Seeing that Jiang Cheng was still there, Fang Yuan spoke up, "Big brother, stop talking. I won't accept it. You all should head back first."
Fang Yuan's voice carried a hint of helplessness and exhaustion.
She knew that her older brother had always treated her as nothing more than a tool for profit exchange.
In the past, it was he who introduced Zhou Ying's father to her.
Now that Zhou Ying's father had passed away and her brother could no longer gain benefits from that family, he had begun urging her to find another, better man.
However, after going through such a dysfunctional marriage, Fang Yuan was tired; she no longer wanted to be a puppet or a trophy wife.
Seeing Fang Yuan's submissive and aggrieved state, Zhou Ying couldn't take it anymore and quickly strode into the living room.
Her eyes were filled with anger and defiance.
She could not bear to see her mother bullied like this, nor could she tolerate her Uncle interfering in their lives in such a manner.
Abandoning her usual pampered demeanor, Zhou Ying walked in with an indignant look and said coldly, "Uncle, please don't come to our house anymore. My mother's affairs are none of your business."
As soon as Zhou Ying finished, a woman's shrill and caustic voice came over: "Oh my, you ungrateful brat! We're doing this for your own good. The men I'm introducing to your mother are all big bosses. If it works out, you'll have living expenses for university. He might be a stepfather, but he's still a father. It's better than her being out there showing her face just to find a job."
The speaker was Zhou Ying's Aunt, Chen Haiyan. Ever since they went bankrupt, Chen Haiyan's attitude had changed the fastest.
In the past, she would coax Zhou Ying with all sorts of praise, but now that Zhou Ying was working to earn money and pay off debts, in her eyes, it had become'showing her face' and being shameless.
Zhou Ying did not back down. She held her head high and continued, "If it's really that good, why doesn't Auntie go find someone herself instead of insisting on pushing them onto my mom?"
When Zhou Ying said this, her Uncle Fang Wende immediately stood up, putting on an air of anger and authority: "You Little Girl, how can you talk like that? Which part of what your Aunt said was wrong? Your Uncle isn't dead yet, and you're already instigating your Aunt to find someone else? Fang Yuan, you really know how to raise a daughter."
Hearing Fang Wende's words, Fang Yuan remained standing at the door. She wanted to go inside to argue for her daughter, but at that moment, large tears were falling from her eyes one by one. She knew that entering in this state would only invite their ridicule.
Her beautiful face was etched with grievance and helplessness; her tears were like a bursting dam, flowing out continuously, making anyone who saw her feel a pang of pity.
After stopping at the door for a long while, Jiang Cheng had more or less understood the ins and outs of the situation.
With family matters like this, Jiang Cheng didn't know for a moment whether he should intervene, especially since it concerned his Mother-in-law's potential marriage.
Looking at Fang Yuan's heartbroken appearance, his heart was filled with contradiction and conflict.
Although he knew he should comfort Fang Yuan at a time like this, he didn't know what to say.
Seeing her shoulders shaking from her sobs, Jiang Cheng gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.
It had to be said that Fang Yuan had maintained herself very well; she didn't look thirty-six at all.
Her skin was fair and delicate without a single wrinkle, and her figure was well-maintained and curvaceous, radiating the charm of a mature woman.
She was just like the state Big Honey was in before his rebirth.
Jiang Cheng remembered that before his rebirth, he had the privilege of seeing Big Honey in person at an event. She was thirty-seven at the time, but she looked no different from a Little Girl in her twenties.
Seeing Jiang Cheng comforting her, for some reason, Fang Yuan couldn't help but hug him.
Her body trembled slightly, and her tears continued to flow incessantly.
Jiang Cheng was startled by Fang Yuan's action.
He knew that Fang Yuan's hug wasn't because of dependency or anything like that.
After all, with her favorability value toward him currently at 78 points, it was impossible for her to have any ulterior thoughts.
Fang Yuan's current action was likely just a need for a shoulder to lean on, and he just happened to be standing at the door.
Fortunately, other than hugging Jiang Cheng, Fang Yuan made no other movements; she just sobbed quietly.
At this moment, only one sentence flashed through his mind.
She was the one who initiated it, what could I do??
"Uncle, don't always target my mom whenever something happens. I know that once my father died, you lost a partner you could profit from. Now you're so diligently trying to set my mom up; it must be because the other party gave you some benefits, or you're trying to climb the social ladder, right?" Zhou Ying looked at her Uncle coldly, her eyes full of mockery and distrust.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Just because your father's debts are paid off, you think your wings are strong enough now? Don't forget the help I gave you during this time." Hearing Zhou Ying's words, the Uncle's face turned red with rage as he pointed at her and shouted.
Zhou Ying gave a sarcastic smile, her expression full of disdain and disgust for her Uncle: "Uncle, I remember everything very clearly. After my dad left, to avoid being implicated, the first thing you did was call my mom and tell her not to go to your house and not to return to her maternal home. Did you ever care about how my mom and I were doing during that time?"
Zhou Ying thought back to those painful days.
After her father passed away, she had followed her mother to her grandmother's house.
But they were kicked out of the house by her Uncle and Aunt.
During that time, mother and daughter had depended on each other, enduring countless hardships.
"Of course I cared. I also called you, but you didn't answer my calls. There was nothing I could do," the Uncle said.
"Called?? You didn't happen to call my dad's phone, did you? You clearly knew my dad's phone was full of debt collectors, so we kept it off. Of course you couldn't get through..."
"I say, how can you be so calculating, Little Girl? We're all family. How could I not care about you?"
"Was that care? You were just afraid we'd implicate you! Don't think I don't know—those men you're introducing to my mom are definitely connections you want to suck up to! You want to use this method to gain profit. You're treating my mom like a chess piece," Zhou Ying said excitedly.
"I am not. I just want your mother to have a better life. I was also very sad when your father passed away, and I hope you can be happy," the Uncle said.
"Enough, stop being so hypocritical. If you really wanted us to be happy, you wouldn't have kicked us while we were down during our most difficult time. You never treated us like family at all," Zhou Ying said.
After Zhou Ying finished, the man said somewhat guiltily, "You're being foolish. I have elders and children to support. What if the debt collectors came to my door?? How can you be so selfish? Besides, if I hadn't lent you money, would you have been able to get through those hard times?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ying's anger flared, and her voice involuntarily rose: "Millions in debt—if it weren't for the house my grandmother left my mother, we'd still be hiding and running. And that twenty thousand yuan you lent us has already been paid back to you!"
"Just because you paid it back, does that mean it wasn't lent?? Did I not take the money out? Do you think my money grows on trees?? That was my hard-earned money. You ungrateful thing!"