His Secret

At the dinner table, Aaron Lind sat in the most secluded corner, eating silently as if no one else was there. Everyone else at the table ignored him completely, treating him as if he weren’t even there. They laughed and talked among themselves, but not a single person bothered to speak with Aaron Lind.

There’s no other reason. It’s simply because Allen Lind is a son-in-law who comes from outside the Porter family. In other words, he’s from a different family background.

Plus, he had no connections or background at all, and was poor and down-and-out. So in the Yang family, he had no dignity whatsoever.

Today is the birthday of my father-in-law, Baldwin Ross. The Porter family has come together to celebrate. Many of them are actually waiting to see Allen Lind make a fool of himself.

“Honey, pork ribs are good for building up muscle. Eat more.”

Wife Ina Ross picked up her chopsticks and fed Allen Lind a piece of food. Chu Yue, who was sitting nearby, laughed and said, “Mengxi, I spent so much effort preparing these sweet-and-sour spare ribs for Dad. How does someone like Allen Lind, who’s completely worthless, deserve to eat them?”

Hearing these words, Ina Ross also stopped using her chopsticks, her face filled with embarrassment.

“Yueyan’s words make sense.”

Even father-in-law Baldwin Ross wore a mocking expression as he looked at Aaron Lind. He said, “Aaron Lind, you’ve been part of the Porter family for a year now. It’s one thing that you haven’t given me a grandson. But at least you could buy my daughter some pigeon eggs or something. Who would have thought that you couldn’t even find a job? You’re good for nothing. Who else could be?”

“My daughter has taken a liking to you. Your family’s ancestors must be spinning in their graves with anger. In my opinion, you’d better divorce my daughter sooner rather than later. Aisha White is still young; there’s no need to worry about her not finding a husband.”

Aaron Lind clenched his fists, his face twisted with embarrassment. He gritted his teeth, but was unable to say a word in response.

Baldwin Ross is right. To outsiders, Allen Lind is indeed a worthless loser.

“Look at your brother-in-law Pamela Newman. Just a couple of days ago, she bought Yue a collection of jewelry: a necklace, earrings, rings. All together, it must’ve cost hundreds of thousands.”

Baldwin Ross wouldn’t give up. He said, “You wretched little scoundrel, do you have even half of Pamela Newman’s generosity? Do you treat your wife with as much care as she does?”

Aaron Lind’s brother-in-law’s name is Pamela Newman. When he first married Aaron Lind’s sister, Chu Yue, he wasn’t particularly wealthy. In fact, sometimes he even relied on Ina Ross, Aaron Lind’s wife, for financial support to get by.

Back then, every month, Ina Ross would set aside some money from her salary to help her older sister, Chu Yue. Baldwin Ross did the same, even contributing his pension. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for the couple to make ends meet.

Just last year, Pamela Newman happened to land a government contract. Suddenly, she became wealthy and made millions. Her life improved significantly: she bought a BMW and moved into a villa.

What’s disheartening is that the family of my brother-in-law, whose situation has improved, has completely forgotten about all the help Yang Xue gave them in the past.

Every time we meet, there’s always sarcasm and mockery.

“Dad, it’s just our own family. There’s no need to speak in such a harsh manner.”

At that moment, Pamela Newman also spoke up, smiling and saying, “Although Alan Lind doesn’t have any money for now, and doesn’t even have a means of transportation, I think he’s a motivated person with a bright future ahead of him. I’m sure he’ll make up for the lack of jewelry and such eventually.”

“Alan Lind, don’t say I’m not taking care of you. I need a security guard at my construction site.” Pamela Newman looked at Alan Lind.

“Since you have nothing to do anyway, why not come work as a security guard at my company? I’d pay you 1,800 per month, with regular payments. What do you think? If you work hard, I can help you get promoted to team leader or something. It’s not a big deal.”

“Hahaha.”

As soon as Pamela Newman said that, everyone at the table burst into laughter. Their looks toward Aaron Lind were filled with mockery, disdain, and derision.

Aaron Lind gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes slightly reddened.

Ina Ross also looked extremely upset. She couldn’t stand anyone mocking her husband in that way.

And a traitor like Zhao Sihai would never have made it this far without her support back then.

“By the way, Dad, I know today is your birthday. As your son-in-law, I’ve prepared a small gift for you.”

Pamela Newman took out a delicate rectangular box. Upon opening it, she saw a crystal-clear pipe inside.

The entire pipe is made of jadeite, with a transparent and natural color. The bottom of the pipe is even carved with intricate patterns that look very lifelike.

“This is a pipe made of jade, right?”

“Pamela Newman is really filial after all.”

At the banquet, the uncles’ eyes lit up with admiration. Words like “amazed” and “shocked” couldn’t even begin to describe their reactions.

“Yes.”

Pamela Newman nodded, clearly proud of herself. “This entire pipe is made of jade that was imported from Burma. I convinced a friend to spend quite a bit of money to get it for me. It cost around a hundred thousand, but it’s worth it.”

“Pamela Newman, it’s rare to see you show such filial piety.”

“Heh, look at this. Both are sons-in-law, yet there’s such a huge difference between them. Aaron Lind, you’re really a worthless piece of trash.”

Hearing this, everyone turned to Aaron Lind, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Aaron Lind didn’t have the slightest fondness for Baldwin Ross, but he knew the importance of maintaining proper manners. After all, it was his father-in-law’s birthday, so he naturally prepared something as a gift.

“Dad, I’ve brought you a gift.”

Lin Fan also took out a box from his pocket, ready to open it.

“I won’t accept your gift.”

That box was completely black and cracked in several places. It definitely didn’t seem like high-quality merchandise. Everyone present was a relative of the Potter family. Surely we couldn’t let anyone make a joke at our expense.

There was another round of laughter. Allen Lind put the wooden box in his pocket, shook his head slightly. Compared to Pamela Newman’s emerald green color, his was nothing but trash.

After the birthday party, Aaron Lind and Ina Ross left together.

“Honey, I need to go to the office now. Please don’t take what was said at the banquet to heart.”

Ina Ross also had a somewhat displeased expression.

“Don’t worry, I won’t take it to heart.”

“Young Master Allen Lind, the family’s restrictions on you have been lifted.”