Qin Zhao and Qin Rong, hearing this, suddenly understood—it was all about profit.

At the same time, they felt disgusted.

Close family and an ex conspiring against such a hardworking, honest girl—it was truly collusion.

No, to be precise, it was the gambler who had calculated everything, and Sun’s mom and uncle were just foolish enough to believe Lang Zhe, letting themselves be used as tools.

With intelligence like that, no wonder they couldn’t manage Sun Man’s studio well; it seemed their minds were entirely filled with money.

Ji Fei’s thoughts quickly confirmed their assumptions.

**[It’s truly sickening to see such black-hearted people. They think that with Sun Man being rebellious now, she’s already too hard to control, and if she marries into a powerful family, she’d be even harder to rein in. So they’d rather choose Lang Zhe. In their minds, Lang Zhe has always been polite and respectful. Once, when they argued with Sun Man, Lang Zhe even mediated and convinced Sun Man to apologize to them, showing respect for elders. So, at this crucial time, they’re settling for second best—trying to marry her off to Lang Zhe to regain control over her.]**

**[As for Sun’s uncle, no comment, but Sun’s mom being like this… it’s just…]**

Qin Zhao and Qin Rong shared Ji Fei’s exasperation.

The last time they’d encountered such bizarre parents was with Chu Xinyue’s family. If those twins’ parents’ selfishness was enough to be hated, this mother, who drained her only daughter dry for her family, was even more outrageous.

**[If Sun Man wasn’t a moneymaker, they’d probably have sold her off to pay for her cousin’s wedding by now.]**

Qin Zhao and Qin Rong were about to say it couldn’t be that bad—no mother would go that far for others.

But the next moment, they realized there’s always something worse.

**[Seriously? There was actually such a case? Back then, Sun Man almost couldn’t attend film school because art colleges were expensive, and her mother wanted to lend her father’s inheritance to pay for her cousin’s overseas education. She tried to convince Sun Man to attend a regular university instead, saying it’d be good to have a future success story in the family for support. “It’s for her own good!”]**

**[Not to mention, they’d already lined up a boy for her at that university. They even wanted Sun Man to look after the boy in school while demanding the engagement gifts in advance so they could send her cousin to a better school. All this so she’d play housemaid in college, all because they were afraid her good looks would invite trouble, so they “reserved” a fiancé to protect her at school?]**

Qin Zhao and Qin Rong were stunned.

**[Fortunately, they only dared to manipulate her emotionally, using the pretense of “it’s for your own good” without forcing her outright. Sun Man secretly made her own arrangements for her application, putting an end to those schemes.]**

They sighed with relief, though they also felt frustrated at Sun Man’s reluctance to cut ties with such relatives, allowing them to linger around her.

But blood ties are hard to sever. None of them were in Sun Man’s shoes and couldn’t define her need for family. Maybe she thought that as long as she was strong, those people would behave like real family.

At least Sun Man wasn’t a lost cause, and there was still hope for her to help herself.

Right now, despite the relentless persuasion, she wouldn’t change her mind. She was trying to take responsibility for her own life.

Seeing that her mother and uncle’s efforts weren’t working, Lang Zhe stepped back into the act.

He immediately began with a deep, emotional plea, “Manman, I know you’re still mad at me, but it’s okay. You can punish me however you want, or make me swear anything. Just give me a chance—marry me. We can get our marriage license today, and I’ll prove myself to you every day from now on. Will you?”

At that moment, Lang Zhe gave his friend a look, and the man began to chant.

“Marry him, marry him! Marry…”

The surrounding crowd joined in the chant.

Many of them were simply swept up in the excitement, even the background music shifted to something celebratory. The live stream was even connected to the big screen, and the comments flooding in were mostly “Marry him, marry him!”

Sun’s mother and uncle nudged her forward.

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch.

Sun Man looked around, feeling overwhelmed, suddenly realizing that no one around her seemed to be on her side.

Ji Fei and the others watched, too drained even to criticize. It was as if this young woman was being pushed toward a pit by a mob.

Lang Zhe knew Sun Man was sensitive to public opinion and softened his voice with a smile, “Look, your mom, uncle, my mom, and all our friends think we’re perfect together.”

He deliberately pointed to his mother, who stood in a corner.

Lu Fei, her hair pulled back tightly, looked stern, and when her son gestured to her, she frowned but didn’t say anything.

“I was hoping you’d start getting along like real family soon.” Lang Zhe continued dreamily.

Sun Man’s expression changed slightly. She suddenly thought, if she rejected him now, wouldn’t it ruin the progress she’d made with Lu Fei? Wouldn’t it complicate the upcoming show filming… Should she just go along for now and explain later in private?

Seeing her hesitation, Lang Zhe quickly pressed on, “The live stream is showing all the viewers right now. Would you really want to leave a regret in this beautiful memory?”

“Manman, I love you! Marry me.”

Sun Man’s face turned pale. If she agreed now, everyone would be happy, and she wouldn’t need to cause a scene. She could always refuse to marry him later, but her reason told her that wasn’t right; she should make her stance clear.

It was strange, feeling forced but still somehow guilty.

However, when Lang Zhe tried to slip the ring on her finger, Sun Man’s gaze hardened. She pulled her hand back, following her gut.

Taken aback by the rejection, Lang Zhe’s face twisted in anger as he tried to hold onto her hand.

Unable to free herself, Sun Man immediately shouted, “I said no!”

Despite the celebratory music blaring in the background, her shout rang out clearly, both in the room and on the live stream.

“Stop being so stubborn, Sun Man!” Lang Zhe growled through clenched teeth.

Others around them began to murmur.

But just then, Lu Fei frowned and stepped forward, attempting to separate her son from Sun Man.

Suddenly, the background music cut off, plunging the room into silence. A voice echoed softly.

“Oh? Isn’t forced marriage illegal under our country’s marriage law? What’s this? Didn’t you hear her say ‘no,’ or did you just not understand? I thought only women forced into mountain villages faced this kind of thing, but here we are with a live version.”