Persuade With Reason

"Liu Qiaoqiao?" Zhao Yue, having picked out a bag, turned around and noticed someone had approached Jin Fei. She put the bag down and walked over.

Liu Qiaoqiao and Jin Fei had never gotten along. Back in school, Liu Qiaoqiao had a crush on a senior from the economics department, but unfortunately, that senior had his eyes set on Jin Fei. Even after Jin Fei rejected him, he remained infatuated, constantly showing up in their department to fawn over her.

When the situation blew up, Liu Qiaoqiao mocked Jin Fei, calling her a "green tea" who seduced men. Jin Fei shot back, "If being liked by other men because of my own excellence makes me a 'green tea,' then you must be destined to be nothing more than a cup of plain water."

From that day on, Liu Qiaoqiao avoided Jin Fei like the plague.

Zhao Yue was worried that Liu Qiaoqiao might use the recent scandal of Xie Lisu's infidelity to mock Jin Fei. But as she approached, she noticed that Liu Qiaoqiao's expression was off. It wasn't one of gloating, but rather... something closer to awe?

After Liu Qiaoqiao hastily bought a bag and left, Zhao Yue couldn't help but ask, "What did you say to her? She looked scared."

"Nothing much," Jin Fei replied, helping Zhao Yue pick out accessories for her handbag. "She was just comforting me about Xie Lisu's cheating."

Liu Qiaoqiao comforting Jin Fei? Zhao Yue was highly skeptical.

"She meant well, so I told her the truth."

"What truth?"

"That I never intended to let Xie Lisu step foot into the Jin family," Jin Fei said casually, as if discussing what she had for dinner last night. "Why would I be upset over a man who's not even worth my time?"

Zhao Yue took a deep breath, looking at Jin Fei with admiration. "Damn, girl, you're on fire!"

"I know," Jin Fei nodded slightly. "No need to state the obvious."

Zhao Yue: "..."

Girl, not only are you getting more impressive, but your ego is growing thicker too.

Liu Qiaoqiao, having left the store, couldn't wait to pull out her phone and open her group chat with her so-called "besties."

[Girls, I've got some juicy gossip about Xie Lisu and Jin Fei! But you have to promise not to tell anyone else!]

[Spill the tea!]

[We're all ears!]

[We're ready for the drama!]

Knowing her "besties" were always up for some gossip, Liu Qiaoqiao didn't hold back. She glanced back to make sure Jin Fei wasn't nearby, then her fingers flew across her phone screen.

[Xie Lisu got engaged to some Cinderella from the neighboring school because Jin Fei wanted him to marry into her family, but he refused! That's why everything blew up!]

[Wait, for real?]

[100% true. If this is fake, I'll chop my own head off.]

[Damn, Jin Fei really is a queen. Who else would dare ask a rich heir to marry into her family?]

[Ugh, Xie Lisu was all about those grand declarations of love when he was chasing Jin Fei. But when it came to actually committing, he bailed. What kind of "true love" is that?]

[Men are trash!]

Liu Qiaoqiao felt a twinge of annoyance as she read the messages. Had her so-called friends forgotten that Jin Fei was her rival? Calling her a "goddess" right in front of her? Were they blind?

Ugh, what a bunch of fake friends.

After signing up for driving school, Jin Fei aced her first written exam on traffic rules. But when it came to actual driving practice, she found herself dealing with a hot-tempered middle-aged instructor. One of her fellow students had already been reduced to tears by his harsh words.

When it was Jin Fei's turn to practice, the instructor glanced at her and, surprisingly, softened his tone a bit. But as soon as she finished and another young male student took the wheel, the instructor started yelling again. Jin Fei wondered if the man had a whistle for a voice.

"Are you all just growing taller but not smarter? Did your parents give birth to humans or pigs? Even a donkey with a carrot tied to its head could drive better than you lot!"

"Enough!" Jin Fei couldn't take it anymore. Seeing the young man being berated until his face turned red, she knocked on the back of the instructor's seat. "If we already knew how to drive, why would we need you as an instructor?"

Wasn't it an unspoken rule among adults not to bring someone's family into an argument?

She hadn't even complained about having a male instructor, and here he was, cursing at his students.

The instructor seemed stunned that a student would dare talk back to him. The other students in the car were equally shocked, staring at Jin Fei in silence.

"You're not exactly young anymore. Do you want to be known as a hot-headed old man?" Jin Fei's gaze turned icy. "Look at how mature men behave, then look at yourself. If you're going to be an instructor, do your job properly. Stop insulting people's families. If you can't handle it, maybe they should replace you with a female instructor."

Perhaps it was Jin Fei's sharp tone, or maybe it was her expensive-looking attire that made her seem unapproachable, but the instructor actually held back his temper and stopped yelling at the students.

After a few hours of practice, even the young man who had struggled the most showed significant improvement.

When the session ended, a male student from another class approached, offering sympathy. "You guys got stuck with that instructor? He's notorious for his temper and foul mouth. Last month, he got reported for making a student cry."

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Jin Fei, hoping to catch her attention.

The other students exchanged looks but remained silent.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked.

"Nothing," they quickly replied, making excuses to leave.

The boy from the other class watched them go, puzzled. Had the instructor's verbal abuse driven them all crazy?

In the following weeks, other instructors at the driving school noticed a change in their notoriously hot-headed colleague. He no longer yelled at students, opting instead to sit in a corner with a thermos, drinking water as if contemplating the meaning of life.

"What's going on with you?" one instructor asked. "Did a female student get under your skin?"

At the mention of "female student," the instructor jumped up, nervously glancing around before forcing a calm demeanor. "F-female students? They're... they're quite impressive."

"Old Wang, you've been acting strange lately," another instructor remarked. Normally, Wang was the first to curse out female students, often to the point where even his colleagues felt uncomfortable.

Hearing him praise a female student was like witnessing a blue moon.

Instructor Wang stayed silent, too embarrassed to admit that he'd been schooled by a female student. Whenever he raised his voice or slipped a curse word, he'd be met with a barrage of sharp retorts.

"What kind of respectable man curses like that? You're ruining the image of men everywhere."

"Are you jealous of the young guys because they're handsome and popular with girls? Face it, you're getting old. Jealousy only makes you uglier."

At first, Wang was furious, then he was defeated, and finally, he was terrified. Just the sight of that Jin Fei girl made his chest ache.

A few days ago, when he saw her kick a male student who tried to take advantage of her during the driving test, his knees nearly gave out.

Now, he prayed every day that Jin Fei would pass all her exams on the first try and leave the driving school as soon as possible.

He never wanted to see her again!

Even if she looked like a movie star, he couldn't handle another encounter.

On the day of her final exam, Jin Fei passed with flying colors. Instructor Wang, clutching his stainless steel thermos, crouched in a corner and cried tears of relief.

Finally, the woman who had mastered the art of psychological warfare was leaving his class. His prayers had been answered.

"Tsk," Jin Fei crossed her arms, watching the sobbing instructor. She turned to the female student behind her. "Female instructors are so much better. This Instructor Wang can't even handle a student passing an exam without breaking down."

The female student: "..."

No, I think you're misunderstanding. Those are tears of joy.

Joy at never having to see you again.

Seeing Instructor Wang's red-rimmed eyes, Jin Fei sighed and bought a pack of tissues from a nearby store. She walked over and handed them to him.

"Here, wipe your tears," Jin Fei said, thinking to herself that while a twenty-year-old crying might look pitiful, a forty-something-year-old man crying just looked ridiculous.

Coach Wang didn't want to take it, but fearing a mental attack, he reluctantly accepted. The word "thanks" stuck in his throat, unable to come out for a long time.

"Actually... your driving skills aren’t bad, not worse than a female coach," Jin Fei said, seeing that Coach Wang had stopped crying. She clasped her hands behind her back. "When teaching others to drive in the future, try to swear less. It hurts people’s feelings, and as a man, having such a foul mouth doesn’t sound good when word gets out."

Coach Wang: ???

Me, a grown man, swearing? And I’m worried about it sounding bad when word gets out?

"Thank you for your guidance during this time," Jin Fei smiled. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" Coach Wang waved, thinking, *Please don’t let me run into you again!*

On the day Jin Fei received her warm, freshly printed driver’s license, her ex-boyfriend made headlines in the entertainment gossip news again.

*"Even the Most Loving Vows Can’t Withstand Becoming a Live-in Son-in-Law?"*

*"The Truth Behind the Engagement of a Rich Second-Generation Heir and a Cinderella"*

Jin Bo, who was attending classes at school, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the news. When had his sister ever mentioned making Xie Lisu become a live-in son-in-law?

As the younger brother of the person involved, how could he not know about this?

"Damn, this rich second-gen’s ex-girlfriend is something else. She actually planned to make him a live-in son-in-law."

"If the ex-girlfriend is as perfect as the article says, forget becoming a live-in son-in-law, I’d even pay to marry into her family."

Listening to his roommates’ chatter, Jin Bo silently covered his face.

The three "simp" friends who religiously liked his sister’s social media posts probably had no idea that this "ex-girlfriend" was his sister...

But with this news breaking, the number of people calling his sister a gold digger would likely drop significantly.

A true gold digger would only try to marry into a wealthy family. Why would she try to pull the wealthy family’s son into her own home?

Clickbait portals that thrive on bizarre news to attract mobile users would never let such a topic slip by. So, shortly after the news broke, mobile apps started pushing notifications about it.

Within just a few hours, countless people learned that a certain rich second-generation heir had abandoned his true love and gotten engaged to another woman because he refused to become a live-in son-in-law.

Xie Lisu, who was the last to find out about this: …

F***. [A type of plant.]