In less than a minute, Zhang Xiaofeng had already made his way downstairs. He quickly walked over to the overturned table, spotted a bowl that had fallen to the ground, grabbed it, and smashed it hard against the floor!
It was a porcelain bowl, white and foreign-made—the one Su Qianghai had specifically prepared for him on the first day he moved in. He had been told to use only this bowl for meals. Zhang Xiaofeng had felt uncomfortable then, fully aware of what it implied. It was an insult. A mark of exclusion.
His mother-in-law, Wang Dajuan, had also assigned him all sorts of house chores, despite there being three full-time maids in the house with barely anything to do. Still, he was ordered to do laundry, wash dishes, wipe furniture, and even clean their cars. The more he thought about it now, the angrier he got.
After shattering the bowl, Zhang Xiaofeng snapped the chopsticks in half and strode out the door without glancing back once.
He had once wanted to treat Su Yuebai and her parents well for the rest of his life, to build a happy family with them. But now, looking back, he just wanted to slap himself. From this moment forward, Zhang Xiaofeng would have nothing to do with them. All ties severed—forever.
He soon walked out the villa gate, only to catch a glimpse from the corner of his eye of a few people following behind with angry expressions.
“What do you want?” Zhang Xiaofeng asked coldly.
“Afraid you’d come back, so we came to see you off. Just to disgust you one last time!” Su Qianghai sneered.
Zhang Xiaofeng let out a sarcastic laugh, “Great! Thanks for the send-off. If I ever come back, I’d be the biggest idiot on Earth!”
Wang Dajuan scoffed, “With a temper like that, how could you possibly treat us well when we get old? You eat our food and smash our bowls. What a joke. The sooner you leave, the better!”
Zhang Xiaofeng stood by the roadside trying to hail a taxi. But for some reason, no taxis passed by for five minutes. Normally, cars would come by every three minutes in this bustling area. Something was clearly off tonight.
In the end, he could only mutter, “When you’re down, even drinking water will chip your tooth.”
Su Qianghai assumed he was just pretending to leave. Lighting a cigar, he took a leisurely puff and sneered, “You won’t leave. I bet you won’t survive out there and will come crawling back. Our family is so wealthy—can you really walk away? You’ll never earn in your lifetime what we already have. Do you know how many people envy you? Others would kill for a chance to marry into our family.”
Wang Dajuan added with a cold laugh, “Exactly! Once you’re part of our family, you don’t need to work hard for the rest of your life. One step and you’re in the upper class, living the life you dreamed of. If you don’t regret this, I’ll break my own legs. But even if you do, it’s useless. You’ve walked out that door—don’t expect us to let you back in!”
Some guests heard this and remained silent. To be honest, if it were them, they wouldn’t have left. What’s dignity worth anyway? So what if you’re human? In this age where poverty is mocked and shamelessness praised, money is everything. Honestly, they couldn’t understand Zhang Xiaofeng. They thought he was being impulsive. If it were them, they’d just play along, say nothing, do whatever the Su Family wanted, and wait patiently until the old couple died off. That was the smart way.
Zhang Xiaofeng snapped, “Don’t worry. Once I walked out that gate, I knew I would never return. I’m not some shameless parasite. My parents raised me to be a man, not someone else’s lapdog! So what if you’re rich? I’ll fight. I’ll work. I’ll earn my future with my own hands. I don’t want a single cent of your pity! I’ve had enough!”
“What nonsense! If you don’t regret this by tomorrow, I’ll chop my head off and give it to you as a chamber pot!” Wang Dajuan laughed coldly. “You’re acting on impulse tonight. Tomorrow morning you’ll wake up full of regret. Hahaha, I can’t wait to see your face then!”
Hearing his mother speak, Su Yuebai naturally took her side and cursed as well, “Zhang Xiaofeng, just look at yourself—your family’s as poor as beggars. If we hadn’t taken you in, you couldn’t have survived a day in Jiang City! You’d have long crawled back to your poor little northwest town! Get lost and never come back!”
Zhang Xiaofeng was just about to reply when a taxi finally pulled up. Without saying another word, he flagged it down, opened the door, got in, and drove away—clean and decisive.
Not once did he look back.
Whatever happened here was no longer his concern.
…
Not long after, the taxi brought Zhang Xiaofeng to a small inn in a remote area. Just before getting out, the driver asked, “Young man, did you just have a fight with the Su Family? It’s tough being a live-in son-in-law, huh…”
“Thanks. Got a cigarette?”
“You don’t even have money for cigarettes?” the driver looked at him in surprise.
Zhang Xiaofeng nodded. He really didn’t. The day after moving into Su Yuebai’s house, all his money was taken. She had insisted that since they were family, he should hand over his entire salary. He thought it made sense, so he did. Now, he didn’t even have money for a pack of cigarettes.
He had only 100 yuan of private savings left. If he bought cigarettes, there wouldn’t be enough for tonight’s lodging—he’d have to sleep on the street.
The driver sighed and handed him a cigarette. Zhang Xiaofeng thanked him and walked into the inn.
Even in a cheap inn in Jiang City, one night cost 100 yuan. After checking in, Zhang Xiaofeng lay on the bed, thinking deeply about his future. He had once planned to give his all to help his father-in-law—no, that old bastard. Screw him. From now on, he was done working for anyone else. His future was in his own hands.
Jiang City was a booming international metropolis. With his degree from Qingbei, finding a job wouldn’t be difficult. He firmly believed that leaving Su Yuebai would only make him stronger. Poverty was only temporary. His life would get better.
Seriously, if a Qingbei graduate couldn’t even support himself, he might as well bash his head into a brick wall and call it quits.
But that would take a few days. He certainly wouldn’t find a job tomorrow. And with no money left, he didn’t even know where he’d sleep or how he’d eat.
Suddenly, Zhang Xiaofeng remembered the car. If he had a car, he wouldn’t have to sleep on the streets. But the Santana wasn’t his.
Just thinking about it pissed him off. The Su Family had nearly 90 million yuan, almost 100 million, and they drove cars worth millions. Even their cheapest one was worth over 2 million yuan. Yet the car they gave him was a measly 60,000-yuan Santana. Absolute garbage. It was obvious—they looked down on him. They couldn’t even be bothered to spend a little more.
What made it worse was that the car had been registered under Su Yuebai’s name. It wasn’t even really his.
He didn’t know how he had tolerated it all before. But now? No more tolerance. Anything that belonged to them—he didn’t want!
Suddenly, his stomach let out a loud growl. He realized that from yesterday until now, he had only eaten one meal—and barely at that. But now, he didn’t have a single yuan left to buy food.
…
Back at the Su Family’s villa gate, everyone still stood there in shock, staring blankly in the direction the taxi had gone.
After a long while, Su Yuebai finally said in disbelief, “He… he really left?”