House of pain_________2

Her determined eyes delighted Caishen. He liked a woman with a will of steel and that is who she was right in this moment. The investigation into her had her panned out as a weak and submissive woman who said yes to every demand her family made but her personality in reality was quite different to what was written on paper. It looked like she had really had enough and she was determined to uproot the thing which was holding her back. 

"Don't worry about me, I am not gullible. Being in this wheelchair did not turn me into a fool." he answered. 

He surprised her further by taking her hand, the gloved one which she wore to hide her broken feelings from prying hands. He placed it on his shoulder and nodded at her firmly. 

"Let's go, what are you so afraid of? You are Zhang Caishen's wife, your husband is a man of means. If they dare to do anything to you, they will contend with me." He said with seriousness. 

Alix chuckled, and when he looked up at her, she looked away from him. 

Aah, so he can be cute too, she thought. 

"Why are you laughing?" he asked her. 

"Because I am proud of myself for choosing to like the right man." she answered. 

Caishen snorted and looked in the direction they were going. And yet, even as he pretended to be very serious, a feeling of pride settled over him at her words. She should be proud indeed, even though he was in a wheel chair, how many men out there could match him? 

Behind them, five servants carrying different gifts which had been prepared by grandma and grandpa Zhang followed them. They moved slowly to match the pace of Alix and Caishen who were in no hurry to reach the house. 

Alix's biggest hope was that the gifts were either cheap or counterfeit. It would pain her so much to contribute to her scummy father's wealth in any way. 

"Can we take our gifts back?" she asked Caishen. 

"It's not necessary, I personally handpicked the presents." he told her. 

He had a sly smile on his face, the kind of smile that one often saw on the face of a trouble making child. 

What was he up to? she asked herself. 

Whatever he was planning, she had not been involved so she was clueless. But again, she thought, it has been strangely silent when it came to the vengeance many expected Caishen to visit on the Lin's. 

They had given him the wrong bride and they had got away with their trick. Everyone in the know was aware of this fact. But, Zhang Caishen was not the kind of man one slighted and walked away from carefree. 

Had the sweet knife of vengeance finally arrived? she asked herself. 

The door to the villa swung open and a plump housekeeper with a big smile on her face welcomed them first. 

"Young lady, your parents will be so happy to see you." she claimed. 

Alix glared at her and refused to respond. This was the same housekeeper who ate half of her food daily during the time she lived here. Teenage years were the time when one needed the most nutrition but this housekeeper had starved her on Jing Hee's orders. 

Sometimes, she made it a point to eat that food in front of Alix to cause her psychological pain. 

Why smile and pretend after such cruelty? Alix asked herself. 

Her stomach churned and a part of her longed to throw up. This house, she had barely entered it and already it was causing her grief.

A bodyguard came from behind them and glared at the housekeeper, unnerving her and scaring her into moving out of the entrance to the villa. 

As they went further, they were welcomed by her father and step mother. With polite smiles on their faces, they politely fawned over Caishen as if Alix was invisible. 

"Young master Zhang, welcome to our home. We have been up since six in the morning preparing a healthy and delicious breakfast for you." her father said. 

"Yes, we have been over the moon with excitement ever since the wedding. You and our Alix make such a beautiful couple." Jing Hee added. 

Is she stupid? Alix thought. She had to be in order to mention such nonsense to the man they double crossed. 

Please go on, pick up the rope and hang yourself, Alix thought. 

"Son-in-law, I will push your wheelchair for you." Her father eagerly moved behind, almost bumping her out of the way so that he could put his hands on Caishen's wheel chair. 

"No thank you, it's electric, I can control it on my own." he answered coldly. 

"Wow, son-in-law, even your wheelchair is cool, you are truly a magnificent man in every way." Alix's father gushed. 

He was like a dog panting and whining for a bone from it's owner. 

She was willing to bet that if Caishen told him to roll over, he would do it immediately without an ounce of dignity. 

"I seem to be welcome in this house but my wife is not. Is this a deliberate move to undermine me?" Caishen looked coldly at Jing Hee, and then his eyes moved to his father-in-law. 

He applied that sharp piercing gaze which chilled people and caused their legs to tremble. 

These two were no different, and Alix saw the fear in their eyes. It was if they had looked into the eyes of the devil and what they saw was something straight out of their worst nightmares.

This is more like it, she thought. Grandma Zhang was right, returning with Caishen was a good idea. 

Jing Hee stumbled as she moved backwards and her father wiped his sweaty hands on his pale grey trousers. 

"Ha-ha-ha, we were just eager to welcome you first young master Zhang. Xi-Xi is my own daughter, how can we not welcome her to her home?" he replied nervously. 

Then, he looked at her and with a serious voice, he said, "Xi-Xi, why are you standing there? Hurry up and escort the young master to the dining table for breakfast."

Alix sneered and looked around curiously. If her scummy father thought that she would make this easy for him, he was sorely mistaken. She would make this so hard for him, as hard as having one's teeth pulled out with pliers.

After looking around the living room curiously, she looked at her father and pointed to herself. "Who are you talking to, me?" she asked pretentiously. 

"Ha-ha, Xixi, don't play games right now." her father called her in a soft voice that held a warning beneath.