Pei Mingxuan hadn’t intended to stir sympathy for Yu Rouyin; she simply knew some inside stories about the industry. 

Yu Rouyin had faced her share of hardships, but in this line of work, those who’ve had it worse are often long gone, having lost the will to keep fighting. Yu Rouyin, however, was resilient and smart, a survivor who’d withstood scandal and even temporary blacklisting. For this reason, Pei Mingxuan felt Yu Rouyin had potential and was worth mentoring. But she was still cautious.

“That’s what she’s asked for,” Pei Mingxuan continued, “but we can’t know for sure where Yu Rouyin’s intentions lie now. After all, she’s spent ten years in this complicated industry, even being blacklisted once. Dealing with the public’s perception of her is hard enough, but if she herself turns out to be a liability…”

Ji Fei, lost in thought, responded, “Isn’t that just part of signing an artist? You can’t know if it’ll work out until you start. At worst, you terminate the contract. I’m sure Pei-jie wouldn’t let herself be taken advantage of.”

Pei Mingxuan chuckled. “So, Miss Ji, you’re saying you support signing her?”

Ji Fei couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Why was Pei Mingxuan so focused on her opinion? Hadn’t she already told Pei-jie to do as she saw fit? She wasn’t an expert in these matters.

Just then, Qin Zhao motioned for her to lean in, signaling he wanted to whisper something.

Ji Fei held her phone against her shoulder, turning her ear to him. Qin Zhao leaned close, speaking directly into her ear, “She wants to make sure that if she signs Yu Rouyin, you’ll be her support.”

His warm breath tickled Ji Fei’s ear, making it itch. She instinctively shifted, and in doing so, brushed against Qin Zhao’s cool lips.

Ji Fei didn’t notice where she had touched, but Qin Zhao’s expression grew uneasy as he pulled back slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Thanks to Qin Zhao’s explanation, Ji Fei finally understood. *What a sly businessman,* she thought, *always quick on the uptake.*

It seemed Pei Mingxuan had been skirting around the issue because she worried Yu Rouyin’s reputation would draw a lot of unwanted attention. Even if she were innocent, without strong backing, she could end up torn apart by rumors, like the current ban imposed by the wives’ club.

In the entertainment world, where influence mattered more than fairness or justice, those who had powerful capital backing them could flaunt their righteousness. Without that, a scandal could ruin a career, sometimes only to be exposed much later when the influential party had lost their status.

Pei Mingxuan knew Yu Rouyin would be a handful. If Ji Fei, as Mrs. Qin, was willing to be her support, then Pei could use this to propel Yu Rouyin’s career further. The more black marks she attracted, the higher Yu Rouyin could soar.

But if Ji Fei found it too much trouble, signing Yu Rouyin could become a burden.

With Qin Chao planning to step back from the studio, Pei Mingxuan needed to confirm this point. That was the true reason for her call tonight.

Originally, Pei Mingxuan had planned to abandon the idea of Ji Fei acting as support, feeling that the wives’ club would be too challenging to manage.

But since Ji Fei’s attitude toward Yu Rouyin seemed favorable, Pei had decided to try one more time.

*“She wants to know if I can be her support? That’s a lot to ask—who knows…”*

Qin Zhao’s brow twitched, guessing that Ji Fei might say something blunt and immediately interrupting her.

“Remember, you are Mrs. Qin. You share everything I have. As long as you’re willing, you can be anyone’s support.”

Ji Fei was surprised at how much face Qin Zhao was giving her, though she couldn’t help thinking, *But what if we get divorced…*

Qin Zhao: *Could you please be more optimistic about our marriage?*

Across the table, Qin Mom and Qin Rong began to cough, trying to cover their laughter.

Qin Mom quickly said, “Feifei, rest assured, if she’s truly a poor girl who happened to come to our attention, then it’s fate. If we can help, we should. Consider it charity.”

With Qin Mom’s reassurance, Ji Fei finally replied to Pei Mingxuan, “Pei-jie, I’m on board.”

Pei Mingxuan, who had overheard parts of their conversation, could guess that Ji Fei’s family were indeed the prominent Qin family. No wonder they had a daughter-in-law like Ji Fei; it seemed they were all compassionate at heart.

“Got it. Anyway, her current contract is set to expire after the next PK round, so I’ll observe her closely until then.”

After deciding, Pei Mingxuan hung up.

Curious about Yu Rouyin, the whole family began searching for information on their way home.

As soon as they looked her up, they were bombarded with articles labeling her as a “mistress,” “lover,” “temptress,” and stories accusing her of seducing various people, creating an unpleasant picture.

They turned to Ji Fei for the inside scoop, hoping to avoid misinformation, and Ji Fei, now intrigued, was happy to oblige.

*“Heavens, this is just tragic.”*

For the first time, the Qin family found themselves distressed while consuming gossip.

*“To have a face like that truly is a curse.”*

The car grew silent as they processed this, tension thick in the air.

*“Ever since she was young, Yu Rouyin developed faster than other girls her age. As a result, she’s faced teasing from boys and exclusion from girls. Luckily, she grew up in a loving family, so her personality didn’t suffer.”*

*“The first truly horrifying incident happened in sixth grade. A predatory teacher tried to hold her inappropriately. She fought back, smashing a chair over his head to escape. Her parents fought for justice, but the school, likely trying to protect its reputation or the teacher, refused to believe her, dismissing her story as a child’s fantasy or a lie to get attention. They even suggested she’d made it up because the teacher hadn’t given her high grades.”*

*“Lacking evidence and with her parents being simple, honest people, they had no choice but to transfer her to another school.”*

Qin Mom and Qin Rong fumed as they heard this. Qin Rong, in her search, stumbled upon a rumor.

A former elementary school teacher had supposedly claimed that Yu Rouyin had been “sexually precocious” since childhood, using “dirty lies” to get favors, even accusing her of seducing him. He concluded by saying she had been promiscuous from a young age.

Furious, Qin Rong quickly shared it with the family.

*“Ugh, scum like him can’t be allowed to get away with this!”*

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Qin Mom cautioned. “There’s no proof, and every story has two sides. But we should investigate. If that teacher truly is a problem, who knows how many children he might have harmed.”

*“Wow, Qin Mom is really wise!”* thought Ji Fei. *“I like it!”*

Qin Zhao looked at the information and said, “Understood. I’ll arrange for an investigation.”

Just as he finished speaking, Ji Fei made a small sound.

*“It may not be necessary—the teacher has already been dealt with.”*

Everyone gave Ji Fei a surprised glance. She furrowed her brow thoughtfully.

*“She remembered that awful teacher after seeing that rumor, and was torn between revenge and concern for other girls who might face the same. So she turned to… an influential man she’d once been tied to. He couldn’t be bothered with legal methods; he saw the teacher as a threat to her and had all three of his legs broken, leaving him a broken man.”*

The car fell silent.

*“Then why not track down those three middle school boys and break their legs too? They deserve it just as much!”*