Inside the small dark room, the Fu Family heard every sound of Pang Fu’s return clearly. They even saw the steamed buns being taken away, but the hole was too small, and they didn’t have time to snatch them back.
Listening to the commotion outside and not yet understanding the other party’s background, they dared not act rashly.
When the door was opened, the Fu Family was on high alert, staring intently at the entrance.
Zhou Hai, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, was just about to speak when a fierce gust of palm wind struck him in the face.
His battered body had no chance to react before he was sent flying by the palm strike, and the steamed buns in his hand were snatched away.
Zhou Hai…
Pang Fu???
“Mother.” Recognizing who it was, Pang Fu happily wiggled her little bottom twice in Qingqing Yin’s arms.
Qingqing Yin hugged the chubby baby close, nuzzling her: “Baby, Mother’s.”
“Giggle… Mother, Baby’s.”
The little one giggled happily, and the others also felt slightly relieved, finally taking a moment to look at the person lying on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
Baba sighed inwardly. Laugh now—you might not be able to laugh later. This person clearly looked like a major villain.
Zhou Hai suppressed the bloody churning in his internal organs and let out a bitter laugh. It truly was one disaster after another.
“Fourth Master Fu, is this how you treat an ally?”
The small dark room had no lights, no illumination—only the faint moonlight from outside allowed them to barely see.
No one had clearly seen who the newcomer was.
As soon as Zhou Hai spoke, Lao Si’s heart skipped a beat: “Director Zhou?”
Zhou Hai: “It’s me. Would you mind giving me a hand, Fourth Master Fu? I can’t get up.”
Even after losing half his life, he could still maintain his composure—quite the talent.
Lao Si approached uncertainly and finally saw Zhou Hai covered in blood. This definitely couldn’t have been caused by his wife’s earlier palm strike.
“Director Zhou, what happened to you?” He wanted to reach out and help but didn’t know where to start.
Zhou Hai leaned on Lao Si’s arm to stand up, took a deep breath, and said, “That beast Li Chaoying kidnapped me, locked me up here, and interrogated me about the evidence I have on him.
If it weren’t for your kid, I’d be dead.”
He didn’t play any tricks and told the truth straightforwardly.
Lao Si was inwardly shocked. He had confidently assured his father that there were no problems, but now he was being proven wrong. If Zhou Hai had died, their family would have suffered greatly too.
Though shocked inside, he showed nothing on his face.
“It’s good that Director Zhou escaped danger. Shouldn’t you go back and recuperate first?”
Zhou Hai waved his hand: “I won’t die for now. I need to take revenge first. I came here to return your child. I have to know who my savior is, right?
It’s just quite surprising. I remember Fourth Master Fu’s child went missing?”
Lao Si’s eyes flickered slightly as he nodded: “We just found her.”
Zhou Hai smiled: “No wonder. Congratulations, Fourth Master Fu. Everyone, rest assured—I’ll have you out of here by the day after tomorrow at the latest. I, Zhou Hai, keep my word. If the Fu Family ever needs anything in the future, just say the word. If it’s within my power, I won’t refuse.
Also, I’ll have someone bring food. Don’t let the little one go out to fetch it anymore. This time, it was a coincidence she got mine. What if she gets someone else’s? They might not be as easygoing as I am.”
The Fu Family glanced at the net bag on the ground and immediately flushed with embarrassment.
Lao Si laughed awkwardly: “That… children don’t understand things. Sorry to trouble you, Director Zhou, to take it back.”
He picked up the net bag and handed it over.
Zhou Hai waved his hand: “It’s my treat for the little one. Alright, get some rest early.”
After Zhou Hai left, the Fu Family remained silent for a long time.
They weren’t really thinking about anything—their minds were just blank.
Baba finally breathed a sigh of relief. Good, his little master always had Fortune Luck on her side at critical moments. Thankfully, she hadn’t saved an ungrateful wretch. Next time, he’d try not to go against his little master.
Pang Fu was hungry and pointed at the net bag: “Yummy, eat.”
Fourth Brother Fu sighed. This food was now officially accounted for, so they could eat without worry.
“Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters-in-law, come over. There’s plenty here. We’ve been hungry all day, so let’s all have something to fill our stomachs.”
No one stood on ceremony. They gathered around and shared the food.
The tiny dark room, where they ate, drank, and relieved themselves, smelled awful, but everyone ate happily. Because of Pang Fu, even their days as prisoners held hope.
“Our little Fufu is truly the Fu Family’s lucky treasure. Without the little one these past few days, who knows how much more we would have suffered,” Grandma Fu praised, stroking her chubby granddaughter’s little head.
It was Pang Fu’s first time eating these things, and she was so delighted she swayed her head from side to side. Being praised again, her tail practically wagged: “Baby is amazing, yo.” Her face was smeared with juice, but that didn’t stop her from preening.
Fourth Brother Fu smiled as he wiped his daughter’s face. “Yes, Baby is the most amazing. If it weren’t for Baby, we might never have gotten out.”
If she hadn’t saved Zhou Hai, and Zhou Hai had died, Li Chaoying would have surely torn the Fu Family apart, devouring them to the bone without leaving even a drop of soup. He would never have let them walk out of this room.
A sharp glint flashed in Fourth Brother Fu’s eyes. “Did you see it? The mouse in the corner that ate the breadcrumbs.”
No one had noticed, and it was too dark to see now. “What about it?”
“It’s dead.”
Everyone was shocked. “Dead? How did it die?”
Second Sister-in-law Fu walked over to take a closer look and returned with a grave expression. “Judging by the symptoms, it should be rat poison.”
Third Master Fu frowned deeply. “So there’s rat poison in the steamed buns?” Little Fufu had called them stinky from the start—could she smell it?
Second Sister-in-law Fu nodded. “But the dosage likely isn’t high. For a human’s body weight, this amount wouldn’t be instantly fatal, or perhaps not fatal at all. It would only damage bodily functions and internal organs, leading to various symptoms—a lingering, miserable existence, certainly no better than death.”
The peach shortbread in Fu Laoda’s hand clattered to the floor. His face turned ashen. “How could this be? That was my student! A student I once held such high hopes for.
He was always so diligent and honest, steady in his work, with a clean background. How could it be like this?”
Fu Da Sao worked at the same school as Fu Laoda and was the dean of students.
She was usually strict, but unlike Fu Laoda’s academically rigorous harshness, she was merely businesslike. Fu Laoda’s strictness was entirely mixed with personal emotion.
She sneered coldly. “Are ungrateful wretches so rare? Aren’t all these injuries of yours thanks to your ‘good students’?”
Before Hui Wu came knocking, the Fu Family had already suffered plenty of hardships.
Fu Laoda had been beaten black and blue by students at the school. Thankfully, Fourth Brother Fu arrived quickly, or who knows what might have happened.
Fu Laoda’s eyes reddened, his mood sinking. “I just wanted them to learn more, to live up to their over ten years of hard study, to live up to their parents’ toil and sacrifice, to live up to the school’s cultivation of them, to live up to society’s expectations of them, and most of all, to live up to their own perseverance through cold winters and hot summers. What did I do wrong?
I gained nothing from them; in fact, I poured so much effort into them, wholeheartedly hoping they would do well.
Why do they hate me so much? Why?”
Seeing him so vulnerable and doubting himself, the Fu Family felt deeply distressed.
Fu Laoda was deeply devoted to academia, caring more for his students than his own son. Yet in return, he faced beatings and poisoning—something no one could accept.
Fu Da Sao had advised him several times before, telling him not to always give selflessly. What he thought was kindness, others might see as overstepping boundaries—too much of a good thing can be harmful.
But he never listened.
Now, seeing him like this, her heart ached for him.
“Alright, don’t be upset. You did nothing wrong. It’s those people who were ill-intentioned. Look, there were good students too, weren’t there? The one who tipped off Lao Si, and those who helped stop the others, right?
Those ungrateful ones weren’t your failure to teach—they were just rotten from the start, impossible to change.
You’re human, not a god, aren’t you?”
Old Master Fu said gravely, “Laoda, you’re a man. Don’t let a setback make you lose heart or doubt yourself. You must hold firm to your beliefs and press forward fearlessly. That’s what a Fu Family man does.”
Fu Laoda held back his distress and spoke, “Dad, I’m sorry. I’ve disgraced the Fu Family.”
Old Master Fu scowled and scolded, “Nonsense! You are all the pride of the Fu Family. Stand tall and straight, all of you. We Fu Family members do not fall.”
Fu Laoda pressed his lips together and fell silent.
Everyone knew he needed time to process and did not disturb him, quietly continuing their meal.
Only Pang Fu and Qingqing Yin, mother and daughter, were unaware of what had happened. The two leaned against each other, one feeding and the other eating.
Pang Fu’s little mouth was stuffed full as she turned her neck left and right, curiously watching everyone.