Chapter 44: Misunderstood

When Ling Shixuan noticed that everyone in the room was looking at her with eager eyes, she finally stopped sobbing and fixed her gaze on Lin Feng, whispering softly, “You’ve bullied me.”

“I’ll beat you to death, you rascal!” Lin Chuanzhi and Ling Weihua shouted in unison the moment they heard her words, and without another thought, the two men charged at Lin Feng again.

“Hey, stop it! I really didn’t do anything! Ling Shixuan, can you please explain?” Lin Feng was chased about by the two grown men, looking utterly disheveled. Though he was skilled, he was at home and his assailants were relatives and elders—he didn’t dare fight back and could only endure the blows.

When Ling Shixuan saw Lin Feng being pursued and attacked, she was so frightened that she rushed forward and clung to her father, Ling Weihua. “Dad, please stop! I’m begging you, don’t hit him anymore!”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Dad knows you’ve been wronged. Let me teach this brat a lesson first, and later we’ll demand an explanation from his parents!” Ling Weihua, still fuming, thought his daughter was worried about him suffering a loss, so he tried to shake her off.

Ling Shixuan ignored her father’s struggles and only tightened her hold, raising her voice to call out to Lin Chuanzhi, who was still chasing Lin Feng: “Uncle Lin, you should stop too! Lin Feng didn’t bully me!”

“What?” Everyone in the room paused, staring at Ling Shixuan in astonishment.

“At last, my name is cleared,” Lin Feng exclaimed, darting behind Liu Runli for protection as soon as he heard Ling Shixuan’s words.

“Don’t you say another word,” Liu Runli scolded Lin Feng, impatiently patting his head.

“Then, sweetheart, why did you just say that Lin Feng bullied you?” Ling Weihua came over to ask her, puzzled.

“He did bully me, but not in the way you’re all thinking. Last night, he said he wanted to drive me away, so I…” Ling Shixuan blushed under everyone’s gaze and explained in a small voice.

“I see, I thought…” Liu Runli let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t what she’d feared, and the tension in her heart instantly melted away.

“Ah, you scared me, darling! You should have said so earlier! Wait, that’s not right—how dare Lin Feng try to drive you out? Does he look down on the Ling family?” Ling Weihua’s just-settled heart was up in arms again. His daughter staying at someone else’s home and being kicked out—what an affront!

“Lin Feng, you rascal, what are you up to? Shixuan is still my guest! Who drives out their guests like that?” Lin Chuanzhi joined in, berating Lin Feng.

Lin Feng saw the blame shifting back to him and hurried to defend himself to avoid another beating. “Dad, Uncle Ling, please calm down and hear me out! It really isn’t right for Shixuan to keep staying here. Before, it was understandable because of the Wang family’s trouble, but that’s all resolved now. If Shixuan keeps living with us, how will people view her? Or the Ling family? I’m only playing the villain for your sake, you know! I’ve been wronged—and I’ve taken a beating for nothing,” Lin Feng finished, feeling even more aggrieved.

“You do make some sense. After the trouble with the Wang family, I did mention it to Shixuan, but when she wouldn’t come home, I let it go. But thinking about it now, it really can’t go on—her reputation would suffer,” Ling Weihua admitted, clearly swayed.

“Hypocrite! That’s not the real reason. Isn’t it because of Xia Ruoxi?” Shixuan retorted, glaring at Lin Feng, not buying his excuse.

“Uh… what does Ruoxi have to do with this? Fine, I won’t deny it’s partly because of her,” Lin Feng hesitated, tried to dodge, but finally nodded.

“Wait, who is this Xia Ruoxi now?” Ling Weihua was baffled.

“Oh, Weihua, Xia Ruoxi is Lin Feng’s girlfriend. He brought her home just yesterday to meet us and had dinner together,” Lin Chuanzhi explained quickly, seeing Ling Weihua’s confusion.

“So Lin Feng has another girlfriend now! This time he even dared to bring her home for you both to see—he must be serious!” Ling Weihua teased Lin Feng.

“Heh, Uncle Ling, since you put it that way, you should understand me. I have a girlfriend now. If another girl keeps living in my house, how am I supposed to explain that to her?” Lin Feng continued to appeal to Ling Weihua.

“I understand, kid. Sweetheart, now that everything’s clear, Lin Feng meant well—maybe he was just a bit too blunt, and for that he deserves criticism. You’d best come home with Dad. Now that he has a girlfriend, it’s just not right for you to stay here. And you both mustn’t blame Lin Feng for wanting Shixuan to leave,” Ling Weihua said to both Shixuan and Lin Chuanzhi.

“See how much fuss the young ones can stir up—if only they’d explained things sooner!” Lin Chuanzhi agreed with a chuckle.

“I wanted to explain, but none of you believed me! I got beaten for nothing,” Lin Feng complained, looking at the red marks on his arms.

“You deserved it!” Lin Chuanzhi retorted without giving Lin Feng any face.

“All right, I was out of line today. Sweetheart, let’s go home. From now on, you’ll stay with us,” Ling Weihua said, taking his daughter’s hand.

But Shixuan didn’t go with him right away. She shook off his hand and looked around the hall. “Uncle Lin, Lin Feng said my status here is unclear. But didn’t you and my father once discuss our engagement? If that still stands, then I’m the Lin family’s betrothed daughter-in-law, and I have every right to live here, don’t I?”

“Ah…” Lin Chuanzhi was at a loss for words and could only smile wryly.

“Ling Shixuan, you’re being unreasonable! You were the one who didn’t want me before, and besides, my dad and Uncle Ling have already called off the engagement. Now I have a girlfriend and I don’t like you. Why are you meddling?” Lin Feng protested, irritated by her persistence.

“You may not like me, but I like you. I believe I can make you fall for me one day! What do you think, Uncle Lin?” Shixuan ignored Lin Feng and turned to Lin Chuanzhi.

“This isn’t child’s play—you can’t decide everything on your own!” Lin Feng, exasperated by her obstinacy, yelled at her.

“That’s enough, Ling Shixuan! Aren’t you ashamed? You’ve made me lose all face! Come home with me at once,” Ling Weihua, livid with his daughter’s words, could take no more. When had a daughter of the Ling family ever had to deliver herself to someone who didn’t even want her?

“That’s right! Didn’t you hear what Uncle Ling said? Go home with him—it’s already lunchtime, and everyone needs to eat,” Lin Feng added, trying to persuade her.

“You—” Shixuan tried to argue, but Ling Weihua, thoroughly annoyed, stepped forward and grabbed her by both arms, dragging her toward the door.

She struggled in vain, and as they neared the entrance, she pleaded, “Dad, let me go. I’ll come home with you—but let me say one last thing!”

Hearing this, Ling Weihua thought for a moment and finally released her. Shixuan turned to face Lin Feng, her eyes shining with determination. “I know Xia Ruoxi is outstanding, but you’re not married yet. I won’t give up. I’ll prove to you which of us is better!” With that, she turned and left on her own, leaving the elders in the room stunned by the conviction in her voice, watching her small yet imposing figure disappear.

Only Lin Feng felt nothing—if anything, he was just glad to finally be rid of this troublesome girl. He called out with careless cheer to her retreating back, “Safe travels! I won’t see you out!”

After Ling Weihua and his daughter’s car had driven off, Lin Feng returned to the hall with a sigh of relief. “Finally got her to leave. That was no easy task!”

Liu Runli was displeased by this, and smacked Lin Feng on the head. “How can you say that? Shixuan was fine living here—why drive her out? I only held my tongue because there were so many people just now, but now it’s my turn to scold you. What’s all this about her living here being improper? I was the one who invited her. If anyone dares gossip, let them come talk to me. You and your father are never home anyway. If it weren’t for Shixuan taking me out these past few days, I’d have grown moldy!”

Lin Feng, seeing his mother ready to use their absence as ammunition again, quickly shot a look at his father Lin Chuanzhi, but either by design or oblivion, Lin Chuanzhi didn’t notice. Lin Feng had no choice but to put on a fawning smile. “Mom, there’s nothing I can do about work being busy. But whenever I’m free, I’ll definitely keep you company. How about this—these next few days, I’m not too busy. I’ll take you out myself! And even without Shixuan, there’s still Ruoxi. If you ever get bored, you can call her to keep you company, right?”

Liu Runli sighed, tapping Lin Feng’s head. “You and your sweet talk—no wonder the girls all like you! Before, when you were fickle and always chasing after women, I worried. But those were just courtesans, and a bit of money would send them away. Now you’re not fickle anymore, but you still attract girls—and they’re all well-bred from influential families. Who knows what trouble that will bring in the future!”

“Mom, it’s because your son is outstanding that these girls like me. You should be happy!” Lin Feng replied, grinning cheekily.

“Hmph! I know my son is outstanding. But remember, too much of anything breeds envy. Like your company—when you make too much money, people want to take it from you. If too many girls like you, how can you handle it alone? Just look at now—Shixuan obviously won’t let things rest. Mark my words—this won’t be the end of it,” Liu Runli said, her prediction not far from the truth, though that’s a story for another day.

“Oh, come on, it’s not as exaggerated as you make it sound. Do you really think your son is some kind of magical meat that grants immortality to any woman who takes a bite?” Lin Feng rolled his eyes at his mother’s wild imagination.