The pigeon and not the phoenix

Alix was very nervous when the car finally stopped and her nerves further worsened when she realized where they were, the Zhang family home. It was a mansion in the East river villas, one whose pictures had occasionally graced weibo every time they held a family event. The beautiful magnolias which welcomed guests to the entrance of the large three storied house were as lovely as they looked in pictures.

"Young madam, please keep moving." Caishen's secretary said to her when she paused her feet to take a look around the brightly lit mansion.

"En." She whispered and followed him into the house nervously.

Alix felt like an intruder who had been plucked out of the slums and suddenly thrust into the world of glamorous. She tried her best not to gawk at the long line of servants standing in two lines, with their heads bowed. They included body guards and maids.

When he got to the front, close to the stairs, Caishen stopped his wheel chair and turned around. Alix had no choice but to stop as well, and stand nervously beside him.

"This is the young madam." Caishen said loudly.

"We have met the young madam." They replied uniformly.

Wow, one would think that this is a mafia family like those ones in movies, she thought.

Alix looked at the servants awkwardly, unsure of how she was to proceed. Was she expected to address them or give an introduction of herself? 

"Leave us." an authoritative female voice ordered, coming from the doorway. 

The servants scattered in an orderly manner, vanishing within seconds like they had done this many times before. 

It was the voice of Zhang Caishen's mother who was glaring hostilely at Alix. This was not unexpected to Alix, of course. She had been waiting for it, anticipating and practicing the most appropriate answers in her mind. 

"Alix, little Li, is that really you?" another voice of a different female called to her. 

She recognized grandma Zhang immediately, she had met her twice, when she was younger. That was a very long time ago, when her mother was still alive. 

Noting the smile on the old woman's face, Alix had a strong feeling that maybe she had an ally in this house. 

"Grandma." she responded softly. "It's me." 

Grandma Zhang came closer and observed Alix's face, then, she raised her right hand and touched her cheek. "Child, we have not seen you for so many years. Why have you not visited us even once?" 

"It must be that step mother of yours, after all, they say when you get a step mother you get a step father." Grandpa Zhang commented as he moved closer slowly. 

"Child, how did you end up marrying our Caishen? You rejected the engagement when you were younger." Grandma Zhang asked Alix. 

Before she could respond to the question which she also expected, grandma Zhang pulled her to sit down in the nearest chair. 

"By scheming of course, she must have schemed with her sly father." a young woman shouted. 

Alix looked briefly at the young woman and recognized her too. She was Zhang An, Caishen's younger sister. 

"It's not enough that the Lin's fooled us but they dared to send us the pigeon of their family over their phoenix. Do they believe that we will not dare to do something about it?" she continued on, looking at Alix disdainfully and completely giving of the aura of being repulsed by her. 

A little boy, who looked to be about eight or nine years old laughed. "Ha-haha, Pigeon,"

"An An, don't say that." Grandma Zhang said. "Little Li is not like that. She has always been a good girl, and she has always obeyed her parents. I am sure that they had a hand in this. Right, little Li?" 

Grandma Zhang looked at Alix with so much trust in her eyes. 

In her mind, Alix could not believe that she had been compared to a pigeon. So, Billi was the phoenix!! The one who stole everything was a phoenix while the one who was stolen from was a pigeon, how funny life was. 

In a soft polite voice, Alix looked at grandma Zhang with pitiful eyes and said, "I didn't scheme anything, grandma. I found out at the last moment that my younger sister had no plans to marry the young master. In that moment, my heart felt very troubled for him, I thought that it would bring shame to your family if the bride was a no show. My father suggested that I marry in Billi's place since I was the original fiancé and I agreed. I know that this is an unconventional situation but the situation was quite urgent." 

Grandma Zhang believed Alix's words, falling for them completely. 

"I knew it, little Lin, thank you for saving our family from a humiliation. You have always been so nice and kind to others ever since you were little." 

"Mother, we have still been humiliated. The news that Lin Billi rejected Caishen is already everywhere. Others are guessing whether Caishen and this one had an affair. The hashtags home wrecker and poor Billi are trending. I don't know if she did us a favor or a disservice." Caishen's mother spoke angrily, showing them what was being said on the internet. 

"Look, that Lin Billi has posted a picture of herself on a stage in Venice and she is wishing her sister a happy marriage. Are the Lin's playing us for fools? Do you expect us to believe that you did not know that your sister was out of the country?" Zhang An shouted and she glared at Alix.

Calmly, Alix looked right back at her and said, "Miss An, I think you are over estimating the level of closeness between my sister and I."

She did not even have Billi's phone number so why would she know about her movements? 

"I don't care, if you see one, you have seen them all. All of you Lin's are very untrustworthy people. At least the other one was slightly worthy to marry into our family but you...." Her eyes roamed over Alix from head to toe. 

Tensions were flying high and if they kept going this way, a full blown confrontation would soon follow. 

"I am tired." Caishen said.

His three words instantly ended all talk about the disaster that the wedding had been. 

Everyone switched into worried mode, fussing over Caishen as if he was an infant. 

"You have not eaten, you should eat something first." 

"I will call your assistant to give you a bath before you can take your medicines and sleep." 

"Does your neck hurt, you had to look up a lot today."

Alix had been abandoned in the chair, and she watched them curiously. What she going to do next? She had no luggage, except for the purse in her hands. Where was she going to sleep? Also, why wasn't Holea calling?

"I will be fine, stop fussing." Caishen told them. His eyes turned to Alix who was looking at her phone and frowning. "Mother, I will have a private talk with her upstairs." 

"Why?" his mother asked. 

"Why else, she is my wife, isn't she? There are some things we should discuss alone."