RMM -Chapter 286 Zhou Tingzhang’s Fury

Zhou Tingzhang suddenly felt dizzy; his vision blackened in waves, and his breathing quickened. The news Xi Yuechen had just delivered to him was utterly unbearable.

He had always prided himself on being upright and honorable. Even if he had a temper and sometimes clashed with others, he had never done anything against his conscience. And yet, today, someone was telling him that his own daughter—the one he had raised strictly and been proud of—was attempting to ruin someone else’s marriage?

To put it bluntly… she was acting like a homewrecker?!

“Yuechen… are you… sure?”

After a long pause, Zhou Tingzhang asked in a low voice, his face expressionless.

Xi Yuechen could hear the hurt in Zhou Tingzhang’s tone but felt no sympathy.

“Yes. If this hadn’t caused me trouble, I wouldn’t have disturbed you. I only took this measure to prevent it from happening again.”

“I understand. I… apologize on her behalf. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

Zhou Tingzhang’s voice was dry. This was the first time in his life he had bowed to someone—not for himself.

He knew very well what Xi Yuechen meant by “trouble.” For a proud, upright soldier, if his conduct were ever questioned, his reputation could be ruined for life, and countless people would despise him.

And the one causing him this trouble… was his own daughter.

Without waiting for Xi Yuechen’s reply, Zhou Tingzhang hung up the phone, standing there stunned, eyes vacant and body stiff.

Xi Yuechen looked at the now-closed phone, a trace of irony flashing in his eyes. He set it aside, sat down, opened his computer, and got back to work.

With General Zhou’s iron will, he would surely educate his daughter properly. Good. Since she hadn’t learned how to be a decent person before, now was the time to reinforce it—at least to make her understand humility and self-awareness.

Meanwhile, Zhou Tingzhang stood frozen in place for a long time, until a light knock on the office door broke his daze.

“General.”

Zhou Tingzhang only came back to himself then, slightly turning his head toward the door. Exhausted, he said, “You may go now.”

The person outside hesitated, then quickly responded, “Yes.”

They had heard the low, heavy tone in Zhou Tingzhang’s voice. Used to his decisive authority, they were momentarily shocked. Yet their good manners kept them from speaking further—they quietly informed the others and then left the office.

Zhou Tingzhang still felt dazed. The news had come too suddenly, too cruelly. His usual calm and sharp mind was nowhere to be found.

It was his precious daughter who had made a mistake. At this moment, he was just an aging old man. The shock was so great that he could barely lift a hand.

How could this happen? Yesterday, Yunzhen had told him she liked someone—a young, promising man, one of Yuechen’s comrades. He had been so happy he could hardly wait to meet him. But before that joy could even settle, everything took a complete 180-degree turn, catching him off guard.

Zhou Tingzhang wanted to tell himself: Yunzhen couldn’t possibly… it must have been a misunderstanding by Yuechen. How could such a thing happen?

But thinking this only tore him apart further. He knew Yuechen wasn’t lying—no one would joke about something like this with a parent, especially someone as meticulous as Yuechen.

Zhou Yunzhen was his daughter! The one he had nurtured from a young, outstanding child into the person she was now! His beloved, proud daughter…

And yet, today she had done something so shameless: ruining someone else’s military marriage! Outrageous, utterly disgraceful!

Where would he put his face?

From initial shock and disappointment to uncontrollable anger, Zhou Tingzhang nearly lost all rationality.

Misfortune in the family, misfortune indeed!

His elegant, beautiful daughter had become so reckless, shamelessly trying to compete for another man, even embarrassing herself in another unit. If anyone familiar with them saw this, what would they say about Zhou Tingzhang?

Burning with rage, Zhou Tingzhang’s strength returned. He grabbed his almost-crushed phone and, with a grim face, called Zhou Yunzhen.

At that moment, Yunzhen’s car had just entered the city. She looked at the bustling streets outside the window, trying to calm herself.

Hearing the phone ring, her brows furrowed. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone—she just wanted a quiet place.

Seeing it was her father, she suppressed the urge to ignore the call, took a deep breath, forced a stiff smile, and answered.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Be home in half an hour!”

Zhou Tingzhang practically roared the words and then hung up, leaving the office in a hurry. In half an hour, not only must Yunzhen be home—so must he.

Yunzhen froze for a few seconds, frowning. She had to admit she was scared. Since childhood, Zhou Tingzhang had almost never lost his temper with her—let alone today, when he sounded as if he could kill.

Exhausted, she had no energy to question her father. Her mind was blank, and every move took all her effort. She sighed deeply, expressionless, and headed home.

She could never have imagined what awaited her there—or that Xi Yuechen, a proud and upright man, had reported her to her father.

Though he had said half an hour, it took Yunzhen nearly that long to get home. As soon as she opened the door, something flew toward her at high speed.

If she were in her usual shape, she could have dodged it—but now, groggy and weak, she was powerless against this sudden event.

The object hit her arm, which she instinctively raised to block it, then fell to the floor, shattering.

She finally saw it: a small teacup. One from her father’s favorite set. Clearly, it had been thrown by him.

Yunzhen was stunned. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she exclaimed, “Dad…”

“Don’t call me Dad! I don’t have a daughter who shamelessly behaves like you!”

Her words were cut off by Zhou Tingzhang’s furious roar.

Seeing him in the living room, Yunzhen’s heart filled with fear. She had never seen her father like this—face red, eyes blazing, staring at her as if he could burn her alive in the next moment.

She shivered but forced a smile. “Dad… what’s going on?”

Even now, Yunzhen could not guess the source of his rage. She assumed he had suffered some frustration outside and was taking it out on her.

So, despite fear, she cautiously approached him, trying to soothe his anger.

But Zhou Tingzhang grew even angrier, seeing her still smiling. He almost fainted from rage.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done? Kneel!”

“Dad!” Yunzhen panicked.

“Kneel!”

Zhou Tingzhang was like a furious beast. Yunzhen dared not meet his eyes, nor disobey him. Fearful and aggrieved, she reluctantly obeyed, kneeling slowly.

She didn’t understand what had happened. Just yesterday, her father had been kind and cheerful; now he had become this.

“Tell me! Were you lying yesterday?!”

Zhou Tingzhang advanced, shouting in fury. The anger in every word made it clear he had reached his limit.

Yunzheng’s mind raced. She remembered talking about her crush, but quickly dismissed it—surely her father couldn’t know.

“Dad, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied timidly, tilting her head.

“You! Even now you refuse to repent!”

Zhou Tingzhang raised his hand and slapped her across the face before she could react.

“Ah!”

Yunzheng was caught off guard, clutching her burning cheek, eyes wide in disbelief.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Tingzhang’s heart softened, but anger flared again as he thought of her deeds.

“Today I’ll teach you a lesson! To show you how to behave! You dare do something so shameful—I, Zhou Tingzhang, don’t have a daughter like you!”

His roar swept over her before she could even recover from the first slap. A faint premonition crept over her.

“Dad…”

Her voice trembled, filled with plea and panic.

“Don’t call me Dad! How could you do something so shameless as ruin another’s marriage?” Zhou Tingzhang’s anger surged, his breathing heavy. If this weren’t his daughter, he might have killed her.

“How did I teach you? Is this how you behave? Are all men dead that you have to chase a married man? If Yuechen’s father knew, how could I face anyone? You shameless fool, bewitched by your desires!”

His mind was in chaos, words tumbling out in disjointed anger. It felt like a nightmare.

“Dad… I didn’t mean to, I just like him… Didn’t you like him too? If he were with me, you’d be happy… Ah!”

Yunzheng’s panic led her to babble. Zhou Tingzhang, nearly fainting from anger, struck again, slapping her harder this time. Her face swelled and reddened instantly.

“Dad…” Yunzheng cried, heartbroken. How could he treat her this way? She had only fallen in love—what was her fault?

“Don’t call me Dad! Until you rid yourself of these filthy thoughts, I won’t recognize you as my daughter! I’d rather you never marry than let you destroy another’s marriage! You have no shame, but I do! Get back to your room!”

Zhou Tingzhang shouted, trembling with rage, pointing at her. He couldn’t believe his beloved, carefully raised daughter had become so shameless.

He wanted to punish her, but seeing her tear-streaked, swollen face, he couldn’t bring himself to strike again.

After all, she was his daughter. Even if she erred, he couldn’t bear to see her suffer…

But he would not let this matter end here. He knew his daughter: once set on something, she wouldn’t easily change. She would likely go after Yuechen again.

Angry and heartbroken, Zhou Tingzhang lamented the misfortune of his household. He could never allow his daughter to commit such a disgraceful act.