What use is a fifteen-year-old boy? Even if Xia Junbao wasn’t just fifteen but rather a twenty-five-year-old adult, Wang Guangping would still have a hundred ways to deal with him. Even though Wang Guangping had been transferred to the Party History Office, he was still an official. With Xia Junbao’s sister being a fugitive and his parents in prison, how could someone like him challenge Wang Guangping?

The reason Wang Guangping couldn’t handle Xia Junbao wasn’t because the boy was holding Wang Jianhua’s son, but because Du Chengrong stood behind him. Wang Guangping had learned his lesson with the Du family before. Years ago, when Du Zhaohui donated to the school, Wang Guangping was still the Deputy Director of Higher Education, yet he couldn’t do anything against Du Zhaohui. Now, he was even less capable of confronting the Du family.

The Du family was nothing special – they just had money. And Wang Guangping couldn’t afford to offend wealthy Hong Kong merchants.

Believing others could handle it, he gave Wang Jianhua a thorough lesson at home, and the couple escorted Wang Jianhua to the Zhang family to apologize.

Xia Junbao followed behind like a wandering soul. Ran Shuyu wanted to curse at him several times, but Wang Guangping held her sleeve, not allowing her to acknowledge Xia Junbao. No matter what the Wang family said, Xia Junbao only repeated one phrase: “Brother-in-law, I can’t support my little nephew…” It was like poison. Wang Guangping refused to give Xia Junbao any chance to speak – if he wanted to follow, so be it!

Xia Junbao followed them to the Zhang residence, found a shaded spot, changed the baby’s diaper, and fed him. As a teenage boy carrying a nursing infant, he drew curious glances from the compound residents, who asked if he was looking for relatives.

Xia Junbao didn’t hide anything, explaining that he brought his nephew to find his brother-in-law because his sister had died, and the nephew needed his brother-in-law’s support. Unfortunately, his brother-in-law ignored him, so he followed them from Fujian Province to Beijing.

It sounded quite pitiful.

“What nonsense!”

“What’s your brother-in-law’s name?”

“Poor child, so young, not even a month old…”

At the compound entrance, people were expressing their sympathy in various ways.

Inside the compound, at Director Zhang’s home, a scene of desperate apology was unfolding.

As soon as the three Wangs arrived, Wang Guangping ordered his son Wang Jianhua to kneel. Showing no mercy to his son, he had already broken the clothes drying pole at home, and now at the Zhang residence, he struck Wang Jianhua and even tried to smash him with a chair… if that blow had landed, Wang Jianhua would have been seriously injured.

Director Zhang quickly intervened.

Old Wang was being unreasonable – if Wang Jianhua got seriously injured in his house, he would be stuck with the Zhang family for life.

“Sigh, what’s done is done. What use is beating him to death? Let’s sit down and have an honest discussion. Jianhua, you’ve been dismissed from your job, and your personnel file is tainted. Even with all my influence, it would be difficult for me to help you. What are your thoughts now?”

Wang Jianhua’s face was bruised black and blue. “I’ll do whatever father says. I’ve wronged my wife and don’t have the face to ask for her forgiveness… If she’s willing to give me another chance, I’ll spend my entire life atoning and making it up to her!”

The room door was slightly ajar; his wife was surely listening inside.

His father had said there was no use in making excuses – the more he tried to defend himself, the angrier the Zhang family and his wife would become. Only by humbling himself and admitting his mistakes could he let the Zhang family vent their anger!

Director Zhang indeed choked up, left the three Wangs in the living room, and returned to his bedroom.

Director Zhang didn’t ask his daughter what she thought, only expressing his own opinion:

“I think you and Wang Jianhua can still make it work. He’s lost his job, so he’ll depend on our family even more now. Why not have him become a live-in son-in-law? He won’t dare disobey you. When you have a child, I’ll properly groom my grandchild.”

The son-in-law was useless now.

Better have a grandchild quickly to salvage the situation.

Director Zhang wasn’t fond of Wang Jianhua – his actions had destroyed the long-standing friendship between Director Zhang and Wang Guangping. Director Zhang reasoned that it was hard to find a cat that didn’t steal fish; a new son-in-law might not be more obedient than Wang Jianhua. Besides, his daughter’s conditions weren’t outstanding, and another divorce would give people more to gossip about.

Wang Jianhua’s shameful actions would certainly cause gossip, but the Zhang family were the victims – people could only condemn Wang Jianhua and sympathize with the Zhang family!

Director Zhang’s wife wanted to rush out and scratch that worthless son-in-law’s face, then spit on him.

But rationally, she knew her husband was right.

The Zhang couple watched their silent daughter.

The Zhang daughter was someone without much initiative, at least when facing her father. She was used to being obedient.

If she had her own will, she wouldn’t have let Director Zhang arrange her life, and wouldn’t have abandoned her child to return to the city without resistance.

Perhaps this was karma for “abandoning husband and child” – after marrying Wang Jianhua, he suddenly produced an illegitimate child. But Wang Jianhua was too cruel – he had affairs with more than one woman.

— She wouldn’t let Wang Jianhua off so easily!

“Father, I’ll follow your decision.”

Very well, consensus reached.

Director Zhang returned to the living room and stated his conditions directly: Wang Jianhua would become a live-in son-in-law, and any future children, regardless of gender, would take the Zhang surname!

Ran Shuyu’s eyes widened in shock.

She had only one precious son – how could he become someone else’s live-in son-in-law?

Wang Jianhua felt humiliated.

But Wang Guangping immediately agreed, making his son write a guarantee letter that included the live-in son-in-law arrangement, and had Wang Jianhua add his fingerprint.

After handing the guarantee to his in-law, Wang Guangping heaved a long sigh:

“Old Zhang, thank you for giving Jianhua another chance. Now that our families have reached an agreement, we can deal with the situation outside.”

When Wang Guangping explained about Xia Junbao following them back to Beijing, Director Zhang’s vision darkened.

The Wang family’s shamelessness hadn’t started with Wang Jianhua – Wang Guangping was setting him up!

Just as Director Zhang was about to tear up the worthless guarantee and renege, his daughter burst out of the room, giving the Wang family a teeth-grinding smile:

“This is easy to handle – we’ll keep and raise the child!”

She would raise this illegitimate child for Wang Jianhua!

She would use this to control Wang Jianhua for life!

Let Wang Jianhua and the Wang family live in discomfort for decades to come!

The Wang family’s shamelessness had forced Director Zhang’s honest daughter to turn dark.

Wang Jianhua found his wife’s appearance terrifying, but Wang Guangping was overjoyed. Ran Shuyu was stunned for a moment, then praised her daughter-in-law for being exceptionally virtuous.

They didn’t consider that the Zhang family had suffered such a great loss, and Wang Jianhua would have to serve them like a beast of burden for the rest of his life to repay this debt.

Instead of standing tall as a person, they chose to lower themselves to be Ferning dogs.

How could parents who lack backbone teach it to their sons?

In this aspect, Wang Jianhua couldn’t match Liu Shan, a woman.

Wang Jianhua pushed his mistakes onto others, showing no responsibility, while Liu Shan admitted her wrongs and resigned, leaving herself no way back. The world was vast, and though Liu Shan knew she had lost her most comfortable path, she didn’t believe she would starve to death…