C2 I Want What's Rightfully Mine

Having been locked in her room for more than twenty four hours, Qiu Guofei decided it was time to check up on Qiu Xiyun. He unlocked the door, and slowly entered the room.

Qiu Xiyun remained sitting motionless by the window; dazedly staring out at nothing in particular. A couple of minutes had passed since Qiu Guofei entered the room, and she still hadn't given any indication that she was aware of his presence; which started to perturb him. He finally called out to her in an impatient tone, "Well; have you decided yet...are you marrying Yinn Siyan, or not?"

Qiu Xiyun turned around to face her father; and, immediately noticed Lin Mi standing behind him. She was dressed in traditional-style, silk cheongsam. Qiu Xiyun let out a soft chuckle; then flippantly quipped, "Looks like someone's already dressed under the assumption that there's going to be a wedding." Lin Mi immediately averted her eyes down to the floor; hoping to avoid getting into another bantering spat with Qiu Xiyun.

Qiu Guofei curtly retorted, "Enough with your sass; girl...are you getting married, or not?!" There was a look of resolute determination in her eyes, as Qiu Xiyun turned to her father. "Since you're asking me to sacrifice my freedom and marry Yinn Siyan; then, I have a request. If you can fulfill it...I'll agree to marrying him."

After Qiu Xiyun's biological mother passed away, Qiu Guofei had been in charge of the company she left behind; so, with years of experience under his belt, he's pretty well-versed and adept in negotiating terms of conditions. Sounding like any typical businessman...who of course has only his best interest in mind...Qiu Guofei aloofly replied, "If your request is something doable within my power; I'm pretty sure that arrangements can be made. Promise to marry Yinn Siyan; and I assure you that I'll do everything that I could to see about fulfilling your request."

'Pretty sure that arrangements can be made'...'I'll do everything that I could to see about fulfilling your request'. Qiu Xiyun thought, "Just as I figured; nothing but vague, open remarks void of any concrete commitment on his part." She stared at her father 'dead in the eye', with an even more resolutely determined look; and, spoke in an unwavering tone, "Tell me something; why is it that when it comes to me, I must promise...while you only assure to see what you could do? No; not good enough. You'll either promise to do it; or, the deal's off....Oh; and, I'll want it down in writing."

Qiu Guofei stood there momentarily with his mouth partially agape. Then, upon recomposing himself; he let out a brief chuckle. "So; you want it down in writing, do you? What's the matter, Xiyun; don't you trust your own father?" Qiu Xiyun displayed a deadpan expression; as she retorted without hesitation, "No; not really. But, that aside; what I see standing in front of me isn't my father, but a businessman...and, I trust businessmen even less." He laughed. "Is that so...alright; fair enough. Tell me then; what's your request? What do you want?" Again; without hesitation...looking at him 'dead in the eye' with resolute determination...she demands, "I want you to give me back everything that my mother left me..." Qiu Xiyun glanced over at Lin Mi, "everything..." then, she turned back to her father, "I want all of it."

Right after they were married, Qiu Xiyun's mother began to suspect Qiu Guofei of being unfaithful; and, it wasn't too long after that that her suspicions of his infidelity were confirmed. Qiu Xiyun's mother immediately had a will drafted; leaving all of her shares in the company, along with all her assets and possessions, to her only daughter. Unfortunately, Qiu Xiyun's mother passed away while she was very young; so, in accordance with the law, Qiu Guofei become the trustee of Qiu Xiyun's inheritance. Essentially; her father had control over everything her mother left to her. But; since she was now of legal age...and; if her parents were going to force her to marry Yinn Siyan...she wanted it all handed over to her.

Before Qiu Guofei could even respond; Lin Mi curtly interjected, "Right; as if that was going to happen. Why should we give you those shares back just because you want them? You were a young child when your mom died...she should've never left them to you in the first place. Your father's been managing that company for all these years; so, what right do you have to those shares? Why should he turn over something he's been working so hard to build up to you?"

There was resounding indignance in her inflection; as Qiu Xiyun angrily snapped back out Lin Mi, "And; why should I bail out Qiu Xiangying by marrying Yinn Siyan, instead of her? What right do you have to tell me I have marry a disabled person, just so your daughter doesn't have to; huh?" Qiu Xiyun paused for a moment; glaring at Lin Mi. Then; she continued, "I really don't think I'm being unreasonable here with my request. All I'm asking for is what my mother had left to me in her will...what's rightfully mine in the first place. So, really; this has nothing to do with you...so; keep your mouth shut, and butt out!!" Qiu Xiyun's unfaltering defiance unnerved Lin Mi.

After another brief pause of glaring at Lin Mi; Qiu Xiyun announced, "Now that you know what I want; you can either return everything back to me...or, you can have Xiangying explain to the Yinn family why she isn't marrying Yinn Siyan like she was supposed to before his car accident."

A 'fierce' Qiu Xiyun stood before them...this was truly a rare anomaly. Qiu Xiyun never acted so defiantly; so brazenly bold. Lin Mi was totally flustered; and, her face turned pale. With a slightly cracking voice; she cried out at Qiu Xiyun, "You haven't even become Mrs. Yinn, yet; and, you're already looking down on us?! How could you; you ungrateful little..."

"Enough!!" Qiu Guofei brusquely cut off Lin Mi. She looked at him with a stunned expression. "But...?" He cut her off, again. Qiu Guofei quickly raised his index finger to his lips; gesturing for Lin Mi to keep quiet. Lin Mi crossly threw her arms across her chest, and let out an exasperated huff; then, stood there pouting. Qiu Guofei looked back over at Qiu Xiyun', and gritted his teeth.

"Alright, Xiyun; if that's what it will take...you win. I promise to give you the company shares; but, the confirmation of the transfer of shares is going to take some time. Of course; I can write you up a receipt if you'd like." Qiu Guofei paused for a moment; briefly averting his eyes down to the floor. Then; he looked back up at Qiu Xiyun, and sheepishly said, "But...here's the thing. Lin Mi and I already promised the Yinn family that you'd marry Yinn Siyan...and; we can't go back on our word now, can we? So; what do you say... how about you get married first; then, we'll finish up with the transfer?"

Qiu Guofei was in quite a predicament...a real dilemma. The promise of marriage was made; and, he certainly couldn't afford to offend the Yinn family. No one who ran their own company could...it would be like 'business suicide' to cross the Yinn family. And, besides that; Qiu Guofei was hoping that once Qiu Xiyun married into the Yinn family, he would use their in-law ties to his advantage, and receive special favors from them.

Qiu Guofei asked Qiu Xiyun to go downstairs to the living room with him so they could finish discussing the matter. He continued discussing the shares transfer in his best 'negotiating tone'; trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. Lin Mi sat next to him on the couch; trying to remain quiet...though, unlike her husband, she seemed to be unable to keep her emotions from getting the best of her. She displayed a disdainful and infuriated expression on her countenance, as she glared at Qiu Xiyun; looking as if she wanted to swallow her whole.

Unsatisfied with his business-like rhetoric; Qiu Xiyun sneered, as she curtly cut him off, "Alright; hold on...stop your yammering, already. Listen, Dad; don't think that I don't know what you guys are up to. Enough with the double-talk and stall tactics; I want those shares transferred today..." She looked over at Lin Mi, "And; not just the shares...I want everything back that my mom left to me!"

Qiu Xiyun took in a deep breath; in an attempt to calm down a little, and recompose herself. "Anyway...if I don't get back everything that she left me; I won't get married. Then; you'll just have to find yourselves another daughter to hand over to the Yinn family." An impish little grin emerged on her mouth, as she glanced over at Lin Mi; and, saucily remarked, "Wait a minute; no worries...you guys do have another daughter...Qiu Xiangying; isn't it? I suppose you won't have to go out looking for another daughter. Talk about lucky." Lin Mi fiercely scowled at Qiu Xiyun.

Years ago; Lin Mi was merely a lowly, common citizen of an insignificant, little third-tier city...not to mention the fact that she was someone's mistress. So; over the years...in order to shake off her tarnished reputation; and, gain enough favor to enter into the circle of noble women...Lin Mi had given away most of the jewelry Qiu Xiyun's mother left to her daughter. Along with the shares; Qiu Xiyun wanted all that back, as well. That wouldn't be an easy task for Lin Mi to undertake. Her ire and frustration towards Qiu Xiyun rapidly rose.

Furthermore...Qiu Xiyun kept throwing Qiu Xiangying's name in Lin Mi's face; telling them have her deal with the Yinn family mess. Lin Mi's hands trembled from her burgeoning anger; as she vehemently griped, "You've got some nerve! Your father and I have raised you al these years; paying for all your expenses...which believe you me weren't cheap. Do you realize how expensive it is to raise a family...well; do you? Your brother still needs money to go to school, too, you know. And look at you, now...not only haven't you contributed anything monetarily to this family; but, now you're looking to take so much money away from us. Seriously, Xiyun; how can you live with yourself?"

These words instantly pierced Qiu Xiyun's heart; filling it up with total discord and resentment. Qiu Xiyun immediately thought to herself, "'How can I live with myself?'...I'll tell you how; it's the same way all of you been living all of these years...off of the money my mom left behind for me! That's my money you've been spending!...It always has been; so, why shouldn't I take it all back?"

Qiu Xiyun was about ready to lash back Lin Mi; when Qiu Xiangying...who was eavesdropping on their conversation...suddenly came bursting out from the kitchen, and rushed into the living room. "Sister...how can you be so selfish. Our parents have always treated us so well...and, my mother regarded you as her own, from day one. How can you treat them so unfairly? Why are you acting this way? I don't understand....as their daughters, we need to be filial to them."

Qiu Xiyun's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. She thought to herself, "Is that spoiled, pampered princess honestly accusing me of being unfilial?!" Qiu Xiyun was infuriated; and she felt as if she were ready to explode, and blow her top...but, instead...

She unexpectedly...even unsure why, herself...busted out laughing; to the point where tears were pouring out from her eyes, and streaming down her face.They all watched her with confounded expressions etched upon their countenances; wondering if she had finally lost her mind and gone crazy. When Qiu Xiyun was finally able to cease her hysteria fit; she tried recomposing herself a bit more, as she wiped her dampened face. Then; she looked sternly over at Qiu Xiangying...

"Let's get this straight, here and now...we're stepsisters...so; don't call me 'sister'. And; as far as your mother regarding me as 'her own' goes...the only thing your mother ever regarded as her own was my mother's money." Qiu Xiyun briefly paused to take in a breath; then, she told them, "I've heard enough nonsense spewing out from everyone's mouth today; and, quite frankly, I'm tired of it. So, here's what we're going to do...either you'll give me back everything that's rightfully mine; or, I'll sue you all in court...then, I'll be sure to get back everything that my mother left for me; while, everyone outside will finally know how despicable you really are."

Lin Mi was furious; as she crazedly cried out, "Why you little bitch; I'll...!!" Qiu Guofei suddenly slammed the table with his fist; hollering out, "All of you shut up!!"

Qiu Guofei's ire had skyrocketed. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and his veins were popping out from his forehead; as his face flushed...quickly turning to crimson shade of red. Qiu Guofei was fuming; consumed by his seething anger. He sharply turned to his wife, and glared. "Lin Mi...just give her what she wants!"

Totally taken aback by Qiu Guofei's outburst; Lin Mi's face instantly turned pale. She, too, was highly infuriated; as she angrily thought to herself, "It's bad enough that this little bitch ingrate is giving me shit; but, now her father's yelling at me, too...telling me to hand over my stuff to his 'demon spawn' of a daughter! The nerve!" But, seeing how enraged Qiu Guofei was...not to the mention the fact that he was the 'bread-winner' of their household...Lin Mi didn't dare refute him. She simply gritted her teeth, while crossly wrapping her arms across her chest; then, stomped off to their room.

A few moments later...Lin Mi returned back to the living room with her jewelry box; and, unceremoniously threw it down in front of Qiu Xiyun. "There!...You happy now?!" Lin Mi stomped over to the couch, and plopped down on it; then, crossly wrapped her arms across her chest. "Humph!!" Qiu Xiyun briefly looked at Lin Mi; then, opened up the jewelry box and stared into it. She continued doing that for a minute, or two; before a curious Lin Mi impatiently snapped, "Well?!" Qiu Xiyun slowly closed the jewelry, and looked back over at Lin Mi; and, bluntly said...

"It's nowhere near enough." A befuddled expression quickly overtook Lin Mi's countenance. "Huh...what do you mean; 'it's nowhere near enough'?" Qiu Xiyun replied, "It's not all here...actually; a lot of it's missing. This jewelry was my mother's dowry back then; and, I want it all back...every single piece of it." Qiu Xiyun walked over to the couch, and placed the jewelry box down beside Lin Mi. "I don't know if you sold them off; or, just gave them away to others to buy their friendship...and, I don't really care. All I know is that you better get them back. I want to see them back in here by the end of the day." Lin Mi rolled her eyes; and indignantly retorted, "Pfft...who's to say it isn't all there. How would you know if anything's missing, or not? How do you know what was in there? Hmm? Like I said before; you were just a little girl when your mother died...so, even if your mother did show you the contents of her dowry; how could you possibly remember what was there...it's been so many years. So, tell me, Xiyun; how can you stand there and tell me that it's not all there...accuse me of selling and giving the jewelry away, when you have no clue of what was there to begin with? I'm telling you that everything's in there...so; just thank your lucky stars that your father's making me give it back to you, and take it."

A small grin suddenly emerged on Qiu Xiyun's mouth. "So, you're telling me it's all there; is that it?" Lin Mi nodded. Qiu Xiyun continued grinning; as she informed Lin Mi, "Okay; if that's how you want to play this...but; just so you know...I have a friend who's uncle deals with the settling inheritance estates. I'm pretty sure he'd have no problem getting a copy of my mother's will; and, checking the itemized list of every piece of jewelry my mother left me...this way I can check to make sure every piece of jewelry that's supposed to be in that box is accounted for."

Upon hearing that, Lin Mi's jaw dropped; and, once again, her face quickly turned pale. She sharply looked to Qiu Guofei with beseeching eyes. "Hubby." Qiu Guofei turned his head off to the side, and averted his eyes down towards the floor. It was obvious that she wasn't going to receive any help from him...from his actions. He evidently had no intention of standing by her side on this matter. Lin Mi had no choice...she was busted. All she could do was to start calling up all the rich wives that she had given the jewelry to; and, hope that they'd be willing to return it back to her.

Lin Mi continued the arduous task throughout the afternoon; calling up each rich wife one by one...repeatedly explaining the dire situation that she was in; as she secretly hoped and prayed that they would agree to return the jewelry after hearing the circumstances. Some of the wives empathized with Lin Mi's predicament, and graciously agreed to give the items back. Other more unreasonable wives couldn't care less about what Lin Mi was going through, and refused to give the jewelry back; while some of them went as far as to scold her...leaving her with no choice but to humbly apologize to them.

While Lin Mi made those calls; Qiu Guofei had a lawyer from the company's legal department bring over the shares transfer contract for Qiu Xiyun. And, after both of them read over and reviewed the contract; Qiu Guofei reluctantly signed over the shares to her.

Then, after the lawyer signed off, and stamped the contract...legally finalizing the transaction...he handed the contract over into Qiu Xiyun's anxiously awaiting, trembling hands. She read over the contract again; this time seeing it with all the required signatures on it. For the first time in nearly two days; Qiu Xiyun exuded a huge smile of satisfaction.

Reveling and basking in the afterthought that she had just successfully gotten back part of what her mother had intended her to receive...and; the biggest part, at that...Qiu Xiyun tightly held the contract in her arms, up against her heart; as she headed off back to her room. Upon passing Lin Mi...who was still making calls to the rich wives...a giddy Qiu Xiyun goadingly quipped, "You may want to pick up the pace there; before those wealthy, old ladies turn in for the night."

After saying that, Qiu Xiyun merrily skipped off along her way; leaving her fuming parents derisively glaring at her as she went off upstairs.

Seething with anger; Qiu Guofei stormed off to his study...leaving behind a disgruntled Lin Mi. With her ire also festering; in a frustrated state, Lin Mi wildly swept the tea pot off the dining room table. It came crashing down onto the floor; smashing into pieces. This immediately drew Qiu Xiangying's...who was eating in the kitchen, at the time...attention; and, she came running out to see what happened. "Mom; are you okay? What's wrong?" An agitated Lin Mi desperately clenched onto her daughter's hand. "Xiangying...Xiyun hasn't even married into the Yinn family, yet; but, she's already acting up, and displaying an extremely bad attitude. I'm certain she's going to make things difficult for us in the future."

A malevolent smirk slowly etched its way across Xiangying's mouth; then, she ominously assured Lin Mi, "Mom; don't worry...fact is; Yinn Siyan is a cripple now. How long do you think it'll be before they decide to 'dethrone the king'? Sooner or later; the leading authority of the Yinn family will be Yinn Tianze...it's only inevitable. And, when that happens, Qiu Xiyun will be nothing more that a crippled man's wife. Let's see if she dares to be that arrogant then."