Xie Zhiyan's tone was calm, yet carried the unyielding authority of someone accustomed to giving orders.
The words "marriage" pierced Ning Yuxuan's ears with unmistakable clarity—there was no room for misunderstanding.
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
Unable to hold back, she addressed him by his full name, just as she used to: "Xie Zhiyan, are you serious?"
Xie Zhiyan let out a faint scoff. "Do I seem like the kind of person who jokes about marriage?"
Ning Yuxuan thought to herself—as if she knew him well enough to answer that. How would she know whether he was serious or not?
But since she needed his help, she swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue.
"President Xie..." Ning Yuxuan steadied herself, reverting to the formal address, "Are you saying that if I marry you, you’ll invest the money?"
The condition he proposed was so sudden and absurd that her first instinct wasn’t refusal, but to figure out what Xie Zhiyan really meant.
Xie Zhiyan gave a quiet "Mm." "You said you wanted to buy two of the branches?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Yes."
Xie Zhiyan: "I can provide enough funds for you to purchase all four locations and cover the renovations. Profit-sharing will be fifty-fifty, as you suggested."
This time, Ning Yuxuan was genuinely speechless.
Truthfully, the proposal she had sent him earlier was practically asking for something for nothing—Xie Zhiyan would shoulder most of the financial burden and risk, while she took half the profits.
Had they not known each other for years, and had Xie Zhiyan not helped her before, leaving her with the impression that he was reasonable, she wouldn’t have dared to make such an audacious request.
Her expectation had been that as long as Xie Zhiyan agreed to invest, she could compromise on everything else.
She never imagined he would agree outright.
Of course, his additional condition was equally unexpected.
After a moment of silence, Ning Yuxuan spoke. "Can I have a few days to think about it?"
Xie Zhiyan: "Of course."
"And one last question." Ning Yuxuan hesitated. "Why... do you want to marry me?"
His answer was breezy, as if discussing the weather. "Dealing with my family’s pressure to marry is tedious. It’s easier to find a suitable candidate. My mother likes you—if I marry you, she’ll be pleased."
Ning Yuxuan froze briefly, recalling how long it had been since she last saw Auntie Zheng.
Ning Fei and Xie Zhiyan’s mother, Zheng Xinmei, had been classmates at film school and close friends for decades.
The difference was, Ning Fei had been cast as the female lead in a TV drama right after enrollment, while Zheng Xinmei had been an unremarkable student who never entered the entertainment industry, instead marrying and having children immediately after graduation.
Later, Ning Fei retired at the peak of her career to marry, moving thousands of miles away to Jincheng. After having two children, she divorced and made a comeback.
Zheng Xinmei, meanwhile, had lived a stable life in Beicheng as a housewife all these years.
Despite their vastly different paths, the two women had miraculously maintained their friendship for over thirty years.
When Ning Fei divorced and moved to Beicheng with her children, Zheng Xinmei had helped her immensely.
Zheng Xinmei had always wanted a daughter but suffered complications during her first childbirth, leaving her with only Xie Zhiyan as her son.
Because of this, she adored Ning Yuxuan, who had been a beautiful and sweet child, and never missed sending her gifts during holidays.
But ever since meeting Gu Yunhao, Ning Yuxuan hadn’t visited the Xie household or seen Auntie Zheng in years.
Xie Zhiyan’s cool voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Did you think there was another reason?" he asked.
Ning Yuxuan blinked. "No, nothing."
There really couldn’t be any other explanation—it wasn’t as if the man who struck fear into Beicheng’s elite circles had secretly been in love with her all along, right?
"President Xie," Ning Yuxuan said, "I’ll give you an answer soon."
...
Hengjiang Tower, CEO’s office.
Xie Zhiyan set down his phone and closed his eyes briefly.
Two seconds later, a knock sounded at the door.
His assistant, Liu Cheng, entered. "President Xie, the documents you requested are all here."
Xie Zhiyan gave a slight nod. "Good. You may leave. I’ll head to the meeting room shortly."
Liu Cheng acknowledged the order but hesitated for half a second before asking, "President Xie, would you like me to bring you a coffee?"
Xie Zhiyan: "That would be fine."
Liu Cheng left to prepare it.
Normally, given Xie Zhiyan’s decisive and no-nonsense demeanor, Liu Cheng wouldn’t have asked.
But this time, Xie Zhiyan had just returned from a business trip to the Southern Hemisphere, having flown back yesterday after over ten hours in the air.
As Xie Zhiyan’s personal assistant, Liu Cheng had accompanied him on the trip and was still struggling with jet lag.
After a sleepless night, Liu Cheng had woken up with a throbbing headache.
Yet Xie Zhiyan seemed completely unaffected—arriving at the office even earlier than his assistant.
With an important meeting in half an hour, where department heads would report directly to Xie Zhiyan, Liu Cheng couldn’t help but marvel.
No wonder, among all the young heirs of Beicheng’s elite families, Xie Zhiyan alone wielded such power at his age.
This level of discipline and ironclad stamina was simply beyond ordinary people.
...
Ning Yuxuan was still mulling over the phone call.
If she wanted to buy those hotels before Gu Yunhao could, accepting Xie Zhiyan’s proposal seemed like her only viable option.
In all of Beicheng, she couldn’t think of anyone else who had both the means to purchase four hotels outright and the willingness to help her.
And if she had to stand against Gu Yunhao and the Gu family in the future, Xie Zhiyan’s support would give her a fighting chance.
But marriage wasn’t a trivial matter. Ning Yuxuan still couldn’t bring herself to agree immediately.
She went to run a bath, adding rose-scented bath salts to the steaming water.
According to the novel’s description, Gu Yunhao preferred delicate, innocent girls who wore light, aquatic floral fragrances.
In the past, before every date with him, Ning Yuxuan would soak in lotus-scented bath salts and drench herself in matching perfume.
Now, as she lay in the tub, enveloped in the rich aroma of roses, her mind had never felt clearer.
How liberating it was to break free from the story’s control!
After a relaxing soak, Ning Yuxuan changed into a bathrobe and checked her phone.
Her WeChat, which usually only buzzed with messages from family or Gu Yunhao, now showed multiple unread notifications.
The most recent was from Old Master Gu—Gu Yunhao’s grandfather.
She had once pinned all of Gu Yunhao’s contacts to the top of her list and hadn’t gotten around to unpinning them yet.
The old man had sent a voice message: "Yuxuan, my dear, did you and Yunhao have another fight? Don’t worry—Grandfather Gu will stand up for you. Come to my birthday banquet in a few days, and I’ll give that boy a good talking-to."
After listening, Ning Yuxuan sighed faintly.
Now that she had awakened, her feelings for Gu Yunhao had soured into pure distaste.
But for Old Master Gu, she still held respect.
Old Master Gu had always been kind to her. In fact, the reason she had even gotten together with Gu Yunhao in the first place was largely due to the old man’s strong support.
Though he never explicitly said it, Ning Yuxuan could guess that his kindness stemmed from her father.
After all, Old Master Gu didn’t seem familiar with her mother, Ning Fei, but whenever her father—who lived far away in Jincheng—was mentioned, he always had a few extra words to say.
Given the old man’s poor health, Ning Yuxuan couldn’t bring herself to speak harshly to him, no matter how much she despised Gu Yunhao. As for the fact that they had genuinely broken up—rather than just having a temporary quarrel—that was something Gu Yunhao, as his own grandson, should explain himself.
After some thought, Ning Yuxuan didn’t reply directly to Old Master Gu. Instead, she sent a message to Gu Yunhao:
Your grandfather texted me. Since we’ve officially broken up, you should be the one to clarify things with him.
Only after sending this did she finally check the other messages flooding her phone.
Most were from her university classmates and former colleagues, all with the same general tone:
Ning Yuxuan, I saw you trending on Weibo!
The last time she’d received so many messages at once was when the show’s lineup was officially announced, and everyone was shocked to learn she was the daughter of the renowned actress Ning Fei.
In the past, Ning Yuxuan hadn’t been particularly proud of her mother’s achievements. The reason likely traced back to her childhood—
In that ancient mansion, nearly everyone who mentioned her mother referred to her as a "mere entertainer," their eyes dripping with disdain.
Over the years, Ning Yuxuan rarely revealed her connection to Ning Fei. It wasn’t until the show’s announcement that many of her classmates and colleagues even realized they were mother and daughter.
And the most ridiculous part? The moment she heard Gu Yunhao had fallen for a rising starlet in the entertainment industry, she had rushed into acting herself.
Now, looking back, Ning Yuxuan felt nothing but foolishness—how could she have ever prioritized a man over her own mother?
At least it wasn’t too late to make things right.
Opening Weibo, she found two hashtags about her—one at sixth place, the other at eighth:
#NingFei’sDaughterSaysSheWantsToBeAFullTimeDaughter
#NingFei’sDaughterLooksExactlyLikeHerInHerYouth
Clicking on the first topic, the top post was a clip from the show’s preview livestream, featuring her answering a staff member’s question.
The second was a screenshot of Ning Fei gazing with unmistakable affection, captioned with her words from the show: "If possible, of course I’d want to be my daughter’s support for life."
Both posts had lively comment sections.
The first was mostly filled with amused netizens and show recommendations:
"Lol, at least Ning Fei’s daughter is self-aware—way better than those talentless star kids who get shoved down our throats."
"Forget everything else, just her looks alone put 99% of celebrity offspring to shame!"
"If my mom were Ning Fei, I’d wanna be a full-time daughter too."
"This clip looks fun—what’s the show called? Kinda wanna watch now."
"It’s the mother-daughter variety show ‘Dear Mom’! The live broadcast was so heartwarming—Ning Fei’s family dynamic is pure gold!"
"Right?? Ning Shiyue is adorable in it too, totally unexpected. Worth every minute!"
The second post drew even more envy:
"Genuinely jealous… I’ve never seen my mom look at me like that, not even once."
"This is what unconditional love looks like—Ning Fei’s eyes are literally the embodiment of motherhood."
"How blessed must Ning Fei’s daughter be? I can’t even imagine."
"Is it too late to reincarnate as Ning Fei’s daughter? Sign me up!"
"LOL, daughter might be off the table, but granddaughter? There’s still hope [dog emoji]."
The other hashtag led to a side-by-side edit comparing Ning Yuxuan’s footage from the livestream to Ning Fei’s iconic roles in her youth.
The comments were a flood of admiration:
"Mother and daughter—both absolute stunners!"
"Times change, but beauty is eternal. This face would dominate any era."
"So glad Ning Fei’s daughter inherited those genes—perfection shouldn’t go to waste."
Meanwhile, in a Beijing apartment, Cen Meng stared at her phone, teeth gritted so hard they might shatter.
She’d never expected Ning Yuxuan to land two positive trending topics on Weibo’s top ten—on the very first day of the show’s preview!
In her three-year career, Cen Meng had only made the top ten twice—once through paid promotion, the other thanks to dating rumors with a co-star.
Even if the hashtags didn’t name Ning Yuxuan directly (referring to her only as "Ning Fei’s daughter"), it was enough to make Cen Meng seethe.
She’d assumed Ning Yuxuan’s prickly personality, combined with Gu Yunhao’s perfectly timed breakup, would guarantee a disastrous preview.
At best, Ning Yuxuan might escape backlash—certainly not praise.
That’s why Cen Meng hadn’t bothered hiring trolls to steer the narrative. Now, she deeply regretted it.
The top comments were already overwhelmingly positive. Even if she tried manipulating opinions now, it’d be an uphill battle.
Taking a deep breath, Cen Meng reassured herself—
Ning Yuxuan’s luck won’t last.
At Grandfather Gu’s birthday banquet in two days, Gu Yunhao would formally introduce her as his girlfriend, publicly cutting ties with Ning Yuxuan.
She’d done her research: aside from Old Master Gu’s lukewarm fondness for Ning Yuxuan, the rest of the Gu family—especially Gu Yunhao’s mother—couldn’t stand her.
Meanwhile, Cen Meng’s gentle, considerate nature would shine even brighter against Ning Yuxuan’s spoiled arrogance. Winning them over would be effortless.
But still…
She glanced back at the comments, resentment flaring.
After confirming she was logged into a burner account, she typed:
"Calling it ‘full-time daughter’ sounds nice, but let’s be real—it’s just being a parasite. Since when did netizens start glorifying this?"
The petty outburst soothed her slightly.
She went to heat milk in the kitchen, only to freeze upon returning to her phone.
In mere minutes, multiple replies had piled up:
"Wow, look at Miss Morality over here. Mommy didn’t love you enough, huh?"
"Not even worth arguing with. Enjoy your loveless existence."
"If her mom’s happy and she’s happy, why’s a random hater pressed? Get a life."
"[Image: clown emoji] This you?"
