The crying from both women was giving Wang Xianbing a splitting headache. What was worse, he had no idea what had gotten into his mother. She was usually the straightforward type, but now she was whimpering like a dainty lady!

He suppressed the rage building in his chest and looked at Chu Shenyu, who was still fumbling for his keys. He asked through gritted teeth, "Mr. Chu, you only have one key to your apartment?"

Chu Shenyu smacked his forehead. As if he hadn’t even noticed the Wang Family’s commotion and completely unabashed, he said with an annoyed look, "Silly me. I was so busy digging through my bag that I forgot I had them hanging on my belt..."

He felt for the keys on his belt, slowly unlocked the door, and pulled in the woman who had started gnawing on a mango again. He smiled at his neighbors across the hall and said, "Please, continue. But if you ask me, there’s a saying: ’An elder at home is a treasure.’ And what’s that other old saying? The greatest regret is when you wish to care for your parents, but they are no longer around. So, Director Wang, you should cherish the present."

"After all, you only have one mother, but you can always find another wife..."

With that, he slammed the door shut, leaving the stunned Wang Family behind.

’I can’t believe it,’ Wang Xianbing thought. ’Mr. Chu, a man everyone puts on a pedestal, is taking sides like some gossipy woman. He’s clearly been corrupted by that venomous woman, Zhu Yun!’

Lin Jin was trembling with anger, her head spinning. "So that’s it, Wang Xianbing! Are you getting ready to abandon me and our child to marry up?"

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She gritted her teeth and leaned most of her weight against the door.

Wang Xianbing, who had just been feeling torn and sorry for his wife, felt his face instantly darken.

He was a typical macho man. Although part of the reason he was with Lin Jin was her Lin Family’s influential background, he could hold his head high when others made snide remarks. But he couldn’t stand being accused like this by Lin Jin herself.

"Lin Jin, when other people say things about me, I never say a word," Wang Xianbing said coolly. "Because I thought you, of all people, knew my heart. Heh... so it turns out you see me that way too?"

"I come from a humble background. Even with a degree from Kyoto Agricultural University, I can’t change who I am. And I could never cut ties with the parents and siblings who raised me."

"From the very beginning, I was considerate of your feelings, trying my best to accommodate you and your ’high-class’ sensibilities. I thought you were smart and understanding, that by being with me, you were gradually learning to accept my family."

"Apparently not," he sneered. "Fine. Since my family’s country stench is so offensive to you, we’ll get out of your sight."

Wang Xianbing turned and coldly told the Wang Family to pack their things and leave.

Old Mrs. Wang was still in the middle of her crying fit, as if competing with Lin Jin to see who could shed more tears, when her emotional performance was brought to a screeching halt.

"What? Why should we be the ones to clear out for her?" she protested.

’In the tug-of-war between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, whoever gives in first will have to keep giving in forever.’

"You go and ask! What daughter-in-law is like her? She acts like she’s carrying a golden egg, not a baby! The second she finishes eating, she drops her chopsticks and leaves. Would wiping the table make her so tired she’d give birth on the spot or what?"

"She’s so delicate, so educated! Why hasn’t she learned anything from Confucius about respecting her in-laws?"

"Where else would you find a mother-in-law like me, having to wait on her daughter-in-law hand and foot just to get a little money for my troubles! Someone like her should be sent back to her mother for a proper lesson on how to respect her elders! She’s becoming more and more shameless. No wonder she’s a capitalist’s daughter..."

"Mom, can you please stop adding to the chaos?" Wang Xianbing had no energy left. "Are you leaving or not?"

He asked the question, but he had already started walking out the door. "Are you sure you want to pick a fight with a pregnant woman?"

With a grim face, Old Mrs. Wang looked from one person to another, then waved at the three inside who were picking at their shoe soles with their toes. "Let’s go. There’s no place for us in this home. I refuse to believe there isn’t a single reasonable person at the factory. Kicking out your own in-laws... what a terrible injustice!"

The three from the room shouldered their belongings. Jingjing even scooped the peanuts from the table back into a bag, huffing indignantly as she walked out. At the doorway, she deliberately spat into the apartment.

Her brother copied her, viciously hawking up a wad of phlegm and spitting it out.

A pregnant woman’s sense of smell is already heightened, and Lin Jin had a weak stomach to begin with. Seeing the two globs of thick phlegm on the floor and smelling the foul stench that spread through the air, she didn’t even have time to run to the bathroom before she retched, vomiting up her entire lunch.

The room instantly filled with a sour stench. She stared at her own vomit as another wave of sourness rose in her stomach. Clutching the doorframe, she began to dry-heave, disgusted by the scene, as she weakly wiped away her miserable tears.

The midday weather in late August was still sweltering. Even though the hallway was shady, it was still thirty degrees. The sour stench rushed up the stairwell and then sank back down, spreading throughout the building in no time.