Forced to Date a Big Shot

23 : Ji Silin

Ye Li clutched her chest, having evidently been dealt a huge blow.

Xue Sheng wanted to speak more on the matter, but Ye Li stopped him by shaking her head lightly.

Old Master Xue also frowned. "What is this nonsense?"

Old Lady Xue also grasped at the chance to mock her. "Take a look. This is what a wretched savage is—no sense of shame. How old is she only? And she is already paying for a toyboy outside! Someone who opens a provision shop—he must be one of the hooligans on the streets, right?"

Xue Yao did not expect such a turn of events either. All her anger from just now instantly dissipated. "Cousin, don't tell me you were that bewildered by the reneging on your marriage arrangement with Fan Han? You've been back for only a few days and you've already found a random boyfriend? No matter how unhappy you are, you shouldn't cheapen yourself like this—"

"Shut up!"

Just as she wanted to continue, Ye Li suddenly roared, stunning her.

Ye Li had always been a mild-mannered person. Hence, she had little to no presence in the house usually. It was Xue Yao's first time seeing her flare up.

As this concerned Xue Xi's reputation, her attitude was very stern. "It is normal for your sister to have a boyfriend. How can a young girl like you spout such abominable words? Do you believe that the Fan family will not dare to renege on their marriage arrangement if I insist on it and make this into a huge issue, simply because they care about their reputation?! That way, this marriage arrangement will still be your elder sister's! It will have nothing to do with you at all!"

Xue Yao widened her eyes in shock, then inched toward the old lady. "Grandma, look at her!"

The old lady instinctively wanted to speak up, but at this point, Ye Li turned her sharp gaze onto her. "Also, Mom, you claim that Xixi is a savage, but what are you implying about Xue Sheng? Do not speak those words you just did ever again. If word gets out, they might even think that there is a problem with our Xue family's home education. It's fine if you don't like Xixi, but aren't you afraid of sabotaging Xue Yao's reputation?"

The old lady was made speechless by this.

Ye Li then took a deep breath.

Ye Li's always giving in and taking the back seat had only caused Old Lady Xue to go from bad to worse.

She had to be much more assertive now, even if just for Xixi.

She then turned to look at the old patriarch. "Dad, from the moment you brought our Xue family to prosperity, the people outside have always pointed at us, saying that we are uncultured. Hence, we should be more mindful of our choice of words and actions. The volume of our voices does not correlate to the extent by which our actions are justified. We should refrain from making a joke out of ourselves only for others to scold us for being a nouveau riche behind our backs."

The old patriarch placed the Xue family's dignity and reputation as the top priority. These words woke him up, as though someone had drizzled ice water on him.

The second son's wife was the only person in this household who'd originated from high society. Alas, the couple lived outside most of the time and, hence, Old Lady Xue became the manager of the house.

Recalling her recent performance...

The old patriarch immediately made a decision. "Ye Li, your mom has aged, so let her retire now. Xue Sheng is also about to take over on my side, so you should also start taking up the role of the Xue family's matriarch."

This was him passing the authority of managing the house to Ye Li.

Old Lady Xue was infuriated. "Old man—"