Chapter 60: Cai Juying Makes a Scene Again

In the blink of an eye, the summer vacation was fast approaching.

Under the supervision of Zhou Chen and Zhong Yi, the renovation of the tutoring center was more than half finished. Nan Li had already selected the office desks and chairs, and a single phone call would be enough for the supplier to deliver them at any time.

Speaking of which, Yan Peng's family was actually in the business of furniture OEM. If they hadn't had a falling out with Yan Peng, getting those desks and chairs wouldn't have been such a hassle.

If there was one person who had been exceptionally busy lately, it was undoubtedly Nan Li. Every day she was running errands—obtaining permits, handing out flyers for student recruitment, purchasing books and teaching materials, hiring teachers, and so on.

Zhong Yi had managed to find a few teachers, and Nan Li had also recruited several through her own connections, bringing the teaching staff to a temporarily sufficient level.

As for the official documentation—the business license, fire safety qualifications, and hygiene permits—they had all been successfully processed.

The name of the tutoring center was decided by Zhou Chen himself: StarRise. It carried no profound meaning; Zhou Chen simply named it after himself. Believing that he would eventually have to leave someday, he wanted to leave something behind regardless of what the future held, hence the choice.

The most crucial element, however, was the enrollment of students. Once Nan Li had settled the other matters, she dedicated all her time to student recruitment. After all, everything else could be accomplished through sheer hard work, but students were the absolute priority. Without students to enroll, everything else would be for nothing.

Nan Li utilized every single connection she had and spent a considerable amount of money on advertising. Although classes hadn't started yet, quite a few students had already expressed their intention to register.

Watching Nan Li's busy days firsthand, Zhou Chen felt a deep ache in his heart. It was only after truly diving into the hustle and bustle that he realized how grueling running a business could be, especially a tutoring and training institution. While there wasn't much heavy physical labor involved, it required swallowing one's pride and begging various people for favors—something people with fragile egos simply could not pull off.

Yet, busy as she was, Nan Li did not complain at all. Instead, she claimed she found it fulfilling, which finally allowed Zhou Chen to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the evening, after coaxing the children to sleep, Nan Li pulled Zhou Chen over to sit on the living room sofa.

"Honey, Tian Yulan called me today."

"What?"

Zhou Chen's voice shot up instantly as he stared at Nan Li in shock. "Did you say Tian Yulan called you? Did I hear that right?"

Nan Li replied, "I was shocked too. At first, I didn't want to answer, but she kept calling repeatedly. In the end, thinking that it was time to put an end to all this, I picked up."

"Well, what did she say? Did she pick another fight with you?"

"No. At first I was quite confused, but after she finished speaking, I finally understood what was going on."

"What's going on?" Zhou Chen asked, burning with curiosity.

Nan Li said, "It wasn't about her and us; it was about her mother."

Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with her mother? Did she stir up trouble again?"

"Her mother had a huge fight with my dad, and she even ran away from home, threatening to divorce him. Right now, she's staying at their place."

"The old couple had a fight and want a divorce? Because of all those past incidents involving us? But why on earth did she call you?"

Nan Li wore a displeased expression. "She said that ever since her mother walked out, my dad has been having a terribly difficult time, and the house has been left in complete disarray. She hopes we can go and invite her mother back, if only for the sake of our dad."

"Her—"

Zhou Chen opened his mouth to unleash a torrent of abuse, but managed to hold it back. "In her dreams! She is utterly delusional. How hilarious! Asking you to go and invite her mother back—where on earth did she get such an absurd idea?"

To him, this kind of thing was nothing short of sheer absurdity. It had happened in the original trajectory of events as well, but what baffled him was that Nan Li had actually gone to invite her back in that timeline.

For a biological daughter to invite back the mistress who had shattered her family—that was simply beyond ridiculous.

"Li Li, no matter what you're thinking, I disagree. Absolutely not. It's too ridiculous to ask you to go and fetch that woman home. No way, absolutely out of the question."

With a woman like Cai Qiuying, did she even want any shred of dignity? Did she deserve it?

Nan Li said, "Then what about my dad? As much as I hate to admit it, without that woman, my dad simply cannot live on his own."

Zhou Chen argued, "I'm not against that woman going back, but you must never be the one to show up and fetch her. She doesn't deserve it. I can see right through that mother and daughter; they just want to save face. If you go and invite her, you'll be bowing down to them for the rest of your life. Why should you? She climbed up as a mistress, yet she still wants to lord it over you and Mom? No way. This is a matter of principle; I won't let you humiliate yourself."

"This isn't about losing face anymore, it's about the fact that our dad needs someone to take care of him. In his physical condition, if he doesn't eat well or drink well, he'll easily fall ill."

Nan Li looked hesitant. "My dad is getting old; I can't let anything else happen to him. It doesn't matter if I lose a bit of face, as long as he is well."

"No, absolutely not. It's not the problem you think it is. If Dad needs someone to take care of him, we can hire a nanny or a caregiver. I'd rather spend money than have you lose your dignity."

"Li Li, this is not open for discussion. If you really go, I will definitely be angry."

Seeing Zhou Chen's disgruntled expression, Nan Li suddenly smiled. "I haven't even gotten angry yet, and here you are getting all worked up. Honey, I know you're doing this for my sake, but that woman took care of my dad for over a dozen years. My dad has already grown used to her care. Changing people for him at this juncture... well, there's no guarantee anyone else would take care of him properly."

Noticing the wavering tone in Nan Li's voice, Zhou Chen knew that if he didn't stand his ground, given Nan Li's personality, she might actually compromise.

Instead of letting Nan Li make her own arbitrary decision behind his back, he decided to take matters into his own hands first.

"Li Li, how about this: don't show your face. I'll handle it. I'll go talk to that Aunt Cai."

"You?" Nan Li looked highly skeptical. "No, no way."

Sensing Nan Li's worry, Zhou Chen reassured her, "Don't worry, Li Li. I promise I won't use physical force this time, nor will I resort to other underhanded tactics. I'll just have a proper talk with her. If negotiations fail, we can think of other ways. How about that?"

"Honey, can you really handle it? Don't end up getting into a screaming match with them again."

"Relax, relax. Just leave it to me."

Zhou Chen made up his mind to straighten that mother and daughter out once and for all. They had just finished dealing with Tian Yulan, and now Cai Qiuying was starting to throw tantrums.

A divorce?

What a joke. If Cai Qiuying truly had that kind of backbone, she wouldn't have schemed so hard to become a mistress in the first place. If they really divorced, who would take care of her? Tian Yulan?

If it were Tian Yulan, Zhou Chen wouldn't feel entirely confident, but against Cai Qiuying, he held absolute certainty. Although Cai Qiuying was similarly devoid of shame, she was much easier to deal with than Tian Yulan.

"Are you really sure you can handle it?"

Because of her startup, Nan Li had been snowed under with stress. In truth, had it not been for her father's sake, she wouldn't have bothered giving Tian Yulan and Cai Qiuying a second thought.

Zhou Chen answered with absolute confidence, "Definitely, and positively."

"By the way, the students' summer vacation is just around the corner, and the summer tutoring classes are only a little over ten days away. Is everything on StarRise's end going smoothly?"

"Everything that needs to be prepared is ready. Opening is definitely not a problem. The only uncertainty is how many students we'll end up with. Until everything is finalized, no one can guarantee whether we'll turn a profit, especially since we've already invested a substantial amount of money before even starting."

Zhou Chen remained quite optimistic. "Don't worry so much. We've already got it up and running, and we've put in the effort. The rest is up to fate. Oh, by the way, are the online training courses running concurrently?"

Nan Li asked, looking puzzled, "Honey, I really don't understand. Why are you so obsessed with online education? We're already overwhelmed with offline classes; why bother with online ones? I've consulted experts, and online platforms are several times harder to manage than offline ones."

Zhou Chen smiled with quiet assurance, "Li Li, trust me. Running online classes might not yield immediate profits at this stage, but down the road, it will definitely blow your mind."

"Fine, fine. I have no idea what's going on in that brain of yours. Anyway, you're the big boss—we'll do whatever you say."

"Since I'm the boss, that makes you the boss's wife."