Wife Takes the Reins: The Calm CEO

Chapter 38: Trespassing into the Forbidden Zone

Xiao Tong’s almost innocent smile instantly won Li Xiaowan over, and she couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Life is actually quite beautiful. If, during these beautiful moments, one doesn’t take the time to truly enjoy them—but instead insists on living every day with a long face like a bitter woman—then one would be missing out on the very joys life is meant to offer. “Sister Xiaowan, you look so beautiful when you smile. If Ling Zheng Ge were here, he’d definitely be captivated by your smile.” Xiao Tong said this to comfort Li Xiaowan, though he knew full well that, given Ling Zheng Ge’s prejudice against her, he wouldn’t give her a friendly look anytime soon—let alone be attracted to her. “Xiao Tong, don’t try to fool me like I’m some fool. I’ve already seen what kind of person Ling Zheng Ge is. He doesn’t pick on any of you—he singles me out just because I look like his ex-girlfriend. He makes my life a living hell just for that. It’s so unfair. There are plenty of people in this world who look alike—why do I have to be the unluckiest one?” ” The more Li Xiaowan thought about it, the angrier she got; the more she spoke, the more agitated she became. “Sister Xiaowan, stop talking!” Xiao Tong kept giving Li Xiaowan meaningful glances, but Li Xiaowan simply couldn’t figure out what Xiao Tong was trying to say. “Why shouldn’t I say it? It’s obviously the truth. Xiao Tong, do you have sand in your eyes—or maybe a bug?” Li Xiaowan asked, puzzled. “No, neither. Sister Xiaowan, I’m going to head out now!” Xiao Tong glanced at the increasingly gloomy expression on the person behind Li Xiaowan and hurried away as if fleeing—he certainly didn’t want to get scolded by Ling Zheng Ge. “Xiao Tong, what’s wrong? I was hoping you’d stay and chat with me a little longer!” Li Xiaowan said, watching Xiao Tong’s figure gradually fade into the distance. “How about I chat with you instead?” Feng Lingzheng picked up where Li Xiaowan left off. “Sure! I’m so bored. Having someone to chat with makes time go by faster.” Li Xiaowan blurted out without even thinking. Wait a minute—that voice sounds familiar. Feng Lingzheng. My head went completely blank. How could I have been so careless? I didn’t even notice a living, breathing person standing right behind me. What was even more frustrating was that I hadn’t paid any attention to Xiao Tong’s frequent winks—I’d even thought there was something wrong with his eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry. What I just said was just a slip of the tongue. Please be magnanimous and don’t take it to heart.” Wait a minute—why on earth should she apologize to him? As soon as that thought crossed her mind, “What I say or do is none of your business. Don’t bother me—I want to be left alone,” Li Xiaowan snapped at Feng Lingzheng. “Sister Fen, take her out to buy the things she needs, and make sure she masters everything you’ve taught her within a week. If she fails to meet the requirements, she’s not to be allowed inside the house, come rain or shine.” Feng Lingzheng paid no further attention to Li Xiaowan and went inside to speak with Housekeeper Mo. “Young Master Lingzheng, given her aptitude, I’m afraid…” Though Housekeeper Mo didn’t say it outright, his hesitation spoke volumes. “You’re only responsible for teaching her; the rest is none of our business.” Feng Lingzheng grabbed a document folder from his study and left without so much as a word to Li Xiaowan. Fine by me—I couldn’t care less about him anyway! Li Xiaowan thought to herself. Later, Housekeeper Mo found Li Xiaowan and relayed Feng Lingzheng’s instructions. “Sister Fen, can I not study?” Li Xiaowan’s little face looked utterly pitiful. “Miss Xiaowan, this isn’t something I can decide. Since it’s already a done deal, Sister Fen would like to offer you some advice: just follow Young Master Lingzheng’s instructions and study diligently with me. Based on my understanding of Young Master Lingzheng over the past decade or so, there must be a good reason why he’s asked me to teach you personally,” Sister Fen said gently. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s no logic to what he does. He thinks he’s a king—that everyone has to obey him. Just wait until I find the right moment; you’ll see what I’ll do...” Li Xiaowan stopped herself from saying more, afraid that if Feng Lingzheng were to hear about it, it might spell disaster all over again. “Miss Xiaowan, you don’t understand Young Master Lingzheng yet. Once you’ve spent more time with him, you’ll gradually come to understand,” Sister Fen said in the same tone as Xiao Tong. “Could it be that he’s drugged everyone around him with some kind of mind-altering potion, which is why they treat him with such awe and admiration?” That must be it—otherwise, with his terrible temper, who could possibly put up with him? All this talk of high-society attire, etiquette, and so on—it was just too complicated. After less than two hours of lessons, Li Xiaowan was already feeling completely overwhelmed. She really couldn’t understand what those beautiful women were thinking—why would they rather endure high heels of ten centimeters or more than wear a pair of comfortable flats that actually fit? Although she had learned almost nothing, the day had passed rather quickly. Before she knew it, it was already 7:00 p. m. —dinner time. Normally, she and Xin'er would have finished eating long ago, but Housekeeper Mo said it would be proper to wait for Feng Lingzheng to return so they could eat together. So Li Xiaowan could only watch helplessly as the table was laden with delicious dishes, not daring to touch a single bite, even though her stomach had been growling for quite some time. An hour passed, then two hours... “Sister Fen, when is he finally coming back?” Li Xiaowan was getting truly impatient. “To answer your question, Miss Xiaowan, I’m not entirely sure either. Young Master Lingzheng only said you absolutely must wait for him to dine together.” Although Housekeeper Mo had her doubts, she could only keep them to herself—some matters were best left alone, especially since her loyalty had always belonged to The Feng Family. “Fine. I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait. I’m going upstairs to watch TV for a bit. Please let me know when he gets back, Sister Fen.” Li Xiaowan rubbed her stomach, which was growling from hunger, and trudged upstairs. She turned on the TV in the second-floor living room and idly flipped through the channels, but none of them caught her interest. It wasn’t that the shows were bad; it was simply that Li Xiaowan’s mind wasn’t on the TV at all. By chance, Li Xiaowan caught a glimpse of what looked like a staircase in the left corner of the living room. She moved closer to take a closer look—it was indeed a staircase, though it had been built rather discreetly. Unable to resist her curiosity, she walked all the way up the stairs. How had she never noticed it before? As she made her way up, the first thing she saw was a vast main hall. Its decor took Li Xiaowan completely by surprise—it was not only cozy but also romantic. The hall was surrounded by transparent glass walls, and looking out, she could see scattered lights in the distance—likely emanating from the scattered villas nearby—as well as a lighthouse in the distance. It must be incredibly beautiful during the day, because within the Feng Family Estate, aside from the villas, there were also fields of flowers, lakes, and more. Just as Xiao Tong had said before: “Facing the sea, with spring blossoms in full bloom.” If she were to look out during the day, that feeling would surely be even more real. Taking a closer look at the furnishings in the main hall, something didn’t quite add up—why did it feel as if I were in a dream? Huh! It seemed there were several frame-like objects hanging on the transparent glass wall. Upon closer inspection, they were indeed picture frames. Since the lighting in the main hall was rather soft, they appeared slightly hazy. Not knowing where to turn on the lights, Li Xiaowan hesitated repeatedly before finally taking one of the frames down to see clearly who the person inside was. Upon closer inspection, the beautiful woman in the frame looked so much like her—especially her eyebrows and eyes. For a moment, Li Xiaowan felt as if, through the woman’s face in the frame, she were seeing her long-lost older sister. She… surely not. Looking at her slender figure, delicate features, and tasteful attire—so elegant, aloof, and extraordinary—clearly someone raised in a privileged environment—how could she possibly be her sister? Besides, she had vaguely heard rumors that her sister had been sold by human traffickers to a remote mountainous region. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, it was highly likely, since the daughters of several families in the village had been abducted by traffickers and taken to those remote areas. “What are you doing? Who let you up here?” Feng Lingzheng roared, her voice bordering on a scream. Startled, Li Xiaowan’s hand trembled slightly, and she momentarily lost her grip on the picture frame. It clattered to the floor with a “clang,” shattering the glass inside and leaving several distinct scratches on the photograph from the shards. Already thoroughly startled by Feng Lingzheng’s sudden outburst, and now faced with the shattered frame and the fact that she’d barged in uninvited, Li Xiaowan froze in place for a moment. Once she regained her composure, she immediately reached for the photograph, disregarding the shards of glass scattered across the floor. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come up here without permission, and I certainly shouldn’t have taken your things.” Li Xiaowan paid no heed to her hand, which was still bleeding from the glass shards; she was solely focused on picking up the photo. When she saw the scratches on it, her heart ached deeply. This time, she had truly done something wrong. No matter how much she might resent Feng Lingzheng, when it came to right and wrong, Li Xiaowan would never be ambiguous—right was right, and wrong was wrong. Li Xiaowan was about to say something else. “Get out!” Feng Lingzheng shouted, his face ashen. It seemed he was truly furious. What had happened could not be undone. If a piece of paper had been torn to shreds, she might have found a way to glue it back together, but faced with the scratches on the photo, she simply couldn’t think of a solution. She dragged her feet as she made her way downstairs. “Miss Xiaowan, what happened to your hand? It’s still bleeding,” Housekeeper Mo said as he spotted the pale-faced Li Xiaowan in the second-floor living room. “Sister Fen, it’s nothing. I accidentally cut myself,” Li Xiaowan said, no longer feeling the pain in her hand. “How could you be so careless? Quick, Miss Xiaowan, come with me downstairs. I need to bandage it right away to prevent an infection,” Sister Fen said anxiously, not having had time to think through exactly what had happened. “Thank you, Sister Fen.” Li Xiaowan followed Housekeeper Mo downstairs. Afterward, Housekeeper Mo first disinfected the wound on Li Xiaowan’s hand, then applied some medicinal powder to it, and finally bandaged it with gauze—the entire process was carried out with great skill. “Sister Fen, thank you so much for your trouble,” Li Xiaowan said gratefully once more.