Back at home, Jian Ai was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing him return, she called out for him to come in and help.
Lin Fan washed his hands and walked into the kitchen. Tonight, they were making braised prawns, and he needed to help remove the shrimp veins.
Lin Fan skillfully used a toothpick to pick at the veins, while Jian Ai was busy preparing other ingredients. Suddenly, she asked, "Did you go see Huizi today?"
Lin Fan paused for a moment, "You already know?"
"Yeah! Huizi complained to me!"
"Just ignore her."
"You shouldn't treat her like that. You've seen everything! If Zhou Yiming finds out, you won't be able to escape."
"It was just a glance. She won't tell Zhou Yiming, at most she'll just complain that I spanked her."
Jian Ai smirked, "So you enjoyed it, huh!"
To be honest, it was quite enjoyable.
It was bouncy and moist.
But he wouldn't admit it.
"That’s not true, I was spanking, not touching."
"What's the difference?"
"Rubbing and going in are not the same, are they?"
"You're just making excuses. Just wait for Zhou Yiming to come after you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Yiming's call came in.
Some things really shouldn't be said.
"Look at your bad luck."
Jian Ai glanced at him, "Then don’t answer."
What is meant to happen will happen.
And you can run from the monk, but not the temple.
If he didn't answer the phone now, Zhou Yiming would come knocking soon enough.
Stepping out of the kitchen, Lin Fan slid to answer, "Hello! What can I do for you, Boss Zhou?"
After saying that, Lin Fan wisely moved the phone away from his ear, or his eardrum would suffer.
As expected, Zhou Yiming's furious voice came blaring from the phone's speaker.
"Lin Fan, I f*** your grandpa."
"How could you guarantee that in front of me today?"
"What did you do when you saw Huizi? You actually spanked her! I wouldn’t even dare to do that, and you went ahead and did it."
"You better give me an explanation, or I’ll make you pay."
"......."
Zhou Yiming ranted and raved for a while.
Lin Fan finally spoke up to explain, "Huizi deserved it; who told her to be disobedient and try to matchmake me with Zhang Mingming?"
"Besides, spanking her is less likely to cause any harm!"
"Otherwise, where should I hit? On the head?"
Zhou Yiming's roaring voice started to retort, "You're full of crap. No matter how unreasonable Huizi is, you shouldn't touch a single hair on her."
"I didn't touch her hair!"
"Get lost."
"Alright! Bye!"
Lin Fan hung up Zhou Yiming's call and conveniently blocked him.
He had explained everything he needed to, now he just had to let Zhou Yiming cool off.
After all, he couldn't escape his retribution; he could just treat him to drinks another day.
Returning to the kitchen to continue removing the shrimp veins, Jian Ai looked a bit worried, "Aren't you going to explain properly?"
"What’s there to explain? I already hit her."
"......."
After dinner, Lin Fan unblocked Zhou Yiming's number.
He hadn't called back.
At that moment, Gu Jia sent him a message, unexpectedly inviting him over.
Could it be that Zhong Xiaoqin convinced her so quickly?
With doubts in mind, Lin Fan knocked on Gu Jia's door.
"Quick, call out 'Uncle Lin'." Gu Jia warmly welcomed him with her son.
Xu Ziyan, only three years old, was adorable and called out in a sweet voice, "Hello, Uncle Lin."
Lin Fan squatted down, pinched his nose, and lifted him up, "Little handsome boy, your mouth is so sweet. Call me 'Daddy Lin'."
Xu Ziyan looked adorably confused, unsure whether to speak.
Gu Jia was speechless; Lin Fan seemed to take advantage of every opportunity.
"Ziyan, you can't call him 'Daddy'."
"I know, Mommy."
Once in the living room, he set Xu Ziyan down, who then ran into Gu Jia's arms, blinking his big eyes curiously at Lin Fan.
"Wei Ge hasn't come back?" Lin Fan looked around but didn't see Xu Huanshan's shadow.
Gu Jia nodded, "He won't be back tonight."
"So you want me to 'drop by'?"
"Pfft! You're so full of yourself."
Gu Jia tried to be polite, but Lin Fan was just too full of himself, always ready to spray out comments.
Lin Fan wasn't angry; he just smiled and beckoned Xu Ziyan to come into his arms.
Surprisingly, Gu Jia didn't object and even pushed Xu Ziyan into his embrace.
Then Xu Ziyan said something that took Lin Fan by surprise: "Uncle Lin, I want to go to school. Can you help me?"
Lin Fan hesitated for a moment, glancing at Gu Jia, who smiled slyly.
It was obvious that Gu Jia had instigated this, trying to use the child's innocence to sway him?
This was quite a clever move.
Seeing such a cute child, he really felt a surge of paternal love.
But Lin Fan was not someone who could be easily manipulated.
"Uncle can help you go to school, but you have to answer me two questions, okay?"
"Sure, sure! You ask."
"Have you ever seen your mom and dad fight? Did your mom scream really loudly?"
Xu Ziyan's cute little head was filled with big question marks.
He didn't understand!
Gu Jia's face turned green instantly; Lin Fan was just too bad.
Children's innocent words shouldn't be used like this.
"Can you act like a grown-up? He's just a child."
"Children can say things that adults dare not."
"You have no shame."
Gu Jia was afraid Xu Ziyan would accidentally reveal some secret, so she hurriedly pulled him away from Lin Fan's arms and sent him back to play in his room.
Trying to use the child's innocence to touch Lin Fan's heart was impossible; she would have to face him directly.
"Did you talk to Mrs. Wang? The child's schooling can only be arranged through you, right?"
Lin Fan didn't deny it; it seemed Mrs. Wang had already spoken to her, so there was no need for too much explanation.
"Yes, we're both school directors, and there are more people looking for her. I'm just helping her share the pressure."
"How can you be so shameless?"
"Is that so? I'm helping you."
"Thanks, but no thanks."
"No need to be polite; just call me Lei Feng."
Gu Jia was about to explode with anger.
Lin Fan silently admired the beautiful scenery.
After a moment of silence, Gu Jia took a sip of water to calm herself and said, "Do we have to stick to the conditions you set before?"
Lin Fan didn't answer immediately; he was thinking that since Gu Jia said this, it seemed Zhong Xiaoqin hadn't persuaded her yet.
So he decided to test the waters without making concessions. If she still refused, he could try to take a step back.
"Yes, if you agree to my conditions, your son can go to school tomorrow. If you don't agree, then your son will have to go to another school."
Gu Jia was furious, "You're a cold-blooded devil; I could never agree to that."
"Really?"
"No doubt about it, you can rest assured!"
"Oh!"
She was really fierce.
Lin Fan crossed his legs and paused, "Your son is quite adorable; I like him. Since you won't agree to my initial conditions, how about I take a step back?"
Gu Jia instantly felt like she had grasped a lifeline, "What do you mean by taking a step back?"
"No need for you to be involved in my affairs; let's play a number game!"
Gu Jia's brows twitched slightly; she was indeed making a concession: "What kind of number game?"
"The number game of six and nine."
"You......"
Gu Jia's frown deepened.
Although she was making a concession, it was still beyond her expectations.
"Can you take another step back? I can kneel in front of you..."
"No way! If you don't agree, then your son will have to go to another school!"
Lin Fan was ready to gamble and stood up to leave.
Gu Jia hurriedly called out to him, "Don't go! I'll play the number game with you."
Lin Fan secretly rejoiced, "Good, shall we play now?"
"Now?"
"What's the problem? You only have one child at home."
"Do we have to do it at my house?"
"Otherwise, we can do it at my house?"
Gu Jia bit her lip, having no choice but to agree.
For her son's schooling, she was truly at her wit's end.
Walking into the bedroom, Lin Fan turned on his phone and pointed it at the bed. Gu Jia panicked, "What are you doing?"
"Of course, I'm recording this. Don't worry, I just have a hobby of collecting stamps; I won't share it."
"No way."
"Then should I leave?"
"Fine, I’ll let you take a picture, alright?"
Gu Jia was quite helpless.
Having come this far, it would be too much of a loss if it all fell apart now.