The Birth of a Villainess

"Sister-in-law?" Lin Xiaofei had to raise her eyebrow in confusion when she heard him call her sister-in-law. 

"Yes. Sister-in-law." Jiang Sheng repeatedly called her that and smiled, making Lin Xiaofei frown. 

Qu Xing Xu was an only child, and this was a fact that everyone in the Zheng Empire knew. His father was unable to plant his seed anymore to anyone because of some reasons that weren't publicly known. And what was more surprising is that Bai Feng Jiu, who was painstakingly put forward to marry the former Duke was infertile; thus, the chances of having someone else inherit the Qu family's bloodline was almost impossible.

However, that doesn't mean that Qu Xing Xu couldn't have another brother. Not biologically, of course. This was what Lin Xiaofei ȧssumed as soon as she heard them calling her sister-in-law.

"Need not to be nervous around us, sister-in-law. We just came to meet you since Qu Xing Xu chose to keep you from us." The burly man who spoke first smiled reached out to ake something from his ċhėst pocket. 

"Here, take it." Qi Yandi took out a silver hairpin that looked like a branch with crystal-like diamond leaves. "I was in a hurry when I heard Qu Xing Xu planned to leave soon, so I didn't get to bring a lot of things for sister-in-law. Do forgive me."

Qi Yandi was quite contrary to how he was built. His body might have been bigger than the two other men; even compared to Qu Xing Xu, he might be half a head taller. And yet, he was also polite towards Lin Xiaofei.

Ni Zixuan and Jiang Sheng saw what Qi Yandi did and scratched their heads in embarrassment. They clearly forgot to bring something in their person to give to this new sister-in-law of theirs.

"Ahem! Forgive us. We… we forgot to bring you something." Jiang Sheng cleared his throat and avoided looking at her.

Lin Xiaofei laughed lightly and shook her head. "There is no need for that. There's always the next time." 

"That's right. We'll bring you something even more precious than that hairpin." No Zi Xuan promised and glared at Qi Yandi. None of the two thought that Qi Yandi was such a sneaky brat to bring something and didn't even inform them about it. 

Qi Yandi was indifferent to their glares and smugly lifted his chin. Lin Xiaofei took the hairpin from him, and once she touched its smoothness, she was surprised even more when her eyes were on laid on the leaves that were on the hairpin.

Lin Xiaofei was never a fan of shiny things, unlike other young ladies of her age. What she liked were practical things that could be useful for a very long time. However, she couldn't refuse the hairpin that Qi Yandi gave her because of how precious it was. 

"Thank you- "

"Brother Yan." Qi Yandi suddenly interjected. His hopeful eyes were thrust upon her as he looked forward to hearing her call him 'brother.'

Lin Xiaofei stiffly blinked and nodded. "Thank you, brother Yan." This much shouldn't be too much for her.

Ni Zixuan kicked the back of Qi Yandi's knees and made him almost trip before saying to her, "It was rude of us not to introduce ourselves to our little sister. I am Ni Zixuan, the second eldest of us brothers." 

Lin Xiaofei nodded at him in acknowledgment and took her time to observe him. He wasn't like Qi Yandi, who was built like a great general like Lin Xiaomeng; he was more like a court official and a scholar. Nevertheless, he was as handsome as Qi Yandi.

"This is Jiang Sheng, the eldest." Ni Zixuan continued to introduce themselves one by one. "And this brat here is Qi Yandi. You don't have to call him 'big brother.' But you can call us big brother."

"What did you just say?!" Qi Yandi angrily snapped as he turned to him.

Jiang Sheng nodded his head in agreement with what Ni Zixuan said. "That is right. You don't have to call that big brat 'brother.' He's not worth it."

Qi Yandi glared at them. "Ha! I'm not worth it? Come, brothers. Let us spar and see who among us is not worth to be called big brother by her!"

Qi Yandi pulled his sleeves and was about to drag the other two to spar, but Lin Xiaofei decided to step in and said, "Sparring between brothers is good. However, I hope that the three of you have not eaten lunch yet. I was thinking of inviting you to eat with us."

She originally wanted to eat with Qu Xing Xu alone, but since this trio arrived and appeared on time for lunch, it would be pretty rude of her not to invite them. Besides, these three were brothers with Qu Xing Xu as they have claimed themselves to be. 

The three elatedly smiled at her words, and Jiang Sheng said, "Then, I would have to bother Xiaofei to let us eat with you." 

Xiaofei blinked. Had she told them her name? Certainly not, right? 

But of course, it would be weirder for them not to know her name since their brother, Qu Xing Xu, married someone infamous because of her reputation in the Capital.

Just as she had guessed, Jiang Sheng explained, "We knew your name even before we came here. So, Xiaofei need not introduce herself to us and be nervous around us."

Was she that obvious? Lin Xiaofei thought. 

When she first saw these three men walking up to her, she became anxious and nervous about what they had come there for and who they were. She had never met them before until now, and because of the numerous times where she was targeted by some people who want to do her no good, her guard was already put up before they got closer to where she stood.

Thankfully, these men didn't appear to dislike her and wanted to know more about her.