When the pristine and stealthy as night Bugatti pulled up in front of the apartment complex, it attracted a lot of attention. Because the people living here were all middle-class families, they were all surprised to see such a luxury car. Who could be driving such a thing?
The door opened and with one leg before the other, Zhao Lifei elegantly climbed out of the car, the wind picking up her hair, sending it fluttering.
The people astonishingly stared at her, their mouths nearly dropping to the floor. Everyone had expected a man to step out, not such a beautiful young woman!
Silky locks that fell in waves, piercing feline eyes, lips that resembled hearts, and clear, porcelain skin, she was a sight to behold. From her charismatic aura, it wasn't hard for the people staring to know she was of higher status.
Zhao Lifei grabbed her phone and called Lu Minhong, ignoring all of the eyes on her. When he didn't pick up the call, she grew worried. Was he really ignoring her? She knew he wasn't the type to hold a grudge.
Sighing to herself, she walked into the gated community, wrote her name on the guest log and waited for the security guard to allow her entry. Once done, she walked into the neighborhood. It was a group of different apartment complexes all contained behind one gate. It was a nice complex with a playground and a park built within it. She walked down the stone pavement and looked around for his apartment building.
Was it seventy or eighty building...? She pressed her lips together and went with a lucky guess, went in, took the elevator and knocked on the door. Soon enough, Lu Minhong came into sight, his eyes droopy and tired. His exhausted expression sharpened upon seeing her. His lips curled downwards into a displeased scowl. Right when he was about to slam the door shut, she stuck her foot out and stopped him.
"Ow!" She purposely lied, in hopes of making him feel guilty. If he felt any remorse, he didn't show it. Uh-oh, he really was mad…
"What do you want?" He tried to close the door, but she yanked it open. He jumped at her strength. Since when was she this strong?! He slightly glanced at his thin arms and sighed in his head. He barely did any exercise aside from flexing his wrist. It's no wonder he had no strength.
"I came to apologize and make sure you're well fed." She held up the lunch bags filled with dishes and greeted him with a bright smile.
Lu Minhong glared at her. "I don't want it."
"Are you sure?" She unzipped the bags a bit and instantly, the delectable aroma of his favorite dishes came out. Fried pork ribs, seafood fried rice, seven treasure chicken, his favorite garlic and oyster sauce green beans, as well as beef bone soup, she really went all out for him.
Upon smelling the food, Lu Minhong's mouth watered. He simply couldn't resist. After a few seconds of eyeing her brightly-lit face and the food, he reluctantly stepped aside to let her in.
Zhao Lifei wasn't sure what the primary reason for his anger was. Originally, she thought it was because she stood him up on their dinner, but figured he wasn't that petty. After thinking about it for a while, she came to the conclusion that someone must've told him she was attending Ling Fulei's banquet.
"It was freshly made just a few minutes ago, but just in case, I'll heat it up for you." She told him, taking out the dishes and placing them into the microwave. She turned on the stovetop and poured the soup into a pan.
"Or you can just put the food there and leave." He frowned, leaning on the wall and watching her nimble body move back and forth from the kitchen counter to the oven and stove.
She turned around at his words, her eyes growing soft. "I'm sorry, Minmin, I really didn't mean to stand you up. As for the Ling Banquet, I had no choice. My grandfather is forcing me to go, and you know him. He'll never take no for an answer." She quietly stirred the soup, waiting for it to boil.
Lu Minhong didn't speak up. "You could've told me sooner about the Ling Banquet."
"I wanted to tell you over dinner, but something came up."
"What did?"
She sighed, placing down the ladle and turning to face him. "Sit down, it's a long story." She gestured to the stool in front of the kitchen counter. After all these years, he still hadn't changed it. He got this apartment the day he turned eighteen, and it's been five years since she picked out the furniture for him. The leather was cracking, but he insisted on keeping the stool.
Zhao Lifei laid out the dishes for Lu Minhong first before she began her story. She knew the best way to lift his mood was through food. She recounted the taxi incident, her kidnapping, and her two-week coma.
By the end of her story, Lu Minhong finally had a face of understanding. He sat there, pondering her words for a long time, occasionally taking a bit of the food, savoring the taste of her amazing cooking.
"Did Ling Fulei insist you have to go to the banquet? Or is it your grandfather?" He was curious as to why the powerful man couldn't go himself. Sure he was getting old, but didn't he recently attend a banquet just two months ago? Why the sudden change now?
Zhao Lifei was taken back by the question. She never thought about it and just like him, found it odd that her grandfather was insisting she must attend the banquet.
"Now that you mention it, I'm not too sure." She said, taking a bite of the food and then drinking the soup.
Lu Minhong was silent for a while, lost in his own thoughts and theories. He looked at Zhao Lifei, the woman who was oblivious to his stares and was instead, focused on filling her stomach.
Even with her stuffing her face with food, she was still very elegant in her manner. Her hair, resembling the color of an empty night sky, was naturally wavy and tied up while she ate, her smooth, pale skin the color of snow seemed to be as beautiful as white jade, pure and perfect. Her eyes were framed by perfectly long lashes that made the shimmering hazel look even lighter. He admired her from a friend's perspective.
Even during her high school years, she was able to effortlessly capture the hearts and attention of many men. Many had confessed their undying love to her, but she always prevailed and remained loyal to Zheng Tianyi, but that didn't stop any of them from constantly chasing after her.
There was even a rumor that the infamous troublemaker, Ling Fulei, had a crush on her... But that speculation was crushed as fast as it came because everyone knew Zhao Lifei cherished her friends dearly. To bully one, was to bully her and that was exactly what Ling Fulei did. He bullied Lu Minhong like a madman, constantly making his life a living hell. With such a horrendous treatment, Ling Fulei made it very clear that he did not like Zhao Lifei.
"Why aren't you eating? Here, have some Kobe beef. I spent a lot of time and energy into making these dishes, you have to finish them all!" Zhao Lifei declared. "Try the shiitake mushroom stir-fried with spinach and cauliflower, it's delicious and good for your malnourished body." She smiled, treating him more like a younger brother than a friend.
Lu Minhong dug into his food and laughed. "You were hogging the food so much, I was too scared to snatch food from the beast."
She gasped. "Who are you calling a beast?!" Why, this twat!
"Who else." He rolled his eyes. "You and Yang Ruqin are both predators when it comes to eating. I won't forget the day Yang Ruqin tried to push me off the school rooftop just because I took one piece of fried chicken from her." He snorted, remembering the day he saw his life flash before his eyes when Yang Ruqin jumped him, the two nearly tumbling over the fence-less roof.
"She was just really hungry—"
"And the time you kicked me in the shin for eating the last piece of chocolate cake." Lu Minhong retorted, feeling bitter for the horrible treatment he got. Now that he thought about it, those two women loved to bully him in their younger days as well! Though it was always mere jokes between friends, he still felt like a poor younger brother that was constantly teased by his older and invincible sisters!
"Okay, but my cycle had just started that time—"
Lu Minhong rolled his eyes. "That doesn't justify anything." He scowled, which made Zhao Lifei sigh in defeat, for she had nothing else better to say. Even she knew how possessive she and Yang Ruqin were over food. They rarely displayed it in public for fear of damaging their images, but deep down, both of them knew about their irrational tendencies.