Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

36

Fang Chengxuan's face was so serious it could drip water, but his voice was very steady.

"How do you expect us to compensate everyone in the entire hospital for the belongings that were taken from every household?"

He Yuzhu helped the old lady up and snorted.

"How is it my fault? You're the one who caused this mess!"

"They said they searched the yard because you stole something!"

Xu Damao also shouted, "Fang Chengxuan, why are you bringing up gold bars for no reason! Give me back my gold bars!"

"What's wrong with mentioning gold bars? How was I supposed to know your family actually had them?"

"If anyone's to blame, it's that idiot who brought the trouble in."

Fang Chengxuan sneered.

He narrowed his eyes, deciding to hold back for now. If things escalated now, those people wouldn't be able to do anything to him, but the Rong family would likely suffer.

He took a breath and glanced at Xu Damao and He Yuzhu.

"Sewing machine, TV, watch, bicycle—I bought all of these for my wedding. I even lost all my savings for the wedding. What could I possibly gain?"

"Ask Director Wang who those people are. Let the people outside the compound judge who really harmed everyone."

Director Wang's brow remained furrowed.

He took a breath after hearing Fang Chengxuan's words.

"This has nothing to do with Fang Chengxuan. Those people are just thugs; whoever runs into them is doomed. They don't usually bother people from the steel mill; it was He Yuzhu who lured them here."

"They say they stole things, but they're just using it as an excuse to smash things and steal. They've used this trick countless times."

The people in the courtyard gasped.

Everyone looked at He Yuzhu.

In an instant, all that followed was blame.

"You idiot, Zhu, you're such a brainless fool. No wonder your father would rather marry into your family than have you. You're a complete idiot, you're screwing yourself over and everyone else!"

"If you have a grudge against Fang Chengxuan, go after him. Why are you provoking those other people?"

"My things were perfectly fine, but now they're all gone. You have to compensate me!"

A group of people pointed at He Yuzhu and cursed him.

He Yuzhu's chest heaved, and his face turned purple.

"It wasn't me! It was all Fang Chengxuan! If Fang Chengxuan hadn't come from the compound, none of this would have happened!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Yuande spat.

"fart!"

"Without Brother Fang, I'd still be a street urchin, unable to even find a wife. My brother is a really good person."

"It's you people who are crooked-minded and dishonest, making others give you handouts every day and forcing them to give you benefits."

Yang Yuande scanned the residents in the courtyard and shouted, "You all need to think about it yourselves, who could swallow this insult?"

He rushed to He Yuzhu, grabbed the other man's collar, and punched him hard.

"You idiot Zhu, you fool, you cheated others and then cheated yourself."

A fist landed on He Yuzhu's face, and Yang Yuande cursed, spitting everywhere: "If you hadn't been constantly bringing food to Qin Huairu and keeping an eye on her, would she have had such wicked thoughts, letting all the men in the ward support her?"

"If you don't stand up for this old man, would he dare to go knocking on the widow's door in the middle of the night?"

Changing the subject, Yang Yuande started cursing about the factory again.

"Ma Hua treated you like a mentor, but you turned out to be a proper cook and made you work in the workshop. Director Yang kindly offered you a more relaxed job in the kitchen, but you not only caused him to get scolded by the leaders, you also got kicked out of the steel rolling mill yourself."

"Every single one of these incidents, wasn't it all caused by someone with a screw loose in their head?"

Yang Yuande cursed and punched, getting angrier the more he talked: "Our institute is so close to the steel rolling mill, we shouldn't have offended those people at all."

"If you're tired of living and want to die, can you please not drag everyone down with you?"

Those whose homes had been ransacked stared at He Yuzhu, who had brought the trouble upon them. One of them couldn't hold back and shouted, "Damn idiot He Yuzhu, beat him up!"

The people whose homes had been ransacked couldn't contain their anger and swarmed around He Yuzhu, punching and kicking him.

The third uncle glanced at He Yuzhu with his bangs, then turned to look at Fang Chengxuan, before rolling up his sleeves and joining in.

Only Xu Damao stood to the side, staring at Fang Chengxuan with a sinister look on his face.

"I know, it was you who did it."

Xu Damao lowered his voice, his tone sinister.

Fang Chengxuan tilted his head, glanced at him, his face expressionless, and his tone cold: "I told Zou Chang'an to go to the neighborhood committee to find Director Wang, and you dare to stop me? You've got some nerve."

"What, you think I'm like He Yuzhu, that I can't handle you?"

Fang Chengxuan raised the corner of his mouth, his smile icy.

"The blame for raiding the yard can't be pinned on me no matter how you try. As for you—"

"That's right, I called out to you in front of everyone when you slipped away. I figured it out long ago; you've made a lot of money off the Lou family."

"Why did you have to come and provoke me?"

Fang Chengxuan's face darkened, his eyes filled with contempt.

Xu Damao's chest heaved violently, his teeth grinding together: "Fang Chengxuan, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!"

"retribution?"

Fang Chengxuan scoffed.

"Your own childlessness is retribution, isn't it?"

His laughter was sarcastic.

You live like a lump of mud, yet you dare to yell at him?

Xu Damao's face twitched when his sore spot was touched.

"Xu Damao, your life has been ruined by He Yuzhu, but it wasn't my fault. I did get involved in Qin Jingru's matter. But think about it carefully, I handled it fairly, it was her own choice."

"As for Lou Xiao'e—I never intended to break you two up. When the deaf old lady said she wanted to match He Yuzhu and Lou Xiao'e up, I even said that even if she could, you have plenty of ways to ruin it."

After Fang Chengxuan finished speaking, he stared at Xu Damao for a couple of seconds and added casually, "If you insist on attacking me, then so be it."

Fang Chengxuan glanced at Xu Damao, his voice devoid of warmth: "You've ended up in this state, half of it is your own fault, and half is He Yuzhu's. If you want to hate someone, hate the right person."

He turned his head and met Director Wang's gaze. "Director Wang, thank you for your help today."

Director Wang's expression was complicated, and he seemed hesitant to speak.

"After what happened, do you think anyone in the courtyard would dare to mess with those people?"

Fang Chengxuan spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about the weather.

Director Wang was taken aback, a thought suddenly flashing through his mind—when this kid brought Qin Jingru back for the first time, he had her tell everyone she was a distant cousin. Was he planting the seeds then?

"Did you foresee this day would come?"

She asked.

Fang Chengxuan smirked: "You can't have the intention to harm others, but you can't be without the awareness to guard against them."

Director Wang didn't say anything more. He glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late, I'll be going now. You can take care of things in your own courtyard."

She turned around and glanced around the courtyard: "We all live in the same courtyard. It's okay to joke around sometimes, but don't go around touching people you shouldn't. If something like today happens again, I can't cover it up."

After saying that, she glanced at He Yuzhu, who was curled up on the ground after being beaten, her eyes full of disgust. She didn't stop anyone from attacking and just left.

"Ah—my hand! You wait, once I'm healed, none of you will escape!"

He Yuzhu screamed in agony, still uttering threats as he spoke.

That already injured hand was hit a few more times.

Fang Chengxuan glanced at it, then shifted his gaze to the old man Yi Zhonghai, raising an eyebrow.

interesting.

He Yuzhu's actions not only burned himself, but also dragged Yi Zhonghai down with him. These two men, already enemies, now face further financial losses. How will this end?

He had a half-smile on his face.

He Yuzhu was still being beaten. The deaf old woman couldn't stand it anymore and slammed her cane on the ground: "That's enough! You can't blame all of this on idiot Yuzhu!"

"It's true that we can't blame him entirely."

Fang Chengxuan responded smoothly, but his smile turned cold.

"It's all your fault, old man. If those things had been hidden more carefully, they wouldn't have had to search every house and uncover so much trouble."

Everyone in the courtyard turned to look at the deaf old woman, their eyes full of resentment.

The old lady choked.

Fang Chengxuan raised his hand and pressed down: "Stop hitting."

The group of people let go and backed away, leaving He Yuzhu lying on the ground with his face covered in mud.

Fang Chengxuan walked over and looked down at him.

He Yuzhu, his face tilted back, gritted his teeth and roared, "Fang Chengxuan, all you do is talk! You're the one who ruined everyone's lives, but you're blaming me!"

"I brought this guy here, so what? You're the only one I'm going to deal with!"

Fang Chengxuan scoffed.

Does He Yuzhu really think he can manipulate those people so easily?

You're overthinking it. From the moment you provoked them, they turned the entire compound upside down. Did you really think they were just sitting there for nothing? Do you think they'd leave without some preparation?

Why do you need so many people to arrest me and the deaf old lady?

Fang Chengxuan curled his lip, his tone full of disdain.

I've been more than polite to you.

Unfortunately, you insisted on heading down a path of self-destruction.

He narrowed his eyes, suddenly raised his foot, and stomped down hard on He Yuzhu's right leg.

Click.

The bone is broken.

My legs!

He Yuzhu screamed and curled up like a shrimp, rolling on the ground while clutching his broken leg.

Everyone in the courtyard gasped.

Xu Damao, Liu Haizhong, Yi Zhonghai, and even Qin Huairu stared wide-eyed.

They all swallowed hard and shrank back, wishing they could stay as far away from Fang Chengxuan as possible.

He Yuzhu's face was contorted with pain as he gritted his teeth and roared: "Fang Chengxuan, you dare to break my leg! You're finished! I'll sue you! I'll make sure you go to jail and be sent to a labor camp!"

Fang Chengxuan narrowed his eyes again when he saw that he was still being stubborn.

The foot was lifted again.

Click.

Another crisp cracking sound of bones breaking.

He Yuzhu was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream. He lay on the ground, panting heavily, like a fish that had been thrown ashore.

Do you think I'm afraid?

Fang Chengxuan slowly squatted down, staring at He Yuzhu's face, which was contorted with pain, his eyes as cold as ice, and a cold smile on his lips.

That look...

He Yuzhu couldn't understand it.

But the deaf old lady understood.

She pounced on him, pressing her entire body against He Yuzhu, her voice trembling: Fang Chengxuan, you've hit him enough, that's enough.

Fang Chengxuan turned to look at her.

The old woman's eyes were filled with fear, and her lips were trembling.

He looked down at He Yuzhu again and said coldly, "He Yuzhu, if you do it again, I'll kill you and still live a good life."

A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes.

He Yuzhu couldn't see it at all; the excruciating pain from his broken legs filled his mind with nothing but hatred, and his eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

Fang Chengxuan, I will not let him get away with this—

The deaf old lady quickly covered his mouth and said urgently, "Silly Zhuzi, do you really want to spend the rest of your life bedridden?"

After saying that, she shouted to the young people in the yard: "For the sake of this old lady, please help me and take Sha Zhu to the hospital."

The group first looked at Fang Chengxuan.

Fang Chengxuan turned around and went back into the house.