The next day, Su Muxian took Ye Tiancheng to her aunt’s son’s graduation banquet. Initially, Su Muxian was chatting with everyone, but her aunt deliberately sent her away, leaving Ye Tiancheng alone.
“Seeing you again. You’re quite dedicated to living off a woman’s earnings. It’s surprising how you tag along to every event.”
“Please don’t say that. Didn’t you invite me, Aunt? You specifically instructed me to come. If I didn’t, it would be disrespecting you.”
As Ye Tiancheng was about to say more, his aunt sternly interrupted him, “You’re quite good at shifting blame. I never intended to invite you. Perhaps you’re the one who daydreams too much, leading to mental confusion where you mistake my intentions and think I invited you.”
Ye Tiancheng scanned the room with his eyes, searching for Su Muxian, but couldn’t find her. When he looked back at his aunt, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
“Ye Tiancheng, you were extremely disrespectful to me at the birthday banquet last time. You must apologize to me now in front of everyone.”
This aunt was truly calculating, deliberately sending Su Muxian away just to cause trouble. It was incredibly vexing.
“You deliberately sent Su Muxian away just to deal with me? I’m just a good-for-nothing. Why bother yourself so much? I’m afraid you’ll strain your brain.”
Before Ye Tiancheng could say another word, he was slapped. “I told you to apologize, and in front of everyone. Didn’t you hear me?”
Looking at his aunt’s fierce expression, Ye Tiancheng suddenly realized that this woman was far more ruthless than he had imagined. Her previous pretense of kindness was merely to make everyone lower their guard.
This slap was not light. Even as a cultivator, Ye Tiancheng felt pain when caught off guard.
“What are you standing around for? It’s perfectly normal for me to hit you now. Since you’re here to eat from the Su family, you can’t avoid some grievances. I told you to apologize quickly.”
This ordinary woman actually dared to think she could lord over him. It was a joke. How could Ye Tiancheng let such a ridiculous thing happen? He had to show his stance.
Ye Tiancheng looked at the Su family aunt with a cold smile, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Another slap came down, this time even harder. As the Su family aunt delivered this blow, she gritted her teeth, wishing she could knock his teeth out.
However, Ye Tiancheng was prepared this time. Not only did the Su family aunt fail to achieve her goal, but she also reaped what she sowed. With the greater force rebounding, the plump, overweight aunt stumbled back several steps, almost falling to the ground.
“You! What sorcery did you use?”
Only the Su family aunt noticed something amiss. To outsiders, it looked as if she had a sudden relapse and had fallen down in a fit of madness.
“Ye Tiancheng hit me! This son-in-law has gone mad! He had some past grievances with me and now insists I apologize. As an elder, I naturally refused, and then he attacked me. Everyone, please come and judge!”
Seeing that she couldn’t gain any advantage, the aunt, in a critical moment, could only resort to blaming Ye Tiancheng to salvage the situation.
After being helped up, the aunt walked back to Ye Tiancheng and whispered,
“Don’t you see? Everyone here looks down on you and is making a fool of you. You’re just here for their amusement. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re just a son-in-law. Even if people know all this is fake and I’m causing trouble, they’ll still choose to side with me.”
It seemed no one, except Su Muxian, was willing to acknowledge Ye Tiancheng’s identity. Being a son-in-law was one thing, but he was the most disliked, second-hand son-in-law. Those people spoke cruelly, saying that in Ye Tiancheng’s situation, he should have been thrown into a pig cage.
“I don’t want to lay a hand on you. I hope you don’t push my patience any further. If I have to act again, I fear your old arms and legs won’t be able to withstand it.”
Hearing Ye Tiancheng’s words, the Su family aunt was momentarily frightened but quickly regained her composure.
“Don’t try to scare me. I wasn’t raised to be scared. You don’t think just by saying that, I’ll believe you have some special abilities, do you? If you have the guts, first return the slap you gave me.”
As soon as the Su family aunt finished speaking, she was slapped hard across the face, sending her to the ground.
The aunt was furious. She quickly got up, walked over, and grabbed Ye Tiancheng’s arm.
“You really think you’re someone important now? You must always remember your identity. You are just the Su family’s son-in-law, someone living off a woman. You dare to lay a hand on me? Do you not want to stay with the Su family anymore?”
“Aunt! Aren’t you going a bit too far?”
Su Muxian, who had just returned, witnessed this scene. Ye Tiancheng was being severely bullied by her aunt. Su Muxian suddenly realized that her departure had been planned in advance, and she felt very passive.
“Aunt! I address you as aunt because I still considered you family. But from now on, that will not be the case. I will no longer attend any family events of yours for the sake of appearances. We are breaking ties from now on.”
Apart from the eight slaps, Ye Tiancheng hadn’t really suffered any losses. He hadn’t expected Su Muxian to sever ties with someone who held some status in the family for his sake.
The Su family aunt was equally surprised, looking at Su Muxian with an expression of disbelief.
“What is so good about this man? He’s just someone who was played with and discarded by others, yet you treasure him like a gem. I truly don’t understand your thinking. Now, for a man, you’re cutting ties with your own aunt.”
“I only stand on the side of justice. I don’t understand why you’ve always been hostile towards Ye Tiancheng. He hasn’t done anything wrong, yet you’ve always discriminated against him. If that’s the case, then there’s no need for me to keep in touch with any of you relatives. If you look down on Ye Tiancheng, you’ll definitely look down on me even more. Stop pretending you’re not talking about me behind my back.”
Su Muxian walked to Ye Tiancheng’s side, took his hand, and they left. They remained silent in the car, the atmosphere slightly tense, leaving Ye Tiancheng unsure of what to say.
“You don’t have to be so dramatic, Su Muxian. They’re just insignificant people. Why are you so angry?”
“I feel those people are too despicable. And I’ve been living under their shadow for years. I feel it’s pathetic, and I also feel a bit sorry for you. My relatives make me feel ashamed, especially when I’m with you. I feel I can’t hold my head up.”
So, this was the reason Su Muxian was upset and silent. Ye Tiancheng could only comfort her.
“Don’t say that. I’m very happy that you’re willing to help me. I know you’ve borne a lot of criticism for me. I’ve been through many hardships and have been a useless failure. So, I’m very content now. I won’t blame you for these trivial matters.”
Hearing Ye Tiancheng’s comforting words, Su Muxian felt much lighter.
However, the car hadn’t driven far when her phone rang. It was a call from Su Muxian’s father.
“What’s wrong with you, Xian’er? How could you anger your aunt? You actually married that good-for-nothing. Dad warns you, you won’t find happiness with someone like that. Dad will listen to you about anything, but you must divorce Ye Tiancheng, that waste, immediately.”
“Dad, I thought you would understand me. I didn’t expect you to side with them too. I’m so disappointed in you.”
“Come home immediately, or you’ll never see me again.”
Su Muxian’s uncle’s father was also quite shrewd. After speaking, he hung up the phone, leaving a void. This made Su Muxian very worried. Her father seemed very unhappy, and she felt uneasy, unable to shake off a sense of worry.
“Alright, Su Muxian, it seems I’ve brought you big trouble this time. I’ll face it with you. Let’s go home and see your father, and explain things in person. If your father is angry, he can vent it all on me. There’s no need for him to be disappointed in you. Your father-daughter relationship shouldn’t be affected because of me.”
“But I’m afraid he’ll make things difficult for you.”
“It’s alright. Since I’ve decided to take this path, I’m confident I can walk it well. As for your father, these pressures are mine to bear. I shouldn’t let a young girl like you endure so much gossip for me. Am I even a man then?”
“Okay, then you’ll accompany me. Although I’ve always been timid, I’m also clear about one thing: you’ll have to meet my father sooner or later.”
Hou Mingzhu, with Ye Tiancheng, mustered their courage and went to face her father. To their surprise, her usually stern father suddenly began to weep.
“However, since childhood, your father has doted on you. I don’t expect you to achieve great things, only that you don’t make mistakes. If you’ve found such a useless person, Ye Tiancheng is a coward who lives off women. I’m afraid your daughter’s happiness will be ruined like this.”
“Dad, you’re exaggerating the problem. I feel very happy living with Ye Tiancheng now. You don’t need to think I’ll have a bad life just because you think so. My life isn’t ruined.”
“Promise your father, Xian’er. You should still separate from Ye Tiancheng. Even for the Su family’s reputation, for Dad’s reputation, for your father who is willing to give everything, can’t you spare a thought for your dad?”
“Dad, it’s clearly for your reputation that you want Ye Tiancheng to leave our family.”
When facing her father, Su Muxian couldn’t maintain her composure.
Her expression was still filled with pain.
“I don’t care what you think. You must divorce him, and do it immediately. Otherwise, if more people find out, it will affect your future marriage prospects.”
“I will not divorce. If you think I’m a joke, I can leave home. Just consider that you never had a daughter like me, and the Su family doesn’t have an unfilial daughter like me. As time passes, everyone will forget about me, this big joke. You don’t need to make me a topic of gossip.”
Su Muxian’s father, who never smoked, suddenly took out a cigarette and began to smoke, the swirling smoke obscuring his expression.
“Xian’er, you know I can’t bear to see you leave home. I also don’t want our father-daughter relationship to become so unpleasant. Dad will listen to you about everything. This matter, can’t you listen to me just once?”