Wife Takes the Reins: The Calm CEO

Chapter 17: A Reluctant Compromise

The very thing Qi Xin'er feared most had happened. Without Li Xiaowan even having to say it, she already knew what Li Xiaowan’s choice would be—and it was precisely this choice that left Qi Xin'er feeling most powerless and most guilty toward Li Xiaowan. “Xiaowan, don’t listen to him. I don’t believe that in today’s society governed by the rule of law, he’d actually dare to brazenly do anything outrageous. You mustn’t do anything you’re unwilling to do just for my sake. I certainly don’t want to hold you back or become a burden in your heart,” Qi Xin'er said passionately and loudly. These words came straight from her heart; she wasn’t speaking insincerely. “Xin'er, you know me. It’s fine. It’s just a marriage in name only, right? It doesn’t matter. Once we’ve gone through the motions, we’ll go our separate ways—no strings attached.” Li Xiaowan said, putting on a carefree facade, unaware of just how desolate she felt inside. She never would have dreamed that her life would only get worse and worse. “Very well, I’ll give you credit for knowing your place. Besides, I’ve never wanted to have anything more to do with someone like you!” Feng Lingzheng said, lounging lazily in a recliner next to the pavilion. “That’s for the best. But before we do this, I have some conditions!” Li Xiaowan said firmly. She certainly didn’t want that person to go back on his word later and use the people close to her to blackmail her into doing things she didn’t want to do. “Do you really think you’re in any position to make demands of me?” Although Feng Lingzheng spoke with his eyes slightly narrowed, Li Xiaowan could sense that his gaze was undoubtedly filled with intense rage—so much so that he seemed ready to pierce countless holes through her with his trademark piercing stare. However, Feng Lingzheng didn’t react the way Li Xiaowan had expected. In his eyes and in his heart, he didn’t take her seriously at all; he merely saw her as a target for his pent-up frustration. As for how much of his claim that he was only pretending to marry her to appease his family was true, only he himself knew for certain. “Can’t you even agree to this tiny little request? Or are you scared?” Li Xiaowan retorted, refusing to back down. “Li Xiaowan, you’re testing the limits of my patience,” Feng Lingzheng said, his tone hardening. “So what if I am? At worst, we’ll both go down together—a lose-lose situation.” At that moment, Li Xiaowan was no longer the least bit afraid of Feng Lingzheng’s threats. However, she had completely overlooked the fact that she had absolutely no leverage to go down with Feng Lingzheng. As soon as she finished speaking, even Qi Xin'er, standing beside her, found herself holding her breath in anxiety. After Li Xiaowan had spoken those words, she came to her senses and began to realize this as well. But since the words were already out, was she supposed to take them back—or bow her head and beg for mercy, admitting defeat? Absolutely not. Aside from Qi Xin'er, the others nearby were watching the scene unfold as if it were a play. As the saying goes, “When it doesn’t concern you, stay out of it”—and that couldn’t have been more apt for the situation. Li Xiaowan and Feng Lingzheng remained locked in this standoff. After about five minutes, Feng Lingzheng slowly sat up from his armchair and said leisurely, “Fine. What are your conditions? You name them.” This took everyone present—including Li Xiaowan—by surprise. They had assumed that, given his domineering personality, he would never back down, but unexpectedly, he had relented this time. Li Xiaowan certainly wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. Fearing that Feng Lingzheng might change his mind the very next second, she quickly said, “First, you must promise right now that from this day forward, you will never again use the people close to me to blackmail me. Second, since our marriage is only nominal, there can be no physical intimacy between us. Third, we must not maintain this marital status for more than a year; otherwise, no matter how you threaten me, I will not compromise.” To her surprise, Feng Lingzheng agreed without a moment’s hesitation, which actually made Li Xiaowan suspicious. “A verbal promise isn’t enough. It must be in writing, in duplicate, and you must sign and affix your fingerprint to it.” Li Xiaowan reasoned that as long as there was a written record, Feng Lingzheng—no matter how arrogant she might be—wouldn’t dare deny it in the face of evidence. Little did she know just how much she was underestimating Feng Lingzheng. “Fine, no problem. Xiao Tong, go fetch some paper, a brush, and my seal from my study,” Feng Lingzheng said, looking at Xiao Tong. “As you command!” Xiao Tong vanished in the blink of an eye, like a ghost—a testament to just how agile he was. Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er had never even considered this possibility. What surprised them even more was that, in order to be by Feng Lingzheng’s side just like his older brother Ye, Xiao Tong had voluntarily asked to train in martial arts since the age of five. He had studied everything from judo totaekwondo—he’d mastered them all. He’d also spent every winter and summer break training at the Shaolin Temple, while simultaneously honing his skills in marksmanship and driving. Although geniuses possess their own innate advantages, their success ultimately depends on relentless hard work. “Ling Zheng Ge, I’ve brought everything over,” Xiao Tong said without a hint of breathlessness, speaking crisply and efficiently. “Thanks, let’s get started then!” Feng Lingzheng wrote down every word of the conditions Li Xiaowan had just mentioned, then signed and stamped the document—just one copy. He handed the so-called “agreement” to Li Xiaowan and said with a cold smile, “Well? Are you satisfied now?” “Not at all. Didn’t we agree on just a fingerprint? And why aren’t you keeping a copy for yourself?” Li Xiaowan asked curiously, wondering if this man was up to something again. “What use is this piece of paper to me? It’s all written to benefit you—I just have to follow it, don’t I?” Feng Lingzheng said calmly, completely ignoring the question about the seal. Li Xiaowan thought about it for a moment. Feng Lingzheng’s point wasn’t without merit—this document was completely useless to him; as long as it served her purposes, that was all that mattered. Besides, a seal and a fingerprint were essentially the same thing, so she decided not to make a big deal out of it. “All right. Since everything has been settled, the wedding will take place exactly one month from now,” Feng Lingzheng said without a trace of emotion; not a hint of joy could be detected in his voice. “What? We still have to hold a wedding? In just one month?” Feng Lingzheng’s words caught Li Xiaowan completely off guard. “What? Are you already going back on your word so soon? Who was it who said this was just a marriage in name only? Since you don’t care about a marriage in name only, why would you care about a wedding that’s just for show?” Feng Lingzheng said with a gloomy expression. “Fine, whatever. As long as you keep your end of the bargain.” At this point, there was nothing else she could do, but Li Xiaowan couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding. She felt that something terrible was about to happen. What was happening now was already a catastrophe—could there possibly be an even greater misfortune befalling her? “Heaven and Earth,” she thought, “do you think my life hasn’t been hard enough already? Do you want to heap even more misfortune upon me?” Unfortunately, neither Heaven nor Earth could hear Li Xiaowan’s inner cry; all she had was the reality staring her in the face. “I’ll abide by the terms, but you must guarantee that you’ll be available at a moment’s notice throughout this year, and your phone must be accessible at all times. If I ever find out you’re deliberately avoiding me or refusing to answer my calls, don’t blame me for turning on you without mercy. Ye, show them out!” Feng Lingzheng dismissed them as if shooing away flies, eager for Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er to vanish from his sight immediately. “No need—we have our own legs; we’ll walk!” Li Xiaowan said, thinking to herself at the same time: I wouldn’t want to stay in this godforsaken place another moment, even without you kicking us out. But Feng Lingzheng had already turned and walked away from the pavilion, and Feng Tianyu, Feng Yan, and Xiao Tong had all vanished from Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er’s sight as well—only Ye remained where he was. Li Xiaowan thought to herself that if it weren’t for Feng Lingzheng’s orders, he would probably have vanished long ago as well. Most of these rich people are arrogant and look at her as if she were a plague. Take Feng Tianyu, for example—he never once gave her or Qi Xin'er a proper glance from start to finish. After all, they’d met twice before, yet he acted as if he’d never seen her in his life. Still, she could understand—that’s just how the rich are. As for Ye, aside from when he stood up to comfort Feng Yan, he spent the rest of the time with his head down, fiddling with his phone;As for Feng Lingzheng, needless to say; Feng Yan and Xiao Tong, on the other hand, were quite warm and didn’t put on any airs typical of the wealthy. Still, Li Xiaowan was only half-right. “Ladies, please follow me!” Ye said, as politely as he possibly could. “We already said we don’t need it. Can’t you understand plain speech?” Qi Xin'er’s fiery temper flared up instantly. “Whether it’s necessary or not isn’t up to you to decide.” Although his tone seemed firm, there was not a hint of anger in Ye’s voice. Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er thought to themselves, This guy sure has a lot of patience. Fine, we’ll let him drive us. We’ll just treat him like he’s not even there. So, the three of them walked toward the villa’s exit in silence. It wasn’t until they reached the exit that Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er realized Feng Lingzheng had probably given those instructions out of fear that the two of them might get lost inside. Given his personality, he certainly wouldn’t want to be disturbed by trivial people or matters, so he’d chosen to take them straight to their destination. “Xiao Fei, they’re here. You’re in charge of getting them safely to their place!” Ye said as he walked up to the driver’s side door of the black Mercedes-Benz. Although it was the same car as before, the driver had changed from Xiao Tong to Xiao Fei—and the gender had also changed. She appeared to be just as sharp and capable, which made Li Xiaowan feel a pang of curiosity: What exactly did The Feng Family do? If someone simply told her they ran a Company, she wouldn’t believe it for the life of her. Although she had no concrete evidence, a woman’s intuition could sometimes be remarkably accurate. But on second thought, what the Feng Family actually did was none of her business. After all, given Feng Lingzheng’s incredibly arrogant attitude, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to consider the Feng Family her enemies. However, Li Xiaowan wasn’t that narrow-minded; as long as they didn’t harm the people close to her, that was enough. The beautiful woman named Xiao Fei was about the same age as Li Xiaowan and her friends, though she possessed a touch more mature charm. “Ye, don’t you trust me to handle this? Just go back and rest easy—I’ll make sure they arrive safely at their destination.” After saying this, Xiao Fei didn’t forget to flash Ye a flirtatious glance.