The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Wild Imaginations

Hearing these words, the girl next to her removing makeup in a red dress couldn’t help but stop what she was doing, turned her head curiously, “I heard that ClEiR’s clothes are sky-high in price for one, but more importantly, these dresses have already been reserved by all the famous ladies before they even hit the runway. Ordinary people can’t even think about getting them, let alone seeing them.”

Xu Xinyi covered her mouth in surprise, “I remember, Xu Yang, doesn’t your family run a restaurant in Capital City? Can’t you even buy clothes from ClEiR?”

Xu Yang wiped off the makeup remover from her face with a wet tissue, self-deprecatingly said, “My family is at best a petty bourgeois family. We run a farmhouse on the outskirts of Capital City, quite beyond the fifth ring road, what kind of restaurant is that? We just have a small amount of money. Competing with the real heiresses in Capital City is a pipe dream; I’m simply not in the same world as them.”

“Moreover, I’m telling you, you can’t just enter the circles of Capital City just because you have money. Those waters are deep, very deep. Anyway, for me, it’s impossible in this lifetime, unless I can truly marry into a wealthy family after graduation, ha ha ha ha.”

Hearing her say this, Xu Xinyi grew even more curious. Among the three of them, she was the only one who wasn’t a local from Capital City; Xu Yang and Wen Min were both from there, and one could tell from their daily habits and lifestyle that both came from wealthy families, spending money extravagantly.

Xu Xinyi had thought those two were pretty impressive, but as it turns out, there’s always someone better out there.

...

Xu Xinyi sighed, “Well, what can I say? The biggest world I’ve ever seen is yours, and you’re saying you’re just on the fringe. Where does that leave me, a country bumpkin?”

With the same grades, they entered the university and lived in the same dormitory. If the gap widened after graduation, others might be traveling or enjoying afternoon teas daily, while she might have to work hard from dawn to dusk. This kind of contrast was something Xu Xinyin could never accept.

Just thinking about it filled her with dread.

Xu Yang got up, slung an arm around her shoulder, and comforted her with a smile, “Don’t worry, if we can’t reach the top tier, we can still strive for the middle tier. Plus, Minmin is way more impressive than I am. She manages to wear ClEiR’s limited editions. If we stick with her, our future prospects are unlimited, right, Minmin?”

Both turned their heads to look at Wen Min.

Wen Min was touching up her lipstick in the mirror, her upturned eyeliner making her look glamorous. She Laughed it off nonchalantly, “It’s all down to fate.”

Xu Xinyi’s heart sank, but Xu Yang seemed unfazed, careless, and clueless, “That’s true, fate is unpredictable.”

Seeing Wen Min applying makeup, Xu Yang curiously leaned over, “You going out so late? Did some handsome guy fall head over heels for you and can’t wait to ask you out?”

Wen Min said, “I’m going home tonight. I won’t be attending the classes for the next two days. Just cover for me when the teacher calls the roll.”

Xu Xinyi was surprised, “You’re not attending classes for the next two days? Plus the weekend, that’s four days away from school. Do you have some important business at home?”

“Why ask so many questions?” Wen Min clearly didn’t want to talk about it. She frowned and snapped back, “If you can help, help; if not, forget it. I can’t count on you all anyway. My average attendance should be enough.”

“Of course, we’ll help. No one said we wouldn’t.” Xu Yang didn’t understand why Wen Min suddenly got so angry. They were just having a laugh, and nobody said anything to offend her.

Her mood swings were completely baffling and left them speechless.

The conversation couldn’t continue, so Xu Yang slinked back to her own spot and started playing games on her phone.

Since Xu Yang dared not provoke Wen Min further, Xu Xinyi was even more cautious. She turned to do her own thing, but a thorn already planted in her heart began to ache again, uncomfortably so.

Wen Min was like a powder keg about to explode, and of course, it wasn’t because of Xu Yang or Xu Xinyi—it was because of something else, a long-planned thing. @@novelbin@@

Her phone on the desk vibrated a few times with a new message. Wen Min immediately stopped what she was doing, picked up the phone to check it, and saw it was a long voice message. She stood up and walked to the balcony, her abrupt movements startling Xu Yang nearby.

“What is she doing?” Xu Yang covered his chest and looked towards Xu Xinyi, who pouted and shook her head.

The voice message was from Minmin’s dad, still forbidding her to go to the Qin Family, with vehement words.

“How many times do I have to tell you! ‘No’ means ‘no’, nothing you say will change that. Why would a university student like you ditch classes just to be a maid? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. The Qin Family is no place for your foolishness. It seems like you just want to kill your grandfather, to bring doom upon the whole Wen Family!”

As Minmin listened, tears began to fall. She pressed down the talk button and burst out in anger, “Leave me alone! Even if I die out there, it’s none of your business. Are you happy now?!”

After shouting, Minmin squatted down and cried, her arms around her knees.

The noise startled the other two roommates in the dormitory, who were too scared to come over to comfort her. They exchanged glances, daring not to speak.

Meanwhile, in the apartment living room, Wen Hong stood with a beer belly, so furious that he threw his phone to the ground, nearly scattering the fragments onto the legs of Zhang Wenfang, who was carrying fruit over.

“What’s wrong with you, who’s got you so angry?”

Wen Hong looked at her and sneered, “Who else but your darling daughter?”

Zhang Wenfang was surprised. She bent down to place the fruit bowl on the table, and Wen Hong came over to sit down beside her.

“What’s wrong with Minmin? Did she run out of money again?”

Wen Hong was seething with anger and his words came out tinged with sarcasm, “I wouldn’t be this mad if it were just about money. Do you know what she told me? She said she wants to run off to the Qin Family to be a maid.”

“A maid? Impossible. Minmin might just miss her grandfather, don’t overthink it.”

Zhang Wenfang hugged Wen Hong, resting her chin on his shoulder, and tried to soothe him with a soft voice.

Wen Hong pushed her away and glared at her, “Do you think I can’t see what’s going on? You dare say she’s going to the Qin Family for any other reason than to get close to Qin Yu? She must be out of her mind, wanting to throw our whole family into the fire!”

Zhang Wenfang’s face turned a mixture of colors, and she stood up abruptly, “Wen Hong, do you have to speak so harshly?”

Wen Hong tapped the table, his words intense, “This isn’t about harshness. This is about you all not understanding the seriousness of the situation! The Qin Family, or Qin Yu for that matter, is not someone we can aspire to. My father, my grandfather, generation after generation we’ve slaved for the Qin Family, never daring to make a mistake. Do you think that’s for nothing?”

Zhang Wenfang’s face choked with emotion, “Are we doomed to be subservient for generations? Can’t we rise up to be the masters for once? If the daughter likes him, well, Master Qin isn’t married and doesn’t have a girlfriend. Maybe there’s a chance?”

Zhang Wenfang crouched down, grabbing Wen Hong’s hand.

“Besides, if our daughter could get involved with Qin Yu, having his protection would change everything for our family. You wouldn’t have to worry about the business day in and day out. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Wen Hong seemed to be swayed but was still weighing his thoughts, shaking his head, “You all are too fanciful. The Qin Family is not someone we can afford to mess with, especially Qin Yu. No one in Capital City dares to offend him. Do you know how severe the consequences would be?”

“It’s exactly because of that we should take the risk. You’re more timid than our daughter,” Zhang Wenfang stood up and sat next to Wen Hong. “There’s a saying, ‘He who is near to the well gets first at the water.’ Only you and dad are stubborn, clinging to outdated rules. If it were anyone else, they would’ve tried every means to get into his bed by now.”