If this had been the Ye Chen of the past, the one who was addicted to alcohol, he might have already started beating Liu Xueqin under the influence of alcohol.

What mother-in-law? He never cared about such things. He knew Liu Xueqin looked down on him and never treated him as a proper son-in-law. If she pushed him too far, he'd hit back, and alcohol would only give him the nerve to do so.

But there are no "ifs" in life. Having been reborn and returning to sixty years ago, Ye Chen's temperament was no longer the same as before. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to burn bridges with anyone. After all, no matter what Liu Xueqin and Chen Jianguo did, they were still Chen Yinuo's parents.

"You think I'm being unreasonable? What I call unreasonable is letting this ungrateful girl end up with a loser like you—a broke, gambling, drunkard scoundrel! Look at her friends—look at the men they've married and the lives they're living. They have houses, cars, and they live as pampered wives. Even their families—parents, siblings, everyone—are enjoying a good life! And now look at her. What kind of life has she been living with you? Worse than a dog's life!

"With her looks, could she not easily find someone a million times better than you? Why should she suffer like this? Let me make it clear: this marriage is over whether you like it or not. If you don't agree, don't blame me for taking extreme measures!" Liu Xueqin roared, veins bulging as she pointed at Ye Chen.

"Do you think it's up to you whether we divorce or not? I'm telling you now, even if Ye Chen agrees, I won't! No matter how poor or flawed he is, I, Chen Yinuo, am sticking by him for the rest of my life!" Chen Yinuo cried out in defiance, her emotions in turmoil.

She'd had enough. Enough of her parents treating her as nothing more than a money tree.

"Yinuo, calm down!" Ye Chen quickly tried to soothe her.

"Calm down? Ye Chen, if you still consider yourself a man, don't let me walk out of this house today!" Chen Yinuo shouted, wiping her tears.

Her words struck Ye Chen deeply. She was right. If he allowed her to leave with her parents today, he'd have no right to call himself a man.

"Mom." After taking a deep breath, Ye Chen turned to Liu Xueqin.

"I've told you before: I don't acknowledge you as my son-in-law!" Liu Xueqin snapped again.

Ye Chen wasn't bothered by her attitude. "At the end of the day, it's all about money, isn't it?"

"That's right! But do you have any? You're nothing but a broke, drunken gambler!" Liu Xueqin sneered without holding back.

"Fine!" Ye Chen nodded, pulling out his wallet and handing over a newly issued bank card. "There's 300,000 or 400,000 yuan in this card. Take it all. Consider it my compensation for the lack of filial piety over the years."

"Three or four hundred thousand? Ha! Are you joking? You? With that kind of money? I'd sooner believe you had three or four hundred thousand strands of hair! Everyone knows you're drowning in loan shark debt. You can't even pay them back, yet you're giving me money? Do you think I'm stupid?" Liu Xueqin shouted angrily.

"Whether there's money in it or not, you can check at the bank. The password is Yinuo's birth date," Ye Chen replied calmly. "If there's no money, you can come back and berate me. There's an ATM just downstairs. It won't take long."

"Are you serious?" Liu Xueqin asked skeptically, seeing Ye Chen's confident expression.

"Absolutely," Ye Chen nodded.

"Fine, I'll trust you this once! If you're lying, I'll make you regret it!" Liu Xueqin scoffed, reaching for the card.

"Mom! If you take that card, then don't ever acknowledge me as your daughter again!" Chen Yinuo trembled. She didn't know where Ye Chen had gotten the money, but she knew it must be all he had. If her mother took it, it would leave Ye Chen destitute once again.

"Humph! If there really is money, it's better I take it than let this gambler squander it all!" Liu Xueqin sneered and stuffed the card into her pocket before storming out with Chen Jianguo.

"Mom, what are you doing? Give it back to him!" Chen Yihao shouted angrily and tried to grab the card, but Liu Xueqin was quicker.

"Give it back? We don't even know if there's money in it! If there is, it's mine!" she snapped, rushing out with Chen Jianguo in tow.

"Damn it! What kind of family was I born into?" Chen Yihao cried in frustration, kicking the wall before chasing after them. "Sis, don't worry. I'll get that card back for you!"

As the chaos subsided, Chen Yinuo, unable to hold back any longer, collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ye Chen felt his nose sting as he bent down to pull her into a hug.

"Why? What did I do in my past life to deserve this?" Chen Yinuo wept bitterly, her tears soaking Ye Chen's shoulder.

"It'll get better soon. Very soon," Ye Chen said, gently stroking her hair, his throat tightening with emotion. His words were more a promise to himself than to her: it wouldn't be long before her parents deeply regretted their actions.

"Mommy, don't cry. Mommy, don't cry..." Little Ye Youyou tugged at her mother's shirt, but as she spoke, she too began to cry.

It wasn't until Ye Chen managed to calm them down that he realized it was already late into the night. After bidding them goodnight, he watched as Chen Yinuo closed the bedroom door with Youyou in tow, her face pale with exhaustion.

A whirlwind of emotions stirred within Ye Chen. But despite everything, Chen Yinuo's unwavering support gave him hope—hope that they could mend what had been broken.

As Ye Chen tiptoed to the bathroom to avoid disturbing them, his phone suddenly rang.

"Jingshan? It's so late. What's up?" Ye Chen answered.

"Damn it, Brother Ye, I almost forgot what the old man asked me to do!" Zhang Jingshan said urgently.

"What is it?" Ye Chen asked, puzzled.

"Here's the thing. The old man wants to meet you. He said he'd like to have a chat. Are you free tomorrow? I already promised him, so you can't make me lose face!" Zhang Jingshan exclaimed.

"The old secretary wants to meet me?" Ye Chen was both surprised and unsurprised. He figured Zhang Jingshan had mentioned something about his dealings with the Sihai Group to Secretary Zhang Weimin. Knowing Zhang Weimin's capabilities, Ye Chen suspected he might already be aware of the inspection team's actions.

"Yes, Brother Ye. Can you do it?"

After a brief pause, Ye Chen replied, "Tomorrow, right? Sure."

"Great! I'll come pick you up. Same place as before, at the Dongpu Street intersection," Zhang Jingshan said.

"Alright. Call me when you're on your way," Ye Chen agreed.