When Feng Yang opened the door of the Feng family house and saw who was standing outside, he felt somewhat surprised and somewhat expectant.
Yun Xi went up the steps, but her foot suddenly twisted, she lost her balance, and she fell down on the porch.
Feng Yang swiftly caught her, and Yun Xi seized the opportunity to whisper to him, "No matter what is said here this morning, please insist that you don't know me."
Feng Yang narrowed his eyes and didn't let go of her. Taking advantage of the situation, he said, "How will you thank me for helping you?"
Yun Xi was taken aback. She gave him an annoyed glare, then said through gritted teeth, "Why, you're trying to take advantage of the situation?"
"I am taking advantage of the situation."
"I'll treat you to a hot pot?"
Since he'd dared to take advantage of the situation, she said she'd treat him to a hot pot, hoping that the spiciness would punish him.
"Okay, deal!" Right after Feng Yang had readily agreed, Yun Xi heard the rush of footsteps behind her.
"What are you doing? Let her go!"
Liang Xiuqin had led over a group of the gossipy wives from the villa complex. As soon as they arrived, they saw the two of them hugging at the door of the Feng family's house. Liang Xiuqin immediately rushed forward and pried them apart.
At the top of her lungs, she yelled inside the house, "Young Master Feng, how can you be so intimate with my daughter in broad daylight? You'll ruin her reputation, and how will she be able to stay in the villa complex in the future?"
Yun Xi's timing had been so accurate that the group of gossipy wives who had run over with Liang Xiuqin had also seen the two of them at the door. Under Liang Xiuqin's guidance, they all thought about the rumors that had been circulating throughout the villa complex recently.
The Young Master of the Feng family was pursuing the young lady of the Yun family.
Such rumors were usually unreliable because they were all gossip, but now that they had seen it with their own eyes, all the wives started discussing it.
"It really is the Feng family's Young Master and Yun Xi. It seems as if the rumors have all been true."
"Didn't the vibe seem like they were going to kiss? If word gets out, they'll become laughingstocks."
"Isn't the Yun family's young lady engaged to marry into the Jiang family? What is this charade?"
"..."
Liang Xiuqin was acting like a teacher who had caught her students red-handed in an inappropriate relationship, and she was in a thrilling state of excitement.
Madame Feng, Ai Zhujun, who was about to go out, heard the yelling outside her door and took a look. Her door was surrounded by a group of wives from the villa complex.
The scandalous eldest daughter-in-law of the Yun family, Liang Xiuqin, was leading the way.
It was early in the morning on the weekend, and nobody had to go to work. So what was up with this noisy crowd causing a scene in front of her house?
Frowning, she stepped out of the house.
Liang Xiuqin's harsh voice suddenly sounded, "Young Master Feng, during this period of time, a rumor that you were pursuing my daughter, Yun Xi, has been circulating throughout the villa complex. I originally thought it was just a rumor, but now I see you acting intimate with my girl in broad daylight. This is not acceptable."
Liang Xiuqin became even more worked up when she saw Ai Zhujun coming out of the house.
"My girl is still very young. How will my child be able to carry herself in the future if you mess around with her? Even if you like her, you'll have to wait a few years. It isn't appropriate to be dating so early."
Liang Xiuqin's aggressive demeanor and accusations against him seemed as if she was speaking up and seeking justice for her daughter.
In reality, the emphasis of her words was on how he had been too intimate with her and was ruining her reputation in the process.
Anyone with a discerning eye could perceive that she was trying to hold him responsible.
Yun Xi resisted the urge to laugh. Her mother's shamelessness was truly mind-blowing.
Even if he had been pursuing her, no normal mother would react in that way, especially if he had been interested in her.
What's more, he wasn't even interested in her.
Upon seeing Ai Zhujun come out, all the wives who had come to watch the show shut their mouths in anticipation of drama.
Madame Feng was usually unapproachable, and it was rare for them to get the chance to see her. Now that there was going to be drama, they all wanted to watch.
"Madame Feng, you came out here just in time."
Upon seeing that her yelling had finally summoned his mother, Liang Xiuqin disparaged Feng Yang even more.
They were the victims here, and she wasn't afraid of the Feng family using its influence to bully them. There were plenty of witnesses here as well.
"A rumor that your son has been pursuing my daughter, Yun Xi, has been circulating throughout the villa complex. I originally thought it was just idle gossip. However, today I saw him acting extremely intimately with her in broad daylight. This is completely unacceptable! My daughter is very young. What is going to become of her reputation if your son is messing around with her?"
Upon hearing what Liang Xiuqin was saying, the expression on Ai Zhujun's face suddenly turned very ugly.
Her son had always been her pride and joy, and, although he frequently infuriated his grandfather, she knew her son's character.
At the moment, upon hearing him being disparaged by Liang Xiuqin in front of so many people, she became extremely enraged.
Ai Zhujun turned and looked at her son, who had an icy expression and hadn't said a word. She frowned and asked, "Yangyang, what's going on? Please explain yourself clearly."
Feng Yang glanced coldly at Liang Xiuqin. He was truly shocked by her aggressive demeanor. With such a mother, this poor girl had probably suffered many grievances.
Since Yun Xi now wanted to stir up trouble, then he'd help her by adding fuel to the fire.
"She rang the doorbell and tripped coming up the steps. I was just helping her get up. Which eye of yours saw that I had gotten intimate with her?"
Feng Yang's cold eyes fell on Liang Xiuqin, and Liang Xiuqin trembled.
She didn't know what the Feng family's Young Master did for a living, but the look in his eyes was especially sinister, frightening, and piercing.
For fear of appearing weak, Liang Xiuqin stood up straight, and, thinking about the social climbing she was going to be able to do in the future thanks to the Feng family, she felt stronger.
"I saw it with both of my eyes. And not only did I see it, but they all saw it."
For fear that they wouldn't be able to force the Feng family to give them an explanation because no one would testify, Liang Xiuqin had specially asked Yun Ziling and Liang Xinyi to summon a large group of people to watch and help witness what had gone on.
She understood the fact that there was strength in numbers.
"Yes, yes, we have all seen..."
"Young Master Feng hugged Yun Xi at the door. That really wasn't very nice..."
They usually wouldn't have dared to offend the Feng family's Madame, but today it wasn't them, but rather Liang Xiuqin, who had offended her.
They were just enjoying the drama. Even if the Feng family wanted to vent their anger on someone, they couldn't possibly vent it on the entire villa complex.
"Really?" Feng Yang sneered, and icy coldness gradually filled his eyes.
"It just so happens that you're all here to listen to me. I've just returned home after being away for quite a long time. I really want to know who has been spreading these rumors about me and this girl in the villa complex recently?"
"If you aren't interested in Yun Xi, what do you mean by calling our home so early in the morning and secretly meeting her and embracing her at your door?"
"Calling you?" Feng Yang glanced at Liang Xiuqin derisively. "Our landline has been broken for a week. No one has been at home, and it hasn't been repaired. We all use mobile phones."
"But I clearly saw that the number had the area code of the villa complex, so how could it not be yours?"
Liang Xiuqin's heart lurched. The telephone number that had been displayed on their landline was indeed from another landline.
And the area code was also the area code of their villa complex, so how could it not be from their home?
Liang Xiuqin would never have imagined that in this area, there was another place that used the same area code: that is, the Mu Mansion on the top of the mountain!
Ai Zhujun knew that the landline at home was broken.
They had all been out of town until recently. They had just returned home from vacation, and they hadn't had a chance to get the landline fixed yet.
When Liang Xiuqin said that, Ai Zhujun vaguely understood something, and she looked at Liang Xiuqin with suspicion and contempt.
What sort of people were these? Exploiting her daughter to try to social climb through establishing ties with their family?
Ai Zhujun looked at Yun Xi, who had stayed silent the entire time, and then at the aggressive Liang Xiuqin. Her elegant face seemed condescending and haughty.
"Then you can just return home and call back the number and ask which family it belongs to. Don't just randomly accuse our family."
Some time ago, she had heard her family's housekeeper gossiping about how the eldest daughter of the Yun family had returned, but her mother wouldn't even acknowledge her. Even the grandfather of the Jiang family had been turned away.
How outrageous!
On this day, Liang Xiuqin had suddenly led a group of people to the door of the Feng family home to put on an act of motherly love. Did she really think Madame Feng was blind or a pushover?
Liang Xiuqin looked puzzled. Madame Feng had no reason to lie, so perhaps the phone call really hadn't come from their home.
Whether the phone call had come from the Feng home or not wasn't important, however, since Yun Xi and Feng Yang had been caught red-handed on the porch in front of their house. How were they going to get out of that?
"But we just saw you take advantage of my daughter! And, the other day, you gave my daughter a gift. If you weren't interested in her, then what else could it be?"
As she said this, Liang Xiuqin suddenly pulled Yun Ziling to stand next to her.
If there was a chance to see that wretched girl Yun Xi suffer and be taken down, Yun Ziling naturally wouldn't want to miss out.
After all, if all this went well, the marital contract with the Jiang family would belong to her in the near future.
Although it would be unfair to let that wretched girl Yun Xi climb socially through her connections with the Feng family, prominent families like the Feng family valued socioeconomic status. She'd rather not have a mother-in-law as intimidating as Madame Feng.
Moreover, they didn't have any idea what Feng Yang did for a living. If he really worked in a large company, then would Yun Xi offend people in their social milieu?
She wouldn't have wanted to marry a person like Feng Yang. The Feng family, when compared with the four distinguished families like the Jiang family, had a lower status than the Jiang family.
After pushing Yun Xi out the door, in the future, all the wealth and glory would belong to their family. She wouldn't even care if her life wasn't going well at that point.
"You gave my sister a gift worth several thousand yuan at my house the other day. Brother Feng, if you don't like her, why would you give her such an expensive gift?"
Feng Yang lowered his eyes and asked in a deliberate manner, "Gift...I did?"
"Of course you did! It was a Burberry scarf."
As soon as she'd mentioned this, Yun Ziling remembered how envious she had been.
That country bumpkin Yun Xi, who'd just come back from the countryside, got to have what she couldn't have. What unbelievable luck!
As Yun Ziling spoke, she rushed forward to pull the scarf on Yun Xi's neck, as if she was displaying the evidence that would turn the tables.
With a triumphant expression on her face, she said to the crowd of people, "Look, it's this scarf. It's hanging around her neck now! Brother Feng, can you dare say it wasn't from you?"
Feng Yang glanced at the scarf on Yun Xi's neck and sneered. "It was really not."
The scarf he'd given Yun Xi had had tassels, but this scarf didn't.
Although it also had a pink plaid pattern, he remembered that when showing it to him, the sales associate had said that the ones with the tassels were this year's limited edition.
Yun Xi deserved the best things, and money was just a number to him.
When he said he hadn't given her the scarf, Yun Ziling clenched her fists and looked resentful.
She'd known that they wouldn't admit it easily, but she wasn't going to be fooled.
"My mother and I clearly saw you parked in front of our house that day. Would you swear to God that you weren't there?"
"I am going to leave now." Feng Yang's eyes got very dark, and his voice became extremely icy.
No one had ever dared to speak to him like this before!
Upon hearing him give up, Yun Ziling suddenly became even more smug. She had no idea that she had just fallen into a trap.
She didn't even realize that she had unknowingly offended him.
"Look, you admit it yourself. You still dare to say that you're not pursuing my sister? If you don't like her, why give her such an expensive gift?"
Feng Yang's mouth twitched. Without answering Yun Ziling's questions, he instead changed the subject to the source of the rumors.
"Because you saw that I gave her something, you have seized on this opportunity to arbitrarily spread outrageous rumors, saying that Young Master Feng has taken a fancy to the Yun family's eldest daughter. This was all because you wanted to seize this opportunity to manipulate the Feng family, am I right?"
"I...I didn't. It's clear that you are in love with my sister."
Yun Ziling was taken aback. She hadn't expected an attack here, and she became so uneasy that she didn't know how to respond.
After all, the gossip had spread from their mouths.
However, she wasn't that worried because, regarding these sorts of things, it was impossible to trace it back to them even if someone wanted to investigate.
"Which eye of yours saw me in love with her? You must have evidence before you slander me right?"
When it came to the mention of slander, Liang Xiuqin suddenly became very anxious.
Even though she had been trying to slander the Feng family, she couldn't let others think that she was slandering them, otherwise, how could she have the face to live in the villa complex in the future?
"What slander are you talking about? How have we slandered you? You have acted inappropriately toward my daughter and tarnished her pristine reputation. You are the one who should be held accountable."
"I repeat, she fell, and I simply helped her up."
Feng Yang snorted coldly, as his face got darker and darker. "Also, who the h*ll is this girl? I don't even know her! All I did was give her a helping hand, and just because I touched her, you have the nerve to slander me and try to force me to take responsibility by marrying her. I can interpret it in this way: if one day you got hit by a car and someone passing by kindly helps you, you would slander the person and force him to pay your medical expenses."
"Yangyang..." Ai Zhujun glanced at Feng Yang. She was protective, but also reasonable. "We have to solve the problem at hand instead of cursing at people."
"I'm just making an analogy." Feng Yang answered his mother politely, but his eyes were as piercing as blades.
Upon encountering this stubborn mother and daughter, he had said more than he had ever spoken in his entire life.
If it wasn't for the fact that he was cooperating with Yun Xi, his way of doing things would have been that he would have directly beaten the other party until they started crying.
"Don't know her? How could you not know her?" Yun Ziling became anxious when she heard him say this.
On the day that he had given Yun Xi the scarf, it was obvious that the relationship between the two of them was unusual.
Turning her head abruptly, Yun Ziling glared at Yun Xi, who had been watching the scene unfold emotionlessly, as if she had been merely a bystander.
"Sister, can't you say anything? It's your own reputation that's on the line."
Yun Xi raised her eyebrows and feigned innocence. "What are you talking about? I simply fell down, and Big Brother Feng indeed only gave me a helping hand."
As she said this, she raised her foot and pointed to the shoe that was broken, and she said, "Look, I broke my shoe! He was kind enough to help me up, and now you and mom are saying that he was touching me inappropriately. I think you guys are the ones who want to tarnish my reputation. Only a handful of people saw Brother Feng come to the Yun family's door to give me a gift. It was from that time that rumors about Young Master Feng fancying me started to circulate throughout the villa complex. Could it be that you two purposely spread the rumors in order to try and climb socially using the Feng family?"
The onlookers in the crowd glanced at Yun Xi's broken shoe. She'd said the same thing Young Master Feng had said, and she didn't seem to be lying.
That could only mean that Liang Xiuqin had just exaggerated the facts and misled everyone. It was very possible that the gossip had been spread by her, and she was deliberately using it to slander the Feng family.
Wouldn't that be extremely terrifying? In order to climb socially by using the Feng family, they were shamelessly willing to resort to any means.
The wives that Liang Xiuqin had dragged over to watch the drama suddenly started to see her in a new light.
"Could it be true that Liang Xiuqin deliberately spread the rumors and then came to their door to slander them?"
"How unscrupulous and bold of her to dare slander the Feng family."
"With the Feng family's status, how does she have the guts to slander them?"
Upon seeing that the tables had turned, Yun Xi looked at her mother with disappointment, and deliberately sighed and spoke before Liang Xiuqin could turn on her.
"Mom, how could you sell out your daughter in order to try to climb socially through the Feng family? You keep saying that Brother Feng tarnished my reputation, but when you made a big deal out of nothing and stirred up a ruckus in the villa complex and tarnished my reputation in order to slander the Feng family, have you never thought of how I am your daughter?"
Suddenly, there was a lot of discussion going on all around, and the situation suddenly became very unfavorable for Liang Xiuqin.
Liang Xiuqin grew angry and anxious.
"You...you wretched girl! You shut up! What nonsense are you blabbering on about?"
When she said this, she was basically exposing her ulterior motives to everyone.
Liang Xiuqin's face grew dark and angry. She rushed forward and stretched out her hand to slap Yun Xi's face.
Yun Xi quickly dodged and stepped directly behind Ai Zhujun.
Unfortunately, Liang Xiuqin slapped Ai Zhujun right in the face.
Everyone fell quiet in one instant!
Liang Xiuqin stared blankly at Ai Zhujun, who she'd slapped in the face, and her mind went blank.
Her hands started shaking and her legs went weak, and then she fell directly to the ground.
That's it! That's it!
She...she'd actually slapped Madame Feng!
It was all over now!
"Mom, you..." Even Yun Ziling was shocked when her mother slapped Ai Zhujun.
With this slap on the face of the matriarch of the Feng family, any thoughts of climbing socially with the help of the Feng family, even becoming in-laws with the Jiang family, had gone down the drain.
What's more, it was fairly certain that they had offended the Feng family too.
By offending the Feng family, their family might get kicked out of the villa complex.
This was terrible.
And, to make matters worse, in the back of the crowd, Yun Yuanfeng, who had hurried over, had seen Liang Xiuqin slap Ai Zhujun in the face.
This slap petrified him.
That idiot Liang Xiuqin.
Everything was over.
Standing behind Ai Zhujun, Yun Xi was also taken aback by her mother's mistaken aim and shot Feng Yang a look of regret.
Feng Yang narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly, then turned sideways to let her hide behind him.
This girl had been clever enough to know to hide behind his mother. If she had hidden behind him and he had gotten hit, the effect wouldn't have been as good.
Now things were exciting. After slapping his mother, the Yun family would probably suffer for it.
Feng Yang cocked his head and glanced at the sly little fox behind him.
She had won this battle.
It seemed that all of this had worked out just as she had expected, and probably even the slap had been in her plans.
How interesting. In this charade, all she had done was lay out a few traps for her mother in order for her to suffer misfortunes.
She not only took care of the rumors circulating throughout the villa complex, but also taught her mother a lesson along the way. This little girl's abilities really impressed him.
With such cunning methods, he didn't have to worry about her being bullied any longer.
Upon being slapped in the face in front of so many people, Ai Zhujun's facial expression grew extremely ugly. She glanced at Liang Xiuqin, who was sitting on the ground, coldly with rage burning in her eyes.
She, who had always been so dignified, had never suffered such humiliation.
How dare a vulgar woman like Liang Xiuqin, who was too degraded for her to even talk to, slap her.
Absolutely unforgivable!
Feng Yang gave Ai Zhujun a helping hand and kicked Liang Xiuqin along the way. He asked Ai Zhujun in a worried voice, "Mom, are you okay?"
Liang Xiuqin suddenly snapped back to reality, got up awkwardly, and desperately bowed to apologize. Her mannerisms were completely different from the aggression she had displayed when accusing them moments before.
"Liang Xiuqin, are you trying to dig your own grave?"
After suffering such humiliation, Ai Zhujun was extremely enraged and glared at the shameless Liang Xiuqin angrily.
If she slapped her back, it would be too shameful, and it wouldn't be in line with her sophistication and upbringing as Madame Feng.
But regarding Liang Xiuqin's shamelessness and the slandering of the Feng family, she would be merciless.
"Madame Feng, please forgive me. I...I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it. Please show mercy on me. I really didn't mean to slap you..."
Having actually accidentally slapped Madame Feng, Liang Xiuqin had the desire to die.
As soon as she raised her head and looked at Yun Xi, Liang Xiuqin's angry eyes shot daggers at her.
"It's all because of you, you wretched girl."
It was because of her that she had gotten into such trouble. If she didn't beat her right this moment, she wasn't going to be able to vent her hatred.
"Hurry up and get over here and apologize to Madame Feng. Hurry up!"
She really didn't know what she was doing. In order to alleviate Ai Zhujun's anger, Liang Xiuqin wanted to drag Yun Xi in front of Ai Zhujun to make her deal with Madame Feng's anger, in order to spare herself from the anger. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Yun Xi was also her daughter.
If Madame Feng slapped her, it would be the same as if she were slapped herself.
Yun Xi of course had noticed that Yun Yuanfeng had rushed over, and she timidly shrank behind Feng Yang.
Taking advantage of the fact that Yun Yuanfeng had walked over, she shouted: "Dad, Mom hit Madame Feng, and she wants to hit me too."
With her back toward Yun Yuanfeng, Liang Xiuqin thought Yun Xi was simply acting, and she didn't believe that her husband was really there.
Yesterday, Yun Yuanfeng had came home drunk from some business entertainment. When she'd gone out, Yun Yuanfeng hadn't even gotten up yet.
"Don't use your dad to threaten me. Even if your dad were here, he wouldn't be able to help you today."
"Mom, it's bad enough that you're trying to slander the Feng family, but why do you want me to apologize when you're the one who hit Madame Feng?"
Liang Xiuqin wasn't listening at all, and was just about to rush forward toward Yun Xi when her collar was picked up by someone behind her.