chapter 4 Prepare for revenge

The man standing next to Nora Bai wore a fancy suit with golden-rimmed glasses. He looked delicate and somewhat like a "pretty boy."
His gaze occasionally drifted towards Nora Bai during the interviews they both were participating in, and upon closer observation, there were distinctly ambiguous feelings between them.
"Carl Li?"
Allen Chen felt a surge of anger when he saw this.
Carl Li was his wife's boss at the private bank where she worked, and Allen Chen has long felt that he was attentive to his wife. Judging from the advertisement alone, the way this guy looked at Nora Bai was not right.
Based on Allen Chen's understanding of his wife, Nora Bai had high standards when it came to relationships. She wouldn't be interested in an average person.
From this, he guessed that she might be involved with Carl Li, a man with a successful career and financial stability.
"Damn it, adulterer and harlot." Allen Chen thought of this and couldn't control his emotions any longer and, in his anger, smashed the mouse on his desk, earning curious looks from his colleagues.
Realizing he had lost control, Allen Chen calmed down a bit. Allen Chen was not in the mood to work, so he got up and wanted to go to the rooftop to get some fresh air.
At this moment, his cell phone suddenly rang.
"I'm going to my mom's place for lunch. Are you coming?" Nora Bai asked coldly after the call was connected.
Allen Chen didn't answer for a while. He couldn't imagine that Nora Bai had spent the night away and didn't offer any explanation. Did he mean so little to her now that even lying was unnecessary?
"Are you listening?" Nora Bai asked again.
"Okay, pick me up later," Allen Chen didn't want to waste time on the call, so he hung up the phone immediately.
Although he didn't know what Nora Bai meant by inviting him to her mother's place, his intuition told him something was wrong.
Soon it was lunch break. He picked up his coat and walked out of the company. His wife’s car was parked outside, but when he got in, he saw someone sitting in the back seat.
Nora Bai's clothes were not the same as yesterday, and looking at her hair, it didn't look like she worked overtime at the company. It's obviously been washed.
"Who is this?"
"My colleague Daisy. I gave her a ride on the way," Nora Bai replied indifferently.
Daisy, sitting in the back, offered a polite greeting, but her strange, somewhat mocking gaze made Allen Chen even more convinced that the affair between Nora Bai and Carl Li had become public knowledge at her workplace.
After Nora Bai's colleague got out of the car, the car turned a corner and arrived at his mother-in-law's apartment complex. Nora Bai parked the car, and then she said, "When we go inside, don't say much."
However, Allen Chen just smiled coldly. He raised his head and asked coldly, "Where did you go last night? You didn't come back all night, and you turned off your phone."
"I was working late at the office and don't want to be disturbed."
Nora Bai's expression was pretending to be calm. She didn't dare to look directly at Allen Chen. After answering, she quickly got out of the car and walked into the building.
Allen Chen gritted his teeth, closed the car door firmly, and prepared to follow her.
His mother-in-law's house was very small, a typical old and cramped apartment. There were four people in the house, and it's less than 70 square meters.
Before he was demoted, his mother-in-law and the others were very obedient to Allen Chen and often asked them to come over for dinner on weekends. But now, not only did they no longer have that kind of treatment, but they were also openly sarcastic.
Although Allen Chen came from a rural background, his family conditions were not that bad. There was no need to suggest that he was marrying up.
As he approached the building entrance, Allen Chen overheard a conversation between two women from the neighborhood. Their words immediately caught his attention.
"Aunt Zhang, do you know? John’s daughter-in-law is pregnant. They have been married for several years. I thought there was something wrong with his son. I didn't expect that she was suddenly pregnant."
"Are you kidding? John’s daughter-in-law is not the easy one. Who knows whose child she's carrying?"
"No way! I see that the young couple are always inseparable. Their relationship is not bad, right?"
The two aunts talked more and more enthusiastically, completely unaware that Allen Chen was standing not far away.
"No way?" Aunt Zhang threw the melon seeds in her hand on the ground and said, "I saw her being sent downstairs by a man several times. The man drove a black car."
"And, let me tell you, that man is no spring chicken."
When Allen Chen heard this, he suddenly thought of the various behaviors of Hank Bai's wife in the past, and suddenly understood something.
He listened for a while longer but found no more interesting information. He then turned and entered the building.
"I'm back, Mom and Dad.”
Hearing her daughter's voice, the mother-in-law came out with a smile. But when she saw Allen Chen walking in, her face immediately darkened, and she rolled her eyes and said, "Doesn't he have to work? Why did he come along?"
"Mom."
Although Allen Chen felt uncomfortable, he still greeted her politely.
"Nora, it's not me saying this," her mother leaned against the doorframe, her tone unenthusiastic. "In the future, when we have family matters to discuss, you should come alone. Many things aren't suitable for outsiders."
"If anything happens, please tell me quickly. I have a meeting in the afternoon." In fact, Nora Bai knew that her mother asked her to come back, most likely because of her irresponsible younger brother Hank Bai.
If she didn't bring Allen Chen along, her family would certainly ask for financial help. Nora Bai was not stupid, so she would definitely come with Allen Chen.
Hank Bai was twenty-five years old. He was already married and considered an adult, yet he continued to rely on his family for financial support.
Seeing Allen Chen and Nora Bai come back, Hank Bai only briefly peeked out and then quickly withdrew, displaying clear signs of guilt.
"Mom, what's going on? Tell me," Nora Bai asked as she followed her mother to her room.
When Allen Chen walked in, he found that his father-in-law was not at home. He must have gone out to work. The old couple, already sixty years old, were still working hard outside just to raise their irresponsible son.
When she saw Allen Chen also coming in, she didn't want to speak, but when pressed, she gritted her teeth and said, "Your sister-in-law went to the hospital for a check-up today, and they found out she's three weeks pregnant."
"You see, with such a small living space here, it won't be easy when your nephew or niece arrives. As a sister, you can't just sit back and do nothing. We'll need to buy a new house, so I'll need you to contribute the down payment, and we will pay the loan."
"Let me make one thing clear, don't say you can't help. When you got married, I didn't ask for a big dowry. If something happens in our family, and you're unwilling to help, don't blame me if I get angry."
Hearing his mother-in-law's reprimand, Allen Chen just smiled, not saying a word.
After a while, Nora Bai reluctantly spoke up.
"Which hospital did she go to for the check-up? Why didn't she call me to go with her? And why hasn't she shown any pregnancy symptoms? I saw her drinking two days ago."
In fact, Nora Bai was not a fool. Over the years, she has been asking for money from her family. In their eyes, it was all taken for granted. They had no idea how hard her life had become.
Moreover, when Allen Chen was earning well, it was more bearable. But now that their finances were tight, they couldn't afford to keep funding the bottomless pit.
"Mom, I need to use the restroom," Allen Chen said upon hearing this. He knew what was Nora Bai planning to do, so he quickly stood up.