Wife Takes the Reins: The Calm CEO

Chapter 33: The Purpose of Xiao Tong’s Visit

“Knock, knock, knock...” The knocking continued unabated. “This is driving me crazy.” With no other choice, Qi Xin'er reached out, grabbed the pajamas lying nearby, threw them on, and slowly got out of bed, preparing to answer the door. If Li Xiaowan hadn’t gone out to buy groceries, there’s no way she would have gotten up to answer it. “This is so annoying. Who is it?” Qi Xin'er shouted through the living room door, peering through the peephole. Since she’d just woken up, her vision was still a bit blurry, so she couldn’t make out the person’s face clearly. “Is that you, Xin'er? It’s Xiao Tong. Hurry up and open the door!” Xiao Tong was also feeling quite frustrated. He’d been planning to sleep in, but early that morning, his own older brother had roughly yanked him out of bed, and he’d ended up here still half-asleep. Qi Xin'er listened carefully—it was indeed Xiao Tong’s voice. Could he be here to cause trouble for Xiaowan again? No, she had to text Xiaowan first to let her know. “Um… Xiao Tong, hold on a second. I’m not dressed yet. Just give me two minutes,” Qi Xin'er said deliberately. She then turned and walked into her room, picked up her phone from beside her pillow, and sent a text message to Li Xiaowan. Done! But then she thought better of it—she couldn’t possibly answer the door like this. She’d better change into something else; otherwise, he’d get suspicious. “Knock, knock, knock… Sister Xin'er, are you ready yet?” Xiao Tong had been standing outside the door so long her feet were going numb. “Coming… coming…” Qi Xin'er rushed to open the door in a fluster, even putting her slippers on the wrong feet. Once the door opened, Xiao Tong stared at Qi Xin'er with wide, bell-like eyes, looking at her curiously: “Sister Xin'er, why does it take you so long to get dressed? Look, you’ve even put your slippers on the wrong feet.” This little rascal had quite keen observational skills and paid close attention to details, but Qi Xin'er only paused for a moment in her mind before replying nonchalantly, “Haven’t you heard people say that getting dressed takes the most time and effort for a girl? By the way, why did you come over so early, you little brat?” “Xin'er Sister, why are you swearing? I’m not some ‘little brat’—my name is Xiao Tong, and Ling Zheng Ge sent me to pick you and Xiaowan up,” Xiao Tong said with a displeased look, explaining the reason for his visit. “You little brat probably don’t even know what ‘swearing’ means. Why are you here to pick us up? And why should we listen to him anyway?” Qi Xin'er found Xiao Tong quite amusing and couldn’t resist teasing him a bit. Besides, she was telling the truth—why did Feng Lingzheng think he could boss Xiaowan and her around like that? “Pfft, do you even think you’re on my level? Just tell Sister Xiaowan not to forget what she promised, and I’ll wait for you downstairs.” After saying that, Xiao Tong turned and ran downstairs. “Just a little brat, and he dares to strut around in front of me,” Qi Xin'er muttered through gritted teeth—though, unfortunately, the little brat was already out of earshot. Hmph! If I couldn’t see through your little tricks, I’d have wasted all these years in the underworld. The moment Xiao Tong opened the car door, he looked up at the third-floor window with a smug smile, looking every bit the precocious youngster. Just as Qi Xin'er was hesitating over whether to pass on what Xiao Tong had said, Li Xiaowan’s call came in. “Hello, Xin'er, are you okay?” Li Xiaowan’s voice was filled with anxiety. “Xiaowan, don’t worry about me. He didn’t do anything to me—he just told us to go back with him. He said Feng Lingzheng sent him to remind you not to forget what you promised. He’s such a jerk—all he ever does is threaten people.” Just mentioning Feng Lingzheng made Qi Xin'er want to chop him up. “As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. What’s meant to happen will happen—you can’t escape it. I’ll be right back; just wait for me at home.” After saying that, Li Xiaowan hung up the phone, looked down at the large bag of groceries she’d just bought, and muttered to herself, “What a waste—he didn’t even put on a show.” Xiao Tong, who had been taking a nap in the car, opened her eyes the moment she heard footsteps. Full of delight, she opened the car door and blocked Li Xiaowan’s path. “Sister Xiaowan, did you go out to buy groceries?” Xiao Tong asked sweetly. Seeing Xiao Tong’s innocent and guileless expression, Li Xiaowan had been about to lose her temper, but she forced herself to hold it in. She couldn’t help it—Xiao Tong looked just like an immature big boy, and she just couldn’t bring herself to get angry with him. “Yes. What brings you here this time?” Li Xiaowan still wanted to figure out exactly what Feng Lingzheng was up to. “Sister Xiaowan, you’ve really stumped me with that question. Ling Zheng Ge didn’t tell me the reason; he just told me to come pick you and Sister Xin'er up, and to have you pack up the things you need. As for things you don’t need, like quilts, just throw them away.” Xiao Tong’s meaning was clear. “So he wants me and Xin'er to move? Where are we moving to?” Li Xiaowan asked, panic in her voice. “Ling Zheng Ge said you just need to follow his instructions, and he’ll take care of the rest. He also said that if you don’t comply with his wishes, you’ll have to face the consequences yourselves—those were his exact words,” Xiao Tong explained earnestly. Coming from him, it was a bit of a mixed bag—both laughable and exasperating. Li Xiaowan thought for a moment. She figured she’d have to call Feng Lingzheng after all—it was one thing for her, but why drag Qi Xin'er into this? Li Xiaowan set her bag on the ground and was just about to pull out her phone when Xiao Tong saw right through her intentions. “Sister Xiaowan, are you planning to call Ling Zheng Ge? It’s no use—he turned off his phone this morning.” Judging by the way Xiao Tong spoke, he didn’t seem to be lying—and besides, he had absolutely no reason to deceive her. “In that case, fine. But you’ll have to wait a little longer.” Li Xiaowan bent down to pick up the bag from the ground, intending to go upstairs and discuss it with Qi Xin'er. Unexpectedly, Xiao Tong snatched the bag from her hands. “Sister Xiaowan, don’t you think that’s a hassle? If you carry it up now, won’t you have to bring it back down later? Why not just put it in the car for now?” “Whatever!” Li Xiaowan thought to herself, actually glad for the break. That huge bag of meat and vegetables weighed at least a dozen jin; carrying it all the way from the market had left her hands so sore they were practically misshapen. Once they were upstairs. “Xin'er, why don’t you just ignore what they’re saying? Feng Lingzheng is mainly targeting me—you’ll be fine if you don’t go,” Li Xiaowan said to Qi Xin'er, who was already tidying up. “Better safe than sorry. You said yourself that since they’re targeting you, they definitely won’t do anything to me. Besides, if I go with you, I can keep you company, right? I’ll see if any of them dare to bully you right to your face.” Qi Xin'er kept her hands busy while she spoke. “I know I can’t talk you out of it. Fine, I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving you here alone anyway.” Li Xiaowan had made up her mind. She believed that where there’s a will, there’s a way—she refused to believe the path ahead was a dead end; she was certain things would eventually turn out for the best. “That’s the spirit! We promised—whether the road ahead is smooth or thorny, we’ll face it together.” Qi Xin'er was determined to stand by Li Xiaowan’s side no matter what. “Xin'er, hearing you say that makes me feel like I’m pumped full of adrenaline—I have endless energy. Even if I get knocked down someday, I’ll make sure to bounce back fully.” Li Xiaowan declared passionately, wondering what Feng Lingzheng would think if she heard this. “Xiaowan, I, Qi Xin'er, will stand by you all the way. Let’s do our best together and fight the great demon side by side,” Qi Xin'er said loudly. “Haha, that reminds me of Ultraman fighting little monsters,” Li Xiaowan said, amused. She didn’t have much to pack to begin with, so she was done in no time, while Qi Xin'er had relatively more belongings—especially all sorts of small odds and ends. Seeing that Qi Xin'er still had quite a bit left to pack into boxes, Li Xiaowan pitched in to help. In no time at all, everything was packed up. After stepping out the front door of the living room, they both looked back with a touch of reluctance. Following the line of their gaze, they saw a landscape mural they’d bought not long ago still hanging on the wall. Qi Xin'er was just thinking about going back inside to take it down when Li Xiaowan stopped her. “Xin'er, let’s not. We might come back. It’s only the beginning of the month. If we haven’t returned by the end of the month, we’ll give the landlady a call to explain the situation.” “Okay, Xiaowan, I’ll leave it up to you.” Qi Xin'er closed the living room door. “I can tell just by looking—the two of you must have already packed everything and are just waiting for me to help!” Xiao Tong was a woman of action; no sooner had she finished speaking than she grabbed a bag in each hand and headed downstairs. Xiao Tong carried off the two heaviest bags, and Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er simply divided the rest between them and took them downstairs. “Ladies, please get in the car!” Xiao Tong said with a beaming smile as she looked at Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er. He really was carefree—but then again, it wasn’t his problem. Li Xiaowan shot Xiao Tong a glance; once she got in the car, she didn’t speak to him again. The car, with just the three of them, was extremely quiet. Li Xiaowan and Qi Xin'er actually had a lot to talk about, but the moment they realized there was an outsider sitting with them, they both decided against it. “Sisters, why aren’t you two talking? Is it because you’re a little self-conscious with me sitting up front? It’s fine—just treat me like I’m not even here,” Xiao Tong said jokingly. “Who knows if you’re actually air or a listening device?” Qi Xin'er said without holding back. She wanted the Feng Family to understand just how dissatisfied she and Xiaowan were with them. “Xin'er, you’re really doing me an injustice by saying that. Only Li Xiaowan knows my true feelings best,” Xiao Tong said, feigning a look of hurt as he glanced at Li Xiaowan through the rearview mirror. “I don’t know—I don’t know anything,” Li Xiaowan replied. Although she didn’t dislike Xiao Tong, she didn’t want to get too close to him; she didn’t understand—nor did she need to understand—the mindset of high society. Xiao Tong, however, was very good at reading people’s expressions, so he fell silent at just the right moment. “We’re here, Sister Xin'er. You get out first!” Xiao Tong’s distinctive hoarse voice snapped the two of them out of their thoughts. “Me, all by myself?” Qi Xin'er thought she must have heard wrong.