Seeing My In-Laws Again

"She's just a server."

Hearing Cheng Dongxue say that she was only a server, Zhang Yang lost any sense of satisfaction in putting her in her place. He said to Lin Dongqiang, "Let her up. It's over!"

"Get up and go back to work. Mr. Zhang has forgiven you."

"Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zhang."

The server thanked him profusely, nodding again and again. Still shaken, she got to her feet and hurried away.

She was a woman in her thirties. Though she was a server, her neat uniform made her look capable, and she had known to report a problem she couldn't handle. She had good judgment.

Zhang Yang smiled and nodded at her. Lin Dongqiang noticed, turned to the server, and said, "Tomorrow—no, starting now, you're the manager here."

"Ah... I..."

The server was stunned. All she had done was report the matter to Lin Dongqiang, and now she had been handed a manager's position. She was beside herself with excitement.

"That's right!"

Lin Dongqiang left the stunned server where she stood, then presented the Supreme VIP Card to Zhang Yang with both hands.

"Mr. Zhang, are you satisfied with how I handled this?"

"Yes. You can all get back to work. I'm eating."

Zhang Yang took the Supreme VIP Card and sent them away so they wouldn't disturb his meal.

Taking the card meant Zhang Yang was satisfied. Relieved, Lin Dongqiang left with the security guards and waived Zhang Yang's bill.

Cheng Dongxue kept her head down and ate. She had never imagined anything like this happening, yet she had watched it unfold before her eyes. And it had all been done by the man her parents scorned: the Cheng Family's live-in son-in-law.

It was hard to comprehend how people's attitude toward Zhang Yang had changed—or what had changed about Zhang Yang himself.

A bride had to meet her in-laws sooner or later. The same went for a son-in-law; he couldn't avoid his wife's parents.

They lingered over the meal. By the time they left Elegant Residence, the world outside had taken on different colors.

Night had fallen over the sprawling City. Streetlights glowed, neon flashed, and the view was dazzling.

Cheng Dongxue drove the brown Volkswagen CC expertly through traffic. Zhang Yang leaned against the passenger door, watching his wife.

If Cheng Dongxue hadn't stood by him all this time, perhaps she would already be someone else's wife.

Ever since marrying into the Cheng Family, Zhang Yang had endured their jeers and bullying. He had been treated worse than a servant or a maid—like an indentured farmhand in a cruel landlord's house.

His father-in-law, Cheng Hai, and mother-in-law, Yang Su, had made his life miserable. Yang Su in particular had ordered him about like a servant.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Haven't you seen enough of me after all these years?" Cheng Dongxue caught Zhang Yang staring at her from the corner of her eye as she drove and grew embarrassed.

Zhang Yang smiled without answering. There was more to it: if he could do more than look, perhaps one day he would have his fill. Otherwise, he would gladly gaze at her for the rest of his life.

"Of course not!" Zhang Yang finally replied.

"Zhang Yang, what's going on?" Cheng Dongxue was still in the dark. She had no idea how Zhang Yang had managed to intimidate Lin Dongqiang without saying a word.

Everyone knew Lin Dongqiang as a reckless playboy who caused trouble wherever he went. He was no pushover. Yet today he had inexplicably stood up for Zhang Yang, using methods so harsh they were appalling, without a thought for Elegant Residence's reputation.

Zhang Yang had once told many people his secret: he had been trapped in the same day for a thousand years. Back then, whenever he told someone, time reset the next morning. But this morning, it hadn't reset. Everyone who had known was part of a vanished yesterday, gone without a trace.

Zhang Yang knew what Cheng Dongxue was asking, but he played innocent.

"Huh...?"

"I mean, why was Lin Dongqiang so polite today? Why did he help you, offend Yang Qintian for you, and then waive our bill?" All her questions really came back to Yang Qintian.

"It's nothing. I once helped Lin Cheng." Zhang Yang couldn't tell her the truth. Remembering all the people he had explained it to before, he couldn't be bothered to try again. No one would believe him anyway.

"Lin Cheng?" Cheng Dongxue was astonished. That made even less sense.

Zhang Yang and Lin Cheng had never had anything to do with each other. How could Zhang Yang possibly have helped him?

"That's right. Lin Cheng of the Lin Family," Zhang Yang confirmed.

Cheng Dongxue wanted to ask more, but Zhang Yang had already leaned against the car door and dozed off. She couldn't bear to wake him, so she let it go.

When they got home, her parents were having dinner. Her younger brother and sister were nowhere to be seen, probably still out enjoying themselves.

"Back this late? Are you eating or not?"

The sight of Zhang Yang irritated Yang Su, as it always did. Zhang Yang was used to it.

Cheng Hai sipped his wine, looked over the dishes on the table, and poked at one with his chopsticks. "Go make me something I'll enjoy with my wine," he told Zhang Yang.

Since marrying into the Cheng Family, Zhang Yang had been a son-in-law in name only. In their eyes, he was also the maid, the cook, the cleaner—every servant the household needed, without the expense of hiring one.

"Dad, Mom, Zhang Yang's had a long day. Let him rest. I'll make something." Cheng Dongxue was the only one in the family who cared how he felt.

Smack!

Yang Su slammed her chopsticks onto the table. She shot to her feet, strode up to Zhang Yang, and pointed in his face. "Him? A long day? That good-for-nothing doesn't even have a proper job. We'd be better off keeping a dog!"

Zhang Yang's mouth twitched. Her words were vicious. It was far from the first time, but he still struggled to contain his anger.

"Mom, Zhang Yang is your son-in-law." Even Cheng Dongxue couldn't bear to hear it.

"Son-in-law? Look at Xiao Ai's husband. He has money and influence. He bought his mother a mansion and a luxury car. Then look at ours. All he does is eat!" Mentioning sons-in-law only made Yang Su angrier. She berated Zhang Yang and compared him with someone else.

Comparisons could drive a person mad.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang wasn't the one getting worked up.

Yang Su was trembling with anger as she cursed through gritted teeth. Zhang Yang wanted to turn and leave, but Cheng Dongxue blocked his path.

"You can dodge this today, but what about tomorrow?" Cheng Dongxue didn't want her husband to keep letting himself be pushed around. "Show them the backbone you showed today."

"Huh?"

Zhang Yang froze. He had stood up to outsiders today. This was his mother-in-law.

"Backbone. Resolve. Initiative..." Cheng Dongxue was exasperated. She loved the man in front of her, but since they had married, her love had begun to turn into pity. She didn't want that. She wanted to feel the love she once had.

"Backbone? Resolve? Initiative? He has none of those. And it's all your doing. Of all the men you could have picked, you chose this one. You'd be better off with a battery-operated one," Yang Su said crudely.

"She's right, Dongxue. If you hadn't insisted, a man like him would never have set foot in the Cheng Family. It's not too late to change your mind." Cheng Hai ate the food Yang Su had made, finding it bland.

Since Zhang Yang had come along, everyone else in the family had let their cooking skills go to waste.