Zhao Lifei turned towards Huo Qiudong and said, "Can you enter two minutes after me?"
Her strange request severely confused him, inclining him to quirk up his brows. He turned to face the black sliding door with design works resembling the gates found in Buckingham Palace. There were the same orange and red hues that were also present back at the elevator.
"Sure?" Huo Qiudong's response came out more like a question.
Zhao Lifei didn't care about his hesitation. "Alright, perfect. I'll enter first." She opened the door by the tiniest crack, stepped in, and closed the door shut behind her.
Yang Ruqin was sipping on a gradient yellow and orange mimosa when Zhao Lifei came in. She had already had two glasses, making her tipsy too early in the morning. "Hey, I was wondering where you were. You're ten minutes late."
"Well, you certainly found a way to entertain yourself in those ten minutes." Zhao Lifei warily glanced at the empty glass beside Qinqin.
Before Yang Ruqin took another sip, it was snatched out of her hand, earning a loud protest, "Hey! I was trying to finish that!"
"It's too early to get drunk." Zhao Lifei chuckled a bit, setting the mimosa elsewhere, causing Yang Ruqin to pout. The mimosa tasted too good to go to waste.
"It's not like I have anything to do…" Yang Ruqin trailed off when the door slid open and in walked a tall, handsome man. Her eyes widened a bit. Wow, he could pass as an A-list male model! If her manager was here, she'd probably go crazy and convince him to sign with the agency. A face like that… it would be a shame for it to go to waste.
Yang Ruqin's amazement died down when she realized the turn of events. "Who are you? You have the wrong room. Please leave." She deadpanned, her voice suddenly brisk, resembling her older brothers' arctic voices.
Huo Qiudong was equally surprised and unhappy to see the presence of a stranger. This woman was stunning beyond words, but he was not blind nor was he stupid. He recognized her as the supermodel whose sudden departure from fashion industry shocked the world. She was at her peak when she left the scene of fame.
What was Yang Ruqin doing here? An idea came into his mind. His throat was suddenly parched. Is this a blind date?!
Zhao Lifei coughed to get their attention. The air was a lot more awkward than she had anticipated…"Well, now that everyone is here, let's all sit down and order brunch!" She happily said, clapping her hands.
Both of them tore their eyes away from each other to glare at Zhao Lifei. Both of them had realized they've been set up.
"I heard their toast menu is delicious! There is one that has smoked king salmon layered upon cream cheese made from Nakazawa milk from Japan! It's also topped with chives, Mexican honey tomatoes, and—"
"I just remembered, an important client is coming into our office today." Huo Qiudong interrupted her, turning to face the door. He attempted to slide it open, but instead, found himself to be locked inside. Upon closer inspection, he saw the tiny key slot.
"Sorry, none of you guys are going to leave this room until the end of brunch." Zhao Lifei dangled the keys in front of them. She smiled and sat down, picking up the small menu.
She briefly glanced at Huo Qiudong and said, "Also, I checked your schedule, you're not expecting anyone."
"Feifei, what are you doing?" Yang Ruqin frowned, occasionally glancing at the stranger in the room. No matter how handsome he was, she was still cautious of him. When her eyes met his stormy ones, she immediately looked away. She was surprised by her behavior. Since when was she this demure? Taking the chance, she looked up at him again, but quickly averted her eyes when he turned his head.
"Setting you fools on a blind date, what else does it look like I'm doing?" Zhao Lifei scoffed, setting down her menu after deciding what she wanted to eat.
"A blind date? Are you crazy?!" Yang Ruqin shrieked, slamming her hand down onto the table.
"Why, Qinqin, I thought we have already established that I am very crazy." Zhao Lifei laughed, turning to her unhappy vice president.
"I'm not looking for a girlfriend." He snapped like his thin patience. He usually respected his boss, especially because she was the one who hired him, but today, her behavior was too outrageous. He wondered if she took the wrong medicine this morning.
"Yes, you are. You're twenty-seven and aside from the two girlfriends you've had in your youth, your love life is as dead as my will to argue with both of you guys." Zhao Lifei shrugged her shoulders. She turned to Yang Ruqin, "Payback hurts, huh?"
It finally clicked to Yang Ruqin. Her Feifei was still petty enough to be angry about the blind dates she set up in the past! She groaned. "I was just trying to help you in the past! It was so sad to see you in such a pitiful and single state."
"It's also so sad for me to see you in such a pitiful and single state." Zhao Lifei monotonically replied, giving her a pointed look. She was fully prepared to spend her time here and argue with both of them since they were equally stubborn people.
"Now, can we please just all sit down and order something off the menu? I'm really hungry."
"The door is locked. How do you expect the waiter to come in?" Huo Qiudong deadpanned. He planned on escaping the moment the waiter comes in.
"I can just text Tang Chen what we all want to eat. You see that small window over there?" She pointed to the wall where a small opening was seen. "Well, that is where the food is going to be delivered from." Zhao Lifei revealed a wicked smile, resting her chin upon her two propped-up hands. She looked like an evil mastermind, planning to end the world.
"Now, let's be like civilized people and sit down please." She pointed to the chairs in front of her, using the voice of a reprimanding mother.
Yang Ruqin's stomach grumbled for food. With nothing else to do aside from complaining and feeling betrayed, she pulled out a chair and sat down. Huo Qiudong followed suit, both of them admitting defeat to the crazy lady in front of them.
They chose their food in silence and passed it along to Zhao Lifei who sent out a text to Tang Chen. When the food arrived, there was a light knock on the window. Zhao Lifei brought the food to the table and instigated the conversation. "Alright, let's start with 20 questions—"
BUZZ!
Zhao Lifei glanced down and saw it was a phone call from her grandfather. She grabbed the key in her purse, got up, made a dash to the door with her phone and in less than a second, unlocked the door, then slammed it shut behind her. It all happened so quickly, neither of her "hostages" were able to escape.
Zhao Lifei poked her head through the window. "I'll quickly answer this call from grandfather. In the meantime, please have a civilized conversation and try to not miss me too much!"
"Hey, let us out—"
BAM! She slid the window shut, walking down the hall to pick up the phone on the last ring.