17. I know I was wrong.

The banquet still needed to be hosted by the uncle, so after a brief chat, the uncle left.

As soon as he left, Xie Shiyu gently tugged at Xi Yanci's clothes, her voice soft: "Did I embarrass you by not being able to grow legs?" Her voice was full of self-reproach.

"That's not true." Xi Zhengyu reassured her nonchalantly. So what if his wife went out with a fishtail on her head?

Being in such a banquet setting, and with Xi Zhengyu being the chairman of the Starry Sky Group, people would inevitably come over to chat with him.

Moreover, Xi Zhengyu's friends also arrived one after another.

One was a man dressed in a white haute couture suit, with a particularly flamboyant appearance. He attracted countless eyes as soon as he appeared.

He himself was enjoying himself, with a polite smile on his face. When someone came up to talk to him, the man would respond with a smile.

As he walked up to Xi Zhengyu, he immediately greeted him, "Brother Xi, you're here so early today?"

After saying that, he looked at Xie Shiyu beside him and asked with a smile, "Is this your sister-in-law?"

"Just as the internet says, she's as beautiful as an angel, as handsome as Pan An, so beautiful it takes your breath away." She said this while adding gestures.

Xie Shiyu looked at him speechlessly; this man had a knack for being funny.

"Stop being silly." Accustomed to Jing Zhan's eccentric behavior, Xi Zhengyu didn't mind. "Her name is Xie Shiyu, my wife." After introducing her to him, Jing Zhan enthusiastically introduced himself to Xie Shiyu.

"Hello, sister-in-law. My name is Jing Zhan. I'm a friend of President Xi. You can call me Brother Jing."

“There’s a generational gap,” Xie Shiyu said. “You call Xi Zhengyu ‘Brother Xi,’ but I have to call you ‘Brother Jing.’ I’m a step below you.”

"Heh." Xi Zhengyu chuckled. "Shiyu, you can just call him Xiao Jingzi."

Jing Zhan: ......

I didn't get the bargain I wanted, and this name sounds like... well... a eunuch?

The two knew each other and even added each other as friends in front of Xi Zhengyu.

"Everyone's here?" A gentle, pleasant male voice sounded from behind them. A man in a black suit with long blond hair stood behind them, his androgynous face making it impossible to look away.

“Fax, you’re always the slowest to arrive.” Jing Zhan said as he walked over and reached out to put his arm around Fax’s shoulder, but Fax blocked him. “Don’t wrinkle my clothes.”

Jing Zhan withdrew his hand and scoffed in dissatisfaction.

Through Xi Zhengyu's introduction, the two introduced themselves to each other and added each other as friends.

The three people standing together were all powerful and influential figures from the main planet. Many people eager to curry favor with them appeared. Seeing this, Xie Shiyu whispered something to Xi Zhengyu before heading towards the self-service area.

At the self-service area, Xie Shiyu held a plate in one hand and tongs in the other, picking up whichever dessert she liked.

After taking the food, Xie Shiyu found a secluded corner to enjoy it.

Halfway through the meal, a person appeared in front of Xie Shiyu. The person stopped in front of Xie Shiyu, holding a wine glass and looking at her.

The disdain and disgust in her eyes were undisguised. Xie Shiyu stopped what she was doing and looked up at the person who had come.

She had blonde hair, and even the dress she was wearing was gold, which matched perfectly.

Her face was very distinctive. Xie Shiyu often browsed the StarNet website, so she recognized the woman standing in front of her.

Wendina is an extremely popular female celebrity. She is beautiful and has amassed billions of fans since her debut.

The TV series and movies she starred in were all hits, and her fans were incredibly powerful; no artist who offended her ever had a good ending.

Most importantly, Ms. Wendina has a powerful backer, so artists who suffer in silence can only swallow their grievances.

“Miss Xie,” Wendina said softly, “a mermaid who can’t even conjure up legs is good for nothing except for this face.”

"I really can't understand why Chairman Xi would marry a mermaid like you." Her eyes were full of jealousy as she said this.

Over the years, she took advantage of her work to try and get closer to Xi Zhengyu time and time again, but in the end, she didn't even have a chance to have a meal with him.

The mermaid in front of me is quite something; not only did she get a marriage certificate with Xi Zhengyu, but she's also being treated with such meticulous care by him.

How could Wendina not be jealous?

She has no money, no power, and is a mermaid brought back from the wild who can't even conjure up legs.

It's amazing that Xi Zhengyu spotted it at the auction and bought it, and even went to the Civil Affairs Bureau the next day.

Could it be because of that 30% fertility rate?

"I advise you to be smart and leave Chairman Xi as soon as possible, or you'll regret it," Wendina said casually, shaking the wine glass in her hand repeatedly.

The liquid inside began to swirl as she moved.

"How do you plan to make me look good?" Xie Shiyu put down her plate and looked at her as she asked.

“There’s a gray industry going on in places you don’t know about. You have the highest fertility rate in the entire Federation, so I think those people would be willing to take you back,” Wendina said with a smile.

“If you don’t want to lose your freedom and become a mermaid for others’ amusement, I advise you to be sensible and get a divorce from Chairman Xi.” Wendina bent down slightly and slowly approached Xie Shiyu, threateningly, “Otherwise, I have a hundred ways to make you disappear from the main planet.”

Xie Shiyu's face turned cold as she was threatened; this woman was even worse than Miss Nilisha.

Miss Nellisa will make her lose her star coins if she leaves.

The woman in front of him was purely threatening.

"Did you hear me?" Wendina frowned and scolded when she saw that she didn't respond.

Seeing Xie Shiyu looking at her with a cold gaze, her eyes were as cold as if she were looking at a dead object.

"What kind of look is that? I could kill a wild mermaid with ease. Don't think that just because you have a 30% fertility rate, you can climb up the social ladder by getting into the Xi family." Wendina was very displeased with her look.

"You'd better behave yourself. I'm already being merciful by sparing your life."

Xie Shiyu chuckled, her compassion so profound that she dared to use any word to describe herself.

He's clearly a heartless person.

Xie Shiyu raised her hand and grabbed her wrist, then pulled, spilling the entire glass of red wine from her hand onto her face.

Wendina quickly broke free, but because Xie Shiyu was holding on too tightly, her struggle pulled her off the floating wheelchair.

Not only that, the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound, immediately attracting the attention of many people.

Xie Shiyu lay sprawled on the ground, surrounded by shattered wine glass shards.

Her fair, jade-like arms were cut by the splattered shards, and blood slowly trickled down.

Xie Shiyu, looking disheveled, slumped there, looking up at Wendina with a smile that only she could see.

She immediately burst into tears, her gentle voice pleading, "Miss Wendina, I know I was wrong. Please don't hit me. I will leave Xi Zhengyu. Please don't kill me."