Seeing My In-Laws Again

"She was only a waitress."

Hearing Cheng Dongxue say that the woman was only a waitress, Zhang Yang felt there was no satisfaction in crushing her. He told Lin Dongqiang, "Let her up. We're done here!"

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

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

Overwhelmed with gratitude, the waitress nodded and thanked him again and again. Still shaken, she got to her feet and hurried away.

The waitress was a woman in her thirties. She wore her uniform neatly and looked capable. She had also known to report a problem too big for her to handle. She had good judgment.

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

"Ah... I..."

The waitress was clearly stunned. All she had done was give Lin Dongqiang a quick report, and now she had landed a manager's position. She was so excited.

"That's right!"

Lin Dongqiang acknowledged him, left the speechless waitress where she stood, then presented the Supreme VIP Card to Zhang Yang with both hands.

"Mr. Zhang, is this satisfactory?"

"Yes. Now get back to work. I'm eating."

Zhang Yang took the Supreme VIP Card and sent everyone away so they would not disturb his meal.

Zhang Yang's acceptance of the Supreme VIP Card showed that he was satisfied. Relieved, Lin Dongqiang led the security guards away and waived Zhang Yang's bill.

Cheng Dongxue kept her head down and ate. She had never imagined something like this happening, yet it had unfolded before her eyes—all because of the live-in son-in-law from the Cheng Family, whom her parents despised.

It was hard to imagine how people's attitude toward Zhang Yang had changed. Or perhaps Zhang Yang himself had changed.

Sooner or later, a bride had to face her in-laws. The same went for a son-in-law. Zhang Yang could not avoid his wife's parents.

The meal lasted a long time. By the time they left Elegant Residence, the world outside had taken on another hue.

Night had fallen over the sprawling city. Streetlights glowed, neon flashed, and the city looked dazzling.

Cheng Dongxue skillfully steered the brown Volkswagen CC through traffic. Zhang Yang leaned against the passenger door, his eyes fixed on his wife, Cheng Dongxue.

If Cheng Dongxue had not stood by him all this time, she might long ago have become someone else's wife.

Ever since Zhang Yang married into the Cheng Family, he had endured their mockery and bullying. He was treated worse than a young wife or even a maid—he might as well have been a hired hand in Huang Shiren's household.

His father-in-law, Cheng Hai, and mother-in-law, Yang Su, had made Zhang Yang's life miserable. Yang Su in particular had tormented him as though he were a helpless young wife.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Haven't you seen enough after all these years?" Cheng Dongxue caught Zhang Yang staring at her out of the corner of her eye as she drove and felt a little 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 was willing to gaze at her for the rest of his life.

"Of course!" Zhang Yang answered at last.

"Zhang Yang, what exactly happened?" Cheng Dongxue was still in the dark. She had no idea how Zhang Yang had intimidated Lin Dongqiang without saying a word.

Everyone knew Lin Dongqiang as a troublemaking playboy, no easy man to deal with. Yet today he had inexplicably stood up for Zhang Yang, using methods so extreme they were appalling, without a thought for Elegant Residence's reputation.

Zhang Yang had told many people his secret: he had been trapped in the same day for a thousand years. In the past, whenever he told someone, time reset the next morning. But it had not reset this morning. Everyone he had told belonged to days that had vanished like yesterday's smoke, scattered on the wind and gone forever.

Zhang Yang knew what Cheng Dongxue was asking, but he still feigned innocence, as though he had no idea.

"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 ultimately came back to Yang Qintian.

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

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

Zhang Yang had no connection to Lin Cheng. How could he possibly have helped him?

"Yes. 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 begun to doze. She couldn't bear to disturb him, so she let it go.

When they got home, his parents-in-law were eating dinner. His younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law were nowhere to be seen; they were probably still out having fun.

"You're only getting back now? Do you still want dinner or not?"

The sight of Zhang Yang irritated Yang Su, but he was used to it.

Cheng Hai took a sip of wine, glanced at the dishes on the table, and prodded one with his chopsticks. "Go make me something good to eat with my wine."

Since marrying into the Cheng Family, Zhang Yang had been their nanny, cook, and cleaner—every kind of servant except a son-in-law with any standing. They had no need to pay anyone else.

"Mom, Dad, Zhang Yang's been busy all day. Let him rest. I'll make something." Cheng Dongxue was the only one in the family who cared about him.

Smack!

Yang Su slapped her chopsticks onto the table and sprang up. In a few strides, she was in front of Zhang Yang, pointing at his nose. "Him? Busy all 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 hardly the first time, but he still struggled to suppress his anger.

"Mom, Zhang Yang is your son-in-law." Even Cheng Dongxue could not listen to any more of it.

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

Comparisons could drive a person mad.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang was not the one fuming.

Yang Su trembled with anger as she scolded him through clenched teeth. Zhang Yang wanted to turn and leave, but Cheng Dongxue stepped in his way.

"You can avoid it today, but can you avoid it tomorrow?" Cheng Dongxue did not want her husband to keep letting them walk all over him. "Show them the nerve you had today."

"Huh?"

Zhang Yang froze. He had shown that nerve against other people. This was his mother-in-law.

"Nerve. Backbone. A way to handle things..." Cheng Dongxue was frustrated with him. She loved the man before her, but since their marriage, that love had begun to turn into pity. She did not want that. She wanted to find the love she had felt before.

"Nerve? Backbone? He doesn't have any of that. And this is your fault. Of everyone in the family, you're the one who likes this type. You'd be better off with a battery-operated one." Yang Su's words turned crude.

"Exactly, Dongxue. If you hadn't insisted, someone like him would never have entered the Cheng Family. It's not too late to regret it," Cheng Hai said. He ate the food Yang Su had made, finding it bland.

Since Zhang Yang had arrived, everyone else in the family had lost their cooking skills.