The woman flinched at his gaze and quickly averted her eyes. She felt a rising panic within her, unsure when she had become this way.
It was as if fearing him had become a habit; when he wasn't around, she could still live her life happily.
"I... I agree..."
She stammered, and both Cai Rong and Cai Jin Qu turned to look at her.
They waited for her to speak, to utter the outcome they themselves desired.
These were the most agonizing moments, the most torturous times.
It wasn't just the woman's internal struggle.
On one side was her husband, on the other, her son.
Her husband had long lost his former gentleness, and her son wasn't as obedient as he was when he was little.
"I agree to go back to the hometown."
The woman said in a low voice, her tone intentionally hushed.
But Cai Rong heard her, and the tension in his face relaxed.
"If you're going back to the hometown, go back happily. What's all this fuss about all day!"
Cai Rong grumbled.
"Mom~~, sigh..."
Cai Jin Qu cried out when he heard this, his sigh drawn out interminably.
"Weren't you happy when I came to pick you up? You said you didn't have to stay alone in the countryside anymore! Why did you change your mind as soon as you crossed the threshold?"
Cai Jin Qu was a little flustered; he had never expected things to turn out this way.
If his mother left, this house would return to its previous state, a mere shell of its former self. More importantly, that woman, Zuo Ru Xiu, was infuriating. Now, with Cai Rong backing her, she was even more arrogant at the company.
If this continued, before he could even sit in the chairman's seat, the company might change owners.
"I... I..."
The woman didn't know what to say. When Cai Jin Qu picked her up, he said Cai Rong had asked him to bring her home.
Honestly, she had been overjoyed then.
Finally, he hadn't forgotten her, his humble wife. But upon returning, she realized it wasn't like that at all.
Although she didn't have to worry about food, clothing, or expenses, for some reason, life felt less carefree than when they were poor.
She wasn't highly educated and always approached matters with a villager's mindset: endure if you can, and if you absolutely cannot, you still have to endure.
Her sons were married, and she was waiting to hold her grandchildren. With grandchildren, things should get better!
...
These thoughts echoed repeatedly in her mind.
But in reality, she hadn't held a single grandchild yet.
Cai Jin Qu had been married for several years, yet his wife showed no signs of pregnancy. Cai Jin Fa also had a girlfriend, but she changed partners like clothes, with no intention of getting married and starting a family.
She only worried about these matters silently and never dared to mention them to Cai Rong.
Every time she faced Cai Rong, she felt like a subordinate awaiting orders from a superior.
Slowly, slowly, she stopped speaking.
Didn't many women live like this, enduring whatever came their way?
"With such a big house, why can't my mother stay?"
Cai Jin Qu was also anxious and shouted.
"Pack up, and you'll leave tomorrow!"
Cai Rong said, then walked upstairs.
Cai Jin Qu panicked and blurted out again, "Don't think I don't know why you're trying to get rid of my mother!"
Even though his mother hadn't spoken, standing beside her, he felt emboldened, as if he had someone to support him.
Cai Rong stopped when he heard this and looked back at his son, saying, "What did you say?"
How dare you threaten me? You little brat, don't you know who runs this household?
He thought this but didn't say it aloud.
Cai Jin Qu dared not retort; he knew what Cai Rong meant.
Not retorting didn't mean the matter was settled. He was just contemplating how to express what he needed to say.
"What did you just say?"
Cai Rong asked again, this time cupping his hand behind his ear.
His implication was that he couldn't hear, and Cai Jin Qu should speak louder.
While that seemed to be the implication, it was undoubtedly a provocation.
In this house, he, Cai Rong, was the boss, and no one could defy him.
Cai Jin Qu was a little scared and instinctively gripped his mother's arm.
It was a childish gesture, one he remembered making whenever he was about to be punished.
Cai Rong made a move as if to come downstairs.
If he were younger, he would have rushed down the stairs and given the boy a good thrashing. Time spares no one; in the blink of an eye, he was in his sixties.
Although his body was still robust, his legs and feet were not as nimble as they used to be.
Seeing Cai Rong about to descend, Cai Jin Qu panicked. He hid behind his mother while stubbornly retorting, "You want to drive my mother away because of that slut Zuo Ru Xiu!"
"What?"
Cai Rong roared.
Zuo Ru Xiu had previously worked as a housekeeper, and his wife knew about it.
At the time, she hadn't said anything, nor dared to say anything.
In Chang Yu City, men of his standing all had multiple concubines, and several even openly kept mistresses.
He could have done the same, but Wuma Group was a modern company; it couldn't appear to be a relic of feudalism, with its boss being a feudal man who took multiple wives.
In fact, according to the current laws of China, that would be illegal.
Therefore, Cai Rong had come up with the position of "personal secretary."
"Say that again to me!"
"I said, you want to be with that Zuo Ru Xiu, so you've been repeatedly urging my mother to go back to the hometown!"
Cai Jin Qu shouted.
This time, his mother heard him.
She heard him, truly heard him. The thing she feared had happened.
"When men have money, they turn bad" – this was an eternal truth.
"Ah! What nonsense are you spouting!"
Cai Rong, knowing perfectly well that Cai Jin Qu was speaking the truth, still questioned him loudly.
Like a man who had done wrong, he always used a loud voice to project his authority.
But no matter what, he couldn't evade the fact that he was in the wrong.
No matter how a man behaved, he would feel an innate discomfort when facing such a situation for the first time.
However, for some, this feeling was brief, while for others, it lingered.
As for his wife, hearing this was like a bolt from the blue.
This was the first time she had faced such a situation head-on, and she didn't know how to react. Her heart was in a panic, beating wildly.
She nervously clenched her hands, so tightly that even Cai Jin Qu, holding her arm, could feel her tension.
She hadn't considered such a possibility, but she had been trying to postpone it day by day.
Whatever day it arrived, she just hoped it wouldn't be today.
But some things, running away from them wouldn't solve anything. They would only be delayed, not averted.
"You! You! Good for you, Cai Rong, is this how you treat me!"
The woman, with a sudden surge of courage she didn't know she possessed, cried out loudly.
Most people, when being lectured by a woman, would remain silent.
But Cai Rong was different; he couldn't be scared off by her "crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide."