"Silly little thing." He whispered, pulling her closer to press a soft kiss upon her hairs. "I do not care for trifling little things like that. It's the twenty-first century, I didn't expect you to be a virgin." He gently smiled, turning her around, entertained by the surprised expression on her face. Parted lips and widened eyes, she looked at him as if he had three heads.
"You...you're not mad?" She skeptically asked, wary of how eerily calm he was. She expected him to lash out, throw a tantrum, push her away, or look at her with disgust, but he did not.
He found her expression intriguing. Seeing her speechless expression and doubting eyes, he resisted the urge to pinch her cheek.
He admitted, "I was angry the first second I heard it." He pushed back her hair to reveal her face, using one hand to cup it. "But I've come to realize it's a selfish thing to expect and care about, especially when I'm also not one."
Zhao Lifei felt a mountain lifting off of her shoulders. His face was filled with tranquil acceptance — something she long dreamed of but did not think would actually find in a man. He was such a possessive person, where a simple glance from another man ignited his anger. She thought he would push her away while glaring at her with hateful eyes filled with disgust. She was prepared for their relationship to end on the spot with a shattered heart that could never recover or open up again.
"Besides, it's such a foolish concept. It's the twenty-first century fueled by a new generation with updated beliefs and mindsets. The traditional idea of virginity is so stupid. What is the point of it?" He voiced his thoughts out loud, her stupefied expression further entertaining him. Her delectable lips were parted in disbelief.
"You're setting the bar too high for other men."
His face became dark, a shadow looming over his eyes. "What other men?" His voice held a dangerous edge at the image of her wrapped in another man's arms. If such a thing were to happen, there would be an armless man roaming Hell.
"The poor, single and lonely fishes in the sea that are still searching for their mates." She responded, not understanding where the sudden frosty chill came from. She shivered as if she was standing on the ice in the North Pole.
"There will be no more fishes in the sea if someone covets what's mine." He seethed, yanking her to him.
She stood on her tippy-toes and gave both sides of his face a pat. "Were you always this possessive or did it start because of me?" She tiredly sighed at this temperamental husband of hers. "I wasn't referring to the idea of cheating on you. You're such an overthinker." She chuckled, attempting to stretch the cheeks of the sullen child.
"It started because of you." He mumbled under his breath. For as long as he could remember, no one dared to take or touch what was his.
He never fathomed the idea of being so in love and infatuated with a woman to even fear her departure. So many things shifted and changed within him when Zhao Lifei stepped back into his world.
Now it was his life's mission to ensure she did not disappear again. And it all starts with finding the root of why she forgot about him in the first place. But that was a story for another time, one that would revolve around painstaking, backstabbing and murder.
"Well, start ending it because I am not going anywhere." She innocently laughed, completely unaware of the massacre he was willing to commit just to keep her close to him.
Her eyes twinkled when she glanced up at him, squeezing his frosty heart. His fingers tightened around her hips. He wondered how it was possible that such a simple thing could shine brighter than the stars. Diamonds, crystals, gems, nothing in this world could compare to her eyes — the very things that used to haunt his nightmares for a short period of his childhood.
He could not forget the memories of a little girl chasing after him, that bubbly voice that called out "Fengfeng." He could never forget the girl who showed him the light, the purity in this world, and the girl who took it all when she left.
"Good, because I'll kidnap you if you do."
Her heart skipped a beat at his threat that seemed more like a promise. "Silly boy, why would I ever leave?"
His eyes flickered. He could list a billion reasons to her, but that would take a lifetime. He responded by crashing her body to his, hugging her tightly, pressing her face to his chest, right to his heart, where the only thing she could hear was its erratic beating.
- - - - -
Yang Enterprise, the next day.
"Boss, the person who delivered the box has been taken into custody, but when we found him in the cell this morning, he had killed himself. There was a cyanide tooth that he broke in his mouth." Chen Gaonan reported.
Yang Feng thought over the options. If the delivery man had a cyanide tooth, then he already knew he would die by torture. "Has the rat been exterminated?"
"In the most brutal way possible." Chen Gaonan easily answered. There was a mole in their house who allowed the box to easily pass through security. It was practically impossible to deliver anything to Yang Feng's front door, especially when it required a specific keycard.
Chen Gaonan decided to change the topic. "Also, the Lady Boss' family has been attempting to contact her for a while now. Our block on their calls and text messages is still up and effective." When Zhao Wenjin was captured, Chen Gaonan was ordered to contact Zhao Lifei's cell phone carrier company to prevent calls and messages from specific numbers. For added security, when Zhao Lifei left her phone unmonitored at home, Yang Feng had blocked her family's phone numbers.
"Maintain the block. Extend it to any of her scheming relatives as well." Yang Feng disdainfully said. He did not forget what she said a couple of days ago when her phone was blowing up with leeching and backstabbing relatives attempting to ride on the coattails of her success.
"Yes, sir." Chen Gaonan noted down onto his tablet and checked for anything else. "Aside from the schedule, that is all for today."
Yang Feng nodded his head and went back to the reports in front of him, meticulously checking over all of the details. Chen Gaonan excused himself and walked out of the office. His eyes briefly came in contact with Su Meixiu, who averted her gaze in less than a second, and tilted it to Lu Shanshan whose private assistant desk was directly in her line of sight.
- - - - -
"Meeting adjourned." Zhao Lifei declared as she stood up, allowing everyone to catch a sigh of relief.
The atmosphere between the board of directors was stiff, especially with the unimpressed expression on their boss' face. She was not happy with what she had heard today and many of them were thoroughly reprimanded.
A good handful of them was too comfortable with Wei Hantao's laid back attitude that the sudden shift of leadership did not sit well with them. It was clear many of them rarely did any work in the company.
Huo Qiudong's cold eyes swept across the room, giving them a clear warning of professional protocol. It wasn't until the directors exchanged glances that they all stood up and bowed their heads. "Thank you for your time." They said with voices laced with false appreciation. Many of them couldn't wait to go home.
Zhao Lifei silently nodded her head and left the room without glancing back. Huo Qiudong grabbed the files and folders before storming out of the room, a few steps behind his boss. He walked faster to catch up to her.
Zhao Lifei passed him a slip of folded paper and pressed her lips together in annoyance. "Fire them."
Huo Qiudong unraveled the paper, his eyes raking over the long-list of names. "This is 90% of our heads of department."
"Oh?" Zhao Lifei feigned surprise.
Huo Qiudong nodded, thinking she was going to take out a few names on the list.
"My mistake, here is another slip." She handed him another note.
He took the paper and nearly choked on the air. "T-this is 99% of the team… Only one of them is staying?" He hesitantly asked.
"Yes. Except for the female director in her late twenties, all of them are useless. Most of them are money-grabbing people with nice resumes, but horrible leadership. They pass their responsibilities onto other employees and their mindsets are terrible. Get the major shareholders to sign off on this." Zhao Lifei turned around the corner and walked straight to her office.
"Begin setting up the interview process for the secretaries and private assistants, then after that, you won't have to weigh on me that much." She said, a small smile resting on her lips. "You're the Vice President now. You will also need people to help you."
Huo Qiudong was taken aback by her words. He was so used to being the secretary that he did not mind helping her do such tasks. "I have already advertised it and have received thousands of applications. Should I trash the ones that do not meet requirements?"
Zhao Lifei shook her head. "Set aside time in my schedule to interview all of them."
Huo Qiudong tripped over his own feet. "A-all of them?! Boss, we have received over two thousand resumes!"
"It'll be a group interview to get through the process quicker." Zhao Lifei did not give him a chance to doubt her decision anymore. She walked into her office and closed the door, leaving a dumbfounded and baffled man outside.
Huo Qiudong scratched his head. It seemed someone else was aiming for his title as an overachiever. The next few days will be insane with them juggling so many interviews at once.