“Was that woman sitting in the car just now Jin Fei?” Mentioning Jin Fei’s name, Xie Lisu’s face turned pale. It seemed that these past two days, whenever he heard the words “Jin” or “Fei,” his heart would feel heavy.
Lin Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and didn’t say a word.
For a brief moment earlier, she had felt that when Jin Fei turned her head to look over, her entire demeanor was captivating, like a stunning beauty. It wasn’t just men who would be mesmerized—even as a woman, Lin Xiaoxiao had been struck by that fleeting charm.
“Xiaoxiao?” Xie Lisu noticed Lin Xiaoxiao spacing out and thought she might be upset that he had brought up Jin Fei. He quickly explained, “I’m just annoyed by her, that’s all. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Huh?” Lin Xiaoxiao snapped out of her thoughts. She hadn’t caught what Xie Lisu had said, so she just smiled at him.
“As long as you believe me, that’s all that matters.” Xie Lisu gritted his teeth, thinking about the viral video of the wealthy heir being humiliated that had been circulating on major websites these past few days. How had he never realized before that Jin Fei was such a bad omen for him?
“I think… Jin Fei is really amazing,” Lin Xiaoxiao said after a few seconds of silence. “Lisu, we owe her an apology, don’t we?”
Xie Lisu: ???
Wait, aren’t you supposed to be rivals? How come you’re praising her in front of me, your boyfriend? Am I really that insignificant, not even worth fighting over?
“Get some rest tonight. I’ll pick you up tomorrow to go shopping,” Zhao Yue said as she dropped Jin Fei off at her neighborhood, waving goodbye.
There’s nothing that a good shopping spree can’t fix.
And if it doesn’t work, it just means you didn’t buy enough.
When Jin Fei got home, Jin Weifeng and Zhou Yun were still awake. The couple was sitting shoulder to shoulder, engrossed in a melodramatic TV series. Seeing Jin Fei return, Zhou Yun smiled and asked, “Did you have fun hanging out with your friends?”
They hadn’t told anyone about what had happened to Jin Fei. People’s hearts are fickle, and they couldn’t guarantee that others would protect their daughter the way family would.
“It was alright,” Jin Fei nodded, changing into slippers and sitting down on the couch.
Zhou Yun caught a faint whiff of alcohol on her daughter but, seeing that her eyes were clear and she didn’t seem drunk, decided not to press further.
“Mom, Dad,” Jin Fei began, feeling that as a strong and capable woman, she needed to share her future plans with her parents. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”
Jin Weifeng turned off the TV and looked at Jin Fei. “What is it?”
Jin Fei explained her plans to learn how to drive and her career goals.
“Don’t worry, I’ll do well in my job and won’t let you down,” Jin Fei said confidently.
The couple exchanged a glance, and Zhou Yun got up to sit beside Jin Fei. “Fei Fei, you’ve always been the pride of your parents.”
Jin Fei agreed with this statement. Was it really that hard for someone of her caliber to make her parents proud?
“But for us, your happiness is the most important thing,” Zhou Yun said, looking at her daughter’s beautiful face. “Do you actually enjoy these job offers?”
Jin Fei was taken aback. As a revered prince, wasn’t it expected that she excel in everything she did?
She was the child who made her parents proud, the safe harbor for her younger brother, and the future glory and hope of the family. Every step she took had to be deliberate.
“Is there something you want or something you’d like to do?” Jin Weifeng asked, seeing his daughter hesitate. “I noticed Zhao Yue’s sports car looks pretty nice. Your mom and I can go order one for you tomorrow. Once you get your driver’s license, you can take it out for a spin.”
“I saw that the car comes in sapphire blue and silver gray. If you don’t like those colors, we can get something else,” Jin Weixin added, worried that Jin Fei might be reluctant to spend money. “Don’t worry about the cost. Your parents have saved up quite a bit over the years.”
Jin Fei looked at Jin Weifeng, then at Zhou Yun, before finally speaking after a long pause. “Overindulgent parents spoil their children.”
Jin Weixin: “…”
Zhou Yun: “…”
“You should get some rest,” Jin Fei stood up. “Staying up too late leads to impulsive spending. We can talk about the car later.”
The couple sat in silence. In other families, children would throw tantrums to get their parents to buy them things. Why was it that in their family, they were the ones being scolded for being too indulgent?
“Our daughter mentioned you first,” Jin Weifeng said, his tone slightly sour. “She used to always put her dad first.”
Zhou Yun rolled her eyes at him.
The next morning, Jin Fei replied to the emails from the companies that had offered her jobs, declining their invitations.
She had never truly lived for herself, so she didn’t even know what she liked.
Now that the Great Phoenix Empire had fallen, and the Jin family’s legacy was gone, she no longer had a kingdom to inherit. Perhaps it was time to learn how to relax a little.
If she wanted to become a carefree, indulgent woman, what was the first step?
“Shop till you drop,” Zhao Yue said, standing in a clothing store and admiring Jin Fei’s vibrant new look. She rubbed her hands together excitedly. “You used to always wear those ethereal, fairy-like outfits. Changing your style is a good idea. Trust me, you look stunning in this.”
Listening to her friend’s effusive praise, Jin Fei handed her card to the sales assistant. “Charge it.”
There’s something undeniably charming about anyone who says, “Charge it.”
After their shopping spree, Zhao Yue took Jin Fei out to eat. “This restaurant is so popular that I had to wait a month to get a reservation today. As your sister from another mother, of course, I had to bring you along.”
The restaurant was located in a quaint, traditional courtyard house. The atmosphere was serene, with the gentle sound of flowing water in the background.
In the middle of the pavilion, a young woman in a cheongsam was playing the guzheng. Her skills were mediocre, but the ambiance was perfect.
As Jin Fei stepped onto the stairs, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw two men walking toward her.
She stopped and moved aside to let them pass.
Gentlemen first, after all.
“Be careful,” Jin Fei said. The courtyard was beautiful, but some of the steps were carved with intricate patterns, making them less stable than flat floors.
Seeing the man in front about to trip, Jin Fei, ever the gallant woman, reached out to steady him.
Once he regained his balance, Jin Fei quickly let go, not wanting him to mistake her for some lecherous woman taking advantage of him.
“Thank you,” the man said, his voice gentle. His shirt was almost perfectly pressed, except for the spot where Jin Fei had touched him.
“No problem,” Jin Fei replied, her eyes briefly scanning his face. His skin was as pale as snow, and his features were strikingly handsome. He wore gold-rimmed frameless glasses.
What a beauty.
Jin Fei nodded at him and then strode past the two men without looking back.
Having experienced the consequences of helping someone only to be pursued by them, the former Prince Fei was now wary of getting too close to respectable men.
The man glanced back at Jin Fei’s retreating figure, his expression calm as he turned away.
“Stop staring,” his companion coughed lightly. “Do you know that girl almost became your relative?”
The man adjusted his shirt cuff. “Oh?”
“She’s your nephew’s ex-girlfriend. Your nephew went to great lengths to pursue her back then,” the companion said in a hushed tone, clearly finding the nephew’s actions somewhat embarrassing. “Later, your nephew started two-timing her with a girl from another school, claiming it was true love. When the news got out, the ex-girlfriend became the laughingstock of many. Luckily, she doesn’t know who you are, or she might have pushed you down the stairs instead of helping you up.”
The man smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt. “Poor judgment seems to run in the Xie family genes.”
“Listen to you…” the companion thought to himself. As if your family’s judgment is any better.
“That man you helped earlier was really good-looking,” Zhao Yue nudged Jin Fei lightly with her elbow. “You didn’t just help him because he’s handsome, did you?”
“Haven’t you heard the saying?” Jin Fei replied, elegantly tasting the dishes on the table.
“What saying?” Zhao Yue pressed.
“The more handsome a man is, the more dangerous he is,” Jin Fei put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth. “A beautiful face can ensnare your soul. Yue, you need to be careful. Don’t get too excited just because you see a pretty face.”
“I’ve heard that the more beautiful a woman is, the more deceptive she can be…”
But that’s about women, not men.
Zhao Yue looked at Jin Fei’s face. With your enchanting looks, how can you talk about beautiful faces ensnaring souls? Don’t you feel even a little guilty?
Ah, whatever. You’re beautiful, so you’re always right.
After the meal, the two went back to the mall for another round of shopping.
“This brand just released their autumn collection. Let’s go check it out,” Zhao Yue loved buying bags, and when she saw that one of her favorite brands had new arrivals, she dragged Jin Fei straight into the store.
"Jin Fei?" A woman who was browsing bags noticed Jin Fei. Her expression was peculiar, a mix of schadenfreude and the sympathy a victor might show toward the fallen.
Jin Fei glanced at her twice but didn’t recognize her.
"Did you not attend Mr. Xie and Miss Lin’s engagement party?" The woman placed the bag back on the shelf. "The rest of us couldn’t find you."
Jin Fei replied, "Attending an engagement party requires a gift."
"What?" The woman looked at Jin Fei, baffled.
"Just saving on the gift money." Jin Fei’s eyes swept across the shelves, finding nothing she liked. She turned to see the woman still staring at her and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is there something else?"
"Nothing, really. It’s just that the others haven’t seen you around lately, so they’re a bit worried about you." The woman pointed to a particular bag and asked the sales assistant to pack it for her.
Worried?
Jin Fei suspected that the woman’s crush might have a thing for her. Otherwise, why would she be so passive-aggressive?
It was all because Jin Fei was too charming, leaving a trail of jealous rivals in her wake.
"Thank you for your concern." Out of pity, Jin Fei chose not to expose the woman’s jealousy.
The woman, seeing no trace of sadness on Jin Fei’s face, let out a mocking laugh.
Of course, someone like Jin Fei, who always insisted on maintaining a perfect façade, would never let her true emotions show, even if she were crying her heart out inside.
Men, for some reason, ate it up, treating her like a goddess and fighting over her like love-struck fools.
But what good was perfection when her boyfriend had been snatched away by a woman who couldn’t hold a candle to her?
"It’s nothing." The woman lowered her eyelids and chuckled softly. "Don’t take Xie Lisu’s engagement to someone else to heart. Everyone knows it’s his lack of taste."
Why did people keep bringing up that fickle man?
Even someone as dignified as Jin Fei had her pride. Being repeatedly reminded that she had once fallen for a man who couldn’t stay loyal was downright embarrassing.
"My judgment was off back then. Sorry to have amused you." Jin Fei shuddered at the memory. "It’s good that he’s engaged to someone else. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to let him into the Jin family."
The woman: ???
Jin Fei, oh Jin Fei, you actually considered having Xie Lisu marry into your family?!
How bold of you! Why not aim for the stars while you’re at it?
The woman couldn’t help but wonder if Xie Lisu had rejected Jin Fei, a goddess-level girlfriend, and proposed to some young girl instead because he wasn’t willing to become a live-in son-in-law.
