Chapter 343: Chapter 212: Social Brother Fan_2
When he arrived at Zhongsheng Fishing Tackle’s entrance, Meng Fan parked the car by the road and moved the entire set of newly purchased equipment out!
Under the bewildered gaze of the security guard, Meng Fan took out a small jack from the car and smashed the seemingly brand new fishing gear to smithereens, especially the fishing box, fish protector, and fishing umbrella with the Zhongsheng Fishing Tackle logo on them—none were spared. After smashing and destroying everything, he scattered them on the open ground outside the company gate.
By the time Lv Zhongsheng got the news from the security and rushed over, Meng Fan had already driven away without a trace.
...
At the same time, Zhang Yang was at the reservoir site live-streaming while fishing for big fish when his personal phone rang.
Calls that manage to get through during Zhang Yang’s live stream are from people on his specially curated whitelist, which means they are very important to him.
Hearing the ringtone, Zhang Yang glanced at the phone screen, recognized Meng Fan’s number, paused for a moment, turned off the live stream microphone, and answered the call.
"Hello? Fishing King Teacher Meng, any instructions?" Zhang Yang said with a playful tone, grinning.
"Brother Yang, I’ve embarrassed you! I hit the instructor at Zhongsheng School and smashed the equipment! I’m driving back now and should be home by tomorrow morning!"
Meng Fan, on the other end, had regained his composure, speaking in a calm tone as if talking about something unrelated to himself.
"What the heck? What happened?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang’s voice rose sharply in pitch, perplexed by the situation.
"Here’s what happened..."
Meng Fan started by describing the conflict in the dorm, then elaborated on a series of events, finally detailing how he slapped Lu Wenqiang in public, drove away, and smashed equipment at the gate.
"Wow, impressive! That’s classic you, doing it thoroughly when you do it! You’ve completely torn down any facade with them!"
Realizing Meng Fan didn’t suffer too much, Zhang Yang’s emotions stabilized, and he spoke in a clearly teasing tone.
Meng Fan continued, "You know my temper. I never like to cause trouble, but it wasn’t my fault, yet they conspired to frame me!
Time and again, I’m not someone to be bullied!
I didn’t think it through at the moment because I was furious! It was only after getting on the highway that I felt smashing the equipment at their company gate might have been too much, so I’m calling you in advance!"
Meng Fan’s temperament was something Zhang Yang certainly understood—smart, perceptive, and highly insightful. He didn’t seem like someone who would be bullied upon stepping outside.
But some things defy logic. Young and unfortunate enough to be roomed with three uncouth residents, as well as an unreliable instructor, Meng Fan just had a stroke of bad luck.
"Alright! Got it! If anyone dares to bully us, just hit back, and if stuff gets smashed, let it be!
You went to Zhongsheng through a channel involving a company agent, and our company doesn’t have much of a relationship with Zhongsheng anyway, so it doesn’t impact us much!
Just come back first, then we’ll talk about anything else. Drive safely on the way, don’t rush through the night, find a rest area to sleep and continue in the morning!"
On the phone, Zhang Yang nagged like a worried mother, afraid Meng Fan might encounter any trouble on the road, advising non-stop and completely avoiding mentioning Meng Fan’s mischief.
"Alright, I got it!" Listening to his big brother’s nagging and thinking of the strangers’ cold stares and questions not long ago, a warmth flooded Meng Fan’s eyes, making them instantly red.
"Do you have enough money with you? My phone is on 24 hours a day, call me if anything happens on the road!"
"Enough for now, hang up, I’ll find you when I get back tomorrow!"
"Alright!"
...
After hanging up, Zhang Yang stared at the phone screen for a long while, unable to snap out of it.
After a full ten seconds of silence, Zhang Yang scratched his head in frustration, letting out a dry curse.
"What’s the situation? Boss?" Han Qiang had caught bits of the conversation and turned back curiously to ask.
"Meng Fan had a bit of a situation, nothing major, we’ll talk after the stream’s over!"
"Oh!"
Zhang Yang adjusted his mindset, turned the microphone back on, and continued the live stream!
...
As for Meng Fan, after hanging up the phone, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He’d messed up the fishing learning thing, but since the boss didn’t get angry or scold him, it was something he could live with.
Having put aside the withdrawal issue, Meng Fan felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, making him focus more on driving.
From Hubei to W City, the journey exceeded a thousand kilometers. Meng Fan wanted to get back as soon as possible, so once on the highway, he sped ahead, sticking close to the speed limit.
One may be treated well at home, but everywhere else is difficult, and after being away for a few days, at this moment, Meng Fan was eager to return!
He drove from mid-afternoon until late at night, couldn’t hold on anymore, and found a nearby service station to park and rest. The next morning, Meng Fan continued the journey.
Approaching less than fifty kilometers from the W City highway exit, Meng Fan spotted, from a distance, a boy about 1.7 meters tall walking with his head down against traffic on the emergency lane by the highway.
Running on a highway? And against traffic? What’s this guy thinking? Rubbing his eyes, Meng Fan confirmed he wasn’t hallucinating, then instinctively tapped the brakes to slow down.
As the car got closer, Meng Fan could see the fearless fellow clearly, with messy hair like a bird’s nest, a few scabbing wounds on his face, and wearing cheap-looking street market clothing. It was unclear if it was because they hadn’t been washed for a long time, but they were covered in white sweat stains.
Could he not be all there? Afraid he’d get into trouble, Meng Fan turned on the hazard lights and parked the car in the emergency lane.
"Hey, what’s up with you? This is a highway, don’t you value your life?" A warm-hearted Meng Fan asked actively.
"Huh? I’m trying to go home, but without travel money, I could only walk! An old man tending sheep told me this was the way to Willow City!" The boy replied timidly.
Hearing the seemingly normal response and seeing the look in the boy’s eyes, Meng Fan judged from his first impression that the boy must have encountered some trouble.
"Willow City is over five hundred li from here! Walking would take forever! Counterflowing on the highway is very dangerous. Get in, I’ll take you to the station to buy a bus ticket!"
The boy looked at Meng Fan, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
"What are you waiting for? Get in! Parking is not allowed on the highway! Hurry up!"
"I’m pretty dirty and afraid of messing up your car!" The boy said, looking down and twisting his shirt hem with his fingers.
"It’s okay, get in!" Meng Fan leaned over and opened the passenger door.
When the boy got into the car, a mix of sweat and oily hair odor filled the air. Meng Fan just slightly frowned and turned on the car’s internal circulation before continuing to drive.
"My name is Meng Fan, what should I call you, little brother? Where’s your family? Why are you walking home alone? What’s with the injuries on your face?"
The boy replied, "I’m Wang Dazhi! My nickname is Liu’er! My father died, and my mother remarried. There’s no family at home. I was washing dishes in Fengcheng before, then met a big brother and followed him, but he often hit me. I couldn’t take it and ran away, planning to return home to my second grandpa!"
As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction, and coincidentally, if Zhang Yang were in the car now, he would marvel at how small the world is upon seeing Liu’er.
This little guy was recently Zhu Wu’s sidekick, Liu Zi.
After Zhu Wu got into trouble at the competition and was scolded at home, he took it out on Liu Zi. Unable to bear the abuse, Liu Zi seized the chance to escape secretly, turning into a little vagrant.
From Fengcheng to where Meng Fan picked him up, it was at least 80 kilometers, trudged entirely on foot.
Now, as luck would have it, he was picked up by Meng Fan on the highway!
And it was precisely this chance encounter that completely changed Liu Zi’s fate!