CHAPTER 479: CHAPTER 479: HUO SHAO MAKES A MOVE (2)_1

To know what it felt like for a mute to eat coptis, one only had to ask Mrs. Ruiz.

After collecting the diamond rings his parents had exchanged at their wedding, Hansen Ruiz smiled and said to his mother, "Mom, if you want to move in, that’s fine. As you said, you’re my mother. How could I, as your son, dare to kick you out? You and Rachel can freely work on improving your bond. However, if Rachel cries, that’s on you. If Rachel is feeling down, that’s on you. If Rachel gets hurt, that’s on you. If Rachel is tired, that’s on you..."

Hansen went on and on, leaving Mrs. Ruiz dumbfounded. Her blood boiled so fiercely she almost vomited.

This... she thought. Isn’t he completely entrusting Rachel to my care? And I have to ensure Rachel only gets fatter, not thinner, always happy and never sad! My son is so clever! With this setup, how can I bully Rachel as a mother-in-law?

"Also, Mom," Hansen added, "we don’t have any servants here. Rachel and I are usually busy earning money. You could prepare our three meals a day while you’re at home."

This final sentence from Hansen made Mrs. Ruiz’s face darken and her expression fall.

Using her own mother like a servant while protecting his wife—there was probably no other son in the world like Hansen Ruiz.

So unfilial! Utterly unfilial! Mrs. Ruiz fumed internally.

Matthew Ruiz, beside her, kept sighing at his son’s unfilial behavior, yet his expression was one of pleasure.

"Husband, it’s getting late. Let’s go home," Mrs. Ruiz said through gritted teeth. "We still have a two or three-day drive ahead of us. Just thinking about it is exhausting. Hansen, you have your own family now, so I can rest easy."

She had proactively given up on moving in, but her resentment towards Rachel for stealing her son away only intensified.

She was a strong-willed woman, and a strong will often meant a combative nature. Now that this side of her was revealed, even though she had suffered a setback with her son, she wouldn’t stay quiet. If overt moves didn’t work, she’d resort to covert tactics. Someday, she vowed, she would make her son fall out of love with that country girl, Rachel!

Just then, Rachel came downstairs, dragging her aching and weary body.

She was clad in ordinary home attire, wearing a pair of warm, fluffy winter slippers.

"Hansen..." Rachel called out as soon as she saw Hansen in the living room. Then she noticed her in-laws were also present. She didn’t know her father-in-law, Matthew Ruiz, well, having met him for the first time just yesterday. As for her mother-in-law, the sight of her made Rachel instinctively bristle, ready for combat.

The way her mother-in-law had openly insulted her family yesterday still cast a shadow over her heart.

However, the woman was now her mother-in-law, and her own parents had sternly lectured her, telling her to respect her elders.

So, Rachel quickly descended the stairs. First, she greeted Matthew Ruiz with a "Dad." He chuckled and tried to hand her a bank card—the very one Hansen had asked if it contained a million in savings—as a belated meeting gift.

Rachel refused to accept it. After some polite refusal on her part, the unfortunate bank card found its way back into Matthew’s pocket.

Rachel then turned to Mrs. Ruiz and called out, "Mom."

Mrs. Ruiz didn’t respond, instead complaining, "I’ve been here so long without even a glass of water. One wonders how the lady of this house usually treats her guests."

Rachel said nothing and turned to get water for her in-laws.

"Rachel, I like variety," Mrs. Ruiz casually commanded her retreating back. "Ideally, prepare a Blue Mountain coffee with milk, bring two bottles of red wine, brew some jasmine tea, a few sodas, and a glass of plain water. Oh, and anything else drinkable, like milk tea—just prepare it all."

"Rachel, plain water will do!" Hansen interjected.

Mrs. Ruiz immediately glared at her son with displeasure but didn’t request anything else.

In the end, Rachel brought out everything drinkable from the fridge and indeed made Mrs. Ruiz a Blue Mountain coffee with milk.

After all of Mrs. Ruiz’s fussing, the sky outside had darkened.

Mrs. Ruiz slowly sipped the Blue Mountain coffee her daughter-in-law had prepared. It tasted very good, yet she declared that Rachel’s coffee was terribly made, even as the coffee in her cup steadily diminished.

Since it had gotten late, and with Rachel’s polite insistence that they stay, Matthew Ruiz and his wife ended up spending the night in their son’s villa.

Naturally, for dinner, Mrs. Ruiz also insisted on eating at home, saying it suited Rachel’s "frugality."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were "busy" in the kitchen—which actually meant Rachel did all the work while Mrs. Ruiz stood by, glaring daggers at her and muttering things Rachel didn’t want to hear.

Rachel, unable to tolerate it any longer, picked up a tomato and handed it to her. "Mom," she said, "this tomato is just the right size. Why don’t you eat it?"

Perfect for stuffing that mouth of hers, Rachel thought.

"Rachel Bailey..." Mrs. Ruiz understood the implication, and her face turned a ghastly green.

Her son is formidable, and it seems his wife is no pushover either!

She wanted to scream but remembered her son was in the living room. So, she swallowed her shout, slapped the tomato from Rachel’s hand, and hissed, "Rachel Bailey, don’t think marrying Hansen means you’ve made it! Listen here, you aren’t that lucky!" With that, she stormed out of the kitchen.

Rachel let out a heavy sigh. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Fortunately, Hansen and I don’t live with the Ruiz Family; otherwise... Living with such a mother-in-law, I’m afraid I’d lose my temper.

Good days or bad, life goes on.

「Three days later, it was the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.」

This day was known in T City as the Little New Year. Customs varied by region: some celebrated Little New Year on the twenty-third, some on the twenty-fourth, and others on the twenty-fifth. Regardless of the specific date, the festive atmosphere of Little New Year was palpable.