As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 44

“I… my father is a high-ranking executive at the Morgan Group… if… if you dare lay a hand on me, I’ll make sure your family… has a… a horrible end…”

Even while trembling, even with tears streaming down her face, the blonde princess-haired girl still dared to threaten him.

Su Fan smacked the scissors out of her hand and delivered another slap.

Her face immediately swelled up.

Su Fan backhanded her again, and the other side of her face swelled up too.

“Well said. Have another one on the house.”

Megan on the floor felt her worldview shatter.

These untouchable figures who usually seemed to exist on a different plane were being spun around like tops by an Asian man who appeared to have no power or status.

So, they were human too… they could also cry when crushed by someone stronger…

As Megan stared in shock, the filthy water and grime on her disappeared, and she returned to her previous appearance.

Her eyes suddenly cleared, and when she looked at Su Fan, they shone with intense admiration.

Overcome with excitement, she was about to rush forward and hug him, but Su Fan raised his hand, the threat of another slap making her stop dead in her tracks.

Seeing the clarity return to her eyes, Su Fan lowered his hand.

The instant Megan broke free from her psychological shadow, the women’s restroom vanished, leaving only a single door.

“Follow me.”

Before the words had even left his mouth, Su Fan was already violently kicking the next door open.

Megan followed closely behind.

As soon as they entered, Su Fan frowned.

Before them, a man and a woman were locked in a heated argument.

They were screaming hysterically and physically fighting; the room was a wreck, littered with broken pieces of pots, pans, bowls, and dishes.

In a corner, a young boy trembled, his eyes fixed on the couple.

Not daring to make a sound, he carefully inched toward his bedroom door.

However, his attention was completely focused on the adults, so he didn’t see the stool near his feet and accidentally kicked it over.

Suddenly, the arguing, fighting couple stopped and looked directly at the boy.

In that moment, their rage seemed to have finally found an outlet!
“It’s all your fault! If I hadn’t had you, I would never have married this loser, I wouldn’t be trapped in this godforsaken countryside!”

The woman’s manicured nails left streaks of blood on the boy’s skin.

“You’re clearly not my child! You’re the bastard she had with someone else!”

“No wonder you look nothing like me! Talk! Who is your bastard father?!”

The man’s cheap leather shoe connected hard with the boy’s stomach, making him vomit a mouthful of bile.

The two adults mercilessly vented their anger on the boy, ignoring his pleas for mercy.

None of the three noticed Su Fan and Megan behind them.

Seeing this, Megan felt a pang of sympathy and turned her head away.

The trauma from a dysfunctional family is hard to heal; it can last a lifetime.

Unlike her school bullying, domestic violence was messy, tangled with complex feelings of family and hatred.

Even he probably couldn’t easily solve this, right?

Just as Megan was thinking this, she saw Su Fan stride forward, grab the two adults by the scruffs of their necks like chickens, and throw them aside.

“Who the hell are you? How dare you interfere in my family matters!”

The man was furious. He scrambled up, ready to throw wild punches at Su Fan, but Su Fan’s fist shattered his nose bridge. He fell to the ground, clutching his face and twitching in pain.

Seeing this, the woman, who had been about to join in, abandoned the idea and instead put on a disgustingly fawning smile.

Seeing this, Su Fan’s frown deepened.

And these people are allowed to be parents.

Trash belongs with trash, forever and ever—that saying fit them perfectly.

“I’m taking him. Any objections?” Su Fan pointed at the little boy on the floor.

“No, none at all,” the woman hurriedly shook her head. The man rolling on the ground didn’t dare voice any objection either.

Su Fan picked up the boy from the floor and prepared to leave.

“Wait… my mom and dad…”

The boy, who had seemed nearly lifeless, suddenly stirred.

“What? You want to stay here?” Su Fan frowned, retorting.

“No, it’s just…”

“There is no ‘just.’ A place like this doesn’t deserve to be called a home. It’s not worth staying.”

Su Fan lifted the boy to eye level, looking directly into his eyes.

“Coming or not?”

“…Coming…”

With that answer, it was as if a lock broke in the boy’s heart. Everything suddenly became clear.

He returned to his normal size—he was the young script supervisor from before.

The surroundings once again turned to darkness, and a door materialized before the three of them.

Su Fan put the script supervisor down and, just like before, kicked the door open!

Freddy was recreating everyone’s most feared scenarios, awakening their deepest painful memories, making them drown in them.

If they couldn’t wake up on their own, they would be lost in the dream, their fear constantly siphoned away until they were finally killed.

Su Fan wasn’t a psychologist. He wasn’t getting paid, and he had no obligation to solve these people’s psychological issues.

If they could break their inner demons and stop feeding Freddy power, good. If not, he’d force his way through.

Megan and the script supervisor understood quickly, so Su Fan proceeded step by step with them.

When he encountered those who were hesitant or indecisive, Su Fan simply knocked them out.

Of course, besides psychological trauma, there were also a few with… peculiar secrets they were afraid of discovering.

Like the one who, as a young boy, had been “favored” by the priest next door and ended up developing feelings for him, now tormented by this “love.”

Or the one who presented as straight but was actually a regular at a certain type of bar, terrified of being found out.

Faced with these mind-boggling situations, Su Fan didn’t mince words—or punches. A solid fist served as a “major memory restoration technique,” and he hauled them away.

As more people were gathered, Su Fan materialized a small cart and piled the unconscious ones onto it like logs, letting the conscious ones push it.

At first, Megan, the script supervisor, and the other “normal” ones wanted to advise Su Fan not to be so rough, but they gradually got used to it.

There was, of course, one thing Su Fan hadn’t expected.

That was the fact that there was actually a murderer among the crew.

Years ago, he had killed someone by accident. After hiding for a few years, he created a fake identity and continued his life.

All these years, he had constantly hypnotized himself into being someone else, to the point where he even fooled himself.

The proof was that he had become a professional extra, and was even somewhat well-known in Hollywood for it.

“You two, remember this guy’s face. Report him later,” Su Fan said, holding up the unconscious murderer-extra for the script supervisor and Megan to see.

The secrets in people’s hearts are far too many; just lifting a corner is enough to stagger anyone who glimpses them.

As the earliest members of this rescue operation, the script supervisor and Megan had their eyes opened wide, their worldviews thoroughly shattered.

Only Su Fan remained calm from beginning to end.

Before long, all the crew members had been brought out by Su Fan.

The surroundings shifted again, and soon, Annie, held captive, appeared before Su Fan.

She was now dressed in a pure white evening gown, adorned with a jeweled crown. With her exquisite features, she looked more like a princess than any real princess could.

Su Fan couldn’t help but emotion the director of The Princess Diaries really hadn’t chosen the wrong person.

Behind Annie, Freddy was completely stunned to see Su Fan and a whole crowd of people suddenly appear before him.

Freddy: Huh?! Th-this isn’t right…