It was early evening when Feng Xiao Xiao returned from the Feng family law office—her assets had finally been unfrozen, and the legal team her grandfather arranged for her had begun updating her will, her holdings, and her protection protocols.
She was focused. Calculating. Powerful in silence.
But the moment she stepped into the driveway of the old estate, a voice made her stomach turn.
"Xiao Xiao!"
Her steps didn't even falter.
Feng Ju, dressed in his usual too-expensive jacket, leaned casually against a black sports car as if this was his personal mansion.
She didn't look at him as she walked past.
"Wait—why are you ignoring me?" he said, catching up to her with a crooked grin that used to make her heart flutter.
Now, it made her skin crawl.
"Because I don't speak to trash," she said coolly.
Feng Ju's smile froze. "Trash? Come on, don't be like that. I was just worried about you. You've been acting strange lately."
She stopped and turned to him, eyes calm but sharp. "Strange? You mean I stopped hanging on your every word? Or that I'm not crying and begging for your affection like a fool anymore?"
"Xiao Xiao…" He reached out, trying to touch her arm. She stepped back like his skin was made of fire.
"I know everything, Feng Ju."
His smirk faltered. "Know what?"
She stepped closer, her voice low and venom-laced. "I know you lied. I know you and Feng Qian planned it all—the photos, the scandals, the poison. You pretended to love me while sleeping with her behind my back. You let them touch my brother—a child. And you stood there, smirking."
Feng Ju's mask cracked for a second, but he recovered fast.
"That's ridiculous," he laughed nervously. "You're paranoid. Qian Qian loves you like a sister."
"Oh?" Xiao Xiao tilted her head. "Then maybe I should visit her with a lie detector."
He stepped back slightly.
But she wasn't done.
"Let me be clear, Feng Ju. If you ever step near me or my brother again, I'll treat you like a criminal. You used to think I was stupid. Keep thinking that. It makes it easier to bury you."
She turned, walking away without another word.
Feng Ju stood there, stunned, watching the girl he used to toy with walk like a queen.
What the hell happened to her?
Behind his confusion, however, was a flicker of something else.
Fear.
Because for the first time…
Feng Xiao Xiao wasn't chasing him.
She was ready to crush him.