Chapter 41: My Wife Is the CEO

The phone was answered on the very first ring.

A cold, clear voice came through the receiver: "Hello?"

Chen Yu did not waste a single syllable. He glanced down at his daughter, who was clutching his leg tightly, her small face buried against his trousers. Her shoulders were trembling slightly as she struggled to hold back her sobs, and his heart ached as if pricked by a needle.

Speaking into the phone, his tone was terrifyingly calm.

"Jiang Zhiyun, our daughter was bullied at primary school."

There was a silence on the other end. Just one second.

Then, a crisp sound echoed through Chen Yu's phone, like a fountain pen snapping in two.

Immediately following, Jiang Zhiyun’s voice—heavy with overwhelming fury and the chill of an iceberg—spoke three words, simple and direct.

"Who did it?"

Chen Yu could easily imagine the expression on the face of the woman who, in daily life, was as cold and aloof as an iceberg.

He lifted his gaze, looking past the two smug women and fixing his eyes on Zhou Tianhao, who stood there with an arrogant air. A cruel curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Someone who claims to be the Marketing Director of the Jiang Group, surnamed Zhou."

"Understood."

The line was cut off decisively. The entire exchange had taken less than thirty seconds.

In the office, Mrs. Zhou was still chattering away with mockery. "Putting on a show! Who did you call? The Mayor? Ha ha ha, hilarious!"

Teacher Wang shook her head, wearing an expression of pity that suggested a lost cause.

Only Zhou Tianhao felt his arrogance crack in an almost imperceptible way the moment Chen Yu uttered the name "Jiang Zhiyun."

Jiang Zhiyun?

For any employee of the Jiang Group, that name was deafening. She was the supreme ruler of the corporation, the legendary queen of the business world, the god who held the power of life and death over all of them.

How could this shabby man... how could he dare to address the Chairperson by her first name?

An absurd thought flashed through his mind, but he extinguished it just as quickly.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could the Chairperson's husband look like this?

It must be a coincidence of names, or... this man was bluffing, deliberately using the Chairperson's name to intimidate people!

Yes, that must be it!

He steadied his nerves, and the gaze behind his lenses turned cold and contemptuous once more.

However, at that very moment, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate frantically.

The exclusive work ringtone sounded piercingly loud in the quiet office. Zhou Tianhao frowned and pulled out his phone. When he saw the words "HR Director" flashing on the screen, his heart skipped a beat; a sense of foreboding instantly enveloped him.

He cast a subconscious glance at Chen Yu and found the man watching him with a mocking smirk.

Suppressing his unease, Zhou Tianhao walked to the corner and answered the call.

"Hello, Director Li, why are you calling so urgently..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was rudely interrupted by a voice on the other end, devoid of any emotion.

"Zhou Tianhao! Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea who you’ve offended?!"

The HR Director’s voice was roaring with rage. "This is a direct order from the Chairperson! You, Zhou Tianhao, are fired from the Jiang Group as of this second!"

"Get out! Now! All your options, shares, and year-end bonuses are void. You have been blacklisted from the entire industry. I’d like to see which company in Jiang City dares to hire you after this!"

"Boom!"

Ten thousand thunderclaps seemed to explode inside Zhou Tianhao’s head at once.

Fired?

Industry blacklist?

This... how could this be?!

He had poured so much effort into climbing to this position, drank so much, stayed up so many nights, and groveled like a servant to so many people! He was just one step away from joining the group's core decision-making team!

And now, it was all gone?

Just because of... because of a single phone call from the man before him?

"Director Li... Director Li! Is there a mistake? I..."

His voice was shaking uncontrollably, and cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

"A mistake? I wish to hell it was a mistake!"

The HR Director's voice was filled with disdain.

"The Chairperson's exact words were, 'Get him out, now, immediately!' Zhou Tianhao, think for yourself, what kind of deity did you provoke? Don't you dare drag us down with you!"

The call was hung up viciously, leaving only the "beep-beep-beep" of the dial tone in his ear.

Zhou Tianhao stood frozen in place as his phone slipped from his limp hand and hit the floor with a "clack." His complexion shifted within seconds from flushed red to ghastly white, and then to a deathly grey.

"Honey, what’s wrong? Who called?"

Seeing her husband’s devastated appearance, Mrs. Zhou finally sensed that something was wrong and leaned in to ask with concern.

The response she received was a crisp, resonant slap!

"Smack!"

Zhou Tianhao whirled around and, with every ounce of his strength, struck his wife across the face!

The blow was fast and fierce, sending Mrs. Zhou staggering. Half of her face swelled up visibly, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

"Ah!" She let out a shriek, clutching her face as she looked at her husband in disbelief. "You... you hit me? Zhou Tianhao, how dare you hit me?!"

She was stunned—completely bewildered.

Teacher Wang in the office was also stunned. The little chubby boy named Kaikai was so frightened he stood like a wooden chicken, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

The viewers in the livestream were completely petrified.

[???????]

[Holy crap! What is happening? Is this a domestic violence scene?]

[This plot twist... my brain is fried!]

[The Jiang Group director who was acting so high and mighty just a moment ago—why is he acting like a mad dog and hitting his wife after one phone call?]

[Did you guys not hear? Niannian’s dad called her... Jiang Zhiyun?!]

[Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! No way? Could Niannian’s mom be... the female CEO of the Jiang Group?!]

[My goodness! The twist of the century! This is more intense than a TV drama!]

Zhou Tianhao’s eyes were bloodshot.

He ignored his wife’s questioning entirely. His only thought now was survival!

He grabbed his wife by the hair, dragged her over to Chen Yu, and then, with a heavy thud, dropped to his own knees!

The man who had been high and mighty just moments ago was now kneeling at Chen Yu’s feet like a dying dog.

"Apologize to Mr. Chen!!"

He roared at his wife.

"Hurry! Apologize to him!!"

He pulled on her hair with force, and tears streamed down Mrs. Zhou's face from the pain. Looking into her husband’s eyes, which seemed capable of devouring her alive, she could no longer care about pride or dignity.