Chapter 41: The Mother-in-Law Who Despairs at Her Son-in-Law's Lack of Ambition

On the drive home, Zhou Chen’s anger remained unspent.

No one could remain calm after being treated like that, but given the circumstances, he had no choice but to keep his cool. They were right at the school gate, and Tian Yulan was a woman. If he had made any impulsive move, it would have been captured on camera and uploaded to the internet. With social media as developed as it is today, those keyboard warriors wouldn't care about what actually happened; they would only see a man bullying a woman in front of an elementary school.

By then, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he had a hundred mouths. If he were doxxed, it wouldn't just be his own misfortune—it could implicate his entire family.

So, he had to hold Huanhuan and leave as quickly as possible. Yet, the resentment wouldn't subside; if he couldn't vent it, he knew he wouldn't be able to let it go.

"Daddy."

Hearing Huanhuan's voice, Zhou Chen looked through the rearview mirror and saw her watching him nervously. He let out a soft breath.

"Huanhuan, don't worry, Daddy is fine. Daddy and your aunt just had a little disagreement, it’s nothing."

Despite his extreme dissatisfaction with Tian Yulan, he didn't want to elaborate in front of the child. She was too young to bear such things.

Distracted by the incident, Huanhuan forgot her own sadness. Sitting behind Zhou Chen, her little hand touched his shoulder, as if offering silent comfort. Seeing his daughter’s thoughtfulness, the heavy resentment in Zhou Chen’s heart slowly dissipated. They say a daughter is a father’s little cotton-padded jacket, and that sentiment rang true. While Huanhuan could be willful at times, she was generally kind and sensible; knowing he was in a bad mood, she had learned to comfort him.

When they arrived home, Zhao Na, who was in the living room playing with Chaochao, looked up with confusion as Zhou Chen walked in, clutching his torn clothes.

"Xia Junshan, what happened to your clothes?"

Zhou Chen replied somewhat awkwardly, "It's nothing, Mom. My shirt got torn. I'm going to go to my room and change." With that, he hurried away.

This only made Zhao Na more suspicious. She turned to Huanhuan and asked, "Huanhuan, what happened to your father?"

Huanhuan answered honestly, "Daddy got into an argument with Auntie at the school gate. Daddy's shirt was torn by her."

"Auntie? You mean that Tian Yulan?"

After the events of the last time, Zhao Na had a deep impression of Tian Yulan. "No, how could your father get into an argument with that woman? Is it because of what happened before? That shouldn't be it."

Zhao Na couldn't fathom it. From what she knew of her son-in-law, he was absolutely not the type to get physical with anyone, let alone a woman. Her first thought was the previous incident, but that had been over a week ago; if they were going to fight, they would have done it then, so why now?

Huanhuan pursed her lips. "I lost the election for vice-monitor, and Yan Ziyou won. Auntie said such mean things that Daddy started arguing with her. Daddy didn't want to fight, but Auntie grabbed his shirt and tore it."

Being a fifth-grader, Huanhuan’s logic was clear enough for Zhao Na to grasp the sequence of events.

"What? That woman’s son snatched your vice-monitor position? And she spoke so cruelly and got physical with your father? It truly runs in the family—the grandmother, the daughter, and now the grandson. They all love to snatch things that aren't theirs, and they have no shame!"

Zhao Na cursed in anger. Just then, Zhou Chen walked out. She immediately turned to him. "Xia Junshan, what is going on? Your daughter had her position snatched, and as her father, you don't even stand up for her? You let that woman’s son bully her?"

Facing Zhao Na’s barrage of criticism, Zhou Chen gave a bitter smile. "Mom, there were so many parents and children at the school gate—what was I supposed to do? I couldn't hit her. She may have no shame, but I do. If I had caused a scene, wouldn't it be even worse for Huanhuan to be looked down upon at school?"

"You, you..."

Zhao Na placed her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth. "You're so useless. One is like this, the other is like that. You let people bully you right at your own doorstep and you don't even strike back. How did I end up with a daughter and son-in-law like you? It’s infuriating!"

If Zhou Chen had gotten into a dispute with anyone else, she wouldn't feel this way, but the Cai Juying mother-daughter duo was different. She could never tolerate her daughter and son-in-law being bullied by them.

"Mom, please, calm down. Don't be angry."

"Not be angry? How can I not be angry? They keep provoking us, and now they've even snatched Huanhuan's vice-monitor spot. How can you expect me not to be angry?"

Zhao Na was beside herself with rage. She waved a hand at Zhou Chen. "Forget it, forget it. There’s no talking to you, and I can't count on you anyway. I'm leaving. Tell Lili to call me when she gets back. I refuse to believe that the two of us are going to be bullied by that pair of home-wreckers..."

Watching Zhao Na storm out, Zhou Chen felt helpless. He felt stifled too, but what could he do? The situation was what it was; starting a physical fight was out of the question. If he wanted revenge, it would have to wait for another time.

Nan Li, who was working overtime on a furniture gallery project, suddenly received a call from Huanhuan's homeroom teacher, Zhang Xue'er. She felt a pang of worry, fearing something had happened to Huanhuan at school.

However, once she finished the call, she couldn't focus on work anymore. She quickly set her tasks aside and hurried out of the office to go home.

Nan Li never imagined that her husband would get into a dispute with Tian Yulan at the school gate, let alone that it would turn physical. Learning that her husband’s clothes had been torn only fueled her rage.

Wonderful. This Tian Yulan was truly going too far. After causing a scene at their home, she had now gone to the school to make a spectacle, tearing her husband's clothes in front of everyone. She really had no sense of decency left.

Knowing Nan Li would be working late, Zhou Chen had cooked dinner himself and let Huanhuan and Chaochao eat.

After dinner, before he could even tidy up, he saw Nan Li rushing through the door.

"Husband, what on earth happened today? Teacher Zhang called me..."

As soon as she arrived, Nan Li didn't even have time to change her shoes before asking Zhou Chen anxiously.

Zhou Chen gave a bitter smile. Bad news travels fast. He didn't answer immediately, helping Nan Li take off her heels and get into her slippers before he spoke.

"Huanhuan lost the vice-monitor election to Yan Ziyou. I suspect Tian Yulan deliberately colluded with other parents to lobby for votes. On top of that, she said some very nasty things in front of the children and kept provoking me, so I couldn't help but snap back. But who knew the woman was a complete lunatic? She attacked me in public and tore my shirt. If it weren't for the situation at the time, I really would have wanted to slap her."

After hearing this, Nan Li was even more furious. "Husband, you're right. Tian Yulan is a psychopath. We've shared meals at the same table so many times; how could she act like that in public, at the school gate? No, I cannot swallow this."

Zhou Chen said, "I can't swallow it either, but what can we do? We can't exactly run to her house and cause a scene, can we?"

"Don't say that—I actually have the urge to do exactly that."

Nan Li said heatedly, "I think we've been too polite to them in the past, trying to save face. But now that they are being so excessive and provoking us repeatedly, why should we care about face? If it comes to a scene, so be it. I want to see who ends up losing face in the end."

Zhou Chen gently patted Nan Li’s back to soothe her. "Lili, don't let this upset you. You're right, that woman is begging for a lesson. But how we handle it, how we teach her a lesson—we need to discuss it carefully. We can't act recklessly."

Setting aside the plot of the TV drama, even in his few encounters with Tian Yulan, he felt the woman was a psychopath; everything she did and said was incredibly grating.

A woman like that had no real substance, yet she thought she was something special. It was only because she married a man like Yan Peng; if she had married anyone else, she’d likely be facing domestic violence or something worse.

To be her husband or son was truly the worst luck imaginable. If a woman like that could ever be redeemed, it would be a travesty of justice.

"Husband, I don't care what you think, but I cannot swallow this. We must get our own back."

Nan Li’s tone was firm. She wasn't a petty person, but Tian Yulan’s recent behavior had crossed her bottom line. She made up her mind: she would make Tian Yulan pay the price.