Chapter 48: Tong Wenjie Flies into a Rage: How Bold

"How can you just stand there and watch him curse your daughter?!"

Song Qian trembled with rage, pointing straight at He Chen while glaring fixedly at Qiao Weidong.

What did he mean by "a cat lady with a high probability of having no children in the future"?

It was crystal clear that he was implying she would drive her daughter to her death, ending up completely alone without a single relative by her side, forced to keep cats and die in solitude.

How deeply malicious was such an intention!

And what about "giving her another child"?

How was that even supposed to happen?

This was clearly yet another remark completely lacking in respect for women!

"Enough! Stop fighting!!!" Qiao Yingzi could take no more. With a loud cry, she turned and bolted away.

"Yingzi, don't be upset! Your mom and dad will listen to whatever you say!" Terrified by He Chen's analysis, Qiao Weidong no longer dared to let his angry daughter run off alone. Forgetting all about comforting his ex-wife, he hurried off in direct pursuit.

Song Qian glared bitterly at He Chen. Seeing him standing there with a calm, unbothered smile, and hearing her ex-husband's anxious calls in the distance, she too set off after them.

He Chen watched them leave without his mood being affected in the least. He continued looking up at the starry sky inside the planetarium, deepening his understanding of the sun, moon, and the cosmos so that during his tortoise-breathing meditation, his spirit could wander the vast universe more harmoniously with the practice of the Tortoise Breathing Skill.

"Do you really like astronomy?" A lingering, soft female voice came from beside him just as he was touring the exhibition.

He Chen raised his eyes to see Liu Jing, Ji Yangyang's mother, standing not far away, gazing at him with a scrutinizing look.

She was a staff member at the planetarium, always moving wherever her husband Ji Shutong's job transfers took her.

According to Bureau Chief Monkey's words: "Long-term separation is no solution, so I just got transferred back to the Capital."

A seemingly plain and ordinary sentence, yet it reeked of the utmost hypocrisy!

An ordinary person could only dream of getting a transfer like that!

Yet she had easily transferred from some remote backwater to the Capital Planetarium. Judging by her leisurely, right-at-home demeanor, she had not only pulled off a nearly impossible transfer while retaining her rank, but had very likely even received a promotion.

"I think that question should be directed at you instead," He Chen said indifferently.

"..." Liu Jing paused slightly. She caught the mockery hidden within He Chen's brief words, making her feel all the more that He Chen was truly like a prickly hedgehog.

"Can't you just speak properly? Why must you be like this?"

"An injustice left unaddressed calls for a cry!" He Chen answered bluntly. "What I am standing up for is not just myself, but the silent majority!

They have words stuck in their throats that they cannot express!

There are many things they cannot say, and they don't even know how to say them!

Therefore, I am willing to speak up on their behalf a little more!"

"You even claim to represent the silent majority?" Liu Jing let out a dry, incredulous laugh. "The vast majority of people are nowhere near as extreme as you!"

"At the very least, I represent the silent majority far better than Ji Yangyang, Fang Yifan, or people like you," He Chen replied with a smile. "That's because your lives are far too disconnected from the common folk. If it were merely that, it would be one thing, as everyone is well aware of it anyway.

Yet you insist on putting on a heavy act, forcibly pretending to represent the majority. That leaves people with no choice but to speak a few words of justice to remind you!"

Liu Jing's expression shifted slightly. Unwilling to continue this topic, she brought up the matter she truly cared about: "Can the bet you made with Yangyang be called off?"

"Sure!" He Chen nodded.

"Thank you!" Liu Jing was surprised by how agreeable He Chen was. She had been on tenterhooks, worrying that her son would suffer a massive public humiliation at school the next day, which was why she seized this opportunity to intercede.

She had fully expected He Chen to refuse flat out, never imagining it would go this smoothly.

"There really was no need for you and Yangyang to have such an unpleasant falling out. In truth, you are both good kids..."

"It wasn't me picking a fight with him! He was the one insisting on putting on airs in front of me!" He Chen interrupted. "Huang Zhitao has already interceded for Ji Yangyang, and I agreed on the spot back then.

Still, as I said before, what I'm doing isn't just for my own sake—it's for Ji Yangyang's own good!

No doubt you've heard what I told Teacher Li about using people as a mirror.

Ji Yangyang doesn't study yet spends all day full of himself, so you must constantly worry about his future.

Well, now he has a mirror in me. By taking a good look, he'll realize in advance that whether it's his studies or the dreams he imagines, everything is an absolute mess.

Strip away his family background, and he is utterly incompetent at everything!

Having an accurate understanding of oneself is better than anything else!

Especially for a second-generation kid like him who doesn't need to put in any effort and merely reaps the benefits without sowing!

To possess a clear and correct self-awareness already puts him ahead of ninety-nine percent of his peers. Looking into a person's mirror is worth ten years of reading books!

So you're welcome!"

"..." Liu Jing watched He Chen walk away after dropping those words, the corners of her mouth twitching.

His words weren't entirely unreasonable; in fact, stripping away the emotional bias, they made a lot of sense. But setting aside her hot-tempered son, even she—a mother who considered herself grounded and level-headed—found it somewhat unbearable how utterly patronizing and preachy his tone was.

No wonder the elegant Teacher Song Qian, the decisive yet warm-hearted Fang Yifan's mother Tong Wenjie, and the stern Teacher Li were all driven to the brink of a mental breakdown because of him.

He spoke far too bluntly, and far too infuriatingly!

Leaving He Chen to continue touring the planetarium, Qiao Yingzi's family, after chasing after one another, finally gathered back together. With He Chen out of the picture, they compromised and reconciled.

Seeing Qiao Weidong suddenly grow firm and insistent on having lunch with his daughter—a proposal the daughter was also willing to accept—Song Qian swallowed her urge to flip out. To appease her daughter, she chose to agree, while casting a threatening glare at her ex-husband to warn him against harboring any delusional thoughts and to make sure he comforted their daughter properly. Once she saw them off, she hurriedly called her best friend Tong Wenjie to join her for lunch.

They chose The View 3912, an upscale restaurant with an average per-capita spending of seven to eight hundred yuan, featuring specialty dishes such as Cuban cigar foie gras, Boston lobster, and Australian M5 filet mignon.

This was their regular spot for get-togethers.

The life of an ordinary middle-class family was simply so unpretentious and mundane.

"What?!" As the two best friends sat down, exchanged pleasantries, and placed their orders, Tong Wenjie flew into a towering rage upon hearing Song Qian's grievances, interrupting her before she could even finish.

Though she didn't slam the table, her sharp voice still caused other patrons in the restaurant to cast uncomfortable glances their way.

After offering polite, lady-like apologies, they lowered their voices and continued their chat.

The heavy, unsightly expression on Song Qian's face instantly eased up immensely.

Such a direct, fiery reaction was precisely what she needed!

Unlike Qiao Weidong—that cheating, good-for-nothing, unreliable father who acted completely indifferent and even showed a vague tendency to side with that bastard He Chen!

Just look at her best friend!

How unwavering her stance was!

Song Qian reveled in her best friend Tong Wenjie's blazing fury and her colorful insults directed at He Chen, feeling utterly vindicated and gratified.

Yet little did she know the true starting point of Tong Wenjie's explosive rage, which had nothing to do with unwavering loyalty or standing up for her best friend as Song Qian believed.

Well, that factor certainly played a part.

But compared to the real reason, it was practically negligible.

While Tong Wenjie cursed out He Chen and Qiao Weidong left and right, deep down she was burning with frantic anxiety.

Qiao Yingzi was the daughter-in-law she had secretly chosen in her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought the matter up laughingly with her best friend on more than one occasion before.

We were talking about old Qiao's hundreds of millions in assets, plus Song Qian's four or five school-district apartments alongside a stable annual income of hundreds of thousands!

Once her son married Yingzi, all of that would belong to her son.

Ordinarily, she could still manage to suppress these feelings, keeping them hidden in her heart without letting them show, knowing full well that her best friend somewhat looked down on her own son.

But now, with this sudden turn of events, it felt as though her son had been cuckolded. Combined with the fact that her son had scored dead last in his entire grade—guaranteeing that his future mother-in-law, the elite teacher, would look down on him even more—and that he was no longer in the same class as Yingzi, the seemingly guaranteed path to wealth and status suddenly looked riddled with holes. How could she not panic? How could she not fly into a towering rage?!