Chapter 132: When Reason Fails to Make Things Clear

Seeing that it was Xu Fei, Lin Fang stubbornly turned her head away.

"I'm not crazy."

Xu Fei glanced at the portrait. He had to admit that Lin Fang, an art student, had captured his likeness perfectly; otherwise, the people in the neurosurgery ward wouldn't have recognized him.

"You—what are you doing?" Xu Fei asked, pointing at the portrait and the line of text.

"This is a manifesto."

"A manifesto?" Xu Fei was so angry he could feel his blood boiling. "You, take these things down."

"I won't." Lin Fang stood directly in front of her painting.

"You, move aside." Xu Fei couldn't reason with her, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. Lin Fang, however, moved left and right to block him from reaching the portrait.

Just as the two were arguing back and forth, a voice rang out. "Lin Fang, what—what are you doing?"

Zhang Min walked into the crowd with several men behind her.

"Mom?" Lin Fang was stunned to see her mother.

"Your... your mom?" Xu Fei looked back and saw Zhang Min’s face twisted with rage; she looked as if she were about to spit fire.

"You! It’s you again! I... I heard you were here and didn't believe it. Lin Fang, what are you trying to do? Aren't you afraid of being a disgrace?" Zhang Min was so furious she was stuttering.

"Mom, my affairs are none of your business. Didn't we agree? From today on, I have nothing to do with this family."

Seeing that she couldn't get through to her daughter, Zhang Min turned to Xu Fei. She pointed at him and said, "Xu... Xu Fei, is it? You, you abducted my daughter. I... I’m going to have you taken to the police station, you hooligan!" She lunged at Xu Fei as she spoke.

"Wait, you—you need to listen to my explanation." Caught off guard, Xu Fei didn't know what to do. He could only step back, using his hands to hold Zhang Min at bay.

"Are you all just going to stand there? Did I pay you to watch the show?" Zhang Min, realizing she was no match for Xu Fei, turned to the men she had brought with her.

Seeing this, the men rolled up their sleeves and marched toward Xu Fei.

"What are you doing!?" Xu Fei looked at them. They were burly, hulking figures, as large as grizzly bears, and one of them had a hand the size of Xu Fei’s head. Before he could react, two of them grabbed his arms and hoisted him into the air.

The giant with the massive hands stepped in front of Xu Fei and grabbed him by the collar. "Boss, should I hit him?" he asked, looking back at Zhang Min.

"Mom!" Lin Fang cried out, rushing to Zhang Min’s side. "Don't, don't hit him. This has nothing to do with him."

Zhang Min glared at her daughter in fury. "What do you mean it has nothing to do with him? Did you come to him on your own?"

Lin Fang nodded.

This left Zhang Min feeling even more humiliated. She glared at Xu Fei and commanded, "Hit him!"

Before Lin Fang could protest further, the giant had already landed a punch on Xu Fei.

"Argh!" The blow to his stomach caused his stomach muscles to spasm, and the sharp, piercing pain made him curl up and double over.

"Don't touch him!" Lin Fang pushed the giant away and spread her arms to block him. "Mom, why won't you listen to me? I told you this was my own choice, it has nothing to do with him!"

It was exactly what Zhang Min feared. With Lin Fang’s declaration, the onlookers realized that Lin Fang had painted the portrait herself and had written the "I love you, Xu Fei" message of her own volition.

The Lin family was considered wealthy and influential. Her father ran a trading company, and Zhang Min herself was a deputy director at her workplace. How could such a family end up in a mess like this?

Furious, Zhang Min stepped forward and slapped Lin Fang across the face. "Shut up!"

Lin Fang looked at her mother in shock. It was the first time in her life she had been slapped. "Mom, you—you hit me?"

Zhang Min was trembling with rage. She pointed at Lin Fang and shouted, "You ungrateful girl! You—you, get her out of here!"

The two men who had been holding Xu Fei let him go and grabbed Lin Fang by the arms. Like they were lifting a chick, they hoisted her up.

"Take her away! What are you waiting for?" Zhang Min yelled, pointing toward the hospital exit.

"Yes, ma'am..." The two giants clamped onto Lin Fang and began dragging her out of the hospital.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Lin Fang struggled, but it was in vain.

Panting heavily, Zhang Min stepped forward and tore down the painting and the sign that read "Xu Fei, I love you."

"Wait a minute!" Just as Zhang Min was about to leave, Xu Fei stepped forward and grabbed her.

"What do you want now?"

"You just hit me."

Zhang Min frowned. "So what if I hit you?"

"Nothing, just apologize to me."

Zhang Min sneered, looking him up and down. "Are you confused? I hit you because of what you did to my daughter."

Xu Fei gave a cold smile as well. "I think you’re the one who’s confused. I didn't do anything to Lin Fang. Everyone here heard it—Lin Fang did all of this on her own."

"I don't care. It takes two to tango. Without you, my daughter would be perfectly well-behaved."

Seeing how unreasonable she was, Xu Fei shook his head. "Fine, what about having your men hit me?"

"Don't you deserve to be hit, you hooligan?" Zhang Min looked at the giant. "What are you staring at? Don't you know how to get rid of him?"

The giant stepped forward and shoved Xu Fei aside with his massive palm. Zhang Min brushed off the spot where Xu Fei had grabbed her. "Get this straight: know your place, and stay away from my daughter." With that, she turned and walked out of the hospital.

"That's really bullying."
"Exactly, just because they have connections."
"Forget it, buddy. You got the girl; just take the beating."

The onlookers murmured among themselves. Xu Fei, however, furrowed his brow. He couldn't help but worry about what would happen to Lin Fang when she got home. He rubbed the spot where he had been hit; that giant really had a heavy hand.

Xu Fei knew that he couldn't win against people like them. But... well, Lin Fang was Zhang Min’s biological daughter, after all. No matter what, she wouldn't truly harm her own child. He hoped Lin Fang would understand.

Xu Fei shook his head, deciding to treat it as a minor incident.

When he returned to his hospital room, An Laosan asked, "I say, are you alright?"

"You saw it?" Xu Fei sat on the chair, looking listless.

"Forget it, it's fine. If they had really taken it to the police station, it would have been your fault anyway."

Xu Fei nodded. That was true. Not to mention their wealth and influence, even as a student's parent, he would have no way to explain his side of the story.