Meanwhile, at the Yu mansion, Yu Jianghai, who didn’t really focus on entertainment or showbiz news, was completely shocked. He had to escape the eggs that had been thrown at him whenever he tried to step out of his house or the office.

“Cold-blooded father!” one jeered.

“You never apologized for your wrongdoings!” yelled another.

“Had a mistress and disregarded your own daughter! You still call yourself a father?!” cried yet another person.

Yu Jianghai had never been subjected to such a situation before. Nobody had shamed him in this way by throwing eggs at him. His hands trembled as he saw the mob of people, covered himself and went home. When he arrived inside the house, Zhao Mei was stunned to see the state he was in.

“What…what happened?” Zhao Mei asked, panicked.

Yu Jianghai was confused. He looked at Yu Xinjie seated at the dining table, pale faced. “What in the world did you two do?” he shouted.

Yu Xinjie trembled. Zhao Mei answered. “What could it be?” she shot back, “Your eldest daughter doesn’t want to provide for us anymore. She has even asked all the money back along with interest!”

Yu Jianghai’s eyes twitched. He had never stopped the mother and daughter from asking money from Yu Yaoyao. He had thought that since Yu Yaoyao had married rich, it wasn’t unnatural for her to be expected to provide for her family and her unmarried sister. But seeing the mess it had made, and they now appeared to be a family that oppressed Yu Yaoyao, he was sure it would blow up into a huge scandal. His hands trembled, he took out his phone and searched for the news. He grimaced as he read it. Everything was exposed on the internet; his family would be a laughingstock. He was covered in cold sweat as he read and saw that his name as well as his family’s name was being dragged through the mud.

“Yu, take a look at your eldest daughter,” said Zhao Mei, “She has everything! And yet, she is adamant on messing up Xiaojie’s life.” She took a napkin and wiped the eggs from his face. “Look at her, your eldest. And she lands you in trouble like this—”

Slap.

Yu Jianghai’s hand connected to the side of Zhao Mei’s face. She dropped to the floor, clutching her cheek in pain. She looked shocked. “You just—” she couldn’t finish her words as she stared at him in disbelief.

“You still have the face to complain?” he thundered, “I told you a long time ago that you should have a limit on asking for money from others. You pushed my daughter to the brink, and you complain when she can take no more and is pushing back? You never listen and now everything has turned to hell!”

His blood boiled seeing his name being mocked online. Zhao Mei recovered from her shock and lunged at him. “How dare you hit me, you filthy old man?” she yelled, “Why do you think your miserable company is still standing? It is because of me. I saved your company by having Yu Yaoyao marry Shen Yichong! If it weren’t for me, you would be out in the streets by now. How dare you hit me?”

Yu Jianghai was so angry that he pushed her hands away, and Zhao Mei fell. Her head slammed against the cabinet. Zhao Mei, stunned, reached a hand to her head. The part that had hit the cabinet was warm and wet. “I am bleeding!” she cried.

Yu Jianghai looked stunned and shocked too. Yu Xinjie looked at the scene unfolding in front of her. Is this a home? Is this supposed to be a family?

“You both asked for this!” said Yu Jianghai angily, “It was just my rotten luck to have married you. Look at yourself. You have turned your daughter into trash too.” He poked Yu Xinjie at the back of her head unkindly.

Yu Xinjie slumped forward and looked at her dinner plate in front of her. Trash…. Perhaps he was right. Yu Xinjie felt miserable. For so many years, she had wanted to destroy Yu Yaoyao, now it seemed that she had only destroyed herself. She looked at her mother, still on the floor, a gash on her forehead. She looked at her big-bellied father who only blamed others and never once thought that he might have been wrong somewhere too. She got up. She looked at the both of them coldly.

“What is done is done,” she declared firmly, “We need to somehow pay back the money. There is a shortage of 27 million. We can either close down and sell the company, or we can sell the shop and the house. It has to be one or the other. You need to decide.” She looked at both of them, daring them to challenge her.

It looked like both of them wanted to protest. “There is no other way,” she said before they could speak, “I don’t want to reveal to the public how dad escaped paying his taxes, nor how mum was a mistress before her marriage. So please decide so that we don’t need to dwell on that.”

“Xiaojie, are you crazy?” her mother yelled, “Is this how you talk to your mother?”

“Look at the kind of trash you have raised, Zhao Mei!” yelled Yu Jianghai.

Yu Xinjie ignored the yelling behind her and walked up to the second floor to her room like a dead person walking.

*

Yu Yaoyao, on the other hand, was happy that she had both her husband and her child with her. She had missed them throughout the day.

“Mommy,” said Little Bun, “Drink plenty of warm water for your sore throat.” He handed her a glass of water and snuggled close to her.

Little Shen Rui had seen the post in school somehow. His mother was crying and wasn’t able to speak so he wanted to run to her side. He had asked his teacher to borrow the phone to call his father. Shen Yichong had assured him that his mother was alright, and he should be focusing on his studies. But later Shen Yichong had gotten a call from the teacher saying that Shen Rui was unwell, he was refusing to eat anything and complained about a sore throat.

Shen Yichong had no choice but to rush to the kindergarten to make sure his son was alright, which he was. His eyes had lit up when Shen Yichong had arrived, and he bounded up to him and demanded to meet his mother.

So, together they had driven to the hotel where Yu Yaoyao was. Shen Rui seemed to have miraculously recovered. Shen Yichong sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Shen Rui, your mother is fine,” he said, “But we need to talk about the lie you told to your teachers to bunk school.”