Yue Yihan didn’t notice the Han’s parents’ reaction. His attention was entirely on his wife.

Every time Xie Changning took another bite, the smile in his eyes grew.

When Han’s parents saw that Yue Yihan wasn’t concerned, for a moment they didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.

But that didn’t stop the two of them from being furious with their eldest son.

Once the meal was over, everyone went about their own tasks—heading to work, soothing children, or clearing the table.

When everyone was ready, Yue Yihan, who had been clearing the table, picked up Xie Changning’s belongings and headed outside. "Let me drive you."

As it happened, the factory’s driver was waiting at the entrance.

Xie Changning didn’t refuse.

As the couple walked out, Huo Xiaoqian and Yue Yang exchanged a look, making faces at each other and stifling their laughter.

Xie Changning turned and saw the two young women’s suppressed giggles. She glanced sideways at Yue Yihan, who was walking ahead of her.

...

’People really are gossipy creatures.’

Once in the car, Huo Xiaoqian and Yue Yang, sitting in the back, watched the pair in the driver’s and passenger’s seats with great interest. Finally, Huo Xiaoqian’s curiosity got the better of her. "Director, how did you and your husband meet?"

They remembered that the Director was from the south. How did she end up marrying someone from the Northeast?

"We... We met when I was in school."

As she answered, Xie Changning subconsciously glanced at the man driving beside her. The moment she did, she saw the back of his neck and ears, which were so red they looked like they might bleed.

And when he heard Xie Changning say they met while she was a student, his already tan face seemed to grow a shade darker.

She didn’t need to guess to know he was blushing.

"I remember the Director went to university in Beijing. I didn’t realize your husband had spent time in Beijing too!"

"Your husband is a regiment commander, so I guess he gets sent on missions all over the place, right?"

"Yangyang, you’re right."

By the time the conversation topic moved on, the car had arrived at the gate of the chemical factory.

The moment Yue Yang and Huo Xiaoqian got out of the car, Yue Yang’s mother and younger brother, who had been waiting by the gate, sprinted toward the vehicle.

If Xie Changning hadn’t been quick to dodge, she would have been tackled.

Yue Yihan stepped in front of Xie Changning, grabbed Yue Yang’s mother by the collar, and hauled her back.

The action instantly choked the wail in her throat.

She was terrified of Yue Yihan.

Yue Yihan was a soldier who had seen battle. When he fixed someone with a stony-faced glare, the intimidating pressure was immense.

How could Yue Yang’s mother have ever encountered someone with such a powerful presence?

So she cowered, hunching her shoulders and sneaking glances at Yue Yihan from the corner of her eye. She could tell this young man was not someone to be trifled with.

Afraid of being hit, she could only turn to face Yue Yang.

"Zhaodi..."

"Her name is Yue Yang!" Huo Xiaoqian corrected angrily. "If you call her Zhaodi again, I’ll slap you across the face!"

Huo Xiaoqian, like a little lioness protecting her cub, snarled at Yue Yang’s mother.

Xie Changning watched Yue Laoer’s wife, the woman who had tried to charge her, with cold eyes. She snorted. "You’d better explain why you’ve come here with this child to cause a scene!"

"Director, I didn’t mean to cause a scene! I just... I’m just begging you, please let my child’s father go."

Yue Laoer’s wife explained nervously.

Just then, Yue Yang stepped to Xie Changning’s side and addressed her mother. "What happens to Yue Laoer isn’t up to the Director. He stole state property and misappropriated state assets. The police will decide how to handle it. Coming to our Director is useless."

"You damn girl, your wings have grown strong, haven’t they? How dare you speak to me like that!"

Yue Yang’s mother was meek and submissive in front of Xie Changning, but she came down hard on Yue Yang.

It took another dagger-like glare from Yue Yihan to make her shut her mouth and stop insulting Yue Yang.

Xie Changning said to Yue Laoer’s wife, "Yue Yang is right. What you should be doing now isn’t begging me to let him go, but thinking about whether you were involved. If you were, your best bet is to turn yourself in."

"The law will be more lenient with you."

Yue Laoer’s wife finally understood. Yue Yang and Xie Changning were in this together.

And Xie Changning had it out for her husband, Yue Laoer. She was determined to get him thrown in jail and keep him there!

"You! Just you wait! I won’t let you get away with this!" Before leaving, Yue Laoer’s wife, having "seen the truth," pointed a finger at Xie Changning’s nose and spat out the threat.

Having made her threat, she immediately turned and fled.

She was afraid that if she stayed a second longer, Yue Yihan might actually beat her to death.

Once Yue Laoer’s wife was gone, her son also started to run off.

Before he left, however, he turned to Yue Yang. "I heard Mom say you have money now. I suggest you bring me ten yuan tonight. I need to buy clothes for Xiao Juan!"

He was only fifteen, but he had already learned how to sweet-talk girls.

"You want ten yuan from me?" Yue Yang replied coldly. "Wait until you’re dead. I’ll burn it for you at your grave."

"You...!"

"You looking for a beating?"

Huo Xiaoqian also stepped forward, rolling up her sleeves as if ready for a fight.

He was just a boy and certainly didn’t have the guts to fight Huo Xiaoqian—especially since she wasn’t alone.

Afraid of getting beaten up, he also turned and ran.

He was afraid that if he didn’t run, Huo Xiaoqian would actually beat him to a pulp.

After the boy ran off, Yue Yihan finally turned to Xie Changning. "Are you scared?"

"No."

Xie Changning had seen the people at the gate earlier, she just hadn’t expected the woman to be so brazen.

She could handle a lot more stress than that.

Seeing that Xie Changning wasn’t lying, Yue Yihan finally let out a sigh of relief.

When the woman had charged at them, Yue Yihan’s first instinct was to send her flying with a kick. But he was a soldier, and his training told him he couldn’t raise a hand—or a foot—to a civilian.

That was the only reason he hadn’t kicked her.

Otherwise, she would be lying on the ground right now instead of having the strength to run away.

Xie Changning patted his arm, reassuring him that she was fine.

Yue Yihan nodded and escorted them into the factory.

Everyone had seen what just happened at the factory gate. They couldn’t believe Yue Laoer’s wife still had the gall to beg the Director. If it were them, they’d have been too ashamed to even stay at the factory, let alone ask for favors!

But then again, if they were in her shoes, they’d be reluctant to leave, too.

When Xie Changning had returned from her last competition, she had given them all bonuses.

You wouldn’t find a perk like that at any other factory!

And a three-month bonus, at that!

That was like getting fifteen months’ pay for one year’s work!

The thought made them hate Yue Laoer even more. He was one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel. If anything happened to the factory because of him, they would never forgive him!

The factory workers glared angrily in the direction Yue Laoer’s wife had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Xie Changning led the two young women to the lab.

Yue Yihan walked them only as far as the lab entrance before turning to leave.