My cousin Owen lost his job in the mass layoffs before Christmas and immediately set his sights on working at my wife’s company. At our family gathering, he first tried to guilt-trip me with an entitled attitude: “Cousin, I noticed your wife’s company needs a secretary, right? I’ll reluctantly help you solve this problem. Those spaghetti interviews or whatever—no need for that. I’m your cousin, after all. As for salary, I won’t ask for much. Ten thousand after taxes would be fine.” Then he mocked me with that passive-aggressive tone mixing fake sweetness with toxic masculinity, accusing me of cheating and getting plastic surgery. In the past, I might have softened and agreed, even becoming flustered by his false accusations. But this time was different. I’ve been reborn. I looked at him and sneered, “We wouldn’t hire someone who didn’t even finish high school as a secretary. You want ten grand for sleeping your way through the job? Sure, the massage parlor downstairs seems perfect for you.” Hearing this, Owen Chambers first froze momentarily before his face turned crimson. He put on a pitiful act and said, “Julian Winslow, I was just trying to help your wife’s company since she can’t find anyone. How could you say such things to me?” My aunt also frowned, her voice full of reproach: “Julian, after all I’ve done for you, I never thought you’d be such an ungrateful brat. You’re breaking my heart!” I glared at Owen with undisguised hatred, wishing I could tear him apart. In my previous life, out of family obligation, I had agreed to Owen’s request and let him become my wife’s secretary. He then abused this family connection, misappropriating company funds for luxury items and committing business fraud using my name. When everything came to light, I became the target of everyone’s anger, eventually committing suicide from depression. Back in the present, I kicked the chair in front of me and said bluntly, “With your qualifications, you’re not even worthy of being my wife’s secretary. You should go work in a factory instead.” “Julian!” Owen jumped up, pointing at me furiously. “I’m your cousin! How dare you refuse to help me?” I found his reaction amusing and countered, “Weren’t you saying you were helping me earlier? How did it suddenly become me refusing to help you?” Owen was instantly speechless, stammering without forming a coherent response. Seeing this, other relatives began criticizing me: “Julian, how can you talk like that? Your cousin has always been well-behaved in our village. I think this job is perfect for him.” “Exactly! Are you jealous that your cousin is better-looking and afraid he’ll steal your spotlight?” “Owen this child, I’ve watched him grow up since he was little. He’s reliable.” Hearing these comments, my heart grew cold. Thinking about it carefully, since marrying Mia Hayes and moving to the city over many holidays, I’ve never been stingy with them. During festive seasons like Chinese New Year, out of respect for my deceased parents, I always gave them generous red envelopes as a sign of filial piety, and occasionally invited them to dinner at our home. But why? I had no obligation to do what they were asking today, yet they were all ganging up with Owen to manipulate me. Was it because Owen’s grandfather was the village head, and they wanted to curry favor with his family? I put down my chopsticks and plate, saying coldly, “Is that so? If he’s so great, why don’t you give him your own jobs?” Everyone’s faces turned ashen upon hearing this. Just then, my wife Mia returned from work. Seeing her, Owen casually flashed the expensive watch on his wrist and approached her: “Sister-in-law! Didn’t you promise me on the phone that I could be your secretary? Why is Julian disagreeing now?” Mia looked at me in confusion, then after a moment asked, “Honey, what’s going on? I thought you’d agree too, since he’s your cousin…” I cut her off without hesitation: “I disagree.” Hearing this, Mia quickly withdrew her hand from Owen’s vicinity and said, “I always listen to my husband. If he disagrees, then it’s off.” My aunt’s face darkened as she remarked with that toxic mix of fake sweetness and passive-aggression: “Some CEO you are, still afraid of your husband at home. What a shame, especially when your husband is such a nobody.” As Mia was about to retort, I jumped in: “Aunt, if your family is so capable, why haven’t I seen you doing well? By the way, didn’t Uncle marry into your family? Yet I heard he’s disappeared after racking up gambling debts!” Furious and embarrassed, my aunt smashed her coffee cup violently on the floor: “Julian! I only came to see you out of kindness because your parents died young. Do you think I really wanted to come? If you weren’t lucky enough to marry Mia, this rich heiress, you’d be living far worse than my Owen!” Hearing this, everyone nodded thoughtfully: “That’s right. Becoming a rich family’s son-in-law has made him arrogant. He’s forgotten gratitude and filial piety…” “Refusing to help his own cousin with such a small favor is simply unconscionable!” Rich family’s son-in-law… Why do so many people think Mia is some rich heiress? Do they truly not know that Mia’s success today is entirely because of me?
Seeing the displeasure on my face, Mia’s expression darkened as well. “The hiring standards at my company have always been my husband’s call. Let’s end this discussion here. If he says no hiring, then no hiring.” Owen refused to back down, glaring at me fiercely while putting on an air of nonchalance. “What standards? Anything he can do, I can do too! I can do so much more!” As he spoke, he deliberately tugged at his collar and twirled his finger around a strand of Mia’s hair, his eyes fixed intently on her as his tone grew increasingly flirtatious. “Sister-in-law, how would you know I’m not capable unless you give me a chance?” Owen’s intentions were obvious to anyone with eyes. I just hadn’t expected that in this lifetime, having failed to secure the secretary position at Mia’s company, he would already be setting his sights on seducing her. The audacity to flirt with a married woman right in front of me—he was certainly bold. I didn’t get angry, though. I simply leaned back in my chair and said with a cold smile, “Cousin, if you’re looking for quick money, try a hair salon with ‘special services.’ This is my home, not a place for you to flaunt yourself.” Seeing the situation, Mia rubbed her temples and said, “My company really isn’t hiring. You should leave.” To my surprise, Owen’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears, his voice trembling, “It’s precisely because I’m good-looking that my previous boss grew jealous and fired me. With the New Year holiday approaching, losing my job so suddenly has me desperate, which is why I came to you for help.” My aunt quickly grabbed Owen’s hand, her face full of sympathy. She cast a sidelong glance at me and said with a deliberately spiteful tone, switching between submissive and aggressive energies, “Our Owen has always been handsome since childhood. It’s normal for some people to be jealous—it just shows how insecure they are!” I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “You keep saying I’m jealous of you, but who came asking for my help today? Wasn’t it you?” Feeling increasingly irritated, I stood up and announced to everyone, “That’s enough for today. Please see yourselves out.” Some of the older relatives mumbled under their breath, others grabbed takeout containers and started packing up food, while one angrily threw his fork to the ground, exclaiming, “This is outrageous! How could George Sterling have raised such an ungrateful wolf-hearted son! He has absolutely no respect for his elders!” “It must be because George died early that he turned out so ill-mannered!” Trembling with anger, I pointed at the speaker and shouted, “Is that so? Then from now on, I won’t be sending any of you holiday gifts! You can all just consider me the ungrateful wolf you think I am!” At the mention of no more gifts, everyone exchanged glances before quickly putting on smiles. “Julian, we didn’t mean it that way. We only speak to you like this because we consider you our own son!” I couldn’t be bothered with their explanations and directly ordered the bodyguard standing outside, “Show them out!” The bodyguard, seeing me this angry for the first time, looked somewhat shocked. The relatives were escorted out rather unceremoniously. Only my aunt and Owen remained standing there, motionless, but I had no desire to engage with them further. As I turned to go upstairs, my aunt grabbed my arm. “Julian, you’re just leaving like this? Aren’t you going to arrange a room for us?” Only then did I remember that before their arrival, they had mentioned wanting to stay at my place temporarily. Back then, before my rebirth, I had indeed agreed. Taking a deep breath, I pointed toward the kitchen area and said, “Mrs. Liang and Driver Song are on holiday for the Spring Festival, so you can stay in the staff quarters for now. I’m giving you two days to find a new place and move out.” Owen’s eyes widened in disgust. “In a mansion this big, you’re making us stay in the housekeepers’ rooms? Julian, we’re your relatives, not your servants! You’re humiliating us!” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him. “So, you don’t want to stay? That’s fine then. Don’t let me keep you.” Owen cursed under his breath, then picked up his various bags and stomped off toward the staff quarters in a huff.
A moment later, Mia handed me a glass of warm water, gently massaging my shoulders while comforting me softly, “Let it go, honey. It’s not a big deal, no need to get so upset. Don’t make yourself sick over this.” I nodded, patting the back of her hand lightly, about to tell her that our embryos at the hospital were ready for implantation. Suddenly, Owen stormed out with a sullen face, grabbing Mia’s arm without hesitation. “Sister-in-law, why isn’t there any hot water in the bathroom?” Mia glanced at me uncomfortably, gently pulling her arm away. “That can’t be right. Why don’t you try again?” Owen persisted, shaking her arm while completely ignoring my presence. “I can handle the cold, but my mother is getting on in years. What if she catches a chill?” I felt sick with anger and was about to tell him to get out if he didn’t like it here, but Mia stood up and said, “Honey, I’ll go check. I’ll be right back.” Mia had always been gentle with everyone, including my relatives. I didn’t think much of it, but something felt off, so I quietly followed her. Through the crack in the door, I saw Owen—who had been wearing a shirt moments ago—now bare-chested, showing off his abs, with his face pressed close to Mia’s. “I really envy Julian for having such a wonderful wife after dating so many women. You know, Julian didn’t always look like this. I used to tell him to stop getting cosmetic surgery, but he never listened…” Rage instantly boiled inside me as I prepared to burst in and confront him about his lies. Then I noticed Mia staring at Owen’s exposed chest, her eyes unblinking. Owen fiddled with the water heater switch while gazing at her tenderly. “Sister-in-law, I’m not lying about Julian. All the girls in the village said so—that he used to play around with girls, you know… that kind of thing. I don’t mean anything by it, just wanted to warn you to keep an eye out. Wouldn’t want you to be cheated on without even knowing it.” I couldn’t take it anymore and shoved the door open. Mia jumped, her eyes darting away from mine guiltily. Owen put on a show of being “startled” as he looked at me. “Julian, what are you doing? You scared me half to death!” I didn’t bother arguing with him. I walked straight to his suitcase, grabbed it, and slammed it onto the floor. A loud crash echoed as the contents scattered everywhere. Pointing at the door, I roared, “No need for a shower now. Get out!” My aunt, hearing the commotion, rushed in with fury written all over her face. “Julian! What did you just say?! I’m your aunt—how dare you throw us out?!” Owen defended himself, neck stiff with defiance. “Mom, I don’t know what’s gotten into him, he suddenly just…” Seeing the situation escalate, Mia stammered, “Um, honey, it’s too late now. Maybe we should just let it go.” I shot her a fierce glare, and she immediately fell silent. Pointing at Owen, I shouted, “Let it go? He comes into my home and slanders me, and you want me to let it go?” Owen’s eyes reddened as he stepped forward to explain, accidentally hitting the hot water switch. Hot water suddenly drenched Mia. Mia screamed and fell into Owen’s arms. He seized the opportunity to hold her while continuing his explanation. “Sister-in-law, everything I said is true! If you don’t believe me, ask anyone in the village! It’s all in the past, but Julian seems to still be sensitive about it.” Mia looked at me, quickly breaking free from Owen’s embrace to stand behind me, then coldly said, “You should leave.” Owen’s face filled with disbelief. “Sister-in-law… you…” My aunt cursed under her breath while gathering their scattered belongings, forcefully pulling Owen up. “Fine, we’ll go! When we get back to the village, I’ll tell everyone how Julian treated us!” After they left, I finally had a moment of peace. I thought that by refusing Owen’s request after my rebirth, I’d avoid all those heartbreaking events. But a few days later, while at the hospital consulting about embryo implantation, I ran into Oliver, the HR manager from Mia’s company. Oliver looked exhausted, complaining to someone on the phone. “I’m telling you, our Ms. Hayes is unbelievable! She hired some secretary from who knows where, lazy as hell, making me pick up his medical report!” I deliberately bumped into him, causing the medical reports to scatter on the floor. One name immediately caught my eye—Owen…
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