Days turned into weeks. Li Nuxie remained hole up inside her house. This has caused Li Chanying and Hong Chi's eye bags to upgrade on a heavier scale.
Hong Chi was pacing back and forth in the living room, biting her red fingernails. Li Chanying rolled her eyes as she munched peanuts.
"Peanuts are more delicious than red nails, you know," Li Chanying commented in between bites.
Hong Chi put her nails away from her mouth. "Why don't you hack Xiexie's security system?" she suggested.
"Do you want Xiexie to hack my head, then?"
Slumping down on the sofa, Hong Chi sighed while tugging her hair. "I hope I don't wake up one of these days to a news that Xiexie confronted that Xu Wei," she glanced at Li Chanying who raised her head, mouth opened, as she tried to catch the peanuts she threw in the air.
"Anyway, how is Xu Wei related to Xu Ming?"
Li Chanying shrugged. "According to Xiexie, he is Xu Ming's best friend."
"They have the same surname?" Hong Chi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he is not a relative?"
"Whether Xu Wei is a relative or not, it is not wise to delve into the Xu Family's affairs," Li Chanying opened her mouth and put a mouthful of peanuts.
Hong Chi remained silent. The Xu Family valued their privacy more than anything else. Even the First Young Master Xu continued to be a mystery, with only a few people who knew his identity. As the Young Lady of Hong Family, she has the opportunity to meet people from higher echelon in City S. However, the First Young Master Xu was not included in the people she had met.
The next day, Hong Chi's fear came true.
The ringing of the phone pulled Hong Chi from her sleep. With eyes still closed, she reached out for phone on the bedside table. "Hello?"
"Chi! Have you seen the news?" Li Chanying's voice reached her ears.
"Not yet," she groaned. "What news?"
"Xiexie is on the news!"
Hong Chi's ears went ringing. "Come again?"
"I said Xiexie is on the news!"
The drowsiness deserted Hong Chi completely. Pulling a drawer from her bedside cabinet, she got the tablet. She opened it and scrolled down her social media account. She fell from her bed as soon as she saw the picture.
"Have you seen it now?" Li Chanying asked.
Hong Chi didn't answer. She stared at her tablet's screen. Indeed, it was Li Nuxie's picture. She stood in front of a man, wearing a blindfold. Although her profile was not clear, anyone who knew Li Nuxie will know that she was the one in the picture.
She wore a white loose shirt and skinny jeans. The man was kissing Li Nuxie's forehead while they were standing amid a group of children. The picture was accompanied with a caption that made Hong Chi's jaw dropped. Her breath was hitched.
'First Young Master Xu getting cozy with unknown woman!'
It was accompanied by a small write up.
'Is First Young Master Xu getting married? In a picture taken weeks ago in Country P, the First Young Master Xu was seen getting cozy with an unknown woman. Who is this woman? Is she the next Empress of City S, the future Young Madam of Xu Family? We are open to hear the side of First Young Master Xu.'
"Hong Chi! Why aren't you answering?" Li Chanying asked frantically.
Taking a deep breath, Hong Chi gripped her phone tightly. "Xu Wei is the First Young Master Xu?"
"It seems so," Li Chanying agreed. "Do we need to make preemptive measures?"
Hong Chi stood up from the floor and walked towards her walk-in closet. "Meet me in front of Xiexie's house in twenty minutes," she told her before hanging out.
Meanwhile, Li Nuxie was not aware of the commotion she created among the elites of the City S. She was currently in her bathtub, sipping her coffee. The aroma lingered inside the bathroom, creating a relaxed atmosphere. The wind chimes swayed along the wind, the sound it emitted decreased the stress that was eating Li Nuxie's mind.
She still cannot forget what Xu Wei had done to her. She took a deep breath. She cannot let her anger took over her reason.
=0=
At the Li Ancestral House, Liu Lanzhi threw a figurine against the wall. It was a good thing that most of the rooms in the ancestral house were soundproof. Still not contented, she picked up her phone and threw it against the wall, bouncing and eventually falling on the carpeted floor. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as she clenched her fists. Closing her eyes, she picked up her phone from the floor.
Liu Lanzhi dialed a phone number. After the second ring, someone picked up. "I will send you a picture. Investigate the woman in it," Liu Lanzhi ordered before hanging up. She tightened her grip on her phone as malice flashed in her eyes.
"I will not allow someone to steal you from me, Xu Wei."
=0=
On the other hand, in one of the high-rise buildings in City S, a man picked up his phone. "Yes?"
"Boss, Liu Lanzhi wants to investigate the future Young Madam's identity," a man's voice reported.
The man stood up and went near the floor to ceiling window. "Do your job well. Failure is not an option."
"Yes, boss!"