An family hadn't shown up in so long—what if her son had been bullied and she, as his mother, had no idea?
It had already been more than two years since her son got married, and he didn't even have a single relative by his side to support him. She didn't know how he was doing now...
So this time, she came not only to make peace with the Li family, but also to stand up for her son.
But!
What she didn't expect was—
That Li San hadn't changed one bit!
Still the same useless scoundrel!
She came all the way here, and as soon as she stepped through the Li family's gate, she saw her precious son being pushed into the heavy rain by that bastard Li San, rolling around in a mud puddle!
An Ru's anger shot straight to the sky!
All the resentment from two years ago—what Li San had done, the awful things she had said—came flooding back at once!
Without saying a word, An Ru charged forward, grabbed Li San by the collar like a chicken, lifted her right off the ground, and splat! slammed her hard into the muddy puddle.
Li San rolled several times through the water and mud, and when she stopped, she looked like a walking "chocolate statue."
"Ahhh—!"
"Let go of me—!"
All Li San felt was a pair of strong, unstoppable hands pressing her face and body down into the filthy mud.
Her new clothes were now completely covered in muck.
Even her face was coated in a thick layer of mud, like a nasty mud mask!
An Ru didn't care about her shouting. She raised her fists and started pounding Li San with all her strength!
Even after two years, this old lady's punches were still as powerful as ever.
Li San thought she was going to get beaten to death.
Punch after punch landed on her like she was a fat pig.
All Li San could feel was pain!
At first, she hadn't realized who hit her, and she couldn't believe An Ru would attack her so suddenly, especially for hitting An Su.
She used to treat An Su like this all the time. Now, being pinned to the ground and beaten by her fiery mother-in-law, she finally understood—getting hit really hurt!
Her face hurt, her legs hurt, her back hurt—she just wanted to scream!
Zheng Shi watched as his wife beat up Li San, just like she had two years ago, and felt incredibly satisfied.
He took off his rain cape and wrapped it tightly around his son An Su, then quickly led him into the house out of the rain.
He held his son's wet and shivering body, warming An Su's muddy, trembling hands with his own.
An Su's mud-stained body made Zheng Yun's clothes filthy, but he didn't care at all.
"Don't be afraid, Su'er. Dad and Mom are here."
Zheng Shi never thought his youngest son—who used to love lazing around in bed—would end up like this. Just like so many other unfortunate men, he was stuck in a hard life, serving ungrateful family members and unruly children.
The only carefree time a man had was when he was still at home with his parents, with food, clothes, and no worries.
Even if life was hard, there was still peace of mind.
But once he got married, once he became someone's husband—how many men could still sleep in late, act spoiled, or have a temper like they did at home?
Once he slacked off just a little, his in-laws' gossip could drown him.
The struggles of men in this world were rarely understood.
Everyone talked about what men should do, but no one ever asked why they had to.
Men were treated like tireless oxen, working endlessly for women, never allowed to complain.
Zheng Shi held his thoughtful, sensible son and felt heartbroken.
"Wuwu… Dad…"
An Su started crying.
It wasn't because he felt sorry for Li San. In fact, he never wanted to see her or anything related to her again.
He looked at his mother, still beating Li San in the pouring rain, and at his father, who didn't ask questions and stood by him no matter what. Two years of suppressed pain finally burst out.
An Su cried hard.
His tears even washed some of the dirt from his face.
His parents were finally here!
He finally had a shoulder to lean on…
A warm embrace that welcomed him…
"My good boy, don't be scared. Dad is here."
Zheng Yun gently patted his heartbroken son, full of sorrow.
Li San just wanted to run far, far away. She didn't want to mess with An Ru again—her blows were brutal.
"You old hag, if you hit me again, I'll divorce An Su!"
Li San thought that would make An Ru back off. But instead, An Ru got even angrier!
"Divorce? Go ahead! You think I want my family tied to yours?!"
An Ru cursed while landing two heavy punches to Li San's face, giving her a pair of black eyes. "Pah! You're not even worth it!"
Meanwhile, the Li family's elders had been napping in another courtyard, since it was a rainy day and there wasn't much to do.
Only now did the ruckus in the front yard finally wake them. Li Fu and Li Mother scrambled to dress and rushed to the scene of the fight.
As soon as Li San saw her parents, she cried even louder.
"Dad! Mom—!"
Her wailing sounded like a funeral, as if her parents had just passed away.
Li Fu and Li Mother's faces changed when they saw their daughter getting beat. How could they just stand by and watch?
Ignoring the pouring rain, they jumped into the fray.
Li Fu rushed forward, but An Ru slapped him so hard that he staggered back. His hair, which had only been loosely tied, came undone in the rain. With his scrunched-up old face and messy hair, he looked so disgusting that An Ru wiped her hand furiously on her pants after hitting him.
With An Ru's fierce look and powerful strength, Li Fu didn't dare get close again.
Instead, he turned his eyes to Zheng Yun, who was holding his son inside the house. He wanted to pick a fight with him—man to man!
When An Su's father saw Li San's father glaring at him, he didn't flinch. He glared right back.
Zheng Yun had seen Li Fu's petty behavior before and knew he had made life difficult for An Su many times.
And now he wanted to keep pushing his luck in front of Zheng Yun?
Hmph!
Zheng Yun wasn't someone to mess with. He wouldn't tolerate this!
Now that his wife was already fighting with the Li family, it was clear there was no going back.
If An Su really got divorced, then he could just return to the An family. He and his wife would make new plans for him.
There was one thing Zheng Yun knew for sure: living in this world, a person could be plain, could live simply—but never, ever let others treat them like a joke.