“Tina, of course, we’re friends.”

Ji Jiangyuan spoke seriously: “It’s because we’re friends that we care about you and think of your best interests. Simply agreeing with everything you say is just placating you. After that brief happiness, your life won’t improve!”

That Tina could get into Columbia University showed that, apart from family circumstances, her intelligence wasn’t lacking.

The problem was her psychological resilience.

While Xu Changle had always coddled her, Xia Xiaolan refused to, and now even Ji Jiangyuan supported Xia Xiaolan’s stance – Tina was out of options.

Her heavy tears turned into sobs.

Tina felt confused.

Was she really as Xia Xiaolan described, a hypocrite?

Though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t used such harsh words or cursed, this was Tina’s own conclusion… If she truly didn’t want any connection with the Xu family, she should do the DNA test – if it proved she wasn’t Xu Zhongyi’s daughter, she’d be free!

Why resist the test?

Was she afraid of conclusive evidence showing she was Xu Zhongyi’s daughter, that all these years she’d been wrongly calling another man father – such a reality she’d have to accept?

Xia Xiaolan was right – she lacked the courage to face life changes and pushed all the pressure onto her brother.

Tears still streaking her face, Tina asked: “Am I wrong? If I’m wrong, why does Aunt Cynthia oppose it… both of us think the DNA test is very disrespectful to me.”

Xia Xiaolan smiled meaningfully:

“Then you need to think carefully about why Mrs. Wilson opposes you getting a DNA test with Uncle Xu. Someone who truly cares for you would only be happy for you – if the test proves negative, you can live freely without burden. If it confirms the relationship, you gain two close relatives who care about you. Either way, this benefits you more than it harms.”

When Tina sought out Xia Xiaolan to talk, this ivory tower princess unknowingly fell into Xia Xiaolan’s conversational rhythm.

First came the merciless scolding that disturbed Tina’s composure, and then came the reasoning.

The reasoning couldn’t be too preachy – just hints that let Tina think for herself!

Young people always think they’re right about everything, so let them analyze the results themselves. Xia Xiaolan just presented facts, leaving Tina to draw her conclusions.

Ji Jiangyuan felt helpless – using such tactics on a young girl like Tina, wasn’t the impact too strong?

A max-level player bullying a newbie – Xia Xiaolan felt no shame.

Ji Jiangyuan could only see through this after a year of practical experience. Without full involvement in the golf project, just relying on school knowledge, he couldn’t have followed Xia Xiaolan’s strategy.

Tina was confused.

She even forgot to cry, diving deep into Xia Xiaolan’s questioning: Why would Aunt Cynthia stop her from getting a DNA test?

See, this was rhetoric – Tina’s focus had shifted to Mrs. Wilson’s attitude. She had unconsciously fallen into Xia Xiaolan’s trap, subconsciously accepting the DNA test.

The core conflict had been redirected from why Xu Changle was forcing her to take the test to why Mrs. Wilson opposed it!

Ji Jiangyuan understood just by watching Tina’s expression.

He was truly impressed – with Xia Xiaolan’s way with words if she became a salesperson, she could probably sell combs to monks.

Xia Xiaolan finished her last sip of coffee and prepared to leave.

Mrs. Wilson hurried over, “It’s fine if you argue with Fran and throw things in anger, but running out the door – what if something happened to you this late at night? Thank God you stayed at the hotel, we’ve been searching outside for ages!”

“I’m sorry, I was too impulsive. Ji stopped me at the hotel entrance.”

Tina apologized, and Mrs. Wilson finally nodded to Ji Jiangyuan, “Though we can’t be family, I support your friendship with Tina. You’re an upright young man. Both you and Tina grew up in America and haven’t seen many poor people – you can’t imagine the terrible things some poor people will do for profit!”

Xia Xiaolan blinked.

By “poor people,” she meant her, right?

Well, she wasn’t wrong – Xia “Poor” Xiaolan had experienced poverty’s hardships and would use any means to escape poverty and get rich while maintaining extremely high self-esteem.

Others might ignore such indirect insults, but she was a particularly strong-willed poor person. So Xia Xiaolan smiled: “Mrs. Wilson, sorry to disturb you. It’s truly pleasant meeting you in China! Your care for Tina moves me – treating her like your own daughter… That’s nice, yet not so nice. Love shouldn’t be narrow-minded – why do you oppose Tina getting a DNA test?”

Mrs. Wilson didn’t want to engage with Xia Xiaolan.

She had already experienced Xia Xiaolan’s sharp tongue.

But Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t let her off, so Mrs. Wilson lifted her chin: “Are we close? You’re not Tina’s guardian, I don’t need to explain anything to you. From the start, you approached Tina with ulterior motives. You destroyed her once beautiful life. Everyone else has the right to care about Tina, except you… You’ve never shown Tina any kindness, the blood flowing in your veins is cold!”

Cold blood?

Nonsense.

Only dead people have cold blood.

“Ma’am, such accusations are too much. Tonight, Tina invited Xiaolan for coffee – she wanted to talk to Xiaolan!”

Ji Jiangyuan was displeased. What did she mean by not seeing many poor people?

Was directly calling someone poor considered cultured?

Ji Jiangyuan wasn’t sure if Xia Xiaolan’s wealth matched Mrs. Wilson’s.

But spiritually, Xia Xiaolan was richer than Mrs. Wilson!

Her stepbrother’s protection came quickly. Xia Xiaolan savored this brotherly care with satisfaction:

“Of course, I’m not Tina’s guardian, but if I’m not mistaken, neither are you. I don’t think she needs a guardian – Tina’s 19 now, right? She doesn’t need anyone’s permission for what she wants to do. Xu Changle suggested she put her inherited assets in trust – he’s her biological brother. I just don’t understand your relationship with Tina… Fortunately, Tina has pure Chinese ancestry, otherwise, I might suspect there were hidden circumstances about her background!”

“Shut up, these matters don’t concern you!”

“I’m just discussing facts, I’m not saying I want to interfere. No need to be so anxious, Mrs. Wilson.”

Ridiculous, did she think she’d shut up just because she was told to?

This wasn’t America.

Could Chinese people not speak freely in their own country? Xia Xiaolan felt she was speaking plain truth. Ignoring whether Mrs. Wilson wanted to jump in anger, Xia Xiaolan called out to Tina:

“Hey, you probably don’t want to be fooled like an idiot, right? You’re 19 already – don’t you have the courage to investigate your background? You can find out who your real father is, then decide how to live your life – maybe you are Zhang Jiangdong’s daughter. That result would be what you want too, you could legitimately cherish Zhang Jiangdong’s ‘fatherly love’!”

Pfft, Ji Jiangyuan almost couldn’t hold back.

Was this how you provoked a young girl?

So ruthless!

Tina’s eyes turned red, and veins bulged on Mrs. Wilson’s hand as she seemed ready to fight Xia Xiaolan.