Chapter 35 Once you've eaten her pastries, you can't bully her...

noon.

Gao Wen received a message from Fang Han, saying that he had something to do and needed to go home, so he couldn't go to the supermarket with her in the afternoon, and they probably wouldn't be able to have hot pot that evening.

He sent several messages, his tone apologetic.

Gao Wen felt a little regretful, but quickly replied to him, expressing her understanding and telling him to go ahead with his work.

Fang Han must be in a hurry to go home, but she didn't know where his hometown was; she had never asked him.

Gao Wen sent him a message, telling him to be careful on the road.

After replying to the message, Gao Wen started teaching one class after another, while Fang Han was distracted all afternoon. As soon as he got off work, he rushed back home.

Upon returning to the Fang family home, Fang Han saw Fang Hongming under the persimmon tree, shaking his head and sighing.

Seeing his son return, Fang Hongming breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Dad, what's wrong with Mom?" Fang Han walked over and asked.

“I don’t know. She said she was going to the yoga studio this morning, and when she came back, her eyes were red. When she woke up this morning, she said her whole body ached. She wouldn’t go to the hospital, and she gets angry as soon as you mention it.” Fang Hongming lowered his voice, looking worried.

Fang Han frowned and strode towards the main room.

Hu Hong was lying on the mahogany sofa, scrolling through short videos.

Seeing Fang Han return, she glanced at him, snorted, and turned away, leaving him with a cold and indifferent back view.

Fang Hongming, who followed her in, saw this scene, shrugged, and said that this was how she was as soon as she came back.

Fang Han noticed the sliced ​​fruit and cooked multigrain porridge on the coffee table. Hu Hong hadn't touched it much. He walked over and asked, "Mom, what happened to you? Did you hurt yourself during practice?"

"Who got injured during training?!" Upon hearing this, Hu Hong sat up abruptly, wincing in pain from the sudden movement. Her voice grew louder as she repeatedly emphasized, "I did get the workout! I was activating my deep muscles, you understand?"

After she finished speaking, she looked at Fang Hongming and said, "You don't understand anything. All you do is fiddle with your flowers, plants, fish, birds, and turtles! You don't exercise at all. You'll have a big belly sooner or later!"

Fang Hongming, caught in the crossfire, quickly changed his tune: "Yes, I think I've practiced it too."

"This hasn't happened before, has it? We've been to several yoga studios and several dance studios, haven't we?" Fang Han was still worried.

“That’s because they’re unprofessional! They’re not as professional as this young girl!” Although Hu Hong had been treated cruelly by Gao Wen, she still sided with the young girl and immediately said, “She even taught me how to protect myself, always telling me that safety comes first. She’s so thoughtful and gentle! She even took pictures of me, and I’ve shown them to your dad!”

Fang Han's furrowed brows did not disappear.

"Yes!" Fang Hongming nodded repeatedly, then whispered in Fang Han's ear, "This time she didn't go with Aunt Wang, your mother went by herself. It cost a lot of money, so the effect will definitely be different."

Wang Xiufen is known for being frugal and tough. After retiring, she and Hu Hong, who also retired, would grab eggs here and there, or try to join a free tour group there. Starting a few months ago, she also said she wanted to cultivate her character and went around trying to attend various free trial classes.

“I know everything!” Hu Hong said, her gaze sweeping over the father and son, pointing at them. “It’s you two who don’t care about me at all!”

"Especially you!" Her fingers stopped on Fang Han, and she choked back tears as she said aggrievedly, "Have you ever cared about your mother? You only care about your lousy job and never come back to see me. I'm so pitiful!"

Fang Han's lips twitched: "..."

When Hu Hong first retired, he was traveling all over the country and was never at home. He moved out to be closer to the company for convenience.

She was having so much fun that she probably didn't even know she had a son.

"Isn't he back now?" Fang Hongming looked up at the clock on the wall. "He must have come back as soon as he got off work. He must have been very worried about you."

Hu Hong changed the subject, "During yoga class today, none of you had any idea how painful this exercise is, but you endured it all without uttering a sound. I gritted my teeth, my clothes were soaked with sweat, but I didn't back down at all," she said, glancing at the two of them, "None of you could do that!"

“Yes, yes, yes.” Fang Hongming immediately nodded in agreement, “We can’t do it.”

Seeing that Fang Han didn't move, Hu Hong snorted heavily again, "Those who can't do it will eventually be left far behind. Don't think you're young now. Once you're over thirty, your body will start to decline, especially if you work in front of a computer for long periods of time. You'll lose your hair and develop a big belly!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Hongming turned to look at Fang Han, recalling Hu Hong's words, and shook his head repeatedly: "That won't do, how can he get married like this? He's not married yet!"

"..." Fang Han thought of the self-disciplined Gao Wen and his bald boss at his previous company, and his silence was deafening.

“What can we do? He’s not as hardworking as I am,” Hu Hong concluded, pointing at Fang Hongming, “It’s definitely your lazy genes, it’s you!”

Fang Hongming had a headache. He looked at Fang Han and said earnestly, "Young people still need to exercise more. It's okay, Dad has retired. You're not married yet."

"......"

Fang Han searched on his phone for a while, observed Hu Hong, and after confirming that she was alright, he prepared to go back.

"Aren't you staying for dinner?" Fang Hongming poked his head out from the kitchen.

"Tomorrow, I have some things to do today," Fang Han said.

“Alright, your mom’s got a bad temper today, so it’s best we don’t provoke her. She just had some coarse grain porridge, and I wasn’t planning on cooking many dishes. I’ll cook a few more of what you want to eat tomorrow.” Fang Hongming told him to leave.

*

Fang Han returned to his rented apartment, opened the door, and saw Gao Wen sitting in the living room.

A weight-loss meal was placed in front of Gao Wen, and she was eating it expressionlessly while looking at the computer.

Seeing that it was Fang Han who had returned, she was quite surprised: "Didn't you go home?"

"Mm." Fang Han nodded.

"Not going back?" Gao Wen asked again.

Fang Han: "I've gone back and come back."

"Huh?" Gao Wen didn't understand for a moment.

Didn't he go back to his hometown? Did he take a plane or a high-speed train? Is he in the surrounding area?

"It's not far, and it's nothing serious." Fang Han was carrying a bag, from which he took out several bottles. "I bought you some tea. You've been attending classes a lot lately, haven't you? Drink some to soothe your throat."

Gao Wen didn't press the matter further. She didn't want to talk about her family background, nor was she curious about others'. Instead, she was drawn to a few jars and picked them up to look at them: "American ginseng? Ophiopogon japonicus? Chrysanthemum? What are these—"

"Schisandra berries or American ginseng, just soak one of them together." Fang Han glanced at the barely touched weight-loss meal in front of her. "Want some hot pot too?"

At the mention of hot pot, Gao Wen subconsciously swallowed, looked up at him, and then looked down at the time on the computer.

"Let the supermarket send over the prepared ingredients, and then we'll be almost done with the preparations," Fang Han said.

"Then, shall we eat?" Gao Wen pursed her lips and said, poking at the weight-loss meal in front of her without any expression. "I've been eating weight-loss meals for several days in a row, and I really can't eat anymore."

“I know,” Fang Han smiled. “We’re having hot pot tonight. I’ll order now. What would you like to eat?”

"Shrimp paste, dried bean curd sticks, lettuce, beef..." Gao Wen read out one by one, "Oh right, and salmon too."

"Want to eat some hairy crabs? The hairy crabs right now are full of roe and crab fat, and they look to be of good quality. They're huge, each weighing four ounces. Have the supermarket steam them and send them over." Fang Han asked Gao Wen as he placed the order.

"I'll just have one, to taste it."

"good."

Gao Wen, who had initially been utterly despondent about her thesis, now found it somewhat endearing, even though it was rather dull. She propped herself up with her hands and continued to bury herself in the thesis.

"You go ahead and finish your thesis, then we can discuss work," Fang Han said.

"Uh-huh."

Fang Han went to the kitchen, opened the cabinet and began preparing the hot pot base. In order not to disturb her, he closed the kitchen sliding door and tried to keep the noise down.

Gao Wen's fingers tapped nimbly on the keyboard. She glanced up unintentionally at Fang Han's back, her heart surging with emotion, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

She was happier when she was with Fang Han; he could always soothe her anxiety and irritability.

For a moment, Gao Wen even thought that living such a simple and ordinary life with him wouldn't be so bad.

She can accept it.

*

The next day.

It was not yet fully light.

Hu Hong, carrying shopping bags from a clothing store, paced back and forth in front of Yuhe Yoga Studio, constantly racking her brains for an excuse to avoid them.

It's so early, young people probably can't get up yet; the yoga studio isn't even open.

It's not her fault for being late; she's about to go home!

Hu Hong was looking forward to it when a clear and gentle voice came from behind her: "Good morning, Auntie."

When that voice came, Hu Hong's heart sank. She turned around and saw Gao Wen with a bright smile. She opened the door with her fingerprint and said, "Have you been waiting long? I'll arrive earlier next time."

In fact, Gao Wen had arrived twenty minutes early.

Hu Hong said hesitantly, "I just arrived."

"Please sit down and wait for me for five minutes while I make you some tea, then we'll begin class," Gao Wen said.

Hu Hong quickly said, "It's okay, take your time, no rush."

It's best to soak her for half an hour, then you don't need to give her lessons.

Unfortunately, Gao Wen was quick and efficient; in less than five minutes, she had already laid out the mats in the classroom and said to Gao Hong with a smile, "Auntie, come in. Since you're here, we'll start class early so you can go home earlier."

Hu Hong looked at the classroom, shuddered, clutched her bag tightly again, and looked like she was about to cry.

It's all Wang Xiufen's fault! She dragged her to free classes every day. Free things are always the most expensive. See? She got her into a trap!

And Fang Han and Fang Hongming, why did they give her a thumbs up!

Thumbs up, thumbs up, thumbs up! You just know how to give blind praise!

And this little girl, her pretty appearance fooled her, fooled her terribly!

Hu Hong moved with small, quick steps, as if she were heading to the execution ground.

"Auntie?" Gao Wen called out as she went out when she saw that Hu Hong hadn't come in for a long time.

Hu Hong dared not disobey, and with a determined look in her eyes, she headed towards the classroom.

Gao Wen noticed that she was still carrying the shopping bag; "Aren't you going to put your bag away? But you can leave it aside, there's no one else in the private training room."

"Have you had breakfast?" Hu Hong asked Gao Wen.

"I ate it, I ate oatmeal." Gao Wen picked up her assistive device, then remembered she hadn't taken the spiked club, so she got up to get it.

Hu Hong shuddered when she saw the stick. She quickly rummaged through her shopping bag, pulled out a box of pastries, and held it out to Gao Wen with a sincere attitude: "These are traditional handmade pastries, hard to find, and taste delicious. I'm giving them to you."

"Thank you, Auntie. I'll try it later," Gao Wen said gratefully.

"If you like it, I'll bring you some more next time," Hu Hong emphasized the second half of her sentence.

Once you've eaten her pastries, you can't bully her anymore.

"I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need for that. I don't eat much." Gao Wen smiled and gestured for her to sit down. "Let me loosen your muscles first, please sit down."

Hu Hong trembled as she looked at the spiked club in Gao Wen's hand.

Waaaaah—

He accepted her pastries but then bullied her.

Bribery doesn't work.

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Author's note: This chapter is shorter; I'll make up for it with another chapter at 6 PM.

Good morning, everyone.