"Son, you're back! Where have you been?"

As soon as Chris arrived, Layla confronted him.

Chris couldn't bring himself to mention the sterilization, so he deflected by saying he had just gotten off work.

He was fiddling with his figurines, tears nearly falling from his eyes.

A relative, looking a bit embarrassed, said, "Chris, my grandson thought your figurines were fun and played with them for a bit. I hope you don't mind."

His mother, however, was unconcerned. "What? The tradition is to let him get a taste of happiness, to bless the old Braves family with a son. Does it matter to him?"

Chris's face changed, but he still didn't say anything.

Layla's expression softened slightly as she spoke to Chris. "Good job. I thought you were off attending to that wretched woman. She's had the sterilization; to our family, she's just a useless waste. If it weren't for her family's business, I would have kicked her out of the Braves family immediately!"

Chris was completely baffled.

Kobe flicked some ash off his cigarette, spat on the limited edition rug Chris had admired, and said, "I brought Wendy for you. Your father knew you liked her since you were young. If it weren't for Demi's money, you two would have been together a long time ago."

Hearing this, I zoomed in with two fingers.

I couldn't believe it; this was the same little internet celebrity Chris had remarried in his previous life!

It turned out they were old flames.

The girl named Wendy Young wasn't shy at all and sat right on Chris's lap in front of everyone.

The relatives started chattering,

"Chris, don't mind my rough words. We've heard of castrated chickens and ducks, but never castrated people. If Demi were a man, he'd be a eunuch!"

"Don't feel too burdened; I don't understand those laws and rules. All I know is that not having descendants is the worst form of unfilial conduct."

"That Demi has broken our family's rules, daring to get sterilized. She's like a hen that can't lay eggs; sterilization? That's even lower-quality!"

"Demi still shamelessly says she wants to adopt kids in the future. Luckily, I remembered Wendy. Adoption? Let someone else raise the kids? Does our old Braves family look like a fool? Instead, you should have a child with Wendy, and then Demi can pay and raise the child. Today, I'm personally sending Wendy here so you two can make a grandchild today."

"Wendy's sisters are famous in our village for being 'fertile.' With her carrying the child, the Braves family's lineage will definitely continue."

They rambled on.

Each person had their say, and Chris's face was changing colors from white to red.

He finally realized that his mother thought it was I who had been sterilized, which was why they were speaking so disparagingly.

But Chris was very proud; facing this situation, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, saying nothing.

In the previous life, it was I who suffered from rumors.

Even in the 21st century, I couldn't believe people still reacted so strongly to sterilization.

A few times, when his relatives spoke too harshly, I couldn't help but retort, but Chris was very unhappy.

He said that the relatives were simple people with a limited perspective compared to city folks, and he asked me to understand and not be so rude.

Today, I wanted to see just how high his standards really were.

The relatives showed no sign of stopping, and eventually, Chris's face was as pale as a corpse.

Kobe said, "I brought the relatives here today to let Demi know what happens to someone who cuts off the family line! Don't worry about it; we are all here to support you."

Chris didn't dare to speak, but seeing the situation in the room, he knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He could only brace himself and went into the room with Wendy.

A sleepless night passed.

The in-laws and relatives were sprawled all over the living room.

Just as dawn was breaking, everyone was startled awake by a scream.

"Oh my God! Someone's dying!"

Wendy, disregarding her clothes, ran out in her coat in a panic.

Everyone gathered at the bedroom door and found Chris lying in a pool of blood, unconscious, with blood pouring from his lower body.

Everyone scrambled to get the naked Chris to the hospital, only to find out that he had just undergone a sterilization surgery, and the intense activity from the night had torn the wound and caused an infection, requiring immediate rescue.

Wendy and the relatives were terrified by the medical bill the doctor gave them and quickly fled.

Layla and Kobe had to dig into their savings just to cover the medical expenses barely.

When they bombarded my phone, I was leisurely eating fruit in a high-end rehab center, enjoying the view outside the window.

I made up an excuse that I was abroad handling my parents' inheritance.

A week later, Chris finally survived the critical period but had permanently lost his ability to have children.

I thought the in-laws, who were so obsessed with having descendants, would have calmed down, but it turned out I had underestimated their audacity.

My mother-in-law keeps forwarding me "women's virtue" articles and adding comments.

[Men are the sky, and women are the earth. A woman's status is determined by the man she looks up to.]

[Heaven's laws and social norms dictate that no matter how a man is, a woman should remain loyal to him.]

And stuff like that.

She was trying to brainwash me in advance, fearing that I might dislike her son.

But in my past life, when I lost the ability to bear children, she was the first to shout about kicking me out of the house.

I had long seen through their true colors, so I wasn't fooled. But losing my fertility would have been too easy on them, so I pretended to visit the hospital.

Before I even entered, I heard Kobe's voice. "Layla, go back to the old house tonight and bring Wendy here."

"Why bring her here? She caused so much trouble for our son; I want her to pay for it!"

"Don't worry about that. Just go. Demi hasn't come back, and Wendy might at least take care of our son."

Chris also persuaded. "Mom, you've lost so much weight these days. Let Wendy come."

Layla was unwilling but dared not defy her husband and son.

I was puzzled.

When did these two become so concerned about Layla?

Without further thought, a nurse opened the door from inside.

When my father-in-law saw me, he was furious.

"So it's you, Demi. Not explaining things clearly, deliberately playing tricks on us, right? Are you happy now?"

He charged at me, and I ducked, causing him to crash into the door and break his front teeth.

Chris yelled in panic from the bed.

Layla hurriedly helped the old man up, pretended to scold him, but kept glaring at me. "How could Demi be so heartless? Chris's surgery failed, and Demi is the most heartbroken. She even said she would buy a car to comfort him, didn't she?"

She acted as if I was unaware, making all sorts of gestures toward me.

So they were putting on a show for me, aiming for my wallet.

I played along with the act, feigning that I hadn't explained things clearly before and that we could discuss the car issue, making them relent.

However, I didn't forget the mission of this visit.

I secretly slipped a small recorder into Chris's bag, using the excuse of going to buy a car before leaving.

Sure enough, the father and son didn't disappoint me.

After Layla washed the dirty clothes from these days, she boarded the bus back home.

As soon as she left, I heard Chris and his father's voices.

"Son, this idea is good, but what if Demi refuses to accept the child?"

"What can she do? Dad, don't worry. She's just a dog I raised. Don't be fooled by her front. She'll wag her tail and come when I throw her a bone. Whatever I decide, she has no say. As for my mother..."

"That's even less of a problem. She should have had more sons when she was young. Now, the old Braves family is going extinct, and she is at least half responsible."

"That's great. When Wendy arrives, please put in some extra effort."

"No problem, son. I'm still sharp. I'll definitely make sure you get a brother. Then, just say this child is from a relative in the old home. You can bring it back and have Demi raise it. This way, old Braves family will continue!"

"To avoid raising suspicions with Demi, I won't help with Wendy's care."

"So what? Let your mom take care of her. After the child is born, let her take care of it. She's as strong as an ox; she wouldn't know what to do if she didn't work."

...

The two were discussing in the ward with great enthusiasm, filled with joy.

I was laughing my head off from dozens of kilometers away.

I really wonder what my mother-in-law, who always talked about "heavenly laws and social norms," would think if she knew her "heavenly husband" and precious son were scheming against her.