Chapter 299: The Backbone of a Man

New Year's Day, clear skies.

The temperature was around zero degrees, which was still quite warm for Beijing; the northern climate was dry, unlike the damp cold of the south.

Fang Hong wore a suit, tie, and over it a black trench coat—bought for him by Liu Tianxian.

Like Xiao Ma Ge, but he didn't slick his hair back; instead, it was side-parted, glossy and shiny, looking very formal.

If you slicked your hair back for an occasion like this, people would think you'd come to do something else.

The Porsche was parked at the entrance of Liu Tianxian's villa.

Liu Tianxian had been waiting already; she stepped forward, saw Fang Hong get out of the car, and gave him a thorough look, her gaze soft and clear: "Boss Fang, you look quite dashing today."

"What do you mean 'today'? I've always been dashing." Fang Hong shut the car door.

"Yes, yes, yes." Liu Tianxian smiled.

She dressed casually: a thick black coat, fitted leggings, long, toned legs, and short black boots on her feet.

She stepped forward and linked her arm through his: "Let's go inside."

"Tell me first who's coming—I need to prepare mentally." Fang Hong said.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, Uncle," Liu Tianxian said.

"Whoa! So heavyweight." Fang Hong clutched his chest, looking astonished.

"Do you have to be so dramatic?" Liu Tianxian slapped him.

"I'm just afraid I'll embarrass you—I'm suddenly feeling a bit nervous." Fang Hong said.

"Who said you're embarrassing me? You're handsome, striking, and majestic—you're making me look good." Liu Tianxian spoke beautifully.

"Oh Xiao Feifei, how sweet your little mouth is." Fang Hong was delighted, pinching her cheek—smooth and soft.

Liu Tianxian smiled, then turned serious: "They're very nice people. Just talk normally. Answer whatever they ask."

"Alright, wait a moment."

Fang Hong walked to the trunk, opened it.

He pulled out several large and small gift bags, filling both hands, and said: "I didn't know who'd be here, so I bought a bit of everything."

"That's enough," Liu Tianxian glanced briefly—there were health supplements, fruit, snacks, tobacco, alcohol, and more.

These didn't matter much; their family judged people, not things.

The two entered the villa; Liu Xiaoli and her family sat on the living room sofa, cracking sunflower seeds and chatting, with a tea table piled high with fruit and snacks.

When they saw someone enter, they all turned their gazes toward the door simultaneously.

Liu Tianxian led Fang Hong over; they all stood up.

Now Fang Hong was the guest, so proper courtesy was required.

"Put the stuff down," Liu Xiaoli said, seeing Fang Hong carrying gifts, gesturing for him to set them on the floor.

Fang Hong obeyed, placing the gift bags on the ground.

The two walked up to the elders; Liu Tianxian introduced the two elderly, slightly hunched, kind-faced people: "This is my grandmother, this is my grandfather."

"Grandma and Grandpa, hello," Fang Hong bowed politely.

"Good, good!" The two elders nodded, their eyes fixed on Fang Hong.

They stared like that, making Fang Hong feel uneasy.

Then Liu Tianxian introduced the two middle-aged men and women: "This is my aunt, my uncle."

"Auntie, Uncle, hello!" Fang Hong bowed.

He didn't know how to address them properly—he just followed Liu Tianxian's lead.

For outsiders like him, neither fully inside nor outside, with so many relatives, the titles were a mess.

The aunt and uncle nodded in response, not staring like the grandparents, but quietly sizing him up without expression.

"Everyone sit, sit down, Mom and Dad, please sit."

Liu Xiaoli gestured, then said to Fang Hong: "Don't be formal—we're not strangers."

"Alright," Fang Hong nodded.

Everyone sat down; Liu Tianxian signaled for him to sit on a nearby sofa, then sat beside him.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward; Fang Hong seemed stiff, sitting upright, back straight, like a specimen on display.

"Xiao Fang, have an apple," the aunt across from him offered one.

"Thank you," Fang Hong politely declined.

Liu Tianxian took it, grabbed a fruit knife, and began peeling the apple beside him.

The aunt asked casually: "I heard you run a film and television company?"

Character takes time to judge; career is the most direct indicator.

"Yes, currently two companies—one film and television, one digital technology—both still small, in development stages," Fang Hong said modestly.

He was fighting with the top players in the film industry, making them nervous; if that's "small," then Huayi and Bona are small too.

"Hero what…" Liu Xiaoli couldn't recall.

"Hero Glory," Liu Tianxian added.

"Right, that game was developed by his company—it's hugely popular worldwide; you must've heard of it abroad," Liu Xiaoli turned to the aunt.

"I don't play games normally, I don't know."

The aunt had never heard of it, which was awkward, but she quickly added: "From what you're saying, it must be very profitable?"

Liu Xiaoli fell silent—she didn't know if it was profitable; he wasn't a public company, no financial reports to disclose.

"Monthly revenue is around fifty million," Fang Hong said.

"Oh, that's not bad!" The aunt picked up a glass of water and drank—revenue wasn't profit.

"In US dollars," Fang Hong said.

Auntie was so startled that she spat out the water she had just sipped, coughing as if she had choked, while her husband patted her on the back.

This guy even talks in great big gasps.

US dollars need to be multiplied by seven; at that rate it's 600 million dollars a year, 4.2 billion soft sister coins.

Different currencies — they're not even in the same league!

Revenue like this counts as a sizable company. At this stage NetEase's total revenue is barely ten billion, so this is equivalent to half of NetEase — all from a single game.

Liu Xiaoli didn't think it was anything special; after all, she had watched Little Fang rise up.???? Liu Tianxian merely glanced at Fang Hong and kept peeling her apple — this was the second one; the previous one she had given to her grandfather.

"Then your business is pretty big, and you're still so young." Auntie sized him up.

So young and already at this level — he really does have some ability.

"Right now it's only the starting stage; there's still a long road ahead." Fang Hong said.

Quite modest too. If it were someone else that young, making several billion a year, they'd already be floating up to the sky — like that Wang Sicong, for instance.

Even money not earned by oneself can send people floating up to the sky.

Actually Fang Hong had only revealed a fraction, not the whole picture. Hero Glory's earnings were far more than this — there were also ad sponsorships, media licensing, livestreaming, and so on.

These aren't very mature yet; both domestically and abroad they're still in the development stage.

The few of them chatted on and off. Liu Tianxian peeled an apple for everyone present, her knife work exquisite.

"Xixi's parents divorced early. She's suffered a lot since she was little. Going to the United States meant living under someone else's roof, and after returning to the country she faced a lot of criticism and was bullied by others. You must not bully her in the future." This was said by Grandmother.

"I won't, Grandma." Fang Hong promised.

"Grandma, you really think too little of me. As long as I don't bully him, that's plenty — how would he dare bully me?" Liu Tianxian handed the last peeled apple to Fang Hong.

"Hehehe." Everyone around laughed.

"Then you also mustn't bully him either; you two should get along harmoniously." Grandmother said amiably.

"We will, we'll get along harmoniously."

Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong exchanged a glance, then both squinted and smiled at each other.

There wasn't really much to say. Fang Hong's basic situation — Liu Tianxian and Liu Xiaoli had probably already explained it all clearly to their family during their chats.

Just understanding what he does is enough.

In the afternoon, the dining table was already laden with a sumptuous spread. Since the table was the long rectangular kind, there had to be a place of honor.

Grandfather and Grandmother sat at the head. Liu Xiaoli and Auntie's group of three sat on the left; Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian sat on the right.

Although young people nowadays don't care much about etiquette, the older folks still care about such things.

Once everyone was seated, Liu Tianxian brought over red wine — she had decanted it earlier — and poured a glass for each of them.

Then she sat down in the seat below Fang Hong.

Liu Tianxian seemed quite enthusiastic. Raising her wine glass, she chirped, "Grandfather, Grandmother, Auntie, Uncle, Mom, and you—"

As she said the last phrase, she looked at Fang Hong.

"Let's all have a toast together."

"Clink!" went the sound as everyone's glasses touched.

Setting down her glass, Liu Tianxian picked some dishes for Fang Hong: "Eat more."

"See how well our Xixi takes care of people? You'll be a lucky man in the future." Auntie said to Fang Hong with a smile.

"Yes, when I was sick before, she was the one who took care of me. I've always been very moved by that." Fang Hong went along with the topic.

He had loosened up a bit, no longer as reserved as before.

"This girl has had a kind heart since she was little, knows how to care for people." Auntie commented.

"And that's not all — she's beautiful too." Fang Hong added.

The elders laughed "hehe" continuously.

Liu Tianxian was so embarrassed by the talk that her cheeks turned rosy, a touch of shyness on her face. She protested unhappily, "You all just love making fun of me!"

"We're praising you!"

Auntie said, then turned to Fang Hong: "Hey, is your mom doing okay at home all by herself?"

"She's doing fine." Fang Hong said.

"In Beijing, do you have any other relatives?" Auntie asked.

"No, all my relatives are back in our hometown." Fang Hong replied.

"He came to Beijing to make it on his own." Liu Xiaoli added.

"Oh!" Auntie nodded, indicating she understood.

The meal was fairly harmonious. The conversation never strayed far from Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong — the main focus was on the two of them, with a side discussion of Fang Hong's family situation.

Fang Hong just answered whatever was asked, trying his best to go along with the elders.

After the meal, Auntie and the others pulled Liu Tianxian aside for family chitchat — which of course meant evaluating Fang Hong as a person.

Liu Xiaoli and Fang Hong found a place to talk alone.

The two sat facing each other. Liu Xiaoli organized her words: "Little Fang, um… the reason I called you here today, you probably already know. I only have this one daughter, and I treasure her. To be honest, my daughter has decided that you'll be her partner."

"Auntie, it's my honor." Fang Hong said with a respectful attitude.

"I think quite highly of you as a person. You have ability, you don't mess around, you're not quite like the other people in the entertainment circle. It's just that—"

Liu Xiaoli shifted her tone: "I don't know how much you love my daughter. I just can't get a read on it."

In her view, Fang Hong was too clear-headed — he always knew exactly what he wanted and kept moving toward that single goal.

Precisely because he was too clear-headed, she couldn't sense how much he loved her daughter.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Fang Hong asked.

"I'm a woman who's been through a divorce. I have a sense of insecurity about marriage. I just want to ask — what can you give my daughter?" Liu Xiaoli said.

She tossed the question back to Fang Hong again.

This was giving Fang Hong quite a headache — this kind of mother-in-law was the hardest to deal with.

"I imagine you probably aren't short on money either. I only have these few companies under my name, and I don't think you care about that," Fang Hong said.

"How would you know I don't care?" Liu Xiaoli found it amusing — this young man was quite the smooth talker.

"Because you're simply not that kind of mercenary person. I was already dating Liu Tianxian before I made my fortune, and you didn't try to stop us. That proves you don't look at how much money a man has — you only look at whether he can guarantee your daughter's future goes smoothly and that she can walk the road of happiness."

Fang Hong had reached this conclusion from what Liu Xiaoli had just said about herself — that she too had been divorced.

"You do see things pretty clearly."

Liu Xiaoli laughed and said, deliberately: "What if I insist on it?"

"Then you'd really be making things hard for me. It would be like pulling out my backbone. My career is my foundation — if you take that away, it's the same as taking away all my worth. I wouldn't be able to stand on my own," Fang Hong said.

A man's career is his backbone, the embodiment of his social standing. Without a career, a man has no worth whatsoever in society.

(End of chapter)