Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

Zhou Xu'an's Mercedes drove into the garage.

He sat in the car for a while before getting out.

The dull pain in his wrist and the humiliation in his heart cast a shadow of gloom over his brow.

Inside the villa, the heating was on full blast and the lights were bright.

Zhou Yun was sitting on the sofa in the living room, flipping through a jewelry magazine.

Hearing the noise from the entrance, she looked up, her gaze habitually sweeping over her son.

"You're back?" She put down the magazine, stood up, and walked towards the entrance. "Why are you so late? Have you eaten? Aunt Wang stewed some bird's nest, it's still warm."

"I've already eaten," Zhou Xu'an replied briefly, bending down to change his shoes, trying to hide the discomfort in his wrist.

However, the glaring bruise on his right wrist was clearly visible under the bright entryway light.

Zhou Yun paused for a moment, her expression suddenly darkening. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Xu'an's wrist.

"What's going on?"

Her voice suddenly rose, her tone urgent and sharp: "You got into a fight? Who did it? Did you go to see that Shen Yan again? That arrogant bastard attacked you again?!"

It's Shen Yan again.

It will always be Shen Yan.

In her opinion, Shen Yan would never receive a kind word.

Scenes from the past flashed before Zhou Xu'an's eyes.

His mother "accidentally" appeared in his and Shen Yan's apartment, scrutinizing every corner with a critical eye, and implying Shen Yan's background and taste in her words;

Then, turning to Shen Yan, he "unintentionally" mentioned one of his female classmates, describing her in vivid and colorful detail;

Furthermore, upon learning of Shen Yan's mother's serious illness, instead of showing any sympathy, he asked Shen Yan in front of him whether the disease had a hereditary tendency.

……

Each time, Shen Yan remained silent.

"It wasn't him!" Zhou Xu'an abruptly pulled his hand back, the movement large and clearly showing his agitation. "A madman, that's been taken care of."

He was annoyed because he couldn't bring Shen Yan back, because a clueless thing had appeared by Shen Yan's side, and because of his mother's consistent malice towards Shen Yan.

"You came back injured after all that?!" Zhou Yun persisted, her gaze sweeping over her son from head to toe, as if trying to find more evidence.

"Zhou Xu'an, tell me the truth! Has Shen Yan caused you trouble again? Or have you gotten yourself into some trouble outside? I've said it before, that person has wicked intentions, keeping him around is just a disaster! Look at yourself now, all this effort to become neither man nor woman, what kind of person are you!"

"I told you! It has nothing to do with him! My affairs are none of your business!"

Zhou Xu'an was already irritable, and Zhou Yun's shouting only fueled his anger. He became even more agitated and tried to walk around her to the living room, but the movement aggravated his injury, causing him to frown again.

"You don't need me to tell you what to do?! I'm your mother!"

Zhou Yun was also angered by his attitude, especially when she saw her son's expression change slightly due to pain, she became even angrier.

She stood in front of her son, her voice shrill:

"Look at you! You're constantly causing trouble over something so worthless, and now you've even gotten into a fight! You've made yourself into this mess! Where's your dignity?! Where's your brain?! Can't you just give me a break?!"

She became increasingly agitated as she spoke, and began her usual refrain once again:

"Have you ever listened to a single word I said since you were a child?! I told you to be more stable, but you insisted on causing trouble! I told you to do something legitimate, but you plunged headfirst into some kind of game! Yes, you're making money now, but what kind of industry is that? Virtual! Bubble! Today it's booming, tomorrow it could be nothing! You have no foundation at all! Can't you learn from others and build a solid, sustainable business?! You insist on wallowing in these crooked paths and getting involved with shady characters!"

"Unorthodox methods? shady dealings?" Zhou Xu'an's face showed undisguised sarcasm and disgust.

He had heard his mother say these words countless times.

"I make hundreds of millions in profit every year, support hundreds of employees, and pay eight-figure taxes. How is that considered a crooked business? The gaming industry is at the forefront of technology; it's the future! Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it has no value! I got to where I am today through my own efforts. How am I inferior to others?"

He took a step closer, his eyes a mixture of old grudges and new anger:

"In your eyes, are only those people you met at the Xie family before—holding a few tattered books, talking about mysterious inheritances, but actually unable to survive without their ancestral property—the only ones who are considered refined, have a solid foundation, and are worthy of respectability? Just like you think, only those you deem worthy of being a good match for me are fit to stand beside me? People like Shen Yan deserve to be criticized by you for being neither fish nor fowl, and despised for not being presentable, right?"

Yes, Shen Yan's departure was certainly partly due to Zhou Xu'an's own problems, but his mother's relentless criticism and rejection were also a contributing factor.

"You—!" Zhou Yun was so angry that her face turned red and white as she was angered by the sarcasm and defiance in her son's words, especially his defense of Shen Yan.

For a long time, her son's disobedience had disappointed her utterly. Now, her son was actually speaking to her like that because of that person!

Her emotions suddenly erupted, and she became even more reckless in her speech:

"Yes! I just believe that things with depth and tradition are the right path! They're far superior to your superficial stuff! You've never been on the same path as them since you were little! Xie Jing, that's the kind of talent the old man truly nurtured! He can sit still, he can calm his mind, and at seven years old he could sit with ancient books for an entire afternoon! His manners, demeanor, and knowledge—aren't they all outstanding? But what about you?!"

Her voice was so shrill it almost cracked, and her finger pointing at her son trembled violently.

"When you were seven, Grandpa wanted to test your character, so he sent over a set of Song Dynasty books! What a precious opportunity that was! It was a great honor for you! And what did you do?! You actually secretly tore out a few pages to fold your broken airplane that could never fly! You're hopeless! I knew then that you were just like your father, lacking both the talent and the will! That's why Grandpa was so cruel later! He cut off our branch of the family..."

"Xie Jing! Xie Jing! It's Xie Jing again!!!"

Zhou Xu'an, like a wild beast that had been completely enraged, suddenly roared and interrupted his mother's words.

His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at his mother and roared:

"I stopped using the Xie surname a long time ago!"

"I'll take your surname! My surname is Zhou! I have absolutely no relation to that damn Xie family, or to that Xie Jing whose face I've almost forgotten! Did you hear me clearly?!"

His chest heaved violently, and he completely lost control of his emotions.

"I'm not destined for that! I'm not destined to sit in front of moldy, tattered books for an entire afternoon! I don't have the inclination! I'm not interested! I've never been interested in those tattered books or those ridiculous rules since I was a child! What I like are machines! Code! The worlds I can create in games!"

"Mom! Open your eyes and look!" he said, pointing to the lavishly decorated living room. "We live in the best house, drive the best car, and use the most expensive jewelry! We're living a better life than 99% of people with the surname Xie! It's the life so many people dream of!"

"Isn't what I'm giving you far more than what the Xie family, who have long forgotten about us, could give us?! Why are you still dissatisfied?! Why do you keep bringing up those things that have nothing to do with us anymore? Can't you look at what I'm actually giving you?!"

Zhou Yun was stunned for a moment by her son's sudden breakdown, but then she sneered.

Her son actually thought that what she was obsessed with were things that could be bought with money?

Her son actually thought that by giving her these luxurious material comforts, he could make up for everything she should have had but had lost.

"What do you know?!" she shrieked, pointing at the lavish furnishings throughout the room. "Money? Do you think I care about the junk that money can buy?!"

She waved her arms hysterically: "I don't want these cold, impersonal houses and cars! I want status! I want position! I want the respect that makes people look up to me wherever I go! I want connections! I want that innate confidence and nobility! Things your crappy game company could never buy, no matter how high it climbs!"

She approached her son, her eyes filled with madness, even pity—pity for her son's ignorance.

"What is the Xie family? It's the foundation built up over generations! It's connections! It's resources! It's an existence that can be recognized and accepted by the very top echelons of the country, even if they do nothing! Your father risked his life to fight for it, but in the end..."

At this point, she couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, she looked up at her son with a cold smile and changed the subject:

"You've made hundreds of millions? Hah... Compared to the real Xie family, your money is nothing more than a grain of sand! They don't even bother comparing themselves to you in terms of money! They're comparing things you can't see or touch!"

"And you actually say you're not interested?! Of course you're not interested! You're not even interested in how your father died! All you care about is your laughable success and that despicable femme fatale, Shen Yan!"