The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

After leaving the Xu family, Yao Yingxi was somewhat absent-minded. She hailed a taxi back to her apartment, staring blankly at the street scene the whole way.

She kept thinking about Yao Yingyue's words, "There are some feelings that she can't give alone," and she began to doubt whether she had made a mistake in the past.

Yao Yingyue was only eight or nine years old when she escaped from the Xu family. At first, the two of them lived in an orphanage. Some people wanted to adopt Yao Yingyue, but she didn't want to be separated from her. She was afraid that the families who wanted to adopt Yao Yingyue were not sincere in their adoption of her, so she strongly opposed it. Later, the orphanage never mentioned the adoption of Yao Yingyue again.

Yao Yingxi closed her eyes, feeling as if a thousand-pound stone was pressing down on her heart because of Yao Yingyue's words.

The phone in her hand suddenly vibrated. Yao Yingxi opened her eyes and saw a text message from Xu Hengyuan on the screen.

Yao Yingxi opened the message, and a line of text appeared before her eyes: Xiaoxi, you know the current situation. You're so smart, I believe you know very well what to do with Xi Yuanchen.

I had just finished reading this message when another one popped up: Also, don't worry, we will take good care of Yueyue.

Yao Yingxi gripped her phone tightly with both hands, her mind replaying Xu Hengyuan's disgusting appearance.

An hour later, the taxi stopped downstairs at the apartment building.

In early December, it started getting dark around 5:30 pm. When Yao Yingxi returned to her apartment, it was already twilight outside.

She opened the door and saw Xi Yuanchen sitting on the living room sofa, still wearing his suit jacket.

Yao Yingxi paused for a moment, then changed her shoes and walked over: "Mr. Xi."

Upon hearing this, Xi Yuanchen slowly opened his eyes, his icy gaze falling on Yao Yingxi: "Where did you go?"

"The Xu family."

Xi Yuanchen hummed in agreement and closed his eyes again.

Yao Yingxi looked at him, wondering what he was thinking, bit her lip and said again, "Then I'll go make dinner."

Xi Yuanchen remained silent, the light falling on his handsome face as if it were covered with a layer of frost.

Yao Yingxi clenched her fingers and went to the kitchen.

There wasn't much left in the refrigerator. Yao Yingxi looked around for a while and figured she could only make two bowls of noodles. But Xi Yuanchen didn't like that.

The apartment building is located right downstairs from Yuncheng's largest market, so Yao Yingxi decided to go down and buy some vegetables before bringing them back up.

She made Xi Yuanchen a cup of coffee with the boiled water she had already prepared and brought it out: "Mr. Xi, there's no food left in the refrigerator. I'll go to the supermarket and be right back."

After saying that, Yao Yingxi went out.

Xi Yuanchen opened his eyes, glanced at the steaming coffee, and got up to return to his study.

Yao Yingxi returned in half an hour. She quickly prepared the meal and went to the study to call Xi Yuanchen.

Neither of them spoke during the meal. Yao Yingxi glanced at Xi Yuanchen several times, but he didn't say a word.

After finishing their meal, Yao Yingxi was about to clear the table when Xi Yuanchen walked over to her, grabbed her waist, pinned her against the table, and kissed her roughly.

Lately, Yao Yingxi had become less averse to intimacy with Xi Yuanchen and hadn't found the process painful in a long time. But tonight, Xi Yuanchen's rough actions made her feel uncomfortable again.

She gritted her teeth and endured Xi Yuanchen's advances. Even if she didn't have a brain, she knew that Xi Yuanchen was in a terrible mood tonight.

As she was lost in thought, Xi Yuanchen lowered his head and bit her lip, his deep, husky voice saying, "Focus."

As he spoke, he rammed into her hard.

Yao Yingxi's previously clear mind suddenly dissipated. She closed her eyes and felt as if her body had become a small boat floating on a calm lake.

It was quite late when it ended. Xi Yuanchen came out of the bathroom and reached out to pull Yao Yingxi into his arms.

The scent of cedar in the air became stronger. When Yao Yingxi was pressed against Xi Yuanchen, she was startled by the coolness emanating from him and couldn't help but want to back away, but she couldn't move.

After Yao Yingxi adjusted to the cold, she looked up at Xi Yuanchen's chin and asked, "Mr. Xi, did you take a cold shower?"

By now, the coldness emanating from Xi Yuanchen had dissipated. He hummed in agreement and asked, "Were you cold?"

Yao Yingxi shook her head, thought for a moment, and then spoke again: "Are you in a bad mood today?"

Xi Yuanchen paused for a moment, then lowered his head and placed a kiss on her hair: "Go to sleep."

Xi Yuanchen was unwilling to say more, so Yao Yingxi didn't feel comfortable asking any further questions, but she felt vaguely depressed.

Yao Yingxi didn't speak and closed her eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Yao Yingxi still couldn't fall asleep, but the breathing of the person next to her had become steady.

Yao Yingxi didn't dare to move while he was holding her, afraid of waking him up, so she could only stay stiff.

When I woke up the next day, Yuncheng had its first snowfall of the winter.

Xi Yuanchen had already left the apartment. Yao Yingxi casually toasted two slices of bread for herself, made a cup of instant coffee, sat at the dining table, and ate while watching the heavy snow falling outside.

After eating breakfast, Yao Yingxi made a phone call to her part-time job and then stayed home to read.

All day long, Yao Yingxi just read books. It wasn't until the afternoon that she moved around a bit and put away all the review materials.

The snow was still falling outside. Yao Yingxi was worried that Xi Yuanchen would come over again in the evening, so she changed her clothes and braved the cold to buy a lot of things.

When dinner was ready that evening, Xi Yuanchen actually arrived.

Looking at the four dishes and one soup laid out on the table, Yao Yingxi thought to herself that she was glad she hadn't been lazy.

“Mr. Xi, you’re back!” Yao Yingxi walked over to Xi Yuanchen, took his coat from him and hung it on the coat rack by the door. “I just finished making dinner, let’s eat.”

Xi Yuanchen glanced at the kitchen table, hummed in agreement, and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

Yao Yingxi went to the kitchen to add Xi Yuanchen's bowl and chopsticks, just as Xi Yuanchen came out of the bathroom.

Xi Yuanchen didn't speak while eating, and Yao Yingxi, knowing his habit, also remained quiet.

After the meal, Yao Yingxi stood up to clear the dishes when Xi Yuanchen suddenly spoke up: "Did you report the information I gave you about the Xu family?"

Yao Yingxi paused, looked at Xi Yuanchen and shook her head slightly: "Not yet."

Xi Yuanchen's eyes darkened noticeably, and he remained silent. Yao Yingxi could only continue, "Xu Hengyuan brought Yueyue back from abroad. He used Yueyue to threaten me not to take any action against the Xu family or Hengyuan Group."

"So you compromised?" Xi Yuanchen looked at her, his brows furrowing.

Yao Yingxi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. She hadn't been able to watch anything all day because she had been thinking about this matter.

She was worried about Yao Yingyue, cared about Yao Yingyue, and wanted to protect her, that's true. But after doing all that, should she just give in because of Xu Hengyuan's threats?

No, it's impossible.

Yao Yingxi looked at Xi Yuanchen and smiled: "Of course not."

"Mr. Xi, I want Yueyue to be safe and sound, and I won't let the Xu family off the hook either. How about we leave the Xu family alone for now?"

What Xi Yuanchen admired most about Yao Yingxi was her bold and passionate personality. She seemed weak, but she was actually very strong. Even when life pushed her to the brink, she didn't drift with the tide or give in to despair. Like a wild leek plant bent by the wind and rain, she still managed to bloom despite her crookedness.

A slight smile played on Xi Yuanchen's lips. "I'll listen to you."