Chapter 0021 Zhao Beibei

Life is like a play, except some people's are comedies and others' are tragedies.

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to live a tragedy, so he worked hard to make himself stronger. Of course, along with that came changes in the fates of those around him.

The next day, Li Yuan, accompanied by Zhao's mom and dad, went to the hospital for a follow-up. Even though it was Saturday, there were still doctors seeing patients in the morning.

As for Fan Baobao and Zhao Fusheng, they were left at home to take care of Fan Beibei.

Most of the time, little Fan Beibei was quite well-behaved.

That's right, watching the little girl pestering her sister Fan Baobao to listen to nursery rhymes, Zhao Fusheng thought to himself.

“Sister, I want to hear 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,'” Fan Beibei tugged at Fan Baobao, looking pitiful.

“'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'?”

Fan Baobao looked bewildered. Poor thing, she had never taken care of a child and had no idea what song 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' was.

“Brother sang it yesterday.” Fan Beibei pointed at Zhao Fusheng, her face full of admiration.

“Beibei, ignore him. He's a bad guy.”

Seeing Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao's anger flared. Although her mother's mood had improved after returning home yesterday, she hadn't forgotten to talk about her and Zhao Fusheng's situation.

Though Fan Baobao had long decided that once she graduated and earned money, she would definitely repay Zhao's mom and dad's kindness, the idea of registering for marriage with Zhao Fusheng now was still hard for her to accept.

“Brother is a good guy. Brother is very capable.” Fan Beibei shot a glance at her sister, ran to Zhao Fusheng, stretched out her arms to shield him behind her, as if to say, 'You're not allowed to bully him.'

“Hey! Fan Beibei!” Fan Baobao's eyes widened with anger. She pointed at her sister and said, “Change your name! Call yourself Zhao Beibei from now on!”

“Sister is not cute. I want to go to the amusement park.”

The little girl naturally didn't understand what her sister was saying, nor did she know her mother was unwell. Children's world is always simple; their greatest wish is probably to play happily.

Morning sunlight streamed in through the window, shining on the three of them. Fan Beibei took Zhao Fusheng's hand and walked to the door, followed by Fan Baobao, who looked helpless as she trailed behind them.

In her words, she was afraid Zhao Fusheng would lose her sister, so she had to follow.

To this, Zhao Fusheng said it was an underestimation of his abilities. Of course, his protest was futile; Fan Baobao never cared about his thoughts.

The three of them left the house, went to the bus stop, and got on the bus.

“Oh, this little girl is so cute.”

“Yeah, look how well-behaved she is with her brother and sister.”

Along the way, people kept praising Beibei's cuteness. The little girl tugged at Zhao Fusheng's sleeve and suddenly said, “Brother is not my brother. Brother is Beibei's brother-in-law.”

Silence!

Everyone on the bus fell silent, watching Fan Baobao's face turn as red as a big apple in plain sight. Zhao Fusheng laughed heartlessly.

He lowered his head, gently kissed the little girl in his arms, and said softly, “Beibei, be good. We're not married yet, so it doesn't count.”

“But Mom agreed,” Beibei said innocently.

If possible, Fan Baobao really wanted to smack this shameless guy to death. For the first time in her life, she felt utterly helpless against Zhao Fusheng.

People around them offered blessings, clearly thinking she and Zhao Fusheng were a perfect match. The story of childhood sweethearts always delights. But that wasn't the case at all, and her relationship with this guy was nothing like what others imagined.

Thinking this, Fan Baobao suddenly had a moment of clarity. She looked at Zhao Fusheng and said quietly, “Are you serious? You don't plan to be with me?”

Zhao Fusheng nodded in agreement. “Maybe we need to put on a show in front of the elders for a while, but I think once you graduate and earn money, I could ask for a breakup fee.”

Fan Baobao was silent. She naturally understood that Zhao Fusheng said this only to give her a reasonable excuse to repay the favor.

Having known him for so many years, she understood the person before her. If she admitted that Zhao Fusheng was somewhat indecisive at heart, she would believe it. But if anyone said Zhao Fusheng would abandon his principles for money, Fan Baobao would never believe it, even if beaten to death.

In the end, he was just helping her family through a crisis.

With a bitter smile, Fan Baobao whispered, “Why are you so good to me?”

“I told you, we're friends. And since we were kids, you and your aunt have always treated me decently.” Zhao Fusheng shrugged.

He wasn't the kind of person who didn't appreciate kindness. When he was little, his parents were too busy at work, and sometimes he couldn't even get a hot meal. Back then, although Fan Baobao bullied him all the time, she always brought him home to eat. Li Yuan would cook his favorite dishes. Even Fan Jian occasionally gave him pocket money.

When someone bullied him at school, Fan Baobao, like a little chili pepper, fought back for him. Some even called her his little wife.

But life never stays at a single point in time. What time changes is not just everyone's appearance.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng never imagined that rebirth would happen to him. Although he had read countless novels and seen such tropes in movies, unlike those protagonists who soared at the first opportunity and thrived, Zhao Fusheng knew his own abilities well. He had no capital to start a business, and few opportunities to make big money in his mind. Apart from knowing there would be a market wave at the end of the year, he didn't even trust his own other memories.

The only thing he remembered most vividly was that over the next decade or so, housing prices would become ridiculously high. If he had money now to buy a courtyard house within the Second Ring Road, he would be a billionaire in ten years.

But that was utterly useless.

So what Zhao Fusheng could do was to do his best to make life better for those around him.

Repay kindness, avenge wrongs.

That was Zhao Fusheng's character.

Fan Baobao looked at the man before her, feeling both happy and helpless.

After a long while, she sighed and said, “If this goes on, I'm afraid it will get ugly.”

“It's okay. Only I will look bad, not you.” Zhao Fusheng smiled, his face calm.

From the beginning, when he thought it was a dream and helped the Fan family shoulder that debt, to later realizing it was rebirth, Zhao Fusheng had never changed his mind.

In his previous life, he watched their family fall apart, wife and children separated. In this life, Zhao Fusheng didn't want that scene to repeat.

The two fell silent, not speaking again until they got off the bus. Fan Baobao walked ahead, lost in thought.

Zhao Fusheng ignored her, holding Fan Beibei's hand as he walked behind her.

When they reached the entrance of the amusement park, Fan Baobao was about to walk in, but Beibei came up to her, her expression serious, and said in a childish voice, “Sister, you have to hold my hand.”

“It's fine for you to go with him.” Fan Baobao was in a bad mood and said helplessly.

The little girl frowned. “Sister and brother-in-law should hold my hand. Mom said so.”

Fan Baobao felt she was going crazy. She had just glared at her sister when she saw Zhao Fusheng approaching, seemingly about to speak.

Lowering her head, Fan Baobao coaxed her sister softly: “Beibei, how about sister takes you inside first?”

“What about Brother?” Fan Beibei looked at Zhao Fusheng, worried.

“Why should I care about him?”

Fan Baobao screamed silently in her heart, but there was nothing she could do. Just as Zhao Fusheng had analyzed earlier, if the two of them had no relationship, no matter how kind Zhao's mom and dad were, they would at most help the mother and daughters occasionally, not go all out like now. After all, friends and family are different.

Taking a deep breath, Fan Baobao organized her words and said to her sister, “Beibei, first of all, sister and Fusheng are not boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just... in short, he's an annoying guy.”

Fan Beibei blinked, a little aggrieved, and said, “But why is it only you who dislikes Brother? Mom and I both like him a lot.”

Pfft, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help laughing.

Fan Baobao was helpless. She stared seriously at Fan Beibei, wondering whose sister she really was. Finally, she just stood there, letting her sister hold her left hand and Zhao Fusheng's right.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't angry. He played wildly with the little girl in the amusement park—bumper cars, carousel. Except for some things too dangerous, Fan Beibei and Zhao Fusheng were like wild horses let loose, having a blast under Fan Baobao's resentful gaze.

Finally, the little girl got tired, and Fan Baobao was also worried about her mother's situation. So the three left the amusement park and went home.

When they arrived, Li Yuan and Zhao's mom and dad had already returned. Seeing the smile on her face, Zhao Fusheng knew things had gone smoothly.

Sure enough, just as Zhao Fusheng had said earlier, Li Yuan's condition was treatable. What's more, the surgery didn't even need to be done in the provincial capital Binzhou; it could be done in Ninghai.

“The doctor told me to take medicine for now,” Li Yuan said to Fan Baobao. “I'll make arrangements in the next few days to sell the house. Then we'll have to trouble your Uncle Zhao and his family.”

“We're all family. Don't stand on ceremony.” Zhao's dad looked at Fan Baobao with a smile. “Baobao, you can come back and stay anytime. Fusheng's room is big enough for the three of you.”

“What about me?” Zhao Fusheng asked, stunned.

“You?” Zhao's mom glanced at her son and said cheerfully, “Anyway, you and Baobao will live together after you get married. For the next few years, you'll just board at school.”

In an instant, Zhao Fusheng felt abandoned by the whole world.

Similarly, Fan Baobao's expression was grim. After all, this only further cemented her relationship with Zhao Fusheng. The elders meant well, but the problem was, she really hadn't thought about getting married now.

She wanted to expose Zhao Fusheng's lie, but she couldn't say it. If she revealed the truth now, her mother definitely wouldn't accept it, and neither would Zhao's mom and dad.

With a helpless sigh, Fan Baobao felt like crying but had no tears.

“If Sister and Brother get married, can Beibei live with Brother too?” Only little Fan Beibei could ask such a question.

Fan Baobao suddenly really wanted to ask her sister, “Actually, is your name really Zhao Beibei?”