honest man that everyone thought was good that he would go out and have affairs. Then one day, my mom got a call from the police station. Her face was extremely bad. She came back and divorced my dad. No one could stop her. Before she left, she asked my sister and me who we wanted to be with."

Fang Nan lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly.

"My grandparents lied to me and said my mom was cheating on me and cheating on my dad. They said a lot of bad things about my mom. I believed them and pushed her away. I still remember her expression at that time. She was so heartbroken, but she didn't look back when she left."

"When I was older, I realized it wasn't my mom who cheated on me, it was actually my dad. It turned out that the phone call my mom received was because my dad had been arrested and they wanted my mom to go to the police station to redeem him."

"My mother is a Shandong woman. She's very impulsive in everything she does, whether it's marriage or divorce. She's very strong-willed. Of course, she couldn't tolerate this kind of stain, so she immediately divorced my father, so—"

Fang Nan spread out his hands and shrugged seemingly indifferently.

"My sister and I have always lived with my dad."

Zhong Qiao felt like something was stuck in her throat and didn't know how to comfort her.

Fang Nan smiled and said, "Don't comfort me. I'm not that fragile. My mother is the biggest victim. She was hurt by my father and a daughter like me who is so ungrateful. I think she must regret giving birth to me."

Zhong Qiao was stunned.

Perhaps as a mother, she suddenly thought of Wanwan and Xu Yulin.

In her previous life, Zhong Qiao decided to divorce Xu Shaojun, but Xu Yulin refused to agree and hated her very much, thinking that she was making a big deal out of nothing. If Zhong Qiao was willing to swallow her anger, their family would be reunited and he would have a father who was a university professor.

But her Wanwan always stood firmly on the same front with her.

Wanwan was already grown up by then and had her own judgment and ideas.

She just smiled and said, Mom, if I had a chance to choose again, I would want you to be happy more than anyone else.

Zhong Qiao lowered his eyes to hide his emotions, sighed, and suddenly said, "If your mother knew you didn't mean it, she would definitely not blame you."

Fang Nan didn't expect her to suddenly say such a thing, and he stood there in a daze.

Zhong Qiao suddenly raised her head, her eyes clear and soft: "Because if she didn't love you, she wouldn't have given you that chance to choose."

"If you can explain it to her one day, I think she will forgive you."

Fang Nan was stunned again, and after a long time, she smiled.

"Zhong Qiao, even though I've only been with you for less than half an hour, I always feel like we were very good friends in our previous life."

Zhong Qiao felt a little uneasy, smiled faintly but said nothing.

After chatting with Fang Nan for a while, they said goodbye and parted ways at the fork in the alley. Before leaving, they agreed to visit Fang's house when they had time.

After Zhong Qiao left, Fang Nan was still thinking about what she had said before.

At the end of the alley, a fat man was running anxiously, his forehead covered with sweat. Because he ran too fast, he held his aching stomach, hunched his back, and gasped for a long time.

Fang Nan put his hands in his pockets and joked, "Fatty Cao, what are you doing? Is there a ghost behind you?"

But the next second, Cao Dapang's words made her smile freeze on her face.

"Fang Nan, where have you been? Do you know that something happened to your sister?"

"She fell into the river."