Yuan Xinkang's face showed a complicated expression. "Afang."

"Afang? Afang who runs a small shop in the south of the city?" Fang Meili felt a chill in her heart.

Afang runs the shop alone, and sometimes she asks Fang Damiao to deliver the goods to her. Unexpectedly, they ended up getting together.

"Are you sure?" Fang Meili pressed, wishing it weren't true.

Yuan Xinkang nodded, "I squatted outside the shop for half an hour and saw him go in, but he didn't come out, and then the shop door was closed."

Fang Meili gritted her teeth, a tightness gripping her chest. "That bastard! He doesn't need to care about his wife and kids at home, and he still does this kind of thing!"

Fang Meili took a breath, "Call Meihao and the others over to come along!"

"Going now? Wouldn't that be too impulsive?"

"Impulsive? He did something like this, and you call it impulsive?" Fang Meili's eyes reddened.

Without saying anything more, the two closed the door, and Yuan Xinkang drove Fang Meili to Fang Meihao's house in a hurry.

When they arrived at Fang Meihao's house, Fang Meili didn't even feel like sitting down. She stood up and explained the situation. Bao Wenzhao spoke first, "This matter cannot be known to our eldest sister. She is slowly getting better now, and we cannot upset her."

"Let's put everything else aside for now and catch Fang Damiao first," Fang Meili said firmly.

The four of them hurried south of the city under the cover of night. Most of the shops on the street were already closed, with only a few still lit up.

The small shop's two heavy wooden doors were tightly shut. The red paint on the lintel, reading "Afang's Convenience Store," had faded to a pale color. The warm yellow light bulb in the counter had long been turned off. Only the thin frost on the windowpane reflected the scattered lights from the distant houses, making the place seem desolate.

They stood not far from the shop. "Does her shop have a back door?" Fang Meili asked.

"I don't know, I rarely come here either," Yuan Xinkang shook his head.

“If there’s a back door, we’ll have two people at the front and two at the back. Meihao, you two wait here while we check if there’s a back door,” Fang Meili said, pulling Yuan Xinkang toward the back.

Fang Meihao gripped Bao Wenzhao's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her shoes shuffled across the bluestone pavement, the night wind carrying a chill, yet she was covered in a thin layer of sweat. "Wenzhao, are you nervous?" Bao Wenzhao gently patted her hand, signaling her not to panic.

Footsteps came from the end of the alley in the distance, and she shrank back behind Bao Wenzhao in fright.

Fang Meili and Yuan Xinkang came over. "There's a back door. Xinkang and I will go to the back door. You guys stay at the front door and block it. See that? It's this Afang Convenience Store." Fang Meili pointed over there again.

“Okay, be careful and don’t let anything happen.” Bao Wenzhao nodded.

Fang Mei, standing to the side, nodded tremblingly and gripped Bao Wenzhao's arm even tighter.

Fang Meihao and Yuan Xinkang returned to the back door. Fang Meili knocked on the door a few times and called out, "Afang, Afang!"

There was no response from inside the house, so she called out again, "Ah Fang, it's late at night, and it's not good if the neighbors hear me."

"Oh, wait a minute, is that Mei Li?" Fang's voice finally came from inside the house, and then the lights came on.

Fang Meili winked at Yuan Xinkang and whispered, "He went to the front gate." Her fists were clenched tightly.

Before Afang could open the door, Fang Damiao's voice came from inside, "Meihao, Wenzhao, I, I..."

Afang opened the door, and Fang Meili rushed in, glanced at the messy bed, ignored Afang, and ran straight to the front.

Fang Damiao lowered his head, unsure of what to do with his hands. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak, his face turning bright red.

"Do you know who he is to me?" Fang Meili glared at Afang. "Shameless!"

"I don't have a husband, so what? What do you mean by shameless?" Afang retorted, looking completely self-righteous.

"You don't have a husband, so you're sleeping with other people's husbands? Why don't you go out and sell yourself? You could make money selling yourself!"

"I don't need your permission." Afang put one hand on her hip and pointed at Fang Meili with the other.

Fang Meili brushed away Afang's finger pointing at her, and Yuan Xinkang pulled Afang aside, saying, "Afang, there are so many of us today. If we start arguing, you won't gain anything. If we wake up the neighbors, it will ruin your reputation."

Afang's arrogance subsided a little, and she reluctantly shut her mouth.

Fang Meihao pulled Fang Meili, "Second sister, let's go back and talk."

Bao Wenzhao glanced at Fang Damiao, "Let's go!"

Yuan Xinkang took Fang Damiao back to the small room behind the wholesale department and turned on the light. The dim light made Fang Damiao's face turn pale and then bluish.

Fang Meili looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Fang Damiao, who have you done right? How many days did you even take care of Dongqiang? My parents took care of you, and I gave them every penny of your salary. They used it all to build your house and saved it for you. When the builders needed to eat, my mother cooked for them and even paid for your meals. My father worked alongside you from the very beginning, and did he ever ask you for payment for his hard work? You've had it so easy. My sister, Wenzhao has been taking care of her these past few years, and she's getting better and better. You're starting to act recklessly. If she finds out, and she goes crazy again, how can you live with yourself?"

Fang Damiao bowed his head low, "I was wrong... I was confused for a moment..."

"Foolish?" Fang Meihua couldn't help but interject, "If you hadn't been discovered, would you still be so foolish?"

Fang Meili was still panting with anger.

Bao Wenzhao patted Fang Damiao on the shoulder, "Given my sister's current condition, the worst thing is any stimulation. If they find out, it will worsen her condition. If Mom and Dad find out, and something bad happens to them, this family will be..."

“He can think so much, and he still does things like this,” Fang Meili continued. “If Dong Qiang knew, what would he think of you?”

Fang Damiao's shoulders trembled even more violently when he heard Dong Qiang's name. He raised his head, his eyes red, and said, "Meili, Meihao, Xinkang, Wenzhao, I was really wrong... Please don't tell the family, don't let Meixiang know, and don't tell Dong Qiang either. I will never dare to do it again, I promise."

"I was so stupid," Fang Damiao slapped himself. No one paid any attention to him. He raised his hand again, but Yuan Xinkang grabbed his wrist. "Alright, alright, you don't need to hit yourself anymore."

"Xin Kang, Mei Li, although I have a relationship with A Fang... I have never given her anything from the store. I deliver the same amount of goods as usual. Don't worry about that. I won't let the store suffer any losses. I... I haven't spent any money on her either. I know what I'm doing." Fang Damiao hurriedly explained, trying to regain some trust.

Fang Meili glanced at him sideways, then looked away. The room fell silent; they didn't know what to do with him. Should they continue yelling?

"Meihao, Wenzhao, you both have to go to work tomorrow, so go home early!" Fang Meili looked outside; it was already late at night.

Fang Mei turned to Fang Damiao and said, “Brother, think it over carefully. If Dongqiang finds out, it will affect his studies. We brought him to the city so he could attend a city school and have a bright future. Don’t ruin his life.”

"Yes, I know, I know I was wrong, I promise, I promise it won't happen again," Fang Damiao said confidently.