Nip it in the bud

However, how could such a tiny setback possibly make Li Lanni give up?

This was the only way to expose Ji Feifei. Every other thing she thought Ji Feifei had done was only her intuition. There was no way she could possibly verify it to be true.

The only thing she could find evidence to was this.

That was right. She was declaring war against Ji Feifei.

Instead of waiting for her to step up and come up with more sophisticated schemes, it would be better to nip it in the bud.

She took out the diary she had started keeping a week ago and started checking the entries.

When she found that there was nothing important to look at, she closed it and took out a novel instead. It would calm her nerves a little.

"Miss, there you are. Master is worried about you." Needless to say, that was her bodyguard.

Li Lanni turned to see the four of them looking so nervous they could pee their pants.

Her eyebrows turned up at a slight angle in amusement. Had her mother made things difficult for them?

Since she didn't have anything important to do here, she took her bag and followed them to the car.

...

The Li mansion.

"Mom, I'm back." Li Lanni announced as she walked through the door.

The figure she saw on the sofa opposite her mother as soon as her eyes darted around, however, made her clutch her bag in annoyance.

She clenched her lips so tightly they formed a thin line. Her cold glare was directed towards the man on the sofa. "White haired pervert, what are you doing here?"

"Lanni, don't be so rude. Xiehan's my guest." Li Yuming admonished, then turned to smile at Ji Xiehan awkwardly. "Lanni is a bit unfriendly lately. Please don't mind her."

"Mmh." Ji Xiehan responded with a hum. He didn't mind. In fact, he found this wild kitten personality quite intriguing.

Li Lanni was even more annoyed. "What exactly is he doing here?"

"Xiehan only passed by to check on you. The last time he saw you, you were unwell and he had saved you. You should be more polite towards him." Li Yuming couldn't figure out why on earth her daughter would be Ji Feifei's friend but hate Ji Feifei's brother. Was this the legendary hatred out of love?

Li Lanni knew that her mother was probably thinking up that kind of topic again.

She took a deep breath. "I'll walk him around in the garden."

Li Yuming was stunned before her eyes filled with joy. "Of course. You can take up as much time as you want. I'll go and prepare something for you both to eat."

Li Lanni grabbed the man's hand and led him away, leaving behind a flabbergasted Li Yuming.

...

The man who had been dragged out with no chance to defend himself was the young master of the Ji family. That very young master who was rumored to hate women to the core and despise them as disgusting creatures.

He was currently pressed against the wall as the detonating Li Lanni interrogated him.

"What do you want?"

"What do you think I want?" Instead of answering her question, Ji Xiehan asked his own teasingly.

Li Lanni pressed an elbow against his chest, her gaze rather intimidating for a young woman of her age. "What did she ask you to do?"

"Who is 'she'?"

Ji Xiehan revealed a content expression when he saw how furious she looked.

"I'm only here to say hello to Aunty Li and have a cup of coffee with her. Actually, Aunty Li and I have known each other for long time and I only tried to befriend you because you are her daughter. Why are you so fierce?" His expression was full of innocence, as though accusing her of thinking too much.

Her hand that was pressing him against the wall loosened. "You... you are telling the truth?"

"Uh huh. What else could there be?"

Li Lanni's eyes squinted. Right. He was Ji Xiehan. Why would he have time to play around with her? Perhaps she was just over thinking things... or was she?

"Hmm... if you ever dare to hurt my mother or me, you will not know how you died."

Ji Xiehan remained harmless, raising his hands as though in surrender. "I'm just an innocent negotiation expert. What harm could I possibly cause?"

Li Lanni let go of him and wordlessly sauntered back to the house.

The 'harmless negotiation expert' leaned against the wall for a while, laughing.

It was much better to clear any suspicion from her mind.

That was why he had purposefully come here.

And from the looks of things, he could count it as a success.

On a side note, she had asked, "What did she tell you to do?"

Was she guarded against him because she thought he was working for someone, or with someone to plot against her?

He had done his homework about Li Lanni and knew that the only three people close to her at the moment were Li Yuming, Cheng Yu and Ji Feifei.

Her mother was out of question and Cheng Yu was nothing interesting. Could it be Ji Feifei?

Logically, it made sense. He was Ji Feifei's brother and not long ago, he had realized that his sister in fact had something against Li Lanni.

So she thought he could possibly become his younger sister's puppet and follow her commands? She thought too lowly of him.

She even pushed him against the wall and threatened him.

"Tch, interesting."

...

Li Lanni went to the bathroom after leaving Ji Xiehan outside to care about himself.

When she left the bathroom, she saw that she had received a new text message. She unlocked her phone and took a look.

[Having fun?]

The sender information was blank.

She frowned. Was this a prank?

Even if it was a prank, it should at least have the sender information. What absurdity was this?

_

Edited by Essy