Chapter 528

Yang Yu min ate only half his fill before switching tables; though he knew his wife was close to Fu Fu Yiruo, so having dinner with Fu Fu Yiruo's mother was perfectly normal, for some reason he felt an inexplicable sense of pressure.

This was strange—Madam Fu had such a refined demeanor and spoke to him with great kindness, yet Yang Yu min felt as if he were about to sweat.

After Yang Yu min left, Li Ye frowned slightly and looked at his mother.

"Mom, why did you scare him off?"

"What?"

Fu Fu Guiru blinked, then carefully recalled the scene before asking doubtfully: "Did I? I didn't even ask any questions—how could that scare him away?"

"Besides, I think Yang Yu min is actually a decent kid. Are you two misunderstanding something?"

Li Ye chuckled helplessly: "Mom, do you even need to ask questions? Just look at the way you were staring at him just now—it was like interrogating a spy. Ask Xiao Yu and Xiao Ruo if you don't believe me."

Fu Fu Guiru turned in surprise to Fu Fu Yiruo and Wen Wen Leyu, and both girls nodded in unison, firmly confirming the truth.

Fu Fu Guiru rubbed her forehead and sighed softly.

Li Ye teased: "Mom, they say a mother-in-law finds her son-in-law more likable the more she looks—just keep looking, you'll grow fond. Yang Yu min's actually quite good; he's only a little short on looks, but otherwise he's excellent—upright, treats your daughter well..."

"Exactly! Mom's just too picky," Fu Fu Yiruo immediately chimed in. "Love is inherently selfish—it shouldn't be meddled with by outsiders. If you keep acting like this, you'll turn into an old witch."

"Hah~" Fu Fu Guiru laughed, flicking Fu Fu Yiruo's forehead. "Don't try to dodge with flattery. When you find a boyfriend someday, I'll look at him the same way—especially that Yao something-feng, don't even think about it."

"You still dare to argue? A daughter marries into another family to live; a daughter-in-law is brought into your own home to live. A mother-in-law scrutinizing her son-in-law? That's for her daughter's sake."

Fu Fu Yiruo rolled her eyes. Malay girls mature earlier than those from the mainland; though she didn't fancy that Yao something-feng, she instinctively resented her mother's brutal interference in her "free love."

But after a moment's thought, Wen Wen Leyu nodded in agreement: "Auntie, you're right."

Fu Fu Yiruo immediately kicked Wen Wen Leyu under the table.

【We're natural allies—how can you betray me to please your mother-in-law? Can we still be best friends?】 But Fu Fu Yiruo didn't know that Wen Wen Leyu wasn't flattering Fu Fu Guiru—Li Ye himself had once been rigorously vetted by Teacher Ke, with no flaws found, and only then had he become "more likable the more you looked."

"Enough. Your mother's words are experience. Even in today's new society, where free love is valued, wouldn't life be more fulfilling if you had your family's blessing?"

Unlike these two girls barely twenty, Li Ye—who had lived two lifetimes—understood the difference between daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law.

A daughter-in-law lives under your roof, watched by parents-in-law; even if your son suffers a little, he has a backer.

In this era, once a daughter-in-law marries in, she becomes their family's person—that's universally accepted.

Even in the countryside, if a dispute or fight breaks out, people rarely lay hands on a married daughter, because hitting her means inviting another family as an enemy.

So since ancient times, when a mother-in-law disapproved of her son-in-law, she had to tread lightly—even if she disliked him, she had to pretend to like him. But a daughter-in-law? If you disliked her, you could drag her over and scream at her directly. "Years of daughter-in-lawhood turn you into a mother-in-law" isn't just an idle saying.

Only after the 1990s did strong-willed daughters-in-law reverse the trend, flipping tradition upside down.

Daughters-in-law can't be scolded; sons-in-law... sigh. So if both sets of parents are satisfied before marriage, countless troubles can be avoided.

"Actually, about Xiao Xia Yue's boyfriend... I'm just taking a look. I have no right to criticize."

Fu Fu Guiru sighed: "Xiao Xia Yue told me Yang Yu min is a good boy. Your grandfather, grandmother, and parents all think highly of him. That's what Xiao Ye meant by family blessing... I'm uneasy, but I'm just watching."

Seeing Fu Fu Guiru suddenly grow melancholy, Li Ye, Fu Fu Yiruo, and Wen Wen Leyu exchanged glances and silently chose to say nothing.

Every family has its own hard-to-recite scripture—and our family? We have two. The Li family certainly adored Yang Yu min: good job, bright future, respectful to Li family members. Li Xia Yue never called Han Han Chunmei "Mom," but Yang Yu min always treated her with respect, bringing gifts for Han Han Chunmei, Li Juan, and Li Ying every visit—all bought with his own salary.

Everyone in the Li family loved Yang Yu min.

In contrast, Fu Fu Guiru had missed Li Xia Yue's upbringing and had quietly become an "outsider."

So how would Li Kaibian, Fu Fu Guiru, and Han Han Chunmei get along from now on? Li Ye was deeply troubled.

Li Ye drank a few glasses of red wine with his mother. By the time they finished and left, most diners had gone—only the most important table remained.

Yang Yu min was still there, keeping company with his colleague, Old Shao.

As Li Ye passed by, the team leader, Zhou Song Ziyuan, called out to him.

"By the way, Li Ye, when you go up, report today's events to Xiao He in Room 6022."

Li Ye looked at Zhou Song Ziyuan's flushed face and asked coldly: "May I ask, Leader Zhou, what exactly am I supposed to report?"

Zhou Song Ziyuan frowned. "According to regulations, any contact with people outside our exhibition team must be recorded. You just had dinner with these two female comrades, so it needs to be logged."

Li Ye was genuinely surprised—he had no idea such a rule existed. Was he suspected of meeting spies?

"Hehe, Li Ye, don't overreact," Lao Xie, sensing Li Ye's displeasure, laughed to defuse the tension. "It's an old tradition—just a formality. Go find Xiao He and say hello."

"Exactly! Rules are rigid, people are flexible. Just tell Xiao He you had dinner with classmates—two sentences, that's all."

"Hahaha, young man, don't be so rigid. We old folks only mean well!"

Everyone was "kindly" urging Li Ye, like seasoned veterans advising a newcomer: don't die, learn to be sensible.

Li Ye glanced at them coldly, his eyes full of disdain.

He wouldn't file the report today—had he to report having dinner with his mother? And how? "Friendly meal with patriotic businessman"? But just as Li Ye turned to leave, Wen Wen Leyu stepped forward, her voice icy: "As far as I know, we have no regulation requiring us to report this situation. Do you have written documentation?"

"If there's no document, no specific rule—then don't flaunt your authority in front of so many people."

Everyone froze. Even those half-drunk were stunned.

A little girl dared to boldly accuse Zhou Song Ziyuan of abusing power.

Lao Xie cleared his throat awkwardly: "Cough, cough—it's an unwritten rule, everyone's used to following it..."

"Lao Xie, don't explain to her. Why explain to her?"

Zhou Song Ziyuan blinked, then his temper flared—he opened his mouth to scold Wen Wen Leyu.

But Yang Yu min, at the table, immediately cut in: "If you don't explain, how can they understand? They're still students—they don't know these unwritten rules."

"I know what Leader Zhou is worried about, but as far as I know, both Li Ye and Wen Wen Leyu have turned down overseas study opportunities—more than once."

"Even if everyone else fled, they wouldn't. Li Ye could leave for overseas at any time—Li Jia Po National University even invited him...

Also, I don't understand why Leader Zhou would mention this unwritten rule in front of two foreign guests? When we're abroad, we represent mainland China. Didn't you realize your words might cause foreign guests to misunderstand us? Or do you honestly believe this is proper management?"

........ Yang Yu min spoke calmly, but after he finished, the entire restaurant fell utterly silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop—as if struck by lightning.

If Wen Wen Leyu's actions had seemed like youthful arrogance, Yang Yu min's words carried the suspicion of "making a mistake." He was a public official—openly defying his team leader at a group event, mocking Zhou for abusing power? Didn't he care about his image? If this got reported back to his unit, labels like "unaware of the bigger picture," "undermining foreign affairs," and "lacking political wisdom" would be firmly slapped on his forehead.

Taken seriously, this could ruin his career.

But Fu Fu Guiru, watching Yang Yu min's calm face, suddenly found him far more likable than before.

Loyalty to family over justice—that's what family means. More than twenty years ago, Fu Fu Guiru received a letter from Malaysia, was labeled as having overseas ties, and was crushed by "unwritten rules"—from militia company commander to suspect.

No one in her family openly stood up to fight.

Li Li Zhongfa's advice was to maneuver within the rules and complain to Li Kaibian.

Only then did Fu Fu Guiru, furious, stubbornly head south to Malaysia.

Later, Fu Fu Guiru often reflected: if her family had chosen "loyalty to family over justice," she would have stayed, shouldered all the storms, instead of fleeing.