Zhao Lifei made her way to Feili. It was located in the heart of the city, in an enormous skyscraper not big enough to rival the ones her grandfather and Yang Feng owned, but it was still very reputable given the fact that the company just started two years ago.
Dressed in white slacks and a silk blue blouse, she meant business. Many of them had been looking at her, a few mouths agape, when she got out of a blood-red Ferrari, her hair fluttering in the wind. When she strutted into Feili and swiped her private key card, she was well aware of everyone's stares.
Wei Hantao was working on a few documents for the upcoming senior executives meeting when the door to his office was pushed open without warning. He lifted his head, ready to bite the intruder's head off until his eyes landed on Zhao Lifei. His eyes bulged out of his head, his mouth opened in shock, a baffled expression on his face.
"Close your mouth, Wei Hantao, you're not a codfish." She rolled her eyes, closing the door and walking to his desk.
"You...how, huh...why…?" He could not form coherent sentences. She was actually in Feili and on her own accord too!
"Don't ask questions, just give me the paperwork." She walked to the opposite side of his desk, picked up the large stack of papers, and hauled it to the coffee table.
"Call in the secretary." She waved her hand at him as if he was a subordinate and Wei Hantao was too dazed to even care.
He pressed the buzzer and less than a few seconds later, a man walked into the room. He was lean, his legs stretching for miles, and had the face of a model. She eyed him, confused about what he was doing here instead of being on a runway. There was something about this man that sent shivers down her spine and she had no doubt, he would be good at intimidating others.
She tilted her head. He looked somewhat familiar...
"What happened to Long Xuebi?"
"She's on paid-leave, dealing with personal issues."
"Oh." She shrugged, turning back to the man who looked the same age as her. He had a very chic persona to him and when he smiled, he looked as coy and cunning as a fox. She could tell he was not a very simple man…
"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Zhao Lifei. My name is Huo Qiudong." He did a slight bow while holding out his hand.
Zhao Lifei shook it and did not pay much attention to him. Sure, he was very good looking, but when one had seen Yang Feng, not many could be compared to him.
"I assume Yang Enterprise has been approaching you in regards to setting up a personal meeting with the CEO?" She asked, her eyes drifting to Wei Hantao who was ironically taking a sip of his coffee to calm his nerves.
"Yes, Mr. Chen Gaonan, the exclusive private secretary of President Yang contacts our company at least three times a day to request a meeting."
"Set up the meeting for tomorrow. I will attend as the face of Feili."
Wei Hantao choked on his coffee, pounding at his chest. "What did you just say?"
"It's time to show the mastermind behind Feili." Zhao Lifei lightly said, as if she was talking about the weather. She took out her pen and began working on the papers in front of her.
"But I thought you said you wanted no part in Feili—"
"In the past, I didn't. Now, I do." She worked her way through the list of companies and circled a few potential ones they should reach out to.
"We can't deny Yang Enterprise's request for the meeting any longer. As much as I hate to admit it, we're not strong enough to oppose one of the Big Five." She picked up the packet and placed it on his desk.
She turned to Huo Qiudong. "Have they sent you a copy of the project they'd like to collaborate on?"
Huo Qiudong nodded. He walked outside and came back in with a manila folder and handed it to her. Zhao Lifei flipped through the pages, thoroughly examining all of the contents inside, as well as the numbers, and nearly laughed inside of her head.
Not a single flaw in sight. As expected of Yang Enterprise, they never leave a stone unflipped. The shares of the retirement community that Feili would be getting was high and profitable. She was very confident their idea of an independent elderly housing community would succeed given the rising population of senior citizens in the country.
"There are a few more terms and conditions I would like to negotiate beforehand." She internally groaned when she had to crane her neck to properly look at Huo Qiudong. He was too tall. "Contact Yang Enterprise, I expect to see them bright and early tomorrow morning."
"Right away, Ma'am." He bowed his head and excused himself.
Huo Qiudong might've been a fill-in for Long Xuebi, but he had been in this company for longer than her. He never had time to properly shine with the Star Secretary present, thus, was forever hidden in the shadows.
He wasn't even sure if Zhao Lifei remembered him, for she was the one who hired him in the first place. He remembered the day very clearly because it was the day she practically saved his life.
He did not come from a wealthy background or, and his suit was a hand-me-down, but she saw potential in him and decided to hire him, saving him from a life of poverty.
When he first met Zhao Lifei behind the enormous and long interview table, he was blown away by her, not in a good way. She looked tipsy, there was a flask beside her, and she looked bored to be there as if Wei Hantao had forcefully dragged her.
Huo Qiudong knew better than anyone else to not judge a book by its cover. She might've looked like a slob, but that brain of hers was incredible.
He had heard rumors about her ability to glance at the stock market and predict which one would give the most profit and which one was estimated to drop. He had a feeling it was because she was highly immersed in the upper-circle where the smallest scandal of a family couldn't run past her ears.
But that was not all.
He had personally witnessed her breaking-down an interviewee that made a presentation about a proposal she had in mind.
The interviewee was a student from a well-known and respectable college, top of her class, whose presentation was flawless and no one else except Zhao Lifei's keen eyes was able to point out the tiniest flaws.
She fired questions after questions until the interviewee broke down from pressure and could not handle it anymore. Him, on the other hand, even when a wave of questions was tossed at him, did not falter.
He glanced back towards the office door, where silence could be heard due to the soundproof walls. He was sure, even as he stood outside, she would be controlling the uptight Wei Hantao with a leash.
- - - - -
Zhao Lifei walked to the computer in front of Wei Hantao. She placed a hand on his plush leather arm-chair to bend down and examine the stock-market that he was looking at.
Wei Hantao stiffened when her floral scent invaded his senses, tingling his brain, and teasing his heart which skipped a beat whenever she was around. He found it sad and amusing that he was always chased by women, but could never get the one from his dreams. Even in high school, he could not make her turn her head towards him, for the class president was too busy chasing after Zheng Tianyi.
Wei Hantao thought he might've finally had a chance with her, but he seized it too late. Yang Feng was already in the picture.
Wei Hantao was wise enough to know he should not mess with the Young Master of the Yang family who could squash him like a bug, but he was not afraid of the consequences anymore. He had allowed her to slip out of his fingers once, he would not allow for it again.