He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

The mere mention of "brother-in-law" sent shivers down Fu Yanchen's spine. He felt utterly uncomfortable, and his tone was agitated and defiant: "Ningning's allowance is all given to her by me. Who gives you the right to act all high and mighty?"

Looking at the two people facing off, their expressions tense and brimming with tension, Sang Tingyan frowned deeply, slumped heavily onto the sofa, and said in a low voice with barely suppressed accusation, "Wen Zhaoci, you're not leaving this room until this matter is cleared up."

Wen Zhaoci gently placed the betrothal gift card on the coffee table, took a step forward, and straightened her back.

Before leaving, he had already prepared himself for Sang Tingyan's challenge. His fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly, and his attitude was sincere and frank: "Uncle Sang, Ningning and I are truly in love. It was my mistake to deliberately hide it from you before, and I apologize to you."

Fu Yanchen scoffed lightly from the side, "Can sincerity really put food on the table and make a living?"

Sang Tingyan's temples throbbed. He raised his hand to press his throbbing forehead and coldly rebuked, "Shut up! Wen Zhaoci, you and Ningning registered your marriage without each other's consent. Neither of our families has ever met. Do you even consider me your father?"

Wen Zhaoci listened quietly to the reprimand with her eyes lowered, offering no rebuttal and maintaining a respectful attitude: "This matter is entirely my fault. I was afraid that delaying it would create complications, and my brother-in-law kept urging Ningning to break up with me, which made me very uneasy. The whole thing was my own doing; if you want to punish someone, please take it out on me."

Fu Yanchen chuckled in exasperation at these words, pointing a finger at Wen Zhaoci: "Listen to this, isn't that a veiled attack on me?"

Wen Zhaoci raised her eyes and gave Fu Yanchen a look that said, "That's exactly what I meant," which made Fu Yanchen's face turn even worse with anger.

Sang Tingyan calmed himself down and said in a deep voice, "The elders of the two families have never met. Although I have known of your existence for a long time, I still don't even know what kind of family my daughter married into."

Wen Zhaoci lowered her eyes and replied, "I can make my own decisions about my marriage. As for my father, he is far away in Africa managing a mine, and my stepmother never interferes in my private affairs."

Fu Yanchen seized on the opportunity to mock, "You're really heartless, throwing your own father into mining. That's practically illegal restriction of personal freedom."

"It's not illegal. He signed a proper labor contract throughout, and he went there voluntarily," Wen Zhaoci explained calmly. "Ultimately, this is all thanks to you. Back then, you teamed up with Wen Zhaozhe to suppress my project in Africa, causing losses of tens of millions in a single day. All my assets belong to my wife, and she was worried about the family fortune. Someone had to cover this huge loss."

Fu Yanchen was speechless for a moment, feeling secretly annoyed: Could you please stop talking about "my wife" all the time? It makes people feel uncomfortable.

Sang Tingyan was also annoyed. After a moment of silence, he made a decisive statement: "Wen Zhaoci, you should not meet with Ningning for the time being."

Wen Zhaoci obediently agreed, but he had other plans in mind—if they couldn't meet openly, he could still meet secretly by climbing through the window, so it was always right to go along with his father-in-law's wishes for the time being.

Mua! (*╯3╰)

As soon as get out of class ended, Sang Jiuning called Wen Zhaoci, her voice tinged with worry: "Honey, has my dad given you any trouble?"

Wen Zhaoci's voice was muffled, tinged with grievance: "My brother-in-law is always targeting me, picking on my weaknesses. Fortunately, my father is quite reasonable."

Sang Jiuning was silent for a few seconds, then gently comforted him: "Try to be more accommodating to him. He's been seeing a psychologist and taking his medication on time."

"I'll listen to my wife, I won't argue with him." Wen Zhaoci's tone immediately softened, becoming ingratiating. "How about I come find you now, and we can go to class together this afternoon?"

"it is good."

In the following days, Wen Zhaoci stayed by Sang Jiuning's side at school every step of the way, and at night he would secretly pick her up and take her to the detached villa next door, deliberately avoiding Sang Tingyan the whole time.

He stocked up on Sang Jiuning's favorite lime-flavored umbrellas, placing two or three boxes in every corner of the villa.

In the huge house, he would always take Sang Jiuning around like they were on a treasure hunt, and every corner of the house became their private world.

Knowing that Sang Jiuning preferred his appearance in a suit and tie with gold-rimmed glasses, he collected all sorts of novel outfits, including fox and mermaid costumes, filling an entire wardrobe, enough for the two of them to try on for a whole month.

He even had a delicate gold anklet specially made, with a small gold bell hanging at the ankle, longing to tie it to Sang Jiuning's fair and slender ankle, imagining how it would jingle when she walked, his heart filled with tender possessiveness.

At the same time, Fu Yanchen spent countless efforts and finally obtained the complete video of Wen Zhiru's incident from his father.

During the negotiations, his father was full of hostility, covered in wounds, and cursed him as a cold-blooded madman. He had long been numb to such harsh words and did not take them to heart at all.

When Wen Zhiru tried to flee after the incident, it was Wen Zhaoci's men who stopped her. Based on this incident alone, Fu Yanchen's resentment towards his brother-in-law lessened somewhat.

But this respite didn't last long. Wen Zhaoci called directly, her tone light and smug: "Brother-in-law, I knew you were unreliable. I've already explained everything about Wen Zhiru to my father-in-law, and he even praised me for handling it properly."

Fu Yanchen was speechless: He really didn't know where this person got his confidence. He had just changed his opinion of him, and he came to bother him.

☆

As night fell, the streetlights cast a warm yellow glow.

Sang Jiuning tiptoed out through the side door of the villa next door, her skirt still warm from the evening breeze.

But as soon as he stepped into his own courtyard, he was met by Sang Tingyan standing in the entrance hall.

The man's face was completely black, his aura was frighteningly low, and his sharp eyes were fixed on her, the anger in his eyes almost overflowing.

Sang Jiuning's heart skipped a beat, and she panicked instantly. She subconsciously stopped in her tracks, her small hands nervously clenching the hem of her clothes.

Sang Tingyan had been suppressing his temper these past few days. He had specifically instructed Wen Zhaoci not to meet him in private, thinking that the boy, who seemed steady and well-mannered, would obediently listen to him.

He even tacitly allowed Wen Zhaoci to live next door, thinking that being close would keep him more well-behaved.

But to his utter surprise, these two dared to secretly meet under his very nose, having a clandestine rendezvous every night, showing no regard for him as their father-in-law or for the rules he had set.

"You're back?" Sang Tingyan's voice was cold and deep, filled with suppressed anger, every word dripping with danger. "These past few days, you've been running to the neighbor's every day, haven't you?"

Sang Jiuning lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye, and whispered in protest, "Dad, I just went over to sit for a while..."

"Sit down for a while?" Sang Tingyan was completely enraged by her nonchalant words. His anger instantly surged to his head. He turned around and pulled a solid wooden ruler from the drawer of the entryway cabinet. It made a crisp clinking sound as he held it in his hand. "I think you've grown incredibly bold! You haven't listened to a single word I told you!"