Su Meixiu knew he was coming soon. It wasn't because she was still his employee and had connections. He was the type of man who would violently retaliate when something happened to his woman. And currently, Zhao Lifei was nowhere to be found.
Zhao Lifei's existence seemed to be wiped off the surface of Earth. No one could track her down. No one knew what had happened in the office, all except for Su Meixiu. The security cameras in Feili had been off the entire day and no one knew about it until Chen Gaonan stepped forward to request the footages. Supposedly, it was an inside job, but no one has figured out who it was.
Su Meixiu slowly rose from the floor and made her way to the broken vanity mirror. There was a massive crack running down the middle. Even so, she sat in front of it. Her shaky hands ran over the bruises on her face, the busted lip, and the large gash on her forehead. She was surprised she didn't die from the beating. She could never win against her father in a fight.
Her room was in disarray. The bed was torn apart, curtains slashed, tables flipped, and priceless jewelry pieces were on the floor. Pearl and jade beads were scattered throughout the entire room.
Her eyes lifted to the mirror where the crack seemed to ironically split her face into two. She wanted to laugh at the message behind it. Shaking her head, she began to put on make-up to cover her marks. A guest was coming and she had to make herself presentable — even if no one knew he was coming, except for her.
With the foundation cushion in one hand, and the other pulling her hair back, she realized how foolish it would be to put make-up on for Yang Feng. Her crazed eyes scanned the make-up on her vanity and in one fell swoop, it clattered onto the floor. The sound of bottles falling was music to her ears and watching all of the palettes go into ruins was like staring at a painting drawn by Leonardo Davinci.
Everything there was not brought with her money nor was it at her will. Every piece of make-up she learned to apply was not taught for herself. Everything was given to her by her father. Her weapon was not supposed to be any guns or knives. It was her undeniable beauty and the flower between her thighs.
Su Meixiu stood up and walked to gather her purse where she pulled out the wad of cash bound together by a yellow rubber band. The cash was offered to her this morning by a man she never expected to see. The irony of this situation was enough to make her feel disgusted to the core.
Men were so quick to betray. He was wagging his tail for Zhao Lifei two months ago and now he was finding ways to bring her down.
Su Meixiu shook her head and tied up her long hair with a rubber band. The messy bun on top of her head revealed her ruined face. She wore it like a trophy. Today was the first day she went against her father, and despite the battle scars, she felt proud of it all.
Picking up the wad of cash, her lips tilted up into a smile. They were here.
She opened the door and walked down the halls with her chin up and shoulders back. The servants didn't flinch at the sight of her battered face. It used to be a daily occurrence. However, they were surprised to see the hits were on her face and not her body.
Wasn't Su Meixiu's face her money-maker? It was the only thing Su Boyuan cared about when it came to his daughter. Now that it was ruined like this, what was he going to care about from now on?
She could hear the sound of helicopters and cars rolling up near the front entrance. Servants rushed past her in a rush to greet the guest, but she went against the grain and continued walking towards her desired direction.
"Father." Su Meixiu addressed when she opened the door without his permission. Her eyes scanned over the discarded clothes on the floor, the distinctive black and white clothing of a servant amused her.
Su Boyuan had finished his business when he heard the commotion. He was currently getting dressed in a scramble, whereas the maid in the bed couldn't even move a muscle. He acted like he didn't even hear her as he continued to button up his clothes.
Finally, he said, "I should've broken your legs and sewn your mouth shut."
In the past, these types of words would've made her tremble on the spot. His eyes, fierce as a hawk, clashed with her lifeless ones. Her smile deepened and that irked him more than necessary.
"Useless wench, I should've never given birth to you. I should've left your mother to rot when she gave birth to a worthless girl like you."
"You raped my mother, day and night, similar to the servant on the bed." She tilted her head. "I'm not the one who needs to force my workers to sleep with me because others won't."
"Why you—"
"You're going to die today." Su Meixiu was just delaying time for Yang Feng. She wanted to permanently leave him without looking back. It was what she planned to do when drafting the resignation letter. But then Zhao Lifei contacted her and the rest was history.
She stayed behind for the sake of Zhao Lifei, even if it meant Yang Feng might capture her and view her as a potential suspect because she was the last person Zhao Lifei was seen with.
"What did you just say?" Su Boyuan's voice dropped, low and angered. His face was reddened with anger, a vein popping out of his forehead.
Su Meixiu could hear it from where she was standing. She could hear the footsteps, even though they were light and stealthy, storming down the hallways. She glanced down at stacks of cash in both of her hands and then smiled. "That's right, today will be your doomsday. The same day mother died."
He was so shocked by her words and behavior that he did not register her crossing the distance and approaching the fireplace. She tossed the money worth an entire house into the pits, watching it burn and dance, as it turned into ash black. Her false evidence was planted.
The people were here. The last thing she saw was Yang Feng's emotionless, detached face before the room turned chaotic.
- - - - -
Zhao Moyao's world was spiraling out of control. Kidnapped. Again. His well-aged face was showing signs of stress and dismay. The creases on his forehead became more prominent, his lips dipping into a disapproving scowl. It was getting late now and was the usual time he went home. His legs were acting up again and Li Xuan had brought the cane with them into the car.
"President, please, you have to take the medicine at least." Li Xuan desperately pleaded from the driver's seat. He watched with apprehension when Zhao Moyao continued to stare out of the window with a troublesome face.
"How long have you worked for me?" Zhao Moyao queried, his hands resting on top of the golden lion head of his cane.
"I am not sure of the exact date, but it was when you deemed I was useful enough to stay by your side." Li Xuan perplexedly answered, unsure of the reason for the random question. He didn't voice his thoughts and kept his eyes concentrated on the road.
"Were you there when Xiao Fei was abandoned by Yang Heng?" Zhao Moyao knew his mistakes would one day come to haunt him again. He just wished it wasn't so soon.
Zhao Moyao anticipated something malicious would happen to his granddaughter when Yang Mujian showed the first signs of disapproval, however, he had trusted his granddaughter's capabilities of pacifying that man. It was clear to him tonight that nothing could pacify the Elder, not even his grandson.
"I—"
"Nevermind. Don't answer that question." Zhao Moyao interrupted and the two fell into silence again. "I have been passive for too long, don't you think so?" He was usually a man of very few words when it came to his secretary, but today was the day of reflection. It was time to stop running away from the past and to begin addressing all of his regrets and mistakes.
Li Xuan glanced at his President in the rearview mirror before looking back onto the road. A large house was approaching in the distance. "You've done the best you could to protect the Young Miss. No one had anticipated that the transmission hacking would affect our side as well."
"I shouldn't have allowed her to go back to his side." Zhao Moyao listlessly replied. "It was already dangerous the first time Yang Mujian loomed over her. I should've known. That old tiger, he never changed."
'But you also have not changed. You've continued to blame yourself for the past three years about the unpredictable events.' Li Xuan replied inside his head, his grip tightened on the steering wheel. He wished his boss was not so hard on himself. He was already suffering from a few health conditions.