Chapter 47
Then, she opened the dialog box and sent a tentative inquiry.
The other party replied quickly: "Yes, I'm Zhong Hua! Ke Xin, seeing that you're doing well recently, your aunt is really happy for you! Ignore those despicable haters and live your life happily! The happier you are, the more you will piss them off to death!"
It turned out to be that outspoken aunt Zhong Hua! After confirming that it was correct, Ke Xin immediately added her to her WeChat address book.
Almost at the same time, Zhong Hua's WeChat profile picture popped up, and the words between the lines revealed anxiety: "How are you doing recently? Auntie hasn't seen you for a long time! When can we meet?"
Ke Xin replied to each one, a tinge of guilt welling up in her heart. Ever since her aunt's second marriage, she'd been busy working part-time at university, and her relationship with her parents had become distant, rarely returning home. She'd even lost touch with her aunt. Almost ten years had passed since they'd last seen each other.
After some inquiries, I learned that my aunt's remarried place was only fifty kilometers away from her current residence.
I'm feeling pretty depressed anyway, so I might as well take a break and visit my aunt.
But before that, she had to meet someone - Fu Lei!
Thinking of this name that was enough to scare the entire Daya Bay area, Ke Xin's face froze slightly. She suppressed the repulsion surging in her heart and dialed his number.
Unexpectedly, when Fu Lei heard it was her, he said in a cold tone, "Come to Fenghua Villa to talk." Then he hung up.
Hearing the busy tone, Ke Xin clenched her phone, took a deep breath and encouraged herself: "Just go, who's afraid of who!"
Fenghua Villa is a prime villa complex in the old city, rumored to be home to the wealthy and powerful, and its security is tight. As soon as Ke Xin stepped out of the car, two stern-faced security guards at the entrance cast a scrutinizing gaze. She stated her name and purpose, and after a round of internal verification, the heavy, carved iron gate slowly opened.
Although he had no good feelings towards this place, when he thought about the fact that Fu Xuan had spent his childhood here, an indescribable ripple quietly spread out, with a bit of melancholy that came from loving the place and loving the people in it.
The villa area is shaded by green trees, and the uniform row of Western-style townhouses exudes a sense of age-honored richness. In the center lies a clear lake, where two graceful black swans lazily paddle the ripples, adding a touch of liveliness to the somewhat quiet scene.
Following the address, Ke Xin arrived in front of a villa. In the courtyard, a slightly plump woman in a tight floral dress was whispering to a handsome young man, their gestures intimate.
Ke Xin checked the address and cleared her throat, then raised her voice and said, "Hello, excuse me, I'm looking for Mr. Fu Lei."
The woman turned her head upon hearing the voice, her eyes scanning Ke Xin critically. Then, as if remembering something, a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she slowly called out towards the pavilion behind her, "Old Fu, I'm looking for you!"
Under the pavilion, Fu Lei was slowly and methodically twisting a string of dark Buddhist beads. He glanced up, his eyes gloomy.
At the same moment, Ke Xin's gaze met that of the young man. A faint resemblance to Fu Xuan could be seen in his features, though he lacked the sharp, heroic spirit and instead displayed a more pampered, refined demeanor. A flicker of caution flashed across his eyes, and then he looked away indifferently, as if Ke Xin were nothing but air, continuing to fiddle with the drone in his hands.
"How dare you come here?" Fu Lei strolled out and signaled the security guard to open the door. He walked into the spacious living room, casually sprinkled a handful of bird seed into the gilded cage next to him, clapped his hands, and sat down on the mahogany sofa in the center. He leaned forward slightly, his shrewd eyes fixed on Ke Xin, with a look of scrutiny and control.
Ke Xin felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. She pulled down her skirt, sat down on the sofa opposite, and got straight to the point: "I came here today to know just one thing—what methods did you use to force Fu Xuan to beg for mercy?"
As soon as the words fell, the woman's undisguised sneer could be heard from behind, with a hint of sarcasm: "Besides his short-lived mother, what else could that evil boy have done to change his cold face?"
Ke Xin looked in the direction of the voice. The woman speaking was the same one from the courtyard just now. A striking Chanel cashmere scarf casually draped over her shoulders, her identity was self-evident—Fu Xuan's stepmother, Wang Feng. The young man beside her was Fu Lei's second son, Fu Yang.
Fu Lei snorted coldly, leisurely crossed his legs, and crossed his fingers on his knees, saying with a hint of amusement: "It's nothing. I just found a water lotus pendant necklace that his mother had designed. When this guy heard it, he got furious and scolded me. Tell me," he changed the subject, his tone light, "why am I still keeping this 'trouble'? It's better to throw it away."
Ke Xin's heart skipped a beat, and her body instantly straightened: "You...you threw it away?"
"Throw it away?" Wang Feng let out an exaggerated "Ha!" as if she had heard a huge joke, and then, like a magic trick, she pulled out a necklace from somewhere. The chain was a bit old, but the unique design of the pendant, which looked like condensed water droplets, and the fine diamonds on the water lotus petals, still shone with a restrained and persistent light under the light. She held the chain with two fingers, and the pendant dangled dangerously in the air, and said in a contemptuous tone: "I said, this broken thing can't pry open Fu Xuan's stubborn bone. Keep it as an eyesore!"
Ke Xin's pupils suddenly contracted! This necklace was almost identical to the design she had seen in the photo of Fu Xuan's study! It was not only a piece of jewelry, but also the only relic left by Fu Xuan's mother.
No, she must help Fu Xuan get the necklace back, Ke Xin thought almost subconsciously!
"What do you want in exchange for returning it to Fu Xuan?" Ke Xin's voice tightened, her eyes fixed on the necklace swaying in the air.
Wang Feng raised her eyebrows coquettishly, twisting the fragile water lotus pendant maliciously with her fingertips, and almost squeezed out a voice through her teeth: "You want it? Fine! You marry my son Fu Yang, and put on a show. Then get Fu Xuan to nod obediently and marry the daughter of the Lu Group! After that's done, I will naturally return this thing to its original owner."
"Me? Marry him?!" Ke Xin pointed at Fu Yang who was silent beside her in shock.
"Hmph!" Wang Feng snorted with extreme contempt, "Are you worthy of a real marriage? It's just a show! Once Fu Xuan and Miss Lu are settled, you'll pack up and get out of here immediately!"
Ke Xin laughed out of anger, her chest heaving violently: "Before I came here, I really overestimated you. I thought that anyone who could support such a large industry as the Fu family should have some vision. I didn't expect that seeing you today would really open my eyes! You used the relics of someone else's deceased mother as a bargaining chip, and wanted to manipulate Fu Xuan's marriage, and you even wanted me to play along with you? You have been a local tyrant for so long that you forgot that you are also a human being?!" She no longer suppressed her anger, her words were like knives, and every word was bloody.
"Good! Very good! How dare you say I'm not a human?!" Wang Feng was completely enraged, and all the elegance on her face disappeared. She suddenly threw the necklace in her hand to the smooth marble floor!
"Snap!" With a crisp sound, the already aging chain buckle snapped, and the water lotus pendant slammed directly onto the hard ground, one of its delicate petals instantly shattering!
Seeing that Wang Feng was still not satisfied, she raised her foot wearing pointed high heels and pretended to step hard on the pendant on the ground!
"Stop!" Ke Xin's face turned pale. Her body moved faster than her mind, and she almost fell to the ground. Without hesitation, she covered the shattered pendant with her palm! "Don't step on it! This is not yours! Why are you destroying it?" she screamed.
“Bang!”
The heel came down hard, crushing the back of Ke Xin's hand as she protected the pendant! A piercing pain washed over her, and the delicate skin on the back of her hand was instantly cut by the sharp edge of the heel, oozing out glaring drops of blood.
"Not a human? Today I'll let you see whether I am a human or not!" Seeing the blood, a twisted sense of pleasure flashed in Wang Feng's eyes. He stepped harder and crushed twice more!
"Ugh!" Ke Xin groaned in pain, cold sweat instantly seeping out of her forehead. She gritted her teeth and used all her strength to tightly fold her arms, including the pendant they were protecting, against her chest. She curled up, trying to use her entire back to block Wang Feng's deadly stomping.
"Mom! That's enough!" Fu Yang, who had been watching coldly, finally couldn't stand it anymore. He frowned and shouted, with a hint of imperceptible annoyance in his voice. Wang Feng seemed to regain some rationality. He gasped and withdrew his foot in frustration.
Taking advantage of the moment she relaxed, Ke Xin endured the excruciating pain and scrambled to her feet, her bloodstained hand still tightly clutching the cold, shattered water lotus pendant, as if holding Fu Xuan's final wish. Her eyes, sharp as a knife, with a desperate determination, scanned the three people before her: "I promise you! We'll act! But on one condition—you must give me the necklace now!"
"Give it to you? That's wishful thinking!" Wang Feng stretched out his hand to grab it. "How do I know if you, little hoof, will regret it when you go back?"
Ke Xin swiftly dodged behind Fu Yang and blurted out in a hurry, "I'll take a picture now! Take a picture of Fu Yang and me and send it to Fu Xuan! I'll prove it to you!" She gasped, her voice trembling with pain and forced calmness, "I'll try my best to cooperate! As for whether you believe it or not, or whether Fu Xuan will eventually agree to the marriage, that's your business, leave it to fate!" Her eyes were like torches, carrying the last bit of bargaining chip, staring at Wang Feng, "Besides, whether this thing can succeed or not, I am the most critical link in your plan! If you don't agree to hand over the necklace to me for safekeeping, Fu Xuan will never be able to marry the daughter of the Lu family as you wish just because of this necklace!"
Wang Feng paused, her eyes darting as she weighed the pros and cons. Ke Xin's words had hit the nail on the head—she'd found Fu Xuan's weakness, but if she really wanted to pry him off, it seemed this stubborn girl before her was the key. With a sullen face, she uttered two words through gritted teeth: "Alright! Shoot now!"
Ke Xin endured the burning pain in her palms and backs of her hands, pulled out her phone with a trembling hand, and walked over to Fu Yang. Fu Yang glanced at her with a complicated expression, then looked at his mother. Finally, with a hint of reluctance and a hint of inexplicable embarrassment, he silently bent slightly and cooperated with Ke Xin to move her face closer to the camera.
The cold screen of her phone reflected two faces, frozen and devoid of any intimacy. Ke Xin forced a smile, uglier than tears, and with trembling fingers pressed the shutter button. After a few clicks, she put the phone down with a mixture of relief and humiliation, her face a pale expression.
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