Wife Takes the Reins: The Calm CEO

Chapter 16: The Eldest Miss of the Feng Family

“I imagine you two must have heard of my eldest and second brothers. My eldest brother is Feng Tianyu, and my second brother is Feng Lingzheng. I’m their most cherished little sister, Feng Yan. Please forgive me for being such a chatterbox.” Feng Yan continued with a mischievous yet humorous tone, emphasizing her name once more. “Wow, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a little sister as cute and pretty as you!” Qi Xin'er exclaimed dramatically, stepping forward to give Feng Yan a big hug. Standing nearby, Li Xiaowan couldn’t help but think: What a thoughtless girl—doesn’t she realize how heartbroken and upset her own younger sister would be if she heard or saw this? “Miss Feng Yan, don’t mind her—she’s just a crazy girl,” Li Xiaowan said hurriedly, fearing that Qi Xin'er might have been too forward, especially since she knew the beautiful woman before her was a genuine heiress from a wealthy family—exactly the kind of “rich, beautiful, and well-educated” woman that was all the rage these days. “Sister Xiaowan, you’re overthinking it. Doesn’t Sister Xin'er’s behavior just show how popular I am?” Feng Yan said, completely unfazed. “And Sister Xiaowan, just call me by my first name, or ‘Yan'er’ if you like. My older brothers always call me that. I’m so tired of hearing ‘Miss Feng Yan’ all the time,” Feng Yan added. Li Xiaowan thought it over in her mind. Well, “Miss Feng Yan” did sound awkward, and besides, she wasn’t her servant or someone who needed to curry favor with her all day long. Calling her “Yan'er” didn’t feel right either—they weren’t that close yet. She’d just call her by her first name! “Then I’ll call you Feng Yan. It’s a name with quite a poetic feel to it,” Li Xiaowan said with a smile. “Sure. From now on, both of you can just call me Feng Yan. It’s windy out here—let me take you inside first!” Feng Yan said cheerfully. But no one noticed that the moment she turned around, her eyes instantly filled with disgust and displeasure—a look completely different from the one she’d shown Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er. This was the gaze befitting the apple of The Feng Family’s eye. “Okay, thank you for your help,” Li Xiaowan said politely. “Sister Xiaowan, it’s no trouble at all,” Feng Yan said without giving anything away. She led Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er through the main hall, around a corridor, and finally arrived at what appeared to be the villa’s back garden. “Sister Xiaowan, Sister Xin'er, this is the back garden. Just go around the flowerbeds up ahead, and you’ll be there!” ” Feng Yan said, feigning concern, though inwardly she was extremely reluctant. Under normal circumstances, she would have considered even glancing at people like Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er a waste of time; it was only because of her eldest and second brothers’ instructions that she was pretending to be so enthusiastic in welcoming them today. “I didn’t expect the villa to be even bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside,” Li Xiaowan remarked sincerely, even though her mind was elsewhere. “Sister Xiaowan, do you like it here? Don’t worry—there will be even more surprises in store for you that you won’t expect.” ” Feng Yan furrowed her brow slightly, her smile forced and insincere, while inwardly she was utterly baffled. She had no idea what had gotten into Second Brother to go out of his way to find such a mediocre woman to placate the family. If it weren’t for the fact that no one could ever overrule Second Brother’s decisions, she would have been the first to raise both hands in opposition. Although Second Brother hadn’t explained it to her, based on her understanding of him, it must be because Li Xiaowan’s appearance... Given her second brother’s taste, there was no way he would ever notice someone as tasteless as Li Xiaowan—especially with that strong, rustic air about her that was downright repulsive. However, Li Xiaowan didn’t notice the change in Feng Yan’s expression. She simply thought to herself, “What a surprise? More like a shock. And once today is over, there will be no ‘later’—even if they brought me here in a palanquin carried by eight men, I wouldn’t come.” Although she thought this to herself, she certainly couldn’t say it out loud. “Is that so? I’m actually looking forward to it,” Li Xiaowan could only say perfunctorily. She naively thought that since Feng Yan was being so enthusiastic, she’d better put her inner displeasure aside for the time being, so as not to disappoint her good intentions or dampen her spirits. “Yan'er, why are you wasting your breath on all that nonsense with them? Just bring them over here first!” A voice that was extremely off-putting to the ear suddenly came from the other side of the flower bed. “Got it, Second Brother,” Feng Yan replied cheerfully, giving off an air of schadenfreude. Had they misheard? Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er exchanged glances, but ultimately both concluded in their hearts that they must have misheard—Feng Yan wasn’t that kind of person. Passing through the flowerbeds, the first thing they saw was an exquisite pavilion. Not far from it was an area resembling a golf course. In the center of the pavilion stood a natural wood tea table, and seated around it were four people. To Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er’s surprise, they recognized all four: Feng Tianyu, Feng Lingzheng,Xiao Tong, and Ye. “Cousin Yan'er, didn’t Ling Zheng Ge tell you to go pick them up a long time ago? Why did it take you so long to bring them back?” Xiao Tong was the first to speak up. “You’ve got some nerve saying that. You were only concerned with coming back on your own—how could you bear to leave those two beauties out there?” Feng Yan feigned reproach. “Cousin Yan'er, wasn’t I there too? I figured it’d be easier to talk among women. Besides, Sister Qi Xin'er is like a tigress—she scared me so much I didn’t dare make a sound. I had to get out of there fast. Did I look like I wanted to get eaten by her?” Xiao Tong said dramatically. After speaking, he didn’t forget to wink at Qi Xin'er, as if to say: I’m talking about you, I’m talking about you—what are you going to do about it? Sure enough, Qi Xin'er’s face flushed bright red, but remembering that she was there today to accompany Xiaowan, she had no choice but to pretend she hadn’t heard a thing. “Xiao Tong, don’t be rude,” The Feng Family’s eldest son finally spoke up. “Yes, Brother Tianyu,” Xiao Tong replied obediently, instinctively leaning closer to his older brother Ye. It seemed he was quite afraid of Feng Tianyu. What puzzled Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er, however, was that shouldn’t he be more afraid of Feng Lingzheng? Wasn’t Feng Lingzheng supposed to be the one who struck more fear into people’s hearts? Ye, meanwhile, wore an expression of helpless resignation. Although he could be quite rowdy at times, he certainly wasn’t as boisterous as Xiao Tong. “Since Yan'er is here as the family’s special envoy, I’ll make a solemn declaration right in front of her: I will marry no one but Li Xiaowan in this lifetime, or else I’d rather spend the rest of my life alone,” Feng Lingzheng said with a straight face. What? It was like a bolt from the blue, striking Li Xiaowan right between the eyes. No, absolutely not—she had to make sure his plans came to nothing. “I disagree—I firmly disagree. I came here today specifically to clarify this matter. Rest assured, I’ll definitely find a way to repay your car repair costs, but I absolutely refuse to agree to your absurd demand,” Li Xiaowan said with unwavering resolve. “That’s right. Don’t even think about using the repair costs to threaten Xiaowan. I, Qi Xin'er, am telling you right here: even if I have to eat nothing but steamed buns for every meal from now on, I’ll do everything in my power to help Xiaowan pay you back for the repairs,” Qi Xin'er said with unwavering resolve. “Sisterly bonds mean nothing to me. Once I’ve made up my mind, no one can change it,” Feng Lingzheng said calmly. But someone couldn’t sit still any longer. Feng Yan pretended to leap to her feet from her chair. “What? What are you talking about—car repair costs? Second Brother, aren’t you truly intent on marrying Xiaowan? Is this just to appease Grandpa and Grandma, or Mom and Dad? Or is it because she looks like a certain someone that you’ve decided on a marriage of convenience?” But the mere mention of “that person” sent a sharp pang of pain through Feng Lingzheng’s heart. “Cousin Yan'er, is this news to you? Aside from you, every single one of us here knows about it,” Xiao Tong said, adding fuel to the fire, unaware that he had fallen into the trap Feng Yan had deliberately set. “So you’ve been keeping this from me all along—especially Second Brother, who kept begging me over the phone to come back and be a witness to your love. Aren’t you afraid I’ll call them right now and tell them everything?” Feng Yan looked so wronged that tears were welling up in her eyes. Seeing this, the others hurriedly stood up to comfort Feng Yan—it was clear just how much she meant to them. “Yan'er, Second Brother didn’t mean to keep this from you. You know what kind of person Xia Yiting is—eccentric, arrogant, and domineering. Do you really think Second Brother would be happy with her? Besides, this is just a marriage of convenience.” ” Feng Lingzheng struggled to suppress her boiling anger as she spoke softly, her gaze toward Feng Yan filled with nothing but tenderness and affection—completely unconcerned about how Li Xiaowan, who was still standing nearby, might feel upon hearing this. “Yan'er, Feng Lingzheng is right. Haven’t you always been the biggest supporter of our eldest and second brothers?” Feng Tianyu said, tenderly stroking Feng Yan’s head. “Yan'er, didn’t you tell me that your greatest wish in this life is to see all four of us find the happy, fulfilling lives we desire?” Ye stepped forward immediately and said. “Sister Yan'er, don’t be sad. Xiao Tong is willing to be your punching bag,” Xiao Tong said firmly. Perfect—this was exactly the reaction she’d been hoping for. But deep down, she really wanted to say: No matter how bad Xia Yiting might be, she’s still a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Li Xiaowan—because Feng Yan looked down on Li Xiaowan from the bottom of her heart and even felt an indescribable sense of dislike toward her. But in order to play the roles of the loving older sister and the loving younger sister well, she had no choice but to go against her better judgment and accept their advice. “All right, since you’ve all said that, what else can I say? I’ll just have to hold back from tattling! But there’s a condition, though!” Feng Yan shook off the gloom from moments ago and looked sweetly at the group. “Yan'er, just tell me what you want—even if it’s a star in the sky, I’ll find a way to pluck it down for you.” Feng Lingzheng, deeply moved, hugged Feng Yan tightly to her chest. “Are you two putting on a show of deep sibling affection for us? If that’s the case, we really are just in the way. Xiaowan, let’s go.” Qi Xin simply couldn’t bear to watch or listen any longer; she grabbed Li Xiaowan’s hand and started to head back. “Stop right there, Li Xiaowan. If you won’t think of yourself, at least think of the person beside you—think of her, think of her family. You must realize that countless accidents happen every single day in this world.” ” Feng Lingzheng, having completely shed the gentle demeanor she’d shown toward Feng Yan just moments before, suddenly turned somber as she spoke. Her mood had shifted faster than turning a page, and even her threats sounded utterly righteous. Although such a threat was bound to arouse hatred, it was incredibly effective. Sure enough, Li Xiaowan no longer had the slightest courage to take another step forward, and she thought to herself: I’ve been an orphan since childhood, so I have nothing to fear—but what about Xin'er? She has a complete family. One mustn’t be too selfish—especially since Uncle Qi and Aunt Qi are like second parents to me. I can’t let a momentary impulse lead to an unforgivable mistake. I’d rather sacrifice myself than let any of them come to harm.”