Chapter Forty: Confronting Tian Yulan, Coming to Blows

Seeing her son chatting happily with Zhou Chen about football, Tian Yulan felt a surge of dissatisfaction and gave her son a push.

"What football? You have tutoring on the weekend; when would you have time for that?"

Yan Ziyou replied, "I do! I don't have class on Sunday afternoon."

Tian Yulan retorted, "Even if you don't have class, you should be doing practice papers. Ziyou, you are the vice monitor now. You must prioritize your studies. If you don't study hard and your grades drop next time, someone else might take your position. Do you understand?"

Yan Ziyou’s face fell. "Can’t I play for a while? Besides, I don’t even want to be vice monitor. If someone else wants it, let them have it."

Upon hearing this, Tian Yulan’s expression turned icy. She snapped angrily, "What are you saying? Do you have any idea how much effort I put into getting you this position? I..."

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Zhou Chen was still standing right there. She had nearly exposed her own little schemes. She glanced at Zhou Chen calmly, only to find him looking at her with a very strange expression, which made her feel somewhat guilty.

What kind of look was that?

It was a look of disdain—not just for the petty tactics she had used to secure the position, but also for her tone.

Is that any way to talk to a child? To a child, being a vice monitor should be an honor, a source of pride, yet the way she put it, it was nothing but pressure. Especially for Yan Ziyou, who hadn't wanted the position in the first place; her words only added to his burden. He couldn't play the football he loved and was forced to do worksheets and be a monitor—it would be strange if he didn't feel stifled.

Of course, this was their family business, and it wasn't his place to intervene, so he remained silent.

When the subject of the vice monitor position came up, Huanhuan gripped Zhou Chen’s hand tightly. Unlike Ziyou, she cared deeply about the role, and hearing Tian Yulan talk like that in front of her made her feel even worse.

"In short, Ziyou, remember what Mom said. You must study hard and keep that position. Since we worked so hard to get it, losing it now would be truly shameful. It’s not just embarrassing; it will also impact your future schooling."

Tian Yulan lectured him sternly, completely oblivious to how hurtful her words were to Huanhuan, who was listening nearby. Huanhuan, already so aggrieved that she had stopped speaking, burst into tears the moment Tian Yulan called losing the position "shameful," burying her face in Zhou Chen’s chest.

Zhou Chen was furious. He had held back previously because Tian Yulan was a woman, but she was becoming increasingly intolerable. How could he keep quiet?

"Tian Yulan, do you know how to speak? Do you think it’s appropriate to say such things in front of the children?"

Tian Yulan was the type of person who responded to softness with aggression. Seeing Huanhuan crying, she realized her words had caused pain, but upon hearing Zhou Chen’s angry questioning, she flared up. At home, she was the queen; her husband and son had to obey her, and even her parents-in-law had to tread carefully around her. Even Yan Peng wouldn't dare scold her, yet here was Zhou Chen questioning her at the school gate. She could not let this slide. She was already holding a grudge from their previous conflict, and his reprimand pushed her over the edge.

"I am educating my son. What does it have to do with you?"

Zhou Chen replied, "If you want to educate your son, do it at home. This is a public place. Don’t speak with such veiled sarcasm. Even a child knows what should and shouldn't be said. You’re over thirty; don't you understand such a simple principle?"

Seeing Zhou Chen’s blunt sarcasm, blood rushed to Tian Yulan’s head. Memories of the day Zhou Chen’s family ‘bullied’ her mother flashed through her mind, fueling her rage.

"Xia Junshan, are you sick, or did you take the wrong medicine today? Since when is it your place to lecture me? If you want to lecture someone, go home and lecture Nan Li. Why are you acting so tough in front of me? A grown man bullying a woman—how do you have the nerve?"

"Heh." Zhou Chen couldn't help but sneer. He was truly fed up with her self-righteous, mocking tone.

"If you can act tough in front of me, why can't I speak to you? What, you think you’re right just because you’re a woman? In the past, I tolerated you out of respect for our family ties. Adults’ conflicts should be resolved between adults, but you keep dragging the children into this. Is this how an elder behaves?"

Tian Yulan screamed, "What right do you have to talk about family? You say I’m not fit to be an elder—are you? Ziyou wanted to join the gold-medal class, and you wouldn't even help. Is that how an uncle-in-law acts? The child called you uncle for so many years; it was a total waste!"

"Do you think I want to be family with you? Nan Li is always looking down her nose at everyone, acting superior. I used to think you were decent, but you’re cut from the same cloth. We’re better off without relatives like you. If you have any pride, don’t come back! Do you think we want to deal with your family?"

Her shouting drew the attention of surrounding parents and children. Many were watching. Zhou Chen, holding Huanhuan, felt uncomfortable. To avoid further embarrassment for the girl, he prepared to leave.

"I don't have time for you."

Seeing him turn to leave, Tian Yulan—now completely enraged and forgetting where she was—rushed over to confront him.

"Mom! Mom!" Yan Ziyou tried desperately to hold her back, but his strength was no match for the tall Tian Yulan.

She grabbed Zhou Chen’s clothes and demanded, "Xia Junshan, explain yourself! How has my family ever wronged yours? Why do you have to treat us this way? First your family bullied my mother, an old woman, and now you’re bullying me. What exactly is your problem?"

"Are you insane?" Zhou Chen pushed her away, but she lunged again. Because he was holding Huanhuan, he couldn't use much force. As she yanked on him, a loud *rip* echoed through the air.

"Damn it." It was late May, and the weather was hot. Zhou Chen was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt. Her pull didn't just pop two buttons below his collar; the neckline was torn wide open. Fortunately, he was holding Huanhuan, which blocked the view, or his chest would have been exposed.

"Let go of me!" Zhou Chen, pushed to the limit, shoved her away and growled, "Tian Yulan, are you sick? Speak if you have to, but keep your hands off me!" This was the second time she had laid hands on him; the last time, at home, she had pushed him twice. This time, she had actually ruined his clothes.

But Tian Yulan was obsessed. Though she stumbled from his push, she regained her footing and tried to grab him again, shouting, "Explain yourself! How did we ever wrong your family to deserve this?"

Dammit! Surrounded by onlookers, Zhou Chen felt utterly mortified. Those who didn't know the context would think he had done something to her. He had never expected things to escalate like this; who could have predicted she would go this crazy? The woman truly had no sense of shame. But the problem was, she might not care about her reputation, but he had to care about his. To save Huanhuan from further humiliation at school, he just wanted to leave.

As the crowd grew, two figures suddenly rushed in.

"Ziyou’s mom, Huanhuan’s dad, please stay calm. Let’s talk this out, don't resort to physical force."

The first to arrive was Zhang Xue’er, followed by Zhong Yi, who had been there to pick up his girlfriend. Zhong Yi stepped quickly in front of Zhou Chen to block him, while Zhang Xue’er held back Tian Yulan, separating the two.

Zhong Yi pulled Zhou Chen back and asked cautiously, "Senior, what is going on? Why are you causing such a scene here? Aren't you relatives?" Seeing the torn clothes on Zhou Chen’s chest, he was genuinely shaken. *Good grief*, he thought, *I never realized Tian Yulan was this vicious. She doesn't even spare her own family—she just attacks. It’s a good thing we never had a physical confrontation; who knows who would have ended up worse off.*

Zhou Chen had no heart for explanations. He told Zhong Yi, "Zhong Yi, you saw it yourself. I’m not in a position to talk right now. I need to go back, but I’ll find you later; there’s an important matter to discuss. I can't say more now."

"Right, go ahead, Senior," Zhong Yi understood and said quickly.

On the other side, Tian Yulan had been restrained by Zhang Xue’er. She finally realized how unhinged she had looked, especially with so many parents and children watching, and felt a wave of embarrassment. Under Zhang Xue’er’s urging, she quickly dragged Yan Ziyou away.

Watching them leave, Zhong Yi said with lingering fear to Zhang Xue’er, "Xue’er, you saw it. You can’t blame me for having conflicts with her. She’s even attacking her own relatives—this woman is truly, well, she’s a madwoman."

Zhang Xue’er rolled her eyes at her boyfriend but didn't argue. Today’s situation was indeed inexplicable. She knew Huanhuan’s father to be a very kind person, not the type to stir up trouble or get into arguments. To have reached this point, he must have been pushed to his absolute limit.

Still, Tian Yulan attacking him and tearing his clothes at the school gate was undeniably unseemly and had a very negative impact. Although she was a woman, Huanhuan’s father was the one who had clearly suffered the most. Looking at the whole process, Tian Yulan’s behavior was completely unacceptable.

"Sigh, I’ll call Huanhuan’s mother later to ask what exactly happened."

Although Zhang Xue’er guessed it might have been because Yan Ziyou snatched the vice monitor position from Xia Huanhuan, the reason seemed too flimsy. Given the personality of Huanhuan’s father, he wouldn't start a conflict over something like that.