202: Chapter 202 (Completed) Those who can't compete leave; I think I'm barely... capable of fighting back.

Xia Ning spoke in a soft voice, yet it exuded an unconcealed, domineering aura.

In an instant.

The already quiet courtyard grew even quieter.

The many girls stared at Xia Ning, overcome by a sense of inferiority, wishing they could find a crack in the floor of the latrine to crawl into.

It felt as if they were being pinned to the ground and crushed by her, completely unable to fight back.

"Why is this girl so overbearing?"

She hadn't said a single dirty word, yet with a light touch, she had slapped everyone's faces until they stung.

The small courtyard fell silent for a few seconds.

One simple-minded girl slapped the table.

"You only make twenty-two a month?"

"Twenty-two yuan isn't even enough for a few meals of pig head meat!"

"I'm a supermarket cashier earning three thousand, and it even includes meals!"

"With my salary plus Qin Xun's, wouldn't our life be absolutely thriving?"

Xia Ning glanced at her indifferently and said nothing.

Someone beside that girl tugged at her sleeve and whispered.

"In big cities, when people talk about salary, they use 'K.' She's at 22K, which means twenty-two thousand."

"You're only at 3K."

The girl who loved pig head meat gaped at Xia Ning, her face slowly turning red.

The cracks in the latrine floor were no longer enough to hide her shame; she wanted to find a pit in the dry toilet to bury herself in.

A wave of murmurs erupted in the small courtyard again.

"My god, is this how much money top foreign students make?"

"Has Qin Xun's standards become this high?"

"She earns almost as much in a month as I do in a year."

"She's beautiful and can earn money? Why even bother getting married?"

"Exactly, isn't it better to live alone?"

"Coming out here to steal our men!"

"Who could possibly compete with her? She's so good at stealing them!"

Hearing the murmurs growing louder, Xia Ning felt a bit annoyed and spoke softly again.

Her voice remained soft.

"It's 'ten thousand'."

"In our company, we talk in terms of 'ten thousand.' I make 220,000 a month."

Having said that, she stopped looking at the girls, turned around, and offered Ma Xiugui a gentle smile.

"Auntie, please see the guests out."

She walked straight into the main room.

Ma Xiugui stared at Xia Ning's back, momentarily stunned.

Does this young lady have such a strong aura?

She wouldn't even lose in an argument at the entrance of the village!

Ma Xiugui turned to look at the dumbfounded crowd, her vanity soaring, and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"My future daughter-in-law said that anyone who is confident they can compare to her can stay."

"If you feel you can't, come here to collect a 1,000-yuan red envelope and hurry home to have your reunion dinner!"

Those girls, whether simple-minded or not, all lost their spirit, feeling as if they had suffered a massive blow in their lives.

When the heroine from a TV drama appeared before them, they realized that the gap between people can sometimes be even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

One by one, they accepted the red envelopes and left in silence.

The crowd thinned out.

Only two women remained, sitting at a table in the corner of the courtyard.

Ma Xiugui glanced over.

One was dressed simply and looked to be in her thirties.

The other was wearing a hat, head bowed, her hand supporting half her face, her body shaking slightly as if she were... laughing?

Could she be having a seizure?

Ma Xiugui walked over, smiling warmly, and placed a red envelope in front of each of them.

"Ladies, I'm sorry, but you should head back now!"

Suddenly, the woman in the hat stood up, took off her hat, and tossed her head, letting her chestnut-colored hair cascade down.

It revealed a fair, exquisite face, with a pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Qin Xun looked closely and realized she looked seventy or eighty percent like Ye Lan.

He was startled and exclaimed.

"Are you... Ye Lan?"

Ye Lan smiled.

She understood why Qin Xun wasn't sure.

Netizens had all seen online experts who could use makeup to mimic celebrities.

But they didn't know that she, too, liked to use makeup to conceal her "true face."

Then she would change her hairstyle, put on a hat, and switch up her clothing style.

When she went out, people would just think she was a passerby who happened to look like Ye Lan.

Just now, while waiting for Qin Xun in the small courtyard, she had insisted on giving autographs to others, but they hadn't even wanted them!

Ye Lan very politely bowed slightly to Ma Xiugui, picked up the two red envelopes from the table, and stuffed them back into her hand.

"Auntie, I fly all over the country."

"There isn't a single trip of mine that two red envelopes could cover!"

She smiled.

"Auntie, you said that anyone who feels they can't compare to Xia Ning should stay."

She turned to look at Qin Xun at the door and winked.

"I think I... barely have what it takes to fight."

Ma Xiugui was taken aback, sensing something fishy. Her anger flared, and she rushed over to Qin Xun in a few strides and gave his butt a light kick.

"I'll teach you to be unfaithful!"

"I'll teach you to flirt with others!"

"I'll teach you to go against our family values!"

Qin Xun: "..."

He was speechless.

His mother must have forgotten that she was the one who had encouraged him to get someone pregnant and bring her straight home.

And now... she's talking to me about family values?

Xia Ning walked to the door and glanced at Ye Lan, immediately seeing that she was using makeup to conceal her true appearance.

Ye Lan smiled and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Xia Ning nodded back.

She turned to look at Ma Xiugui and said softly,

"Auntie, stop hitting him!"

"Um..."

Thinking that Ye Lan, as an A-list star, would certainly not want to reveal her identity, she hesitated before saying,

"Um... she's Qin Xun's business partner."

Qin Xun dodged another kick from Ma Xiugui and quickly added,

"That's right!"

"She flew here just to do business with me!"

"Why are you so worked up?"

Ma Xiugui heard Xia Ning speaking hesitantly, as if she were hiding something difficult to say.

She turned to look at Ye Lan, noting that while she looked young and beautiful, her aura was somewhat mature.

Her makeup and style were a mix of innocent and alluring.

She also recalled Ye Lan's words from just a moment ago:

"I fly all over the country, two red envelopes won't be enough!"

Combined with the reports on TV legal programs about the police cracking down on the "nationwide fly-in" sex industry, her mind went into overdrive, and she couldn't help but jump to the wrong conclusion!

Ma Xiugui looked at Xia Ning, her heart skipping a beat, and shouted,

"Xia Ning, don't worry!"

"I'll stand up for you!"

Xia Ning: "???"

Stand up for me?

While she was utterly confused, she saw Ma Xiugui raise her foot high and kick Qin Xun in the butt.

"Qin Xun! You have a girlfriend, yet you're still misbehaving!"

"I'll teach you to go looking for prostitutes!"

"And you even brought one home!"

"How scandalous!"

"You have no shame!"

"I'll kick you to death!"

Qin Xun was dumbfounded by these shocking accusations.

He even forgot to dodge, letting his mother kick his butt with a "thud-thud" sound.

Xia Ning was also stunned.

So... Qin Xun's goofy side was inherited from his mother?

Wang Cui stared at Ye Lan, her mouth agape in shock.

"Sister Ye, please, calm down! Keep the big picture in mind!"

Ye Lan was younger than her, but she still called her "Sister."

Ye Lan's face flushed red, then turned pale, then flushed red again.

As an A-list actress, she considered herself one of the cleanest artists in the entire rotten entertainment industry.

Yet here she was, being accused of being a "nationwide fly-in" prostitute.

A flash of anger ignited within her. She strode behind Ma Xiugui and pulled on her.

"Auntie, please, let me explain!"

But Ma Xiugui, in her fury, shoved her aside, causing the gold-rimmed glasses on her nose to fall to the ground.

Ma Xiugui lost her balance slightly and stepped on the glasses with a sharp "snap."

Wang Cui witnessed this scene, a look of agony crossing her face.

Seeing Wang Cui's expression and remembering Xia Ning saying that a pair of Ye Lan's earrings cost eight million, Qin Xun's heart sank.

Ma Xiugui felt something under her foot. She stopped to look and realized she had crushed a pair of glasses.

She looked at Ye Lan behind her.

"Are these yours?"

Ye Lan nodded.

"Yes."

Ma Xiugui asked, "How much?"

Ye Lan hesitated before making a "three" gesture.

"Thirty... thousand."

Qin Xun looked up at the blue sky and let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, it was only a week's salary.

At worst, he would just add another 300,000 to the marketing proposal fee for Ye Lan's push to become an A-list superstar.

He'd just have to get it done faster for her.

He would just get it done over the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday!

Ma Xiugui, being very generous, pulled a 100-yuan bill from the red envelope and shoved it into Ye Lan's hand.

"Keep the change!"

Ye Lan accepted it, folded it, put it into her bag, and said with a smile,

"Thank you, Auntie!"

She looked at Ma Xiugui and said earnestly,

"Auntie, I am not a prostitute."

Ma Xiugui turned to look at Qin Xun, then at Xia Ning, and seeing them both nod gently, her expression turned incredibly awkward. She looked at Ye Lan and asked in a low voice,

"Then... then who are you?"

Ye Lan glanced at Qin Xun and said with a gentle smile,

"I'm Qin Xun's... ex-girlfriend!"