Persuade With Reason

The media that claimed Xie Lisu was unwilling to enter into a matrilocal marriage were being polite. Some gossip accounts went even further, spinning tales that Xie Lisu was infatuated with a goddess-like woman, even willing to marry into her family, only to be ultimately abandoned by her.

There were also rumors of a mistress breaking up the relationship, with the Xie Family intervening to prevent their son from marrying into another family. However, regardless of the speculation, the ex-girlfriend always played a mysterious and captivating role.

Some media outlets, eager to stir up drama, even reached out to several of Xie Lisu's former classmates to interview them about their views on the relationship.

The alumni first lavished praise on the ex-girlfriend's excellence, then recounted Xie Lisu's grand gestures to win over the goddess.

"A car? Of course he gave her one, but she rejected it on the spot."

Of course, this classmate didn’t know that Jin Fei didn’t even know how to drive.

"Jewelry? She turned it all down. Xie Lisu had to work hard at his studies just to catch her attention."

"Trying to marry into wealth? Probably not. Rumor has it that her family was quite well-off, living in a villa."

"We outsiders don’t know much about their relationship, but we do know that Xie Lisu hired over a dozen tutors just to improve his grades and avoid failing."

The faces and voices of the interviewees were all edited, but after watching the interviews, netizens came to one conclusion:

As expected of students from a top-tier university, even a wealthy heir had to rely on his own merits to win over a goddess.

In the past, the Xie Family had dismissed gossip about Xie Lisu with a laugh, thinking that having a few girlfriends was no big deal.

But as the rumors grew wilder and began to tarnish the family's reputation, they could no longer ignore the situation.

"Your father and I agreed to your engagement with Lin Xiaoxiao to promote the Xie Family as down-to-earth," Shi Xuezhen said coldly. "It was working well, but all that effort has been wasted because of the recent scandal."

The Xie Family had been on a decline in recent years, relying on online marketing to appeal to younger consumers.

The earlier incident of a wealthy heir being publicly rejected had already caused some damage, and this new scandal about a matrilocal marriage was adding fuel to the fire.

"Tell me the truth, what really happened with that ex-girlfriend of yours?" Shi Xuezhen eyed Xie Lisu suspiciously. Back then, her son had made such a spectacle of himself to pursue that woman—could he really have considered marrying into her family?

"What could have happened? She’s my ex, what else is there to say?" Xie Lisu felt more wronged than Dou E.

"Then where did all these rumors about a matrilocal marriage come from?" Shi Xuezhen remained skeptical. "You wouldn’t have made some grand promises just because she’s beautiful, would you?"

"I’m not that stupid…"

"You’re usually not, but men tend to lose their minds when faced with beauty." Shi Xuezhen took a sip of tea. "I don’t care if you made any earth-shattering vows, but this matter needs to be resolved immediately."

"Mom, why don’t you ask Uncle to help? He could handle this easily." Xie Lisu’s face darkened at the thought of his friends mocking him over this.

Shi Xuezhen set down her teacup, pausing for a moment. Her jade bracelet clinked against the edge of the cup. "If he were willing to step in, this wouldn’t have blown up like this."

Xie Lisu hesitated. "Does Uncle… not like Xiaoxiao?"

Even at his engagement party with Lin Xiaoxiao, his uncle hadn’t shown up. The family had claimed he was abroad on business, but Xie Lisu knew the truth—his uncle had deliberately snubbed him.

"Now you’re thinking about that?" Shi Xuezhen’s tone turned sharp. "When you insisted on throwing that lavish engagement party for Lin Xiaoxiao, you wouldn’t listen to anyone."

"If this isn’t resolved by tonight, you’ll have to go beg your ex-girlfriend."

"What?!" The mere thought of Jin Fei made Xie Lisu’s chest tighten.

"Her clearing things up would be more effective than anything else." Shi Xuezhen fiddled with her jade bracelet. "If you can’t even manage to charm a woman, then just let the netizens mock you. Once you’ve lost face, you might as well commit to it."

Xie Lisu: "…"

"Congratulations on getting your driver’s license!" In a lively private room, several handsome young men surrounded Jin Fei and Zhao Yue, holding champagne and party poppers to celebrate.

Jin Fei took a small sip of champagne, leaning back on the couch. Her eyes sparkled, and even without saying a word, she effortlessly drew everyone’s attention.

Zhao Yue held a microphone, singing a love song. Her singing wasn’t great, but she made up for it with enthusiasm.

"Come on, let’s sing together!" Zhao Yue slung an arm around Jin Fei’s shoulders.

Jin Fei handed her glass to one of the eager young men, took the microphone from Zhao Yue, and chuckled. "What should we sing?"

"There’s a song that blends traditional opera with pop. You take the opera part." Zhao Yue scrolled through the playlist and found the song. "Let’s go!"

The others in the room had braced themselves to cheer no matter how badly Jin Fei sang, determined not to let the beauty lose face.

But when her operatic voice filled the room, they were stunned—she was a professional.

"You’re amazing!"

"That was incredible! Are you a professional opera singer?"

The room erupted into applause and praise, turning into a full-blown fanboy fest.

"Hey, you jerks, don’t forget to compliment all the ladies!" Zhao Yue ordered a few more bottles of wine and clinked glasses with Jin Fei. "Congratulations on the license! Let’s go for a drive tomorrow."

"Drive sober, drink responsibly." Jin Fei took another sip. "It takes more than a night for alcohol to fully leave your system."

"You’re right." Zhao Yue laughed. "Traffic rules are everyone’s responsibility."

As they chatted, Zhao Yue’s phone rang. Seeing an unknown number, she hung up without a second thought. But the caller was persistent, and the phone rang again.

After several attempts, Zhao Yue finally answered. "Hello, who is this?"

"Miss, I can do one-handed push-ups. Want to see?" A sporty young man leaned toward Jin Fei, his eyes gleaming.

"One-handed push-ups? That’s nothing." Another handsome guy chimed in. "I can imitate all kinds of voices. What style do you like? I’ll do it for you."

"You’re all so talented." Jin Fei smiled, making sure to compliment everyone equally.

Xie Lisu, hearing Jin Fei’s voice and the laughter of other men through the phone, frowned. "Zhao Yue, it’s Xie Lisu. Is Jin Fei with you?"

"Mr. Xie, have you ever heard the saying?" Zhao Yue glanced at Jin Fei, who was surrounded by adoring young men. "A good ex should stay dead and never show up again."

Xie Lisu heard the familiar sound of Jin Fei laughing with other men—the same way he and his wealthy friends laughed during their own parties.

What on earth was Jin Fei playing at?

"Hand the phone to Jin Fei. I need to talk to her."

Zhao Yue scoffed, covering the microphone and turning to Jin Fei. "Sis, some jerk’s looking for you."

Jin Fei, who had been admiring a young man twirling a fan in traditional attire, took the phone. "Hello, this is Jin Fei."

"Miss, how’s my fan twirling?" The young man in traditional garb smiled warmly at her.

"Beautiful." Jin Fei took the fan and twirled it herself. "Graceful and utterly charming."

On the other end of the line, Xie Lisu: "…"

Here he was, drowning in negative rumors, while Jin Fei was out having fun?!

That aloof, untouchable goddess act she used to put on—was it all just for show?

"Jin Fei!"

"Yes?" The voice wasn’t familiar, and Jin Fei didn’t recognize it. "Who is this?"

Xie Lisu gritted his teeth. "Xie Lisu."

If she was going to play dumb, she might as well go into acting.

"Oh, it’s you…" Jin Fei handed the fan back to the young man. "I’ve told you before, I’m not interested. Stop bothering me."

"Miss, which shameless man is bothering you?" The sporty young pup fed a piece of peeled fruit to Jin Fei: "And interrupting your game time, how inconsiderate of him."

Xie Lisu: "..."

What kind of green tea man is this? Was he deliberately saying this for me to hear?

"Jin Fei, your taste has really gone downhill lately. How can you even tolerate such a man?"

"They're all sweet and adorable, much more likable than you," Jin Fei retorted, not wanting to have any further entanglement with such a man and immediately decided to hang up the phone.

"Have you seen the rumors online about you and me?"

"What rumors?" Jin Fei frowned. "Why are people dragging us into this again?"

Xie Lisu thought to himself: Do you think I want to take the blame for this?

"I hope you can help me clarify the situation," Xie Lisu paused for a moment. "Xiaoxiao and I are already engaged, and I don’t want her to misunderstand."

"I understand." Although Jin Fei didn’t like Xie Lisu, she had no intention of ruining someone else’s marriage.

"How do you plan to clarify things?" Zhao Yue thought for a moment. "How about I add you back to the alumni group? You can explain it there, and the news will spread by tomorrow."

Jin Fei hadn’t been using her previous WeChat account, so she wasn’t aware that many people in the group were discussing the whole "marrying into the family" incident.

"Alright."

The alumni group was always the liveliest at night. When the alumni saw Zhao Yue adding a new member with the WeChat name "Prince Fei," they were about to ask who it was when the newcomer spoke up first.

[Prince Fei: Hello everyone, I’m Jin Fei. I’d like to clarify the rumors circulating online. I’ve never had any intention of letting Xie Lisu marry into my family, so all those rumors are completely false.]

The alumni: "..."

So Xie Lisu didn’t even have a chance to marry into her family?

Those online rumors really were... quite ridiculous?

Xie Lisu, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, decided to check the alumni group. The moment he opened it, he saw Jin Fei’s message.

Damn! [A rare surname.]