Qin Rong's eyes immediately reddened, and her nose followed suit. Apparently prone to easy tears, she couldn't even utter a word of rebuttal before her eyes started to well up, her lips quivering with grievance.

[Oh no, I really can't stand to see little sisters cry. Qin Xian was too harsh.]

Qin Xian: ... He had only calmly made a suggestion.

[I've seen two members of the Qin family cry today.]

Qin's Father and Qin Xian: ? Who else?

Qin Zhao: *cough cough cough*

[Do all the people in their family cry so easily? And all for matters of the heart.]

Qin Rong: About to cry.

Qin Zhao and Qin Yan: Guiltily looking skyward.

Qin's Father and Qin's Mom: No, absolutely not, we've never... probably... maybe.

Qin's Father suddenly poked Qin's Mom with a hint of grievance, using his eyes to suggest: You made me cry when you bullied me when we were young.

Qin's Mom glared back: You made me cry first.

As the only man in the Qin family who had never cried over love, Qin Xian sat with his head held high at this moment.

[Maybe Qin Xian has cried too. Wasn't he dumped before? Haha! Oh, I missed it. I really want to see what this ice prince looks like when he cries. It must be hilarious. When will he cry again? I'll definitely take a picture!]

Ji Fei became more and more amused as she thought about it.

Beside her, Qin Xian's face grew darker. Using the topic of Qin Rong, he said, "If you disagree, you can express your opinion. Maintain emotional stability, don't cry. I haven't cried since I was six years old. You should learn from me. Don't learn from your third brother, who cries over love at the drop of a hat."

Qin Zhao: Hey hey hey, what did I do? Why am I being dragged into this?

Qin Rong: Wants to cry! But her emotions are in such a jumble from her second sister-in-law's various random thoughts and her second brother's strange reprimands that she can't shed a single tear.

Ji Fei's mouth twitched as she listened: [Has he gone mad? Why should a soft and sweet girl learn from a steel-hearted man like him?]

Qin Rong: *whimper* That's right, second sister-in-law is correct.

Qin Xian: No, I just wanted to emphasize that I've never cried over other women. Listen to the main point! Also, if you want to see me cry, it's never going to happen in this lifetime.

Everyone's mood lightened a bit after this interruption.

Qin Rong sniffled, managing not to burst into tears, but said with grievance, "If the family doesn't look down on him, what's inappropriate about it?"

Qin Xian answered seriously, "Your values don't align. You believe that human relationships are about getting along, without distinctions of high or low status. But he emphasized this point as soon as you started dating. Didn't he know about the differences between you before pursuing you?"

"Couldn't it be that he's insecure and sensitive because he likes me too much?"

"He can be concerned, but if he truly cherished you, he wouldn't bring it up in front of you. His behavior will only result in one thing: putting us in opposition before he's even met your family. It's like earlier when you started defending him against your family before we had even said anything." Qin Xian always spoke convincingly, making people listen attentively.

Perhaps it was because both his older sister and third brother had such troubled love lives.

As the only person in this family who wouldn't be swayed by emotions, he finally abandoned his principle of non-interference.

Qin Rong was stunned. She seemed to understand something, but couldn't help wanting to refute. After pondering for a while, she said:

"Second brother, Cheng Yue isn't as excellent and smart as you. How can you judge him by your standards?"

Qin Xian was momentarily stumped by his little bunny sister's words.

The others heard this and thought it made sense.

Actually, even if someone's background isn't great, with proper nurturing and as long as they're hardworking and eager to improve, they shouldn't be dismissed. Values can be aligned over time.

[I didn't expect her to be such a sharp-toothed little bunny. She's quite articulate. It's rare to see Qin Xian at a loss for words, haha.]

Qin Rong felt a bit proud, having been praised.

Qin Xian, however, looked helplessly at Ji Fei, wondering how she could undermine her own side.

Ji Fei blinked innocently. [Qin Xian seems to be at a loss with Qin Rong and is asking me for help? That's really a desperate measure. What can I say? Should I mention the gossip I just heard, that the guy is subconsciously trying to put the Qin family in an opposing position?]

The Qin family: !!!!

Qin Rong suddenly panicked. No, how could Cheng Yue do that?

Ji Fei naturally wouldn't speak carelessly, but she couldn't help her inner thoughts.

[I don't know if that guy did it intentionally or not. Qin Rong just said she wanted to inform her family about her relationship, and this Cheng Yue told her that the Qin family treats her like a child, that normal families aren't like that, otherwise she wouldn't have never smoked, dyed her hair, gotten into fights, hung out in internet cafes, or gone to bars...]

Qin Rong was stunned for a moment, as if just realizing that these words... could also be seen as putting her family in opposition?

But that was just Cheng Yue protecting her, and what he said wasn't wrong. She really hadn't experienced those things. Even Miao Miao said that her youth was incomplete without them.

[Hmm... is it possible that there are also many things that normal 20-year-old college girls haven't experienced?]

Qin Rong's mind jolted. Is... is that so?

[And why does Qin Rong have to experience the same things as him to be considered normal? Qin Rong went to high school, does that mean his family is abnormal for not sending him to high school?]

Qin Rong froze, her mind starting to tangle. For a moment, she was speechless.

[Could it really be that he's insecure and sensitive, trying to negate others to boost his own confidence?]

Ji Fei mumbled to herself for a while, and Qin Rong was already in a daze.

Ji Fei noticed that everyone had gone quiet, as if waiting for her to speak.

Reluctantly, she tried to smooth things over, "Ahem, since none of us know Qin Rong's boyfriend, we shouldn't say too much. Why don't we find an opportunity for the family to meet him?"

Qin Rong, however, stood up wavering, "I... I'm tired. I'm going back to rest."

[Huh? Wasn't she bravely refuting Qin Xian just now? Why did she suddenly deflate?]

Qin Rong left in a daze.

The others naturally had to disperse as well, but before Ji Fei could get up, Qin's Father patted her shoulder with a gratified look.

Ji Fei: ?

Then came Qin's Mom, Qin Yan, and even Qin Zhao came to pat her.

Ji Fei silently looked at her shoulder, making sure there was nothing dirty on it, then looked up at Qin Xian standing nearby.

As a result, Qin Xian also patted Ji Fei's shoulder. "Well said."

Ji Fei: ?

What did I say?

Wasn't I just trying to smooth things over?

Ji Fei returned with a head full of question marks. Passing by Qin Rong's room, she heard voices, apparently she was on the phone.

First love, huh.

It's not so easy to cut off.

Qin Zhao and Qin's Father went to Qin Xian's study together.

Actually, when Qin Rong first chose to live on campus for university, Qin Xian had done a simple investigation on her roommate Cheng Miao. He confirmed that her family was a normal family of four without any criminal records, which was enough. He wouldn't investigate others' privacy, after all, whether a person is good or bad, Qin Rong needed to learn to discern for herself.

But as a potential partner, of course, a thorough examination was necessary.

The Qin family men discussed and came up with a plan.

Early the next morning, Qin Zhao stopped Qin Rong, who was trying to avoid them at breakfast. "Where are you running off to?"

"No... nowhere, I just wanted to eat in my room." Qin Rong wasn't in a daze like last night, but rather seemed to want to avoid everyone.

Qin Xian's eyes darkened slightly.

Qin's Father said, "Ahem, if you don't want to break up, we won't force you. Since he doesn't have a job at the moment, let him come to our company. Let your second brother get to know your boyfriend up close."

Qin Rong looked at Qin Xian in disbelief, "Re... really?"

Qin Xian nodded, "Your second sister-in-law made a good point. We should get to know him before we have the right to give you advice."

Qin Rong's face immediately lit up with joy, "Okay, I'll tell him right away. If he's willing, when should he come?"

Seeing their little sister so enthusiastic about another man, the three Qin men all felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Today is fine. I'll inform the HR department." Qin Xian said and left.

Qin Rong happily went back to make a phone call.

When Ji Fei came out for brunch and heard about this, she even received a thank you from Qin Rong.

Ji Fei had really just mentioned it casually, but Qin Xian and the others' method was quite good.

However, by noon, the sound of hysterical crying came from Qin Rong's art studio.

When Qin's Mom and Ji Fei rushed over, Qin Rong threw herself into her mother's arms, crying as if the sky was falling.

"Mom, Cheng Yue broke up with me! It's because my second brother insulted him. He said he's not good enough for me. Waaah..." she sobbed uncontrollably.