Chapter 24

Just as Ling Xuefei was showcasing her goddess-like demeanor, on the other side, Lin Fan was holding Qiqi as they walked out of the villa. While walking, he patiently taught Qiqi how to pronounce words.

"Come, Qiqi, follow Dad and say, 'Dad, Dad.'" Lin Fan said softly while holding Qiqi.

"Ba ba." Qiqi, lying on Lin Fan's shoulder, kicked her little legs happily, and her clear voice rang in Lin Fan's ears.

"No, no, not 'ba ba.' 'Ba ba' is stinky. I am Dad, 'Da, Da.'" Lin Fan chuckled and said.

"Ba, Da?" Qiqi tried to repeat, her speech still unclear.

Hearing Qiqi's cute pronunciation, Lin Fan laughed heartily and said patiently, "It's not 'ba ba,' nor 'ba da.' It should be 'Dad.'"

"Um... Da ba." Qiqi said in a babyish voice.

"Ha ha, you little girl..." Lin Fan didn't get angry; he just laughed and said.

"Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"

At that moment, a Border Collie suddenly darted out from the nearby bushes, blocking the path and barking wildly at Lin Fan.

This was clearly an adult Border Collie, standing about half a meter tall on all fours. Its black and white fur was well-groomed, indicating that its owner took great care of it. The dog had a broken leash dragging behind it. After darting out of the bushes, it stood in front of Lin Fan, baring its teeth and barking wildly.

"Ah! Big dog! Ba ba is scared." Qiqi, frightened by the wild barking, tightly hugged Lin Fan's neck, her face turning pale with fear.

"Scram!"

Seeing Qiqi frightened, Lin Fan was instantly filled with anger. His eyes flashed with a sharp light as he glared at the Border Collie.

"Ah... woof..." The Border Collie, which had been baring its teeth a moment ago, seemed to be startled and immediately calmed down. It whimpered, its tail drooping as it crouched by the roadside, not daring to look at Lin Fan, and even trembling with fear.

"Qiqi, don't be afraid. Look, the big dog has already been defeated by Dad. He won't hurt Qiqi." After subduing the Border Collie with his aura, Lin Fan patted Qiqi's back and comforted her softly.

"Really, Ba ba?" Qiqi, with her big, gem-like eyes, slowly turned her head and saw the previously fierce dog now lying obediently by the roadside, looking very docile. She immediately became happy, hugged Lin Fan's neck, and kissed his face, saying happily, "Wow, Ba ba is so cool! Ba ba is a superhero!"

"Kong kong? Where did Kong kong go?"

At that moment, a somewhat anxious female voice was heard. Lin Fan looked up and saw a woman running out from the side, looking around frantically.

This woman was somewhat overweight, around 35 years old, with heavy makeup. Her purple eyeshadow was very thick, and her lips were painted with a bright red lipstick, but her face was pale, like a white-painted wall. She wore large, exaggerated earrings and a loose purple outfit, and she was wearing slippers. She held the leash in her hand and was looking around anxiously, searching for her dog.

Behind the overweight woman, a tall, muscular man followed, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, with a stern face, looking like a bodyguard.

"Ah!"

When the woman saw the Border Collie crouching by the roadside with its head down, she screamed and hurriedly ran to the dog's side, squatting down to stroke its fur. However, the dog, intimidated by Lin Fan's aura, kept trembling and whimpering, not daring to move.

"My little darling, what happened to you?"

"Was it you! Did you hit my Kong kong!" Noticing Lin Fan standing nearby, the woman immediately stood up, glaring at him fiercely and pointing at him, shouting.

"I didn't touch him. Instead, your dog scared my daughter." Lin Fan glanced at the overweight woman indifferently and said.

"So it was you!" The woman, who had initially not intended to make a big deal out of it, as the residents of Jiangnan Shuian were either wealthy or influential, and it wasn't worth offending someone over this. However, seeing Lin Fan dressed in cheap clothes, she assumed he was just a worker in the neighborhood or a poor relative visiting someone, and her arrogance immediately rose. She pointed at Lin Fan and shouted, "You little scumbag! How dare you mistreat my Kong kong! You must be blind! If anything happens to my Kong kong, can you afford to pay for it?"

"Auntie, don't scold Ba ba. Ba ba didn't hit your dog." Qiqi, seeing the woman's hostile attitude towards Lin Fan, instinctively wanted to defend her Ba ba.

The overweight woman glanced at Qiqi with a cold look, surprised by her cuteness but still using very harsh words, "Where did you come from, you little brat! It's all your fault that our Kong kong got hurt! You're a real pain in the ass!"

Qiqi, who had been living abroad with Ling Xuefei, had never heard such foul language before. She was immediately reduced to tears, her eyes streaming like a broken string of pearls.

"Qiqi, don't cry. With Dad here, no one can bully you." Lin Fan comforted Qiqi with a gentle voice, wiping the tears from her face with one hand. Qiqi, being very sensible, nodded and gradually stopped crying, but her face still showed a look of委屈 (grievance), her pouting mouth as if it could hold a bottle of soy sauce.

After seeing Qiqi stop crying, Lin Fan turned his gaze to the overweight woman, his eyes cold and his voice icy, "I'll give you one chance to take back what you said and apologize!"

"What are you? Some country bumpkin who dares to hit my Kong kong? I haven't even settled the score with you, and you want me to apologize? Ha ha ha, you must be joking. You're just a fool."

Lin Fan sneered, "You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that I am someone you can't provoke. Now, apologize immediately!"

"Fine, very fine, really very fine. I'd like to see how you are someone I can't provoke!" The woman, enraged, laughed and walked towards Lin Fan with her hands on her hips.

At this moment, two patrolling security guards noticed the conflict. One of the younger guards was about to intervene, but he was stopped by the older guard beside him, "Xiao Zhang, don't meddle in other people's affairs."

"Bro Hai, they are about to fight. Shouldn't we do something? What if it gets out of hand?" The young guard, Xiao Zhang, asked in confusion.

"Xiao Zhang, it's not that I don't want you to intervene. You've only been here a few days and don't know the situation. That fat woman, see her? She is the wife of Mr. Wang, the chairman of the neighborhood, and the sister of the chief of the Linjiang District police station. See that man with the sunglasses? He is Mr. Wang's highly paid bodyguard, a former special forces soldier. Ordinary people can't even get close to him. As for that young man, dressed in cheap clothes, he's probably going to suffer for provoking Mrs. Wang..."

"Wow..." Hearing Bro Hai's words, Xiao Zhang sucked in a breath, his face changing, and he instinctively took a few steps back, looking at Lin Fan and Qiqi with sympathy. Although he felt some sympathy, he dared not provoke the overweight woman, or he might lose his job.

"Thanks for the warning, Bro Hai." Xiao Zhang said sincerely.

"Hehe, Xiao Zhang, I like you. Learn and observe more, and you'll understand how to handle things." Bro Hai said calmly.

Xiao Zhang nodded with a smile, not saying anything more, and just watched the situation unfold.