Chapter 23: I Want a Divorce

“What?”

Those sudden words made Fang Zhiyan’s face change instantly.

The word “father” carried a trace of fear for Fang Zhiyan.

Perhaps it was the influence from childhood, but upon hearing those two words, his body involuntarily trembled.

Yet immediately following that was an overwhelming surge of anger.

“That bastard dares to show up here?”

“Zhixia, take Mom and leave first. I’ll be there soon!”

Fang Zhiyan ordered anxiously, looking outside the bus.

The bus moved sluggishly, but fortunately, the urban village where Fang Zhiyan lived was not far away.

After two stops, the bus halted. Fang Zhiyan didn’t even wait for the bus to stop completely before he rushed out.

“Hey? Doctor Fang?”

Xu Qiushuang got off and, looking at Fang Zhiyan’s retreating figure, stomped her foot before quickly following him.

At this moment, on the main road through the urban village, a man was surrounded by a group of people.

He looked frightened but still asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m here looking for my wife. Why are you stopping me? She’s right there.”

As he spoke, he pointed toward Jiang Xu in the distance.

Jiang Xu was holding Fang Zhixia, hiding nearby. Sensing the man’s gesture, her body instinctively curled inward.

Seeing this, the man became smug.

“Jiang Xu, come out quickly. Do you think hiding here means I won’t find you?”

“I’m telling you, come back with me right now and I might forgive you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

But just as he finished speaking, a sharp voice rang out beside him.

“How dare you?”

“Still want to hit someone? Hitting a woman, huh?”

“Do you have guts? Try hitting me once and see if I don’t beat you to death first!”

A burly woman stepped forward, rolling up her sleeves and glaring fiercely at the man.

This woman was Liang Damin, the women’s director of the village committee of the urban village.

Her build was sturdier than most men.

Standing before the man, she scared him into stumbling over his words.

“I—I’m disciplining my wife. What’s it to you?”

“I’m the women’s director. What does it have to do with me?”

Liang Damin snapped angrily.

The man hesitated, intimidated.

Just then, a burst of curses came from a distance.

“Well, well, Fang Jianjun, you’ve finally shown up.”

“You’ve got some nerve, beating my sister and abusing my nephew and niece.”

“Fang Jianjun, you won’t die well!”

A tall man hurried over, carrying a wooden stick.

This man was Jiang Xu’s older brother, Jiang Zhao—Fang Zhiyan and Fang Zhixia’s maternal uncle.

He had long known his sister was forced to leave and had been secretly supporting her.

He wanted to avenge her, but the Fang family was a large clan; confronting them risked disaster.

Now, Fang Jianjun had come himself.

It was as if heaven’s path was open but he refused to take it, and hell’s door was closed but he willingly walked in.

Jiang Zhao clenched the stick tightly and swung it hard at Fang Jianjun’s head.

The scene startled the women’s director nearby, who jumped up.

“Don’t hit him, wait! What if you kill him?”

That strike was solid, potentially deadly.

Jiang Zhao was truly fierce.

A crowd gathered, shouting and pulling Jiang Zhao back.

With Jiang Zhao restrained, Fang Jianjun breathed a sigh of relief.

Remembering the women’s director’s words, he sneered arrogantly and pointed at Jiang Zhao.

“Oh? Who are you trying to scare?”

“Come on, here’s your head. I’ll hit you so you know what pain is.”

Suddenly a dull thud came from behind.

Then came intense pain.

Fang Jianjun clutched his head, screaming and crouching down.

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks, stunned.

Looking at Jiang Zhao, who was still being held back, they wondered: if he was restrained, who hit him?

Eyes darted from one to another until they settled behind Fang Jianjun.

There, Fang Zhiyan was holding a cane.

It was that cane that had struck Fang Jianjun’s head.

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

“Zhiyan!”

Jiang Xu realized what had happened and hurried forward.

“How could you hit him? He’s your father.”

Fang Zhiyan nodded, handed the cane back to an elderly man watching nearby, then looked at his mother.

“Mom, I don’t have that kind of father.”

“Did he ever treat us like family? When he hit you, did he ever think of you as his wife?”

“Besides, I’m a doctor. Even if I can’t kill him, I can stitch him up. I’m not afraid!”

Jiang Xu was stunned, speechless for a moment.

The onlookers nodded subtly, momentarily forgetting to restrain Jiang Zhao.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Zhao broke free and raised his stick high.

“I’ll give him one too!”

“Bang!”

Screams echoed again.

Unsatisfied with just the stick, Jiang Zhao threw it aside and grabbed Fang Jianjun’s collar, striking him repeatedly.

“Smack! Smack! Smack!”

Sounds rang sharply one after another.

While hitting, he cursed, “You bastard! How dare you hit my sister, abuse my nephew, and lay a hand on my niece?”

“I swear I’ll beat you to death today!”

Jiang Zhao’s brutal assault was satisfying to him and the crowd.

Some who found it insufficient tried to intervene.

But their attempts to break it up only resulted in slipping and stepping on Fang Jianjun’s hands or accidentally slapping his face.

In the end, all the injuries fell on Fang Jianjun.

Under such circumstances, Fang Jianjun finally couldn’t take it.

He begged, “Stop, stop! My teeth are about to break.”

Hearing this, the women’s director rushed forward.

“Alright, take it easy. Stop hitting him. If you kill him, you’ll go to jail. It’s not worth it.”

Only then did Jiang Zhao, panting heavily, step back.

But his gaze remained furious as he glared at Fang Jianjun.

“I’m telling you, hitting women and domestic violence are crimes!”

“People like you belong in jail!”

“If Jiang Xu weren’t soft-hearted, you’d have been locked up long ago!”

The women’s director scolded him harshly.

Faced with this crowd, Fang Jianjun dared not respond, only lowering his head and trembling.

But when Jiang Xu approached, Fang Jianjun suddenly raised his head, glaring viciously at her.

“You filthy woman, if you have the guts, don’t go back!”

“Go back?”

Jiang Xu sneered.

“I’m no lowlife. Listen, I’m never going back. And I want a divorce!”

Jiang Xu’s words stunned Fang Jianjun, leaving him furious and flustered.

“What did you say?”

“You want a divorce?”

“Do you know if you divorce me, can you survive out there in this society?”

“You’ll be looked down upon everywhere!”

“Don’t ever think you’ll have a good life again!”

“Jiang Xu, you must be out of your mind!”