My Life with Narration

Chapter 442 - 434: Resolving the Awkward Situation

Nobody expected that Shen Yi would turn hostile just like that, although she didn’t say it outright and only made a subtle rebuke. But the displeasure on her face was genuine, and she didn’t give any face at all.

This was still considering the face of the landlady and the presence of the other party’s parents in their hometown. Otherwise, with her skills, there’s no way she would let this slide so lightly. Not being able to make Lu Ran lose face means she’s been useless in the business scene all these years.

Actually, if you look at it from her perspective and analyze whether Su Qing is suitable for her, Shen Yi wouldn’t have any reaction. After all, both the landlady and Tang Nan have analyzed the pros and cons for her, but they both have a sense of boundaries, which means they have bottom lines.

Opinions can be offered, but they would never make decisions for her, or immediately negate her choices, which is wrong.

In contrast, Wen Jingqi’s wife is different. She not only thinks Su Qing lacks ability and money but also believes her cousin is better than Su Qing.

You can say your cousin is nice and has good conditions, that’s fine, but making comparisons with my man is where you’re wrong. That’s the reason why Shen Yi’s face was gloomy because of this.

It’s indeed the problem of the landlady’s sister-in-law, and this is evident just by how Wen Jingqi interrupted his wife as soon as she spoke. Simply put, she crossed the line, or in plain words, said something wrong.

People who are in business generally have high emotional intelligence, at least knowing what should and shouldn’t be said.

In the vegetable garden at the back of the villa, Wen Jingqi brought his wife over to pick some vegetables.

"Is it really that serious, hubby? Although Xiao Yi seemed a bit upset, it didn’t reach the level you said, did it?" Lu Ran said, somewhat incredulously.

Since she said that extra sentence earlier, the atmosphere in the house became awkward at a visible pace.

Seeing this, Wen Jingqi hurried to smooth things over, inviting his wife to the backyard to pick some vegetables, saying they’d use them for cooking later.

The couple came here, and Wen Jingqi immediately started a round of criticism, saying she had misspoken earlier, was out of line, and even made Shen Yi angry, among other things.

Lu Ran didn’t sense the seriousness of the matter but did notice that Shen Yi was unhappy, though that was it.

Hearing this, Wen Jingqi couldn’t help but sigh, feeling powerless. Shen Yi’s words earlier were very subtle, and he was the only one who truly understood the meaning. It was obvious she wasn’t just a little unhappy; she was quite angry. Otherwise, why would he have to smooth things over like that?

It’s just that she has good upbringing, and considering the face of his sister, she didn’t lose her temper. Do you really think she has no temper?

Despite this, she has already subtly rebuffed, and you still don’t get it. With your kind of thinking, how can you possibly introduce anyone to her?

"What level do you think? Does someone have to directly curse at you for it to matter? I’m puzzled, how do you think your cousin is a match for Little Shen? Seriously, he’s your family, so I can’t say much, you can indulge him. But Xiao Shen is my sister’s friend, and she has nothing to do with you. I have to be extra polite to her. What were you thinking, commenting on her boyfriend right in front of her? What right do you have? Did your cousin mention it to you again? Earn a little money and forget who you are, is that it?" Wen Jingqi said in a deep voice, full of anger, frustrated over his wife’s foolish behavior earlier.

"Why are you yelling at me? I wasn’t trying to be helpful, was I? Besides, what’s wrong with my cousin? What’s not up to par with him? He’s only in his early 30s, earning not just a little, two to three million a year at least, how is he not a match for her? He heard that Xiao Yi was coming to Jiang City this year, and mentioned it to me several times. As his sister, shouldn’t I help a bit?" Lu Ran also got upset, feeling a bit wronged.

When Wen Nanqing got married, Tang Nan and Shen Yi came here to be bridesmaids. Her cousin attended the wedding and immediately took a liking to Shen Yi. Back then, he was a poor kid with low self-esteem, and now that he’s making money, he wanted her to help introduce them. She felt she did nothing wrong.

"Two to three million? Do you even know what Xiao Yi does? She works in an internet company in the capital, and two to three million is not even a fraction of her annual earnings. Where does your cousin get his confidence from? Besides, what kind of education does your cousin have? And what kind of education does she have? Your cousin even messed around for several years. If I hadn’t lent him a hand in recent years, what do you think his capabilities are?" Wen Jingqi said with a light scold.

He works in real estate, and who to subcontract the work to doesn’t make much difference. His wife recommended her cousin’s family, and he didn’t oppose it. After all, if you don’t help your own family, then why help outsiders?

So, without harming his own interests, he didn’t mind doing her cousin a favor by giving him some projects to work on, and that’s how he made money.

Hearing this, Lu Ran froze instantly, at a loss for words. Although she knew Shen Yi owned a company, she assumed it was a small to medium-sized one, thinking a few million in annual net profit would be impressive, given Shen Yi’s age.

"She... can earn that much?" Lu Ran asked cautiously.

Hearing this, Wen Jingqi snorted and said, "Let me put it this way: not counting what the old man left me, just in terms of pure annual profit, I might not earn as much as her. She’s in the internet industry, not a brick-and-mortar business like ours. Moreover, the real estate industry hasn’t been booming in recent years.

Xiao Yi’s company is co-founded with my sister and Xiao Tang. If it only involved me, I wouldn’t say anything because it’s just a matter of earning more or less. But with what you did today, what about my sister?

Not to scare you, Xiao Yi already gave a lot of face earlier. If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak. Also, tell your cousin to stay as far away as possible. Even if it were your own brother, it wouldn’t work. They’re my sister’s network of friends, not mine!

And lastly, I’ve met that little Su, and he is indeed far better than your cousin!

The reason Wen Jingqi is upset is that this matter involves his sister. When the old man divided the family inheritance, he deliberately allocated seventy percent to his sister, because he knew she had no talent for business, and left the profitable company to him.

Now it’s hard for his sister to find a money-making friend, and if this trivial matter affects her, it wouldn’t matter if it was his wife’s cousin; even if he were her biological brother, he would have to get as far away as possible.

Seeing that her husband was genuinely angry, Lu Ran became a bit flustered. She hadn’t expected that the young girl would earn as much as her husband in a year. In retrospect, her cousin’s conditions were indeed a joke. Just now, she thought the two were a good match.

Lu Ran actually knew that her cousin was just making some money by following her husband around. But if Shen Yi is at the same level as her husband, cultivating someone to earn a million a year would be a piece of cake. After all, at that level, the resources at hand are so abundant that even a small mention could make an ordinary person rapidly successful, just like her cousin.

"Uh... how about I apologize to Xiao Yi later?" Lu Ran spoke after a long silence.

Learning about Shen Yi’s financial situation made her embarrassed to praise her cousin.

"No need to apologize, the matter is already settled. If you apologize, it will only bring it up again. Just don’t speak during dinner, and we’ll head home right after it!"

"Oh~"

Meanwhile, the old man of the Wen Family, having heard about the incident, immediately understood what Shen Yi’s words meant. Although annoyed with his daughter-in-law, he had no energy to say anything more, and subtly took out a can of his treasured tea leaves, brewed a cup for Shen Yi to express his apology, hoping the matter could be put to rest.

He had met Su Qing before. Even if he felt slightly uncovered by the young man, he wouldn’t underestimate him.

Conversely, Madam Wen, as the elder of the family, spoke frankly: "Xiao Yi, the wife’s words are direct, don’t take it to heart. I think Xiao Su is great: young, polite, well-mannered, and handsome. Where can you find such a good young man?

So what if his conditions are a little lacking? He’s still young, and with your excellent conditions, why worry about that? If need be, if Xiao Su wants to do something, let him team up with the eldest son, and they can support each other. If he can’t, I’ll have his dad find someone to help!

If not for knowing you two were dating at the time, I was considering setting him up with our Qing!"

Anyway, however one puts it, Su Qing’s impression score was high in Madam Wen’s eyes. She looked at him with the eyes of a prospective mother-in-law, naturally very satisfied, and even later lamented more than once that her daughter was slow to act.

"Mom~~ What are you saying, I’m nearly a decade older than Xiao Su!" The landlady stamped her feet anxiously.

How could her mom say such a thing, it’s so embarrassing!

"So what if you’re a decade older? I like Xiao Su!" Madam Wen glared at her daughter.

But the implied meaning was to not mind the wife’s earlier remarks; Su Qing is excellent.

Tang Nan, sitting on the sofa and munching on melon seeds, giggled to herself, enjoying the drama unfold.

In all this, she was the outsider, neither Shen Yi nor part of the Wen family; her connection was only to Wen Nanqing. As for everything else, she couldn’t care less.

Shen Yi rolled her eyes at Tang Nan but then laughed, "Auntie, don’t worry, I wasn’t offended. Had I known you were thinking of matching Qing with him, maybe I might have helped you!"

"No way, no way, as they say, it’s better to tear down ten temples than ruin a marriage. It just wasn’t meant to be. If you hadn’t met each other first, Qing wouldn’t have known Xiao Su either!" Madam Wen laughed, holding Shen Yi’s hand.

A handful of jokes later, the awkward atmosphere had eased significantly. Madam Wen wasn’t someone easily trifled with; not everyone had her knack for handling situations.

"Although you say that, you don’t know; Qing often jokes, saying I’m robbing the cradle. If I’d known you had such thoughts back then, I might have indeed lent a hand. It would have been a good chance to tease her!" Shen Yi playfully complained.

Madam Wen’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and she clicked her tongue at her daughter, "Hey, you laugh at others, yet if you were truly capable, whether it’s robbing the cradle or whatever, bring one home for me. You’re almost starving yourself, yet you laugh at others. Their ability to cradle-rob is their own!"

Landlady: "Mom, don’t listen to Xiao Yi’s nonsense. I did not make fun of her, I..."

"Did not? I know you, don’t I? Is Xiao Yi lying?"

Wen Nanqing: ...

...