Chapter 685 — Brother Cold Catches a Chill

The appearance of Kang Xiaofeng gave Xiaofen's parents a glimpse of dawn, though it also left them uneasy. Kang Xiaofeng might be fond of their daughter, but would his parents ever accept her? Before the accident, of course, it would have been a different story. Their family was not wealthy, but their daughter had grown into a beauty, and Kang Xiaofeng's family was no great house of riches either. By such reckoning they were well matched — a handsome man and a pretty girl.

But now their daughter was not only ruined, a withered flower and a rotted willow, but lame into the bargain. Her mind had recovered somewhat, but she still bore the label of mental illness. Such conditions, brought on by heartbreak and acquired rather than inborn, do not pass down through the blood — yet who was to say Kang Xiaofeng's family would see it that way? And if they objected, what then?

So the family fretted, but there was nothing to be done. Their only hope was that Kang Xiaofeng could smooth things over.

What they never imagined was that Kang Xiaofeng would take Xiaofen to the birthday banquet of the celebrated physician Kang, where she not only came face to face with Kang Jingming but also met Kang Xiaofeng's parents.

This plunged Xiaofen's parents straight into a state of trepidation. They feared that Kang Xiaofeng's parents would come knocking at their door, that they would tear the two young people apart. Yet days passed and no one came; instead, Kang Xiaofeng still visited Xiaofen as often as ever. The parents breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt a deep gratitude toward Kang Xiaofeng's mother and father.

Only later, when they questioned their daughter, did they learn that things were not at all as they had imagined. Kang Xiaofeng's parents had opposed the match at first, but thanks to Wei Zhao's mediation, they had now more or less given their consent.

The reason was plain enough: Wei Zhao had given Kang Xiaofeng a chance to make something of himself, and with it the standing and the capital to speak with authority before his parents. Kang Xiaofeng could argue, after all, that he was grown now, capable of standing on his own two feet, and that he would handle matters of the heart well.

When Xiaofen's parents saw Kang Xiaofeng arrive at the door with Tang Zhi and Liu Xinlan in tow, they were delighted, though somewhat puzzled. "No school today? Why so early?"

"We have the day off," said Kang Xiaofeng, greeting them with a smile. "I was thinking I'd take Xiaofen to the hospital for a follow-up."

"Good, I was just wanting to visit Uncle Tang," Xiaofen said, pleased at the suggestion. "I've been wanting to go for a while, but with my leg it's inconvenient, and my parents don't like me going alone."

Xiaofen and Tang Zhi had been close friends since childhood. She had often gone to Tang Zhi's house to scrounge a meal, so she knew Tang Zhi's parents well. Now that Tang Jucheng was in the hospital, of course she wanted to pay him a visit.

"That's right, we'd like to see Old Tang too," said Xiaofen's parents with a sigh. "But that Qibing Real Estate — who knows when they'll come to tear things down. We don't dare leave, for fear that the moment our backs are turned, the bulldozers will pull up and bring the house down. These people are utterly heartless. There's really no way to deal with them..."

"What? Surely not? They'd dare do such a thing?" Kang Xiaofeng was taken aback.

"Why wouldn't they? They dared push down the Tang family's house with people still inside it — what of houses with no one in them?" Xiaofen's father spoke with anger. "Old Niu's family in the front courtyard went out one day, and along came the bulldozers and knocked their house flat. Now there's nowhere to go for justice, and the whole family has no idea where to live."

"They really dare?" Kang Xiaofeng clenched his fists, seething — yet he knew his own strength was not enough to change anything. "If only someone at the top would step in and rein them in."

He thought of how formidable Wei Zhao was: he had dared topple even Zhao Qibing's Qibing Tower and had beaten Zhao Qibing into a cripple, and yet walked away without a scratch. It was almost unbelievable. What he could not fathom was why Zhao Qibing never sought revenge.

Truly, they bully the weak and fear the strong. In fact, what Kang Xiaofeng did not know was that Zhao Qibing had sought revenge — he had struck back at Gu Pengzhan, only to have Wei Zhao defuse it once again.

"Never mind. We're all common folk," said Xiaofen's father, shaking his head. "Those people are worse than the underworld — how would we dare cross them? How could Wei Zhao possibly handle it all? Best not to make trouble for him."

It was not that Xiaofen's parents did not want to ask Wei Zhao to speak with Zhao Qibing and win them a little more compensation — but why would Wei Zhao ever do such a thing for them? He likely did not care a fig about the money; his handling of Zhao Qibing made that plain enough. He was not short of cash — he had simply gone to vent his spleen.

Kang Xiaofeng did not dare commit to anything on the spot. He could only wait until he saw Wei Zhao and bring the matter up then. He would not ask Wei Zhao to take it all on, but if Xiaofen's family could be helped, he would help as far as he could — she was his girlfriend, after all, wasn't she?

Kang Xiaofeng left the shantytown with Xiaofen, Tang Zhi, and Liu Xinlan. They flagged down a taxi on the road, and the four of them hurried to the hospital.

Kang Jingming stood shivering in the ice rink, ignoring the stares of those who looked at him as though he were a fool. At last he felt he could take no more — his whole body was by turns freezing and burning, his nose streamed and his eyes watered, and he was on the verge of collapse. Only then did he turn to Zhu Xiaozhang beside him and say, "Xiaozhang, feel my forehead — do I have a fever?"

Zhu Xiaozhang hastily touched Kang Jingming's brow, and gave a start. "Young Master Ming, your head's scalding — hot enough to boil water!"

"Is it? Then wonderful — let's go!" Kang Jingming forced a grim smile through clenched teeth, a smile of indescribable misery.

"Yes, we've finally pulled it off!" Wang Shubin was elated too. Even in a padded coat he felt unbearably cold, and he had no wish to linger here a moment longer.

"Haha, I finally caught a cold!" Kang Jingming was in agony and bliss at once. He stood up and staggered toward the door, laughing.

Inside the rink, everyone was dumbstruck. What was wrong with this guy? *Finally* caught a cold? He had come here just to catch a cold? Was he some kind of lunatic?

The girl who had taken the photo earlier kept her phone up and recorded the whole scene, planning to upload it straight to the internet. This was the "Cold Brother," no question about it!

Now, after Kang Jingming, Zhu Xiaozhang, and Wang Shubin left the ice rink, they drove the Porsche Cayenne back to the hospital. He was in a hurry to see Guan Xin for treatment!

It was hot outside, yet Kang Jingming still felt himself shivering. But afraid that he might recover if he let up for even a moment, he did not dare slack off. He ordered Wang Shubin, who was driving, to crank the car's air conditioning to maximum, and as a result Wang Shubin and Zhu Xiaozhang suffered along with him. Hot as the day was, you could not turn the AC up to full blast, could you? They would freeze to death! RO