Wendy Fang was on the verge of collapse.
She was devastated.
She had never even considered this possibility before.
When she first arrived, she thought Linda Fang would act like those mothers in novels and TV dramas—handing her a check and saying, "Take the money and leave my son!"
But instead, Linda Fang didn’t give her a single cent. She just laid out her conditions, every one of them logical and impossible to refute.
And every single thing she said—Wendy couldn’t argue back.
Is this what it means to be a true lady of status?
If that’s the case, it’s no wonder she doesn’t think highly of me.
"Since Wendy Fang understands what I’m saying, I trust you know what to do next?" Linda Fang stood up and said, "I won’t be seeing you out."
"Yes..." Wendy lowered her head, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
She truly felt wronged, and truly lost.
She’d never realized that, while she thought she was capable, in other people’s eyes, she wasn’t even worthy of being called trash.
"Since Wendy Fang understands what I’m saying, I trust you know what to do next?" Linda Fang stood up and said, "I won’t be seeing you out."
"Yes..." Wendy stood up, heartbroken, and staggered out.
She couldn’t tell if it was the harsh sunlight outside or her own weakness, but as she reached the door, she stumbled and fell!
The next second, Winston Fan’s urgent voice rang out from outside the door: "Wendy!—"
Wendy looked in disbelief toward the direction of the voice.
When she saw Winston Fan, her tears flowed even harder, and she burst out crying, "Winston! Waaaah—"
Seeing Wendy’s pale face, Winston Fan panicked. He rushed over and pulled her into his arms. "What happened?"
"Winston, you’re finally here!" Wendy cried, but smartly didn’t complain—she just kept sobbing.
The more someone suffers in silence, the easier it is to win others’ sympathy.
Sure enough, Winston Fan frowned. "Did my mom give you a hard time?"
"Mrs. Fang..." Wendy sobbed, "She didn’t... she didn’t... she really didn’t..."
Winston Fan’s face darkened. He immediately picked Wendy up from the ground and handed her to his assistant. "Take her to wait in my car first."
"Mr. Fan..." The assistant hesitated, clearly disapproving.
"I know what I’m doing," Winston replied, then turned and headed straight into the villa to find Linda Fang.
"Mom!" Winston called out as soon as he entered, "Why did you ask Wendy to come here?"
Linda Fang looked at Winston coldly. "Weren’t you supposed to be on a business trip today? Why are you back so early? Did you come back just for her?"
Then Linda Fang let out a cold laugh. "Did she tell you? Did she complain to you already?"
"Mom!" Winston walked over, helpless. "Why make things difficult for a young girl? She’s so young, and your reputation is intimidating—how could she possibly handle it? Besides, I’m not defending her, I’m worried about your health. Why upset yourself?"
Hearing her son say this, Linda Fang’s expression finally softened a little. "At least you know how to behave."
"Mom, there’s really nothing going on between me and her," Winston explained patiently. "I haven’t accepted her feelings. I even told her, if she wants to date me, the first condition is to get your approval. If she can’t, I absolutely won’t date her."
Linda Fang eyed him with a half-smile. "Really? What if I never like her?"
"Then I’ll never be with her," Winston answered firmly. "Mom, I’m not a teenager anymore. I know what’s right and what’s wrong. When you asked me to consider marrying into the Yin Family, I thought it over carefully. My wife must be my equal, with a matching family background. Even if I had to compromise, I wouldn’t choose a clueless girl as my wife."
"I’m glad you understand," Linda Fang finally calmed down. "But what about Wendy constantly clinging to you? What’s that all about?"
Winston laughed. "Mom, I’m not some naive girl—what do I have to be afraid of?"
Linda Fang instantly understood what Winston meant.
Reputation has always been unfair.
Society is always harsher on women: they’re expected to be virtuous, gentle, sensible, and capable, while men only need to know how to make money.
So even if rumors fly about Winston Fan and Wendy Fang, in the end, people will just say Wendy has no shame for going after a man.
As for Winston Fan, people would just say he’s charming and carefree—no one would ever call him a scumbag.
Unless you’re out of your mind.
So even though Linda Fang gave Wendy Fang a harsh lesson today, Winston wouldn’t confront her directly. Instead, he’d try to smooth things over between them.
Being a man is really hard.
Linda Fang stared at Winston, wanting to say something, but realized there was nothing more to add.
It was true—her son was grown up now, no longer a child.
For most things, she just needed to make her position clear.
"Winston, let me be clear today," Linda Fang said seriously. "My daughter-in-law will never be Wendy Fang."
Winston was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, I understand."
"Alright, go take care of your work," Linda Fang said. "I’m off to have tea with my friends. Your father said there’s a new security company in the southern district—I’m going to check it out. Our family made its fortune in security, and we can’t let our foundation be threatened. If the competition is strong, we’ll cooperate; if they don’t have any backing, we’ll invest. Either way, we can’t let anyone weaken our position."
This chapter isn’t over yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!
Winston smiled and nodded. "Thanks for your hard work, Mom."
"Oh, it’s nothing! I do it all for you and your brother," Linda Fang said. "You men fight on the front lines, and we women keep things stable at home. Don’t worry—with me around, all those issues with the ladies are taken care of."
"Mom, you’re the best. I left the gift I brought for you in your room," Winston hurried to say.
Linda Fang smiled. "You never forget to bring me a gift wherever you go."
"Of course," Winston replied with a smile.
It took some effort to see Linda Fang off, and only then did Winston finally breathe a sigh of relief.
From what his mother said, it seemed Wendy Fang didn’t stand a chance for now.
When Winston got in the car, he saw Wendy Fang’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, looking at him pitifully.
"Winston..." Wendy bit her lip and just sobbed, unable to say a word.
"Alright, my mom didn’t call you over just to lecture you," Winston said. "She’s always been straightforward—don’t take it personally."
"Not at all, Mrs. Fang is my elder," Wendy quickly replied.
Winston nodded in relief. "I’m glad you understand. My mom might sound harsh, but she’s soft-hearted."
Wendy seemed to understand a little more now.
"I’ll say it again: If you want to be my girlfriend, you need my mom’s approval first," Winston said. "Anyone she doesn’t approve of won’t get through our door. In our family, my mom is everyone’s favorite. My dad absolutely dotes on her. So, you get it, right?"
Wendy bit her lip, wondering if Winston was hinting she should work harder to please Mrs. Fang.
Winston reached out and patted Wendy’s head. "Alright, I’ll have someone take you home. Get some rest—look at your eyes, you’ve cried so much they’re like a little rabbit’s."
Wendy pouted. "It’s all your fault!"
"Alright, alright, it’s my fault," Winston quickly said.
"So, Winston, what does Mrs. Fang like?" Wendy decided to start with Linda Fang’s hobbies.
"My mom loves skincare," Winston replied with a smile. "She’s especially proud that at fifty, her skin is as smooth as a young girl’s."
Wendy: "Uh..."
This approach won’t work!
She’s never done skincare before.
"Alright, don’t overthink it. Go home and rest," Winston told the driver. "Take her home."
"Yes, Young Master."
Winston got out of the car, watched it drive away, and couldn’t help but sigh.
What a mess.
Winston admitted he was starting to like Wendy Fang.
But those feelings weren’t strong enough to make him go against his mother for Wendy.
Any mature man wouldn’t go against his mother over a woman—unless he was crazy.
So even though Linda Fang gave Wendy Fang a harsh lesson today, Winston wouldn’t confront her directly. Instead, he’d try to smooth things over between them.
It’s tough being a man.
With Winston Fan out of the picture, Yan Shilang was secretly delighted.
Yan Shilang felt his chances had just increased a lot.
Besides making cakes for Yina Yin, he also sent some beautifully arranged flower baskets—so lovely they could be put on display.
That day, as usual, Yan Shilang went to the garden to pick flowers for his baskets, when he overheard two people talking behind the bushes.
"Do you think Yan Shilang is still hanging around because he really thinks he has a shot at becoming the Yin Family’s son-in-law? Doesn’t he realize the Yin Family would never let their daughter marry someone who’s basically a nobody?"
"Hey, don’t say that. Yan Shilang is at least Old Yan’s son. He might not inherit the family business, but he’ll get some shares."
"But do you think that’s enough? Yina Yin wouldn’t even care about a few shares," the first person said. "She’s got more money in her pinky than Yan Shilang has in total. The gap is just too big—they don’t stand a chance."
End of chapter.