Chapter Fifteen: The Father-in-Law and the Mistress

Page (1/3)

Living in the same district of Jiangzhou City, Nan’s family’s residential complex wasn’t far from where Zhou Chen and his family lived—about a twenty-minute drive. So, even though it was nearly noon, Zhou Chen wasn’t in a hurry and drove slowly along the way.

Nan’s family lived in an old neighborhood with over twenty years of history. Because of its age, there were no skyscrapers—buildings only rose four or five stories at most.

There were parking spaces at the entrance to the complex, and when Zhou Chen arrived, a spot had just opened up, so parking went smoothly.

Carrying a basket of fruit bought en route, the family of four entered the complex, turned two corners, and suddenly an elderly man appeared ahead.

Before Zhou Chen could react, Huanhuan and Chaocao burst out joyfully.

“Grandpa!” “Grandpa!”

“Huanhuan, Chaocao!” the old man happily greeted, pulling both children into a warm embrace, stroking one cheek and kissing the other with indulgent affection.

“Dad.” “Dad,” Zhou Chen and Nan Li called out in unison.

“Oh, Lili,” the elderly man responded, mostly focusing his attention on the children, only sparingly on his daughter. As for Zhou Chen, he felt ignored.

Zhou Chen scrutinized Nan Jianlong. If one didn’t know the truth, it would be hard to believe this kindly elderly man, with a gentle and amiable face, was actually a scoundrel who had cheated during marriage and abandoned his wife and daughter.

“Let’s go home,” Nan Jianlong said, leading the children toward the house. Just as they reached the doorway, a woman about sixty years old came up to greet them.

“Hello, Grandma Cai,” Huanhuan and Chaocao called out to Cai Juying, then ran off into the house, pulling their grandfather along.

“Lili is here,” Cai Juying said cheerfully upon seeing Nan Li, who responded coolly and without warmth.

Cai Juying was accustomed to Nan Li’s indifferent attitude and paid it no mind. Instead, she turned to Zhou Chen and smiled, “You came, that’s good. Did you bring anything?”

Zhou Chen didn’t know how to address her, so he just smiled, “It’s only right.”

Taking a moment to observe Cai Juying, he found this beaming woman to be kind enough.

But having been involved with a married man as a mistress, breaking up a family, that was a lifetime disgrace, hardly something to earn respect.

After entering, Cai Juying deliberately crouched to fetch slippers for Nan Li, placing them with a broad smile at her feet.

Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, Nan Li was the first to proactively say thank you.

Noticing that no one paid attention to him, Zhou Chen felt somewhat gloomy. In the real world, he had never been married, so he had no idea how one was treated at the father-in-law’s house.

But judging from Nan family, his status as son-in-law didn’t seem to be valued at all. Nan Jianlong didn’t care, which was one thing, but even Cai Juying didn’t acknowledge him. He had to pick up a pair of disposable slippers left at the door and wear them himself.

However, after putting on the slippers, he glanced to the side and saw three pairs of regular slippers—two large and one small—neatly arranged. Unlike his and Nan Li’s disposable slippers, these were everyday slippers for home use.

Page (2/3)

Zhou Chen’s gaze flickered. Generally, in one’s own home, one wouldn’t wear disposable slippers; those were usually reserved for guests.

Here, Cai Juying prepared disposable slippers for the two of them but regular slippers for Tian Yulan’s family.

Clearly, the seemingly polite and kind Cai Juying fundamentally regarded them as guests, while treating her biological daughter Tian Yulan’s family as her own.

Perhaps this wasn’t intentional, but it revealed her innermost true feelings.

This was interesting.

If this were Cai Juying’s house, then such behavior would be understandable. But this house belonged to Nan Jianlong. Nan Li was Nan Jianlong’s biological daughter, while Tian Yulan was his stepdaughter.

Yet now, Nan Li returned home only to be treated as a guest, while the stepdaughter was regarded as family.

Zhou Chen thought he might be overthinking and overly sensitive, but what could he do? Having watched the drama, he knew the complexities involved.

If he hadn’t seen it, it would be one thing; now that he had, how could he not ponder?

But since his wife Nan Li, the one involved, showed no reaction, Zhou Chen naturally kept his own feelings subdued.

After setting down the fruit, Zhou Chen had just reached the sofa when he heard Nan Jianlong lavish praise on Huanhuan.

Calling her a genius, a prodigy like the ancient strategist Gan Luo, he cheered the little girl immensely.

The father-in-law was truly a cultured man; his compliments were fresh and refined.

While he was speaking, the front door opened, and a woman’s voice rang out.

“We’re here!”

Zhou Chen turned to see Yan Peng walking in, accompanied by a woman and a boy.

The woman was certainly Tian Yulan. She had a large frame, almost as tall as Yan Peng, with short hair, a blue-and-white shirt, and a deep blue skirt—looking both capable and a little worldly.

The little boy, about the same height as Huanhuan, was obviously Yan Ziyou.

Huanhuan and Chaocao happily ran from Grandpa Nan Jianlong’s arms toward the door, calling the woman “aunt” and the man “uncle” repeatedly.

Huanhuan pulled Yan Ziyou into the toy room, while Chaocao sweetly complimented auntie’s beauty and uncle’s handsomeness, making the two adults laugh heartily.

Cai Juying brought over a fruit plate. Tian Yulan wanted to help, but Cai Juying ignored her and placed it directly in front of Nan Li.

“Lili, have some fruit.”

Nan Li smiled but didn’t reach for any, while Tian Yulan standing behind her looked displeased, clearly disliking her mother’s obsequiousness toward Nan Li.

Nan Jianlong asked, “Are the dishes all ready?”

Cai Juying replied, “Almost done, ready to eat anytime.”

Hearing this, Nan Jianlong immediately stood up, “Then what are we waiting for? Serve the dishes, serve the dishes.”

Nan Li was about to rise but was pressed back down by Nan Jianlong, who then waved at Zhou Chen and Yan Peng, “There’s quite a bit of food today. You two come help serve.”

Zhou Chen clapped his hands and stood up, heading to the kitchen with Yan Peng.

Page (3/3)

Entering the kitchen, he saw there was indeed a lot of food—at least a dozen dishes arranged on the counter.

One had to admit, Cai Juying’s skill in hospitality was impressive; otherwise, Nan Jianlong wouldn’t have abandoned his wife and daughter to marry her.

While carrying dishes to the table, Zhou Chen immediately noticed a painting on the round table. He recognized it clearly—it was a picture Huanhuan had painted during art class.

He hadn’t planned to mention it, but no sooner had he set down the dishes than Nan Jianlong pulled him over, pointing at the lazy Susan on the table.

“Junshan, take a look. Familiar?”

Zhou Chen obliged, “Isn’t this Huanhuan’s painting?”

“Really? Huanhuan painted this?”

Yan Peng leaned over curiously to look, but his expression changed the next moment.

Nan Jianlong pointed at the painting with a smile. “This is grandpa’s favorite.”

Zhou Chen glanced at Yan Peng with a sigh. Since arriving in this world, apart from Nan Li and her family, Yan Peng was the friend he contacted most. They often discussed novel plots at night and were good companions.

Yan Peng was straightforward, so his discomfort passed quickly and he instead started chatting about novels.

“Bro, your novel’s about to be published, right?”

“Yeah, just getting ready.”

“That’s great. I’ve been following it closely. Bro, I really admire you. How do you write so well? Though, there’s one thing... haha, it’s a bit like a brothel tune.”

Yan Peng winked at Zhou Chen.

Passing by, Nan Jianlong was surprised, “Junshan, you write novels too?”

Zhou Chen replied, “Just writing casually when I have free time.”

Nan Jianlong didn’t pay much attention but said, “Writing’s fine as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job.”

“Of course not, Dad. Don’t worry. I’m only writing in my spare time.”

Yan Peng chuckled mischievously, “Uncle Nan, you don’t know. Our brother seems so serious and honest, but the novels he writes are...”

“Alright, Yan Peng, stop stirring trouble,” Zhou Chen quickly interrupted. Yan Peng was outspoken, and what he wrote would surely be frowned upon by Nan Jianlong’s generation.

“Okay, okay, I won’t say more. But bro, you gotta speed up; waiting for updates is torture.”

“Got it, I know.”

While they chatted and served dishes, in the living room, Nan Li and Tian Yulan had already begun their subtle battle of wits, exchanging barbs and sarcasm.

Though the two adults weren’t too harsh, it made Huanhuan and Yan Ziyou, the children, feel very awkward.