Qin Rong was stunned for a moment. Cheng Yue had never been so harsh with her before, but knowing he was concerned, she quickly said, "I'm sorry, Brother Cheng Yue. I was caught up with something and couldn't answer just now."

"Could it be that your Third Brother is giving you a hard time because of our relationship?" came the concerned voice.

"Don't worry, Brother Cheng Yue. I'm fine. My Third Brother just has a quick temper. He's upset because I didn't inform the family about my relationship beforehand. It'll be fine once I officially explain it to them."

A scornful voice came through the phone, "They're still controlling you at this age? Rong Rong, you need to remember that you're an adult, an independent and free soul. You can make your own decisions about anything. You don't need to inform others about everything."

"I'm the youngest in the family, so everyone just cares about me," Qin Rong said with an innocent laugh. "Oh, by the way, my Eldest Sister just told me..."

Suddenly, she paused. She instinctively wanted to share the interesting news with her loved one, but remembering her Eldest Sister's warning, she immediately stopped.

"What is it?"

"Uh... nothing."

A slightly complaining voice came from the other end, "Are you hiding something from me? Couples shouldn't have secrets. After all, we're the ones who will spend our lives together, we're the most important people to each other. Look at me, I have no secrets from you. I tell you everything you want to know. You should be completely open with me too. You're making me sad like this. It seems I love you more deeply."

Qin Rong blushed and hurriedly explained, "It's not like that."

Qin Rong hesitated for a moment, her innate upbringing preventing her from speaking out.

Of course, she could share her own secrets with Brother Cheng Yue without reservation, but... that was her second sister-in-law's secret.

Qin Rong's hesitation made the other side uneasy. He probed, "I get it. Is it that your family looks down on me? They think I'm not good enough for you?"

Qin Rong was shocked, "How could you think that? You're so excellent!"

"Huh, you're the young miss of Qin Corporation. In your family's eyes, I'm just a lower-class person," he said sarcastically.

Qin Rong panicked instantly, as if afraid her boyfriend would misunderstand her family and get hurt. She quickly said, "Our family doesn't care about those external things. As long as I like you, it's fine."

"Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter if they don't approve. We love each other, and I've decided on you. No one can separate us," he said domineeringly.

Qin Rong felt very shy hearing this and softly murmured agreement a couple of times.

In the evening, the whole family gathered for dinner for the first time.

Qin Rong happily acknowledged her grand-nephew Qin Xi, and gave many gifts and snacks to the younger generation, feeling very happy that she was finally not the youngest in the family anymore.

It wasn't until Qin Yan sent the children upstairs to rest that everyone gathered on the sofa to talk.

The main topic of conversation was naturally Qin Rong's relationship.

Qin's Father and Qin Xian had heard information from various sources after returning home and had a general understanding of the situation.

Obviously, Cheng Yue had made a very bad first impression on Qin Zhao, so he had directly reported it.

The reason was: in public, those behaviors were frivolous and disrespectful to women. After all, men understand men's thoughts.

But it wasn't good to say this was problematic, as young people in love nowadays might display intimate gestures in public, which could be explained as being unable to control their emotions.

So they didn't mention this point for now.

Qin's Father thought for a moment and asked curiously, "You said he was temporarily employed by your professor. How does he have so much free time to be with you? Doesn't he have a formal job?"

Qin Rong said, "He's planning to start a business and open an art gallery. He's currently self-studying related knowledge, waiting for Miao Miao and me to graduate from university. He'll specifically help us hold exhibitions and sell our paintings."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Ji Fei was taken aback.

Qin's Mom asked puzzled, "Didn't you always say before that art is priceless, and that your paintings would only be exhibited for free, not sold?"

Qin Rong was stunned for a moment, "Haha, that was just nonsense I said when I was young and didn't know better. The more money my paintings sell for, the better they are, right? And Brother Cheng Yue said the money from sales can be used for charity, which is more meaningful."

The whole family fell silent. It wasn't that what he said was wrong - the world is like that - but it felt strange somehow.

While the Qin family members were pondering, Ji Fei thought of something else.

[So he's currently unemployed? Can he support himself?]

As soon as these words were spoken, Qin Rong immediately looked at Ji Fei, her eyes full of disbelief.

So it was true!

The Qin family members reacted and immediately coughed, reminding Qin Rong.

However, Ji Fei's words also reminded them.

"So what does he live on now?" Qin Zhao immediately questioned, "Don't tell me he's living off his parents, or off you!"

Qin Rong became agitated, her body tense as she sat on the sofa. She exclaimed, "Third Brother, how can you say such unpleasant things? Besides, we've just started dating. How could I possibly ask him how he lives and earns money? That would be too strange. But I do know he's renting a place outside, and occasionally takes on short-term work at our academy. Mainly, he needs to spend time learning about and getting in touch with this industry."

"Was his original major unrelated to this field?" Qin's Father asked.

Qin Rong suddenly became a bit timid and shook her head, "He... never went to university. He went to a vocational technical school..."

[Not only did he not go to university, he didn't even go to high school. He's 22 now, so by this calculation, he's been out of school and in society for many years.]

Ji Fei didn't have a contemptuous attitude, she was just stating the facts that Qin Rong hadn't elaborated on.

However, Ji Fei's addition still made the Qin family members, except for Qin Xian, change their expressions.

Although the Qin family never interfered with their children's marriage and relationships, this difference was already worlds apart. Their little princess was still so innocent, it was really...

It could be said that from this moment on, everyone in the Qin family became worried.

Hearing Ji Fei's thoughts, Qin Rong bit her lip and looked around with a worried expression, "Education doesn't represent one's character. Besides, he didn't continue studying not because he was a bad student, but because his family's financial situation was limited. They had to support Miao Miao to study art, so he couldn't persist in studying! You won't look down on him and think he's a lower-class person, and then oppose our relationship, will you?"

The Qin family members naturally couldn't speak up. Their usual principles of behavior were constantly clashing with their concerns for their youngest daughter.

Suddenly, Qin Xian spoke up, "Why would you think that?"

Qin Rong was taken aback, seeming not to understand why Qin Xian would ask such a question. The others hadn't reacted either.

Qin Xian's expression remained impassive, "The Rong Rong from before wouldn't have thought our family had such a mindset. Who made you think this way?"

Although this sentence wasn't heavy, it was like a stone dropping into water, creating ripples that caused everyone's expressions to subtly change.

"No... no one, isn't this just common logic?" Qin Rong panicked when she saw Qin Xian's stern face.

[Sigh, silly girl, with you looking so guilty, I don't need to check to know that it must have been your boyfriend who mentioned this to you.]

Qin Rong panicked even more upon hearing this, "Well..."

[It seems the little sister doesn't know how to lie, look how flustered she is.]

Qin Rong: Wuwuwu... stop talking, I'm getting more panicked.

But before the little girl could calm down, Qin Xian spoke directly, "You two are not suitable. I suggest you break up."