Fang Jinshi was heading out to inspect the commercial storefronts, and Lao Zhang, the family driver, was tasked with chauffeuring him around.
Following Lao Zhang’s meticulously mapped itinerary, their first stop was Lisu Bridge, the closest location to the Fang estate.
Situated in the southeastern district of Haicheng, Lisu Bridge was a highly bustling and prosperous commercial hub. An ancient, weathered stone bridge spanned across the riverbanks, with the vast, surging river water roaring beneath its arches. Rows of weeping willows lined both sides of the river, their tender green branches swaying gently like a beautiful woman extending her graceful arms to coax the relentless river water to stay.
Facing the willows across the bustling street stood neat rows of commercial shops. Because the district catered predominantly to the female demographic, the consumer base here consisted almost entirely of women. The eastern bank of the bridge sat adjacent to the affluent residential district, housing high-end, premium luxury boutiques; conversely, the western bank focused on budget-friendly retail. Though only a short distance apart, they were separated by a stark, absolute line.
Fang Jinshi spent some time walking along both banks of the river, actively consulting with nearby merchants before ultimately crossing this location off his list.
While Lisu Bridge boasted immense commercial prosperity, a massive wholesale flower and bird market sat just a stone’s throw away. Being in such close proximity to a massive wholesale market meant an independent florist would find it staggeringly difficult to turn a profit on curated bouquets. This location simply wasn’t right for his vision.
Lao Zhang fired up the engine once more, and they proceeded toward Changshun Avenue.
Changshun Avenue had historically reigned as Haicheng’s commercial epicenter. Ever since mercantile trade first emerged in the city, this district had maintained an unyielding wave of prosperity. The corporate headquarters of Fang’s
Fine Jewelry was located precisely on this avenue.
Both Father Fang and his eldest brother desperately desired for him to establish his storefront in this vicinity. Yet, after carefully inspecting every single commercial space his brother had listed, Fang Jinshi felt that the specific foot traffic, the geographical facing, and the internal layouts always carried a few minor, unsatisfactory flaws. Ultimately, he decided to head over to the vicinity of Guangyao Mansion to take a look.
After a long series of twists and turns, the two finally arrived at Guangyao Mansion.
Fang Jinshi toured several commercial storefronts before finally discovering the one that matched his vision perfectly.
Though Father Fang, Madam Fang, and Fang Jinchen felt a wave of hollow disappointment that he hadn’t chosen a location right under their noses, they fully respected his decision, smoothly stepping in to handle the entire renovation and interior design itinerary flawlessly on his behalf. Fang Jinshi made no attempt to display polite refusal, choosing instead to tuck his profound gratitude deeply away in his heart.
With an elite renovation team officially secured, Fang Jinshi didn’t need to expend much energy at all, merely dropping by the site occasionally to offer minor adjustments on specific artistic details.
Before long, early autumn arrived, yet the weather surprisingly turned even more brutally scorching.
Seizing the crisp, cool morning air before the heat could settle, Fang Jinshi set off for Guangyao Mansion. The renovation phase was drawing to an absolute close, and the core structural layout of the entire flower shop had effectively taken shape. Because the construction team had strictly utilized premium, eco-friendly materials, the shop would be fully prepared for its grand opening the moment the final touches were completed.
Fang Jinshi touched base with the project manager, implementing a few final tweaks to the interior details. This earned him a relentless stream of warm blessings from the manager, who enthusiastically wished him a highly lucrative business.
Stepping out of the flower shop, Fang Jinshi chose not to head home immediately, instead steering his path toward the largest high-end shopping mall in the district.
Ever since his return to the country, his immediate family members had not placed a single demand upon him; instead, they had expended limitless effort to smoothly clear away every obstacle in his path, standing firmly behind his back as his ultimate pillar of support. Their silent sacrifices were heavily etched into his mind, and he was deeply, quietly grateful.
It just so happened that yesterday, his older brother had accidentally lost a luxury wristwatch—a minor detail Fang Jinshi had carefully filed away. His primary objective for wandering the luxury mall today was to select a replacement wristwatch for his brother, along with finding an exquisite, heartwarming gift for each of his parents.
Possessing a deeply perceptive nature, he knew the specific likes and preferences of his family members inside and out. It didn’t take him long at all to finalize three perfect gifts.
Clutching the three elegant shopping bags in his palm, he was just preparing to stride out the main exit when a piercing shriek suddenly erupted from behind his back, instantly followed by a massive CRASH that exploded next to his ear like a sudden clap of thunder.
Before Fang Jinshi could even form a reflex, a sharp, blunt shockwave of pain slammed into his lower back, quickly followed by a sudden sensation of complete weightlessness that nearly sent him crashing face-first into the floor.
“Hiss—”
Fang Jinshi sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, forcing down the throbbing ache. Just as he prepared to spin around, a wretched, shrill wailing sound assaulted his ears.
The crying voice was thick and raspy—sounding exactly like a young boy navigating puberty. Though the sobbing was incredibly pathetic, it was staggeringly disruptive to the ears. Fang Jinshi’s brow twitched violently, the localized throbbing in his lower back intensifying instantly.
Waiting until the sharp spike of pain gradually receded, he finally turned around. Resting on the floor was a young boy around twelve or thirteen years old, howling at the top of his lungs, his face completely flushed a deep, suffocating crimson as he gasped hysterically for breath.
The boy was drenched from head to toe, looking thoroughly pathetic and disheveled. Scattered entirely around him was a sea of shattered glass shards gleaming brilliantly within a massive puddle of spilled water. It wasn’t difficult to piece together exactly what had occurred: the boy had been sprinting blindly through the luxury mall while shrieking at the top of his lungs, crashing violently right into Fang Jinshi’s back. Failing to knock the older youth down, the boy had instead thrown himself backward from the raw recoil, losing his grip on a glass tumbler and shattering it to pieces.
The boy’s hysterical wailing instantly attracted a massive wave of attention from the surrounding shoppers. In a fraction of a second, the standing Fang Jinshi and the sobbing boy on the floor became the absolute focal point of the entire corridor.
“Ah! My baby!” A sharp, piercing female voice shrieked.
Before Fang Jinshi could process the noise, a sudden gust of heavy perfume drifted past him. A sumptuously dressed woman scrambled forward, dropping into a frantic squat beside the boy to check him over for injuries.
Catching sight of the woman’s arrival, the boy seemed to have finally secured his ultimate savior, and his wailing intensified with newfound misery. Sobbing hysterically, he thrust a shaking finger straight at Fang Jinshi, hitching, “Mom, uwh. Mommy, he, he, uwh-uwh-uwh, he.”
Because he was crying far too violently, his chest was severely deprived of oxygen, rendering his words completely fractured and unintelligible.
Yet the woman acting as his mother seemed to extract a definitive verdict from those broken syllables. Snapping her head up, she glared fiercely at Fang Jinshi, resembling a rabid, furious lion as she advanced aggressively: “Look at you, dressed up all nice like a proper human being, yet when you plow down a child you just stand there like a brainless idiot! What, are you a mute? Don’t you know how to apologize?”
As the absolute victim of this incident, being aggressively badgered for an apology by the perpetrator’s family was, for Fang Jinshi, a thoroughly novel and deeply bizarre experience.
Though irritation was bubbling rapidly in his chest, he maintained a poised, civil tone, systematically laying bare the objective reality for the woman: “Madam, your child was sprinting recklessly through a crowded shopping mall and slammed directly into my back. I sustained a substantial injury to my waist from his impact, while he was pushed backward by the raw recoil and tumbled to the floor. Are you absolutely certain I am the one who owes an apology here?”
When he spoke, his voice carried a faint tremor, a sliver of suppressed pain lacing through his words.
Yet the woman shamelessly misinterpreted his measured restraint as a sign of weakness. Fully aware that her child was in the wrong, she dug her heels in with absolute righteousness: “Oh, I see. And what exactly are you trying to imply here? My son is still so young; he’s just a child! He was simply playing in the mall and happened to bump into you—it’s just his bad luck. Look at him now, he’s injured and crying so miserably! I’ve already chosen not to make a scene about it with you, so out with it, what more do you want?”
This magnificent display of twisted logic practically made Fang Jinshi laugh from sheer, unadulterated rage.
Casting a cold, imperious look down at the pathetic mother and son, he stated in a frigid voice, “I don’t want anything extraordinary. I merely require him to carry the responsibility he owes and offer me a formal apology. Furthermore, as his legal guardian, you shall cover the medical fees for my physical examination, and issue a formal apology for the unprovoked slander you hurled at me a moment ago.”
His demands were completely grounded in logic and absolute facts, leaving zero room for a counterargument.
Yet the woman manifested an expression of profound, absolute disbelief, acting entirely as though he had just uttered some horrific, unspeakable atrocity. “He’s just a child! It’s not like he did it on purpose! You’re a full-grown adult, how on earth can your mind be so staggeringly narrow and petty?”
The throbbing ache in Fang Jinshi’s lower back was still pulsing steadily. Internally, his level of sheer disbelief far eclipsed hers; he even briefly questioned if the boy’s hysterical wailing had been so deafening that it had muffled the woman’s words, causing him to mishear her completely.
Yet the raw, unbridled hostility radiating from the woman’s eyes told him he hadn’t misheard a single syllable. This woman was completely dead-set on unconditionally sheltering her child, deflecting every ounce of blame onto his shoulders.
Fang Jinshi’s fierce temper was thoroughly ignited. Locking a pair of icy eyes onto the woman, he was just preparing to unleash a savage verbal dismantling when a deep, commanding male voice cut through the crowd from the edge of the corridor: “What happened here?”
A subtle, crisp fragrance of pine and winter cedar gradually drifted closer. Fang Jinshi tilted his head toward the sound, his eyes locking right onto Gu Tuo.