Zhao Moyao wanted to believe that he was disappointed in her desire to not inherit his company, but such a thought could not be fathomed. He was reluctant to admit it, out of pure stubbornness, but he was beyond proud of Zhao Lifei's accomplishments.
Starting a company all by herself was not easy and managing it was an even harder feat. He was glad she did not face any major backlashes or scandals so far, but with that Wei Hantao boy running around the city, he was certain something was bound to break out. He knew, without a doubt, that boy would have something against the company. That was exactly why he sent people to trail after Wei Hantao.
The people that Zhao Moyao sent out to watch over his granddaughter would frequently send back reports of what's happening in her life. Though they had left out the part that she was living with Yang Feng, for which they've been thoroughly punished, with severe income cuts for that specific month, Zhao Moyao surprisingly still trusted his men. He was typically the type of man who never tolerated mistakes nor gave second chances, but these people have stuck by Zhao Lifei's side ever since she was a child and had never done anything to harm her. For now, they still had his trust. Should it change, their heads would fly,
Zhao Moyao's eyes shifted to his little granddaughter who was suddenly engrossed in her phone, a tiny smile settled on her lips. His eyes narrowed on the blackened-out screen, from her tinted privacy-protector.
Seeing her so happy-go-lucky, he could only assume it was Yang Heng. Hmph. That punk was quite needy wasn't he? Smitten. Whipped. Lovesick fool. All of these were friendly ways of referring to that little rascal.
"I assume you visited your maternal grandmother yesterday." Zhao Moyao absentmindedly said while opening his laptop.
"Yes, I brought Yang Feng with me." She glanced up from her phone and realized it was impolite to be so invested in it during a conversation. She placed it down and decided to fully focus her attention on her grandfather. Yang Feng could wait.
"Without a doubt, that superstition-crazed woman did not like him. What was it that she likes to base her judgement on…"
"Palm reading." Zhao Lifei finished for him.
Zhao Moyao's nose wrinkled in disdain. "Such a bogus thing. She should value the Eight Characters of Destiny [1] more."
Zhao Lifei resisted the urge to smile. It seemed her grandfather did not know how good Yang Feng's Eight Characters were. "Can I assume you deem Yang Feng as a favorable person then?"
"When did I ever say such an audacious and sinful thing?!" Zhao Moyao exclaimed. He was taken aback by her sudden declaration. Did she forget her medicine? He decided it would be a good idea to book her a quick appointment with the psychiatrist. What a stupid thing to say! Yang Heng, a favorable person? Hah. If that was true, tomorrow there would be a blizzard in the middle of summer! Forget the blizzard, it would be hail central!
"Well, Yang Feng's eight charaters are—"
"Hmph, did I say Eight Characters? You have misheard me. I said no such thing. Nothing in this world is effective in reading a person's future. Enough of this conversation." Zhao Moyao bitterly said after realizing where he went wrong. Dang it, for a second there, it seemed he was actually happy to have that pesky, difficult, and overbearing punk in his life. Nothing would make Zhao Moyao happier than having that kid out of his life.
Deep, deep down, in a spot unidentifiable by most, Zhao Moyao was actually glad that out of all the elites in this country, Zhao Lifei had chosen Yang Feng. To Zhao Moyao, Yang Feng was too domineering and arrogant, but in the end, his love for Zhao Lifei triumphed everything. In his hands, she was beyond safe, loved, and cherished.
Zhao Moyao knew without a doubt, Zhao Lifei would be thoroughly cared for and that would be for a very, very long time. He only hoped that once the truth was revealed to Yang Mujian, nothing would come between the loving couple, but that was unrealistic.
Zhao Lifei sighed at her grandfather's stubbornness. She wondered if he truly disliked Yang Feng or if it was because he disliked people in general. She hoped it was the latter, but knowing her grandfather, it was very likely that it could be the former.
- - - - -
The next day.
Elder Su Guang was leisurely enjoying his lunch and tea in front of his scenic Zen garden. There was a gentle breeze that brought in a relaxing earthy scent mingled with mint and eucalyptus. The sun was not too hot and the occasional plop of the koi fishes in the pond were in harmony with the small buzz of crickets. Everything about this place was a pleasure, especially with the serene and tranquil atmosphere right there. White stones were laid on the ground, forming small spirals.
He took a sip of his freshly brewed tea and let out a contented sigh upon the woody taste of it. Such a good day it was…
THUD!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
Elder Su Guang's brow twitched in annoyance upon hearing the interruption. "What is it?!" He spoke up, roughly slamming the cup back onto the small, modest wooden table in front of him. Small droplets of tea splashed onto his green and silver changshan. He fouly cursed under his breath. This was high-quality silk! It cannot be washed unless you wanted the entire clothing to be ruined. His temper dampened significantly and he was ready to lash out on the servant.
"Are you daft?!" He screamed, standing to his feet as silence followed after his words. A harsh wind blew into the room, surprising him. It was frosty and nothing like the small breeze from before. An ominous air wrapped around him as the wind whistled and howled in the background.
Elder Su Guang had a bad feeling about this. Nevertheless, he approached the door. He told himself that there was nothing to worry about. There were guards littering the entire hallways and the majority of them were top students from their dojo.
As he opened the door, his eyes grew wide, his mouth agape, and his body stiffened in shock. Lying dead, barely recognizable, and with hundreds of wounds on him was a man in front of his door.
Elder Su Guang could feel his lunch threatening to come back up. It was a horrid sight to see. How could such a vile thing be delivered to his front door? Where were the precautions?! How useless and daft were his people?
He poked his head out and his eyes widened when he saw the entire hallway was a bloodbath. Dead guards lingered through the halls, their bodies bent in odd and abnormal angles, bright red splatters on the walls. Not a single guard in this hallway wing was alive. He wondered, how could he not have heard such a commotion?
He collapsed onto his knees, stricken with horror at the sight before him. His eyes snapped to the specific body getting in the way of his door. With a shaky hand, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and then used a single finger to poke the man, causing him to slump onto his back, motionless.
Elder Su Guang's throat ran dry. It was the investigator he had sent to trail Zhao Lifei and Yang Feng. He knew. But the question was, how much did he know?!
"Master, Master, there are dead soldiers—oh my goodness!" A servant yelped when she saw more gruesome soldiers in the hallways.
"Have the servants...clean up this mess." Elder Su Guang snarled, finally coming to his senses as he got back onto his feet. "Fetch the driver and inform him we will be heading to Elder Yang's house."
The servants bowed their heads and got to work. One of them ran off to convey the news and pass on the message.
Elder Su Guang took a hesitant step outside and that was when he realized something. There were different pairs of footprints in the hallways. Every guard here wore the same type of shoes, handed to them by the dojo, which meant, the messy footprints in the hallways did not belong to only one person. There were definitely more than one assassin, however, it was strange. Why did they escape in different directions? And why was one bloody footprint significantly darker than the others…? Were there more than two people here?