Wu Min leaned over and took a look, her expression immediately turning grim. Zhang Zhili took back his phone and spoke in a deep voice, "Uncle doesn't know our family well enough. Since high school, my parents have been transparent about our family and company's financial situation, including savings, insurance, they not only tell me everything, they even send me electronic files of the accounts! Do you still want to repeat those words just now?" By the end, Zhang Zhili's voice had completely lost its previous warmth, replaced only by the icy cold of a midwinter's night.
Chen Yaoyang and his wife hadn't spoken yet when the bedroom door was suddenly flung open. "Mom, Dad, why waste so much breath on him?" Chen Haorui, Chen Yaoyang's son, stormed into the living room, his eyes filled with arrogance and disdain towards Zhang Zhili. "Let me tell you, I won't give you a single cent! The reason is simple, your dad is just a parasite. All the money in the house was earned by my aunt."
Zhang Zhili sprung up from the sofa with a snap, took a few steps forward, and grabbed Chen Haorui's collar. "Do you even know what you're saying?" Rage surged in Zhang Zhili's eyes; insulting his father was something he couldn't tolerate.
Chen Haorui was Zhang Zhili's cousin, close in age and had attended the same elementary and middle schools. Despite family relations, their relationship as cousins had always been good. But now, Chen Haorui's face showed only indifference and disdain.
Chen Yaoyang and Wu Min exchanged a glance and decided not to intervene. Chen Haorui, emboldened by their tacit approval, continued with even more vigor: "What? Can't handle it? Your dad is just a low-level civil servant who hasn't been promoted in decades. He's a nobody, why should he have a fully paid house? Why should he drink good tea, have expensive collections, and leave behind hefty life insurance policies? It's all because he's a parasite!" Chen Haorui sneered.
Enraged, Zhang Zhili slapped Chen Haorui across the face. Blood trickled from Chen Haorui's mouth, and a vicious sneer flashed across his face: "And you're just a bastard born of your dad's affair! My aunt was blind to marry your dad, raised you two for twenty years! You, a bastard, dare to claim her inheritance?"
Zhang Zhili was stunned for a moment. Wasn't he his parents' biological son? No, this was surely just a ploy for money, intentional slander. Zhang Zhili couldn't contain his fury and slapped Chen Haorui across the face again. Chen Yaoyang and Wu Min rushed forward to protect their son.
In his rage, Zhang Zhili couldn't think straight and struck Chen Yaoyang across the face. Chen Yaoyang exploded in anger, his eyes bloodshot with hatred as if facing his mortal enemy, pointing at Zhang Zhili: "You beast, dare you even touch me?"
Wu Min hugged her son protectively, her voice sharp, "What did my son say wrong? Your dad had an affair outside and had you, my sister married your dad, took care of you two for half a lifetime! Yet, in your dad's eyes, there was only you, a wretched brat. After my sister married him, he refused to have another child, leaving my sister childless, and now he's gone, who can say if it wasn't for you two? You and your dad have been living off my sister, why do you deserve her inheritance? So what if our family took the money? I'll tell you, you won't get a penny! You dare to lay hands on someone in my house, I'll call the police right now, I'll make sure you rot in jail!"
Wu Min's hysterical shouting left Zhang Zhili trembling with anger, his mind blank, standing there motionless for a long time. Tang Yanran quickly stepped forward, grabbing Zhang Zhili's hand. Her once warm and dry palm was now cold and clammy. "Zhang Zhili!" Tang Yanran called out, tightly pinching Zhang Zhili's Hegu acupoint.
After a while, Zhang Zhili finally regained his composure, his expression growing colder as if the depths of winter. "Chen Yaoyang, when I was five, your business failed, and you begged my father for help. My mother refused to lend you money. It was my father who mortgaged his salary card to get a loan for you! And you, Wu Min! You wanted a job transfer but were too stingy to spend money to network! You begged my father every day, the same father you all call worthless, to spend money to help you transfer! And you, my father later had a falling out with your family, but he always doted on your son! After my father's death, I fell ill, and it was you and your family who wanted to take everything from us! Now, for a little money, it's also you who insult the dead."
"Even if I'm not my mother's biological son, isn't my father related to you? Have you treated him fairly? Can you just cut off all ties and sell everything in the house without giving me, your son, a second thought?" Zhang Zhili's tone was cold and harsh, his gaze icy.
"As for the money, I originally didn't care. I just came to take two mementos. But since your family has gone this far, I, Zhang Zhili, am not someone who can swallow insults. Today, I, Zhang Zhili, sever all ties with your family! On the anniversary of my parents' death, I will vomit out all the money and belongings that my family has swallowed up! I will kneel before my father's grave and apologize! Otherwise, I will make your whole family wish they were dead!"
Chen Haorui sneered, "Are you kidding me? You dare wish my family dead! My dad is now the biggest chain hotel owner in Nanbin City! Soon, my dad will be the hotel king of Jiangnan, you know? My mom is the deputy director of the Personnel Bureau! I'm starting my own business, and my collection company, funded by Collector Zhou, will be a presence like Tianyuange in the future. And you, you're just mentally ill. You haven't even graduated from college, just like your dad, a freeloader! You dare to brag? Do you believe that with just one phone call from me, you won't even be able to freeload anymore, you'll go straight to prison to eat hard bread?" Chen Haorui's face was swollen with a palm print, his eyes filled with hatred as if wishing Zhang Zhili dead.
Zhang Zhili didn't erupt in anger again, only remaining calm and indifferent. He stepped forward and grabbed Chen Haorui by the neck. "In the second year of junior high, you were accosted in an alley for money and cried for help, calling me 'brother,' asking me to help you. I got stabbed for you, but you ran away faster than a dog, and when you got home, you said the fight had nothing to do with
me. At that time, you didn't show this kind of courage!" Chen Haorui struggled to breathe, his face turning red from lack of air, but Zhang Zhili remained unmoved.
Tang Yanran was frightened by Zhang Zhili's demeanor. "Zhili, let go! Let go now!" But Zhang Zhili didn't budge, only looking coldly at Chen Yaoyang. "Where are my father's tea set and my mother's amber necklace?" Without hesitation, Wu Min instinctively lunged at Zhang Zhili, but she was kicked away by him.
For the first time, Chen Yaoyang saw a fierce glint in his nephew's eyes, reminiscent of his deceased brother's madness. "We did sell them!" Chen Yaoyang admitted in a panicked rush.
"But those things are worthless!" Zhang Zhili squinted at his son's flushed face, his pupils dilating continuously.
Wu Min stepped forward to protect her son, pointing her finger at Zhang Zhili, her voice trembling with anger, "I swear to you, Zhang Zhili, you won't get a single penny from us! You dare to lay hands on someone in our house, I'll call the police now, and I'll make sure you rot in jail!"
Zhang Zhili stood there, shaking with fury, his mind in turmoil. Tang Yanran grasped his hand firmly, her once warm touch now cold and clammy. "Zhang Zhili!" she called out desperately, gripping the Hegu acupoint on his hand.
After a moment, Zhang Zhili finally regained his composure, his expression growing colder than ever, as if a bitter winter had settled in his heart. "Chen Yaoyang, when I was five, you begged my father for help when your business failed. My mother refused to lend you money, but it was my father who mortgaged his salary card to get a loan for you! And you, Wu Min, you wanted a job transfer but were too stingy to spend money on connections. You begged my father every day, the same father you all call worthless, to spend money to help you transfer! And you, my father later had a falling out with your family, but he always doted on your son! After my father's death, I fell ill, and it was you and your family who wanted to take everything from us! Now, for a little money, it's also you who insult the dead."
"Even if I'm not my mother's biological son, isn't my father related to you? Have you treated him fairly? Can you just cut off all ties and sell everything in the house without giving me, your son, a second thought?" Zhang Zhili's tone was icy, his gaze piercing.
"As for the money, I originally didn't care. I just came to take two mementos. But since your family has gone this far, I, Zhang Zhili, am not someone who can swallow insults. Today, I, Zhang Zhili, sever all ties with your family! On the anniversary of my parents' death, I will vomit out all the money and belongings that my family has swallowed up! I will kneel before my father's grave and apologize! Otherwise, I will make your whole family wish they were dead!"
Chen Haorui sneered, "Are you kidding me? You dare wish my family dead! My dad is now the biggest chain hotel owner in Nanbin City! Soon, my dad will be the hotel king of Jiangnan, you know? My mom is the deputy director of the Personnel Bureau! I'm starting my own business, and my collection company, funded by Collector Zhou, will be a presence like Tianyuange in the future. And you, you're just mentally ill. You haven't even graduated from college, just like your dad, a freeloader! You dare to brag? Do you believe that with just one phone call from me, you won't even be able to freeload anymore, you'll go straight to prison to eat hard bread?" Chen Haorui's face was swollen with a palm print, his eyes filled with hatred as if wishing Zhang Zhili dead.
Zhang Zhili didn't erupt in anger again, only remaining calm and indifferent. He stepped forward and grabbed Chen Haorui by the neck. "In the second year of junior high, you were accosted in an alley for money and cried for help, calling me 'brother,' asking me to help you. I got stabbed for you, but you ran away faster than a dog, and when you got home, you said the fight had nothing to do with me. You didn't show this kind of courage back then!" Chen Haorui struggled to breathe, his face turning red from lack of air, but Zhang Zhili remained unmoved.
!ChatGPT
Upon hearing Chen Yaoyang's loud shout, something seemed to explode in Zhang Zhili's mind. His father's tea set, crafted by a pottery artist, wasn't worth much, at most thirty to fifty thousand. And his mother's amber necklace, purchased during relatively better financial times, was worth no more than a hundred thousand at most. Why would someone offer two million for them? Zhang Zhili looked at Chen Yaoyang, sensing that he wasn't lying. In that moment, many forgotten details and past events rushed into his mind.
"You have only one month! Otherwise, I guarantee your chain of hotels will change hands, the director will become a prisoner, and your collection company will turn into rubbish!" Zhang Zhili told Chen Yaoyang before turning around and leaving with Tang Yanran.
Chen Huanrui was still panting heavily, his face contorted with fear and anger. "Why don't we call the police? Why don't we—"
"We need to kill him! We must kill him! Look how ruthless he is! If he doesn't die, none of us will have peace!" Chen Huanrui shouted, but his father interrupted him with a slap. "Shut up!"
Holding onto her son, Wu Min angrily said, "What are you doing? Go and fight your crazy nephew if you have the guts!"
Chen Yaoyang said coldly, "I will make sure he goes to hell to accompany my brother. My brother will miss him, won't he?"
On the way back home, Tang Yanran looked at Zhang Zhili's gloomy expression, feeling a twinge of pity. After Zhang Zhili recovered from his illness, he always seemed calm and composed, even when facing his mother's harsh words, dealing with Li Tianyang, or confronting Song Siming.
But this time, his outburst was unprecedented. Tang Yanran was filled with questions.
"In fact, what they said isn't entirely true," Zhang Zhili suddenly turned to Tang Yanran. "Do you know?"