Who was this woman before Chen Xing? She had only seen Zhao Lifei a handful of times ever since the wealthy heiress came back to the city, but now that she saw her up close and not in the arms of President Yang, Chen Xing was blown away.
Luscious silky hair, gleaming like freshly harvested chestnuts under the autumn sun, burning eyes of melting gold, a body meant for photoshoots with high-end magazines, and plump lips that resembled rubies harvested from the deepest mines: she was a vision to behold.
Chen Xing did not know what overcame her when she bowed her head in respect. Zhao Lifei had once commanded the Zheng Board of Directors. Without a doubt, she could do the same even now, if not better.
Zheng Tianyi had forgotten the woman Zhao Lifei used to be. He had forgotten about the tossed away trash, left out to rot. When he had seen her in the arms of Yang Feng, she looked like a simple eye-candy. Who would've guessed, up close and personal, she would be so...elegant? When his eyes trailed over her body, lingering upon her breast and then tiny hips, he felt a pair of eyes burning a hole through the side of his head.
His eyes snapped back to Xia Mengxi and he finally remembered all of Zhao Lifei was not worth an inch of his woman. But why was it that his heart ached with remorse and regret?
Xia Mengxi ground her teeth, her delicate jaw tightened when she saw Zheng Tianyi's clouded eyes. That look...it was all too familiar. She remembered seeing those leering eyes on her sleazy father who paid more attention to his whores than his wife. She hated thinking about that man, especially when he disappeared, only to come tumbling back into their lives.
Xia Mengxi quietly cleared her throat. It did not get Zheng Tianyi's attention. She walked up to him and possessively wrapped her arms about his biceps.
Zheng Tianyi regained his consciousness. His momentarily awed expression disappeared. His face was twisted into a scowl, "What is a servant doing here?"
Zhao Lifei bit down on her bottom lip to hide the smirk threatening to break out.
"Where's your mop and bucket?" His eyes raked over her again. "Tsk, with an outfit like that, you're still attempting to climb into more beds?"
"Are you referring to me or Xia Mengxi?" Zhao Lifei mused.
Zheng Tianyi's face darkened. He took a threatening step forward but Huo Qiudong beat him to it. "I apologize for the late introduction, Mr. Zheng, but you're currently speaking to the President of Feili."
Zheng Tianyi did not care. He decided to attack another part of her. "If you're going to be late, at least dress better."
"Blatantly disrespectful. I let you work in my company for two years, you've ought to have learned something from me. I see you're still as brain dead and foolish as you were two years ago. Not much has changed."
"You should've been grateful I offered you a seat in my company. This is how you repay me? By showing up late and wasting my time? I spent my precious time teaching you the proper behavior of an employee while you were at Zheng Corporation."
Zheng Tianyi killed her with his daggered eyes. "People would die before my feet, sacrificing everything they have just to learn from me. I taught you for free, you should owe up right now and apologize for your unruly and horrendous behavior in the office."
"Is this how people from your company treat one of the big five? Let me tell you, you will not make it far with such mentality. Worthless little thing you are. No wonder you were disowned by your parents. No one would want a daughter like you."
Zhao Lifei kept the amicable smile on her face, mocking him with her serene temperament. Did he teach her something? When?
What a joke. How delusional was this man?
She wanted to kick herself for falling hopelessly in love with a man like him. But who wouldn't in their naive youth?
He used to be the Prince Charming of her fairytale until she realized she was the wicked witch and Xia Mengxi was the actual Princess. It seemed the story unraveled pretty nicely though… One was a mere Princess struggling with a crown that was not hers, while the other was a Queen whose crown was made for her.
Her silence angered him further. "Who wants to stay at this shitty company anyways?" He snarled, tossing the cup of coffee onto the floor.
"If I recall, this meeting room is more advanced than Zheng Corporation's 1980s shabby rooms." Zhao Lifei chuckled and took a step aside. "With all due respect, feel free to leave then. Oh, and don't forget the take the trash out with you." Her eyes lingered on Xia Mengxi before they turned to his entire private team.
Zheng Tianyi's face darkened. "What did you just say?"
Zhao Lifei's smile grew. "Must I repeat myself again?" Without waiting for his reply, she strolled out of the room. It was needless to say who won this argument with the least amount of words. In the end, the one who kept their calm will triumph overall.
- - - - -
Zheng Tianyi's eyes snapped to Wei Hantao, who was frozen to the ground. What did he expect the Vice President to do? Drag their CEO back into the room?
When Wei Hantao did not move, Zheng Tianyi pulled out his phone and called his father on the spot. The two exchanged brief words before a couple of minutes passed and Wei Hantao received a phone call from his own father.
"Unfilial bastard! I should disown you on the spot! All these years I've spent raising you and this is how you decide to treat our family legacy? You useless fool! What did you do? Why are the Zhengs calling me, threatening to end our connections because of you? Fix this issue RIGHT NOW!"
Wei Hantao flinched at the almighty roar of his father who hung up before he could reply. He did not need another warning to run out of the door in search of Zhao Lifei, who was at the end of the hallway.
He ran to her and grabbed her wrist, only for her to roughly shake it off. "Don't get angry, Xiao Li, President Zheng was merely angry that you were late for the meeting." Her back was turned to him. He did not see her stormy expression.
"Don't be petty, okay? It's not like you to behave this way. Come on, let's go back to the meeting room. This proposal is really important for Feili—"
"More like Weida Law Firm." She scoffed at his horrible excuses.
"You know it's not like that. I always have this company's best interest at heart, which is why I ran it for two years in your absence—"
"If I had not come back earlier, you would've run this company to the ground." Zhao Lifei turned around, and for the first time, Wei Hantao realized she was not a force to be trifled with. He rarely took her anger seriously, but today, he saw the full extent of his actions. She did not see him as a friend. She saw him as a traitor.
"You think I didn't know you were secretly plotting these meetings behind my back?"
To Wei Hantao, her golden eyes resembled a tigress out for blood. He was completely captured in her powerful jaws, unable to move, for the tiniest action could snap his neck.
"Try me again and I will slit your throat with the knife you left in my back." She snarled. Not bothering to stay long enough to see his baffled expression, she stormed off, leaving in her wake the horrified Wei Hantao.
His face was as white as a ghost. How much did she know? He was too terrified to ask her.