She did not know how to respond to his words other than nodding her head, "Okay."
– – – – –
A few minutes before the banquet ended, Yang Feng escorted her to his car and had planned on driving her to his house in hopes of spending the night with her, but a grouchy grandfather beat him to the chase.
Right when Zhao Lifei entered the car, her phone went off. Yang Feng, who was still holding the door for her, frowned at the ringtone and when he saw the contact, his face darkened. The old man was butting in again!
Yang Feng looked around and sure enough, there was a man hiding in the shadows, not far from the back entrance of the banquet. He was expertly tucked away, but Yang Feng's keen eyes were able to easily spot him.
When she spoke into the phone, Yang Feng's mood worsened further.
"Yes, grandfather I'm leaving the banquet… I've made quite a few connections… Uh, I'm heading home? No, not Yang Feng's— Yes, yes, I know there will be more rumors if I accompany him home, but I—"
Yang Feng snatched the phone from her and spoke directly to Zhao Moyao. "She will be perfectly safe with me."
"Hand the phone back to my granddaughter, boy." Zhao Moyao taunted the young man with his usual childish nickname, emphasizing it with a cruel manner, but Yang Feng ignored it.
"She's leaving through the back entrance. There's no paparazzi in sight."
"She's coming home."
"She's twenty-three, I'm sure she can make decisions herself."
Zhao Lifei sighed at their banter, bickering back and forth about her when she was sitting right here! "I'm going home, Yang Feng." She reached for the phone, but he grabbed her hand, his face morphing into a sullen child, a small pout on his face.
He placed the phone onto his suit and in a pitiful voice mumbled, "But I can't sleep without you."
Zhao Lifei felt her heart skip a beat, then two before thumping loudly again. She eyed him, a suspicious expression on her face. She hated to admit it, but his puppy face was very effective.
Hu Wei had to use all of his will power to not barf up blood at the sight of the blatant flirting. He was also bothered by seeing his usual demonic boss so tamed and ready to beg for her. Was this what they called a henpecked husband?!
Zhao Moyao nearly slammed his hand on the table upon hearing Yang Feng's words. That boy thought he was being slick by muffling the phone, but he heard every word perfectly clear! Sleep with her? Not on my watch!
Li Xuan, who was forced to work overnight again, looked up from his desk. The two were still at the office and was currently the only light that was turned on in the office. Why was his boss so adamant on sending her home if she was going to be alone there?
"S-sir, I hate to voice my opinion in this dire situation, but we might have to stay at this office a bit longer. If Miss Zhao goes home right now, it will be empty and lonely there." Li Xuan did not know the full background of Zhao Lifei, but even he knew how depressing it must've been to go home alone where the silence and emptiness of such an enormous mansion would surely make her feel isolated.
Zhao Moyao sighed as he checked the time. It was nine o'clock. They were close to finishing the work, but it would take another hour or so. He was stubborn when it came to the advice of others, but when it concerned his granddaughter, he was all ears.
She was personally raised by him and he knew he had not done his best in doing so. She grew up too detached from her emotions, too fearful of voicing her opinions, too quiet and fearful of many things.
Zhao Moyao spoke up again. "Yang Heng."
Yang Feng felt his nose twitch at the awful and purposeful mispronunciation of his name, but kept his voice courteous for he was still speaking to an elder. "Yes, grandfather?" He emphasized the nickname, just to spite him back. No one said anything about not allowing pettiness…
Zhao Moyao resisted the urge to go to the banquet and smack the boy silly for saying such a title. You want to call me grandfather?! First, show me the ring and then give me great grandkids before you even think about that title!
"You may take her to your house, however, it is only for tonight. If I find out you've done something you shouldn't have to her, I will personally see to it that you are castrated. Do you understand?"
Li Xuan nearly wailed in despair at his boss' words. Sir, how could you speak to him like that?! You, out of everyone else, should know how scary this man was!
With President Yang's Underworld lineage, a painless slaughter would be considered mercy! No wait, does that man even know what mercy means?!
Li Xuan's face was seized with terror, pale as the moon, as his entire body was drenched in cold-sweat, while he awaited the execution order.
Yang Feng was entertained by his words and briefly looked towards Zhao Lifei. They truly shared the same remarkable fearless trait. "Understood." He ended the call.
Li Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he studied his boss' expression and saw the outturn of events must've been positive…So it seems I get to live another day as his secretary.
Yang Feng easily glided into the car, a cheeky smile on his face.
"What is it?" She let out a tired sigh when he suddenly grabbed her again, hauling her body to him as he always does.
"You're staying with me tonight." He happily said, his expression lit up like a spoiled crown prince who finally got his way.
He motioned for Hu Wei to start the car before placing the partition up. In the split second that it did, he fluidly picked Zhao Lifei up as if she didn't weigh anything and settled her on his lap.
"You—" Before she even finished her sentence, he already rested his head on her shoulder, his arms wounding around her, embracing her as if she was a teddy bear.
"Yang Feng…?" When he didn't respond, she looked down and was amazed to see he had fallen asleep on her. She raised a hand to hesitantly touch his face, before her fingers started to explore, tracing the heavy eye bags and dark circles.
Cracking a wry smile, she mumbled, "If you were that tired, you should've told me earlier…" She ran her fingers through his jet black locks, his hair was softer than anything she had ever touched. She continued caressing it, observing his soundly-asleep face.
She wondered how long it had been since he had gotten a decent amount of sleep. Judging from how fast he fell asleep on her, she knew it must've been a while.
