The Feng family was all waiting for them.
Everyone had taken time out of their busy schedules to gather together, and they had originally planned to have lunch together at noon.
But Feng Yixun and Chi Mi had left early in the morning and didn’t return until the afternoon.
The Alphard drove through the large iron gate of the Feng estate, descended along a slope, and entered a private underground parking garage. A scattering of cars sat in the parking lines—several flashy sports cars, a few Porsche SUVs, and some commercial vehicles.
The entire Feng family estate was enormous in size. The decor leaned toward the old-fashioned and classical, but it was exceedingly wealthy, fully equipped with modern amenities, and featured a large swimming pool. The right rear courtyard was a spacious golf course.
Chi Mi followed Feng Yixun through a small garden and arrived at the course.
Feng Zhenhong, with his head of short silver-white hair, was teaching Linlin how to play, his smile warm and kind.
Linlin, however, was lukewarm at best. Whenever the mood struck her, she’d send the golf ball flying wildly.
Feng Zhenhong kept praising her for being clever and quick-witted—this shot was good, that shot was even better.
Chi Mi could still barely recognize Feng Zhenhong. She had heard of him before. A mercurial emperor of the business world who never allowed anyone to offend his authority—who would have thought that this man was now her father-in-law?
He must be nearly seventy by now.
At that age, he could easily be her grandfather.
Several unfamiliar people stood obediently at a short distance behind Feng Zhenhong, all wearing the same silicone smiles that adults in their circles tended to sport.
Chi Mi secretly rolled her eyes. Did she usually wear that kind of expression too?
A middle-aged couple spotted them approaching and quickly walked over.
Feng Yixun lowered his voice and reminded her flatly, “This is my father’s eldest son, Feng Xiangqi, and his wife, Liang Jiajia.”
Chi Mi frowned slightly at his description.
“Your father’s eldest son? That’s how you refer to your older brother?”
Feng Xiangqi’s appearance bore no resemblance to Feng Yixun’s that she could discern.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, but he was spirited and vigorous, with no baldness or bloated features.
Among middle-aged men, he probably wouldn’t be considered unattractive.
But if no one told you, no one would ever guess he was Feng Yixun’s brother.
Feng Xiangqi led the woman dressed in luxury designer labels over to them.
He chuckled and said, “A Xun, why did you take your sister-in-law out so early in the morning?”
Feng Yixun’s attitude toward them was equally cold. He replied offhandedly, “She got her head caught in a door. I took her to the hospital.”
Chi Mi was momentarily stunned and was about to ask him how he could talk like that.
Liang Jiajia, however, didn’t seem to find anything wrong with his words at all. She gave a fake smile and said, “Is that so? With so many doctors in the family, did you really need to make a special trip to the hospital?”
Feng Xiangqi looked at Chi Mi and asked, “Sister-in-law, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Chi Mi stood there like a wooden chicken.
She only felt that this family’s relationships were extremely complicated, and she couldn’t process it all.
Suddenly, a handsome young man in athletic wear walked over.
Standing just a few steps away, he called out to her with urgency, “Chi Mi, you went to the hospital?! What’s wrong with you?”
Chi Mi looked at him, her expression awkward.
Who was this handsome man concerned about her?
She mumbled in reply, “Uh… I’m perfectly fine…”
In truth, she had no idea what she was even saying.
Liang Jiajia, upon seeing the slightly brash young man, immediately pulled at his arm with a displeased expression.
She said sternly, “Cheng Jun, how many times have I told you? Stop calling your young aunt by her name. Mind your manners!”
The young man shook her off. “Mom! Don’t pull at me—”
Chi Mi broke into a cold sweat, her heart thumping nervously.
Cheng Jun?
Feng Chengjun?
The son of Feng Yixun’s older half-brother?
He seemed to know her quite well.
Chi Mi discreetly glanced at Feng Yixun’s expression, only to find that he showed no emotion toward anyone—always cold and distant.
She could only silently pray that her ten-years-later self hadn’t been twisted enough to dig herself into all sorts of holes.
Just then, another unfamiliar woman approached, pushing a young girl seated in a wheelchair.
She wore the same fake smile as she pushed the wheelchair, saying, “Other people’s marital affairs are none of your business. You’re meddling quite a bit.”
In the wheelchair, the girl’s face was somewhat pale, but her features were delicate. Her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders, making her appear frail and pitiful.
One of her calves had been amputated, but she was neatly dressed and seemed well cared for.
She lifted her gaze toward them and offered a sorrowful smile, saying, “Little uncle, you’re back. Have you eaten yet?”
Her eyes inadvertently flickered toward Chi Mi, carrying an inexplicable chill.
Chi Mi instinctively shrank her neck and reached out to tug at Feng Yixun’s sleeve.
She whispered to him, “Wh-who is this again…”
Taking advantage of the moment when the group was engaged in conversation.
Feng Yixun told her, “Feng Xianglu, my father’s second daughter, and her daughter Feng Qirou.”
Chi Mi nodded thoughtfully.
So, she was his half-sister, and the girl was his sister’s daughter.
Presumably because Feng Xianglu’s husband had married into the Feng family, the daughter had taken the Feng surname.
In any case, this family seemed off in every way. Their expressions showed they disliked Feng Yixun and disliked her too, yet none of them dared to express it openly, so their tone of voice was especially snide and sarcastic.
Feng Chengjun and Feng Qirou were only a few years younger than Feng Yixun, yet they were a whole generation below him.
Compared to the older ones, these two young people worried her more.
Feng Chengjun appeared to have a fairly close personal relationship with her.
And Feng Qirou—the way she looked at her was positively sinister.
To avoid falling into an awkward situation, Chi Mi made some perfunctory pleasantries with the group before cleverly going off to find her daughter Linlin.
Linlin was her own flesh and blood—surely there was no problem with a mother getting close to her daughter.
And as it happened, Linlin seemed to have grown tired of playing ball.
“Mommy! I want to go play on the swing!”
The little girl dropped her custom-made children’s golf club and affectionately wrapped her arms around Chi Mi’s long legs.
“Alright, Mommy will take you.”
Chi Mi went along with it readily, scooping up her daughter and turning to leave.
After two steps, Linlin reached out to point, “Mommy, you’re going the wrong way—it’s over there…”
She let out a dry laugh. “Mommy knows, Mommy knows…”
Linlin giggled, her smooth little face soft and plump, her dark gray-black pupils shallow and clear—innocent and adorable, yet carrying a hint of fox-like cleverness.
…
Chi Mi quickly shook off everyone and let her daughter lead her toward the garden.
They arrived at the garden and sat down on a patch of grass beside a beautiful swing set.
The little girl didn’t go play on the swing; she just hopped around lightly beside her.
It seemed she was searching for bugs in the grass, occasionally lowering her head to look, her small hands curiously grasping at the green blades.
Linlin seemed to know that her mother was thinking about something important.
Chi Mi took out her phone and quickly found relevant information about some members of the Feng family.
Feng Xiangqi—his mother was Feng Zhenhong’s first wife, who had long since passed away from illness.
In his forties now, he was a very famous academician of medicine in the country, and also one of the research and development experts at Feng’s Biomedical. His wife, Liang Jiajia, was the director of Li City First Hospital, and their son, Feng Chengjun, also studied medicine.
The whole family were doctors.
The suspicion could be said to be quite significant.
Feng Yixun had taken her to the hospital and found a familiar doctor—perhaps he had also thought of something.
At the very least, Feng Xiangqi’s family had the means to commit the crime.
As Feng Zhenhong’s eldest son, Feng Xiangqi had not inherited his father’s legacy.
He clearly didn’t like Feng Yixun, his so-called younger brother either.
Feng Zhenhong’s second daughter, Feng Xianglu, was the general manager of Xiangyue.
Xiangyue was considered a company she had established on her own, but it had close business dealings with the K Group.
Many people also regarded Xiangyue as a subsidiary of the Feng family.
Chi Mi rubbed her chin, deep in thought.
An older sister with business ambitions, and this sister also had a disabled daughter.
She probably resented that Feng Zhenhong had given the group to his youngest son, and also resented that the old man doted on Linlin so much.
Thinking about it carefully, Linlin was the most in danger.
How could anyone dare to poison her?
Weren’t they afraid of being found out?
Perhaps for the Feng family, even if this kind of thing blew up, it would just be a family scandal.
It looked like they were poisoning her, but it might not necessarily be targeting her.
She could very well just be an innocent victim.
Having thought so much all at once, Chi Mi was a little surprised at herself.
It seemed that although she didn’t remember many things, her brain wasn’t broken.
Chi Mi put down her phone and looked up at Linlin not far away.
The little girl was playing by herself, not wandering far, occasionally glancing back at her mother who was looking at her phone.
As she turned her head, she happened to meet Chi Mi’s eyes.
Under the warm sunlight, the little girl’s big eyes were bright, shimmering with a light that could melt an entire heart.
Those pure, innocent, beautiful eyes were more precious and dazzling than the most brilliant gem in the world.
Chi Mi couldn’t help but smile, a maternal feeling welling up inside her.
She walked over to the girl and sat down with her on the green grass, accompanying her in searching for little bugs in the grass.
From her daughter’s mouth, she managed to extract some more information.
Does Daddy have any close aunties he’s familiar with?
The answer was no.
Does Mommy have any close uncles she’s familiar with?
The answer was also no.
Daddy was very busy with work, but he took her out to play every month.
Mommy was also very busy with work, but she made time every week to play games with her.
Linlin was very wealthy—at such a young age, she already had her own exclusive Swiss bank account, and she could control the account funds through voiceprint passwords. She had roughly a few hundred million in spending money in her account, most of which was given to her by her father.
In addition, she also had an education fund under her name, which came from many people, mostly elders in the family.
Chi Mi was gratified that her daughter lived even more affluently than she did.
Of course, what was more comforting was that although her life had hit a few snags, overall it hadn’t veered too far off track.
The bad news: she’d married a man who didn’t dote on her, her parents had divorced—one wanted nothing to do with her, and the other only wanted to use her.
The good news: the man was handsome with good genes, her daughter was adorable, and her closest friends were still close to her.
Chi Mi wrapped her arm around the little girl’s shoulders and asked gently, “Linlin, can Mommy ask you a question?”
Linlin snuggled right into her arms, with a hint of haughtiness and a hint of babyish charm, saying, “If I answer right, is there a reward? If there’s no reward, Linlin won’t answer.”
Chi Mi was slightly taken aback. “Do you need a reward for every question you answer?”
Linlin pouted at her and said impatiently, “Mommy, you ask so many questions!”
Chi Mi felt like she sometimes seemed a bit silly in front of her.
Linlin looked at her slightly stiff expression, giggled, and leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Smooch.
She giggled and called her, “Silly Mommy—”
Chi Mi’s cheeks flushed slightly, and her whole heart melted.
Linlin lifted her little head again and said, “What does Mommy want to ask?”
Holding her, Chi Mi thought for a moment, then smiled and whispered by her ear, “Hmm? Do you like Daddy more, or Mommy more?”
The little girl seemed to fall into a moment of thought.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally spoke, seriously and emphatically: “Um… I like Mommy!”
Chi Mi was quite satisfied with that answer.
“Really? Why? Is it because Mommy treats you better?”
See, her daughter did like Mommy a bit more after all. That so-called daddy didn’t matter.
Unexpectedly, the little girl doused her with cold water the very next second.
She reached out, wrapped her little arms around Chi Mi’s neck, looked at her with her round eyes, and said somewhat randomly: “Linlin likes Daddy more, Daddy likes Mommy more, so Linlin likes Mommy more too…”
“…”
Chi Mi was stunned, as if she couldn’t understand what the girl was saying.
Just as she was feeling awkward and unsure how to respond, a young man’s voice called out from not far away.
“Chi Mi!”
Feng Chengjun walked quickly toward her, his face etched with worry and concern.