“Oh.” Julian Grant said as he fumbled around on the floor for a while, pulled out an employment contract, and said, “Is this the one?”

The Vault replied, “Probably. He might come to report to you later, but don’t pay him. He actually tried to scam me, shameless.”

Julian Grant was actually a bit happy to hear that she’d been scammed: “Usually, a deposit has already been paid for this kind of thing. Even if you don’t pay the balance, they don’t really lose out.”

The Vault sat down in the corner of the sofa and asked, “Did you find anything? Need any help?”

“Nothing useful at all.” Julian Grant roughly stuffed everything back into the cabinet, stood up, and said, “Even if there were clues… I couldn’t tell you.”

The Vault smiled and said, “Alright. After all, this is a man who hasn’t been weaned…” an excellent man…

Julian Grant shouted, “Stop!”

The Vault said regretfully, “Oh.”

Seeing that at least she was being somewhat obedient, Julian Grant softened his expression and said, “I’m going to the bedroom. You can do as you like tonight.”

The Vault: “Okay. I can also go with you first…”

“Enough!” Julian Grant shouted again, this time genuinely agitated, his face even slightly flushed, “Do you know how many viewers are watching? Be careful or you’ll lose your account!”

The Vault: “…?” Is it that dangerous? She just meant to say she’d go with him to the bedroom to look for clues.

While she was still dazed, Julian Grant was already running up the stairs in his slippers, thud thud thud.

·

With no major plot developments, the night passed quickly. The Vault had only just organized half of the messy cabinet when it was already bright outside the window.

Suddenly, a series of rapid knocks at the door interrupted The Vault’s actions. She glanced down at the time: 7:23 a.m.

Someone outside shouted, “Son, open the door, it’s Mom!”

Chapter 27 Mother

The Vault went over and opened the door, only to see a flamboyant middle-aged woman standing outside.

She was on the plump side, wearing a red shawl over a traditional Chinese qipao, her shoulder-length hair dyed red and permed into soft curls. She carried a red leather handbag, and her lipstick and nails were painted a deep red as well.

To be honest, The Vault’s eyes were momentarily dazzled.

Next to the character’s avatar was a small line of text: “Lucy Sanders, mother, 59 years old.”

Lucy Sanders was still in the middle of forcefully knocking on the door, frozen halfway, almost hitting The Vault in the face.

Looking closely, her features did bear some resemblance to Michael Wood. But those features, on a woman’s face, looked overly masculine.

“Why did you take so long to open the door? Why are you just standing there? Have you had breakfast?” Lucy Sanders didn’t wait for The Vault to greet her, gave her a light push, and then stormed into the living room. When she saw the mess everywhere, she immediately screamed, “What happened? Why is the living room such a mess? Why are you the one cleaning up? Where’s Julia Campbell? Huh? Julia Campbell! She’s just a woman who eats and does no work! Where is she!”

Before The Vault could explain, Lucy Sanders had already completed the entire process of guessing and blaming on her own, grumbling as she went to find someone to settle accounts with.

“Julia Campbell!” Although Lucy Sanders was large, she was nimble, her footsteps never stopping. After tossing down her handbag, she ran to the stairs, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Julia Campbell! Get down here!”

Up to this point, The Vault hadn’t managed to get a word in. She gave up on speaking, following behind at a moderate distance to see what Lucy Sanders would do.

Julian Grant came out of his room looking confused, stopping at the second-floor railing to look down.

Seeing him so relaxed and unconcerned, Lucy Sanders became even angrier, the wrinkles on her face bunching up as she pointed at him and scolded sharply, “You’re still not up yet? Do you know what time it is? My god, you’re still sleeping? The house is a mess and you have the nerve to sleep in? The moment the housekeeper takes a day off, you turn this place into a dog’s den, is that it? How can you be someone’s wife like this? Even our Milo has to go to work and gets up earlier than you. Look at yourself, what do you do all day!”

She spoke extremely fast and with great energy. Julian Grant was completely stunned by her scolding, unable to react.

He’d heard stories and even witnessed it before, but had never experienced such a scene himself. This was a social blind spot for him.

So Julian Grant tilted his head and looked at The Vault, trying to ask her for help.

Honestly, how could an excellent man ignore such an innocent, pitiful look from his partner?

The Vault said slowly, “Mom… is there something you need so early in the morning?”

“I’m taking her to see a doctor! I told her long ago, someone recommended a really good doctor, and if we’re late, we won’t even get a number. They don’t accept scalpers, you have to line up yourself. I told her to come find me at six, and what happened? She was sleeping in! I pulled so many strings for her, and this is her attitude?” Once Lucy Sanders started talking, it was like a faucet that couldn’t be turned off. “If I’d known I’d have to marry off my son to such a troublesome woman, I never would have agreed to your marriage!”

After listening for a while, Julian Grant finally understood—she wanted to take him for a gynecological exam?

…Like hell I will!

Julian Grant suddenly took a step back, his leg muscles tensing, showing his determination to go down fighting.

The Vault said, “He’s not going to the hospital.”

Lucy Sanders pressed, “Why not? Can she even give birth? If she can’t, she has to go to the hospital! Seven years! Even if I raised a dog in the countryside, it would have had several generations by now! If she can’t even have a child, how can I have a peaceful life? Julia Campbell, get down here!”

Julian Grant’s face darkened completely.

But The Vault’s expression was even darker. From head to toe, even every pore, she felt utterly offended.

The Vault said, “If she can’t have a child, then she just won’t. Never seen anyone compare themselves to livestock.”

Lucy Sanders shouted, “What are you thinking? If a woman can’t have children, is she even a woman? Then why did you marry her!”

That one sentence offended countless people, making everyone inexplicably angry.

The comment section in the livestream was instantly filled with censored words, replaced by asterisks.

Julian Grant was so angry he laughed, taking several deep breaths, but couldn’t find a single curse word, finally blurting out, “You really have a way with words. Qiong… Michael Wood, do something about your mom!”

Lucy Sanders quickly ran up the stairs, closing in on Julian Grant as she shouted, “So what if I’m harsh? If you still can’t have a child, my words will get even harsher. Seven years! I’ve given you chance after chance, and you still can’t even have a fart of a child, and you dare talk back to me? Believe it or not, I’ll have Michael Wood divorce you!”

Julian Grant’s facial muscles twitched, then he bared his teeth in a grim smile, “I don’t even care about my account today, come at me.”

The two faced off at the end of the hallway.

Lucy Sanders raised her hand, about to step forward, but before she could, she suddenly felt her collar tighten at the back of her neck, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat of fate.

She turned around to see her son, face cold, grabbing her clothes and shoving her aside.

“Aiya aiya…” Lucy Sanders stumbled, only steadying herself against the wall. She pressed her arm, which hadn’t actually been hurt, and looked up in shock, “Milo, what are you doing!”

The Vault nodded her chin, indicating, “Want to teach him a lesson?”

Lucy Sanders widened her eyes, “Why can’t I?”

The Vault strode toward Lucy Sanders, her tall figure casting a shadow, trapping her in the narrow corner.

“That’s right, you can’t.” The Vault said coldly, “Let me make it clear: your daughter-in-law and you are two different people. Does she owe you anything? Did you raise her? Her respect for you is just giving a little face to nine years of compulsory education. If you keep pushing, that’s violence. Try me, see if I’ll let you get away with it.”

Lucy Sanders was so intimidated by her aura that she didn’t dare move, finally realizing her son was different from before. She nervously shrank her neck, her eyes darting around, looking for help. Suddenly, she saw Julian Grant standing behind, watching the show, and blurted out, “Did she put you up to this behind my back? Milo, get it straight, I’m your mother, I’m helping you! Are you out of your mind too, don’t you want kids?”

“If a woman who can’t have children isn’t a woman, then is a man who can’t have children not a man? And people who can’t behave like people aren’t even people.” The Vault said, “If you’re not even being a person, what’s the point of having kids?”

Lucy Sanders couldn’t believe it, shrieking, “You’re actually teaming up with her against me?”

The Vault sneered, “No need to team up. If you dare, I can handle you myself.”

Lucy Sanders: “You… you’re crazy?”

The Vault: “I only ever drive other people crazy.”

Julian Grant was standing behind, secretly laughing. The Vault turned around, grabbed his wrist, and led him downstairs.

Julian Grant obediently followed her for a couple of steps, feeling quite happy. Halfway down, he suddenly realized something was off and struggled to pull his hand free.