This simple single word—“Yang”—was an excellent weapon for Liu Qingqing. After so many years of knowing and befriending each other, as long as Liu Qingqing wielded this weapon, there was never a man she couldn’t win over. Today, she thought she could do the same. After all, she was still herself, and he was still him. But she miscalculated the timing—and even more so, she underestimated a mother’s devotion to her son and a father’s commitment to upholding his family’s reputation. No sooner had her magic begun to take effect than Zhang family parents stepped forward in unison, each taking hold of one of their son Zhang Yang’s wrists, effectively halting his seemingly wavering movement. Zhang’s father shot his son a sharp, piercing glance, as if issuing some kind of warning. Meanwhile, Zhang’s mother spoke directly: “Yangyang, your father and I have already said everything we needed to say to you, and shown you everything we needed to show. You know very well that your father and I are never the kind of parents who stubbornly insist on being right or act purely on our own whims without considering our son’s feelings at all. Before we learned about all this, didn’t we always follow your lead and do whatever you wanted when it came to your love life, wholeheartedly accepting the woman you liked? And even after we found out, didn’t we still try to be considerate of your feelings and refrain from interfering too much, simply trying to communicate with you and hoping you’d listen to our advice?” “Mom…” Zhang Yang softly parted his lips, as if he wanted to say something. But then he looked at his mother and father, then at the woman standing there looking so aggrieved at him, and in the end, he said nothing at all. Liu Qingqing instantly sensed that things were going badly and wanted to step forward to fight for herself. Yet no sooner had she entertained this idea and taken a tentative step forward than she was met with stern warnings in the eyes of both Zhang’s father and mother. Never before had this elderly couple ever given her such a look. Of course Liu Qingqing felt resentful and angry—but she knew this was not the time to lash out. So she forced herself to swallow her frustration, slowly shifting her tear-filled, wide eyes toward the man before her, Zhang Yang, as if pleading with him. Zhang Yang’s heart grew even more unsettled, and for a moment, he seemed almost indecisive. Zhang’s mother saw right through him. After all, he was her own flesh and blood; she knew exactly what kind of temperament he had. So she stepped forward without hesitation, placing herself squarely between Liu Qingqing and her son Zhang Yang, blocking the “coquettish glance” Liu Qingqing had been sending him, while firmly gripping her son’s wrist—so tightly that it nearly hurt him—before clearing her throat and bringing his “spirit” back to earth: “Yangyang, what is it you really want to say? Are you still hesitating and can’t make up your mind? Or do you just want to infuriate your father and me? Or perhaps you hope to become the laughingstock of the entire world someday?” “Why are you only telling me this now? If you already knew, why didn’t you tell me earlier? And if you were hesitant to speak up, why didn’t you just keep it a secret instead?” Suddenly, Zhang Yang’s eyes filled with tears, and the large hands his parents were holding onto his wrists unconsciously clenched into fists as he demanded in an extremely low voice: “Mom, Dad, what day is it today? Why did you wait until now to bring this up—why not sooner or later? Do you think saying it now will somehow save me from embarrassment? Will I no longer be the laughingstock of the world? With so many guests present, won’t they laugh at me as a complete joke if they find out that the groom has run away before the wedding ceremony even begins? How am I supposed to hold my head high among relatives and friends from now on? And how am I supposed to shake off all the slander and abusive words?”

End of Chapter 250: Counterattack 177