The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 511: Chapter 511: Protecting One’s Own

When Wang Liwen heard this, she was instantly displeased and let go of her son’s ear.

”Mrs. Zhou, you heard him. My son didn’t hit your son for no reason. If you don’t want your son to get beaten again, you should watch what you say in the future.”

”I’m making myself clear. If your son says anything like that again, I won’t criticize my son for hitting him.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhou’s eyes went wide with anger. ”Hitting people is wrong! If you don’t discipline your son, aren’t you afraid Ye Chen will grow up to be a violent maniac?”

Wang Liwen shot back, ”My son only hit Zhou Qiang because your son insulted our family. He was defending his family, defending our family’s honor. I don’t think he did anything wrong.”

”As his mother, and a doctor at that, I know what my son is like better than you do. So please, don’t go slapping labels on him. You call my son a violent maniac, and I’ll call your son a gossip who loves to stir up trouble.”

Teacher Li had thought that once the parents arrived, the matter would be resolved.

But now, things had only gotten worse. The parents were arguing with each other.

Mrs. Zhou muttered angrily, ”Well, they *are* drag-along children. They aren’t Ye Feng’s biological kids. My son wasn’t wrong.”

Hearing this, Wang Liwen raised her hand and slapped Mrs. Zhou squarely across the face. ”Those are my granddaughters! They are my family! I won’t allow anyone to speak about them like that.”

Mrs. Zhou was dumbfounded. She clutched her face and stared at Wang Liwen in disbelief. ”You... you actually hit me?”

Wang Liwen was completely unrepentant. ’At this point,’ she thought, ’I’d be letting myself down if I *didn’t* hit her.’

”I didn’t just hit you. I’m going to go find your husband and your father-in-law right now. I’d like to ask them how the Zhou family ended up with a daughter-in-law who can’t watch her mouth.”

”Teacher Li, school is about to let out for the day. I’m taking Ye Chen home. If Mrs. Zhou still insists that my son apologize to hers tomorrow, I will return to the school to discuss this further.”

With that, Wang Liwen led Ye Chen out of the office and left the school.

”Mom, you hit her,” Ye Chen said in a small voice.

Wang Liwen looked a little sheepish. ”Hitting people is wrong, but we can’t let outsiders badmouth our family.”

Ye Chen smiled. ”Mom, you’re awesome.”

Wang Liwen smiled too. ”Your father and I work so hard precisely so our family won’t be bullied. And now look at this. We don’t consider them drag-along children in the slightest, yet these busybodies are running their mouths.”

Wang Liwen took Ye Chen home on the bus.

Since the Zhou family’s home wasn’t far, Wang Liwen took Ye Chen there directly.

Mr. Zhou and Old Madam Zhou were at home. Seeing Wang Liwen arrive with Ye Chen, they were rather curious and asked with a smile, ”Liwen, what brings you here?”

Wang Liwen smiled apologetically. ”Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, I’ve brought Ye Chen here to apologize to you.”

”Apologize? Whatever for?” Mr. Zhou asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Wang Liwen explained, ”Well, it’s like this. Zhou Qiang called my stepson’s twin daughters ’drag-along children.’ They are my daughter-in-law and granddaughters. We don’t look down on them, and it’s certainly not anyone else’s place to.”

”For the past few years, Ye Chen has spent his winter and summer breaks at his brother’s home. He’s very close to his brother, sister-in-law, and his nieces and nephew. So, the moment he heard what Zhou Qiang said, he hit him.”

”Normally, with kids fighting, you just talk it out and it’s over. But your daughter-in-law insisted that my son apologize. After I found out why it happened, I had a few words with her. She just repeated that they *were* drag-along children, so I lost my temper and slapped her.”

”Thinking back on it now, I was too impulsive, which is why I brought Ye Chen here to apologize to you both. In the future, if you’re upset about anything, you can hit me or yell at me, and I’ll take it. Just please, don’t say such things about Ye Feng’s family.”

When Mr. Zhou and Old Madam Zhou heard this, they were both stunned.

It was true that Wang Liwen and Ye Chen had hit their grandson and daughter-in-law, but after saying something so nasty, they honestly had it coming.

”Liwen, you’re not to blame for this. I’ll discipline them later and have them apologize to you,” Mr. Zhou said hurriedly. His son was at a critical stage of his career right now.

They were supposed to be keeping a low profile, and now look at this mess they’d caused.

If Ye Zheng didn’t get angry, it might be fine. But if he decided to abuse his power for a personal grudge, his son’s career would be in jeopardy.

Wang Liwen shook her head. ”An apology isn’t necessary. Just don’t speak about our family like that again. My daughter-in-law treats me with genuine sincerity. Her marrying into the Ye Family, even on her second marriage and with children, was approved by both Old Ye and the Xu family. They are all our family’s next generation.”

”It’s getting late, and I still have to go home and make dinner, so I won’t disturb you, Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou, any longer. Ye Chen, say goodbye to Grandpa Zhou and Grandma Zhou.”

”Goodbye!” Ye Chen said obediently.

After Wang Liwen and Ye Chen left, Mr. Zhou’s face darkened.

Old Madam Zhou said anxiously, ”That Ye Chen kid plays rough. I wonder how badly he beat our little Qiang.”

Mr. Zhou snapped, ”He deserved it! Who told him to run his mouth like that? Both the Ye Family and the Xu family fully approve of Han Xiaorui, which is proof enough that she’s an outstanding woman.”

”On top of that, Han Xiaorui just gave the Ye Family a set of boy-girl twins. Ye Zheng is working more diligently than ever and is about to get another promotion. Of course they’re not going to be happy when our daughter-in-law and grandson call her other children ’drag-alongs’.”

After thinking it over, Old Madam Zhou remarked with a sigh, ”Wang Liwen is a petty woman. There aren’t many people who can win her over completely, but this Han Xiaorui has managed it.”

”Our daughter-in-law has been getting a bit arrogant lately. When little Qiang got hit, they should have found out why, apologized to each other, and the whole thing would have been over. What was the point of her getting involved and also calling the children drag-alongs?”

Just as the old couple was discussing this, Mrs. Zhou returned with her son, Zhou Qiang.

When Mr. Zhou and Old Madam Zhou saw how badly their grandson had been beaten, their hearts ached for him, but they knew they couldn’t go to the Ye Family to complain.

Fortunately, they were only superficial injuries. Nothing serious.

When Zhou Wei got home that evening and learned what had happened, he immediately raised his hand and slapped his wife across the face. ”You think my career is going too smoothly, don’t you?”

His father was already retired. Although he still had connections, his influence was waning.

But Ye Zheng? He was still years away from retirement. And if he got another promotion, he wouldn’t have to retire anytime soon; he could keep working for many more years.

Ye Zheng had spent years paving the way for his sons. The future for the three Ye brothers was limitless.

But the Zhou family? Only Zhou Wei had a political career, and he only had one son, Zhou Qiang, whose future was uncertain.

Thanks to their old friendship, he could still count on Ye Zheng’s support and help with his career.

But now, instead of fostering that good relationship, she had to go and say their daughter-in-law brought ”drag-along children.”

How nasty is that!

Mr. Zhou and Zhou Wei prepared some gifts and personally paid a visit to the Ye Family that very evening.

Ye Zheng had already heard the whole story from Wang Liwen and was quite annoyed with the Zhou family.

However, when the Zhou father and son arrived at his door, Ye Zheng still received them warmly. ”They’re just children. As long as they learn from their mistakes, it’s fine. There’s no need for all this.”

Mr. Zhou explained, ”Zhou Qiang is still young. A good scolding is enough, and he won’t talk nonsense again. But his mother is an adult, and for her to still be spouting such nonsense is truly detestable. I told Liwen just now that she deserved to be hit. When I got home, I told my daughter-in-law off as well.”