After taking a few days of sick leave, Yun Xi couldn't bear the boredom any longer. Worried that her mother would try to use her final exam grades against her if they were too low, she finally returned to school, after reassuring Mu Feichi that she was okay.
As soon as she arrived at school, Zhao Yumo ran over to her, frantically expressing her concern.
"I'm so glad that you're okay. When that idiot Second Master Jiang said that you had been kidnapped, I was scared to death!"
Yun Xi didn't tell her any of the specifics about that day. She just smiled airily and said, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
"That Han Yaotian is such an outrageous fool. He put your life at risk. D*mn him. The next time I see him, I'm going to beat him up!"
"With the energy that you would have to expend to beat him up, it would be better for you to take advantage of Second Master Jiang's abilities and try to be more like him. Seeing the Han family go from being one of the four major clans to nothing will be more gratifying than beating him up, am I right?
"You're right. Second Master Jiang says the same thing. I will work harder."
After talking about this, Zhao Yumo suddenly remembered something interesting that had been going on in their high school while Yun Xi had been away.
"By the way, your perfect score essay started circulating around our school for some reason. Not only among seniors in our grade, but also the juniors are studying your essay. I heard that there was an essay contest for first years and second years, and the literature teachers printed out your essay and distributed it to all the students as reference."
Yun Xi frowned slightly. "How come I feel like I've suddenly become a celebrity?"
Zhao Yumo patted Yun Xi on the shoulder with pride. "That's right. You are now a celebrity in our high school."
"I'd better keep a low profile, lest someone try to trip me up."
Zhao Yumo chuckled. "Who would dare do that to you now? Senior year of high school is very academically rigorous. This semester, all that is left to accomplish are the Biology Olympiad and the English competition sponsored by Jingdu University of Foreign Languages. The preliminary contest is at the end of the month, and the finals are in the middle of next month. If you win an award, you can be recommended to study at a foreign university. If you want to participate, I will go too."
Yun Xi raised her eyes and glanced at Zhao Yumo. She was fairly confident in her English, so participating wouldn't be a problem.
Zhao Yumo's mother taught foreign languages, and she had been learning English since she was a child.
"Then participate. Just treat it as testing your skills."
People like them had to have things they had control over, and studying abroad wasn't that realistic.
Yun Xi narrowed her eyes. With Yun Ziling's grades, it wouldn't be easy for her to win the essay contest among the first and second-year students.
As for Yun Chuhan, it all depended on luck.
As they got out of school at noon, Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo were stopped by someone at the school gates.
Yun Xi glanced at the classmate who had stopped her. She was wearing a low-key designer coat, and she had a delicate-featured beautiful face. As her eyes fell upon her, she felt that she appeared a little familiar.
Before she could ask who she was, the other girl identified herself. "Are you Yun Xi? I'm Feng Xifang, a second-year student in high school. We live in the same villa complex."
Yun Xi realized that this little girl must be Feng Yang's younger sister, the only heiress of the Feng family.
She had seen Miss Feng before in her last life. She wasn't particularly stuck up, and she could be regarded as one of the more cultivated heiresses.
"Classmate Feng, what's the matter?"
"Um, I've read your essay, which was very well written. I am participating in the essay contest and would like to ask you for some guidance. Are you free on Saturday or Sunday? Could you please be my tutor and help me with my essays?"
"Tutor?" Yun Xi was caught off guard. She was a little uncomfortable with Miss Feng's direct way of speaking.
"Yes. We live close to each other, so I could go to your home or you can come to mine. I will pay you whatever you want for the tutoring lessons. I won't bargain."
She was really a wealthy heiress. She was very naive and had no concept of money. She had absolutely no protection against Yun Xi asking for a very large sum.
Yun Xi thought of the scandal her mother had caused, then looked at the earnest and unassuming young girl in front of her, and pondered how she could tie this all in with her scheme.
To settle accounts with her mother, she would probably have to ask this girl for help when the time came.
"All right, since we all live in the same villa complex and go to the same school, I won't be charging you any tutoring fees. I'm busy on Saturday, so I'll see you on Sunday."
Her dad didn't have to go to work on Sunday, so she decided to let her mother dig her own grave on that day.
"Okay, okay! That's a promise then. If I win this essay contest, I'll take you out to dinner."
"Good!" Yun Xi nodded. This Miss Feng Xifang was easier to get along with than she had expected.
Back at the Mu family's residence, Qi Yuan handed over the list he had obtained from Han Hongbin, the archived materials of a batch of goods.
Mu Feichi glanced at it a few times, then handed the file to Yun Xi. Qi Yuan noticed Young Marshal Mu's trusting attitude toward Yun Xi and found himself holding Yun Xi in even higher regard.
Qi Yuan glanced at the two people sitting on the sofa and continued, "The goods in Han Hongbin's hands are worth at least 100 million yuan. He didn't expect that Young Marshal Mu would intervene in catching Crocodile rather than come after the Han family, so he seized the opportunity to do a double cross. While Young Marshal Mu was pursuing Crocodile, he seized this shipment in order to make a huge profit."
Yun Xi glanced at the amounts listed on the piece of paper she was holding and the list of people involved, many of whom were business people who had been dragged down by the Han family.
From this perspective, the Han family could be seen to be really greedy.
As long as the Crocodile died, the Han family wouldn't have to worry about being exposed, and they could make a fortune. They could also seize the opportunity to grab all the money, without worrying about Crocodile settling accounts with them later.
However, they'd underestimated Crocodile's abilities, and Mu Feichi had been injured, which delayed things.
Crocodile not only didn't die, but also laid his hands on the b*stard son.
Since 100 million yuan had been used to trade for Han Yaotian's life, obviously his life was quite valuable to Han Hongbin.
"Han Hongbin spent 100 million yuan at one fell swoop. Losing such a large sum of money was probably very painful for him."
"Saying that it was painful is a gross understatement. The anguish over having to spend the money almost killed him!"
Qi Yuan pointed to the information in Yun Xi's hand. "Continue flipping toward the back. He had originally planned to sell this batch of goods at a high price to make up for the shortfall from the holiday villas for the year. The Han family talked to several investors last year. I invested in a partnership to build holiday villas on the coast, but, unfortunately, right after the villas were built, there was a typhoon. The inflow of seawater flooded the villas. Now, none of the villas have been sold, and they have all become abandoned buildings. This monetary loss hasn't been made up yet."
Yun Xi glanced at the batch of abandoned buildings listed on the document. She knew about this.
In her last life, the Han family had caused their company to lose a lot of money because of this project. Han Hongbin had endured it for three years and then left the mess for Han Yaotian to deal with.
Han Yaotian had made up for the company's shortfall through the Xinghai Project, which made him a one-hit wonder and gained him a firm foothold on the board of directors.
Yun Xi chuckled softly. "Now that he's had to spend the 100 million yuan that he got from these goods, I don't believe he can find another 100 million to fill this hole. At this moment, the Han family is probably as anxious as ants in a hot pot!"
"It's useless to be anxious. They have no choice but to find a way to tear down the east wall and make up the west wall when they're out of stock."
Closing the file in her hand, Yun Xi raised her eyes and glanced at the man across from her, then thoughtfully started brainstorming traps for the Han family.
"Since they are so anxious to demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall, give them an east wall and let them slowly demolish it."
Mu Feichi raised his eyes. The little rascal across from him seemed especially invigorated, as if she had figured out how to get revenge for that kidnapping.
He didn't plan to let the Han family off the hook, but he didn't want to completely ruin them for the time being.
Chuckling, he leaned back in his chair lazily. "What do you want to do?"
Yun Xi smiled innocently. "Dig a hole and let them bury themselves!"
Mu Feichi was also delighted to see her dazzling smile because they had both thought of the same thing.
"We'll use this project to set a trap."
With that said, he handed over the information he had just read.
Yun Xi glanced at the label on the folder: Linbei Old City Reconstruction.
Linbei wasn't in Jingdu. It was in a neighboring province, which was accessible in half an hour by train.
Linbei was near the border of Jingdu and the other province. A subway line had just been constructed there a few years before. If a highway line with Jingdu was opened, the area would definitely appreciate in value.
Because of its border with Jingdu, in Yun Xi's last life, Linbei had developed into a prosperous business district very quickly.
If even she was aware of the business opportunities, many investors must also be eyeing the area covetously.
Using a factory there as bait, Young Marshal Mu was really too sharp and savvy.
Now that she had figured out the bait, Yun Xi revealed her thoughts and plans with no reservations.
She didn't want to make Han Yaotian feel at ease. She wanted to exact revenge for her death in her last life and for getting kidnapped in this life.
If she really were to settle all the accounts with him, 1,000 slashes wouldn't be enough to gratify her thirst for vengeance.
Yun Xi raised her eyes to look at the man who was sitting beside her and asked, "The Han family has lost this enormous batch of goods and is going to have a hard time getting a lot of money together. Which western wall do you think he will try to demolish?"
"What are you thinking?" Mu Feichi smiled airily. He had obviously guessed what the answer was, and he knew that she had thought of the same thing.
Yun Xi smiled with a malicious grin and her eyes flashed. "The Xinghai Project."
The Xinghai Engineering Projects's current investment levels had reached nearly 1 billion yuan, and half of the money would soon be in place. It wouldn't be difficult for Han Yaotian to move 1 billion yuan out of the project.
This was even though he had supposedly dissociated himself from shady dealings.
Narrowing her eyes, Yun Xi began to do calculations in her head. It was an unfortunate situation. "The Eldest Heir will probably get dragged down."
"Dragged down?" Mu Feichi snorted slightly. "Chen Yichen stepped in halfway though the Xinghai Project, and he's only been involved in this project through his father. How important do you think this project is to him?"
When Mu Feichi said this, Yun Xi immediately understood something and suddenly raised her head and looked hard at Mu Feichi.
"What? Are you saying that he is purposely doing business that will lose him money? What's his purpose? That's an investment worth tens of millions of yuan!"
Mu Feichi curled his lips sarcastically. "As if the Chen family lacks such a trifling amount of money..."
"Indeed they don't."
Upon seeing Mu Feichi look increasing bitter, she thought, was it possible that the Eldest Heir had invested in this project just for fun?
Or did he, like them, have an ulterior motive, and also planned to ruin the Han family?
What bad luck would the Han family have to have had to have offended so many people at one time?
Qi Yuan looked at the two people sitting opposite him on the sofa, who appeared to have such a tacit understanding.
From their gestures and words, it was evident that they could read each other's thoughts. Such a match made in heaven was truly enviable.
After listening to the scheme the two of them had conspired about, Qi Yuan had to marvel over how they were two people cut from the same cloth.
That girl looked young, but she was truly calculating.
She was not only able to turn the tables in the cutthroat business world, but she could do so in a Machiavellian manner that outrivaled many of her seniors.
This woman was becoming more and more qualified to be the Mu family's wife. Her future was full of potential.
Withdrawing his gaze, Mu Feichi nonchalantly said to Qi Yuan, "Just follow this girl's plan, and throw the bait out."
"Yes, sir!" Feeling excited, Qi Yuan nodded.
In this scheme, Young Marshal Mu had started things off, and Yun Xi had arranged it perfectly enough to torture the Han family for a long time to come.
It seemed obvious that this year the Han family was going to suffer.
"Miss Yun, if you're so ruthless toward the Han family, once this plan succeeds, it will be difficult for the Han family to rise up again for at least the next five years. It will give the Zhao family just enough time to rise."
"Five years isn't enough. I want the Han family to be ruined for eternity."
The corners of Yun Xi's mouth twitched slightly, and her clear eyes looked very cold. For an instant, it was possible to see the smoldering hatred in her eyes.
Mu Feichi silently watched the changes of expression on her face. Her deep hatred for the Han family wasn't just because of Han Wanling and Han Yaotian.
Her hatred was much deeper than he had thought.
He knew that she was hiding something from him.
Qi Yuan glanced at Young Marshal Mu, then asked curiously, "You seem to have always been particularly interested in the Han family and have been extremely ruthless toward them. I'm curious as to what kind of grudge you have against them?"
She'd schemed against Han Wanling, then humiliated her, making her unable to stay in Jingdu any longer because she'd had no choice but to escape the scandal.
She was even more merciless toward Han Yaotian. This wasn't like some sort of personal grudge, but a deep hatred.
When he asked her this question, Yun Xi suppressed the emotion turmoil in her eyes and smiled. "Perhaps, their family dug my grave in my previous life. I've been reborn to seek revenge in this life."
"Previous life..." Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan's eyes twitched, and he suppressed his laughter as he teased her back.
"Then I must have been good in my last life and didn't offend you. Otherwise, I'd be pursued and tortured by you in this life."
Mu Feichi raised his eyebrows when he heard what she'd said, and jealousy overcame him once again.
"She's my woman! Whether in the previous life or in this life, she has nothing to do with you. No matter what, she can only have a love-hate relationship with me. So get lost!"
"Yes, yes, okay. I'll get out of here." Qi Yuan nodded in a salute and quickly ran away.
When Yun Xi heard what Mu Feichi had said, she glanced over at him coldly. Then she said, half-flirtatiously and half-annoyedly, "Young Marshal Mu, this has nothing to do with you either."
In her previous life, she and he had never crossed paths at all.
The only people who had been involved with her concerning her death were the people who had rescued her at the snowy mountain.
She had really wanted to repay their kindness.
But, with so many people in the world, she didn't have any idea where to find them.
"How could it have nothing to do with me? You have a grudge against him from your previous life. If you want revenge in this life, then I will help you sharpen your knife!"
This topic of the previous life might only be a joke to them, but it was true that she had been reborn.
Knowing that he wouldn't take it seriously, she joked back with him, "Then what would happen if I had been enemies with you in my previous life?"
"How could that be possible? I'm so likable. Perhaps you were my wife in your previous life..."
He made the topic romantic, but Yun Xi simply rolled her eyes in response and ended the conversation.
He wasn't married when she had died in her previous life.
...
In order to bait Liang Xiuqin, Yun Xi talked to Mu Feichi about her plans, then went home directly after school on Friday.
No matter how much Old Madame Chen liked her, she couldn't keep living in someone else's home. Besides, she still considered the Jiang family as her future in-laws.
If word spread that she didn't like the Jiang family, but liked the Chen family instead, her reputation would really suffer.
Moreover, she also needed to go home. If she didn't go back soon and do something about it, her mother would only continue to spread rumors.
She didn't like to be at a disadvantage.
Now her mother has achieved the effect she wanted, and Feng Yang has come to see her. There was no way that the Feng family didn't know about this.
She would use this incident to let her mother know what the consequences would be for trying to extort the Feng family.
If they offended the Feng family, it would be impossible for the Yun family to stay in the villa complex.
After her few days away from home, as soon as Yun Xi returned home, the housekeeper couldn't wait to give all the gossip to her.
She told her about everything that had happened in the past few days and the rumors that had been circulating throughout the villa complex.
Yun Xi grasped an important point at once. Their housekeeper was very well-acquainted with the Feng family's housekeeper, and they often went to the farmer's market together to buy produce.
"Miss, I know that you don't know about this, but Sister Xiu said that old man Feng and Madame Feng were extremely angry when they heard these rumors. Feng Yang also wanted to investigate this matter thoroughly to see who was spreading the rumors."
Yun Xi couldn't help but sneer. Where else would there be to check? The rumors floated out of the Yun family house.
Even if they sent people to investigate, with these sorts of hearsay matters, anything could easily spread when a lot of people gathered together, so it would be pointless.
This time, she wanted to bait all those gossipy ladies who spread rumors, along with her mother.
What could be more effective than letting them take the initiative themselves and then get warned by Madame Feng personally?
"What was even more astounding to me was that your mother didn't say anything at all, as if she was very pleased with the rumors and didn't care about your reputation at all."
"Of course my mother would be pleased with the rumors, because she was the one who spread the gossip."
"So it was her. How could she be like this..." The housekeeper was surprised, and she became even more disgusted by Liang Xiuqin.
"If we could use the Feng family to climb socially, not only would she feel proud, but Yun Ziling would also be able to take my place and marry into the Jiang family. She would become in-laws with both the Feng family and the Jiang family at the same time, so she would be able to reap even more rewards."
"She doesn't treat you well at all, yet she wants to use you for her ego and for favors. I have never seen such a shameless person."
Although she was only the family's housekeeper and she really shouldn't criticize her employer, Liang Xiuqin was truly too shameless.
So shameless that she couldn't stand it anymore.
They were all parents, and they had all carried their children in their wombs for months. She couldn't understand how Liang Xiuqin could scheme against her own daughter like this.
Yun Xi curled her lips in a playful sneer, and frigidity flashed in her eyes. "It isn't going to be that easy to take advantage of me!"
If she managed to successfully social climb using the Feng family, in the future, her mother would be able to do whatever she wanted in the villa complex.
Then, after social climbing through the Jiang family, everything would be at her mother's fingertips in the future.
Since she had everything so well thought out, Yun Xi might as well give her mother a push.
Yun Xi instructed the housekeeper to watch her mother for the next two days and report her movements to her.
She also told her about Sunday's arrangements. Once she saw her mother go out, she would encourage her dad to follow her with the story she had prepared.
At that time, she would also invite her second uncle and aunt to watch the farce.
Her second aunt had been frequently harassed by Liang Xiuqin, so now that she had the opportunity to turn the tables, her second aunt definitely wouldn't pass up the opportunity.
Moreover, with her second aunt there, she wouldn't need to worry about getting her grandpa on her side.
While her second aunt was fueling the flames to her grandpa, she was certain that her mother wouldn't be able to defend herself this time.
...
As soon as Yun Xi returned to the Yun family's house, Yun Yuanfeng, like someone who had just won the lottery, pulled Yun Xi aside and couldn't stop asking about the situation in the Chen family's house.
Making up nonsense in a serious and patient manner, Yun Xi responded to his questions one by one.
With knowledge from both of her lives, Yun Xi knew Yun Yuanfeng's temperament very well, and she'd already prepared the answers to all his questions before she'd even returned
She responded with ease and composure.
Her father now regarded her as a lucky charm. Although she didn't like being used by others, she still had to rely on him to deal with her mother.
In terms of dealing with her mother, no one was as effective as her father.
Especially since her mother had no power or support outside the family, she could only rely on her husband to get what she wanted
If she even lost her husband as a backer, she would have to consider the consequences if she ever wanted to cause trouble again.
Without her status as the vice president's wife, since she had no distinguished background, she really would have to sleep in the streets.
"The Eldest Heir asked me to return for lunch today. It's probably a family event."
When Yun Yuanfeng heard the words family event, his eyes lit up.
That meant that the three gentlemen of the Chen family would all be at home, which would be a good opportunity to build connections.
It was a pity that such good opportunities didn't befall Yun Yuanfeng.
He didn't have the guts to just show up at the Chen family's house. It would make him seem opportunistic.
He still valued his image, so he wouldn't go out of his way to offend people.
He could only tell Yun Xi to please them and behave well in front of them and compliment him so that they might pay more attention to him.
Yun Xi responded with assurances, and, from time to time, she glanced at the envious Liang Xiuqin and Yun Ziling.
How torturous it must be for them to watch her gloat for the entire night about her intimacy with the Chen family.
If it wasn't for the fact that she had ulterior motives, her mother would have left the room long ago.
After finally managing to endure the torture until the end of the conversation between Yun Yuanfeng and Yun Xi, Liang Xiuqin finally cut in.
"Husband, during the past few days, I've heard from a few wives in the villa complex that the young master of the Feng family has fallen in love with Yun Xi. If you send her all the way to the Chen family, and they aren't interested in her, you'll offend the Feng family."
Yun Yuanfeng had also heard this gossip, but it was just gossip, so he didn't pay attention to it.
In the villa complex, no one dared to provoke the Feng family. Although they were a prominent wealthy family, he'd rather Yun Xi social climb through the Chen family and even the Jiang family along the way.
After all, the Jiang family and the Chen family were in-laws, and killing two birds with one stone was better than only the Feng family.
He doesn't like to deal in unprofitable businesses.
"It's just gossip, so who knows if it's true? Don't gossip and repeat hearsay."
"But where there's smoke, there's fire! What if..."