Back at the villa, Du Zi Teng stood waiting by the entrance, his mind made up after a grueling internal debate. He had calculated that if his own sisters were going to be this relentless and unreasonable, he needed to pivot his strategy, focusing his efforts on the heiress of the Fang family, the only daughter of the clan, and he stood ready with a bouquet of flowers, rehearsing his pitch for loyalty and devotion.
But when the Rolls-Royce finally glided to a halt and the doors opened, his vision was shattered. Instead of the aloof, untouchable ice queen he had prepared to court, he saw Fang Baobao locked in a literal, undignified tug-of-war, pulling at my arm as my sisters held firm in a bizarre display of possessiveness.
He stood frozen, his brain struggling to process the image of the stoic heiress acting like a common brawler, but as the entire group began to advance toward him, he forced his shock into a mask of professional warmth, flashing a toothy, practiced smile as he stepped forward to announce his presence, completely unaware that his existence was currently invisible to the tempest of women sweeping past him.
I watched with a mixture of pity and relief as I drifted straight past Du Zi Teng, leaving him standing there in the driveway like a forgotten statue, his hands still suspended in the air with his bouquet of flowers, his eyes brimming with a fragile, rejected moisture. I could practically hear his knuckles cracking as he clenched and unclenched his fists, struggling to suppress a volcanic eruption of rage.
But before he could even find his footing, Fang Baobao delivered the final, devastating blow that left him rooted to the spot.
"Brother Ji, I've missed you so much. Have you thought of me? My first time was taken by you, you know," she purred, her voice dripping with a saccharine sweetness that acted like poison in the freezing air that had suddenly descended upon the driveway.
Du Qian's gaze snapped toward me with the sharpness of a razor, demanding an immediate explanation for this first time, and I felt that familiar, icy sweat drenching my back, my brain scrambling for a way out as I whimpered, "I don't — I don't know what she's talking about."
Satisfied that she had effectively set the trap, Baobao stepped in to save me, her tone deceptively innocent as she added, "My first kiss was taken by Brother Ji. Surely you don't intend to just walk away and pretend it never happened."
Her words were a tactical masterpiece of sabotage, pushing me into a deeper, more inescapable abyss while leaving me standing there, utterly speechless and emotionally exhausted. Du Lizhi finally snapped, her patience vaporizing as she hissed at Baobao, calling her a little vixen and accusing her of stealing that kiss from me years ago.
But before the confrontation could devolve into a full-scale brawl, Du Nan emerged from the villa, his booming voice cutting through the tension like a gavel. He scolded them for their lack of hospitality toward a guest, and for a fleeting, glorious second, I felt as if my father were a savior, my heart swelling with a desperate, pathetic gratitude for his intervention.
The sisters, bristling with suppressed fury, had no choice but to begrudgingly usher Baobao into the house, and as they vanished into the foyer, Du Nan turned his gaze toward the wilted, defeated figure of Du Zi Teng, still standing outside.
"What are you doing? Get inside," he barked, before turning on his heel, leaving Zi Teng to point frantically at the empty space where we had just been, then at himself, and finally at the uncaring sky, his face a mask of silent, agonizing helplessness.
The dinner that followed was a master class in psychological warfare. Under Du Nan's strict decree, Baobao was seated right beside me, and while I felt the thousands of imaginary, venomous blades my sisters were throwing at her, she treated the hostile stares as if they were nothing more than background noise.
Du Nan, ignoring the suffocating pressure in the room, pushed his agenda further, suggesting that Baobao and I take this time to truly get to know each other so that when the timing was right, we could finalize the marriage arrangements.
"Of course, uncle," Baobao chirped with a sickeningly sweet, obedient smile, her eyes darting toward the sisters with a triumphant glimmer that practically invited them to explode.
Du Qian was the first to reach her breaking point, rising from her chair with her body trembling in a rhythmic, terrifying fury as she insisted that I was still too young for such a life-altering commitment. Du Lamei jumped in to back her up, claiming that the Du family had no need to resort to the weakness of political marriages just to expand our influence.
But Du Nan, finally losing his cool, slammed his hand onto the table, his voice commanding them to stop their incessant bickering. He admonished them for their rude behavior toward a guest, to which Baobao replied with a coy, feigned humility, insisting she didn't mind the hostility, though the smirk playing at the corners of her lips threatened to give her away entirely.
Du Nan, clearly exhausted by the internal politics of his own household, desperately tried to pivot the conversation, insisting that we should prioritize my own opinion on the matter. But as soon as he spoke, I felt a sharp, vengeful nip at the soft flesh of my waist from Du Lamei, a painful reminder of what the price of giving the wrong answer would be.
I felt the sharp, stinging sensation of Lamei's fingernails digging into my side as she gritted her teeth, her voice a low, threatening rasp as she demanded to know my true opinion on the matter, and I was forced to look toward Du Nan with a heavy, sinking heart, my throat dry as I managed to sputter that perhaps Baobao and I should spend some time getting to know each other before making any permanent decisions.
The collective shriek of my sisters, who shouted my name in a unified chorus of denial, nearly shattered the porcelain plates on the table. But Du Nan silenced them with a single, authoritative command, declaring that my suggestion would be the final word, and that the family would coordinate with the school to ensure Baobao was enrolled as soon as possible.