Zhang Nan was stirred to excitement by Wen Ying’s words.
As the conversation progressed, they were on the verge of swearing a blood oath on the spot with Wen Ying to form the “Xie Qian Guard Team”.
Wen Ying was actually quite curious. The Xie family would not actively spread news of the discord between Xie Qian and Xie Jinghu; upon hearing such rumours, they would even help suppress them.
Xie Qian was in Rongcheng and could not attend to public opinion in the capital, so who was spreading these words like wildfire throughout the city?
Xie Jinghu himself?
If he could not even control his own son, would Xie Jinghu not feel ashamed?
Wen Ying suspected that someone was laying the groundwork for public opinion on behalf of Xie Qian and Zou Weijun!
Zhang Nan was even more surprised than Wen Ying, the one asking: “Was it not Peng Guoqing who started spreading it?”
The nickname “Xie Two Billion” was first popularised by Peng Guoqing, of course, and Tai Wu and the others had also contributed significantly.
When Zhang Nan mentioned Tai Wu, he did not feel ashamed of his loose tongue; instead, he took it as praise, puffed out his chest, and admitted that he had indeed played a part in disseminating the gossip.
Peng Guoqing did it?
It should not be just him.
Having lived two lives, and being a lawyer in her previous one, Wen Ying knew all too well the importance of laying the groundwork for public opinion.
Ordinary families might not care so much about reputation.
If marriage were seen as a savings pool, ordinary families did not accumulate much wealth to begin with. When the family fell apart, everyone wanted to grab as much as possible from the pool, regardless of whether it looked ugly. Securing actual benefits mattered more than reputation!
The Xie family was different; they were not an ordinary family. The Xie family certainly cared about reputation, so unless absolutely necessary, the Xie family would not want Zou Weijun and Xie Jinghu to divorce. For such a family, divorce was a major event that would invite endless behind-the-scenes gossip from outsiders.
If in the social circle where the Xie family resided, everyone believed that Xie Jinghu had wronged his wife and son, then when Zou Weijun proposed divorce in the future, even if only for the sake of family reputation, the Xie family would have to stand up for Zou Weijun and ensure she did not suffer too much in the property division!
What a great advantage that would be.
If Zou Weijun made a little more effort, she could not only fairly divide the couple’s joint property but even get more!
Just thinking about such a scenario nearly made Wen Ying laugh out loud.
Though she did not know who was doing good deeds anonymously behind the scenes, Wen Ying attributed it to “the just are aided by many”.
“Spreading everywhere that Xie Qian’s dad treats him poorly also counts as helping Xie Qian?”
Tai Wu seized on a key point and seemed eager to act. Wen Ying quickly stopped him: “That cannot be said casually; one must follow principles and strategies!”
Wen Ying spoke logically and always considered Xie Qian’s interests. Zhang Nan was now almost completely convinced by her. At once, she slapped Tai Wu’s arm: “I am asking you to help, not to cause trouble. Once we have a plan, you just obediently carry it out.”
“Oh…”
Tai Wu felt something was off, but he could not quite pinpoint it at the moment.
While Zhang Nan was still chatting with Wen Ying, Tai Wu stepped aside to send Xie Qian a message: “Brother, keep it up”.
After sending the message, Tai Wu came back to his senses a bit.
Huh.
Was his relationship with Xie Qian really that close?
Xie Qian was the top student, the “child of someone else’s family” in the elders’ mouths, who had always put pressure on Tai Wu and the others growing up. As children, they could shamelessly stick close to Xie Qian without knowing better, but as adults, everyone had face. Xie Qian was so aloof, and Tai Wu did not rely on him for a living; there was no need to warm his face against Xie Qian’s cold arse!
And last time, Xie Qian had threatened to deal with Tai Wu, scaring him so much he nearly fled abroad to avoid it. In the end, Peng Guoqing dragged him to Xie Tang to take a beating, and the matter was barely smoothed over. Otherwise, who knew how Xie Qian would have dealt with him!
So, why was he sympathising with Xie Qian…
Tai Wu had not fully snapped out of it when Wen Ying invited him back into the conversation. Overawed by her presence, he tucked his tail again and sidled up, soon forgetting his deep reflections on whether his relationship with Xie Qian was really that good!
At first, Wen Ying’s heart-to-heart chat was only with Zhang Nan. It spread from Zhang Nan to Tai Wu as a first infection, then gradually, the other young people Tai Wu brought joined in. One infected the next, and basically all were led astray by Wen Ying’s rhythm.
With the others, Wen Ying did not chat as deeply as with Zhang Nan, but the effect was still good.
Wen Ying could “chat them into submission” for two reasons: first, her eloquence was indeed sharp. With two lifetimes, her mental age was much older than these youngsters. No matter what aspect Tai Wu and the others wanted to discuss, even if she was not expert in it, she had some knowledge. In front of them, she was absolutely “well-informed and experienced”. Second, regardless of their temperaments, these people’s family backgrounds were similar to Xie Qian’s, so they could empathise with his situation!
…
Xie Qian worried that Wen Ying would suffer a loss, little knowing that she had already assembled a small capital team for him.
That day, Xie Qian received several “consolations” one after another.
Some, like Tai Wu’s, urged him to keep going.
Some encouraged him to go all out against his scumbag dad.
Some even asked if he needed money…
Not only did these people console Xie Qian, they also expressed approval of Wen Ying.
Had these playboys taken the wrong medicine?
With Xie Qian’s personality, he would normally be too lazy to respond to such concerns from them, after all, these few were infamous wasters in the circle. They were not valued at home and had no say, utterly incapable of helping him.
But these wasters’ consolations sounded so sincere. While Xie Qian despised their uselessness, he could not help softening the corners of his mouth. He turned to Peng Guoqing: “You mentioned last time that Tai Wu also wants to study at university in Modu?”
“Yes, studying at some International Exchange Academy in Modu. What about Tai Wu?”
Peng Guoqing felt a bit uneasy.
Though Tai Wu had mocked Peng Guoqing’s ambition as futile, nearly infuriating him, the two had grown up together and were well accustomed to each other’s temperaments. Tai Wu was just sharp-tongued; if Peng Guoqing truly ran into trouble, Tai Wu would definitely help.
Xie Qian suddenly asking about Tai Wu made Peng Guoqing suspect if Tai Wu had offended Wen Ying out of ignorance.
“Nothing.”
Xie Qian had an idea in mind, but whether it would work depended on whether these wasters cooperated. It was too early to say now.
After replying one by one to the playboys’ consolations and confirming Wen Ying’s safety, Xie Qian’s thoughts turned back to his mother Zou Weijun’s plan to go to work at “Jinhu”.
Jiang Youjia, entangled in lawsuits, had arrived in Modu a few days ago for a break. Upon hearing that Zou Weijun was resigning from Rongcheng Media Group, Jiang Youjia was greatly regretful:
“My dad has praised Aunt’s work ability several times at home. If she worked two more years, she could jump from chief editor at the publishing house to a high executive at the group. Resigning now is too much of a pity. Sigh, my dad does not know about this yet. When he finds out, he will beat his chest in regret!”
