Chapter 033: A World of Magic

“Holy crap, holy crap!”

“What on earth is going on?”

The Lin family was struck dumb, their eyes wide and round, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Inside the hospital room, Zhang Tian kept talking. But by now, hardly anyone was listening.

Lin Shuyu sat dazed in her wheelchair, cold sweat forming on her palm as she gripped Hong Yu’s hand.

She couldn’t believe it.

Zhang Tian—the head of Zhang Group, a major force in Fengzhou—was actually bowing and scraping… and to Hong Yu, their live-in son-in-law.

Lin Shuyu was astute. In this moment, she began to understand the cryptic words Hong Yu had spoken to her while feeding her porridge. Now, all she wanted was to uncover what secrets Hong Yu was hiding.

While Lin Shuyu was shocked, the rest of the Lin family felt sheer misery.

Hong Yu, whom they’d always looked down on as a worthless loser, someone even they could humiliate at will—why was Zhang Tian so deferential to him?

It was impossible!

Hong Yu was, in their eyes, a true nobody—the Lin family’s live-in son-in-law.

How could such a loser deserve this treatment? It made no sense.

What’s more, why did Hong Yu look so calm? Shouldn’t he be terrified and overwhelmed?

Unless… did he expect all this?

Did he think Zhang Tian’s behavior was only fitting?

Indeed, just as the Lin family saw, Hong Yu’s face remained impassive. He waited for their shock to subside, then finally spoke: “If you’d known this would happen, would you have acted as you did before? I ask you now—do you accept this outcome? Will you bear a grudge in the future?”

Zhang Tian heard this and was grumbling inwardly.

He was no fool—he saw at a glance that Hong Yu was using him to assert authority.

Everything had been arranged, and he’d even been warned again that morning. There was no way Zhang Tian would dare show defiance now.

“Mr. Hong, I accept. Completely accept,” Zhang Tian stammered. “All of this was the Zhang family’s fault. We are willing to accept any punishment.”

He was complaining inside, but on the surface, he trembled as if in terror, looking as though he might kneel at any moment.

Meanwhile, Zhao Minghui, who had remained silent ever since Hong Yu and Lin Shuyu entered the room, was genuinely frightened—shaking for real.

How could he have imagined that Hong Yu, the constant butt of comparison and ridicule within the Lin family, could force Zhang Tian to bow his head and admit fault? Was this the same “loser” the Lin family always mocked?

The Lin family are the real losers here!

“Come out!”

Suddenly, Zhang Tian turned and roared. Zhang Han, his son, emerged, bandaged and cowering.

“Get over there!” Zhang Tian pointed to the spot before Hong Yu. “Kneel and apologize!”

Zhang Han, a young man of the new era, found the thought of kneeling utterly shameful.

But now, they were at someone else’s mercy. Imagining what life would be like if the Zhang family fell, he went weak at the knees and was about to kneel.

“Wait!” No one expected Second Aunt to suddenly rush out. “Chairman Zhang, isn’t there some misunderstanding here?”

“We know exactly who Hong Yu is and what his status is. You’ve either been deceived by him, or have mistaken him for someone else.”

“Oh, and by the way, my son-in-law is right here. He and your eldest son Zhang Hao are sworn brothers—they’ve been through life and death together.”

As she spoke, Second Aunt hastily waved over her son-in-law, Fang Rui, clearly hoping to latch onto the Zhang family’s power.

All she wanted was for Zhang Tian to nod at Fang Rui or say a kind word—then their family would finally have some standing in the Lin household. Didn’t you see that even Lin Jiahao, the family head, was ignored by Zhang Tian?

“I… damn you!”

“Where did this idiot come from?”

But what happened next defied expectations. Just as Second Aunt was practically drooling at the thought, Zhang Tian reeled in shock—then slapped her across the face.

Of all things, she had to bring up Zhang Hao now.

Didn’t she know Zhang Hao was now a eunuch? Still “sworn brothers”? Damn her!

Zhang Han, who was just about to kneel and full of pent-up anger, seized the opportunity as well. Right after his father’s slap, he stepped forward and kicked Second Aunt. Even after one kick he wasn’t satisfied—he kicked her again.

“Damn it, if this were before, I’d have killed you!”

“If I hear something like this again, I’ll deal with that useless son-in-law of yours too!”

Zhang Tian, dressed in his suit and with the bearing of a cultivated middle-aged man, had lost all pretense of refinement. With all his pent-up rage, he seized the chance to vent.

And as a seasoned old hand, he knew this could only earn him favor.

Over the past two days, he’d learned all about Hong Yu’s standing in the Lin family, how the fool had been repeatedly bullied. Every time he read those reports, he found the world utterly surreal.

If it were up to him, if Hong Yu were his son-in-law, he would have worshipped the heavens and ancestors, held a grand banquet for seven times seven, forty-nine days, just to let everyone know he’d married a true dragon.

“Ah! Stop, stop—”

Second Aunt curled up on the floor, pleading for mercy.

If this had happened before, Fang Rui would have rushed to defend his mother-in-law.

But now, he stood still, gritting his teeth—directed at his mother-in-law herself.

She had truly ruined him this time. Seeing how furious Zhang Tian had been, he knew he was finished—he’d never survive in Fengzhou now.

For a small fry like him, Zhang Tian wouldn’t even need to act directly. With just a word, plenty of people would jump at the chance to curry favor and deal with him.

The saddest part was, those who dealt with him would do so just to have something to talk about if they ever met Zhang Tian—what a joke.

If even Fang Rui, as the son-in-law, dared not move, the rest of the Lin family certainly wouldn’t.

Moreover, they still had no idea what was going on. Second Aunt’s beating hadn’t been that severe, and besides, it was Fengzhou’s top dog doing the hitting. Even with newfound courage, none of them would dare intervene.

“All right, enough of this commotion.”

“For the sake of your sincerity, I’ll let you off this time.”

“Come find me later—I have to spend some time with Xiaoyu.”

With a casual word, Hong Yu pushed Lin Shuyu away. She wanted to ask him something, but knew this wasn’t the time or place, so she remained silent.

Zhang Tian and his son sighed in relief. Casting a cold glance at the Lin family, they too departed.

Two minutes later, the Lin family finally snapped out of their daze.

Lin Shufeng, uneasy, spoke up: “Uncle, could we have been mistaken? Was that really Zhang Tian, head of Zhang Group, one of Fengzhou’s leading figures?”

Second Aunt, her teeth clenched, spat, “Nonsense! We’ve been duped for sure—those two were just actors Hong Yu and Lin Shuyu hired!”

“Do you know what level Zhang Tian is? If he even spoke to Hong Yu, I’d be shocked. How could he bow and scrape, and almost have his own son kneel to Hong Yu?”

Even Lin Jiahao was reluctant to believe it, but facts were facts.

As the family head, he felt it was necessary to spell things out. Otherwise, with Second Aunt and the rest of the family’s temperament, they’d soon offend the Zhangs again.

If that happened, never mind this current crisis—another blow from the Zhangs would be inevitable…

With that in mind, Lin Jiahao immediately shouted, “Quiet! That was Zhang Tian, head of Zhang Group—I’ve met him three times now. There’s no mistake.”

The Lin family looked at each other, stunned by the strangeness of it all.

A Fengzhou titan, bowing and scraping before their live-in son-in-law—how could any of this make sense?

“No way—did Hong Yu really just get incredibly lucky?”

“Can anyone tell me what on earth is going on?”