Chapter 98: Trust and Reliance

“Dad, Mom.” Fang Xiaonuan was sitting on her husband’s lap. When she saw her parents at the door, she cried out in surprise.

“Nuannuan, why are you being carried by Lingchen?” Mrs. Fang asked.

Fang Xiaonuan and her husband looked at each other. She immediately got out of her husband’s arms and stammered, “We… we were just playing around!”

The Fang couple put down their gifts and looked at Old Master Ji. “Old Master Ji, why are you standing up? You should lie down.”

“I was arguing with Xiaonuan just now.” Old Master Ji glared at his daughter-in-law angrily and sat on the bed.

Mrs. Fang naturally understood her daughter’s character. She reached out and slapped her daughter’s back. “Did you run your mouth again? Are you being irritating?”

“Mom, I’m not. I’m already married. I already have a husband. You can’t hit me anymore.” Fang Xiaonuan pouted and hid behind her husband dejectedly.

Ji Lingchen’s expression immediately turned cold when he saw his wife get hit. He placed his hand on his wife’s back and asked her, “Does it hurt?”

Fang Xiaonuan acted coquettishly to her husband. “Yes, it must be red now.”

Fang Xiaonuan was acting coquettishly to her husband, but Old Master Ji, who was lying on the hospital bed, listened to her. No matter how infuriating Fang Xiaonuan was, she was still his daughter-in-law. It did not make sense for his in-laws to hit his daughter-in-law in front of him!

“Mr. Fang! Do you guys hit Xiaonuan often at home?” Old Master Ji asked.

Mr. Fang felt that Old Master Ji was intentionally bringing this up, and he felt a little aggrieved. His daughter was too old to be hit.

Mrs. Fang answered on behalf of her husband, “She doesn’t listen to us. If we just nag, it won’t be enough. She needs to be a little scared.”

Old Master Ji nodded solemnly. “My family never hits children. If there’s a problem, you have to reason with them. If the children don’t listen, it’s because the parents aren’t capable. In short, my upbringing style doesn’t tolerate violence against children. You have to learn from my family!”

Thankfully, Ji Wen did not hear what Old Master Ji just said. Was that really true of the Ji family? Had he not been beaten up since he was young? Why had no one reasoned with him when he was growing up! He would be willing to listen.

Fang Xiaonuan understood. Old Master Ji was protecting her! She quickly stepped out to ease the awkward atmosphere. “Dad, sometimes I really annoy people. When I behave like I did just now, my parents would hit me.”

Old Master Ji immediately remembered that he had also been forced out of bed by Fang Xiaonuan. If that was really the case, then she really should be hit. He coughed awkwardly.

Mr. Fang quickly changed the topic and asked, “Old Master Ji, you seem fine now. Why haven’t you gotten discharged?”

Fang Xiaonuan explained, “Dad, my dad, he…” She suddenly realized that there were three men in the room, and two of them were her fathers. How should she address them? She could only skip this title. “He is getting old and his stomach isn’t good. His digestion isn’t good either, so he suffered from acute gastroenteritis and ended up in the hospital.” Fang Xiaonuan knew that the old man wanted to preserve his good image. Thus, she did not say that he was in the hospital because he had stolen ice cream. Instead, she said that he was getting older.

Old Master Ji’s expression looked better. He accepted the good intentions of this clever daughter-in-law. “When you’re old, your body will begin to have all sorts of problems. The two of you are so busy. There was no need for you to visit.”

Mr. Fang said, “What do you mean? After Xiaonuan told us that you were hospitalized, we rushed over to see what was going on. Why did someone who was still healthy a few days ago suddenly end up in the hospital? Nuannuan didn’t explain it to us clearly this morning. On the way here, her mother and I were still feeling uneasy.”

“Dad, I was chatting with you guys this morning, and my husband came back with a bunch of snacks. When I was happy, I forgot about it,” Fang Xiaonuan explained aggrievedly.

She felt aggrieved. It was clearly her fault, but Ji Lingchen felt like that did not sound fair.

“It’s okay. Eating is the most important thing,” Ji Lingchen said.

The Fang couple had been worried that their daughter would not have a good life in the Ji family. Now, after a mere ten minutes of conversation, they were completely relieved.

Old Master Ji protected Xiaonuan and did not let her parents hit her. The son-in-law held his daughter in his arms, clearly cherishing her.

Also, Mr. Fang noticed that when his daughter did something wrong, the first person she looked for was Ji Lingchen. When she was afraid, she would hide behind Ji Lingchen.

Perhaps his wife did not realize it. As a man, he could feel it. It was a kind of inexplicable trust and reliance.

Once, when his daughter did something wrong, she hid behind him. He felt his daughter’s reliance on him. It was because she knew, in her heart, that he would protect her.