This was his real purpose for calling.
To confirm whether Jiang Nan Fang had truly reconciled with Zhan Bei Jue.
Despite lying unconscious in bed for half a year, the first thing he wanted upon waking was to see Jiang Nan Fang.
He wondered if she had been injured when the incident occurred, how things were handled afterward, and how she had fared these past six months…
Fearing his father would resent Jiang Nan Fang, he dared not ask openly and had someone investigate discreetly.
The results were quite pleasing.
Jiang Nan Fang was still in Nan City, living alone.
Zhan Bei Jue had met his karma, meeting with an accident abroad, seemingly never to return.
Ke Teng truly believed that once he recovered, he and Jiang Nan Fang would be together forever without any obstacles.
Who would have thought that before he had fully recovered, his assistant would deliver the news of her marriage to Zhan Bei Jue?
Ke Teng didn't believe it.
The marriage certificate hadn't been opened; who knew whose name was inside.
Now, Jiang Nan Fang had personally confirmed it, and he felt like a fool.
Although he had just woken up, telling him about his and Zhan Bei Jue's situation now was cruel.
But Jiang Nan Fang didn't want to hide it from him.
Concealment wouldn't solve the problem and was unfair to everyone.
"A Teng, it's like this, listen to me..."
A lump formed in Ke Teng's throat, and he almost yelled at her.
"Don't give me any of that nonsense! I'll ask you just one question."
"Have you never forgotten him? Have you never truly hated him? No matter what happened, you're still willing to be with him, right?"
"A Teng..."
"Answer my question!"
Jiang Nan Fang could only tell him yes.
Then the call was hung up.
When he tried to call again, it was unreachable.
He tried searching for the phone number to add on WeChat, but no account was found.
He tossed the phone aside, his heart sinking into an abyss.
After his injury, the only belief that sustained him to wake up wasn't his father, but Jiang Nan Fang and her child.
As it turned out, they didn't need him at all.
Was there any greater joke in the world?
At that moment, he felt like a complete idiot being played with, the world's biggest sucker, an unbeatable sycophant!
He had rejected so many good women, only to revolve around her day after day, and this was the outcome.
The words "utterly embarrassing" seemed tailor-made for him!
---
Min Er came home from school to find the house in chaos again.
A group of men, roughly her father's age, sat in the living room, puffing clouds of smoke that were so thick they could set off a fire alarm.
It was incredibly irritating.
Ever since Zhan Bei Jue had helped them pay off their debts and settled them down.
Almost every day when she came home, there were drinking sessions at the house.
Min Er hated her father even more.
She hated him gathering with his so-called childhood friends, reminiscing about their glorious past.
She hated listening to him talk about his grand plans and fantasizing about making a comeback.
She hated them smoking, making their hard-won home so messy.
She hated that after they left, she still had to painstakingly clean up the house.
She hated her father even more when he was drunk, acting like a petty tyrant at home, throwing his weight around with her and her mother.
He had no job, and all the living expenses now came from the card Zhan Bei Jue left behind before he departed.
He spent lavishly every day; at this rate, wouldn't they soon be back to square one?
Enduring until past ten o'clock, when the guests dispersed, Min Er went to clear the table and subtly remind her father.
"Can you please stop drinking every day, and getting drunk every day? It's not good for your health, and we can't afford it. I still have to go to school, and Mom needs medical care..."
Her father leaned back in his chair, his head lolling, and waved his hand dismissively.
"Stop bothering me with this annoying stuff! Don't you think I know the money is tight? Don't you think I know money should be spent on what matters? Only you know?"
"Who am I doing all this for? Huh? Who am I working myself to death for every day? It's all for you!"
Min Er: "For me?!"
"Of course! How old am I, and how old are you? How many more years do I have to live? If it were just for myself, would I need to push myself so hard?"
"At my age, I'm still thinking about building a career, and it's all for your future well-being! Think about it, if my business succeeds and I make a comeback, who will be the beneficiary? It'll be you!"
Min Er was almost amused by his twisted logic and baseless confidence.
"With how you are now, you still dream of making a comeback and leaving me a lot of property? Don't be ridiculous."
"Just don't work me to death while you're alive, and I'll thank you."
"You! Shen Min Er, speak respectfully to me! Look down on your own father? Are you looking for death?"
Her father hated hearing the truth from her the most.
"You only act tough in front of me. When Zhan Bei Jue left, why didn't you dare speak to him like that?"
"Why should I speak to him like that? He paid off so many of our debts and bought us a house; what right do I have to speak to him like that?"
"Why not? I saved his life; without me, would he be alive today? I have the right!"
The more he was called out, the more unreasonable he became.
Min Er corrected him.
"Don't be ridiculous, okay? You saved his life? I don't think I have the right; why do you think you do?"
"If I hadn't given birth to you, would you have had the chance to save him? You saving him is equivalent to me saving him!"
Her father got more animated as he spoke.
"It's not that I'm saying this about you, but raising daughters is useless. Your perspective is as narrow as a pinhole; you don't dare to think or do anything, and you'll never amount to anything in life!
"..."
"My foolish daughter, just keep being foolish. With such great kindness, coupled with how you two got along back then, you could have completely married him..."
Min Er was disgusted and couldn't listen any longer.
"Can you stop talking? He's already married."
Her father's eyes widened.
"Can't a marriage be annulled? What's marriage these days, anyway!"
"Even if it's not annulled, with his status, keeping you on the side, a little bit leaking from his fingers would be better than marrying someone else."
"Do you know who he is? Don't just use your brain for doing things; you need to think. He's Zhan Bei Jue!"
"Don't just ask about Nan City; even in Fu City, everyone knows him! He's not just ordinary rich!"
"A man like him, with his looks, power, and status, how could he possibly focus on just one woman his entire life? What normal man doesn't have a few flings on the side?"
"I'm telling you, if you dare to go to him, get involved with him, and have a child or two. Why study? For the rest of your life..."
Min Er was so angry she laughed. "So, in your eyes, nothing is more important than money. To put it plainly, for money, you'd even be okay with me becoming his concubine?"
"How can that be called a concubine? Giving birth to a child for a man like him is what many women dream of; it's an honorable and proud thing. How can it be called a concubine?"
"Heh, you think very open-mindedly. Dad, it's a real waste that heaven didn't make you a woman."
"I'm not as capable as you. Since you think he owes you a debt, you go to him; you go have a child or two for him!"