Surprised, she removed herself from her father"s hug and looked at her questioningly.
Feng Zhantian looked at her and coughed. He said, "Xiaoying, this is Xie Weihui…"
Feng Xinying"s head reeled for the second time today. She was in no mood to talk anyone else other than her father. But the way her father introduced her to that woman, there was softness to it as though he was formally introducing her in an intimate way.
She started at that woman for a long time waiting for her father to speak more.
"Xie Weihui and I are getting married this weekend…" said Feng Zhantian looking at his daughter trying to measure her reaction.
Feng Xinying"s frowned as her face darkened. She stepped back further. She needed to be with her father and here he was announcing his wedding while she was sulking, feeling so anxious. Had he gone mad?
"Father, I am feeling terrible after today"s function. Please don"t do this with me. Throw this woman out now!" she retorted.
"Feng Xinying, behave yourself. You are talking to your future mother," he warned her.
Xie Weihui stepped forward and said, "Feng Xinying, I am sorry that you got to hear the news at this time… But your father and I had been meaning to let you know about this from sometime now…"
Feng Xinying looked at her, her face contorted in anger and spat, "I am not talking to you. Stay away from me!"
Xie Weihui pursed her lips at Feng Xinying"s sudden burst of anger. She bowed at Feng Zhantian and said, "I think you must really take care of this matter before talking about our marriage. I must leave."
"No! Stay where you are," said Feng Zhantian loudly to Xie Weihui. Then he turned to his daughter and said, "Feng Xinying, this is not how to talk to people. Where are your manners?"
She looked at her father"s eyes that were burning with anger. What about her anger? She was a pulp of emotions. She wanted to burst out, no longer able to suppress rage, helplessness, and her loneliness. And here he was - shamelessly announcing that he wanted to marry that woman!
"Father? Am I nothing to you? Do you even realize that this would your fourth marriage? Is it so important?" she shouted back at him.
Then she went to Xie Weihui, held her hand and started dragging her out of her house.
Feng Zhantian couldn"t take anymore of his daughter"s horrible behavior. He went to her, removed Xie Weihui"s hand from her grasp and slapped his daughter across her face.
He was shaking in anger and yelled, "Feng Xinying, enough! Get out of here and go back to your room! How dare you speak to Xie Weihui like that?"
Feng Xinying held her cheek in her hand as it burned with pain. She said through her tears, "Father, I would rather you take a knife and slash my skin than speak that you will marry again. You speak to me as if I am a stranger in your life. You just strike me out as if I am an invisible line that you have created in your mind. You just hurt me the most when I needed you. But now I understand that knowing you as I do, it isn"t hard to understand you apathy towards me. Am I a less human being because my mother died so early? You so easily take relations.h.i.+ps in hand and shatter them with glee. And in these moments I wonder who you are and do you even know me? Do you know what you are doing? Can you stop it?"
Feng Zhantian heard his daughter"s words and replied, "Feng Xinying, I have poured a lot of warmth and love into you for so long that you have become spoiled to the point of beyond recovery. You have become cold and every time I talk to you, it"s a new wound you give, a new scar that is added to my collection. You know that I can never stop loving you, you are my only child, but I want you to not become so cold towards me. Child, I only want suns.h.i.+ne for you. That is why I am marrying Xie Weihui. She is a gentle person."
Feng Xinying retorted, "Stop using me as an excuse for your wishes!"
"Feng Xinying!" roared Feng Zhantian. But his daughter had run away from there and was already climbing stairs to her bedroom.
"Come back here you ingrate!" shouted Feng Zhantian.