With global currency devaluation, I'll wear these back and take my whole family flying!

Her reaction was as light as a feather, her tone crisp and casual as if she were agreeing to a trivial matter.

Shi's mother was stunned and hesitated for a moment, almost doubting her ears: "W-what did you say?"

“I said yes, no problem!” Shen Ci repeated without hesitation.

This time, the mother was shocked.

What does she mean by this? Doesn't she like Shi Ye? How could she agree to break up with him so readily?

A strange feeling arose in Shi's mother's heart. She would naturally be angry if Shen Ci didn't agree, but she also felt uncomfortable because Shen Ci agreed too readily, as if her son wasn't that important to her.

“He’s not that important to me,” Shen Ci added softly.

Mother Shi: "!?"

Her face turned slightly pale, and for a moment she didn't know how to refute Shen Ci.

Looking at her expression, Shen Ci could probably guess what Shi's mother was thinking. She was just feeling indignant on behalf of her son. How could such an outstanding Shi Ye be so easily and unconditionally "abandoned" by a girl?

Unfortunately, she never liked Tokino's excellence.

“I’ve already promised, and I will keep my word. Auntie, is there anything else? If not, please leave.” Shen Ci said, picking up the menu beside her and looking up at Shi’s mother: “Or would you like to stay and have dinner with me?”

Shi's mother narrowed her eyes, completely unable to accept that her son was being looked down upon like this. Shen Ci's nonchalant attitude was, in her eyes, utterly provocative and irritating.

"So Shi Ye is completely insignificant to you, and you're just playing around with him?"

Shen Ci shook her head slightly and corrected her, "Auntie, you misunderstood me. I always take matters of the heart seriously, but I never take them too seriously. I can get carried away, but I will also stay sober at the same time."

"Shino is a good person. If he asks me to confirm our relationship today, I will agree and I will take this relationship seriously."

“But…” Shen Ci looked at Shi’s mother and said helplessly, “You don’t agree, do you?”

Shi's mother snorted coldly: "But you didn't insist, did you?"

"Why should I insist?" Shen Ci retorted. "Will you agree if I insist?"

Shi's mother remained silent.

Shen Ci smiled and said, "Then that's settled. If you won't agree, what's the point of my insistence? To prove that Shi Ye is just too outstanding for me to let go?"

"There's no need for that. I won't do anything pointless, and I certainly won't put on a show of competing with you for Shi Ye just to satisfy your vanity."

"For me, the essence of love is a dual need of both mind and body, but it must be relaxed and enjoyable. If there are too many distractions, I will withdraw on my own initiative."

"After all, I just want to date. I'm not going to marry him, and you won't be my mother-in-law. So I don't want to have to deal with you in my relationship with him. It's too much trouble."

"And what I hate most is trouble."

Shen Ci finished speaking slowly and calmly. To Shi's mother, these words were indeed not pleasant to hear, but they truly reflected Shen Ci's attitude towards love.

Love should be easy and enjoyable, and it should be a one-on-one relationship. If she has to spend time dealing with other people and things, then the essence of love changes for her, and she doesn't want to exist in a relationship that requires a lot of effort and maneuvering.

Shi's mother remained silent, sitting there in silence for a long time. The expression in her eyes gradually changed, her anger and resentment subsiding and returning to calm.

Instead of getting angry, she said, "Perhaps Shi Ye is right, you are an excellent girl."

Shi's mother was a university teacher. She had met and interacted with many girls of all kinds with different personalities, but she rarely met someone as clear-headed, courageous, and principled as Shen Ci.

Especially at her current age.

Because whether women are willing to admit it or not, they cannot deny that women are indeed mostly emotional creatures, and their emotions subconsciously drive their behavior and expression.

But Shen Ci possesses independent thinking beyond her years, and she can express it in front of me with neither arrogance nor servility, which is truly remarkable.

Faced with her mother's sudden change in attitude and her praise of her, Shen Ci smiled gracefully and replied without any modesty, "That's right."

Shi's mother picked up her bag and stood up, looking at Shen Ci and said, "But unfortunately, Shi Ye really needs to focus on his postgraduate entrance exam right now. It's just that the timing isn't right. If it were the right time, I wouldn't object to you."

“There’s nothing to regret.” Shen Ci lowered her eyes, thinking to herself, “There are plenty of men out there.”

She didn't say the second half of the sentence, which was a kind gesture in response to the praise from Shi's mother.

Shi's mother already had a good understanding of Shen Ci's personality, so when she heard her say "it's not a pity," she wasn't angry anymore. Instead, she smiled with admiration and said, "Goodbye."

After the waiter left, he came over and asked Shen Ci, "Beautiful lady, would you like to order now?"

“Of course.” Shen Ci smiled brightly, unaffected by the incident. She elegantly opened the menu and pointed to an expensive set meal: “I’ll have one of these.”

Seeing this, the waiter kindly reminded her: "Miss, this is a meal for four to six people. I see that you have reserved two people for this table tonight, but there are meals for two people available later."

"I want this one," Shen Ci said definitively.

The waiter dared not say anything more and could only nod: "Okay."

After ordering the food, Shen Ci took out her phone and made calls to everyone in the phone.

Soon, Lianxing, Pili, Shen Yuzhen, Su Zheyuan, and Xiao Gao arrived one after another.

The world keeps turning even without a man; friends are what she absolutely needs!

Shen Ci recounted the events of the day to the group, and Lian Xing listened with particular excitement: "My goodness, it's even more exciting than a TV drama!"

Su Zheyuan curled his lip: "So Shi Ye is a mama's boy?"

Shen Ci shook his head, not thinking so: "It's not that, it's just that his mother is indeed quite domineering, and he probably couldn't resist."

"So you're out like this?" Shen Yuzhen asked.

She felt a little sorry for Shen Ci because she thought Shi Ye was quite good—handsome, with a good personality, and Shen Ci liked him too.

But who could have predicted that a mother would suddenly appear out of nowhere? This kind of thing was a minefield for Shen Ci; encountering it meant certain death without any chance of survival.

"Have you tried it?" Shen Yuzhen suddenly leaned closer and asked curiously.

At that moment, everyone else turned to look at her. They were all seasoned veterans and knew what Shen Yuzhen was asking.

Shen Ci tossed her hair and sighed with regret: "That's where the loss lies. He's always been very confident in his abilities. He should have tested it first."