Wife Takes the Reins: The Calm CEO

Chapter 27: The Feng Family Mansion

“Xin'er, it’s okay, I’ll answer it.” Li Xiaowan stood up and walked toward the living room. “Hello…” “Took you so long to answer the phone, heh! Were you thinking of a suitable excuse so your friend would turn him down again?” Feng Lingzheng said with a cold laugh. “So what if I was? Wasn’t my stance clear enough from the start? Do you even know how to write the phrase ‘left with no choice’?” Li Xiaowan could feel an overwhelming sense of oppression even through the phone. “Don’t waste my time with that nonsense. You have three minutes to show up at the top of the stairs!” Feng Lingzheng said domineeringly. “Can’t you stop doing this every time? Can’t you give me a little breathing room? Didn’t we agree on Friday night?” This time, Li Xiaowan had learned her lesson; as soon as she finished speaking, she hung up the phone. She didn’t want to hear that person’s utterly annoying voice anymore, and besides, there was no point in saying anything more. “Xin'er, I’m heading out for a bit. Don’t wait up for me, okay? I have no idea how long I’ll be gone,” Li Xiaowan said as she hurriedly pulled her sneakers from under the bed and slipped them on. “Xiaowan, you’re practically at his beck and call. What if one day he’s in a bad mood and tells you to come over in the middle of the night? Won’t you have to rush over in a flash then, too?” Qi Xin'er was genuinely worried for Li Xiaowan. At this rate, if Xiaowan didn’t go crazy, she herself would probably lose her mind. “Sigh! What can I do? He’s my creditor, after all,” Li Xiaowan said, forcing herself to suppress her frustration. “Xiaowan, if he dares to bully you, call me right away. I’ll call the police immediately. You don’t even have to call—just send a text or a We Chat message. Just a few words and I’ll know exactly what’s going on.” Qi Xin'er couldn’t help but feel anxious at the thought of Li Xiaowan being summoned over in the middle of the night. “Xin'er, he probably wouldn’t dare do anything to me. You go ahead and sleep. I’m leaving now. Good night!” After saying that, Li Xiaowan quickly flung open the door and ran downstairs. Three minutes—or maybe not even that long—she didn’t even have time to check the clock. As soon as she stepped out of the stairwell, she saw Feng Lingzheng’s annoying face glaring at her menacingly—yes, menacingly, just like a vicious wolf. “You actually dared to hang up on me, heh! And what’s with standing there like a block of wood? Do you expect me to open the car door for you myself? Don’t you think you’re even worthy of it?” Feng Lingzheng’s words cut deep; he simply couldn’t bring himself to be nice to Li Xiaowan. “I’m not worthy—and I’m certainly not worthy of riding in your car. So next time, don’t call me to tell me where to go, okay? I’m begging you.” Li Xiaowan, acting out of character, said in a subdued voice. “I don’t need you telling me what to do, okay!” Feng Lingzheng paid no heed to Li Xiaowan’s almost pleading tone. “Whatever you want!” Li Xiaowan was so speechless she couldn’t find any words to describe the person in front of her. For some reason, whenever she encountered Feng Lingzheng, she felt like a person with two faces—either completely meek or overly emotional. If this kept up, she’d drive herself crazy. Fortunately, Feng Lingzheng didn’t pursue the topic any further and instead focused on driving. However, he would occasionally steal a glance at Li Xiaowan’s profile. This woman was actually quite attractive; she just didn’t bother to dress up. Compared to “her,” she might even be a cut above, Feng Lingzheng thought to himself. Li Xiaowan, however, was not like Feng Lingzheng. She appeared to be calmly staring straight ahead, but in reality, her thoughts had long since drifted far away. “We’re here! Get out of the car!” Li Xiaowan hadn’t even noticed when the car had stopped. Feng Lingzheng’s shout snapped her back to reality. She immediately got out of the car and followed Feng Lingzheng, keeping a distance of about one hundred meters behind her. “Li Xiaowan, if you don’t want to be spotted by the infrared surveillance and attract the attack of a police dog, keep your distance and follow slowly,” Feng Lingzheng said without turning her head. “What? There are police dogs!” As soon as Li Xiaowan heard about the police dogs, she immediately ran forward, nearly crashing into Feng Lingzheng’s back. God only knows how terrified she is of dogs. Feng Lingzheng remembered that as a child, she’d once been chased by a dog and, in her panic, had jumped straight off a dirt embankment, landing with a bloody head wound. Fortunately, she’d been found in time; otherwise, even if she hadn’t died, she would have been left with some lasting complications. She never would have guessed this woman was afraid of dogs. Feng Lingzheng could have figured it out without Li Xiaowan even saying a word. She’d inadvertently uncovered another of her vulnerabilities. Excellent—she’d take her time playing along with her from now on! “Wait, where is this? I’ve never been here before.” As Li Xiaowan walked along, she suddenly sensed something was off. “There are plenty of places you’ve never been. Just keep following me. Don’t worry—I won’t sell you off easily until I’ve had my fill of playing with you.” To Feng Lingzheng, nothing about Li Xiaowan mattered; his sole purpose was to slowly vent the resentment in his heart. “You’re utterly inhuman—worse than a beast,” Li Xiaowan muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth. She assumed Feng Lingzheng couldn’t possibly hear her, but just like before, she’d overlooked the most crucial point: Feng Lingzheng and his kind were far from ordinary people, so it was only natural that their hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you firsthand what it means to be worse than a beast,” Feng Lingzheng said, suddenly coming to a halt. Li Xiaowan couldn’t pull her foot back in time and crashed head-on into Feng Lingzheng’s back. She’d hit him after all. Her head felt like it was buzzing, and she was this close to seeing stars. Was he made of iron, or was he a robot? How come the impact hurt so much? “Don’t you have eyes?” Feng Lingzheng ignored Li Xiaowan’s gasp of surprise. Although he knew the collision must have been painful for her, so what? It had absolutely nothing to do with him, so without so much as a word of comfort, he walked straight into the mansion. That’s right—the place Feng Lingzheng had brought Li Xiaowan to was the Feng Family Mansion, a historic building over a century old. Thanks to the Feng family’s ingenious design and meticulous renovation, it now blended ancient charm with modern style, and simplicity with grandeur. Logically speaking, a historic building over a century old shouldn’t be altered at will to suit personal preferences, but for some reason, The Feng Family possesses this unique ability. Although modifications have been made, the elements passed down through generations—from the ornate beams and stone pillars to the door frames and doorknobs—have remained entirely untouched, having only been slightly refurbished and reinforced. The moment one steps inside the mansion, one is struck by a sense of solemnity and dignity. “Xiaowan, you’re here! Zheng said she was going out to pick someone up, and I was just wondering who it could be—I never expected it to be you!” No sooner had she stepped through the door than Yu Feilan’s voice, as warm as a spring breeze, drifted out from inside—though Li Xiaowan hadn’t yet seen Yu Feilan herself. “How did she know it was me?” Li Xiaowan was thoroughly puzzled. “Xiaowan, judging by that bewildered look on your face, you must be wondering how I knew it was you, right? Just look up and you’ll see,” Yu Feilan continued. Li Xiaowan looked up and gasped! Countless security cameras were glowing above her head. Was that really necessary? But upon closer inspection, she saw that each camera was angled at a different direction. Still, it felt like a bit of a waste—rich people really do live differently. “I see. President Yu, where are you?” Rather than the cameras above her head, Li Xiaowan was even more curious about where Yu Feilan was. “I’m right behind you!” Yu Feilan said softly. Li Xiaowan immediately turned around. Sure enough, Yu Feilan was standing less than two meters away from her. But when had he walked over? How come she hadn’t noticed a thing? “I thought President Yu was watching from the monitoring room. So you were just teasing me about the camera earlier.” As soon as Li Xiaowan saw Yu Feilan, she felt much more at ease. But the moment she subconsciously glanced at Feng Lingzheng, she suddenly caught a flash of contempt and displeasure in Feng Lingzheng’s eyes. It seemed that, as far as Li Xiaowan could recall, Feng Lingzheng had never once given her a friendly look. Never mind—let her be! “Have a seat, Xiaowan, don’t be shy,” Yu Feilan warmly invited Li Xiaowan to sit down, then continued, “Just like you, I was invited here as a guest—the only difference is who invited us.” “So, President Yu, who invited you?” Li Xiaowan let go of her inner reservations and asked Yu Feilan quite naturally. “As for me, I’m sure you can guess.” Yu Feilan didn’t directly reveal who had invited her. “If President Yu puts it that way, then I understand. It’s clear that the two of you are a perfect match—a natural pair,” Li Xiaowan said from the bottom of her heart. “Sister Xiaowan, you really know how to put things. Brother Lan, look—even Sister Xiaowan, whom we’ve only just met, says we’re a perfect match. You can imagine just how well we go together.” Feng Yan suddenly emerged from around the corner, a tray of colorful pastries in her hands. “Hello, Miss Feng!” Li Xiaowan politely stood up and greeted her. “Sister Xiaowan, you’ve forgotten again—call me Feng Yan. If I hear you call me ‘Miss Feng’ one more time, I won’t let you off so easily,” Feng Yan said, feigning a playful scold, her voice so sweet it seemed you could wring water from it. “Okay, I’ll remember,” Li Xiaowan replied, playing along. She could tell that Feng Yan wasn’t really addressing her—even though Feng Yan appeared to be speaking to her, her eyes were fixed intently on Yu Feilan, so Li Xiaowan had no choice but to play along. “Brother Lan, Sister Xiaowan, why don’t you have some snacks first? It’s getting late, and I’m sure you’re both hungry. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes—please wait just a little longer!” After saying this, Feng Yan cast a tender glance at Yu Feilan before disappearing around the corner. Throughout the entire exchange, she had only glanced at Li Xiaowan once—and even then, it was a sidelong look. In truth, Li Xiaowan didn’t care about any of this at all. She hadn’t even noticed when Feng Lingzheng had slipped away. Before long, several people who appeared to be servants arrived, each carrying a tray covered with a metal dome. It was unclear what was inside, but they all placed them on the dining table with great care. The table itself was extraordinarily long—if it were even a little longer, they’d probably have to shout to hear each other clearly.