Zheng Qiang was holed up in a basement, watching the video trending on social media with a vicious look in his eyes.
"Damn Xu Yao, how dare she smile so lewdly at another man! You slut, you slut, you slut!"
"Zhou Yang, you just wait, I won't let you live so carefree forever!"
While feeling resentful, Zheng Qiang opened the chat software and impatiently sent a message.
Have you arrived yet?
The other end quickly replied: "We're almost there!"
A short while later, there was a knock on his door.
Zheng Qiang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger surging in his eyes, and forced out a not-too-bad smile before opening the creaking, dilapidated wooden door.
Light streamed in from outside, illuminating his dark and cramped rented room, and also the faces of the three people at the door.
"Uncle, Aunt, Yaozu, you've finally arrived!"
Zheng Qiang greeted them with feigned enthusiasm, stepping aside to let them in, "Please come in! Please come in! It's a small place, please don't mind."
The "aunt and uncle" he mentioned were Xu Yao's biological parents, Xu Daqiang and Liu Cuifen.
The obese boy blocking the doorway, almost obscuring all the light, was Xu Yaozu, the Xu family's beloved son.
Xu Daqiang had a dark face, deep wrinkles, and eyes that reflected years of hard work and a violent, fierce personality.
Liu Cuifen appeared somewhat timid, her eyes darting around, and she kept fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
Xu Yaozu's gaze swept unabashedly across the cramped room, his face a mixture of disdain and a rudeness beyond his years.
"Hmph, you still have the nerve to say that! If that brat Yao Yao hadn't run away, would we have needed to come to this godforsaken place?"
Xu Daqiang plopped down on the only dilapidated chair, his tone very aggressive.
Liu Cuifen quickly tugged at her husband's sleeve and whispered, "His father, say less..."
Zheng Qiang sneered inwardly, but showed no sign of it on his face. Instead, he immediately put on a wronged and indignant expression.
"Uncle, Aunt, you've finally arrived! You have no idea, Xu Yao... she's really got herself together now!"
"I went to find her out of kindness, wanting to bring her back, but not only did she refuse to come with me, she also flirted with other men right in front of me!"
He deliberately emphasized the words "wild man" and "flirting," keeping his eyes fixed on Xu Daqiang and his wife, observing their reactions.
"What?!"
Xu Daqiang slapped his thigh and stood up abruptly, spitting as he spoke.
"That bitch! How dare she? I raised her all these years, fed her and clothed her, and now I'm asking her to marry you, and she still dares to run away, still dares to find other men outside?! I'll find her and break her legs!"
"That's right, Uncle!"
Zheng Qiang immediately chimed in, his tone filled with excitement at the shared hatred of the enemy.
"I've wanted to say this for a long time: women, if you don't discipline them for three days, they'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles!"
"Now that she's hooked up with that pretty boy named Zhou Yang, that internet celebrity who makes all sorts of weird and wonderful dishes, she doesn't respect us at all anymore!"
"She ignores me completely, but she smiles so smugly at that pretty boy! Let me tell you, once I marry her, if she dares to smile at another man even once, I'll break her leg!"
"Yes! Break her legs! Make her stay at home obediently and serve you!"
Xu Yaozu echoed, his face displaying a ruthless air of self-righteousness.
Liu Cuifen gritted her teeth and said, "That girl Yao Yao, she's such an ingrate! Where is she now? We'll go find her and make sure she comes back to marry you!"
Zheng Qiang said fiercely, "You absolutely must take her back, otherwise you'll have to return my dowry money!"
Xu Yaozu shook his head and said, "That won't do. I've already spent the 50,000 yuan dowry! I bought a new phone, and the remaining money can last me a few months at an internet cafe! If she doesn't marry me, I'll run out of money, and how will I play games?"
Upon hearing that the bride price was to be returned, Xu Daqiang and Liu Cuifen's expressions changed.
Liu Cuifen, in particular, hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Xiaoqiang, don't worry. Yaoyao was just confused for a moment. She's my daughter, how could I not take care of her?"
"Yes! Bring them back! They must be brought back!"
Xu Daqiang gritted his teeth, "That rebellious daughter! She's gone too far!"
"Uncle, Aunt, that's what I think too. I really like my cousin, and I won't marry anyone else!"
Seeing that the time was right, a calculating glint flashed in Zheng Qiang's eyes.
"However... these people outside don't care about any damn laws. If we just forcibly take her away, and Xu Yao, that bitch, and that gigolo she's with call the police, we might get into trouble."
"Call the police? I'm her father! She dares to call the police?!"
Xu Daqiang's eyes widened.
"So what if we call the police? What can the police do even if they come? Can they stop their parents from disciplining their daughter?"
Xu Yaozu shouted nonchalantly, "Tell us where she is, and we'll drag her back!"
"idiot!"
Zheng Qiang cursed inwardly, but put on a gentle and persuasive tone.
"Uncle, Yaozu, we definitely can't force it! The internet is so developed now, and Zhou Yang is an internet celebrity. If they make a scene online, we'll be seen as bullies!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?!"
Xu Daqiang asked impatiently.
Zheng Qiang gave a sinister smile, leaned closer to the three of them, and lowered his voice.
"We need to find a different approach... We need to make sure they have no reason to call the police even if they want to! We also need to make everyone sympathize with us!"
He paused, noticing that the Xu family of three had all perked up their ears, before continuing.
"Uncle, Aunt, you're just playing the victim! You cry to everyone you meet, saying that Xu Yao looks down on your family for being poor, hooked up with a rich internet celebrity, and doesn't care about your lives anymore! You call her an ingrate! Ungrateful!"
He then turned to Xu Yaozu: "Yaozu, just say it... just say that you're not fat, you're sick!"
"Yes, it's a strange disease that requires a lot of money to treat. Xu Yao disliked you, her burdensome younger brother, so she ran off to find other men!"
Xu Yaozu paused for a moment, touched the fat on his stomach, and seemed a little reluctant to admit that he was sick.
But the thought of the 50,000 yuan dowry made him nod vigorously: "Fine! I'm sick! Incurable!"
"Then what?"
Liu Cuifen pressed for more information, somewhat uneasy.
"Then, let's go make a scene at Zhou Yang's stall!"
Zheng Qiang's eyes gleamed with excitement, "We won't fight or rob, we'll just cry, complain, and say that Xu Yao is unfilial!"
"She doesn't support her family, and she's even abandoning her seriously ill brother and elderly parents. Let's make a big scene! Let everyone see!"
"Isn't this...isn't this embarrassing?"
Xu Daqiang was still somewhat hesitant. "I'm her father, why can't I just take her away directly? Why do we have to go through all this trouble?"
"Uncle! You're being foolish!"
Zheng Qiang looked at him with exasperation, "What era are we living in now? It's the era of internet traffic! Do you understand public opinion? Public opinion is a weapon!"
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