Chapter 48

“You just watched him curse your daughter?!”

Song Qian trembled with rage, pointing at He Chen and staring straight at Qiao Weidong.

What kind of “cat lady” is this, supposedly with a high probability of never having children?

It’s clearly saying she drove her daughter to death, leaving her with not a single relative left, forced to raise cats and die alone.

What malicious intent!

And what’s this about “giving her another child”?

How?

This is clearly a remark utterly disrespectful to women!

“Enough! Stop this nonsense!!!” Qiao Yingzi could take no more, screamed, and ran off again.

“Yingzi, don’t be angry—your father and I will listen to you!” Qiao Weidong, terrified by He Chen’s analysis, dared not let his daughter storm off alone; he abandoned comforting his ex-wife and chased after her immediately.

Song Qian glared hatred at He Chen; seeing him calmly smiling, hearing her ex-husband’s anxious calls from afar, she also strode off after them.

He Chen watched them leave, unaffected emotionally, continuing to gaze at the stars inside the planetarium, deepening his understanding of sun, moon, and cosmos to better align his spirit journey during Gui Xi with the practice of the Gui Xi Technique.

“Do you really like astronomy?” As he toured the planetarium, a soft female voice came from beside him.

He Chen looked up and saw Liu Jing, Ji Yangyang’s mother, standing not far away, studying him with a critical gaze.

She was a staff member at the planetarium, constantly relocating with her husband Ji Shengli’s work transfers.

According to Monkey Director: “Long-term separation isn’t viable—I’ve transferred back to the capital.”

A plain, ordinary sentence, yet dripping with utter hypocrisy!

Ordinary people couldn’t even dream of such a transfer!

Yet she effortlessly moved from a remote area to the capital’s planetarium; judging by her relaxed, self-assured demeanor, she likely not only achieved the near-impossible transfer and retained her rank, but possibly even got promoted.

“That’s a question I should be asking,” He Chen said coolly.

“...” Liu Jing hesitated slightly, understanding the sarcasm in He Chen’s brief remark; she now felt even more certain he was a porcupine.

“Can’t you just speak normally? Why be like this?”

“When things are unjust, they cry out!” He Chen replied bluntly: “I’m speaking not just for myself, but for the silent majority!”

“They have voices but can’t speak!”

“Many things can’t be said, and no one knows how to say them!”

“So I’m willing to say a few more words!”

“You represent the silent majority?” Liu Jing laughed incredulously: “Most people aren’t as extreme as you!”

“Still, I represent the silent majority better than Ji Yangyang, Fang Yifan, or you,” He Chen smiled: “Your lives are too detached from the masses—and if that were all, fine, everyone knows it.

But you insist on acting as if you speak for the majority, forcing yourselves into that role—so someone has to speak up and remind you!”

Liu Jing’s expression changed slightly; she didn’t want to continue this topic and voiced her real concern: “Can you just drop the bet with Yangyang?”

“Sure,” He Chen nodded.

“Thank you!” Liu Jing was stunned by He Chen’s cooperativeness; she’d been anxious about her son being humiliated in public tomorrow, so she seized the chance to plead.

She’d assumed He Chen would refuse—never expected him to agree so easily.

“You two really didn’t need to make things so unpleasant—you’re both good kids...”

“It’s not me who’s picking fights—it’s him who insists on putting on a show in front of me!” He Chen interrupted: “Huang Zhitao already pleaded for Ji Yangyang—I agreed then too.

Same as before: I’m not just speaking for myself, but for Ji Yangyang’s own good!

I’m sure you’ve heard what I told Teacher Li about using people as mirrors.

Ji Yangyang doesn’t study but acts as if he knows everything; you must be constantly worried about his future.

Now, with me as the mirror, he can look more often and realize early: whether studying or his so-called dreams, he’s a complete failure.

Strip away his family background—he’s nothing!

Having a correct self-awareness is better than anything else!

Especially for someone like him—a second-generation heir who needs no effort, just to sit back and enjoy the spoils!

To have a clear, accurate self-awareness already puts him ahead of 99% of his kind—look into one mirror, better than ten years of reading!

So don’t thank me!”

“...” Liu Jing watched He Chen walk away after speaking, her lips twitching.

His words weren’t without reason—in fact, stripped of emotion, they were very reasonable—but even she, a mother who considered herself grounded and level-headed, found his paternalistic tone unbearable, let alone her hot-headed son.

No wonder elegant Song Qian, kind-hearted yet fiercely decisive Fang Yifan’s mother Tong Wenjie, and strict Teacher Li all lost their composure because of him.

He speaks too bluntly, too infuriatingly!

He Chen continued touring the planetarium. Meanwhile, Qiao Yingzi’s family chased after each other, finally regrouping; without He Chen, they compromised and reconciled.

Seeing Qiao Weidong suddenly assert himself to accompany his daughter to lunch—and his daughter agreeing—Song Qian forced down her urge to explode, choosing to appease her daughter by accepting; she shot a threatening glance at her ex-husband, warning him not to harbor delusions, to comfort their daughter well, then quickly arranged to meet her best friend Tong Wenjie for lunch after they left.

They chose The View 3912, a high-end restaurant where each person spent seven or eight hundred, featuring signature dishes like Cuban cigar goose liver, Boston lobster, and Australian M5 filet mignon.

This was their regular dining spot.

The life of ordinary families is just this plain, unadorned, and dull.

“What?!” As the two friends sat down, exchanged pleasantries, and ordered their meals, Tong Wenjie erupted in fury before Song Qian even finished speaking.

Though she didn’t slam the table, her shrill voice drew uncomfortable glances from others in the restaurant.

After politely apologizing as proper gentlemen and ladies, they lowered their voices to continue.

Song Qian’s grim expression immediately brightened.

This direct reaction was exactly what she needed!

Not Qiao Weidong’s traitorous, unreliable fatherly indifference—or worse, his subtle leaning toward that bastard He Chen!

Look at her best friend!

How resolute her stance!

Song Qian savored Tong Wenjie’s furious outburst and her foul-mouthed curses against He Chen, feeling utterly exhilarated.

But she had no idea that Tong Wenjie’s true reason for her fury wasn’t the steadfast loyalty or righteous indignation she assumed.

Of course, that was part of it.

But compared to the real reason, it was negligible.

Tong Wenjie cursed He Chen and Qiao Weidong aloud, while inwardly panicking.

Qiao Yingzi was the daughter-in-law she had secretly chosen—otherwise, she wouldn’t have joked about it multiple times with her friend.

That was Qiao’s billions in assets, plus Song Qian’s four or five school district apartments and her annual income of hundreds of thousands!

Once her son married Yingzi, all of it would be his.

Previously, she could suppress this emotion, keeping it hidden; she knew Song Qian had some disdain for her son.

But now, with this sudden incident—feeling her son had been betrayed—and remembering her son ranked last in the entire grade, surely making the elite teacher future mother-in-law look down on him even more, and now he wasn’t even in the same class as Yingzi—watching what had been a guaranteed path to wealth and status suddenly crumble—how could she not panic, how could she not erupt in fury?