Chapter 553: Feng Ling Laughed
Chapter 553: Chapter 534: Feng Ling Laughed
In fact, it wasn’t just Gu’er. Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi both knew Zhang Lili was trying to make Feng Ling misunderstand.
Li Zhi’s gaze turned cold. ‘This woman is so shameless, doing something like this. I must have been blind back then. How could I have ever been interested in her?’
Just as Li Zhi was about to say something, he suddenly heard a laugh as clear and melodious as silver bells.
Feng Ling quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I couldn’t hold it in. I’ll stop laughing now. Why don’t you continue? Just pretend I’m not here.”
Feng Ling’s laugh shattered the tense atmosphere Zhang Lili had created. Zhang Lili stared at Feng Ling, her eyes wide with astonishment. ‘Has this woman gone mad with anger? After hearing what I said, she isn’t angry, she isn’t questioning Li Zhi… she’s laughing instead. This is too bizarre. It’s not normal.’
Gu’er watched Feng Ling and silently praised her. ‘Feng Ling is a smart one. I can rest easy now.’
Li Zhi was also a little dumbfounded. ‘Why is Feng Ling laughing?’ The room fell silent for a moment.
“Is no one going to say anything? Then how about I say a thing or two?”
Feng Ling noticed everyone staring at her but paid it no mind as she addressed Zhang Lili. ‘After all, she’s just trying to make me angry, isn’t she?’
“Lingling, don’t listen to her nonsense. It’s not true.”
Fearing Feng Ling might misunderstand, Li Zhi quickly tried to explain.
“I’m not lying.”
Zhang Lili retorted instinctively.
“Yes, I believe you’re not lying. After all, what woman would joke about her own honor?”
Feng Ling nodded at Zhang Lili, signaling that she believed her.
Sun Jiaming watched. Just as Li Zhi was about to speak, Gu’er shook her head at him. His worry was clouding his judgment; normally, he’d know that Feng Ling wouldn’t let Zhang Lili get away with this.
Zhang Lili stared at Feng Ling. ‘This woman believes me, so why isn’t she questioning Li Zhi? Something about this feels strange.’
“Li Zhi is a man, so it’s perfectly normal for him to have certain thoughts, especially when faced with a woman like you. If he had no thoughts about you at all, he wouldn’t be a man. You’re so beautiful and confident—if he really didn’t think of you that way, it would be quite a blow to your pride, wouldn’t it?”
Feng Ling asked Zhang Lili.
Zhang Lili didn’t answer. It was true, after all.
“But I am curious about something. Back then, you must have been desperate to marry my Li Zhi, right? Even if you didn’t like him, he’s young and his family is well-off. You wanted to escape your old life, so you definitely would have tried to latch onto him. If Li Zhi really had tried to do something to you, why would you have said no? If something had actually happened between you, you could have used it to trap him, couldn’t you?”
Feng Ling asked with a puzzled expression, as if the matter had nothing to do with her and she was simply curious.
“How do you know I don’t like Li Zhi?”
Zhang Lili shot back. She felt like she and Feng Ling weren’t on the same wavelength at all; their thought processes were completely different.
“Of course I know. From the moment we walked in, your eyes have been on me, not on Li Zhi. If you truly liked someone, you wouldn’t be acting like this. Your gaze would be glued to him, not fixed on me. You’re only saying these things because you want me to get angry.”
Feng Ling spoke earnestly, and before Zhang Lili could reply, she continued, “Actually, I’m glad you came. To know there was a woman as beautiful as you whom my man rejected, whom he never even gave a second thought… it shows he has good judgment. He isn’t the type to be swayed by a pretty face. That means I have nothing to worry about in the future, doesn’t it? I’m happy you came looking for him today. It proves the man I’ve chosen is charismatic and well-liked. And yet, he chose me, which must mean I’m better than you. It makes me so happy that he values me this much. I’m proud to have a man like him. Don’t you think so?”
When she finished, Feng Ling even gave a little wink, looking utterly adorable.
Li Zhi broke into a smile. ‘That’s the wife I chose, completely in a league of her own. She’s so wonderful, nothing like that Zhang Lili, who is just repulsive.’
Zhang Lili felt like she was going to lose her mind. ‘What is wrong with this person? Her man’s old flame shows up, and not only is she not angry, she’s proud and happy about it? Is this woman insane?’
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
Zhang Lili was still lost in that very thought when Feng Ling posed the question. Zhang Lili nodded instinctively. By the time she realized what she’d done, she didn’t bother to take it back.
“Actually, I’m not the one who’s sick in the head. Women like you are. You can’t stand to see others happy. You’re so bitter and twisted inside, always acting like the world has wronged you. Who hasn’t suffered? Who hasn’t faced hardship? The things Sister Gu’er and I have endured are beyond your imagination. Don’t think you’re the only person life has been unfair to. But did we turn out like you? Just because you have a little bit of talent, you think you can show off and stomp all over others. But can you? If someone had actually wronged you, or done something truly awful to you, then fine, go get your revenge. But you’re doing all this just because Li Zhi wasn’t interested in you back then? I look down on women like you. So don’t stand here with your pathetic schemes. You won’t succeed. You can’t destroy what Li Zhi and I have. All you’re doing is revealing how ugly you truly are.”
Feng Ling stared at Zhang Lili, her face a mask of contempt.
Zhang Lili swayed, feeling unsteady. She had arrived today full of smug pride, her head held high. She had expected them to be afraid, to panic, to be jealous and angry. But from the moment she walked in, they had, one after another, treated her with contempt and relentlessly torn her down.
“What do you know? Her, Lin Gu’er? Born into a family like that, what kind of suffering could she possibly know? And you! You may be from the countryside, but what have you really suffered? Now you’ve just latched onto Li Zhi. Do any of you have any idea what I’ve been through? It’s easy for you to stand there and talk! If I had what you have, I wouldn’t be in this position! You look down on me? Everything I have today, I earned it myself! And you? You were either born into a good family or you rely on men. I’m the one who looks down on you!”
Zhang Lili’s thoughts were spiraling into madness. The relaxed demeanor and faint smile she’d worn upon arrival were completely gone.
“She’s lost her mind. You can’t get through to her. People like her never look for their own faults; they just blame everyone else and never reflect on themselves. Don’t waste any more words on her. Let her be. You two should go and greet your guests. Wasting time on her isn’t worth it.”
Gu’er shook her head at Feng Ling.
Feng Ling nodded at Gu’er. There really was no point in continuing.
“Let’s go.”
Li Zhi took Feng Ling’s hand. He was no longer afraid of anything Zhang Lili might say. He knew Feng Ling understood him, and that was all that mattered.
Sun Jiaming took Gu’er’s hand, and the four of them turned away, unwilling to spare Zhang Lili another glance.
Zhang Lili felt herself being ignored. She didn’t understand why this was happening. ‘I’m clearly the most beautiful, the best one here. Why are all men so blind?’ She couldn’t accept it. The sight of Feng Ling’s brilliant red dress seared her eyes.
“Don’t you go! You’re not leaving until you make things clear!”
Blood rushed to Zhang Lili’s head. She lunged forward and grabbed Feng Ling. She wanted to rip Feng Ling’s wedding dress, to claw at her face and see if Li Zhi would still love her then.