Chapter 10: Career Woman Wife

His words stunned the four brothers once again.

Instead of beating them, Chen Liyang was actually angry that they hadn’t acknowledged him as their father.

Since when did he care so much about this role? What kind of scheme was hidden behind all this? They couldn’t figure it out at all.

Seeing the bewildered group, Chen Liyang’s expression softened slightly. “It’s getting late. Go take your baths. After that, whoever has homework should do it, and whoever needs to sleep can go to sleep.”

With that, he turned and went into his room.

Going out while dragging a body full of injuries had taken a real toll on him.

Even after Chen Liyang closed the door, Zhou Chengdong and the others still hadn’t snapped out of it.

“Did he secretly go learn how to act behind our backs?” Zhou Chengnan murmured.

If his memory hadn’t been filled entirely with the man’s hideous face, he really would have been fooled by this facade.

Though none of them knew what Chen Liyang was up to, putting on a show like this,at least they hadn’t been beaten today, and for once they had even eaten their fill. They could treat it like celebrating New Year’s early.

While they took turns bathing, Chen Liyang was already lying in bed.

As for the blanket on the bed, he had long since thrown it onto the floor.

Only now did he have time to settle his mind and think about how to navigate the road ahead.

According to the plot, the five kids’ mother wouldn’t return for another year, which meant he would be the one taking care of them for the next twelve months.

Chen Liyang knew quite a bit about this “wife” he had never met.

He knew that her disappearance after going abroad wasn’t because she was out living it up, as the original host believed, but because she had lost her memory in a car accident.

She was a total powerhouse who was completely devoted to her work, with achievements no less impressive than the book’s female protagonist.

Simply because she wasn’t the female lead and lacked plot armor, even though she was mentioned in a few brief lines, readers still viewed her as nothing more than an insignificant piece of cannon fodder.

In truth, however, she was a genuine self-made businesswoman.

Meanwhile, every time the female lead’s company faced a crisis, she relied on her villainous simps early on and the male lead later. She didn’t actually possess the ability to solve problems herself.

As far as he was concerned, his own wife should have been the real female lead.

Zhou Xinru hadn’t trusted the original host completely, so she hid her true background and merely presented herself as an ordinary executive making thirty thousand yuan a month.

When she eventually returned to the country and learned how the original host had treated the children, she got a divorce in record time.

She sued him for child abuse, and the court ultimately sentenced the original host to five years in prison.

After his release, he saw his wife on a financial news channel and realized just how big of a boss she really was. Filled with instant regret, he shamelessly tried to win her back, only to be thrown out by company security guards.

Later, thoroughly sick of his harassment, Zhou Xinru had a sign posted at the main entrance reading “No Dogs or Chen Liyang Allowed,” thoughtfully attaching his photo.

No matter how thick-skinned the original host was, seeing that notice amid everyone’s gossip finally drove him away in shame. He spent every remaining day drowning in regret until he was scammed into going to Northern Myanmar^[1]…

Of course, all of that lay in the future. With such an impressive wife, Chen Liyang naturally had no intention of divorcing her.

As the saying goes, when young, one doesn’t appreciate the value of a rich woman, mistaking young girls for pure treasure.

Besides, this wife was only three years older than him, just as the saying went: marry a woman three years older and hold a brick of gold^[2].

No matter what, he was going to cling tightly to this golden thigh. Add five genius stepchildren to the mix, and he would be a total winner in life.

However, these five little ones were by no means easy to fool, and gaining their approval would be no easy task.

As his thoughts drifted, drowsiness swept over him, and he soon fell fast asleep.

When he woke up, daylight was already streaming in.

Fortunately, he had woken up early enough that the kids hadn’t left for school yet.

So he hurriedly got out of bed.

After a night’s rest, the pain across his body had eased significantly, though he still couldn’t make any large movements.

Stepping out of his room, he saw the eldest boy coming out of the bathroom. He wasn’t wearing his school uniform today, and his clothes were visibly too small for him.

Seeing Chen Liyang, he paused briefly, but said nothing before heading into his room.

Next, the third brother walked out of the bathroom, his hair still wet, clearly having just washed it.

Overnight, the bump on his forehead had shrunk considerably.

Chen Liyang didn’t get a greeting from him either. It was as if everyone was treating him like air.

What a bunch of rude little wolf pups, Chen Liyang grumbled silently to himself.

Afterwards, he went into the bathroom as well. Glancing at the injuries on his face in the mirror, he saw they were still somewhat alarming, but what disgusted him most was the bleached yellow hair on his head.

He’d have to find time to dye it back to a normal black. This Shamate^[3] style really wasn’t for him.

After washing up, he glanced at the time: already 6:50 AM. Making breakfast now would definitely take too long, so he grabbed his phone and went out to buy breakfast.

Hearing the sound of Chen Liyang heading out, Zhou Chengdong and the others finally emerged from their room.

There were no ingredients to make breakfast at home, and they didn’t have money to eat out. Fortunately, they had eaten plenty yesterday, so they weren’t hungry yet.

“Eldest Brother, doesn’t he usually love to sleep in? Why did he go out so early today?” Zhou Chengxi asked curiously.

“Who knows? Come on, it’s getting late. Let me take you to school!”

“E-Eldest Brother, can I skip school? I don’t want to go to class!” Zhou Chengbei asked softly.

“Why? You’re so young, what else could you do if you don’t go to school?” Zhou Chengdong asked with a frown.

Zhou Chengbei immediately replied, “I can stay home and take care of Little Sister! Honestly, as long as I don’t have to go to school, I’ll do anything!” As he spoke, his voice trailed off, his confidence fading as he lowered his head, knowing full well that Eldest Brother would never agree.

Sure enough, Zhou Chengdong refused without hesitation. “No. Schooling is your only way out. When Little Sister turns six, she’ll have to go to school too.”

“Xiao Bei, Third Brother knows why you don’t want to go to school. But the more people mock us, the more we have to prove that we’re better than them. That’s the only way to slap them hard in the face.” Zhou Chengxi rested a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder, his eyes filled with determination.

Meeting his third brother’s gaze, Zhou Chengbei nodded heavily. “I understand. I’ll study hard.”

Just as the group was about to head off to school together, Chen Liyang returned carrying breakfast.

He had bought soy milk, fried dough sticks, and twelve large pork buns.

Seeing them with their backpacks on, already stepping out of the courtyard, he knew they were planning to head to school on empty stomachs and quickly spoke up, “There’s still time. Eat breakfast before you go.”

Looking at the breakfast in his hands, it wasn’t hard for the four of them to guess what he had just gone out to do.

They had considered many possibilities, but never once did they think he had gone out to buy them breakfast. This was truly a first.

Having already walked into the living room, Chen Liyang saw the four of them standing dazed at the doorway and smiled as he urged them, “What are you all standing there for? Hurry over and eat breakfast, or you really will be late.”

As he spoke, he set the breakfast down on the dining table.

Sitting at the dining table, munching on large pork buns and sipping soy milk, the four of them felt as if they were in a dream. Everything before them felt completely surreal.