Who Was Jiang Junlai?

"Mom..."

"Dongxue, don't bother. We can all see how useless Zhang Yang is. I won't make things difficult for him. If he has nothing to give, he has nothing."

Cheng Dongxue wanted to explain what Zhang Yang had done. She hoped he could help the family through this crisis, too. But Cheng Hai cut her off before she could get a word out.

Cheng Dongxue sighed and fell silent. She simply couldn't bring herself to talk back to her parents.

As for Zhang Yang, it had nothing to do with him. Since no one wanted his help, he tuned out their discussion and devoted himself to eating and drinking.

"Eat, eat, eat. That's all you know how to do. You're like a pig," Yang Su snapped.

Lin Xiaofei wanted to speak up for Zhang Yang, but seeing how unruffled he was, she closed her mouth again. She even swallowed her own offer to help.

These people were far too arrogant. They needed a harsh lesson, and Lin Xiaofei was willing to give them the chance to learn one.

By the time Yang Su had asked everyone, the results were dismal. Hard times were supposed to reveal who truly cared, yet every relative around the table had an excuse. Even those willing to contribute offered sums so small they would make no difference.

They were particularly good at changing the subject at crucial moments. Zhang Yang had to admire it. In an instant, a barrage of accusations, mockery, and sarcasm came flying his way.

Yang Su and Cheng Hai, reeling from their failure to raise the money, turned their anger on Zhang Yang.

"A son-in-law who married into this family years ago and does nothing but eat and drink—has he ever contributed anything to the Cheng Family? All he knows how to do is housework. He's completely useless."

Yang Su was furious. More than a dozen relatives had come to dinner, all close to her or people she thought highly of. But apart from Yang Gang, who was willing to put up a million, the rest had offered small amounts. Together, their contributions did not even reach 1.2 million, leaving them far short.

Cheng Hai was anxious about the company's future, too. The stress had not brought him down; instead, like Yang Su, he took his anger out on Zhang Yang.

"Useless coward. The Cheng Family must have been blind to take you in."

"It's all your fault. If you hadn't insisted on bringing him into this family, the Cheng Family could have had its pick of sons-in-law. We wouldn't be in this mess today."

Cheng Hai sounded as though he was berating himself for misjudging Zhang Yang. Yang Su followed up by blaming Cheng Dongxue for choosing him.

"Exactly. Your older sister's husband is nothing like you. If he were, I'd have divorced him long ago."

Cheng Dongyu seized the chance to take another vicious swipe at Zhang Yang.

"I'd never be like him. I'd find a block of tofu and bash my own head against it first."

Xia Shiying had failed to make a good showing at his mother-in-law Yang Su's birthday banquet. Now he chimed in to please Cheng Dongyu, hoping to avoid being scolded—or even hit—when they got home that night.

"What else is there to say? Even if he were the last man alive, she shouldn't have chosen him. A dog would be better."

Yang Tai jumped in to fan the flames, as though he wanted to curse Zhang Yang to death.

Zhang Yang remained silent. He wondered whether he had committed so many sins in a past life that he had ended up in this family, forced to endure their abuse.

"So if he's worse than a dog, what good is he? Cousin, I still think you should get a divorce!"

Yang Tai was on a roll and kept attacking Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang still said nothing. He ate and drank as if no one else were there. Even Lin Xiaofei was stunned by how calm he looked.

"Zhang Yang—"

Cheng Dongxue was frustrated that Zhang Yang was so hopeless. He was being bullied so badly, yet he still had the nerve to eat and drink, and even seemed to be enjoying himself. She stamped her foot in anger.

"Are you pretending to be weak so you can catch them off guard? Are you waiting for your chance to turn everything around and win them all over in one stroke?"

Sitting beside Zhang Yang, Lin Xiaofei asked him in a low voice.

Zhang Yang froze. Lin Xiaofei knew something about him, which made her the most dangerous person here. If she wanted to hurt him, she was a ticking time bomb.

"Don't talk nonsense. There's nothing I can do. They've worn me down until I'm out of options," Zhang Yang explained with a grin.

Lin Xiaofei was startled. The way he said it only made her more certain he was plotting something.

Perhaps Zhang Yang was waiting for the Cheng Family's troubles to spiral out of control. Then he would step in, save the day, and clean up the mess. That would be downright wicked.

Lin Xiaofei refused to believe Zhang Yang could do nothing. No one was willing to trust a son-in-law who had married into the Cheng Family and, after years under their roof, had nothing to show for it.

Even Zhang Yang's outstanding performance at Yang Su's birthday banquet, which had stunned everyone there, had failed to change how the family saw him.

Yang Su even resented Zhang Yang for showing off instead of leaving Cheng Dongyu a chance to shine.

"Grinning like an idiot. You really are a clueless waste of space." Seeing Zhang Yang smiling and talking with Lin Xiaofei, Cheng Hai resumed his abuse.

The sight of Zhang Yang irritated Yang Su. She had another reason to dislike him, too: he had spotted something suspicious about the Sapphire Necklace and warned Cheng Hai.

What infuriated Yang Su even more was that Zhang Yang had been home when she bought the Sapphire Necklace, yet he had not stopped her. He had not even come out of his room to take a look.

"Mom, I'm telling you, my little sister would be better off divorced. For a good-for-nothing like Zhang Yang, finding another wife would be next to impossible. But Cheng Dongxue is young and beautiful. Wealthy young men would line up for her."

Cheng Dongyu could not stand Zhang Yang either. If he had any real ability, the family would not have needed them to rescue the Cheng company. He could have helped instead.

"That's true. If it were up to me, I'd never want a loser like Zhang Yang. Unless he was filthy rich, I wouldn't even look at him."

A cool, beautiful woman rose and pointed at Zhang Yang with a smile that did not reach her eyes. Her strange gaze made her dislike of him as clear as her words did.

She was Yang Lanlan, a relative on Yang Su's side of the family and Cheng Dongxue's cousin.

Yang Lanlan had missed Yang Su's birthday banquet, claiming that a business trip made it impossible to attend. In truth, she had gone traveling with her boss. He was married, and sneaking around in Gong City was inconvenient, so he had taken her away where they could have an affair under cover of a trip.

For someone as rotten as her to stand there criticizing Zhang Yang was laughable.

"So Yang Tai is right. Divorce. You absolutely have to get divorced," Yang Lanlan said with a scornful smile.

Zhang Yang raised his head. This was the first time he had looked straight at Yang Lanlan.

"What are you staring at? Never seen a beautiful woman before? I heard all about what you did at Auntie's birthday banquet. You even dared to flip the table. Who do you think you are?"

Zhang Yang's eye twitched. He studied Yang Lanlan carefully. He had to admit she might bring some novelty to a bed now and then. No wonder her boss dared to fool around with her behind his wife's back.

Zhang Yang let out a long breath, then suddenly spoke. "That big bed in the luxury room was comfortable, wasn't it? How is Jiang Junlai? His wife must be so worried that his business trip has worn him out!"

"Huh... Who's Jiang Junlai?" Yang Tai frowned and immediately turned to Yang Lanlan.