Tracy Chen asked, "So, you and Winston..."
Wendy Fang put on a shy expression and said, "I had no idea Winston would do that. Tracy, please don't tell anyone about this! It could really cause trouble."
Tracy Chen took a deep breath. "So it really was you! Wendy, you’re something else!"
"Alright, let’s not talk about this. I need to get back to work." With that, Wendy walked away briskly, the gloom from her recent illness completely gone.
Tracy watched Wendy’s back, still feeling like something was off.
Forget it.
Not my problem.
Winston Fan rarely came home that day, and Linda Fang cornered him in the living room. "Well, look who finally decided to show up! Our family’s big shot is home at last!"
Hearing his mother’s sarcastic tone, Winston could only sigh. "Mom, what’s going on?"
Gavin Fan, sprawled on the sofa playing games, grinned. "Mom’s mad, obviously! Bro, seriously, where have you been these days? You won’t come home, you skip work, and you never answer Mom’s calls! The Empress Dowager is pissed, so you’d better start making it up to her!"
Winston glanced at his brother, his tone softening as he explained, "Mom, I’ve been at the hospital these past few days, taking care of a patient. I was worried about bringing germs home, so I stayed away."
Linda Fang snorted and sat down on the sofa, arms crossed. "Hospital care? What kind of patient needs our Winston to personally look after them? Tell me—who is it?"
Honestly, Linda already knew the answer.
She’d known for a while who Winston was spending time with—she just couldn’t accept it.
If it were Yina Yin who was sick, Linda would’ve happily packed her son off to take care of her, for as long as it took. He could stay away for days, weeks—even forever—and she wouldn’t mind.
But who was it, really?
Some shameless homewrecker!
If she didn’t exist, Yina would never have turned Winston down!
Just thinking about Wendy Fang made Linda Fang’s blood boil.
"Mom—" Winston quickly sat down beside Linda, reaching up to massage her shoulders. "I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not like Gavin, always getting into trouble. Don’t you trust your son?"
"Don’t drag me into this, bro." Gavin Fan quickly distanced himself. "Even if I mess up, I never spend days alone with a girl—especially not one Mom doesn’t like. Mom—"
Gavin hurried to reassure his mom. "When I get married, I’ll marry whoever you like. If you don’t approve, I won’t even consider her!"
Linda gave her younger son a playful smack. "You and your big mouth."
Gavin grinned. "Bro, I’m just saying—hey, don’t glare at me, I’m just being honest. What’s wrong with Miss Yin? You gave her up for some little nobody? I’ve met Miss Yin, she’s got style, presence, class—no wonder Mom likes her. Heck, I like her too! Mom, don’t glare at me, I know I’m not good enough! I’m just saying..."
Linda Fang ignored her younger son’s chatter and pressed Winston for answers. "Winston, what’s really going on between you and Wendy Fang? Are you two actually dating?"
"Mom, it’s not like that." Winston denied it.
Linda didn’t hold back. "Since we’re being honest, let me be clear. If you want to be with Wendy Fang, I won’t allow it. She’ll never be my daughter-in-law. My favorite is Yina, but... that ship has sailed. You’re hopeless! You can find anyone else, but absolutely not Wendy Fang."
Winston hadn’t felt anything special for Wendy Fang at first.
But after spending these past few days together, that mischievous girl had planted a seed in his heart.
At first, that seed hadn’t sprouted.
In other words, Winston only had a slight crush on Wendy Fang—he definitely wasn’t in love yet.
But after Linda’s outburst, Winston’s long-dormant rebellious streak kicked in.
Winston frowned, suddenly thinking Wendy wasn’t as bad as his mother made her out to be—in fact, she was kind of cute. Instinctively, he started defending her.
"Mom, you shouldn’t be so prejudiced. Sure, Wendy’s a bit careless sometimes, but she’s still young—just graduated college. It’s not like she’s done anything terrible, right?" Winston explained.
"Bro, Miss Yin is only twenty-one—she’s even younger than Wendy! And you don’t see her doing dumb stuff like standing in the rain!" Gavin blurted out.
"Exactly!" Linda huffed. "Yina’s even younger, but she’s way more mature than Wendy. Is this really about age?"
Winston stood up. "I can’t argue with you. I’m heading back to the office to work overtime."
"Stop right there! Can’t a mother say a word to her own son?" Linda snapped. "Bottom line—you and her, I won’t allow it!"
"Got it." Winston shot his brother a glare, said a few words to calm his mom, and hurried out the door.
He hadn’t even reached the office when he got a message from Wendy Fang: "Winston, I’m sorry. Did I get you in trouble? Is your family upset with you?"
Winston replied, "It’s fine. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better—I’m back at work today." Wendy typed quickly, "Can I come see you this weekend? Don’t worry, I promise I won’t do anything to make you unhappy!"
Winston was about to say no.
But his mother’s harsh words had left him feeling strangely unsettled.
He was twenty-seven, after all. Most people his age were being pushed to get married and have kids. Why was his own mother so stubborn, insisting he be with Yina Yin?
It wasn’t that Yina was a bad choice—they just didn’t have any chemistry.
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Was he really supposed to spend his whole life doing what his mother wanted?
For the first time in his life, Winston felt the urge to rebel.
He replied to Wendy: "Alright."
Wendy Fang saw the message and was instantly overjoyed, bouncing in place. "Ahhh, I’m so happy! Winston finally accepted me!"
That day, Linda Fang, as usual, went out with her old friends for a beauty treatment.
Lying comfortably on the bed during her treatment, one of her friends asked, "Lingling, didn’t you say the Yin Family heiress had a thing with your eldest son? But lately, I’ve heard your boy’s been getting close to some ordinary girl."
Linda stiffened and quickly peeled off her face mask. "How close are they?"
"Yesterday, someone saw the two of them shopping and eating at Riverside Plaza. They looked super close, and your son even bought her a bunch of stuff. Honestly, they seemed just like a couple." Her friend added, "Why didn’t you tell us you had a future daughter-in-law? I was looking forward to the Yin-Fan wedding!"
"What?!" Linda’s face darkened. "Is that true?"
"What, you didn’t know?" Her friend looked genuinely surprised. "Your eldest has always been so obedient. What’s gotten into him...?"
Linda threw off her blanket and jumped up to leave. "I’m done for today—put it on my tab."
With that, Linda hurried home.
On her way out, she instructed her assistant, "Has Winston been seeing Wendy Fang again these days? Go find out."
"Yes, Madam." The assistant immediately went to gather information.
Soon, the assistant returned with a report: "Madam, last weekend Wendy Fang spent two full days with Young Master Winston. They... stayed at his house. They even shopped and cooked together."
Linda’s face grew darker and darker.
"I already warned her, but she’s stubborn—she’s determined to go against me! Fine, fine!" Linda sneered. "Where’s Winston now?"
"Madam, Young Master Winston left for a business trip yesterday morning. He’ll be gone for two or three days."
"Great, she wants to play games with me!" Linda said coldly. "Set up a meeting with Wendy Fang—I want to see this little girl myself!"
"Madam, do you really need to meet her in person? Isn’t that giving her too much credit?"
"What else should I do? She’s totally overstepped! If I don’t step in, everyone will assume she’s my daughter-in-law!" Linda stormed out.
Wendy Fang nervously arrived at the Fan residence.
It was her first time meeting her future mother-in-law, and she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Linda Fang’s assistant contacted Wendy Fang directly, telling her that Linda wanted to meet—and that Winston mustn’t find out.
Wendy thought it over and, before leaving, sent Winston a message to let him know she was going to the Fan residence to meet Linda Fang.
Winston’s reply was simple: "Wait for me."
Wendy felt a rush of sweetness in her heart when she saw his reply.
Winston must be worried sick about her, right?
As long as Winston cared, it was worth it—even if her future mother-in-law made things difficult!
"Miss Fang, please wait here." A middle-aged man in a butler’s uniform said politely, "Madam will be here soon."
"Okay, I’m fine." Wendy replied, nervously standing in the corner of the living room, feet together, hands twisting anxiously.
The butler glanced at Wendy, quietly shaking his head.
Kids from humble backgrounds really did lack poise.
Linda Fang still hadn’t appeared, so Wendy didn’t dare move around and just stood there obediently.
After a while, her legs started to ache.
Wendy bit her lip and wondered: Was this a test from her future mother-in-law? In so many novels, the mother-in-law makes the daughter-in-law stand for ages to set the rules.
She glanced at the nearby sofa—no doubt it was expensive.
Should she go sit down and rest for a bit?