The phone rang, startling Chi Mi.
Someone was calling her.
When she saw the name on the caller ID, she was startled again.
President Feng.
What kind of contact name was that?
It couldn’t be Feng Yixun, could it?
When she answered the call, it was indeed him.
Before she could even speak, Feng Yixun’s stiff question came through.
“Where are you?”
Chi Mi stammered, feeling like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have.
But she still told him where she was.
“I’m at Xixi’s—”
Before she could even finish the word “place,” the call was cut off.
Chi Mi stared at the phone screen with wide eyes, so angry she wanted to curse.
She pointed at the phone, her face twisted as she looked at Xu Chaoxi sitting across from her. She jabbed her finger at the phone screen a few times in exasperation and burst out: “What kind of husband is this?! So rude! How could my mother let me marry someone like this?! How could I possibly have a child with this man?!”
Xu Chaoxi said nothing.
Chi Mi put down the phone in frustration, pouting as her mind wandered.
Just now on WeChat, she’d seen that her contact name for Feng Yixun was also the cold, impersonal “President Feng.”
So it seemed she didn’t like him all that much either.
Married for years, with a child already, and in her eyes, he was just “President Feng.”
How had her future self let life turn out like this?
Xu Chaoxi watched her fidgeting with all those little mannerisms and couldn’t help but laugh.
She stood up and said, “Don’t be upset, Mi Mi. Let me cut you some fruit! He’ll definitely come looking for you in a bit.”
Chi Mi looked at the mature and gentle Xu Chaoxi and sat quietly, like a well-behaved child with a hint of helplessness.
Xu Chaoxi went to the room behind the flower shop, took some fruit from the fridge, washed it, and cut it for her.
Soon, she brought it over.
A small bowl of neatly cut melon cubes was placed in front of her.
Xu Chaoxi stood behind her, leaning down to give her a gentle hug.
She said, “No matter what, I’ll always be by your side.”
That familiar tone nearly made Chi Mi lose control of her tears.
“Xixi, you’re so good to me. You’ve always been so gentle…”
Chi Mi could vaguely understand why she rarely talked to her about this marriage. Xu Chaoxi was her best friend, her most important friend—not her emotional trash can. She couldn’t bear to lay her unhappiness bare in front of her. She was sure that Xu Chaoxi was also trying hard to maintain this relationship.
…
Years ago, in an art class, her period had stained the girl’s white-and-gray skirt red.
A few boys had made a ruckus around Xu Chaoxi.
They ignorantly mocked her, one after another saying vile things.
Chi Mi picked up a bucket of paint and splashed red all over every single one of them.
She shouted: “Don’t your mothers get periods? How else were you born?”
She said it—period—and not only that, she said it loudly.
In the blink of an eye, she scared everyone present.
But that same afternoon, her mother donated a building to the school.
No one dared to hold any grudge against Chi Mi.
From that day on, they always walked together, tolerating each other, caring for each other, inseparable.
In the eyes of outsiders, the young Chi Mi was somewhat arrogant and prone to making a scene.
But Xu Chaoxi had always known that she was smart and lively, that she never cared about material things—only about sincerity.
Ten years of friendship, unchanged as ever, was something they both counted as a blessing.
Chi Mi vaguely understood now.
She had always been drawn to gentle, calm people—her father was like that, and so was Xixi.
Gu Zixuan was the same, the moonlight boy she kept hidden in the depths of her heart.
As for Feng Yixun, he didn’t seem like her type at all, no matter how she looked at it.
Out of concern for her friend, Chi Mi spent a long time asking about Xu Chaoxi’s recent situation.
They were all things she already knew from before, but now she wanted to ask about every little detail.
Sure enough, they were still the same as always—their care for each other was mutual.
Xu Chaoxi had been abroad and had a relationship there, but she had remained single since returning home.
In the past two years, her parents had also frequently asked about her plans for marriage.
Chi Mi didn’t know what advice to offer.
After all, as things stood, she herself was hardly a positive example.
…
When Feng Yixun came looking for her, Chi Mi was holding a fruit fork, feeding Xu Chaoxi some fruit.
The two women were chatting and laughing, both seemingly in good spirits.
He stood with a dark expression for quite a while.
It wasn’t until the female intern at the flower shop spoke up that Chi Mi noticed him.
She set down the fruit, rose reluctantly, and shuffled over to him with an awkward smile.
Chi Mi picked up a piece with the fork and held it out to him: “Honey, you’re here. Want some fruit?”
Before he could answer, she popped it into her own mouth.
She mumbled as she chewed: “Mm, I know you don’t eat these…”
Feng Yixun shifted his gaze slightly toward her, a hint of mockery and coldness lurking in his eyes.
He almost completely blocked her view.
This man was really tall—he looked like he might be 119 centimeters or something.
But he was always giving her a sour face, and that annoyed her whenever she thought about it.
So even though she knew he didn’t like her calling him “honey,” she deliberately did it anyway.
Chi Mi could roughly guess why he didn’t like her much anymore.
Ten years ago, she was an arrogant young lady of a wealthy family, haughty and rude.
Five years ago, she was a vain, social-climbing white lotus.
Just last night, she was still throwing herself at him.
Begging and clinging, refusing to divorce him.
It didn’t matter. The current Chi Mi had survived a great disaster—she was living on borrowed time.
Her divorced parents, her indifferent husband—anything that needed to be overturned, she’d overturn it all.
The seventeen-year-old Chi Mi couldn’t stand even the slightest grievance.
…
Without so much as a word to Xu Chaoxi, Feng Yixun rudely grabbed Chi Mi and dragged her away.
They still had to return to the Feng family residence today.
In the spacious back seat of the Toyota Alphard, Chi Mi and Feng Yixun maintained a proper safe distance.
“Ahem—”
She cleared her throat and put on a serious expression.
“Given my current special circumstances, I think we should have a proper talk.”
Feng Yixun acted as if he hadn’t heard her.
Chi Mi wasn’t bothered. She simply asked that question again: “Is our relationship really that bad?”
Feng Yixun looked at her and said coldly, “What you should be asking is whether that thing even exists between us.”
She was momentarily speechless: “It’s really that bad?…”
Actually, she didn’t believe it was truly that bad—the guy was either putting on an act or pretending.
Last night he was like that with her, and now he was claiming there was no feelings between them.
Wasn’t he basically saying he was a beast—that even though he didn’t like her as a person, he simply couldn’t resist her beautiful face and her well-maintained, sexy figure?
At that thought, she couldn’t help but smirk to herself.
The moment she smiled, Feng Yixun’s expression visibly darkened even further.
He studied her with a strange expression and asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Chi Mi covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, and it took her a while to calm down.
She gathered her thoughts and moved a little closer to him, saying, “Feng Yixun, you should still remember that we used to be classmates, right? Anyway, we’re old acquaintances…”
Feng Yixun: “…”
Chi Mi said, “If I did anything wrong to you back then, it’s been so many years now, don’t you think?”
Feng Yixun: “…”
She inched her shoulder closer to him again, trying to act chummy.
“Can you just tell me the truth? What exactly do you want from me?”
Whether their relationship was good or bad, how life would go on—he wouldn’t give her a straight answer.
What was the point of having a mouth if not for speaking?
He asked indifferently, “What truth?”
Chi Mi blinked at him and said, “I mean, how have things really been these past few years…”
Feng Yixun curled the corner of his mouth in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, then said, “How have they been? These past few years, you’ve been absolutely wonderful to your husband. You’ve never given me a single gift, never made any effort at all. Every time you’re with me, you have an agenda—projects, money, resources. That’s all you ever see. But Mrs. Feng, you drank too much last night and before you could even say anything, your brain went out.”
He said so much all at once that it gave her a sudden sense of collapse.
She listened, stunned.
“Uh… you… you suddenly sound like a resentful husband… Am I really that bad…”
As for the remaining questions, she didn’t seem to need to ask them anymore.
Why did he marry her?
Because they had a daughter.
Why didn’t he divorce her?
Because they had a daughter.
Feng Yixun gave a light snort and changed the subject.
He said, “We still have dinner with my father tonight. After dinner, you can take Linlin home. As for your matter, I’ll look into it.”
“Oh.”
Chi Mi responded with rare obedience.
She thought of her mother’s current attitude toward her and carefully shrank back.
Keeping a proper distance from him.
Maybe everything he said was true—maybe she really was a terrible woman.
Like a leech, all these years, for the sake of her mother’s company, she had only ever used Linlin as a shield, constantly doing things that hurt him.
But Chi Mi also knew very well that what mattered to her right now wasn’t necessarily the marital relationship.
The Feng family was a very dangerous place.
Once she figured out some basic facts, she definitely needed to keep Linlin away from there.
She curled up in the corner and started fiddling with her phone.
Scrolling through all sorts of apps, searching for information about herself.
Based on the WeChat chat history, her contact with “President Feng” was quite ordinary.
A few days ago, the two had chatted about the birthday banquet and going home.
“President Feng’s” profile picture was a photo of him holding Linlin on a beach, seen from behind.
Two months ago, she had also been in contact with her father, but judging from his brief replies, his attitude was cold.
The remaining records were all unremarkable.
Linlin’s teacher, the household helper, and even President Feng’s special assistant…
Chi Mi also found a corporate office app and opened her own profile page.
It had a pretty avatar—a clean, fair face, dressed in a simple, sharp suit.
Below the profile picture was a brief introduction: General Manager of An Da Group — Chi Mi.
She stared at her own photo with a strange expression, as if she had seen a ghost.
She wouldn’t have to go to work in the future, would she?
In her current state, there was no way she could work.
She was only seventeen!
Just as she was fretting over this, several messages popped up in front of her.
【Cheng Jun】Are you okay?
【Cheng Jun】Steward Chen said Uncle took you away first. What happened?
【Cheng Jun】(Little panda concerned jpg)
Chi Mi widened her eyes, looking at the unfamiliar name, sensing that her relationship with this Cheng Jun seemed quite close.
She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Feng Yixun, who was sitting not far away with a cold expression.
Then, she stiffly scratched her head — she wasn’t involved in some ambiguous relationship with another man, was she?
This was truly a disaster. It seemed the villain was her all along?