How Everyone Showed Their True Colors in a Crisis

The more Cheng Dongxue thought about it, the more closely she watched Lin Xiaofei.

Zhang Yang noticed. These two women had once looked down on him, yet now they were quietly vying with each other over him. Fortunately, neither made it obvious. Otherwise, he would be branded a two-timer for good.

Zhang Yang was not worried about the truth coming out. He admitted that he loved Cheng Dongxue, but Lin Xiaofei was appealing too. She was his type.

Still, Zhang Yang was confident he could keep everything under control.

Before long, the table was set with nearly twenty dishes, and almost all the guests invited to dine with the Cheng Family had arrived. When they heard Zhang Yang had done the cooking, they began talking about him again.

"Zhang Yang really is a househusband. These dishes actually look decent. Maybe once you're kicked out of the Cheng Family, you can open a little roadside restaurant and feed yourself."

Seeing Zhang Yang carry out a large bowl of soup, Xia Shiying could not resist mocking him.

Zhang Yang glanced at Xia Shiying. The man had lost his usual swagger, and several bruises marked his face. Zhang Yang could not help laughing.

"Is Eldest Sister into SM too?"

Zhang Yang knew the dynamics of Cheng Dongyu and Xia Shiying's marriage all too well. Xia Shiying was henpecked, while Cheng Dongyu had inherited Yang Su's personality, temperament and habits wholesale.

One look at Xia Shiying's face told him those bruises were no one else's doing. They were Cheng Dongyu's handiwork.

Presumably, Xia Shiying had disappointed Cheng Dongyu at Yang Su's birthday banquet by failing to put them ahead of her two sisters. Once they got home, she had taken her anger out on him, personally turning his face into this masterpiece.

Zhang Yang's remark made everyone laugh. Xia Shiying's fear of his wife was no secret, just as everyone knew Zhang Yang was a good-for-nothing.

"Hahaha..."

With his face so badly bruised, Xia Shiying could not even show the full force of his humiliation. It was plain how furious Cheng Dongyu had been.

"You..."

Xia Shiying sprang to his feet, furious and mortified, but he had nowhere to vent either feeling.

"Zhang Yang, you're a good-for-nothing yourself, and Xia Shiying is still a thousand times better than you. Have you no shame, laughing at someone else? Take a good look at yourself first!"

In front of others, especially Zhang Yang, Cheng Dongyu was fiercely protective of Xia Shiying.

With the meal ready, Cheng Hai and Yang Su invited the guests to the table. That quarrel had been only a sideshow. Zhang Yang knew the real drama had yet to begin.

"I made all these dishes especially for today. We're all family here, so help yourselves!" At gatherings like this, Yang Su always made herself the center of attention.

Besides, she was the reason they had gathered. She had to take the lead.

Everyone began eating, but no one had saved a seat for Zhang Yang. He might as well have been the Cheng Family's housekeeper, unfit to eat at their table.

"Zhang Yang! Over here..."

Yang Gang had never looked down on Zhang Yang. After Zhang Yang's remarkable showing at his mother-in-law's birthday banquet, Yang Gang was all the more eager to call him over.

"Leave him be. He can't help with our problem anyway." Yang Su shook her head and sighed. Of her three sons-in-law, Zhang Yang was the one she despised most.

Zhang Yang needed to hear what was said today, so he did not stand on ceremony. He brought over his own bowl, and Cheng Dongxue shifted aside to make room for him.

Cheng Hai said nothing. They were family, after all. What could he say?

"Mom, what's this meal for? Didn't we just have your birthday banquet?" Cheng Dongyu was not well-off herself. Otherwise, she would not have lost out to Zhang Yang at the banquet.

Cheng Dongyu had inherited Yang Su's instinct for trouble. For all she knew, this meal could be a trap.

She grew uneasy as soon as she sat down.

"It's your mother's doing..."

Since everyone present was family, Cheng Hai got straight to the point and told them how Yang Su had been swindled. They were all shocked.

"Mom, go to Aunt Xu and demand an explanation! Get the money back. The family company needs it." Cheng Dongyu had inherited Yang Su's ways almost entirely, including her naïveté.

"That won't be easy. We have no evidence. We can't even prove Xu Yuan sold your mother the necklace." Cheng Hai sounded defeated. With a wife like his, he had nothing more to say.

The table fell silent. Cheng Hai was right.

Together with what Cheng Hai had said about the company's financial crisis, the purpose of the meal was clear. Before he could make his request, someone began making excuses.

"Dad, you know Xia Shiying's only just been promoted, so he's still on his old salary. And with Mom's birthday just behind us, money's tight at our house."

Cheng Dongyu was the first to speak. She was a full-time housewife, and their household relied entirely on Xia Shiying's income. At least some of what she said was true.

"Dad, I can put up some money, but I can't cover it all. I have seven or eight hundred thousand in savings. I'll find a way to make it a million."

Yang Gang proved dependable after all. He offered a million at once. His own company had only just started and needed money too, yet he set that aside and offered all his savings, promising to find the rest.

"Yang Gang, thank you!"

It was in a crisis that people showed how much they cared. Yang Su was deeply moved.

"Auntie, my family needs money right now too. I can personally lend you twenty thousand. I hope it helps," Yang Tai said with a smile.

Yang Su was taken aback. Twenty thousand? Yang Tai spent more than that on a single night out with his worthless friends. His aunt was in trouble, and that was all he would lend her?

But Yang Tai was her nephew, and she had always favored him. She let his attitude and stinginess pass.

"Zhang Yang, even I, her nephew, have offered twenty thousand. As a son-in-law who married into this family, how much are you going to put up to help Auntie through this?"

Some people had no shame. Yang Tai treated a mere twenty thousand as the height of generosity, then used it to mock Zhang Yang and feel superior.

"I..."

Zhang Yang feigned shock. It was not yet time for him to show his hand.

"Him? He's a good-for-nothing. Don't expect a penny from him. We'd be lucky if he stopped spending our money. All he does is eat and laze around. When has he ever contributed to this family?"

Yang Su seemed to have forgotten the size of her own mistake. Instead, she seized the chance to sneer at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang gave a helpless, bitter laugh.

"Mom, you know Zhang Yang hasn't had a job. Where would he get any money?"

Cheng Dongxue spoke up at once. These people were still belittling Zhang Yang right in front of her, as though she did not matter. She could not let it pass.

"Zhang Yang..."

But after defending him, Cheng Dongxue suddenly remembered the card Zhang Yang had produced on Antique Street to buy a White Jade Hairpin for five hundred thousand. It had been a credit card. What sort of person had a credit limit of five hundred thousand, or perhaps even more?