Chapter 128: The Neighbor… It Was the Neighbor…

No one expected Zhou Zhijian to return at that very moment—just in time to witness the unraveling of a long-held lie.

The originally noisy surroundings fell into an eerie silence the moment Zhou Zhijian appeared.

Though the sisters-in-law were all screaming inside over the shocking revelation, none of them dared to speak—Zhou Zhijian’s face was dark with fury, and no one wanted to provoke him.

Li Jinhua gave a full-body shudder when she saw him appear. Her already limited brainpower was probably in overdrive trying to come up with a countermeasure.

After all, for so many years, every cent she had gotten had come from Zhou Zhijian.

Zhou Zhijian wasn’t just her son—he was her retirement plan, her financial pillar, her god of wealth.

Li Jinhua quickly turned around and rushed over to grab Zhou Zhijian’s arm.

“Son! You have to believe your mother! All these years, you’ve been my only child. I don’t have any other kids. It’s them—”

She jabbed her sharp fingers toward Wang Chunling and then Chu Yue, speaking through gritted teeth with hatred in her eyes.

“It’s your wife! And this shameless little wretch! The two of them are colluding to slander me. They can’t stand me living a good life, and they want to drive me out of the compound! Son… son… I only have you! Your father died when you were eight, and I raised you all by myself. You can’t be unfilial to me. Heaven will strike you down if you are!”

Zhou Zhijian had heard words like these countless times—every single time, it was moral blackmail.

But this time, as he listened to her wailing accusations, he didn’t feel even the slightest guilt.

Chu Yue watched this farce unfold with zero fear of Li Jinhua’s accusations. Instead, she calmly stepped forward.

Under Li Jinhua’s furious, burning gaze, she pulled out ironclad evidence from her pocket.

“Commander Zhou, Sister Chunling was afraid to keep these in her house, so she entrusted them to me. These are all remittance slips, and I’ve organized them in chronological order. I’m handing them over to you now. If you don’t believe what we’re saying, you can read them yourself—these remittance slips can’t be faked.”

The moment Li Jinhua saw the thick stack of remittance slips, she lunged to grab them.

But this time, Zhou Zhijian didn’t let her succeed. He intercepted them and began flipping through the slips, one by one.

The earliest remittance dated back several years—the very first month Li Jinhua moved into the compound. That’s when she started sending money to Zhou Zhiqiang.

Twice a month. Rain or shine.

Li Jinhua had never gone to school and couldn’t read or write, so the post office staff had filled in the slips for her. But in the corner of every single remittance slip was her clumsy, crooked signature—the only three characters she knew how to write.

And every remittance slip was made out to the same recipient:

Zhou Zhiqiang.

Neither Chu Yue nor Wang Chunling knew who Zhou Zhiqiang was.

But Zhou Zhijian did.

This person—was the son of his neighbor back home.

The boy was only eighteen years old this year—a full ten years younger than Zhou Zhijian.

The neighbor… it was the neighbor…

If it had been a relative, maybe there was a reason to lend money.

But just a neighbor, with no blood ties? Li Jinhua wasn’t insane—why would she keep sending money to someone like that?

And more than that…

Why would a random neighbor’s son have a name so similar to his own?

Zhou Zhijian’s face grew darker and darker. His hands clenched tightly around the stack of remittance slips, his grip so strong it looked like he might rip them apart.

“Son… Zhijian…” Li Jinhua was getting more and more flustered, but still stubbornly denied everything.
“You’re my son… Don’t listen to their nonsense… You know how your mother has cared for you all these years, don’t you? In my heart, there’s only ever been you—”

“Enough! Don’t say another word! Go back, go home!”
Zhou Zhijian suddenly exploded with a furious roar, shouting loudly at Li Jinhua.

This was probably the first time in his life he had ever spoken to Li Jinhua in such a loud, forceful tone.

Li Jinhua was stunned, standing there in a daze. The arrogance and defiance she had just moments ago had become completely useless.

Zhou Zhijian shouted again,

“Mom, are you not embarrassed enough yet? Do you really want everyone to know all your dirty secrets? Go home! We’ll talk at home!”

That one word—“Mom”—was the last shred of dignity Zhou Zhijian was willing to give her.

Under his eyes, filled with disappointment and coldness, Li Jinhua looked like her very soul had been sucked out. She staggered and stumbled, gradually walking away like a broken woman.

What had started as a dramatic commotion over a missing child, had unexpectedly turned into a full-blown family scandal—no one could have seen this coming.

In the end, it was Song Hongmei who stepped up to restore order.

“Alright, that’s enough. Everyone stop crowding around here.
Look what time it is! Take your kids and go home to cook dinner. Break it up, everyone, go on home.”

Upon hearing Song Hongmei, the wives began to disperse one after another, heading back to their homes. Even Yang Jiuhong, who had been the loudest, didn’t say another word—just hugged her son and left.

Zhou Zhijian raised a hand to rub his aching forehead and was about to leave when Song Hongmei called out to him.

“Captain Zhou, don’t leave just yet. I need to talk to you.”

When Chu Yue heard Song Hongmei say that, she instantly guessed what the conversation would be about. With Yang Jiuhong and all the wives’ collective protest earlier, the Zhou family drama had stirred the emotions of the entire compound.

And for the administration, maintaining stability and unity was always the top priority.

Li Jinhua had now become a destabilizing factor. There was no way Song Hongmei would just let it slide. The way things would be handled from now on would be very different than before.

Chu Yue’s plan… was now 99% successful.

“Yuanbao, let’s go home,” Chu Yue said cheerfully, smiling as she took Lu Yuanbao’s hand.
“We’re having meat tonight—braised pork.”

Lu Yuanbao gulped and swallowed his saliva.

“Meat again? Is it another holiday?”

“Who says we can only eat braised pork on holidays?
If you’re in a good mood, that’s reason enough.”

As Chu Yue spoke, she turned her head and glanced back.

Where the crowd had just dispersed, Song Hongmei and Zhou Zhijian were talking face to face, with Wang Chunling standing nearby.

Wang Chunling seemed to sense Chu Yue’s gaze. She looked up and met Chu Yue’s eyes.

In that single glance—there was so much gratitude.

That evening, Chu Yue not only made braised pork, but also thoughtfully prepared three more dishes. By the time she placed them on the table, it was a feast, just slightly less extravagant than a New Year’s Eve dinner.

When Lu Zhanlin saw the spread, he paused in disbelief, his eyes filled with surprise.

He didn’t go as far as to ask, “Is it a holiday today?” like Lu Yuanbao might have.
But he could instantly sense the change in Chu Yue’s mood.

As he took off his military cap and uniform, he asked:

“Something good happened today?”