Chapter 70: Is It My Turn to Speak Now?

“Honey, why are you standing frozen at the door?”
Lin Shufeng, blocked behind Zhao Minghui, grumbled discontentedly and stepped forward.
But the moment she saw the man sitting on the sofa in the living room, drinking tea with Zhao Jianwei, she too was stunned, then cried out incredulously, “Hong... Hong Yu, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Insolent!” Zhao Jianwei, hearing Lin Shufeng’s words, immediately jumped up in anger.
He strode quickly toward Lin Shufeng, and just as he was about to slap her across the face, his sharp eyes caught sight of Lin Jiahao, who had just parked and was walking over.
No matter how dissatisfied he was with Lin Shufeng, no matter how much he wished his son would divorce her, seeing his in-law approaching caused Zhao Jianwei to hesitate instantly, unable to bring himself to strike.
To hit the daughter of your in-laws right before their eyes was truly excessive.
If someone dared slap his own daughter in front of him, he would probably feel murderous rage.
A sudden softness crept into his heart, and Zhao Jianwei prepared to lower his hand.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
Suddenly, a cough echoed from the hall.
At this moment, only Hong Yu was seated there.
Having sat with Hong Yu for nearly half an hour earlier, Zhao Jianwei hadn’t heard him cough; this was a deliberate signal, or perhaps a sign of displeasure.
Only then did Zhao Jianwei awaken to the reality.
All that talk of the Lin family, in-laws, empathy—it was meaningless!
If Lin Jiahao were in his position now, he would certainly slap too.
This was the Hong family, capable of erasing the Zhao family with a single word—for the future of everyone, that slap must be delivered!
“Smack—”
His hand rose and fell, the slap landing hard on Lin Shufeng’s face, sending her staggering to the floor.
Zhao Jianwei understood well: better to do it thoroughly than provoke Hong Yu with a feeble slap; a single, decisive blow was best.
“Dad, why did you hit Xiaofeng?” Zhao Minghui cried out anxiously, rushing to his father to block him.

Now he was truly panicked, caught between his father, his wife who’d fallen to the floor, and his father-in-law now hurrying over; he felt crushed between them all, barely able to breathe.
Had it been someone else, with Lin Shufeng’s fierce temperament, she would have already started cursing or fighting back.
But Zhao Jianwei had never liked her, and she knew it, and the Zhao family was indeed far more powerful than the Lin family; Lin Shufeng was actually quite afraid of her father-in-law when she was in the Zhao household.
Lin Jiahao crouched to check his daughter's condition, then stood and glared angrily at Zhao Jianwei.
Lin Jiahao gritted his teeth and said, “In-law, what does this mean? You strike Xiaofeng right before me—do you think I’m dead?”
“If you hit her when I’m here, do you abuse her every day when I’m not?”
“Abuse her? You think I have so much free time?” Zhao Jianwei retorted irritably, “And I had my reasons for hitting her, she knows them well.”
“And you—if not for our in-law relationship, I’d hit you too!”
Lin Jiahao was left speechless with anger, while Zhao Minghui, pale as death, shouted, “Dad, have you gone mad? If you keep this up, how will I ever…”
“You little bastard!” Zhao Jianwei suddenly kicked Zhao Minghui in the stomach. “I’ll beat you to death—still only thinking of yourself, aren’t you? Don’t you realize that because of you, our Zhao family nearly fell apart?”
That kick sent Zhao Minghui staggering back several steps; fortunately, Lin Jiahao was behind him, or he’d have ended up on the floor like Lin Shufeng.
Lin Jiahao hurried to shield both Lin Shufeng and Zhao Minghui, impatiently saying, “In-law, what are you doing? If the children make mistakes, is there a need to beat them? They’re grown—if you talk calmly, they’ll listen.”
“Listen? Would this brat listen?” Zhao Jianwei roared, pointing furiously at Zhao Minghui. “Tell me, what did I say to you over the phone, and what did you actually do?”
Zhao Minghui opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak.
Back at the Tianlan Hotel, in the top private room, Zhao Jianwei had indeed called anxiously for him to hurry back to Yulong, but Zhao Minghui, prideful as ever, lingered there, making matters worse.
Moreover, Zhao Jianwei had warned him repeatedly—since the banquet, he’d told him to return early, not to stir up trouble.
Seeing Zhao Minghui silent, Lin Jiahao tried to calm his anger and advised, “In-law, Xiaohui’s been performing well in Fengzhou lately, there’s really no need…”
Zhao Jianwei cut him off, “Performing well? He’s nearly destroyed the Zhao family, you call that good?”
“Lin Jiahao, I still respect you, still call you in-law, but does the Lin family act like decent people?”
Lin Jiahao frowned, “What do you mean by that? My family has never wronged yours.”
Zhao Jianwei burst out, “If not for the Lin family, would this fool have felt compelled to intervene? Do you even know who you’ve offended?”

“No wonder the Lin family has connections but never rises—your judgment is sorely lacking!”
Zhao Minghui stepped forward slowly, “Dad, is it Chen Tiancheng and Zhang Tian pressuring you?”
“I know this will bring trouble to the Zhao family, but we’re not cowed by them, are we? Zhang Tian talks big—says Zhang Electromechanical has gone beyond Fengzhou, but it’s only got a little fame in the province.”
“And as for Chen Tiancheng, he’s just a hotel owner, right? You claim he’s formidable, but I can’t see it at all.”
Zhao Jianwei, exasperated, barked, “If you could see it, would you have caused such trouble?”
“Besides, the real issue isn’t those two, it’s…”
He didn’t finish, but turned to look at Hong Yu, still seated, sipping tea.
Seeing everyone’s gaze upon him, Hong Yu took a sip, set down his cup, and stood.
Facing them, Hong Yu smiled, “Well? After all this discussion, have you settled things?”
Zhao Jianwei hurriedly bent forward, smiling obsequiously, “Mr. Hong, we’ve discussed everything. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
“Dad!” Zhao Minghui’s eyes bulged—he could not accept his father’s servile demeanor. “What are you doing? Why treat this loser so well? And why let him in—this…”
“Smack—”
Zhao Minghui was slapped again, barely registering before Zhao Jianwei kicked him once more.
“Damn! I’d rather have roasted pork for a son than you!”
“Are you stupid?”
“Even now, you can’t see the situation clearly?”
Lin Jiahao and his wife looked lost, unsure whether to intervene, while Hong Yu frowned and strode over, “Are you finished with your commotion?”
“Is it my turn to speak now?”