After the bland and awkward dinner, Zhao Lifei walked out of the restaurant without looking back. The chilly air of Shenbei slammed onto her with heavy force the minute she opened the door. She shivered at the cold and hugged her shoulders, cursing herself for not bringing a jacket along. She was never good at dealing with the cold so she couldn't help but tremble in her heels.
Just then, a warm jacket was wrapped around her shoulder and a pair of arms came out to button the suit jacket.
Surprised at the action, she raised her head to see it was Wu Yuntai. "Thank you." She gratefully smiled at her grandfather's Vice President.
She rarely talked to him but all of their exchanges were always very pleasant. She didn't know much about him except that he came from a humble background but garnered Zhao Moyao's attention and support through his extremely high IQ and groundbreaking ideas.
"It's rare to see you without a jacket." He commented, noticing her lack of protective outerwear.
"I was in a rush so I had forgotten to grab one." She said while she held her purse and allowed Wu Yuntai to secure the jacket on her.
Unknowingly, there was a paparazzi not far from the two who had instantaneously snapped pictures of their seemingly intimate moment of a man making sure his lover was comfortable.
The paparazzi had gotten photos from when Wu Yuntai had placed his suit jacket from behind and the look of surprise on her face at the gesture, as well as her sincere smile as he buttoned the suit jacket.
"Forgetful as always." He chuckled, taking a polite step back after ensuring the suit would stay in place and she would remain warm.
"I only forgot the meeting time once and now you'll hold it against me forever?" She sulked, remembering a time where she was late to a meeting that had already finished by the time she had arrived. Wu Yuntai had stayed behind to clean up and was the only one to witness her disheveled state.
"Of course, that's the only flaw I've seen so far so I must keep it close to me." He teased, lightly tapping her forehead with his finger, unknowingly adding to the collection of intimate snapshots of them and Zhao Lifei. Just then, Zhao Moyao and his sons strolled out of the restaurant.
Zhao Lifei turned her head and the smile slipped off her face when she saw the unpleasant expression on her father's face, the intrigued look of her eldest uncle, and the disapproving look on her grandfather's face for attempting to run away so early.
"Once again, you remain disrespectful by leaving before the adults do." Zhao Wenjin's words were colder than the night wind but she was already used to his harsh blows.
She had grown up listening to his cruel words and it had made her severely immune to insults. A small part of her was glad that this rough treatment had made her more formidable, or else she would have not been able to survive the cutthroat world of backstabbing socialites and ruthless businessmen.
"If you had behaved during the dinner and actually ate the food instead of wasting your grandfather's money, I would've taken you home." He mocked her just as his driver pulled up.
In his eyes, this useless daughter can only rely on his father's backing and had been living her life as a freeloader. He had tried to dig around to check her relationship with the future head of the Yang family, but it seems that her friendship with the Young Miss Yang is their only connection.
This daughter of his is truly useless!
The edge of Zhao Lifei's lips turned up into a sardonic smile. "Home? And where is home?" She asked him, referring to the fact that she had been disowned and tossed out of their house right after her she had been humiliated and her engagement had been dissolved.
"Don't try to sass me." He narrowed his eyes, glaring at her with the same eyes that she had inherited from him.
It was a pity really.
If she had remained obedient and followed his wishes of continuing to play the piano and making sure she ended up as Madam Zheng, he would've at least doted on her to some extent. Given the fact that her face mirrored his very well, he used to take pride in that she looked almost exactly like him.
"You see it as sass, I see it as a genuine question." She shrugged, much to his dismay.
"Besides, you've never helped me before in the past. Why start now?" She said, turning her back to him and walking away to hail down a cab. Before she had the chance to do so, Wu Yuntai stepped up.
"I'll drive you home." He was obviously worried about her. It was already late at night and she had already experienced enough trouble.
Getting into a taxi right now would be very dangerous, especially for a woman who looked like she can easily be overpowered. She might've been taller than the average woman, but her frame was still pretty frail. He had also heard Zhao Moyao worry over her health over the years due to an incident that had occurred in the past.
Zhao Lifei looked at him with surprise once again but quickly recovered and slowly nodded her head. "Okay." She nodded.
She turned around, ignored her fuming father and paid attention to her eldest uncle and grandfather.
"Grandfather, First Uncle, I hope you have a good night." She politely said despite the fact that she wanted to glare at her grandfather for the stunt he had pulled today.
Zhao Moyao saw her flaring temperament and chuckled in amusement. Stubborn and bratty as always, he didn't expect any less than that. At least she was wise enough to conceal it seeing as they were in public.
He walked forward to warmly pat her cheeks. "Get home safely, Xiao Fei." He seemed to be talking to her, but there was an underlying threat directed towards Wu Yuntai who couldn't meet the pressing gaze of his boss.
"And you, Wu Yuntai, I expect to see you bright and early in the morning as always." Zhao Moyao nodded to his Vice President.
"Of course, Sir." Wu Yuntai's arms stiffly remained by his side while he did a respectful deep bow towards the men of the Zhao family.
Without another word, he walked off with Zhao Lifei, maintaining a close distance without any physical contact as he guided her to his car. More photos of the both of them from a certain angle were taken until Wu Yuntai had driven off.