ã€ŠMr. Fang&#x27;s Feisty Mistressã€‹


 Chapter 1 Zhang Familys Emergency Blood Bank

    It was only 8 in the morning yet the sun was already out in S City.

    This was the best time for everyone to start going about their daily activities and business, but things seemed to be going south in the Zhang Family today.

    "On what grounds do I have to keep giving out my blood to your son?!" A young beautiful woman snapped with a fierce gaze at the older woman standing before her.

    The young woman looked very angry, but even at that moment, her current emotion couldn''t conceal her good looks.

    The older woman retorted with a calm fa?ade, seemingly unfazed by the outburst, "Because he is your brother!"

    The younger woman scoffed, "I am not giving out my blood today, not for any reason!"

    "Zhang Liling, if you don''t ept to go to the hospital this minute, then you can forget about attending lectures today," The older woman sneered.

    Zhang Liling who was currently dressed for school with a backpack secured at her back fumed at her stepmother''s attitude.

    "Since I came to live here, you have been drawing my blood forcefully. You haven''t told me what you''ve been doing with my blood, because my blood type is verymon, and even the lowest-rated hospital should notck it." Zhang Liling queried.

    She has been the Zhang Family''s emergency blood bank since she came to live with them. Her blood type is O negative, the universal donor blood type.

    Any blood type can receive from it, but in a case of an emergency where the (O-) need a blood donation, only their kind, can transfuse blood to them.

    Zhang Liling''s stepmother, Shi Wenqian released a deep breath of frustration before responding, "You can''t say that I have been drawing your blood forcefully, because I have not yet directly dragged you to the hospital."

    "Despicable!" Zhang Liling spat with a furious gaze.

    Her stepmother was right in the sense that she has never physically forced her to go to the hospital, but that didn''t mean that her other methods were not forceful.

    A profound smile slowly appeared on Shi Wenqian''s face, forcing the corner of her lips to arch sideways.

    "Tik-Tok¡­ I don''t have all the time in the world to waste on you. If you are not leaving for the hospital this minute, then you can think about skipping lectures today."

    At this point, Zhang Liling found her stepmother more hateful than ever for picking an important day like today, to y one of her tricks on her.

    Today was Monday, and one of the special days of the week for her, because an admirable business mogul, Mr. Fang wasing to ss. Her sense of adtion and respect for Mr. Fang had long made it difficult for her to skip any of his sses.

    Currently, her stepmother''s plot would seed in making herte and probably unable to make it to the ss on time if she didn''t go with her to the hospital.<sub> </sub>

    Amidst the res, she was giving her, thoughts of choosing between attending Mr. Fang''s ss and idling away at home were left to her.

    With what she had in mind, there was no need to think too deeply about which option to follow. Zhang Liling couldn''t trade Mr. Fang''s ss for anything so, she had no choice but to follow her stepmother out of her bedroom.

    "Just say that you can''t stand me, and can''t help poking some needles in my skin." Zhang Liling muttered under her breath.

    Shi Wenqian heard her clearly since her words were not said without a purpose. Instead of scolding her, she said with a smile, much to her disbelief. "What a beautiful way to start the new week!"

    ......

    In the penthouse of a luxurious apartment building, a young mature man with heavenly looks just opened his eyes. He had just woken up from sleep and had sat up on the bed to stretch his arms.

    His eyes were beautiful, plus his messy hairstyle gave him youthful looks.

    Getting out of bed, the young man wrinkled his nose with a slight frown. He seemed unpleased with perhaps, his surroundings. Notwithstanding that, he put his feet in his flip-flops and walked straight to the bathroom.

    Despite his heavenly youthful looks and his beautiful eyes, his aura had a striking difference whenpared. His gaze looked very sharp while brushing his teeth and washing his face.

    Immediately after he got out of the bathroom, he went straight to his nightstand to pick up the bottle of meds lying there. Taking out two pills from it, he threw them into his mouth and flushed them down with the bottle of water lying next to the bottle of meds.

    A deep breath escaped from his thin natural light pink-colored lips immediately after taking the meds. Next, he walked into another room which seemed to be in the closet, to pick out a sports attire.

    Before leaving his bedroom, he picked up his AirPods, his phone, and a small towel. He was going out for a jog.

    Twenty minutester, he returned to the apartment building. When he made it into the elevator, his phone began to ring. Tapping the side of his AirPod, he answered the call and a male voice rang out.

    "Good morning Mr. Fang,"

    "Morning," Mr. Fang greeted back and went back to his silence mode. The person over the phone got this as a cue to state the reasons for the call and went on to speak.

    "Sir, the manager of the interior decoratorpany working on your house says they are ready to start moving your properties in, and he is asking if you would like to see it as the smell of paint had finished dissipating."

    Mr. Fang had his hands in his pockets at the time of this question, but when it was time for his response, he took his right hand out from his trouser pockets and said with knitted brows, "What''s there to see?"

    "I think he is asking in case you need to make anyst-minute changes," The man at the other end exined. He seemed to understand the manager''s concern and had to convey the message.

 Chapter 2 Are You Threatening Me?

    "The only thing he needs to know at this point is that I will be moving in 2 days. And, Bolin, don''t bete." Mr. Fang said and directly ended the call, just as the elevator doors opened.

    Bolin who was dressed in an official suit, nced at his phone screen before putting it inside his pant, and turned to the older man in the driver''s seat to say, "You heard him right? Press down on the speed pedal."

    The driver followed asmanded and stepped down on the elerator.

    By the time they got to the apartment building, Mr. Fang had already finished dressing and was having a cup of coffee. When Bolin keyed in the password to his door and let himself in, Mr. Fang was already standing in front of him with raised brows.

    The Mr. Fang standing right before his personal assistant, looked a little bit identical to the same person who got out of bed with his pair of deep-set brown eyes on disy, and disheveled dark brown hair which fell towards his forehead.

    There was a drastic change in the style. Currently, Mr. Fang had framed sses hiding his beautiful eyes, and his hairstyle was different, which made him look more mature.

    Bolin knew he was a bitte and quickly apologized.

    In the elevator, Bolin gave Mr. Fang a brief rundown of his schedule for the day before adding, "Sir, Old Madam failed to reach you on the phone and had to call me instead."

    "Oh! What did she say?" Mr. Fang asked, unfazed by the report. In fact, he looked like he was not interested.

    "She is asking when you wille home." Bolin spilled with a slight bow.

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to him and said with furrowed brows, "In the future when she calls to ask about me, tell her that I am mmed with work and would return her callster."

    Bolin looked like he was in a dilemma while hesitating to speak the words in his heart. He had wanted to ask for how long the trick would work, but at the thought of that award-winning death re from his Boss, he made up his mind to keep his lips sealed.

    In the car, When Mr. Fang had settled down in the back passenger seat of the ck Rolls Royce, Bolin got into the front passenger seat before instructing the driver, "To NYU."

    The driver nodded and ignited the engine of the car, and drove them away from the luxurious apartment building.

    In a room in one of the biggest Hospitals in S City, Zhang Lilingy on the bed and watched her blood flow through the tubing and into a drip bag which was almost filled up. She looked a bit impatient after she moved her gaze to the watch on her wrist.

    "How much time until you decide to take this needle off my wrist?" She asked in an annoyed tone as she shifted her gaze to the nurse standing at the side.

    The nurse took a step forward and had only opened her lips to speak when the door to the room was pushed open by a doctor, who appeared with Shi Wenqian.

    "Don''t be in a hurry to leave, there is one more bag left to fill." Shi Wenqian said with a harmless smile.<sub> </sub>

    "Don''t push it!" Zhang Liling said in a harsh tone. She was thinking about how to meet up with her ss as time was no longer on her side, and here she was asking her to fill up another bag with her blood. But her stepmother didn''t find her tone fun.

    "Did you by any chance just raise your voice at me?" Shi Wenqian asked with a hideous smile. Although the corner of her lips had arched upwards, that was not a real smile.

    "Even a cat knows when to bite back when its tail has been stepped on." Zhang Liling retorted.

    "I see¡­" Shen Wenqian trailed off with a skeptical gaze on her. There was no longer any form of a smile on her face.

    Not wanting to be dyed further, Zhang Liling tried to negotiate with her. "If you want another bag of blood from me, then you will have to wait till evening when I return from school, but before then, ask the driver to send me off to school."

    Shi Wenqian chuckled hard at her request before asking, "What makes you think that your demands are relevant?"

    Zhang Liling ignored her taunts and went straight to the point, "Because if I get to school a secondte and miss my first lecture for the week, forget about getting my blood again, I will also make a big case out of this!"

    "Are you threatening me?" Shi Wenqian asked with a wicked gaze. If there were some things she hated, being threatened was part of it.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling was sitting in the back passenger seat of a car while munching on some sweets. Even when she got what she asked for, she was still clearly unhappy.

    She even said to the driver, "You have to cross your speed limit and take me to school on time otherwise if I''mte and miss my lectures, you will bear the consequences of me not giving out my blood for the second time today"

    When the driver heard this, his feet immediately touched down on the speed pedal.

    Before leaving the hospital premises, Shi Wenqian had instructed him not to go above the speed limit no matter what because she wanted Zhang Liling to miss her first lecture.

    And as the Madam, he had no choice but to listen to her. But here was Zhang Liling threatening to make him take the me for such a huge crime. He feared for his life and immediately stepped on the elerator.

    In his mind, he hoped that his life would stop being a bargaining chip between Zhang Liling and her stepmother.

    Seeing that he had increased the speed of the car, Zhang Liling scoffed and went back to eating the sweets. She felt a little faint after giving out that much blood and needed to replenish it.

    For a moment, she regretted making that kind of negotiation, but this was Mr. Fang''s ss, and she couldn''t trade it for anything.

    With that thought, a smile finally bloomed on her face after a long while.

 Chapter 3 Ten Seconds

    After Zhang Liling had left the hospital, the doctor who walked in with Shi Wenqian said with a confused gaze, "What do you need the extra blood bag for, the one we have is enough?"

    Shi Wenqian red at the doctor for asking an unnecessary question. "I don''t think this should concern you."

    The doctor knew that this was her way of bullying her stepdaughter by always dragging her to the hospital to donate blood. This has been going on for a while and the doctor could no longer continue watching.

    "Mrs. Zhang you need to find another way other than this because this will be a serious issue if she decides to report it. After all, Mr. Zhang is the biological father of your stepdaughter, and he is still alive. If he learns of this¡­"

    Shi Wenqian did not allow him to finish talking and cut him off immediately. She was already angry that she sent Zhang Liling off to school with the family''s chauffeur.

    "Are you saying that blood donation is a crime?" She asked furiously.

    "It is not, but it can be a crime. This method you are using is a crime. No matter how healthy she is, she can not donate more than 2 units of blood in one donation. And she can only donate blood every 56 days, but this is the third time in this month already." The doctor pointed out.

    Shi Wenqian scoffed, "Are you saying that my son should die with his Hemophilia?"

    The doctor shook his head and said, "I''m not saying that. You should get blood the normal way by buying from the hospital. Start spending money legally. Your stepdaughter can get us in trouble, and I will not like to be a partaker of this anymore."

    "Are you backing out?" Shi Wenqian asked while pointing fingers at him.

    "I was never a partaker in the first ce. I am afraid ofwsuits, so keep me out of this. Also, can you tell your son to stay away from fights in the nightclub? He knows he has Hemophilia and yet he acts like he has another lifeline."

    The doctor said and attempted to walk away, but Shi Wenqian grabbed his cor and pulled him back.

    "You have to be very careful of the words you say, my husband must not know about this. You might be my distant cousin, but remember who brought you to this level, don''t bite more than you can chew,"

    The doctor chuckled and said to her in a low tone, "Also, remember who has been helping you out all these years." After saying that, he pushed her hand aside and tidied up his cor before walking away.

    "Bastard!" Shi Wenqian cursed through gritted teeth. If she had her ways, she wouldn''t mind crushing his brain.

    At NYU, when the chauffeur in the car carrying Zhang Liling got to the gates, he pulled over and asked her to get down.

    Zhang Liling huffed and red daggers at him. "Are you asking me to run to my lecture hall from the gates? Will you move this damn vehicle and take me to my destination!"

    As Zhang Liling made thest statement, she grabbed him by the cor with one hand.

    The chauffeur was surprised by her outburst as he has never seen her like that before. She wasn''t even scared that he would report her.

    Now, the chauffeur knew that he should be the one worrying about himself. He quickly ignited the car''s engine and drove inside the University''s premises, following Zhang Liling''s instructions.<sub> </sub>

    Two minutester, they got close to the building the lecture would be taking ce and Zhang Liling got off the car and hurried toward the lecture theatre.

    She couldn''t run because she still felt dizzy after the forceful blood donation. She only had a ss of milk and a toast of bread that morning before the blood donation.

    She was also supposed to eat something to regain her strength, but there was no time for it. She only had 10 seconds to make it into Mr. Fang''s ss before he locks the door.

    Punctuality was one of his rules.

    Mr. Fang who was standing on the podium was patiently watching the students sitting before him. And while doing so, someters continued to troop in panting for breath.

    Finally, when it was a minute to his lecture time, he fixed his gaze on his wristwatch to monitor the time.

    A female student sitting on the second seat of the third row looked very worried while ncing between her wristwatch and the entrance, she seemed to be waiting for somebody.

    At exactly 10 seconds to the lecture time, Zhang Liling ran in panting for breath. She would have copsed if she didn''t hold the door on time.

    Although she was not feeling quite well, she was more worried that the man currently staring at her with furrowed brows would send her out. Thankfully he didn''t.

    Mr. Fang''s gaze rested on her for only 5 seconds before moving it to his audience. "It''s time for today''s lecture," He said in his deep baritone voice.

    Zhang Liling breathed heavily in relief with her left hand on her chest. Atst, she made it, and that was the only thought going on in her head. She was still trying to catch her breath and had not moved from that point.

    When the female student with an average look and a low cut hairstyle saw her, she released a deep sigh of relief, before discreetly trying to get her attention, for fear of being caught by Mr. Fang,

    After catching her breath, Zhang Liling steadied herself before slowly walking toward the audience, and luckily, she saw a familiar face staring hard at her and recognized the person as her friend, Tungmei.

    In quick steps, she made her way towards her and sat on the empty seat she just evacuated by her side.

    "Thank you, Tungmei," Zhang Liling whispered in appreciation.

    With a straight gaze at the podium, Tungmei replied in a low tone, "You owe me an exnation."

    "I know," Zhang Liling replied as she unzipped her backpack to take out a bottle of water from it. She felt terribly weak and needed to resurrect herself.

    Tungmei was rmed seeing her with the bottle of water and immediately nced towards Mr. Fang''s direction, and seeing that he didn''t have his eyes on their side, she held Zhang Liling''s hand down.

    "Do you want to be kicked out?" She asked, not knowing that Mr. Fang had already noticed their action from his peripheral view.

 Chapter 4 Convincing Mr. Fang

    "I don''t mind being chased out in the middle of his ss, as it''s still far better than causing amotion and disrupting his ss by fainting," Zhang Liling said faintly before proceeding to drink from the bottle in her hand.

    She was at a point where she didn''t care what was going to happen next. The most important to her at the moment was to quench her thirst and try to get a little strength.

    ''Didn''t shee in now?'' Mr. Fang thought with knitted brows and continued teaching.

    But when he was done talking, he pointed a finger at her and said with a serious gaze, "You are justing in, and you are already disrupting my ss, get ready to answer my question."

    Zhang Liling almost choked on her water, especially when he shifted his sharp gaze in her direction. She wasn''t expecting this reaction from him.

    As for Tungmei, she stopped breathing when Mr. Fang''s gaze was fixed in their direction, and only remembered to breathe after he moved his attention away from them.

    Mr. Fang''s actions made them the center of attention, but that was not a problem for them.

    Tungmei had a few words for Zhang Liling, but she did not dare to talk, for fear of implicating herself.

    From the time Mr. Fang dished out that punishment to Zhang Liling, there was a pin drop silence. There was silence before, but right now, it was even better as there was absolute tranquility.

    There were no longer secret whispers and side talks as no one was ready to answer the difficult questions of Mr. Fang.

    Since Mr. Fang was talking about negotiation skills, and being caught in a trap, Zhang Liling paid attention to his ss.

    Unlike before, where she would the opportunity to daze for some seconds, this time around, she forced her 5 senses to be focused.

    She already knew that she would be a dead meat if she lost concentration and missed an important point or answer to his questions.

    At the end of the ss, Mr. Fang nced in Zhang Liling''s direction and said, "You get up and answer this question."

    Immediately, all attention was fixed on Zhang Liling who slowly got to her feet. Most of them wanted to see the next level of punishment she would receive after failing to answer Mr. Fang''s question.

    "Good luck, Liling." Tungmei prayed in her heart.

    "We talked about negotiation skills today. Right now, I want you to convince me to continue doing business with you instead of sending you away since you came to sste." Mr. Fang asked.

    Everyone has been guessing where his questions woulde from, but this one that just left his lips was not a part of it.

    From what Zhang Liling understood from the question, he was telling her to convince him not to ban her froming to his ss again, since she arrivedte and even caught her drinking water in the middle of his ss.

    Honestly, Zhang Liling was dumbstruck just like Tungmei, but she had to say something even though she didn''t know what response to give.

    Slowly fixing her gaze on him, she started to reply, "This is the first time I''mingte for a business meeting with you because I was abducted this morning from my house. After managing to convince my enemy to let me go with a deal, I came straight to the meeting venue, and I appeared 10 seconds to the time for the meeting appointment."

    Whispers and hushed voices wereing from the other students as they couldn''t help talking about her response.<sub> </sub>

    Some of them wondered what she was talking about, while the others were thinking if she made it up just to convince Mr. Fang not to ban her from his ss.

    "What is she talking about?"

    "Was she really abducted?"

    "Shouldn''t she have just begged him to give her one more chance?"

    To thest question Tungmei overheard, she scoffed and replied to it in her head. ''He asked her to convince him not to beg, you fools!''

    Mr. Fang who just heard Zhang Liling''s response was a bit surprised by it, but he refused to show his thought and emotions on his face.

    ''Did she just tell me what happened to her this morning,'' He thought to himself. Zhang Liling''s gaze was too sincere, and her response was too straightforward to be deemed a lie.

    Nevertheless, he still passed on the verdict he had in mind.

    Zhang Liling who was patiently waiting for his response along with the other students, paid close attention to hear him.

    "I am unsatisfied with your response, and you have seeded in creating an animosity between us." After delivering the long-awaited response, Mr. Fang picked up hisptop with his hand and walked away.

    Immediately his back disappeared from view, the entire ss broke out in uproar.

    Zhang Liling ignored the students talking about her and turned to nce at Tungmei to ask. "Did Mr. Fang just reject my reply, does that mean I can''t attend his sses anymore?"

    Seeing that gaze of uncertainty, Tungmei didn''t know what to tell her, she just sat there and continued staring at her with confusion.

    "Take care of my backpack!" Those were thest words Tungmei heard from her before she disappeared from her sight.

    Zhang Liling chased after Mr. Fang and caught up with him along the hallway.

    Mr. Fang heard the rushed footsteps and turned only to see her rushing towards him. He knew that she was going toe close to him and he was avoiding that.

    He had wanted to stop her in time, but Zhang Liling was heading over like a bull that had lost control and failed to stop in time.

    Mr. Fang had to stand there with a wrinkled nose and a tight frown on his face as she came to a halt before him.

    Zhang Liling failed to notice his change in countenance, as she was still trying to catch her breath with her head lowered.

    Mr. Fang took this as an opportunity to escape from her, but he had only taken a step when she noticed his movement, and immediately blocked him from the front with her hands spread out.

    "Mr. Fang, please give me a minute." She said a little breathlessly in between panting for air, with a tired gaze fixed on him.

 Chapter 5 She Collapsed

    "What do you want to talk about? Must youe this close to me before you speak?" Mr. Fang queried with an unpleasant gaze.

    He was worried about his nose picking up any strong scent or odor. He didn''t want to deal with the aftermathter, so it was better to avoid every root problem from the onset.

    Zhang Liling thought he was very angry with her because of the incident in ss and quickly apologized to him with a bow before standing erect and fixing a panicked gaze on him.

    "Mr. Fang I''m really sorry for offending you. But can you exin where I got it all wrong? You asked me to convince you, and I did tell you my story." Zhang Liling said with an ashen gaze.

    Her tone was very mild to the extent that you could feel the exhaustion in her voice. She was feeling very weak and faint, but clearing the air with Mr. Fang was very important.

    Mr. Fang took a good look at her and felt that she was not okay, but that didn''t bother him.

    He would have left anyway, but because she was bold enough to find out where she went wrong, he was willing to exin to her, but first, he had to put a distance between them.

    With that, Mr. Fang took a few steps backward but Zhang Liling misunderstood his actions and thought he wanted to run away, so she put a step forward, but Mr. Fang''smand stopped her in her tracks.

    "Don''t you dare move an inch! Must youe close to me before we can have a conversation?" Mr. Fang asked with a re as he put his fingers on his nose to rub it.

    He was almost frustrated by Zhang Liling''s actions. He was trying to put a reasonable distance between them, but she seemed not to get it.

    Zhang Liling on the other hand was taken aback by his instructions and actions, but she soon stopped worrying about them when she saw that he wasn''t trying to leave.

    Mr. Fang loosened his guard seeing her standing there obediently then, he released his nose from the firm grip before saying to her with a serious gaze and a little disappointment in his tone.

    "You are in your graduate year already and as a business student, but your negotiation skills are zero. I wonder how you managed to escape from your abductor." Mr. Fang sneered.

    He wondered who was the fool between Zhang Liling and her abductor if she managed to get away with the 0 negotiation skills she showed to him.

    Zhang Liling looked surprised that he believed her story and almost crossed the line, but his reminder to keep the distance cleared her fogged mind.

    "Mr. Fang, do you believe my story?" Zhang Liling asked with a big smile. Just a few seconds ago, she looked as if she was about to die, but right now, she was looking like her usual self.

    "Only if you don''t want to graduate would you dare lie to me." Mr. Fang said.

    He was very sure that with his stern attitude towards his students, none of them would dare to lie.

    "I asked you to convince me and you only talked about the problems you faced before going ahead to tell me you were 10 seconds early to my ss. Where were your credibility and trustworthiness?" He questioned with a serious gaze.

    Zhang Liling seemed a little lost. She was unsure if her mind was messing with her, but she didn''t look like she read any meaning to his words.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang observed her from the side and knew she didn''t understand a word he said. He no longer wanted to waste his time on her.

    He could have left there and walked away, but when he thought back to the 100% chance of her chasing after him, he decided to release a deep breath to calm his nerves down before exining.

    "Your exnation was good, pointing out that you were on time, was okay, but what happens after that? You didn''t apologize although you were caught up with unforeseen circumstances, and you didn''t say anything about today''s situation not repeating itself."

    Zhang Liling just stood there like an obedient cat listening to his lectures.

    ''What an honor it is to stand before Mr. Fang. Gosh, his looks are heavenly and he has a pair of attractive eyes, but why does he hide them with a framed-sses? Ehn¡­ are those sses fake?''

    The human being Mr. Fang was speaking to had already gone into a trance while admiring him.

    Mr. Fang was still unaware that his outstanding student wasn''t even paying attention to his teaching, but he stopped speaking because Zhang Liling didn''t look well to him.

    He thought that it must be rted to the ordeal she faced in the morning and made a conclusive statement.

    "If you want tost in the business world, work on your negotiation skills."

    Zhang Liling came back to her senses after hisst statement and seeing that he was about to leave, she asked an important question.

    "Mr. Fang, can I continue to attend your ss?"

    If after everything he said to her, and all the efforts she put in to avoid a situation like this and he still goes on to ban her from his ss, nothing would make sense.

    And if she would want to retaliate, she would start with her stepmother first, not minding what it would cost her.

    Fortunately, Mr. Fang nodded in approval and walked past her.

    Zhang Liling became happy and more proactive. Forgetting how weak she was, she thanked him with a deep bow but ended up not making it back to her initial standing position.

    She copsed with a huge force, causing her entire body system to shut down automatically, not giving her brain even the chance to process her situation, and the pain from the force of her body making a contact with the hard tiled floor.

    It was the loud sudden thud her body made when it kissed the hard cold floor, that managed to get Mr. Fang''s attention, and stopped him in his tracks.

    As he slowly turned around, he saw her lying there, unresponsive.

 Chapter 6 Spreading Rumours

    Mr. Fang''s first reaction when he saw her in that state, was to rush to her side and try to wake her up. Out of instinct, he totally forgot about his health challenge, and only focused to try and get a response from Zhang Liling who looked like blood had dried from her body.

    If not for the emergency, maybe he would have noticed something so odd and rare at the same time.

    Zhang Liling''s scent did not affect him. His nose did not hurt, no tears were threatening to brew in his eyes, and he didn''t feel any iing headache. He waspletely normal.

    Mr. Fang knelt on one knee and tried to get a response from Zhang Ling by pping her cheek gently. "Hey! Wake up!"He didn''t even know her name, and so couldn''t address her by it.

    That method failed, so he had no choice but to lift her in his arms and walked away in quick steps.

    If only the unconscious Zhang Liling was able to witness this beautiful moment with her crush, the world-renowned business magnate holding her in his arms with a panicked expression on his face, she would have leaped in excitement.

    Unfortunately, she was not in the condition to see, hear, perceive or feel anything and so this golden moment, passed by.

    An hourter, Zhang Liling groggily opened her eyes with the feeling of pain on one side of her body. She still looked out of it and was still trying to find out her location when she heard a familiar voiceing from around the corner.

    "Liling, are you okay?" Tungmei rushed to her side with a worried gaze and tried to help her up.

    "Where am I?" Zhang Liling asked with a confused gaze as she looked around. She found her surroundings unfamiliar.

    Tungmei heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that she was fine, then went ahead to exin things and satisfy her curiosity.

    "You are in the school clinic, Mr. Fang brought you here."

    "Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling asked with a surprised gaze. She could only remember cking out after she tried to bow. As for the incidents that happened before she regained consciousness, she was unaware of them.

    Tungmei heaved another sigh and sat next to her on the hospital bed. "Don''t even get me started. Right now, the news about you fainting, and Mr. Fang bringing you over here in his arms, must have spread to the ends of the university."

    Zhang Liling was still trying to get over the fact that she has been in her crush''s arms and missed it, when the issue of a rumor based on the event, came up.

    The only thought in response to that was that some people were tired of living. Spreading rumors about Mr. Fang was like asking for a death wish.

    "Where is Mr. Fang? I hope he doesn''t find me a nuisance." That was her only worry.

    Tungmei felt like smacking her forehead for not knowing how serious the situation was.

    "I was in ss when a course-mate came to tell me that you fainted and was rushed to the school clinic. I was almost scared to death, but at first thought, it was a prank. Its''s good that you are fine now."

    Zhang Liling had asked her to wait for her and look after her backpack in the process. Fifteen minutes into the job, she got the shocking news and had to rush over.<sub> </sub>

    "Yes, I''m fine, thanks for watching over me," Zhang Liling managed a smile. Colour had slowly returned to her face, and she no longer felt weak like before, thanks to the drip.

    Tungmei suddenly leaned over to ask, "The doctor that attended to you said youcked blood and had pulled yourself to its limit, what did she mean by that?"

    In a simple well-furnished office that happened to be arranged for Mr. Fang during his stay at NYU, Mr. Fang was currently scolding his personal assistant for being absent during the earlier incident.

    Bolin didn''t dare to raise his head until he finished admonishing him. He had left a few minutes before the end of his ss to take an important call for him, and also handle an emergency over the phone, hence his disappearance.

    Still, this was not enough reason for him to exin himself because of Mr. Fang''s disposition, and it was his first time being in that kind of situation, given his health challenges. He took the correction and promised not to let that kind of situation repeat itself.

    Mr. Fang could not continue scolding him as there was another important matter to handle.

    "A good number of students saw me carrying that girl in my arms. This is a good profitable and potential gossip. Stop my name from spreading along with the gossip."

    "Yes Sir, I will do that right away!" Bolin replied and left to take care of the matter.

    Under no circumstance should any kind of gossip spread with Mr. Fang''s name attached to it.

    Zhang Liling had already spent twenty minutes being awake when she learned of thetest gossip with her name, which caused Tungmei to be a bit worried.

    ''Campus belle Zhang Liling faints and gets admitted into the school''s clinic.''

    ''The second daughter of the Zhang family faints in ss.''

    Hearing all these titles, Zhang Liling couldn''t help chuckling hard.

    "What''s funny?" Tungmei asked with a confused gaze. She didn''t see anything funny in the gossip.

    Zhang Liling flicked her hair and replied with a knowing smile, "I''m just thinking that my stepmother would be out of her mind when she sees this news and wouldn''t hesitate to bring me back home." She also wouldn''t dare to take my blood for a while.

    A good number of people in S city knew that she was not the biological daughter of Shi Wenqian after she appeared a few years ago.

    This kind of news could cause tongues to wag and her stepmother''s reputation to be questioned so, she would want to minimize the effect on her prestige for selfish reasons.

    Shi Wenqian was currently at the Zhang house instructing the servants on what to prepare the next day to wee Mr. Zhang back from his long business trip when she got a call concerning Zhang Liling.

    She was rmed and immediately passed out an order for her to be brought home at the soonest.

 Chapter 7 The Crucial Need For A Strong Backing

    ? "What? Find her right now and bring her back!" Shi Wenqianmanded in an urgent tone. She had just heard about the news of Zhang Liling fainting and being rushed to her school''s clinic.

    Not just that, the rumours making rounds on the inte because of the incident, weren''t favourable to her, or the Zhang Family.

    The public image she had managed to build after several years, was being threatened because of a small matter, but how could she it be?

    She was going to make sure that none of that happened. She already had enough enemies, so she couldn''t let more tongues start wagging.

    "She is still taking your blood, but why do you allow her to do that? Can''t you report her to your father, I''m sure that he will take care of it?" Tungmei asked with a worried- surprised gaze.

    This was not the first time she was hearing about the blood donation issue. Because Zhang Liling stopped mentioning it, she thought that her stepmother''s ruthless actions had stopped, but who knew that she was just getting started?

    Replying to her question, Zhang Liling scoffed. "My father? I had better keep quiet. It''s not like he likes me, so why should he help me?"

    "For instance, this news of you blowing up on the inte should be enough reason to tackle your stepmother," Tungmei said pointing in a random direction.

    She could never understand how these big families lived their lives and treated one another.

    "At most, he would only scold her since this method of bullying was extreme. It''s true that he doesn''t care about me, but he wouldn''t let me get bullied to this extent because of my mother." Zhang Liling replied with a careless tone.

    She looked so carefree at this moment as if nothing bothered her.

    "Your mother is truly your saving grace. Sometimes I wonder why she let youe to the Zhang family in the first ce." Tungmei replied with a concerned gaze.

    She was sure that her mother knew what Shi Wenqian was going to be like, given their awkward rtionship, so why bother to send her to the Zhang family?

    Zhang Liling folded her arms below her chest and said while gazing at her, "Even I would like to ask my mother that question. Anyways, I can''t deal with my stepmother myself, and even my mum warned me not to cross her because was too shady."

    "There are a lot of things I still do not understand about that woman, so I can''t be rash." Zhang Liling smiled and continued, "I''m relieved that these rumours about me are spreading like wildfire. At least she wouldn''t dare to take my blood forcefully anytime soon, plus Mr. Zhang ising back soon."

    Tungmei released a deep breath as she slowly reached out for her hands. Squeezing them gently to show herfort and support. "You need an escape n. You have to find a way to leave that house. How about you move into the school hostel? You won''t be lonely with me there."

    If not for one reason, she would have willingly epted her suggestion, but that will be taking things too lightly with her stepmother.

    Obviously, Zhang Liling knows that her stepmother would never let her leave the Zhang Mansion, which was her territory that she has been using to control her so easily. She wanted to keep a close watch on her, so she would never let her leave.

    Even if sheined to her father about leaving, she could easily brainwash him with matters concerning their image.<sub> </sub>

    She was sure to say something about theizens saying things about them not treating her well and chasing her out of the house. Caring so much about his image because of his important future pursuit, it was easy for her to deceive her father.

    "I need a strong backing, a connection stronger than the Zhang''s. If I''m going to leave that house, I need to be prepared. I can''t even stay in that house for the next week." Zhang Liling said with her thought on what person.

    "Where are you going to find such strong backing? I mean, there are so many big families out there, but who would want to support you?" Tungmei asked worriedly.

    Finding a strong backing wasn''t difficult because of the so many big families in S City, but finding a sponsor amongst them would tasking.

    "I have to pick one family, and focus on convincing them to help, or I will think of another way." Zhang Liling said with a small smile.

    Tungmei caught unto her small smile and heaved a sigh. She felt pity for her friend, but it looks like she was not that bothered. Still, she wished she can quicklye out of her situation.

    Leaving the Zhang family meant that she would be caught off from their financial support.

    After chatting about her stepmother for a while, Tungmei reminded her about eating.

    "You need to eat something, the doctor said your stomach is empty, and thanks to the drip, you''ve got a certain amount of energy back."

    Zhang Liling stared into the distance and said as a smirk turned up at the corner of her lips, "I''m not that hungry, what''s the rush?"

    Tungmei did not nag her any further because she recognized that gaze which mean that she was nning something of high interest.

    While waiting for the next action, Zhang Liling received a call from an unsaved contact, but what was weird was the fact that she looked displeased at the sight of that number. She seemed to recognize it even with it being unsaved.

    "Are you not going to answer it?" Tungmei asked curiously.

    "It''s my mum." Zhang Liling replied with a tight frown.

    Tungmei stared at her in confusion as she asked, "So? Would you rather take your stepmother''s call instead of your mother''s? Answer it, she must have seen the news."

    "You don''t understand, my mother is troublesome too," Zhang Liling said tiredly, but still ended up taking the call.

    Just like Tungmei said, she had seen the news and had called because she was worried.

    "Liling are you alright? I saw on the news that you fainted at school, what happened? Did that woman bully you?" The mature female voice at the other end asked hurriedly.

 Chapter 8 A Bigger Emergency

    Zhang Liling admitted to being bullied and ended up speaking to her mother for a few minutes more before their conversation came to an end.

    "Your mother sounded very angry, but why didn''t you tell her about your blood being taken forcefully?" Tungmei asked disappointedly.

    Zhang Liling seemed to have intentionally skipped that part, and her reason is that it was not a matter to talk about over the phone.

    Half an hourter, the people Shi Wenqian sent to take her back home, appeared in the room. For the first time, they asked Zhang Liling toe with them nicely, but she refused.

    "The doctor said that I need bed rest. Also, I haven''t eaten anything reasonable since today. I''m scared of copsing, so I would rather stay here for some time."

    The woman who came with the two men in suits exchanged nces with them before ncing back at Zhang Liling. The woman seemed to be in herte thirties, and she had this haughty air around her. This woman was Shi Wenqian''s, righthand man.

    "When you get home, you can eat and continue having plenty of rest. Madam wants you back immediately so you can be better-taken care of."

    Zhang Liling scoffed andid back on the bed. Next, she said with her gaze on her, "Tell your Madam that I won''t leave this ce until I have eaten good food. And if she tries to use force on me, you would be proving that the rumors are right."

    Tungmei who was watching the little drama unfold, gave a thumbs-up to her in her head. She did right by trying to take advantage of the situation.

    Shi Wenqian''s righthand was very dissatisfied with Zhang Liling''s action, but still shifted away and went on to contact her boss on the phone to inform her of her stepdaughter''s request.

    "Today is her lucky day, ce an order for what she wants, but you must remind her to finish up quickly before I lose my patience." Shi Wenqian said through gritted teeth.

    She seethed in rage at the thought of doing what Zhang Liling wanted.

    Zhang Liling seeded in having what she requested. She ced an order for so many different dishes which she ended up wasting.

    After eating, it was time to leave, so she embraced Tungmei who asked her to keep her phone with her at all times.

    "Help me take a leave of absence for the rest of the day." Zhang Liling said and waved to her.

    Before Zhang Liling could get to the Zhang house, someone came back before her. It was her stepsister Zhang Xiaoling.

    Zhang Xiaoling was older than Zhang Liling by almost 4 years, and she had no blood rtionship with the Zhang family, but because Mr. Zhang had adopted her when he married her mother Shi Wenqian, she automatically became a daughter of the Zhang Family.

    Zhang Xiaoling looked a bit panicked while stepping into the house. She had good looks and was of an average height. Plus her maturity, makeup, and sense of a good taste in fashion, she didn''t look ordinary in any way.

    Those who didn''t know better would think that she was the true heiress of the Zhang family''s fortune.<sub> </sub>

    "Mum, have you seen the news?" She asked as she handed her handbag over to the servant and walked in with her shoes on.

    Shi Wenqian looked so surprised to see her back home at that hour. "What are you doing here? Don''t tell me that you came back because of the rumors?"

    "Of course, I did, you could be kin trouble." Zhang Xiaoling said with a frown and a hint in her tone.

    Shi Wenqian thought that she was worried for nothing and asked her to rx. "I have everything under control now. I have sent for her and they are on their way back now."

    Right now, Shi Wenqian looked very confident because of her quick actions, but Zhang Xiaoling refused to rx. She pulled her arm and dragged her towards her bedroom.

    "Mum, I have confidential advice to say to you," She said before her mother would struggle with her or start asking questions.

    Shi Wenqian wondered what was so secretive for her to take her inside the room and even lock the door.

    Now standing face to face with each other, Zhang Xiaoling let her go and said with a serious gaze on her, "Mum, you have to pause with the blood transfusion before you get into trouble. For now, leave Zhang Liling out of this before your entire business is ruined."

    Initially, Shi Wenqian had a small smile on her face and was even about to ask if that was the confidential information she wanted to talk about, but when she heard thest part of her words, she froze.

    "You know about my business?" She asked with a shocking gaze. "How did you find out?" She continued with a not-so-good facial expression.

    Zhang Xiaoling released a deep breath, "Mum, what''s important right now, is to clean up this mess with that girl, and get a doctor to check on her."

    "There is no need for a doctor toe over, she would be fine after getting some rest. By the way, why are you suddenly showing care towards her?" Shi Wenqian asked with an unhappy gaze.

    She didn''t like her daughter''s attitude, and couldn''t wait to correct it. She believed that it would be a waste of resources to call a daughter over for Zhang Liling.

    Her own flesh and blood was bedridden in the hospital while doctors and nurses served him, so why should Zhang Liling be given home-based VIP treatment. She didn''t deserve that kind of treatment.

    Zhang Xiaoling understood her mother''s thoughts from her facial expressions, but that was not important now. There was bigger emergency news.

    "Mum, dad is on his way right now." She revealed with a worried gaze.

    Shi Wenqian seemed shocked at the revtion and couldn''t help eximing, "What!" Then she went on to throw questions at her, "How is that possible? He clearly said he would be back tomorrow, where did you hear this from?"

    "One of his assistants tipped me off, and that is the main reason I had toe back home. Mum, call the doctor now!" Zhang Xiaoling said while staring straight into her mother''s eyes.

 Chapter 9 This Is The Truth

    In what looked like a private jet with brown interior decors, an older-looking man past his 50s with a few obvious grey hairs looked furious while staring at his phone. He was the same man Shi Wenqian and Zhang Xiaoling was talking about, Mr. Zhang.

    The current patriarch of the Zhang family and CEO of Zhang Corp.

    Thanks to technology and how proficient it was in circting rumors rted to socialites and celebrities, he just got to see the news of his biological daughter fainting in school and rushed to the clinic.

    Not only that, but he also got to see how his reputation could be easily ruined because of it.

    He had gone on a business, which actually masked the real deal he went to another city for. He had political ambition, and the meeting looked to be sessful.

    It was sessful that he wanted toe home as soon as possible to break the good news to his family, so he got on the jet and picked up his phone to give a notification for his arrival, only to see the news.

    ''Is the Zhang family not taking care of her?''

    ''Is she sick or something?''

    ''Is she being maltreated?''

    All these negative spections going about on the inte was bad news to the old man, and he had to do something about it. He called his PR team to find out how long it would take to get those articles down.

    After he confirmed they were already working on it, he ended the conversation with gritted teeth as he wondered what kind of wife he kept at home.

    "I thought you should be intelligent by now, but you still go ahead to make big mistakes at a time like this? Just wait till I get back." He said out loud.

    The reason he was very angry was because of his reputation and the danger those articles posed. The meeting to his first step into politics had just worked out, and it was already being threatened.

    Mr. Zhang was so angry that he passed a message to the pilot, "Don''t you know how to ride this thing faster?!"

    Another older-looking man in the same private jet with him who looked to be in his 50s sighed and looked away. Anytime his Boss was this angry, even he had to stay clear of his path.

    "¡­ immediately!" Shi Wenqian instructed over the phone before terminating the call.

    Then, she nced at Zhang Xiaoling who was still standing in front of her to ask, "I don''t want to start asking how you came to know about my blood bank business, but let it stop here. No one else must know about it!"

    Shi Wenqian sounded so strict and serious even with her own daughter, which showed just how delicate, secretive and important her business was.

    Given her tone, it was obvious that it wouldn''t have ended that way if the person before her wasn''t her own flesh and blood. She might go as far as getting rid of the person to make sure that her secret was kept under wraps.

    "Mum, you worry too much. Have you forgotten that I am your daughter?" Zhang Xiaoling asked with an obvious smirk at the corner of her lips.<sub> </sub>

    Shi Wenqian looked away and released a deep sigh of relief. It was good that her daughter didn''t ask her the reason she had a blood bank. But as for how much she knew about her business, she would have to wait and find outter.

    "Forget it. If your father asks the reason you left work early, you can say you were worried about Zhang Liling after seeing the news." Shi Wenqian said.

    All me must be put on Zhang Liling to relieve them of most of the iing stress,

    Zhang Xiaoling smiled meaningfully, "After all, this is the truth."

    At NYU, after Bolin was done settling the issue with the tabloids, he returned to Mr. Fang''s office to make a report.

    "Take me to see the vi," Mr. Fang instructed and led the way out, while Bolin followed behind after picking up his things from the table.

    ''He said he wasn''t interested in seeing it earlier today.'' Bolin thought to himself. His Boss was really unpredictable.

    When they got into the car, Bolin made a call to the manager in charge of getting the Vi ready to tell him about theiring.

    Immediately after the call, the manager at the sight began to order the people under him around. He began to nag at them to be quick and to position things properly.

    He didn''t want to be sacked in the middle of his job as that would be great harm to his reputation in this field to be sacked by ''Mr. Fang''

    After settling down in the car, Mr. Fang picked up the bottle of meds lying at his side along with a bottle of water uncapped by Bolin.

    He took 2 pills from the bottle and swallowed them with the water.

    The bottle of pills in his car was the same as the one in his bedroom. He also has another bottle in his office at thepany, and he has no choice but to take the pills at intervals if he wanted to breathe in properly.

    A few minutes after he had taken the drugs, Mr. Fang seemed to feel better as he rxed his back against the car seatfortably. He had just shut his eyes when a scene that happened earlier, shed in front of him.

    Instantly, he remembered something inexplicable that happened when he came in close contact with Zhang Liling the time she copsed.

    Zhang Liling''s scent did not affect him. He breathedfortably even when he carried her to the clinic, and he guessed that he had missed this point because he was in a panic.

    Haven thought this far, his brows furrowed and his eyes flew open with different wandering thoughts in his head. Because of those thoughts battling to form concise information in his head, he felt restless.

    "Bolin, make a stop at the doctor''s." Mr. Fang instructed. He was now very interested in this mystery and hoped to unravel it soon.

 Chapter 10 Get To Know Her

    Bolin didn''t know his reason for wanting to stop at the hospital to see his doctor. In this line of work, he didn''t need to know everything before following instructions.

    But he still couldn''t help wondering if his illness was getting worse and needed a change of meds. With that thought in mind, he gave a reminder to the driver to make a left turn at the next junction.

    Twenty minutester, they arrived at the underground parking lot of a private hospital. Taking the private elevator from thereafter the system had scanned his face, Mr. Fang went up with Bolin to meet his private doctor.

    A young man with soft facial features who seemed to be of the same age as Mr. Fang was diligently working on hisptop when his door was suddenly pushed open.

    And before he could scold whoever it was thatcked manner, he caught sight of the tyrant and swallowed back his words.

    "Bingwen, there is that door for a reason. It''s there so you can knock beforeing in." The young man reminded with a big smile on his face.

    "I am here for an official reason, address me properly." Mr. Fang said with a frown.

    Despite the fact they were good friends, Mr. Fang believed that any environment they found themselves in, will determine how they should address each other.

    The young man, Chualin chuckled softly before going on to ask, "You didn''t book an appointment today, is this a case of emergency?"

    He was surprised to see him without prior notice, which was unlike him who liked to keep and make things orderly.

    "Do I need to inform you about that every time? Have you forgotten who owns half of the funds for this hospital?" Mr. Fang queried with raised brows as he put his hands in his trousers'' front pockets.

    Chuanli replied, "That is why you have an exclusive private elevator from the underground parking lot to my office."

    It was exactly because of his shares that he had an exclusive right to his hospital. He was their highest tier VIP hence he was treated differently from other VIP patients.

    Mr. Fang rolled his eyes at him briefly before taking a seat on the couch and crossed his legs thereafter.

    Chuanli smiled meaningfully and got off his seat. Taking a few steps toward him, he sat next to him and asked, "To what do I owe this surprising visit from the busy Mr. Fang?"

    Bolin who was standing at the side nodded in greeting toward Chuanli before taking a seat on the other side.

    "Today, I came in contact with someone whose scent didn''t irritate me." Mr. Fang revealed with a distant gaze. He was still ying back the scene of when Zhang Liling copsed and he got close to her and even carried her to the clinic in his head.

    "What?" Chuanli eximed in surprise.

    Bolin who was sitting on the other side equally looked surprised after the huge revtion from his boss.

    ''Was it that female student he carried in his arms earlier? Is this why he wanted to see his doctor?'' Bolin thought in his head.

    He seemed more confused now as he listened to the conversation with furrowed brows.

    Mr. Fang continued, "I thought this was an illusion and must have been mistaken due to my panic but, it wasn''t so. When I got close to her and carried her in my arms, I didn''t remember feeling any diforts with my nose."

    By the time he finished speaking and turned to look at Chuanli, thetter had already picked up his notepad and pen and was busy jotting away.

    When he stood up and left and returned, Mr. Fang and Bolin could not exin.

    Chuanli saw that he had stopped speaking, so he stopped scribbling as well and looked up to nce at him.<sub> </sub>

    "How sure are you that you weren''t muddled because of your panic?" He asked for rity purposes.

    He needed to note the correct information to help with his research and experiments.

    Mr. Fang overlooked the insult and replied, "Surely I should have still felt a little bit of difort despite being in that situation, I''m not an idiot."

    Both doctor and patient stared at each other for 7 seconds before Chuanli gave up and scribbled thetest information down, before going on to ask further questions.

    "Okay, but I need some information rting to the woman in question," Chuanli said as he got ready to scribble again.

    "How old is she?"

    "Which family is she from? I need to know her bloodline."

    "What''s her height and weight?"

    "What''s her blood group and blood genotype?"

    "Before today, have youe in close contact with her?"

    "Were you able to pick up her scent?"

    "Hold on!" Mr. Fang stopped him with a tinge of annoyance in his tone. He was already starting to get angry with all the questions he threw at him which he knew nothing about.

    "She is my student and I don''t even know her name. Today was my first timeing in close contact with her."

    Chuanli smiled meaningfully and closed his notepad. "Fine! Get to know her and call me back, or you can drop by like today when you get this information for me."

    ''Get to know her?'' Mr. Fang thought as he got vexed with that taunting gaze from him.

    Even Bolin felt that word was strange. He was asking his Boss to be familiar with his female student. Wasn''t he asking for a beating?

    Chuanli knew what his current thoughts were and chuckled softly. But because he was too young to die yet, he figured that he should exin himself, so he gave him a hint.

    "There are so many ways to get this information for me, and it''s all left for you to pick the method."

    Mr. Fang calmed down and looked away from him. If the information he was asking for wasn''t vital, he wouldn''t even bother with him.

    "How long before you get a good result?" He asked.

    "As soon as I get the information I need, I will start my research and experiment," Chuanli replied.

    Since there was nothing more to talk about, Chuanli went on to ask how effective his new meds were, but he just got up and left with this sentence.

    "Good,"

 Chapter 11 Show Of Sudden Kindness

    Steadily, an expensive car drove into the premises of the Zhang Vi.

    Zhang Liling was restingfortably in the backseat of the car that had just driven into the Zhang Family''s residence.

    Even when the car had stopped, she remained sittingfortably in it, refusing toe down.

    The Zhang family''s housekeeper had to signal the bodyguard to open the car door for her.

    When the car door opened, Zhang Liling stared straight at the housekeeper''s face and sneered, "Aren''t you going to help me out just as you portrayed back in my school, or is the show over already?"

    Back in NYU, the housekeeper had helped her from the hospital bed and straight to the car, with the reason that in case little paparazzi were still monitoring, they would get a good picture and write something cleaner.

    The housekeeper let out a sigh and walked to her before helping her out of the car. When she was about to let go of her hand, Zhang Liling asked with a smirk, "Can''t you see that I''m so weak and can''t make it inside myself?"

    The housekeeper looked irritated with her troubles but still went on to hold up her arm and help her into the house.

    "You servants are getting veryzy, or do you just serve one person in this house? If that is so, I think it wouldn''t be bad if my stepmother starts drawing your blood twice a month, just like she did with me."

    As soon as Zhang Liling said that, the housekeeper looked rmed and immediately covered her mouth in fear, but she ended up getting whacked in the face by the furious Zhang Liling.

    "How dare you put your hands on me, have you gone nuts? Every member of this family bullies me, and now a servant wants to join the queue?"

    Although Zhang Liling had already hit her, she couldn''t stop herself from being angry.

    How could the housekeeper cover her mouth while she was still speaking? The woman already bullies her through her stepmother''s instructions, and now, she dared to do so outside? She really was requesting to be taught a lesson.

    The housekeeper froze at Zhang Liling''s actions. She didn''t see this ping because she never thought that Zhang Liling was capable of it.

    Zhang Liling didn''t bother to ask the housekeeper to help her, she made it into the house just fine, by herself. It was after Zhang Liling''s back had disappeared from her sight that she remembered to react.

    She gnashed her teeth with clenched fists while staring daggers at the entrance. She so badly wanted to pull all her hair out.

    For a servant to dare to think this kind of thoughts about a member of the family she works for, just how much authority was she given?

    "You are back, where is the housekeeper?" Shi Wenqian asked with a frown when she saw Zhang Liling walk inside alone.

    Zhang Liling had a not-so-good expression on her face, and being asked that question, she just hissed and walked past her.

    Shi Wenqian thought that she didn''t hear well and even turned around to nce at her back.

    "Did she just hiss at me?" She asked herself with an ugly facial expression on her face. This was the second-highest level of disrespect she has gotten from Zhang Liling in one day.<sub> </sub>

    The housekeeper walked in at this time and greeted her respectfully with a slight bow. Shi Wenqian heard her voice and finally shifted her gave to her, only to see her left cheek was faint red like it had collided with something.

    "What are you looking that way, have you forgotten the image you should keep when you go outside to represent me?" Shi Wenqian asked.

    The housekeeper was like her personal assistant, and people usually saw the two of them outside together.

    "Miss Zhang Liling hit me." The housekeeper disclosed with a calm demeanor.

    "She hit you? This quite interesting," Shi Wenqian said with a smile. "And what was her reason?" She continued.

    The housekeeper went on to tell her how Zhang Liling had openly talked about her secret, how she tried to stop her from covering her mouth, and how she got the p.

    Now, Shi Wenqian knew the reason Zhang Liling reacted that way towards her, but that didn''t help her to feel any better.

    "Without my permission, you are not allowed to be rude to her. She is still a daughter of this family, and her father and mother are still very much alive and healthy." Shi Wenqian said thest sentence while staring into the distance.

    There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind them as she emphasized the reason Zhang Liling shouldn''t be bullied.

    The housekeeper nodded in understanding before leaving after receiving an instruction to prepare several dishes with a few special ones for Zhang Liling.

    The special dishes were to show Mr, Zhang that Zhang Liling was well taken care of and so he wouldn''t have any reason to suspect the reason herplexion was looking so dull,

    A few minutes after Zhang Liling hadid in bed, she heard a knock on her door and before she could reply, her stepmother, stepsister and the same doctor she met in the morning walked in.

    Seeing the trio, she scoffed and asked, "Are you all here to drain thest blood in my system."

    "Stop being sarcastic, it doesn''t suit you. The doctor is here to give you the best treatment so you can recuperate quietly," Zhang Xiaoling said in a calm tone.

    Zhang Liling chuckled angrily before ring at them, "The same doctor that took my blood this morning is the same one here to treat me? Do I look like a joke to all of you?"

    Zhang Liling felt she was being ridiculed at the moment. These few years, she been taken everything in, but she could hardly stand any of it.

    "Zhang Liling, I think you are getting something wrong here. No one is interested in collecting your blood. The doctor is here to give you a drip to help you feel better. If you don''t believe, then just watch." Shi Wenqian said to her calmly.

    Zhang Liling refused to believe that her stepmother would be so kind to her. That woman had so many tricks up her sleeve and shouldn''t be trusted even for a mili-second.

    But what she didn''t know, was that her stepmother was being forced to treat her kindly because her father was on his way back.

 Chapter 12 Mr. Zhang Returns

    There was no way Zhang Liling would have known about this given the circumstances the others found out. But if she did find out about it, maybe she would never have let them have their way with her.

    "If you refuse to get treatment while I''m being kind to you, I wouldn''t mind taking extreme measures to get it done." Shi Wenqian threatened.

    Zhang Liling was unusually stubborn which was unlike her, and this was making them waste their time on them.

    She didn''t know how long it would take for Zhang Renshu to appear, so she needed to make sure Zhang Liling would be asleep when he returns to enable her to take care of some matters.

    "Are you afraid of the public opinion about you? Is this the reason you want to take care of me so badly?" Zhang Liling asked with a scornful gaze.

    She had mistaken the reason behind her stepmother''s actions, not knowing it was far deeper than that.

    Atst, Zhang Liling stayed put and let the doctor administer a drip to her.

    Zhang Xiaoling smiled and said to her, "Now that you have started receiving treatment, it''s time to take care of the media. Where is your phone, take some pictures with it and post them."

    "Is this what this is all about?" Zhang Liling scoffed.

    "Don''t waste time and do it. I am already kind enough to let you receive this kind of treatment." Shi Wenqian said from the side.

    She would start handling things from the media part first.

    "Are you afraid of my father by any chance? Ate you afraid he will find out the rumors going about are actually true, rumors that will threaten his new venture into politics?" Zhang Liling asked.

    She couldn''t think of a better reason her stepmother would want to take care of the public opinion first. Most importantly, her father liked to keep face.

    Shi Wenqian scoffed, "At most your father would scold me at the end, which I despise a lot. But have you thought of your fate when I be immune to his outbursts?"

    ''I wouldn''t still be here by then.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself.

    Turning to her daughter, she instructed her to take photos of Zhang Liling when she falls asleep and post them on the inte saying that she was receiving treatment after fainting from exhaustion caused by overstudying.

    Zhang Liling almost went berserk when she heard her instructions. She didn''t even have any fear and just had to plot against her, right in front of her.

    By the time Mr. Zhang arrived back home, the spection on the inte had changed, with the pictures of Zhang Liling sleeping peacefully while receiving a drip, and the caption that followed after it.

    Mr. Zhang did not ept the warm wee that was given to him as he immediately went straight to ask Shi Wenqian if she wanted to ruin his prospective future political career.

    "You are justing back and you are scolding me already without confirming what transpired behind your back." Shi Wenqian said with a frown.<sub> </sub>

    "What is there to find out when Liling fainted? And it just had to be on the school grounds! Why did she faint, are you not feeding her properly?" Zhang Renshu asked while pointing fingers at her.

    Shi Wenqian folded her arms under her chest and replied with an annoyed gaze, "Renshu how can you me me for a matter that is not my fault? It''s all Zhang Liling''s fault that she had to overwork herself with her studies."

    "Is this a prank or what? Since when did she get serious with her studies?" He asked with a fuming gaze.

    As Zhang Liling''s father and as the one that forced her to study business in college, he can truthfully tell you that studying is thest thing you would see Zhang Liling doing. But she still aced all her exams.

    "Her finals are in 2 months, so she can''t fail." Shi Wenqian said as a small smile yed on her lips. She was happy to have yed her cards well.

    "If studying would make her embarrass me, just tell her to quit." Zhang Renshu said.

    For him, it would be better if she went back to her old self.

    "What have you done to take care of the media?" He went on to ask thereafter as that was very important to him.

    The only thing his PR did was to try and take down most of the posts, but no counter-measure was employed.

    It was at this point that Zhang Xiaoling who had been standing somewhere behind the wall and waiting for an entrance stepped forward with a smile.

    She greeted, "Wee, Dad." No response came from him, but she went on to make a report. "I released a post about Liling currently receiving home treatment an hour ago."

    "I hope it works!" He said as he shifted his gaze to Shi Wenqian before walking away with a huff.

    Slowly, the smile that was stered on Zhang Xiaoling''s face disappeared. That man still doesn''t hold her in high regard.

    "Don''t his mood, he is just angry with the news. You can go to your room and rest, you have tried so much for me today. I wille to call you when dinner is ready." Shi Wenqian said tofort her. AS she may have felt bad about Zhang Renshu''s cold treatment.

    Zhang Xiaoling nodded before leaving.

    In the kitchen, Shi Wenqian personally checked the food that was being prepared by herself, before passing out an instruction to the housekeeper.

    "Take the best of these dishes prepared for Zhang Liling and package them, and get ready to send them to my son at the hospital."

    "Madam, Master Mingyu asked for fried turkey this morning, he wouldn''t like the chicken." The housekeeper made known of Zhang Mingyu''s request to her.

    Shi Wenqian who loved her son so much surprisingly red daggers at the housekeeper. "He still has the cheek to make requests? Does he know how much I spent on the media and reporters to stop them from publishing the mess he caused at a nightclub?"

 Chapter 13 Bolins Sweet-Talking Skills

    From his doctor friend''s hospital, Mr. Fang went straight to see his new Vi, and thanks to the drug he took, he seemed so much better.

    Standing before the majestic modern-day vi osted with white-coloured paint after a good color screeding was done, one could feel at home at first sight.

    This was not your regr kind of building, but it was 100% to Mr. Fang''s taste because he is the architect.

    Stepping out of the car, Mr. Fang gazed at the building with a calm gaze before stepping forward with his hands in his pockets.

    The manager and his team knowing he wasing, were already prepared to wee him by doubling their efforts in making quick progress with installing the cabs and taking care of the interior decors.

    The manager came forward with a big smile on his face to wee Mr. Fang and show him around.

    Walking into the house, the trio passed the first sitting room and went straight into the living room. From talking about the furniture setting and position of things in there, they went into the kitchen and then went straight to check out the other rooms in the house.

    As the manager brought him to the master bedroom, Mr. Fang took a good nce around. He walked into the closet and checked the bathroom out before turning to Bolin, "Deliver the incense before you pick me up tomorrow morning."

    The manager heard this and immediately stepped forward with a fawning smile, "Mr. Fang, is there a particr ce you want us to ce them?"

    Mr. Fang nced at him with his hands in his pocket, "My assistant will show you where to put them."

    ''buzz-buzz¡­ buzz buzz the sound of the phone ringing attracted the attention of the 3 men in the room.

    Bolin could feel the vibration on his body as Mr. Fang and the manager shifted their attention to him. "Answer it!" Mr. Fang said while gesturing with a nod.

    Bolin apologized before taking out his phone from the front pocket of his pants. He checked the screen before quickly making eye contact with him.

    "It''s your grandmother." He announced while shing his phone screen to him.

    Mr. Fang nced briefly at his phone screen before shifting his gaze away. "When is the gym equipmenting in?" He asked the manager while leading the way out.

    The manager quickly followed after him, leaving only Bolin in the room.

    Bolin released a deep sigh before taking the call. He briskly greeted the olddy politely and replied to all her questions.

    "Where is Bingwen? I''ve been trying his number, but it''s not connecting. Did he block me?" The olddy asked from the end of the phone.

    Her tone sounded soft and aged, but wasced with grace. There was this calmness that came with it.

    Bolin heard that and was quick to clear the misconception, "No olddy, it''s a misunderstanding. Mr. Fang is not avable at the moment as he is swamped with work, but I can help to pass your message to him."

    "Tell him toe and visit me, and there will be no marriage talks this time around either. If he doesn''te, I wille over instead. I heard he is moving into his new vi soon, what''s the address. I wille over once he has settled in."

    Bolin was thinking about how the olddy found out about her grandson moving houses and was almost distracted from the call.<sub> </sub>

    There was no way he would give Mr. Fang''s address to her, no matter their rtionship. If he does that without his permission, he would be as good as fired.

    Atst, he managed to sweet-talk the olddy into agreeing to part for the time being, without revealing any further information to her.

    Bolin released a deep sigh of relief after the call ended. His Boss''s grandmother could be difficult to deal with most times. Sometimes, she would ask him if he was lying to her, and thought she was muddleheaded because of her age.

    During those special times, Bolin would implore all his knowledge into cating her.

    ''Did he actually block her?'' Bolin gave the earlier conversation a second thought before going to meet Mr. Fang and the manager in the gym room.

    Bolin did not talk about the details of the call till they set off for thepany in the car they came with.

    <o>,m "Make sure she doesn''t find out my new address." Mr. Fang instructed with a serious gaze. He didn''t need anyone disturbing him at the times he wanted to be alone. He wanted his privacy.</o>

    Boling looked conflicted as he made him aware that he couldn''t keep it away from her for long. "¡­the olddy will eventually find out, so I suggest you return her calls and give her a date."

    It wasn''t possible to keep that information away from the olddy for long, because she was capable of finding out, just like any member of the Fang family who had their ways.

    Mr. Fang just stared at him wordlessly before shifting his gaze to the car''s window. "Remind me to call after I have settled down in the vi."

    Bolin sighed in relief that he no longer had to be on tenterhooks whenever he got the olddy''s call.

    "Get me a butler and a housekeeper," Mr. Fang said, and before Bolin could ask for the employment requirement, he continued, "I need people who can do a good job, I don''t care about their age. Make sure you don''t get anyone from my family."

    Mr. Fang didn''t want any servant from his family toe work for him. He didn''t want anyone putting eyes on his privacy, and recruiting servants from his family would cause him trouble.

    It was better to avoid troubles before time.

    Bolin understood the assignment and replied, "Do you have any special instruction for the rules while I draft out the contracts?"

    "Let me see what you have first." Mr. Fang replied.

    At the Zhang Vi, Zhang Liling was woken up by a servant, and before she could open her eyes properly, the drip connected to her veins was already gone.

    Rubbing her eyes gently after managing to sit up on the bed, she heard a piece of surprising news from the servant.

    "Miss, everyone is at the dining table, and your father is asking for you."

    ''Father? Is that man back?'' Zhang Liling thought in surprise.

 Chapter 14 Getting Back At Them

    Zhang Liling found it hard to believe that her father was back and when she asked for more details, she learned that he returned when she was still asleep, and it has been over 2 hours.

    Doing to the dining room to see the man for herself, made her understand the reason her stepmother added sleeping drugs to her drip.

    When everything made more sense was when her father told her to cut down on her study or stop it altogether to avoid embarrassing him.

    Zhang Liling was confused about how her studying embarrassed him, hence she took a seat at the table and asked about it since he wouldn''t even wait to receive her greeting.

    "Didn''t you faint in school because you were overstudying?" Zhang Renshu asked with a furious gaze.

    He hated the fact that he had to go all over a topic he had overruled and put past him, but his daughter seemed to be confused.

    Zhang Liling heard that and felt the annoyance in his tone, and knew that her stepmother must have fed him lies while she was sleeping, but she pretended not to know and went on to ask about it.

    "Who told you that?" Zhang Liling asked with furrowed brows.

    Shi Wenqian and Zhang Xiaoling saw that if she was not stopped, she was going to blow their covers, so one of them stopped her.

    "Zhang Liling, the doctor who came to check up on you told me you were stressed and needed to cut down on your activities." Shi Wenqian said with a concerned gaze.

    Zhang Liling was huffing mad because of her shamelessness.

    Whose fault was it that she fainted?

    Zhang Xiaoling saw that from her facial expression she was angry and was about to speak against her mother, so she quickly stopped her.

    With a smile stered on her face, she said, "Liling, you need to take it easy with studying even though you are in your finals. You can''t get stressed again and faint in random ces, or is there something else you are up to?"

    Shi Wenqian heard this and chuckled to herself while giving a virtual thumbs up to her daughter.

    As for Zhang Renshu, he stared at Zhang Liling angrily as if he believed what his stepdaughter said, and was already sure about it.

    "What nonsense are you insinuating?!" Zhang Liling understood her tricks and asked with furrowed brows. It was just one thing that was stopping her from not losing it.

    "I was just joking. Anyway, study less and don''t overwork yourself." Zhang Xiaoling said with a smile. She really knew when to stop.

    Zhang Liling could not take that lying down and immediately gave her a smackdown. "You shouldn''t y expensive jokes like that. This is how people''s reputations are tarnished. Take, for example, now, my father almost believed you."

    As she pointed that out to all of them, Shi Wenqian and Zhang Zhang Xiaoling exchanged nces. They were dumbstruck that she would not let them off.

    Zhang Renshu coughed out of guilt and changed the topic. "Anyway, don''t overexert yourself, your finals are not until 2 months. If you need anything, we have anything, just meet your stepmother for it.  Even as he said that he still bore Zhang Xiaoling''s misleading words in mind."

    Zhang Xiaoling was disappointed, while Shi Wenqian clenched her fists angrily. She was unhappy with how things unfolded and ended.<sub> </sub>

    Before she could let go of her anger, Zhang Renshu asked an important question.

    "I don''t see Mingyu, where is he?"

    Shi Wenqian did not fret because she knew that something like this woulde up, so she quickly replied with a proud fake smile, "He is sleeping over at his friend''s ce to talk about future investments in tech."

    Zhang Liling almost burst out inughter as she wondered how the person lying ufortably on a bed in the biggest hospital in S City, was talking about future investments.

    Although she managed to hold in herughter, the three people in the dining area, caught sight of it.

    It was at this point that Shi Wenqian felt like squeezing Zhang Liling''s mouth, so she would see how she would be able tough at her in the future.

    Zhang Renshu scoffed at his wife''s response, "It would be good if he was serious with his studies like Liling, before talking about business and future investments."

    Zhang Mingyu was the son Zhang Renshu and Shi Wenqian had together, and that makes him a half-brother to both Zhang Liling and Zhang Xiaoling.

    He was Shi Wenqian''s favorite, but to his father Zhang Renshu, a disappointment he was trying to shape.

    Shi Wenqian felt so humiliated but refused to utter a word. She couldn''t argue with him and cause unnecessary trouble that wouldn''t bring any gain to her.

    That night, Zhang Liling slept peacefully and the next morning, she felt far better than the previous day.

    Today, she had Mr. Fang''s lectures, but it would take ce at noon. Still, she left for school around past 10 Am.

    Although her stepmother wouldn''t dare to cause trouble for her because of her father''s presence, she refused to trust her having left a lot of lessons.

    Once she left the house in a cab, she made a call to Tungmei.

    Instead of first asking questions about how she dealt with her family after they published the news about her receiving treatment, she told her to get to school on time so they could grab good seats at the lecture theatre to wait for Mr. Fang''s sses.

    "¡­when we meet, you have a lot to talk to me about," Tungmei said at the end of their conversation and of course, Zhang Liling agreed to it.

    In less than 30 minutes, Zhang Liling arrived at her college and met up with Tungmei at the agreed location.

    Zhang Liling offered to get them chilled drinks to work on their body temperature because of the sunny weather and how easy it made them sweat.

    "You know, if this wasn''t Mr. Fang''s lecture, I wouldn''t even bothering out here." Zhang Liling said after they grabbed their drinks and sat at a table next to the ss view.

    "Isn''ting out better than staying in that house?" Tungmei asked after sucking arge quantity of her chilled orange juice with a straw.

 Chapter 15 Chasing After Mr. Fang For Help

    "It is, but I had rather spend my day at the library. Today my skin is looking tanned, and tomorrow, I''m looking like a ghost because of my blood being drawn." Zhang Lilingined.

    It was summer and the weather was terribly hot, and constantly in it, causing theplexion to tan.  But for looking like a ghost, each time excess blood is drawn from her, her skin looks white as a ghost, just as she mentioned.

    Right in the middle of chatting, Zhang Liling got a call from her mother.

    "Mum, I''m in school." Zhang Liling said immediately she answered the call.

    She thought her mother had called because of thetest involving her, and she wasn''t in the mood to listen to what she had to say.

    "What time will you be back from school?" the voice at the other end asked.

    ncing at her wristwatch, Zhang LIling replied, "Towards evening."

    "That is great. Alright take care, see you¡­" The woman said and ended the call abruptly.

    ''See you?'' Zhang Liling moved her phone from her ear and put it on the table. ''Does she want to have face time?''

    "Mr. Fang''s ss willmence in 40 minutes, let''s leave now if we still want a good seat at a good spot," Tungmei said picking up her backpack.

    Zhang Liling picked up her things, and they left for the lecture theatre together.

    Both of them were one of the first sets of students to arrive at the lecture theatre, and luckily, they were able to get a good spot to seat.

    In less than 30 minutes, the hall was filled, and those who camete, and no choice but to take the remaining seats that were left at the back in reluctance.

    Soon, Mr. Fang stepped into the hall with his personal assistant who quickly put hisptop on the lectern and left after connecting it to the projector.

    "Good afternoon, ss!" Mr. Fang greeted as he scanned everyone with his stern gaze.

    Today, he was putting on a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, which ended up baring the hard muscles of his forearm.

    Fortunately, the shirt wasn''t too tight on him otherwise if people like Zhang Liling were able to see the outline of his chest muscles, they would have a bleeding nose instantly.

    Zhang Liling was in awe while staring at the adonis on the stage and if she hadn''t a good control of herself, she would have been caught.

    Normally when a divine sight like Mr. Fang appears in front of an audience like this, there would be whispers, chuckles, exmations, and even shrieks of excitement from the students, but this case was different.

    Mr. Fang had dished out a few rules on his first day in their ss, and none dared to disobey him after he banned a female student from his lectures.

    Mr. Fang first asked a few questions from thest ss before going on to introduce the topic for the day.

    Picking up a whiteboard marker, he went to the board.

    As he raised his right arm to write on the whiteboard, the skin draped over his bone and hand muscles, swung in contrapuntal tune.

    Watching his hand movement, Zhang Liling drooled at the sight and couldn''t help thinking back to the scene of yesterday.

    But too bad she was unconscious and didn''t know what it feels to have those hand muscles wrapped around her waist. Maybe she would find out soon.<sub> </sub>

    "I think you should focus on his words and not on his body if you don''t want to fail another question today," Tungmei whispered in a kind reminder.

    Zhang Liling retracted her gaze, "You should pay attention to his teachings and not to me."

    "As if¡­"

    At the end of the ss, Mr. Fang gave them the assignment to research on marketing strategy for a product. The assignment was to be submitted in his next ss, which to most of them, was too far.

    Bolin appeared to pick up Mr. Fang''s things before leaving ahead, while Mr. Fang stayed back for a few minutes to answer a few questions.

    Just 3 questions were all he replied to before walking off the podium.

    Seeing that he was leaving, Zhang Liling turned to Tungmei to whisper in an excited tone, "I have found someone who can help me, take care of my bag, I will be right back."

    "Wait, we are you running off to, what if you faint again? Let mee along."Tungmei said worriedly.

    "Even if I faint again, Mr. Fang would be there." Zhang Liling winked and left immediately to Tungmei''s shock.

    ''Wait, is she going to ask Mr. Fang for help?''

    ''Wow! This girl is so brazen.''

    Tungmei stared in horror as she watched her joggle away.

    Zhang Liling saw Mr. Fang walking away and badly wanted to catch up with him, but his long strides were not her match. She had no choice but to call after him.

    "Excuse me, Mr. Fang!"

    ''That voice.'' Mr. Fang turned and saw that she was the one. The same person that made him question his sickness, the same person he had rushed to the clinic in his arms.

    Mr. Fang came out of his thoughts and wondered what she wanted this time around. He turned around and continued in his steps.

    Zhang Liling who was almost smiling that he had stopped for her, looked shocked and immediately chased after him in shock.

    "Mr. Fang, please spare me 5 minutes of your time I have a question to ask."

    "Have you forgotten the rule of not chasing after me to ask questions after I have left the ss?" Mr. Fang asked without stopping in his tracks.

    He had made that rule to protect himself froming in close contact with the scent of others. But Zhang Liling seemed to be his only student who had forgotten about it.

    ''Didn''t you hear me out yesterday, has my charms expired already?''

    How could Zhang Liling give up when she has already gotten to this point? That was not possible.

    Once again, Mr. Fang saw the little figure blocking his path. He didn''t say anything to her, as his first instinct was to release his breath and breathe in slowly to see if he was mistaken about her scent.

    Zhang Liling thought he was angry with her because of the way he was staring at her, not knowing he was conducting a risky experiment with his nose.

 Chapter 16 A Daring Request

    "Mr. Fang, I''m so sorry for chasing after you. I am here to apologize about yesterday for the inconveniences I caused you, and to also thank you for saving my life."

    ''She is different.'' Mr. Fang stared at her lost in thoughts with deep furrowed brows.

    "Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling saw he wasn''t paying any attention to her words and had to call out to him with a confused gaze.

    "All this time you have been calling my name, but I don''t know yours." Mr. Fang said with a straight gaze at her, as he slowly rxed his brows.

    He just thought back to what his doctor, Chuanli had said. He needed information about the girl whose scent didn''t seem to affect him one bit and decided to start fishing out.

    "Me?" Zhang Liling looked confused as she pointed to her chest.

    "What is your name?"

    Zhang Liling finally understood his question and released a warm smile. Mr. Fang was asking for her name, isn''t that a good sign?

    "My name is Liling," She replied with a bright smile, but the person she just replied to, was ring at her.

    Zhang Liling had to reduce the full smile on her face to a quatre and gave her full name, "My name is Zhang Liling."

    She understood that he wanted her full name, but how much she hated her family name, he wouldn''t know.

    Mr. Fang looked a bit better after getting her full name. "Miss Zhang, you can leave now," He said and continued in his steps as he thought that was the only reason she came to meet him.

    ''Huh! He''s leaving again?''

    Zhang Liling couldn''t let that happen as this was thest chance she got in the shortest time. His next ss would be on Friday, and till then, she didn''t know how better or worse her life would be.

    With that thought, she blocked his path again before blurting out with a pitiable gaze, "Mr. Fang, I need your help."

    Now, Mr. Fang was beginning to think what guts she had to keep blocking his path and preventing him from getting to his office.

    If not that her scent didn''t irritate him, he would have probably told her off a long while, but seemed to have a little bit of patience with her, only because of that fact.

    Thinking that she needed help with the assignment he gave, he rxed and asked, "What is it?" But what she said next, made him regret the reason he even came in close contact with her in the first ce.

    "Mr. Fang, can you take me in?

    "What!" Even Fang Bingwen didn''t know when that word escaped from his lips. He looked so shocked at her daring words.

    I mean, this was not the first time a woman fawned over him as he was used to it, but this daring request was a first for him.

    Mr. Fang had to nce at his surroundings to make sure no one was close, before ncing back at her.

    Seeing his reaction, Zhang Liling wondered if she came off a bit too strong.

    "Mr. Fang, please help me, I''m too young to be killed by my stepmother. My father doesn''t care about me as I''m not his only child. You will be saving a future by taking me in, please help me!" Zhang Liling pleaded desperately and almost grabbed his hand.

    Unfortunately for her, Mr. Fang saw iting and was fast enough to evade her at lightning speed. "Miss Zhang, I think it''s better to let your stepmother kill you than to die in my hands."<sub> </sub>

    Without waiting for a reaction from her, he stepped away from her and walked past her with a furious gaze.

    Never in his life has seen a crazy person like her. His ears felt hot at the sound of her words earlier. She was asking her professor to take her in, was her senses still working, or were they rotten because of the bullying she encountered?

    No matter what his reaction would have been, Zhang Liling didn''t think of this part. To her, she felt she was being reasonable.

    Mow, she was in regret as she thought she had burnt the bridge just before she could make a connection with him.

    "Ah!" She eximed as she stomped her foot before turning around to stare at his broad shoulders.

    All hope was almost lost for her when she finally got a chance.

    Bolin who had left earlier, returned in search of Mr. Fang when he didn''te back on time, and she had stood in ce and listened to their conversation, but most importantly, to a piece of vital information.

    "I''m moving in tomorrow, have you found a housekeeper and a butler for me?" Mr. Fang asked in a firm tone as soon as Bolin appeared in his sight.

    "Not yet, Sir."

    Mr. Fang red at him, and he apologized and followed after him.

    It wasn''t his fault that he hasn''t found anyone yet. He went to a hiring agency, but he didn''t see anyone he liked, so how could Mr. Fang ept them?

    "Find them before I return from Yishun on Thursday." Mr. Fang instructed.

    Yishun was where the Fang Family resided, and it was a short journey of about half an hour from S City.

    There was no need to ask questions, as Bolin knew he was finally going to pay his olddy a visit.

    As for Zhang Liling, she stood there until they disappeared from her sight.

    ''He is looking for a housekeeper?'' She thought excitedly as she made her back to the lecture theatre to meet Tungmei.

    "I was about toe to find you, did you get the help you wanted?" Tungmei inquired after sighing in relief that she made it back in one piece.

    "Not really, but I have a chance. I only need to make good ns quickly." Zhang Liling replied while picking up her backpack with a sly smile.

    On their way out to another lecture theatre for their next ss, Tungmei asked about the kind of opportunity she got, and the ns she needed to make, but Zhang Liling refused to give her any good response.

    "Just watch out," She said with a wink.

    After lectures that day, Zhang Liling returned him to a huge surprise.

    She had just stepped into the living room when she saw the familiar figure sitting elegantly with her gaze fixed on her father, while her stepmother in return, red daggers at her.

    "Mum!"

 Chapter 17 The Promise He Made

    "Sir, I may have found a butler for you," Bolin announced immediately after he stepped into Mr. Fang''s spacious office.

    There was a relieved smile on his face while making that announcement. He was a bit relieved that he has managed to halfpleted the task assigned to him.

    He didn''t take a second break and came directly to break the news to him as soon as he got off the phone with a well-known butler academy in the country.

    After failing to find apetent one from a trusted agency, he had no choice but to resort to that means. And luckily for him, it looks like he found one.

    Sitting on his executive chair while rxing his elbows on his ss-coated white-leather desk, Mr. Fang moved his attention from the file he was going through and fixed his attention on his assistant.

    "What of the housekeeper?"

    Asking that question, was sure enough to dampen Bolin''s mood. He was very happy that he had at least found a Butler and hade to celebrate it, but who knew he would get reminded of his half-finished work.

    "I''m still on it, Sir." He replied as his earlier excitement quickly died down.

    Mr. Fang scoffed and moved his gaze back to the file in his hands. There was nothing more to say to him since that was the only reason he came to find him.

    Seeing that he no longer had any attention on him, Bolin cleared his throat before asking, "Sir, permit me to take 30 minutes off, I need to go interview the new butler, before getting him to sign the contract."

    "How old is he?" Mr. Fang asked as he flipped over to the next page of the file.

    "Forty-five years old."

    "You may leave,"

    Boling bowed slightly, before turning to leave.

    In the evening of the same day after Mr. Fang had returned to his penthouse, he made a call to his olddy who have been trying to contact him for a long while now.

    Before the olddy could go on after responding to his greeting, he told her the reason for his call, he wasing back home the next day from work.

    "This is a relief! I was almost about to start making ns toe and find you. I will ask everyone toe home on time to wee you tomorrow," The olddy said with excitement in her tone.

    She hasn''t seen her grandson in 6 months despite the fact they were not living that far from each other. Since thest time the father and son argued, things have been different.

    "I''m only going to stay till the next day, there is no need to make that kind of fuss." Mr. Fang revealed.

    He never nned to stay for more than 24 hours. If his grandmother wasn''t being so difficult, he would never think about going back any time soon.

    The olddy was surprised that he was only going to stay for 24 hours for his visit. She had wanted to say something to him, but she held back on her words.

    "Clock off work on time tomorrow, I will be waiting for you." The olddy said in a gentle tone.

    After the call had ended, he threw his phone on the bed before going into the shower. Now, he had a butler who would begin work as soon as he moved in the next day.<sub> </sub>

    From Bolin''s arrangement, he would be meeting his new butler the next day in the morning before going to thepany, and while he is there, Bolin would oversee the moving of his things into his vi.

    ******************************

    "Mum, when did youe?" Zhang Liling asked with a shocked gaze directed at her mother.

    Her mother never mentioned she would being down to Country S during theirst conversation, so she would be surprised to see her.

    Song Jujing''s lips arched into a smile when she saw her daughtere in. "You are back?" She knew her daughter would be surprised to see her.

    Song Jujing was already nearing her fifties, but her looks were well maintained, making her look more dignified and elegant than Shi Wenqian.

    Her aura while sitting on a single couch and staring at her daughter, was something Shi Wenqian would never be able to duplicate even in her past life.

    Song Jujing was Zhang Renshu''s first woman, before Shi Wenqian appeared from nowhere and left him still, it looked like she still held a special ce in his heart.

    Zhang stepped into the sitting room while staring at her mother speechlessly.

    ''Can someone tell this woman not to do things as she pleases?''

    "Is this how to greet your mother after being apart from her for almost 2 years?" Zhang Renshu asked as his tone resounded in the sitting room.

    Song Jujing''s smile almost disappeared as she shifted her gaze to him, "Is this how you treat our daughter in my absence?"

    Shi Wenqian scoffed while holding Zhang Renshu''s arm as if to dere her sovereignty to her. "Can''t a father discipline his daughter?"

    "Oh now, you agree that he is her father, but still treat her differently behind his back?" Song Jujing sneered.

    Zhang Liling let out a sigh and took a seat for she had already seen that this scene would take a while. Leaving wouldn''t be good either.

    "What do you mean? You can''te into my house and use me of maltreating your daughter." Shi Wenqian said angrily.

    ? "You said I''m using you? Look at how lean my daughter is, see herplexion and tell me if this was the same way she looked when I brought her here?" Song Jujing asked with her gaze directed her gaze at Zhang Renshu.

    She was demanding an answer from him.

    Shi Wenqian wanted to respond, but he red at her and pushed her hands away before shifting his gaze back to Song Jujing. "Liling is to me for it. I heard she has been pushing herself a lot these days in her studies."

    "You heard, but did you see it for yourself?" Song Jujing asked in a heavy tone. She was quite angry with the man sitting in front of her for not taking care of the daughter he had asked for.

    In front of her, Zhang Renshu was tongue-tied and didn''t know how to respond. He could only turn to re at the woman by his side.

 Chapter 18 A Way To Get Close To Mr. Fang

    "Zhang Renshu, you had convinced me 4 years ago to bring Liling to start andplete her college education here. I had refused a few times and finally agreed after you said something to me. Can you remember what you told me?" Song Jujing asked with an unhappy gaze.

    Zhang Renshu adjusted his sitting position before replying, "I remember vividly. I told you not to punish our daughter for my crimes, and let you bring her to spend a few years with me, so we can establish a father and daughter rtionship."

    Back then, he had said those words to her because he desperately wanted to establish a good rtionship with the daughter they had together.

    When she left him a few years after he messed up a few days before their wedding, he didn''t know she was pregnant and had only found out about it when Zhang Liling was already 5 years old, from a reliable source.

    He had done a thorough but quick investigation to find the country, city, and address they were living in, before finally making a trip down there.

    ? After confirming things from Song Jujing, he felt so sorry and spent 2 more days there, and promised to return soon. But by the time he came back to Country S and returned to Paris, they have already changed their contact address and moved ces.

    He was disappointed as he left for Country S, but while mulling over the matter, he continued to search for them, and finally, he managed to get a hold of them during Zhang Liling''s senior year in high school, and that was how he managed to strike a deal with her.

    "Good! Now that I can see my daughter is not in good hands, I will take her with me once she graduates from college." Song Jujing said while pointing in Zhang Liling''s direction.

    Zhang Liling who has been sitting quietly and thinking about how to make an encounter with Mr. Fang''s personal assistant for the housekeeping job, jolted back to reality when she felt the 3 pairs of eyes on her.

    ''What are they talking about?''

    "If you want to take her, go ahead, who is stopping you?" Shi Wenqian asked in a negligent tone. She would be more than happy if Zhang Liling left the Zhang house at that very moment.

    As for the blood donation, she could easily find someone else for it, as long as she was not in Country S.

    Zhang Renshu nced at her with a displeased gaze. "Shut up! Who are you to make decisions for me when I''m here?"

    Shifting a more rxed gaze to Song Jujing he said, "Jujing things haven''te to this. I will ept the me for being negligent towards our daughter, and I promise to take better care of her."

    "That''s not enough. You have to show it. How can my daughter be living under your care, and not look like it?"

    No matter what he said to try and convince her, she refused. He told her that Zhang Liling could not leave the country because he was preparing a position at hispany for her, but she refused to fall for it.

    "Is this the reason you asked for my daughter? To ve for yourpany"

    Shi Wenqian was the only person that saw things differently, being reminded of the reason her husband forced her stepdaughter to study business, got her rmed.

    Being reminded of his goal, she began to plot in her mind of a way to get rid of Zhang Liling before that time came.<sub> </sub>

    Song Jujing was too stubborn to listen to her ex. She went as far as telling him to start sending money to their daughter directly to her bank ount instead of giving it to Shi Wenqian to pass to her.

    When Shi Wenqian wanted to re up, she put her in her ce after exposing her for not giving Zhang Liling up to the 40% allowance that was allocated to her on a monthly basis.

    If it wasn''t for one thing, Zhang Renshu would have pped her, and it seemed that Shi Wenqian noticed the depth of his anger, and hurriedly left the couch for him.

    At longst, Zhang Renshu managed to cate Son Jujing''s anger by sending her off to prepare the best guest room for her, transferring 5 months'' worth of monthly allowance to Zhang Liling right in front of her, and making a few promises to her.

    With all these being disyed in front of her, Zhang Liling marveled at her mother''s power and control over her father. If she wasn''t in a hurry right now, she would have loved to ask her mother some deep questions.

    Right now, the most important thing for her was to get something done. She told her father and mother that she had something urgent to do at the caf¨¦ and quickly rushed out without waiting for a response.

    What was she going to do at the caf¨¦ when she had aputer in her bedroom?

    Zhang Liling had just found a way to meet with Bolin after thinking so hard. He said he was looking for a housekeeper but hadn''t found any.

    Where would he go to find a housekeeper? Of course, Zhang Liling knew. There were 2 top agencies like that in City S, where potential housekeepers, security men, cooks, gardeners, etc go to look for a job.

    Now, she was going to do the same with the fake ID and resume she was fixing together at the caf¨¦.

    After typing the information she needed, she clicked on print, and then rubbed her palms smoothly, while smiling at the printer as it made some printing noises.

    Finally, when the papers came out, she picked them up and smiled to herself while cross-checking them.

    "Liling, you are so intelligent." Zhang Liling praised herself before rushing to finish her project, ID card.

    By the time Zhang Liling returned home, it was almost time for dinner.

    "I haven''t seen you for almost 2 years, snd you run off to the inte caf¨¦ to do what?" Song Jujing asked with an unfriendly gaze. She was quite unhappy with her daughter''s actions earlier.

    Zhang Liling faced her with a smile that was not a smile. "You should I embrace you foring here to make my life more difficult?" She didn''t look too happy as well.

    "What do you mean? I made your father promise to watch over you more carefully. Look at the amount of money he sent to you, doesn''t it show the kind of effort I put in?" Song Jujing said with a proud gaze.

 Chapter 19 Getting What She Wants

    "Why in the first ce did you leave your husband?" Zhang Liling asked as she sat on her bed with a serious gaze on her.

    Song Jujing scoffed and joined her to sit on her bed. "First of all, we were never married. We were about to before he showed me a bigger sign of what I was going to be expecting after we got married."

    "Still, you shouldn''t have left him so easily and given them a chance toe together. I mean, how could you let them have peace after what they did to you?" Zhang Liling asked.

    She didn''t think she would tolerate her fianc¨¦ cheating on her with his housekeeper just a few days before their wedding if she were to be in her mother''s shoes.

    "Do they look peaceful in your eyes?" Song Jujing scoffed and crossed her legs. "Your father still cheats, and poor Shi Wenqian, she must be having a hard time getting rid of all his mistresses."

    "Dad is cheating on her? I find it so hard to believe." Zhang Liling said with her mouth agape.

    Given her stepmother''s tyranny, she didn''t think she could swallow having another woman with her husband.

    "What''s hard to believe? She knows how they ended up together, so him taking up mistresses shouldn''t be a hard blow for her." Song Jujing said.

    Somehow, Zhang Liling wasn''t satisfied with her mother and father''s rtionship and couldn''t help blurting out,

    "Seriously mum, don''t you know how to reign the ropes of your man a little tighter? You just let him cheat on you and that too continuously. I have learned from your mistakes, and I know better how to hold my man in my clutches."

    Zhang Liling said with her gaze elsewhere. The picture in her head, was of her and Mr. Fang, having a romantic dinner night with candles.

    She has already begun to see Mr. Fang in another light.

    Song Jujing didn''t notice anything wrong with her daughter and continued, "My advice to you is not to make the mistake of sleeping with any man until you tie the knot with him but before then, take your time getting to know each other, and don''t ignore any red lights no matter how faint it appears."

    Zhang Lilijg chuckled, "Don''t worry, not every man is like yours, and mine, it''s perfect."

    Song Jujing heard her say that and paused with the next piece of advice she was going to give her. "Wait a minute, do you have a boyfriend?"

    Zhang Liling discovered that she let her tongue wag and regretted it. She hid her nervousness with a smile and said, "I''m not dating anyone."

    "Good." Song Jujing sighed in relief. "You areing back to Paris after your graduation ceremony, so dating anyone here will be pointless. And don''t tell your dad about it."

    If it was before, Zhang Liling would have been happy that she wouldn''t have to be maltreated by her stepmother and stepsister, but she had one solid goal now, and that was to get Mr. Fang.

    With that thought waxing strong in her head, Zhang Liling rejects going back to Paris.

    "Mum, what if I don''t want a life in Paris anymore? What if I want to stay here?"

    "If you want to stay in this city, and this country sessfully, get rid of that dangerous woman first. Your dad wants you to be a part of hispany, but she sees you as a threat, and she will do anything to take you out of sight."

    "I haven''t seen anything that makes her dangerous?" Zhang Liling said.

    She felt the maltreatment she has gotten so far, wasn''t enough to tag Shi Wenqian as dangerous.

    "Wait until you are being chopped into pieces and your vital organs removed and sold." Son Jujing said ang got off her bed.<sub> </sub>

    "Wait¡­. What?" Zhang Liling looked utterly confused and shocked at the same time.

    "Your stepmother is that dangerous, don''t cross her path. And if she finds your trouble, you can intelligently deal with it. You won''t be here for long anyway."

    Zhang Liling couldn''t ce her hand on the story rting to her stepmother, and her mother wouldn''t tell her more. If her stepmother was a murderer and sold body parts, why hasn''t she been exposed yet?

    "Mum, lend me some money." Zhang Liling said after some moments.

    Whatever or whoever her stepmother was, shouldn''t bother her that much since didn''t n on living with them forever.

    She couldn''t be distracted by this new update, and miss her chance to be with Mr. Fang.

    "What do you need the money for?" Song Jujing asked curiously.

    "I need to rent a safe house."

    Song Jujing stared at her for a few moments before agreeing, "Okay."

    In Zhang Liling''s mind, she has passed the second step.

    During dinner, Zhang Renshu kept on trying tomunicate with Song Jujing who was giving him the cold shoulder, while Shi Wenqian who couldn''t stand his attitude, kept ring daggers at him.

    Zhang Xiaoling was ufortable, while Zhang Liling was lost in thought.

    "I don''t see your son here, where is he? Did he get into trouble?" Song Jujing asked with an interesting gaze fixed on Shi Wenqian.

    Shi Wenqian scoffed, "Of course not, the next patriarch of this family and sessor of the Zhang Group is very busy whilst working tirelessly for the future of the entire family."

    "I see¡­" Song Jujing trailed off with a smirk.

    The next morning, Zhang Liling left the house early in the morning without waiting to have breakfast, and Shi Wenqian used that as an opportunity to convince Zhang Renshu about her overworking herself, and Song Jujing used her of maltreating her.

    Zhang Renshu did shut her up but told Song Jujing to ask her daughter not to overwork herself and she ignored them after asking this question,

    "In the early days of your Zhangpany when you were overworking yourself, how many times did you faint or lose consciousness?"

    When Zhang Liling left the house with a big backpack, she first went to a high-end store to get some clothes before going to a beauty parlor to get some touch-ups.

    After about 2 hourster, Zhang Liling appeared in front of a high-end building, looking different from her normal college looks.

    Her hair was styled differently, and her make-up was light but was enough to make her look more than 21 years. White vintage shirt and a ck leather skirt which was obviously expensive. A green pair of nude stilettoes and a matching bag of the same color.

    A Light pink-colored lipstick was smeared on her lips, and as she got out of the cab, her aura changed.

 Chapter 20 Lying Her Way Through

    Wearing her confident smile, Zhang Liling stepped into the building and went straight to the receptionist desk to confirm her appointment with the job recruitment agency on the 4th floor.

    All the receptionist could think when she met Zhang Liling, was, ''Why is she looking for a job?'' because she felt she had it all. But because of her kind gesture, she didn''t dwell on it.

    When Zhang Liling got to the 4th floor with the help of the elevator, she gave her name to the young man at the desk, and he smiled at her before giving her the direction of the office she could enter.

    Releasing a deep breath to ward off every form of nervousness she was feeling, she knocked twice on the door before her and went in.

    "You must be Miss Zhang." The middle-aged man said with a warm smile as he studied her from head to toe. In his mind, he has already given her a 75% score for the problem he thought she could solve.

    He essed her with his eyes and saw that she was not too richly dressed which meant that she gets good pay from her job, but had a good dressing style, she looked young, but her aura seemed mature and concluded that she was valuable.

    The remaining 25% would be added after having a short conversation with her.

    "Please take a seat, Miss Zhang," He said while gesturing with his hand, before taking a seat himself.

    "Thank you." Zhang Liling said with a smile and then went on to take out her fake resume.

    "I have already seen the one you submitted through our mail, and I must say that you are remarkable. But why did you choose to be a housekeeper, you are still young, almost 27." The manager asked.

    "I enjoy keeping good houses clean and taking care of families, it''s a hobby for me. Secondly, the pay is quite generous."

    Zhang Liling sounded so confident and truthful while looking professional as well as if she has received some sort of special training from an academy before, and the manager liked that about her.

    "I see that you have 7 years of experience in this line of work which isn''t that long, but you have a good reputation. Why are you not popr, and why did you choose to find a job through my agency when the connections of the family you''ve worked for could help yound a bigger job?"

    The corner of Zhang Liling''s lips arched outwardly in a smile. "I like finding opportunities myself, and being known worldwide as a housekeeper, it''s not really a good thing, because some families like to be confidential, down to the people that work for them."

    Thisst response was what gave Zhang Liling her employment letter which had already been signed and stamped by the manager. And she went ahead to fill out some paperwork.

    "I think we might have a job for you soon, so get prepared." The manager said with a suggestive smile as he shook her hand., and she thanked him before leaving.

    It was only the manager that knew how much sense herst sentence made because someone like the great Mr. Fang came to them to find a housekeeper discreetly, and sending someone like her, wouldn''t bring trouble for them.

    For Zhang Liling, herst sentence was a lie used to cover up the fact that was faking her career and all the achievement she listed, while at the same time portraying how some families might be.

    Immediately after she left his office, the manager picked up his telephone to dial a number with a huge smile sitting on his face.<sub> </sub>

    "Mr. Bolin, I think we might have the right housekeeper for you. I''m sending her details to your mail."

    The manager didn''t want to talk too much because he might get irritated, so he kept the conversation short.

    "I will take a look at it and get back to you as soon as possible," Bolin said while keeping an eye on the people moving things inside the Vi.

    He knew Mr. Fang''s taste quite alright, so he was assigned to oversee that the work gets done smoothly.

    When Zhang Liling left the building, she met a house agent to show her any avable houses in a good area, as the price wasn''t a problem for her, since she has money gotten from both parents.

    When they got to the first apartment building, Zhang Liling got a call from Tungmei and smiled apologetically to the agent before shifting to the side to answer the call.''

    "Hello¡­"

    "Liling, where have you disappeared to, are you noting for the lectures today?" Tungmei asked with a tinge of worry in her tone.

    It was almost 15 minutes to their first ss for the day, and she was nowhere to be seen.

    Zhang Liling first looked around her surroundings with a smile before responding to the question, "I won''t be able to make it to school today, just help me to take attendance and photocopy your notes, I will see you in the evening."

    Tungmei wanted to ask if everything was alright with her, but her tone sounded like she was over the moon, so she didn''t see any need to go on with it.

    "You really have to exin yourself when we meet. I have to go now, talk to youter, bye."

    "Bye," Zhang Liling replied and hung up, before rejoining the house agent.

    After 2 wasted hours, Zhang Liling finally settled on a house in a good area with tight security. At least if her stepmother finds out she rented a house, she wouldn''t be allowed into the area if she wanted to visit.

    She can''t gain entrance unless she allowed it.''

    After spending so much money on the two-bedroom apartment and doing the paperwork with awyer, the house finally belonged to her, for just a year unless she decides to renew the rentter, or buys the house out.

    While she was making an arrangement to furnish the house a bit with the remaining money she had left, she got a call from an unfamiliar number, which was unsaved in her contact list.

 Chapter 21 An Advantage

    "Miss Zhang?" Bolin said as soon as she answered the call to confirm her identity.

    "Hello, I''m Zhang Liling,"

    Bolin seemed more rxed after confirming her identity. "I am Mr. Bolin, I got your contact information from ***** agency. I have a housekeeping job for you, but I must meet you for a little interaction before settling my mind on you"

    Zhang Liling was so excited when she heard him introduce himself. She was very much aware of his rtionship with Mr. Fang and knew he was the one overseeing his home employers.

    She knew it was only a matter of time before he calls her, and this was going to be herst opportunity to get his attention and convince him to employ her.

    "There is no problem, Mr. Bolin, we can meet at any time."

    Bolin checked his wristwatch before saying to her, "Let''s meet in 2 hours at the agency you work for."

    "Thank you for reaching out to me, I will be there in 2 hours." Zhang Liling replied while beaming with smiles.

    Once their conversation came to an end, Zhang Liling jumped for joy and danced around her empty living room. Everything was moving smoothly for her although it cost her money, energy, and time.

    None of that mattered much, giver her goal to move into Mr. Fang''s vi to be under his protection, and get closer to him.

    She really was different from other women who admired Mr. Fang but dared not take this bold risky step was taking. Only she could pull this stunt without caring about the consequences.

    ''Tungmei, it looks like we will have to meet muchter,'' She thought to herself.

    Right now, she was going to get some things for her new ce and once it was time for her appointment, she would have to leave on time, and only go to meet her after it.

    With that thought, Zhang Liling picked up her purse and dashed out of her apartment,

    ***************

    Mr. Fang would be leaving for his hometown in the next 2 hours, which made Bolin his personal assistant busier than he was.

    Bolin had to oversee his properties being moved into his new Vi and ced at the appropriate ces while taking care of the 2 major employees he needed to run his house.

    He also had to keep his eyes on thepany while responding to calls and other important matters.

    By the time 2 hours were up, Mr. Fang was ready to leave hence, Bolin came back to thepany with the small luggage that belonged to him.

    When Mr. Fang saw the luggage being taken out from Bolin''s car booth, a deep frown appeared on his face, causing his brows to be furrowed.

    "What did you pack in there?"<sub> </sub>

    He was only going to spend a night there, and once it was morning he would have breakfast with the family and go straight to thepany, hence he didn''t need big luggage to travel with.

    Bolin nced at the luggage before shifting his gaze to him. "A pair of night robes, one pair offy clothes, and a work suit, plus your toiletries."

    Mr. Fang shut his eyes and opened them again. "Get a smaller bag and transfer everything to it. Even if we have to make a top at the departmental store, do it."

    He was avoiding a situation whereby his grandmother would think he was going to stay for a long while when she saw him with medium-sized luggage, so he needed something smaller to show his seriousness without being questioned.

    Bolin understood and opened the back passenger door of his car for him, before going ahead to transfer the luggage to his car.

    On their way out, Bolin did stop at the departmental store to get small new luggage for him, and in the underground parking lot, he transferred his things to it, before taking out the medium-sized luggage and putting it in his own car''s booth, and bid farewell to Mr. Fang.

    From there, he went to meet Zhang Liling who was already waiting at her agency''s office.

    Punctuality was a good key, and Zhang Liling understood the assignment. She arrived 15 minutes before time to score a good point.

    After making some purchases for household furniture, she went to the beauty parlor to touch up her makeup and arrange her hair, making her look fresh just like in the morning.

    Meeting Mr. Fang''s personal assistant was a good call for her, at least, she didn''t have to meet directly with Mr. Fang and have her cover blown at a go.

    She has never had a one-on-one encounter with Bolin, therefore, there was no way he would recognize her even with her makeup on and some adjustments she made to her looks.

    When Bolin arrived, the manager introduced them. There was something Zhang Liling noticed when Bolin stepped in, and that was his exhaustion, and she used that to his advantage.

    After running around for different reasons throughout the day, he was bound to be tired and needed to get some rest.

    Truly, Bolin was tired, and he didn''t recognize Zhang Liling when they sat face-to-face.

    Not wanting to waste time, he proceeded with the short interview. He first asked for her personal information before talking about her work experiences and the ces she has been to, before asking if she knew who she was going to work for.

    Zhang Liling gave him the perfect responses while trying to keep her responses sharp but engaging.

    "You are almost of the same age as my boss, which is almost a big disadvantage to you getting this job," Bolin said in a worried tone while ncing keenly at her personal information on his system.

    For the first time since the interview started, Zhang Lilin''g''s smile, seemed more profound. "Are you scared that I will fall for him and try to seduce him?"

    Bolin cleared his throat and adjusted his necktie. She was right. He was afraid of employing a younger woman who might end up causing a lot of trouble for him and his boss, even though he was told that age was not a criterion for employment.

 Chapter 22 Signing The Contract

    "There is nothing to fret about. I don''t get entangled with my employers as I have a clean record. But most importantly, Mr. Fang is not my type,"

    Zhang Liling spoke so casually with a warm smile as if she didn''t even care about Mr. Fang''s existence, and was only going to work for him because she needed a job.

    She would be stupid to say anything out of context that would be detrimental to her. She had fallen for Mr. Fang and wasn''t afraid of saying it, but if she did, she would regret it as she may never get toe close to him anymore.

    Most importantly, the people in the Zhang family cannot find out about her goal until it matured to an extent.

    For now, she would try her best to hide her feelings for him.

    Bolin gave her a doubtful nce. ''My Boss is not your type? Do you expect me to believe that? Everyone likes my Boss''

    It was as if Zhang Liling could read his thoughts and she immediately exined because acting that could be seen as lies and could probably disqualify her.

    "I have seen so many handsome men so I''m not moved by them anymore. My taste over thest few years has changed. But if you are still worried, I''m sure Mr. Fang can directly fire me if I act inappropriately.

    Her statement was able to make Bolin rx his nerves. He thought she was right, and he was instead worrying for nothing. Mr. Fang would not hesitate to terminate the contract if she pulls any inappropriate stunt.

    But he was only afraid of being punished for bringing her in if she breaks the rules.

    Nevertheless, Bolin went on to ask her a few questions before being satisfied. Taking out a contract from his bag, he passed it to her.

    "Read the agreement and rules properly and only sign them if you consent to all."

    In Zhang Liling''s mind, she was already shrieking in excitement. She was so easily given a contract after working hard on her lies. Were her dreams finallying through?

    She quickly took the contract from him and flipped over it, going directly to the signing page. Seeing Mr. Fang''s signature boldly appearing under his name as the employer, she pointed at it and asked, "Mr. Fang has signed this already?"

    This meant that once she penned down her signature, she could directly start work without waiting for Mr. Fang''s approval. She was even more excited, but she couldn''t show it.

    "Yes. He didn''t want any dy from you starting work immediately hence, he signed them before traveling. Please go through them as soon as possible," Bolin gestured to her to take a look at the contract as he put a pen on the table.

    Zhang Liling smiled. Picking up the pen, she went straight to the signing page to put down her signature without taking a look at the agreement and rules stated above.

    Her actions surprised Bolin who watched her smoothly pen down her signature.

    "You didn''t read the contract, are you trying to get fired on the spot?"<sub> </sub>

    If she didn''t even know the contents of the contract, how was she going tost a day?

    If not for how surprised he looked, Zhang Liling would have thought he was Mr. Fang, because that speech being said in that tone looked like how he would act.

    "I ept every term and condition as long as the pay will be good."

    "It is not enough to ept them. Take a look at them as well and learn the important rules made by Mr. Fang." Bolin instructed.

    Zhang Liling signed the other copy before passing the original contract back to him. "Alright, I will go through it tonight, thank you, Mr. Bolin," She said, waving the other copy in her hand.

    Bolin finally rxed as he put his intrust in her. He believed that she was professional with her job and would take a look at the contract hence, he didn''t bug her about it again.

    "Miss Zhang congrattions, you have officially been employed to work as Mr. Fang''s housekeeper. You mentioned earlier that the address in your contact list was no longer relevant as your just moved houses today. Give me your current home address,"

    Zhang Liling confidently wrote down her new home address while listening to him talk about picking her up the next day.

    Although she didn''t see things exactly this way, she knew she would have to get a new ce that belonged to her as Bolin or her agency might want to confirm it.

    There was no way she was going to put the Zhang family''s home address unless she has lost her mind. She also couldn''t use the address of her closest friend who was living in the school environment, otherwise, it would seem inappropriate.

    "Be ready before 10 am, I will being to pick you up. Don''t forget that you are only allowed to move into Mr. Fang''s vi with only one luggage," Bolin revealed in a kind reminder.

    For now, Zhang Liling had no issues with that as it wasn''t going to be an issue from her side. She simply nodded and epted whatever he said.

    At the end of the sessful meeting, the manager, Bolin, and Zhang Liling shook hands.

    Zhang Liling was the first to leave as she had to finish moving in her new furniture, plus meeting up with Tungmei before going back to the Zhang house to chat with her mother.

    After Zhang Liling had left, Bolin settled the manager with the agent fee, before also leaving. He went straight to Mr. Fang''s house to check things out before retiring for the day/

    When Mr. Fang arrived at his Fang family residence, he was given a warm wee by the old housekeeper and butler of the family, before being embraced by his olddy who came to wee him personally.

    Old Madam Fang had more than a few strands of grey hair amongst her ck ones. As a warm smile slowly rose to her wrinkled kind face, she held her grandson tightly, while Mr. Fang hoped that she would let him off soon.

 Chapter 23 More Interested

    Mr. Fang was quite tall and with his grandmother embracing him, he had to bend his back a little. Another point was that he didn''t want to get irritated with her scent.

    Although he took the drug on his way, he couldn''t really trust it out of years of experience, but luckily for him, everything was okay.

    The olddy seemed to remember something and released him immediately, "How is your health? Just now, I was too emotional and forgot¡­"

    "Grandma I''m fine," Mr. Fang interjected.

    The olddy smiled brightly and pped her hands together before pulling him by the arm towards the house.

    "That''s a relief. Don''t be offended by what I''m about to say. Don''t fight with your father, just ignore everything he says to you. But I have already warned him beforehand."

    To what she said, Mr. Fang had no response. He didn''t n to argue with anyone, it''s not like he had that kind of time.

    "The other youngsters are not in the city, it''s just me, your father, and your mother. Your grandfather went on a vacation to fish with his friends," The olddy added.

    Mr. Fang heard that and said, "You should have gone on a vacation with him instead of asking me toe back home."

    He didn''t understand the reason his grandmother was that way. She just let her husband have all the fun, while she stayed cooped up at home. In fact, there was no difference between her and his mother.

    While thinking about this, Mr. Fang thought of not allowing his future partner to be influenced by them, and that''s if he will ever get to settle down.

    "I was more interested in you," The olddy smiled as she pulled him in.

    Coming to a stop in the sitting room, Mr. Fang took a good nce around and nodded to himself. He was d about how quiet the house was. And it was at this time, that his mother walked out and came to wee him.

    "Bingwen, you are here," The middle-ageddy said with a warm smile while rubbing her hands together. A mere nce at her could tell you how quiet and peaceful she was.

    She was putting on a simple flower-patterned dress with a pair of white flip-flops. She used a piece of simple gold jewelry to adorn herself.

    "Mmmm" Mr. Fang hummed in response while staring at her with furrowed brows. He was wondering if she was all dressed up just wee him again.

    "When your grandma said you wereing, I immediately had the servants air out your room and used a mild scent on it. You can go up to your bedroom to freshen up while I serve dinner. Where is your bag?" Madam asked.

    Just then, a servant appeared from behind, pulling his suitcase with her.

    "Then, I will go and freshen up first," Mr. Fang said to the two women before following the servant after his olddy finally let him off.

    Immediately the servant put his bag in the closet, and she left his room, leaving him to himself.<sub> </sub>

    Sniffing the air to see if there was anything amidst, he went to the couch to sit and cross his legs just before his phone rang.

    A sigh escaped his lips when he saw the caller ID. It was Chuanli.

    "Why are you calling by this time?"

    "To find out if there has been any progress," Chuanli said with a cheeky smile. After not hearing from him concerning his female student, he became restless and impatient and decided to give him a call to find out things from him, instead of waiting.

    Being reminded of Zhang Liling, Mr. Fang recalled the scene from the previous day, when she asked him to take her in, and a deep frown appeared on his face.

    "Her name is Zhang Liling, that''s all I know," He replied as he cut off that scene from his thoughts.

    "What? You were only able to find out her name? I mean, how long will it take you to give me more details?" Chuanli asked apprehensively.

    This was the case was very interesting, and now that there might be a sign of a solution, he couldn''t wait to start working on it.

    "It looks like you are more anxious than I am. Why don''t you go find out the remaining information by yourself since you have her name?" Mr. Fang said with an ugly expression on his face.

    If he was that capable, he should fish out the information he needed. He would even give him the power to do that.

    If he wasn''t angered by Zhang Liling perhaps, he would still be interested in finding out more about her.

    How could Chuanli ept that kind of responsibility when he was always very busy, plus the fact that he would be doing an illegal task looking into someone without their permission?

    Another solution would have been to get close to Zhang Liling just to find out things himself, but that would be a waste of time. With that thought, he came up with another solution.

    "The easiest way would have been to get close to her, use your charms to question her, and you would get your answers because no woman can resist you¡­"

    "Are you done?!" Mr. Fang interrupted with a dangerous tched in his voice. If Chuanli wasn''t so far away, he would have loved to strangle him for a few seconds so he could get back to his senses.

    How could he be thinking of making him stoop so low just to get a piece of information from someone? That wasn''t in his nature.

    Chuanli sensed his anger and quickly added, "See, you are angry because you didn''t let me finish. Anyway, if you can not find out other information about her, just bring her to me using a righteous, I will question her myself."

    The righteous method he meant, was bringing Zhang Liling to his ce willingly because he knew that if he didn''t add that adjective (righteous) he would misunderstand him and probably punish him this time around.

 Chapter 24 Zhang Lilings Plan To Stay Away...

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said stretching out her hands to take the photocopied notes from Tungmei a few minutes after meeting in a cafe.

    "I helped you take attendants today, so can you start talking?" Tungmei demanded with her folded arms while staring straight at her.

    Zhang Liling put the notes away first, before saying anything.

    "I told you my mum came to the house. She made my father give me the same amount of money equivalent to my 5 monthly allowances."

    "She did that?" Tungmei asked with a look of surprise. She seemed hard to believe it and couldn''t help asking for confirmation.

    She was not ignorant of how negligent Mr. Zhang has been to Liling since she came to live with them.

    "She did which surprised me that he just listened to her without arguing. I really need to find out more about how my mother managed to have that kind of power over him." Zhang Liling replied as he leaned back on her seat.

    She was unsatisfied with her mother''s response and was thinking that if she got her hands on her secret, perhaps, she could use it on Mr. Fang.

    "I don''t think you need to dwell much on it. It''s very obvious that your father still loves your mother and still listens to her because of guilt," Tungmei exined.

    In one sentence, she managed to dissect the whole matter.

    "Can that man love anyone? I doubt that. His ambition is always first on the list." Zhang Liling refused to believe that her father still loves her mother like in the past.

    "Then how do you exin the contrast difference? His ambition must be topping the list, but your mother is obviously next in line because of his guilt."

    Tungmei was aware of Zhang Renshu''s love affair in the past, thanks to Zhang Liling who informed her about it, and with that, she was able to ascertain his feelings.

    "Whatever, I''m not interested in his reasons," Zhang Liling said and threw her face away.

    Leaning in close to her, Zhang Liling asked, "How did the money your father give to you make you skip sses?"

    Zhang Liling remembered the important question and a smile appeared on her face once again.

    "I got an idea and asked my mum for more money to rent a house. When you called, I was taking a look at houses with an agent. Atst, I managed to get one in a good area, which cost me an arm. I could only do a little furnishing for now."

    Tungmei thought this was her escape n from the Zhang family and asked happily, "Are you finally going to leave that house? This could be a good way to hide from your stepmother."

    "Tungmei this is a secret and no one must know about it. In case anyone should ask you where I stay, just them I''m living with you."

    "Will that work?" Tungmei didn''t deem it surprising that she was going to hide this from everyone. As long as her biological mother knew about it, then everything else was fine.

    "It should, for at least up until our graduation. I''m going to tell them I need to focus on my studies so I will be living with you for the next 2 months."

    After thinking things through, she believed that her ns would work smoothly if she asked her mother for help, which she would do immediately after she gets back home.

    Tungmei seemed even happy now as she congratted her on acquiring her own apartment. "So, when are you inviting me over for a housewarming party?"<sub> </sub>

    "That..." Zhang Liling trailed off.

    "Why, are you going to hide your new ce from me?" Tungmei teased.

    Zhang Liling shook her head as a brilliant smile appeared on her face. She seemed even more excited as she was about to break a piece of special good news to her.

    "I found a job today, and even signed a contract."

    "You found a job?"

    What kind of job is that?"

    <o>,m When did you start thinking about it?"</o>

    Tungmei looked shocked while asking those questions. She was so carried away that she didn''t notice she was being loud. Zhang Liling had to shush her at the end.

    "Don''t ask too many questions, I don''t have the time to answer all of them. Anyway, I will be absent tomorrow as well, please help me take care of the notes and attendance. Tomorrow will determine if I get to keep my job or not after my Boss sees me for the first time."

    Staring into the distance with a calm gaze, Zhang Liling envisioned Mr. Fang''s facial expression when he sees her in his house, working as his housekeeper.

    Would he be shocked? Angry? Confused?

    A smile hung on her lips as she pictured that scene. But after leaving her fantasy realm, she discovered that he might even send her away that very minute and sighed with a depressed look on her face.

    Tungmei had so many questions for her, for example, who her Boss was, what kind of job she got, the address of her workstation, and so badly wanted a response from her, but since she said she was in a hurry, she chose to let her off.

    "Take me out for a good meal if you finally get to keep your job,"

    Zhang Liling smiled at her and responded with a wink, "Not only that, I will throw a house-warming party just for the two of us, where we get to drink to our hearts'' content."

    "If we are going to drink, then fix the date on a weekend," Tungmei replied with a smile.

    It would be so fun, and a big relief to take some time off schooling and studying just to rx and have a good drink with her close friend.

    Zhang Liling picked up her backpack and got ready to leave when her phone started to ring. ncing at the caller ID, she smiled and showed it to Tungmei. "My mum is calling she is probably worried since I left home very early and hasn''te back yet when it''s past 5 pm."

    "Go ahead, see you on Friday, and don''t forget to do Mr. Fang''s assignment if you don''t want to get in trouble," Tungmei reminded kindly.

    She guessed that she must have forgotten about it, given her busy her day was.

    "Ah! I almost forgot about it, I will start working on it tonight, thanks!" Zhang Liling said gratefully before turning to leave while picking up her mother''s call.

 Chapter 25 Mother And Daughter Bond

    "Mum, I''m on my way home," Zhang Liling gged down a taxi and got in while on a call with her mother.

    "I almost thought that something happened to you," Song Jujing said with a sigh of relief.

    Since her daughter left the house in the morning, they haven''t spoken to each other and she hasn''t returned home either so, she was bound to be worried.

    If this was Pair, she wouldn''t have been so worried.

    "If anything was to happen to me, it will only be good things. Alright don''t worry too much, I''m on my way home already."

    Immediately Zhang Liling returned home and went into her room, her mother came to find her.

    "Did you find a good house today?" She asked, taking a seat and crossing her legs in the process.

    "Yes, I did find a house, and I have paid for it already, would you like to see it tomorrow?" Zhang Liling offered with a tired gaze directed toward her.

    "I would have loved to, but I will be leaving for Paris at noon," Song Jujing revealed.

    Zhang Liling dropped onto her bed in surprise, she didn''t expect that her mother would be leaving this soon. "What, you are leaving tomorrow? Why so soon?"

    "As the editor-in-chief for VOGUE PARIS who took a 4 days emergency leave of absence, it''s about time I return and get back to work." Song Jujing exined with a sigh.

    If her job wasn''t so demanding, she would have loved to spend more time with her daughter, especially now they had their apartment.

    Zhang Liling pouted her lips, "I will miss you,"

    Song Jujing smiled and assured her, "Don''t miss me too much. I will be back in 2 months for your graduation, and then we can leave together."

    ''Again, with the leaving for Paris together''

    As much as Zhang Liling would want to see her mother again at her graduation, she just hoped that she would stop mentioning that sentence, and change her mind about it.

    "If your flight is at noon, there is still time for you to see the apartment I rented,"

    "Don''t you have sses tomorrow morning?" Song Jujing asked with a doubtful gaze.

    "It''s not until 10 Am, so we can go to the apartment together in the morning. And mum, I need your help with something," Zhang Liling said with puppy eyes.

    Song Jujing knew that this favor she was going to ask for, would be one that only she could solve. Nevertheless, she still wanted to hear her out first, before deciding on it.

    "Go on."

    "I want to move into my apartment, but I don''t want to rm anyone in the process. Can you tell my father to allow let me stay with my close friend and coursemate Tungmei, just until 2 months I up?"

    If she was going to work for Mr. Fang for a while, then she can''t do it while in the Zhang house, or they would easily find out about it and pull her out of it immediately.<sub> </sub>

    Song Jujing on the other hand thought that she wanted to escape being bullied by Shi Wenqian and her children and readily agreed to it.

    "I will have a private conversation with your father after dinner. You can pack your S-List items in one luggage so your father won''t suspect a thing."

    By S-List items, Song Jujing meant her most important properties.

    Zhang Liling ran to her mother''s side to give her a big hug and to thank her as well. Song Jujing in return wrapped her arms around her back and patted it lovingly.

    "No need to thank me because I owe you a lot. Just tell me what you need, don''t suffer in silence."

    Don''t suffer in silence that she told her about, didn''t mean she had to cross anybody. For her to get her father on her side, she had to pretend to support his ambition, or not get in the way. AS for her stepmother, she shouldn''t go looking for trouble.

    Immediately after dinner, Song Jujing wiped the corner of her lips with a table napkin before fixing her gaze on Zhang Renshu who seemed to be eating thest portion of his meal.

    "I want to speak with you, privately."

    She mentioned the word ''private'' when she shifted her gaze to Shi Wenqian as if to tell her she wasn''t wanted.

    Everyone at the dinner table turned to nce between Song Jujing and Shi Wenqian.

    "Come with me," Zhang Renshu said as he abandoned the remnants of his food and got to his feet while gesturing to Song Jujing.

    Song Jujing stood up and followed him without sparing anyone a nce.

    "Zhang Liling, what does your mother want to talk to my husband about?" Shi Wenqian asked with an annoyed fixed on her after she put down her cutlery angrily.

    Zhang Liling pointed at the door her parents disappeared to, "I don''t know. You should have asked my mother directly, or maybe you can wait for them toe out, so you can ask your husband."

    "Are you making jest of my mother by any chance?!" Zhang Xiaoling snapped.

    She always thought it right for Zhang Liling to answer when her mother wants her to. Not just that, she had to remain meek before her at all times.

    "I think you are always looking for something to hold against me. What wrong is there in what I said? Am I supposed to know everything?"

    Standing to her feet, she said in a low voice before walking away, "I''m not even allowed to have my food in peace."

    "You! Come back here!" Zhang Xiaoling said angrily as she propped her hands on the table, ready to chase after her, but Shi Wenqian stopped her.

    "Leave her. Let her talk back all she wants. Let her be rude all she wants. Just let her do what she wants. Her mother won''t be here for long," Shi Wenqian said with a sinister gaze.

    Zhang Liling who had at a point stopped in her steps to listen to their short conversation, smirked. She was d she didn''t have to spend any more time in this house with them or she won''t be able to escape from them.

 Chapter 26 What Zhang Liling Would Have Done

    "Must she move out for her to fully concentrate on her studies? Can''t she do that here?" Zhang Renshu asked.

    "Are you really asking me that question, I brought Liling here because you wanted to have a close rtionship with her but instead, you left her in the hands of that woman to be bullied! I am already being kind of enough for not taking her back to Paris immediately."

    "Jujing, Wenqian doesn''t dare to bully Liling," Zhang Renshu said with a frown. He doesn''t believe that his wife would dare to bully his daughter in his house.

    "What about the times you are absent? Because you don''t keep an eye on my daughter, that''s why she doesn''t tell you anything. Anyway, don''t try to argue with me. You already owe me a lot and you have to start repaying your debts slowly!"

    Zhang Renshu could not argue with her on this one, because he indeed owed her a lot. He looked more guilty than before being reminded of it and tried to reach out for her hand, but she backed away.

    "You are the reason my family abandoned me, the reason I became a joke to everybody in this country. Don''t forget my shares in yourpany, I wille for them when I''m ready. And before you think I''m going to drag any position with you, just know that I won''t do that,"

    After arguing back and forth in the study, Zhang Renshu had no choice but to listen to Song Jujing.

    "Alright, Liling can stay with her friend until she is through with her final exams. I will also send her monthly allowance directly to her bank ount, is that okay with you?" Zhang Renshu asked.

    "Before you start sending her monthly allowance to her, don''t forget to return the remaining ones she missed out all these times that woman has been in charge." Song Jujing said rolling her eyes.

    She wanted him to pay back everything Liling has been exempted from. As for his care and attention, she didn''t need it. Once she takes Liling back to Paris, she would cover up for the fatherly love shecked.

    Right there, Zhang Renshu took out his phone to do some calctions before sending another sum of money to Zhang Liling, after which he showed the debit alert from his bank to her.

    Song Jujing saw that he added extra to the amount he was supposed to pay back and didn''t make anyment.

    Before was she supposed to praise him or thank him? It was only normal for him to stop acting petty and do the needful for his daughter.

    "You said you are leaving tomorrow I will drop you at the airport myself." Zhang Renshu said while putting his phone inside his trouser pocket.

    Song Jujing waved her hand, "No need, I will leave with Liling in the morning and go straight to the airport after seeing her friend''s ce."

    Zhang Liling was sitting on her chair and working on the assignment Mr. Fang gave to them 2 days ago when she heard the sound of an iing message from her phone. She didn''t immediately check it out until she was done writing a quote,

    When she saw the credit alert from her father, she smiled to herself. ''My mother has done it again.''

    Not long after, Song Jujing came into her bedroom, and they chatted a little before she left for her own bedroom.

    Although Song Jujing would have loved to have onest heart-to-heart conversation with her daughter before leaving, she couldn''t bear to distract her, so she had to leave.<sub> </sub>

    In Zhang Renshu and Shi Wenqian''s bedroom, the former was currently scolding thetter.

    "Why did you withhold more than half of Liling''s monthly allowance for more than 2 years? Who asked you to do that?!"

    "It''s not like I spent it, I was saving it for her. You know how young adults of her agevish money I was just teaching her how to manage things." Shi Wenqian lied through gritted teeth.

    She thought this matter had already ended as at yesterday, who knew he would bring it up again.

    ''Did Song Jujing say something to him?''

    ''No, did Zhang Lilingin to her mother again?''

    "Did I ask you to do that, why would you make such decisions for her when I''m here? If you are looking for someone to teach on how to manage resources, turn to your children! Don''t you dare maltreat Liling again if you don''t want to get into trouble!

    After giving her a warning, Zhang Renshu left the bedroom for her and went to his study.

    Shi Wenqian was fuming mad but was forced to swallow her anger for the time being. She was waiting for the right time to strike.

    ***************************

    Back at the Fang Mansion, Mr. Fang just had just finished taking a shower.

    His chest muscles and firm abs were strictly confined from view because of the white Chenille Microfiber bathrobe wrapped tightly around his body, not giving anyone the chance to peek at it.

    His hairstyle which he had earlier was ruined after he washed it with shampoo during his shower. So right now, his slick hair poured down to his forehead and stuck around his scalp.

    The motion of him trying to blow-dry his hair with a hand hairdryer, made him look less mature, but sexier. He had a different look and aura now,pared with the previous hairstyle, and when he was on a business suit.

    His eyes looked so deep and sexy at the same time. The same eyes that unknowingly charmed women, leaving its owner with no choice but to hide the charms with a pair of framed reading sses.

    If only Zhang Liling could see this moment of Mr. Fang, I bet that she wouldn''t hesitate to pounce on him without caring about the consequences of her actions, and the repercussions they would bringter.

    After drying his hair, Mr. Fang stepped into the walk-in closet to change into a set offy clothes before emerging a few minutester, ready to go down for dinner.

    By the time he came down, his father, mother, and grandmother were already sitting around the dining table.

 Chapter 27 His Not-So Perfect Public Image

    "Come and sit beside me," The olddy beckoned to him with a kind smile on her face.

    Mr. Fang''s father, Fang Huiqing raised his head to nce at him and cleared his throat before going back to eating his food.

    "Grandma, I will be fine on my own,"

    Mr. Fang rejected his olddy''s gesture and took a seat, 2 seats away from her. He was avoiding her old habits of treating him like a child.

    She might end up piling enough food for 3 adults to finish, on his te.

    Surprisingly, the dinner went smoothly with no fights in-between, but after, Mr. Fang ended up being offended by his father''s words.

    "Wenwen, I know I said I wouldn''t bring anything rting to your private life, but I just wanted to give you a reminder since you are leaving tomorrow morning," The olddy said with a guilty gaze on him.

    Mr. Fang sighed because he just knew she was going to arrive at that point, and he has been waiting for it. She was his grandmother after all.

    "What reminder do you want to give to me?" He asked with a calm gaze.

    The olddy exchanged nces with his mother before shifting her gaze back to him. A profound smile appeared on her face as she said to him¡­

    "These days, the media has seemed to forget all those ridiculous rumours about you. Why don''t you take your time to find a woman who will spend the rest of her life with you? Or if you have a girlfriend already, introduce her to us as soon as possible."

    A low chuckle escaped from Fang Huiqing''s lips as he seemed to find his mother''s words ridiculous. "You are asking him to find someone he will spend the rest of his life with when he doesn''t even let anyone get close to him."

    "Honey it''s not his fault that he can''t tolerate harsh scents around him," Jian Cuifen said with a worried gaze. She was worried about another fight breaking out after her son, Fang Bingwen would lose control.

    "Did I ever say it was his fault? If he doesn''t want to end up alone, he should be more tolerant of people, and his image while in public. After he pushed Old Jia''s daughter in public, he has refused to say a word to me," Fang Huiqingined with a bitter expression on his face.

    Mr. Fang was indeed respectable, but his public image was not perfect because some time ago, he was rumoured to be arrogant, stone-hearted and even less tolerant of women. Not just that, he was also rumoured to be gay.

    This news was carried about because of a simple mistake from him. When he went on the first date his family set for him with the Jia family''s daughter, he was irritated because of her obvious strong scent.

    Even those without the health issue he had, would be ufortable with the strong scent from the perfume she used.

    He was trying so much to tolerate her but failed, so he asked for the date to end, and right when he was about to walk away, she threw herself on him from behind, and he ended up pushing her without a second talk.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang was still angry because of her actions and had left her there, not knowing she had secretly let their date out to a few reporters before that day, and that was how pictures of that day''s scenes, and those rumours made rounds to the inte.

    Later, the Fang family with their influence, managed to wipe that history off the inte, but those who saw and read the news the minute it trended, couldn''t seem to wipe it from their memory, they were still stuck with it.

    Mr. Fang let out another sigh and nced at his grandmother. "Grandma, I will surely take my time to think about what you said. I have to leave a bit early in the morning, so I have to retire early, thank you for the dinner,"

    After saying that, he stood up and bowed slightly to his mother before walking away.

    "What! He didn''t even greet me?" Fang Huiqing said with a furious gaze directed at the path Mr. Fang disappeared to.

    Mr. Fang didn''t greet him, and also didn''t say a word to him. Hepletely ignored his father like he was existing. This was so difficult for Fang Huiqing to tolerate.

    Olddy Fang rolled her eyes saying, "Didn''t I tell you to remain quiet when you see him, but you ended up making me look like the bad guy here for inviting him back home and bringing up the marriage topic."

    "Were there any lies in what I said, why are you afraid of him?" Fang Huiqing asked with a curious-annoyed nce at the two women at the table with him.

    "It''s not Wenwen that I am afraid of, it''s you. You have seeded in angering my precious grandson whom I managed to bring back home. Now, who knows when next he would agree toe back home,"

    The olddy red at her son before leaving the dining area. Jian Cuifen released a sigh before leaving the dining room as well, now, Fang Huiqing was left all alone.

    He was unhappy that his first son doesn''t take heed from him as he prefers to do what pleased him.

    Early the next morning, Mr. Fang set out to leave. He followed his usual morning routine by brushing his teeth, taking 4 pills from his drug bottle and doing a few minutes of jogging before freshening up.

    By the time he was done packing his things and gone downstairs with his luggage, he saw the small dining room bustling.

    It turned out that his mother wanted him to have breakfast before leaving, so she had the chefs prepare breakfast on time as if she knew that he would be early.

    "Come and eat before you go, the breakfast is like, and there will be no need forints," Jian Cuifen said with an inviting smile.

    Mr. Fang handed his luggage to a servant who took it outside the house, while he ended up going to have breakfast with his mother and grandmother.

    As for his father, the man didn''t want to be annoyed by his presence, so he stayed back in his bedroom and ordered to be served there.

 Chapter 28 Back To S City

    At the Zhang house, Zhang Liling and her mother had just finished having breakfast with the rest, before calling on the servants to take out their luggage.

    Shi Wenqian was taken aback by that order and had to ask, "I understand that you have a flight to catch, but where is Zhang Liling going to?"

    "Your husband didn''t tell you about it? Maybe you should ask him for more details. My daughter won''t be living here till she graduates," Song Jujing replied with a smug look before taking Zhang Liling''s hands and leaving the house with her.

    How could Zhang Renshu have told Shi Wenqian anything after they arguedst night? But Shi Wenqian saw things differently. She thought he didn''t hold her in high regard and was doing things without her opinion again.

    Zhang Renshu stepped out of the room and walked past her. His ex-lover was leaving, and he didn''t know when next he was going to see her, and because he still respected her, he wanted to send her off personally.

    Seeing her husband walk away after ignoring her presence, Shi Wenqian gritted her teeth and squeezed her palms in anger before following after him.

    If there would be anyst-minute discussions or conversations between the two old lovers, then she needed to hear them.

    After Zhang Liling stepped into the cab ride they ordered, Song Jujing was about to join her when Zhang Renshu stopped her.

    "Jujing, please wait a minute," He said in an urgent tone while taking quick steps toward her. Shi Wenqian wanted to tag along, but she was forced to halt when he asked her not toe any closer.

    "What is it?" Song Jujing asked with furrowed brows. She was working with time

    "I know you won''t take my calls once you get to Paris, so I wanted to confirm when next you would being again." Zhang Renshu asked.

    A smile slowly rose on Song Jujing''s face. The reason this man was asking her that question was what she had no idea about, but she did give him a hint.

    "Soon, if fate allows you,"

    She didn''t want anyone to know and monitor her movements as she didn''t trust anybody with her safety.

    Zhang Renshu just knew that she wouldn''t give him a straight answer hence, he gave her a reminder to try to take some time off from work to attend Zhang Liling''s graduation.

    "You don''t need to remind me about my daughter''s affairs because I know it more than you do, take care," Song Jujing replied and stepped into the car, leaving the man, the woman, and the servants tongue-tied.

    While in the car, Zhang Liling gave her mother a thumbs-up. "I should learn how to be cool like you,"

    "Why don''t you study the situation first before you try to be cool, you don''t even have any influence of your own," Song Jujing said to her

    Zhang Liling hugged her arm and said, "I have you" and Mr. Fang.

    To her, Mr. Fang was already hers.

    "Why didn''t you say anything about your daughter leaving the house?" Shi Wenqian asked with a big frown on her face.

    She still looked offended by the fact that he didn''t say anything to her, making her look like a fool before his ex.<sub> </sub>

    "I don''t think you need to know everything. I want to see Mingyu by the time I return from work today, and I hope he hasn''t been missing his sses?" Zhang Renshu said and walked away.

    He was leaving for work and had no more time to waste with her.

    Shi Wenqian became suddenly tensed with the new order he had just given. He wanted to see their son who was hospitalized?

    As soon as he left the vicinity of the house, she rushed into the house and called for the housekeeper to prepare as they were going to pay a visit to Zhang Mingyu at the hospital.

    ****************

    When Mr. Fang was about to leave the Fang residence, his grandmother gave him a big hug which tired him out.

    "Wenwen I prepared some special local spices, veggies, and side dishes your private chef can use to make you 2 weeks'' worth of healthy dishes. Don''t neglect your health," The olddy said after releasing him from the hug.

    ''Again with the Wenwen'' Mr. Fang thought to himself with a not-so-good expression on his face. He hated to be addressed that way by his grandmother.

    "Thank you, take care of yourself and grandfather," Mr. Fang said before stepping into the car.

    The olddy and Jian Cuifen stood there and waved to him until his car disappeared from their sight.

    *****************

    The reason Bolin had to be at work half an hour (30 minutes) earlier than usual was because of his Boss, Mr. Fang.

    Currently, Bolin was at the underground private park of the building belonging exclusively to Mr. Fang because he had received a call earlier from him, telling him to wait there.

    Not long after he came down and checked his wristwatch, Mr. Fang''s car pulled over, and he immediately made his over.

    "Good morning, Sir." Bolin greeted as he opened the back passenger door for him.''

    Stretching out his long left leg, Mr. Fang fixed the button on his suit jacket before fully stepping out of the car. His hairstyle looked the same as when he was in a business mood.

    He ended up fixing it himself after washing up in the morning. There was no way he woulde to work without a professional haircut, or hairstyle, for it was against his work ethic.

    "I don''t know what exactly my grandmother put in the car''s booth, but they should all be able things. Empty the trunk and air my car before bringing it back," Mr. Fang instructed.

    Bolin checked his wristwatch before saying to him, "This may take a while as I have to pick up your housekeeper and bring her to your ce and also show her around, will you be okay if I disappear for 2 hours?"

    "Two hours, why do you have to take that long?" Mr. Fang asked with a deep frown.

    If he was out for 2 hours on a Thursday like this especially when they had to spend long hours at work today, wouldn''t that be a waste of time?

 Chapter 29 Graduation Benefits

    Atst, Bolin didn''t need to reply to him before he allowed him to leave. The 2 hours he mentioned did not include the time he would spend on the road, and it was going to take proper time management to make good use of it.

    Bolin first went to Mr. Fang''s ce to take care of his things. With the help of the new butler, they arranged the side dishes and locally prepared ingredients in the refrigerator and shelves.

    For his used clothes, the butler took care of it. Bolin had to put the rest of the things in his luggage, in his bedroom.

    "Mr. Bolin, you said the housekeeper ising in today, will that happenter in the day?" The Butler asked.

    Bolin checked the time on his phone before putting it back in his trouser pockets, "She will be here in an hour. I just contacted the people from the car washpany, they areing to take care of the car parked outside."

    Bolin was indirectly asking the butler to see to it since he would be leaving very soon.

    With a slightly concerned gaze, the butler asked, "Which car will you go out with?" If the car he came back with was going to be cleaned, which one would he go out with? It would be very weird if he took a cab.

    "Oh! don''t worry," Bolin said with a smile. "Mr. Fang doesn''tck cars, and there is always an option to pick from,"

    Haven said that Bolin took the stairs again, but this time around, he went for Mr. Fang''s study. And he had to turn on the lights to be able to see in that dark space.

    The spacious study was simply decorated and outlined with two major colours, white, and leather brown colours. The wall was painted using white coloured paint, while the furniture ced in it, was in dark brown.

    Mr. Fang was someone who didn''t like a rowdy area, or a busy background, especially in a ce where he needs inspiration and needed to be creative, so he always kept things simple which ends up looking astonishing.

    Making his way to the small vault behind the huge office desk, Bolin keyed in 6-digit numbers which wouldn''t escape being tagged as Nil, and it opened up.

    Who would believe that 6 Zeros (000000) could ever be attributed to Mr. Fang as one of his passwords?

    I guess he was toozy to pick a good one, or because he was confident that no one would dare to touch his collections.

    ncing at the 3 car keysid out neatly in the vault, Bolin thought, ''Which one should I pick?''

    He was not afraid of being scolded because Mr. Fang never said he couldn''te with another car, and besides, he was doing a good job by not just airing his Maybach, but also giving it a good cleaning, inside out.

    Out of the 3 car keysid out there, Bolin sighed and quickly picked the less valuable one which happened to be an Audi product. He would be crazy to touch the other car keys.

    Mr. Fang would bury him alive if he dared to touch it without his permission. The permission that would possibly never be granted even in his next life.

    As quickly as Bolin came, he left the same way after turning off the lights.<sub> </sub>

    Bolin informed the Butler he was leaving, before stepping outside and making a detour to the corner of the building.

    He finally came to a stop in front of a huge shield fixed on the wall and pressed the button next to it. The aluminium shield rolled up, and he walked inside the car garage.

    Those beauties before him were all worthy of a good ride, but this was not the time to let fun thoughts have a way with him. He quickly walked towards the Audi and unlocked it before reviving the engine and driving off.

    Once he got out of Mr. Fang''s residence, he picked up his phone to dial Zhang Liling''s contact.

    ****************

    A cab pulled down the familiar apartment building in the area that Zhang Liling had rented. If she didn''t have any proof of being an apartment owner in that residence, the cab driver wouldn''t be allowed to drive them in.

    "This is a good area, at least the security team here do not allow random people in," Song Jujing said with relief as the cab driver pulled over.

    "This good area is the reason all my money disappeared," Zhang Liling replied before getting out of the car, she was silently asking her mother for more money, and the woman seemed to get it.

    "I know you would need more money, and that''s the reason I made your father give you more of it. I won''t give you any money till a monthter," Song Jujing said.

    Although her daughter was an adult and could handle herself, she didn''t want her to have so much money in her hands when she had no idea of what she wanted it for.

    The driver took out their suitcases from the trunk of his car and handed them to them before driving off. Before Zhang Liling and her mother could move 5 steps ahead with their luggage a young security man came out of the building to help them.

    This was one of the services to be enjoyed while living in that building.

    Zhang Liling and her mother walked behind the security man and continued with their conversation.

    "Mum, you know I am your only daughter, you have to spoil me with all your money!" Zhang Liling pouted.

    "I know I have to spoil you with my money, so I have been saving some funds for you. It is a part of your graduation gift. You can use these funds to start up any business of your choice, but it must be something worthwhile."

    "I can''t wait for 2 months toe, it looks like some benefits are being kept away from me," Zhang Liling said as her thoughts trailed off.

    She was thinking if Mr. Fang would be more epting towards her if she was no longer his student, and if she was already a graduate.

 Chapter 30 Zhang Lilings Gold Mine

    "But if there is an emergency rting to anything including money, just call me and I will get it done," Song Jujing added.

    She was leaving her daughter alone in Country S, a country she couldn''t trust anybody in. If it wouldn''t be a waste, she would have asked Liling to quit ande with her.

    "I thought you don''t have anyone here, how would you help me in the case where it has nothing to do with money?"

    If her problem was money, she could easily wire it to her, but if she wanted physical help, how would she do it?

    The mother and daughter were already in the elevator along with the man helping them with their luggage.

    "I may not have all the contacts here, but I do know the Editor in chief for VOGUE in this country, I can ask her for help. Now, enough with that talk, I want you to know something very important."

    Song Jujing did not say anything after that, and Zhang Liling did not ask about it either until they got out of the elevator.

    "Thank you, we will take it from here," Song Jujing said as she dipped her hand into her bag and gave the security man a tip, while Zhang Liling took over their luggage.

    "Thank You," the man said gratefully with a bow before epting the money and leaving.

    Zhang Liling input the password to her apartment while saying, "Mum, this is the password, you can use this one anytime youe overter, we will add your fingerprint."

    "Mmmm"

    The sound of the electronic door being unlocked was heard, and Zhang Liling pushed the door open to let them in.

    "Mum, do you like the ce?" Zhang Liling asked with a bright smile on her face.

    Song Jujing looked around and smiled, "I like it, but sit first, I want to talk to you before I forget."

    And so, the mother and daughter sat on the light-cream-colored couch to talk.

    "I want you to know that you may not enjoy this privilege forever. Your father still shows me some respect because he has not fully dived into the field of politics which won''t be long. And when that timees, my rtionship with him would change because he wouldn''t listen to anybody that is not giving him anything in return."

    Zhang Liling was listening carefully to know where this was going.

    "I''m telling you this, so you won''t rx. Start building your connections and growing your socialwork, because this is what will save you when you see yourself in a dire situation. Let your mind be unreadable. This is the authentic reason Shi Wenqian can''t do anything to me because she can''t read me, she doesn''t know what I can do."

    Shi Wenqian doesn''t dare to directly cross Song Jujing''s path because of her family''s background, and because right from time, she doesn''t know what she is capable of doing. Song Jujing may seem silent, but Shi Wenqian knows she is more than that.

    Speaking of building her connections, Zhang Liling was already thinking about Mr. Fang. He was 100% of everything she needed in a man.

    He was handsome, tall, intelligent, handsome, outstanding, wealthy, has good connections, came from a good family, and more so, he looks unapproachable which means that anyone that manages to get to him, would be protected by him.

    Mr. Fang was Zhang Liling''s gold mine.<sub> </sub>

    Even though Zhang Liling''s head was full of conquering Mr. Fang as she has already been enchanted by him, her mother''s advice sank into her skull. That message riled her up and made her begin to think of how to affect her ns.

    She can''t let Mr. Fang fire her on her first day of working for him.

    After chatting with her mother, she took their luggage to her bedroom, leaving her mother to explore her apartment by herself.

    Taking her luggage to her bedroom, Zhang Liling began to unpack her things, so she could repack the things she would need to take to Mr. Fang''s vi, before putting away the rest in her closet.

    When she was done, she nced at the table clock on her nightstand and felt she still had about half an hour before Bolines to pick her up, so she went to take a shower.

    When she came out with a bathrobe wrapped around her body, her mother came to find her.

    "Can you book a ride to the airport for me, I have to leave soon."

    ''This is great!''

    Zhang Liling was already thinking of how she was going to leave the house with her luggage without her mother knowing, but it looks like she wouldn''t need to hide anymore.

    "Okay, I''m booking a ride for you now," Zhang Liling said as she immediately picked up her phone to book a ride for her.

    After dressing up, Zhang Liling was sitting in front of her vanity table and trying to get her makeup done when she got a call from Bolin, who told her he was 10 minutes away from her location, and that made her hasten up.

    When her mother''s ride came, she didn''t even have the time to send her off. She rang the line for the security team on the ground floor, so one of them would help her mother with her luggage.

    Before leaving her apartment, Song Jujing embraced her and gave her a reminder before leaving.

    "Send me a text when you get to the airport, and when you board the ne," Zhang Liling reminded.

    She would be busy by that time, so a text was best not to distract her.

    Sighing in relief, Zhang Lilingpleted her hairstyle before picking up her backpack and her luggage and headed out.

    Just as she got off the elevator, she got Bolin''s call.

    "Miss Zhang, I am in front of your building,"

    There was no time to think about how he got himself inside, therefore, Zhang Liling told him she was out already and that he would see her in a few seconds.

    Bolin was already standing beside the Audi when she came into his view. He looked surprised by her outfit although it looked professional.

    He literally spaced out for a few seconds before he quickly made his way toward her to help with her luggage, after she called his mind back.

 Chapter 31 The Beginning Of Their Story

    Zhang Liling didn''t notice the weird gaze Boling had directed at her, for she was far too excited at finally moving to Mr. Fang''s Vi to notice anything.

    "Thank you!" Zhang Liling thanked Bolin as he helped her out with the luggage, before finally noticing the different car he came with.

    "Miss Zhang, please get in," Bolin gestured for her to get into the front passenger after putting her luggage in the trunk.

    Zhang Liling nodded with a smile before helping herself in.

    It''s not like she was the Mistress already for her to be directly ushered into the back passenger seat. Bolin was not her driver and for now, he had a higher rank than her.

    Getting into the driver''s seat, Bolin reminded her about the seatbelt, while securing his own. As she fastened her seatbelt, he revived the car''s engine and drove off.

    The thought of moving into Mr. Fang''s house caused Zhang Liling''s heartbeat to elerate. She couldn''t wait to get there and see him for herself.

    ''Oh! How much she has missed him!''

    With that thought, she asked with a mild gaze, "Mr. Bolin, how long would it take us to get there?"

    "We will be there soon. Did you take a look at the contract, is there anything you don''t understand?" Bolin asked.

    He needed to make sure that there would be no reason for her to offend Mr. Fang, he had to make sure of that.

    ''The contract?'' Zhang Liling didn''t even remember to take a look at it and she felt like crying right now, was she going to be in a lot of trouble?

    Was she going to be sacked just before she would get to see Mr. Fang''s vi?

    Bolin thought her silence was unusual and had to spare a nce at her. "Don''t tell me that you haven''t gone through that contract and seen the set of rules you will have to abide by?"

    If that was so, there was no need to continue on that journey because this was an act of negligence on her part. If she couldn''t even do the right thing in the beginning, he was wondering how much offense she was going tomit.

    Zhang Liling was not a fool. She definitely knew what was going on in Bolin''s mind and quickly reacted. "Of course, I have gone through the contract and familiarized myself with the rules,"

    Seeing the confident brilliant smile on her face, Bolin rxed a little and fixed his gaze on the road.

    "Miss Zhang, you really need to be careful with the rules and follow them ordingly. Just now, I realized that you must have used more than 2 shots of your perfume."

    Zhang Liling wanted to faint. What has the number of shots from her perfume got to do with the rules, don''t tell me that even our perfume usage has to be regted?

    No matter how shocked Zhang Liling was, she would never show that on her face as she would be directly shooting herself in the foot.

    Now, she so badly wanted to see what kind of strange rules she would have to follow. If their body temperature and water intake were regted in a day, she wouldn''t be so shocked.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t wait to see more of Mr. Fang.

    Quickly apologizing to Bolin, she didn''t even bother to look for a lie to cover up for it, for she was far too startled to think of that.

    She said she would be more careful next time, and that made Bolin happy. At least she didn''t im rights or try to exin had it been she did, he would have thought if that was how she was going to treat Mr. Fang''.<sub> </sub>

    Haven worked for Mr. Fang for some years, Bolin knew exactly when anyone used more than 2 shots of their perfume. Even he, the driver, and any other person who was to work closely with Mr. Fang ore in close contact with him had to abide by that rule.

    No more than 2 shots of your perfume, were to be used each day, and using a strong perfume was going against the rules as well.

    Only if Zhang Liling had gone through the rules, she would have seen where it was written about the kind of perfumes that couldn''t be used, and all of them were perfumes with a strong scent.

    Fifteen minutester, Bolin drove into a quiet lucrative vicinity which got Zhang Liling all excited. Slowly, the Audi pulled over in front of the vi.

    Zhang Liling didn''t need further instructions and helped herself out of the car, while Bolin went to the trunk to pull out her luggage.

    If her cover was not at stake here, Zhang Liling wouldn''t mind drooling at the sight of the outstanding vi. This means that Mr. Fang had good taste, which made her more excited.

    "Miss Zhang, your luggage," Bolin said as he closed the trunk of the car.

    Zhang Liling quickly went over and took her luggage from him. "Please call me Liling from today."

    ''So informal,'' Bolin thought.

    It''s not like he was close to her, and what would his Boss think of if he acted so casual with her, wouldn''t that get him in trouble.

    Instead of rejecting her outrightly, Bolin said as he walked ahead, "Miss Zhang please follow me, I only have 15 minutes left."

    By the time Zhang Liling came back to her senses, he was already so many steps away from her. She had to quickly follow behind while pulling her luggage along with her backpack.

    ''So, this is Mr. Fang''s ce? Our story begins now,'' Zhang Liling thought to herself with a hallow surrounding her.

    Stepping inside the house, Bolin first showed her the sitting room and the living room.

    While pointing at the sitting room, he said, "Visitors that do not have any close rtionship with Mr. Fang are to be received here, and that''s if they ever make it past the security post"

    Bolin said the second sentence in a low audible tone before continuing. He took her into the living room and told her that only close rtives could be allowed and received in there.

    Zhang Liling wanted to ask him how she was supposed to tell the difference between the visitors based on the kind of rtionship they had with Mr. Fang, but Bolin did not give her the chance.

    "Let''s show you to your bedroom before we can continue the tour," he said as he led the way to her bedroom on the ground floor.

    After showing her to her bedroom so she could put away her luggage, he continued to show her around. He personally showed her every nook and cranny of the house including Mr. Fang''s bedroom, his study, the gym, and the kitchen.

    Bolin went on to remind of her the time she was supposed to clean Mr. Fang''s bedroom and that was after he has left for work on workdays, and when he was in the study in the morning during weekends.

    "¡­be careful when cleaning his bedroom, don''t use air freshener. Anyway, all the instructions to follow are in the contract, you should note everything properly."

    Before leaving the house, Bolin introduced her to the housekeeper and then said, "After I have confirmed what Mr. Fang would have for dinner, I will notify you."

    ''Why would you notify me of his choice of dinner, how does that concern me? Wait, don''t tell me I''m in charge of his meals as well.'' Zhang Liling thought with a horrific expression on her face.

 Chapter 32 Knowing The Rules

    As he was leaving, Zhang Liling was running to her new bedroom to dig out the contract she signed. She had to know what she has gotten herself into.

    Paraventure Mr. Fang allows her to stay even after seeing her, she can''t afford to be sacked because she didn''t read the rules she was given.

    The Butler didn''t get the chance to greet her properly before she ran off.

    ''She looks¡­ very young.'' The Butler thought as he trailed gazes at her.

    Zhang Liling had to unpack her backpack just to find the contract. Luckily when she brought it out, it was still in a good condition.

    Sitting at the foot of the bed, she began to flip the pages of the contract, taking her time to go through each page. She couldn''t afford to miss anything.

    She read the main contract before going to the rules and guidelines which was the most important part of everything she was doing.

    *Dress appropriately, no nudity (show less skin).*

    Jia Li read the first rule, shifted her gaze at her exposed legs, and growled. No wonder Bolin looked surprised to see her at first but ended up not saying anything to her. He must have thought that she should know better.

    Anyway, that wasn''t an appropriate uniform she was putting on, so she was okay with it. That means she had some shopping to do.

    If only she took a look at the contract since she would have gone shopping and gotten appropriate work attire.

    The next rule on her work contract was something Bolin had reminded her about on their way to the vi.

    *Don''t use more than 2 shots of perfume daily*

    Zhang Liling had absolutely no problem with it, she quickly stuck it in her mind and moved over to the next one.

    *Stand at least 5 meters away while speaking to Mr. Fang*

    ''What?'' That''s what her facial expression looked when she saw that. Even their distance when speaking to him had to be measured?

    This reminded her of their encounter in school, he continued emphasizing on her to keep her distance.

    ''What is wrong with him?''

    Thinking about the 5 meters distance she had to follow, she didn''t know how far that distance was, but an idea came to her before she could start grumbling.

    She ced her luggage on the floor, got on her knees, and opened it in search of something. A few secondster, she took out a transparent 1-meter-long ruler.

    "I found it!" There was a big smile on her face as she said that.

    Standing on her feet, she stared at the ruler with a satisfied smile. The next minute, she was already practicing with the ruler.

    Since the ruler was 1 meter long, she just had to ce it on the floor and mark the beginning, before moving it 4 more times and marking the end.

    After taking that measurement, Zhang Liling kept the ruler aside and used her eyes to study the distance, and then used her feet to count the steps.

    Contented with her wisdom and the sess rate of her practices, she nodded in satisfaction before moving over to the next rule on the list.

    *Don''t draw Mr. Fang''s attention unless you have something important to report*

    Zhang Liling read that part and nodded. "Yes, of course, Mr. Fang is busy, he can''t be bothered by unimportant things."

    Suddenly, she remembered her goal and felt like crying, "But wait, how am I supposed to build our rtionship if we don''t talk anything apart from house-rted, academic, and business-rted work matters?"<sub> </sub>

    A few minutes ago, she was totally epting of that rule, but now, she didn''t like It at all, it was totally off point if you ask her.

    "There has to be a way around this," Shaking her head, she moved over to the next rule.

    *Only clean his bedroom after he has left for work in the morning¡­ While cleaning the study, don''t tidy his desk or move any documents around*

    If she misces any important document in the name of tidying his desk, she would be in big trouble.

    *Follow instructions on how to clean and disinfect the house, especially Mr. Fang''s bedroom and study below*

    Under that rule, Zhang Liling saw that she had to use a particr quantity of cleansing agents and how many times she was supposed to clean a surface.

    As for changing bedsheets, it has to be done every 3 days and the method of washing it and his clothes were also written.

    Luckily, Zhang Liling saw that it was for the butler to handle all of Mr. Fang''sundry, but she could also do it in a special case, so it was there for her to notice.

    Zhang Liling felt hot all of a sudden and used the contract to fan herself. The more she read the contract, the moreplicated Mr. Fang looked to her.

    He has never looked intelligible but he has also, never looked moreplicated than this.

    This contract alone was enough for anyone to catch a glimpse into Mr. Fang''s private life.

    The next rule on the contract got Zhang Liling curious as to what was in the basement, and where the entrance was because Bolin never mentioned or pointed at that ce while showing her around.

    *Don''t go down to the basement unless you receive direct instruction from Mr. Fang to clean that ce*

    ''We will see about that¡­'' Zhang Liling said with a smirk and moved over to the next instruction. She believed that whatever was in that basement, needed her to win Mr. Fang''s trust first before she could go in there.

    *Prepare only healthy meals for Mr. Fang. He has no allergy, but don''t prepare any sweet dish above +++ concentration. You can ask if he has any special requests during a particr mealtime*

    "What''s this?" Zhang Liling cringed. She was almost going crazy.

    ? She didn''t know how to cook, especially most Chinese dishes, she was so bad at it and now, she even had to measure the concentration of the food''s sweetness.

    "Why don''t you hire a chef?" Zhang Liling asked in annoyance.

    She thought it would be better to hire a qualified chef to take care of his meals than suffer the innocent her or any other person that would have taken her ce if she didn''te into the picture.

    Zhang Liling felt that she was in trouble with the cooking stuff. She grew up in Paris, and could at most do her best trying to make fresh cuisines for him. If he wanted anything pasta, she was very good at it.

    As for Chinese dishes or any other kind of cuisine, it was better not to put any hopes on her.

    Zhang Liling felt that she had to find a way on how to cover up for the meals. Maybe telling Mr. Fang she could only prepare French cuisines and pasta would save her.

    Anyway, she would finish going through the contract first before thinking of a solution.

    *As a housekeeper with an experience, basic housekeeping rules do not need your reminder*

    "Wait, am I supposed to figure this out myself? I have never been a housekeeper!!!"

    Zhang Liling felt she was going to be in a hot mess for lying her way through. She might not just get fired, she could be arrested for forging fake documents and lying.

    At that thought, she shook her head and got down to business. She first arranged her things, freshened up, and changed into a morefortable outfit before hitting the inte with herptop, to research the job of a housekeeper.

 Chapter 33 Not Much Effect

    Bolin returned to the office and happened to be a few minuteste. Luckily, Mr. Fang pretended not to notice and went on to assign him a task.

    Shi Wenqian was currently in the hospital, staring daggers at her son, Zhang Mingyu.

    "I have told you several times to stay out of fights, but you don''t listen. When are you ever going to listen to the words I say?!"

    Zhang Mingyu shifted his gaze and shrugged, "It''s not like I started making troubles first."

    Zhang Mingyu wasyingfortably on his hospital bed while his back was being supported by a pillow. He looked carefree like he didn''t care if the world was on fire, and that was one thing that angered Shi Wenqian the most.

    Having a son that didn''t know his worth and utilize the opportunity before he brought no joy to a power-hungry mother like her.

    "Whether you were at fault or not, why would you choose to get into a fight despite knowing your health condition? Are you tired of living, and don''t you want to inherit your father''s empire?"

    Shi Wenqian was so mad that she felt like hitting him a few times. He doesn''t listen to her and ends up getting into trouble and leaving his mess for her to clean up.

    What was more annoying was the fact that he was taking this for granted.

    Zhang Mingyu pouted and shifted his gaze to her, "Why are you afraid of Father knowing my health condition, it''s not my fault. Also, shouldn''t he be on tenterhooks trying to find a cure for me?"

    He didn''t understand the reason he had to hide his illness from his father, and he hase to a point where he wanted an exnation.

    "Tenterhooks?" Shi Wenqian asked with an unbelievable expression on her face as she stepped closer to him. "You idiot! Your father would be on tenterhooks finding a recement for your future position at thepany once he finds out about it.!"

    As Shi Wenqian scolded him, she ended up hitting him a few times, not giving him the chance to dodge at all. Zhang Mingyu could only scream while trying to get away from her.

    Unfortunately for him, he couldn''t move that far because his vein was still connected to a bag of drip. He could only stay in one ce and receive a beating.

    After sweating off a bit, Shi Wenqian let him off. It was just the two of them in the room, which was the perfect time to give him a warning.

    "Mingyu, I did not pump my love and time into you, for you to turn out this way. One more foolish act from you, and your father might totally thrash you out and pick that girl up. Would you like what belongs to you to be given to another?"

    Zhang Mingyu shook his head in a negative affirmation. Who would like what belongs to them to be given to another person?

    "Good," Shi Wenqian looked better with his response.

    "You have to show your father that you are worth his time. And what''s this about you skipping sses again? Mingyu, the reason I allowed Zhang Liling to go to that prestigious university was so you could keep a close eye on her."

    NYU School of Business is a prestigious university in Country S, and for Shi Wenqian who didn''t like anyone rted to the Song Jujing, there was no way she would want anything good for Zhang Liling.

    The only reason she allowed her to get into that university, was so she could keep a close eye on her. Meeting Zhang Liling at first, she didn''t know her personality, and as the daughter of her enemy, it was good as keeping a close eye on her enemy as well.

    "The sses are mostly boring, and there is nothing special about my half-sister, we don''t even speak to each other in school." Zhang Mingyu growled.

    He looked pissed off because of that task given to him.<sub> </sub>

    He was popr in school and girls couldn''t help hovering around him because of his family background, but he believed that his good looks were a part of the attention he got, so how could he stoop so low to monitor someone that ignores his existence?

    Shi Wenqian red at him and pointed a finger at him, "I can''t keep protecting, don''t you dare blow up my cover, or I will take back that car I bought for you."

    Her threat worked as the stubborn Zhang Mingyu behaved. How could he part with his expensive sports car that his father had refused to purchase for him?

    Zhang Mingyu immediately started trying to get back on his mother''s good books. He fawned over her and even offered to massage her shoulders.

    "Enough!" Shi Wenqian said. Although there was an obvious frown on her face, she felt a bit relieved.

    "What have I done wrong again?"

    "You should act more mature if you are going to inherit your father''s empire! And get dressed, you areing home with me, your father felt your absence. I lied to him earlier, but it looks like it didn''t have much effect."

    Shi Wenwian said while taking a good look at him, he was ready to go home. The small injury on his face left a faint mark, which Zhang Renshu might not notice. At worst, it could be hidden with a concealer.

    Zhang Mingyu dared not argue with his mother. He took his time getting dressed after the nurse came in to take off the needle from his vein. He was going home, and he couldn''t wait to get in his car and go for a race next time.

    **********************

    "Sir, it''s time to go home," Bolin announced while standing in front of the door.

    Mr. Fang looked up from hisptop with a rxed gaze. "What''s the time?" He asked.

    "7 pm," Bolin replied. He was sure that if he didn''te out to remind his workaholic boss, he probably wouldn''t realize how long they have spent working.

    "Is it thatte?" Mr. Fang asked with a sigh. He was working on something really important and forgot to check the time.

    Bolin helped himself in and walked straight to his desk to tidy it. Since it was alreadyte, Mr. Fang consented to leave.

    Zhang Liling spent the rest of her day taking lectures on housekeeping from the inte, not minding that she missed 2 lectures at school, and forgot to check her phone and respond to her mother''s messages.

    She was the same person that asked her mother to send her texts when she got to the airport and after boarding the flight, yet she forgot all about her because her job was at stake, and her life, was at risk.

    When evening came, she immediately changed into another set of clothes and got ready for Mr. Fang''s wrath.

    She didn''t worry so much about dinner because Bolin had called her earlier to notify her about Mr. Fang skipping dinner for the night, and only asked her to prepare what she and the butler would eat.

    As for preparing what she and the butler would it, that wasn''t going to happen. Since she didn''t want to stress herself further not knowing what her fate would be when Mr. Fang returned, she asked the butler to suit himself.

    The butler didn''t expect that from her, given the way she was smiling so hard at him. This was her first day of work, and she was already starving him?

 Chapter 34 Suspicion

    "Mr. Butler, you can order takeouts just for tonight, tomorrow when my fate has been decided, I will start to do a good job."

    Without waiting for his response, Zhang Liling walked away. The butler could only say after her, "Call me Butler Gu."

    Whether she heard him or not, he had no idea because she continued walking off without a response.

    In the butler''s mind, he was wondering what kind of housekeeper Zhang Liling was. Sighing, he left to check on theundry he was doing.

    ****************************

    "Sir, you said earlier you won''t be having dinner, have you changed your mind?" Bolin was asking so he would be sure of the next step to take. And the next step would be calling Zhang Liling to whip out something for him.

    Mr. Fang nced at him from behind and replied with a low tone, "I still won''t have dinner."

    Bolin shifted his gaze back to the road while saying, "The contracts for your housekeeper and butler, are on top of your desk in the study."

    "What are their names?"

    "Miss Zhang and Butler Gu¡­" Bolin replied.

    That name Miss Zhang rang a bell in Mr. Fang''s head. Surprisingly, he couldn''t think of any other person with that name other than that audacious student of his.

    Shaking his head as he thought how ridiculous his pondering was and nced at the night view through the window.

    Seeing that he remained quiet, Bolin asked, "Sir, do you need me to directly pass a little information about them to you?"

    "Don''t disrupt my thoughts, I will take a look at their filester,"

    If Mr. Fang had said yes, then he would have heard his housekeeper''s full name and known his earlier pondering was right, then he would have stormed home and dragged her out of wherever she was to question her.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t in the mood to hear anything rting to his home employees, as he had other important thoughts and ideas to think about.

    A few minutester, the Audi pulled over in front of the vi, and before Bolin could step out to open the car door for Mr. Fang, he had already helped himself out of the car.

    Since that work has been done, Bolin was left with bringing out his suitcase from the car and following him inside the house.

    "Wee back, Mr. Fang," The butler greeted Mr. Fang and nodded at Bolin after he opened the door for them.

    Mr. Fang stopped in his steps as his gaze swept through the big living area. What he was thinking about, or he was looking for, was what Bolin and Butler Gu had no idea about.

    Thinking that perhaps he was searching for the housekeeper, Bolin asked, "Are you¡­"

    Bolin could not go on because Mr. Fang walked out the next second. He could only wave at the Butler before following Mr. Fang, whose long strides made it impossible for him to meet up easily.

    Mr. Fang had already taken the steps, and Bolin was about to join him when he heard rushed footsteps. Of course, there was no way the butler would walk like that, so it had to be the new housekeeper.<sub> </sub>

    Bolin paused in his steps and watched her rush towards him. He was speechless and wondered if she has for a minute forgotten her manners after learning that Mr. Fang had returned home.

    Surely, Zhang Liling learned they were back from the sound of the car and quickly rushed over only to see Bolin at the foot of the steps.

    There was a bit of disappointment on her face when she saw only Bolin, but she smiled hurriedly and greeted Bolin with a slight bow.

    "Hello Miss Zhang," Bolin replied.

    Mr. Fang who had already made a turn, and was on the second part, heard Bolin calling out that name again and paused in his steps with a slight frown.

    "Is Mr. Fang back, would he like anything?" Zhang Liling asked with a big smile on her face. She looked like she couldn''t wait to start serving Mr. Fang, and also see his face.

    Oh, how she has missed seeing his face for 48 hours now!

    Mr. Fang heard Zhang Liling''s voice and felt it was familiar after thinking back to the times he had encountered and spoken with her.

    The voice he just heard was familiar, and the same way this housekeeper of his addressed him, sounded simr to how that stubborn student of his used to call him.

    Mr. Fang was about to bring his foot down ande back to see what this housekeeper looked like and if he was worried for nothing, but he heard Bolin''s reply to her and decided against it. He continued in his steps up the stairs.

    "Miss Zhang, if Mr. Fang needs anything, he would call you for it. For now, you can rx," Bolin said in a calm stance, and Zhang Liling nodded with a smile.

    After Bolin walked away, Zhang Liling sighed and turned to leave. Now being idle made her remember that she was yet to reply to her mother''s texts, so she went to reply to them, although her mother wouldn''t receive the message until she got off the ne.

    Bolin left the house after putting Mr. Fang''s workbag in his study and meeting him in his bedroom.

    p Mr. Fang took his time freshening up and returned to his bedroom dressed in a set offy clothes. He still had work to do in his study, and he didn''t deem it fit to wear his night robe for it.</anda>

    Looking at his bottle of meds, he badly wanted to take them, but unfortunately, there was no ss of water or bottle of water there.

    "What is wrong with this new housekeeper?" Mr. Fang said with furrowed brows before picking up his bottle of meds and leaving for his study with it.

    After settling down, he picked up the telephone on his desk and made a call to the ground floor, and the Butler picked it up after a few rings.

    "Hello Sir, it''s Butler Gu," The Butler said immediately he answered the call after seeing the line. He already knew it was the line in Mr. Fang''s study.

    Hearing the male voice, Mr. Fang''s brows furrowed as he gave out an order. "Tell the housekeeper to put a bottle of water in my bedroom and bring me another to my study immediately."

    "Yes, Sir," The butler replied and only put down the telephone after he hung up.

    Quickly, the Butler went to find Zhang Liling while thinking about the kind of ce she was brought from. She even forgot to do an important job. What has she been doing all day?

 Chapter 35 Suspicion Confirmed

    Butler Gu found Zhang Liling in the kitchen drinking water from the dispenser and became speechless for a minute.

    She forgot to serve water to her Boss but was here having some.

    "Miss Zhang, you forgot to put a bottle of water in Mr. Fang''s bedroom, but I will help you do that. Quickly send a bottle to his study, he is waiting," The butler instructed with a serious gaze before turning to pick a bottle of water from the refrigerator and left.

    ''Wait! I can see Mr. Fang already?''

    With that exciting thought, Zhang Liling quickly took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and a ss cup from the shelf. She put these two on a tray before carrying them with her.

    It looks like her excitement over seeing Mr. Fang''s overshadowed her rational thoughts. She forgot that she could be kicked out immediately if he was to see her.

    Getting to the study, Zhang Liling carefully adjusted the tray to one hand before raising her right fist to knock twice on the door before pushing it open.

    The excitement on her face seems to never cease as she made her way into the study, despite the warning bells in her head, and the danger signs her heart was giving to her.

    Zhang Liling had a little misconception about her palpitating heartbeats. She thought it was due to being excited about seeing Mr. Fang, instead of being scared of what his reaction would be.

    Closing the door behind her, she paused in her steps and nced over at the desk to see Mr. Fang staring keenly at hisptop.

    Without bothering to take a good look at the remaining part of the study, she continued in her steps towards his desk and announced in a light tone, "Mr. Fang, I have brought the water you asked for,"

    Again, Mr. Fang heard that familiar voice and wanted to look up, but he became distracted by the information he had just seen on hisptop and clicked away without responding or raising his head.

    Zhang Liling knew she heard him, but thought he didn''t want to be bothered so, she put the tray on his desk. Turned the ss cup before uncapping the bottle and poured some of its content into the ss and capped the bottle back.

    Pushing the ss of water close to him, she said, "Here it is."

    Mr. Fang nced at the ss of water from his peripheral view and saw the chillness emitting from it, and the fog that clung to the body of the ss and became annoyed.

    Was he going to take his meds with a ss of chilled water?

    He was going to ask why chilled water was brought for him and not a bottle of room temperature water when something else caught his attention.

    Normally, he would already be irritated, if not a little, by the scent of whoever just walked in and came in a close range.

    Given that he was yet to take his meds for the night, it was normal to be irritated, but surprisingly, he was fine. His nose did not instinctively wrinkle on its own out of difort.

    ''Don''t tell me¡­''

    With that absurd thought, he quickly raised his head to meet Zhang Liling''s gaze.<sub> </sub>

    Not expecting to meet his gaze since she has already given up and wanted to leave, she backed away a few steps in surprise.

    Mr. Fang was more shocked as he stared at her, baffled by her presence. They looked too simr, and remembering the same build his student had, he was conflicted.

    At a point, Mr. Fang thought that his eyes were ying games with him. Slowly from surprise, his facial expression changed to anger.

    Zhang Liling recovered from her surprise and saw him staring at her like that, and with how quickly his facial expression changed, she just knew that it was not a good sign.

    Without saying anything, she bowed and turned to leave, but she heard Mr. Fang say in amanding tone, "Stop right there, don''t you dare move an inch!"

    Squeezing her face in slight bitterness, she slowly turned to nce at him, only to see him rampaging through the stack of documents on his desk and wondered what he was looking for.

    Still, she didn''t dare to make any move and remained standing at that spot with her head down, while thinking if this was the end of the road.

    Five secondster, Mr. Fang fished out the contract that belonged to his butler and housekeeper. He wanted to ascertain Zhang Liling''s identity, hence he had to find that housekeeping contract.

    When he opened the cover and saw her face which looked slightly different, he shifted his gaze to the name that was boldly written beside it.

    When he saw those two familiar words, he mmed the contract on his desk and shifted a furious gaze at Zhang Liling.

    Pointing a finger at her, hemanded, "Come here!"

    His tone was so harsh that Zhang Liling didn''t have a choice but to move to his desk with her gaze lowered out of fear of facing his wrath.

    All she could think was that she was a goner.

    "How did you get in here, how did youe into my house?!" Mr. Fang asked angrily.

    He didn''t need to see the rest of her information to know that it was all fake. What Mr. Fang was most furious about, was that she could maneuver her way ande into his house.

    If it was that easy, that means anyone could snitch their way in, wouldn''t that be a p to his face given how careful he was with things?

    "Mr. Fang, I''m sorry, I needed your help to stay out of danger," Zhang Liling said almost in tears. Screw being emotional, she was just acting pitiful as a method to remain unscathed.

    Seeing how furious he was, he might end up killing her and destroying her soul. At least, she had to try and save her soul, so she could have a next life to meet him through a better circumstance.

    "Because I didn''t agree to that ridiculous idea of yours, you sneaked your way in? Just you wait, I''m going to hand you over to the police!" AS Mr. Fang said that, he picked up his phone from his desk and dialed Bolin''s contact.

 Chapter 36 Danger Lurking In The Corner

    At the first ring, Bolin answered the call and without waiting to hear his voice, Mr. Fang said through gritted teeth, "You dared to hire my student as my housekeeper? You better appear before me in 10 minutes If you don''t want your head to be my dinner!"

    Bolin who had just stepped foot into his house didn''t even get the chance to pull his shoes when Mr. Fang''s call came in. He also didn''t dare to say a word after hearing his furious voice.

    He quickly picked up his car key and dashed out of his house with his phone in his hand.

    Swiftly, he got into his car and drove off, while at high speed, he searched for Zhang Liling''s details on the inte with one hand, he was almost going crazy at the moment.

    How could the 27 years old housekeeper he hired, be Mr. Fang''s student? He hasn''t seen that face before.

    A minute online, Bolin saw the news about Zhang Liling and the recent one about her. She fainted at NYU and was rushed to the hospital and everyone had asked if she was being maltreated.

    Bolin saw her picture and almost had an ident. He had to park his car to study her photograph properly and thetest incident at NYU, and it was then that he discovered who she was.

    She was the same student his boss carried to the clinic, the very one whose scent does not irritate him, and the same person Chuanli needed her information. But this wasn''t important.

    What was important is, what is Zhang Liling doing in Mr. Fang''s house? Does she know the kind of predicament she would be putting him in?

    A student like Zhang Liling who was from the Zhang family was working as a housekeeper in the house of someone like Mr. Fang, who was her lecturer and a business mogul that was highly recognized.

    Who knows what kind of ridiculous rumors and news would spread from that?

    Without wasting time, Bolin pressed down on his speed pedal. His current facial expression revealed the tears he was shedding in his heart.

    He was wondering how he managed to pick up a troublemaker like Zhang LIling.

    *********************

    "Mr. Fang I''m sorry for the trouble I have cost you, I promise it won''t happen again. I just needed your help to avoid being bullied to death by my stepmother. I''m still young and I don''t want to live a horrible life, please help me!"

    Zhang Liling was on her knees begging Mr. Fang for help. Was she sincere? No, she wasn''t. She just wanted him to let her continue to let her stay at his ce.

    Mr. Fang was so angry that he asked her to leave his office.

    "Get out!" He said while pointing at the door.

    Zhang Liling flinched but remained stubborn, not even trying to move an inch.

    Mr. Fang saw that she wasn''t moving and got up from his seat and made his way toward her. Zhang Liling noticed his movement and hurriedly rose to her feet in fright. She thought he wasing to hit her,

    "Leave my sight, I don''t want to strangle you with my hands, go and pack your things and wait to be sent away!" Mr. Fangmanded. He looked even more furious given how stubborn she was.

    Pack her things? How was that possible after all the efforts she has made? It''s not like she didn''t expect this, but it was too soon. She wanted a chance to prove herself to him.

    "Mr. Fang, please let me stay here and work for you, I promise to serve and give you maximum satisfaction," Zhang Liling said with a fearful tone.

    She was trying just one more time to keep her spot.

    Why did those words sound suggestive? Even Mr. Fang thought so. He was tongue-tied and just pointed at her without saying anything.<sub> </sub>

    Never has Mr. Fang been put in such a situation before. He was so angry and speechless at the same time.

    Seeing that he was at the peak of his anger, Zhang Liling bowed and turned to escape, while narrowly escaping being hit on the head with a pen.

    She didn''t dare to slow down and immediately rushed out of his study and went down the stairs to recover her breath.

    ''Ah! Why is Mr. Fang so scary!'' She thought to herself. This was the first time she was seeing him so infuriated, and she happened to be the reason behind it.

    Two minutester, Bolin''s car pulled over in front of the vi. While getting out of the car, his phone rang. Thinking it was Mr. Fang, he nced at the screen only to see Chuanli''s name.

    If it was any other person given the current situation, Bolin wouldn''t have answered the call.

    Taking the call, he rushed into the house.

    "Where is your Boss? Why is he not taking my calls? I have a piece of important information to pass to him." Chuanli said in an excited tone.

    Bolin answered in an urgent tone, "Dr. Li, can I return your callter, I''m in the middle of a delicate matter?"

    This was not the time for him to answer that call, his head was at risk here.

    "When you are done handling your matter, tell Bingwen that his female student, the one he wasfortable with, is from the Zhang family in City S," Chuanli announced.

    He thought that Mr. Fang would be more interested to know which family his female student was from.

    "He already knows as that Zhang Liling is right here in his house, and danger is roaming around the corner," Bolin said as he came into the house and saw Zhang Liling pacing up and down at the foot of the stairs with a nervous facial expression.

    "What? She is there?!" Chuanli asked in surprise as he immediately shot up from his seat. He couldn''t believe his ears.

    He was so surprised and excited at the same time that he had many thoughts going on in his head.

    ''Has Bingwen finally decided to bring her close to his side?''

    ''Is this because of the experiment?''

    ''Wait, is he interested in her?''

    "Dr. Li, I will speak to youter," Bolin said in a haste as he got close to Zhang Liling''s side.

    "Wait! I''ming right away. I won''t have a good rest if I don''te over and see what is going on. Tell the security to let me in!" Chuanli said immediately as he picked up his car key from the diner table and quickly made his way to the door,

    "I will," Bolin replied and ended the call thereafter.

    He was somehow relieved that Chuanli wasing over in the middle of the night, as his presence would alleviate the lurking danger around the corner.

    As for Zhang Liling, she might be redeemed in the process. That was Bolin''s thought while staring hard at her in grievance.

 Chapter 37 Receiving A Good Scolding

    Zhang Liling didn''t need to ask to know why she was being stared at that way. She already knew she has caused a lot of trouble for him. She looked very guilty as she nced at him before shifting her gaze to the floor.

    She had already stopped pacing around since he got close to the foot of the stairs.

    Bolin didn''t want to talk to her because her singr act, had made him look incapable as Mr. Fang''s personal assistant.

    If he didn''t have an important instruction for her, he wouldn''t have bothered to stop in his steps.

    "When Mr. Fang''s doctor, Dr. Li arrives, ask the butler to send him up."

    It wouldn''t be wise for Zhang Liling to send Chuanli up given the trouble she was in.

    If Mr. Fang should catch sight of her or hear her voice, that would bring more trouble. Besides, she was not in the position to continue with her work since she was getting sacked anyway.

    Zhang Liling nodded before giving him a deep bow as an apology. "Mr. Bolin, I''m sorry for dragging you into this."

    Bolin sighed before taking the stairs. It was not going to be easy to forgive her, and forgiving her would be based on the kind of punishment he will receive from his boss.

    Zhang Liling was guilt-stricken seeing the way he ignored her. She didn''t think that her actions would be dragging innocent people into trouble, because that thought never crossed her mind.

    While climbing the stairs, Bolin made a call to the security to let Chuanli pass through once he arrives.

    Chuanli who was on his way to Mr. Fang''s vi in the middle of the night was filled with excitement. There was a big smile on his face as he drummed his fingers on the steering and hummed along to the POP song ying on the radio.

    The only thing on his mind was getting to Mr. Fang''s house to see that female student for himself, and push the former so the experiment could go on.

    Mr. Fang had to give permission before he could get the information, he needed from Zhang Liling directly.

    Inside Mr. Fang''s study, Bolin was being scolded harshly.

    The young man just had his gaze lowered and remained quiet. Whenst was he seriously scolded like this? That should be around the time he first started working for Mr. Fang.

    During those times, he used to get scolded a lot and was forced to learn the hard way. But since he picked up, he has been careful not to make any major mistakes, but who knew he had to make a huge mistake soon.

    He directly employed a ticking time bomb that was causing his capabilities and expertise to be questioned at the moment.

    Coming out from his deep regrets, he heard Mr. Fang''s angry voice. "What if she is a spy, is this how easy it would have been to get me?"

    This time around, Bolin apologized. "Sir, I apologize for my mistake. I''m to be med for being pressed for time and having no chance to carry out another investigation after I got Miss Zhang''s information from that agency. Also, I didn''t know Miss Zhang was your student as I haven''t been paying attention to it."

    Bolin has really not been paying attention to the students at NYU, and those Mr. Fang taught. Even when the incident of Zhang Liling fainting and Mr. Fang carrying her to the clinic, he didn''t pay close attention to find out and take note of her name.

    The incident was partially his fault as he didn''t take note of some important details. His negligence turned those insignificant details into something major.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang just red at him and snorted. He has been furious for over an hour now, and it was starting to make him lose his cool. It was time to take a breather.

    Since he wasn''t saying anything, Bolin was also not saying anything. He had just apologized and exined himself, he only had to wait for his verdict now.

    Chuanli who had just arrived at the vi in his sports car. He stepped out of his car and swiftly made his way to the entrance, where the butler was waiting to take him to Mr. Fang''s study.

    Zhang Liling had ryed Bolin''s instruction to butler Gu, and when he received the call from the security post, he confirmed Chuanli''s identity, and they let him drive in.

    "Dr. Li, do you mind a ss of water?" Butler Gu offered in a polite tone.

    Chuanli waved his hands in rejection. "That wouldn''t be necessary, take me straight to Mr. Fang."

    What water? He was too excited and impatient to drink water. He didn''t want to waste any more seconds.

    But if he knew he was going to do a lot of talking and put a lot of effort into convincing Mr. Fang to let Zhang Liling continue to work as his domestic helper, he would have dly epted that ss of water.

    Butler Gu led him toward the stairs, and there, they met the nervous Zhang Liling who was very restlessly about at the foot of the stairs at the moment.

    Apart from the time she left to find the butler, she has been there all this while.

    When Chuanli saw her face, he knew she was the one and his smile became more profound.

    "Miss Zhang?" He called out in a friendly tone.

    Zhang Liling heard him and turned to fix her gaze on him. She bowed slightly in greeting while looking confused. She didn''t know that face and was wondering how he knew her family name. Did Bolin tell him about her?

    "So, you are Miss Zhang? This is interesting!" Chuanli said with a suggestive gaze. Before Zhang Liling and the Butler could start thinking about the meaning behind his words, he stretched his hand and offered her a handshake.

    "My name is Li Chuanli, I am Mr. Fang''s doctor."

    Out of respect, Zhang Liling stretched her hand out to shake hands with him while properly introducing herself to him.

    "My name is Zhang Liling. I am Mr. Fang''s housekeeper but I''m probably about to be sacked."

    "What?" Chuanli looked shocked, while the butler standing beside him looked surprised as well. They were both thinking the same thing. Why was she getting sacked, did she do anything wrong?

    ''Is that the reason she has been pacing around for a while now?'' The butler thought.

    Chuanli was more shocked because he hade to see Zhang Liling for himself, and talk about the research with Mr. Fang, but she was getting fired already?!

 Chapter 38 Chuanlis Intervention

    How could Chuanli take that lying down? He had just managed to find hope and a ray of light for his research and it was going to be taken away just like that?

    That wouldn''t happen under his nose, he was going to demand an exnation from Mr. Fang, and with that, he shot up the stairs immediately, forcing the butler to chase after him in surprise.

    Because he didn''t know the way to Mr. Fang''s study, Chuanli had to slow down for the butler to meet up with him.

    For a moment, Zhang Liling was surprised by Chuanli''s action. She even climbed two steps of the stairs to peer and see what was going on.

    ''Why is this man worried about whether I get fired or not?''

    ''Does he know me from somewhere? But we have never met before, and his name doesn''t sound that familiar''

    A few minutes of pondering over Chuanli''s earlier actions and not getting any close result was enough time for her to continue worrying about being fired.

    Deep in her heart, she hoped that if he (Chaunli) had the power to help her, things would go smoothly for her because given the actions he disyed earlier, he looked like he didn''t want her to be fired.

    "Get my security details back. This nonsense cannot repeat itself!" Mr. Fang said to Bolin.

    Mr. Fang used to have a team of security men following him about, but that stopped some time ago, but because of Zhang Liling''s brazen actions, had taught him a lesson and given him a reminder of the reason he needed them back.

    Bolin thought so too because if Mr. Fang''s security team were still around, there was no way Zhang Liling would have easily snuck in.

    The reason he didn''t see her, was because he had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders to carry, but with the security team back, the burden on his shoulders would be lifted.

    "I will work on that, Sir."

    Facing him with a stern gaze, Mr. Fang said in an imposing tone, "If you make another mistake this time around, have any of your family members present your head to me, or you better go into hiding and pray I don''t find you."

    Bolin knew he had forgiven him and was giving him another chance. He heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed and thanked him.

    Mr. Fang waved it off and turned his attention back to Zhang Liling''s case.

    "It''s already veryte. Come back tomorrow morning to take that girl away."

    He has already decided not to make a case out of this and punish her severely, although he still couldn''t bring himself to forgive her audacious acts.

    Was she not afraid of him like the others?

    Was he now easy to get by just anyone?

    Mr. Fang couldn''t bring himself to forgive her, and he was already being very kind not to pursue this matter, and just let her off.

    Bolin nodded in understanding before asking about the agency that recruited Zhang Liling in the first ce.<sub> </sub>

    "¡­what should we do to them?"

    Bolin also couldn''t let them go scot-free, not after what he just passed through. How could they employ someone without doing the groundwork of investigations first? And that was what made him too rxed to make a huge mistake.

    Mr. Fang scoffed, "Give them a big warning. If they can''t even carry out a simple task of screening their employee''s background, why are they still in business?"

    Business people that were not serious with their jobs, always get on his nerves. If that agency was his business partner, or if Zhang Liling had done anything absurd that looked like a crime in his ce, they would have gone out of business already.

    No one who causes him harm directly or indirectly gets away with it.

    Bolin took that order and turned to leave, but Chuanli came disrupting the ambiance as soon as he walked in.

    Pushing the door open after the butler managed to knock only once, he made his way in and shut the door behind me to the surprise of the butler who stood there and was unable to utter a word for several seconds before walking away.

    "Bingwen what is this that I''m hearing? Why do you want to fire your housekeeper, what did she do wrong?!" Chuanli said in an agitated tone, without considering Mr. Fang''s mood.

    Mr. Fang was the only one surprised to see him in his house at that hour, and he couldn''t help but ask about it.

    "What are you doing here by this time?"

    Bolin took a few steps backward to let Chuanli move forward and be the center of Mr. Fang''s attention. He was not surprised to see him there since he was aware from the beginning. But he was surprised at his agitation.

    Why was he angry that Zhang Liling was going to be sacked? Did he have any sort of rtionship with her?

    ? Chuanli went straight to sit before Mr. Fang and ced his hands on the desk with furrowed brows.

    "Bingwen, are you trying to make matters difficult for me?"

    "What do you mean? Mr. Fang asked with a tight frown. He was a bit confused at what his words meant.

    Chuanli leaned over and began to pour out his grievances while Bolin stood at a corner and watched with his lips twitching at intervals.

    Chuanliined about Mr. Fang not telling him about Zhang Liling''s details when he found out about it, and also the fact that she was at his ce.

    "¡­why are you chasing her away already when she already ran into your arms? Don''t you know that this is the perfect opportunity to get that important information from her? Didn''t you think it would be difficult to get close to her after you have sacked her?"

    If Zhang Liling was sacked now, and let''s say they manage to get some of the data from her through an underhanded means which Mr. Fang wouldn''t want, how would they get her to cooperate if further experiments needed her presence and a part of her?

    That would be a difficult situation to control.

    Having spoken for so long, Mr. Fang interjected with a frosty gaze, "Are you saying she should continue to stay here?"

 Chapter 39 Compromise

    "What''s wrong with her staying here, she is only your domestic helper? Or are you overthinking things?" Chuanli probed.

    ''Was he overthinking things?'' Mr. Fang felt like wiping that smirk off his face with a car wiper.

    "Are you dumb or something? Miss Zhang is my student, how can I let her live in my house and work for me? That is ridiculous!"

    Mr. Fang was thinking of the kind of trouble that will bring him. Had it been Zhang Liling had graduated already, he would have considered it. But given how she was yet to take her final exams he wouldn''t do anything that will question his reputation.

    Chuanli knew what he was thinking about and advised eagerly, "It doesn''t matter, you only have to protect this information till she graduates. If the information happens to leak by that time, then it wouldn''t be an issue."

    In summary, Chuanli was saying that Zhang Liling could stay as long as the information was hidden till she graduated. As for how the information would remain hidden, that will be left for Mr. Fang to settle with his people.

    Mr. Fang remained silent after he finished speaking, leaving Chuanli and Bolin to try and guess what he was thinking about.

    Thinking that he was considering what he said, Chuanli went on to add, "Since she came here on her own, she would not hesitate to willingly help in my research, or don''t you want to find a solution to your problem?"

    Mr. Fang heard that and finally shifted his gaze to him. He was thinking of investigating Zhang Liling even if she might end up staying at his ce. He wanted to know the circumstances surrounding her in the Zhang family.

    Still, he wanted to stay away from Zhang Liling and remain ignorant about her family situation, he didn''t want to get himself involved with her because once he became entangled, he wouldn''t be able to continue ying ignorant.

    Atst, he mentioned that Zhang Liling would be investigated first before he would let her continue to stay at his ce.

    "What''s the need to investigate her when you can directly ask her what you want?" Chuanli asked with a frown.

    That would waste time and resources to investigate Zhang Liling when he could easily question her since she was already at his ce.

    "What makes you think she is trustworthy?" Mr. Fang snorted.

    With the way Zhang Liling was able toe into his house, he didn''t trust that she wouldn''t lie to him if he questioned her directly.

    "What are you afraid of, you just need to exercise your authority, and she will spill the truth," Chuanli replied. He didn''t think it would be difficult to get Zhang Liling to tell the truth about her background given how strict he was.

    "Don''t underestimate her. Bolin, call her in first," Mr. Fang said, shifting his gaze to his personal assistant.

    ''Someone that wasn''t afraid of my cold stance and had the guts to infiltrate my privacy without fear, how could she be trusted?''

    Bolin took his order and left to go find Zhang Liling who was now standing put at the foot of the stairs while holding the rail.

    "Miss Zhange with me Mr. Fang is asking for your presence," Bolin announced with a calm gaze immediately he saw her standing there with a huge frown on his face.

    His tone sounded with a bit of urgency.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling''s heartbeat doubled by a few paces when she heard that Mr. Fang wanted to see her. She was afraid as her attitude under the current circumstance changed.

    She was afraid to know his verdict, and at the same time, she just wanted to know so she could start thinking of her next ns.

    "Mr. Bolin, can I ask why Mr. Fang is looking for me? Is he going to let me stay here?" Zhang Liling ended up asking Bolin that question before following him up the stairs.''

    "You are already following me. You will find the answer to your question soon." Bolin replied without pausing in his steps.

    There was no way he would tell her that Mr. Fang was considering her presence at his ce, not after all he has gone through.  Also, he wasn''t authorized to answer her, and it would only be right to keep her in suspense.

    Zhang Liling could only give up prying for answers and follow him.

    "Bingwen, you should not make any mistake due to anger. I know she vited a few rules, but I trust you would be able to look past it and see the greater picture."

    Chuanli was uncertain of Mr. Fang''s temper once Zhang Liling stepped in, so he started to quench any signs of anger before it coulde up.

    He was afraid that he would be blinded by anger and give up the short road ahead to carry out the research, by asking Zhang Liling to leave atst.

    Mr. Fang grunted. "That girl looks like trouble itself," he said in a muffled voice.

    It looks like he was also afraid of bringing trouble into his den.

    If Chuanli wasn''t afraid of angering him, he would have gone ahead to tease him, on the fact that he was afraid he wouldn''t be able to handle Zhang Liling.

    With what has gone on today, there was no way he would ignore the warning signs, therefore he just stayed put and chuckled hard in his head.

    Mr. Fang felt he was beingughed at and immediately shot a dangerous gaze at Chuanli, only to see thetterpletely devoid of any expression of positive emotion and rxed.

    The next minute, Bolin walked in with Zhang Liling who was too scared to raise her head.

    Closing the door behind them, Bolin turned to nce at her before gesturing for her to move towards Mr. Fang''s desk.

    "Miss Zhang, please."

    Zhang Liling caught his hand gesture from her peripheral view and followed it while fiddling with her fingers in front of her.

    When she had stepped into the study, she had felt the dangerous silence, and the temperature drop. She couldn''t find any reason to remain doubtful that Mr. Fang had something to do with it.

 Chapter 40 Accepted

    Zhang Liling didn''t say a word without Mr. Fang''s approval. She also managed to remain calm and allowed his scrutinizing gaze to fall on her despite her uneasiness.

    Who knew what his verdict was going to be?

    When Bolin and Chunali felt, they wereing to the end of their patience, Mr. Fang''s deep baritone voice rang out.

    "Have you by any chance done a housekeeping job before?"

    There was another level of silence after that question was asked. There were only sounds of hushed breathing in the space.

    Bolin and Chuanli didn''t know what Mr. Fang was up to, especially Chuanli. He knew that Mr. Fang was aware of the fact that Zhang Liling must have lied about being a housekeeper on her resume, so what was his intention by purposely asking that question?

    Zhang Liling fiddled with her fingers and slowly met Mr. Fang''s gaze. She was conflicted about telling the truth or not.

    If she had been reduced to a servant in the Zhang family while living with them, she would have boldly said she had done the job of a housekeeper, but that wasn''t the case as the state of bullying didn''t degrade to that level.

    Guessing that he might already know some things, she decided against lying, and her hunch was right because Chuanli gave her a kind reminder.

    "Miss Zhang, don''t keep Mr. Fang waiting, just tell him the truth."

    Mr. Fang and Bolin shot a nce at him, and he closed his mouth. They both knew he was giving her a hint because if she dared to lie, she would be driven away that very night.

    Zhang Liling didn''t see the silentmunication that happened amongst the 3 men in the room because, at one point, she had moved her gaze to the floor.

    Slowly exhaling, she gathered courage and shifted her gaze back to Mr. Fang who seemed to be about to lose thest shred of patience he had.

    She has decided to say the truth not minding if she would be eventually fired. Lying had more dire consequences, hence she chose the truth.

    "No, Mr. Fang. But I have the knowledge now."

    Yes, she hasn''t done the job of a housekeeper, but she had the knowledge after studying on the inte all day.

    Bolin and Chuanli released a deep sigh of relief for her sake without knowing. It looks like they were worried about her.

    Mr. Fang nodded and leaned back in his seat in a rxed manner. His gaze seemed less tense now, which meant he was a bit satisfied.

    "Why did youe here to be my housekeeper when you have zero experience?"

    Bolin and Chuanli shifted their gazes from Mr. Fang to Zhang Liling, as they were curiously waiting for her answer.

    Immediately Zhang Liling heard that question, her eyes became teary and tears were already threatening to drop from her eyes, but she tried topose herself.

    The men in the room didn''t know what she was getting at, and could only watch her patiently.<sub> </sub>

    "Mr. Fang, I told you that I needed your help as I''m too young to die. My stepmother and her children bully me, and my father doesn''t pay attention to me.

    My mother doesn''t live in country S, she stays in Paris, and the earliest I can reunite with her will be after my graduation. Please, Mr. Fang, let me stay here and work as your housekeeper."

    ''Just give me 2 months to win over your favor.'' Zhang Liling thought in her heart.

    If Mr. Fang would allow her to stay at his ce for the next 2 months, she would have to work with that duration to make him fall for her or win over him, so she could stay a bit longer.

    Chuanli felt a little pity for her and nodded. "You are indeed too young to die."

    Bolin seemed to have only a little bit of grudge left toward her, but he hasn''tpletely forgiven her because she used tricks to find her way in.

    Mr. Fang was unmoved by her touching story. He had a lot of questions for her, but he couldn''t bear losing another minute on her matter, as he had already lost 2 hours.

    "You said you are being bullied by your stepmother and neglected by your father, I will confirm this. For now, go on with your work here."

    Zhang Liling became a little excited, but it died down with his next statement.

    "I won''t take it easy with you. Make any major mistakes or let anyone know about you working for me, and I will keep your skull as a decoration piece." Mr. Fang said and peered off his gaze from her. ncing at Bolin, he said to him¡­

    "Give her the detailed rules to follow."

    Bolin quickly reacted to that instruction. "Sir, she has the contract, and she has read the rules written there."

    Mr. Fang red daggers at him and said while pointing a finger at Zhang Liling who had a bit smile on her face,

    "Does she look trustworthy to you? I asked for water to take my drugs, and she brought me a bottle of chilled water. Apart from studying and having good grades, I don''t think there is any other thing she is good at."

    ''I have good looks, and I am also good at falling in love with you.'' Zhang Liling shamelessly thought to herself.

    ncing at the bottle of slightly chilled water on his desk, Bolin saw the droplets of water surrounding it and shifted a powerless gaze to Zhang Liling as he indeed felt that she still had a lot to learn.

    "Miss Zhang pleasee with me."

    If he was going to personally install the rules into her head, then it shouldn''t be in Mr. Fang''s study.

    Zhang Liling bowed slightly and thanked Mr. Fang for giving her life another chance before turning to follow Bolin out with a hidden full blooming happiness in her heart when Chuanli stopped her.

    "Miss Zhang, I have a form for you to fill, and I would be needing an audience with you soon."

    Mr. Fang knew what he was up to and red daggers at him, but he pretended not to feel that strong gaze and walked to the printing machine not too far from his desk to print something from his phone.

 Chapter 41 Going Back On His Promise

    As Chuanli had something for her, Zhang Liling had to wait for him, as she pondered over what the content of the form held.

    Bolin stood at one point and watched Chuanli fiddle with the printer. Just like Mr. Fang, he had an idea of the content of that form.

    "Yah¡­ it''s ready!" Chuanli said with a full-blown smile as he walked to Zhang Liling and handed the form to her. "Please it as soon as you get the chance and pass it to Mr. Fang."

    Zhang Liling took the form from him and nced at it. She found the questions weird and couldn''t help asking about them. "What is this form for?"

    "This will help Mr¡­" Chuanli didn''t get to finish what he was saying when Mr. Fang cut his words off.

    "Dr. Li that''s enough!" Mr. Fang said through gritted teeth.

    What''s he trying to reveal his health secret just now?

    Shifting his gaze to Zhang Liling. He asked her to leave. "You can leave now."

    Zhang Liling wanted to know what that form has to do with Mr. Fang because she was sure Chuanli was about to mention his name when he suddenly cut him off. But she couldn''t go against Mr. Fang''s instructions and had to leave with Bolin.

    As soon as they left, Mr. Fang nced at the bottle of water on his desk and uncapped it. He drank a mouthful before removing the lid from his bottle of pills.

    Chuanli watched him take his drugs before sighing. "Do you want me to work on your pills again?"

    Mr. Fang swallowed the two pills in his hands and drank another mouthful of water before replying to him. "Work on the research first, if I have any issues with the drug, I will inform you. It''s already sote, go back."

    "Are you worried about me?" Chuanli asked while leaning close to him as a yful smile yed on his lips.

    Mr. Fang rolled his eyes and went back to his work, totally ignoring him.

    Chuanli gave up on teasing him. "Alright, I''m going now. Don''t forget you can''t chase her out of your house without notifying me. As soon as she is done filling the form, scan it to me."

    *********************************

    AT THE ZHANG VILLA¡­

    The family of 4 is sitting in the dining room having their dinner like the perfect family they were. No conversation was being made as only the ''nk'' sound from the cutlery hitting against the ceramic tes was heard.

    Shi Wenqian looked very happy as it felt like she has gone back to the good days when Zhang Liling wasn''t in the picture.

    This shback alone, made her begin to think about how it would be if Zhang Liling ceased to be in the picture. As she thought of that, her lips curled in a smile.

    Her mind was too busy with plotting that she forgot where she was. Zhang Renshu had to call her attention back.

    "What are you thinking about that is so funny?"<sub> </sub>

    Shi Wenqian recollected her thoughts and answered in aposed manner, "Nothing much, apart from my business."

    Zhang Xiaoling nced at her mother briefly before fixing her gaze back on her meal. Her thoughts were left only to her, but that brief gaze on her mother attracted her (Shi Wenqian) attention.

    Shi Wenqian felt a bit uneasy and recalled an important question she had wanted to ask, and made a mental note to get it off her mind that night.

    After Zhang Renshu was done eating, he wiped his lips with a table napkin and drank a full ss of water before fixing a stern gaze on Zhang Mingyu.

    "Have you been serious with your studies these days?"

    Zhang Mingyu didn''t expect his father to face him as soon as he finished eating. The man has been ignoring him since they met after a few days apart, so he thought it would continue to stay that way.

    Who knew he would start a conversation, and that too with a topic that he dreaded.

    Zhang Mingyu hesitated a little and nced at his mother who red at him in return. He quickly shifted his gaze back to his father to reply to him, but it was toote. The man had already guessed he has not been serious with his studies.

    mming his hands on the table, he said furiously, "This means that you have been neglecting your studies! If Liling does better than in the finals, forget about being my sessor, you will serve under her!"

    "Honey!" Shi Wenqian called out in rm. She couldn''t stand it when he threatened her son''s future position.

    "What is it?" Zhang Renshu red at her.

    Shi Wenqian put down her cutlery and said with an angry gaze, "How could you threaten Mingyu with his position? How does being good at studies surpass being good at one''s work?"

    "Is there anything he is good at?" Zhang Renshu pointed furiously at Mingyu and shifted his gaze back to her.

    Zhang Renshu felt a blow to her chest as she continued her angry stare at him. His question was humiliating for her. He meant that the son she gave birth to wasn''t intellectually fit to be proud of. Which mother would take that insult?

    Zhang Xiaoling continued with her meal and pretended to be absent. She didn''t want to get into that fight because it was none of her business.

    Zhang Mingyu on the other hand found it difficult to continue with his food. He was being scolded, so how could he continue to eat?

    Shi Wenqian tried to calm her temper by taking deep breaths. "Honey, you promised that Mingyu''s position as your sessor will not bepromised. What you are doing now is against what you said back then."

    She was trying to remind him of the promise he made before bringing Zhang Liling back to the Zhang family.

    He had said that Migyu''s position as his sessor will not be shaken by any decision he makes, and that was the reason she rxed a bit, but what was he doing by trying to go back on his promise?

    There was no way she was going to ept that. After working hard all these years to make sure his sessor woulde from her, he was going to crush her dreams?

    She would never take that lying down.

 Chapter 42 How Much She Knows About It

    "Since it is mypany, I get to decide what is best for it. If you so badly want your son to be a sessor, try building or raising apany yourself, and pass it to an incapable person. If you can do it, then I can."

    Zhang Renshu said out loud. Although he would hate for a female to be his sessor, he wouldn''t hesitate for Liling to take over if Mingyu doesn''t prove himself worthy.

    "Honey!" Shi Wenqian called out while reflectively standing to her feet. She was so blinded by anger that she couldn''t hold her temper.

    "Stop calling me!" Zhang Renshu said as he got to his feet and stared furiously at her. "If Mingyu doesn''t prove himself worthy, there is no need to be sentimental about it because this is business!"

    Zhang Reanshu walked away after that.

    He didn''t see any reason for supporting someone who was not up to the task.

    As soon as he left, Mingyu asked with a wide eye. "Mum, what does he mean by that? I thought I''m the one getting thepany no matter what?"

    Mingyu was equally surprised that his father would suddenly change his mind about what was verbally given to him.

    Shi Wenqian tried to calm down and think before Mingyu interrupted her. She red at him and said bitterly, "Did you hear your father? If you don''t prove yourself worthy, don''t even think about trying to be his sessor."

    "So, are you going to let him do what he said?" Mingyu asked angrily. He was not about to let what belonged to him be given to others.

    "If you don''t take things seriously, I won''t be able to help you. Until you get hungry for power and show me how thirsty you are, I won''t help you. Now, you can go to bed!"

    As much as Shi Wenqian wanted her son to inherit the Zhang Group and be its next leader as soon as Zhang Renshu steps down and fully ventures into politics, she wouldn''t let her son do that if he doesn''t show her some qualities.

    Unlike her, he was not power hungry and only wanted to have the Zhang Group because as the only son of Zhang Renshu who would not let a woman rule his empire, he felt entitled to it.

    Now, she wanted him to not just be entitled to it, but to be power-hungry and act like a real businessman. She wanted him to be worthy and unparallel with no other contestant.

    It seems like it was time to stop pampering him and let him see what the world truly was. Only those with power can rule, and the most powerful, is always on top of the food chain.

    "Mum!" Zhang Mingyu red up, refusing to give up, but he got scolded.

    Shi Wenqian shut him up and asked him to go to his bedroom to reflect. Zhang Mingyu could only obey her as he had no choice, but the anger on his face was very visible, just what his mother wanted.

    Initially, at the hospital, Shi Wenqian had wanted her son to take things easy since he was going to be Zhang Group''s sessor anyway, but with Zhang Renshu''s promise fluctuating, she has no choice but to take extreme measures.

    Zhang Xiaoling nced at her te and felt she has had enough of her food. Putting down her cutlery, she wiped her lips with a napkin and got up from her seat,<sub> </sub>

    "Good night," She said to her mother before turning to leave.

    Shi Wenqian nced at her back and said while standing to her feet, "Xiaoling, I have an important question to ask you,e with me."

    Zhang Xiaoling released a deep breath before following her out. She had thought they would go to her (Shi Wenqian) bedroom, but instead, she led the way to hers.

    (Shi Wenqian and Zhang Renshu had separate bedrooms, but sometimes the former would go to thetter''s bedroom to spend the night with him).

    ? Shutting the door behind them, Zhang Xiaoling went to sit at the foot of her bed, while Shi Wenqian went to sit on the single couch opposite her bed.

    "I want to ask you, how did you find out about my private blood bank, and how much do you know about it?"

    Zhang Xiaoling wasn''t surprised at that question because the moment she let her mother know that she had an idea about her private matters, she would be restless and would want to know more details.

    Smiling, she replied, "I guessed because you seemed to be a little obsessed when it came to taking Zhang Liling''s blood."

    Zhang Xiaoling was telling the truth. She found out about her mother''s schemes and guessed so because surely, she wouldn''t be going through all that trouble just to throw the blood away after that.

    Her mother was someone who doesn''t do things without a reason, and that alone made her know that she wasn''t as simple as she looked. There has to be more to her actions, hence her big guess.

    Shi Wenqian frowned at her choice of words but decided not to pursue it. Even Zhang Xiaoling regretted speaking that way because she didn''t want to bring any attention to herself as she had her own ns.

    "Since you know about this, would you like to join the business? You will get to have so many connections with different calibers of people." Shi Wenqian proposed.

    Since she knew about this and as her daughter, there was no need to silence her, so she tried to rope her in.

    Zhang Xiaoling smiled and shook her head. She was not going into any blood business, that was not where her interesty. "No thank you, I''m only going to focus on thepany."

    Shi Wenqian didn''t like her response and immediately reminded her of who thepany belonged to.

    "I know you are goal-driven, but it will be good if you don''t get attached to thepany and start to have ideas about ownership because it belongs to your brother."

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t hide her annoyance as a frown slowly appeared on her face. She can''t count how many times her mother has reminded her of who Zhang Group belongs to, and it was starting to prick her heart.

 Chapter 43 Breakfast Gone Wrong

    As the rays of the early morning sun seeped in through the little gap between the curtains in Zhang Liling''s bedroom, she squinted her eyes a little bit, as the corner of her lips raised in what looked like a smile.

    Squinting her eyes a bit, she gradually opened it and sat up on her bed. Slowly stretching her upper body, her smile became more profound, but only managed tost for a few seconds before it changed to horror.

    "OMG! How could I wake up now!"

    It seems that it was now she was realizing not just where she was, but her duties as well.

    Zhang Liling quickly put on her slippers before rushing to open the windows. Next, she rushed into the shower and emerged back in her bedroom 15 minutester, fully dressed in a formal dressed in ck pants and a printed shirt.

    ncing at the table clock to see it was almost 7:30, she picked up her phone and put it in her pants before rushing out of her bedroom.

    She was guessing Mr. Fang must be concluding with his exercises, so she quickly made her way there.

    Although she didn''t know how to cook, she thought it wise to ask him what he would like for breakfast. At most, she could order them from a high-end restaurant.

    Zhang Liling''s guess was right. Mr. Fang had just concluded running on the treadmill and was wiping his sweat off with a face towel while panting softly.

    The soft Egyptian cotton towel moved from his forehead to the remaining part of his face, before making its way to his neck, drying up his perspiration in the process.

    Mr. Fang looked like a handsome muscrd while working out in the gym. He looked nothing like the serious lecturer or business mogul everyone saw outside, his looks werepletely different.

    His hair looked a little dishevelled as he walked back to sit on the chair at one corner of the room and just then, a series of soft knocksnded on the door.

    Mr. Fang didn''t need to say anything because Zhang Liling opened the door after the third knock. She knew that ording to the rules, 3 knocks were enough before she can open the door, as long as it was not his bedroom.

    "Good morning, Mr. Fang." Zhang Liling greeted him with a smile a small smile as she made her way toward him. She didn''t want to be obvious with her emotion so as not to look like she was fawning over him.

    Mr. Fang slowly moved his gaze from the floor to Zhang Liling without responding.

    Seeing that breath-taking face and the different look she has never seen before, Zhang Liling lost herposure and stared at him in awe.

    Was this the Mr. Fang she has been seeing all along? He didn''t look mature as he normally did at school. His well defined toned muscles that got illuminated with the help of his sweat, made him look sexy and caused her to drool over him.

    Mr. Fang frowned at that heated gaze ogling at him and had to speak to gain her attention. "Miss Zhang?"

    His baritone voice would make any woman mesmerized, but this was a signal call to Zhang Liling who immediately recollected herself.

    "Mr. Fang, what would you like for breakfast?" She asked with a perfect smile on her face.

    Mr. Fang got up from his seat and casually wiped his arms with the towel while saying carelessly, "It looks like you are just getting up from bed."

    ''Huh! How did he know?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself while seemingly looking a bit apprehensive. By the time she came back to her senses, Mr. Fang had already walked past her and was heading for the door.

    She quickly turned and followed after him.

    Mr. Fang heard the rushed footsteps behind him and knew that she wasing after him. Without looking behind and stopping in his steps, he answered to her previous question.

    "I need a quick breakfast. Soft boiled eggs, a cup of tea and two slices of toasted bread. Find me in my study once you have served them."

    Zhang Liling was still going through his breakfast menu in her head when he opened the door and left. If he had asked for a cup of tea and two slices of bread, that would have made her life easier. Why did he have to be specific about the kind of drink and bread he wanted for breakfast?

    He was unknowingly making things difficult for her!

    She didn''t know how to cook a lot of things. She doesn''t drink tea, so she doesn''t know how to make them. She hates eggs, so she doesn''t know how to boil or fry them either. As for the toasted bread he mentioned, there was no harm in giving it a try.

    Zhang Liling felt that her life would have been a lot easier if she had found the perfect opportunity to mention that she didn''t know how to cook. Since he has allowed her to stay and work for him, surely, being bad at cooking wasn''t enough to get her sacked.

    Zhang Liling groaned, opened the door, and made her way down the hallway. She was going to try her luck at making breakfast for Mr. Fang.<sub> </sub>

    If those things he wanted to eat could be easily ordered, would she be here wasting her strengthmenting on how she was going to go about them?

    Mr. Fang returned to his bedroom to wash up and changed into his work outfit before going to his study.

    He hung his suit jacket at the back of his chair and rolled up the white sleeves of his shirt before sitting down and turning on hisptop.

    After what seemed like 30 minutes of war, Zhang Liling came to the study to find Mr. Fang. Following the normal protocol, she knocked thrice before helping herself in.

    "Mr. Fang, your breakfast is served."

    There was no smile on her face as she made that report because she didn''t find her battle in the kitchen funny. She lost the momentum to smile and fawn over her Master''s good looks.

    The disinterested Mr. Fang nced at her and said, "I thought you were going to miss your sses today in the name of preparing breakfast for me."

    It looks like Mr. Fang still remembered that she was a student and not just that, he has been waiting for his breakfast since, but didn''t react only because he got buried inside the lecture notes for the day.

    "I''m sorry for taking your time," Zhang Liling apologized with a slight bow, before leading the way.

    In the dining room, Zhang liling pulled out a chair for him before stepping aside. When Mr. Fang came over, he took his seat and nced at his ''breakfast'' which was served in front of him with furrowed brows.

    The only thing he could see in front of him was burnt bread and scrambled grey eggs.

    "Is this my breakfast?" He asked as he turned to look at Zhang Liling as lines appeared on his forehead.

    Zhang Liling briefly nced at the ''breakfast'' on the table before shifting her gaze back to him. "Yes Sir, is something wrong with it?"

    ''Is something wrong with it?'' Mr. Fang thought to himself as anger swelled up in his chest. She had the cheek to ask him if something was wrong with his breakfast, was she blind or what?

    Nevertheless, Mr. Fang went on to ask her a few questions just to test if her brain was still functioning properly.

    Pointing at the toasted bread, he asked, "Why is the bread ck in colour? Instead of the usual light brown?"

    Zhang Liling followed his finger to the toasted bread and replied with a forced smile, "I think something is wrong with your toaster!"

    She didn''t even want to remember how many slices of bread she threw away just for her to get this one out.

    ''How could something be wrong with the new toaster he bought?'' Mr. Fang thought to himself.

    The toaster was amongst the new appliances he bought before moving into his vi, so how could there be a fault with it?

    Ignoring that one, he moved his finger to the grey coloured scrambled eggs and asked, "I asked for soft boiled eggs, what is this?"

    The look on his face changed, and he looked like he was almost ring at her. She didn''t even follow his instruction on how he wanted his eggs.

    Zhang Liling noticed that he was starting to be annoyed and couldn''t even bring herself to force a smile anymore. She directly answered him, while trying to keep a straight gaze.

    "I wasn''t sure of the duration boiling an egg is supposed to take, so I decided to scramble it just to be safe."

    ''In essence, you don''t know how to boil an egg?''

    Mr. Fang took deep breaths to calm his raging emotions before going on to continue with his interrogation.

    "Why do your scrambled eggs have this grey colour?"

    A slight frown appeared on Zhang Liling''s face. "I''m not too sure, but I think it''s because I used soy sauce."

    Mr. Fang lost it with her, but before he could berate her, she added while pointing at the cup of tea in front of him, "But the tea has the right colour."

 Chapter 44 Keen On Infuriating Him

    Mr. Fang was speechless at her description. There has never been a time a tea''s colour has been used instead of the taste to assure people to drink it. But for once, he wanted to have hope in her after shocking him.

    <o>,m Sighing, he picked up his cup of tea which had the ''right colour'' and abandoned the rest. He was not sure of the sess rate of his survival if he had a taste of the so-called scrambled eggs.</o>

    As for the ''toasted'' bread, there was no need to think that something like that was ever amongst his breakfast order.

    Just as the tip of his tongue touched the tea, he hurriedly pulled the cup away from his lips and put it on the table with a thud. Next, he picked up a napkin and spat it into it with a twisted facial expression.

    ''Is the tea terrible?'' Zhang Liling who was watching from the side thought to herself nervously.

    Mr. Fang made sure to wipe his tongue properly before putting down the napkin. ncing at the surprised Zhang Liling, he asked with a frown, "Did you taste this tea you made for me?"

    "No, what is wrong with it? I didn''t dare to have a taste!" Zhang Liling replied with a serious gaze.

    How could she dare to have a taste of the tea she prepared for him? That would be as good as sharing the same cup with him.

    ''You don''t dare to taste the poison you made?'' Mr. Fang thought as he pushed the ceramic cup containing the tea to her side.

    "Taste it!" Hemanded in a cold tone that couldn''t be refused and an icy re directed at her.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t afford toin or say anything because, given his facial expression, he looked unpredictable. Who knows if he would sack her?

    With that thought, she quickly took the cup and brought it to her lips. The way Mr. Fang reacted was etched in front of her forehead, and with that little fear, she didn''t dare take up a gulp. She sipped the tea and immediately regretted it.

    She so badly wanted to throw it up, but that icy re from Mr. Fang was so strong that she was forced to swallow the tea and force a smile at the end of it all.

    That re seemed to pass across a message that said, ''If you dare to throw that tea up, just see how I will deal with you!''

    Forcing a smile, Zhang Liling didn''t dare meet his gaze as she said in a humble tone, which expressed how sorry she was.

    "I''m sorry, Mr. Fang, I must have mistaken the salt container for sugar. I will make you another cup of tea."

    While attempting to put the ''breakfast'' onto the tray she brought them in, she heard his menacing voice.

    "You want to make me another cup of tea? Are you keen on poisoning me and infuriating me this morning?" Mr. Fang asked with furrowed brows.

    For a minute, Mr. Fang was no longer sure if her main purpose was to infuriate him, or made a mistake because she didn''t know how to cook and make a simple menu such as a light western breakfast.

    Just how was she raised if she didn''t even know how to make a simple breakfast? The way he is seeing things, he was sure that she was pampered while growing up.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling understood the doubts in his words and shuddered. She quickly tried to exin that she was very sorry and made terrible mistakes with his breakfast preparation because she didn''t know how to cook.

    She had only opened her mouth when he stopped her there.

    "Take these things away and don''t appear in front of me for the next 24 hours!" Mr. Fang said while clutching his forehead. His head was lowered while giving out thatmand, to prevent violence.

    Zhang Liling hurriedly skipped away from the time being because she could sense he was a little unstable because of his emotions. She had to leave as hemanded although she still had some things to say to him.

    She couldn''t let him go on with that misconception he had about her right?

    The veins on Mr. Fang''s forehead were almost protruding from there, signalling the headache he was experiencing because of Zhang Liling.

    Once her footsteps had finished retreating, he raised his head to nce in the direction she left, before shifting his gaze back to the empty table where his ''breakfast'' was earlier ced.

    Somehow amid his anger, he suddenly recalled that he couldn''t perceive the salt in his tea. Normally, he wouldn''t need to taste the tea before knowing it had salt instead of sugar in it.

    Again, he nced in the direction Zhang Liling had left from. ''Is her scent that powerful?''

    He guessed the reason he couldn''t find the fault in the tea without tasting it, was probably because she was standing beside him all along, and whenever she was by his side, his nostrils sensors will normalize.

    Now, he was beginning to think if her scent was that effective.

    Shifting his thoughts to the sses he had soon at NYU, he checked his wristwatch to see he had only an hour left. Gliding a palm across his stomach, he pushed his seat aside before getting up.

    Mr. Fang made his way into the kitchen, which suddenly scared Zhang Liling out of her wits. His sudden presence after being scolded didn''t sit well with the once infatuated Zhang Liling.

    A spoon slipped out of her hand andnded on the floor when she saw him while scotting away. Mr. Fang nced in her direction with furrowed brows and suddenly got annoyed.

    He abandoned the coffee he came to prepare for himself before striding away. Zhang Liling sighed in relief before going back to continue washing the dishes.

    At least there was something she knew how to do.

    From the kitchen, she moved to Mr. Fang''s bedroom to tidy it up before rushing to her bedroom to pick up her backpack. Any minute more she wasted, she was going to bete for her ss, which happens to be the one Mr. Fang would be taking care of.

    She has already managed to get in his back books at home, and that should stop there as she didn''t have any ns of intentionally or identally provoking him.

 Chapter 45 Late Again

    Mr. Fang said he didn''t want to see Zhang Liling for the next 24 hours, but he ended up seeing her rushing in when he was about to start the ss.

    Zhang Liling could feel the icy gaze on her back, but she didn''t dare to turn around and continued walking forward while scanning the students with her gaze.

    She was looking for Tungmei because finding her would mean finding the seat she reserved for her.

    Luckily for her, she saw the hand that was slightly waving at her and quickened her steps.

    Tungmei was trying not to get caught by Mr. Fang hence, she couldn''t call out to her friend.

    Atst, when Zhang Liling found her way to Tungmei''s side and took a seat, she felt the icy gaze on her disappear, and she released a deep sigh of relief.

    "Why did youete today, are you trying to get into trouble?" Tungmei asked with gritted teeth with her gaze on the podium.

    She was angry with her very good friend for seeking death boldly. She has been a good student for the longest time, but why did she choose to deviate from her devotion?

    One more time was all it needed for her to be banned from Mr. Fang''s ss.

    She couldn''t even overrule the possibility of already getting into Mr. Fang''s ck book because his facial expression when Zhang Liling walked in, was terrible.

    "It''s not like I''m intentionally trying to get into trouble. I camete because it was unavoidable!" Zhang Liling replied with gritted teeth.

    Her gaze was focused on the stage, and from the way they were conversing, no one would even know about it, but that was until Mr. Fang casually nced in their direction before shifting his gaze to the rest of the students.

    His gaze had rested on them for a few minutes before moving away, and that was enough to shut them up throughout the duration his sssted.

    Whether he knew they were secretly conversing or not, they didn''t dare to continue with their conversation.

    Tungmei was scared because she was not brave enough to face Mr. Fang''s rot, even if it was the first time, while Zhang Liling was very careful as to not offend him for the second time today.

    "In thest ss, I left you with an assignment. Please submit them to the person sitting at the edge of your row." Mr. Fang instructed while moving his gaze about.

    Quickly, there were movements and a little noise as all the students in the hall were trying to take out their assignments from their backpacks and pass them to their neighbors until they got to the person sitting at the end of their row.

    "Please can you do that quietly?" Mr. Fang said with a slight frown. It was obvious that he wasn''t begging them. The ''please'' in his sentence, was just a formality he added because of his manners.

    If they thought he was begging them, then one of them should make a sound with his/her mouth and see what will happen.

    As soon as Mr. Fang said that, the hall quietened down. After the assignments go to the end of each role, Mr. Fang instructed the students sitting there, to bring the assignment to the podium.

    Zhang Liling was unfortunate to be amongst the people sitting at the edge, which meant she had to get out there and be in close proximity to Mr. Fang for 5 seconds straight.

    Mr. Fang''s instructions can''t be overlooked, and she didn''t need anyone to remind her about them. She quickly got off her desk and carried these papers on her desk to the podium.

    She made sure not to meet Mr. Fang''s gaze till she returned to her seat.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang''s lecturested for 2 hours before he appointed a few people who will carry all the assignments to his office, and Zhang Liling was among them.

    Zhang Liling felt very unfortunate to be amongst the students selected to carry the assignment to his office, but she had to do that anyway, it''s not like she wanted to disobey him.

    Immediately after putting those booklets down in Mr. Fang''s office, Zhang Liling left with the other students.

    On her way back to the lecture hall, she met her half-brother, Zhang Mingyu who stopped her when she was about pretending not to have seen him.

    "Liling!" Zhang Mingyu called out with a smile as he blocked her path.

    "What do you want to say, be quick I have another lecture to attend in a few minutes!" Zhang Liling said without batting an eye.

    She was not in the mood to see anyone from the Zhang family.

    "I heard from my mother that you would be staying in the school dorms, why did you move out?" Mingyu asked with an interested gaze.

    Zhang Liling rolled her eyes at him and said, "If this is the reason you stopped me, then I will have to direct you back to your mother who told you about it. If you will excuse me..."

    "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I''m just trying to be a good older brother!" Zhang Mingyu said as he blocked her path again with a smirk on his face.

    He seemed to be having fun trying to provoke Liling.

    Zhang Liling felt like wiping that smirk off his face, but she didn''t have the time to be bothered about him, so she directly pushed him away from her path and continued in her steps.

    "You need to grow up, prodigal son!" Zhang Liling spat without looking back.

    At her words, Zhang Mingyu was instantly provoked. He red daggers at her back and watched her walk away. At least that is what he could do since he was avoiding making any scene.

    When he was about to walk away, he saw Mr. Fang from the distance, walking ahead of his personal assistant.

    His gaze on himsted only till he disappeared from his sight, and only then did he decide to walk away. He admired Mr. Fang and hoped to be like him.

    If Zhang Liling could hear his inner thoughts, she could haveughed hard at him.

    How could he hope to be like Mr. Fang with that ugly character and bad mother? If it was like that, then wouldn''t she be wrong about liking Mr. Fang in the first ce and trying to get close to him?

    On her way to another lecture hall for her second ss of the day, Zhang Liling and Tungmei got the chance to chat for a bit.

    "Your highness, can you exin the reason you camete for school?" Tungmei asked.

    "I can''t tell you that much about it, but just know that I have a job now, and had to work on it before leaving for school.

 Chapter 46 Now Worried

    "You still won''t tell me the kind of job you have now?" Tungmei asked.

    "It will do you no good if you know too much..." Zhang Liling replied with her gaze ahead.

    She could still remember almost getting fired, and Mr. Fang''s warning about keeping her mouth shut, so how could she dare to mention even a bit about it?

    "How important is this job that you don''t even mind offending Mr. Fang? If youe for his lectureste again, he will definitely chase you away!"

    Zhang Liling sighed as a helpless smile slowly appeared on her face. That was because the person she was working for, was Mr. Fang so in a way, she was not really offending him.

    "Don''t worry, I will make sure there wouldn''t be a next time. Hurry up, I will treat you to lunch after this ss."

    Hearing that she was going to get a free meal, Tungmei stopped berating her and smiled happily, even though she knew Zhang Liling was doing that so she wouldn''t have to ask her more questions again.

    Tungmei didn''te from a wealthy family, and it was already a lot of work for her average family to send her to NYU and sponsor the business course.

    Because of the kind of family she came from, eating meals outside was far from it. This is the reason she is always happy each time Zhang Liling wants to treat her to a meal, as she didn''t get to enjoy that treatment often.

    "You really know how to get me..." Tungmei said with asting smile on her face, as she tugged on Liling''s arm.

    The lecture hall they were going to was at a different location, so they spent about 7 minutes walking before they got there.

    Thankfully, the hall was not filled yet, and there were still good seats in a good spot. If this had been Mr. Fang''s ss, they wouldn''t be this lucky.

    Just as they made there way in, Zhang Liling felt her phone vibrate in her bag, and had to stop in her steps to take out her phone. Tungmei felt her movements and also stopped to watch her.

    ncing at the caller ID on the screen of her phone, Zhang Liling released a helpless sigh. Her mother was calling, and she just recalled that she totally abandoned a bunch of texts from her after getting into a difficult situation the previous night.

    Passing her backpack to Tungmei, she said in an urgent tone, "Find seats for us, I need to take this call first."

    Tungmei took the backpack from her and walked in without asking questions. There was no need to ask questions because she already saw who was calling her.

    Zhang Liling went outside and walked a little distance away from the building before taking the call.

    "Hello Mum," She greeted in a light tone.

    There was a sound of a sigh from the other end before the familiar mature female voice was heard.

    "I sent you a bunch of texts, did you not see them?" Song Jujing asked with a tinge of annoyance in her tone.

    She had been worried about not getting any feedback from her daughter. At most, she thought a text would be easy to reply in case she was busy, hence she didn''t disturb her with calls.<sub> </sub>

    Although Zhang Liling did get a little chance to return one text, the remaining that came inter were ignored. And Song Jujing had been worried about it.

    "I didn''t have time to reply to them, I have been upied with my studies," Zhang Liling lied so smoothly.

    "That''s a relief. I thought something happened to you, and almost called your father to ask someone to check in on you."

    "What! Mum, don''t ever be tempted to let that man know that I''m living on my own, you can''t make that mistake!" Zhang Liling said in rm.

    If her fatheres to know about this, then it wouldn''t be long before her stepmother finds out about it, and by then, it would be toote for her ns.

    Song Jujing understood and nodded. "Then, you have to reply my texts and return my calls as soon as you get the chance off your busy schedule!"

    Of course, Zhang Liling agreed and even added, "As long as I''m not in the lecture hall and busy, I will answer your calls and reply to your texts."

    "Good! I wanted to remind you about finding a housekeeper for your new ce..."

    As soon as her mother mentioned that term ''housekeeper'' Zhang Liling felt a pang of guilt wash over her.

    She was busy working as a housekeeper for someone else, why she needed to employ one to take care of her house and meals. What an irony!

    "Are you even paying attention to what I have been saying?" Song Jujing asked with worry in her tone. She has been speaking for a while now and atst asked a question, but she didn''t get any response.

    Zhang Liling recollected herself and said, "Mum, I have a lecture now, I will speak with youter."

    "Who knows when you will call me back as you are now busier than me. Anyway, get a housekeeper to shop for you, and prepare your meals while you get busy with your exams. I noticed that your kitchen and refrigerator were empty. If you need more money, call me." Song Jujing said.

    She wouldn''t want her only child tock anything. If it was before when she was still staying in the Zhang family, she wouldn''t have been this worried, since she thought she was being well taken care of.

    But now that things has taken a drastic turn, everything has to change.

    "Okay, I have to go now, bye..." Zhang Liling said and ended the call immediately.

    She couldn''t stand her mother showing that kind of care towards her. Before she used to want her attention but not anymore, as her own attention was being channelled into Mr. Fang, so she had no time to care about others and their attention on her.

    Immediately she ended the call, she returned to the lecture theatre. Standing at the entrance, she searched for Tungmei with her eyes.

    Luckily, Tungmei was on the look out for her, and waved her hand immediately she stepped back in, so she could see where she got seats for them.

 Chapter 47 The Face-Off

    "Liling,e over here!" Tungmei said while waving at her. Since there was no lecturer of Professor in the ss yet, her tone was allowed to be a little louder.

    Zhang Liling waved back and made her way towards the spot she was sitting.

    But before she could get there, someone was already causing trouble and seeking for attention.

    Rushi a popr young female socialite in a Jean mini skirt and ck top, saw their interaction and left her seat and went to Tungmei''s side to look for trouble.

    The seat Tungmei reserved for Liling was at the edge, so what Rushi did, was to pick up Zhang Liling''s backpack which Tungmei left on the seat, and put it on her thighs before sitting her butts on it.

    Tungmei was surprised at her actions, but slowly a frown appeared on her face when she saw her face clearly, as she knew she hade for trouble, being their enemy.

    "Rushi, why are you looking for trouble? You know clearly that I reserved this seat for Liling." Tungmei said in annoyance.

    If only she could hit the bully looking for trouble, she wouldn''t bother to waste her saliva.

    Rushi sneered as she turned sideways to spare her a nce, "So what if I''m looking for trouble purposely, what are you going to do about it?"

    At the moment, Rushi was acting all haughty, until Zhang Liling who saw what she did, came over, pulled her off the seat and pushed her away before sitting her butts on it in one swift motion.

    Rushi staggered for a bit as the rest of the students watched her in gasps of shock, before regaining her bnce with the help of her friend, and then turned to nce at Tungmei''s side and said with gritted teeth, "Who pushed me?!"

    Earlier, she didn''t have the chance to see who dragged her and pushed her away because everything happened on a whim, but it was only when she turned around to ask that question that she saw Zhang Liling upying that seat already.

    Zhang Liling totally ignored her question and existence and was already chatting with Tungmei as if nothing happened.

    "You are here?" Tungmei said with a smile as her confidence slowly returned.

    "Next time, just follow in my steps, no need to talk too much," Zhang Liling said without caring if Rushi could hear her or not.

    This scene alone, was enough to anger Rushi, and those words were enough for a confrontation between them.

    Rushi immediately stepped forward with a death re directed at Zhang Liling and roared, "Zhang Liling how dare you?!"

    Zhang Liling covered her ears before slowly turning to re at her. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Don''t scream my name, do I look like I have hearing impairment?"

    Pointing her fingers at her with a ridiculous expression on her face, Rushi warned, "Zhang Liling! You are crossing the line again! Don''t forget that my family has more influence then you!"

    Zhang Liling sniggered while the rest of the students watched the fun with an interesting gaze.

    "I just figured something more interesting about you, you really have a bird brain, and I just confirmed it!"<sub> </sub>

    "What?!" Rushi couldn''t believe her ears and lounged at her direction with her hand raised. It looks like she was working so hard on picking a fight with Zhang Liling in the presence of their ssmates, and a few minutes before the Professor woulde in.

    Immediately, the smile on Zhang Liling''s face disappeared, as she got up from her seat to wage the hand that was about toe down on her.

    "Shu Rushi, don''t try to drag me down with you! You were banned from Mr. Fang''s ss, and now you also want to be banned from this ss but want to drag me along?"

    Shu Rushi snatched her hand back and massaged her wrist. Just now, Zhang Liling''s hold was almost squeezing her dry.

    "You asked for it!" Shu Rushi responded with a cold nce.

    There were whisperers from the people around them who could hear their conversation. With Zhang Liling bringing up the fact that Shu Rushi was banned from Mr. Fang''s ss, she was mocked once again.

    Shu Rushi was almost seeing red with the fingers and gazes directed at her. She shifted her gaze back to Zhang Liling and was about to insult her, but she didn''t get the chance.

    "Shu Rushi, please conduct yourself with dignity. If not for yourself since you don''t care, at least do that for the sake of your family. You can''t afford to be aughing stock to them," Zhang Liling said with a harmless smile.

    Shu Rushi couldn''t stand the insult and raised her hand to hit Liling, but thetter swiftly fixed her butts on the seat, causing Rushi to p an empty air.

    Before she could not know what was happening, the gasps of shocks from the fellow ssmates that saw what was happening, quietened down.

    That sudden silence could only be for one reason, the professor for their next lecture had just walked in. With that, Shu Rushi red at Zhang Liling onest time before going back to her seat with her friend who was waiting by her side.

    "She almost hit you!" Tungmei said in a hushed voice. Her tone sounded a little shocked after what she saw. She could bet that if Liling hadn''t taken her seat at the right time she did, the p wouldn''t have missed her delicate fair cheek.

    "I know..." Zhang Liling said with a small smile while fixing her gaze at the podium.

    She had calcted everything with her mind and experience, and knew about the right time to move her body out of the way.

    Tungmei couldn''t understand how she was able to smile after what happened. Surely, she wouldn''t be smiling if Rushi had hit her.

    The girl she knew would have caused havoc even in the presence of the professor.

    At the end of the lectures, Shu Rushi who was targeting to make troubles for Zhang Liling, didn''t get the chance because thetter left with Tungmei who wanted to see the Professor to rify some findings.

    When the duo returned from seeing the Professor midway to his office, they went straight to the a restaurant outside the school environment to eat.

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei did not find the School meal ptable so, they didn''t eat there often. But Tungmei didn''t have a lot of choices, and so ate there most of the times that Zhang Liling didn''t ask her out.

 Chapter 48 Trying To Kill Me Or Not

    "I need a chef," Mr. Fang said with a straight gaze.

    Currently, he was in the car, sitting in an imposing manner while instructing Bolin who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the same car.

    "A chef?" Bolin asked with a confused gaze.

    Mr. Fang knew what he was thinking and sighed. "That girl doesn''t know how to cook. A simple western breakfast of tea, two slices of toasted bread and two soft boiled eggs was all I asked for, but guess what?"

    Bolin couldn''t guess and so nodded while gazing at him.

    "She couldn''t even get anything right, and this is making me think if she was actually bullied in the Zhang family. How did she survive all these years?" Mr. Fang asked with an unbelievable facial expression.

    He looked pissed as he refused to let go of the dangerous breakfast set Zhang Liling served him in the morning.

    "Sir, are you saying that she doesn''t know how to cook" Bolin asked in surprise. He didn''t seem to let that idea stick to his head.

    I mean, how can anyone not know how to prepare such a simple breakfast? That would mean that she didn''t know how to prepare anything else.

    If Mr. Fang wasn''t too blinded about Zhang Liling''s treatment in the morning, he would have rolled his eyes at Bolin for questioning him.

    "What is more annoying is that she dared to serve me two slices of burnt bread, grey-coloured scrambled eggs, and a cup of tea made with half spoon of salt. Bolin you tell me, was she trying to kill me or not?" Mr. Fang asked with a frown.

    Bolin was speechless and didn''t know how to reply to him. Seriously, if he didn''t know that Zhang Liling would not dare to poison Mr. Fang, he would have also thought the same thing.

    Hearing from his Boss about the kind of terrible breakfast he was served, it was enough to think otherwise.

    ncing at his Boss, Bolin for a moment didn''t know how to reply to that question. The Boss he knew that was currentlyining, didn''t look that angry, but his actions were obvious.

    It was obvious that he bore a grudge against Zhang Liling if not, he wouldn''t be stillining about the terrible breakfast she made for him, and dared to serve.

    Choosing his choice of words carefully, he replied, "Sir, I don''t think Miss Zhang would dare poison you. It could be that she is so terrible at cooking otherwise, why wouldn''t she want to impress you after you let her stay?"

    Mr. Fang scoffed and looked away. "I just feel that I have personally invited trouble into my life. Anyway, enough about that girl, find me a chef by tomorrow."

    Immediately Bolin heard that instruction, he shook his head and replied without batting an eye, "Boss, tomorrow is not possible."

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to him and asked with furrowed brows, "What do you mean?"

    "I am going to take my time to screen anymore people that will be working for you. I can''t afford to bear the consequences of not choosing wisely, so I will have to ask you to exercise a little patience." Bolin replied and faced his front.<sub> </sub>

    How could he get a chef by tomorrow? He has already promised himself not to employ people that would work for Mr. Fang without doing a personal investigation.

    Zhang Liling''s case thought him a serious lesson he would never forget so, he would never like for that kind of mistake to repeat itself.

    The temperature in the car slowly dropped to a freezing degree as Mr. Fang stared furiously at side profile of his personal assistant.

    ''Did he just say I wouldn''t be getting a chef by tomorrow? Did he just flunk my orders?''

    "Can you afford to bear the consequences of starving your boss and not looking after him?" Mr. Fang asked while still staring daggers at him.

    Not daring to meet his gaze, Bolin replied, "I don''t dare, but I still won''t let you starve. I will take care of your meals until I get a chef for you. Mr. Fang, if there is anything you want to eat at any time, my services are always avable."

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to the window, refusing to give him any response whatsoever. Bolin was not bothered, instead he was relieved and went on to ask the driver to stop by at a 5 star restaurant, so that Mr. Fang could put something in his stomach.

    If Mr. Fang had insisted on him employing a chef the next day, there was nothing he would have done about it, other than to follow instructions.

    At the closest 5 star restaurant which Mr. Fang frequented most times for business meeting, or to have a meal, the driver pulled over and watched Bolin get out of the car first to open the back passenger door for Mr. Fang, before making their way to the entrance of the building.

    When Mr. Fang finished having his brunch, he left for hispany to settle pending issues.

    ***********************

    "Are you leaving now?" Tungmei asked Zhang Liling who was already carrying her backpack.

    They had just finished eating, and thetter didn''t even want to spend a few minutes to chat.

    Smiling, Zhang Liling pinched her cheeks. "My job is very important, so I have to go back to take care of it . I would be busy trying to catch up with the lectures I missed, hence we can''t see."

    "I get it, go ahead, but don''t forget me." Tungmei said waving at her.

    "I wouldn''t dare to forget you..." Zhang Liling replied before leaving.

    Outside the restaurant, Zhang Liling took a cab to one of the biggest grocery store in the city. When she got to the ce, she paid her cab fare and got down.

    <o>,m ncing at the building, she smiled before walking in. She was going to make up for every disappointment she has caused.</o>

    Inside the grocery store, Zhang Liling picked a shopping cart before taking a stroll with a smile on her face. Whatever her agenda was, she seemed to be happy and confident about it.

 Chapter 49 Cooking For Mr. Fang

    After half an hour of grocery shopping, Zhang Liling returned to Mr. Fang''s v with 2 grocery bags.

    Butler Gu opened the door for her and was surprised to see the grocery bags in her hands. He found out before she left for School that she couldn''t cook, and now she wasing back with grocery bags?

    Wouldn''t she burn down the kitchen?

    "Are you going to cook, or is someone else ising to do it?" Butler Gu asked.

    "Of course I''m going to cook, I need to win back Mr. Fang''s trust after ruining his mood this morning," Zhang Liling replied without stopping in her steps.

    The butler could only shut the door and stare at her retreating back. He could only keep wondering that something was wrong with her.

    No normal or professional housekeeper would say something like that out loud. But even if they said it out, they wouldn''t be giving that cheeky smile like she did.

    Zhang Liling put down her grocery bags before rushing to her bedroom to take a shower and change into a set offy clothes beforeing back into the kitchen.

    Rubbing her hands together, she smiled at the grocery bags before taking a few steps to the kitchen ind. Carefully, she took out all the ingredients she bought.

    There was a packet of pasta amongst the things she bought.

    Yes, Zhang Liling was going to make pasta for Mr. Fang tonight, as it was the only thing she was good at cooking, aside from making a really good cup of coffee.

    There was a bottle of dry white wine, salted butter, yellow onions, garlic cloves, cremini, wild mushrooms, chicken chunks, gruy¨¨re cheese etc.

    Zhang Liling was going to make one of the French pastas she was good at cooking, ''One Pot French Onion Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto''. She learned it from the French chef employed by her mother at their home in Paris, only because she was interested in how it was made, since she liked it a lot.

    It took Zhang Liling the breakfast yer an hour to prep her ingredients. The next step she did, was to steam her chunk chicken breasts with some herbs she looked up on the inte before going shopping.

    Just to be sure of the right quantity to use, she had to look it up in the inte. She was looking out for Mr. Fang''s health, and so approached this pasta preparation in a different way.

    The next step was to boil her pasta. She was being very careful to avoid the boiling water sshing on her while putting in the pasta.

    Her facial expression was very funny while trying to dodge the scalding water. Finally when she covered the pot, she sighed in relief before going back to the ind to take care of other things.

    An hourter, Zhang Liling turned off the gas with a big smile on her face. She could tell that she has done a good job with the meal this time around, without needing to taste it.

    Zhang Liling pped her hands excitedly and couldn''t wait for Mr. Fang toe back from work.

    After turning off the gas, she went on to prepare a small te of sd to apany the pasta, after which she started to tidy up the kitchen that was currently looking like a horrible fight had happened earlier.

    Zhang Liling found it a little difficult to navigate things in the kitchen. She had a lot of dirty bowls and tes to wash, and she couldn''t help ming herself when she saw all those items piled up in the sink.<sub> </sub>

    The only kind food she knew how to prepare, really came with a lot of throwing around of atomic bombs. The kitchen was very untidy, so after rejoicing, she had to gather her momentum to wipe everywhere clean.

    Butler Gu who had just finished tending to Mr. Fang''sundry, stepped out of the bedroom and took the stairs down. Before he could get to the foot of the steps, he was already perceiving the aroma from the pasta Zhang Liling cooked.

    "She knows how to cook?" He said to himself in a low tone before curiously making his way towards the kitchen.

    By the time he got to the kitchen and saw the whole mess, he turned back and walked away before Zhang Liling could turn around.

    "I hope she gets to keep her job this time around," Butler Gu said with a smirk.

    He had been a little hopeful when he perceived the heavenly aroma of the pasta, but going into the kitchen and seeing the whole ce in a mess, all hope was lost.

    Could anything goode out from a kitchen as messy as the one Zhang Liling was handling? Butler Gu doubted that.

    After spending another hour, Zhang Liling wiped her sweat and sighed in relief while rxing her palms on the ind and gazing at the pot of pasta on the gas cooker.

    A profound smile slowly appeared on her face, before she left the kitchen to go and wash up for the third time that day. At least, she wouldn''t have any need to take another bath before heading to bed.

    While having her bath, Mr. Fang came back home in thepany of Bolin, who was there to help take out the booklets (assignments) from the booth of the car to his study.

    Butler Gu also came out to help carry those booklets into his study.

    On stepping into the house, Mr. Fang and Bolin caught the whiff of the aroma from the pasta and exchanged nces.

    Mr. Fang thought that Bolin ordered dinner for him already, but he erased that idea, as there was no how the aroma of the food he ordered could be that strong.

    The aroma he was perceiving was so strong that it could only signify one thing, and that is the fact that the pasta was cooked in his kitchen.

    As if in a tactic understanding, Mr. Fang and Bolin fixed their gazes on Butler Gu, after they had stopped in their tracks.

    Even without them asking question, the butler already knew the meaning of their gazes and quickly replied with a helpless smile, "Miss Zhang prepared dinner fo you."

    Mr. Fang and Bolin exchanged nced before looking back at the butler.

    "Did you just say Zhang Liling cooked dinner for me?" Mr. Fang asked with furrowed brows.

    As for his current emotions, Bolin and butler Gu couldn''t tell if he found it hard to believe, or the fact that he was angry after the terrible breakfast Zhang Liling had prepared earlier that day.

 Chapter 50 Begging Him To Eat

    The butler nodded in response anyways.

    Mr. Fang walked past them, and led the way to his study. His thought, remained unknown to them.

    Since he wasn''t saying anything about Zhang Liling making dinner for him, Bolin left after making sure that all the booklets were arranged neatly in one corner of his study.

    If Mr. Fang decides on what to do with Zhang Liling and calls him to take care of it, then he woulde down to do it. But for now, he was going back to his apartment to freshen up and rest after a long day.

    Working closely for Mr. Fang was tasking.

    By the time Zhang Liling finished having her bath and changing into another set offy clothes, Mr. Fang was already washing up.

    As she made her way towards the dining room, she met the butler who was staring at her with a calm gaze.

    "Butler Gu, is there something on my face?" Zhang Liling asked when she noticed that keen gaze on her, and as she walked towards his direction.

    "Sir, is back," Butler Gu announced to her.

    It was more of a warning for her to get rid of any sort of idea that would get her into trouble, but it looks like she wasn''t taking it.

    "Mr. Fang is back?" Zhang Liling asked with a look of excitement as her eyes shone brightly.

    She was very happy that she could now serve the food she prepared, and get his praises, forgetting that her employer was not supposed to praise her for cooking a good meal, as it was her job to do so in the first ce.

    Seeing how happy she was, the Butler hoped that her excitement would still stand the chance to remain after tonight.

    "He is having a bath at the moment," Butler Gu replied before walking away with one hand behind his back. If Zhang Liling was going to get in trouble, he didn''t want to be a partaker, hence he left quickly.

    Hearing the confirmation of Mr. Fang''s presence, Zhang Liling smiled to herself, before rushing into the kitchen to serve the food.

    First, she made sure the food was still warm enough by measuring the temperature, before going on to serve it.

    She almost broke a te while trying to find a very good one in the shelf due to her excitement. After the te nearly slipped from her hands and she caught it, she learned to be extra careful as her excitement tuned down a bit.

    When she was done carefully ting the pasta and the sd, she put the tes on a tray before taking them out to serve them in the dinning room.

    After arranging the tes of food properly, she set down the ss water cup and the bottle of water before saying to herself with a smile, "This would have been better paired with a ss of wine."

    Thinking about a ss of wine, Zhang Liling thought of the butler and immediately left to find him after covering the food. She had to make an extra effort to see if she couldplete the perfect pairing.

    "A bottle of wine?" The butler asked.

    Zhang Liling had just asked him if he could take out a bottle of wine from Mr. Fang''s wine shelf.

    "Yes, it would be perfect for the pasta, and that will be the best way to enjoy this dinner." Zhang Liling said with a smile.

    The butler was nearly tempted to say that it was no use wasting a bottle of an expensive wine on a food that wasn''t worth it, but he refrained from doing so in order not to hurt her feelings.

    "Since you know where the wine shelf is, why don''t you take it yourself?"

    "I thought I should ask you first since it''s your job. Well, thank you for letting me know that I can get the wine myself." Zhang Liling said and skipped away immediately.

    The butler was toote to stop her, and could only watch her skip away happily. He just hopes that she wouldn''t mention his name if asked about the wine.<sub> </sub>

    Who knows what else she is capable of apart from infuriating her employer. Getting her colleague into trouble wouldn''t be an exception.

    Butler Gu was afraid that she would say that he gave her the permission to take a bottle of wine from the shelf if asked.

    Zhang Liling got to the shelf and took a minute before picking a very good bottle. She already had a high taste and knew a lot about wines, so she knew a good one when she sets her eyes on it.

    Her experience came from all of those parties she attended with her mother back in Paris, plus the times her mother used to host small parties at their home.

    Picking up the expensive bottle of French wine, she wiped the body with a clean cloth before serving it in the dining room. Next, she went into the kitchen in search of a wine ss.

    When she found the set, she took out one, washed and cleaned it before sending it to the dining room and going to notify Mr. Fang of his dinner.

    "Mr. Fang, you dinner is served," Zhang Liling said after knocking softly on his bedroom door.

    At the third knock and still no response, Zhang Liling became restless while wondering if Mr. Fang had fallen asleep. Now there was a slight frown on her face as she tried to knock for the 4th time.

    She has already made up her mind to barge in, if she still didn''t get any response.

    Just as she raised her right fist to knock on the door, Mr. Fang opened it from inside, and looked down on her small fist with a frown.

    Seeing him, Zhang Liling smiled brightly. "Mr. Fang, I''m sorry if my knocks disturbed you. I came to inform you that your dinner has been served."

    "Did you make that dinner?" Mr. Fang asked as he let go of the door and put his two hands inside the front side pockets of his pyjamas.

    He looked so cool without his reading sses, and Zhang Liling could have been distracted by his beautiful eyes, but getting him to have the dinner, was more important.

    "Yes, Sir," She replied proudly.

    "I''m not eating," Mr. Fang said and turned to walk back inside his bedroom, but the panicked Zhang Liling pulled his arm immediately.

    "Mr. Fang, you really have to try this dinner."

    Hearing him say he wasn''t eating, Zhang Liling was shocked, and seeing him already making his way back into his bedroom, her body moved on its own before she could think properly.

    She had spent her money, time, energy, effort and excitement to cook that pasta, and he was saying that he didn''t want to eat it? How could she let that be?

    Mr. Fang nced at the hand that was clutching his arm before slowly shifting his gaze to the owner andmanded with a re, "Let go!"

    Zhang Liling immediately let go of his arm and hurriedly apologized.

    "...Mr. Fang, why do you not want to eat, is it because I cooked it, or you are not hungry?"

    "Are you questioning me?" Mr. Fang asked with a tight frown.

    For a moment, he forgot that Zhang Liling was not actually a housekeeper because no housekeeper would dare to question their employer and be adamant like the way she was acting.

    His re showed his annoyance, and although Zhang Liling was a little afraid, she refused to give up.

    "Mr. Fang, I only want to know your response to better help serve you properly."

 Chapter 51 Finding It Palatable

    Since she put it that way, Mr. Fang couldn''t find a way to leave her hanging, although he almost told her that he didn''t need her services.

    "You are really daring! After that storm you cooked up in the morning, you still had the confidence to step into the kitchen to cook up another thing?"

    ''Oh!'' Zhang Liling eximed in her head. It''s just now that she understood the reason Mr. Fang was refusing to eat the food she prepared for him.

    Turns out that he was scared that she might have cooked another nonsense for him to eat.

    A little smile slowly appeared on her face and she hurriedly exined, "Mr. Fang, you don''t need to worry about my cooking anymore especially when ites to making pasta. I am very good at it. I also make really coffee, and the reason you tea tasted so badly was because I didn''t look at the salt container properly since I was in a hurry."

    ''Is she promoting her cooking skills now?''

    Mr. Fang wasn''t moved by her shameless self promotion. "That is not enough reason to put my life in the line like I need in the morning. If you pasta tastes so good, you can take my ce and have it for dinner."

    Seeing that he wasn''t keen on eating her meal, Zhang Liling had no choice but to use herst card by putting her job on the line.

    "Mr. Fang, if you try the pasta and still not find it ptable, you can go ahead and fire me immediately, and I will leave noints."

    ''What a bold move'' Mr. Fang thought as he eyed her. There was sincerity in her eyes and that was one thing that assured him, but he still wasn''t going to make things easy for her.

    "If I don''t like the food which you are forcing me to eat, you will not only lose your job, I will also hand you over to the police, do you agree?"

    "You...you will ha...hand me over to the police?" Zhang Liling stuttered.

    How was he taking thing so serious? What if he actually likes her food but ends up denying it just to send her to the police, wouldn''t that be a hug loss on her side?

    If she is sent to the police station, there was no way she wouldn''t end up going back to the Zhang vi.

    Mr. Fang''s patience was exhausted seeing her dy in agreeing to his rule, and he turned to walk back into his bedroom, but she clutched his arm almost immediately.

    "Mr. Fang, I will agree to your rules. Pleasee and try the food before it gets cold." Zhang Liling said with a small desperate smile.

    Mr. Fang was a bit surprised that she agreed, but refused to show it on his face. He ended up shifting his gaze to her hand, signalling her to let go.

    "Sorry," Zhang Liling apologized and led the way to the dining room.

    From the stairs, Mr. Fang could still perceive the aroma from the pasta even before he got to the foot of the stairs.

    ''This food had better be what the aroma.''

    In the dining room, Zhang Liling pulled the seat out for him, and gestured for him to sit, before going on to remove the tes she used in covering the pasta and the sd.

    Immediately she did that, the aroma wafted to Mr. Fang''s nostrils, causing him to be interested. Thankfully, he had already taken his pills and the effect were almost immediate, so he didn''t have to worry about the strong scent.

    ncing at the bottle of wine in front of him, he pointed at it and asked, "Why did you bring it here?"<sub> </sub>

    "Oh! I thought it would be a good pairing with the pasta, can I open it now?" Zhang Liling asked while picking up the bottle of wine.

    Mr. Fang rolled his eyes and said while picking up his cutlery, "We can''t waste a good bottle of wine over a te of food that is not worth it. The food has to prove its worth first."

    Zhang Liling could only shut up and put the bottle down while expectantly watching Mr. Fang try out the pasta.

    Using his fork, Mr. Fang picked up a little quantity before bringing it close to his nose. His actions showed that he was scarred after the horrible experience in the morning.

    <o>,m Seemingly finding nothing wrong with the aroma, he shifted the fork to his lips, and directed the pasta into his mouth.</o>

    Taking a slow bite, he munched on it while relinquishing the taste.

    ''Not bad'' He thought, while Zhang Liling watched him nervously. She looked scared and a little impatient at the same time.

    Was the food good or not? Is it to his taste or not? Does he like it or not? Am I getting fired?

    Having lost her patience after seeing Mr. Fang send another spoon into his mouth, she asked, "Mr. Fang, how is it?"

    Mr. Fang red at her for disturbing him. "You ask too many questions. Serve the wine and leave, you cane backter."

    Zhang Liling heard that, and her eyes glistened with hope. "Does that mean you find the pasta to your taste?"

    Mr. Fang dropped his cutlery, causing it to make a nking sound, while fixing an annoyed gaze at her.

    Zhang Liling knew she was wrong and quickly apologized, and went on to serve the wine before leaving.

    It was after she left that he resumed eating, while drinking the red wine in the ss.

    After eating, he wiped his lips and left the living room for his bedroom. Since he didn''t call her, Zhang Liling had to keep watch for when he would finish eating.

    She knew when he left and immediately rushed over to see that he had eaten more than half of the food. As for the sd, he only touched a little bit if it.

    Looking at everything on the table, she discovered that he only had one ss of wine and finished the bottle water.

    Although he didn''t finish the pasta, she could tell that he liked it which made her satisfied. At least she wasn''t getting fired, and she also wasn''t going to be handed over to the police.

    The only thing on her mind at the moment, was victory. She wasn''t too bothered about the reason he didn''t finish the food or even touch the sd because there were reasons she could think of on her own.

    It was either this was his first time eating that kind of pasta, or he wasn''t really hungry. As for the sd, it''s either he didn''t like it, or there was no space in his stomach to put it.

    Zhang Liling happily cleared the table before serving dinner to her and the butler, after giving him the remaining bottle of wine to preserve.

    Seeing how happy she was, and from the signs he could see, he could tell that Mr. Fang had eaten the food she served him withoutints. Now that was making him look forward to his own dinner portion.

 Chapter 52 Plans To Secure Connections

    "We need to strengthen our reins and seek new business connections before I take my hands off Zhang Group as the CEO." Zhang Renshu said and sent a spoon of food into his mouth.

    The Zhang family were currently having their dinner when Zhang Renshu brought up the topic of securing more connections for the Zhang Group.

    "You still have 2 more years before you go into full-time politics, and I''m sure you will be able to take care of it before that timees," Shi Wenqian said with a small smile.

    Shi Wenqian sounded confident that Zhang Group could expand more within 2 years, and this is because of her experience in the secret business she had control over.

    Zhang Renshu didn''t totally agree with what she said and hence, responded, "What do you know? It''s very possible that we won''t be able to gain any useful connection before I leave. You don''t know these people, and most of them are jealous of my connection to politics, so they will try to cripple my business. You should know that Zhang Group has a crucial role to back me up in this race."

    "I don''t think that this is something you have to worry too much about. Anything you put your mind to, must work. We only have to start sorting out the influential families that are on the neutral side and get them to partner with us," Shi Wenqian said with no worry on her face.

    This sounded like a piece of cake to her, and it was here that Zhang Xiaoling stepped in.

    Smiling at Zhang Renshu, she reassured him with a gentle tone, "Dad, don''t worry too much, I will also ace my games. I already have some connections with some of the influential people, I only have to work hard to make the connections direct and strong, so they will be willing to support us."

    Zhang Renshu shifted his gaze to her without saying anything, or let''s say that he didn''t get the opportunity to do so because Shi Wenqian intervened.

    She nced at Zhang Xiaoling with a proud gaze as she pped her hands gently. "You are truly from the Zhang family. See how hardworking and dedicated you are to support your father and thepany."

    Shifting her gaze to Zhang Mingyu who was eating quietly and listening the whole time, she continued, "Mingyu, you should learn from your sister and strive to work harder than her when you take over your father''s position. But you can''t let her do all the work."

    Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu just nodded without saying anything.

    Shi Wenqian seemed so happy as she could already imagine the future where Zhang Mingyu would take over the Zhang Group, while Zhang Xiaoling would support him from the side.

    Shifting her gaze back to her food, she said as a satisfied smile appeared on her face, "With you two at thepany, your father can be at ease and go on with his political career."

    "Don''t get ahead of yourself!" Zhang Renshu who had been listening to her talk all these while, felt his ears hurt, and had to quickly shut her up.

    He was still there, and she had the guts to put the daughter that didn''t belong to him biologically in the picture while totally ignoring his own biological daughter, Zhang Liling.

    Seeing how angry he was, they all knew he was about to re up and ruin everyone''s mood, since someone already unintentionally ruined his.

    Fortunately, Zhang Mingyu became useful at this point by bringing up another topic which concerned the Fang family.

    "Speaking of getting involved with some of the influential families and bringing them to our side, the Fang family would be perfect."

    Immediately he mentioned the ''FANG'' family, a frown appeared on Zhang Renshu''s face, while Zhang Xiaoling and Shi Wenqian''s eyes shone brightly.

    To the two women, a connection with the influential Fang family would secure them a lot of good deals, which Zhang Renshu also agreed on, but because of something from the past, he was not too happy with bringing the Fang family to their side, but he didn''t say anything yet.

    Hearing the ''FANG'' family being mentioned, Zhang Xiaoling could not think of any other person than Fang Bingwen, who wielded the strongest power in his family, second to his grandfather.

    From the information she gathered from some sources, Mr. Fang was on par with his father when ites to the influence they had in business and in the family.

    Apart from that, Mr. Fang was an eligible bachelor, many women in the City and beyond had their eyes on, and she was not an exception.

    ''A marriage with him won''t be bad even if there is no love'' Thought Zhang Xiaoling and with that, she quickly interrupted her half-brother.

    "A connection with the Fang family is perfect, but unfortunately, it''s not going to be easy trying to get on their good side since they are very powerful, but I will try to get my connec..."<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Xiaoling never got to finish her speech because Zhang Mingyu cut her off directly, just like she did to him a few seconds ago.

    He was already annoyed that she cut him off in the first ce and tried to act like everything revolved around her making connections with the influential families.

    And with her always acting like that, she was always in the spotlight, and pretended like she was the best, while making him look inferior.

    "I don''t think there will be a need for you to take care of it. Mr. Fang is still working as the guest lecturer at NYU, and he teaches business management course to Zhang Liling''s ss. If there is anyone who has a better chance of meeting Mr. Fang and striking a conversation with him, then Zhang Liling would be a better one to do the job."

    There was already a very big frown on Shi Wenqian''s face for bringing Zhang Liling up and trying to get her involved with their ns.

    She believed that Zhang Liling should never get close to anyone that was going to work with the Zhang family. In summary, She didn''t want her stepdaughter to be linked with anyone working with the Zhang family, to avoid her getting any absurd ideas.

    Zhang Xiaoling was angry with her half-brother for trying to rece her with Zhang Liling. She was trying to use this opportunity to secure a personal connection with Mr. Fang which might lead to a marriage alliance.

    By involving Zhang Liling, her ns might be ruined because if thetter finds out about her ns, she would ruin it since she is against her leading a good life, as a way of revenge.

    "What can Zhang Liling do? She is still an undergraduate, and will never be in a better position than me to get close to Mr. Fang. I am more mature, and more knowledgeable than her in business. I have more in-depth than her, and of course will better attract Mr. Fang''s attention since we have a few things inmon."

    Shi Wenqian felt a bit relieved with her daughter making much sense than her son who was about to ruin something huge.

    "Mingyu, you have done very well in bringing up this idea, but your sister is right on this one. Zhang Liling is not mature, and someone like her can never pique Mr. Fang''s interest, so she would be the right candidate."

    "Mum, by piquing Mr. Fang''s interest, do you mean a marriage alliance?" Zhang Mingyu asked with his gaze on her, while ncing at Zhang Xiaoling from the corner of his eyes, to see if he needed to sabotage her ns further.

    Smiling, Shi Wenqian replied, "Of course! A marriage alliance is the best and most secure form of business connection, and your sister is perfect for the Fang family."

    Zhang Xiaoling felt a bit rxed and her smile became more profound.

    Zhang Mingyu saw her smiling and curled his fist. Shifting his gaze back to his mother, he said without caring about the consequences of his words...

    "Do you think the Fang family will ept sister despite knowing that she is not the biological daughter of the Zhang family, but from an unknown origin?"

    "Shut up!" Shi Wenqian immediately red up and almost pped him if not for the nce from Zhang Renshu.

    Zhang Mingyu scoffed and looked away without caring that he would have his ears pulled by his motherter. There was a bitter re from Shi Wenqian to him.

    As for Zhang Xiaoling, the sudden topic of discussion, made her feel anger boil in her heart when Zhang Mingyu said that about her, as that has been her Achilles'' heel.

    Although she was very bitter inside, she refused to show that his words had indeed affected her. She went on to act as if it didn''t have any effect on her.

    Curling her fists under the table, she managed a smile and said in response, "Mingyu, I don''t think you should remind me about the death of my biological father, when my father of over 20+ years is present, and has been taking care of me. It will also do you no good to remind the public about this matter, as it will cause a little glitch in the Zhang Group''s stock prices."

    Zhang Xiaoling was using herst sentence to force Zhang Renshu to intervene, and that worked, although thetter knew that she was using him.

    "Enough!" Zhang Renshu said angrily while hitting his palm on the table.

    ncing at his son, he warned him not to mention that matter in public even by mistake, before facing everyone and destroying their wild imagination.

    "None of you should think of having any ideas about the Fang family. It is okay if we have them as a business partner, but a marriage alliance, I will never ept it! "

 Chapter 53 Not The Fang Family

    Zhang Xiaoling and Shi Wenqian exchanged nces in horror. They never expected Zhang Renshu to be so against having a marriage alliance with the Fang''s.

    ncing at her husband, Shi Wenqian asked with a worried gaze, "Honey, why are you so agitated? What''s wrong with having a connection to the Fang family through marriage?"

    Zhang Renshu snorted. "You don''t need to know anything. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that we will never be rted to the Fang family through marriage. Business is the only way!"

    "Honey!" Shi Wenqian called out angrily. She could tell how serious the man was getting with this matter.

    She was feeling very bad that she couldn''t help her daughter to secure a strong connection to an influential family such as the Fangs.

    Zhang Renshu red at her and said, "Stay in yourne!" Turning to Zhang Xiaoling who couldn''t hide her emotions of disappointment, he said, "You are 27 years already, and as your father, I will find a good suitor for you, and also a helping arm to the Zhang Group."

    Pushing his seat aside, he got up and nced at everyone.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s knuckles had almost turned white from the constant squeezing. This man rejected the marriage proposal she so desperately wanted, and now he was going to arrange a marriage for her?

    She would not let that happen!

    With that conclusion in her mind, she got up from her seat and bowed to Zhang Renshu while saying in a pleading tone, "Father, I am not in a hurry to get married. Please let me stay at thepany for a few more years, to help groom Mingyu."

    ''Yes, I''m going to buy more time for myself. I don''t believe that if I manage to pull the Fangs to our side you would still refuse to grant my marriage request to Fang Bingwen.''

    Zhang Xiaoling was plotting selfishly for herself, so as Zhang Renshu who was notgging behind.

    Zhang Mingyu smiled to himself, and was the only one who was able to continue with his dinner.

    Shi Wenqian wasn''t finding this game of gamble funny. She hated Zhang Renshu at this moment for being selfish and sabotaging the good ns for her daughter. She was also worried that her daughter would make a mistake with this gamble.

    Zhang Renshu was calm for almost a minute before giving his verdict. "I will give you 2 years, after that, you are getting married!"

    Zhang Xiaoling smiled to herself and thanked him before signing in relief, while Shi Wenqian couldn''t sit quietly.

    She changed after her husband who had already left the dining room.

    "Honey, why are you suddenly forcing Xiaoling to get married, has she turned to an eyesore now that your own daughter is back?"

    "You are free to think whatever you want in the daft head of yours. Since I epted to marry you, Xiaoling became my daughter, and I have always given her my best, but all of her achievement won''t beplete without a man from a solid family. Tell me, who you think I''m doing all these for?" Zhang Renshu asked without looking backwards.

    Shi Wenqian frowned and asked, "Can I trust you?"<sub> </sub>

    That question made Zhang Renshu to stop in his steps and turn around. His brows were furrowed as he said to her, "I will not ask you to trust me because that''s your choice. However, how busy or careless are you that you forgot your daughter needs to settle down and start her own family. You are neglectful!"

    "I don''t care the kind of words you use on me, but you should at least take Xiaoling''s choices into consideration. Have you thought of the kind of advantage we will have if Fang Bingwen marries Xiaoling? The Fang family can be our business partner, but if Fang Bingwen marries into an enemy family, what do you think will happen?"

    Zhang Renshu did not need to think about it, before admonishing her. "Wenqian! If the Fang family cannot be our business partner without a marriage alliance, then there is no need for us to be rted to them!"

    <o>,m Zhang Renshu left in a huff after saying that. His gaze was frosty from the Fang family being constantly mentioned. He hopes that they will not try to have anymore ideas about the Fang family.</o>

    He knew he was being selfish, but he was also trying to use his brains here.

    For example, he has noticed howpetitive and ambitious Zhang Xiaoling was, and would never her get married into a family like the Fangs which he can''t control or prate.

    If his stepdaughter should end up getting into the Fang family through marriage, he could bet that she would use it to her advantage, and might do something worse.

    Also, letting her continue to work in the Zhang Group would be an opportunity for her to gain more power, and who knew if she wouldn''t challenge his authority in the future.

    Shi Wenqian could only grit her teeth and watch him walk away.

    "Renshu, you have an exnation to give to me, what''s with you and the Fang family?! Do you know how selfish you are being right now?!"

    Back at the dinner table, Zhang Xiaoling was confronting Zhang Mingyu.

    "Why would you have to bring up Zhang Liling in our family''s matter?"

    Zhang Mingyu was acting indifferent like he didn''t care. He sniggered and said to her, "Is Zhang Liling not a part of this family? Maybe I have to ask Dad to give me an exnation."

    Zhang Mingyu stood up and left, leaving his half-sister to growl angrily.

    Actually, Zhang Mingyu would rather support Zhang Xiaoling rather than Zhang Liling, but not when ites to something very important to him.

    He was closer to Xiaoling, but he hated her attitude of seeking for notice and acting like the best. He could very well remember being made fun of, for being the ck sheep of the Zhang family, while Zhang Xiaoling was the good one.

    Back then, he didn''t get angry because there was nothing wrong with his sister excelling, but when she tries to bring it into the family and outshine him, he turns against her.

    Zhang Mingyu''s goal, was to inherit the Zhang Group and anyone that will try to fight him for it, he will not allow it.

 Chapter 54 A New Chef

    That Zhang Liling could make good edible Pastas, didn''t stop Mr. Fang from changing his mind about employing a chef.

    He was not going to eat pastas all because that''s the only thing his housekeeper could make.

    The next morning, Zhang Liling got up very early in the morning, which was a Saturday, to clean up the house before making a cup of hot coffee for Mr. Fang who just finished working out and freshening up.

    Zhang Liling finished making the cup of coffee and went to Mr. Fang''s study to serve it. She knocked twice on the door before helping herself in.

    There was a bright smile on her face as she greeted Mr. Fang and walked towards the table, but Mr. Fang didn''t even spare her a nce, and he didn''t respond to her greeting either.

    Zhang Liling didn''t take any of these to heart, and it didn''t stop her from smiling either.

    "I brought you a hot cup of coffee Mr. Fang," She said as she carefully ced the mug of hot coffee down on his desk.

    "Even without you telling me what you brought, I can already perceive the strong scent from the door. Now that you have served me coffee, don''te in to disturb me again." Mr. Fang said as he finally raised his head from the booklet he was reading.

    "Yes, Sir," Zhang Liling replied with a smile before her gaze identally saw the booklet in his hands. She discovered that he was going through the assignments her ss had submitted the previous day.

    Mr. Fang caught her eyes on the booklet in his hands and didn''t like it. He went further to call out to her as a reminder. "Miss Zhang!"

    Zhang Liling apologized again before leaving.

    That same day, she finally had time for herself to settle down and study. At noon, a food delivery came for them.

    Bolin personally brought lunch for them, and after he had given Zhang Liling and butler Gu their share, he served Mr. Fang''s own in the dining room, before going to his study to call him to eat.

    Zhang Liling felt so sweet with this gesture, and couldn''t wait to thank Mr. Fang for his consideration.

    Which home employer would ever order takeouts for his workers? Mr. Fang was the first to Zhang Liling, and all these was because she didn''t know how to cook.

    Zhang Liling and Butler Gu found the time to thank Mr. Fang for the takeouts when he came down to have lunch. Mr. Fang waved them off and continued in his steps, not taking his actions as anything.

    ''I was somehow right about Mr. Fang, he is a good person.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself.

    Now she didn''t mind his overbearing attitude, as this singr act has made her to overlook his ws.

    After lunch, Zhang Liling remembered the questionnaire Dr. Li gave to her, and hurriedly searched for it. When she found it, she began to go through it, while wondering the reason for the personal details. Regardless, she picked up her pen and filled out the spaces, before taking the questionnaire, to submit it to Mr. Fang.

    When Mr. Fang saw the questionnaire in her hands, he took it from her and briefly nced at it before keeping it on one side of his desk.

    As there was no further instructions from him, Zhang Liling bowed and left.

    On Sunday, Mr. Fang''s house, had newpanies.

    Bolin reinstated his security details which included 4 bodyguards, and employed the chef he requested for

    Butler Gu was the only one not surprised, but Zhang Liling''s surprise gaze made her look like an outsider. She had no idea of what was happening.

    It was the Chef that surprised her the most. After Bolin had finished introducing her and butler Gu to the new members, he gave her the Chef''s original coptly of contract to pass to Mr. Fang when he wakes from his nap.<sub> </sub>

    "You can either keep it and hand it to him when he wakes, or keep it in the centre of his study where he would see it." Bolin said while passing the big envelope to her.

    Zhang Liling took the envelope from him, and optioned to leave it on Mr. Fang''s desk immediately, while Bolin sat with the Chef, to assist him in filling a form, and Butler Gu, going about his daily tasks.

    The new Chef was a Michelin star chef, and he was very professional in his work. He wanted to understand Mr. FANG''S pte in order to serve him better so, he asked Bolin who knew him well, to help answer the question on the form he carried with him.

    Bolin was able to answer most of the questions, but as for the remaining few, he suggested to leave it for Mr. Fang to take care of.

    Seeing Zhang Liling who had just made her way down the stairs, he called her over, and then handed the form to her.

    "As soon as Mr. Fang gets into his study, have him fill out the remaining options here, before returning it to the Chef."

    Zhang Liling took the form and nodded before leaving. She couldn''t help knowing the content of the form, and so peeped at it. Her curiousity was cut short when the Butler cleared his throat from behind her, only then did she quickly return to her bedroom.

    Before Bolin left the house, he instructed the Chef on what to prepare for dinner and breakfast the next day, and on the perfect timing.

    When Mr. Fang woke up from his 1 hour nap, he washed his face and took his drugs, because he could perceive the smell of food in his bedroom.

    He thought his nose was malfunctioning, and took the pills and put on his reading sses, but when he stepped out of his bedroom, the aroma of the footed wafted into his nose.

    ''Is that girl cooking again?'' Mr. Fang thought with a frown before going into his study.

    He thought that Zhang Liling was making pasta, totally forgetting that Bolin had informed him about bringing the chef and his bodyguards that day.

    As soon as Mr. Fang entered into his study, he sat on his desk, but turn suddenly felt like drinking water. When he took his drugs earlier, he didn''t drink enough water, and now, he was thirsty.

    It was normal to be very thirsty after taking a nap, and given the summer weather.

    Mr. Fang insured for a bit and thought of calling Zhang Liling to bring him a bottle of water, but changed his mind.

    Zhang Liling was cookin, and he had just woken up. It wasn''t healthy to jump straight to work as soon as he got up from the bed. It was good to walk around, and take a few steps.

    Getting up from his seat, he saw the big envelope on the centre of his desk and wondered what it was, but water was more important, so he left. He went downstairs, and went straight to the kitchen, only to see a man in his 40''s in his kitchen

    "Who are you?" Mr. Fang asked with a narrowed gaze.

    Since he thought it was Zhang Liling that was cooking, he was bound to be surprised seeing another person with a chef attire, cooking in his kitchen.

    The Chef recognized him and bowed slightly. "Hello, Mr. Fang, I am the new Chef that will be taking take care of your meals from now on."

    ''The new chef?'' Mr. Fang thought with a little confusion, before remembering Bolin''s words to him.

    "Oh!" That was all Mr. Fang said to him before going straight to open the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water before leaving.

    The chef was amazed that Mr. Fang was a little confused and surprised with his presence, but that wasn''t for him to worry.

 Chapter 55 Plead

    Mr. Fang was about to take the stairs when Zhang Liling came to him with her usual smiling face.

    "Mr. Fang, your assistant dropped this form with me, he said you need to fill it, so I can pass it to the chef," Zhang Liling reported while showing the form to him.

    Mr. Fang nced at her briefly before going up the stairs. "What is the form about?"

    Zhang Liling got that as a cue and immediately followed after him while exining what the form was all about.

    Since he didn''t react when she finished speaking, Zhang Liling was smart not to say anything, and just followed him into his study.

    Mr. Fang sat on his seat before telling her to put the form down.

    "I don''t have the time to look at the form now, you can put it on my desk and leave."

    "It''s just a questionnaire for the chef to know your pte, I will read it out for you since you don''t have the time to go through it." Zhang Liling suggested, and then went on to read out the remaining unanswered questions on the form without waiting for his approval.

    Mr. Fang found her pleasant voice annoying, and asked her to leave with a frown.

    "Miss Zhang, leave the form on my table."

    Zhang Liling saw that there was no smile on Mr. Fang''s face, and hurriedly put the form down before leaving his office.

    A soft sigh escaped her mouth as soon as she shut the door to his study. "Why does he have to be so difficult? He is not even leaving any leeway."

    Zhang Liling was disappointed that she couldn''t make any progress with Mr. Fang, but after thinking about it for a bit, she encouraged herself, as she still had more time to spend at his ce.

    ***********************

    At the Shu Family...

    Shu Rushi was currentlyining to her father about Mr. Fang.

    "Dad! You have to speak to cousin on my behalf. It''s been 4 weeks since he banned from attending his sses, and we don''t have much time till our final exams." Shu Rushiined with a bittered expression on her face.

    Mr. Shu frowned at her disturbance. "I have told you several times that I can''t meddle in Bingwen''s affairs. Why did you offend him in the first ce, despite knowing what his character is like?"

    Mr. Shu knew how care-free and stubborn his daughter was. He was also aware that it might be what caused her to be banned from attending Fang Bingwen''s ss.

    Shu Rushi refused to give up and pulled her father by his shirt. "Dad, do you what''s going to happen to me if I don''t have up to 50% attendance on cousin Wen''s course? I won''t be allowed to sit for that course! Dad, you have to help me speak to him if you don''t want me to fail that course and repeat my final year. I''m sure you don''t want to be made fun of, for your daughter repeating her final year in the university!"

    Mr. Shu frowned and asked, "Is it that serious!" If things were as serious like she made it to be, then he will have to do something about it.

    There was no way he would let his daughter to repeat her final year in college, and cause the whole family to be ridiculed by the society.

    "Dad, if it wasn''t serious, do you think I will be pestering you with every slightest opportunity?" Shu Rushi said with a big frown on her face. But deep in her heart, she was getting relieved that her father was finally showing signs of concern.

    If it was before, he would only listen to her rant and wave it off thereafter.

    Mr. Shu was calm for a moment before speaking up with furrowed brows, "Don''t worry, I will speak to Bingwen right away. Even if he doesn''t agree, I will find away around this matter so you will sit for the course during exams."

    Since this concerned her future, he was going to do his best to make an appeal to Mr. Fang. If it wasn''t so serious, and he asked Mr. Fang for help and gets rejected, he won''t think of going that far.

    If Mr. Fang says no, he would agree to that, and not do anything else about it.

    Hearing her father say that he would speak to Fang Bingwen, she leaped for joy and hugged him.

    "Daddy you are the best!" Shu Rushi screeched.

    "Alright... Alright, I know I''m the best, but you have to learn your lessons. Don''t go around offending people and expect me to always help you out, especially Bingwen. Don''t you know that you mustn''t cross him?"

    After giving her an assurance, he was now admonishing her.<sub> </sub>

    Shu Rushi acted all innocent and pouted her lips, while trying to act childishly. "Dad, I know, and it''s not my fault with the previous incident. I forgot we had his ss an hour earlier, and ended uping in the middle of his ss."

    That day, she had thought his ss was by 10 am instead of 9 am, so she woke up on time to doll herself up. Her friends who were already in school, were impatiently waiting for her, while trying to reach her, but her number wasn''t reachable, so they dropped her a text.

    Rushi was checking herself in the mirror while applying a bright red lipstick when she heard a ''buzz'' sound from her phone.

    She only picked up her phone to look at it when she was done smacking her lips twice. Seeing that it was a message from one of her friends, she smiled and thought they were urging her toe to school on time since the person they all admired was going to lecture them that day.

    "Everyone admires my cousin and can''t wait to see him already."

    Clicking on the message with a proud smile on her face, she saw the content of the text, and her smile quickly fell. At first, she thought she had seen wrongly, but it turns out that her sight was still 100% urate.

    What Shu Rushi did, was to grab her handbag and rushed out of her bedroom while dialling her friend''s line.

    Shu Rushi literally flew down the stairs while answering the call, and was at the same time, shouting for the driver to send her to school.

    Her friend had said in a whisper, "Rushi where are you?! Mr. Fang just stepped into the hall!"

    Shu Rushi almost went mad when she heard that Mr. Fang was already in ss, then at what time would she get there?

    Mrs. Shu who was ordering the servants to in the kitchen to prepare brunch, heard the hurried footsteps and her daughter''s loud voice and thought that something was happening, and so cane out.

    "Rushi, what''s going on?" The woman asked worriedly.

    "Mum, I don''t have time to talk to you now, bye!" Shu Rushi managed to reply before running out of the house. At least, she managed to give a reply instead of leaving directly.

    On her way to NYU, she kept praying that Fang Bingwen would break his rules for her sake and let her in, because she was alreadyte, and there was no way two ways about it, but unfortunately for her, her prayers were unanswered.

    Not only was she asked to leave the ss by Mr. Fang, he embarrassed her, and banned her from attending any of his sses from that time forth.

    Shu Rushi who used to brag and im she knew Mr. Fang personally, was so embarrassed that she ran home crying, forfeiting the other lecture she had next.

    Thinking about what happened back then, she med herself for being foolish by forgetting the actual time for Mr. Fang''s lecture, and not taking an emergency sick leave when she discovered it was toote to attend his ss on time.

    At least, an emergency sick leave was better thaning to ss in the middle of lecture.

    Mr. Shu nced at her and sighed. "Look at you, not being serious with things that are linked to your cousin. You have to be very serious from now onwards!"

    Mr. Shu made her promise him that she would be serious with her sses, and anything rted to Fang Bingwen.

    And of course, Shu Rushi agreed to it, as she would never want to get into Mr. Fang''s bad books again.

    After thanking her father, she left him alone to make the call. She didn''t think she could stand the tension of Fang Bingwen probably refusing her father.

    When she left, Mr. Shu took deep breaths, before picking up his phone from the side. He found Mr. Fang''s contact and dialled it.

    The attempts of trying to reach him on phone, failed thrice, but at the fourth time when he almost gave up, the call was answered.

    Without waiting to hear Mr. Fang''s voice, Mr. Shu spoke first with an endearing tone.

    "Bingwen, it''s your uncle, uncle Shu. I apologize for calling you by this time, hope I''m not disturbing you?"

    Mr. Fang nced at the pile of his students'' booklets on his desk and frowned. Was he being disturbed? Of course he was, and felt so annoyed at the moment for being distracted right in the middle of work, by someone he didn''t even want to listen to.

    Moving his gaze from the booklets, he replied in his usual cold tone, "Uncle Shu, I am actually in the middle of an important work, but you can make your conversation brief."

    Mr. Fang first let him know how busy he was, before giving him a limited time to speak, so that he wouldn''t waste his time, because who knows the reason he was calling.

 Chapter 56 Settled It For You

    Mr. Shu first cleared his throat before speaking. He was a bit nervous since what he was doing, was cutting through the corners which Fang Bingwen didn''t like.

    "Bingwen the matter is like this, Rushi told me some weeks ago about her being banned from your ss, and I totally me her for being in the wrong, but today, I have to appeal to you to please let here back to attend your ss. She said she wouldn''t be eligible to sit for your course during her final exams if she doesn''t get about 50% in attendance. And as a father, I am pleading on her behalf as I don''t want her to repeat her finals because of her foolish mistakes. Please forgive her and let her continue with your ss."

    After speaking for such a long time, Mr. Fang massaged his temples before speaking coolly. "Uncle Shu, what you are doing, is asking me to break the rules I set before all my student for your daughter, do you know what that makes me?"

    From his question, Mr. Shu understood something. Fang Bingwen was going to be difficult since he was someone that never goes back on his words, moreso, words that he had said in front of so many people.

    But he couldn''t ept it, because his family reputation would be at stake if he doesn''t allow his daughter to attend his sses and obtain the 50% attendance rate, required to sit for that course during her final exams.

    "Bingwen, I fully understand your stand, but you have to help me, and I promise that Rushi will never make this kind of mistake again. Also, in the future, I will owe you one favour, which I doubt you might need. Bingwen, please help me to save my face." Mr. Shu pleaded, and then remained quiet.

    There was a few moments of silence before Mr. Fang spoke up.

    Mr. Fang wouldn''t have rendered that he banned Shu Rushi from attending his ss if her father didn''t just call and mentioned it.

    He had other things to think about, like moving his empire to another level, and quickly concluded his sses with the graduate business students of NYU, so, Shu Rushi was that insignificant for him to think about.

    "Uncle Shu, I will ept your ''proposal'' but make sure Shu Rushies to my next ss on time with all the assignments and thesis she has missed so far." Mr. Fangpromised for the sake of the ''favour'' he put forward.

    He was a business man, and he was already big with business, but who knew when he might need this favour he put forward.

    Hemight use it for something so intangible or important, which may not be necessary, because his Fang family was so much better than the Shu''s.

    How did the Shu''s make a name for themselves again? Of course it was through the help of the Fu''s.

    Mr. Shu was happy and relieved at the same time that Fang Bingwen had finally epted his proposal. He knew that for someone like Fang Bingwen, getting him to go against his will, you must pay a price for it, hence he used that knowledge on him.

    Mr. Shu out forth that proposal, after being willing to do anything to make sure that his daughter took his course in her final exams.

    "When is your next ss?" Mr. Shu was trying to confirm the date and time for his next ss, so he could diligently remind his daughter about it constantly, so she would not make another mistake again, but the call already ended.

    Mr. Fang ended the call as soon as he finished speaking, and went back to his work. Mr. Shu could only sigh and out down his phone, before going to find his daughter personally.

    He found Shu Rushi in the kitchen eating canned berries while having a pic conversation with her mother.

    Seeing her dad, Shu Rushi pushed the remaining berries away before standing uprightly. "Dad, how did it go?" She asked as she couldn''t depict his current emotions from his facial expression.

    Mr. Shu smiled a little before saying to her, as even his wife listened on, "Don''t worry, I already settled it for you!"

    "What?! Dad, did cousin Wen allow me toe back to attend his sses?" Shu Rushi tried to confirm with a face full of surprise, just before she can start to celebrate it.

    Mr. Shu nodded, and the next thing that happened, caused him to cover his ears. Mr. Shu had to cover her ears as well because of their daughter''s shrieks not excitement.

    "Yes, I made it! Dad, we are going to pop open a bottle of an expensive wine tonight! All those students shaming and making fun of me, I''m going to teach them a lesson!" Shu Rushi said while jumping up excitedly, and then running to hug her fathee before running out of the kitchen.

    "That girl!" Mr. Shu said with a bright smile as she uncovered her ears.

    Mr. Shu uncovered his own ears and added, "I am going to remind her to be careful not to offend Bingwen. She can''t offend him again even if it''s by mistake."

    "I will remind her as well, it''s good that he allowed her toe back. We are privileged only because we are somewhat rted to the Fu family," Mrs. Fu said.

    Shu Rushi who ran out of the kitchen, ran upstairs to her bedroom to call her friends on a video call to show off that she had been epted back to Mr. Fang''s ss by him.<sub> </sub>

    Her friends were excited as well and couldn''t stop talking about how much they have missed her absence during the face-time.

    "Don''t worry, you will see me in Mr. Fang''s next ss. I will be sure toe on time, but you still have to keep a good seat for me in the first roll if you make it before me," Shu Rushi reminded them.

    She wanted a good ce where she would be at a close distance to Mr. Fang, and also a ce where he would have eyes on her.

    Her friends agreed to her request and expressed their happiness once again before ending the face-time with her.

    During dinner, the bottle of expensive wine Shu Rushi requested to celebrate with, was brought forth, and she couldn''t be happier than that.

    Mr. Shu and Mrs. Shu didn''t forget to remind her to not offend Fang Bingwen at school, or at any gathering while toasting to the settled matter.

    "Dad, mum, don''t worry, I won''t act so foolishly next time!" Shu Rushi assured them and drank away with a big smile on her face.

    **********************

    If Zhang Liling was not working, then she was studying, or trying to get Mr. Fang''s attention, but she was smart enough to not make it obvious.

    Someone like butler Gu would mistake her attitude towards gaining Mr. Fang''s attention for being enthusiastic.

    Zhang Liling was very intelligent, that she didn''t need to put in twice effort like her fellow ssmates in order to pass her exams.

    Putting in an extra effort, will result in getting clean marks and a perfect score after exams. Anyways this was her finals, and because of her goal to work for Mr. Fang at hispany.

    She had only 2 months to work for him as his housekeeper, but she ns to extend it one way or the other, because living under one roof with him, makes her feel alive.

    She would try to retain her housekeeping job while trying to get into hispany as an intern. Who knows, she might be able to get him to help her after leaving asting impression on him.

    Zhang Liling studiedte into past 11 pm before closing her notes and turning off her readingmp.

    p Since she was a student, Bolin was considerate enough to get a readingmp for her desk.</anda>

    Getting into bed and trying to cover her body with a duvet, she heard her phone start to ring, which made her frown.

    There were not many people who would call her by this time of the night. In face, there was just one person in her life who would do that, and that was her mother.

    Picking up her phone from the nightstand, she nced at the screen and sighed before answering the call, and saying in azy tone, "Mum, don''t you have S city''s clock set on your phone, do you know what time it is over here?"

    "I thought you would still be studying by this time, so I decided to call," Song Jujing replied.

    Zhang Liling groaned into the phone. "Mum, we are 6 solid hours ahead of you, please can you check the time once again before you call next time, at least of you don''t want to add S city''s clock to your phone to keep track of time."

    What she meant to say was, if she didn''t want to add S city''s clock to her phone, then she should keep in mind that S city was 6 hours ahead of Paris in case of next time.

    Hearing her daughter''s annoyed tone, Song Jujing sighed. "Alright, mum is sorry for calling sote. I wanted to know how you are coping with your studies and living alone in that environment."

    "Mum, I''m fine, I am an adult,"

    "Although you are an adult, this is the first time you are living alone without any family, so I am worried," Song Jujing said to her with a tinge of worry.

 Chapter 57 Who He Is

    "Mum why do you keep mentioning that, I am an adult!" Zhang Liling retorted.

    "Alright, you are an adult. Has your father called you since you moved houses?" Song Jujing inquired.

    Zhang scoffed. "Does he know that I''m existing? Mum, I really want to go to bed, tomorrow is going to be hectic for me." I have to clean this house very early before facing lectures all through out the day.

    "Your father doesn''t care about you, and this is the reason you have to return to Paris and..."

    Song Jujing was not even done speaking when Zhang Liling cut her words off. The youngdy was bing increasingly irritated with the way her mother was on about moving to Paris.

    "Mum, about mying back to Paris, let''s talk about it some other time, good night."

    ncing at her phone, Song Jujing mumbled to herself, "Liling you can''t stay back there because there is no one to protect you from that vile woman and her seedlings."

    If Zhang Renshu paid attention to Zhang Liling and her affairs, Song Jujing would not be adamant about hering back to Paris, because there was no family to look after her and protect her.

    Zhang Liling would never understand her mother''s worries since her attention and thoughts were on Mr. Fang and acing her results, so that getting into Fang Empire would be an easy task.

    The next day being Monday, Zhang Liling woke up by 4:30 to start cleaning. Because she had a lecture around 9 that morning, she took advantage of the time Mr. Fang was in the gym to tidy up his bedroom which didn''t require much attention.

    From his bedroom, she went to his study and then down the stairs. When she was through with cleaning, she ran to her bathroom to wash up and change into a pretty dress.

    Today, she wasn''t going to carry a backpack. She took a sling bag and put on a pair of sneakers before leaving her room for breakfast.

    By the time she came downstairs, Mr. Fang had already left for work. Because she had to leave on time, she had her breakfast alone.

    Butler Gu was busy withundry and watering the flowers outside the house.

    Immediately after having breakfast, she took a cab outside the estate and left for NYU.

    At the ZHANG MANOR...

    Zhang Xiaoling left for work before everyone else. She didn''t even have time for breakfast.

    Seeing her in such a hurry, Shi Wenqian asked about it. "Do you have a meeting this morning? Why are you in such a rush that you had to skip breakfast?"

    "Mum, I need to organize some documents for a briefing with a client. As for breakfast, I will have itter at work, I will send someone to get it for meter," Zhang Xiaoling replied before leaving the house.

    She had lied about the major reason she was leaving for work very early. She was leaving for work earlier than usual so she could do much work before her lunch break.

    Lunch break onlysted twenty minutes, and starting work on time meant that she would have extra minutes added to her lunch break.

    What did she need that time for?

    During her lunch break, she took permission from her manager to have lunch outside. Since the manager saw her effort for the day, he allowed her to leave, but told her not to bete.

    "Thank you!" Zhang Renshu said a word of thanks before leaving. Her father was the owner of Zhang Group and it was in her nature to be haughty, but today, she didn''t act that way.

    Since she was not the biological daughter of Zhang Renshu which not many people knew about, she still had to be mindful of her character.

    Instead of going to the cafe close to the Zhang Group''s office building, she stopped a cab.

    "Fang Group," She said to the driver before getting in.

    The driver told her the price before driving off.

    In the cab, she took out a mirror from her handbag to nce at her face and hair with it. After patting her hair a few times, she took out powder from her bag to retouch her makeup before using her lipstick on her lips.

    Smacking her lips, she smiled when she saw that she looked good. The next thing she did was to use her perfume on her neck and wrists before looking out through the window.<sub> </sub>

    The cab driver briefly nced at her through the rear-view mirror and felt she was familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he had seen her before.

    Arriving in front of the skyscraper which belonged entirely to the Fang Group, Zhang Xiaoling paid her cab fare and stepped out to stare at the beauty with her goal bing clearer in her mind.

    Releasing a deep breath, she trotted into the building and went straight for the reception area and stopped right there.

    "Hello! How can we help you?" One of the receptionist greeted her with a smile, after seeing how fashionably dressed she was, she showed her respect.

    "I''m Zhang Xiaoling, I''m here to book an appointment with Mr. Fang." Zhang Xiaoling stated confidently.

    The receptionists exchanged an obvious nce before the one attending to her asked, "What''s your reason for wanting an appointment with Mr. Fang?"

    "It''s business rted. I want to discuss with Mr. Fang towards a future coboration with Zhang Group."

    "I''m sorry miss, Mr. Fang is not currently coborating with anypany at the moment." The other receptionist said to her.

    Zhang Xiaoling refused to give up and shifted her gaze to her, "You said at the moment, which means that he might change his mindter. I know that even in the next 4 weeks, it wouldn''t be my turn to see him, so there is enough time for him to change his mind,"

    Again, the 2 receptionists exchanged nces before the one previously attending to her asked, "Miss Zhang are you a director, vice President or president of the Zhang Group? I''m not sure you know this, but not just anyone cane and book an appointment to see Mr. Fang, so which one are you?"

    Zhang Xiaoling felt embarrassed with her question because she was not even in any category they mentioned. She was not even a manager of her department yet, so what right did she have to want to book an appointment with Mr. Fang?

    Seeing how quiet she was, the two receptionists guessed that she was not in that category and felt annoyed within themselves.

    Zhang Xiaoling knowing fully well that she has embarrassed herself, gathered herst shred of confidence to ask, "Is it only people of that hierarchy in apany that is allowed to see Mr. Fang?"

    "For toppanies like the ZHANG Group, the least hierarchy that can see Mr. Fang is a managing director. For middlepanies, their Vice President or CEO cane directly, but as for other smallerpanies who only have future prospects, only their CEO can see Mr. Fang." One of the receptionists exined with a serious gaze on her.

    "I see... I must be at least a managing director before I can book an appointment with Mr. Fang. That''s fine by me, thank you for informing me about the details, see you next time," Zhang Xiaoling said as she managed a smile before walking away.

    ''See you next time'' what did that mean?

    The receptionists had wanted to make fun of her for not knowing her ce beforeing in with that confidence to book an appointment with Mr. Fang, but with her unfazed attitude after learning of the conditions to book an appointment to see Mr. Fang, they didn''t have any words left to say.

    "She said her name was Zhang Xiaoling, is she not the first daughter of Zhang Group''s owner?" The second receptionist asked.

    The first one who attended to Zhang Renshu earlier, typed away on her system before replying while gazing at Zhang Xiaoling''s face on her screen. "She is the one."

    "Since she is truly from Zhang Group, why would shee to book an appointment by herself instead of through her father''s secretary?"

    "Maybe she is here for personal reasons because she should have followed the protocols."

    "Or maybe she is also infatuated with Mr. Fang just like the other women whoe here looking for an excuse or one stupid reason just to see him."

    "All women are in love with Mr. Fang, but most of them are not the real deal, they only like him for who he is."

    Zhang Xiaoling was so disappointed when she left the building. She hailed a cab and gave her address before thinking about how to move up the ranks.

    She needed to that fast, as the fastest way to meet with Mr. Fang one on one, was to move up the ranks. Or she could just hope for his presence at any high ranking dinner.

    Even if he attended which he rarely did, what position qualifies her to attend?

    Zhang Renshu would not let her toe along to any kind of dinner. Business dinners or event hosted by the people at the top, had grades.

    If it was an important dinner where someone like Mr. Fang would just attend to show his face, she might be unlucky to not attend, and this is the main reason she must move up the ranks this year!

 Chapter 58 Fusing Over A Bag

    ''ring...ring...ring''

    The ringing sound came from Mr. Fang''s phone during a short scolding section.

    Apparently this was what saved the sorry-looking young man in a work suit.

    The young man got scolded for submitting a wrong proposal to Mr. Fang. He had unknowingly picked the wrong file and brought it over.

    Luckily, when he felt thest sentence from Mr. Fang was going to get him fired, the ringing sound from his phone saved his life.

    With a stoic expression on his face, Mr. Fang nced at his phone screen before shifting his gaze back to the young man while picking up the phone from his desk.

    "Get out!" Hemanded in a calm tone.

    The young man pushed back the frame of his sses to the bridge of his nose after bowing, and then dashed out of his office frantically.

    As soon as he left, Mr. Fang answered the call.

    "Tell me there is an emergency for calling in the middle of work," Mr. Fang said immediately he answered the call.

    Chuanliughed sheepishly. "Actually there is an emergency. If you didn''t make me call you, I wouldn''t have bothered to call you during work hours."

    "Are you calling because of the form you asked my employee to fill?"

    Mr. Fang had already guessed the reason he was calling and just asked about it directly without waiting for him to say it.

    Chuanli hit his desk with a smile, "You are on point. You just called Miss Zhang your employee, do you ept her now?"

    Mr. Fang ignored him and went back to the main point. "I will drop by your office after work today." After responding, he ended the call without waiting for a response, which surprised Chuanli.

    "Yah! I called you with my call card, why do you always leave me without honour?!" Chuanlimented with a bitter expression on his face while gazing at his phone screen.

    Atst he sighed and dumped his phone on his desk. The only reason he wouldn''t pick up a fight with his patient (as if he would dare to do that with Mr. Fang), it''s because he would finally get his hands on Zhang Liling''s information.

    Work hours would end in the next 2 hours. What was 2 hours that he couldn''t wait? He would have patience because Mr. Fang was known for keeping to his words.

    Who knew that Zhang Liling would cause trouble within 2 hours that would require Mr. Fang to go over directly?

    After sses that day, Zhang Liling left school for a high-end store. She learned that an international brand FJ based and originated from Country C, released a new handbag, and that a particr store managed to ship it in, and there were only two of it.

    Knowing how reputable FJ brand was, Zhang Liling knew that it would not be long before that bag gets out of stock, so she had to leave Tungmei to go shopping.

    "Do you have to get that bag?" Tungmei asked.

    "My dear friend, it''s not a must, but I must get it." Zhang Liling replied with a smile.<sub> </sub>

    Tungmei didn''t look too happy because that bag was quite expensive, and she wondered how she would continue to feed if she spent most of her money to acquire one bag.

    "Which special asion do you want to wear that bag to? I bet there is none,"

    "Our graduation is the perfect day to wear such a luxury. Don''t worry about my money because I have none yet. My mum will not hesitate to give me money. Just check it out, whenst did I spend money on shopping? It was definitely not this year." Zhang Liling said with a sigh.

    She knew her friend was worried about her, and had to convince her.

    Tungmei''s facial expression softened a bit. She could remember how much Zhang Liling has suffered in the past and decided to let it slide.

    "I remember you mother sent you moneyst year''s new year. Anyway, let''s not talk about it. You can go for shopping, but remember not to be tempted in that store and end up buying the whole shop." Tungmei joked.

    Zhang Liling chuckled a bit, "I wish I could do that and then force my father to pay for it."

    "I bet your stepmother would take this as an opportunity to speak ill of you." Tungmei added.

    The girls chuckled before Zhang Liling spoke. "Do you want toe with me?"

    "No, thank you! I need to speak with my father soon. I need money for this month''s expenses." Tungmei replied with a sigh.

    "Alright, I will go ahead."

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei parted ways without knowing that one of Shu Rushi''s underling''s heard most of their conversation, mostly from the time she started talking about thetest collection from FJ.

    Immediately they left, the girl picked up her phone and immediately dialled Shu Rushi''s contact and made a report.

    "Rushi, Zhang Liling has eyes on that bag you want to wear for that party you are going to with your father by next weekend."

    "What?! How dare her have eyes on the things that belong to me?" Shu Rushi was almost going crazy to hear about Zhang Liling''s intentions on the bag she was nning to get the next day.

    The girl noticed that she was already riled up and hurried up to tell her the main point. "Rushi, Zhang Liling just left for the store. She is determined to get the bag today. If you still want that bag, you have to hurry to the store immediately!"

    Shu Rushi was even more angry when she learned that Zhang Liling had already left for the only high-end store in the City that had that had hertest favourite.

    Someone that was on her way home, hurriedly asked the driver to turn around.

    "Yah! Turn the car around right away!" Shemanded.

    "But Miss, we are already nearing the street of your house, I can''t take you back or I will be in trouble as Madam is expecting you." The driver said.

    "You fool!" Shu Rushi said and picked up her bag to whack him on the head.

 Chapter 59 Expensive Baby

    The driver was still trying to recover from the pain of the iron from Shu Rushi''s handbag hitting his head when she unfastened her seatbelt, unlocked the car from her side and stepped out.

    Before the driver would know what was happening, she had already left the car and was quickly walking away with her handbag.

    The man not wanting to lose his job, hurriedly alighted from the car and chased after her. "Miss, pleasee back!"

    Mrs. Shu had an important close friend-visitor over at the house and wanted to introduce Shu Rushi to her, and so urged the driver to bring her back quickly.

    What was he going to tell the Madam if he returned without her daughter? He would be punished.

    "Don''t follow me if you don''t want to lose your job!" Shu Rushi warned without sparing him a nce.

    With his job on the line and knowing what that crazy girl was capable of, the driver had to stop following her, and only stood at a ce to continue trying to get her toe back.

    Whenpared being punished to losing his job, he would prefer to be punished, hence he decided to go against Mrs. Shu''s orders and let Shu Rushi leave in the cab she gged down.

    "How dare that girl try to take what I set my eyes on? Can she even afford it?" Shu Rushi said to herself with an ugly expression on her face.

    She seemed very unhappy with Zhang Liling at the moment. This was someone she had wanted to teach a lesson the other day, but she was lucky to have escaped, and now she was going after what belonged to her. Was she deliberately asking for trouble?

    The cab driver nced at her through the car''s rear-view mirror, and all he could see was an angry youngdy. He even got scolded for looking at her just before he could shift his back to the road.

    "What are you looking at? Haven''t you seen a young beautiful rich girl like me before? Instead of staring at me, why don''t you focus on taking me to my destination on time and you would get a tip?"

    Shu Rushi caught the driver staring at her and scolded him in a harsh tone.

    Zhang Liling who had just gotten to the high-end store and paid her cab driver, trotted into the store without knowing that Shu Rushi who wasing to fight with her over a bag, was close by.

    Happily making her way into the store, she was greeted by the shop attendants who were respectful to her.

    Now this is the reason Zhang Liling deliberately dressed this way to school today. Her entire outfit was expensive, and thankfully, she didn''t look like a student.

    She wanted to look presentable today because she wasing to acquire a newfound love.

    "Can I see FJ''stest bag collection?" Zhang Liling demanded with a smile.

    "Miss you mean the one that came in yesterday?" One of the shop attendants asked with raised brows.

    "Yes, can I see it? I want to purchase it right away."Zhang Liling said with a sweet smile on her face.

    "We only have one of it left at the moment, but a valuable customer already checked in with us on the bag." The attendant revealed.<sub> </sub>

    Before Zhang Liling stepped into their shop, someone, actually, a VVIP customer had called them to keep the bag on reserve as she would being in an hour''s time to pay and pick up the bag.

    ? Zhang Liling frowned and asked, "Are you saying that a bag that has not been paid for, has already been purchased on credit? What if that customer of yours ends up noting to pay and pick up the bag today?"

    The attendant nced at her fellow colleagues before smiling at Zhang Liling. "Miss as long as you can afford the bag, we will reconsider."

    Actually, they are not worried about the bag not being sold, but it would be good if they made a lot of profit for the day.

    "Do you think I came to your store to have a look at that beauty and then leave without it? Of course I came here to purchase the bag because I can afford it. Quickly bring the bag to me, you have already taken much of my time," Zhang Lilingined with a frown, while pretending to be disappointed with their services.

    One of the attendants, walked over to her and fawned over her. "Miss we are sorry, she will get the bag for you, pleasee with us."

    Zhang Liling threw her face away and followed them.

    She was taken to a VVIP room where top customers were given special treatments. She was ushered to a seat, and a bottle of wine was opened for her, while someone went to get the bag.

    "Miss please hold on for a few minutes, the bag will be brought to you." The attendant who ushered her into the room, said.

    Zhang Liling sipped from her ss of wine and said after ncing at her wristwatch, "I don''t have enough time to spend here, please do not dy me."

    This youngady was worried about returning to Mr. Fang''s vite.

    "We won''t. In less than 2 minutes, the bag will be brought to you, please hold on for a bit." The attendant assured her.

    Zhang Liling was the kind of customer she liked, and so had to pamper her so she wouldn''t be offended and end up suing them or storming off without the bag.

    That bottle of wine the opened for her, was expensive, and it wouldn''t be good for it to just go to waste like that, right?

    Soon, thetest bag collection from FJ Styles was brought into the room. The little beauty was carefully carried into the room like an egg by one of the attendants, before it was ced on the ss stool in front of Zhang Liling.

    "Ma''am, here it is." One of the attendants said with a big smile while gesturing to the bag on the ss table.

    Zhang Liling abandoned the wine she was enjoying to pick up the bag with an excited smile on her face. "It is just as beautiful as it is on TV. I love it, I will pay for it right away!."

    Zhang Liling had already made up her mind to pay for the bag long beforeing over, but while she was admiring the bag, Shu Rushi stormed into the room to snatch the bag from her, shocking everyone in the room, including the two shop attendants that chased after her from the main store.

    ''Did she just forcefully grab that expensive bag?''

 Chapter 60 A Fight Broke Out

    As soon as the cab came to a halt in front of the store, Shu Rushi paid the driver and stepped out hurriedly. Even when the driver was trying to call her back to take her change, she didn''t answer him.

    The driver put back her change inside the breast pocket of his shirt. Taking today as his lucky day, he drove off.

    Stepping into the store with a furious countenance, she ignored the greetings from the store attendants and went on to ask about ''signature''

    (Signature is thetest bag collection from FJ Styles)

    The shop attendants exchanged nces with a bitter expression on their faces. From Shu Rushi''s countenance and actions, they just knew that she was a troublesome customer. And with the way she was demanding for the luxury bag as if it already belonged to her, they just knew that she was about to cause trouble.

    Shu Rushi noticed them exchanging nces and asked, "What''s that look on your faces? Where is the ''signature'' bag I asked for? Two of them were shipped to this store yesterday, and I am aware that the other one was bought earlier today, so where is the second one?"

    ''Could it be that Zhang Liling has already bought it?''

    The store attendants saw that Shu Rushi was not smiling with them. Although the other customer that came for the bag was still inside, which meant that she was yet to make payment, there was no need lying to her and saying that the second bag has already been bought.

    "Miss, a customer came over a few minutes ago to purchase the bag and..."

    Shu Rushi immediately cut off the person that was speaking to her. "Where is she?! Has she left already? Which direction did she leave from?!"

    Shu Rushi''s tone wasmanding, as if she would fight Zhang Liling and snatch the bag from her Immediately she sees her with it.

    "The customer is in the VVIP room, we are not sure if she has purchased the bag or not." The attendant replied.

    "What!" Shu Rushi eximed before pushing the two attendants aside and rushing towards the VVIP room.

    Before the two attendants could react, Shu Rushi had already rushed passed them, and went towards the VVIP room, leaving some of them no choice but to chase after her.

    "Miss! Pleasee back, you don''t have the permission to barge into the VVIP room!"

    Three people in the store''s uniform, rushed out from an inner room, where some luxuries were being kept. They heard themotion and came out to take a look.

    "What''s going on?!"

    One of the attendants that has been there earlier when Shu Rushi arrived sighed. "We have a situation today. It''s been long since we saw drama in our store."

    Shu Rushi knew her way to the VVIP room because she was a VVIP customer of that store. As soon as she shifted the curtain open, she saw the beauty sitting on Zhang Liling''s thighs.

    The beautiful Quilt-shqped bag, ''signature'' had a gold-ted shoulder strap, buckle and Zipper.

    The body of the bag was made with brown full-grain quality leather, and at the button part of the bag, an exquisite embroideryid on it.

    How long did it take to add the embroidery on such a strong leather by experts?

    The symbol ''FJ'' was engraved on the buckle. Indeed, the beautiful bag deserved the name SIGNATURE.

    The only thing on Shu Rushi''s mind was to snatch that bag from Zhang Liling, and that was her next action.

    Before any of the attendants could turn to see the person that had just stepped, she passed them like sea breeze and rushed to Zhang Liling''s side to snatch the bag from her.

    Zhang Liling was still blinded by the beauty of the bag, and was preupied with it to bother about an additional person stepping into the room.

    Zhang Liling who was still smiling and taking in the beauty of the bag when it got snatched from her. A frown appeared on her face, and when she turned to see who it was that was so disrespectful, she saw Shu Rushi, holding the bag endearingly.

    The frown on her face spread further as she stood to her feet.

    All the attendants in the room were shocked by Shu Rushi''s actions, and one of them had to ask, "Miss, what are you doing here, you are not allowed into this room without guardiance.."

    "I don''t need anybody''s guardiance to step into this room! Have you forgotten that I am a VVIP customer at this store? How could you not recognize me, are you cking off now that your manager is not around?!"

    Shu Rushi was still busy scolding the attendants and lost a bit of focus, and that was the opportunity Zhang Liling saw and used it to snatch the bag from her.

    Also, Shu Rushi stopped speaking to the store attendant and immediately shifted her furious gaze back to Zhang Liling.<sub> </sub>

    "Zhang Liling, how dare you snatch my bag from me, give it back immediately!" Shu Rushi ordered in amanding tone while stretching her right hand out.

    Zhang Liling rolled her eyes at her. As if she would give the back to her just because she said so.

    "Shu Rushi, you are so rude and mannerless! Yiu cane into this room without permission and snatched this bag from me, now you are asking for it, and that too in a rude manner. Don''t you havemon sense?"

    "Zhang Liling, I don''t have to be polite to you, you don''t deserve such honour!" Shu Rushi retorted back, almost rolling her eyes in the process.

    Zhang Liling scoffed and looked away, shifting her gaze back to the beauty in her possession. "If you put it like that, then there is no need to listen to you. I came to this store before you, and I picked up this bag before you. I will also pay for this bag straight away!"

    "You dare?!" Shu Rushi asked in a provocative tone.

    The attendants all watched from the side and couldn''t intervene because Shu Rushi has shown them signs of not willing to listen to anything they had to say.

    It was as if she had concluded that if any of them wasn''t talking about how to give the back to her, they should just stay out of the matter.

    They were all waiting for Zhang Liling to bring out her card and give it to them, so they could swipe it and package it for her, and that is what she was about to do.

    Zhang Liling held unto the bag tightly and bent over to pick up her bag to take her card out from it. Shu Rushi on the other hand saw this as an opportunity to snatch the bag from her, but she was unaware that Zhang Liling was holding onto it tightly.

    Zhang Liling felt the tug from the bag, and ended up abandoning the card she wanted to take out to fight it out with Shu Rushi.

    "Leave the bag right now!" Zhang Liling said to her angrily. She too has had it enough with her troubles.

    "I''m not letting go, you let go!" Shu Rushi said with a protruding eyes while pulling the bag with her.

    The store attendants saw what was going on and looked shocked. This was a heartbreaking scene to watch.

    That beauty was getting dragged by the two women without being purchased. That bag cost a lot, and if any damages were to be incurred by it, they would have to pay for it. With that thought, they immediately tried to stop the twodies from fighting.

    "Miss, you are in the wrong here, can you let go of the bag?!" One of the attendants said while referring to Shu Rushi who turned a deaf ear to her.

    Another person said to Zhang Liling, "Miss, can you let the bag go first? We will get it back for youter!"

    "No way! I will not back down to this immoral human being who only knows how to cause trouble!" Zhang Liling swore that she was not going to let Shu Rushi have that bag, and she kept to her determination.

    Seeing that none of the twodies were listening to them, one of the shop attendants screamed at the top of her lungs.

    "If you two continue like this, you are going to ruin the bag!"

    Her screaming on top of her lungs didn''t cause any difference, and atst, what they were all afraid of, happened.

    The pressure from being pulled at different directions by the twodies, caused the gold-ted shoulder strap to cut into three pieces.

    When the chain cut, there were gasps of shocks from the shop attendants as they couldn''t believe what just happened. They were not alone in this, Shu Rushi and Zhang Liling were equally shocked.

    Zhang Liling nced at the piece of chain from the bag in her hand before fixing a death gaze at Shu Rushi who had the main bag in her hands.

    "Did you just ruin my bag?!" Zhang Rushi asked.

    Shu Rushi seemed toe out of her shock at that question. She slowly shifted her gaze from the bag to Zhang Liling before stuttering, "Wha... what do you mean?! You...you were the...the one being stubborn about letting the bag off, so how is it me that ruined it?!"

    Zhang Liling was so furious that she immediately lodged forward and struck Shu Rushi''s face.

    How dare here in here to look for trouble and destroy the bag she has been keeping her eyes on for the past few months?!

    Shu Rushi wasn''t expecting to be pped on the face by her. She was expecting that they would continue to talk it out until one of them ends up paying for the back.

    Even the shop attendants were shocked and forgot to react. They had wanted toe forward to demand that the two of them pay 50% each of the price of the bag and anyone if them could take it home, but that p from Zhang Liling, caused them to pause in their steps.

    Before they could finish digesting Zhang Liling''s action, they saw Shu Rushi try to hit Zhang Liling back, and then a fight broke out.

 Chapter 61 Forced To Ask For Help

    "Call the police!" One of the shop attendants whispered to the one next to her, before going to join the others to separate the two women from the fight.

    A few minutester, the police came to take Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi into custody, regarding the ims from the high-end store.

    Destroying a property and engaging in physical assaults, resulting in a negative branding of the store.

    Shu Rushi red at the shop attendants who were lined up obediently as ifthey didn''t have a hand with the policeing over.

    "Why did you have to call the police? Did we refuse to pay for the bag or what?"

    Zhang Liling tsked, "Who is ''we''? You came in here to fight over a bag with me, you should be the one responsible for all the damages."

    "What do you mean?! If you also didn''t drag the bag with me, this wouldn''t have happened?!" Shu Rushi insisted while iming rights.

    Zhang Liling red daggers at her.

    Both of them really looked like what they have been through. They just finished engaging in a hot fight, so their current looks said it all, even though they put a lot of effort into adjusting their hair and clothes.

    The police officers that were called over, watched the twodies argue and shook their heads. They could see while they were involved in this matter, and one of the shop attendants confirmed it.

    "Misses, this is the reason we called the police over because we know that you two wouldn''t agree to settle. It''s either we settle everything here amicably, or you go with the police to the station and settle things there!"

    Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi stopped arguing and threw a furious nce at her. Shu Rushi stepped forward and pointed right straight at her chest and said, "You dare to call the police on your VVIP customer just because of this? Ah! It looks like you are tired of doing business. Just wait for me, I will spread this news to all the socialites, let''s see which of them would want to get arrested in you store for something so menial as this!"

    The attendants exchanged nces and sighed with their head bowed. They were all going to lose their jobs if they do not have a private settlement with Shu Rushi, and it was toote, as they have already involved the police.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t agree more with Shu Rushi on this matter because, calling the police was going to far. If she gets to the station and her father hears about this, her freedom was over!

    What about Mr. Fang! It would be good if she didn''t get close to him, and continued to like him from afar.

    Even with all these thoughts, she refused to step down and give Shu Rushi a chance.

    After saying that to the attendants, Shu Rushi shifted her gaze back to the police. "I don''t agree to the terms of a private settlement, I''ming with you, but I have to call my family''swyer first!"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t believe how shameless Shu Rushi could get. She caused trouble, and she was refusing to pay for the damages. Now she was calling her familywyer toe over and settle the case for her, while she the victim, doesn''t have anyone to call.

    "Miss, pleasee with us now." One of the policemen said with his gazes on Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi.<sub> </sub>

    A few minutester....

    Shu Rushi''s familywyer arrived at the station to bail her out.

    After the questioning the two of them, the detective concluded that Shu Rushi should pay for 80% of the damages and apologize to Zhang Liling.

    Shu Rushi was very angry that she nearly swore at the detective. Even the detective knew that if not for his position, she wouldn''t hesitate to get into a fight with him.

    Zhang Liling was not too happy, but she wasn''t sad either because she agreed on the point that she should bear some punishment for dragging the bag with her, causing the chain hand to get spoilt.

    "I will never apologize to her, you hear me?!" Shu Rushi said to the detective before throwing her face away.

    The detective sighed and turned his gaze to Zhang Liling. "Herwyer ising over, who ising to get you and do some paperwork?"

    "Nobody ising to get me. I am an adult, I can take care of myself." Zhang Liling insisted.

    The detective refused to ept that and said, "You should have called yourwyer toe over and settle this matter. Anyway, we need someone to sign some papers on your behalf. You two shouldn''t be seen causing trouble at any public ce, or we will make a record of it. The reason we are letting this one slide is because of your family backgrounds and the personal rtionship involved. I''m telling you that we would show no mercy next time!"

    Shu Rushi red daggers at Zhang Liling and snorted. Zhang Liling nced at her and mouthed ''idiot''

    The detective saw the res being exchanged and had to hit his hand on his desk just to call them to order. The two immediately rolled their eyes at each other before fixing their gazes back at the detective who really looked angry at them.

    "I''m still here!" He said with a stern gaze. The next second, he fixed his gaze on Zhang Liling and said, "Should I ask my boss to call Mr. Zhang?"

    As soon as he said that, Zhang Liling looked shocked, while Shu Rushi sniggered.

    "Don''t call any one from my family! I will call someone else toe over!" Zhang Liling said with a little fright before getting off her seat and moving to another spot to take out her phone from her handbag.

    The only contact she had that could help her without much troubles while going through her contact list was, Mr. Fang''s personal assistant, Bolin. Hence she dialled his contact.

    Bolin was sitting in the front passenger seat of Mr. Fang''s car while chatting with him when Zhang Liling''s call came in.

    The driver was only 5 minutes away from Chuanli''s private hospital when the call from Zhang Liling came in.

 Chapter 62 Coming To Her Rescue

    "What?! You are at the police station? What did you do? Who put you there?!" Bolin asked in shock as soon as heard from Zhang Liling that she was at the police station.

    Mr. Fang who didn''t look interested in the call, suddenly perked up his ears to listen to the conversation with a ck lines appearing on his forehead.

    He had heard Bolin mentioning ''Miss Zhang'' when he had answered the call earlier, so he knew that he was speaking with Zhang Liling.

    Right now, he was very interested in knowing the answers to the same questions Bolin had just asked.

    Zhang Liling nced toward Shu Rushi''s direction with hatred before moving her gaze away just before the detective could see it.

    Zhang Liling hurriedly exined how shended at the station because if Shu Rushi causing trouble, while Bolin listened calmly.

    After exining, Zhang Liling added with a soft tone, "Mr. Bolin, you are the only I could call since my family will cause a lot of trouble for me if they were to hear about this. I don''t have anyone else to call, and please don''t tell this to Mr. Fang, or he will be so disappointed with me."

    The corner of Bolin''s lips twitched a bit as he turned his head to meet Mr. Fang''s gaze. Immediately, he shifted his gaze back to the road while thinking, ''Toote!''

    There was now way Mr. Fang wouldn''t hear about it. Someone that was in the same space with him at the time of the call, and he was the same person that was staring at him, probably waiting for him to finish the call and report back to him.

    "Miss Zhang, I will be there to bring you out, hold on for a few minutes." That was the only thing he could say to her before ending the conversation.

    Zhang Liling thanked him before going back to her seat.

    Immediately after ending the conversation with her, Bolin didn''t need Mr. Fang to ask him any questions before spilling the entire conversation with Zhang Liling.

    "She got into a fight? Is she a wild cat or what?!" Mr. Fang asked with a frosty gaze.

    ''Mr. Fang, even domestic cats get into fights.'' Bolin thought to himself as he swallowed hard before saying to him...

    "Mr. Fang, we need to go over ourselves since she called."

    Mr. Fang didn''t say anything to him, but he was already imagining Zhang Liling getting into a fight at a departmental store because of a bag.

    He couldn''t imagine me fighting for a shoe or a tie at a store, so he was wondering while women had to fight over things like that.

    Nit just that, it was the guts Zhang Liling had to cause trouble andnd herself at the police station before calling for help.

    She was working under him and the audacity to cause that kind ofmotion, was she tired of living or what?

    About Shu Rushi looking for trouble in the first ce, he had noments. He already knew that Shu Rushi was far from being a well-bred daughter. He had no hopes and nothing to do with her, so he was not concerned about her.

    "Turn the car around, and go straight to ****** police station."<sub> </sub>

    Although Mr. Fang didn''t give the approval, Bolin knew better on what to do at that situation.

    After giving themand, he went in to dial Chuanli''s contact as the driver turned the car around.

    "Dr. Li, there is an emergency at the moment, we can''t make it to the time that was scheduled."

    Bolin had to notify Chuanli who was already waiting for them in his office, since it was not possible to make it at that time because of ''rescuing'' Zhang Liling.

    "What!" Chuanli was not in the best mood after hearing that. He has been smiling from ear to ear while checking his wall clock for the past few minutes only for his high hopes to be cut off so ruthlessly.

    Bolin went on to ask, "Does Bingwen have something against me or what? How could he do this to me? I have been waiting for him for the past 2 hours! What kind of emergency did he have?!"

    Bolin was tongue-tied about what to tell him, and that was when he heard Mr. Fang''s cold voice from behind.

    "Tell him toe and pick up at my vi from the next 30 minutes."

    Bolin sighed in relief before quickly rying the message to Chuanli. On the other hand, Chuanli heard Fang Bingwen''s cold voice from the background and lost his anger.

    "Is everything alright with my friend? Who dares to anger him?"

    "Dr. Li thanks for your concern, we will deal with the person immediately. Then, see you in half an hour," Bolin said and ended the call immediately.

    Through out the ride to the police station, nobody dared to say a word apart from the time Mr. Fang asked Bolin to call one of his personalwyers to go and settle the CCTV footage from the store that Shu Rushi and Zhang Liling fought.

    When Zhang Liling returned to her seat, she rolled her eyes at Shu Rushi before facing the detective. "Detective, someone will be here to pick me up soon."

    "That''s good." The detective said and pped his hands together. He didn''t even make any attempt to leave their sight because they two youngdies in front of him looked like they wouldn''t hesitate to get into another fight if they saw the chance.

    A minuteter, Shu Rushi''s familywyer arrived to settle her own side of the matter. After settling her part of the bills and signing some documents the detective brought forth, he bowed to Zhang Liling to apologize on Shu Rushi''s behalf, since thetter refused to do so.

    Zhang Liling snorted and left them.

    On her way out with herwyer, Shu Rushi scolded him. "Why did you have to bow to her? We didn''t offend her."

    "Miss, please get into the car." The middle-aged man said while pointing at the car he parked in front of the building. He didn''t have the strength to respond to her.

    Shu Rushi had no choice but to listen to him. She sighed and got into the back seat of the car with her arms folded below her chest.

 Chapter 63 Scolding

    Since Bolin wasing to her rescue, Zhang Liling patiently waited until he came for her.

    "Mr. Bolin!" Zhang Liling called out in a soft tone as soon as she saw Bolin make his way towards her.

    The detective saw Bolin and was a bit surprised that he came for Zhang Liling because he was popr for being Mr. Fang''s personal assistant.

    ''Was Zhang Liling somehow rted to them?''

    Right at that moment, Bolin appeared before them and introduced himself to the detective whole shaking hands with him.

    "... I came for Miss Zhang, what paperwork do we need to settle?" Bolin went straight to the point. He didn''t have any time to waste because of a certain someone.

    "Oh! Pleasee with me." The detective said while gesturing for Bolin to follow him as he led the way.

    Zhang Liling was made to wait for a few minutes for the two men to conclude ande back to her.

    Finally the wait was over. Zhang Liling saw the two men shake hands after stepping out of the room, before Bolin approached her.

    "Can we go now? Is everything settled?" Zhang Liling asked as her eyes shone brightly.

    Bolin stopped to nce at her before saying, "Miss Zhang,I hope there would be no reason to fight in public again, as long as you are still under Mr. Fang."

    "Of course there wouldn''t be a next time. This time around, it''s not my fault that Shu Rushi came to looks for trouble," Zhang Liling said as he followed her outside immediately.

    Bolin didn''t say anything to her, until they stepped outside and approached the familiar car that was parked outside.

    Immediately Zhang Liling saw the car, she recognized it and immediately reached out to yank the front passenger door open because she thought that Bolin had driven over by himself, but Bolin stopped her in time.

    "Miss Zhang, please go to the back seat," Bolin said with a straight gaze at her.

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling seemed at a lost at first, before moving over to the back side to yank the car door open, only to see and meet Mr. Fang''s frosty gaze.

    "What the!" Zhang Liling shouted before closing the car door and looking at Bolin in shock.

    Bolin who was about to step into the car, he was only halfway through when Zhang Liling screamed, causing him to step back.

    "What is it? Are you not getting in?" Bolin asked with a narrowed gaze, as if to tell her that she would be in alot of trouble if she continued to waste time.

    ''Why didn''t you tell me that Mr. Fang was with you?'' Zhang Liling thought while gazing at Bolin with an almost crying expression on her face.

    She really felt like crying at the moment, while thinking how cruel Bolin just acted toward her. Couldn''t he have given her a notice at least?

    "Miss Zhang?" Bolin saw her staring at him in fright without making any movement, and had to call out to her. He could already feel the pressure emitting from the inside of the car.

    Zhang Liling came back to her senses before turning to nce at the back passenger door reluctantly. She prayed silently in her heart that she would be able to get out alive after the ride, before finally opening the car door and getting inside.<sub> </sub>

    "Good evening, Mr. Fang," Zhang Liling greeted in a soft tone, without daring to meet his gaze. She could already feel the cold air enveloping her body as soon as she sat her butts down.

    Mr. Fang red at her and continued to fix his cold nce at her. Zhang Liling shifted toward the door and felt like hiding.

    To her, it would have been better if Mr. Fang ignored her and pretended that she was not existing, because she couldn''t stand his cold nce.

    Mr. Fang looked very angry as soon as Zhang Liling greeted him in that soft tone, that even the driver and Bolin noticed.

    "Have you finished fighting, who won?" Mr. Fang asked in an icy tone. He was still staring at her while asking that question.

    ''What kind of questions was that?'' That was all the three of them in that space could think.

    Zhang Liling refused to answer that question, and instead bowed her head while apologizing to him. "I''m sorry Mr. Fang, it won''t happen again."

    Mr. Fang snorted and finally moved his gaze away from her. "I''m sure that next time, you would tell me that you are sorry for killing someone, and that it would not happen again."

    Zhang Liling cursed herself, while still not daring to look him in the eye. It looks like she was a bad egg in his eyes now. She has just ruined her reputation before him.

    "Mr. Fang, I wouldn''t dare to kill anyone. I wouldn''t dare to fight anyone on my own unless someonees looking for trouble first. But don''t worry, I wouldn''t do anything to bring you shame anymore."

    "Miss Zhang, I think it would be better to keep your promises to yourself. Haven''t you noticed that you can''t keep any one of them?" Mr. Fang asked in an irritable tone.

    He couldn''t stand hearing her make promises she couldn''t keep.

    "But Mr. Fang, I''m serious because I wouldn''t dare to do anything that would bring you dishonour!" Zhang Liling insisted.

    "Shut up! You still have the nerves to talk back. I can see how much of a good fighter that you are." Mr. Fang said while staring hard at her. He could see from her appearance that she had engaged in a good fight.

    Zhang Liling felt his gaze on and her and became more embarrassed. She quickly tried to use her hand tob her hair, while making sure she was keeping a distance from him, as he continued to cold her.

    "...and you are good at causing trouble. The next time you do something like this, I will immediate throw you out of my house!" Mr. Fang said and looked away.

    Bolin nced back and saw Zhang Lilingbing her hair with her hands, and Mr. Fang staring at her from the corner of his eyes with a death re.

    ''What is she doing?''

    That look alone said a lot. He was about to lose it with Zhang Liling, and would probably reconsider throwing her out of the car first, before throwing her out of his house next.

    Bolin understood that and quickly said to Zhang Liling, "Miss Zhang, can you notb your hair in the car, you will get the ce dirty."

    Zhang Liling quickly stopped and apologized. She just understood that whilebing her hair, strands could fall on the car seat, or on the floor.

    She also didn''t dare to raise her head for fear of meeting Mr. Fang''s cold gaze.

 Chapter 64 Staying For Dinner

    Immediately they got home, Zhang Liling opened the car door and ran away at lightning speed.

    She made her way straight to her bedroom and locked herself in it, before she could feel a little relieved that Mr. Fang wouldn''t find her so easily.

    "Ah! Liling what have you done to yourself! How would a man like Mr. Fang fall for you?! You just ruined all the efforts you have made so far!"

    Zhang Liling cursed at herself while pulling her hair in frustration.

    Although she knew that her earlier efforts to get into Mr. Fang''s good books were not enough, but the sudden embarrassment she brought upon herself, would make it difficult for him to see her in a good light.

    If he even had that idea before, he would immediately free himself from it.

    Zhang Liling stayed in her room sulking for a while, while Mr. Fang on the other hand, moved on with his life.

    Immediately he stepped into his bedroom, he changed out of his work clothes and went straight to the washroom to shower.

    Again, he noticed the effect Zhang Liling''s scent had on him. Because of his anger towards her in the car, he almost asked Bolin to pass the form to Chuanli as soon as he appeared at his doorstep, but he changed his mind.

    It doesn''t make sense to vent his anger on the wrong person because of what someone else caused.

    The reason he didn''t reject Bolin''s arrangement of letting Zhang Liling sit next to him at the back seat of the car, was because her scent didn''t affect him like the others, and he had at the same time wanted to give a hard time to her.

    Knowing fully well that she would be ufortable to sit next to him after doing something humiliating in public, and with him finding out about it.

    He really nned things in his head all by himself.

    Bolin had his own ideas. He didn''t want to face the consequences of Zhang Liling''s actions by suffering the anger emitting from Mr. Fang by sitting directly next to him.

    Mr. Fang sighed before getting into the shower. He k ee that he would wash out Zhang Liling''s faint scent from his body wants the water touches his body, but he didn''t mind, when he had his drugs.

    In the next few minutes, Mr. Fang got out of shower, dressed in a set offy clothes, took his drugs, and got rid of his reading sses before stepping out of his bedroom.

    Bolin and Chuanli were already waiting in his study by the time he came over.

    "Bingwen, you really did take your time freshening up." Chuanli said as soon as he saw him step into the room. He remained sitting and watched him walk over and air on his chair.

    "How long have you been here?" Mr. Fang asked with his gaze on him after taking a seat.

    "8 minutes." Chuanli replied.

    "I don''t need to apologize then. I asked you toe over after 30 minutes. I gave you the time I was sure about, but you decided to do things your own way."

    Mr. Fang med him foring over a few minutes earlier to the time he gave to him.

    Chuanli was amazed and nced at Bolin who looked as if their conversation had nothing to do with him, before shifting his gaze back to Mr. Fang.

    "You like keeping to time, so I decided toe a few minutes earlier, how am I at fault for doing the right thing?" Chuanli retorted.

    Mr. Fang shook his head and fired back. "Is it then I who gave you the perfect time toe over that should be med? I gave you an order, and you decided to do what you felt was right, so don''t me me."

    Mr. Fang immediately shifted his gaze to Bolin to ask, "Have you given the form to him?"

    "Yes, Sir." Bolin replied almost immediately.

    Chuanli waved the form in his hands to his face before scoffing. "I have the form now, thanks for taking your time with it."

    "Now that you have it, you can leave," Mr. Fang said while picking up hisptop to turn it on.<sub> </sub>

    "I heard that you hired a 5-star Chef, I will have dinner at your ce tonight before leaving." Chuanli said shamelessly, and that made Mr. Fang to gaze at him.

    "You presence in impromptu, so the chef didn''t prepare for an extra mouth while preparing dinner. Just go back to your house and order what you want, or you can as well go back to your family house to have dinner if you needpany so much."

    Chuanli was not moved, and in fact remained adamant about Mr. Fang chasing him away. He pretended to be ignorant.

    "How can your 5-star chef not prepare for at least an extra mouth while preparing food in your vi?" Chuanli asked before shifting his gaze to Bolin to instruct...

    "Bolin, go and tell the chef to share the food in such a way that it would amodate an extra mouth, or else he would be fired."

    Bolin nced at him, before moving his gaze to Mr. Fang, but Chuanli did not give them a chance tomunicate as he immediately said to him, "Why aren''t you leaving, are you looking down on me now?"

    Since Mr. Fang didn''t have any intentions of interjecting, Bolin left for the kitchen.

    Chuanli smiled to himself and then turned on his seat to face Mr. Fang, and already saw his finger pointing at the sofa at the other end of the room.

    "Dinner will be ready in about 40 minutes. Since you will be here till that time, and as I want to use this little opportunity to work, please sit over there and act like you don''t exist." Mr. Fang said to him.

    Whether he was his friend or personal doctor, he didn''t bother mincing his words while speaking to him. Since he insisted on staying over for dinner at his ce, then he had to y by his rules.

    Chuanli the chatter box, refused to y dead and immediately developed another option for himself.

    "It would be torture for me to be quiet until dinner time."

    Mr. Fang nced at him and asked with furrowed brows, "Don''t you have to go through that form? Do you need to chat while looking at it?"

    Chuanli got off the seat and said while gazing at him with a deep frown, "At most, I need only 10 minutes to go through this form, and then I will have 30 minutes more left. Tell me, do you expect me to act like a corpse for half an hour? That''s not possible, I''m going to your living room to watch a movie."

    Mr. Fang wanted to tell him that he wouldn''t find any movie channel on the TV, but he changed his mind. It would seem more appropriate if he found out on his own, so, he shifted his gaze back to his work.

    Chuanli was truly disappointed not to find any other channel apart from news channels on the TV. He almost cursed out loud, but held back when he remembered whose house he was in.

    Having no choice, heid on the couch and picked the form Bolin passed to take a good nce at it.

    After studying Zhang Liling''s basic information, he found nothing strange or special about it, but kept it at the back of his mind not to judge yet.

    He would have to go back to his office to do more research on the inte. But something caught his attention, and that was the maternal side of Zhang Liling''s family.

    He was surprised when he saw that name, ''Song'' and urgently wanted to have a conversation with Zhang Liling, to know of it was the family he was thinking about, but she was nowhere to be found.

    Immediately he saw the butler pass by, he stopped him and went up to meet him. "Mr. Butler, I don''t see Miss Zhang around, can you call her over, I gave some questions to ask her."

    Butler Gu recognized Chuanli as Mr. Fang''s doctor and greeted him respectfully. "Miss Zhang is studying, but I can ask her toe out during dinner time."

    The butler had earlier gone to knock on Zhang Liling''s door to remind her about doing theundry she left in theundry room in the morning, but she said...

    "Butler Gu, I''m studying for my final exams at the moment, I will do theundry after dinner."

    Butler Gu understood how important her uing exams were, and optioned not to disturb her, and even went as far as showing his support to her, but letting Chuanli know how upied she was.

    Hearing that she was studying and could only meet her during dinner, Chuanli lost interest. "It''s fine, forget it!"

    Butler Gu bowed before walking away with a polite smile.

    What was the use of only getting to see her during dinner when Mr. Fang would be there? Knowing fully well that he wouldn''t allow him to ask questions like that, he could only give up on seeing her.

 Chapter 65 Free-Load

    Chuanli shamelessly stayed for dinner, and after he had finished eating, he wiped his lips clean with a napkin before standing to his feet with a satisfied smile on his face.

    "Mr. Fang, thank you for the dinner. Your chef is worthy to serve you and in that case, why don''t Ie over on most night to enjoy a free meal?" Chuanli said with a wink.

    Bolin who was helping himself with food, coughed slightly and picked up a ss of water to drink.

    "Since you are done eating, see yourself out." Mr. Fang said without even ncing at him as he continued to eat.

    Chuanli didn''t look happy, and the person that was about leaving, sat back down to say with a frowning gaze on Mr. Fang. "Bingwen, after appreciating you, shouldn''t you reciprocate? By the way, there is joy in sharing, what''s wrong with feeding one more mouth, you are already so wealthy, what''s your reason for being stingy."

    Immediately he heard that, Mr. Fang put down his cutlery and said after wiping the corner of his lips with a napkin, "I can''t let you freeload off me. But if you like the meals prepared my chef and want toe over here every evening for dinner so badly..."

    At this point, Chuanli who was already frowning, perked up his ears, as a small smile threatened to break out from the corner of his lips.

    "...get ready to pay for every meal." Mr. Fang finished and picked up his cutlery to resume eating.

    "What?" Chuanli''s smile slowly fell. "Why are you treating me like this? Can''t you let this go for all the kind gestures and good treatment I have given to you as your personal doctor?"

    "Should I get another doctor?" Mr. Fang asked with raised brows.

    Chuanli looked very embittered. "Forget I said anything," He said while reluctantly standing from his seat. "I will take my leave now."

    "Wait," Mr. Fang called out to him. "As soon as you get any findings, notify me."

    Chuanli smiled to himself as he can see a loophole to milk him, since he was very interested in the case. As if he could get what he was thinking, Mr. Fang warned him seriously.

    "Don''t even think about taking advantage of my ignorance on the medical field, and y any tricks on me. You will immediately refund all the funds I have given to you since we came to know each other."

    Mr. Fang''s threats did work, as Chuanli suddenly gave up the idea he had earlier.

    "Don''t get worked up, because I am a self-righteous doctor who would not dare to take advantage of his patients. Good night!" Chuanli said and turned to leave.

    A few minutester, Bolin finished eating and thanked Mr. Fang before talking business.

    "Sir, thewyer called to say that he has taken care of things at the departmental store. He also asked what to do with the damaged bag."

    ''Damaged bag?'' "What damaged bag?" Mr. Fang asked with a frown.

    "The one Miss Zhang and Miss Shu fought over earlier today." Bolin exined.

    Mr. Fang understood. "How badly damaged is the bag?" He wanted to know why thewyer would ask him that kind of question if they bag wasn''t usable because of being ''damaged''

    "From what he said, the bag is still good. It''s just that the chain hand needs to be fixed."

    Actually, since the bag was already damaged, the store could only get Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi to pay for it, since they could no longer disy or sell it.

    Also, bothdies have each paid the required amount to cover up the price tag of the bag, so either of them could have it.

    The reason the bag was given to thewyer is because, the store confirmed the payment made by Shu Rushi and Zhang Liling, and since thewyer came on behalf of Zhang Liling who first came for the bag and was at the verge of paying for it before the fight happened, the optioned to give it to him.

    Mr. Fang only ponders about this for a bit before giving a response.

    "Since Miss Zhang came to the store for the bag first, get someone to fix the hand before giving it to her."

    "Got it, Sir," Bolin replied.

    The way Mr. Fang analysed this was funny. It was as if he would have given the bag to Shu Rushi if she was not the one at fault, but that''s a big lie.

    Mr. Fang wouldn''t even concern himself about the bag if Shu Rushi should be the rightful owner, because he had no business with the Shu Family, and he didn''t want to be close to them, to avoid them getting any funny ideas.

    Because there was nothing else to report again, Bolin big good night to Mr. Fang before leaving for his ce.<sub> </sub>

    Now Mr. Fang was left all alone at the dining room. Today, he was slow with his dinner, because he was also pondering over other things while eating.

    Zhang Liling did not dare to appear before him either till the next day. She had already known how terrible she caused his mood to be because of her actions at the departmental store earlier.

    She was trying to save her remaining face, while also trying to keep her job, without knowing that deep down Mr. Fang''s heart, he didn''t have any ns to sack her yet, or that her little actions were not enough to fire her yet.

    After dinner, Zhang Liling went to her reading desk to study, and that was when her apathetic father remembered to give her a call.

    ncing at the ringing tone of her phone which continued to go off because she was just looking at it without picking it up, she felt suddenly annoyed.

    When Zhang Liling did not pick the second time, Zhang Renshu frowned and nced at his phone''s screen.

    ''Is she sleeping already or is she studying?'' He thought to himself, while trying to reach her one more time.

    If he didn''t coincidentally think of her due to the future ns he had for his Zhang Group, he wouldn''t have probably remembered her.

    This time around, Zhang Liling decided to pick after making it look like she was busy.

    "Liling, dad is sorry for not calling you these past few days, I have been busy at thepany. Is everything okay with you?"

    ''Why is he suddenly nice?'' Zhang Liling got goose bumps with her father trying to sound and act endearing.

    She was even afraid of getting into trouble with her stepmother, because that woman easily got jealous with every little attention shown toward her.

    "Dad, it''s good that you did not call because I have been busy preparing for my final exams. We have only 7 weeks left."

    "Are you that busy?" Zhang Renshu asked while ncing toward the door to his bedroom.

    He sounded a bit uncertain, because he thought about how he his son Zhang Mingyu still had the time to talk about learning golf with his mother at the dinner table.

    Zhang Mingyu knew and heard about how most wealthy businessmen took ying golf as a hobby, and would most times meet at the golf course to talk about business, and suddenly became interested in it.

    The young man wanted to learn any hobby that would make him look cool as a businessman.

    "Of course I am very busy. Dad if there is nothing important to talk about, let''s have a conversation another day, I have to finish this topic before going to bed tonight,"

    Hearing how determined andmitted she was to studying, Zhang Renshu allowed her to continue studying with anger in his heart.

    Immediately he dropped the call, he tapped the fingers on his desk with a deep frown on his face.

    Here she was studying and preparing seriously for the foundation of her and there his son was, not taking his academics serious.

    He was sure that the young man was not interested inying bricks for his foundation as a future businessman, as he was only interested in taking up hobbies that would make him look like a real businessman.

    ''Where did he go wrong?'' Zhang Renshu asked himself.

    He was thinking about where he went wrong in training Zhang Mingyu.

    Zhang Liling sighed in relief after the call ended. She didn''t want to have any conversation with that father of hers anymore. When she needed his attention, he was not giving it to her, and currently, she was no longer yearning for his love, when she had a project (Mr. Fang) at hand.

    Since there was no one to give her love, she would give the one she had to the person she has eyes on.

    The next morning during breakfast at the Zhang Vi, Zhang Renshu gave out an instruction, precisely for Zhang Mingyu.

    "From today onwards until you graduate, don''t touch that car your mother bought for you."

    "Dad! How can you take my car away from me?!" Zhang Mingyu looked shocked with the sudden verdict hence, failed to control his emotions.

    Zhang Renshu red at him before shifting his gaze to Shi Wenqian who asked with a big frown on her face, "Honey, what has Mingyu done this time around?"

 Chapter 66 Personal Measures

    "You are asking me what your son did? Let me tell you something you are being ignorant about. Get Mingyu to be serious with his studies if he even has the intention ofnding a job in my Zhang Group, or else, he should better find a more sustainable tablepany to get into!"

    Zhang Renshu was boiling mad while sparing a nce at the son he thought would be his disgrace.

    Shi Wenqian looked angry as she asked, "What brought about his topic now, what did Mingyu do again?!"

    She couldn''t understand how everyone dispersed peacefully after dinnerst night, and then he would wake up in the morning to start talking about these kind of thing.

    Did someone speak to him or what?

    "You are asking what brought about this topic? Fine! I will tell you! Apart from that fact that Mingyu is now consistent with his sses, what other changes has he made to prove that he would be a better leader in my Zhang Group?" Zhang Renshu asked.

    Thinking about it, Shi Wenqian did not notice any note-worthy thing her son has done to get into his father''s good books since thest time he was scolded.

    Squeezing her fists under the table, she managed a smile and tried to cate Zhang Renshu.

    "Honey I understand your worries, and I will take care of it! I will make sure Mingyu bes responsible and fit to be your sessor!"

    As thatst statement left her lips, Zhang Xiaoling paused for a moment while trying to use her cutlery, before going as if there was nothing to be concerned about.

    Zhang Mingyu who was already angry and apprehensive as he did not know what entered his father that morning, seemed a little calm after his mother spoke on his behalf.

    Zhang Renshu was not moved by her promise because this was not the first time she was doing so, with no aftermath at the end.

    "Wenqian, have you seen how many opportunities that I have given to your son, but it looks like it is the reason he is so rxed? Don''t me me for the next step I will take." Zhang Renshu said before leaving the dining room.

    As soon as he disappeared from their view, Zhang Mingyu stated in annoyance, "What is wrong with Dad, did I do something wrong to him? I have been morning my businesstely, did anyone make any force report to him?!"

    Shi Wenqian shot him a re, "Shut up!"

    "Mum!" Zhang Mingyu called out grudgingly.

    "Don''t call me! I am also highly disappointed in you. I gave you time to buckle up, but it looks like you are already rxing again. Did you hear what your father said? Who knows the kind of decision he wants to take!"

    Zhang Mingyu hit his hands on the table and asked, "Mum, are you no longer going to support me?"

    "I will still continue to support you, but when ites to thest option which is to make you learn things the hard way, I will do it! You are the future sessor of the Zhang Group, and no one can ever take that role away from you!"

    Shi Wenqian said with determination rooted in her voice, then she added before Mingyu could smile about it. "This is what I can assure you. And whether you like it or not, you must be up and doing, you muste to a point where you be serious to lead your father''srge conglomerate. But for that, you need to make sacrifices! Your sister would be there to help assist you soon."

    Now shifting her gaze and attention to Zhang Xiaoling who has been quiet all this while, she said, "You too, work hard to attain a greater step in Zhang Group. You have to leave a way for your brother!"

    Zhang Xiaoling did not say anything in response. She lost her appetite and abandoned her food.

    "These days, we can no longer have breakfast in peace," She said after putting down her cutlery.

    Shi Wenqian was unsure if she was referring to her, but she thought it must be toward Zhang Renshu and kept quiet about it.

    "Just do as I have said and stopining. If we don''t ace our games, then we would not be left with a lot of options to dominate soon!"

    "I''m leaving!" Zhang Xiaoling said with a fake smile before picking up her bag and leaving their presence.

    Zhang Mingyu was not in the mood to sit and finish his breakfast, so he got up to leave as well, but he was not too fast.

    "Mingyu, put your car key on the table where I can see it!" Shi Wenqian ordered as she slowly fixed a streight gaze at him.

    "Mum!" Zhang Mingyu called out while looking around. "I thought that has left already!"

    "So what?!" Shi Wenqian asked with a not-so good expression on her face. "Do you think I''m cut out for eye-service? Mingyu, put your car key on the table and leave."<sub> </sub>

    Mingyu wanted to protest, but saw no opportunity to do that based on his mother''s current look. Left with no choice, he dipped his hand inside his trouser pockets and tool out the key to his sport car before putting it on the dining table.

    "How do I go to school now that my car has been taken away from me?" He murmured.

    "The same way you have been managing before I got that car for you, and when there is no driver to drive you to school." Shi Wenqian replied as she stretched her hand to reach out to the car key on the table.

    Zhang Mingyu was so angry that he walked out from her presence immediately as he couldn''t believe that he would be taking taxi to school until he graduates.

    Shi Wenqian didn''t care about his mood, as she was determined to push him to his limits this time around, if he leaves her only with that option.

    ''I can''t let that girl join the Zhangpany or she will take all the shine and be on the spotlight while my son, will be pushed to the side!''

    Knowing fully well that Zhang Liling was far more intelligent than her son, Shi Wenqian would do anything in her power to stop her from joining the Zhang Group.

    Now, she was beginning to think of a solution to that possibility.

    On her way to the Zhang Group, Zhang Xiaoling was drumming her hands on the steering of her car. Her eyes were on the road, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

    Since everyone had their own ns, and was supporting only thosethey wanted to, she was going to stand up for herself and start acing her games just like her mother earlier stated.

    She had a father who didn''t put much thought to her simply because they were not biologically rted, and a mother who only cared about the rising of her son into bing Zhang Group''s next leader.

    With the circumstance she was in, she was beginning to brace up, in order to fend for herself.

    *********************

    While having her bath this morning, Shu Rushi continued to hiss fromst night.

    The fight with Zhang Liling at the departmental store left with her with scratch marks on her neck and hands, and she only noticed them when she was about having a shower the previous night.

    She had taken off her clothes and gone to stand in front of the mirror in her washroom when she noticed those marks, and couldn''t help cursing at Zhang Liling.

    As water came down on her body through the shower head, she felt slight burning sensation from those scratch wounds, and it came again while having her bath that morning.

    "Zhang Liling you witch!" Shu Rushi cursed out loud after hissing in pain.

    Remembering the fight with Zhang Liling, and how thetter beat her in front of those shop attendants, she wanted nothing more than to shred her to pieces with her bare hands.

    After dressing up for the day, she skipped breakfast and went straight to school, ignoring the calls of her parents who were worried about her.

    *******************

    At NYU...

    Zhang Liling finished two sses in a roll at the same lecture theatre along with her course mates before she was finally able to move her butts.

    "Finally! I almost thought my butts were going to be a part of the seat soon," Tungmei said with a frown while stretching her body immediately the professor left the room.

    Zhang Liling was not in a better mood either. "I can''t feel my butts. It''s so numb that I need someone to rub it for me!"

    Tungmei heard that and leaned in to say in a soft tone, "The do you want me to rub it for you in the presence of our course mates?!"

    Zhang Liling knew she was teasing her and even added, "I would love that, but there is no ce toyfortably and stick out my butts for you."

    Tungmei chuckled hard and hit her on the arm gently, "You are truly very shameless. I pity the man that would want to get into a rtionship with you."

    "Why is that? What''s wrong with me?!" Zhang Liling pushed with a slight frown.

 Chapter 67 Mr. Fangs Intention

    Thinking of how she so badly wanted to get into Mr. Fang''s good books, but ends upplicating issues, she bes unhappy.

    "You are too thick-skinned. You can''t even pretend to act a little reserved or shy."

    "Who was the one that first suggested it?" Zhang Liling asked with raised brows.

    Tungmei refused to let her off and insisted, "I''m the one, but that''s not an excuse."

    Zhang Liling gave up and said, "I think it''s more truthful to be transparent than to pretend to be who you are not."

    She was using that statement to justify the fact that she was thick-skinned and shameless.

    Tungmei was speechless after she dared to admit to it, but from a different perspective.

    "Fine! Let''s go home already, I''m famished." Zhang Liling said while gathering her things and putting them inside her backpack.

    Tungmei wasn''t left behind, she quickly put her things together before following her out.

    Just outside the door of the lecture hall they left, two enemies met.

    Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi met and red daggers at each other and surprisingly, they went their separate ways without exchanging words or fighting.

    Normally, this would have been at least the perfect opportunity to exchange a few words, and the worst part, would then be getting into a fight.

    Tungmei noticed this and asked Zhang Liling about it after Shu Rushi and her minions walked past them with a snort.

    "Did something happen between you two in secret, or is that today is not a good day to fight?"

    Zhang Liling withdrew her gaze from Shu Rushi and shifted it to her. "You are right about something. Something indeed happen between us, but it was not in the secret, it''s just that you and a lot of people are unaware of it."

    Tungmei became interested with the way she put things and wanted to find out what really happened, so she quickly chased after Zhang Liling who was already leaving with a not-so happy expression on her face.

    "Liling as your only friend in S City, can you tell me what happened between you Shu Rushi? Did you two get into a fight, or does it have something to do with your families? Are yourpanies coborating or did your families call you to order?"

    Zhang Liling got tired of her questions and quickly exined. From the beginning, she had no intentions to hide what transpired between her and Shu Rushi the previous day.

    "Shu Rushi and I fought at the departmental store yesterday..."

    "What?!" Tungmei didn''t wait for her to finish her sentence before eximing in shock.

    Howe she was right about them fighting?

    Regardless, Zhang Liling continued, "But trust me, I made sure to beat her properly since her skull was too thick for some senses to get inside her."

    Zhang Liling had wanted to say that she best senses into Shu Rushi''s thick skill, but then she remembered how foolish she acted thereafter while iming rights instead of taking responsibility for finding trouble first, and destroying the beautiful bag they both wanted.

    "You two actually got into a fight in a departmental store? How did it happen?" Tungmei asked with her mouth agape.

    Zhang Liling then went on to exin how the fight between her Shu Rushi started.

    After hearing everything, Tungmei didn''t look so surprised anymore instead, annoyance was stered on her face.

    "The people are that store are clueless to have called the police on you. Don''t go back there again!"

    "I''m not ever going to step foot into that store again, unless I''m personally going to shut it down myself!"<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling seemed like she wasn''t over the embarrassment she brought upon herself before Mr. Fang, and couldn''t helot getting angry at the shop attendants.

    Zhang Liling did not take Tungmei out for lunch today, instead she returned back to Mr. Fang''s vi to avoid getting into trouble outside, and being chased out from his ce.

    On her way towards the road leading to the school gate after separating from Tungmei, Zhang Liling saw a familiar figure hopelessly walking ahead.

    ''Is that not Zhang Mingyu?'' Zhang Liling thought with a little confusion. Since she was no longer living with the Zhang family, she was still unaware of Zhang Mingyu''s car being taken away from him, or she would have had a goodugh.

    Unfortunately, she was not aware, and she didn''t make any attempt to call his attention. She didn''t want to have anything to do with him.

    Even if she was curious to know why he wasn''t in his car under this scorching summer afternoon sun, and carrying a fewdies and gentlemen, she wouldn''t ask about it.

    What was going on in her mind, was to go and hide herself from Mr. Fang, and work towards having a good reputation before him.

    *******************

    Zhang Mingyu was so embarrassed to be working under the sun, and having people''s eyes on him.

    He knew that they must be wondering the reason he was walking in the sun when he had a good sports car.

    For a moment, he didn''t know who to me again, but if he knew he was in that situation because of Zhang Liling, he would have gone to find her after having his lectures for the day.

    She can''t use her smartness and intelligence over him to make him suffer!

    ********************

    At Fang Group ofpanies...

    Bolin knocked on the door to Mr. Fang''s office before helping himself in. He had a package in his hands as he approached Mr. Fang''s desk.

    "Sir, thewyer has brought the bag over." Bolin reported, while standing in front of his desk.

    Mr. Fang had so manywyers, but they were different from the ones working for Fang Group. He had asked one of his personalwyers to go and settle the case at the departmental store on behalf of Zhang Liling.

    Only if Zhang Liling knew what Mr. Fang had done for her, she would fall at his feet to worship him, and even put in extra effort to win him over.

    How many employers would take care of their employee''s personal problems? This was what she was aware of, but Mr. Fang wasn''t thinking that way.

    Since he came to know, and had seen for himself of how much of a troublemaker Zhang Liling was, he has to keep eyes on her, and take care of her mess to avoid his reputation getting tarnished by her.

    What a hassle!

    Mr. Fang who was writing something down at the time Bolin walked in, paused with it and raised his gaze. "Give it to Miss Zhang in the evening after we clock off work."

    "Yes, Sir," Bolin replied and bowed before turning to leave, but Mr. Fang stopped him with a very important instruction.

    "Make sure she never thinks that this is a gift from me!"

    "I understand!" Bolin replied and left.

    He understood Mr. Fang''s intentions clearly. He didn''t want to hand the bag over to Zhang Liling by himself, or that little stubborn woman would think that he was gifting her.

    Also, he had to be careful of the words he says while handing the gift to her, to stop her from misunderstanding Mr. Fang''s intentions.

 Chapter 68 Come Home!

    Zhang Liling was still studying by the time Mr. Fang came back home, and she waited till she was sure that he had gone upstairs before stepping out of her bedroom.

    She looked bored standing in front of her door after letting out a yawn. She had been studying for 4 hours straight now, and she was already so tired and needed a refreshment for her brain.

    Butler Gu came to find her in his butler uniform, and saw her standing in front of her door in a set of flower printed sleeveless gown. Her hair was up in a pony tail, while face looked tired.

    Because he caught her yawning, he thought she was just waking up from sleep and got a bit jealous. ''She even had time to take a nap''

    "Miss Zhang, have you been sleeping?" He asked with his hands behind his back.

    Zhang Liling''s brows furrowed in a slight frown and asked while pointing to herself, "Me? Sleeping? Butler Gu, can''t you take a close look at me, do I look like someone that has been sleeping?"

    Zhang Liling nearly got angry. She has been in her desk trying to solve some calctions and here he was, specting that she has been napping.

    Butler Gu noticed that she was not in a good mood, and couldn''t help saying his mind even at that. "You really look like you have been sleeping."

    "Mr. Butler, I have been studying boring numbers since I returned from school. The only reason I look this way is because I am tired and need a break!"

    Since when did she get the privilege to take naps instead of studying or cleaning? It''s not like she wanted to get scolded.

    Butler Gu saw that displeasure on her face and decided to believe her. Then he went straight to the point for the reason he came to find her.

    "Miss Zhang, Sir''s personal assistant is looking for you. I think he has something for you."

    "Something for me? What could that be? Did you get a sneak peek at it?" Zhang Liling''s tired eyes instantly brightened up immediately she had that.

    "I''m not sure of what it is, you will have toe find out by yourself." Butler Gu exined before turning to leave.

    Zhang Liling quickly followed after him to the living room where Bolin was waiting. After directing her to him, the butler left their presence.

    "Hello Mr. Bolin!" Zhang Liling greeted with a polite smile.

    Bolin responded before putting forward a squared shaped box that was still sealed. "This is from the departmental store of yesterday."

    "What is inside it?" Zhang Liling asked as she stretched firth her hand to take the box from it, while wondering if that was an apology gift from the shop attendants.

    "The bag you fought so hard for." Bolin revealed and then continued while totally ignoring her helpless smile, "The bill has been settled by you and Miss Shu, and as the rightful owner of the bag, the store is giving the bag to you."

    Zhang Liling was full of smiles as she thanked Bolin. There was no need asking question since he was the one that settled the case and came to bail her out.

    Well he wouldn''t have done that if Mr. Fang did not permit him, since thetter came to know about it, and personally came with him.

    "There is no need to thank me. You can go back."<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling thanked him again before walking away as quickly as possible. When she got to her bedroom, she ced the box on her desk and went on to tear the seal open.

    Opening the box, she saw the bag wrapped in a soft material with some carton waste to protect it from a scratch.

    Hurriedly, Zhang Liling took away the soft clothe material and unveiled the bag. The first thing she looked out for, was the hand. Seeing that it has been fixed, she smiled even more.

    Zhang Liling spent a few minutes admiring the bag before carefully putting it away in her closet. She still liked the bag as well, regardless of the history with Shu Rushi.

    Before dinner, Zhang Liling got a text from her father, which cane in form of amand that could not be refuted.

    The text read, ''Come back home this weekend, there is an important matter you need to hear about!''

    Zhang Liling could feel an uing headache as any time her father wanted to talk about something in the presence of everyone, the end result would always be something to be bitter about.

    Asking her toe back home for a meeting, who was he going to displease this time around?

    ''Aish! I don''t want to see those faces!'' Zhang Liling said under her breath with annoyance written all over her face.

    Appearing in front of those people was like reminding her stepmother that she was still doing fine outside.

    After finding peace at Mr. Fang''s ce, she had almost forgotten the Jezebel waiting to get her hands on her.

    Zhang Liling was so embittered that she phoned her mother toin straight away.

    Immediate Song Jujing saw her daughter''s call in the middle of passing an instruction to someone, she waved her hand at the person, signalling his dismissal before going ahead to answer the call.

    "Liling how are you, did something happen?" Song Jujing asked carefully.

    "Mum, something happened!" Zhang Liling said immediately.

    Thinking that something serious has happened to her, Song Jujing quickly rose from seat and asked apprehensively, "Liling tell me what exactly happened to you! Are you in any danger? I will call your father immediately!"

    "Mum!" Zhang Liling half-screamed while panting angrily. "I am not in the kind of danger you are thinking of. Even if I was in any danger, why would you call that man that doesn''t care about me?"

    Zhang Liling didn''t understand, was her father the only person in S city her mother could call to save her?

    Song Jujing heard it was nothing serious and sat back down on her seat and released a sigh of relief. "What is the problem, why are you angry?"

    "Why did you change my surname from Song to Zhang? I was better off while answering that name as I don''t want to have any rtionship with the Zhang family?" Zhang Lilingined.

    Song Jujing released another sigh before responding, "You don''t want to take the ''Zhang'' surname, and I don''t want to take the ''Song'' name either! Anyway, why are you suddenly pissed off with that name, can''t you exercise a little patience and wait till you get married to change it to a more suitable family name? Do you think that answering the ''Song'' family name is better?"

 Chapter 69 Back Home

    Thinking about changing her surname when she gets married, Zhang Liling felt that the ''FANG'' name would suit her more.

    Zhang Liling was silent for a moment before speaking up, "One day I would want to meet this Song family of yours!"

    "You want to meet them? But I don''t think they would want to meet you. Why did you call today, surely it''s not just to talk about changing your surname?" Song Jujing asked.

    "Your ex asked me toe over for the weekend."

    "Liling, don''t be rude! What does he want you back?" Song Jujing went on to ask.

    Zhang Liling sighed, "Apparently, he wants to talk about something, and I''m sure it''s going to end up ripping the existing peace we all feel we have at the moment."

    Song Jujing released a deep breath while pondering over the reason for Zhang Renshu''s call.

    "How was his tone?" She was trying to analyse something.

    "He texted me, and his tone was somanding as if I would be in a big trouble if I don''t go. But I don''t want to go, I don''t want any more attention on me." Zhang Liling said while thinking back to her step mother.

    It looks she was scared of her, but wasn''t sure about it.

    "See what you will do, go back on Friday, when your father says what he wants that night, leave there the next morning immediately after breakfast. You don''t need to tell anyone how long you are staying." Song Jujing advised.

    She was looking out for her daughter.

    Zhang Liling sighed and agreed. She was still living off her father in a way, and since this was not too dangerous, she would have to listen to her mother.

    The mother and daughter caught up with what they have been through since thest time they spoke, and trust Zhang Liling to hide a lot of things rting to Mr. Fang, and the fight at the mall.

    After speaking with her, Zhang Liling turned off her phone and went for dinner.

    She and the butler usually had their meals in a different dinning area meant for the house workers.

    When she was through with dinner, she went to clear out the te Mr. Fang had eaten with, and then went straight to the kitchen to clean up everything.

    She felt fortunate that she didn''t meet Mr. Fang at the dinner table. She still wanted to thank him about the bag, but she refrained from doing that. It would be better if she doesn''t annoy him with her presence.

    On the evening of the next day, Zhang Liling had to tell Mr. Fang about taking the weekend off, and for that, she had to go to his study to find him.

    A soft knock sounded on the door in the midst of tidying up the assignments/projects of his students. Mr. Fang gave the permission for Zhang Liling toe in, without looking up.

    "Come in," His baritone voice was heard as a result of the sound waves carrying it from the study to outside of the door.

    Zhang Liling heard his voice before pushing the door open. She had only peeped when she saw how busy Mr. Fang was.

    "Mr. Fang, can I talk to you for a second?"

    "What do you want?" He asked and finally spared her a nce.

    His handsomeness looked very serious with those reading sses shielding his beautiful deep-set eyes, and the after-effect from doing a serious work.

    He could feel the soft scent emitting from Zhang Liling''s body, and his earlier irritation at her disturbance, cleared up.

    Zhang Liling shut the door behind her and walked toward his desk. She only stopped when she came to stand in front of him.<sub> </sub>

    She could already see how busy he was, and not wanting to waste a second of his precious time, she managed a smile and parted her lips slightly to speak in a soft tone.

    "Mr. Fang, can you please give me 24 hours off from Friday afternoon up until Saturday morning?"

    Mr. Fang frowned slightly as he asked, totally putting his focus on her. "Why do you want 24 hours off? Are going to cause trouble again and leave me to clean up your mess, or are you trying to run away from housework?"

    If this was a good day, if she hadn''t offended him, Zhang Liling could haveughed softly because she found his questions funny.

    Who would take permission from him to run away and cause trouble? It looks he thought highly of her.

    "No, Mr. Fang, it''s not like that. My father called for a meeting and asked me toe over."

    Hearing that it had to do with her father and family, he did not continue questioning her.

    "Permission granted!" Mr. Fang said in conclusion, and Zhang Liling thanked him before leaving for her bedroom.

    When Friday came, Zhang Liling went to school in the morning and when she finished, she first went straight to have a tub of ice cream to calm the internal heat, before heading straight home.

    It was outside the school gates that she caught of a glimpse of Zhang Mingyu getting into a cab.

    ''What happened to his car? Did I miss something huge?'' Zhang Liling thought as a smile slowly appeared on her face.

    Quickly, she gged down a cab and gave her address before rxing her back against the seat.

    Twenty minutester, the cab arrived in front of the Zhang vi. Zhang Liling stepped down and paid her fare before stepping into the house.

    "You are back?" Shi Wenqian said with a smile that was not a smile as soon as she saw Zhang Liling.

    Only God knows how angry she was when her husband told her in the morning that Zhang Liling would being over for the weekend. As for the reason she wasing back for, he didn''t state it.

    "Did you miss me?" Zhang Liling asked with a faint smile on her face. She didn''t even know when said that out loud, but had to continue pretending. She didn''te back to y mind games with her stepmother to avoid getting shot in the foot.

    Shi Wenqian scoffed. "It looks like you have some guts now."

    Zhang Liling overlooked the Hidden meaning in her words and walked past her. She went straight to her bedroom before locking the door behind her.

    Slowly stepping forward, she nced at the neatly arranged and dust-free bedroom, and honestly didn''t miss it.

    ''At least the servants cleaned out her bedroom, and this could only be because her father announced that she wasing to stay for the weekend.'' That was all she thought.

    Knowing how her stepmother operated, she wouldn''t be surprised if her bedroom wasn''t cleaned up.

    Sighing to herself, she brought down her backpack from her back before throwing it on her bed and then heading for the shower.

    Taking a look at her closet and bathroom, she discovered that everything was intact.

    One thing Shi Wenqian wouldn''t do, was to search her bedroom or turn it upside down because, she had nothing to offer and hide.

    Until there came a time she was capable of something, she wouldn''t go to that length.

 Chapter 70 Smart

    Zhang Liling stayed in her bedroom until it was time for dinner. When her father came back home and asked if she had arrived, Shi Wenqian had given him a passing answer.

    "You asked her toe back, would she dare to not obey you?"

    Zhang Renshu had noments for her. She has been acting like Zhang Liling was not his daughter, and had no right toe back at will.

    Zhang Renshu snubbed her and went to freshen up in his bedroom.

    When everyone had gathered around the dining table except for Liling, he asked a servant to go and call her.

    "Honey, you haven''t told me the reason you called her home, is anything the matter?" Shi Wenqian probed.

    "You have been quiet andposed since this morning, why don''t you keep waiting till I mention it?" Zhang Renshu asked with a frown.

    He had already sent for Zhang Liling to be called over, so what was the use of asking questions when everything would be out in a few minutes?

    Shi Wenqian hated to be caught unawares, and this is the reason she has been pressing on the matter.

    No matter what he sayster, she would still have a way around it. This was what she thought and decided to stay put.

    Soon, Zhang Liling appeared from her bedroom and joined them in sitting around the dining table.

    She passed a silent greeting to her father before hearing him issue amand to the servants. "Serve the food."

    "We will talk after eating," Zhang Renshu said while shifting his gaze from one person to other.

    As he had said so, whether they could be patient or not, they had no choice. It was after dinner that he revealed the reason he wanted a meeting with them.

    "The reason for this important meeting is very simple, and what a simple statement can solve," Zhang Renshu said before shifting his focus to Zhang Liling and Zhang Mingyu.

    "I have decided to pick my sessor between the two of you. Anyone one of you who does well and outshines the other both in academics and in prospects, would be trained and drilled by experts to be my sessor."

    "Honey!" Shi Wenqian called out with an ugly expression on her face.

    ''So, he really meant what he said?''

    Zhang Xiaoling smiled to herself, but deep down her heart, she could feel a wrenching pain in her heart. Zhang Renshu was going to choose between Zhang Liling and Zhang Mingyu to be his sessor, why she who had more capabilities and insight than them, was not in the race.

    She could feel herself almost unable to hide the pain, dissatisfaction and anger in her. She knew the reason he didn''t bother sparing her a nce, and that is because, she was not his biological child.

    Zhang Renshu would never make anyone who is not his biological child, stand the chance to be his sessor!<sub> </sub>

    p Zhang Liling and Zhang Mingyu on the other hand, looked surprised. Thetter was more shocked, than the former who looked only surprised at that decision.</anda>

    "Dad, are you saying that from today onwards, Mingyu and I are nowpetitors?" Zhang Liling asked with a surprised gaze at her father.

    Zhang Renshu nodded in response. "Yes. Since I now regard you as a prospective candidate, you have to show me if you are worth my position or not."

    "Wait, I thought that you have long decided to let Mingyu to take over your position, why did you change your mind?" Zhang Liling asked with an interested gaze.

    She really wanted to know what prompted her father to make that kind of decision.

    Shi Wenqian half-rolled her eyes at her, but remained quiet, while fixing her gaze on her husband. She too wanted to know what he would say.

    "You don''t need to know much. You only need to know that nobody is entitled to what belongs to you. Only you have the right and power to give or not to give to anyone." That was Zhang Renshu''s response to her question.

    Zhang Liling kind of got what she meant. Shi Wenqian and Mingyu''s gazes changed. They could no longer hide their anger at the treatment and decision they felt was unfair.

    As for Zhang Xiaoling, she didn''t look that bothered anymore. She didn''t like Zhang Liling or Zhang Mingyu that much, but if it were to be before, she would do anything to help her bother.

    Right now, she hated him only because their mother seems to adore him more because of the position of Zhang Renshu''s sessor.

    Now that she was not involved in this position, she could just sit back and watch Zhang Liling and Zhang Mingyu fight each other.

    Zhang Liling scoffed to herself. Her father''s response made sense, but how was that supposed to be her concern? He was involving her in this fight not caring if she would be in danger or not.

    She hated the fact that he was selfish. It was possible that he was using her to make her half-brother to sit up.

    "I don''t want it," Zhang Liling replied, while shocking everyone in the room.

    "You don''t want what?" Zhang Renshu asked in a dangerous tone.

    Zhang Liling looked very serious as she said to him, "Dad, I am not interested in being your sessor. You just dered in front of everyone that Mingyu and I are nowpetitors for your current position at Zhang Group. What do you think will happenter? Have you forgotten what anyone can do to win by all means? Dad, my life is so precious to me!"

    ''Smart!'' Zhang Xiaoling thought that of Zhang Liling after that she said.

    Shi Wenqian looked so mad that she pped her palm on the table, and pointed a finger at Zhang Liling while asking, "What nonsense does your suggestive words mean?"

    Zhang Liling was outrightly hinting that her life may be in danger if she fights for the sessorship with her son, and that was indirectly pointing fingers at her.

    Even Zhang Mingyu knew that much and couldn''t help asking, "Liling, what nonsense are you saying?!"

 Chapter 71 A Day-Off From Mr. Fang

    Zhang Liling was not given a chance to reply as Zhang Renshu took over the conversation.

    The man got Zhang Liling''s hint and agreed with her, because he knew what mostpetitors do. Most of them would go to any length to get what they want.

    They go as far as manipting their opponents withe their weaknesses, killing someone ormitting any other kind of crime.

    All these he was aware of.

    "Liling, I am not asking for your opinion in this matter as you have no say. Nobody would dare toy a hand on you because if it happens, the Zhang Group will be auctioned!" Zhang Renshu dered to the shock of everyone present.

    Shi Wenqian''s eyeballs almost popped out of her eye sockets. ''Zhang Group would be auctioned?!''

    After returning to Mr. Fang''s house the next morning, that deration from her father was still ringing in Zhang Liling''s head.

    She knew her father didn''t give much thought toward her, and the only reason he would be willing to protect her would be because she was his flesh and blood, and he wouldn''t want anything to happen to her, while under his watch.

    When Song Jujing heard this, she was very angry with Zhang Renshu and argued with him over the phone. Her daughter''s life was more important to her, so she argued with her ex about it.

    Zhang Renshu remained adamant about it and was still insistent, while making ims that he would protect their daughter at all costs.

    Since she couldn''t win the argument over the phone, she cut the call on him and said with her temples throbbing. "That''s it! I have had enough of this! Liling ising back to Paris!"

    Song Jujing was smart not to say this to Zhang Renshu''s hearing, otherwise the man would get another idea to stop Zhang Liling from leaving with her for Paris.

    Zhang Liling was not interested in running or heading the Zhang Group. Her interest was to get close to Mr. Fang and get into Fang Group.

    Since she hasid her opinion out for her father and was rejected, then she has decided not to bother about it.

    She wanted to see for herself if he would personally drag her to go and work in the Zhang''spany after her graduation, and stop her from getting into Fang Group.

    Zhang Liling didn''t need to intentionally do bad so as to not get her father''s intentions. Instead right now, she would out in extra efforts to make sure that she bes the best graduating student in her department, and effortlessly get into Fang Group.

    That honour would help her get into FJ without struggles, or any help from Mr. Fang.

    In order to get her mind off her father and his ns, Zhang Liling got to work immediately. She put her backpack in her bedroom before changing into her uniform to work.

    She was determined to be more diligent than ever in her work, and academics.

    While Zhang Liling had her own ns, Shi Wenqian had her own ns as well.

    The next day after Zhang Renshu dered his intentions, she made a call to someone. "When is thetest you can arrange a match? Arrange a match as soon as possible. I want to teach my son how to get what he wants."

    The person on the other end of the phone thought, ''You want to stain his senses now?''

    After the call, Shi Wenqian put away her phone and went to sit in front of her vanity table. She stared at her face in front of the mirror for a while before picking up a handful of face wipes to clean her face before starting to apply makeup on her face.<sub> </sub>

    Since she couldn''t touch Zhang Liling, then she would focus on training her son''s mind even though she didn''t have any ns of that before.

    She would teach him to do things her own way.

    ***********************

    For 2 good weeks, Zhang Liling worked very hard in her academics and housework to the extent that Mr. Fang noticed her.

    He noticed how tired she was, how lean she looked and the heavy eye bags on her face.

    As Zhang Liling came to serve him a cup of coffee in study at night, he fixed a scrutinizing gaze on her. His brows were furrowed at the discovery he made from observing her for only a short while.

    Zhang Liling ced the mug of hot ck coffee in front of him and noticed the heavy gaze on her, and couldn''t help reacting.

    ''Why is he staring at me like that, did I do something wrong? Does he hate the aroma of the coffee, did I make it too strong?''

    "Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling called out nervously as she slowly met his gaze.

    Mr. Fang heard his name from her lips, and slightly parted his slips to say to her, "You look like I have subjected you to immense suffering."

    "Huh..." Zhang Liling seemed confused while staring at him like an idiot.

    Mr. Fang put his fists under his jaw while still staring hard at her face. "Whenst did you look at yourself in the mirror?" Mr. Fang asked but before she could reply, he waved the question away.

    "Forget it! I don''t know what you have been uptotely that is making you look like this, but you need to stop. Take the entire day off tomorrow." He said and shifted his gaze back to the papers on his desk.

    Zhang Liling felt a mixture of 3 different kinds of emotions and wanted to speak, but he stopped her before she could even say a word.

    Mr. Fang knew she was going to say something and shifted his gaze back to her, before saying in a stern tone that could not be refuted, "Don''t make me talk too much!"

    Mr. Fang left Zhang Liling no opportunity to refute him, so she had no choice but to bow slightly and thank him probably for his care.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang."

    Straight from his study, Zhang Liling went back to her bedroom smiling from ear to ear. She first went straight to the mirror to have a good look at her face.

    Seeing the state she was in, she didn''t even feel bad. She patted her sunken cheeks slightly while saying with a happy facial expression, "Mr. Fang cares for me!"

    Humming to herself, she stared at herself in the mirror one more time before going to the night stand to pick up her phone.

    ''Now that I have a day off to myself, it''s time to throw a house warming party!'' This was that she was thinking when she found Tungmei''s contact and dialled her number.

 Chapter 72 Sleep Some More

    When Tungmei heard about the house-warming party, she was ted.

    "Finally! When I thought my brain was going to get fried from studying, you showed up. What time, and where is the address?"

    "You cane to my ce at noon, I will text you the address as soon as I drop this call!" Zhang Liling replied.

    Tungmei smiled andined, "That will be perfect. Prepare something chilled to wee me. Coming out at noon can cause me a heat stroke."

    "What are you making a fuss over? You are not walking down to my house, you areing in a taxi! Are you purposely trying to add to my headache?" Zhang Liling asked as a small smile yed on her lips.

    Tungmei waved her hand. "Your highness, I didn''t mean to add to your headache. By the way, I need to finish this topic I''m on, to enable me wake up early tomorrow to clean up before I starting over to your ce."

    "Alright, good night!" Zhang Liling understood and had to drop the call. She very well knew what it felt like to have ones'' study interrupted.

    After dropping the call with Tungmei, Zhang Liling went on to make some other calls. She got someone to clean her house the next morning, go shopping and cook simple meals that wouldst two adults for the entire day.

    After informing the person of where to get the spare key to her apartment, she sighed.

    (The entrance door to Zhang Liling''s apartment needed a password, but it also had the option of a metal key to lock and unlock).

    The next morning, Zhang Liling who consciously slept till around 8 am, finally woke up.

    Her room was dimly lit, making her to still feel a bit groggy. She didn''t have to squint her eyes to adjust to any brightness, and that made her feel morezy to get off her bed.

    "I just feel like going back to sleep!" She grumbled to herself as she raised her head slightly to nce at her surroundings.

    Releasing a deep breath, she rolled to her side and slowly closed her eyes again. "Mr. Fang said I can''t do any work today, let me sleep some more." With that, she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

    When she first opened her eyes, she asked herself why she was bothering to get up by that time when she didn''t have any work to do. It was after that question was asked thatziness immediately set in.

    Zhang Liling slept till almost noon. The next time she opened her eyes, it was already past 11 am.

    Something in her which had the consciousness that she was supposed to meet with someone soon, woke her up.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling''s brain rebooted, and her eyes shut open. ''What''s the time?''

    Quickly, she got out of bed and went straight to open the curtains before rushing back to her bedside to check the time on the table clock, positioned on the night stand.

    "What! Howe it''s 11:30 already?!" Zhang Liling broke out in rm when she saw the time. She hurriedly ran into the bathroom while crying over split milk.

    "I just closed by eyes for 5 minutes, howe I slept for 3 more hours?! What do I do now?"

    Zhang Liling was worried about appearingte because Tungmei is still unaware of the fact that she doesn''t live in the apartment she rented, but elsewhere.

    If she waste and Tungmei gets to her apartment before her, she would have to find a lie to cover up with.<sub> </sub>

    Meanwhile, in the sitting room, Mr. Fang was asking about her.

    "...she hasn''te out since morning?" Dark lines appeared on Mr. Fang''s forehead while asking about Zhang Liling.

    Butler Gu replied politely, "Sir, Miss Zhang hasn''t left her bedroom since she retired for the night."

    ''I asked her to take the day off today, and not to frighten someone!''

    "Go and check on her to make sure she is still breathing. Hurry up!" Mr. Fang ordered.

    "Yes, Sir!" Butler Gu replied with a slight how before leaving his presence in quick steps, while thinking, ''What can happen to that vibrant youngdy?''

    Butler Gu was not worried about Zhang Liling in any way. In the course of their little interaction, he has seen how capable she was.

    Butler Gu stood in front of Zhang Liling''s door and knocked gently, like the reputable man that he was. "Miss Zhang?"

    Zhang Liling was dressing when she heard the knocks on her door, coupled with the familiar voice of the butler calling out to her, but she didn''t respond immediately.

    ''What does he want? Is Mr. Fang looking for me? Has he changed his mind about letting me have a day off?''

    The Butler did not hear any response from inside the room and had to increase the sound of the knocks, and raising his tone a little higher as he called for her again.

    The second round of knockspelled Zhang Liling to respond while hurriedly zipping her dress.

    "Butler Gu, please give me a minute!"

    ''It looks like she is okay.'' He thought.

    When Zhang Liling finally opened the door, he spared her a minute nce to make sure she was actually okay.

    "Butler Gu, today is my day off, and you came to look for me, is anything the matter?" In case he was not aware, she had to inform him of the benefits she was ripping at the moment.

    "You didn''te out for breakfast," Butler Gu said. He figured that it would be better to put the question that way than to make it look like he cared about her. And besides, it was Mr. Fang that sent him on that errand.

    There was no way he could straightforwardly say that Mr. Fang was afraid that something might have happened to her and asked him toe and check on her

    "Since today is my day off, I appreciated sleeping in to having breakfast." Zhang Liling replied with a big smile on her face.

    If Butler Gu did not know better, he would have thought that she was rubbing her benefits on his face.

    "Then, I will take my leave," Butler Gu said and marched away to go and report to Mr. Fang.

 Chapter 73 Checking Her Body Out

    "Sir, she is alive and well," Butler Gu reported.

    Mr. Fang exhaled and walked away. He thought he was already calm around Zhang Liling, but who knew that he was still afraid of what kind of trouble she might cause next.

    Zhang Liling, without knowing that someone was worrying about her next actions, left Mr. Fang''s vi after informing the butler about her movement.

    "Butler Gu, I''m going out for some fresh air, I will be back in the evening. Please help me pass the message onto Mr. Fang if he asks for my whereabouts."

    When Mr. Fang heard those exact same words form the butler, his nose wrinkled instinctively. ''Fresh air? More like the air is contaminated!''

    Zhang Liling was going out to have a fresh air, and for once, Mr. Fang was a little jealous because of his nose sensitivity and tagged the ''fresh'' air, ''contaminated''

    "She went out? She had better not cause any trouble this time around!" I will definitely let her spend a night at the police station this time around!

    Mr. Fang would let Zhang Liling suffer for a bit if she causes any trouble, to teach her a life lesson.

    Butler Gu did not understand because he was unaware of thest trouble Zhang Liling caused. If he knew that she was once taken to the police station for fighting in public, he would have been apprehensive when he discovered she was going out.

    The old man would have been more worried than Mr. Fang was.

    Zhang Liling took a cab outside the estate to the address of her apartment. On her way, she already received calls from two different people.

    The housekeeper she employed told her that she had finished cooking and cleaning. Tungmei said she slept in, but was already on her way.

    "Did you get the beer I asked you to buy?" Zhang Liling asked the housekeeper.

    "Yes, Miss, I put them in the refrigerator before I started cooking,"

    Zhang Liling smiled brightly, "Good!"

    On the other hand, from the details of the call with Tungmei, Zhang Liling discovered that she would get to her apartment before her and didn''t have to worry about cooking up a lie she might end up forgetting another day.

    A few minutester, the cab pulled over in front of the apartment building. Zhang Liling paid her fare and stepped out.

    She took a brief look at the tall building with a smile, ''How long has it been?'' before adjusting the sunsses on the bridge of her nose, and stepping further inside the building.

    Zhang Liling only took off the sunsses when she keyed in the password to her house and stepped inside and changed into a pair of flip-flop.

    "Liling, what a nice ce you''ve got!" Zhang Liling praised herself after having a brief look at her living room.

    Going straight to her bedroom, Zhang Liling put away her bag away before going into the kitchen to check things out.

    Food in the pot and drinks in the refrigerator. Everything on the list was ticked.

    ''I might as well y with my phone before Tungmei gets here.'' This was what she thought, and had only turned around to go back to her bedroom when she heard her doorbell ring.<sub> </sub>

    Immediately, a smile bloomed on her pretty face for she knew who was at her door.

    "Comimg!" Her excited voice rang out as she quickly made her way to the door. Confirming from the camera that Tungmei was truly the one outside her door, she proceeded to open the door for her.

    "Liling!" Tungmei called out excitedly when she saw her dearest friend, and immediately took a step forward before embracing her tightly.

    Zhang Liling was almost strangled by her, and had to pat her on the back to let her go. "Are you trying to kill me?"

    Tungmei squeezed her onest time before letting her go. Studying her face for only 2 seconds, she let out an rm. "You already look half-dead, how could I try to kill you?"

    Zhang Liling reached out to touch her face while asking, "Really?!"

    "Tsk...tsk." Tungmei stared at her with pity. "Your face look a little horrible with the makeup. You have slimmed down, and it looks like your boobs lost weight as well. Now I have hope that my condition is better!"

    Out of everything Tungmei said, Zhang Liling only picked up one sentence, and it was concerning her boobs.

    With a look of concern, she asked while reaching for her chest to squeeze the two ample mounts, "Did my boobs really lose weight?"

    "What do you think you are doing?!" Tungmei pushed her hands away from her boobs before dragging her inside instead.

    Zhang Liling shut the door before being dragged into her living room.

    Tungmei still wanted to scold her for touching her chest right outside the door, but forgot about it when she saw how clean and beautiful the living room was.

    "Wow Liling! You have a nice ce." Tungmei said as she quickly pulled off her shoes and kicked them to one side, before walking around the living room to take a good look at things on her bare feet.

    Zhang Liling went to the shoe rack at the entrance to bring her a pair of flip-flop after putting away her shoes. "Secure you feet in them so you don''t catch a cold."

    "I wouldn''t mind catching a cold and being bedridden in your ce!" Tungmei said while admiring the simple interior decors.

    Zhang Liling chuckled before asking, "Do you want anything to drink? I have water and beer!"

    "It''s too early to take beer now, water is okay. Do you have food to eat? I''m hungry." Tungmei remembered that she was hungry andined.

    "I don''t think you are more hungry than me! Have a quick look around ande and help me out in the kitchen!"

    "Do you really have food? Did you cook? I thought you didn''t know how to cook?" Tungmei asked in surprise and sniffed the air before bypassing her to go into her kitchen.

    "Of course I don''t know how to cook. I asked someone to prepare meals for us to prevent us from starving this day. Don''t you want to take a look around?" Zhang Liling asked as she followed her into the kitchen.

    "At this point, foodes first."

 Chapter 74 Drunk

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei enjoyed brunch over an academic chat in the simply decorated dining room of 4 dining chairs.

    After eating, Tungmei washed the dishes before joining Zhang Liling in the living room to continue with their chat.

    From school work then to gossip, to family and back to school again before they both got tired and went into the main bedroom, specifically belonging to Zhang Liling, toy their tired body.

    These two youngdies slept for 3 straight hours without waking up in the middle.

    Zhang Liling was the first to wake up. She felt very hungry and tired when she opened her eyes and sat up on the bed.

    She almost forgot where she was. It was when she looked around and saw Tungmei lying next to her that she recalled that she hade over at noon.

    Sighing to herself, she got off the bed the next minute and went to make use of the bathroom. When she stepped out, Tungmei was trying to turn to her other side to continue sleeping.

    "Tungmei! Get up!" Zhang Liling went to her bedside to call her up, but Tungmei groaned.

    "please, allow me to sleep some more. I promise, I will open my eyes soon."

    ''Open your eyes soon?'' Zhang Liling just thought that she heard the biggest joke for the day. She knew very well that that sleepy head had no ns of opening her eye anytime soon because she (ZL) was in her shoes earlier that day.

    "Sleep all you want." Zhang Liling said before picking up her phone and leaving the room with it.

    She went straight to the kitchen to find something to eat, but there was no snack apart from the remaining food that was supposed to be cleared up by her and Tungmei for the evening.

    Zhang Liling rubbed her stomach through her dress before taking out a bottle of water. She uncapped it and took a few sips before putting it back and then taking out a can of beer.

    There was a smile on her face as she left the kitchen.

    By the time Tungmei came out half an hourter, Zhang Liling had already finished 2 cans of beer all by herself.

    "Why did you drink without me?!" Tungmei asked with a gaze that showed betrayal.

    Zhang Liling chuckled at her and said, "You said you would open your eyes in a few minutes and I was very hungry and couldn''t wait for you. You should be thankful that I didn''t eat the food instead."

    "What a good way to say you are sorry. I''m equally famished, can you heat the food for us now that I''m awake?"

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei exchanged a few seconds nce before thetter waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it! Youzy ass that makes your visitor work for you!"

    Zhang Liling smiled in admittance.

    Another half an hourter, the twodies were drinking beer and ying card after eating.

    "Liling, does your mother n to remain in Paris?" Tungmei asked out of the blue.

    "n? She doesn''t have any. Paris is like a home to her. For me, it was a home for me, but I have be attached to this City to call it a home." Zhang Liling replied.<sub> </sub>

    The mother she knew, would never want to relocate back to Country S. She had a stable and important job in Paris. She had influence and friends over there, and she felt more loved in Paris, so, why would she want toe back to Country S where she had nothing?

    Being a Chief-editor of a famous magazine was a big deal. Song Jujing only climbed to that position a year before Zhang Liling came down to Country S.

    "What about you, what are your ns? Are you going to stay here, or will you go back to Paris?" Tungmei asked.

    Zhang Liling smiled at the thought of someone before replying while ying her cards, "I don''t have any ns of going back to Paris. I will make City S be my forte. What about you, are you going back to your hometown after graduation?"

    "No way!" Tungmei said while chuckling hard. "I will remain in S city. Besides, even if I want to go back or move to another city, my father will never allow that. He wants me to stay in this big city where there are many opportunities to work for bigpanies."

    Tungmei didn''te from a rich home, so her father wanted her to find more opportunities in a big City like S city.

    "Then stay here..."

    There was a moment of silence in the room before Tungmei asking again, "Liling, are you going to work for your family after graduation?"

    To that question, Zhang Liling refused to give a straight answer. "We will see about that... I won!" She said as she put down herst card whileughing heartily.

    She didn''t trust that she should tell her ns to anyone at the moment. It was still too early to say anything.

    Tungmei flung her cards to the floor andid her back on the floor in annoyance. "You are such a bully!"

    Zhang Liling chuckled and opened up another can of beer and slurped it. There were already about 5 opened cans of beer beside them on the floor.

    Seeing as she wasn''t replying, Tungmei sat up and picked up her remaining can of beer and chugged the little content down her throat.

    "There is still one more can to go, you can have it." Zhang Liling said pointing at the only remaining can of beer left.

    Tungmei nced at it and said with a frown, "Forget it! I am not good at handling alcohol, I don''t want to get drunk when I still have to go back to my ce."

    "Do I look like I have a high level of alcohol tolerance?" Zhang Liling asked.

    Tungmei shifted her gaze to the empty cans of beer on the floor before shifting her gaze back to her, "Do you know how many cans of beer you have drank so far? I''m surprised that you are still able to have your mind intact uptill this moment."

    Zhang Liling thought for a moment before agreeing with her, "I''m surprised too. By now, I should have been drunk and sprawled on the floor."

    "You don''t have any problem. This is your ce and you can always crash anywhere you like. Whenever you regain your consciousness, you can always clean up your mess." Tungmei said before picking up her phone to check the time.

    Zhang Liling huped, "Do you know what I can do when I get drunk?"

    "What can you do?" Tungmei asked without sparing her a nce.

    Zhang Liling chuckled hard as she replied, "Even I don''t know!"

 Chapter 75 In A Drunken State

    Tungmei moved her gaze away from her phone to nce at her. The next second, she squinted her eyes to study Zhang Liling properly before concluding, ''She is drunk!''

    Zhang Liling''s face was a light shade of red, but her eyes still looked focused, but Tungmei couldn''t trust that.

    "Liling, I have to leave in a few minutes."

    Zhang Liling heard that and asked with a disappointed gaze, "Why so soon?"

    "We have spent 6 hours together. It''s 6:30 pm already, and I have to stop by the convenience store to buy some cup noodles. Thanks for the house-warming party. I will help you clear up this ce before leaving."

    ''It''s already 6:30?!'' A bomb blew off in Zhang Liling''s head as she hurriedly put down her can of beer to pick up her phone.

    She didn''t know that she had stayed out for so long. Calcting the time with her remaining senses, she figured that it would take her half an hour to get back to Mr. Fang''s ce.

    Tungmei went on to clean up the living room without noticing anything wrong with her.

    "Liling, I''m leaving right away!" Tungmei said after cleaning up.

    Zhang Liling who has been patiently waiting for her to leave so she could also be on her way back to Mr. Fang''s house, waved goodbye to her and saw her to the door.

    Immediately she closed the door, she scurried back to her room to pick up her bag. She found her phone in the living room, picked it up and put it inside her bag.

    She was feeling slightly dizzy, but that was not important. What was important, was making sure that she got to Mr. Fang''s ce before 7 pm.

    Just as she turned to leave, she saw the remaining can of beer and picked it up. It appeared like Tungmei didn''t see it to put it away.

    Zhang Liling quickly picked it up, turned off the lights before leaving her apartment. While in a hurry, she was also careful not to run into any wall.

    She needed to find a cab so she could rest her slightly throbbing head. She was almost on the verge of not seeing properly.

    Luckily for her, she saw a cab that just drove into the premises. She quickly hurried over, and when the passenger got down from the cab, she quickly stepped in.

    "Driver, take me to *********"

    "Cabs are not allowed into the estate. I will stop at the entrance, is that okay with your miss?" The young driver asked.

    "It''s fine by me, here..." Zhang Liling passed the can of beer in her hand to him.

    The driver smiled brightly and took it from her. Keeping it in the penguin hole beside him, he thanked her and ignited the car''s engine before driving off.

    Some minutester, the car pulled over at the entrance of the estate before ncing at Zhang Liling through the rear-view mirror.

    Zhang Liling looked like she was already fast asleep.

    "Miss, we have arrived at your destination!" The driver announced, but his tone was not high enough to wake Zhang Liling, so he leaned towards the back and stretched out an arm to tap her on the shoulder.

    "Miss, we have arrived!" He announced again. This time around, Zhang Liling opened her eyes slightly before sitting up and looking around her surroundings.<sub> </sub>

    Seeing that she was still out of it, with the deep shade of red on her cheeks, the driver guessed that she was drunk, but went on to kindly inform her of their arrival.

    "Thank you!" Zhang Liling said before struggling to get out of the car which surprised the driver because she was still yet to pay her fare.

    The young driver had to remind her about her fare before she came back to her senses for a brief moment to pay.

    How Zhang Liling made it to Mr. Fang''s vi was a big testimony. By the time she stepped into the house, she met face to face with the butler who wasing down the stairs.

    "Miss Zhang?" Butler Gu called out in shock when he saw how brightly lit her face was. More importantly, she smelled like she poured an entire can of beer on her body.

    "Huh! But... Are you the butler?" Zhang Liling asked while trying to make out the face before her. Her sight was blurry, so she had to lean a little forward, but Butler Gu avoided her like a parasite.

    Butler Gu asked after taking two steps backwards, as his nose wrinkled in discontentment. "Miss Zhang, you came back drunk?" You really have a lot of guts.

    Zhang Liling was too out of it to be offended by Butler Gu''s action. "You mean me?" She asked while pointing at herself. "I don''t think I''m drunk. I''m just a little tipsy from drinking with Tungmei. That girl refused to drink more than 2 cans, and I had no choice but to finish the remaining cans of beer since I didn''t want them to spoil! Oh! And I gave one to the cab driver who brought me back!_

    Zhang Liling said thest sentence while chuckling like a fool. She has really lost her senses.

    So many thoughts were going through Butler Gu''s head while listening to her.

    ''You don''t think you are drunk?''

    ''Who is Tungmei?''

    ''Are you a drunkard?''

    ''How could cans of beer spoil so easily? Did you drink the one that was going to expire in a week?''

    ''Who knows how many cans of beer you ended up drinking. Just wait till Mr. Fang finds out!''

    "Miss Zhang, please go into your bedroom before Mr. Fang sees you, he is yet to have his dinner," Butler Gu advised.

    "Oh! Thank you!" Zhang Liling replied with a smile and then bowed slightly, but almost fell forward.

    The butler was amazed and really wanted to watch her get into her bedroom, but he was distracted with a chime sounding from theundry room and had to go take care of it.

    "Miss Zhang, make sure you go into your bedroom, and don''te out till morning."

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling said with her eyes half-closed, and only proceeded to continue in her steps when he went away.

    Instead of taking a turn when she got to the stairs area, she pictured Butler Gu when he wasing down the stairs at the time she had just stepped into the house.

    She changed her mind about taking a turn, and just when on to hold the rail while taking the stairs. "Why did hee out from here? Has he relocated upstairs?"

    Zhang Liling thought that Butler Gu now had a room upstairs because she saw himing down from the stairs, and decided to go and check things out for herself in her drunken state.

 Chapter 76 Her Lips Against His

    Zhang Liling went up the stairs to check if Butler Gu got a room, but ended up wandering into Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    ''Wow! I like the fragrance here...'' Zhang Liling thought to herself with a wowed expression on her face, while trying to look past her blurry sight.

    ''But this scent smells familiar...'' She wondered while shutting the door behind her, and making her way into the bedroom proper.

    Her head was fuzzy, and her eyes, blurry. She couldn''t make out where exactly she was, but she guessed that it must be Butler Gu''s new bedroom.

    "How could you get this special treatment from Mr. Fang while I, the person that loves him the most, gets nothing?! That''s unfair!"

    Zhang Liling poured out her grievances as she made her way towards the bed in unsteady steps. When she finally got close to the bed, she leaned over to feel the sheets with her hands, before letting her body fall on it.

    "Wow! Sofortable!" She said with a big smile on her face.

    Her bag wasying on the floor, next to the bed. She had dropped it before dropping on the bed.

    Mr. Fang was currently in the shower, and the shower was on when Zhang Liling stepped in, so he didn''t hear the sound of the door opening and closing.

    But immediately he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to wipe his body, he heard a grumbling sounding from his bedroom.

    ''Huh!'' There was a confused gaze from Mr. Fang as he looked towards the tightly shut bathroom door.

    ''Did I hear wrongly?'' He thought while perking his ears to see if he would hear another sound, but he didn''t. So he went on to continue wiping his body.

    Just as he stepped out of the transparentpartment of the acrylic stall panel and wrapped the white towel around his waist, he heard a soft voiceing from his bedroom again. ck lines appeared on his forehead as he asked himself, "Is someone in my bedroom?"

    At that thought, anger became visible on his face. Who would dare to step into his bedroom at that time?

    Mr. Fang was angry, and went on to drape a bathrobe on his body. When he was done tying the knot loosely around his waist area, he walked towards the door and yanked it open.

    From the bathroom door, he could see a figure on his bed, and his eyes immediately widened at the guts and impetus someone had toy on his bed.

    Immediately, his surroundings became frosty. And as he took steps forward, he recognised the figureying on his bed as if she owned the world.

    That was Zhang Liling.

    ''What is she doing on my bed?!'' That was Mr. Fang''s thought when he recognised that it was Zhang Liling who wasying on his bed.

    He stepped towards his bed hurriedly, only to see the figureying on his bed clearly.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling''s eyes were shut, her face flushed with a deep shade of tomato red. Her clothes were rumpled, and most eye-catchingly, almost half of her thighs were visible.

    Her dress had gone up a bit when sheid on the bed and adjusted her bodyzily. She found Mr. Fang''s bed sofortable that she didn''t bother about her dress going up.

    The most important thing, was to enjoy thefort of her back against the bed.

    "I can''t let him have this bed all to himself!" Zhang Liling spoke softly as a small yed on her lips. Her eyes were still shut, and that was what provoked Mr. Fang the more.

    "Is she talking about me?" He asked no one in particr before leaning in, but immediately withdrew his nose as he covered it, before returning a frosty gaze back to her.

    "She drank? This girl has the guts to drink, get drunk,e back to my house, invade my bedroom and take over my bed?!"

    Mr. Fang gnashed his teeth while ring at the ignorant drunkdyying on his bed.

    At this moment, Zhang Liling felt a little itchy on her thighs, and moved one of her hand to that spot to scratch it, and in the process, pulled her dress up a bit more.

    ''That''s it! I have heard enough!'' Said Mr. Fang to himself before leaning over to yank Zhang Liling off his bed, while still covering his nose with the other hand.

    Just a few seconds ago when he had leaned over, the alcohol smell from Zhang Liling, assaulted his nose, and caused him to be irritated. The wave of sharp pain that hit his nose caused him to be ufortable.

    Zhang Liling felt her hand being pulled and frowned. Her eyshes fluttered before she slowly opened her eyes.

    Seeing that she seemed to have her brain in order, for opening her eyes, Mr. Fang quickly let her go and scolded her.

    "Zhang Liling, do you want to die in my hands?! Quickly get off my bed this second before I throw you out of my house!"

    Unknowingly to him, Zhang Liling was still out of it. Right at the moment, she found his voice familiar, and was trying really hard to picture his face, but her sight was too blurry, so she gave up.

    "Are you Mr. Fang? Your voice sounds familiar..." Zhang Liling asked in-between a hup.

    Mr. Fang didn''t find this funny. "I asked you to get out of my bed, and you still have the cheek to ask me questions? Are you tired of living?"

    Zhang Liling heard the threat and thought, ''He really sounds like Mr. Fang, did Mr. Fange into my dreams? Wow! This must be my lucky day!'' Zhang Liling shrieked in her head and then slowly raised half of her body from the bed to continue ogling at him.

    ''Why can''t I see his face properly! Well, it doesn''t matter, I can just hug him all I want and confess to him!''

    When Mr. Fang saw her trying to get up, he thought that she wasing back to her senses, but he confirmed that she was still out of it by the time she suddenly pulled him towards her by the cor of his robe, and pressed her lips against his.

 Chapter 77 Punishment Must Be Served

    rm bells suddenly went off Mr. Fang''s head when he felt the softness on his lips.

    ''Wtf!''

    Without warning, he pushed Zhang Liling off his body and hurriedly got off her to wipe his lips repeatedly before staring daggers at the woman on his bed.

    Zhang Liling felt a ''bang'' on her head from the force Mr. Fang used to push her away, and from her headnding on the bed heavily, without control.

    Zhang Liling let out an agonizing cry while holding her head with her hands. She could feel her head trying to explode.

    Mr. Fang didn''t care about the pain she was going through, because he felt like killing her with his eyes. His nose hurt from the alcohol scenting from her, and she had the guts to forcefully press her lips on his own.

    Even with her hitting her head on the bed, it was not enough to wake her up, and Mr. Fang didn''t bother trying to wake her any more.

    He angrily walked to his nightstand to grab the telephone. He quickly pressed ''1'' and after the first ring, Butler Gu''s voice came on.

    Thinking that he was calling because of his food, Butler Gu said as soon as he answered the call, "Sir, your food is ready, it''s being served at the moment. Do you..."

    Mr. Fang didn''t have the time to let him finish, as he rudely interrupted, "What is Zhang Liling doing in my bedroom?! How did she find her way into my room in this drunken state?!"

    Butler Gu was shocked when he heard that Zhang Liling was in Mr. Fang''s bedroom. He was so shocked that he became tongue-tied, and forgot to respond to the questions.

    ''That girl went into Mr. Fang''s bedroom?''

    Butler Gu was so shocked, nervous and afraid at the same time. He couldn''t believe his ears. The same person he met at the door and asked her to go and sleep, went up to Mr. Fang''s bedroom?

    ''What did she go there to do?!'' Butler Gu felt like crying.

    Mr. Fang was almost about to lose thest shred of patience he had. Zhang Liling just made him mad, and here the butler was, trying to loose the nut in his head by remaining silent and not saying or doing anything.

    "Butler Gu, do you want to be fired this night?" Mr. Fang asked through gritted teeth. His tone was low and dangerous, causing Butler Gu to feel like something dark and slow was creeping into his ears.

    The old man quickly regained hisposure and apologized, "Sir, I''m sorry for the inconveniences you''ve faced, I''ming over right now."

    "Come as soon as you can before I kick her off my bed!!!" Mr. Fang orders and mmed the telephone down before putting his hands on his waist.

    He couldn''t believe that he had been sexually vited by his servant, and in his own house. He would turn into aughing stock if any outsider dared to hear of it.

    Immediately he put down the telephone, Butler Gu said a silent prayer in his heart before quickly making his way up the stairs and directly to Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    By the time he got there, Mr. Fang was no where to be seen. Zhang Liling was now peacefully sleeping on the bed.<sub> </sub>

    Her dress which was up her thighs, had long been pulled down by Mr. Fang who went into the bathroom to wash his face.

    Without wasting time, Butler Gu quickly rushed to the bedside and tried to wake Zhang Liling up by calling her by her name, but thetter wouldn''t bulge.

    "Miss Zhang, how could you dare to sleep so soundly after causing a big trouble?!" Butler Gu was on the verge of tears when he said this to her but unfortunately, she couldn''t hear him.

    Zhang Liling mumbled a few incoherent words before smacking her lips.

    At the end, she left him no choice but for him to pull her off the bed, and steady her with a lot of effort.

    Just then, Mr. Fang walked out of the bathroom with a ck face. Butler Gu managed to nce at him, and noticed that his nose was red.

    ''Dear Lord! What happened to his nose? Could...could it be...be that Miss Zhang actually punched him on the nose?''

    Butler Gu''s thought went wild. He couldn''t believe his own thoughts as he truly became afraid. There was nothing else he could use to exin the reason Mr. Fang''s nose was that red.

    If his sight was bad, he would have mistaken that blood was smeared all over his nose.

    Mr. Fang unaware of the butler''s thoughts, pointed a finger at Zhang Liling and said, "Don''t give her any hangover soup, or prepare any tablets for her when she wakes up tomorrow. She dared toy her alcoholic smelling body on my sheets, ask her to buy me another set and present it before the end of tomorrow. As soon as she wakes up, get her toe and air my bedroom. I can''t even sleep here tonight. She dared toe back to my house drunk and invade my bedroom, on top of that, she dared to harm her employer, a duly punishment must be served to her!"

    "I will do as you havemanded, Sir!" The butler replied before leaving his presence with the drunk and knocked out Zhang Liling.

    Mr. Fang''s gaze was still frosty even after Zhang Liling left his sight. The moment he shifted his gaze to his bed, the scene from earlier came to his mind.

    "Dammed woman!" He cursed under his breath before quickly rushing to his nightstand to pick up his meds and swallow it with the bottle of water next to it.

    He swore that he was going to kill Zhang Liling if time was not taken.

    Butler Gu struggled to take Zhang Liling down the stairs. With her whole weight on him, he suffered a lot before finally going down the stairs with her.

    By the time he got to the foot of the stairs, he was already breathing heavily. He could swear that hisst shred of patience had disappeared.

    "Miss Zhang... Please don''t drink again! See what you are making everyone go through!" Butler Gu said while panting for air.

    The old man rested for almost a minute before proceeding to drag Zhang Liling towards her bedroom.

    The Chef who had just finished serving Mr. Fang''s dinner in the dining room, came out and saw Butler Gu pulling someone and guessed who it was.

 Chapter 78 She Knew She Was In Trouble

    After helping Zhang Liling to her bed, Butler Gu stepped out of her bedroom. As soon as he shut the door, he sighed tiredly and proceeded to stretch his body for a bit, before scurrying away.

    Mr. Fang was still waiting for him to get back.

    Currently, Mr. Fang was taking a shower in his room. The ck lines on his forehead seemed to have gotten worse as he scrubbed his body with thethered sponge.

    He didn''t think he would be able to forgive Zhang Liling so easily. Even if he wanted to do that, he would have to first teach her a lesson before letting her off.

    Butler Gu returned to Mr. Fang''s bedroom. First, he removed the sheets from the bed before picking up Zhang Liling''s handbag and leaving with them.

    Just now, he heard the sound of water running in the bathroom and guessed that Mr. Fang must be having his bath.

    By the time he returned Zhang Liling''s bag to her room, and took the sheets to theundry room and returned, Mr. Fang was already done washing.

    The man''s skin was faint red at the moment, which was as a result of the pressure he applied while scrubbing his body.

    "Mr. Gue here and see if I still smell like that drunkard." Mr. Fang beckoned on the butler toe and stand next to him.

    Butler Gu came to stand in front of him, but was careful not to stand too close, before sniffing the air around him.

    Taking a few steps backwards, he said, "Sir, you havepletely wiped off the alcohol scent from your body. You only smell like your shower gel."

    Hearing that positive verdict, Mr. Fang released a deep sigh of relief. Right now, he could hardly make out any scent because he took triple of his normal pill dose for the night, causing his nose sensors to be blocked.

    Mr. Fang is unable to make out scents, since the pills he overdosed had ready started working in his system, so his nose sensors were no longer as sharp as before.

    "Sir, your food is served!" Butler Gu announced after not hearing any response from him.

    Mr. Fang who was already dressed so casually, picked up his phone and left the bedroom. It was after he left that butler Gu decided to clean his bedroom for a bit.

    Mr. Fang had already assigned Zhang Liling to clean it, but there was no way he would leave the bedroom just like that, so he fixed up a few things before leaving.

    When Zhang Liling wakes in the morning, she willplete the cleaning and also air the room.

    Through out the time Mr. Fang spent to have his dinner, there was not a single time his brows rxed. They remained raised from the start of his meal till the end of it.

    Once he finished eating, he went into his study and didn''te out till the next day.

    ********************

    Around 8 in the morning, Zhang Liling woke up with a banging head. Since Butler Gu didn''t do her a favour by drawing her curtains properlyst night, the rays of sunlight past through the windows and reflected in her room, almost directly hitting her face.

    She had to squint her eyes in annoyance before turning her face to the other side. It was at this time she turned her face to the other side that she felt a throbbing ache in her head.<sub> </sub>

    ''Damm!'' She cursed through gritted teeth before fully opening her eyes and sitting up the bed with much efforts.

    "Am I having migraine? My head hurts so badly!" She said while bending her knees and resting her forehead on them.

    She was in that position for almost a minute before raising her head and straightening her knees.

    ''I don''t remember how I came backst night... Did Tungmei put me in a taxi? No, that''s not possible!''

    Zhang Liling was trying to remember how she got back to Mr. Fang''s cest night. Thinking about Tungmei putting her in a taxi, she rulled off that idea since thetter was unaware about her other rtionship with Mr. Fang.

    Finally she concluded that she came back by herself.

    Zhang Liling felt so awful at this moment. Her head was heavy and her body was not feeling like her own. Right at the moment when she was feeling that way, suddenly, she swiftly turned towards her nightstand to nce at the time, only to scream the next moment.

    She jumped off her bed, ran to the window to move the curtains and open the windows to let in the natural light and air while cursing under her breath.

    "What! It''s a few minutes past 8?! How long did I sleep for? How could I sleep in on this day?! Oh! Liling you are in deep shit! me the alcohol, and me yourself for being carried away!"

    After raising the curtains, she ran into the bathroom and 12 minutester, she rushed into her bedroom dressed in a ck jean trouser and a sky-blue round-neck polo.

    She quickly tied her hair in a ponytail while heading for the door. As soon as she opened it, she met head-on with butler Gu whose right hand was raised in a fist.

    It looked like he was about to knock on her door before she opened it.

    Zhang Liling was taken aback when she saw the butler. ''What is he here for? Is Mr. Fang asking for me?! Damm it!''

    Seeing her in that frenzy state, Butler Gu withdrew his hand and folded it in front of him before speaking in a grave tone, "Miss Zhang, it''s good that you are awake, or Mr. Fang would have sent his bodyguards toe and carry you off your bed."

    Zhang Liling heard that and knew that she was in a big trouble, and had a lot of exining to do.

    She abused the opportunity Mr. Fang gave to her and now, it was time to dance to the music.

    "Butler Gu, is Mr. Fang that furious?" Zhang Liling probed in a nervous tone.

    Butler Gu ascertained from her question and behaviour that she was ignorant of the trouble she causedst night and was left speechless.

    I mean, how does one go to a great extent to cause trouble and then forget all about it the next morning as if nothing ever happened?

    Butler Gu decided to take it in his hands to give her a breakdown of the things she did the previous night.

 Chapter 79 Not Much Time Left

    "You came back wastedst night. We met in the sitting room, and I asked you to go to your bedroom before I left for theundry room. Then, instead of going to your bedroom or any other room to sleep, you went into Mr. Fang''s bedroom..."

    "Wait! I did what?!" Zhang Liling cried out in fright. Her eyes widened in shock at that bad news. She went into Mr. Fang''s bedroom, how?!

    How did she climb the stairs in her drunken state?

    The butler shook his head bitterly before continuing, "I''m not sure of what next you did there, but Mr. Fang sounded very angry when he called me toe and take you out of his bedroom. You wereying on his bed when I came over. Youngdy, you were quite heavy and I almost sprained my waist while pulling you down the stairs."

    Butler Gu refused to believe that she just stayed put on the bed because how can she do that given her personality? Also, Mr. Fang had been furious when he called him toe over. And after taking a shower, he asked him to check if he still had any alcohol scent on him.

    This can only signify one thing, Zhang Liling must have done something outrageous.

    Zhang Liling was out of it. She couldn''t believe that she went into Mr. Fang''s bedroom. And just like what the butler said, out of all the rooms she could go into, she found her way upstairs and straight to Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    ''What did I go to find in Mr. Fang''s bedroom?!'' Zhang Liling cried in her heart.

    She was thinking if that was how uncontroble her feelings for him had gotten to.

    Butler Gu was kind enough to let the breaking news settle into her mind before going on to ask, "Do you want to hear your punishment me now?"

    ''What?!'' Zhang Liling couldn''t get any more shocked than she already was. She fixed her gaze on the butler.

    "I have a punishment already?! I thought I would get the chance to apologize and exin myself before I would be punished?"

    She was thinking, ''that way, her sentence would be reduced.''

    "Miss Zhang, I don''t think you know how serious the situation is. You don''t have that kind of privilege, not after making Mr. Fang to sleep in his studyst night!"

    "What?! Mr. Fang slept in his study?!"

    Butler Gu ignored her question and continued, "It''s toote to demand for a privilege because your punishment was dished outst night."

    Mr. Fang slept in his study without requesting the butler to arrange another bedroom for him because, he couldn''t sleep in a ce with an unfamiliar scent.

    In the entire house, apart from his bedroom, his study was the next room that carried his scent, so he optioned to spend the night there.

    Seeing as Zhang Liling was not saying anything, the Butler quickly listed her punishment since she was runningte already.

    After hearing about the sheets she had to rece, and the room she had to air, she was about to sigh in relief when she heard, "Mr. Fang wants you to appear before himtest, an hour before lunch with the new sheets."

    The butler turned to leave but Zhang Liling chased after him. "Butler Gu, can''t I give you the sheets to pass to him after I buy it? You see, my body is not feeling well."

    "Miss Zhang, even if you want to quit your job today, you must do as Mr. Fang has instructed!" Butler Gu replied without looking back.

    Zhang Liling stopped chasing after him and stood at the corridor to bite her lips. ''What did she do to Mr. Fangst night? How else was he going to punish her?''

    First of all, she needed to get started with her duties. So, she went into her bedroom to pick up her phone before rushing out.<sub> </sub>

    She had no idea of where Mr. Fang was at the moment, but she must make sure not to run into him until it was at the right time or else, her heart may finally end up dropping out of her chest.

    First thing first, Zhang Liling went into Mr. Fang''s bedroom to clean and air it out. This time around, she followed the instructions strictly from the contract on how to clean his bedroom.

    The exact quantity of the scents and the particr ones to use, was the exact thing she did.

    After cleaning his bedroom and bathroom, and airing the ce out, she went on to clean the house before taking a slight break.

    She was so tired and hungry. She was already sweating and panting for air while sitting on a stool in the ante-room.

    When she thought of having breakfast first because her next task was to go and find the exact sheets she soiled with her alcohol scent, she found it the best step to take, but quickly changed her mind.

    She didn''t have enough time to even go looking for that exact brand, texture, material and colour of bedsheets without breakfast. And ording to Butler Gu, she had to present the sheets before lunch.

    She was going to bete, but she hoped that somehow, she could still make it a minute to lunch time.

    With that thought, she ignored the hunger and tiredness she felt, went into her bedroom to pick up bag with some cash and her credit card in it before leaving the estate.

    She met Butler Gu outside and informed him of her next movement.

    "You are going to bete," That''s all he said to her after checking his wristwatch.

    "I know," Zhang Liling replied before leaving in urgent steps.

    The kind of emotions she was feeling at the moment, was almost making her teary. She felt like crying for putting herself in that kind of predicament.

    She had the guts to drink till she was drunk. It didn''t just stop there, she went ahead to cause trouble and force Mr. Fang to sleep in his study. Then she slept in and woke upte, neglecting her duties.

    When she recounted all her mistakes, she knew that it was enough to get her fired.

    On her way out while waiting for the cab she ordered to arrive outside the estate, she phoned Bolin to ask about the particr store to get the exact sheets she had to rece.

    "... I sent you the picture of the bed sheet, please check it out."

    In-between cleaning, she had gone into theundry to take pictures of the sheets she needed to get, and not just that, she felt the material for herself.

    <o>,m Because she was alreadyte and didn''t have that ample of time to check for the sheets in all the high-end stores in the city. She figured a few things out.</o>

    She could ask Bolin about it, as he should be able to tell the particr store the bed sheet was purchased.

    Secondly, the sheets were not shipped otherwise, the Mr. Fang she knew, would not give her that kind of time frame, so that meant that the bed sheet was most probably bought from a store in the City.

    Bolin nced at the pictures Zhang Liling sent to him before responding. He could vividly remember the particr store he bought all the beddings and toiletries.

    "... Why do you need to get a new one, did the old one get damaged?" Bolin asked curiously after mentioning the name of the store to her.

 Chapter 80 Not What I Want

    "I got into trouble now I have to rece it. I''m almost running out of time, Mr. Bolin, let''s talkter."

    Zhang Liling quickly ended the conversation and got into the cab just as it pulled over in front of her.

    After confirming her destination, the driver drove off.

    Bolin nced at his phone and sighed. ''She caused another trouble?''

    ''Should I call him or not?''

    Bolin was contemting on whether to call Mr. Fang or not. He also didn''t want to get into trouble, so he wasn''t going to rush things.

    If he called for no reason, out of the blue, he might be the next target, so he had to think properly on how to stay away, or calm his anger.

    After thinking for a while, while pacing up and down his sitting room, he dialled the number of a certain familiar someone.

    After several rings, Chuanli answered the call. "Hello?"

    Sliding one hand inside the front pocket of his pants, Bolin smiled, "Dr. Li, I apologize if I called at the wrong time. Do you have a minute to spare?"

    "Sure, I just returned from a bathroom break, what is it?" Chuanli asked gently.

    "Ah! It''s about the experiment you have been working on, is there any progress, did you find something new?"

    "Wow! Is Mr. Fang now interested in this matter? If that is the case, I have to make fun of him," Chuanli said while letting out a low chuckle.

    He looked ready to make fun of Mr. Fang for suddenly showing interest in his experiment.

    "No, don''t call him!" Bolin said suddenly. "Why?" Chuanli asked as his chuckle slowly died down.

    Bolin sighed before going on to report on the recent mood of Mr. Fang. "It looks like Mr. Fang is not in a good mood at the moment. I only called to see if there is any findings with your experiment. I thought any positive news might take away his anger."

    "Bingwen is not in a good mood? Who angered him?"

    "Miss Zhang," Bolin said the name and let out a big sigh.

    "Things are getting more interesting. If I call him now, he might not answer, or I may even end up making his temper worse, so I will just send a text to him. By the way, I should be there in 17 minutes. Where are you?"

    Bolin checked his phone for the time before replying, "I''m alsoing over, but I may be a few minutes behind you."

    "Alright!"

    Only if Zhang Liling knows that two young men were trying to save her, she would die of happiness. But for the moment, she was feeling all kinds of negative emotions.

    Mr. Fang was typing away on hisptop when he heard a notification sound from his phone. He nced at the screen to see who the sender was.

    Seeing that name, ''Dr. Li'' as his screen lit up, he frowned before going to pick up his phone.<sub> </sub>

    ''I have something important to talk to you about...'' That''s all he could read from the text, forcing him to go on to click on it, so he could read the entire text.

    ''...the experiment, so I will being over.''

    Mr. Fang let out a sigh before putting his phone down. "Did he find something important, or did he n this because it''s almost time for lunch?"

    Mr. Fang couldn''t be med for thinking that way. Thest time Chuanli came over, he had asked abouting over for dinner, but he was rejected. Maybe he has switched over to lunch instead of dinner.

    Anyway, Mr. Fang couldn''t be bothered about it. He just hoped that he would have a better reason foring over.

    Immediately Zhang Liling paid her cab fare, she stepped out and went into the high end store.

    From outside, she could already tell how much her pocket was going to bleed, because the store was located in a very lucrative and expensive area.

    The exterior decors were exceptional, and when she stepped into the store, she almost turned back to leave. But the thought of Mr. Fang''s angry gaze on her, sent her back into the store.

    ''How much am I going to spend here? Will all the money in my card be enough? Maybe I should ask my mother for more money,''

    Different thoughts yed in her head as she walked to one of the attendants to make an inquiry.

    "Excuse me, do you have this particr set of sheets here? I want the exact colour." Zhang Liling asked while showing a picture of the sheets to the male attendant.

    The man in histe 30''s excused himself before gently taking the phone from her to look at the image carefully.

    "Egyptian cotton?" The man asked with a polite smile.

    Zhang Liling definitely felt the material of the sheets in theundry room, so she knew what type it was made of. "Yes, do you have it."

    The store attendant handed the phone back to her before replying, "I''m not sure we still have it. If you are not in a hurry, can you please take a seat while I go to the store to check for you?"

    "Sure, I will wait," Zhang Liling replied with a small smile. She would rather exercise some patience than leave the store without hope.

    "Thank you," The attendant replied before walking away briskly.

    Zhang Liling sat only for 3 minutes before the same attendant returned to her side when she was about to lose her patience.

    "Miss, I just checked now, we only have 1 left of the same brand of material for that sheet, but we don''t have the colour you want. Do you mind taking the only one we have in stock?"

    Zhang Liling wanted to rejoice as her eyes lit up, but when she heard the rest of his words, her eyes dimmed. She was disappointed.

    "What colour do you have left?" She asked while trying to control her emotions.

    "Cleopatra white is avable!"

    ''This is not what I want!'' Zhang Liling grumbled in her head.

 Chapter 81 Discovery

    "Can I see it?" Zhang Liling requested.

    "Sure," The store attendant said and turned to lead the way. Zhang Liling ended up following him to another section of the store to look at more sheets.

    "Please get the Cleopatra white Egyptian cotton Sheets over," The man said to a younger colleague. When he turned to Zhang Liling, he said, "While she goes to bring the sheet, you can have a look around to see if there is anything you like."

    Zhang Liling was not in the mood to look around, but she figured that looking at pretty things could help her to rx in a way.

    Finally when the sheets was brought to her, she took it in her hands to observe it.

    "Miss, you don''t have anything to worry about. This particr brand of bedding set is incredibly soft, fluffy andfortable. It is made from long staple Egyptian cotton. You can see the gold embroidery from the wrap, which adds a touch of ss to the design."

    As he said that, Zhang Liling quickly flipped the sheets in her hand over to see the gold embroidery. From the wrap, she couldn''t feel the texture of the sheets properly because of the wrap.

    When she saw the gold embroidery which looked refreshingly elegant and stylish, she ced her fingers and traced the embroidery before asking, "Is this real gold?"

    Her voice was almost inaudible. She was afraid to know the truth about the gold threads used in the embroidery.

    The attendant heard her and replied with a reassuring smile, "Of course, the gold threads are 100% authentic. We don''t sell fake products here, and we don''t lie about our products."

    Worried that she didn''t believe him, he added, "You can check the authenticity for yourself after you have purchased it. And if you discover it is fake, please bring it back for us, and we willpensate you."

    Zhang Liling sighed. Even if he said that the gold threads were not authentic, would she dare to buy a fake product for Mr. Fang? That would be like signing her death certificate with her own hands.

    "How much is it?" She asked with a tired gaze.

    The male shop attendant smiled before revealing the figures to her. Zhang Liling''s heart has long finished bleeding, so there was no need for her ears to bleed this time around, only her pocket could bleed.

    Although she experienced a little bit of luxury from her teenage years, she has never bought anything that expensive.

    It would have been good if she was getting a present for Mr. Fang, but this case was different. It hurt her heart so much that it was a punishment. She was recing something she damaged.

    What a waste of money!

    Zhang Liling quickly whipped out her card and passed it to the shop attendant without a word. What more could she say?

    After paying for the bedding set, it was well packaged for her in a perfect boxing, before it was put in a big shopping bag that had the store''s logo.

    "Miss, we hope youe back next time, and have a great day!" The male shop attendant who served her earlier, said with a big smile.

    ''A great day?'' She would prefer he refrained for making such statements, at least not on a day like this.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang was still in his study when Butler Gu came to meet him.

    "Sir, your personal assistant, and your doctor are here to see you. It''s almost time for lunch, should I bring them upstairs, or should they wait downstairs for you?" Butler Gu asked.

    Mr. Fang didn''t look fazed to hear about his assistant. "Bring them up. Where is Zhang Liling?"

    "Sir, Miss Zhang is not yet back." Butler Gu notified him. Mr. Fang didn''t say anything again, so he left.

    "She is not yet back?" He muttered under his breath while ying with his pen.

    In less than 5 minutes, Chuanli and Bolin came up to his study. Initially when they heard that he asked them toe up, they were disappointed, especially Chuanli who got a whiff of the meal being prepared in the kitchen.

    He thought that his dear friend woulde downstairs, so they could have lunch before conversing, but he just proved to them that work was still pending, and was more important than food.

    Bolin on the other hand, didn''t want an interaction in the study because that was a serious ce.

    Both men walked into the study and took seats in front of Mr. Fang''s desk.

    "Bingwen, can you loose your facial muscles for a second? You would end up getting wrinkles and folds up there if you continue like this." Chuanli said with a slight frown.

    "You said you had something important to talk about, what is it?" Mr. Fang asked, directly changing the topic of interest.

    "Are you sure you want to listen to it now? Shouldn''t you have your lunch first?" Chuanli asked, but the kind of re he got in response, made him a bit annoyed.

    He knew what Mr. Fang was thinking, and couldn''t help but to feel a bit annoyed. "Why are you staring at me like that, do you think that I left thefort of my home toe and have lunch in your ce?"

    "Dr. Li!" Bolin immediately called out. An action to signify for him not to go overboard, as he could sense his anger.

    It was a reminder that the person they came to see, was not in a good mood in the first ce, so it would be better if he gets rid of his own anger.

    Mr. Fang moved his gaze away without saying anything. He adjusted the sses on the bridge of his nose, and went back to typing on hisptop.

    Chuanli became embarrassed at being ignored. He touched the tip of his nose before saying in a much gentler tone, "Bingwen, actually, I made a huge discovery while investigating the Zhang family."

    "When did I ask you to investigate the Zhang family?!" Mr. Fang asked almost immediately. His gaze was sharp as he abandoned the document he was typing in hisptop.

    "It''s not the kind of investigation you think it is." Bolin quickly exined.

    "Then what kind of investigation did you carry out, because I can''t remember asking you to investigate any one." Mr. Fang said with a sharp look.

 Chapter 82 Fun Place

    "Mingyu, are you not done?!" Shi Wenqian called out while gazing up the stairs.

    Shi Wenqian was dressed in a ck mature gown, with her hair arranged in a neat low bun. She carried a brown leather handbag in her arms. Her feet were adorned in a ck kitten heels.

    "Mum, I''m sure he is taking his time. You said we were going to a fun ce to rest," Zhang Xiaoling said with a smile.

    She too was dressed formerly, and she looked even more eye-catching with the blood red lipstick on her face.

    "That doesn''t mean he should be keeping us waiting..." Shi Wenqian said in an annoyed tone.

    She had asked them to follow her to a fun ce the previous day, and as for the location and name of the ce they were going to, she didn''t mention it to them.

    She left them in suspense purposely, by saying that it would be no fun if they got to know where they were going to.

    Another surprising thing about this outing, was that they couldn''t let Zhang Renshu know anything about it.

    "Mum, you have grown past our generation, so you might have forgotten that youngsters these days, like to dress to impress," Zhang Xiaoling said.

    Shi Wenqian rolled her eyes briefly. "I don''t think there is any need for him to take his time while dressing up today."

    "But you are all dressed up, so I am." Zhang Xiaoling said in wonder.

    Her mother stood out in her outfit, and now she didn''t want someone else to get all dressed up, what a weird motion.

    "It is okay for me to dress and stand out today because I am the boss. As for you, it''s okay with you hence I didn''t berate you. After all, you have a role to y." Shi Wenqian said while looking away.

    In her mind, she thought, ''We are going to a ce that doesn''t require a disy of our beauty or fashion sense!''

    Finally, Zhang Mingyu came down the stairs looking all smartly dressed up. Before he even touched down at the foot of the stairs, Zhang Xiaoling smiled and asked, "Did you finish a bottle of perfume on your body?"

    Instinctively, Zhang Mingyu brought his left arm close to his nose to sniff his sleeves. Then he asked when he nced back to her face, "Is it that obvious? Using up a bottle of perfume is an understatement. I only used 7 shots, is the scent that strong?"

    Shi Wenqian nced at him in irritation. "What a waste!" Then ncing at him properly, she said with a frown, "I reminded you and your sister not to wear any brightly coloured clothes today, but you still went ahead to put on a white shirt underneath your leather jacket?"

    "I know you said that, but I just wanted to unbox a new outfit today," Zhang Mingyu replied with a teasing gaze.

    Shi Wenqian had a serious gaze on him for almost a minute before Zhang Xiaoling called out to her.

    "Mum, are we not going to bete if we don''t leave now?"

    "The party won''t start until we are present. Because we are the only real VVIPs. Let''s go," Shi Wenqian said and led the way.

    "We are the real VVIPs? That''s so cool," Zhang Mingyu said excitedly before following after her.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s small smile hung on her face for a bit before it slowly vanished, then, she followed after her mother and brother as well.

    Now, her mind was no longer settled. She had a lot of questions to ask her mother, but knowing that she wouldn''t answer her, she didn''t bother to bring any of them up.

    "I will take the car with the housekeeper, you two can take the other one." Shi Wenqian instructed and went to enter the first car and settle herself in the back passenger seat of the Maybach.

    Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling had no disapproval, and just entered the backside of the second car.

    Soon, the two cars drove out of the premises.

    "Ma''am, the leader called to say the match was about to start." Hoousekeeper Cha, also known as Shi Wenqian''s secretary, got off the phone and announced.

    Shi Wenqian met her gaze and instructed strictly, "Let him know that we are on our way! The match can''t start till I''m seated."

    "I understand." Secretary Cha replied and went back on her phone and spoke, "We will be there in a few minutes, the game can''t start until Ma''am is already seated."

    "Let Ma''am know that the boys are getting impatient. Can you bring her over quickly?" The hoarse male voice rang out from the other end.<sub> </sub>

    This time around, the call was on loudspeaker, so Shi Wenqian was able to hear his words clearly. She scoffed and asked immediately, "Are your underlines ready to give up their precious organs so quickly?"

    Immediately the man heard her voice, he didn''t dare to insist on them to hurry up. "I will take care of some other matters first."

    "Hang up!" Shi Wenqian instructed. Secretary Cha immediately carried out her instruction.

    "Step on the pedal!" Shi Wenqian let out another instruction, but this time, it was to the driver.

    As soon as the driver in the first car sped up, the driver in the second car stepped on his pedal as well.

    "Do you have an idea of where we are going to? Mum won''t say anything..." Zhang Mingyu asked curiously.

    "I have no idea, she didn''t say anything to me either. Since we are on our way already, I think you should just calm down for a few minutes and find out where we are going to." Zhang Xiaoling said without sparing him a nce.

    Zhang Mingyu also did not bother to ask anymore questions. He whipped out his phone from his trouser pockets and began to y games with it.

    The sound from the game was loud, making Zhang Xiaoling to be irritated. "It would be considerate of you to know that you are not alone on this ride, and turn down the volume of your phone."

    Zhang Mingyu pressed furiously on his phone screen while replying, "You should also know that it''s more fun to hear the sound of the game while ying it."

    "How rude of you!" Zhang Xiaoling said with a tight frown on her face. Her irritation, clearly visible.

    Zhang Mingyu paused the game before lifting his head to say to her, "If you have your airpods, you can block your ears with them, or give them to me to make use of, if you don''t want to hear the sound from the game."

    Zhang Xiaoling was so annoyed by his audacity, but didn''t show it on her face. She stared at him for quite a few moment, but when he turned his gaze back to his phone and wanted to get back on ying his game, she opened her purse and dipped her hand inside it.

    The next moment, she took out a small white case and opened it, before passing the airpods to him. "I hope your ears are clean."

    Zhang Mingyu epted them saying, "Don''t worry, I know simple hygiene routine."

    Plugging the pods to his ears, he immediately connected them to his phone via Bluetooth, and continued ying his game.

    An hourter, the two cars left City S boundary, and were now headed for a ce with no destination.

    "Where do you think we are going to?" Zhang Mingyu asked in surprise as he looked up from his phone only to be left in confusion as he didn''t recognise where they were.

    Zhang Xiaoling had a twisted expression on her face. She seemed to have an idea of where their mother was taking them to.

    ''I can''t believe she is bringing us to that ce! How could she dare to involve us in her business!'' She thought to herself while squeezing her fingers in a fist.

    She was so mad inside and was about to explode.

    Hearing no reply from the person by his side, Zhang Mingyu was forced to shift his gaze from the car window to her face.

    He saw her staring straight ahead, but what was in front of her, was the back of the driver''s seat, so what was she staring at?

    "Xiaoling, what are you staring at? I''m asking where we are, and you are quiet, are you not worried?!" Zhang Mingyu asked with an annoyed gaze.

    "Worried? What should I be worried for? It''s not like our own mother is going to sell us off." Zhang Xiaoling retorted with a dark gaze.

    Zhang Mingyu was pissed off with her attitude, and was about tosh out when he saw them drive into an old building.

    "We are here!" The driver who has been quiet all through the ride, listening to the siblings bicker, announced and turned off the car''s engine.

    "What?! What...what are we doing in a ce like this?! Did the drivers forget the route or something?"

    Zhang Mingyu was very much confused while staring at his surroundings from the car. They were supposed to be going to a fun ce, so what were they doing in an abandoned vi that looked so creepy?!

    "Ma''am, we are here..." Secretary Cha announced before stepping out of the car to open the car door for Shi Wenqian.

 Chapter 83 Dont You Remember?

    "Actually, I was going through the blood group of the Zhang family members to see if it is rted to the reason Zhang Liling could get close to you." Chuanli exined himself.

    "Did you find anything rted to my case study?" Mr. Fang asked with a sharp gaze.

    Chuanli was quiet for a moment before replying, "No, but I found something weird..."

    Mr. Fang put up his hand and said, "I don''t want to hear anything that is not rted to me." There was no room for negotiation.

    Chuanli released a sigh. "Fine!" Then he went on to make a request. "But I have an urgent request that will help to facilitate the experiment."

    Bolin and Mr. Fang nced at him curiously. "What is it?"

    "I need a small sample of Miss Zhang''s blood to..."

    "No! Don''t even think about it!" Mr. Fang immediately rejected that idea. He didn''t even want to wait till he finished his exnation.

    Bolin was not that surprised by his request since it was inevitable. In experiments, samples from human, animals, waste, etc could be used, especially when trying to find out the cause of something.

    Chuanli was almost frustrated. He just knew that he would reject him outrightly, but what''s this one about not allowing him to finish his statement?

    At least he should have allowed him to finish talking, before determining if he made sense or not.

    "Why are you so against this? I need to study the serum and sma to know if that''s where the causeys. I need to know the kind of environment she grew up in Paris. Her diet, and everything about her, including her scent and the kind of products she uses. I can''t let even an ant to slip by!"

    After talking too much, Chuanli became thirsty and used his eyes in search of a nearby bottle of water.

    Mr. Fang and Bolin heard everything he listed and stared hard at him.

    "Why don''t you take Zhang Liling to yourb instead and turn her into ab rat?"

    Chuanli was a millisecond away from rejoicing, until he heard thest part of Mr. Fang''s statement. The hint of joy on his face quickly disappeared, without resurfacing.

    "Bingwen, how can you joke with me like that? There is nothing wrong with taking a small sample of Miss Zhang''s blood with her permission and your approval. I am not doing anything illegal here."

    Bolin nced at him, before moving his gaze to Mr. Fang. "If this is about taking a blood sample for an experiment that concerns, Mr. Fang, I don''t think Miss Zhang would ever refuse you."

    "And why do you think she will not refuse him?" Mr. Fang asked with furrowed brows. He really wanted to hear his response.

    It was as if, he was waiting for him to make a mistake with his response, and get thrown out from his house.

    Even Chuanli was interested to know what Bolin would say.

    "I don''t know exactly, but it should be the same reason she found her way here," Bolin replied smartly.

    How could he dare to say otherwise without proof?

    "And what is that?" Just as Chuanli asked, a soft knock sounded on the door.

    ''Miss Zhang is back?'' ''She is back?'' The three men thought alike, while moving their gazes to the door.

    Zhang Liling, who was standing outside the study, knocked softly for 3 good times, before gently bending the door handle, and helping herself in.

    When she stepped into the house earlier, she met Butler Gu and took careful steps towards him.

    "Has Mr. Fang finished his lunch already?" She had asked softly, afraid that Mr. Fang would hear her.

    She hade back a few minutes past lunch time, but everywhere was quiet. She couldn''t hear the ''ng'' sound from the cutlery and ss wares, so she thought that he must have finished eating.

    "You are back? Mr. Fang is yet to have his lunch. Did you buy the bed sheet?" Butler Gu had asked after shifting his gaze from her face to the big shopping bag in her hand, and then back to her face.

    "Yes I did, but I didn''t see the exact colour. And had to get the only one in stock," Zhang Liling replied.

    Butler Gu encouraged her, "It is still better thaning back empty handed. You should go and show it to Mr. Fang"

    "That''s where I''m headed now,"

    "Mr. Fang''s personal assistant and his doctor are upstairs with him," Butler Gu reminded in a gentle tone just as she turned her back to leave.<sub> </sub>

    It was because of his caution that Zhang Liling was careful with her knocks, and only let herself in after knocking thrice.

    "Wow! Miss Zhang is back!" Chuanli said while smiling from ear to ear as soon as he saw Zhang Lilinge in, and noticed the cautious attitude from her.

    Zhang Liling greeted him politely before taking two steps and stopped in her track.

    Mr. Fang nced at her from where he was sitting. His gaze moved from her face and down to her hand, to see the big shopping bag she put down beside her.

    Bolin secretly nced between Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang to know the kind of expression thetter held, before letting out a silent sigh.

    Chuanli on the other hand, stared at Zhang Liling intently before standing up and taking some steps towards her. He only stopped when he came to stand in front of her.

    "Why does your face look this bad, and you are sweating..."

    Before Zhang Liling could respond, Mr. Fang was already asking Chuanli and Bolin to leave his study.

    "You both should leave my study, I need to speak to her."

    Chuanli smiled at Zhang Liling and then nced at Mr. Fang, "Alright, we will be waiting downstairs for you. Don''t take too long." Turning to Zhang Liling he ced his warm palm on her shoulder and said, "Miss Zhang, you need to rest."

    Bolin stood to his feet, before bowing slightly to Mr. Fang, and then leaving with Chuanli who was almost at the door.

    After the men left, there was absolute tranquility in the study, which made Zhang Liling very ufortable.

    Mr. Fang leaned into his seat and rxed his backfortably before saying to her, "Zhang Liling?"

    Zhang Liling immediately raised her head before quickly stepping closer with the shopping bag, "Mr. Fang, I''m really sorry aboutst night."

    There was another round of silence before Mr. Fang decided to speak again.

    "Do you remember all the things you didst night?" He asked quietly. His tonecked the signs of his current emotions.

    Any time he spoke that way in that kind of simr situation, Zhang Liling was usually more afraid.

    It would be better if his tone was heavy when she did something wrong, and light on a normal day. But for it to be light on the day shemitted a crime, that was abnormal.

    Zhang Liling quickly shook her head, "No Mr. Fang, but Butler Gu said I went into your room, and made you sleep in the studyst night. I''m sorry about that, I didn''t mean any of it."

    "Why did you summarize what you didst night? You are making your actions seem so simple when it isn''t." Mr. Fang asked with a finger rubbing his lower jaw. His gaze was still on her.

    As for the emotions in his eyes, they were totally blocked by his reading sses.

    "I''m sorry Mr. Fang! I''m too ashamed of my actionsst night to talk about it."

    Mr. Fang shook his head and said, "I want you to tell me in details of what you didst night. Tell me everything you remember and everything you were told by the butler, I want to confirm something from you."

    Mr. Fang wanted to see if she remembered anything that happenedst night, and most importantly, the most outrageous atrocity shemitted.

    Zhang Liling bowed and started to reply with her gaze down, but Mr. Fang forced her to look at him while exining.

    "I only remember meeting butler Gu when I stepped into the house. Then, I think I went toward the stairs. I can''t remember anything that happened after that, and why I would take the stairs, but from what the butler said, I went up the stairs. He said I went into your bedroom andid on your bed while you were in the bathroom." Zhang Liling got to this point and stopped.

    "Why did you stop, is that all?" Mr. Fang asked with a dangerous gaze.

    Zhang Liling had no choice but to continue, "He said that you called him toe and take me out from your bedroom, and that I must have done something more when I was there because, you were very angry when you called him. He doesn''t know what I did and I can''t remember anything. After that, he said you went into the study to spend the night because I left my alcohol scent on your sheets. Hence, the reason I had to air your bedroom this morning, and get you another bed sheet."

    "Is that all?" Mr. Fang asked with furrowed brows. He refused to believe that Zhang Liling suddenly had a memory loss.

    ''What does he want me to say again?'' Zhang Liling cried out in her heart.

    "He said I should buy the new bed sheet ande to your study with it."

    Mr. Fang scoffed and leaned towards his desk before asking in an audible tone, "Zhang Liling, don''t you remember kissing mest night?"

 Chapter 84 I Feel Faint

    "Zhang Liling, don''t you remember kissing mest night?"

    That...that question, just came out of the blue without warning, shocking Zhang Liling''s senses and chilling her bones at the same time.

    ''I kissed Mr. Fangst night? Why would I do that? Has my emotions gotten the better of me?''

    Zhang Liling looked frightened while staring at Mr. Fang''s face, as the man wasn''t smiling. His tone sounded sluggish as if he wasn''t bothered, but there was a gaze of impatience in his eyes.

    Seeing how lost she was, Mr. Fang pounded his desk with his fist to bring her back to the present. "Are you ignoring me?"

    Zhang Liling sensed the danger in his tone before quickly dropping to her knees with a small ''thud'' sound. "Mr. Fang, I know you might not believe me, but I can''t remember any of my actionsst night. I can''t remember getting into your bedroom."

    Zhang Liling was almost on the verge of tears when she confessed. She was afraid that she would really get kicked out this time around, and had to employ self-pity upon herself.

    Mr. Fang wasn''t going to buy that! Whether she remembered and regretted her actions herst night, he didn''t care.

    "I don''t care if you have a memory loss or not, I only want answers to my questions. I have never been treated like this by anyone from the opposite gender, you are the first one to do this. Did you draw your strength and courage after getting drunk? Was that a camouge?"

    Mr. Fang was wondering if she had been wanting to kiss him but didn''t get the courage to do so since, and then had to cover up by getting drunk.

    Zhang Liling was truly getting scared now by how far he was going with his hypothesis. Waving her hands about frantically, she said urgently, "Mr. Fang you are wrong! I mean, it was not my intentions to get drunk so I can get out of hand. I went to see my only closest friend in this City, Tungmei. We drank a bit, but I got carried away because I wanted to relief my stress."

    "You drank too much because you wanted a relief for your stress? Who taught you that? Forget about that one!" Mr. Fang quickly dismissed the questions as quickly as it came.

    Zhang Liling continued to kneel there, and was now feeling weaker for moving her hands about earlier. She didn''t even have any strength left to continue arguing.

    "Zhang Liling, think carefully before you answer my question. I want to know what prompted your actionst night, because surely you wouldn''t be kissing random people each time you get drunk. Why did you kiss me, do you like me?" Mr. Fang asked with an inquisitive gaze.

    His gaze still looked so serious while staring at her.

    ''Huh!'' Zhang Liling had a look of shock on her face because she wasn''t expecting that he would go as far as questioning her feelings for him.

    I mean, why did he have to concern himself about the feelings he shouldn''t know at this time? Was he going to send her away if she says the truth?

    What if she doesn''t say the truth, would she not get another chance to confess her feelings to him? Would he no longer regard her for lying?

    Zhang Liling''s thoughts were is disarray. As much as she was shocked by that question, she still needed to think carefully before giving her response.

    Mr. Fang continued to watch her while tapping his fingers on his desk. When he felt that she wasn''t going to respond after 20 seconds more of waiting patiently, he withdrew his fingers from his desk, but then he heard her speak softly.

    "Mr. Fang, I really like you, and that must have been what prompted my actions when I was drunk. I apologize for acting inappropriately, but I promise not to do anything absurd again." Zhang Liling confessed with her head lowered.<sub> </sub>

    She was afraid to see his judging eyes, but she was not afraid to have confessed her feelings for him so openly without reservation.

    Unlike the shameless thoughts that filled her head, she made sure to keep her confession clean, in order not to irritate him.

    ''What a bold one!'' Mr. Fang thought and then released a deep sigh.

    No anger or disgust could be seen on his face, but the next minute after being quiet with a neutral gaze, he turned serious.

    "Miss Zhang, because you are a bold one who did not deny her feelings, I won''t scold you or chase you out of my house, but I want what I''m about to say next to sink into your thick skill, because you are one trouble-looking woman I know!"

    Mr. Fang said that and paused. Zhang Liling slowly raised her gaze to meet his eyes. There was a relief on her face.

    She thought, ''If he doesn''t scold me or chase me out of his house, then I can endure anything he wants to say next.''

    After getting her attention, he continued, "I can never have anything to do with my student outside academics, so continue to hide your feelings while still working here. Also, I don''t want anymore troubles from you. I can''t remember ever tolerating someone for this long, you have to behave yourself and abide by the rules if you really want to have a good image."

    Zhang Liling was so happy that she smiled happily. She couldn''t believe that he was letting her off just like that for telling the truth.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang!" She said slowly, while trying to make her tone audible enough. She was so tired and weak that all she just needed was to eat and sleep.

    "You can leave!" Mr. Fang said to her before going back to his work. He didn''t want to see her face for the time being.

    Zhang Liling was asked to leave, but she was sitting on her legs for almost a minute, making Mr. Fang to be irritated.

    He nced at her with furrowed brows and asked, "Are you not leaving?"

    "Mr. Fang, is not that I don''t want to leave... I can''t stand up, and I feel faint." Zhang Liling said with a bitter expression on her face.

    Just as she said that, a veil seemed to fall off Mr. Fang''s eyes. He gazed at her face properly and saw how ashen it looked. Even her tone just now, sounded weak.

    Mr. Fang thought back to the fact that she must be feeling unwell because of drinking too muchst night, and had not taking any meds before starting with her punishment. He remembered Chuanli asking her to rest just before he left.

    He nced at her again to ask, "Are you unwell?" Zhang Liling shook her head.

    "You are so troublesome!" Mr. Fang said in an annoyed tone before getting up from his seat, and then takingrge strides towards her.

    Mr. Fang actually helped Zhang Liling to stand up from the floor effortlessly, despite her entire weight, leaning on him.

 Chapter 85 She Is Hungry

    As soon as Mr. Fang helped her up and wanted to let her arms go, she fell on him, and instinctively, he caught her arms.

    His brows furrowed in a tight frown. His countenance cold.

    "What do you think you are doing?" He questioned in a cold tone as his breath teased her neck.

    This was not the right moment to enjoy his touch and being in a close proximity as him, for she could also feel his irritation and anger, even in her weakness.

    "Mr. Fang, I haven''t eaten..." Zhang Liling said in ragged weak breathing.

    ''She is weak because she hasn''t eating anything since today?'' Mr. Fang couldn''t believe his ears. He wanted to scold her and ask why she hasn''t eating anything since she opened her eyes in the morning, but he refrained from doing that.

    There was no need getting angry at a weak young woman like her, it would be a waste of time and a waste of his emotions.

    "You haven''t eaten since today, are you a child?" He asked in gritted teeth as he led her out of his study, but Zhang Liling did not reply him.

    At this point, she was far too weak to open her mouth. She wouldn''t even mind if he thought her to be rude or brainless.

    She just wished that he could take her down the stairs and ask for food to be brought before her, that way she wouldn''t drop dead the next minute.

    Seeing that she wasn''t even making any attempt to speak, he guessed that she must be very weak, and refrained from saying anything to her, despite his anger.

    At first when she said that she was weak because she hasn''t eating the whole day, he wanted to call the butler toe and take her away, but if he left her side, she might fall, so he just optioned to take her down the stairs by himself.

    Chuanli and Bolin were chatting in the sitting room when they heard the weird distorted sound of someone''s footstepsing down the stairs.

    Both men exchanged nces and decided to go and check if Mr. Fang had decided toe down for the long awaited lunch.

    Before they could get there, they heard the butler''s surprised outburst, then they quickly rushed over, only to see Zhang Liling looking all weak, and being supported by the man whose cold gaze was capable of freezing a human being.

    Chuanli and Bolin exchanged shocked nces while thinking, ''Did he hit her?''

    The next moment, the two of them rushed to Mr. Fang''s side to assist him with holding Zhang on each arm.

    "Take her to the dining room!" Mr. Fang instructed as he allowed them to take Zhang Liling from him.

    "Bingwen, what happened to her? Why is she not saying anything, why is she so weak?" Chuanli asked while supporting Zhang Liling.

    "Are you not supposed to figure that out given that you are a renowned professional in the medical field? Or are you a quack?!" Mr. Fang said in annoyance before shifting his gaze to the shocked butler.

    "Has the food been served?" He asked.

    Butler Gu hurriedly replied, "Not yet, Sir."

    "What are you waiting for?!" Mr. Fang asked in a raised tone. His anger was clearly visible in his tone.

    Butler Gu didn''t need a soothsayer to tell him that he was angry. Quickly, he bowed slightly in apology before leaving his presence.

    Mr. Fang huffed before walking towards the direction of the dining room.<sub> </sub>

    After helping Zhang Liling to sit on the chair and lean her weight on the table, Chuanli quickly took her hand, and ced his thumb on her wrist, a little distance below her thumb finger.

    He was trying to press on her artery there, and examine her through it. He wanted to feel her pulse to find out what was wrong with her.

    Bolin noticed his actions, and stood at a ce to watch him, while trying not to make any distracting gesture.

    Zhang Liling sighed to herself as she watched Chuanli try to examine her. She wished she could just tell him to bring food for her instead of wasting both of their time, but unfortunately, she was too weak to make any audible sound.

    Now, she was wondering while Mr. Fang didn''t exin her situation to him, when he asked about it. She wondered if he was trying to teach her a lesson even in this state she was in.

    Ten secondster, Chuanli slowly dropped her arm before going further to check her pupils.

    "What is wrong with her?" Bolin asked curiously. He has been in suspense for a while now to not ask about how things were going.

    "She is weak. Her pulse is faint."

    "Why is she weak? Did she overwork herself or?" Just as Bolin asked that question, Mr. Fang replied as he stepped in.

    "She is hungry."

    ''Huh?''

    "She hasn''t eating anything since today after getting drunkst night. She did a load of work on an empty stomach, so she is bound to faint." Mr. Fang finished his statement and came to stand in front of Zhang Liling.

    "What? She is hungry? Why would she starve herself?" Chuanli asked in disbelief. "And what''s that about her getting drunk? Did she do that in your house?"

    "Is this the trouble she caused?" Bolin muttered under his breath.

    Mr. Fang didn''t answer them. He gave Zhang Liling onest look before going to sit at the head of the table.

    In less than a minuteter, Butler Gu and the chef, brought in several dishes andid them on the dining table.

    As soon as the aroma of the food wafted into Zhang Liling''s nostrils, a growling sound was heard from her stomach.

    Chuanli and Bolin exchanged nces and broke out in a chuckle. Bolin was trying hard to act appropriately, while Chuanli chuckled hysterically.

    ''She is truly hungry!''

    Zhang Liling was so embarrassed that she wished she had passed out.

    Mr. Fang scoffed and looked away. Then he nced at Chuanli and Bolin to ask with furrowed brows, "What is funny? If you don''t want to eat quietly, leave my house!"

    Immediately, they stoppedughing and found seats for themselves, before going to serve food for themselves.

    Chuanli was kind enough to serve food to Zhang Liling. He put the te of food in front of her before saying with a kind smile, "Miss Zhang, here is your food, but you need to drink a good quantity of water before you start eating."

    As he was finishing hisst sentence, he was uncapping a bottle of water and pouring the content into a ss cup, for her.

 Chapter 86 Abandoned Villa

    "Thank you!" Zhang Liling replied softly without meeting his gaze, as she picked up the ss of water to drink from it.

    After drinking up to half of it, she put the cup down before picking up her cutlery. She was so embarrassed that she had her head down from the start of lunch till the end.

    In the middle of eating, she felt a wave of pain in her stomach, and held that part of it, while trying to control her facial expression.

    But Chuanli having been paying attention to her, noticed the slight frown on her face and asked, "Miss Zhang, does your stomach hurt? Sorry, but you will have to endure the pain for a while."

    Zhang Liling nodded and continued to eat. She knew the pain was as a result of not eating on time.

    With all this happening, Zhang Liling did not realize whosepany she was in. This was the first time she was eating at the same table with Mr. Fang, and that too, apanied by his personal assistant and doctor.

    It was when she went to her bedroom to rest that she realised it.

    After eating, Zhang Liling thanked Mr. Fang and said in a nervous tone, "Mr. Fang, about the new sheets, I''m sorry I wasn''t able to get the exact colour as the old one. The store only had Cleopatra white, and as the only one in stock, I had no choice but to get it."

    Mr. Fang waved his hand. "Go to your room."

    He didn''t have the energy to scold her anymore, and with her being in a pathetic state, it''s not like he had nothing better to do.

    Chuanli and Bolin left after eating, and Mr. Fang didn''t remember about them until evening.

    They hade to his house together, but for what important reason? That was something he couldn''t figure out.

    *******************

    "Mum, what is this ce?" Zhang Mingyu asked with a look of shock on his face.

    Even in the day, he felt that the vi was creepy.

    Shi Wenqian nced at him and said with a smile, "Why don''t you go in and see for yourself?" Saying that, she shifted her gaze to Zhang Xiaoling to see her staring at the building in anger.

    She knew now, that she has realized where they were.

    Someone came out of the building and went to Shi Wenqian''s side. The man had a tattoo on his arm, and his chest looked bulgy. His looks were average and his hair was shaved.

    His countenance looked serious as he approached them.

    Bowing to Shi Wenqian, he greeted her before saying, "The match was put on hold until your arrival. Everyone has been waiting for a while now."

    "Good boys!" Shi Wenqian said with a smile before ncing at her son and daughter. "You two cover your noses with the face mask ande with me." Then she followed the man with the bulgy chest and went inside the building.

    Seeing Zhang Xiaoling about to tag along, Zhang Mingyu caught her hand to ask, "Xiaoling, are you just going in like that? Do you know what this ce is all about?"

    Zhang Xiaoling immediately hit his hand off in anger. "Are you asking me? Whose fault do you think it is, that we finally made it here?" She asked as her anger heightened.

    "What do you mean by that? How is any of this my fault?! Did I ask mum to bring us to an abandoned house?"

    Zhang Xiaoling scoffed. "If it was not because of your incapability to defeat and overshadow Zhang Liling, do you think I would ever step foot into this dammed ce?! Mingyu, I hope that after today, you will be forced to pull your shitty self together!" She said and walked past him.

    Zhang Mingyu was still tongue-tied by her outburst and watched her leave. If there was anything he got from her anger, it was the fact that she knew what was behind the abandoned building. And also, that stuff was not a good thing.

    "Are you noting along?" The housekeeper, secretary Cha asked while standing at the entrance of the building and staring at him with a neutral gaze.

    Zhang Mingyu released a deep breath before stepping forward. When he got to the entrance, he took the mask that was handed to him, before making his way inside.

    Zhang Mingyu was surprised to see that inside the mansion was looking different from his imagination. He thought that the inside would be wrecked, but obviously, it was in a good condition.

    So, the outward appearance was a disguise.

    There was even a living room, but the condition was not that bad. There were normal seats in their, and a small television secured on the wall.

    Taking a turn around the corridor, he saw two other hard-looking men staring at him. They were standing guard around the corner.

    Quickly, he turned his face away and continued the line down the corridor, where they took another turn before going down the stairs.<sub> </sub>

    "What?! This building has an underground part?" He said almost in a loud voice.

    Shi Wenqian who was at the forefront said, "Will you keep your voice down!"

    Zhang Mingyu didn''t say anything again, until they got to their destination, which shocked the hell out of him.

    This ce they were in now, looked like a shabby arena, and what was more surprising, were the men that were gathered in that room.

    Most of them hard tattoos, and their face was rough. But immediately they sighted them, they all got to their feet to greet the one they have been waiting for.

    The man with the bulgy chest who came to greet Shi Wenqian outside, introduced them to Shi Wenqian.

    "This is our boss, you can address her as Ma''am. You don''t need to know her name and what she looks like because now is not the right time."

    The man looked at the men in the room and continued, "Ma''am as always has graced us with her presence today. She has a huge mary gift to all the winners of today''s matches. But if you lose, you know what will happen."

    With that, he showed Shi Wenqian to the seat that has been prepared for her, which was in a ce that looked like a small VIP booth.

    "Housekeeper Cha, what kind of match are they ying?" Zhang Mingyu asked curiously.

    "Master Mingyu, please go ahead," Secretary Cha said while gesturing for him to follow behind Zhang Xiaoling who was already walking ahead.

    ''So, this is the ce where she secretly stores her blood bank and does her blood business?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought while ncing at every corner of the room.

    As for the men in the room, she didn''t bother to spare them much nce.

    ''Does she take their blood as punishment for losing the match, or is there other hideous things she does in this ce?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself as she took a seat beside Shi Wenqian in the booth.

    Zhang Mingyu also sat at the right-hand side of Shi Wenqian, and fixed his gaze at the open space.

    Soon, a hoarse masculine voice was heard through the speakers in the room.

    "The match is about to start. Please, let the contestants in the first round sign the agreement before stepping into the arena. Once you have signed the agreement, your life belongs to us if you lose. But if you take a look at the agreement and you don''t like it, you are free to step down frompeting."

    This announcement rang out again for two more times before it changed.

    "Alright, thepetition will start in 2 minutes. Will the contestants for the 1st round please step into the fighting Arena."

    Zhang Mingyu felt that this was not a good thing after hearing the first announcement.

    What does it mean by someone will lose the right to his life if he fails to win thepetition?

    Zhang Mingyu suddenly felt a shiver run through his spine. He nced at his mother whose face was covered up, and couldn''t tell her facial expression.

    He was wondering if she was who she normally disyed herself to be in the house. He really wanted to ask, ''Who is this woman that is sitting beside me?''

    Shi Wenqian felt his gaze on her and turned to look at him. "Why are you staring at me instead of paying attention to the stage?"

    Zhang Mingyu quickly moved his gaze away from her to stare at the stage. He was a little afraid.

    Zhang Xiaoling nced at him and noticed him clutching his shivering fingers when she shifted her gaze to it, and scoffed inwardly.

    If that he wasn''t her brother from the same mother, she could have sworn to teach him a big lesson from dragging her into this bloody mess rted to their mother.

    Soon, the bell rang to signal the start of thepetition after the twopetitors entered the ring. From a closer nce, their eyes were red, and they were staring at each other as if they were ready to devour their long time enemy.

    "Please pick your weapon." The man with the mic announced as three bulky men pushed in a mechanical truck load of different weapons. Almost all the dangerous kind of weapon was there, apart from a gun.

    The men about topete, hurriedly stepped forward to pick their weapons.

    "Here is a tip for picking your weapons. Don''t chose a weapon because it looks more intimidating, but pick the one that you can easily wield." The man with the mic announced with a smile stered on his face.

 Chapter 87 Bloody Scene

    [WARNING: Bloody scene ahead]

    The next scene Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu saw, was a bloody one, and they covered their mouth while screaming in fear and shock.

    Shi Wenqian was unfazed by their screaming and just smiled. "What are you two scared of, this is business!"

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling nced at her red at her with clenched fists. "This is business? You call going extreme with human lives business?!"

    "Shush..." Shi Wenqian shushed her. "Keep your voice down, don''t create a scene."

    "Mum!" Zhang Mingyu called in anger, but someone soon appeared behind him to squeeze his shoulders gently.

    "You should watch the show like a man, what are you being fussy for?" The voice sounded very rough and chilling.

    Zhang Mingyu shook his shoulders off his grasp to stare at him. "Don''t you dare touch me!" He warned with a re.

    The man behind him, raised his palms in the air, before letting out a funny chuckle.

    Zhang Mingyu shifted his gaze back to his mother, and could only see her smiling eyes, while focusing on the stage.

    ncing back to the stage, he saw the opponents bleeding, and the men in the audience, cheering for the one the wanted to win.

    ''This is madness!''

    "You two, listen to me." Shi Wenqian suddenly said without ncing at any of them. "This is how you treat your enemies. This is only the first step. The second one, I will show you after the match."

    "Did I ever say that I was interested in seeing any more of this madness?!" Zhang Mingyu asked angrily. Zhang Xiaoling red daggers at her mother while clutching her purse.

    If that woman wasn''t her mother, she would have already hit her in the face. She dared to bring them to the illegal ce she was handling.

    This was a criminal act punishable byw. By roping them into this mess, they wouldn''t be able to separate from her even if they wanted to.

    What was her aim? To tie them down to her side?

    "You don''t have to be interested. As long as I''m your mother, I will make the important decision myself. You only have to tag along, your own job is stress-free." Shi Wenqian said as she spared both of them a nce before ncing back at the stage to continue watching the fight.

    Seven minutester, the fight was over, and there was no survivor. Botherpetitors, killed each other.

    There was a boo sounding from the audience, as they were disappointed that no winner emerged. They even wondered the reason a weapon was used for that particr fight.

    Shi Wenqian smiled at the scene.

    The man who came to wee her when she first came, walked to her, and leaned over to say softly, "Ma''am, you cane back stage now."

    "Alright, let''s go! You two need to see the main deal!" Shi Wenqian said excitedly as she got up from her seat to nce at them before stepping away.

    Zhang Xiaoling scoffed and remained sitting. Zhang Mingyu was so angry that he removed the mask on his face and got up from his seat.

    He was about to scold his mother when one of the thugs rushed to stand in front of him and asked him to cover his nose.

    "Cover your nose!" Hemanded with a fierce gaze.

    Shi Wenqian heard that and turned around only to see that Zhang Mingyu had taken off his mask.

    She looked angry.

    "Mingyu, act appropriately. Your father was right, you don''t have any sense upstairs. I mean, how can you be brainless as to take off your mask in this kind of environment? What if the new guys who has not fully been won over recognizes you in public and takes that to their advantage, what do you think will happen even if you are innocent?"

    "What? How does any of this concern me in the first ce? If you didn''t bring us here, do you think that I would have ever found out about your dark side?"

    Zhang Mingyu was so angry. First, she brought him to a ce like this, despite knowing the dangers involved, and now she goes around to agree with his father''s statement that he was not intelligent.

    As angry as Zhang Xiaoling was with their mother, she was smart not to do anything as foolish as Zhang Mingyu. She even nced at him to say through gritted teeth, "Put on your mask now!"

    If he was recognized by the bad guys outside of this ce, then she would be exposed as well.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Mingyu nced at her and wanted to ask why he should listen to her, but his life was suddenly being threatened the next minute.

    The man standing in front of him and blocking others from seeing his face, suddenly unsheathed a knife and brought it to his neck without saying another word.

    Zhang Mingyu was so scared that he leaned a little away.

    "Fool!" Zhang Xiaoling cursed under her breath before standing to her feet and walking away.

    Seeing that it looked like no one was interested if he died or not, Zhang Mingyu quickly put his face mask back on, before being led out by the thug.

    Shi Wenqian led the way towards another corridor before the door which looked like a sterilising room was opened from the inside.

    "The both of you should follow the instructions here wisely. Allow the people here to help you into the clothes, gloves and masks." Shi Wenqian instructed to Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu, before turning around to walk into the inner room.

    ''What are we doing in this room?'' That''s what the siblings thought to themselves before following after their mother.

    A few minutester, they all came out from the room, dressed in a light blue clothe, with a waterproof clothe for the final wrapping.

    Their head were covered with a matching coloured cap. And their hands were covered with boots, plus the rubber boots on their feet.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu had a bad premonition about their dressing, after the dangerous bloody scene the first met with.

    One of the thugs, led the way to what looked like ughter house and opened the door for them.

    Immediately, the heavy stench of fresh blood wafted into their nostrils.

    ''What is this ce?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself as she made her way in.

    The next scene she saw, frightened her to her bones. The scent of blood was too strong for her to bear, and actually seeing a bloody organ being taken from someone''s body, caused her to feel ufortable.

    Her stomach was wretching.

    Zhang Mingyu was in a far worse state. At first, he thought there were people doing experiment, but the next scene said otherwise.

    Actually seeing the way these people dressed in a waterproof clothe were dipping their hands inside that body on the table, and taking this from the inside, frightened him.

    There were masks covering from their nose down to their jaws, so their facial expression couldn''t be made out except when you stare into their eyes.

    Just like that, the same body whose organs were taken out, was carried away ruthlessly, and another fresh body was put on the table.

    "Is that not one of thepetitors at the ring today?" Zhang Mingyu asked while pointing at the body. His tone was low because of fright.

    He recognised the clothes on him, just like Zhang Xiaoling did.

    "Doctor, his heart is still beating, but it''s faint. He can''t be saved." One of the thugs dressed just like the way Shi Wenqian and the others were dressed, said in an audible tone, to the doctor holding a scalpel and ready to cut open the stomach of the person lying next on his table.

    Since Shi Wenqian and the rest stepped in, the people inside the cold room hasn''t said a word to them or even a greeting, and that is because they didn''t need to since they were in the middle of an important money business.

    "I see..." The man addressed as doctor said before quickly using his scalpel to cut open from the chest area to the stomach area of thepetitor.

    For a second, Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling thought that the doctor was going to try to save the person because of what they heard, ''faint heartbeat'' but theck of any equipment such as heart monitor and the rest, only signified one thing...

    This was not a theater.

    The next scene these two siblings saw, caused a strong reaction from them.

    When they saw the doctor take out the slight beating heart of the man, and handed it over to someone, Zhang Mingyu''s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he copsed.

    As for Zhang Xiaoling, she was already on her knees wretching.

    Shi Wenqian just nced at them and shook her head. She was not moved, but she was not disappointed as this was their first time.

 Chapter 88 A Bet

    Zhang Xiaoling wretched her guts out before she was helped out of the room. Zhang Mingyu''s unconscious body, was carried out of the room.

    "Ma''am, maybe you shouldn''t have brought them here." Secretary Cha said as she watched the siblings being helped out of the room.

    "No, they will have to get used to it. This is the foundation that will support them in the future, they should know about it," Shi Wenqian said with her gaze at the entrance.

    *****************

    Zhang Liling was still trying to wrap her hands around what Mr. Fang said to her in the study. Because of hunger, her mind has been clouded and unable to think about any other thing other than food.

    "I kissed Mr. Fangst night?"

    Zhang Liling was lost in thought as she rubbed her lips lightly with her finger. She was trying to depict the feeling when one''s lips touches hers, while trying to picture the incident fromst night.

    No matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t remaining that scene. And that was her regret.

    She was thinking of his big her guts has gotten that she could even dare to kiss him while drunk. But she regretted that she couldn''t remember anything regarding the kiss, and the feeling that came with it.

    She didn''t even want to think about his facial expression because obviously, he would have been so shocked that he would push her aside.

    Also, he must have been so angry that he called Butler Gu to carry her out.

    "I kissed Mr. Fang and he still let me stay here..."

    Zhang Liling began to wonder how lucky she was to still be able to stay at his ce. Is the ice beginning to melt slowly?

    Giving herself a thumbs up for her audacity, she continued to wallow in thoughts.

    She was still trying to understand what Mr. Fang meant by his words after she owned up to her feelings.

    He said something about not dating his student, so does that mean that she could get a chance after she graduates?

    Right at that thought, Zhang Liling was brought back to reality from the ringing sound of her phone. She quickly picked it up and nced at it.

    The screen showed that Tungmei was the one calling, so she answered it immediately.

    "Liling, are you still alive after all that drinkingst night?" Tungmei asked as soon as Zhang Liling swiped to the ''answer'' button.

    "You knew I drank so much and you are just checking up on me now? What a good friend." Zhang Liling said with a lot of grievances.

    Considering how she suffered after waking up in the morning, she was looking for who to put the me on.

    Tungmei figured out the grievance in her tone and chuckled softly.

    "It''s not my fault that your kept drinking like there was no tomorrow. I couldn''t stop you since you wanted to release stress. I figured that you would have nice sleep after drinking."

    "More like I woke up with a banging head and had to work my ass out." Zhang Liling grumbled as the memories of her day yed out.

    ''Huh?'' Tungmei was confused.

    "Your house was clean, and I definitely made sure not to leave your house in a mess. What did you clean?"

    Zhang Liling realised that she had spoken more than she should and waved the topic away. "Forget it, you wouldn''t understand."

    "I can see that you are doing very fine now. See you in school tomorrow," Tungmei said happily.

    "You did very well by calling at the right time when i have gotten through the aftermath of drinking. See you in school tomorrow."<sub> </sub>

    There was a tinge of me in her tone.

    "Liling, don''t be angry. I will treat you to a cup of hot choco-milk if youe to school early tomorrow morning."

    This was a bet from Tungmei who didn''t like to bete for her sses.

    If Zhang Liling coulde to school early before sses starts, she would have that time to get her a healthy drink in the morning.

    "You don''t expect that I woulde to school on time do you? Don''t worry, since I have to make you spend your money on me, I will arrive early." Zhang Liling said and ended the call.

    Tungmei smiled to herself before putting her phone down.

    AT THE ZHANG FAMILY...

    Two cars pulled over in front of the building.

    Shi Wenqian stepped out of the first car to nce at the second car. When she didn''t sense any movement, she sighed to herself and walked ahead.

    They woulde out when they were done being angry.

    Inside the second car, Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling were left alone. None, saying anything to each other.

    They both looked like they didn''t have any ns of stepping out from the car, at least, not with that dark scrawl on their faces.

    They were still furious about what happens back at the abandoned vi they were taken to. The worst part of it all, was that Shi Wenqian was unapologetic about her actions.

    She even said to them, "You have 24 hours to report me to the police or forever hold your peace."

    Zhang Xiaoling had said to her in gritted teeth, "You are doing all this with so much confidence because you think we can''t report you to the police?"

    "Yes, because I am your mother. If I''m gone, then everything in the Zhang family would belong to Zhang Liling and her mother, or another family your father would bring in."

    Shi Wenqian said and nced at their angry faces and continued, "Or maybe because I am confident that you don''t have any evidence to proof that I''m rted to that organisation."

    Shi Wenqian had a good number of options to be able to exude that kind of confidence at that time.

    Remembering that boldness she spoke with, Zhang Xiaoling almost crushed her freshly done nails.

    "Are...are we going to...to let her get away with this?" Zhang Mingyu asked with a shaky voice.

    A half-dead human being was dissected in front of him, and his organ taken, and he was supposed to continue acting like nothing happened?

    "What do you n to do? Rat her out? You better curb your foolishness. Your thinking is supposed to have had a huge advancement by now." Zhang Xiaoling said to him.

    Zhang Mingyu''s facial expression slowly changed from fright to anger.

    "Are you saying that I should continue to live in fear and pretend as if nothing happened today? How am I supposed to forget what I saw?"

    "Do you have a choice? Anyway, you brought this upon us. Why am I even speaking to you?" Zhang Xiaoling said and got off the car.

    She was so pissed at everybody. Immediately she stepped foot into the house, she went straight to her bedroom and locked it.

    Only then did she feel relieved and slid down the floor as tears welled up in her eyes.

 Chapter 89 Snub

    In her tears, Zhang Xiaoling made a promise to herself not to be directly involved in her mother''s shams.

    She didn''t have a father to call her own, and her mother cared about her brother more than she did for her.

    In this life, she only had herself to be on the lookout. Now, she was only going to think for herself and no one else.

    When it was time for dinner, Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu didn''te out.

    The smell of food made both of them to wretch, and the scene from the day was still etched deeply in their heads, so how could they eat?

    Not after seeing that disgusting scene.

    Shi Wenqian was unbothered.

    In the middle of the night, Zhang Mingyu was covered in cold sweat while panting heavily. He had just woken up from a nightmare.

    He had dreamt that someone kidnapped him and took him to that same cold room were people were caught open.

    He too wasid on the table, his shirt torn, and the man with a masked face and theatre suit, holding up the scalpel before him.

    But right before he could bring down his hand to cut his chest open, he found his voice and screamed. That was how he woke up from sleep.

    Clutching his chest, he panted heavily while looking at his barely illuminated room, as cold sweat ran down the side of his cheeks from his forehead.

    After taking a breather to calm his nerves, he got off his bed to turn on the lights in his room.

    That night, he could sleep properly.

    The next morning, he woke up with panda eyes, just like Zhang Xiaoling. But hers wasn''t that noticeable since she used makeup to cover everything up.

    Shi Wenqian was at the dining room already sitting with Zhang Renshu when she saw Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling making their way for the door.

    "Are you two not going to eat before leaving?"

    Zhang Renshu raised his gaze to nce at them before he continued with his meal.

    "I am not hungry," Zhang Xiaoling replied before leaving.

    "I don''t think that I can stomach anything, not after watching someone ughtered and his organ ripped out! A what a bloody scene!" Zhang Mingyu said as he made a disgusted look.

    Zhang Renshu did not find his words funny, neither did Shi Wenqian, but thetter was able to control her emotions.

    Thinking that he has been watching movies, Zhang Renshu rebuked him, "What kind of useless movies have you been watching?! You better focus on your studies and be serious with you life if you still want to get a minor role at the Zhang Group!"

    Zhang Mingyu nced at Shi Wenqian with a small smile before shifting a neutral gaze back to Zhang Renshu.

    "Yes," He replied and turned to leave with an ugly expression on his face.

    He didn''t find the joke he made to be funny.

    Outside the house, Zhang Xiaoling said to him, "Mind what you say, can''t you see that mum is done pampering you? If you continue to misbehave, she might torture you again."

    "Do you think that I am a fool that will follow her to some ce again?"<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Xiaoling shook her head and said, "I am saying this because you are my brother. Don''t act like a child. You don''t need to follow her to some ce before you are taught another lesson, she can always bring the lessons to you."

    After saying that, Zhang Xiaoling got into her car and ignited her engine.

    Zhang Mingyu was still shocked that he got himself when she was about to dive off. He quickly screamed for her to stop, and luckily for him, she did.

    "Please drop me off where I can get a cab," He said as he got into the front passenger seat.

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t respond to his request. She put the car on driver after he shut the door, and drove away from the house.

    Silence was ensured between them until they got to NY University.

    After pulling over in front of the University, Zhang Xiaoling put the car on park and said to him, "I don''t think that I would have any good reason to pick you up in my car again. So, get your acts together."

    Zhang Mingyu slowly moved his gaze to her before saying, "Thanks for the ride,"

    Then he got off the car and watched drive off speedily. He nced at the gates and released a deep sigh before making his way in.

    He left for school early today, but there were still a lot of students within because if those that had morning sses.

    As his thoughts were wandering, he saw a familiar figure walking towards his direction. He recognised that person as his half-sister, Zhang Liling, and immediately, anger shouldered him.

    She was the very reason his parents found him ipetent to take over thepany. Since her appearance, things had be difficult for him.

    Because of her, he was exposed to that bloody scene the previous day. His mother thought that he should learn to be courageous after seeing that kind of scene.

    Zhang Liling who was walking towards him, saw him from a distance. She was only surprised that he was in school early and using his feet.

    She was tempted to stop in her steps when she got to his side to ask some curious questions, but changed her mind quickly.

    Also, she noticed the anger visible on Zhang Mingyu''s face. Even after she walked past him, he did not say anything to her, or react teasingly.

    She thought his reaction to be weird, but didn''t dwell on it. She was hurrying to go and meet Tungmei at the caf¨¦, so she could have a free cup of hot Choco-milk.

    Whatever that was happening in the Zhang family, did not concern her.

    In Zhang Mingyu''s mind, Zhang Liling was responsible for the turmoil he was experiencing, and he wanted to so badly take revenge on her.

    If he only he could do better than her, but that was only a wishful thinking.

    As for Shi Wenqian, her mind rxed after Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling left the house. They were not going to rattle her out.

    But she could still tell and understand their anger, but it''s not like they had a choice. They were her children raised by her. It was only right to show them their foundation at the right time.

    How did they think she made her money? Was it by the penny Zhang Renshu gave to her to manage the household with monthly? Or was it her Art gallery?

    That would be a joke!

    She made her money through her secret organisation by organ trafficking.

 Chapter 90 Her Scent

    "Bingwen, just let me get a sample of Miss Zhang''s blood. You only have to say YES to this, and I will go and meet Miss Zhang myself!"

    Chuanli couldn''t have found a better way to start his day than to call Mr. Fang and bug him with his request.

    Mr. Fang was quiet for a while before saying, "Give me some time to think about it."

    "What do you need to think..."

    Chuanli didn''t get to finish his sentence before he heard the beep from his phone, signifying that the ongoing call has been terminated.

    "This...this guy!" Chuanli gritted his teeth while ncing at his wallpaper. He was so furious.

    He was the one that made the call alright!

    Anyway, it''s not like he would gain anything from making a fuss out of the matter. He was already used to his friend''s bossy attitude.

    Mr. Fang who said that he would think about his request, was currently dressing and ready to leave for work.

    He had thrown his phone on the chair in his walk-in closet before going on to stand in front of the mirror and continue to fix his necktie. He hadn''t the time to think about any other thing apart from work.

    After knotting his tie, he picked up his work bag and suit jacket before leaving. He ended up meeting butler Gu at the doorstep of his bedroom and wrinkled his nose.

    Bowing slightly, Butler Gu greeted and said, "Sir, I was about to remind you for breakfast. Also, would you like to take some food away for lunch today?"

    He noticed his irritation, but still went ahead to state the very reason he was there.

    "Why did you use two and a half shot of your perfume?" Mr. Fang asked with a frown as he reached out to block the passage in his nose with a finger, as lined appeared on his forehead.

    Hearing that, Butler Gu took a few steps away from him before proceeding to sniff his shirt.

    Remembering where he was, he quickly put down his arm and bowed his head in apology. "I apologize for my irrational behaviour."

    The man was shocked at his uracy. He was right about him using two and a half shot of his perfume bottle, when he was only supposed to use only 2 shots.

    How did he know about that?

    Oh! He just remembered that it was possible, given the issue he had.

    Butler Gu seemed to know about Mr. Fang''s struggles and sensitivity when it came to scents.

    That morning after getting dressed, he picked up his perfume which was already rmended in the contract.

    As he pressed the pump the first time, he discovered that it faced the wrong direction. Although knowing that only a little quantity got on his shirt, he didn''t include that count and proceeded to position the pump properly this time around before using 2 shots.

    Who knew that Mr. Fang would notice.

    "Since you are working closely for me, you should be careful not to make mistakes such as this," Mr. Fang warned with a slight irritation in his tone, while still protecting his nose with his finger.

    Butler Gu hurriedly apologized again with a bow, "Sir, forgive me impudence, I will be more careful next time."

    Mr. Fang finally let him off and made his way towards the stairs.

    Butler Gu took that as a sign and immediately followed after him.

    "There is no need to pack lunch for me today," Mr. Fang said just as he was about to repeat the previous question.

    "Okay, Sir." Butler Gu replied.

    As soon as both men made it down the stairs, they went their separate ways.

    Mr. Fang went towards the dining room, while butler Gu went to the kitchen to pass a few instructions to the chef.

    While making his way out of the kitchen, he lost collided with Zhang Liling who obviously came to get her food.

    "Ah! I almost bumped into you!" Zhang Liling said with smiling eyes as she stepped out of the way for the old man to pass, but he didn''t.

    Butler Gu stood there and watched her with a slight frown. His hands were folded at his back.

    Thinking that she has done something wrong, and wanted to scold her, Zhang Liling frowned. "What wrong have I done this time around? I have already done theundry I leftst night."

    "Why is your perfume scent so obvious, did you use more than 2 shots?" Butler Gu asked with a frown.

    "How did you know, is it that obvious?" Zhang Liling asked with smiling eyes. "I thought my second perfume didn''t posses enough strength, so I used about 4 shots."

    Butler Gu was speechless. "Did you never read the rules regarding the number of perfume shots we should use a day?"

    "I did, but none isined. It''s not like I do this all the time."

    ''No one isining?'' Butler Gu didn''t know what to her next.<sub> </sub>

    "For today, stay away from Mr. Fang if you don''t want to be rebuked. You should actually learn to follow instructions."

    Zhang Liling frowned slightly and asked curiously, "Why would I be scolded? This was a mistake on my part."

    "Have you forgotten that Mr. Fang is sensitive to smells, and it''s because of that, that the rule was added in the first ce." Butler Gu asked in surprise.

    Just what as she been reading and thinking about since she started working for Mr. Fang

    "Who told you that? Are you mistaken?" Zhang Liling looked confused, as she wondered if the butler was thinking too much.

    When she saw the rule about the kind of perfume they were to use, and the number of shots to be used each day, she thought that Mr. Fang only wanted to control them from using perfumes with irritating scents, and the number of shots, so they could not wear heavy perfume as household workers.

    Butler Gu saw her ignorance and didn''t want to believe that she didn''t even know something as important as that.

    "Do you know how many times I have been scolded for using more than 2 shots of perfume, or for using the wrong one?" Butler Gu asked, while staring directly into her eyes.

    "How many?"

    "Well, it''s not much since I like to be very professional with my work. At most, I have been scolded thrice for my negligence based on my scent." He confessed.

    Zhang Liling speed out her palms and said, "But I have been scolded for making mistakes with my scent."

    Butler Gu gave up on her. If she wanted to be punished so badly instead of taking corrections, then, so be it. He has done his part.

    Atst, Butler Gu left her and walked away.

    Zhang Liling who was supposed to be feeling carefree, was suddenly intrigued by what the butler said.

    Was Mr. Fang really sensitive to smells?

    Then she remembered the questionnaire she was given to answer by Chuanli who happened to be Mr. Fang''s doctor.

    She also recalled Mr. Fang''s actions back then before she came to his house. She remembered that any time she came close to him, he would take a step backwards and ask her not toe any closer.

    Something, he would cover his nose, or it would wrinkle on it''s own.

    Other times, he would have the expression of irritation on his face if she stepped anywhere closer to him.

    Now she was wondering if he was really sensitive to smells or not.

    But since she came to work for him in his house, she has made some mistakes about her scent, but has never been scolded.

    She could also remember getting close to him during those times, but he never seemed to notice, but why was that?

    If Butler Gu has made mistakes 3 times and got scolded, why would she who have made more mistakes then him not get scolded

    Zhang Liling just couldn''t understand things, and just decided to have her breakfast first. She had almost wasted 5 minutes standing in one ce.

    After getting her food from the kitchen, she went to the living room only meant for the servants of the house, to eat.

    When she finished she went to pick up her bag and got ready to leave for school. As she stepped out of the house, she saw Mr. Fang about to step into his car, just as one of his bodyguards opened the car door for him.

    "Mr. Fang!" She called out without thinking, and then regretted it the next second.

    Why did she call out to him?! Was she hoping that he could somehow drop her off somewhere she could easily get a taxi? Or did she want to check something with him regarding her scent?

    Whichever reason it was, Zhang Liling couldn''t tell because right now, she was forcing a smile while staring at Mr. Fang who had stopped to look at her.

    Mr. Fang didn''t say anything, and just stared at her through his reading sses, as if waiting for her to say the reason she called him for.

    ''What is it?'' His gaze seemed to ask.

    Zhang Liling was a little at lost on what to say to him.

    There was no way she would tell him to forget, since he had already halted in his step and turned to look at her.

    That would be wasting his time and taking him for ggranted so it was just better to say something. And with that thought, she said as she stepped closer to him.

    "Mr. Fang, do you have any project for us before our final exams?"

    "Why do you want to know?" He asked with a frown.

    He was able to notice something different about her scent today, and he wasn''t feeling too happy about it.

    Smiling sheepishly, she replied, "I just want to prepare myself for the possible topic if there would be anyst project from you."

    Mr. Fang ignored her question and went on to ask, "You didn''t obey the rule about the number of shots you should use daily today, did you?"

 Chapter 91 Special To Mr. Fang

    ''He knows?''

    "I... I''m sorry." She apologized. She didn''t see any need to exin herself.

    Now, she knew how right Butler Gu was. Mr. Fang was sensitive to scent, but she still had some things to find out about him.

    There was no way she could ask him questions directly, leaving her with the best option of approaching Bolin.

    Mr. Fang turned towards his car and said while stepping, "Get in!"

    ''Huh? He''s letting me join him on the ride?''

    Zhang Liling was confused and remained standing there. It was the gaze from the bodyguard that reminded her that she needed to get into the car.

    She hurried toward the car and made her way to the other door of the passenger seat. She already saw the bodyguard getting into the front passenger seat.

    As soon as she opened the car door and helped herself in, her scent wafted into Mr. Fang''s nostrils. He nced at her with a frown.

    He was annoyed about his servants misbehaving with their perfumes that day. He didn''t even know what he was thinking when he asked her toe join him in the car.

    Thankfully, her perfume scent did not affect him that much, it just heightened his sense of smell, and made him aware of it.

    Now, he was wondering just how much of her perfume she used that morning.

    Zhang Liling felt his gaze on her, and shifted towards the door nervously. She tried to make herself feel small or even invincible, but the sound from her phone, further made her presence known.

    She cursed under her breath before taking out her phone from her backpack. She was just grateful that it wasn''t a call, or she would have been worried about disrupting Mr. Fang''s peace.

    ncing at her phone screen and seeing a text from Tungmei, she stole a nce at the man sitting beside her to see that he was already looking elsewhere. She sighed in relief before sending a response to Tungmei.

    ''Liling, are you on your way to school now?''

    ''Yes...''

    Next, she out her phone on silence before slipping her phone into her bag pack.

    The silence in the car was almost unbearable for her. She didn''t realize that she has been holding her breath until the car pulled over at where she could take a cab and ride a bus to school.

    As soon as she stepped out the car, she released a deep sigh.

    ''Oh! Zhang Liling! If you are afraid of being with him in a littlepartment, how can you love him fearlessly and attract his attention?''

    Maybe the guilt of forcefully kissing him while drunk, just like he told her, made her still feel guilty.

    Remembering about his sensitivity with scents, she picked up her phone from her bag, and found Bolin''s contact while waiting for a cab.

    She would prefer a cab to a bus, and luckily, she was able to g one down just as she pressed the dial button beside Bolin''s contact.

    Giving her destination to the driver, she climbed in and responded to Bolin''s greeting.

    "Hell, Miss Zhang! How can I help you?"

    Boling had just parked his car at the underground parking lot when Zhang Liling''s call him. While taking out his workbag, stepping out of the car, closing his car door and trying to lock his car, he answered her call.

    Zhang Liling who was at the other end, listened attentively and heard all those movements and noise.

    Not wanting to waste his time, she said to him, "Is Mr. Sensitive to scents?"

    Because she was in a public ride, she didn''t want to mention Mr. Fang''s name and only addressed him as, ''Mr.''

    Bolin understood when he heard the way she addressed him, and from the sound of cars, he guessed that she was on the road.

    "Yes, he is. Did you cause trouble again?" Bolin asked as he headed for the elevator.

    He couldn''t think of any other reason she called. She was known for calling him when she was in trouble.

    "Well, I almost. I neglected one of the rules by wearing more shots than usual, and he noticed." Zhang Liling replied.

    "Did he scold you?" Bolin went on to ask as he pressed on the elevator doors for it open, before stepping inside.

    Thinking back to his calm demeanour, she concluded that it can not be taken as scolding her, so she immediately denied it.

    Bolin sighed in relief that at least, she was still different to him.

    "Then you don''t have to worry too much because you are an exception. But that doesn''t mean you should neglect the rules and do what you want, you can easily offend Mr. Fang again." Bolin advised.

    Zhang was a bit confused. She was an exception? How was she an exception?<sub> </sub>

    Without thinking, she voiced out her thoughts.

    Bolin sighed as he got off the elevator after arriving at the floor he requested. "Just know that you are different. Well, you should be tight-lipped regarding Mr. Fang''s matters."

    When the call ended, Zhang Liling was still lost in thought. ''She was different?''

    Thinking back to the conversation she heard with Butler Gu in the morning, of how he was scolded each time for not following the rules when it came to his scent, and how she was never scolded for once, she began to think...

    ''Was this the meaning of the difference Mr. Bolin mentioned?''

    Was this the reason she was never scolded because he could tolerate her scent?

    Thinking that she was somehow exclusively special to Mr. Fang, a smile like the daisies, bloomed on her face.

    After now, she was going to keep watch on Mr. Fang''s actions and reactions to what Bolin said, while making sure not to drive him to anger.

    Zhang Liling being keen about her thoughts, actually went on to carry out the tests, and deicovered something.

    Whether she uses perfume or not, Mr. Fang doesn''t get irritated with her scent. As along as she didn''t smell bad.

    Using 3 shots of perfume didn''t affect him, but ording to Butler Gu whom she confronted again concerning the issue, two and a half shots was all he needed to be irritated.

    So, she was truly different, and this is what she came to a conclusion with.

    The feeling of being relevant, important and special to the one you love, was truly exceptional.

    ************************

    No matter how much effort Zhang Mingyu tried to put in his studies, he was still frustrated, and couldn''t make any progress.

    It was toote to try to be better because they were already rounding off thest lectures before their final exams.

    The frustration at not making any progress and struggling with his studies, coupled with the realization of maybe not being able to make good results, forced him to see for his mother''s help as usual.

    He asked for her to help him with his academics, as she has always been the one to pull a few strings for him.

    Zhang Mingyu didn''t want to ask for her help since he and Zhang Xiaoling has been ignoring her, but he was left with no choice.

    Fortunately, she didn''t make jest of him.

    "Give me the list of all your courses for this semester, and the professors handling them." Shi Wenqian said with a calm gaze.

    "I don''t need help with all of them, just a few. There are still those that I am very foot at." Zhang Mingyu replied.

    He didn''t want to be looked down on for not being good at anything, hence his statement.

    Shi Wenqian has been in his shoes, and moreso, she could read him like an open book. Still, she didn''t point anything out.

    She adjusted herself on the couch. "If you want a good clean up, then you should do as I have asked. Learn this, when asking for help from someone who is willing, make sure to use their full potential for your own benefit."

    Zhang Mingyu nodded and left without another word.

    Zhang Xiaoling who was listening to their conversation from a corner, sniggered.

    Se didn''t me Zhang Mingyu from seeking help when she needed it, especially when he was in that current predicament.

    Since their father wanted to take away the position he promised him, then it wasn''t wrong to seek help even from those he didn''t want to ha e anything to do with.

    Since his mother was going to help, a burden was lifted off his shoulders.

    As soon as he got into his bedroom, he went to his desk to make the list his mother requested, before going back to the living room to hand it to her.

    Shi Wenqian nced at the list before asking him to leave.

    ***********************

    "...Tungmei, you must understand what I''m saying. You must study hard this period because of your scores. Only good scored can get you into thepanies owned by the big men in S City."

    Tungmei has been on a 15 minute long call with her father, and she was getting tired with it. She wished she could stop him from nagging.

    Tungmei''s father continued with his endless nagging and advice, not caring if she was paying attention or not.

    "Know that if you fail to get into any of this Toppanies, I will no longer support you. And you can''te back to live off me! You need to work in a bigpany to earn high wages to help me support your brother through school, and the family!"

 Chapter 92 Finding Him Directly

    Tungmei has really had enough of her father''s incessantints and nagging about studying, but she didn''t really do anything about it.

    There was no way she could scold him and tell him straight to his face to stop pestering her.

    She used to love studying because she wanted to do her best if that is what she could give, but with him always putting pressure on her, she was beginning to lose her purpose, and see studying as a hassle.

    After the long conversation ended, Tungmei quickly put him on her cklist before keeping her phone aide. She sighed in relief and ran her fingers through her short ck hair.

    Tungmei had so many things to process in her head, but then she heard her phone ring and got a huge fright.

    ''I thought I cklisted him'' She thought in anguish before peeking at her lit phone screen only to see Zhang Liling''s name. She patted her chest before picking up her phone and answering the call.

    "Liling, you almost scared me!"

    "Why would my call give you a fright, did you do something wrong against me?" Zhang Liling teased.

    Tungmei sighed. "I thought it was my father because I just cklisted his contact."

    Zhang Liling found this interesting and sat up on her seat immediately. "Wow! Tungmei, you really have such guts, but why would you do that? Did he nag you again?"

    Tungmei did not deny it. "¡­he is making me lose focus in my studies, and I figured that it would be good to get rid of every kind of distraction."

    "So, you cklisted his contact? I must congratte you for taking this step, but are you not worried that hee to find you when he realizes what you have done?"

    "I''m not afraid. It''s not like he can afford to take a few days off from work toe to the S city to look for me." Tungmei didn''t seem to mind.

    At this point, she didn''t care about what her father would think or do. She just needed maximum concentration, and thest thing she wanted to hear, was his voice.

    Zhang Liling tapped her fingers on the desk and said in a lively tone, "I wish you I can have your kind of courage, but if I try your method, my father would personallye looking for me the next minute, so I dare not act rashly."

    "Our lives are different." Tungmei groaned.

    The two friends ended up talking about theirst sses that week, which would be thest time they would ever get to sit together in a hall to listen to a professor teach them.

    They also talked about Mr. Fang''s ss, which would be thest.

    "Liling do you think that Mr. Fang would give us a project to do?" Tungmei asked after gossiping for a bit.

    "I wouldn''t know. I asked him about it yesterday, but instead of responding, he retorted with another question. I guess we would never know until ourst ss with him."

    Zhang Liling replied without thinking and regretted it the next moment. She covered her mouth as she almost pped it.

    She almost revealed the kind of rtionship she had with Mr. Fang by giving that kind of reply.

    Was she the course representative to meet professors or a man like Mr. Fang to ask that kind of question?<sub> </sub>

    Not knowing what was going on at the end, Tungmei praised her.

    "Liling, you must have an extra life span in the Zhang family, because how could you meet Mr. Fang to ask him about it? How did you withstand his cold countenance to be able to hold a conversation?"

    Zhang Liling immediately tried to cover things up by acting like Mr. Fnag gave her a hard time.

    "Mei, forget it, I don''t even want to think about it."

    Tungmei did not suspect anything and chatted a bit with her before their conversation ended. They had to go back to studying.

    ***************************

    "What are you doing here?" Mr. Fang asked with a frown as he looked up from his desk and saw the familiar face that just stepped into his office.

    Chuanli smiled sheepishly and helped himself to one of the seats in front of his desk.

    "I thought it would be better for us to talk one on one." He said with a bright charming smile that did not have any effect on someone like Mr. Fang.

    Mr. Fang ignored him and asked himself in an audible voice that he too would be able to hear. "Perhaps, Bolin is tired of working for me."

    Chuanli heard that and immediately intervened. "Are you thinking of firing Bolin? Your personal assistant did nothing wrong."

    He understood the meaning behind his words and knew the reason he said that. That could only be because Bolin let him in without his permission.

    Mr. Fang closed hisptop before staring straight at his face. "If you came here to ask for permission to get Zhang Liling''s blood, the answer is NO, so just leave."

    "Bingwen, why are you being so stubborn?" Chuanli asked frustratedly. Mr. Fang only red at him for using that word on him.

    Seeing no other reaction apart from the re from him, Chuanli continued. "You are really one of those patients that draw their doctors back. This can really be a pain in the ass."

    "Did you just call me a patient? Do I look like one to you?" Mr. Fang finally reacted. His re was icy now as he seemed to hate being addressed as a patient.

    His annoyance did not move Chuanli. He spread out his hands and asked in wonder.

    "If you are not my patient, are you my customer? As you can see, I am not a businessman, I am a doctor, YOUR doctor, so that makes you my patient."

    Mr. Fang''s lips moved as he continued ring at him, but he seemed unable to form a sentence. Before he could even manage to utter a word, Chuanli continued,

    "Surely you do not expect to be addressed as my friend now, because you have always addressed me so formally, ''Dr. Li'' do you remember?"

    Chuanli was definitely here to tease him¡­

 Chapter 93 Meeting Her

    Mr. Fang didn''t have the time to get angry or y around with words, so he let him off the hook so easily.

    "I don''t have time to y with you when I have to make money, while youe around to be a distraction."

    Chuanli felt insulted and held his chest with a twisted look on his face as if he felt real pain. "You are so mean!"

    "I know, thank you!" Mr. Fang answered sarcastically.

    "Who knows what sin Imitted in my past life to be punished by knowing you today¡­" Chuanli said while shifting his gaze to his face.

    ''What a beautiful face being wasted on a ck-belly man'' Chuanli thought to himself.

    "I have approved for the blood test," Mr. Fang said and immediately cut Chuanli off before he could start rejoicing. "Make sure your findings are worth the blood collection. I will leave you to deal with her directly."

    By ''her'' Mr. Fang meant Zhang Liling, and Chuanli understood.

    There was a visible grin on his face while standing to his feet. "I don''t know why you chose to make things difficult for me when you could just say ''yes'' from day 1. Anyway, thanks for your approval."

    Mr. Fang did not get the opportunity to threaten him because he left the very moment he said thest word.

    Lucky guy¡­

    From his office, Chuanli went straight to Bolin''s office to find him. He knew that he couldn''t ask Mr. Fang for Zhang Liling''s contact, not after what he said, hence, he came to his other alternative.

    Bolin saw the smile on his face as soon as he stepped into his office and knew that things had gone well.

    "He approved of it. I don''t know why he had to stress my life out before agreeing to something that will all be for his own benefit." Chuanliined as he sat cross-legged on the only couch in the space.

    <o>,m "Mr. Fang has been your friend for so many years, I''m sure you know him very well and how to handle him," Bolin said with a polite smile.</o>

    Chuanli rolled his eyes. "Handle him? Who can handle him? He is the only one that can handle himself. No wonder he is still single."

    Bolin wanted to ask why he was still single but refrained from doing that since he did not yet have an intimate rtionship with him.

    "Dr. Li, how can I help you?" He asked politely.

    "That''s right!" Chuanli was reminded of the reason he came back to his office and took out his phone. "Send Miss Zhang''s contact to me, I need to give her a call."

    Bolin picked up his phone from the right-hand side of his desk. He found Zhang Liling''s contact and quickly sent it to him.

    Immediately he got the message, he smiled and got to his feet. He thanked Bolin for his help before finally leaving.

    As soon as he got into the elevator, he dialed Zhang Liling''s contact. The phone rang for a really long time but no one answered.

    ''Could she be in ss right now?'' He thought to himself before dialing Bolin''s contact this time around.

    "Do you know Miss Zhang''s schedule? Do you think she is in ss right now?" He asked as soon as the call was answered.

    Bolin quickly checked the time on his wristwatch before replying, "It''s likely possible that she is still in ss. You can leave her a text."

    "Thank you!" Chuanli said and ended the call.<sub> </sub>

    On his way to his car in the underground car parking lot, he saved Zhang Liling''s contact before proceeding to send her a text which read¡­

    ''Hello, Miss Zhang! It''s Dr. Li Chuanli. I need to see you urgently, please call me back as soon as you can.''

    His tone sounded formal, but the smiling emoji he added at the end, ruined everything.''

    He must have read the message again and noticed how serious he sounded, and decided to add an emoji to lighten the mood.

    Zhang Liling only saw his missed calls and text after ss. The information on his text, made her know it was from him, and hurriedly called him back after she parted ways with Tungmei.

    "Hello, Dr. Li. It''s Zhang Liling, did something happen?" Zhang Liling quickly asked as soon as the call connected.

    Chuanli worked for Mr. Fang, and as one of the closest people to him, Zhang Liling respected him, so she was worried when she saw his text. Thinking that something must have happened to Mr. Fang, she became worried.

    Hearing Zhang Liling''s voice atst, suddenly brightened Chuanli''s gloomy mood. His smile reached his ears as he said enthusiastically, "Miss Zhang, where are you now, can we meet?"

    From his tone, Zhang Liling guessed that the matter was not serious. And because she recognized his voice, she directly told him where she was.

    "I see that you just finished from a ss. Can youe towards your university gates within the next 10 minutes?"

    Chuanli nced through his windshield and was in time to see the red light turn to green, and immediately stepped on his pedal.

    His phone was connected to his car''s Bluetooth which made speaking to Zhang Liling while on the road, very easy.

    Zhang Liling checked the time on her phone before replying, "Okay, Dr. Li"

    She had wanted to ask if Mr. Fang knew about their meeting, but he already ended the call before her lips could move.

    ''What a fast guy!'' She thought

    Thinking about Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling realized that she didn''t have his contact, and hoped that one day she would be able to have it.

    With her phone in hand, she started making her way towards her school''s gate, which would take her a few minutes.

    This was the disadvantage of attending a big college when you have no car. During summer, you will trek in the sun and rain without a choice.

    "Maybe I need to get an umbre!" Zhang Liling said to herself as the harsh sun rays hit her head. The feeling of the sun rays hitting her directly was scorching¡­.

    She couldn''t wait to step into Chuanli''s car and cool off with the help of the air-conditioning.

    /////////////

    <strong>(This month of June, I will be steady with 2 chapter daily updates. I will give a mass release once this month which wille towards the 3rd week. </strong>

    <strong>But if I see any sign of encouragement from you, I will add 1-2 extra chapter updates any day if we meet our goals.</strong>

    <strong>Thank you for you support in advance... XOXO)</strong>

 Chapter 94 Involving Her

    Zhang Liling didn''t make it to the gate because Chuanli drove in and met her on the way.

    From his tinted car, Chuanli saw Zhang Liling walking toward his car with squinted eyes, and smiled. He had to slow down and parked before honking just as she was about to pass his car.

    It was normal since Zhang Liling did not know his car, and it was good that he knew and honked before rolling down his side of the window to greet her with sunshades blocking his smiling eyes.

    "Miss Zhang!"

    With the car honking and name-calling, it was impossible not to attract her attention.

    Zhang Liling heard her name and turned to see the car window of the car she just passed, rolling down, before a familiar head popped out. She almost couldn''t recognize the face if he didn''t go on to take off his sunshades,

    "Dr. Li?" She called out surprisingly before taking a few steps back toe to his side.

    "Get in," He said while gesturing for her toe into his car from the other side, which she quickly did since her skin was burning from having been walking in the scorching sun for a few minutes.

    She was also perspiring a little.

    After she got into his car, she put her backpack next to her feet before securing her seatbelt.

    Chuanli had already rolled up the car window and put back his sunshades. "Miss Zhang how were sses today? When are your exams starting?"

    "Today''s sses went well since we got to get a few areas of concentration for our studies. Exams will begin 2 weeks after ourst sses." Zhang Liling smiled at the end.

    "Has Mr. Fang taught hisst ss yet?" He asked with interest as he reserved the car from that spot before heading for the gate.

    "Actually, he is to teach usst," Zhang Liling said still with a smile on her face.

    Chuanli went on to ask her so many questions like how Mr. Fang''s attitude was toward his students and so on. Zhang Liling made sure to give him an honest reply since he requested it.

    "I see that he is very strict¡­" He trailed off.

    "Dr. Li, you wanted to meet me urgently, is anything the matter?" Zhang Liling questioned. They were done chatting which helped to make them a little bit familiar with each other, now it was time to talk about the real business of seeking her.

    Chuanli smiled and said with his eyes on the road, "I came to meet you regarding the form you filledst time, but we will talk while snacking."

    "Oh!" Since he put it that way, she had to be patient then.

    SOME MINUTES LATER¡­

    Zhang Liling nced at the light lunch that was served to her and wondered how in the world it can be referred to as a ''snack''

    Chuanli noticed her gazing at the food that was served and asked, "Miss Zhang, is the snacks not to your liking?"

    He called them snacks again.

    "Dr. Li, I don''t see any snacks here, I only see food." Zhang Liling chose to correct him because she felt he was abusing terms and using them wrongly.<sub> </sub>

    "You are just like Mr. Fang who doesn''t see light food as snacks. Whichever one you call it as long as you arefortable, suit yourself."

    Then he gestured for her to start eating.

    Zhang Liling sighed and picked up her spoon to scoop some soup from her bowl and send it into her mouth. Finding the taste to be appealing, she hummed before sending another one into her mouth.

    The soup served was neither hot nor cold. It was warm enough to lighten the mood. It was perfect for the hot weather.

    "Do you like it?" Chuanli asked with a smile after watching her take 3 straight spoons of soup.

    Zhang Liling nodded and continued to drink her food and eat from the 2 side dishes that were ced on the table. She only remembered the reason he came to find her after eating.

    "Miss Zhang, I heard you are aware of Mr. Fang''s sensitivity to smell, and the fact that your scent is an exception."

    He heard it from Bolin before he went into Mr. Fang''s office a few hours ago.

    Zhang Liling nodded in response and he continued.

    "The form you filled is rted to the research I''m doing on this case, and to further it, I need your cooperation since you are a key to it."

    Zhang Liling understood everything he said clearly. He was working on the research regarding Mr. Fang''s smell sensitivity, and since she was somehow involved in a good way, he needed her help to find answers.

    Of course, anything that had to do with Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling would agree to it. She quickly showed her interest and concern for the research.

    "I will do anything to help you with this research. What do you need?"

    Dr. Li was d that he did not have to exin too much for her to agree, but now, he had to bring up taking her blood.

    "Miss Zhang, I like that you have shown concern for your master. Why don''t you follow me back to my hospital to carry out a few tests?" That was a request from him.

    Hearing that she would have to go with him to the hospital, Zhang Liling lost her spirit immediately. Her shoulders which were high a few moments ago slumped.

    Chuanli noticed this and frowned slightly. "Miss Zhang, is anything the matter? Ate you afraid of hospitals?" He asked in concern.

    Zhang Liling raised her gaze and fixed it on him before asking softly, "Is it weird if I admit to that?"

    Chuanli regained his humor and smiled. "It''s not weird. Someone I know is very afraid of needles."

    "I see¡­" Zhang Liling said in deep thought.

    "Miss Zhang, if you agree to follow me back to my office, I promise that you won''t have to see or make contact with any other person?"

    Chuanli was trying his best topel her while thinking if Mr. Fang knew about her being afraid of hospitals, and so let him handle her by himself.

 Chapter 95 Taking Her

    Zhang Liling was wondering how it was possible to go to a hospital without seeing other people. Unless it was still under construction.

    Actually, Chuanli was not lying. He had a private elevator that takes Mr. Fang from the underground parking lot and straight to his office, but she didn''t know this.

    Anytime Zhang Liling thinks, hears and sees anything rting to hospitals, she would be nervous.

    The frequent dragging to the hospital and taking of her blood by her stepmother, has scarred her mind. She feels like going there, will get her abused.

    "Dr. Li, I don''t know how possible it is not to see anyone when I go into the hospital. Also, the smell of drugs and disinfectants..." Zhang Liling said with a frown which described her worry.

    "Don''t worry, you will see. It''s a promise to make you feel asfortable as possible. If I do anything wrong, you can report me to Mr. Fang, and I will be punished."

    Chaunli reassured her with a smile.

    "Does Mr. Fang know about this?" Zhang Liling asked curiously. For him to mention about being punished by him, Mr. Fang must have known about this.

    "Yes. You don''t know how much I suffered before he agreed to this, but then, he left me to convince you by myself." Chuanli said while standing and picking up his phone from the table.

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling stood to her feet while staring at him before following him out of the restaurant building.

    She only came back to her senses after getting into his car. She wouldn''t have realized this if he didn''t stop talking to her, because he made sure to keep her engaged in a conversation while leading her there.

    ''Did I really follow him?'' Zhang Liling thought with a frown as she looked around.

    Chuanli noticed the doubts in her gaze and smiled to himself. He just used psychology on her.

    This was very easy to aplish since she kind of trusted him as Mr. Fang''s friend and doctor. Also, he engaged her in a conversation which made things more easier.

    Chuanli pulled Zhang Liling out from her thoughts by revolving his car''s engine and driving off.

    "Dr. Li, can I ask some private questions regarding Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling asked.

    She felt she could get to know more about Mr. Fang through him, since he looked more easy-going than Bolin.

    With eyes on the road and a smirk at the corner of his lips, he asked, "Why do you want to know about Mr. Fang''s private life, are you interested in him?"

    Zhang Liling was shocked by his direct question. How could he ask her that kind of question so casually. But she needed to reply.

    "Dr. Li, how can you put it like that? You are asking the kind of question that taints the clean mind." She said with a feigned annoyance.

    Chuanli shrugged. "Well, if you are not interested in Mr. Fang, then I''m sorry that I can not help you with any information regarding his privacy."

    It was as simple as that.

    This made Zhang Liling truly annoyed. He wasn''t going to tell her anything if she didn''t give him the reply he wanted.

    She couldn''t believe that she would have to admit her feelings for Mr. Fang to someone else within a few days.

    Chuanli was very patient with her. He didn''t for one minute try to give in to her.<sub> </sub>

    From the stories he had heard of her, from the time she fainted and was carried by Mr. Fang, to the time she came to live with him, he knew there was more to her.

    And that could only mean that she was interested in Mr. Fang, but he wanted her to admit it herself.

    After a moment of silence, Zhang Liling''s voice was heard. "I am highly interested in Mr. Fang, and I want to be close to him."

    "Bravo!" Chuanli said and pped his right palm on his steering wheel which almost frightened Zhang Liling if not for the smile on his face.

    ncing at her, he said, "Miss Zhang, I think we can be friends. I will help you to stay around Bingwen, but winning him over will be your job."

    Zhang Liling felt her heart swim in joy when she heard that. She quickly grabbed his shirt without thinking, and then released it when she realized the result of the adrenaline rush to her brain.

    "Dr. Li, will you really help me get close to Mr. Fang?"

    Chuanli chuckled heartily. "Why not? I have been helping you for a while now, so why would I stop now?"

    "You have been helping me?" Zhang Liling asked in a slight confusion and with surprise in her tone.

    Has he been helping her, but how?

    Chuanli spared her a nce to say, "Miss Zhang, think about all of those times you would have been thrown out of the vi, I stopped Mr. Fang from doing that."

    Zhang Liling borrowed a few minutes to dwell on his words. Did he really save her?

    Then she thought back to those moments her actions would have cost her job and began to think how he was rted to stopping it.

    After thinking for a short while, she could remember 2 solid times he appeared in the vi when she caused a big problem.

    Could those be the times he saved me?

    "But why would you help me?"

    "Because you are a brave one. No woman has ever dared to be so audacious as moving into his house through the means you used. You better thank me properly for making him ept you to be his housekeeper, and for still letting you stay."

    Chuanli came to a red light at an intersection and stopped. Now he can fully pay attention to her facial expressions.

    "Thank you, Dr. Li." Zhang Liling said with a slight bow, as different thoughts were going through her head.

    Chuanli was not satisfied with a mouth full of thanks. He shook his finger in front of her and said, "That is not enough. In future, I may need your help, and then you can repay it. For the time being, try to stay out of trouble."

    He had to advice her now because if she continued to annoy Mr. Fang, then he would surely throw her out of his house and not listen to any pleas.

    Zhang Liling nodded in understanding.

    The rest of their journey to his private hospital, was met with silence as they both focused on different thoughts.

    As soon as Chuanli parked in the underground parking lot, he opened apartment inside his car and brought out 2 nose masks.

 Chapter 96 Using Her

    He passed one to Zhang Liling, before putting on the other one himself.

    "Now you can''t easily perceive the disturbing scent of the hospital." He said as his smile reached his eyes.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said gratefully before stepping out of his car.

    She was grateful that through out the ride, from when she first entered his car, she didn''t perceive any scent that was linked to hospitals.

    It looks like Chuanli did a great job with keeping his profession away from his lifestyle.

    Now, Zhang Liling hase to realize that Chuanli actually meant it when he said that he would make sure she saw no one in the hospital.

    The elevator the took, brought them straight to his office.

    "Miss Zhang, please seat." Chuanli said while gesturing to her with his hand.

    After she has rxed, He exined to her about the kind of tests he needed her help to carry out.

    "You need to take my blood?" Zhang Liling questioned with a frown.

    "Yes. We need to find out what exactly in you that makes your scent rtable andfortable for Mr. Fang." Chuanli replied while studying her.

    He made sure to take in every expression on her face.

    Seeing the dy and hesitation, he asked, "Miss Zhang, are you also afraid of needles?"

    Zhang Liling shook her head and said with an ugly smile, "How can I be afraid of needles when I used to be poked twice a month and have my blood drawn... I''m used it. I''m just scared of the thought of having to give a bag of blood and suffer from the aftermath."

    Chuanli managed a smile. He could tell that there were indeed some abnormalities in the Zhang family, and he was going to make sure that he got all the information from her.

    Acting casually would be the best bet to get something about her family, out of her.

    "Who said that you have to give out a bag of blood? I''m just going to take a little of if in this needle barrel. Also, why would you have your blood drawn twice a month? Don''t tell me..."

    Chuanli acted shocked and leaned away with the needle in his hand, then he suddenly leaned in close to ask with a small voice, "Do you have an incurable disease that needs you to get tested twice a month?"

    Zhang Liling was shocked and mad at the same time at his spection. I mean, how could he have that kind of thought towards her health.

    Leaning away with a frown, she hurriedly said, "Dr. Li, you are thinking too far."

    "How am I thinking too far? What would make you have your blood drawn twice a month? If you have any health issues, it''s okay to tell me, maybe that could be one of the reasons Mr. Fang isfortable with your scent."

    Chuanli refused to give up, as he continued to y with her mind through his words and petty actions. Now he was sure that something was going on in the Zhang family.

    He didn''t want to ask her questions directly, as she might begin to see him in another light.

    Zhang Liling was provoked by his words and blurted out the truth.<sub> </sub>

    "How can I be the one with health issues, it should be my half-brother. Every time he gets injured, I get dragged to the hospital to give him blood. Apart from that, I don''t know what that woman does with the blood she forcefully takes from me!"

    Zhang Liling was full of anger after spilling the secret.

    ''A health deficiency that would require a blood transfusion when the body is injured. This is a bleeding disorder. It''s either Hemophilia or Von Willebrand''s disease.''

    Chuanli was quick to fix the pieces together...

    "Why would you think your brother would require blood any time he gets injured?" He asked, testing the waters.

    "How would I know? But I think it''s a cover up to punish me and have an excuse just to draw my blood."

    Zhang Liling truly had a different thought going on in her head, which was wrong. Chuanli thought different from her, and he was right with his spection.

    "Does your father or mother have any health issue you know of?" He asked again.

    Thinking that it was still rted to Mr. Fang''s health research, she replied, "They are very healthy, that I''m sure of."

    "Okay, now let''s take a sample of your blood. This is going to sting a little and feel weird," Chuanli said as he opened the packet and took out the needle.

    After fixing everything, he covered the mouth of the needle before asking her to stretch out her arm, before proceeding to tie a rope around her arm.

    Zhang Liling was putting on a sleeveless dress, so it was easy to have her blood drawn from her elbow area.

    Suddenly, a thought came to her head just as Chuanli was wiping that area with a wet cotton wool, and was about to poke her arm with the needle. Then without thinking she asked with a frown...

    "Dr. Li, did you study psychology?"

    "Yes." Chuanli replied with a proud smile. But when he raised his head and met her gaze, the smile slowly disappeared from his face.

    Zhang Liling just found out that he has been messing with her, by making her do what he wanted, just like the time at the restaurant, and she was not happy about it.

    "Dr. Li, you used what you know to get some information out of me, this doesn''t look fair to me." Zhang Liling said outrightly.

    She didn''t like that feeling of being used without her permission, and she couldn''t help to not feel good about it.

    She just discovered that he has been using his knowledge to get information from her.

    No wonder she felt that things were weird.

    Chuanli let her arm go before gazing at her apologetically. "Miss Zhang, it''s not what you think. I am not harming you in any way. I just felt that I should know more about you to further help with my research. This research I''m working on is very important, so I may need some information about your family."

    What a big fat lie...

    "You should have asked me directly instead of using your brain to think of ways topel me to answer to your questions."

 Chapter 97 Rumours About Her

    "I thought it would be more strange if I was so direct since we do not have a close rtionship. In all, I am sorry Miss Zhang. Now, let''s take a little pinch of your blood."

    Chuanli said with a half smile as he took her hand and stretched it out, before picking up the needle.

    "Wait, I''m not ready yet! Give me a minute." Zhang Liling said hurriedly as she stopped him with her hand.

    She ced her hand on top of his own, to stop him from moving further.

    Chuanli smiled and encouraged her, without shifting his hand. It was her who was trying to rx, that finally took her hand away.

    Without warning, He drove the needle into her vein to draw some blood.

    Zhang Liling hissed in pain and looked away. She couldn''t even get angry with him for not waiting till she was ready. In fact, she thought his method was right.

    Taking her unaware for this kind of short-term torment, was the best.

    "See, it didn''t hurt." Chuanli said with a smile as he quickly handed her a cotton wool. He dabbed the spot he poked with the needle twice, before handing it to her.

    "I need to store this before it starts to coagte." He said standing to his feet.

    Some minutester after handling some things, he picked up his coat and his phone before leading the way to the elevator door. "Miss Zhang, I will drop you off at the vi."

    Zhang Liling nced at her arm to see that it has stopped bleeding, before throwing away the stained little piece of cotton wool into the waste basket.

    Actually, she felt better that he was going to send her home. As for giving out a little blood, she didn''t feel bad about it.

    She wasn''t repulsed.

    The same elevator that brought them to the office, took them down.

    On their way back to the vi, Chuanli made sure to keep the atmosphere between them lively, by engaging her in little conversations.

    By the time they arrived, Mr. Fang was already back. It was rare to see him sitting in the living room cross-legged.

    This was a first to Zhang Liling. Looking at him sitting so casually and watching the news, made him look like he was idle.

    She is always seeing him when he was working in his study, working-out in the gym room, or eating in the dining room.

    He was always busy the whole time she has seen him, so it was a little weird for her to see him rxing.

    She bowed slightly to him in greeting as soon as their gazes met, before running off to her bedroom.

    "You are back so early..." This was more like a statement than a question from Chuanli.

    "Mmm" Mr. Fang hummed with his gaze on the TV. His hands were folded and crossed his chest. It was very obvious that the news was important.

    Chuanli saw that he was not paying attention and sat next to him for a bit, and that was the only way he could get the attention he wanted.

    "Go to another couch." Mr. Fang said with a frown while staring at him.

    Chuanli being stubborn, ignored him and went on to ask, "Are you not going to ask how today went?"

    Mr. Fang shut his eyes and opened them again to say, "I don''t have dinner for you." He said that despite knowing that it would infuriate him.

    Chuanli was so mad as soon as he heard him and stood to his feet. "You are really mean!" Then he walked away.

    ''Finally...peace''

    Before the dead of the night, rumours about Zhang Liling being picked up by a young yboy and was seen getting into a sports car, had already spread abroad.<sub> </sub>

    There was a picture attached to the gossip.

    Someone was truly out for her.

    Zhang Liling did not see or hear about the news untill morning. She was woken up from sleep by Tungmei''s call.

    Tungmei was speaking so loudly in her ear, that she had to save her ear drums by putting her phone on hands-free mode before leaving it on her bed.

    "... Can you even hear what I''m saying?!"

    After speaking for a minute and not hearing any response from her, Tungmei was mad.

    Zhang Liling rested her jaw on her fists while sitting on her bed, before replying in a sluggish tone, "You said there is a rumour going on about me in the ss group. And that it has made waves into the school student news forum."

    "Why are you so calm about it?" Tungmei''s anger slowly dissipated while pacing up and down her room.

    She didn''t know how this friend of hers manages to stay calm when there is fire on the mountain.

    "Will my worry stop the rumours? I don''t have time to care about nonsense! Leave me alone, I still have 10 more minutes to sleep before I start to get ready for school." Zhang Liling said as she picked up her phone and turned off the hands-free mode.

    Tungmei has calmed down a bit, and was no longer acting hysterical, so she ced the phone back on her ear.

    "You have a point, but you should at least see the rumours that is going on about you before you can pretend that it doesn''t matter! You father mighte for you."

    Thest sentence was a warning kind of advice to her, before she ended the conversation.

    Now, Zhang Liling''s interest was piqued. She was starting to wonder what kind of rumours about her that was being spread, that might attract her father''s attention.

    Before she could go to her school''s gossip site to see the news, Tungmei sent the link to her.

    Thetter thought that knowing how stubborn she was, she might not go to look at the news, hence she sent the link to her directly.

    Zhang Liling clicked on the link to the gossip about her. Once the site the opened, there was a jaw-dropping moment for her.

    The first thing she saw, was two different pictures of her and Chuanli.

    The first one was taken when she was standing outside and talking with him sitting inside the car.

    <o>,m The second one was taken as she was stepping into the car.</o>

    "Who took these photos?! Have these idiots got nothing better to do?!" Zhang Liling said out loud, furiously.

    If this was a different kind of rumour about her, she wouldn''t even bother. But this has something to do with Mr. Fang''s personal doctor!

    Now Mr. Fang and the people around him, will see her as a trouble finder. Her reputation which was not that good and was still under construction, just received a blow.

    Another worry, was her father.

    Would he ask her toe back to the house to live with them, or would he scold her?

    No matter which one it was, Zhang Liling wished not to receive his calls or texts. What a huge headache!

    Still, she wanted to know the fools who had nothing better to do, than to stalk her and upload pictures of her and someone else without her permission.

    Their exams were in 2 weeks and a few days, were they not feeling the tension?

 Chapter 98 Definition Of Friends

    Zhang Liling was so mad that sleep immediately left her eyes.

    She had to face Mr. Fang if he minded, and then her father who would never miss out on minding, once he sees the news.

    She was his daughter, so this was going to make waves.

    The next thing Zhang Liling did was get out of bed. She went into the bathroom to wash up and while brushing her teeth, she screamed in the middle of it.

    "I feel like suing someone but I don''t have a damnwyer!"

    Zhang Liling sounded pissed while ring at herself in the mirror with gritted teeth. She was going to try and find out who dared to do that to her.

    If she doesn''t seed, she will give a note of warning.

    When she was done freshening up, she picked up her bag and left her bedroom to go and find Mr. Fang, but she was told that he had already left for work.

    She could only sigh and leave for school while hoping that she would not be scolded when she returns.

    Anywhere Zhang Liling went, heads turned as long as the students knew about the rumours.

    They could not do anything more than steal nces at her. But when she left their side, they would continue with the gossip.

    "If you have a lot of bad luck these days, you should tell me so I can stay away from you." Tungmei joked.

    "Why would I tell you something like that when I can just rub it on you and force you to bear the burden with me?" Zhang Liling retorted.

    "Now I can see more clearly the definition of what friends are for¡­" Tungmei said as she trailed off.

    "I will take you for lunch today," Zhang Liling said with a smile/

    Tungmei asked with a curious gaze, "Are you not supposed to do something about the rumour?"

    "I can''t do much other than threatening them. This is the reason we have to pay a visit to the newsroom to give a warning¡­" Zhang Liling said with a smirk.

    She already had ns of how to settle the rumour, which will be a totally different method.

    Tungmei looked surprised as she asked, "You want me toe with you? Are you kidding me or what?"

    There was a visible frown on her face which showed just how much displeased she was. She didn''t want to follow her to go make a mess somewhere as usual.

    Zhang Liling knew this and couldn''t help chuckling.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t get physical. And I''m not going to drag you into any mess. I am also quite careful about my reputation now."

    Yes, she was not going to do anything that will bring the negative light to her again. She was very concerned about how Mr. Fang saw her.

    "How can I trust you on this one?" Tungmei asked.

    She didn''t want to be lured into trouble without knowing.<sub> </sub>

    "I have always been a good friend to you. I wouldn''t do anything to hurt you. If I want to cause trouble, I would tell you directly, and then figure out how to convince you to join."

    Tungmei couldn''t helpughing not after this. That truly was her style. "I trust you now." She said with a big smile on her face.

    "That''s more like it." Zhang Liling said with a bright smile.

    When the first lecture for the day ended, these two friends went to the newsroom managed by some selected students that worked there.

    This was the room where important information was passed through the speakers ced in the lecture rooms and outside the buildings.

    The rumours about her were spread on the tform, but she was going to pass a warning most effectively, and that was through the newsroom.

    "What are you doing here?" The 3 students in the room heard the door open just like that without a knock and had to turn their heads to see who was that rude person that just came in.

    When they saw Zhang Liling walk in with a smirk, they were even more surprised.

    "Why do you all look so shocked to see me?" Zhang Liling asked as she stepped in with Tungmei.

    By now, the 3 students in the room had already taken off their headphones. The now had a serious gaze fixed on her.

    One of them, a girl replied sarcastically, "Well someone barged in without the basic principle of knocking."

    It was obvious that she wasn''t afraid of her and which family she came from.

    Zhang Liling smiled, "Your tongue is sharp enough to exchange words with me, but girl, I don''t have that kind of time. I want to pass on important information."

    "You want to make use of this room?" The guy sitting in the middle asked with a frown.

    "Yes, is there a problem with that?" Zhang Liling shifted her gaze to him.

    "Of course, there is a problem with it." The girl said after a scoff.

    The second guy in the room finally spoke, "You have to get permission from the professor in charge of the newsroom to make use of this space, or you can be a member. But it''s toote."

    Tungmei stepped forward to ask, "Don''t you hear the rumours about her? She hase to pass a piece of very important information to those students misleading others."

    "This has nothing to do with us because the rumours did not spread through this tform," The first guy said.

    "Are you going to take responsibility if this matter esctes and my father intervenes? You 3 will be losing a lot" Zhang Liling threatened.

    Thedy threw a question back to her. "What about you, are you going to take responsibility if we are penalized for granting you an audience without permission?"

    "Of course!" Zhang Liling agreed. "Don''t forget who my father is. If my reputation is tarnished by those foolish students and the school doesn''t do anything about it, he will do something."

    Zhang Liling gave them a few minutes to ponder over her words for a few moments. This was like sswork assigned to them.

 Chapter 99 Newsroom

    Of course, the university should step in to clear the air surrounding the rumors about her, but because it has not left the university walls, they were not yet bothered.

    "If any more damages are done, I will sue the 3 of you first. You will be battling with a court case for a long time instead of graduating and starting life." Zhang Liling threatened again.

    Tungmei was staring at the 3 students before them. She was patiently waiting for them to say ''yes'' because she could tell that they have been convinced.

    "Fine! We will let you do what you want only if you guarantee that nothing will change about us in this school." The second guy said with a calm gaze fixed on Zhang Liling.

    They still wanted to have their jobs.

    "You can''t do that! Why can''t she go use the same forum that spread the rumors about her instead ofing here?" Thedy said furiously.

    Zhang Liling shifted her smiling gaze to her and stepped forward. Tungmei thought she was going to get into a fight and looked worried. But that wasn''t the case.

    "Were you the one that spread those rumors about me?" Zhang Liling asked in a low tone.

    "Don''t be ridiculous! Are you trying to use me now?" Thedy said in an angry tone.

    Zhang Liling leaned in to whisper to her, "If you want me to, I will." Then she leaned away.

    The first guy thought that it was about time to settle her so she could leave them to continue with their job.

    "Zhang Liling, you can go ahead and use the mics. What do you want to announce and to who should the message be addressed?"

    Tungmei sighed in relief.

    Zhang Liling smiled at him. "I''m going to fish out and sue anyone that takes my pictures without my permission. The same goes for those that spread rumors about me. I may not be able to catch all of them, but the few I get in my hands will pay the crimes for others as well."

    "You are going to threaten the students!" Thedy said with res.

    "If you see it that way, then I can''t help you to think properly because it''s your brain." Shifting her gaze to the guys, she continued, "Anyway, that is my warning."

    The guys didn''t show any worry, unlike thedy. Even if they had, they will only have to bury their worries.

    "Since this message will be focused on the students in our faculty, we will only turn on the mics in the lecture building. We can''t go above that."

    "That''s fine by me. Where should I sit, which mic should I use?'' Zhang Liling asked.

    She was not worried if she could be able to reach 80% of the students. She believed that her announcement would spread amongst them just like the rumors about her.

    The second guy stood up and gestured for her to take his seat, while the other guy, touched a few things to set up the speakers.

    Thedy was naturally unhappy since her other teammates agreed to help Zhang Liling. She was left with no choice but to either join them or stay quiet.

    She chose the second option. Like hell, she would help out after acting out.

    Tungmei smiled from the side and just stood there watching everything go in her friend''s favor.

    When everything was set, the first guy signaled Zhang Liling to start speaking just after turning on her mic.

    Zhang Liling smiled and adjusted the headphone on her ears before speaking. Her tone sounded sweet, but her news told a different story.

    "Hello, students! This is Zhang Liling, the one from the Zhang family whom you have been gossiping about."<sub> </sub>

    "What! Zhang Liling is on air?

    "What is she going to say?

    "Who gave her the permission?

    "She is really bold!"

    There were so many different reactions from the students after she introduced herself, as they never expected she would do something like that.

    "I am only going to take up less than a minute of your break time to pass this warning to every student," Zhang Liling said and paused.

    She gave them 3 seconds to specte before continuing, "Don''t take pictures of me without my consent. Don''t spread false information about me, because I will be suing anyone who does not listen from now onwards."

    Again, there were different reactions from the students. Some felt that she was taking things too far.

    Shu Rushi who just stepped into the lecture hall with her 2 friends heard that and scoffed.

    Zhang Mingyu stepped outside the building for his department and was heading for his ss building when he heard her voice and stopped to listen.

    It''s not like Zhang Liling cared about their thoughts.

    "May I have a great day!" She said cheerfully before signaling for the mic and the speakers to be turned off.

    What a ridiculous way to end the announcement¡­ The students thought.

    She was supposed to wish them to have a great day, but she just wished herself that and turned off the connection.

    Who does that?

    Tungmei knew her style and gave her a thumbs-up when she turned around.

    "Let''s go!" She said to her as she stood to her feet and approached her side.

    When they got to the door, Zhang Liling turned around to say to the trio who had a look of astonishment on their faces.

    "Thank you for today. If any problem rises from today, you know where to find me."

    Next, she took Tungmei''s hand and left with her.

    "She is crazy¡­" Thedy said with a ridiculous expression on her face while gazing at the door.

    The first guy said with his gaze at the door, "You are right, she is something else."

    The second guy just stared speechless at the entrance.

    Shu Rushi and her friends scoffed before going to find seats. "She must think that is really something."

    "I bet she thinks that she rules over us!" One of Shu Rushi''s friends said.

 Chapter 100 Intruding

    Zhang Mingyu sneered and continued in his steps.

    Actually, there was no way Zhang Liling was going to wish her enemies to have a great day.

    She had rather wished herself well so that her enemies would be the ones to have a bad day.

    "Liling, you really took me by surprise. I thought you were going to throw in at least a full-minute speech. And then, your closing was remarkable."

    Zhang Liling smiled, "It will be good to be unpredictable to your enemies."

    "Now I''m sure that you are most definitely aware that you just made more enemies."

    "They were never folks, to begin with, so why would I care when they turn to foes? We have a ss starting in the next few minutes, we have to hurry!"

    ***********************

    Stepping into the ss, all eyes were on them, but mostly on Zhang Liling. She didn''t care and just climbed up to find seats for her and Tungmei.

    She was just wishing that one of them would say something to her, so she could finish off the person with words, but no one dared to.

    Whatever things they wanted to say to her, just remained stuck in their heads.

    When Mr. Fang heard about the rumor and saw the photos attached to it, he was angry at Chuanli for driving into the school to pick up Zhang Liling.

    He went as far as calling his doctor to scold him for his actions.

    "Why are you scolding me? This is not my fault! How was I supposed to know that things would turn up like this?" Chuanli asked.

    "Well, now you know! Next time think properly before you do anything!" Mr. Fang said and ended the call directly.

    He didn''t even know why he was furious.

    Whatever the reason was, Zhang Liling was the next person on the list to be med, but he didn''t do that directly. He med her in his head.

    It looks like she was good at attracting negative attention to herself, but he was not going to scold her. He was already tired of doing that.

    After sses for the day, that was the perfect time for Zhang Liling to receive a call from her father.

    As for how he found out about that, she was not interested in knowing.

    "Right about time," She said as she pulled out her phone from her trouser pocket to nce at the caller ID,

    "Your father?" Tungmei asked.

    Right now, they were on their way to the restaurant. Zhang Liling had promised to buy her lunch earlier.

    "Mmm¡­ I''m going to be really quick with this one." Zhang Liling replied and swiped to the answer icon at the same time.

    "Zhang Liling! Who was that guy you left in his car with?" Zhang Renshu asked furiously.

    He had someone keeping tabs and got the information some minutes ago. After seeing things with his eyes, he directly called her.<sub> </sub>

    "Dad, I think I am allowed to have friends, or am I not allowed to?" Zhang Liling asked.

    "No one is telling you not to have friends. You should be careful of the kind of friends you make. But look at the gossip, does it look like anyone cares about that?"

    "Dad, I don''t care what anyone thinks about me." Zhang Liling said, sounding angry.

    Zhang Renshu failed to understand her and immediately said to her, based on experience,

    "You have to start caring about the kind of image you allow people to see outside. If you continue acting this way, you won''t go far!"

    As a businessman for ages, and one aspiring to be a politician, he was good at keeping up public appearances, and he expects everyone in his family to do the same.

    Zhang Liling was not in the mood to argue with him and escte his mood.

    She had wanted to ask if she was the only one who attracts trouble. She wanted to mention Mingyu''s name but remembered that his mother was good at covering up his faults.

    Not hearing any response from her, Zhang Renshu changed topics. "Who was that friend that came to pick you up and where did you go to?"

    Now, Zhang Liling was starting to get pissed off. Why was he questioning who she meets and where she goes, it''s not like she was a child?

    Zhang Liling didn''t bother to hide her annoyance while replying to him this time around.

    "Dad, I don''t think it''s right to be intruding into my privacy. Do you also pay this much attention to Xiaoling and Mingyu?"

    "Why would I pay that much attention to them when their mother is here with them?" Zhang Renshu asked with a frown.

    He believed that since those ones had their mother around them, then he didn''t need to put his eyes on them. It''s not like he had the time for that.

    "Dad if you put it like that, then my mother is still alive and can watch over me from Paris too. If you are worried about me making bad friends, you don''t have to, because I''m smart.

    And dad, I have been standing in the sun for the past few minutes and I have a headache already. Let''s talk some other time. Take care of your health, bye!"

    Zhang Liling terminated the call and sighed. Then she nced at the shade she and Tungmei stopped for a while and smiled to herself.

    "I''m your father won''t have any reason to scold you any more, not after yourst statement, which tells him that you care about him," Tungmei said proudly.

    "I just told him I was smart, but he wouldn''t understand fully. I told him to take care of his health so he wouldn''t call back to scold me, but he will think that I care about him, not bad."

    "Now, I''m beginning to pity for your enemies¡­"

    Zhang Liling linked arms with her and continued on their journey. "I''m not done growing."

    During dinner at the Zhang House, Shi Wenqian who already heard the rumor about Zhang Liling deliberately brought it up with Zhang Renshu.

    But the reaction she got, was the least expected.

    "Why are you interested in rumors?"

 Chapter 101 Chuanli And Mr. Fangs Deductions

    Zhang Liling was forever grateful to Mr. Fang for not scolding her and bringing up the matter about the rumours.

    But something happened that frightened her, and made her feel the shake of her position.

    *****************

    Mr. Fanges out from the gym room and makes a beeline for the kitchen.

    His chest rose and fell while he slowly panted for air. Sweat covered his face and tricked down all the way to his neck.

    His tight white gym T-Shirt, was damp and stuck to his chest. This made his chest muscles to be more visible.

    His dark-brown hair fell toward his forehead, making him look less bossy. A small towel hung on his neck.

    "Sir, what are you doing here, what can I help you with?" Butler Gu was truly frightened when he saw Mr. Fange into the kitchen.

    He could have made a call, and he woulde running to him.

    "Where is Zhang Liling?" Mr. Fang asked while making his way straight to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of slightly chilled water.

    "Sir, Miss Zhang is studying. Do you need her for anything? Should I call her?" Butler Gu asked immediately after responding.

    He was hoping that that girl didn''t neglect her duties to Mr. Fang in the name of studying.

    In actual fact, Zhang Liling neglected her duties.

    The bottle of water Mr. Fang came to take, should have been left in the gym room before he even stepped in, but it looked like she forgot about it.

    How was someone so keen to be around Mr. Fang and serve him, forget about her duties? The preparation for the exams, must be taking a toll on her.

    "No need," Mr. Fang said and uncapped the bottle of water. He drank half of the content before leaving with the remaining in his left hand.

    Since she was studying, it was fine. He never had in mind to call her out for anything, he just wanted to know what she was doing.

    Zhang Liling was truly studying. She was taking notes down forter proper reading. She wanted to finish this particr topic before getting ready for school.

    Today was thest day of ss. This means that she will never get to see Mr. Fang in the lecture hall again, and also, he wouldn''t as well, not as an undergraduate.

    On his way up the stairs with his bottle of water in hand, he took out his phone from his pocket. Definitely for something, but Chuanli''s call came in right at that moment, so he had to answer it.

    "Good morning, Mr. Fang," Chuanli greeted lively.

    "What do you want from me this early?" Mr. Fang asked as he climbed the stairs steadily. His tone was calm, and his countenance was normal.

    He chuckled for a bit before going straight to the point. "I want to know if this is a good time to listen to me talk about something disturbing?"<sub> </sub>

    "What do you want to talk about?" Mr. Fang asked.

    This was like him saying that he could go ahead and say anything he wanted to, as he couldn''t have called in a more perfect time than this.

    "I found out something while speaking with Miss Zhang the other day. You must already know about her stepmother''s method of taking blood from her every month."

    Yes, Mr. Fang was already aware of this because Zhang Liling had once mentioned it to him.

    "What about it?"

    Chuanli continued, his tone turning exciting. "Well, I found out that her half-brother Mingyu, might not actually be her half-brother, but a step-brother."

    Finally, Mr. Fang''s brows furrowed in a tight frown. He didn''t like this topic, and immediately cautioned him.

    "Shouldn''t you be working on your new research, why are you so interested in the Zhang family?"

    "Because a member of the Zhang family works for you, and might be the answer to your distress. It''s not like I started investigating about that family for no reason." Chuanli said, trying to justify his actions.

    "You always have something to say, don''t you?" Mr. Fang said in annoyance.

    "I don''t want you to misunderstand me." Then without waiting for his response, he continued immediately.

    "I think Zhang Mingyu is not Zhang Renshu''s biological son, because he suffers from one of the bleeding disorders, which is always gically inherited. Mr. Zhang Renshu is healthy, and I have checked his line, and found no trace of that kind of illness."

    "It won''t be strange if you didn''t find that kind of issue in his bloodline. He is not the only parent, Shi Wenqian is the mother as well." Mr. Fang said.

    In essence, he was asking him if he has run a background check on Shi Wenqian.

    Of course, Chuanli understood this and let out a frustrated sigh.

    "That woman is not simple. Her records looks normal, but it is very shady. Only people with my current mindset can tell that she is a whole lie. I couldn''t find anything useful about her, except for the fact that there is no trace of that illness in her family. It also didn''t follow her."

    Mr. Fang wasn''t fazed by the discovery. "You said she is shady, she might have hidden it if that bleeding disorder is from her lineage. Do you think she would want the Zhang family to know about something like that? There is no way Zhang Renshu will marry her and make her son his heir."

    "You have a point there, I never thought this way." Chuanli said and let out another frustrated sigh.

    He was busy thinking in the direction that Zhang Mingyu may not be biologically rted to Zhang Renshu, forgetting that since Shi Wenqian''s background was shady, it could also be that he (Zhang Mingyu) got that illness from her side.

    Truly, Zhang Renshu is still unaware that his son is suffering from that kind of illness otherwise, he would never bank on him to be his heir.

    How could someone whose life was hanging on a thread, and could be easily harmed, rule his empire?

    He would have found someone else to have a child with as a second step, or better still, only hope on Zhang Liling to be his sessor.

 Chapter 102 A New Housekeeper

    Before deciding to get Zhang Renshu in the palm of her hands, Shi Wenqian was aware of his mindset, and living with him all these years, made her able to read him like a book.

    Knowing how her husband thinks and acts, she would be stupid not to do anything to protect and continue with her goal.

    "But we can''t rule off that point either. Whichever one it is, this is none of my business!" Mr. Fang dered, a bit annoyed.

    He didn''t even know why he started to make deductions about matters of the Zhang family which didn''t concern him.

    "I think you should be a little concerned because of Zhang Liling. Poor Miss Zhang, she must have suffered a lot. Do you know that she was afraid of hospitals? I wonder what kind of trauma she must have developed from being ill-treated at the hospital..."

    Chuanli said and relieved a pitiable sigh, which didn''t sit well with Mr. Fang.

    Mr. Fang''s gaze narrowed as he opened the door to his room and went in.

    "Chuanli, do you like Zhang Liling and is using this research to investigate the Zhang family to take revenge for her?"

    "What?!" Chuanli was so shocked that he nearly fell off his seat.

    How his facial expression changed from pity to shock was so fast and funny. He really wanted to spit.

    ''How on earth did hee to that conclusion? I better stop before he gets things the wrong way!''

    "Bingwen, what have you been thinking abouttely? Are you done being single and is starting to think about matters of the hearttely?" Chuanli teased to get back at him.

    Mr. Fang didn''t find his words funny and threatened him immediately, "It looks like you are tired of living!"

    "I heard that you will be attending your final ss at NYU today. Have nice day, Mr. Fang." Chuanli said and ended the call immediately.

    After he put his phone down, he chuckled so hard while imagining the look on his face, and what he would be thinking.

    True to his assumptions, Mr. Fang''s gaze was frosty after he said that and ended the call.

    Mr. Fang stopped in his steps to look at his phone screen for 3 seconds before going on to cklist Chuanli.

    He went straight to the contact saved as ''Dr. Li'' and ckisted it without a moment of hesitation.

    Next time when Chuanli would try to reach out to him, he wouldn''t even know what happened...

    Now, Mr Fang had to take a bath to get rid of that sweat and the smell that followed.

    After showering, he got dressed in a simple outfit which was normally different from what he used to wear.

    Anyone that sighted him now, would surely know that he was going out, but maybe not to some ce that is very important.

    But they would never know that he nned to go to NYU for hisst ss with the school of business students in a ck jeans and a white T-shirt.

    His white shirt wasn''t the normal T-Shirt usually worn inside a suit. The one he chose to wear today, was styled differently, and usually what the people he thought were youths, used to wear these days.

    It''s not a new thing that Mr. Fang thought himself to be an old man since he was already past 30 years.

    Only if Zhang Liling hears him addressing himself as an old man, she wouldn''t be able to resist telling him just how handsome, sexy and manly he looked.<sub> </sub>

    She may even go off to add that he was the perfect match for her. Just what she needed in a man.

    After dressing, Mr. Fang chose to wear a pair of ck Italian shoes on his feet instead of a pair of sneakers.

    He didn''t want topletely dress and look like a youth.

    As for the reason he chose to dress this way today which is a first, we would all have to get the answer out from his head, only if we can.

    Still in his same usual hairstyle, he strapped a gold chain wristwatch on his wrist, and wore 2 shots of perfume from his scent brand.

    His next step was to put on his reading sses, before taking his phone and leaving his bedroom for his study.

    In there, he finally made the call he wanted to before Chuanli called to distract him and made trouble at the end.

    "Good morning, Sir." Bolin''s polite steady voice rang out immediately he answered the call.

    The call was on speaker, as immediately Mr. Fang started to dial his contact, he put it on speak out before putting his phone on his desk.

    He wanted to make the call while picking up the documents he needed, and putting them in his workbag.

    And that will be killing two birds with one stone.

    Immediately Bolin answered the call and greeted, Mr. Fang said to him, "Find me a housekeeper."

    ''What?!''

    Has he finally decided to sack Miss Zhang? But what did she do this time around?

    Bolin was shocked by the clear instruction from Mr. Fang and couldn''t help blurting out the question in his mind.

    "Sir, are you nning to fire Miss Zhang?"

    "Why would you think that?" Mr. Fang asked with a slight frown while picking up a file and ncing at its header.

    It was obvious that his mind was on that file, and didn''t bother to think about the reason for his question. He was so absorbed in something else.

    Now, Bolin was confused. "If you don''t have ns of firing her, why do you need me to find another housekeeper?"

    "To take over her ce. Zhang Liling has exams, and she is starting to forget her duties. I don''t have the time to scold her and teach her properly. Find me a housekeeper that will take over while she focus 90% of her attention on her forting exams."

    Again, Mr. Fang replied without getting angry, as he slipped in the file into his workbag, before picking up hisptop.

    Bolin couldn''t be any more shocked than now. Since when did he start to care about Miss Zhang''s affairs, and even care to release her of the stress because of her exams?

    Did he like her now?

    What are his ns?

 Chapter 103 Mr. Fangs Last Class

    "Sir, will Miss Zhang continue to stay in your vi until she finishes her exams?" Bolin asked curiously.

    Finally, Mr. Fang took a notice of his too many questions.

    "What is wrong with you today? Why are you asking too many questions?"

    Bolin quickly apologized before changing the directions of his questions from Zhang Liling to the new housekeeper.

    "Sir, do you have any special requirements about the new housekeeper?"

    "I want someone experienced in age and in skills. I didn''t ask you to get me an old woman." Mr. Fang said, emphasizing on the ''old woman'' part.

    **********************

    Zhang Liling made sure to have her breakfast on time before leaving for school. By the time she came out for her breakfast, Mr. Fang had already left.

    When she heard about it from the butler, that was when she remembered that she left out a few things that she was supposed to do that morning.

    But thankfully, she did her major job, and that was to tidy up Mr. Fang''s bedroom when he was working out in the gym.

    Quickly having her breakfast, she called a cab to wait outside the gates, so that by the time she finished eating and reached there, he would already be waiting for her.

    Surpringly today, Mr. Fang''s ss, was the one her department had today.

    What a good way to mark thest day of his ss, and theirs as well.

    Zhang Liling didn''t go straight to school, she stopped at a flower store and went in to buy a fresh bouquet, while making the driver wait for her.

    She had the money to pay for the extra charges, so that wasn''t a problem for her.

    Now aware of Mr. Fang''s scent issues, she was very careful of the kind of flowers she picked. She picked one that had a mild scent, then she paid for it and had it packaged before leaving with it.

    This was her gift to Mr. Fang for the time being. She knew that most of the students were going to get flowers and gifts for Mr. Fang to say goodbye to him officially, so she had to get something as well.

    Knowing fully well that Mr. Fang would never ept the gifts from his students, she didn''t want to waste her time to get something else for him.

    A flower would be better even if he doesn''t take it at the end.

    As for a real gift, she would gift him something personally, after today.

    Arriving at school, Zhang Liling saw some students holding gift bags and flowers, and a smile crept up on her face.

    She knew that most of them would be her ssmates, while others would be students from other departments, also wanting to gift something to Mr. Fang.

    Today was Mr. Fang''sst ss, and probably hisst day at NYU, unless there would be another contract and coboration to be a guest lecturer at NYU in the future.

    Today, Zhang Liling was very grateful to Tungmei foring early to keep seats for them. Because the kind of crowd she saw in the lecture hall today, was something else.

    Not that she was not used to it, but the fact that she was 30 minutes early and the hall was already filled with students, her ssmates to be precise.

    Looking around at the hall, her jaw almost dropped.

    How enthusiast of theming so early to await Mr. Fang.<sub> </sub>

    "Liling!" Tungmei called out from the second row and waving her hand above her head.

    With that crowd, she doubted that she would be able to find her so easily, hence she made things easier for her.

    Zhang Liling followed the direction of her familiar voice and saw her waving at her and smiled, before making her way to that direction.

    Just before she could sit on the seat preserved for her, her gaze met Shu Rushi''s. Thetter rolled her eyes at her and looked away.

    Zhang Liling ignored her before seating. Smiling at Tungmei, she said, "It looks like I have to thank you properly foring out here early to get seats for us."

    "I bet you never expected to see this number of students by this time." Tungmei chuckled.

    "I am indeed very shocked. Also, Shu Rushi is here on time. My God! The world must be changing and about to leave me behind." Zhang Liling joked.

    She was more surprised to see that Shu Rushi was there already.

    "It looks like everyone loves Mr. Fang more than you do." Tungmei said which lead Zhang Liling to ask with a narrowed gaze.

    "Do you have eyes on Mr. Fang just like the others?"

    Tungmei detected the threat in her tone and gaze and couldn''t help chuckling. "You are crazy! I am always here to get seats on time for us because I know how much you like Mr. Fang."

    Tungmei said thest part in a low whisper. The hall was a bit noisy with their other coursemates chattering, but she wanted to be careful so her seat neighbours wouldn''t hear her.

    Hearing her say that, Zhang Liling rxed her mind. Well, it''s not like she was bothered about it because she already knew the reason Tungmeies to ss on time.

    Actually, Tungmei was always in school on time. If there was any day she camete, then that would mean that something serious had happened to her.

    "What did you buy for Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling probed.

    She couldn''t see any bouquet on her desk and was already curious about it.

    Other ssmate had bouquets on their desk or probably a gift bag, but Tungmei''s desk was empty.

    Tungmei sighed and unzipped her backpack before taking out a stick of red artificial rose that was wrapped in a transparent stic.

    "Hehehe...hahahaha..." The sound of loudughter escaped Zhang Liling''s lips, which attracted a little attention to her from the other students.

    Tungmei was embarrassed by herughter and had to put back the flower before zipping her backpack.

    "Liling, you are really something..." She said with a slight frown.

    Zhang Liling covered her mouth andughed a little more before finding her voice. "I''m sorry, but you are so funny."

    "How so?"

    "How could you only get a stick of fake rose for Mr. Fang?" Zhang Liling asked in a low tone.

    Tungmei shrugged, "it''s not like I''m stingy. I thought hard about not wasting my money on a teacher whom I want to appreciate, but would most probably reject our gifts, and wanted to save my money. I still need money to feed after cklisting my father''s contact. I can''t starve while studying for exams, I have to be prudent with my resources now."

 Chapter 104 Mr. Fangs Last Class II

    "You are right, you have to be prudent with your resources, but what about I that got these flowers despite knowing that he may not take them?" Zhang Liling said while putting the bouquet on her desk.

    "Well, we two are trying to be polite. It will be weird if we are the only ones who doesn''t bring anything." Tungmei pointed out.

    "You are smart," Zhang Liling said as her thoughts trailed off.

    She took some moment to nce at all the students in the hall with flowers, or any other item to gift Mr. Fang and couldn''t help being worried.

    She just recalled that Mr. Fang was sensitive to smell, wouldn''t all these irritate him?

    Maybe it wouldn''t affect him since he would be standing on the stage, still, it was possible for him to be affected.

    Given the number of people in the room with flowers and other things, she couldn''t phantom if he wouldn''t be affected.

    Well, even if she was worried, there was nothing she can do to help. She was already happy that no one has gotten the idea to ce the flowers on the foot of the podium yet, or the situation would be far worse.

    Now, she would have to wait and see how he gets out of the current situation.

    Today, Mr. Fang was apanied to NYU by Bolin and a few bodyguards.

    On their way, Mr. Fang asked Bolin, "Do you think those students would try to do anything funny?"

    Bolin understood what he meant by ''funny'' and smiled. "You should be one of their favourite teachers even though you are very strict with them, but they will buy you gifts and flowers today."

    "Flowers? I don''t see those as gifts. Maybe they are trying to suffocate me to death," Mr. Fang said and looked out through the window.

    "But don''t worry," Bolin said as he turned his head to have a good nce at him. "I have a mask here for your nose. But I suggest that you still take a few more pills, we are already at the gates of NYU."

    At that reminder, Mr. Fang quickly opened the pigeon hole beside him to take out the familiar bottle of meds. He opened the stic container and took out 2 pills, despite having taken 2 in the morning.

    ? While he was at it, Bolin helped him to uncap a bottle of room temperature water, before passing it to him. "Here you go, Sir."

    Mr. Fang put the pills in his mouth before epting the water from him. He only took a few sips before passing the bottle back to him, and in turn, taking the handkerchief he passed to him to wipe his lips.

    At NYU, Mr. Fang took the ck nose mask from him and covered his nose with it before alighting from the car.

    Anyone who saw him now wouldn''t be able to recognize him if Bolin was not with him, or if they were not familiar with his body build.

    "Sir, are we following you to the lecture hall?" Bolin asked for confirmation.

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to him and said, "All of you areing with me. You will wait outside till I''m done with my ss. Reject all the gifts if I turn them down if theye to you. I have to leave for thepany as soon as I''m done with this ss, don''t let anyone near me!"

    "Sir, you have a meeting with the President of NYU and his deputies a few minutes after this ss," Bolin reminded him kindly.

    Mr. Fang gave him a sharp look as if ming him for not reminding him earlier.<sub> </sub>

    Boling bowed slightly in apology and watched him walk away before following him, after giving signs to the bodyguards toe along.

    He could imagine the students trying to follow Mr. Fang immediately after this ss. That would be crazy...

    Herees Mr. Fang....

    As soon as he arrived, even without seeing his whole face and having time to crush on his outfits, the students screamed excitedly and started cheering in loud voices.

    It looks like they didn''t care about the rules now. Maybe because they thought he wouldn''t punish them.

    Some of the guys had already started to hit their desks with admiration while calling out to him.

    The students in the other lecture halls close by, couldn''t help but be excited as well. They wished they could join in cheering for Mr. Fang.

    Zhang Liling was smiling brightly with her gaze on Mr. Fang. She was not cheering like the rest, and she wasn''t hitting her desk.

    But when she met his gaze, the smile disappeared from her face. That was not a calm or casual gaze from him, that was a re.

    Withiut knowing it, but Zhang Liling could tell Mr. Fang''s mood from his gaze, and she could see and understand it even with that distance between them.

    Maybe it''s because she has lived with him for a while now, and hase to understand a lot of things.

    "He is unhappy." She said in an audible tone, but because of the noise, her words seems inaudible.

    Tungmei saw her lips move and didn''t hear her. So she had to move her ears closer and asked, "what did you say?"

    "Mr. Fang is unhappy with this mess!" She repeated.

    "Huh? I thought he would at least be moved that his students are doing this for him." Tungmei said with a confused gaze, before shifting it back to the podium.

    "You must be delusional. Even I was. How could I have missed his reaction?" Zhang Liling med herself for not thinking properly.

    Flowers were something that could irritate his sense of smell, and there were many of them in the ss.

    Thanks to everyone, Mr. Fang must think that they want to suffocate him, and must hate them now.

    On the podium, Mr. Fang was shocked to see almost everyone holding a bouquet and shouting, Professor Fang! Mr. Fang!'' He didn''t appreciate any of this.

    First off, they were making noise and distracting other students who were having lectures in other neighboring lecture halls. And secondly, it looks like they wanted to suffocate him.

    ncing at the students, he came face to face with Zhang Liling''s smiling gaze and red at her.

    He was aware that she knew of his scent disorder, but was sitting there, smiling, making it look like she was delighted in his suffering.

 Chapter 105 Mr. Fangs Last Class III

    Mr. Fang was furious at his unruly students who did not bother to pay onest respect to him. They were going against his rules with them acting up.

    The noise was too much for him, making him very irritated.

    ''Enough is enough!'' He thought before raising his hand in the air, while taking off his mask with the other hand, so that the blind students could see his facial expressions, and be able to tell what his mood signified.

    Immediately he took off his mask, the cheers from the students, progressively died down.

    Instead of a warm Mr. Fang, they saw a furious one standing at the podium and ring at them.

    ''What, he is angry!''

    ''Why is Mr. Fang angry?''

    ? ''Did we do something wrong?''

    ''Huh? Why is cousin angry?'' Shu Rushi thought in surprise.

    She too was quite shocked when she saw the angry gaze from him when he took of the mask.

    Shu Rushi was unaware of his battle, and it wasn''t surprising, since He didn''t acknowledge her, nor regard her family that much.

    "He is really angry..." Zhang Liling muttered under her breath while staring at the stage with a calm gaze.

    "What do you think he will do to us?" Tungmei asked in a low tone.

    Zhang Liling shook her head, "I don''t want to use my brain for things like this."

    Why would she bother to think of possible punishments from Mr. Fang? She was already thinking that he might punish all of them and give them minus points from whatever they would score in the exams on his course.

    After the students quietened down, Mr. Fang gave all of them a scrutinizing gaze before saying...

    "A good number of you broke one of my rules, and that is noise making. I think you have all started to lose your memories now that your exams are close. I will take this first offence as being caused from studying too much."

    This verdict came as a surprise to all of them, but it was so sweet that they were nearly tempted to cheer again. But if they do, what were they going to me?

    So as much as they wanted to scream, they could only forcefully hold themselve back and chorus, "Thank you, Mr. Fang!"

    "Secondly..." Mr. Fang started saying without acknowledging their response.

    "I don''t like this fuss. If you have any flowers with you, please take them outside. I will give everyone 5 minutes to do that and return to your seats for ourst lecture."

    ''What? He wants us to throw the flowers out?''

    Those who had the time to still think instead of hurrying outside with the others immediately, got to their feet when they saw a good number of students leaving their seats with the flowers.

    Zhang Liling shook her head and asked Tungmei, "where is your flower? Bring it out and give it to me."

    Tungmei quickly did as she was told. Zhang Liling snatched the flower from her and picked up the one she had on her desk.<sub> </sub>

    Then she looked around for the students that wereing from behind. She sighted one who looked like a handsome popr guy, and held his sleeve when he got to her side.

    The male student wanted to curse at whoever what was holding him back from descending down the stairs. But when he turned around with that frown on his face and realized who the culprit was, he calmed down.

    "ssmate, please help me out." Zhang Liling smartly passed the both her and Tungmei''s flowers to him, and shed him a full-blown smile.

    The student had no choice but to take the flowers from her and leave.

    It''s not like he liked Zhang Liling like that, because that girl was a tyrant. But he couldn''t stop himself from helping when a beautiful girl smiled at him.

    Mr. Fang watched this interaction and his brows furrowed further. He already had the mask back on his nose when the students started to leave their seats, so one can tell his facial expression.

    Outside, Bolin sighed in relief as the students came outside with the flowers.

    Instead of throwing them away or casually putting them somewhere, the students, ced them neatly beside the wall of the lecture hall.

    Those who came atst, had to keep theirs beside others since the line had already reached the end.

    "They were really truly trying to suffocate him without knowing." Bolin thought and shifted away.

    Even he couldn''t tolerate the scenting from the flowers when put together like this, it was a little too much.

    Now that all the students had settled down, Mr. Fang started with his lessons.

    "I will finish from where we stopped in ourst ss which willst for half an hour. After that, we will do revisions for 2 hours, and I will take questions which willst for 20 minutes. And then, we will call it a year."

    This was the announcement he made before going to the white board and picked up a ck marker.

    For two hours and thirty minutes, the student of the department of business management, lent Mr. Fang their ears.

    As much as they would like to oggle at that mature handsome face dressed in that cool outfit which made him look better to them more than ever, thisst lecture was also very important to them, so they had to pay attention.

    Once the time was up, it was time for questions.

    "The lecture is over, it''s time to ask your questions. Remember not to offend me with personal questions, or I will really deduct points from you." Mr. Fang warned.

    He knew beforehand that most of the students would deviate from the kind of questioms they were supposed to ask on a ''special'' day like this, and with this kind of opportunity hence, he had to do something about it.

    Most of the students were disappointed now that they couldn''t get personal with their questions, still, some of them raised their hands to ask away.

    The first question was rting to the topics they should cover for their exams.

    Mr. Fang adjusted the sses on the bridge of his nose while gazing at the male student who asked the question.

    "Read all the notes I gave to you, and the ones I made you make by yourself. If you can recall everything I said all of those times I stepped into this hall, and your attendance is intact, you will bending yourself a good score. Next question please..."

 Chapter 106 Mr. Fangs Last Class IV

    "He''s so mean!"

    "Is he trying to punish us for making noise?"

    Which student would be happy to hear this kind of news from Mr. Fang?

    It would have been better if he asked them to figure it out for themselves than telling them to read up all the notes from his ss, and even go as far as remembering the scenes from all his lectures.

    They were human not super humans!

    Mr. Fang didn''t care in anyway. He looked around while waiting for the next question.

    After 5 seconds of waiting and he didn''t see anyone raise their hand, he was about to pick up his things and leave when someone raised his hand.

    Just like that, questions continued toe.

    Since the students couldn''t ask personal questions which they were interested in, an interesting one came.

    Mr. Fang couldn''t punish the person since it was well crafted. He just had to answer it.

    "Mr. Fang, will you ever involve business or link business to marriage?"

    Zhang Liling''s interest was immediately piqued by this question. She nced at the female student who asked this question before fixing her gaze back to Mr. Fang.

    She wanted to know the thoughts of the man she adored, concerning his future partner. No matter whst his reply would be, she would try to fit in.

    If he would marry for business, then she would have to go back to the Zhang family and take the reins from Zhang Mingyu.

    When she finally gains 60% control of Zhang group, she would then take herself to his doorstep.

    Mr. Fang stared daggers at the student, causing her to shrink and sit her butts down.

    When everyone thought that he would ignore that question, he nced at them and replied simply, "I am looking for a wife who would warm my heart, not a business partner!"

    His response was so sweet that most of the female students couldn''t help but let out gasps of excitement. They were not allowed to scream.

    Zhang Liling felt cheesy and said to herself while gazing at Mr. Fang with a smile that reached her eyes, ''I will warm your heart, Mr. Fang''

    When someone else raised her hand to ask a question, Mr. Fang had already figured out that their ns would be to continue twisting personal questions in a way that he would not be able to punish them, so he waved his hand.

    "I believe I just answered thest question for this ss."

    Immediately, there were sighs of disappointment from the students.

    Just why wouldn''t he take anymore questions? Because he has found out their new trick.

    Mr. Fang ended the ss with this statement, "Study hard if you want to ace your papers, and put more effort if you are aiming toe work for any Toppanies in S city."

    As soon as he picked up his notes to leave, the students at the front desk were the first to stand to their feet.

    Their aim was already known by Bolin who together with the bodyguards, rushed in to shield Mr. Fang from them.<sub> </sub>

    "Mr. Fang!! Processor Fang!!" The students screamed.

    Mr. Fang continued in his quick steps and disappeared from their sight in no time.

    The students were greatly disappointed by his actions but were not surprised, given his personality.

    Some of them just wanted to click a few photos with him and get his Autograph, but he just ran away like that.

    A satisfied smile was sitting on Zhang Liling''s face while gazing at the entrance Mr. Fang disappeared from. Then she watched Bolin and the bodyguards follow after him immediately.

    "You must be so happy that no one got to get close to him," Tungmei teased while packing her things into her backpack.

    Zhang Liling started packing her things as well while refusing to admit to it.

    "Come with me, we are going to have food at an expensive restaurant after this long refreshing ss." She said instead.

    Tungmei saw numbers going off in her head and said to her in a pitiful tone, "Miss Zhang, can''t we eat in a normal restaurant, while you give me the remaining bnce?"

    "No way! Come with me or you can forget about this..." Zhang Liling said with raised brows.

    "Ah! You devil!" Tungmei said through gritted teeth before standing up and slinging her backpack on her back.

    Zhang Liling did the same and led the way out, leaving most of her ssmates to continue wallowing in their sorrow.

    Shu Rushi was disappointed that Mr. Fang left like that. She wanted to take a few photos with him, but she didn''t get the slightest chance.

    She could onlyfort herself while listening to her minions.

    Mr. Fang left straight for the meeting where he was appreciated warmly. Talks about future lecturing offers came up, but he politely rejected them.

    p The only thing he couldn''t reject, was the invitation to the graduation of the final year students, especially the ones in the department of Business management, the same ss he lectured.</anda>

    From the meeting, he went straight to thepany to take care of things.

    All the students who bought other gifts for Mr. Fang apart from flowers were so downcasted that they had to take their gifts back home.

    Other students who were having sses nearby, all came to see and take pictures of the bouquets that were lined up outside the lecture hall, when they were done.

    Zhang Liling took Tungmei to an expensive restaurant and asked her to order whatever she felt like eating even if she couldn''t finish them all.

    "...you have to regain some lost nutrients from your body. You need the energy to study more, so eat everything you feel like."

    Tungmei ordered the few dishes she was interested in trying. She could deal with wine at the moment, but Zhang Liling was never going to be tempted.

    "We can just get a non-alcoholic bottle." Tungmei tried to reason with her, but was rejected.

    "Thest time I drank, I got into trouble."

    Tungmei frowned and asked, "How did you get into trouble when you were at your ce the whole time? Did you phone your father or your mother?"

 Chapter 107 Selfless Acts

    From the expensive restaurant, Zhang Liling orders a cab to a high-end store.

    "What are we doing here? I thought you wanted to take me back first?" Tungmei asked wih a look of surprise on her face.

    "We are here to get you an early graduation gift. Let''s go in," Zhang Liling said with a smile while pulling her in.

    Tungmei let herself get dragged inside.

    "Miss, wee!" The front attendant greeted.

    Zhang Liling murmured a response while continuing pulling Tungmei inside. Finally when they got to the main store, she let her arm off.

    Thinking deeply while looking around she said, "I don''t know what you really need the most, and this is why I should havee to your dorm to take a look at your things to find out what you need the most, but this is fine too. You will get to enjoy the bliss of shopping."

    Tungmei didn''t see shopping as a bliss although she liked to shop sometimes and felt that it was a good thing.

    But shopping requires money and time, which she didn''t have.

    Sometimes, she doesn''t know how Zhang Liling does it. Spending hours to shop for items.

    "Liling, I want to rest today and have a deep sleep. I don''t feel like opening my books today, so I would like to return to my dorm on time to have the remaining day to myself." Tungmei said to her.

    She meant that she should tell her what to pick, so they would not waste time there.

    Zhang Liling understood and shifted her gaze back to the clothes on the rack.

    "What do you want the most?" She asked with a finger on her jaw, and an arm spread across her waist.

    Tungmei shifted her gaze to the clothes on the rack to crack her brain. What did she need the most?

    "To tell you the truth, I need a lot of things..."

    Zhang Liling quickly nced at her and said with a frow, "Mei, I know you need a lot of things, but I can''t be broke."

    Tungmei burst outughing. She didn''t know that she would admit that she didn''t have a lot ofoney in her card.

    "My dear Liling, you are thinking too much. I was only joking with you. I need a lot of things, but I''m not asking you to buy them for me. I was just saying my mind since you asked a question."

    Zhang Liling patted her chest to calm down and said, "Next time, don''t say your mind. Your friend here is not a rich Missy. How I miss luxury, I have never fully enjoyed it."

    There was a little distance created in her voice. It looked like she was thinking about the good old days.

    "If you haven''t fully enjoyed luxury, who taught you to shop and spend money?" Tungmei asked in wonder.

    She felt that only those, who had money, knew how to spend it well, just like her.

    ncing at her, Zhang Liling asked with a smirk, "Who''s my mum again?"

    That question was to remind her of who her mother was, and the fact that she learned everything from her due to her profession.

    "Alright...alright... What do you want me to pick. I have a lot of needs, so what are you going to let me part with?" Tungmei asked with a smile.

    "Let me see..." Zhang Liling said as she stepped forward to take a brief nce at some of the clothes on the rail, before shifting her gaze to the little woodpartment on the walls to nce at the shoes and bags.

    "Things here are expensive, so just let me pick one item to save you from being broke. I don''t even know why you brought me here..." Tungmei said with a sigh.<sub> </sub>

    "I wanted you to have a quality gift. Some things are expensive because of their value, their designers, and the quality of materials used." Zhang Liling pointed out.

    Sometimes, it was just good to spend your money on quality things if you can afford it. Qualitysts for a long time.

    Turning to her, Zhang Liling suggested, "Why don''t you pick any dress of your choice. You can wear it on our graduation day."

    "What''s the point of wearing an expensive dress without a good shoe to match with it? Forget it, I will pick a bag." Tungmei said and started walking towards the bags arranged in the little woodpartments, but she got pulled away by the arm.

    "Who said there won''t be a good shoe? Don''t ruin this show for me. Pick out a good dress and don''t worry about other things."

    Finally, Zhang Liling got her to pick a royal blue-coloured dress before giving it to her. "Go and try it on, let''s see how good it is..."

    Tungmei examined the dress with a frown. "The back is open, how do you expect me to wear this kind of outfit on that day. We are going for our graduation, not a party!"

    "Your graduation gown would shield it only till the main orientation and picture taking is over. After that, it will be party after party!" Zhang Liling giggled.

    "I will trust your word otherwise, you would have to take responsibility for me if my father attacks me." Tungmei said before going into the changing room.

    A few minutester, she came out dressed, looking all pretty.

    After twirling and enjoying the beauty of the dress, Tungmei realized something. "What about you, are you not getting something for yourself?"

    Zhang Liling shook her head, "I can''t afford any expensive item again. I would have to wait for my father to send money next month, or I can ask my mother to buy a dress for me."

    "I can''t believe you bought something this expensive for me, and spent so much today when you are already running low? What kind of person are you? Do you even have any savings?" Tungmei asked in guilt.

    If she knew her bank ount bnce, she would have never followed her to that expensive restaurant, talk more ofing to this high-end store.

    "Sometimes, just live for the moment." Zhang Liling said with a smile but then noticed that Tungmei was not happy about it.

    Not wanting the gift she was getting her to be meaningless, she quickly pulled her to her side and said with a big smile, "Don''t mind me. I am spending money like this because I have a sure source."

    At the end, she winked and pinched Tungmei''s cheeks, which finally got her a reaction.

    Still worried about her friend, she asked "Would your mother give you money if you ask her to?"

    "No, she wouldn''t. Instead she would buy my dress and other stuff from Paris a few days to our graduation."

    Song Jujing was not going to give anymore money to her until next month. She already sent her a good amountast weekend.

    "I see, when is sheing?"

    "I would have to confirm from her. Anyway, don''t worry so much about me..." Zhang Liling said with a smile.

    After paying for the dress, the twodies left the store.

    "Don''t bother taking me back, I will take a cab back to my dorm," Tungmei said whilst feeling very grateful to her.

    "Nonsense! You still have to manage your resources!"

    So, Zhang Liling took her back to her dorm in a cab she gged down, before going back to Mr. Fang''s ce.

 Chapter 108 Realization

    On getting home, Zhang Liling received a congrattory message from Butler Gu on finishing herst ss.

    The Michelin star chef was not left behind.

    Zhang Liling smiled from ear to ear while thanking them before going to her bedroom.

    In the evening, Song Jujing phoned her to know how she was doing.

    "...what kind of daughter did I give birth to?"

    "What have I done this time around?" Zhang Liling asked with sleepy eyes.

    She was just waking up from sleep and trying to sit up when her mother''s call came in. Had it been she was still sleeping when her phone rang, she would have been annoyed.

    She and Tungmei decided not to do anything for the day. They won''t open their books until the next day. The remaining hours of the day, was a time to rest.

    "Why am I the only one always checking up on you? Can''t you do the same?" Song Jujing chided her disapprovingly.

    Before Zhang Liling could finish rubbing her eyes to reply, Song Jujing added, "Don''t you dare tell me that you have been studying. If you have been studying, I have been busy with work."

    Zhang Liling didn''t bother trying to please her or say anything to defend herself. She has already rejected the response she had wanted to give, so there was no need trying.

    Waking up from a nap, made her feel so tired and hungry. She didn''t have the energy to argue, so she chose to remain quiet.

    Song Jujing waited patiently for a few moments to hear her response, but she was only able to hear her evened breathing.

    "Are you tired?" Her tone automatically changed from disappointment to concern.

    Zhang Liling released a sigh and ran her fingers through her soft hair. "I thought you were calling to congratte me on myst lecture today. But here you are scolding me."

    "I was waiting to congratte you after you final exam. How was it today? Which ss did you have today?" Song Jujing asked.

    "A course for our department. The ss was fun because it was thest time we would ever see that professor in that kind of setting." Zhang Liling released another sigh.

    She was already missing seeing Mr. Fang in ss. There was a different vibe from the times she had seen him at different ces.

    It felt like he had so many professions.

    "Who is the professor?" Song Jujing asked with interest.

    She wanted to know who this person was that got her daughter interested because she could tell it from her tone.

    "Well, he is not a professor. He was a visiting lecturer."

    "How is that possible?" Song Jujing asked with confusion.

    Zhang Liling put her phone on hands-free mode before getting off her bed. Now she could try to stretch her body without having to hold her phone.

    "Well, he is Mr. Fang. Fang Bingwen from the Fang family. So you see now that he is not a professor."

    Song Jujing heard the ''Fang'' family being mentioned and said it out in surprise. "Did you say he is from the Fang family?"

    Zhang Liling noticed something from her tone and acknowledged what she said. "Yes. Mum, do you know the Fang family, the one dominating S city?"<sub> </sub>

    "Yes, I know them. Have they moved to S city now?" Song Jujing asked with deep interest.

    Just like her ex, Zhang Renshu, she has known the Fang family for a long time. But her perspective of them, was different from the one Zhang Renshu had.

    "You mean their entire family? I don''t know about that. I have only met Fang Bingwen because he taught my graduate ss."

    Zhang Liling wasn''t sure about the Fang family and where they resided. But for Mr. Fang to have his own ce in S city, that could mean that his family stayed in a different city.

    Song Jujing sighed. "It''s alright. Don''t forget to eat properly and rest. You can''t neglect your health even if this is your finals."

    "Mum, how do you know the Fang family?"

    Zhang Liling was no longer interested in any other thing apart from how her mother came to know about the Fang family.

    If her mother was close to the Fang family, would she have to struggle this much to win Mr. Fang over, and his family as well?

    Rtionship and long ties, would make her aim faster.

    "I have known them for a long time, especially the first son of the current head and his wife. Why are you interested in the Fang family?" Song Jujing exined and asked.

    "For...forget it... I was only surprised that you knew them," Zhang Liling stammered.

    There was no way she would confess her intentions, no way...

    When the call got disconnected, Zhang Liling released a deep sigh. She was relieved that her mother believed her and didn''t go on to ask more questions.

    Now, she was thinking, if her mother knew the Fang family from long ago, then it was possible that her father knew about them as well.

    Her mother has been in Paris for how old she was. She would be right if she said that she knew them before going to reside in Paris.

    If her mother has a good rtionship with the Fang family, she would thank the heavens and exploit the opportunity.

    An hourter, she got a call telling her toe and pick up a parcel at the head office of the courier service.

    Zhang Liling was ted as the gift she ordered for Mr. Fang had arrived. She was even expecting the good to be shipped 2 days earlier.

    Nevertheless, the gift was here now, so she had to go and pick it up.

    After picking the box up, she bought some items to wrap the gift up before going back to the vi.

    In her bedroom, she unboxed the gift and took out the small brown wood box inside, before opening it.

    There were already severalyers before she was able to see the beauty inside. She quickly stole a nce at it before shutting the box and going on to wrap it up.

    When she was done, she put the box on top of her desk and cleaned up her bedroom.

    For the rest of her day, Zhang Liling went about doing her duties diligently.

    During dinner, she ate her food and cleared the tes before going to her bedroom to take out the wrapped gift.

    Now, it was time to gift Mr. Fang.

 Chapter 109 Cherish It

    Gifting Mr. Fang took a lot of courage from her.

    Mr. Fang was now aware of her feelings for him, so he might reject her gift because of it.

    No matter what, Zhang Liling''s only goal at the moment, was to make sure he epted her gift.

    Knowing the normal ce he would be at after dinner, Zhang Liling went up the stairs and arrived in front of the door to his study shortly.

    Knocking twice, she opened the door and stepped in with a polite smile.

    "Mr. Fang, I''m sorry for interrupting you..." She apologized as she slowly stepped forward with her hands holding the wrapped gift behind her back.

    Mr. Fang raised his head to nce at her with a pen in his hand. Tonight, he was making notes on a journal about his next business n.

    "What is it?" He asked in his deep baritone voice. His tone was neutral, and his facial expression, calm.

    Zhang Liling took all this as a good sign before exhaling deeply.

    "I came to give you a token of appreciation for impacting business knowledge in me, and for making me put in an extra effort in my research."

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze from her face to her hands which were obviously hiding something behind her back.

    She brought a gift with her.

    He put his pen down and rested his arms on his desk, leaving his journal in the middle of them.

    "Miss Zhang, I did my job just like other lecturers did. You don''t need to thank me for it. Take your gift back."

    ''Take my gift back?'' Zhang Liling felt like crying.

    She bought him an expensive wristwatch, so who would she give it to if he rejects her?

    She didn''t see any other male figure in her life who was worthy of that gift.

    Zhang Liling decided to be stubborn and walked the rest of the distance to his desk. She came to stand in front of his desk before slowly revealing the wrapped up gift.

    "Mr. Fang, I can''t take my gift back. I already made this order specially to thank you, and it already bears a significant meaning."

    "What''s inside?" Mr. Fang asked pointing at the box with a nod.

    Thinking that he was finally being responsive, Zhang Liling smiled and replied immediately, "A wristwatch."

    "That means it''s expensive..." Mr. Fang said in a low tone as his head dropped.

    This made it difficult for Zhang Liling to tell what he was thinking.

    "Mr. Fang, don''t worry about the money, it''s nothing to me. I only give gifts that cost me something. I do that to everyone I care about."

    This was what Zhang Liling coulde up with. Since she couldn''t exactly guess what he was thinking, she thought that he was worried about the gift being expensive since she was still a student, but that wasn''t the case.

    Mr. Fang slowly raised his head and released a sigh. "Since this is a male wristwatch, it would be very pleasant if you gave it to your father instead. Just now, I helped you to think of whom to gift it to, since you have already bought the gift."

    ''What?!''<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling couldn''t believe her ears. She was shocked to the extent of being made speechless at the same time.

    So all this while he had his head lowered, he was helping her to think of whom to gift the wristwatch to, instead of him?

    And here she was thinking something entirely different...

    Zhang Liling really had no tears to shed. What kind of person is this man?

    Seeing her stand there staring at him wild-eyed, he tapped his fingers on the desk while calling out to her, "Miss Zhang!"

    Zhang Liling retracted her eyeballs. Her lips moved several times but no words left. Atst, she just put the gift on his desk and turned to leave, leaving him in shock.

    Mr. Fang was still out of it with that move from her. He didn''t expect her to just leave the gift for him after everything he said.

    When Zhang Liling got to the door and touched the handle, she paused and turned to say to him, "Mr. Fang, even if you don''t want my gift, you will have to ept it. You can''t throw it away or give it to others because it cost me $10,000. Please cherish it."

    After saying that, she bent the door handle to open the door before running away before he woulde back to his senses and force her to take the gift with her.

    She knew that if he makes any serious attempt to make her take the gift back, she would have no choice but to listen to him.

    This situation was a first for Mr. Fang. The man stared at the wrapped up gift wordlessly without knowing what to do.

    The gifter had already run away since, refusing to take it with her. And what... She asked him not to throw it away or gift it to another person.

    She even added that he had to cherish it.

    He has never seen someone weird like her in his entire life. She was stubborn and bold. Which was a good mixture with a side effect.

    Zhang Liling ran straight to her bedroom and locked the door before slidding down the floor.

    She had just skipped down the stairs, so she was still trying to catch her breath.

    The way she ran down the stairs as if someone was chasing her was so funny. She didn''t stop till she stepped into her room, even when Butler Gu rushed out to see what was happening.

    That was how desperate she was to find a hiding ce.

    Even if Mr. Fang sends Butler Gu to return the gift to her, she would never open her door for anyone.

    Zhang Liling stayed locked up in her room till around 10 pm beforeing out.

    The main lights were already turned off, signifying that everyone has gone to bed.

    ''This is good'' She thought with a smile before going back to her room.

    She emerged a few minutester with a nket in her hand. She figured out that she could watch a movie since she couldn''t go to bed just yet, and she didn''t feel like studying.

    Putting her nket on the couch, she went to turn on the television before picking up the remote and going back toy on the couch.

    Covering her legs with the duvet, she smiled brightly and fixed her gaze on the TV.

    At the same time in the study, Mr. Fang had just finished ate night meeting with some of his team members, and turned off hisptop.

 Chapter 110 Sleeping In The Living Room

    Taking off his sses, he stretched his body before picking up his phone. When he was about walking away, his eyesnded on that gift Zhang Liling gave to him.

    His brows furrowed, but he ended up picking it up before leaving the study.

    It was not yet the dead of the night, but since everyone had gone to bed, there was supposed to be calmness in the house.

    But how could it be that he was hearing the sound of people talking?

    Mr. Fang paused in his steps and strained his ear, but didn''t hear anything again.

    Maybe he didn''t hear properly the first time.

    Continuing in his steps, he went into his bedroom and turned on the lights. He was going to retire to bed, but ncing at the night stand, he didn''t see any bottle of water.

    p ''Did she forget to bring him water again?'' He thought while approaching his bed. He was starting to not like this.</anda>

    Sighing to himself, he put down his sses, phone and the gift on the nightstand before walking towards the door.

    He was going to get a bottle of water for himself.

    Going down the stairs, he discovered that his ears were not ying games with him the first time. He could hear screams, but that didn''t sound so real.

    There was only one way to exin it, someone was watching the television.

    Who could it be?

    He was wondering who could be using the TV thiste instead of going to bed.

    By the time he came to the foot of the stairs, he saw a head on the armrest of the 2-seater sofa. That head was full of hair, so it could only Zhang Liling.

    ''What is she doing instead of sleeping?'' He thought before continuing in his steps.

    This man ignored her and went straight to the kitchen to get water for himself.

    Picking 2 bottles for himself, he left the kitchen, while Zhang Liling who was oblivious to his presence, continued to watch the TV while smiling to herself.

    Suddenly, when the noise from the TV reduced, she heard the sound of footsteps. At first, she thought it wasing from the TV, but it was not.

    The scene that was currently showing, had nothing to do with anyone walking, so where was the sounding from?

    That could only mean one thing, someone was awake.

    At that realization, She quickly raised her head and sat up. It was at this moment that she saw Mr. Fang walk past her with 2 bottles of water in his hand.

    Zhang Liling saw the items in his hand and wondered when he even passed her the first time and she didn''t notice.

    Shifting her gaze back to his side profile, she saw that he had a straight gaze fixed at the stairs.

    The irony of all of this, was that he clearly saw her watching the TV, but he didn''t say anything to her.<sub> </sub>

    Did he not mind that she was watching TV thiste?

    Mr. Fang felt Zhang Liling''s gaze on him and continued in his steps. He was not going to say anything to her about it, unless she cked in her duties the next day.

    "Wait? Did I forget to put water in his room?" Zhang Liling realized that she cked off in her duties and felt like pping herself.

    Now, she could no longer fathom his thoughts. I mean, she cked of in her duties, and he caught her watching the TV instead of sleeping, but ignored her?

    The sun must be rising from West these days.

    After patting her chest and watching him disappear from her view, she patted her chest twice beforeying back on the sofa, and continued to watch the TV.

    Mr. Fang put down the bottles of water on the nightstand before turning off the light. Kicking off his flip-flops, heid on the bed before switching off themp at his side.

    Four hourster, Mr. Fang opened his eyes in the darkness. He didn''t know why, but he no longer felt sleepy from the movement of his eyes.

    He stretched his arm in the darkness and found themp before turning it on. Sitting up, he turned to nce at the nightstand before picking up the bottle of water.

    He uncapped one and finished the content at a goal. Putting the empty can back there, he raised the duvet and slipped out of bed.

    Mr. Fang went straight to the bathroom to make use of it. When he came out, he automatically went straight for the door and opened it.

    ck lines appeared on his forehead when he could still hear soundsing from the television downstairs.

    "Is she still awake?" He muttered under his breath before deciding to descend the stairs. He promised that he was going to scold her this time around.

    That he ignored her when he caught her watching the TV instead of sleeping, didn''t warrant her to abuse the leverage he gave to her.

    Finally reaching the foot of the stairs, he matched towards the living room with a frosty gaze. The TV was still on, and a movie was ying.

    By the time he came from behind the sofa and looked down, he saw Zhang Liling sleeping peacefully.

    Her head was resting on her arms, and the duvet she used to cover herself, exposed her feet.

    ''She is sleeping?'' Mr. Fang frowned and stared hard at her.

    How could she sleep in the living room and leave the TV on?

    ''It looks like she doesn''t know where she is." He thought before going to the other side to look for the remote. When he didn''t see it, he just directly turned off the TV from the wall.

    By the time he came to stand in front of her, he stepped on something hard and was forced to look down and move his left foot away.

    The ck thing he stepped one, was the remote he was looking for.

    It must have fallen from her hand when she fell asleep.

    Frowning hard, he bent over to pick it up before putting it down on the table. ncing back at herying there and sleeping soundly, he could no longer tolerate it and took the duvet off her body, but he regretted it the next second.

 Chapter 111 Warmth

    The moment he took the duvet off her body, he saw her bare thighs underneath.

    Because of the force he used to drag the duvet, it pulled her light dress whileing off her body.

    This was a move Mr. Fang regretted immediately.

    Withiut thinking, he immediately put the duvet back on her body before holding her arm and dragging her upper body upwards.

    Zhang Liling who was in a deep sleep, felt someone dragging her up and frowned. She wanted to hit the hand off but she was met with a resistance, which forced her to open her eyes.

    Squinting her eyes slightly, she used her free hand to cover her sight. Slowly, she took her hand away and saw the tall frame standing in front of her and looking down on her with a frown.

    ''Huh? Is that Mr. Fang?'' She thought with confusion on her face.

    "Are you awake now?" He asked in a cold tone.

    Zhang Liling didn''t feel that any of this was right. She shook her head andid back on the couch and closed her eyes.

    Mr. Fang was shocked by her actions. She clearly opened her eyes just now and saw him, so why would she go back to sleep?

    Refusing to ept her behaviour, he pulled her up again, but she dared to p his hands away.

    "Lea... leave me alone!" Zhang Liling said with a deep frown. She refused to open her eyes and was still put her head back on the armrest.

    She didn''t care what kind of vision she was seeing, she just wanted to sleep. Just when she was enjoying her sleep and having a sweet dream where Mr. Fang was smiling at her and holding her hands, someone came to pull her out of it.

    She really wanted to beat this person up, but she didn''t have the energy, and just wanted to continue with her sleep so she could find the sweet dreams she was having and continue with it.

    Mr. Fang''s brows knitted together as his huge frame towered before her. "Zhang Liling do you know whose house you are in?"

    He didn''t know the kind of answer he was expecting when he asked that question, but the response he got, threw him off bnce.

    "How is it your business?! Leave me alone, I''m tired!"

    ''What? Did she just scold me?'' Mr. Fang asked himself while looking down upon her.

    He just felt that girl was touble and proceeded to pinch her left cheek. "Zhang Liling you better open your eyes and see who is right in front of you!"

    He made sure to exert some force on his fingers so that pain could bring her back to reality from her deep sleep.

    His actions did work, because she grimaced in pain and screamed while her eyes flee open, before slowly allowing her body to get dragged towards the direction the pain on her cheek came from.

    "Are you awake now?" He asked with a re while still holding her left cheek just in case her sleepy head was still not functiong properly.

    Zhang Liling nced at the familiar figure as the pain from his fingers jolted her back to the world of the living. She didn''t know if she was seeing properly or not and asked to be sure, "Mr. Fang?"

    Seeing that she looked to be in reality now, he let her off and put his hands in the front pockets of his trousers immediately.

    "If you wake upte or neglect your duties tomorrow, I will punish you greatly!" He said before leaving her sight.

    He made sure to re at her onest time before leaving her side.<sub> </sub>

    He went back up the stairs and straight to his room. He ended up tossing around on his king-sized bed for several minutes before finally falling asleep.

    He was so furious with Zhang Liling that he couldn''t sleep immediately.

    The image of her sleeping peacefully, her bare thighs showing when he took the duvet off her body, her pping his hands and scolding him, were engraved in his head.

    He just knew beforehand that he was going to have a long night.

    As for Zhang Liling, she remained in the living room for a few more minutes, trying to process whatever Mr. Fang said to her.

    Atst, she managed to grab hold of some thing. He was going to punish her if she woke upte and didn''t do her duties.

    She made sounds of crying before carrying her tired body and duvet back to her bedroom.

    As soon as she stepped in, she found her phone and set an rm for 4:30 Am beforending on her bed tiredly and closed her eyes.

    A few hourster, her rm rang waking her from her slumber.

    Sleep was still sweet to her, making her find the rm annoying. Just a tap on a button, and she could shut the damn rm off and continue with her sleep.

    p But a voice spoke to her, ''If you dare it...''</anda>

    The sentence wasn''t finished, but it was enough to spark her brain and jolt her awake. Sitting up on her bed, she remembered some of the events formst night before scratching her head and letting out a yawn tiredly.

    She didn''t remember being rude to Mr. Fang, only that he caught her watching the TVst night, and sleeping in the living room.

    "Tungmei, you deceived me." She said to herself before dragging her tired body out of bed.

    By the time she stretched her body a bit, her eyes opened the more. She raised her curtains, dressed her bed before going into the bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up.

    A few minutes before 5, she left her room and went into the kitchen to take a bottle of water. She went straight for the gym to keep it.

    In there, she saw Mr. Fang inside already. She hesitated a little before posing a fearless stunt.

    She greeted him calmly and put the bottle of water on the stool before turning to leave. She didn''t bother trying to apologize aboutst night, because she thought she would only make her situation worse.

    After she left, Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to the door. He looked to be thinking about something because his brows furrowed.

    He had only been in the gym for 2 minutes before she stepped in, so he still looked fresh out of shower.

    From the gym room, Zhang Liling went straight to clean his bedroom. She saw the gift she gave to him sitting in his closet and smiled brightly.

    Maybe she should have apologized aboutst night without being afraid of being scolded.

    That Mr. Fang epted her gift, warmed up her heart and cast fear away. Now she would be patiently waiting for the day he would decide to put it on.

    After cleaning up his room, she moved to his study.

 Chapter 112 A New Housekeeper

    Having herst ss the previous day being Friday, and today being Saturday, Zhang Liling performed her duties diligently.

    She made sure not to miss anything while cleaning. Also, she did Mr. Fang''sundry herself.

    While using theundry room, she only saw his clothes, but as for his briefs, they were missing.

    ''Huh? Doesn''t he wear stuff like that?'' She thought with confusion stered on her face.

    It looks like she really wants to see what his briefs looked like.

    What she didn''t know was that Butler Gu always took care of that, so there is no way she would get the opportunity to see them or touch them.

    Finally when she was done with her work, she had breakfast and went to rest, before opening her notes.

    Around noon, Bolin came over, with someone. A woman in her early fifties. She seemed to be the new housekeeper.

    "Butler Gu, where is Mr. Fang?" Bolin saw Butler Guing down the stairs with a tray and asked about his Boss.

    Butler Gu smiled politely and replied after briefly ncing at the woman carrying a luggage behind him. "Sir, is in the study. But he is on a call with his olddy."

    "I see, we will wait a little for him." Bolin said before going on to introduce the woman he came with.

    "Butler Gu, this is the new housekeeper, Ms. Chu. She will take over the main role from Miss Zhang."

    Butler Gu frowned within him because he thought that Zhang Liling was getting reced, but he still smiled politely to the woman, who in turn greeted him respectfully.

    With curiousity, he couldn''t help asking about Zhang Liling, "What about Miss Zhang?"

    He didn''t want toplete his sentence since the new housekeeper was there, but Bolin understood and said with a smile,

    "Miss Zhang has exams, so she will only be in charge of the duties closely tied to Mr. Fang. Like cleaning his room and study."

    Butler Gu didn''t know why, but he felt happy that Zhang Liling was still able to stay. He usually found her to be a troublemaker, but it looks like his heart didn''t feel that way.

    Turning to the housekeeper, Bolin said, "Follow me to the minor sitting room to wait, we will meet Mr. Fang in a few minutes."

    Ms. Chu bowed slightly to the butler before following Bolin out.

    The woman was addressed as ''Ms.'' because she is not married. She lived alone, and only had distant rtives, hence, it was easy for her to rece Zhang Liling in her main role, given that she wouldn''t have any need to travel to see her family frequently.

    As Bolin and Ms. Chu were walking away, Zhang Liling trotted over, and saw their backs. She frowned slightly and moved her gaze to Butler Gu.

    "Butler Gu, is that not Mr. Bolin that I just saw?"

    Butler Gu nced at the direction Bolin left and said, "Yes, you are right!" Then he started to walk towards the kitchen with the tray in his hand.

    Zhang Liling followed after him to ask, "But who is that woman he came with? She doesn''t look like a member of the Fang family."

    She ascertained that, from the way she was dressed.

    Without stopping in his steps, he replied, "you haven''t seen her before because she is the new housekeeper!"

    "What?! How is she the new housekeeper when I''m here? Are there going to be two housekeepers?" Zhang Liling asked with furrowed brows.

    She looked very displeased about the title of the new worker, as she was feeling that her ce was about to be robbed from her hands.

    A minuteter...<sub> </sub>

    "Yah! Miss Zhange back!"

    Butler Gu looked frightened as he called for Zhang Liling who was running off with a bitter expression on her face.

    Zhang Liling didn''t bother to respond as she continued in her steps hurriedly.

    "Miss Zhang, you can''t meet him now, he is on a call!" Butler Gu said with a raised tone. His tone sounded worried because Zhang Liling was going to find Mr. Fang.

    If only he wasn''t still holding the tray, he would have gone after her and tried to stop her by himself, but unfortunately, he couldn''t.

    He could only watch her go ahead to cause trouble.

    Bolin who was at the minor sitting room meant for the servants, heard Butler Gu''s loud voice and became concerned.

    The butler wasn''t one to act in that manner.

    Knowing this, he decided to go and check things out for himself.

    "Ms. Chu, wait here." He turned to the new housekeeper to say before leaving her alone.

    Bolin found Butler Gu when he was just stepping out from the kitchen and asked, "Butler Gu, I heard you shouting earlier, what happened?"

    "Miss Zhang found out about the new housekeeper, and ran off to find Mr. Fang. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn''t listen." Butler Gu exined with a bitter expression on his face.

    He was really worried that Zhang Liling might cause trouble.

    Bolin frowned while gazing towards the direction that would lead to the stairs.

    Butler Gu followed his gaze before asking in a concerned tone, "Should I go and bring her back?"

    Bolin shook his head. "Let her be."

    He was not bothered since he knew that Mr. Fang wasn''t going to fire her, but it looks like Zhang Liling misunderstood the situation since no one exined to her, or rather because she didn''t give anyone the chance to exin things to her.

    ************************

    In the study, Mr. Fang was on a call with his grandmother.

    His tone sounded calm andposed while responding, although he couldn''t wait for the conversation to end.

    "Grandma, I don''t know when next I wille over. I have a lot of things at hand at the moment."

    "Your days at NYU are over, shouldn''t you have a little spare time now?" The olddy asked in a displeased tone.

    She didn''t like that she couldn''t see this grandson of hers often.

    "No, it only means that I can now put more time into my new project." Mr Fang replied.

    The olddy was quiet for a short while before asking, this time around, in a soft tone, "What about a wife? Don''t you want to marry?"

    "Grand...."

    Mr. Fang didn''t get the opportunity to finish his words because Zhang Liling barged in the next moment shouting his name with tears streaming from her eyes, which shocked him, and the olddy at the other end of the phone.

 Chapter 113 Cries And Pleas

    ''Why would Mr. Fang want to fire me when I didn''t do anything wrong?'' This was the thought that was going through Zhang Liling''s mind as she climbed up the stairs with a heavy heart.

    Tears were already streaming down her eyes as she could not ept this injustice.

    Thest she remembered, she has been on her best behaviour apart from sleeping in the living room and watching TVte at night, but that wasn''t enough to get her fired. So why would he want to fire her?

    She refused to ept it. She felt betrayed by his actions.

    She was going to find him, ask him what she did wrong before pleading with him.

    How could she allow someone else to take her ce when their rtionship was progressing? At least he had showed signs of being epting to her, so why would he want to change his mind now?

    It would be very difficult to start a new and a different rtionship with him if she leaves here without making a strong impact in his heart.

    It would be a waste if she doesn''t aplish anything meaningful, so she must do everything to not let him fire her, even if it meant kissing his feet.

    With a bitter heart and with tears stained on her cheeks, she arrived in front of the door blocking them and turned the handle before pushing it open.

    With her thoughts in disarray, she didn''t think that he might be on call, meeting, or working on an important n when she barged in.

    Also, she forgot the basic etiquette everyone should know, and that was knocking before entering a private space.

    Opening the door, she stepped in and shut it behind her while calling out to him tearfully, "Mr. Fang!"

    It was when she called out to him while staring at him with her blurry sight that she noticed the phone ced on his ear, but it was toote to regret.

    Mr. Fang was too shocked to be displeased. Normally, he would have frowned and then go on to scold her for being rude andcking in manners. But this time around, things were different.

    Initially he frowned, but when he nced at her and saw the tears in her eyes, his annoyance turned to shock.

    "Bingwen, who is that?" Olddy Fang who heard Zhang Liling''s voice from the other end, asked in concern.

    Mr. Fang finally reacted after hearing her voice. "Grandma, I will call you back." He said and directly ended the call to stop her from asking anymore questions, so he can face the woman he barged into his study in tears.

    Putting his phone on his desk, he shifted his gaze to Zhang Liling and asked with furrowed brows, while wondering what must have happened to her, "What is it?"

    Seeing that she had all his attention now, she stepped forward and only stopped when she was standing in front of his desk.

    "Mr. Fang, why do you want to fire me when I didn''t do anything wrong? I know that I am not perfect, and stayed upst night and had to be woekn up by you for sleeping in the living room yesterday, but my offense doesn''t require me to be fired..."

    While she was bbering and shedding more tears, the frown on his face spread further.

    ''Who says I want to fire her?''

    ''Did she drink again? But I can''t sniff any alcohol smell from her?''

    ''Did she hear something?''

    ''Where did get this idea from?''

    Zhang Liling misunderstood the frown on his face and really thought that he was angry with her, and dropped her knees on the floor.

    "Mr. Fang I''m really sorry, please don''t fire me! If there is anything I''m not doing right, please tell me one more time. Is it the rules? I will memorize them, but please don''t fire me!"<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang felt an iing headache. Now he was sure that Zhang Liling must have heard something somewhere, but misunderstood itpletely.

    Somehow, an idea came to him and he asked her when he managed to get an opportunity when she paused in-between her speech, "Is Bolin here?"

    ''So, it''s true?'' That was all Zhang Liling thought after she nodded in response.

    ''That exins it'' Mr. Fang thought.

    Without warning, she broke out in another tears while sitting her butts on the floor.

    She thought that it was really true that she was getting fired.

    "Why are you crying? Why are you sitting on the floor?! Stand up and talk to me properly! What nonsense have you been thinking about?!"

    Mr. Fang was annoyed with her actions and couldn''t help scolding her.

    How could she be wasting his time by wailing after misunderstanding the situation? He really wanted to sit her down and ask how she manages to get such ridiculous ideas from her head.

    Zhang Liling felt more heartache when he scolded her. She didn''t think that he has ever scolded her like that before. This was so painful.

    Helping herself up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and just stood there with her gaze on him.

    Seeing the state she was in, he felt helpless and could no longer allow her to continue misunderstanding the situation.

    "Who told you that I was going to fire you?" He asked in aposed manner.

    This question was like a bomb thrown into Zhang Liling''s head, that reset her memories and thoughts.

    Did anyone tell her that she was getting fired?

    Thinking about it, no one told her that she was getting fired. But what does it mean for someone else to take over your job?

    Was she going to be assigned another job instead since it looked like from Mr. Fang''s question that she wasn''t going to be fired?

    Did she misunderstand the whole situation?

    Looking at her stand there with her teary gaze and refusing to say anything, Mr. Fang exhaled and pinched the space between his brows.

    ''This girl...''

    Fixing a scrutinizing gaze on her, he asked, "Miss Zhang, who gave you the idea that I was going to fire you? Who told you that?"

    Zhang Liling fiddled with her fingers and refused to meet his scrutinizing gaze.

    "I...I... I saw Mr. Bolin an...and an older wo..woman. I... I asked t..the butler about it, an...and he told me the woman wa...was the new ho...houseke...keeper."

    ///////____________///////

    Thank you Mei_mei25 for the golden ticket, there will be an extra chapter soon...

    XOXO

 Chapter 114 What She Looks Like When She Cries

    Heat crept up Zhang Liling''s face,nding a faint blush on her cheeks.

    With the way Mr. Fang was staring at her, she was sure that she got everything all wrong. Now she just wanted to hide in embarrassment, and didn''t even want to stay there to hear his exnation.

    She desperately wanted to hide in a corner.

    Mr. Fang noticed her embarrassment and wondered where the cryingdy went to? Because the switch in emotions baffled him.

    "So, this is what you look like when you cry?" He asked with furrowed brows, failing to notice the tease in his tone.

    Zhang Liling felt more embarrassed and made sure not to meet with his gaze. Could she get any more embarrassed?

    She couldn''t believe that Mr. Fang has seen this delicate side of her, all because of her negligence. Currently, she really wanted to open her head and see what was inside.

    How could shee up with such an absurd thought about getting fired just like that? And it''s not like she heard anything like that from anyone.

    ''Mr. Fang must think that beyond this pretty face, lies a fool!'' She felt like ruffling her hair while gritting her teeth.

    Mr. Fang shook his head and said, "Go out and meet Bolin, he will give you the details of your new job description."

    He didn''t want to continue seeing her face. The more she remained in his presence, the more baffled he felt.

    It would be better if she left him to think rationally.

    Zhang Liling wanted to ask him why her role was changing, but held her tongue at thest minute.

    She didn''t want to say anything after making a fool of herself.

    ncing at the wipes on his table, she shifted her gaze to him, and then shifted it back to the wipes.

    She wanted to take some of them to wipe her face so no one else can see her like that when she leaves, but she didn''t know how to ask him for it.

    Reading her expressions and little gestures, Mr. Fang asked her to take it. "If you want it, take it and leave my study immediately."

    Instinctively, she stretched her hand to pull out a few pieces and thanked him in a hoarse voice before running away.

    As she left, Mr. Fang massaged his forehead and then red at the door.

    That girl was really something else.

    Zhang Liling only stopped running when she got to the stairs. There, she took deep breaths and exhaled to calm her nerves, before going on to wipe her face with the wipes she took from Mr. Fang.

    Since there was no mirror to look at, she had to make sure she wiped her face properly, and only started to descend the stairs when she felt confident enough.

    When she got down andnded at the foot of the stairs, Butler Gu wasing towards her direction after he saw her.

    He stared at her in concern and noticed the difference in her looks. "Miss Zhang, did you cry?" He asked.

    If not that Zhang Liling sensed the concern in his tone, she would have been very angry with him for saying it out loud.

    Zhang Liling looked elsewhere and replied, "I misunderstood him. Who wouldn''t cry when they are to be fired from their job for no reason?"

    Next, she brushed past him without looking back.

    Butler Gu smiled at her back and shook his head. Zhang Liling was truly a character.

    But he just couldn''t tell how everyone managed to tolerate her.<sub> </sub>

    A few minutester, Bolin left with the new housekeeper to see Mr. Fang.

    After the woman introduced herself, Butler Gu took her away to show her to her room, while Bolin remained.

    "Next time, make everyone aware when I make this kind of decision. How could you forgot to mention it to her when you are switching her role?" Mr. Fang med Bolin for Zhang Liling''s misunderstanding.

    "It''s my fault for being negligent." Bolin apologized.

    Mr. Fang sighed. "Have you made their roles clear to them?"

    He was talking about Zhang Liling and the new Hoousekeeper.

    "I would do that now, and leave after that," Bolin stated.

    Zhang Liling washed her face in her bathroom before drying it with a soft face towel. ncing at her face in the mirror, she discovered that her eyes were a little puffy and frowned hard.

    She really wanted to put ice on them to make them look better, but she didn''t think she could handle the iciness from it.

    Sighing to herself, she hung her towel on the rail, patted her cheeks before stepping into her room to sit on her bed.

    Releasing another deep sigh, she slowly made contact with her back on the bed and shut her eyes.

    A little crying was enough to make her this tired.

    Some minutester, she was woken up by a knock on the door and quickly went to open it.

    There, Bolin was, standing before her.

    "Miss Zhang, can youe out for a few minutes?" He asked.

    Zhang Liling found out the reason he came to find her, was to clearly state her new tasks in the house, and distinguish it from the one the housekeeper would be doing.

    Her task was a lot easier, as she didn''t have to worry about back pains and stress.

    She only had to focus on taking care of Mr. Fang''s study, and bedroom. She still had to bring him a bottle of water to the gym room every morning.

    After finding out about Mr. Fang''s illness, she could tell that he didn''t want another person''s scent around the area he normally frequented, hence he left her with those tasks.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t be anymore grateful than now.

    ncing at the new housekeeper again, she greeted her properly this time around, before going back to her room and leaving Bolin to show her around.

    IN THE STUDY...

    Olddy Fang waited for her grandson to call back, but he didn''t. This left her no choice but to call him.

    "A woman is leaving in your home? Who is she? Is she your girlfriend?" The olddy asked away without holding back.

    Her tone sounded curious and a little excited.

    ////////////////////

    Here is the bonus chapter

    XOXO

 Chapter 115 Zhang Renshu Shows Concern

    "Grandma, why are you interested in my servant?" Mr. Fang asked immediately.

    He didn''t want to give time for her imagination to run wild, because she was very good at it.

    "Oh! That was your servant earlier?" The olddy''s excitement died down. Her tone sounded disappointed.

    "Do you think my girlfriend would address me so formally?" Mr. Fang retorted.

    Thinking about that, Olddy Fang believed him and let out a sigh.

    "Wenwen, you need to think about dating someone even if you are not ready to settle down. Whenst did you meet a woman outside of work? I am really concerned that you may forget how to woo a woman and treat her right." The olddyined.

    Her grandson has dated before, but the rtionship neversted. At a time, she thought he was just ying around, but when he came backining a lot about the women, more especially about how the smell, she knew he was serious.

    She hoped that he would one day stop being picky and settle down with a good woman.

    Mr. Fang did not agree with his olddy''s concern, and immediately defended himself. "Grandma, I don''t need practice in order to treat a woman right. Being a good persones from within, you don''t have to learn it unless you were not that kind of person from the beginning."

    "See you speaking like you know how to treat one right? Which woman would believe you?" The olddy chided him dotingly.

    Finally a smile cracked on the cold face, as the deep voice teased, "A woman like you."

    "This boy!"

    The olddy couldn''t help but to blush after being left helpless by his speech.

    Mr. Fang truly knew how to get his olddy, and used the trick. Or maybe he was just trying to lighten the mood.

    "Wenwen, don''t tease this olddy. I will not force you to settle down, I will only keep reminding you. But if I don''t see any progress, I will have to set up a date for you. Eat healthily!"

    That was all Mr. Fang heard before the olddy hung up on him.

    Sighing, he put down his phone before taking off his sses and weaving his fingers through his hair.

    He was tired and needed a break.

    Soon, the final exams started, and Zhang Liling remained forever grateful to Mr. Fang for lifting the heavy burden away from her.

    At the Zhang family, Zhang Renshu overheard Shi Wenqian asking Zhang Mingyu to eat healthy food and stop munching on unhealthy snacks.

    He also heard her instructing the servants on the kind of diet he had to strictly follow for the period his final exams wouldst, and asked them to prepare them for him.

    As for snacks, surely, there had to be some served to him asionally apart from fresh fruits. And for that, she ordered healthy snacks to be made for him.

    Hearing her pass this heartwarming instructions just so their son could feed properly and focus on his studies, Zhang Renshu instinctively thought about Zhang Liling, and if she was feeding properly.

    Since she was not living with them, he could not tell, and had to find out by himself.

    Going back to his study, he picked up his phone and dialled her contact.<sub> </sub>

    At the first ring, Zhang Liling answered the call.

    Zhang Renshu was used to not showing affection, so he just went on to ask if she was studying and eating properly.

    Zhang Liling''s response sounded dull, which made him think that she must be exhausted.

    Zhang Renshu knew how smart Zhang Liling was, and how hard she works, so even if she was away from his sight and she sounded tired over the phone, he still believed that she has been studying and was just tired.

    "Why not just move back home so the servants can prepare healthy food and snacks for you, you can even go to the spa for a massage?" He asked with a frown.

    Immediately those words left his lips, a bit of the tiredness Zhang Liling was feeling, weared off.

    "Dad, do you think I will be well taken care off in that house?" She asked in a strong tone.

    It was as if she was asking him to check things out for himself and give her an honest response.

    Zhang Renshu has never known all she had to go through while living in that house since he normally never cared.

    <o>,m Zhang Renshu remained calm for a few moments before saying, "If you don''t want toe back, then remain there. I will just send you more money to order food from good ces. I don''t want your mother thinking that I took you from her to mistreat you at the end!"</o>

    After saying that, he advised her to continue studying hard. And not giving her the chance to speak, he ended the call.

    ncing at her phone, she put it down before moving her eyes back to her book.

    Is not like she even had the energy to say anything to him.

    She has been on a particr short topic for over 4 hours now, and she didn''t seem to be getting anything into her head.

    This was her 3rd time of reversing the notes she made from her ss lectures, but she still couldn''t put anything into her head.

    This was making her so tired and frustrated.

    This was an example of the moment that tempted her to go and find Mr. Fang.

    Not up to a minute after she put her phone down, it chimed, signifying a notification on her phone as her screen lit up.

    She carelessly nced at her phone and saw it was a message from her bank.

    She quickly picked the phone up, and opened the message. When she saw the content, she just smiled and put the phone back on her desk.

    Her father had sent her a good amount of money, which automatically lightened her mood.

    Now, she even got the courage to go and find Mr. Fang for help.

    When she appeared in his study and stated the reason she came to find him, he just nced at her before asking her to sit, and then, went ahead to exin things to her.

    To be sure that she understood, he asked her questions, before sending her away.

 Chapter 116 Recreating Her Scent

    Over the next several days, Zhang Liling continued with her exams, while working diligently in the vi.

    She made sure to eat on time, and moreso, there were some healthy snacks and drinks that were made for her asionally by the Chef.

    Knowing who that order must havee from, she felt her heart warm up a bit.

    When she was getting full of herself because of the gesture, Mr. Fang noticed and reminded her by himself.

    "I don''t care how your results for the other years has been, but if after feeding you, and you don''te out with a first-ss... I don''t think you would want to know what your punishment would be."

    Zhang Liling had a clear question mark on her forehead while wondering why he was acting like her father now.

    ''No! This is wrong!'' She thought. He was supposed to act like he had her best interest at heart, but not through this method.

    It made things feel weird for her.

    But some dayster, she began to rethink some things. If he was treating her like this, that meant that he cared about her grades, and more about her too.

    If she was a normal servant in his house who was still in school, why would he be interested in her grades?

    That would be weird right?

    ***********************

    ording to the school timetable, tomorrow would be thest day for the final exams, and the students couldn''t be any happier.

    Some of them could no longer wait and had already started jubiliating. But some people like Zhang Liling and Tungmei were different.

    This was going to be theirst paper, and it was the only opportunity to do their best in their studies.

    On this day, the new housekeeper, Ms. Chu, came to serve Zhang Liling breakfast in her bedroom.

    Zhang Liling felt so guilty that she hurriedly apologized to her.

    "It''s fine! Everyone understands that you are writing a major exam. You just need to concentrate and finish your exams and get back to work." Ms. Chu said kindly.

    "Thank you!" Zhang Liling said gratefully before moving her gaze back to the tray of food.

    Before turning to leave, Ms. Chu gave her a kind reminder. "Don''t forget to read the notes Mr. Fang left for you."

    Zhang Liling grumbled within her, but pretended to hear with a smile, and only then did the housekeeper leave her alone.

    "What did he write this time around?" Zhang Liling mumbled to herself as she picked up the sticky paper glued to the tray to nce at it.

    If Mr. Fang wasn''t lecturing her this past few days, then he would send her a note to remind her to study properly and get up her grades, and then all the work she would have to get back to immediately she finished her exams.

    She was very sure that he told Butler Gu to write the notes himself, because she has had the opportunity to see his handwriting several times on the board while in ss, and also, she has peeked at a note he made, and the handwriting looked nothing more like on the note she was getting.

    At least, if he wrote the note himself, she wouldn''t be this annoyed. She even felt burdened.

    But all of that was going to stop by tomorrow after she finished herst paper.

    With that thought, she munched on her breakfast and cleared the te at the end.

    For the rest of the day, Zhang Liling stayed indoors studying, apart from the time she left her room around evening to clear her mind.<sub> </sub>

    She was really tempted to go out to drink something different apart from the smotthies and other fresh drinks the chef made daily.

    But would she try that?

    ******************************

    Still around 5 pm, Mr. Fang was working tirelessly in his office untill Bolin came to remind him about the time.

    "Sir, it''s time to clock off work!" Bolin said while putting down a file on his desk.

    ncing at the table-clock on his desk, Mr. Fang saw the time before shifting his gaze back to him.

    "It''s still early." He said.

    If he said it was still early, there was nothing Bolin could do. He only had to take his mind off going back on time for today.

    "If you want to go, you can..." Mr. Fang said to him.

    He did not notify him that he would be working overtime, so he would allow him to leave if he wanted to.

    Bolin smiled and refused the offer. He had no emergency at home, he was single, and he wasn''t tired, so he wouldn''t mind joining him to work overtime.

    "After tomorrow, so many students from NYU will start applying to work here. There should be a notification for the exact date to start showing their interest. It would take 1-2 weeks for their final grades to be posted, and at least a month before their graduation ceremony."

    Bolin''s brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "What time do you think they should start applying?"

    "Once they have seen their grades. They already know the grades we ept, so there would be no need to remind them." Mr. Fang said.

    Bolin nodded and left.

    Mr. Fang surely had a different way of doing things. Normally, he would not use the students grades to judge their intelligence, because most times, he liked people who were practical.

    Having a good grade is not the only means to determine if one was intelligent, and having an average grade did not mean that one was not intelligent.

    There were so many ways to test for intelligence.

    But the grading system of NYU, made Mr. Fang to rx and pick students based on them, because the process was something he could trust.

    Mr. Fang continued working till 2 hourster.

    When he was leaving the building with Bolin, thetter asked, "Sir, you mentioned aboutunching a new scent, which scent would it be based on?"

    "My preference." Mr. Fang stated as he trotted towards his car.

    Bolin did not seem to get him quite well, and had to chase after him. "Sir, I don''t understand? Are you going to work on a scent that would suit you? As much as I know, I don''t think that this is going to be an easy project."

    "Who told you that?" Mr. Fang nced briefly at him. "I just need to be able to recreate Zhang Liling''s scent, and that''s it!"

    Bolin was so shocked that he just stood at a spot and gawked at him.

    What did he mean by that?

    Was the next perfume he would be creating, be based on Miss Zhang''s scent?

 Chapter 117 Graduate

    Finally! Exams are over for Zhang Liling!!!

    p Is there anything more exciting as that???</anda>

    Zhang Liling was one of the most excited persons on earth currently after dropping her pen. But she made sure to maintain her image till she was outside the school premises, which was harder to achieve.

    Finally outside, she screamed on top of her lungs in excitement.

    Tungmei chuckled hard. "Why are you screaming on the road? People are going to think that you have gone mad."

    Zhang Liling turned to her to say, "This is the best opportunity to scream because I have been holding it in for quite long."

    There was a full blown smile on her face while saying that. The excitement was obvious, and could not be concealed.

    "Why didn''t you do that inside the School?" Tungmei asked with a teasing smile, despite knowing the answer.

    "Why don''t you first tell me why you stopped screaming earlier and I would give you a response to your question?" Zhang Liling asked with a smirk.

    "Forget it!" Tungmei said and chuckled hard.

    "Finally my brain and body can rest. This is a good thing."

    Tungmei took small steps with that cheeky smile on her face. "Now, we are free! There is going to be a celebration this evening. It''s organized by the ss rep, do you want toe?"

    "Yeah, I saw that in the group chat. You sound like you want to go..." Zhang Liling probed instead of replying to the question.

    Tungmei shrugged, "Well, I have nothing to do, and I feel that I should celebrate this milestone today. It will be fun with most of our coursemates present."

    Zhang Liling thought about it and would have loved to go, but she doubted whether Mr. Fang would let her go out, when knowing that she would drink.

    Suddenly, her mood quietened down.

    "You are not going? What would you be doing alone at your ce? If you are scared of getting drunk, then you shouldn''t really worry because I will be there to make sure you don''t drink more than 3 sses." Tungmei said, trying to convince her.

    Zhang Liling looked at her and asked, "Do I ever listen to you, especially when ites to drinking?"

    Thinking hard about it, Zhang Liling was indeed stubborn and doesn''t listen when she really wanted to do something.

    Still, she said to her, "Not tonight. You will have no choice otherwise you can''t go for parties anymore. You need to maintain your good image in public, and be crazy as you want indoors. I''m sure someone will not hesitate to film you when you are drunk."

    "Yeah, that''s true. I have a few enemies in our set. Anyway, I will go home and think about it. I will let you know of whatever decision Ie to." Zhang Liling nodded.

    She was going to speak to Mr. Fang about it. If he allowed her, then she would go. But if he doesn''t, which she thinks that he was likely to do, she would ept her fate.

    She wouldn''t me him since she had the guts to kiss him thest time.

    Probably, he would be scared of what her next action would be this time around.

    "You have toe. I''m sure Zhang Mingyu will be out having fun with his friends tonight. Did you find out what happened to his car?" Tungmei probed.

    Just like Zhang Liling, she noticed that he no longer came to school with his sports car.<sub> </sub>

    Withiut thinking hard, Zhang Liling came up with a response. "Maybe he crashed into someone and was banned from driving, or his car was taken from him. My Dad looks like someone that can do that although he didn''t buy the car for him."

    But she was wrong, because Shi Wenqian was the one that took the car from him, but she wouldn''t know this since she was no longer staying with them.

    It would not be a surprise to her if she finds out that she was wrong, because knowing her stepmother''spetitive spirit, she can do anything.

    "You are probably right. I just admire your stepmother''s hardwork. She is very good at covering things up." Tungmei said with a thumbs up.

    Zhang Liling smiled while thinking that it was her normal way of life.

    "Alright, I''m leaving now before the sun gets any hotter." She said and waved at her, before gging a cab down just at the right moment.

    "See you this evening at the club!" Tungmei said as she watched her get into her ride.

    Zhang Liling just smiled and said before the driver drive off. "Don''t forget to unblock your father now!"

    "I will!" Tungmei agreed while waving at her.

    With a smile, she went to the bus station to wait for a bus.

    ****************************

    A few hours ago...

    Chuanli was almost getting frustrated after failing to reach Mr. Fang on phone after several attempts.

    He ended up asking himself this question, "Did he block me?"

    Thinking that was possible, he scoffed. "If you can''t take jokes, how will you find humour to attract a good woman and not a gold-digger?"

    "Miss Zhang, I think you should really think twice about being with this kind of man."

    After venting his anger, he released a long sigh before punching on another contact. If he couldn''t reach Mr. Fang, then he would reach out to Bolin.

    It took several rings before Bolin answered his call.

    "Dr. Li." Bolin''s polite tone rang out as soon as he picked the call.

    He left his phone in his office before going into Mr. Fang''s office to give him some documents. By the time he returned, he saw his phone ringing.

    "Are you aware that your Boss blocked me?" Chuanli asked instead of going straight to the point to state the reason for reaching out to him.

    "Mr. Fang blocked you?" This question came as a surprise to Bolin, and he had to ask for confirmation.

    What could make Mr. Fang to block his Doctor? This could only mean thetter offended him.

    "Do you think I would lie about that? Bingwen couldn''t take a simple joke and blocked my contact, and I''m just finding out after failing to reach him now."

 Chapter 118 Dr. Lis Plan

    Now Bolin couldn''t doubt that he was blocked, because his Boss answered a call when he went to meet him in his office.

    "Dr. Li, do you want me to pass any message to him?" Bolin asked atst.

    "Forget about him for now. Since he blocked me, it shows that any suggestion from me would be trashed." Chuanli sulked.

    Bolin didn''t know what to say to him. If he doesn''t have any message to pass anymore, then this conversation shouldn''t go on anymore, but he couldn''t bring himself to say anything.

    Looking at his messy desk, he just hoped that Chuanli would say something soon, or he would be forced to remind him about the work he had left to do.

    Thankfully, he didn''t have to do that because Chuanli spoke the next second.

    "Miss Zhang is writing herst exams today, what does your Boss have to say about it?"

    ''What has this got to do with Mr. Fang?'' Bolin thought to himself with a slight confusion in his gaze.

    He really didn''t know what Dr. Li was getting at.

    "Should Mr. Fang have something to do with it? If you are thinking he would fire her, that wouldn''t happen, at least not now."

    Chuanli rubbed his face with his free hand before making things clear. "Miss Zhang should be celebrated for concluding her Bachelor''s program. Did you Boss not mention anything about it?"

    It was now that Bolin got the point, and he proceeded to immediately correct a mistaken impression that he had.

    "Dr. Li, Miss Zhang is Mr. Fang''s Hoousekeeper, why would he want to celebrate her for finishing her Bachelor''s degree program?"

    Chuanli was immediately disappointed and felt that Bolin was boring, and bing more like the person he worked for.

    "Forget it! Just get a bouquet for Miss Zhang, and get your Boss toe home on time. I don''t care what method you use, but you have to bring him back on time, unless you want to sneak to his house to hand Miss Zhang some flowers before going back to the office."

    There was no room for argument in Chuanli''s statement, which caused Bolin to frown.

    "Do I have to give her flowers today?"

    Mr. Fang looked like someone that may be spending extra hours at work today. How in the world was he supposed to make him go home willingly?

    "It has to be today. I agree that Miss Zhang is an interesting character, but the poor girl has to be celebrated. That''s what everyone''s family would do for their child on this day." Chuanli said with a slight pity in his tone.

    He was trying really hard to convince him to agree with his plot.

    Bolin felt he was right, but then had to ask, "Miss Zhang is yet to have her graduation ceremony, why don''t we wait till then? Mr. Fang might be really furious if he is provoked today."

    As much as he agreed to this, he had to be rational.

    "Don''t worry, I will try to handle his temper by bringing up the research. I might have something for him."

    Chuanli nned to talk about his health to disguise the fact that he came over to celebrate Zhang Liling on writing herst exams.<sub> </sub>

    "I will try to see what I can do make him go back home on time. But I can''t promise that it would work."

    Bolin finally agreed to his plot.

    Chuanli was not going to settle for uncertainty. "Make sure it works. I''m sure Miss Zhang''s ss would be having party tonight to celebrate theirst exam this evening. If Mr. Fang doesn''te back before she leaves then we can''t find a better time than this."

    Bolin understood and still left him with the same words.

    A few hourster, Bolin''s phone rang, but before he could answer the call, it ended. ncing at the caller ID, he saw that it was Chuanli that had called.

    Actually, the call was a reminder that it was time to clock off work, which Bolin understood very well.

    Sighing to himself, he said a prayer in his heart before packing up his things.

    Just when he opened the door to his office with his workbag in hand, he saw Mr. Fang leaving his office with a slight frown on his face.

    Mr. Fang nced at him and said in an urgent tone, "Drive me home today. And you should stop by my house to check out theb. I need you to confirm some scents for me."

    "Are you going to start working on the new scent today?" Bolin asked in surprise.

    Mr. Fang started walking forward while replying, "Yes, the earlier the better. This result can take me a few months to get. I will have to try my hands on everything I cany hold of."

    Bolin rejoiced in his heart and couldn''t wait to give this big testimony to Chuanli whou would jump for joy.

    If he knew that Mr. Fang would choose to go home early today because of his new agenda, he wouldn''t have worried so much.

    But in all, he was just thankful that he didn''t have to suffer from blodd loss while trying toe up with a reason for him to go home early.

    Bolin quickly followed after Mr. Fang who kept ncing at his wristwatch.

    ''Is he going somewhere else?'' Bolin thought.

    On their way back to the Vi, Bolin parked in front of a flower shop before taken permission from Mr. Fang.

    "Sir, please give me a minute to get something from this store." Bolin turned from his driver''s seat to gaze at him.

    Mr. Fang nced at the flower shop and wrinkled his nose instinctively. "What are you getting flowers for? Shouldn''t you have done that when you are in your own car?"

    There was a hint of me for not being considerate of his Boss, in his tone.

    Bolin managed a smile before exining. "I will put the flower in the trunk. The flower is actually for Miss Zhang, for finishing her final exams today."

    Since he was going to see him give it to her anyway, it would be better toe clean now.

 Chapter 119 Random Act

    Mr. Fang was was calm about his personal assistant getting flowers for his servant. Well, as long as he didn''t put it anywhere near him, he would be fine with it.

    ''Since when did they be close?'' Mr. Fang thought with a frown as he watched Bolin step out of the car and go into the store.

    When he came back, he patiently waited for him to put the flowers in the trunk before going back to upy the driver''s seat.

    "Since when did you and Zhang Liling be close enough to give her flowers?" Mr. Fang asked with knitted brows and a probing gaze.

    Bolin didn''t think much out of that questions, and just went on to revolve the car engine before driving them away.

    "We are not close, Sir. I just thought that it would be good to give her something to celebrate herst exams since she didn''t have any family to appreciate this milestone."

    He was still smart not to mention anything about Chuanli, or they both would be dead meat.

    ''Now, he is making me look bad.''

    Mr. Fang scoffed and look through the window.

    He thought the action Bolin portrayed made him look bad, but now, he was not going to care.

    How was it any of his business if someone that worked for him in his house, finished school?

    *******

    Somehow, Chuanli got the text Bolin managed to type and send to him, while on his way to the underground parking lot of Fang Group, with Mr. Fang.

    The young man was thrilled and immediately got up to work.

    He picked up his telephone and made a call to his secretary to pass the information about him clocking off work the next minute.

    Next, he picked up the important things he needed, including hisptop before taking the private elevator leading straight to the underground car park.

    He went back to his apartment to freshen up before going into a store to get some gifts.

    *******

    Zhang Liling was all smiles when she got into the cab she hailed earlier.

    ''She was a graduate!'' She screamed in her head.

    How exciting this was! She was no longer going to be restricted to do some things unlike before.

    And most importantly, someone told her that he doesn''t date his students. Now that she was a graduate, and was no longer his student, hope he would consider her now?

    Zhang Liling couldn''t wait to make slow, steady and appropriate moves on Mr. Fang.

    She understood that she was his domestic employee, and the rtionship between them could be awkward. She only hoped that he wouldn''t mind.

    Knowing a little about him from living with him for a short while, made her a little conscious about her actions.

    This is the reason she was going to do whatever it takes to get into Fang Group for her internship, and hopefully, she would be retained there after a year.

    She was not going to rush her goal, unless the situation calls for it.<sub> </sub>

    Feeling the need to talk to someone, Zhang Liling phoned her mother, and after a few rings, the woman picked and screamed, "Congrattions Baby!"

    Zhang Liling was all smiles with her mum being all squishy and cute, but had to move her phone a little away from her ear, to save her ear drums from getting damaged

    Even without her putting her phone on hands-free mode, her mother''s voice was still loud.

    The cab driver heard her voice and smiled. He stole a nce at Zhang Liling through the rear-view mirror before fixing his gaze back on the road.

    "Mum, you are going to damage my ear drums," Zhang Liling reminded with a face full of smiles.

    "Oh I''m sorry!" Song Jujing apologized with a low chuckle, before whispering, "I forgot where I was and screamed, now everyone is thinking that something is wrong with me."

    "You are not at thepany?" Zhang Liling asked curiously.

    Song Jujing nced at the people sitting around the table in the conference room before replying, "Actually, I was in the middle of a meeting in the conference room before your call came in"

    "What?!" Zhang Liling was so shocked that her jaw dropped.

    She couldn''t believe her mother would act like that in a meeting room, did she forget where she was?

    Oh actually, she did say that she forgot where she was, but how could that be?

    "Mum, I''m going to drop this call, call me back when you are home." Zhang Liling said and ended the call directly.

    Her mum was crazy, that''s all she could think.

    Putting her phone down, Song Jujing''s smile vanished as she immediately nced at everyone. "Let the meeting continue."

    At thatmand, everyone in the room stopped looking at her, and the meeting resumed.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t help chuckling after the call with her mother.

    "Congrattions!" The cab driver suddenly said while gazing at her through the rear-view mirror.

    Zhang Liling wasn''t sure that he knew what he was congratting her about, or was just saying that because he heard her mother say that to her, but in all, she thanked him before looking out through the window with a smile.

    Soon, the car pulled over outside the estate, and she had to pay her cab fee, but the cab driver asked her to go.

    "Youngdy, it''s on me!" The cab driver said.

    Zhang Liling didn''t ept his kindness and seriously wanted to pay her fare. She thought that he needed the money more than her since he looked like a family man, so she insisted.

    The cab driver just smiled at her and said, "I know you think I need the money more. But sometimes, we just have to show kindness. You can take this as a little gift from a stranger who thought to brighten your day. Congrattions!"

    As soon as the man said that, he drove away without taking the money from her.

    Zhang Liling felt that man was weird, but she couldn''t disagree if someone said she was touched by his gesture.

    She didn''t need the money because she had money, but that random act of kindness from a stranger really did move her heart.

    Smiling to herself, she turned around and walked inside the estate, through the gates.

 Chapter 120 Gifts

    Finding her way to Mr. Fang''s vi, she saw the door locked and input the password before helping herself inside.

    ''Looks like everyone is preupied.'' She thought as she walked straight to her bedroom to take off her clothes and run into the bathroom.

    She perspired a little for walking in the setting sun from the estate to the house, and needed a cold water bath to feel better.

    Instead of a quick shower, she dillgently set her bath before slipping inside.

    As soon as the cool water touched her skin, she moanedfortablly with her eyes shut, and a smile resting on her face.

    "Rose petals, essential oil and a ss of wine, and my bath would beplete!" She said to herself and released a deep sigh.

    Sheid in the bubble bath for long minutes. She felt that she deserved at least, that kind of treatment.

    Outside of her bedroom...

    "Butler Gu, I heard someonee in, is that Miss Zhang, or is Mr. Fang back home?" Ms. Chu asked.

    She had just stepped out of the kitchen and saw the butler passing. When she was there, she heard the door unlock, but was too busy to go and see for herself.

    "Miss Zhang is back," Butler Gu replied with a smile.

    Ms. Chu smiled in return, "Then we really need to congratte her."

    "Wait for her toe out,"

    "And when will that be?"

    "Probably soon, when she gets hungry." Butler Gu said and walked away with a smile.

    He had seen Zhang Lilinging into the house, but he deliberately avoided her for some reason best known to him.

    *******

    Mr. Fang''s car pulled over in front of the house, and he quickly helped himself out.

    He didn''t go to work with his bodyguards, and they were not outside the house either. Maybe he sent them away for a break.

    Bolin turned off the car engine before stepping out of the car and going behind to open the trunk, as Mr. Fang watched him with wrinkled nose.

    Watching him take out the flowers from the trunk and it still remained fresh, he couldn''t help but toment, "The flowers didn''t die?"

    Bolin closed the trunk and replied with a smile, "No it didn''t."

    Mr. Fang scoffed. He was hoping the flowers would die.

    Slipping his hands inside his pockets, he turned to walk towards the entrance of the house, while Bolin tookbout their workbags from the car.

    Just as Mr. Fang was about to input the password to his house, he heard the sound of a car driving in and paused in his actions.

    Turning around, he saw the familiar car pull over and immediately, his brows knitted in a tight frown.

    ''Why is he here?''

    Bolin saw Chuanli''s car pull over and smiled to himself but now, Mr. Fang would have questions for them.

    Chuanli could feel the heated gaze from Mr. Fang as soon as he stepped out of his car with 2 gift bags and a bouquet.

    Chuanli returned a cheeky smile to him, before leaning back inside his car to take out his workbag and close his car door.

    As he got closer, Mr. Fang''s eyes seemed to ask, ''What are you doing here?''

    "I came for work, then I found out about Miss Zhang''sst exams today, and decided to stop by a store to get her something."

    Mr. Fang looked at him from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet before shifting that scrutinizing gaze back to Bolin.

    The eyes of the two men followed him and wondered what he was looking at until they saw his gaze resting on the items in their hands.

    "Mr. Fang, did you also get something for Miss Zhang?"

    Bolin asked and without waiting for a response, he ignored the icy re from him, and continued, "I''m sure that Miss Zhang will be moved by your kind gesture."

    Mr. Fangpletely ignored him and turned to input the password on the door, but it opened from the inside, and Butler Gu''s face came into view.

    Butler Gu had seen the trio at the door through the monitor and wondered why they were noting in.<sub> </sub>

    Seeing all those items in their hands, he had to open the door for them.

    Mr. Fang walked into the house, ignoring his greeting, leaving him to wonder who offended him.

    "Butler Gu, is Miss Zhang back from school?" Chuanli asked with an expectant gaze.

    "Yes, Miss Zhang is back." The butler replied and shut the door behind them beforeing to take a few things from his arms.

    "I need to put this down." Bolin passed the bouquet to Chuanli before going up the stairs.

    He stil had to put Mr. Fang''s workbag in his study, before checking with him on what to do next.

    Chuanli took the bouquet from him and followed the butler to the dining room.

    *******

    In Mr. Fang''s bedroom...

    Mr. Fang was still thinking about the scene he saw earlier. His personal assistant and doctor getting a congrattory gift for his servant, and he the employer, didn''t bring anything.

    p He was begining to wonder if they had n to do this from the beginning, and why they did it.</anda>

    With his knowledge, he could tell that they were not close to her, yet they got her something.

    ''Is there something I''m missing?'' He thought to himself while pacing up and down his room.

    It was the knock on his door that interrupted his thoughts.

    "Come in..." His agitated tone rang out.

    Bolin slowly opened the door before stepping in and closing the door behind.

    "Sir, I just put your workbag in the study. Would you like us to go down to the to wait for you first?"

    Mr. Fang finally got something to distract himself. He waved his hand with a frown. "Ask the housekeeper to serve the food first, while I quickly have a bath. We will get to work as soon as we finish eating. Dr. Li is here, so he can be off help with the first experiment."

    Bolin felt relieved and left his sight.

    At least, they would get to rest and eat before going straight to work.

    Also, they would get the opportunity to hand in gifts to Zhang Liling.

    Bolin came downstairs and passed the instructions from Mr. Fang to the housekeeper.

    "He is taking a shower, should I serve the food now?" Ms. Chu asked with raised brows.

    She was worried about the food going a little lower under the temperature, and had to confirm.

    "Yes, please..." Bolin said before going to the dining area to find Chuanli, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

    "You bought a cake?" He asked as he quickly trotted over.

    Chuanli smiled at him while setting a few things up on the dining table.

    There was a cake and some choctes. Now, he was holding a half-blown balloon in his hand.

    "I thought it would be good to have a cake, so I included. But I forgot to get a bottle of wine, so now, I''m left with no option than to borrow one from Bingwen. I''m sure he wouldn''t mind."

    Chuanli replied as he fixed his gaze on the butler that was approaching them with a bottle of wine in his hand.

    Bolin followed his gaze and looked even more rmed.

    He couldn''t help asking after watching the butler put the wine bottle down next to the cake.

    "Dr. Li, are you sure all of this is okay? You are using Mr. Fang''s dining room, and taking his things without his permission."

    Chuanli tied the mouth of the balloon and fastened it with a thread. "Actually, none of this is okay. But I''m just banking on the other part of his heart that doesn''t seem dead yet."

    "You could get banned froming here..." Bolin reminded him with a worried gaze.

    "Then Miss Zhang would have to repay me in the future," Chuanli retorted.

 Chapter 121 Touched

    There was no way, Bolin would have understood what he meant. And Chuanli will not bother to exin anything to him.

    Soon, Mr. Fang''s dinner was served.

    Ms. Chu looked surprised with the arrangement on the dining table and wondered what was going on.

    Butler Gu didn''t like that she was clueless and whispered the deal to her.

    She nced at Chuanli and Bolin, and didn''t know what to say. She was speechless.

    How could they be doing this when Mr. Fang was about to have his dinner, or was Zhang Liling more than a servant to him?

    Right at this time, Zhang Liling stepped out of her room with all smiles.

    She has been on her phone chatting with her friends from Paris, and only remembered about food when her stomach growled.

    She had to end the chat ande out of her room to find some food.

    Stepping out of her room, she walked through the hallway until she came towards a bed. There, the aroma of the food wafted into her nostrils, triggering a response from her stomach again.

    "Is Mr. Fang back?"

    That could only exin why she was perceiving the aroma of the food that wasing from the dinning area.

    Thinking about that, she silently made her way over. She was going to tiptoe, but that would look horrible if she was found out, she had rather walk over boldly.

    If she was asked what she was doing there, then, she would just say that she came to greet him. Simple.

    Arriving at the dining room, Zhang Liling saw a different scene being yed out.

    Seeing her arrive, Chuanli quickly picked up the party popper on one of the seats and went to her side before popping the content on her.

    The glittering content came pouring down from above her head to her body. Someone of them dropped on her shoulders and stuck to her clothes, while the rest just spattered around the area she was standing.

    What a mess.

    "Congrattions Miss Zhang!!!" He said, and others wished her too.

    "Congrattions Miss Zhang!!"

    Zhang Liling was wowed.

    "What? OMG! What''s all this?" She cried out happily.

    "Are you touched?" Chuanli asked with a teasing smile.

    Zhang Liling nodded. "Of course I am! I wasn''t expecting to receive this kind of treatment today!" She said almost in tears.

    Her heart felt so warmed up.

    Even if she was to be in the Zhang family, she would be ignored. If her stepmother decides to show her a fake love in front of her father, it still wasn''t real.

    She felt so happy to feel this genuine care from these people.

    Chuanli winked at Bolin as if to say, ''See, I told you.''

    Bolin shifted his gaze to Zhang Liling and said, "Miss Zhang, it''s good that you are happy, but we really have to get rid of the poppers, or we will all be in trouble by the time Mr. Fanges down to have his dinner."

    Everyone followed his gaze from the mess on the floor to the dinner that was ced on the dining table, and concluded on it.

    "I will clean up this mess immediately!" Ms. Chu said and hurried away.

    "I will help her," Butler Gu said and went away.<sub> </sub>

    He figured they would be faster if he helped her to clean.

    Soon, Mr. Fang woulde down. Even if he would not be against celebrating Zhang Liling, surely, hell will be let loose for turning his dining room into a mess.

    Zhang Liling was a little worried. She would hate to offend Mr. Fang in this day.

    She still needed to get his permission for the party at the club tonight.

    "Maybe I should join them, I would hate to ruin Mr. Fang''s night" because ruining his night, means that mine will be ruined, including my morning.''

    Zhang Liling said the second-half of her statement in her head. She would be crazy to voice it out.

    Chuanli smiled at her before gesturing for her to sit. "Don''t worry. the butler and the housekeeper will take care of this. You just have to sit and get ready to cut your cake and pop some wine."

    Zhang Liling took a good look at the dining room before asking, "Will it be a good idea to do this here?"

    She wasn''t so sure about Mr. Fang''s reaction to them using his dining room to celebrate her, when he wasing to eat.

    "Mr. Fang shouldn''t be left out on this. How do you think he would feel if we left him all alone here, and went to some other ce to celebrate?"

    ''That wouldn''t be good?'' She thought.

    Bolin nced at Chuanli and wondered what he was getting at.

    ''As if Mr. Fang would care? He would rather enjoy the peace and quiet.''

    Zhang Liling proceeded to dust her body to take care of the glittering papers on her body, a second before Butler Gu and Ms. Chu came back with their cleaning items.

    Chuanli forced Zhang Liling to sit, before fixing the small knife in the cake.

    "Are you ready for..."

    "Ready for what?" A cold voice interrupted from the entrance.

    Mr. Fang had his hands inside the front pocket of his pants with a frown on his face.

    Luckily, the butler and the housekeeper had already finished sweeping away the party poppers and was about to leave before he came in unannounced.

    They quickly bowed slightly before disappearing from his presence.

    Zhang Liling felt her butts on fire and hurriedly got up from the dinning chair.

    "You are right on time!" Chuanli said with a big smile on his face while ncing towards his direction.

    Bolin and Zhang Liling were the only ones that held their breath, and didn''t really appreciate his presence.

    Mr. Fang nced at his dining table and the things that were put together with his food and knitted his brows, before stepping forward.

    Before he could say anything, Chuanli hurried to exin to him, "Miss Zhang just finished herst exams, so we wanted to do a little something for her for achieving this milestone."

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to Zhang Liling who had her gaze lowered, before sitting at the head chair. He then put his hands on the table.

    ncing back at her again, he asked, "Miss Zhang? Are you that confident about your grades to be celebrating now? Your result is not yet out."

    ''Huh?''

    ''What''s going on here?''

    It was Chuanli and Bolin''s turn to be confused.

 Chapter 122 Last Time

    Zhang Liling slowly raised her head to nce at him.

    "Mr. Fang, I have always been confident in my grades. I will not fail any course, and my grades will surely be better than average."

    She sounded very confident in herself.

    "I am not talking about your grades being better than average. I am talking about the first-ss grade. Are you sure you want to celebrate now?"

    Mr. Fang asked while staring right into her eyes.

    ''Oh! So this is what this is all about?''

    Finally, Chuanli and Bolin got the rity of the situation, and were no longer lost.

    "Bingwen, you want her to get a first-ss before she can celebrate graduating with a bachelor''s degree?" Chuanli asked with an unbelievable expression on his face.

    "Mmhmmm..." Mr. Fang hummed in reply.

    Bolin swallowed hard before shifting his gaze from him to Zhang Liling who was fiddling with her fingers with a slight frown on her face.

    Chuanli felt pity for Zhang Liling and decided to speak up for her.

    "Bingwen, how could you put up this difficult task for her? You were not with her from the begining of her first year in the university. How best do you think her grades are, that you are expecting her toe out with a first ss because you taught her in her graduate ss?"

    Fang Bingwen smiled with a predator vibe to it. "I went through her results before giving the task to her. Also, I made sure she had good food and healthy snacks to eat during her exams. Now tell me, what excuse does she have for not making first-ss?"

    ''What?! he went through my grades from the past years?'' Zhang Liling couldn''t be anymore shocked than now.

    ''He went through her grades? Wow! This is a different Mr. Fang!'' Bolin couldn''t believe it.

    The Mr. Fang he knew, didn''t have time for things like that. When did he start to care?

    "You went through her grades from her first year?" Chuanli asked with a widened gaze before shifting it to Zhang Liling.

    Mr. Fang looked annoyed as he asked, "Do I need to exin myself again?"

    Tilting his head toward Zhang Liling''s direction, he said while pointing at the table, "Miss Zhang, do you still want to celebrate?"

    Zhang Liling looked at the goodies on the table including the wine before shifting her gaze to Chuanli as if to ask what she should do next.

    Chuanli and Bolin thought that Fang Bingwen was being unreasonable.

    Even if Zhang Liling didn''t get the first-ss grade atst, she still had to celebrate today, or was he expecting them to throw everything out, and for her to slip into depression?

    Quickly, Chuanli gathered his wits together. Smiling at Zhang Liling, he said, "Miss Zhang, you should sit and cut your cake and have some wine. Surely, you will make the first-ss grade!"

    Bolin knew he was just saying things as it came to his head, but still joined to encourage Zhang Liling.

    "Miss Zhang, you should really cut your cake, so Mr Fang can have his food."

    Mr. Fang watched them being all good to her and scoffed.

    Zhang Liling nced at him to know what his looks said, but he had his gaze elsewhere.

    "Okay!" She finally said and sat down.<sub> </sub>

    Chuanli pushed the cake in front of her before asking her to hold the knife.

    Just then, Butler Gu and Ms. Chu came back. Seeing her about to cut the cake and Mr. Fang didn''t look like he was against it, Butler Gu smiled and said to Ms. Chu in a low tone, "I will bring the wine sses."

    ording to Chuanli''s instruction, Zhang Liling cut the cake at the spelling of ''Graduate''

    Bolin took over to cut the cake in a sizeable piece, before distributing it to everyone in a saucer.

    Chuanli popped the wine and poured a little quantity for everyone in their wine sses.

    After clinking sses with everyone except for Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling proceeded to drink from her ss.

    Earlier, she had seen him re at Chuanli when thetter came to clink sses with him, and took that as a warning to stay off his path.

    Fortunately, he epted the wine and cake, and even ate a bit of the cake with his fork.

    Ms. Chu was very fast with clearing the dining table so Mr. Fang could have his meal as soon as possible.

    As the celebration hase to an end, and Mr. Fang was about to eat, Zhang Liling fiddled with her fingers before deciding to call out to him nervously.

    "Mr. Fang, I need your permission to be somewhere in an hour."

    "Where are you going?" He asked without lifting up his head. Lifting the tes covering his food was more important than ncing at her.

    Chuanli''s eyes shone brightly as he guessed where she might have to be. "You have a ss party?"

    "Yes," She admitted before moving her gaze to Mr. Fang.

    "You want to go for your ss party?" Mr. Fang asked with a narrowed gaze.

    Zhang Liling nodded.

    Chuanli was about to ask what was wrong with that, but Bolin ced his hand on his palm to stop him.

    He was trying to stop him from interrupting Mr. Fang''s conversation with Zhang Liling.

    Chuanli heaved a sigh and decided to shut up. He just realized that interfering much wouldn''t do him any good, as it was likely to backfire.

    Mr Fang picked up his cutlery and asked, "Have you forgotten what you did thest time you drank?"

    ''Huh?''

    ''What happenedst time?''

    Chuanli and Bolin''s interest were now piqued, despite the confusion on their faces.

    "Mr. Fang, I was drunk the other time. This time around, I promise not to drink more than a ss. I just want to go out to have fun with my coursemates."

    ''Oh! She got drunk! She really has guts!'' Bolin thought.

    ''She got drunk? What did she do when she was drunk?'' Chuanli was really curious as he nced between them.

 Chapter 123 Mr. Fangs Consent

    "You still want to drink a ss?"Mr. Fang asked with raised brows.

    Zhang Liling did not respond to this question.

    How could she nod when she was still feeling guilty over thest time? She couldn''t admit that to him openly, and she wouldn''t reject it either. So, the decision would be left for him to make.

    "Miss Zhang, why don''t you take water instead?" Bolin suggested, leaving a way out for her.

    He thought that Mr. Fang may not let her join her ssmates if she insisted on drinking.

    Zhang Liling frowned at him and replied with a grumpy look, "I really want to drink. I don''t want toe back with my breath smelling like alcohol, that would be a lie to Mr. Fang."

    ''Suit yourself!'' Bolin thought.

    Mr. Fang narrowed his gaze toward her direction. He could still remember her kissing him when her breath reeked of alcohol.

    ''Just what gives this girl the courage to act the way she does?''

    She wasn''t his younger sister or friend, but the way she acts around him feels like they were close. Who on earth would know that she was his dosmetic helper if they were not told?

    He really wanted to point it out to her that she was crossing the line, but seeing her act all pitiful plus what she must have suffered before in the Zhang family, was reallying in-between this decision.

    He was holding back because of that, and this is the reason he should have never known about that, and Chuanli shouldn''t have given him anymore insight to her possible family issue.

    ncing at Chuanli, he red at him, causing thetter to look confused.

    ''What did I do now?'' Chuanli thought to himself with a confused gaze.

    Before he could actually voice his thoughts, Mr. Fang had already shifted his gaze back to Zhang Liling.

    "You can go ahead and drink responsibly, but don''te back to my house by 9 pm drunk, also, don''te near me or I will withhold your sry for 2 months!"

    In one sentence, Mr. Fang agreed to let her drink, while giving her the time she had toe back, and the punishment that would follow if she went against his instruction.

    p This was well taken by Zhang Liling who smiled happily.</anda>

    She immediately got out of her seat and bowed deeply. "Thank you Mr. Fang!" Her cheerful voice rang out.

    Chuanli and Bolin were surprised that he agreed to this and nced at him at the same time.

    He was really giving her freehands to do what she liked, but had to add the rules to keep her in order.

    Wow! He was really being lenient with her!

    Mr. Fang did not say anything more, and picked up his cutlery to eat.

    Zhang Liling got that as a cue to leave, but she got stopped by Chuanli and Bolin just as she turned to leave.

    "Miss Zhang, this is a gift for you. I know how you youngdies like bags, so I got you a cute one. Don''t thank me too much because it''s not that expensive." Chuanli said as he passed the bouquet and gift bag to her.

    "Wow! Thank you, Dr. Li." Zhang Liling thanked him before taking the bag and flowers from him.<sub> </sub>

    She looked so happy to receive a gift today and peeped into the bag.

    "Miss Zhang, here is my gift to you!" Bolin said as he handed her the bouquet he got for her.

    Zhang Liling epted it and thanked him with a warm smile, before slowly shifting her gaze to the man eating at the head table.

    ''Did he also get something for me?''

    Chuanli and Bolin followed her gaze and coughed awkwardly.

    Mr. Fang felt the gazes on him and looked up from his food. He first nced at Chuanli and Bolin before shifting his gaze to Zhang Liling who had a cheeky smile.

    "Are you expecting a gift from me? I allowed you to drink today, is that not enough?" He asked while pointing his knife at her.

    Zhang Liling bowed hurriedly. "No, it''s not that. I''m leaving." She said before running away hurriedly.

    Mr. Fang rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

    ''How shameless!'' Chuanli thought before picking up his cutlery.

    Immediately Zhang Liling shut the doors to her room, she shouted in excitement. She climbed on her bed and jumped like a child whileughing to herself.

    When she has had enough of the excitement, she jumped down and sat on her bed before picking up the bouquets to sniff them one after the other.

    Oh! how she loved the scents of fresh flowers!

    Putting the bouquets outside now, she picked up the gift bag and took out the box that was wrapped with a pink ribbon.

    Putting the box on her bed, she pped her hands before removing the cover. Shifting the wraps to the side, the beautiful pink bag came to view.

    Honestly, she felt the colour didn''t suit her because it was a princess colour. She has long passed that age where she would be excited to get things in pink. But because this was a gift, she looked past the colour, and appreciated the kind gesture and thoughtfulness that followed.

    Taking the bag out from the box, she took it to her little work-in closet. cing it on her thigh, she raised her foot up while ncing at the mirror.

    She was trying to see how well the bag suited her in different poses.

    Feeling satisfied after trying out different poses in different angles, she released a sigh of relief before going back to keep the bag on her bed.

    "You just wait, I will rock you tonight!" She said to the bag after a few pats before turning to leave her room.

    A few minutester, she came back with a transparent vase and scissors for her flowers. She was going to arrange her fresh flower gift in it.

    This process took her over 10 minutes, which left her satisfied at the end.

    Zhang Liling used another 10 minutes to look for a dress with a party vibe in her wardrobe. She didn''t have to search for long before she found one that could serve the good purpose.

    "Alright, let''s get dressed!" She said with a satisfied smile.

    Twenty minutester...

 Chapter 124 Hot Black Dress

    Mr. Fang was chatting with Bolin and Chuanli in the living room, when they heard the trotting sounds from a female heeled shoes.

    As the sound of the heels got closer, Chuanli and Bolin got distracted and became interested in seeing Zhang Liling in her outfit, but that wasn''t possible.

    Zhang Liling didn''t have to pass through the living room before she could make it to the entrance, hence the reason they were not able to see her outfit.

    ? "Should I have given her a ride?" Chuanli said to Mr. Fang.

    "Sure, but you would be going home from there," Came Mr. Fang''s threat which was disguised as a response.

    Chuanli respected himself and focused on the meeting.

    They were currently talking about recreating the scent that makes Mr. Fangfortable.

    Althought the scent would still not stop him from getting irritated from other people''s scent, he felt it would be nice to create something that made himfortable.

    "I think we should go to theb to check a few things out." ncing at the man, Bolin asked, "Mr. Fang, what do you think?"

    **********

    Zhang Liling was dressed in a sleeveless turtle-neck short ck dress, which had a material plus an opening in her chest area.

    The dress was designed and patterned with Swarovski crystals.

    The ck dress hugged her figure and brought out her shape. Her fair thighs looked very attractive in the short dress.

    Paired with a ck stilletos and the new pink bag she just got as a present, Zhang Liling was ready for clubbing.

    She was just lucky that Mr. Fang didn''t see her in that dress, as he might have asked her to go back.

    How would it be heard that he allowed her to go out from his house dressed like that? He wouldn''t even mind if all her female ssmates dressed worse than her. As long as she wasing out from his house, that was a no-no.

    Zhang Liling took a cab from outside the estate to the address in the group chat.

    She had a full blown make-up on her face, with a smile sitting on her lips.

    She looked very beautiful and hot tonight. More importantly, she was ready to party!

    Zhang Liling was sitting in the cab while looking at the evening life serene outside, when she heard her phone buzz repeatedly in her bag.

    ''It must be a call!''

    Taking out her phone from her bag, she saw the caller ID and smiled. It was Tungmei, and she hurried up to answer the call.

    "Liling, are you stilling, you didn''t call me back?!" Tungmei''s voice rang out in a noisy background.

    Zhang Liling could hear the sound of cars driving pass by, and guessed she must be outside.

    "I was so excited that I forgot to ring you, but I am already on my way. Where are you?"

    "I''m outside, and... I just gged a cab down! Talk to youter..."

    Zhang Liling chuckled at her response and took her phone away from her ear, and as she tried to put her phone in her bag, she got a call from her mum.

    She groaned unhappily.

    "Why did she choose this time to call me?!" She mumbled to herself while staring hard at the caller ID.<sub> </sub>

    All this while she was indoors she didn''t call, but chose this particr time she was outside to call.

    The only reason Zhang Liling''s mood changed at her mother''s call, was because the woman might ask her to not go to the club.

    Well, she can just try to evade her when the timees.

    ncing at her phone screen again, she swiped to answer the call.

    "Hello, mum!"

    "I promised to call back, so I''m calling back now. How was your day? Did your father call you?" Song Jujing called.

    "No he didn''t, and I hope he doesn''t." Zhang Liling sighed as her mood turned sour.

    If her father should call her, the summary of his words would be for her toe back to the house since her exams were over.

    She would have no other excuse to give to him.

    Song Jujing understood and chuckled softly. "If he calls you and says anything, tell me. I don''t want you to go back to that house. Shi Wenqian is evil, and she would have more ns cooked up to hurt you now that your father is getting ideas about letting you have a high position at hispany."

    Zhang Liling nced at the driver, and deliberately moved her phone a little away from her ear when her mother was speaking, to test if the driver could hear her voice.

    Seeing that everything was fine as she couldn''t hear her mother''s voice from that distance when she did that, she put the phone back on her ear and sighed in relief.

    Although her mother''s voice couldn''t be heard, her voice would still be heard if she mentioned any name rting to her family, and she would hate to do that.

    Thinking of how to stop her mother from having that conversation, she heard a loud honk from a truck overtaking their car.

    "Damn it!" She cursed under her breath.

    Yes, she wanted to divert her mother''s attention, but not this way. Now, the woman would know she was outside.

    "Liling, are you outside?" Song Jujing asked with a tinge of concern in her tone.

    "Yes, I am!" Came Zhang Liling''s response which sounded confident.

    "Oh! Call me back when you get home, or we can talk tomorrow morning. I have a dinner with a friendter."

    ''That''s it?'' Zhang Liling was stunned and only regained her senses when her mum ended the call.

    Is she wasn''t in the car, she would have leaped for joy.

    She knew her mother must have thought she was on her way home from somewhere, and was very appreciative for her wonderful misunderstanding which just saved her from having a back and forth conversation with her.

    Zhang Liling was also happy that she didn''t have to call her backter. This was another news worth being happy for.

    Zhang Liling remained all smiles until she got to the club. As soon as she stepped out, she got whisked away by Tungmei who had been waiting outside for her.

    "Yah! Take it easy or I''m going to twist my ankle!" Zhang Liling informed in an urgent tone.

    Tungmei finally stopped pulling her. "We are 20 minutes... What the???!"

    What Tungmei''s eyes saw, her heart could not believe, and her mind could notprehend.

 Chapter 125 Unhappy Mood

    "What are you wearing?!" Tungmei looked like her eyes were about to pop out from their sockets.

    Her simple conservative dressing was arge contrast to Zhang Liling''s sexy outfit.

    A hint of teasing hung on Zhang Liling''s lips as she asked, "What''s wrong with my outfit? I think it suits the club theme..."

    "You-you are really something else. It will be good if there was someone to keep a leash on you. I mean, why would youe out dressed like that, it''s not like there is anyone you want to impress here."

    Tungmei felt all of this was weird considering how their actions and indifference to be romantically linked to any boy in their ss, was.

    "I indeed want to impress someone." But just before the surprised Tungmei could ask who it was amongst their ssmates that she wanted to impress, she added, "But he is not here. And I bet I maybe in trouble at the end of today."

    "Do you have someone you are secretly seeing and don''t want to tell me about it? Also, why would you be in trouble, it''s not like you are living with your father?"

    Zhang Liling chuckled to herself as she thought of Mr. Fang and the usual re that normally sat on his face.

    These days, his scrutinizing nces and res, no longer had the same weight it used to have on her. She was no longer easily frightened by them, and this maybe as a result of her feelings for him getting the better of her.

    Tugging on Tungmei''s arms, she pulled her further and made her way into the club proper, while refusing to give her a satisfying response to her questions.

    "If I have a boyfriend, I will tell you."

    Stepping into the noisy hall where the loud music was being controlled by the DJ, the twodies couldn''t help but to look around.

    The two genders were on the dance floor twisting their bodies and rocking their partners.

    "Here is not actually crowdy, and why do I feel like everyone here is familiar?" Zhang Liling half-shouted into Tungmei''s ear for a better effect.

    If she was not used to such loud sounds, she swore that her ears would have sted as soon as she stepped into therge room.

    Tungmei leaned in to whisper to her ear, "That''s because most of them are not just our coursemates, but other students from NYU."

    There was a look of surprise on Zhang Liling''s face when she heard that. "What? Is this a kind of NYU graduate get-together?"

    She didn''t like the thought of it as she asked away. It would have been good if this was an affair with just the students in her graduate ss and course.

    She didn''t feel good about everyone in NYU seeing her in a club. It''s not like it was a bad thing, but she just felt weird with this whole student stuff.

    Tungmei smiled when she saw her face turn from surprise to dispirited. Taking her hand in hers, she said with a sweet smile, "Stop frowning as if you were dragged here... Let''s go and find the others."

    Zhang Liling let herself get dragged away. If she had known that this would look like a student stuff, she would have prepared her mind more in case she still wanted toe after finding out.<sub> </sub>

    The night couldn''t turn any worse when she saw her half-brother, Zhang Mingyu.

    The guy was smiling with a ss of whiskey in his hand, as a fewdies surrounded him, while trying to flirt with him.

    Zhang Mingyu felt a dark gaze on him and for a moment, shifted his gaze toward that direction only to see his half-sister staring at him and was momentarily surprised.

    He wasn''t expecting that she woulde to a ce like that, given how she was usually supressed at home.

    Quickly, he shed her a smile and even raised his ss to her, but earned an eye roll from her.

    He didn''t in the least feel offended with her like before, or even now. Since his car was returned to him earlier today, the grudge he had against her slowly dissipated, but he still couldn''t forgive herpletely.

    He still med her for being the reason he had to see his mother''s ugly skeleton hidden in her cupboard. Till today, he still wished he didn''t know that side of her.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t be bothered about Zhang Mingyu and that fake smile of his, and rolled her eyes at him.

    Tungmei saw all of that and sighed. "Your brother looks to be in a good mood today. He looks like he doesn''t have any drudge against you anymore, do you think he''s drunk?" She asked while stealing nces at him, who had already turned his focus back on thedies he was chatting with.

    "He can never be my brother as long as he is from Shi Wenqian! Also, I don''t care if he is drunk or not, I don''t know him!"

    Zhang Liling denied having any kind of rtionship with Zhang Mingyu, and her facial expression couldn''t get any darker.

    Studying her mood and seeing how dark she was, Tungmei thought to lighten her mood. "Do you want to find some of our coursemates to chat a bit?"

    Zhang Liling released a sigh. "At this point, I am even more tempted to go back home." She said that as she thought back to Mr. Fang''s handsome face, as his images flooded her mind.

    "It''s too early to go back, let''s find a ce to sit." Tungmei said and continued to pull her until they were stopped by a male ssmate.

    "Hey! Miss Zhang and Lady Tungmei, you girls are here! Why don''t you join some of our coursemates in the booth nearby?" He suggested with a friendly smile.

    Tungmei was about to ept his request, but right at that time, Zhang Liling spoke, "You just need to show us the direction and we will join you guyster."

    "Fine!"

    **********

    Zhang Liling exhaled as she sat her ass down and ced an order for a cocktail, while Tungmei ced an order for a heavy drink.

    Zhang Liling looked at her in surprise, "Are you for real?" Her eyes asked.

 Chapter 126 Cocktail

    Tungmei understood the question in her mind and smiled about it. "You don''t believe that I can do something like this?"

    "You are usually the innocent one, and the same one less viable tomit a crime, but it looks like I had underestimated you." Zhang Liling said as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

    "College is over, it is time to unleash my wild side, but you have to rx, because I can be no where near you,"

    "Did you have to ce an order for a whiskey?" Zhang Liling asked with a low chuckle.

    Tungmei retorted, "Did you think the cocktail order you ced was any better? At least I know what I ordered, and I can control the quantity I drink but the same can''t go for you."

    In essence, Tungmei was trying to tell her that knowing that whiskey was dangerous, was better than not knowing what a harmless cocktail can do to one.

    Zhang Liling smiled and replied with an aura that exuded confidence. "I know what cocktails are like. Stuff like Sex-on-the-beach are dangerous, so I am always careful. I can''t get drunk today, so I picked something that is likely to make me do so. As for you, if you get drunk, it''s over for you!"

    Tungmei scoffed and crossed her leg over the other one. "I learned from you if I should get drunk. Anyway, don''t throw me out if I do, just take me back to my ce."

    *********

    Tungmei thought she was the one to get drunk, but it ended up being Zhang Liling.

    *********

    Zhang Liling enjoyed 2 sses of the same cocktail, while Tungmei was still on a ss of whiskey. She was really taking her time with sipping it.

    "I don''t know what people see in this bitter stuff. The taste is aggressive, but beer is a lot better!" Tungmei confessed.

    She just wanted to give whiskey a try, but ended up regretting why she ordered for an entire ss.

    "You are right, but it kind of gets intoxicating when you keep drinking it." Zhang Liling said.

    Thinking about drinking, she has never seen Mr. Fang drink any other thing apart from wine, which has only happened twice right before her eyes. She has lived with him for 2 months, and could proudly attest that he had no bad drinking habit.

    If he didn''t like to drink that much, why does he have a whole cer of wine? It shouldn''t be that he has this weird habit of buying expensive wine and storing them...

    As Zhang Liling was thinking about Mr. Fang, the man was currently drinking with Chuanli and Bolin, while working inside his Scentb.

    This was a ce he used to try his ideas on the scent of perfume, before giving out the procedure out for it to be produced, if it passed the test.

    Currently, there was a thick ck glove secured around Mr. Fang''s hands. He would hate for any scent to linger in his hands, and be hard to wash offter.

    Despite the fact that he took 4 pills from his bottle of meds, he still wasn''t trusting the effect, and had to cover his nose with a mask.

    In the room, he was the only one looking different.

    "Sir, what''s the quantity ofvender oil you would want to use?" Bolin asked for rification.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang moved his gaze from the bottle of alcohol in his hands and replied, "A teaspoon would do. I would have loved to extract the oil from the freshvender myself."

    "This would take more time, and longer for the experiment to take ce. And besides, we are not sure that we can recreate her scent on the first try." Chuanlimented.

    Mr. Fang didn''t want to say anything else, and just proceeded with pouring a little quantity of the alcohol in the transparent jar before him.

    He didn''t need to mention how obsessed he was with using ingredients from original sources for his perfume making.

    **********

    Soon, Zhang Liling and Tungmei joined the rest of their coursemates in arge booth.

    Shu Rushi and her underlings were present, and the former didn''t bother to get on her nerves too much.

    Shu Rushi wore a tight handless white dress that had a slit on the side, so that when she sat down, it would leave a pathway, and show of her thigh.

    There was a bright red lipstick stained on her lips. The shade of lipstick she used, was brighter than the one Zhang Liling used on her lips.

    A female student noticed the glimmering lighting from Zhang Liling''s dress and asked, "Zhang Liling, are those real crystals on your dress?"

    Immediately, all the attention turned toward her direction.

    Zhang Liling forced a smile. "Do I look like I would wear a fake when I can afford the real deal?"

    "Wow! Then your dress must be expensive!" The female student replied in surprise.

    Zhang Liling didn''t pay her any attention and just shifted her gaze away. When some of them started talking about her bag and how cute it looked, she couldn''t be bothered with them.

    Shu Rushi from where she was sitting, felt that it was time to have fun, and so got up from her seat, and walked to Zhang Liling''s side to offer her a drink which she poured by herself.

    "Miss Zhang, have a drink. Since you stepped in, you have refused to drink with us and clink sses with us." Shu Rushi said while handing her a ss of whiskey, as the others all turned to nce at them.

    Most of them were curious as to how entertaining this would be for the enemies to gnaw at each others throats.

    Tungmei watched from the side without interrupting because she was sure that her best friend could handle stuff like this by herself.

    Zhang Liling nced at the ss of whiskey in her hand before slowly shifting her gaze to her face.

    "Miss Shu, it is my choice whether to drink or not, and there is nothing absurd about it."

    Shu Rushi smiled in response. She was expecting this kind of reply from her because she studied how she has never touched the same drink as others in the room, and was only drinking from the cocktail ss she came in with. And now, she wanted to break that rule.

 Chapter 127 Alcohol

    "Of course, it is your choice. But you can at least have a sip since I took the effort to pour you one myself." Shu Rushi insisted, and continued when Zhang Liling didn''t respond.

    "If you are afraid that I poisoned the drink, I''m sure everyone saw me take out a new ss and pour the whiskey, and can attest to that."

    Finally, Zhang Liling responded with an unfazed gaze. "I also saw you pour the whiskey and I''m very sure you didn''t y any tricks. No matter what you tell me, I don''t want to drink."

    Shu Rushi smiled meaningfully and withdrew her hand. When everyone thought she would go back to her seat, she dared Zhang Liling with her words.

    "I see, it looks like Miss Zhang can not hold her liquor, and is scared of embarrassing herself."

    As she said that, a good number of the youths in the room, roared inughter, but Zhang Liling was the least bothered about their mockery.

    Smiling, she crossed her legs and picked her ss of cocktail from the big table and stirred the drink with the straw. That was her third ss since the night.

    "More than being afraid of holding my liquor well, I am more afraid of going back to the arms of a certain someone drunk, because I was asked not to." She said suggestively before sipping her cocktail with a smirk slowly appearing at the corner of her lips.

    Now, everyone was unto her statement, while trying to fix the puzzle.

    Surely she wouldn''t be talking about her father...

    Did she mean she had a boyfriend?

    Immediately, Shu Rushi clenched her fist by her sides before forcing a smile. "You have a boyfriend?" She probed.

    Zhang Liling sucked on her straw before pausing and raising her head to nce at her. "Whatever you call it. Now, you can see why I don''t want to drink, I am avoiding being disobedient."

    As if that wasn''t enough, she winked at her at the end.

    Tungmei gave her a thumbs up in her head, after seeing how easily she could provoke Shu Rushi. Thetter woulde looking for trouble, but would end up being the one to be left offended. When would she learn her lessons?

    One of Shu Rushi''s underlings could not take this humiliation on her part and interfered.

    "Miss Zhang, who do you want to deceive that you have a boyfriend? Which reasonable person will ept someone like you with that feisty personality like yours?"

    Again, Zhang Liling wasughed at by some of her coursemates. They all knew what her character was like, and thatughter from them, was like an agreement to what was said.

    "If I am not epted, is it an idiot who pretends to be docile that will be epted?" Zhang Liling retorted in a clear tone.

    Zhang Liling''s clear response was a surprise as no one expected her to respond that way.

    They all knew that she was not one to back down, but replying like that, they didn''t see iting.

    Shu Rushi''s underling got annoyed as she asked angrily, "Who did you call a docile idiot?"

    Tungmei smiled at the side and responded to that question as Zhang Liling couldn''t be bothered with her anymore.<sub> </sub>

    ? "That was a reference, why are you taking it so personal, or do you think that reference was being referred to you?"

    At Tungmei''s joke, another loud chuckle erupted in the room, forcing Rushi''s underling to re at the two friends before going back to her seat.

    Shu Rushi couldn''t ept being made fun at, because her pping her friend''s face, was like pping her face as well.

    Thinking of getting back at Zhang Liling, she said in a loud tone, drawing attention to herself and to Zhang Liling.

    "Miss Zhang, if you have a boyfriend as you said, why don''t you call him here, so we can see him and believe you..."

    ''I never said I had a boyfriend, but it looks like not denying it, has presented me with one.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself.

    "I don''t need any of you to believe me, so you can go ahead and think whatever you like. You want me to call my boyfriend here for you to ess him? Who do you think you are?!" Zhang Liling fired back.

    Shu Rushi felt humiliated for directing that question at her. "This is the reason no one will want to be with you!"

    "Thank you!" Zhang Liling said with a snort as she focused on finishing her cocktail before cing an order for another one.

    Shu Rushi returned to her seat, crossed her legs and red at Zhang Liling with seething hatred.

    The silence in the roomsted a few moments after Zhang Liling and Shu Rushi''s fight, before someone brought up another topic which interested everyone.

    Soon, Mr. Fang became a topic of interest amongst them.

    When Zhang Liling''s order came, Tungmei whispered to her, "Do you n on getting drunk tonight? This is already your 4th ss of cocktail!"

    Zhang Liling shifted her gaze from her drink to the ss of whiskey before her to say, "And you have been on one ss of whiskey since we arrived."

    "You think I have ns of getting drunk? This stuff is too bitter for me to finish, and I may end up dumping the rest instead!" Tungmei said with a sigh.

    "As a good friend, I would have loved to help you out, but I promised not to take any alcohol this night, so I can''t help you!" Zhang Liling said as she blinked.

    She could feel something wrong with her sight, but she ignored it.

    Tungmei shot her s nce and shook her head. She almost thought Zhang Liling was brainless for thatment she made, if not for her academics proving that she was intelligent.

    She had wanted to ask, ''What makes you think that a cocktail does not contain alcohol?'' But she refrained from voicing her thoughts.

    She would hate to break Zhang Liling''s heart, who didn''t want to take any alcohol in the first ce.

    Taking a sip from her new ss, Zhang Liling suddenly felt pressure down herher region and hurriedly put her ss down.

    "I think I need to pee!"

 Chapter 128 Dr. Li

    "It''s 9 pm already, and Miss Zhang is not back!" Bolin whispered worriedly to Chuanli''s ear, to avoid Mr. Fang hearing about it and going into a fit of anger.

    Chuanli frowned and picked up his phone from his pocket to check the time, and saw that it was truly a few minutes past 9.

    "Do you think she is back already? We are in theb, how would we know if she is not back already?" Chuanli questioned in a whisper.

    Bolin stole a nce at Mr. Fang who was busy whisking a clear substance away in a conical sk, before shifting his gaze back to Chuanli.

    "I will go and check things out for myself." He said and then took permission from Mr. Fang to get a ss of water.

    Mr. Fang didn''t say anything to him, so he took that as a response before leaving.

    He would hate for Mr. Fang to re up when they were still here, and from the look of things, they might end up spending the night here, seeing how invested Mr. Fang was with this new experiment.

    Leaving the room, Bolin climbed a few steps before taking a turn for a hallway.

    This was the same room, Bolin had told Zhang Liling not to enter on the day he showed her around.

    As soon as Bolin left, Chuanli nced at Mr. Fang to make sure he wasn''t looking his way, before typing a 5 worded sentence to Zhang Liling.

    ''Miss Zhang, where are you?''

    After sending the text, he put his phone on the desk and stared hard at his screen, waiting for a response from her.

    ***********

    "Butler Gu, has Miss Zhang returned?" Bolin asked the butler with a serious gaze.

    <o>,m "Not yet, Mr. Bolin!" Butler Gu replied swiftly. From Bolin''s facial expression, he could tell the worry he felt.</o>

    "Inform me as soon as she returns!" Bolin said and turned to find his way back to the scentb.

    **********

    "Has Zhang Liling returned?" That was the question that greeted Bolin as soon as he stepped inside the space.

    Mr. Fang raised his gaze and let it rest on him as he slowly took off his nose mask.

    Bolin was shocked and instinctively stole a nce at Chuanli, as if to ask what was going on.

    Chuanli sighed and looked away. Even he was surprised after Mr. Fang suddenly stopped working and asked him for the time.

    "What? Has the cat got your tongue now?" Mr. Fang squinted his eyes with a frown sitting on his face.

    He looked to be annoyed for having made to repeat the same question.

    Bolin quickly stepped forward and replied after sensing the displeasure in his tone.

    "No, Sir!"

    Mr. Fang nodded and slowly got up from his stool and said while taking off his gloves, "Have you seen the type of disobedient kitten I am raising?"

    Chuanli and Bolin exchanged nces, before the former chuckled and tried to lighten the mood.

    "Bingwen, I''m sure she got carried away since this is a party, but I will give her a call right away!" Chuanli said and took a hold of his phone.

    ncing at the screen, he saw no response from Zhang Liling yet, and wondered what was going on with her. Was she really a disobedient kitten like Mr. Fang said?

    Bolin proceeded to dial her number, while hoping that she was already on her way back, or was probably with her phone no matter where she was.<sub> </sub>

    After the long ring, no one answered the call, and he could no longer keep the calm gaze he had on Mr. Fang who was eyeing him.

    Chuanli was a bit nervous and quickly turned to face Bolin while dialling Zhang Liling''s contact again. He refused to look at that angry-faced man.

    ''Miss Zhang, you better answer this call!''

    ***********

    "You want to use the bathroom? Alright, go ahead!" Tungmei said and moved her legs out of the way.

    As soon as Zhang Liling stood to her feet, she felt everything in her sight swinging back and forth. She had to hold her head with her hands, as if that was what would hold everything in ce.

    Luckily, she didn''t stagger.

    Tungmei frowned when she saw her hold her head. "Are you all right?" She asked in concern.

    Zhang Liling didn''t want to admit that she was tipsy, and turned to sh her a full-blown smile.

    "Do you mind apanying me to the restroom? I think it would be better to go with someone instead of appearing like a loner to some hungry sharks."

    Tungmei didn''t feel anything was wrong with her, and what she said, and agreed to follow her.

    She picked up their bags with one hand, and led the way.

    Zhang Liling quickly held unto her arm for support, to stop her body from falling, but Tungmei saw things differently.

    She was used to Zhang Liling holding her arms while walking, and she, doing the same.

    Fortunately, the two made it to the female restroom safe.

    "Alright, you can go in now!" Tungmei said to her.

    As soon as Zhang Liling let go off her arm, she staggered and nearly hit her head on the wall, but thankfully, Tungmei was a bit alert, and quickly held her arm.

    "OMG! Liling!"

    Zhang Liling''s eyes cleared a bit as she put up her arms in the air. "I''m sorry, I''m fine! Maybe I should just take off these heels!" She said and immediately squat to take off her shoes, while Tungmei watched her.

    "You don''t look alright to me!" Tungmei said in response.

    Zhang Liling took off her shoes and left it on the side before going into the rest room.

    Tungmei didn''t trust that she would be alright by herself as she watched her trace the wall with her palms, so she picked up her shoes and was about to go in when she heard her phone ring.

    Zhang Liling recognized her ring tone and asked after pausing in her steps. "Is that my phone?"

    "Yes! Do you want to take the call first?" Tungmei asked as she tried to bring her phone out from her pink bag.

    Zhang Liling waved her hands about. "No! You answer it, as long as it''s not my mum or my dad''s call!"

    Having said that, she pushed open and empty stall and went in.

    Tungmei took out the ringing phone and nced at the brightly lit screen.

    "Dr. Li?" She muttered under her breath before taking the call.

 Chapter 129 Bumped Her Head

    "Miss Zhang, where are you?!" Chuanli''s urgent voice was heard in the quiet hallway.

    Tungmei could tell from the urgent voice that Zhang Liling was needed immediately and hurriedly informed him, "Hello! My friend Liling is in the restroom. Do you need me to pass a message to her?"

    Chuanli moved his phone away from his ear to nce at his screen with a confused gaze. Confirming that it was Zhang Liling''s contact he dialled, he ced the phone back on his ear.

    "You are Miss Zhang''s friend, Tungmei?" Chuanli asked for rification.

    ''How did he know my name?''

    ''Is he that close to Liling?''

    So many thoughts were going through Tungmei''s mind as she responded to him. "You are correct, I am Tungmei."

    Chuanli sighed. "Are you two still at the club?" He asked.

    "Yes..." Tungmei replied and peeped inside the restroom to be sure that everything was fine with Zhang Liling.

    "How is Miss Zhang, can you ask when she will get back home?" Chuanli inquired.

    The daggers Mr. Fang was throwing at his back with his eyes, was getting stronger.

    Tungmei thought for a while before replying, "I have no idea, she is not feeling too well. I will ask her to return your call as soon as she steps out, if that is okay wi... Zhang Liling!!!"

    Tungmei didn''t get to finish her conversation with Dr. Li after hearing a loud banging noiseing from one of the stalls.

    She screamed Zhang Liling''s name in fright before ending the call and throwing her phone inside her bag, and rushing into the restroom.

    Chuanli who was at the other end of the phone looked anxious as well. He heard the faint sound, before hearing Tungmei shouting for Zhang Liling.

    "What happened to her?!" He asked, but it was toote. The call had already been terminated.

    Bolin was surprised when Chuanli ended the call without speaking with Zhang Liling. "What happened to her?"

    "I don''t know. Her friend already ended the call before I could ask." Chuanli replied as he moved his gaze away from his phone.

    Mr. Fang sneered with his hands in the front pockets of his pants. "Did she get into a fight?"

    Bolin swallowed hard, while Chuanli had a look of surprise on his face, which forced Bolin to exin things briefly to him.

    "Miss Zhang has gotten into a fight in a shopping mall before," He whispered.

    Chuanli looked stunned at that revtion as he nced between the two men. One nervous, and the other looking frightening.

    ''This girl...'' Chuanli cried in his heart.

    Turning to Mr. Fang, he said, "I don''t know what happened to her. Anyway, I''m going to bring her back."

    "I will follow him!" Bolin said immediately whilst he stole a nce at Mr. Fang.

    He would rather follow Chuanli to go and bring back that troublesome girl, than to stay in the same space as Mr. Fang who was nothing less than an explosive at the moment.

    Mr. Fang took a few steps forward and stopped right in front of them. Then, the corner of his lips slowly rose, before he walked past them and left the room.<sub> </sub>

    "What was that smile for?" Chuanli asked as he patted his chest. He looked more apprehensive than before.

    "I don''t think there is any use finding out for now. Let''s go and find Miss Zhang. Do you have the address?" Bolin asked.

    Chuanli immediately turned to lead the way out. "We will find out on our way out. I''m only hoping that she didn''t get into a fight, otherwise this will be a difficult mess to clean up!"

    *********

    "Liling, open the door! Are you alright?!" Tungmei asked as she hit the stall door Zhang Liling walked into.

    Zhang Liling who was sitting on the floor, held her forehead while whincing in pain.

    She had just hit her forehead on the stall door while trying to find her way out.

    After sitting to pee, she had stood up and felt that her world was moving in circles, which made things look far from her.

    She thought the stall door was still far, and had to butt in with her head for her sight to be clear.

    Zhang Liling was in so much time that she didn''t have the opportunity to respond to Tungmei''s question. But she waster forced to say something when Tungmei started banging on the door and trying to kick it down.

    "I''m fine! Stop kicking the door before you make my condition any worse!"

    She sounded annoyed as she shouted just so Tungmei could hear her in the middle of the noise she generated from screaming her name and kicking the door with her legs and hands.

    Tungmei heard her response and stopped kicking the door. Leaning her ear on the door, she asked, "Are you sure you are fine?!"

    "I''m fine! Just leave me alone for a second!" Zhang Liling said while rubbing her forehead with a frown on her face.

    Tungmei refused to tolerate her as a big frownced with worry sat on her face. "If you are fine, why are you noting out? Are you not done scaring me?"

    Zhang Liling tried to sit up while replying, "Leave me alone for a moment, I don''t want toe out!"

    It really looked like she was no longer tipsy. The force she used to bump her head into the door, must be great.

    There was no way Tungmei could take her response lying down. She was worried and just wanted to see her to make sure she was fine, but what was she saying about noting out?

    Tungmei refused to listen to that, and immediately threatened her while taking out her phone from her bag.

    "If you don''t open the door, I will call your father and report your condition to him, or would your stepmother be better?"

    Zhang Liling heard that and was not moved because she didn''t think that Tungmei would do that.

    She pouted as she continued to rub the red patch area on her forehead.

    Tungmei was surprised that she was refusing toe out. She sighed and was about to put her phone inside her back when a call came in on her phone.

    As she tried to position the phone on her hand, her fingers identally swiped to answer the call. Luckily, she was quick to nce at the caller ID to see that it was from the same, Dr. Li.

    Zhang Liling thought that things were going smoothly until she heard her phone ring, and Tungmei, answer the call.

    "Yes... We are at xxxx club. She drank a little too much, and fell from dizziness.... Yes..."

 Chapter 130 Muddle-Headed

    Zhang Liling hurriedly scrambled to her feet and rushed to the door to unlock it before rushing to snatch her phone from Tungmei''s hand.

    Tungmei gasped in shock when she saw the red patch on her forehead, as she had forgotten to cover it.

    "What happened to your forehead, did you hit it on the wall?" She asked worriedly.

    Zhang Liling fumbled a bit with her phone while trying to see what kind of call was ongoing on her phone.

    "Who were you speaking with?" She asked while squinting her eyes on her phone screen, but couldn''t make out the name on it.

    "Dr. Li, he called earlier and now," Tungmei replied casually.

    Chuanli could hear the conversation between two women and prayed that one of them would see that the conversation was still ongoing and respond.

    He wanted to know which part of the club he could find them when he came in. But the next statement he heard from Zhang Liling shocked him.

    "Who is Dr. Li?" Zhang Liling asked with furrowed brows directed at Tungmei.

    "What?" Tungmei reacted with a confused gaze. "How am I supposed to know? I should be the one asking you that question because that contact is saved in your phone! Don''t tell me you are that drunk!"

    "I''m not drunk! It''s just that I can''t see clearly, my eyes are blurry. Anyway, see how you can end the conversation, I have been pressing the red button, but nothing is working."

    Tungmei nced at her fingers that was tapping the the white part of her screen andughed inwardly.

    "You idiot, you are pressing the wrong button!" She said and snatched the phone from her.

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling mumbled to herself and held her forehead with her hand. She could feel a throbbing pain there, and tried rubbing it again.

    Right as Tungmei was about to end the conversation, Chuanli hurriedly stopped her after getting out of the shock Zhang Liling just put him to. What did she mean by, ''Who is Dr. Li? Is she actually drunk?''

    "Miss Tungmei, please take Miss Zhang to the bar, or find somewhere to sit near the entrance, I''ming to pick her. Thank you!"

    After passing the instruction to her and making sure she heard him, he ended the call.

    "Miss Zhang is drunk?" Bolin asked with an unbelievable expression on his face. "She dared to get drunk?!"

    He just couldn''t believe his ears. Just what was wrong with Miss Zhang?

    "A drunk Miss Zhang or the one who caused an uproar in a club, which do you prefer?" Chuanli asked as he stepped hard on the speed pedal.

    Bolin instinctively held his seatbelt and replied, "How am I supposed to reply to that question when none of the option is good? And can you slow down, Dr. Li?"

    "Obviously, you know the right option to prefer over the other. Also, I cannot slow down until I am sure that Miss Zhang is with us. She still has like 5 minutes to cause trouble, so we had better get there on time."

    Bolin did not say anything again, since he put it that way. He could only pray that they would not get into an ident on their way to get Miss Zhang, and she in turn, will be obedient till they came to her side.

    Tungmei managed to pull Zhang Liling to the bar. After helping her sit on the stool and ordered water for her, she nced at her bare feet and asked, "Where is your shoe?"

    "How would I know?!" Zhang Liling asked with a frown before putting her head on the bar table.<sub> </sub>

    Tungmei''s faced was sculpted in a frown as she recalled leaving her shoes close to the sink when she wanted to kick down the door earlier.

    ncing at Zhang Liling, she picked up their bags and said to her, "Liling, don''t stand up from here, I will be back, I need to get your shoes."

    No response came from her, not that she was expecting any from her.

    ncing at one of the bartenders she said to him in a pleading tone, "If she ces any drink order, please don''t listen to her. We don''t have anymore money to pay."

    She didn''t want to tell him that Zhang Liling was already drunk because he might still be tempted to give her a drink if she asked for one. But if they did not have any money to pay, he wouldn''t be tempted to give in to her.

    Tungmei was very quick with finding Zhang Liling''s shoes and returned to her side. Thankfully, they were not stolen.

    Outside the CLUB...

    Chuanli''s sports car pulled over, and he immediately took off his seatbelt. ncing at Bolin who didn''t look like he was making any attempt to step down, he frowned.

    "Are you noting down?"

    "A good number of people knows I am Mr. Fang''s personal assistant. What do you think they would say when they see me helping a drunk Miss Zhang out of the club? They would link her to Mr. Fang immediately." Bolin reasoned.

    Chuanli red at him and asked, "Are you trying to say that no one knows that Bingwen is my friend?"

    "Even if they know, they wouldn''t think otherwise if they see you with a girl, unlike me."

    The only reason Chuanli did not continue to argue with him, was because he made sense.

    Throwing the car key to him, he said, "You will drive" and got off the car.

    Chuanli soon found Zhang Liling and her friend at the bar area and sighed in relief.

    "Are you Dr. Li?" Tungmei asked in surprise when he came to their side. He was handsome and looked young.

    "Yes!" He replied before checking on Zhang Liling and asking what happened to her when he saw the red patch on her forehead.

    "She hit her head somewhere. I have already used ice on it, so swelling is out of the way now."

    Now done speaking about Zhang Liling, it was her turn to ask who he was.

    "Dr. Li, how do you know my friend? I am her closest friend, yet she has never mentioned about you before."

    "That''s because Miss Zhang and I are not that close." Before she could ask the reason he came to take her, he continued, "But we are very close to the same person that brought us together. I am running out of time, and if you would like to know more about me, you can call Miss Zhang on phone tomorrow and ask about it."

    Tungmei stood there with curiosity as he helped Zhang Liling to her feet, while calling out to her, and even chiding her.

    "Miss Zhang, are you trying to put me in trouble?"

 Chapter 131 Wait On Them

    Chuanli helped Zhang Liling to her feet and put her arm across his neck, and it was then that his eyes caught sight of what she was putting on.

    ''Just what is she wearing?'' He cried in his heart.

    "Miss Zhang, are you trying to put me in trouble?" He questioned with a tight frown on his face.

    Tungmei wondered what he meant as she followed him outside with Zhang Liling''s bag and shoes in her hands.

    Zhang Liling on the other hand, waspletely out of it.

    Outside the club, Bolin saw Chuanlie out while supporting the drunk Zhang Liling, and the familiar face of Tungmei, and refused to get out of his car.

    He recognised Tungmei to be Mr. Fang''s student and couldn''t let her see him, so he couldn''t get out of the car.

    Chuanli was annoyed and was about to ask him the reason he wasn''ting out to help him, but then remembered that Tungmei was following behind him and understood the situation.

    Stopping in his steps, he adjusted himself so he could hold Zhang Liling with one hand steadily, before turning to Tungmei.

    "Miss, you can give me Miss Zhang''s things now, I will take care of it. Since you are still worried about her, make sure to call in the morning."

    Tungmei nced at him and asked, "Wouldn''t it have been better if I followed her home to take care of her?"

    Chuanli understood. Tungmei thought that he was taking Zhang Liling to her home... Home? Zhang Liling had an apartment?

    "Why do you think you can take care of her when a servant can take care of her?" He probed.

    Tungmei knew about Zhang Liling having a housekeeper and said, "Do you think it would be a good idea to leave her in her housekeeper''s hands? Anyway, it''s toote to call her over, so you can reconsider letting me join your ride."

    ''Interesting!'' Chuanli thought as one corner of his lips slowly rose up.

    "No, there is someone else that will look after her. Like I said, if you are still worried about her, you can call her in the morning when her head is clear." He said and moved his gaze to Zhang Liling''s things which where in her possession, and slowly stretched out his free hand.

    Tungmei hesitated for a bit before handing the things over.

    Taking them from her, Chuanli staggered a little as Zhang Liling''s body swayed. But in a swift move, he stabilized himself, before moving forward towards the car.

    Tungmei refused to go, and stood there waiting. She watched him throw her friend''s stuff inside the car, before carefully helping her to sit inside the car.

    After fastening her seatbelt, Chuanli closed the car door and stretched his body before going to the front passenger side.

    Pausing, he nced at Tungmei who was still standing there and waved at her with a smile, before stepping into the car.

    As soon as he closed the car door, he was met with the ugly expression on Bolin''s face.

    "What is it?"

    Bolin ignited the car''s engine and drove off. "What is Miss Zhang wearing?"

    "I am also looking for who to direct that question to." Chuanli replied.

    "Mr. Fang will not take this lying down if he sees her." Bolin said as his brows wrinkled further.<sub> </sub>

    Chuanli let out a sigh. "Let''s hope that he wouldn''t be interested to wait on us to bring her back."

    The Mr. Fang they were talking about, was sitting in the living room, with a calm gaze directed at the news on the TV about the stock market.

    His leg was crossed over the other one, with a ss of wine sitting on the stool next to him.

    To Butler Gu who was standing at the side, he felt that Mr. Fang was waiting for Chuanli and Bolin toe back with Zhang Liling instead of watching the news.

    **********

    In the middle of the road, Zhang Liling shifted ufortably on her seat before letting out a moan of difort while tugging on her seatbelt that was used to secure her to her seat.

    Chuanli heard her voice and tilted his head to the side. "Miss Zhang, are you okay?"

    So far, she had been well-behaved, so much that both men wished she would remain that way till she stepped foot into her bedroom.

    At least if she came back to the vi drunk and didn''t cause any trouble, Mr. Fang would easily forgive her and let things slide. But if she was not obedient, then things would definitely go south.

    Zhang Liling''s eye slowly fluttered a bit before flying open. Squinting her eyes, she nced at her surroundings before realizing that she was in a moving vehicle.

    Without warning, she forcefully tried to lean forward, but the seatbelt pulled her backwards, causing her to feel a throb in her head. "Where are you taking me to?" She tried to ignore the pain and questioned.

    Bolin nced at her through the rear-view mirror, but let Chuanli who was watching her with an interesting gaze, do the talking.

    "Miss Zhang, do you know who I am?" Those where the words that left his lips.

    He wanted to see if Zhang Liling could recognize him now, after denying knowing him over the phone.

    Again, Zhang Liling leaned over, but this time around she did so gradually, having learned her lesson from before.

    Squinting her eyes, she tried to make out the figure in her blurry sight before calling out to him in surprise, "Dr. Li?"

    Chuanli nodded approvingly. "It''s good that your senses are back now!"

    "Where are we?" Zhang Liling asked as she failed to make a sense of what was going on and how she got into the car.

    Chuanli decided to help exin things to her.

    "On our way back to the vi. It''s almost 10 pm. You failed toe back by 9 pm hence, Bolin and I came to get you."

    "Miss Zhang, you will be in a lot of trouble if we get back, Mr. Fang is unhappy with you. Not only are youte, you got drunk as well." Bolin added while staring at her with a frown through the rear-view mirror.

    "Mr. Fang?"

    In her delirious state, Zhang Liling seemed to remember something. At first, she reacted with shock, but then it slowly changed to worry.

    "Mr. Fang is probably angry with me..."

    Chuanli agreed with her. "You are making sense now. You only have to try to stay out of his way when we get back. You can even pretend to be asleep if you want."

 Chapter 132 A Warm Embrace

    Zhang Liling shook her head in disapproval. "No! I will feel more guilty. I will have to exin things to Mr. Fang and apologize as soon as we get back home."

    "Zhang Liling, do you really want to die? Right now you reek of alcohol!" Bolin tried to remind her with a grave expression.

    Chuanli frowned and added, agreeing with him, "Miss Zhang, I think it would be best to avoid Mr. Fang tonight. I bet he would not hesitate to send you outside if you approach him with you reeking of alcohol."

    "But I didn''t take any alcohol!" Zhang Liling shouted at them with a tinge of annoyance in her tone. She looked so annoyed as if they used her of something she didn''t do.

    Chuanli and Bolin exchanged nces. If this situation wasn''t quite troublesome, they would haveughed.

    If she didn''t take any alcohol, then what kind of soft drink or juice, caused her to be in that state?

    With her blurry sight, Zhang Liling saw their facial expression filled with doubt and got even more annoyed while trying to exin herself.

    "Do you think I would dare to go against Mr. Fang and take alcohol? I deliberately avoided it like a pest, even when I was directly offered one. I stuck to my cocktail like an obedient daughter."

    There was a hint of smile towards the end of her statement, which confused Chuanli and Bolin.

    "I think she is unaware that she is out of it. Do you want to break the news to her?" Chuanli whispered in a low tone only the two of them could hear.

    Bolin whispered in return, "I think it would be best if we don''t provoke her. Let her believe what she wants, I don''t want her screaming or arguing."

    Chuanli understood that Zhang Liling was not in her right senses, and she could easily be agitated.

    He could very well tell that she was trying really hard to convince herself and them about her not taking any alcohol. He really pitied her.

    ''Who fooled her, or is she trying to fool herself instead?''

    Anyway, he didn''t bother at argue with her again. Also, she didn''t make any trouble or argue further after mumbling a few words to herself.

    ********

    Tungmei stood outside till the sports car disappeared from her sight.

    She felt strange and wondered how Zhang Liling knew someone like Dr. Li, because she could tell that he was no ordinary person, and he seemed to have a master.

    The way he addressed Zhang Liling so politely as if she had a higher ranking than him. Just who was he?

    More important to Tungmei about Dr. Li''s rtionship with Zhang Liling, was about how Zhang Liling was faring.

    "Maybe I should have insisted on following them, what if he is an enemey?" She mumbled to herself.

    Releasing a sigh since there was nothing she could do at the moment, she decided to take a cab back to her dorm.

    Going back to her ce would be better than going back inside the club to party with people she was not too close with.

    ********

    "Sir, they are back!" Butler Gu announced as he quickly returned to Mr. Fang''s side.

    Hearing the news, Mr. Fang turned off the the TV before getting to his feet and walking towards the entrance unhurriedly with his hands in his trouser pockets.

    Butler Gu trailed behind him with his heart beating loudly in his chest.

    Outside the vi, Bolin pulled the car over.<sub> </sub>

    Chuanli stepped out of the car before going to open the door to the backseat, and helped Zhang Liling out.

    Bolin on the other hand, stepped out from the driver''s side before helping to take out Zhang Liling''s bag and shoes.

    Right at this moment, Mr. Fang appeared at the entrance and paused in his steps. His presence was hard to go unnoticed.

    Bolin and Chuanli turned to nce at him without saying anything to him. But they were both crying in their heads. Why did youe out?

    Mr. Fang nced at them before slowly fixing his gaze on Zhang Liling who was being helped to steady her steps.

    Immediately his gaze widened. "Did she wear that dress out of this house?" He asked before he could process the sight his eyes just beheld.

    "Probably! We met her dressed this way in the club," Chuanli replied.

    Shifting his gaze to her feet, a frown slowly made its way to his face. Why is she on barefeet?

    He actually wanted to ask what happened happened to her and if she got into any fight, but she didn''t look like that.

    Suddenly, Zhang Liling who had her eyes closed, shocked them when she suddenly raised her head from Chuanli''s shoulder, and her eyes flew open.

    Her gaze was staring straight at Mr. Fang who was looking at her with a big frown on his face.

    His voice had woekn her up and attracted her attention.

    "Mr. Fang!" She recognized him and immediately sprinted towards him without warning.

    Chuanli who was pushed to the side was still shocked and couldn''t stop her.

    Bolin really wanted to run after her, but he stopped in his steps and watched what she would do since it would be toote to stop her anyway.

    Butler Gu''s mouth probably opened and closed a thousand times as he watched Zhang Liling sprinting towards Mr. Fang and just stood still.

    It was as if everyone''s feet were glued to the ground.

    As Zhang Liling got closer, the frown on Mr. Fang''s face intensified.

    Her short dress kept going up as she sprinted towards him, and that opening around her chest area, showed off her cleavage.

    ''She really went to the club dressed like this?''

    When everyone thought that Zhang Liling would stop running once she got to Mr. Fang''s side, she surprised them, and wrecked their senses in the process.

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling called out one more time as she ran to his side and spread out her arms.

    When Mr. Fang realized what she wanted to do when she spread her arms apart, it was toote before he could bring his hands out from his pants pockets to stop her.

    Zhang Liling with a look of pity on her face, circled her arms around his back, embracing him in a tight hug before cing one side of her well made up face, on his milk-coloured shirt.

    "I''m sorry foring backte Mr. Fang! I lost track of time!"

    Chuanli, Bolin and the Butler felt that time had stopped. They were so shocked with her actions, and very afraid of Mr. Fang''s reaction, such that they wished they could disappear from sight.

 Chapter 133 Refusing To Let Go

    Mr. Fang''s heart skipped a beat by Zhang Liling''s action. There was a stunned expression on his face as his feet remained rooted to the ground.

    He couldn''t even move for almost a minute because of the shock, he waspletely taken back.

    ''Did this brazen girl just embrace me in front of everyone?''

    "Mr. Fang, I''m really sorry..." Zhang muttered with her eyes closed. She was still holding him tightly in her embrace while rubbing th wide of her face on his shirt.

    ''It''s over!'' Butler Gu cried in his heart.

    The old man was about to have a heartattack. Zhang Liling was just to brazen for his age to handle.

    Chuanli leaned in to whisper to Bolin in a low tone, without tearing his gaze off the centre of attention. "Say, shouldn''t we just run away?"

    "Dr. Li, is that even a reliable option?" Bolin retorted with a big frown in his face.

    None of them wanted to say the next action Mr. Fang would take, and desperately wanted to escape.

    Finally, Mr. Fang recovered and tried to push Zhang Liling away from him, but the more he tried, the more she held onto him tightly.

    Mr. Fang lost the patience to tolerate her atrocious behaviour and scolded her immediately. "Zhang Liling! Open your eyes and see who you are holding onto!"

    "Mr. Fang, I-I know yo-you are the one. I also know you are unhappy with me. Don''t worry, I will let you go if you forgive me!" Zhang Liling said with a nod. Her eyes were still closed s d from the expression on her face, she looked to be enjoying the warm embrace.

    ck lines appeared on his face at what she said. She would let him go if she forgives him? And if he doesn''t, what would she do?

    "Zhang Liling, if I don''t forgive you, what will you do?" His low dangerous voice came from above her head.

    His hot breat spray on her bed, causing her body to tingle in satisfaction.

    "Then, I wil continue holding onto you!" Zhang Liling replied with a satisfied smile, before raising her head to nce at him, with her jaw ced on his chest.

    "That''s enough!" Chuanli said and immediately stepped forward to drag Zhang Liling away.

    "Miss Zhang, let go now!"

    Instead of seeding to pull her away, her grasp on Mr. Fang became tighter, causing him to frown from the pain.

    "Leave me alone! I''m not letting go!" Zhang Liling retorted suddenly, surprising everyone.

    Mr. Fang had to put his hand up to stop Chuanli from attempting to pull her away.

    "Leave her alone!"

    Chuanli dropped his hand to the side and took a few steps away. He couldn''t believe how stubborn and brazen Zhang Liling was.

    ''Is this her strategy for making Bingwen fall for her?''

    Right now, Mr. Fang could very well Fe the softness of her twin peaks. When she moved around, he felt a strange sensation in his body.<sub> </sub>

    And just now she Chuanli hade to pull her away and she struggled to tightly hold onto him, her movements were vigorous, almost causing a reaction from the lower part of his body.

    ''Zhang Liling, what are you doing to me!''

    Mr. Fang could not phantom why she hasn''t as able to get that kind of reaction from his body.

    How is it possible that he was able to get easily aroused just from her breasts rubbing against him? Does it mean that he was sexually attracted to her?

    No! That can''t be possible! How could he be sexually attracted to someone like Zhang Liling who was stubborn and doesn''t pay attention to instructions?

    ''Something must be wrong with me!'' He concluded.

    Taking a deep breath, he spoke to the drunk Zhang Liling with a calm tone.

    "Zhang Liling, I asked you not to take any alcohol today and you disobeyed me."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling raised her head to rx her jaw on his chest, while gazing at him. She was no longer holding onto him tightly, but her hands wrapped around his waist, were still firm.

    "Mr. Fang, I didn''t take any alcohol, I promise! Even when that best Shu Rushi wanted to force me to drink, I refused!"

    There was a sense of urgency in her tone as she tried to exin things to him, as if she was afraid he would continue to misunderstand her.

    ''There she goes again!'' Bolin thought with a twitch on the corner of his lip.

    "If you didn''t take any alcohol, why are you drunk?" Mr. Fang asked.

    His tone and actions were a lot calmer now, because he was trying to reason with the drunkard that wouldn''t let him off her hook.

    His new method of questioning, and given the situation he was in, came as a surprise to the three men at the side. They couldn''t believe that he would act that way.

    Butter, they came to understand that being harsh with Zhang Liling while she was in that state, was not the best option.

    Zhang Liling turned her face to the side and burped. "I really didn''t take any alcohol, you can smell my breath! I don''t reek of alcohol!"

    ''She wants Mr. Fang to smell her breath?'' Butler Gu was beyond shocked as he felt his knees go weak. He had to ce his hand on the wall to support his wake.

    At this juncture, he was praising Mr. Fang for being kind because any other person would have hit Zhang Liling and pushed her out of the way a long time ago.

    Truly, Mr. Fang could not sniff much alcohol from her scent otherwise, he would make sure that she wouldn''t have any hands left to hold onto anything in her life again.

    Maybe, this was the reason he wasn''t repulsed by her scent this time around, like the other time she hugged and kissed him.

    Still, he refused to believe that she didn''t drink anything that that had a percentage of alcohol in it.

    "Zhang Liling, what kind of drink did you take at the club?" He asked, trying to suppress the annoyance and difort he felt from her moving her soft breasts from one part of his chest to the other.

    "I only had three and a half ss of cocktail, and I can promise you that there was no alcohol in them. Don''t worry, I didn''t take sex on the beach , seduction on the rocks, climax or spicy butterfly nipple."

 Chapter 134 I Really Like You

    Butler Gu felt his ears hot and bleed from Zhang Liling''s naughty response.

    The old man could no longer tolerate her wild behaviour and turned to go inside.

    Chuanli took this as an opportunity to leave as well, while dragging Bolin with him.

    "Butler Gu, wait up! You have to show Bolin and I to our rooms. We also need to change and freshen up."

    "Alright, pleasee along..." Butler Gu''s voice faded away as he had already stepped into the house.

    Bolin didn''t want to leave with Chuanli, but seeing the ck lines reappear on Mr. Fang''s forehead, he took this as a cue to leave.

    When they two men came to their side, they stole a nce at embracing couple before skipping away. They only sighed in relief when after stepping into the living room.

    "I almost had a heartattack!" Chuanli said, refusing to sit, while patting his chest.

    "I think it will be better if we disappear to our rooms. You know Mr. Fang, he is going to me u, and then vent his anger on us if hees in and sees us idling away." Bolin said.

    His statement made a lot of sense, hence, they both dragged Butler Gu to send them to the rooms he had the housekeeper prepare for them for the night.

    They were already more than happy to have escaped the remaining drama for the rest of the night, leaving Mr. Fang to handle Zhang Liling by himself.

    ********

    "Zhang Liling, take your hands off me!" Mr. Fangmanded in a menacing tone.

    His voice was too cold for Zhang Liling to bear. She raised her head to nce at him, but didn''t take her hands off him.

    "Mr. Fang, are you angry?" Her soft tone resounded in his ears, making his gaze to turn a few days darker.

    "Zhang Liling, if you don''t let me go this moment, I will make sure you leave my house this night!"

    The warning in his tone made her scared to the point that some of her senses cane back.

    She released her hold on him, but was still adamant on letting him offpletely.

    "Mr. Fang, don''t be angry. There won''t be another opportunity to go to the club with my coursemates again, I just wanted to have a little bit of fun tonight."

    Her words didn''t make him any calmer. Instead, it made him more angry.

    "So, are you having fun bying home drunk and hugging me in front of everyone?"

    To Mr. Fang, that was exactly what her words sounded like. She wanted to have fun, and she was involving him in it in the most ridiculous way possible.

    "No!" Zhang Liling replied while shaking her head frantically.

    This little action from her, made him to feel the softness of her chest again and immediately, he felt aroused.

    He could now feel the soft part of his body, bing a little hard, causing him to freeze for a moment before admonishing her in a high tempo voice.<sub> </sub>

    "Will you stop moving around like a cat!!"

    Zhang Liling shuddered and didn''t dare to move or talk. She was truly afraid now.

    Mr. Fang was frustrated and tired of Zhang Liling, and just wanted to go to his room to have a bath and counsel his mind.

    He Just couldn''t tolerate and ept the fact that his sexual desires could be easily awoken by feeling a woman''s soft chest on his bosom.

    He really had to check with his self restraint and find out where it went to.

    "See the kind of dress you are putting on! Who allowed you to leave dressed like that, and how could you go around hugging any man that catches your eyes?!"

    Anger was not far from his voice, as it was very evident in his tone. The drunk Zhang Liling who was slowlying back to her senses, could feel it.

    "I wore a dress fitting for a club party, and I just don''t hug any man! I only came to you because I like you. Mr. Fang, I really like you!" Zhang Liling said staring into his dark eyes with her misty ones.

    "Enough!" Mr. Fang scolded and closed his eyes to inhale sharply. He could feel a certain part of his body hardening, and soon, she would be able to feel that part since her whole body was resting on him.

    Without warning, he opened his eyes and while she was distracted, disengaged her arms and left her embrace.

    Zhang Liling was only half-awake, and with that unexpected force suddenly pulling her away, she stumbled and fell backwards.

    Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that she was going to fall on her back. In that split second, she stretched her arms forth to hold onto something while shouting for Mr. Fang. "Mr. Fang!"

    Seeing that she was about to hit her back against the hard tiled floor, he stretched out his arms to pull her.

    That caused of cation made her to fall into his arms again while panting heavily.

    Mr. Fang sighed in relief that he saved her in time and let her continue to hold onto him to catch her breath.

    After what felt like forever, Mr. Fang''s voice came from the top of her head, "Are you awake now?"

    Zhang Liling nodded in response.

    "If you are awake, you should be stepping away from my arms," He said to her.

    Quickly, Zhang Liling let him go and took a step backwards.

    When he thought she waspletely awake and turned to go into the house, he heard her stagger, and that next moment as he turned, he saw her already clutching his shirt with a pitiful gaze.

    "Fine! Do as you like, but I hope you won''t forget this moment in a hurry!"

    With that, he strode in with her holding onto his shirt. He was sure that she will remember most of the incident from this night by the time she opened her eyes in the morning.

    Mr. Fang was kind to take her to the doorstep of her bedroom before turning to leave for his room.

    When he went inside the house with her, he didn''t see anyone, and had to take that responsibility upon him.

 Chapter 135 Anger

    Zhang Liling woke up with pain shooting right through her skull.

    Holding one side of her head with her left hand, she slowly sat up on the bed with the help of the free hand before bringing it up to the other part of her head.

    Now holding her head in her hands, she cringed, almost screaming at the pain it cost her to sit up.

    "Damn alcohol!" She muttered through deep breaths.

    When she had calmed down enough to go without holding her head in her hands, she looked up while squinting her eyes to look at her surroundings.

    ''Last night...'' She started to think about what happenedst night.

    She could very well remember closing the curtains before leaving for the partyst night. Who raised it? Wait! How did I get homest night? Who brought me into the room?

    Thinking about that, she hurriedly brought her gaze down to her body, which caused another wave of pain to hit her head.

    Grimancing, she gritted her teeth and held unto her head with one hand, while squeezing her eyes shut.

    Finally she learned not to move too vigorously while slowly recovering from the pain.

    ''I''m still dressesd inst night''s outfit, who brought me home? Howe I can''t remember anything?''

    Zhang Liling was finding it really difficult to remember what transpiredst night, but she was not going to give up untill the aroma of the soup ced on the desk wafted into her nostrils, distracting her train of thoughts.

    Slowly, she turned her head to the side and followed the aroma to the bowl covered with a lid on her table.

    "Hangover soup?" She mumbled to herself thoughtfully.

    Whoever ced that bowl of soup on her desk, was her knight in shining armour. Zhang Liling thought as she quietly tried to get off the bed.

    Knowing fully well that she couldn''t avoid more pain from her head, she braced herself and slowly got off the bed with gritted teeth, before making her way towards her desk.

    Slowly, she sat before taking off the lid from the bowl. One thing for sure, is that the soup was still warm enough to do some wonders in her body.

    Picking the bowl with both hands, she held onto the waist part and brought the rim to her lips.

    With a slurp, she took a mouthful of soup in her mouth without blowing it. Finding the liquid in the right temperature, she swallowed it before cing the rim back on her lips, and drinking more mouthful of the soup.

    Zhang Liling felt satisfaction hit her brain.

    The soup was delicious, and was in the right temperature, just what she needed to calm the raging storm in her head.

    Zhang Liling let out a sigh of relief in-between drinking the soup and shifted her gaze elsewhere before itnded on the pills on her desk.

    "I''ve got hangover pills too?"

    Stretching a hand forward, she reached out to it and the ss of water and took it before finishing her soup with one go.<sub> </sub>

    "Ah! I can feel my heartbeats drumming in my head! This is so painful!" She cried while bringing her hand towards her head before slowly helping herself up.

    When she got to her bedside, she sat first, before stretching her body on it. Next, she closed her eyes with a hand on her forehead.

    ''I think I have to sleep some more,'' She thought to herself before the wave of unconsciousness hit her.

    *******

    At the dinner table, Chuanli and Bolin joined Mr. Fang and ate quietly.

    The trio have been eating quietly for a while until Chuanli decided to bring up Zhang Liling.

    "Miss Zhang.." Mr. Fang stiffened when he heard that name as the memories fromst night tried to flood his brain, but he immediately cut it off.

    "...looked to have drank so much before we came to her rescuest night, do you think she will have a good time this morning?"

    "Cocktails can be deceiving. Some of them taste too sweet and finally lures one into taking so many sses of it, but I wonder how Miss Zhang ignored that part," Bolin added.

    Atst, Mr. Fang lost it with them. "What''s this about Zhang Liling this morning?!"

    Chuanli and Bolin shrunk their shoulders and continued to eat. They didn''t even need to think why his emotions were boiling.

    They had mistakenly neglected Zhang Liling''s actions towards himst night. Now, they were wondering what he was going to do with her.

    "If you are done eating, go back to your homes!" He warned them while shooting res at them.

    ncing at the two loaves of bread remaining on his te, he couldn''t bring himself to continue eating and left their presence in annoyance.

    "Why is Mr. Fang so angry?" Bolin asked as he dared to raise his head now that he was gone.

    Chuanli nced towards the direction he left with a confused gaze. "I have no idea. Maybe he is still annoyed because Miss Zhang disobeyed and embraced himst night."

    ''That shouldn''t be enough reasons,'' Bolin thought. "He should punish her if he wants..."

    Instead of getting angry and letting his emotions soar, it would be better if he punished Zhang Liling to feel better. That''s what he thought.

    Unknown to them, Mr. Fang had a hard time closing his eyesst night. Each time he tried to sleep, he would remember the feel of Zhang Liling''s soft breasts on his chest, and he would feel his member harden.

    He ended up being so frustrated and angry that he fought so hard with his trailing thoughts and finally found freedom in slumber towards the early hours of the morning. And right as he woke up, he went to the gym room to exercise and cleanse his mind.

    Nowing to have breakfast in peace, they had to remind his body of what it enjoyed, thus provoking his senses.

    ''Shouldn''t they have dreaded bringing up her name in front of me after her brazen actionsst night?''

 Chapter 136 Ashamed

    The next time Zhang Liling woke up, it was due to her stomach growling. She was hungry.

    As she helped herself to sit up on the bed, she could no longer feel her heartbeats in her head anymore.

    "The headache is gone!" She smiled in satisfaction before her gaze slowly came to rest on her body again after feeling a little difort.

    She was still in the dress fromst night, and her breasts hurt from being held in a bra and tight dress for so many hours.

    That difort was what brought some important questions back to her head.

    ''How did Ie backst night? How did I get into my roomst night?''

    Different questions were running through her remind until her train of thoughts were pulled back by the ringing from her phone.

    She had toe back to reality to figure out where her phone was, and that was when she traced the sound to the table.

    The te and ss of water was still there, but she ignored them and went for her pink handbag to take out her phone.

    Pulling her phone from her bag, she nced at the screen and smiled before going back to her bed to sit.

    "Tungmei?" She called out as soon as she answered the call.

    A sigh of relief left Tungmei''s lips as soon as she heard Zhang Liling''s voice. She has been worried about her safety sincest night. "Liling, are you fine?"

    "Why wouldn''t I be fine?" Zhang Liling asked with a smile, and then remembered that she was with Tungmeist night, and so she must know who took her back home.

    But more than that, she was more worried about exposing the fact that she worked for Mr. Fang and was living in his house.

    Surely, Tungmei wouldn''t have taken her back to Mr. Fang''s vist night, would she?

    "I''m d that you are fine. I felt so guilty for letting a stranger take you awayst night without following," Tungmei let out another sigh of relief as she dried her wet hair with a towel, using one hand.

    "A stranger! What stranger are you talking about?" Zhang Liling asked immediately finding the right opportunity to know about the person that took her back home.

    Tungmei frowned and hurriedly replied, "Your Dr. Li took you away. Wait! Are you just waking up? Don''t you remember what happenedst night? Are you alright, did he do anything to you?"

    As soon as Zhang Liling heard ''Dr. Li'' the remaining questions from Tungmei, faded into the background.

    Now that she has found out who took her home, the memories fromst night started flooding into her head. But a few of them were blurry.

    She could remember being helped into the car by someone. Later, she woke up to argue with Chuanli about drinking alcohol. Also, Bolin was in the car, and he was the one driving.

    They took her back home and she saw Mr. Fang standing outside with a re directed at her. She could remember him being angry, and then she running towards his direction to embrace him.

    Zhang Liling gasped in shock and quickly stopped her memories there.

    "What?! Did I hug Mr. Fangst night?!" She asked with widened eyes while pointing a finger to herself.

    She still looked out of it with what she remembered. Suddenly, she heard Tungmei''s loud voice calling for her from the other end of the phone.<sub> </sub>

    "Zhang Liling are you there?!"

    It was just now she realised that she was still on a call with Tungmei. Having no desire whatsoever to continue having a conversation with her because of the shock she just experienced, she called it quits.

    "Tungmei, I will speak to youter!" She said urgently and ended the call directly before dropping her phone on the bed.

    Zhang Liling didn''t dare to breathe now as she thought back to what other dreadful things she didst night.

    Mr. Fang asked her not to drinkst night, but she did that. She was asked to get back home by 9 pm, but she made Chuanli and Boline bring her back in her drunken state.

    Not just that, she dared to hug Mr. Fang in front of them. What other things did I dost night?!

    Zhang Liling didn''t dare to search her memories as she went ahead to cry and scold herself, while pulling her hair and kicking her legs in the process.

    She was only a few moments away from losing her mind.

    "Mr. Fang is not going to forgive this!" She cried out and slowly dropped her back on the bed while looking up at the POP.

    She was feeling so guilty, like she hadmitted the worst crime ever. Now, she would have to face Mr. Fang and get punished.

    "I mean, Imitted such atrocitiesst night, and I was still given hangover pills and soup..."

    Zhang Liling was trying to understand the meaning of that action until a voice spoke in her head, "Mr. Fang wants you to recover quickly so he can punish you!"

    She ended up crying out again as she let her thoughts go back to the memories ofst night. Since she was going to be punished, it wouldn''t change anything, so she had better see what other outrageous crimes shemitted.

    Slowly letting her train of thoughts go back tost night, she could see Chuanli trying to pull her away from Mr. Fang''s embrace but she refused to leave and instead, clung tightly to his body.

    The more she recalled, the more she epted that she deserved to be killed.

    "Zhang Liling who gave birth to you?!" She questioned her origins while crying in her head. She just knew that no one could save her now.

    Dr. Li had said he would help her get Mr. Fang''s heart only if she stopped causing trouble and now, it looked like she would never get that opportunity again.

    ''Liling look what you madness hasnded you into!'' She scolded herself.

    "Hope I didn''t kiss Mr. Fang this time around, otherwise, he would not leave my body intact after killing me?!"

    Thinking this far, she didn''t dare to go back into her memories again. And for the rest of the day, she stayed in her room, refusing toe out.

    It was during lunch time when she couldn''t take the hunger that the housekeeper came to check up on her.

    "Miss Zhang, are you not feeling well? You skipped breakfast and now it''s almost past lunch. You also haven''t done anything today. Let me remind you that Mr. Fang will not tolerate you cking off."

    Hearing Mr. Fang''s name, Zhang Liling sprang up from her bed and asked immediately, "Ms. Chu, did Mr. Fang ask for me?"

    The housekeeper''s brows knitted in a frown. "Why would Mr. Fang ask about you? He is already so busy in his study, but if you don''te out soon, he would surely remember you!"

 Chapter 137 Anger

    "Where is Mingyu?!" Zhang Renshu asked after settling down before the breakfast table.

    Everyone was gathered around the dinner table except for him.

    "He is still sleeping," Zhang Xiaoling replied immediately and Shi Wenqian nced at her in return.

    "Why is he still sleeping by this time, is he getting over the feel of studying for exams?" Zhang Renshu questioned further.

    "You are right," Shi Wenqian replied before sending a spoon of soup into her mouth.

    She didn''t want to talk too much about Zhang Mingyu. She was aware about him going to a party yesterday anding home wasted.

    She wasn''t in support of himing home without a sense of reasoning, and she was going to speak to him about it when he wakes up.

    It was a good thing that Zhang Renshu was already asleep when he came home otherwise, if he had caught sight of him in that state, things wouldn''t have been so quietst night.

    Zhang Renshu didn''t say anything else again.

    For the next fifteen minutes, the sounds of stainless steel spoons cking against the creamic tes were heard, as silence was ensued amongst the three people dining in the room.

    Zhang Renshu was the first to finish eating as he had a political meeting to attend.

    He put down his spoon before picking up the table napkin spread on his thighs, to wipe his lips gently. Putting the used napkin down on the table, he sipped some water from the water ss and put it down.

    ncing at Shi Wenqian who was sitting at his left hand, he opened his mouth to say, "I will be leaving for a political meeting before lunch in the afternoon. Also, don''t expect me toe back early tonight."

    After saying that, he got up from his seat and left.

    Shi Wenqian''s gaze trailed after him till he left her sight. Then she shifted her gaze back to her food to continue eating.

    Zhang Renshu was still dressesd casually when he returned to his study. As soon as he sat down on his swivel chair he started working.

    A few hourster, he picked up his phone from his desk and swiped the screen.

    Going straight to his contact list, he tapped on Liling''s name and proceeded to dial her number.

    The phone at the other end rang for a while before it got connected.

    As soon as she answered the call, Zhang Renshu''s heavy tone was heard. "Liling, what are you still doing at your friend''s ce when your exams has ended?"

    There was a few moments of silence before Zhang Liling''szy tone replied. "Dad, I don''t want to go back to that house."<sub> </sub>

    "What do you mean by that?!" Zhang Renshu queried in annoyance as his brows furrowed.

    He was expecting Zhang Liling to move into the house by yesterday evening or early this morning. Now, instead of her response to be that she would return in the evening, she is saying that she didn''t want toe back home. What did she mean by that?

    Zhang Liling''s breath was let out into the phone because she was still contemting on how to reply to that question withouting off as rude.

    "Why are you not saying anything?" Zhang Renshu asked impatiently.

    "Dad, I don''t want to go back to that house where your wife will be staying under the same roof as me. No one in that house cares for me, so why should I live there and be oppressed?" Zhang Liling asked.

    Her question made Zhang Renshu to calm down a bit, but he didn''t need any time to process the information.

    "You shouldn''t worry about your stepmother because I have warned her already, and she wouldn''t dare to touch you, soe back home," His tone was a little calm this time around.

    Zhang Liling didn''t ept that, and she was not going to. How could she take him by his words? It''s not like he would be at home to watch over her directly.

    "Dad, I won''te back to that house because your warnings will not guarantee my safety. Also, there is nothing I would be doing for you in that house, so let me remain where I find peace!" Zhang Liling said, making her stance clear.

    Zhang Renshu finally lost his patience with her as he scolded her immediately. "Liling! Can you be more reasonable right now? What do you think people will say when they find out you are living outside? It''s not like I''m dead!"

    Zhang Liling got angry as she finally heard him talk about his selfish reasons. "Dad, are you saying that public opinion is more important than my peace?... I''m not going toe back to that house until my peace is guaranteed."

    She really was very angry. Here she was, not knowing what Mr. Fang was going to do with her. She didn''t know her fate yet, which was worth worrying about, but here he was being selfish.

    Sometimes when he acted in this manner, she was happy that her mother never ended up with him.

    But how did she get entangled with him in the first ce? What did she see in him? Because apart from being a shrewd business man, she couldn''t see any other quality.

    Zhang Renshu was equally pissed off with her. She refused to listen to him ande back home when he already promised that no one will touch her.

    "If you want to stay outside, then do it, but don''t call me to send you any money! Also, I will call your mother toin about you!"

    Zhang Renshu said and mmed the phone on his desk angrily. His breathing was rapid and his eyesced with fury.

    He was very angry for Zhang Liling going against his order. And in that anger, he called Song Jujing toin about her.

    "What is wrong with your daughter and how did you raise her to never listen to her own father?!" Zhang Renshu questioned in a raised tone as soon as Shi Wenqian answered the call.

 Chapter 138 Shady Things

    Song Jujing pressed on her temples with her slender fingers and let out a deep breath into the phone in the process.

    She was expecting to hear from her daughter first if he brought up the issue about hering back to his house, but it looks like he didn''t give her the chance to speak to her first.

    "Hasn''t Liling been living with you for the past 4 years now? I''m sure that you had enough time to teach her one or two things," Song Jujing retorted.

    She didn''t care to rub his ego or speak in a calm tone. She didn''t have any energy and the patience to do that today.

    Zhang Renshu was taking aback by her choice of words and motion. "Do you think it''s easy to teach an adult child anything new?" He fired back.

    "Do you think it''s easy to raise a child without the father by the side?" Song Jujing asked in annoyance.

    Zhang Renshu was not going to ept her ming him for something he had not fault in.

    "Did I ask you to hide the fact that you were pregnant and run away? If I never found out about it, would I have known about it by now?!"

    Song Jujing''s breathing changed. She was so angry that her chest hurt. Even if he was unaware that she was pregnant, how could he speak to her in that manner as if he wasn''t the reason she made that choice back then?

    Zhang Renshu felt that he had spoken too much and by the time he was almost done calming down, Song Jujing said to him before ending the conversation.

    "Zhang Renshu, my daughter will not go back to that house to live with you! I only have one child, and I raised her with all the love, money, and discipline I had, and no one can put her life at risk!"

    Zhang Renshu could sense the anger in her tone and didn''t get the chance to apologize and speak amicably with her.

    Looking at the nk screen of his phone, he relieved a deep sigh of frustration before putting it down on his desk.

    He hadn''t meant to infuriate her and maybe, he should have chosen another method of approach and even if she was displeased, he shouldn''t have exchanged words with her.

    *******

    Zhang Liling had meant to call her mother immediately her father dropped the call, but when she did, she found out that she was on another call, which caused her to sigh in frustration.

    She was still yet to get out of bed to go out and have her lunch, and also do some cleaning.

    Yawning tiredly, her eyshes fluttered before it came to a standstill. Sighing to herself, she sat up on her bed properly.

    She hadid on the bed after the housekeeper left her bedroom, and before her father''s call came in.

    As soon as she got off the bed, she got her mother''s call.

    "Liling, I have spoken to your father. I am not in the mood to know how you answered him because that man tried to infuriate me as well! Anyway, you won''t be going back to that house again. When your father calms down and calls me back, I will speak to him again so that you can go and take the rest of your things."

    <o>,m Zhang Liling was really curious to know the content of the conversation her parents had, because she could sense her mother''s annoyance from her faint rapid panting, and her tone.<sub> </sub></o>

    "Was he rude to you? You know, I thought that he still loved you as much since he always listens to you!" She joked, but her mother was not having any of it.

    "Liling, don''t ever say that again! Who needs his love? Also, you managed to infuriate him before sending him over to me, what were you thinking?" Song Jujing asked.

    "It''s not my fault. He was keen about people''s opinion if they learnt I was living apart from him, and I got angry. How could he put random people''s opinion over my life and peace? But I didn''t insult him, I only insisted that I wasn''t going toe back." Zhang Liling shrugged.

    Thinking back to her father''s selfish mindset and decision, she couldn''t help but to get angry again.

    Song Jujing didn''t bother staying angry with either her or her ex.

    "If I tell him that you would be living alone, and that I would foot the house bills, he may bring up about how risky it is for you to live alone. So herees my suggestion, why don''t you ask your best friend toe around?"

    Zhang Liling refuted her suggestion immediately. "No mum, I want to have my space! I don''t want to live with anyone!"

    She wouldn''t have given this kind of response if she wasn''t doing anything shady.

    Mr. Fang had already threatened her life if she ever disclosed to anyone about her working and living in his house, and she wouldn''t want to go against that rule.

    Living with Tungmei would mean that she wouldn''t be able to hold that secret anymore.

    Since she didn''t want to live with anyone, Song Jujing didn''t force her. After all, she wasn''t going to remain in City S for long.

    "Alright, do as you please. Your father had already ruined a great part of my life, and now, he still has the power to ruin my morning! Oh! how I hate him so much!" Song Jujing cringed.

    Zhang Liling didn''t know whether tough or to cry. Her mother was funny, but this was not a situation she should beughing at.

    "Okay mum, bye!" She said. Her stomach was already giving signs of growling soon.

    Thankfully, Song Jujing was not in the mood to stir the conversation to another direction, and ended the call soon.

    Putting her phone on her desk, Zhang Liling sighed and stretched her body before stepping toward the door.

    She was far too hungry to remain in the room. As for Mr. Fang, ording to the housekeeper, he hasn''t said anything about her, or mentioned her name. What did he mean by that? Was he going to let her off?

    Zhang Liling doubted that, but just focused on filling her stomach with food, and doing her daily job.

    What surprised her at the end of the day, was the fact that she mistakenly crossed parts with Mr. Fang when she dropped her vignce, but he didn''t even bother to spare her a nce, or speak to her.

    This was very strange to her.

    Even if he didn''t want to scold her, where did his normal res go to?

 Chapter 139 Cheating

    Zhang Liling was unaware that Mr. Fang would rather me himself for getting aroused when she pressed her breasts on his chest, than scold her for turning a blind eye to his instructions.

    This was what she would never know.

    Later in the evening, Chuanli called to check up on her.

    The man was waiting till whatever punishment Mr. Fang would have given her to pass before reaching out to her, but to his surprise, she was fine.

    "Are you saying that he didn''t even scold you in the least?" He asked in surprise while straining his ears into the phone to not miss her response.

    He needed to be sure that his ears were not ying any tricks on him.

    Zhang Liling shrugged, "He didn''t bother meeting my gaze when I almost bumped into him. He treated me like I was air."

    "Wow! You have really charmed him!" Chuanli said with an astonished gaze while tapping his fingers on his desk.

    He didn''t know how she did it, but she was starting to gain his respect.

    Zhang Liling would have appreciated hispliments, but she was uneasy about Mr. Fang''s approach towards her.

    "Dr. Li, I dare not think that way. Mr. Fang didn''t even look at me and you said that I''ve charmed him, how is that even possible?"

    "Why can''t it be possible?" Chuanli asked while sitting up. "Last night, you clung onto him so much that you refused to let go even when I tried to pull you away. He must have felt that your feelings for him were strong, so he decided not to punish you."

    Zhang Liling could only think that Chuanli''s conclusions were absurd. How could he think that way?

    Mr. Fang was not someone whose heart could be moved so easily. If that was so, she wouldn''t have to still be in the same spot for 2 months without making any progress.

    "Dr. Li, I appreciate yourpliments and support, but right now, I would appreciate it if Mr. Fang would scold me at least so my heart can be at ease."

    ''What a werido!'' Chuanli thought to himself as his brows creased tightly.

    "Miss Zhang, if Mr. Fang is ignoring you, then it doesn''t mean that your life is in danger. If he had wanted to throw you out of his house, just know that you still wouldn''t be there by now. But seriously, you should thread your next steps carefully."

    Staring at her phone wallpaper, Zhang Liling sighed to herself and walked away from the corridor. She still had a little washing to do before dinner time.

    Mr. Fang was absorbed in his work in the study that he didn''t bother about the woman who was slowly starting to wreck his heart and body.

    *******

    Shi Wenqian was sitting in the living room watching the TV when she heard her phone ring.

    Immediately, she reached out for it to nce at the caller ID before swiping the screen to answer the call, while at the same time tuning down the volume of the TV with the remote on her left hand.

    "Ma''am, your husband just left the meeting now." A strong masculine voice from the other end announced.

    "Are you still trailing him?" Shi Wenqian asked in a strict tone.

    Her face, also didn''t look like she was going to receive a negative response and do well with it.

    "Yes..."<sub> </sub>

    "Well, where is he going to?" She inquired.

    "I am not sure now, he just got into the car." The man on the other end replied with his gaze on Zhang Renshu who was a good distance away him, and trying to step into the back seat of a ck Mercedes-Benz.

    He watched his bodyguard open and hold the car door for him while he got into the car.

    "I want you to keep following him and report to me where he goes to. And that''s if he doesn''te home straight from that that ce!" Shi Wenqian instructed, this time around, her tone was stricter.

    The man on the end who was a subordinate working for her, acknowledged her instructions before letting her end the conversation.

    As soon as Zhang Renshu''s car hit the road, the man Shi Wenqian sent to tail him, followed suit, but kept some distance away from his car.

    Zhang Renshu was someone who moved with bodyguards, so it would be easy for them to find out if anyone was following his car.

    The man really had to be careful to not be found out, or risk exposing himself and the person behind him.

    Much to Shi Wenqian''s thoughts, Zhang Renshu did not go home straight. Instead, he went into a high-end restaurant.

    When she got that report, she insisted that the man kept following him. "Keep following him! Make sure you don''t lose his car or get found out either!"

    There was this hunch a woman got sometimes, when her husband is cheating on her, or about to cheat on her.

    One of them was what Shi Wenqian felt in the morning when her husband told her that he was not going to have dinner at home.

    Her first suspicion was that he was going to see a woman but if she was wrong, she would be happy and relieved.

    Zhang Renshu was unaware that his wife was monitoring him.

    At the back seat of a car, he was all smiles while exchanging texts with someone.

    ''I got us dinner, I will be there in 10 minutes'' He texted before slipping his phone inside his jacket.

    In front of a 5-star hotel Zhang Renshu''s driver pulled the car over.

    The body guard sitting in front, stepped out to open the car door for him, before following after him a few momentter with the food he bought from the restaurant earlier and a workbag.

    "He took the food he bought to a hotel?!" Shi Wenqian shrieked.

    Her voice was so loud that she scared the wits out of a timid servant that brought her a bottle of wine which she ordered.

    Shi Wenqian had sprang up from the seat when she heard the news.

    Before when she heard that he had bought dinner, she almost let go off the fact that he was going to see another woman, because, why would he trouble himself to get dinner?

    On a second thought, she decided to continue tailing him to curb the itching in her heart, but look what she discovered...

    He bought food from outside and was taking it into the hotel?!

 Chapter 140 Deception

    Shi Wenqian got a hold of herself and sat her ass back on the sofa.

    "Follow them into that hotel! You must find out the room number he is going into, and the woman he went to see. I will reward you a hundred fold if you can get me the pictures of the woman!"

    Shi Wenqian was seething with rage as she passed that message. She couldn''t believe that the man she thought she now had half of his heart in her hands, was still going about chasing women.

    Before snatching him from Song Jujing, she knew about this bad habit of his, and that was how she was able to seduce him and make him sleep with her.

    After getting married to him because of his background and wealth, she thought she could manage his unfaithfulness by acting and dressing like a whore to keep him from meeting other women.

    When that n failed, sheined to him about it, but he said something that pissed her spirit off.

    "You should know that I have a problem sticking to one woman when you seduced me and caused my fiancee to call off the wedding, or were you expecting that things would be different with you?"

    Zhang Renshu had replied her and scoffed thereafter before walking away, leaving her to throw things about in anger.

    Since her husband was nonchnt about his attitude towards cheating on her, her eyes opened clearly to see that she couldn''t stop him.

    Now, it was either getting rid of the women he met with, or exposing his cheating scandal to the public, but she chose the former.

    It wouldn''t benefit her if his reputation was ruined, but she was going to ruin the women that dared to sleep with her man!

    Th servant standing in front of Shi Wenqian was so scared that her fingers trembled around the bottle of wine. She was not used to serving her closely wheneverher emotions erupted.

    Shi Wenqian noticed that the servant was still standing in one ce after the call ended, and she rose to her feet to give her a tight p on her face, causing her to gasp in shock and flinch.

    "What are you doing standing there instead of doing your job?!" Shi Wenqian red daggers at her, and was even more tempted to hit her again when she saw her teary eyes.

    The servant knew better not to cry after getting hit on the face. She hurriedly apologized before pouring the wine in the bottle into her wine ss before leaving without the bottle.

    Shi Wenqian''s bloodshot eyes followed her until she was out of sight, and then she sniggered before picking up her wine ss to drink from it.

    At the hotel, Zhang Renshu''s bodyguard booked a VIP room for him, before getting the card and following him into the elevator.

    The underling was a little surprised that Zhang Renshu was booking a fresh room by himself. Does that mean the woman he was going to meet would join himter?

    Actually, the woman was supposed to be the one booking the room and waiting for him if he didn''t want to get caught.

    ******

    "Excuse me Miss," The man smiled gently to the receptionist, giving off a warm vibe in the process.

    The female receptionist nced at him and returned the same vibe he gave off. She had seen that the man wasn''t good looking and only had average features. But because of his manner of approach, she was weing to him.<sub> </sub>

    "How can I be off help to you Mr.?"

    p "Uhmm... Can you get me the room with the same quanlity as that man booked, or better still, give me the one next to his room." The man requested.</anda>

    The receptionist took a good nce at him and shook her head after arriving at a thought.

    "I don''t mean any offence, but I don''t think you can afford it. The Presidential suits cost a lot for one night. I will suggest that if you want to meet the man for business, you shouldn''t got to this length because you will end up wasting your money."

    The man didn''t care if she had misunderstood him or not as long as he can get some information from her.

    Just now, he had managed to find out what kind of room Zhang Renshu booked, and asking further important questions in dusguise, gave him answers to his questions.

    Pretending to leave since he didn''t want to wate money to book a regr room, he sneaked into the hallway leading to the elevators when less attention was on him.

    Taking the elevator, he pressed the button for the VIP floor.

    On the other hand, as soon as Zhang Renshu got into the room he booked, he took off his jacket and whipped out his bank card.

    "Get me a new change of clothes and toiletries." He said giving his card to his bodyguard.

    The bodyguard took it from him with both hands before asking, "When Ie back, should I take it to the other room?"

    Zhang Renshu red at him in return. "Are you an idiot? Put them in this room and don''t disturb me unless it''s urgent!"

    "I''m sorry, Sir!" The bodyguard apologized with a deep bow.

    Zhang Renshu waved his hand with an eye roll.

    The bodyguard took hisptop bag to the dining room and set everything up for him, before leading him out of the room with the food from the restaurant.

    Three rooms apart from his room, Zhang Renshu pressed on the bell in front of the door and waited for the person inside to open up for him.

    Less than a minuteter, the door opened, revealing a young woman with a seductive look, dressed in a white robe that had a slit in front of it, which revealed her fair thighs.

    Instinctively, the bodyguard looked away, pretending to have seen nothing.

    There was a smile stered on the young woman''s face while staring seductively at Zhang Renshu.

    The next second, her red lips parted, and words were spurted in her soft tone. "What took you so long?"

    "I told you I was going to get us dinner," Zhang Renshu replied as tiny wrinkles formed on his forehead due to the smile he gave her.

 Chapter 141 Marriage Plans

    At the Fang Family Home...

    The discussion of Fang Bingwen''s marriage has been going on for over 10 minutes now, and old Mr. Fang, the patriarch of the Fang family didn''t look pleased.

    "Bingwen should be serious about settling down, business is not everything." The old man said with an annoyed gaze at his wife.

    "I would hate topare him with his agemates, but look at them, they all have a bnced family and work life, but Bingwen only chose to do business," Fang Huiqin said with a snort.

    This father who has been ying the frenemies role with his son, has long been agitated about his son not listening to him and nning to start up his own family.

    Old Mrs. Fang released a deep sigh. She closed her eyes briefly before staring at the two men, one her husband, and the other, her son.

    "I also want the best for Wenwen, but he is not ready to settle down. I even told him to bring his girlfriend home if he secretly had one that we wouldn''t judge her, but there is no woman uptill today. Maybe we should give him some time..."

    "Or, we can set him up on blindates till he finds the woman he likes..." A naughty male voice interrupted the old Lady.

    Everyone in therge traditional Chinese decorated living room all turned to the direction of that voice.

    Old Mr. Fang was the first to acknowledge his presence. "Qiafan, what are you doing here?"

    Fang Qiafan a young man of Fang Bingwen''s age, stepped into the living room with a big smile on his face, and his left hand, hidden in the front pocket of his pants.

    The man remained quiet and only greeted them one after the other with a deep bow before replying to the old man''s question.

    "Grandfather, I had something to do in the city and decided toe over to greet you and the elders. It wouldn''t be filial for me to ignore all of you,"

    "Still, you should stay out of Wenwen''s matter." The olddy said to him with a frown.

    Fang Qiafan didn''t take his grandmother''s annoyance to him meddling in his cousin''s affair to heart, because he was used to it for over the years now.

    "Grandmother, I''m trying to help everyone think of a solution for Bingwen to settle down. You see, we are agemates, but I already have a wife and a child on the way!" Qiafan said proudly as the corner of his lips lifted up, while his eyes nced at the 3 people in the room.

    "Is that all you can brag about?" Old Mrs. Fang sneered. This grandson of hers was always up against her Bingwen, and it just made her blood boil everytime.

    Qiafan shrugged, "It''s not all, but family is important. Grandmother, I''m sure you will overlook my past and take the right decision for Bingwen. Business is not everything."

    At that reminder, Fang Huiqing interrupted before his mother would say anything she would regretter.

    "Mother, I think you should set up blind dates for Bingwen. It will be bad if old matters are brought up again by those blogs if he remains unmarried."

    "Why are you bringing that up now?" Old Mrs. Fang asked, while shooting res at his son.<sub> </sub>

    Old tabloids about her Bingwen being gay, was a taboo that shouldn''t be mentioned in the family.

    Qiafan smiled and helped himself with a seat. This was going to be fun, helping to fuel the decision of Bingwen''s future.

    ''Imagine the expression on his face when he finds out that I''m involved in this...'' Qiafan thought as an interesting smile rose up from the corner of his lips.

    He seemed to be enjoying this so much while picturing his cousin''s reaction.

    Old Mr. Fang sighed and watched his wife get defensive about their grandson. Taking note that it would be better to speak to her calmly, he released another sigh.

    "Mrs. Fang, I know how much you like Bingwen, but you are not helping him this way. You are doing exactly what he wants, and he does not know the right thing to do at this time. If you want to hold a grandchild from him, I will suggest that you set him up on blindates."

    "Bingwen is not a child, and he will listen to you. We are not forcing him to get married now, but that he should take a step forward to start dating."Fang Huiqing said with a frown.

    The man would want nothing more than for his son to settle down and start his own family. The guy was over 30 years, and he wasn''t even making any effort towards building a family. His interest only stopped at expanding the family business.

    Old Mrs. Fang gradually calmed down as she began to think deeply while listening to them speak out their concerns and opinion.

    Out of everyone in the family, she was the only one that Bingwen would give 50% attention to. So it could work if she arranged blind dates for him, and told him to attend them.

    Huiqing saw his grandmother silently pondering over what they had said so far, and even added more fuel to the fire with a smirk at the corner of his lips.

    "Grandmother, the earlier you arrange the dates for cousin, the best for you. You know Bingwen, he is very picky, and if he starts going on blindates now, it may take him 2 more years to settle down."

    Old Mrs. Fang threw a re at him, but did not say anything in response because he was right. Even she knew her grandson Bingwen very well. To her, that young man was difficult to please.

    Everyone in the room saw her deeply pondering and left her to be. By the time the servants brought tea and snacks over, the old Lady hade to a conclusion which put smiles on their faces.

    "I will call Bingwen soon, but first, I need to make some arrangements for the blind dates."

    Huiqing picked up his cup of tea and brought the rim to his lips to cover the wild smile that appeared on his face.

    Sticking out his tongue to taste the tea, he withdrew it the next moment and took small sips from the cup.

    He had already given his grandmother a thumbs up in his head.

    She was going to make arrangements for the blind dates Before informing Bingwen. This would leave the man no choice but to attend his dates.

    The olddy was truly wise.

 Chapter 142 Repulsive

    Around 11 pm in the dark of the night, a Mercedes-Benz pulled over in front of the Zhang Mansion.

    Zhang Renshu opened the car door by himself and stepped out before his bodyguard could help him.

    Standing in front of the house, his eyes peered over to see that the lights were still turned on.

    "Sir, is there a problem?" His bodyguard asked as the driver turned off the car engine.

    Zhang Renshu who was dressed in a different clothe, shook his head before stepping forward. The bodyguard followed him into the house and straight to his study to put away his workbag. As for the clothes he wore previously before leaving the house at noon, they were no where in sight.

    From the study, Zhang Renshu and his bodyguard parted ways. The former went straight to his bedroom while unbuttoning his shirt, while thetter left for the servant quarters.

    As soon as Zhang Renshu stepped into his dark bedroom, and touched the wall for the light switch, a click sound came from the bedside, and immediately, the bedsidemp came on, illuminating the room.

    There was a huge frown on his face when he saw the woman lying on his bed. He didn''t find her presence funny in anyway.

    "What are you doing in my bedroom?" He asked with a hint of displeasure in his tone.

    "I was waiting upon my husband," Shi Wenqian replied with a smile as she sat up on the bed and moved the duvet away to reveal her thin red night dress.

    The thin night dress she was putting on, exposed her shoulders, thighs and cleavage.

    "What nonsense are you wearing?" Zhang Renshu asked with disgust written all over his face. Then the next moment, he pressed the switch and immediately, the room was brightly lit.

    A smile slowly rose at the corner of Shi Wenqian''s lips. She was used to that look from her husband. Before, it used to be painful, but now, she was used to it, and it didn''t move her that much anymore.

    Shi Wenqian slowly got out of bed, letting her husband take a good look at her body with that look on his face.

    All Zhang Renshu could see was just a boring and annoying woman standing in front of him, and nothing else. He didn''t love her, and he never did.

    "You call my nightdress trash, but I am not angry, I''m not that petty. I came to spend the night with you. You know, I am no longer young, so I have to put in more effort to be on par with those young hungry women flocking around you." Shi Wenqian replied as she came to stand in front on him on barefeet.

    She was admitting, reminding and telling him that she knew was still aware of the women around him.

    A smile still hung at the corner of her lips, making Zhang Renshu to think how long the smile was going tost.

    ''Just untill when?''

    As she raised her fingers to touch his face, he held the hand and red hard at her. "Don''t touch me! Also, don''t appear before me dressed like this, it makes you look even more repulsive."

    ''He changed his clothes, and his scent is still strong just like when he left the house earlier. There is no sweaty smell. He freshened up at the hotel?''

    All that was going through Shi Wenqian''s mind when she came to his side, was the changes she observed from him.

    To answer his question, she snatched her arm from his grip and slowly gazed at him.<sub> </sub>

    "If I don''t dress like this in front of you, who else should I show this wild side?" Her tone came off in ayback.

    She was trying to entice him wih her body, voice and little actions.

    As she said that, her fingers slowly came to caress the skin between his shirt button.

    Zhang Renshu hurriedly pushed her away and stepped aside and said with an ugly expression on his face, "If you are horny, find a way to settle yourself because I can never sleep with you again!"

    Shi Wenqian felt a pang on her chest when he said he wasn''t going to touch her again, but she let out a sadisticugh anyway, which didn''t move the man.

    "Whenst did you touch me? Do you think it''s fair and funny?"

    Zhang Renshu snorted. "Are you expecting an answer from me?"

    Shi Wenqian shook her head with a smile before turning fully to face him. "You are a horrible husband!"

    "You are not far from that either. I believe you are worse than me. A housekeeper who seduced her master that was engaged and was going to get married in a week and some days."

    Zhang Renshu felt so angry when he remembered what happened in the past. That sneaky woman!

    Shi Wenqian felt proud and even chuckled hard to taunt him. "It showed that I had skills and managed to get married to you at the end."

    Zhang Renshu felt a rush of adrenaline as his blood pumped faster. He could even hear the sound of his heartbeats loud and clear.

    He was really tempted to hit that annoying woman in front of him, but something restrained him. He was not a woman beater.

    "I would like to see your skills work on me again! Now get out of my room!" Hemanded and even pulled her on the arm, opened the door to his room and pushed her outside.

    "Don''t ever step foot into my bedroom again!" Zhang Renshu''s tone resounded in the hallway and he shut the door and bolted it immediately, leaving Shi Wenqian''s shoulder to tremble in anger and shame.

    She was still trying to process his taunts about her trying to seduce him again to see if it will ever work. She had been angry and wanted to hit his back, but he didn''t even give her that chance.

    He pushed her out of his bedroom before she could do anything.

    Once again, she was left humiliated. Thinking back to thest time her husband touched her, she couldn''t remember, it''s been long.

    Walking back to her bedroom in dawdled steps, Shi Wenqian didn''t know how to vent her anger. The rejection hurt her so much.

    The person she sent to watch her husband, said no woman entered or left his room, but she refused to believe that he didn''t meet any woman.

    Was it possible that he only booked a hotel room just to work?

 Chapter 143 Blind Date

    Shi Wenqian just refused to believe that Zhang Renshu went to the hotel to work or rx, but howe no one entered or left his room?

    There had to be something her underlying missed.

    The next morning at the breakfast table, Zhang Renshues down a little unsuallyte.

    Shi Wenqian''s nce trailed him immediately she caught sight of his shadow, till he settled in his seat.

    "Good morning, Dad," Zhang Mingyu greeted in a hoarse voice. His face looked tired.

    He had a deep sleepst night and waking up this morning, he just wanted to get back to bed.

    Zhang Renshu''s gaze on himsted for only a second before humming in response.

    Zhang Xiaoling also greeted him and received the same kind of response.

    ncing at her mother who had a dark glow around her, and her stepfather who didn''t seem to care about anything this morning, she guessed that there must have been a fight between them.

    This was not just a normal fight, because there were different kind of fights her parents used to have, which their emotions usually portrayed, and she could kind of guess that it must be women issues or something more.

    Sighing inwardly, she continued with her food while deciding to stay clear from their matters.

    As for Zhang Mingyu, the guy was still trying to wake up properly to eat his food, so obviously, it wouldn''t be possible to notice the change in the atmosphere.

    A servant stepped forward to serve Zhang Renshu food on his te before leaving, and thetter immediately picked up his spoon to start eating.

    Shi Wenqian''s mood was already sour this morning and seeing her husband made her mood worse, but there was no way she would stop eating and leave.

    Stealing a nce at him, she promised to humiliate him for shaming herst night and every other time.

    ********

    "The flowers are already dead," Zhang Liling said with a slight frown while gazing at her flower vase.

    The fresh flowers Chuanli and Bolin had gifted her on the day she finished her final exams, were already dead.

    The water she put them in, wasn''t able to preserve them for longer than 5 days.

    "What a shame!" She said and released a deep sigh before lifting the vase from her desk and heading for the door.

    After getting rid of the flowers and cleaning out the ss, she met head on with the butler.

    "Miss Zhang, can you help me send this bottle of water to Mr. Fang?" Butler Gu asked politely while stretching out his hands in the process.

    Out of impulse, she reached out her hands to ept the bottle of water before asking, "Where is Mr. Fang?"

    "He should be in his study at the moment, but you might want to check his bedroom first." Butler Gu replied.

    Earlier, Mr. Fang made a call through the inte from his bedroom, and mentioned about going to his Study soon, so he really doesn''t know where he was at the moment.

    ? Zhang Liling nodded and turned on her heels to match towards the stairs.<sub> </sub>

    Thinking of meeting Mr. Fang made her heartbeats to increase a few paces.

    Being ignored for the past few days made her question if she had gone far with her excesses.

    Releasing a deep sigh, she climbed the stairs steadily and headed for Mr. Fang''s bedroom first.

    Striking her knuckles against the door to his bedroom twice, she paused and listened for a response.

    When her ears didn''t catch any peck of sound, she struck her knuckles against the door one more time, thrice before cing her ear on the door.

    "Is he not in?" She mumbled to herself with creased brows before leaning away.

    cing her hand on the door handle, she bent it before pushing the door open and right at that moment, she heard the door to another room open.

    With a mind filled with curiousity, she maintained her position on the door but tilted her head toward the direction the sound came from.

    Right in front of the study stood Mr. Fang. His reading sses were gone, and the man stood there staring at her with knitted brows.

    ''Did hee out because he heard me knocking?'' Zhang Liling thought in surprise.

    Before any of them could say anything, the ringing sound of Mr. Fang''s phone came from the study, and he turned around to head back inside, while leaving the door open in the process.

    Zhang Liling let out a sigh before closing the door to his bedroom and turned on her heels towards the direction of his study.

    When she stepped inside, Mr. Fang had already answered his call, and was sitting on his executive chair.

    ''He is so fast.''

    Closing the door behind her, she took a few step forward to his desk.

    "Bingwen, you have a date to attend this Sunday evening by 6 pm." The olddy from the Fang family announced to her grandson in a calm tone.

    Immediately, Mr. Fang''s brows creased in a frown. He looked really annoyed as he questioned his grandmother the next moment.

    "Grandma, did I ask for your help to set me up on a blindate?"

    Zhang Liling''s head snapped to the side as her eyes widened in shock. ''What! Mr. Fang is going on a blind date?!''

    She had her gaze lowered, and was still holding the bottle of water in her hands when she heard this bad news.

    Old Lady Fang: "Grandma is helping you secure your future since you are very busy. No one is forcing you to get married now, but you will have to continue going on blind dates every now and then until you pick one woman to date."

    Mr. Fang felt an iing headache. What did his olddy mean by that, and who asked her for help?

    "Grandma, I will take care of things on my end. I am about tounch a new scent, so I do not have the time to go on blindates." He informed.

    Zhang Liling calmed down a bit and let out a sigh of relief.

    Instead of putting down the bottle of water on his desk and leaving, she stood there waiting for the conversation wih his grandmother toe to an end.

 Chapter 144 Her Selling Point

    Old Lady Fang: "Wenwen, I have seen that you will never have the time to date women, so I will help you out on this, and you don''t have any choice, as everyone has decided on this. I will send you the address of your date on Sunday evening by 6. I will ask your personal assistant to add the date to your schedule."

    "Grandmother, are you really forcing me to go on blindates? I am not a child." Mr. Fang said while moving his fingers about on his desk as he tried to reason with the olddy.

    Olddy Fang was not moved, and immediately got back at him with words. "It''s simply because you are not a child that I am anxious. Wenwen, it''s time for you to settle down and start your own family."

    Then without waiting for any response from him, the olddy ended the call, leaving him to be restless.

    Mr. Fang exhaled deeply and put his phone down on his desk. If he had smoke in his body, he would have been puffing it out by now.

    "Mr. Fang, are you going on a blindate?" Zhang Liling asked with a tinge of annoyance in her tone.

    She had just calmed down her palpitating heartbeats only for it to start messing up again just before she could finish rejoicing.

    Mr. Fang was startled by that voice, and when he raised his head to nce at her, he was even more surprised by her presence.

    "What are you still doing here?" He asked with furrowed brows.

    Zhang Liling ignored his question and came to stand in front of his desk. First, she put down the bottle of water before saying to him.

    "Mr. Fang, is your family forcing you to go on a blindate?"

    "How does this in anyway concern you, Zhang Liling?!"

    Zhang Liling helped herself to one of the seats in front of him as his eyes watched her actions in surprise.

    ''Just who asked her to sit?''

    "Of course this concerns me Mr. Fang! I am finally a graduate, and right when I have a chance, you are already going on a blindate with another woman."

    ''Huh?''

    Mr. Fang had a confused gaze on his face. "What nonsense are you talking about? What chance do you have?"

    The man didn''t understand her, and just wanted her to go straight to the point instead of beating around the bush and annoying him any further.

    ''Is he ying ignorant now?'' Zhang Liling thought while staring right into his eyes to observe if there were any changes, but discovered that he was utterly confused.

    ''I will just have to exin things to him.'' She concluded.

    "Mr. Fang, remember when I confessed my feelings to you..."

    Instinctively, ck lines appeared on his forehead as he rxed his back on his executive ck leather seat.

    "...you said you don''t date your students. Now, I have graduated, so at least I should have the chance to date you."<sub> </sub>

    What surprised Mr. Fang, was her bold stance. I mean, what gave her this impression and courage that she could speak to him about that kind of matter?

    The worst of it all, was that she wasn''t even flinching a bit. She just goes ahead to say whatever that was in her mind while staring directly at him, as if he promised to be in a rtionship with her.

    "Has anyone ever told you that it is unappealing to chase after a man, or have you never thought about it?" He asked.

    He just wanted to know what was going through that little head of hers.

    Zhang Liling adjusted her sitting position and put her arms on his desk. "Mr. Fang, I don''t care what anyone says or what is right. If I like someone, I like to show them, and even go on to tell them about it. It''s just like when I like a bag, I would want to purchase it to make it belong to me."

    Zhang Liling just said what was in her heart, and the way she does things.

    If she likes someone''s personality, even if the person is a stranger, she wouldn''t mindplimenting them and starting up a conversation with them.

    This was how she made friends as well.

    Mr. Fang just realized how relentless she was. She doesn''t care about rules or customs when it came to what she wanted.

    "Miss Zhang?" He called out in ayback tone, and she blinked her eyes in response.

    Tapping his fingers on his desk, his lips parted and closed twice, before words began to spew out.

    "How old are you, and do you know how old I am?" He asked.

    "I am 22 years old. I know you are above 30, but I don''t care. I like older men!" Zhang Liling replied with a smile atst.

    She was happy to be having this kind of conversation with him.

    Mr. Fang''s face turned dark. ''Did she just refer to me as an old man?''

    He mentioned their ages because he wanted her to think and see the impossibility of them getting together with that kind of age gap between them, but she thought otherwise?

    Mr. Fang was a bit annoyed and forgot that he shouldn''t be having this kind of conversation with her, and went on to taunt her.

    "Miss Zhang, you just called me an old man, have you seen that you are a small girl? I can''t date a girl of your age, you don''t know anything!" He said and shook his head in disappointment.

    Zhang Liling red up immediately. "Mr. Fang, how am I a small girl? Look at me properly, what part of me looks immature to you?"

    As the second half of her statement left her lips, she stood up and twirled for him, before going to list her good virtues.

    "I know that I can be a handful at times, but that''s what makes me fun to be with. I am intelligent, I am beautiful, and when I love someone, I can go to any lengths for that person. My family background is a bit messy, but it shouldn''t matter since I am not corrupted by them. My age shouldn''t be a problem to you either, it''s good to marry a youthful woman who respects and cares for you."

 Chapter 145 Seeking For Help

    "I''m done having this conversation with you. Miss Zhang, make use of the door!" Mr. Fang said while pointing a finger towards the door.

    His gaze on her was heavy like he would swallow her whole if she didn''t leave the next second.

    He couldn''t believe that she was trying to market herself to him.

    She was giving him reasons to date her by all means, and he couldn''t understand herpletely no matter what.

    What kind of woman is she? She was acting as if men were scarce.

    Zhang Liling''s brows lowered and pulled closer together, and the corners of her mouth were drawn downwards. She seemef very unhappy.

    "Mr. Fang you see, you are not giving me any chance to get close to you, you lied the other time."

    Mr. Fang shook his head in denial and even went on to exin.

    "I didn''t lie to you. You don''t have any Bachelor''s degree certificate yet. Even if you are done writing your final exams, you are still a student as long as I''m concerned. Also, your first ss grade wille into y."

    At the mention of the first ss grade, Mr. Fang''s lips curled up into a smile for the first time ever since this kind of conversation was brought up, and Zhang Liling didn''t look happy to see it.

    Her brows furrowed further as her eyes squinted at him. She was angry.

    She stared at him for almost a minute before saying calmly, "Mr. Fang, I will be back." Then she turned her back to him and trotted towards the door.

    When her hand came to hold the door handle, she bent it slightly and pulled it open. Tilting her head slightly to the left, she gave onest look to the man who had an amused expression on his face, before walking away.

    ''She is annoyed, this is good.'' Mr. Fang thought with a delightful heart as his gaze stayed on her till she disappeared from his view, and his sight could only see the tightly shut door.

    For days, Zhang Liling did not say a word to Mr. Fang apart from greeting him, and she didn''t even bother to smile at him.

    Mr. Fang on the other hand, thought that she had finally stopped being delusional.

    ''If she behaves herself, I will be a good guardian to her,'' He thought.

    Since the conversation with Mr. Fang in his study, Zhang Liling has been checking her school website for the official announcement of their results release, so she could calcte her grade by herself without the school''s help.

    Waiting one more week shouldn''t be difficult, but it was for her. Mr. Fang was going on a date tomorrow, what will she do if he decides to date that woman?

    ''No! I can''t let that happen!'' Zhang Liling concluded and stopped pacing around her room.

    Picking up her phone from her desk, she went to sit on the foot of her bed and went to her contact list to pull out Chuanli''s.

    Taking a deep breath, she dialled his contact and ced her phone on her ear while hearing it ring and waiting for him to pick it up.

    Chuanli decided to do a clean up today, and was busy sorting out the files on his desk when her call came in.<sub> </sub>

    He put down the folder in his hand and picked up his phone. Seeing the caller ID, the corner of his lips immediately curled up into a smile.

    "Miss Zhang, do you miss me, or do you need my help?" He asked as he swirled in his seat while rxing his backfortably.

    "Dr. Li, I need your help. Are you free at the moment, I hope I am not interrupting your work?"

    Chuanli nced at his desk before shifting his gaze back to the door. "Actually, I was preupied when your call came in but, you can go ahead and make your request."

    Zhang Liling felt relieved and released a deep sigh. She didn''t know if it would have been possible to wait if he had said to call him backter.

    "Mr. Fang has a date with someone tomorrow evening by 6."

    "Bingwen has a date?!" Chuanli almost shot up from his seat as his eyes widened in shock.

    His friend had a blind date and he didn''t know about it? Since when did things start to change.

    Zhang Liling had to pull her phone away from her ear with a frown. He almost hurt her eardrum due to his reaction.

    "Yes. I was with him on the day his grandmother called to tell him about the blindate." She confirmed the news.

    Chuanli gradually calmed down as he rested his back against thefortable leathered seat.

    "This is interesting. His grandmother fixed a blindate for him, and he didn''t put up a fight?" He asked.

    Zhang Liling went on to respond and exin the details of the conversation she was able to pick up.

    After a minute of silence from his end, he sighed. "So Miss Zhang, what kind of help do you need from me,"

    A smirk turned up on his lips while waiting for her response. He could already guess what she was going to request for.

    "Dr. Li, can you help me find out the address for his date? Mr. Bolin should know about it, or you can ask Mr. Fang directly."

    "So you can crash it?" He teased in a light tone.

    Zhang Liling let out a heavy breath into the phone while pinching her brows together. "I wouldn''t dare to crash his date, it''s not like I don''t want to live anymore. I just want him to see me and feel my presence."

    "And how is that going to change anything?" Chuanli asked with a little confusion.

    Zhang Liling shrugged, "It should be a reminder to him that I haven''t given up on him. He annoyed me some days ago, so I haven''t been talking to him."

    Chuanliughed heartily into the phone immediately he heard that.

    Mr. Fang annoyed her? And she ignored him? What a funny young woman.

 Chapter 146 A Plan For Attention

    "Miss Zhang, let''s go on a date tomorrow by the same time and in the same ce as Mr. Fang," Chuanli announced with a hint of mischief, but Zhang Liling didn''t notice it.

    "What?!"

    She was far too shocked about him asking her to go on a date with him, to think properly.

    At this juncture, Chuanli knew she had misunderstood him, and took his time with clearing her confused mind.

    "Miss Zhang, it looks like you misunderstood me. I will help you crash Mr. Fang''s date properly. If the two of us appear together, it will be a lot more encouraging, or don''t you think so?"

    There was a pause as silence ensued. Zhang Liling was really thinking about his suggestion.

    When he thought that she would refuse him since she always had her own crazy way of doing things, she agreed.

    "Dr. Li, let''s do this together!" Zhang Liling said with her arm up.

    After thinking about the benefits of going out with Chuanli, she knew her chances of getting what she wanted, would be high.

    After ending the conversation with him, she got to her feet and went to her closet to look for the perfect dress for tomorrow''s date Invasion.

    Going through her closet with her eyes and pushing things out if the way, she saw a short y red dress with an off shoulder and smiled to herself.

    "Perfect!" She said to herself aloud.

    She had decided to go all red tomorrow, and that was she colour for attention.

    There was no way she would walk into a room dressed in red, and no one would notice her, it wasn''t possible. That colour could easily leave asting impression after getting someone''s attention.

    Zhang Liling''s n was to get Mr. Fang''s attention.

    While sorting out her outfit for tomorrow''s date, Chuanli on the otherhand, phoned Bolin to ask about Fang Bingwen''s date.

    "Where is Bingwen going on a blindate?"

    Bolin replied to his question without being surprised that he would know about such matter.

    ''Good!'' Chuanli smiled as he noted the name of the restaurant in his head before going on to ask, "Which family is thisdy from, what''s her age and upation?"

    To that question, Bolin had no idea about it. "Grandy Fang didn''t mention her name, because she didn''t want Mr. Fang to have any reasons to not go on the date."

    Chuanli frowned slightly. "Wouldn''t it be unjust if thedy knows about Bingwen, and he doesn''t know anything about her?"

    "For that, the olddy had already settled things. Mr. Fang''s blindate doesn''t know he is her date." Bolin exined.

    "I see..."

    *******

    "Have you thought about your marriage? Is there anyone you have in mind?" Shi Wenqian asked Zhang Xiaoling.<sub> </sub>

    They were currently drinking tea and chatting when she brought up the marriage topic.

    "I really want to marry into the Fang family, but Dad is acting somehow, and I don''t want to offend him. He is still the one looking after my fianances." Zhang Xiaoling said with a slight frown.

    "If I want something, I will do anything to get it, and you should be like that too."

    Zhang Xiaoling shifted her gaze to her. She was starting to regret not leaving when she came to join her at the balcony.

    So many times, she had wanted to ask why she went into organ harvesting. How could someone have the heart to do that?

    Let''s say she wasn''tpassionate about Human lives, shouldn''t she be afraid of the consequences of her actions?

    Shi Wenqian felt her change in aura and smiled to herself. "You should make a decision before Zhang Renshu helps you to make one. And, you can always ask for my help."

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t bother hiding her disgust this time around. It was very clear in her eyes that she would rather allow her stepfather to arrange a marriage for her, than to ask for her help.

    "You have given me no choice but to never ask for your help. I don''t want to be linked to your dirty business. I don''t want to owe you anything." She said and looked away.

    "Do you think that if you don''t ask for my help, you still don''t owe me anything?" Shi Wenqian asked with an amused expression.

    She couldn''t help finding her daughter''s logic to be meaningless.

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t find her facial expression and attitude funny. "Mum, I believe that after showing me that horrible scene, and I still kept my lips locked, should be enough to repay my debts to you."

    "How dare you be repulsive of my hardwork?!" Shi Wenqian''s tone changed, but she didn''t dare to raise her voice.

    "Hahaha... hahaha" Zhang Xiaolingughed sarcastically without saying any other thing.

    "That money I have been giving to you to live an extravagant life, where did you think it all came from?" Shi Wenqian asked.

    "Obviously, I thought it all came from the health foundation you opened to deceive everyone!" Zhang Xiaoling retorted angrily as her chest heaved up and down.

    She didn''t mind her mum doing a few shady things to have her own source of wealth, but what she discovered now, was not even an option. It was beyond her humanpression.

    For her mother to mention about her spending money gotten from a bloody illegal means, made her so angry.

    "I will be waiting for you to ask for help." Shi Wenqian said as she stood to her feet and stared hard at her before walking away.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s fingers curled into a fist by her sides. That was a disguised threat from her mother.

    She knew the important role her mother has yed in her life so far. At least, she would take her opinions into consideration unlike her stepfather who didn''t really care.

    But at this point in her life, she would rather take whatever that man gave to her, than to seek help from her mother.

    This is why she had to build a connection for herself. By walking for her stepfather, she can get everything she wants, except for her happiness.

    By the time she grew on her own and built a route for herself, she wouldn''t have to listen to anyone anymore, and be controlled by them.

 Chapter 147 Out With Chuanli

    As the cool evening weather blew gentle breeze, the leaves on the branches on different trees, danced in tune with it.

    Peeping through her window while putting on powder on her face using a makeup brush, Zhang Liling sighed to herself as she made a mental note.

    "It looks like it''s going to rain today." She said and finally took her gaze off the the window and dabbed some powder in it, before brushing her cheeks with it.

    After putting on the powder, she added anotheryer of red lipstick on her lips. ncing at her face in the mirror, she smacked her lips, and winked.

    "I looook hot,"

    Staring at her refelction in the mirror got her high. Seeing how beautiful she looked, made her happy.

    Zhang Liling proceeded to put on her round gold earrings before packing her makeup brushes and items away.

    Getting into her short ck stilletos, she picked up her ck purse from the bed, and left the room.

    With her heels striking against the tiled floor along the hallway, it was hard for one''s attention to not be drawn to her.

    Meeting her along the hallway dressed in that attention-grabbing dress, the housekeeper''s mouth flew open as her eyes widened in surprise.

    Zhang Liling noticed her surprise and shed her a smooth wink as the corner of her lips turned up in a smile.

    "Miss Zhang, are you leaving now?" Ms. Chu managed to ask when she got close to her side.

    "Yes, is anything the matter?" Zhang Liling asked in a soft tone.

    Mr. Fang had already left for his date half an hour ago, so Zhang Liling didn''t have to report where she was going to him.

    Since she had to at least let someone in the house know where she was going, she told the butler and the housekeeper about it.

    Ms. Chu waved her hand in front of her and denied her question. "No, it''s nothing." Then she watched her trottle her way to the end of the hallway before turning to a corner and disappearing from her sight.

    The more Zhang Liling thought about the housekeeper''s reaction to her outfit, the more she smiled.

    "Ms. Chu, very soon, you won''t be shocked anymore."

    That sounded like a promiseing from her.

    At the entrance, she met the butler who nced at her with a brief surprise before saying to her, "Miss Zhang, don''t drink anything apart from water today. It won''t be long before Mr. Fang loses his tolerance toward you."

    That kind reminder from the old man, made Zhang Liling to smile at him.She even gave him a small nod before leaving through the entrance.

    Sighing to himself, the old man closed the door before walking straight to the living room where he almost collided with the housekeeper.

    "Mr. Gu, is Miss Zhang really a servant of this house?" The woman asked with her gaze at the entrance before shifting it to him.

    Butler Gu was not baffled by the question, but instead nced towards the entrance to see the tightly shut doors before ncing back at the middle ageddy.

    "I don''t know anymore," He said and turned to leave.<sub> </sub>

    Even he didn''t know if Zhang Liling had a hidden identity, and was not really a servant.

    She gets into a lot of trouble and goes out to party, these were not the attributes and actions of a servant should look like.

    He was beginning to think that there was more to her rtionship with Mr. Fang that meets the eye. But whatever it was, he would ept it. Afterall he was just a servant.

    Zhang Liling made her way towards the gate in her heels. Halfway to the gate, Chuanli drove in wih his sportscar.

    Seeing him, she sighed in relief and helped herself into the front passenger seat of the car.

    "Dr. Li, I thought my legs would break before you finally came." She said while grabbing the seatbelt to strap it in.

    Chuanli stared at her with a smile. He could see the effort she made with her looks.

    Feeling his gaze on her, Zhang Liling strapped her seatbelt before shifting her gaze to him. "Is my makeup bad? Is it a little too much?" She asked.

    Chuanli shook his head and gave off a low chuckle and proceeded to turn the car around before driving out through the gates.

    "You are the kind of woman Bingwen has to marry. At least, you are not boring, and you will do a good job with lightening his mood."

    "You think so?" Zhang Liling asked as a small smile sprang up on her face.

    ? Chaunli who was dressed in a printed shirt and ck jeans, smiled.

    "Of course! Miss Zhang, do you think I would say thrash to make you smile? I am not the kind of person. If I didn''t think you and Bingwen would make a perfect couple, I wouldn''t bother getting close to you, and trying to help out."

    "Then I should count myself lucky!" Zhang Liling muttered under her breath.

    As their car hit the main road, Chuanli asked, "Do you have any special requests?"

    "I would follow your lead if you have anything nned out. Let for me, I would just sit at a table where Mr. Fang would have eyes on me and order dinner."

    "That won''t be a bad idea. I think we would do that, but there has to be a twist now." Chuanli said as a smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

    "What kind of twist?" Zhang Liling asked curiously with her eyes on him.

    "Wait and see..."

    The more Chuanli thought of the kind of look that would be on Fang Bingwen''s face when he sees them dining together, the more he was itching to y more tricks.

    But guessing that more tricks may have a different oue, he stopped his train of thoughts as he wouldn''t want to ruin things for thedy beside him.

    Fifteen minutester, their car pulled over in front of a popr and expensive hotel.

    ncing through the side of her window, Zhang Liling asked in surprise, "Is Mr. Fang really dining here?"

 Chapter 148 Surprised

    "Are you surprised?" Chuanli asked as he turned off his car''s engine while sparing her a nce.

    The words that left Zhang Liling''s lips next, caused him to chuckle hard.

    "Mr. Fang''s grandmother set him up on a date in this hotel, she is really up to date with a handful of information."

    "Miss Zhang, I hope your imagination is not going wild?" He asked.

    "It already is," She replied and got off the car with a not-so happy expression on her face.

    Chuanli also stepped out of the car and threw his car key to the valet beforeing to stand beside her.

    "Shall we?" Her asked with a smiling gaze on her as he naturally slipped his hands inside the front pockets of his pants.

    Zhang Liling''s feet remained rooted to the ground as she turned to him to ask with furrowed brows, "Dr. Li, do you think I will be scolded by Mr. Fang? I think I kind of regreting over at the spur of the moment."

    The smile on Chuanli''s face immediately disappeared as he brought out his hands from his trouser pockets. "Miss Zhang, it''s toote to regret your decision."

    With that, he took her hand and walked in with her, without giving her any more room for pondering.

    Zhang Liling had no choice but to follow him inside therge hotel space. Luckily, she didn''t have to run after him.

    With her purse in the other hand, she let him continue to hold onto her other hand, and lead her toward the hotel''s restaurant at the 1st floor.

    For them to get to the restaurant, they had to take the elevator, and that was when Chuanli finally freed her hand.

    Now at the restaurant, Chuanli confirmed their reservation before a waiter was arranged to lead them towards their table. At the time, Zhang Liling was searching for Mr. Fang with her eyes.

    Chuanli noticed it and whispered to her while walking in the same pace as her, "Our table is next to Mr. Fang''s table, so don''t strain your sight?"

    Zhang Liling''s eyes widened in excitement as she immediately grabbed his arm. "Dr. Li, are you serious?"

    Chuanli smiled. "You will see," He said and shifted his gaze to the waiter leading them to their table.

    Remembering how smart he was to confirm Mr. Fang''s table number from Bolin so he could book the one next to him, he gave himself des.

    Zhang Liling shrieked inside her head, and if not for where they were, she would have jumped and screamed.

    She couldn''t believe that asking for Chuanli''s help, would lead to this well thought out and orchestrated ns. Now, she couldn''t wait to see Mr. Fang and sit next to him.

    The hall was quiet big, and it was full of people. Almost every table they passed had guests already sitting on them.

    Zhang Liling was very d that she asked for help. Would she had ever thought about reserving a table?

    With all smiles, Zhang Liling let go of Chuanli''s arms and followed him to their table, without knowing that a shocked gaze had already been cast on her.

    Mr. Fang was sitting with his date and listening to her talk when he saw the familiar figures of the two people he knew.

    Because of his sitting position that faced the entrance, it wasn''t possible for him not to notice them.<sub> </sub>

    At first, he thought that his eyes were ying tricks on him, but as they came closer, the surprise on his face quickly changed to a frown.

    His brows knitted together as he watched Chuanli lean in to whisper something to Zhang Liling''s ear that made her smile at him the next moment.

    ''What are they doing here?'' He thought.

    With his gaze somewhere and his mood suddenly changing, the woman sitting directly opposite of him, stopped chatting.

    The woman was beautiful and looked mature. From her makeup, and dressing, it was obvious that she was doing well for herself.

    She had a professional makeup on, and her clothes were from expensive brands.

    The woman had been very excited the next moment after being surprised when she found out that Mr. Fang was her blindate.

    She was thinking that she would meet a short fat-bellied man with brown-stained teeth, but surpringly, she met her spec.

    Mr. Fang was everything she wanted in a partner.

    But seeing him suddenly look angry, she became worried. "Mr. Fang?" She called out to him in her natural gentle voice.

    Mr. Fang immediately retracted his gaze from his doctor and his servant.

    What kind of dress was Zhang Liling wearing again? At least, it looked a little bit longer than the one she wore outst. But seeing how the gown was yed from the waist, his brows creased tightly.

    How could she put on that kind of dress on a windy evening like today?

    After getting his attention back, his date smiled sweetly at him. "So, Mr. Fang, I was asking what kind of investment you would be making in the future. Will you go intopany stocks or dive deeply into real estate?"

    Mr. Fang adjusted his reading sses on the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in an ash-coloired suit with a ck tie to match, and on his left wrist sat a silved-ted wristwatch.

    His hairstyle was like his usual, making him look mature and sexy. A center for women attention.

    "When I am ready to make that kind of move, I will know what to do," He replied.

    *******

    "Please have your seats. Would you like to ce an order now, or should I give you time to decide?" The waiter asked after showing Chuanli and Zhang Liling to their seats.

    Zhang Liling was not interested in cing an order although she was hungry. She had been staring at her right side to see if she would find Mr. Fang, but she failed.

    "Dr. Li, are you sure that Mr. Fang is here?" She grumbled.

    Chuanli picked up one of the menu on the table before replying with a smirk, "Just now, I saw Mr. Fang with all his attention on his date."

    As soon as he said that, Zhang Liling tilted her head to the side to look for Mr. Fang again.

 Chapter 149 Ruining His Date

    "Miss Zhang, ce your food order first before I show you where he is sitting."

    Before Zhang Liling could finish ncing at the people sitting at the table her gaze had just fallen upon, Chuanli disrupted her attention.

    Staring back at him, she asked, "Dr. Li, I have no choice but to trust that you didn''t bring me to the wrong ce."

    Chuanli smiled and watched her order two dishes, before he proceeded to ce his own order.

    As the waiter turned to leave, Chuanli pped his hands and rose to his feet.

    "Dr. Li, where are you going to?" Zhang Liling asked immediately with knitted brows. Was he nning to leave her here and go somewhere else?

    Chuanli smiled upon her face and leaned in to say in a teasing tone, "Don''t you want to say ''hello'' to Mr. Fang?"

    "What?" Zhang Liling was taken aback at this juncture. What was he talking about?

    "It would be rude to ignore Mr. Fang after seeing him sitting very close to us, don''t you agree with me?" Chuanli said briefly, before leaning away to stand erect, as he tucked his hands inside the front pockets of his pants.

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling stood to her feet. She had just began to look around for Mr. Fang''s silhouette when she felt a pull on her arms, and without warning, her body lounged forward.

    She almost hit her nose on Chuanli''s shoulder, but he was quick to steady her.

    "Let''s go!" He said after she had regained her bnce and before she couldin.

    Zhang Liling swallowed her words and allowed him to hold her by the arm and lead her to Mr. Fang''s table.

    All this while she had been concentrating on looking at her left side to find Mr. Fang, she just discovered that he was sitting at a table at her left side.

    Seeing him staring hard at her as they made their way to his table, caused her to feel a little afraid.

    She has been surprised to see him immediately her eyesnded on him, as if, she didn''te here for him.

    When Mr. Fang saw the two figures walking directly to his table, he got annoyed, and was once again distracted from the conversation he was having with his date.

    As he locked eyes with Zhang Liling, he saw her surprised look when she saw him, and for a moment, he thought she was truly surprised to coincidentally meet him there, and was unaware of the address for his date.

    But thinking about things clearly as their steps drew closer to him, he concluded that she was not innocent, and he couldn''t wait to question the both of them.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang, what a pleasure to meet you here!" Chuanli greeted amicably with his hand stretched out as soon as they came to stand beside him.

    Mr. Fang''s date nced at Chuanli and Zhang Liling, and the only thing she could think was that, they were a bad match for a couple.

    They didn''t look like they were deeply in love to her, but they were indeed very good looking.

    Mr. Fang nced at the hand Chuanli stretched out and looked away. He refused to acknowledge his greeting or even shake his hand.<sub> </sub>

    Instead, he picked up his ss of red wine and took a few sips from it. Initially, he did not want to drink, but he ended up doing that anyway tofort himself.

    Chuanli smiled to himself before taking his hand back, and Zhang Liling took this as an opportunity to greet him as well.

    "Mr. Fang, it''s a surprise to see you here. I didn''t know you would be having a date here."

    Mr. Fang turned to nce at her. He could see that small smile resting perfectly on her face, and his lips moved several times, but no words were uttered.

    Thedy at the table with him, seeing that he obviously knew them but refused to acknowledge them asked, "Mr. Fang, do you know them?"

    As soon as she called out to him in that manner, Zhang Liling fixed a hard gaze on her, and was almost caught by her if she wasn''t quick to withdraw her gaze when Chuanli pinched her arm.

    Even Mr. Fang felt the hostility from her and couldn''t help ncing at her. ''What is wrong with her?''

    To that question asked by his date, Mr. Fang did not give any form of direct answer to her, instead he turned to Chuanli to ask, "What are they two of you doing here? Are you also here on a date?"

    This question was directed to Chuanli, but Zhang Liling answered to it.

    "We are not really on a date. My heart is taking time to heal after being broken from rejection. I thought thating out here would help me to heal quickly."

    Chuanli''s eyes widened in shock. He didn''t know that she would give that kind of reply, and he almost let out chuckle.

    Mr. Fang''s date looked upon Zhang Liling with insterest, as a few questions ran through her mind.

    Mr. Fang on the other hand, feigned ignorance as he asked her another question which was more like an advice.

    "I don''t think it would be a good idea for you to make another request, don''t you think so? You only have one heart, it would be bad if it gets broken again and takes a long time to heal properly."

    Chuanli was done holding in hisughter. He burst out inughter immediately which earned a re from both Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang.

    This left him no choice but to cover his mouth to control his amusement and the attention from the other guests dining.

    Turning to Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling locked gazes with him and said in a clear tone, which was more of a deration and promise.

    "Mr. Fang, I don''t mind getting my heart broken so many times even if it will take time to heal. But a certain someone will have no choice but to ept me soon when my resultses out."

    Mr. Fang narrowed his eyes at her and was about to say something to her, but Chuanli quickly tugged on her arm to drag her away.

    "Mr. Fang, have a nice dinner with your date!"

    Mr. Fang watched Zhang Liling get dragged away without putting up a fight.

    "Mr. Fang, was that your sister?"

 Chapter 150 Being Petty

    Mr. Fang turned to his date to reply to her question, "I don''t have a sister like that."

    Thedy wanted to probe more, but saw the reluctance on his face to talk about private matters, and refrained from questioning him.

    Going back to talk about business and investments, Mr. Fang sighed and picked up his wine ss. He swirled the substance in it before bringing the rim to his lips.

    He just wished that the woman before him would talk about something else instead of boring him with how she took over to run her father''s business.

    This was not a business date.

    Now back to their seats, Chuanli tried to cate Zhang Liling on seeing that big frown sitting on her face.

    "Miss Zhang, you should calm down and not pay any attention on Mr. Fang."

    "How can I not pay any attention to the man I like?" Zhang Liling retorted and pped her palm on the table, but ended up hurting herself.

    The sound produced was not even loud enough to make any impact.

    ncing at her palms which had quickly turned red, an annoyed look hung on her face.

    Chuanli sighed and decided to say something else. He had an interesting look on his face as he probed, "Did Mr. Fang promise to date you?"

    Zhang Liling shifted her gaze from her palm to his face and just stared at him like that without saying anything.

    "Don''t you need my help anymore?" He asked in a tempting tone.

    "Mr. Fang said he would give me a chance if Ie out with a first-ss," She revealed as her entire face changed for the worse.

    What if she didn''t get a first-ss honours even after being so confident with her grades? Does that mean she wouldn''t have any other chance to date Mr. Fang?

    Chuanli didn''t look happy to hear his friend''s condition. Here he was again putting up a difficult request.

    "Wouldn''t it be better if he rejected you outrightly since he doesn''t want to date you instead of putting you through all this stress?"

    "No!" Zhang Liling looked rmed when she heard that. "It''s fine with this condition instead of being mean to me and rejecting me so outrightly."

    Chuanli shool his head in pity. "Suit yourself Miss Zhang. If you are able to make first-ss, then you would really hit the jackpot! Or do you want me to pull some strings so you can get a first-ss without a hitch?"

    His tone sounded very excited at the second half...

    Zhang Liling refused his ns and method immediately. She would never do something like that just to be with Mr. Fang.

    "Dr. Li, I appreciate your help which showed that you are rooting for me, but I can''t deceive Mr. Fang. The foundation of a rtionship based on a lie, is fake, and it will notst."

    There was a look of astonishment on Chuanli''s face when he heard her make that statement. He just recognized Zhang Liling as a genuine person.

    She was really true to herself, her emotions and her methods of dealing with things. She really was a genuine person and was trustworthy.

    "Miss Zhang, even if you don''t get a first-ss, I will help you get Mr. Fang''s eptance. He doesn''t have a choice now."

    Just then, two waiters arrived with their food order and ced it in front of them before leaving.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling nced at the table and only saw two sses of fruit juice and two bottles of water. There was no wine.

    Chuanli picked up his cutlery to start eating when he felt the questioning gaze from the young woman sitting directly opposite him.

    Smiling, he looked up to ask, "Miss Zhang, did they miss anything in your order?"

    "Where is the wine? How can we be eating in this kind of ce with no wine on our table?" Zhang Liling asked, going straight to the point.

    Chuanli''s lips curled up in a smile. ''She is still thinking about drinking wine?''

    "Miss Zhang, see where you are. Also, Mr. Fang is here, do you really want to drink with him watching you?"

    Zhang Liling tilted her head to look at Mr. Fang''s direction with a frown. She saw him listening to the woman sharing a table with him and scoffed.

    Turning her head swiftly towards Chuanli''s side, she said, "I don''t care, and besides, you are here to send me home."

    "Miss Zhang, I feel that if you take wine tonight, forget about dating Mr. Fang even if youe out with a first-ss." He said and used his knife to cut his steak.

    Zhang Liling frowned while pondering over his words. In less than 30 seconds, she picked up her spoon and began to eat, never mentioning anything about wine again.

    Fifteen minutester, Mr. Fang had to stop the talkative woman.

    Well, the woman had to keep him engaged in a conversation since he wasn''t saying anything. Now, it was either Mr. Fang was too annoyed by Zhang Liling''s presence, or he truly didn''t like the woman before him who mostly kept talking about business and money.

    "Oh! Did I bore you with my talks?" The woman asked with a smile after being interrupted.

    "No. I think it''ste and you need to go home on time," Mr. Fang said to her.

    His gentle voice made the woman before him to feel better at heart.

    "Mr. Fang, do you mind exchanging contacts?" She asked with a sweet smile.

    Mr. Fang was quiet for a moment before calling out some strings of number for her, and she quickly stored it in her phone.

    Chuanli who saw this happening, said to Zhang Liling, "Thatdy just requested for Mr. Fang''s contact and surprisingly, he gave it to her."

    Zhang Liling''s fair slender fingers tightened around her spoon as she turned around to see the woman smiling at Mr. Fang.

    "I feel so annoyed!" She dered as she turned her attention back to her food and stabbed her spoon into her te.

    Chuanli chuckled at her jealousy. "Why are you annoyed? It''s just a phone number, not his heart."

    "I know, but I don''t even have Mr. Fang''s office or private number!" Zhang Liling felt like crying when the man she liked easily gave his contact out to another woman when she was around.

    Chuanli found her funny. ''Is she going to cry because of his contact number?''

    "Miss Zhang, don''t cry. I can give you Mr. Fang''s contact numbers if you don''t mind getting them from me instead."

 Chapter 151 Acting Different

    How could Zhang Liling refuse his kind gesture? She wouldn''t be as foolish as to turn away her chance of getting Mr. Fang''s contact number from him.

    She wouldn''t wait till she was close enough with Mr. Fang to get his contact.

    Seeing her nod her head frantically, Chuanli smiled and paused with his food to whip out his phone from his pocket.

    "I will send his contact to you now, and you can save itter," He said, stopping her from leaving her food to check her phone.

    "Thank you, Dr. Li," Zhang Liling finally said with a satisfied smile. Now, she could feel half of her anger leave her body.

    In less than a minuteter, Chuanli saw Mr. Fang and his date stand up and leave together. Then he nced at Zhang Liling to announce it.

    "I think Mr. Fang is leaving."

    Zhang Liling didn''t bother to turn her head to see what was happening because she didn''t want to. "I would have wanted to leave in his car, but I can''t abandon my food halfway."

    Chuanli smiled and continued to eat.

    Outside, Mr. Fang watched his date step into her car that was brought over by the valet with his palms tucked into his front pants pocket.

    When thedy was about to leave, she waved at him before driving off, but Mr. Fang did not return the gesture.

    Finally alone, he breathed in the fresh musky scent of the weather. It was about to start raining.

    ncing briefly at the hotel entrance, he shifted his gaze back to the busy outside again.

    ''Zhang Liling, what should I do with you?''

    Thinking so, he turned around and went back inside the hotel without calling for the valet to bring his car over.

    When he returned to the restaurant, Chuanli''s eyes almost fell off his eyesocket. ''I thought he left, why did hee back?''

    Zhang Liling observed his shocked face and asked as she tilted her head to the side to see what was so interesting to watch without holding back, "Dr. Li, what''s wrong?"

    At the end of the day, Chuanli did not need to exin anything to her, for she saw his objest of interest herself.

    "Mr. Fang is back?" She asked in surprised as she watched the man make his way towards their direction.

    Chuanli nodded in amazement. "Miss Zhang, I think you have to eat fast, otherwise, Mr. Fang would really go back without you, and then, you would have to trouble me to drop you back first. I wouldn''t mind if the storm wasn''ting."

    He was giving her an excuse to eat quickly so she could follow Mr. Fang back, and she got it.

    Zhang Liling gave up on following Mr. Fang''s gaze and turned her attention back to her food. She was no longer going to take her time.

    When Mr. Fang returned to their side, he grabbed a seat from an empty table before cing it next to Chuanli, which caused him and Zhang Liling to feel choked up.<sub> </sub>

    They just knew that he was there for something else, and they didn''t know if that was what the both wanted at that time.

    Zhang Liling swallowed hard and almost put her face into her food. She has been oogling at the man since, but now he was sitting next to her, she didn''t have the courage to look up.

    Chuanli on the otherhand, tried to maintain his smile.

    "What did you twoe here to do?" The cold voice of the man that appeared without warning, rang in their ears, while giving them an ufortable vibe.

    "Mr. Fang, I thought you would have gone back home by now, why did youe back?" Chuanli tried to change the direction of the question, and Mr. Fang was not happy about it.

    His brows knitted tightly as he tilted his head and gave his full attention to him. "Don''t try to change the topic. What exactly did you twoe here to do?"

    Chuanli moved his fork on his te, before stealing a nce at Zhang Liling.

    If he joked that they came for a date, then Mr. Fang may take that personal, and may say something that would anger Zhang Liling.

    So in order not to create any room for misunderstanding, he would leave that question for Zhang Liling to answer.

    Zhang Liling felt the heated gaze on her, and raised her head to see the two men staring at her. Mr. Fang at some point, had seen Chuanli staring at her, and also stared toward her direction to hear the answer to his question from her mouth.

    Blinking her eyes, she put down her spoon before speaking up.

    "Mr. Fang, I asked Dr. Li to bring me out for some fresh air. I am a graduate now, and I felt choked up by staying indoors everyday, and wanted toe out."

    Normally, her answer would have made sense, but who did she think she was saying all that to?

    Mr. Fang scrunched up his nose. "Zhang Liling, have you in a spur of the moment forgotten that you are my servant? Have you seen anyone in your shoes that act the you do?"

    Zhang Liling shook her head in denial. "I haven''t seen, but I am not going to abuse this privilege."

    Chuanli chuckled lightly and gave her a thumbs up under the table.

    Who gave her the authority and privilege to act the way she does? She was really bold by making things up for herself.

    Mr. Fang red at Zhang Liling before fixing a hard stare at him. "Did you put her up to this? How could she not know her ce?"

    Zhang Liling interrupted him, "Mr. Fang, I know my ce very well. I said that I like you, so how can I act like a mere servant? Of course I would have to act differently to draw your attention. If I actually act like someone below your worth, would you ever be interested in me?"

    She was right! Chuanli apuded her in his head, for her words of wisdom, and the courage to say it out in his presence.

    The more he saw this side of her, that more he liked and valued her. Fang Bingwen truly deserves this kind of woman.

 Chapter 152 Drug Addiction

    Mr. Fang''s brows creased further in a tight frown.

    "Zhang Liling, don''t say anything about liking me again. I don''t want to hear your heart confessions. You are only permitted to say that when I see your final grades."

    There was a moment of awkward silence as soon as thest word left his lips.

    Zhang Liling didn''t agree with him, but she knew better than to say anything at the moment.

    There was a time to retort, and there was also a time to be quiet, all these she had known. Studying the timing for any act was important.

    Chuanli had to do the honour of breaking the silence and stirring the conversation.

    "Mr. Fang, how were you able to sitfortably with your date without being disturbed by her scent?"

    Mr. Fang''s face finally rxed at he satid back on his chair. "I took 4 pills beforeing here."

    Zhang Liling looked surprised. ''Wasn''t taking 4 pills of his medication at once dangerous?''

    To that disturbing thought, Chuanli gave a response.

    "Bingwen, that is drug overdose! You have to be careful to not get addicted to your meds, and this is not if you are not already addicted."

    Chuanli was really worried about his health.

    Mr. Fang didn''t look like he cared much. He even picked up Chuanli''s wine ss and wanted to drink from it, but resisted the urge atst.

    "Were you expecting me to be irritated and angered by her scent. I could even tell that she used too much perfume. Even after taking 4 pills of the drugs, my sense of smell wasn''t totally blocked out."

    Chuanli sighed. ncing at Zhang Liling whose face looked a little concerned, he wanted to say something, but knew that it wasn''t a good ce.

    "Bingwen, you have toe to my office tomorrow. You are abusing your drugs, and since you are a little addicted to it, we have to start a therapy for you."

    "What''s the use of a therapy when I will end up taking more than 2 pills if I get ufortable with smells? Also, why did you give me this meds that makes me want to overdose on it?" Mr. Fang asked in an annoyed tone.

    What''s the purpose of the drug if the normal daily dose wouldn''t be enough to do the job he needed it in the first ce?

    Chuanli understood his annoyance, but he still couldn''t condole the abuse. "It is my duty to help you in every way that I can. Now, I can see how serious this is, as it''s getting out of hand. I will try to speed up the experiment and research."

    Hearing that, Mr. Fang frowned, "Are you trying to tell me that you have not been taking this matter serious?"

    Chuanli shook his head. "I meant that I will hand over more of my duties to other doctors, while I take full charge with your concern. Also, I am happy that your addiction is not chronic, otherwise, we would have a problem here."

    Mr. Fang sighed and looked away as the folds on his face slowly evened out.

    ''How am I supposed to get married with this condition? Am I destined to be frustrated for life?''

    For a brief moment, Zhang Liling was able to catch the sorrow in his eyes, but when he turned his attention to her and their gaze met, he narrowed his eyes at her.

    Quickly looking back to her food, she moved her spoon and continued to eat.

    Mr. Fang had misunderstood her gaze of concern. He thought she was trying to remind him that she was here for him since she looked to be the only one whose scent didn''t affect him.<sub> </sub>

    Before Zhang Liling and Chuanli could finish eating, the rain started with a drizzle, but because of the interior of where they were, they didn''t hear the sound of rain.

    "Stop eating like a chicken!" He said to the both of them with a frown.

    "I''m done!" Zhang Liling said and immediately put her spoon down.

    Chuanli on ther otherhand, finished the juice in his ss before putting it down. "I don''t want to waste my money, as it is difficult to earn." He said.

    Mr. Fang snorted.

    Chuanli turned to Zhang Liling to ask, "Can you drive?"

    Zhang Liling pointed at herself with her brows draw downwards in a slight confusion. "Me? I can drive."

    Mr. Fang interrupted the exchange between them immediately. "Why are you asking her about it?"

    "I saw you drinking? How will you get home?" Chuanli asked in return.

    Mr. Fang looked to Zhang to say, "Does she look like someone with a driving license?"

    Chuanli followed his gaze and asked, "Miss Zhang, do you have a driver''s license?."

    Zhang Liling shook her head. "I don''t have one because I haven''t driven a car before."

    "..."

    Mr. Fang was dumbfounded.

    "What?!" Chuanli was left shocked beyond measure.

    Zhang Liling didn''t get why they were staring at her like that. She even had a confused look on her face.

    "Miss Zhang, how is it possible that you know how to drive without ever having driven a car before?" Chuanli asked.

    He really wanted to know how she reasoned at the moment.

    Zhang Liling finally understood as she saw them staring at her that way. "Dr. Li, it''s possible to know how to do something without having to try it out first. Just by watching is enough."

    "Sorry, but you don''t have the road experience to drive my friend home. When you have at least. 2-year daily driving experience, we can consider you." Chuanli said and leaned back on his seat. He was never going to repeat his words again.

    Mr. Fang leaned in to whisper to him, "Remind me not to leave my life in her hands."

    ''With her rash and feisty nature, she is more than capable of taking a life.'' Mr. Fang thought to himself.

    At the end, one of the bodyguards from home came to drive them back home.

    Without fear, Zhang Liling entered the backseat of the car to seat beside Mr. Fang.

    The man red at her, and she returned a sweet smile to him.

 Chapter 153 Regret

    Ms. Chu was surprised to see Zhang Liling stepping into the house together with Mr. Fang.

    Both were dressed in a formal attire, and looked like the perfect couple.

    That moment she saw them, something clicked in her head, but she quickly shook that thought away.

    "Thank you Mr. Fang for the ride back home," Zhang Liling said with a smile just before his foot couldnd on the stairs.

    Mr. Fang paused and turned to nce at her. The space between his brows were knitted as he stared hard at her.

    "Zhang Liling?" He called out calmly.

    Zhang Liling felt a bit uneasy by his voice. Why did he stop? Was he going to scold her?

    "Yes, Mr. Fang," She answered back while shing her two roles of white teeth.

    Mr. Fang''s nce hovered around her. From her face to her bare shoulders and down to the length of her gown before shifting back to her face.

    "Do you only have these kind of dresses in your wardrobe?" He asked.

    "What''s wrong with my outfits?" Zhang Liling asked wih drawn brows. There was a little confusion on her face as her gaze moved downwards to nce at her clothes before settling on his face.

    Mr. Fang let out a deep breath before turning back to take steps up the stairs.

    ''He is leaving like that without saying anything?''

    Before Zhang Liling could voice any questions, she heard his voice. "Forget it!"

    ''Weird man!'' Zhang Liling thought before turning to walk away.

    *******

    Zhang Renshu has been in a bad mood since thest time he spoke to Song Jujing, and today, he decided to call her out of guilt.

    He shouldn''t have spoken to her that way, but it was just hard for him to admit defeat. As a man, his pride was at stake.

    He has been thinking of letting his daughter live in a different house. Zhang Liling was his daughter for goodness sake, why would she have to be mistreated in his house? Why would she have to be afraid of anybody?

    Even while asking himself those question, he knew deep down that he wasn''t going to keep watch over her personally, and that wife of his that usually did as she pleased, might do something in private.

    Sighing to himself, he picked up his phone from his work desk. As his finger swiped the screen, he hesitated before making up his mind and going on to dial Song Jujing''s contact.

    The phone at the other end rang for a while and at the end, no one answered. Zhang Renshu tried two more times and the result came up the same, so he put his phone down.

    Just then, as he brushed his fingers along his frontal hairline, he saw her calling back and picked up his phone immediately.<sub> </sub>

    "It looks like you are very busy these days," He said in an amicable tone.

    There was a shuffling sound from two nylon bags at the other end before he was able to hear her voice.

    "Yes, I have been busy. Why did you call?" Song Jujing asked directly. Her tone sounded like the opposite of his.

    Zhang Renshu thought that she was still angry with him because ofst time and hurriedly apologized.

    "Jujing, are you still angry aboutst time? I didn''t mean any of that."

    "If you don''t mean any of that, it''s good. I just hope that I won''t have to go back and forth with you in an argument today, otherwise I would stop attending to your calls."

    This was a warninging from her. If every time he called and they would end up in argument, she was going to start avoiding his calls.

    Zhang Renshu didn''t look happy to hear that. His brows furrowed in a frown. He really wanted to talk to her to stop acting childish, but he knew better to refrain from using such words on her.

    "I called to talk about Liling. I have ns for her entering thepany as soon as her graduation ceremony is done. I don''t think it would look good for her to live outside the family. I am her father, and I will work hard for her not to be mistreated."

    The man was trying to negotiate to make her change her mind and talk to their daughter, but Song Jujing was not going to fall for it.

    "Zhang Renshu, my daughter has suffered enough while living in your house. I was indeed crazy to have let here down to City S and live in that house with the woman that ruined our rtionship."

    There was hurt in her tone, but it was not from being betrayed by him so many years ago as she has long looked past that.

    She was hurt because she acted foolishly by letting her daughter go to live in the same house as the woman that wrecked her marriage, a housekeeper for that matter!

    Who knows what her daughter had to endure for a moment of weakness from her side? She was not going to let that mistake repeat itself.

    "Jujing, is not like that. All this happened because I was negligent. I didn''t keep an eye out for her and it''s my fault. This is why I''m promising to take proper care of her now." Zhang Renshu said in a sad tone.

    He did not fully understand since his emotions needed to be checked. But for the fact that Zhang Liling was his daughter, he wouldn''t allow her to be mistreated in his house anymore.

    Her mother was the only woman he ever loved more than the others.

    Song Jujing was not interested in what he had to exin. She insisted on Zhang Lilingpletely moving out of the house.

    "Zhang Renshu, give a date for my daughter toe and move her things. If you don''t do that within 2 days, I will really call the people from my Song family."

    ''Song family? Has she reconciled with her family?'' Zhang Renshu thought with a frown. He was worried and curious at the same time.

    He really wanted to ask about it, but she did not give him the chance as if knowing that he would be interested in that topic.

    "If you want to see Liling, call her out, but don''t go to visit her because I don''t want that woman to find out where she is living. When Ie back for her graduation ceremony, we can talk about business."

 Chapter 154 Keep Her Close

    Song Jujing''s words were final and Zhang Renshu didn''t have the basics to reject her.

    She would be returning to City S soon, when shees back, they would talk at length.

    "Fine! Tell Liling toe and pick up her things. I can send my driver to deliver her things to her new ce."

    Song Jujing didn''t ept his concern. "I will call a movingpany to help her, you don''t have to butt in. The only thing you can do for me, is to be around on the day she woulde over."

    Zhang Renshu understood she was afraid that Liling would be bullied and let out a sigh. "I will be around then."

    After ending the conversation with him, she called Zhang Liling immediately.

    "Your father will call you soon. He will tell you when toe and pick your things up, and he would also be at home on that day."

    "Mum, how did you do it? Also, your mood doesn''t sound good, what happened? Did you two fight again?" Zhang Liling asked with a noticeable tinge of surprise in her tone.

    She had just finished cleaning up Mr. Fang''s bedroom when her call came in.

    "How can my mood be good after speaking to that man? Anyway, do as I have said. Call me on the appointed day. Do you still have some money on you to move your things?" Song Jujing asked, concerned for her daughter''s warefare.

    Zhang Liling walked along the corridor. She was dressed in a pair of jean trousers and a turtle-neck blouse. It was still morning and the temperature in the house was cool.

    "Yes, I do. Mum, I want to ask you for something else,"

    "What is it?"

    There was a pause before Zhang Liling''s soft voice rang out, "Mum, can you get me another pair of shoes in the same size as mine?"

    "You want to get something for your friend?" Song Jujing probed as her tone softened.

    A smile bloomed on her face as she quickly nodded. She knew that she didn''t have to be worried about being rejected because her mother''s tone had be warmer.

    "I want to get something nice for Tungmei."

    Hearing her daughter being so generous and caring towards her friend, brought back old memories to her.

    "I used to have a very good friend like you. We did things together, and we took care of each other," Song Jujing said without thinking.

    "You used to have a good friend like me? What happened to her? You don''t talk anymore?" Zhang Liling asked interestedly.

    This was the first time her mother has ever mentioning having a close friend from the past.

    Was there someone else apart from the ones she already knew?

    Song Jujing came back from the past and replied reluctantly before changing topics, "Things between us became a littleplicated. Anyway, I will get something for your friend. Don''t forget to call me when you are moving in, and if anythinges up, let me know."

    "Okay, have a great day, bye!" Zhang Liling said as the smile reached her eyes.

    Not long after speaking with her, Zhang Renshu called and asked her toe over on weekend to pick up her things.

    "...if you need anything let me know." He had said before their conversation came to a conclusion.<sub> </sub>

    *******

    Mr. Fang had left for work early in the morning. Today was Monday, the first workday of a new week. There was usually a lot of work to do on a day like this.

    Around 4 in the evening, Chuanli called to remind him about the appointment he set up the previous evening.

    "Bingwen, what I want us to talk about is very important, so you have toe."

    Mr. Fang had been tired of his nagging and texts, and decided to clock off work around 30 minutester to go over to his hospital.

    As usual, Bolin followed him to go up there using the private elevator that led directly into Chuanli''s office.

    At the door, Bolin knocked twice before pushing it open and letting his Boss head in first, before he followed behind.

    Hearing the knock on the door, Chuanli looked up from his desk to see his friend stepping in. Immediately, the corner of his lips curled up in a smile as his eyes lit up immediately.

    He was happy that he listened and came over.

    "Wow! You made it!" He said cheerfully.

    "Didn''t you say it was important?" Mr. Fang asked as he made himselffortable.

    He refused to sit before his desk, and instead went over to sit on the white leathered sofa in the room, making Chuanli to leave his desk ande over to join him.

    Speaking from his desk with that much space between them, wasn''t ideal.

    Bolin exchanged greetings with him before finding a ce to sit.

    "You look quite energetic today," Chuanli said while taking a good nce at his friend''s face.

    There was no wrinkles on his face, and he didn''t look to be unhappy. This was good.

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze to him. "That word would be befitting on you."

    "Do you want water? I have a cool bottle in my small refrigerator." Chuanli said while trying to make him feel morefortable and rxed, but that didn''t sit well with him.

    Mr. Fang''s casual nce quickly changed to a re, forcing Chuanli to sit up. "Dr. Li, time is essential."

    "Alright, let''s go straight to the point. I called you here to tell about your meds. I need to know if your condition is bing worse."

    "What do you want to know about the drugs?" Mr. Fang asked.

    Chuanli adjusted his sitting position and shifted his back away from the backrest. "I need to know if your system is now immune to the effects from the pills. If this is so, then we need to change your pills."

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze away to say, "I think the drug is still working fine, but it''s no longer effective as it used to be."

    "Bingwen, here is my sincerest advice to you, I think you should keep Miss Zhang close."

 Chapter 155 Giving Her A Chance

    Keep Zhang Liling close?

    Mr. Fang didn''t think his suggestion made any sense, and he did not hesitate to let his stand known.

    "Are you trying to tell me to keep her close because of my selfish insterest? I would never do something like that."

    Chuanli face-palmed his forehead before moving his hand away to meet his angry gaze.

    "I never said you should use her because of all the benefits andfort you could get from being with her."

    "So, what are you saying?" Mr. Fang inquired with creased brows. He was waiting to hear his good exnation.

    Bolin raised a brow, but immediately shifted his gaze away and continued to pretend to be invisible.

    ''Is Dr. Li by anyway suggesting for Mr. Fang to date Miss Zhang?''

    Chuanli went on to exin what he meant in a calm and audible tone.

    "You may not have any feelings for Miss Zhang, but she has feelings for you. Not just that, she is the only one whose scent doesn''t repulse you."

    "Can you get to the point?!" Mr. Fang urged hurriedly. He couldn''t wait to get what he actually meant.

    "In summary, I''m trying to tell you that feelings can be cultivated. As long as you don''t hate her, and feel that you can tolerate her excesses, you can try and get to know her. There is no harm in trying." Chuanli said and cracked his knuckles wit his gaze on him.

    He was patiently waiting for his response, while ignoring his strong gaze.

    He was bold enough for making that kind of suggesting because he wanted the best for him, and also, he liked Zhang Liling and felt that the two would make a good couple.

    Now, he was trying to put them together.

    Bolin couldn''t believe his ears. He was so shocked that he couldn''t hide his widened eyes, but in order to not be seen, he had to turn his face away.

    Mr. Fang was still staring at Chuanli, but his strong gaze had changed to be thoughtful. His posture and gaze said that he was contemting on his suggestion.

    ''Date Zhang Liling? That crazy girl?''

    This was how Mr. Fang saw Zhang Liling. A woman like her who didn''t have any fear whatsoever, how would he be able to handle her.

    At that thought, he decided to voice his concern out.

    "How do you want me to date a women who doesn''t listen to me?" Mr. Fang asked as his left brow rose.

    Chuanli was a bit taken aback by that question. He was surprised that he was truly contemting on dating Zhang Liling, and also because he was not expecting to be asked that question.

    ''Does this mean that he was really considering it?''

    "Bingwen, here is what I think. Miss Zhang must be acting stubborn because she wants to get your attention."<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang shook his head and rxed his backfortably on the backrest before saying, "The Zhang Liling I know is not just being stubborn to get my attention. It is in her nature to act that way. Now, I''m worried about how to deal with a woman like her."

    Chuanli and Bolin were surprised that he would really voice his concern, and it was about dating Zhang Liling.

    Does it mean that he had even considered and thought about it before today, or was it the other way round?

    "I don''t think that''s an issue for you to worry about." Chuanli said while staring directly into his questioning eyes. "Miss Zhang likes you so much, so I think she would listen to you most of the times."

    There was an eerie of silence in the room, with each men having different thoughts.

    Chuanli was thinking of of his response. Bolin was trying to picture his Boss and that stubborn young woman together and just couldn''t see that being a perfect picture.

    Mr. Fang on the otherhand, had something else he was thinking which was entirely different from them.

    When it felt like a long time had past, Mr. Fang nced at Chuanli. "Is this the only reason you called me here for?"

    Both men were surprised by the sudden change in topic. Weren''t they all talking about him considering to date Zhang Liling? What happened to his response?

    Chuanli was still surprised and didn''t respond to his question, so Mr. Fang had to repeat it.

    "Dr. Li, are you done with your consultation?"

    Finally, Chuanli reacted. First, he adjusted himself on the sofa and stared at him with blinkingshes.

    "I''m pretty much through with you, but I will be keeping a watch on your daily dose of pills. I want you to go back to taking it twice in the morning and night. If you abuse drugs because you can''t help it, your system will be immune to the drug''s mechanism."

    Mr. Fang nodded in understanding before standing to his feet. Brushing his fingers on his shirt, he lowered his gaze to nce at his shirt buttons.

    "Are you leaving?" Chuanli asked while standing up in surprise.

    Mr. Fang stopped his actions and raised his head to say in a matter of fact, "You have already made it clear that we have nothing else to talk about. If you are bored and needpany, you know where to go to."

    Then, he turned to leave with Bolin standing up quickly to follow him, but then, they both heard Chuanli''s urgent and curious voice ask, "What about what we talked about just now?"

    Mr. Fang stopped in his steps and turned to reply to him, "You shouldn''t concern yourself with all of my private matters. You should know when to stop."

    Chuanli did not allow him to leave at this point. He refused to ept that advice.

    "I am not only your personal doctor, but also your childhood friend. How long have we known each other? One thing I can never do, is to deceive you, or advice your wrongly."

    Chuanli''s tone was light, but when Mr. Fang saw his gaze, it was filled with honesty just like everytime he got serious.

    A long sigh escaped his thin lips before he turned around again. "I know you mean well for me, but allow me to make the final decision. I don''t need to give you a feedback, you will get the answer from my actions."

    Chuanli watched Bolin open the door for him, and he left his office and disappeared throught the doors. Sighing to himself, her went back to his desk.

 Chapter 156 Pissing Her Off

    Mr. Fang never mentioned his final thought concerning being with Zhang Liling to anyone.

    As time passed, he continued work on his perfume experiment to try and get her scent.

    During weekend, Zhang Liling took permission from him and went back to the Zhang family to pick up her things.

    Like promised, Zhang Renshu was around when she returned.

    The man was sitting in the living room waiting for her toe around, until she appeared before him.

    "Hello, Dad!" Zhang Liling greeted as she wore her shoes into the living room.

    Zhang Renshu raised his gaze from the newspapers in his hands, as he slowly closed it before keeping it beaide him.

    ncing at his daughter who had already satfortably on one couch, he noticed some changes from her.

    Her face seemed to glow, and she looked like she had added a little weight.

    Zhang Renshu ended up being confused because he couldn''t pinpoint if his eyes were ying tricks on him.

    He normally didn''t stare at his daughter, so he couldn''t really tell if there was any changes to her, or that she was looking a bit different because it''s been a while since hest saw her.

    Regardless, he still replied to her greeting. "You look like you have been taking care of yourself."

    Zhang Liling shed him a smile. "I indeed have been taking care of myself. I didn''t know how peaceful it was to live with someone that loves you until now. Dad, you should try it,"

    Zhang Liling didn''t look too happy, but there was no anger on his face. Initially, he had been unhappy by what she meant by that, but he ended up contemting on it.

    ''Was it really peaceful living alone with people that like you?''

    "Are you that happy to be living apart from your father?"Zhang Renshu asked her instead of voicing his thoughts.

    She nodded and crossed her leg over the other one and stared at him with a smile. "Why not? It''s not my fault that living outside is more peaceful than living in your house. Dad, you should listen to me and try it. It''s peaceful and heartwarming to only stay with people that genuinely love and care for you."

    Zhang Liling''s tone was persuasive, and her facial expression looked serious. Too bad that she couldn''t continue to y with her father''s head because the angry looking Shi Wenqian stepped in to interrupt their conversation.

    "Zhang Liling, what nonsense are your insinuating?!"

    Shi Wenqian was so angry while facing her step daughter.

    She had no idea that she wasing over, and had just learned of her presence from the housekeeper and came out to see her, only to hear her trying to poison Zhang Renshu''s mind.

    Zhang Liling nced at her and sighed before shifting her gaze back to her father. "Dad, it''s a pity that we can''t continue our conversation. Anyway, you can see that I am very happy where I am."

    Zhang Renshu red at Shi Wenqian at her entrance before nodding at Zhang Liling.

    Shi Wenqian refused to be ignored by the father and daughter, not after she heard a bit of her conversation.

    "Zhang Liling, I heard you saying something, what did you mean by that?" She asked in a grimancing tone as she stepped closer to stand beside an empty sofa.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling had an amused expression on her face and she looked to her to reply. "Mrs. Zhang, you heard me saying something because I was talking to my Dad. Don''t worry, it has nothing to do with you."

    ''How dare her talk back to me like that?! She has only been away from the house for a few weeks but it looks like she has forgotten her ce!''

    "Zhang Liling, have you forgotten your manners, or did your mother not teach you any?"

    Zhang Liling looked down to y with her fingers while muttering under her breath, "My stepmother also did not teach me anything."

    "You..." Shi Wenqian pointed a trembling finger at her. She was so angry that she was tempted to hit her, but Zhang Renshu who was annoyed with her interference scolded her.

    "Shi Wenqian! Stay away from Zhang Liling! What has the conversation we were having got to do with you?"

    Shi Wenqian was not expecting him to side her, but raising his voice on her in his daughter''s presence? She couldn''t take that.

    She was ready to start a fight, but Zhang Liling who was toozy to watch it, interrupted.

    "Dad, I''m going to my room."

    Zhang Renshu finally moved his angry gaze away from Shi Wenqian to face her. "Go, and don''t waste other people''s time."

    His tone sounded impatient, not that Zhang Liling cared, for she knew who he was far more angry with.

    Shi Wenqian watched her leave her sight and turned to face Zhang Renshu angrily.

    *******

    Zhang Xiaoling stepped out of her bedroom and heard the loud shrieks of her mother and frowned slightly.

    "Are they having another fight?" She mumbled to herself and was about to go back to her bedroom when she heard the sound of footsteps.

    Turning to her right, she saw Zhang Mingyuing up with his ears blocked with a headset.

    Zhang Mingyu saw her and pulled down his headset to his neck and asked, "Did youe out because of her loud voice?"

    "Can I say that you blocked your ears because of her too?" Zhang Xiaoling said whilst rolling her eyes.

    Zhang Mingyu shrugged. "I heard that Zhang Liling is here. I didn''t get the time to go check on her. She should be in her bedroom."

    "Now I know what they are fighting about..." Zhang Xiaoling said in wonder.

    So the fight right now, has something to do with Zhang Liling?

    "I can''t deal with this anymore. I should start thinking about moving out soon." Zhang Mingyu said with a frown as he walked past her to go to his bedroom.

    Zhang Xiaoling chuckled loudly and went back inside her room.

    What was sheughing for? That was something Zhang Mingyu had no idea about.

 Chapter 157 Help

    "If you decide to make yourself crazy, get ready for a divorce!" Zhang Renshu warned in a menacing tone.

    His shocking words finally got the hysterical Shi Wenqian to shut her mouth for once.

    "Zhang Renshu, what did you say?" She asked with widened eyes after registering what he could have possibly said.

    Zhang Renshu shot icy res at her from his eyes. "If you no longer want to respect yourself as before, get ready to leave my house without a dime!"

    Shi Wenqian was still taken aback with how far he has taken their argument to when he stood up and left the living room with his newspaper.

    As he walked past her, she turned her body slightly as her head tilted to watch his back.

    ''Did he actually mention divorce?''

    Shi Wenqian''s teeth was gritted by now, as her shocked gaze turned to res. She was angry at him for making such statement, but she knew better than to oppose him anymore.

    At the moment, she was smart enough to wallow in her anger without trying to create another scene.

    *****

    Zhang Liling''s soft palm swiped the reading desk in her bedroom, before she turned it over to look at it.

    "No dust." She concluded when she felt the smoothness and saw no trace of dust on her palms.

    Her room was cleaned up recently if not that morning, and she could tell who ordered it to be done, because her stepmother would never do something like that.

    From her reading desk, Zhang Liling went to her bed with her gaze flying at every item in the room.

    Soon, she was checking things out with her hands along with her eyes.

    From the bedroom, she moved to her medium closet. Looking at the clothes hung and neatly lined up, she felt that she only needed to take a few things, but there was no how she was going to leave even a single item behind.

    She didn''t trust that her stepmother wouldn''t find even the smallest thing to use against her with any of her properties.

    After checking her personal space to make sure that nothing was missing, she started to pack her things, and soon, two servants came to help her out.

    One of the servants in the house knocked before pushing the door open and stepping in with another servant.

    "Miss, your father asked us to help you organize your stuff," One of them announced.

    Zhang Liling nodded at them and felt a bit relieved before epting them.

    Her mood lightened after learning that her father asked the servants to help her because, she would have sent them away and turned their request down if they hade on their own.

    Thankfully, her father had sent them.

    After gathering her things, Zhang Liling instructed one of the servants helping her to go out and call the people she came with from the movingpany.

    A few minutester, her things were being carried away from what used to be her room to the moving van.<sub> </sub>

    Shi Wenqian was sitting in the living room and didn''t see this happen, but she could hear the hassle being made.

    She just sat there seething in rage and thinking when everyone''s attention was distracted by a loud shriek.

    Two servants were conversing close to the stairs as one of asked, "Was that not young master Mingyu''s voice?"

    Zhang Xiaoling was on a call with someone in her room when she heard the shrieksing from the room beside hers. And immediately, the smile on her face disappeared.

    "...alright, let''s talkter." She said sweetly to the person at the other end of the phone.

    Immediately the call got disconnected, she jumped out of her bed and threw her phone on it before shoving her feet into a pair of flip-flop beside the bed, and turning to leave the room through the door.

    Turning to her side just outside her room, she faced Zhang Mingyu''s room door and put her fist up as she was about to knock on it, but the door opened before her.

    The surprised looking Zhang Mingyu met her angry gaze while on a call, and paused.

    "What are you doing right in front of my door?" He mouthed.

    "End that call right now!" Zhang Xiaoling ordered angrily. He still had the cheek to ask him questions after destroying her image right when she was on the phone with an important someone?

    Zhang Mingyu saw his sister was truly angry, and said to his friend at the other end, "I will speak to youter, I have something important to attend to."

    As soon as he put the phone away from his ear, Zhang Xiaoling''s started scolding him.

    "Don''t you have manners?! Why would you scream like that without reasoning?!"

    Zhang Mingyu didn''t like the insultsing from her, and not after he seemed to be a bit apprehensive about a certain news. "Do you really have to be so mean at this moment? Don''t you scream as well, why do you have to find faults with me?"

    "Can you hear yourself?! Are you trying to tell me that you screamed because you have heard me doing that before?" Zhang Xiaoling retorted.

    The more she nced at her brother with that stubborn look on his face, she felt like pping his cheeks.

    What a disrespectful little thing!

    "You should just say that you were put in a spot, but chose to vent your anger and frustration on me." Zhang Xiaoling said and turned to go back into his room, but she pulled him by the shoulders and dragged him out.

    Just when he was about to p her hand away, they both heard sounds of hurried footsteps, and the next second, Shi Wenqian appeared before them with a big frown on her face.

    "What do you two think you are doing?!"

    Zhang Xiaoling let his shoulder go and turned to face their mother, still with annoyance written all over her face.

    "If you heard the scream, just know that it came from him. I don''t know why he would act so uncouthly."

    Speaking of uncouth, Shi Wenqian could remember screaming like a crazy woman earlier.

 Chapter 158 Results Out

    Shi Wenqian didn''t look too happy about any of this. Shifting her gaze to Zhang Mingyu, she asked, "Why did you scream earlier?!"

    "My friend called to inform me that our final results are out." Zhang Mingyu revealed.

    Zhang Xiaoling who looked ready to counter anything he said, looked a bit surprised.

    "Your results are out? Have you checked yours?" Shi Wenqian asked with a serious gaze. She was very much interested in her son''s business.

    Zhang Mingyu shook his head. "Not yet, I don''t want to check yet, I am a bit nervous."

    Zhang Xiaoling snorted before Shi Wenqian could open her mouth to rebuke him. "It''s better you check your results immediately than wasting your time and frantic emotions."

    In summary, she was telling him to check his results immediately because nothing would change if he doesn''t, or waste time to do so.

    "I don''t see any reasons for you to be afraid. Check your mail, let''s see what grade you came out with because I made sure you wouldn''t have to resit for any course." Shi Wenqian said straightforwardly.

    This reminder from his mother immediately cast out all fears from him. He just got reassured that no matter what, he wasn''t going to have to resist any course.

    Together, the three made their way into his bedroom.

    Downstairs, Zhang Liling checked with the servants to find out what the screaming was all about, but none of them seemed to know what was going on.

    Since she couldn''t find out anything, she continued to watch her things being moved out by the people from the movingpany.

    She made sure that every item that belonged to her including past ss notes was taken away.

    After making sure that thest bag was picked up from the room, she nced at the empty living area and bathroom before leaving.

    Right there, a servant picked out a key from a bunch to lock up the ce.

    If Zhang Liling was treated well in this house, then she would have felt remorseful with having to leave, but unfortunately, she only had bad memories so leaving, was a happy thing for her.

    "I think I''m done, I will go see my father." Zhang Liling said to the driver in the van before turning to walk right back into the house and went straight to look for Zhang Renshu.

    Out of instinct, the study was the first ce she went to find him, but she didn''t see him. She went ahead to check in his bedroom, but didn''t find him there either.

    Luckily for her, she saw him walking out of a small living area with his phone ced on his ear just as she left his bedroom.

    "...I will work on the project too. Minister, tell me if there is anything, I am very willing." Zhang Renshu said with a fawning smile just before he met straight with Zhang Liling''s curious gaze.

    Zhang Liling waited for him to finish with his conversation before announcing her leave.

    "I''m done packing my things, and I came to tell you that I am leaving."

    "I will walk you to the car." Zhang Renshu said as he slipped his phone into his pant pocket before leading the way.

    ''Why is he being so kind?''<sub> </sub>

    As they walked through a long corridor, Zhang Renshu was giving her some advices to stay safe, and to try ande over during weekends.

    He also mentioned abouting to work at thepany as an intern in any department of her choice as soon as her graduation ceremony was done.

    "You don''t need any application, just tell me the department you will be interested to work in, and I will fix you there. You and Mingyu have to start up as interns. This willst for only 6 months."

    To the matter concerning thepany, Zhang Liling refused to give a clear response. She only said that she would think about it.

    "What do you still need to think about?" Zhang Renshu asked, displeased with herck of seriousness.

    "I still need to think carefully about the department to join. It is important so I don''t make any mistakes." Zhang Liling replied.

    She didn''t even know why she was ying a roundabout game with him when she had already made up her mind to work in Mr. Fang''spany.

    Anyway, it was good this way as she would have to take her time to carefully break the news to him and her mother.

    No matter how carefully she nned it, she just knew what the oue would look like.

    Zhang Renshu immediately felt his anger dissipatepletely.

    "When will your results be out? I''m looking forward to hearing a good news from you since you are very smart. Although, your grades will not be the only thing used to qualify you in business."

    Zhang Liling frowned slightly. She was also a bit annoyed with the dy with the announcement of their results.

    She was in a hurry to check the oue and show the results to Mr. Fang who needed a a little reason to cast her feelings and intentions away.

    Seeing that she wasn''t saying anything and looked to be disturbed about something, Zhang Renshu sighed.

    "When you finish arranging your things, text me."

    "Okay," Zhang Liling replied as the door opened for them, and they stepped outside together.

    The driver and the two men that came with Zhang Liling were surprised to see Zhang Renshu in herpany, and they were even chatting with no hostility emitting from any of them.

    ''Zhang Liling was moving out not because she had a bad rtionship with her father.''

    If only Zhang Liling knew that this conclusion the workers from the movingpany reached, was what her father wanted them to think by walking her outside...

    Suddenly, a desperate loud voice called out to her from behind, as heavy footsteps approached them.

    Zhang Liling and Zhang Renshu paused in their steps to turn around, only to see Zhang Mingyu rushing towards them.

    "Zhang Liling, our final results are out, have you checked yours?" He asked immediately while totally ignoring the frown on his father''s face.

 Chapter 159 Joy Overflow

    "What! The results are out?!" Zhang Liling asked in surprise.

    She couldn''t believe her ears. She has been waiting for the announcement since, and now there was a positive news, she couldn''t believe it.

    "Yes, and I just checked mine. You should check yours!"

    Zhang Mingyu sounded so confident as he replied her with a smile.

    Zhang Renshu who looked disappointed before, suddenly became interested in the topic. And seeing his son smiling from ear to ear gave him the impression that he did well.

    No one who failed would act the way he just did.

    "Mingyu, you said you have checked your results, what grade did youe out with?" Zhang Renshu asked.

    Zhang Liling on the other hand, was already rushing to bring her phone out of her bag. The people from the movingpany could wait all they wanted.

    She was not going to let a second pass by without checking her result.

    At the question asked by his father, the corner of Zhang Mingyu''s lips rose up as he announced proudly, "I came out with a second-ss upper!"

    "What?!"

    "You did what?!"

    Both Zhang Liling and Zhang Renshu were shocked. For that brief moment, she almost lost the hold on her phone.

    ''He got what?! Did he say he made an upper second ss honours?''

    Zhang Liling didn''t want to believe this, but seeing him say that right in front of their father, just confirmed that he wasn''t lying.

    Knowing fully well of how good her half-brother was in his education, she was very sure that he would make 2:2 at most, but 2:1? Something fishy went down behind the scenes.

    Zhang Mingyu was all smiles to see the Shocked expression on their faces. He even went on to show off his electronic grades to his father from his phone.

    Zhang Renshu didn''t have his sses on, so he had to brighten the screen and zoom the document a little bit just to see things properly.

    With no time to waste, Zhang Liling recollected her emotions and went on to check the school''s website.

    Their results and grades were out truly.

    Zhang Renshu was all smiles to see that Zhang Mingyu came out with a good grade. He wasn''t even expecting him to do that well. Now, he was very proud and all his negative attributes and shortings suddenly flew out of his head.

    "Good!" That''s the only word that kepting out of Zhang Renshu''s lips while patting him on the shoulder.

    There was this proud knowing smile that sat on his face and Zhang Mingyu couldn''t be ever grateful to his mother for the opportunity to be recognized by his father.

    Zhang Liling totally ignored them and was busy typing away on her phone. She wanted to see nothing less than a First-ss Honours!

    Because she was in their view and with how much of in a hurry she was, she caught the attention of the father and son.

    "Zhang Liling, have you seen your results yet?" Zhang Mingyu asked, with the impression of a big brother.

    He knew how good she was in her studies, and now that he made the second best result anyone in college coulde out with, he expected that she would be in the same league.<sub> </sub>

    Earlier, he was hoping that he would make lower second ss Honours since knowing that his half-sister would probablye out with an upper second ss Honours, but on getting the second best grades, he was looking forward to them sharing the same grades.

    This time, it wouldn''t matter if she was a few scores higher than him, as long as they had the same Honour grade, their father would treat him more respectfully than her.

    Zhang Renshu also shifted his gaze to Zhang Liling expectantly.

    Before he could urge her to hurry up, they saw her facial expression change to that of shock. Thinking that something was wrong, they were both about to ask what happened when she shocked them with a shriek.

    "Oh my God!!" Zhang Liling screamed and jumped excitedly with her phone held close to her chest.

    She couldn''t believe what she has just seen.

    She got the result she so badly wanted!

    "Liling, what did you get?!" Zhang Renshu asked as his lips slowly curled up. He just knew that he could trust her.

    The smile on Zhang Mingyu''s face faltered a bit as he got curious too.

    Zhang Liling''s heart was full of joy and just wanted to continue screaming, but that wasn''t a sign of a good culture. Also, her father was already impatient and was demanding for a response.

    Turning to the direction of the two men, she turned the screen of her phone to face them as she announced with joy, "I made a first-ss Honours!!!"

    Both Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu were in shock. She made a fist ss Honours?

    Zhang Mingyu couldn''t believe it and immediately snatched the phone from her hand to view her result. Zhang Renshu was not left standing alone. He also leaned in to catch a glimpse of her result.

    ''She really made it.'' Zhang Mingyu thought to himself in shock.

    In actual sense, he made 2:2 while she made 1. What a huge contrast!

    The young man was totally ashamed of himself.

    Zhang Renshu managed to catch a glimpse of her good grade and felt even more proud. "Liling, I just knew that you got your mother''s good genes! You have made me so proud!"

    Zhang Renshu was still talking when she snatched her phone from Zhang Mingyu and turned to hurry away.

    "Liling, where are you going?!" Zhang Renshu called out in surprise.

    He was about to ask her to make any request she wanted. Even if she wanted a car, he was going to buy it for her, but she just ran away like that.

    "Dad, I will speak to youter, I have to be somewhere!" Zhang Liling said without stopping in her steps.

    She hurriedly got into the van and urged the driver to leave immediately.

    Zhang Renshu who was still about to offer to drop her off, was speechless at her actions. How could she just get into the van with those people? She didn''t even order a cab!

    But somehow, he calmed down because those people wouldn''t dare to do anything to her, not after seeing that she was his daughter.

    Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu stood at the spot and watched the van reverse and drive away.

 Chapter 160 His Reaction

    Zhang Liling ended up controlling the driver with her mouth. If it were possible, she would have snatched the steering wheel from his hands.

    She kept urging him to speed up, and one thing prevented her from asking me to run the red lights.

    With her urging, the driver remained on tenterhooks until they arrived at her ce.

    Immediately they helped her to take all her things up to her apartment, she left the premises, even before them.

    While in the van, she had already ced an order for a cab, and as soon as they had ced thest bag in her living room, she locked the door and took the elevator with them.

    When they all arrived downstairs, she rushed off the elevator and ran straight to the cab that was already waiting for her.

    Immediately, she got into the cab, she urged the driver to start driving.

    "Mr. I am in a hurry, could you please step on your pedal and I will make sure to give you a good tip."

    This was all the driver needed to hear from her to speed up.

    Joy and dness was evident on Zhang Liling''s face, and all that was going through her mind was to break the news to Mr. Fang.

    She totally forgot about her mother, Tungmei and other her friends in Paris. All she was after was letting Mr. Fang know that nothing should stop them from being together now.

    A few minutester, the cab pulled over in front of the estate and she dipped her hand into her purse and brought out her fare and tip.

    When she handed it to the driver she didn''t stay to hear his thanks and immediately ran off.

    When she stepped into the house, she was all sweaty and the first thing she did was to ask the butler if Mr. Fang was still home.

    "Bu...Butler Gu, is Mr. Fang still in?" She asked a little breathlessly. She had to bend her waist to pant for air with her palms on her knees.

    Butler Gu frowned slightly. "He is in, but why do you..."

    The old man didn''t get to finish his sentence because the youngdy who looked like she was about to lose her breath a second ago, dashed past him and headed for the stairs without warning.

    "Why is she in a hurry, did something serious happen?" Butler Gu muttered under his breath. But on a second note, he shook his head.

    He had seen a subtle of smile on her face earlier, so there is no way something wrong happened.

    But as to the reason for her rash and urgent behaviour, he was curious to know the answer.

    All that was going on in Zhang Liling''s mind was to get to Mr. Fang quickly, as if he would run away the next second.

    Zhang Liling literally ran up the stairs without stopping to take a breath, but she was careful not to trip and fall.

    She told herself, ''Liling watch your steps, Mr. Fang is not going to date a girl with a broken body!''

    Finallying to door of his study, she knocked twice and without waiting a second longer to hear a response from him, or to confirm if she should actually help herself inside without his permission, she pushed the door open with a little force.<sub> </sub>

    "Mr. Fa..." She was all smiles as she started to call out to Mr. Fang, but saw no one in the study.

    "Where did he go to?" She mumbled to herself as she turned around and quickly closed the door before heading for the door to his bedroom.

    When she stopped in front of that door, she took a few deep breaths before raising her right fist to knock on the door. She had to knock thrice, but didn''t hear any response.

    Frowning slightly in disappointment, she leaned in to ce her ear on the door, and actually heard the shuffling from footsteps.

    ''Huh?''

    ''Is he in or he is not in?''

    Clenching her fingers and bringing it to knock on the door again, she put her ear on the door and listened for a sound.

    Just then, she heard a faint voice. She wasn''t sure of what it said, but to hell that she wouldn''t go in at that moment.

    She quickly patted her hair before pushing the door open.

    ''Oh gosh! He has a good body!''

    The image that fell on her as she opened the door, caused her mouth to remain agape until she heard Mr. Fang ask, "What are you still doing there?"

    Zhang Liling quickly closed her mouth and gave a good nce at his naked upper body. She saw him holding his phone in one hand while trying to put on a shirt.

    "I''m sorry." Instead of turning around to leave, she apologized as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

    Mr. Fang was staring at her like she was an idiot. Shouldn''t she be leaving his room? Why did shee in and close the door after her?

    Zhang Liling failed to read the expression on his face. She thought the irritable frown on his face was him telling her to spill what she wanted to say and leave.

    "Mr. Fang I..."

    "Let me speak to youter." Mr. Fang said into his phone before bringing it close to his face and pressing the red end call button.

    ''He was on a call?'' Zhang Liling almost cried in her head.

    She already started to me herself for not guessing about it when she saw the phone in his hand in the first ce.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t know you were on a call." She apologized in a regretful tone.

    "Tell me that you also didn''t see me half naked." Mr. Fang retorted with knitted brows, with his back turned against her while trying to button up his shirt.

    Without another word, Zhang Liling turned to leave the room and the only sound he heard was the ''thud'' sound from the door.

    ''Did she leave?'' Mr. Fang thought in wonder before slowly turning and tilting his head to look behind him, and only to find out that she had actually left.

 Chapter 161 Agreement

    Zhang Liling stood outside his door till the time he walked out.

    ncing at her, he looked a bit surprised as he shut his door and turned to fully face her.

    "You are still here? I thought you must have left by now."

    Zhang Liling leaned away from the wall with a small smile. She was d he didn''t start his statement with scolding her.

    "I have something important to bring to your attention, so I couldn''t leave just yet."

    Mr. Fang looked her up and down before resuming his steps. He walked past her while sliding his hands into his pants pockets, but she hurriedly turned around to follow him.

    "What was so important that had you so restless and barging into my room?" He questioned without turning his gaze.

    The smile reached her ears as her lips parted to break fort the good news. "Mr. Fang, my results are out!"

    ''What?''

    As soon as he heard that, his brows knitted as he swiftly halted in his steps and turned his body to face her.

    Luckily, she was walking with great attention to him. So when he stopped to turn around, she put her steps on a brake, stopping before she could collide with his body.

    Taking two steps back in rememberance of the rules, she maintained her smile while gazing at him.

    That irresistible not-faltering smile on her face, spoke volumes. Mr. Fang didn''t even need to question her to know what her happiness was all about.

    Her result was out, and she made a first-ss Honours.

    Seeing him staring at her with his gaze changing by a split second, she decided not to waste his time and went on to announce her grades to him.

    "Mr. Fang, my final results are out, and I made a first-ss Honours!!"

    Mr. Fang continued to watch her excited gestures. And when she spilled the reason for her joy, he smacked his lips.

    "Miss Zhang, congrattions!" He said in a calm tone, earning a change of expression from her.

    The way he said it so calmly surprised her, making her smile to falter a bit. "Thank you, Mr. Fang."

    "Is this all you came to tell me?" He asked.

    ''huh?''

    There was a confused look on her her face. What did he mean by that question? Does he want me to tantly mention about the agreement?

    ''Fine! If he wants me to remind him about it, then here Ie.''

    Changing her expression to that of seriousness, she said, "Mr. Fang, you said you will date me if I get a first-ss Honours in my degree. I can show you my result if you don''t believe me!"

    Zhang Liling didn''te out with her phone and so, made up her mind to go back and get it with a frown sitting on her face, but he stopped her.

    "There is no need. It''s not like you would dare to lie to me about something like this."

    ''So?'' Zhang Liling looked on with anticipation.<sub> </sub>

    A sigh escaped from his lips. "You are very stubborn. Follow me!" He said and turned towards his study.

    Zhang Liling smiled and followed after him immediately.

    In the study, Mr. Fang sat on his chair before gesturing to her to take a seat.

    Zhang Liling was all smiles with the treatment. This was the first time he was treating her well in his study room, maybe because there wasn''t any need to do that before.

    Yes, there wasn''t any need for her to sit before.

    Without a second to waste, Mr. Fang started to speak to her with a rxed expression on his face.

    "I said I would consider dating you if you make a first-ss Honours, and you have done it, so I will really consider your proposal."

    ''What is he trying to say?'' Zhang Liling could feel her blood pumping faster than normal. She was a bit nervous.

    "Because of our huge age difference and the fact that you are yet to have your graduation ceremony, I can''t date you now. I don''t want people to have a bad impression of me. Once you start your internship, we can start going out on dates."

    "Really?!" Zhang Liling almost flew out from her seat, but used thest shred of dignity in her to sit her butts tightly.

    She looked like she was trying to suppress her happiness with the way she was smiling at him with a wide gaze and her palms ced on his desk.

    Mr. Fang ignored her question and went on to talk about something that was of a high importance to him.

    "Zhang Liling, you better start training yourself to cut down on your bad habits. No more going out in the night in short dresses anding home drunk. I hate disobedient people, so you better not act stubborn with me."

    His warning sank into her head and she even nodded sheepishly with a big smile on her face. He agreed to date her, what was so hard with agreeing with him?

    ''Anyway, when we start dating, he would start to tolerate me without knowing.''

    Thinking that was all, she was about to start thanking him and showering praises on him for keeping to his promise, but he was not done speaking.

    "I know you have your own ce..."

    Zhang Liling was immediately afraid. He knew she had an apartment? Since when? This man is so frightening!

    Mr. Fang did not let her fear to sink deep into her heart before continuing. It''s not like he had the intention to scare her with this knowledge from the beginning.

    "When we start dating, you will quit your job as my housekeeper, and move to your house."

    "What?!" Zhang Liling was already reacting strongly against this second statement.

    There was a frown on her face while staring straight into his eyes.

    "Mr. Fang, why do I have to move out of your ce when there are several huge rooms here?!" She asked with pouted lips.

    She was thinking that if she was going to move out of the servant quarters, why would she have to move back to her apartment when there were several other rooms in his vi?

    Mr. Fang''s brows creased in a tight frown. "What? You want to continue living in my house instead of moving back to your apartment?"

 Chapter 162 Dreams Of Marriage

    Zhang Liling nodded, still with a pout.

    She really looked like a stubborn little cat to Mr. Fang, but he refused to condone her childish act.

    He leaned away from his seat and said word for word as he fixed a serious gaze on her, "Zhang Liling, you have only one option here. If you so badly want to live under my roof, then you can only remain as my housekeeper."

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling almost cried out while calling out to him, but he was not moved.

    "I think I''m done speaking to you, go and get me a bottle of water to soothe my dry throat." He instructed and turned his gaze away from her.

    He was acting like talking to her caused his throat to be patched.

    With a heavy heart, Zhang Liling stood up while staring at him. Her gaze rested on him for only 5 seconds, because when he lifted his gaze to stare at her, she quickly turned away and walked towards the door in quick steps.

    As much as she didn''t want to live apart from him when they would start dating, she just knew there was no better option than that.

    Was she crazy to pick living in his house as his housekeeper while she could date him while living outside, and move back in when she gets married to him? No, she wasn''t.

    *****

    Zhang Liling spoke with her mother and Tungmeiabout her grades.

    Tungmei made an upper second ss Honours, and they both chatted about how Zhang Mingyu made the same grade.

    "...this is not an insult to him, but I believe that he can never make that grade because he never put quality time in his studies."

    "Your stepmother must have done something!" Tungmei said with a low chuckle.

    Zhang Liling sighed and changed the topic, "Is your familying for the graduation ceremony?"

    "I''m not sure my father has that money to bring my mother and brother over, but he will surely not miss it, because he can''t wait to brag about my being a graduate to his friends."

    Tungmei could already picture her father''s proud smile while bragging to his friends with her graduation picture in his hands.

    Zhang Liling chuckled softly. "I can rte to this because my father is possibly still bragging about my results to his friends. And I''m sure the reason no media had caught a wave of it, is probably because he is waiting for my graduation ceremony."

    "Why do I feel like he is waiting till that day to confirm that you actually made a first-ss Honours?" Tungmei said with a loud chuckle.

    Having a basic knowledge of Zhang Renshu''s kind of personality, she wouldn''t be surprised if he actually thought that way, and Zhang Liling couldn''t have agreed more to this.

    "You are right, how could I have missed this?"

    Afterughing for a bit, Tungmei stirred the conversation to a different path.

    "I''m sure you already have a position secured at the Zhang Group, you don''t need to fight for a ce to intern like most of us."

    Zhang Liling was quiet for a few seconds before deciding to speak to her about it. She has been avoiding the topic and now was the right moment to finally talk about it.

    "My dad said Mingyu and I are to intern in any department of our choice in hispany, but I have other ns for myself. I''m going to apply to work at the Fang Group."

    Tungmei was not surprised when she heard about her ce of choice. The only thing that made her surprised, was the fact that her father asked her to intern for half a year.<sub> </sub>

    "Your dad is really particr when ites to business. I thought he would have directly given you two a good position in hispany."

    "My dad doesn''t joke with hispany. He would make sure you are a bit capable before he gives you something. But if you are his only option, he would groom you to be capable."

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei chatted for a bit more before ending their conversation.

    Tungmei had already settled on going to send in her details to severalpanies including Zhang Group, but she omitted Fang group because she felt that ce wasn''t for her.

    *****

    When Song Jujing heard the Honours her daughter made, she was all smiles and sang praises.

    Zhang Renshu was the one that informed her about it and immediately she heard the news, she ended the conversation and called Zhang Liling immediately.

    "You silly girl! How could you forget to tell your mother this kind of news!" She chided her immediately.

    Zhang Liling could only smile and apologize.

    "You better not make that kind of mistake again. I should be the first person to know things about you." Song Jujing said, but her daughter thought otherwise.

    ''If I didn''t check my result in front of my father and half-brother, Mr. Fang would have been the first to learn of the news.''

    In essence, Zhang Liling had already nned to first tell Mr. Fang everything that concerned her from now onwards.

    They would soon officially start to date, so it was only right to share first-hand information with him first before notifying any other person. At least, her mother woulde second.

    Zhang Liling made a request for a car for making the first-ss grade.

    "Why are you asking me for a car when your father is there to give you one for making him this proud?" Song Jujing asked.

    A naughty smile crept up Zhang Liling''s face as she answered, "That''s because I am about to break his heart, so I don''t want to ept any heavy gift from him."

    You are about to break his heart? How?" Song Jujing asked with a little confusion.

    She couldn''t guess what she was nning, and wanted to know immediately.

    Smiling to herself, Zhang replied, "He has already made arrangements for me to work in hispany, and all that is left is for me to choose any department of my choice, but I don''t have any ns of working in the Zhang Group because I am going to the Fang Group."

    There was a brief silence from Song Jujing''s side before she replied, "You can do what you want, but I am not getting you a car yet."

    She has heard this before, so she was not surprised.

    Zhang Liling was calm as she asked when she could have the car.

    "Maybe in about 2 years?" Song Jujing replied.

    "Forget it." ''Won''t I be married to Mr. Fang by then? There would not be any need for that again...'',

    If her mother was going to get her a car in 2 years, then she didn''t want it anymore.

 Chapter 163 Mr. Fangs Woman

    "Mr. Fang, can you give me a few days off? My mum will be arriving City S tomorrow." Zhang Liling requested.

    Mr. Fang didn''t need to deliberate on it before agreeing.

    Their rtionship was getting better and better everyday.

    "You are leaving tomorrow?" He asked.

    "Yes, but I wille back to work as soon as she leaves for Paris," She promised with a smile.

    Mr. Fang nodded in understanding with a neutral look on his face. But then, he remembered something and moved his gaze back to her face.

    "You said you were interested to work in Fang Group, have you sent in your application already?"

    "Of course, I wouldn''t miss the earliest opportunity. I sent in the application 2 weeks ago." Zhang Liling replied with a proud smile.

    She knew there was muchpetition on the number of people that sent in their application every year, so she would most definitely, work on her timing.

    It was possible to not get in even with her first ss, so she couldn''t rely on it and do as she wanted.

    "You can leave." Mr. Fang said to her before shifting his gaze away.

    Zhang Liling turned to leave with a smile but she remembered about her graduation ceremony and couldn''t help asking for his presence.

    "Mr. Fang, will you attend our graduation ceremony in 3 days?"

    That sudden question, reminded Mr. Fang of the request that was brought to him from NYU. They had asked for his help in giving out awards on that day but he was still yet to ept it.

    "I''m not sure. I don''t have any close family member that I would sacrifice my time for." He replied with his gaze on her.

    Zhang Liling heard that and immediately ran back to his desk. "Mr. Fang can youe? Your presence would be a huge moral support to me. Apart from my mother and Tungmei, I don''t have any other person."

    Instead of replying to her, he asked her a question that threw her off bnce. "Who should Ie to your graduation ceremony as? We are not dating are we?"

    Zhang Liling threw her cap out for him. He really should be given an award for the best savagementer.

    Must he remind her that they were not dating yet? He seemed to like rubbing it on her face, and now, she couldn''t wait for them to start dating already, so she would take the slight revenge on him.

    Before leaving his study, Zhang Liling told him to try toe on that day.

    "Mr. Fang, if you have some time to spare, pleasee for my graduation ceremony."

    ******

    The morning of the next day after breakfast Zhang Liling packed some of her essentials and left Mr. Fang''s vi for her ce.

    Butler Gu and Ms. Chu were aware she was taking a few days off from work.

    Her graduation ceremony was alsoing up, and they also wished her to have a good day and toe back to the vi soon.

    Going back to her apartment in the car Mr. Fang sent to send her back, made Zhang Liling more happy then ever.

    The driver helped to send her luggage to her door before turning to leave, and she was all smiles while thanking him before he got into the elevator.<sub> </sub>

    ''It will be more fulfilling to be Mr. Fang''s woman,'' Zhang Liling thought to herself with a big smile stered on her face before keying in the password to her apartment, and stepping inside while pulling her luggage.

    ncing at her neat and cozy apartment, she felt d for calling the housekeeper over to clean up the house very early.

    After tidying up a few more things in her bedroom, she called Tungmei out for shopping.

    Her double-door sized refrigerator was empty, so she needed to buy groceries and a lot of stuff otherwise, her mother would query her.

    Thankfully, Tungmei was free to apany her, and both of them met outside the grocery store.

    That morning, Zhang Liling spent a lot of money. After taking everything back to the house to arrange them, she took Tungmei out for lunch.

    "Liling, I think you should learn how to cook. You waste a lot of money on eating out."

    Tungmei nced at the food before them and picked up her spoon.

    Zhang Liling shook her head with a smile. "I haven''t eaten out for the past few weeks."

    "How many weeks is the ''few''?" Tungmei asked as she sent a spoon of food into her mouth.

    "Some days above 2 weeks." Zhang Liling said and went back to eating.

    Tungmei didn''t say anything anymore, and besides, the food was spicy, it''s not like she wanted to suffer the aftermath of not observing the good eating habits.

    After eating, Zhang Liling checked the time on her phone before turning to ask Tungmei, "I would be going to the airport to pick my mum, will you like to tag along?"

    Tungmei smiled happily and was about to say YES but changed her mind the next second.

    The smile fell off her face as she exined, "I would have loved toe with you, but you and your mother need some alone time together, also, she needs to get enough rest. If she doesn''t mind, I wille to your ce tomorrow."

    "You really thought things through, but my mother would not have minded any of it." Zhang Liling replied with a smile before going on to ask about her parents.

    "...are theying for the graduation ceremony?"

    To that question, there was a hint of annoyance to Tungmei''s smile.

    "My mum and my brother areing over with my Dad. I''m happy about it, but I hope that I don''t get an earful from them."

    "I understand..."

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling and Tungmei parted ways before the former took a cab straight to the airport to wait for her mother.

    While waiting at the arrival, she remembered Mr. Fang and smiled instinctively. She was already missing not seeing his face.

    She went to her contact list and found his number before clicking on it. She had wanted to call him, but as that wouldn''t be an appropriate timing, she decided to send him a text.

    ''Mr. Fang, it''s Zhang Liling. Have you had lunch yet?''

    After sending the text out, she smiled to herself.

 Chapter 164 Song Jujing Arrives

    Zhang Liling happily waited for a response, and when it finally came half an hourter, she was shocked.

    Mr. Fang''s reply read, ''Zhang Liling, how did you get my contact?''

    "What does he mean by that? This is not the surprise response I wanted!" Zhang Liling mumbled to herself.

    She knew he would be surprised of how she got his contact, but the way he put it made it hard for her not to be annoyed.

    He should be surprised and happy, not surprised and annoyed.

    To his response, she gave a satisfying reply. ''Mr. Fang, we will start dating soon, it is only right for me to have your contact. You should save mine too if you don''t have it."

    In his office, Mr. Fang heard the chime from his phone and picked it up to open the text from her.

    Seeing her response, he let out a deep sigh before putting his phone down and going back to his work.

    Zhang Liling waited for some minutes but never saw any response from him. Her brows furrowed while gazing at her empty notification space.

    "Was he that speechless with my response?" She muttered under her breath.

    Sighing to herself tiredly, she checked the time once more and discovered that her mother''s ne should havended by now. She quickly put her phone back into her sling bag before getting off the bench with her eyes on a particr spot.

    The youngdy was now putting on an anitcipating gaze.

    Soon, she was able to see the familiar figure of her mother walking toward her with a sunshade over her eyes.

    She had a handbag on her shoulder, and the other hand rolling her big-sized luggage.

    Song Jujing''s hairstyle was looking healthier because she had gone to the saloon before going to the airport.

    Her ck wavy hair fell on both sides of her shoulders.

    When the woman saw her daughter, the corners of her lips turned up in a wide smile. "Liling!" She called out happily.

    Just then, a smile broke out on Zhang Liling''s face as she quickly ran to her mother''s side. For that moment, Song Jujing abandoned her luggage to give her a big hug.

    "Mum, I missed you!" Zhang Liling said as she squeezed her eyes shut with her lips still turned up in a smile.

    "I missed you too, now let me go." Song Jujing said in a low chuckle.

    When Zhang Liling finally let her go, she pulled her luggage while staring at her with a knowing smile.

    "Why are you staring at me like that?" Song Jujing asked as they both walked side by side.

    "You seem to take better care of yourself than I do for myself. Look at your hair, is so silky and shiny. Let''s not talk about your skin, because it is mind-blowing!"

    Song Jujing chucked at her facial expression. She was looking good because she was taking good care of her skin.

    "Whenst did you go to the spa? Or get a beauty treatment? Don''t speak as if all this healthy looks came without me doing anything."

    Zhang Liling knew she was saying the truth, but also, she found this as an opportunity to exploit her.

    "Mum, why don''t we go to the spa tomorrow''s morning or evening for the treatment? Even if you are not interested, just pay for me, and stay to watch me."<sub> </sub>

    "We are still at the airport and you are already nning to start spending my money." Song Jujing asked while giving her a narrowed gaze, still with a small smile.

    Zhang Liling smiled and took her arm with her free hand, refusing to let go.

    "You are my mother for a reason."

    "Shameless!" Song Jujing said with a low chuckle before going on to ask about her friend.

    "What of Tungmei, how is she?"

    "She is fine. She would havee with me to pick you up, but she wille to visit tomorrow since she wanted to give us some space alone." Zhang Liling replied as they stepped outside.

    "Your friend is attentive. Tell her toe by in the morning and join us for breakfast. We will be going to the spa together after eating."

    ******

    Now back to her apartment, Zhang Liling helped her mother to unpack her things and that was when she saw all the gifts she came with.

    The youngdy acted like a child and was jumping all over the ce while screaming. Atst, she gave her mother a hug.

    After putting things in order, the takeouts she ordered arrived, but she ended up getting scolded before she could even start eating.

    "You should have asked the housekeeper to prepare the meals. Tomorrow, I will make breakfast myself, I can see that you have a lot of things in your refrigerator." Song Jujing said after scolding her.

    She had gone through everything in the kitchen and some parts of the house.

    ''She wanted to make breakfast?'' Zhang Liling felt that she had heard the funniest joke. Her mother wanted to cook?

    Song Jujing understood that she was making fun of her, but she just let herugh all she wanted.

    "You think my skills has detoriated because I have a Chef that prepares meals for me? I am not as dumb as you."

    "Haha...haha..." Zhang Liling continued tough when she saw her mother''s brows furrowed.

    "Alright, I know your skills are great, but don''t cook tomorrow, you must be tired. After my graduation ceremony, teach me how to make a simple native food."

    "That won''t be an issue." Song Jujing said in agreement.

    ******

    As soon as Zhang Renshu learned that Song Jujing was in S city, he was ted and immediately asked to see her, but she rejected his invitation.

    "I don''t want people to misunderstand that we still have a rtionship together. We will see on Liling''s graduation ceremony."

    Zhang Renshu respected her decision and went on to ask if she needed any services.

    "If you want to look around the City, I will ask my second driver to take care of that."

    Song Jujing would have loved to ept his proposal because that would make Shi Wenqian mad, but she didn''t have the habit of looking for trouble first.

 Chapter 165 Spending Time Together

    The next day, Tungmei came over to visit with a basket of fresh fruits.

    Song Jujing looked so happy to see her and immediately urged her to take a seat at the dining table before personally serving her breakfast.

    "You just came, and my mother is already showering you with love," Zhang Lilingmented with pouted lips.

    There was a hint of made up jealousy in her tone.

    Song Jujing smiled and turned to Tungnei to say, "She is jealous because I didn''t serve her breakfast myself."

    Tungmei chuckled at that revtion with a hand over her mouth. How petty could her friend get?

    "Liling, you have to allow me enjoy your mother''s affection for a bit."

    Zhang Liling snorted and shoved a spoon of food into her mouth.

    After breakfast, Song Jujing took them to her bedroom where she gave out the gifts she bought from them.

    Tungmei was surprised when she got two different gifts, and as she gazed at them in her hands, she looked up surprise.

    Zhang Liling understood and smiled, while giving her the honour of learning how the gifts came about.

    "The shoe is a gift from me, and the dress is a gift from my mother."

    Tungmei felt so happy as she thanked both of them. She had no idea that Song Jujing would personally get her something apart from the order Liling ced.

    She felt so grateful to them, but she felt guilty to her best friend for not being able to give her a quality gift.

    After giving out the gifts and chatting a bit, Song Jujing asked them to get ready to the go to the spa with them.

    Tungmei was surprised as Zhang Liling didn''t mention anything like that to her.

    "Are we really going to the spa? Howe you didn''t mention it to mest night?"

    Zhang Liling shrugged, "I let it be a wonderful surprise to you."

    "You..." Tungmei gave her a chase with her arms stretched out after failing to pinch her cheeks.

    Zhang Liling chuckled and ran away.

    A few minutester, Song Jujing was dressed and ready to take them out.

    Last night after she made her presence known to her designer''s branch in City S, an official driver and car was assigned to her immediately.

    Song Jujing was not less than a fashion goddess. Working as the editor-in-chief of a famous fashion magazine, she had designers and fashion houses begging her to wear their clothes.

    Seeing her mother dressed so fashionably, Zhang Liling whispered to Tungmei, "She hase to oppress us."

    Tungmei chuckled softly and teased, "If you don''t want to be oppressed by your mother''s fashion sense, then let''s exchange mothers."<sub> </sub>

    To that, Zhang Liling shook her head in refusal immediately. "Don''t worry, I will ept my mother the way she is."

    On arrival at the spa, Zhang Liling and Tungmei were taken into the rooms to be taken care of, while Song Jujing was shown to a different room to get a massage done.

    ******

    "Our skin must be radiant for tomorrow," Zhang Liling said with her eyes closed as a smile rested on her cheeks.

    She was currently getting her face cleansed.

    "Now it''s your turn to oppress some people," Tungmei chuckled.

    After getting their facials done, they had a full body massage with essential oils.

    Taking care of their skin on this day, helped their muscles and mind to rx.

    "I have to thank your mother for this wonderful experience. I have never been to the spa before." Tungmei said after they had dressed up and gotten ready to leave.

    "My level of experience is not too far from yours. The first time I ever went to the spa in Paris was after my high school graduation. Today is my third experience," Zhang Liling revealed which surprised Tungmei.

    Tungmei had thought that she was a spoiled brat, and that had been her first impression of Zhang Liling, but getting close to her and being her friend, made her see her in apletely different light.

    Zhang Liling was not a spoiled brat, and it looks like her mother didn''t pamper her the way she thought she had.

    From the spa, Song Jujing took them to the saloon to get their hair done and from there, she stopped by in a Gi store, where she bought more outfits for them.

    Recognizing who Song Jujing was, brought some benefits to herpany.

    Even Zhang Liling was a bit surprised with the reception and couldn''t help but to whisper to Tungmei, "See what forgetting who my mother is can cause. How could I forget that and go ahead to fight for a bag with that crazy Rushi?"

    Tungmei shushed her before responding with a much lowered tone, "Don''t let your mother hear you, otherwise she is going to freak out."

    While saying that, she was trying really hard to hold in a chuckle. She was thinking that she would really be crazy to have Song Jujing as a mother and forget her status.

    Now she was beginning to think that something was really wrong with her friend. With her mother''s status and influence, she could get any brand of bags, shoes and clothes she wanted so easily.

    How did she forget that and ended up having an embarrassing fight in a clothing store?

    Zhang Liling nced at the shop attendants fawning over her mother and sighed. "This life is truly an irony. My mother should never learn of this otherwise I would be in trouble. Maybe I should beg her to take me to Country C."

    "Country C? What do you want to go there for?" Tungmei asked curiously.

    A bright smile spread across Zhang Liling''s face as she replied, "I want to visit FJ''s head quarters and maybe we can get the license to tour there, and while at it, I would make sure to sneak a peek at the gorgeousdy, Fu Jia Li."

    Tungmei shook her head saying, "You are truly obsessed."

    Zhang Liling did not deny it, and immediately stood to her feet when Song Jujing turned around to beckon on them toe with her to take a look around.

 Chapter 166 Graduation Ceremony

    While Zhang Liling was having a good time with her mother, Shi Wenqian was having a normal moment with her children.

    Ever since that incident where she showed them her deep secret, their rtionship has never been the same.

    Zhang Xiaoling was reluctant to follow her out, but because Zhang Renshu had his eyes on them after he released money for their shopping, she had no choice but to follow.

    Fortunately, her mother didn''t give her any reason to be infuriated.

    *******

    Today would definitely be a sunny day as it was just 6:30 in the morning and the sky had already brightened up.

    As the rays from the sun kissed Zhang Liling on the face, she squeezed her eyes tightly and stretched her armszily on the clean white sheets.

    Her healthy shiny hair sprawled on the sheets, and with each movement she made, it danced in tone.

    Suddenly, the door was pushed open after two knocks, and in came Song Jujing.

    "Liling, don''t you have ns of attending your graduation ceremony today?" She asked with slightly furrowed brows.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling''s eyes shut open. She sat up on her bed and turned her gaze to meet hers.

    "Good morning, Mum. How can I miss my graduation ceremony?"

    "Then why are you still sleeping by this time?" Song Jujing queried.

    Zhang Liling moved the duvet off her body and got off the bed. "I set an rm for 7 am. It''s yet to ring, so I am assuming that I''m still on time."

    Song Jujing didn''t have the energy to argue with her and just let her be. Her graduation ceremony would be starting by 9 am and she nned on using an hour and thirty minutes to get ready?

    ******

    Zhang Liling got dressed in in a flowery printed dress. Her makeup was done by a makeup artist he rmother had contracted for that day.

    Song Jujing wanted her daughter to look good on a joyous asion like today, so, went all out for it.

    Finally when Zhang Liling got some alone time, she whipped out her phone to dial Mr. Fang''s number.

    If she texted him, she wasn''t sure of ever getting a reply from him, hence, she braced up to give him a call.

    *******

    Mr. Fang was sitting at the backseat of his car.

    He had just swallowed his meds and was drinking water from his bottle when he heard his phone vibrating in his pocket.

    The man looked not to be in a hurry to check his phone. He made sure to have drank the water to his satisfaction before capping the stic and putting it down at his feet and then unhurriedly put his hand into his breast pocket to take his phone out.

    ncing at the caller ID, he sighed and was about to answer the call when it ended. Not waiting for her to call back, he decided to phone her.

    Since Zhang Liling left his house, he has not seen her, and he had almost not spoken to her. He didn''t think it would be progressive for their current awkward rtionship if he continued to ignore her.

    Zhang Liling did not give her phone the chance to ring before answering the call.

    It was a miracle that he even bothered to call her back when she already had the n to do so.<sub> </sub>

    "Good morning, Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling''s excited voice came immediately she answered the call.

    Mr. Fang couldn''t tell she what was making her that excited but went on to respond to her greeting.

    "Good morning."

    "Mr. Fang are youing for my graduation today?" Zhang Liling inquired.

    ''So this is why she called?'' He thought.

    ncing at the road ahead of him, Mr. Fang decided to reveal his location and intentions to her.

    "I am 15 minutes away from NYU. I have a role..."

    "What?! You areing? You are already on your way?!" Zhang Liling half-screamed as she jumped to her feet without letting him finish his sentence.

    That minute, shepletely forgot her mother was present and unintentionally seeded in dragging her attention to her.

    Song Jujing went in to check on the reason she heard her shriek from the living room area, and when she pushed the door open, she saw the happiness present on her face and a phone ced on her ear.

    Zhang Liling''s shoulders shrank back as soon as she met her mother''s annoyed gaze.

    "Don''t think that I''ming because of you. Anyway, you will learn the reason soon," Mr. Fang said with a tinge of annoyance in his tone.

    He didn''t want her to misunderstand and start feeling proud.

    Bolin who was sitting in the front passenger seat, tilted his head to his left side and nced at him from his peripheral view.

    ''Was he speaking to Miss Zhang? Since when did they be so close for him to speak to her that way.''

    When Mr. Fang did not hear any response from her, he thought the call had disconnected and had to bring his phone away from his ear to nce at the screen.

    Seeing that the call was still connected, he ced the phone back on his ear and was about to call out to her when he heard a mature female voice speak from the other end.

    "Who are you speaking to that made you scream like that? Can''t you keep your voice down and not scare me?" Song Jujing asked with furrowed brows.

    If only Zhang Liling knew how worried her mother was about her, then she would have appreciated her care.

    ''That voice belongs to Zhang Liling''s mother?'' Mr. Fang thought.

    If this was any other time, he would have ended the call, but he let the call go on and listened for what was happening at the other end.

    Maybe he was trying to detect the kind of rtionship Zhang Liling had with her mother.

    "Mum I''m sorry, I am still far too excited for today. I promise, I won''t scream again." Zhang Liling quickly apologized to her mother.

    Luckily, Song Jujing didn''t contine to scold her or inquire about the caller ID.

    "Don''t scare me with that scream next time. Breakfast is served,e and eat so we can leave immediately." She said before turning to leave.

    Zhang Liling sighed in relief and felt a little calm but not for long.

    From the other end, Mr. Fang heard the door shut before his questioning tone was heard, "You are still at home?"

 Chapter 167 Graduation Ceremony II

    Mr. Fang''s question came with authority, causing Zhang Liling to shrink her shoulders.

    ''Should I lie or tell the truth?'' She thought.

    She, being the graduating student was still at home while he, a lecturer at the same Uni was already a few minutes away from the university, what did that signify?

    Zhang Liling did not want to look unserious before her strict future boyfriend, so it took her some time to contemte ande up with a response.

    "Mr. Fang, there was a little dy over here. My mum wanted me to look my best so she hired some professionals to help with my looks."

    Mr. Fang was left speechless. He wasn''t expecting that exnation. He even went on to question himself. Why was he so bothered that she was still at home by that time?

    "That''s fine. Let''s talkter," He said, no longer interested in continuing with the conversation.

    Zhang Liling understood and bade him farewell. After dropping the call, she giggled to herself as stars shone brightly in her eyes.

    Her first phone conversation with Mr. Fang was something to write home about.

    Picking up the FJ bag that made her fight in the shopping mall, she left her bedroom for the dining room to have breakfast.

    Dropping the call with Zhang Liling, Mr. Fang caught Bolin staring at him. His brows knitted in a tight frown.

    "What are you staring at? If you have something to say, say it."

    Bolin quickly turned his gaze back to the road refusing to voice his thoughts. It was already enough trouble that he was caught staring.

    ******

    At 9 am sharp, all the graduating students of NYU were already sitting in thergest auditorium in the school.

    The graduating students were putting on their graduation gown, distinguishing them from other students and staff in the same room.

    When the opening remarks were being read out, there was silence in the decorated hall.

    Around 30 minutes, the best graduating students from each department were handed out their awards and certificates and given the chance to say a few words.

    Zhang Liling was surprised when she heard her name being called out. ''What the heck is going on?''

    Getting a first ss didn''t warrant any student being amongst the best graduating students.

    In the midst of the apuses and cheers from other students and parents in the hall, Tungmei who was sitting beside her, nudged her arm. "Dear Miss, do you want me to go pick up your award on your behalf?"

    Sitting in the crowd where the members of the Zhang family and the rest were, a proud smile appeared on Song Jujing''s face while apuding her daughter.

    Zhang Renshu was not left behind.

    He felt proud that Liling was his daughter, and that she had actually stayed under his roof for 4 years for him to able to take some credits for her achievement today.

    Shi Wenqian had a scowl on her face. The woman was so jealous that she was literally squeezing the handkerchief in her hands.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu both had neutral gazes from where they were sitting.<sub> </sub>

    Before standing up from her seat, Zhang Liling passed her phone to Tungmei saying, "Film me with my phone and take a few photos with yours. Make sure to get a nice shot of Mr. Fang and I."

    Mr. Fang was part of the people sitting on stage and asked to give out the awards.

    The school''s president knew the best graduating students from the school of business would appreciate it more if they also had the opportunity to shake Mr. Fang''s hand, so he gave them that opportunity.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling stepped on stage to receive her award and certificate while shaking the hands of NYU''s President and Mr. Fang.

    There was a proud smile on her face when she stepped in front of Mr. Fang to shake his hand, and she didn''t forget to give his hand a gentle squeeze, something she had never done before.

    The opportunity she just got to do it would never slip pass her just like that.

    ''This crazy girl.'' Mr. Fang thought in his head while managing a smile at the cameras snapping photos of them.

    Zhang Liling''s speech was short, but she made sure to make it interesting.

    She first started by thanking the university for the award and recognition.

    "... Honestly, I didn''t know I would be getting one today because that thought never crossed my mind. I want to appreciate a few people that helped mee this far."

    Looking in the row where the parents and guests were sitting, she spotted her mother and her smile reached her eyes.

    "Thank you mum for taking care of me and making sure that life was easy for me."

    As soon as she recognized her mother, the camera began searching through the crowd for Song Jujing.

    Song Jujing on the other hand made things easier for them by blowing a kiss at Zhang Liling. There was a little uproar as the attention was immediately put on Song Jujing.

    The people who were sitting beside her, didn''t recognize her and were surprised that she came for her daughter''s graduation ceremony, and was actually sitting beside them.

    A round of apuse followed as soon as the camera faced Song Jujing.

    Definitely there will be whisperes and gossip with her presence.

    ''Since she is here, was Shi Wenqian here too?'' This was the thought that went through some people''s mind.

    Shi Wenqian tried not to show any expression on her face because all that was going through her mind, was to deal with some people for stealing the shine.

    Zhang Liling waved at her mother before continuing. "I want to thank my father for always scolding me every time I studied a lot. He cared for my health."

    There was nother round of apuse as the camera moved to show Zhang Renshu sitting in the crowd.

    The man couldn''t have been any more proud for having been recognized by his daughter in public.

    This new image will help him a lot.

    The camera also caught Shi Wenqian sitting beside him, and everyone saw that slight smile on her face as she pped her hands.

    Without wasting time, Zhang Liling moved over to the next person on her list.

 Chapter 168 Graduation Ceremony III

    "I want to thank one of my professors for pushing me to make a first-ss Honours." Turning to Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Mr. Fang."

    There was a loud cheer and apud from most of the people sitting in the room.

    Zhang Liling''s ssmates were surprised. How did Mr. Fang help her to get a first ss? Did he tutor her privately? Now her ssmates were curious.

    As the camera was directed to Mr. Fang, everyone saw the calm and collected gaze of the man. He didn''t even try to to smile or wave at them.

    Most of them knew his personality, so they were not surprised.

    Mr. Fang had been surprised when Zhang Liling mentioned his name after she said that about him, but he was quick to hide his facial expression because he knew the cameras would soon be turned to his direction.

    In the crowd, Song Jujing looked at Mr. Fang''s face carefully. "Is he from the Fang family?" Making a mental note to check him out on the inteter, she focused on the ceremony.

    Zhang Renshu was surprised that Liling recognized Mr. Fang.

    Frrom what she just said about him pushing her to get that grade and thinking back to the time she checked her result and had left excitedly, he wondered if they were that close.

    At that thought, his brows furrowed. ''I hope is not what I''m thinking about.''

    Zhang Xiaoling squeezed her fist in jealousy as the was thinking just like Zhang Renshu.

    ''Is Zhang Liling close to Mr. Fang?''

    Zhang Liling smiled at Mr. Fang once more before returning her gaze to the crowd.

    "Lastly, I want to thank my good friend Tungmei for being there for me, and also to everyone who encouraged me in different ways, thank you."

    When Zhang Liling got off the podium, there were still the sound of apuds and gazes following her.

    Tungmei was touched that she mentioned her name so when she returned to her seat, she put their phones aside to give her a big hug.

    Zhang Liling smiled and embraced her before sitting and taking their phones from her.

    She wasn''t interested in listening to whoever that was speaking next. Her interest was on the video and photos Tungmei helped her to capture.

    Another half an hourter, the graduation ceremony ended and everyone marched out of the hall.

    This was a fun moment where students separated to go bond with their families, and Tungmei left to go meet her parents.

    Instead of going to find her mother, Zhang Liling chased after Mr. Fang after seeing Boline to wishper soemthing to him.

    She would never let Mr. Fang to leave just like that.

    Song Jujing had wanted to call out to her, but she could only close her lips as she watched her run towards the stage.

    Not wanting them to miss each other in the crowd that attended the graduation ceremony, Song Jujing decided to leave her seat and step forward toward the stage. And while waiting for her, Zhang Renshu came towards her.

    Shi Wenqian saw him leave her side without saying anything and immediately followed him. She didn''t want to leave him to chat alone with Song Jujing.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu saw their mother walking off and sighed before following behind as well.

    What Song Jujing saw while waiting for Liling was a family troupeing towards her direction. Immediately, she got annoyed and wondered what kind of problem that wasing to her.

    She didn''t have the energy to deal with anybody.<sub> </sub>

    ******

    "Mr. Fang, are you leaving now?" Zhang Liling asked just as soon as she saw himing down the stairs.

    She had rushed to his side before anyone could take the lead to engage him in a conversation.

    Mr. Fang heard her familiar voice and nced her way. "I have somewhere to be now." He replied.

    Bolin nced at her and congratted her with a smile. "Congrattions Miss Zhang on your graduation."

    "Thank you, Mr. Bolin." Zhang Liling replied with a smile before quickly returning her gaze to Mr. Fang.

    "Mr. Fang, can you spare me a few minutes of your time? I want you to meet my mum."

    When she saw his browse together, she quickly added, "...as the professor that pushed me to make one of the best results in NYU."

    Instantly, Mr. Fang''s brows rxed. He nced towards the direction she pointed at and frowned again. "Am I meeting your entire family?"

    ''Huh?''

    Zhang Liling quickly turned towards her mother''s direction with confusion on her face and immediately frowned seeing her surrounded by the Zhang family.

    She had not looked at where she was pointing earlier, hence she didn''t know that something else was already going on.

    Turning her gaze back to Mr. Fang, she said to him, "I''m sorry Mr. Fang, but can you please do me this favour? It won''t take upto a minute."

    Mr. Fang didn''t reply and stared at Song Jujing and then looked around. He could see that so many people wanted to meet him and only paused because he seemed to be seriously conversing with Zhang Liling.

    Immediately Zhang Liling leaves his side, he was sure they wouldn''t give him a second break before swarming up to him.

    "Let''s go." He said and came to stand beside her.

    Zhang Liling smiled brightly and immediately led the way without wasting time.

    Bolin squinted his eyes at the two of them. ''What is going on between them?''

    ******

    "Jujing, I''m happy to see you. Did you see Liling up on stage making us proud?" Zhang Renshu asked immediately as he stretched his hand out for a handshake.

    Shi Wenqian was so annoyed with the way he included just he and Song Jujing together like they were still a couple. What about her?

    With people watching them, Song Jujing managed a smile and stretched her right hand to shake his hand for only a second before withdrawing it.

    "Liling is my daughter and it is not a surprise that she carried my genes."

    Zhang Renshu nodded in agreement. "You are right, she is as smart as you are."

    ___________

    Dearest Readers, please check out my new fantasy book ''Alchemy of Hearts'' and give it an Equal support.

    Thank you!

 Chapter 169 Invitation

    "Jujing, I organized a fancy dinner to celebrate Liling and Mingyu, you have toe. Liling will need your presence," Zhang Renshu said with a smile that reached his eyes.

    Song Jujing stared at him with ack of disinterest. She had already nned to spend a quality time with Liling.

    She would rather dine alone than dine with his entire family.

    "What if I refuse?" She asked with a strong gaze. She didn''t bother to hide her emotions.

    The smile on Zhang Renshu''s face faded. Releasing a sigh at the stubborn woman in front of him, he tried to speak calmly and convincingly.

    "I don''t think Liling would appreciate that. You are her mother and your presence will brighten the atmosphere. Please, join us in the celebration, Liling has done us both proud."

    Shi Wenqian was tempted to interrupt them and chip in her fake wishes to anger Song Jujing into remaining adamant about not following them for the dinner, but she knew how furious Zhang Renshu would be if she does that.

    It''s not like she cared about angering him, but she didn''t want to ruin the day for her son Mingyu, hence she held her animosity in and caged it to secure it.

    Just when Song Jujing was preparing for her next response with Zhang Renshu, Shi Wenqian, Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling waiting for her, someone''s presence interrupted their train of thought and emotions.

    "Mum!" Zhang Liling called out excitedly while leading Mr. Fang and Bolin to her side.

    Immediately, the five of them turned their attention to the trio with different expressions on their faces which mostly were surprise.

    Song Jujing studied Fang Bingwen''s face carefully, trying to guess who he looked more like from the Fang family.

    After drawing their attention to then, Zhang Liling proceeded to introduce Mr. Fang to Song Jujing.

    "Mum, meet Mr. Fang Bingwen, the professor that helped me bag the first-ss Honours. He is from the Fang family."

    A small smile appeared on Song Jujing''s face as she stretched her hand out to Mr. Fang for a handshake. "I''m pleased to meet you, Mr. Fang."

    "It''s nice to meet you, Ms. Song." Mr. Fang replied as he stretched her right hand to shake her hand for only two seconds before letting go.

    "I just learned from the stage of the role you yed in Liling''s academics. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it," Song Jujing said, expressing her gratitude with a beautiful smile while meeting his gaze.

    Mr. Fang shook his head and replied, "I didn''t do much. Your daughter is not hard to teach."

    As Zhang Liling heard that, the corner of her lips curled up. Did Mr. Fang just praise her?

    She could feel her heart beating hard against her chest, and her blood boiling from excitement.

    Song Jujing nodded still eithh her gaze on him. The more she looked at him, the more she felt that he looked like a particr someone from the Fang family.

    Without hesitation, she asked, "Are you Fang Huiqing''s son?"

    Zhang Renshu stiffened when he heard her ask about Fang Huiqing from the Fang family. His brows furrowed as his fingers clenched at his sides.

    Shi Wenqian nced at Song Jujing while thinking, ''She knows the Fang family that well? Is she close to them?''

    Zhang Xiaoling was equally surprised with the familiarity in Song Jujing''s tone when she mentioned the name of Mr. Fang''s father. Did she know them like her stepfather did?

    A hint of surprise shed through Mr. Fang''s eyes, but it was only for a moment and the others did not get to see it.

    "Yes, Fang Huiqing is my father." He admitted.<sub> </sub>

    ''He is actually Huiqing''s son.'' Song Jujing concluded in her head while Zhang Liling kept moving her gaze from her to Mr. Fang.

    ''Does Mum know the Family that we''ll?"

    Zhang Liling was thinking if her mother was familiar with the Fang family, she wouldn''t have any problems from that side.

    Just when Song Jujing''s lips parted, Zhang Renshu stepped in. He nced at Mr. Ganga nd stretched his hand out.

    "Mr. Fang, it''s nice to meet you, I''m Liling''s father."

    Mr. Fang turned his attention to him and received the handshake before withdrawing his hand. "Hello, Mr. Zhang."

    Zhang Renshu chuckled heartily and said, "Don''t mind Liling for failing to introduce us. I want to say thank you for helping her out in her school work."

    Mr. Fang nodded politely before shifting his gaze back to Zhang Liling.

    "Ms. Zhang, I have to take my leave now."

    ''Huh?'' Zhang Liling was confused for a bit, but nced at the people around her from the corner of her eyes before picking up immediately.

    "Thank you for your time Mr. Fang, I will walk you to your car."

    "There will be no need for that," Mr. Fang rejected her kind gesture and turned to nod at Song Jujing and Zhang Renshu''s direction before leaving.

    Bolin also nodded silenctky from the side before turning on his heels to follow him.

    "Have a great day, Mr. Fang." Song Jujing said after him.

    Zhang Xiaoling felt her heart ache from that little attention. Who was Zhang Liling to invite Mr. Fang over? How close were they?

    The man she knew wouldn''t juste over to greet his student''s parents, would he?

    ncing toward Zhang Liling''s direction, her clenched fists tightened by the side.

    Zhang Mingyu saw all this and smiled inwardly before leaning in to whisper to her. "Sister, your envy and jealousy can be clearly felt. There is nothing to be jealous about Liling bringing Mr. Fang over, it are you that petty wuthg your thoughts and dealings?"

    Zhang Xiaoling turned her gaze to meet him. Her brows were knitted in a tight frown. Just a tiny push and she would not hesitate to push him away.

    What has her thoughts and emotions got to do with his jobless self?

    "I think you need to start minding your business and keeping your observations to yourself."

    Zhang Mingyu shrugged and moved his smiling gaze ahead.

    Shi Wenqian stared annoyedly at Zhang Liling and couldn''t help butting in.

    She couldn''t tolerate the fact that she skipped her while introducing Mr. Fang to her mother, but she had to twist it in a way to cover her main intentions up.

    "Liling, how could you be disrespectful to your family? Even if we have different opinions in private, did you have to show that to an outsider?"

 Chapter 170 Invitation II

    Zhang frowned at the side saying, "Can you stop speaking in a round about manner and go straight to the point?"

    Shi Wenqian felt angry with his scolding. How could he speak to her like that given where they were standing at?

    Regardless, she went ahead to make her point.

    "Liling, you only introduced Mr. Fang to your mother and didn''t care to include your father. Even if you are angry with him about something, that is not the right way to act. Also, your siblings were here but your totally ignored everyone, what do you mean by that?"

    Song Jujing frowned by the side. She has been patiently waiting for her to finish the nonsense she had to say and finally when she was done, she said before anyone could make any kind ofment.

    "You don''t have any right to admonish my daughter when I''m present, unless you are trying to tell me to my face that you dont have any regards for me which everyone knows you don''t."

    Zhang Liling felt very proud having her mother by her side and speaking up for her. She chuckled in her head while not bothering to hide how happy she was.

    When Shi Wenqian spoke to her, she didn''t have the intentions of replying because she knew that someone would do that for her.

    Even if her mother wasn''t present, she would have totally ignored her and left. She didn''t want to cower next to that woman anymore.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu didn''t look happy to see their mother being insulted, but they could not butt in. Their father already looked like he wanted to kill her with his res.

    No child can stand there and watch their mother or close family being insulted without their facial expression changing in the least.

    "Shi Wenqian, if you are going to misbehave and annoy Jujing and her daughter with unnecessary statements, you better go back home now because I will not tolerate your intentional provocation!"

    Zhang Renshu didn''t care they were in public and gave her his piece of mind the way he felt it. Also, he didn''t mind to control his facial expression and didn''t seem to bother even if it was captured by some reporters lingering around.

    Song Jujing''s rage slowly calmed down as she finally moved her gaze from Shi Wenqian to Zhang Renshu before saying to him, "Renshu, if my daughter and I are going to be treated this way in the small banquet you organized, then we don''t want to be there."

    ''What banquet?'' Zhang Liling looked toward her mother with a confused gaze. ''Did something happen while I was gone?'' She thought to herself.

    Song Jujing initially was going to refuse Zhang Renshu''s invitation again, but seeing that Shi Wenqian did not know her ce and was asking to be disrespected and looked down upon, then she was going to give her what she was looking for.

    Still in that thought, another one came to her mind. It would be fun for Shi Wenqian to sit all through the banquet without uttering a word for fear of angering Zhang Renshu, and this was what she would be looking forward to.

    Zhang Renshu red at his wife angrily and raised his hand.

    Thinking that he wanted to hit her, Shi Wenqian flinched and took a step to the side in fright, not knowing that he only wanted to point at her.

    What made her think he was going to hit her there when he was very particr about his public image, and it''s not like he has hit her before?<sub> </sub>

    Maybe her guilty conscience got the better of her.

    "Shi Wenqian," Zhang Renshu called her by her full name with his finger pointing at her face. "...If you know what is good for you, think before you even speak to me again."

    Shifting his gaze back to Song Jujing, he quickly apologized and promised her that she wouldn''t regret attending the small banquet he organised.

    Song Jujing nced at Shi Wenqian briefly with a scorn before agreeing to his request.

    Zhang Renshu finally smiled before asking everyone to follow him.

    Song Jujing noticed that he was trying to work beside her but quickly walked a few pace ahead of him to stand beside Liling.

    She didn''t need the press writing thrash about her rtionship with Zhang Renshu.

    Apart from them writing something about her still being in a good rtionship with him since they took pictures when they were standing together, she didn''t want to see any article suggesting otherwise.

    Something about Zhang Renshu still not able to forget her, or about her trying to win his attention back, would piss her off greatly.

    She wouldn''t want to entertain any kind of gossip.

    Outside, Zhang Liling used her eyes to search for Tungmei before leaving, but she didn''t find her, so while getting into the car, she phoned her.

    After several rings, she still didn''t answer. ''Maybe she can''t hear her phone ringing.'' She concluded before sending her a text.

    In the car, she typed a few words before sending it to Mr. Fang. The strings of word read, ''Thank you Mr. Fang for agreeing to see my mum. I appreciate your kind gesture.''

    She sent that text without bothering to hope for a reply. The man she fell in love with, had the habit of ignoring people.

    To him, that kind of texts didn''t require a response after reading.

    For now, she was not bothered about his little ways. When they start dating, she would make him change things for her.

    Some minutester, three car pulled in front of a private guest house. Immediately, a few attendants stepped forward to open the car doors of the three cars and the door to everyone stepped out.

    The manger who was dressed in a suit, immediately stepped forward to greet Zhang Renshu and wee them all.

    "Are they cuisines ready?" Zhang Renshu asked as he led them inside the building.

 Chapter 171 Making Her Intentions Known

    The Zhang family was led into arge room fully decorated with traditional paintings depicting the culture from some centuries back.

    The room had a full traditional setting apart from the round table in the middle of the room surrounded by padded chairs.

    Zhang Renshu was all smiles as he gestured for everyone to take their seats.

    The man was cunning and made sure to sit next to Song Jujing. When Shi Wenqian saw this, she immediately went to sit next to his left side.

    Even if she was not allowed to speak, she wasn''t going to give him the freeway to act all cozy with her rival.

    Zhang Liling shook her head in disappointment and turned her gaze to the side. At least, she was happy that no one was sitting beside her.

    ncing in front of her, she saw that Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu had given one seat gap after their mother, makig her to wonder what was going on between them.

    Soon, 5 waiters stepped into the room with food trolleys and ced the several dishes on the rounded ss on the table before stepping away.

    The manager soon came in to ce 5 bottles of champagne and bowed before leaving them to enjoy their meal.

    "Jujin, I am not sure of your pte, so I ordered every kind of dish to be prepared to suit your taste. Please help yourself to any fish you want." Zhang Renshu said while gesturing to the several dishes on the table.

    Song Jujing nced at the table and nodded. "My tastebuds didn''t change that much, and I think i will be able to find some to my liking."

    Zhang Renshu nodded before shifting his gaze to Zhang Mingyu. "Mingyu, hand me one of bottle of the Champagne. It is time to toast to you and your sister''s sess." He instructed with a proud smile.

    Zhang Mingyu quickly picked up the bottle and got up from his seat to go to his side. Handing the item in his hand, he returned to his seat.

    At the moment, the manager returned with champagne sses.

    "Sir, let me help you out," he said as he reached out for the champagne in Zhang Renshu''s hand, but thetter rejected his kind gesture.

    "I will do it myself." He insisted.

    After popping the champagne, Zhang Renshu stood to his feet to say a few words in regards to Zhang Liling and Zhang Mingyu''s excellent grades before going ahead to pour some quantity of the bottle in each of their sses.

    First of, he started with Song Jujing before moving to Zhang Liling which angered the other trio.

    Having served the people at his right side, he moved over to his left side to serve Mingyu and Xiaoling. Shi Wenqian was thest person he served before returning to his seat to serve himself.

    Raising his champagne ss, the others followed suit as he made his statement.

    Because of howrge the round table was, it wasn''t possible for everyone to clink sses together, which was perfect, given the animosity they had against each other.

    There was a satisfying smile on Zhang Liling''s face having gotten the opportunity to start eating.

    Zhang Renshu made sure to engage Song Jujing in a conversation while eating, but at a point where she was no longer showing interest, he allowed silence to resume.

    Zhang Liling made sure to try most of the food on the table she found appetizing, not bothering to regard anyone''s gaze on her.<sub> </sub>

    Song Jujing would from time to time put some of her favourite dishes on her te, and each time she picked a side dish she wasn''t sure she would like, she would point at it and ask, "Do you like this one?"

    If Zhang Liling liked it, she would nod, but if she didn''t, her nose would immediately scrunch up showing her distate and disapproval.

    Zhang Mingyu and Zhang Xiaoling watched this scene with envy in their hearts. When did their mother ever treat them like that?

    On the otherhand, Shi Wenqian wasn''tfortable.

    She would have loved to show how much she adored her children, but if she were to make simr gestures, she would look like a hypocrite and someone trying to copy Song Jujing.

    p Not wanting to look inferior, she mainted a poker face and continued to eat.</anda>

    Finally when everyone was done eating, the waiters trooped in to removed the tes.

    Now, the family was left alone, the time Zhang Renshu had been looking forward to.

    Sparing each of them a nce, he started to speak about thepany''s affairs and his intentions to pick a sessor between Liling and Mingyu.

    "I will pick the one with the highest score at the end of their internship as my sessor, why the other one will assist."

    "Is this some kind of a battle?" Song Jujing asked with knitted brows. She could already tell the man''s ns and motive.

    He wanted them to fight for that position so he could pick the best amongst them. Although that looked okay on the surface, but they were a aware of what might happen at the long run.

    Zhang Renshu denied her spection. "It''s not a battle. This is apetition between two siblings."

    Shi Wenqian clenched her fists under the table in anger, while at the same time, lowering her gaze to hide her facial expression.

    The woman was angry with this topic just like she has always been everytime it was brought up.

    How could her son be reduced to apetitor to get the position that originally belonged to him? How was that possible?

    ''This will only happen if I stop existing.'' Shi Wenqian''s swore to herself.

    With her father arguing about his aim being the just method to pick his sessor, Zhang Liling released a tired smile.

    She hated to ruin things, especially after he had just fed her some expensive meal, but she needed to get her decision off her chest so he would no longer have to trouble himself with any more methods to pick a sessor.

    "Dad?" She called out, thereby interrupting the uing heated argument.

    ___________

    ANNOUNCEMENT!

    Hello dearest readers, there will be a mass release if I get a considerable number of collections on my new book ''Alchemy of Hearts'' before the beginning of a new week.

 Chapter 172 Anger

    Zhang Renshu immediately turned his attention to her. "Do you have any suggestion?" He asked as all eyes immediately turned to her.

    "I don''t have any suggestion to make, but I have something very important you have to know." Zhang Liling said with a serious gaze on him.

    Song Jujing nced at her and guessed what she was going to say and turned her face away. She had wanted to stop her give her a sign not to mention it.

    She felt it would be very painful for him to learn about her decision on such a happy asion just when he was feeling proud that he would have her intelligent mind on his team.

    Having dwelled on so many things, she felt that it was better to let her reveal it in front of the family. That way, Shi Wenqian who was already habouring an evil thought would abort it at once.

    She didn''t trust that woman one bit.

    "Dad, I don''t have any ns to work in yourpany." Zhang Liling revealed.

    Immediately, silence ensured in the room with everyone contemting on what they had just heard apart from Song Jujing.

    Zhang Renshu''s brows knitted together as ck lines appeared on his forehead. "Liling, what do you mean by that?" He asked for rification immediately.

    Without batting an eye, Zhang Liling spells it out for her.

    "I thank you for the opportunity to not struggle for anything before getting into yourpany, but I am not interested in the Zhang Group. I don''t want to fight for any position, and I don''t family feuds attached to what I gain."

    Zhang Renshu was left momentarily speechless.

    Shi Wenqian slowly unclenched her fingers as a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

    ''At least you are not stupid.'' she thought to herself.

    She didn''t care what Zhang Renshu was going to say to promise Zhang Liling his protection while threatening her at the same time.

    Just as long as she doesn''t agree to his quest, then she wouldn''t continue with her ns.

    ''She doesn''t want to work in the familypany?'' Zhang Mingyu thought in surprise. He was beginning to see his half-sister as foolish.

    Even if she didn''t want to fight for anything, how could she walk away from an opportunity served in a tter of gold?

    Zhang Mingyu deemed her foolish.

    Zhang Xiaoling on the otherhand, had a different thought as something swirled in her heart. Recalling the scene earlier at NYU where Zhang brought Mr. Fang over to introduce him to her mother, she thought as her fingers clenched in a fist.

    ''I hope it''s not what I''m thinking?''

    Zhang Renshu did not like where things were going and immediately turned his gaze to Song Jujing.

    "Jujing, what does Liling mean by that? Do you know what she is saying?"

    Song Jujing swirled the the champagne in the ss with her hand while replying with her gaze resting on the table.

    "Liling told me she doesn''t want to work in the Zhang Group. Since you already have two other children, pick a sessor from amongst them. You already have capable hands."<sub> </sub>

    "Jujing what do you mean? Are you telling me that your support her decision?" Zhang Renshu looked infuriated. He couldn''t believe that she agreed to that kind of ridiculous idea.

    "Dad, I am an adult, I have the right to make decisions myself. I can only consider your suggestions and not ept them because you want me to." Zhang Liling said with a frown.

    She didn''t have the time to sit there and try to convince him.

    She only wanted him to know that he can not force her to work in hispany. Anyway, she had already made her decision and she was not living in his house.

    Even if he found out where her apartment was with his influence, she wouldn''t bother much since she was still staying at Mr. Fang''s ce.

    What she would do, would be to immediately move her most important stuff to his ce once her mother leaves for Paris.

    The more Shi Wenqian heard her insistence, the more rxed she felt. Before she was unhappy and couldn''t touch her ss but now, she was drinking nonstop in glee.

    Zhang Renshu on the otherhand felt like pping her face. Even in the midst of that anger, he would tell she was happy.

    ncing back to Zhang Liling,he stared hard at her as his chest heaved up and down.

    Zhang Xiaoling took the opportunity in the middle of this thick silence to ask with her gaze directed at Liling.

    "If you don''t have any ns of working in the Zhang Group, whichpany do you n to go to? Don''t tell me you n to stay idle?"

    Her question was to get Zhang Liling to reveal her ns which was very much interested in.

    Zhang Liling not knowing the feelings she secretly harboured for Mr. Fang, replied without thinking, "I am interested in the Fang Group."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    All three (Xiaoling, Renshu and Wenqian) were stunned apart from Zhang Mingyu who seemed to be holding in hisughter.

    ncing at his sister from his peripheral view, he could tell that she was on the verge of losing her mind.

    "You refuse to help your father and want to go and work for the Fang Group?!" Zhang Renshu asked in a thunderous voice while staring hard at his daughter.

    Song Jujing could feel his anger from her side, but refused to say anything. She wouldn''t intervene because Liling was doing a good job already.

    ''Fang group? No way! I won''t let that happen!'' Shi Wenqian thought as her rxed veins immediately tensed up.

    She was already thinking of how she would make a marriage between her daughter and Mr. Fang work, and here Zhang Liling was, trying to steal that opportunity away.

    From the scene earlier where she invited Fang Bingwen over, and thetter acknowledged only Song Jujing and Zhang Renshu as if he had something against the rest of them, she just knew that Zhang Liling''s presence at the Fang Group would ruin her ns to the core.

    And who knows what nonsense she would spill about them?

 Chapter 173 Happy To See Him

    Zhang Liling couldn''t have been any more happier when she got to leave the stuffy room.

    She had so longed to escape her father''s ugly gaze that rested on her for several minutes and finally, she was free.

    In the car, she turned to her mother, "Mum, why did you agree to let me work in a differentpany, is it because of Shi Wenqian?"

    Song Jujing retracted her gaze from the outside view to reply, "As you said earlier, you are an adult."

    Without her needing to exin further, Zhang Liling understood her words clearly.

    Smiling to herself, she turned her gaze back to her phone.

    ********

    Tungmei was currently having an important conversation with her parents concerning thepany she would work in.

    "Why don''t you tell your friend to help you secure a position in her father''spany?" Mr. Lim suggested with a serious gaze.

    Tungmei sighed and wondered how she got this kind of father. The man was only interested in money and things that could bring it.

    All four of them including her mother and younger brother were currently sitting in a cafe chatting over abo meal.

    "Dad, I can''t ask my friend to help me." Tungmei stated.

    Mr. Lim red at her. "Why can''t you ask her for help? What''s so hard about it?"

    During the graduation ceremony, he watched his daughter interact with Zhang Liling and knew their rtionship was doing well, so he was expecting for things to be easy for them.

    Tungmei nced at her father and shook her head. She couldn''t tell him that Liling and her father were not in good terms so she gave a a different kind of response.

    "Dad, it''s the same way you can''t ask your friends for help, I have pride too."

    Mr. Lim red at her while her mother nudged her shoulders. "How can you make that kind of statement?" She chided.

    Tungmei shrugged and picked up her ss of water. She was not bothered. At least now, her father would not bother her again.

    Truly, Mr. Lim did not bother her again as he didn''t want to be angered by her.

    All of them ate in silence and when they were done, Tungmei escorted them to the bus station before going back to her shared apartment.

    *******

    Song Jujing spent 2 more days in City S before traveling back to Paris, but before leaving, she had a conversation with Liling about her choice of location.

    "Do you really like this city this much? Don''t you want toe back to the country you have known since birth? At least it''s better than this ce where you have nobody to protect you."

    Zhang Liling could see the worry in her mother''s eyes and smiled.

    She understood that she was getting apprehensive with her being alone without her father''s protection since angering him with her decision.

    "Mum I Will be fine." Liling so badly wanted to mention about Mr. Fang, but she refrained from doing so.

    She couldn''t talk about him without his permission, and that was fine with her.

    Song Jujing finally gave up trying to convince her to move back to Paris, but she was still disturbed about something.<sub> </sub>

    ''Liling, don''t me me if I do something you don''t like. You only have to know that as your mother, I will always protect you."

    *******

    Zhang Liling felt so happy to move back to Mr. Fang''s house, but not after hosting Tungmei who came for a sleepover at her ce the night her mother left for Paris.

    The two young women talked about their parents opinion and interference to their decisions, and that was when Tungmei learned that the rtionship between Liling and her father had turned worse.

    Even if she had been tempted to ask for help with securing a good position as an intern at Zhang Group, she couldn''t do that anymore.

    *******

    Zhang Liling happily pulled her luggage with her from the gates after the cab driver dropped her off

    The little woman was happy to be back here.

    Getting to the vi atst, she sighed in relief and keyed in the password to the door before pushing it open.

    The butler greeted her sight as soon as she stepped in.

    "Miss Zhang, wee back." Butler Gu greeted with a small smile.

    "Thank you Butler Gu," Zhang Liling replied amicably and walked past him pulling her luggage behind her.

    Zhang Liling was was still all smiles when she bumped into the man she has been yearning to see. There was a surprised look on her face as she called out to him, "Mr. Fang?"

    Mr. Fang''s gaze hovered over her as he nodded. "You are back." He stated.

    "Yes," Zhang Liling acknowledged.

    Steady steps approached them, causing him to look past her head to see the butlering over. Then without a word, he turned to leave, and headed for the stairs.

    Zhang Liling saw him leaving just like that and quickly followed him with her luggage.

    Mr. Fang did not realize that she was following him until he got to the stairs and still heard the sound of the luggage tires sliding against the tiled floor.

    He had to turn around to nce at her. Knowing fully well that she wanted to follow him with probably having something to tell him, he didn''t let her say anything.

    "Have you had breakfast?" He asked.

    Although Zhang Liling was surprised with the sudden question, she hurriedly answered, "I only ate some cookies and drank a ss of milk tea, I am yet to have a proper breakfast."

    "Good. Go and eat something beforeing up the stairs." Mr. Fang said and then turned to continue in his steps without looking up.

    Zhang Liling could only stare at his retreating back with a helpless gaze.

    Half an hourter, she finished eating and went to meet Mr. Fang. This time around, she found him in his bedroom.

    Unlike before when he always red at her everytime she stepped into his bedroom in his presence, he had a neutral gaze on her.

    "You wanted to see..." Before he could finish his question, the small figure at the door immediately rushed to his side and enveloped his sturdy body in her embrace.

 Chapter 174 Flirty With Mr. Fang

    Even if Mr. Fang was thinking that all of this was a dream, the softness of Zhang Liling''s breasts pressing hard against his sturdy chest couldn''t be overlooked.

    "Mr. Fang, I missed you." Zhang Liling dered boldly while tightening her hold on him, as if she wanted to squeeze life out of him.

    ''T-This girl...'' Mr. Fang''s gaze moved to the top of her head. He refused to return the embrace. He didn''t even know if he should scold her or just push her away .

    Finally, his thin lips parted. "Zhang Liling, are you drunk?" He asked, trying to give her a leeway out because, how would she exin this situation to him?

    Randomlying into his bedroom to hug him, what did she mean by that?

    Instead of taking the rare opportunity thrown her way, she brushed her lips on his shirt and raised her head to gaze at him.

    Her small actions caused ripples in his heart and a strange familiar sensation in his body.

    "Mr. Fang, I''m not drunk. I am hugging you because I missed you. Other times I embraced you, I never got to find out how it feels to be enveloped in your warmth when this close with you, so I decided to check it out."

    ck lines appeared on Mr. Fang''s forehead as his gaze narrowed on her. Was she flirty with him? How could she speak so tantly?

    Even he has never thought about speaking to her in that manner before, and here she was, taking the lead.

    Mr. Fang immediately grasped her arms and asked while trying to push her away, "Zhang Liling, did youe up to my bedroom to flirt with me?"

    The little woman still holding unto him tightly while pretending to not know what he was talking about replied, "How can I dare to flirt with you? I don''t even know how to do that. I just wanted you to know my thoughts since we would soon start dating officially."

    "Oh! So you are still aware that we haven''t started dating, yet you dare to get this intimate with me?" Mr. Fang queried in a dangerous tone with slightly bulging eyes.

    Zhang Liling struggled to lock her fingers behind his back while replying, "Mr. Fang, I do not consider hugging you to be intimate, also, it''s not like I have kissed you before either."

    At thatst statement she uttered, Mr. Fang suddenly froze. He no longer tried to pry her hands off his body.

    p He was suddenly reminded of that night she kissed him in her drunken state, and it seemed like she was still unaware of that incident.</anda>

    When Zhang Liling smiled at her victory and moved against his body to rest the side of her face on his chest, he suddenly used force to push her away.

    Luckily, he still held unto her and only let go when her footsteps steadied on the floor.

    Shock was visible on her face as she wondered if he was actually angry with her actions. What she did not know was that her brushing her body against him turned him on.

    He didn''t want her to feel the small bulge that was starting to grow somewhere. Knowing that she had a big mouth, he couldn''t overrule the possibility of her exposing him and thenter using it to taunt him.<sub> </sub>

    The Zhang Liling who has been by his side for a few months would never change and he was aware of what she was capable of doing.

    "Go away. If this is the only reason you wanted to see me, go back to your room and rest." Mr. Fang said with slightly knitted brows.

    Zhang Liling pouted her lips before turning to leave. She knew how to behave in different kind of situations.

    It was better to leave while he was still being nice. She didn''t think she wanted to offend him and thene crawling back to seek for mercy.

    Mr. Fang heaved a sigh of relief after she left obediently and shut the door behind her.

    Taking long strides toward his bed, he went to sit at the foot with his palms over his face.

    The man was speechless and exhausted from Zhang Liling''s brazen actions. Now he was beginning to rethink his whole decision about dating.

    After a few minutes of pondering things over, he concluded that he had to set a few rules for her to follow otherwise, who knows what brazen action she would take next?

    *******

    "Do you still want to marry into the Fang family?" Shi Wenqian asked as soon as she pushed the door to Zhang Xiaoling''s room open and saw her trying to paint her nails.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s gaze was focused on her fingernails as she carefully brushed the nude paint on it.

    Sitting on the chair with her fingers ced on her desk, made herfortable to go on.

    She didn''t reply till she was done carefully evening out that particr nail with the paint.

    Blowing on her fingernails, she returned the brush back to the bottle of nail polish while replying, "Why are you asking? So you can help me?"

    Shi Wenqian took a few steps forward and only stopped when she was directly standing behind her.

    Knowing that her response would be her rejecting her help if she put her sentence in a certain way, she rephrased it in her head before asking away, "Answer my questions first. At least, I need to know what you want."

    Zhang Xiaoling stood to her feet and walked past her. "I don''t need you monitoring my life. I should also learn to take care of things myself in case you should get arrested one day."

    "Are you jinxing me?!" Shi Wenqian questioned with a tight frown appearing on her face as her gaze followed her to the bed.

    Zhang Xiaoling moved the duvet aside and got into her bed. "I am not wishing you bad luck or insulting you, I am only trying to be rational here. If one day something happens to you and I get into a difficult situation, would I still be hoping you would appear to take care of it?"

 Chapter 175 Internship

    Although she felt she was right, she didn''t like the sound of that. But deep down, she knew her daughter was just making fun of her and probably trying to anger her on purpose.

    Shi Wenqian didn''t stay long in her bedroom and left her to her peace. She didn''t need to ask further in order to confirm her interest in Fang Bingwen.

    Her son was going to have the Zhang Group to himself and her daughter was going to be the mistress of the Fang family.

    ''Now that things are getting into ce, it''s time to get rid of that girl.'' Shi Wenqian concluded in her head as she walked to her bedroom.

    She refused to believe that Zhang Liling would not be a threat to her if she was left alive.

    *******

    Over the next few days, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang''s rtionship turned for the better, and everyone around them noticed.

    The butler and the housekeeper continued to exchange weird nces every time they saw Zhang Liling chasing after Mr. Fang and annoying him without getting punished.

    Bolin had already concluded that something was going on between them, but since his Boss had not said anything to him, it meant that things between them were not yet official.

    For him, if they were dating, knowing his Boss, he would have asked him to take care of one or two things from Zhang Liling''s side, but since he was mute, he arrived at that conclusion.

    Today, Mr. Fang was leaving for work and Zhang Liling was hovering around him as usual.

    Climbing down the stairs with his hands tucked into his pants pockets, Mr. Fang said to Zhang Liling who was chasing after him from behind, "When will you stop chasing after me?"

    Zhang Liling was a little breathless from chasing after him and finally when she caught up with him, she released a deep breath.

    "Just until I catch up with you. You like my scent, so I have to stick to you since you will be facing all kinds of people at work."

    Mr. Fang nced at her with furrowed brows. The reading sses over his eyes made his gaze stern but unfortunately, Zhang Liling no longer cowered when she met with it.

    "Zhang Liling, you are being a nuisance. How do you think I have been survivng before your existence?" He queried and immediately moved his gaze to watch his steps.

    Zhang Liling was not offended by his words. The youngdy refused to be easily intimidated by him. After getting to know him by trying him so many times and watching him, she concluded that he was harmless.

    He didn''t have the heart to punish her severely.

    "Mr. Fang, I am about to be your gi..."

    Instantly, Mr. Fang paused in his steps and red daggers at her, shutting her up in the process.

    Zhang Liling immediately moved her fingers over her lips in a motion that said that her lips was sealed.

    "What''s the use when your annoying actions has already nted seeds of doubt in everybody''s hearts?" He asked.

    Mr. Fang was very observant and could see the weird nces everybody was throwing at him, from his personal assistant and down to his Butler.

    He was sure they already had ideas about his rtionship with her. Her big mouth did not work, but her annoying actions did.

    Zhang Liling immediately forgot about the self-observed punishment as her lips parted to respond. "Mr. Fang, it''s because they are sharp-eyed. We still address each other formerly yet they could specte."

    Fang Bingwen did not even bother to answer her anymore. He continued down the stairs and and immediately made a turn for the entrance as soon as he stepped down thest stairs.

    Zhang Liling continued to follow him with his workbag. Outside the house, she greeted Bolin respectfully as he opened the car door for Mr. Fang.

    Bolin nodded in response and eyed her suspiciously.

    She immediately passed thr bag to Mr. Fang as soon as he settled in before asking with a big smile smeared on her face, "Mr. Fang, should I prepare pasta for dinner?"

    Fang Bingwen snatched the bag from her and ced it beside him in the car. Narrowing his gaze at her, he asked, "Are you that jobless?"

    She nodded in return. "If we look at my situation critically, I am indeed jobless. I am a fresh graduate without a good job."

    ''What happened to being Mr. Fang''s Hoousekeeper? Is that a bad job?'' Bolin asked as he stood in one spot.

    He couldn''t close the car door, also, he couldn''t step inside the front passenger seat because they were still conversing. So he had no choice but to stand there and listen to their conversation.

    "Get ready to move out of my house," Mr. Fang said and immediately closed the car door without warning.

    "..."

    "..."

    Zhang Liling was speechless at how fast his mood swung. Wasn''t she joking with him now, and he already didn''t want to see her?

    Bolin sighed and moved his gaze from her back to the front passenger seat. Getting into the car, he closed the door of his side.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling stood their and watched the car disappear from her view with a pout.

    "I didn''t insult the job of working for him, why did he have to take things serious?." She mumbled to herself with pouted lips.

    On her way back inside the house, she was contemting on his response.

    ''Was he refering to me getting the intern job in hispany or what?''

    Nevertheless, she didn''t dwell on it. She knew his anger too well. Likewise, she knew how to infuriate him as well as please him.

    Two dayster, she got an email from Fang Group, offering her a position to intern for 1 year.

    Zhang Liling was overjoyed that she immediately forwarded the mail to her mother.

    When Song Jujing saw it, she only gave a in response.

    "Congrattions on your first official job as a graduate. Take care of yourself, Mum loves you "

    Zhang Liling didn''t think much of her response and only replied with a word of thanks before going on to forward the mail to Tungmei and a few of her friends from Paris she still had a clsoe rtionship with.

    Tungmei was ted.

    "I knew you would get in." She said with a face full of smiles. She had face-timed Liling as soon as she saw the mail.

    "How sure were you? What if they had rejected me?" Zhang Liling asked with a low chuckle.

    Tungmei hoisted herself up the bed and rested her back on the headboard.

    "How dare them reject a first ss graduate?"

    Immediately she posed the question, they both erupted inughter.

    "I can see how proud you are of my grade," Zhang Liling said in-betweenughter.

    Tungmei nodded in eptance and even added, "Why wouldn''t I be proud of you when I can use you to brag and shut some people up?"

    "I can see your main purpose..." Zhang Liling with a hand over her mouth.

    After chatting for a bit, Zhang Liling went to meet Mr. Fang in his study.

    When he heard her famr pattern of knocking, he sighed and weaved his hand through his hair tiredly.

    Gazing at the door, he didn''t even bother to respond because he knew what her next action would be.

    Just then, she pushed the door opens and immediately directed an excited smile his way as the the corner of her lips tugged upwards.

    "Mr. Fang?" She called out as she closed the door behind her before walking forward.

    "What do you want from me?" He asked with his tired gaze resting on that annoying face of hers.

    Zhang Liling ignored hisck of humour and went to his desk to help herself with a seat before whipping out her phone to show her screen to him.

    "I got into your Fangpany, and I have an open book to pick the department to intern in." She announced with a proud smile.

    "I know." Mr. Fang replied.

    Zhang Liling looked surprised as she went on to ask, "How did you know? Your signature is not here."

    At the end of the letter, three different signatures were attached, and not even one of them belonged to him. She knew that because his name was not mentioned, and she was well aware of what his signature looked like.

    Mr. Fang pressed on his temples and sighed. "Because I am the one that approved of it."

    "Oh no wonder..." She said as her excitement died down.

    p A soft sigh escaped his lips again and this time around, hisshed fluttered close.</anda>

    Finally, Zhang Liling was able to notice his tiredness as a frown slowly appeared on her face.

    Looking at his messy desk, her brows tugged further. He seemed very busy and tired.

    Rising to her feet, which alerted him as his eyes opened to stare at her, she walked over the table.

    Mr. Fang''s gaze followed her till she stopped beside him. His brows knitted as lines appeares on his forehead. "What is it?" He asked with a look of doubt.

 Chapter 176 Arranging A Marriage

    Without saying a word, Zhang Liling came behind him and stretched her hands. Smiling, she pressed her fingers on his temples and started to move around it slowly.

    "You look exhausted, let me help you to ease your stress a bit." She said with a affectionate smile.

    The feeling of her soft slender fingers moving on his temples brought a bit of relief to Mr. Fang.

    He could feel it, but his stubbornness did not allow him to express it. His brows were still furrowed, and the corner of his lips drew downwards.

    "Did I give you the permission to touch me?"

    His tone sounded offended, causing her to pause in her actions and continue the next second.

    "Mr. Fang, you need to rx. You have been working for hours now, and you look like you didn''t get a quality sleepst night."

    "And how is that your business? Zhang Liling, are you not stepping out of line?" He asked as he immediately held her hand in ce to restrict the motion of her fingers, before moving both hands over his shoulder, thereby drawing her to his side.

    Zhang Liling didn''t look happy as she stared at him with pouted lips. How could he reject her assistance when she meant well for him?

    "Mr. Fang, your business is my business. Can''t I be worried about you and offer a helping hand? I was merely helping you to rx your tensed nerves."

    Fang Bingwen scoffed and averted his gaze from her. "I don''t need your help. Go over there and sit, I can see that we need to establish some rules with you." He said while pointing at one of the chairs in front of his desk.

    Zhang Liling grumbled before turning to heed to his instruction.

    After she had settled on the seat in front of him, He leaned away from the backrest while cing his hands on the table.

    "Zhang Liling, you can''t get physical with me. You are still my domestic helper."

    Those words hurt, but before Zhang Liling''s face could show her displeasure, he added a statement that cooled her raging emotions.

    "... What will others think of me if they see us getting physical? Wait till we are officially together before you start to render some kind of assistance to me."

    Instantly, a dazzling smile spread across her face. She was happy now that he exined the reason for his earlier statement.

    Mr. Fang sighed tiredly. Zhang Liling was a handful to handle.

    Watching her smile because of what he said, made him wonder if she really liked being close to him that much.

    Anyway, he was not interested in knowing. Gazing straight into her eyes, he said, "When we get together, don''t get physical in public, I don''t like PDA''s."

    Although Zhang Liling did not like the sound of that, she nodded in understanding as if she would obey him.

    She only wanted to appear obedient for the time being. When they start dating, he would have no choice but to tolerate her.

    How could he tell her not to be affectionate with him in public? She has been eyeing him since and finally When they are going to be together, he was telling her this?

    No. She would make sure everyone knew he was her man, and that things were serious between them.

    After speaking to her for s bit, he released her to go, and she didn''t dare toe to his side again.

    <o>,m Sighing in relief, he nced at hisptop briefly before shutting it down. Picking up his phone, he went to his bedroom to enjoy a short nap.</o>

    *******

    At the Zhang Mansion...

    Zhang Xiaoling was suddenly summoned to Zhang Renshu''s study.

    Looking at the maid that came to inform her about it, she asked curiously as she got off her bed, "Did he say why he sent for me?"

    The servant shook her head in denial. "He didn''t say anything, but he looked unhappy."

    Since that day the entire family dined together at his private restaurant, he has been moody, and no one had dared to cross his path.

    Even Shi Wenqian looked apprehensive around him, and didn''t dare to talk back at him.

    Zhang Xiaoling wasn''t any different. She was so scared of meeting her stepfather alone and didn''t even mind asking her mother for help.

    For him to have sent for her, it meant that he had something serious to tell her.<sub> </sub>

    ''What could he want to talk about?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself and hurriedly followed the maid. But just when they got to hallway, a disturbing shed throught her mind, making her to stop in her steps.

    When the maid failed to hear her footsteps from behind, she immediately turned around and saw her standing there with a frantic gaze.

    "Miss, is anything the matter?" The maid asked.

    Zhang Xiaoling got an idea and stepped forward. "Go and tell my mum about this in passing."

    The maid understood and left her side immediately.

    Zhang Xiaoling had guessed that Zhang Renshu probably wanted to talk about marriage with her. And because she didn''t want an arranged marriage with any other person apart from Mr. Fang, she needed her mother''s help.

    Also, she didn''t want to directly ask her mother for help, hence she sent the servant to mention about this meeting with her stepfather in passing, so it wouldn''t seem like she was asking for her assistance.

    As the servant left, she took deep breaths and fixed her facial expression before continuing in her steps.

    A minuteter, she arrived in front of Zhang Renshu''s study and knocked once before pushing the door open.

    Hearing the sound of the door opening, Zhang Renshu who was on a call with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, shifted his gaze to her.

    Seeing her standing at the door without making any move, he motioned for her to go and stand in front of him.

    A soft sigh escaped her lips as she took silent steps towards him.

    "... Minister, I will get back to you shortly, I didn''t even need to think about it if not for your insistence." Zhang Renshu said with a loud chuckle escaping from his parted lips, while Zhang Xiaoling stood there wondering the kind of conversation he was having.

    The person at the other end said something that made Zhang Renshu erupt in another series ofughter as his round belly moved in sync.

    "Alright Minister, you will hear from me soon." Zhang Renshu said and waited for a few more seconds for the person to disconnect the call before putting his phone on his desk.

    ncing at his step daughter, the smile on his face slowly diminished. "Sit." He said.

    Zhang Xiaoling went to sit on the chair in front of him while asking with a fake small smile ying at the corner of her lips in hopes that he wasn''t going to be harsh on her.

    She didn''t even do anything wrong to him yet, and he had already stopped smiling as soon as his conversation over the phone ended.

    "Dad, you asked for me?" She asked in a soft tone.

    *****

    Zhang Renshu nodded and let out a sigh. "Xiaoling, I have looked at things critically and decided to change my earlier decision concerning your marriage."

    Zhang Xiaoling felt like cold water was poured over her head. Although her guess had truthfully yed out in front of her, she was still overwhelmed by it.

    Overlooking the distraughted expression on her face, he continued. "I can no longer allow you to stay single even till a year time, hence I am arranging someone for you."

    *******

    "Ma''am, would you like some desserts to be made just like Miss Xiaoling?" The maid asked as soon as she finished greeting Shi Wenqian aftering to her side.

    This was the same servant that was with Zhang Xiaoling some minutes ago. It looks like she was really doing as she was ordered.

    "Xiaoling ordered for desserts?" Shi Wenqian asked, shifting her gaze from her fashion magazine to the maid.

    "Yes, she did, but Master asked for her just now, so she went to meet him in his study." The servant spilled.

    Immediately Shi Wenqian heard that, she threw her magazine to the space next to her with furrowed brows. "... He sent for her? What does he want to talk about?"

    The maid clutched her apron and replied with a grave expression on her face, "Sir did not make mention of the reason he summoned her, but his expression looked stern while giving out the order."

    Instantly, Shi Wenqian rose to her feet without thinking and walked away without replying to the servant.

    Walking straight to Zhang Renshu''s study, she bent the door handle and pushed it open without knocking, surprising him in the process.

    When Zhang Xiaoling nced at the door to see that the intruder was her mother, a small smile appeared on her face, which she immediately hid away the next moment.

 Chapter 177 A Seed Of Doubt

    Zhang Renshu nced toward the door with a frosty gaze, displeased at the sudden interruption.

    Seeing who the culprit was, he turned his full attention to her at that moment.

    "Shi Wenqian, I know you don''t have manners, but can you at least act like it?"

    The woman in question snorted and walked in proper.

    "I wanted Xiaoling to apany me to my health foundation and learned she was here. May I know what this little meeting is all about?"

    Zhang Renshu''s gaze followed her till she settled in the other seat in front of his desk.

    "If I didn''t know better, I would have thought you had the servants reporting to you of my every move. I will wipe you away with them if that timees."

    Shi Wenqian was not moved by his threat. She only came there to find out what he was up to.

    Did he want to wipe her away? Not if she doesn''t get rid of him first.

    There were some reasons she has been tolerating his excesses for a long time.

    One, he was very cautious and any move she made against him if not properly nned, would backfire.

    Two, she wanted him to hand thepany over to her son properly, and for his power to be stabilized.

    Three, she would reap some benefits from his political career. After all, she needed the rotten people in power to do business with her.

    "Why did you call Xiaoling over, or are you trying to hide something from me?" She asked.

    "Hide something from you?" Zhang Renshu asked with furrowed brows while taking off his reading sses.

    "What''s there to hide from you? If you are interested in why I called Xiaoling over, sit tight and listen, and don''t interrupt me."

    Snorting, he moved his gaze over to Zhang Xiaoling who has been quiet. At the moment, her facial expression had rxed a bit, making Zhang Renshu to have an idea.

    "As I was saying, you don''t need to get married immediately, but you have to start dating first and start getting to know him to establish a foundation for your rtionship."

    "Excuse me¡­" Shi Wenqian said with her palms raised. Her gaze looked confused.

    Zhang Renshu squinted his eyes at her as ck lines appeared on his forehead. He clearly looked unhappy to have been interrupted by her.

    Not letting him utter a word in that anger, she continued, "Are you arranging a marriage for Xiaoling?"

    "Is anything wrong with that? Do I need your permission to arrange a marriage for her?" He asked a bit offended by her facial expression that challenged him.

    Shi Wenqian intertwined her ten fingers together and said after ncing at Xiaoling and moving her gaze to him.

    "You indeed need my permission before you arrange a marriage for her because he is my daughter, but this is not my main point."

    Zhang Renshu just sat there and watched her finish her speech. No matter what she says today, in the end, she would have no choice but to listen to him.

    ''Looks like getting her here will work.'' Zhang Xiaoling concluded to herself as she watched the couple bicker back and forth, while she sat there waiting for the oue.

    Shi Wenqian continued since the man didn''t look like he wanted to say anything to her.

    "You can''t arrange a marriage for my daughter because she already has someone she loves."

    Zhang Xiaoling who was smiling to herself a few seconds ago turned her head to the side with a shocked gaze.

    ''What is she doing?''

    She almost felt like dragging her mother away to go and tell her off by the side. What was she doing by saying that?

    Zhang Xiaoling knew what her mother had in mind, but this was not what she wanted because the man would end up getting infuriated.

    There was ack of interest on Zhang Renshu''s face after Shi Wenqian made that statement. He didn''t seem to care if his stepdaughter was already dating someone or not.

    He was almost tempted to go straight to the point to ask her to break up with whoever her current boyfriend was and date the person he would introduce her to, but he stopped for a second.

    Propping himself up with his elbows ced on his desk, he stared right into her eyes to ask. "Who is the person you love?"

    Zhang Xiaoling met his gaze. She knew he could not be possibly that interested in it, but she couldn''t give him an answer.<sub> </sub>

    She admired Fang Bingwen, but he was from the Fang family so she couldn''t mention his name.

    She would just leave her mother who started all this to respond to that question and face the more severe consequences.

    With that, she turned her gaze to her who was staring at her and waiting for her response. Instinctively, Zhang Renshu followed her gaze to Shi Wenqian while expecting an answer from any of them.

    Shi Wenqian on the other hand looked surprised with their gazes on her. Raising her brows at her daughter, she asked silently, ''Why are you looking at me?''

    But Xiaoling didn''t return any signs, leaving her no choice but to face her husband''s menacing gaze.

    "Have you forgotten or are you pretending not to remember? The person Xiaoling likes is Fang Bingwen from the family."

    "Nonsense!" Zhang Renshu struck the table with his palms while giving both of them a death re.

    His reaction was so strong that both women flinched in fear, scared that he would throw something at them.

    "I said that we can never be connected to the Fang family through marriage! Why do you have to make me repeat my words, or are they not strong enough to sink into your thick skulls?!"

    Zhang Xaioling felt her heart almost leap out of her chest and didn''t dare to meet his angry gaze.

    Her mother on the other hand was no better, but after patting her chest repeatedly, she got the courage to look him in the eye after she had calmed down.

    "Zhang Renshu, are you going to deny will you deny my daughter the partner of her choice because of some feud you have with the Fang family?"

    "As a member of the Zhang family, there is no option of marriage by choice unless it aligns with my goal."

    Zhang Renshu''s gaze was piercing as his stained white teeth were clenched together as he said word for word without mincing anyone.

    "Also, Shi Wenqian, be warned that you should never mention the Fang family and some feud if you don''t know our history."

    Shi Wenqian was not satisfied with his response and wanted to retort, but Xiaoling held her hand without gazing at her.

    It was a reminder to not provoke him more than this.

    Fortunately, she understood and swallowed the bile rising in her stomach. She could still remember his reckless behavior every time he was pushed to the wall.

    He wouldn''t hesitate to hit her in his current state.

    Seeing that both women seemed to have understood their stand, he continued, "I will arrange the marriages of any child bearing my surname, and I hope that is well understood?"

    His tone was imposing which didn''t leave any room to challenge.

    Suddenly, Shi Wenqian got an idea and couldn''t help retorting. "Renshu, you said you would arrange the marriages of all your children, so what about Zhang Liling?"

    Zhang Renshu''s brows knitted together. "Why are you mentioning Liling in this matter? Are you trying to change the topic?"

    He couldn''t think of any other reason she had to mention his biological daughter in the marriage talks.

    Shi Wenqian regained her confidence slowly while asking, "Don''t tell me that you are blind in her matter. Your daughter applied to go and work for the Fang family. In addition, she has a special rtionship with Fang Bingwen."

    "What nonsense are you talking about? What has her going to work in Fang Group got to do with having a special rtionship with her professor?" He asked while narrowing his gaze at her.

    ''Oh¡­ this is how he sees the picture?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought with gritted teeth

    She would only conclude that he was intentionally being blind because this had something to do with his biological daughter.

    Shi Wenqian used this opportunity to poison his mind.

    "Is it not obvious that Liling likes Fang Bingwen and has thought about being with him? Why then would she abandon to help yourpany with her knowledge and run to someone else''spany?"

    Zhang Xiaoling understood what her mother was trying to do and apuded her in her head.

    She was trying to sow a seed of doubt in him and at the same time, ruin the chances Zhang Liling had to be with Mr. Fang.

    Zhang Renshu shook his head and said, "She wouldn''t dare. I have indeed not mentioned this to her, and I will make sure to tell her about it. She can''t get ideas about any man from the family. I will not tolerate it."

    "What if she refuses to listen?" Shi Wenqian asked, which challenged his pride while staring straight into his eyes.

 Chapter 178 Love Or Obsession

    The seed of doubt Shi Wenqian seeded in sowing in Zhang Renshu''s heart began to germinate.

    Without the effort of tendering to it herself to ensure the growth was flourishing, she let his mind do the job.

    Zhang Renshu was restless while pondering over the possibility of the daughter he had with the woman he loved, getting together with someone from the Fang family.

    He would never let that happen.

    Something simr would have happened some years ago, but he made sure to put an end to it, so he couldn''t let there be a repeat.

    If Shi Wenqian was not greedy, he would not have minded if Xiaoling married into the Fang family just as long as it was not Liling.

    But keeping in the back of his mind that he could not control things in the Fang family through Xiaoling for things to work in his favour and that his kindness might backfire, he put that thought off.

    Zhang Xiaoling on the other hand has been uneasy.

    On several asions, she was tempted to inquire from her mother if there has been any progress, but she refrained from doing it as that will expose the fact that she used her.

    For now, she only needed to rx since her mother seeded in putting off the marriage ns he had for a day.

    Shi Wenqian was very patient with her ns.

    While waiting for Zhang Renshu to take up the matter concerning the Fang family, she continued with her ns to get rid of Liling.

    At night, she sent a text to someone. After typing away on her phone for a minute, she sent the message out and deleted it immediately after it was delivered.

    Smiling to herself, she put her phone away and turned off the bedsidemp.

    "Zhang Renshu, you think you are smart." She mumbled to herself.

    When she said that, she meant but in the separate rooms he made them have, plus the other ns he had for Liling.

    Sheughed at him for being dumb.

    Allowing her to have a bedroom to herself gave her the liberty to make her ns without having to put herself in distress over him hearing her conversation with someone over the phone.

    *******

    Zhang Renshu threatens Zhang Liling the next day.

    "Is it true that you have a liking for Fang Bingwen?" His tone sounded cold and very direct.

    Zhang Liling didn''t think much about his cold tone because she thought he was still embittered she refused toe and work for him.

    But she was surprised at how he came up with that conclusion about her feelings for Mr. Fang.

    In that brief moment, her thoughts wondered about as she tried to recall ever telling anyone her feelings or even showing it, but nothing coulde to mind.

    Atst, she concluded that he must have just thought about it in passing in case that was the reason she went for Fang Group.

    Not wanting to deny her feelings, she admitted to his spection. "Yes."

    Immediately, Zhang Renshu ordered her to end her feelings. "Liling, you must listen to me this time around. You can''t have anything to do with anyone from the Fang family through romantic rtionships..."

    ck lines appeared on Liling''s face as her nose scrunched up in irritation.

    ''What is he saying?'' She muttered under her breath as she moved her phone away from her ear to check her phone screen before cing it back on her ear.

    Then without waiting for him to continue, she asked immediately with slightly furrowed brows and a confused tone, "Dad, what are you talking about?"

    She really wanted to know what her old man was getting at. Was he trying to tell her that she couldn''t be with Mr. Fang?

    "Didn''t you hear what I said earlier?" Zhang Renshu said in a displeased tone. Nevertheless, he repeated his earlier words.

    "End your rtionship with Fang Bingwen. None of my children will be joined to the Fang family through marriage."

    "And why is that?" Liling interjected immediately. Her tone sounded annoyed and was heading to the peak of anger.

    Zhang Renshu was taken aback by her question.

    If only he could see her facial expression to know that she was ready to challenge him, there is no doubt that he wouldn''t have copsed out of anger.

    "You¡­ You¡­" He stammered. He was truly speechless.<sub> </sub>

    Without allowing him to continue with whatever he had to say, she carried on.

    "Dad, I love Mr. Fang and I will not end my rtionship with him because you asking me to. Unless our families are rted by blood, then nothing can get me to end things with him."

    Anger welled in Zhang Renshu''s chest. He swore that he would have pped her face to the side if she dared to speak to him that way if she was in front of him.

    "Zhang Liling." For the first time in a long time, he was addressing her by her full name, and she was not surprised.

    "¡­ If you don''t listen to me on this one, forget about the director position in Zhang Group you would have gotten because of your mother."

    ''Oh. There was a n like this?''

    "Dad, in case I failed to pass my message to you clearly, pardon my negligence, hence, I would be making my stance known to you one more time."

    Zhang Renshu could feel that things would not be going in his favour based on the formality she was using. Because she was his daughter, her tone felt like an insult to him.

    She was treating him like an outsider now.

    Without wasting time, Liling went straight to the point.

    "Dad, I am not interested in working for Zhang Group at least for now. Also, I will not give up on my rtionship with Mr. Fang because you asking me to. Even if Mr. Fang doesn''t want me, he can''t chase me as he doesn''t have much choice."

    Just as those words left her lips, Mr. Fang appeared from the corner, scaring her to the point that a screech escaped from her throat as she took a step back.

    Zhang Liling was scared out of her wits.

    ''W-What¡­ H-How did¡­ W-When did he walk over?''

    Zhang Liling swallowed a lump in her throat and called out in a soft panicky tone, "Mr. Fang."

    On the other end, Zhang Renshu had thought something bad had happened to her and for a moment, he forgot he was angry with her.

    Right when he was about to ask what was going on, he heard her call out ''Mr. Fang'' and immediately, the anger in his heart shot out to his head.

    Without prior notice, he terminated the call and mmed his phone on his desk.

    His face was twisted in anger as his limbs trembled. His teeth were gritted as his chest rose and fell.

    Here he was trying to be humane and there she was getting entangled with the man he warned her about.

    Did she still consider me as her father?

    *******

    Mr. Fang stared at Liling for two seconds more before turning on his heel as his voice trailed behind. "It looks like I have to study you more."

    His facial expression was normal and his tone was neutral, giving no course for rm, but Zhang Liling knew that she was in trouble for she felt a chill run down her spine.

    Not giving him any space, she quickly chased after him to his bedroom.

    She hade upstairs to call him for breakfast when her father''s call came in and now, she was in deep sh*t.

    "Mr. Fang, you have misunderstood something. What you heard is not what I meant."

    "What did you think I heard?" He asked without pausing in his steps.

    She almost scared him. If she was obsessed with him, then he would do them both the favour of quenching whatever feelings he was trying to get.

    Love obsession was very dangerous, and he wouldn''t want to connect himself with someone that has attachment disorders. It could bring him troubles in the long run.

    "Mr. Fang, I know you heard me. I want you to understand that I spoke out of anger. Of course, I wouldn''t want you to break up with me, but I am mentally stable for the oue of our rtionship.

    I am not obsessed with you, and my feelings for you have not grown deep into love because I haven''t seen all of your shorings and epted them. I just like you a lot, and want to be with you."

    While speaking, she didn''t notice when he had stopped walking and almost bumped into his back.

    Fortunately, she stopped in time and wondered the reason he stopped walking, and what he was staring at.

    This was when she followed his gaze to the foot of the stairs to see a woman dressed in a sky-blue gown. Her hair had a mixture of grey ones and was secured in a bun.

    There was a pearl ne around her neck. On her wrinkled face stood a small smile.

 Chapter 179 Rob A Store

    "Grandma, what are you doing here?" Mr. Fang asked as his knitted brows knitted in a frown while taking a step forward to descend the stairs.

    A voice went off in his Zhang Liling''s head immediately.

    ''Grandma? That olddy is his grandmother?''

    At that sudden realization and coupled with the fact that she could no longer hide behind Mr. Fang since he stepped forward, she immediately spurned on her heels and disappeared from sight.

    Mr. Fang''s brows arched as he could hear the retreating footsteps behind. ''Is she running away?'' He looked amused after his deduction and felt like giving her a hard time by calling her back.

    But because his grandmother was a handful and would probably take the reins in the conversation if he involved her, he decided to let her go.

    Old Lady Fang seemed excited to see her grandson as her smile immediately reached her eyes, forming a stricks of wrinkles at the corner.

    "I have to attend a meeting my old friends organized so I decided toe over to see you and luckily, here you are, about to leave for work."

    In long strides, Mr. Fang reached her side. As he stood beside her, the contrast in their height difference became very obvious.

    Now, the olddy had to raise her neck to meet her grandson''s gaze.

    Sighing, Mr. Fang took her hand and led her to the sitting room. "Do you have a moment for tea, you look like you are in a hurry."

    "My grandson offered me a cup of tea, how can I refuse?"

    Butler Gu who was following after them after leading the old woman into the house, he immediately turned to leave to go and fetch the tea.

    After settling down on the sofa, Mr Fang said with his gaze on her, "What if you did not see me at home? You know I usually leave for work on time. Next time, call me before youe over, and how did you find this ce?"

    It was obvious from whom she got his address from, but he wanted to hear it directly from her lips.

    He couldn''t believe that his personal assistant would betray him so in case he was wrong, the olddy had to answer for herself.

    The olddy being wise in age, refused to respond to him. "Are you unhappy that I know your ce now? You don''t have to worry that I will be intruding, I am only an olddy, I don''t have that kind of time."

    Fang Bingwen shook his head. "I am not worried about youing over as you please. I am worried about other members of the familying over without prior notice."

    Old Lady Fang chuckled heartily and reache out for his brows to smooth them with her fingers. "You will get old quickly if you don''t stop this bad habit."

    Mr. Fang quickly reached out to pull her hands away from his brows.

    He was already very displeased with her sudden presence and her refusing to answer his question.

    The corners of her lips curled as she finay decided to left him be after detecting his irritated mood.

    At that moment, Butler Gu arrived with a tray in hand before pulling a stool to a stop in front of the olddy. Next, he lowered his upper torso to out down the tray and left after serving the hot tea.

    Picking up her cup, she held it in her hand and sniffed it and instantly, a smile spread across her wrinkled face.

    Bringing her lips to touch the rim of the cup, she stole a quick nce at her grandson to see his gaze slowly rxing.

    Smiling to herself, she took a few sips from the cup before putting it back to the saucer.

    "Wenwen, grandma will not betray you. I am the only one in the family who knows of this address."

    Mr. Fang sighed in relief as his tightened face loosened up, but just when he was starting to get rxed, he heard her ask, "Earlier, I saw ady tailing you, won''t you tell me who she is?"

    He didn''t look that surprised to learn that she saw Zhang Liling,it he was surprised that she could still remember to ask about her. Releasing a sigh after preparing on the answer to give to her, she gave him a knowing smile.

    "Don''t tell me she is your servant. She is too pretty and young to be your dosmetic helper, and with the way she stood so close to you at the stairs, your rtionship seemed pretty close."

    "Grandma, you don''t have to concern yourself with the people in my office and at thepany. Are you not leaving yet?"

    He refused to give her the response she wanted and even tried to divert her attention to the reason she came down to City S in the first ce, but that didn''t work.<sub> </sub>

    The olddy smirked. "You reay won''t tell me who she is? Fine. But why did she run away after she saw me as if she was caught doing something wrong?"

    Mr. Fang''s gaze remained straight without the slightest sign of faltering. Feigning ignorance, he asked with raised brows, "Grandma, she had something else to do so she left after informing me about my breakfast, and which eyes did you use to see her running? I only thought she left hurriedly because her next task was urgent."

    ''Sneaky boy. Is that how you want to put it?'' The olddy thought in her head before telling him, "You have improved in avoiding my questions."

    "Grandma, if that is apliment I will ept it." He said without batting an eye.

    Finay, the olddy gave up on ever getting any satisfying answer to the questions she posed to him.

    Sighing to herself, she picked up her teacup and took small sips before standing to her feet.

    Mr. Fang immediately reached out to assist his olddy to her feet as relief watched over him.

    "I will leave before your breakfast gets cold, you don''t need to see me out." Olddy Fang said to him with a kind smile as she immediately hooked her handbag to her arms and turned to leave.

    Mr. Fang paid no heed to her and immediately walked her to her car while chatting about work. After helping her into the backseat of the car, he closed the door and waved at her. He stood at one ce with his palms inside his front pants pocket before going back inside the house after her car disappeared from his view.

    When he returned inside the house, the teacup had already been cleared out, and he saw Zhang Liling tiptoeing down the stairs.

    He scoffed as his irritated voice rang out, "What are you doing?"

    Zhang Liling stopped in her steps and nced over his shoulders. Seeing no one in sight and from the oathyhe wasing from, she guessed that his olddy must have left and immediately, her scrupulous gaze was reced with a relieved smile.

    She quickly rushed over the remaining steps and went to his side. If not for thest shred ofposure left in her, she would have held unto his arms.

    "Mr. Fang, has your grandmother left already?"

    Fang Bingwen red at that troublesome human before continuing in his steps towards the dining area, but she chased after him as usual, forcing him to retort.

    "Where you expecting her to sleep over why you remained in hiding?"

    Zhang Liling giggled and proudly admitted her fear.

    "Mr. Fang you can''t me me, I was so scared to see your grandmother unexpectedly. What would she think of me clinging to her grandson right in front of her eyes?"

    "So you are aware of your clingy habit?"

    Zhang Liling scratched her head. What was she supposed to say? She had no response to give.

    Atst, Mr. Fang chased her away so he could see space to eat his breakfast peacefully.

    Luckily, she knew when to leave, so she gave him the time he so wanted.

    Over the weekend, Zhang Liling went for shopping. After several hours of shopping after pulling Tungmei with her, she returned to Mr. Fang''s ce with several bags.

    Mr. Fang who had just returned from a casual meeting, stepped out of his car and was surprised to see the small woman holding several bags in her hands while struggling to open the door to the house.

    He squinted his eyes as he stepped forward. He was alone today because Bolin did not drive him home.

    Zhang Liling heard the footsteps behind her and turned around with a smile. She heard the sound of his car when it drew closer before pulling over.

    "Mr. Fang you are back."

    Fang Bingwen gave her a scrutinizing gaze including the several bags in her hand. "Did you rob a store?"

    Sheughed at his joke and replied, "I have been epted to intern in your Fang group. I have been a student for 4 years now, so I have to refurbish my wardrobe to suit my new lifestyle."

    Mr. Fang shook his head and walked past her. When he opened the door, he entered inside, leaving her to carry the bags inside the house all by herself.

 Chapter 180 Confrontation

    After failing to get Liling to give up on Fang Bingwen, Zhang Renshu cut off all ties with her.

    There was no use having a daughter who wouldn''t listen to him anymore. He still had other ambitions to aplish and refused to be killed by high blood pressure on her matter.

    Left with no choice, he continued with his ns to marry Xiaoling off to the new friend he made through politics just to secure a solid foothold in that world.

    No matter what Shi Wenqian said to get him to change his mind, he refused to budge, and instead, her ns backfired.

    ring at her, he pointed his index finger straight into her eyes as if he wanted to pop it.

    "If you don''t like my decision, take your daughter away from my sight and establish her with a job and a husband. But bear in mind that any involvement with the Fang family through marriage, will cause dire consequences!"

    Shi Wenqian looked unafraid as she met his furious gaze head-on. Her eyes were equally ring with fire as her lips thugged downwards.

    "You were not able to handle a small girl whom you call your daughter, yet, youe here tomand what to be done with my own daughter. Zhang Renshu, what right do you have?"

    "You dare to ask me what right I have?" Zhang Renshu''s chest rose and fell abnormally.

    If it were to be possible, his gaze would have already drilled a hole in her body. After epting and raising the child she came into their marriage with, she dared to stand there and ask him the right he had to make decisions on her head?

    "Why wouldn''t I?" She asked, pissed at his current inability to control Zhang Liling to give up on the man her daughter was interested in.

    "... You fail to get your daughter to listen to you, but youe here to force your decision on us, don''t you think your ways are twisted and unfair? This is the height of injustice I can tolerate."

    Zhang Renshu stood there watching her raise her voice at him and even point fingers at him. ''She is crazy.'' He concluded.

    Without giving him a break to respond, she continued. "Zhang Renshu, you don''t have any right to instruct us and expect us to listen to you. You allow your daughter to act the way she wants, but youe here and treat my daughter as a pawn for your political career!"

    After speaking in anger for a short while, Shi Wenqian stopped talking just to catch her breath. While staring angrily at him, she panted for air.

    "Are you done?!" Zhang Renshu asked with a death re as his brows knitted together.

    Instead of replying to him, she rolled her eyes at him and threw her face away and he took it as sign that she was done talking.

    "Since you feel that I allowed Liling to act the way she wants, you can also tell Xiaoling to act the way she wants too."

    Just when she shifted her gaze back to him, she heard him say, "But get ready for her name to be taken off the family register. She will leave Zhang group and every need she has will be met by you!"<sub> </sub>

    "What?!" Shi Wenqian eximed in shock, but she didn''t let his decree to cloud her mind as she immediately retorted the next moment.

    "Why would you take Xiaoling''s name off the family register when you didn''t do the same with your daughter? Is that not cheating?"

    "Yes." He admitted without a care. He even went further to sit on his chair and cross his legs while ring at her.

    He didn''t care about her feelings any concerns as he didn''t mind. It''s not like he even had the slightest kind of feeling for her.

    So what if he was being partial? It''s not like she could do anything about it.

    "Since we started this argument, you have clearly reminded me so many times that Xiaoling is not my biological daughter, so why would I give her the same treatment as Liling?"

    Shi Wenqian stood in front of his home office desk staring at him. Now that she had stopped talking, she was beginning to hear the sound of her heartbeat going off in her head along with his voice.

    Her lips slowly parted, but no words coulde forth. Her tongue was tied as if a cat got it.

    Seeing her staring speechlessly at him, he felt a bit happy. At least he could still get her to shut up.

    "Although in my heart, Liling is no longer my daughter, but I would still never take her name off the family register. But as for Xiaoling, I would go to that length because she is not my biological daughter and thanks for reminding me of that, I would begin to see her that way."

    Shi Wenqian didn''t know how she made it back to her bedroom and unknown to the both of them, Xiaoling had eavesdropped on their entire conversation.

    <o>,m She had ced her ear on the door and through the small gap between the door and the frame, she was able to hear everything clearly, all thanks to her mother who didn''t shut the door properly when she barged in earlier.</o>

    Zhang Xiaoling returned to her bedroom unfazed by her stepfather''s decision to use her as a pawn for she had long epted that fact in her mind.

    She wasn''t like Zhang Liling who was still able to cope after being cast away from the family because she had her mother.

    Her case was very different. She had a mother, but she would never settle for her to be assisted with her blood money for the day she does that, her entire life would be over.

    Xiaoling had to forcefully bring herself to ept Zhang Renshu''s decision. At least he was using her as a pawn for his political career, but still chasing the right family for that.

    Even if there was no love in her marriage, at least there will be power, wealth, recognition and influence. Just the things she needed to finally be independent and take control of her life.

 Chapter 181 Big Mouth

    Seeing her second n about to be disrupted by Zhang Liling, Shi Wenqian got angry in her spirit and decided to speed up the ns she had for her.

    If her daughter can''t end up with the person she wants to be with, then Zhang Liling shouldn''t have the opportunity to do so after messing things up for her.

    After returning to her bedroom and calming her nerves down by taking slow and steady deep breaths, she washed down the remaining anger in her system with a cold drink before locking her room door.

    Walking up to her desk, she picked up her phone and dialled a contact. cing the phone on her ear, she listened to it ring for a short while before someone at the other end picked it up.

    With no time to hear the greeting from the man, she immediately drove straight to the point.

    "Have you found where my stepdaughter is living?" She inquired with furrowed brows.

    "Yes, Ma''am." The man replied in a straight tone.

    "Then what have you been waiting for?" She said in a harsh tone with raised brows.

    She looked unhappy and ready to beat someone up for the information only reaching her now because she asked.

    "... Don''t you know how important this task is?" She continued.

    The man at the other end immediately exined, "I''m sorry Ma''am, but I''m only finding out now, and the reason I dyed in letting you know, is because I''m working to see her current location since she wasst seen here more than a week ago."

    Shi Wenqian paused as the frown on her face slowly diminished. ''Could she be with her friend?''

    Thinking of that high possibility, she immediately ordered for Tungmei''s ce to be searched.

    "Check her out at her friend''s ce. If you see no signs of her, use whatever means you have to track her down. When you get her, I want her alive because I have so many things to say to her before personally extracting her body organs."

    "Yes, Ma''am." The deep voice of the man resounded in her ear.

    Shi Wenqian went on to give him a few other instructions before terminating the call.

    Herst suggestion said, "If all the ns fail, wait till she appears in front of the Fang Group in 3 days and get a hold of her."

    Shi Wenqian was very desperate to catch Zhang Liling in her ws that she sent out her minions to find out her address.

    If they failed to bring her over in 2 days, then she would dly wait for the next day when she would go to Fang Group on her first day of internship.

    It would surely be perfect to get a hold of her on the day she felt she had her whole life put together.

    At that thought, she chuckled loudly and swirled around.

    Finally, there was a smile on her face.

    *******<sub> </sub>

    "What?! You have finally made up your mind to date her?!"

    Chuanli couldn''t believe his ears as he immediately got off his seat with his phone in hand.

    Earlier, he called Mr. Fang to talk about the development of his new pills and decided to joke with him by asking about his rtionship with Zhang Liling, but he ended up shocking him instead.

    Mr. Fang''s face contoured in a frown as he moved his phone away from his ear. His eardrums almost got damaged.

    Now, he was starting to regret the reason he told him about this news he has been expectant of, over the phone.

    "Did you injure your head? If I didn''t decide already, would I be mentioning it to you in the first ce?."

    Chuanli half-rolled his eyes and sat back down on his chair. "Bingwen let me advice you now, if you want your rtionships tost, you have to be careful of your lethal tongue."

    "Keep the advice to yourself, andI think you should learn how to shut your mouth at times." Mr. Fang replied with a snort.

    Some times, he questioned the kind of friend Chuanli was. He was mostly saying things when it was not needed.

    Chuanli shrugged as his face brimmed with smiles. He was still excited about the information he just got from him, and was almost tempted to end the conversation with him and phone Zhang Liling, but he refused to give in for fear of offending his Boss.

    "When is your first date?" He inquired as his fingers drummed the ck leathered desk.

    "Why are you concerned?" Mr. Fang asked and sat into his chair and swirled it around slowly.

    ? His gaze was fixed on the door. He could hear the soft knock on it before Bolin pushed it open and walked in.

    Seeing him on a call, he pointed at the file in his hand and wrote something in the air before turning to leave.

    Mr. Fang got the message that his signature was needed on the document and immediately reached out for it with his free hand while listening to Chuanli.

    "Of course, I have to be concerned! Miss Zhang is your ever first girlfriend, I am happy and proud of you."

    Fang Bingwen''s nose scrunched in irritation as his gaze moved somewhere else. He didn''t know why, but he didn''t like the sound of that.

    "Chuanli, I would like you to keep your mouth shut on this. Don''t let your big mouth get you into trouble." He threatened before moving his attention back to the document and started to flip over the pages one after the other while ncing through them.

    "Big mouth? Do I have a big mouth?" Chuanli mumbled to himself as he quickly drew out apartment that was a part of his work desk and whipped out a face mirror.

    Holding the mirror out in front of him, he studied his facial features with much of his attention on his lips.

    He even went as far as pouting his lips and making different movement with it.

    Mr. Fang was oblivious to his actions as most of his attention was on the document before him. While waiting for his response, he picked up his pen to sign on the pages that required his signature.

 Chapter 182 Chef Liling

    "My lips are not wide," Chuanli said, withdrawing the mirror from his face.

    While penning his signature, Mr. Fang said, "You were actually checking the size of your mouth out?" His tone sounded unbelievable like he didn''t expect he would do such a thing.

    Chuanli shrugged. "Why wouldn''t I? I can''t trust your words so blindly anymore. Go ahead and tell me when your first date is so I can help you make the arrangements."

    He was more than interested in their first date as he has been the one wanting to sail their ship. He has been routing for their rtionship and finally it hase to fulfillment.

    At the same time, he wanted things to go perfectly for his best friend.

    Leaving him, he was sure he wouldn''t go extra miles for his first official willing date given that he was already familiar with Zhang Liling.

    He was going to help him to change that mentality.

    "Who needs your help? If your hands and head is itching to do something, chanel that energy and time into my new pills."

    Mr. Fang was not interested in involving him in things between him and Zhang Liling.

    Although he understood that he wanted to help out, but he would prefer that he learned things on his own.

    Chuanliughed over his response as wrinkles formed at the corner of his eyes. "Alright," he said in agreement. Then he thought of something and continued.

    "Bingwen, if you ask for my opinion, then I would have to tell you that I don''t think you would be needing this new pills."

    There was a sudden silence after his words were delivered.

    Mr. Fang''s brows slightly furrowed. As if in consideration of his suggestion, he paused in his actions as his gaze narrowed. But then, he went back to pen down his signature on thest page of the document and closed the page.

    "Because of Zhang Liling?" He irked. His question was direct to the point as he had guessed correctly.

    "Yes," Chuanli admitted. He felt that having Zhang Liling beside him, would reduce his irritation towarding in contact with other smells from people and the environmental.

    At least, spending time together would leave some of her scent on his clothes and body. Also, if his nose grows ustomed to her scent, there may be a high chance that his irritation would die down.

    All of this were his spection yet to be proven. The only way to find out this possibility was if they actually got together and the process was monitored.

    Chuanli did not keep this idea to himself, he made sure toy it in front of him.

    "Till that timees... I want my new drugs before Monday." Mr. Fang instructed in a strict tone, leaving no leeway for any negotiation.

    A soft sigh escaped Chuanli''s lips. He was disappointed and left with no choice but to go on with hismand.

    After their conversation ended, he phoned Zhang Liling.

    He sounded excited while chiding her for not informing him about her new rtionship with Mr. Fang.

    Zhang Liling guessed that Mr. Fang must have been the one that informed him and immediately confessed.

    "Dr. Li, it''s not my fault, Mr. Fang would have skinned me alive if I had divulged the news to you."

    Knowing what his friend was like, Chuanli believed her and set aside his grudge.

    The two chatted for a bit before ending their conversation.

    Before Mr. Fang could return from work the same day, Zhang Liling had already prepared him the only dish she could get her hands around.

    Initially when she had gone into the kitchen and asked the chef to give up his working space, he had refused.

    "Miss Zhang, the minute I do this, I would be fired." The Chef said to her.

    She wanted to make dinner for Mr. Fang when he was here? Did she want to snatch his job from him and get him fired at the same time?

    "You would not be fired, trust me." Zhang Liling said with confidence. She was staring right into his eyeballs to assure him of her words.

    But at the end, the chef was still insistent.

    She was not his employer, and there was no instruction from Mr. Fang to let her prepare dinner for him, so why would he blindly follow her lead?

    Zhang Liling was annoyed that he refused to let her do what she wanted after spending so much time pleading with him, but she was not downcasted.

    Did she tell him that she couldn''t share the kitchen with him?

    Zhang Liling quickly went on to prep the ingredients for her pasta to his amazement.<sub> </sub>

    It was just a tiny lingering thread, and the Chef would have lost himself totally in watching her.

    He was surprised with her stubbornness, but let her do what she wanted.

    Watching her cut the carrot in big chunks, he couldn''t help admonishing her from the side.

    He couldn''t even ignore her even if he wanted to because her silly kitchen mistakes could not go past his eye without his brows furrowing.

    She was messing up his skill in his workroom, so how could he let her be?

    At a point, Zhang Liling had to m the kitchen knife on the wooden chopboard.

    Narrowing her gaze at the chef, she asked, "Mr. Chef, I didn''t ask you to teach me how to hold a knife properly. If my actions are irritating you, you can as well leave the kitchen for me."

    ''Did I nag her a lot?'' The chef was taken aback by her outburst and couldn''t help wondering if he had gone too far with berating her.

    But then he thought why she would speak to him in that manner. She was obstructing him from working in the first ce.

    Ms. Chu who heard the outburst, came to peep through the open door. When she saw what was going on, she couldn''t help but to go and meet the butler.

    Butler Gu had just finished using the dryer in theundry room and walking along the hallway when he met the housekeeper.

    Ms. Chu shed him a polite smile and stopped in her steps so he would meet up with her and they could continue walking ahead in the same pace.

    "Butler Gu, I see Miss Zhang in the kitchen preparing dinner for Mr. Fang. Does she know how to cook?"

    "What?!..." Butler Gu eximed as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    He was shocked as he thought that after a few days of rest, that troublesome youngdy was already up to go against their Master again.

    Without responding, he quickened his steps and walked ahead with knitted brows, but suddenly, a question came to his head, causing his steps to slow beforepletely stopping.

    Pondering over his thoughts, he immediately turned to nce at the housekeeper who had already up with him. "What is Ms. Zhang cooking?"

    Ms. Chu squinted her eyes in confusion as her folds immediately lined up on her forehead.

    ''What has what she is cooking got to do with her ability to cook?'' She thought to herself.

    "I saw her with a pack of pasta." She replied.

    Immediately butler Gu heard that, the wrinkles on his face quickly dissipated as his lips left out a sigh of relief.

    His stepspletely slowed as if he wasn''t the same person in a hurry to go over to the kitchen to go and and check on Zhang Liling.

    Hispletely different reaction surprised the housekeeper who immediately asked what was wrong.

    "If Miss Zhang is preparing pasta, let her be." He replied with his gaze ahead.

    "Why?" Ms. Chu probed with a curious gaze on him.

    Without wasting both of their time, butler Gu replied, "She is terrible at cooking anything except for making pastas."

    Only if Zhang Liling could hear what he had just said about her, it wouldn''t be surprising if she red up at him.

    Ms. Chu couldn''t believe her ears and went on to ask questions to justify his response. She was still in disbelief until she learned that Zhang Liling was terrible at making tea also.

    The woman was left speechless.

    After making the pasta, Zhang Liling took out the portion for Mr. Fang and put it in a warmer to await his return.

    The Chef shook his head as he watched her scurry off with a te of food in hand.

    He was confused and didn''t know if there was still a need for him to serve the dinner he prepped for Mr. Fang, but after pondering over the fact that no instruction from him countered his normal duty, he went on to also serve the food he cooked.

    When Mr. Fang returned from work and freshened up, he walked over to the dinning room only to see 2 sets of food on the table. His eyes squinted.

    "What''s going on here?" He mumbled to himself as his brows knitted.

    His entire face was already contoured in a frown by the time he had taken his seat.

 Chapter 183 Wouldnt Dare To Brag

    Zhan Liling walked in carrying a bottle of slightly chilled water and water ss in her hands.

    Smiling at him, she replied, "Mr. Fang, that''s your dinner."

    Fang Bingwen looked up to see her smiling face, but he didn''t look in the least satisfied with her response.

    In fact, he was staring at her like she was an idiot. Did he tell her that he didn''t know it was his dinner?

    When Zhang Liling saw that he was still staring at her with a questioning re, she hurriedly put down the thing in her hand to exin.

    "I prepared pasta for you as a thank you gift. The Chef also prepared another dish for your dinner."

    ''You cooked for me and he also cooked for me, is this some kind of apetition?" He asked with a raised brow.

    Her thin lips pursed in a reminder of the scene that happened in the kitchen earlier.

    "Mr. Fang, it''s not my fault. I told the chef that I would take care of your meals tonight but he insisted on carrying out his duties. Also, I didn''t want to give up on my initial ns so¡­"

    Herining voice trailed off towards the end, causing Fang Bingwen to lock his astonished gaze on her.

    He didn''t even know what to say to her and just continued ogling her.

    Finally, after a minute has passed, he retracted his gaze to gaze upon the food that was served before him.

    Two different people made different dishes for him in the same kitchen and even served them at the same time. Now he was conflicted as to which one to eat first.

    Just when he was contemting which one to eat first as his gaze moved between the two dishes, Zhang Liling gave him a suggestion.

    Seeing his conflicted gaze, she hurriedly sat on the chair on his left side with a blooming smile spread across her face.

    Pushing the pasta to his front, she said, "Mr. Fang, you haven''t eaten pasta in a long time, also, it will turn cold fast and it won''t suit your pte then."

    She was giving him reasons to eat the food she prepared first.

    Fang Bingwen released a long sigh before picking up his fork while she watched him in anticipation to see which food he would touch first.

    Zhang Liling''s heart raced in her chest as her eyes peered closely at him.

    She was acting just like a newly married wife looking upon her husband.

    Mr. Fang frowned when he noticed her long gaze following his every action, but then he chose to ignore her.

    Finally, he dug the pasta with the fork, earning an interjection of surprise from her.

    "Yes!" Zhang Liling eximed excitedly with her arm raised in the air.

    But when she felt the strong gaze on her, she hurriedly brought her arm down as the smile on her face slowly dissolved.

    "Did you make a bet with the Chef?" Mr. Fang asked in-between chewing, with the fork pointed at the pasta.

    "No." She denied it immediately.<sub> </sub>

    Mr. Fang was trying to exin the reason she seemed so happy that he touched her food first, but since she denied his guess, he let her be.

    "If you want me to eat this food in peace, go away ande back after I must have left." He instructed as he rolled the pasta with his fork before sending it into his mouth.

    "Yes," Zhang Liling agreed before getting up obediently and turning to leave with a triumphant smile stered on her face.

    "Zhang Liling." He suddenly called out with a calm gaze and she turned around to respond. "Hope you are not going out to brag to the chef?" He asked, surprising her.

    She waspletely taken aback that he would ask that kind of question, but she smiled and assured him that she wouldn''t do so.

    "I wouldn''t dare to brag."

    He nodded before adding, "Next time, let the chef do his work. Don''t cook for me unless it''s a special instruction from me."

    Fang Bingwen felt it wasn''t right for her to snatch the duties of his domestic helpers.

    She wasn''t his wife, so doing something like that had an image that didn''t dwell well with him. Fortunately, Zhang Liling didn''t go on to argue with him.

    "Okay, Mr. Fang." She said before turning to leave finally.

    As he chewed on his food softly, his gaze followed her till shepletely disappeared from his sight.

    A few minutester, Mr. Fang was done eating and stood up from his seat to leave.

    He cleared the te Zhang Liling served him with. And after making sure the other dish the chef prepared won''t have any dire consequences on his stomachter, he ate up half of it before abandoning it.

    When Zhang Liling came back some minutester to see that he cleared her te, a satisfied smile spread across her face.

    She felt proud of herself while clearing the tes.

    When she got to the kitchen, she made sure the Chef saw the tes before taking care of them.

    Her little actions spoke louder than her silence.

    Because Zhang Liling didn''t want to waste the food and as there was still space left in her stomach, she finished the food Mr. Fang remained before doing the dishes in the sink.

    After she was done drying the tes and keeping them away, she opened the double-door refrigerator to pick out a bottle of water,

    Taking the stairs, she went directly to Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    Reaching out her hand, she knocked twice on the door before hurriedly cing her ear on the door to listen for any sound.

    She didn''t want to offend him, not after his mood had improved greatly.

    She also wanted to be very careful to not walk in when he was undressing just in case he wasn''t using his walk-in closet.

    A second passed and without hearing any response, she reached out to slightly bend the door handle before pushing it open and helping herself inside.

 Chapter 184 Asking Her Out

    On stepping into his bedroom, she peeped, and seeing no one in sight, she closed the door behind her, earning a slight ''thud'' before proceeding to walk in proper.

    In light steady steps, she walked up to his nightstand to ce the bottle of water.

    Just as she turned around, she heard the faint sound of flip-flops brushing against the floor.

    Zhang Liling paused in her steps and waited for Mr. Fang to appear with an expectant gaze toward the door that led to the bathroom and walk-in closet.

    A momentter, Mr. Fang walked in with a towel spread on his wet dark brown hair. As soon as he stepped into the room, his gazended on her.

    He was still in his ash bathrobe, but it was obvious that he was already half dressed from the pajamas pants that covered the skin on his legs.

    With his hands free, he ced his hands back on the towel on his hair and continued to dry it as his steps approached her.

    Before he could say anything to her, she quickly exined it to him. "Mr. Fang, ki brought you a bottle of water. I had knocked but¡­"

    "Bring two pills from my bottle of meds." He said, cutting her off as he went to sit at the foot of his bed.

    Zhang Liling slowly closed her parted lips in amazement before walking back to his nightstand.

    ''He is not scolding me?'' She thought to herself as she quickly took out two pills from the bottle and capped it.

    Picking up the water bottle in the other hand, she walked straight to his side.

    "Mr. Fang, here it is." She said as she opened her right hand to reveal the white small round pills sitting on her palm.

    Fang Bingwen put his towel away and kept it beside him and reached out for his drug.

    As soon as he did that, she uncapped the bottle and passed it to him before going over to his side to pick up his wet towel.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling reappeared in the room after returning the towel to his bathroom.

    Just as she made her way toward the door to leave, she heard him say to her, "I will be working tillte into the night, prepare me a hot cup of coffee."

    ''Doesn''t he get tired?'' She thought as she walked away.

    By the time she had gone to prepare the coffee and returned, Mr. Fang was already typing away on hisptop.

    In order to not distract him, she literally tip-toed over to his desk and quietly ced the cup of piping hot coffee on his desk.

    But just as she turned her back to leave just the way she came, she heard him call out to her.

    "Zhang Liling."

    "Yes," She answered as she tilted her head to the side with the tray in her hands touching her lower belly.

    Mr. Fang stared silently at her as his brows furrowed. He seemed to find it hard to say whatever that he had in mind to tell her.

    And when she noticed it, she quickly urged him, "Mr. Fang, what do you want to tell me?"<sub> </sub>

    A soft sigh escaped from thin lips as it finally parted as his gentle voice resounded in the room.

    "Let''s go on a date after work on Friday."

    Immediately he let out those words, time seemed to stop for the both of them as silence ensued in the room.

    Only the sound of breathing and the ticking of the second hand of the clock was heard in the study room as the two continued to exchange nces.

    ''D-Did I-I hear well?''

    Zhang Liling heard his words echo in her ear and suddenly stopped breathing.

    ''D-Did Mr. Fang just ask me out? Did he just do that atst?'' She thought to herself as her heart raced and her fingers trembled.

    As if to be sure of what she had just heard, she prompted him. "Mr. Fang, can you please repeat w-what y-you just s-said?"

    "What?!" Mr. Fang had a look of astonishment on his face as he ogled at her.

    He had just used shed off his pride to be able to say these words in a way it would sound official and here she was asking him to repeat those words?

    Was she kidding him?

    It''s not like he was shy about it, but this was his first time asking a girl out so couldn''t she spare him this time around?

    Seeing that look of disbelief on his face, Zhang Liling wasn''t sure that he would want to repeat those words, so she hurriedly abandoned the tray in her hands on his desk before running over to his side.

    "Mr. Fang, please can you repeat those words? I was so shocked a few moments ago that it didn''t register in my head." She pleaded as she grabbed unto his arm and swayed it to the sides.

    Fang Bingwen narrowed his gaze at her. "If you didn''t hear my words clearly, then what on earth shocked you?"

    He didn''t look like he was going to allow her to fool him into spewing those words again.

    Seeing how difficult he was being, Zhang Liling was tongue-tied and resorted to another means.

    She fanned hershes while blinking her eyes, but he wouldn''t budge.

    His resistance toward her cute moves was on another level. He even pried her clutches off his arm and pushed her away gently.

    "Don''t think that your petty actions will move. Go away and give me a breathing space." He said and moved his gaze back to hisptop to continue typing something.

    Zhang Liling remained standing at his side with pouted her lips in hope that he would be touched and look at her face.

    But when that didn''t happen, she leaned over, and without warning and her natural pink lips pressed lightly at the corner of his lips before moving away quickly.

    <o>,m Mr. Fang was shocked beyond measure to the point that his heart froze in his chest.</o>

    At first, when he had felt her shadow looming over him, and her breath fan his cheeks, he had tilted his head to the side to see what she was up to, but who knew she would steal a kiss and run away after that?

 Chapter 185 Date

    Closing the door behind her, Zhang Liling giggled to herself.

    There was a big smile stered on her face as her eyes shone brightly.

    She looked proud to have been able to steal a kiss she didn''t n from Mr. Fang, plus the shocked expression on his face.

    Inside the study, there was still a hint of shock on Fang Bingwen''s face as he could still feel

    He was still surprised at her audacity to steal a kiss and vanish before he could even get over his shock and say anything to her.

    She wasn''t drunk unlikest time. Sometimes, he wondered what went through her remind.

    Maybe, if he decides to get to know her, he would be able to tell what she is thinking at any moment but for now, he would have to manage.

    Mr. Fang could clearly see the kind of person he was about to let into his life. She was one who didn''t care about rules and she was very proactive in her actions.

    He could see that clearly... the kind of person he would be dealing with.

    *******

    AT THE ZHANG MANSION...

    Zhang Renshu had just gotten off the phone. Instead of calling Xiaoling to his study likest time, he left his study to meet her.

    As he strode along the hallway, a smile flickered across his face like a hologram.

    Everything he was working on was just falling into ce except for Zhang Liling.

    For now, he would have to make do with what he had, with the concept that his prodigal daughter would one day return to him.

    As Zhang Renshu approached therge sitting area, he could hear the soft voicesing from Shi Wenqian and Zhang Mingyu.

    Without much thought, he walked in proper.

    In therge sitting area, there were more then six brown leather sofas.

    Zhang Mingyu was sitting in a single sofa while Shi Wenqian sat alone in a two-sitter sofa.

    They were both chatting over something that seemed amusing because he could see how the corner of their lips curled up, but immediately they saw him, the quietened down.

    Zhang couldn''t care less about what they were discussing. He immediate found a single sitter sofa and settled in.

    "Where is Xiaoling?" He asked with his gaze looking toward Mingyu.

    As soon as she heard that question, the subtle of smile on her facepletely disappeared.

    She could already guess what his intentions were, but she chose to remain calm.

    Zhang Mingyu on the other hand was oblivious to the reason his father was asking for his sister, so he went ahead to respond. "She should probably be in her room."

    "Go and call her," Zhang Renshu instructed and this was where Shi Wenqian interjected immediate.

    ? Feigning a look of ignorance, she nced at him and said, "Xiaoling is just returning from going to see a friend. Let her rest small."

    Zhang Renshu''s busy eyebrows wriggled like an ugly caterpir. His mood was ruined immediately she decided to open her mouth and say something he wouldn''t like.

    "Am I calling for her toe out and do manualbor?" He queried with the corner of lips tugging downwards in slight irritation.

    Without waiting to hear her response, he turned his gaze back to Mingyu and urged him to go immediately.

    "Mingyu, tell Xiaoling it''s urgent."

    Zhang Mingyu was left with no choice but to go to Xiaoling''s room to call her out.

    In his absence, there was no exchange of words or gazes between his parents and he was surprised that an argument or a fight had not broken out between them by the time he returned with his sister.

    "Dad you sent for me?" Zhang Xiaoling asked with a brief gaze on Zhang Renshu as she settled on the sofa next to Mingyu.

    "Yes. I have spoken with my friend and a date has been arranged for you to meet his first son."

    There and then, Zhang Xiaoling felt her heart skip a beat. Even though she had made up her mind to go with her stepfather''s flow, she didn''t expect it to be too soon.

    ''Oh... So this is what it''s all about?'' Zhang Mingyu thought while nodding his head in understanding.

    "Who is this friend of yours you want my daughter to date?" Shi Wenqian asked with a narrowed gaze.

    At least she wanted to know the family her daughter was entering into to study their backgrounds and see if it would be profitable otherwise, she would ruin his ns.<sub> </sub>

    To her question, Zhang Renshu did her the honour of replying. At least she was interested in knowing the family he would be introducing to Xiaoling instead of trying to talk him out of it.

    "Mr. Tan from the ministry of works."

    ''Mr. Tan? I will have to look into his family.'' Shi Wenqian thought to herself.

    Zhang Xiaoling who had been quiet, finally asked an important question that pleased her stepfather. "Dad, when am I meeting him?"

    She wanted to at least know so she would do her homeowners and prepare herself before meeting with the person.

    Zhang Renshu looked towards her way. "Tomorrow by 4 pm."

    "What?! That''s so soon!" Shi Wenqian said in shock.

    How could he only be telling her about the date today of all times? Did he not know that things were not done that way?

    Zhang Renshu understood the look of surprises and hurriedly exined, "I know it''s too sudden, but the minister said it would be better if they met as soon as possible hence the reason the date is so close."

    As silence took over therge sitting space, the three people fixed their gazes on him.

    Shi Wenqian was more pissed about the whole situation than Xiiaoling was, but she couldn''t even speak the way she wanted.

    She was avoiding causing unnecessary drama now because if the great ns she has.

    She wouldn''t eyes to be on her and for fingers to be pointed at her direction by the time soemtjing happens.

    To assure them, Zhang Renshu added, "Xiaoling, I will send you everything you need to know about Minister Tan''s first son tonight."

    Zhang Xiaoling did not say anything in response and only followed him with her gaze until he disappeared from their sight.

    "I have not seen a selfish man like Zhang Renshu before!" Shi Wenqian spat with a fierce gaze at the spot he disappeared from.

    The more anger swelled in her chest, the more it rose and fell.

    Zhang Xiaoling turned her gaze to nce briefly at her before rising to her feet and leaving the sitting room.

    Everyone suddenly disgusted her and she just wanted to be alone. Even her mother that was a pot calling the kettle ck, she was the most selfish she has ever known in existence.

    Seeing that she was about to leave, Shi Wenqian hurriedly called out to her, "Xiaoling, where are you going to?"

    "Anywhere but here." Came her reply before she vanished in anger.

    Shi Wenqian''s gaze lingered at the entrance before a question from Mingyu drew her attention to him.

    "Will my marriage be equally arranged?"

    "Of course." She replied softly and then went on to assure him. "...but I will make it possible that you get married to the best candidate."

    ''Best candidate? Is this some kind of vanity fare?'' Mingyu thought to himself.

    Seeing how his brows knitted in a frown, Shi Wenqian said, "You can''t marry the woman of your choice unless there will be a great benefit from her side, so mind who you fall in love with, otherwise, get ready for a heartbreak."

    Shi Wenqian was so straight to the point because she didn''t want to mince words with him.

    She felt it would be better if she stated the consequences clearly for him, hence she said it the way it came to her heart.

    At the end after mulling, Zhang Mingyu could only resign to his fate.

    The same night, Zhang Renshu sent the information about Minister Tan''s first son to Zhang Xiaoling.

    Going through his profile on her phone, Zhang Xiaoling discovered that he seems to be of almost the same standard with Fang Bingwen in status, money and in influence.

    She ticked those one as good points, anding down to look, she could clearly see that he lost to a few points from Mr. Fang.

    In terms of looks, Mr. Fang was more mature and more handsome than him, making her to release a deep sigh of regret.

    Anyway, she wasn''t going to conclude on the kind of personality her date for tomoueoukd have have until she met him.

    As long as he had all the qualities she wanted for her own selfish ns, she wouldn''t mind ending up with him even though there would be no love.

    After going through his information, she out her phone away and climbed into her bed.

    By tomorrow, she would know what to do with her current looks and what to say.

 Chapter 186 Use Him Too

    The next day, Zhang Xiaoling went to the spa to take care of her skin.

    Even if she didn''t like the man she was going to meet, she still had to look good.

    When Shi Wenqian offered to tag along, she turned her request down.

    What made Xiaoling feel a bit better was that her stepfather gave her some spending money to take care of.

    What more could she ask for? She dly went out to give herself a good treat.

    She went for facials, full body massage, hair wash and styling, manicure and pedicure, and a little shopping for her outfit for the evening.

    Zhang Xioling made sure to make good use of the services that were being catered by Zhang Renshu.

    In a meeting, Zhang Renshu continued to be distracted by the chime from his phone.

    Each time he checked it would be a message from his bank showing a debit alert from his bank ount, and he couldn''t even get annoyed.

    The only thing he could do was frown slightly and turn off his phone.

    It wouldn''t be right to keep that disyed look on his face while an important conversation concerning his next step into society was ongoing.

    *******

    At noon, Bolin came over to Mr. Fang''s vi with the new drug he has been working on.

    Currently, he was waiting for his dear best friend toe down, while he sat waiting in the sitting room.

    Zhang Liling who was assigned to take care of Mr. Fang''sundry just finished spreading the linens outside and stepped into the house with bowed shoulders.

    Squeezing her eyes shut, she opened them again wide the next moment as her feet shuffled against the tiled floor.

    A soft sigh escaped her thin lips after rolling her neck from side to side to loosen kinks.

    Her entire appearance looked haggard and tiredness was written all over her face.

    If exhaustion was a name for a person, then it would have been befitting for her at this very moment.

    "Miss Zhang, you look exhausted, are you done washing?" Butler Gu asked as he took steady steps toward her with a worried gaze.

    A long sigh escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as she looked at him with heavy eyelids.

    "Of course, I''m done, Butler Gu. I wouldn''t dare to step inside if I was still half-way through with theundry."

    Butler Gu sighed and said to her, "I know you are tired, but can you help to take care of Mr. Fang''s guest? He asked for you as soon as he stepped in."

    The weakness Zhang Liling felt in her bones seemed to vanish a bit as she asked for the identity of the visitor with knitted brows.

    But as soon as she learned who he was, she left the butler''s side and rushed over to the sitting room to find Chuanli watching the Tv all by himself.

    Where did the exhaustion and weakness she felt earlier disappear to?

    Her difort vanished as soon as she heard about Dr. Li''s presence.

    Chuanli who was watching the sports channel was distracted by the rushed footsteps he heard approaching the living room.

    Immediately, he shifted his gaze from the tscreen television to the direction the rushed footsteps wereing from with a knowing smile.

    In the entire vi, there was only one person who didn''t care about the rules and always broke at least one on a daily basis.

    As soon as Zhang Liling appeared in front of him, he locked gazes with her greeted before she could say anything to him.

    "Hello, Miss Zhang," he said waving at her with a Duchenne smile.

    "Wee Dr. Li, I had no idea you were around, or I would have hurried up with theundry."

    Zhang Liling said a little breathlessly, but then she felt dizzy and ced her handon her forehead before going to immediately sit on the couch next to him.

    Seeing how exhausted she looked, he passed her the ss of water the butler served him while asking, "Why do you look so tired? You look like you could need a nap."

    She took the ss that he passed unto her with trembling fingers. "I just finished doing Mr. Fang''sundry. I had a lot of things to wash."

    Thinking back to how she was suddenly ordered to hand-wash all the thick and light curtains in his bedroom, plus the bedlinens, sheets and duvets, she just felt like fainting.

    Chuanli''s sight followed her trembling fingers, and he watched her bring the rim of the ss to her lips before taking one gulp and passing the ss back to him.

    He could indeed see how tired she was.

    Frowning, he asked, "The soon is so hot, how could you take care of this matter now? Maybe you shold have left it till tomorrow''s morning." He suggested.<sub> </sub>

    He didn''t know why she was stressing herself, giving her new secret rtionship status with Fang Bingwen.

    "The errand was impromptu. Well, Mr. Fang just wanted to punish me, and I ept it wholeheartedly." Zhang Liling revealed as a soft sigh fell off her lips.

    "Bingwen punished you?" Dr. Li asked with a look of surprise. ''I thought you two were already together?''

    He found their rtionship and the circumstances surrounding them to be fascinating as he looked at her with a ridiculous smile.

    Some things needed to change though¡­

    "What did you do wrong?" He inquired with curiousity.

    Knowing who Zhang Liling was, he was sure that she must have done something interesting to provoke the strict Fang Bingwen.

    At that question, she stared right into his eyes in contemtion. ''Should I tell him or not?''

    Finally, she shook her head, refusing to make mention of the reason she was punished.

    Coming to know Mr. Fang''s personality, she was sure that there was no way he would be happy if the news of her stealing a kiss from him reached the ears of others.

    She wouldn''t have minded telling Chuanli about it, but seeing that mischievous glint in his eyes, she lost hope in trusting him with the secret.

    Seeing that she didn''t want to say anything, he didn''t continue to pester her instead, he made ament that shocked her.

    "Did you see him naked?"

    "What?!" Zhang Liling eximed in shock as her eyes widened in disbelief.

    Chuanli shrugged his shoulders, not regretting the words that escaped from his lips.

    "After all you are Zhang Liling. You can do the unthinkable while drunk."

    Zhang Liling didn''t know that he had this much reverence for her on thoughts like this, and she could feel her reputation in the mud.

    Hurriedly, she said with a serious expression on her face with slightly arched brows, "Dr. Li, you need to change your perspective about me."

    Then she continued after gaining his full attention, "Even if I lose myst shred of senses, I don''t think I would want to sacrifice my sight forever when I could wait till the right time to see Mr. Fang''s nudity."

    Zhang Liling was sure that Mr. Fang would surely not hesitate to take her eyes for a keepsake if her madness should reach that level.

    She trusted in his capabilities.

    Instantly, Chualin burst outughing with a hand over his mouth.

    The young woman before him was truly brazen and funny. How could she speak so casually like that without even thinking twice?

    ''Fang Bingwen, good luck with her,'' he said in his mind, wishing his dearest friend to have a good life with Zhang Liling.

    What more could he say other than to wish him good?

    Not long after, Mr. Fang came down, forcing Zhang Liling to disappear from sight with immediate effect.

    *******

    As evening drew near, Zhang Xiaoling dressed and got ready for her date.

    Her ck shiny wavy hair cascaded down her back, but when she was about to leave, she pushed it to her left side, sampling her long neck which was very visible due to the low-cor white dress she was putting on.

    A bright red lipstick was smeared on her lips like a hot red chili pepper.

    Stepping out of her room in her red pair of stilettos, she pulled her red FJ animal skin bag on her arm and smacked her lips.

    As she stepped into the living room, all her eyes were immediately on her.

    Casting a long nce at her, Zhang Renshu nodded satisfactorily at her looks.

    Shi Wenqian on the other hand didn''t seem to be happy. She was still against the date, but she couldn''t dare to say anything about it, for fear of angering her husband.

    Zhang Mingyu was absent at the moment otherwise, he would not hessite to make ament on the effort she put in just to look good.

    "Xiaoling, my driver will take you to the private restaurant and bring you back after your date."

    For his image, Zhang Renshu was willing to go this far.

    Zhang Xiaoling weed all of this and would do anything to enjoy a premium treatment from him.

    Since he was using her, why couldn''t she use him in return?

 Chapter 187 Not Her Spec

    As the ck Mercedes pulled over in front of a French caf¨¦, Zhang Xiaoling pulled out her phone from her bag and turned on the front camera.

    Satisfied with her looks after ncing briefly at it, she smacked her lips before getting off the car.

    As the driver drove the car away, she adjusted her dress before striding over to the entrance.

    This was not her first time going on a date, and because the person she was going to meet was not her spec, there was only a neutral expression on her face.

    There was nothing to be expectant off. Also, it was useless to fake a smile when she wanted to pass a message with her facial expression.

    Stepping into the caf¨¦, Zhang Xiaoling confirmed the private room number for her date.

    "Excuse me," she said stopping a waitress.

    "How may I be of help to you, Ma''am?" The waitress asked with a polite smile.

    "I have a meeting with someone in this room number, where is it?"

    She asked as she whipped out her phone and swiped twice on the screen to bring out a message before showing it to her.

    The waitress squinted her eyes at the screen. A momentter, the smile returned to her face and she nced back at Xiaoling.

    "Please follow me, Ma''am, I will take you to the room," She offered while gesturing to her.

    Zhang Xiaoling nodded in agreement and followed after her.

    Passing through the normalrge dining room, they took a turn toward their left and joined a hallway.

    While following behind the waitress, Zhang Xiaoling''s gaze was straight ahead as her heels struck against the tiled floor.

    The stiletto on her feet was the main reason her figure seemed to sway on a catwalk.

    A few more steps and they arrived in front of a door with the number she was in search of.

    The waitress stopped in front of it and turned to say with a polite smile, "Ma''am, here is the room."

    "Thank you," Zhang Xiaoling replied as she shifted her gaze to the door.

    The waitress bowed slightly before turning to leave with her kitten shoes striking against the white-colored tiles in the hallway.

    Seeing her walking away, Zhang Xiaoling retracted her gaze back to the door before raising her fist to knock on the door.

    Letting out a deep sigh, she put down her hand on the door handle before pushing it open without waiting for a response.

    This was indeed a private room, but because she was to meet with the person already inside, she didn''t have to observe that much protocol.

    She was not a waiter anyways.

    Pushing the door open, she stepped in before casting a long nce at the person sitting inside the small room.

    The man sitting on one of the chairs around the table in the middle of the room looked just like the one in the file she went through the previous night.

    The man sitting at the table Tan Ei heard the sound of the door opening and tilted his head to the side, looking away from his phone to nce over.

    Seeing his arranged date stepping in and looking in his direction, a small smile rose to his lips.<sub> </sub>

    "You are here, Ms. Zhang." He stated as he watched her every movement.

    ''She indeed has good looks,'' he noted.

    Zhang Xiaoling nodded slightly in acknowledgment of his greeting.

    ''He indeed looks just like in the pictures.'' She thought silently.

    Shutting the door behind her, she said as she walked over to the table, "I''m sorry I''m a few minuteste."

    Tan Ei gestured for her to sit on the chair opposite his. "I will pardon you because you are a beautifuldy, and this is our first meeting."

    Although he had that gentle smile on his face, Xiaoling could feel that he meant every bit of what he said.

    She came to understand that he was punctual and for making it known in their first meeting, she understood what he was getting at.

    He was already trying to tell her about one of his priorities, and the things he deemed important.

    Ignoring him, she settled in the only chair in the room, sitting directly opposite of him.

    If He was Fang Bingwen, she wouldn''t have a problem paying attention to him, and mind going along with him.

    Unfortunately, he was Tan Ei.

    "Please address me as Xiaoling," She said to him as she put her phone back inside her bag before shifting her attention to him.

    Maintaining eye contact, the corner of Tan Ei''s lips rose. "You can call me Ei."

    Zhang Xiaoling nodded waiting for him to continue. She had no ns to lead the conversation, hence, she sealed her lips.

    "So, tell me, Ms. Zhang, how long have you been working for your ste¡­I mean, your father?" Tan Ei asked with a curious smile.

    Zhang Xiaoling clenched her fingers under the table at his blunder.

    ¡äSo, he is aware that Zhang Renshu is not my biological father?'' her voice thundered in her head while trying to maintain a neutral gaze on him.

    There was no way she would let him know that that was her Achilles heel. It would be foolish of her to let him know her weak point on their first meeting.

    <o>,m Instead of being angry, she tried to sh him a rxing smile. "It''s been 5 years since I started working for my father."</o>

    Tang Ei nodded while trying to hide the glint of surprise that shed across his eyes.

    He purposely made that mistake to see what her reaction would be, hence he had his gaze fixed on her and watched her every move.

    But surprisingly, there was only confidence exuding from her. Giving her a thumbs up in his head, he continued with his questions.

    "From the information, I got about you, you are 27 years and going to be 28 soon, why are you still unmarried at this age? Has work been hectic?"

    This question came off as an insult and Zhang Xiaoling did not bother to hide her displeasure as her brows creased and the light in her eyes dimmed.

    ''What is he getting at?''

 Chapter 188 Lies And Excuses

    "Mr. Tan Ei," Zhang Xiaoling said, getting formal, "I don''t think my being unmarried at a certain age has anything to do with you."

    She made sure to show and tell him her annoyance so it could etch deeply into his head.

    She didn''t see this as a weak point because she has never been ashamed of her age and still being single because it was her choice.

    "I''m sorry to have offended you by mentioning your status." Seeing that she seemed to be offended by his remarks, he quickly apologized, but she refused to let it lying down.

    "I am not offended by your words, but by the perspective of your thoughts," She said to him with knitted brows.

    A visible frown was already permanently smeared on her face.

    ''Huh?''

    Tan Ei stopped and peered intently at her with a look of puzzlement crossing his face. His head tilting quizzically.

    Zhang Xiaoling understood the confusion on his face since he was not expecting to be angry at something else other than the initial thought he had in his head.

    Being benevolent enough, she decided to exin things to him.

    "Do you have a problem with women not being married in theirte 20''s?" Not waiting for his response, she went on.

    "Mr. Tan, you are still unmarried at 35 years, and I am unmarried at 27, is anything wrong with it?"

    Zhang Xiaoling was trying to tell him that if a man could still be unmarried past the age of 27 with society not seeing anything wrong with it, then a woman could also do the same.

    This time around, Tan Ei got the message and smiled over it.

    "Miss Zhang," he called in a low chuckle. Definitely, he found her words to be funny.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s brows creased further while wondering the reason he wasughing out loud.

    ''Did I say anything funny?''

    Tan Ei did her the honor of answering her thoughts. "I have no problem with your age. I was only curious to know what you have been busy with that took marriage off your list."

    "I didn''t mean to offend you." He continued.

    Slowly, Xiaoling''s brows began to rx.

    *******

    "Why can''t I find anything useful in this wardrobe?" Zhang Liling muttered under her breath while going through her closet.

    There was a big frown sitting on her pretty face as she moved clothes aside with her hands in search of a particr kind of dress.

    A momentter, shut the door to her closet in anger and went to sit at the foot of her bed in disappointment.

    Only she knew what she was desperately looking for.

    Staying put on her bed for a few minutes, an idea came to her, causing her to immediately sprang up and rush to her desk.

    Picking up her phone, her fingers swiped across the screen, lighting it up in the process.

    As soon as the screen of her phone lit up, she saw the time and smiled to herself.

    "I still have time," She said aloud as she smiled. Her natural pink lips curved as her rosy cheeks glowed.<sub> </sub>

    With her phone in hand, she rushed to the nightstand and pulled the drawer below it open.

    Taking out her bank card, she went back to her closet to pick up her purse before putting on a pair of ck leather sandals and leaving her room in a sh.

    Going down the long hallway, her quick steps ted some slight sounds. Taking a turn at the end of the corridor, she came out to a short one and walked ahead with her sharp eyes glistening around.

    Zhang Liling was searching for someone and fortunately, she saw the housekeeper and hurriedly went to her side.

    "Ms. Chu, I have to go to the mall to get something." She reported with her forehead perspiring a little.

    Seeing her in so much of a hurry, the housekeeper asked, "You are going out now? What about the stairs you are supposed to clean in a few minutes?"

    Zhang Liling released a deep sigh at that reminder before quickly changing her facial expression in a sh.

    What she wanted to go and get was far more important than her duties in the vi.

    Softening her voice, she said with pouted lips, "Ms. Chu, please help me cover up. You know that I never ck off with my work."

    The housekeeper''s brows creased. She didn''t understand why she would want to abandon her work and run off to the shopping mall.

    Right as she was about to remind her of her duties, Zhang Liling grabbed her arm, acting pitifully, she leaned in to whisper to her,

    "Ms. Chu, I just got my period. I searched my closet but found only one piece of pad left, so I have to go out to buy more."

    Immediately, the housekeeper''s gaze widened.

    As a woman who had passed through that stage, she understood.

    With her gaze changing to that of worry, she quickly urged her to leave. "Go on, you shouldn''t dy this, as it''s more important. When youe back, you can continue with your work."

    Zhang Liling smiled in triumph and thanked her before scurrying away.

    Ms. Chu watched her literally running away and sighed to herself in pity, before turning to go back to the kitchen.

    Outside the house, Zhang Liling jumped with her arms raised in the air. "Yeah!" She eximed as excitement washed over her.

    What period? What pad?

    She was not on her period, and she still had 2 extra packs of sanitary pads in her box.

    Without wasting time, Zhang Liling left for the shopping mall. When she got there, she went to the female clothing store.

    Someone that came to shop for one dress, ended up picking undies.

    "Red looks good," She said thoughtfully with her eyes on the red lingerie in front of her.

    After checking the size to be sure that it would fit her perfectly, she pointed at it to be wrapped up.

    Before leaving therge shopping mall, she went to the supermarket section and picked up some packs of sanitary pads.

    In case she meets the housekeeper before she gets to her bedroom, she would have to show her the pads that took her out of the house in the first ce.

    She was holding two shopping bags that would rattle her out. Obviously, the older woman will be disappointed that she lied on seeing those bags.

    Saying that she just shopped a bit on her way to getting the sanitary pads shouldn''t be a bad idea.

 Chapter 189 Awkward

    Zhang Liling entered the vi with a grin.

    Because her hands were full, she had to transfer the shopping bag from her right hand to her left so she could open the entrance door and help herself inside.

    Just as she shut the door behind her and took a few steps in, she met the housekeeper carrying a sd bowl and heading for the dining.

    If time wasn''t toote, Zhang Liling would dodge her but unfortunately, her entrance was grand, hence, attracting attention she could have avoided.

    On seeing her in return, Ms. Chu paused in her steps to cast a long nce at her.

    "Miss Zhang, you went shopping?" She asked with an unbelievable expression on her face as her gaze shifted from the bags in Zhang Liling''s hands unto her face.

    Zhang Liling bit her tongue before releasing a soft sigh. Then quicklyposing herself, she continued in her steps with a fawning smile.

    "Yes, I couldn''t help it. I remembered that I have a potential date this weekend, so I stopped to buy an outfit befitting for it." She revealed with a blissful smile.

    She actually remembered the date she had with Mr. Fang and after searching her wardrobe and not finding any suitable outfit befitting for her sight, she decided to go shopping.

    This was something she could do at any time within the week, but she was really adamant about getting it today, hence the reason she lied.

    Ms. Chu stared at her wide-eyed and was speechless for several seconds.

    "Miss Zhang, you said you were on your period and wanted to go out to buy sanitary pads," She said in a reminder.

    She was actually reminding her about the reason she left her work and went out of the house in the first ce.

    Zhang Liling smiled while nodding her head in understanding, as she dipped her hand inside one of the bags to pull out a pack of the sanitary pad before showing it to her.

    "Ms. Chu, see, I got them."

    Both women were too invested in their conversation not to notice the small sounds of footsteps descending the stairs.

    Mr. Fang''s brows furrowed as he came down the stairs and saw them talking about the period, leaving the house, and sanitary pads.

    The more he heard, the more his nose scrunched up and his brows tugged further downwards.

    ''Are they blind or what?'' He thought with his eyes narrowing at them as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    Mr. Fang really couldn''tprehend how interesting their conversation was for them not to have noticed his presence up until now.

    Seeing the pad in her hand and other shopping bags in her hand, he could no longer tolerate their ignorance and continued in his steps.

    Without minding how awkward that would be for them to see himing out of nowhere, he walked past them with knotted brows, and with his hands in the front pockets of his pants.

    Immediately both women heard the sound of his footsteps near them, they were surprised as one question remained in their minds.

    ''When did hee down, howe we didn''t hear the sound of his footsteps?''

    Zhang Liling''s eyes nearly fell off their sockets as she immediately retracted the hand that was holding the sanitary pad, and withdrew it to her back.

    As soon as his back disappeared from their sight, she slipped the pad into one of the shopping bags in her hands, while still in shock.

    "I think Mr. Fang heard us," she whispered.<sub> </sub>

    The housekeeper recovered from her earlier shock and said to her, "It doesn''t matter, go back to your room to keep those bags ande out."

    After saying that to her, she immediately turned around and marched toward the dining room.

    Zhang Liling left for her bedroom and as she kicked the shut, she released a deep sigh she didn''t know she has been holding.

    Thinking back to the scene of Mr. Fang hearing their entire conversation and seeing her holding out a sanitary pad, she felt like going back to meet him and tell him she wasn''t on her period.

    She didn''t know what he would think of her, but as a woman, she was not ashamed of the special event that takes ce in her body four-five days a month.

    She only didn''t want him to get the wrong idea and postpone their date because of her lie. But finding it useless to meet him because of something as such, she gave up on that idea.

    A minuteter, she forgot about the scene and her worry from earlier to check out the new outfit she just got.

    Before leaving her bedroom, she washed her new pair of lingerie and spread them to dry.

    The reason she got that new set of undies was because she believed it would bring her luck to wear new stuff on her first date with Mr. Fang.

    *******

    Tan Ei called for the waiter toe over and take their food and drink order.

    "Miss Zhang, please help yourself to any delicacy of your choice." He said immediately she received the menu the waiter handed to her.

    "Sure," Zhang Xiaoling said in response as her eyes moved over the pages of the menu, with her fingers flipping it over some secondster.

    After noting down their orders, the waiter took the menu and left.

    There was a brief silence in the room as neither Ei nor Xiaoling said anything to each other.

    At this time they were waiting for their order to arrive, they seemed to be invested in their phones.

    At least, the silence was not awkward, except when their gazes met in-between typing away on their phones.

    Zhang Xiaoling quickly averted her gaze and right at that moment, he was about to throw a question at her, and the ringing tune of his phone disrupted him.

    ncing at his phone screen, he saw the caller ID disyed on it and unhurriedly swiped up to answer the caller.

    "Hello."

    "Yes, I am on my date."

    "Vacation? I''m not sure," He said with a contemtive gaze as Zhang Xiaoling listened with her eyes on her phone.

    Shi Wenqian had texted her. "How is the date going?" But she was still yet to respond.

    -----------------

    Please dearest readers, check out my dark fantasy romance book, ''Alchemy of Hearts''

    THANK YOU!!!

 Chapter 190 Meet Again

    "I will think about it when I get back," Tang Ei said before cutting off the conversation over the phone.

    Putting his phone on the table, he wore an apologetic smile as he looked at Zhang Xiaoling.

    "Miss Zhang, I truly apologize for the call, but I always have to answer my fathers call in case of emergency."

    ''Emergency?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought. ''Could talks about vacation bebelled as an emergency?''

    Anyway, it''s not like she was interested in him answering a call in the middle of their date, it''s not like she was interested him, so she was not that offended.

    "It''s fine by me," she answered and looked away, disinterested in whatever he had to say next.

    Tang Ei noticed it from her face and smiled meaningfully.

    "Am I boring you?" He asked.

    "What made you think that way?" Zhang Xiaoling asked, feigning ignorance.

    "It is very obvious from the look on your face. But if I misinterpreted it, help me face your facail expression."

    Zhang Xiaoling snorted within herself. If not for thest shred of patience holding her back, she would have said a word he wouldn''t like.

    What has her facial expression got to do with him? And who says he could tell her how to keep it?

    Optioning to ignore him for his best interest, she picked up her phone to reply her mother''s message.

    ''Fine.'' she typed.

    Tan Ei nced at Xiaoling and nodded within himself. There was still a smile on his face, but he was annoyed deep inside him, for theck of attention from her.

    Fortunately, he didn''t have the opportunity to stay angry for long, and the awkwardness did not continue to linger in the atmosphere as the waiters canebin with their food order soon.

    Zhang Xiaoling was more than d for another opportunity of silence to be ensued in the room. Now, he didn''t have to talk to her with food in his mouth as that wouldn''t look good on his kind of person.

    Bringing the spoon to draw the soup from her bowl, she brough it to her mouth and sipped it, and as soon as she did that, Ei, who has been watching her form the corner of his eyes asked, Is the food to your pte?"

    She swallowed the food before replying with a nod, "They have good chefs here."

    "I''m d I didn''t disappoint you by picking this ce," he said with a small smile ying at the corner of his lips before moving his gaze back to his te.

    Then, he didn''t disturb her again, but Xiaoling was left thinking deeply.

    She was wondering the reason he was being kind with her because his personality spoke volumes.

    One thing she knew about people from a political family was their pride, and being from a wealthy family too, she was able to sense it from him.

    But for him to remain calm even with her displeasure and disinterest written all over her face, she wondered what he was upto.

    Her aim was to attend this date to check his personality, and then do little things to annoy so he would call of the intentions of their fathers, but perceiving that he must have other thoughts, she decided to take a deep breath.

    ''I will have to sit back to watch,'' she concluded to herself.

    Zhang Xiaoling was smart. She had thought of the possibility of still ending up with Tan Ei, and it would be bad for her if she offended him and still ended up with him.

    She ould be the one to suffer.<sub> </sub>

    Tan Ei on the otherhand, had different thoughts running through his mind.

    The reason he was still unmarried up till date was best known to him and his family.

    He was indeed very hardworking when it came to his business and politics, but that was not all that was stopping him from being single.

    After having their dinner, Tan Ei stirred their conversation towards another direction.

    "Ms. Zhang, can you tell me your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?" He asked with an interested gaze.

    Zhang Xiaoling had eaten, and had thought things over, so she didn''t looked annoyed now. But she couldn''t manage even a small smile immediately, because that would look fishy.

    Without thinking, she replied, "If I have that opportunity, I would like to go the spa to take care of my skin, rest at home and shop if I feel like it."

    A soft Chuckle escaped from Ei''s lips as he reached out for his lips to hid it.

    Small wrinkles appeared at the corner of his eyes to show how heartfelt his heart was at her response.

    Zhang Xiaoling looled surprised at his reaction. What was it she said that sounded funny?

    "D-Did I say something funny?" She asked with a look of confusion.

    Tan Ei shook his head in denial. "No, I like your sense of humour."

    Still looking confused, she raised her brows to probe him.

    Ei had no choice but to exin. "I like that you said the truth, you didn''t lie unlike other women out there who wouldn''t hesitate to impress me."

    ''Oh...'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself. She could very well tell that he had been on dates with other women.

    "What is there to lie about? Ie from a wealthy family, and I have everything I ever desire." She bragged without a care.

    Tan Ei thought it was true, and that was the reason she didn''t have to lie.

    "Miss Zhang, let''s meet again. I don''t want you to back to your cete." He said with a satisfied smile.

    ''He wants another date? Interesting," She thought.

    Although he was acting like a gentleman, she couldn''tbel him as one.

    She was acting truthfully and honest with him, but she was not like that. She knew within herself that she was not whom people thought she was, and she not surprised if he was just ying out this part for her to see.

    At least she was not going to blindly let him lead her.

    "Mr. Tan, let''s meet again," she said and shed him polite smile.

    Tang Ei returned the smile before walking her out to the entrance where her driver was waiting.

    He even helped to open the car door for her and said, "Get home safely, let''s talk on the phone tomorrow."

    Closing the car door, he waved to Herz surprising her at the end.

 Chapter 191 Marriage Plans

    Shi Wenqian paced back and forth in the living room with an anxious look on her face. She seemed to be waiting for someone.

    Just then, the housekeeper who was also her personal assistant came over.

    "Ma''am," she said trying to get her attention first. Shi Wenqian stopped in her steps and nced at her, and then she continued.

    "The table is set." Secretary Cha announced.

    Shi Wenqian scoffed. "I''m not interested. You can go and notify my husband first," she said waving her away.

    How could she be interested in eating when she was bothered by something?

    Secretary Cha did not immediately leave. She gazed at the back of her mistress in contemtion before daring to step forward.

    "Ma''am, are you concerned about the young miss''s marriage?" She probed with one brow raised.

    Instantly, Shi Wenqian turned her full attention to her. "Of course! I don''t think anything has worried me so much like this. I feel that I am slowly about to lose my mind."

    Secretary Cha sighed. She didn''t know what to tell her for her stress level to go down. Mainly, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

    Even if she was one of her trusted aids, she needed to tread carefully to avoid her face getting spanked.

    Shi Wenqian on the other hand didn''t look bothered that she wasn''t saying anything. Now, she used this as an opportunity to inquire about another important matter.

    Taking a few steps toward her, which in turn scared the shit out of her, because she (secretary Cha) thought she wasing over to hit her. But because of her training, she remained standing in ce as a glint of fear flew past her eyes.

    Stopping in front of her, Shi Wenqian nced around from the corner of her eyes before leaning in.

    The housekeeper felt her hot breath fan her cheeks as her expensive perfume assaulted her nose.

    "Has that girl been found?" She whispered.

    Immediately, the housekeeper felt the hairs on her neck stand upright.

    p This question was a serious one and she was scared of giving the wrong answer but more than that, she was more afraid of leaving her hanging.</anda>

    "Ma''am, unfortunately, we haven''t set our eyes on her yet. I''m thinking she is hiding somewhere hence, we will continue with our ns to wait for her at Fang group."

    She whispered back while holding her breath.

    Shi Wenqian leaned her upper body away and said while still standing so close to her. "If you lot fail to bring her to me in the morning¡­"

    She never finished her words, but Secretary Cha well understood the remaining words that were never let out.

    "Yes, Ma''am, we understand." She hurriedly replied.

    Shi Wenqian let out a deep sigh before taking some steps backward before waving her hand.

    The housekeeper got that as a cue to leave and bowed slightly to her before disappearing.

    Not long after, Shi Wenqian heard the sound of heelsing from ahead, knocking against the tiles. Instantly, relief washed over her as she felt her tensed nerves start to slowly rx.

    Zhang Xiaoling had returned, and as soon as she stepped foot into the living room, Shi Wenqian went to her side.

    "How was your date?" She asked as her brows arched upwards after her eyes had darted over her body.

    Zhang Xiaoling nced at her before walking past her with a frown. "You have asked that question before."

    Shi Wenqian got annoyed as her brows drew together. "I know, but you are back now, and I want to know everything you think about your date."

    Xiaoling paused in her steps and turned around to look at her with a smirk. "I don''t want you to concern yourself with my matters anymore unless I request your help. Good night."

    Shi Wenqian gritted her teeth and clenched her fists by her sides as she watched her throttle away.

    How could she not be infuriated after the time spent on getting worked over her matter only to be given this attitude?

    That night, Shi Wenqian did not appear at the dinner table for her stomach was far too filled up with anger.

    She didn''t want to get all riled up on seeing the faces of her husband and daughter.

    At the dinner table, Zhang Renshu seemed very excited as a big smile spread across his face.

    He was happy about the date, and couldn''t help asking Zhang Xiaoling about it.

    He asked other questions apart from what she thought of Tan Ei. This showed he was interested in knowing whether she liked him or not.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Xiaoling on the other hand didn''t bother to make mention of what she thought about Tan Ei.

    Zhang Mingyu watched the father and daughter chat with subtle smiles on their faces and couldn''t help interjecting.

    "Dad, when is Xiaoling getting married?" He asked, sessfully cutting off their conversation and drawing their attention to him.

    "This topic wille sometimeter." Zhang Renshu replied, which ended up settling Xiaoling''s rapid breathing.

    She had been afraid of him giving a response that wouldn''t suit her stance but luckily, it seemed like he was not in a hurry for her marriage to take ce.

    Zhang Mingyu nced at his sister to watch her facial expression and smiled to himself, with his own thoughts floating in his head.

    Xiaoling had felt his gaze on him and had tilted her head to his side, but by then, he had already averted his gaze.

    Zhang Renshu''s gaze rested on his son as he thought of something then without hesitation, he said to him, "Mingyu, get your acts together, I will give you 2 years before you settle down."

    ''Huh?''

    Zhang Mingyu hurriedly looked up from his food with a look of confusion.

    They were all talking about Xiaoling, how did he remember him?

    Zhang Renshu didn''t want him to settle down soon because he was still young, hence, he was giving him some time to be more mature to be able to take up the responsibility of building a family.

    Zhang Xiaoling guessed this fact so she did not bother to think that her stepfather''s treatment was unfair and unjustified.

    *******

    After doing the littleundry, Zhang Liling left to go mop the stairs before going to the kitchen to get her dinner.

    "Would this one be enough for you?" The chef asked.

    Zhang Liling nced at the two tes in her hands. One contained rice boiled with a little butter and thyme, while the white ceramic bowl in her right hand contained some kind of casserole.

    "Umm¡­" Her parted lips uttered in contemtion. "I need more of the sauce," She finally said with a warm smile as she handed the bowl te to him.

    The Chef returned her smile and took the bowl from her. Dipping the serving spoon into the pot of sauce, he scooped from it before adding what he got to her te.

    "Here," he said handing the te back to her.

    "Thank you." Zhang Liling said before leaving happily.

    She went straight to the dining area meant for the servants to eat. After enjoying her meal alone, she went back to the kitchen to do the dishes.

    When she was through with that, she took a bottle of water and went up to Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    "He is not in?" She mumbled to herself when she stepped into the room and noticed no sign of life.

    Zhang Liling was somewhat tempted to go and find him in his study, but remembering that she had to appear at Fang Group the next day, she decided to retire to bed early so she could get her beauty sleep.

    Putting the table of water down on the nightstand, she turned around and left for her bedroom with a satisfied smile.

    A few minutester, she was done washing up and stepped into her bedroom dressed in her pajamas when she saw her phone screen light up and was soon followed by a ringing tune.

    "Who is calling by this time?" She mumbled to herself with furrowed brows as her step quickened towards the bed.

    On getting to the side of her bed, she hurriedly stretched forth her right hand to pick up her phone before ncing at the caller ID.

    Seeing the word ''Mum'' on her screen, the corners of her lips turned up in a smile and she hurriedly slid her fingers across the screen.

    "Mum!" Her excited voice rang out immediately as she backed her bed before slowly settling on it.

    From the other end, Song Jujing let out a long sigh as her heavy breathing let out into the phone.

    "Liling, is everything okay with you?" her soft low tone inquired.

    A subtle of confusion shed past her face. She noticed that her mother''s tone seemed different, and it sounded as if she was sad.

    Regardless, she still responded to her, "Mum, I''m fine. How are you?"

    "I sent you something since, 2 days now, but you haven''t opened my chat."

 Chapter 192 Anguish

    At first, Zhang Liling seemed confused and had to pause to think about it first.

    But then, when she remembered that it''s been a few days since shest logged in on her social media handle, she released a soft sigh.

    "I''m sorry Mum, I have been a bit busy for a few days now. Is everything okay? What did you send to me?" She asked with a worryced in her voice.

    Since she heard her mother''s voice after taking her call, she could sense that something was wrong and couldn''t help but be a bit anxious.

    The thought of telling her about her first date and her potential son-inw when she saw her caller ID, flew past her mind as soon as she heard her voice.

    Song Jujing who was calling sitting in bed with a piece of report in her right hand. Sighed. Her countenance seemed calmer which was weird.

    That report she held in her hand was something to be worried about, but she was not. Her expression was contrary to what was writing.

    Hearing her daughter''s response, her deep breath let out into the phone before her soft tone came up, "I don''t think there will be a need for you to take a look at it since I have called."

    Now, Zhang Liling had something to be worried about. As each second passed without her mother saying anything rted to what was wrong with her, the more she became scared.

    "Mum, please can you tell me what is wrong? Did you lose your job? Did you lose any of your close friends? Please talk to me, I am very worried over here."

    Zhang Liling was restless as her heart thundered in her chest. Her brows were furrowed and drew closer. Her thin lips were pressed together as the corner tugged downwards.

    Something was wrong, and she could tell.

    Song Jujing looked like she was in a dilemma to say what was on her mind.

    She would have preferred if she had seen the message she sent to her and things would have been easier for her but unfortunately, that was not so.

    After a few seconds, her supple lips parted as she revealed.

    "Liling, I booked you a flight to Paris by 10 am tomorrow."

    "What!!" Zhang Liling eximed as she immediately shot up from the bed in shock.

    Bringing her phone to her face, she turned on the handsfree mode so she could hear properly, but she was still holding unto the phone.

    "Why would you book me a flight without my permission?" Zhang Liling half-shouted. She was very angry with her mother''s actions.

    Why would she do that without talking to her about it? If this was abouting down to Paris to live with her, then it was not going to work.

    She had told her time without numbers about wanting to permanently reside in City S. Then why would she continue insisting based on her selfish interest?

    Some days ago, Song Jujing had congratted her on getting a ce at Fang Group for her internship.

    Zhang Liling had thought everything about relocating back to Paris was over after that day, but who knew she still had it in mind?

    How could she book her a flight without her permission and thene to tell her about it?

    Song Jujing ignored the anger in her tone and continued, "Please pack up your most important things."

    There was nothing she could do about her anger or try to pacify. Also, she didn''t have the energy to stay longer with her on phone.

    "Mum!" Zhang Liling shouted into the phone furiously.

    Her entire face was contoured in a tight from now as her brows interlocked.

    She looked very pissed that she forgot her manners to her mother.

    At her mother''s provocation, she had forgotten the right way to speak to her elders, including her whom she loved so much.

    There was a long silence. After screaming, Zhang Liling remained calm while waiting for her mother to exin what she meant.

    ''Mum, I don''t know how long I can continue to contain my anger. Don''t make me lose it.'' She thought to herself in annoyance.

    What she knew, was that she was never going back to Paris.

    After a few seconds of silence between the mother and daughter, what followed next was the sniffing sounding from song Jujing''s end.

    Then without warning, the sound of cries followed, resounding from the other end, which shocked and frightened Zhang Liling at the same time.

    She felt her nerves tense as her anger changed back to worry. Her eyes widened in her sockets as she paced around her room.<sub> </sub>

    "Mum, what happened? Is something wrong? Can you please say something?" she asked one after the other without giving breaks in between.

    Song Jujing put down the paper in her hand to wipe the tears that were streaming from her eyes and down to her cheeks.

    Zhang Liling looked anxious as she gave her time to calm down a little before speaking.

    "Mum, calm down and talk to me, I''m here waiting patiently."

    Song Jujing nodded but recalling that she couldn''t see her, she let her lips utter ''mmm''

    Her entire face was red and scrunched up. Her eyes were already puffy just from the little crying. And if Zhang Liling was here, she would have felt more guilty than she already was.

    "I- I have a report f-from the d-doctor that says I-I have 1 year left to live." Song Jujing''s raspy voice announced as his gaze settled on the paper she had picked up from her side.

    "What?!" Zhang Liling eximed in shock as her breathing ragged in her lungs. "Mum, w-what a-are you t-talking about?" She stuttered in disbelief.

    She couldn''t believe her ears and wanted her mother to speak up again just in case she didn''t hear clearly the first time.

    ''What''s mum saying? I saw her almost 3 weeks ago, she looked healthy and more beautiful.'' She thought to herself.

    Song Jujing didn''t want to repeat her words because she could feel her heart was in serious pain.

    When she got this report 4 days ago from the doctor after going for a medical checkup due to a little difort, she had been shocked and devastated.

    She couldn''t believe that she would have that kind of deadly illness. She has always lived a healthy lifestyle, so how could she have cancer?

    It took her 2 more days after wallowing in her sorrows to send the message across to Liling because she didn''t dare to speak to her on phone.

    She was afraid of seeing her daughter break down over the phone when she was not there with her.

    Ignoring her question, she continued, "I know it''s selfish of me to ask you toe over to Paris because I don''t want to spend myst days in the city that broke me. But it is my greatest wish for you to be by my side."

    "M-Mum¡­ M-Mum¡­" Zhang Liling''s soft voice uttered as she sniffed between words.

    Tears welled up in her eyes as her knees gave way. Kneeling on the floor, a single tear rolled down her cheeks.

    Unable to control the pain, shock, and difort that welled inside her as she felt her throat closing up, tears streaked down from both eyes.

    This news from her mother was very disheartening, and she didn''t know how she would cope.

    Soon, her loud wails were heard over the phone.

    Song Jujing felt her heart breaking into pieces.

    Pain and anguish were all her heart and soul knew now.

    "M-Mum¡­ I-I''m sorry." Zhang Liling apologized amidst tears.

    She was feeling very terrible for acting up earlier. She didn''t even want to think about the direction of her mother is at fault.

    It was true that if she had first mentioned about her condition before talking about the flight ticket she booked, she wouldn''t have reacted that way.

    But she was far too guilty to think of who was right or wrong.

    Song Jujing shook her head as tears freely flowed from her teary eyes. "No, there is nothing to be sorry about. It''s all my fault."

    Letting out heavy breathing into the phone, she wiped the tears that continuously streamed down her eyes. "I should have exined things to you before talking about Paris despite knowing how much you don''t want to relocate, although it''s not what I meant."

    "No, Mum, don''t say that¡­" Zhang Liling''s muffled voice was heard as she covered her quivering lips.

    Zhang Liling was still conversing emotionally with her mother when she heard the knocks on her door.

    The next thing that followed was the worried voice of the housekeeper. "Miss Zhang, are you okay?"

    Zhang Liling tilted her head to her left side to nce at the door. Being aware of the situation she was in, both with her mother''s health, and her location, she released a deep breath first before speaking into the phone.

    "Mum, please hold on, I will call you back in a minute."

    Song Jujing did not know what was going over at the other end. She thought her daughter was trying toport herself, hence, she reluctantly agreed to let her have a few minutes to herself.

 Chapter 193 Decision

    The hosuekeeper was ready to retire for the night, and was on her way to her bedroom when she heard Zhang Liling''s muffled cries.

    At first, she thought she had been mistaken and had to stop to listen.

    Coming closer to the door, she leaned sideways and when she heard the cries clearer, she guessed she was right and looked worried.

    She had never seen or head Zhang Liling cry before.

    That girl was so bubbly and full of energy. And not forgetting, mischievous.

    Soemtjing must have happened for her to be in years.

    "Miss Zhang?" Ms. Chu called out before pushing the door open.

    Peeping through the small gap, she saw the head full of hair at the top of the bed before walking in proper.

    She was right on time on seeing Zhang Liling get off the phone.

    Just as Zhang Liling out her phone away, she tilted her head to the side to see the hosuekeeper walking in.

    "..."

    A gasp of shock escaped Ms. Chu''s lips as she closed her lips with her hand.

    Seeing the face full of tears, she quickly hurried to her side in worry.

    "Miss Zhang, what happened to you? Why are you crying?" She beckoned on her as her brows knitted in a tight frown.

    She was taken by surprise to see Zhang Liling crying because just 2 hours ago, she had a smile on her face.

    She had neglected her work and gone shopping which made her happy.

    Being asked that question provoked her emotions again, because it reminded her of her mother''s current condition.

    Instead of replying the anxious housekeeper kneeling by her side, she started to cry again. This time around, she hid her face away from her view.

    "M-Miss Zhang, don''t scare me, what happened? Does it have to do with school? No... No..."

    Ms. Chu just remembered that she was through with college, so obviously, it had nothing to do with school.

    After making a few more guessed without getting any response, she tried to pry of the fingers covering the teary red face and finally seeded in that one.

    That red nose, tear stained cheeks, puffy eyes and red rim under her eyes, provoked the emotions.

    ck lines appeared on Ms. Chu''s face as worryced on her face.

    "Why are you crying so much, what happened?"

    Finally, Zhang Liling tilted her head to the side so she could see her face proper, but the tears blurred her vision.

    Instinctively, she reached out to wipe the tears from her eyes while replying, "My mother is gravely ill."

    "Oh my!" Ms. Chu eximed in surprise.

    She didn''t even need to ask anymore questions to know that things were serious. That word, ''gravely'' had already exined things to her.<sub> </sub>

    She understood that it must be life threatening and sighed tiredly.

    She felt pity for the poor girl. She didn''t know which family Zhang Liling came from and anything rted to her, so she couldn''t guess anything.

    But from what she could see, Zhang Liling was close to her mother.

    "If you mother is seriously ill, then you have to visit her. Tell Mr. Fang about it, and he will give you a some days off. Family is important." She stated as she patted Liling''s shoulders.

    ''Mr. Fang?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself. She had almost forgotten about him.

    Not just him, but her job and all her ns.

    Because of her mother''s problem, she was too invested in crying not to think about her ns.

    But what could she do now? It''s not like she could leave her mother to stay in Paris all by herself.

    She liked Mr. Fang a lot. She got a job in her dream workce. She loved her mother a lot and she was the only family she had left.

    She had to pick between Paris and City S. What would she pick?

    Less than a minute was all Zhang Liling needed to make her decision. She didn''t need to think took much.

    Turning to Ms. Chu, she asked in an urgent tone, "Ms. Chu, I need to see Mr. Fang now, do you think he is still in his study?"

    Thinking that she was going to see him for some time off, she hurriedly replied.

    "Yes, I think you should go to meet him. But if you don''t find him in his study, don''t go to his bedroom as he might be preparing to rest for the night." She advised.

    The hosuekeeper thought it to be wrong to disturb Fang Bingwen with family issues if he had already returned to his bedroom which was right.

    Zhang Liling nodded in understanding and quickly got up with her phone in hand.

    Even if Mr. Fang had gone to his bedroom, she would find him there. The only reason she wouldn''t disturb him, was if he was already sleeping by the time she appeared.

    She had important matters to talk to him about. Also, her mother had booked her a flight for tomorrow morning. She still had to return to her apartment to pack her important stuff.

    Quickly rising to her feet, she hurried towards the door.

    Ms. Chu released a long sigh before walking towards the door unhurriedly.

    She was not going to follow her to meet Mr. Fang, but she was going to wait for her to see her things turned out, and in case she needed her help.

    Zhang Liling climbed the stairs in lightening speed without caring of the safety measures.

    Skipping a step and falling off was not in her thoughts. All that was in her mind was to meet Mr. Fang as soon as possible.

    Luckily for her, she met Mr. Fang head-on just as he opened the door to his study to head out.

    Mr. Fang closed hisptop after letting out a yawn. He was ready to go to bed.

    Picking up his phone from his desk, he rose to his feet and made his way towards the door. And just as he opened it, he saw the figure that almost collided into him.

    Instinctively, he took a step backward as his gaze furrowed.

 Chapter 194 The Promise

    "What...?" Mr. Fang''s gaze trailed off.

    He was about to cold her until he saw her red nose and tear stained face.

    He was shocked.

    ''S-she is crying?'' he looked surprised at that revtion.

    It was a first for him to see tears on her face. Other times, there has always been a smile on her face, or a frown when she didn''t like his response or actions.

    "Why are you crying?" He asked.

    "Mr. Fang," Zhang Liling called out as a tear dropped from her eyes and fell on her stained face.

    "My mum is seriously ill." She revealed a momentter.

    ck lines appeared on his forehead as he thought back to Song Jujing''s healthy figure when he met her at her graduation ceremony.

    But seeing her sorry state, and with her crying profusely, he couldn''t continue dwelling on his thoughts.

    He immediately hooked an arm over her shoulder and led her away.

    Some minutester...

    Zhang Liling was still crying while sitting beside him at the foot of his bed.

    "You don''t need my permission to travel down to Paris, your mother is gravely ill, you should go and take care of her." Mr. Fang said to her with a gentle tone as he passed her anither handkerchief.

    The white one in her hands had already been ruined, so he had to get her mother one.

    "Mr. Fang, what am I going to do?" Zhang Liling asked in a hoarse voice as more tears flowed from her eyes which were already red at the moment due to much crying.

    Fang Bingwen raised an eyebrow in confusion. He didn''t know what she was talking about as he had already asked her to leave for Paris.

    Zhang Liling knew he did not understand her. She first sniffed into the handkerchief in her hands and folded it before taking the new one from him.

    "I was supposed to report to yourpany on my first day of work tomorrow. Also, we are yet to start dating. We were supposed to go on a date this weekend, but now this..."

    As she said that, more tears flowed from her eyes.

    ''Is that her problem?'' Mr. Fang thought as he stared hard at her in surprise.

    Sniffing, she continued, "I really want to take care of my mother myself, and I also want to be with you. What am I going to do? I don''t know how long I will be staying in Paris for..."

    Zhang Liling still had in her mind about the date she was supposed to go on with him. She was not yet his official girlfriend and yet, fate was trying to drive them apart.

    ''Does she like me so much?'' Mr. Fang thought with created broeuss he brought his hand behind to pay her back.

    "Forget about me, you should go and look after your mother." He said in a quiet tone.

    "What?!" Zhang Liling eximed in shock. Apparently, she didn''t bother to read meaning into his words and just burst out in another series fontesrs without warning.

    "Mr. Fang, how can y-you ask m-me to forget you?" She cried out loud.<sub> </sub>

    "You..." Mr. Fang said speechlessly. He had finally confirmed that she had misunderstood him, and hurriedly tried to exin.

    "It''s not what you think. I mean that your mother is more important, go back to Paris first."

    Zhang Liling dabbed her tears with the handkerchief and said in a cracked voice, "But I don''t know when I will return. Can you wait for me?"

    Without waiting for his response, she continued as she held his arms with a desperate look.

    "Mr. Fang, I like you so much. I have seen most of your ws and I wholly ept them. I don''t know if you like me as much I do, but please wait for me. Don''t give up on me without giving me a chance."

    Mr. Fang released a sigh as his gaze followed the fingers that clung to his exposed arms.

    Shifting his gaze back to peer into her eyes, he read a her emotions and thoughts from them.

    He could see fear, sincerity, love, and desperateness in them.

    Another soft sigh escaped from his lips as he said, "I never said I was going to give you up."

    "R-Really? Y-You w-won''t give me up?" Zhang Liling stuttered in surprise as she peered intently into his eyes.

    She tried to see if she could find any lies from his gaze, but she didn''t.

    She still had it at the back of her mind that Mr. Fa g was a pro at hiding his emotions, so she didn''t know of to believe and trust him or not.

    Mr. Fang could sense the need to assure her, but he said to her first as he pried her hold off him.

    "Clean your tears first, I''m not going to date you if your state remain this pitiful."

    Zhang Liling hurriedly brought the handkerchief to her face and wiped her tears with them.

    "Mr. Fang, will you really wait for me?" She probed while still engaging in her actions.

    "I will."

    Immediately, she felt a sense of belonging as soemthing bloomed in her heart.

    For the first time in almost an hour, she felt a sense of relief wash over her, and the joy in her heart.

    Feeling touched with his assurance, her eyes turned teary again and she leaned in to embrace him without warning.

    "Thank you so much Mr. Fang." She uttered with her trembling lips as she clung unto him tightly, as if afraid he would change his mind.

    A soft sigh escaped Fang Bingwen''s parted thin lips as he slowly brought his hands to wrap them around her as his hot breath fanned the top of her head which she couldn''t feel.

    Zhang Liling felt her tensed nerves start to rx as she burrowed herself into his embrace. Fortunately, he didn''t push her away hurriedly which she was grateful for.

    About 2 minutester, he had to push her away as he urged, "Your flight is by 10 am, you need to start packing your things."

    She reluctantly let go off him before reaching out with with her sleeves to dab the corner of her red eyes as she sniffed.

    If not for time, she would have loved to remain in his embrace throughout the night but unfortunately, she couldn''t do that.

 Chapter 195 A Knowing

    Mr. Fang rose to his feet and walked toward the nightstand and pulled out the second drawer before taking a key from it.

    Walking back to the bed, he said to her, "Come,"

    He knew that if he didn''t make a move first, she wouldn''t do anything.

    Zhang Liling looked reluctant but got up to follow him out but before they could reach the door, she reached out to hold his right hand.

    Fang Bingwen stopped in his steps. His gaze slowly followed her hand upto her face, but he couldn''t see her expression because she had her gaze lowered.

    She didn''t dare to meet his gaze because she was afraid of his rejection, but to her amazement, he didn''t shrug her hand off him.

    When he continued in his steps without saying anything, she slowly looked up to nce at his side profile as a smile that reached her eyes spread across her face.

    It looks like he was not going to hide their rtionship anymore, and she was happy for that.

    "You still have some things to pick up from your ce, I will drive you there." Mr. Fang said as he led her down the stairs.

    Zhang Liling was touched and looked at him like he was her light in shining armour.

    Why was he being so sweet to her now that she was about to leave her side? He should have been like that since...

    Nevertheless, she was going to enjoy hispany till thest minute.

    Walking through the hallway while still holding his arm, they came face to face with the butler and the housekeeper who had a shocked expression on their faces.

    Butler Gu and Ms. Chu''s gaze remained on the arm snaked around his arms as their eyes widened in surprise.

    ''W-What am I seeing?'' Ms. Chu thought as her eyes nearly popped out from their sockets.

    Butler Gu was in a better state then her. He was a trained butler so he was good at managing his emotions.

    When Zhang Liling saw them, she felt a little awkward and almost took her hands off him. But on a second thought, she got over her embarrassment.

    Taking her hands off him in their presence, was as good as denying him and their rtionship which will make her look like a coward. And besides, they have already seen them, was it not toote to hide it?

    ''What does Mr. Fang think about this?'' As she thought so in her heart, she shifted a curious gaze to his face.

    She wanted to know what his reaction would be. Seeing him walking ahead with a calm expression on his face, she felt settled.

    He didn''t mind letting his helpers find out that way.

    "Do you need help to pick up anything?" He asked with his gaze hovering over her head.

    "Huh...?"

    "Can you pack up your things at your ce all by yourselves?" He asked again, this time around, he made his question clearer.

    "Oh... I-I can do that myself." She replied.

    On seeing the butler and the housekeeper, the first thought that crossed his mind, wasn''t to shake Zhang Liling''s hold off him, rather it was to see if it was necessary to appoint one of them to follow him to her ce in ass she needed help to pack up a few things.

    It was alreadyte, and he believed that having more helping more hands would make things much easier.<sub> </sub>

    But since she said she could do it herself, there was no need for him to ask for their help.

    "Keep the lights one, I''m going with Miss Zhang to her ce, we will be back in an hour." He said as their steps slowed.

    Ms. Chu recovered from her shock and immediately asked, "Sir, do you need any help?"

    "There is no need." He replied before continuing in his steps.

    Butler Gu lowered his head for only a moment and raised it to watch their backs disappear from their view.

    "Butler Gu?" Ms. Chu called out in a soft tone, with her gaze still lingering in the distance.

    In response, the butler withdrew his gaze to look at her.

    Feeling his gaze on her, she retracted her gaze too, and faced himpletelywith a spective gaze.

    "What is the rtionship between Sir and Miss Zhang? I thought she was a servant?" She asked as her brows arched and her a glint in her eyes.

    Butler Gu pursed his lips and released a soft figh. He too didn''t know how to ssify the rtionship between his master and a fellow servant. He was confused too

    But recalling seeing them holding hands, and from the way he used to be very lenient with her, concluded that there was more to their rtionship.

    Thinking carefully about his response with a contemting gaze, Ms. Chu urged him. "What do you think?"

    Ms. Chu was thinking that even if there was romance in their rtionships, it wasn''t okay because Zhang Liling was a servant.

    Since when did domestic servants get close to their Master like that?

    "I cannot conclude since Sir has not made any announcement yet. But from what I''m seeing, their rtionship is closer than we think."

    "Isn''t Zhang Liling a servant? How did she catch Mr. Fang''s eyes?" She asked curiously.

    Stretching his gaze into the distance again, he calmly exined some things she was not aware of.

    <o>,m "Ms. Chu, Miss Zhang is not just an ordinary servant. She is from a wealthy home."</o>

    "What!" She eximed in surprise as she took a step back. ''Was that why she has expensive items?'' she thought to herself.

    A minute ago, she almost thought that she was a seduced who had seduced her boss into spending his time and money on her, but who knew that she was from a rich home?

    "Which family is she from?" She inquired curiously.

    "Miss Zhang''s full name is Zhang Liling. She is from the Zhang family in City S." The butler replied and paused for a moment befire leaving this word behind."I will wait at the sitting area for them to get back."

    Ms. Shi didn''t know how long she stood their with a contemtive gaze. Now she knew the reason Zhang Liling acted the way she does.

    No wonder their Master would fall for her. She was totally from a different league.

    ''But why would a young girl like her from a rich homee to work as a servant in another person''s home?''

    Unfortunately, there was no one to answer that question for her.

 Chapter 196 Forced Role

    The ride to Zhang Liling''s ce was almost quiet throughout, except from her voice directing him on the turns to make.

    Zhang Liling was still not in the mood to have talks, and Fang Bingwen understood.

    As long as she did not cry, he would not disturb her thoughts.

    Zhang Liling was still feeling sad concerning her mother''s health challenges. There were other things she was supposed to speak with Mr. Fang about, but she thought it was not important.

    The only way for her mind to calm down was if she went to Paris to see her mother for herself.

    When she gets there and after understanding her mother''s situation, she will know how long it would take her to return.

    One thing for sure, was that she would never abandon her mother, and she prayed in her heart that he would understand and hold on for her to return.

    A few minutester...

    "Are you okay?" Mr. Fang asked as he looked at her with furrowed brows.

    He had to nudge her with his elbow just to get her attention since calling out her name did not work.

    "Huh?... Yes, I''m fine." Zhang Liling replied before shifting her gaze back to her surrounding only to note that they had arrived at her apartment building.

    "When did we get here?" She asked as she instinctively unpsed her seatbelt before letting it go.

    "Just now." He replied as he turned off the car''s engine and proceeded to unpse his seatbelt.

    Just now, she was lost in thoughts that she failed to not when they had arrived.

    In her head, she was already picturing her beautiful mother''s face looking do downcasted.

    Helping herself out of the car, she closed the car door and allowed her gaze to nce at the tall apartment building while waiting for Mr. Fang toe over to her side.

    Almost a the lights in every apartment were turned on. It looked like a lot people were still about to retire for the night.

    "Are you cold?" Mr. Fang''s gentle voice asked as he came to stand beside her.

    Looking at her wearing such a thin dress, he was worried.

    Zhang Liling followed his gaze to her clothes and only noticed now that she was in her pyjamas. Heat rose to her face as her cheeks turned a shade of pink.

    She was embarrassed.

    Managing to nce at him after raising her head slightly, she saw that he was dressed so casually and even felt more embarrassed.

    At least he was dressed better she was.

    Shaking her head in denial, she continued in her steps, leading the way for him.

    Mr. Fang quickly followed after her. Befire they left the house, he had noticed the kind of clothe she was putting on, but didn''t think it was too bad toe out with.

    The current dress she was putting on was for sleeping, even though it could pass off as a casual dress because of the delicate design, but he did not mind.

    The reason she was embarrassed was because she was not putting on anything underneath her dress and rememberinv how she had hugged him in his bedroom, and evening outside with it.

    Zhang Liling was quick in her steps, but because Mr. Fang had long legs, he easily caught up with her.<sub> </sub>

    Taking the elevator together, they got to the floor of her apartment. On getting to her door, she keyed in her password before pushing the door open and letting them both inside.

    This was Fang Bingwen''s first time in her ce, and it was normal for him to take a look around, but he didn''t. Instead, he changed his shoes while asking, "Do you need my help inside?"

    Zhang Liling turned to him. "No, please sit. I will be back in a few minutes." She said before heading inside.

    A long sigh fell of his lips and her sneaked his hands inside the front pocket of his pants as his gaze darted all over the living room.

    He liked how the designs and furnishings were kept simple. Most of them were to his taste, but this was not the time for admiration.

    Taking onest look at the sitting area, he tilted his gaze back to the oath in front of him before walking forward.

    Zhang Liling had asked him to remain seated, but he wouldn''t listen.

    Since she was in the bedroom probably already packing up, he decided to go to the kitchen to see if there was anything he could put away.

    From her bedroom, while pulling out a small travel bag from her walk-in closet, she heard the small soundsing from the kitchen.

    Her brow raised as her ear perked up to listen carefully. Confirming that the sounds were actuallying from the kitchen, she wondered. "What is Mr. Fang doing in the kitchen?"

    The next hour, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen were already on their way back to his vi. There were only a few cars on the road, so he sped up a little bit so they could arrive early.

    Zhang Liling still needed to finish packing the things in his ce.

    Thankfully, Ms. Chu and the Butler were still awake and waiting for them with the lights in the house still turned on. With his much helping hands, things could go a lot faster.

    It wasn''t untill Mr. Fang helped to take her bag out from the trunk did Zhang Liling realize that he actually drove her to her ce.

    This was the first time she was seeing him drive, and she happened to be the cause for it.

    Seeing as he was always driven around by his chauffeur or Bolin, she almost thought that he didn''t know how to drive.

    Releasing a soft sigh, she med her messy head from causing her to think slowly.

    That night, Ms. Chu helped her to pack all her things in the vi.

    Since she had no idea of when she would return, it wouldn''t be good for dust to ruin her things, so they also had to be packed up in luggages.

    After 2 hours, Zhang Liling finally had everything she needed secured and finally released a sigh of relief as she sat at the foot of her bed.

    After thanking the hosuekeeper, she left, and now, she was finally alone.

    Now that she got the chance, she took out her phone and opened the chat with her mother on her social media handle.

    Skipping the bad news she had typed, she clicked on the document she sent to her.

    When it opened, her sight saw the ne ticket for her flight the next day

    ''I''m leaving City S tomorrow?''

    She thought of the irony of the whole matter. She was still feeling like she was immersed in a movie and forced to take on a role she would never ept willingly.

 Chapter 197 An Hour With You

    The next morning...

    The figureying on the soft white sheets rolled to the side as the hand that was supporting her head slowly moved away toy next to her.

    Suddenly, her shoulders tensed as her eyes immediately flew open.

    ''What''s the time?'' she raised a question to herself after jolting awake.

    Sitting up properly with her messy head, her mind wandered back to the events of the previous day.

    ck circles surrounded her puffy eyes as her fingers went around her slightly swollen pale cheeks.

    "Right, I have a flight!" She recalled and quickly got off the bed.

    Picking up her phone from the nightstand, she checked the time to see it was still around 5 am. To her, she was alreadyte as she had other things she wanted to do.

    Putting down her phone, she slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flop lying beside her bed before hurrying into the bathroom.

    Last night, Zhang Liling had not slept a wink. Every time she tried to force herself to sleep, her mind would go back to the moment her mother broke the news of her health condition to her.

    Also, she would remember the sound of her sad voice, and how she cried.

    Whileying awake in the middle of the night, the crying voice if her mother kept resounding in her head as thoughts of what would happen in their lives in the future followed.

    There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask, and there were also a lot of things she wanted to know. Sadly, she could only wait till she got to Paris.

    After having her bath, Zhang Liling stepped out of the bathroom with a brown bathrobe wrapped around her body.

    In barefeet, she made her way to her closet to pick out the only clothe that was left hanging in her wardrobe.

    It was a striped navy blue and white jumpsuit.

    In a few minutes, she was all dressed up before and walked to the mirror to brush her long hair after which she picked up her phone and left the room.

    In quiet steps, she made her way all the way to Mr. Fang''s bedroom while trying to avoid the hosuekeeper and the butler.

    As she climbed the stairs, she could hear the distance sound from the vum cleanering from the living room.

    Without needing to stress her brain on who was handling the machine, she marched forward.

    Soon, she appeared in front of the door to Mr. Fang''s bedroom. She was a little breathless and stopped to rest for a second before raising her fist to knock on the door.

    "Come in." The loud clear male voice approved from inside.

    Zhang Liling was a little taken aback that he was in by that time.

    She had thought that she had to go to the gym room to look for him since he always trained early in the morning, but to her surprise, he was still in his bedroom.

    Checking the time on her phone, she saw that it was around 5:30.<sub> </sub>

    ''Is she just waking up?'' she thought as her brows furrowed.

    Shaking off the thoughts crowing her head, she went on to bed the door handle before pushing it open and going inside.

    Closing the door behind while her eyesnded on the figure standing beside the bed in his sports attire, she concluded that he had just finished working out.

    On a normal, she would have thought that he was about to leave for his workout section, but seeing the small beads of sweat that formed on his forehead, and the way his chest rose and fell, she came to that conclusion.

    "You are all dressed up?" Mr. Fang asked as he eyed her outfit.

    He was checking to see if it was suitable for a long hour flight.

    From City S to Paris was 14 hours nonstop flight, and if she wanted tmthe rest of her body to be a bitfortable apart from her mind that maybe restless due to worry, it would be best if she out on somethingfy.

    "Mmmm..." Zhang Liling hummed and nodded in response.

    She could feel his gaze on him and had to look down at her clothe to see if there was a stain on it.

    While checking herself out, she had his calm voice ask from the spot he was standing, "how do you undo that clothe?"

    "Huh?..." She eximed in shock as her gaze quickly lifted to stare at his face.

    Pressing his lips together, his brows furrowed. He knew she had misunderstood him, and he couldn''t help but to think, ''Does she have the time for her mind to be flying to that direction?''

    Not wanting to waste their time, his thin lips parted unhurriedly. "Your flight is a long and straight on. There won''t be a chance for your to visit the restroom in-between. It will be best if you wore soemthing that can be easily undone in case of a bathroom break."

    Fang Bingwen just couldn''t see her taking off the entire clothe just to use the bathroom. The more he thought about it, the more his brows knitted tightly in a frown.

    The jumpsuite Zhang Liling was putting on, was cut in a triangle at the chest area, and because of the white singlet she was putting on inside before it, it helped to cover her chest.

    Around her waist, the rope of the jumpsuite was fastened and knotted in a bow.

    In this side he had seen, he could only guess that she would have to pull the dress off starting from her shoulders and down to below her butts if she wanted to use the bathroom.

    He didn''t see that asfortable.

    Finally, it seemed that Zhang Liling understood what he was talking about and hurriedly exined, "Oh!... This dress has a zip."

    As she said that, she turned her back towards him and moved her hair to the side so he could see where the zip of the dress began.

    "I see..." He replied as he squinted his eyes.

    "Wait for me, I''m going to have my bath now."

    Zhang Liling quickly turned around, "You don''t have to rush, I am not in a hurry. I only came here by this time so I could at least spend an hour with you before leaving for the airport."

 Chapter 198 Last Hour

    Fang Bingwen''s gaze lingered on her as it softened.

    "I still have to take my bath, I''m sweaty." He exined before turning to leave.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling felt her chest warm up. She was happy with this sweet side of him he was willing to let her have a taste of.

    "I wished I could enjoy more of this... Mr. Fang is no nice," she mumbled to herself with a small smile ying at the corner of her lips as her gaze followed him till he disappeared through the inner door.

    It took Fang Bingwen 15 minutes to finish showering and changing into his work outfit befire stepping out.

    He was still trying to fix his wristwatch when he noticed that Zhang Liling wasying on the other side of his bed.

    Ignoring her, he walked in proper with his shoes making a contrasting sound against the tiled floor, but when he came upto the part the ash-coloured rug covered, the sound disappeared.

    In seeing him, Zhang Liling adjusted her position on his bed as her eyes followed to the nightstand.

    While thinking that he was very fast in dressing up, another different thought couldn''t help but to upy her mind. ''But I wanted to spend time with him.''

    Unaware of her thoughts, Mr. Fang opened the first drawer to take out the small ck box inside it before taking a step back to the side of the bed.

    Finally securing the silver watch on his wrist, he looked up to meet Zhang Liling''s gaze. Without a word, he passed the box to her.

    "Here is a small gift for you," he said as the left corner of his lips moved inwards.

    "A-A gift for m-me?" She stuttered with widened eyes before reaching out with two hands to ept the gift from him.

    "Mmmm..." He hummed in response as he retracted his hand back into the front pocket of his pant, allowing her to have the box all to herself.

    This was the first time he was gifting her, and he wasn''t sure she was going to like it even if he had guessed what would suit her.

    Zhang Liling looked happy as she received the boxy from him. Without thinking, she opened the box to reveal her gift as she heard him exin.

    "I wanted to gift it to you a day before our date, that''s why is yet to be wrapped."

    Fang Bingwen had thought of getting her something even thought he was tempted to go back on it because of her little actions that annoyed the hell out of him.

    But on a second thought, he didn''t want to act childishly, so he went on to get the gift for her. Today, he had nned on taking it to work so he could ask Bolin to wrap it for him but s, fate toll a turn, leaving him with no option than to give it to her like that.

    If he had gone on with his second idea to dy giving her the box, he wasn''t sure of when her return to be hence, he thought it to be wise to gift her the item immediately.

    Seeing the simple rose gold ne with a half-moon dangling at the center.

    "Wow! It''s beautiful..." Zhang Liling eximed as her trembling hand picked up the ne to gently run her fingers through it before proceeding to take it out from the box.

    "Do you like it?" Mr. Fang asked as he stared at her intently, seriously watching every expression that shed across her face.

    "Yes," Zhang Liling replied without sparing him a nce as all her focus was on the delicate ne in her hands.<sub> </sub>

    "I love it," she added as her eyes shone brightly. Slowly, she spread the chain on her hands to take a proper look at it.

    Instantly, Mr. Fang''s racing her heart ceased as his tensed shoulders slowly rxed.

    If she didn''t like it, he would have felt bad for having giving her a parting gift that wasn''t suitable to her taste.

    Had it been she wasn''t traveling, and she said she didn''t like it, he would have directly taking her to a jewelry store to pick any one of her choice.

    Fortunately, he didn''t have to go through all that hassle.

    "Mr. Fang, please help me out it around my neck," Zhang Liling said while stretching the hand that held the beautiful ne.

    Without much thought, Fang Bingwen took it from her as she turned her back to him before moving her hair aside so he could have full ess to her neck.

    Unsping the hook, he brought his hands over her head. Feeling the cold chain gently brush the small exposed part of her chest, Zhang Liling felt her heart warm up.

    As if that was not enough, she felt the tips of his warm fingers touched her neck as he struggled to fasten the hook.

    Zhang Liling was not sure that Mr. Fang knew the effect he had on her. She could almost picture his knitted brows while trying to secure the ne around her neck.

    Thinking this far, a soft chuckle escape from her lips, surprising the man struggling behind her.

    "What''s funny?" His frustrated voice asked.

    Just like she was thinking, that was exactly how Mr. Fang''s face looked. His brows were currently knotted in frustration.

    sping a hand over her mouth to control the sound of herughter, she asked, "You haven''t done this before?"

    Eyeing her, he turned his gaze back to his fingers. "Who told you that?" He asked.

    "My guess..."

    "You lie." He said as he retracted his hands after firmly securing the hook.

    Feeling the absence of his fingers and the fiddling of the metal on her chest, she allowed her hair to fall back before turning to face him.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang!" She said wih a smile that reached her eyes.

    "It''s no trouble. You said you wanted to spend time with me, is there something you want to talk about?" He asked as he settled next to her.

    "Not really, I just wanted to lie with you in bed." Zhang Liling confeseed while looking him in the eye.

    Mr. Fang was only a moment taken aback by her request. She was indeed brazen and it looked like she had be more like that since thest few hours.

 Chapter 199 Happy

    An hourter, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang went down for breakfast together.

    After having a light meal, they got ready to leave for the airport.

    Almost, Zhang Liling wasn''t able to finish her food even though she served herself a little quantity, but Mr. Fang had to force her to finish it.

    "I know you are probably still feeling sad, but you have to eat a little more. Your flight is a long one, and you may not be served good food on the ne."

    With his urging and caring gaze monitoring her, she had no choice but to listen to him.

    Finally when she was done eating and it was time to leave, she bade farewell to the butler and the housekeeper.

    Butler Gu helped her to roll out her luggage, but when they all stepped outside, they saw Bolin and Chuanli waiting next to the ck Rolls-Royce.

    Immediately, Bolin stepped forward to take the luggage from him and rolled it away till he got the back of the car.

    After putting it away in the trunk of the car, he came to stand beside the car door, ready to open it.

    "Miss Zhang!" Chuanli called out calmly as he took a few steps forward. He only stopped when he came to stand in front of her.

    "Hello, Dr. Li," Zhang Liling greeted with a small smile.

    She was surprised to see him and wondered if he had an appointment with Mr. Fang, but to her spection, he gave her a response that exined his presence.

    "I heard what happened and had toe over. I''m sorry about your mother''s health. Do you know the details of her illness, maybe I can offer my assistance from here?"

    As a doctor, he couldn''t look past the health challenge her mother was going through. It was his habit to concern himself with stuff rted to it.

    Without letting her responsd, Mr. Fang interjected. "She doesn''t know the details yet. Gradually, she will be able to learn the details rted to it."

    Zhang Liling felt touched with Chuanli''s concern and thanked him with gratefully.

    "Thank you Dr. Li, for taking care of me and looking after me." She said with a small bow.

    Chuanli smiled at her and waved his hands about in front of his face. "It was no trouble at all. Do take care of yourself over there. Don''t be unhappy. If there is anything you don''t understand, you can reach out to me. I can always offer my assistance from here."

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling replied in understanding.

    Mr. Fang nced between the two of them before taking her hand and leading her away.

    "You don''t want to miss your flight do you?" He said, in a bid to exin the reason he had to take her away.

    A smile yed at the corner of Chuanli''s lips as he turned around and followed behind them.

    Before and after getting into the car, Zhang Liling waved at butler Gu and Ms. Chu who stood from a short distance and waved at her.

    Feeling nostalgic, she turned her face away and covered her face with her palms.

    Seeing her getting emotional of a sudden, Mr. Fang who was sitting next to her failed to understand the reason.

    He had to nce through the tinted window of his side to nce at the Butler and the Housekeeper to see what was there.

    ''Is she missing them already?'' he thought.

    Feeling the need to know the sudden change in her emotions, he asked, "What is it? Why are you crying again?"

    Bolin who was in the driver''s seat nced at her through the rear-view mirror, while Chuanli who was sittingfortably in the front passenger seat had to turn his gaze behind in curiousity.

    Both men felt pity for her and could rte to the pain and agony she must be going through.

    They were both aware that her mother was the only family member who cared for her, and she was the only person that had shown her maternal love since she came into the world.

    It would be hard for her not to get emotional because of her current health challenges.

    Gradually, Zhang Liling released her hands from her face. Her eyes were teary, but thankfully, they were not red and not tear had dropped yet.

    "Miss Zhang, are you fine?" Bolin who was yet to speak to her since he saw her, asked while peering at her from the driver''s seat.

    Nodding, she hurriedly tried to exin. "I''m fine. I''m just feeling nostalgic now that I''m leaving Mr. Fang''s ce."

    "Why? You don''t want to leave?" Chuanli inquired with a curious gaze.

    At that question, a smile finally appeared on her face, waving half of the sadness away.

    "Apart from my mother''s house in Paris, Mr. Fang''s vi is the next ce that makes me feel at home. In my 4 years of living with my father and his family, I had never felt that way."<sub> </sub>

    ''Oh...''

    ''That''s why she is reluctant to leave?''

    Her response was touching. Imagine leaving a ce you have known all your toe to a far away City to continue your education, only to receive a contrasting treatment from before?

    That must have been hard for her to take. No wonder she never wanted to leave Mr. Fang''s ce, apart from not wanting to lose her chance in winning him over.

    Mr. Fang, not liking the mood in the car, decided to liven things a bit.

    Staring at her, he asked as his brows arched, "Does it mean that I treated you well?"

    Hearing his probing voice next to her, Zhang Liling immediately shifted her attention to him, and replied, still with a smile on her face.

    "Of course, you are next in line after my mother."

    "Oh..." Mr. Fang trailed off. "I thought I was strict with you, who knew you were enjoying it. Maybe I should let us repeat that part again."

    Bolin chuckled at his Boss''s joke and moved his gaze back to the road after a brief nce at the rear-view mirror.

    Although knowing it was a joke, Zhang Liling frowned and immediately pulled his arm and protested with her pouted lips.

    "Mr. Fang, we can''t go back to the rtionship of the past. We should be moving forward and not moving backwards."

    ''Go back to the old rtionship?'' Zhang Liling would never allow that.

    After making an effort to ensure that she captured Mr. Fang''s heart and finally seeded, she would never allow anything to take them back to the beginning.

    Although she couldn''t control what will happen in the future, but she could make an effort from her end not to let herself be the one to ruin their rtionship.

    A smirk turned up on Mr. Fang''s face, but he tried to hide it with a scowl.

    ''Moving forward? What a smart girl!'' he could very well tell howzy she was to start work from the begining.

    After chuckling for a bit, Chuanli felt that there was something he had to point out in order to help their rtionship be closer.

    Tilting his head to the side, he focused his gaze on Zhang Liling as he asked curiously, "Why do you keep calling him Mr. Fang? You know, his name is Fang Bingwen. Why don''t you make your mode of address less formal?"

    They were no longer Master and servant. Their rtionship had already progressed, so it didn''t make any sense for her to keep addressing him formally, but Zhang Liling had s different idea.

    Shaking her head to refur his suggestion, she exined with a smile that reached her eyes. "I like to address him as Mr. Fang. It doesn''t sound formal to me. But maybe I will change it when we get married."

    The happiness she felt when said that enveloped the sadness in her eyes.

    Those who didn''t know would think she was about to cry because of it, not knowing it was because of another reason.

    For her, addressing the man after heart do formally made it sound so endearing. She thought it was a lot intimate than calling him by his first name even thought to others, it looked like there was a distance in their rtionship.

    ''Marriage?''

    All three men. "..."

    Atst, Chuanli was the one that broke the silence by erupting inughter. ''This young Miss is faster than her shadows.''

    A small smile yed on Bolin''s face as he shook his head in amazement.

    As for Mr. Fang, he released a long sigh before throwing his face away. He had no words for her.

    He was not even surprised anymore.

    Having been with her for some time and studied her personality, he wouldn''t be surprised with any statement she made that meant to take their rtionship further.

    "Miss Zhang, are you not in a hurry?" Chuanli asked in-betweenughter.

    Zhang Liling shook her head. "No. It''s always good to think ahead."

    "Motivational speaker." Mr. Fang muttered under his breath.

    With the lively atmosphere, Zhang Liling felt the sadness in her heartpletely wash away, making her wish for only the good moments to continue till eternity.

    She would be forever grateful to these three men for cheering her up in one of her darkest moments in life.

 Chapter 200 One More Hug

    ZHANG MANSION...

    Shi Wenqian has been restless since the previous night that she had a bad night rest, and waking up this morning, she was not any better.

    The first thing she did after she opened her eyes was to pick up her phone.

    Going to her call log to check the recent calls she made, she tapped the first contact on the list and proceeded to dial it.

    At the first ring, the call got connected. Without waiting to hear the sound of breathing from the other end, her questioning voice spoke.

    "Are you all set?"

    "Yes, Ma''am. We have already left for the location." The hoarse voice of a man replied immediately.

    Still, his response was not able to assure the woman who was restless.

    "Careful not to be caught loitering. Make sure you bring that girl with you, I won''t ept any excuses!" She instructed as a wicked glint shed across her eyes.

    She already could see the vision of where Zhang Liling was being captured and thrown into the trunk of the car after her mouth must have been sealed, and her hands and feet bound tightly with ropes.

    As that vision vanished from her sight, a smirk turned up at the corner of her lips.

    "Yes, Ma''am!" The man replied in understanding. There was no room for failure on this mission.

    Ending the conversation, Shi Wenqian ced her phone on the bed as she stared into the distance.

    "Zhang Liling, since there is no use for you anymore, I have to cut off your wild wings before getting rid of you" she mumbled in a menacing tone.

    All that was currently radiating from her was wickedness and the only thought in her head was on how to get rid of her step daughter.

    Shi Wenqian would never forget all the times that young woman stood up for herself. She took note of them, and even went on to count them on her fingers.

    "You thought I wouldn''t get you? I just pity your poor mother. But I would love to see her cry, it''s been a long time." She said as the corner of her lips curled.

    More than anything, she would like to see tears in Song Jujing''s eyes.

    The first time she made her cry was more than twenty years ago.

    It was that time Song Jujing found out that she was already pregnant with Zhang Renshu''s side.

    Shi Wenqian had made her fix the pieces of the puzzle she had deliberately hinted to her.

    If she didn''t do it this way and had openly confessed to her about it, Zhang Renshu wouldn''t have ended up marrying her after their wedding broke off.

    Going back to the memory of thest to see the tears brimming in Song Jujing''s eyes as she scolded Zhang Renshu, Shi Wenqian felt her heart dden a bit.

    "Song Jujing, now just wait till I remove your child from this world. Then you will be left alone. No husband, no child, no family, just you... Hahahaha."

    She Wenqian let out a hystericalugh at the end before getting off the bed and turning to walk towards the inner room.

    After freshening up, she left for the dining room to go and sit with the others for breakfast.

    At the dining table, Zhang Renshu and Zhang Xiaoling were already dressed for work and Mingyu seemed to be the only one off because he was dressed so casually.

    Seeing arrive with a happy ambiance surrounding her, her children rested their gazes on her before greeting her and shifting their gazes back to their food.

    ''Why does she look so happy?'' Xiaoling thought to herself as she but into a slice of bread.

    She could remember angering her mothertest night. Normally, she would still be carrying a scowl on her face from the previous night but today, seemed different.

    ''Well, it''s not my business.''

    Thinking that her mother''s change in emotions wasn''t her concern, she threw her face away and continued eating in silence.

    Responding to her children''s greeting, a soft smile graced Shi Wenqian''s face as she took her seat.

    ncing at Zhang Renshu who hadn''t spared her a nce yet, she acknowledged his presence.

    "Do you have a meeting at thepany this morning?" She inquired as she stretched her hands to reach out to the big bowl of soup at the center of the table.

    Seeing that her hand couldn''t reach it, Mingyu stretched his hand to push it to her side before retracting it.

    Zhang Renshu briefly nced at her with a narrowed gaze. "Did I ever mention anything like that to you?"

    He looked annoyed for her actions. He disliked the small talks she was trying to make with him. He was not interested in any way.

    He did not even have the time for her.

    Feeling his irritated gaze on her, Shi Wenqian pretended not to notice it.

    ''I still need to teach you a lesson. But for now, let us enjoy our one happy family.''

    Getting rid of Zhang Liling would aplish her dark desires.

    *******

    At the International Airport...

    It was already a few minutes past 8 when the Zhang Liling arrived with the trio who insisted on following her in.

    "I know you want only Bingwen to follow you in, but unfortunately for you, Bolin and I are very much interested in seeing you off." Chuanli joked as he trailed behind the couple.<sub> </sub>

    He was pulling one of the luggaes behind him just like Bolin.

    Mr. Fang''s brows arched as the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips rose up.

    "Dr. Li, if you want to be fed dog food, I won''t stop you from tagging along."

    A soft chuckled escaped Chuanli''s lips as a smile that reached his eyes naturally turned up on his face.

    "Is there any scene that I haven''t witnessed in my life? You two can go ahead and do what you want, but don''t forget that one of you is a public figure. If you would like to appear on the news in the next few minutes, I won''t stop you." He teased.

    Immediately, Mr. Fang turned his strict gaze to look at him. "Shut it."

    "Dr. Li, you are thinking too much," Zhang Liling replied.

    Bolin on the otherhand followed after then with a small smile ying on his lips. Because of his position, he couldn''t joke like them.

    Some minutester, Mr. Fang was set to leave for work. He was already half an hourte and by the time he gets there, he would be almost an hourte.

    Checking the time on his wristwatch, his gaze narrowed before putting his hand away. Then turning to nce at Zhang Liling, he annoyed.

    "I have to leave now."

    Instinctively, a slight frown appeared on her face as she immediately sped his palm. "You can''t stay for s few minutes more?" She asked her lips pushed forward in a pout.

    Shaking his head, he refuted her request immediately, "No, I havemeeting soon, and it is important for my presence to not be missed. Also, Dr. Li has a lot of work to do, inluding Bolin. You will have to release them as well."

    "I don''t need them, I want only you!" Zhang Liling retorted immediately with a visible from on her forehead as she the fingers sping around his left hand tightened.

    She didn''t even bother to mince her words.

    Taking the opportunityid out before him, Chuanli clutched the material around his chest area as hisshes fluttered close.

    His lips tugged downwards as straight lines appeared on his forehead.

    "Miss Zhang, you are so mean. You just punctured my heart and hurt my feelings." He said in with an exaggerated painful tone.

    Zhang Liling rolled her eyes at him and didn''t even bother to feel pity on him.

    "Dr. Li, it will be good if your heart hurts a lot so you will be eventually forced to leave."

    "Pfftt... hahahaha..." Bolin chuckled out loud. He was unrestrained now, as he let his emotions out freely.

    A smile that reached Mr. Fang''s eyes instantly appeared on his face. ''Welldone!'' heplimented in his head.

    Chuanli on seeing how his ns failed woefully sighed and adjusted his shirt. "I can see how bad Miss Zhang perceives me."

    Seeing him trying to act pitifulky, Zhang Liling scoffed.

    "That''s enough." Mr. Fang said, rising to his feet.

    Zhang Liling hurriedly stood on seeing his long figure towering over her. "Mr. Fang," she called out softly as sadness became visible in her eyes.

    Bolin and Chuanli rose to their feet as well as Fang Bingwen met her sad gaze head on.

    "As soon as your flight is about to leave, text me. Also when you touch down in Paris, phone me." He said gently as his gaze softened.

    He didn''t want to give her any room to start crying and trying to hold him back.

    But he was going to miss her though. Since she appeared, his heart has been ddened, and the dull light in his heart has been reced with a bright one.

    Zhang Liling nodded in understanding as a soft sigh escaped her lips.

    Seeing as it was time to leave, Chuanli and Bolin smiled and waved at her.

    "Miss Zhang, see you soon. Don''t forget, if you need anything or want to know something, don''t hesitate to give me a call." Chuanli hinted as he winked at her.

    Zhang Liling quickly caught unto what he meant and shed him a smile of gratitude.

    Mr. Fang and Bolin were oblivuto the secret conversation they both had before them.

    "Have a safe flight, and my regards to your mother." Mr. Fang said to her before turning on his heels.

    How could Zhang Liling let him go like that? She didn''t know whenst she would see him next.

    ''One more hug... I need to hug him, just one more time.''

    And with that thought, she left her luggage and rushed forward.

    "Mr. Fang!" She called out desperately.

    Hearing the hurried steps rushing towards him and that familiar female voice, Mr. Fang and the duo, all paused in their steps and turned around.

    The next thing they saw was the small figure running into Fang Bingwen''s chest.

    Instantly, a smile turned up in Chuanli and Bolin''s face as they watched the couple. Retracting their gazes and exchanging nces, they turned on their heels to continue in their steps.

    This was them silently giving the couple about to be separated by thousands of miles, a private time.

 Chapter 201 Away From You

    The sound of footsteps reverberated along the wide corridor of a buildingplex.

    The walls were smooth because of the perfect scridding done by a craftsman, and a milk-coloured paints adorned the walls.

    The tiles that decorated the floor along its path had a mixture of white and ck which readily suited the white ambiance.

    Walking on the quiet path of this hallway was a woman with a stack of papers in her hands. A light pink lipstick smeared urately on her lips.

    A pair of reading sses shielded her weak eyes from the bright lights along her path.

    On her face stood a serious expression as she walked ahead.

    She only came to a stop in front of a door with a tag, ''Assistant Bolin''

    Without wasting time, she clenched her hand into a fist before bringing it up to knock on the door.

    "Come in." A curt reply from the owner of the office reached her ears from the inside.

    Bringing her hand to the door handle, the woman in her early 30''s bent it slightly before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

    Her gaze met straight Bolin and a small appeared at the corner of her lips as she bowed her head slightly.

    "Mr. Bolin," she greeted before closing the door behind her and proceeded to step forward.

    "Yes, Manager Choi." Bolin said raising his head from his desk with a look of curiousity.

    Manager Choi quickly went ahead to state the reason she came to find him.

    "I headed the interview for the newbies that were selected. Everyone was here except for one Miss Zhang Liling. I just thought that I shouldet you know about it since the Boss selected these people."

    ''Ah...right...'' Bolin eximed in his head. He had almost forgotten about this.

    Managing a smile, he quickly said to her, "Thank you for the report, I will inform Mr. Fang about this."

    "Alright," The woman said before passing him the stack of papers before continuing, "These are the details of all the candidates that were epted today. There were a total of 9 of them."

    Although Fang Group had selected a number of people from thousands out there that applied to them, and offered them a ce, they still had to be interviewed before their primary aassignment would be given to them.

    Zhang Liling was indeed offered a ce, but she still had an interview to attend befire she would be officially epted, given her work ID and work desk.

    Since she didn''t attend the interview, everything was gone now.

    cing his hand on the new set of files that made their way on his desk, he said to her, "I will look at themter and take care of the rest."

    "Thank you," the woman said. Then proceeding to bow slightly, she said, "Then I will take my leave now."

    Bolin nodded at her and watched her turn to leave. He only retracted his gaze when she shut the door.

    A soft sigh fell of his lips before his right hand reached for the ck telephone on his desk. Pressing just one number on the pad, he ced the phone on his ear.

    Two rings after, the person at other end answered.

    "Mr. Fang, about Miss Zhang''s interview that was supposed to take ce 2 hours ago, a written report should be sent. Should I write one myself or ask Miss Zhang to do it herself?"

    It could ruin Zhang Liling''s future prospect of working in Fang Group if there was no statement from her.

    It was only right for her to leave a statement behind stating the reason she was absent from the interview.

    In the future if she still had ns ofing to work in Fang Group, she would still be considered.

    There was only a short moment of silence before Mr. Fang''s response came.

    "I will take care of Zhang Liling''s mater myself." Mr. Fang said and immediately out down the phone before shifting his serious attention back to the screen of hisptop

    He was currently looking at new set of products in the market.

    After what seemed like a minuteter he sighed and leaned his back to the backrest of his chair as his gaze wandered off.

    Mr. Fang could remember what Zhang Liling told him while giving him thest hug.

    FLASHBACK BEGINS...

    "Mr. Fang, I will miss you so much." Zhang Liling said with the side of her face resting on his chest as hershes fluttered close.

    There was a silence from Fang Bingwen''s end, but his actions spoke volumes.

    To her statement, he moved the hands lying limply at his sides to her back to return the hug.

    This was a silent response that spoke more volumes than the one voiced from the throat.

    The corners of Zhang Liling''s curled as three streaks of wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes.<sub> </sub>

    "I Love you Mr. Fang." She confessed from the deepest part of her heart.

    Her current predicament had taught and showed her that Mr. Fang indeed liked her and was already reciprocating to the feelings she heard for him.

    All this while that he has been indulging her just proved that he indeed felt something for her, and that was what gave her the courage to behave the way she did, while living in his vi.

    He, Fang Bingwen, gave her the audacity.

    Only if he knew this, he wouldn''t have bothered wasting his breath to always ask her what gives her the guts to act the way she does.

    It was only because he had a soft spot for her that made him ignore her excesses.

    A soft sigh escaped Mr. Fang''s lips as they slowly parted to bring forth words. "You don''t know what love is, don''t confess it."

    In response, she replied enthusiastically. "Mr. Fang I just know that I would never be at peace if I don''t end up with you. I never want anything bad toe your way."

    Without waiting for his response which she thought she didn''t need, she continued.

    "Mr. Fang, what are you going to do now that I''m leaving? How will you cope after getting used to the relief my scent brings to you?" She asked as she raised her head to meet his gaze.

    To that question, Mr. Fang wasn''t sure if what response to give.

    The reply he wanted to give was already at the tip of his tongue, but at the end, he just swallowed them up and released a long sigh.

    He had wanted to say, ''I can manage like I have been doing before you came into my world'' but something told him that it wouldn''t be so who was true.

    And this is the reason he held back from saying things that were not true.

    "That is why you muste back." He said as something, an emotion shed past his eyes.

    In that split second, Zhang Liling saw it, but refused to doubt that she saw wrongly.

    She felt like kissing him on the lips, but in order not to make things difficult for him since they were in a public ce, she ced the side of her face back on his chest and rubbed it.

    "Mr. Fang, you have to wait for me, I will be back." Her soft voice echoed in his ears.

    FLASHBACK ENDS...

    Letting out a long sigh, he slowly moved his gaze back to hisptop screen.

    *******

    "What?!" Shi Wenqian eximed in shock as she rose to her feet in lightening speed.

    "What do you mean you didn''t see her?!" She shouted over the phone as her entire face contoured in a frown.

    The person over the phone let out a soft sigh that transmitted his restlessness before his shocked tone came up.

    "Ma''am, we didn''t see Zhang Liling today. We have been waiting outside the Fang tower since 7 in the morning, but we are yet to catch sight of her."

    "What kind of nonsense is that?! Would that girl who had been going on about entering Fang Group miss her interview?! The Zhang Liling I know would never do that!"

    The way Shi Wenqian spoke with confidence, showed that she had indeed studied Zhang Liling, and was sure that she would never miss her interview.

    "Ma''am, it''s likely that she skipped today. My men are stationed at every corner of the building, including the underground parking lot. We will never miss her if she had indeed showed up."

    Shi Wenqian was almost going crazy and immediately ced the me on her minion. "You must have missed her you idiot!!"

    p The man on the other end was almost going crazy too. He was professional and refused to believe that he and his men would miss that tiny familiar figure.</anda>

    After much contemtion he had to admit that he must have mistakenly missed her.

    "Ma''am, give us till the end of work hours to bring her to you."

    It was only then that Shi Wenqian seemed to calm down, but she didn''t forget to scold the hell out of him before dropping the call.

    "You morons! Make sure to bring her to the basement as soon as you get a hold of her."

    At night, Shi Wenqian received the worst news ever. Zhang Liling never showed up for her interview, and it was confirmed after one of the gangster went inside to check things out.

    After going hysterical and spewing cursed words, one thought remained in her mind as she calmed down.

    Where could Zhang Liling be?

    Unknown to her, her stepdaughter had left for a ce thousands of miles away from her evil clutches.

    And she would never set her eyes on her till her attention had moved elsewhere in utter defeat.

 Chapter 202 Back Home

    A YEAR LATER¡­

    At the International airport in City S, there were a lot of people of different status, culture, and countries moving about.

    Today was Friday, which was one of the busiest day of the week to fly in and out, hence the reason for the crowd at the airport today.

    It was already the beginning of summer, so most of the people flying out wore thin dresses that would help their body temperature cool a bit.

    The hot weather did no justice to their skin.

    As people moved to and fro with their luggage in hand, a young woman with a huge sunshades covering almost half of her face, strode past the walkway while a luggage being pulled behind her.

    The corners of her lips curled up as the exposed part of her skin flushed.

    Even after the long hours of flight, there was no signs of exhaustion on her face. Instead, she seemed more energetic as she was in a good mood.

    The young woman was putting on a loose nude tank top, a pair of white jean trousers and a brown leather belt secured on her waist.

    There was a brown sling bag on her left shoulder. On her feet were a pair of in brown lita shoes.

    Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun secured at the top of her hair, and on her naked necky the familiar rose gold ne with a half-moon dangling on it.

    This was the same ne Mr. Fang had gifted Zhang Liling on the same day she had left City S for Paris.

    ''It''s nice to be back here'' Zhang Liling said with a smile dangling at the corners of her lips.

    Stepping out of the airport, her beautiful amber eyes scanned the area, and as expected, she found the official car from the famous fashion magazine her mother worked for, and an older man dressed it in a suit and standing beside it with his phone in hand.

    The man''s serious gaze seemed to be on his screen as he typed away before eventually cing it on his right ear as his darted around his busy surrounding.

    "He is really here." Zhang Liling mumbled to herself as she stopped in her steps.

    Withdrawing her right hand from her luggage, she dug into the sling bag on her shoulder to take out her phone.

    As she nced at the lit screen, she saw the iing call from ''xxxx Driver'' and slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.

    "Hello, Mr. xxxx." Her soft enticing voice rang out.

    The man standing in front of the official ck car hurriedly spoke into the phone. "Hello, Miss Zhang. I''m currently standing outside the airport. Should Ie in?"

    The man was asking just in case she needed his help with her luggage.

    "No need, I am already outside the airport and I can see you. Look to your left." Zhang Liling instructed as she waved her left hand so he could see her.

    Immediately the driver turned his gaze to his left, he saw the figure standing right outside the building and waving at him.

    "Miss Zhang, I see you now." He said as he put down his phone and immediately walked forward with a polite smile.

    As soon as he got to her side, he nodded as he greeted "Hello Miss Zhang¡­"

    "I will take your luggage," he said before proceeding to reach for it.<sub> </sub>

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said with gratitude before following him.

    In the car, she finally took off her sunshades to reveal her tired eyes, but the smile on her face still reached them.

    Flying for over ten hours on a nonstop flight was tiring and left for her, she would have loved to stretch her legs a bit more because she has been sitting for long.

    Her butts were already hurting.

    "Miss, where would you like to go to? Your apartment?" The driver asked as he ignited the car''s engine and drove off.

    Zhang Liling''s heart raced against her chest as that question reached her ears.

    Only a certain ce came to her mind as that was where she wanted to be. Mr. Fang''s vi.

    Still in that great mood, she called out the familiar address and rxed her back against the seat with an expectant gaze hovering outside the window.

    A minuteter, she checked the time on her wristwatch. Seeing that it was already 7:25 am, she urged the driver to step on the pedal.

    At the same time in Mr. Fang''s vi¡­

    Fang Bingwen had just finished dressing for work, and was taking steady steps down the stairs when the housekeeper walked to the foot of the stairs.

    "Sir, your breakfast is served. Do you still want your lunch parked for you?" She asked with a respectful gaze on him.

    Mr. Fang who had his suit jacket draped on his left arm, and his right hand clutching the briefcase, continued in his steps as he replied, "No need. I will be back for lunch."

    "Okay, Sir." Ms. Chu replied before walking away.

    Mr. Fang''s looks were clean-cut and for the matter of fact, he looked more mature and that serious expression that was conversant with his face, was sitting there.

    There was no other notable changes...

    In no time, he reached the dining room. Setting his stuff down on one of the chairs, he went to sit at the head table and put his phone next to the tray in front of him before reaching out for his Western style breakfast.

    Just as he was about to take a bite from the bread in his hands, his phone vibrated on the table.

    He cast a casual nce on the screen to see the text from Bolin.

    The details is the text was simple. Bolin was already waiting outside for him.

    Ignoring the text, he proceeded to take a small bite bite from the soft sliced bread.

    Outside the vi, Bolin who looked nothing different since thest year, sighed softly before slipping his phone inside the pocket of his suit jacket.

    ncing at the time on his silver chain wristwatch, he determined how long it would take Mr. Fang to step out before picking up the folder next to him inside the car.

    While waiting for his Boss, he figure that he could go through his schedule.

 Chapter 203 I Missed You

    Seeing the famr environment she missed so badly, a soft sigh escaped from her parted thin lips.

    Suddenly, Zhang Liling began to feel nostalgic as the car drive into the familiar estate.

    Just a little above a year ago, she had passed this ce and gone straight to the airport.

    Just how must she missed this ce that meant so much to her without knowing.

    "Mr. Fang, I''m here atst." She muttered under her breath as the rim of her eyes turned red.

    Her eyes glistening with tears, she watched the estate fade behind her as the car drive into Mr. Fang''s vi.

    Earlier when they got to the security checkpoint in front of the estate, they were allowed to pass when the security guards recognized her.

    One of them had even asked how she had been, and she replied politely.

    As the official car slowly drove in toward Mr. Fang''s vi, Zhang Liling could see the familiar car right in front of the house and a long sigh of releaseded escaped her lips.

    ''He is yet to leave for work.''

    She had guessed this because of the way the car was parked.

    At the thought of meeting her beloved Mr. Fang, her heart pounded in her heart, and she could hear the sound of heartbeats in her head.

    She was a bit nervous as her fingers slightly trembled.

    "L-Liling, calm down," she uttered with quivered lips as her gaze remained straight.

    She was trying to calm her nerves while trying to picture the expression or reaction Mr. Fang would give on seeing her.

    The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became.

    She didn''t tell anyone about her travel ns, hence the reason she was fidgeting now.

    She had wanted to surprise him more especially before other people.

    Just then, she heard the driver saying something to her and finally came out from her daydreams.

    "Miss, we are here..."

    Bolin who was still sitting inside Mr. Fang''s car, identally nced at the rear-view mirror and was surprised to see a ck car driving in.

    His brows furrowed. ''Who could that be?''

    As he was thinking, he heard the entrance door to the vi closing and quickly turned his gaze to see Mr. Fang standing in front of the door and gazing past his car.

    Immediately, he got of the car and closed the car door before turning his gaze to nce at the iing car.

    Mr. Fang who was still standing in front of his house, narrowed his gaze at the unfamiliar car driving into his premises.

    He refused to move an inch and just stood there watching the car till it pulled over.

    Atst, it was Bolin that first made a move. He saw the things in his Boss''s hands and hurriedly went over to take them from him before turning his gaze back to the ck tinted car.

    Zhang Liling could see the tall handsome man standing still with his gaze on the car she was in as tears welled up in her eyes.<sub> </sub>

    She missed this man so much. The man that had brought her happiness, love and care.

    Zhang Liling''s emotions was starting to get riled up, and the driver noticed when she nced at her from the mirror after he had pulled over.

    "Miss Zhang..." He called out in concern as he turned his gaze to nce behind him.

    Hearing her name being called was like a trigger for her.

    Without warning, she pushed the car door open and ran out.

    "Mr. Fang!" She called out emotionally with her teary gaze staring right at the man who now had a surprised look on his face after catching a sight of her.

    On seeing that famr figure rushing out the car, Mr. Fang was taken aback. Straight lines appeared in his forehead as his eyes widened in their sockets.

    "Liling?" He muttered under his breath as if he was not sure of what his eyes was seeing.

    Bolin who was standing beside him looked surprised as well as he stared ahead in astonishment.

    Both men were surprised to see her because they were not aware about her arriving City S that very day.

    By the time Zhang Liling had gotten to their side, her sight was almost blurry.

    "Mr. Fang!" She called out as she ran into his embrace.

    Mr. Fang stood there rigid without moving his limbs.

    Not expecting to hear any response from him, a smile that reached Zhang Liling''s eyes spread across her face as the arms around his back tightened.

    She knew he was probably too shocked to see her, and she understood. Afterall, she never mentioned about her travel and ns thest time they spoke.

    "I missed you so much Mr. Fang." She said and rubbed her makeup free face on his chest as if he was a teddy bear she couldn''t have enough of it''s softness.

    Bolin couldn''t stand this sweetness and hurriedly left their side with Mr. Fang''s suit jacket and briefcase.

    It seemed that movement was solid enough to startle Mr. Fang, and to help hime out of the shock.

    Slowly, his gaze shifted from the distance to the top of the head of the little woman wrapping herself in his arms.

    Immediately, his nose picked up that famr fragrance it had missed so much and inhaled it as relief washed over him.

    "Why didn''t you tell me you wereing back today?" His soft voice that showed just how much he indulged and cared for her asked.

    Zhang Liling felt a wave of sweetness wash over her as a rush of adrenalin enveloped her.

    Whenst did she hear his deep natural voice that was always capable of sweeping her off her feet?

    Honestly, she couldn''t remember.

    To his question, she replied as she smuggled in his arms. "I wanted to surprise you, and I''m happy I did. Mr. Fang, I missed you so much."

    As she confessed her feelings, she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze.

 Chapter 204 Still The Same

    She wanted to surprise him? Well, she had seeded in doing so.

    The chauffeur that drove Zhang Liling to Mr. Fang''s vi, "..."

    The man just sat in his car with a shocked expression on his face.

    The woman who was almost on the verge of crying was clutching tightly to a man now, and to think that he was worried about her... tsk..tsk...

    After getting over this earlier shock, the driver came down from the car before going over to the trunk to take out Zhang Liling''s luggage.

    Then remembering that her slingback was still resting on the back seat, he cast a nce at the couple before shaking his head.

    He couldn''t call her toe pick up her luggage could he?

    That would be rude of him so, he saved himself the reputation and went on to take out her bag.

    "Mr. Fang, did you miss me at all?" Zhang Liling asked with a pout. She seemed to be wanting to force words out from his lips, but the man was not going to budge.

    "Let go, I have to go to work." Mr. Fang said as he pried her arms off his back with his face contoured in a frown.

    He was feigning seriousness because he was avoiding her question.

    It was better to ignore her than to tell a lie he did not want to.

    Also, the sses over his eyes helped with the kind of look he wanted to portray. He looked just like his lecturing days at NYU.

    Zhang Liling reluctantly released her hold on him, but she refused to leave his side even as he walked ahead.

    "Mr. Fang, can''t you stay at home today? I haven''t seen you in a long time, I want to spend some time with you." She said as she jogged beside him.

    Fang Bingwen said without batting an eye, "If you are serious, you should have returned at night when you would be sure to see me."

    In essence, he was just trying to be stubborn and not let her have her way.

    He knew her character very well and figured that if he wanted to be safe from her clutches, then he shouldn''t give in to her on the first day otherwise, he would never be able to say NO to her.

    Zhang Liling refused to give up and continued pestering him.

    "Mr. Fang, don''t you care about me, was all those conversations we had a lie?" She questioned with a serious look on her face.

    Finally, Mr. Fang had to stop in his steps. "Did I ever say that I cared for you? Did I tell you that?" He asked as his gaze narrowed at her.

    Gone was that emotional side of him on seeing her return after a whole year. It disappeared as quickly as it hade.

    Zhang Liling''s brows furrowed as ck lines appeared on her forehead. ''W-What... does he mean?''

    "But your actions proved that," she said as she slowly reached out to tug on his shirt while trying to proofread a point to him.

    ''She''s still as stubborn as she was.'' Mr. Fang thought with a hard stare on her.

    Just then, their attention was drawn by the chauffeur that brought her over.

    The man was already tired of waiting for her. He thought that if he continued to act like a gentleman, then nobody would acknowledge his existence till the next day.

    Left with no choice, he had to call Zhang Liling''s attention.

    "Miss! Your bags..." He said with a straight gaze ahead while gesturing to the luggage and the bag beside him.

    "Oh..." Zhang Liling eximed. She had almost forgotten about her own luggage on seeing her man.

    Waving her free hand to him, she said in audible tone from that distance, "Mr. thank you for bringing me over. You can leave the bags there."

    Getting the permision to leave, the driver nodded slightly at her, as relief washed over him.

    He felt lucky to be able to leave and immediately turned to walk around to the other side of the car before stepping into the driver''s seat.

    Bolin who was standing beside Mr. Fang''s car, turned around after putting away the briefcase and suit jacket to see the luggage.

    "Miss Zhang is really back." he muttered under his breath as his gaze shifted to the little woman smiling so brightly.

    Fang Bingwen looked at the one luggage she came back with and his brows tugged further.

    ''She came back with only one luggage? What happened to the second one?''

    He had his doubts and almost wondered if she was going to leave soon.

    ''Is she going to leave again?''

    Finally, he concluded that he needed to sit and have a conversation with her to find out her ns, but he didn''t say that out to her because he didn''t have that much time.<sub> </sub>

    Instead, he turned to her to ask with a slight irritation in his tone, "Why did you bring your things over here?"

    Zhang Liling did not understand the meaning behind his question as her focus was on taking her things into his house.

    "I''ming directly from the airport, where else was I supposed to take them?" Zhang Liling asked before shifting her gaze to her bag, then without warning, she dashed ahead.

    "Mr. Fang, hold on a minute, let me bring my things over." She said to him.

    Wait for her? Zhang Liling had underestimated Mr. Fang''s mood.

    Immediately she turned to run towards her luggage, he continued in his steps toward his car.

    It was as if he was trying to escape before she came back to ask him to spend the rest of the day with her.

    As Zhang Liling got to where her luggage was left and turned around, she saw Mr. Fang about to step into his car as Bolin stood holding the car door for him.

    Immediately her eyes widened in shock. ''Where is he going?''

    With that feeling of abandonment tugging in her heart. She left her luggage behind and started walking back toward his car.

    "Ah... I forgot my phone." Mr. Fang said as he touched his pants pockets. Normally he was supposed to feel it as he was trying to sit, but he didn''t, and that was when he figured that he had left it on the dining table.

    At that realization, he turned to walk back towards the building.

    Seeing him walking back toward the vi, Zhang Liling hurriedly called out to him, "Mr. Fang, where should I keep my things?"

    "..." No answer.

    "Mr. Fang?" She called out as her voice turned gentle, still she received no response.

    Thinking that he was probably annoyed with her for not telling him about her travel ns, she devised a n to get her way into his house.

    With that thought, she increased her pace.

    Finally when she got a little close to him, she asked a little breathlessly as ayer of sweat formed on her forehead, "Mr. Fang, do you ept stray cats?"

    If being strong-headed was not going to make a way for her, then surely acting pitiful would do the trick.

    Mr. Fang paused briefly in his steps and turned to give her a good nce while adjusting his reading sses.

    "You look like one," he said meaningfully in a deep voice that brought out his sexiness before continuing in his steps.

    How could Zhang Liling let him leave like that when it was a matter of urgency?

    There was no way she would let him off without getting what she wanted.

    At least she was no longer asking him to stay back, she only wanted to be able to stay at his ce again just like before.

    Quickly chasing after him, she yelled, "Mr. Fang, you really have to take this stray cat in."

    "I don''t ept stray cats, I only ept humans," Mr. Fang replied as a slight smile turned up on his face.

    He has been teasing her this whole time by making things a little difficult for her.

    He was doing all of this just to get her reaction, and just as he thought, she was still the same person. Her personality did not change, not in this aspect in the very least.

    "Huh? M-Mr. Fang, you have been teasing me?" Zhang Liling asked with a little surprise after detecting a hint of smile in his tone.

    Fang Bingwenpletely ignored her and went back into the house, refusing to admit to it.

    Now, Zhang Liling looked a little confused. From his actions, she could tell that he had epted her, but she didn''t know if she should follow him into the house now, or go back to bring her luggage before he changed his mind.

    Figuring that she could still meet him if she brought her luggage over Immediately, she turned around to go get it, and saw Bolin already clutching the handle in his hands and about to take a step forward.

    "Mr. Bolin!" She called out as a smile slowly appeared on her face.

    It was only now that the veil covering her eyes and stopping her from seeing other people apart from her Mr. Fang, fell off her eyes.

    Well, it happened at the perfect timing just when Fang Bingwen left her sight.

    Bolin returned a polite smile and started walking towards her.

    He bore no grudge against her for totally ignoring his existence just to go find her Mr. Fang. Afterall, most of the times she contacted him when she was away, was to know of his Boss''s schedule.

    Sometimes when Mr. Fang wasn''t answering her calls, she would phone him instead or text him to find out what the man was up to.

    "Miss Zhang, wee back." Bolin said as he clsoed the long gap between them.

 Chapter 205 New Bedroom

    Bolin helped Zhang Liling to take her luggage into the house and right at the time they stepped inside, they met Mr. Fanging toward them with the Butler.

    As soon as Butler Gu''s eyesnded on the female figure, his eyes widened in shock. "Miss Zhang..."

    He was so shocked that he didn''t know when those words fell out from his lips.

    Her presence was unexpected.

    Hearing her name being called by the Butler, Zhang Liling smiled at him.

    "Hello, Butler Gu," she greeted as she waved at him with a smile that reached her eyes.

    Butler Gu''s gaze shifted from her to the luggage in Bolin''s possession and made a guess. ''She is back.'' And with that, he wee her properly.

    "Wee back Miss Zhang."

    "Thank you Butler Gu, it''s good to see you again." She said as the corner of her lips lifted up.

    Mr. Fang nced between and shifted his gaze to her luggage before turning to the butler to say, "Show her to one of the guest rooms. That''s where she would be residing for now."

    Instantly, Zhang Liling rushed to his side and grasped his hand without warning, surprising the butler who had almost forgotten what Zhang Liling used to be like around Mr. Fang.

    Her actions, instantly jolted some pieces of memories from the previous year when she was still around.

    "Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Mr. Fang." Zhang Liling said as the flesh around her cheeks gathered to her cheekbones and three streaks of wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes.

    Seeing this scene, it dwelled on Butler Gu that Zhang Liling was back this time around, not as a servant, but as Fang Bingwen''s guest.

    And this further confirmed their rtionship status.

    "I will see you when Ie back," Mr. Fang said in a bid for her to let his arm off.

    Zhang Liling being smart, got the message and slowly let her hands fall on her sides.

    "Have a great day, Mr. Fang!" She said enthusiastically while waving her hand as she watched him leave her sight.

    Butler Gu went over to Bolin''s side to take over Zhang Liling''s luggage so theter could leave.

    Finally when Bolin shut the entrance door, Butler Gu pulled the luggage as he said to Zhang Liling, "Miss Zhang pleasee with me, I will show you to your new room."

    Zhang Liling quickly turned to follow him.

    On their way, she chatted with him. She asked about how he, the hosuekeeper and the chef have been and any events that may have urred in her absence.

    To her question, the Butler replied. He dropped the formalities and was so carefree with her.

    On getting to first guest room, the Butler left the luggage for a moment to take out a bunch of keys front his trouser pockets.

    As he fished for the right key, he said to her, "Don''t worry about the room, it was cleaned less than a week ago, but if you don''t..."

    "I''m fine with it. I am more excited to be back here, and allowed a ce to rest," Zhang Liling said, cutting him off with her eyes shining ever so brightly.

    After unlocking the door, Butler Gu pushed it open and rolled in the luggage with Zhang Liling following behind.

    "Miss Zhang, the rest of your things from your previous room will be transferred here shortly. But first, what would you like for breakfast? Do you have any special requests?" He asked as he left the luggage and turned around with his gaze fixed on her.

    Being aware that she flew for several hours, he was attentive to know that she needed food to eat.

    "I''m fine with anything. I took a long flight back, so I would freshen up first beforeing out."

    "That''s fine." Butler Gu replied before leaving her to her space.

    As soon as he left and shut the door, Zhang Liling twirled in fascination before walking toward the bed in quick steps.

    Seeing the neatly arranged Queen sized bed, she fell on it with her back against it.

    There was arge contrast between the room she used to live in and this one.

    There so much more space, and the intricate interior decors were almost on par with Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    What made her so excited was not because she got to have a bedroom upgrade, but because of the upgrade in her and Mr. Fang''s rtionship, and for that she was most grateful.

    Zhang Liling took her tile rolling on the bed and taking a good look at every part of her new living space.

    She got a massive bedroom with a study area in one corner. She had an exclusive bathroom and walk-in closet with the standard of a 5-star hotel.

    Walking into the bathroom, she saw that it had two types of bath.<sub> </sub>

    A shower and a bathtub.

    Seeing this kind of setting, her Zhang Liling''s body began to each for a bath.

    Without bothering to unpack her luggage first, she went to lock the door to the room before taking off her clothes and getting into the bathub.

    Almost half an hourter, she stepped out of the bedroom clothed with a white bathrobe she found in the bathroom cab.

    This cold bath she took helped to rx her nerves. If the weather wasn''t hot these days, she would have never bothered to take a cold bath. A warm one would have been perfect for the tub.

    Quickly opening her luggage, she picked a one piece dress and put it on before proceeding to unpack her luggage, and it was at this time that Butler Gu came to remind her of her breakfast.

    Heating the knocks on the door, Zhang Liling stepped out of the inner room and went directly to answer door.

    As soon as she opened it, the aged butler''s face came into view.

    Smiling at her, he announced, "Miss Zhang, your breakfast is ready."

    "Thank you Butler Gu, I will be there shortly, let me pick up my phone first." Zhang Liling said with a smile.

    She left the door open and turned to her sling bag which she was yet to touch. Then digging her hands inside while peeping into it, she got a hold of her phone.

    Butler Gu was still waiting for her by the time she came back to the door and together, they walked down to the dining room.

    "Miss Zhang, I will leave you to eat first. And while you do that, Ms. Chu and another servant would transfer your things from your old room."

    "That''s right, I haven''t seen Ms. Chu, it seems like she is very busy." Zhang Liling asked as she pulled out a chair at the dining area and sat down.

    She just remembered that she was yet to set her eyes on the housekeeper.

    A smile graced the Butler''s lips as he exined, "Ms. Chu justing back from the grocery store.Beforeing to call you a few minutes ago, I told her about your presence and she seemed very ted."

    Pausing to check the time on his phone, he continued, "She said she wanted to put the bag down and wash her hands, but I don''t know what''s taking her long toe around."

    Just then, they heard the sound of quick footstepsing close and Instinctively, a knowing smile on their faces.

    Before the hosuekeeper appeared before their line of sight, they could already hear her excited voice calling out to Zhang Liling.

    "Miss Zhang!" Ms. Chu called out before appearing at the dining room.

    "Miss Zhang, you are back!" She said while beaming with smiles.

    Being excited to see the housekeeper, Zhang Liling stood to her feet and pushed the chair aside before walking over to her side with a smile that reached her eyes.

    "Ms. Chu, it''s good to see you!" She said before pulling the older woman in for a hug.

    Without a moment of hesitation, the older woman wrapped her hands around her.

    "Miss Zhang, wee back. I''m so happy to see you. Each time I remember you, I always ask Mr. Gu if he had any information about you." Ms. Chu cried out.

    She was almost emotional on seeing the young woman who had left their side a year ago.

    She had even forgotten how troublesome she was, as all that was on her mind and heart was the joy on seeing her again.

    "Ms. Chu, I can see that you missed me just like I missed all of you." Zhang Liling said before slowly releasing her from her embrace.

    Immediately, the woman began to bombard her with questions while gazing at her.

    "Why wouldn''t I miss you? How are you? You look just the same as before. How is your mother''s health now, is she all better?"

    "Ms. Chu slow down," Zhang Liling said with a low chuckle.

    Butler Gu who was standing at the side, smiled before interjecting.

    "Miss Zhang, Ms. Chu has been concerned for you and your mother since you left. And she has been hoping that everything would be okay at your end."

    Hearing this, Zhang Liling felt a little emotional as she looked between the two of them.

    "I didn''t know that you two love me to this level."

    "What''s so surprising about it?" Ms. Chu asked as she regained a bit of her consciousness while managing a small smile.

    "You two always scold me a bit when I don''t do my job on time." Zhang Liling said, and immediately, sounds ofughter resounded in the dining room.

 Chapter 206 Hearty Meal

    "You haven''t told me how your mother is? Seeing how the smile managed to reach your eyes, I can tell that everything is fine now." Ms. Chu said happily.

    She could read Zhang Liling''s facial expression to determine the state of things.

    The smile on Zhang Liling''s face reduced as she replied, "It''s a long story, but my mother is fine now."

    Hearing that, a sigh of relief escaped the housekeeper''s lips, knowing that everything was fine now.

    "That''s a relief," She stated.

    "Ms. Chu, we have to leave the youngdy now before her breakfast turns cold." Butler Gu announced politely.

    The housekeeper''s gaze shot past Zhang Liling''s shoulder to see the food arranged on the dining table.

    Smiling, she hurriedly said with her gaze directed at Zhang Liling, "Miss Zhang, have your food first, there is plenty of time to chat."

    "Sure. And I got presents too¡­" Zhang Liling said suggestively as she sent a wink their way.

    "Thank you," Butler Gu and Ms. Chu said gratefully.

    "Now, I have to run along to make supervise your things being moved to your new bedroom," The housekeeper said before turning to leave.

    "Miss Zhang, enjoy your meal." Butler Gu said before turning to leave.

    Filling fulfilled with her life at the moment, the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips curled as she walked back to take her seat.

    Taking away the lids of her bowls, she revealed the sumptuous dishes that were served to her.

    Obviously, it waspletely different from the kind of food Mr. Fang had before leaving for work.

    The Chef was almost done preparing another round of dishes for lunch when Zhang Liling arrived.

    Also, this was what she deserved to eat after a long flight, but from Zhang Liling''s end, she was more than happy because had missed the traditional food.

    Coming back and being served what just her body wanted, made her feel a wave of satisfaction wash over her.

    "Okay, let''s eat," She said rubbing her palms together as her eyes glistened.

    Twenty minutester, Zhang Liling was done eating.

    She had cleared her tes, making sure that it would never be possible to scrape anything from them.

    This just showed how much she was satisfied with the food.

    Wiping her lips with the table napkin, she nced at her phone from the corner of her eyes to see the number shing on the screen.

    Picking up the phone with her right hand as she was putting down the table napkin, she stood to her feet with her eyes on the phone.

    Seeing the caller ID which happened to belong to her mother, she sighed and slipped the phone inside the side pocket of her dress before proceeding to pick up the tes.

    After that, she carried them toward the kitchen, where she met the Chef munching something.

    "Hello, Mr. Chef!" Her excited voice rang out while shing him a smile.

    Immediately the Chef heard her familiar voice, he raised his head as his eyes shone brightly.

    "Miss Zhang, it''s really you. It''s good to see you again." He said wide-eyed.

    He heard from the Butler about her return, but because his work in the kitchen was not yet over, he couldn''t go out to see her halfway.<sub> </sub>

    That wouldn''t be professional from his side, hence he thought to see her immediately after he was done with the current work he had at hand.

    Zhang Liling took quick steps to the sink to put down the tes in her hand before turning to walk toward him.

    "It''s good to see you two," she said with a beautiful smile spreading across her face.

    Zhang Liling had smiled so much in less than 2 hours that she could feel her cheekbones burning because of the pressure.

    But because this was not forced happiness, she decided to bear the pain.

    Rubbing her cheeks slightly with her fingers, she asked curiously as she went over to his work desk.

    "What are you making?"

    Smiling proudly, the chef revealed while gesturing to the aluminum squared-shaped tray in front of him.

    "I tried a new pastry."

    Nowing to stand beside him, Zhang Liling was able to see the half-circle-shaped pastry with streaks at its end,ying on the tray.

    There were about five of them in the tray.

    "What are they called?" She asked with interest.

    Zhang Liling felt her mouth water as the aroma of the pastries assaulted her nose.

    The Chef stared thoughtfully at the pastries before saying, "I used shredded beef and mashed potato for the filling. I also added some carrots and a little vegetable."

    "Maybe I should name it ''Meat Stuffing'' Instead."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling engaged in a series ofughter with her hand over her mouth. She wasughing so hard that the Chef began to wonder what was so funny in what he said.

    Atst, Zhang Liling replied to his worries, "You are so bad at naming. I don''t have the energy to continueughing."

    "You asked for a name, so I made one on the spot," The Chef said defensively.

    He was just exploring the ideas in his head as naming had not been important to him.

    Putting her hands up in surrender, she said still with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "All right. Can you give me one to try?"

    That was Zhang Liling''s interest as she no longer cared if he was bad at naming his craft.

    The aroma of the pastries was dealing with her here. She needed to have a bit to satisfy her tastebuds

    "Sure," The Chef said immediately before lifting one of the pastries and handing it over to her.

    He was more than happy for her to give his work a try.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said as she took it from him.

    Feeling the slight hotness, and the aroma closer to her nose, she closed her eyes as the corners of her lips stretched.

    "I can feel it''s fresh from the oven," she stated before slowly opening her eyes.

    "You are right, but it''s been over a few minutes. Miss Zhang, hurry up and give the pastry a try." The Chef urged while gazing at her with an expectant smile.

 Chapter 207 Never Leaving Again

    Taking a bite from the pastry, Zhang Liling chewed on it and hurriedly gave him a thumbs up.

    Instinctively, a smile that reached the eyes shed across the Chef''s face.

    He was happy for receiving a positive feedback from her. It was every Art crafter''s dream.

    Swallowing the minced piece in her mouth, she held in the urge to take another bite.

    "I love this, it''s spicy and the cream is not heavy." She said before hurriedly taking another bite as her patience expired.

    The Chef was so happy that he immediately brought a ceramic t te and ced another one on it before handing it over to her.

    "Since you like it so much, you can have another one." He said.

    Without dying, she hurriedly took the te from him. "Thank you," she said with eyes shining brighter than the stars in the night sky.

    "I will enjoy this," she added.

    The Chef nodded in response before revealing to her, "It''s too bad that Mr. Fang may not appreciate of this."

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s ears piqued with interest at the matter concerning Fang Bingwen, and she immediately probed as her brows furrowed slightly.

    "Why do you say so?"

    "He doesn''t like any food with a heavy taste, and I think I did a bad job with this one. I will just have to redo itter in the evening." The Chef exined.

    ''I see... His tastebuds are bad too...'' Zhang Liling''s thoughts trailed off while nodding at the Chef.

    Zhang Liling was aware about Mr. Fang''s condition, and she was surprised that his tastebuds were affected.

    "Does it mean he only eats nd food?" She couldn''t help but to ask.

    She really was curious as to what had happened to him in her absence.

    The little information she had from poking around wws not enough, so she needed to hear about different aspect of him from people that closely worked for him.

    "Not all the time. As long as I am not able to detect the taste of the spice in the food, then it would be fine. But being a Chef, I have a good pte, and also my tastebuds are superb. Sometimes, it can be a little hard to incorporate this new changes."

    A few more minutes of chatting, Zhang Liling was able to find out more about Mr. Fang''s taste preferences and she felt bad for leaving him for such a long time.

    ''Mr. Fang, I''m back now. I''m never leaving again,'' she promised to herself.

    Some minutester, she was already at the sink area after putting the second pastry in the microwave.

    She had in mind to hear it upter.

    For now, she couldn''t stomach anything afwtr finishing a whole table of dishes and still going on to eat the first pastry.

    Zhang Liling felt that her stomach was going to explode if she went on wih her greed. Hence in other to help herself, she had to put away the second snack and drink a lot of water before going over to the sink.

    It wouldn''t be advisable to go back to her bedroom to rest when her stomach was still full. She thought it would be wise to do a little exercise, hence she decided to wash the tes in the sink.

    When she was done, she paryed ways with the Chef before going to her bedroom.

    Right outside the door, she met the housekeeper stepping out with two other servants she had never met before.<sub> </sub>

    She was not surprised to see them because Butler Gu had told her that Mr. Fang had hired a two new female servants.

    Know seeing them for herself, she looked a bit relief.

    The female servants were young, but older than her.

    Studying their faces as they bowed to her slightly before leaving, she thought to herself, ''They are not to Mr. Fang''s taste.''

    "Miss Zhang, we have finished moving your things and putting things in order. I will leave you to take a little rest." Ms. Chu said to her, jolting her awake.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling smiled before nodding her to politely.

    Zhang Liling allowed her to leave first before stepping into her bedroom.

    A wowed expression was left on her face as her gaze darted around in amazement.

    It still felt surreal to be in a new room in Mr. Fang''s house.

    This marked the beginning of a new chapter of their lives.

    With that happiness surging through her like electricity, she left for the walk-in closet to check the arrangement that was done.

    Satisfied with everything, she walked back to the bedroom and on getting next to her bed, she let her body fall freely.

    As she did that, she felt the object that slid out from her pocket and unhurriedly reached out for it.

    Swiping her finger across the screen of her phone, she slid down from the top to reveal the shortcut icons.

    She quickly went the silence button that was turned on, and clicked on it to turn it off before pressing hard on the button by the side of her phone.

    Seeing a few options pop up, she tapped on the ''Switch off'' icon before throwing her phone to the side.

    Closing her eyes, she left out a deep sigh before slowly entering into a deep slumber.

    Several hourster, Mr. Fang returned from work, and the first sentence that left his mouth of him asking about Zhang Liling.

    Butler Gu took Mr. Fang''s suit jacket and briefcase from him in fluid movement afwtr greeting him.

    Adjusting his necktie, Mr. Fang asked with a serious gaze, "Where is Liling?"

    "Oh! Miss Zhang has been in her bedroom since she finished having her breakfast. We were afraid to disturb her sleep, hence we didn''t go to check on her," The Butler replied immediately.

    Mr. Fang shifted his gaze away and continued in his steps without uttering another word.

    ''Is she that exhausted?'' he thought to himself as a little worry shed past his eyes.

    Mr. Fang felt that sleeping for more than 6 hours in the day no matter how tired the person was.

    He understood that she must have been weared out from the long flight, still she needed to sit up a bit and take a walk around.

    Instead of going up the stairs, Mr. Fang, made a turn and went toward the hallway.

    Guessing where he was heading to, the Butler quickly notified him that he was going to keep his things in his bedroom before turning to leave.

 Chapter 208 Jet-Lagged

    Arriving in front of the door to Zhang Liling''s room, Mr. Fang knocked softly.

    Hearing no response, he guessed that she must still be asleep, so he turned the door handle downwards before gently pushing the door open.

    The first thing that caught his sight as soon as he opened the door, was the figureying on the bed with the fluffy white duvet covering from her shoulder to her toes.

    Walking in proper, he shut the door behind before taking quiet steps inside, still, the sounds of his shoes against the tiled was audible.

    Although that was so, Zhang Liling continued to sleep peacefully.

    ''Is she that tired?'' he thought to himself as his steps inched closer until he was now standing beside the bed.

    "Liling," he called out softly.

    He was aware that it was risky to raise his voice just to wake someone in a deep sleep because it was not good for the brain hence, he had to wake her gently.

    "Liling, wake up," he said again, but when he did not hear any response, he found her shoulders and shook them gently.

    This little action of his finally earned him a little movement from the sleeping figure.

    Zhang Liling squeezed her eyes and letting out a groan, she turned her face to face his side to continue sleeping.

    "..."

    Seeing that she had no thoughts of waking up, he was left with no choice but to take an extra mile.

    Pushing the duvet off her body, he finally earned a word from her, "Cold" as her shoulders shivered slightly.

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling wrapped her arms acrosss her shoulders because of the sudden wwve of cold air that prated her skin.

    A frown slowly made its way to Mr. Fang''s face at herint, he was now wondering if she had heard him calling out to her but decided to keep quiet since she didn''t want to wake up yet.

    But on a second thought, he calmed down a bit, and that was when he noticed that the air in the room was indeed cold.

    Because he hade in from the wwrm weather, he didn''t notice the high difference in temperature untill a second ago.

    Shifting his gaze to the AC in the room, he saw that it was st the highest and finally found the reason she must be cold.

    Immediately, he found the remote and turned it offpletely.

    He could imagine just how she had been sleeping for several hours in that cold degree. Of course she would be cold.

    No wonder she would feel it immediately he too away the duvet.

    Thankfully, he entered her room and noticed it.

    Mr. Fang ced the duvet back on her body and stood by the bedside watching her.

    ''Foolish girl, do you want to kill yourself?'' He thought to himself while ming her.

    About 5 secondster, a soft sigh escaped from his lips before he turned around to leave.

    He just figured that he would let her sleep for a few minutes until he returns.

    For now, he would go to his bedroom to change his clothes and freshen up, and bey the time he came back, her body them would have normalized and gotten familiar with the new one in the environment.<sub> </sub>

    This would be the perfect time to wake her.

    With that Mr. Fang left her bedroom and right outside, he met the butler who hade down the stairs.

    "Mr. Gu, ask the hosuekeeper to serve two portions of food." He instructed before continuing in his steps.

    Butler Gu got the message and replied, "Yes Sir," before turning to leave.

    Twenty minutester, Fang Bingwen descended the stairs and went straight for Zhang Liling''s bedroom.

    Ms. Chu who just stepped out of the bedroom after serving the dinner, saw him and immediately notified him about it.

    With a wave of his hand, Mr. Fang turned his gaze back to the path before him.

    "Could Miss Zhang still be sleeping?" Ms. Chu thought with a slight from before turning to go back to the kitchen.

    When Mr. Fang entered the room, Zhang Liling was trying to wake up after her body had adjusted to the temperature in the room, but the heaviness was still weighing on her.

    Watching her roll from side of the bed to the other with her eyes tightly shut and a groan escaping her lips, Fang Bingwen stepped towards the bed.

    "Zhang Liling." He called out to her. This time around he was not scared of disturbing her sleep because she had slept for far too long.

    He understood that her body was still trying to recover from the time difference and jetg, but if she continued to sleep, what will happen when night falls?

    This means that she may stay away all through the night when others had retired and then sleep when it was time to start the day.

    This wasn''t right.

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling heard him calling out to her and answered as hershes slowly fluttered open.

    "Mmmm..." She hummed in reply.

    "Wake up, you''ve been sleeping for several hours now." Mr. Fang said as he stood beside the bed and watched herzy about.

    Hearing that familiar voice and seeing his figure, Zhang Liling asked in her grogginess with a look of surprise on her fac. "Mr. Fang? Y-You are back?"

    ''Whwn did hee back?'' She thought as she slowly tried to sleep up.

    Ignoring her question, Mr. Fang brought out his left hand from his pocket and stretched it toward her.

    "Come down from the bed," he said while offering her assistance.

    Rubbing her eyes to wave off the rest of the sleepiness in her eyes, she ssked, "When did youe back? Did you decided toe back early today?"

    Finally, Mr. Fang decided to answer while at the same time letting her know how long she had been sleeping for.

    "I have been back for more than 30 minutes now. It''s almost 6 pm,e out for dinner."

    Reaching out with her right hand, she took his hand and he helped her to get off the bed.

    "I didn''t know that I''ve been sleeping for that long." She managed to reply.

 Chapter 209 Catching Up (I)

    "Can you stand by yourself?" Mr. Fang asked while peering at her face while still grasping her hand.

    Now, he was treating her like a child. He was worried that she would fall because of the sleepiness that was yet to totally set her free.

    "I''m fine," Zhang Liling replied softly as tiredness weighed on her shoulders.

    ''Howe I feel so tired after sleeping for such a long time?'' she thought, but then, a growl sound came from her stomach.

    Immediately, Mr. Fang ordered her. "Go to the bathroom and wash your face with warm water. I will be here waiting for you."

    Even thought her stomach had just protested, he couldn''t let here out looking like she hadn''t rested enough.

    "Okay," Zhang Liling replied as he released her hand before taking steady steps ahead.

    The rounddy who had been so eager to see her Mr. Fang, was the one almost reacting to his absence with indifference just because of sleep and tiredness.

    "Watch your steps. Be careful not to slip on the tiles." He said after with furrowed brows.

    Zhang Liling did not reply and just continued in her steps.

    A few minutester, she came out with her face a little brightened up after cleansing it with warm water.

    Nodding in satisfaction, Mr. Fang said to her, "You look better. Now,e and put something in your stomach."

    "Mr. Fang wait for me!" Zhang Liling said immediately before toward him.

    "What is it?" He asked.

    "I need to pick up my phone," she said as she walked past him.

    When she picked it up, she turned to follow him out of the room.

    While trying to turn her phone on, he warned her. "Watch your steps."

    <o>,m Finally when they got to the dining room, Mr. Fang sat at the head table while Zhang Liling sat at his right side.</o>

    After turning on her phone, she out it on the table before picking up her spoon to first scoop the soup from the bowl Mr. Fang had set in front of her.

    Slurping the soup, she felt her insides start to warm up and went ahead to scoop more soup.

    Watching her from his peripheral view whole serving himself, he said to her, "Don''t just drink the soup, try the other dishes."

    In obedience, she picked up her chopstick to pick the vegetable from the t ceramic te to eat before nodding in satisfaction.

    "It''s nicely cooked," she couldn''t help but say in appreciation.

    Remembering how she was freezing some minutes ago, Fang Bingwen brought it up because it looks like she was unaware of the danger.

    "Next time, don''t sleep off with the AC in the highest. If I hadn''t gotten to you on time, it could have been another case."

    Sighing, Zhang Liling replied, "I know. When I felt so cold, I was too tired to move, so I wrapped my body in the duvet while hoping that someone woulde and turn it off. Who knew you would be the one."<sub> </sub>

    In the middle of sleep, she had noticed how cold she was. It was too much that she would feel her bones chilling along with the room, but she didn''t know the reason she was too weak to move.

    The only think she could do for herself was to try her best to wrap herself up with the duvet next to you.

    Pointing the pair of chopsticks in his hands at her, he said, "The you should thank me properly since I saved your life."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling shed him a smile while munching on the spoon of rice she had just sent into her mouth.

    She didn''t want to say anything with food in her mouth in order not to irritate him, but when she had swallowed the rice, she was now free to speak.

    "Mr. Fang, you are my light in shining armour," she said tteringly with a smile that reached her eyes.

    Fang Bingwen scoffed, "Just est your food, don''t say another word."

    He didn''t need that kind of thanks from her. It was even better if she finished her food in peace without choking.

    Smiling sheepishly, Zhang Liling went back to eating her food but just when she was about to drink from her bowl of soup, she suddenly put it down to check the time on her phone.

    "Oh no! I forgot about the gifts I came back with."

    She had just remembered that she was supposed to distribute some gifts to the Butler and the Housekeeper after taking a nap.

    Unfortunately, the nap turned into a very deep sleep, and she can only me herself.

    Seeing that she didn''t look like she was going to finish the rest of her food in peace, Mr. Fang who normally liked to eat quietly, engaged her in a conversation.

    "How is your mother now?"

    He was still unaware of thetest happenings since Zhang Liling came back without prior notice, hence he was concerned.

    "Why is everyone concerned about my mother and not me?" Zhang Liling asked wih her brows pulling close together.

    There was a hint of annoyance in her tone that didn''t fail to go unnoticed by Fang Bingwen.

    "What is wrong with you? Is it wrong to ask about your mother? Did she finish her chemotherapy sections before you decided to take a flight back here?"

    Mr. Fang asked as his gaze turned serious while putting down his spoon and picking up the napkin to wipe his lips, with his gaze never leaving her face.

    Feeling the heated gaze on her, Zhang Liling felt ufortable.

    She had been angry about something she didn''t want to talk about, but now that he had asked about it, she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

    Letting out a soft sigh, she said, "It''s not wrong to ask about my mother. I am also not unfilial as to leave her if she was not better."

    Thinking about something, her entire face contoured in a frown.

    Feeling the dense aura exuding from her, Mr. Fang felt something wrong and asked almost immediately as he made a guess.

    "That means your mother is all better now? What did the doctor say, has the cancer cells disappeared for good? Also, why do you look angry, did you fight with your mother before jumping on the ne?"

 Chapter 210 Catching Up (II)

    Suddenly feeling the loss of appetite, Zhang Liling pushed her tes of food aside.

    Just the reminder of her resentment had instantly cut off the good vibes once and for all.

    A long sigh escaped her lips as Mr. Fang watched her curiously.

    ''What must have happened?'' He thought as clouds of worry began to gather in his head.

    Soon, Zhang Liling''s clear voice rang out.

    "My mother never had cancer."

    At that revtion, it felt like time had stopped as everything immediately came to a standstill, including Mr. Fang''s breathing.

    The man looked taken aback with what she had just revealed, but no words were uttered even though his face expressed that he had many questions to ask.

    Zhang Liling who looked relief and saddened at the same time, continued.

    "The medical report that stated she had that illness wasn''t forged either. It was a misdiagnosis which everyone was unaware of."

    With her gaze stretching in the distance, she finally revealed the reason she was angry.

    "Finally when the truth was found out after several chemos, I was thest person to know."

    "Your mother hid it from you? Why?" Mr. Fang asked while staring at her as his brows knitted together.

    He was still quite surprised by the turn of events, but his senses were still working properly.

    The way he asked the questions, just showed how sure he was that it was exactly what had happened.

    Hesting that, Zhang Liling shifted her gaze to him. At the moment, she didn''t look annoyed or angry just like her inner turmoil, but instead, her gaze was calm and collected.

    "You are right, she hid it from me. Like a fool, I continued to worry about her until two days ago when I came across the medical report for the misdiagnosis that was dated back to 2 months ago."

    Releasing a long sigh which she has been trying to hold in for a while now, she looked directly in Fang Bingwen''s eyes and asked as if seeking for his opinion.

    "I don''t even know if I should continue ming her or not, but the truth remains that she broke my heart. I trusted her, but she took that for granted."

    Ther was a minute long silence as no one said a word.

    Mr. Fang was still trying to digest the news while Zhang Liling was lost in her own world. She was still thinking back to the events that yed out.

    Still in a trance, she uttered, "Immediately I saw the report, I first booked a flight down to City S before speaking to her about it. I would have left without letting her know the letter I found, but I wanted her to feel guilty for keeping things from me."

    Zhang Liling had been mad with anger at the betrayal from the only family she could trust.

    And out of that anger, she booked a flight down to City S before confronting her mother about the new report to make her own up to her mistake and feel the guilt of the new strain on their rtionship.

    After thinking to himself a bit while watching her facial expression change from shade to another in less than a minute, Fang Bingwen inquired.<sub> </sub>

    "Did your mother exin why she did that to you? From what I know, and have seen, she loves you so much to lie to you. What made her do it?"

    He was asking while trying to be clear headed.

    He was sure that there could have been a solid reason behind her mother''s actions.

    Scoffing, Zhang Liling cast a long nce at him. She almost wanted tough in ridicule.

    "Of course, there was, but it didn''t suit well with me," she said as a anger shed in her eyes.

    FLASHBACK BEGINS...

    Zhang Liling has been concerned about her mother''s health that she followed her to every chemo section booked.

    But for a reason, her mother didn''t allow her toe along in thest Chemo section after the hospital had called her.

    "Mum, why can''t Ie with you?" She had asked with worryced on her face.

    Smiling, Song Jujing replied, "Just go ahead with your work today. I will be fine by myself."

    That day, Zhang Liling was disturbed, but she still listened to her mother.

    From that faithful day, Zhang Liling who was usually observant, a trait she had picked up from taking care of her mother for the past few months, noticed that her mother seems to have changed.

    Gradually, it began to dawn on her that she was hiding something from her and because of that, she began to have the worst possible thought.

    Is Mum dying? Are the Chemos useless? Why has she refused to talk about her health unlike before?

    Unable to stay in the dark any longer, she went to the nightstand in her mother''s room and pulled open the drawer where she should to keep all the medical reports which also included each chemo section.

    With the intentions of finding what was wrong, she took all the papers there and nced through all until she saw thetest one, from the day she didn''t go with her.

    Suddenly, Zhang Liling felt her heartbeat palpitating. It was as if her senses was telling her that she was holding unto the answers to her questions.

    Brazing herself for whatever she was going to find, she found that courage as she nervously pried open the report to read the contents.

    As each seconds passed with her eyes on the paper, her face turned darker.

    Some minutester, she was already storming out of the room and down the stairs to go find her mother rxing in the sitting room.

    Hearing the series of heavy footsteps resounding in her ears, Song Jujing''s brows twisted as she frowned slightly.

    Slowly, hershes fluttered open. Squinting at her bright surroundings and before she woozy head couldprehend what was going on, her daughter''s figure came into her line of sight.

    Without warning, she heard her thunderous voice asking, while holding up a paper in front of her.

    "Mum, what is this? Can you exin this letter to me or do you want me to go straight the hospital to find answers myself?"

 Chapter 211 Catching Up (III)

    There was a mask and the feeling of being betrayed as Zhang Liling asked that question.

    Squinting her eyes at the paper in her hand while trying to sit up, Song Jujing''s eyes widened in shock in familiarity.

    Zhang Liling watched her mother closely and saw her change in facial expression and her heart felt bitter.

    ? "So this is true?" She questioned in disbelief.

    It was as if she would have believed her if she had said that the letter in her hand was fake.

    But seeing her change in expression, and her not trying to make any effort to deny it, answered her question.

    Realizing that the truth hade out, Song Jujing didn''t try to deny the contents of that letter. It was toote.

    Gazing into her daughter''s eyes made her see the emotions she didn''t ever want to see.

    Not wanting her to hate her because of the choice she made, she hurriedly got to her feet and tried to exin.

    "Liling, I know you are very angry, but please let me exin. I am indeed wrong for hiding the truth for you."

    "The truth is already 2 months old, but who knew that I would be fooled for that long?" Zhang Liling said cutting her off immediately.

    ''I''m wrong. I should have spoken out before she found the letter.'' Song Jujing thought in guilt.

    "Liling listen, I had my reason for keeping this from you with didn''t make sense in any way. I have told you my fears, and I would never stop talking about it because you are alone." Song Jujing started.

    Releasing a short breath, she continued.

    "I am afraid of that women Shi Wenqian. Your father no longer has eyes on you, and it would be dangerous if you stay in a city with no one protecting you. I was scared of losing you, and this is the only reason I chose to do this."

    The greatest fear of a mother was loosing her child, and that was Song Jujing felt while thinking of how her daughter was going to stay in a city with no one watching her back.

    Ignoring her exnation, Zhang Liling asked with a bittered expression on her face."How long did you n on keeping this from me?"

    At that question, Song Jujing felt as if cold water was poured over her.

    How long did she n to hide it from her? Well, she didn''t n on keeping it from her forever. It''s just that she didn''t know when.

    Seeing her hesitation, Zhang Liling spoke again as she withdrew the letter.

    "Mum, do you know that if you hade clean from the start, reminded me about your fears, and had told me to stay for a few more months, I would have listened to you?"

    Zhang Liling would have done just that. She loved her mother so much, and after going through a rollercoaster of emotions during the chemo sections, she would have done anything for her.

    She was her mother, what kind of sacrifice couldn''t she do for her?<sub> </sub>

    "Did you think that you could have kept me here forever?" Zhang Liling asked as a smile that wasn''t a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

    She could feel her heart racing against her chest.

    All that was in her mind was to just leave her sight and go out to some ce where she ould be by herself.

    Sensing that everything was about to fall apart, Song Jujing immediately stretched out her arms to reach for her hand, but she immediately took a step back.

    Feeling a wave of sharp pain hitting her heart, she tried to exin once more.

    "Liling, I know you were truly worried about me, and I''m sorry for ying with your emotions. It was never my intention to lock you up here. I only wanted to keep your here till Shi Wenqian had forgotten about your existence. That woman is nothing good and will continue to see you as an enemey to her greed."

    "Then I would ruin her greed and destroy her!" Zhang Liling swore angrily.

    She was furious and even pictured tearing her stepmother''s face on the spot. She was so angry because that woman was the reason her mother held her back in fear.

    It just didn''t make sense for her mother to be afraid. How long would she continue to run away?

    Would she because of one person abandon her dream and stay in hiding over here?

    Zhang Liling refused to ept that fact.

    Seeing her flushed with anger, and afraid that she would try to face Shi Wenqian head-on, Song Jujing looked rmed as she tried to stop her immediately.

    "Liling, calm down, you can''t fight that woman alone. Her background is shady and I have not been able to find anything for a long time."

    "You can''t be in Paris and be searching for clues. Also, I won''t continie to hide from her. I also want to tell you that I have someone who has my back in City S, and I''m going back to him!" Zhang Liling dered before turning to leave.

    "Liling! Liling!" Song Jujing called out as she immediately chased after her, not thinking properly.

    She didn''t seem to think about the possibility of slipping on the tiles.

    "Mum don''t call me! I have already booked my flight to City S. As the heavens are in my favour, I got the only free spot to make the trip back tomorrow." Zhang Liling revealed.

    She heard her mother following behind her and had to stop her there because nothing she said that was going to make her change her mind.

    Song Jujing was so shocked that she stood rooted on the spot. "S-She... She has booked her flight already?" Her quivering lips managed to utter.

    "L-Liling..." She tried calling out to her daughter one more time, but the next response she got, shattered her mindpletely.

    "Mum, I have a lot of things to pack. My flight is urgent, so I need a lot of time to put some important things together."

    FLASHBACK ENDS...

 Chapter 212 Catching Up (IV)

    Learning about the incident that transpired before she returned, Mr. Fang let out a long sigh.

    He contemted for for a bit before deciding to say his mind, for he thought it to be wrong if he hid anything from her.

    "I understand everything. I understand your mother''s worries, and I get that feeling of betrayal, but I hope you would not continue to bear a grudge against her. It doesn''t change anything, and she is your only family."

    Just like that, Fang Bingwen wiped away the other existence of the members of her family with his words, and continued as if nothing was wrong.

    "I know you are still angry, but try to calm down a bit. You are here now, and that''s all that matters. Since I understand your mother''s fears, and that she can''t say soemthing she is not sure of, I will keep an eye out for your father''s wife."

    This was the promise Mr. Fang was making to her. Because of her mother''s suspicion and observation, plus the little he understood from Dr. Li''s experiment that time, he was going to protect Zhang Liling from her, while also keeping an eye out.

    Hearing him trying to cate her, Zhang Liling calmed down a bit and grumbled something under her breath which he was not able to catch.

    Failing to catch what she said, he asked as a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "Are you still angry?"

    "I don''t have the time to waste my emotions on anger. I have so many things to think about at the moment." She replied.

    She hade back suddenly without any ns, of course she had to think about her life and out everything in order to know the next step to take.

    "Good, don''t waste your time on irrelevant matters. If you are having troubles with anything, you can confide with me. I am here to help you." Mr. Fang said with an encouraging smile.

    Zhang Liling''s gaze brightened up a bit as she said gratefully, "Thank you."

    Nodding in response, Mr. Fang asked with an inquisitive gaze. "Have you spoken to your mother since you arrived?"

    Zhang Liling felt guilty when thinking back to how many calls from her mother she had ignored after he just finished talking sense into her.

    Deciding not to answer that question and letting him guess things for himself, she lowered her gaze as her right hands reached for her spoon to fiddle withit.

    Guessing her stance, a soft sigh escaped his lips. "If she calls again, answer it. She has to know that you have reached safely."

    Immediately, she directed her gaze to him and said defensively. "Mr. Fang, I''m sure she knows I arrived safely. She must have called the driver she arranged from herpany branch to bring me from the airport, to confirm my safety."

    Zhang Liling was right. Since her mother arranged the driver for her, and after failing to reach her line, her next line of action would be to give a call to the driver.

    By now, she must have learnt that she had arrived City S safely.

    Even though, Mr. Fang refused to agree to her logic.

    "It doesn''t matter if she knows or not. You should pick her calls when next she dials your contact." He said clearly with a stern tone.

    "Fine." Zhang Liling said with pouted lips.

    Although there was still a part of her heart that was still bitter, she decided to listen to him.

    Knowing that''s he still bore a little grudge, he ignored it and asked her to continue eating.<sub> </sub>

    "Eat up, don''t let the food turn cold."

    Zhang Liling sucked and pushed the te of rice aside. "I don''t feel like eating anymore. I lost my appetite since long ago."

    "That''s fine," Fang Bingwen said, not attempting to urge her to proceed with her food, just like a child would be treated.

    His actions indeed took her unawares, but before different thoughts would begin to form in her head, she heard him speak.

    "We have a long night, you can the Chef to make any snack to your liking just in case you get hungry before going to bed, or you wake up in the middle of the night."

    Although he didn''t ask her to continue eating since she didn''t feel like it, he showed his concern for her this way.

    Finally, a smile appeared on Zhang Liling''s face as a glint shed across her eyes. She looked very happy to be reassured that he still cared for her.

    Seeing her new brightened emotions, Mr. Fang shook his head in disbelief.

    Watching his reaction, Zhang Liling remembered an important question that troubled her mind for the past several months and immediately asked away.

    "Mr. Fang, how did you cope without me next to you? Did you have trouble breathing?"

    She was talking about the irritation of other people''s scents.

    She was aware that it wouldn''t have been easy to cope without her, just after getting used to her scent, hence she was interested in knowing how he survived.

    Dr. Li did not make mention of any specific thing to her every time she asked questions concerning his health, leaving her a little distressed.

    Instantly, Fang Bingwen froze, but itsted only for two seconds before he recollected himself.

    "Do you really want to know the answer to that question?" He asked while peering into her eyes with a calm and collected gaze.

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling leaned toward the table with her ns in the way, stopping her body from making contact with the edge of the dining table.

    With eyes glowing brigtly like the afternoon sun, she said while nodding her head about.

    "Of course! If I wasn''t interested, I would never have asked." She said enthusiastically.

    It was very obvious from her bodynguage that she was curious and impatient.

    Not wanting to dwell on one topic when they had other things to talk about, Mr. Fang answered her question.

    "Before you go to bed,e up to my room if you are desperate for the answers."

    "What!" Zhang Liling eximed without warning as a smile slowly spread across her face.

    Her eyes glinted in disbelief as she asked, "You really want toe to your bedroom this night?"

 Chapter 213 Catching Up (V)

    Seeing her facial expression, Mr. Fang did not know why, but he felt that she had misunderstood him greatly.

    Finally, he guessed her naughty ideas and hurriedly tried to put a stop to it.

    "Zhang Liling, you better stop thinking about inappropriate things. Don''te up to my bedroom tonight. Just wait in your room and I will bring the answer for you."

    What was the difference if she didn''t go to his bedroom at night, and he had toe into hers? It was almost the same thing.

    As if being able to read her current thoughts through that smirk that turned on at the corner of her lips, Mr. Fang felt the wall around his good reputation start to falter.

    "In fact forget it! We won''t meet this night. When you look for something and don''t find it, the answer to this question wille naturally to you.

    Fang Bingwen didn''t know what she thought about all day and for a second, he had thought of checking the contents of her brain fluid to find out was actually wrong with her.

    How could her head be filled with only nonsense?

    To maintain his high esteem, he had to draw a line quickly.

    If she thought of him like that, what about the people that worked in his home? It wouldn''t be surprising if something was wrong with their heads as well.

    Atst, the smirk was wiped off Zhang Liling''s face.

    Now, she was no longer thinking about crazy stuff instead, she was curious as to what possible answer that was psychical, that warranted him to show it to her.

    "Mr. Fang, I will go..." Just as Zhang Liling started speaking, the ringing sound from Fang Bingwen''s phone interrupted her.

    And seeing him gazing so intently at the lit screen, she wondered who was calling for him to be hesitating instead of answering the call immediately.

    When Zhang Liling thought that the familiar ring tone was going to end, a soft sigh escaped Mr. Fang''s thin lips as she saw his finger slid across the screen to ept the call, before picking up the phone.

    "Hello! Grandma," he said with his gaze lowered.

    ''Oh! It''s his grandmother?'' Zhang Liling thought as her eyes shown brightly while her ears perked up to listen.

    From the other end, immediately the olddy heard her grandson''s voice, a hearty chuckle escaped from her lips.

    "Wenwen, have you returned from work?" She inquired thoughtfully.

    "Yes." Fang Bingwen replied, and knowing the next possible question she would ask, he immediately added, "I just finished eating."

    "Oh! That''s good."

    "Grandma, is everything fine?" Mr Fang asked, despite knowing the reason she called.

    Immediately, his question seemed to be the catalyst to the olddy''s happiness.

    Instantly, the small smile on her face, spread and reached her eyes as slight folds appeared on her forehead.

    "Of course, everything is fine. I called to remind you about tomorrow. Don''tete since you do not need to go down to thepany."

    "I know. I didn''t forget it."

    "Good." The olddy said satisfactorily, but then remembered that something important and immediately added.

    ? "You said you have a girlfriend, but I have never seen her before. Don''t hide her any longer. Bring her along if you don''t want me to set you up on the spot." The olddy threatened, still with a smile on her face.<sub> </sub>

    A soft chuckle escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips, but at the re immediately directed at her, she hurriedly covered her mouth with her palms.

    Because of the volume of his phone, she was able to hear his olddy''s voice with a little straining of the ear, plus she was sitting next to him, which made things easier.

    The sound of Zhang Liling''sughter did not fail to reach the olddy''s ears, and she immediately fixed her attention to it.

    "Wenwen, is someone by your side?" She asked with a curious tone.

    Obviously, that voice did not belong to her son, and why would he easily sumb toughter over what she had just said? He was one to react that way.

    "Grandma, I will see you tomorrow. As for whether toe with someone, we will see about that by tomorrow."

    Mr. Fang said, smoothly diverting her attention, but the olddy refused to ept it.

    "Wenwen, I won''t care if you actually have a girlfriend if youe alone tomorrow. So many youngdies would be attending my party, and there will be a lot to make a choice from." She warned.

    Old Lady Fang was ready to do as she just said, and Fang Bingwen could sense that.

    The talk about his marriage has been long postponed, and it looks like everyone was getting impatient and too worried.

    Releasing s long sigh, he replied to her vaguely before ending the conversation.

    "Mr. Fang, is your family celebrating something?" Zhang Liling asked immediately he put the phone down.

    Throughout the time their conversationsted, she didn''t hear them mention anything rted to the party that would be taking ce the next day, hence, she had to ask.

    "It''s my Grandmother''s birthday tomorrow. Do you want toe with me?" He asked calmly with his gaze fixed on her.

    Hearing that, she immediately gave a positive response. "Of course!"

    Why on earth would she miss the first chance to be introduced as his girlfriend, and meet his family? She wasn''t foolish.

    Seeing her agree so readily, he nodded before standing to his feet.

    "I have a few things to do in the study, you can go ahead and meet the Chef to deman anything you like." He said to her before turning to leave.

    "Wait!" She said suddenly, while standing to her feet as well.

    Turning to nce at her, he asked, "Is there something else?"

    Zhang Liling nodded while meeting his gaze.

    "Mr. Fang, you are forgetting something very important."

    Fang Bingwen raised a brow as if to ask what she meant by that statement.

    "You are still yet to ask me out officially." She revealed while staring intently at him.

    Mr. Fang would have done that a few days before she travelled to Paris. Unfortunately since that time, he hadn''t gotten the chance to do that, even through the phone.

    But inwardly, they have already acknowledged that they were dating already.

 Chapter 214 Disgusted

    "Do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow evening?" Mr. Fang asked with a sarcastic gaze.

    If she was ready to forfeit his grandmother''s birthday celebration which he knew she was very much interested in attending, then he would do that.

    Just like his guess, Zhang Liling shook her head frantically with a frown. "Our date cane another day. I''m going to that party with you."

    Fang Bingwen turned around and continued in his steps without another word.

    With a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she hurriedly gathered the tes and bowls before taking them to the kitchen a few at a time.

    On her way to sending thest batch out, she met almost head-on with Ms. Chu.

    "Why are you clearing the table yourself? You are no longer a servant here." Ms. Chu said with an rmed look on her face.

    "I don''t need to be a servant to be able to clean after my mess. Don''t worry, it''s fine by me." Zhang Liling said with 3 streaks of lines appearing at the corner of her eyes.

    The hosuekeeper keeper stretched her hands out to take the tray from her while saying with a face strickened by worry.

    "I have to be worried, because this is not fine. Mr. Fang will surely not agree on this. The servants are not for fancy."

    Zhang Liling smoothly avoided her hands, refusing to hand over the tray to her, she continued in her steps.

    Seeing her leaving, the olderdy had to follow her while listening to her response.

    "Mr. Fang wouldn''t scold you for something as insignificant as this. By the way, he is in the study."

    *******

    A woman putting on a knee length floral gown, sat cross-legged on a sea-green padded stool, typing something away on her smart phone.

    Her back was turned towards the entrance of the bedroom, and her long wavy silky dark curls cascaded down the side, blocking the side of her face that wouldn''t have been visible.

    Suddenly, the entrance door was pushed open and a man dressed in a four-piece suit stepped in.

    A slight frown hung at the corner of his lips as he shut the door behind him before taking a few steps towards the bed.

    <o>,m The woman sitting in the stool at one corner, heard the sounds of family footsteps, and turned around, allowing the bright lights from the small chandelier to shine upon her face, thereby revealing her familiar looks.</o>

    Seeing her husband, she unhurriedly put her left leg down before standing to her feet. Then putting down her smart phone on the bedside table, she turned to walk towards his direction.

    "You are back." She said simply as she neared.

    "Yes," the man said, giving her a curt reply as he put down his briefcase next to the bed before proceeding take off his suit jacket, revealing the same colour of vest.

    Now only a few steps from him,a frown appeared on the woman''s face as her nose scrunched up in irritation.

    "You reek of alcohol, how much did you drink?" She asked with a hard stare on him while using her middle finger to block her nostrils, immediately reducing the airflow into her lungs.

    "I can''t count how many bottles I drank. I had no choice since there were a lot of seniors in the field to entertain." The man said nonchntly as he carelessly threw his suit jacket on the bed.<sub> </sub>

    "If your job is only to entertain people, then you should be an entertainment Lord proper." The woman said rolling her eyes slightly before taking a step back from him.

    She didn''t seem in the least bit happy knowing how much alcohol he had drunk, and she didn''t bother hiding it.

    On noticing her little actions of disgust, the man gave her the side eye before tugging on the two-colour printed tie knotted around his neck with his two hands.

    "You were very much aware of what I do, and what my family does. After all, this helped your father ascend to his current height. Hearing everyone in the City and beyond know about his fame, are you still not satisfied?" He asked.

    The woman scoffed and turned her back to him. ring daggers at the suit jacket with the alcohol stench he dropped on the bed, plus the necktie that came flying into the picture a momentter, she felt her heart pound so strongly in her chest with anger evident in her face.

    "What has my father''s fame got to do with me? Am I any way benefitting from it?" She asked angrily without turning her gaze to him.

    The man standing behind her, dumped his vest on the floor before working on his sleeves while stepping a little closer.

    Leaning in, he whispered softly to her ears carrying the strong alcoholic scent that caused the nose to sting.

    "At least, everyone knows you as Mr. Zhang''s daughter."

    Disgusted by the alcoholic breath fanning the side of her neck, Zhang Xiaoling quickly turned to re at him. But just as her lips parted and got ready to utter a word, she heard a low chuckle escape from his lips as he took a step back.

    "Before you re uppletely, help your husband to remove this cuffs and unbotton these buttons on my sleeves." Tang Ei said with a smile that reached his eyes.

    Zhang Xiaoling stood rooted at the spot ring daggers at him while bitting his lips for a few moment as he watched and waited patiently for her.

    Unable to bear his attitude, she pulled his hand roughly and started to take off the red diamond studded cuffs before taking off the buttons on his sleeves.

    "How about helping me with my shirt?" He asked with a wink.

    "Did you lose your hands just like you lost your mind as well?" She asked as she rolled her eyes before walking away from him.

    Nodding, Tang Ei said to her with a sma smile while pointing a finger at her. "I will forgive your rudeness tonight just because you helped me."

    Ignoring him, Zhang Xiaoling picked up her phone and walked towards the entrance door.

    Seeing that she was about to leave, he sat at the edge of the bed and asked slowly, "Where are you going to?"

    Without mincing words, she replied, "I''m going to call the servants to clean up your mess, because I am not in the mood to that today."

    -------//-------

    Dearest Readers, here is an extra chapter...

    Enjoy!

    XOXO

 Chapter 215 The Tang Family

    Tang Ei sat at the foots of the bed chuckling heartily to himself.

    He didn''t look drunk at all even after downing several sses of alcohol.

    Earlier, he had been annoyed, but after managing to get his wife or riled up, he seemed to have dropped his unhappiness aside.

    A few momentster, he left his things on the bed and left for the inner room d only in his pants, and soon, the servants Zhang Xiaoling had ordered to clean up their bedroom, came in.

    The young female servants picked up the clothes scattered on the bed and out then all in theundry basket before changing the cheers.

    Then before leaving the room, they sprayed some air-freshener and adjusted the temperature.

    By the time Zhang Xiaoling returned to the room, Tang Ei was already sitting in bed dressed in casual clothing.

    Seeing her walk into the room with a calm gaze, he guessed that her anger had slowly calmed.

    Keeping his gaze on her, a small smile yed at the corner of his lips. "You are back?"

    "Were you expecting me to be gone forever?" Zhang Xiaoling retorted before stepping into the inner room without sparing him a nce.

    Tang Ei did not mind. He returned his gaze back to his phone and typed away as the bright screen lit up on his face.

    A few minutester, Zhang Xiaoling returned. Her ck wavy hair that cascaded down her back was now gathered and secured in a ponytail.

    As she walked passed his side and went straight for the door she asked, "Should I tell your parents that you won''t being down for breakfast?"

    Looking up from his phone, he asked, "Is that a threat?"

    "You are not a child. This should nevere as a form of threat to you." She said before bending the door handle and pulling the door before stepping outside and shutting the door behind.

    What she actually meant was simple. She was saying that threatening him with those words didn''t make any sense since it was not a child.

    In essence, those words could only be used to threaten children, and if she wanted to threaten him, then soemthing more powerful should be used instead.

    Tang Ei understood this and shook his head before turning off his phone and standing up to leave the bedroom.

    His rtionship with his wife Zhang Xiaoling, has always been like this.

    Right from their first date, they didn''t bother hiding their feelings and thoughts from each other. The only thing they didn''t know about each other, was some family issues from their respective sides.

    Knowing what each other thought, had thus far made their rtionship less awkward and kind of true.

    They did not bother to hide their irritation, or care what the other person would think of them if the behaved or reacted in a certain way.

    If there was something they didn''t like about each other, then they had to put up with it. They could very well see and remember the foundation of their rtionship. There was nothing discreet about it, and also it was not built on love.

    They were married, but living their lives they way they wanted.<sub> </sub>

    At the dining area, Mr. Tang and his wife were already sitting at the two ends of therge dining table meant for 10 people.

    Apart from this couple, there were a few other people sitting around the table. Two more mature men that had a striking resemnce to Tang Ei, and two younger women, sitting by their left sides.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei were thest to arrive. Immediately the settled on the their respective seats next to each other, Mrs. Tang looked their way with a slight frown.

    "Would you two not keep us waiting ande down on time?" She asked looking between them.

    She looked to be annoyed because of the few minutes everyone had to wait for them to join then in the dinner table.

    Both Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei were calm as they servants standing by the side immediately stepped forward to serve their own portion of the several dishes at the center of the long ss table.

    The others sitting around the table nced their way before shifting their gazes back to different directions.

    The younger male who happened to be Tang Ei''sst brother, smiled at their mother while saying...

    "Mother, have you forgotten that these two are thetest couple in the family. Who knows, they may be working hard on blessing you with another grandchild."

    Mr. Tang and Mrs. Tang nced at their first child and his wife meaningfully, before thetter said, "I believe there is time for everything."

    She was saying that during the time for dinner, then they should reallye down and not keep them waiting.

    After dinner, there was still enough time for them to do whatever they wanted.

    All this while, Zhang Xiaoling did not raise her head. Instead, she picked up her cutlery and began to eat.

    Tang Ei was no different from her. He didn''t say a word and had a serious expression on his face as he used his knife to cut the steak on his te.

    But when his mother finished speaking, he sent a piece of the steak into his mouth and chews on it for a few moment before turning his attention toward his father who was now eating calmly.

    "Dad, are you going for the Old Lady''s birthday party? I heard she sent a private invitation to our family."

    The second son of the Tang family hurriedly interjected while looking between his father and elder brother.

    "I heard her party is a disguise to find a suitable wife for Fang Bingwen. I''m sure so many socialites were invited to her party."

    "The olddy must be getting really worked for her very sessful grandson to still be single." The third son andst child of the Tang family added with a yful smirk at the corner of his lips.

    He seemed to find the whole situation funny, and just thinking about it, somehow reminded him of how his eldest brother was forced to settle down.

    With those thoughts running through his mind, he nced at Tang Ei and their gazes met.

    Giving him a knowing smile, he quickly looked away and gazed back to the food in his te.

 Chapter 216 Giving Out Gifts

    "Old Lady Fang normally liked to keep her parties quiet, and I was wondering what got her to change her mind. Who knew that it had something to do with her favourite grandson." Mrs. Tang said in surprise.

    Older people, especially someone like Old Lady Fang liked to keep things simple. All her birthday celebrations has always been simple wuthh only a few people in attendance.

    The olddy didn''t like crowd as it was a big headache to her.

    For her to be doing something big this time around, came as a surprise to everyone who heard about her party.

    Most of them like Mrs. Tang were unaware of her intentions, except for a few that were very clear on what her thoughts were.

    Even Fang Bingwen who was grandson and the sole reason she was willing to go that extra mile, was not aware of this.

    He didn''t even have any idea about her birthday party and the ns going on for it, talk more of her invitees.

    To the question his son asked, Mr. Tang nodded and replied, "Yes, she did give me an invitation, but I won''t have the time to attend her party."

    Then with his gaze fixed on Tang Ei, he said to him, "Ei, you will attend the Old Lady''s birthday party tomorrow on my behalf."

    "I will." Tang Ei replied assuredly before focusing on his dinner.

    It was his duty as his father''s son to represent him in meetings and events when he instructed to do so. His other brothers were not an exception either.

    Hearing all these talks about Mr. Fang and the purpose for the birthday party his grandmother was having the next day, Zhang Xiaoling stiffened on her seat.

    As old memories and thoughts about how she had wanted to so desperately end up with him came flooding back to her mind, her fingers around her fork, tightened.

    This was the man she wanted to be with it, and not this Tan Ei and his bunch of annoying family.

    As regret washed over her, she reached for the ss of water beside her and hurriedly brought it to her lips.

    As the rims touched her lips, her lips slowly parted as her fingers raised the ss slightly.

    Downing a little content from the ss, she unhurriedly put it down and mped hard on her cutlery.

    The indifference glint in her eyes changed to that of anger. And with that empty feeling in her chest, she shed her steak noiselessly, not bothering about the attraction she was getting.

    Tang Ei who was sitting closest to her, felt the change in her emotions and looked toward her. Then pretending not to notice anything, he fixed his gaze back to his food and without warning, his very soft voice sounded next to her.

    "What is wrong? You don''t want to go to the Fang party with me?" He inquired.

    Letting out a deep breath, Zhang Xiaoling spared him a nce and replied in a gritted teeth. "Are you taunting me?''

    Tang Ei scoffed. "The real taunting should be me talking about your dream man in front of everyone." He said before shifting his body away from her.

    Out of the corner of her eyes, Zhang Xiaoling sent icy res his way.

    This was the second time he was pissing her off since he returned, causing her to be on the very edge of ring up.<sub> </sub>

    She didn''t really me him for knowing her secret. She med herself for even letting him be aware of that, using it to tease her.

    While dating, Zhang Xiaoling had not Hidden her likes and dislikes from Tang Ei because she did not fancy him hence, she didn''t bother to hide the kind of man she wanted to be with from him.

    She had in mind of letting him know about it to remind him not to be cocky if they ended up together, but it looks like her intentions was backfiring in her.

    Her annoying!

    *******

    As soon as Zhang Liling finished her dinner and cleared the tes, she hurried to her room to take out the emergency gifts she bought for everyone she was familiar with.

    Each present wasbelled with a name. There was one for Mr. Fang, Tungmei, Dr. Li, Bolin, the butler, the Chef and the hosuekeeper.

    Looking at the wrapped gifts sprawled next to her feet, the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips curled as a smile that reached her eyes, appeared on her face.

    "This is good..." She said to herself before picking up the gifts she got for the butler and the housekeeper and walked out.

    Outside, she found them in the hallway talking about something. But as she appeared in their line of sight, they stopped chatting and turned to nce at her.

    Zhang Liling smiled at then whole making her way toward their direction. And before they could say anything to her, she said, "Mr. Gu, Ms. Chu, here are your gifts."

    "Wow! Thank you Miss Zhang." Ms. Chu said excitedly as she reached out to ept the small square-shaped she passed to her.

    Butler Gu epted the one she gave to him and thanked her properly.

    "It''s nothing, it''s just a little some thing," Zhang Liking said while waving her hands about.

    Seeing the smiles on their faces for the little item she gifted them, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

    Returning to her bedroom, she picked up the small rectangr shaped box that had Mr. Fang''s name on the ribbon and giggled to herself.

    Not wasting any second, she dashed out of her room and jogged her way uo the stairs to Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    Coming to a stop in front of the door, she knocked gently with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

    "Mr. Fang? Are you in?" She asked softly.

    Never before has Zhang Liling''s voice sounded any gentler than this while knocking on Fang Bingwen''s bedroom door.

    She seemed to be acting like a cut pet kitten finding its owner.

    Knocking again and receiving no response like the first time, she mumbled to herself, "He must still be in his study."

    Not losing her smile, she pushed the door open and stepped inside quietly.

 Chapter 217 Laying On His Sheets

    Shutting the door behind, she walked in proper with her gaze fixed on the best white sheets on his bed.

    As his minty scent hit her nose, the smile on her face broadened as her eyes shone brightly.

    The scent here was just like she remembered it. It was engraved deeply in her memory, and stepping into here, reminded her of how badly she had missed him.

    Smiling to herself, she rushed to his bed. Putting the box down at the foot of his bed, she immediately jumped on his bed. And as her bodynded on his bed, she started rolling on his sheets and inhaling his scent left on his sheets.

    Luckily, this was not a new sheet, otherwise, she would have been greatly disappointed.

    Shrieking excitedly, she continued rolling on the bed and the more she did that, the more her hair became disheveled.

    Zhang Liling continued this way in her own fantasy until she heard the soft knocks resounding on the door.

    "Huh..."

    She hurriedly paused with her stomach facing the bed. Her confused gaze narrowed at the door as her brows furrowed.

    ''Did I hear correctly?'' she thought to herself as her chest quickly rise and fell due to the small exercise she was doing a few seconds ago.

    Her ears perked up, as she carefully listened.

    A secondter, she heard the slight thuds on the door and quickly rushed to get off the bed.

    ''That must be one of the servants knocking.'' she thought to herself.

    Quickly, she tried to dress the bed by spreading the sheets to neaten the folds as soon as she can.

    Soon, her perked up ears heard the door handle being turned, making her to instantly abandon what she was doing to pick up the box of gift she had brought in with her.

    That same second, the person at the door pushed the door open and stepped in with a stic tray in her hand.

    On seeing their new guest standing beside the king-sized bed with a small smile, a look of surprise shed past the servant''s face.

    She was not expecting to see her there, not in the very least.

    Quickly, she regained herposure and shut the door behind her before lowering her head.

    "Hello, Miss Zhang." She greeted before steppied forward with the bottle of water in the tray.

    "Hello!" Zhang Liling said with the corners of her lips curving deeply.

    She stood there with a few strands of her hair out of ce. She had forgotten to smoothen them, a d arrange her dress which she didn''t know was a little out of ce.

    Not saying anything, the servant put down the bottle of water on top of the nightstand before turning to leave as quickly as she hade.

    The only reason she did not question Zhang Liling was because she and her other colleague had seen how she was treated as soon as she returned.

    Also, the hosuekeeper had told them that she was Mr. Fang''s special guest, while hinting at something she didn''t fail to take note of.

    Back in the room, as soon as the servant stepped out, Zhang Liling''s buttsnded on the bed as a long sigh escaped her lips.

    She had barely escaped ring caught rolling on a man''s sheet.

    "Aish! That would have been very embarrassing!" She thought to herself while patting her chest with one hand.<sub> </sub>

    Finally when her nerves had calmed down, she ced the light box on the bed before leaving.

    It was never her intentions to spend much time while going to drop off the gift, so she hurriedly got out and returned to her room.

    Going straight to the kitchen afterwards, Zhang Liling spent almost an hour there as she had to watch the interesting way the Chef was using to make the pastries she had requested for, after handling his gift to him.

    That night, Zhang Liling did not meet Mr. Fang again, as she had other things to do. And besides, she was not in a hurry.

    She still had plenty of time to meet him at will as long as she was still at his ce.

    When her mother''s call came in at night, she declined it and sent her a text instead.

    ''Your daughter is fine. She was not kidnapped on her way out of the airport. She has gotten to her destination.'' The text says.

    When Song Jujing saw the text, she let out a long tired sigh with a palm on her forehand.

    O! What a daughter she has.

    After sending the text, Zhang Liling went around her chat with Tungmei to reply the unread messages.

    ''Hey girlfriend, when are youing back? I miss you dearly, and work is killing me.'' The text read.

    Zhang Liling''s entitled face was contoured in a big smile when she saw the message, so she quickly replied vaguely before dropping her phone and turning off the lights.

    ''You will see me soon.''

    The next morning, as early as 3:30, sleep left Zhang Liling''s eyes.

    The jeg was having fun dealing with her, and she couldn''t be more surprised.

    She had slept for long hours the previous day and had almost skipped dinner just like she did with lunch if not for Mr. Fanging to wake her up.

    Releasing a long sigh, her longshes fluttered a bit beforeing to a still close to her brows.

    As her eyes squinted, a yawn escaped from her lips as her right hand unhurriedly reached out to trap it with tired eyes glistening in the dim room.

    Stretching her hands after the yawn as muffled noise escaped from her lips, she sat up quickly with a dazed look darting around as her hands unhurriedly reached out to scratch her nesty looking hair.

    She had forgotten to put on the hair bo before sleeping.

    Letting out another yawn unrestrainedly, she shifted her butts towards the edge of the bed and finally slided out.

    Standing to her feet, she pressed on the light switch on the wall next to her bed and immediately, the bright light came on, illuminating the entire room.

    As her messy bed cane into view, her eyes squinted at the table clock on her nightstand.

    Seeing how early she had woken, a long tired sigh fell off her lips.

    "What am I going to do after waking up this early?" She grumbled to herself with pouted lips.

    But just as she turned her back towards the nightstand, her eyes suddenly widened in surprise as an idea quickly popped into her head.

    "Mr. Fang is still sleeping by now." She said out loud and slowly, a smirk turned on at the corner of her lips as a knowing smile illuminated her face.

 Chapter 218 Morning Seduction

    <o>,m Zhang Liling quickly picked up her phone and went straight to click on her Clock App.</o>

    Straight away, she set different rms with each having a title of its own.

    She was trying to time herself so she wouldn''t have to waste time doing each task.

    Done setting the rms, she rushed into the bathroom with her phone excitedly.

    First, she brushed her teeth and had a bath under the shower.

    She would have loved to enjoy bathing in the tub since it was what her body needed, but because she wasn''t allowed to spend more than 10 minutes washing her body because of time, she jumped into the shower.

    Using an extra 5 minutes, she shampooed her hair. After a little massage, she washed the white foam off and ran the water from the shower head on her body before turning it off.

    Smiling to herself as her nose picked up the nice scent from her shampoo and body wash, she seemed satisfied.

    "Nice!" She eximed happily as she reached for the towel to dry her body.

    A few minutester, she was done drying her hair with a hand dryer before taking her phone and leaving for the inner closet where she picked afy dress.

    Looking at her wardrobe, she discovered that she had a lot of choices which would normally take some time to decide on what exactly to wear.

    But fortunately, she had already selected the dress to out on in he mind while brushing her teeth.

    Checking the time on her phone, she discovered that she had less than 10 minutes to be in Mr. Fang''s bedroom.

    Hurriedly, she picked out a knee-length red sleeveless dress.

    Five minutes,ter, she emerged from the walk-in closet and stepped into her room.

    Zhang Liling was looking all pretty and fresh. As she walked towards the bed, her thick long hair that fell behind, bounced slightly, showing the richness of the texture.

    A small smile yed on Zhang Liling''s lips as she slipped her feet into her thick white flipflops. Putting her phone on the nightstand, she turned her back to reveal her beautiful face.

    There was no makeup on her face, but her skin was so smooth and herplexion all brightened up.

    There was no jewelry on her body apart from the pretty ne Mr. Fang had gifted her.

    The position of the jewelry suited her skin colour plus the attractive colour she chose to pair it with.

    Taking a look at the table clock one more time, Zhang Liling shifted her gaze back to the door before stepping forward slowly.

    Apparently, she was off to Fang Bingwen''s bedroom, as for what ns she had, we would find out soon.

    Opening the door carefully, she peeped and when she heard a small sound from the distance, she took this opportunity to walk her way to the stairs in quick light steps.

    Approaching the stairs, she proceeded to climb it as quietly as she could in order not to attract any attention.

    If anyone should see her going up the stairs this early in the morning, what would her exnation be?

    Although she was in a hurry to get to Mr. Fang''s bedroom before he opens his eyes because of her motive still, she couldn''t let herself get caught otherwise, this was going to be very embarrassing.

    Quickly and quietly, she made her way up the stairs and up to the door to Fang Bingwen''s bedroom.

    Without knocking, she quietly opened the door and walked two steps before gently turning her body to carefully close the door.

    Her entire face squeezed up apprehensively while shutting the door. She was afraid that it would wake the man sleeping peacefully on the king-sized bed.

    Luckily enough, she made it without ruining her ns. Smiling, her feet slipped out of her flip-flops. Abandoning them next to the door, she tiptoed her way to the foot of his bed.

    Zhang Liling made a stop there and cast a long nce at Mr. Fang who was lying on his side and facing his nightand on his side.

    "It looks like I''m right on time," she said before carefully climbing into his sheets with her gaze never leaving him.

    Finally, she seeded in getting into his sheets. Taking her eyes off him for a brief moment while smiling happily to herself at the sess of her ns, she drew the duvet to her side, so it could cover her body.

    Resting her head on the pillow, she closed her eyes but just then, she felt she was being watched by a pair of human eyes.

    Instantly, the hairs on her fair skin stood at attention as her eyshes fluttered nervously.

    ''I-Is he awake?'' she asked herself, not daring to let hershes blink open.

    It would be more dangerous to face him head-on if he was truly watching her. So she thought.

    Mr. Fang stared at the woman lying next to him with knitted brows. He looked speechless as his heated gaze rested on her face.

    When she had stepped into his room, he had known, but he was thinking that it was one of the servants and was wondering why any of them would dare to enter the room when he was still inside.<sub> </sub>

    But when he felt empty side next to him sink inside, he just knew the only person who was dating enough to pull it off.

    Was there any other one apart from the person he had chosen to be his woman?

    Mr. Fang had just allowed Zhang Liling to close her eyes before opening his eyes and turning his gaze to her.

    What a daring woman to sneak into his room and climb into his bed in the early hours of the morning.

    Watching her closely, he saw the way hershes fluttered and her fingers on the duvet clenched tightly and just knew that she had notice he was awake.

    Without wasting time, his thin lips parted and uttered in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing on my bed?"

    Seeing that she couldn''t continue to pretend anymore, hershes fluttered open as the corner of her lips curled.

    Moving her eyes to see the tinge of visible annoyance on his face, she crackled up.

    "Mr. Fang, why do you look so annoyed, it''s too early." She said to him.

    Still in the same position of propping himself with his left elbow, Fang Bingwen did not find her joke funny and immediately asked again.

    "Zhang Liling, who said you coulde into my bed?"

    Slowly, Zhang Liling''s smile died down just so she could speak audibly.

    "Rx Mr. Fang, I came to serve you breakfast." She said while moving her palm from her chest up to her legs.

    She was gesturing to him, and at the same time letting him know that she was the breakfast she hade to serve.

    Mr. Fang''s gaze followed her hand gesture and his brows knitted the more as the corners of his lips tugged downwards.

    "You will soon get what you are asking for." He said meaningfully with his sharp gaze narrowing at her.

    Not feeling threatened in the least, Zhang Liling smiled and asked suggestively. "Mr. Fang, what do you think I want."

    She looked even more excited than she was before he made that statement.

    She seemed to have understood the Hidden meaning in his words, and looked like she couldn''t wait for him to get into action right away.

    At her slight provocation, Mr. Fang rolled his eyes before unhurriedly sitting up on the bed.

    He could very well see how crazy she was.

    Immediately his back had straightened, Zhang Liling sat up and rushed into his arms without warning.

    Mr. Fang was a little flustered with her huge movement as his eyes widened in surprise.

    He had felt her movement earlier and had thought it was just as simple as sitting up since it would be a little ufortable to talk to him while she was still in that position.

    But who knew she would go to this extent?

    Letting the thick duvet fall off her body to reveal the part of her exposed skin, and the bright attractive red dress that covered the rest of her skin, Zhang Liling held him tightly while resting the side of her face on his chest.

    "Mr. Fang, why are you so mean? Is it wrong to lie in bed with you? Is not like I''m going to take another step."

    Her soft voice sounded in his ears as he felt the movement of her mouth on his chest.

    Slowly, his nerves rxed as he immediately berated her.

    "Do you know where you are? How coulde to my bedroom so early? Are you not worried about your reputation?" He asked in deep concern.

    He seemed to be worried about what the servants would to think of her, and also him if she was seen leaving his bedroom in the morning even though it was not in their ce.

    Maybe, he was the one thinking too much afterall.

    Zhang shook her head and raised her eyes to look at him. "I don''t care. There is nothing wrong with us being like this. We are already dating, or are you ufortable to get intimate with me?"

    "What?" Fang Bingwen eximed with a look of surprise. What did she mean?

    Not taking a moment break, she continued. "You have never taken the initiative to hug me, or touch me. I''m always the one taking the lead. Are you scared? Well even if you are, you don''t need to worry. I understand that this is how you are. I will just continue to do what I like with you."

    Without hesitation, Mr. Fang''s whose forehead was already lined with ck folds due to her hints, pushed her aside and said hurriedly.

    "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you trying to say soemthing is wrong with me?" He asked, while ring at her.

 Chapter 219 Peace

    Zhang Liling knew that he had misunderstood her and quickly rephrased her sentence in a summary.

    "That''s not what I meant. How could something be wrong with a young healthy male like you?"

    ''What?!'' Fang Bingwen seemed to be only more riled up at words.

    Could she just stop talking for a second?

    Ignoring his gaze that got darker, Zhang Liling hurriedly added while grabbing his arm, "Mr. Fang, I''m saying that you are not romantic."

    Immediately, it seemed like the dark clouds hovering over Fang Bingwen''s head seemed to disappear.

    It looks like his riled up heart had gradually calmed down.

    Being less romantic was better than having something else wrong with him which he couldn''t ept.

    Rolling his eyes at her, he pried her hands away before getting off his bed.

    "Get off my bed before Ie back." He said and turned his back to her.

    Zhang Liling pouted her lips in annoyance and watched him walk into the inner room.

    "Mr. Fang, you are not romantic at all! How can you be this way to your girlfriend whom you haven''t seen in a long time?!" She shouted after him, refusing to admit defeat.

    "Didn''t you say that I was still yet to ask you out? Now you want me to get intimate with you?" Mr. Fang retorted without stopping in his steps, before his backpletely disappeared from her view.

    He meant that he couldn''t do anything to her since they were not officially dating yet.

    Understanding this, Zhang Liling kicked her legs about while grumbling to herself.

    Words could never fail the man. He always knew what to reply at every sentence sent to him, and that pissed her off somehow.

    "You want me to leave your room?" Zhang Liling mumbled to herself with her gaze still lingering at the tightly shut door.

    Uttering no more words, she justid back on the bed and covered herself with the duvet.

    Like she was going to leave the room because he asked her to... She was going to show him how stubborn she was.

    After Mr. Fang had finished showering and changing into his gym outfit, he stepped inside the room to see the sculpted figured on his bed and shook his head.

    "I thought I told you to leave." He said while walking towards the nightstand.

    Fang Bingwen was dressed in a shorts and a tight fitted long sleeve shirt that disyed his chest muscles.

    On his handsome mature face stood a frown that almost ruined the whole mood.

    Hearing his voice, Zhang Liling moved the duvet away from her face and quickly sat up.

    Watching him take his pills, she replied, "Why should I leave? It''s not like my presence is stopping you from doing what you want."

    Throwing 2 pills into his mouth, Mr. Fang raised the bottle of water in his hands and opened his mouth to drink some, while she reached out to cap his bottle of meds.

    Taking that opportunity, he drank more water from the bottle before putting it down. Picking up his phone, he turned and started walking out.

    Seeing him leaving without saying anything, she hurriedly got out of bed and almost tripped because of the duvet that entangled around her legs.

    "Mr. Fang, you are going to exercise, why didn''t you tell me." She asked.

    Hearing the noise behind him, Mr. Fang had to stop in his steps and turn around to see her trying to get the duvet off her legs.

    Because of the way she bent, he could see her fair thighs and released a long sigh.

    "You want to follow me to the gym while dressed like this? Are you sure you noting along to distract me?" He asked as his brows furrowed in a frown.

    Finally getting the duvet off her legs, she threw it on the bed and immediately turned to rush toward him.

    "Why would I distract you when I know how important it is for you to keep fit. Even I were to try that, you wouldn''t fall for it. How many beauties have you not seen? It''s not not like I am the first."

    Saying that, Zhang Liling shed him a smile and scurried towards the door.

    Fang Bingwen stared speechlessly at her as she slipped her small feet into the pair of flip-flop before turning to him wih a smile..

    <o>,m "You are indeed as stubborn as Ist remembered."</o>

    He said before leading the way out.

    All Zhang Liling did was to follow behind him like a little kitten.<sub> </sub>

    At the gym, she kept talking non-stop like a radio whose battery has refused to die, but Mr. Fang did not for oncein about it.

    She said she wanted to apany him to gym, but all she did was sit on the chair and talk. If he shifted a little away from her just to try another gym equipment, she would follow him immediately as if he was running away.

    Somehow, he didn''t feel irritated with her constant tagging, but he had to put a stop to it when try went back to his bedroom.

    On getting to the door of his bedroom, Mr. Fang stopped there and blocked the way, not letting here in.

    Surprised at his actions, Zhang Liling narrowed her eyes at him. "Mr. Fang, are you trying to lock me out?"

    Letting out an exhausted sigh, he asked naturally, "I want to shower, do you also want to join me?"

    Her gaze trailed him from his face and down to a certain area before shaking her head frantically and shifting her sight back to his face.

    "No, I will wait at the dinning area." She said before turning to leave.

    Fang Bingwen stared at her in awe till she disappeared from his sight.

    ''What did that look mean?'' he thought to himself.

    Mr. Fang stood there unable to fathom the meaning of her gaze before walking inside his room.

    "How could I go into the bathroom with him, it''s not like I''m crazy." Zhang Liling mumbled to herself while descending the stairs.

    Whatever the rest of her thoughts were, no one knew.

    Zhang Liling made her way back to her bedroom and as soon as she stepped inside, her phone screen turned off so she hurried over.

    Picking it up, she saw the number of missed calls from her mother.

    "My phone is already so hot and if I don''t return her calls, she wouldn''t leave me with my peace of mind today."

    Song Jujing had been wanting to hear from her since she left Paris, but all effort proved abortive. At least the text she left her the previous night helped to calm her down to a greater extent. Now all she just wanted was to hear her voice so she could stop disturbing her.

    Knowing her mother to well, Zhang Liling quickly returned her call and just at the first ring, she answered.

    "Liling, are you still angry with me? Is that why you are not taking my calls?" Song Jujing''s anxious voice asked.

    That was her only guess since she was still feeling guilty for doing something wrong.

    "Mum, you are thinking too much. I don''t have that space in my heart to amodate bitterness." Zhang replied.

    She had checked after Fang Bingwen spoke to her yesterday. She discovered that it took a lot to harbour negative emotions within one self.

    Also, what was the use of staying angry for long instead of surrounding herself with happiness.

    It indeed took a toll to be angry with her mother, and it waspletely useless to continue dragging things out with her.

    Hearing her say that, a sigh of relief instantly fell off Song Jujing''s lips. Her daughter''s words were like a verdict that brought her immediate peace.

    "Are you at home now?" Her calm voice asked.

    She figured that she could be quick to go into the next conversation to save both of their time.

    "Ye..." The answer had almost left Zhang Liling''s lips when she suddenly stopped.

    The corners of her lips curled as a smirkced her face. A naughty thought was obviously brewing in her mind.

    Without warning, she changed her words immediately. "I went straight to my boyfriend''s ce straight from the airport yesterday, and I''m still there at the moment."

    A moment of silence ensued in the room, and that was just what Zhang Liling wanted. To driver her mother insane, but the next second surprised her.

    Song Jujing was merely silent for a moment before asking curiously.

    "Is it Fang Bingwen?"

    "H-How do you know?" Zhang Liling uttered in surprise as her eyes widened. Her mouth agape in shock.

    Without wasting time, Song Jujing answered, "Fang Bingwen is the only man you have ever introduced to me."

    It looked like She had registered that moment Zhang Liling had brought Mr. Fang over to introduce him to her as her Professor during her graduation ceremony the previous year.

    Also, she seems to have taking that introduction personal for her to link it to something romantic like this.

 Chapter 220 Refusing To Back Down

    Zhang Liling was truly amazed that her mother was able to make the right guess and suddenly, she became curious about something.

    She could recall that her mother was familiar with the Fang family and uptill date, she has still been unable to find the rtionship she had with them in the past.

    Being reminded of this fact Zhang Liling seized this chance to ask her mother about it.

    "Mum, do you know the Fang family that well? What rtionship did you have with them?" She asked with a questioning brow.

    That question put a smile on Song Jujing''s face as old memories started to y in her head.

    "I know the Fang Family. I know Fang Huiqing, he was my first acquittance from his family. But since I had you, I have been very distant from a lot of people." Song Jujing replied with a glimmer of happiness in her eyes.

    She seemed to be recalling happy memories.

    Zhang Liling remembered that her mother had mentioned knowing Mr. Fang''s father before and couldn''t help but to be more interested in the topic.

    "What was your rtionship with him? Did you two go to the same Uni?" She asked thoughtfully.

    At this question, a soft chuckle escaped from her mother''s lift.

    ''Good, she is finally paying attention to me. But only because of the Fang Family.'' She thought.

    Song Jujing didn''t know if to be happy or sad, but one thing she had already made up in her mind, was not to let her daughter get the answers to her question that easily.

    With that thought, she said to her a momentter with a hint of pride in her tone.

    "Liling, if you want to so badly know the full story, you have to behave for a few days, and then I will tell you everything next time."

    The woman figured that she could use this opportunity to get Zhang Liling to be good to her and not avoid her calls, hence she chose this strategy.

    Hearing her mother''s condition to get the full gist of the story, Zhang Liling scoffed. Like she was the only source.

    "There is no problem if you don''t want to tell me now, I don''t mind. I am going to meet Mr. Huiqing and the Fang Family today and when I see him, I will ask about your history with him."

    As soon as these words finished leaving her mouth, Song Jujing''s voice was heard, immediately bombarding her with questions.

    "You are going to meet the Fang Family? Why? What are you going there for?"

    A smirk yed on Zhang Liling''s lips as she blew on her nails. Finally, the tides had turned, and her mother was now the one being curious.

    Hearing no response from the other end, Song Jujing got impatient and called out to her a little breathlessly. "Liling! Are you still there?"

    "Of course I''m still here." Zhang Liling replied almost immediately. Then without waiting for her response, she continued.

    "Today is Old Lady Fang''s birthday and a big party is thrown to acknowledge her new age."

    Saying up to this point, Zhang Liling sealed her lips, allowing her mother to out the pieces together and she didn''t fail to do so.

    Song Jujing understood that her daughter would be introduced to the Fang family by her boyfriend Fang Bingwen.

    Although feeling her heart fluttering a bit, she appeared to be indifferent and tried to wave it off.

    "Anyway, no matter how you ask, you can never get the full story from any of them you can only know a bit and not everything. Whenever you feel the need to know, you can alwayse back to me." Song Jujing said confidently.

    She believed that Fang Huiqing would never tell her the full story unless since she didn''t mention it to her first.

    And knowing her daughter well, she was sure she would definitelye back.

    Zhang Liling refused to back down even after sensing her mother''s confidence. Whether or not she woulde back to her, would be decided when she returns from the birthday celebration.<sub> </sub>

    *******

    ZHANG MANSION...

    There has been a few changes in the Zhang family since the past year.

    Since taking a step into the political world, Zhang Renshu had gotten another title apart from the one he had because if Zhang Group.

    Zhang Renshu was now being followed by escorts as his security guards has doubled, and outside the Zhang Vi, some one then could be seen standing guard outside, and a few of them patrolling in the environment.

    Currently, it was breakfast time, and the now family of three were gathered and sitting around the dining table.

    The sounds of steel cutlery striking against the ceramic tes resounded in the dining area which was followed by the movement of the mouths of the three adults sitting there.

    Zhang Renshu and Shi Wenqian''s faces were still the same, as no notable changes could be detected from them, apart from the aura the man exuded.

    Going to Zhang Mingyu, the young man was the only one who had a little change within him. There was a slight change in his physical appearance.

    His face seemed a bit mature now, and his sense of dressing had changed a bit, probably because of his career and public image.

    Zhang Mingyu was putting on a well-ironed sky blue shirt. His hair was trimmed, and flowed to each sides because of the division at the center of his hairline.

    In all, he looked neat and responsibile as his ate his breakfast in peace.

    In the middle of eating, Shi Wenqian sent a spoon of porridge into her mouth before shifting her gaze to Zhang Renshu, whose mouth was equally busy.

    "Today is Old Lady Fang''s birthday celebration, are you going for it?" She asked with a calm demeanor, while trying not to appear interested.

    Zhang Renshu clearly heard her, but refused to give a response. He continued to chew on his meat, making it hard to despict if the food in his mouth was the reason he wasn''t responding, or because of another thing.

    Regardless, Shi Wenqian did not take it to heart and instar continued speaking as if she was making a causal statement.

    "Xin told me this morning that she would be attending the event with Tang Ei. Apparently, Mr. Tang had sent his first son to represent him at the celebration."

    p If this was a reminder or a suggestion from her that it would be great for his presence to be known, or not, no one could tell.</anda>

    There was a small movement from Zhang Renshu''s throat showing that he had swallowed the minced food in his mouth, before he turned his attention to her.

    "I won''t be going for the celebratory dinner. I have already sent out a birthday present yesterday evening." He revealed before turning back to continue eating.

    "What!" Shi Wenqian eximed, causing Mingyu to nce at her before moving his eyes back to his food.

    His mother still had a long way to go in covering up some little things.

    Ignorant of his thoughts, she continued.

    "How could you do something like this without informing me? I would have loved to send a gift over since it is a taboo for member of our family to step foot into the Fang residence."

    Shi Wenqian was taunting Mr. Zhang for being petty and allowing them to be in contact with the Family, and he got that message well, but he chose to ignore it.

    "Sending a gift from me is as good as sending the intentions of the entire family. Shi Wenqian, do not disturb my peace this morning." He said exining in the first sentence, while also giving her a warning in the second one.

    Shi Wenqian remained unsatisfied with his method. If she had known he would do something like this, she would have secretly sent out a gift to the olddy, in her own name.

    ''Maybe it''s not toote is it?'' she asked herself with a glint of annoyance shing past her sight.

 Chapter 221 Her Outfit, Her Choice

    Soon, a maind came to remind Zhang Liling about breakfast, and she hurriedly took her phone with her and went down the stairs.

    Arriving at the dinning room, Mr. Fang was still no where to be found.

    ncing over at the table of dishes on the table plus the aroma that wafted into her nose, Zhang Liling felt tempted to sit and begin to eat, but then she thought of going to call her Fang Bingwen.

    But just as she turned her body to the side, she heard a series of heavy but steady footsteps. Instantly, the corners of her lips curled in familiarity. She could guess who wasing close.

    Choosing to take a sit next the head table where Mr. Fang normally sat just like the previous night, she did that with her gaze turned to the entrance.

    Soon, Mr. Fang came into view.

    The handsome mature man was putting on a ck round-neck polo and a pair of ash-coloured pants. His gaze was straight as he came closer to the dining area.

    ncing briefly at the little woman who was staring at him with an expectant smile, he shifted his gaze ahead and went through the other side. When he got to his seat, he pulled the chair aside before sitting and adjusting the seat.

    ncing at the food set before then, he asked as his brows furrowed in concern, "Is everything here to your liking?"

    Without the need to take a look at the dishes assembled before her, she hurriedly nodded with a smile.

    "Yes, I like everything here."

    She could tell that he was worried about her pte because of the big French City she came back from.

    "Then eat," he said while gesturing to the food before picking up some for himself.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said with a smile as she picked some dishes and out them in her te first.

    The ambience in the dining room made it look like they were already a happy couple, which they truly were.

    "Do you have something to wear for today?" Mr. Fang asked with his gaze fixed on her.

    He was still yet to touch his food when he asked that question which seemed to be of importance to him.

    Zhang Liling paused, as the spoon of food about to be sent into her open mouth, hung in the air.

    She didn''t reply immediately and slowly lowered the spoon back to the te.

    ''He is asking about my outfit? Does he want to take me shopping?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as she giggled inwardly, but slowly, another thought came to her head and her earlier excitement quickly died down.

    "Yes I do, I have lots of clothes." She replied while managing a smile.

    She would have been more excited to go shopping with him and spend his money. But knowing that he would have a greater say with her choice of outfit, she hurriedly rejected him.

    She knew how he was each time she out on a dress back then. He didn''t like her style and always had this deep frown in his face like some people ruined his mood with their scent.

    Thinking that it would be safer if she just picked out something from her wardrobe with him not having any say, she made her decision.

    Without knowing that Mr. Fang had been observing the changes in her facial expression uptill now, she went back to eating.

    Finally, he moved his gaze away and started to eat as well, with a thought in his head.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling remembered something and immediately asked with her gaze on him.<sub> </sub>

    "I want to get a birthday gift for your grandma. I can''t go there empty handed. It will be rude of me."

    There was a serious expression on her face as she said that.

    Apart from impressing the olddy, she thought it to be improper to go to a celebration like that, plus given her identity, without a gift.

    This was not just going to be her first time meeting the Fang Family, but this was the old Lady''s birthday, hence she thought it wise to do the needful.

    Fang Bingwen did not stop her or suggest that the gift he was taking along would be enough for them. He just let her do what she wanted.

    At noon, Old Lady Fang called Mr. Fang on the phone to remind him about her birthday party.

    Mr. Fang looked tired as he listened to her speak from the other end. When she was done, he finally got the chance to respond.

    "Grandma, my memories are still sharp. I won''t forget."

    The olddy not being satisfied, added, "Make sure toe with your girlfriend on time. I would like to see thisdy that got your attention."

    Mr. Fang did not give any response and let her speak some more before cutting off the phone.

    Sighing to himself, he put his phone away and nced at his wristwatch to check the time.

    Seeing that this was the perfect timing to go out to pick a few things, he shifted his gaze back to hisptop''s screen.

    Tapping a few buttons, he shut the system down before closing it and standing up to leave his study with his phone in hand.

    Outside the study, he brought the phone to his line of sight.

    He went straight to his call records and searched for Zhang Liling''s contact before dialling it.

    As soon as she answered, he passed an instruction to her.

    "It''s noon already, dress up, let''s have lunch before going out to shop."

    "To shop?" Zhang Liling questioned with a confused brow. "Didn''t I say that I have an outfit already?" She asked, unable to guess what his intentions were.

    She looked truly afraid he wanted to get her the outfit for their outing in the evening.

    "Don''t you want to get the gift anymore?" His calm voice resounded in her ears.

    Immediately, an unsettled chuckled fell off her lips. She had almost forgotten that she had to get a gift for the olddy of his family.

    Her mind has been on the outfit because she was currently looking through her closet, and trying to pick the best dress from the several options she had.

    "I didn''t forget. I will be downstairs in a few minutes. I need to take a shower." Zhang Liling said with her gaze eyeing a certain royal-blue dress on the hanger.

    Actually she didn''t need to have a bath although the weather was sunny, but she was trying to buy some time before she came out.

    She was still yet to decide on the dress to wear for the party in a few hours.

 Chapter 222 Selecting Gifts

    "Don''t take too long, we don''t have much time left."

    Mr. Fang did not bother her anymore and just said that before ending the conversation.

    Normally he wouldn''t feel the need to be in a hurry for this kind of asion but because he was avoiding his old Lady''s nagging, he wanted to arrive at her party some minutes after her party had started.

    Also, the location was at a different city but fortunately, they didn''t have to drive a long distance before arriving.

    Half an hour drive was enough.

    The moment he ended the call, he went into his bedroom to change his outfit before going downstairs, while Zhang Liling threw her phone to one corner and started to take out some dresses that caught her eyes.

    Each time she picked one, she would ce it in front of her body and stare at the mirrorto ascertain if it would fit for the kind of asion was attending.

    Ten minutester, she felt tired. Exhaling deeply, she changed her outfit before running downstairs. There was no time to bath, so she put on some perfume.

    Luckily, she was not sweaty because of the Air condition in the room that saved her ass.

    By the time she arrived at the dining room with her bag, Mr. Fang was already sitting at his usual position eating the simple dishes served before him.

    Smiling apologetically, she hurried exined as she went to take her seat. "I''m sorry I took a longer time."

    Fang Bingwen spared her a nce and only uttered one word, "Eat."

    After Lunch, the two of them left the house with two cars, a driver and two bodyguards.

    On their way, Zhang Liling who was sitting beside Fang Bingwen at the back seat of his car asked with a questioning brow. "What does your grandmother like? I want to get a suitable gift for her."

    Liling was being very honest because she didn''t feel the need to hide her intentions from him. It was useless.

    Mr. Fang thought silently for a while before replying.

    "As long as she likes you..."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling''s heart leaped in her chest.

    She had never thought about the possibility of being rejected by any member of the Fang family especially his grandmother, so she was a little shocked.

    Registering the fright on her face, he shook his head in disbelief.

    It was not his intention to tease or taunt her, but it looks like he didn''t even need to have those thoughts or try for her to already be in a trance.

    Just what did she think a day?

    Not having the time to mess with her mind, he immediately continued from where he left off.

    "Stop thinking too much. My grandmother will like you. She will also like whatever present you bring with you because you are with me."

    Currently, Zhang Liling was not in the right mind to pay attention to thest word he said otherwise she would have immediately asked if he was scared of referring to her as his girlfriend.

    But she was too far into thinking about the his olddy and the particr gift to bring.

    Hearing him finish his sentence, instantly settled her tensed nerves.

    Tilting her head to the side, the corners of her lips rose up as a smile that reached her eyes immediately stered on her face.

    "This is great! Mr. Fang, your grandmother is very simple." She said and shifted her gaze to the road.

    Zhang Liling was very happy that she didn''t need to worry about being liked, and her gift being rejected. His words had indeed put her heart at ease.

    ''Only because there is nothing for you to worry now,'' he thought before taking his eyes off her.

    He was wondering if she would think that way if he had said otherwise. It wouldn''t even be impossible for her to erupt in cries at the feeling of rejected.

    She was quite lucky that he has never had the intentions of ying with her emotions otherwise she would have had it hot first, before he would think of cating her.<sub> </sub>

    Some minutester, the first ce their car pulled over was in front of a popr store known to sell traditional gifts.

    Zhang Liling had remembered this and asked for them to stop their first to see if she could pick something befitting for Old Lady Fang.

    As they car came to a stop, Mr. Fang nced at the signboard in front of the store through the window with keen interest.

    ''She really knows the best ce.'' He said with a tinge of pride in his tone. But chossing to conceal his thoughts from her in order to curb her ego, he stepped out of the car.

    "Mr. Fang, I think I will be able to see something nice for your grandmother. But it might not be expensive." Zhang Liling said with a tinge of worry in her tone, while her face had a smile.

    Even though he said his olddy will ept whatever she gave to him no matter the cost and if she liked it or not because she was his girlfriend, she was still a little bothered.

    Her mind was a little restless because she wanted to gift her something that was useful.

    "Money is the least worry. What riches has she not seen? Come, let''s go in. I have told you not to worry." He said and pulled her hand to go into the store together.

    It seemed like his words were powerful enough to assure her, which finally put her restless mind to a rxing state.

    Seeing the couple walking into the store, the manager who was instructing the attendants quickly walked up to them.

    "Hello Mr!Hello Ms! Wee to our store, what item would you like to pick today?" The woman asked with a sweet weing smile.

    Mr. Fang ignored her, lesvig Zhang Liling to respond to her.

    Smiling in return, Zhang Liling hurriedly said, "We will take a look around, if we need your assistance, we should surely call for you."

    "Alright, please help yourselves." The store manager said while gesturing to them.

    Zhang Liling turned to Mr. Fang and said while pulling him ahead. "Come, let''s see if we can pick something nice."

    Almost twenty minutester of taking a look at some of the items in the store, Zhang Liling saw a few things that caught her eyes.

    But having the stubborn man by her side who did not allow her to pick more than 3 items, she had no choice but to make a final decision.

    Atst, she picked up 3 different items.

    The first one was a beautiful set of authentic Chinese chopsticks.

    This painted decorative set came with five pairs and a neat disy case, making it perfect for gifting.

    The chopsticks were alreadylooking fabulous and would suit any dining it was ced on.

    The second gift was an Emerald green electric heating mug and saucer.

    Zhang Liling had thought how handy that set would be during winter and picked it. Also, she didn''t forget to pick another set for the Old man of the Fang Family.

    She had remembered Mr. Fang''s grandfather and added him to the list.

    Thest thing Zhang Liling picked was a few bags of tea which included a bubble tea kit.

    She wanted to get something that would benefit all the elders of the Fang family if possible, and remembering his parents, she remained adament and wnrt ahead to add them to her cart.

    Just as her smiling eyes that moved away from the basket andnded on a calligraphy set, her eyes widened in surprise.

    "Hey! That''s a calligraphy set!" She said in utter surprise.

    Quickly turning to Fang Bingwen who had a scowl on his face, she pulled him by the arm and tugged on his sleeves.

    "Mr. Fang, I have to get this for your grandfather, do you thi..."

    "Hey! Wait! Where are you dragging me too?!" Zhang Liling shouted as the annoyed man pulled her toward the other direction to go and pay for the items she had selected without letting her finish her words.

    Out of his benevolence, he had allowed her to pick more than 3 times, but he could very see that her desires were insatiable and immediately pulled her away before she ends up buying the entire shop.

 Chapter 223 Keeping Away

    Not paying any attention to her protests, Fang Bingwen dragged her to the counter to pay for the items.

    There was an unsatisfied look on Zhang Liling''s face, but she couldn''t stare at him any longer as soon as they appeared before the counter where other people had eyes on them.

    Mr. Fang released her hand and dipped his right hand inside his pocket to take out a brown leathered wallet.

    Watching his actions, Zhang Liling asked with slightly furrowed brows. "What are you doing?"

    He fished out a ck card and and said while trying to hand it over to the cashier, "You are not working."

    In actual sense, he was not letting her pay for the things she picked because she didn''t have any job, so he couldn''t watch her make such expenses when he was there.

    Anyway, she picked out the items herself while he was merely paying them, but it could still be counted that she bought them.

    "Who told you that?" She asked with a tinge of annoyance in her tone.

    This was the first time she was disying this kind of annoyance to him.

    He looked at with a questioning brow as if to ask, What do you mean?

    Understanding that, she snatched the card from his hands and held tightly to it, before going on to take out her own card and handed it over to the cashier who was done parking up the items.

    "Do you think I was idle while only taking care of my mother? Of course, I was doing something useful for myself. I am a graduate, an adult. I have to fend for myself." She said to him.

    Seeing that her card has been epted, she finally handed his card back to him.

    A soft sigh escaped from Mr. Fang''s lungs as he watched her with interest. Not saying a word, he reached out for his card and put it back into his wallet before slipping it into his pant pocket.

    "Thank you for shopping with us. Please doe back next time." The cashier smiled warmly, which tore off their gazes from each other.

    Zhang Liling nodded to her with a smile as Mr. Fang took the shopping bags from the counter, and led the way out.

    Immediately the stepped outside, the bodyguards who were not allowed to go in with them, hurriedly stepped forward to take the bags from him.

    After settling in the back of the car, Fang Bingwen asked while securing his seatbelt.

    "It looks like you have been upto a lot of things you didn''t talk about."

    ncing his way as the ''click'' sound that confirmed that her seatbelt was secured sounded, Zhang Liling smiled at him.

    "Are you annoyed that I kept some things away from you?"

    He shook his head and shifted his gaze ahead. "I am not in any way annoyed with that. It''s your choice. I too had some things I didn''t mention."

    Zhang Liling: "..."<sub> </sub>

    In the one year they were separated by a long distance, they indeedmunicated with each other, but it wasn''t quite often.

    There was never a time they were able to hold a long conversation because of one thing or the other, but more especially, Mr. Fang wasn''t a talker.

    Well it was indeed a given for them not to be up to date with whatever they both have been doing. But now they were together they would have to gradually prate each others lives and catch up with everything.

    Feeling her strong gaze on him, Mr. Fang smiled inwardly, while keeping a poker face outwardly. He could very well tell that the young woman beside him was surprised.

    Watching him, and knowing he was aware of her obvious, but was refusing to look at her, she unpsed her seatbelt and shifted closer to him.

    Her little actions immediately attracted his attention as he was forced to nce her way.

    Fang Bingwen''s shoulder shrinked as he moved to the side a little as if to avoid her, but she still clutched his sturded arms anyway and pressed her soft chest to it.

    shing him a fawning smile that revealed the two rolls of white teeth in her mouth, she winked and asked in apelling tone.

    "Mr. Fang, tell me, what have you been upto in the past year?"

    Fang Bingwen tried to shrug his hands from her hold, but ended up nudging her soft chest.

    And that feeling instantly ignited something in his body. Something he wasn''t repulsive of, but could actually make him act impulsively.

    Zhang Liling fanned hershes while giving him a cute look, like a child begging for a candy, without even knowing the kind of effect she was having on him.

    Inhaling sharply, he managed to say, "Can you let go of my arm? It''s not like I''m running away."

    What was the use of holding unto him when the car was on the move, and the door was locked? It''s not like he was going to evaporate and vanish into the constricted air.

    Zhang Liling refused to let go and continued to ask questions. "Mr. Fang, tell me, what have you been up to?"

    Seeing that she had no intentions of letting go, he decided to keep mum about it, believing that she would atst get tired and leave him alone at the end.

    While ignoring her, he tried to be immune to the feeling of her soft chest rubbing against his sturdy arm, but it really was not easy.

    She was his girlfriend, hence he couldn''t push her away. Had it been they were still yet to start dating, he wouldn''t have indulged this feeling.

    Zhang Liling stared at the side view of the man that threw his face away and pouted her lips.

    Atst, she got tired and let go off his arm to fold her arms right below her chest, propping the two soft mounts on her chest.

    The corners of her lips turned downwards as the bright glint in her eyes dimmed.

    She was clearly annoyed, and Mr. Fang noticed when he cast a nce to his left side.

 Chapter 224 Spending Her Mans Money

    Seeing that frown sitting on her face, he released a deep sigh.

    He had indeed gotten himself a girlfriend. One who was fesity in nature.

    He also had to get into this role of arguing with someone, cating andforting, plus giving in.

    He had indeed gotten himself into something so deep.

    Choosing topromise a bit to get the muscles on her face to rx, he said with his gaze on her.

    "I have an ongoing project, and the reason I do not want to say anything to you is because it''s a surprise."

    Releasing a soft sigh, he continued, "Surprises are meant to be discovered in due time."

    If he said anything to her about it now that he wasn''t done working around it, the effect wouldn''t be as strong whenpared if he left her find it out at the right time.

    Zhang Liling nced his way as she put her hands down. "Maybe I should continue to keep mute about my own project."

    At this moment, Mr. Fang felt that he had aged faster than usual. What a grumpy little woman.

    "Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" He asked gently.

    He was trying to understand what she was making a fuss about.

    Did she somehow erase patience from her personal dictionary?

    "You think I have the energy to do that?" She asked, but then a thought came to her head and she quickly added.

    "If I were to pick a fight with you, I will have to make sure you are the guilty one so my actions wouldn''t be in vain."

    Zhang Liling had thought about it, and guessed that acting willfully and doing things like this wouldn''t move him.

    So instead of wasting her time, she would just behave and wait till he dies something wrong, and then she would make him apologize.

    For now, she would be wasting her time by picking a fight with him, as she wouldn''t be surprised if he even snobbed her. It was in his nature.

    Rather than waste her emotions, she would calm down.

    Mr. Fang just stared at her before sighing. He didn''t have any words for her.

    Turning his gaze to the driver, he passed an instruction to him. "When you get to the T junction, take a left turn and stop at the big shopping mall."

    Zhang Liling heard this and looked at him in wonder. Did he want to buy anything. But she didn''t ask the question aloud.

    It was only when he asked her to follow him that she couldn''t keep her mouth shut anymore.

    "Do you want to get something?" She asked as she stepped down and closed the car door.

    "Yes," He said, and then finished the sentence in his mind. ''for you.''

    Zhang Liling quickly followed him into therge shopping mall through the revolving door.

    From the entrance, they took the elevator and went straight to the 2nd floor.

    Zhang Liling was quite familiar with this mall, hence she couldn''t help but to ask with a look of astonishment, at what he actually came to buy in that floor.<sub> </sub>

    "Mr. Fang, are you sure you didn''t press the wrong button?"

    Giving her a brief nce, his eyes darted back to the elevator doors that opened at this time, before reaching out to pull her by the hand.

    "My eyes are still working properly." He replied as his ck Italian shoes glided against the light pink tiles.

    Seeing the environment before him, his brows knitted together as his eyes squinted. "What a tacky taste." He said.

    Staring at the beauty parlour they had walked into, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to admire the baby pink and white colour used for the decor.

    Shifting her gaze to the side view of the man that was holding her hand, she couldn''t help but to wonder if something was wrong with his eyes.

    He acted a feminine store for a hair saloon, what was he expecting to see?

    Shaking off the thoughts, she asked curiously, "Did you bring me here to get my hair washed?" .he had told her that he came to get something, but how they ended up going to the floor for hair services was what she wanted exined to her.

    "Yes, you can get your hair washed while we are here. If you want to do something to your nails, anything you want, just go for it. I will pay the bills." Mr. Fang said while looking around.

    Slowly, a big smile turned up on Zhang Liling''s face.

    He brought her here because he was attentive, but what made her heart to flutter was because he mentioned about footing the bills.

    That joy of having her man pay for her services, sweetened her heart the core, causing her to be unable to hide her emotions.

    "Will you wait for me?" She asked.

    She knew he didn''t have the patience for all of this, and he had already condemned the choice of painting before a few moment ago.

    But to her surprise, he gave a vague response that smittened her.

    "It depends on what you want to do."

    Looking around, he saw a few men that apanied their partners to do their hair and thought it to be eptable to wait there.

    Zhang Liling squeezed his palms gently. "Thank you," she said.

    "Mmmm," He hummed in response.

    Soon, an attendant walked up to them and skses Zhang Liling what she wanted to do.

    "Wash and straighten my hair. Then for my nails, just clean them."

    Normally, she would have loved to put some artificial nails or even paint her natural nails, but she was being considerate of the man that showed her a little love. She thought it to be wise to return the favour.

    Mr. Fang was shown to sit at the corner where his fellow men were sitting.

    Looking at the soft padded seats, he chose the single one which was two seats away from thest person.

    Immediately he took a seat, the attendant gave him some newspapers and sweets to keep himself busy.

    "Sir, would you like some coffee or tea, or would you prefer water?" She asked politely.

    "I''m good," Mr. Fang said sparing her a nce as he picked up the newspapers and immediately spread it open.

 Chapter 225 Tired Out

    In one one of the stalls in the same saloon, a male hairdresser announced while taking off the ck apron around a young woman''s neck.

    "Ma''am it''s done."

    The woman leaned forward to peer at her new looks in the mirror. Still with a calm face, she leaned away before standing to her feet.

    "Where do I pay?" Zhang Xiaoling asked as she picked up her purse and turned to the male hairdresser that took care of her wavy silky hair.

    For her to be asking where the cashier was, this seems to be her first time in this particr hair saloon.

    Smiling at her, the hairdresser said, "I will lead the way."

    Zhang Xiaoling quickly followed him with her long heels striking hard against the tiled floor.

    Today she was putting on a knee-length ash coloured pencil skirt, and white sleeves top. On her feet, were a pair of ck Alexander McQueen shoes.

    She had a delicate makeup on her face but with a bright red lipstick that drew so much attention to her face.

    Coming out from the store with the young man, she followed him up to a different section of the same space.

    "Here Ma''am, you can pay here." He said while gesturing to the glistening pink counter, and a male cashier sitting on a long stool inside.

    Zhang Xiaoling nodded at him before taking out her card and passing it to the cashier who took it and quickly shed it on the machine in his hand.

    Two secondster, the machine beeped and rolled out the teller for the payment.

    Taking out the card and the teller from the machine, plus the receipt from thr system in front of him, the cashier handed them over to her.

    "Thank you, Ma''am." The man said with a small smile.

    Ignoring him, Zhang Xiaoling reached out for the things that belonged to her, then tucking them into her ck handbag, she turned and trotted away.

    From the cashier counter, she walked ahead and passed the ce the men were sitting.

    Because Mr. Fang was sitting at the edge, she almost brushed past him.

    If only he didn''t have the newspaper covering his face, she would have seen his face.

    She would have found it odd to see him in a woman''s saloon and probably guessed that he had apanied a woman there.

    And the first woman that would havee to her mind would have been her stepsister, Zhang Liling before thinking of any other person.

    But the most important thing was that she would have definitely stopped to have exchange a few words with Mr. Fang, not minding that she was running a littlete.

    Fortunately or unfortunately, fate yed out this way.

    Not long after she went away, Zhang Liling walked out from the store and immediately went straight to where Mr. Fang was sitting to show off her new looks to him.

    "Mr. Fang, " She called out, as the air that came forth due to her running to his side, carried her scent to him.

    Closing the 5th newspaper, Mr. Fang eyed her expectantly before nodding. Keeping the newspaper on the stool in front of him, he got up andplimentes her with his gaze on her, "I like your new hairstyle, it''s pretty, and it suits you."

    Instantly, a blush crept up her cheeks as they turned a light shade of pink.<sub> </sub>

    "Thank you." She said gratefully.

    p "Do you still have something you want to do on this floor?" Mr. Fang asked as he walked toward the counter to pay, as she walked beside him</anda>

    Zhang Liling shook her head hurriedly. "I''m fine."

    She looked even more happy with thepliments he gave to her. What more could she ask for?

    "Okay," He muttered under his breath before fishing his card out and handing it over.

    A few minutester, they both entered the elevator, and instead of pressing the number for the underground parking lot, or Ground floor for therge supermarket, he pressed the 5th button.

    "Mr. Fang, do you still want to get something?" She asked while staring nkly at him.

    "There is one more thing you are missing, and that is a dress." He said without looking at her.

    He was avoiding her reaction on the face after he made his agenda known.

    Yes, she said she had something to where, but he didn''t trust her wardrobe. That little woman was capable of anything and there is no end to her surprises.

    That same second, Zhang Liling''s entire face was contoured in a frown.

    "But I already said that I have an outfit." She said to him. "I don''t need another one." She insisted.

    "I don''t trust your wardrobe." He told her tly.

    There was no need to hide anything from her. He wouldn''t want her to put on something that would expose any sensitive part of her skin.

    It''s not like he could walk into her closet to see what she had, hence, he was going to scrutinize every outfit she would be picking at the mall.

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang walked into the floor for female clothing and two shop attendants immediately walked over to cater for their needs.

    A little over an hourter, Zhang Liling walked out with Mr. Fang carrying four shopping bags in his hands.

    There was a tired look on her face as she followed him out.

    The little woman couldn''t even remember how many clothes she and changed into before he approved of only two.

    Right when she was about to tear up, he agreed to thest dress she wanted to so badly take with her, and that was how she got the third dress which was her own choice.

    Outside the building, the bodyguards waiting outside rushed over to take the bags from Mr. Fang, before opening the car doors for them to get inside.

    A long exhausted sigh fell of Zhang Liling''s lips as she sprawledzily on the seat without even bothering to secure her seatbelt.

    Seeing her in that state, Fang Bingwen had no choice but to help her out before turning to the driver.

    "Stop at any fine dining."

    Seeing how tired out his girlfriend was, which he was his fault as well, he figured that he should feed her first before sending her back to his Vi

 Chapter 226 All Dressed Up

    By the time Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang returned to the Vi, they saw two more cars parked outside.

    "Mr. Fang, are you expecting any visitors?" Zhang Liling asked as she peered through the ss before returning her gaze to him.

    She was a little surprised to see those cars which didn''t recognize and moreso because he didn''t say anything about it to her.

    Mr. Fang who had already seen and recognized who the owners of those fancy cars were, replied as he unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the car.

    "They are no visitors." He replied as his hands automatically slipped inside his front pants pocket while staring ahead.

    Zhang Liling got off the car and walked around to stand beside him. Then she asked with some unspoken words left wandering in her mind. "They are not visitors?" Then what are they?

    The bodyguards in the second car, got off and quickly brought out the several shopping bags in the backseat.

    Seeing them, she went over to take some of the bags form then, but Fang Bingwen pulled her away.

    "Let them take it inside."

    Zhang Liling had no choice but to obediently follow him inside the house.

    As soon as they stepped inside, they could already hear the deep voices of two mening from the living area.

    Hearing these familiar voices, the a smile that reached the eyes spread on Zhang Liling''s face in realization.

    "Dr. Li is here!"

    "Mmmm" Mr. Fang hummed in acknowledgement and then watched her run off by her side.

    Just then, Ms. Chu walked out from inside with the two servants. On seeing them, Fang Bingwen passed an instruction to them before walking toward the direction Zhang Liling had disappeared to.

    "Send the bags to Zhang Liling''s room."

    The contents of those shopping bags had nothing to do with him as they all belonged to his girlfriend.

    The bags included the items he bought for her at the clothing store, and the gifts she picked for all the elders in his family.

    With a little supervision, Ms. Chu got the two new servants to send everything to Zhang Liling''s bedroom, before going to serve snacks at the dining area.

    Immediately Zhang Liling ventured into the sitting room, Chuanli caught sight of her and eximed happily as he got up from the couch.

    "Miss Zhang! You are really back!"

    "Hello, Dr. Li!" She said and was going in for a hug when Mr. Fang suddenly appeared from the entrance, and Bolin who was the first to notice his presence, cleared his throat to alert her.

    Being on alert, Chuanli from his peripheral view, saw the man staring straight at them as if without a care, and immediately stretched his hand for a handshake instead.

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling''s spread out arms copsed as she too reached out her right hand to receive his hand.

    "I''m happy to see you Dr. Li." She said smiling from ear to ear.

    Releasing her from the handshake, Chuanli stared at her with excitement. "Miss Zhang, you are still looking good." He said, raising two thumbs up.

    "I know right? But you would have met a worn-out version of me if Mr. Fang did not feed me some minutes ago."

    She replied as she tilted her head to the side to nce at the man who had already gone to take a seat for himself.<sub> </sub>

    Her response reminded both Chuanli and Bolin that indeed, She had gone out with Fang Bingwen and was only returning now.

    Winking at her as he walk backwards to take his seat, he asked with a mischievous smile, "Miss Zhang, where did you two go to?"

    Zhang Liling found a ce to sit beside Mr. Fang before replying.

    "We went to shop for a bit. I can''t meet the Fang Family for the first time without any gifts." She exined, choosing to skip the part where Mr. Fang made her suffer while shopping for clothes.

    The words had already reached the tip of her tongues before she decided to send them back.

    "I see, you are right in track." Chuanli said as he pulled the sleeves of his suit jacket.

    With that little movement, Zhang Liling''s eyes widened a bit as she looked between him and Bolin.

    It was just now that she was seeing how well dressed they were.

    "Dr. Li, I was about to ask where you and Mr. Bolin were going to, but I can ready guess where." She said.

    Bolin smiled knowingly.

    Fang Bingwen who has been sitting quietly by the side frowned and stood to his feet before turning to ask if she didn''t want to go out with him.

    "Zhang Liling, don''t you want toe out with me anymore?" He asked as his brows furrowed.

    Smiling at him, she quickly got to her feet as well. "Mr. Fang, how can I let you got to such an important asion alone? As your partner, I have to tag along."

    Mr. Fang ignored her and turned to leave, while she said a few more words to the gentlemen before quickly following after him.

    After they left, Ms. Chu came to serve some snacks and drinks to Bolin and Chuanli.

    The stools beside them were empty because it hasn''t been long since they arrived before Mr. Fang came back.

    In the bedroom, Zhang Liling first took a shower before going to pick one of the dresses Mr. Fang bought for her.

    Still in her white bathrobe, she examined the clothes in the mirror before nodding her head with a satisfied gaze.

    Not wasting time, she took off her bathrobe to reveal the red G-string she was putting on. A few momentster, she slipped into the off-shouder emerald green dress with a ck light at the back.

    Because of this reveal, she couldn''t out on any bra, so she had to put on the dress like that.

    This dress was the third one she had to tear up before Mr. Fang allowed her to take it.

    After putting on her dress, she slipped into a pair of silver stilletos.

    After that, she sat on the padded foam to out on he rmakeup. Putting on the famous jewelry Mr. Fang had gifted her around her neck, she tightened her silver chain wristwatch.

    Picking up her red lipstick, she smeared it on her lips. Smacking her lips, the corners of her lips curled slowly.

    She looked very charming in her makeup and outfit.

    Satisfied with her looks, she took out her bottle of perfume and sprayed it lightly to her skin before picking up her silver purse and walking out of the closet.

 Chapter 227 Plan B

    "Are you not done?" Tang Ei asked as he stepped out from the inner room with his gaze on the woman sitting at the vanity table.

    Zhang Xiaoling who was sitting and admiring herself in the mirror, smacked light pink lips one more time before standing to her feet.

    The white taffeta long gown hugged her body and brought out her slim figure.

    The style of the dress looked simple but the material spoke otherwise. This outfut was thetest collection for a well known brand so, it was very expensive.

    "You look like you are ready to start nagging me." Zhang Xiaoling replied so casually as she snatched her purse from the vanity table.

    "I would. I don''t want to be any morete than now." He said as he adjusted his white sleeves with a calm gaze.

    "Well be rest assured that I wouldn''t be the one to dy you any longer. As you can see, I''m through." She said gesturing to her looks with a small smile ying at the corners of her lips.

    She seemed very excited to be stepping foot for into the Fang family''s home for the first time.

    Tang Ei noticed that, but he didn''t as not in the mood to taunt her with so he led the way out.

    They were alreadyte, but they would surely arrive before a special set of people.

    ***

    Two hourster...

    At the Fang Family residence, different kinds of expensive cars were driving in and parking at the firstrge parking lot.

    More than ten guards dressed in a uniform, were directing the car''s to where they would park.

    The Fang Family hom was veryrge that there was enough space to craft out 3 different parking lots.

    Thest one which was inside, was meant only for the members of the family, whie their guests used the remaining tworger parking lots.

    In the grand hall at the Fang Family''s Mansion with a traditional setting, a soft music was ying while several guests in singles, two''s and in their numbers, walked in with smiles on their faces.

    Men and women of different calibers of different ages, dresses in their expensive dresses and suits,smiled at each other and went about greeting the familiar faces, before going to to sit or chat.

    Some members of the Fang Family were already in the hall, and were busy greeting their guests, but the Old Lady was still missing.

    As the main host of the party, and birthday celebrant, she was the VVIP, hence it was still a little early for her to step out.

    This was indeed a big party as there were already different dishes, drinks and desserts arranged at the at one corner of the hall.

    There was also a champagne tower.

    Because of the Old Lady''s preference, most of the snacks and food were traditionally prepared, including the hall''s decoration.

    Soon, Zhang Xiaoling and her husband, Tang Ei arrived, representing the entire Tang Family.

    As soon as they stepped through the doors, handed their gift to the attendants before stepping in proper.

    Immediately, Tang Ei saw someone he knew and went to greet the man with Zhang Xiaoling holding unto his arm with a sweet smile on her face as the train of her white gown trailed on the white tiled floor.

    In no time after the guests were allowed to greet themselves and familiarise with their environment, the party started proper, with Old Lady Fang making an entrance.

    There were no cameras, but people were allowed to whip out their phones to record videos and snap some pictures.<sub> </sub>

    A smile graced the Old Lady''s face as she waved at her guests, with some of her family members around her.

    Beside her was her husband Old Mr. Fang, and behind her were two women in their fifties who wore a smile on their faces.

    Both were her daughters-inw.

    Old Lady Fang and her husband had three sons, and they trio were married with children.

    Fang Bingwen''s father was the first son out of the three sons of his grandmother.

    Old Lady Fang made her way straight to the podium to make a small speech.

    She first thanked the guests foring to celebrate her new grand age with her, before asking them to enjoy themselves and carefully added a little sentence at the end as a smile that reached her eyes spread across her face.

    "... I don''t like stress, and at my age, I don''t have much strength, so the party will onlyst for 2 hours."

    As she said that, the guests erupted inughter while pping their hands.

    After handing the microphone over to the MC, the olddy was helped to climb down by one of her daughters-inw who happened to be Fang Bingwen''s mother.

    "Where is Wenwen, I haven''t set my eyes on him?" The olddy whispered to her ears.

    Jian Cuifen''s gaze darted around while trying to see if she could sight her son''s figure in the crowd of people, but failed to do so in that short amount of time.

    "Mother, I don''t think he''s here yet. He should havee to greet you like the others if he was present." She replied while holding the Old Lady''s arm.

    She was sure that her son hasn''t reached the level of hiding away at a big event like this without bothering to greet his family first.

    The olddy nodded in understanding while slowly working ahead.

    "Wenwen is daring enough to arrive for my birthday party thiste. I just hope that he is noting alone." She said with a slight frown.

    But being not satisfied, she continued.

    "Well untill I see him, I will know the kind of punishment to give him."

    Smiling, Jian Cuifen patted her arms gently.

    "Mother, you can do whatever you want with him, just try to smile at the guests for now." She reminded softly.

    A soft sigh escaped the old Lady''s lips as she looked ahead.

    The actions of her favourite grandson was really taking a toll on her.

    The olddy was very impatient and couldn''t wait to see the woman that would be standing by his side tonight.

    But if he dared to disappoint her, she would make sure to hand any young singledy at her party to him.

    Looking around, she could see them in their numbers. They young women were beautiful, and their choice of outfits made them even more attractive.

    "At least we are notcking any young woman of a good taste." The olddy muttered under her breath before retracting her gaze.

    Her backup n was ready, it only needed to be implemented if there be a need.

 Chapter 228 Arrival

    Four luxurious cars of different colours from different brands drive straight in from the huge metal gates of the Fang Mansion to the inner parking lot.

    In one of the familiar cars that drove into the parking lot meant for onto the members of the Fang Family, sat Mr. Fang and Zhang Liling.

    The former had a surprised expression on his face as his gaze darted across the windows to see the different cars lined up in his line of sight.

    "Mr. Fang, your grandmother''s party is not a small one, and I''m sure that all the elites of City S are in attendance." Zhang Liling said as she retracted her gaze from the window to nce at him.

    With that glint of surprise in his eyes, he turned to look at her.

    His lips moved several times, but at the end, it couldn''t bring forth any word. He just gave up and turned his gaze ahead with his brows furrowing.

    He was still surprised and a little annoyed at neglecting one fact. And that was the possibility of this party being a huge turn up.

    He had thought that with his grandmother''s preference, she would go on to keep celebrate her new age in a low key, but it looks like he his thoughts had been low-leveled.

    He had forgotten to think out if the box.

    Now, he was thinking of how he was going to deal with the different scents from several people in that room.

    From the parking lot, the both could hear the traditional music ying, but Zhang Liling was the only that got a little excited.

    Suddenly thinking about something as their car came to a stop, she turned to look at him.

    "Mr. Fang," she called out, earning his full attention almost immediately.

    "I didn''t think about it, but what if the Zhang family is here?" She asked.

    She looked a little unsure of how to face her father if was surely in attendance.

    She had still wanted to remain quiet about her presence and arrival in the City for a few days before suddenly shocking all of them, but it looks like today''s party did not leave her much chances for her initial ns.

    "Are you afraid? I thought there was nothing in this world you were afraid of?" Fang Bingwen teased as the corner of his lip rose up in a smirk.

    Shaking her head, she quickly refuted his ims. "No I''m not afraid. I just wanted to give myself a little time before suddenly showing up in their line of sight, shocking them to their bones. But it looks like this is not bad either. Walking in with you is enough of a grand entrance." Zhang Liling said with a smile that reached her eyes.

    What more eye-catching scene was better than an entry with the most eligible bachelor in the City?

    She got all she ever wanted in one night.

    "Show off." Mr. Fang scoffed.

    At this point, the men in cksuits with white earpieces surrounding the inner parking lot, quickly came over to open the backdoors of the car.

    At the same time Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang were stepping out of the car, Bolin and Chuanli who came in their cars, stepped out as well with their gifts in hands before meeting them halfway.

    The gifts Zhang Liling came with was much, so Mr. Fang had to help her hold some of the bags.

    "If I had left you, you would have bought the entire store," Heined as he took some of the bags from her.

    Looking down at her hands, she retorted. "I couldn''t help it. At that point I only wanted to buy everything that looked good for your family elders."<sub> </sub>

    "It''s so hard picking a gift from several options." She muttered under her breath.

    Smiling from ear to ear, Chuanli approached both of them with Bolin tailing behind him.

    "Wow! It looks like Miss Zhang wants to spoil the entire Fang Family with gifts." He said as he came to stand beside Fang Bingwen.

    ncing at her hands, she shifted he rgaze back to him. "If this bribe is not enough for me to be epted into the family, I would be more than happy." She said without batting an eye.

    "Wow!" Chuanli eximed in surprise as his eyes widened with a hint of mischief in them.

    Bolin shook his head with the corners of his lips curling up. Zhang Liling would never cease to change.

    On the other hand, Mr. Fang did not look to be in a good mood after her statement.

    His gaze narrowed at her as he said, "Am I that cheap in your eyes?"

    He seems to have a problem with his family epting her because if the number of gifts she was bringing to the.

    Fang Bingwen held himself in high regard and refused for his worth to be summarised just like that.

    A soft chuckle escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips as she watched the frown on his face.

    "I didn''t say that, why do you have a grumpy look on your face?" She asked.

    "Bingwen''s pride is must definitely kicking in at this point." Chuanli said with a burst ofughter escaping his lips.

    Immediately, Mr. Fang turned to re at him. Instinctively, his nose wrinkled as he looked at the two men up and down.

    "The two of you shouldn''t take more than 3 steps close to me." He warned before turning to nce at Zhang Liling.

    "Let''s go in."

    Just as he said that to her, a tall man in his fifties walked out from the building with two female servants.

    "Eldest grandson." The man greeted respectfully with a small bow as soon as he approached them.

    Fang Bingwen nodded at the Butler before instructing him. "Take these gifts and keep them separately."

    These were the gifts from Zhang Liling, and he was instructing for them to be distinguished from the ones presented by the rest of the guests.

    Understanding the instruction, he nodded and immediatelyplied.

    Bowing slightly to Zhang Liling in greeting, he turned to Chuanli and Bolin to nod at them with familiarity before taking the bags from Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s hands, and handed them over to the servants.

    With the Fang Family''s butler leading the way, Mr. Fang took Zhang Liling''s hand in his and followed with the servants behind.

    Chuanli and Bolin were not left behind. The trio also walked forward and followed after them.

 Chapter 229 Introduction

    In that file, the seven people made an entrance into the grand hall, immediately attracting attention of most of the guests to themselves.

    As soon as the olddy heard that her beloved grandson hade, she hurriedly helped herself out from her chair before any assistance could be rendered to her.

    "Where is Wenwen?" She asked with her eyes darting around as she took quick steps away from the table.

    The old Lady''s movement immediately attracted some attention to her, but it wasn''t much because the guest''s were already being entertained with live music from a famous traditional band.

    Sensing the her mother-inw''s impatience, Jian Cuifen managed a smile and immediately supported her with her arms. "Mother, why don''t you let Bingwene over to greet you? The guests would be distracted."

    Without sparing her a nce, the olddy immediately childed her with a slight frown on her wrinkled face. "You should have mentioned it before I stood up. What would the guests think if I go back to my seat after taking a few steps forward?"

    In essence, there was no how she would agree to return to her seat, not after standing up. Her actions couldn''t seem stupid in the eyes of her guests.

    Jian Cuifen nodded in understanding before leading her away as the members of the family sitting in the same round table stared ahead in curiousity.

    "Why is mother leaving?" Fang Huiqing whispered to his second brother who was sitting next to him.

    Smiling to himself, the man replied simply, "Your son is here."

    "Was that the reason for all this fuss?" Fang Huiqing asked with a slight frown as his gazended to his mother and wife''s back.

    Retracting his gaze from their mother, his third brother replied, "That''s her favourite grandson. Also, try to smile before you reveal the internal feud you have with your son to the public."

    At that reminder, he snorted and looked away. At least he wasn''t staring at the path the olddy left to anymore.

    Luckily, the attention directed at the peopleing into the hall wasn''t much as some of the guests were watching and even dancing to the traditional music being yed by the live band.

    Stepping into the hall, Zhang Liling''s eyes glistened with excitement as her gaze immediately darted around.

    "This is indeed a big party." She mutted to herself in recognition.

    Mr. Fang on the other hand, tried to mask the annoyance and irritation already threatening to blow up on his face.

    Without a second thought, he lowered his head and tilted it to the side.

    "Don''t leave me side." He said to the woman by his side in a low tone.

    Not quite understandind the reason for that order, Zhang Liling nodded before moving her gaze ahead.

    Staring ahead, Chuanli caught sight of the olddying forward with the help of Fang Bingwen''s mother and his lips curled upwards.

    "Bingwen, it looks like your grandma has been on tiptoes because of you." He said with a knowing smile as all of them immediately saw the olddying towards them with a wild smile on her ahead face.

    "She really is impatient." Mr. Fang said as his fingers around Zhang Liling''s hand tightened a little.

    Tilting his head a bit to the side, he pointed out to Zhang Liling. "The womening toward us are my mother and my grandmother. There is no need to be afraid of them."

    Then taking a second to exhale, he added, "Their hearts are very soft."<sub> </sub>

    He needed tofor her little heart to ease out any form of nervousness from her body, and it did work because Zhang Liling caressed the back of his hand with her four fingers.

    "Thank you." Her soft voice uttered.

    Before any form of conversation could be said anymore, the two women stopped in front of them, smiling from ear to ear.

    "Wenwen," Old Lady Fang called out with an endearing smile as she reached out to hug her grandson after ncing briefly at Zhang Liling.

    Mr. Fang looked like he was forced into the hug, but returned it anyways and ended it as soon as possible.

    "Happy birthday, grandma." Fang Bingwen wished her before turning to his mother to greet her.

    "Good evening, Mum."

    "Wee home, Bingwen." Jian Cuifen replied with a happy smile that reached her eyes.

    She looked very happy to her son.

    Chuanli and Bolin quickly greeted them before excusing themselves after receiving a simple weing response.

    ncing at Zhang Liling, the olddy asked, directing a question to her grandson.

    "Wenwen, who is this pretty girl beside you, won''t you introduce us?" She asked before finally moving her warm smile to his face.

    There was quite a huge difference in height between her and Fang Bingwen, and this forced the olddy to raise her head just to stare at his face.

    Zhang Liling''s heart raced in her chest with the two women staring at her with smiles on their faces, but she still managed to sh them a sweet smile while waiting for Fang Bingwen to formally introduce her to them.

    It couldn''t be helped that she was a little nervous being the centre of attention even though the women seemed to like her at first nce.

    Mr. Fang who was still holding onto her hand, seemed to notice and immediately gave her hand a gentle squeeze that didn''t escape his mother''s eyes, before introducing her to them.

    "Grandma, you have been pestering me about my girlfriend, here she is. Her name is Zhang Liling."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling bowed respectfully to the olddy and greeted sweetly. "Hello, Grandma Fang."

    "Hahaha..." A soft chuckle escaped the old Lady''s lips as she stared at Zhang Liling''s smiling face.

    "Such a polite young woman." Her soft voice echoed in their ears amidst the music ying in the background.

    ''Polite untill you meet her other side. Stubbornness.'' Mr. Fang said voicelessly as his gaze briefly passed the little woman by his side.

    Inwardly, he was telling his grandmother to hold on until she saw the other side of the woman she just used the word ''polite'' on.

    When that timees, she would definitely know if she had been wrong today or not.

 Chapter 230 A Familiar Face

    "Bingwen, your girlfriend is beautiful." Jian Cuifenment ed from the side as she watched Zhang Liling closely.

    Zhang Liling felt a tug in her heart as the feeling of being loved and recognized, overwhelmed her.

    "Thank you, Aunty." She said with all smiles.

    Turning to his olddy, Fang Bingwen announced. "Grandma, Liling bought gifts for you and everyone." He said pointing at the Butler and the servants standing some distance away from them.

    "That looks like a lot." The Old Lady said in surprise as she gaped at the bags in their hands before retracting her gaze to stare at Zhang Liling.

    "Thank you for the gifts, I will do well to use them." She said as she slowly reached out to take Zhang Liling''s hand.

    Instinctively, Mr. Fang released her hand so she would be able to hold the olddy.

    Zhang Liling just smiled at the olddy without saying anything, while at the same time allowing her to hold her hands.

    Jian Cuifen whose hands were now free, went over to her son''s side to chide him dearly.

    "How could you stand by the side and watch your girlfriend spend so much money of gifts for us?"

    ncing briefly at the little woman who was all smiles as his grandmother took her hand, he replied his mother.

    "I stopped her otherwise, a truck would have brought the gifts over."

    The olddy turned to the Butler and instructed them happily. "Send the gifts from my future grand daughter-inw straight to my bedroom."

    "Yes, Old Lady Fang." The Butler and the servants said with a small bow before immediately turning to leave.

    ''Did she just refer to me as her future grand daughter-inw?'' Zhang Liling stared eye-wide at the olddy.

    Her eyes, nearly popping out front their sockets in shock.

    ''Does this mean that I have been epted? Just like that?''

    So many thoughts were shing through her mind speedily. She still couldn''t believe the scene that just yed out now if not for the word in the old Lady''s voice still echoing in her ears.

    She was expecting to spend some time with the Fang family and take some time to know them before they would fully ept her.

    But hearing the verdict from the Old Lady, she felt as if her life was running in a smoothne.

    "Let''s not stand here any longer,e, we reserved seats for you two at the main table." Jian Cuifen said with all smiles as she gestured to them before going back to take the Old Lady''s hands.

    As soon as the two women turned to leave, Zhang Liling shifted back to Mr. Fang''s side with a proud smile on her face.

    "It looks like you won them over quicker than I thought." Fang Bingwen said immediately reaching for her hand before leading her behind his mother and grandmother.

    Staring ahead, she said with a smile, "It''s remaining the men in your household."

    A soft sigh escaped from his lips. "Good luck with that."<sub> </sub>

    As they walked ahead, some of the guests began to notice them and soon, soft whispers started spreading.

    "It feels nice to be the centre of attention." Zhang Liling whispered to him.

    "I know because your other name ''trouble'' seems tomand so much attention each time you decide to put on the armour." Fang Bingwen replied.

    Tang Ei whose attention was suddenly caught by the couple, smiled as the corners of his lips curled in a smirk.

    "It looks like Fang Bingwen has found himself a woman." He said, failing to catch a proper glimpse at the woman he was holding unto as it was toote.

    Immediately those words reached Zhang Xiaoling''s ears, she tore her gaze away from the live band singing thief souls out as her heart constricted in her chest.

    Quickly, her eyes darted around until she found the familiar figure if the man that still made her heart throb. But then, her eyesnded on the woman beside him as she felt her heart ache, and her eyes get blurry.

    As her eyesnded on the woman beside him, she managed to catch a glimpse of her side profile which seemed oddly famr to her, but before she could have a proper look, Fang Bingwen''s tall physique block herpletely out of her sight.

    "He came with a woman?" Her quivering lips uttered as she stared at his figure in shock.

    ncing at his wife, slowly, the smile on his face turned down a bit.

    "Do you not have any shame? Why do you look so shocked to see him with a woman?" He whispered in a voiceonky the two of them could here as there other people sitting at the same table with them.

    Those words seemed strong enough to pull her back from her trance. Shifting her gaze to him, she felt insulted.

    Without waiting to hear any response from her, he continued.

    "Were you expecting him to remain single all his life?"

    Unable to hold her anger due to his suggestive words even though he was right, she blurted out sharply, almost attracting the attention of their seat mates to themselves.

    "Look around, am I the only person in this room with a look of surprise on my face?"

    She refused to be insulted and teased by him. It''s not like she was the only person with the same thoughts, so why making her feel like she wasmitting a crime?

    There was a few seconds of silence between them as they both stared at each other annoyedly.

    Atst, Tang Ei broke the silence.

    "It looks like I have yed enough with you, which has clouded your brain from thinking properly." He said and then threw his face away with a straight gaze on the Fang Family''s table.

    Since they both got married, he has never gone extreme with his taunting like any normal husband would do.

    No man would tolerate his wife loving another man and remain quiet, no matter the circumstances surrounding their union.

    Given Tang Ei''s previous temper, he should have dealt with Zhang Xiaoling since a long time ago, but it looks like time was notte to still y his role proper.

 Chapter 231 Identity

    When Olddy Fang and Jian Cuifen arrived at their table, they immediately introduced Zhang Liling to the rest of their family members.

    Gesturing toward Her grandson, the olddy happily introduced Zhang Liling with a smile that reached her eyes.

    "This is Wenwen''s girlfriend, Zhang Liling."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling bowed and greeted the people that had their curious gazes on her as the corners of her lips only moved slightly.

    She didn''t dare to smile so cheerfully as she had done with the olddy and her daughter-inw, or she would be seen as an ordinary woman trying to fawn over them.

    Old Mr. Fang smiled at Zhang Liling immediately he saw her and gestured for her to sit before shifting his gaze to his grandson.

    "Bingwen, you finally showed up with a woman by your side today."

    Mr. Fang pulled out an empty chair and waited patiently till Zhang Liling had satfortably before pulling the one next to her to sit.

    ncing briefly at his father who had some sort of a keen gaze on the woman beside him, he faced his grandfather amidst the curious gazes from the rest of his family members.

    His cousins were not sitting at the same table as the elders, and it seemed like the olddy had personally reserved this extra chairs just for him and the woman he would being with.

    This just showed how invested she was with his matter.

    "Grandfather, I know that you also did not believe me. And before I will start getting some funny questions, let me exin something." He said, ncing at his uncles before continuing.

    He knew that they were impatient and couldn''t wait to ask him so many questions that could easily put him off hence, he chose to exin something important to them first.

    With their gazes on them, he said, "Liling and I have been dating for a year now. I didn''t employ someone to pretend to be my girlfriend."

    As soon as he said that, a soft chuckle escaped from his second uncle''s lips.

    Staring at him with eyes looking like they were about to close, he said. "Bingwen, you are funny. Who said any of us would have that kind of thoughts. We are only surprised that you finally agreed to date."

    Sitting up properly, he continued as his gaze turned curious.

    "Do you mind telling us what made you to change your mind in the first ce?"

    He apart from the others, had even almost concluded that Fang Bingwen may never settle down and be only interested with business matters.

    But here he was today, with a woman whom he imed to be his girlfriend. He was only curious to know what kind of charm that was used on him.

    "I found the right person. Would that do?" He retorted before finally turning his gaze away.

    Something shifted in his third uncle''s eyes, and he was about to ask a question when Fang Huiqing beat him to it.

    Gazing at Zhang Liling, he asked with a small smile ying at the corner of his lips as he tried to appear less strict.

    "Zhang Liling, is it?"

    Instinctively, Zhang Liling turned her gaze to him as her lips curled. "Yes."<sub> </sub>

    Before any more words could be exchanged, Fang Bingwen hurriedly introduced her to everyone at the table.

    "Liling, this is my grandfather, the head of the Fang family... This is my Father, Fang Huiqing and beside him is my second uncle, Fang... This is my third uncle..."

    After introducing them, he also went ahead to introduce their wives who were equally sitting at the same table as them.

    "...you already know my grandmother and mother." He said turning to nced at the two women bound by their arms.

    Again, Zhang Liling nodded respectfully to all the elders at the table, while wondering were the younger generation of the Fang family went to.

    Fortunately, Jian Cuifen was there to exin things to her.

    Pointing at another bigger rounder table next to them, she exined. "Bingwen''s cousin''s are sitting over there."

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s gaze wandered off to the table next to them, and was taken aback by the young men and women staring at her with curiousity.

    She hadn''t expected that some people would still have their eyes on her, and some gazes were filled with malicious intent which she probably didn''t know about.

    Nodding calmly at them, she quickly threw her gaze away without waiting to see if they would return her greeting politely, or ignore her.

    Maybe she was even scared of their response, hence, she returned her gaze back to the table she was sitting.

    "Liling, which Zhang family are you from?" Old Lady Fang asked with a kind smile. She seems to very much interested in her grandson''s little girlfriend.

    She didn''t know that this would be kind of woman Fang Bingwen would like, given his personality.

    While staring intently at her, the olddy could tell that she was very active which caused her to be a little surprised, but she didn''t let it show on her face.

    Being asked a question, Zhang Liling stole a nce at the man beside her before clearing her throat.

    Her Zhang family was a bit messy, and now that she was suddenly asked this question, she had no choice but to air her family''s dirtyundry outside.

    As for what their reaction would be, she would just sit and wait for it.

    Since Mr. Fang wasn''t helping her to speak up, that means he was not against her telling the truth and with that courage, she spoke up as the brightness in her eyes dimmed.

    "I am from the Zhang Family in S City. My father is Zhang Renshu."

    Immediately she revealed that, time seemed to stop as there was a look of surprise and familiarity in everyone''s eyes.

    Zhang Liling did not miss this opportunity to look out for their reaction.

    Her mind could recall her mother''s words when she was telling her about being close to the Fang family before she left for Paris.

    "So this is true." Given their reactions, she thought so.

 Chapter 232 Shock

    In that moment of silence that had almost turned awkward with no one speaking, Fang Huiqing broke the silence.

    Staring straight at the young woman sitting beside his son, he asked thoughtfully. "Are you Song Jujing''s daughter?"

    As soon as he asked that question, something seemed to have sparked in the old Lady''s mind as the same shed past Jian Cuifen''s eyes.

    "Are you Jujing''s daughter?" The olddy asked with a surprise filled smile while staring intently at Zhang Liling.

    "Yes, Song Jujing is my mother." Zhang Liling admitted with a smile.

    She could see and feel how familiar her mother was with the Fang family from the looks on their faces. And this only made her more curious.

    ''Was mum a family friend? Things can''t be as simple as that right?'' she thought to herself.

    As soon as Zhang Liling admitted to being her mother''s daughter, the elders of the Fang Family became rxed and immediately recognized her while throwing several questions at her.

    "So you are that Zhang Liling known as Zhang Renshu''s daughter?"

    "You are really Song Jujing''s daughter? You really do look like her."

    "Where is your mother now? Is she still in Paris?"

    "How has she been?"

    With the questions trooping in, Zhang Liling was very efficient by keeping up with the responses. And the more she spoke, the more amazed the elders got.

    The only people quiet at the table were Fang Bingwen and his two Aunt inws who did not know Song Jujing was close to the family before they were married in.

    As much as Zhang Liling was tempted to ask how they family knee her mother, she refrained from doing that as it didn''t look right to her.

    She thought that with the Fang family not saying anything about her Zhang family''s messy situation, or her mother giving birth to her outside of wedlock.

    They seem to have any problems with that, which forced her to sigh in relief and keep her curiousity outside her reach.

    ncing at Mr. Fang from the corner of her eyes, she felt her heart flutter a bit. It was now that she was discovering the resosn he didn''t try to speak for her.

    His family was truly different. They were not judgemental of a person''s family background.

    Fang Bingwen who brought the rim of a ss to his lips to drink water from it, felt her gazeon him and tilted his head to aside and raised a questioning brow.

    Zhang Liling was a little embarrassed because she could feel the heated gazesfrom the elders at the table.

    Realizing that they had seen that little exchange between her and Fang Bingwen, she felt her cheeks burn as she hurriedly turned away.

    Old Lady Fang continued with her interrogation, leaving family matters aside.

    She inquired of the schools she had attended and what level she was at.

    Having received that reply, she jumped into the next important question.

    "Liling, how old are you?"

    "I''m 23 years." Zhang Liling replied with a patch of red on her cheeks.

    She could directly guess the reason the olddy had asked for her age, and the image in her head immediately came to manifestation the next moment.

    "You are very young." Jian Cuifen was smitten by surprise as she stared keenly at her face.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling knew there reaction had something to do with the age gap between she and Fang Bingwen.

    She was not surprised. Ten to eleven years age gap, was a little too much but honestly, she did not mind as long as she loved her partner.

    "I don''t think there is anything wrong with their age difference as long as they love each other." Old Mr. Fang said in agreement with a casual smile on his face.

    He too, gave a number to his wife, hence age was not a barrier to him when two people got together. The most important thing to him, was love.

    If they loved each other, then nothing else mattered.

    Old Lady Fang agreed with her husband and nced at Fang Bingwen who was currently in his own world.

    "Wenwen, you have to take care of Liling."

    "Don''t bully her." She added as her gaze briefly rested on Zhang Liling.

    Zhang Liling was evenloped in a warm feeling at the warm reception of the Fang family members. Staring at Mr. Fang, she could see how very weed she was into his family and couldn''t wait for the next step in their rtionship.

    Throughout out the time Zhang Liling took a seat at that table, there was no akward moment between her and the members of the Fang Family. If none of them was engaging her in a conversation, then she would be chatting quietly with Fang Bingwen at the side, unaware of how many hard stares were directed at her.

    So many young women who hade for the benefit of getting introduced to Fang Bingwen, all felt like staring a hole into her back, and the worst part of it all, was they she was oblivious to it.

    There was a bright smile on her face that ended up infuriating most of thedies that managed to catch a glimpse of her face.

    An hourter, it was time for the olddy to cut her cake, and make a toast with the guests.

    As the MC called the olddy to the stage, the elders of the Fang family stood up and followed her.

    Watching his cousins at the other table also standing up and walking to the stage, Zhang Liling nudged Mr. Fang''s shoulder.

    "Are you not going? Your entire family is there." She said with raised brows.

    Fang Bingwen looked ahead with disinterest. "My face must not appear in the family picture."

    "What?" Zhang Liling eximed softly as her brows furrowed.

    She knew he did not like things like this, but this was a family something, was he being serious when he said he wasn''t going anywhere.

    Unable to bear his face missing in that Group family photo, she leaned into him without warning, forcing to his lean away with a look of surprise on his face.

    "What are you doing?" He asked.

    "If you don''t go, I will really kiss you in front of everybody so this party end on time. Don''t bother thinking that I am joking, because deep down your heart, you know I can do it." She threatened confidently.

    Fang Bingwen just stared at her wordless. Was she a lunatic?

    "Go." Zhang Liling urged while nodding toward the stage.

    Mr. Fang red at her, but ended up at the stage to join his family to cut the 5-tier birthday cake.

    After cutting the cake, it was time to toast, so everyone stood to their feet with their wine in hand while facing the stage with smiles on their faces.

    As soon as Zhang Liling stood with her ss of wine in hand, Zhang Xiaoling whose gaze has been following her, immediately caught sight of her face because if her position.

    Instantly, her eyes widened in shock as her quivering lips uttered without warning. "Z-Zhang L-Liling?"

 Chapter 233 Pretence

    Zhang Xiaoling forgot where she was and failed to control her facial expression due to the shock

    At first, she thought that she must have been mistaken with the image her eyes captured given the distance.

    But when the guests moved out to toast with the members of the Fang family, she also moved out with her husband, and that was when she saw the face of the young woman with a familiar side line clearly.

    That was her stepsister Zhang Liling, and there was no doubt about it.

    At that realization, Zhang Xiaoling''s feet froze in her steps as she felt her heart beate to a stop.

    The chattering voices from the people around her seemed to fade into the distance as she stared at the little woman wide-eyed.

    ''That''s Zhang Liling? S-She is Mr. Fang''s girlfriend? No this can''t be! There must be a mistake somewhere.''

    ''Mr. Fang can never date someone that was once his student. It''s not possible.''

    With her mind saying something else while her heart remained in fear because of the truth she was consciously trying to avoid, she became even more determined and concluded their rtionship in her head.

    Tang Ei was smiling from ear to ear while stepping forward when he noticed that the woman walking beside him had stopped.

    He was forced to stop in his steps and tilt his head to the side and called for her.

    "Xiaoling."

    "Xiaoling."

    The second time he called out to her, while forcing a smile, he saw her jolt back to consciousness.

    Realizing that she had spaced out in the middle of the room, Zhang Xiaoling hurriedly collected her acts together before continuing in her steps with a forced smile that was more uglier than a cry.

    As soon as she got back to his side, she heard him ask as they walked toward the Fang Family''s table together.

    "What were you thinking about?"

    "Nothing that concerns you." She whispered back and then silence ensued between them till the rest of their journey.

    At the Fang family''s table, a few guests crowded them while exchanging pleasantries and clinking nces with them.

    Fortunately, none was crazy enough to spend more than a minute there. As long as they were done clinking their sses they would turn around and leave, giving a chance to the others as well.

    Zhang Liling was there whispering something to the man that lowered his height just so she could reach his ear.

    A small smile graced her lips unaware of the stares hitting her back or maybe she felt them, but didn''t think there was a need to react to them.

    She didn''t need a anything that would keep her on her toes. Her peace of mind was very important.

    Just as Mr. Fang was saying something to her, Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei appeared at their table and first clinked sses with the olddy before going into the remaining members of the Fang family.

    Since no one mentioned anything about Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Liling''s rtionship, it was obvious that no one recognized her even after Tang Ei briefly instroduced her as his wife.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Xiaoling just stood by his side and let him do the talking, but her gaze was staring intently at someone as her fingers clenched the side of dress with her ss of Champagne in her right hand.

    Seeing how close they were, she felt her heart wringing out blood. ''Are they really together?''

    ''This is not a show?''

    She was still finding it hard to believe her eyes and yet doubt filled her mind again even in the midst of the ring truth.

    It''s not like she was blind, was she?

    Finally unable to bear how close they both were, she didn''t wait for Tang Ei to finish exchanging pleasantries with the men of the Fang Family before going over the table to the other side.

    Approaching Zhang Liling''s side, she fixed the most pleasant smile on her face and called out to the man while raising her ss to him, "Mr. Fang,"

    Because the little woman was backing her, she took it to advantage to pretend as if Fang Bingwen was the only one she could see at the moment.

    Hearing her voice and seeing her figure, Fang Bingwen immediately looked up and recognized her and politely raised his ss to her.

    Receiving his response, Zhang Xiaoling forgot about her heart aches in that brief moment and hurriedly moved her ss forward to clink sses with him, before slowly bringing the rim to her mouth.

    Just as her lips were about to touch the sweet-scented wine, she heard Zhang Liling call out to her, and that was the end of her ever drinking from her ss.

    Zhang Liling who propped herself with her left arm, heard the feminine voice and saw the glint that changed in Mr. Fang''s eyes as he raised his ss to toast to the woman.

    Wondering the woman who seemed like she knew her man so well, she tilted her head to side only to see her stepsister standing beside her with a delicate smile on her face.

    ''Huh?''

    Seeing Zhang Xiaoling standing there reminded her of her expectations earlier when she had stepped into the hall.

    She had been thinking about the possibility of her Zhang family being in attendance, but as soon as she took a seat at the Fang Family''s table, she forgot all about everything.

    Seeing her sister reminded her of them, but seeing her smiling so brightly just because of clinking sses with her man, stirred a different kind of emotion in her.

    "Zhang Xiaoling," she called out softly in a voice that only she and Fang Bingwen could hear.

    There were still other guests surrounding their table, so her voice couldn''t be any louder than this.

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling''s fingers paused in midair as her gaze slowly shifted to her face.

    Now, she could no longer pretend that she hadn''t see her.

    Instantly, she switched into character as she lowered her ss. Her eyes shing in shock as she took a step back.

    "Zhang Liling?" She called out a tone higher, instantly attracting a few attention from the members of the Fang Family and the few guests that surrounded them.

 Chapter 234 Query

    Zhang Liling was speechless. She could already feel the exaggeration from her tone.

    Normally, Zhang Xiaoling wouldn''t even bother acknowledging her presence in public, But now that she was doing so, she had to attract attention to them.

    It was very obvious to her that she was ying some sort of games with her.

    Thinking about the reason she was acting out, Zhang Liling nced at herself before her gaze shifted to the man beside her and slowly moved the members of the Fang family.

    A ''ding'' sound went off in her head as she finally got her answers.

    Zhang Xiaoling was acknowledging her and attracting attention to herself only because of the Fang family.

    ''Does she want to be acknowledged y the Fang Family too?''

    ''What is the reason she was seeking notice for?''

    Tang Ei also nced over just like a few other guests and was surprised to see that Zhang Liling was the woman in Fang Bingwen''spany.

    He knew that Zhang Liling was the second daughter of the Zhang Family but also the real heiress of the Zhang Group.

    And this was the first time he was seeing her in public.

    A year ago, he heard that she had disappeared but seeing that no one in the Zhang Family was making any effort to find her, he just thought that it was not a serious matter.

    Seeing the youngdy sitting at the same table with the Fang family, and who happens to be Fang Bingwen''s girlfriend, he was indeed stunned.

    Zhang Liling who was still speechless, thought of how to responding to the silly stepsister of hers before she causes moremotion.

    Although she has never seen Zhang Xiaoling act like that, but she was her mother''s daughter so obviously, she wouldn''t be herself if she didn''t do anything.

    But before words could form in her mind, she heard her stepsister ask a ridiculous question.

    "Zhang Liling, is this really you?"

    <o>,m ''I knew it.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself. She wasn''t wrong after all.</o>

    And as if that wasn''t enough attraction to the already wandering minds of the Fang Family members and the guests leaving so that there would be room for others toe and toast as well, Zhang Xiaoling continued.

    "Where have you been for the past one year? We have been worried about you since you moved out of the house and ceased to return home."

    "Huh?"

    "..."

    "??"

    Heads turned at Zhang Xiaoling''s promation and looking at that worried look on her face, they believed her immediately.

    ''Zhang Liling left the Zhang Family and had not set foot there since?''

    ''Where has she been then?''

    ''Why did she leave?''

    ''Did they Zhang Family look for her?''

    ''Perharps, was she living with Bingwen?''<sub> </sub>

    The ss Fang Bingwen was holding in his hand paused before he slowly put it down.

    Raising his head, he nced at Zhang Xiaoling''s way.

    ''What stunt is this woman trying to pull?'' He thought as his brows slowly furrowed.

    Whether she was aware of Song Jujing having cancer or not, still, it was wrong of her to give ideas about their family matter in public.

    And she didn''t even look one bit bothered by it.

    If this was not the Fang Family''s party, Zhang Liling would have given Zhang Xiaoling a piece of her mind.

    What sort of nonsensical query was that?

    But because she had a reputation to maintain as Mr. Fang''s girlfriend and also this was her first time she was officially being introduced to the members of the Fang family, she decided to control her temper.

    She was not going to let that dimwit of a stepsister bring out her vulgar side.

    Even Tang Ei felt that somethinf was wrong with his wife, but it was not long before he discovered what she was trying to do and immediately, his gaze turned dark.

    It was very clear that she was trying to embarrass Zhang Liling and let people think otherwise of her. In summary, she was trying to ruin her stepsister''s reputation because she was jealous after seeing her with Fang Bingwen.

    Feeling the attention on them, and probably guessing the thoughts of the people around them to what she had said, she smiled inwardly at the effects of her words and felt the need to continue.

    But just as her lips parted, Zhang Liling beat her to it.

    "Don''t you know the reason my mother came down to City S to help me move?" Zhang Liling asked while gazing at her like she was a fool.

    In one sentence, she had confirmed that she had indeed moved out of the Zhang house, but also proved that her moving away was official as her mother hade over.

    Now the Fang Family and the few guests that stayed back to hear the rest of the story, were already wondering the big matter and reason behind her moving out of the house.

    Not expecting her to find a countermeasure so soon, Zhang Xiaoling was taken aback.

    "W-Well, I-I..." she stammered, not knowing exactly what to reply.

    She was tongue-tied because of theck of time to actually think of a reasonable response to give.

    Paying her no heed, Zhang Liling continued without batting an eye.

    "In case you have forgotten, I ran away because I was afraid of my life after Dad decided on picking a sessor between me and Mingyu."

    Pretending as if she didn''t just divulge a family secret, she added, "Anyway, I don''t like these messy troubles. But as for me telling you what I have been upto since thest year, I don''t think I owe you that."

    Zhang Liling said a lot more casually towards the end if her statement.

    Actually, she could have just stated that she returned to Paris to take care of her mother because of the cancer, but she stopped herself as she had a reason for keeping it to herself for the time being.

    If she had revealed her mother''s predicament there and now, the effect would have been hight, becwsus everyone would be wondering how her mother suffered something serious yet no one from the Zhang family knew about it.

    Zhang Xiaoling would have been more embarrassed than she was at the moment, but Zhang Liling had her own thoughts.

    Still, everyone was able to understand something import, and that was the fact that Shi Wenqian was obviously not treating Zhang Liling well. And that Zhang Liling was scared she would do something to her hence, she stepped down from her ce and moved out just to stay out of trouble.

 Chapter 235 Tempted To Fight

    On seeing the unnecessary attention his wife had garnered to herself plus the embarrassment, Tan Ei took it upon himself to drag her out from there.

    Walking towards her, the corner of his lips moved up a bit, forming a smile, but his eyes remained cold.

    The fake smile was just a formality because of their

    "Xiaoling, what are you doing?" His gentle voice asked as he walked over to her side, pretending to be unaware of the humiliation hovering over her.

    Zhang Xiaoling turned her gaze to him, and seeing the anger in his eyes, she panicked within her, but quickly tried to savage the situation which turned out worse.

    "Liling, you are thinking too much. My mother would never hurt you. Well, juste back to visit if you can. It''s not good to disturb other people."

    While making herst statement, she nced at Fang Bingwen, hinting at something obvious.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s finger on the table clenched in a fist as her brows furrowed.

    With her gaze narrowing at the crazy woman before her, she felt her blood boil, and unable to hold her emotion she tried to stand up, but Fang Bingwen stopped her by holding her arm.

    Her attention was immediately distracted as she turned to look at the man holding her with a calm expression on his face.

    Raising a questioning brow at him, she tried to shrug her arm away from his food as it was itching to hit someone, but he didn''t relent.

    ''Would you just let me settle a score with her.'' She said to herself as her brows furrowed further.

    Zhang Liling had forgotten where she was and if Mr. Fang did not hold her back, she would have shown her crazy side to everyone.

    Who did she want to embarrass? Well he would not let her do they as long as he was with her.

    Thankfully, Tang Ei came and pulled Zhang Xiaoling away.

    While holding her hand, he bowed while apologizing to the Fang Family.

    "I''m sorry, but it looks like my wife has had a little too much to drink."

    Quickly, he pulled her hand to leave, and she followed him without resisting.

    "Mr. Fang, you should have allowed me to hit her at least once." Zhang Liling said in a low tone that only them could here while staring at Zhang Xiaoling ssbsue got pulled away.

    There was a tinge of regret in her tone as her lips protruded a little.

    Fang Bingwen released her hand and leaned into the table before asking in a calm tone.

    "Should I have let you ruin my grandmother''s party and embarrass me at the same time?"

    Hearing his questions, Zhang Liling felt a little bitter and immediately turned to look at him as the guests gathered around them left with another seting up.

    "Are you only interested in yourself? Didn''t you hear her suggestive words? We haven''t even done anything yet. I don''t like someone using me of what I am yet to do."

    Mr. Fang stared wordlessly at her not knowing what to say.

    There were moments when he felt like pocketing her so she wouldn''t have the chance to exhibit her stubbornness, and today was a part of it.

    Just what in the world goes on in her mind all day?<sub> </sub>

    Speechless at her actions, he threw his face away while saying in a low tone. "Don''t pick up a fight in public."

    He would wait for another opportunity before telling her the consequences of fighting in public. He would not ept that wild behaviour.

    Finally when the guests stoppeding for a toast as the event moved on, Jian Cuifen nced at Zhang Liling to ask with a surprise glint shing past her eyes.

    "Liling, that Lady that cane over here to cause amotion is your stepsister?"

    As soon as she asked that question, the other members of the Fang Family immediately turned to nced her way withh interest.

    Seeing the way Zhang Xiaoling had acted while trying to embarrass, they really wanted to know her origin.

    Without thinking it twice, Zhang Liling answered her question immediately.

    "Yes Aunty, she is my stepsister, Zhang Xiaoling"

    Since Zhang Xiaoling had already started to ruin her reputation in public, Zhang Liling would make sure to be her best personal assistant.

    "If she is your sister, why was she trying to embarrass you?" Old Lady Fang asked with furrowed brows.

    The olddy seemed to have been disturbed by Zhang Xiaoling''s actions and her old eyes could tell her petty acts.

    "I don''t know. I have been in Paris since the past year, but it looks like she has changed a bit." Zhang Liling shrugged.

    Whatever thstw as up with her stepsister, she didn''t think there was a need to concern herself with it.

    If she thought about it, she knew that she wouldn''t be able to resist killing her.

    She could already get some ideas with the way she came over to clink nces with Mr. Fang, plus the look she gave him at the end of her statement.

    A long sigh escaped the old Lady''s lips. Feeling pity for Zhang Liling, she took her hand in hers and patted it lightly.

    "It''s good that you moved out. That Shi Wenqian is no good and anything from her will surely be the same."

    Hearung theforting tone of the olddy, a smile finally appeared on Zhang Liling''s face.

    As soon as Tnag Ei pulled Zhang Xiaoling back to their table, he used up every atom of self-respect in him to stop himself fromshing out on her right there.

    What kind of embarrassment did she just bring to his family because of jealousy.

    Unfortunately because of other guests at their table, he couldn''t even show his deep annoynace on his face talk more of scolding her a bit.

    The difort he felt in his heart was so deep that he didn''t even bother to stay till the end of the party. He needed a release or he would go crazy in the middle of the party, so he leaned over and whispered with a mixture of anger and frustration in his tone.

    "I''m leaving right away. If you want you can follow me but if you don''t want to do that, fine. I believe that you can always find your way home."

    As soon as he finished making that statement while hiding the displeasure contoured on his face, he turned to the other guests with a smile and said his farewell before standing up to leave.

    Normally, he would have gone to the Fang Family''s table to big his farewell, but he couldn''t, not after the littlemotion Zhang Xiaoling brought.

 Chapter 236 Staying Over

    Seeing that her husband was seriously going to leave her behind, Zhang Xiaoling who was feeling a bit nervous from the extreme action she took, hurriedly got up and turned to leave after nodding at the guests at their table.

    She had realized that she had gone too far with her jealousy and stepped out of line only when she was pulled away.

    Deep down her heart, she was seriously regretting her action, but the deed has been done. There was no use crying over split milk.

    At the car park, Tang Ei got into the car and told the driver to start the car, without waiting for Zhang Xiaoling to arrive first.

    When he was leaving the hall, he didn''t even bother to turn and see if she was following him because he didn''t care.

    Now with his instruction the chauffeur ignited the car''s engine and had already clutched on the brake pedal and was about to change from park to reverse when they both saw Zhang Xiaoling''s figure rushing towards them while shouting for Tan Ei to stop.

    She gathered the length of her gown in one hand while the other held unto her purse while walking as fast as she could with furrowed brows.

    Fortunately, Tang Ei was not so heartless as to leave her when she had almost reached their car, so the driver had to wait till she got in before he continued to drive away from the car park and towards the gate.

    If it was before, Zhang Xiaoling would haveined about making her to run on heels, but she didn''t have any mouth to say anything.

    Although she was guilty for embarrassing herself, she was not even sorry to him. But because she didn''t want him to belittle her in the driver''s presence, she shut her mouth and three her face to the other side while panting heavily.

    Back at the Fang Family''s hall, the party went on until it came to an end half an hourter.

    But before it ended, Zhang Liling ate every food Mr. Fang put in her te.

    As long as he pointed at the food and asked if she wanted to it, he would immediately put it on her te if she gave a positive response.

    As for the sweet deserts, he let her point at the ones she wanted to eat.

    Without knowing that the olddy was watching her with a smile, Zhang Liling ate with satisfaction on her face.

    After the party hade to an end, Fang Bingwen asked for them to leave, but he was stopped by his olddy.

    "Wenwen, you can''t return to S city today." Old Lady Fang said while staring straight at him.

    Thinking that it had something to do with the distance as it was already dark, Mr. Fang quickly exined, "Grandma, there is still time to go back to S city, it''s not up to an hour drive, so there is no need to worry."

    "Who is talking about the security?" Jian Cuifen said with a smile while staring at him. And seeing the confusion on his face, she exined.

    "Your grandmother is punishing you for arriving at her party half an hourte. Just stay back."

    There was a look of surprise on Zhang Liling''s face as she stole a quick nce at the man beside her.<sub> </sub>

    She didn''t seem to understand this kind of punishment of him staying back at the family house because he arrivedte.

    That was no punishment at all, but thinking of the possibility of Mr. Fang not returning home often given how close the two cities were, she could somehow understand.

    Mr. Fang refused to stay back, but after much insistence from the olddy, and his grandfather, he relented.

    At the moment, he looked like someone owed him a billion dors.

    With knitted brows and the corner of lips turning downwards, he nced at Zhang Liling before fixing his gaze back to his grandmother.

    "Wait, I will tell Chuanli and Bolin to tell her back." He said and was about getting off his seat when the olddy stopped him again.

    "Where are you going? Who said you could Liling back?" She asked with a naughty idea brewing in her old head.

    "You want her to stay back as well?" Fang Bingwen asked as the hands on the table slowly rxed, while his brows remained furrowed as a tinge of confusion shed across his eyes.

    Zhang Liling also looked at her side with a little surprise, but her heart was already swirling with a warm feeling.

    In her remind, she had already concluded on his she would endure being apart from Mr. Fang for the entire night up till the next day, but now that there was a chance for them to be in the same space, she could hardly contain her joy.

    "Why not? There is nothing wrong with it. You have made this Lady happy by bringing over a grand daughter-inw, of course I would want to spend time with her a bit."

    The Old Lady confirmed as smiling gaze shifted to Zhang Liling. Then taking her hand in hers, her brows arched as she asked gently.

    "Liling, do you mind staying over? Don''t be afraid, this olddy is not going to hurt you."

    Zhang Liling hurriedly waved her free hand as the corner of her lips curled.

    With eyes brewing with happiness, she replied, "Grandma, I am certainty not scared of you. I will be happy to stay only if you let me."

    "Good.. Good." The Old Lady eximed with a smile that reached her eyes while patting the back of her hand gently.

    ncing at the remaining members of the family with each having their own thoughts, she said to them, "Liling will spend the night here along with Wenwen."

    Just like they, the fate of the couple was sealed like a verdict from the Emperor.

    Mr. Fang could only let out a long sigh while gazing at the smiling face of the little woman beside him.

    ''She looks very happy.'' He observed before releasing another sigh.

 Chapter 237 Ridiculous

    When thest of the guests had left, the entire members of the Fang family, went into the main wing of the house, leaving the servants to tidy the hall out.

    Hand in hand, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang walked behind the olddy who has been chatting with them this whole time.

    "I know you two came unprepared, so I have asked the servants to take care of some little necessities. Juste to the sitting room to chat with me."

    The olddy was trying to buy the servants a little time to get their sleeping ce tidy and stock it up with some toiletries before they can go in to freshen up and sleep.

    Knowing this fact, Mr. Fang who didn''t want to talk about anything, had no choice but to tag along.

    Zhang Liling was more than happy to chat with the olddy after finding out that she was not difficult. She would dly chat with her more to get on her good side even though there was no need for it.

    Allowing his olddy to settle on the white sofa, Mr. Fang sat as he watched his little woman sit beside his olddy.

    "Grandma, you should have just gone straight to rest after a tiring day." He said with his gaze on her.

    "Am I that old that I can''t stand 2 hours of celebration? Or are you scared of something else?"

    While asking the second question, the olddy ced her hand at the back of Zhang Liling''s hand with the corners of her lips turning up in a knowing smile.

    She was teasing him as she kind of understood his worry. It''s not like she was going to swallow his girlfriend whole.

    He was just thinking too much.

    Zhang Liling smile amusedly in understanding while Mr. Fang chose to ignore her response and just sat there watching the both women.

    His olddy still had some energy left it seems. Because the others had all left to do one thing or the other if not retiring straight for the night.

    Shifting her smiling gaze to the woman sitting beside her on the two-sitter sofa, the olddy asked with interestedly.

    "Liling, how did you meet my Wenwen, you mentioned that you attended NYU."

    This very question brought back old memories to Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang, and instantly, the corners of the former''s lips stretched outwardly.

    Zhang Liling would never forget all the encounters she had with her professor Fang in school and both in his vi till they got close.

    Fang Bingwen did not lose out in the shbacka from their encounters.

    All the memories flooding back to his head were mainly scenes of of Zhang Liling''s outrageous actions, stubbornness and unrelentness.

    Coming out of his thoughts, he stared at her in disbelief.

    Why the sudden change of facial expression?

    Well that was because he suddenly couldn''t believe that he ended up with her, and kind of needed some rifications on the circumstances that led them to being with each other.

    If possible, Mr. Fang would want their life to be reyed from the very first day just so he could ascertain if his brain was functioning properly when he decided to date her.

    He just needed that rey...

    Sighs...

    Being asked about how she met man that was currently staring at her with a grumpy look as if he regretted their union, Zhang Liling quickly started to tell her story.<sub> </sub>

    From the beginning till the end of her story, the old Lady remained fascinated by it and didn''t interrupt her till the end.

    Olddy Fang pped her hands together with her eyes glistening about.

    Looking between the two of them, she said happily, "I didn''t know that you two would have this chemistry after all these kind of encounter. Moreso, I am very surprised at Wenwen for finding love this way. I really have to boast about your love story to my friends when next we meet."

    "Grandma!" Mr. Fang said with much authority in his tone as his brows drew clsoe together.

    He sounded clearly unhappy, and the olddy immediately stoped teasing him.

    "Fine... Fine! I won''t circte this story to outsiders."

    A soft chuckle escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips as she could feel Fang Bingwen''s embarrassment from where she was sitting.

    How could a man with so much pride like him, allow others to know the crazy way he found love?

    That was not possible.

    Mr. Fang breathed heavily as his back rxed on the backrest of the sofa. His riling emotions immediately calmed a bit.

    His live story was not a source of entertainment for others.

    Old Lady Fang''s eyes nced at the wall clock in the room before turning to say to them. "It''ste, the servants should have finished setting up the toiletries, you both can ahead."

    "?"

    "Grandma, you should ask a servant to send Liling to her room, so I can walk you back to yours." Fang Bingwen said while getting to his feet.

    Seeing him ready to be on the move, Zhang Liling helped the olddy up to her feet.

    Without a change in her facial expression, the olddy stared at him. "Who said you are spending the night in separate bedrooms?"

    Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s eyes widened in surprise as they stared at the olddy.

    They were going to spend the night in the same bedroom? What happened to being conservative, a trait found in old people?

    It looks like this olddy was very modernized

    Finding their sleeping arrangements outrageous, Mr. Fang quickly found his tongue.

    "Grandma, Liling and I are not married, so we can''t spend the night in one room."

    The olddy scoffed as she slowly released her hold on Zhang Liling.

    "You two can make me a grandchild while you are it, so that your wedding can hold sooner than expected." She said without batting an eye.

    "Grandma!" Mr. Fang called out frustratedly. He just couldn''t believe his olddy.

    What on earth was she suggesting?

    Everything was just so ridiculous.

 Chapter 238 First Time Taking The Lead

    The olddy waved her hand to silence him.

    "Wenwen, maybe next time, let''s find a way to exchange thoughts."

    To exin further what she meant, she continued while staring straight into his eyes, unafraid of his anger.

    "I know you are slow to love, and that surprised me that you are willing to settle down. But from the story, I know that Liling was the one that took a step forward and did most of the ground work just so your rtionship would work out. Wenwen, you should learn to take the lead."

    ? Actually, the olddy wasn''t putting them together in a room just so that something would happen between them.

    But she was trying to grow her grandson''s emotions and affections.

    After hearing their love story, she just knew that he was not the one that took the lead, and now wanted to push him to the front line.

    Truthfully, she had never had in mind for them to share a separate bedroom, but she was more readily on to make that happen now after hearing their story.

    Mr. Fang''s face was dark as he had his own thoughts. Shifting his gaze from the olddy to the young woman without the look of regret to this decision, he was speechless.

    Guessing from the way she was staring at him, he was very sure that she must have been waiting for this kind of arrangement.

    It was as if she couldn''t wait to get her hands on him.

    Watching them exchanging meaningful nces, the olddy thought that she couldn''t dy them anymore and hurriedly sent them away.

    "Wenwen, show Liling to your bedroom. Tomorrow, there will be time for you to show her around before leaving."

    Fang Bingwen broke their gaze and turned to the olddy as his expression turned serious.

    "Grandma, I will see you to your bedroom first." He said without a room for negotiation.

    The olddy was left with no choice but to led the couple send her off.

    A few minutester when they got to ther door of her room, she hurriedly sent them away.

    "There is no need to lead me inside my room, you can leave."

    "Goodnight grandma." Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang wished and with that, they turned to leave.

    The old stood outside her door with a big smile on her face as she watched till their backs finally disappeared from the hallway.

    A soft sigh of relief fell of her lips before she turned to step into her bedroom after she pushed the door open.

    All the way up the grand stairs with silver coated railings that had intricate designs up to his bedroom, there was silence between Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen.

    No one said a word to each other as each had their thoughts going in in their heads.<sub> </sub>

    But finally when Mr. Fang pushed the door to his bedroom open, he nced at the woman standing outside at the same spot with a raised brow.

    "Are you noting in? This is my bedroom." He stated as if she was afraid that he had taken her to a wrong room.

    Zhang Liling stared silently at him for a moment before sighing and proceeding to step into his room.

    Without giving herself the chance to stare at hisrge living space, and the intricate designs coupled with the beautiful creme colour painting, she walked to his bedside and stopped.

    Turning around to see him shutting the door and walking toward her, her thin lips parted.

    "Mr. Fang, do you really hate sharing a bedroom with me?" She asked.

    Fang Bingwen ignored her and went on to take off his suit jacket and threw it carelessly on the white couch arranged to face the foot of his bed with just a small table seperating them.

    Seeig him ignoring her, the corner of her lips tugged downwards as a grumpy look appeared on her face while watching him tug on his tie.

    "Mr. Fang, are you ignoring me now? Well, you should just admit that you are afraid that I will pounce on you."

    Saying up to this level, she still didn''t get any response from him, so she turned her back to him to look around his bedroom, finding things to distract her from the ufortable feeling in her chest.

    "Don''t worry, I have aborted every n of punching on you tonight. Even I know when to stop seeign that you don''t want me."

    Mr. Fang went on to tug on his cuffs after throwing his necktie on the couch. Taking off his cuffs, he gently put them on the table before turning to walk toward Zhang Liling with knitted brows.

    In just three strides, he was already next to her and before Zhang Liling could tilt her head to nce at him, he ced three fingers on her jaw and forced her to face him.

    Zhang Liling was taken aback with his action and wondered what he was upto.

    And just as her lips parted as she got ready to speak, his thin lips came pressing hard on hers.

    Without warning, he was already raining down kisses on her as his lips captured her soft ones and moved heavily on them before slipping his tongue into her mouth to ravage it.

    Zhang Liling''s heart skipped a bit as a mixture of surprise and pleasure washed over her.

    ''Mr. F-Fang is kissing me? H-He is re-ally kissing me?''

    She was surprised that Mr. Fang would take her unawares and kiss her.

    This was the first time he was taking a lead to do something like this, and it was, so it was a given that she would be shocked to the bones as to even forget to breath or kiss him back.

    Feeling his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth hungrily, Zhang Liling was forced back to the present, but before she could think of any other thing, she felt almost out of breath.

    "Mr. Fang." She called out in muffled breathing while being her hands up to hit him gently on the shoulder.

 Chapter 239 Thick With Desire

    Breaking the kiss, Mr. Fang''sshes fluttered open as his misty eyes swirling with desire stared straight into her surprised gaze.

    Giving them both a moment to catch their breath as their chests rose and fell, he continued to stare intently at her.

    Five secondster, Zhang Liling finally said something, breaking the silence.

    "Mr. Fang, I thought you didn''t want this, why are you suddenly kissing me now?"

    She still wanted to know what drove him to do something he looked so against to do from the beginning.

    She thought he had been afraid of her pouncing on him giving her proactive nature, but look who is pouncing on who now.

    What an irony of life.

    Hearing what she had to say, Mr. Fang''s facial expression remained unmoving as his palms cupped her face.

    "Shut up." He said as his gaze slowly traveled down her lips, like he was taking time for his eyes to savage her moist lips.

    "You talk too much," he added before leaning in to capture her soft lips.

    Without wasting time, his hot tongue plunged into her mouth, overpowering her sense of reasoning as if trying to proof just how much of a good kisser he was.

    Only if Zhang Liling''s brain was still awake at this time, this thought would have crossed her mind but at the moment, she had already sumbed to the desires of her heart.

    She was already returning his kisses the best she could.

    With their bodies pressing togetherbined with their heavy breathing, they could taste each others shared breath as they continued to kiss each passionately with their eyes shut.

    Gradually, one of Fang Bingwen''s hand left her face and moved to her waist.

    The next second, he turned her around before pushing her to lower herself on him as he settled his butts at the edge of the bed.

    Without breaking the kiss and as if in sync, Zhang Liling lowered herself to sit on his thighs as her knees spread apart and pressed on the white sheets on his sides.

    Wrapping her right hand around his neck with her soft breasts pressing hard against his sturdy chest, her left fingers moved to card through his soft hair.

    A soft moan escaped from her lips as she could feel the man''s hotness enveloping her. She could feel her rationality copse immediately as he continued to ravage the insides of her mouth.

    Zhang Liling was feeling much pressure from just a kiss because this was the first time Mr. Fang was taking the step to kiss her, and it was not just a simple kiss.

    He was giving her the very best and making her desire for him be on the verge of leaking.

    Fang Bingwen on the other hand, looked to be very ready to go beyond the little brushing of lips.

    The hand that was cupping her cheek, slowly moved to her thighs. Gently, his fingers grazed the part of her exposed beautiful skin as lightly as he could, which earned him a soft moan from the woman sitting on him.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling was unable to describe the kind of pleasure that was surging from her. She could even feel something hard and hot under her butts.

    Unable to control her instinct, she moved her butts against him, which instantly snapped thest string on consciousness from the man about to overthrow her and her emotions.

    A groan escaped from Mr. Fang''s lips as he broke the kiss. He had just felt her grind him. Even though it was just once, he wasn''t able to swallow the sound of pleasure that was at the tip of his tongue.

    This just showed how much of his senses had been ovepped from their little romantic activity.

    Slowly, hisshes fluttered open to reveal the eyes with thick desire swirling in them.

    His current emotion could never be mistaken by the woman who just opened her eyes after she felt his tongue pause and his lips withdraw from her.

    Zhang Liling''s eyes while misty while still trying to convey a message to him.

    ''Why did you stop?''

    Moving his gaze away from her face, he brought the hand on his waist to her stomach and sliding across up to her chest, before slowly reaching for her one of her soft peaks.

    He did not grab it, but instead, he let his soft palm to slide against her breast and just then, he withdrew his hand as his gaze shifted to her face.

    "You are not putting on any bra?" His hoarse voice thick with desire questioned.

    Zhang Liling who had recovered a bit from the peak of ecstasy, shook her head as her low grunted voice uttered a response.

    "No, I don''t need it."

    Hearing her voice that told him exactly what her body needed, Mr. Fang felt tingles on his body as the lower part of his body throbbed.

    Sliding his hand up her soft peak to feel her soft mount while the other hand slipped into her thighs without moving her dress out of the way, he said a little breathlessly.

    "I could feel it, by just touching it."

    Feeling his soft caresses against her sensitive skin, she irked her back, and at the same moved a little on his arousal and asked softly with her misty eyes on him.

    "Do you also know that I''m not putting on any panties? Do you want to check what is underneath my dress?"

    Mr. Fang inhaled sharply as his nose picked up his favourite scent along with something else.

    His eyes shut briefly before snapping open the next 3 seconds. Staring straight to meet her gaze, he said, "You are so naughty. What a good temptation you have there, but sorry, I can''t fall for it."

    "Huh?" Zhang Liling''s eyes cleared up a bit as a subtle of confusion appeared on her face.

    But before her sight could catch something in his eyes, she saw the fog of thick desire in them, clear up and before her little head couldprehend what was going on, she felt the hand on her inner thigh, quickly slide out.

 Chapter 240 Sourcing For A Night Dress

    "Why did you stop?" Zhang Liling asked softly with a hint of frustrationced in her tone.

    She could feel all the hairs in her bodyying back on her skin as her riled up emotions was put an end to.

    It was indeed very annoying to quench a burning me of desire abruptly instead of using a gradual process.

    In response, Mr. Fang gently pushed her off his body. "If I had continued, there wouldn''t have been an end to this. And I didn''t want that."

    Staring intently at him as if to gauge the percentage of truth in his words, Zhang Liling pushed the hem of her dress down to her knees.

    She could understand if he felt it was too early for them to go beyond kissing just like she was thinking, so she wanted to confirm if he actually thought the same or had other thoughts.

    So staring straight into his eyes to despict the emotions in them actually helped to her the answers she wanted.

    "Uhhh!"

    A groan of frustration escaped her lips as her hands went to hair to ruffle them, thereby messing them up.

    The corners of Mr. Fang''s lips curled. He had calmed down to a greater extent, and that was why he was able to afford to make fun of her now.

    ncing briefly at her, he turned his gaze to stare at his feet before his hands reached out to take off the ck shiny leather shoes, including his socks.

    "Do you want to have a bath first? It will be helpful." He suggested without looking her way.

    Giving him a side-eye nce, Zhang Liling almost rolled her eyes at him but considering at the back of her mind that he was not totally to be med for the quenched fire within her, she huffed.

    "Forget it, I will go have a bath." She said and stood up from the bed before heading into the inner room with furrowed brows as her lips pouted.

    It was very obvious that she was not in a good mood but maybe, the bath would help to calm her nerves entirely.

    After she left the room, Mr. Fang slowlyid his back on the wrinkled sheets as his right hand came to rest on his forehead with his palm facing the white POP (ster of Paris).

    He too was frustrated. But instead of ming himself for stopping, he med himself for even starting something like this in the first ce.

    Casting a long nce at a something area around his waist, he released an exasperated sigh before shutting his eyes.

    Zhang Liling took her time in the bathroom. While in the bathtub, she couldn''t get rid of the images from the short hot make-out section between her and Mr. Fang.

    The scenes in her head was so vivid that she couldn''t get rid of them no matter how hard she tried.

    This caused her to give up and end up spacing out in the middle of her bath more than ten times.

    It was only when she had wiped her bodypletely with the towel that her full consciousness returned, and that was when another thought had taken over her.

    Gazing at the bathrobe in her hand, she discovered that she didn''t have any dress to put on for the night.<sub> </sub>

    "What am I going to wear now? I can''t possibly sleep with a bathrobe." She mumbled to herself as her eyes darted around the white fluffy robe in her hand.

    While thinking of what to do, she head two soft knocks on the bathroom door which was followed by a voice.

    "Zhang Liling, did you sleep there?" Mr. Fang''s tone rang out with a sense of urgency in it.

    Hearing his voice, Zhang Liling quickly wrapped the robe around her body. "I''m almost out." She said while trying to knot a bow with the ropes in front of her body.

    Finally when she was done, she walked to the door and opened it to see the man staring down at her.

    "What took you so long?" He queried as his eyes followed her.

    He has been in the bedroom waiting for her for so long, but who knew that she would take almost half an hour before stepping out of the bathroom?

    He was now wondering if she would have spent the night there if he didn''te looking for her.

    Meeting his gaze half-way, Zhang Liling asked suggestively, "Do you really want to know the answer?"

    With both exchanging nces and secretly passing some kind of message with their eyes, Mr. Fang surrendered atst.

    "Don''t worry, I don''t know want to know. You can go to bed first while I take a quick shower." He said and brushed past her to go into the bathroom while still in his pants and shirt, but Zhang Liling stopped him.

    "Mr. Fang, I don''t have anything to wear for tonight."

    Mr. Fang turned as his gaze trailed the robe hanging tightly on her body. His brows knitted slightly in contemtion.

    "They must have forgotten that part." He said with a meaningful gaze.

    He was sure his grandmother and mother had forgotten that there was a need for Zhang Liling to change into a set offy clothes after having a night bath.

    Now he was left to deal with the aftermath of their imposing decion of them spending the night at the Family home.

    "I will see if I can find you something to manage from my wardrobe. Follow me."

    Turning toward another direction, he led her into the small closet.

    Without wasting time, his eyes and hands quickly moved through the clothes that were hung there, with slightly crinked nose.

    His eyes squinted through every clothing there as Zhang Liling stood beside him watched as she carelessly crossed her arms right below her chest, propping her twin peaks up in the process.

    Because of the space in the robe, it exposed her chest area by making her cleavage visible.

    "I can''t find anything good here. You will look funny in my pyjamas unless you don''t mind it." He said without removing his gaze his clothes.

 Chapter 241 What Is This?

    Zhang Liling got annoyed for having to stand at one ce watching him going through his wardrobe but not taking anything out for her after a few minutes.

    "Move aside, I will pick something for myself." She said half-annoyedly as her gaze narrowed at him.

    Mr. Fang''s hand paused mid air as his head tilted to the side. "Are you sure?" He asked, raising a brow.

    "Yes, just go and have your bath and I will be fine." Zhang Liling said while gesturing with one of her hands.

    She just couldn''t wait for him to leave her sight.

    ''What is she annoyed about?'' Fang Bingwen thought is disbelief.

    Normally, he was the one to feel annoyed, and she would be the one to avoid him but today, their roles has been swapped.

    "Alright." Mr. Fang said, leaving her to make her choice as he turned and walked away.

    Zhang Liling let out an exasperated sigh as she watched his back disappear from view before turning her gaze to his closet.

    ''What should I wear?'' She thought as her eyes and hands moved from one cloth to the other.

    Finally, after a few minutes of contemtion, she optioned for once of his casual shirts, but the she discovered something.

    She didn''t have any pant to wear.

    In the bathroom, as soon as Mr. Fang stepped inside the misty space, his hoverig gaze stopped at a weird red item hanging on the towel rail.

    His gaze narrowed at the item as he stepped forward with raised brows. A look of suspicion was visible on his face.

    "W-What... Is this?" He stuttered.

    Not being able to recognize what the item was, he reached out for it. Taking the red stuff, he held it to his face with both hands with a scrutinizing gaze.

    "What..." He uttered and just as he was about toplete his senses while turning the item about, he suddenly came to a realization after his mind was finally able toprehend things.

    Immediately, he flung the pant to the floor without thinking.

    "T-That''s what S-She w-was wearing?"

    At this moment, Mr. Fang couldn''t be any more shocked than he was after discovering that he was holding unto Zhang Liling''s G-string.

    How hot.

    If his gender was different, he would have been fanning his face by now.

    "She wears things like this?" He muttered under his breath while staring at the red stuff on the floor with a look of disbelief on his face.

    The man was still trying to wrap his hands around this fact. He has just discovered that he was only getting started in knowing whom his girlfriend actually was.

    He was used to seeing her Feisty side, but it looks like he was also getting ready to see all the different kinds of crazy she exhibited.

    "Zhang Liling is crazy!" He concluded with a terrified gaze on the red G-string he threw on the white tiled floor.

    *******

    Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei made their ways into the Tang mansion.<sub> </sub>

    There was at least five steps between them as each was left to their own world.

    Since they left Old Lady''s Fang party, they have never said a word to each other as silence was the only thing that reigned in the atmosphere.

    Now that they were back home, it looks like they have great ns of continuing with it.

    The rest of the Tang family members were having dinner when the couple walked into the house.

    Even the servants that came out to wee them were ignored as they both went straight for the stairs.

    With Tang Ei leading, they both went inside their bedroom, and immediately, he turned around and started scolding Zhang Xiaoling.

    "Zhang Xiaoling, have you no atom of shame in you, or you just don''t know what it is?"

    Zhang Xiaoling ignored him and continued in her steps. She was going to walk past him, but his hand immediately reached out for her arm.

    "I am still talking to you, how dare you try to walk out on me?!" He asked as heat rushed up to his cheeks.

    Throbbing veins appeared on his neck as his left fingers clenched in a tight fist. Anger was evident in his tone.

    Even with these clear evidence of anger, Zhang Xiaoling remained adamant to it and tried to shrug her arms off his hold but instead of letting her go, he tightened his hold on her.

    Seeing how stubborn he was, she shifted her gaze from his hand and stopped trying to pry his fingers away from her arm.

    "Are you not letting go?"

    Tang Ei ignored her and even looked madder now.

    "Are you daft or what? I have been ignoring your ridiculous actions but it seems to be the very motivation for your continuous madness!"

    "Ei, let my arm off, are you trying to break it?" Zhang Xiaoling demanded with knitted brows. She seems to be unmoved after the statement he made.

    Tang Ei refused to let her arm off and continued holding it. Left with no choice, Zhang Xiaoling forcefully pried his fingers off, causing her nails to break in the process.

    Also, she left a few scratches at the back of his hand, which almost forced him to hit her.

    He had already raised his hand in the air, and seidng this, Zhang Xiaoling flinched and immediately turned her face to the side to avoid her face getting hit.

    But a few secondster, she didn''t feel the impact of his hand on her body, and slowly raised her gaze to look his way, and that was when she saw that his hand was still frozen in mid-air.

    Tang Ei''s entire face was twisted in anger. ck folds appeared on his forehead as his nose crinked.

    His gaze narrowed down to her as the sharp glint in his eyes intensified.

    "You are really forcing me." He said through gritted teeth before his hand slowly came down to hand loosely by the side.

    As for the arm in his hand, he released it with his gaze never leaving her face.

    So many thoughts were going through his mind at her provocation, but his moral was stopping him from inflicting physical injuries on her.

    He could have easily hit her just now and no one would penalize him because she was in the wrong, but he stopped at thest second.

    He refused to stoop that low.

 Chapter 242 Dull Brain

    "Did you almost hit me a moment ago?" Zhang Liling shocked tone asked with her gaze narrowing at him.

    She seemed to be in disbelief at his attempt now that she had sessfully ovee the feeling of shock from earlier.

    "Would you want me to repeat my actions, and this time around actually do the real deal?" Tang Ei retorted as ck line appeared on his forehead.

    He looked very ready to go over his actions from earlier if she actually wanted a demonstration since her mind was that daft.

    Zhang Xiaoling stared wide-eyed at him. She couldn''t believe the confidence.

    Was he not not afraid of what she could do if his hand had touched her?

    Or maybe not.

    He didn''t look in the least bit bothered as he already had something to hold unto.

    "Coward!" She said while ring daggers at him, but he didn''t even get any angrier than he already was.

    "You are free to call me that until I decide to report you to your stepfather!"

    Tang Ei meant to say that he would duly ept being a coward up until he takes a steps ahead to reveal her other face to Zhang Renshu.

    And that would be when he was done having a soft heart toward her.

    Hearing Zhang Renshu being mentioned, Zhang Xiaoling''s shoulders shuddered as she immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

    Her eyes widened a bit in their sockets with her gaze never leaving his face.

    She was truly afraid of the oue of her obscene behaviour if a word about it should get into his ears.

    That man had put in so much effort to make ensure that she sessfully married into the Tang family which in exchange, solidified his position in the political world.

    Imagine if she dares to ruin things for him, he would make sure she immediately seized to exist as a member of the Zhang family, and her entirely life would be ruined.

    Tang Ei sensed the fear which was as clear as day from her and finally felt a little part of his anger dissipate a bit.

    Feeling defeated by hiseback, Zhang Xiaoling quickly thought of something as she refused to back down so easily.

    So what if she had a dark side, what about him, was he free?

    Thinking about that, her gaze changed as the fear quickly disappeared from her eyes.

    "What about you?" She started, as she flung her purse to the bed, while still standing on her heels.

    Without giving him the opposite to respond, she continued.

    "You have other little women outside, so why can''t I be free to do as I like in this sham of a marriage? That I am a woman doesn''t mean I should be the only one bound by the rules."

    "Oh! You think I am messing around with other women and that''s what gave you the guts to act like a loose woman?" Tang Ei asked furiousness.<sub> </sub>

    The little anger that managed to fly away, just found its way back at the utterance of her mouth.

    "Am I wrong?" she asked without an ounce of fear in her. She seems determined to win this case at the end of it.

    "You are very wrong." Tang Ei said as his index finger pointed straight at her face with his chest rising and falling at the same time.

    "Because I drink and sometimes spend the night outside, you think that I am unfaithful in this marriage?" He asked.

    While gesturing with his hand, he continued angrily, "Let me tell you something your dull brain doesn''t know. Yes, I was promiscuous while I was single, but after marrying you even though there is no love, I left that part of my life behind."

    At this revtion, Zhang Xiaoling seemed to be surprised as she unknowningly took a step back with slightly parted lips.

    There was a look of disbelief on her face as her eyes searched for something in his eyes.

    Not giving her the chance to pick up anything from his gaze, he said one final statement to her before turning around and walking into the inner room.

    "Zhang Xiaoling, I have exhausted the patience I have for you. Since you don''t have any respect for me, then I wouldn''t have one for you either. Also, if I find you lusting after another man, it will be the end of marriage."

    Zhang Xiaoling stood there dumbstruck as she watched his back quickly disappear from her line of sight.

    Her feet were frozen as her mind digested his revtion and the threats in them.

    ***

    Having realized that Zhang Liling was putting on a red G-string underneath her one piece dress this whole time, Mr. Fang was full of shock.

    Staring at the red piece he discarded on the floor, he began to question her sanity.

    "How on earth does she getfortable in this?" He muttered under his breath.

    The corners of lips twisted a bit as his brows creased along with his crinkled nose.

    There was a hint of worry and disbelief on his face with all his attention now focused on Zhang Liling''s taste.

    He was worrying about how ufortable she would be in that kind of panties. He even wondered the kind of dead brain someone had to produce something like that.

    Taking a long stride to the red item, he bent his waist before reaching out his hand for it.

    Using his thumb and index finger, he gradually picked the G-string up with his facial expression twisted like a child afraid to swallow a bitter medicine.

    "I wonder the kind of unsual brain fluid that was filled up in this designer''s head while producing this." He said as he slowly hung the pant back on the rail, while using his free hand to shift his bath towel away from it.

    He was acting as if the pant would contaminate his white towel.

    Giving how damp it was because Zhang Liling had just washed it, the right thing to do would have been to rinse it again, but he was even afraid of holding it properly talk more of squeezing it in his hand.

    Putting the pant back where he had seen it earlier without bothering to hand it properly, he stepped away and went to the sink to wash his hands before proceeding to take off his clothes, and getting ready for a cool shower.

 Chapter 243 The Problem With Her Underwear

    Zhang Liling was alreadyyingzily inside the covers with her fingers tapping away on her phone when Mr. Fang walked out dressed in a loose silk space blue pajamas set.

    His hair was dry and still styled like earlier, which showed that he did not put water on it.

    Immediately he stepped into the room in his grey flipflops, his gazended on the little woman who had more then half of her body hidden away in the fluffy white duvet over her body.

    His brows were still creased from his earlier encounter with his line of sight never leaving Zhang Liling''s side.

    He seems to be seriously contemting about something that obviously has to do with the red G-string from earlier.

    Noticing his presence, Zhang Liling''s finger paused as the tapping in her phone screen ceased immediately.

    Raising her gaze to meet him, she said, "Mr. Fang, you took more than 20 minutes to have a shower and get dressed. I am amazed."

    She had been lying in bed and waiting for him as she was still unaware of how what was supposed to be a quick shower turned into a semi-long one.

    When she didn''t see himing out after ten minutes had passed, she picked up her phone and got busy with it instead of sitting idly.

    "And whose fault is that?" Fang Bingwen asked as he continued in his steps toward the bed. The corners of his lips turned downwards immediately as the space between his brows knitted.

    Zhang Liling was taken aback by his response. How was she the reason behind why he came out of the showerte?

    "Mr. Fang, I think there is some kind of misconception here. How am I at fault when I''ve been here sitting all along?"

    Not in the mood to start arguing with her, he sank into the side of his bed as his hands reached for pillows at the headrest to arrange them properly before lowering his back to the bed.

    "You, tell me, did you wear that red thing from the house?" He asked without sparing her a nce.

    "What red thing?" She asked with raised brows. She seemd greatly confused at what he meant.

    "That red rope you hung on the rail in the bathroom." Mr. Fang exined as he turned his deep set eyes to her, trying to see whatever expression her face would make.

    As soon as she heard his next words, the folds on her face smoothened out.

    "You are talking about the G-string?" She asked as a small smile turned up on her lips.

    Whatever that was making herugh, didn''t look funny to the man that was staring at her as if she had gone crazy.

    "Mr. Fang, don''t tell me that you don''t know what it''s called. If it wasn''t the only red stuff in the bathroom, my mind wouldn''t have been able to understand your words."

    "Should I be proud to know what it''s called? You tell me, why did you wear something like that out? Wait, why did it be a part of your wardrobe in the first ce?" He asked as his eyes squinted at her.

    ''No wonder she asked if I wanted to see what she was putting on underneath her dress during the heated moment.''

    Watching his facial expression turning a shade darker by each second that went by, a round of chuckle escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips.<sub> </sub>

    She was amused at his inability to understand the usefulness of the kind of panties, so she took it upon herself to exin things to him.

    "Why are youughing? What''s funny?" Mr. Fang asked while sitting up in the bed and at the same time, not breaking the gaze.

    Zhang Liling waved her hand about while trying to sit up on the bed.

    With eyes filled with smiles, she said, "I wore the G-string because of the kind of material my dress was made off and the style. "

    "Mmhmmm..." Mr. Fang urged.

    Never once did it cross his mind about the kind of topic he was concerned about. Since when did he concern himself with the kind of underwear his girlfriend wore?

    That was so much unlike him.

    Maybe he didn''t even realize how intimate that topic was, or his interest was far more important for him to pay attention to it.

    "If I had put on normal panties, the linen would have been visible from any eyes that set their eyes on my back. But with that kind I picked, it wouldn''t have been possible."

    No matter how Fang Bingwen tried to understand things from her own perspective, he just couldn''t tolerate it, and he couldn''t help but to admonish her.

    "Did it for once ur to you about the possibility of a sudden gush of air lifting your dress and revealing your bum to the public?"

    "That''s why I was mindful of my dress the entire time." Zhang Liling defended as the smile on her face cut down by half on seeing the serious look on his face.

    The gown she was putting on, was not a straight-cut so Mr. Fang''s concern was not unfounded.

    With a y dress, a strong gush of wind could easily lift it up, and if a fast response wasn''t given, anyone in the dress could be easily embarrassed.

    "Do you know you were practically naked? No bra, no pant, who taught you to do that?" Fang Bingwen asked with no signs of giving up.

    "I wasn''t naked, plus I wasfortable." Zhang Liling said with pouted lips as her hands crossed below her chest.

    "You werefortable?" His eyes blinked. "Well, don''t let me catch you dressed like that again." He added as he turned his gaze away from her.

    Stretching out his hand for the bedside switch, he pressed on the button and immediately, the main lights in the room went off, leaving the one from the bedsidemps.

    Instantly, the corners of her lips curled as the light from the twomps, illuminated the expression on her face.

    "Mr. Fang, are you saying that you will be checking my underwear before I step out of the house everytime?" Her teasing tone inquired as her body leaned in close with her palm on his shoulder de.

    Seeing the eyes that were shining with a hint of mischief in them, Fang Bingwenplied.

    "I wouldn''t mind If you want to be taught a lesson."

 Chapter 244 Tired Out

    Before the sun could rise the next day, the servants of the Fang family were already bustling around the house before the family members would arise.

    All of them got to cleaning and preparing breakfast for the entire family.

    In one of the rooms upstairs in the East wing of the mansion which happens to be Mr. Fang''s bedroom, hey on the bed with the the back of his palm on his forehead which was almost covering his eyes.

    The little woman who had been lying next to him through out the night, was holding onto his left hand with the side of her face resting on his chest.

    Fifteen minutester, his biological clock woke him up as Zhang Liling stirred a bit in her sleep.

    Slowly, his eyes squinted open. The first thing that cane in his line of sight was the white POP.

    Suddenly feeling the weight on his body, he looked down to see the head of bednest hair in his sight. Shifting his gaze to the side, he saw howzily and out of it she sprawled over the bed as half of her body was practically on him.

    ''When did shee on me?''

    A soft sigh escaped from his thin lips as his chest rose and fell gently.

    Mr. Fang stayed about five minutes more on bed before gently moving Zhang Liling away from his body.

    It looks like Zhang Liling was still so far into sleep to notice that her source of warmth andfort had disappeared because she did move.

    In fact, she was very obedient and only let out a long sigh as her body was moved to the side.

    Mr. Fang watched her with keen interest to make sure her sleep wasn''t disturbed before he deemed himself free.

    Moving the duvet away from his body, he sat up and backed her, such that his feet were now touching the floor.

    Sitting up on the bed, he turned on his bedsidemp as his eyes hovered over the table clock on his nightstand, which was showing the current time.

    ncing at his bedside table, a long sigh escaped from his lungs.

    There was an empty space which was usually upied by something if it were to be his room in his vi.

    But it was unfortunate, that his bottle of meds was the stuff missing.

    Releasing a deep breath, he got off the bed and slipped his feet into the pair of flip-flop in front of him before heading for the bathroom without looking back.

    As his back disappearedpletely from the room when the door shut gently, the little woman on the bed, stirred a bit.

    A soft sigh escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips moved a bit with her mouth making some soft cute sounds.

    Her cheeks rubbed gently in the white sheets spread underneath her. She seemed to enjoy the softness of the material such that the corners of her lips could even curl up in her sleep.

    Maybe she thought that she was still in the arms of a certain man, hence the reason she was feeling so rxed.

    Some minutester, Mr. Fang stepped out of the inner room dressed casually.

    ncing briefly to the bed, he saw that Zhang Liling still maintained her sleeping position and shook his head.<sub> </sub>

    From the outline of her sleeping that was still visible even with the duvet covering her, he could tell how bad she was at sleeping peacefully.

    Or maybe, that was her sleeping peacefully with a touch of no worry.

    Thankfully, there was something covering her body otherwise, he would have seen her legs spread apart, and probably her skin exposed to him.

    Shifting his gaze to the nightstand, he reached out to snatch his phone before turning to leave in brisk steps.

    Even after the gentle sound from the door shutting reached her ears somehow, Zhang Liling''s eyes remained shut.

    There was only the movement of her lips smacking together that showed just how much her ear sensors were still alive.

    At least this showed that she was not so into the sleep as deeply like before.

    Thirty minutester, the brightness from the day slowly seeped into the room from the little gap between the two thick curtains.

    Yet, the woman on the bed was still sleeping even as the rays touched down on her hand and shed across her face.

    Instead of opening her eyes, she turned her face to her other side to continue with her sleep.

    If this was before, Zhang Liling would have woekn up earlier due to the jetg, but it looks like she was tired out at the party from the previous day hence, the reason she was sleeping in.

    A few secondster, Mr. Fang returned to the room with a bottle of water in his hand with his chest rising and falling a pace faster.

    Looking closely to his forehead, small beads of sweat formed on them. An indication that he must have been exercising.

    Stepping into the room, he cast his long nce at the sleeping figure on his bed and was a bit surprised.

    "She''s still sleeping?"

    Walking straight for the bed, he first put the little water remaining in the bottle down before slipping his hand into his pant pocket to draw out his bottle of meds and put it next to the water bottle on his nightstand.

    Mr. Fang had gone to his car to take out the spare bottle of meds that usually traveled with him in case of any emergency.

    Luckily for him, meticulous action came in handy today.

    Although Zhang Liling''s scent was so perfect for him, it still wouldn''t be enough to fend off the different scentsing from the rest of the Fang Family members.

    He had to be prepared in case he couldn''t endure.

    "Liling." Looking at the woman breathing heavily with her long hair scattered on the white sheets, he called out to her.

    "Mmmm" Zhang Liling hummed before slowly rolling to her side. As soon as her facended against the softness of the sheet, her resumed her sleeping posture.

    At least, her legs were no longer spread apart as she had somehow sped them together.

 Chapter 245 Images

    Fang Bingwen stared speechlessly at the woman who had gone back to sleep.

    Is she for real?

    He had thought that she would be awake by now, but who knew that she would still love to sleep so much.

    ncing to the side, his gaze rested briefly on the table clock. It was almost 6 AM.

    ''No, she can''t continue sleeping.''

    With that, he went ahead to move the duvet off her body only to reveal her peerless skin.

    Her entire thighs were on disy.

    Not expecting to see so much skin while taking the covers away, Mr. Fang''s eyes widened in their sockets.

    "S-She is not wearing anything?"

    He just couldn''t believe his eyes. He had hoped that he would be seeing a decently dressed woman underneath his covers since seeing the upper part of his shirt that she was putting in sincest night.

    But who knew that this absurd scene would greet his sight so early in the morning.

    Throughout the night, the bare skin of Zhang Liling''s legs never came into him hence, he had no idea that she slept that way.

    Unable to bear the sight that tainted his virgin eyes, Mr. Fang picked up the sheets again, but right when he was about to ce it back on her body, his eyes caught onto something just as his gaze had moved past it.

    ''Huh?''

    Slowly, his gaze retreated back to her exposed inner thighs to see a familiar material right above it.

    Staring closely at it, suddenly, he came to a realization as his jaw cked to the side.

    She was most definitely putting in his brief.

    His feet remained rooted to the floor as his gaze remained fixed on her.

    He just couldn''t bring himself to take his eye off her for nearly a minuteter, but finally, he recovered from his shock.

    It was not easy to see his underwear being turned to a set of female underwear for the night. That sight was unbearable for him.

    A brief was like a pant for the male gender, but here, a female was putting it on so casually.

    Instantly, a naughty thought crept its way up to Fang Bingwen''s head.

    The thought of the little woman''s private part touching the same spot that used to hold his own private part, caused goose bumps to appear on his arms.

    He shuddered and immediately shook a certain image away from his head.

    In his mind, he had unknowningly reced his ck briefs that was currently touching Zhang Liling''s intimate part with a certain part of his body.

    And as soon as he thought of that image, he felt a pleasurable twitch on the slight bulge in his pants.

    He even thought himself to be crazy.

    Fed up with the splitting R-rated image turning up in his head, he quickly shook his head away as his gaze narrowed on the woman still sleeping on his bed.

    "It''s all your fault." His ming voice mumbled under his breath.

    Without wasting time, he hurriedly bent his waist and reached out to shake Zhang Liling in her shoulder while calling out to her.<sub> </sub>

    But failing to get her to wake up, he directly pulled her up before going on gently pulling her out of the bed.

    "Zhang Liling, you better wake up before I throw you out of this bed."

    No longer in the mood to address her I formally, he just went on to add her surname before her first name.

    He was annoyed.

    It was not possible to remain ignorant of her surrounding after this string movement, so Zhang Liling''sshes fluttered open before her eyes squinted at her surrounding.

    Her brows furrowed lightly as her sleep had been disturbed rudely by the owner of the main voice that was repeated resounding in her ears.

    "Mr. Fang." Her groggy tone called out as her fingers reached out to rub her eyes.

    "Finally, you are awake." Mr. Fang said as he immediately released his hold on her.

    "It''s six, don''t you want the house tour anymore?" He asked with his gaze narrowing on her as a sigh of relief fell off his lips.

    Zhang Liling was taken aback by the first sentence he was saying to her and immediately turned her body to the side to face him properly.

    "H-House tour..." She uttered with a subtle of confusion on her face as her eyes squinted at him.

    "Did you forget, my grandmother asked me to show you around the house." Mr. Fang reminded and continued after letting out a tired sigh.

    "We will be leaving for City S immediately after breakfast. Now is the best time show you around the house."

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling''s brain was no longer dull as it had booted to the ultimatum.

    Recalling about the tour, she hurriedly sprang up from the bed while asking, "Mr. Fang, what''s the time."

    Mr. Fang''s eyes couldn''t help resting in her messy hair before slowly moving to her face and down to his shirt that wrapped her upoed her body.

    Because of the vast difference in their body size, the shirt was too big for her. Almost, the shirt would havepletely covered the outline of the mounts on her chest.

    Quickly taking his gaze off her, his gaze trailed down to her beautiful thighs which were exposed to him.

    Now that she was standing, the shirt covered the briefs she was wearing underneath.

    "Mr. Fang... Just forget it. I will go have my bath first." Zhang Liling concluded before disappearing from his sight at lightening speed.

    She had no choice but to leave immediately since he was not replying and was instead standing there and just staring at her.

    Finally when she left his sight, a long sigh escaped Fang Bingwen''s lips as his weight sank into the bed.

    ''This woman will not be the death of me.''

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling did not waste time in the bathroom. Immediately after using the toilet, she brushed her teeth before going to take a shower.

    But there was a problem. What would she wear now?

    ////////

    https://discord.gg/GywPN7X

    Link to my discord server for all interested in receiving Chapter update notifications and other important information.

 Chapter 246 Putting On His Clothes

    ncing at the pair of clothes spread on the well arranged sheet, Zhang Liling''s nose crinked.

    "Mr. Fang, do you really expect me to wear this?" She asked with furrowed brows as the corners of her lips tugged downwards.

    Unhappiness was clear on her face while staring down at the pair of bogus joggersid out in front of her.

    How would she fit into them?

    Without batting an eye, Fang Bingwen looked between her and the clothes he brought out for her and said, "I don''t have anything in my closet for you to wear. Just manage it."

    "How can I manage it?" Zhang Liling pointed at the clothes as she shifted her dissatisfied gaze to him.

    "This is so embarrassing. How am I going to face your family members dressed in your clothes?"

    She looked very annoyed at the thought of the meaningful nces that would be exchanged because of her. It was so embarrassing.

    Mr. Fang did not think the way she did.

    Here, there roles were exchanged, because normally, it would be Mr. Fang that is supposed to be worried about it.

    "I can''t help you. Just manage it, once you finish eating, we will leave for S-City immediately."

    "Don''t you have a cousin sister, is...is it not possible to borrow a dress from her?" Zhang Liling suggested.

    She looked as if she was about to cry as she tugged on his sleeve.

    p "No, I''m not close to her. Liling, just put on the dress like that. No one will say anything to you." Mr Fang said tiredly while staring into her eyes.</anda>

    He had no idea that she had the patience to whine like a child for long, but he didn''t have that patience to continueforting her.

    ''No one will say anything to her?'' Zhang Liling was very doubtful of that.

    "Even if they don''t say anything aloud, they would think that something happened between usst night. This is not good." She said shaking her head as her gaze moved back to the clothes on the bed.

    Squinting his eyes on her while wondering how she could think that far, he said. "Why do you care so much about that? You can''t stop them from thinking whatever they want."

    Immediately, Zhang Liling shot him an annoyed gaze. She was almost one step away from ring at him, but she knew that it was meaningless to take things too far.

    Besides, he did not fully understand her perspective.

    "Mr. Fang, I really wouldn''t mind if we did somethingst night, and I feel their suggestive gazes on me. But not doing anything and feeling their gazes on me spells different. It''s like being used of what I did not do."

    Mr. Fang was done talking to her. He just leaned over to pick up the clothes before taking her hand and turning to head for the inner room.

    "Liling, after we get out of this house, I will buy you anything you like. But for now, you just have to put on this dress so I can show you around before everyone assembles at the dining room." He said, cajoling her as if she were a child.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling did not throw any more tantrums and allowed him to pull her inside the dressing room. She too was tired ofining when there was nothing he could do.

    ''But how could he not have a good rtionship with his cousin sister? Was he like that to all of them?'' She thought in concern.

    Handing the clothes to her, He said, "Dress up fast, I will wait for you in the room," before turning to leave and shutting the door behind.

    It looks like Mr. Fang was more worried about leaving the Fang house on time than on the kind of thought that would be swirling in their mind on seeing his girlfriend dressed in clothes.

    Maybe, it could be because the old Lady asked them to stay, so he could directly pin the me on her for Zhang Liling not having anything to wear if they were asked about it.

    In the dressing room, Zhang Liling nced at the clothes in her hand one more time with a deep frown before deciding to put them on.

    Taking off her bathrobe, she revealed the only piece of clothe on her, and that was the G-string she had washed and hungst night.

    She didn''t notice anything amiss when she picked it up to wear after having her bath because, everything looked to be in order.

    Last night after bathing, Mr. Fang had been filled with guilt that he had no choice but to pick up the red thing to rinse before hanging it on the rail properly.

    He had thought that she wouldn''t have anything to put on the next day if it was found dirty, hence he rewashed it.

    At first, he thought of calling Zhang Liling toe and wash it herself, but that didn''t make any sense to him either since he was the one that dirtied it in the first ce.

    But while washing the stuff by himself, he regretted the reason he didn''t end up calling her. He didn''t believe that he would one day hold that weird stuff in his hand.

    Back to the present...

    Zhang Liling quickly put on the pair of joggers and it''s matching long-sleeved sweat shirt. Going to stand in front of the mirror, she nced at her full lenght with her eyes darting around every inch of her body.

    "It looks all good..." She mumbled to herself and just then, she noticed something around her chest area and leaned in close as her brows furrowed.

    Letting out a tired sigh, she turned to leave.

    "At least it''s not too obvious." She said to herself before stepping into the room.

    In the room, she saw Mr. Fang already standing and waiting close to the door for her. And immediately he caught sight of her, he took a few steps forward. With his reading sses missing, he looked very handsome and eye-catching.

    "Are you through?" He asked with a sense of urgency in his tone.

    "Yes," Zhang Liling replied whileing to stand before him. "Mr. Fang look at me properly, can you notice anything?"

    Without a word, his eyes left her face to move to her chest area and immediately, he discovered what was wrong.

 Chapter 247 Dining Area

    "Luckily the shirt is big. It should be fine. Let''s go." He said stretching his left hand out to her.

    Finally, a smile turned up on Zhang Liling''s lips as she immediately took his hand and followed him out of the room.

    She had been worried about her not putting on any bra being noticed from the sculpture of her chest, but luckily, it wasn''t that noticeable and since Mr. Fang said it was fine, then she didn''t have to be worried.

    Had it been she had thought about her not having any proper underwear plus clothes to wear, she would have actually thought twice about staying over at the Fang house.

    Outside, Fang Bingwen showed her around. He started from the East wing where his bedroom was located and went over to the other side (West wing) to point out a few things for her.

    "There are more than 9 bedrooms up here and two living rooms..." Mr. Fang said while leading her down the stairs.

    "I didn''t know your house had this much space mere looking at it from outside." Zhang Liling said in wonder as her gaze darted around, where her eyes could reach.

    She was surprised at how big the Fang Mansion with a traditional setting was when viewed from inside.

    Viewing the house from outside did not do any justice to it in any way.

    After showing her around, inside, he took her outside to show her therge garden.

    Half of it was used for recreational purposes, while the other was used to nt different kinds of Vegetables.

    "Wow! I didn''t know your family grew their own vegetables." Zhang Liling said dumbstruck. Gazing at the fresh vegetables, she couldn''t help butment about them.

    "They are so well taken care of."

    As the smile reached her eyes, she couldn''t help admiring the healthy looking vegetables and just then at the spot, she began to crave for fresh vegetables.

    Staring at the side view of her face, Mr. Fang couldn''t help but to tease her.

    "Why do you look like look like you can''t wait to steal them?"

    "Mr. Fang, it seems that you know what is going on in my mind at the moment." She said without sparing him a nce.

    "I feel like going into that little farm and picking as much fresh vegetables, tomatoes and pumpkins my hands can reach."

    "Little thief. Let''s go." He said and without waiting for her reaction, he directly took her hand and pulled her away.

    While walking on the cemented stone paths in the middle of the carpet grass, Zhang Liling swung his arm gently as she nced at him.

    "Mr Fang, say, do you think your grandma would give me some of the fresh vegetables if I ask?"

    "So your mind is still on them?" He asked with raised brows.

    Didn''t she know how to forget something?

    It looks like Mr. Fang had forgotten that she, Zhang Liling, was one of his best graduating students. Her memory was not for fancy.

    Shaking her head in response, she continued to stare at him, hoping for a positive answer.

    "Why do you want the vegetables? Do you want to cook something?" He asked instead of responding to her earlier question.<sub> </sub>

    "Yes, I want to make something fresh for us. Mr. Fang, in case you don''t know, I know how to prepare some local dishes now." Zhang Liling said with a proud smile.

    Back when she was in Paris, there were some things she spent her time on, and learning how to cook was one of it.

    Seeing that smirk on her face, Fang Bingwen shifted his gaze ahead.

    "There is no need to request for anything when you can get it without asking." He said suggestively.

    <o>,m As for what he meant by their words, Zhang Liling would go on to find outter when they would be leaving for S City.</o>

    At the entrance of the house following the front path, they met a servant who came to call them for breakfast.

    Fang Bingwen walked past the servant without saying anything, while holding unto Zhang Liling.

    Two minutester, they both arrived at arge dining area with several different dishes served on therge dining table.

    There were three different dining areas in the Fang House, and currently, everyone was gathered in the second one, which was the second to thergest in the house.

    This was so, so that it would be possible to amodate a good number of people.

    As soon as Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang stepped into the living area, all eyes of the men and women sitting in therge dining area immediately turned to them.

    Most especially, their gazes rested a little more on Zhang Liling before they looked away.

    But something about the younger generation was very different. Obviously, they liked to stare a bit longer that others.

    "Liling,e to my side." Old Lady Fang said almost rising to her feet as she beckoned on Zhang Liling toe and sit next to the space by her side.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling greeted her along with the rest of the family elders before allowing Mr. Fang to lead her to his grandmother''s side.

    Seeing her dressed that way, Jian Cuifen gave her an apologetic look.

    "Liling, we are sorry that you had to make do with Bingwen''s clothes. It didn''t cross my mind to find you something to wear."

    Smiling from ear to ear, Zhang Liling hurriedly replied, "It''s not your fault Aunty, I can manage."

    "Aiyah!" The old eximed as she pped her hands together. "It''s all my fault for dragging you two to stay over because I wanted to punish Wenwen foringte to my party."

    Again, Zhang Liling waved it off with a smile. She was already very happy with the way they amodated her and didn''t give her that suggestive look she had been worried about.

    Sitting next to the olddy, Mr. Fang settled on the chair next to her.

    "Everyone, meet Bingwen''s girlfriend, Zhang Liling." Old Mr. Fang said with his gaze briefly ncing at his family.

    Hearing the introduction, Fang Bingwen''s cousins looked at her with interest with each having a different thought as she nodded toward them politely.

    One of them, a male who looked to be older than the others, smiled meaningfully with his gaze directed at Fang Bingwen.

    "Bingwen, are you for real this time around, or are you trying to fool us with a fake girlfriend?"

 Chapter 248 Ignore

    Mornings in the Tang house has always been like every other wealthy household.

    Servants waking up on time and going about with their daily tasks, while their masters get to sleep in or do whatever they want before breakfast time.

    In Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei''s bedroom, it was quiet with a lot of tension in the air.

    Waking up in the morning, the first thing Tang Ei did was to pick up his phone and started ying around with it.

    With his phone making some little annoying sounds plus the brightness that spread around the bed, Zhang Xiaoling was forced toe out of her Dreand.

    Squinting her eyes, her body which was facing the drawn curtains, turned slightly, so that her back was now against the back.

    ''What sort of nonsense is this?'' She thought to herself as she heard the low chuckle Tan Ei let out beside her.

    For some reason, the man seemed to have found something interesting on his phone and was busyughing heartily, not caring if he was disturbing her sleep.

    Well, he just didn''t care, not after the stunt she pulled yesterday''s evening at Old Mrs. Fang''s birthday party.

    Being aware that he was probably doing that on purpose just to piss her off, Zhang Xiaoling slowly sat up with the help of her arms.

    With her back resting on the bedboard, she tilted her head to the side as his side profile came to her line of sight.

    She could see him sitting with his legs sprawledzily on the sheets. His hands were on his phone as his eyes glued to the lit screen.

    The corner of his lips curled as his eye shone brightly.

    He didn''t look like he was forcing himself tough.

    ring at him, she scoffed and threw her face to the side before pushing the duvet off her body.

    Climbing straight out of the bed, her feetnded on her pair of flip-flops before walking over to the other side and heading for the inner room.

    Both husband and wife ignored each other and went around their morning business.

    While washing her face in the sink, Zhang Xiaoling heard the ringing sound of her phoneing from the room.

    Normally, her husband would have called out to her, but he chose to ignore her altogether.

    Exhaling deeply, she looked at herself in the mirror before leaning away and going to the handrail to pick up a face towel.

    In careful movement of her hands, she dried the water droplets from her face before wiping her hand.

    When she was through, she dumped the towel in a small basket by the door before going out.

    Zhang Xiaoling stepped into the room and went straight for her phone which was ced on the nightstand.

    Instantly, the ringing sound which had died down, rose up again, and that saved her the trouble of unlocking her phone before seeing who had called.

    Seeing the three capital letter word on her screen, tha annoyance in her heart deepend as her chest rose and fell.

    ''What is she calling me for?''

    Without thinking it twice, she slid her index finger to the side of the screen, automatically ending the call, but she didn''t stop there.<sub> </sub>

    Knowing fully well that her mother would keep calling back until she answered her calls, and not being in the mood to hear her irritating questions, she turned down the volume of her phone.

    She could have simply put her phone on airne mode to save her the troubles of receiving so many missed calls from her, but she at least had to leave a little leeway for some other important calls that mighte in.

    At the Zhang Mansion...

    "Why is she not picking up?" Shi Wenqian muttered to herself with knitted brows.

    While staring down at her phone screen, her thumb finger clicked on the first contact on her recent call list and dialed the number for the upteenth time.

    After a long ring, she was met with the same response. No answer, and just the sound from the female mechanical voice.

    "Arrgh!!" Shi Wenqian groaned and went to sit at the foot of her bed in anger.

    She was still dressed in her night robe, but she managed to at least smoothen her hair before making the call.

    "Why is she not answering my calls?"

    "Does she know the importance of my call?"

    "Don''t tell me she is still in bed at this time..."

    Shi Wenqian just sat there questioning herself until she got fed up with it. And when she was tired, she left Zhang Xiaoling a message asking her to call back as soon as possible as it was urgent.

    After sending the message, she walked into the bathroom to freshen up after which she left for the dining room.

    Zhang Xiaoling who got the message before going out for breakfast, did not open it until she was done eating.

    Finally when she returned to her bedroom and saw the message, she returned her call after letting out a long sigh.

    Fortunately, her husband was chatting with his parents downstairs, so she had the whole room to herself.

    Her privacy was intact.

    Zhang Xiaoling proceeded to dial her mother''s contact as soon as she sat on the couch in the bedroom.

    At the first ring, Shi Wenqian who was a little busy instructing the servants to change the potted nts in the sitting room, immediately smiled when she saw her calling.

    All this time, she had her phone in hand, only for this moment.

    As soon as she answered the call, she didn''t even let her daughter speak first and immediately went on to give her an earful.

    "Xiaoling, where did you drop your phone that you failed to pick up after several calls? Did your mother-inw make you cook them a table of dishes? Are you being bullied?"

    Unable to take her questions, Zhang Xiaoling hurriedly interrupted. "Mum, what is the resosn you called? Please can you get straight to the point, I have ns today."

    The young woman was irritated from the actions she yed out the previous day and her husband''s scolding. And now she had to face her no good mother.

    Could her morning be any uglier?

 Chapter 249 Not Important

    Hearing the impatience in her tone, Shi Wenqian hurried to answer.

    "I was calling because of Old Lady Fang''s birthday party. How did it go?"

    ''Are you kidding me?''

    Zhang Xiaoling''s brows drew close together as the corners of her lips turned downwards. Was this the reason she had been disturbing her with calls all along?

    "Mum, are you serious? Is this why you are calling?" She asked, not forgetting to portray the disbelief in her tone.

    "Why? What is wrong with it? Your father did not allow me to attend such a high ss party, of course I would be curious about it since you went for it." Shi Wenqian said shamelessly.

    She never thought about her actions being stupid and uncalled for. How could she be acting like a kindergarten kid just for an information like this?

    Also, she knew the kind of rtionship she had with her daughter and that her actions would be irritating, but she did not care.

    She was only after what she wanted.

    Unable to spend a moment longer on a call with her, Zhang Liling replied.

    "There is absolutely no need for this call. You have attended a few birthday parties, you should no how it goes, or are you hoping for a change. Mum, if there is nothing else, I would end the call now."

    "Wait!" Seeing that her daughter was angry, Shi Wenqian hurriedly stopped her with a tinge of urgency in her tone.

    "Why are you in a hurry? There are two more reasons I called."

    Zhang Xiaoling rolled her eyes. "And what are they?" She asked impatiently.

    Seeing that she was able to buy more time, Shi Wenqian''s nerves rxed a bit. Without wasting time, she began to speak.

    "Do you know if Fang Bingwen has any unmarried cousin that your brother Mingyu can marry as a second option?"

    Releasing a soft sigh, she continued. "I want to see if I can cook up something before his official wedding announcement. It would be good if we can connect with the Fang family through his marriage since yours did not work out because of Renshu."

    "And what makes you think that Mingyu will be able to marry any member of the Fang family when Father is here?!" Zhang Xiaoling queried in a tone higher.

    It almost felt like she was scolding her mother at the same time.

    Her ns just reminded about what her eyes saw the previous night. Zhang Liling was dating Fang Bingwen, and the Fang family seemed to be fine with it.

    Why was her case different?? When she was interested in Mr. Fang, her stepfather made sure to destroy her thoughts before it could even get to the next level.

    But here was Zhang Liling, receiving the stars plucked directly from the sky. How fortunate.

    But wait, her mother surely did not know that Zhang Liling was back and not just that, she was also having a rtionship with a very important member of the Fang Family.

    How would she react if she just dropped this bomb to her?

    "I was just thinking... Anyway, forget it. I will just let out have a close rtiionship through business." Shi Wenqian said, immediately dismissing her previous ns.

    How could she forget the kind of husband she has at home? The man would never let then be gave rtions with the Fang family through marriage.

    Before, he did not ept it, and he wouldn''t change his mind, not now that he was preparing for Zhang Mingyu to settle down maritally.<sub> </sub>

    "It''s good that you know." Zhang Xiaoling scoffed and threw her face to the side.

    Shi Wenqian''s heavy breath let out into the phone as she walked away from the little bustling noise of the servants moving things.

    While conversing with her, she had made sure to reduce her tone so that no one would hear the content of their discussion.

    Fortunately, all the servants were under her, but that did not mean that she would be so open about her affairs and ns.

    Who knew which of them might bring news to Zhang Renshu.

    Still having something else to say, she took some steps away from the sitting room, and went to the terrace where it was calm.

    Being sure that no servant was clsoe, she continued.

    "Xiaoling, when will youe back? I wanted to talk to you about thepany."

    "What happened with thepany, what do you want to know? I thought that Mingyu is there to tell you everything." Zhang Xiaoling said as she blew on her nails.

    She didn''t bother trying to pretend and hide her emotions because none of it would help.

    It wouldn''t make her mother stop the big ns she had for her brother and focus on her.

    "I don''t want to ask any question. I was looking for a way to see if we can persuade your father to make your brother the President of Zhang Corp instead of the Vice-president like he nned after the wedding." Shi Wenqian revealed.

    The woman had gotten so greedy that she was aiming for a position way higher than her.

    It was already a good thing that Zhang Renshu was nning on letting Mingyu to take on the vice-president position after only working in thepany for a year.

    What kind ofpany promotes people like that even if they were in a hurry to name a sessor?

    Shi Wenqian was surely blinded by greed and Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t have agreed more than this.

    Zhang Xiaoling was not even talking about the attention her mother was not giving to her, but at how greedy she was.

    And with that anger, she didn''t hold back any longer in rebuking her.

    "Mother let me tell you, everything you have talked about till now is not important. Next time before you call my line, make sure the matter is very important."

    Not giving her the chance to retaliate, she ended the call after adding a few more rules.

    "If you call twice and I don''t answer, leave me a text. Don''t ever call me more than twice."

    Zhang Xiaoling was so furious that she pushed back the thought of revealing Zhang Liling''s matters to her.

    Now, she would just let her find out things at the appointed time.

    Seeing that her daughter had ended the call without giving her a chance to speak, Shi Wenqian was so shocked.

    "Why is she angry and even venting it on me?" She mumbled to herself as she let out a shallowed breathing.

    Her fingers continuously tapping on her phone screen as her brows creased.

 Chapter 250 Income Without A Job

    Fang Bingwen gaze briefly swept across the male figure that uttered those words.

    His gaze rested on him for a mere 4 seconds before turning his attention back to the food on the table.

    Picking up his chopsticks after the elders had began to eat, he served Zhang Liling two different side dishes before eating, totally ignoring his cousin.

    Even if He did not reply to his cousin, there were people ready to give him an earful.

    "Qiafan, who sent you to be an analyser of Bingwen''s matters?" The second son of the Fang family asked.

    Apparently, Qiafan who was the same person that suggested for Fang Bingwen yo be set on blindates until he found a woman he liked, was his son.

    Unafraid of his father, he continued with a mischievous smile. "Father, I can''t be wrong. Cousin suddenly stopped going for a blinddate after only attending two minutes with the excuse of having a girlfriend. Then for over a year, he did not bring her over until now. It wouldn''t be surprising if brought over a fake girlfriend. He..."

    "Shut up!" Old Mr. Fang said immediately shutting his grandson up with a stern expression on his face.

    His brows were furrowed as the corners of his lips tugged downwards.

    Qiafan who was having fun teasing Fang Bingwen flinched at the sudden outburst of his grandfather and hurriedly shut his mouth.

    Well, he was not even given the chance to finish his statement as the smirk hanging loosely at the corner of his lips immediately disappeared.

    How did his joke turn to something serious.

    "Do you think Bingwen is like you that can spend a night in the same room as a woman who had no rtions with you?" The old man asked while ring at him.

    Instantly, the dining room went silent. The younger generation even paused with their food, except for the older generation who didn''t mind to continue with their food.

    Fang Bingwen was of course an exception. He continued to put food in his mouth as if the matter didn''t concern him in any way.

    Zhang Liling who was by his side, felt her heart thump widely in her chest at the old man''s outburst of anger.

    She hadn''t expected for him to have this side as she had only seen his calm and happy side.

    ncing at the man who continued to send food into his mouth without care, and seeing the others who didn''t dare to continue with their food, she hurriedly put her left hand under the table.

    Then without a warning, she pinched his thick thighs in a bid to signal him to stop eating.

    Feeling her touch on his thighs, Mr. Fang raised a brow as if to ask ''What?''

    The olddy who was sitting in-between her husband and Zhang Liling, slowly let out a long sigh before tugging in her husband''s sleeve.

    "Angao, let it be. You are frightening Liling." She said in reminder.

    Being reminded of Zhang Liling''s presence, the old man let out a huff and ring at Qiafan one more time, he turned his gaze back to his food to continue eating.

    Zhang Liling let out a sigh of relief. But then, her gaze identallynded on Qiafan, and was taken aback to see him staring at her calmly.<sub> </sub>

    ''What a psycho!'' She concluded in her head before turning her gaze back to her food

    The rest of the breakfast was almost finished in silence with Old Lady Fang putting food in Zhang Liling''s te most of the time.

    Toward the end of breakfast, one of Fang Bingwen''s female cousin, Alyssa, spoke casually to Zhang Liling, asking her a few questions.

    "Zhang Liling, I heard you are a graduate, where do you work now?" She asked with an attentive gaze glued to her.

    This was the first time a member of the younger generation was showing an interest in her, and that too, it had something to do with a job.

    This was the question that no one had asked her yet since she stepped foot into the Fang family.

    At that question, everyone turned their gaze to her. Even the olddy didn''t feel that there was anything wrong with that question and was equally interested in her response.

    Feeling the gazes on her, and with Fang Bingwen not helping by pretending as if he was non-existent, Zhang Liling felt like disappearing.

    Would it hurt him to intervene a bit.

    Seeing how they were all patiently waiting for her response, she summoned courage to respond.

    Managing a smile, she said while staring at Alyssa, "I don''t have any official job."

    Instantly, it seems that time stopped because all of them were taken aback.

    Unable to contain her shock, Fang Bingwen''s second female cousin asked, "You are a graduate without a job?"

    The way she was staring wide-eyed at her, was as if it was a crime to be without a job after graduating.

    Instead of getting embarrassed, Zhang Liling owned up to her work status.

    "Although, I don''t have an official job yet, I still get monthly ie without depending on anyone."

    Zhang Liling''s response this time around, was also surpring. How was it possible not to have a job, but still receive ie at the end of every month without relying on anyone?

    But those into business and those that had more financially education, were able to understand and regarded Zhang Liling highly.

    "I see that you have a few investment." Fang Huiqing said with a smile directed at Zhang Liling.

    Not just him, a few others seemed to be satisfied that at her age, she had something that could bring her ie without the need to sweat for it.

    Mr. Fang, who was a little surprised by his girlfriend, managed to rein down on his emotions as he managed to steal a nce at her.

    ''What has she been up to?'' He thought. But knowing that Zhang Liling wouldn''t reply her until he divulged the n he was keeping from her, he decided to let hat thought off.

    It''s not like he couldn''t find out if he wanted to, but because he didn''t want to intrude on her privacy, he kept calm about it.

 Chapter 251 Bedridden

    "Liling, if you don''t have any work ce yet, Wenwen will ept you if you don''t mind." Jian Cuifen said as three streaks of wrinkles appeared at the rear of her eyes.

    She seemd to like this future daughter-inw of hers very much, and was willing to assist her in any way she could.

    At that suggestion, Fang Huiqing agreed with his wife immediately.

    "Juste to Fang group. You were a business major and that too, one of the best graduating students of your set. We will surely need your help at thepany." He said with a warm smile.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling could feel the warmth radiating from the couple as the spoke to her.

    Everyone liked beingplimented and also the feeling of relevance.

    There is no one who wouldn''t like to feel important, and that''s just how they made her feel.

    Fang Bingwen tilted his head to side as his eyes sized the little woman that smiling from ear to ear. Releasing a soft sigh, he turned his gaze back to his parents.

    "Liling had an offer from thepany, but she had to leave for Paris urgently on her first day at work." He revealed before picking the napkin to wipe the corners of his lips.

    In one sentence, he exined that Zhang Liling already got a job offer to work in Fang Group, but also ended up not reporting to work on her first day because of an emergency in Paris.

    Everyone clearly heard what he said, but they only picked on the second half of his statement.

    They all knew who lived in Paris, and it was no other than Zhang Liling''s mother.

    "There was an emergency in Paris?" Old Lady Fang inquired with creased brows as her gazended on Zhang Liling, searching for answers.

    Zhang Liling nodded in response. And seeing that everyone seems to want an exnation from her from their concerned gazes, she chuckled lightly.

    "A year ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, so I had to leave for Paris."

    "What!"

    "Cancer?"

    "Did she go for Chemo?"

    "How is your mother now?"

    With the questionsing from the elders almost at the same time, Zhang Liling almost had a hard time keeping up with them.

    But at least, Fang Bingwen who brought their attention to this issue, helped her out to exin things to the best of his knowledge alongside with her.

    Atst, everyone was calm again after learning the truth.

    "What is wrong with hospitals these days? They can''t carry out a proper diagnosis?" Old Mr. Fang asked with disappointmentced in his tone.

    Turning to nce at the young woman beside her, the olddy said while gesturing with her hand, "Liling, I wonder the kind of family your Zhang people are. From the way that girl actedst night, it''s obvious they don''t know anything."

    The olddy could still remember Zhang Xiaoling hinting at something else at her partyst night. Now hearing the reason Zhang Liling left for Paris, she just saw how nonchnt they were about her affairs.

    But how could someonee and spew nonsense without being sure of the information they were passing about?

    Somehow, it had be clear of how Zhang Liling is treated in the Zhang family.

    ''Good thing she left.''

    Hearing his mother say that, Fang Huiqing went into a deep thought after being reminded of something.

    His gaze lowered to the te of leftover food before him, lost in thought only he could fathom.

    "Grandma, no one else knows about this. My mother and I chose to not let this information slip." Zhang Liling disclosed to the olddy.

    Being aware of the condition and their stand in the Zhang Family, including the fact about Shi Wenqian wanting to harm her daughter, Song Jujing refused to disclose her illness to any of them, even before she found out it was a misdiagnosis.

    She refused to dine with cameleons.

    It waspletely useless letting them share in her joy and sorrows because while some of them didn''t care, others would use the situation for their good.

    "It''s good that you kept the news to yourselves." Jian Cuifen said with a nod.

    The other elders of the family chipped in one or two sentences. This was not a family matter, so they couldn''t talk at length about it.

    After the matter hade to an end, Zhang Liling pinched Mr. Fang''s thighs with a straight face ahead, but the man was not letting her off.<sub> </sub>

    Despite knowing the reason she pinched him, Mr. Fang pretended to be oblivious to it as he asked with raised brows. "Do you need something?"

    His tone sounded patient, but loud enough for everyone to him clearly.

    Instinctively, everyone turned their gazes to them, and feeling their attention on her, Zhang Liling hurriedly shook her head. "Nothing."

    But inwardly, she bellowed through gritted teeth ''Mr. Fang!''

    After breakfast, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang went back to their rooms to freshen up.

    At the same time in one of the rooms at the Shu''s...

    Shu Rushiy weakly with her back against the Queen-sized bed in her room. Her face was pale and her cheeks was flushed showing the high body temperature she had.

    From time to time, her lips would moved as her weak voice resounded in the room, while a maid tended to her by the side.

    She was currently on a call with someone as the phone ced on the left side of her ce, moved slightly down her earlobe.

    Her right hand sprawled beside her on the clean sky-blue sheets. A tiny tube was attached somewhere on her delicate wrist as a brown tape was used to hold it in ce.

    The end of the tiny tube in the vein on her wrist, was connected to a bag of IV fluid that was hung on an IV pole.

    She was currently receiving treatment as she was down in health.

    "I would have loved to go, but my parents insisted that I should stay behind. It was for my best, as I have been in bed sleeping day in and day out." Shu Rushi said to the person on the other end of her phone.

    Her voice was very weak, showing just how sick she was.

    Because of her condition, she was not allowed to follow her parents to the Fang''s family party. Normally, she would have put up a fight giving how strong-headed she was, but she was even far too weak to sit up without feeling dizzy to argue with them.

    Seeing her condition, Shu Rushi no longer bothered to out up a fight with them.

    The person at the other end of the phone giggled. "Rushi, you missed something important."

    "Something important? What could I have missed at my cousin''s party?" Shu Rushi said with a tinge of arrogance in her tone.

    Even in her sick bed, she was still unable to let go of the bar trait.

    Shu Rushi believed that if anything important had happened at the Fang party, her parents would have mentioned it to her, but she what she didn''t know was that her parents had somewhere else to go to that day.

    They had indeed stepped into the banquet hall, but immediately it was time to go for their next appointment, they bid farewell to the olddy, so they were unable to see Mr. Fange in with Zhang Liling, as they had already left before that time.

    Shu Rushi on the otherhand, has been receiving treatment for a high fever she got since the morning of the previous day, hence the reason she missed Old Lady Fang''s birthday party.

    Ignoring her pride, her friend smiled as she got ready to disclose something to her.

    "Rushi, let me tell you, you would bepletely blown by this."

    Without waiting for her reaction, the youngdy continued, for she was far too impatient and couldn''t wait to break the fresh news.

    How good it felt to gossip.

    "Your cousin came to the party with a woman."

    "What?!" Shu Rushi excalmed as her eyes widened in shock.

    Her weak voice was no where to be found as her tone was bustling with life.

    Without warning, she sprang up from the bed, startling the maid by her side, who immediately came to assist her.

    Despite the fact that she was in pain, Shu Rushi ignored it as she stiffled a groan.

    "What did you just say? My cousin came with a woman?"

    While Shu Rushi was still in shock, the maid that quickly came to help her out, was sure that the person she was speaking to must have moved the phone away from her face.

    Truly, Shu Rushi''s friend had moved the phone away from her ear, and was waiting for the sharp tingle her eardrum just picked, to disappear.

    "She almost burst my eardrums." The youngdy in her pink colour decorated bedroom, mumbled to herself with pouted lips.

 Chapter 252 Parting

    "Did you see who the woman was? Is she a socialite? What family is she from?!"

    Shu Rushi went on to bombard her friend with questions, but at the end of it, she was breathless and feeling very ufortable due to the energy she used.

    Still, she wasn''t able to get the answers she was looking for.

    "Aiyah! Rushi, I was unfortunate to not have caught a glimpse at the woman. Our table was so far, and during the time for a toast, I wasn''t even allowed to leave our table... sighs..."

    "Wait a minute!" Shu Rushi said as her shoulders slumped. "You didn''t see the woman''s face?"

    Her tone sounded unbelievable with disappointmentced in it. Moreso, the anger was evident in her tone.

    "Rushi, why are you so worked up?" Her friend who was also a fellow ssmate as Zhang Liling and Tungmei inquired.

    She just couldn''t understand Shu Rushi.

    It was okay to be taken by surprise due to the kind of news, but she was almost stepping out of line.

    <o>,m Her reaction suggested that she was angry at his new rtionship, as if she owned him.</o>

    Why would she even act that way towards someone who didn''t bother about her existence? Or should the choice of Mr. Fang''s femalepanion be given to her?

    Shu Rushi didn''t see anything wrong with her reaction, and went on to defend herself.

    "Why wouldn''t I be angry? Just wait until I see who that woman is."

    "If you meet her and don''t like her, what are you going to do about it?" The curious voice asked.

    Just what would she do about it? Did she dare to insult and fight her cousin''s girlfriend?

    "Until then!" Shu Rushi replied through gritted teeth as ck lines appeared on her forehead.

    She could already visualize scolding and telling off the woman her cousin found for himself. But then, her cousin''s counter-attack came to her line of sight and she shuddered a bit.

    Her memories pertaining to the kind of person Fang Bingwen was, were still intact. He would wipe her entire being from the face of this Earth if she dared to butt in, in his affairs.

    But was she supposed to let things be?

    ''Rushi, what right do you have to interfere with Mr. Fang''s affairs? You are indeed courting death.'' Her friend who was over the phone thought to herself.

    Shu Rushi must have been one of her best friends, but she still couldn''t say certain things to hearing, or to her face because of her terrible character and approach to some matters.

    Anyway, she was not about to cause a fight between them, hence she retreated back to the sidelines.

    "Rushi, I have something to do really quick. Take care, I will reach out to youter today."

    "Fine." Rushi replied and threw her phone at the space beside her whilst rolling her eyes.

    She didn''t even care if the call had ended or not, and this goes on to show the level of anger she was dwelling in.

    Finally, the sound of a beep was heard in the quiet room.

    Already, smoke wasing out from Shu Rushi''s nose and ears. The fire of jealousy and anger ranging in her, could not be quenched so easily.

    Even the maid attending to her, had to thread carefully.

    Finally unable to contain her emotions, she turned to the servant beside her. "Get my mother here!"

    While saying that, she reached out for her aching forehead as she slowly rested her back against the bed.

    The back of her head dropped on the double pillows that was heaped behind her.<sub> </sub>

    Shu Rushi was going to try and find out who the woman Mr. Fang brought to the party was from her parents.

    And this was how she was going to find out that they left the party before Mr. Fang could arrive with his woman.

    *******

    Looking at the several items going into the booth of the car they were going back in, plus more that were stilling, Zhang Liling finally understood.

    When Mr. Fang had told her that she didn''t have to ask for anything before it would be given to her, it''s now they she was seeing the evidence of his statement.

    They really didn''t ask for anything, and the olddy and Jian Cuifen were already piling the booth of the car up with fresh vegetables and freshly prepared ingredients for cooking.

    Also, there were some leftover traditional snacks from the party that apanied the other stuff.

    The olddy had specifically emphasized that it was for Zhang Liling.

    "Mr. Fang, if this is the benefits ofing back home, why do you then hesitate toe home often? I mean, look at all these goodies..." Zhang Liling said in a soft tone while gesturing to the items with her hand.

    Watching her stand there in awe, Fang Bingwen shook his head.

    How could he tell her that the reason he didn''t end up fighting with her father in this particr return, was because of her presence?

    Sighs...

    He will just allow her to remain clueless. It was too early to be burdened by family issues.

    "Why would I be bothered abouting back home for these things when I could buy them from stores with my money?" He said instead.

    Zhang Liling shook her head disappointedly after he failed woefully to fall in line with her thoughts.

    "Mr. Fang, you mustn''t get everything with your money even if you can afford it. Sighs... Would you even understand what I''m talking about right now?" She asked as she turned to walk to his side.

    "No, thank you." The man said with his ten fingers sliding into the front pockets of his pants.

    There was a calm look on his face while exchanging nces with her. He seemed unbothered by anything in the least.

    Zhang Liling sighed and turned around and went to stand by his side. "Tsk...tsk... I just knew it..."

    She was yet toplete her statement when she saw Fang Huiqing, Jian Cuifen and the old Lady stepping out from the entrance door.

    Instantly, her eyes lit up on seeing them.

    Hearing the series of footsteps behind him, Fang Bingwen tilted his head to that direction before his full body turned to face the trio directly.

    "Bingwen I know that you are in a hurry to leave, but you should not forget to take care of your health, and Liling as well." Jian Cuifen said as soon as they stopped three steps away from them.

    To his mother''s statement, Fang Bingwen nodded in understanding, and just then, he heard his olddy add further as she locked gazes with him.

    "Wenwen, you know that Liling is younger, you shouldn''t bully her."

    Shifting her gaze to Zhang Liling with a smile on her slightly wrinkled face, she continued. "Liling, if he bullies you, just call me, I wille over at once."

    "Of course grandma, I will make sure to give you a call if I am bullied." Zhang Liling replied as the corners of her lips crept up.

    It would be so fun to tease Mr. Fang by reporting him to his family elder.

    Just how fun would that be when she watched the ck lines that would appear on his forehead?

    At this thought, Zhang Liling giggled to herself.

 Chapter 253 Something To Talk About

    Fang Bingwen could very well feel the happiness she was exuding. And it didn''t help matters that she didn''t try to hide it.

    Maybe she wanted him to know how she truly felt.

    But as to what the olddy meant by bullying, it was left for them to find out what she actually meant.

    At least, they understood the first hint, which was a reminder of the age gap between them.

    Fang Huiqing who was standing beside his wife, cleared his throat and sessfully attracted their attention.

    ncing at his son, he asked without calling his name.

    "You two have been dating for a year now, and that is enough time. When do you n on getting married?"

    ''Huh? G-Get M-Married? I-Is that not so soon?''

    Zhang Liling was taken aback by that question as she failed to hide her facial expression.

    Those who were not sure, would have thought that she and Fang Bingwen were not truly dating, because her reaction just gave that idea.

    Yes, she wanted to get married to Mr. Fang, but their dating life had mainly been online, and that too with thousands of distance between them.

    It''s not like if Mr. Fang asked her to marry him now, she wouldn''t agree to it. But the issue here, was that she wanted to experience a normal dating life with him before settling down.

    Stealing a nce from the man beside her, she didn''t notice any change in his facial expression and wondered what he was thinking and a few secondster, she found out.

    ''She doesn''t want to get married now?'' Fang Bingwen thought when he saw Zhang Liling''s surprised gaze, but then, he ignored his thoughts and just faced his father.

    "I will let you know when we are ready."

    His response was so simple and direct that no one could refute him so soon.

    Even the olddy who had agreed with her son about their marriage ns, looked a little disappointed.

    She had thought that she could at least get an encouraging response from her grandson, but he chose to shatter her hope, and the ray of lighting from his namete in her heart.

    Zhang Liling was the only one that sighed in relief as she felt that Mr. Fang''s response was the best.

    At least they would have that opportunity of nning and deciding things by themselves.

    This way, things between then would not seem forced and hurried, and for that she was grateful.

    Hearing his response, Fang Huiqing didn''t utter another word.

    No one tried to persuade them to get married in a hurry, but Jian Cuifen had a little hope.

    "Bingwen, don''t let us wait for long. If you and Liling are worried about taking care of the child that wouldeter, I am here."

    Just in case this was a matter that was preventing them froming to a conclusion about taking the next step, she was already offering them assistance ahead of time.

    And to her suggestion, the olddy chimed in. "Wenwen, I am here as well. You and Liling should not think too much."

    Zhang Liling could only manage a smile, while letting Mr. Fang wrap up the matter.

    They were his family members, not hers.<sub> </sub>

    Taking in a deep breath, she let it out almost immediately.

    Thinking back to the topic about babies, caused a blush to creep up her cheeks. That thought alone, reminded her of the methods of baby making, and her body couldn''t help but react to it instinctively.

    Before climbing into the car, Jian Cuifen and the olddy reached out to embrace Zhang Liling and held her hands to chat for a bit.

    They both told her to visit often.

    Then ncing at Fang Huiqing who stood quietly by the side, Zhang Liling was reminded of her mother''s matter, and was tempted to ask him about it, but she just couldn''t bring herself to do it.

    Feeling her gaze on him, Fang Huiqing said to her, "Extend our greetings to your mother. When next shees to City S, we should meet up."

    Smiling, Zhang Liling nodded inpliance before Mr. Fang took her hand and walked her back to the car.

    *******

    The journey back to City S was smooth and sailing, and Zhang Liling couldn''t stop herself from talking about how weing the Fang Family was.

    Although, Mr. Fang was not too interested in what she was talking about, he still replied her when necessary.

    Fortunately, she didn''t keep on talking for long before they both faced their phones.

    Going straight to her favourite social App, Zhang Liling found her best friend''s contact and clicked on it, before typing away.

    ''Tungmei, I''m back. Let''s meet up when you are free.''

    After sending the message to Tungmei who was offline at that time, she proceeded to reply to most of her pending messages, before a voice came from above her head.

    "Have you nned on where you want to work? Do you want to go back to Zhang Corp ore to Fang Group?" Mr. Fang asked a little curiously.

    This girlfriend of his, was still yet to make a decision about her ce of work.

    Hearing his question, Zhang Liling seemed a bit thoughtful as she her gaze stretched into the distance.

    Putting her phone aside, she thought for a bit before meeting his gaze.

    "I have been thinking about it, I really do not want to let Shi Wenqian have her way, but I don''t want to worry my mother, so I woulde work in Fang Group."

    Left for Zhang Liling, she would have loved to work in Zhang corp, and fight with Zhang Mingyu squarely for the sessor position. Afterall, she had a bargaining chip in her hand, to make her father ept her if she wanted.

    But because she didn''t have a strong enough backbone, so she thought, she decided to let the storm remain calm.

    Mr. Fang nodded at her response, but although he was staring at her, it was clear that his mind was elsewhere.

    Finally, when Zhang Liling was about to go back to pressing her phone, he said in a serious tone.

    "Liling, I have something to talk to you about. I feel that you have the right to know about it, but it''s not yet time to let you in on it."

    "Huh? What do you want to talk about, is it serious?" Zhang Liling raised a questioning brow, as her gaze met his.

    "It is." He admitted. "What I want to tell you, will determine your choice of thepany you would choose to work for."

    As a soft sigh escaped from his lips, he continued, "But I will give you a few days more to rx."

 Chapter 254 Meet Up

    The rest of the journey back to Mr. Fang''s vi, was majorly about Zhang Liling''s curiousness which was at the verge of eating her up.

    But no matter how she pulled on his sleeves and disturbed him while pouting her lips, he automatically turned a deaf ear to her probing.

    The first thing Zhang Liling did after stepping into Mr. Fang''s vi, was to go straight to her bedroom to freshen up as she couldn''t wait to get out of that dress she was putting on.

    All day, she has been braless with an ufortable set of panties hanging tightly around her waist.

    Truly, it was very ufortable to wear that stuff frequently if she was not used to it.

    Zhang Liling felt that her butts needed to feel the softness of a cutton material around it, hence, she quickly took a hot bath before slipping a in white cotton pants around her waist.

    Picking a pair offy clothes from her wardrobe, she put it on before going straight to bed.

    "Tungmei hasn''t seen my message?" She muttered under her breath as she sank into her Queen-sized bed.

    She had left a message for her best friend for a while now, but since then, she was yet to receive her reply or a call from her.

    Zhang Liling went straight to the social App in her phone and clicked on Tungmei''s contact, where a response was already waiting for her.

    "What??!! Liling, are you really back? What time did youe in? We have to meet!"

    Seeing the messages flooding into her phone, instinctively, the corners of her lips stretched as hershes fluttered lightly.

    She could tell Tungmei''s excitement from her messages and couldn''t help smiling to herself. Also, she noticed that it was just now that she was seeing her message.

    Zhang Liling had already set out to reply her when Tungmei''s call came in.

    "Hahaha... She can''t wait." She chuckled before quickly epting the call.

    Immediately, Tungmei''s excited tone rang. "Liling! OMG!"

    The loud shrieks from the other end, plus the sounds of feetnding heavily on a tiled floor repeatedly, caused Zhang Liling to erupt inughter while quickly changing her sitting position on the bed.

    Tungmei was jumping and screaming excitedly at the same time, and Zhang Liling was not oblivious to it.

    "Mei... you have to take it easy on you steps... Hahahah..." Zhang Liling let out happily, as a blissful atmosphere appeared around her.

    A positive energy was transferable, just like it did from Tungmei to Zhang Liling.

    "I don''t care of if I slip and fall. I''m just so happy that you are back." Tungmei said as her chest rose and fell as she stopped jumping and screaming.

    She was a little breathless as she panted for air.

    She was indeed excited that her very good friend was back atst.

    "But I care about you, just calm down." Zhang Liling said as she let out a low chuckle at the end.

    A few minutester, Tungmei seemed to be in a better state, but she was still smiling from ear to ear.

    "Liling, we have to meet today." She insisted. Her friend was back, and she was so restless.

    Tungmei was sure that she wouldn''t be able to do any other thing that day if she didn''t meet face to face with Liling, hence her insistence.<sub> </sub>

    "Even if you don''t have the energy toe out as you would be tired, I cane to your ce, no need to meet in a fancy ce today." Tungmei added.

    Only if this excited youngdy knew that her best friend whom she had been longing to meet, had been in City S for 2 days now, maybe she would bear a little grudge instead of getting that excited.

    Or she would ask for apensation for the heartbreak.

    After much pleading from Tungmei, Zhang Liling agreed to step out.

    Seriously she just wanted to stay indoors and sleep after yesterday''s outing, but because this was her best friend whom she wanted to catch up with, she woulde out.

    "Alright, let''s meet by 4 pm. Would you be free by that time?" She asked, trying to make sure the time for their meet up will be convenient for them.

    "Sure. Any time you set, I would be there exactly where you want me to be." Tungmei replied, letting out a soft chuckle.

    "Fine. Fine, I will look up some nice ces and send the location to me. But if you have any ce you think it''s cool enough to contain our madness for our first meet up in over a year, then please do rmend it to me for booking."

    "Hahahaha... Liling, you are the crazy one whose brain needs to be checkmated. Hahahaha... I really want to see if you are still a nutcase."

    These two youngdies would be meeting for the first time after a long while, so, their meeting was worth anitcipating for.

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei ended up chatting a little over twenty minutes before they called it quits.

    "Let''s leave the rest for a few hours time." Zhang Liling suggested with a smile that reached her eyes, and Tungmei agreed.

    "Sure. I know you returned with a gift for me, don''t forget it whileing otherwise, don''t bother showing your face."

    "Hahahaha..." Zhang Liling burst into a series of uncontrobleughter.

    Some secondster, she gradually calmed down.

    "I won''t forget it. See you soon." She said.

    Even after their conversation hade to an end, bothdies were still smiling with their backs against their beds in their respective bedrooms, as happiness radiated from them.

    Zhang Liling was still all smiles when a notification sound went off on her phone. She didn''t check her phone immediately, and was busy daydreaming about meeting her best friend again.

    After a few minutes had passed, she remembered about the notification and unhurriedly unlocked her phone only to see an SMS on her phone from a certain someone.

    "Mr. Fang sent a message?" She mumbled to herself as a glint shed past her eyes.

    Immediately, she clicked open the message, she saw a romantic question which left her with mixed feelings, waiting to be answered.

    "Would you like to dine outside this evening?"

    ? "Eeehhhh...!!!!" Her eyes widened in shock as her mouth remained agape.

    Mr. Fang was asking her out on a date this evening, when she already had an appointment with her best friend, Tungmei at the same time.

    What choice would Zhang Liling make?

 Chapter 255 Request For A Kiss

    What choice would Zhang Liling make between the date she has been hoping for with the man she loves, and the date she had with her friend whom she has not seen for a while?

    Well, Zhang Liling indeed had no other option but to make a choice.

    Imagine where she had to go straight to Mr. Fang''s study to cancel on the date with him?

    Fang Bingwen was only surprised that she had already made arrangements with her friend shortly before he sent that message to her.

    Looking her up and down, he said, "You can go. Some other time, we would go out."

    Instantly, the guilt on Zhang Liling''s face disappeared and was reced with relief. "Really, you are not angry?" She asked as she leaned into his table.

    "Why would I be angry?" Mr. Fang asked. He was staring at her calmly as he tried to understand what she meant by that.

    Hearing him say that, she straightened her back as the corners of her lips stretched to the sides. "I''m happy you are not angry, but when will our next date be?"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to ask, just to rify things with him. At least, she would be sure of their next date, and have it at the back of her mind.

    Mr. Fang understood and quickly nced at the table calendar of his desk while replying, "My tomorrow looks a bit packed, so I''m not sure if we can shift it to that day. But if you don''t have any ns in the evening of tomorrow, and have no problems with waiting, I would let you know if we can go out by 3 pm tomorrow."

    Because of his new ns, Fang Bingwen was a bit overwhelmed with work, and he could recall that his schedule was fully packed on Monday.

    The reason he made this kind of arrangement with her, was so that if it were possible to shift some of his work over to the next day, they would go on a date, but if it wasn''t possible, he would continue and scehdule their date on another day.

    "Alright." Zhang Liling said in agreement. "I am fine with anything propose." She added and turned to leave, but he stopped her.

    "Would you have dinner with me at home, or would you eat more than enough outside?" He asked with his gaze upon her face.

    His brows were slightly creased as he waited for a response.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling smiled amusedly. ''Mr. Fang wants mypany? We must be living in another.''

    "I will make sure to leave some space in my stomach so I can have dinner with you."

    Mr. Fang nodded. "Mmmm... Don''t drink any alcohol ande back and give me some dimwitted reasons why you took it."

    Zhang Liling was very good at makingme excuses for doing things she was warned against, so here he was telling her off ahead of time.

    As he said that, Zhang Liling''s face changed a bit. How was it possible not to drink when this was a get together with ehrvbest friend?

    Does Mr. Fang no what he is requesting for?

    To her change in facial expression, Mr. Fang was indifferent. "Also, before you leave,e and show your outfit to me." He added.

    "Mr. Fang, you are really asking for too much." Zhang Liling said to him without batting an eye as her lips pouted.<sub> </sub>

    Her brows were knitted in a frown as sheid herints.

    First, was not to drink, and another one, was to leave the house dressed in an outfit that he approved of.

    ''Maybe, it''s time to move back to my ce.'' She thought to herself.

    "Am I asking for too much? I am looking out for you, and myself." Mr. Fang said as he reclined his back on the backrest of his chair.

    Without waiting for her response, he continued, "You are now my girlfriend, so you have to drop some carefree acts. You can''te home drunk. I don''t know the level of your alcohol tolerance, so you can''t drink without me. Who knows the trouble you will cause while drunk outside? I don''t even want to think about it."

    This was Mr. Fang''s worry, that his girlfriend who was already a handful, would cause public attention when she was drunk.

    He couldn''t be rest assured if he wasn''t by her side when she was drinking.

    "Fine!" Although Zhang Liling was not happy, she agreed to listen to him.

    "But I have a condition." She said, surprising the man who had secretly sighed in relief.

    "What is it?" Fang Bingwen raised a question brow, but then, he watched her walk over to the other side of the table where he was sitting as a smirk turned up on her lips.

    ''What is she nning?''

    "For me to be very obedient today, you have to bribe me. After all, I am younger."

    A tired sigh escaped his lips as he watched here to his side, and turned his swirling chair to the side, just so she could gain a little ess to stand in between his legs.

    Ignoring her little action, he asked, "What do you want? Spending money?"

    "Spending money?" Zhang Liling asked, with a bemused expression on her face as she hopped on his desk after clearing the space.

    "I don''t want your money, I have money. I want something else." She said as her eyes trailed from his eyes and down to his lips.

    Mr. Fang who has been staring at her all this while, saw her eyes move from his eyes and to his lips and tilted his head to the side, a little confused.

    "What do you want? A kiss?" He asked, not sure if he was right or not.

    "Bingo!" Zhang Liling said with a proud smile as her smiling gaze shifted back to his eyes. At least he was smart this time around.

    ''I see...''

    "Well, if you want a kiss, you bettere down. You are too high up." Mr. Fang said as his gaze trailed her down to her legs that were dangling off his desk.

 Chapter 256 Difference Between A Kiss And A Peck

    If a kiss was her problem, then he would give it to her.

    But the way he said it as if it he was only trying to fulfill a request, nearly killed off the tingling sensation Zhang Liling was feeling from recalling the deep passionate kiss they shared in his bedroom back at the Fang Mansion.

    Learning of the barrier holding him back from kissing her, Zhang Liling hurriedly jumped down and sat on his right thigh with her legs in-between his legs before wrapping her hands around his neck.

    "Mr. Fang, where is my kiss?" She asked with a big smile.

    She was suddenly liking this. Sitting on his thigh with her hands circling his neck, and about to feel his lips on her.

    This was a heaven on earth feeling for her.

    Without a second to waste, Mr. Fang circled his right hand around her waist from behind before reaching out to cup her cheek with his left hand.

    <o>,m Gently, he brought her face close to his and stared at her eyes for a few seconds.</o>

    "Shut your eyes." He instructed in a soft tone.

    Zhang Liling obeyed him, and just as hershes fluttered close, she felt his hot breath fan her cheeks as she breathed in sharply.

    Time seemed to stop as his lips met hers, but the fluttering in her heart only seemed to intensify.

    She could feel how soft he felt against her mouth, and how addictively he invaded her senses at the same time.

    Unable to hold in her rationality, her hands grasped the back of his neck as she moved closer to his body to feel the warmth radiating from him.

    Mr. Fang who was in the middle of invading the insides of her mouth with his tongue, paused as hisshes fluttered open.

    He could feel her soft chest rubbing lightly against his body. A distracting move that threatened his rationality.

    ''W-Why did he stop?'' Zhang Liling missed the feeling of his tongue in her mouth as her eyes snapped open.

    Fang Bingwen could feel her dissatisfaction as she panted lightly. Her warm breath although destabilising, was so inviting that he gave in.

    Heat rose from Zhang Liling''s stomach to her chest. As Mr. Fang''s lips got closer, her heart decided to skip a bit in anticipation, the smell of him was hypnotic beyond reason.

    Zhang Liling parted her lips as she felt him washing over her like a wave of warmth. Her toes curled as the flip-flop on her feet threatened to slip away.

    She made a throaty sound as he plunged his warm tongue inside her mouth. Soon, their tongues were already dancing to the same rhythm as she fought to meet up with his pace.

    She refused to be on the receiving end with nothing to offer.

    Almost a minuteter, Zhang Liling broke the kiss without warning, surprising Mr. Fang whose eyes cleared up from the passion.

    "Mr. Fang, this is not what I asked for." She said standing up from his thigh.

    Fang Bingwen''s gaze trailed her as he watched her walk over to the other side of his table. "You asked for a kiss, so why are you running away?"<sub> </sub>

    He couldn''t understand what just happened. Did her eyes clear up?

    "Mr. Fang, that was more than a kiss." Zhang Liling said as she faced him with a slight frown.

    "Is there anything like that? You asked for a kiss and not a peck. There is a big difference between this two."

    Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Next time, be sure of what you want before making a request."

    He could guess that the kiss was a little too much for her, hence the reason she ran away. But wasn''t she the one that asked for it when he was on his own?

    "What?" She eximed in disbelief. "How could a kiss be so intense? Mr. Fang, can you not tempt my like that? If you kiss me this way every time, I can''t promise that I won''t pounce on you."

    She had asked for a normal kiss, but he ended up taking it to the next level. Because of his charms, she lost herself in the kiss.

    A temptation that that nearly could not be subdued.

    But Mr. Fang thought otherwise. "You can''t seed, not if I let you."

    "I doubt that." Zhang Liling said thoughtfully. "If I seduce you, you will have no choice but to sumb to the temptation."

    "Are you daring me right now?" Mr. Fang asked amusedly.

    He has always known that it was in her nature to push people to the extreme, but unfortunately, she wouldn''t seed with him any time soon.

    "Are you falling for it?" Zhang Liling asked as she winked, giving him a knowing smile.

    Shaking his head, he leaned away from the backrest of his chair. "Not even close. No sex before marriage."

    "What?" Zhang Liling was taken aback by"Are you saying that for you to sleep with me, we have to be married first?"

    "Yes," He replied. "I don''t want to sleep with the woman I''m about to get married to." He exined further.

    Hearing him address her as the woman he is about to wed, Zhang Liling''s heart fluttered as she felt a sweet tingle in her body.

    "That''s so sweet of you," She said and immediately ran back to his side to peck his lips.

    Leaning away to stare into his surprised eyes for a moment with a mile on her face, she said, Thank you," before scurrying away like a little rabbit running away from its hunter.

    "Weird woman," Mr. Fang''s lips uttered as he reached his fingers to the soft spot where her lips had touched.

    As she opened the door and left his sight, he retracted his gaze that was resting on her.

    When Zhang Liling returned to her room, she had a nap beforeing down for lunch.

    After a simple lunch without Mr. Fang, she returned to her room to n her outfit for the outing she had with Tungmei in a few hours.

 Chapter 257 Catch Up (I)

    Tungmei was the first to arrive at the scheduled meet-up location.

    The youngdy was already very impatient for having been waiting for a little over 5 minutes.

    On the table before her, there was a ss of water and a bottle. Because of her current emotion, she needed something that would keep her busy while waiting for Zhang Liling.

    Not long after, Zhang Liling arrived. She was panting heavily as she made her way into the spacious restaurant.

    Inside, there were a few guests sitting at the table designated for two.

    Zhang Liling had chosen this restaurant mainly because if the table for two. She liked this sort of arrangement just so she could sit closely to Tungmei.

    Zhang Liling was putting on a ck jean trousers and a sleeveless rainbow coloured top. Her hair was in a ponytail.

    Today, she was putting on a minimal makeup. Her lips were a natural pink already, so she only had to highlight it with a colourless lipgloss.

    As Zhang Liling went to confirm her table, the corners of her lips curved, expressing just how excited she was.

    There was a designers shopping bag in her left hand as she gestured with her right hand while conversing with the waiter at the desk.

    Soon, she was shown the way her table.

    Had it been the building was structured the way it was, Zhang Liling would have been able to see Tungmei as she stepped inside but unfortunately, she had to take a turn before seeing the rest of the guests.

    The moment she took a turn with the waiter leading the way, her eyes darted around, searching for a familiar someone.

    Tungmei who was sitting, was equally searching therge room with her eyes hovering around her surrounding.

    There was a look of anticipation on her face as she shifted nervously on her seat.

    But as soon as Zhang Liling stepped into her line of sight, she screamed without reservation, instantly disrupting the peace of other guests as they all turned their gazes to her direction with creased brows.

    Tungmei was unaware of themotion she had caused and unhurriedly got off her seat with a big smile stered on her face.

    As soon as Zhang Liling heard her name being called, she didn''t need any soothsayer to tell her that voice belonged to her friend, Tungmei.

    Instinctively, her sightnded on the familiar figure dressed in a cotton in white dress that was rushed out from her seat and was heading toward her direction.

    "Tungmei." She called out and bolted to meet up with her midpoint, as the waiter that was leading the way for her, stood aside and watched with a half-smile on her face.

    She was torn between stopping thedies from causing amotion in the restaurant, and watching the reunion between them.

    Not just her, almost everyone that was paying attention to Zhang Liling and Tungmei, could tell that they hadn''t seen each other in a long time.

    This was indeed a happy reunion.

    "Liling!" Tungmei screamed one more time as she ran into Zhang Liling''s open arms, embracing the life out of her.

    Wrapping their arms around each other, they cried out together in excitement, totally forgetting where they were.

    If they were not stopped, they would have recountered all they have been upto while in each others embrace in the middle of the restaurant, with all eyes on them.

    Fortunately, the waitress that was leading the way for Zhang Liling, had toe up to their side to disrupt their loud reunion.

    "Excuse me, Miss. Please take your seats, you are actually disturbing the other guests." The waitress reminded in a soft tone, while meeting their gazes.

    At her reminder, the noise erupting form their lips died down as their eyes darted around their surroundings.

    They didn''t even need to study the pull of emotions swirling in the men and women in the room, who had their gazes on them.

    "Tungmei, I think we should continue this at our table..." Zhang Liling uttered in an almost inaudible tone, with her eyes moving amongst the guests.

    "Yeah, I think so too..." Tungmei forced a smile as her eyes darted around.

    She was so embarrassed for making so much noise there by attracting that much attention to herself.

    If there was a way she would have dragged Zhang Liling out of the restaurant so she could have her peace of mind again, she would have done it.

    She was so tempted, but she couldn''t do it. Where would they go?

    With her heart racing in her chest, she retracted her gaze from the guests. Pulling Zhang Liling by the arm, she dragged her to the table she reserved for them.

    The waitress that was waiting at the side, sighed in relief as she watched them walk to their table, while the other guests shook their heads in disapproval before turning their gazes back to their partners and the food served before them.<sub> </sub>

    "Liling, it''s so nice to see you after a few centuries." Tungmei said with the corners of her lips stretching so wide that it could tear if she went on smiling like a lost fool.

    "I missed you too!" Zhang Liling said whilst giggling to herself.

    Tungmei gave her a scrutinizing gaze with the never ending smile stered on her face. "You look more fresher." Shemented, taking note of her clearplexion, and the little flesh yhstvwas added to her body.

    Zhang Liling waved it off as her shoulders shrugged. "That''s because there is a thing called ''school stress'' that is no longer existing in my world."

    Hearing that, Tungmei chuckled softly with a hand over her mouth to stiffled herughter.

    "You... can''t be serious... Liling." She said in the middle ofughter.

    Zhang Liling stared seriously at her with a wink. "You look more human now. Before, we were all looking lost because of lectures and exams. But now, we have a little freedom."

    She was also examining the changes her friend had undergone, and noticed that she was not looking bad herself.

    Although they used to facetime each other when she was away, but the feeling back then, could not bepared to seeing her real life.

    There was just a different touch to it.

    "Well, you are right. I think when you start to look after yourself a bit more, there are bound to be changes." Tungmei said in response to herment.

    She was not arguing about the fact that her looks had indeed changed. Obviously, she looked better than before, even though she was still a bit stressed because of work.

    "Tungmei, we have so many things to catch up with, but let''s order our food first and while waiting for them to serve it, we will continue chatting." Zhang Liling suggested, and Tungmei immediately agreed.

    She didn''t doubt that they could forget about eating and end up chattingte into the night.

    She knew them, they were very capable of doing that, hence, she agreed to her suggestion.

    Now in agreement, Zhang Liling turned her body as her head tilted to the side.

    Seeing a passing waiter, she gestured for him toe over immediately their eyes met.

    After the waiter came and took their food and drink order, he left, after asking them to give him a few minutes to return with their order.

    Zhang Liling shifted her gaze to Tungmei. The smile on her face bloomed ever brightly the more she stared into her friend''s happy eyes.

    Before their chat could go on, Zhang Liling picked up the brand name designers shopping bag she came with from next to her feet.

    Putting it on the table in front of her, her right hand pushed it to Tungmei. "I got you a gift from Paris."

    "Awwnnn..." Tungmei rubbed her hands together with a grin sitting on her face.

    Her eyes threatened to close as the smile on her face reached her eyes.

    The kind of happiness radiating from her, could not be hidden from the tables next to them, even though there was a four-step long stride before the next table.

    Touching the handle of the bags, Tungmei lowered it as she pulled it toward her, but then pauses in her action as her eyes slowlynded on Zhang Liling''s face.

    "Can I open it here?"

    Smiling, Zhang Liling asked, "Why?"

    Tungmei shrugged her shoulders. "I''m just so curious as to know what you got me this time around, that''s all."

    A smirk turned up at the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips as she leaned her back on her chair.

    "Well, you are not allowed to open it until you get to your house. That reminds me, how those it feel to stay in a shared apartment with someone you don''t know?"

    Tungmei was quiet for 2 seconds before responding. She had to think about her experience with her housemate before replying.

    "Well, it''s not bad." She said, as a sigh escaped her lips.

    "At first, it was a bit annoying even though I''m used to living with people. But with time, as two adults, we had to set rules for ourselves, and things started to work out between us."

    During their college days, Tungmei lived in the school dorm with three different people, so she had an experience of learning to tolerate people, and have then in her living space.

    But Zhang Liling who was used to owning things, and having her own living space, just couldn''t get used to this lifestyle.

 Chapter 258 Catch Up (II)

    Zhang Liling and Tungmei chatted a bit about her roommate before moving over to the next topic as the waiters came back with their food and drink order.

    Tungmei who was aware about Song Jujing suffering from cancer, asked about her.

    "How is Aunty now, how are the Chemo sections going?"

    A soft sigh fell of Zhang Liling''s lips at the reminder of her mother''s betrayal. But she was not feeling so bad unlike before.

    Deciding to spill the truth the way it was, her lips parted slightly to bring forth words.

    "We found out that her Cancer diagnosis was a mistake." She revealed as her gaze pinned on Tungmei''s face.

    "I don''t understand," Tungmei said with furrowed brows as her eyes squinted at her.

    She looked a little confused, while trying to mask the shock she had felt.

    It''s not like she didn''t hear her the first time, but the fact that she was shocked at the unbelievable news.

    The cancer diagnosis was a mistake? What kind of stupid mistake did the hospitalmit?

    A weak smile turned up on Zhang Liling''s face as she went on to exin from the Genesis to the revtion of what her words meant.

    As Tungmei listened, she couldn''t hide the anger in her heart. She med the hospital for their negligence.

    How could they make that kind of mistake?

    How could a person withpletely healthy cells, be misdiagnosed with that kind of illness?

    Imagine undergoing Chemo for some months without anything being wrong with you. This is simply ying with someone''s life.

    Tungmei''sints rained down as her facial expression turned dark, but as this matter has passed, Zhang Liling didn''t want then to continue dwelling on it.

    "Tungmei, there is no need getting angry, it''s not worth it anymore. There is so much you can do with a stable emotion."

    Tungmei breathed in heavily. "Hope the hospitalpensated your mum?" She asked without raised brows.

    She was trying to make sure Song Jujing wasn''tpletely on the lose end.

    "I don''t know, but I''m sure they did otherwise, my mother would have sued them." Zhang Liling said as she picked up the bottle of non-alcoholic wine she ordered.

    Tungmei''s gaze followed Zhang Liling''s hands as they picked up the bottle of wine, and it was then she noticed the kind of wine that was ordered.

    She couldn''t help but toment about it. "Liling, I thought you would have ordered a bottle of Champagne in the least to celebrate our reunion. Why did you get a bottle of grape wine instead?"

    Finally having something to distract her attention, Tungmei felt relieved as a deep sigh escaped from her lungs.

    As Zhang Liling held the bottle with her left hand, she proceeded to shred the silver covering at the mouth with her right fingers.

    "I don''t want to taste any alcohol today." Briefly raising her gaze to meet her eyes, the corners of her lips curled.<sub> </sub>

    "Let''s have alcohol another time, you have work tomorrow."

    Zhang Liling could have easily given her the idea of her new rtionship, but she didn''t want to, at least not at the moment, so she gave another reason which didn''t go down with Tungmei.

    Tungmei huffed and threw her face away. "Just the reminder of what day tomorrow is, its already making me exhausted."

    Zhang Liling didn''t need to ask about work, because they constantly talked about it over chat while she was away.

    "At least no one is bullying you, so I don''t have to be troubled." She said with a sigh as she poured some of the red grape wine into their wine sses before putting the bottle at the center of the table.

    Picking up her wine ss, Tungmei stretched it toward her, so they could clink sses, and just as the ''ng'' sound from their sses colliding sounded, she replied,

    "The work load is not different from bullying."

    Zhang Liling chuckled soundlessly as she watched her drink from her ss.

    Shaking her head, she ced the rim of her wine ss on her lips before raising the ss slightly to take a few sips.

    As her tongue relished the divine taste of the good wine, she nodded in approval. "This is good wine." She said almost giving her ss a thumbs up after she gently put it down.

    "You have always had a good taste with wine, and that to, you know how to pick them." Tungmeiplemented with a small smile before turning her attention to her food.

    It was time to eat after all.

    "Thanks to my stay in Paris." Zhang Liling said, finishing the sentence with a wink.

    In the middle of eating, Tungmei whose mind had been busy paused with her food briefly, to ask, "Liling, does your Father know you are back? What about the others?"

    Cutting her steak with the cutlery, Zhang Liling picked up the piece she got with her fork before sending it into her mouth.

    "I don''t know, and it''s not my concern at the moment."

    She couldn''t say for sure if they were now aware of her presence in City S, not after Zhang Xiaoling saw her the previous night and tried to abandon her.

    In fact, Zhang Liling was very sure that her stepsister would would spread the news of her appearance at the Fang Family''s party, but she didn''t care about it.

    She was waiting for a call, just one call, and that''s if her father dared to dial her contact number.

    Well whatever it was, Zhang Liling couldn''t be bothered with it. There were some things she needed to decide on.

    Heating her say that, Tungmei knew that she didn''t have to concern herself with it and only sighed as she continued to eat her food.

    To ease the atmosphere, Zhang Liling asked about Tungmei''s family.

    "Are your parents still disturbing you? Thest I was informed, you sent them moneyst month."

    "Mttchee... I''m sure they are expecting something from me at the end of this month as usual."

 Chapter 259 Catch Up (III)

    Since Tungmei started her internship at Zhang corp, she has been sending money back home to her parents who wouldn''t let her be.

    She already wasn''t getting paid enough to live afortable life, and they were already squeezing the little one she could save, out of her hands.

    "Maybe it''s time to set some rules to them." Zhang Liling suggested.

    "Every month, you give almost 50% of your earnings to them, leaving 60-65% for your bills which is not right. At this day and age, it is not right to be without savings as anything could happen at any time." She advised with her gaze resting on her face.

    "I really have to start hardening my heart. I know that my parents did their best to raise me and pay my school fees, but that doesn''t call for this. It''s not like I''m undergoing some kind of punishment."

    A soft sigh escaped Tungmei''s lips. She was tired, but what could she do.

    "It''s not bad to support family, but using your money to give your brother afortable life while you sweat for it, it''s not right. You haven''t even risen, and they are already dragging you down."

    Zhang Liling seemed annoyed with the whole family problems Tungmei was shouldering.

    If her money was only used to support her brother''s education, they would have been better, but to use her family to get him everything he wanted, was inhumane.

    Sometimes, Zhang Liling wished that their lives could be exchanged, so she could teach her family a very big lesson if Tungmei didn''t have the kind of heart to do that.

    What were friends for? Of course it was for situations like this.

    "Liling, I''d rather I enjoyed the rest of my meal. Thoughts about my family is provoking." Tungmei confessed with a slight frown as she poked her steak with the fork.

    Realizing that she had ruined a bit part of their meal with an ufortable topic, Zhang Liling hurriedly apologized by pouring her some wine.

    "Tell me, is there any new rtionship on the way?" She probed with a yful smirk ying at the corners of her lips as she hinted at something.

    Staring at her, Tungmei erupted inughter. "Hahahaha..."

    "What are youughing, I asked a question." Zhang Liling said as she poured some wine into her ss before putting the bottle down.

    "You are funny. Do I look like I have the time to date? Liling, I do not. I am barely survivng with my job plus the stress from my family."

    Waving her thumb finger in front of her, she added, "I can''t afford to be in any rtionship at the moment. There is no longer space in my head to tolerate another stress."

    But Liling did not agree with her.

    "You need a little romance to ease the stress umted from work and family."

    Staring at her with amused expression on her face, Tungmei asked, "And when this romantic rtionship starts stressing me, what will I rely on?"

    Picking up her wine ss to take a few sips from it, Zhang Liling replied while giving her a side nce.

    "Friendship. You can rely on me when that timees." She said, giving her the idea of their rtionship.

    It was just a reminder that she didn''t have any excuse to not date.of a time came when she was feeling stressed from her Family, work, and boyfriend, she could alwayse to her to get relieved.

    Tungmeiughed over her statement, and was tempted to toy with her by asking ''What if I had a problem with you as well?'' but she refrained for doing so.

    But as the smile on her face rxed, she suddenly thought of something as her eyes squinted.<sub> </sub>

    "Liling, this one you are talking about having a boyfriend, do you have one?" She voiced her thoughts without warning.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s lips curved upwards, as the corners of her eyes wrinkled.

    Her lips parted slightly, and unable to hide her happiness at the thought of Mr. Fang being her boyfriend, she picked up her wine ss to hide w bit if her joy.

    "What made you think so?" She asked, feinging ignorance while at the same time, not denying her thoughts.

    ''What made me think so? Your expressions and gestures says everything.''

    Ignoring her question, Tungmei said with a knowing smile, "Liling, you have a boyfriend?"

    At her question, Zhang Liling put down her ss as a smirk spread across her face. Still, she refused to give a response, allowing her to guess the answer herself.

    Understanding that she was right with her guess, Tungmei began to pester her for answers.

    "Liling, you are really dating?"

    "Since when?"

    "Who is your boyfriend?"

    "Where is he from?"

    "Is he handsome?"

    "Is he rich?"

    "Who else knows about this?"

    No matter how many questions cane flooding from her lips, Zhang Liling refused to give an answer, except for two particr question which she felt would divert her attention to another thought.

    To the questions, ''Is he rich? Is he handsome '' Zhang Liling replied.

    "My boyfriend is rich, and he is so handsome. Don''t worry, you will testify to it once I officially introduce you to him."

    "And when will that be?" Tungmei asked impatiently as she drummed her palms on the table thrice.

    She could tell that her good friend didn''t want to divulge any more information concerning the man she was dating, and that only made her insides to cringe.

    So since she couldn''t get some important information to her man now, she could only ask for the day she would be able to know more about him.

    "Calm down, I will tell you soon. Maybe in a few days in the least." Zhang Liling said with a suggestive smile that annoyed Tungmei.

    "Damm!" Thetter eximed as she mmed her palms on the table in annoyance.

    Fortunately, the guests that were a little startled that turned their heads in their direction, nced back to their table a fe momentster.

    "I feel like tearing you apart at the moment." Tungmei confessed as she immediately picked up her wine ss and downed the remaining content into her mouth.

 Chapter 260 Perfume Factory

    The next day being Monday, most of the working ss citizens returned to work after a rxing weekend.

    p After breakfast with Zhang Liling in the morning, Mr. Fang left for hispany before 9 AM.</anda>

    Today was going to be very busy since it was the first day of work in the new week, plus he had other pending important ns to round off.

    Close to Lunch break, Bolin came to find him in his office with a small smile ying at the corners of his lips.

    "Boss, the factory called, the first batch of perfume is ready as per your order."

    Hearing that, Fang Bingwen who was busy typing away on hisptop, looked up to meet his gaze.

    There were visible lines on his forehead as his eyes widened a bit. "Have they been packaged?" He asked.

    "Yes, Boss. Everything is ready." Bolin replied as the happiness radiating from him increased a bit.

    Mr. Fang nodded in satisfaction as he leaned on the backrest of his chair and swirled around a bit as his index fingernded on his lower jaw.

    "Get ready, we are leaving for the factory in 30 minutes." He informed as his eyes briefly nced at the table clock on his work desk.

    "Yes, Sir." Bolin replied as he offered a bow at the same time.

    "You may leave." Mr. Fang said waving his hand a bit in a bit to shoo him away, and he understood and turned around to leave.

    As Bolin''s back disappeared from his space, the corners of Fang Bingwen''s lips curled slightly as a glint shed past his eyes.

    He had been working on a scent for the past year, including another one that was special to him, and finally, they were ready to be released into the world.

    A few momentster, his attention turned back to hisptop as he leaned away from the backrest. Immediately, his fingers flew on the keyboard as he resumed typing away.

    Finally when lunch break came, he went into the little sitting area next to his office to each the food he brought with him from home.

    Zhang Liling had ordered the chef to cook something with the fresh vegetables and ingredients they took back from the Fang Mansion, and she had insisted that he carried some food to work.

    Because he didn''t want to get the scent of food into his office, he had that little sitting area carved out from his main office when he took over from his father.

    Now, he could without worrying about the scent of food following him while working.

    Fifteen minutester, Mr. Fang finished eating and used the air freshener in the little space before stepping out.

    Walking back to his desk, he pulled open a drawer without sitting, and brought out his signature perfume.

    Holding the body, his thumb went to the mouth and applied a little pressure to get some of the liquid onto his wrists, before putting it back.

    At the same moment, Bolin knocked again and walked into his office with his work bag.

    "Boss, the car is ready."<sub> </sub>

    Fang Bingwen merely nced at him before picking up his phone from the desk, and then turned around to walk towards the door.

    The drive from thepany to the factory which was located in a less busy location didn''t take more than half an hour.

    The factory was located in a very clean environment without any other building surrounding it closely.

    A fewpanies in City S, had their factories located in this area because of the kind of environment. Also, the Government had to know the kind of factory about to be built, before giving the permission to be built in that particr area.

    So, this environment was not for every kind of factory.

    As soon as their car parked in front of the factory, Bolin opened the pigeon hole in the front passenger side of the car and took out a packet nose masks.

    Quickly, his hands drew out one. Turning his body slightly, he handed it to the man sitting behind him.

    "Boss, we have arrived." He announced.

    Fang Bingwen looked away from his phone screen and took the nose mask from him. Strapping it on his nose, he opened the car door and got out before slipping his phone inside the front pocket of his pants.

    Together, both men made their way into the building leaving the driver to stay in the car as the factory manager and a few other people, walked out from therge building to wee them.

    "Mr. Fang, we have been expecting your presence," the factory manager said with a smile as he reached out his hand for a handshake.

    Fang Bingwen returned the gesture by giving him a firm handshake before retracting his hand.

    "I heard the first batch of perfumes has been packaged, so I came to check them out."

    Smiling, the manager confirmed his knowledge. "You are well informed, Sir." Then gesturing with his hands, he led the way for them.

    "Come and see them. We knew you would being as you have been with us in every step of the production, so we left the perfumes after bottling them. We did this so you can check the little details yourself."

    Fang Bingwen nodded as he followed the man and the other supervisors inside, with Bolin following closely behind him.

    Truly, Fang Bingwen has been with the factory workers from the first stage of production to thest, as he was the one that invented this particr scent and wanted to mass produce them.

    Although, there have been a few times they failed to get the exact scent because of failure to get the correct quantity of the ingredients, every one was relentless and worked hard just to get the same replica as Mr. Fang hade to them with.

    And finally, they did, which ended in victory.

    The reason things had been difficult for them with the quantity of each ingredient to use in order to get the right scent was because, Mr. Fang had experimented on his own with a little quantity of everything for a while before getting the perfect scent he wanted to achieve.

    Now for them to do a mass production, they had to get the right amount of each perfume ingredient, in order to get the same scent sample given to them.

    It was not an easy fit, but they did it after three failed trials.

    Fortunately, Fang Bingwen was there with them, to make work easier for all.

 Chapter 261 Launch Date

    Inside the factory, the manager led them to the station where the perfumes were packed.

    Because of the strong scenting from the building as a result of what was being produced, almost everyone had a scented smell with them.

    Normally, Fang Bingwen would have been irritated, but fortunately, his nose already had a protective gear.

    Also, he had taken his pills immediately he climbed into the car at the underground parking lot of hispany, if not, things wouldn''t have been easy for him.

    A simple nose mask would have been no where near masking the fragrance from the building, and stopping his nose from inhaling them.

    The manager''s mouth was busy with the supervisors chipping in a few passing words on their way, as Fang Bingwen listened attentively.

    Coming into a cool and dry room, the new bottled perfume came to light.

    Having no need to pay close attention to them anymore, Fang Bingwen''s gaze went straight for the bottles.

    Bolin who was standing by his side, walked over to the table where the bottles were lined up to pick up two bottles before going back to his Boss''s side to hand them over.

    Slipping his hands out from his pants, Fang Bingwen took both packaged bottles from his hand as he fixed a scrutinizing gaze on them.

    The packaged perfume bottles were in a creamy yellow-coloured packet shaped in a square.

    On the body, the brand name was written in clear bold prints below, with the name of the perfume written on the upper part, but because Fang Bingwen''s hands shielded them, the word wasn''t clear.

    Without wasting time, He handed one of the bottles back to Bolin after confirming that both items in his hands were simr.

    Next, he went on to removed the bottle from it''s packet, revealing it''s beauty and delicateness at the same time.

    The round-shaped perfume bottle was transparent, which revealed the pale yellow liquid infused inside.

    On the bottle, a silver colour used on the letters intricated on the body which says, ck L''Intense.

    Fang Bingwen turned the bottle to nce at the back before turning the wordings on it to face him as everyone watched on.

    "I thought I would change my mind on the bottle design, but it turns out that I still like it since the first sample was made." Fang Bingwen said to them as his gaze nced through their faces.

    "Hahahaha..." The manager and the supervisors with Jim in the room, all chuckled heartily.

    "Mr. Fang, we trust your judgement and the decisions you took concerning ck L''Intense. Everything is perfect." One of the supervisors said with a fawning smile directed at Fang Bingwen.

    Every idea concerning this new scent that was about to beunched, cane from Mr. Fang. Not only did he bring the scent idea, but also the bottle andble design.

    The only thing others did was to follow his instruction and apply the knowledge they have to bring his visions into reality.

    "I was bored of the usual shaped perfume bottles used, so I decided to try this one. Fortunately, I still don''t regret it." Mr. Fang said as the corners of his lips curled slightly.

    He seemed to be satisfied and proud seeing his ideae alive without any problem. He was happy that there was nost minute changes.

    "Hahahaha..." The men chuckled heartily and went on to rain praises on him.<sub> </sub>

    By the side, Bolin stood as his eyes darted around with room with a small smile ying at the corners of his lips.

    He too was happy with the progress of their hardwork.

    They have been working on this new scent for more than 6 months, and finally, the results were here, and it was 100% in order.

    Mr. Fang went on to check the perfume scent even though he had tried it several times since the final test was done.

    He pulled the nose mask down to his lower jaw before going on to uncap the silver cover of the bottle.

    Without wasting time, he pressed the head once, releasing an ounce of the perfume in the air before going on to cap the bottle back.

    Two secondster, the scent of the perfume was inhaled by his nose, as he nodded in satisfaction.

    Giving the bottle and the packet to Bolin to package, he said as he faced the manager and the supervisors. "I will take this one with me. You can go ahead and package them."

    Slipping his hands into his pants front pockets as his gaze moved amongst them, he continued with a serious expression on his face.

    "Since everything is ready, theunching would hold in 2 weeks." He announced.

    "That would be great, Mr. Fang, as we can''t wait to see your vision go out into the world." The manager said as he sped his hands together as a glint shed past his eyes.

    After settling things at the factory and chatting a bit more with the supervisors, Mr. Fang checked the cartons where the sealed perfume bottles would be packaged before leaving back to thepany.

    *******

    At Zhang Corp, every worker in each department was very busy with the pile of work swamping around them.

    Tungmei who was sitting at one of the cubicles assigned to her and typing furiously on the keyboard with her gaze fixed on theputer screen on her desk, heard her name being called but didn''t reply.

    "Tungmei. Tungmei!"

    It was only when she heard the intensity of the tone that called out to her again, that her fingers flying about on the keyboard, paused.

    A deep sigh escaped her lungs as hershes fluttered lightly.

    She was trying to reign in her anger as she pushed her chair aside before standing to her feet.

    Just as she turned her body to the left side, she saw one of her colleagues walking towards her with a stack of files in his arms.

    Seeing her standing there staring at him with slightly furrowed brows, the main in his 30''s came close while berating her a bit.

    ? "Have you forgotten to answer your name?"

    "I was working on the document you sent to me a while ago. Because it requires maximum concentration, I couldn''t answer you immediately." Tungmei exined while still standing at the same spot, refusing to move an inch.

    She was already very annoyed that her concentration broke, and her work disrupted, so she didn''t care if he saw her as stubborn or negligent.

 Chapter 262 Office Romance

    Tungmei''s senior colleague, gave her the side nce before passing the stack of papers in his arms to her.

    "The manager wants you to pass that to the young Mr. Zhang." He stated.

    ''Why me?'' Tungmei''s brows furrowed as the corners of her lips turned downwards.

    Reaching out for the papers brought in front of her, she took them into her arms, and just then, a young female fellow work colleague of hers that was at the same age grade as her, walked over with a radiant smile glowing on her face.

    Without warning, she reached out to snatch those papers from her hands.

    "I have something to report to the Senior manager, so I would send it on my way." The youngdy exined, and went on to ce the files at the side of her bosom just below her armpit.

    Without waiting for their reaction, she strode away on her heels, as Tungmei and the senior colleague watched on.

    "Mttchee..." Tungmei rolled her eyes at the retreating figure in annoyance.

    Normally, she would have been happy that someone was saving her from the stress and distraction, but because of the kind of person that was helping, her mood seemed to go down more.

    Retracting his gaze from the female worker, the man co-worker shifted his sight to Tungmei.

    "Since Mika has volunteered to drop the files off, you can go back to work." He said and then turned around to leave.

    A soft sigh escaped Tungmei''s lips as she turned around and walked back to her desk to continue with her unfinished work that required her attention.

    Mika, was Tungmei''s fellow co-worker. They had the same interview, and started work the same day.

    She was known to curry favour with her senior colleagues. She was someone would abandon her work for an errand willingly, or even option to go in someone''s stead, just so she could be in their good books.

    And this was the reason Tungmei did not like her, because she always made her and the others feel like they were not serious, or were being rude.

    Mika continued in her steps as her heels struck against the tiled floor.

    The corners of her lips curled at its end as she greeted the people that walked past her with a smile.

    Soon, she came in front of the door with the name te, ''Zhang Mingyu'' and immediately, the smile reached her eyes as three streaks of lines appeared at the corners of her eyes.

    She seemd happy as her eyes caught sight of the name te and quickly, she stretched her hand to knock twice, then without waiting for permission, she bent the door handle before pushing the door open.

    The first image that entered her line of sight as she stepped into the small office, was the male figure sitting on the leather office chair in front of a work desk.

    Wasting no time, she immediately called out to him, as he raised his head to see her. "Mr. Zhang."

    Zhang Mingyu whose gaze was on hisputer, staring intently at something on the screen, heard the familiar voice and raised his gaze to meet her.

    Instantly, the corners of his lips curled.

    "Ka," his gentle tone rang out as his eyes followed her till she took a seat in front of his desk.

    "Did you miss me?" Mika asked, while shing him her two rolls of white teeth as her eyes squinted at him.

    "Why wouldn''t I?" Zhang Mingyu said said with raised brows.

    "I thought as much." Mika said as she put down the files in her hands in front of him. "I was asked to bring this to you," she exined.

    Zhang Mingyu''s gaze briefly nced at the files in front of him, before looking at the young beautiful woman sitting in front of him.

    Mika was a little busty, and despicable knowing this, she went on to out on a lie cut V-neck tight fitting dress.

    What her intentions were, was very clear.

    "I thought you came to see me, but it turns out that you only came to deliver a message." Zhang Mingyu said with a little frown, pretending to be dissatisfied.

    "Hahaha..." A soft chuckle erupted from her lungs as her right palm immediately flew over to her mouth to stiffle herughter.

    "Mr. Zhang, you are very funny."<sub> </sub>

    "How many times have I told you not to address me that way when we are in private? You should get used to calling me Mingyu. Try it." Zhang Mingyu urged as he leaned into his desk with his gaze never leaving her face.

    The young man was currently dressed in a striped packet shirt and in ck trousers.

    His necktie, hung loosely around his neck as a pair of ck cufflinks at the end of his sleeves, brought out the beauty of his shirt.

    Hearing that, Mika giggled while squeezing her boobs with her arms. This was an act she did internationally, just to get his attention on that part of her body.

    "I''m used to addressing you formally because of the office."

    And as if sure that his gaze wouldn''t miss her ring gestures, Zhang Mingyu''s gaze actually went to her cleavage before the tip of his to give stuck out from his lightly parted lips to lick the upper and lower lips at the same time.

    "Well, you should start adjusting to things now," he managed to say as he finally tore his gaze away from her chest, and shifted it to her face.

    "Maybe, being in your privatepany more, would help me adjust to the new formalities." Mika said suggestively as her gaze narrowed at him.

    There was still a smile hanging at the corner of her lips. This act truly conveyed her intentions to him, and he immediately grabbed it.

    Moving his index finger to his lips to rub the lower part gently, lines appeared on his forehead, as he entirety, appeared to be lost in thought.

    "I wouldn''t mind hanging out with you continuously, but you have toe to me first. I need to make sure you have the things that would bring mefort." He replied suggestively as a smirk yed at the corners of his lips.

    "Hahahaha... Mingyu, you are really very bad. Alright, I will let you try my goods again. But you should know that this is cheating." Mika said while standing to her feet.

    While walking over to him, she continued. "Do you know how many times you have touched them? I can''t even keep a count."

    All Zhang Mingyu did was to smile as his eyes followed her till she came to his side. Stretching his hands, out, he beckoned on her toe into his arms.

    Mika stopped talking as she went to sit on his thighs. Roping his neck with her arms, she leaned her chest to him as she rubbed her soft breasts to his hard chest.

    "Is this enough?" She asked as his left hand went up to her tighs to caress her exposed flesh.

    "How can it be enough?" He asked with a smirk as his right arm circled her waist.

    The next second, his left hand left her tighs and went up to her chest and squeezed her left breast gently.

    "Now that''s more like it," he said satisfactorily as the softness of her chest ignited something in him.

    Whenst did he feel this good?

    Mika chuckled softly as she left him squeeze her boobs as her legs dangled across his thick thighs.

    With her hands free, she began to caress his neck and chest area.

    "Mingyu, do you want to know how it would feel to be inside me?" She whispered to his ear as she rubbed her chest almost into his face.

    Her seductive whisper made Zhang Mingyu''s heart flutter like a light feather was clutching his heart.

    Immediately, he felt a tinge down his lower member and without warning, he buried his face into her bountiful chest, just so his face could get a feel of the amazing softness since touching her with his hand wasn''t enough to satisfy him.

    A gasp escaped Mika''s lips as she thre her head backward just so he could get more ess to her chest.

    That soft gasp thst escaped from her lips, was like thest straw that broke his rationality.

    Immediately, he raised his head briefly from chest and started to tug at the her clothes from her neck area, in a big to pull it down.

    His fingers were very fast that sue didn''t know when he pulled her dress down her arms. Because of the kind of material used on her dress, it was very easy to tug it down.

    His actions, quickly snapped her back to reality as her hands that were caressing, immediately flew to his hands to stop him from pushing her dress down to her waist.

    "Mingyu! We are still in the office. Your door is open, and the sound proof here is not good. Anyone passing by or in the next office can easily know what we are doing."

    At her reminder, Zhang Mingyu seemed toe back to his senses a bit, as he paused in his actions.

 Chapter 263 Truly Romantic

    "Damm...it!" He cursed in a low voice with a hint of frustration in his tone.

    Mika chuckled softly as she got off his thighs. Adjusting her dress with a smile that reached her eyes, she threw him a few nces.

    "We can''t do this in the office. If we are caught, you know the consequences."

    Zhang Mingyu rubbed his hand over his face as a sigh left his parted lips. "Of course I know. And because of that, let''s meet today after work."

    "Mmmm... I see..." She said as she leaned in to peck his lips before hurrying over to the other side of the table just before he could grab her.

    "You naughty little girl." He said, smiling atst.

    Quickly, the smile on her face disappeared as she ced her hands on her lower torso and at that same moment, she lowered her head.

    "I will take my leave, young Mr. Zhang."

    "Hahaha..." Zhang Mingyu found the way she turned serious so quickly, funny, that he couldn''t help letting out augh. Alright, go. I will text you the address."

    "Have a great day." Mika said with a smile before turning her body to walk away.

    After work, Zhang Mingyu and Mika, a co-worker, met in the VIP room of a 5-star hotel 20 minutes smooth drive away from the Zhangpany, to finish what they had started in the office.

    After an hour of entangling in the sheets stack naked, Zhang Mingyu finally pulled out from her as his back immediately copsed on the bed.

    While panting heavily, as he breathed through his mouth, the corners of his stretched the sides.

    He seemed happy and satisfied to have gotten what he craved for after a long stressful day at work.

    Mika on the other hand, moaned loudly after the deed was done, and as he pulled away from her, she found a way to even out her heavy breaths.

    After a few moments of silence with only their panting echoing in the room, Mika turned her body to the side before clutching Mingyu''s arms.

    "Y-You... N-Nearly drove me crazy." She confessed in between deep breaths.

    Her eyes were full of smiles as she locked gazes with him.

    As she stuck her body to the side, Zhang Mingyu felt her softness and let out a groan. "If you don''t stay away, I can''t promise that I wouldn''t pounce on you again." He threatened.

    Mika''s smile turned to a teasing gaze as her eyes moved from his face to a certain part of his body before moving back to his face as she said, "Do you still have the stamina to go on?"

    "What?!"

    "Why? Are you shocked?"

    "You really must be asking to be bullied, and I will show you just how strong I am!"

    Saying that out of a moment of pride, he immediately moved the sheets away from their body, revealing their naked white skin as he pounced on her immediately.

    Their clothesy scattered everywhere from the entrance room door, and down to the bedside. Even one of Zhang Mingyu''s socks was lying somewhere on the bed as their naked bodies entangled together once again.

    *******

    As soon as Mr. Fang returned to thepany, he immediately went back toplete the rest of his work.

    After working for half an hour, his eyes went to the clock on his table. Seeing that it was a few minutes past 3, his thoughts wandered off for a full minute before he picked up his phone.

    Fang Bingwen made a reservation and confirmed a few orders before dialling Zhang Liling''s contact and after a few rings, she answered.

    Without waiting from for the person that called her first to say anything, Zhang Liling''s high pitched voice rang out, forcing him to pull the phone away from his ear.

    "Mr. Fang!"

    "Do you want to make me deaf?" Mr. Fang asked without a hint of me in his tone.<sub> </sub>

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling chuckled for a bit before her reply came. "That''s because I missed you. But I didn''t dare to call so I won''t disrupt your work and get an earful."

    Here she was giving the reason she screamed his name, and also exining why she couldn''t call. A response, he did not ask for.

    A soft sigh excaped his lips as he looked for what to say. This girlfriend of his, was really cheerful. There were truly no dull moments with her.

    "Am I that bad of a boyfriend? Why did you think I would scold you even if you called in the middle of work." He asked, trying to understand her reasoning.

    "I''m always used to you scolding me. I can''t help it."

    This was due to the fact that he normally scolded her at that time she worked as his Housekeeper, and now, she was so used to it that she was still unable to adjust in that aspect.

    He must have instilled discipline in that area that she didn''t dare to disturb him while he was at work.

    A soft sigh escaped Mr. Fang''s lips again. If he said what was in his mind, then she would really be right about him always scolding her.

    "Liling," he called out.

    "Mmmm..." she hummed in response while waiting for him to continue.

    "You can call me whenever you feel like," he said, but before she scould scream happily, he added, "but don''t abuse it."

    "Of course, I wouldn''t abuse any good thing Mr. Fang gives to me out of his own free will." Zhang Liling said happily as she rolled on her bed.

    She was very excited to know that some barriers were being thrashed between her and him. This would also help to draw them closer and shed off every bit of formality between them.

    Fang Bingwen allowed her to rejoice for a bit before stating the reason he called her.

    "I reserved a table at one of the rooms in a famous restaurant. Let''s go on a date."

    "Really? You made out time so we can go on a date."

    Mr. Fang reached out to scratch a spot on his forehead as he replied "I told you we were likely to do that today. I still have work, but I figured it would be great to go today as I would be busy thought this week."

    "Alright, I will get ready. What time should Ie out?" Zhang Liling asked with happinessced in her tone.

    Just a little thing was holding her back from giggling like a child.

    If she screamed again in his ear, then she would really get what she was asking for.

    Mr. Fang really did consider her words, and was already putting it into action, despite being busy.

    ''He is truly romantic!'' Zhang Liling finalized in her head as heart thumped in her chest out of excitement.

    "I wille to pick you up around 4, but before then, you can dress up and wait." Fang Bingwen replied thoughtfully.

    He could have asked her to meet him at that location on her own, but he considered that walking out from the estate in the evening sun, wouldn''t be fine, so he optioned to pick her up by himself.

    "You''re such a Darling, Mr. Fang." Zhang Lilingmented and thereafter, blew audible kisses to him.

    ''Crazy girl.''

    "Least I forget, be mindful of your outfit. If youe dressed half-naked, I will cancel the date," he threatened in a keen reminder.

    "Hahahaha..." A giggle escaped her lips as she covered her mouth with her palms.

    Mr. Fang scoffed at herughter. ''Does she think I''m ying?''

    Thinking of such, he quickly added with all seriousness, "Liling, I''m not joking with you."

    Gradually, Zhang Liling stoppedughing. "Alright... Gotcha..."

 Chapter 264 Outfit Frustration

    By the time Mr. Fang returned back to the Vi, Zhang Liling was still looking for what to wear in her wardrobe full of clothes.

    Alighting from his car, the first question Mr. Fang asked the butler, was, "Where is Zhang Liling?"

    "Miss Zhang is still in her bedroom." Butler Gu replied after picking up his suitcase from the front passenger seat.

    "????"

    Instantly, Mr. Fang''s brows crease. ncing at his wristwatch, he frowned.

    ''What is she still dressing for?'' he thought.

    He was a little surprised that even after taking an extra 5 minutes because of ast minute work that forced the driver to speed on the way, as he was scared of keeping her waiting, she was still in her bedroom.

    He had thought that she would be the one waiting for him, s! He was the one waiting for her now.

    Sighing to himself, he walked ahead and proceeded to walk into the house before directly going up the stairs.

    Since Zhang Liling seems to still be busy, he figured that he should have a shower and put on another set of clothes.

    This would be killing two birds with one stone instead of waiting idly.

    In one of the guest rooms on the ground floor, Zhang Liling was frantically searching for something.

    She was almost on that verge of tears as she moved from one wardrobe to another in search of something in particr.

    "Where is it?!" A half-scream tore from her lips as her hands moved quickly after each dress on the hanger.

    Currently, she was dressed in only a white bathrobe as she walked about in barefeet. Her hair was up in a tight updo otherwise, it would have longe down with all the violent movement she has been making.

    The walk-in closet was already in a hot mess, yet, her eyes could not see that. All that was in her mind, was finding the particr dress she was looking for.

    After a few minutes more of searching with not result, she angrily pulled on her hair and let out a screech.

    Her loud voice startled the butler who had already raised his fist to knock on her door.

    He was taken aback by her scream as he paused for a second to pay attention.

    ''Did something happen to her?''

    At that thought, his eyes widened in fear as he quickly brought his fist to knock on the door hurriedly.

    He almost wanted to barge into the room if not for the training he had received. At least he had to knock first, and if there was no response, he would go and quickly get the housekeeper who would lead the way inside.

    There was a female owner upying the room, so he couldn''t just push the door open like that, no matter what.

    "Miss Zhang!" His urgent voice rang out which was followed by the sound made by the series of knocks from his fist against the door.

    Zhang Liling was pulling her hair, when suddenly she stopped her ear- piercing noise as her ears perked up to listen.

    "????"

    She felt as if she heard a low muffled voice from outside, and with that feeling, she stepped out of the walk-in closet proper, and that was when she heard the familiar male voice calling out to her, plus the heavy pounding on the door.

    Quickly, she moved in her steps and pulled the door open.

    Seeing the anxious look on the man before her, her brows creased further in confusion.

    "Butler Gu?"

    Immediately, the Butler''s gaze darted around her to see if she was fine before sighing in relief. But seeing her dressed in a bathrobe, he hurriedly brought his gaze to remain fixed on her face.

    "Miss Zhang, are you alright? I heard you scream from inside."<sub> </sub>

    "Oh! About that..." Zhang Liling started, but she was a bit embarrassed and paused for a moment before continuing with her gaze moving about.

    "It''s nothing. I was only feelig frustrated. You came to find me?" She probed with her eyes on him.

    She concluded that he must havee to find her, and so was able to hear her scream from inside.

    "Ah! Yes..." Butler Gu was suddenly reminded of the reason he hade to find her.

    "Mr. Fang is back."

    Instantly, a scream escaped from her parted lips. "What??!"

    She couldn''t believe that the man she was going on a date with was already back, and she was still dressed in a bathroom.

    And the worst part of it all, was that she had still not found anything to wear.

    Because of the particr outfit she was looking for, she lost track of time.

    Currently, she didn''t even know what the time was, and howte she was.

    "He said you should be ready in 15 minutes." The butler said,pleting the task he came for.

    "Where is Mr. Fang?"

    "Having a shower." He reported.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said with a forced smile before walking back into her room.

    While turning her closet upside down, she did not know the damage she was causing, but leaving the space anding back in again, her mouth was forced open in agape.

    Immediately she pushed the door open and saw the mess she created, she paused in her steps as her eyes widened in shock.

    "I-I D-Did this... A-All for one dress?" She mumbled to herself as her heart raced in her chest.

    How was she going to tidy up those piles of clothes that would need at least an hour to arrange?

    If Mr. Fang learns of this, he wouldn''t even bother with her. He would just cancel the date on her and go on to rest his head on his bed after a tiring day at work.

    Being fully aware that there was no time to waste, she hurriedly bypassed the heaps of clothes littered on most of the floor space and went to her second closet to pick out a dress.

    At the end, she chose a body-hug long sleeve dress with a round neck.

    The dress was a little above her knees, but she didn''t mind.

    She was not revealing her cleavage, neck or arms, so Mr. Fang shouldn''t have any reason to send her back.

    Quickly, she got dressed and picked out a pair of red stilletos and a matching bag before going to sit on her vanity table to apply a light makeup on her face.

    Her movements were very fluid as she tried to be as fast as possible, but would she still be faster than Mr. Fang who didn''t have any reason to fuss about?

    ////_________

    ANNOUNCEMENT

    Dearest Readers, there will be a mass release of 5 Chapters on the 1st of October.

    Also, there will be a little adjustment in the privilege section.

    Thank you for you support so far on this WSA 2022. I''m grateful.

    XOXO

 Chapter 265 First Official Date (I)

    "This girl." Fang Bingwen mumbled under his breath as he nced at his wristwatch to check the time.

    He had given Zhang Liling 15 minutes toe out, but she was sure taking her time.

    A soft sigh fell off Mr. Fang''s lips as he raised his head to nce at the hallway next to the flight of stairs.

    His brows were slightly creased as he slipped his hands inside the front pockets of his pants.

    Earlier today, he wore a ck suit to work, but after freshening up some minutes ago, he changed into an ash-coloured suit with a tight ck shirt hugging his tone muscles.

    His necktie had a mixture of ck and white stripes in it. Just one look at his outfit, and you can tell that he meant business.

    His ck Italian leather shoes, just made his straightened out pants stand out the more. The shine on it, was so clean that its brightness could blind the eyes.

    His clean haircut that he casually styled after dressing, made him give away the bad boy kind of vibes that women usually fell for.

    Mr. Fang was truly ready for his first official date with his girlfriend Zhang Liling. But where was she?

    "That girl had better note out dressed half-naked after taking all this time." He said before turning his gaze toward another direction.

    Five minutester, Zhang Liling stepped out atst.

    Because of time, she was hurrying over in quick steps, almost running on her heels.

    Hearing the sounds of the long heels of her shoes marking heavily against the floor, Mr. Fang turned his gaze to that direction, and was in time to meet her frantic entrance.

    As soon as she stepped out of the hallway, Zhang Liling met Mr. Fang''s scrutinizing gaze and first apologized to him.

    Did she see his outfit and how handsome he looked? Yes, she saw him, but she didn''t take note of anything.

    She was already nervous after being aware of how much time she had kept him waiting, so the first thing on her mind was to apologize to him.

    Walking over in frantic steps as she clutched her diamond studded ck purse in her right hand, while also holding unto the front part of her red balloon dress, her heart raced rapidly in her chest.

    The back part of her dress trailed behind her, as her ck stilletos matched steadily on the tiles.

    On her lips stood a bright red lipstick that was carefully applied on her lips liner.

    The minimal makeup was well done, as it showed what she usually looked like, and was just a key in highlighting some features of her face.

    If she had applied a heavy makeup, she was sure to get ufortable, besides, there was no time left.

    She had already changed out of the original clothes she had picked earlier.

    This was her first date with Mr. Fang, so she had to put some effort to it, even though it cost her additional time, but stepping out and seeing him dressed all up, she was happy and relieved for thest minute changes she made.

    "Mr. Fang, I''m so sorry." She apologized as soon as she came over to his side. She looked a little breathless, and if not for the the fully air-conditioned room she just stepped out of, there was no way beads of sweat wouldn''t have appeared on her forehead.

    As his eyes darted around her body from her face till the end of the train of the dress she was putting, he asked, "Why did you run over? What if you stepped on your dress and fell?"

    "I am ustomed to running on heels. But I was a bit more careful today because of my dress." Zhang Liling replied with a smile.<sub> </sub>

    She was still panting for breath for having rushed over.

    Talking about her dress, Fang Bingwen''s eyes went to her chest area. Because her dress had a spaghetti hand, the chest area was made in such a way that a little cleavage would show.

    "Turn your back." He said in a demanding tone as he tore his sight off her neck.

    ''Is he angry with my dress?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as she retracted her smile and did as he instructed.

    Immediately she turned her back to him, his eyes went to the exposed part of her back.

    What could Fang Bingwen do at this point? She was showing off a little cleavage, her arms and entire neck, and now her back.

    Sighing, he took her hand before leading them toward the entrance.

    At least she wasn''t showing off her thighs. Also, there was no need to get angry since she wasn''t half-naked.

    Maybe he was just a little bit conservative of what parts of the body his woman showed off in public.

    When Zhang Liling waited for a while and did not hear him rebuking her, the corners of her lips stretched as 2 line streaks appeared at the corner of her eyes.

    Then as he took her hand, she sped her fingers tightly around the back of his hand, with a thumping heart full of bliss.

    Outside, the chaffeur opened the car door for them.

    Still holding hands, Mr. Fang helped her into the car first, before going over to the other side.

    Zhang Liling''s eyes immediately glued to him as soon as he sat on the empty space beside her.

    "Mr. Fang, you look very handsome today." She said, finally taking not of his style and looks.

    "Thank you." He replied calmly as his eyes briefly nced at her dress one more time.

    "Your dress is beautiful." Hemented before throwing his face away, despite knowing how proud that little woman would be with his appreciation.

    Like he guessed, Zhang Liling''s eyes widened in their sockets as a glint shed across her eyes.

    Immediately, she clutched his arm. "Really? You like my dress?" She asked, as if she was begging to be reassured that she didn''t hear wrongly.

    Not wanting her to keep bugging him, Mr. Fang answered, "I like it, is it weird?"

    "No it''s not." Zhang Liling hurriedly said. She wouldn''t be the one to point out to him about his unexpected change in taste.

    Well, she liked this current one, and would prefer that he doesn''t go back to his old ways.

    "I''m just happy that you appreciated my looks." She continued.

    If she wasn''t scared of staining his clothes with her makeup, she would have loved to rx the side of her face on his shoulder.

    How sweet it would be to stay in his arms.

 Chapter 266 First Official Date (II)

    In the car, Zhang Liling opened her purse and took out the familiar ne before passing it Fang Bingwen.

    "Mr. Fang, please help me out." Her soft voice requested as her eyes shed him a sweet smile.

    Seeing the ne he gifted her dangling in front of him, his eyes went to her bare neck and back to the chain in her hand.

    "Why do you like this chain so much?" He asked as he took it from her hand.

    He can''t even remember how many times he had asked her that same question. Maybe he couldn''t help it that it was always wih her.

    "Because you gifted it to me," came her usual response as she turned her back to him.

    As his hands went over her neck, Zhang Liling felt the cold sensation of the chain resting on her neck, while at the same time, the warmth seeping from his fingers.

    Hershes fluttered close as the smile spread across her face. But before she could enjoy the feeling his fingers brought when it brushed the skin around her neck, he hooked the ends of the chain and withdrew his hands immediately.

    Zhang Liling could only sigh disappointedly as she leaned her back to the backrest of the car.

    About 40 minutester, the car pulled over in front of the high-end restaurant Fang Bingwen had reserved.

    Without wasting time, Mr. Fang took Zhang Liling''s hand and helped her to step out of the car.

    Hand in hand, they walked past the revolving door and stepped into the grand hall.

    "This is a French restaurant?" Zhang Liling asked as her gaze moved around the intricate carvings on the tall walls and pirs of therge hall.

    "Yes. It''s been some days since youst had the food you are more used to. Also, this restaurant ensures privacy to their guests." Mr. Fang exined withoutpleting his statement.

    In actual sense, he wouldn''t want anyone to recognize them ande over to disturb their date, hence the reason he booked this restaurant as it had private rooms.

    Normally, it was mainly wealthy business men, Influential celebrities and politicians that normally booked a room here because of the cost.

    Since privacy was their aim, spending money was worth it.

    At the same moment, a waiter walked over to them with a warm smile.

    "Wee, Mr. And Ms. to ******* restaurant. It''s our pleasure to serve you. Please do you have a reservation so we can confirm it and show you to your room?"

    Instantly, Mr. Fang slid his phone out from the front pocket of his pants. Tapping a few icons on his phone, he finally got to the feedback he received after booking a room in the restaurant, before turning his phone screen to him.

    A few minutes,ter, the waiter led them to a private room upstairs after taking the elevator.

    On getting to the room number, he took the room card out from his pocket and ced it on the square shaped sensor, and the door unlocked for them.

    In the middle of the room, there was a round dining table and twofy dining chairs to march the detailed designs on the sides of the table.

    At the end of the room towards the right side, there was a two-sitter sofa that faced a floor length thick curtains.

    If after eating at the dining area, the guests could go sit at the sofa and chat over a ss of wine while watching the night life of the city.

    There was also another role of sofarge enough to turn into a cuddling bed, at the other end of the room.

    So in each VVIP room, there were different sitting options avable just for thefort of the guests.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Liling found the room cool after taking note of every little detail her eyes managed to pick up.

    Her man had a good taste.

    ''Mr. Fang does have a good eye,'' she concluded proudly in her head.

    Mr. Fang led her to sit on therge sofa as the waiter took their order.

    "I already picked out the meals while booking this room." Fang Bingwen said in rity to the waiter.

    "Alright, Sir. The dishes will be here in 10 minutes." The waiter replied with a small bow before turning around to leave.

    If Mr. Fang didn''t order their meal while booking the room, they would have had to wait from 30 minutes to 60 minutes for the food to be prepared on sight.

    Fortunately, they didn''t have to wait that long before eating.

    "Mr. Fang, I like this ce. It feels good to see a familiar structure like this here in City S. It feels like I''m in Paris once again." Zhang Liling said as she retracted her gaze from the love seat facing the electronic curtains.

    "You dine in this kind of ce in Paris?" Mr. Fang asked, giving her a subtle nce.

    "Hahahaha...." A soft chuckle escaped her lips as soon as she heard his ridiculous question.

    "Mr. Fang, how do you think I would be able to afford a ce like this? Well, I followed my mother to a meeting once, and that was how I had the opportunity to dine in this kind of ce. But thankfully, I have you, so I get to experience this nice ce once in a while."

    Winking at him, she turned her attention back to the love nest she couldn''t wait to try out with him.

    A few minutester, their food was served, and they had to move to the dining area.

    There was a bottle of expensive red wine on the table, and that alone, made Zhang Liling''s eyes to glow.

    Somehow, her change in expression, didn''t escape Fang Bingwen''s eyes.

    "Mr. Fang, you are letting me drink today?" She asked while sitting on the chair he pulled out for her.

    "There is only a little alcohol in it which was used for preservation." He replied without batting an eye,pletely destroying the fantasy bubbles going off in her head as he sat across from her.

    ''You...'' Zhang Liling trailed off in her head as the corners of her lips turned downwards.

    Mr. Fang had just revealed that the only reason he was letting her drink was because the alcohol content of the wine wouldn''t cause any changes to her psych even if she finished the entire bottle.

    Doesn''t this man know to be romantic in this kind of atmosphere?

    ? How could he tantly state his original intentions without even trying to hide it?

    Although Zhang Liling was a bit upset, she still went on to eat after he had helped her cut her steak, and served a few dishes on her te.

    Sighs...

    At least he does know how to make up for it after ruining her mood.

 Chapter 267 Her Idea

    After eating the main course meal while chatting over deep matters, their French desserts were served.

    The bottle of red wine in the middle of the table had been touched, as a little quantity was poured into their wine sses.

    ncing at the chocte pots de cr¨¦me, Profiteroles and macarons before her, Zhang Liling rubbed her palms together as a glint shed across her eyes.

    Her entire being beamed with excitement, showing just how good she felt with the choice of desserts served.

    Seeing how happy she was, Mr. Fang felt a feeling of warmth wash over him. "Eat," his said to her in a gentle voice.

    "Oh... Thank you," Zhang Liling said and immediately made a go for the pink macaroon on her te.

    Instead of eating, he watched her with a subtle smile at the tip of his lips. It was truly satisfying to watch her eat.

    After eating the first piece of French dessert, she picked another one and sent it into her mouth before making a beeline for the pots de cr¨¦me.

    "Mmmmm..." She moaned while nodding as hershes fluttered lightly in satisfaction. "This is so good."

    With a mouth full of food, she didn''t mind waiting for the one in her mouth to go down her throat before sending a spoon of the melted chocte-like thick substance into her mouth.

    As for the handsome mature man sitting across from her, I don''t think she even remembered his existence when she was surrounded by goodies.

    But that was until she was half-way through with her pots de cr¨¦me that she seemed to have discovered his presence.

    Zhang Liling felt a keen gaze on her and slowly slowed down on her fluid movement as she gradually raised her head.

    Right at that moment, she met face to face with the man staring right at her with his index finger on his jaw.

    He seemed to be in a rxed state while watching her fill her stomach with sweet French desserts.

    "Ah... Mr. Fang, you should try these sweet dishes instead of watching me eat, they are delicious..." She said with her eyes moving about in guilt.

    A soft sigh fell of Mr. Fang''s lips as he reached out to pick up his dessert spoon and dug into his own share of pots de cr¨¦me.

    "Seeing how you are enjoying this, maybe I should have punished you for taking extra 30 plus minutes to get ready."

    If he knew that she would truly enjoy the desserts he specially requested for them, he would not have let her have any of them.

    To punish her, he would let the chef bring them over, but then, he wouldn''t let her touch any, while he ate them all in her front.

    That would surely be a sweet revenge iced with fun.

    Understanding what he meant although she couldn''t feel any grudges from his tone, Zhang Liling put down her spoon with a smile ying at the corner of her lips.

    "Mr. Fang, it wasn''t actually my fault." She began. Exining further, her facial expression turned serious as the smilepletely disappeared from her face.

    "I was looking for a few of my clothes, but they seemed to have developed wings and flown away. No matter where I searched for them, I couldn''t find them."

    Pausing in her speech, she shifted her gaze to his face and continued while gesturing with her hands.<sub> </sub>

    "I mean, my closet was organized, but howe I couldn''t find them?"

    Sighing heavily as she leaned her back against the chair. Her gaze left his face as her lips drew out in a pout.

    "Now, I have a pile of clothes scattered all over my walk-in closet. And that''s a lot of work to organize them once again."

    Just thinking about the work she had waiting for her at home after this romantic date, made her head pound.

    A smirk turned up at the ends of Mr. Fang''s lips, but immediately he masked it by parting his lips and shoving a spoon of dessert into his mouth.

    ''You are looking for your clothes? Good luck.''

    "I thought I left them at your ce before leaving for Paris, but now, I''m not sure anymore." Shifting her gaze back to his face, she continued, "Or maybe I should go back to my apartment to search for them."

    "Eat your desserts," Fang Bingwen said while pointing at the small bowl before her with his spoon.

    "Oh... that''s right."

    At that reminder, Zhang Liling''s mood brightened up as she immediately picked up her spoon once again.

    After having their desserts, they went to sit at the two-sitter sofa with their wine sses. Now, they could nce at the night view and continue chatting after one of the waiters, opened up the electronic thick curtains with the remote.

    "This is beautiful," Zhang Liling said with admiration in her eyes as she brought the rim of the ss to her lips.

    "It is," Mr. Fang said in agreement as he crossed his leg over the other.

    "Left for me, I would like toe here everyday, and I won''t get tired of it, even for a bit." Zhang Liling said as her eyes caught sight of the tall and short buildings with several bright lights turned up inside of them.

    The sight felt magical as it brought peace to her.

    "You can alwayse back here if you want." Fang Bingwen said from the side.

    Instantly, She turned her smiling gaze to him and adjusted her sitting position, almost spilling the wine in her ss.

    "Careful," He said and immediately caught the ss in her hand in time, before gently putting it down on the stool before them.

    "Oh... Mr. Fang, how about we strike a deal,"

    "What kind of deal is that? Surely, you wouldn''t be meaning well for me."

    "Hahaha..." A cackle escaped her lips as she smacked his arm gently.

    "Don''t conclude yet. Well, here is my idea. How about Ie here every time I want, but once I can''t sponsor my peace of mind anymore, I would turn to you?" She suggested while sending a wink his way.

    Mr. Fang looked her up and down before asking, "You would turn to me for what? Forfort, or for more money to spend?"

    He was yet to understand her purpose, as anything was possible with her.

 Chapter 268 His Past Relationships

    "Well..." Her sultry lips uttered as her butts moved closer to his side.

    "It wouldn''t be bad to spend a bit of your money. I don''t you think you would mind that."

    Mr. Fang raised a brow. "Are you living inside my mind now?"

    "Not yet," she said shaking her head. Leaning in closer to be able to see the biggest pore on his face, she continued.

    "But if you want me, you only need to grant me the permission, and I will slip inside."

    Fang Bingwen felt her warm breath fan his cheeks and immediately leaned away from her as his brows creased slightly.

    "Stay away from me," he said at once, as if afraid of something.

    Maybe he said that before he would fall for her temptation.

    That little woman of his was no good. He wouldn''t be surprised if she took things a bit further, she was known for doing things like that.

    Well, he wouldn''t like to be entangled with her, not in a ce like this.

    Seeing him avoiding her like that, a sigh fell off her lips before she reluctantly moved away from his side.

    Picking up her wine ss, she continued to drink from it.

    In the next several minutes that followed before they both turned up for the night, they chatted about their rtionship and talked deeper about more important topics.

    They first thing they talked about, was their family, just a surface conversation, before going on to the kind of environment they grew up in.

    Next, they chatted about their past rtionships, which was very important to build a more solid foundation and trust between them.

    Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen, had been in a rtionship in the past, but it turned out that the rtionship they have with each other, was the longeststing one.

    "When I was younger, in my second year in college, I briefly dated a girl for 2 weeks."

    "What!!!" Zhang Liling''s mouth was agape as her eyeballs protruded out of shock.

    She just couldn''t believe her ears. The first rtionship Mr. Fang entered, had ended in 2 weeks?

    Could that even be recorded anywhere? This simply wasn''t a joke.

    Having known him for a good time, Zhang Liling trusted and believed that he was not one to y around, because others can y around with someone for 2 weeks and it wouldn''t be called dating.

    But for him, things were different. Dating someone for only 2 weeks, was surely the shortest amount of time a rtionship couldst, and he broke that record.

    Mr. Fang chuckled a bit at her reaction of shock as a smile that reached his eyes quickly spread across his face.

    "Don''t look at me like that," he managed to say in-betweenughter.

    "Well, I can''t help it," Zhang Liling replied with her gaze never leaving his face.

    In fact, she had no intentions of letting him off without hearing an exnation, as she raised a questioning brow at him.

    "It''s not that I liked her or fancied her in any way. She wasn''t bad, but I only dated her to give myself a chance. Because of my illness, I really couldn''t get too close with anyone."

    Releasing a deep breath, he continued, "I suffered most times during sses, which forced me to start using a mask. Most of my coursemates then, thought I was proud and I heard a few of their conclusions, but I turned a blind eye on them."

    "Mr. Fang, I am really surprised that you would use the word ''suffer'' on yourself." Zhang Liling interrupted with a look of surprise in her eyes.<sub> </sub>

    "Why? Do you think I am a rock without feelings?" Mr. Fang retorted.

    "No, but it''s weird. You indeed suffered during those years, and I can imagine what you went through."

    Although Fang Bingwen was not bullied while in school because if his family background, but he was surely discriminated against by his mates.

    Fortunately, he had a greater goal for his future, so he took the discrimination against him well.

    "I didn''t go through anything," he said with a slight frown. Suddenly regretting that word he used on himself, he hurriedly rified.

    He didn''t want any form of pity. He was born this way with his sense of smell a little sharper than normal, and he had learned to ept it.

    "I didn''t actually suffer. Just forget about what I said earlier."

    Nodding in understanding, Zhang Liling urged him to go on with his story, as she found his past rtionship intriguing.

    She ced her elbow on the neck of the sofa before resting her jaw on her palms as she listened with keen interest.

    "Well, the first girl I dated was annoying," Fang Bingwen said, while avoiding using the term ''girlfriend'' as his brows furrowed.

    "In order to impress me after asking her out, she started to use a heavy perfume on herself beforeing to me. I couldn''t stand her strong scent and avoided her. When she noticed it, she confronted me about it. And being fed up with the situation even at that very point, I broke up with her there and then."

    ''Wow! That was heartless...'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as she put herself in the girl''s shoes.

    Imagine if she was the one trying to find out the reason her boyfriend had been avoiding her, and then he decided to call it quits with her, she didn''t think she would ever let him off.

    Oblivious to her thoughts, Fang Bingwen continued with his story.

    "The second person I dated before I called it quits, and then you came into the picture, was a quite an intelligent and independent youngdy. Unfortunately, our rtionship didn''tst past a month."

    "You couldn''t stand her scent as well?" Zhang Liling guessed with an intent gaze on him.

    "There was no point being in a rtionship with someone you are notfortable with. It won''t progress.

    One thing Liling came to understand while listening to the stories pertaining to his previous rtionships, was that he wasn''t able to go on because of his sensitivity.

    Imagining all the activities he must have missed out on because of it, she felt a sting in her heart.

    In that deep pull of emotion, she encroached into his personal space and wrapped her arms around him.

    Fang Bingwen was taken aback by the gesture and waspletely nk for almost a minute. Atst when he found his voice, he asked, "What is it?"

    ? Breathing in his scent, she smiled as her nose and eyes crinkled. "I just want to hug you. In this chilling room, you are the only one filled with warmth," she said softly as hershes fluttered lightly.

    Since she put it that way, he let her hug him all she wanted, but then again, he thought back to what she said.

    "Are you cold? Do you want me to turn up the room temperature?"

    He had just remembered that she was putting on a sleeveless dress when his stretched his hands forward and touched her bare back.

    He had almost forgotten about it as he was putting on a suit that was thick enough to block his senses towards the low temperature in the room. At the moment, he was concerned for her.

    "Mmmmm..." Zhang Liling hummed in response as she rubbed her cheeks on his shoulder, forgetting that her face was painted.

 Chapter 269 Possessive

    The next second, Mr. Fang gently pushed her aside before taking off his suit jacket.

    <o>,m "Turn around," he instructed as he spread the jacket in front of him.</o>

    Quickly, Zhang Liling turned her back to him and stretched her hands backward so he could help her out on the jacket.

    "Thank you," she said with a smile as she turned to face him.

    "Do you want to button it up?" He asked with raised brows as he wasn''t sure if she would still befortable without securing the locks.

    "No, it''s fine."

    "If you were cold, why didn''t you speak up since? If I hadn''t asked, would you have remained quiet until we left this ce?"

    Fang Bingwen was already berating her for her carelessness.

    She didn''t speak up for something as important as her health, and they have been chatting all along.

    But Zhang Liling still didn''t feel that she was wrong. Instead, she rushed into his embrace again.

    "That''s because being in your embrace is far better than just having your jacket on."

    Looking down at the top of her head as he breathed in her scent, he said with worryced in his tone.

    "If you are still cold, let''s go back immediately. Next time whileing to a ce like this, take note of your choice of dress."

    "That''s fine. I like it here," she replied as she raised her head to meet his gaze.

    There was a sweet smile hanging at the corner of her lips.

    Their rtionship had progressed so much that he no longer chased her away from his side because of her love for skin-ship.

    Mr. Fang let her stay in his embrace as they continued chatting about their rtionships till they were ready to leave.

    After talking about his past, it was now her turn.

    Zhang Liling spilled the beans about dating someone in junior high school who was now a popr celebrity.

    When Mr. Fang asked about the reason she broke up with the person, the response he got from her, was a little surprising.

    "He was too friendly with my gender. I don''t like to share what belongs to me."

    "You sure are very possessive," Fang Bingwen said in passing as he focused his sight on her face.

    He could already see that trait in her. It was very clear from the way she behaved around him, but at least, her love was not suffocating otherwise, she would tire him out.

    Not wanting to hide his thoughts from her, he immediately said to her, "Liling, don''t be like a gummy bear that would glue to me every time otherwise, it would tiring and annoying."

    There was nothing like getting tired of one woman in his dictionary, it''s just that most times, people like him that could work, work, work, didn''t like to be caged with romance.<sub> </sub>

    If she stuck to him like super glue, he would only get tired of staying around her and would start looking for a way to ease his frustration by escaping and retreating into his office space.

    Understanding the clear meaning in his words, Zhang Liling hurriedly agreed with him.

    "Are you worried about me following you even to the loo? Hahahaha... I already have a solution for that. We are both career people. There wouldn''t be a problem to focus on our career, while at the same time making each other our priority."

    "Now you are speaking like an adult" Mr. Fang couldn''t help butment on her reply as he instinctively brought his hands to her back to pat it gently as his gaze softened.

    "I have always been an adult, it''s just that you have never seen me as one."

    In all, Fang Bingwen had 2 rtionships in the past, while Zhang Liling was only in 1.

    After chatting for a bit and getting all cozy, they both returned to the vi.

    On the ride back home, Zhang Liling stuck to Mr. Fang''s body. She didn''t speak, onlyying her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed.

    This was the best bet instead of striking up another conversation after they had chatted for 2 solid hours a while ago.

    ******

    ~The Zhang Mansion~

    Along the hallway, sounds of padded feet brushing past the tiled floor were heard all the way from the living room.

    "Ahhhhhaaaa..." A while yawn escaped from Zhang Mingyu''s lips as he cupped his right hand and brought it to his lips.

    Just as he attempted to walk past the sitting area and head for the stairs, he heard the familiar voice of the woman that actually stepped out of nowhere.

    "Why are youing back by this time?" Shi Wenqian questioned immediately after she stepped out of the living room with a magazine in her hand.

    Her brows were slightly creased as her eyes demanded an answer.

    She had been sitting and waiting for him since the time she and Zhang Renshu finished having their dinner.

    Immediately she heard the entrance door open, she guessed that he must be the one as no servant of the house went outside, hence she rose from her feet and immediately dashed out.

    There was a look of annoyance on Mingyu''s face with his mother''s questioning.

    "Mum, I''m not a child anymore. I am a full-blown adult that has a tasking job," he said and turned to take the first step, but he got dragged by his arm.

    "Cut your nonsense!" Shi Wenqian said angrily as she pulled him back. And before he could retaliate, she started to scold him.

    "Don''t you dare tell me you areing from thepany by this time. Your sister is already back to her husband''s house, and your father that went to work in the morning returned at 6 pm. And you, you just started work about a year ago, and you have already learned to stay outte."

    Saying this much, she leaned in close enough for her to see the clear expression on his face.

    "I am not a baby. Where did you go to?"

 Chapter 270 Sleepyhead

    Zhang Mingyu was exhausted.

    After a tiring day at work, and a lot of bed exercises at the hotel he booked in the evening, he didn''t want any other thing than to fall on his bed and sleep.

    With his eyes almost fluttering close, he decided to get this unforeseen argument with his mother over as soon as possible.

    "I stopped at the bar to have a few drinks with my friends. Are you happy now?" He said and turned to leave before she could get a hold of him.

    Shi Wenqian was displeased with his arrogance and level of disrespect. How could he have the guts to be proud about drinking and returning homete?

    Not just that, but he also walked out on her.

    "How do you think you can take the wheels of the Zhang Corp if you still have the time to hang out with those friends of yours that do not have any meaningful impact on you???"

    Without stopping in his steps, Zhang Mingyu replied, "I don''t think it''s your business now. My lifestyle shouldn''t be a bother to you. Also, stop questioning me about my whereabouts. I am an adult licensed to do whatever I want."

    "What???! Mingyu! What did you say to me?" Shi Wenqian asked angrily as her eyes squinted at his back.

    She was so mad with anger that she was literally puffing out smoke from her mouth.

    Her son whom she would give anything to has grown wild on her.

    Zhang Mingyupletely snubbed his mother and continued in his steps.

    He was already tired of her bantering every day.

    ''No wonder Dad chose to see her less,'' he concluded in his head.

    Which man can condole living with a woman like her? She really didn''t know how to give people a breathing space.

    She was so controlling and annoying for wanting to know everything someone was up to in a day.

    Zhang Mingyu so wished that her job took her outside of the country so he wouldn''t have to face her every day of his life.

    That night, Shi Wenqian did not have a good night''s sleep as she was bothered by her son''s rudeness. If it was Xiaolin that spoke to her that way, she wouldn''t have been bothered since she changed her attitude towards her since that incident.

    As for Mingyu, he had always been on the neutral after the first few days of that incident, so his outburst and rudeness came off as a surprise to her.

    She has always been the one supporting him, but now, it looks like he was also tired of her.

    ~Fang Bingwen''s Vi~

    Mr. Fang went straight to bed after freshening up in the bathroom, while Zhang Liling chatted a bit on her phone before going to bed.

    She had been happy to step into her closet and see that the mess she had caused earlier was put in order.

    Sighing in relief with the knowledge of who must have taken care of her clothes, the corners of her lips curled as she changed out of her puffy dress.

    The next morning in the early hours, Fang Bingwen was woken up by his natural call.

    As usual, he went to the bathroom first, before leaving his room for his gym room.<sub> </sub>

    When he returned, he went to have a bath, but when he walked into his closet to find something to wear, he saw a hiddenpartment inside one of the wardrobes and a memory quickly shed in his head.

    Moving his clothes away to reveal the locked shelf, a soft sigh escaped his lips as he brought his hands to rest on his waist.

    His gaze rested on the door handle of the shelf for quite a few moments before he turned around to go back into his room.

    A minuteter, he returned with his phone ced on his ear.

    The volume of the ringing sound from the other contact he was trying to reach was very clear in the background.

    With one hand holding his phone, he went to the closet where he usually hung his casual shirts to pick one out with his left hand.

    Just as thest ring resounded in his ear, he heard the draggy voice belonging to Zhang Liling as she answered the call.

    "Mr. Fang..." She said groggily. Her gaze was dazed as she tried to sit up properly with her phone in her hand.

    Obviously, Fang Bingwen''s call was the reason her eyes were open by this time.

    "Come to my bedroom now."

    Knowing that she was half-awake, Mr. Fang hurriedly passed an instruction to her and ended the call.

    "Sleepyhead,"

    He didn''t want to waste both of their time.

    Zhang Liling who was feeling like a deted balloon, sighed as her shoulders slumped.

    Hershes kept fluttering as her lips moved soundlessly. She was still sleepy, yet, she carried her weak body out of the bed and went straight to her bathroom.

    Although Mr. Fang had told her toe over immediately, she still had to brush her teeth first.

    By the time Zhang Liling appeared in Fang Bingwen''s bedroom, he was already fully dressed and sat on the couch in his room waiting for her.

    "Mr. Fang, you sent for me." She said, closing the door behind her.

    "Come with me," he said rising to his feet, and immediately started leading the way inside his closet.

    Zhang Liling shrugged and followed him like a lost cat. It''s not like she had that much of a choice.

    Walking into his closet, Mr. Fang stopped at the wardrobe that was the only one left open.

    Without wasting time, he pushed his clothes aside to reveal the inner closet, then with a turn on the doorknob, he pulled open the closet.

    "You said you were looking for your clothes..." He started as his head and half of his body disappeared from Zhang Liling''s view. The little woman was but confused by the question as her brows furrowed slightly.

    ''Does he want to give me new clothes?'' she thought to herself.

 Chapter 271 Disney Princess Looking For Her Prince Charming

    "Here are your clothes, you can have them now." He said as he pulled out a pile of clothes from the inner wardrobe and passed them to her.

    "What??" Zhang Liling eximed as her eyes widened in shock.

    She stood at the same spot as her eyes darted around the pile of clothes in his hands.

    ''Were they really her clothes?'' she thought as her eyes tried to recognize them.

    Seeing that she was probably too shocked to take her items back, Mr. Fang pushed them to her body and urged her to take them.

    "Don''t you want your clothes anymore?"

    Zhang Liling was brought back to reality by the clothes in her arms and instinctively, she reached out to hold them close to her body.

    Raising a questioning brow at him, she asked as lines appeared on her forehead, "Mr. Fang, you''ve been with my dresses all these while? Why did you take them?"

    "Why did I take them? It looks like you are still sleepy. In due time, you will understand," he replied and turned around again to shut the doors of the inner wardrobe before pushing the outer door close.

    As her eyes shifted back to her clothes again, there was only one reason for his action that came to her mind.

    Being aware that he had no women''s dress fetish, she came to a conclusion confidently.

    Resting her gaze on him, her pink lips parted as she spoke softly, "Was this how you survived my absence?"

    She could remember asking him how he survived without her scent when she returned from Paris, but his response wasn''t straightforward.

    Now, things were clear as she already had the answer right in front of her.

    He had taken some of her clothes that still had her scent on them.

    To that question she asked, she got a smack at the center of her forehead instead of a response.

    "Ah!" She screamed as her palm immediately flew to that spot to massage it.

    Her entire face was contoured in pain as she red daggers at him.

    Fang Bingwen retreated his fingers after flicking her forehead. "Finally, your brain is working."

    "Bully! I will report you to your grandmother," Zhang Liling threatened immediately as she stared at him with a grievance.

    "You don''t have her number, should I give it to you?" He teased as a subtle of a smile hung at the corners of his lips.

    He seemed to be having a lot of fun teasing her on a normal working day of his life.

    Life truly wouldn''t beplete without fun.

    Ignoring him, Zhang Liling turned to leave in anger, but just then, she heard his voice from behind.

    "Next time, don''t step out of your rooms in your pajamas. You look like a Disney Princess right now," Mr. Fang teased as he slipped his hands inside the front pockets of his trousers.

    "Are you just finding out now? I am a Disney Princess on the lookout for my prince charming," Zhang Liling retorted while briefly sparing him a nce before turning to continue in her steps furiously.

    "Hahaha..." A chuckle escaped his lips as his eyes followed her. "Do you need help?" He asked as he immediately followed after her, but he got no response in the end.<sub> </sub>

    During breakfast that morning, Zhang Liling was surprised to find out that Mr. Fang had no intentions of going to work that day.

    After eating, he immediately went into his study after exining that he would work from home.

    Without knowing that he worked between his study and his perfumeboratory, Zhang Liling stayed back in her bedroom to arrange some business-rted matters.

    When the time for work hours was over, Bolin stopped by with some stack of documents and after spending an hour in Mr. Fang''s study, he left.

    *******

    Over the next several days, Mr. Fang pulled an all-nighter ahead of hispany''s new perfumeunch.

    And a week before D-day, an announcement was released to the public concerning it, which became the talk of the town.

    Two days before the new perfumeunch, Mr. Fang personally got Zhang Liling a new dress and a new set of jewelry so she could finally stop wearing the other ne over and over again.

    This very gift put a smile on Zhang Liling''s face and she couldn''t help but embrace him.

    Later during dinner, she asked about the perfumeunch and the location. It was hard not to pay attention to matters that concerned him and added to the advertisement going off about the new perfume, ck L''Intense.

    "There is no need to worry too much, it''s going to be a simple event with a few press present. I will send the driver to bring you to the event center, there is no need to go on your own."

    "I''m a bit nervous though..." Zhang Liling admitted with a small smile.

    "Take a deep breath," Fang Bingwen grinned.

    Although this would be her second public appearance with him, it was totally different from the first, where there was no media attention.

    But if she would be attending as a guest, then things will be different.

    "I think I will be fine. Tomorrow, I''m going out to take care of my skin. I have to look my best at the firstpany event you are inviting me to after all." She giggled to herself as her shoulders rose.

    Fang Bingwen was in support and even added, "Tell me if you need anything,"

    Finally, D-day arrived...

    ~The Tang Residence~

    Around 4 in the evening, Tang Ei returned from work and went straight to the shower.

    Half an hourter, he emerged into the room dressed in a ck suit with a white shirt inside.

    Suddenly, he paused in his steps when he saw Zhang Xiaoling sitting on the couch, but then he went on to ignore her while trying to fix the customized cufflinks as he matched forwarded.

    Seeing hime into the room and ignore her even after their gazes had met, Zhang Xiaoling felt a sting in her heart.

    Rising to her feet, she set her pride aside, and asked in a calm demeanor, "Where are you going to?"

    "Don''t you know what''s going on today?" Tang Ei asked as he went to sit at the foot of the bed as he tried to fix his necktie and the cor of his shirt.

    At least he was talking to her instead of totally ignoring her.

 Chapter 272 Hysterical Zhang Xiaoling

    "There are so many events happening today, how am I supposed to know which one you are going to?" Zhang Xiaoling retorted as her brows drew close together.

    "Well, if you must know..." Tang Ei started while staring at her as he finally fixed his necktie.

    "I''m going to the new perfumeunch event hosted by Fang Bingwen."

    Saying up to this point, he rose to his feet and moved to the couch. Propping his legs on the table, he leaned forward as his hands went to theces to tighten them.

    Watching him as her heart pounded loudly in her chest, Zhang Xiaoling felt a string cut in her heart.

    "I wanted toe along with you and that''s..."

    "You are noting with me." Tang Ei said authoritatively before shifting his gaze back to his brown leather polished shoes.

    There was not a hint of a smile in his voice as he meant every word he dered to her. He was not going to allow her toe to that event.

    Thinking he meant that he could not afford to be in the same car space as her, she released a deep breath.

    Walking towards the door leading to the inner room with her handbag she said, "That''s fine. You can go ahead while I find my way."

    Standing to his feet with his entire face contoured in a frown, his eyesnded on her back as he immediately stopped her delusion.

    "Who said you coulde to the event?" He asked then without giving her a chance to understand what he was driving at, he continued unhappily.

    "You are not going anywhere. You can stay at home and do what you want or probably go out to some fun ce."

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaolingshed out at him. Who did he think he was to stop her from going where she wanted?

    "What''s your problem? Why do you get to tell me what to do?"

    Stepping closer, he said in a menacing tone, not bothering to hide his great displeasure.

    "Because the invitation was given to me and not you. I know you have your ways, but if I see you at that ce, get ready to be embarrassed!" Tang Ei spat before turning to walk away through the entrance door, leaving her to seeth in her rage.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s fingers clenched as they curled into a fist. Her gritted teeth seethed with rage as her mind became clouded in anger.

    Tang Ei was taking revenge on her for the stunt she pulled at old Lady Fang''s birthday party, and it seemed like he bore a deep grudge against her, or maybe his reason for banning her froming along with him was something else.

    Maybe he was afraid that she would forget her self-respect and embarrass him, hence he stopped her entirely froming to the event rted to Mr. Fang.

    Zhang Xiaoling was blinded by anger that she went on a rampage holstering everything she couldy her hands on, to the floor.

    She was still in her work clothes and was yet to change out of her heels but she didn''t care.

    She screamed as she went to the bed and pushed the pillows to the floor, and right at that moment, Tang Ei came back.

    The man was a bit taken aback by the disheveled hysterical female figure standing next to the disarranged bed.<sub> </sub>

    But in the span of a few seconds, his protruded eyes suddenly constricted as his gaze followed the mess in the room.

    He could feel his chest rise and fall rapidly as his gaze slowly crept up to her face.

    ''Did she create this mess simply because I refused her presence at the

    Seeing hime into the room without warning, Zhang Xiaoling stopped in her actions as she locked gazes with him while breathing heavily.

    This was so unexpected.

    At first, she was shocked, but gradually, her anger returned.

    For almost a minute, both of them stood staring at each other with a sizable distance between them. No one was saying a word as they both expressed their anger towards each other with their nces.

    Taking in a deep breath, Tang Ei released it before walking into the inner room with his gaze ahead.

    When he walked out 2 minutester with his phone in hand, Zhang Xiaoling who was still standing at the same spot, watched him as he left the room without sparing her another nce.

    As he shut the door behind him with a loud thud, she shuddered in fear. But when she realized that he was noting back to rebuke her, her shoulders slumped as she slowly sat at the edge of the bed.

    She retracted her gaze from the door as she tried to catch her breath...

    Her entire ns of attending the new perfumeunch had been ruined, including the next day.

    While at work, she had been thinking about the event and even went on to clock out of work earlier to go to the saloon.

    Although she never had a conversation with her husband concerning theunch, she had been confident that it wouldn''t be a problem, given how they took care of matters while still at each other''s throats.

    But today, Tang Ei showed her that there was a limit to where her thoughts can take her.

    ~Mr. Fang''s Vi~

    Mr. Fang specially contracted a makeup artist to take care of Zhang Liling''s looks that morning before leaving for the office.

    At the moment, it was already 4 pm, and she was already dressed and ready to be taken to the event.

    Zhang Liling was very intentional about timing this time around and had to start preparing for the event from the time she opened her eyes in the morning in order to meet up.

    She wasn''t sure how the productunch was going to be, so she had to be a little observant.

    Although this was not her first time attending aunch as it was almost like a daily event back in Paris still, she shouldn''t expect that things would be like the past.

    In her bedroom after the makeup artist packed up and left she finished off her looks with the new set of jewelry, Mr. Fang got for her before going outside to take the ride waiting for her.

 Chapter 273 You Smell Like Me

    Zhang Liling arrived at the event almost half an hourter due to the traffic on the road, but thankfully, the little dy did not stop her from arriving at the venue on time.

    Stepping out of the car in a champagne-colored tasseled knee-length dress, her eyes darted around her busy surrounding.

    Her long hair was in a bun as a few strands at both sides of her hairline were let to cascade down her cheeks.

    ''There are quite a lot of guests in attendance,'' she thought to herself as her heartbeats became louder.

    Seeing men and women dressed to their best and heading into one entrance made her a bit nervous.

    Although the official announcement for the new perfumeunch only made it to the headlines less than 2 weeks ago, still, so much attention was on it. And this goes to tell you just how relevant and recognized Mr. Fang''s brand was in the country and beyond.

    Zhang Liling''s gaze remained at the entrance as she fiddled with her fingers. She seems to be looking for someone.

    Atst, she saw a familiar figure in a ck suit stepping out of the building with his phone ced on his ear as he exchanged a few pleasantries with some of the guests, and smiled.

    Because of her environment, Zhang Liling could not call out to him or wave her hands about so he could see her hence, she took out her ringing phone from her shoulder string clutch purse.

    Sliding her finger across the screen to answer the call, she ced the one on her ear immediately.

    "Hello Mr. Bolin, look to your left, I''m standing beside Mr. Fang''s ck car,"

    Instantly, Bolin''s gaze turned toward her direction. Seeing her, he shed her a smile and quickly walked forward as he put his phone away.

    "Miss Zhang, did you wait for long?" Bolin inquired as soon as he stopped in front of her.

    "No, thankfully, I informed Mr. Fang of our location a few minutes before we got to this ce," Zhang Liling chuckled softly.

    As soon as she dropped the call with Fang Bingwen, he instructed Bolin to bring her inside immediately after she arrived.

    This was all so she wouldn''t be stranded.

    "Miss Zhang, please follow me..." Bolin gestured as he got ready to lead her inside.

    "I would have to trouble you," said Zhang Liling with a smile as she immediately followed him inside.

    At the same time, the chauffeur drove away.

    Bolin led Zhang Liling inside the building. Passing a long hallway, they made a right turn before getting to the room ck L''Intenseunch was holding.

    Walking in through those big double-door, Zhang Liling could hear the sounds of a violin and piano ying.

    Immediately, her gaze darted around looking for the live band as she continued in her steps and the next moment, she saw them assembled on the stage, and a smile that reached her eyes spread across her face.

    She could see the men and women of different colors richly dressed and chatting with each other over a ss of champagne.

    Looking at the interior decors, her brain was already fast with the calction of the total money spent on them.

    "Mr. Fang is capable..." She uttered absentmindedly.

    Giving her a side nce, Bolin added, "This project was special to Mr. Fang. The time he spent to produce ck L''Intense exceeded the ones for the older perfumes in the market."

    Although Zhang Liling did not understand his reasoning now, she would soon.

    With her gaze darting around and taking in every little detail, she didn''t know when they got to the head table where Fang Bingwen was sitting.

    It was Bolin that called her attention on their arrival.

    "Miss Zhang..."<sub> </sub>

    Instantly, her gaze shifted to the man before her as the smile on her face gradually broadened.

    Seeing Mr. Fang sitting at the same round table with what looked like important business matters sheported herself.

    "Mr. Fang," she greeted as she lowered her head to give a small bow before raising her head again to meet his gaze.

    "You are here," The man said to her before shifting his gaze to the men sitting with him.

    About 3 of them were foreign, while the remaining 3 were great businessmen in the country.

    Fang Bingwen said a few words to them, and they returned a smile to him before he finally rose to his feet.

    Nodding at them with a small smile, he shifted his gaze to the little woman watching his every move.

    "How are you?" His gentle voice asked as he took her hand and led her out while Bolin tagged behind them.

    "I''m good. What a lovely party you have here," Zhang Lilingmented with a smile that reached her eyes as she was quite fascinated with the way he took her hand in the room full of people.

    Honestly, she didn''t expect that he would act too familiar with her because of his personality, but going to the next level of taking her hand and even smiling gently at her?

    Her heart almost melted on the spot, but she had topose her emotions in order not to look like a little child being fed candies.

    "Thank you," Fang Bingwen said as he guided her through a floor-length curtain before their figure disappeared from the guests.

    Smiling from ear to ear, Zhang Liling sped the back of his hand tightly. "Where are you taking me to?"

    "Don''t you want to rx a bit and eat something before theunch begins in full swing?" He asked, giving her a side nce.

    Looking away from him, she answered, "I would appreciate yourpany more,"

    "And you will get it," he said as he pushed the white door in front of them open and led them inside the small sitting room.

    Showing her to the sofa, he let go of her hand as she sat down with her gaze moving along every corner of the room.

    "Tell Bolin what you want to eat,"

    Having in mind that she might not have the chance to eat muchter, Zhang Liling hurriedly asked for the menu before picking a few things that caught her eye.

    After Bolin left, Mr. Fang came to sit next to her with a ss of a light green-colored cocktail. "You can have this first,"

    "Thank you." epting the drink happily, she gave her thanks.

    Bringing the rim of the ss to her parted lips, she took small sips before putting the ss down. "This is actually very nice."

    "This is what a professional setup looks like," Fang Bingwen replied as his eyes went to his git hanging sideways on her neck.

    Without warning, he leaned a little closer to her and reached out to adjust it to a proper position.

    Just as he leaned closer to her, Zhang Liling sniffed as her nose caught a familiar scent wafting from him.

    With slightly confused brows, she asked as his fingers lightly grazed her neck.

    "Mr. Fang, what perfume is that?"

    Instantly, the corners of Fang Bingwen''s lips curled as he leaned away from her. "Why are you asking?"

    Giving him a dazed look of bewilderment, she blurted without reservation, "You smell like me..."

 Chapter 274 Center Of Attraction

    ~In The Main Hall~

    "Who was that woman with Mr. Fang?" A young woman asked her friend standing next to her as their gazes rested at the spot Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling disappeared.

    "Could she be a friend or a family member?" The other one replied.

    Given how friendly Mr. Fang had been to Liling she couldn''t help bute to that conclusion.

    At another champagne table (A tall table where people have to lean on and chat while drinking wine, Champagne, or cocktails), three older women who had seen the scene were also talking about it.

    First Woman: "But that youngdy looks familiar."

    Second Woman: "Yes, she does look familiar. I think I have seen her somewhere before."

    Third woman: "Sighs... Who knows what their rtionship is..."

    ~In One Of The Rooms Away From Everyone~

    "Really?" Fang Bingwen teased as a smirk turned up at the corners of his lips.

    "Yes, I can''t be mistaken about it," Zhang Liling admitted with no attempt of breaking their gaze.

    She was quite sure of the scent exuding from him. That was exactly the way she scented and for that reason, she couldn''t be mistaken about it.

    "Maybe you''re wrong,"

    Zhang Liling just stared wordlessly at him and without warning, she leaned in close to sniff the area around his neck as that was one of the spots perfumes were usually applied.

    Fang Bingwen tried to avoid her on seeing her action, but it was toote. He could only stay still and allow her to sniff him like a dog.

    Sniff... Sniff... Sniff...

    ''He really does smell like me,''

    Coming to that realization, she hurriedly raised her head to meet his smiling gaze.

    "Mr. Fang, you really do smell like me, and there is no doubt. What did you do? Is there actually a perfume in the market that smells like all the products I use?" She queried with a serious expression.

    She seemed to be desperately seeking answers as her facial expression made it obvious.

    Smiling to himself with the satisfaction her curiosity brought to him, Mr. Fang decided to release her of the mental torture.

    "A perfume that smells like you actually exists, but unfortunately it''s not in the market as only one person has ess to it." He revealed while staring straight at her face.

    He couldn''t afford to miss every little detail of the expression her face exhibited.

    Zhang Liling was at a loss for words and had to think properly about the meaning of his words before saying anything.

    "Y-You produced it?"

    Immediately after those words left her lips, Bolin returned with a tray of the snacks she ordered. cing it on the table before them he left the room once again.

    Finally, Mr. Fang could answer her question.

    "I was inspired by the scent that brought mefort, so I began to look for ways to create it. It was indeed a long journey."

    "Was that why you took my clothes? Because they had some of my scent trapped in them?" She questioned as she slowly came to an understanding of the meaning of his actions.<sub> </sub>

    Before, she had thought he kept them next to him while sleeping at night, but who knew he was experimenting with them?

    No wonder he could sessfully create her scent in her absence.

    "Yes, and fortunately, you left some of your body care products including your hair products. I had to make use of the opportunity given to me to do what I''m best at."

    Zhang Liling was impressed with him, and she couldn''t hide that as her eyes shone brightly.

    "So this is what you were up to, and you refused to talk to me about it?"

    Fang Bingwen chuckled softly as he crossed his leg over the other. She was right.

    He had wanted her to find out things by herself to help her cultivate her thinking faculty.

    After getting excited by his wisdom and smartness, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but ask as her excitement quickly died down.

    "Since you developed this cool scent because you love me so much, why didn''t youunch it into the market?"

    She was curious as to know his reason, after all, this was the scent that brought himfort in the midst of difort.

    Just telling the story behind the scent as heunched it, plus his relevance in this line of business could guarantee him a massive sess.

    Ignoring her prideful teasing at the beginning of her sentence, Mr. Fang gave a response that caused her heart to flutter.

    "I don''t want anyone else smelling like you."

    While producing this secret scent unknown to the world, he had no intentions of ever publicizing it because it was for his own private usage.

    Zhang Liling''s face was full of smiles as she ate the desserts brought before her.

    It felt so good to be special to someone and at the moment, she couldn''t wait for the perfect time toe so she could brag about it.

    A few minutester, Bolin came to escort Mr. Fang out as the event had gone in full swing.

    Standing to his feet, he nced at the little woman who was still eating.

    "When she is done, guide her out,"

    Exactly as he had instructed, Bolin took Zhang Liling out to the main hall when she was done eating, and showed her to her seat which happened to be one of the tables next to where Fang Bingwen was sitting.

    Immediately, all eyes nearbynded on her as she tried really hard to mask her nervousness.

    After helping her get settled next to the table next to the Fang family, Bolin returned to his ce next to Mr. Fang.

    Initially, Zhang Liling had been too nervous to look around, but as time went on, her tensed muscles loosened, and that was when she noticed that the Fang family was in attendance.

    Almost all of them whom she had seen at the Old Lady''s party were sitting at the table next to her, and as she turned her gaze to their table, they all nced at her.

    Most especially, the elders shed her a smile.

    Immediately, she bowed her head slightly and threw her face away as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

    Out of nowhere, Zhang Liling began to feel hot in the fully air-conditioned room.

    ''Mr. Fang''s Family is here? A-And they have been watching me all this while?''

 Chapter 275 Easy To Please

    At that realization, Zhang Liling felt she was sitting on pins and needles with her train of thoughts breaking till the event came to an end.

    But her favorite part of ck L''Intenseunching was the part where Mr. Fang had to speak.

    She couldn''t help cheering for him along with the others when he actually deserved a round of apuse.

    In her head, she kept saying, ''That''s my man!'' with a proud look on her face.

    Unknown to her, a few people had already recognized who she was and were already talking amongst themselves about what her rtionship with Fang Bingwen was.

    A few hourster, the event came to an end with some of Fang group employees dressed as ushers,ing to hand the guests a small gift bag.

    Unable to hide her excitement and curiosity, Zhang Liling peeped into the bag through the little opening to see if it was possible to find out the item in it, but that wasn''t possible.

    Left with no choice, she put the small bag back on the table and shifted her gaze to the stage to hear the final speech from Mr. Fang.

    A few minutester, as the live band yed some songs, Zhang Liling took deep breaths to calm her nerves before leaving her table for the Fang Family''s table to offer her greetings.

    "Liling, it''s good to see you again," Jian Cuifen said with a smile that reached her eyes.

    "It''s good to see you too, Aunty," Zhang Liling replied before exchanging pleasantries with the Old Lady and Fang Huiqing."

    To Mr. Fang''s generation cousins, she only nodded at them as a few watchful eyes from the guests glued to her.

    Also, the press invited to the event, managed to click one picture of that scene.

    Just then, Bolin walked over. After greeting Mr. Fang''s family and answering the old Lady''s question about when her grandson woulde over, he leaned in to whisper something to Zhang Liling.

    Turning to the elders at the table with a smile, she hurriedly excused herself. "Aunty, Uncle, I have to take my leave now."

    "That''s fine. Remember to visit us soon..." The olddy didn''t forget to add this while waving her hand slightly.

    Zhang Liling smiled in eptance and nodded before turning to leave with Bolin who took her back to the resting area.

    Fang Bingwen figured that she may be morefortable waiting for him there than sitting in the big hall and having eyes on her.

    To this arrangement, she readily agreed and hurried to escape before her heart could jump into her mouth.

    At least, she preferred waiting for him to having the driver send her back home.

    Although the event had ended, Fang Bingwen still had to attend to a few important guests and business partners who couldn''t wait to chat with him for a few minutes.

    Fortunately, he was used to this as a man that has been in the business for almost a decade.

    Finally, he found time to go see his family after forcefully excusing himself from the next guests that came to talk to him.

    Going over to their table, he apologized curtly while sparing every one of them a nce.

    "We understand that you are busy, but next time, don''t keep us waiting," Fang Huiqing said calmly, but inwardly, he was displeased, but had to cover his facial expression because of the press.

    Fang Bingwen released a deep breath before shifting his gaze away. He didn''t even see the reasoning in responding to his father and luckily, the olddy came into the picture.

    "Wenwen, you have kept us waiting for a few minutes, don''t do the same to Liling. Her legs might be aching because of the heels." The olddy pointed out.<sub> </sub>

    ''What? She was literally sitting throughout the event, how was that going to affect her feet?'' One of Fang Bingwen''s cousins scoffed inwardly and threw her face to the side.

    Her grandmother sure was very capable ofing up with so many reasoning just to protect someone.

    "Mmm..." Fang Bingwen nodded before sitting with them for a bit.

    As a caring mother and grandmother, both women asked how he was faring without forgetting to ask about Zhang Liling.

    Fortunately, Mr. Fang''s lips were sealed concerning the fact that Zhang Liling actually lived in his castle.

    With the olddy ready for him to have a child, she might even force them to tie the knot without knowing that nothing had happened between them apart from a few kisses.

    A few minutester, he urged them to leave because of the time and the distance they were going to ply on the road.

    Fang Bingwen had Bolin escort his family to the car even though it wasn''t necessary, while he carried on chatting a bit with the businessmen waiting to continue their conversation.

    Tang Ei was part of thest set of people to walk up to him before he quickly escaped.

    Mr. Fang was not surprised to see that he was alone when he walked up to him. His mind never went to any reasoning behind that as it was none of his business whether Zhang Xiaoling came with him or not.

    "Congrattions on the sessfulunch of a new scent. If I didn''t see it with my eyes, I wouldn''t have believed how influential you were to pull these important people into one room within a short amount of time," Tang Ei praised.

    "Thank you, but I wouldn''t be proud after managing to win their trust and holding up to my promise," Mr. Fang replied politely.

    Nodding in eptance, Tang Ei added with a friendly smile, "Remind me toe to see you secretly so you could give me a few pointers."

    Fang Bingwen readily agreed before watching him leave.

    Atst, Mr. Fang went to find Zhang Liling in the small room after meeting briefly with his staff.

    Walking into the room to see the little woman typing away on her phone, he said, "Sorry for taking much time in fending off the guests."

    "You owe me an ice cream during the weekend," Zhang Liling replied while shing him a smile as she unhurriedly put her phone away.

    Tilting his head to the side as he subconsciously slipped his hands inside his pants pockets, he questioned, "Is that all?"

    "Mmmm..."

    "You are so easy to please,"

    "Count yourself lucky then,"

    "Are you ready to go home with me?" He asked.

    "Why not?" Zhang Liling replied as she rose to her feet and walked over to his side.

    "But first of all, I need to breathe in my scent to feel reenergized," she added and immediately wrapped her arms around his waist as she ced the side of her face on his rock-hard chest.

    Humming in satisfaction, hershes fluttered close.

 Chapter 276 Lies From Jealousy

    Ever since Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang were spotted together at the ck L''Intenseunch, their rtionship has been questioned on the inte.

    The possible rtionship between the two of them became the talk of the town.

    p Zhang Liling had been away from the public''s eyes for a little over a year, and because there was no reporter at Old Lady Fang''s birthday party, they didn''t find out on time about her return.</anda>

    It was only during the recent event that they all noticed her return.

    While some were wondering where she had been all this while, others were contemting the kind of rtionship she had with Fang Bingwen.

    Also, a few pictures of her greeting the Fang family members at their table showed up.

    A particr picture caught her smiling at them as they smiled back at her, and this happened when she was exchanging pleasantries with them.

    Everyone had their guesses, but they couldn''t be sure, hence, they started to look for answers.

    Soon, someone identified that Zhang Liling was Mr. Fang''s student at NYU, and she was one of his best graduating students.

    *******

    ''Why would Mr. Fang give special attention to her of all the students in his ss?''

    ''Why do I feel that there is something more to their rtionship?''

    ''Yeah, I think so too... Look at the reception the Fang Family gave to her.''

    ''Wait, something is definitely going on between them. Someone said they spotted her at Olddy Fang''s birthday party a few weeks ago.''

    ''What?? We are really missing a lot on this juicy content!''

    *******

    The conversation on the inte did not just end like that, as more people immediately joined on the topic.

    And the worst part of it all was that they kept tagging their friends to join the conversation.

    In less than an hour, the topic of Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang''s possible rtionship became a hot topic on the inte.

    ~At the Tang Mansion~

    Zhang Xiaoling was currently on the hot topic involving her stepsister and the man she had an eyes for, on the inte.

    The more she watched the pictures and saw thements of theizens, the angrier she became.

    Within a few seconds, her fingers propped on the table were already clenched in a fist.

    Her entire face was contoured in a frown as the corners of her lips drew downwards.

    Her brows were furrowed as her breathingbored heavily.

    With the speed at which her chest was rising and falling if not controlled, her heart coulde busting out of itspartment.

    Unable to ensure the stuff hurting her eyes and feelings, she hurriedly reached for theptop screen and immediately shut it close.<sub> </sub>

    It was very likely that she didn''t care if the screen shattered, or the upper part of theptop broke in half when she mmed it shut.

    Probably, she didn''t even care as she could afford it, or because she didn''t mind as venting her anger shoulde first.

    Zhang Xiaoling was so angry that she was almost digging her sharp artificial red nails into her palms as her teeth gritted angrily.

    If one was close, it wouldn''t be different to hear the shattering of her teeth.

    The woman remained sitting on her chair seething in rage as different thoughts clouded her mind. Only if Zhang Liling was close, maybe she could have had the opportunity of venting her anger, but that was not possible.

    Although she was older than Zhang Liling, and she was very furious at the moment, it was likely that she would still be defeated at the very end because the tigress whose older profession was a troublemaker, would not let her off without a fight.

    At the least, the number of times Zhang Liling had fought in her life after being provoked and she won, was far greater than the number of times she lost.

    Out of twenty fights, she had lost only once.

    That''s a lot of fights Mr. Fang would be shocked when he learns of them.

    Ring...ring...ring...

    Suddenly, an iing call came up on the phone lying next to theptop on the desk, immediately calling for Zhang Xiaoling''s attention.

    Instinctively, her eyes nced at the screen to see the caller ID as she shotsers through them.

    She seems ready to finish off whoever was on the other end, especially if it was her mother but fortunately, it was someone else.

    In order to answer the call and sound a bit normal, she had had to calm herself down by taking in and releasing deep breaths still, her heart was in pain.

    Regardless, she went on to pick up her phone and immediately slid her finger across the screen.

    cing her phone on her ear, she forced a smile, but before she could say anything, the female voice belonging to one of her closest friends, reached her ears, immediately interrupting the words that had reached the tip of her tongue.

    Listening for only a few seconds, she was almost unable to keep up appearances.

    "I don''t think that''s an important matter you have to kill yourself over."

    The person on the other end replied in an urgent tone, forcing ck lines to appear on her forehead as she shut her eyes.

    Gripping the edge of the table, she pushed the phone away from her ears and released a few breaths before cing the phone back on her ear.

    "I didn''t want to reveal this secret, but being my friend, I think I owe you this exnation. I don''t want you to be deceived by what is being said on the inte."

    Forcing the smile back on her face, she stammered a little, pretending as if she was in a difficult situation for a bit before speaking up smoothly at the end.

    "I am very sure that she is Fang Bingwen''s mistress."

    "What?!" Her friend screamed in utter shock.

    "Yes, it''s true. Haven''t you wondered where she had been for the past year? Everyone searched for her and tried to reach her, but we were forced to give up after she told us off." Zhang Xiaoling lord ever so tantly.

 Chapter 277 Malicious Intent

    Zhang Xiaoling was all out to spread lies just to vent her anger and frustration on Zhang Liling.

    She didn''t even care anymore if she was also putting Mr. Fang''s reputation on the line. She believed that he should suffer for a bit for choosing her stepsister.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s friend wasn''t ready to believe such an exnation because she found it weird.

    "Are you sure of what you''re saying? Fang Bingwen doesn''t look like someone who would get himself a mistress."

    "Hahaha..." Zhang Xiaoling forced augh out of her thin lips as she threw her head back.

    She was acting like the matter was not a big deal which in turn, filled the mind of the other woman with doubt.

    ''With Xiaoling acting this way, maybe it''s true.''

    Zhang Xiaoling, aware of the possible thoughts going on in her friend''s mind, chuckled a bit more before leaning her back away from the backrest of the chair.

    "Even Fang Bingwen is a human. The man hasn''t been seen with a woman for long hence, he is doing this to stop any uprising news that would threaten his reputation like in the past."

    Breathing in sharply, she continued, "Truly, this is not usually his move, but I''m feeling you that Zhang Liling has been his mistress since thest year, and maybe he chose to go public with it. Look, even his family do not mind."

    Zhang Xiaoling changed her tongue a bit just in case Mr. Fang tried to debunk the uing rumours and announced that Zhang Liling was actually his girlfriend.

    Her intentions were to fill everyone''s head that Zhang Liling was his mistress for a year before he decided to make her his girlfriend.

    That way, Zhang Liling''s reputation would be ruined and difficult to salvage.

    <o>,m *******</o>

    As soon as Tungmei saw the news on the inte, she was shocked.

    The poor youngdy almost had a heart attack as she stared at the pictures and thements in disbelief.

    Unable to believe the news at first, she had to stare hard at the pictures for a few more minutes to confirm their authenticity before deciding to put up a call to her best friend.

    She figured it would be easier and faster for Zhang Liling to debunk the news before a public statement was given by Mr. Fang.

    Zhang Liling was munching on her bowl of cereals while reading thements on the inte concerning her and Fang Bingwen when Tungmei''s call came in.

    Instantly, she choked on her food as her lungs began to release a series of coughs.

    Dropping her spoon into the bowl of series, she put her phone down as she immediately reached for the ss of water in front of her and brought the rim to her lips

    That call from her best friend reminded her of something very important.

    She had forgotten to inform her of the rtionship between her and Mr. Fang.

    She had also been enjoying thementsing off from theizens that she had forgotten that Tungmei would see them as well.<sub> </sub>

    Now seeing her call, she knew her ears were going to hurt, including her poor brain.

    ''I am finished. She won''t let me off.'' Zhang Liling concluded to herself as she put the ss of water down after drinking till half of its content.

    Zhang Liling felt her heart pounding heavily in her chest as she almost found it difficult to breathe properly or maybe she had actually forgotten to do that.

    Watching the call cut as her eyes glistened with tears due to the choking that happened earlier, she tried to calm her nerves.

    Zhang Liling had to wait for Tungmei to call her back again as she refused to be the one to return the call.

    While waiting nervously, her phone began to ring again before she finally picked it up from the dining table.

    Releasing a deep breath, she answered the call and ced the phone a few centimetres away from her ear just in case she was going to scream into her ears.

    "Zhang Liling! You finally know to answer my calls?."

    "Godmother, please calm down!" Zhang Liling hurriedly said.

    "Who is your godmother??" Tungmei was not going to give her a chance to soften her heart and immediately fired back.

    "You are the one, of course, there is no other like you,"

    Admitting to the new role assigned to her out of someone''s guilty conscience, Tungmei asked sharply, "Fine! Now exin to this godmother the rumours that have spread to all the corners of the earth. Are they true?"

    ''How to reply?'' Zhang Liling nervously bit her lips as her fingers tapped continuously on the table.

    She was contemting how to break the news and save her life at the same time.

    "Are you not going to say anything??? Won''t you tell me which one is the truth?" Tungmei urged as she mmed her palm on her study desk, instantly startling her roommate.

    Tungmei had been the one to make sure the house rules carried on, but currently, she didn''t care. The rules between her and her roommate could rest in hell for the next half an hour.

    Zhang Liling breathed in sharply and was forced to spill the truth even though Tungmei could already guess the truth given how it was difficult for her to respond.

    "Godmother, you have to forgive this brat. Although I had no ns of revealing this secret to you at the time we met at the cafe, I also didn''t n for you to find out about the truth through this way."

    "In actuality, what are you saying?" Tungmei interjected as her brows creased.

    Three streaks of longitudinal lines had already appeared on her young forehead.

    Her head was almost about to separate from her neck with her leaning forward.

    "The news is true. Mr. Fang is my boyfriend." Zhang Liling admitted as her voice went soft the longer her words progressed.

    She was sure that her life was hanging on a double-edged sword as she nervously waited for Tungmei''s response.

 Chapter 278 Explanation

    "What?!!! Mr. Fang is your boyfriend????"

    Tungmei couldn''t believe her ears and immediately began to bombard her with questions as soon as she recovered a little from the shock.

    "How?"

    Tungmei: "When did this happen?"

    Liling: "A while back"

    Tungmei: With eyes protruding from their sockets, she asked, "How did you get close to him?"

    "That''s a long story," Zhang Liling replied.

    Thinking back to how she found her way into his house in the first ce and the long journey before she finally won his heart, that was a hell long of a story.

    Where would she start from? And even if she did start, when was she going to end?

    She was pretty sure her lips would be hurting before she gets halfway through with the story.

    Still unable to believe this, Tungmei continued with her interrogation. "What gave you the guts?"

    She was very curious about this question. How could she go ahead to date someone who was once their Professor in college?

    How did she even manage to get on talking terms with him before reaching the level where they would date?

    "Because I loved him so much that I couldn''t just let him off,"

    Tungmei: "^¡ã ¡ã^"

    The more she heard, the more she couldn''t believe her ears.

    Tungmei wished she could see Zhang Liling at that moment and watch her lips spill the backstory behind her rtionship with Mr. Fang, to ascertain that she wasn''t ying tricks on her.

    She had always known back in their college days that her dearest friend had her eyes on Mr. Fang, but that her fantasy would turn into a reality, she wasn''t expecting that.

    Regardless of her disbelief, Tungmei continued with her questions as Zhang Liling tried to keep up with the response.

    "Did you trick him into dating you?"

    "How long have you two been dating??"

    "Why didn''t you tell me about this?"

    "Zhang Liling, I am scared of you. You are very crazy!" She admitted atst.

    "Hahahaha..." A soft chuckle escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips as she reached out to stifle herughter with her hand. "I only do crazy things," she confirmed.

    Zhang Liling seemed to be very proud of her handwork, and as Tungmei started to rx a bit, a sigh of relief fell off her lips.

    Maybe she wouldn''t get killed, after all, or so she thought.

    But when Tungmei asked to meet her in an hour, she hurriedly rejected her idea without a second thought.

    "I am afraid to get beaten up!" She said after rejecting her.

    "Is there anything else you fear in this world after you dared to pursue a man like Mr. Fang and get him to date you?" Tungmei retorted.<sub> </sub>

    Her voice was hard and a little raised as her emotions at the moment couldn''t be hidden.

    "Of course, I am very afraid to face you at the moment. Tungmei, we will only meet when I''m sure that you have calmed down," Zhang Liling replied as her eyes nced over the bowl before her.

    Picking up her spoon with the other hand, she moved it against her cereals and discovered they were already soggy.

    Sighing, she scooped a spoonful and sent it into her mouth as she listened to the agitated young woman on the other end of the phone.

    "And when do you think I will calm down?"

    Zhang Liling paused for a while with a thoughtful gaze, "I''m not sure." She shook her head and continued as she scooped another spoonful of cereals, "Maybe on my wedding day."

    "You are seriously asking for a beating!"

    At the end of their conversation, Tungmei calmed down a lot and got even more interested to know the backstory of her rtionship with Fang Bingwen.

    And in order to satisfy her curiosity and at the same time make up for keeping her on the sidelines all this while, Zhang Liling divulged the main summary to her.

    After listening for a while, Tungmei asked with curiosityced in her tone, "What does it feel like to be with Mr. Fang?"

    "For now, it''s sweet and not as challenging as it was at the beginning of our rtionship."

    Of course, Zhang Liling could notpare the bliss she was enjoying now to how things used to be with her and Fang Bingwen at the very beginning.

    With time and as their rtionship progressed, changes started to ur as well.

    *******

    ~At the Zhang House~

    Currently, there was chaos in the mansion as Zhang Renshu was throwing a fit after seeing the rumors spreading on the inte.

    His main rage was concentrated on the rumor of Zhang Liling being Fang Bingwen''s mistress.

    "She was busy ying the role of someone''s mistress when I was here worried about where she had disappeared to???!!!!?"

    Shi Wenqian who was sitting next to him at the dining table was equally seething with rage as her fingers curled in a fist.

    Earlier, Zhang Renshu and Shi Wenqian had met in the hallway on their way heading to the breakfast table and had ignored each other.

    Taking their seats at the dining table, they had not even gained the opportunity to start eating when Zhang Mingyu rushed out, bringing the bad news with him.

    "Wow! Dad, do you know that Liling is Fang Bingwen''s Mistress?"

    He had delivered the news without warning, causing his parents to exim in shock.

    At first, they did not believe it, but when he showed them the article and some of thements making rounds on the inte, they were left shocked beyond measure.

    At that moment of anger, Zhang Renshu who had been against any member of his family being romantically linked with the Fang Family almost had a heart attack.

    Shi Wenqian on the other hand who had forgotten about Zhang Liling and the ns she had for her following her disappearance, felt like the sky came crashing down on her as different possible thoughts began to flood her head.

    ''That little rat! Has she been hiding in the Fang family all this while?''

    There was no other fact to exin her disappearance other than this.

 Chapter 279 Unexpected Retaliation

    Unable to hold back on his anger anymore, Zhang Renshu immediately gave out an order.

    "Where is that rat?! Call her back this very moment!" He instructed as he mmed his fist on the table as Shi Wenqian red at him.

    "What are you going to do?" She queried, on the verge of rolling her eyes at him.

    Shifting his gaze from the servant already scurrying away to her, his brows drew close together as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    "What?"

    "You said that nobody from this family was going to be involved with the Fang family romantically, but I bet you couldn''t control your whore of a daughter!"

    Before, Shi Wenqian''s lips could shut tightly after delivering her Oscar speech, Zhang Renshu immediately stretched his right hand toward her face and gave her a tight p, shocking everyone in the room

    The sound of his palm meeting her face was truly satisfying.

    Zhang Mingyu inhaled sharply as her eyes widened in shock at the scene of his furious father hitting his angry mother.

    The young man really couldn''t behold the scene that had just yed out right in front of his eyes.

    Gradually, as he felt shocked, he felt a wave of equal anger start to rise within him.

    No child could tolerate his father hitting his mother no matter how his mother had wronged him. Unless his mother was truly evil to him.

    Zhang Mingyu was angry with his father, but he knew he couldn''t interfere.

    ''Maybe I shouldn''t have broken the news to them while they were together,'' he thought in regret.

    At least, he wasn''t going to pretend as if his mother wasn''t at fault. The woman just didn''t know when to speak.

    She was well aware of how angry the man would be after finding out a piece of news that was like a heavy p to his face, and yet, she went on to insult him.

    When Shi Wenqian felt the smack on her soft cheeks, she was shocked. But as the pain shot up to her head, her hand immediately flew to cover that side of her face that had be red.

    ''D-Did he just hit me?!''

    Her quivering lips parted several times as her gaze remained on the man before her eyes, but she couldn''t bring herself to say anything.

    It was as if she knew that daring to utter another word, would directly have her beaten to death hence, she shut her lips atst.

    Zhang Renshu on the other hand felt her burning gaze on him and remained unmoved. He stared into her eye, seeming like he was waiting for something, but when she didn''t say anything, he threw his gaze away.

    "Next time, it would be boiling water that will be downed on you as you have proved time and time again that nothing good cane out of your mouth," Zhang Renshu threatened as he reached for the table napkin and used it to wipe his hands.

    As he had managed to smack her face this once after holding back for several years of them being together, he was now prepared to go on with it.<sub> </sub>

    This was just the beginning of their unhealthy rtionship as he would no longer hesitate to hit her if she said anything to anger him as long as she was close to him.

    Saying that he stood on his feet. Pushing the chair backward with the back of his legs, he threw the napkin on the table before turning to stride off angrily.

    <o>,m A few moments after he walked away, Zhang Mingyu was in a dilemma of whether tofort his mother or sneak out, but Shi Wenqian''s next outburst forced him to leave.</o>

    Without warning, a high-pitched scream escaped from her lungs as she immediately swung the tes of food on the table to the floor while rising to her feet at the same time.

    A mere shattering of the ceramic tes on the floor was not enough to stop her from her raging madness, and seeing that on time, Zhang Mingyu hurriedly escaped.

    "Zhang Renshu!" Shi Wenqian screamed with her eyes glistening with tears as she went on to push everything on the dining table to the floor.

    Hearing the ruckus, most of the servants rushed over but seeing her acting hysterical, they immediately took several steps back as their eyes nced at the huge mess on the floor.

    Zhang Renshu was still in the hallway walking to his bedroom where he had left his phone when he heard the loud breaking of tes.

    He stopped in his steps and breathed in heavily before continuing in his steps as reaching Zhang Liling on the phone was far more important than going back to the dining room to teach that woman another lesson.

    With that thought, he continued in his steps as Shi Wenqian''s screech and disy of madness continued.

    Not just the tes, Shi Wenqian went on to break the big beautiful vases ced at different corners of the dining room as the servants watched on in horror.

    None of them dared to get too close to her for fear of having their heads broken. They could only stand one mile away from her and beg her to calm down.

    Initially, they didn''t understand the reason she would react that way after Zhang Renshu had left. They were still clueless until their eyes beheld the red fingerprint on the left side of her face.

    Instantly gasps of shocks escaped their lips as their hand immediately flew over their mouth.

    Never have they seen something like this before.

    No matter how their master got angry in the past, he didn''t go as far as hitting their mistress, but from what their eyes could see, the man must have reached his limit after a thoughtless provocation from Shi Wenqian.

    *******

    Zhang Liling was washing her empty bowl after eating her cereals.

    Standing in front of the sink and humming a song to herself as her body moved slightly in rhythm, a smile turned up at the corners of her lips.

    She seemed excited about all things working together for her good.

    She was still immersed in her happiness until her phone started ringing, breaking her concentration line.

 Chapter 280 Fang Bingwen Gets Scolded

    ''Who is it? Zhang Renshu or Song Jujing?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as she rinsed off the cereal bowl and spoon under the running kitchen tap.

    Here she was wondering whose call wasing in after the rumors spreading like wildfire on the inte.

    Ignoring her ringing phone, she continued with her work until she was done to thest.

    Wiping her hands with the hand towel, she put the bowl and the spoon away in the kitchen cab before going back to pick up the towel.

    After hanging the towel on the rack, she slid her phone out from her jeans trouser pocket and turned the screen to her face.

    "This person is sure relentless." Shemented.

    And that''s because her phone had been ringing endlessly, and even as she was taking her time with the dishes, no break was given between when the call disconnected and when it started to ring again.

    Atst, when she saw the caller ID, a smirk turned up at the corners of her lips as she stepped out of the kitchen and made her toward her bedroom.

    She knew she was going to get an earful first and as she had guessed, Zhang Renshu did not spare her and immediately started to curse her out as soon as she answer the call.

    "You rat! Are you avoiding me now? Why didn''t you answer when I called the first time?!"

    Rage was evident in his tone and Zhang Liling couldn''t have pretended not to notice it as she thought, ''Is that really important to you now?''

    She felt that he would have started with a better opening than this.

    With Zhang Renshu already on her neck, she didn''t bother to reply to his question as he also did not give her the chance even if she had wanted to respond.

    Without giving her breathing space, the angry man began to question her destiny.

    "Zhang Liling, did youe to this world to be someone''s mistress?? After graduating, have you nothing better to do with your life?!"

    Rolling her eyes, Zhang Liling sat on the edge of her bed and crossed her leg over the other as she continued to listen to his never-ending rant.

    ''Dad, you never cease to amaze me. Honestly, did you think I am so insignificant as to settle as someone''s mistress? You need to get your facts about me checked.''

    Zhang Renshu was at the other end of the phone scolding the hell out of his daughter while she was here having thoughts she wasn''t supposed to have.

    To the man, she should be in a somber mood.

    Inhaling sharply, he spat out and directly ended the call without giving her the chance to defend or exin herself.

    "Come back home this instant!"

    Zhang Liling scoffed as she threw her phone on the bed. If there was bubble gum in her mouth, she would have been bowing it and making noises with it.

    She really wanted tough at her father. The man felt like he could do as he pleased, scolding her and then going on tomand her.

    He really was thinking too much of himself.

    An hourter, Zhang Liling wasughing hard while ying around with her phone.<sub> </sub>

    This was the youngdy her father had asked toe home, but here she was, having no ns of listening to him.

    Zhang Renshu was sitting in his study waiting for her arrival after instructing the servants to bring her in as soon as she arrived, not knowing that the stubborn human he was waiting for, was currently chatting with her friends.

    Thirty minutester when the man was yet to see any shadow of Zhang Liling, he hurriedly gave her a call, but she refused to answer.

    Even when her phone rang consecutively for ten good times, Zhang Liling ignored his calls and went on to silence her phone at the end.

    ck lines immediately made their way to the man''s forehead after he discovered that his instructions were taken lightly.

    mming his hand on his desk while seething in rage, he cursed under his breath.

    "Like mother and daughter!"

    Zhang Renshu refused to give up. After calming down for a bit, he immediately made a few calls to find Fang Bingwen''s number.

    Since that stubborn girl wasn''t going to do as he said, he figured that he would call Mr. Fang and scold the hell out of him.

    *******

    Fang Bingwen was working in his study when a call from an unknown number came on his phone.

    ncing at his phone screen and being unable to recognize the number, his brows furrowed.

    Reaching out for his phone, he pressed the side button, instantly silencing the sound before shifting his gaze back to the stack of papers in his hands.

    This was only a day after the rumor about Zhang Liling being his mistress started to spread on the inte.

    On the second ring, Mr. Fang was forced to answer the call, and immediately he said ''hello,'' he heard the angry voice of the male caller at the other end.

    "Fang Bingwen, this is Zhang Liling''s father," Zhang Renshu introduced himself before going on with the reason he reached out to him.

    His tone was not friendly in any way as he continued, "Did you tell my daughter not to answer my calls? Did you give her the idea not to listen to me? If you don''t want me to ruin your reputation in the next hour, ask Zhang Liling toe back home this minute!"

    Saying until this point, he directly ended the call.

    Right from the beginning of the call to the end, Mr. Fang''s entire face was contoured in a frown.

    Bringing his phone down to nce at the screen, he mumbled to himself in disbelief.

    "Did Zhang Renshu just scold me?"

    He was still unable toprehend what just happened a few moments ago.

    Fang Bingwen couldn''t believe that someone would scold him over the phone so randomly like that, and that too, it had to be his girlfriend''s father.

 Chapter 281 No Time For Games

    After hearing Zhang Renshu''s outburst, Fang Bingwen went straight to find Zhang Liling as she was the reason he got scolded.

    Knocking once on her door, his lungs released a deep breath.

    Not long after, he heard the shuffling of feet on the rug as his brow creased. The next moment, the door swung open.

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling''s eyes instantly lit up the moment she saw Fang Bingwen standing right outside her door.

    She was so happy with his presence that she didn''t notice the unhappiness radiating from him.

    "Pleasee in," she said, gesturing for him to walk in.

    Watching the little woman oblivious to the unforeseen encounter he just had with her father, another sigh fell off his lips as he made his way into her bedroom.

    Shutting the door behind them, Zhang Liling hurriedly went up to him as he waited beside her bed.

    "Mr. Fang, what brought you to my room?" She asked with excitementced in her tone.

    "Why are you not answering your father''s call?" Fang Bingwen asked as soon she came to stand in front of him while giving her a side nce.

    "Huh?" Zhang Liling tilted her head to the side as her brows furrowed. ''What does he mean?''

    "Mr. Fang, H-How... D-Did you know... Wait!" Suddenly She stopped in her tracks as a ridiculous idea just arrived in her head.

    Mr. Fang, on the other hand, stood there waiting for her to speak. After being disorganized as a result of Zhang Renshu''s call, he had all the time in the world for her.

    "My father called you?" She asked as her eyes widened in realization.

    ''T-This can''t be...'' She trailed off inside her head.

    ''Now you get it.''

    "He asked you to go back home, why didn''t you one to tell me about it?"

    "I was going to tell you when I was ready to go back to that house," She replied as her lips constricted in a pout.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, he asked as his gaze narrowed at her, "And when is that supposed to be?"

    Slowly, Zhang Liling''s head dropped as she fiddled with her fingers. "I was going toe find you in the evening, and that''s when I nned to go back home."

    Fang Bingwen just stood there while staring speechlessly at her. Was she serious? Did she even have an idea of how he got scolded?

    Should he tell her so she would feel more guilty?

    Feeling the intent gaze on her, she knew he was probably angry with her and hurriedly raised her head.

    "Mr. Fang, I''m sorry for all the trouble." She apologized as her fingers continued fiddling with her clothes.

    Anyone who saw her now would think she was innocent and was being bullied by the tall figure towering over her.

    Fortunately, Mr. Fang had nothing against her and set her free from her guilt.

    "Do you want to go back?" He asked as he sat at the edge of her bed.

    Zhang Liling hurriedly went to sit next to him. ncing at him, she answered his question.

    "I know why he wants me toe back, so I will go back first. First, I disappeared for a year and returned without his knowledge and at the moment, he had to find out about my whereabouts by seeing the news about me being your mistress."

    Mr. Fang was quiet for a while as he contemted the matter before meeting her gaze. "If you don''t want to go, then stay here. But if you want me toe with you to exin to your father, I''m free."<sub> </sub>

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling immediately threw herself into his arms as if she had been waiting for this moment toe.

    Smiling as rubbed her bare face on his chest, while circling her arms around his waist, she said in a sweet tone, "You are so sweet, Mr. Fang. Thank you for caring, but I don''t need your help on this one."

    Raising her head to meet his gaze, she continued, "I will take care of my father myself."

    Fang Bingwen nodded in understanding and let her do what she wanted.

    "If there is anything, call me. When youe back, I have something to tell you." He said.

    "Why don''t you tell me about it now?" She probed.

    "Now is not the right time."

    *******

    "Your hand is too strong!" Zhang Xiaoling scolded as she raised her head from the long table she was lying on.

    ring at the servant who hurriedly apologized to her, she put her head down again.

    Zhang Xiaoling was currently enjoying a message in one of the rooms in the Tang mansion.

    After getting annoyed that morning because of Tang Ei, she decided to get a massage to calm the tensed nerves around her shoulders and back.

    Ever since shey her head on that bed, her irritation had reached another level. Instead of peace returning to her mind, she was busy scolding the servant massaging her back.

    At that moment, that she put her head back on the table, and as the servant ced her hands on her bare back, her phone vibrated next to her head.

    Immediately, she breathed in sharply. Her anger was very obvious as the middle-aged woman standing beside her didn''t dare to touch her again.

    "Bring the phone!" Her cold tone instructed.

    "Yes, Ma''am!" The servant said hurriedly as she immediately wiped the oil off her hands before bringing the phone to her.

    Howzy was Zhang Xiaoling that she couldn''t stretch her hand and reach for her phone?

    "Answer the call and give the phone to me," she instructed with her eyes closed as she felt the shadow looming over her.

    Quickly, the servant answered the call before passing the phone to her hand.

    Not caring who was at the other end, Zhang Xiaoling answered harshly.

    "Who is this?"

    "What? You don''t look at your phone anymore before you take calls? Are you that busy?" Zhang Mingyu asked and resisted scoffing at the end.

    If the thing he wanted to report wasn''t important, he would have given her the taste of her own medicine.

    This sister of his that liked to act as a superior was a torn in the flesh.

    "If you don''t report why you are calling, forget it."

    Also not in the mood to y games with her, Zhang Mingyu revealed.

    "Dad pped Mum in the morning during breakfast."

    "What?!" Zhang Xiaoling eximed in shock as she hurriedly shot up from the table, not caring that she was revealing her naked body to the servant.

 Chapter 282 Drama

    Seeing that the atmosphere was not good given how she shot up from the bed, the servant hurriedly lowered her head slightly before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

    She was giving room for her privacy.

    "Dad pped Mum? Why did he do that? What happened?" Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling began to query him as she dropped her ''I don''t care attitude''

    Her stepfather had finallyid his hands on her mother, and she was very mad and curious to know the story behind it.

    Without holding back, Zhang Mingyu spilled the entire story to her.

    The reason he had even called her in the first ce was that he was still shocked over the incident.

    Also, his mother locked herself in her bedroom and refused toe out, and the next time he went over to see her, she was still not opening up.

    As for Zhang Renshu, he was very afraid of going to find that one for fear of incurring his wrath.

    He was already furious with Zhang Liling and now his mother.

    Zhang Mingyu was avoiding getting close to him for fear of turning his attention to him.

    The young man was very sure that his dear father still had space in his heart to amodate more anger.

    And as he didn''t want to get into his bad books for that day, he stayed away.

    A few minutester, Zhang Xiaoling scoffed andid her back against thefy table.

    "They fought because of Zhang Liling''s matter? And why did mum make thatment? Sometimes, I wonder where her smartness goes to during important matters."

    Initially, Zhang Xiaoling was pitying her mother, but not anymore. She didn''t have any space in her heart to amodate any anger.

    She was already trying to shed off the ones she had umted into her nerves because of her annoying husband, so she couldn''t add another one to her head.

    Her mother was really annoying, but why did Zhang Renshu have to hit her this time around?

    "Mum doesn''t listen. I''m sure she made thatment in anger. Remember, father stopped your idea of marrying into the Fang family, so mum was annoyed. She thought we were being mistreated as Liling gets to do what she wants."

    Zhang Mingyu replied as he tried to defend their mother at the same time, but Zhang Xiaoling was unmoved.

    She could remember the conversation she had with her Father in his study on that very day she secretly asked her mother for help.

    That day, Shi Wenqian came barging into his study after hearing that she was there, not knowing that she pulled a stunt on her.

    Thinking back to Everything her stepfather said that day, she didn''t know who to me anymore.

    The man was very clear on his decision concerning the Fang family, therefore, how did her mother expect him to be happy that Zhang Liling was going against his rule?

    Also, why did she have to call her a whore right in front of his face? She was basically insulting and ming him without reserve.

    She was actually asking for a beating.

    At the end of their conversation, Zhang Mingyu was disappointed with his sister''s response and was forced to end the call.

    Deep down in his heart, he could feel that she was getting detached from family matters.<sub> </sub>

    Zhang Xiaoling scoffed and put down her phone before turning toy with her chest on the bed as she called for the servant toe back and continue with her services.

    *******

    By the time Zhang Liling arrived at the Zhang Mansion, it was already a few minutes past 5 pm.

    Stepping out of the car that Mr. Fang had lent to her for this journey, she shut the door behind her.

    Fixing her gaze at the big building with armed security standing at a particr post, she thought with an indifferent expression on her face. "Nothing has changed."

    Turning to the driver, Mr. Fang''s chauffeur sitting in the driver seat of the car they brought her over, she shed him a smile.

    "I will be out in a few minutes. In the meantime, please hold on."

    The man nodded and only then did she turn her back to him and walked away as she fixed her sun shades over her eyes.

    For this trip back to her house, Zhang Liling wore a knee-length green dress and a pair of ck heels.

    Around her neck was a white pearl ne, and her ears were adorned with a pair of gold earrings with a pearl-shaped like teardrop at its bottom.

    Unaware of themotion that happened in the morning because of her, she found her way inside the house.

    "Where is my father?" She asked as soon as she stepped inside the house and saw Shi Wenqian''s secretary walking along the hallway.

    Although furious because her mistress got pped in the face because of her, the woman didn''t dare to show her anger as the Master of the house had ordered her to bring his daughter over as soon as she arrived.

    Offering a small bow that didn''te from her heart, she replied, "In his study."

    "Thank you, I will find my way." Zhang Liling replied and walked past her with a straight gaze ahead.

    Did the woman listen to her? No! Of course, she would try to get back to her a little.

    With that thought of revenge in her head, the woman turned and followed after her as if she didn''t hear her speak earlier.

    Hearing the footsteps behind her, Zhang Liling stopped in her steps and turned around.

    "Are you deaf?" She asked without reservation as she took off her sunsses to reveal her eyes filled with burning rage.

    Because this was her stepmother''s secretary who has never meant well to her, she was suddenly in the mood to put her in her ce. After all, she didn''t have a good time while living under this roof.

    "I said do not follow me! I know my way around here. This is my father''s house," She reminded her as a few servants peeped from their hiding positions.

    After delivering her speech, Zhang Liling turned around and ced her sunshades back on her eyes.

    She only took it off when she got to her father''s study.

    "If you want to watch your two masters fight and get fired at the end of the drama, follow me," she said and continued in her steps without turning back to see if she was still being followed.

    "Bitch!" The woman cursed through gritted teeth as she watched her retreating figure.

    She felt so much as strangling Zhang Liling and then offering her life in return.

 Chapter 283 Unmoved

    Zhang Liling walked through the familiar hallway for a few seconds before taking a turn.

    A minuteter, she arrived in front of Zhang Renshu''s study before pushing the door open without even bothering about the simplest courtesy of knocking on the door of a closed private room.

    Zhang Renshu was sitting on his chair with a menacing gaze when she walked in without knocking.

    Instantly, his calm gaze followed her as she walked over toe sit in front of him.

    "Hello, Dad!" Zhang Liling greeted him without caring what his facial expression looked like.

    Zhang Renshu''s eyes studied the daughter he hadn''t seen and heard from for over a year.

    Nothing changed except for something in her eyes that tranted to her getting wiser, but at this point, the man deemed her to be foolish.

    "Did you lose your manners that you didn''t bother to knock before walking into a closed space?"

    "Ah! I thought you were in a hurry to meet me, and as I good girl that I am, I had to walk in as soon as possible so as not to keep you waiting and waste both of our time," Zhang Liling retorted and shed him a smile at the end.

    "What?" Zhang Renshu couldn''t believe his ears as his eyes squinted at her.

    What nonsense did she just spew?

    "I can see that your manners worsen the more you get older." He said while staring right into her eyes like a hawk waiting for the right time to tear her into pieces.

    Zhang Liling did not mind his gaze as she unhurriedly ced her back on his table. Anyway, she was not here to insult him unless he asked for it.

    "Dad, you asked me toe over, and I came as soon as I can."

    "You came as soon as you can?! Were you helping out in the delivering room or what? I called you several times but you did not answer my call, but as soon as I scolded that Fang guy you came running over."

    "What? You scolded Mr. Fang? Why did you do that? What did you say to him?"

    Zhang Liling was shocked her father actually scolded her boyfriend when he called, and Mr. Fang did not mention any of this to her.

    She too had forgotten to ask him what her father said to her apart from asking her toe back.

    "He did not tell you?" Zhang Renshu shrugged.

    Not thinking much about it, his face instantly turned ck as he was reminded of the reason he called her over.

    "You have been missing for the past one year and here I was filled with guilt, not knowing that you were busy satisfied with being someone''s mistress! How shameless can you get?!"

    Zhang Liling scoffed. He had not given her the chance to fully react to the fact that he scolded Mr. Fang, and here he was back to using her once again.

    "I was indeed missing for one year, but who gave you that ridiculous idea that was someone''s mistress? Is this how easy the inte can y with your mind?"<sub> </sub>

    "If you are not Fang Bingwen''s mistress, how can you exin the rumors going about online?" Zhang Renshu fired back while gazing intently at her. He didn''t seem to trust her words from his gaze as he asked for an exnation.

    "Do I have to know why people are so jobless and creative with their minds? Also, do you think that if I was Fang Bingwen''s Mistress, he would have brought me to that kind of gathering? Dad, what kind of person do you think I am?"

    Zhang Liling wanted to know what her father thought of her. Not that his response would affect her current emotions in any way, but because of another reason.

    She wanted to so desperately know how he managed to seed in business and venture into politics with that low thinking, and a mind that could be easily manipted by random people.

    The young man felt that all the certificates her father had received since his existence, should be returned.

    He didn''t deserve any of them.

    "I don''t trust your reasoning and the people from the Fang family." Zhang Renshu retorted.

    How could he trust her after she made the decision to leave the familypany to go work else, and in the entire year that she left, there was no record of her working in any of the bigpanies in the City?

    Also, how could he trust anyone from the Fang Family when he obviously had something against them?

    For these reasons, Zhang Renshu would rather believe whatever nonsense written on the inte about them, than agree with her own reasoning.

    They were not to be trusted. They didn''t deserve it.

    Staring into her father''s eyes, Zhang Liling felt a pool of anger rising in her heart.

    ''What kind of man is this?'' she wondered as her eyes watched him.

    Not caring what she thought of him, the man asked, "If you were not with Fang Bingwen, where did you run off to since the past year? Have you no future consideration for yourself? Did your mother allow you to y around like a child without hope?"

    Zhang Renshu could not help but to me Song Jujing for the way their daughter turned up.

    He could still remember her supporting Zhang Liling to work in anypany she wanted, and that alone was enough for him to turn against them both.

    "Hahahaha..." An angry chuckle escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as the man watched her with creased brows.

    "What is funny?"

    "Dad, I can''t stand your narrowed thoughts, it''s vexing. Well, you have been using me and wanting to know what I have been up to since thest year," Zhang Liling said, as she made up her mind to reveal the truth she had been waiting for the right time to talk about.

    This moment was the best time, and she was going to make use of it to her best advantage.

    Zhang Renshu remained calm as he waited patiently to hear what excuse she had to give him.

 Chapter 284 Clarify

    "Your ex-wife... No...no..." Zhang Liling started but suddenly stopped as she shook her hand frantically with a yful smile on her face.

    "I take that back," she said hurriedly and let out a chuckle before continuing with her big reveal.

    "You never had the opportunity of marrying my mother, so I can''t address her as your ex-wife. How unfortunate."

    As Zhang Renshu listened, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He knew very well that the young woman in front of him was doing this on purpose to anger him, and she had seeded.

    Zhang Liling had wanted to continue torturing him the other way round, but she figured that she wanted to spend less time in his presence.

    Also, she had got a better ce to be than here, hence she decided to go straight forward and continue with her torture.

    "My mother was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, so I had to travel down to Paris," Zhang said standing to her feet without sparing her father another nce.

    Zhang Renshu was so shocked by the revtion that no words coulde out of his mouth.

    For several times, his lips parted and closed yet, they could not utter anything.

    They acted like they were on his face only for decoration.

    But by the time Zhang Liling reached the door and had ced her hand on the door handle, he found his voice as he quickly rose to his feet.

    "Wait!" He stopped her as he stood beside his table watching her.

    Suddenly, the man scolding her a few moments ago, now looked as if the world hade crashing down on him.

    Immediately, a smile turned up at the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips and because she had her back to him, he couldn''t see her facial expression.

    ''I knew he would fall for it.''

    Pretending to be angry, she took a deep breath before slowly turning to spare him a nce while waiting for him to speak up.

    "Y-You M-Mother..." Zhang Renshu swallowed hard as if a lump was in his throat.

    He found it almost difficult toplete his statement as he couldn''t believe that Song Jujing had cancer for over a year, and he didn''t even try to reach out to her.

    Even if no one told him about it, at least, if he had been reaching out as he is supposed to, he would have found out on time.

    Unfortunately, that was not the case.

    ? At the thought of the disappointment that would be in his ex''s eyes when she sees him, Zhang Renshu felt very guilty.

    Swallowing hard again, he continued after he noticed the impatience in his daughter''s eyes.

    "H-How is she? W-Why did you leave here alone in such a faraway ce?"

    "Dad!" Zhang Liling cut him off immediately. She was tired of staying with him. She had somewhere else to be.

    "If you want to know more about the health of the woman your betrayed and turned her life upside down, call her yourself."

    Saying up to here, Zhang Liling opened the door and left without giving him the chance to defend himself.

    Zhang Renshu could only watch as she left his study without trying to stop her.

    Herst statement was like a dagger that pierced right into his chest.

    He didn''t want to hear anymore and felt it was better for her to leave.<sub> </sub>

    ''Mr. Zhang, thank you for permitting me to press your buttons using my mother,'' Zhang Liling said in her heart as she trotted away in her pair of ck stilettos.

    Atst, she had achieved what she wanted.

    This was the very reason she held this news back for such a long time, and she was going to use thest feelings he still had for her mother to climb up thedder.

    With his guilt, she would elerate with her mission faster than the shadows.

    Without stopping in her steps, Zhang Liling walked all the way to the car and got in while exuding confidence.

    She didn''t even bother to call her mother and I form her of her ns because there was practically no need to.

    And just like she thought, Zhang Renshu got himself a few dayster and decided to reach out to Song Jujing.

    When he mentioned the fact that she had cancer, she did not correct him as her mind automatically went to Zhang Liling.

    ''Why did she tell him that I have cancer? Who knows what she is nning?''

    Before going back to Mr. Fang''s Vi that day, Zhang Liling dropped by her house, and seeing the clean space, she thought about moving back.

    Because she had the housekeeper cleaning the house, the ce was dust-free and felt like home again.

    Returning to Mr. Fang''s ce, none of them remembered what he wanted to talk about, as they both became busy with business matters.

    *******

    The rumors on the inte concerning Zhang Liling being Mr. Fang''s Mistress spread more like wildfire, in contrast to their thoughts.

    Fang Bingwen was toozy to exin his life to others and had nned not to give out any statement, but his Fang family thought otherwise.

    They pressured him to rify the news, more especially his father had to call him over the phone to talk to him about it.

    And atst, he rified his rtionship with Zhang Liling, instantly blowing everywhere up.

    His statement got so many tongues wagging as the inte was on fire.

    Everyone wanted to know why he would date someone that was once his student.

    Others dropped so many questions, both those that made sense and did not, but no one gave them a response.

    "Mr. Fang, why did you date someone so much younger than you?"

    "Did the Fang and the Zhang family arrange their rtionship?"

    "Mr. Fang, what did you choose Zhang Liling amongst the women wanting your attention?"

    "Zhang Liling,e out here and tell us how you seduced someone like Fang Bingwen! Did your Zhang Family get greedy again?"

    This came off because of the family Zhang Xiaoling married into.

    "Zhang Liling, where did you run off to since the past year? Were you secretly dating someone else?"

    Others just dropped their thoughts instead of asking questions since they were not expecting another response from either Fang Bingwen or Zhang Liling.

 Chapter 285 Not Her Concern

    With the air cleared up, so many people were unhappy including all the members of the Zhang Family.

    After recovering from his shock over the news of Song Jujing''s health, Zhang Renshu was back to his feet once again.

    Hearing that his daughter was dating a member of the Fang Family, made him go crazy.

    Zhang Renshu was mad with anger, and Shi Wenqian was mad with jealousy.

    No matter furious she was, she couldn''t say anything for fear of getting smacked on the face again.

    She had also not forgotten her husband''s threat of pouring hot water on her hence, she sealed her lips.

    Unable to bear his daughter''s intentions of marrying into the Fang Family, Zhang Renshu called Zhang Liling and tried to talk her out of it, but she matter got so angry that she unleashed her anger on him.

    "Dad, what is wrong with you?! Do you think you can tell me who not to be with because you have the title of being my biological father? What is wrong with the Fang family? If you have any feud with them, it is not my concern!"

    Breathing in sharply as her eyes narrowed at the door, she continued.

    "I won''t break up with Fang Bingwen because you are asking me to since I have known that you are only saying this because of your selfish interest."

    "Zhang Liling, are you talking to me like that? Don''t you know that I can break your wings if I want to?"

    Zhang Renshu was mad hearing her scold him over the phone as he wondered what kind of woman she would grow up to be in the future.

    How could she talk to him that way without reserve? It seems like she wascking respect for her elders.

    Zhang Liling did not have the strength to fan his ego and instead of apologizing, she made her stand known to him.

    "Dad, the earlier you agree with me on some important things about my life, the more relevant you be to me. But if you oppose me for no reason, then it looks like we would have to part ways."

    "What did you say?!"

    "Dad, have a nice day and don''t get too agitated. After all, you are old and still have so many ambitions ahead of you. Save your strength." She advised and terminated the call immediately, leaving her father to think about whatever he liked.

    p Why would she even care about his thoughts? It''s not like his opinion mattered to him.</anda>

    At least, Zhang Liling told him off at the beginning and towards the end, she sweet-coated her words by telling him that if he supported her decision, then he would have a ce in her heart.

    She had said this without minding if he cared about what she thought of him.

    Those words she uttered were only a gamble, and if she seeded, they would be for the best as getting him on her side would help her to face Shi Wenqian.

    After speaking with her father, Zhang Liling called her mother and confronted her about the rtionship she and her father had with the Fang family.

    This time around, Song Jujing did not hold anything back from her.

    Releasing a sigh, she revealed, "Fang Huiqing used to be my first love,"<sub> </sub>

    This revtion was not too far-fetched from the ideas that came into Zhang Liling''s head before today.

    She had thought of this possibility but in another way. She had thought that her mother had dated Mr. Fang''s father in the past, but as she listened, she understood the main point.

    Fang Huiqing was her mother''s childhood crush.

    "Back when I was younger, our families were close and that was how I got to know him. Although I liked him so much back then, he only thought of me as his younger sister, so we never dated."

    "Did his family know about this?"

    "Hahahaha... Of course, who wouldn''t know? It was so obvious. Even while in high school I used to stick around him. Because of our age difference, he was done with college while I was still in high school, and he had a girlfriend then, but I refused to give up."

    ''You were quite persistent.'' Zhang Liling concluded in her head.

    Now she could see why she would fall for a member of the Fang Family, and chase a man so relentlessly.

    Unaware of her thoughts, Song Jujing continued.

    "At every little opportunity I got to see him, I would stick to his side, and most of the time, I ended up discing his girlfriend."

    Song Jujing was quite shameless then, but she never tried to steal or seduce Fang Huiqing from his past girlfriends.

    She only kept showing her face in hopes that he would be reminded of her existence, but the man''s thoughts remained never changing.

    When she finally saw him get married to Jian Cuifen, she did not have any regret because out of all his girlfriends, she was the only one she found worthy to be by his side because of his kindness.

    At the end of her mother''s story, Zhang Liling was left with so many questioning thoughts, but in end, only one stood out from amongst the others.

    "Between my mother and I, who is more shameless in pursuing a man?"

    After thinking about it for a while, she couldn''t find out who the winner was, and she was not to be med for thinking that way.

    In the past, her mother still had high hopes for a man that had a girlfriend and never gave up right until she attended his wedding, and only then did she discover that she had no chance again.

    But in her case, the man she fell in love with was single, and even though he scolded her and gave her a cold attitude for a while, she did not give up and was so adamant even going as far as faking papers to move into his house as a housekeeper.

    Between the mother and daughter, who was crazier?

    /////*****

    Dearest Readers, giving me gifts would surely be a rewarding idea after this mass release.

    I wouldn''t mind a castle too...

    Sniff... my poor hands...

 Chapter 286 Should We Get Married?

    "Mr. Fang, you are not romantic at all!" Zhang Lilingined with furrowed brows while sitting on the bed next to him.

    "Must I be touchy to prove that I am romantic?" Fang Bingwen questioned while gazing at her in amusement.

    He didn''t believe that one day a woman would barge into his room in the morning to question him about being romantic or not.

    Maybe, no one other than Zhang Liling could pull it off.

    "There are indeed so many ways to prove that someone is romantic, but buying me gifts is not enough. I do that too,"

    "Fine." Mr. Fang gave up trying to reason with her. "Come close."

    "Why?"

    "If you don''t feel like it, then go away. Don''t disturb my peace."

    Instantly, Zhang Liling moved close to him as a smile turned up on her lips. Somehow, she could kind of get what he was about to do.

    Seeing her bing happy within a short while, Fang Bingwen shook his head. Now he had to prove that he was romantic.

    Since when did that one start?

    Shaking the thought off his head, he pulled her close to him and cupped her face as she immediately crossed her leg over to the other side.

    As soon as she did that, his eyes widened in their sockets. "What are you doing?"

    "Getting into position," Zhang Liling replied as she sat on the thick nket covering the part between his legs.

    Thankfully, the duvet was thick enough to prevent her from feeling his thick member.

    "Don''t just sit with your weight on me," he instructed before cupping her face.

    Having no patience to listen to him, she immediately circled her arms around his neck and leaned her face toward him.

    Pressing his lips to hers, Mr. Fang plunged his tongue into her mouth as hisshes fluttered close.

    Pushing her upper body to meet his rock-hard chest, she inhaled sharply as her eyelids snapped shut.

    A few minutes after a fierce kiss, Zhang Liling leaned away and asked a little breathlessly as she tried to stay focused.

    "Should we get married?"

    "Why? You can''t wait to sleep with me?" Fang Bingwen retorted while giving her a side nce.

    "Of course! It''s tiring to see the food before me and not eat."

    A tired sigh escaped his lips as he tried to imagine the kind of human being he was dealing with.

    "Are you telling me to my face that you are only marrying me because of bed activities?"

    "Who said we can only do it on the bed?" Zhang Liling mumbled under her breath, not knowing that he heard her clearly.

    Unable to bear her crazy thoughts, Mr. Fang couldn''t help but question the origin of her idea.<sub> </sub>

    "Who thought you all of this? Instead of thinking about your future goals, you are thinking crazy things."

    "It''s not so!" Zhang Liling said in defense as she adjusted her sitting position.

    "It''s not so? Then what is it?" He asked while staring straight into her eyes.

    Fiddling with her hand, she thought for a moment before responding. "It''s because you revolve around everything I nned. I already have a n on the way, a n that you would most definitely be proud of when you hear of it."

    Mr. Fang was tired, and as he didn''t want to continue going back and forth with her, he threw her an important question.

    "Are you ready to fulfill your duties as a wife? Are you ready to submit to me?"

    Before talking about marriage, he needed to hear her response. He knew her kind of personality as she was very stubborn and could be sometimes hard to control.

    At least, this question will help her to think deeply, and if she wasn''t ready, it would be better if they continued to date until she made up her mind.

    He was her boyfriend now, so he couldn''t ask her to submit to him. And being a good man, he was giving her insight into what came with a wife''s duty to her husband.

    If she wasn''t ready to be under a man at the moment, there was no need to hurry, as they could continue to take things slowly.

    Because if their identities should change from boyfriend and girlfriend to husband and wife, something had to change between them apart from their titles.

    Nodding in understanding, Zhang Liling replied as she gazed into his eyes. "Yes, I love you, and I have thought about it. You are the only man I can submit to."

    "Good." He wasn''t even surprised that she was going to give that kind of response.

    It was as if marrying him and devoting her whole life to him, was a part of her life goals.

    "Are you also willing to have a child with me?" He asked.

    This was another important question that needed her response. He wanted a child, and he needed to know if it was okay to have one.

    Their wants had to align. Being devoted to him wasn''t enough. The children they would haveter were a part of it.

    "Why not?" Without waiting for a second break, Zhang Liling answered immediately, but then, she suddenly stopped smiling.

    "Wait, Mr. Fang..." She said, suddenly shifting her butts closer to him as she raised her knees.

    "Why? You don''t want to?" Fang Bingwen asked as his gaze narrowed at her.

    His looks were as if he was daring her to insist on those words that would get her into trouble.

    Zhang Liling hurriedly shook her head frantically. "Not that''s not it. Of course, I want to have a child with you. The problem is that it''s incredibly painful. Motherhood is not for the fainthearted, so for this topic Mr. Fang, I beg you to give me a little time to think about it?"

    Thinking about thebor pains and the difort that came with it, Zhang Liling shouldered. She didn''t think she was up for it yet.

    She needed some time to adjust her thoughts and get herself ready to ept the struggles of motherhood.

    "What''s there to think about? I did not ask you to give me a child as soon as we get married. I only asked what your thoughts on having a child were, you dummy."

 Chapter 287 Shu Rushis Reaction

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling instantly felt the feeling of relief wash over her.

    Initially, she was feeling hot, but as he spoke, she felt as if a bucket of cold water was down over her to ease her difort.

    "Ha..." Exhaling deeply as she patted her chest gently, she offered him a smile.

    "I can see that there is something you are actually afraid of." Mr. Fangmented.

    If there was something she was actually afraid of, then she was still human.

    *******

    At the same time at the Shu mansion, a youngdy was busy turning the ce upside down.

    After recovering from her illness, Shu Rushi seemed energetic at the moment to be able to turn the table in the living room upside down.

    "Aarrgh!" She screamed as she red at the maids trying to stop her from venting her anger.

    The feeling of learning that her enemy was now a part of the family was unbearable.

    Shu Rushi couldn''t believe how she missed out on this news.

    During Old Lady Fang''s birthday celebration, she was bedridden, and then when she was all better, her parents did not allow her to step out of the house to attend the ck L''Intenseunch.

    Se had been full of regret that she snubbed her parents the entitled day.

    Her only regret was not attending one of these events that could have ratted Zhang Liling out.

    She even called her friends foolish for not recognizing Zhang Liling before, and then had to wait for a second time to be able to tell that she was the one.

    "Those fools!" She cursed for the umpteenth time as she ran her hands through her messy head of hair.

    Just the thought of her enemy marrying her favorite cousin who didn''t care about her existence, caused her chest to hurt.

    This one hit hard on her because she hated Zhang Liling so much. After all the fights with her in college, now, her spirit was going to get so riled up by seeing her next to Mr. Fang.

    At the thought of several blogs and TV, carrying their faces about and shipping them together, Shu Rushi felt like tearing them apart.

    The worst part of all of this was that Fang Bingwen had to admit to dating Zhang Liling after the rumor about her being his mistress blew up.

    Maybe if she had actually been his mistress, she wouldn''t have been this angry.

    "Miss, your father is going to scold you for breaking the ss table." One of the servants tried to remind her, while sta the same time staying out of her way.

    Truly, Shu Rushi was going to get scolded for the mess in the living room.

    Everywhere next to her feet had shards of ss from the table turned over.

    The crazy youngdy was truly delusional, fortunately, her madness was out in check when her parents returned from a board meeting.

    "Is this the first time you are learning of this news? Why do you have to act like you have lost your mind?" Mrs. Shu scolded while pointing her index finger at her.

    "Why does everyone keep asking when they are going to tie the knot?" Shu Rushi retorted.<sub> </sub>

    "And how is that your business??" Mrs. Shu retorted angrily.

    She was almost on the verge of pping her. How was that any of her concern if Fang Bingwen chose to marry any woman of his choice, or if the public talked about his new rtionship?

    On the other hand, Mr. Shu who was not in the mood to have any form of conversation with his spoilt princess tapped a few buttons on his phone before ncing over at the mother and daughter.

    "Rushi, I just sent a contact to you. That is the number of thepany that shipped orders and shipped the pieces of furniture in the living room."

    Before Shi Rushi and her mother could wonder the reason he was suddenly mentioning that matter, they heard him continue.

    "I need you to rece that table in a week."

    Although this was unexpected, Shu Rushi could not refute it, and could only bow her head as anger clouded her mind.

    ''This is all because of that bitch!'' she cursed under her breath.

    Mrs. Shu thought her husband was through with his punishment and had just turned around to go over to his side when she heard him say,

    "I can see that you are all grown up now. There is no need to rely on my money anymore."

    "What? Dad, are you trying to cut me off?" Shu Rushi eximed as she immediately adjusted her sitting position on the bed.

    She hurriedly knelt on the pink sheets as her eyes widened in shock.

    Was all this because she threw a little tantrum?

    "Do you even need to ask?" Mr. Shu retorted and before his wife could give him that pleading gaze, he shifted his sight away from her.

    Gazing at their daughter, he continued, "I can see that you are bing more irresponsible as the day goes by. Maybe you''re too rxed and have no need to suffer for anything before it''s served before you on a tter of gold."

    Saying to this point, he turned around to leave without waiting for his wife.

    "Dad!" Shu Rushi called out as she watched him open the door to her room and leave through it. Before she could fully register his verdict in her head, she saw her mother following after him and quickly called out to her, but again, she received no response.

    Feeling like an abandoned cat with suddenly a lot of responsibility to take care of, Shu Rushi cursed under her breath as she threw her pillows off the bed.

    Finally, when she was tired, she made a promise through gritted teeth.

    "Zhang Liling, just wait till I catch you!"

    *******

    From the time Shi Wenqian found out about Zhang Liling''s presence in the big City, to the time Mr. Fang admitted their rtionship to the public, she had been feeling unwell.

    Even after her face was smacked by the angry and prideful Zhang Renshu who couldn''t stand anyone going against him, nothing changed.

    Zhang Liling remained with Fang Bingwen with no ns to break up with him.

    Somehow, Shi Wenqian had concluded to herself that he wasn''t going to do anything about it...

 Chapter 288 Carry-Over Anger

    Somehow, Shi Wenqian had concluded to herself that he wasn''t going to do anything about it, and she was right.

    Zhang Renshu had gradually rxed after getting scolded a lot by Zhang Liling.

    After finding out the true rtionship between her mother and the Fang Family, and how her father came into the picture, Zhang Liling was mad.

    And she had made sure to call her father over the phone to talk to him.

    ~shback of phone conversation Starts~

    She had said, "Dad, are you for real? How could your reason for stopping me from marrying into the Fang Family be because mum once loved Fang Huiqing?"

    Initially, Zhang Renshu was shocked as he did not expect his ex, Song Jujing to talk about the past.

    "Did your mother tell you about it?"

    "Why wouldn''t she? If I didn''t know about the back story, I wouldn''t have known how petty you were. How could you act that way because mother loved Fang Huiqing in the past? Didn''t she end up with you which showed that she had given up?"

    Taking a quick breather, Zhang Liling hurriedly continued, "Mum left the past, yet you couldn''t and you are being petty by stopping me from marrying the person I want. Does all these make sense to you?"

    Never had Zhang Liling thought that her father would be this petty.

    It''s not like Mr. Fang''s father and her mother were romantically involved like the way he made it look like.

    Her mother only had a crush on him for several years, and still ended it cleanly, yet her father still had it in mind to stop her from getting married to Fang Bingwen because of it.

    This was also the sole reason Zhang Renshu did not want his Zhang Family and the Fang Family to have an intimate rtionship.

    His jealousy and mentality was very childish. Just how foolish was he?

    After getting scolded down to the level of speechlessness, he did not dare to ask Zhang Liling to break up with Fang Bingwen again.

    At least, someone had managed to exposed his childishness that made no sense.

    ~shback of phone conversation Ends~

    ? How could Zhang Lilinge out of nowhere to marry Fang Bingwen, and Zhang Renshu would no longer object now, while in the past, her daughter was the one that came up with the idea, yet, he had refused?

    Shi Wenqian was filled with jealousy and anger as she so badly wanted to crush her enemies to fine powder.

    Although Shi Wenqian would have loved to deal with Zhang Liling so soon, she couldn''t touch her, at least not yet.

    The current situation was unlike before where she had no protection. She was now under the Fang Family, hence she had to thread carefully.

    If care was not taken, her entire cover could be blown.

    The Fang Family was huge in City S, and their power was not to be overlooked.

    *******

    After getting smacked in the face by Zhang Renshu, Shi Wenqian had not exchanged a word with him.<sub> </sub>

    Not even a nod of greeting was given.

    During dinner time, she would go out to the dining room to eat not caring if her husband would be present or not, as it was not her concern.

    After eating, she would wipe her lips with the napkin before standing up to leave.

    As for her normal role as Zhang Renshu''s wife, she doesn''t y it. Even when there is a political meeting, they would rather stay away from each rather than appear together.

    Fortunately, there has been no need yet for a public appearance for them to keep up with their fake rtionship.

    After having breakfast today, she carried her handbag and left the house with her secretary in a ck jeep.

    Since she was no longer talking to Zhang Renshu, that meant that she didn''t have to report her whereabouts to him.

    As soon as Shi Wenqian sat in the passenger seat at the backside, her secretary, who was also the hosuekeeper, climbed into the front passenger seat of the car before turning to her.

    "Ma''am, the press is already waiting," she announced.

    "They should keep on waiting. But if they can''t, just cripple their businesses. I don''t like stupid people telling me what to do," Shi Wenqian scoffed and turned her head to the side as a grim expression masked her face.

    She was in a bad mood that could turn worse, and not wanting to be the target of her anger, the woman at the front turned her body to face the road.

    Several minutester, their car pulled over in front of a 3-storey building, and as soon as they stopped, the reporters hanging around, immediately flooded their car and started snapping away as questions followed.

    "Mrs. Zhang, are you here to monitor the process of the free blood donation your organisation set up today?"

    "Mrs. Zhang, why did youete today? Are you tired of doing this job?"

    "Mrs. Zhang, you came alone today. Why didn''t any one from your familye with you?"

    "Is your husband against this idea?"

    "Are you still doing this to help your husband ascend the politicaldder?"

    It took a lot of effort for Shi Wenqian to step out of the car, and shing the cameras a smile, she continued in her steps, totally ignoring their questions.

    "Mrs. Zhang, answer us!"

    No matter how they chased after her, they never got a response. They also couldn''t get too close to her because of the security that came to escort her to the canopy right outside the building.

    Still with a smile on her face, Shi Wenqian walked up to the team of nurses and health care provider sitting over a long table while drawing blood of some of the people sitting acrosss from them.

    On seeing her, smiles filled their faces as they immediately acknowledged her presence by nodding toward her.

    Nodding in response, she looked over the crowd of people sitting in the canopy to avoid the morning sun, while waiting for their turn to donate blood, before shifting her gaze back to the doctors at work.

    "How long have you been working?" She asked, curious to know when the event started.

 Chapter 289 Deep Secret Comes To Light

    "We started on the first donor by 7 AM," One of the doctors whom she had thrown the question at, replied.

    Smiling in response, she turned to the five people sitting across from the doctors drawing their blood and quickly thanked them.

    "Thank you for taking some time off from your busy schedule toe for this month''s event. Thank you for helping save emergency patients at the hospitals. We are grateful for people like you."

    "It''s nothing," one of the women with a nose mask over her face replied.

    The man next to her,ughed as he pressed on the cutton wool ced on the spot the needle went in to draw his blood.

    "Ma''am, we have you to thank foring up with a great idea like this."

    Nodding at the man, she hurriedly took the small yoghurt drink one of the nurses passed to he before handing it over to the man.

    "Thank you, please do well to inform your healthy friends and rtives toe and save more lives together."

    "Hahahaha..." The manughed in agreement as he took the yogurt from her and thanked her before leaving as another person from the canopy, took his spot.

    Half an hourter, Shi Wenqian walked into the building to check some other things out as today was a very important day to her health organisation.

    About a year ago, she started her health Foundation where peoplee to donate blood for emergency patients.

    That same day, the blood after being tested, would be transported to the hospitals to fill their blood banks.

    Apart from donating blood, Shi Wenqian''s agency helped to scout for organs for transnt, for those patients seeking an organ donor as well, hence, she was now highly relevant and praised for her endeavours.

    So once a month, she would hold a grand event outside her buildingplex to draw blood from people willing to donate.

    But if anyone of them came for organ donation, he or she would be taken inside for proper questioning, and observation.

    After working for almost the entire day with the reporters she discreetly arranged to take photos of her and the event, she returned home.

    The next day, she appeared on the front page of news papers, which a picture of her sitting with her arm stretched out, ready to donate her blood to the doctor cleaning her arm with an alcohol dabbed cotton wool.

    Suddenly, she became the topic of discussion as a good number of people talked about her health organzation and the strategy she was using to get people to freely donate and help those in the hospital with health crisis.

    *******

    Looking at the news online about her stepmother and her organisation, Zhang Liling scoffed.

    "Nonsense!" She spat angrily as she hurriedly swiped the page out of her screen.

    "Now, I can''t even report her for forcibly drawing my blood for almost 4 years. She would surely find a way to turn things around for her good," she mumbled to herself as her entire face contoured in a frown.

    Zhang Liling had still nned to one day sue her stepmother for taking her blood against her wish Just to feed it to her half-brother who had some sort of illness she refused to disclose to anyone, but seeing her new public image job, she was disappointed.<sub> </sub>

    "Why is your face like that?" Fang Bingwen asked as he stepped into the living room with slightly furrowed brows.

    "My crazy stepmother is trying to lift her image after probably being tired of holding the 1st prize of the most hated women in City S."

    Takingrge strides, Mr. Fang came over to sit on the single couch next to the two-sitter sofa she was on.

    "I have been meaning to tell you something very important, but I keep forgetting. Thankfully, this news has reminded me about it." He said as his gaze locked on hers while waiting for her reaction.

    Zhang Liling raised a questioning brow as she instantly locked her phone screen and turned her entire attention on him.

    "I''m sure you have mentioned it a few times. What is it? Is it something serious?" She asked curiously.

    Fang Bingwen cleared his throat and began, "Are you aware that your half-brother Zhang Mingyu has a bleeding disorder?"

    "What? Where did you hear that from? How is that possible?" Zhang Liling asked immediately as her

    eyes widened in their sockets.

    How was it possible for her half-brother to have an illness like that and she did not know about it?

    "Calm down, I will exin everything to you."

    Knowing that she had too many doubts and questions to ask, Fang Bingwen took things slowly.

    He started the story from the very first day Chuanli had mentioned it to him when he was conducting an experiment with her blood.

    As Zhang Liling listened, the more surprised she got and also the more it dawned on her about her stepmother''s actions in the past.

    As at that time, she hadn''tunched her organisation hence, the reason she found reasons to take her blood instead.

    But if her half-brother had this disorder, why did she choose to hide it? Obviously, her father didn''t know about it.

    Zhang Liling''s question was answered with what Fang Bingwen said next.

    "There is a possibility that you and Zhang Mingyu do not share the same blood group and genotype, including your father."

    "I don''t understand... It is always on his report, and I''m sure he shares the same blood genotype as my father, just like me."

    Zhang Liling''s mind waspletely nk as she tried to understand what he was saying, while at the same time recalling a few things from the past.

    Seeing that she was getting confused, Fang Bingwen decided to drop the bombshell.

    "Liling, although this is has not been proven officially, Zhang Mingyu who is believed to be your half-brother, has no rtionship with your biological father. Having this bleeding disorder has already spilled the deep secret, but we need to carry out a paternity test to get the evidence documented."

 Chapter 290 An Urge To Kill

    "I don''t even know how mad I should get!" Zhang Liling scoffed.

    Breathing in heavily, she continued, "I can''t believe how daring this woman is. She dared to birth another man''s child and thene to bully me in my own father''s house?"

    Thinking back to all those times she was bullied, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but get annoyed. How could she the real child of Zhang Renshu be bullied and leveled below the children that did not belong to him?

    That was unheard of.

    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

    "I really can''t wait to punch a hole into that woman''s nose!"

    ncing at her, Fang Bingwen said, "Take it easy. I didn''t tell you this for you to lose your sense of reasoning. I did this so you could choose your ce of work."

    Mr. Fang wanted her to know the truth, so she wouldn''t regreting to work in Fang Group, leaving the fake siblings in her father''spany, and taking over running the ce with time.

    Although she hasn''t mentioned finding a ce to work since she returned, he still had to let her know what was on ground.

    "I don''t know how to take it easy," she said looking at him. "I just want to kill someone and rest."

    "No!" Fang Bingwen refuted her immediately and even went on to remind her of the consequences of an action carried out in a moment of anger.

    "If you kill someone you won''t rest. That''s not possible. You will be going straight to jail. And also, it won''t be possible to marry me in this lifetime."

    Zhang Liling was quiet as she was unable to refute his words. He got her there.

    Why would she want to miss out on a lifetime of goodies for some crazy people that didn''t worth it?

    But, she had wanted to query Mr. Fang for not making any statement about saving her from prison but instead, he was talking about never going to marry her even if she finished serving her jail sentence.

    Did this man love her at all, or was he just threatening her just so she would notmit a crime?

    He really was upright.

    "Mr. Fang, I want to move back to my ce." Zhang Liling said out of the blue.

    This was someone going on and on about putting an end to someone''s life, and now she was already talking about parting from him.

    Nodding in eptance, Fang Bingwen replied, "When do you want to leave? Do you need help to move your stuff?"

    "What? You won''t ask for the reason?" Zhang Liling asked as her mouth remained agape in shock.

    His reaction was so unexpected. It was as if he couldn''t even wait to help her move.

    Spreading his arms as he shrugged his shoulders, he asked, "Why would I? You are an adult, and also, you are not my wife, so I have no right to question you."

    "Mr. Fang!"

    This response literally hit a soft spot such that Zhang Liling couldn''t help but react to it.

    Putting a break on his joke, Fang Bingwen made anotherment that put her offpletely.

    "You should leave so you could have more privacy to continue hiding your secret from me."

    *******

    After a tasking conversation with Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling went to her room and without waiting to take off her slippers, she jumped on her bed.

    Sitting her butts on the side of the bed as she crossed her legs over the other, she ced her phone on her air as her left arm crossed over her chest.

    The once worry-free face was now contoured in a frown.

    ''Rrriiiinnnnng.... rriiiinnnnnng....''

    After three failed attempts to reach the person on the other end of the phone, Zhang Liling copsed on her bed as her thoughts went back to the conversation with Mr. Fang.

    Her stepmother''s secret felt so surreal.

    No matter how she thought about it, Zhang Liling could not believe that she was maltreated by the mother of someone who had no right to be in the same space as her in the first ce.

    At least, if Zhang Mingyu was truly her half-brother, she could endure to some extent, but this was a no-no.

    Shi Wenqian''s pregnancy was the same reason her mother canceled her wedding with her father, the consequence that led to her Song family cutting ties with her.

    This also was the reason her father didn''t give her attention when she came to live with him.

    Zhang Liling just couldn''t wrap her hands around this matter. How daring was Shi Wenqian?<sub> </sub>

    It seems like it was finally now she knew the reason her mother was always worried about something happening to her.

    A woman that dared to bully her under her father''s roof, and now, she wanted to reap where she did not sow?

    She was not going to let that happen.

    A minuteter, Zhang Liling was pulled away from her trance when a call came in on her phone. ncing at the screen and seeing the called ID, she quickly sat up and answered the call.

    "Mum!" She called out immediately without giving her mother a chance to greet her.

    Sensing the urgency in her tone, Song Jujing released a deep sigh into the phone.

    Thinking that it had something to do with theirst call, she asked, "What is it? Did you have another argument with your father?"

    "I wish we did, then maybe I wouldn''t be this worked up." Zhang Liling swore.

    At this point, arguing with her father, although annoying, was far better with the pool of emotions surging through her.

    "What happened?" Song Jujing asked as a frown adorned her face.

    What could be worse than arguing with the childish and annoying Zhang Renshu?

    Sometimes, even she lost herposure with him.

    "Mum, you won''t believe this..." Then Zhang Liling went on to spill every information Mr. Fang gave to her concerning her fake half-brother Zhang Mingyu.

    But the end result was unexpected. Song Jujing wasn''t as furious as she was. She only made one statement.

    "That woman can really do anything."

    Zhang Liling was not having that. Why was her mother so calm and collected towards the woman that ruined half of her life?

    "Mother!" Zhang Liling called out angrily. She was almost on the verge of screaming at her.

    "How could you be so calm about this situation? You are literally letting the woman who stole your ce and your man off? Mum, have you forgotten how she almost ruined your life?"

    Zhang Liling was so pained and couldn''t help but remind her mother about the past.

    Shi Wenqian was the sole reason she left Zhang Renshu, and even the pregnancy she imed belonged to Zhang Renshu was not even his.

    Her mother truly had suffered a lot at the hands of the woman that popped out of nowhere, but Song Jujing remained indifferent.

    "What ce? I don''t care about it. It''s good that she is there, but I hope she is enjoying that spot she made so much effort to hijack"

    She was saying all these without knowing that the woman in question got smacked in the face by the man she tried so hard to covet.

    The reason she made a statement like that, was all because of what Zhang Rensu put her through, and she knew that Shi Wenqian wouldn''t have it easy either because of the hook and crook method she used.

    Zhang Renshu had cheated on her, not once, not twice and she still forgave him. But thest straw that broke the camel''s back, was sleeping with his housekeeper.

    Now, she no longer cared if the pregnancy was real or not. The main point was that he slept with his domestic helper and the woman had the guts to tip her off.

    Song Jujing med herself for being innocent as to think that he would change after forgiving him. Not just that, she regretted ever having anything to do with him in the first ce, including sleeping with him.

    Maybe she shouldn''t have gone on to fix a wedding with him after discovering that he cheated on her. And in the course of calling off the wedding, her family cut off ties with her.

    If not that she came to love the child she had with Zhang Renshu and agreed to keep her, she wouldn''t have had any good experiences in her past.

    Thinking of her past, Song Jujing couldn''t help but to get a bit nervous as something struck her mind.

    Then without waiting for Zhang Liling to speak out the words at the tip of her tongue, she hurriedly said,

    "Liling, have you slept with Fang Bingwen?"

    Somehow, her brain seemed to boot as she immediately regretted that question. Immediately, she rephrased her words before the shocked young woman at the other end of the phone would give her an earful.

    "Liling, you can''t make the same mistake I did in the past. Make sure you use protection and if possible, don''t get entangled in the sheets with Bingwen till after marriage. I know¡­"

    "Mum!" Zhang Liling screamed into the phone with a frightened expression on her face.

    The next second, she pulled her phone out from her ear to nce at the caller ID one more time just to confirm that she was still on the phone with her mother.

    How could she say things like that? Wasn''t she embarrassed?

    Did she know it wasn''t everything they had to talk about?

 Chapter 291 Wisdom

    "I''m just trying to make sure you don''t make any mistake like me."

    "Still, that''s not right. I trust that Bingwen is not that kind of person. I won''t ept you putting him in the same category as other men out there. He cares for me, and I know he would never do anything to hurt me. He is a man of principle." Zhang Liling argued.

    She could very well recall what Mr. Fang had said to her the other day. He made mention of ''no sex before marriage'' which was his policy, while she, a busybody who couldn''t keep her hands to herself, wanted more from him.

    Fang Bingwen was truly a gentleman. He was truly different from the rest and for that, she would continue to trust him.

    But Song Jujing thought otherwise.

    "Look where your father that imed he cares for mended me. I like that Fang boy, and I have nothing against him. I know you think it''s unfair I said that, but experience is the better teacher. I am only telling you not to follow people blindly, and that is wisdom."

    Honestly, Song Jujing likes Fang Bingwen and after a handful of interactions with him, she knew he was the best so far for her daughter.

    The man was too mature andposed for his age. He knew what he wanted, and he had ns for the future as well.

    But in all of this, her advice to her daughter would still be not to follow people blindly. Do not ignore the red gs and learn to have conversations with people.

    Silence followed immediately after saying this much to her daughter.

    Zhang Liling did not what to say to her as she was trying to let go of her annoyance and embarrassment to understand the teaching in her words.

    Finally, after a minute-long of silence, she stirred the conversation back to Shi Wenqian, skipping saying anything concerning the matter her mother spoke about.

    "Mum, what are you suggesting that we do to Shi Wenqian? We can''t let her continue treating us as fools."

    This was the most important conversation, and she badly wanted a solution that could at least keep her calm if she wasn''t going to kill anyone yet.

    "Don''t say anything to that cunning woman. It would be good if you pretend not to care about her existence. Just one careless mistake from you, and we won''t be able to get a hold of her."

    Taking in a deep breath, she continued as her tone softened.

    "We need to be careful. A DNA test was conducted to prove that Zhang Mingyu was Zhang Renshu''s child when Shi Wenqian was still pregnant with him. I am surprised that woman even had what it takes to bribe the doctors and nurses at that time."

    Hearing this, Zhang Liling was not too surprised because if that women could keep a son another man fathered in the Zhang family without fear, then she could do anything.

    But bribing the doctors and nurses as a housekeeper she was at that time? Zhang Liling began to wonder what kind of powers that was backing her.

    "But Mum, that woman is really getting out of hand. For the moment, she is trying to get out of the difort zone of being the most hated woman in City S, by appearing to have human empathy," Zhang Lilingined.

    After pushing Song Jujing out and taking her ce, and what followed with the Song family privately cutting off ties with her, everyone will definitely see her as an enemy and that''s how she will continue to live in their eyes.

    Song Jujing remained unmoved with Shi Wenqian''s strategy to appear as a fairy.<sub> </sub>

    "It''s useless. Let her do what she wants, but I refuse to believe that she would suddenly turn nice. Anyway, I have ns."

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling''s ears suddenly perked up. "Mum, what kind of ns do you have?"

    "I can''t let that woman y your father into handing hispany over to a child that doesn''t belong to him. I will transfer my shares to you."

    "What? Mum are you serious?" Zhang Liling asked a little excitedly.

    "Why not? I won''t be the one to engage in a battle with Zhang Mingyu over thepany. You are the one to take over the baton from him, while I work with you from the shadows..."

    Song Jujing did not stop there, she went on to give her ns in detail.

    Once she transferred her shares to her, she could be made a director. And getting Zhang Renshu to agree to that wouldn''t be hard since the man still thinks she has cancer.

    He would directly agree, also because Zhang Liling wouldn''t be working for any rivalpany that would put Zhang Corp in a spot.

    The thing with this arrangement, is that it wouldn''t stop Zhang Renshu from making Zhang Mingyu his sessor, but before that point, they would have gotten hold of a tangible evidence to expose the fact that he is not his son.

    Also, Shi Wenqian would be taken care of at the same time, so she wouldn''t have the wings to fly again.

    Coming to the end of their conversation, Song Jujing asked, "When are youunching your brand in City S or did you abandon the project already?"

    "It''s not that. I am taking my time. The next step on the list is to get a good warehouse and a good space for my walk-in store. I need to take my time finding these ces on a good location. I need a fare deal as well." Zhang Liling replied enthusiastically.

    Mr. Fang really had to see that there was something else she was passionate about apart form him, and that was the brand she was secretly building.

    "Why don''t you ask Bingwen from help. He would know a good deal and the best spot to secure a store and a warehouse. Don''t tell me he doesn''t know about this?" Song Jujing questioned as her eyes squinted.

    Her daughter''s business was a huge deal that needed to get into the market as soon as possible.

    She was a little surprised that she hadn''t crossed that step in the list.

    "I haven''t told him yet. I don''t want to rely on him to get things done." Zhang Liling said as her brows scrunched up.

    Her worry lied on relying too much on Mr. Fang''s assistance, and for once, she wanted to do things on her own so he could be proud of her ability to set up her brand without his help, but her mother didn''t think so as she immediately berated her.

    "Liling, this is business. Remove pride and you won''t fail. You are not asking Bingwen for money, just for an advice as he has been in the business world for at most 10 decade. He has a better knowledge and understanding than you. Involve him in your ns," she advised.

    A deep sigh moved from Liling''s lungs to her lips before escaping from there. She looked tired as she slowly came to a total submission.

    "Alright, I will listen to you."

 Chapter 292 Eyes On Snacks

    After the conversation with her mother, Zhang Liling left for Mr. Fang''s study to look for him, but didn''t find him there.

    Next, she went to his bedroom, but was empty.

    Going downstairs, she found out from the butler that he had already left for somewhere.

    Since she couldn''t find him, she returned to her bedroom and went directly into her walk-in closet.

    ncing at the dresses neatly arranged in the wardrobe, her brows furrowed slightly as she sank into contemtion.

    "Where should I start from?" She mumbled to herself.

    She had wanted to talk to Fang Bingwen concerning her business as her mother had suggested, but as he was not home at the moment, she figured that she could start parking her things little by little.

    Even after an hourter, there was still a lot of things for her gather, but she was far too tired to continue.

    A yawn fell off her lips as hershes fluttered lightly. With that sign, she picked up her phone and left the for her room.

    Going straight to her bed, she let her body sink into the sheets and shut her eyes Immediately without bothering to put her phone away.

    With her phone in hand, she slept off.

    A few hourster...

    Mr. Fang was on the phone with someone as he stepped into the house dressed in a in shirt and trousers.

    But he looked slightly different from before, all thanks to his haircut which Zhang Liling noticed immediately she walked away from the kitchen and was going towards the dining room when she saw him.

    "Mr. Fang!" she called out immediately and walked over to him as her eyes shone brightly, but then, she saw that he was on a call and quietened down.

    Fang Bingwen raised a questioning brow as his gaze moved from her face to the te in her hand.

    "Mmmm..." he hummed in response to the person at the other end of the phone before stepping closer to her.

    Moving the phone away from his ear as he used his left hand to cover the speaker, he asked in a low tone, "What''s in there?"

    "Snacks. Are you interested?" Zhang Liling asked while blinking her eyes like a cute doll.

    She was a bit taken aback that he would show interest in what she had in her hand while he was still on a call.

    Was he hungry?

    Maybe he was after being away for a few hours.

    Fang Bingwen nodded before cing the phone back on his ear to continue with the conversation over the phone.

    Seeing that he had gone back to the conversation, she mouthed "Alright, follow me," before turning to lead them to the dining area.

    "That is a good one. Confirm the sales report once more before sending them to me. Good."

    Finally, Mr. Fang put the phone away as they walked toward the dining table.

    "Did you request for a special order?" He asked as he pulled the chair at the head table before sitting down in anticipation.

    Knowing how well Zhang Liling would not let an opportunity skip by without ordering the chef to make something sweet for her, he couldn''t help but guessed that she did the same this time around.<sub> </sub>

    cing the te on the table, she removed the cover to reveal the traditional snack that was sitting on the white ceramic t te.

    "Satay?" his lips uttered in recognition.

    "Yes,"

    "What made you crave for grilled meat this evening?" He asked as he pulled the te this his side.

    Ignoring his question, her eyes flew wide in rm. "Mr. Fang, why are you taking the meat for yourself?" she asked, not caring if she should have answered his question first before throwing her own question to him.

    "This can''t be the only snacks you ordered, go and bring the rest here," Fang Bingwen replied as he picked up the fork inside the te without replying to her question.

    "Y-You..." Zhang Liling stammered, not knowing what to say to him.

    Was he even listening to what she was saying? She doubted that, given how his eyes were only on the grilled meat she had brought over.

    This was the first time she was seeing this side of him, and knowing that he would probably start eating without waiting for her, she hurriedly said to him,

    "Mr. Fang, can you at least wait for me toe back with the other snacks?"

    She looked helpless while pleasing with him and fortunately, Fang Bingwen decided to out down the fork.

    "Be quick. You look like you are about to cry," he said as his gaze shifted to her face.

    Instantly, a smile turned up on her face as she quickly ran back to the kitchen as her response echoed after her.

    "Thank you!"

    Fang Bingwen''s gaze followed her till her back disappeared from his view, leaving only the rushed heavy sounds of her retreating footsteps.

    ncing back to the food before him, he picked up the fork again.

    "If I eat a piece, will she cry?" he mumbled to himself. Then without waiting to think more about it, he stabbed a piece of the best with the fork.

    "Let''s see about that."

    Immediately, his lips parted as he brought the delicious piece of beef to his lips. Without a moment of hesitation, he sent it into his mouth as his teeth bit on it.

    Nodding in approval as his tongue relished the vours taste of the grilled beef, he muttered to himself.

    "This is nice,"

    Zhang Liling who ran back into the kitchen to get the other te of snacks, returned a minuteter.

    Just as she stepped a happy foot into the dining space, she froze in her step as the man chewing something in his mouth cane into her line of vision.

    ''H-He actually tasted it...''

    "Mr. Fang!" she cried out immediately, almost frightening the man.

    Hearing his name from that angry tone, Fang Bingwen quickly raised his head.

    Meeting her heated gaze head on, he said, "Oh! You''re back? That was fast. I didn''t expect you to return before I could swallow the piece in my mouth."

 Chapter 293 His Playful Side

    The man didn''t even care about being caught red-handed.r

    He was very proud to admit to cheating without trying to pretend.r

    "Mr. Fang, you are too much!" Zhang Liling said angrily as she walked over to his side.r

    Putting the second te down, she sat on the chair at his right before pushing the te in front of him to his side.r

    Fang Bingwen''s gaze followed the te of Satay until it stopped in front of her.r

    "I only took a piece," he said looking up at her.r

    "You promised not to eat any until I returned with the other snacks, but you shave proved that your words can''t hold a cup of water." r

    "Did I ever promise you anything? I only agreed to your words, nothing more." Saying up to this point, he stretched his hand to pull the new te of snacks to his side.r

    "I thought you would have been crying by now, but here you are ready to woof down the entire te of Satay."r

    For this statement he made, Zhang Liling out down her fork and snatched the te from him.r

    "I really should have listened to my mother when she said nobody should be trusted. But look at the foolish innocent me, I was busy defending you. Not anymore," she said in a timeced in regret.r

    "You discussed about me with your mother?" Fang Bingwen asked as his gaze narrowed to her.r

    ''When did this happen?''r

    ? ''What did they talk about?r

    Pointing at the tes before her with her fork, she retorted. "You couldn''t even prove that you love me. You broke your promise and now you''re trying to cover up. Mr. Fang, please remind me not to trust you anymore. I should evenpose the reminder into a luby."r

    Shifting her gaze back the te of beef before Herz she stabbed her fork into a piece before sending it into her mouth as her gaze returned to him once more.r

    "Who said I don''t care for you? I was going tofort you if you cried, but see what happened next. You red up with not even tear threatening to drop from your eyes," Mr. Fang replied without breaking his gaze as he watched her busy mouth chew on.r

    "I see..." She trailed off, nodding in understanding. "You were going tofort me after making me cry."r

    Ignoring her question, he pulled the second te containing three pieces of Vadai (a traditional snack made from moulding legumes and potatoes into five) and knowing that she was going to snatch the te from him soon with the way her eyes weretched on him like a hawk, he quickly picked up a piece.r

    "There is love in sharing," he said as he quickly brought the Vadai to his mouth and took a big bite as Zhang Liling rolled her eyes at him.r

    The couple''s loving bantersted through out the time they finished eating their traditional snacks specially prepared by the Chef.r

    Going over to the living room to sit and chat over a ss of red wine under Fang Bingwen''s guidance, Zhang Liling brought up the matter about moving ces.r

    "I would have loved to move out in the next two days, but I''m veryzy to pack my things out. I don''t want anything weighing me down, so I will take my time."r<sub> </sub>

    "You literally moved I to my ce with a your belongings. You should have asked the maids to help you out. Don''te and cry to me if you don''t feel well," Mr. Fang cautioned while giving her the side nce.r

    "Bleehhh..." Zhang stuck out her tongue to him, and right when she was about to take it back inside her mouth, she saw something in line of vision as she as she instantly felt a pull on her tongue.r

    The next moment, she saw Fang Bingwen''s face almost about to enter her eyes. r

    "I dare you to talk again!" he said as his brows knitted tightly.r

    "Nnnrrgghhhnnnn..."r

    "Ehn?" Mr. Fang echoed as he turned his ear to her mouth. "I can''t hear what you are saying. Can you talk like a human?"r

    Zhang Liling was so mad at him as she red daggers at him. r

    He was the one holding her tongue. How was she going to stick her tongue back into its cave and be able to speak like the human he expected?r

    He was really having fun teasing her.r

    Unable to bear the gloating, she tried to hit his arm away. Well, she seeded because her tongue was wet with her saliva, so his fingers slipped out, but she ended up hurting herself a little as he did was forced to let go.r

    Putting down her ss of wine immediately, she covered her mouth with her hand as she turned to re at him with me visible in her eyes.r

    "Don''t look at me like that, you are the one hitting people and hiring yourself at the same time," Mr. Fang said defensively as he shifted his gaze away from her.r

    Who was she ring at?r

    As he tried to drink from his ss, he only managed to take a gulp when a hand pushed the bottom of his ss, instantly pouring more liquid than required.r

    This caused the wine to overflow to his nose and down to his shirt, immediately staining the snow-white shirt. r

    But he was lucky to be very quick to hold his breath as the wine came pouring down, so although a little wine flowed into his nose, it didn''t get to his head because he had held his breath right on time.r

    Seeing the mess she had caused, her heart froze in her chest as she thought, ''I think I''m in trouble. I didn''t mean to that. What is Mr. Fang going to do next? Will I be getting scolded?''r

    As she rambled on and on in her head, Fang Bingwen out down his ss of wine before dabbing the little red stain at the space between his nose and his upper lip with his sleeves.r

    When he was done, he nced at her from the corner of his eyes as his gaze squinted at her.r

    Afraid that he was actually going to deal with her, and not knowing what he was going to do next, she tried to escape form him, but the result was unexpected.r

    He ended up pulling a little too hard on her shirt why she was trying to escape, forcing the top buttons of her shirt to rip off and fall to the tiled floor as her full chest came into his line of sight.r

 Chapter 294 Accidentally Kill Him

    Time seemed to stop as both Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang stared at the same spot until one of them had to react.

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling shrieked as her hands immediately grabbed her shirt and pulled it toward her chest.

    Instantly, Fang Bingwen''s eyes shifted to her face as he hurriedly offered an apology. "I''m so sorry. I didn''t mean to pull a little too hard."

    He indeed didn''t mean to get her naked. He had only wanted to pull her to him so he could return the gesture of her tainting his white shirt with red wine.

    He had overlooked of the possibility of her trying to pull away at the same he caught her shirt in his hand.

    ring at him, Zhang Liling rose to her feet as she tried very hard not to show off her skin to him even by mistake.

    Feeling her hard stare, he thought, ''I guess she still has a sense of dignity.''

    Fang Bingwen couldn''t be med for thinking that way since she was known to wanting to have skin ship, but seeing her trying to hide her body from him, he sent her des in her head.

    This means that she was not as wild as she normally acted.

    He wouldn''t rule it out of the question if was even ying with him for a bit.

    Well, he would never know since he didn''t want to experiment he may be unable to control, just to find out the level of her wildness.

    "You really are a big bully!" she said before hurrying away.

    "Wait!" Fang Bingwen called after her, but she didn''t try to stop in her steps, hence he had no choice but to follow her.

    He was afraid that she might collide into someone while running away like that.

    The only time he got to sigh in relief was when she walked into her room and mmed the door shut before he could even think of saying anything.

    Puffing out a sigh as he stood in front of the tightly shut door with his hands on his waist, hisshes fluttered close.

    Two secondster, he turned around and left to go upstairs.

    Just like her, he also had to change his wine-stained outfit.

    At night, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang met again to have their dinner at the dining room.

    Thankfully, none bore any grudge towards the other.

    While eating, Zhang Liling spaced out a good number of times until Mr. Fang couldn''t take any longer.

    "What is bothering you?" he asked while peering at her as he slowly put down his cutlery, ready to give her a listening ear.

    Stabbing her food with her fork, she tilted her gaze to her right to meet his gaze.

    "I am unable to ept the fact that Zhang Mingyu is not my half-brother."

    This news was still hard for Zhang Liling to digest.

    Although she hade to forcefully understand the lengths at which her stepmother would go to get what she wanted, she still doing it a little hard to swallow.<sub> </sub>

    "Would you rather ept him to be rted to you by blood?" Fang Bingwen retorted.

    He didn''t see it as a big deal because he didn''t have high hopes for someone like Shi Wenqian who was cunning and evil.

    Also, he wouldn''t be surprised if she found her way into the Zhang Family in order to seduce Zhang Renshu.

    Anything was possible for her kind of person.

    If Zhang Mingyu was truly her half-brother, she may even have to put more effort into getting into Zhang Corp as Zhang Renshu would still be selfish about not wanting to lose out on his only son.

    So, it could be a blessing in disguise that she wouldn''t have any problem easily taking the reins from her father by the time she presented him with an evidence that could send him straight intoa.

    "Left for me, I wouldn''t want to be a member of the Zhang family. That family needs to be purged," she said in disgust.

    Not even her father was good.

    "The earlier you ept this fact, the faster we can do something about the situation," he advised while staring at her intently.

    Sending a poon of tomato soup into her mouth, she suddenly asked as she let her tongue relish the taste whole rolling about in her mouth to bring forth words.

    "Mr. Fang, you said that Zhang Mingyu has a bleeding disorder," she started as a glint shed past her eyes.

    "Mmmm... What about it?" he inquired as his eyes squinted at her.

    ''Why is she suddenly excited?''

    "That means he can literally bleed to death with just a small cut," she stated as her moved her cutlery about.

    She looked happy to have discovered an important fact, and Fang Bingwen could see it in her eyes.

    "Do you want to try it out?" He asked as his gaze shifted to the knife she was moving about.

    Pushing her hand till the silver tool dropped back to her te, his gaze went back to her face.

    "Why not? I would definitely love to give this experiment a try while at it," she replied with a smug look on her face.

    More than ever, Zhang Liling wanted to see the panic that would sh past Shi Wenqian''s eyes on seeing her precious son bleeding nonstop.

    She was very sure that she would lose herposure and act in a deperate manner to save her son.

    As for her father, she could already picture his eyes widening in their sockets on seeing his fake son bleeding to death.

    Seeing the excitement in her eyes, Mr. Fang hurriedly cautioned her.

    "I don''t think you should go to that extreme. One, you can identally kill him. Two, your stepmother would begin to suspect that you know something. You don''t want to arouse her suspicion."

    Zhang Liling shrugged as she moved her gaze back to her food. She didn''t seem to care or she was overly being confident.

    "I can be a good actress when the time calls for it," she smirked and then continued, "I wouldn''t mind if my father''s suspicion is raised, but I doubt that Shi Wenqian will have a hard time exining Zhang Mingyu''s condition to him."

 Chapter 295 Embarrassment

    Shi Wenqian was a good liar. That was the least Zhang Liling knew about her stepmother.

    The woman was good at lying her way through, and she wouldn''t stop now.

    At least, she needed to see her in a dilemma. Also, it would be cool to watch her lying when she already knew the truth.

    It would have been good if it was possible to give her a scorned look while watching her drama, but that would ruin things if she was caught.

    Shi Wenqian will definitely know how far she had gone to know her secret, and then there would a big messter.

    Mr. Fang let out a deep sigh. He was already tired of her. Since she wanted to have some fun, he would let her, but not without giving her an earful.

    At least he had to caution her and let his words sink into her ears.

    That would be saving them some trouble at the end.

    *******

    ~The Tang Mansion~

    The entire family was sitting around the dining table having dinner when Mrs. Tang suddenly stopped eating.

    Wiping the corner of her lips with the table napkin, she fixed her gaze on Zhang Xiaoling and her son Tang Ei.

    Seeing how they were both busy eating quietly, she decided to disrupt their peace.

    "Xiaoling," she called, instantly attracting the attention of the rest of the family.

    Giving the two women a nce, they all went back to their food.

    Seeing that his mother had something important to tell his wife, Tang Ei looked away. It was not his business.

    He didn''t care for the woman again, so he could as well continue to eat as he listened to the uing conversation.

    Hearing her mother-inw call out to her, Zhang Xiaoling paused as her gaze instantly went to her direction.

    It was at this time that she noticed that she had stopped eating, so, she hurriedly put her cutlery down as she fixed her attention to her.

    "I have been meaning to ask you, it''s been almost a year since you got married to my son, and I still can''t hear about you two talking about having a child. What is going on?"

    Instantly, everyone quietened down as an eerie silence ensued in the dining room.

    This topic was too private for Mrs. Tang to bring it up during dinner, and then she had to make everyone know about it.

    That wasn''t how things were done.

    What happened to calling Zhang Xiaoling out to privately ask about it?

    Zhang Xiaoling felt her heart freeze in her chest as her breath seized at the same time.

    As for Tang Ei, he only paused midway while sending a piece of meat into his mouth, but in the next 2 seconds, he continued eating as if the question his mother threw at her didn''t concern him.

    Zhang Xiaoling felt anger burn in her heart with that question randomly thrown at her, and also, she didn''t know what to say.<sub> </sub>

    What would she tell her mother-inw that would stop what from questioning her further orshing out at her?

    There was nothing.

    No matter what she said, there would be ament or a closing remark that would prick her heart.

    She just wished that she would disappear and totally avoid that question.

    Who would save her? Surely, it wouldn''t be Tang Ei, as the man would love for her to be scolded.

    "You seem to have no answer for me," Mrs. Tang said as her brows creased slightly in a frown.

    This was a reminder that she was waiting for her answer.

    "I am not ready yet," came Zhang Xiaoling''s reply after she managed to swallow the hard lump in her throat.

    "You are not ready? How long will it take you to get ready?" Mrs. Tang asked in a low toneced in anger.

    This honest reply from her, was suddenly putting her off.

    Not waiting for her to respond, she continued as her gaze moved between her and Tang Ei.

    "Have you forgotten that Ei is the first son of this family and the reason you two got married in such a short time was because of him starting his own family?"

    Not caring about her feelings, Mrs. Tang continued with her speech, further making the dinner awkward for everyone.

    Thankfully, Mr. Tang intervened and stopped her from further making a ruckus.

    "That''s enough. If you have something to talk to her about, there is a smaller sitting room where you can have all the time you want. This is the dining room, we should eat peacefully here."

    Mrs. Tang didn''t like her husband interrupting, but knowing that she couldn''t go against him, she rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaoling before picking up her cutlery once again.

    Although her father-inw was the one that intervened at the end and saved her, Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t continue eating her food anymore.

    This was the highest insult she could take.

    Since her mother-inw could do this to her in front of everyone without caring about her feelings, then she was not going to care about hers either.

    Without thinking it twice, she stood and pushed the chair backward. Then ncing at the head table where her father-inw was sitting, she said to him politely,

    "Father, I will be going back to my family tomorrow to stay there for a while. It has been a long while since Ist saw them. Also, my sister is back, we need to catch up."

    Mr. Tang nodded in approval. He couldn''t refuse her because she had not offended him. Also, she was his friend''s daughter, so he had to at least give in to her for Zhang Renshu''s sake.

    Immediately she got her father-inw''s approval, Zhang Xiaoling turned and walked away from the dining area without sparing any other person a nce.

    Watching her leave without showing her any respect, Mrs. Tang almost exploded.

    "Did she just leave like that?" she asked with her eyes widening in disbelief.

    "You disrespected her in front of everyone like you have something against her" Mr. Tang said. Then moving his cutlery about, he added, "I wouldn''t be surprised if you are the reason she suddenly found an excuse to leave for a while. You were wrong."

 Chapter 296 Their Marriage Stand

    Mrs. Tang refused to ept her wrong and went on to reveal her thoughts, not minding where she was.

    "If it wasn''t because Zhang Renshu is your friend and you were sure of him returning the favor up there, I wouldn''t have epted Zhang Xiaoling to get married to Ei."

    She was still furious that Zhang Xiaoling ignored her existence before walking out of the dining room.

    What was it she said about going back to her the Zhang house?

    Was she trying to make it seem like she was the one making her life a living hell here?

    Truly, Mrs. Tang wouldn''t have epted for Zhang Xiaoling to marry into her family because of her original status of having no blood rtions with the Zhang family.

    But because Ei was her first son, and he seemed not interested in getting married, Mr. Tang had to send him on a blind date with her.

    She has never really liked Zhang Xiaoling and now, it was even worse.

    Mr. Tang who was annoyed now mmed his cutlery on the table. "You talk too much!" he said, baring his irritation to her face in front of everyone.

    *******

    Stepping into her bedroom, Zhang Xiaoling mmed the door with a loud thud and continued till she reached the side of the king-sized bed in the room.

    In this enclosed space, the young woman dropped her out of carepletely letting out her anger.

    "Because you have the title of ''Tang Mistress'' you take it in your power to downgrade people. Just who do you think you are without your husband?!"

    Zhang Xiaoling was huffing as her chest rose and fell without a break, her entire face, contoured in a frown.

    She was still very pissed about her mother-inw''s insults in front of her sons and two daughters-inw.

    ? This was like the highest insult she had received in that house.

    Some minutester, Tang Ei walked. The first thing that greeted his sight was Zhang Xiaoling sitting on the bed with anger viable in her facial expression.

    Sparing her a few seconds nce, he sighed and walked towards the inner room, but he got stopped in his tracks.

    "Are you going to pretend that your mother didn''t have any right to talk to me that way in front of everyone in the middle of breakfast?" Zhang Xiaoling pointed out, refusing to let him have peace.

    He didn''t even apologize for his mother''s harsh critics, and he was about to walk past her as if it was nothing.

    Even though they were not in the best of rtionship at the moment still, it was maturity to do the right thing.

    Tilting his head to the side, he met her furious gaze. "What do you want me to do about it?" he asked without care.

    He looked disinterested in the whole scenario as if it was not his concern.<sub> </sub>

    "Are you serious? You are not even going to apologize on her behalf?"

    Zhang Xiaoling''s eyes widened in their sockets, not out of shock, but out of the level of disrespect from not just her mother-inw, but also her so-called husband.

    "Why should I apologize when I did nothing wrong to you? My mother said those words to you, she is the right person to meet."

    Zhang Xiaoling scoffed. "I see. So it''s okay to exchange words with your mother? That will be great cause I won''t hold back anymore."

    "I never asked you to disrespect my mother!" Tang Ei said immediately as threat shed past his eyes.

    "She had better not disrespect me any longer then, because I have had enough of it. Why should she single me out like I am the one holding her grandchild from her? Are you also not to me?" she queried while pointing her index finger at him.

    In the middle of the heated argument with him, she had risen to her feet and at the moment, there was only the huge bed between them.

    Not waiting for his reply toe, she continued out of vexation.

    "You and I are the only ones who know that this marriage is sexless, so why don''t you tell your mother that, or find something else to say to her other than letting me take the me for not falling pregnant after a year since our marriage?"

    "Huff... You want to let my parents know that this marriage is sexless? Do you like trouble that much? Who was the one that brought this idea in the first ce?" Tang Ei retorted.

    Back then, they both knew that there was no option of turning down the marriage ns their parents had for them, hence, they had toe to an agreement.

    Zhang Xiaoling had outrightly told him to his face that she didn''t love him and would like for their marriage not to involve any skinship.

    Although Tang Ei didn''t like that idea, still, he had epted it.

    With their marriage being sexless, how were they going to have any child?

    "I brought the idea!" Zhang Xiaoling admitted.

    "I can see how proud you are of yourself. Should we go and tell people that our marriage is sexless and that you were the one that brought it up? I wonder if your Zhang Family knows about this..." Tang Ei said in deep contemtion.

    "Who was the one that indulged my ridiculous idea? You are at fault too!" She said in defense.

    There was no way she was going to let him put the me on her. If he didn''t ept her idea back then, surely, she wouldn''t have been able to do anything about it.

    They were both to be med for their sexless marriage.

    Nodding in understanding, Tang Ei took a few steps toward the bed. Coming a stop before his knees could touch the wood frame, he said,

    "I see... If I hadn''t epted your ridiculous idea, you would have gone along with mine. I see..." he said, trailing off as different thoughts came together in his head.

    Zhang Xiaoling rolled her eyes at him as she circled her arms below her bust, not minding him anymore. But the next second, things turned around.

 Chapter 297 What Money Can Do

    "For almost a year, you deprived me of sex and being a good man, I didn''t once try to sleep with another woman, but you may not believe that." Tang Ei confessed.

    "How did I deprive..." Zhang Xiaoling started, as her brows creased slightly, but unable to continue, she quickly dismissed it.

    "What are you trying to say?" She asked instead with her pair of dark eyes squinting at him.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, he turned to his left side and allowed his steps to continue.

    "Seems it looks like you are starting to regret the decision you made, I can help you out," he said as he slowly approached her side.

    ''Why is heing over here?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself as she took a step back.

    Suddenly walking over to her, what did he want to do?

    She would rather he returned to where he wasing from, or go into the inner room as he had earlier intended.

    "I don''t mind if we have a child together." He said and immediately, he slipped his hands out of his pockets and wanted to embrace her, but she ran away.

    Zhang Xiaoling had been keeping her eyes on him and immediately after he made that move, she hurriedly escaped from his clutches bynding on the bed with her butts.

    "Ei! What nonsense are you driving at?" she questioned him immediately as she lifted her legs to the bed and slides over to the other side of the bed as quickly as she could in case he still wanted to chase after her.

    Unexpectedly, Tang Ei did not continue chasing after her. His gaze turned seriousas he slipped his hand inside his pockets again.

    "You are the one running away now. Everything is your fault. Don''te andin about my mother insulting you about having children because I will never defend you. You are the reason this marriage is sexless."

    Breathing out heavily, he added, "Don''t me me if I go outside and ask another woman to give me a child. At that time, don''t say that I tarnished your reputation."

    Saying up to this point, he turned around walked back to the other side of the bed.

    Without stopping in his steps, he pushed the door to the inner room open and stepped inside as Zhang Xiaoling''s eyes followed him till he disappeared from her view.

    There was a subtle confusion visible on her face as she slowly got off the bed as different thoughts harassed her mind.

    ''What does he mean by all of this?''

    ''Does he seriously want a child or is he joking?''

    ''What does he think by all of this?''

    Regardless of her thoughts, she still left for the Zhang mansion the next day.

    She was not ready to listen to her mother-inw continue to insult her. Already, she gave her an eye roll during dinner.

    *******

    Over the next two days, Zhang Liling moved her things back to her apartment without leaving a single item behind.<sub> </sub>

    She was very serious about leaving, and that surprised Fang Bingwen a bit although he didn''t talk about it.

    At least, this made him know that there was more to her.

    Moving out of his house without him giving her that idea, told him that she had bigger ns for herself, which was a good thing.

    At least she wouldn''t appear as just an ordinary woman living under a man''s roof.

    On this day, after helping her to take thest luggage into her bedroom, he decided to take a look around her house again.

    "You really kept your ce in a good condition." He noted, his gaze darting around as his feet dragged along every part of her house.

    "That''s what money can do. I had the housekeepere over once a month to clean it up." Zhang Liling replied from her room.

    Normally, as she had been away for a year, her ce would have been dusty and a bit messy, but because she had the housekeepere over to take care of her apartment while she was in Paris, the living condition was good.

    Stepping out of her bedroom, with a smile hanging at the corner of her lips, she asked after the man with his back turned to her as he stood in the short hallway leading to the living room.

    "Mr. Fang, what would you like to have?"

    Instantly, he turned to look at her. "I don''t think I have time for that. I need to go back, I have..."

    Zhang Liling didn''t let him finish as she embraced him immediately andid the wide of her face on his chest.

    "Please, stay for a little bit. At least try my cooking again before you leave," she pleaded.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling was already in her kitchen looking at her refrigerator.

    Smiling from ear to ear, she reached out to take out the fresh tomatoes and veggies she needed to make a simple sauce to go with boiled pasta.

    Thankfully, she had asked the housekeeper to get a few things from the supermarket for her the previous day and now she had ingredients to work with.

    Without wasting time, she opened up the pack of parboiled pasta and poured it into a bowl before starting to boil water in a pot.

    In the middle of cooking, Mr. Fang walked in to see what she was up to.

    Hearing the sounds of footsteps close by, Zhang Liling turned to nce at the entrance to see the man already standing there and letting his eyes fly around the ce.

    "Mr. Fang, it''s a little hot in here, just wait in the living room for a little while longer."

    The little woman was afraid that he would be ufortable in the kitchen and hurriedly tried to send him out, but the man thought otherwise.

    Stepping in proper, Fang Bingwen allowed his gaze to hover around the kitchen before letting itnd on her.

    "I came to see how you were faring, but who knew you would be doing so well. I am quite surprised that you keep the kitchen neat as you work. Good job!"

 Chapter 298 A Kiss On The Kitchen Counter

    "It looks like you underestimate me, Mr. Fang." Zhang Liling said as the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

    "You made me think that way in the first ce," He said as he approached her.

    Shaking her head, she replied, "Well, I''m about to surprise you in so many ways."

    Nodding without a care, he took a turn and went over to the table gas to watch the pot boiling something.

    "What are you cooking?" He asked and went on to lift the lid of the pot to see the pasta boiling.

    "I''m making pasta. I have wine too..." Zhang Liling said as she came to his side to peer into the pot on fire just like he was doing.

    Furrowing his brows, he tilted his head to the side. "You think wine goes with pasta?"

    "I think it does."

    "No way. I will have a bottle of water instead."

    "Water is boring, let''s have wine," she said, trying to convince him.

    "I can''t drink remember?" He started, giving her a raised brow before going on to exin further.

    "I will be driving myself back home."

    Although his reasons for not wanting to have wine were genuine, Zhang Liling did not care and was still trying to convince him to do otherwise.

    "You can stay over at my ce."

    Fang Bingwen shifted his gaze back to the pot and put back the lid before taking two steps backward.

    "It''s fine for you to stay over at my ce because there are so many rooms, enough space, and a few people too. But I can''t spend the night at your ce because I''m scared of you."

    "What? Hahaha...." Zhang Liling erupted inughter as she staggered backward before finding her bnce 3 stepster.

    "You''re scared of me?"

    "Mmmmm..." Fang Bingwen admitted while locking his gaze on her.

    "Are you not ashamed?" she asked.

    Why would he be that scared of her? It''s not like she bites.

    She was as gentle as a dove, and she never mentioned pouncing on him.

    She had another room in the house. For real, she didn''t n to do anything to him. It''s not like she was horny.

    Even if she was, she wouldn''t do anything as she was trying to control her wildness.

    But truly, it was hard staying with a man like him in an enclosed space in a romantic atmosphere.

    The temptation was much.

    "Why would I be ashamed? I refuse to y into your trap." Fang Bingwen said slipping his hands inside his pockets.

    Whatever n she had, he was not going to fall for it.

    "Hahaha...." Zhang Liling chuckled a bit more before slowly recovering.

    "I have ruined my reputation before you. Mr. Fang, how do I fix it?"

    Seriously, what was going to make him put down his shield around her?

    She was curious.

    Answering her question, he said, "Refrain from making suggestive statements and we will be cool again."

    Shifting his gaze toward the sink, he said contemtively, "But I doubt that I would ever recover."<sub> </sub>

    "See... Nothing will make you trust me..." Zhang Liling said and went to the kitchen counter to check and finish up the veggies she was dicing.

    Mr. Fang stood at the same spot and watched her for a bit before suddenly taking two long strides over to her side.

    Without warning, he took her arm.

    "Wha....?" Zhang Liling gave him a questioning look and had only started her question when he pulled her to face him.

    "Ah!"

    Suddenly, she let out a yelp as he lifted her.

    "Mr. Fang!" she called out in surprise, but the response she got, surprised her.

    Instead of replying to her, Fang Bingwen put her butt down on the counter as he pushed her legs apart.

    Coming to stand in between them, he circled her tiny waits with his arms while having at her intently.

    Silence followed as thoughts began to run through Zhang Liling''s mind.

    ''What is he up to?'' Although she had this thought in her head, what her mouth spewed was quite different.

    "Mr. Fang, don''t you want your food anymore?" she inquired as her gaze met his heated pair of eyes.

    "Forget it first. I want something else..."

    With that, he leaned in as his eyes fluttered close. Instinctively, Zhang Liling closed her eyes as she saw his face from up close.

    The next moment, she felt his soft wet lipstch on hers as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

    She could feel her heart start to flutter as it pounded in her chest.

    If she wasn''t sitting on the kitchen counter, her knees which were starting to grow weak would have brought her to the floor, but she was fortunate.

    Pulling her in to get the best of her, he bit her lower lips gently before plunging his to give inside her mouth.

    "Mmmh." A soft moan escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips as her tongue entangled with his inside her mouth.

    As their kiss intensified, she wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him closer to her till she was able to feel the hard muscles of his upper body.

    Although she could feel this, she could only focus on how soft he felt against her mouth, how addictively he invaded all her senses.

    She couldn''t afford to be distracted from anything else from the kiss he was giving to her without her asking or giving him the slightest idea.

    Oh! How she loved it when he took the reins. It turned her on.

    Feeling her squeezing him a little too hard, making the object in between his legs almost collide with her inner thighs, Fang Bingwen broke the kiss.

    "You are squeezing a bit too hard..." he warned in-between deep breaths.

    "Sorry," she said and immediately pulled the back of his neck toward her and again, hershes flitted close as she pressed her lips on his

    She couldn''t wait to get the taste of him.

    Fang Bingwen gave in to her and started to return the kisses.

    Two minutester, Zhang Liling had to push him away.

    Because the man was too invested in the kiss, she had to hit his back gently to get his attention.

    ncing into her misty eyes, he raised a questioning brow.

    "It''s time to drain the water from the pasta," she exined.

 Chapter 299 A Surprise Visit

    Fang Bingwen had no choice but to let go.

    Reaching for her lips, he traced them with his fingers slowly before bringing his hand down to his side.

    At least, she remembered that she had something on fire even while engaged in the intense kiss.

    Jumping down from the countertop, she hurried over to the table gas and removed the lid of the pot.

    Half an hourter, she served the pasta and a bottle of wine in her small dining room.

    After dishing some portion of food for Mr. Fang, she put it in front of him.

    Pouring him a little wine in his ss, she sat on the seat next to him before starting to serve herself.

    "Bon app¨¦tit!" She eximed cheerfully before picking up her fork.

    The corner of Fang Bingwen''s lips curled at her greeting before equally picking up his fork.

    Briefly ncing at the ss of wine at his left side, a soft sigh escaped his lips as he moved his gaze back to his food and rolled up some pasta with his fork.

    Atst, she was making him drink some wine before leaving.

    She had really gotten the best of him.

    In the middle of eating, Zhang Liling brought up her business to him for the first time.

    Fang Bingwen wasn''t even surprised that she had ns like that notwithstanding the fact that he didn''t know what exactly she had been up to, before.

    She had always been a smart girl, so it really wasn''t a surprise that she would want to start something up for herself.

    Now, he would have to watch her run her business from the side and see how well she does.

    "Mr. Fang, where do I get a good spot for a warehouse and a walk-in store?" Zhang Liling asked as she stared intently at him.

    "What kind of business do you need that much space for?"

    "Makeup." Zhang Liling revealed with a proud smile as she went on to exin as he watched her intently.

    "While in Paris, I started to have thoughts of having my own brand of makeup instead of working for anotherpany out there, so I started to work towards it."

    Mr. Fang nodded in understanding. "I see, you want to be your own boss."

    "Why not? As long as I don''t give up and stick to my grounds during the bad times, I will definitely seed."

    Picking up his wine ss to take the first sip, he said, "If you wanted to do something else apart from anything rting to beauty and lifestyle, I wouldn''t have approved of it.¡ê

    Even though Fang Bingwen didn''t sound or look serious while saying that, he meant what he said.

    Knowing Zhang Liling very well, he knew she would seed in her own business if only she was passionate about it.

    Money was not enough to pull her to sess unless something stronger than passion was there.

    Not getting his point, Zhang Liling asked him about it but he waved it off and instantly shifted their conversation back to her previous question.

    "When youe back from your family ce, call me, and I will show you the ces I managed to find."<sub> </sub>

    While she would be away, Fang Bingwen was going to use that opportunity to help her look for a good ce for her business.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling said gratefully, revealing her two rolls of white teeth.

    *******

    The next day, Zhang Liling left her apartment for the Zhang Family.

    She made sure to leave on time just so she could meet them at the breakfast table, and her ns worked out just the way she thought.

    Walking into the house as her pair of white sneakers skid against the floor, she hummed a popr pop song as a smile hung at the corners of her lips.

    Without the need to ask questions or need for directions, she found her way to the dining area, shocking everyone to the core.

    "Good morning!" she greeted as her gazended on her father. And before anyone could react, she sat beside Zhang Mingyu whose eyes were agape.

    ncing at the table of dishes lined up at therge dining table, she couldn''t help butment.

    "It looks like a feast is going on without me."

    With that, she looked to her left and asked for a te from the servant standing there and waiting for instructions.

    Immediately, the maid turned to leave.

    Feeling the gazes on her, Zhang Liling smiled sheepishly as she met them head-on.

    Seeing Zhang Xiaoling sitting on a chair, two seats away from Shi Wenqian, a hint of surprise shed past her eyes.

    "Xiaoling, you are here? I thought you were married?" she said giving her a good nce.

    Zhang Xiaoling retracted her gaze as she used her fork to stand into the fresh vegetable sd before her.

    "Is that a question?" she retorted.

    "Why not? You know, I missed your wedding and had to hear about it from social media, but seeing here, I can''t help but want to confirm. Anything can happen."

    Nothing would have happened if Zhang Liling didn''t add thest part, but she had to just go straight into looking for trouble as soon as she appeared out of nowhere.

    Instantly, Shi Wenqian''s face turned dark as she couldn''t help but retort.

    "Are you jinxing my daughter?"

    That little girl sitting adjacent to her was the same person that made Zhang Renshu hit her in the face, and here she was, daring to show her face to her and even going as far as cursing her daughter in front of her.

    It seems like she was so full of herself now that she had identified with the Fang Family, and her father was no longer pursuing the matter.

    Without waiting for Zhang Liling to reply to her, Zhang Renshu hurriedly interjected as his eyes narrowed at her.

    "Why are you here?" he interrogated with no chance of a smile trying to appear on his face.

    Hearing that question, Shi Wenqian felt a bit d andforted herself. ''At least he doesn''t want to see her.''

    After getting into the Fang Family halfway and he couldn''t stop her from going on with her intentions, she wouldn''t be so angry if he at least didn''t want to see her face. So she thought.

 Chapter 300 Positive Energy

    "I missed you so much, so I came to see you," Zhang Liling said shing her father a smile.

    "You came to see me?" Zhang Renshu asked with an unbelievable expression on his face.

    Just how many times did they argue over the phone because of Fang Bingwen, and here she was in his house saying that she came to see him?

    Zhang Renshu found it hard to believe. Was it even possible for her to miss him?

    She must havee for something.

    "Of course. Or am I no longer wee in my father''s house?" She asked and just then, the servant returned with a new set of tes andid them out in front of her, before going ahead to serve her some food.

    Zhang Renshu threw his face to the side, totally ignoring her. But that meant that he wasn''t stopping her from dropping by anytime she wanted.

    "Dad, can I take it that I am allowed toe and go as I please?" Zhang Liling asked the corner of her lips curled, with her gaze briefly resting on her stepmother.

    Feeling her gaze on her, Shi Wenqian who was patiently waiting for Zhang Renshu''s response with her ears to the ground, raised her head to meet Zhang Liling''s gaze.

    Just seeing that smirk at the ends of her lips made her blood boil, and she was tempted to take the smile off her face.

    "Did youe here to make me talk too much? Have I ever stopped you froming here?" Zhang Renshu retorted.

    Ignoring his anger, Zhang Liling tilted her head to the side as she turned to the only servant in their space.

    "Did you hear him? Now go get my luggage from the sit-out and take it into one of the best guest rooms."

    Instantly, the servant left to do as instructed.

    Normally, she would have nced at Shi Wenqian to receive instructions from her since they (servants) were under her, but as the head of the family had given his consent for his daughter toe and stay at will, she had to obey straight away.

    "Why staying in the guest room, what happened to your bedroom?" Zhang Mingyu asked while giving her a side nce.

    This was the same question Zhang Renshu was going to ask, but he beat him to it.

    "Because the guest room is bigger, and I don''t have any good memories from staying in that ce," Zhang Liling replied, instantly earning a re from Shi Wenqian.

    Everyone turned back to continue eating after discovering that they were better off without questioning her.

    A good number of the responses she gave almost called for a quarrel or a fight.

    Who knows if that was the reason she returned?

    Zhang Renshu was tempted to ask how long she was going to stay, but that didn''t seem proper as he had already given his consent for her toe and go as she pleased.

    The rest of the breakfast continued in peace with Zhang Liling eating quietly and everything her spoon could grab.

    She seemed like she had been starving for a long time, an action that almost prompted Zhang Renshu to ask if Fang Bingwen was starving her.

    ''Is the Fang boy starving her?''<sub> </sub>

    That thought was already at the tip of his tongue as he watched her, just a little more push and they woulde rolling off, but he held himself back atst.

    That question would be as good as him admitting that he had approved of her rtionship with the Fang Family, but he still wanted to keep his pride.

    All this while, he had been quiet about it, which could mean silent agreement, buting to make ament that would indirectly show his approval, was what he wanted to avoid.

    After breakfast, Zhang Liling asked the servant that took her luggage away to take her to the guest room, while having in mind to change to another space if she wasn''t satisfied with the room.

    Fortunately, the room was to her satisfaction, as it had an S-ss setting, and could bepared to her father''s bedroom.

    The only difference between the two was that her father''s bedroom was named ''Master''s bedroom'' while the one she was currently upying was called, ''Guest room'' apart from that, there was nothing else.

    Going into her new room, she had a good look at the ce before sitting on the couch and taking off her shoes.

    *******

    Shi Wenqian was huffing mad when she strode to her bedroom.

    She couldn''t believe that Zhang Renshu allowed Zhang Liling to do what she wanted.

    What happened to scolding her a bit? Did he forget how to do that?

    Shi Wenqian had at least expected him to scold her at least, but to her greatest disappointment, he was calm, which made her furious.

    "So, he is finally epting her marrying into the Fang Family? Zhang Renshu, you are a bully!" she cursed before picking up her phone to make a call.

    *******

    After speaking with Mr. Fang over the phone to tell him about her arrival, and her father''s response to seeing her, she talked a bit about her business before ending the call.

    Next, Zhang Liling phoned her mother and was lucky to get her on the line.

    It was still in the early hours of the morning, and she seemed to have forgotten about the time difference before making the call.

    "Mum, I don''t think Dad will have any problem with you giving me the shares."

    "Even if he doesn''t like the idea, he can''t do anything about it because I have the right to do what I want with my shares." Song Jujing replied as she got out of bed and walked into her bathroom.

    p Although she was just waking up, her voice didn''t give out any message like that.</anda>

    She sounded as if she has been awake for a long time.

    "That''s cool, but I still prefer that he doesn''t put up a fight with us. We can''t give room for Shi Wenqian to have control over him."

    No matter what, Zhang Liling wanted to win Zhang Renshu to her side even after fighting with him, and this was one of the reasons she came back, just so she could test the waters and no what to do if there was a huge change in his attitude toward her.

    Fortunately, she didn''t have to worry as his response was perfect.

 Chapter 301 No Honour

    "Even if your father was still very angry with you, he would not do anything about the shares because you are his daughter. He would never want only Zhang Mingyu to have control over the Zhang Group because of Shi Wenqian."

    Song Jujing deducted after having a good understanding of the kind of man Zhang Renshu was.

    The man was not the kind of person that could be controlled easily by anyone. Also, he was very smart.

    Knowing the kind of person Shi Wenqian was, and how she could cunningly gain a bit of control of hispany through her son, Zhang Renshu would never allow her to have her way.

    This could be the reason he was yet to upgrade Zhang Mingyu''s position in his Zhangpany.

    "This is one thing good about father. He doesn''t let anyone control him." Zhang Liling admitted.

    Even if her father was annoying, at least he didn''t have this one w that could have long ruined him and her ns.

    The man did what he wanted.

    Because he was calctive and read meaning into almost everything and everybody, he was still standing today otherwise, Shi Wenqian would have long finished him as he would be fully under her control.

    ? Toward the end of their conversation, Song Jujing asked about her ns.

    "Have you told Bingwen about your business yet?" she inquired as she ce her phone on the marble before taking two steps to stand in front of the wall mirror before picking up her toothbrush.

    As Zhang Liling''s reply came, she put some toothpaste on her brush.

    "Yes, I did and he didn''t look surprised that I started something for myself. It''s as if he had guessed that I would do something like that."

    "I think otherwise," Song Jujingmented while finding a scrutinizing gaze on the mirror.

    "I think he expects you to be useful to yourself. He already has a good perspective about the kind of person you are. Maybe he would have been a bit disappointed if you were up to nothing for a year since you graduated from college."

    Zhang Liling wanted to disagree with her, but because she could not rule out this possibility, she kept her mouth shut.

    She knew the kind of person Fang Bingwen was. The man was goal-oriented and he liked to do things that would profit his business atst.

    He was already serious and disciplined.

    After recounting the kind of person he was in her head, she could somehow guess that he would expect her to do well for herself instead of sitting idly.

    Sighing, she moved on with the conversation.

    "He agreed to show me s few ces after I return to my apartment. I just pray that I find the perfect store." Zhang Liling hoped.

    It would be so fulfilling if she found the perfect building for her business as she wouldn''t have to worry about visibility.

    "Just do your best and don''t take things too hard on yourself. I will go to the manufacturer to help you check things out." Song Jujing replied.

    "Thank you, Mum! Also, take care of yourself."

    "I will. Just go already so I can take care of my face." Song Jujing retorted with a piercing gaze on the space between her frontal hairline and her brow.<sub> </sub>

    She could see a small pimple marking that ce and couldn''t wait to take care of it.

    After their conversation hade to an end, Zhang Liling went online to research about advertisement ns and their prizes.

    She was going tounch her business as soon as she secured a store and a warehouse, so she still had pretty much to tidy up.

    At least before theunch, she could start with an advertisement first to let her brand sink into people''s minds before theunch date.

    This was her first time doing business, for now, she would stick to making research and ns.

    At least when asking for help from Fang Bingwen, she wouldn''t bepletely without knowledge.

    Thanks to her father for pushing her to study business for the sake of his Zhang group otherwise, she wouldn''t have known where to start.

    *******

    When evening came, Shi Wenqian invited Zhang Xiaoling for a cup of tea which she didn''t honor.

    Annoyed, she had to go straight to her bedroom to find her, but as soon as she stepped in front of her door, she fixed her facial expression.

    Because of the kind of conversation she wanted to hold with her, she knew better not toe in shouting otherwise, her aim would be futile.

    With no need to smile after smoothening the lines on her face, she brought her fist to pound on the door twice before pushing it open and stepping inside.

    As soon as she took one step in, Zhang Xiaoling who was lying on the bed and pressing her phone came into her line of sight.

    "Xiaoling?" she called out to her as she took another step in before closing the door properly.

    Recognizing that voice, Zhang Xiaoling replied without turning to face her.

    "Mum, I am not in the mood for tea. I am exhausted."

    Shi Wenqian walked towards the other side of the bed where she was facing and pulled out the chair set in front of the study table and turned it to face her before sitting in it.

    "That is the very reason I came here instead."

    Zhang Xiaoling took a deep breath as hershes flurted close.

    She already knew she was not going to like the conversation her mother wanted to have, but she could not escape from it, hence, the reason she had to rx her lungs.

    As she opened her eyes, she met her mother''s scrutinizing gaze and slowly sat up to rest her back on the headboard.

    "What do you want to talk about?" she asked, keeping her phone beside her.

    "Yesterday when you suddenly came back an hour after informing me, I knew that something was wrong. I had to allow you to rest after a long day at work, but today, I came for answers." Shi Wenqian said without breaking her gaze.

 Chapter 302 Everyones Concern

    "Did you quarrel with your husband?" Shi Wenqian asked with raised brows.

    "I can''te back here when I want because I''m not Zhang Liling?" Zhang Xiaoling retorted, giving her a raised brow.

    She wasn''t about to spill her problems to her. It''s not like she had a way to help her.

    The only thing she would be able to do, was to talk, and she didn''t want to hear all of that.

    "Don''t twist my words. I am worried about you. I am your mother, you should talk to me if you are going through something."

    "Mum, do I look like I''m going through something? If I can''t evene here to get my thoughts together, I would rather lodge in a hotel next time." Zhang Xiaoling said as she adjusted her position on the bed andid her back against the pillow.

    Seeing that she wasn''t ready to say anything, Shi Wenqian got tired and decided to state the main reason she wanted to talk to her in the first ce

    "When do you and Ei n to have a child? It''s been almost a year, have you no ns?"

    "I am not ready to have one." She replied without locking gazes with her.

    It seems like child bearing talk had be the most asked about question since thest two days.

    Zhang Xiaoling wished to have a break and escape from all of this.

    Sensing the disinterest in her tone plus the fact that she didn''t even bother to try to hide her feelings, a sigh escaped from her mother''s lips.

    "Xiaoling, it would be good if you think about having a child with Ei soon. Your father will not tolerate you if your marriage is broken. You very well know the foundation of your marriage."

    Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I don''t think you know men these days. Obviously, there would be other women outside, but if you want to maintain your position in the Tang family, you have to give birth your husband''s heir."

    Zhang Xiaoling would be as good as a goner if her marriage with the Tang family fell apart because that was the foundation to her stepfather''s push in his political career.

    Zhang Renshu would not spare her if she acted anyhow she wanted and broke the rtionship between the two families.

    This was the reason Shi Wenqian was trying to talk sense into her.

    Not just that, if she wanted to be above a those women outside who were probably getting together with her husband, Ei, then she had to bear him a child.

    By all means, Shi Wenqian wanted her daughter to help her take the reins of the Tang family.

    By bing a good daughter-inw and fulfilling her duties as a wife, she could easily have them in their good books.

    Tang Ei was the first son of his family, and he was the only one without a child.

    That didn''t sound right.

    "I will think about it. Right now, I just want to rest. Can I?" Zhang Xiaoling asked.

    Shi Wenqian was silent for a while before standing up to leave.

    "Make sure to think about it. Your father hasn''t given your brother Zhang Corp''s reins. You can''t do as you like. Wait till the poweres into Mingyu''s hands, then you can do as you like."

    Saying thosest words, she disappeared from her sight.<sub> </sub>

    ''You only think about Mingyu.'' Zhang Xiaoling thought to herself as she retracted her gaze from the door.

    Was there no other way to help her without her brother bing the President of Zhang Corp''s?

    One conclusion remained in her mind as hershes fluttered close.

    Her mother was indirectly using her to uplift her brother.

    She wanted the power that woulde from Zhang Mingyu''s new position.

    *******

    "Find out the empty buildings around the mostmercial streets in City S. It would be good if you can get two empty spaces in one." Fang Bingwen instructed while looking at the map in his tablet.

    Bolin asked with his gaze in the tablet, "Boss, may I ask the kind of business that would be run there?"

    He needed to know a bit about the business to enable him make a better choice on the building.

    "It''s for Liling''s make-up brand. She wants a walk-in store and a warehouse. It would be best if they can be located in the same building." Mr. Fang revealed without reservation.

    Bolin was his personal assistant, and he was almost like a family to him. Also, he knew about his rtionship with Zhang Liling. There was nothing to hide from him.

    "Miss Zhang is noting to work here anymore?" Bolin asked as his gaze widened in surprise.

    He had it at the back of his mind that Zhang Liling was going toe work at thepany, probably after a long break to understand what it would take to work in Fang Group.

    But who knew that she had another ns...

    "She will be working for herself now. As soon as you get contact with the building agents, call my attention." Fang Bingwen instructed.

    "Yes, Sir." Bolin nodded in understanding before leaving.

    Fang Bingwen rxed his back in the backrest of the chair as his thoughts wandered about.

    He was currently in his office, was supposed to be all about hispany work, but where he was thinking on behalf of Zhang Liling for her business.

    Since he had agreed to help her, he was going to do it to the fullest.

    *******

    After breakfast the next morning, Zhang Liling followed her father to his study.

    He didn''t call her, but she decided to follow him there out of her own will to the irritation of her stepmother.

    Shi Wenqian couldn''t stand the father and daughter''s reuniting and wished so badly for them to fall out soon.

    Maybe she could make that happen instead of sitting idly and seething in rage all the time.

    Zhang Liling''s gaze darted around as soon as she stepped foot into her father''s private work space.

 Chapter 303 Offering Her Assistance

    Zhang Liling''s gaze darted around as soon as she stepped foot into her father''s private work space.

    "Dad, don''t you get bored with this dull furnishings and designs? Do you work well here?"

    Going over to his chair, Zhang Renshu sat down and picked up his reading sses.

    Putting it over his eyes, his gaze followed her sight before answering, "What is wrong with it? This is not your first timeing into my study, why are you only bringing up this topic now?"

    Zhang Liling turned around and answered while walking towards his desk.

    "I have to bring it up now because I want the best for you now that we are in good terms,"

    Sitting across from him, she shed him a smile and continued.

    "You can work better if there is not much colour in here. Three main colours are enough."

    "Do you think I have the time for all of that?" Zhang Renshu retorted as his brows creased into a deep frown.

    When did he ever mention to her about him needing more workload?

    He had plenty of work to do in hispany for the election he wanted to partake in, in 2 years.

    There was no time to fuss about redecorating his study room. It can be like that.

    After all, he has been managing it like that for so many years.

    His response, was what Zhang Liling wanted, and immediately, she shipped herself in front of him.

    "You don''t need to handle it yourself when I am here."

    "What do you mean?" Zhang Renshu raised a questioning brow while staring at her intently.

    What was she up to?

    "As long as you release the funds for your study transformation plus my payment, I will take care of the job and give you the perfect result."

    Zhang Liling replied with the perfect smile hanging at the corner of her lips.

    She looked very harmless while fluttering hershes at her father.

    The first thing that came to Zhang Renshu''s mind at her suggestion, was ridiculous.

    "Are you trying to make money off me?" he asked, his eyes narrowing down at her.

    To that question, Zhang Liling replied without reservation.

    "Why not? I am the only one you cut off financially. Why wouldn''t I find a way to fend for myself?"

    This was her reason for bringing up the idea to renovatE his study, and she was so shameless as to admit it in front of him.

    Probably because she knew his response wouldn''t be harsh. Unfortunately, Zhang Renshu was not in the mood to pamper her.

    "You are also the only without a job. Maybe when you start trying to make a living for yourself, I will add you to my financial responsibility. For now, you can go to that Fang boy and ask him to take care if you."<sub> </sub>

    Snorting, he turned his gaze away from her and pulled open his drawer before taking out a handful of papers.

    Putting them on his desk, he ignored her and went on to start work.

    Zhang Liling was not moved by his indifference, as she knew that he was still angry with her.

    It was very obvious from the bitternessced in his tone, but she didn''t care. She came here for something, and she would get it before leaving.

    "Dad, do you really not mind if I ask the Fang Bingwen yo take care of my financial needs when j have you?"

    Immediately, Zhang Renshu raised his head to meet her gaze head-on, as anger shed past his eyes.

    "So you still know that I am your father? You dare to acknowledge me now because of money?"

    Zhang Renshu felt his pride hurt but refused to admit it.

    She was going to ask the Fang Family for help? She could as well announce to them that he was dead.

    "Dad, why are you getting worked up? I only made a simplement. Also, did I ever deny that you are my father? On my graduation day, didn''t I acknowledge you wholeheartedly in public?"

    Zhang Liling was truly going to dig around to proof that she never denied him once evem they had a heated argument.

    After much said and done, Zhang Renshu discovered that he could not win that sharp-tongued girl in a battle of words and caved in.

    "Have you always been this brave?" He asked while thinking to himself, ''I musthave been blind to think you were meek and quiet.''

    If he wasn''t quite sure for himself, he would have denied that the youngdy in front of him, was the same person in the past.

    Since when did she start to meet his argument head-on?

    Some minutester, Zhang Renshu asked after finally agreeing for her to do a makeover in his study, "What is your budget for the makeover looking like?"

    "I will get back to you on that, but here is a suggestion. Make it limitless."

    Zhang Renshu''s eyes flew wide open. "Make it limitless? Are you trying to buy everything you see in all the stores in S city?"

    "No. I have to check with apany to know the cost of things before getting back to you. But if you are that trusting of me, there is no need to wait for my budget when you can as well leave the cheque book open." Zhang Liling replied while giving him a smile.

    She had already told him that he was going to make money off him, so she had no reasons to trick him.

    The reason she was asking for a limitless budget was because she didn''t know the price range for the cost of refurnishing and redecorating his study.

    Well, if he didn''t agree with what she said just now, he could wait for her to confirm the prizes from an interior designer and get back to him.

    Fortunately, Zhang Renshu did not remain stubborn.

    "When will you start work?" he asked.

    "Whenever you are ready to vacate your office," Zhang Liling replied in a triumphant smile.

    Atst, she got what she wanted.

 Chapter 304 Bored Out Of Mind

    Zhang Renshu watched as Zhang Liling clicked a few pictures of his study space, including his work desk.

    Ignoring the frown sitting on his face as she clicked his picture, Zhang Liling faked a serious look and put her phone away.

    "Alright, that''s all. I will get back to you soon." She said and walked to his table to pick up the nk cheque he wrote for her.

    Waving it in front of him, she spurned on her heels and went away.

    A deep sigh escaped Zhang Renshu''s lips after she shut the door.

    Why was she suddenly getting close to him?

    That was the question that was etched deeply into his mind.

    As soon as Zhang Liling walked into her bedroom, she went to sit at the edge of the bed and typed away on her phone.

    Finding Fang Bingwen''s contact, she went to her phone gallery to select all the pictures she took a few minutes ago, and sent them to him.

    ''Mr. Fang, help me check how much it would cost to give this study a good vibe.'' She typed after sending those photos.

    Knowing that he wasn''t online yet, she went to her contact and clicked on his contact.

    ''Rrriiiinnng... rriiiinnnnnng''

    The phone rang for until Zhang Liling''s patience was almost exhausted.

    After failing to reach him through a call, she gave up and left him an SMS instead. That way, he would immediately check his chats after seeing the text from her.

    Towards evening, a call from Fang Bingwen came into her phone and the first question that spilled from his mouth was this...

    "I see you''ve got a new job. What are you up to?"

    She really was acting out of character as if she was trying to please her old man.

    Ignoring his question, Zhang Liling began to admonish him for not picking up when she called earlier.

    Look at the time he was returning her calls.

    "Mr. Fang, if I was in a state of emergency when I made those calls, is this how I would have been killed off?"

    She truly was expecting him to answer as soon as she called. She seemed to have forgotten that he was running an empire and wanted all of his time whenever she demanded for it.

    "You were not in an emergency otherwise you would have disturbed Bolin in order to get to me." Fang Bingwen retorted.

    Zhang Liling didn''t find his response funny and immediately fired back. "Mr. Fang, shouldn''t you be apologizing? We haven''t even married and you are already ying mind games with me."

    Fang Bingwen released a helpless sigh. Picking up his workbag, he walked toward the door.

    It was already time to get off work, so he was leaving for home already.

    The thing is that he forgot his phone in his office before leaving for a meeting.

    When he came back, he sent a file to a department through hisptop before starting to pack up his things.

    When he was done, he picked up his phone and saw the missed calls and text from her. That was when how he got to know about message she left him.<sub> </sub>

    He only returned her calls after going through them.

    It really was not really his fault.

    Over the phone, Zhang Liling heard the door open which was followed by the sounds of his steady footsteps along the empty hallway and couldn''t help but to ask.

    "Are you only getting off work now?"

    "Yes, I''ve been in meeting since noon."

    ''No wonder you are only calling back now,'' Zhang Liling thought to herself.

    Now understanding the situation, she refused to dwell on matters they did not make sense.

    "Mr. Fang, what do you think about my father''s study? I need to change most of the interior decors plus the painting on the wall."

    "If you want to keep things simple which I would suggest, it wouldn''t cost much." Breathing into the phone, he continued immediately, "Given your father''s age and his value, get him things that are simple and a bit pricy."

    Nodding in understanding, she asked, "How long will it take for the smell of paint to dissipate from the room?"

    "Approximately a week or two for normal Humans." Fang Bingwen replied.

    ''Ding!''

    The sound of the elevator arriving, alerted him. ncing at the empty space as the doors opened, Fang Bingwen stepped inside and pressed the <AB> button to go to the underground parking lot.

    At hisment, Zhang Liling erupted into series ofughter. "Hahahaha..."

    <o>,m He actually made ament about his sense of smell which was unlike him. He sounded so funny as there was not a hint of bother in his tone.</o>

    He seemed to have ovee that stage of his life where he had to be worried about his senses and the triggers.

    He truly hade a long way.

    "What made you want to help your father out?" He asked, getting off the elevator and making his way toward his car.

    He just knew she wasn''t an angel to assist her father without any strings attached.

    There was something she would be benefitting from it, and he was right because her response, confirmed his guess.

    "I want to make asting impression apart from the money I would make from this tiny project. Also, I would love to remain in his good books even though I can leave at will if he offends me."

    Zhang Liling was ready to abandon all her little efforts to suit his pride if he tried to act like a tyrant as he did concerning dating Fang Bingwen.

    She would not hesitate to show him that she didn''t care one bit about his opinion.

    "You are really something."

    Zhang Liling chuckled a bit before an idea hit her mind. Without hesitation, she probed as the corners of her lips curled into a smirk, her eyes, shing with a hint of mischief in them.

    "Mr. Fang, do you want toe to the Zhang House for a short visit?"

    "Are you bored out of your mind?" Fang Bingwen retorted immediately without giving her a second to catch her breath as he got into the back seat of his car.

 Chapter 305 Renovation

    She has truly lost her mind for wanting to invite him over to the Zhang house, when she was very clear of the hatred her father had for him.

    Hatred he didn''t know the genesis of.

    She was truly bored, or she wouldn''t havee up with a ridiculous idea that would immediately send her father into provocation.

    What happened to being in his good books?

    She couldn''t evenst a second.

    "What can I do? I have nothing better to do," Zhang Liling admitted.

    Well, she was only joking to get some reaction out of him.

    Regardless, she would like him to invite him over to her Zhang house, but that would beter when the time was right.

    From his workce to his vi, Fang Bingwen was on the same call as the person over the phone had no intentions of ending their conversation.

    From taking about the renovation of Zhang Renshu''s study, they moved over to her business and down to personal matters between them.

    Although Mr. Fang was tired out from work, he wasn''t disturbed about the call with her. In fact, he enjoyed it.

    Agate speaking with Fang Bingwen, Zhang Liling immediately started to contact numbers of the people that would help bring her idea to life.

    She was so lucky to have him in her life as he could so easily solve her problems with just a tap of the phone.

    After making reservations for tomorrow, Zhang Liling went into the kitchen to request for a bowl of fruits, walking over to the terrace to sit, where she found Zhang Xiaoling drinking a ss of wine.

    Not bothering to greet her, she sat on the egg chair, leaving her to upy the chaise lounge by herself.

    Tilting her head to the side at the sounds of approacjing footsteps, Zhang Xiaoling''s gaze followed her until she sat on the we chair.

    Frowning, she couldn''t help talking to her. "You are invading my space, can you leave?"

    "Huff..." Zhang Liling scoffed. "Did you by any chance reserve this space, or did you pay for it while the building project was going on?"

    "I came here first, that''s all that matters. Are you here to disturb my peace just like everyone else?" Zhang Xiaoling replied without tearing her gaze off her.

    She couldn''t help but to think that way as normally, they would both try to avoid each others space.

    After having people bugging her about having a child, she couldn''t rule out the possibility of Zhang Lilinging for the same matter or something else.

    Zhang Liling rolled her eyes. "You are thinking too much. I don''t have your time."

    "Rude bitch!" Zhang Xiaoling cursed under her breath, not caring if she heard it or not before turning away whilst seething in rage.

    Although she heard her cursing her under her breath, Zhang Liling chose to ignore her. The only reason she was not going to say anything about that, was because she didn''t have that kind of time to exchange words with her.

    "Why didn''t you tell my father about seeing me at the Fang family''s mansion?" she asked.

    Thinking about it now, Zhang Liling seemed to have remembered that her father would have started his scolding from the time she appeared at the old Lady''s birthday party instead of ck L''Intenseunch.

    Even though he didn''t grace the asion, she was sure that Zhang Xiaoling would have mentioned it to him, but she didn''t.<sub> </sub>

    And it''s just now that she was discovering it, making her to so badly want to know her reason.

    "You said you didn''te to disturb my peace, what are you doing now?" Zhang Xiaoling asked while ring at her.

    She was avoiding answering that question because she didn''t owe her any answer. Also, she could get back at her sharp tongue.

    A deep sigh escaped from Liling''s lips as she looked away from her.

    ''You don''t want to answer? Leave it then...''

    Just then, a servant brought over the bowl of fruits she had requested and handed it to her while trying to hide the surprise of seeing her sitting in the same space with Zhang Xiaoling .

    Taking the bowl from her, Zhang Liling nced at the bowl with about 5 different fruits mixed in it.

    There was red grape, cuts of green and red apple, watermelon,and pineapple in the bowl.

    Picking up her fork, she stabbed a red apple cut with it before sending it into her mouth.

    Instantly, a smile rose to her face. "The dash of lime is enough, you can go." She said to the servant waiting at the side.

    This was the very reason the servant was still waiting. Just in case she needed an extra lime, she could go back to the kitchen to fetch a cut of lime.

    Zhang Liling spent the rest of her evening at the terrace eating a bowl of fruit while sourcing for more ideas for her brandunch.

    As for Zhang Xiaoling, she left when she was done airing her mind.

    *******

    The next day, Zhang Liling left the house to start with her little project.

    She visited a few interior decor stores to pick some items before going to a paint store to choice the colour of oil paint she wanted.

    After shopping for a bit, she went out forunch before returning to the Zhang house to begin work immediately.

    By the time she arrived, the things she paid for, had already been sent over.

    Going straight to the store where everything was kept she had a good look at them to confirm the items she ordered before going to speak with one of the servants.

    "The painters will soon arrive. Send them in and call me." She instructed before leaving for her bedroom.

    At least she had to freshen up before they woulde.

    The only reason she was having some peace, was because she was basically the only family member in the house at the moment.

    She doubted that Shi Wenqian wouldn''t dare to step in her way if she was around.

    Several minutester, work started in Zhang Renshu''s study.

    Everything he had there was moved to another empty room on the same floor, so there could be another space for the painters to work.

    Fortunately, repainting the room didn''t take much time.

 Chapter 306 Building Hunt

    Within three days, Zhang Liling was done renovating her father''s study, and he was ready to move back in.

    She had to work fast in order for him to judge her speed and efficiency.

    Who knew if she was beginning to get interested in working in the Zhang Corp.

    Did she want a position there and was letting her father see her skills?

    Only her could answer these questions.

    After seeing her father move into his space again, she left the Zhang Mansion.

    The first time, Zhang Renshu stepped into the office after it was worked on, he had indeed been surprised with Zhang Liling''s taste and capabilities.

    She kept things simple including the colours of the items used in the space, and he appreciated that a lot better than anything else.

    Like she had said, he could already feel that he would work better in this new environment.

    Keen to know what how efficient he would be, he had it in mind to work in the study that night despite concluding earlier in the day about taking a break.

    Truly, he discovered that he was able to work longer than usual.

    Zhang Renshu was proud of Zhang Liling''s handwork, but there was someone who was worried.

    The father and daughter rtionship, was a threat to her ns for her son.

    With that, Shi Wenqian began to look for ways to speed up Zhang Mingyu''s uing marriage in order to force Zhang Renshu to give him the vice-president position of thepany.

    *******

    Returning back to her ce, Zhang Liling found peace without bothering about anyone plotting against her.

    After calling Fang Bingwen on phone to inform him about her return, she booked an official appointment with him to visit the few buildings he had found, before going straight to bed.

    *******

    Before the blink of an eyes, another weekend came, and Zhang Liling couldn''t wait to meet up with Mr. Fang for their building hunt appointment.

    After dolling herself up a bit, she picked up her handbag and made a beeline for the door.

    Taking the elevator, she went to the ground floor before stepping outside.

    The first thing that caught her eyes as soon as she stepped outside, the familiar ck car which belonged to Fang Bingwen.

    Instantly, the corners of her lips curled as a glint shed across her eyes.

    Happiness radiated from her eyes and she skipped her way to the ck car.

    "Mr. Fang!" she greeted with a face full of smiles and soon as she opened the front passenger door.

    Seeing the handsome man sitting behind the steering, gave her some kind of joy she couldn''t exin.

    It wasn''t everyday that she could catch the opportunity to be driven by him.

    Fang Bingwen''s eyes scanned her like the rays from a UV light as his fingers Instinctively loosened up on the steering.<sub> </sub>

    "Let''s go." He said after making sure that her outgit was appropriate for the right asion.

    Quickly, Zhang Liling got in and secured her seatbelt before turning to him with a smile.

    "Mr. Fang I missed you!" she announced with stars shining in her eyes.

    She seemed ted to see him after a few days of parting.

    "I can tell without you announcing it," he said, igniting the car engine before driving away from the parking space.

    Hitting the road, he added, "It is written all over your face."

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling giggled to herself. At least he wasn''t blind.

    "What about you, did you miss me?" she queried.

    "I did," he replied with his eyes on the road.

    He wasn''t just saying it because she asked, but because he truly meant it. He missed her troubles while she was gone.

    Zhang Liling was more then d with his admittance, and made it a goal to give him a breathing space. After all, it was not easy for someone like him to admit to his feelings.

    With Bolin''sption of the avable spaces for Zhang Liling''s business, Mr. Fang took note to visit all of them.

    The first ce they stopped at happened to be close to a big shopping mall.

    There was space avable in the building next to it, but it was only fit for a walk-in closet.

    After essing the store, Zhang Liling cast a long nce at Fang Bingwen.

    "This ce is good, but there isn''t enough space for the store. I want a ce big enough for customers to try the products with the free samples. We could use some little desk and seats."

    Understanding what she wanted for her store, he said to her, "Let''s go to the next one."

    Just like that, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang went on to visit different avable buildings at the heart of the city.

    Zhang Liling had a wide vision for what she wanted, making it difficult to ept the stores they had gone into.

    Fortunately, Mr. Fang had all the patience in the world to apany her on this trip as he had already made up his mind for it long ago.

    "It would have been best to raise a building structure of your own since you know what you want." He said on their way to the next building.

    "I don''t have the funds, and it will take a longer time which I don''t have." Zhang Liling sighed with her eyes darting around.

    She was already tired from the building hunt. How was she going to run herpany if she couldn''t take this much stress?

    Well, there were two different stakes here. She couldn''t ept the stress from the hunt, but she could do her best to make sure her business grew and stood the test of time.

    A few minutester, Mr. Fang''s car pulled over right in front of a three storey building close to a famous restaurant and a well-known spa.

    "Mmmm... I''m like this ce already." Zhang Liling said as her eyes followed the top of the building to its bottom.

    "This building was recently bought by a business tycoon from country X . The entire floors are empty, and the owner wants to rent them out to different people." Fang Bingwen revealed as he closed his car door with his gaze eyeing the building.

 Chapter 307 Building Owner

    "This is such a shame. I don''t want to look at this ce since I can''t get to liaise with the agent to rent two spaces out."

    Saying that with slightly creased brows, Zhang Liling turned to walk back to the car in annoyance, but her arms got pulled by Mr. Fang.

    "Where are you going? You want to leave without even trying?" He questioned with surprise shing past his eyes as the ends of his lips turned downwards.

    Sensing his surprise and the little bit of disappointmenttched on it, Zhang was quiet.

    "Is this how you are going to run your business? Just get prepared to fail." He cautioned.

    Then without giving her the chance to protest or think of the kind of reply to give to him, he pulled her towards the building at once.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t fight him. She had no choice but to obediently follow him inside with bitterness sprouting in her heart.

    Did he have to associate her impatience with the way she was going to run her business?

    She hasn''t even started and he was already scolding the hell out of her.

    Maybe asking for his help was a bad move. Now, he wouldn''t even give her a breathing space.

    ''This girl doesn''t even know when someone is testing her. She had to proudly fail it without even trying.'' Mr. Fang said as he walked in while pulling her by the hand.

    Releasing a deep breath while letting go of her arms at once, he slowly stopped on his steps.

    "You are free to look around. There is an elevator avable to take people to the 1st and 2nd floor if there is no energy to take the stairs." He exined.

    Zhang Liling was immediately interested once again and for that moment, she wanted to forget about the headache she would have from trying to convince the building owner to let her rest the number of spaces she wanted.

    At least if she liked this ce a lot, she can go everything to have it.

    With that new mind set, she set out to continue her tour as Fang Bingwen followed her, while exining a few things to her.

    Now at thest floor, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to react to her amazement.

    "Mr. Fang, you seem to know a lot about this ce. Did you visit this ce before me?"

    "Is that your problem now?" Mr. Fang asked, giving her a raised brow. "I''m giving you ideas of what you could use these spaces for, and you are only interested about my knowledge."

    Why couldn''t she listen to the important things he was talking about?

    "I''m sorry..." she apologized immediately after provoking him.

    Gazing at her, Mr. Fang couldn''t stop himself from letting her see that his patience was running out.

    They still had other ces to visit if she didn''t like here. There was no time to waste.

    Also, he wanted to make sure that there would be no hindrances with her brandunch.

    "Liling..." he started, but didn''t have the heart to go on.

    He didn''t want to scold her, she was his girlfriend now. He at least had to let her keep her face.

    Thinking that she was about to get scolded, Zhang Liling looked downwards while fiddling with her fingers.

    She didn''t dare to meet his gaze for fear of seeing the annoyance they beheld.<sub> </sub>

    But when thirty good seconds past with only the sound of heavy breathing from the man, she wondered what was going on and finally raised her head.

    Assoon as she met his eyes, she saw his faceing too close hers. With the fear of the unknown still hunting her, her instinct for survival kicked in and she immediately tried to escape.

    She had only taken a step back when the long arms of the man caught her waist before locking her in.

    Without warning, his pair of natural light pink lips came crashing down upon hers as her eyes widened in surprise.

    She was unable to give any other reaction to the sudden lip locking from him.

    What did she do to deserve a kiss? That was the question she thought to herself and shortly, she got the answer.

    Mr. Fang had no intentions of deepening the kiss.

    He only grazed the surface of her lips with his teeth before giving it a final touch by licking them with his cool wet tongue.

    Slowly, the hands circling around her waist dropped to his sides as he continued staring at her with an intense gaze.

    "You talk too much," he said, letting out a deep breath.

    "I know..." Zhang Liling managed to utter as she felt the absence of his warmth.

    Shifting his gaze from her, he nced at therge empty space before them and continued with his earlier suggestion.

    "This is a lot of space for office work. You will need to set up an office space to Josie the important departments for your store."

    Following his gaze to the space before them, Zhang Liling nodded inpliance as she could already envision the space carved out for her office.

    "I appreciate your suggestions, Mr. Fang. This ce is perfect. I could use the 1st floor for and a part of the ground floor for the store. The remaining space on the ground floor will be used for the warehouse."

    Hearing her conclusion, Fang Bingwen suggested again. "Why don''t you buy the entire building instead of renting them?"

    "What!" Zhang Liling''s mouth was left agape in shock.

    He was asking her to buy the building? Did he think of her as some rich heiress with excess money lying in her bank ount?

    Without hiding her mouth, Zhang Liling replied, "Mr. Fang, I can''t afford it. How about you be an investor?"

    "Really?" he probed as his eyes squinted at her.

    "Why not?" she retorted.

    "I am already cracking my head on how to convince the building owner to let me rent the entire space, surely, you can help ease my burden that way." She said as ck lines appeared on her face.

    She could already feel an iing headache already and here he was wanting to add more problems to her head.

    She couldn''t take it.

    A smile turned up at the corner of Fang Bingwen''s lips as his eyes curved into crescent moon.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, he tilted his head to the side as his eyes remained fixed on her face.

    "The building owner is right here. Can you try to convince him now?"

 Chapter 308 Negotiation

    Never would Zhang Liling have thought that Mr. Fang would be the building owner.

    <o>,m She just stood there with her mouth agape as her eyes searched his to depict the authenticity of his confession.</o>

    This news was indeed a bombshell.

    It never urred to Zhang Liling all this while she had been worried about getting her own business ce, that her boyfriend was an Architect.

    It really never came to her mind

    The building owner was right in front of her, and if she needed with help renovation, he could easily switch to his other title.

    What more was she asking for?

    Zhang Liling was lost for some time before Fang Bingwen decided to take her arms and lead her out.

    "If you have your renovation ns ready, you can let me know at any time so I can go through them before proceeding..."

    "No! We will n it together. I will need your guidance," she interrupted as soon as she got herself.

    "As you like. I am a little busy during this period. Time is money," he said giving her the side nce

    Giving him a raised brow, she asked, "You want me to pay you?"

    "Of course. For encroaching on my work and break hours."

    His response came almost immediately as he pulled her to the elevator and pressed the button.

    Getting his response, Zhang Liling stepped into the elevator with him, while refusing to break eye contact.

    ''Is he serious? He wants payment?''

    "Mr. Fang, I am your girlfriend. Do you have to charge me too?" she inquired with a doubtful gaze.

    She seemed to be unable toprehend his decision and to remind him of their rtionship.

    "Right now, you are my client." Fang Bingwen replied and right then, a ''ding'' sound went off from the elevator, signalling that they had arrived at the ground floor.

    "Fine. What do you want as payment?"

    Zhang Liling gave in to his demands and went further to try and bargain with him.

    "It can''t be money though because I''m short on funds. Do you want me to cook for you? I pretty much have learned the basics of making traditional foods. Which one do you want?"

    "Whooah!" Fang Bingwen eximed, putting his hands in front of her. "Can you calm down? I never said I wanted you to cook for me. I have a chef to soothe that need."

    A deep sigh fell off Zhang Liling''s lips as she slowly came to a stop and turned around to face him.

    "What do you want, Mr. Fang?" she asked as she stared right into his eyes.

    "Something that I can''t get from others. Something that only you can give to me." Fang Bingwen replied as a smirk yed at the corners of his lips.

    He spoke casually as if he didn''t mean what he said. He almost confused her about what he actually wanted, and if he was only pulling her legs.<sub> </sub>

    Hearing him make a statement like that, Zhang Liling nodded in understanding as different ideas began toe together in her head.

    ''Something only she could offer to him?'' She pondered.

    Fixing her gaze on him, she began to raise a few suggestions for him.

    "I can be a good wife to you because I love you, and I can tolerate your extremes. I can give you children when you want. I can warm your bed at night."

    Getting up to this point, a Zhang Liling took a deep breath without breaking her gaze.

    Despite listing down all of these, she was not done yet. She only exhaled to catch her breath in order to continue.

    "When you are sick, I will abandon my work to take care of you. My breasts andp willfort you when you need it. I will cook whatever you want. Any time and ce you want to have a go with me, I will ept it."

    Taking thest deep breath as her eyes watched him attentively, she added, "In summary, I will surrender myself to you."

    Fang Bingwen was speechless even after she was done speaking.

    She spoke so smoothly like it was a normal thing to make those promises.

    T way those words easily rolled off her tongue, excited him, but there was one thing he didn''t understand.

    Her breasts andp willfort him, how?

    Quickly, his surprises gaze changed from that of surprise to a doubtful one.

    Interested to find out what she meant by that, he asked as his hand went up to waist area.

    "What do you mean by your breasts and thighs willfort me? I have never heard of that before."

    Without hesitation, she exined to him.

    "Sometimes, you would want to rest your head on my thighs so I could run my hands through your hair. That is surely a good feeling you shouldn''t miss." She said, giving him the serious gaze.

    "Haha..." Fang Bingwen managed a smallugh while nodding. She was right.

    "What about your breasts? Surely, there is no need for them tofort me." He probed as his eyes searched hers.

    He was curious as to what reply she would give this time around. Fortunately, she didn''t disappoint.

    "I believe that you might sometimes want to rest your head on my chest or rub it with your face. Whichever method that brings you happiness, it''s all the same."

    Zhang Liling replied with her self-confidence rising to its peak.

    She believed that she couldn''t be wrong about this one.

    Fang Bingwen was amazed at her deductions as he raised a questioning brow at her. "Are you by any chance giving me ideas of what I could do with different parts of your body?" he asked, as he took a step forward.

    He clothes were nearly on the verge of brushing against her chest, and he didn''t care as his scrutinizing gaze remained fixed on her with no ns to back away.

    "No, Mr. Fang," Zhang Liling replied softly. "I believe that your instinct will lead you to explore when the time is right."

 Chapter 309 Engagement Promise

    Silence followed as none of them had any intentions of giving up.

    There main aim was to get the other to agree to their negotiation and convince them.

    Atst, Mr. Fang gave up.

    "Alright, I ept the deal." He said reaching out with his right hand as the corners of his lips tugged upwards.

    Zhang Liling reached out her hand to shake his as she managed a small smile.

    The deal was one.

    Taking his hand back, Fang Bingwen suggested. "Why don''t we get engaged soon?"

    As soon as those words echoed in the empty space they were standing in, Zhang Liling''s eyes widened in their sockets.

    "Engaged? Are you joking?" she asked in surprise.

    "I don''t joke with important things. I feel that we have known each other for a while now. One year and a few months is not little. We don''t need to date for 5 years before getting married."

    Fang Bingwen did not believe in long dating before finding out if his partner was good enough for him to want to spend the rest of his life with her.

    As long as youpliment each other, plus love, you guys are good to go.

    He truly had no patience to date someone for a long time before deciding to settle with them.

    Knowing his intentions, Zhang Liling was happy about it, but she did not immediately agree with him.

    "If we get engaged before my brandunch, everyone is going to say that you helped me toe this far, and I don''t want to hear that. I don''t want to feel useless."

    Zhang Liling did not hesitate before letting her fears known to him.

    She knew how this media worked, plus the mind set of the majority of the people.

    They wouldn''t believe that she could do things by herself. They would always associate her wins with the people around her, and she didn''t like it.

    Fang Bingwen understood that. Letting a sigh escape his thin lips, he took her hand and led her outside the building.

    "You don''t want us to get engaged till you haveunched your brand?"

    "Yes," Zhang Liling replied. Then seeing that they were leaving the store open, she diverted his attention to it.

    "We are not going to lock this ce up?" she asked, with a subtle of confusion visible on her face.

    After learning that he was the building owner, all sorted of thoughts began to flood her head.

    When they hade, the ce had been open and now they were going to leave it same way?

    Luckily, Mr. Fang did not allow her to think too much about it as he quickly exined things to her.

    "The caretaker is around the corner. He woulde to lock this ce up as soon as we leave."

    The reason she had not seen anyone up until now , was because he didn''t want anyone in their space, hence he gave an instruction earlier.

    "I see..." Zhang Liling trailed off as her eyes scanned the building one more time before getting into the front passenger seat of the car

    As soon as their car hit the road, Mr. Fang continued with their earlier conversation.<sub> </sub>

    "Liling, no matter what you do, people are going to have their opinion which is normal in this society. So if you are afraid that people would think you got help from me, your mother or your father before starting to your business, nothing is going to change no matter you do. Not everyone is going to listen."

    Fang Bingwen did not stop there. He continued with eyes on the road as he still had some things left to say.

    "If you have any other reason to postpone our engagement, you can let it out now. But you see the one you said earlier, it doesn''t count."

    If she said she wasn''t ready to be engaged, he would respect her decision. But if her reason has something to do with people''s opinion about her matter, turn that just didn''t make any sense to him.

    A long sigh escaped from Zhang Liling''s lungs. Sinking deep into contemtion, she refused to utter any word yet.

    She was considering what he had just said to see if they could go with it.

    Taking a moment off the road, Fang Bingwen tilted his head to the side as his eyes immediately found her face.

    He could see the lines on her forehead and her brows that were furrowed into worry.

    Thinking that he was forcing her to follow his lead, he decided to make things easy for her.

    He would hate to five her to do anything against her wishes for his selfish interest.

    Sighing, he turned his gaze back to the road.

    "We can get engaged without letting the media know. They can find out by themselves."

    Instantly, Zhang Liling turned her gaze to him as she left her pondering mode.

    Raising her left hand to him, she said, "Once a ring is attached to my finger, they are going to snap it and put up a write up. Guess the first thing that woulde to their mind?"

    Bringing her hand away from his view, she answered, "We are engaged."

    Shifting her gaze to the tall buildings along themercial Street the passed by, shesaid, "If you don''t mind me dumping my engagement ring at home before going out, I''m in this deal."

    Her idea was nothing for Fang Bingwen who immediately agreed to it.

    And to the surprise of Zhang Liling, he added...

    "Let''s go to City C in X country to pay a visit to FJ Styles after our engagement."

    "What? Are you serious, Mr. Fang? You''re going to take me to FJ Styles headquarters???" Zhang Liling screamed as her hand flew over her mouth to stifle the noise.

    If not that the car windows were rolled up and tinted, surely, nothing would have stopped her screams from attracting unwanted attention to them.

    But her joy was worthy of being expressed.

    Finally, he was going to take her to meet the famous loving couple she admired from afar?

    Zhang Liling felt butterflies in her stomach as she so badly wanted to hug and kiss Mr. Fang, but because he was behind the steering, she didn''t want to cause an ident.

    After all, she was get to meet Fu Hua and Jia Li.

    As if understanding what his statement truly meant, she quickly asked as her two rolls of white teeth came into view.

    "Mr. Fang, can we get engaged now?"

 Chapter 310 Disturbing His Sleep

    Zhang Xiaoling returned to the Tang family after almost spending two weeks at the Zhang Mansion.

    She was forced to leave when Zhang Renshu fixed his attention on her.

    Before the man could find out the real reason she wasn''t going back to her inws, she packed her bags and left, much to her mother''s displeasure.

    Returning to the Tang family, Zhang Xiaoling had the servants take her luggage up the bedroom she shared with Tang Ei while she followed behind them.

    As soon as she stepped into the familiar room she hadn''t been in for the past week, she allowed her eyes to take in the scene.

    ''At the room is tidy.'' She thought to herself as her gaze darted around.

    Zhang Xiaoling exhaled deeply before continuing in her steps as the servants walked away, giving her some privacy.

    After changing out of her clothes, she returned to the bedroom to sit on the bed.

    Later at night, during dinner time, she had no choice but to go downstairs to join the rest of the family to eat.

    Out of courtesy, she had greeted her mother-inw who snorted at her before throwing her face to the side, but she chose to ignore her tantrum.

    She was not going to let herself fall into the trap of arguing or provoking her after returning from a short break.

    Ignoring her mother-inw, she picked up her cutlery and began to eat just like the other young women her age at the dining table.

    "You are not going to ask about your husband?" Mrs. Tang inquired on seeing that she just went ahead to eat without asking questions.

    Currently, the seat next to her was empty which showed that Tang Ei was absent, but she didn''t seem to care.

    Her main concern was not to fight with her mother-inw otherwise, she would feel the stressing down to her at once.

    She just wanted to have a simple meal so she could return to her room to get a good night sleep.

    "Tsk...tsk..." You are not acting like a good wife.

    Turning her gaze away from her as the corners of her lips tugged downwards, Mrs. Fang added.

    "You are not acting like a good wife to my son. Ei may be the first family member to marry twice."

    "Oh!" gasp of shocks escaped form the lips of one of thedies at the dining table, but feeling the re from her mother-inw, she hurriedly shut her mouth and continued to eat.

    "Mum, it''s okay. Xiaoling is justing back, she should get some rest."Ei''s immediate younger brother, said with his gaze on their mother.

    Since there father was unavoidably absent, and his first brother unavable, the mantle was on him to keep the family at peace as their mother had forgotten how to do so.

    Mrs. Tang''s gaze briefly rested on her son before retracting it back to her food. Fortunately, she didn''t say anything else to Zhang Xiaoling till dinner was over.

    Zhang Xiaoling had no reason to concern herself with matters rted to the man that didn''t bother to care about her while she was away.<sub> </sub>

    Not once did he text or call her. And now, she was expected to act like the good wife by asking where he went to?

    She was not going to pretend in that case.

    Late at night when most people were sleeping, Tang Ei returned back home along with his father with three servants tailing behind them as they had just returned from a business trip.

    Bidding good night to his father, Tang Ei took the stairs along with the servants helping him with his briefcase and small suitcase.

    "Sir, Ms. Tang is back." The servant revealed

    Hearing that, his steps faltered a little. Letting out a sigh he continued. ''I thought she would have stayed there for a little longer. Why did shee back soon?''

    But right as they reached the door to his bedroom, he stopped and blocked the way as he stretched his hands out to the young maid.

    "I will take it from here."

    Immediately his properties were handed to him, he turned to bend the door handle before going into the dimly lit room.

    As soon as Tang Ei shut the door behind and turned around, he cast his long nce at the slim figure sleeping soundly on the bed with no emotions visible on his face.

    And in order not disturb her sleep, he tried to be soundless with his footsteps asbhe made his way toward the inner room.

    Several minutester, he emerged from the inner room dressed in his set of pyjamas and got into bed.

    Immediately his weight sank into the mattress, the woman stirred in her slip, letting out a moan through her slightly parted lips.

    His gazended on her as he watched her turn her back to him, her legs almost slipping out of the sheets.

    Seeing that, he paused in his actions until she was rxed and only then did he adjust the duvet to cover them both before resting his head on the hard pillow above his neck.

    The next morning, Zhang Xiaoling was woken up by the rm she had set with her phone.

    Hearing the irritating sound from her phone, her forehead creased slightly.

    Without opening her eyes, she reached out her hand for the other side of the bed to find the said phone as she tapped on the bed, but she ended up hitting a hard warm body.

    Instantly, her eyes squinted open as sleep left her eyes that moment. Tilting her head to the side, her eyes met the face of the man staring intently at her.

    "Are you not going to turn off that rm?" Tang Ei squinted his eyes at her with a subtle of irritation in his tone.

    He had returned home after a long flight in the middle of the night and just when he wanted to get a long rest as this was weekend, her rm had to wake him up.

    How unfortunate.

    ''When did he get back?'' Zhang Xiaoling thought, a little distracted with her eyes threatening to leave their house.

 Chapter 311 Her Way Of Apologizing

    Zhang Xiaoling was able to deduct that he hade home in the middle of the night as she got off the bed to find her phone.

    Seeing it on the nightstand, she hurriedly turned it off before going back to bed.

    At that same moment, Tang Ei shut his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But ten minutester, he was woken up by the same rm.

    This time around, he didn''t bother to conceal the irritation he felt from having his sleep disturbed.

    Sitting up in the bed with a deep frown settling on his forehead, he cast his gaze on the woman struggling to turn off the rm on her phone and hissed.

    "Ssssttsss..."

    Zhang Xiaoling panicked when she felt the bed rising as she turned to reach her phone to turn off the rm on her phone.

    She could feel the re on her back, but she did not dare to meet his gaze.

    Obviously, she was the one looking for trouble now, but it wasn''t her fault.

    While trying to turn off her rm, she had mistakenly swiped her phone screen toward the ''snooze'' button instead of the ''stop'' button.

    Because she still had some sleep in her eyes, she made that Greece mistake.

    "Sorry." She apologized as she ced her phone back on the nightstand while still remaining in the same sitting position.

    At that moment, Tang Ei had so many things to say to her. But knowing that he shouldn''t let anger get the best of him, he took several deep breaths before getting out of bed.

    He couldn''t try to get back to sleep for the second time when his body senses were already on alert.

    As Zhang Xiaoling remained facing the other side, she couldn''t see him leaving as the only senses she could make use of were her ears.

    Hearing the shuffling of slippers against the rug, her ears perked up to listen as he made his way into the inner room.

    Immediately the sound of door closing reached her ears, a long sigh escaped her lips as hershes briefly fluttered close.

    She would have loved to maintain this silence and indifference between them, but see her making a mistake by provoking him.

    That morning after freshening up, Zhang Xiaoling left the room and returned a few minutester with a cup of hot coffee in a tray.

    Straight from the door she made her way toward the man sitting and rxing his back on the bed. Putting the tray down on the nightstand next to him, she turned to leave without saying anything.

    As the aroma of the strong hot coffee filled his nose, Tang Ei felt his sensese alive. Retracting his gaze from the retreating woman, he nced at the cup of piping hot liquid.

    "Is this her way of apologizing?" He muttered under his breath.

    Without a second to waste, he reached out to grab the mug by the handle and brought the rims to his lips as he put his phone aside.

    Since she had disturbed his sleep, Zhang Xiaoling only thought it right to bring him a cup of hot coffee to feel better.

    *******<sub> </sub>

    "When next are you going to meet the Chu Family?" Shi Wenqian came asking as soon as she stepped into the dining room.

    She had far long exhausted her patience from waiting for him to bring up the topic of Zhang Mingyu''s marriage.

    Leaving her with no choice, she thought it wise to take reins by herself.

    Zhang Renshu tilted his head to the side as his brows furrowed with a frown settling in the middle of his forehead.

    "Is this how to greet your husband?" he queried as he watched her settle in her chair.

    "Oh!" she eximed with a look of feigned surprise shing across her eyes as she turned to meet his gaze. "I didn''t know someone still cared about being acknowledged."

    Saying that, she turned her attention back to the dining table, ncing at the several breakfast optionsid out in front of her.

    "These servants have started wasting food again!" she uttered through gritted teeth, totally ignoring the unhappy man.

    Nodding to himself, Zhang Renshu thought himself to be a fool to have bothered to respond to her in the first ce.

    He was better off ignoring her like he has been using. Truly, there was no use trying tomunicate with her.

    "Shi Wenqian, I believe that next time, you should first acknowledge me before going on to ask any question. If not, don''t bother to open your mouth." He warned.

    "As long as you promise to respond to them, then I have no problems greeting you every morning."

    "I can see that you have started to bare your fangs again after spreading your wings. Be warned and act ordingly."

    Zhang Renshu red at her one more time before finally moving his gaze away. ''Iy looks like she has forgotten what it feels like to be pped.''

    ''Zhang Renshu, just wait. If I can''t own your Zhang Corp, I will destroy it by bringing it to dust.'' Shi Wenqian swore as she picked up her cutlery to eat.

    *******

    Several dayster, Zhang Liling''s building was ready to move in after Mr. Fang helped her with the architectural work.

    Finally, the renovations where done, and all she was left with now, was to hire workers.

    Immediately, after fixing the items she would need in her office, and therge office space for her workers, she continued to work on her advertisement.

    She was nning tounch her brand in the middle of the next month, hence, she had to do her best.

    Today, she was on a long call with her mother and the manufacturingpany working on her products.

    "Mum, when will the goods be shipped?"

    "In 2 weeks. They products are currently being packaged. Once they are done, they would be shipped over at once." Song Jujing replied.

    "That''s fine. Theunch will hold soon, but I want everything to be ready at least two weeks before the date." Zhang Liling said nervously.

 Chapter 312 Talking Dirty

    Zhang Liling was pretty nervous about her brandunch as it was the biggest step she would be taking in her life.

    Never had she nned something big like this for herself. So it was indeed a bold step for her.

    She couldn''t help but a little bit nervous with the whole situation.

    Song Jujing could sense the anxiety in her daughter''s tone and tried to calm her nerves.

    "Liling, there is nothing to worry about. I am here to make sure the products get to you on time. But first, we have to make sure that there is no problem at our end to avoid emergency returns and alterations."

    Since Zhang Liling left Paris, her mother had been the one keeping watch over her product finishing and packaging.

    Luckily, she had a supportive mother who was willing to help her out with tasks like this while she was resting in another country.

    Zhang Liling felt her nerves calm down a bit after her mother''s assurance.

    "Alright, I will leave them in your hands. Thank you, Mum."

    Zhang Liling was grateful for her mother''s help and wished to give her a big hug. She didn''t know what she would have done without her.

    "You''re wee. Eat properly and send my regards to Bingwen. I''m d he is already a big help to you over there."

    Song Jujing said with a voice rich in happiness.

    She was happy that her daughter found a man that was willing to support her goals and vision. Not all men were like that, and she was grateful for the blessing that cane her way.

    "Sure. Take care of yourself and don''t over exert yourself," Zhang Liling said with a heart filled with joy.

    She was grateful for a good mother. At least if she did not have a good and supportive father, she had a mother that filled in the gap.

    After the call with her mother, Zhang Liling felt her throat was dry and casually went into the kitchen to find a cold drink to soothe her throat.

    Finding only bottles of water lined up in her refrigerator, her mood dampened.

    Left with no choice, she picked up one and started to drink from it after uncapping the bottle as her eyes rampaged through the refrigerator in search of something.

    When she finished drinking to her fill, she out the bottle back and reached out to pick the fruits in her refrigerator.

    "Time for some smoothie!" She announced excitedly as she immediately got to work.

    Since there was nothing to snack on, she figured that she could that she could enjoy a ss of smoothie to replenish the glucose her brain had used up since the entire day.

    Taking some ice cubes from her freezer, she poured then into her blender.

    After that, she got her got her fruits ready.

    There were some bananas, lemon, green apples and strawberries washed up and put into a transparent ceramic bowl.

    Without wasting time, she carefully poured her fruits into the blender. Next, she picked up a bottle of milk which she took from the freezer and poured half a ss into the blender before setting it aside.

    "Time to blend," she said to herself while sticking out her tongue as a glint shed across her eyes.

    A few minutester, the smoothie was ready.<sub> </sub>

    Since there was more than enough in the blender, she took out more containers before stacking them in thr refrigerator.

    After washing the blender and putting everything aside, she picked up one ss from the fridge, pitting a straw into it, she went away.

    "Mmmm... I love this." She said, letting the straw slip out from her mouth as her eyes darted to the rich creamy colour of the thick substance in her transparent d.

    As the thick vour and taste of the drink filled her nostrils and tongue, a thought came to her mind.

    "Mr. Fang should try this."

    With that, she went to find her phone. She ended up clicking a few pictures of the smoothie and sent them to Fang Bingwen with a message alongside.

    ''Mr. Fang, do you mind stopping for a ss of smoothie on your way back from work?''

    A satisfied smile filled her lips as she sucked her drink through the ck stic straw. Her fingers tightly grasping the ss to prevent it from slipping off her hands.

    A few minutester, a ''chime'' sound came from her phone and she literally flew with speed to snatch her phone from the table.

    Seeing that it was a message from Mr. Fang, she quickly out down the remaining content of her ss down just so she could read his message and send off a response.

    Clicking on the message, it opened as her eyes slowly scanned it as she did not want to miss any letter in the sentence.

    ''I will drop by in 3 hours. I hope you don''t have the intentions of feeding only smoothies to me. I am a full frown man.''

    "What.... Hahahaha..."

    Zhang Liling couldn''t help giggling to herself. Did he have to remind her that he was a full grown man?

    He really was very funny.

    After catching some fun, she quickly sent a reply to him.

    ''Mr. Fang, I do not have the resources to feed a full grown man. I can only feed a baby with my milk.''

    Fang Bingwen: "¡ã ¡ã"

    On seeing her response, Mr. Fang paused as he was taken aback by shamelessness. But instead of ignoring her, he sent an equal crazy response across.

    ''I will manage the little you can offer. It is better than starving.''

    When Zhang Liling who was waiting patiently for his reply saw the message he sent, a blush crept up to her cheeks as her throat produced sounds ofughter.

    "This man... He really is something else..." she mumbled to herself as her fingers flew on her phone screen.

    ''Mr. Fang, I am afraid my milk will not be able to satiate yourrge appetite, after all, you are a full blown adult male. You can get a few things on your way here or manage the smoothie I can offer.''

    As soon as she finished typing away this reply, she got the send button as a smirk turned up at the corners of her lips.

    She could barely wait for his response toe as she was having fun talking dirty with him.

    He was really starting to loosen up unlike before.

 Chapter 313 Staying For The Night

    Somehow, Zhang Liling did not have to wait for long before Fang Bingwen''s response came.

    ''Make sure to cook up a meal if you don''t want to be eaten clean tonight.''

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling cringed at the response she got from him and she literally ran away from her social App.

    Was this really Mr. Fang?

    She was indeed surprised at his dirty talks. She thought she was an expert in this, but who knew that the man who usually looked disinterested in stuff like this would be a pro.

    How did he manage to keep that kind of talent hidden all this while?

    Zhang Liling had indeed met her match.

    After getting over her fluttering in her chest, she hurriedly ran into her bedroom to get dressed before picking up a wad of cash and her handbag.

    She didn''t want to be eaten clean, hence, she booked a ride down to thergest supermarket in the city to get some stuff she could she to cook something for him.

    Without wasting time, she left her apartment and took the elevator to the ground floor before getting into the cab she had booked earlier.

    A few hourster, Zhang Liling heard her door bell ring while in the kitchen and hurriedly took off the kitchen gloves before going over to check the door.

    She wasn''t expecting any other person then Fang Bingwen hence, she hurried over with her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

    Just the thought of him already waiting right outside her door, reminded her of the kind of conversation they had earlier that day.

    Once again, she felt a slight pain on her cheek bone as she pressed the button to unlock her door.

    As soon as she opened the door, she saw him standing there dressed in a ck pant with a ck shirt hugging the tight muscles of his chest.

    Seeing the ck suit jacket on his right arm, she nced over to his empty hand before her gaze moved up to his face.

    His hair was smoothened out and looked very clean unlike the speck of tiredness she could see on his face.

    "You look tired, Mr. Fang." She said while still standing between the door and the frame.

    "That''s the more reason you have to let me in before a grown man would copse in front of the door to your apartment." Fang Bingwen replied as his gaze followed her feet up to her face.

    Zhang Liling was currently wearing a pair of fluffy white flip-flops on her feet.

    Probably she was putting on a short dress as the apron covered the length of it, making it difficult to tell where it reached.

    Her hair waspletely disheveled as some beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.

    She stood there staring at him with eyes as a big as a doll.

    Hearing his joke, a small smile yed on her lips as she opened the door wide and shifted to the side so he could pass.

    With a smirk turning up at the corners of his lips, Fang Bingwen stepped inside, and that was when Bolin who had been standing outside away from sight, came into her view.

    Smiling at her, he immediately greeted her as he put up Fang Bingwen''s workbag and a portable travel bag in front of her.<sub> </sub>

    "For Mr. Fang." He simply said as he offered her a small smile.

    ''Is he staying over for the night?'' Zhang Liling couldn''t get the picture even after taking the things from Bolin and shutting the door after he turned away.

    Walking into the living room, she noticed that the man had already made himself at home.

    He changed into the pair of male slippers she had bought for him some time ago, and was already making his way into the sitting room.

    Unable to understand his intentions, she quickly followed after him. "Mr. Fang, are you passing the night here?" she asked with her gaze on him.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, Fang Bingwen nodded. "Yes. Why? You don''t want me here?"

    He had in fact, made it clear to her when he was asking her to prepare food for him.

    Would he be making such request instead of epting the smoothie she offered him?

    She was the dumb one for not understanding his intentions.

    "No, it''s not that. I am only surprised that you would want to spend the night at my ce. I thought you were running from me." Zhang Liling answered as she by passed him to walk through the short corridor.

    "There is nothing to fear." Fang Bingwen said as he followed after her.

    But to Zhang Liling, there was something to fear. Before, she used to be the one terrorising him and he would be the one running, but it looks like the tides has changed.

    There was something to be afraid of.

    Without wasting time, she led him into the second room she had put together for him.

    " you want a hot water bath?" she asked as she opened the door to the closet.

    "I will take it up from here, go and finish up with the cooking in the kitchen." He said to her.

    She smelled of grilled chicken and herbs, plus the aroma of the fooding from the kitchen. He wouldn''t be med if the food turned into coals all because she wanted to serve him.

    He was not a child here.

    "Alright. Call me if you need anything." Zhang Liling said before leaving.

    If not for his reminder, she would have forgotten about the food on fire.

    The next few minutes, Zhang Liling worked her ass off in the kitchen to finish up the food on fire.

    The first thing she did was to check the stuff she had in her oven.

    Thankfully, the chicken she was grilling didn''t burn.

    Taking the pan out from the oven, she ced it on the counter before walking up to the table gas to check the food on it.

    Several minutester, the food was ready and after serving it, she went to the second room to look for Mr. Fang.

 Chapter 314 Hiding Away

    cing her ear on the door, Zhang Liling called out as she listened for any sound. "Mr. Fang."

    Not getting any response, she tried calling out to him again, but got interrupted midway.

    "Mr. Fan..."

    "Enough of this Mr. Fang." Fang Bingwen said as soon as he opened the door, shutting her up at the same time.

    Staring at him, hershes fluttered. "Y-You don''t like it?"

    Fang Bingwen stepped out of the room proper and closed the door without turning his back to her.

    "When will you start to address me by my first name?"

    "Maybe when I get the hang of it, Bingwen." shing him a smile, she took his hand and led him toward her small dining area.

    "We have to enjoy the food while it''s still hot."

    Fang Bingwen shook his head as he allowed her to lead him.

    She was having fun ying with him although he could not deny that whichever way she addressed him, sounded good.

    He had only felt the need for her to change her mode of address in case they were in front of their families.

    She couldn''t make any mistake like that otherwise, it would look like their rtionship was fake.

    In the dining room, Zhang Liling poured some water in their sses before sitting.

    As soon as Fang Bingwen stepped into the dining area, his gazended on the tes of food served in the table and couldn''t help but be amazed.

    "Your skills gave improved," hemented while going over to sit down.

    "Of course. I had to learn because of you. Didn''t you perceive the aroma of the food when you stepped into the house?" Zhang Liling asked, proudly shing him her two sets of teeth.

    It was only because she pictured a future with him that she had to go and learn how to cook even though he didn''t mind.

    One skill she believed that a woman should have before getting married, is cooking skills.

    Even if a man is not in the picture at least as an adult, you should be able to cook one or two for yourself.

    In Zhang Liling''s case, she learned to please Fang Bingwen.

    To her question, Fang Bingwen replied, "Sometimes, a good aroma is not always associated with a grand taste of the food."

    In essence, he was saying that a food that produces a good aroma, doesn''t always turn out delicious when tasted.

    Understanding him, Zhang Liling said in defence. "But mine is different. I would never have this kind of confidence if I didn''t know how to cook, or do you think I would ask you toe and sit and eat an unhealthy food?"

    "I will try it first." Fang Bingwen said as he picked up his cutlery.

    Ignoring the rice, soup and side dishes ced in front of him, he went straight for the golden colour voured roasted chicken in front of him.

    Using his cutlery, he cut a piece for himself before picking it up with his fork and sent it into his mouth.

    He chewed the meet in his wife for a few seconds without letting any expression on his face reveal his thoughts.

    All the impatient Zhang Liling who was waiting for hispliment could do, was to watch him patiently.<sub> </sub>

    Feeling her gaze on him, Fang Bingwen did his best to ignore her until he hadfortably eaten a few more pieces from the grilled chicken.

    "How is it?" Zhang Liling asked impatiently after observing that he wasn''t going to say anything if she didn''t show any interest.

    "The taste entered the meaty part." Mr. Fang replied. Raising his head to meet her intense gaze, he added, "You did well."

    "Thank you." Zhang Liling said as the ends of her lips immediately curled into a smile. Gesturing to him with her chopstick, she continued.

    "Enjoy the rest of your meal."

    Just like that, the couple started their dinner with satisfaction.

    In the middle of eating, Fang Bingwen grabbed the ss of water by his side to drink from it, which got Zhang Liling''s attention immediately.

    "I forgot to get a bottle of wine." Shemented as her lips drew into a pout.

    Bringing the ss to his lips, he took a few sips before putting it down. "There is no need for wine today as we have a lot of work tonight."

    "Work? What work?" Zhang Liling muttered under her breath, her brows creasing into a slight frown.

    Did hee here just to work?

    As if not being able toprehend his statement, she leaned in close to ask softly. "Mr. Fang, did youe here to work?"

    "Did you think that something else other than work would make me want to sleep over at your ce if not for work?" Fang Bingwen retorted while giving her the side nce.

    She really was something else.

    It took a little while for Zhang Liling''s brain to assimte his statement.

    He came to her ce to work? What kind of work?

    With a little confusion writing all over her face, she couldn''t help but to ask about it.

    Without dying, Fang Bingwen talked about the details of the work.

    "The promotional graphics and videos for the ads are ready. We have to start releasing them this night so that by tomorrow morning, we will a good traffic on the inte. There..."

    Zhang Liling listened calmly while watching him speak with all seriousness in his tone.

    She was starting to get the hang of being a business woman.

    "Bit I don''t what anyone to know I''m the owner of the brand yet. Truth be told, I am scared of that woman in the Zhang Family." Zhang Liling revealed after Fang Bingwen asked her to promote her brand under her social media ount.

    She was afraid of Shi Wenqian and what that woman would do after learning that she was starting her own business, despite having someone like Fang Bingwen by her side.

    It''s not like she didn''t have the guts to face her, but she didn''t want her business to face any harm before its opening. It was still too early.

    "You shouldn''t be afraid of her when you have me. I won''t let any harme to you and your affairs." Fang Bingwen promised with a serious expression on his face.

    He was not about to let the woman he had chosen to spend the rest of his life with, suffer any harm because of a useless side character he wouldn''t mind doing everything outside his powers to erase from the face of the Earth.

    Zhang Liling was his woman now. It was only right that he should protect her with everything he''s got.

 Chapter 315 Company Owner

    Even with Mr. Fang''s assurance, Zhang Liling refused to change her mind about her decision.

    She insisted on not promoting her brand directly under her, forcing Fang Bingwen toe up with another solution which she willingly epted.

    Everyone, including their friends from different countries were going to promote her brand ''Glint'' and bit just them alone.

    With so many people from different parts of the world promoting the brand, including people from outside of their circle of friends, it would be hard for anyone to know that she was the true owner.

    Fang Bingwen was trying to tie any loose ends to ensure that she didn''t regret any decision because if her stepmother who was not worth it.

    After discussing for a while, they got into action to start promoting her new brand.

    First things first, Fang Bingwen created a group and added all of their friends and acquaintances to it before addressing them.

    He made it clear of who the brand actually belonged to, while asking them to keep it to themselves.

    Next, he set out a few instructions for a of them to follow.

    At the end of the day, they were also going to share the graphics to their different friends and families to help promote the brand and make it go viral.

    Meanwhile, the online ads were already running.

    When Chuanli saw the message, he was the first to start creating an awareness before going on to message Zhang Liling concerning her brand.

    He was already tackling her for not telling her about a great n like that.

    Soon, more of Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s friends who were still awake and was online at that time, immediately started promoting ''Glint''

    Seeing her brand ads already being promoted online, Zhang Liling felt a sense of joy and aplishments within her.

    She was excited to have started something for herself.

    That night, only Fang Bingwen started to promote the brand on his page. With Zhang Liling avoiding any thing that would link her to it because if the enemies she had.

    The n was for her to wait a few days before deciding to start creating the awareness on her page that way, people would think she was just following her boyfriend.

    After the matter of her brand ads was taken care off, Zhang Liling brought up another important topic, and that happened to be the matter about employees.

    "It''s not too early to start scouting for them. That way, you will know you have everything ready. This will give you enough time to change anything." Fang Bingwen said while staring into her eyes.

    "But I don''t know how to go about it. This is my first time starting apany, what if I make mistakes? I can''t hire a bunch of people who do not have any work experience. My business and I will suffer." Zhang Liling grumbled.

    She too was a newer in the field. She couldn''t afford to hire newbies like her otherwise, she was better off being an employee under anypany of her choice.

    This was her problem. How to get the right people to work for her.<sub> </sub>

    A deep sigh escaped from Fang Bingwen''s lungs as he ced his hand on her shoulder and drew her in.

    "Don''t worry about that, we will do this together." He said, his soft tone resounding in her ears.

    Leaning her head on his shoulder, she expressed her gratitude for his help.

    "Thank you so much, Mr. Fang. I don''t know what I would have done without you by my side. You are indeed a blessing to me."

    "It''s nothing. It''s one of the least things I could do to help you. You haven''t asked for my liver yet." He said as a smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

    Even at this serious moment, he couldn''t help joking with her.

    That goes to show just how much his sense of humour had increased after he let himself lose in front of her.

    Zhang Lilingughed at his joke and hit him on the chest lightly. He didn''t seem to stop amazing her.

    Over the next few days that followed, Fang Bingwen helped her with hiring employees for her brand, which included office workers for different departments and store attendants, while she registered her business and got the licence.

    Twice before her goodsnded in City S, Zhang Liling hung out with Tungmei who asked her out after having not seen each other for a few weeks despite being in the same city.

    The first time they both hung out, the two couldn''t stop talking about how demanding their job has been.

    "Do you dare toin when you are the CEO of a future multi-million dorpany?" Tungmei queried as soon as Zhang Liling mentioned that she was stressed.

    She couldn''t help rolling her eyes at her.

    "Hahahaha... Do you have something against me?" Zhang Lilingughed as she watched the frown on her friend''s face.

    For some funny reason, she seems to be annoyed and soon, she found out why.

    "You are the owner of thepany and you dare to say you are stressed? What about employees like us? If you say you are stressed, that means we have no hope."

    Tungmei said this based on how most employees of differentpanies were treated as they were the ones that got the main jobs and being in that field, she felt to rte to how her very good friend was stressed.

    For her, employees were the ones that did most jobs in apany, while the Bosses just looked over their work.

    "I can see how much anger you hold against the Big Bosses and owners of any running business, but believe me when I say that I am stressed. CEO''s do go through a lot of stress too."

    Zhang Liling went on to give her instances by making her understand that nopany owner would want his or her businesses to go down since they out w lot of effort into building.

    In summary, she was trying to tell her that most of the times, it was thepany owner that worked the hardest, as they would be doing everything they can to make their business continue to stand strong, while trying to expand.

 Chapter 316 A Task

    Zhang Liling made sure to convince Tungmei at the end of the day about just how stressful being apany owner was.

    "Just look at me, I haven''t had the time to take a break because of my work."

    "I guess this is what you signed up for." Tungmei retorted as she slurped her juice while looking away from her

    Slowly, she hade to an agreement with her.

    A series of chuckles escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as she watched her.

    "I guess taking you out would help to calm your hot head."

    "It really should otherwise you would hear that I killed someone at work." Tungmei released a deep breath to calm her nerves.

    Raising a questioning brow, Zhang Liling probed while giving her the side nce. "Someone at work is annoying you? Surely it can''t be Mingyu, right?"

    Tungmei scoffed in annoyance. Then without giving her the chance to think, she dropped the bombshell.

    <o>,m "Oh! You don''t know what is going on. There is an intern that came in at the same time as me, and she is very annoying and likes to show off. Apparently, she might be your half-brother''s secret girlfriend."</o>

    "Secret girlfriend?"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t believe her ears. Her half-brother had a secret girlfriend from his work ce?

    What about his marriage ns to a girl from the same league as the Zhang family? Had he forgotten about that or he just wants to have some fun first?

    Zhang Liling was suddenly curious as the feeling of surprise slowly turned to curiosity.

    Interested in the affairs of the young man that had no rations to her in any way, she began to question Tungmei who remained adamant at her own decision.

    "Curious to know about your brother? Then you have to schedule another date with me. Cause if I tell your everything I know, who knows when next we would get to sit like now."

    Tungmei was very smart with her condition for spilling all she knew about Zhang Mingyu''s secret rtionship.

    She knew very well that her best friend would get busy with work since she had a lot on her hands, but she had to at least have a leverage against her otherwise, how would she get to talk to her and clear her head after a stressful day at work?

    "Alright. Let''s chat about it some other time," Zhang Liling conceded with a small smile ying at the corner of her lips.

    Zhang Liling understood her friend''s plight and decided to give in to her.

    The reason she was not lonely like Tungmei was because she had a supportive mother by the side. Not just that, she also had a boyfriend and herpany matters.

    Tungmei on the other hand, seemed like her life was turning upside down. She had annoying parents that always disturbed her for money. She barely had any savings.

    Now at work, as an intern, she had so much work to do plus annoying colleagues as well.

    Basically, she was the only person she had that was good to her and she was willing to make sacrifices for her even though it looked like her schedule was already choked up at the moment because of herpany.

    The second time the two friends met again, Tungmei spilled all she knew about Zhang Mingyu and his secret girlfriend.

    "I nearly caught them kissing one day I stepped into Mingyu''s office to find Mika as she had been gone for a pretty long time. But guess what..."

    "They pretended that nothing was going on?" Zhang Lilingughed.

    Tungmei nodded as she mmed her palm on the table. "You are right on point. They both acted like I was a fool. Immediately I stepped in, your brother pretended to be showing something to her on hisptop."

    "Hahaha... They must have really thought you were a fool." Zhang Liling chuckled while pointing her week index finger at her.

    The situation was not funny, but the annoyance spread across Tungmei''s facez made her erupt inughter.<sub> </sub>

    She could tell just how annoyed she must have been with their pretence.

    "I actually felt like going up there to p Mika''s cheeks. But I couldn''t as it was not my ce." Tungmei continued through gritted teeth.

    It was truly aggravating to find the one person that gave you troubles, out there almost making up with the brother of your friend in his office.

    After leaving her desk to go and submit a file to Zhang Mingyu''s office for over several minutes, Tungmei was sent to go and look for her, making her abandon the work she had a target to finish.

    Tungmei actually felt like pping that rosy cheeks of hers.

    Gradually, Zhang Liling''s chuckle died down as her facial expression turned serious.

    "Well, I known Mingyu very well. Even if he was dating that girl, it would all be for fun. He would never be serious about it because he has a wife prospect."

    What she actually meant was simple. Zhang Mingyu was not foolish enough as to have a serious rtionship with that kind of girl when she was not the kind of person he would want to marry.

    Even if he truly liked her, he was already aware that he would never be able to end up with her.

    It was not in the Zhang family that you would end up with someone of that social status.

    Leave Zhang Renshu aside, Shi Wenqian would never allow that.

    That woman that was power hungry was doing all she could just to get the best candidate for a daughter-inw based on her family''s background.

    Zhang Liling wouldn''t be surprised if Shi Wenqian went as far as trying to get rid of any girl that was not of standard that came close to her son and be attached to him.

    She was capable of doing something as simple as that.

    Tungmei shook her head. "I guess they are having fun indeed. I wonder who is going to get hurt."

    Looking into the distance, Zhang Liling said as her lips curled into a smirk. "It would be good if there rtionship turned out great so I can have some evidences in my hand."

    "What are you going to do with it?" Tungmei asked, her eyes squinting at her as if trying to depict her inner thoughts.

    "Something big."

    Tilting her head to the side, she replied before going on to make a request.

    "Tungmei, I will need your help. Please help me get so many pictures of them together as you can. It would be good if you can get one. I know the task will be a bit difficult given the work space, but you have to try for me."

    Sliding her fingers against the transparent ss in front of her, she added, "I need to teach someone a lesson soon."

    She could at least use those pictures to provoke Shi Wenqian a little.

    Who knows what her reaction would be seeing those kind of photos on the. Surely she would be displeased.

    Tungmei agreed as she was with her on her ns. "l do what I can."

    "Let''s go shopping after my brand''sunch." Zhang Liling announced, taking her hands in hers.

    There was a big smile on her face as her brows moved upwards in a funny way.

    It''s been a long time. And since her friend could not afford to spend money on herself, the least she could do as someone privilege was to help out.

    Tungmei finished the rest of her drink all smiles as the stress she felt after a day at work, came dissipating into the empty air.

    "I wouldn''t want to remind you of your promise" She said, sending a wink across their table.

 Chapter 317 Move To Cheer Her Up

    Today, Zhang Liling received a call that her goods had arrived from the port, so she had to quickly go over to take them.

    Thankfully, she was prepared as she had already booked a van for a day like this, days ago.

    About half an hourter, she left with the van for her store after loading in her goods.

    It took another half an hour to off-load the goods.

    Seeing another pile of stressful work waiting for her, she picked up her phone and called Fang Bingwen.

    "Mr. Fang, I am so tired." Sheined as she sat on a chair and watched the men carrying different tightly wrapped boxes inside.

    "What did you do that made you tired?" Fang Bingwen asked as he signed of a document on his desk before Bolin turned the next page for him.

    "My goods arrived today. Currently they are being off-loaded from the van. I haven''t done anything all day apart from waiting for a call to inform me of their arrival, but I am already tired as it is. I have a lot of work to do. I need to sort them out."

    Zhang Liling spoke weakly as if she was about to die, with a hint of frustration in her tone which was clearly observed by Fang Bingwen.

    "What do you have employees for? Hand them their employment letters so they can start work immediately." He instructed as he put his pen down.

    Bolin closed the document and took it with him as he left his office, leaving him with maximum opportunity to concentrate with his conversation with her.

    "Don''t tell me you were nning to sort those goods out by yourself?"

    Silence ensued, confirming that she was actually thinking of doing the whole job by herself.

    "I forgot I had people..." Zhang Liling whined.

    She didn''t know how to describe her condition. Maybe she was too stressed from organizing so many things since the past few days.

    She barely had time to take a break apart from the sleep she took at night.

    Her brain seemed to be ying tricks on her.

    "I can see that you can''t keep yourself in order. Come over to my ce." Fang Bingwen suggested.

    He could already tell how tired she was from experience.

    He had at least started his perfumepany from scratch, so he could rte to how stressed she was.

    And knowing that she would probably do some work when she returned to her apartment in the evening, he thought about hering over to his ce so he could keep an eye out for her.

    He would not hesitate to seize her phone and gadgets if she refused to listen to him.

    He was that determined to make her rest.

    "Mr. Fang, can youe and pick me up from my ce? I am not in a very good mood to board amercial or private vehicle. My nerves are at another level," Zhang Liling requested with ck lines on her forehead.

    Her brows were knotted into a tight frown. Her entire face goes to show how frustrated and tired she was.

    She couldn''t beer it any longer.

    "What is going on at the moment?" Fang Bingwen inquired.

    ncing at the men still moving things, she replied sluggishly. "The goods are still being moved."

    "Okay. Try to monitor them till they finish offloading the goods. When they are don, lock up and go home. Once you step into your apartment, inform me."

    "Won''t that be a littlete? Why don''t I call you as I''m about to leave for my ce?" Zhang Liling suggested instead.<sub> </sub>

    She really wanted to see him as soon as possible just so she could run into his embrace to seekfort.

    "I am giving you some time to pack up so we can leave as soon as I arrive." Fang Bingwen exined the reason behind his suggestion.

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling eximed softly.

    Fang Bingwen took a deep breath as his mind began to work quickly on how to cheer his girlfriend up.

    "Don''t worry, you will see me soon," he assured her.

    "Okay."

    Zhang Liling''s tonecked enthusiasm, and it was very obvious given how cheerful she always was.

    She was truly tired as her mind raced back to what Tungmei said aboutpany owners.

    In her mind, she was already daring her to say that again.

    None of their different job description had it easy.

    After getting off the phone with Fang Bingwen, Zhang Liling hoisted her weak and unwilling body up to go and monitor the men moving her goods into the warehouse.

    As soon as they were done, she picked up her bag and locked up the ce before gging down a cab outside.

    A few minutes after speaking with Zhang Liling, Mr. Fang closed hisptop and all the files scattered on his desk before taking his phone, his suit jacket and his work bag.

    As his girlfriend''s mind was not settled, he too was a bit restless.

    Straight from work, he stopped by a cafe to buy a few things before continuing his journey to Zhang Liling''s ce.

    By the time he got there, he got her call and he hurriedly slid his finger across his phone screen to answer it.

    He could have easily ignored it since he was already at her ce, but knowing how current emotional state, he didn''t want anything to worry her hence the reason her had to pick up.

    "Are you home now?" He asked as soon as he answered the call.

    The same moment, Zhang Liling''s grudging voice was heard from the other end as the sound of door unlocking passed through from her end.

    "Yes. I''m just stepping into my house."

    "That''s good. Leave the door unlocked for me while you go to start packing your things. I am downstairs." He revealed.

    Instantly, it seemed as if life had returned to Zhang Liling''s dead eyes.

    A glint shed across her eyes as she immediately turned to unlock her door for him.

    "Really?" she asked, trying to confirm his presence.

    "Yes. Go on, there is no time." Fang Bingwen replied, trying to push her to carry on with the work she had at hand as he got out of his car.

    "Okay, see you in a minute." Zhang Liling replied and ended the call.

    Immediately, strength came into her as she dashed for her room with different thoughts going through her head.

    "He was really here?"

    "If that is so, that means he left his office as soon as we finished speaking. He didn''t waste a minute."

 Chapter 318 Taking Care Of The Rest

    Zhang Liling was still trying to take out a few clothes and undies from her closet when Fang Bingwen stepped inside her apartment.

    Instantly, she abandoned what she was unto and turned to dash out of the room as if something was chasing her.

    Someone who was feeling down only a few moments ago, but at the presence of her boyfriend, vigor suddenly returned.

    Fang Bingwen had only changed our of his shoes and was yet to enter the living room proper when he heard the sounds of rushed footsteps.

    Instantly, his face lit up in a smile as Zhang Liling came into his view. But before he could get a better view of her, she had already run into his arms.

    "Mr. Fang!" Her soft voice full of grievances called out as her head mmed into his chest.

    The impact was only able to make Fang Bingwen take one foot backward. He really was steady otherwise the force she used would have caused him to take a few more steps.

    "How are you?" he asked as his arms came to circle around her.

    "I''m fine now." Zhang Liling replied. Breathing in his fresh scent that smelled just like her, she smuggled her bare face to his chest more.

    She liked the smell of him and the way his strong arms held her close to his warm body.

    The sounds of his heartbeat in her ear were like luby with the capacity to put her to sleep.

    Only in his embrace could she beforted and find such peace.

    Patting her back gently, Fang Bingwen replied as the corners of his lips curled, "I am d you''re fine."

    Zhang Liling remained in his embrace for a little while longer without the intentions of letting go. But because they still had somewhere to be, Fang Bingwen had to push for her to leave.

    "At night, you can continue holding me," he whispered to her ears.

    He could understand that she needed some love so, he would give it to her. After all, she was his woman.

    Feeling his hot breath fan her cheeks, Zhang Liling tightened her hold on him.

    Why was he being so sweet to her now? He was really tempting her. Didn''t he know?

    Seeing that she was not about to let him off, a series of soft chuckle escaped his lips as his hands gently went to her arms to gently take them off.

    Leading her into the room, he added, "This is how business is. You will get used to it. Sometimes, leave work and take a break. Only a healthy person has the opportunity to do what she wants."

    Soon, they arrived at her bedroom to continue from where she had left off.

    "What else do you need, I will help you pack them?" He asked, his eyes roaming about her bedroom.

    He was letting everythinge into his line of sight in case he saw something she needed to take with her.

    "Help me with all my gadgets while I pack my clothes." Zhang Liling, quickly finding a job for him.<sub> </sub>

    She couldn''t wait to leave this space and travel down to his ce where she would be away from a little stress.

    Giving her the side nce, he pushed his brows up. "You are still thinking of working? I thought you wereing from a short break?"

    "In case I get better on time and my brain doesn''t feel foggy. I can still keep myself a little busy while you are away at work."

    She only enjoyed hispany. But if he was at work, she would be more restless not having anything to do.

    I was better to take herptop and tab, so she could get back to work to stop her brain from being bored.

    "Fine. But you are going to be under my supervision. I can''t let you overwork your brain again." Fang Bingwen said before turning to walk toward her desk.

    At least he had a method to keep her in check.

    Zhang Liling didn''t feel like arguing with him let them get to his ce first. Her emotions will guide her on what to actually do.

    Letting out a deep sigh, she started to take off the hangers from the clothes on the bed. Walking back to her closet, she hung them back to where they belonged before squatting to make her footwear choice.

    Suddenly, she felt a bit dizzy and her eyes hot. She was weak, and she could feel it.

    As her eyes squinted at the foot wears lined up in best roles, she randomly picked two. But as she tried to stand, the dizziness returned.

    Immediately, she transferred to the shoe in her right hand to her left and ced her palm on her forehead, as if to steady herself.

    Mr. Fang was a little busy packing the things she pointed out to him in a big backpack, but that didn''t stop him from stealing a few nces at her from time to time.

    But as he tilted his head to the side this time around, he saw her feet stagger and her body away to the side.

    Immediately, he dropped the bag in his hands on the bed and rushed over in panic.

    "What is it?" He asked, with worry evident in his tone.

    "I-I think... I''m just a little dizzy." Zhang Liling replied with her palm still on her forehead as hershes fluttered close, when suddenly, she felt the firm grip of the man on her arms.

    "You need to rest. I will take care of the rest." Fang Bingwen said as he turned her body to the side and lead her to her bed.

    Taking the shoes away from her hold as her eyes snapped open in that moment, he helped her into bed.

    "Sit there." He instructed in a gentle tone as his gaze remained on her, making sure that she had no intentions of climbing out of bed.

    Satisfied with her response, he went back to finish tidying up her gadgets before going over to her small travel back to help her finish up the packing.

    From time to time until he was done, his gaze wouldnd on her, just to make sure she was doing okay.

    What a caring boyfriend he was.

 Chapter 319 Hugging At Night

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen arrived outside her apartment.

    First, he opened the car door for her so she could enter the front passenger seat before going over to the trunk of the car to put her things.

    Finally, he was free to get into his driver''s seat.

    Turning to nce her way, he reminded her in a gentle tone. "Your seatbelt."

    Quickly, Zhang reached for it. Securing it around her, she let out a deep sigh.

    Smiling, Fang Bingwen turned to nce at the back passenger seat to let in the two nylons from the cafe he stopped by, into his line of sight.

    "I got you something." He started as he reached for one of the leathers and picked it up.

    "The ice cream is melting already, but I guess it has tried for not turing into water given the time we spent upstairs." He added as he brought a small cup ice cream with a spoon and passed it to her.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said, her eyes lit up as she took the ice cream and spoon from him.

    "This should be enough to rece some lost glucose from your brain." Mr. Fang said as he handed her a sweet donut before putting the nylon away.

    Igniting the car engine, he drove them away from her apartment and hit the major road.

    Throughout the rise to his vi, Zhang Liling only spoke to him a handful of times. The rest, she was quiet as she munched on the ice cream and donut he handed her.

    Zhang Liling was indeed weak and tired that even after eating those things, she was unable to get herself immediately.

    Fortunately, traffic was yet to hit the road hence, the git the advantage of spending a little time on the road before arriving at his ce.

    <o>,m Outside his Vi, Fang Bingwen got out of the car and went straight to take her things out from the trunk.</o>

    Seeing him carrying two heavy bags at the same time, Zhang Liling reached out to help me. "Let me help you with one."

    "No way." He said in a curt refusal.

    Sliding the big back pack over his back, he took her small travel back with his right hand before reaching for her hand with his left and led them inside the house.

    "If you faint, I would have more work because turn, I will have to carry you along with your bags."

    "The servants are here to help you with my bags. That way, you wouldn''t be burdened." Zhang Liling teased with her gaze ahead.

    The corners of her lips were curled slightly and despite the dark circles around her eyes, they were overshadowed by the glint shing across her eyeballs at the moment.

    Giving her the side nce as he shed her a smile, he asked, "Do you want to faint so badly?"

    "Yes, if that is the only way I get to be in your stronghold." Zhang Liling replied as her eyes sighted his pair of strong arms.

    She really liked the feeling of those arms around her body. Each time he wrapped them around her waist, she felt like a protective barrier was put over her.

    The feeling excited her state of mind and caused her heart to flutter wildly in her chest, while the feeling of a budding romance fluttered in her heart.

    It was such a good feeling.<sub> </sub>

    "It looks like your mental state is made whole now." Fang Bingwen said as they stepped into the house.

    There was a brief interruption in their conversation when the Butler weed them in and offered to take the bags from him.

    Fang Bingwen refused and offered him another task.

    "Bring those takeout bags at the backseat of the car. The car is opened."

    Without wasting time, he continued to lead Zhang Liling further into the house and straight to the room she upied before she moved about.

    Zhang Liling was taken aback even as they stepped inside the room. Unable to hide the invincible question marks written all over her face, Fang Bingwen caught sight if it.

    Setting her back pack on the bed, be out her travel luggage beside the bed and made her sit on the bed.

    "What is it?" he asked curiously.

    "You said we will continue hugging at night, but what am I doing here?" Zhang Liling spilled her deepest concern with a raised gaze.

    Weren''t they supposed to share his bedroom if he wanted her to still hug him as they slept?

    "Nothing has changed. At night after washing up, you cane upstairs to my room." Fang Bingwen said, still abiding steadfastly about the rule of not sharing the same room until they got married.

    He was already breaking the rule, but just so she could have a good night sleep.

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling eximed softly as she ogled him.

    Soon, Butler Gu came back with the things Fang Bingwen asked him to bring from the car.

    That evening, Zhang Liling had a little time to organize her things beforeing out for dinner.

    She could had allowed the servants to help her with her things, but she insisted on doing them herself since she didn''t have much.

    After dinner with Fang Bingwen, she returned to her room to wash up. Putting on her pyjamas, she picked up her phone and left for the stairs.

    Getting to the door to his bedroom, she knocked once before pushing the door open only to be greeted with absolute tranquility.

    ''Could he be in his study?'' she thought before making a turn.

    Deciding to check for him in his study, he walked out of the bedroom and went straight to find him.

    Like she had guessed, she saw him sitting on his desk, engaged in a phone conversation.

    As soon as she stepped inside, his gazended in her.

    In order not to keep her waiting, Mr. Fang, moved his phone away from his ear and covered the speaker. "You can go to bed first, I will jointer."

    Although Zhang Liling wanted his presence and attention immediately, she could only back away.

    Walking back to his bedroom, she went straight for his bed andid on it, waiting for when he woulde in.

 Chapter 320 A Mistake

    A few momentster...

    ''When is heing?'' Zhang Liling thought worriedly as shey in bed with her eyes on the door, waiting for when Fang Bingwen woulde in.

    She didn''t know how long she has been lying in bed, but she felt it has been since forever.

    She was starting to be worried. Impatience was already running through her veins and she was almost tempted to go drag him from his study room.

    However, she was fortunate to have her nerves calmed down because the next moment, Fang Bingwen pushed the door open and stepped inside the room.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling pushed off the duvet on the bed while calling out to him.

    "Mr. Fang."

    Tilting his head to the side, Fang Bingwen saw her standing beside his bed with furrowed brows, but something else caught his attention.

    He just didn''t know what made his gaze to leave her face.

    Her chest.

    His room was so bright that he couldn''t avoid ncing downwards.

    She wasn''t putting on any bra, and he could tell with how her night outfit, outlined the shape.

    ''Maybe it was a mistake asking her toe up here.'' He thought with regret as he felt a sensation down to the tool below his legs.

    As soon as he felt those familiar tingles, he turned his gaze back to her face to ask, "You are not sleeping yet?"

    "I was waiting for you." Zhang Liling replied as she stood there watching him.

    A soft sigh escaped his lips as he turned to walk towards her. "Sorry, I had a little work to settle." He said as put his phone on the night stand.

    ncing briefly at her, he asked softly, "Are you okay?"

    "Mmm," Zhang Liling nodded.

    "Alright." Fang Bingwen responded before turning to leave. But before he could take about five steps, he had the hurried shuffling of feet behind and was forced to stop in his steps.

    Looking at the woman who was already two long steps away from the bed, a smile that reached his eyes appeared on his face.

    "I''m going to take a shower, do you want toe with me?" He teased as his gaze studied her.

    For a second, Zhang Liling was calm and looked like she was considering his offer. For after a few seconds, she shook her head desperately.

    "How long will you take?" She asked instead.

    "Five minutes. Now go back to bed and wait for me." Mr. Fang instructed before turning to leave.

    He didn''t know the reason she was acting like a scardy cat, but she had better wait in bed. Or was she afraid that he would run away?

    Shaking off the random thoughtsing into his head, he walked into the inner room while Zhang Liling went back to bed.

    This time around, she sat instead of lying on it. Her gaze, darting across the room in a bid to keep herself busy till he returned.

    Thankfully, Fang Bingwen''s five minutes, was five minutes so she didn''t have to wait a minute longer than that.

    Seeing him fresh out of shower as he carried the scent from his shower gel along, Zhang Liling''s racing heart, slowly rxed in her chest.<sub> </sub>

    "You were quick." She couldn''t help but utter as her gaze rested on his face.

    "I had to. I left you a promise I meant to keep," Fang Bingwen replied as he walked toward her.

    Stopping in front of her, he asked, "Do you want to stay outside or inside?"

    Not sure what that question meant, she raised a questioning brow at him. In turn, she got him to exin.

    Fang Bingwen pointed his finger at the bed, directly telling her what he meant.

    Understanding him now, she raised her legs and pushed her body to the other side. "I will let you protect me."

    A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he lifted the duvet and got into bed. "I will protect you."

    As soon as Fang Bingwenid his head on the pillow, the little woman came pushing her body toward him.

    Immediately he felt her soft body on the left side of his body, he froze for a moment. That feeling, was tempting.

    Tilting his head to the side, he saw her head of hair in his line of sight, but that didn''t stop him from saying what he wanted.

    <o>,m "I thought it would be fine as long as wey in the same bed. Why are you smuggling up close?"</o>

    "I feel better this way," Zhang Liling replied without raising her head as her eyes shut without warning.

    Being in his embrace was what she wanted, and it seems like he had forgotten the promise he made earlier.

    He said that they would continue it at night.

    Mr. Fang was quiet for some time until he was unable to take it. Feeling the softness of her chest pressed to his hard body through her thin dress was torture.

    "Liling..." He called out while letting out a deep breath.

    "Mmmm..."

    "I don''t think this can work. You shouldy off my body."

    "Why?" Zhang Liling raised her head as their gazes met.

    "I can feel your..." He stuttered. Unable to finish his sentence, he shook his head. "Forget it, just move over."

    Zhang Liling rested her jaw on his chest and asked as she stared deeply into his eyes. "You can feel my chest just the same way I can feel your rock-hard body."

    Releasing a deep breath after being able to guess what was wrong, she added, "This only shows that you want me."

    "I am not going to do anything." Fang Bingwen said immediately with creased brows just before she woulde up with a ridiculous suggestion.

    "But you can have me." She said, fulfilling his initial thoughts.

    "Are you here to seduce me or get a good night rest? Do you want to go back to your room?" Fang Bingwen asked with a bitter taste in his mouth.

    He would not hesitate to send her away if she tried to tempt him into doing what he didn''t want to do.

    Hearing the threat in his tone, Zhang Liling hurriedlyid the side of her face on his chest.

 Chapter 321 Regret

    "Mr. Fang, please let me sleep like this. It''s not advisable to sleep with a bra on." Zhang Liling hurriedly said as hershes fluttered close.

    She also refused to leave him embrace.

    He should hold in his arousal just like the way he has been controlling himself.

    She was not about to wave goodbye to the candy he promised her all because he forgot his wallet at home.

    Apart from buying things with money, there were other ways to get a stuff. Being a businessman, she was sure that he could figure that out.

    With that, she remained quiet as she shut her eyes tightly, pretending to have dozed off already.

    Fang Bingwen let out a deep breath. Seeing how she had gone quiet while sprawled on his body, he put the back of his palm on his forehead.

    This is really going to be a long light for him.

    Despite knowing that she was pretending to be asleep, he caved in to his promise and forced his eyes to close.

    He was going to force the reins of his self control into ce.

    All through the night, Zhang Liling slept soundlessly like a corpse. Luckily, she didn''t move in her sleep like a baby, so Fang Bingwen didn''t have things difficult for him.

    Eventually, he had calmed his boiling blood and had fallen asleep, not knowing what time he did that.

    When morning came, his biological clock woke him up.

    Waking up to the dimly lit room, his eyes fluttered open as his chest rose and fell.

    The first thing he felt, was the bag of heavy body holding unto him tightly.

    All through the night, he had slept in one position because of the woman hugging him like a ko bear.

    A deep breath escaped his lungs as he struggled to turn on the bed light switch he had turned off before dozing offst night.

    It was indeed a struggle with the heavy weight pressed on him. After a few more stretching, he managed to turn on the light.

    Letting out a series of deep breaths, he nced at the figure below him and tried to move her body away quietly without waking her up, but the task seems more difficult.

    Even in her sleep, Zhang Liling was stubborn. She refused to let him off and even went on to tighten her hold on him as a deep breath escaped from her lips.

    "Liling, this is not the time for this..." Fang Bingwen groaned as his eyes closed and snapped open the next moment.

    He was ufortable, not only from her weight, but from a certain part of his body.

    This was morning...

    For the second time, he tried again to move her body away, but she ended up raising her legs. Without warning, her knee moved up his body andnded on the area between his legs.

    Instantly, his breathing hitched as her felt that ce harden the more.

    Fortunately, she didn''t hit him otherwise, a scream would have torn out from his thin lips.

    Fang Bingwen stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "What is wrong with her?" he muttered under his breath.

    He was tempted to push her off his body and wake her from her deep slumber, but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully.<sub> </sub>

    What about him though? He was having a normal morning erection and then she had to unknowingly spice the chemical reaction up like a catalyst.

    ''This girl won''t be the death of me." Fang Bingwen swore as his eyes fluttered close.

    He was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check.

    He was truly aroused, and it was hard not to do anything to the woman he loved, clearly ready to give him anything he wanted.

    What kind of temptation was that?

    As if she wasn''t him giving enough hard time, Zhang Liling had to stir in her sleep and allowed her hand to rub his chest as her knee moved up randomly.

    "Damm!" Fang Bingwen cursed through gritted it.

    ''That''s enough!'' He swore that he had had enough of her using his body as her yground.

    With that, he reached for her arms and shook her awake.

    <o>,m "Liling, wake up."</o>

    He no longer cared if this was her getting the most peaceful sleep in several days.

    He just wanted to her to leave his body so he could go to the bathroom to settle the mess she helped to create.

    "Mmm..." Zhang Liling hummed still with her eyes closed.

    Lines appeared on her forehead as a frown settled in the middle of her brows. She was clearly displeased for having her sleep disturbed, but she was not about to open her eyes.

    She still wanted to get a few seconds sleep, but Fang Bingwen was not going to let her.

    He hardened his heart, preventing whatever pity he had for her to stop him.

    "Liling, where do you think you''re touching? You have to wake go to the other side and continue sleeping."

    As if to respond to him, she moved her fingers on his chest. Not just that, her knee refused to rest on one ce and moved in sync with her hand.

    She rubbed his little brother with her knee three good times before her eyes snapped open.

    Immediately, she raised her head and met head on with a fury gaze staring intently at her.

    "What. Do. You think you''re doing?" Mr. Fang questioned through gritted teeth.

    He swore that he was using every education and training he had to stop himself from pushing her away from his body.

    Zhang Liling''s gaze slowly left his face as it trailed from his neck and down to the part between his legs.

    She could see half of the thing swollen down there.

    Feeling theser res on her, she quickly shifted her gaze back to his face.

    Feeling that her neck was about to be snapped into two the next second, Zhang Liling hurriedly retracted her knee before rolling off his body in lightning speed.

 Chapter 322 Forcibly Spoiling His Girlfriend

    "I''m sorry, Mr. Fang." Zhang Liling hurriedly apologize while blinking her eyes like a sorry doll.

    Fang Bingwen had no words left for her. He stared at her for a while as if he wanted to poke a hole into her forehead before turning his gaze away.

    Atst, he got off the bed and went into the inner room with ck lines on his forehead.

    ''Is he angry?'' Zhang Liling thought.

    After lying in a bed for a few minutes more, she picked up her phone and left his bedroom for her own.

    At least, it was basic knowledge to know that Mr. Fang had gone to freshen up. She could as well use that time to get dressed as well.

    Fortunately, when Zhang Liling was done freshening up and went to the dining for breakfast, she didn''t have to meet a grumpy face.

    Looking at the man that was pulling the chair out without worry or any form of grudges written on his face, she concluded that he was in his best of mood.

    She was indeed fortunate.

    "Do you like the food or you want something else?" Mr. Fang asked while gazing at her.

    He was not sure of what she wanted. Since she came over not feeling fine mentally, he thought that she might have something special she would want to eat that would make her happy.

    ncing at the light western breakfast spread on the dining table, Zhang Liling replied.

    "I can eat them, but I would want a snack in two hours."

    She was very hungry and couldn''t wait for another set of breakfast to be prepared, so she had to make do with what she had.

    Hearing her day that, Fang Bingwen nced at the food before calling a servant over to her surprise

    Fixing his gaze on her surprised face, he said, "Tell her what you want for desert. The chef will prepare it."

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling eximed in understanding before turning her gaze to the servant to list our the things she felt like eating.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang." Zhang Liling conveyed her appreciation as soon as the servant turned on her heels.

    "It''s nothing. I should have asked you to do this yesterday so you wouldn''t have to wait this long, but it slipped my mind." He exined while pushing the te of sandwich close to him.

    He had forgotten to check with her one what she would want to eat the next day so the Chef would get them ready.

    He was indeed sorry for his negligence, but Zhang Liling did not mind.

    She was carried away with how he easily out away his grudges.

    She had been afraid that he would snob her during breakfast, but here he was caring for her as if she did not offend him earlier.

    Fang Bingwen was indeed a sweet man.

    The rest of the breakfast time was spent in silence.

    It was only when they finished eating they Mr. Fang spoke to her again.

    "I would be going to the office today, do you want me to get anything for you?" He asked.

    Zhang Liling''s brows creased, clearly showing how unhappy she was with the news. "You''re going out?"

    She thought he would keep herpany at least for today, but she had forgotten that this was a workday and as the CEO of a big conglomerate, he had huge responsibilities to shoulder.

    "Yes. I would have asked you toe with me, but that is the same work environment I don''t want you to enter into, so you have to stay home and rx." Fang Bingwen exined.

    He knew that she needed hispany, but he couldn''t grant her that wish. If he took her to work so she could spend her time in his office for the day, he wasn''t sure that it would be s good mental treatment for her stress.

    After all, it was the same work that tired her out.

    Zhang Liling was tempted to insist on following him, but she knew he was right. She wasn''t even sure that being in a work environment would be best for her at the moment given what she was going through.

    Left with no choice, she came to an agreement with him while also making a request.

    "Can youe back a bit earlier today? I doubt that I would get bored while staying cooked up in the house."

    Her request made sense, so Fang Bingwen granted her wish.<sub> </sub>

    "That''s fine, I already nned to do that. If you are bored, you can go to the gym room or go out to look around. If shopping will make you feel better, please do that."

    Any activity that can rece him while he was away, he would suggest that she got involved with it.

    At this point, he wanted something that would distract her.

    The reason he brought her to his ce was so she could get better on time and go back to work so they can meet the deadline they set for her brandunch.

    To his suggestion, Zhang Liling agreed to it.

    While he went upstairs to get dressed, she went into the kitchen to take a look around and ended up spending much time there from chatting with the chef.

    If the housekeeper hadn''te to inform her that Mr. Fang was looking for her, she would have missed seeing him leave for work.

    As soon as Zhang Liling appeared at the entrance, she saw him putting something at the back seat of the car.

    Thinking that he was leaving already, she screamed his name and hurried outside.

    "Don''t run. What if you fall?" Fang Bingwen questioned midway, just before she could get to his side.

    "I was afraid you would leave before I can say goodbye to you," Zhang Liling exined as her gaze darted around his body to check out his suit.

    "I called for you, remember? So how would I have left without seeing you?" He retorted as he slipped his hand inside the back pocket of his pants and took out his ck leather wallet.

    "I thought you would he e left if I dyed for a moment," Zhang Liling exined as her gaze followed his hands.

    She saw him take out his wallet from his pocket and open it. Then the next moment, she saw him slip out his bank card and pass it to her.

    "What is it for?" she thought aloud without taking a moment to think as her eyes moved form the card in his hand to his face.

    "Go shopping and make yourself happy before Ie back. That is the task I''m giving to you today."

    Mr. Fang''s statement could hardly pass off as an instruction.

    He was acting more like a husband forcibly spoiling his wife.

    Zhang Liling felt her heart flutter in her chest as all kinds of sweetness enveloped her. With a smile that reached her eyes, she took the card from him and waved it in front of him.

    "Then, I will make sure to spend your money to my heart''s content."

    "As if you can spend a quarter of it in a day." Fang Bingwen said offhandedly as he climbed into the back seat of his car.

    Seeing that he was ready to leave and not wanting to dy him any longer, Zhang Liling hurriedly thanked him in a moment of happiness.

    "Thank you, Mr. Fang for making me happy."

    The corners of Fang Bingwen''s lips curved up as her words reached his ears.

    Stretching his hand out through the window, he waved his hand to her as the driver turned on the car''s engine and drove out from the vicinity.

    Zhang Liling stood outside waving at the car with a smile on her face until it disappeared from her sight. Only then did she skip inside as her lost vigour returned.

    Two hourster, the desert she requested for, was brought for her and as soon as she finished eating, she copsed on her bed and dosed off.

    Another two hourster, she woke up and went straight to bathroom to wash her face. When she finished with that simple task, she changed into a sleeveless wine red jumpsuit and picked up her bag.

    On her way out, she messaged Mr. Fang.

    ''Hello, Mr. Fang! How is work going? I''m on my way to spend your money.''

    After leaving that text for him, she went ahead to book a cab before going back to check the message she left for him to see if he had left any response yet.

    Unfortunately, he was yet to reply, so she went down to the living room, ready to leave the house only to be stopped by Butler Gu.

    "Miss Zhang, are you going out?" He inquired with a small smile ying at the corner of his lips.

    "Yes, but I will be back soon. Is anything the matter?" She asked, wondering if he wanted something from her.

    Hearing that, he quickly replied, "Lunch is ready. Won''t you like to have some food before leaving?"

 Chapter 323 Her Hearts Content

    "An apple we do," Zhang smiled and within two minutes, a big red apple was washed and brought for her.

    "Thank you," She said taking the apple from his hand before walking ahead.

    Before she could even get to the gate, she had already taken onerge bite from the whole piece.

    "Hmmm... This is nice." She eximed with a satisfied gaze on the apple before turning her gaze ahead.

    When asked if shopping could release her stress, Zhang Liling would no without hesitation because she found a ce that reminded her of what it felt like to be happy.

    Walking into the familiar FJ Styles outlet she frequented, she felt a great burden lifted from her shoulders.

    A deep breath escaped from her lungs and with a smile hanging at the corner of her lips, she pulled open the door and walked in.

    At the end of the day, Zhang Liling walked out from the store two hourster with several shopping bags in her hands, plus the bags one of the shop attendants was carrying for her.

    Thankfully, she didn''t have to carry those bags for long as the ride she had booked, was already waiting for her outside, before she got up to leave.

    ncing at the bags neatly arranged at the back of the car seat and on the floor, the corners of her lips curved into a big smile as happiness radiated from within her.

    She really meant business by spending Fang Bingwen''s money like that.

    Since she got a card with no limit in her hands, she was sure to make good use of it.

    Also spending her man''s money, had a different kind of vibe attached to it, and then she had to see the favourite collections she wanted to get for herself.

    It was a win-win situation for her.

    In the car, Zhang Liling was almost unable to take her eyes off the items she got from FJ store. She didn''t care that she was staring at them as if she was going to give them all away.

    She had to be so keen into staring at those items until a low grumble escaped from her stomach.

    Zhang Liling almost lost her face as she slowly nced at the car''s rearview mirror to check if the driver was looking at her.

    She wasn''t sure he heard the noise from her stomach since she didn''t catch him staring at her, but she couldn''t conclude that he did not heart it after all, he could pretend like he heard nothing.

    cing her hand on her stomach as the corner of her lips tugged downwards, she mumbled to herself.

    "I''m hungry."

    At the moment, she was regretting why she didn''t eat beforeing out, but on a second thought as her eyes nced at the bags releasing the smell of new stuff, she waved the negative feeling away.

    To her, the shopping she did first, was worth the starvation. But she was lucky to have eaten a whole apple before embarking on the two hours shopping spree.

    Before Zhang Liling could get home, she had already made a call to the Butler con evening the bags she wasing in with.

    The shopping bags were too much for her and knowing that she couldn''t carry them in at once, she had to call for backup.<sub> </sub>

    A few minutester, she arrived at the gate and seeing the two female servants waiting, she sighed in relief.

    Immediately she finished putting her bags away in her room, she came down for lunch, and as she finished eating, she went to have s shower before going straight to bed.

    When Fang Bingwen came back and asked about the woman that spent a good amount of his money that day, he was told that she was resting in her room.

    Without minding that he was yet to change out of his work outfit or that she might be sleeping, he made his way toward his room after handing his workbag to the Butler.

    Pushing the closed door open, he first peeped inside and in that moment, his eyes jammed with Zhang Liling''s own.

    The woman seemed to be in her own world while pressing her phone, but as soon as she heard the noise from the door and turned her head, she quickly dropped her phone.

    As their gazes jammed, she pretended to be doing nothing.

    "You''re back? You came backte." She said getting off from the bed.

    Ignoring her question, he walked in proper and shut the door behind him.

    "What were you doing until the moment you saw me?" He interrogated, his eyes squinting at her.

    "Nothing. I just woke up from a short nap." Zhang Liling smiled as she intertwined her fingers.

    She was trying to distract, but he refused to fall for it or even pretend.

    "I saw you on your phone just now..." Fang Bingwen asked as he came to a halt in front of her.

    Slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants, his gaze narrowed down to her fingers.

    "I just woke up and wanted to check the time and then you walked in." Zhang Liling exined.

    Feeling his gaze on her hands, she naturally unsped and went to his side to embrace his arm.

    "Mmmmh?" Mr. Fang hummed, giving her a knowing look, but she refused to admit to it, so he left the matter as it was.

    "How many items did you buy from FJ store?" He suddenly asked with an intent gaze on her.

    He was not about to miss any expression her face would make this time around.

    He was working on something in his office when he got a message on his phone and checking it in case it was a text from her since he was a bit worried about her, he got the surprise of his life.

    Never would he have expected that she would spend that much money, making him wonder if she was trying to rece her entire wardrobe.

    He had it in mind that it would be the first question he would throw at her as soon as he saw her.

 Chapter 324 Ready To Launch

    To his question, Zhang Liling did not think much of it before giving her response.

    "I think there are a total of 12 items."

    "Twelve?" Fang Bingwen asked as he dragged her to go sit on her bed.

    Noticing the change in his tone, her brows creased slightly. "Is anything the matter?"

    Wasn''t he the one that said she should shop to her heart''s content, why was he making a fuss now?

    "I''m surprised that you would buy that much number of items. Did you get those things because you need them or because it was FJ you walked into?" He asked curiously without tearing his gaze off her.

    As soon as the question reached her ears, Zhang Liling felt a sweet sensation in her body and without thinking, she revealed her inner thoughts to him.

    "Of course, it''s because it''s FJ Styles. They have so many good things that I was almost unable to control myself.

    "Tch." Fang Bingwen scoffed. She was unable to control herself?

    He looked shocked. He was almost about to swear for her.

    Someone who was able to pick twelve items from a high-end store without consideration was deemed almost unable to control herself?

    What kind of logic was that?

    Truly, only her coulde up with something like that.

    At the end, he had to give up on that topic. He didn''t care how much in his bank ount that she spent, he was only acting as a result of surprise.

    Who knew that she would be in the mood to shop, and then she had to go to her favourite store.

    "How did you spend your day?" He inquired.

    "I didn''t do anything form apart from shopping..." Zhang Liling answered and then went ahead to talk about the things she did in his absence.

    "You should try exercising for today," he said whist giving her the side nce.

    "I will try that in a few minutes. But in all, I feel better without the thought of work in my mind."

    "if that is the case, then you did better than usual."

    "Mmmm..." Humming, her gaze darted to his work suit and immediately reminded him.

    "You should change out of your outfit and freshen up."

    Mr. Fang looked down at his clothes and quickly rose to his feet. "I will meet you at the gym room." With that, he walked away.

    Zhang Liling truly left for the gym room after changing out of her dress to a more fitting one. She didn''t get to work out by herself for up to half an hour before Mr. Fang showed up to join her.

    Over the next two days, Zhang Liling spent most of her time airing her brains out.

    In one of the days, Fang Bingwen had to work from home just so he could monitor her and when he started to see the change in herplexion, he allowed her to get back to work.

    With no time to waste, Zhang Liling sent out the employment letters to the job candidates that sort to work for her brand.<sub> </sub>

    Two dayster, All of them including the staffs she picked to work as the shop attendants, reported to work.

    For the moment, their main job was to help to organize the products after sorting them.

    Within a week, the job was done and Zhang Liling went on to set her brand''s financial ount and other remaining work.

    In no time, she moved over to the next stage of work, and that was heavy advertisement, while at the same time, sending card invitation out to prominent people and a few influencers.

    These few days, Zhang Liling was all about making sure that the invitations that were being sent out, included all of her brand products, especially to her female invitees.

    Zhang Liling wasunching a total of six products at once, so she made sure to alternate them.

    Since her brand ''Glint'' was all about makeup, she could only gift them to her female guests, and for a few male models she managed to get her hands on, she gave the package to them.

    Then to those who didn''t use makeup, she got something else for them.

    Count down to a few days to her brandunch, Zhang Liling was already tensed and needed help.

    And by needed some sir just before her brain would burst open, she dragged Tungmei out to go for the proimed shopping she promised her.

    From the store, they went to get a quick massage and facials done.

    For that moment the full body massagested, Zhang Liling felt like her old self again and wished that it wouldn''t end, but then Fang Bingwen''s call had toe in.

    "Won''t you answer your call?" Tungmei asked, giving her the side nce.

    She couldn''t help but to interfere when this was the third ring with her not attempting to cut the call off or answer it.

    Did she want them to enjoy the rest of their massage at all?

    Without opening her eyes, as the masseuse continued to kneed her back, she replied in a muffled tone.

    "It''s rted to work."

    "Then, it''s important. You should answer it." Tungmei advised.

    As soon as those words reached her ears hershes fluttered open.

    "I don''t even know what to do. Normally one''s boyfriend''s call should bring you happiness, but not mine."

    "Mr. Fang is the one calling you and you are still lying down like a dead fish?" Tungmei queried with eyes as wide as the eyes of a stock fish.

    She was already surprised as it was with her ignoring her calls and then she had to shock her by revealing to her that it was Mr. Fang''s call she was ignoring.

    Although he was her best friend''s boyfriend now, but she was still unable to shake off that feeling of the strict man lecturing them in ss a year ago.

    It looks like it would take a little time for her to adjust herself to the situation.

    Zhang Liling sighed just as the call ended. "I know what he is calling for. Thesest three days, he has been about me working my ass out. I don''t think he cares about me anymore."

    Letting out a deep sigh, she added as her thoughts trailed off, "It was all a facade..."

 Chapter 325 Their Contrasting Difference

    Tungmei stared at Zhang Liling as if she was an idiot.

    What in the world was she talking about?

    She looked depressed in the least to say and Tungmei wouldn''t be surprised if that was the reason she was spewing nonsense.

    Tilting her head the side and meeting the weird gaze of her friend, Zhang Liling said just as her phone started to ring again, "Don''t look at me like that."

    "Won''t you answer your call?" Tungmei probed, not giving her the chance to put the phone away like thest time.

    Zhang Liling closed her eyes and opened them again, fixing her gaze on her, she made some weird sounds with her mouth before confessing.

    "He is going to ask me about work, something that I just escaped from. I don''t want to lie to him, so I''d rather not answer his calls."

    This was her valid reason for ignoring Mr. Fang''s calls.

    Towards the end of herunch preparation, he began to make her keep up her feet. He wouldn''t let her rest, saying that she was almost through.

    Whereas, this was the same person that pampered and indulged her thest time she got tired. What happened to him?

    Did the he have for her go on a vacation? She just couldn''t understand him.

    "If you are not through with your work, then you should go back to it. We are only a few days away form theunch." Tungmei advised as voice toned down a bit.

    She was almost through, why would she take a break now?

    A tired sigh escaped from Zhang Liling''s lips as she nced at her phone screen and just before the call could disconnect, she slid her finger across the screen and answered it.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang," She greeted in a tired tone, while making sure to convey her current mood to him.

    "Where are you?" Fang Bingwen asked from over the phone.

    "I''m taking a break."

    "You left your office to go take a break?" Mr. Fang asked with one hand on his waist as he stood outside ''Glint'' building, staring into the walk-in store through the ss door.

    He had just arrived, and had walked in to offer his assistance to his girlfriend only to be told that she had stepped out.

    Fang Bingwen left his office on time toe and help her out because he wanted her to finish sending out the invitations on time and for the store to be decorated at least 2 days before theunch so she could take a good break.

    But here she was, postponing things without letting him know.

    Fang Bingwen wanted nothing more than to have that little woman in front of him as soon as possible.

    Unaware of what was going on, Zhang inquired with creased brows. "Is anything the matter?"

    "Tsch..." Fang Bingwen scoffed. "Is anything the matter? Liling, where are you?"

    "At the massage parlour."

    "Oh?" he probed as his lips curled into an ''O'' shape.

    She left for her to go and get a massage? Was she more tired than he was?

    "Liling, ask the masseuse to clean off that oil on your back. Then get dressed ande and meet me inside your store."

    "What???" Zhang Liling eximed as she got up from the bed to sit on it, letting the towel covering her frontal parts to slip off and roll down to her waist.

    He was asking her to leave her massage section half-way when she was yet to get the maximum effect from it?

    Then what about her money? Would it go to waste just like that?"

    "Sshhh..." Mr. Fang shushed her, immediately getting the silence response from her. "And I don''t want to for too long." He added and went straight to end the call, giving her no chance to retort.

    "Aishhh!" Zhang Liling eximed through gritted teeth as she mmed her phone on the bed.

    She looked frustrated and Tungmei couldn''t help but get concerned.

    "What is it?" Tungmei inquired as she sat up while wrapping the big white towel around her body.

    "Mr. Fang just asked me toe back to work immediately. He is waiting for me." She revealed.

    "Then you should leave since he is at yourpany already. But you can first start by covering up your body. You are embarrassing me." Tungmei said, pointing her index finger at her exposed chest.

    "As if that''s what I should be worried about..." Zhang Liling as she got off the bed to secure the towel around her body properly, before picking up her phone.<sub> </sub>

    "Are youing with me?" She asked.

    "No, but I would have loved. At least one of us has to stay here and out the money to good use." Tungmei replied as sheid back down and bared her back for the masseuse to continue with her work.

    "I see. Talk to youter, then." Zhang Liling said before making her out from the room.

    While waiting for Zhang Liling toe back, Fang Bingwen walked back into her store to supervise her workers task.

    He had to at least ensure that work was running smoothly since he was there.

    Being already used to bossing people around at work, he also couldn''t drop that habit especially in a ce that concerned him.

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling did not waste time before arriving and walking into the store, she did not bother to hide how displeased she was.

    "Mr. Fang," she called out on sighting the only man in navy suit walking around.

    Hearing that familiar voice, he turned around. "I can see you are here..." He drawled without tearing his gaze off her.

    Without another word, Zhang Liling led the way to the elevator as he followed after her.

    Getting into the elevator as she pressed the floor button, he started, "I thought we had an agreement. No more rest until we are done sending the invites and getting the store ready for theunch?"

    "I couldn''t stand the pressure and wanted to find an escape route." Zhang Liling replied as her hands folded below her chest.

    Fang Bingwen released a deep sigh through his nostrils as his gaze remained focused at the back of her head.

    "I know you are tired, but you have to sacrifice two more days."

    ''Ding''

    As the elevator signaled their arrival while the doors opened, they both got off and walked straight to her office, ignoring the greeting from her staff.

    "My brain can barely keep up with what is happening." Zhang Liling revealed as she went to sit before a fancy desk while he sat from across her.

    Here, she was the Boss, and he was... Just any role he could take up.

    "Have you checked in with the models?" He questioned with a serious gaze.

    "Yes. The product branding and marketing team have reached out to their agencies." She replied with her tired eyes on him.

    "What about the make-up artists, have you confirmed their attendance?" Fang Bingwen asked.

    "Yes. Everything is settled."

    For thisunch, there was going to be a section where the top makeup artist in the country, made up the faces of the models in front of the guests, using Glint''s makeup products.

    This was a way for entertaining the guest, as well as showing just how good the brand was.

    "We have to finish the packaging today. Send all your staffs to go down and help. More helping hands will ensure that we keep up with the goals as scheduled."

    "But they already have something they are working on," Zhang Liling informed, spreading her hands out in disapproval.

    She didn''t see the reason in disturbing the others for a task that wasn''t supposed to be shifted to them, when they had their own jobs to do.

    Left for her, she would want everyone to focus on their respective tasks, but that was until she understood Fang Bingwen''s logic.

    "Everyone should assist to wrap up this packaging if you don''t want it to linger until tomorrow. After your staff is done, they cane back to the office to continue with their work."

    Gesturing with his hands, he continued, "It''s obvious that they would have to pull an all-nighter, so you have to make preparations for them. Order takeouts and drinks for them."

    "Wow!" Zhang Liling eximed in surprise as there was wisdom in his suggestion, but he didn''t stop there.

    "Then in the morning, you can shorten their work time and pull it up from 4 pm to 2pm, giving them the rest of the day off, while the store attendants, have to see to it that the decorations for theunch ispleted before 2 tomorrow."

    Zhang Liling had no words left as she continued to stare at him in awe. He was just so brilliant.

    She almost asked herself how he managed toe up with that kind of idea, but then, she remembered who he was.

    He was not her mate. He was not a starter like her.

    He was Fang Bingwen, the CEO of a billion dorpany, and the owner of a perfume brand whose name was still being noised abroad.

    They were no where near each other.

 Chapter 326 Personal Letters

    Zhang Liling really did like Fang Bingwen suggested, and even went on to pull an all-nighter with her staff.

    Seeing her working so hard plus the fact that he disrupted her break time, Mr. Fang made up for it by staying by her side to help her out.

    A move which she appreciated very much.

    After working till around 9 pm, he drove her back to her ce.

    Unsping her seatbelt, she nced his way and suggested as a slight creased appeared on her forehead.

    "Won''t you spend the night here then tomorrow, you can go to work instead of shuffling between the busy roads sote at night?"

    "I didn''t n for it, so I can''t stay. Go on up, you still have to wake up on time to finish the remaining work before your big break."

    "Alright," Zhang Liling replied as the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

    In that moment of overwhelming joy, she leaned in to peck his cheek.

    "Thank you for today, see you tomorrow," she said, leaning away to nce at the surprise in his eyes.

    Then without another word, she opened the car door and stepped out.

    Fang Bingwen only left after her back had disappeared from his view.

    The next day by 5 in the morning, Zhang Liling was already awake.

    The first thing she did was to freshen up then over a cup of tea, she went through the current data for herpany.

    The most important thing at the moment was to check her guest list and check how many of them she had left to send an invitation.

    Thanks to Fang Bingwen, she was able to get her hands on the contact details of a few prominent men and women in the City.

    Satisfied with how far she had gone with her To-Do List before her brand and productunch, she closed her tap and put it inside her medium-sized brown leather shoulder bag from FJ.

    Swinging it into her shoulder, she picked up her phone and left her dining room.

    Outside her apartment, she took the cab she had booked earlier and left for herpany.

    Arriving at herpany and going straight to her office while responding to the greetings from her staff, she settled on her desk for a few minutes before starting work.

    Getting the feedback from where work stopped yesterday and how far everyone had gone before her arrival, she started to assign new tasks to everyone, after which she went down the stairs to do a personal work.

    She still had a few special people she wanted to personally work on their invitation.

    Clearing up a work space for herself, she began to work on the project.

    In-between work, one of the shop attendant, walked up to her.

    "Ma''am, we need more of the handwritten letter." She announced, while her fingers grasped unto the in white thick papers in her hands.

    Looking up from tools she was working with, Zhang Liling nced at her. "How many more?"<sub> </sub>

    "Five."

    "Give it here," Zhang Liling said, stretching her right hand out.

    Immediately, the youngdy about her age, handed over the square-shaped white papers to her.

    Taking them from her hand, she ced them on her desk. "Come back in 10 minutes."

    With that instruction, the shop attendant left.

    Not only was Zhang Liling handing out a customized invitation box to her guests, she was also sending them a handwritten letter.

    She was so thoughtful to havee up with that idea apart from the official invitation card. That was a good move.

    Zhang Liling abandoned the work she was doing to write the personal letter for the remaining guests and exactly ten minutester when she finished, the shop attendant came back.

    Before giving them to her, She picked up the lipstick on the desk. Uncapping it, she used the pink shade to draw two heart shapes at the button of each hard.

    For one, she coloured it, and left the other one as it was.

    "Here... Is there any other thing?'' She asked as she handed the letters over.

    Taking them from her, the shop attendant replied, "For now, there is nothing that needs your attention. We only need to slide in these letters into the gift boxes and send them out."

    "That''s good." sping her fingers together as she let out a deep breath, she asked, "Has the interior decorator arrived with her team?"

    "They called some minutes ago. There was a dy on the road due to traffic, but she promised to be here in half an hour."

    "You can leave."

    Sighing to herself, Zhang Liling went back to work. Picking up her own, she continued to scribble down on the same kind of papers she was given.

    When she was done with the e papers, she picked up her lipstick to draw five different heart shapes. She made sure to make them creative before using the same lipstick to smear on her lips.

    Smacking her lips while gazing at herself through the round mirror before her, she picked up the papers one by one to smear her pink colour stained lips on them, leaving a kiss symbol behind.

    Satisfied with her work, she began to pack up her tools plus the empty boxes surrounding her.

    Here she was, making a personal invitation along with a gift box for a few special set of people in her life.

    After packaging the makeup in the customized boxes with the names of her special guests inscribed on them, she slipped in the invitation cards and the personal letters before asking a male staff to help her carry them out.

    The next step on the way, was to get a delivery guy to deliver one of the boxes to her best friend Tungmei. After ensuring that the order had sailed through, she left her a messageto inform her about the surprise waiting at her doorstep.

    By 2 pm, Glint was already closing for the day. Zhang Liling''s aim was to give her staff enough rest for the day after the all-nighter they pulled the other day.

    And fortunately, the interior decorator Fang Bingwen asked to help her arrange the space for the Launch, finished her work on time.

 Chapter 327 A Demand

    Fang Bingwen was an Architect, and Fang Group was all about that sector.

    Everything that had to do with making a building n,ndscaping, building and interior design, Fang Group was there to take of the matter.

    And being in this line of work, he was able to help Zhang Liling renovate the building and work on the interior design.

    Most of the ground work was done by Fang Group who got the contract for them.

    Well, Zhang Liling already had him by her side, so she wasn''t stranded. Thankfully, she differentiated personal rtionship from business, and made sure to pay up her bill in full.

    Taking a cab, Zhang Liling went straight to Fang Group to deliver a package to Mr. Fang.

    Because cabs were not allowed into the underground parking lot, Zhang Liling had to get down from the car and carry the two boxes into the building herself.

    At the reception, Zhang Liling walked up the receptionist to give her name.

    "Hello, I''m here to see my boyfriend." She said to the older woman with a stuck-up smile on her face, surprising her in the least.

    Zhang Liling didn''t even look embarrassed while making that kind of request. At first, she had wanted to say, ''Mr. Fang'' but at end, she used ''My boyfriend''.

    She found out that it was weird to address him so officially at his ce of work instead of proving her close their rtionship was.

    And in order to do that, she made sure to tell the woman how dear the person she came to see was without bothering if she would be able to recognize her.

    But thankfully, the woman recognized her and didn''t bother to ask if she had made an appointment beforeing over.

    The receptionist directly ced a call straight to Fang Bingwen''s office using the telephone and after two rings, the man answered.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang, Ms. Zhang is at the front desk. She wants to see you."

    "Send her up." Fang Bingwen replied a s immediately hung up.

    *******

    These past few days, Shi Wenqian has been busy with quite a few things.

    At least if no one wanted to listen or pay attention to her, she could at least focus on her work.

    If no love wasing her way, she would put all her attention into her work to gain more connection and money.

    What else was she living for?

    Immediately after breakfast that morning, she left for her health Foundation.

    She was very interested in knowing how many people were checking in to donate their kidneys or any of their body parts.

    She didn''t really care about their blood as she was doing nothing with it. They were already having more than enough blood in their different blood group banks.

    Normal blood didn''t give her money as she had to give them all to the hospitals in need of them.

    Her main interest was on their body organ that gave her lots of money, hence, she came to check the records to find out if there had been any one soon.

    As soon as she got into her office and settled down, one of the top doctors handling the health centre, stepped in to inform her of a business deal.

    "You didn''t even let me sit. Do we have a kidney or a heart donor?" Shi Wenqian asked as her eyes followed him till he sat from across her desk.<sub> </sub>

    "No, but instead we have a demand." The doctor revealed.

    Squinting her eyes, she probed, "From who?"

    To that question, the doctor leaned in and spoke in a low tone. "The Chief minister."

    Immediately, Shi Wenqian''s eyes flew open. She could feel her heart begin to pound heavily in her chest.

    A minister of S City''s government wanted an organ.

    This was a troublesome affair.

    Why would someone of that calibree to her health organisation to request for an organ? He could have gone through his doctor to make the request, but he came directly to her.

    <o>,m What did he mean by that?</o>

    Was he suspecting her and therefore wanted to test her out, or was he serious in need of an organ transnt?

    Whichever the case might be, Shi Wenqian had to find out, but she must tread carefully.

    Trying to hide her fear, she released a deep breath she has been holding in, then shifting her gaze back to the doctor in his white coat, she asked,

    "Which one does he want?"

    "Two kidneys."

    "Two what?!" Shi Wenqian eximed in shock as her eyes flew open.

    How could one man request for two kidneys, what was his aim and without wasting time, she began to throw questions at the man before her.

    In due time, she got answers to her questions which made her a little relieved.

    At least Chief minister didn''te to her for help because he had a hunch about her underground business that supported her health Foundation, but because of his health issues.

    Two of his kidneys were failing and only a transnt could save his life.

    "How could he let two ofhis kidneys to fail at the same time?" Shi Wenqian asked with a troubled expression on her face.

    These days business was not going that smoothly for her and even if she had some stocks, she wasn''t sure it was going to be a match, then he had to need two. Things were not going to be easy.

    "Next time he calls, hint at him to reach me directly on my personal line and not through work." Shi Wenqian instructed before sending him away.

    Through out the time she spent at work, she was lost in thoughts strategizing on how to get the kidneys the Chief minister needed for his transnt.

    Atst, she got an idea and immediately, she picked up thendline to phone the same doctor that had left her office a few hours ago.

    As soon as he answered the call, sheid out a few instructions for him to follow.

    "Tell the minister that he has toe down to this ce to carry out a few tests that would help to find matches for his organ."

    They would be carrying out the tests a real hospital does. That way, the man would think that there was nothing shady going on with her foundation in case he had other intentions at the back of his mind.

 Chapter 328 Special Invitation

    From the health centre, Shi Wenqian took a long ride towards the outskirts of the City.

    The car only pulled over in front of the familiar vicinity where her underground works were carried out.

    As usual, there was someone waiting outside for her, who led her into the iplete building.

    Today, there was no match. Shi Wenqian had onlye to see the progress of their extraction process.

    "There is an iing order. As soon as I get the details and forward them to you, you all should get to work and only contact me when the package is ready." She instructed in a low voice while staring calmly at the rugged looking man in front of her.

    "Yes, Ma''am." The man replied in a slightly hoarse voice as he offered a small bow.

    "Good." Satisfied, Shi Wenqian continued in her steps towards the theatre to see what was going on.

    ? By the time she finished and went back to the Zhang Mansion, it was alreadyte, and she didn''t mind.

    Even while walking into the house and meeting Zhang Renshu along the hallway, she walked past him without offering him the simplest greeting.

    In return, Zhang Renshu snubbed her and found a way toward his bedroom.

    He didn''t even bother to ask for the reason she was returning home by that time. He didn''t want to concern himself without her business because she just didn''t care.

    *******

    After Mr. Fang was informed of Zhang Liling''s presence, he gave approval for her to be sent directly into his office.

    On getting there, Zhang Liling met Bolining out from his office and greeted him.

    With a look of surprise, Bolin acknowledged her presence. "Miss Zhang, you''re here?"

    "Yes. I came to drop something off with your Boss," Zhang Liling said as a smile graced her lips.

    In one simple movement, Bolin''s gaze moved from her face to the boxes in her hands before moving back to her face.

    "I''m also on my way to Mr. Fang''s office. I will lead you there." He had only taken one step ahead when he remembered something and turned to nce at her. "Do you need help with the boxes?"

    "No, I''m fine." Zhang Liling replied, ready to follow after him.

    Bolin nodded and led the way to Mr. Fang''s office in long strides.

    Fang Bingwen was currently sitting on his chair with folded arms on his strong stomach abs, his gaze directed at the entrance, waiting for the little woman who came to see him to step in.

    Today, his work desk seemed to be clean as if he didn''t have a lot of work to do that day. There were only a few stacks of papers before him and hisptop, opened before him.

    Fortunately, he didn''t have to exhaust his patience before the person he had been waiting for, stepped in, along with his personal assistant.

    Stepping into the room with the two customized invite boxes in her hands, Zhang Liling''s gaze immediately found him.

    shing him a smile, she greeted with a meek tone as she directly made her way to his desk. "Hello, Mr. Fang!"

    Adjusting his sitting position such that his back was now rxing on the backrest, he ced his finger along the side of his cheek and jaw.

    "Hello, Ms. Zhang," He greeted in response as his gaze followed her till she settled in one of the chairs before him.

    Zhang Liling wasn''t surprised that he would really that way, she only shed him the two sets of white teeth in her mouth before putting the boxes in her hand down, next to her feet, allowing Bolin to first speak with him.

    As the two men conversed, her eyes roamed about his office to see how the Architectural guru designed his office, and from what she could see so far, she was impressed.

    She now wanted an upgrade in her own office at ''Glint'' but she had to forcefully calm her racing heart down.

    ''Liling, calm down. You haven''t gotten to this level," She thought tofort herself.

    She had to remind herself of who her boyfriend was, and the level she had reached, while at the same timeparing them together.

    At least after her mind was done wandering about toward that side, she hot temper, calmed down.

    "Okay, Sir. " Bolin said to Fang Bingwen before picking up the stack of files before him and walking away.

    After his personal assistant had disappeared from his sight, Fang Bingwen took off the reading sses over his eyes, and adjusted his sitting position to a morefortable state.

    Fixing his gaze on the little woman who had been waiting for his full attention, he asked in azy tone, "Ms. Zhang, what can I do for you?"

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling chuckled to herself. "Hahaha..."<sub> </sub>

    "I brought something for you." Saying that, she nced at the boxes beside her feet and picked up the one on top of the other.

    On therge box there was a log and a few words written on the cover.

    There was a logo from her brand, ''Glint'' at the centre of the box and right below it, Fang Bingwen''s name was boldly written on it with a golden colour ink.

    ''Mr. Fang''

    "Here..." Zhang Liling said lifting the box to his sight as she got to her feet, before cing it on the empty space she found on his table."

    "What is this?" Fang Bingwen asked giving her the side nce before ncing at the box before him.

    "I got you a customized box as well. Although we are very familiar with each other, that doesn''t mean I will rule you out on the official invitation." Zhang Liling exined with a smile hanging at the corner of her lips.

    Her heart fluttered just by watching his surprised reaction, and she couldn''t help but to praise herself for doing this.

    Normally, she would have just reminded him of her brand and productunch since he already knew the date and has been helping her n from the side-line, but she wanted to do something different hence, she resorted to this means.

    He didn''t have to miss out on the packages she was giving out to the other important guests she was expecting to Greece the asion.

    In fact, he deserved something more than that.

    "You sent me makeup products?" Fang Bingwen asked in-betweenughter.

    Sure, he already knew the content of the box as he was not an outsider to herunch ns.

    He had no words left for her. What was she expecting him to do with the makeup products she sent to him?

    There was no way he would use them, it was a female stuff, and he wasn''t an actor or a model.

    She really shouldn''t have sent them even though he appreciated her thoughtfulness.

    "Not just that, there is also a handwritten letter in it." Zhang Liling said with a proud smile, totally ignoring theughter in his tone and on his face.

    He could make fun of her all he wanted. It wasn''t going to touch her.

    "Hmmm..." Fang Bingwen hummed with raised brows.

    His eyes sweptst the box before him before shifting to her face.

    "Interesting. I will look at it when I get home. Did you juste to give the box to me?" He inquired as he lifted the box from his desk and put it on the floor next to his seat.

    "Yes. I thought to send an invitation like this personally. You are unlike the rest of my guests. You are special." Winking her eye at him, she shrugged her shoulder as a glint shed across her eyes.

    She seemed to be in the mood to tease him already, but he was not going to give her that opportunity.

    "Who owns the other box sitting next to you?" He probed with a curious gaze.

    "For my mum. I had to reserve one for her as she would be attending my brandunch."

    Saying that, Joy filled her heart.

    She was ready feeling proud of herself on behalf of her mother.

    She was happy for the handwork, sleepless night and effort she out into her business, and she couldn''t wait for her mother to see how everything turned out to be atst, with her help from Paris.

    "When is sheing?"

    "In two days."

    "What about your Father, you are not going to invite him?"

    "I will send one to him a day before the event." Zhang Liling said, shing him a wicked grin.

    Her motto now was shocking people in the least expected way possible, and she was already on it.

    "It looks like you don''t n to have him there." Fang Bingwen ascertained from her facial expression after her statement.

    Why else would she be inviting him a day to her brandunch?

    If she had the intentions and the sincerity in her heart to invite him, she would send him an invite on time, but from the look of things, she had another motive contrary to the acts of a good daughter.

 Chapter 329 Shitty Reality

    "That''s not really my ns. I don''t mind if hees, hence the reason I will still invite him."

    Zhang Liling cleared her throat, looking away toward another direction.

    "Then why are you sending the invitete? You don''t want him to be mad at you for not inviting him at all?" Fang Bingwen probed, trying to understand her reasoning.

    Maybe she was scared of her father scolding her for not sending him nay invitation to herunch at all since she didn''t want to invite him in the first ce, so she had no choice but to do things this way.

    "That''s not it either." Looking back at him, Zhang Liling decided to make things clear.

    "Actually, you are kind of right. I didn''t want to invite him in the first ce, but I changed my mind about it. But the reason I''m sending him the invitationte, is because I want to catch my enemies unaware. Imagine if Shi Wenqian gets a hold of this news..." She expressed with a bitter taste at the tip of her tongue.

    She couldn''t seem to hide her disdain for her stepmother.

    "What are you afraid when she will still learn of the news either way?" Mr. Fang asked, spreading his palms out to her.

    "I am not afraid of her finding out about my brand since it will spread in the news on the day of theunch." Zhang Liling confessed.

    Taking a breather, she continued toy out her concerns.

    "I can handle anything she does after my brand has officially entered the market, but what I won''t tolerate, is her, trying to sabotage me even before that."

    "I see..." Mr. Fang trailed off while gazing at her, as silence followed.

    A few momentster, her asked as his eyes squinted at her. "Is your stepmother your only enemy?"

    Surely Shi Wenqian couldn''t be her only enemy. If she was so worked up because of one person, and diverted all her attention to her, then what about the others?

    That was his concern.

    "Of course she is not. I still have my step siblings. Wait..." Zhang Liling suddenly stopped as she remembered something.

    A subtle of smile appeared on her face. "I feel likeughing out loud now."

    "What is it?"

    "My situation is something else. My family is so messed up. Neither Zhang Xin nor Zhang Mingyu is rted to the Zhang family by blood."

    "Why did you remember it now? Why are you still surprised?" Mr. Fang asked as he picked up his ballpoint pen from his desk.

    "I still can''t get over this piece of shitty reality. Aww! My father is going to be so mad," She replied through gritted teeth while squeezing her fingers.

    Fang Bingwen shook his head. Drumming the pen on his desk in a slow rhythm, he replied, "True. This information is a big deal, and it''s hard to digest. I pray he doesn''t end up in the hospital due to a heart attack."

    He could already guess the state Zhang Renshu would slip into when he learns about this huge deal.

    Imagine training a child that does not belong to you without your knowledge, giving him the care, treatment, guidance and finances...

    Fang Bingwen had no doubt that he was capable of burning Shi Wenqian alive for having being filled by her for all these years.

    Time that he would have used to start another family and train another sessor, he wasted on it on a fake family.

    "He might. His anger issues that baffles me." Recalling all his outbursts, Zhang Liling shuddered and quickly waved the topic away.

    "Mr. Fang, I have to leave now. I am very hungry."<sub> </sub>

    "Have you checked in with the caterer for the event?" He inquired.

    "Yes, that part is settled. The order has been settled and a part payment has been made. Glint willplete the rest after the event on the same day."

    "That''s good. Don''t forget to follow everyone up," he reminded as he quickly got to his feet, his eyes searching for something on his desk.

    Seeing him standing up with his gaze flying all over his desk, Zhang Liling got to her feet instinctively.

    "What are you looking for?" She asked.

    "My car key." Mr. Fang replied without looking at her as he pulled open the first drawer.

    "Where are you going to?"

    "Let me drop you off." He said, finally fixing his gaze on her as he picked up his car key.

    "No, there is no need," she said, waving her hands about. "I don''t want to disrupt your work. Since I have a break from tomorrow,e and stay over at my ce, starting from tonight."

    Instead of him leaving his work half-way just to drop her off, she would prefer if he came to stay at her ce for a few days, starting from the evening.

    "No way." Fang Bingwen refused her immediately without even taking a moment to think about it.

    "Why?"

    Without wasting time, he started to exin things to her. "You said your mother ising in two days."

    "Yes..." Zhang Liling replied with creased brows. She was clearly confused at what he was getting at.

    "She is going to find out that a man lived in her daughter''s apartment. I will definitely leave some scent behind in the least."

    Releasing a deep breath, he added,

    "I don''t want her to think that something is happening when nothing is happening. I don''t want to leave her with that impression."

    Instantly, a smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Liling''s lips. "I see, you want to maintain the image of a good son-inw. I''m d seeing you making an effort to impress my mother."

    "Bravo!" she added as she gave him two thumbs up.

    "I will drop you already." Fang Bingwen said as he walked out from behind his desk to walk toward her, but she rejected his suggestion.

    "Why don''t we do it this way. I wille over to your ce to stay for two days and move back when my mum arrives?"

    "No. I will take you on long dates starting from tomorrow," He negotiated.

    "Fine. I don''t have the energy to continue making demands. I will call you as soon as I get home." Zhang Liling said as she lifted the box from the floor.

    Taking a step forward, she reached him. Then without warning, she leaned in and brushed her lips on his cheek.

    "Goodbye."

    "Bye," Fang Bingwen replied as he watched her leave his office.

 Chapter 330 Woo A Woman

    Arriving at her ce, Zhang Liling finished eating the food her housekeeper prepared for her before going into a series of calls.

    First she spoke with Mr. Fang to inform him about her arrival. Then exchanging one or two info, she hung up on him and moved over to the next person.

    Chuanli was excited to have received a customized package from her and couldn''t for another second before phoning her as soon as he set his eyes on the box.

    "Miss Zhang, I see I have a ce in your heart." he said amidughter.

    "Of course, I will never forget you. After all, you helped me get that difficult friend of yours," Zhang Liling replied with a smile.

    "It''s nothing. Is he still being a little hard to manage?" Chuanli probed as his ears immediately perked up as an interesting smile graced his lips.

    He seems curious to know more about his friend''s emotional stance at the moment.

    "He is no longer that difficult to handle, but he is not at his best, so I can''t give up."

    Spacing out with images of Mr. Fang being too good to her surfacing in her heads, she added, "I can only be satisfied when he ispletely smitten by me."

    "That state where he does everything you request for without a second thought?" Chuanli asked with a grin, sending a wink she couldn''t see.

    "Bingo!" She asked, flipping her hair to the side with a proud smile.

    Chuanli wanted to say that she was asking for too much as having known Fang Bingwen since childhood, that she was already getting the best of him. But because he was solidly behind her, he refrained from ruining her motive.

    "Miss Zhang, I really appreciate your special present, but I don''t think I need these makeup products." He said instead as he listened for her response.

    "Dr. Li?" Zhang Liling called out. And receiving his response, she continued.

    "You should give them to your girlfriend."

    "I don''t have any."

    "How can a good looking doctor like you still be single? Do you want to get to Mr. Fang''s age before you consider to settle down?"

    "Pffttt... Hahahaha...."

    Immediately Chuanli burst intoughter, nearly falling off his chair.

    Was she making fun of Fang Bingwen by using him to set an example for him?

    He wondered what the man would do when he finds out about this. Zhang Liling was truly ridiculous.

    "Miss Zhang, I think you should keep this to yourself and away from Bingwen''s ears if you don''t want him to ignore you for the rest of the year." He advised while stillughing his ass out.

    He just couldn''t help it, but Zhang Liling didn''t seem to mind.

    It''s not like she was daft enough to say those words to Mr. Fang''s face. Waving the matter aside, she went back to her earlier point.

    "Dr. Li, don''t just have flings with women, date one and gift the makeup products to her. I''m sure you might have a sister or a cousin you can give it to, in case you fail to woo a woman."<sub> </sub>

    Just then, a nurse knocked and walked into Chuanli''s office with worry written all over her face.

    "Miss, Zhang, thank you for your advise. This good-looking doctor must run along now." He said, managing a smile at the end.

    "Alright. See you at Glint''s first event." Zhang Liling said to him as their conversation came to an end.

    As soon as she dropped the call with him, Tungmei''s call came in.

    Immediately, her index finger slid across her phone screen before cing the phone back on her ear. As soon as she did that, Tungmei''s questioning tone came.

    "Girl, what kind of international call have you been on since? Do you know how many times I''ve tried your line?"

    "What''s going on?"

    Instantly, Tungmei''s tone changed from that of impatience to happiness. "I''m just getting home, only to see a big package from you."

    Saying that, she flipped the foundation bottle in her hand as her eyes moved across the content of the open box on her thighs.

    Her face was full of smiles as she continued.

    "I can see the handwritten note which I am yet to read. Liling, thank you so much," She said, finally tearing off her gaze from the products that now belonged to her.

    "It''s nothing. As a special someone, you deserve a package like that. Don''t forget the date and time. If I don''t see you, I will delete your contact from my phone." Zhang Liling threatened with a smile hanging at the corner of her lips.

    She didn''t mean what she said, but that didn''t men''s that she would be happy if she didn''t see her friend at her brand opening.

    "Of course I wille!" Tungmei said in-betweenughter. "I will be the first guest to arrive."

    "That will be great. If youe on time, I will take you on a tour. That will be my present."

    Hearing that, Tungmei immediately got all riled up. She would love to so very much see the interior and exterior of Glint.

    Ending her conversation with her best friend, Zhang Liling went on to face time her mother just to show her the customized packed she left for her.

    "Did you have to go to this extent?" Song Jujing asked with a smile while ncing at the box that had her name printed on the cover.

    Although her tone sounded displeased that her daughter was wasting resources at just the starting point of her business, she couldn''t help but be happy with the special gift box in her name.

    "This brand is for luxury, so I have to act like it," Zhang Liling exined.

    "That''s a good packaging you''ve got there. At least you learnt something meaningful from me after staying by my side."

    "I know you will not hesitate to praise yourself. Thanks, I really appreciate the fact that you are my mother, and I could learn a few important things from you."

    "You are most weed." Song Jujing winked at her, before bringing up another topic.

    "Do you want anything from Paris? I have already started gathering my things for the journey."

 Chapter 331 Kiera

    This was a good opportunity for Zhang Liling to ce orders for whatever she wanted.

    An opportunity that hardly came by presented itself before her, and of course, she will take advantage of it.

    Immediately, she began to list a few things she wanted from her mother.

    "That''s enough. Did I ask you to order for the whole world?" Song Jujing rebuked.

    Just give that girl an inch, and she takes a mile. Who those she even take after, because it can''t be her.

    Surely, it was Zhang Renshu.

    She acted just like her father. A man always waiting for an opportunity to go big on someone.

    When the conversation with her mother finally came to an end, Zhang Liling turned off her phone and dived straight into bed.

    She was so damm tired that she wanted nothing but to take a good rest without being disturbed midway by calls.

    She was now a brand owner, so sleeping without turning off her phone, was what she couldn''t guarantee.

    Definitely, there would be one or two people trying to reach her here and there.

    After having a deep nap, she rushed to the kitchen to find some food for herself. It was only when she had finished eaten that she remembered the action she took on her phones and immediately rushed back to the room to get them.

    Now that she was freshened, she could take on anything.

    *******

    As soon as Zhang Renshu finished from work, he drove straight to a famous hotel in the city, known for their high level of privacy for their customers.

    After checking in with them, he took the elevator straight to the penthouse at the East wing of the building, with two of his bodyguards and one male secretary following behind him.

    Getting to the door of his room, his secretary stepped forward and swiped the ess card on the monitor and opened the door for him.

    Walking in with his hands in his pocket, Zhang Renshu was finally able to let out a deep breath.

    As he stepped into therge living room space, his eyes darted around as if to check for an important detail.

    Following his gaze, his secretary assured him in a low tone, "Sir, our team has already swept up the whole ce. This ce is very safe."

    Zhang Renshu retracted his gaze from the artistic painting on the wall to nce at him. Letting out another deep sigh, he nodded.

    "Call Keira and confirm where she is." He instructed before walking further into the room.

    "Yes, Sir." His secretary replied with a bow and went further to slip his phone out from his breast pocket to make the call as the two bodyguards carrying a few things in their hands, followed Zhang Renshu inside.

    A few momentster, the man who was younger in age and in looks than Zhang Renshu, got through to Kiera.

    "Miss Kiera, Sir wants to know where you are." He said, immediately passing the instruction to her.

    The woman at the other end of the phone chuckled heartily before giving a response.

    "Tell him to freshen up, I will be there before he know it."

    As soon as the call ended, the man went to therge master bedroom to find Zhang Renshu in order to ry the message.<sub> </sub>

    Hearing that, a smile immediately lit up on Zhang Renshu''s face.

    "Quick, order her favourite dishes. She has to eat immediately she arrives." He instructed.

    "Yes, Sir."

    Receiving that order, his secretary withdrew. Then turning to the bodyguards that just finished arranging his stuff in the room, he equally gave them another instruction.

    "Carefully escort Kiera as soon as she arrives."

    "Yes, Sir."

    Immediately, the two men in ck turned to leave.

    Less than half an hourter, the woman whom Zhang Renshu has been patiently waiting for, stepped into the penthouse in thepany of his two bodyguards.

    The woman had her natural blonde hair cascading the right side of her neck as a huge far shades covered almost half of her painted face, leaving only the bright red lipstick on her lips to outline her face.

    Down to her body, a ckce sleeveless turtle-neck knee-length dress, outlined her sharply figure.

    Her red painted nails clutched her red purse as the red long-heeled stilettos on her feet, made a striking sound that reverberated quietly in therge sitting room.

    As soon as Zhang Renshu heard of her presence, he quickly concluded the conversation he was having over the phone and walked out to see her.

    "Mr. Zhang,"

    Instantly, the ends of Keira''s lips stretched into a wide smile as she abandoned herposure to run into Zhang Renshu''s arms.

    Without hesitation, Zhang Renshu embraced her in return with equal energy.

    Seeing that things hade to this, his secretary signalled the bodyguards who put downthe things that belonged to the woman, before leaving the space for them.

    "Mr. Zhang, this has to be the longest time we have parted since we started dating," Kierained with pouted lips.

    "I know. Business and politics made my schedule very tight during this period." Zhang Renshu replied as he slowly let her off before going ahead to urge her.

    "Take off that object from your eyes so I can see your beautiful face."

    "Oh..." She drawled with a big smile as she slowly reached for the shades to take them off, revealing her young looks.

    Keira already seemed to be in her early 30''s. Her facial features looked mature, including her character.

    She looked like a strong woman with a high ss demeanour, and not like all themon girls that would be sleeping with a married man.

    She looked to be more than her petty actions.

    Finally being able to see her face entirely, Zhang Renshu appreciated her beauty before taking her hand and led her to therge dining area where the food his secretary ordered, was already served.

    Without waiting for him, Kiera quickly drew out a chair for him with a smile, which caused an invisible hallow to sit on his head as he smiled back at her.

    Waiting till he had taken the seat, she took two steps to his right side to pull out a chair for herself.

    "Mr. Zhang, what will we be doing today?" She inquired, shing him a smile.

 Chapter 332 More In A Partner

    Kiera had asked that question, despite knowing how happy Zhang Renshu felt with her singr act.

    Maybe she didn''t care about it.

    To her question, Zhang Renshu replied, taking off the covers of the tes on the table as she joined him.

    "Nothing much. I have missed having a conversation with an intelligent woman like you. Tonight, we shall spend the night here, talking about everything we can remember."

    Saying up to here, he gazed into her eyes and added. "I beg you to give me some of your time."

    "Hahahaha..." Kiera chuckled with a hand over her lips.

    "Of course I will. I have all the time in the world for you. But I hope I will be safe." She probed, hinting at something.

    Immediately, Zhang Renshu assured her of her safety.

    "My wife can''t do anything to you. She can''t make me happy. She is just there as a figurative symbol and nothing else. I am already very unhappy with her, so she wouldn''t dare to do anything to you."

    "Then that''s good." She said as she picked up her set of cutlery.

    "Tonight, I shall give you all of my attention."

    Nodding in understanding, Zhang Renshu pointed at the dishes on the table. "I had your favourite dishes prepared for you. Eat to your heart''s content."

    "Then I will not shy away. Bon appetite."

    Zhang Renshu was very happy with his girlfriend''s presence such that after having a meal with her, he felt like going straight to be without having a conversation with her.

    But he had to speak with her hence, they stayedte into the night talking about so many things that concerned him while she stood behind him with her fingers pressed on his temple.

    While listening and responding to him from time to time, Kiera who was already dressed in her silky cream night dress, gave him ahead massage, while being careful not to scratch his skin with her nails.

    At the end of the day, they retired to bed in each others arms without doing any other thing.

    This was probably what all Zhang Renshu wanted in a wife.

    Since he didn''t have a good rtionship with Shi Wenqian who was his wife, he transferred everything she was supposed to be getting, unto another woman who was giving him what his wife couldn''t give to him.

    ? There was more to a partner other than sex. And Zhang Renshu was getting everything from Kiera.

    A woman that listened to him and treated him like a king.

    A woman that offers him an advice in the best way possible. A woman that massaged his eagle and didn''t dare to insult him.

    Kiera was indeed a helpmeet, and since she gave him everything his own wife at home couldn''t give to him, he stuck only to her instead of ying around with other woman.

    *******

    The next morning around 6, both Zhang Renshu and Kiera were already up, and getting ready to run their day.<sub> </sub>

    Before separating, Zhang Renshu who was feeling better in heart, mind and soul, asked her to make a request after making him happy the previous night.

    "Gifts make me happy unfortunately, I can not reject you," Kiera replied over the breakfast table.

    "I know you well..." He replied with a smile. "In that case, tell me what you want."

    "Mmmmm...." she contemted with her head tilted to the side but at the end of the day, she couldn''t think of anything, which prompted Zhang Renshu to pass his card to her.

    "Get something for yourself today. We will see again this evening."

    *******

    Shi Wenqian was not that surprised that her husband, Zhang Renshu would sleep out without giving her a heads up.

    These days, they were like two enemies sharing a roof together.

    Although she was not surprised with his actions, that didn''t mean that it dwelled well in her heart.

    Sitting alone at the breakfast table with her eyes on the head chair that was empty, she took in a sharp breath.

    Trying so hard to ignore the idea that crept into her head concerning what the man might be up to, she aggressively used her knife and fork to cut a small piece from the fried egg in her te.

    But a few momentster, she was unable to stomach the food spread on the table before her. In anger, she mmed her eating utensils on the table before picking up the napkin to wipe her lips.

    Staring at nothing in particr, she said through gritted teeth. "Zhang Renshu, you think you''re the only that can cheat and be unmoved about it? You must think I am a learner."

    As an invisible smoke puffed through her ears and nose, she drew her chair backwards and got to her feet to walk away, totally ignoring the greeting from Zhang Mingyu who was justing down for breakfast dressed in a simple tailored suit.

    *******

    For two days, Zhang Liling spent the best of time with Mr. Fang, making sure to go in dates with him everyday and fortunately, there was no mention of work.

    The only time it was necessary was when she suggested to invite Fu Hua and Jia Li to her brandunch, but Fang Bingwen rejected the idea.

    "Why is it not possible?" She had asked with an annoyed look on her face.

    "Because although we are acquaintances in the business world, we are not close. We haven''t met officially before." He tried to exin.

    Zhang Liling was so unhappy that the rest of her day was almost ruined.

    This was a date that was going on smoothly, but all of a sudden it started to have cracks a because she couldn''t send an invite to her favourite celebrity couple.

    Seeing that their date had already turned sour, Fang Bingwen immediately tried to manage the situation.

    "I already told you I will take you to pay them a visit as soon as we get engaged. Then we can have a more valid reason to encroach into their time."

 Chapter 333 Jealousy

    Although Zhang Liling still wanted to argue with him, but she managed to collect her emotions the next second.

    Since he has promised to take her there after their engagement, then he would.

    She trusted him, but the question now was, when would they get engaged?

    As that question rang bells in her head, she licked her lips while gazing at him intently, intending to question.

    Feeling the heated gaze on him, Fang Bingwen paused the movement of his fingers to stare at her.

    As if knowing the kind of thoughts that were running like current in her head, plus the words at the tip of her tongue, he quickly picked up the piece of beef he cut for himself and immediately sent it into her mouth without warning.

    "You should eat instead of staring at me."

    Having no choice, Zhang Liling chewed on the meat in her mouth with a smile on her face.

    This was the first time he was feeding her meat like that and she couldn''t help but to forget all her worries in one go.

    "Your mum''s flight is scheduled tond by 6 am tomorrow..."

    At that reminder, Zhang Liling felt the energy burbling in her, quickly dissipate in the air.

    Her shoulders slouched, as her facial expression changed, expressing defeat.

    "I don''t know why that flight was the only one she saw avable to book. My sleep is going to be disturbed."

    These past two days, waking up by six in the morning, was hard for Zhang Liling as she was using this period to get some rest.

    After a long while, she finally discovered the luxury those that got to sleep in, in the morning, enjoyed, making her feel so helpless.

    How she so much wished to go back to those times.

    "I have already scheduled for the driver toe over to your ce by 5 to pick you up." Fang Bingwen said as he poured them a ss of wine.

    He could already see theziness spreading through her body.

    Hearing that, her eyes widened in surprise as an idea immediately came to her head.

    "Bingwen, why don''t you follow me to the airport?" She said grabbing his hand before he could pick up his ss of red wine.

    "Why?" He asked, trying to free his hand from her hold, but she was so stubborn, leaving him no choice but to grab the wine ss with his left hand.

    "Don''t you want to wee your future mother-inw? And besides, she would be very happy and touched with your presence."

    Her eyes were already shining brightly as she tried to convince him to follow her to the airport.<sub> </sub>

    "How did youe up with that idea?" Fang Bingwen asked, refusing to blindly y along with her.

    It seemed that all her life was dedicated to ying games and thinking of a way to drag him to where she wanted.

    "Is it not a good idea? I''m trying to help you have a close rtionship with my mother. Although on the surface, she might seem to like you, but it is not enough to proof that you can take care of her daughter."

    Saying this, she slowly let go of his hand with a proud look on her face, as if to say that he had no choice but to listen to her.

    Despite knowing the game she was ying, Fang Bingwen gave up, agreeing to follow her to the airport to pick up her mother.

    The next day, as early as 5:30 in the morning, they were already at the airport to pick Song Jujing up. And just like Zhang Liling''s prediction, the woman was happy to see her future son-inw in the picture.

    Song Jujing was smiling from ear to ear when she caught sight of the tall figure trailing behind her daughter.

    She abandoned Zhang Liling and went straight for him, giving him all the attention.

    Zhang Liling who was abandoned by her mother, gave Fang Bingwen a sign with her eyes as if to show him what she meant when she said her mother would be happy with his presence.

    Fang Bingwen could only smile as he exchanged pleasantries with his future mother-inw before leading the way for them as the driver that cane out with them took her luggage and followed behind them.

    "Bingwen, you didn''t have toe. I don''t know why this daughter of mine dragged you out here by this time of the day," Song Jujing said with a small smile while holding unto his arm.

    "Liling had no hand in this. I wanted toe with her," He said in defence as he supported her by the arm.

    This would have been the time the youngdy would have been happy as a result of her man''s defence and protection, but there was a scowl currently sitting on her face as she watched her mother''s interaction with Fang Bingwen.

    ''Am I no longer existing? Or have I disappeared from the face of the earth without knowing?'' Zhang Liling asked herself as she followed behind them with pouted lips.

    A frown settled on her face as her intense gaze was fixed on their backs. She looked annoyed and jealous for being neglected.

    Fortunately, she didn''t have to wallow in sorrow for a long time because as soon as they got outside and walked to the car.

    Fang Bingwen helped the car doo open for Song Jujing to step inside as the driver put her things in the trunk.

    Shutting the door with a smile still lingering on his face, he turned around only to almost bump into the little woman staring at him with grievances written all over her face.

    Taking a look at the arms folded below her chest added to that intense stare from her, subconsciously, the smile on his face widened in a bid to please her.

    "Liling,e and sit at the back with your mother." He said. Then without waiting to get a positive reaction from her, he took her hand and led her to the other side of the car.

    Zhang Liling had a lot of words for him, but she optioned to remain calm even as the words were already at the tip of her tongue.

    Maybe the attention and reaction she wanted from him, would be more fruitful if she treated him with silence at this point.

 Chapter 334 Good Taste

    All through the journey, Zhang Liling was neglected as only her mother and Mr. Fang engaged in a conversation.

    At a point, she was forced to speak up after ensuring the silent treatment.

    "Mum, are you two treating me like air now?" She questioned with a high level of annoynace in her eyes.

    Her voice sounded so angry as if she was about to tear them both apart.

    ''I can''t believe she is jealous only because I''ve been speaking to her mother all this while.'' Fang Bingwen who was sitting at the front passenger seat, thought, his gaze refusing to leave his girlfriend.

    Her outburst came as a surprise to him, and to Song Jujing who didn''t take it to heart.

    "Who is treating you like air? Haven''t I been speaking to you for a long time now? I haven''t spoken to Bingwen in along while and now that I''m trying to catch up with his wellbeing, you can''t ept it?"

    What was going on in that girl''s head?

    Zhang Liling remained unmoved. "If you two are going to catch up with each other by secluding me in one corner, drop me off here." She said, finally turning her gaze away.

    Song Jujing scoffed. "Do you think I can''t ask the driver to drop you off by the road side?"

    "If you do that, don''te to my house. Go to the hotel."

    Song Jujing rolled her eyes at her. "That will be fine. I will just sell off everything you asked me to bring for you."

    She Just wanted to see who would lose at the end. After all, she was still her mother, and she definitely knew how to deal with her stubbornness.

    Learning of the threat that mighte to pass, Zhang Liling turned her face to the side to nce at her mother for only a brief moment before shifting her gaze elsewhere.

    There was no other reason to retort. She was already at the loosing end.

    Arriving at her apartment, the four got off the car.

    Mr. Fang''s intentions were to big a proper goodbye to then before leaving, but how could Song Jujing let him leave just like that?

    She immediately took his hand, urging him toe up for a quick breakfast.

    ''How sure are you that I have food stuffs in the house?'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as she was forced to watch the duo ahead of her.

    Anyway, it''s not like she would dare to not stock up her refrigerator. It''s not like she wanted to get hit on the back by her mother who would not hesitate to use her of trying to starve her.

    Song Jujing made sure her future son-inw was already sittingfortably before going into the bedroom to find a special tea she came with from Paris, before walking into the kitchen.

    She hade with one of her favourite teas, and decided to let Fang Bingwen try it and besides, it was more interesting to take it in the morning before any other food enters the stomach.

    With Song Jujing gone, Fang Bingwen finally had the opportunity to talk to Zhang Liling who was looking everywhere except at him.<sub> </sub>

    "Why are you annoyed?" He inquired.

    "Do you remember that your girlfriend is still existing?" Zhang Liling rolled her eyes without sparing him a nce.

    Now that she had his attention, she was not going to make things easy for him, and she really followed his mind.

    After a few unsessful attempt to make her happy again, Fang Bingwen was forced to give up as Song Jujing soon arrived with three cups of tea on a small square-shaped stainless steel tray.

    Thinking that her mother had chosen to omit her again on seeing only two cups of tea on the tray, Zhang Liling rose to her feet, attempting to leave them both alone, but she got stopped.

    "Where are you going?" Song Jujing asked seeing as she was about to leave their presence.

    "I was forced to wake up by 4 just to pick you from the airport. I''m still a bit tired, I''m going back to sleep." Zhang Liling replied, attempting to walk away, but she was forced to stop again.

    "You should sit and talk with Bingwen while I go inside to freshen up and get some sleep. I was the one who stayed up all night due to the ufortable flight."

    Saying that, she turned her attention back to Fang Bingwen with a smile. She said a few words to him before turning to leave.

    Zhang Liling was unable to retort to retort against her mother for she was right with her ims.

    ? At least she managed to get some rest, while she on the other hand, had to endure an ufortable flight for several hours.

    Fang Bingwen''s gaze followed her as she returned to her seat, but without getting the chance to see her sit, she walked to the centre to pick up the two cups of tea.

    Coming over to his side, she passed on to him before going back to her seat.

    "Thank you," he said as the wonderful aroma of the tea filled his lungs.

    Thankfully, he had taken his drugs before stepping out, so he was fine with it.

    Although he was now using a perfume that smelled like Zhang Liling''s scent which didn''t give him troubles, he was still yet to stop taking his drugs.

    The only thing the perfume did for him, was to reduce the number of times he took his drugs.

    As long as he wore it, he was good to go with a total of 4 pills a day.

    "The aroma is so strong." Zhang Lilingmented as she brought the cup of hot tea to her lips.

    Slurping the liquid, she put the cup away from her lips as hershes fluttered close, allowing the taste on her tongue to linger while enjoying it.

    "Your mother has a good taste." Fang Bingwenmented from the side after equally tasting the tea.

 Chapter 335 A Petty Act

    Tilting her head to the side, Zhang Liling gave him what side nce. "What about me?"

    "You have a good taste as well. That goes to tell how much you two are rted," Fang Bingwen praised immediately she presented the opportunity to him.

    Will she stop being angry now?

    Thankfully, she didn''t go overboard with her treatment.

    As soon as Mr. Fang finished the tea, he set out to leave.

    "I have quite a lot to deal with at thepany today. Your mother is here, spend time with her. If there is anything about the event, you can report directly to me."

    "Sure, I will..." Zhang Liling said, ready to escort him to the elevator, but then, her mother had toe out.

    With a smile on her face, she carried over two big nylon bags. "Bingwen, I got these for you. Take care of your health."

    Receiving the things from her hands, Fang Bingwen who was surprised, thanked her while wondering what might be inside of it.

    "Thank you, I will use them well, do have a great day," he said with a small smile.

    Zhang Liling kept staring at the tworge nylons in his hands in curiousity till they both left her apartment.

    "When you get home, tell me if there is anything weird inside," She said shifting her gaze to his face as they approached the elevator.

    "Hahahaha..." Fang Bingwen burst out into a low chuckle.

    "What weird thing can your mother give to me? Surely, you are thinking too much."

    "It looks like our mothers love giving out things." Zhang Lilingmented after dual observation.

    She could still remember how Mrs. Fang and the olddy filled the trunk of their car with so many things the time they were leaving.

    Her mother was already doing the same thing.

    The only difference was that she didn''t leave in S city, so she couldn''t give as much as the women from the Fang family did.

    It seemed that this was a mother spirit. The urge to take care of their children and inws.

    After sending him off, Zhang Liling returned to her apartment.

    *******

    Mrs. Tang walked into the living room carrying a familiar looking box in her arms while letting a servant follow her with her big brown leather handbag.

    A small smile graced her lips as she took short strides to the living room. Walking straight to the two-sitter sofa, she settled in it.

    The servant following behind her, ced her bag beside her and went to stand at the side as she fiddled with the box herself.

    "This new make-up brand has a good taste. I wonder why I didn''t ask my assistant to deliver it sooner." She said to herself as she opened the box.

    Seeing the well-packaged items inside, she immediately grabbed them one after the other to have a good look at them.

    After fiddling with them with a satisfied smile on her face, she picked up the invitation that came with it.<sub> </sub>

    "Glint," her soft voice uttered as her eyes ran through the special invitation card.

    After reading it, she picked up the personal letter to read them.

    "The owner of this brand is so thoughtful," shemented with a face full of smiles.

    She was very impressed with Zhang Liling''s brand packaging plus the act of the personal letter she decided to add.

    She made every woman feel beautiful, even women of her age. She had them at the palm of her hands.

    Just when Mrs. Tang had finished reading the letter and was about to put it back into the box, Tang Ei walked in from the inner house with his second brother and his wife.

    Also, Zhang Xin who had just returned from work came in from outside.

    As they met face to face at the hallway where their mother could see them from where she was sitting, they heard her calling for their attention.

    Tang Ei briefly nced at Zhang Xiaoling before turning to walk into the living room with his brother and his wife without saying a word to her.

    On the other hand, Zhang Xiaoling felt a prick in her heart, but tried to endure it by remaining expressionless.

    Since she was not in good terms with her mother-inw, she wasn''t sure if she was invited, hence, she stood there and watched their interaction.

    As soon as the trio neared her, their eyes automatically went to the box open before her as their eyes quickly scanned the content of the box.

    Seeing her sons before her, Mrs. Tang quickly exined to them with a smile. "I got this invitation from a new brandunch some days ago, but it''s only now that I''m checking it out."

    "I thought you don''t like new brands and purchasing anything from them?" Tang Ei asked as his brother looked on with disinterest.

    What concerned them withy makeup or female beauty products? Their mother was really something else.

    "I still don''t have much faith in them. Although I prefer to purchase things from well-known brands that has been in the business for long, but this particr one has given me joy. The owner is smart enough and knows how to draw attention to her brand." Mrs. Tang exined to him.

    "So, let me guess, an invite was sent to you, and you are going?" Her second son asked as he slipped his hands inside his pockets.

    "Why not." Saying up to here, her eyes nced at the trio before shooting past them to see Zhang Xiaoling standing at the corner withy her gaze on them.

    As soon as their gazes jammed, she immediately retracted them and fixed them on her second daughters-inw saying, "The brand opening is in 2 days. You will go with me."

    "Really?" The young woman asked as her eyes widened in happiness.

    Hearing his mother make that announcement, Tang Ei tilted his head to the side a little, and quickly nced at Zhang Xiaoling from his peripheral view to see her facial expression.

    At that same moment, she strode away without holding back.

    A soft sigh escaped from his lips and he retracted his gaze.

    He really hated this situation. His mother trying to hurt her by doing things like this just so she could see it.

    That was a petty act he disagreed with.

 Chapter 336 Prayer Point

    Slightly unhappy with the stunt his mother just pulled, Tang Ei gave an excuse to leave their presence.

    Although he felt a little pity for his wife, he didn''t go after her, but continued in the direction he intended to go to before his mother called for him.

    Their rtionship didn''t warrant him to care for her like that.

    He didn''t even know why he was still married to her since she wasn''t making any effort to make their marriage work.

    He was tired of going back and forth with her.

    No man could tolerate being with a woman that had another man at heart, even if their marriage was arranged for the benefit of their two families.

    Tang Ei didn''t know when Zhang Xiaoling''s eyes would open to see that he was not a bad person, but he hoped while standing at the sidelines that it would not be toote when that dayes.

    If he closes his heart and mind toward her, then nothing would ever make him change his mind.

    *******

    As soon as Zhang Xiaoling walked into the bedroom fuming in anger, she didn''t get to fully express her emotions when a call came in.

    ncing at the screen, she saw the title, ''Mum'' on the screen and snorted, clearly showing her annoyance.

    Regardless, she still went on to answer it, only for the fire burning in her to be fuelled up.

    "Xiaoling, it looks like your father has dropped the matter regarding the marriage ns for your brother. I think you should give him that idea again. You have to help your brother settle down in a good family that will support him in thepany just like you have the Tang Family at your back. You have to..."

    Shi Wenqian was still talking when Zhang Xiaoling pulled the phone away from her ear as fire burned in her heart.

    Without a second thought, she tapped on the red-coloured phone symbol on her screen, directly terminating the call on her mother.

    Getting to this level, she threw her phone on the bed and ran her hands through her hair, scattering it at the end.

    If it were humanly possible, then smoke would have already started spreading from her nose and ears due to the anger in her.

    She was already pissed off with the mistreatments from her mother-inw who didn''t care about her and then, her own mother had to remind her that she brother was more important than her.

    Did that woman even care about her?

    It seemed that all her life revolved around her brother, Zhang Mingyu.

    Couldn''t she at least show her some of the affection she gave all to her brother? Maybe it would never be possible in this life.

    Outraged by the treatment she had received throughout that day, Zhang Xiaoling shut herself in the room, only stepping out during dinner.

    *******

    That same day, Zhang Liling took her mother to Glint''s private building to give her a tour.

    Knowing fully well how vast her mother''s knowledge was, she got ready to take down a few pointers from her.

    Her mother indeed had a good idea, and that was the reason she was doing well in the fashion world.

    Not only that, she had a lot of power and weight. She was indeed very capable.<sub> </sub>

    Patiently taking her time to look around every inch of the walk-in store, Song Jujing pointed at a few things she needed to adjust.

    "Theunch is around the corner. You can make the changes after that. You already have a lot in your hands."

    From the walk-in store, they made their way up the stairs.

    "How many percent discount did you give for the first week of your store opening?" Song Jujing asked curiously.

    She was very inquisitive about her daughter''s business, and she wanted to help her in every way possible.

    As she catered to the rich, she knew a lot of things on how to attract the wealthy and socialites, and she wanted to teach her the trick.

    There were a lot of things she had to take into consideration if she wanted her brand to stand out.

    Surprised that her mother had not thoroughly gone through every information about her brand, Zhang Liling tackled her immediately.

    "Mum, you have to pay attention to me. Everything about the promotion is all over on the inte."

    "I see... Have you started receiving orders yet?" Song Jujing enquired instead.

    "Of course!" Zhang Liling said flipping her hair. ncing at her mother, she winked at her.

    "That''s good."

    As the mother and daughter took a tour in the entire 2 storey building, they talked about so many important details they very much enjoyed.

    Meanwhile, a youngdy somewhere was killing herself over the outfit she would wear on Glint''sunch.

    Immediately 4 pm reached, Shu Rushi picked up her bag and called a few friends to go shopping together at FJ store outlet in the city.

    And for over two hours, the youngdy in particr was yet to pick a dress she would wear to the event.

    "Rushi, you have to pick something. We are already done picking the things we want, except you. Don''t forget we still have to go to the jewellery store." One of her female friends reminded.

    While browsing though the dresses hung on the wooden stand in therge store for the umpteenth time, Shu Rushi replied without sparing her a nce.

    "How many times do I have to remind you that my cousin ising to this event since he promoted the new brand himself. I have to dress my best if I wish to hold at least a minute long conversation with him."

    Shu Rushi had no other request than to be privileged enough to speak with Fang Bingwen for at least a minute. That was her only prayer point.

    Although it looked insignificant, it meant so much to her.

    Normally, the man would respond only to her greeting and be only his way or even ignore her.

    Walking past her without sparing her a nce was the worst feedback she could ever receive, and she was trying to change her story with him.

    First of all, she had to put enough attention to the details of the outfit and jewellery she would wear. Not just that, but more importantly, her scent.

    She had to smell nice if she even wanted to have the chance to stand at a close range with him.

 Chapter 337 Who She Was

    Of course, Shu Rushi''s friends never thought alike with her.

    One, she was stressing them when they had other things to do.

    How long was she going to keep them in the store when the kind of dress she wanted to wear for the event was not even known to her?

    But they had no choice than to wait on her.

    After much deliberation, Shu Rushi picked a handless red mini-gown.

    "Do you think Mr. Fang will smile upon your face in that dress?" One of the girls asked with a horrified look on her face.

    ''It looks more like you are on a mission to seduce this cousin of yours...'' The other thought silently in her head.

    All her friends thought that putting on that particr dress signified she had a different agenda from the one she made known to them.

    Also, while wearing red to an event that wasn''t hers? Well, at least it''s better she wasn''t attending a funeral in that dress.

    ncing at the dress she just took off the rack, Shu Rushi answered back, "There is nothing worth more than a beautiful girl in a pretty dress."

    As the corners of her lips curled into a perfect smile, she turned to the shop attendant close by. "I will try this one."

    Walking away to go change her dress, her friends watched her, dumbfounded at the situation.

    "Remind not to follow Rushi on this kind of shopping." One of the girls sighed and walked away tiredly.

    The other two stood at the same spot and stared at each other.

    "My ankle is hurting because I''ve been on this meaninglessly walk for over 2 hours."

    "You can still feel your feet? I can''t even feel anything down there," the other one said, almost rolling her eyes out of annoyance.

    All three were annoyed, but that was nothing,pared to anger that shot up to their head when their very good self-centred friend decided to pick one more dress just in case she changed her mind about the red dress on the day of the event.

    How much they wanted to bare their fans at her, but they couldn''t because they were like Shu Rushi''sds as she used to get them things.

    The much they could do was to rein in their anger and frustration.

    *******

    The next day, which was exactly a day before Glint''sunch, Zhang Liling went to the Zhang Corp to personal invite her father to her brand''sunch.

    Once it was 2:30 pm, she went to her bedroom to freshen up after having lunch with her mother.

    Dressed in a bright yellow sleeveless jumpsuit, she picked up her ck handbag and carried the customized box she had long prepared for her father.

    Coming back into the living room, she asked her mother about her looks to let her judge how appropriate it was.

    "Mum, how do I look? Is this outfit okay?" She asked, twirling around on her heels, and with the box in her palms.

    As Song Jujing''s eyes darted around her body to look for any w in her looks and outfit, she gave her opinion.<sub> </sub>

    "The sun is still hot. Not bad."

    Her verdict was almost confusing but fortunately, Zhang Liling understood.

    The sleeveless jumpsuit was fine because of how hot the weather was.

    "Thank you. I have to hit the road before I meet with traffic." Zhang Liling quickly said and rushed toward the door in her pair of ck stilettos.

    Afraid that she might get injured at that rate of her rush, Song Jujing hurriedly cautioned her with worry visible on her face.

    "Can you also down? I don''t think you want to appear before your distinguished guests in pain and with bruises all over your body, plus a ster of Paris shielding the ugly sight from their view.

    Song Jujing was truly very good at berating people. Her methods were top-notch. Such that Zhang Liling almost thought she was wishing her bad luck.

    Outside her apartment, Zhang Liling took a cab straight to Zhang Corp with all confidence.

    As soon as the car pulled over in front of the tall building towering in heights, she paid her fare and stepped out with the box in her palms once again.

    ncing at the building with a pair of dark shades over her eyes, the corners of her lips curled.

    ''This is what I will be fighting for? Well I''m toozy to do it myself.'' Thinking such to herself, she exhaled deeply before continuing in her steps toward the building as the cab driver drove away.

    Zhang Liling made her way to the receptionist desk to make an office appearance.

    "Hello, I''m here to see the owner of Zhang Corp."

    Normally, there should be two receptionist at the desk, but as one had left for an errand, the only one remaining had to stay and attend to matters.

    Finding Zhang Liling to be familiar as she stared at her face with a scrutinizing gaze, the right thing to do would have been to confirm her name before deciding to let her in, but instead, she chose to provoke her.

    Almost rolling her eyes on her while at the same time looking down on her, the receptionist asked, "Did you book an appointment to see Mr. Zhang?"

    Feeling the deep disdain in her tone, Zhang Liling scoffed.

    In anger, she mmed the box in her hands on the wooden t surface of the reception, instantly startling her before slowly taking off her dark shades

    "Do I need an appointment to see my father? Forget it. You have offended me greatly, and I''m proud to tell you that I hold so many degrees and medals in bearing grudges."

    Putting back her sunshades, she picked up the box and added before turning around to walk past the security stand that required an approved working ID before walking through, immediately attracting the attention of the security guards.

    "You better get yourself another job before you are thrown out of this ce without warning."

    The receptionist was dumbfounded by her audacity.

    Was she going to fire her? What right did she have to do that?

    ''What an arrogant girl!'' She thought with a face full of annoyance.

 Chapter 338 Interesting Diversion

    Pressing the button to wait for the elevator, Zhang Liling saw a few security guards rush toward her.

    Without an ounce of fear within her, she stood at the same spot and watched theme to her side as if she was a criminal.

    "Miss, please we have to ask you to step aside as you do not have the permission to step into a private property."

    "Hahahaha..." Zhang Lilingughed out loud without caring about the weird looks everyone was giving to her as the security guards blocked bed way.

    She was finding these people very funny. Are they normal, trying to stop her from entering her father''s property?

    They must be bored at their jobs and seeking to cause drama.

    They must not be aware that she was in fact very fund of dramas.

    Staring at the four men ready to drag her away, she decided to stress herself by reminding them of who she was. Then if they were truly insane, they should attempt to continue with the ridiculous idea in their heads.

    "I am Zhang Liling, and I have every right toe into this ce to see whoever I want to see and leave at my own will."

    Releasing a deep breath, the corners of her lips curled as she asked while moving her gaze from one person to the other.

    "Do you have a problem with that?"

    Right then, the ''ding'' sound went off as the elevator doors opened.

    Seeing that, Zhang Liling walked past them and went into the elevator.

    Then as the doors were closing, she said to the stunned men who had now turned to face her.

    "You''re wee." And with that, the doors shut, instantly separating her from them.

    Whether they were letting her go because she identified herself, or because of her confidence with a touch of audacity, she didn''t care.

    At least, they had sense at the end.

    Without any hindrances along the way, Zhang Liling made it to the main office halls for several departments.

    Since she had no idea where in particr her father''s office was, she would have to ask questions as she didn''t have any intentions of calling Zhang Renshu over the phone over a small issue.

    Since she had made her way to this level without him, then she would continue in the same way.

    Remembering that her best friend, Tungmei walked there, she decided to visit her and at the same time, find out where her father''s office was located.

    But who knew that she would meet someone she didn''t want to, along the hallway.

    "Liling?" Zhang Mingyu you called out with a surprised look on his face as he took a step back when he almost mmed into her.

    Lots of curse words were already at the tip of his tongue but fortunately, he listened to voice in his head that asked him to look before spewing those words.

    Thankfully, he didn''t have to expose his other side to the wrong person.<sub> </sub>

    Meeting her fake half-brother was thest thing in Zhang Liling''s mind. She almost stopped herself from shing him a fake smile.

    "Yes, that''s me. Any problem?" She asked, intentionally covering the lettering on the box with her right palm to stop him from learning of matters she wanted to stay hidden from him.

    "I am surprised to see you here. I thought you didn''t like this ce, what are you doing here?" Zhang Mingyu asked, slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his dark green suit pants as a smile marked his face.

    Almost immediately, he noticed the stuff in her hand and directed his attention to it. "What is in your hands?"

    Looking at him without altering the smile on her face, she retorted, "Am I in any way supposed to answer those questions?"

    She was almost on the verge ofughing while asking back.

    Her actions were capable of deceiving those who didn''t know who she was, that she was actually joking while in the actual sense, she was damn serious.

    To her question, Zhang Mingyu sensed the annoyance deeplyced in her tone and quickly responded. "You don''t have to."

    "Good." Zhang Liling replied as her fake smile quickly disappeared from her face, leaving behind a mean look.

    Without another word, she walked past him to go into therge working space he wasing from, only to almost bump into a young girl about her age who was somehow in a rush.

    "Oh! I''m sorry." Mika quickly apologized before rushing ahead after realizing that she had almost bumped into someone she was too busy to notice.

    "Is everyone in thispany always in such a mad rush?" Zhang Liling muttered under her breath.

    First it was her fake half-brother and next, it was some random girl.

    Zhang Liling was thinking that Mika was only a random office girl until she heard her call out to Zhang Mingyu so sweetly just after she had barely taken two steps ahead.

    "Mingyu, wait up." Mika called out as a smile graced her lips.

    Instantly, Zhang Mingyu''s defence was on the rise as his gaze darted around but seeing no one in sight, he sighed in relief before resting his gaze on her.

    "What if someone heard you? You have to be careful even if there is no one in sight." He hurriedly cautioned her, afraid of what her rash actions would have led to.

    "I''m sorry. I was just overly excited." Mika apologized as she quickly followed him down the hallway with the stack of files in her hands.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling who had listened in on their entire conversation before the remaining words on their lips faded away as they moved further away, shuddered in realization.

    "She is Zhang Mingyu''s girlfriend? The one Tungmei talked about?"

    Suddenly, her mood soared with the information dawning on her and without wasting time, she hurriedly went to find Tungmei as a crazy idea struck her mind.

    She couldn''t miss this scene, never. Her old man could wait in his office all he liked, or even leave the entire building.

    Worsee to worst if she goes to look for him and doesn''t find him, she would call him on the phone.

 Chapter 339 Whispering Amongst Them

    As quickly as her legs could carry her, Zhang Liling went straight to find Tungmei, not minding the eyes that were on her as she walked past the offices

    Honestly, she was disrupting her father''s staffs, but she didn''t mind.

    As a non co-worker, she didn''t have the right to intrude into Zhang Corp''s personal workce, but those managers that saw her, were first surprised with her sudden presence and one question remained in their mind.

    What was she doing here?

    Ignorant of what they thought of her, Zhang Liling ventured into her best friend''s workce.

    Standing at the entrance, her gaze sweptst the work desks and the people each upying one, in search of a familiar someone.

    Her brows furrowed slightly when she didn''t see her friend at first nce.

    ''Where is she?'' She thought as she met the gazes of the weird nces from others.

    <o>,m Tungmei was deeply buried in her work and therefore, she was ignorant of Liling''s intrusion.</o>

    All that was going on in her mind, was to finish her work and submit and clock off work early today.

    She still had to prepare for Glint''sunch the next day.

    As her fingers flew over the keyboard on her desk while her eyes tried to catch what she was typing, the whispers from her surrounding brought her back to reality as her train of concentration broke.

    She was about to re up when she saw almost everyone staring at one particr direction. Instinctively, her fingers paused in mid-air as her gaze shifted toward that direction only to see an unexpected familiar figure standing at the entrance.

    ''Liling?''

    Tungmei was stunned by her best friend''s presence that her mouth was left agape as different thought flew into her head.

    ''What is she doing here?''

    ''Did shee to see me?''

    Zhang Liling was still standing at the door trying to find Tungmei in the mass of people in therge working space of the Management department when a man in his 40''s with the middle of his head bald, approached her with a smile.

    The man had his hands behind his back with an office work ID tag around his neck.

    Recognizing her and seeing her gestures, he guessed that she must be looking for someone and hurriedly went over to curry favour with her.

    "Miss..."

    But just as he tried to started a conversation with her, a humorous female voiceing from the office, resounded in therge room, automatically cutting him off.

    "Liling!" Tungmei called out with a smile as she stood to her feet and with her gaze directed at Liling.

    Seeing a mean leader in her department going to her, she was forced to shout out to her.

    Hearing the familiar voice calling out to her as everyone looked between her a d the person, the corners of Zhang Liling''s lips curled on seeing the person she was looking for.

    Without reserved, she walked into therge working space proper with the box in her hand.

    "I''ve been looking for you, were you hiding from me?"

    As she said that to everyone''s hearing without caring that she was disrupting their work, she stopped in front of Tungmei who didn''t look rxed in anyway.

    ''Does this girl know where we are?'' She thought to herself as she stole a nce at the few people who still had their gaze on them.<sub> </sub>

    This was so embarrassing.

    Taking her arm, Tungmei replied while trying to signal her to remember where they were. This was her work ce, and not a restaurant.

    How could she not care about that?

    "I was preupied with work and was distracted when I heard the hushed voices beside me."

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling understood the eye blinking sign she gave to her, and decided to lead her out.

    "I came to see my father, but I don''t know where his office is. This is my first time here, can you show me where it is?"

    Instantly, Tungmei sighed in relief as she quickly followed her out while asking to the hearing of the people at a close range as them.

    "You could have called him and he would send someone to escort you..."

    "No, I want to surprise him." Zhang Liling replied as her voice faded away.

    As soon as the two of them went away, the employees of the Management department, began to whisper amongst themselves.

    "Was that Zhang Liling just now?"

    "This is the first time I''m seeing the President''s biological daughter here."

    "I heard she was supposed to start work here at the same time as her brother, but her stepmother worked against it."

    "What is she doing here?"

    "Didn''t here, she came to see President Zhang."

    "She said something about wanting to surprise him, maybe they are in good terms..."

    "I wonder if their rtionship is that good."

    ****

    "Liling, did you reallye to see your father?" Tungmei asked curiously as they continued walking down the hallway.

    "Yes, but there is someone important that I must see first." Zhang Liling replied with her gaze darting around the somewhat busy hallway, in search of someone.

    Curious as to the person that made her friend so worked up, Tungmei inquired about it. "And who is that?"

    At that question, Zhang Liling turned her gaze to her. It was as if she remembered that there was no time to continue wasting.

    "On my way to you, I saw Zhang Mingyu and one youngdy following after him."

    "Oh... You have seen Mika? What a faithful meeting." Tungmei said in realization. But before she could catch her breath, she heard her friend make a request.

    "Show me to Zhang Mingyu''s office."

    "I thought you came for your father?" She inquired with a look of surprise on her face.

    "Mmmmm... I will see himter. Zhang Mingyu and that girl left together, I want to confirm something." Zhang Liling said, giving off an evil smile with an equally wicked vibe.

    Instantly, Tungmei clicked with her, as she came to an understanding of what she wanted to do.

 Chapter 340 Red-Handed

    "Wicked girl..."

    "That''s me..." Zhang Liling replied while blinking hershes seductively.

    She seems very pleased with that title from her friend, and it made her way to do wicked things.

    Without wasting time, Tungmei led her ahead.

    "I don''t the exact n you have in mind, but I hope you don''t cause amotion in your father''spany otherwise he face you immediately he finishes venting his anger on Zhang Mingyu."

    "I know, I would really be brainless to shame him in his ownpany when he has done nothing wrong to me." Zhang Liling replied with a smile.

    In other sense, the reason she was not going to do anything embarrassing, was because she was in good terms with her father at the moment.

    Had it been he did something to provoke her recently, this would have been an opportunity to get back at him but fortunately or unfortunately, she was not hear to smear dirt on his face or ruin his reputation.

    Soon, they both came to a stop near a quiet smaller hallway where lostsmaller offices were located.

    "That''s your brother''s office," Tungmei said in a low tone while pointing at a particr office with the blinds in ce.

    "I see..." Zhang Liling uttered with a grin. Then turning to Tungmei, she asked, "Then where is my father''s office? I still n on going there from here."

    "I will wait here for you." Looking at the box in her hand, she snatched it from her. "Also, you can''t go in there with this. Don''t be long."

    "Thanks," Zhang Liling said, finally relieved of the burden, before going on ahead in careful steps.

    She was careful not to attract the attention of the office upants, in order to catch them off guard and she finally seeded with her ns.

    Coming to a stop before Zhang Mingyu''s office door, she read the title te on it, ''xxxx manager'' and almost snorted loudly but because of her mission, she was snark enough to cover her mouth in time, and at the same time, subduing the sound down her throat.

    The next second she removed her palms from over her mouth, it reached for the door handle and immediately bent it downwards.

    Without giving a second space, she pushed the door open with her eyes ahead and pretended to walk in, only to stand frozen to the floor.

    What greeted her sight, was the youngdy that almost bumped into her earlier, sitting on Zhang Mingyu''s thighs and smooching him all over his face, but immediately she opened the door, they separated from each other in fright.

    Mika was so shocked by the sudden intrusion that she helped as she rushed out of Zhang Mingyu''s arms with her hands, flying to her chest to hold her unbuttoned shirt to shield her breasts from Zhang Liling''s view.

    Zhang Mingyu on the other hand, wished for the ground to open up and swallow him.

    He was so embarrassed that he could not even look at his half-sister''s face appropriately after caught doing something wrong.

    The partners in crime were unaware of how Zhang Liling wasughing inside her head while staring at them in shock, physically.

    Being smart enough to know the next move they might make, which is for Zhang Mingyu to beg her not to tell anyone about it, she quickly interrupted their chaotic minds.<sub> </sub>

    Fixing her gaze on only him now, she said with a toneced with shock.

    "I came to ask you to show my Dad''s office, but it looks like I came at the wrong time."

    At that point, Zhang Mingyu found the opportunity to talk, but it was quickly snatched away from him.

    "I will find my way by myself." Saying that, Zhang Liling turned to leave and was had almost shut the door when she heard Zhang Mingyu''s desperate voice plead from inside.

    "Liling, please can you not tell anyone about this, and I won''t tell my mother about seeing you here?"

    Zhang Mingyu was not too dumb to let Zhang Liling go just like that after she caught him red-handed romancing with an office worker in his office during work hours.

    He was not that foolish anymore, and immediately wanted to trade with her, but then, he had to pick the wrong title.

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling scoffed as she turned to fix her annoyed gaze on him.

    "Is that a threat?"

    She was clearly displeased as she felt that he was trying to use his mother against her which she found very annoying.

    Zhang Liling hated Shi Wenqian so much and more so, anything that reminded her of how she bullied her in the past.

    Beforeing this ce, she had not wanted her stepmother to know about hering to Zhang Group or evening to deliver a package to her father. But with this threat that Zhang Mingyu did not meant, she didn''t care about it anymore.

    Zhang Mingyu, on seeing her shock turn into a deep level of anger, felt as if a bucket of cold water was dawned on him.

    It was never his intentions to provoke her. All that was in his mind, was on how to get her to keep her lips sealed, s! He made the matter worse at the end.

    "I don''t dare to threaten you ,I only wanted us to strike a deal." He said immediately, trying to savage whatever that was left.

    Unfortunately, Zhang Liling was not up for the deal.

    "I don''t think you have the right to do so. And I don''t care if Shi Wenqian knows my moves. At least you have proven to me that you are aware of how horrible your mother is."

    Saying up to this point, she turned and walked away, mming the beautifully carved wooden door as hard as she could.

    Zhang Liling was so angry that she fumed all the way to the spot the shocked a frightened Tungmei was waiting for her.

    Seeing her face that was as dark as a coal on return, Tungmei questioned her.

    "What happened? Why do you look so pissed off?"

 Chapter 341 Scared

    "That boy dared to threaten me with his mother!" Zhang Liling revealed angrily, making it possible for Zhang Mingyu and Mika to hear her fading loud voice from the office.

    Sensing the level of her riled up emotions, Tungmei hurriedly led her out.

    "You have to control your anger. Take in deep breaths and tell me why he would mention his mother. Since when did his guts grow that big?"

    Tungmei was surprised that Zhang Mingyu would threaten her after maybe being caught doing something bad in the office.

    Shouldn''t he have pleaded with her not to talk, or has he forgotten how to do that?

    "Oh. He doesn''t have the guts yet," Zhang Liling started a d then went on to exin what transpired inside the office, as they walked ahead.

    "I see...There is no need getting angry over mentioning his mother. That only shows that you scared the hell out of him, and he had no choice than to resort to any means to get you to keep your mouth shut.

    "I bet he didn''t know the right way to." Zhang Liling said, allowing her to lead her toward the elevator.

    "Are you going to tell on him?" Tungmei inquired while giving her the side nce as she pressed the elevator button.

    Walking into the open arms of the elevator, Zhang Liling confirmed the floor they were going to and pressed on the button before replying.

    "No I won''t, but I will make him be on his toes." She promised with tightly squeezed eyes.

    She was very furious with Zhang Mingyu''s method of dealing with things and added to the fact that he was in fact not her true half-brother, she wanted to deal with him.

    Seeing how he had the guts to threaten her in that manner with his scam of a mother when he was a fake, she so badly wanted to blow up his face into minced garlic.

    How befitting he would look then.

    ***

    "Mingyu, I''m so scared." Mika said as she swallowed constantly while still trying to hold her shirt together.

    Hearing that, Zhang Mingyu left his trance a d turned his head to the side to meet her gaze.

    "If you are frightened, what should I do?"

    He was actually trying to ask her who should be in the position to be scared because he felt he was the one.

    If his strict father found out what he has been up to, he might be suspended from thepany, and that would be very embarrassing.

    Also, his dear mother would make the house unliveable for him because she has been all about his progress in the shortest possible amount of time.

    She was not even satisfied with his manager position, and wanted him to move straight to the President position by skipping the director and Vice positions.

    Not just that, she wanted him to marry from a wealthy a d influential family to gain more power and support for himself, so imagine his dull-brain acts were discovered...

    He would be finished.

    Mika got so scared with his attitude that she quickly started to button her shirt, but she was far too scared to do such a simple task within a minute.<sub> </sub>

    She literally fiddled with the buttons, thus, provoking Zhang Mingyu the more.

    The young man was just a second away from letting his nerve snap, but because of the kind of rtionship they had, and the little affection he shared with her, he held himself back from scolding her.

    All he could do at that moment was to look away and take proper care of his image.

    Finally when Mika was done, she picked up the files she came with and brought them in front of him to get his signature.

    Look at those files that was an excuse for them to meet, Zhang Mingyu who had just picked up his pen, mmed it on the files, instantly startling her.

    "Go ande backter," he instructed without an exnation.

    All Mika could do, was to leave as suggested with different thoughts running through her head.

    What could be the reason he asked her to leave without the files?

    Was he trying to find another excuse for them again during office work hours?

    Was he still thinking about making out again?

    Left with her own ideas, she found her way back to her seat quietly.

    ***

    As soon as they arrived at the almost empty floor with only a few offices in it, Tungmei announced their arrival.

    "On this floor, we have the President and Vice-president offices, plus their personal assistant''s office on this side." Exining further, she added while nodding to her right.

    "And on my right, we have the executiverge meeting room for the board of directors, and a smaller room for meeting with VVIP investors and partners."

    All this time she was exining things to her, Zhang Liling paid rapt attention with a look of interest.

    "How do you know about this, have you been up here before?" She asked as she slowly shifted her gaze to her.

    She was a bit surprised with her knowledge as not all employees of Zhang Corp was given the privilege to reach that floor, more so, interns.

    "How could I have even here before? It''s all thanks to you that I could go up to this floor otherwise, the security guards would have dragged me away." Tungmei quickly exined with a ridiculous expression on her face, causing a smile to appear on Zhang Liling''s face.

    The youngdy has already slowly recovered from her point of extreme anger.

    "Alright, I think I can take it from here," She said, slowly reaching for the box which Tungmei handed over without wasting time.

    "O ha e been gone from my desk for a while, and I need to see how Mika is faring, the poor girl might not be having it easy after shocking her with your entrance." Tungmei said in a quiet chuckle.

    If not for the fact that her senses were still intact, she could ha eughed to her heart''s content, but where she was, was very much inscribed on her brain.

 Chapter 342 Knowing Herself

    In no time, Zhang Liling found her way to her father''s office, as she could see more bodyguards standing along the curved hallway leading to his office.

    And seeing as no one tried to stop her or ask questions to what reason must have brought her up to that floor, she wasn''t surprised.

    She guessed that they must have recognised her since they worked very closely for her father.

    As soon as she reached the door that had the mist prestigious title in the building, she had one of the men in ck suit knock twice on the door.

    A few secondster, the automatic door opened by itself which was a courtesy of Zhang Renshu being the only one who could let someone in by himself by pressing only a button on his desk.

    But as for him getting ess into his own office should in case he leaves and want to go in, he only needed his thumbprint to open the door.

    Anyone that wanted to steal case-sensitive files from his office without his permission maybe after messing with the security camera, would have a lot of assignment to do in this case.

    With Zhang Renshu''s permission, the automatic door slid to the side, giving her the chance to enter.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling walked into therge office working space of the President of Zhang Corp, which happened to be her father with a cool vibe.

    Now in her head, she was alreadyparing this office with Fang Bingwen''s own, and she couldn''t help but a little confused.

    They both were so good and she swore that there was no way she wouldn''t have millions of dors worth of ideas oozing off from her brain if she happened to have the opportunity to work in both.

    She could already feel the surge of energy riling up in her body.

    "You..." Zhang Renshu''s eyes widened in shock when he lifted his gaze and beheld the person he let into his office.

    At first, he had thought it was personal assistant or one of the directors that was permitted to report to him directly instead of going through his personal assistant.

    But when he didn''t hear any greeting get plus the sound of hurried quit footsteps walking toward him, he felt something wrong and decided to look up, only to see the scarce daughter of his, Liling around his work ce with a pleased gaze.

    Hearing his voice, and the surprise that cane with his reaction, Zhang Liling finally shifted her gaze to him as she made her way toward hisrge work desk.

    As soon as she reached there, she ced the box on top of his desk and made herselffortable.

    "Hello, Dad." She greeted while still maintaining the calm demeanour.

    "You came to thepany today, am I safe?" Zhang Renshu asked as he decided to take a moment break from the new proposal he was reading as his eyes briefly nced at the paper box before him.

    Spreading her arms out, she assured him. "Of course you are safe. I only came on an official visit to deliver something important to you."

    "Official visit?"

    He doubted that.

    If she hade on an official visit, the reception would have notified his personal assistant who would have been the one to send her in.

    He was very sure that she had the unofficial way of making her things official.<sub> </sub>

    Understanding the doubt written all over his face, a soft chuckle escaped her slight parted lips.

    ''I really am a trouble maker,'' she thought to herself.

    It was as if it was now that it was dawning on her of how troublesome she actually was.

    Shecould already tell the kind of thoughts that were going on in her father''s head.

    How could she say that she came on an official visit and yet didn''t book a formal appointment with him?

    She really was something else.

    "Of course. Dad, there is no time to waste and I don''t want to encroach into much of your time. I came to invite you to aunch which is taking ce tomorrow. The invite is inside the box." Zhang Liling announced, going straight to the point as she minimised the smile on her face.

    "Whatunch?" Zhang Renshu asked as his brows furrowed.

    He looked disinterested with the invitation to attend a randomunch he had no idea about and worse of it all, the event was the next day.

    He didn''t have time for all of that, plus the invite came on a short notice.

    If it wasn''t for the fact that this was the first time this daughter of his was inviting him for something, he would have directly turned her away the first she mentioned it.

    But because this was the first time, he wanted to give her a little consideration.

    "Do you want me to open the box for you? Don''t you want to have a good look by yourself, this is a personal invitation to the almighty Zhang Corp''s President."

    Zhang did not forget to praise him at the end and massage his ego at the same time as she really had a way with words.

    Surely, Zhang Renshu could no longer resist her as he was seen taken the box from the position she had put it before much to her happiness.

    At first nce, he sighted his name written in ck letters with a golden colour pen. Next, he sighted the brand that had sent him an invitation.

    Without a word, he proceeded to open the box himself to see the stuff inside, which got him to frown.

    Seeing the things inside, his brows creased immediately as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    "What did you give to me?"

    Just as he raised his head, he caught Zhang Liling videoing him with her phone a d a big smile stered on his face.

    Before he could even ask what she was doing, he heard her speak.

    "Dad, Glint is a makeup brand that just ventured into the market, and it belongs to me. So I''m inviting you for theunch tomorrow afternoon. I would be happy if you take some time off from your busy schedule to grace this event."

 Chapter 343 Zhang Lilings Hint

    Zhang Renshu was taken aback by the revtion.

    His daughter started a brand for herself?

    He just couldn''t ce his hand around this fact. The child he almost had no hopes for to attain greatness, this daughter of his he thought was toozy to work for herself started a makeuppany for herself?

    He couldn''t believe it and had to ask a few more questions just to confirm the fact for himself.

    Still in disbelief that she coulde up with that kind of idea, he threw all kinds of questions at her.

    "Who gave you this idea in the first ce?"

    "Where did you get the first capital?"

    "Did you go through a manufacturer?"

    "Did you rebrand someone''s product and just make your ownbel?"

    "Did someone help you to achieve all of this?"

    Although Zhang Liling was offended y a few of the question which pointed to her being a scammer, she did well not so show her emotions.

    "Dad, I''m not surprised that you would think so little of me, but it''s alright. I understand that this came as a surprise to you as this is the first time I''m doing something unexpected apart from having good grades."

    Nodding toward the box, she started to exin herself, which was something she wouldn''t do if it were before.

    The more Zhang Renshu listened, the more proud he felt, but the man was too stubborn to show it on his face.

    Right in the centre of his mind, he was thinking about his other children.

    None, had ever tried to start something for themselves instead, they ran into Zhang Corp to take shied as their mother plotted something huge behind his back.

    On this note, Zhang Renshu made a mental note as a huge idea came to his head.

    For the time being, he would watch Zhang Liling grow and manage her brand, then he would tell if she would be able to handle the weight of Zhang Corp.

    Without letting his thoughts show on his face, he listened on, until it was time for him to say something.

    "Do you want to hear the truth?" He had just asked when he changed his mind. Waving the question away, he started again.

    "I am very unhappy that you chose to start your own brand instead ofing to work in Zhang Corp where you have so much more prospect. Let me tell you that managing apany is not easy."

    Whether he was truly looking out for her or not, Zhang Liling was not sure about it, but she sti gave her own opinion.

    Leaning into his desk, she said as she brought her palms together. "Glint will surely have prospect when I already invited the likes of you to theunch tomorrow."

    Understanding what she meant, he immediately fired back.

    "Even if you sessfully bring in more investors, it''s nit enough for your business to stand. There is still a lot of groundwork to do if you want a star to your name in the market."

    "Don''t worry about me, I am smart enough," Zhang Liling winked at him before gradually letting her back rx on the chair.<sub> </sub>

    She seems veryfortable and confidence to be able to smile at him.

    Seeing how focused she was plus the confidence that was exuding from her, Zhang Renshu dropped the topic, now focusing on the products inside the box she brought with her invitation.

    "Your invitation is well appreciated, but what would I be doing with all of this?"

    As they werest the main topic, Zhang Liling took this question as a cue to start leaving. Rising to her feet, she ced the handle of her bag on her shoulder while replying him.

    "Surely, I didn''t bring them for you, and I definitely did not bring it for the wifeyou have at home."

    Seeing as he didn''t even think or remember that he had a wife at home he could have given the makeup products to, she knew that things were very bad between him and Shi Wenqian.

    And for this reason, she was very happy but only smiled inwardly.

    In this very case, she was not going openly show her animosity toward Shi Wenqian even though she was not in good terms with her father.

    She was just going to turn a blind eye to the whole situation just to stop Zhang Renshu from reading too much meaning into things.

    Who knows how he would turn against her if she showed that side of her.

    Zhang Renshu feigned ignorance to her words as he stared at her with creased brows.

    ''How much does she know?'' That was the only thought going through his mind.

    If she gave him the makeup products despite knowing he was a man, and also not because of her stepmother so he could give it to her, what was her intentions?

    Fortunately, he didn''t have to wait long before receiving his answers.

    ''I see you want to y ignorant, but I don''t have the time for it.'' Zhang Liling thought as the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

    "I know you have another woman outside, you can give it to her." She revealed straightforwardly.

    While staring into his eyes to watch the fleeting emotions in them, she hinted, "Women appreciate gifts like this, especially ones that make them feel beautiful and cared for."

    In essence, she was teaching him how take care of the other woman he had outside by telling him gifts that women loved to receive.

    "What?"

    Zhang Renshu who was normally calctive, seemed unable to understand the meaning of her words or maybe because he was too surprised to handle her care-free attitude to him cheating.

    Gesturing with her hand, Zhang Liling stated, "Shi Wenqian deserves to be cheated on." After all, she cheated with you on my mother.

    Zhang Liling did no longer care about what her father would think because of the I''ll intentions she had for her stepmother which she just disyed right in front of him.

    She could as well use this opportunity to show him that she didn''t like her instead of pretending throughout and making him suspicious.

    But at least, she was not going to show her the entire evil intentions she had for her.

 Chapter 344 Hardworking Boyfriend

    What kind of daughter encourages her father to continue cheating on his wife?

    Maybe only Zhang Liling could pull this stunt.

    Zhang Renshu waspletely dumbstruck that he couldn''t say anything for a while minute and seeing her father tongue-tied, brought joy to her.

    Turning to walk away with that triumphant smile on her face, she tapped her fingers by her side, but then she remembered something important and stopped in her steps.

    Without warning, she made a request, instantly jolting Zhang Renshu back to reality.

    "Dad, I want to fire someone in thispany. Thatdy at the reception desk is so rude even to me. She would ruin business for you."

    Hearing her request which he found a little ridiculous, Zhang Renshu intertwined his fingers together before him on the desk.

    "If you want to fire someone in Zhang Corp, then you must either be a staff here and as my daughter, you will have that right, or you can as a board member."

    Spreading his hands, his shoulders slouched.

    "I understand," Zhang Liling said, giving him a meaningful gaze,totally hiding her thoughts from him.

    "Don''t bete for my brandunch tomorrow. You can alsoe with your girlfriend, my mother wouldn''t mind."

    Saying that, she turned to leave with a big smile stered on her face, her thoughts, only known to him.

    And no .after how her father called her toe back, or threw a few questions at her, it only hit her back as she walked away,pletely disappearing from his office and leaving the tightly shut door to his view.

    "That girl..."

    Zhang Renshu was left speechless.

    Before leaving thepany, Zhang Liling made sure to go back to meet Tungmei.

    "Hope you are all good now?" She asked while giving her a scrutinizing gaze.

    "I''m good. I feel so much happier now. Anyway, you don''t have to keep track of those two anymore. Now that I have confirmed with my own eyes of what their rtionship is like, I can''t be bothered about them."

    "Why did you change your mind? I thought you wanted to use this situation to your advantage?" Tungmei whispered in a voice that only them would hear.

    "There are plenty of opportunities to put on a simple show that would make others to catch them red-handed."

    Zhang Liling couldn''t be bothered about Zhang Mingyu and Mika''s rtionship for she had far greater matter to work on.

    Somehow understanding her, Tungmei nodded inpliance.

    ***

    From Zhang Corp, Zhang Liling went to herpany to do ast minute setup.

    The medium sized room she crafted out has been totally transformed and ready for tomorrow''s event, the long anticipated day.

    Checking on the caterer, Zhang Liling went to pick up her dress after thest amendment.

    This time around, she wanted to put on something that would fit her perfectly hence, she had an outfit tailor-made for herself.<sub> </sub>

    After checking on everything on her To-Do List, she made a stop at Fang Group to see her beloved man who was walking tirelessly so he doesn''t have to stop at the office the next day.

    Putting down the things in her hands on the transparent ss table next to rolls of ck sofa in therge office space, she immediately rushed behind his desk to give him a hug from the back.

    "I missed you so much!" She dered while smooching his cheeks.

    Without warning, Mr. Fang tilted his head to the side as he took her arm and pulled her to his side. Then without taking a moment to see her facial features, he locked her lips hungrily.

    He was indeed very hungry.

    Whenst did he even do as much as to give her a kiss? Work has been so busy for the two of them to even think about having a little romance.

    But today, Zhang Liling found an opportunity for them to do this much.

    Even though she was a little surprised that he would turn the smooching into a real kiss, she still reciprocated his actions without reservation.

    But thankfully, one of them was still sane to realise where they were.

    Gently, Fang Bingwen withdrew his lips as his dark eyes .et her unsatisfied gaze.

    "This is my workspace and anyone can walk in on us."

    "That''s a lie. This is your private working space. You only broke the kiss because of your principles of office romance." Zhang Liling pouted as she walked over to sit from across him.

    "Thank goodness you know how easily your temptation leads me into sin," Fang Bingwen acknowledged with a smile.

    He really wanted to take off his hats for her.

    He had been working since morning, but just seeing her for as little a few seconds was enough to drive him crazy.

    Look how he broke the rules he had set for himself in his office.

    Hearing him say that, a smile turned up on her face. She would take that as apliment.

    "How long have you been working?"

    "The question should be if I have taken a break," He corrected as his back sank into the backrest while gazing at her with a smile.

    His eyes were so bright like the full moon in the darkest night. He was so happy to see her after working for several hours nonstop.

    Gazing at him properly, Zhang Liling leaned in to study his facial features. Even in the midst of those bright eyes that were fixed on her, she could see some dark circles around his eyes.

    "Your face tells me how worked-up you are. Mr. Fang, you need to rest. You are my boyfriend and don''t forget what tomorrow is. You can''te to Glint''s event looking like this."

    This was Zhang Liling''s way of showing him that she cared for him plus the worry that was evident in her eyes.

    "I am working so hard today so I will have the whole of tomorrow to apany you." He revealed and knowing fully well of how touched she would be with his action, he hurriedly diverted her attention.

    "Liling, your first priority should be looking after this boyfriend of yours. I see you holding so many things in your hands, what did you bring for me?"

    He asked shamelessly as his gaze flew past her and came to slowly rest on the branded nylons she brought with her.

 Chapter 345 Force Break Up

    Being reminded of the things she brought for him, Zhang Liling left her seat to go to the table, to rustle with the big branded nylons.

    After a few moments, the shuffling died down as she returned to his desk holding a few things in her hands.

    "I got some takeout for you," She said, putting down the stic tes of food in her hands before setting down the pair of disposable chopsticks before him.

    "I guessed that you would be very busy to ha e food during lunch, so I took it upon myself not to let you starve."

    A smile spread across Mr. Fang''s face Ashe watched her serve him the food she bought from a restaurant.

    Lastly, she set a table of bottle water in front of him before taking her seat and urging him to eat.

    Without wasting time, he picked up his pair of chopstick and started to eat.

    "How did the meeting with your father go?"

    He still remembered that she was scheduled to see her father at the Zhang Corp today and wanted to know if all went well.

    But judging from how she stepped into his office with a grand smile on her face without firstining, he guessed that all must have gone well with her father.

    "It was okay..." She started and went on to reveal the conversation she had with her father.

    "... He was surprised to find out that I know about him having a mistress outside."

    Swallowing the piece of minced vegetable in his mouth, Fang Bingwenmented as he reached out with his chopstick to pick up a piece of braised pork.

    "I didn''t think he would be surprised."

    "I knew he would be, but how could he be surprised? Did he think that I would forget that he cheated on my mother? I''m not that dumb to not know that he would never stop especially after ending up with a woman like Shi Wenqian."

    Taking a breather, she continued, "Knowing the circumstances surrounding their union, he would surely not having any affection for her."

    "You are right. After all, she was first his housekeeper before breaking up his marriage with his fianc¨¦e," Fang Bingwen said with a meaningful gaze directed at her.

    His words plus his gaze seemed to be suggesting something to her.

    Feeling his weird gaze while mentioning that topic, Zhang Liling''s eyes widened in their sockets as her lips protruded in a pout.

    "Why are you staring at me like that?" She questioned.

    "Mfffmfff..." Fang Bingwen waved his hand in front of her as a suggestive smile graced his lips. "Nothing."

    "I don''t believe that. You are clearlyughing at me yet you deny it."

    She refused to believe that he wasughing in passing. Surely that wicked smile must have meant something she didn''t even want to think about.<sub> </sub>

    Refusing to say anything, he continued to eat as if he did nothing wrong. But a few momentster, he shifted his gaze back to her to say,

    "I am wondering if your mother knows how you seduce..."

    Before he could finish his words, she had already risen to her feet and stretched her hand to cover his lips.

    "Bingwen!" She whined unhappily.

    Why was he mentioning that?

    From the look of things, this was what his suggestion meant. He was reminding her of how simr her situation was to that of her stepmother when she snatched her father from her mother.

    "Pfffttt... Hahahaha..." Unable to control his emotions at seeing her so worked up, he broke into a fit ofughter, forcing her to withdraw her hand.

    As Fang Bingwenughed hard at her, he didn''t forget to watch every emotion that shed across her face.

    "What''s funny? If my mother hears this, she is going to pull my ear and force us to break up. My methods are more than enough to remind her how she was betrayed."

    Saying that, Zhang Liling slumped on the chair with an annoyed look. She was offended at him making fun of her.

    She could already guess what her mother''s actions would be if she found out about this. The woman would be so angry

    Gradually, Fang Bingwen''sughter died down. "I would never tell your mother about that. If she learns of this, then it would be your fault. Anyway, no matter what, I wouldn''t break up with you because of this."

    "You really do not know my mother. This housekeeping stuff ruined her. It almost broke her. See how her family abandoned her and how much she struggled to get a good job and raise me all alone as a single mother."

    Sighing deeply, she added, "It''s not my intention to remind her of her past and the pains she passed I just liked you too much back then, and had to resort to that petty means of chasing after you."

    Feeling her guilt and sadness because of her mother''s opinion and possible reaction to this, only a small smile remained on his face.

    "Your means of chasing me was really petty, but it''s not bad. You can never beepared to Shi Wenqian who clearly knew that her Boss was getting married and yet went ahead to sleep with him."

    He was letting her know that her situation was very different from Shi Wenqian.

    He was single, he wasn''t dating anyone nor had interest in any woman at the time she started to make a move on him, so they were not the same.

    Hearing hisforting words that defended her actions, Zhang Liling was encouraged.

    "Thank you. I only hope that my mum will not be against our union when she learns of this."

    There was still a slight worry remaining in her for she would hate to fight or argue with her mother.

    "If you are still worried, then don''t tell her anything. Only a few people know about this, let''s keep it between us then." Fang Bingwen suggested before sending a spoon of rice dipped in a bowl of soup into his mouth.

 Chapter 346 False Knowledge

    Agreeing to keep things that way, Zhang Liling nodded inpliance before bringing up another topic.

    "I can''t believe you asked your father to bring his girlfriend to your event. Don''t you think you went a little too far?" Fang Bingwen inquired while locking gazes with her.

    He was still unable to get over her big move. Wasn''t she scared about incurring the wrath of her father.

    "No. I was only trying to make himfortable enough after showing my support for his actions." Zhang Liling said without a care.

    A deep sigh escaped from his lips as he slowly put down his chopsticks.

    "You really know how to mess things up without knowing. Sometimes, you don''t have to let one know that you are aware of their secret, especially for someone like your father."

    "What did I do wrong? Is it wrong to make himfortable with me concerning his affairs?"

    "How did that sound to you? Imagine having an affair, but don''t try it otherwise I would break your legs and keep you at home. If you do something like your father and your child tells you to your face that she knows about it and then proceeds tough over it, would you befortable?"

    Even while trying to teach her something, he was already making his stance about cheating known to her.

    He didn''t even wait till when he was done talking about her father''s matter, and directly chipped in what he would do to her if she dared to walk on her father''s footsteps in the middle of his lessons.

    "No, why would I be..." Just as she was giving her response, she suddenly stopped, realizing her mistake.

    If she were to be in father''s shoes which she didn''t have any ns to be in, she would surely be ufortable no matter how causally her child made the matter to look.

    Now afraid that she must have ruined something with her father, the frown on her face gradually turned to fear.

    "But you shouldn''t worry about it. Let it be a lesson to know act so casually without thinking. Men have different thoughts and different reaction to things." Fang Bingwen advised.

    Shifting the conversation from Zhang Renshu to the event taking ce the next day, thru talked about the food vendor and the set up at the room for the asion.

    By the time Zhang Liling left for her ce, it was alreadyte and she was right in time for dinner.

    "What took you so long?" Song Jujing asked as soon as she stepped into the house.

    "After seeing father, I had a lot of things to confirm. My friends from Paris would be arriving in the morning toe support me, I also had to check in with the hotel they would stop to rest."

    "That''s okay. Was your hands ande over to the dining table."

    Rejecting her mother''s instruction, she first rushed to the dining area to nce at the few dishesid out on it as she allowed the aroma to waft into her nose.

    "Mum, what fish is this?" She asked, unable to recognize a particr food on the table.

    "Wash your hands first. When you do that, I will be able to answer your questions," Song Jujing replied, much to her annoyance.

    Left with no choice, Zhang Liling had to return to her bedroom.<sub> </sub>

    Putting her bag down, she washed her hands and proceeded to change out of how jumpsuit before going down to the dining table to sit and eat, totally forgetting about her earlier curiosity as her mother stirred the conversation toward another topic.

    Learning that her would-be son-inw asked about her after Zhang Liling revealed to have visited him, Song Jujing was happy.

    "After this event, I will prepare a lot of dishes for him and invite him home," She promised.

    Half an hour into the meal, Zhang Liling remembered the event that took ce at Zhang Corp and her smile was immediately reced with a frown.

    "Mum, there is someone I want to fire at Zhang Corp for disrespecting me and stopping me from seeing Dad earlier today."

    Picking a ss of water to quench her temper, a wave of air escaped her lips.

    "I told Dad about this, but do you know what he said?"

    "What did he say?" Song Jujing inquired.

    "He refused to fire her saying that if I want to do that, then I have to be a staff at Zhang Corp and then as his daughter, he would let me fire whomever I wanted."

    The more Zhang Liling thought about this, the angrier she became. Her father couldn''t even do what she wanted without asking for something in return.

    And the stuff he wanted was too big.

    Perhaps, was he expecting her to sell off the brand she just started ande work for him, or split her attention from growing herpany while also working for him.

    What was his intention?

    "Then what are you going to do about it?" Song Jujing probed, despite guessing where she was going with the matter.

    "Mum," leaning in, her voice softened. "You mentioned about giving me some of your shares in Zhang Corp when next youe. Now that you are here, you can do it so that i can have some power in my hands."

    Seeing how ambitious she suddenly became just because she wanted to fire someone, a soft chuckle escaped from Song Jujing''s lips.

    "I like your brilliance, but you still have slot to learn." She said, giving her a meaningful gaze she failed to understand.

    "Mum, I don''t under what you are getting at." She stated with confusion spread across her face.

    With no intentions of wasting both of their time, Song Jujing went on to break a shocking news to her which she had never considered.

    "Being a shareholder of anypany, does not give you the right to make decisions for thepany."

    "What!" Zhang Liling eximed, as she was shocked beyond measure.

    "For you to be able to make decision in anypany, you do not just have to be a shareholder, but also be part of thepany''s board of directors."

 Chapter 347 The Package

    Song Jujing did not stop there instead, she took her time to continue exin how things were done.

    "... The shareholders are the ones to vote and appoint someone from amongst them, to be part of apany''s board of director."

    Somehow, Zhang Liling began to question her first-ss certificate. She was so embarrassed that she ducked under the table.

    Fortunately, she didn''t mention this to Fang Bingwen otherwise, the man would have given her a scrutinizing gaze capable of questioning her entire existence.

    That would have been more embarrassing than this moment.

    How could she have forgotten something as important as this?

    It looks like her memories were friend somehow without her knowledge.

    After washing up for the night, Zhang Liling carried her exhausted body to her bed.

    Sighing to herself without a pout, she shut her eyes but right at that moment, the ringing sound form her phone, forced her eyes open.

    "I can''t even get some sleep," she muttered under her breath as shezily sat up on the bed before reaching for her phone at the bedside table.

    ncing at her phone screen, she saw the caller ID before sliding her fingers across the screen to answer the call.

    cing the phone on her ear, she patiently listened to the person on the other end.

    "A mail?"

    "What does the person want?" She asked, and the listened for a few seconds before replying.

    "I will check it now and get back to you."

    As soon as the call ended, she got out of bed and went to her working desk to turn on herptop.

    In no time after she had settled on thefy chair, theptop was ready for use and without wasting time, she connected it to her inte before going straight to her private mail.

    There was only a few unread mail in her in box, but ignoring the rest, she clicked open the most recent one to read it''s content.

    A few minutester, she closed herptop without any expression on her face.

    Picking up her phone from the table, she phoned the same person who happened to be one of the staff in the HR department.

    "I''ve seen the mail. Send an apology letter to him and ask for the address he wanted the package delivered to him."

    Releasing a deep breath, she continued, "Before 7 AM tomorrow, the invitation package for theunch party should have reached his doorstep."

    Listening for a while, she replied, "Make sure to give me a feedback after sending it out tomorrow."

    "Good."

    Giving herst reply, she took away from the phone from her ear and pressed on the red phone icon.

    Sighing, she got back to her bed andid down with her back against the sheets.

    "Some people are really weird." She thought out loud while gazing at the POP ceiling above her head.

    Zhang Liling was surprised with the mail she read a few minutes ago but more than that, she was surprised as to whom the person that sent it was.

    Although she had a lot of questions in her head, she still went on to let hershes flutter close and allow a deep sleep to carry her away.

    She was far too tired to think of some things that were really not important to her at the moment.

    *******

    ~Tang Family Residence~

    After using hisptop, Tang Ei closed shut it down and equally closed the files on the desk.

    When he was done putting everything away, he went down for dinner.

    As usual, the dining area was calm as everyone ate in silence until his mother decided to bring up a topic for discussion.

    A topic to spite Zhang Xiaoling of he was not mistaken.

    Turning to her second daughters-inw, she Mrs. Tang asked with a meek tone as a small smile graced her lips.

    "Have you gotten your outfit for tomorrow''s party ready? I was very busy and didn''t even remember to shop."

    "Ah... I will just pick something from my closet. There is no need to worry, Mother." The young woman said with an apologetic smile.

    "No way. I won''t let you go with your old clothes. This is a new brand that seems to be owned by a well-to-do businessman, we have to look our best."

    Then stealing a nce at Zhang Xiaoling from her peripheral view, she noticed how she slowed down with her hand movements.

    A triumphant smile spread across her face as she retracted her gaze from her.<sub> </sub>

    ''Serves you right to not know your ce.''

    Focusing on her second daughter-inw, she continued with a smile.

    "The event will start by noon and that is enough time for us to shoo and visit the beauty saloon. Whenst did I go with you to that ce?"

    The smile on the ground woman''s face seemed to reduce to the lowest degree as her apprehensive voice replied.

    "Mother, this will be the first time."

    She seems to have been scared about reminding her mother-inw that she had never taken out to the beauty saloon before.

    She only hoped that telling the truth would not cause the old Lady''s face to be pped with shame.

    But in contrast to her worry, Mrs. Tang''s reaction was very different.

    "Then, let''s visit the beauty saloon more often," She said, as she shifted her gaze to rest on her third daughters-inw''s face to show that she was including her in the subject.

    "Yes, mother," The two women replied with relieve.

    Clearly observing her mother-inw''s actions by listening attentively even while pretending to be preupied with her food, Zhang Xiaoling scoffed inwardly.

    ''What a child!'' She mmed the woman in her 60''s who happened to be her husband''s mother, in her head.

    As far as she was concerned, the woman didn''t deserve any ounce of respect from her.

    Trying to rub salt to the wound she created on her body? That was a childish action.

    Did she think that her petty silly actions were enough to make her regret her actions and plead for mercy?

    If she thought so, then she must be joking.

    Totally secluding herself from what was happening around her, she focuses on eating to her satisfaction so she could leave on time.

    Tang Ei who was tired of his mother''s actions, peeled his gaze from her. Sparing the woman sitting beside him a nce, he saw how far-fetched she was from the discussion and sighed to himself before continuing with his food.

    ***

    The next morning, around a few minutes past seven package arrived from a deliverypany and a servant received it.

    After signing the papers off since she had the power to do that, she carried the big box into the living room.

    "What is that in your hands?" Mrs. Tang asked with furrowed brows as she put down the lifestyle magazine in her hands.

    Every morning, she had a ritual of drinking tea and for this reason, she would always pair it up by reading her different kinds of magazines that interested her, or watched the TV.

    And because she woke up on time today, she was able to see the servants get on with their daily task.

    Receiving a question from her Mistress, the servant immediately walked up to her. "It''s an express delivery for Sir Ei."

    "Ei?" Mrs. Tang raised a questioning brow. "Bring it here," She instructed with a doubtful gaze.

    Since when did Ei start ordering things for home delivery?

    Mrs. Tang doubted that her son was the one the package belonged to and immediately asked for it to be brought to her so she could check the item inside.

    One mind was telling her that Zhang Xiaoling was the one behind this act.

    ''That girl must have done this using my son''s name to stop people from tampering with it. But girl, look here, you can''t get past me with this trick.''

    As soon as the box was brought before her, she asked the servant to shake it.

    "Shake it, let us see what might be inside," She said, guessing that it was either clothes her daughter-inw must have ordered or shoes and bags.

    The servant looked troubled, but proceeded to do as she was instructed.

    Feeling that another box was inside after shaking the bigger one, she replied with a troubled expression on her face.

    "Ma''am, another box seemed to be inside of it."

    It was very obvious from the sound that was made when she shook the big brown box in her hands.

    "Another box? Then I really must find out what is inside it. Put the box down and go get a knife for me." Mrs. Tang instructed immediately.

    That there was another box inside, was not going to stop her from finding out whatever packagended in her home that morning.

    At the same time, Tang Ei who had just stepped out from the walk-in closet dressed in an ash-coloured suit while trying to fix his cufflinks, heard his phone ring and immediately rushed to pick it up.

    "Hello, Mr. Tang, this is ***** from Glint, the package has been delivered to your doorstep."

 Chapter 348 Rude Of You

    As soon as Tang Ei got off the phone with the representative from Glint, he slipped his phone inside his pocket and briefly nced at the womanying awake on the bed, before heading out.

    Hearing the sound of retreating footsteps, Zhang Xiaoling finally sat up from the bed with her phone in hand.

    Staring at the shut door in her line of sight, the negative auto flowing from her increased.

    She looked tired, tired of everything and just wanted to get away from them all.

    Letting out a long sigh, she pushed the duvet covering her fair legs out of the way and got off the bed and headed for the inner room.

    She was still in her night robe and was yet to freshen up.

    ***

    Tang Ei was quick in his steps and as soon as he climbed down the stairs, he made his way toward the living area while looking around him for any servant he could ask about the parcel.

    He seems to be in a hurry that he almost walked past the living room. He would have missed this perfect picture in his line of sight if he hadn''t seen his mother struggling with a big box in front of him.

    Normally, Ei would have continued in his steps as he had nothing to do with his mother''s dealings, but something in him told him that his mother had something that belonged to him.

    Feeling that the box was the package sent over from Glint, he quickly called out to his mother in an urgent tone while making his way toward her in rushed footsteps.

    "Mum!"

    Hearing his voice, Mrs. Tang was immediately distracted from the box in front of her. She looked surprised as she turned her gaze to meet his face.

    Before she could even say anything to him, he best her to it.

    "Mum, are you trying to take a peek at what belongs to me?" Tang Ei inquired as he nced briefly at the box before shifting his gaze back to his mother.

    Surprised that the package actually belonged to him and not his wife, she tried to confirm from him.

    "This belongs to you?"

    For a moment, Tang Ei was confused and even felt that he must have been mistaken. With the way his mother reacted, he was beginning to doubt it this package actually belonged to him.

    Could it be that his name was not written on it.

    Deciding to try his luck with nothing to lose, he went further to ask.

    "Isn''t my name written on it? Thepany I ced this order from just informed me that the package I ced an order for, had gotten to my doorstep."

    With this evidence lying in front of her, Mr. Tang could no longer deny that the box belonged to him and not Zhang Xiaoling.

    Instantly, a smile contoured her face.

    "A servant brought this over but I refused to believe that it belonged to you. I thought Zhang Xiaoling ced an order in your name, so I was trying to see what was inside."<sub> </sub>

    Just then, the servant she sent to fetch a knife, returned with it.

    Tang Ei briefly nced at her and the knife in her hand before looking back to his mother with ckspread on his forehead.

    "Mum, that was rude of you to open Someone''s package without their permission."

    Without another word, he carried the box and turning to face the servant, he reached out a hand to her, demanding for the knife.

    Immediately the knife was submitted to him, he walked away in annoyance, leaving his mother gawking at him.

    Mrs. Tang was surprised that her son would embarrass her Ruth the truth, but how could he say that to her face?

    How could he tell her that she was being disrespectful to his wife? Was he not insulting her?

    In Tang Ei''s mind few minutes ago when he was saying those words to her, he didn''t care about the reaction she would have because he was already very disappointed with her actions.

    Was she being serious when she made that statement?

    How could she open the package because she thought it belonged to his wife, and she even addressed her by her full name.

    Didn''t she know that she was being disrespectful to Zhang Xiaoling by making her look like an outsider?

    Since when did she have to search her things before it would reach her? That was a wrong move he would never tolerate.

    Tang Ei was not going to allow his mother to downgrade his wife because that will be as good as her, pping his face directly.

    Disrespecting his wife also meant disrespecting him in case she was not aware.

    Watching her son walk away, Mrs. Tang Tang squeezed her palms as her breathing hitched.

    Walking into the room, Tang Ei saw no one in sight.

    The bed was empty as the personying on it before, was already gone. But hearing the sound if watering from the bathroom, he guessed where Zhang Xiaoling was.

    ''At least I can check a few things without her being here,'' he thought to himself before shutting the door behind him and putting the box on the floor.

    As the big brown box had a lot of white taping all over its body, they only way to open it was to use a sharp object.

    ncing at how security-tight the packaging was, Tang Ei discovered why it was difficult for his mother to open it with her bare hands despite having struggled with it for a while.

    Without any time to waste, he used the night to clear out a path a d in no time, he was able to tear it open and being out the smaller box in it after shifting the small pieces of paper shreds and other soft cosy items used to protect the inner box.

    "Glint," His lips uttered as soon as he caught sight of what was written on the box.

    Letting out a sigh, he out the knife aside and proceeded to carry out the inner box.

 Chapter 349 The Note

    Tang Ei was the one that sent a mail to Glint, prompting Zhang Liling to issue a package to him.

    And yes, Zhang Liling recognised as Zhang Xiaoling''s husband, and that was the reason she was a little surprised with his mail and demand.

    Tang Ei had been annoyed with his mother''s petty action to deal with his wife and having pity on her, he set out to do everything he could to get her an invite to theunch party.

    He made calls to see if there was a way to get an invite, but none of them yielded fruit.

    Left with no choice, he had to contact Glint through a mail to try his luck after taking a few hours to study the new brand.

    After discovering that his mother was not bragging about how big Glint was going to be big, he decided that it was indeed worth the hype.

    Although he had no reason to make Zhang Xiaoling happy after her treatment, he still set out to try to make her happy.

    Contacting Glint and waiting for a response was by luck.

    Truthfully, he wasn''t even sure that his mail would get attended to since the event was less than 24 hours away, but to his surprise, he received almost a fast response and felt all his tended nerves calm down.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling had only one valid reason for epting his request even though she disliked his tone.

    ''Is this how Glint works? Inviting only a few people they think are important to their brandunch and leaving out a big market sensation like us? That is unfair.''

    Tang Ei had sent the mail through his personal mail address that had his full name, but he made sure to attach his ''CEO'' hierarchy and hispany''s logo in the letter, making it easy for his identity to be discovered and verified.

    Zhang Liling had been surprised as she didn''t know that he would be interested in her brandunch.

    She had thought he was a little petty plus a touch of rudeness to him, but she still heeded to what he wanted.

    The only valid reason she did that, was because she didn''t want to make an enemy of any big conglomerate at this start of her professional journey even though she had Fang Bingwen by her side.

    Seeing that it wouldn''t remove anything from her, she gave an instruction for a package to be prepared and delivered to him at once.

    But while giving that instruction, she had said in her mind, ''Tang Ei, you''d better bring in some goodies to mypany otherwise you would make a ten-fold payment for this.''

    Zhang Liling was not going to let him use her make-up products,e to her event, drink champagne, eat good food plus dessert and then mingle with other wealthy and influential people and not add value to her business.

    She was going to make him pay for it if he turned out to be useless to her.

    ***

    Quickly, Tang Ei carried out the box and set it on the desk. When he opened it, he nced at the contents to confirm everything including the handwritten letter before closing the box back.

    But there was one w he found out...

    The name on the box was directed to him, ''Mr. Tang Ei''

    Was Zhang Xiaoling going to still appreciate it? Would she know that he got it for her when she sees his name imprinted on it?<sub> </sub>

    Actually, Tang Ei didn''t think about this fact and now there was a problem.

    He was thinking of leaving the box on the bed and leaving for work, but of Zhang Xiaoling should see the name on that box, there was a greater chance that she wouldn''t even touch because she would not know that he got it for her.

    ''What should I do?'' He pondered thoughtfully in his head as he didn''t want to hand the box over to her directly.

    Just then, the water from the shower seized, which immediately got his attention.

    "She is done having her bath?"

    At that realization he quickly thought of something.

    Grabbing a pen and paper from the desk, he quickly wrote down a few words, then tore the piece from the book and ce it on top of the box before carrying it to the foot of the bed where he ced it.

    "This should be fine." He stated with a nod before turning his gaze back to the empty box in the middle of the room.

    Some minutester, Zhang Xiaoling emerged from the inner room dressed in a knee-length floral dress with her shoulder-length hair flowing behind her in a messy wave.

    ? Instead of being alone in the house and endure the petty actions her mother-inw would be rubbing on her, she figured that she could spend the rest of her day out if the house with the intention of returning only at night when everyone was back.

    Although she thought to, but Tang Ei had other ns for her.

    As soon as she walked into the bedroom, her eyes caught sight of the box.

    Instantly, her eyes squinted at it as her steps slowed, her eyes,ced with curiosity and recognition.

    ''Did he put this box here?''

    Zhang Xiaoling felt that the box seemed familiar and proceeded to walk closer to it, and the only person she could think that must have out it there, was none other than Tang Ei.

    She could remember him answering a call that took him out of the room without carrying his workbag but now looking around the room, his workbag was gone.

    She could only conclude that it had something to do with him.

    Taking a closer look at the box, she saw a note written on it and proceeded to pick it up.

    ''The box is for you. We will go together. Wait for me.''

    The words written on that piece of paper left Zhang Xiaoling more confused than ever.

    As her brows creased, she shifted her gaze from the note in her hand to the box as one thought remained in her mind.

    ''Did he write it for me?''

 Chapter 350 Grateful

    Zhang Xiaoling was surprised with the note she got from Tang Ei, plus his name that was boldly imprinted on the box.

    His name was the first thing she saw on the box after seeing ''Glint'' boldly written in a white-coloured beautiful font.

    Feeling her heart flutter like the wings if a butterfly in her chest as her breathing hitched, she slowly raised the cover of the box.

    ''Did he being this for me?'' She asked again in her head, while trying not to get her excitement high even though she looked a little confused.

    So many thoughts swirled in her head as her eyes nced at the make-up products lying on the bed.

    Slowly, she reached out to trace then with her fingers.

    ''He said we would go together?''

    ''Why is he suddenly being kind to me?''

    Last she remembered, she was mean to him, and she never apologized.

    Perhaps, did he pity her and feel guilty for his mother''s treatment?

    Still, why would he go to this extent to make her happy?

    ''Make her happy?'' That word sounded strange in her mouth as she said it.

    Did Tang Ei owe her happiness? She really doubted it and almost scolded herself for thinking too much yet, the special invitation from Glint was sitting in front of her eyes.

    Releasing a deep breath as her gaze remained in the contents of the box, she slowly picked the personal letter and the private invitation card to read them.

    First, she read the personal handwritten letter which made her question herself more. But at the same time, the letter made her feel that she was human and nothing was wrong with her.

    Releasing another tired sigh, she dropped on the bed and went on to check the invitation card.

    "Tang Ei, what do you mean by all of this?" She muttered under her breath as her gaze shifted into the distance.

    Although her husband''s intentions was not known to her, her heart still felt a little warmed up.

    ''Whenst did I feel this way?'' She thought to herself as her right hand slowly moved up her body tond on her beating heart.

    Whatever this was, Zhang Xiaoling wanted it to remain so she could continue to feel warmed up.

    Now sure that she was going somewhere meaningful, she put the box away in the inner room and walked out in her t brown leather sandals.

    Smiling to herself, she opened the door to her room and walked out.

    Going down the stairs, she passed a few servants who offered greeting to her and unlike before, she replied with a warm smile on her face, which surprised them.

    She smiled?

    What''s making her so happy?

    Without caring to go to the dining room to have breakfast with the family, she told the housekeeper that she was going out.

    Not dropping the name of where she was off to, she stepped out of the house and went straight for her car, still with a smile on her face.

    There was no need cancelling some of her scehdule since it matched perfectly with the event.

    Since she was going for the party, she figured that she really needed a makeover and as scheduled, she would go to the beauty parlour and fo a little shopping.

    Getting into her car, she closed the car door and exhaled deeply as her mind wandered off to the box from Glint.

    "That''s right!" she eximed, hitting the steering wheel with her palms as she came to a realization.

    She was still yet to thank Tang Ei for his gift.

    Without a second thought, she whipped out he phone from her bag and immediately found his contact. ''Tang Ei''

    How ironic that she chose to save his contact for formerly as if they only had a business rtionship.

    Wasting no second more, she clicked on the phone icon before cing the phone on her ear but then, she immediately lowered it and ended the call a secondter.

    "Omo! What are you doing?"

    Zhang Xiaoling stopped herself from carrying on with the call as soon as the phone rang once.

    She had only realised that she seems to be going too far as a result of her emotions.

    She felt that she was taking things too far only because of the kind gesture from Tang Ei. That move she wanted to make, was too soon.

    ''I almost made a mistake just now...'' she cried in her head as she lowered iron the steering in regret.

    A few secondster, she heard her phone vibrating on her hand and quickly raised her head to nce at the screen.

    Lo and behold, it was a text from Tang Ei, the man she had called only a few moment ago just because her fingers had worked faster than her thoughts.<sub> </sub>

    And seeing a text from him only made her to confirm that he saw her call.

    Unlocking her phone, she clicked open on the message to read its content.

    Only three words upied her line of sight.

    "In a meeting."

    Tang Ei was already in a small conference with a few people when he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket and immediately took it out to secretly take a look at it.

    Seeing the call from his wife, he wondered the reason she phoned him.

    She almost never phoned him, but being not in the condition to return her call, he quickly sent her a text and turned his attention back to the meeting.

    Seeing this text from him, Zhang Xiaoling was left with no choice but to reply to him.

    ''Thank you."

    While typing those two words, her fingers trembled and in order not toplicate matters the more, she kept things short.

    At least he would understand the meaning when he sees it.

    Forget the turmoil going on in her head, she was grateful for this little gesture of his even though she didn''t know it would lead to.

    *******

    Today was Glint''s D-day. A day she would beunching into the market officially with distinguished guests, gracing the event with their presence.

    Today was a really a special day for Zhang Liling.

    Waking up without an rm, but with a very big smile on her face.

    Sitting up on the bed, she quickly took off the pink eye mask over her eyes, letting in the items in her room enter her line of sight.

    Whenst did she wake up from sleep with a smile?

    Waking up from sleep with a smile was very different from waking up from sleep and then choosing to smile because you remembered something good.

    This was a sign from the heavens that Zhang Liling was going to have a big day.

    "Today is a great day," She said out loud as she let hershes close up on their own.

    Next, her lips moved a few times before her eyes snapped open.

    After saying a little prayer for her day to move smoothly, she got off the bed and got into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face before going back into her room to do some exercise.

    Finally, she walked back into her bathroom to freshen up

    At the same time, Song Jujing who was already awake, was busy in the kitchen making breakfast for them.

    Since her arrival, there has been no need for the housekeeper toe since she was fine with cooking by herself.

    Besides, she was happy with doing a little domestic work as she had nothing better to do. She hated being idle hence, she enjoyed the time she spent in the kitchen.

    After making breakfast, she served it before going to Zhang Liling''s bedroom to call her.

    Knocking twice on the door, she bent the handle and helped her inside.

    The first thing that came into her line of sight, was the youngdy who happened to be her daughter, sitting in front of her vanity table, painting her face so early in the morning.

    "What are you doing?" She inquired as she walked toward her.

    "Good morning, Mum," Zhang Liling greeted while ncing briefly at her through the mirror. "I have to leave for the office this morning."

    "Why so early? The event is not starting until 1 pm, what''s the hurry?"

    Song Jujing wondered the reason she was rushing off to work when it was only 7in the morning. Could it be that there was still some work left to do?

    Patting her face with her soft powder foam, she replied, "Mum, if I stay in this house any longer, I will surely go crazy. My mind can not be at ease until I am close to the Event centre."

    As this was the first time Zhang Liling was organising an event, and that too herpany''s first event, she was bound to be a little tensed even if she looked forward to it.

    Staying at home will only make her uneasy as she would be thinking in her head that she might miss out on something important if she didn''t stay close to herpany.

    Knowing that her worries didn''t make sense, she still wanted to ease out her stress.

    Concluding that it would be better to leave the house on time just for her peace of mind, she packed her bags.

    Understanding her plight, Song Jujing sighed. "That means you will get ready at work?"

 Chapter 351 Glints Launch Party

    "Yes." Zhang Liling replied and smacked her lips before rising to her feet.

    Turning to face her mother, she said, "I would have loved to stay for a little while more, but I can''t."

    Being understanding of her situation, Song Jujing suggested, "At least eat before you leave. You need a lot of glucose for brain work and strength till the party time."

    "Of course, I will."r

    Before going over to the breakfast table, Zhang Liling packed her outfit and work materials and booked a ride that would arrive by the time she had finished eating.r

    On her way to Glint, Mr. Fang phoned to know how things were going only to find out that she was already on her way to herpany.r

    "Did you even get some rest?" He inquired, tired of her restlessness.r

    How could she leave so early? He was worried that she didn''t even get to sleep a wink.r

    "I did, but I can''t help it. If I stay at home any longer, I would have gone into a cardiac arrest. My blood pressure would have risen out of nervousness and worry."r

    "How old are you that you would suffer from all of that?" Mr. Fang asked, holding in aughter.r

    This girl that belonged to him had a funny way of describing things. She indeed had a good sense of humour.r

    "Mr. Fang, it has nothing to do with age," Zhang Liling said in defence while trying to let him know the seriousness of the matter.r

    "Alright... That''s fine." Fang Bingwen gave up atst.r

    "I had wanted toe over to your ce, but since you have already left, we will see at noon."r

    ''Aiya... I just missed hispany...'' Zhang Liling thought in regret.r

    Had it been he was with her, she wouldn''t have had any space in her head to be troubled with anything.r

    His presence was like heaven to her as it brought her maximumfort.r

    But in order not to feel so bad about leaving her ce on time, she concluded in her head.r

    ''My mum is around. Being with you wouldn''t have been that fun.''r

    In essence, she used the fact that her mother was around to cover up the regretful feeling in her heart.r

    With her mother''s presence, she wouldn''t have been free to hug Fang Bingwen or even go as far as to rx in his embrace and have him wrap his arms around her.r

    That wasn''t even possible.r

    "Mr. Fang, you cane over and spend some time with me," Zhang Liling suggested instead.r

    It was still possible for them to be together.r

    "I would have loved to, but currently after overworking myself yesterday, I have phobia for a workce."r

    Exhaling, he continued,  "Liling, I just wanted to check in on you, I will see you by 10, but if you need anything before then, put a call through."r

    ***r

    A few hourster Mr. Fang arrived Flint with Bolin tailing behind him.r

    One of them looked dressed for the asion while the other one was still dressed in a button-up shirt and a pair of grey suit pants.r

    Fang Bingwen was yet to change into his suit for the even as he still had a few things to set up with Zhang Liling.r

    Soon, the caterer brought the food, deserts, and snacks and began to set everything up while the Champagne tower was being built at the same time.r

    Last minute sound check was being done by the technical team as otherst-minute finishing was being done.r

    When all this was going on, Zhang Liling was there to take a look at things even though there were already peoples assigned to supervise the work.r

    Going over to the food stand, Zhang Liling saw the fruit sd decorated and arranged to form a stylish font for ''Glint'' and was satisfied.r

    Shifting her gaze to the next fruit beside it, she saw how therge watermelon was carved to have Glint''s name and logo on it, plus three of the makeup products that were beingunched.r

    "This is beautiful..." She said out loud in appreciation, almost tempted to touch it, but kept her hands to her side at thest minute.r

    "I know right?" Fang Bingwen asked with his hands in his pocket as he came from behind her with a smile on his face.r

    Just like her, he was also inspecting things to make sure that everything was in the right ce and position.r

    Hearing his voice from behind, Zhang Liling immediately turned to nce his way.r

    "I thought you would remain up there,"r<sub> </sub>

    "I had toe down for your sake. Who knows the next thing that would worry you." Just as he said that, music came on in the room as the coloured lights were turned on.r

    Shifting her gaze to the stage, Zhang Liling turned to look at him after scanning through the stage. "It''s already an hour to the event time."r

    ording to the instruction she had given, they were to start ying music an hour to the event time.r

    Eyes on the stage, Fang Bingwen said before slowly shifting his gaze back to her. "That''s your call to go and get ready."r

    "What? You''re right, but I still have..."r

    Zhang Liling was about to add the fact that she was still yet to check a few more things when he grabbed her shoulders from behind and started pushing her forward.r

    "What else do you still want to check when I''m here? Do you want your guests to arrive and see you in this state?" r

    Without giving her the chance to retort, Fang Bingwen continued to push her ahead.r

    Left with no choice, Zhang Liling had to leave to get her makeup done and get dressed, while he helped her to check in the other things going on.r

    Half an hour to Glint''sunch time, Sing Jujing and Tungmei arrived.r

    *******r

    Zhang Xiaoling was very excited and at the same time expectant of the event even while she was doing her facials and getting her hair done.r

    But one thing she was fortunate for, was the fact that she didn''t meet her mother-inw in the beauty store she chose to visit.r

    It''s not like she was afraid of her. She just didn''t want anything that would ruin her mood that morning.r

    She was already grateful that she got to be happy, courtesy of Tang Ei.r

    As soon as Zhang Xiaoling finished getting her nails done, she went into a high-end store to shop for a new dress.r

    As there was no time to waste, she had to hurry back home.r

    The address for the event would almost take an hour for them to arrive there.r

    Going in straight to her bedroom while carrying their bags, she met face to face with Tang Ei who was taking off his cufflinks.r

    Instantly, she froze in her steps.r

    Never had she thought about how she was going to face him when he returned.r

    If it were to be before, she would have automatically gone on to continue ignoring him, but that wasn''t possible anymore, especially after his kind gesture in the morning.r

    Meeting her shocked gaze, which then turned to a little confusion the next second, Tang Ei slowly followed her arm down to the bags in her hands.r

    "You went shopping?" He inquired, choosing to ignore their differences which instantly put her heart at ease.r

    "Yes. Instead of staying at home idly, I figured that I could get a new dress," Zhang Xiaoling replied with a calmly.r

    In hear heart, she was hoping that he wouldn''t think too much into the shopping she did.r

    She hoped that he wouldn''t think she did that because of Fang Bingwen''s possible presence at the event as she had already scheduled to do this the previous day.r

    Since when did Zhang Xiaoling start to worry about things like this?r

    "I think you take a shower first before I go in." Tang Ei suggested.r

    He knew that she would have to put on some makeupter which might take time, so he figured that she could shower first and while he was in the bathroom, she could be having her makeup done to save time.r

    "Okay," Zhang Xiaoling replied and walked past him into the inner room.r

    About forty minutester, both were dressed and ready to leave.r

    At the same time down the stairs, Mrs. Tang stepped out of the house with her second daughter-inw, looking all dolled up for theunch without any knowledge of what was toe next.r

    Like a miracle, as soon as the driver dove away in her car, Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei stepped out of the house together.r

    If she had seen them together dressed so officially, she would have questioned where they were off to, and then she would have found out from her son.r

    But since fate didn''t want the surprise package to be ruined beforehand, she didn''t get to know about this.r

    Holding the train of her royal blue flowing sleeves dress, Zhang Xiaoling stepped into the backseat of Tang Ei''s car while clutching unto her silver purse.r

    As soon as Tang Ei stepped into to join her at the back seat, the chauffeur ignited the car''s engine and drove them out of the premises to attend Glint''sunch party.

 Chapter 352 Brand Owner

    As soon as the time hit 12, Glint''s first partyunched in full swing.

    As guests arrived at the venue, they could hear the enticing music ying.

    Then stepping into the room, decorated with the focus of a dark chocte and a milk colour theme plus a few pink pointers, they found the decorations unique.

    Because Glint''s main colures were that dark chocte and milk colure, it was also used in the decorations as well as the packaging of their products.

    As soon as the guests stepped into the room from the entrance, two well dressed ushers in uniform, weed them in and gave a stick of rose flower to eachdy before showing them to a table.

    This was a gesture the guests found pleasant.

    With guests arriving right in time, Zhang Liling did not take long before walking in through the entrance with Fang Bingwen beside her.

    Dressed in a milk-coloured suit and pants with dark chocte buttons on it, and a pair of matching shoes, she let a smile grace her lips as she held unto Fang Bingwen''s arms.

    As they stepped in, a few eyes turned towards their direction as a sh of curiosityced with surprise moved across their eyes.

    Zhang Liling''s choice of colour perfectly matched the theme of Glint''s party decors and their product packaging.

    What did that mean?

    Soon, Zhang Liling shoed them what it meant when she started moving from one table to the other to some of the guests that had arrived.

    With a smile stered on her face, she kept saying to each group, "Thank you foring to my brandunch. I am honoured by your presence."

    This was indeed an unexpected turn of events as one particr thought remained in the minds of her guests.

    ''So, she is the owner of this brand?''

    This was indeed a huge surprise as none of them expected for her to be the owner of the brand.

    All this while since they got the invitation, they have been thinking that it was a reputablepany or a wealthy popr business man/woman that owned it.

    Never on their second thoughts did ite to their minds that she would turn out to be the owner.

    What about her father''spany? Was she going to leave everything for her step siblings to run? That would be a shame.

    Still, it was good she started something for herself instead of engaging in a power struggle. This whole setup had proved that she was going to seed with her brand.

    Look at the way she had all of them thinking that a well-known person owned Glint.

    More especially, a good number of them loved her concept for including a handwritten letter alongside the invitation card. She did well there.

    Soon, Song Jujing stepped into the small hall dressed in a dark chocte gown with a milk-coloured feathers surrounding the neckline of her dress, making that part full.

    Her choice of colour was a bold one, but being noting far from a celebrity, she knew how to pull difficult colours and styles for her age, off.

    She was really not an Editor for a famous magazine for nothing.<sub> </sub>

    As soon as she entered the hall, all her eyes nced towards her direction as surprise shed through the eyes of a few guests who were shocked to see her.

    ''So she could be in town and no one would know?''

    ''She really came for her daughter''s brandunch all the way form Paris given how busy and demanding her job was.''

    ''A mother supporting her daughter. That is a good one.''

    In elegant steps, Song Jujing made her way toward the table at the forefront but before she could get there, a few people had already started to approach her with smiles on their faces and champagne sses in their hands.

    ***

    It really was not an easy fit to greet her guests. Since most of the people that came to her party was because of her boyfriend''s influence, she let him introduce them to her.

    Without wasting time as more guests arrived, Glint moved over to the next item on the list.

    With the MC climbing the stage all the guests returned to their seats. At the same time, Zhang Renshu arrived with two bodyguards following him.

    His presence answered one of the most important questions everyone had in their heads.

    By showing up to thisunch, it showed that he was supporting his daughter, and that meant that he held no grudge against her.

    On seeing his arrival, there was a moment of time rpse but as Zhang Liling had alreadyid out instructions to everyone working with her before the event, the ushers quickly did their job by respectfully showing him to his seat in the front.

    Right at the table Song Jujing was sitting at.

    ''I just knew she wouldn''t miss something like this,'' He said to himself as he helped himself to the empty white chair next to her.

    Since Zhang Liling came to seem him at the office, he has been thinking about her.

    Since that stubborn daughter of his did not give him the chance to ask about her, he could only guess a few things by himself.

    These days, the woman doesn''t even bother to inform him any time she wanted to make a trip down to the country. How iconic of her.

    "Dad, you''re here..." Zhang Liling said with a smile that reached her eyes.

    She looked pleased to see that the man made it to her event that too, right on time.

    ncing at her mother, she guessed, ''Was it because of her?''

    Regardless, she maintained the smile on her face as her father finally realized that she and Fang Bingwen were also sitting at the same table.

    ncing briefly at Fang Bingwen who bowed his head slightly to greet him, he cleared his throat and looked back to his daughter.

    "You made the effort to ensure that I came, why wouldn''t I be here?"

 Chapter 353 She Is The Owner?

    "That''s great." Leaning in to speak softly next to his ear since she could easily reach him as he was sitting beside her, she asked.

    "Where is your girlfriend, did shee?"

    Instantly, Zhang Renshu leaned away from her to sh her a warning gaze.

    Sighing to herself Zhang Liling leaned away from him while exining herself.

    "Dad you see, I need more people with influence that would help promote my brand."

    In simplicity, she was telling him that the reason she was asking about his secret partner was because she was aware that he wouldn''t fall for a woman without influence.

    So the reason she wanted him to invite her to her brand''sunch party was because having a good rtionship with the woman would also help to boost her brand even though she really didn''t need her.

    Imagine as the side chic, you learn that your partner''s daughter wees you with open arms, without any prejudice, you would easily sumb to her wants.

    Well, Zhang Liling was mostly doing this to spite her stepmother who would surely lose her mind when she learns of this.

    ***

    Having about 50 guests which included wealthy business men and women, influencers, celebrities and the likes of them, truly wasn''t an easy fit.

    Plus a few people that showed interest on their own to attend the event.

    This was truly a well-thought out party.

    With Tang Ei and Zhang Xiaoling who arrived a littlete sitting somewhere, upying a table with three other guests, they had their eyes on the stage to watch and listen to the MC.

    Since they arrivedte because if the long journey plus leaving a littlete, they were amongst the few guests who still didn''t know the owner of Glint''s brand.

    But as time went on, they soon found out who the owner was to their surprise.

    Seeing the MC introducing the CEO and founder of Glint cosmetics and Zhang Liling standing up from her seat which was at the forefront and walking to the stage as each one of the guests pped for her, they fell shut of words.

    "She is the owner of Glint?" The both mumbled to themselves as surprise dwelled in their facial expression.

    Instantly, all of this looked surreal, especially to Zhang Xiaoling and Shu Rushi who upied a table with her parents and two of her best friends.

    Recognizing the youngdy on stage to be Zhang Renshu''s biological daughter, Mrs. Shu retracted her gaze from the stage to nce at her daughter.

    "Rushsi, is she not your ssmate?"

    Immediately, the fingers belonging to Rushi which was under the table, clenched the more as her teeth gritted in anger.

    "She is." Her reply almost sounded like a threat as her gaze was still watching Zhang Liling smiling on the stage as she took over from the MC to speak.

    ''She is the owner?'' Even her best friends who were sitting at her sitting at her left side were surprised as so many thoughts began to run through their heads.

    Zhang Liling was capable of starting a makeup brand with this standard?r

    The reason they were so surprised was because of Glint''s advertisement which was everywhere. r

    Just a little step into social media and you would see the ads flying around everywhere. Who knew that Zhang Liling would be the owner?r

    But noticing the people sitting around her which included Fang Bingwen, the glint of surprise on their faces changed to that of contempt.r<sub> </sub>

    She had a rich father. Her mother was the Editor-in-chief of a famous magazine originating from Paris, her boyfriend was the one and only Fang Bingwen, a man after a lot of women''s heart.r

    Why wouldn''t she be able to build a brand of her own with their help?r

    She really knew how to snatch the best of them.r

    This was the thought going through their mind in order tofort Zhang Liling''s sess.r

    At a particr table, a handsome man in histe fifties had shock written all over his face when he saw Zhang Liling stand in the crowd and instantly, he felt ufortable.r

    Recognizing her as the owner of the brandunch he came for, made him want to leave immediately, but he couldn''t as that would attract unwanted attention.r

    Now beginning to feel a few nces dart toward him, he sat still on his seat as he lowered his gaze.r

    He couldn''t leave. He was now stuck.r

    ***r

    Seeing the surprise on his wife''s face, Tang Ei leaned in to whisper to her ear to avoid the other guests sitting around them from hearing him.r

    "You didn''t know about this?" r

    "No." Zhang Xiaoling replied, looking a little disturbed. r

    How is it possible that she would know that her stepsister is the owner of Glint and yet, feel disturbed about her mother-inw''s treatment towards the brandunch?r

    If she even had the slightest clue about Zhang Liling''s collection to the brand, she wouldn''t have been moved one bit, anding here wouldn''t have been possible either.r

    Currently, she was already shocked beyond measure, and now she was ufortable.r

    She just couldn''t believe this.r

    ''You two must indeed be enemies...'' Tang Ei concluded in his mind about the sisters rtionship before shifting his attention back to the stage.r

    He too was surprised on finding out that Zhang Liling was the owner of Glint. And remembering the efforts he made just to get an invite because of Zhang Xiaoling, he was left speechless.r

    If the two sisters were in good terms with each other, Zhang Xiaoling would have known about her being the owner of the brand, and she would have so easilye for theunch without him making that effort.r

    Tang Ei didn''t know what to say. He could only release deep breaths till he had calmed down to a great extent.r

    He really wanted to take off his cap for the rtionship the Tang family members had with each other.r

    They needed an award.r

    While Zhang Xiaoling was surprised with the turn of events, her mother-inw who was also sitting somewhere and yet to discover her presence, was fuming with rage.r

    Since she camete, she was still unaware about Zhang Liling being the owner of Glint until this moment.r

    And seeing her on that stage, made her clench her fingers as she thought that Zhang Xiaoling knew about this all along but watched her make a fool of herself about the event.r

    The woman was really pissed.r

 Chapter 354 Its Been A While

    ''This girl knew all this while and let me y myself like a fool,'' Gritting her teeth, Mrs. Tang immediately started to look around her surrounding.r

    ''She must be here, somewhereughing at me.''r

    To think that something like this would happen to her one day, never came to her mind.r

    And right when she was searching for Zhang Xiaoling with her eyes, the woman sitting next to her who was also a friend, said,r

    "Look at me, I didn''t know your daughter-inw''s sister has the ability to do something like this. You must be proud." The woman said, smiling at her.r

    ''Proud?'' Mrs. Tang could hardly keep her fury within her.r

    It was only her second daughters-inw who was sitting beside her that knew how she was boiling within her.r

    "If you wanted, you could have gotten a seat at the front table." The woman added a d then turned her attention back to the stage to listen to Zhang Liling speak.r

    ''That''s right, she must be sitting in front since this brand belongs to her sister.''r

    At that realization, Mrs. Tang immediately looked ahead of her, in search of Zhang Xiaoling.r

    As for Zhang Xiaoling, she still couldn''t believe that Zhang Liling was the owner of the brand she let her mother-inw use to you with her.r

    She was still thinking about how foolish she was for wasting her emotions.r

    Up on stage, Zhang Liling gave a good speech for a few minutes before stepping down.r

    The next item on the list, was for the guests to visit Glint''s showroom so they could see all the products they have in stock.r

    From the show room, they all entitled into another room where the items ready for a facials was ready.r

    For thisunch, Zhang was offering a free face massage section for all her guests that were interested, plus a free makeup done by a renowned makeup artist in the field.r

    There was also an opportunity for the guests to have their deserts after eating their meal, while the models that were invited for this Event, sat at the stage as apetition was being held.r

    Zhang Liling tried toe up with an idea where a few people woulde up from the crowd to make up the faces of the models and the best out of them, would get a full package of makeup products that cost a good time of money.r

    This was just an entertainment aspect of making sure that the guests did not get bored.r

    Since events like this was not meant to take long, Zhang Liling made sure not to take a lot of time.r

    As the event wasing to an end, she gave her guests a package to go home with.r

    As soon as the party came to an end, Zhang Liling personally went to every table to thank the guests once again for attending her event while at the same time asking for their support.r

    "We should go and say hello to your sister. Also, your father is there." Tang Ei suggested while standing to his feet.r

    Zhang Xiaoling was reluctant to leave with him because she totally wanted to avoid Zhang Liling, not after what she passed through because of this event r

    But she didn''t have much of a choice. Standing up to her feet, she picked up her purse and immediately followed her husband who was already walking ahead.r

    Coming out from the corner, caused her to be recognized by some of the guests who were surprised that she came as well.r

    "I thought these sisters are not in good terms?" An older woman whispered to her husband as she watched Zhang Xiaoling link arms with Tang Ei while walking ahead.r

    "Maybe they have settled their differences," Her husband replied.r

    Walking up to the round table Zhang Renshu was sitting at with Song Jujing, Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei paid their respects.r

    Since there was nothing that concerned her with Song Jujing, she only nodded at her in greeting before turning her face away. As for thetter, she only scoffed inwardly and went back to ignoring everybody.r

    "You came?" Zhang Renshu asked as soon as he saw her and replied to her greeting. r

    He didn''t bother hiding his surprise as he knew the history between the two sisters.r

    Since when did that stubborn daughter of his start to have a golden heart? The Zhang Liling he knew was far from it.r

    She seemed like someone who would stab her heart if it tried to change to gold.r

    "Yes..." Zhang Xiaoling replied as she slowly let go of Tang Ei''s arms.r

    With the way her father was staring at her, she knew he was expecting her to exin how she got invited to theunch, but she pretended to not have noticed his questioning brows and instead asked,r

    "Mum didn''te with you?" r<sub> </sub>

    This question was asked either to spite Song Jujing or for a simple reason. But whichever one it was, Song Jujing didn''t care.r

    "Whose show did youe for, did you think your sister was going to invite your mother? I''m still wondering how you two made up," Zhang Renshu said, revealing his doubt.r

    Hearing him say that, Zhang Xiaoling quickly shut her mouth for she knew where they were. She couldn''t provoke that man that didn''t care about her mother in a public ce.r

    In the presence of his ex and her husband, he had already reminded her of the bad rtionship between her, her mother and Zhang Liling.r

    That alone was enough reason for her to put an end to the conversation.r

    After chatting a little with her father and Ruth Tang Ei who was by her side, chipping in a few words, Zhang Xiaoling wanted to leave, but Zhang Renshu was not having it.r

    "Where do you think you''re going? You came for Liling''s event, yet you don''t want to see her before you leave?" r

    "Dad, Liling is not here and we really have to leave now, I''m tired." r

    Zhang Xiaoling was tired. She was already looking for a way to escape before Zhang Liling would see her, but it looks like her father had other ns for her.r

    Just before Zhang Renshu would begin to berate her, Zhang Liling saw them from seven tables away and smiled to herself.r

    As the corners of her lips curled with a smirk turning up at the corner of her lips, she said her byes to the guest she was speaking with and immediately trotted over in her heels.r

    "Look who we have here..." She said, giving a meaningful nce at Zhang Xiaoling while twirling the champagne ss in her hand.r

    Seeing that smirk on her face, Zhang Xiaoling was tempted to wipe it off as she returned a re to her.r

    "Xiaoling, I think if you don''t want to few reporters I invited to capture this moment, you should rein in your emotions." Zhang Liling said do tantly, causing everyone at their table to turn their attention to her.r

    Rolling her eyes one more time, Zhang Xiaoling three her face to the side, but her stepsister was not done making fun of her.r

    "I can''t remember sending you any invitation, were you so interested in my brand that you decided toe?" r

    There was an evil smile on Zhang Liling''s face as she probed despite knowing the answer.r

    Seeing Tang Ei, the man by her side, she could already guess her doubt, but she was making sure to use this rare opportunity to embarrass her.r

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling turned her attention to her and as she was about to tell her off, Tang Ei interrupted midway, doing his best to distract Zhang Liling.r

    "Ms. Liling, you are so young yet you are doing so much for yourself. If I knew you were the owner of Glint, I wouldn''t have gone so far to find an intation."r

    By saying this, he was answering her earlier question.r

    "Ah! That''s right..." Trailing off, Zhang Liling didn''t get to finish her statement as she left the rest her thoughts on her head.r

    ncing at her stepsister who looked ufortable in every way, she said to him, "If you were a close brother-inw, this would not have happened. But I guess everyone wants to be private about their rtionship these days."r

    "Liling." Zhang Renshu called out, giving her a warning sign.r

    If not for the kind of person she had proved herself to be at this age, he would have probably scolded her for finding trouble or red at her.r

    But seeing that she was no longer a clueless girl who had nothing better to do, he decided to give her that respect.r

    Not wanting to be in the midst of a family problem, Song Jujing got to her feet, ready to leave.r

    "Liling, I''m going to greet my friends form Paris, do well toe over and promote your brand yourself." r

    "Ju..." Seeing that she was already leaving when he hadn''t even gotten the chance to speak to her yet, Zhang Renshu was at a loss for words.r

    He could only watch her walk away.r

    ''Why does she look pissed?''r

    As there was nothing more to talk about, Zhang Xiaoling took her leave.r

    Just as Song Jujing was heading out, she bashed into someone and hurriedly apologized. But as she looked up, she saw a familiar face.r

    "It''s been a long while," The man that bumped into her said with a neutral gaze.r

    ...r

 Chapter 355 Song Alex

    Seeing the face of the man she had unintentionally bumped into, Song Jujing froze at the spot.

    Then hearing his voice, she felt her stomach churn as pain emerged in her eyes.

    "You..." Her quivering lips uttered as hershes blinked repeatedly.

    She was at a loss for words on seeing the person standing in front of her.

    Somehow, she quickly recovered from her pain and without a second thought, she walked past him towards the table she was going to earlier, totally ignoring him.

    As for the man standing, he looked surprised that he would get ignored but more to it was the emotion that shed through Song Jujing''s eyes.

    It got to him.

    Slowly turning around, he allowed his gaze to follow her till she cane to a stop before a table upied by mostly foreign women.

    Then the next moment, the woman that had suddenly made something strike his heart, chuckled while chatting with the women she had gone to meet.

    "How fast she can throw Something behind her," He mumbled to himself.

    A few secondster, he shifted his gaze to Zhang Liling who was already sending her father off after Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei left.

    A deep sigh escaped from his lungs. As hisshes fluttered, his fingers Clenched tightly before his eyes snapped open the next moment.

    Turning around, he walked away, heading quickly toward the door while trying to avoid meeting anyone''s gaze, but he was a little toote.

    Sometimes what you try to avoid would always be in vain, just like what happened with him.

    As he approached the door, the press whose eyes had been darting around looking for any interesting person to interview or cover in their video, caught sight of him.

    Immediately, their eyes flew open.

    "Who am I seeing?" The male reporters in histe thirties asked his partner who was holding the camera as their gaze followed the man on his heels.

    "Is that not Al..."

    "Alex. He is most definitely Song Alex. What is he doing here?"

    "I thought the Song family cut all ties with Song Jujing, why did hee today?"

    "We really have to follow him!" Immediately z the reporter who said this dashed out to chase after Song Alex who had ran away.

    Unfortunately it was toote as they didn''t find even his shadow outside.

    After searching around, and failing to find him, the reporters gave up.

    "We realized a little toote of his identity..." One of them said while panting for breath.

    "Did any of you get his photo while he was in here?" A female reporter basked while bending with her palms on her knees.

    She looked like she was trying to catch her breath.

    "No. We can only write an article if we go through our records and find him sitting amongst other guests invited to this event. We could also get a snippet if we check the video."

    "Quick! We need to get to work. I refuse to believe that we failed to somehow capture him in an image on the video clips we have," Another one said.

    Immediately, they walked back inside as mad adrenaline rushed to their heads.

    There was going to be a beautifully written content about Song Alex appearing at his estranged Niece''s brandunch party alongside the hot topic of Zhang Liling owning Glint.

    These news was going to make the headlines along with the little topics they would be adding little by little.

    ***

    After sending her father away without getting to hear him talk about his girlfriend, Zhang Liling met Fang Bingwen in the middle of the room.

    "Has your dad left?" he inquired with a smile as he took her hand.

    "Mmmm... He seems in a hurry to leave."

    Taking a good look at her face, he noticed that she didn''t look happy or angry about her father rushing out like that and teased her about it.

    "What? Are you unhappy that he left?"

    "Nope. As long as he dropped an envelope for my brand just like most of the guests, I don''t care." Zhang Liling replied with a but if smile on her face.

    Money was very important to her at the moment. She needed it so badly to expand her business.

    Also, she had spent money to have a sessfulunch as this so she needed to get it back somehow and thankfully, a good number of her guests bought the full package of her product to helpunch them.

    This was indeed a good strategy.

    Smiling to himself, Mr. Fang said while gazing at her. "My mother and father are about to leave, you shoulde and greet them."<sub> </sub>

    Saying this, his eyes left her to dart around their surrounding. "Where is your mother?"

    Instantly, Zhang Liling was reminded about something and followed him to look around.

    "You go ahead, I will get her."

    While using her eyes to look for her mother, Zhang Liling was reminded about her rtionship with her Fang Bingwen''s father and wondered how the look in their eyes would be when they saw each other.

    She was curious.

    Since her boyfriend''s father were in a hurry to leave because of distance and the traffic that might be in the road, she quickened her step.

    Thankfully at the end, she found her mother chatting with a few of her friends and quickly apologized to them after interrupting their conversation before stealing her mother away.

    Before Song Jujing could inquire where she was pulling her to, she heard her say, "Bingwen''s parents came for this Event, and they are about to leave. I''m sure you wouldn''t mind sparing some time to greet my future-inws.

    "Fang Huiqing and Jian Cuifen are here?" A glint of surprise shed across her eyes as she allowed her to pull her ahead.

    She never thought that the two whom she hadn''t seen for a long while would attend her daughter''s event.

    Now hearing that they had indeede and were about to leave, she had to see them without minding how long they hadn''t seen each other.

    ***

    "Where is Liling?"

    Seeing her son return to their side, Jian Cuifen inquired while still looking behind him with a smile.

    "She will be here soon." He replied as he slowly shifted his gaze to his father who hadn''t even smiled at him since they encountered each other that day.

    A few momentster, Zhang Liling found them while walking toward them hand in hand with her mother.

    "Jujing?" Jian Cuifen and Fang Huiqing called out in unison with a look of surprise on their faces.

    Smiling from ear to ear while pretending that nothing was wrong, Song Jujing stopped in front of them and drew out her right hand for a handshake.

    "Do we need a handshake between us now?" Fang Bingwen''s mother asked before leaning in to embrace her without warning.

    Wasting no time, Song Jujing reciprocated.

    "There is nothing bad with a handshake, it all depends on who you want to meet. Hahahaha..."

    Withdrawing from her embrace as Fang Huiqing called their attention from the side, they both looked toward him.

    "When did you return?"

    "A few days ago." Song Jujing replied while giving him her best smile like a well behaved kid.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, Fang Huiqing continued to throw questions at her.

    "Were you nning sneak away like other times if we didn''t meet here today?"

    He had said this as it was already a habit of hers toe into the country and leave without their knowledge.

    He tagged her action as sneaking away without visiting them for once.

    He didn''t want to bring up about her breaking offmunication with everyone for more than twenty years.

    Hearing the question he posed, Song Jujing denied it.

    "I had a different n this time around." Saying that, she nced behind her to stare at Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling who were standing behind her.

    "Because of them, I nned to visit home to officially meet you."

    Her intentions were clear.

    She had intended to visit the Fang family house to officially acknowledge her daughter''s rtionship with a close family friend it since they came for today''s event, she had to show up to their faces.

    "We will take your words for it." Jian Cuifen replied with a smile, letting things slide.

    Son Jujing chatted a little with them before allowing them to leave. She even took the effort to walk them to the door before returning back inside the hall to finish her chat with her friends.

    "Are you tired? Do you want to change out of those heels?" Fang Bingwen inquired as his line of sight caught those long heels on Zhang Liling''s feet.

    He pitied her as she has been putting them on and walked around to greet and interact with the guests.

    Smiling, she said, "Although the event hase to an end, we still have some guests left. I can''t embarrass myself before I appear at the front cover of the newspapers for changing my showed while my guests were still around."

    Letting out a sigh, she linked arms with him, not minding their public disy of affection.

    "I have an image to keep as the CEO and founder of Glint."

 Chapter 356 Helpless Fools

    "Look at you getting ahead of yourself," Fang Bingwen teased.

    He could tell how proud she was of her little aplishment and now, she was not going to give him a break.

    "I worked hard for this little empire of mine," Zhang Liling said gesturing with her hands.

    "Yes, you did..."

    Just then, four people walked up to them.

    "Bingwen," Mr. Shu called out with a smile as he made his way toward them with his wife, Shu Rushi and two of her friends.

    "Uncle Shu." Fang Bingwen acknowledged as he and Zhang Liling stopped in their steps.

    ''This is an entire entourage.'' Zhang Liling noted as she watched the family walk up to them.

    What surprised her more was the eye roll Shu Rushi secretly gave to her before shifting her gaze to Fang Bingwen and then shing him a full smile.

    ''What in the wor...''

    "Brother..." Shu Rushi was still about to add Fang Bingwen''s name when he turned to re at her, forcing her to stop right there.

    Aware that he was annoyed about her addressing him that way, she quickly changed her approach.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang."

    It was only now that Fang Bingwen looked away from her, seemingly satisfied that she was smart enough to correct herself for the mistake she was made.

    Seeing the interaction between them, Zhang Liling smiled, revealing her happiness thereby infuriating Shu Rushi.

    To Mr. Shu and Mrs. Shu, she was only smiling at them out of respect, not knowing that she was making fun of their daughter.

    "This was a lovely event," Mrs. Shu said in admiration as she nced at Zhang Liling.

    The woman already looked happy to see someone as young as Zhang Liling doing something like this and without prejudice, sheplimented her without reserve.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling replied as she shook hands with her.

    Mr. Shu wasn''t left out withplimenting her which made Zhang Liling smile from ear to ear as she could already see Shu Rushi gritting her teeth from her peripheral view.

    ''She must be dying seeing her parentspliment my aplishment.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself as her gaze moved from Shu Rushi''s head and down to her toe.

    Seeing the bold and eye-catching dress she put on whileing to her event, she could only shake her head inwardly.

    ''What a joke.''

    Mrs. Shu being interested in the beauty sector and in Glint, asked Zhang Liling a few questions before her husband took over.

    ncing at Fang Bingwen who stood there without saying anything, Mr. Shu decided to pull his attention away.

    "Bingwen what about your mother? I have searched for her all over as I had something to ask her in person..."

    "She just left."

    "Oh... Then, can you give me a minute?" Mr. Shu inquired while gesturing to him.<sub> </sub>

    He wanted them to step aside and talk about something private which he agreed to.

    Tilting his head to the side, he said to the woman next to him. "Liling, give me a minute, I will be back."

    Just in case Mr. Shu had the idea of taking more than one minute, he was letting him know that he has already promised his woman to return in a minute.

    So he could take this idea to make his statement fast otherwise he would leave him behind.

    "Okay," Zhang Liling nodded and watched him leave with Mr. Shu and his wife.

    Seeing that her parents had left, Shu Rushi turned her full attention to Zhang Liling along with her friends.

    The innocent smile on her face that was there when she saw her cousinpletely disappeared now that she was all alone with her.

    "Zhang Liling, you must think that you are really something."

    A smile turned up on Zhang Liling''s face as she folded her hands below her chest, propping them up in the process.

    Her eyes, meeting her gaze head on while waiting for her to finish what she had to say.

    "Do you think you have made it in life just by this?" Shu Rushi asked while gesturing to the hall.

    Her face was contoured into a disgusted look, showing the full blown jealousy she couldn''t even hide.

    "Let me tell you, anyone can do this so don''t get cocky about it." The youngdy at Shu Rushi''s left side said with all confidence.

    Hearing them attacking her out of the blue Zhang Liling scoffed. "If anyone can do what I have done, what happened to you trio?"

    She really wanted of know if the bird brain they had was now bad that they have lost their senses.

    "Of course we can do it. We are unlike you who had to ask a lot of wealthy people for help before creating a brand for yourself!" The other girl at Shu Rushi''s right side mmed while pointing a finger at her.

    "You are the ones that are cocky! Are you afraid of getting photographed by the press?" Tungmei asked as she walked over with a frown on her face.

    Seeing her friend left alone with the blood-sucking humans, she immediately came to defend her.

    "And who are you?" Shu Rushi asked rolling her eyes at her. But before Tungmei could react, she added with a disgusted look on her face.

    "Ah! You must be Zhang Liling''s underling. No wonder you can''t help but tag along."

    Immediately, her friends chuckled out loud. They all looked down on Tungmei more than they did to Zhang Liling.

    Seeing them making fun of her friends, Zhang Liling felt like pping down as her anger rose up the meter.

    "You three are indeed birds of the same feather. I can see that you are jobless enough to parade around like helpless fools!"

    Zhang Liling was not going to give them a chance to insult her friend when she was there. She was going to make them swallow their words.

    "What? Who are you calling fools?" One of the girls asked, while literally puffing out smoke from her lips.

    She was almost on the verge of attacking her.

    As for Shu Rushi, she was not calm either, but she seemed to be in a better state than her friends since she understood the particr Zhang Liling called fools.

 Chapter 357 A Promise For A Fight

    Shu Rushi could guess that Zhang Liling was insulting her friends who tagged alongside her.

    Still, she was annoyed because that was like a p to her face even though the insult did note directly to her.

    "You must really think you are something after managing to seduce my cousin after a lot of effort."

    Trying to out her down, Shu Rushi said those words to insult her, but Zhang Liling was unmoved.

    The youngdy was so unaffected by what she said that she couldn''t even hide her pride whole retorting.

    "At least I put a lot of effort in what I want, but there are some people that have dead bird brain who can''t afford to do some work by and for themselves."

    "What?" One if the girls stepped forward and was about to raise her hand, but she got pulled back by Shu Rushi who was still a little smart.

    There were still a lot of people in the room plus the press. If any of them should get violent first, they would appear on the news and be admonished for causing trouble in the event they were invited to.

    If this was any other day, she would she would have loved to get into a fight eig Zhang Liling even though she would be the one to end up getting beaten up.

    For her, she would have peace of mind if she managed to at least hit her once in the face then anything that happens after that would be history.

    Shu Rushi''s gaze trailed from Zhang Liling''s face and down to her hands. Scoffing, she returned her gaze to her face.

    "You don''t even have a ring on your finger and you are already so arrogant. Don''t get ahead of yourself. You are just a slut my cousin is having fun with."

    ''What?'' Zhang Liling''s brows creased in a frown as her hands fell to her sides.

    These words actually got to her. She had already lost her sense of reasoning and was ready to get into a fight.

    ''How dare her call her a slut?''

    Even Tungmei was shocked that Shu Rushi would go that far.

    Was she trying to provoke Zhang Liling and make her start a fight in her own party?

    Thinking that this could be the case, Tungmei hurriedly pulled Zhang Liling by the arm.

    "Hahahaha..." Shu Rushi''s friends erupted inughter seeing how Zhang Liling was trying to digest those trying

    "She must be so shocked... Hahahaha..."

    The press was still around, so Zhang Liling must maintain that smile on her face until the end otherwise, she was ready to attack them.

    Still haven''t had enough of getting Zhang Liling all riled up, Shu Rushi continued.

    "What? Why do you look so furious on your precious day? Do you want to fight me?"

    Leaning in close, she said in a low tone, "That''s fine by me. I really want to see this hot topic on the news."

    Leaning away from her, she pretended to be lost in thought before turning to nce her way with a smile on her face.

    "Zhang Liling hits a distinguished guest she invited to her brandunch."

    "Hahahaha... Even I''m looking forward to this topic," One if the girls said with a smirk.

    Thinking that Zhang Liling was now going to get into a fight with them, she surprised then by changing the turn of event.<sub> </sub>

    Although she was boiling in rage and wanted nothing more than to test the trio apart, Zhang Liling knew that she must force herself to stay clear-headed.

    Slowly, her facial expression returned to normal and solely fixing her gaze on Shu Rushi she asked as the corners of her lips curled into an angry smile.

    "Have you forgotten those times I beat you up in public?"

    Hearing that, Shu Rushi''s friends looked shocked as their eyes widened in surprise.

    Such a thing has happened before and yet they were not aware?

    Feeling the surprised nces from her friends, Shu Rushi red at them and while she was still trying to save herself from the shame, she heard Zhang Liling say,

    "You never learn. You have been asking for a beating since today and you have indeed attracted my attention. Just you wait, after today, anywhere I see you, I''m going to tear you apart!"

    Zhang Liling took Tungmei''s arm and walked away with her after leaving her with that promise, and she meant business with her words.

    Zhang Liling didn''t even care anymore about Mr. Fang''s warning pertaining to her getting into a fight.

    She must get into the fight and nothing was going to stop her. She needed to roll up her sleeves and teach someone a good lesson they would not forget in a hurry.

    As for Shu Rushi, she didn''t waste time before walking away, leaving her friends behind as she didn''t want them giving her that look.

    What was there in getting beaten up a few times?

    ***

    From where he was standing, Fang Bingwen nced a few times at Zhang Liling from his peripheral view while watching her interaction with Shu Rushi.

    It was only when he saw her storming off that he quickly tried to end his conversation with the Shu''s to go after her.

    But right as he ended things with them and was about leaving, he met head-on with a woman he seemed to recognize.

    "Mr. Fang." The woman called out with a sweet smile on her face while gazing at him with familiarity in her eyes.

    ***

    "Liling please try to calm down, don''t let that girl ruin your mood today." Tungmei said trying to calm Zhang Liling down.

    She thought it was not appropriate for her to carry a fuming fa e about in her own party as there were still guests plus the press who were waiting for a final short interview from her.

    "My party is over, so I can be allowed to key out my emotions." Zhang Liling said fuming in rage.

    Stopping in her steps, she red toward her right to spot Shi Rushi.

    "If this party was still on, I would have spiked their drinks to teach them the first lesson!"

    "What?" Tungmei was too surprised that she sped her mouth with her hands.

    How could she think of something like that? Did she not care about having a write up writer about if as she was sure that Shu Rushi would act personal.

    But Zhang Liling didn''t even care as long as she had a tiny chance to teach Shu Rushi a lesson, she would do it without minding anything that followed.

 Chapter 358 His Ex And His Current

    "Sarah." Mr. Fang acknowledged with a neutral expression on his face.r

    Staring at the woman before him, he seemed surprised to discover whom she had be.r

    "You remember me?" The woman asked, shing him a sweet smile.r

    "You still look the same," Mr. Fang nodded.r

    That exined it all.r

    How could he not remember her when her facial features did not change.r

    Stretching her hand out to offer him a handshake, she said, "It''s been a while. It''s nice to meet you again, Mr. Fang?" r

    Zhang Liling who had noticed the woman smiling at her man, snorted.r

    ''To think that this woman can get a handshake from my man..." r

    Saying that, she turned to Tungmei to say, "Wait here."r

    Without giving her the chance to respond, Zhang Liling matched ahead to stop the handshake form ever taking ce.r

    Right when Fang Bingwen was considering epting that fair feminine well-manicured hand in his as his gaze remained fixed on it, he heard her girlfriend''s voice from behind.r

    "Bingwen?" r

    Instantly, his attention was distracted as he turned his body to the side. Seeing that smile on her face, he was a bit confused.r

    ''Wasn''t she annoyed some minutes ago? I was even going to meet her... What''s making her smile like that?''r

    Mr. Fang was ufortable with the turn of environment and finally understood something from watching the two women acknowledge each others presence.r

    ''Bingwen?'' Sarah thought in disbelief as she watched Zhang Lilinge into the circle and join in the conversation.r

    Even she did not get to address Fang Bingwen like that.r

    ''Should I have taken the bold step first?''r

    Keeping up the same strong energy as when she met Fang Bingwen, she turned her attention to her as she came to stand beside him.r

    Since the man had refused to take her hand, she shifted it to Zhang Liling. r

    "Hello, I''m Sarah. I''m..." She drawled. Then stealing a quick nce at Fang Bingwen, she continued with her introduction.r

    "I''m Mr. Fang''s ex." r

    "Ah... I see..." Zhang Liling nced at Fang Bingwen, seeing from his side profile that he didn''t look moved with the situation, she turned her attention back to the women before her.r

    Stretching out her right hand to receive the handshake, she introduced herself.r

    "I''m Zhang Liling, Bingwen''s girlfriend." r

    If she was her boyfriend''s ex, she would also tell her that she was his girlfriend.r

    "Oh..." Sarah eximed as she slowly released her hand from Zhang Liling''s hold.r

    ''They are actually dating?" She confirmed.r

    Without giving a chance for whatever kind of conversation to hold, Zhang Liling immediately turned her full attention to her boyfriend.r

    "You said a minute and still five minutester, you haven''t returned."r

    She was reminding him if the little promise he failed to keep.r

    "It''s my fault. I''m sorry about that. I was on my way to you when I bumped into her. Let''s go..." r<sub> </sub>

    ''He knows how to apologize?'' Sarah observed. Nit just that, she could see how she had no chance to hold a conversation with him.r

    Without even sparing her a thought, he was already asking his girlfriend to leave with him.r

    He actually did not regard her.r

    "Sarah?" Zhang Liling called out to her, drawing her out of her thoughts. Smiling, she said, "We will take our leave now. Thank you foring to my party. I hope you had fun."r

    "Yes, I did. See you both some other time." Sarah said, standing there with a smile.r

    Nodding quietly to her, Fang Bingwen took Zhang Liling''s hand and let her out.r

    On their way out, Zhang Liling said through gritted teeth with a smile stered on her face.r

    "You actually left me with those tenacious girls to bump into your ex?"r

    "Are you serious?" Fang Bingwen was truly taken aback.r

    What kind of discussion did she want them to hold? As far as he was concerned, they won''t head anywhere good.r

    "Also, what''s your ex doing at my party? Did you invite her?" r

    ''Okay, I get it. She is jealous.'' He finally realized.r

    Releasing a sigh while managing to keep that neutral gaze, he revealed to her.r

    "I didn''t invite her."r

    "Then how did she make her way into my party? I don''t recognize her, surely I didn''t send the invitation to her."r

    Without knowing she had gone into full jealousy mood as she demanded answers to her questions.r

    For Sarah to have introduced herself as his ex right to her face with that smile on her face, Zhang Liling suddenly felt like being weary of her.r

    As for Fang Bingwen, he had nothing to worry about as he let her open her eyes to reality.r

    "I didn''t invite her, but I might have sent an invitation to her fianc¨¦ or husband without knowing."r

    "What do you mean?" Zhang Liling inquired as her brows furrowed in slight confusion.r

    "Didn''t you see the ring on her left hand? It''s either she is engaged or married." r

    "Really?" Zhang Liling probed unable to believe him.r

    Howe she didn''t notice? Was she perhaps, forced to only focus on that woman''s face and forgot to look for other details?r

    "Do you want to go back and look?" He asked as he released her hand.r

    The look on his face suggested that he was ready to take her back to Sarah for the second time so she could have a good look at the details he pointed out.r

    "Forget it." Zhang Liling replied.r

    Although her mind was settled about this topic now, she still wasn''t happy after remembering her exchange with Shu Rushi.r

    "If she is engaged or married, why did she have to make her introductionplicated? She must be really out of her mind." She muttered under her breath as she walked ahead.r

    Seeing that she was annoyed, Fang Bingwen had to follow her. "Liling, you should smile now."r

    ***r

    Back at that spot, Sarah stood in her ce and watched them with a smile with a few thoughts running through her mind.r

    ''He has really changed.''

 Chapter 359 Not Pregnant

    Shortly, a man in a ck suit approached her from behind with a ss of cocktail in his hand.

    "Sarah." He called out gently.

    Recognizing that male voice, Sarah turned around with a smile. "You are here?"

    "Mmmm... I asked you to remain in your seat, but you really don''t listen." The man chided her while handing her the nce of cocktail.

    While holding unto her purse with her right hand, Sarah stretched out her left hand which had a small diamond ring on her ring fingers to receive the drink.

    "I had to go say ''hi'' to my ex."

    "Can your rtionship with him be acknowledged in that manner? You only dated for a few weeks." The man said as the corners of his lips curled.

    The man looked a little bit older than Fang Bingwen and as he smiled, he let his gaze look past her.

    A rtionship thatsted 2 weeks can not be tagged as a true one.

    "Should I return your ring to you?" Sarah asked with a smile that revealed her intentions.

    "We are married, how can you easily return the ring?" Snatching her purse from her hand, he immediately took the free hand and led her ahead, smoothly ending the conversation.

    ***

    It took a little maturity for Zhang Liling to handle the rest of her guests until they finished leaving.

    Now the only ones left, were the influencers and models she invited.

    After eating a few bad apples despite therge number of the good ones, she wanted to throw up really bad, and she did that after she had seen everyone she needed to meet.

    At the private bathroom on the ground floor, Zhang Liling threw up down to herst guts into the sink.

    By the time she raised her head to look at the mirror, her entire face was already red.

    At the same time she was trying to understand what she looked like at that moment, she heard a few knocks on the door and slowly tilted her head to the side to see the door slowly open.

    "Are you okay?" Song Jujing asked worriedly as she stepped in with a bottle water in her hand.

    Seeing the way her daughter had ran out of the meeting room with a hand over her mouth in front of her staff, she quickly followed after her.

    Still leaning into the sink, Zhang Liling replied, "I think I''m fine."

    Uncapping the bottle in her hand, Song Jujing passed it to her so she could at least rinse her mouth with it.

    "You look horrible."

    "I know. The mirror is already speaking to me." epting the water, Zhang three her head back and raised the bottle so she would not touch the rims.

    Song Jujing stood at the side and watched her wash her mouth with the water s few times before snatching some napkin from the side and handed it to her.

    Wiping her face with them, Zhang Liling who had at some point stood straight while ncing at herself in front of the mirror, released a deep sigh.

    Out of the blue, her mother threw an unexpected question at her. "You and Bingwen have been dating for more than a year now, when are you two getting married?"

    Instantly, Zhang Liling turned her gaze to meet her. Hershes fluttering without stopping.

    "Mum! I''m not pregnant..." She said through gritted teeth.

    From the question her mother asked, she could already tell where her thoughts were going to.

    "I didn''t say that. Why do you look so worked up? I only asked a simple question or am I being too nosy?"

    Song Jujing''s facial expression remained unchanging as she demanded for an answer.

    "Mum, the way you are looking at me says everything. How many times do I have to tell you that our rtionship is not like that?"

    Truly, the young woman didn''t know how to convince her mother that she and Fang Bingwen were not sleeping together and had not done that before?

    "Then why are you throwing up? Within a few minutes, you look like you were allowed to move a mountain." Song Jujing said, revealing her true thoughts which she had tried to hide.

    "Why wouldn''t I throw up after meeting a few disgusting people today? Also, I''m stressed and need a bed rest."

    Throwing the used napkin into the waste bin, she walked past her to open the door only to meet Fang Bingwen.

    The man had his fist raised in the air and looked about to knock on the door before she swung it open.

    "Are you alright?" Fang Bingwen asked with a hint of worry in his tone.

    His facial expression divulged nothing both worry and as to whether he heard their conversation, one of them would have to ask him in order to find out.

    "No I''m not." Zhang Liling replied as she released the door and let her mother who was standing behind here into his view.

    Seeing Song Jujing, Fang Bingwen bowed his head a little to acknowledge his presence, still revealing nothing on his face.

    Tilting her head to the side, Zhang Liling nced at her mother while saying to him,

    "Mr. Fang, can you exin to my mother that I''m not pregnant. For some reason she has refused to listen to me since I threw up just now."

    ''Oh Lord save me!'' Song Jujing felt like a glue was used to force her feet to remain rooted on the same spot.

    She really wanted to disappear after her daughter just embarrassed her. She was not expecting that the girl would do something as daring like this.

    Didn''t she know how to behave or was the fault on her for forcing her hand.

    If there was no situation Sing Jujing had not seen, it would have been difficult for her to keep up with her appearance.

    As for Fang Bingwen, the young man was totally lost and embarrassed at the same time.

    This girlfriend of his would not be the death of him.

    Was she asking him to convince her mother that they were not sexually active?

    Did she drink something?

    She must have truly lost her mind.

 Chapter 360 That Time Of The Month

    Fang Bingwen was truly lost for words at this juncture.

    The situation was already embarrassing and now he had to say something regarding it?

    While he was trying to figure out what to say, Song Jujing stepped forward.

    ncing between them, she said, "Bingwen, I''ming to see your family in 2 days. Liling, you have been stressed a lot during period. You should get some rest."

    Saying that, she nodded and then proceeded to walk past them without looking back. She didn''t even give any of them a chance to retort.

    As soon as Song Jujing was out of their sight, she stopped in her steps and cringed. "This girl won''t be the death of me."

    Hammering her fists in the air, she stopped after a few seconds. Remembering where she was, she patted her hair before continuing in her steps.

    She was so embarrassed back there that she had to muster up the courage to feign ignorance.

    And luckily for her, it worked because she didn''t give them any chance to retort.

    ***

    "Liling, what was that just now?" Fang Bingwen whispered while staring intently at the woman before him.

    "My mum thinks I''m pregnant. She thinks we are having s*x..."

    "Shush..." Immediately he covered her lips with his palm. Just now, her voice was a little loud and he was scared that others may hear what they were talking about.

    Still ufortable that she would say something more, he released her lips and took her hand, leading them inside the restroom.

    Bolting the door behind them, he let her hand free.

    "You have already exined to her that we are not doing what she is thinking. And that exnation is enough."

    "But I don''t think it''s enough for her because she still doesn''t believe me. Maybe if she hears your assurance, she will believe us." Zhang Liling said with pouted lips.

    She seemed like she hated being used of something she did not and was not doing, so she took this personal.

    No matter what, Fang Bingwen couldn''t out himself in her shoes because for him, he mustn''t reply and prove everything to anybody.

    There were times you just had to keep quiet and let others assume anything they wanted.

    "Liling, it''s inappropriate to talk about in front of your mother. Just let her think what she wants. Okay?"

    "No way. At least, I wouldn''t want my reputation to be ruined for nothing."

    Staring intently into his eyes, Zhang Liling suggested, "Mr. Fang, why don''t we do it."

    "What?" Fang Bingwen''s eyes widened in shock.

    ''Has shepletely lost her mind?''

    "I''m serious..."

    "Did you drink something when I wasn''t watching?" Fang Bingwen probed, trying to determine what was wrong with her.

    "Forget it. I was only pulling your leg." Zhang Liling replied out of annoyance while rolling her eyes.

    Mr. Fang let out a sigh while testing his gaze off her. Shutting his eyes as he let out a deep breath, he face-palmed himself.

    And right at that moment, the woman before him, jumped into his embrace and circled her arms around him.

    "Why are you so grumpy?" Fang Bingwen asked as hisshes fluttered open.

    Pinning his gaze at the top of her head, he patiently waited for her response.

    "I''m ovting."

    "What is that supposed to mean?" Fang Bingwen inquired with a confused gaze.

    He failed to understand the meaning of her words a s where she was going with them hence, he requested for an exnation.

    Zhang Liling raised her head to meet his gaze. "It means that I am at that time of the month where I need to getid."

    "Nnnkttch..." A weird sound escaped from Fang Bingwen''s nose as he coughed painfully.

    Instantly, his eyes turned teary as he brought his index finger to cross over his nose.

    Finally, he understood what she was talking about, but that made him embarrassed.

    She was asking for s*x because obviously, her hormones were on a rampage.

    "And if you don''t get it, what will happen?" He asked as his embarrassed gaze slowly came to rest on her face.

    "Then you will have to face the grumpy version of me." Zhang Liling replied without breaking their gaze.

    Immediately, he pushed her aside. "I think I can deal with the grumpy you. I''m sorry I can''t give you what you want at the moment. Wait till we get married."

    Hearing that, a long sigh escaped from her lips. "Then can I sleep with you tonight?"

    Without wasting a second longer, his response came. "We can''t do that. Your mother is around. Remember she is thinking something else don''t give her anymore ideas."

    He was only trying to remind her about her earlier anger, whom it was directed to, and the foundation of it all.

    It would be better if she didn''t give her mother anymore ideas she wouldn''t bear when the timees.

    But Zhang Liling thought otherwise. She didn''t look one bit moved.

    "I don''t care. She is ready thinking the worst. I just want to feel relieved with you by my side."

    Closing his eyes and opened them again, Mr. Fang said carefully, "I would want to give respect to your mother, why don''t you wait till she travels back?"

    "Remember that she has to meet with your family before she returns to Paris. I am impatient."

    In essence, she was telling him that she couldn''t wait and doesn''t mind.

    "Fine. Let''s go."

    Finally, he epted her request.

    Returning to her conference room together, Zhang Liling continued the meeting from where she left off.

    She was addressing her staff after the sess of Glintunch. She thanked them andmended their effort before moving over to the next important topic.

    Following this event plus the news that would be broadcasted the next day, they were sure to stay getting massive orders, so preparation had to made beforehand.

    Zhang Liling spent extra 20 minutes speaking to them before calling it a day.

    As soon as she stepped out of the room, she went to meet her mother in the waiting room.

    Seeing the woman sitting rxed and reading a fashion magazine on the couch, she walked up to her.

    "Mum, I''m spending the rest of my day at Bingwen''s ce."

    Immediately, Song Jujing moved the paper away from her face, allowing her catch a good glimpse at her daughter.

    "Why?"

    "We have important matters to talk about and I don''t think I am obligated to divulge that information to you."

    Song Jujing was speechless for a few seconds before asking, "Won''t youe home with me first? At least you need to pick a few things."

    A few things like her toiletries and change of clothe.

    Zhang Liling understood her mother, but because she wanted to take a little revenge for her usation, she said to her...

    "I don''t need to go back home first. I can use my boyfriend''s things and wear his clothes."

    "What? Are crazy? Are you trying to tempt the young man?" Song Jujing whispered as her brows furrowed heavily.

    This daughter of hers was unbelievable. She didn''t even know what was good for her, but she didn''t care one bit.

    "We are already sleeping together, so what''s there?" Zhang Liling dropped thisment before bringing her phone out of her purse.

    "I will book an executive ride for you," She said why typing away on her phone.

    Sing Jujing was left speechless. Although she knew she was trying to get back at her, she couldn''t help but let it get to her head.

    ***

    Before leaving together, Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling made sure to see her mother get into the cab.

    As Tungmei and her other friends had left before the meeting with her staff started, there was no need to see anyone else off.

    As soon as Mr. Fang''s car pulled over in front of his vi, Zhang Liling opened the door and got out.

    "It''s been a while."

    "Let''s go in..." Fang Bingwen drawled as he walked ahead.

    Quickly she followed him inside the house.

    Exchanging a short greeting with the Butler who came to answer the door, she followed Fang Bingwen up the stairs.

    On getting to his room, his minty scent rushed up into her nose as she felt the wave pang her face.

    "I missed you..." She said spreading her arms as she walked toward his bed with a smile on her face.

    To her, his bedroom was the heaven she wanted to hide in.

    "Don''t go to my bed, you should take a shower first and clean up those things on your face." Fang Bingwen said, afraid that she would directly crash into his bed.

    Hearing his suggestion, she stopped in her step and turned around with a grumpy look on her face.

    Afraid that he had ruined her mood, he walked over and took her hand.

    "Come, you need to freshen up first," he said, leading her into the inner room.

    Since he was now acting gentle with her, Zhang Liling obediently allowed him to lead her away.

 Chapter 361 Scary Mr. Fang

    Zhang Liling took several minutes in the bathroom before climbing out of the bathtub.

    Humming to a popr pop song, she dressed herself in the bathrobe after wiping the droplets of water from her body with a clean towel.

    Now in a better mood, she walked into the bedroom.

    "You took a long time in there, were you only washing your body?" Fang Bingwen asked as he stood by the bedside and watched her walk toward him.

    "Nope, I was also washing away my anger and frustration." Zhang Liling replied as her gaze moved form his face down to the clothes he lined up on the bed.

    "What is this?" She asked, her brows knitting in a frown as she lifted the matching pyjamas from the bed.

    She seemed to be in belief of the outfit he had brought out for her.

    ? "Are you nning to sleep naked?" Mr. Fang asked indirectly answering her question.

    "Are you trying to make fun of me?" Zhang Liling retorted while holding out to the pyjamas in front of him.

    She was letting himpare his side to her smaller body frame to see if it would fit her.

    Understanding the implication of her words, he was at a loss for words.

    The night outfit he had picked for her, seemed unsuitable. But returning his gaze back to her face, he was about to ask if she would be going anywhere in the middle of the night.

    It was just a sleeping sack to rest for the night in and nothing more. Did it have to fit her body frame before she can put them on?

    But seeing her facial expression and the eyes ring at him, his lips moved , but no words were able toe out.

    Finally, he gave up. He didn''t have the energy to deal with the grumpy side of her.

    ''I thought you washed away every form of mood swing from your body off?'' He said to himself.

    "I''m sorry for my negligence," he quickly apologized and suggested, "Why don''t you go to the closet and see if there is any clothe you would prefer?"

    ring at him one more time, Zhang Liling took the clothes and went away.

    A long sigh escaped from Mr. Fang''s lips as his gaze followed her till she disappeared from his sight.

    "What a grumpy little woman." He said to himself before walking toward the inner room.

    Walking into his closet, he ignored the woman rampaging through his closet and proceeded to take off his shirt.

    Backing her, he took his belt off, not knowing that Zhang Liling was not even interested to look at him.

    Her mind was on finding a suitable clothe of his to sleep in.

    Taking off his socks, Fang Bingwen opened the white door in front of him and entered the bathroom without any hitch.

    A few momentster, he emerged from the bathroom band went in straight into his walk-in closet. Going to the area his night wears were ced, he took one out from the clothe hanger and put it on before going into the room.

    Stepping into the room, he saw an incredible sight.

    Zhang Liling was sitting on the bed pressing her phone while in his white packet shirt. Half of herps were left on disy.

    ''Was this the reason she made a fuss?'' He wondered as he came to stop in front of her. His facial expression, revealing the surprise on his face.

    "Are youfortable?" He inquired.

    How much he so badly wanted toin about the length of the shirt she was putting on.

    Did she think he was a saint? Didn''t she know that he was a man whose senses and hormones were still working?

    She really was too ignorant for him to teach a lesson.

    But instead is scolding her, he decided to ask that question because of her bad mood swings. He wouldn''t want to butt heads with her given the current situation.

    It was left for him to make peace and for them to retire to bed without any grudges in their heart.

    "Yes, at least this is better than those over-sizes pyjamas you brought for me earlier," Zhang Liling replied, finally taking her eyes off her phone.

    "Mmhmmm..." Fang Bingwen nodded as he watched her go and keep her phone in the nightstand.

    "I''m not wearing anything underneath," he heard her say a moment before she slipped into the sheets.

    "Why?!" He asked frantically.

    Was it not enough that she had to wear a short clothe that showed her off her fair thighs when they were spending the night in the same bed?

    Now, she had the courage not to wear anything underneath and she even had to make matters worse by telling him about it like it was not a big deal.

    ''This girl won''t be the death of me!''

    Didn''t she realize that something was wrong?

    She was really taking him as a tree.

    "I washed my panties and I can''t put on your brief. It''s going to be too tight around my waist which is not good as I need fresh air in that private area this night." Zhang Liling replied and shed him a small smile.

    Fang Bingwen just stood there looking at her like he was looking at a fool.

    Five secondster, he said without tearing his gaze off her. "Zhang Liling?"

    Surprised to hear him calling her by her full name, Zhang Liling thought he was angry, but still replied him.

    "Yes..."

    "Do you want to get pregnant so badly?" Mr. Fang asked as he took slow steps forward, raising his brow at her.

    "What?! What are you talking about?"

    "I mean... I don''t have a condom here, and you are on your ovtion period. If we are to have sex now which you are putting me to, you will definitely fall pregnant. Do you really want to have a baby before we get married?!"

    "Ah!!!" Instantly, a shriek escaped from the depth of her lungs as she immediately moved farther away from his reach.

    "Mr. Fang..."

    Seeing her staring at him with that hawk eyes of her as if monitoring him to be sure he doesn''t near her, he asked, "Do you think I''m joking?"

    Zhang Liling was silent as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Even in her head, she could hear the sound of her heartbeats there.

    ''I-Is he serious?''

    Finally she was starting to realize what fear was.

    Without a shred of warning, Fang Bingwen knelt on the bed and seeing her about to shift far away from him, he quickly pulled away the duvet and grabbed her legs.

    "Are you a rabbit, where do you think you are running to after provoking me?"

    "Mr. Fang!" She shrieked as he sped her legs and immediately pulled her back to him.

    That same moment, he shushed her. "Ssshhh."

    "Don''t scream. I havee to realize that I''ve been starving you, today, let me feed you so you can keep quiet in satisfaction."

    Saying that, he pretended to pull the trousers on his waist down to see what Zhang Liling would do and truly, she didn''t disappoint.

    Thinking that he was about to let his little monster out, Zhang Liling''s palms immediately flew to her face as she instinctively sped her thighs together.

    "Ah!" she screamed once again.

    Watching her survival antics, a long sigh escaped from his lungs as he slowly released her legs.

    "I thought you were craving sex so badly. Look at you running away when I was going to change my mind and give you what you wanted."

    Realizing that her legs were free and that he was no longer trying to go on with his actions, Zhang Liling quickly moved her hands from her face and got into a kneeling position after she shifted far away from him.

    "Mr. Fang, you''re scary." She confessed.

    Was he actually going to do it?

    "If it''s now you are realizing it, then you must have forgotten what it was like to be my student."

    He was reminding her of how strict and mean he used to be back then when he was still her professor at college.

    "It''s different."

    Ignoring her protests, he sat on the bed and threatened with his eyes on her. "If you are going to sleep without anything underneath, you better note close to me in the middle of the night because it would be easy for me to go down with you."

    "Mr. Fang, you''re so mean." She said as she watched himy his back down on the bed and rest his head on the pillow.

    "Thank you," Fang Bingwen replied and allowed hisshes to flutter close. But in the next minute, he heard her exin.

    "I don''t want to put on anything because I''m going to get wet. I don''t want to be ufortable wearing anything right."

    Immediately, his eyes flew open. Tilting his head to his left, he met her gaze.

    "Then you are going to stain either the shirt or the sheets. Which one is better?"

 Chapter 362 Its So Small

    ''Wouldn''t it be worse if I wore your briefs and stained them?''

    Although Zhang Liling thought this way, she still got off the bed and walked into the inner room.

    As soon as she left, Fang Bingwen''s featheryshes fluttered open in the most grand way.

    ''Sighs'' Looking away from the door she escaped from, he put the back of his hand on his forehead with a disgruntled look on his face.

    Ten secondster, he was seen getting off the bed and walking into the inner room.

    Seeing the little women rampaging through his closet in search of something, he walked to her.

    "I will give you a new one," He exined and immediately got into the mood to a new pair of briefs for her.

    Finding a new set in a lower drawer, he picked up the ck one but while handing it to her, a series of fake coughs escaped from his lips.

    "I''m doing this because I don''t want to get tempted."

    ''What the...?'' Currently, Zhang Liling''s facial expression looked funny as she nced at the little piece of clothe in his hand before her eyes moved to a certain part in his body.

    ''It''s so small...''

    Seeing her looking at a certain part of his body, Fang Bingwen followed her gaze to it, which instantly caused his eyes to fly wide open.

    "Yah!" Hisshes blinked repeatedly and without warning, he forced the briefs into her hands.

    "You better not think anything weird."

    Saying that, he turned around and walked away, leaving her to her own ridiculous thought.

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling returned to the bedroom and while trying to climb into bed, she decided to follow the side where he wasying and made sure her body rubbed Jim before crossing.

    Without opening his eyes, Mr. Fang said to her,

    "I can smell you with my nose. Don''t attract me if you are going to run away. I don''t like being teased. That''s an unforgivable act as I tend to revenge with a payback."

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling quietly rolled into her side, not daring to make any more trouble.

    He just told her that he could smell her arousal and earned her against tempting him otherwise he wouldn''t let her off this time around.

    How could she dare tempt him again?

    *******

    Returning to the Tang Mansion, Mrs. Tang stepped out of the car and ignoring her second daughters-inw, she made her way into the house and went straight to sit in the living room.

    Handing her bag and her shawl over to a servant to send them into her room, she requested for a ss of slightly chilled water to cool of her anger.

    Left alone, her second daughters-inw had no choice but to continue her journey into the house all by herself.

    When Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei returned, they walked into the house while walking side by side, but just as they were about to cross the living room area, the saw a servant waiting on them.

    "Sir, Madam wants to see you both."

    "My Mum wants to see us?" Tang Ei asked, raising a questioning brow.

    "Yes, she is in the living room waiting." The servant confirmed with a small bow before walking away.

    Hearing that, Zhang Xiaoling exchanged meaningful nces with him.

    "If this is about today''s event, I don''t think I will calm should your mother throw any insults at me," She said with a determined voice, not bothering to hide her emotions.

    "You don''t have to say anything, I will take care of it. We should go to her." Tang Ei replied and then led them further into the house.

    Mrs. Tang was sitting on a twin-sitter couch when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, but she pretended to be unaware of their presence as her eyes remained close.

    Seeing her mother-inw acting that way deliberately, Zhang Xiaoling snorted inwardly and went to take a sur for herself and seeing this, Ei joined her on the three-sitter couch, leaving some space between them.

    "Mum, you called for us," He started, with an intent gaze on the woman pretending to still be out of it.

    Finally on hearing her son''s voice, she opened her eyes to slowly take in her surrounding before looking their way.

    "You two are finally back," she said, while switching her gaze from him to Zhang Xiaoling who didn''t bother to acknowledge her presence.

    Being already roused in her spirit, Mrs. Fang clenched her fingers.

    "Why didn''t I know that you would be going to Glint''sunch today? Two, howe none of you took it upon yourself to tell me the owner of Glint, did you want me to embarrass myself that much?" She asked, emphasizing herst question while staring at Zhang Xiaoling.

    Her gaze said it all by affirming that she was using her of withholding information concerning the event they all attended that day.

    Tang Ei who clearly understood what his mother was hinting at, did not find it funny.

    Tang Ei who clearly understood what his mother was hinting at, did not find it funny. "Mum, I don''t think I have to report my whereabouts to you. Xiaoling doesn''t have to either. It''s not like we need your permission to leave the house out of our own will."

    He looked displeased with his mother''s attitude of trying to control them as this was an act he disagreed with the more.

    How could someone of his age had to report his whereabouts to her? If things had gotten to that level, then he might have to start n to move ces.

    Mrs. Tang clearly got the unhappiness clearly written on her son''s face and didn''t continue to hit on her first question.

    Turning her gaze to Zhang Xiaoling who had remained indifferent to her presence, she hammered the nail on her second question, indirectly using her again.

    Feeling her gaze on her, Zhang Xiaoling tilted her head to the side to meet her eyes. But just as her lips parted, Tang Ei did as promised.

    "Neither of us knew about Zhang Liling being the owner of Glint. She did this to surprise everyone."

 Chapter 363 The Need For A Conversation

    "I don''t think so. It''s more like she hid an information as important as this from her enemies." Mrs. Tang retorted while ring at Zhang Xiaoling.

    Aware of how her mother came to snatch another woman''s husband, she couldn''t help but to feel disgusted with her daughter-inw.

    And now, she was rubbing it on her face and letting her see what she exactly thought of her.

    If her stepsister took her as a real close family, there was no way she would have hidden that kind of big act from her, which she was right about.

    But saying that to her face, wasn''t fine. She didn''t care in the least.

    Zhang Xiaoling being herself was unable to bear her mother-inw''s taunts.

    Since when was she the one being bullied? She has always been the one to bully other people. And seeing the woman that didn''t want to respect herself, she couldn''t sit still anymore.

    "Mother, I think your angeres from your jealousy."

    "What?" Mrs. Tang was stunned already, but that didn''t stop Zhang Xiaoling from finishing her talk as Tang Ei face-palmed his forehead.

    "You must have been so furious to learn that I attended the very party you tried to ostracized me from. What happens to be the worst pain must have been my indifferent attitude to your little acts to make me jealous."

    Standing to her feet, she nced at Tang Ei who didn''t bother to look at any of them anymore to say, "I am not going to let anyone in this house insult me anymore when I did nothing wrong."

    Saying that to her mother-inw''s face, she picked up her purse and trotted away.

    "What? D-Did she just talk to me like that?" Mrs. Tang eximed in horror as she watched Zhang Xiaoling walk away without looking back.

    The same moment, she shifted her gaze to her son. "Did you see the kind of I''ll manners that girl has? Yet you sat here and watched her talk to your mother that way! Has your brains been eaten up by her evil influences?"

    "Enough mother!" Tang Ei said standing to his feet as his mother''s attitude was getting out of hand.

    His mother was already annoyed as it was with his wife''s attitude and now, he was speaking to her in the same manner.

    "Are you shouting at me?"

    Ignoring her question, he threw one back to her. "Is your job to spread unhappiness?"

    "Are you saying that I should have been unhappy alone?" She inquired while looking up to meet his gaze.

    It was clear that she was admitting to her selfish acts. She was clearly unhappy and didn''t want to go to bed without spreading it.

    How ridiculous could she be?

    But her son was not in the mood to indulge in her antics.

    He was just returning from an event that didn''t bring him anger, and instead of retiring to bed in that neutral mood, his mother decided to ruin it.

    After the effort he put in to make Zhang Xiaoling happy after the insults that was rained on her, she came and ruined everything.

    Now was he going to start work from the beginning because Zhang Xiaoling has had enough with his mother''s acts?

    "If you don''t know how to contain your emotions without spreading the negative energy to the people living with you, then I would have to speak to Dad about it." He threatened without tearing his gaze off her.

    "What do you mean?" His mother asked, as her brows contoured in a big frown.

    She looked a little bit confused apart from being a little apprehensive as she did not know the next step he was nning to take by involving his father in this matter.

    "Rx. I''m only going to let father know that I will be moving out with Zhang Xiaoling as the house can no longer contain us with you in it."

    "What? Can you hear yourself? Are you two going to make me the viin?"

    Tang Ei refused to be bothered about her anymore as he shifted his gaze ahead, ready to leave her presence.

    "What I did was to make the right demand. You are going to your 40''s and you don''t have any child yet although you marriedte. Shouldn''t your ns be to start having a child?"

    Taking in a deep breath, she continued, "Are you indulging your wife? I won''t be surprised if there is no man out there that she likes given the basics of your marriage!"

    Instantly, Tang Ei tilted his head to the side to re at her before looking ahead. Without uttering another word, he matched away.

    This one really got to him and he couldn''t hide it.

    Truly, Zhang Xiaoling has not hidden that she liked Fang Bingwen from him, but what he didn''t know now, was if she still haboured any feelings for him, or if she was now ready to build a rtionship with him.

    Whatever the answer was, he would have to sit and have a conversation with her in order to find out.

    Mrs. Tang was left alone in the living room. Seeing that even her own son was not supporting her, her anger knew no bounds.

    ncing at the ss of water on the table before her, she was tempted to smash it, but she couldn''t. Her petty acts hasn''t gotten to that level.

    ***

    As soon as Tang Ei walked into the bedroom, he saw no one in sight and guessed that Zhang Xiaoling must have entered the closet or the bathroom.

    Not wanting to sh with her since their rtionship hasn''t gotten to the point where they could see each other naked on in their undies.

    Sighing to himself, he allowed his weight to sink into the bed as his thoughts began to moved in different directions.

    The little act from his mother, just made him discover something important. He has not made up with his wife.

    There had to be a clear distinction on where their marriage stood, and they required them to have a conversation.

    If they talked out every detail concerning their marriage and where they both wanted it to head to, then, they cane to a right standing with each other.

    Also, this would help to strengthen their rtionship.

 Chapter 364 Little Fool

    As soon as the day broke, Mr. Fang''s eyes shut open.

    ncing at the view before him, a deep sigh escaped from his lips as he could a heavy weight on half of his body.

    Zhang Liling who was still sleeping soundly while sprawled on his body, let out a sigh and turned her face to the other side.

    "When are you going to stand up?" He asked as his chest rose and fell with her face on his chest.

    One second. Two second. No reply came.

    Left with no choice, He pulled up his hand to push her away from his body, earning a groan from her.

    Fang Bingwen couldn''t be bothered with her anymore. She literally slept on his body throughout the night.

    Since he began to exist, he wasn''t sure that he had exercise d patience for that long time interval.

    An award needed to be presented to him for his immense contribution.

    Getting off the bed, he covered Zhang Liling with the duvet before slipping his feet into the pair of flip-flops at the foot of his bed.

    Turning to the side, he nced at Zhang Liling one more time before walking into the inner room while stiffing a yawn with the back of his palm.

    Some minutester...

    Zhang Liling''s hand patted on the empty space next to her. Failing to feel the warmth that was supposed to be there, her brows furrowed as hershes fluttered open.

    ncing to her right, she discovered that she was facing the window, but slowly turning to her left where Fang Bingwen was supposed to be sleeping, she found no one.

    ''Where did he go?'' She thought as she immediately sat up on the bed.

    Feeling the need to use the bathroom, she got off the bed and without putting on her slippers, she rushed towards the inner door, swinging it open.

    "Yah!" Mr. Fang screamed, turning to his side as his eyes widened in shock.

    He couldn''t help but to express the shock he felt on seeing the women barge into the bathroom without knocking while he was in the shower.

    What kind of attitude was that?

    Fang Bingwen swore that he would whip that little woman till she leaned her lessons. . every time they spent the night in the same room, she must do something tragic, a culture that has be a part of her.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling was shocked by the man''s roar, forcing her to freeze on the spot.

    Staring wide-eyed as her gaze met his foamy skin, she hurriedly turned her back with tears of regret brimming in her eyes.

    Just a moment ago, she was still sleepy but now, her brain was awake and realizing what she had done, she hurriedly found an escape route.

    "I''m so sorry, but I really need to use the bathroom!"

    Leaving an apology behind, she ran out of the bathroom and left the room directly.

    She was so pressed that she couldn''t even stop for a moment. And being familiar with the house, she literally jumped down to the foot of the stairs and made a beeline for the visitor''s room she used to sleep in any time she visited.

    Fortunately, the door wasn''t locked.

    In one swift move, Zhang Liling broke into the room and ran straight for the inner room to relieve herself.

    A few minutester, she came out just fine in the big shirt that belonged to the man she had seen washing himself in the bathroom.

    "Aish!" Zhang Liling eximed as she went to sit on the couch in the room with a disgruntled look on her face.

    She was almost on the verge of pulling her hair out as she recalled the scene in Mr. Fang''s bathroom.

    "Liling, how will you go back now? How will you face him!"

    Zhang Liling literally questioned her sanity at that very moment.

    Pulling her head of hair, she cursed inwardly andy back on the backrest of the couch, refusing to go anywhere until she was sure that Fang Bingwen had left his bedroom.

    She knew that he normally went to his gym room after a morning shower. Having this knowledge at the back of her mind, she rxed in the room until the time was right and only then did she leave.

    Luckily for her, she found no trace of him as soon as she opened the door

    But still trying to make sure that his existence no longer prevailed for the time being, she called out softly, "Mr. Fang?"

    At the end after calling him for two more times, she became convinced that he had left before venturing into the inner room to wash up.

    Since her dress was still in theundry room as Mr. Fang had sent it to themst night, she went to his closet to find what to where.

    This time around, she found a ck shirt to wear and a pair of brief from the drawer that housed his new set.

    Fifteen minutester, she returned to the room to find her phone.

    Yesterday was Glint''sunch party with a few people from the press present. By now, there has to be news about her brand already on the.

    ''''Zhang Liling, owner of Glint?''

    That was the first headline Zhang Liling ever set her eyes on and instantly, a smile came to her face.

    "We are doing well after all...." She mumbled to herself as her eyes nced over the article under that headline.

    Zhang Liling went on to read a few more articles before deciding to go to other social media handles to see how Glint was doing there.

    Lo and behold, on all of her social media handle, Glint got thousands of followers plus more than enoughment for several people to continue to work on for the entire day.

    Without wasting time, Zhang Liling clicked on thetest post from her brand''s page to check thement section.

    Seeing the interest of the potential customers, she hurriedly logged into Glint''s website to check the order list and the numbers were overwhelming.

    There was more than 2,000 orders already and more were still iing.

    "What?!!! OMG! This is unbelievable!" Zhang Liling uttered excitedly as her palm flew over her lips, her eyes, remained on the screen of her phone without moving away.

    She was still in awe of her brand''s progress that she failed to express her joy.

    "Mr. Fang..." Suddenly, she remembered that she had to spread the good news and hurriedly made a dash for the door without hesitation.

    With this sshing news of Glint on the inte plus the whooping orders she got, she slipped into a temporary memory loss.

    Putting aside every other thing behind her, she sprinted to the gym room where she found her boyfriend doing some press ups.

    "Mr. Fang, you need to see this!" She said, breathing a little heavily as her heart raced in her chest.

    Her steps were very fast and in no time she arrived before the man who was wondering what was wrong with her this time around.

    Putting her phone in front of his face, she immediately announced the good news to him.

    "Glint has more than two thousand orders already."

    As his eyes scrolled through her phone screen to see the data, he replied, "I know,"

    "You know? How do you know?" Zhang Liling asked in surprise as she slowly put down her hand.

    The data she had just shown to him, not just anybody could ess it, so how did he find out?

    Seeing the surprise on her face, Fang Bingwen shook his head disappointedly as he sat up and used the towel around his neck to wipe his face.

    ''Why is he not saying anything?'' Right when she was about to question him again, she saw him to get to his feet and without warning, he flicked her forehead.

    "Little fool."

    "Aww!" Holding her forehead with her palm, she red at him as if to ask what she had done wrong.

    "As a brand owner, don''t you know anything about estimation? Did you not n a target for a target orders you would get after youunch party?"

    "I did, but I wasn''t expecting the orders to reach this much. It is still less than 24 hours from theunch party."

    Zhang Liling said with a doubtful look.

    Two thousand orders?

    She was only expecting a maximum of one thousand orders 24 hours after herunch party but who knew it would exceed her ns?

    "It looks like you have a lot to learn. Don''t just stand here and look at me. You need to speak with your manufacturer right away." Fang Bingwen advised as he walked past her.

    The orders she has in the store room would not be enough to take care of the current orders plus the new ones toe.

    Now Glint must prove that she is capable of catering to those number of orders.

    If there is much dy before some customers get their orders, they would be annoyed and this was not a good way for Glint to start.

 Chapter 365 Mental Breakdown

    Quickly, Zhang Liling made a call to her manufacturer to ce an urgent order.

    "Two thousand pieces. No, two weeks is too long. You have the form there with you. A week at most. No, it is out of the question."

    Pacing around the gym room with her left hand on her waist, she continued to speak with her manufacturer as Fang Bingwen watched her from the side while gulping down a bottle of water.

    "Ten days then."

    A few momentster, she got off the phone with them and shrieked excitedly.

    "Mr. Fang, the next badge will be here in ten days. My hard work has paid off!"

    "What hard work?" Mr. Fang asked while capping the bottle back.

    Standing to his feet, he said, "You didn''t even speak for more than 5 minutes, how is that a part of your hard work?"

    "Didn''t you hear me negotiating with them?" Zhang Liling raised a questioning brow at him.

    Wasn''t he paying attention to her all this while?

    "Can that be categorised as a negotiation skill? You must be joking with me."

    There was no way Fang Bingwen was going to see that little act of hers as a powerful negotiation. He wasn''t going to give her any credit for it.

    Does she even know what negotiation is? She was only eating toasted bread with jam.

    She didn''t even do any work.

    Just like he imagined, her negotiation skills must be at the bottom of the gauge.

    Not wanting to argue with her, he stirred the conversation to another direction.

    "How can you be working around in a shirt, do you think we live alone?"

    As he said that, Zhang Liling followed his gaze down to her exposed thighs.

    She was still staring downwards when he took her hand and led her out of the room. "Follow me."

    At that same time interval, Fang Bingwen gave her a sports outfit that suited her because of the skinny trousers, leaving her no room for argument.

    After changing into the new outfit, they went for breakfast together while one of the servants got her outfit from the previous day, ready.

    *******

    As Glint''sunch has been on the news sincest night because of the hype around it, plus the kind of guests that graced the event, the new brand that just ventured into the market, became the talk of town.

    And as this was so, it was not a question for Shi Wenqian not to see it.

    The first thing that greeted her sight, was the morning newspaper lying on the centre table in the living room, which was delivered by one of the maids.

    On the front page, an interesting caption that included Zhang Liling''s name, was captured by her eyes.

    "Zhang Liling?"

    Immediately, she picked up the magazine. Furrowing her brows, her gaze went to read the caption clearly.

    Everything about her step daughter must be treated as important since she had to keep tabs on her anyways.

    ''Zhang Liling, the founder and CEO of the new brand, Glint.''

    Just as Shi Wenqian finished reading that line, it was as if her eyes wanted to pop out from their sockets.

    "This can''t be!" She mumbled to herself as she flipped the newspaper over to the next page and there, another rting caption greeted her sight.

    ''Glint''s firstunch which was hosted yesterday by Zhang Liling, was attended by prominent stars in different industries.''

    Below the caption, she saw a group photo that was clear to the eyes.

    Zhang Liling was standing in the middle along with Fang Bingwen, Song Jujing and Zhang Renshu, as all other guests surrounded them.

    Under therge frame, names of the guests in the photo, was listed.

    The more Shi Wenqian''s eyes scanned, the more her breathing hitched.

    The fingers holding the ends of the newspapers, were already trembling out of shock.

    She was unable to control her emotions.

    Just by seeing that caption and the few photos attached to it, she couldn''t believe her eyes.

    How did she not see something like thising?

    Not just that, seeing the part were most of the names of the guests were written, she went mad.

    She could clearly see her daughter''s name, Zhang Xiaoling, along with a few from the Tang family.

    What was worse, was that not even her husband or her daughter told her about Glint being Zhang Liling''s.

    She, just like them, had been hearing about Going, but because of the work she had at hand, she didn''t pay it no mind.

    ''After all, it was just a new brand trying to grab people''s attention using heavy publicity.'' That was her thought a few weeks ago.

    "This can''t be! When did she start nning something like this?"

    Shi Wenqian was still in shock as this was an automatical mental breakdown for her.

    It actually meant a lot to her for Zhang Liling to that go that far without her knowledge.

    How was it possible for her to make it when she was there?

    Feeling betrayed by her daughter and the man that she no longer regarded, she crumbled the first page of the newspaper in her hands.

    Shi Wenqian could feel her chest rise and fall with great speed as her eyes squeezed shut in pain, but she didn''t even care that much.

    Two minutester after recovering a bit of her sanity she had long lost, she picked up her phone to make a call.

    And as soon as the receiver answer, she started her questioning section.

    "Xiaoling, how could you keep that kind of news about Zhang Liling out of my reach?"

    "What news?" Zhang Xiaoling inquired in a groggy tone. She seemed half-awake from the way her voice sounded.

    "You knew Zhang Liling was the owner of Glint all this while?" Shi Wenqian asked, making things clear for her.

    This time around, Zhang Xiaoling understood her, but made sure to ignore her tone.

    "I didn''t know."

    "But you attended the event yesterday." Shi Wenqian retorted angrily.

    Who was she trying to y that kind of trick with?

 Chapter 366 Die As Your Wife

    "Does attending the event mean that I knew who the owner was?" Zhang Xiaoling fired back in a low voice.

    She was still lying in bed and Tang Ei had just left for the washroom.

    She shouldn''t be shouting so early in the morning about some useless matter that didn''t even make a bit of sense.

    "You have to convince me. This is a huge news. Neither you nor your father who attended the event, said anything to me."

    Shi Wenqian refused to believe her that easily. Currently, everything she said was lies to her.

    If she wanted her to believe her exnation, then she would have to out some effort, but who knew that Zhang Xiaoling was not in the mood to speak to her.

    "Mum, did you see any news or rumour about Zhang Liling being the owner of Glint before yesterday?

    Do you think that she would tell me if she was working on something that huge when obviously am her enemy?"

    Zhang Xiaoling was letting her know that Zhang Liling had kept her involvement with the brand under wraps since not many people got to know about it as well.

    She emphasized that most of her guests, didn''t know she was the owner of Glint until the previous day when they attended theunch party, but Shi Wenqian was still in doubt.

    "Let''s say that you are Zhang Liling''s enemy which is the truth, howe she invited you to theunch party and you turned up for it?"

    "She didn''t send me any invite. I followed my husband to the party he got an invitation for. Mum, I''m still in bed, don''t call me for such matters that do not concern me anymore."

    Shi Wenqian was still about to question her about keeping the news from her since she had found about it at atter time, but she had already dropped the call as soon as herst word echoed into her ear.

    Still unsatisfied with the conversation with her daughter, Shi Wenqian picked up the news paper and went to the dining room to meet Zhang Renshu.

    Seeing him sitting at the head table already eating, she walked to his side and dropped the magazine next to his te of food on the table.

    "Did you know about this?" She questioned immediately, forgetting about their beef.

    Instantly, Zhang Renshu nced at the front cover of the paper Shi h had been squeezed and straightened again without saying anything.

    Moving his gaze back to his food, he took a bite of his toasted bread and baked beans.

    "Are you not going to answer me?"

    Seeing him munching on his food, totally ignoring her in front of the servants and their son, she felt like a fool he disregarded, and red up.

    Zhang Mingyu who was sitting two seats away from his father, tried to steal a nce at the paper his mother had brought, trying to understand the content that made her re up.

    Failing to sight what was written there because of the bowls, tes and ssesid out on the table, he gave up, but that didn''t stop him from paying attention to what was going on.

    ''What has Dad done this time around?''

    Zhang Renshu waited until he had finished chewing the food in his mouth before replying to her.

    "Do I have to answer to your questions?"

    He didn''t think the current stance of their rtionship, required him to exin himself.

    "Of course you do. This is a family matter and not a private matter. I need a response."

    Shi Wenqian was not going to back down until she got an answer from him.

    And for that to happen, she had to bring the matter up as a family issue.

    This time around, Zhang Renshu answered her, but the response he gaze, wasn''t acknowledged.

    "What if I knew about it and what if I didn''t? You are not her mother and since she didn''t meet you, you shouldn''t concern yourself with this matter."

    Zhang Renshu''s response was savage.

    He was directly telling her to her face that because Zhang Liling was not her daughter, and she shouldn''t put her attention on her matter unless the youngdy in question wanted her to be interested.

    "Are you joking with me right now? How can you two make a fool out of me and expect me to overlook it? I am still your wife and deserve to know about things like this instead of being kept in the dark!"

    Shi Wenqian was not going to tolerate that reply from him and immediately put up a fight.

    Pausing with the teacup in his hand, Zhang Renshu tilted his head to the side, to give her the side nce.

    "Then do you want a divorce so that you will now have a reason to stay clear of matters that does not concern you?"

    Zhang Renshu''s words were served on a tter of gold. His savage reply was a greateback Shi Wenqian and Zhang Mingyu was not expecting to hear.

    "What?" She eximed in shock as her hands dropped lifelessly at her sides.

    Zhang Renshu shifted his gaze back to his food and resumed eating.

    Letting the rims of the ceramic teacup touch his lips, he drank some of its content before putting it back on the table.

    "Any time you want it, I can always serve you with the divorce papers. But if your trouble gets too much, I might dish the papers immediately."

    Picking up another slice of toast and a little butter this time around, he warned, "Stay clear of matters that does not concern you and stop bothering my life."

    Shi Wenqian was so out of it that she stood rooted at the same spot.

    She felt her knees grow weak, but she couldn''t let her self sink into the chair so she sped the edge of the table with her ws.

    ''Does he want a divorce so badly?'' She thought to herself.

    While she was wallowing in fury, she became determined towards the end.

    ''Even if I''m bedridden, I will never sign any divorce papers. I Shi Wenqian, will die as your wife.''

 Chapter 367 The People After Her

    Storming off from the dining room with the newspaper in hand, Shi Wenqian returned to her room.

    As soon as she next to her Queen-sized bed, she went straight to the contact list on her phone.

    A few secondster, she ced the phone on her ear.

    "I want you to do something urgently for me."

    *******

    ncing at the newspaper in her hands over an afternoon tea, Song Jujing released a deep sigh before snapping it shut.

    Putting the paper on the table, she picked up her teacup asvger gaze remained fixed on one spot.

    Walking into the living room, Zhang Liling saw her mother lost in thought. Her brows furrowed slightly as she walked toward her.

    Seeing the cover page of the newspaper, her eyes widened in realization.

    ''Is that why she seems all lost?''

    Clearing her throat, she took a sit next to her mother.

    "About this, I''m sorry. I never intended to reach out to the Song family about my brand. I don''t even know how the got the invitation." She said, trying to exin how someone from the Song family came to her party.

    She had been shocked when she first saw the news. And at that time, she was wondering what her mother would be thinking about if she saw it.

    This was one of the reasons why she left Mr. Fang''s ce in the morning after breakfast.

    She was worried about her mother seeing the news, but from what she was seeing now, it seems like she was just finding out about it.

    In the front page of the newspaper, the headline suggested that Song Jujing was trying to reconcile with her Song family.

    Then reading the full article that talked about Song Alex being at Glint''sunch party, the Writer posed a question, asking if the Song family was nning to reconcile with their lost keen or if they had already made peace in the secret.

    Many people were curious about the answer to that question and just like that, it led to the digging of the past.

    "It''s not your fault. The invitation card reached Zhang Xiaoling too and a few people you didn''t know on a personal level." Song Jujing replied on snapping back to reality.

    Putting her teacup down, she crossed her leg over the other to stare at her.

    Taking her mother''s hand in hers, Zhang Liling squeezed it gently.

    "Do you want me to say anything to the press?"

    "There is no need, the matter will pass."

    ***

    A few hourster, a rumour broke out on the inte concerning Glint.

    Somehow, suddenly, a thread started making rounds on the inte and soon, it blew up.

    Staring at her phone, Zhang Liling couldn''t believe her eyes.

    Her eyes were nearly about to pop out from their sockets. "What?!"

    ring at a certainment, she felt like stoning someone to death.

    "Who is this idiot?! I made those forms in theb myself, what are you talking about?!!!!"

    "I told you not to get worked up over the news," Song Jujing who was sitting on the couch with her hand on her forehead, looked tired as hell.

    Hearing that advise, Zhang Liling looked like she was not about to ept it.

    "How can I calm down when someone is already trying to sabotage my brand?! How can theye up with baseless rumours without an evidence?"

    "That''s why they are baseless rumours." Song Jujing retorted with her gaze down.

    "Mum, my brand was onlyunched yesterday and they had already started to attack me just 24 hourster!"

    "That shows you that you have enemies. Everyone does."

    "Still, why must theye for me? Am I the only one who is being hated to this extent that has to endure this shit?!" Zhang Liling argued

    Immediately, Song Jujing raised her gaze to meet her furious pair of eyes.

    "Have you see the one that was written about me?"

    "That''s not my aim." Zhang Liling said, making things clear as she stormed off into her bedroom.

    Currently, negative news about Zhang Liling and her mother were making rounds on the inte and this stared by noon.

    Some people were saying that Zhang Liling only had to go through a manufacturer to produce he makeup products.

    They said she only changed thebel of another top cosmeticpany and rebranded it to hers.

    A good number of orders were saying she was only able to start her own brand because of the influence of her Zhang family.

    In case people didn''t know, someone went as far as reminding everybody of the kind of person that were surrounding her.

    ''Zhang Renshu is her father, her mother is the celebrity Editor-in-chief and her boyfriend is Mr. Fang. She has it all, so what is there in setting up a brand?''

    As for Song Jujing, a handful of people were instigating that she was trying to get her Song family on her side again after disgracing them several years go.

    Where these keyboard warriorswasing from, was what Zhang Liling didn''t know about it.

    Currently, she was about to lose her mind.

    She was about to bury a host of people because this was only 24 hours since her brand wasunched and now, people were already after her?

    Were they trying to ruin her reputation and close down her business?

    Just this morning, she had been happy with the number of orders she had gotten so far, plus she had went on to ce another batch of huge order from her manufacturer.

    Who knew that something like this would happen 10 hourster?

    After some time in her bedroom, Zhang Liling returned to the living room with her phone in hand.

    This time around, she sat on the couch next to her mother.

    "Mum, who do you think is after us?" She asked almost on the verge of tears as she felt a lump in her throat.

    She was truly pained and was at a loss on how to get through the current situation.

    Won''t her business close if this situation was not managed?

    "There is just one person who would go to any extent to make sure that I am disgraced."

    Taking her eyes from her phone screen, Song Jujing added as her gaze narrowed.

    "Shi Wenqian."

    "Shi Wenqian? That woman would do something like this?" Zhang Liling inquired, her eyes widening in surprise.

    Never for once did her mine go to her stepmother.

    What other business did she have with her for her to attack her and her business?

    "I already refused to join my father''spany because I didn''t want to deal with her antics, but it looks like she will never leave me alone."

    "She won''t, until she dies." Song Jujing said through gnashing teeth.

    At the moment, Song Jujing wanted to kidnap Shi Wenqian and bury her alive, but unfortunately, she couldn''t.

    The timing was wrong.

    "Mum, are you sure Zhang Xiaoling is not a part of this. She came to myunch yesterday, she must have been so jealous. I know her very well."

    Even at the juncture, Zhang Liling was not going to let any idea disappear from her head without pointing it out.

    That stepsister of hers used to bully her and that wouldn''t change now that she was doing well for herself.

    She wouldn''t rule her out of the picture for having something to do the rumours spreading online.

    "It doesn''t matter if she joined hands with her mother. Shi Wenqian is the one at the head of the pyramid. That woman has more powers and influence over her children."

    In summary, Song Jujing was suggesting that if Shi Wenqian was tackled, then her children wouldn''t have any powers left to them.

    "I wish I can get my hands on that woman!" Zhang Liling promised through gritted teeth as she mmed her fist in the arm of the couch she was sitting on.

    Just when she was plotting her revenge with a bitter heart, she head her phone start to ring from the side.

    "Mr. Fang." She announced as soon as she saw the caller ID.

    "He must be worried after seeing the news. Tell him not to think too much." Song Jujingmented just before she answered the call.

    "Where are you?"

    As soon as Zhang Liling answered the call, she heard Fang Bingwen''s worried tone and felt touched, but she decided to rein in her emotions.

    "Don''t worry, I''m fine. I haven''t yet unleashed my madness."

    "Who do you think did this? Give me names." Fang Bingwen instructed, seeing that she sounded better.

    "Shi Wenqian, Zhang Xiaoling and Shu Rushi."

    "Why Shu Rushi?"

    Instantly, Zhang Liling red up. "That brat tried to ruin my party by cursing me out and repeatedly provoking me. I won''t be surprised if she is a part of this after I promised to best her up!"

    ***

    At the same time at the Shu Mansion, Shi Rushi was currentlyughing her ass out while going through her phone.

    "Who knew this matter would blow up in such a profound way? Hahahaha.... Serves her right for provoking me."

 Chapter 368 Public Statement

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen met up at Glint to talk about the rumours spreading like wildfire on the inte.

    "I have someone investigating this, but it will be hard to find out the people behind thosements. Most of them just made duplicate ounts to keep the same topic trending."

    "These people don''t have anything better to do?" Zhang Liling asked from across her white desk.

    "That''s the reason they have this kind of job. Whoever hired them did well." Fang Bingwenmended.

    It was solely because those people have nothing to do that they were hired to do that kind of dirty work.

    "Are you for me or against me?" Zhang Liling followed her eyes before fixing her attention on herptop screen as her fingers slid across the space bar.

    "I was only stating the truth. It is 90% impossible to find the person behind these rumours because they are smart enough to not involve themselves directly."

    "I don''t care who the real person is, but those three people that I mentioned their names are the culprits. They should just wait for me." Zhang Liling swore withy her eyes on herptop screen.

    There really was something important she was looking for her eyes to still be on it since forever.

    "But seriously, are you going to fight in the street because of Shu Rushi?" Mr. Fang asked as he leaned in toward the table

    Suddenly, he remembered her saying she had promised to best Shi Rushi up as that might have been what prompted thetter to hire keyboard warriors.

    "Why not? I at least need to give someone a good beating."

    "You are telling me to my face that you are going to fight in the street? Have you no fear whatsoever?"

    "Uh... There is nothing I fear again if someone can attack my business 24 hours after itsunching, forcing me to use my brain to ovee the trouble, then there is nothing I should I fear again." Zhang Liling spat without sparing him a nce.

    She sure had be heartless since facing a few problems on the way to setting up her own business.

    "You better not let me catch you otherwise I will break your legs. I don''t what to hear about you engaging in a fight with anyone. Also, you better not appear on the news otherwise I would pull your ear out?"

    Fang Bingwen was not going to let her off so easily because she was facing tough times at the moment.

    Engaging in a fist fight in public was embarrassing. Did she not care about her image?

    From the look of things, she surely did not care, but she should care about the man she was currently sharing an identity with.

    "What if the other person provoked me first?" Zhang Liling inquired, raising her head to nce at him as she paused with her work.

    "Don''t get into a fight first. Just give me a call, and I will use thew to settle scores with the person on your behalf."

    "No, I''m not talking about that," Shaking her head, she made her stance clear.

    "Mr. Fang, if someone hits me first, what you should I do?"

    "Call the police. Don''t takews into your hands."

    "Unfortunately, that''s what I like doing." shing him a smile that reached her eyes, she went back to work.

    Call the police if someone hits her first? That must be a joke.

    "You..."

    "Ah! I found them!" Zhang Liling announced while smoking from ear to ear.

    "You found the videos, let me see." Fang Bingwen demanded as he immediately switched to a work mode.

    Quickly, Zhang Liling turned herptop to face him. "You can click on anyone to start watching first." She pointed out with a smile.

    Without wasting time, he clicked on the first video and started to watch it.

    The video was of Zhang Liling''s progress before reaching this height in the cosmetic industry.

    The first video Mr. Fang yed, showed Zhang Liling in a live makeup production ss.

    Apparently, she had signed up for those sses when the idea of having her own makeup brand came to her.

    As there was no time to waste, Fang Bingwen kept slipping some parts before moving over to the next video.

    Seeing that the second one still had to do with her makeup ss, he started browsing through the whole collection of videos.

    With these evidences in her system, she could easily use it prove that she personally trained in the cosmetic field.

    Other videos in her system, also showed her trying to learn how to make her makeup products.

    There were a few of them that showed her trial and error before she perfected in them.

    There was also another set that showed her learning how to do a professional makeup.

    "We will have to start work with this. Get your PR to start work immediately." Mr. Fang advised, letting out a sigh of relief as he turned theptop screen to face her.

    "I''m so happy that I saw these videos. My digital certificate is here in my system. I would like to see those fools after me make a mistake."

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling invited her PR team to her office. She spoke to them while standing and after, they asked her some questions as they would need to give a public statement from her.

    Although Fang Bingwen was there, listening to their conversation, he refused to offer his opinion.

    Glint did not belong to him, and it wouldn''t seem right for him to interfere all the time with his girlfriend''s decision with herpany.

    At least if he had anything to tell her, he would do that in private.

    Passing the sh drive she had used to copy the necessary file for the work they were about to do, Zhang Liling let them leave.

    As soon as her PR team left her office, she sprawled half of her body on her desk.

    "I''m tired."

    "Are you hungry?" Mr. Fang asked while staring at her head full of long strands of hair.

    Because of the position she wasying in, he couldn''t see her face clearly.

    "I don''t think I can eat anything unless I start seeing the impact of this breaking news that is about to calm the storm," She said, referring to the article her PR was about to put up online.

    "You should eat. You the energy." Fang Bingwen insisted.

    "No way!" Zhang Liling lifted her body from her desk and cast a subtle nce at him.

    "Besides, I need to deal with that woman who is touching my mother''s soft spot before the Song family intervenes.

    I''m sure that as they are not in good terms with my Mum, they maye up to conclude that they have no rtionship with her. That will be very humiliating."

    Zhang Liling was worried about her mother and her thoughts.

    Despite not knowing much about the Song family that resided in another big City, she couldn''t rule out the possibility of theming out to give a disheartening clearance to the public.

    The fire on the inte was already aiming for them, and it was just a little time before they came out.

    Seeing the direction that things may head to, Zhang Liling had it in mind to act fact.

    She wasn''t doubting that Shi Wenqian truly had a hand in this one because the woman was still jealous of her mother and would do anything to cause tongues to wag at her.

    "I am not in doubt that your stepmother has a hand in this. It''s easy to hire people to work against you in the inte. But it''s easy to solve this matter."

    "How?"

    "Didn''t she snatch the husband of the woman she is hating on online?" Fang Bingwen asked, folding his hands below his chest.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s face lit up as a night smile contoured her entire face.

    "Shi Wenqian is nothing but a home wrecker. It seems like she has forgotten that. Maybe we need to remind her."

    "Surely, she didn''t think that this rumour she started could backfire on her."

    *******

    That same evening, Glint posted evidences pertaining to Zhang Liling''s qualifications to start, run and maker her own products.

    In a simple statement, things were made clear. The people wondering why she went through a manufacturer finally understood something.

    For arge business like hers, she needed to be producing her products inrge batches to meet the consumers immediately need.

    Nit just that, the packaging as well. If she did their things herself, then Glint wouldn''t be a big brand.

    So going through a manufacturer would save her a lot of trouble.

    Having exined all these, the certificates Zhang Liling attained to proof her words, were also made avable, including the videos.

    Also, Zhang Liling made sure to tell everyone that she did not ept any help from anyone to start up herpany.

    The only person that really helped out at the early times, was her mother.

    She had said, "I just used my money to start up a business. But if I wasn''t privileged to raise that money, I would have taken out a loan."

    To proof to those saying she was only able to build apany from scratch because of the calibre of people around her, she let them know that she didn''t things herself.

    And if she didn''te from a rich family that helped her to save up to that amount to start business, then she would have taken a different step to do the same thing.

 Chapter 369 Resolved

    The next morning, the impact of the public statement made by Glint, became profound.

    With the tides turning around, Zhang Liling still didn''t give it some rest.

    It was time to take a little revenge on Shi Wenqian whether she was the one behind the rumours regarding her mother or not.

    She didn''t care.

    Seeing the 70% positive feedback that brought a turnaround, Zhang Liling immediately got to work.

    With the positivement that supported her from the previous day, she picked on it and pushed it to the very top by using a fake ount to call Shi Wenqian out for being a shrewd woman who shamelessly seduced and snatched another woman''s husband.

    Zhang Liling made sure to call her out by stating that she was the reason the Song family were not in unity and soon, so many people started to drag Shi Wenqian online.

    They all started to me her for ruining another woman''s life.

    Zhang Liling didn''t even need to hire keyboard warriors before the thread became popr and more support came.

    Currently, Shi Wenqian was being trolled online and the woman who thought she could attend a very important meeting with wives of other aspiring politicians, aborted her ns.

    Seeing that she was under fire, Shi Wenqian after dolling herself up, could no longer leave the house.

    The woman was so furious that she literally broke every breakable item in her living room.

    Having found a habit of reading the newspaper every morning to keep up with important information she could use to her advantage, she also didn''t forget to pick up the morning paper.

    Because of the importantting she had, she directly freshened up and dressed up before leaving her room.

    Since she was already dressed, the next ce to be, would have been the dining room but because the possibility of Zhang Renshu ruining her mood was very high, she optioned to leave the house after ncing through the news.

    Who knew that she would see a hot topic with herrge photo of her, on the cover page?

    With how big the photo was, those who didn''t know what she looked like, would surely know and those who had facial recognition problem, can easily see her.

    Left without any reservation, a shriek escaped from her lips as she tore the newspaper into pieces and before the servants could run to the living room, she had already over turned the ss table.

    "Ma''am!" The housekeeper called out in fright as soon as she speed-walked over.

    Unfortunately, Shi Wenqian was not in the right senses to listen to any of them. With her handbag, she trotted back into her bedroom while cursing.

    As soon as she got there she immediately picked up her phone to make a call.

    "Get those articles andments about me down. You have five minutes!"

    "Ma''am, it''s not possible..."

    "I will have your head aspensation if you mention that word again!"

    Pressing the red phone icon, the conversation came to an end.

    At the thought of the kind of negativements that would be pointing toward her, she lost herself in her emotions and started to throw things about.

    ***

    Hearing the ruckus going on in his house while having a rxed breakfast, Zhang Renshu''s nose scrunched up.

    "What is going on there?!"

    Today''s morning, Zhang Renshu was all alone at the breakfast table and with Zhang Mingyu missing, he could on rely on the servants to check what was happening and report back to him.

    "Sir, Madam threw a ruckus after reading the morning paper," One of the maids who had gone to the scene of the incident, reported.

    Even after he learned of what was going on, the frown on his face remained visible.

    "Bring the morning paper to me," he instructed and went back to eating his food.

    Earlier, he had been excited while eating but now, his whole mood was ruined because of the thorn in his flesh.

    When Zhang Renshu saw the front cover of the paper and read out the headline, he was calm until he read some of the news content and only then did he flip up.

    "Who is behind this?!" He cursed as he flung the papers away. "How dare them include my name there?!"

    Zhang Renshu''s anger was only that while Shi Wenqian was being mentioned for being a husband snatcher and a home breaker, his name was added as a womaniser.

    In the article, they called him a betrayer for sleeping around with another woman, cheating on his fianc¨¦e a few days to their wedding, which resulted in the unfortunate fate of Song Jujing.

    Every time this incident was mentioned, Zhang Renshu''s name would always be inclusive, hence the reason for his anger.

    "Can they not tag her alone without putting my name there?!"

    "Do they think that I could not differentiate between diamond and ss at that time?!" Zhang Renshu roared.

    He too wanted to tell a story but because of his guilt and his pride, he could note out to say it.

    Did they think he was so promiscuous at that time to clear headedly sleep with his housekeeper, forgetting the gem he was going to get married to?

    Zhang Renshu really wanted toe out and give a press conference from what happened back then, but he couldn''t, no matter what.

    The man would be grateful if they only cursed Shi Wenqian and left him out of the picture.

    Furious about hispany stocks falling and the next news headline that would be about it only because of one woman, Zhang Renshu stopped eating and stormed away, straight off making his way to find Shi Wenqian.

    From the direction of the servants, he found her in her bedroom.

    Everything in the room was in a mess. All tables were turned upside down and the woman herself, stood in the midst of the mess, looking her worst.

    Shi Wenqian was shocked to see Zhang Renshu at the door after screaming for her housekeeper whom she thought hade to persuade her to calm down.

    For solid ten seconds, she stood rooted to the spot.

    Seeing the mess, Zhang Renshu had a lot to say but because the bedroom was hers, he didn''t want to concern himself with it as he went straight to the point.

    "Do you have a hand in the rumours that made rounds on the inte, yesterday about Glint and Jujing?"

    ''That''s what you came for?''

    Shi Wenqian felt even more hopeless.

    He hadn''te to check on her or say anyforting words. He hade to question her.

    Great!

    "Are you interrogating me?" Shi Wenqian asked back while emitting fury.

    "Forget it. I already know the answer." Zhang Renshu said, holding up his hand. As for what he meant by that reply, he left her vast brain to imagine it.

    ncing at the room one more time, he said, "Rece everything in this room before 24 hours with the money form your private purse."

    Without giving her the chance to firm any word on lips, he walked out and banged the door.

    "Yah!" Shi Wenqian was mad with anger as her eyes saw red.

    She really felt like passing out and wake up the next time with the whole world moving up to another phase.

    ***

    An hourter, Shi Wenqian''s bedroom was all cleaned up but it felt empty given the number of things she broke.

    Sitting at the foot of her bed with a piping hot cup of camomile tea to calm her nerves, she made another call.

    "Why am I still trending on the inte? Do you want people to curse me out to the point that they begin to demand that I resign from all my humanitarian association and services?!"

    "Ma''am, it''s really hard for us. The attack keep getting worse with our ns failing woefully. But we only have onest option, and that is to divert the attention of everyone to someone else''s scandal."

    "Then what are you waiting for?! Find any entertainer out there with a huge scandal and let out immediately!"

    Shi Wenqian would do anything to get the negative attention off her, but she only hopes it wouldn''t take time as she on the verge of losing her patience.

    Unfortunately for her, she didn''t have much of a choice although she was about to murder a certain someone after the response she got.

    "Ma''am, we can''t release any scandal until 2-3 days. It would seem odd if we do something to get your name off the chat.

    People will notice the trick, and we may lose thest chance to right this wrong."

    *******

    Wherever Zhang Liling was, she was probably drinking a bottle of Champagne with her mother.

    There were so many things to be happy for.

    For example, she got back at Shi Wenqian using a sort after method and now, the inte users had taken the matter up personally.

    In Zhang Liling''s mind, she had made her stepmother popr, and even demanded to be paid for the services rendered.

 Chapter 370 Strictly Business

    A few dayster, the attention on Shi Wenqian started to reduce as she was only getting a divided attention due to the scandal of a popr actress, breaking out.

    But this was no longer Zhang Liling''s concern as an important matter had taken up her time.

    She was officially going to visit the Fang Family in three days with her mother, and she was nervous as if she was about to give a presentation to arge unfamiliar audience.

    Not just that, since her business was booming, she had a lot of goals.

    She needed to move her products to different stores in the city and outside and for that, she needed funds.

    Since business was first in her mind, she ced a call to Mr. Fang to ask for help.

    "... Bingwen, I need about half a million dors for now."

    "I have a proposal for you instead." Fang Bingwen said in response.

    "What kind of proposal will help me?" She asked inquisitively.

    She was asking for money, what other help can her render to her if not giving her the money she needed?

    "I want to partner with you. I will bring in the funds and you will still have the exclusive rights to make the final decision for all of Glint''s coborations."

    "What?" Zhang Liling seemed surprise that he had such interest in Glint.

    Ignoring her surprised exmations, Fang Bingwen went in to exin things to her.

    "You need funds channelled in the right way to boost your brand and push it internationally.

    Yes you had a sessfulunch, but some people can forget about your brand if you stray form the limelight.

    You need to constantly remind them about you and for that, you need funds to reach them with your products and services.

    Advertisement, endorsement deals for influencers, research and making sure your products are in high-end stores and other smaller stores.

    There are so many strategies to reach a good number of potential customers."

    Zhang Liling still found this unbelievable and quickly switched the call to video so she could see the kind of expression on his face while making that suggestion for them to partner.

    "Mr. Fang, are you serious about this?" She asked while staring at his face.

    ''Was this the expression he usually has on his face while trying to strike a deal with a business partner?''

    "I''m serious. I won''t force you, this is my proposal, you can take your time thinking about it."

    There was a minute long silence before Zhang Liling opened her mouth to speak.

    "Mr. Fang, thank you for your offer, it is tempting, but I do not want to partner with anyone. I only want to borrow money from you."

    Mr. Fang was not surprised that she rejected him even after pretending to be in deep contemtion over his suggestion.

    He already knew she wouldn''t agree. That stubborn brat that wouldn''t think deeply about business and the kind of person that was asking for partnership.

    "You need a loan for your business? Go to the bank, they will dly give it to you."

    Even though it was possible for him to give her that amount of money at the moment, he wouldn''t give it to her because that money would not be enough to push her brand internationally.

    She would end up asking him for another money without first paying back the one she borrowed.

    He was making things easier for them if she agreed to partner with him.

    Does this youngdy not know what she would be missing out on if she refuses his proposal and an intellect in the business field?

    Did she know how many people needed him to partner with them just on the basis of boosting their businesses?

    She really didn''t know as she had a personal rtionship with him that was shielding her eyes from seeing things clearly.

    "Please Mr. Fang, please help this young business owner out. Remember, I''m your girlfriend!" Zhang Liling reminded while blinking her eyes repeatedly.

    She was trying to charm him into agreeing with her own proposal, but he was not going to fall for it.

    "This is strictly business. Don''t give me that puppy eyes, and don''t try to seduce me, it won''t work."

    ring at her, he said word for word.

    "After eating, I will clean my mouth."

    "Mr. Fang!"

    With no one refusing to bend to the other, the conversation changed to another topic.

    "Mr. Fang, what should I wear, I''m so nervous."

    "As long as you don''t dress half-naked, I will be fine with anything." Fang Bingwen replied while maintaining eye contact with her.

    "Mr. Fang, is that how lowly you think of me? How could I not think properly before choosing a dress when I very well know whom I''m going to meet?"

    There was a hint of disappointment in her tone to hear him say that.

    "Yes, I don''t trust you. Thankfully, Aunt is there to put you in the right ce." Fang Bingwen said as a smile turned up at the corner of his lips.

    Seeing her pout her lips and flutter hershes, he seemed happy to know how annoyed she was.

    It was good that way. She shouldn''t be smiling mischievously every time.

    *******

    ~Three dayster~

    The mother and daughter duo travelled down to the next city to visit the Fang family looking there best.

    Song Jujing was more familiar with the route than Zhang Liling who had only visited there once.

    In the car, she kept chatting about old times to her daughter who wanted to hear more stories about her and the Fang family.

    On arrival, they saw the older members of the Fang family, waiting at the entrance for them, with Fang Bingwen inclusive.

    "Jing." Old Lady Fang called out with a smile that reached her eyes as soon as Song Jujing stepped out of the car.

    "Mother Fang," Song Jujing greeted with all familiarity as she stepped forward to take the old Lady''s hand.

    Just then, Zhang Liling stepped out of the car and walked toward them.

    Standing next to her mother with a smile on her face, she bowed her head slightly to greet the Fang family members.

    "Liling, wee." Jian Cuifen replied her greeting as she stretched her hand out to her.

    Taking it, Zhang Liling was led into the house by her as other members of the family that hade out, followed after them.

    In the midst of that, she was only able to steal one nce at Mr. Fang who was putting on a polo and a pair of ck pants.

    For this special meeting, Zhang Liling and her mother decided to put on matching colour of outfit, but with different dress style that showed high taste in fashion.

    Being the wife of the next family head, Jian Cuifen led everyone to the dining room.

    "It would be rude of us to not offer our guests some water before entering into the conversation mode," The Olddy said as she walked Song Jujing to the dining table were several mouth-watering dishes were served.

    "Did you say water? But why does it look like a the delicacies avable in the World has been served on your table?"

    Song Jujing joked while taking her seat next to the olddy as everyone else took their seats.

    "Hahahaha..." Series ofughter erupted from everyone present.

    The olddy equally knew how to joke.

    She wanted to give her guests some water, but she was dragging them to a table full of delicacies.

    ncing at the several dishes on the table, Song Jujing noted that some of them were French food.

    "Cuifen, you really took a lot of trouble to suit my pte."

    "It''s no trouble at all. Giving a warm wee to our would-be inw is normal. Please rx and enjoy," Jian Cuifen replied with a warm smile.

    "Thank you,"

    "Drop the formalities, we are one family." Old Mr. Fang said while ncing at everyone in the room with a weing smile.

    The old man seemed pleased with the meeting.

    At the same time, other members of the family lined out.

    "Jujing, we wanted to use this opportunity to introduce everyone to you..." Fang Huiqing started and then went on to introduce everyone to her.

    After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Old Mr. Fang urged everyone to pick up their spoons.

    Half an hourter, the pleasant lunch ended happily, with a few of them moving from the dining room to the sitting area.

    Since the reason for this get-together boiled down to Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling''s rtionship, only his parents and grandparents stayed behind to chat with Song Jujing and Zhang Liling.

    "Liling, I''m d the rumours on the inte was resolved quickly. We were impatiently itching to get involved as we couldn''t tolerate someone trying to sabotage your business." Fang Huiqing said.

    "I''m happy too, uncle. I almost lost mind a few times, but thankfully, Bingwen was there to guide me."

    Zhang Liling genuinely said her mind over a smallugh.

    "That''s good. We already know your story. You are one smart youngdy. And even if you received help to start up something for yourself, is that not wisdom?" Old Lady Fang added.

 Chapter 371 Approval Of Their Union

    Seeing how much the Fang family liked and supported her, Zhang Liling was happy.

    There was nothing more than the love and support from a loved one.

    It was special.

    After the little talks on the way, Mr. Fang was given the chance to make his intentions about Zhang Liling, officially known to both families.

    With boldness and confidence, Fang Bingwen spoke like a mature adult, causing Zhang Liling to blush.

    "I want to marry Liling. We have dated long enough for us to know so much about each other. Although there is no perfect time to get married, we only seek your support on this new journey."

    "You have our support. We like your choice of a life partner, and we are solidly behind your decision." Olddy Fang stated and then nced at her aged husband, her son and daughter-inw to get their approval.

    "Yes. Of course we will support you. Liling is a good child, and she was raised properly," Jian Cuifen said in support.

    ''Only if you see most of her outfits,'' Mr. Fang thought to himself.

    That term ''good'' child was not to be used on the little woman he knew properly.

    Any other positive world can be used except that one. It didn''t suit her description in anyway.

    Unaware of her boyfriend''s thoughts about her, Zhang Liling was only interested in the support his family was given to their rtionship.

    Finally when everyone from the Fang family had given their individual approval, they shifted their gazes to Song Jujing, waiting for her to say something.

    It''s not like they were going to ept no for answer even though they knew she would not say so, but if she does get out of the box, they five of them were enough to convince her to change her mind.

    Feeling the eyes in her, including the oneing from the young woman sitting next to her, the corners of Sing Jujing''s lips curled into a knowing smile.

    "It''s not like I have a say. All of you have decided, what''s the use of askingfor my opinion? If I say ''no'' would you ept it?"

    "No, it''s not an option." Old Mr. Fang replied on behalf of others.

    "Fine... Of course, I will ept their union." Song Jujing replied atst, not wanting to waste their time.

    Besides, if she dared to joke around, that daughter of hers was going to pinch her to death.

    "We must toast to our children''s union." Fang Huiqing said and immediately rose to his feet to bring a bottle of aged wine.

    Over a bottle of an expensive wine, the conversation continued as everyone was interested in the next step Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling were going to take.

    Two hourster, the conversation came to a conclusion, with everyone parting happily.

    ***

    Having gotten their parents approval even though it has been there, Fang Bingwen was very sure of moving to the next level without any hitches.

    And that was why two dayster, he called Zhang Liling out to go on a date.

    "Mr. Fang, where are we going to?" Zhang Liling inquired while searching her wardrobe with her eyes.

    Hearing that they were going on a date, she immediately jumped off her bed and rushed to her closet.

    She wanted a perfect outfit to suit the right ce.

    "Must you know the location?" Fang Bingwen retorted, refusing to answer her on the go.

    He didn''t want to ruin the surprise, but she was really asking for it.

    "I need to know to determine the outfit I would pick." She whined unhappily.

    "Ask your Mum to help assist you. She is really great at picking the best outfits." Fang Bingwen suggested instead of divulging the information to her.

    "Mum left for London this morning ahead of a fashion show kicking off in 2 days, but she would soon before finally leaving for Paris."

    "I guess when next she would return, would be on our wedding."

    "Yes, so tell me, where are we going?"

    This time around, Fang Bingwen thought properly before giving her a response.

    "We are going to a few ces... Put on something not too showy. Showy as invish, I don''t mean skin."

    He had to specify the meaning if his words before she dies the opposite. He just didn''t trust that girl one bit.

    Someone that could use a loophole against him just to have things her way. He needed to be careful with her.

    "Casual? That still doesn''t set my heart at ease." Stretching her hand forward, she began to go through her dress closet to look for something.

    "I still don''t know the right dress to wear."

    "That''s great. At least you wouldn''t have to make a choice while choosing from your night wears." Fang Bingwen retorted, almost rolling his eyes.

    "What?"

    "Be ready before 4, there are a few ces that we must stop by before I feed you."

    Saying that, he went ahead to end the conversation, leaving Zhang Liling in a whirlwind of thoughts she was struggling in.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    ***

    At 4 pm, Fang Bingwen drove into the familiar residence before making a call through to Zhang Liling.

    "CEO Zhang, your ride is waiting and is ready to leave in 10 minutes."

    "Ten minutes? That''s enough, see you."

    Smiling to himself as he put down the phone, Fang Bingwen released his seatbelt and kept his eyes at the entrance of the building.

    Seven minutester, Zhang Liling appeared in his line of sight dressed in a floral printed sleeveless dress and a shoulder white back.

    On her feetid out a white pair of sneakers which happened to be a real product of Nike.

    Smiling from ear to ear, Zhang Liling skipped like a child while approaching his vehicle.

    "Are you a child that is going to receive candies while on a ride?" Fang Bingwen asked as soon as she entered the car and fastened her seatbelt.

    "Maybe."

    sping the belt, she finally turned her attention him.

    Observing the clothes on his body, she shook her head. "Thank goodness I listened to you."

    "What were you going to pick before?" Igniting the car engine, Mr. Fang drove away from the car park and hit the road in a swift movement.

    "A red ball gown." Zhang Liling replied with the back of her hand on her forehead.

    "Hahahaha... You are lucky, I would have sent you back."

    "I know, you mean man. Where is our first stop?" She inquired, shifting her attention to him.

    "We are going shopping."

    Zhang Liling raised a questioning brow. "For whom?"

    "For your idol''s children?"

    "What idol''s children?" Zhang Liling seemed confused by that response, forcing her to demand an exnation, but she got none.

    It was only that smirk at the corner of his lips that immediately answered her question.

    "Ahhhh!!!! For Jia Li''s children?!" Zhang Liling shrieked in excitement as soon as she got the answer right.

    As the realization dawned on her, so as the level of happiness increased.

    They were finally traveling to C Nation?

    Hearing her high-pitched shrieked, Fang Bingwen immediately pressed the buttons on his door handle to immediately wind up the car windows.

    "You better calm down before I cancel the trip." He threatened and failed woefully.

    Like Zhang Liling would give a damn about it.

    But finally when she gotten a hold of herself, she asked carefully still with that wild smile on her face.

    "You said we would only go to City B in C nation when we get engaged, but we are not?"

    "Didn''t you agree to marry me in front of our family the other day?" Fang Bingwen reminded without sparing her a nce.

    He seemed to have something at the back of his mind, but his facial expressions, divulged nothing.

    Understanding the scene as it yed back in her head, Zhang Liling almost lost her mind.

    "Mr. Fang, how was what we did a proper engagement?"

    Fang Bingwen who obviously knew how much she so badly wanted to beat him up, feigned ignorance.

    "A proper engagement is done with close family members included. You never denied my proposal to marry you right in front of our families, so what are you talking about now?"

    "Mr. Fang!" Zhang Liling eximed angrily.

    ''Is this man trying to harvest my brains or what?''

    How else should she exin the situation? How could he say they were engaged when there was no ring on her finger?

    Was there ever an engagement without the ring?

    What sort of tradition would that be?

    "Don''t scream, I''m driving. Our lives are in my hands and I demand peace." Fang Bingwen said, sparing her a nce while restraining the smile that was about to break out on his face.

    Turning his attention on the road, he inquired, "Why do you look so worked up? Don''t you want to go to C nation to see Ms. Jia Li anymore?"

    Seeing the question he posed, Zhang Liling sealed her lips even though dissatisfaction was written all over her face.

 Chapter 372 Shopping For Fu Hua And Jia Lis Babies

    Being excited to shop a few things for Fu Hua and Jia Li''s children, Zhang Liling soon forgot about the fact that she was not yet properly engaged.

    With Fang Bingwen leading, the stopped at a popr high-end store that sold all kinds of stuff for children of all ages.

    Picking up a shopping trolley, Zhang Liling pushed it to him.

    "Do you have anything in particr we should get?" She inquired while her gaze was already staring through each station.

    "No. We should get anything nice and beneficial." Fang Bingwen suggested while pushing the trolley at a slow pace.

    His eyes were on nothing in particr.

    "Good! That means there is no limit to our budget. This is going to be a fun shopping experience!"

    Saying that, Zhang Liling twirled around in excitement.

    Noticing the happiness that was radiating from her, a smile turned up on Fang Bingwen''s face.

    "What do you know about children that is making you so excited?"

    "Nothing. I''m only happy because I''m going to be meeting a role model and that alone is enough to fuel my enthusiasm."

    The thought of seeing Jia Li, buttered her heart up and she couldn''t even help forgiving all her enemies.

    The hate she had for her stepmother and Shu Rushi who didn''t know her ce, held no candle to the live she had for Jia Li.

    The love was surely ruling over the hate.

    Getting into the mood for a shopping spree, Zhang Liling took out her phone to check some contents online.

    She needed to know the things in season that children liked.

    Since she didn''t have any younger one around her, she wouldn''t know anything about it.

    "We should get gifts in pairs for the twins. How old should they be now?" Fang Bingwen asked while staring moving up to the toy section.

    "Five years old. Jasmine is eight or nine." Zhang Liling replied while browsing through the rows of different kind of soft toys aligned on the shelf.

    Although her attention seemed to be divided, she still prove how smart she was.

    "You really know everything." Fang Bingwen stated.

    Since they were shopping for the children and not the adults, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen took their time making the right choices for the gifts.

    From the toy section, they moved to the library section and then to the clothing section and in no time, two shopping carts were filled.

    Looking at one of them that had things almost towering to her height, Fang Bingwen''s brows furrowed.

    "I think that''s enough."

    "Why? I still want to see if I can find any cute little weird stuff?" Zhang Liling frowned, looking dissatisfied with the situation.

    Fang Bingwen refused to listen to her. He just knew that she would only end up getting out of hand the more.

    Anyone who saw them might even think they had several kids somewhere and were shopping for them.

    Seeing him remain adamant, Zhang Liling whined like a child. Pouting her lips, she crossed her arms, dering her silent protest.

    "How about we get some choctes and candies for them, children still like stuff like that?"

    "That, I can ept. Let''s pay for these ones first."

    Pushing the trolley, he led them to the counter to have the items packaged and paid for.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    As there were a lot of things to carry with them, Fang Bingwen had some of the staff help them to carry everything to the car.

    Seeing the whole of his trunk filled with shopping bags, plus the few that sat at the backseat, Fang Bingwen shook his head.

    "If you but anything more than the choctes and the candies you said, I will tie you up on the roof of this car and then ce those stuff in the front passenger seat. Understood?"

    Whether his threat was taken seriously or lightly, only Zhang Liling could tell.

    At first, she was taken aback but the next second, the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

    "Let''s go." She said linking arms with him and leading him back inside the building to shop for some choctes and sweets.

    Fortunately, on this next trip, Zhang Liling didn''t pick a lot of things. She stuck to her agenda thereby impressing Mr. Fang.

    "Where is our next stop?" Zhang Liling inquired as she buckled her seatbelt.

    "I think you should package your makeup products for Mrs. Fu," Fang Bingwen suggested instead of responding to her question.

    "So, we are going to Glint?"

    "Yes,"

    "What would you give to Mr. Fu Hua?" Zhang Liling inquired with much interest.

    Obviously, the wife and children were getting something, it would only make sense if the man of the house got something as well.

    "He doesn''t need anything," came Fang Bingwen''s reply.

    As for what was going on in his head, Zhang Liling had no idea about it.

    "What? Who told you that?"

    Who on earth said that men did not need gifts?

    "He doesn''t need any gift." Fang Bingwen insisted which didn''t dwell well with her.

    "You lie. Get him something. You have a superb perfume line that is recognized globally. Get him one or two scents from your entire collection."

    "Yes, Ma."

    "I''m serious!" Zhang Liling insisted as she didn''t trust he was even listening to her.

    "Okay."

    Thinking that they were truly going to Glint, Zhang Liling shut her eyes and cover her palms with the back of her hand.

    "I need a break."

    After shopping for almost 2 hours, she was tired and needed her short limbs to be stretched.

    But in less than twenty minutes, her eyes widened in surprise.

    "Why are we at a jewellery store!" She asked as she stepped down from the car.

    "What is sold at a store like this?" Fang Bingwen asked, throwing his car key to the valet beforeing to stand at her side.

    "You are taking me for jewellery shopping?" she turned her gaze to him to seek for an answer, but his response, caused her feet to falter.

    "You wish."

    Slipping his hands inside the front pocket of his pants, he led the way in

 Chapter 373 The Ring

    Left with no choice, Zhang Liling followed after him while thinking they were there to pick out some jewellery for Jia Li.

    As soon as the passed through the ss doors, the walked to the reception area.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang, we''ve been expecting your presence since today."

    An old looking man in a ck suit with bald head and long white beards below his jaw, greeted with a warm weing smile.

    ''He even booked an appointment?'' Zhang Liling thought weirdly while staring at Fang Bingwen''s side profile.

    "Shall we?" Fang Bingwen said with a small smile.

    "Of course, pleasee with me." The man said, then ncing one more time at the female attends, he walked out from over the table and led them towards a right turn.

    Because of the close distance the man had with them, Zhang Liling was ufortable with whispering a very important question to her boyfriend.

    She could only grumble in her heart while walking side by side with him.

    A few secondster, the man leading them, opened the door to a small room for them, and only went in after they had first gone inside.

    Inside the room, there were only four couch and a Center table in it, plus some beautiful ace jewelry and rings of the brand.

    ''This treatment is giving me a special vibe... What''s going on?''

    Having a little doubt in her mind as she sat next to Fang Bingwen on the single couch, she turned her attention to him.

    "What would you like to drink, tea, water, wine?" The old man asked with a warm smile without sitting.

    "The Champagne you usually serve to your VIP customers."

    Saying that, Fang Bingwen turned to Zhang Liling to inquire of her, "Would you prefer Champagne to tea?"

    "You would let me drink?" Zhang Liling looked surprised.

    Was he letting her drink because there was something to celebrate?

    "I will take that as a yes," shifting his gaze to the man, he said, "We will need two champagne sses."

    "That''s good. I will go and bring you order right away."

    Immediately, the man turned to leave.

    "Bingwen, is there something we are celebrating? You even let me drink champagne in broad daylight."

    "Our rtionship has been properly defined, you don''t like the upgraded treatment now? Maybe I should start by cancelling our flight tickets to City B tomorrow."

    "What?! We are going to see Jia Li tomorrow?" Zhang Liling asked, her eyes, brimming with excitement.

    Seeing how excited she got, he really couldn''t help wanting to see those pouty cheery red lips again.

    "Who said that? I only said I was going to cancel the tickets tomorrow." Fang Bingwen snorted, earning a blow on his arm.

    Just when Zhang Liling was breathing heavily because if the expensive joke he just cracked, the manager of the store returned with two men dressed in uniform.

    One was holding a stainless bucket of chilled Champagne and two sses while the other carried over different colours of boxed jewellery over.

    Forgetting to note the possible item that could be in the old man''s hand, Zhang Liling''s eyes immediately went to the champagne.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Seeing how chilled it was, she wanted to have a quick drink while browsing through the Jewellery.

    Soon, all the boxes were opened and lined up in front of her while a ss of Champagne was poured and handed over to her.

    "Pick anyone of your choice. Also, you are allowed to pick more than one item." Mr. Fang said, surprising her as he crossed his leg over the other.

    "For me?"

    "Mmmmhmmm... A gift for you." He said clearly and as a smile appeared at the corner of his lips, he raised his champagne ss to his lips to cover it up.

    "You bad man!"

    Zhang Liling looked like she was in the verge of breaking down in tears, but he quickly stopped her.

    "I''m hungry, and we still need to stop by another store to pick out some scents for Fu Hua, before reaching Glint."

    Instantly, the tears brimming in her eyes, disappeared back to her tear duct.

    Picking up her ss of Champagne, she brought the ss to her lips as her eyes busied about, trying to select a few jewellery for herself.

    Seriously, everythingid before her eyes were good, but there were just two that she couldn''t keep her eyes away from.

    One that suited her age and taste, a X another one that had nothing to do with her.

    Licking her lips while in contemtion, she rubbed her thumb and index fingers together.

    "Can I pick one for my mum?" She asked, shifting her gaze to him.

    "Why not."

    Receiving his consent, she immediately pointed at the two sets of jewellery that had caught her attention.

    "I want them."

    "Is that all?" Fang Bingwen asked, expecting her to pick more.

    "I''m fine with one... I think..." Trailing off, her eyes wandered to a pick ruby ne and matching earrings.

    Seeing where her gaze was lingering at, one of the male attendant, picked it up and brought it to her side and started to exin the idea of how it came about.

    Seeing her sessful preupied, Fang Bingwen raised his brows at the old man who immediately stepped forward and handed him a small fancy boxed item.

    Taking the box from his hand, Fang Bingwen opened it to see the pink heart-shaped diamond ring lying in state.

    Without hesitation, or doing as much as to admire the beauty, he took the ring out and snapped the casing close gently.

    Turning the ring over, he paid attention to the engraving he had ordered to be mad on the insides of the band.

    Finally seeing the engraving on them, he nodded with a satisfactory smile.

    ''FB'' and ''ZL'' with a heart symbol between them, that was the engraving on the ring.

    While Zhang Liling was busy nodding he head with an interesting smile to what was being said to her, Fang Bingwen took her left hand and rubbed them softly.

    Since she was distracted, she didn''t bother to pay him any attention and using that opportunity, Fang Bingwen slipped the ring into her ring finger.

 Chapter 374 A Kiss For A Ring

    Feeling the cold metal slipping into her finger, Zhang Liling''s attention was finally piqued.

    Immediately she turned her gaze to her finger and saw the pink diamond ring, her eyes popped out as her mouth widened in shock.

    ''W-What''s...''

    Even inside her head, she was unable to form words.

    Shifting her gaze to Mr. Fang, she melt the calm pull in his eyes.

    "Shhhh."

    Knowing what she would probably do next, Fang Bingwen brough his finger to his lips to shush her.

    "Don''t shout. Don''t," he said, rubbing her ring finger gently.

    Instantly, Zhang Liling''s eyes turned teary. "Can I at least cry, I can''t hold it in anymore."

    A soft sigh escaped Fang Bingwen''s lips as he let go of her finger.

    Spreading his arms, he said, "Come here."

    The next moment, Zhang Liling got up from her seat and went to sit on his thighs to embrace him.

    Burying her head in his chest, her muffled cries were heard.

    Taking that as a cue to leave, the manager and the attendants, left the room, leaving the couple alone to enjoy the moment.

    Now that they were alone, Zhang Liling''s tone got a little louder.

    "Why are you crying?" Fang Bingwen asked as he reached out to pay her head with a gentle smile on his face.

    ''No Reply''

    "I didn''t know you would cry. I thought you would have screamed the entire store down while jumping up and down. Were you that touched?"

    This time around, Zhang Liling responded by nodding her head while sniffing.

    Mr. Fang truly didn''t expect that she would cry. What happened to the strong-headed woman who didn''t know what petty years was?

    But look at her now, she was basically crying because he gave her the ring she so badly wanted.

    Maybe, he was just so good at bringing out any kind of emotions from her. Had it been he didn''t y the games well, she would have reacted differently.

    "Don''t cry. How did you think I wasn''t going to put a ring in your finger?"

    "Y-You sounded so indifferent." Zhang Liling replied without raising her head.

    Kissing her hair, Fang Bingwen replied with a yful smile.

    "There is no real engagement without a solid proof and a ring is the most important. If my acting is so good, I think I need an award."

    "Mr. Fang, you are so mean," she said while raising her teary eyes to meet his smiling gaze.

    All this while, Fang Bingwen had been nning a beautiful engagement ring that would be to her taste, hence the dy.

    Normally, he would have given it to her before their families met, but because of the dy in the shipment, he decided to give it to her today.

    If she hadn''t spoken about the ring while in the car, he wouldn''t have given that kind of response, and her reaction wouldn''t have been as deep as this.

    In all, he was happy that things actually turned out that way.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "I really should take a picture of you right now if I was mean." Saying that, he wiped her tears away with his fingers.

    From the beginning, that smile on his face had refused to be wiped out.

    Raising her left palm to her line of sight, Zhang Liling finally smiled. "I can''t wait to see Mrs. Fu."

    "Why?" he asked with a look of interest.

    "I can now speak to her in confidence because I''m no longer just a girlfriend to you, I am now your fianc¨¦e. The woman you will be getting married to soon."

    Sensing the pride in her tone, Mr. Fang couldn''t help but to chuckle lightly.

    It looks like he had indeed done something meaningful for her.

    "Don''t cry again. You must be hungry. I will pay for the jewellery and then take you to enjoy a fine dining."

    "Mr. Fang, what do you want? I must give something back to you." Zhang Liling asked out of the blue while still sitting on his thighs.

    "I want nothing more than for you to be a well-behaved..."

    While he was speaking, Zhang Liling watched how his light pink lips moved and quickly leaned in to press her soft lips on them, instantly shutting him up.

    As she nimbled on his lips softly, she crossed her hands over to hug his neck as her eyes fluttered close.

    Fang Bingwen wanted to warn her about the cameras in the room, but he couldn''t distract her from giving him one romantic kiss he hadn''t had in a long time.

    Instead of stopping her, he went further to indulge her by wrapping his hands around her slim waist.

    A few minutester, they too broke their passionate kiss after a growl escaped from Zhang Liling''s stomach.

    "I have to feed you now."

    Taking that as an excuse, he guided her away from his thighs before standing up after her.

    "Pick the jewellery you want, let''s pay for them and leave."

    Without wasting time, Zhang Liling picked the three boxes as her gaze returned to normal, Befrje following him out

    After paying for the items and having the packaged, Fang Bingwen took her hand and led her outside.

    On their way to the high end restaurant, Zhang Liling asked excitedly, "What are we having for dinner?"

    "Steak, red wine, rice, sd, soup, salmon, fries. If you want some deserts, I can ask them to prepare anyone of your choice."

    "I think there would be enough food on the te to feel my empty stomach," Zhang Liling smiled.

    At the moment, she was very happy to request for anything special and understanding her, Fang Bingwen was left to make the choice for her.

    ***

    Getting a beautiful engagement ring and enjoying a fancy dinner prepared my a Michelin Chef and chatting over a bottle of a good brand of red wine, usually left one with a beautiful feeling and Zhang Liling was not an exception.

    Although their outfits didn''t match the restaurant, that wasn''t a problem.

    Even after getting a bit high due to the wine, Mr. Fang didn''t scold her. The only thing he could do was to try and control her, while watching her with a smile.

    In his mind, today was her day.

 Chapter 375 Just Let Me Sleep

    By the time they left the restaurant, Zhang Liling was drunk.

    "I wanted to take you to the park so you can enjoy some ride and have some ice cream." Fang Bingwen said while helping her into the car.

    "Well, Mr. Fang, I would prefer to ride you while licking your lips instead."

    Laughing like a maniac while staring at his face waiting to see his reaction, Zhang Liling pped her hands.

    "Pffttt!"

    Fang Bingwen ended up breaking out in a feet ofughter.

    The girl''s courage was now so big after drinking some wine.

    She couldn''t even control herself even for one bit. Whenst did he see this side of her?

    Even if she wasn''t drunk while saying those words, he wouldn''t have been surprised because she was more than capable of saying it with open eyes.

    The woman he got for himself, was one hell of a courageous woman. She was not afraid of anything.

    "Seeing how drunk you are, what am I going to do to you?" Fang Bingwen asked while securing her seatbelt.

    "Sleep with me," Zhang Liling said, smiling with a hand over her mouth.

    "Yes cause that''s all that is inside your head." Saying that, he closed the car door and walked over to the driver side and got in.

    Igniting the car engine, he drove out from the streets and hit the major road.

    Raising her hand up to her face, Zhang Liling yed with the rink on her finger. "This feels surreal."

    "Why? Do you want me to take it out and put it back again?" He asked while giving her the side nce.

    Immediately, she hid her hand behind her back.

    "No way! Who knows if you will give it back afterwards. I know I''m already too much to handle. I can''t give you the opportunity to contemte embarking on this life journey with me again."

    "Hahahaha... What are you afraid of?"

    "I am not the best woman out there, yet you chose me. What if you change your mind again?"

    "If I have chosen you, it means I have made my final decision. There is no going back."

    Shaking her head, she gazed at him. "You won''t understand, you are like a goldmine I somehow managed to posses. I can''t let anyone snatch you from me. Never!"

    Seeing how obsessed she was with him, he couldn''t helpughing out loud. "Rx, I won''t allow anyone to take ownership over me apart from you."

    "Mr. Fang, we have to sign an agreement. I need an evidence to hold you by your word." Zhang Liling said with a dissatisfied look on her face.

    Even while drunk, she seemed to be in her senses as she didn''t want to take any chance.

    Her brain truly worked when it came to her Mr. Fang.

    Staring at her from his peripheral view, Fang Bingwen mumbled to himself, "Zhang Liling, I''m taking you to my house."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    That night, Zhang Liling was obedient. She didn''t try to seduce him even in that situation.

    But when it came to her bathing before jumping on his bed, she told him straight to his face that she couldn''t do it.

    "Mr. Fang, I really can''t go into the bathtub cause my head is rotating and I can''t see clearly. Just let me go to bed, I will bath when I wake up."

    "You reek of wine, I think you should just take a quick shower." Fang Bingwen insisted.

    He could not have her lying next to him while having the scent of wine on her. She needed to wash up.

    "Unless you want to run into the bathroom when I''m naked, just let me sleep." Saying that, she walked straight to the bed to lie down, but he quickly grabbed her hand.

    "At least try and change out of your clothes, or do you want me to call the servant to help you?"

    "No way!" Swatting his hand like an annoying fly, she said, "I don''t want anyone to see me naked. Mr. Fang, only you can."

    "I can see that it''s time for you to sleep."

    Fang Bingwen gently dragged her into the walk in closet to select one of his ck shirts.

    "Here, wear this. I will wait in the room."

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling returned to the room in his ck shirt and went straight to dive into the duvet.

    Releasing a long sigh, Mr. Fang walked into the bathroom to shower before turning off the main light switch and joining her in bed.

    The next morning, Zhang Liling woke up with a banging head almost at the same time he was about leaving the bedroom.

    Holding her head withy her two hands, her brows furrowed. "Where are going to?"

    "You''re awake?" Hearing her voice, he turned to the side to nce at her.

    "I can see you woke up with a banging head. I got some pills for you. You should take it." He said while walking over.

    Releasing a long sigh, she followed his gaze to the ss of water and a pack of hangover pills on the nightstand.

    "We need to get those items from the supermarket and Glint. You need to speak to your manager to help you handle things at thepany today because we are leaving for Country C this evening."

    "What!"

    Just as Zhang Liling expressed her surprise, she felt like a nail was going into her head and quickly sped her head strongly.

    "Sorry. Just take the medicine first," He said handing over two pills to her before raising the ss.

    Now that she knew what her day was going to be like, Zhang Liling got off the bed the minute she got better.

    Freshening up, she had a light breakfast and back into her clothes from the previous day before leaving for her ce.

    Immediately she changed into a new set of clothes, she left for her office to address them and sort some problems before picking a full package of Glint''s current product and leaving with it.

    Returning to her ce, she had someunch before proceeding to pack her things and wait for her flight with Mr. Fang.

 Chapter 376 Shock

    "I thought we were using amercial flight?"

    Stepping out of the car, Zhang Liling could not believe the sight before her. A private jet.

    "After buying the whole world, did you think it would be conducive to take amercial flight?" Fang Bingwen retorted while standing next to her as his body guards moved the items from the car into the private jet.

    "What about first ss? I''m sure they would have s lot of space for us after spending that much?"

    "Youin a lot, just get in." Fang Bingwen said as he hugged her neck and led them to climb the steps of the private jet.

    "Mr. Fang, does this belong to you?" While climbing the stairs, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to get curious.

    "How rich do you think I am?" Fang Bingwen asked instead of responding to her question. This way, she was free toe to any conclusion of her choice.

    "That means it''s not yours. Who did you hire it from?" Finally entering the private jet, Zhang Liling allowed her gaze to move around the interior.

    The pure milk-coloured leather seats mixed with the rich wooden brown colour, looked mature, and she instantly fell in love with it.

    Slipping his hands inside the front pockets of his pants, he replied, "Fu Hua."

    "What?" Instantly, Zhang Liling''s gaze shifted to him. "You hired it from Mr. Fu?"

    She looked to be in shock as she watched his facial expression to see if he was pulling her legs or not.

    "What hire? I borrowed it from him." Saying that, Fang Bingwen just walked ahead to find a better position to seat, leaving her speechless.

    She was going to see someone, and had the audacity to ask for favour first? Zhang Liling didn''t know what to think of him.

    He was really too much.

    Some minutester, the bodyguards were done loading the gifts. Finally getting on the jet as Bolin drove away in Fang Bingwen''s car, the jet got ready to take off.

    Knowing who that jet belonged to, Zhang Liling sat quietly for a few minutes until it was safe for her to move about and only then, did she take out her phone.

    It was truly a blessing to be on that jet and with that mentality, she posed for a selfie and just as she pressed the capture button, Fang Bingwen butt his head in, ruining her selfie.

    "Did you miss me?" Zhang Liling asked while staring at the picture he had just ruined.

    It was not bad, just that anyone can tell that he had photo bumpedher.

    "Who said so? I was going to use the restroom when I felt it would be fine to ruin your picture." Fang Bingwen lied as he stood with his back erect behind her.

    "Liar." Zhang Liling called out, clicking her tongue at the end. She didn''t trust his words as he was good at ying hard to get.

    Seeing that she had a nice picture, she decided not to delete it. Feeling his presence behind her, she put down her phone and turned to him.

    "Can I post the ring?" She asked as her eyes shone brightly.

    She seemed happy and expectant. It was hard to hold this kind of good news for 24 hours without telling anyone about it.

    She needed to share this good news with friends and enemies. Everyone had to know something about it.

    "Do as you like. The finger is yours, not mine." Saying that, Fang Bingwen really turned around and left for the restroom without a calm look on his face.

    Getting his approval, Zhang Liling hurriedly jumped to her social media to post about their engagement.

    Selecting the photo she had just clicked of her and Fang Bingwen, she selected another one that showed the pink heart-shaped diamond ring on her finger and posted it with the caption,

    ''It''s thrilling going on a vacation after getting engaged, and then someone had to ruin my photo."

    Immediately she posted it, she went off line.

    Ordering for a ss champagne as the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

    She would have loved to see thements already probably making their way under her post, but she would be tempted to reply a few.

    But letting everyone react to the news of her engagement and asking several questions with no response getting at them, she would love to enjoy that thrilling feeling.

    "Have you posted it?"

    Coming back and seeing her smile to herself like she had done an evil deed, Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but to get interested.

    "Yes, and I can''t wait to get everyone''s reaction."

    "I see... If you get hungry, eat as much as you like."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    "Because you are not paying for it?" Zhang Liling asked, teasing him about borrowing the private jet from Fu Hua.

    "I only borrowed the ne, the captain and the stewardess, not the food and the chef," Fang Bingwen rified. Winking at her, he turned to go back to his seat, leaving her to have fun by herself since she was capable of exciting herself.

    She had even already started one already.

    In no time, Zhang Liling''s post blew up and became the talk of town.

    Out of the thousands of people showing interest, there were only a few who doubted that the hand actually belonged to her.

    Some of them asked for her to take a full picture of herself with the ring on her finger, while others demanded for a full video.

    Apart from those who were not happy which included Shu Rushi who was almost on the verge copsing, there were a lot of fans already congratting Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang for taking their rtionship to the next level.

    Some were even asking when the wedding was going to hold and if it was a private or a public one.

    In London where she went to attend a show, Song Jujing couldn''t believe her eyes.

    "This mean girl didn''t even care to tell her mother about this good news first. I guess she wanted me to find out along with the others."

    Sighing to herself, she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

    ***

    ~Zhang Group~

    Zhang Renshu was speaking on the phone with an Investor when Zhang Mingyu bathed into his office panting for breath.

    Still on the call, Zhang Renshu red daggers at him, allowing his gaze to follow him until he came to sit in front of him.

    "Yes. That was 30 percent interest. No. As you wish. Yes, I will surely notify about it. Yes. Thanks."

    Putting the phone down as the conversation hade to an end, Zhang Renshu immediately nced at the young man before him, ready to st him in the face.

    Aware that his father as annoyed with his rude behaviour, Zhang Mingyu best him to speak first.

    At least then, he would have more advantage.

    "Dad, Liling is engaged!" He immediately announced a little breathlessly.

    He had left his office and had run down straight to his office to break this news to him. This was as a result of the advantage of being on social media during work hours.

    "What?!" Zhang Renshu''s brows knitted tightly in a frown as his eyes squinted at him.

    Without doubt, the man was shocked.

    "How would she get engaged without the two families meeting? She has not formerly introduced Fang Bingwen to me, who said she was allowed to get engaged to him?"

    Zhang Renshu was stubborn and refused to believe things until the evidence wasid out in front of his eyes.

    Not in the mood to wallow in his father''s shock, Zhang Mingyu quickly showed Zhang Liling''stest post to him.

    Swiping to the left after he saw the photo is her and Fang Bingwen together in the private jet, he finally saw the photo of the ring on her finger as his eyes widened in shock.

    "Is this true?" He asked, his tone in disbelief.

    He truly did not believe that his daughter would run straight to get engaged to a man he did not know much about, but unfortunately, it was true.

    "Dad, this is true. Zhang Liling is not someone to joke like this and this is Fang Bingwen we are talking about. Do you think she would joke with both families like this?" Zhang Mingyu replied, while trying to give an insight into how genuine the hot topic was.

    Unable to bear the shock, Zhang Renshu pointed at his door. "Get out!"

    "Dad."

    Zhang Mingyu looked surprised by the sudden order. What had he done wrong now?

    Was bringing thetest news about his daughter, the reason he was getting chased out? Would he have prepared to remain in the dark.

    Still, he left the office to avoid being the scapegoat that all his grievances wouldnd on.

    As soon as his son left, Zhang Renshu made a call and ordered for the person toe into his office.

    "What has happened between my daughter and that Fang guy?" Zhang Renshu questioned the man before him, who happened to be his new intel.

 Chapter 377 Full-Sized Heart

    Zhang Renshu had thought that Zhang Liling had already done something worse.

    But this mindset changed the next moment he learned that she and her mother, Song Jujing had visited the Fang Family without him.

    Hell broke lose.

    Immediately, he tried to contact Zhang Liling first, but he couldn''t reach her hence he had no choice but to try and reach Song Jujing.

    Unfortunately, she was equally busy so she cut off his call as they came, which annoyed him greatly.

    Not knowing her whereabouts, he sent her a demanding text.

    ''Jujing, you no longer answer my calls now?''

    As the father of Zhang Liling, Zhang Renshu''s anger was not baseless.

    It was natural for him to be annoyed after being excluded from such an important meeting as that, he deserved an exnation in the least, so he thought.

    In the middle of the show, Song Jujing read the text and quickly replied him before turning off her phone.

    ''When I''m busy, I don''t.''

    Seeing the responseing from her after misunderstanding the situation, Zhang Renshu immediately three a fit.

    "This woman! You no longer have time for me?"

    Before the close of work for that day, his blood pressure rose and to better take care of himself, he went back to the house, packed a few of things and left without telling anyone his whereabouts.

    In this situation where he hates the guts of his wife and her existence, plus the neglect from his ex, there was only one ce he could find peace, and that was in thepany of the other woman in his life.

    It was a ce where he would find peace andfort.

    At least there was still someone that listened to him.

    If Zhang Renshu could react this way, Shi Wenqian''s attitude could be worse, but she better behaved herself this time around by learning not to show her emotions again so easily.

    Seeing the news about Zhang Liling officially being engaged to Fang Bingwen, she understood a lot of things.

    That stepdaughter of hers would be too difficult to handle.

    The Fang Family had epted her which means that she would be under their protection always. Maybe she should have targeted their rtionship and sowed a discord, but it wouldn''t have been easy for her.

    Separating Sing Jujing from the Song family was so easily done because of that old man''s pride, but the Fang Family was not the same.

    They were not directly linked to Song Jujing so she never thought that they would be a problem for her currently.

    Shi Wenqian''s goal was very simple. If Song Jujing was a fish that lived in the water, all she wanted to do, was to drain that water so it would be easy for her to suffocate.

    By breaking her wings and separating her dorm he backbone which was the Song family and the people in S city that liked her, it would be easy to get rid of her.

    But what Shi Wenqian did not expect, Song Jujing escaping to Paris and making a name for herself over there.

    In summary, the current situation was not favourable to Shi Wenqian.

    But seeing as things were now moving so smoothly for Sing Jujing and her daughter, she just couldn''t help it.

    Instead of attacking them, she chose to start gathering her eggs into her basket.

    ''Mingyu needs to get married because Zhang Liling.''

    Having these thoughts, she picked up her phone to dial Zhang Renshu''s contact, but she was redirected to voice mail.

    "It seems like I have to meet the family myself." She muttered under her breath and picked up her bag to leave the house.

    Since Zhang Renshu could not be reachable at the moment, she would takews into her own hands.

    After all, this concerned her son and the marriage which seemed to have been swept under the carpet, had to be brought up again.

    But unknown to the power-hungry woman, a big trouble was brewing in the atmosphere.

    *******

    During the five hour plus flight to Country C, Zhang Liling''s eyes were wide open.

    She kept on ordering a few things to keep her mouth busy but when she was full, she concentrated her attention on he environment even though she basically couldn''t see anything.

    It would have been better for her to work just like how Fang Bingwen was doing, but as she was impatient plus the fact that her mind was preupied with a certain someone, she couldn''t get any work done.

    Finally when the jet was going tond, her happiness knew no bound. Quickly securing her seatbelt, she tapped her feet on the floor like an excited little child.

    Looking at the view from below, she inquired. "Mr. Fang, are we going to see Jia Li''s and Mr. Fu today?"

    "Can you take a break?" From where he was sitting, Fang Bingwen demanded. He was ready tired of her.

    If an adult like her was acting this way, then how would his own child behave? The thought of that shattered his mental strength.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    He didn''t think he could deal with both mother and child at the same time.

    "Can I not?" Zhang Liling retorted.

    How could she take a break now after having been waiting patiently to meet her idol and her family since a few months ago?

    This has to be a dreame true.

    Seeing how stubborn she was, plus the fact that she was not going to behave, Fang Bingwen dedicated the few minutes they had before they disembarked, into securing an inner peace.

    No matter how she asked him any questions again, he refused to respond.

    ***

    "Finally, it''s great to be here!" Stepping down the stairs, Zhang Liling allowed the evening breeze to fly the power hems of her long green gown.

    A beautiful smileid on her face as her eyes moved about her surrounding.

    They had finally touched down at City B in Country C.

    "Can you speak Chinese?" Fang Bingwen asked from behind with his gaze ahead.

    "A little. Apart from our nativenguage, I can speak French and English fluently. This should be enough for me tomunicate here."

    "Lucky you," he replied while leading the way to the three vehicle convoy waiting for them.

    He had wanted to frighten her a bit, but it seemed like his little woman knew too much.

    From theirnding location, they were taken to a five-star hotel where Fang Bingwen had already booked a four-day stay for them both.

    What surprised Zhang Liling more was how big their room was.

    There was a sitting room, two bedrooms and a small dining area.

    "Mr. Fang, I thought we would share one bed?" Zhang Liling asked, staring at him with a raised brow.

    ? "Remember, we are not yet married." He reminded as he took her hand and showed her to the other room.

    "This is where you would sleep."

    "Mr. Fang, when are we getting married?" she inquired, refusing to let go off the topic.

    "Mmmm... Let''s get back home first. You need to settle a few things with your new business before we can start nning our wedding."

    Not wanting to rush things with their wedding ceremony, Fang Bingwen wanted then to do other important tasks first before investing their quality time into their wedding preparations that way, there would be a proper use of time.

    Satisfied with his response, Zhang Liling didn''t bother him about the reason he wanted then to stay in separate bedrooms when they were already engaged.

    How traditional was he?

    Was Mr. Fang that modest as he appeared to be? Well she would have to find out soon.

    After Fang Bingwen''s bodyguards had put all their stuff in the room, they went down to one of the rooms in the next floor to rest for the night.

    Losing the tie on his neck, Fang Bingwen asked, "Do you still want something for dinner?"

    Stepping out of her room in a bathrobe, Zhang Liling walked into his and sat at the foot of his bed.

    "My stomach is still blown up, but I would be d if I can get something to eat in the middle of the night."

    "Something like what?" he asked, giving her the inquisitive look.

    "Choctes and maybe Ice cream."

    "I see."

    Putting his neck tie on the bed, he went to thendline on the nightstand to make a call to the front desk.

    "I would like some one te of kebabs, chicken wraps and two bottle of water, thank you."

    mming the receiver down, he turned to her. "Now you can go to the bathroom and take your bath before the order arrives."

    Looking at him with a surprised gaze, she failed to understand what he just disyed.

    "I requested for chocte, but I didn''t hear you add it to the order."

    "Is chocte food? Go and have your bath." Saying that to her, he quickly took her hand and forced her into therge wash area, ignoring the big frown on her face.

    "Mr. Fang, do you really love me?"

    She inquired once again since the engagement ring he slipped into her finger the previous day, seemed to no longer prove it.

    "Yes, with my full-sized heart." Fang Bingwen replied shortly before he shut the door against her.

 Chapter 378 Grand Reception At FJ Styles

    Waking up on afy bed after a good night sleep is really underrated.

    Not everyone gets to have a good night sleep, but Zhang Liling enjoyed it, and even in full.

    Letting out a satisfied groan, she slowly pushed her body up as her arms stretched out on her sides. Then on her faceid that sweet smile that proved just how much she enjoyed her night.

    "It''s a new dawn!" She said as her back arched against the bed board.

    "Yes, it''s a new dawn so rise." Fang Bingwen said as he appeared in front of the door looking like he had just freshened up.

    Seeing the man with that strong body build, Zhang Liling''s eyes freely roamed over the exposed part of his chest.

    "Good morning, Mr. Fang."

    "Are you going to keep calling me that?" Leaning away from the door frame, Fang Bingwen asked with knitted brows.

    "Why not?" Smiling to herself, Zhang Liling got off the bed and walked towards him.

    Stopping in front of him, she had already stood on her tiptoes and was about to kiss him with her pouted lips when he suddenly stopped her by pressing a finger to her forehead.

    Pushing her away and ignoring that grudge written all over her face for rejecting her kiss, he said, "You are only allowed to do that after you must have freshened up. What do you want for breakfast?"

    Zhang Liling''s facial rxed and she let out a defeated sigh. Walking past him to head into the bathroom.

    "Anything."

    As soon as her backpletely disappeared from his sight, he left her bedroom to dress up.

    Half an hourter, they sat at the dining to eat their breakfast.

    Scooping some baked beans into the sliced bread in her hand, Zhang Liling inquired about their schedule for the day.

    She was already impatient and couldn''t wait to meet Jia Li and Fu Hua. She didn''t care about sightseeing until she had seen her idol.

    After all, that was the sole reason that brought her all the way from S City.

    If she didn''t see her idol first, she didn''t think she was going to have peace.

    "What''s our schedule going to look like today?"

    "Tsk..." Knowing where that question was going to, Fang Bingwen sighed. She really didn''t know what a break was.

    But having no grudge against her for her impatience, he hid nothing from her.

    "We have to be at FJ Styles by 10 AM and then have lunch with the Fu''s by 1 pm. If there is anything you want to do after that, we can.x

    "No! I don''t think I would have any remaining energy left after meeting Jia Li. I would want toe home andy on my bed, indulging in the wonderful experience."

    How could she go and y out the wonderful encounter with her idol that same day?

    To have asting memory of the meet up, she had toe back to their hotel room to fantasize about it, that way, she wouldn''t lose the touch.

    "Whatever you want."

    After breakfast, Zhang Liling immediately went into her room to search for the clothes she had brought with her, totally forgetting about themotion she caused online the previous day.

    Even thements she said she would check, she forgot all about it.

    As they had about 2 hours plus to be at FJ, she decided to use that opportunity to try on her outfit first.

    It''s not like she hadn''t worn that outfit before, but she was too nervous and as she didn''t what to make any mistake, she couldn''t help trying it out again.

    Seeing her moving about in front of the mirror in that dress that was part of the FJ''stest collection which Jia Li''s had designed herself, Fang Bingwen was speechless.

    It was no longer enough that she already brought a bag and a shoe with FJ logo and now, she had to get a dress from the same brand.

    Fang Bingwen really wanted to know how she could afford such luxury at the moment when she needed money to boost her business.

    She must be out of her mind.

    "How obsessed can you be?" he asked, making his presence known as he stepped into the room with his gaze hanging on her.

    Immediately, Zhang Liling turned to her side on hearing his voice. "Why, do you feel threatened?"

    "Why would I be?" Fang Bingwen retorted.

    What does her obsession got to do with him being threatened? He didn''t see any rtionship in any way.

    Snorting, she turned her attention back to mirror. "It''s possible. Just in case you are losing your woman to another woman."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    She couldn''t help patting the dress seeing how well it outlined her shape.

    Although the colour of the dress was bright, she didn''t mind as it would remind Jia Li of her little beginnings.

    "That''s not a problem. I can easily break your legs, that way, you wouldn''t be able to run."

    Fang Bingwen didn''t see her teasing as a problem. Just where did she want to run to?

    He could ept her fan-girling about another man''s wife, but topletely lose her mind to the extent of wanting to follow her, he would not endure it.

    Worsee to worse, he would just break your legs if that would make her stay at a ce. He didn''t mind how troublesome it would be to take care of theke person.

    "Jealousy at its peak." Zhang Liling couldn''t help cursing out at his cruelty.

    She was in no doubt that he would really do as he said.

    Women were frightening when they were jealous and men, were not an exception. They could be pretty scary too when they felt threatened.

    "Think what you want. And I think it will be better to start doing your makeup now if you don''t want to bete."

    Saying that, he left for his bedroom to go and start getting ready while shutting the noise from the little woman away behind him.

    Hearing that she would bete if she didn''t start getting ready, Zhang Liling quickly rushed to take out her makeup products which were all from her brand.

    Knowing how Jia Li used to keep her makeup simple, she decided to copy her.

    Anything possible that would attract her idol''s attention, Zhang Liling would do it.

    An hourter, both Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang were set to leave. The body guards came around to carry their several bags of gifts to the car downstairs.

    "FJ, here Ie." Zhang Liling announced excitedly before getting into the car, earning a groan from the man whose annoyance was starting to rise.

    Getting into the car, he pleaded, "Please I beg you, don''t act like a child otherwise, I would look like I had kidnapped an under aged girl to marry."

    It was important for Fang Bingwen that Zhang Liling acted her age as he was almost confused about how old she was seeing how new reaction and how much love she had for her idol.

    If he was beginning to have doubts about the woman he already knew so much about, how about outsiders?

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling didn''t find anything wrong with the way she was acting, but watching the man''s facial expression, she had pity on him.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t embarrass you."

    Leaning in, she pecked his cheek and shifted back to her side with a satisfied smile on her face.

    ***

    Arriving at FJ Styles, Zhang Liling was already starting to feel butterflies in her stomach.

    "We are here." A deep breath escaped form her lungs as her eyes stuck to that international brand name with how beautifully it was written.

    As Zhang Liling was seeing another thing, Mr. Fang was seeing something else.

    Seeing the rolls of people waiting outside the building, he couldn''t believe his eyes.

    ''Didn''t I tell him it was only a simple visit?'' he thought to himself with disbelief written all over his face.

    He was sure that he had effectivelymunicated to a certain someone that he was only there to visit based on a personal rtionship matters and not a business rted trip.

    Why then did he have to put up a grand wee?

    Zhang Liling was still lost in admiration until their car packed in front of the entrance door, and that was when her eyes saw the 2 rolls of greeters standing there in the same uniform.

    Her eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Fang, what is going on?"

    "I don''t know, I will have to check with a certain someone."

    ''Huh?''

    Zhang Liling waspletely lost. Why did he speak as if he was familiar with the person that made that arrangement?

    Could such arrangements be made without the owner of FJ not knowing about it? Just what was going on here?

    Zhang Liling still had some questions to ask, but there was no time as their car doors were immediately pulled open by the two men in ck.

    Who knew where they came from because they were not even at the entrance before?

 Chapter 379 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Hua (I)

    Just as they stepped out of the car, a young man in a grey suit, walked up to them with a warm smile on his face.

    Stopping in front of Fang As Zhang Liling wasing over to his side, he stretched out his hand for a handshake whole introducing himself.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang! Wee. I am Zimo, the personal assistant to Mr. Fu."

    Taking his hand in a firm handshake, Fang Bingwen responded, "Hello,"

    Nodding with a smile, Zimo moved over to Zhang Liling and stretched his hand out.

    "Hello, Ms. Zhang. Wee to FJ Styles."

    "Thank you." Zhang Liling said while receiving his hand.

    After exchanging pleasantries, Zimo led them inside the building.

    "Where is your Boss? After arranging such a grand wee, he should havee to see us by himself." Fang Bingwen said sarcastically.

    He still couldn''t get over the fact that Fu Hua had arranged such a grand wee for them after everything he said.

    The man kept nodding like he understood, who knew that he would still go on to do what he had in mind.

    What part of the meeting being discreet did he not understand?

    Sensing his sarcastic tone, Zimo could onlyugh lightly as he exined.

    "My Boss just wanted to make sure you are received respectfully."

    Taking the past some halls with FJ Written on the wall plus the famous logo, they walked to the elevator.

    Pressing the button, Zimo stood at the side and gestured for them to go in first. Taking the lead, Fang Bingwen took Zhang Liling by the hand and led her in before Zimo joined them.

    "Mr. Fang, do you know Mr. Fu that well?"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to whisper her question as there would be no opportunity to ask as soon as the stepped out of the smallpartment.

    Seeing how her fianc¨¦ didn''t hesitate to show his disapproval with the way they were weed,she could only think that he was close to Fu Hua.

    And sensing something deeper than normal, she couldn''t help wanting to know more.

    If the man had known the owner of FJ Styles for a while, she was going to faint.

    "Yes."

    Hearing his response, Zhang Liling inhaled sharply. But then, she heard himplete his statement just before her mind could begin to wander about.

    "We are all business men."

    Somehow, she calmed down a lot. Just then, the elevator doors opened and Zimo who obviously heard them converse, stepped out and waited for them toe out before proceeding to lead them towards a room.

    "Mr. Fang, we are going to the tea room, Mr. Fu is already waiting. He went in as soon as he heard you were here."

    "That''s good of him." Fang Bingwen uttered.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling was surprised with how easily he dropped his formalities. If she could have a moment alone with him, she would have reminded him of who they hade to see.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    But it looks like she had also forgotten Thatcher fianc¨¦ was a big as Fu Hua in the business world.

    Maybe over familiarity jingled with her mind-set.

    Approaching a white door without a tag, Zimo knocked twice before pushing it open.

    In the grand space where everything was almost of the white colour with a little touch of ck, a tall handsome man sat on one of the couch with a business proposal in his hand.

    The man didn''t seem to have the need of taking a little rest while his guests came up. It was as if he hates being idle that much that he had to bring work with him inside a tea room.

    As soon as he heard the little noise, he lifted his gaze, causing those mature good looking facial features toe into view.

    "You are here?" Fu Hua asked with a smile as he closed the proposal in his hand and put it on the stool next to the couch.

    Standing to his feet, he stretched out an arm.

    "Yes, I''m here, Mr. Fu." Fang Bingwen responded and proceeded to receive the handshake.

    Withdrawing his hand, Fang Bingwen gave way for Fu Hua to see Zhang Liling''s face before introducing her.

    "Your wife?" Fu Hua raised a questioning brow while looking between them.

    Fang Bingwen ignored him and went on to introduce Zhang Liling to him, while at the same time, correcting the notion.

    "This is my fianc¨¦e, Zhang Liling. Zhang Liling, this is Mr. Fu Hua."

    Immediately, Fu Hua stretched his hand out while smiling at Zhang Liling who in turn, reached out to shake his big hand.

    "Fu Hua. Wee Mrs. Fang."

    Fu Hua was not going to listen to Fang Bingwen either.

    "Hello, Mr. Fu. You look just like in the photos." Zhang Liling couldn''t helpmenting with admiration written all over her face.

    "Oh really? That means I''m still young. Thank you, Mrs. Fang." Fang Bingwen teased as he let go of her hand.

    "How many times do I have to remind you that she is my fianc¨¦e?" Fang Bingwen asked from the side, looking like he was about to have an argument.

    "Hahahaha... It''s all the same. There is a ring on her finger which means that it''s only a matter of time before you two officially tie the knot." A small chuckled erupted from the depths of Fu Hua''s lungs as he went to take his seat.

    "Please sit." He said while gesturing to them to sit on the two-sitter couch across from the centre ss table which was directly opposite his.

    "Mr. Fu, since when did you learn to joke around?" Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but to ask.

    Thest he remembered, Fu Hua had a cold personality and he had seen his interactions with the others before during business meetings. He was not kind in any way.

    What happened?

    "You didn''te here for business. Also, you are colder than I am. You need to loosen up a little."

    To the conclusion he made, Fang Bingwen refused to say another word. ''Does this man have two personalities?''

 Chapter 380 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Hua (II)

    "Fang Bingwen, I''m d to have you make the long trip." Fu Hua said with a smile while maintaining eye contact.

    Although they didn''t have that close rtionship, Fu Hua decided to drop the formalities since he hade for a different matter that might pull them to have a closer rtionship with each other.

    Deciding to drop the formalities as well, Fang Bingwen replied, "It''s all thanks to your private jet."

    "It''s nothing."

    "About the grand wee outside, I remember telling you that we came for a private matter. There was no need not to pay attention."

    Fang Bingwen didn''t take a break before confronting him about earlier. He seemed they he wouldn''t let the case rest if he didn''t get a direct response from the man himself.

    To that, Fu Hua maintained a calm disposure as he replied with his eyes shining brightly.

    "One, you are not ordinary people. Two, it''s your first time here. Three, anyone that likes my wife and makes the effort to see her, will be treated like a VIP. Besides, your fianc¨¦e loves my wife and I can see how much she does."

    Saying that, he nced at Zhang Liling''s outfit.

    He had noticed her dress, but had refused toment on it, leaving it for Jia Li to do when she stepped in.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling had been sitting obediently by Mr. Fang''s side. Even though she seemed a bit inpatient to ask an important question, she couldn''t be disrespectful and cut into their conversation.

    "I see... where is your wife before someone stabs me with her fingers." Fang Bingwen inquired and at the same time, Zhang Liling adjusted her sitting position, pretending to be innocent.

    Of course how long would she continue to wait until the it conversation ended or Jia Li appears? She had to do something to attract their attention, and that happened to be a painful stake.

    "You will see her... now."

    Just then, a soft knock was heard on the door and before they could blink, the door was pushed opens in in came a beautiful woman with a waist-length ck curled hair.

    Her outfit was very simple. She paired a yellow and ck striped shirt with a ck skirt that had a zipper in front.

    A smile that reached her eyes, spread across her face as her gaze swept over the three people already in the room.

    As soon as Zhang Liling saw her idle, she felt her heart beat elerate without control as her eyes stuck to her like glue.

    Zhang Liling swore that if her heart was a car driving on the highway, it would have long crashed after she lost control of it because what was this?

    She failed to describe how excited, nervous and d she felt at the moment.

    "Sorry I''mte." Jia Li apologized with a small bow before walking straight to Fu Hua''s side. Leaning toward him, her lips pouted slightly before bringing it to touch the side of his face and only then did she go on to sit next to him.

    Seeing his wife, the smile on Fu Hua''s face spread even more.

    ncing at the couple sitting opposite them, Fu Hua quickly introduced Jia Li''s to them.

    "Bingwen, Ms. Zhang, this is my wife Jia Li." Turning his attention back to the woman sitting next to him, he continued.

    "Sweetheart, this is Fang Bingwen as you already know, and sitting next to him is his fianc¨¦e, Zhang Liling. She is a huge fan and yours and only because of her persistent were we all able to gather today."<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    As soon as Zhang Liling got the green light, she couldn''t help expression her happiness over getting to meet her idol in reality despite the fact that she was nervous.

    "Mrs. Fu, I''m so happy and honoured to meet you after years of longing."

    "Liling!" Fang Bingwen was almost gritting his teeth. How could she talk that way about someone''s wife when the husband was present?

    Did she want to lose that heart she was using to long for someone?

    "Hahaha... It''s fine Mr. Fang. I''m always happy to know that there is someone out there who loves me this much apart from my family."

    Jia Li said immediately, trying to tell him that she was fine with Zhang Liling expressing herself as much as she wanted.

    Shifting her gaze back to Zhang Liling with a kind smile on her face, she urged her to go on.

    "Can I call you Liling?" she asked first?

    ''Huh? S-She''s making a request to address me so intimately?''

    Right where she was sitting, Zhang Liling literally melted like an ice cream.

    Her idol wanted to call her by her name straight up. She really wasn''t expecting for something like this to happen so soon.

    Without time to waste, she hurriedly nodded her head like a mother hen. "Yes please."

    Releasing and inhaling short breath, she fanned herself. "Oh my goodness! I don''t think I can breathe properly for the rest of today."

    Instantly, Fang Bingwen turned his face away, signalling his denial to knowing who she was. He could no longer deal with her.

    On the other hand, Fu Hua seemed to be having fun with Zhang Liling''s antics and Fang Bingwen''s reaction to it.

    He really wanted tough out loud, but it would be best if he held it in.

    "Ah! If you are going to lose your breath, then it would be best if we go with the formal way," Jia Li said, feigning disturbed by her statement.

    Almost at the same time, Zhang Liling waved her hands in front of her face. "No!" But realizing that her tone was harsh, she quickly toned down a bit.

    "I mean, I was only exaggerating. My heart will never cease from being joyful," she said, sounding convincing, while rubbing her palms on her dress.

    "Hahahaha... I was only teasing you a bit." Jia Li revealed with a smallugh.

    She seemed very happy seeing someone that loved her that much and from her facial expression, she wasn''t faking it at all.

    Just like how she had pictured her idol to truly be, Jia Li was exactly like that.

    Jia Li looked just like her photos on the inte, and she was kinder than she had thought her to be. Who knew she would be so beautiful and humble at the same time?

    No wonder a lot of people loved her. She was an angel in human form.

 Chapter 381 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Hua (III)

    Once given an inch, people like Zhang Liling who have been waiting for the opportunity, would take a mile just like the opportunity that presented itself now.

    Now that Jia Li had taken the first move to make their rtionship go beyond an idol and a fan, Zhang Liling was not going to let this opportunity go to waste.

    Soon, she was already chatting happily with her whileughing out loud, leaving Fang Bingwen to be on his own.

    In fact that would have been the case if Fu Hua hadn''te to distract him.

    "I used to be as cold as you a few years back," Fu Hua said as he came to sit next to him, given that Jia Li and Zhang Liling were now sitting together.

    In order for his mate not to die from annoyance, he had toe to his side to keep himpany.

    Retracting his gaze from the little woman that was now holding hands with Jia Li, Mr. Fang replied without a change in his facial expression.

    "You haven''t changed."

    Fang Bingwen knew that the only reason he looked like he was friendly at the moment, was because of the kind of setting their meet-up had.

    If it were to be in public, the man would have been keeping a poker look on his face.

    But his response, Fu Hua denied it.

    "I have changed. If I didn''t have my sweetheart to love hard, my heart would have been cold-stoned." He said while stealing a loving nce at Jia Li who was upied with Zhang Liling''s chit-chat.

    Following his gaze back to the women chatting all by themselves in their small voices, Fang Bingwen asked tantly without holding back.

    "Are you saying that I have a rock in my chest in ce of a heart because I do not love my fianc¨¦e as much as you love your wife?"

    Mr. Fang could not believe his ears. What sort of logic was that?

    "Bingo!" Fu Hua snapped his fingers in acknowledgement and then went on to rx his back on the couchfortably.

    "This is not something to be annoyed about. Just take the truth as it is. Time will tell if I said the truth or if I was teasing you."

    Fu Hua had said that with all confidence.

    He could remember how he was in the past before he met His Li. He used to keep a poker face with everyone as if they owed him a billion dors but today, look at him.

    Although he was not too friendly with others, he doesn''t always have a death look on his face because happiness and fulfillment filled his heart.

    At that time before he had a change of heart, he didn''t let anyone get close to him. He used to be very cold, but as soon as Jia Li stepped into his life, things changed.

    Light started toe out of Darkness.

    At that moment he first saw her, he knew that his life would change because of her, and like fate, his grandfather arranged their marriage.

    Even though he had disagreed on the union because he didn''t want to betray the witch he was dating at that time, he let his heart lead him to taking the best decision he had ever made and today, he would always remain grateful to histe old man, Grandfather Fu.

    Sensing the confidence in his tone, Fang Bingwen calmed down considerably.

    Although he didn''t want to agree with him just to not make him feel proud of himself, he was forced to submit because somehow, he could rte to what he just said.

    Facts were surrounding him, plus evidences he couldn''t deny.

    Shifting his gaze to Zhang Liling, that was enough prove for him not to have any chance to deny anything.

    How did hee to this point with her?

    How did he fall for her?

    Those were some of the questions he had to answer by himself.

    Also, he noticed that his character traits had changed a bit in the course of dating Zhang Liling.

    Things were indeed a bit different from the him now whenpared to him of the past.

    Watching his facial expression, Fu Hua smiled to himself. ''Seems like this fellow is starting to get it.''

    All of a sudden, Fang Bingwen turned to him to ask in a low tone, "How did you fall for someone like your wife?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Hearing that question, a smile lit up in Fu Hua''s eyes. How did he fall for Jia Li? That was a simple question.

    "She was so innocent, and that made it easy for my fangs to sink into her."

    Speaking on that, he went on to tell him a little story, giving him a little insight to how Jia Li used to be innocent.

    But the irony of the whole thing, was that Jia Li was no longer that shy and innocent girl she used to be in the past. She was now bolder and more confidence.

    Concluding the story, Fu Hua added, "Now, I have influenced her to be like me."

    "Hmmm..." Fang Bingwen stared thoughtfully at Zhang Liling. "How do one fall for someone like that little rascal?"

    Hearing him call Zhang Liling a little rascal, Fu Hua couldn''t help chuckling softly. At least he knew the reason the man spoke that way. It was only because she was disturbing his wife.

    "I wouldn''t know, but all I know is that love changes people knowingly or unknowingly."

    Nodding in understanding, Fang Bingwen kept watching Zhang Liling from the corner of his eyes.

    That little brat that was usually all over him without giving him a small break as soon as she found the opportunity to be with him, hadn''t even looked his way since she got hooked with another man''s wife.

    What a brat!

    ***

    "I see that you are putting on this dress that reminds me of my humble beginnings." Jia Li''s said while staring intently at the purple dress on Zhang Liling''s body.

    Finally, she had brought up the topic.

    "Yes. I love all the dresses you make, but today I wanted to impress you as I know that most of your designs has a story to tell, so I picked this one."

    Staring at that beautiful face that looked like it hasn''t aged one bit, Zhang Liling pleaded. "Can you tell me a little more about the story?"

    "Of course, why not!" Instantly, Jia Li was happy and got ready to go down the memoryne.

    A few minutester, Zhang Liling couldn''t help being wowed a d inspired as Jia Libcanw to the end of her story.

    In turns out that the dress Zhang Liling was putting on was inspired from one of the dresses Jia Li had made when she joining FJ newly through a contest.

    The purple dress had the same colour of the purple cabbage Jia Li had turned into a dress back then, but because she love it so much, she was inspired to remake it, but decided to give it a little touch.

    Zhang Liling was truly inspired by her story, and was now even more determined to thrive hard withy her brand.

    Zhang Liling and Jia Li hit it off on the smooth path and in no time, they were chatting like they had known each other for a long time.

    From learning a bit about her Jia Li''s humble but tragic beginning, to how much she grew in a few years because of the love and support by one man called her husband.

    Not just that, there was also an elder figure in her life.

    Zhang Liling came to know how much her idol loved and respected her husband''s grandfather because the man was the first person to believe in her.

    And when she didn''t know how her life was going to turn out, he took her under his wings.

    Even though Jia Li''s life didn''t be smoothly immediately, she sure had a happy ending, and that was all that matters.

    "Ms. I really love your story. You should write a novel, I''m sure it would do well out there because you inspire a lot of people." Zhang Liling suggested while taking her hands.

    Before, the little woman wasughing out loud and chatting but now, she had quietened down a bit, but that was only because she felt sorry for some of the challenges Jia Li''s passed through.

    "Really?" Jia Li asked as her eyes shone brightly.

    "Yes! Your story would really inspire a lot of people. Your story had already made me to be stronger." Zhang Liling said as encouragement.

    She was reminded about how her mother had suffered to bring her up alone and now, anything she does, a few people would think she only managed to get that far because of the people surrounding her.

    Howe they never allowed their eyes to see that she had also put in some effort? Were they totally blind or were they selectively blind?

 Chapter 382 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Hua (IV)

    After chatting for almost an hour more, both couples left for their restaurant reservation to haveunch together after drinking some tea over some cookies.

    But before they left, all the gifts Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen brought were presented to Jia Li and Fu Hua.

    Jia Li stared wide-eyed at the several bags that were brought into the room. ncing between Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen to know why they had to go through all that trouble, Fang Bingwen shifted backwards, so she could catch a full glimpse at the woman who had done all of that alone.

    Smiling sheepishly, Zhang Liling waved her hands about. "It''s nothing."

    Chiding her a lovingly, Jia Li took her hand and led her out of the room as the man followed solidly behind them.

    From FJ Styles, the two couples left for the restaurant to haveunch together.

    As there were two cars ready, that could only mean one thing. Each couple had to take one car for themselves but Zhang Liling didn''t let that happen.

    A few momentster, Fu Huaughed heartily whileing to take the second car with Fang Bingwen.

    "Your bride is really an eye-opener."

    Apparently, Zhang Liling had insisted on journeying with Jia Li in the same car.

    Fang Bingwen was totally at a loss for words. Did she not know when to stop?

    At the end, Fang Bingwen sat with Fu Hua in the same car.

    "Are you not afraid that your wife will get stolen?" Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but to ask after not seeing any signs of jealousy from Fu Hua.

    "Hahaha... Your bride is a woman."

    In summary, Fu Hua was saying that the only reason he wouldn''t go after Jia Li because the person in herpany was a woman who had a man herself.

    If not, he wouldn''t have been patient enough to tolerate that kind of rtionship.

    Who was trying to drag his woman with him?

    ''Still she can be a threat.'' Fang Bingwen thought to himself.

    Some minutester, they arrived at the restaurant where top personal chefs catered for the needs of their customers.

    Since the ce had already been booked, they only sat inside their reserved room before going ahead to order the dishes they wanted.

    As this was a top restaurant with one of the highest rating, they already had the ingredients prepared, so the food wasn''t meant to take time.

    Ordering mainly Chinese dishes, Zhang Liling finally remembered that she had a finance.

    "Mr. Fang, would you like to try Kupao chicken and Wotton soup?"

    Giving her the side nce, Fang Bingwen was tempted to ignore her, but because of the people in front of them, he could only swallow down his annoyance.

    "You should focus on yourself."

    Zhang Liling stole a nce at Jia Li and Fu Hua, and seeing them busy chatting in a low tone, she leaned in to whisper to him.

    "Are you annoyed?"

    "Why would I be? It''s not like you did anything wrong to me, or did you?" Fang Bingwen retorted.

    Shaking her head, Zhang Liling leaned away from him. "You are indeed jealous."

    "I said I''m not." Fang Bingwen insisted while ring at her.

    Refusing to believe him, she focused her eyes on the menu in her hands. "Don''t worry, I willfort you at night."

    Not knowing that Jia Li and Fu Hua had stopped chatting and had heard her, Zhang Liling continued to flip through the pages of the menu to see if there was anything she would like to add to her order.

    ***

    After a happy and eventful lunch together, both couples went their separate ways after Jia Li and Fu Hua promised to give them a tour at FJ Styles the next day.

    Finally alone in the same space as her Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling couldn''t keep her mouth shut.

    She kept talking about how kind and beautiful Jia Li was, while hugging his arms and thanking him for taking the effort to fulfil one of her life''s wishes.

    But when she wanted to kiss him, he leaned away from her while reminding her of where they were.

    Could she not be mindful of PDA and their environment?

    Understanding his eye gesture, Zhang Liling nodded and ced the side of her face on his arm, not afraid to stain his suit.

    "I really can''t wait to tour FJ tomorrow." Zhang Liling giggled to herself.

    "Or you really can''t wait to meet your idol again?" Fang Bingwen corrected.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He just knew who she was. Would she have been interested in FJ if not for Jia Li? Well she might be, but she wouldn''t have been so hyper about it.

    Returning to their hotel room, Zhang Liling made the effort to change our of her clothes before taking her phone to go through her gallery as she had taken some snaps with Jia Li and then their entire group.

    After spending an hour of going through her gallery, she finally selected two pictures. One of her and Jia Li, and the second one which included the men.

    Then without a moment of hesitation, she posted them on he social media with the caption,

    ''I finally met my idol. She is beautiful, kind and intelligent. Ah! And she is taller than me. I''m so short! Thank you to the love of my life for making this meeting work. I love you Mr. Fang.''

    Zhang Liling did not forget to tag Jia Li, Fu Hua and Mr. Fang in the photos before she finally posted and put her phone down.

    Stepping out of her bedroom with her phone in hand while smiling from ear to ear like she just won a lottery, she went to meet Fang Bingwen.

    "Mr. Fang, guess what?"

    Raising his gaze from hisptop to give her a scrutinizing gaze, it was not hard for him to find out what she was up to.

    "You have caused anothermotion online haven''t you?"

    "Bingo!" Zhang Liling agreed that her Mr. Fang was not like other men. Her man was sharp witted.

    Nodding in response, Zhang Liling found her way into his bed. "I have set the inte on fire."

    Taking hisptop away, she giggled to herself.

    Taking hisptop back from her hands just the same way she took it first, Fang Bingwen replied, "I wish you can use the same energy to set your business on fire. That way, you wouldn''t be idle."

    "What? Are you still jealous?"

    Scoffing, he went back to work. He refused to answer her.

    But how could Zhang Liling give him a break? She had his time now, and this was when Fang Bingwen understood the importance of Jia Li in her life.

    If there was something or someone else to make her upied, he could get a breathing space.

    "If you don''t return myptop, I will smack your bum." Mr. Fang threatened.

    They said a word was enough for the wise, but Zhang Liling was clearly dumb. The little woman snapped theptop close and pushed it far away before returning to his side.

    Crossing her arms over his neck, she sat on him and crossed her knee over to the other side.

    "I just made your work easier. Now you can directly feel the soft flesh of my bum on your thighs."

    Fang Bingwen promised that he was done with her.

    Who raised this naughty brat?

    "Are you trying to seduce me?"

    "Kind of." Zhang Liling replied, shing him a naughty smile.

    Deciding not to best around the bush or trying to speak sense into her blocked coconut head, he inquired, "What do you want?"

    "Just a little make out section would do. We don''t need to go deep, so you take the lead."

    "How about a kiss? We haven''t made out before and I can''t be tempted right now." Fang Bingwen said, trying to negotiate with her, but she refused.

    "A kiss is too simple."

    A kiss was too normal for them, it was time to graduate into the next ss.

    "Zhang Liling, what has gotten into you?"

    Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but get curious. Why did she suddenly want to make out with him?

    "It''s hard to see the food you like so much right in front of you, but you are permitted not to touch it. Mr. Fang, I can''t stay away from you any longer. You are too handsome to resist."

    Immediately he heard thest part, he picked on the word. "Am I more handsome than Fu Hua?"

    In Zhang Liling''s mind, she was onlyughing out loud, but to his face, she didn''t dare to. If she tried it, he would immediately throw her away from his body.

    Now she knew how far his jealousy had gotten to.

    "Of course! For me, you are more handsome than Mr. Fu. You are also younger than him. You have all the good points but most importantly, you belong to me." Zhang Liling said and leaned in to kiss his lips.

    But the moment their lips touched, he grabbed her arm and pushed her away gently.

 Chapter 383 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Hua (V)

    "What?" Zhang Liling was still in a confused state when she got pushed down to the bed.

    "Have you considered my business proposal?" Fang Bingwen asked, giving her a serious gaze.

    Instantly the fire Zhang Liling felt burning in her lower belly, was extinguished.

    "I didn''t have time for that." She grumbled.

    Giving by her facial expression, Zhang Liling would have gotten off Fang Bingwen''s thighs by herself if he did not push her away.

    "Good. You can think about it now." Mr. Fang said as he went over her to pick up hisptop before returning to his original position.

    "Mr. Fang, I really do not want to partner with any one." She replied without looking at him

    She wanted to be the sole owner of her brand Glint. She wanted to grow it on her own.

    "Fine then. Let me get busy with finding some promisingpanies to invest in as I have a lot of moneyying in waste at the moment."

    Saying that, Fang Bingwen clicked away on hisptop. And that was how the heat Zhang Liling was feeling, instantly calmed down.

    On the other hand, the inte was still lit after Zhang Liling set it on and disappeared.

    From the photos she uploaded, a good number of people found out her location.

    They also discovered whose private jet Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen journeyed in as Jia Li and Fu Hua had snapped and uploaded a photo in that same spot before.

    Everyone got curious and began to ask who the owner of the private jet was. Some also started to ask questions to understand how the Fu''s and Fang''s were rted, and if they had known each other for a long time.

    Fans of Jia Li were not left out on this matter as they wanted to know her rtionship with Jia Li and how they became that close.

    A few people could already guess the answer to that question by saying that Mr. Fang was wealthy and influential, and if he wanted to meet anyone, he could.

    Slowly, everyone started to ept that, but when Jia Li''s replied to Zhang Liling''s post under herment section, people went crazy.

    Just a simple statement from Jia Li was powerful enough to cause thatmotion.

    ''It was nice meeting you, Liling.''

    She had called Zhang Liling so informally as if they were close, and nit just that, she had added a smiley face with heart eyes to her statement.

    This was enough for phones to catch fire, and people''s heads to explode.

    Then when Fu Hua came under Jia Li''sment to reply, ''Sweetheart, pleasee back to me'' hearts literally melted.

    Even Zhang Liling who had gotten a notification of her idol''s response to her post, quickly dropped her grievances and jumped online to sail the ship.

    Soon, she forgave Fang Bingwen of all his trespasses as she became immersed in the sudden trending news online.

    ***

    The next day as scheduled, Jia Li and Fu Hua gaze Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang a tour in FJ.

    Stepping out of therge closet area after viewing someone of FJ''s previous collections, Zhang Liling who was walking ahead with Jia Li by her side couldn''t help but to reveal her surprise about an important matter.

    "I still can''t believe you are not FJ''s Executive creative director."

    "I am not the only talented person here. There are other people who know a lot more than I do. They are also more gifted than I am."

    Smiling to her, she continued, "Also, talent is enough for me to be at the top. In FJ, things are different. Also, I don''t need to be the head of the creative department for my arts to not be seen."

    Zhang Liling learned something huge from this one. One didn''t need to get titles before they can stand out.

    And also, you don''t need titles after you have stood out. If you get it, fine. But if you don''t, it''s still fine.

    Zhang Liling was thinking that as the wife of the CEO of FJ Styles, she would be made the creative director, even given the facts that she had the records to back the position up if people began to talk sideways.

    But here, her mentality expanded, and she began to get a different perspective of how things were done.

    Truly, this was how things should be.

    Zhang Liling was more than thankful for today''s tour as it made her more wiser.

    After the tour ended, Zhang Liling invited them to dinner at their home that evening.

    "Mr. Fang, I would like you and Liling to pay us a visit tonight as I would like to prepare dinner for you."

    Hearing that he Idol was going to trouble herself in the kitchen after finishing from work there just because of them, Zhang Liling hurriedly rejected the idea even though she liked it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Who wouldn''t like such treatment from their Idol? That was a sign to show how close your Idol took you to their heart.

    The sound of it looked blissful, but Zhang Liling wouldn''t want to stress Jia Li.

    "There is really no need to take your time. We have already done that for 2 days in a row."

    "Hahaha..." Jia Li let out a smallugh. "Did you see the gift you packed for us? I must show some appreciation to your kind gestures."

    This time around, Fang Bingwen really wanted to reject her, but Fu Hua intervened.

    "My wife is determined to cook for you, you shouldn''t reject her."

    Staring at the man on whose turf he was standing in, Fang Bingwen was speechless. Why was he making seem like no one was permitted to reject his wife''s kind gesture?

    Fortunately, Jia Li exined the reason she insisted on theming home for dinner.

    "You need to see the children you bought a lot of things for plus, I have something you would like hear."

    Saying that second part, Jia Li winked at Zhang Liling, leaving thetter in a riled up state.

    Even when they returned to their hotel room, Zhang Liling couldn''t stay still. She kept walking back and forth asking Fang Bingwen a question he didn''t have the answer to.

    Seeing her walking through and fro from one point of the room to the order, Fang Bingwen could no longer stand it.

    Closing hisptop, he said to her, "Can you stop walking about, you are making me dizzy."

    Slowing down in her steps, Zhang Liling asked, "I thought you were working, howe you were watching me?"

    If he didn''t like the brain storming she was doing, he could very well fix his gaze on hisptop screen.

    "Go to your room, don''te here to distract me." Fang Bingwen said and opened hisptop to continue working.

    If she wanted to be pacing up and down, there is a way she could do it without distracting him. What was her bedroom for?

    "What do you think she wants to tell me?" Zhang Liling asked as she stopped in front of him with her hands on her waist.

    She refused to go to her bedroom. She would even be more crazy if she was by herself thinking about what her idol had in stuck for her.

    "Zhang Liling," Fang Bingwen called out as he shut his eyes and opened them up again the next second.

    "In six hours, you will find out."

    ***

    Six hourster...

    Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling were driven into the private estate where Fu Hua''s vi was located.

    Soon, the ck car parked in front of the white vi as the butler and two maids bowed before opening the car door for them.

    "Good evening Mr. Fang and Ms. Zhang, wee to Mr. Fu''s vi. I am the butler, pleasee with me."

    Taking Zhang Liling''s hand in his, Fang Bingwen immediately followed after the butler to enter into the house as the maids followed behind them.

    Showing then to the sitting room, the butler left and returned a minuteter to serve them some wine.

    Just then, Fu Hua came into their line of sight to greet them with a happy smile.

    "Thank you foring, Bingwen." Shaking his hand, he spread the other arm to give him a brotherly hug from the side.

    "Thank you for inviting us to your home." Fang Bingwen said in response as he returned the hug.

    Moving over to the little woman whose gaze was wandering about in search of a certain someone, Fu Hua swallowed hisughter and called her attention.

    "Thank you foring over Ms. Zhang. Jia Li will be here shortly, she is taking a shower."

    "Oh!" Zhang Liling mouthed before taking her seat next to Fang Bingwen.

    ''She is taking a shower? Is he alsoing from the bedroom?''

    Inside her head, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to think of silky things, but soon her naughty thoughts were rumpled and thrown away after Jia Li stepped out to exin herself.

    "I''m sorry for taking some time. After cooking, I was sweating and smelling like food. That wouldn''t have been a pleasant scent, so I quickly rushed into the room to freshen up a bit."

 Chapter 384 Meeting Jia Li And Fu Huas Beautiful Seeds

    ''Zhang Liling get your acts together!'' Zhang Liling cautioned herself.

    She couldn''t believe that she was having crazy thoughts about her idol and her husband. Had she carried her naughty thoughts from Mr. Fang and over to them?

    She really couldn''t tell.

    As Jia Li sat next to Fu Hua, she couldn''t helpmenting on Jia Li''s outfit with a smile.

    "Do you really like my work so much?"

    Looking down on the beautiful floral dress that hugged her curves, Zhang Liling couldn''t help smiling.

    "Yes, I do."

    "She also wanted to get in your good books," Fang Bingwen added from the side, which earned him a re.

    "Hahaha... It''s not bad to please people. Liling made me happy by wearing the dresses I designed. I appreciate her support and efforts." Jia Limented.

    Who wouldn''t like to see their dresses worn by people even if it was done on purpose.

    That joy of seeing your work being used by other people or worn by them, was at another level.

    Getting support from her idol, Zhang Liling calmed down a bit as she had earlier thought that Fang Bingwen was about to ruin business for her.

    Was he trying to sabotage her new rtionship out if jealousy?

    "My idol is really the one that understands me the most." Zhang Liling said with a smile as the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

    She looked happy to be supported by the woman she loved and admired.

    "I saw the gift you gave to me, and I must say that I am impressed. You didn''t just set up a brand for yourself, but you did well to improve your products. It is clear from your makeup products that you did your research very well."

    Jia Li couldn''t help but topliment Zhang Liling on her brand after receiving her products and trying them on for herself.

    She really was impressed.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling giggled while fiddling with her fingers.

    She was suddenly feeling ted being praised not just for her personality, but on the hard work she had out into her brand.

    What was better than that?

    She had even preferred gettingplimented for her brand to attracting the glory for herself alone. That way, her spirit would be riled up to work even harder.

    "There is nothing to thank me for, I was just saying the truth. I would have loved to apply your products on my face, but as I didn''t want to keep you waiting, I had toe out as I was."

    Smiling, Jia Li gestured with her hands.

    "On this note, I would like to propose a deal to you."

    Hearing that, and knowing that it was something that was going to be beneficial her given the kind of person Jia Li was, Zhang Liling adjusted her sitting position as her ears perked up.

    "Would do you say about Glint partnering with FJ for this Christmas show we have in November?"

    "What? I-Is that even possible?"

    Zhang Liling who had unknowingly shifted to the edge of her seat, seemed to be in doubt.

    Does her idol know what it means for a tiny brand like Glint at the moment, to partner with the big FJ Styles for their Christmas collection show?

    No. She didn''t think she understood what she was saying.

    As for Fang Bingwen and Fu Hua, both men remained silent and watched the dialogue between the two women.

    "Of course it''s possible. My darling can speak to the board about that as I want to do something for you. It is normal for majority of the big brands out there to not want to use small brand when they are having a big show as there is nothing to gain from them.

    But in this case, things are different. I just want to help in this format to boost your brand because your products are worth it, and you are a new entrepreneur in this huge market."

    Seeing those eyes as beautiful as a doll, Jia Li couldn''t help but to keep the smile on her face.

    "Well, we are doing this only once, so you can rx. But when you brand gets bigger, you will have the opportunity to fight with other brands to be a part of our fashion show sponsors." Jia Li winked.

    For a few more minutes, Zhang Liling was speechless. She could feel all kinds of positive emotions swirling in her, but she didn''t know how to let it out

    Thankfully, Fang Bingwen was next to her so she was able to grab his hand for support.

    "D-Do you really mean what you say?" She couldn''t help but want to get reassured about her words even though she heard them clearly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She wanted to get one more affirmation of her promise before she would jump for joy and of course, Jia Li''s gave into her little demands, with Fu Hua adding to the point.

    "Ms. Zhang, I will help to keep my wife''s promise. You must be lucky for her to want to do this, as she normally doesn''t interfere with decisions of this sort in FJ. I will speak to the directors a d get this deal settled."

    Truly, Fu Hua had been saying the truth. Jia Li was someone who didn''t like to abuse her powers. Even being Fu Hua''s wife, she had never directly influenced a decision not meant for her to make but for Zhang Liling, she was willing to do it just this once.

    How much does she really love this crazy fan of hers?

    Understanding how huge this opportunity was for her, Zhang Liling country sit still. She left her ce next to Fang Bingwen and immediately went over to give Jia Li a huge hug.

    With her arms wrapped tightly around her, she had almost suffocated her if not for Mr. Fang reminding her to get off, only then did she react.

    It was a big deal to choose a new name like Glint to partner with them by making up their models for the fashion show to release a new collection.

    It really was a big deal because Glint would be more popr and more attention would be given to her for partnering with a brand like FJ.

    For this big deal, Zhang Liling was grateful and couldn''t stop thanking Jia Li and Fu Hua.

    Some minutester, their conversation carried off until Jia Li had to stop them.

    "If we don''t eat now, the food will turn cold."

    At that reminder, they all rose to their feet and went over to the fine dining area with Fu Hua leading them.

    Half an hourter, they were done dining and Jia Li finally went to bring her children.

    As Zhang Liling had bought them a lot of things from clothes down to books and toys, it was only right to bring the children over to thank her and Fang Bingwen.

    ording to Zhang Liling, she picked the gifts while Mr. Fang paid for them.

    Jia Li couldn''t helpughing when she heard her put it that way. She was so funny.

    A few minutester after Jia Li had gone up the stairs, she returned holding the hands of two children, while the third one walked behind her.

    "Mummy, is Daddy there as well?" A five year old little girl asked from Jia Li''s right side as she raised her little head.

    The little girl was dressed in a light pink sleeveless dress that reached her knees, and had a matching-colour headband on her head that pulled her entire full ck strands of hair backwards.

    "Yes, An Na, Dad is in the living room, you will see him now."

    The little girl''s name was An Na, and her handsome twin brother who looked like the mini Fu Hua dressed in a ck trouser and spotted flowers on his sky-blue shirt was, Kai.

    Both children were still of the same height and looked nothing like each other. Anyone who saw them separately would never know they were things unless they already knew them facially to be Jia Li and Fu Hua''s twins.

    And behind Jia Li was the nine years old famous first great grandchild ofte Grandfather Fu, Jasmine.

    How much the little girl had grown up to be.

    She looked more mature than herst photos on the inte. Her height had increased, and her baby fat was disappearing from her face.

    The little girl who had been plump before, was now quickly shedding of her baby fat.

    At the moment, her younger sister An Na who seemed to be the younger version of her, had taken over from her looks and body size from when she was younger.

    Together, Jia Li and her children made it to the living room where Fu Hua, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen were waiting.

    "Wow!"

    As soon as her eyes caught sight of the beautiful seeds from her idol, Zhang Liling rose to her feet with a wowed expression on her face.

    "OMG! They are beautiful and looking all grown up!"

    /////SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

    Dearest Readers, please check out my new book ''LOVE PAST TIME'' and support it on the Romance carnival contest it joined.

    Please add it to your library, read,ments, give reviews if you can, vote with your GT and powerstones.

    In all, pleasee and support me and I will promise to give you daily updates this month plus 5 chapters mass release on 22nd of this month.

    I had wanted to take a break on this book for this month, but I have to pay you back for your support.

    Please check LOVE PAST TIME out!

    THANK YOU!!!

 Chapter 385 Last Day

    "Jasmine, An Na, Kai this Aunty Ling she bought those presents. Say hello to her." Jia Li motioned to the children.

    ncing at Zhang Liling, Jasmine led her siblings to acknowledge her presence.

    "Hello, Aunty Ling. Thank you for the gifts."

    Hearing their lovely voices plus their curious gazes while staring at her, Zhang Liling cued like a child and went to squat in front of the twins.

    Taking their hands, she squeezed them gently while staring happily at them.

    "It''s my pleasure."

    Saying that, she nced at Jasmine and blew her a kiss.

    "You are all so beautiful!"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t butpliment their good looks once again.

    "Thank you," Jasmine replied with a small smile before going to sit next to her father.

    Seeing their elder sister next to their father, the twins quickly let go of their mother''s hands and ran over.

    "Daddy!"

    "Hahaha..." Watching the twins, Zhang Liling couldn''t help chuckling softly as she rose to her feet.

    "Kids, you haven''t greeted Uncle Bingwen yet," Jia Li said after the kids seeing them running to fight over their father.

    Hearing their mother''s voice, the children all turned their attention to Fang Bingwen who had been sitting quietly and watching them fight to sit by their father''s side.

    Quickly, Fu Hua took the cue to formally introduce Fang Bingwen to them.

    "Kids this is Uncle Bingwen, he is Aunty Ling''s... Umm... Husband. He is her husband. Say Hello to him."

    Fu Hua couldn''t tell the young children that Fang Bingwen was Zhang Liling''s fianc¨¦ because the twins wouldn''t understand and in the end, they would get curious with that term and continue asking questions he might not know all the answers to.

    So exining to them in a way they would understand, was the best.

    ''They are married like daddy and mommy?'' The twins thought as their gazes swiftly moved from Fang Bingwen to Zhang Liling after acknowledging his presence.

    Seeing the ring on Zhang Liling''s finger, they believed their father''s word before continuing to fight to sit beside him.

    Being the grown up, Jasmine left her father right side to let one of the twins sit there while the other stayed by his right side.

    Seeing the entire family of five and their little cute interactions, Zhang Liling went back to her seat in hopes that one day, she would have children so grown up like that.

    As the adults were done talking about business and serious matters, they went into the family topic.

    "When are you having your wedding?" Fu Hua inquired after making sure the children were not paying attention to him.

    He couldn''t let them catch him telling lies.

    "We haven''t talked about it, but it will be soon. When we decide on the date, you will be the first person to receive our invitation card," Fang Bingwen replied.

    "Not bad. Get ready to wee us." Fu Hua said with a smirk.

    At the moment, Zhang Liling''s thoughts were driven towards a certain direction. Although she was interested about the wedding matters, something more had taken more than half of her attention.

    She was thinking about the offer Jia Li hadid down for her.

    This was a big opportunity that would open doors for Glint and in that sense, her brand should be ready to carry the weight of the attention then, and that means she needed funds.

    Speaking of funds, she nced at Fang Bingwen to see him still chatting with Fu Hua.

    As this was thest time getting together with the Fu''s, Zhang Liling decided to pause with her thoughts and invest everything she had into the conversation.

    Around 8 pm, it was time to leave.

    Zhang Liling Liling made sure to give Jia Li a tight hug after she and Fu Hua walked then to the car.

    "Liling, I hope the next time we will meet would be at your wedding." Jia Li said while releasing her from the hug.

    Stealing a nce at Fang Bingwen, Zhang Liling replied, "I hope so too."

    "Good. Have a safe trip back to S City." Jia Li said as she watched her get into the car.

    "Bye." Waving her hand, Zhang Liling blew a kiss through the window as the car''s engine lit up.

    "Bye," Jia Li waved back to her with a beautiful smile in her face.

    Finally, the car left the Fu Hua''s residence and hit the road.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A long sigh escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as her face filled with a satisfied smile, glowed in the dark night.

    "I can see how fulfilled you are." Fang Bingwenmented.

    "Yes, and I have only you to thank."

    Saying that, Zhang Liling shed him a quiet smile before leaning in close to kiss his lips gently.

    Leaning away, she said, "Thank you."

    "Anything for you." Fang Bingwen said while patting her head.

    Returning to their hotel room, Zhang Liling freshened up before climbing into Mr. Fang''s bed and surprisingly, he did not scold her or tell her off.

    Instead after getting out of the bathroom in his pyjamas, he only swept his gaze past her to nce at the nightstand before walking toward it to adjust the light.

    Raising the duvet, he climbed into the bed and as heid his head on the pillow, he stretched out his arm to pull the little woman into his embrace for a good night sleep.

    The next morning, Zhang Liling woke up a littlete and by the time she was done freshening up, breakfast was already served for her.

    "Our flight takes off by 4 pm, is there any where you would like to go today?" Fang Bingwen asked while taking off the covers from the te to reveal the appetizing breakfast he had ordered for her.

    Taking her seat on the dining table set, Zhang Liling''s gaze hovered over the several dishes before her.

    "How about we go for a swim at the beach?" She suggested.

    Immediately he heard that, he rolled his eyes at her and took a seat across from her.

    "You must be joking."

    Zhang Liling met his gaze as she asked, "I thought we were good? Why can''t we go for a swim?"

    Without wasting time, Fang Bingwen made his reason known as light as day.

    "Each time you dress up to leave the house, I used to be tensed because of your outfit, but knowing that you want to participate in an activity that would show your body to others in the name of swimming, I won''t ept it."

    Picked up his fork, he added, "Say something else."

    A soft sigh escaped Zhang Liling''s lips.

    He was the one that made an offer to her and now when she had said what she wanted, he wasn''t going to let her have it.

    Having no strength to argue with him, Zhang Lilingpromised.

    "How about we rent the private swimming area here for two hours if you don''t want others to see me half naked?"

    ''Half-naked, are you proud of yourself?'' Fang Bingwen was speechless.

    Seeing the way she said things like that so freely from her lips, he couldn''t help but to me the country she grew up in, or what was he that conservative?

    What the problem was, Fang Bingwen didn''t what his woman being seen by others in that kind of clothes.

    Atst, Mr. Fang agreed to rest the private swimming area for her. He couldn''t ruin their fun as this was theirst day, he had to make it more memorable for her.

    Seeing the track records on their first day in the city from they first went to FJ to see Jia Li and Fu Hua and up till this moment, he had to keep it going.

    As Zhang Liling did not make earlier preparations for swimming, she had to go for a little shopping to get a swim wear before dragging her fianc¨¦ to join her at the pool area.

    "Mr. Fang, you have to join me in here." Zhang Liling said as she swam to the edge of the pool looking all sultry in her swimwear.

    Watching the man reading a newspaper, she found him boring and pushed for him to join her. She had at least made sure that he got some rest while on this trip with her.

    "No way. Enjoy yourself." Fang Bingwen said without bringing down the newspaper, but how could Zhang Liling let him be? Her middle name was trouble.

    Smiling to herself, she used her palm to sweep some of the water from the pool and spread it on him.

    Feeling the ssh on the newspaper, Fang Bingwen quickly brought it down to see the little woman giggling at him.

    "Zhang Liling!"

    As he was calling her name, she was sshing more water on him.

    Jumping back into the pool properly, she said as her head came up from the water. "Catch me if you can!"

    She was challenging him toe into the water and take revenge on her, and he nodded in eptance.

    "You will be the one begging me soon." Fang Bingwen promised while pointing at her.

    "It doesn''t matter. I got a new pair of shorts for you. It''s in the bag, put it on ande in here for a fight."

 Chapter 386 Back Home

    Taking off his shirt, Fang Bingwen jumped into the pool in his three-quarters shorts as Zhang Liling screamed and started to swim away from the middle of the pool.

    Normally she wouldn''t have been so scared if he had entered the pool like a normal person, but he had to dive into the pool, breaking the distance between them.

    She had been so confident that if he swam from the edge of the pool, he wouldn''t be able to catch her, but seeing the advantage his height had given him because of the diving, she just knew that he had to run.

    Although at the back of her mind, she knew that he would eventually catch up with her, she didn''t want to admit to it.

    Hearing her voice echoed do loudly, Fang Bingwen ignored her and swam like a professional toward her.

    "Ah! Mr. Fang, did you partake in the Olympics?" Zhang Liling asked while struggling to swim away.

    Raising his head briefly from the water, Fang Bingwen retorted, "This should have been the first question to ask before going ahead to dare me."

    He was right, she really should have checked with him first before embarking on a challenge she would lose out on.

    It was her fault and she was to be med.

    "Damn!" Cursing under her breath, Zhang Liling looked backwards to see him closing in on her.

    Still determined to not let him get her, she forced her attention ahead. Now instead of ying about in the water, she was aiming to leave the pool and run away.

    She was very aware that she couldn''t win him in the pool hence, she resorted to running away onnd.

    But she had underestimated Fang Bingwen.

    Watching her while speedily closing in on her, Fang Bingwen was able to guess her thoughts seeing how she was only swimming to the edge of the pool without trying divert to the corner.

    ''Zhang Liling, do you think you can escape from me?''

    Having no such thoughts of wanting to show her mercy, he increased his pace.

    Just then, Zhang Liling got to the edge of the pool, but as she was attempting to carefully climb out of the pool as she didn''t want to slip with all that water dripping from her body to the tiles, a hand grabbed her leg.

    "Ah!"

    That was thest word that was able to escape from her lips before she saw he rbody diving back into the water.

    Fang Bingwen had caught up to her atst, and he had taken revenge by pulling her back into the swimming pool.

    But when Zhang Liling think he was done, she raised her head from the pool and tried to wipe the water away from her face so she could see the gloating on his face.

    "Mr. Fang! You are so mean!" He lips pouted into a slight frown as her eyes looked usingly at him.

    "You wanted to y games with me and I consented. Why are you even getting angry when I''m not done with you?"

    "What?"

    Before Zhang Liling could realize what his words meant, she was pulled back into the pool where her voice couldn''t be used.

    Trying to hit him and fight her way out, she saw his face close in on her, and before she could blink and open her eyes, she felt his lips crashed into hers.

    He was kissing her, inside the pool.

    As she was thinking about her hygiene of the pool while still surprised with his action, she felt her head rise above the water and the kiss continued.

    Holding the back of her head, Fang Bingwen deepened the kiss as his eyes snapped shut.

    Finally able to let a few things off in her head, she concentrated on the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, while rubbing her body on him romantically.

    After what seemed like a long time as their breaths were about to be snatched form then, Fang Bingwen released her lips as his dark eyes glowed at her.

    Right when Zhang Liling opened her eyes, she felt something hard on herher region and immediately her eyes widened in their sockets.

    "M-Mr. Fang!"

    "Shhh... I know." Fang Bingwen replied while still holding unto her. "You are to me for all of this."

    "I''m sorry. Then we need to get out of the pool." Zhang Liling said while staying still.

    This was not the first time she had found herself in that kind of situation, so she knew how to deal with it.

    Moving vigorously would only cause the level of temptation to rise higher hence, she stopped moving and stayed calm.

    If there would be anyone to make a move, he would be the one.

    Letting out a soft sigh, Fang Bingwen dropped one of his hand and used the other that was holding her waist to pull her toward the edge of the pool.

    Getting there, he held her waist with both arms and lifted her to sit on the tiles. "You should clean your body and wrap yourself up."

    Saying that, he turned around and swam back into the middle of the pool. Watching him trying to calm his nerves down, a small smile slowly turned up on Zhang Liling''s lips.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Fighting, Mr. Fang!" She encouraged while raising her arms up.

    "Go away." Fang Bingwen spat, while refusing to look at her.

    Chuckling to herself, Zhang Liling walked to the chair to pickup up the small towel to wipe her way body, while encouraging him.

    "Soon it will be over."

    Raising his head form the water to re at her, Fang Bingwen threatened. "It would be good if you sealed those sultry lips or I wille and tear them off from your face."

    "Cannibal!" Zhang Liling uttered while chuckling at the same time.

    She seemed to find it fun to tease him because of his situation.

    "Only call me that after I have done a good job." ring at her, he swam back into the pool.

    After a little swim, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen returned to the rooms to have a little snack before taking a nap.

    They still had about 3 hours before their flight hence, the reason they get to close their eyes for a little while.

    Having packed their stuff, their eyes shut in piece.

    An hour and thirty minutester, they both woke up from sleep and got ready to leave for their flight.

    Using Fu Hua''s private jet, they returned to S City.

    When the jetnded, Bolin was already waiting for them with the two cars and a driver.

    Walking down the stairs with her hand linked in Fang Bingwen''s arm, Zhang Liling smiled and waved at him.

    "Mr. Bolin!"

    "Ms. Zhang!" Bolin smiled and reciprocated her energy, but as his eyesnded on Fang Bingwen''s face, he hurriedly retreated his smile.

    "Wee Boss!"

    Fang Bingwen ignored himpletely and walked past him with Zhang Liling to enter into the car.

    Sighing to himself, Bolin watched as the bodyguards took out their stuff from the jet and moved them to the second car.

    After everyone had entered the car, they hit the road.

    "Where are we going to?" Zhang Liling asked with a smile on his face.

    "Your ce," Fang Bingwen smiled.

    Smiling from ear to ear, Zhang Liling looked at the scenario through the window. "It''s good to be back home."

    Hearing her say that, Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but want to tease her. "Don''t you miss your idol?"

    "Hehehe... This is our forte now, I should focus on you." Zhang Liling smiled proudly to herself.

    "Smart moves!" Fang Bingwen said with a smirk ying at the corner of his lips.

    He couldn''t help but want to praise her for knowing how to please people. So she could even think of him at times?

    Initially he had thought she would never be able to get over her Idol but it looks like she very well knew what she was doing.

    Chatting casually while on transit, it didn''t take time before they got to her apartment.

    "Are youing up with me?" Zhang Liling asked as she stepped out of the car. Already, Bolin had already helped her to take out her luggage from the trunk.

    "I should and maybe, you can serve me a cup of water." Fang Bingwen smirked as he stepped out of the car, his height, towering over her.

    "It will be my pleasure."

    "Wait here." ncing at Bolin, Fang Bingwen before pulling Zhang Liling''s luggage and walking into the apartment building with her.

    Within a minute or two, the elevator arrived at her floor and as soon as Zhang Liling unlocked her door and they stepped inside, Mr. Fang pulled her in for a kiss.

    "Is this the cup of water you were asking for?" Zhang Liling couldn''t help but to tease in-between the kiss.

    "Shut up!" Fang Bingwen scolded before leaning in to seal her lipspletely.

    Suddenly, they heard a familiar voiceing from their side.

    "What''s going on here?"

 Chapter 387 Not Wrong

    "Mum!"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t believe her eyes as she instantly withdrew from Fang Bingwen''s embrace.

    "Aunty." Fang Bingwen looked equally surprised seeing Song Jujing in the room.

    When did she get back?

    Staring between the couple she had rudely interrupted, Song Jujing cleared her throat, choosing to overlook it.

    Giving Zhang Liling one more nce as if to transmit a hidden message through it, she turned her back to them, leading the way to the living room.

    "Won''t youe in and sit?" She suggested without stopping in her steps.

    Although her statement sounded like a suggestion, she didn''t mean it. She actually didn''t leave them any choice but to follow her.

    "Mr. Fang, I think you should leave." Zhang Liling whispered while on the lookout for the spot her mother disappeared from.

    She wasn''t sure of how they were both going to get scolded hence, she made that kind of suggestion.

    Besides, the look her mother gave her, suggested she was suspecting that she had lied to her by denying that she wasn''t sleeping with Fang Bingwen.

    Already catching them engaging in a passionate kiss was enough for her trust to be broke.

    Although not all that glitters was gold, she knew that her exnation would fall on deaf ears.

    Would she simply believe that they were only caught in the spur of the moment?

    Seeing as they travelled to another country together and not waiting for any separation between them, they were already kissing like that as soon as the door shut before them.

    Surely anything Song Jujing thought about them wouldn''t be bad even if it might be a huge misunderstanding.

    "No. It will be disrespectful to leave. We should go inside."

    Fang Bingwen was a bit embarrassed being caught by his future mother-inw in that act.

    Would she believe that the ''him'' she saw now, was not the usual ''him'' on a normal day?

    Not waiting for Zhang Liling to try and persuade him to sneak away, he took her luggage and walked ahead.

    He was not a coward.

    He was going to marry her soon and by running away, what was he trying to prove to he rmother?

    Even without words, he would be simply telling her that he was not a reliable man.

    Seeing that he wanted to face her mother head-on, Zhang Liling could only follow behind him.

    On getting to the living area, Fang Bingwen stopped and handed the bag to her. "I thank you should go and keep it in the room."

    Taking the bag from him, Zhang Liling looked suspiciously at him. ''Is he sending me away? Seems like he is not afraid of my mother.''

    "Go." Fang Bingwen mouthed before stepping into the living room properly.

    Greeting Song Jujing who wouldn''t stop following his every movement with her gaze, he proceeded to ask about her trip.

    "Aunty, how was the show?"

    "It was interesting, but I could not bepared with the one I saw a few seconds ago." Song Jujing said without breaking the gaze as Mr. Fang touched his nose nervously.

    He could see how his future mother-inw hadn''t changed her facial expression and knew that he had to out an end to that matter.

    "Aunty, I am sorry about the scene earlier. We didn''t mean to be disrespectful, it''s just that we didn''t know you were home."

    Hearing that, Song Jujing raised a brow as she was surprised with his response.

    In summary, was he telling her that he was only wrong for kissing her daughter in front of her?

    She was speechless.

    On the other hand, Fang Bingwen didn''t seem that bothered with his response as he didn''t see the need to apologize for kissing Zhang Liling.

    They were both adults, plus they were engaged to be married soon so, his actions were not wrong.

    Song Jujing was tempted to question him till he got nervous, but because she was not someone of that personality, she decided to drop the act and go straight to the point.

    "When is the wedding? Have you both fixed a date yet?"

    Seeing that she had changed the topic, Fang Bingwen felt settled and quickly went on to respond to her.

    "Not yet. Liling and I haven''t talked about it."

    "My daughter shouldn''t take in before the wedding." Song Jujing said, startling him at the same time.

    Finally he had the opportunity to have a taste of the same medicine she had been feeding Zhang Liling.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Aunty, that''s not going to happen. Liling and I haven''t taken that step yet, and it won''t happen until after the wedding."

    He was not going to let her have a misconception about their rtionship, and his reputation.

    "I can finally be relieved to get this assurance form you." Song Jujing said as a smile finally appeared on her face.

    Just then, they both had the iing footsteps and guessed that Zhang Liling was on her way there. Quickly, she changed the topic.

    "I will be leaving for Paris after the board meeting at Zhang Corp this weekend." She announced.

    "Will you take me along?" Zhang Liling who heard her statement, quickly asked as she cane to sit next to her.

    "Yes. I n to introduce you to the board members as I have already transferred half of my shares to you." Song Jujing revealed.

    Smiling, she added, "Mywyer will bring the document soon."

    Knowing that she had somehow be a big deal, Zhang Liling couldn''t stop herself from smiling.

    Finally, she got to have this privilege because of her mother.

    Now she was waiting for a certain person''s reaction when she finds out.

    "Mum, if you leave for Paris now, when next would youe back?" Zhang Liling couldn''t help but ask.

    She had really enjoyed her mother''spany as her presence nearby was an assurance of the backbone she had supporting her.

    "Your wedding."

    A few minutester, Fang Bingwen stood up to leave. He still had a bunch of people waiting downstairs for him.

    Walking him up to the entrance, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but give him that longing look. Although she wanted to embrace him, she couldn''t as her mother was standing next to her.

    "If anythinges up, put a call through me first." Fang Bingwen said before finally disappearing from their sight.

    Letting out a sigh, Zhang Liling locked the door and made her way toward the living room.

    "How was your trip?" Song Jujing asked.

    Being reminded of how much she loved spending her time with her idol, Zhang Liling couldn''t control herself from smiling.

    "I''m sure I made my feelings known throughout my social media handles."

    "I know, but are you not going to ask me about mine?" Sing Jujing inquired. ''Did she not care about the trip she went to?''

    Shaking her head, she replied, "I know it went well."

    "I don''t know whose daughter you are anymore." Letting out a soft sigh, Song Jujing revealed about the matter with her father while she was away.

    Listening for a while, Zhang Liling couldn''t control herughter.

    "Is he jealous because he wasn''t invited?"

    Learning about her father''s anger pertaining to she and her mother visiting the Fang family to chat, she didn''t feel bad about it.

    "He is bound to be, but he is right with his ims." Song Jujing replied while rxing her back on the couch''s backrest.

    Zhang Liling almost rolled her eyes. "If he had been a good father, I wouldn''t have exempted him. Besides, he is not in good terms with the Fang family, why is he now interested in being in that kind of meeting?"

    "Because that is a powerful opportunity for him to exercise some rights as your father." Song Jujing chuckled.

    She knew her ex very well. The man had a lot of pride, and having had Zhang Liling in his custody for over 4 years, he would want to exercise his right as her father in that kind of asion.

    That was the kind of man he was.

    Speaking of Zhang Renshu, the man that had left the Zhang family home without letting anyone know his whereabouts, returned on this same day.

    ~Zhang Family''s Mansion~

    As soon as Zhang Renshu stepped out of the car, he directly walked into the house, ignoring the greetings from the servants.

    But just as he was making his way along the hallway to go straight to his bedroom as one of his bodyguards tagged behind him with his luggage, he met Shi Wenqian walking toward him.

    "You''re back." Shi Wenqian acknowledged with a surprised expression on her face.

    In actual sense, the housekeeper had quickly informed her of his return through a call as soon as Zhang Renshu drove in.

    Without stopping in his steps, Zhang Renshu briefly nced at her before going to stop in front of his bedroom door.

    Pushing it open, he walked inside as if he hadn''t ward her at all.

    Seeing the way she was treated, Shi Wenqian scoffed and continued in her steps. She didn''t care anymore.

 Chapter 388 Jia Lis Help

    Shi Wenqian was getting used to his treatment and she was choosing not to care as this was the best medicine for her heart.

    Unlike those times she used to be worried and throw a fit, she discovered that her mental health was at a better state now.

    If not that she still had something important to talk to him about, she would carry on to snub him like he does to her.

    During lunch, Zhang Renshu came to the dining to eat only to see her already sitting there.

    Stopping in his steps, he observed her through the round-framed sses before continuing in his steps.

    As soon as he sat down to start eating, he heard her speak to him.

    "I met with the Ong family while you were away." Shi Wenqian said while moving the knife and fork in her hands about.

    Immediately, he turned his gaze to her. "Why would you meet them without my consent?"

    Zhang Renshu didn''t like the sound of that. Was she so bored that she had began to do things she wasn''t supposed to concern herself with?

    Knowing he was annoyed, she smiled inwardly as she raised her head. Meeting his gaze, she exined.

    "They are unhappy about the marriage talks dying down since a few months now. One of us has to assure them. Also, how would I have told you about it when you left the house on a work trip without mentioning anything to me?"

    "Are demanding for an exnation regarding me leaving and returning to my house at will?" Zhang Renshu asked, his brows, furrowing into a frown.

    He seemed to be annoyed about the woman having control over him given that he hated her whole existence.

    "I don''t care when and why you leave the house. I''m only concerned about my children." Saying that, Shi Wenqian sent a spoon of food into her mouth.

    Chewing on the mouth-watering dish, she moaned in satisfaction. "Mmmm... This is so good."

    Zhang Renshu found her actions annoying, especially that smile on that evil face of hers.

    Choosing to ignore her, he went back to eating his food as he did not want to ruin his appetite, but then he heard her voice again.

    "The Ong family would like to talk about the marriage between Mingyu and their son. I told them when you get back, we will all sit and talk to first n their engagement party."

    Tilting her head to the side, the corners of her lips curved upwards. "You should meet them soon."

    A long sigh escaped from Zhang Renshu''s lips as he went back to ignoring her.

    It was only right that she brought up that topic as he had almost forgotten about the importance of the Ong family to his grand ns.

    Zhang Mingyu''smarriage was one that they had talked about and had agreed upon.

    Just now, even though he was angry with her, he couldn''t deny that she had reminded him about an important matter.

    But what he didn''t know was that she was the one that went to meet the Ong family to remind them about the marriage ns of their children. Only if he was aware of this, then he wouldn''t have been so calm to her.

    Probably, he would have flipped the dining table over.

    ***

    Less than 24 hours after Zhang Liling returned to home, she received a notification on her Instagram ount saying that she had been tagged in a post.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Wondering who tagged her while sitting behind her office work desk, she clicked on the notification only to see something amazing.

    Jia Li had posted a 20 seconds video showing herself using Glint''s products. And on the second slide, was a photo of her in the same clothes, with her full make-up done.

    Under the post, she had made a simple statement while tagging Zhang Liling and Glint.

    ''Thank you @ZLiling for the present. Your @Glintbeauty products are so good. I have a new make-up brand now.''

    Jia Li''s post was very simple, but the impact was a lot.

    The minute all her fans saw the post, a good number of them began to ce an order for Glint''s products.

    So many fans of Jia Li were already reacting to her post by saying they were going to get what there idol was using.

    "I have to get every products my idol uses. I must have good look like her."

    "Glint''s products is actually fine."

    "Yes it''s good because I know Jia Li would never deceive us."

    "I have to rush and get my own products before Glint gets out of stock."

    Zhang Liling wasn''t even in the right state to read theirments. She was so surprised by Jia Li''s little gesture of support that she literally screamed from her office.

    "Ahhhh!" she screamed while jumping around with an excited look on her face.

    "OMG! Thank you so much my love!"

    Thinking that something was wring, a few of the staff working nearby rushed up to Chen on her, but on seeing that smile on her face, they turned to leave, but as she had caught them, she had to at least give them an important instruction.

    "Ms. Jia Li just posted a video of her using our make-up products!"

    "What?!"

    "This is huge!"

    Indeed, this was a huge deal for them as Jia Li was just like a A-list celebrity. Whatever brand she was caught using would definitely go viral even without hering to point it out.

    But as she hade out herself to indirectly help promote Glint, the brand was definitely going to receive more attention than the rest.

    Seeing the positive reactions from her staff as expected, Zhang Liling smiled proudly. "Now quickly go and rece it and get ready to start receiving the orders that will being up.

    "Yes, boss!"

    Immediately, all of them dispersed and went right down to business.

    Even after they had left, Zhang Liling could not contain her joy and she immediately ced a call on Jia Li to thank her for the free promotion.

    But to Jia Li, this was nothing as she was willing to help promote her brand in any way she could.

 Chapter 389 The Need For A Partner

    Immediately Zhang Liling finished speaking with Jia Li, she put a call to Fang Bingwen to spread the good news to him.

    "You are doing well. Now, you muste to appease me for letting you get on my ship." Fang Bingwen teased over the phone.

    "Of course I will!" Zhang Liling agreed immediately. Even without telling her, she was already going to do that.

    In her current state her advice to people would be to meet a life partner thatpliments you.

    If she had picked a nonsense person, there would be a high chance that she would not know 50% happiness of what she had since being with Fang Bingwen.

    This fact was not just because he was wealthy and had connections, but it was because he was very supportive of her, and does everything he can to help her grow and be happy.

    He really was the right person for her.

    Sinceing into her life, he had continued from here her mother stopped.

    ''I must have saved the in myst life to have this gold people surround me.'' Zhang Liling thought to herself after she dropped the call with Fang Bingwen.

    Letting out a long satisfied breath, she sat on her desk while beaming with smiles.

    "Thank you all for being the light in my path."

    Zhang Liling was grateful to those that had helped here this far. They sure did make life easy for her.

    With Glint''s site almost crashing after Jia Li''s promo on her social media pages, some news headlines immediately because interested in Glint after reporting the news.

    Using this opportunity, Glint gave everyone cing an order, 10% off if they were to purchase the entire makeup set, plus there would be a free lipstick in the box for every order.

    This simple gesture was more than enough to get Glint into a little disadvantage as it garnered more attention.

    With so many ordersing in, they needed funds to meet the deadline.

    As Glint was a new brand that justunched several days ago, it still didn''t have the funds to foot the ordering in in mass.

    They would need money to go to the manufacturer to produce more products.

    Because this promo put up by Zhang Liling was only going tost for a week, so many orders wereing and they knew for the time being, the products they had put in some stores were all going to be sold out for those who didn''t care about it.

    At the same time as Glint was already working on the orders to start getting them ready with the products they still had at hand, interested Investors started to show up at their door step.

    Those who couldn''te because of their busy schedule, put a call directly to Zhang Liling.

    For three days in a roll, Zhang Liling had been receiving calls regarding receiving funds and other offers included partnership.

    "Yes. Yes. Thank you."

    Sighing as she rejected the 5th request for a partnership for their day, Zhang Liling let out a sigh.

    Just as she was about to rest her brain for a bit, she heard a knock on her door and turned her gaze to it.

    "Boss, the manufacturingpany is asking for at least 50% part-payment before they start production because of the deadline. And as soon as the products are ready, they want the bnce before shipping." The admin disclosed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "We canpromise and pay in 50% for the production to start, but getting the remaining payment before 5 days is what we can''t afford. Did you exin the situation to them?" Zhang Liling asked, looking a bit worried.

    "Yes, I did, but they remained insistent on the bargain."

    A soft sigh escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as she covered her face with her palm.

    "We need funds." The admin and HR manager suggested.

    "You think I don''t know? Just go back, we will talkter." Zhang Liling said as she moved her palms away from her face.

    "Okay,"

    As soon as she was left alone, Zhang Liling sighed repeatedly until she picked up her phone.

    ''Seems like I have no choice.''

    Immediately the call connected, she started, "Mr. Fang, do you have the documents ready to partner with Glint?"

    ''Oh! She finally needs help.'' Fang Bingwen thought. He could have easily teased her with it, but to maintain her pride, he refrained from thinking out loud.

    "I can have mywyere to you with my offer so you can make additional requests before the agreement is finalized."

    "I don''t think I have a lot of time. How long will it take?" Zhang Liling inquired.

    She had serious orders to make, not to talk of the time she would use to finish packaging the items and then shipping them off to different locations.

    She wouldn''t want to annoy her new customers by dying their orders.

    "If you want, we can meet to sign the agreement this evening if everything has been finalized. The ball lies in your court."

    Fang Bingwen did not have any problems with timing. He could quickly put up something from the draft he had prepared for another partner.

    If the contract was to be signed faster, it would be left to her if she didn''t have so many things to add to the agreement.

    "I would appreciate that. Let''s chat over a romantic dinner tonight. Bye, love you. Kisses."

    Ending the conversation as quickly as possible, Zhang Liling picked up thendline and phones Glint''s HR manager.

    "Go ahead and ce the order. We can now meet up with the 50% part-payment in 5 days."

    Finishing the call, she went straight to another business and that was preparing the cards she would slip into the packages from her customers.

    Going into the small warehouse, she went straight to the private desk she usually stayed in to write the personal letters.

    Seeing the basket that still had some cards in them, she sighed in relief.

    "Thank goodness I used to do this in my free time."

    Turning to the staff stationed there, she asked, "How many of it is remaining?"

 Chapter 390 Wedding Plans

    "About 52 pieces."

    "Not bad. I will need more helping hands to get more than 200 of them prepared using these five days." Zhang Liling said, taking her gaze off the basket.

    "Yes, Ma''am."

    ***

    Given the urgent demands of his woman, Mr. Fang called hiswyer over the phone after sending him the soft copy of the agreement in his system, to inform him on what he wanted.

    After a few minutes of briefing, he went back to work, leaving hiswyer to take care of the matter.

    Around an hourter, hiswyer arrived at Glint and was taken straight to Zhang Liling''s office where he met and chatted with her.

    "Is there any thing you would like to add?"

    After giving her enough time to go through the agreement, he inquired as his gaze followed her fingers flipping over the pages of the document.

    "No. My boyfriend is so meticulous and perfect that I can''t seem to find any reason to disagree with him." Smiling, she handed the stack of papers back to him.

    Going through the agreement, she discovered that the man didn''t give her any reason to be worried.

    Everything was as in as day and strictly a romantic business deal.

    Receiving it, thewyer asked, "So we should go with this?"

    "Yes. Did Mr. Fang tell you we would be needing it today?" Zhang Liling inquired just in case Fang Bingwen had forgotten to mention it.

    Signing the contract that day was very important to her more than anything else. It was a task she must get done.

    Standing up to leave while putting the papers in his briefcase, he replied, "Yes, he did. I will bring the final copies to you at your dinner location."

    Smiling, the man bowed his head slightly before turning to leave her workspace.

    "Brilliant." Mumbling to herself, Zhang Liling sped her fingers together with a satisfied smile on her face.

    She was excited about things moving a lot more smoothly at least now, she didn''t have to worry about funds.

    Leaving work a bit early for her date with Fang Bingwen after sending him the location she had arranged herself, she stopped by a saloon to get her hair done before going back home.

    No matter how many times she had gone on a date with the man in her life, she wouldn''t stop making an effort to look good.

    Her moves were international.

    Stepping into the house, Zhang Liling found her mother reading over some stack of documents.

    "Hello, Mum!" She greeted as she walked to her side to nce at the papers littered all over the dining table.

    "I''m d you are back. The documents for the transfer of shares in here. You can sign them anytime before the board meeting." Song Jujing paused as she spared her s nce.

    As soon as those words reached Zhang Liling''s ears, the corners of her lips curved upwards as her eyes shone brightly.

    "It seems like today is the day of blessings. Good things keep happening to me all day round."

    "Did something happen?" Sing Jujing inquired, staring at her a little more curiously.

    "Ye... It''s nothing serious." Zhang Liling was about to reveal about the agreement for a partnership she has with Fang Bingwen, but she suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped on time.

    She would have just gotten into trouble now.

    Seeing that her mother''s gaze was still on her, she quickly changed the topic.

    "Mum, I have a date with Bingwen, I need to go and prepare."

    "No wonder you reek of fruity shampoo." Sing Jujing said as she watched her back disappear from her sight.

    Walking into her bedroom, Zhang Liling let out a deep sigh of relief.

    Putting her bags down, she went straight to her wardrobe to look for a dress for her date.

    *******

    Around 5 pm at a hotel rooftop, Zhang Liling sat on the chair set beside a round table decorated for a romantic date with Fang Bingwen sitting across from her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "When did you get this creative?" Fang Bingwen asked with a proud gaze on her.

    Smiling to herself as her gaze wandered around the romantic set-up at the rooftop, she replied, "Of course I have to make the effort since we are about to be one. Men are not the only ones know how to ask their partners out on a date and give up this romantic vibe."

    "You are so proud." Hemented as a heartyugh tore through his throat.

    Tilting her head to the side, she smiled wildly. "Of course I should be. That''s the only way topliment myself for doing a good job. Unfortunately, we are going to to be talking about business in this romantic set up."

    Raising her wine ss in the air, she winked at him before bringing the rims to her red lips to drink from it.

    d in a royal blue jumpsuit and her curled dark-brown hair resting on left side, she looked radiant like a beautiful work of art in a top artist painting.

    Seeing her happily drinking her Inez he picked up his own ss. "We can always talk about business after the romantic dinner." Saying that, he proceeded to drink from it.

    They both had indeed gathered to talk about business apart from signing the agreement to be partners.

    It was not enough to be partners on paper, there was still a deeper work to be done such as, ns to put Glint in the forefront and things like releasing a new product.

    Still, as much as this meeting was important, it was best if they still enjoyed their romantic dinner.

    "I think we should get married before FJ''s Christmas fashion show." Fang Bingwen suggested as he put down his ss.

    "Are we talking about our wedding ns now?" Zhang Liling asked with a look of surprise on her face.

    She had not expected for them to be bringing up this important topic on a day like this.

    Why didn''t he give her a hint beforehand.

    Watching how her eyes widened in their sockets, Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but ask, "You don''t like it?"

    "No," Putting down her ss, she quickly exined. "That is a good idea. I was only surprised for a moment."

    "We should start nning our wedding since the date is not far. What kind of wedding do you want?"

    Immediately, she answered, "Let''s go for a private wedding. Although I like attention, I wouldn''t want our marriage to be like that as it would be easy for some losers toe knocking on our day everyday."

    Especially someone like her stepmother who didn''t like good thingsing her way.

    But not just that, Zhang Liling just wanted to keep things as simple as it can be, while giving it a touch of grand.

    "A private wedding it is then." Fang Bingwen replied with satisfaction.

    If she had asked for a grand wedding, he would have given it to her, but seeing that she came down to the level of what he wanted even though it turned out that she wanted it too, he was still d.

    "Do you have any vendors in mind you would like to use for our wedding nning?"

    "No, we should just contract one. My mother would have loved to take care of this, but she had a pending job to take care of in Paris."

    Wedding nning was definitely Song Jujing''s style as it was a job that let her get creative, but unfortunately, she wouldn''t have the time to take care of this.

    If she had been working in S city, her workload wouldn''t have stopped her from it.

    "It''s fine then, I will contract a wedding nner to take care of it. Our wedding should be in a month''s time, let''s pick a date." Saying that, Mr. Fang seriously brought out his phone and went straight to his calendar app to Zhang Liling''s amazement.

    "Wow!" She eximed in surprise.

    "Why are you staring at me like that?" Fang Bingwen asked, furrowing his brows.

    Clicking her tongue, she shook her head. "It feels like you can''t wait to sleep with me."

    Hearing that, he returned his gaze back to his phone''s screen. "Of course I can''t wait to sleep with you, I won''t deny it." He mumbled to her hearing.

    "Hahaha... You are finally admitting it." Zhang Liling had a goodugh at him as a crazy thought came to her head.

    Was he that desperate hence he wanted to have their wedding date closer? If they was so, then she had to put her hats up for him.

    "I have never denied it. It''s just that I have never epted it openly." Fang Bingwen rified.

    He would be a liar if he had never felt like sleeping with her all those times they were dating. The difference between her and him was that she was very proactive and didn''t know what patience was when she was with him.

    As for him, he was good at restraining himself but these days, no more. He couldn''t deal with it again. Besides, there was no use dying the wedding when they had time to get it done.

 Chapter 391 Zhang Corps Shares

    After having a goodugh at the man who couldn''t deny wanting to get into bed with her, Zhang Liling stirred the conversation further into the details about the private wedding they wanted to have before picking a date for their ceremony.

    "When should we pick our marriage certificate?" She inquired.

    "Ummm... A day or two before the wedding?" Fang Bingwen replied.

    "Why?" Zhang Liling was very curious to know how reason when they could even choose to sign the marriage registry the next day if they wanted.

    "Then I would be tempted to sleep with you as byw, you are my wife. But as I would want us toplete the ceremony that is joining us as husband and wife in front of our parents before any other thing, we have to move the date."

    Mr. Fang''s reasoning was clear and it was not surprising that he would think that way as he had been insistent about them keeping off from each others body until their marriage was official.

    Moving over to another topic after settling a little issue concerning their wedding, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but proudly mention about the investors that wanted to partner with Glint.

    "I never that this day woulde so soon. It''s all thanks to Jia Li."

    "Every one can see the potential of Glint. Including me."Fang Bingwen stated.

    It was normal for investors to starting on their own after the attention Glint suddenly had. Also, studying the small sess of Glint from the time of its opening to now, the potential to grow and expand intentionally was proven.

    No blind person can deny that fact unless they were too bitter at heart to admit to it.

    Even he could see the potential, but he was not reaching out to her because of the profit he would gain, but because he wanted to help her.

    Rather than someoneing form outside toe and partner with her and end up cheating her, or trying to gain full control of her brand, he figured he could fill in that brand.

    From the agreement he prepared, it was clear that he was not after the profit as his aim to help Glint grow, was visible.

    Smiling to herself, Zhang Liling revealed. "My own mother asked me for partnership at the time this idea was brewing in my head but I refused as I wanted the full rights to belong to me. Imagine how my mum would feel if she learned of our partnership. She would kill us both."

    This was the reason she sealed he flips on time right as she was about to expose this news to her mother earlier that day

    "I don''t think she would be that harsh." Fang Bingwen said while giving her the side nce.

    It would be too much for Song Jujing to throw a fit because she didn''t get to partner with Glint. He didn''t think it was usible, but Zhang Liling tried to prove a point.

    "You don''t know my mother. Well, you can be right, but I would never jeopardize the opportunity I have to get some of Zhang Group''s shares."

    She was yet to sign the agreement for the transferred of shares. She was not stupid to annoy her mother before that otherwise, she might end up taking the papers back to Paris and dy it.

    Sighing to herself, she continued.

    "I remember refusing her so many times, because I wanted to raise Glint myself."

    Crossing his leg over the other, Fang Bingwen pointed out something important.

    "There is no way you can grow Glint to a value of half a million dors without good money. If you can''t afford to pump that kind of money into it, then you are going no where.

    It''s either you bring the money from your own pocket if you can afford it, or you bringing in Investors. As for taking out a loan from the bank, I wouldn''t advise you to do that."

    "You are right." She said while nodding her head. "My eyes opened to a lot of things this past few days. Funds are needed to mass produce the products to meet demands without dy. Also we need money to move into the market properly."

    While still on the business talk, Fang Bingwen''swyer arrived andid out the agreement before then while trying to avoid paying attention to the romantic set up before his eyes.

    Somehow, he was wondering if both of them were okay to talk about business in an environment like that.

    After ncing through the agreement one more time, both of them signed it and handed it over to thewyer who also signed the it before taking it with him.

    "After summarizing everything in court tomorrow morning, I will hand it over to you." Thewyer announced.

    As soon as he left their presence, Zhang Liling stretched out her hand for a handshake.

    "It was nice doing business with you."

    Taking her hand, Fang Bingwen returned a firm handshake. "Me too."

    "I think we should drink to the beginning of our partnership." Without waiting for his approval, she picked up the bottle of wine and shared the small remaining content in their wine sses.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Holding her ss up, she said, "Cheers."

    Clinking sses with her, Fang Bingwen thought as he took a sip from his ss. ''Why do I feel like this is an excuse of yours to drink again?''

    Regardless of his thoughts, he went ahead to drink.

    When it was time to leave, Bolin was there to drive them back home. First dropping Zhang Liling off at her apartment, Fang Bingwen left for his vi after making sure she was in good hands.

    The next day, Zhang Liling signed the agreement for the transfer of shares.

    Since her mother was going to give her half of her shares, she dared to boast that she was now a shareholder of Zhang Corp from just being her mother''s daughter.

    She was such a lucky girl.

    *******

    Two dayster, which was Zhang Corp''s shareholders meeting, Song Jujing appeared at Zhang Corp with Zhang Liling by her side.

    Taking the elevator, they went strength to the conference room.

    As if had been a long time Song Jujing''s face was seen as she normally attended the meeting through online methods or she wouldn''t show her face at all, she spent a few minutes responding to the greetings of the men and few women in the room.

    Although many of them were curious about Zhang Liling''s presence, they didn''t ask since it was not their concern. So they thought.

    Not long after, a the shareholders finished appearing. There were only a few seats left, but as it was already 10 am, it showed that those ones were not going to show up.

    Soon, Zhang Renshu walked into the room with his secretary holding unto a tab.

    Seeing thepany owner show up, they all rose to their feet to bow their heads slightly.

    Sweeping his gaze past everyone present, he nodded to acknowledge their presence and also to return his own greeting.

    The next moment, he sat down and watched everyone take their seats as well.

    "Hello, Dad!" Zhang Liling greeted with a smile while putting up her hand in the air so he could find her very easily.

    Immediately Zhang Renshu heard that voice, he quickly traced it to her. His eyes widened in surprise on seeing her sitting beside Song Jujing.

    "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. ''Was she here to learn how to lead apany?''

    Seeing that she had her own brand, Zhang Renshu thought she was there to learn one or two pointers she could use to run her ownpany unfortunately, that was not the case.

    Taking the cue, Sing Jujing stood up from her seat and ncing straight at everyone, she quickly introduced the new person in their midst who happened to be her daughter.

    "Everyone, please permit me to introduce thetest shareholder of Zhang Corp, Miss Zhang Liling, who happens to be the daughter of I and Mr. Zhang here."

    "What!"

    "What is she taking about?"

    Instantly, hushed voices erupted in the room as everyone stated whispering amongst themselves about the sudden turn of events.

    Zhang Renshu on the other hand looked list just like the , but he tried to control his facial expression.

    ''Since when did this happen?''

    "Ms. Song, can you please exin to us in details what you are talking about?" He asked, speaking so formally to her.

    He was still surprised that she would take such a bold step without consulting him.

    He was Zhang Liling''s father, and the owner of Zhang Corp so it was only right that she tells him something of this sort beforehand instead of letting act like a fool in front of the others.

    ''He looks angry.'' Zhang Liling who had wanted to stand up to introduce herself properly, sat back down as her gaze hovered around her old man who seemed quite a bit furious with the situation.

 Chapter 392 Wedding Date

    "I transferred half of my shares to Liling. In summary, she is thetest shareholder of Zhang Corp. You should wee her." Saying they, Song Jujing sat on her seat without breaking her gaze from him.

    It was not like Zhang Renshu did not understand her the first time, it was just that he couldn''t believe his ears.

    Why would she take such important step without informing him first.

    "Jujing, what happened to telling me about this first?" He asked still on his feet.

    "At least I did not give the shares to outsiders. Soon, I would have had to transfer the shares to her, but it is no harm doing that now. Being a sessful brand owner, she gets to contribute a lot here."

    Song Jujing did not have this reason in my mind before taking this bold step. It was simply because she wanted to give her daughter right to her father''spany.

    At least, she deserved something of they sort if Zhang Renshu was not going to do it.

    Since he might have ns of giving everything in his possession to his sessor, Zhang Mingyu, it wouldn''t be bad if she did the same to Zhang Liling.

    Zhang Renshu was brought to the point of speechlessness. More than what she said before, he was interested about the first statement.

    Should be lucky she didn''t bring an outsider into his group.

    Zhang Renshu was still staring wordless at the mother and daughter duo when his assistant whispered a reminder to him and only then did he take a seat before beginning to anchor the meeting.

    Two hourster, the meeting cane to an end.

    Before leaving, Zhang Renshu red at the mother and daughter. Seeing them going around and greeting some of the shareholders, he was reminded of his earlier annoyance.

    "This is Director K, he is also a board member. He has been here since your father started Zhang Corp. " Song Jujing said calmly.

    "Hello, Director K," Zhang Liling greeted while reaching out for a handshake.

    Now being an official member of the Zhang Corp''s shareholder was enough to get around the circle. Zhang Liling must get in good terms with the important ones in order to not bepletely left out.

    After the introduction, Song Jujing took Zhang Liling and went straight to Zhang Renshu''s office.

    "What are you two doing here?" Zhang Renshu inquired as his gaze followed them till they came to a stop in front of him.

    Then without seeking his permission, they took the sheets there.

    "Zhang Renshu, what''s so wrong about giving my shares to Liling. Have you forgotten that you don''t have any right to tell me what to do with my things?" Song Jujing asked.

    She was definitely not there to pamper him.

    He made it look like he did not acknowledge Zhang Liling as his daughter in front of the shareholders. Why was he acting like a child!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You don''t need my permission, but you have to tell about it first. Look at the two of you doing things together and making decisions without including me. What kind of family are we?"

    Pointing at Zhang Liling who didn''t seem to care about his feelings at the moment, he said,

    "You got engaged and you didn''t let me know. I had to find out through the news like those viewers. Both of you met the Fang family without me, I had to find out through my sources. What does the both of you take me for?"

    "Dad that''s..."

    Zhang Liling was about exining things to him, but Song Jujing intervened.

    "If you want us to carry you along, then you have to make the effort. Tell me one act of yours that shows your care towards your daughter?"

    Song Jujing was not going to let him feel that the world revolved around him otherwise his ego would spread to the ends of the Earth.

    He is not the only one who can be angry. He has offended them too.

    Looking between her father and her mother, Zhang Liling knew they were about to go at each others throat and quickly put an end to it.

    She didn''t have the time and energy to watch themsh out at each other. She would rather go home to start making ns for her wedding ceremony than watch them fight, something that would yield to nothing.

    "Dad, actually I came here to report something very important to you. You and mom will be the first person to hear the news, so no need to still be angry about the past."

    Hearing her words, both man and woman turned their attention to her.

    "What do you want to say?" Song Jujing inquired while giving her the raised brows.

    Having received the baton to deliver the news she had, a smile turned up on her face as she happily announced, "Fang Bingwen and I are getting married on the 15th of October."

    "Fifteenth of October? That''s in a month or less." Song Jujing said on realizing how short the time was.

    On the other hand, Zhang Renshu was concerned about a different thing. Without a change in his facial expression, he asked with his gaze on her, "When did you two decide on it?"

    Seeing how close the date was, he was thinking that she had already decided to marry on that date since a long time ago, but was only telling him now.

    He felt like he was left out again and she telling him now was just a cover up. But to his doubt, she gave a different rresponse

    Still with a smile, Zhang Liling answered. "We decided about the date yesterday evening. We have been dating for quite some time and getting married a month after getting engaged is not bad. There is no need waiting anymore before we both get busy with our jobs."

    "If you two are getting married soon, I must meet the Fang family first." Shifting his gaze to Song Jujing, he added, "I believe you will be in a better position to schedule the meeting. Don''t you agree?"

    Song Jujing scoffed. ''You think I don''t know your pride is stopping you from reaching out to the Fang family first?''

 Chapter 393 Getting Back At Her Mother-In-Law

    Song Jujing knew this ex of hers well. The man was full of pride, but as he got older, it levelled up.

    He didn''t want to be the first person to reach out the Fang family as it would hurt his pride hence the reason he wanted to use her.

    Clearing his throat, Zhang Renshu threw his face to the side, refusing to answer her.

    But obviously, this little action of his had exposed him fully.

    "I can''t do anything if you don''t want to arrange the meeting yourself when you still have the chance to prove your role as a father to Liling''s life. I will be returning to Paris in 2 days."

    Letting out a light breath, she asked, "Now you have known when I will be going back, I believe there would be no reason for you to feel left out again."

    Standing to her feet, she picked up the bad she had ced on the floor next to her feet. "Liling, I''m leaving. You can stay here and chat with him if you want."

    Watching as her back disappeared from their view, Zhang Renshu shut his eyes tiredly.

    ''I can see where I got my temper from. I thought it was from Zhang Renshu, but who knew it would be from Song Jujing!''

    Sighing to herself, Zhang Liling got up to leave, but got stopped.

    "About your brand, Glint, I know you would need funds now. I am also aware about the list of Investors that has beening to you, but they is not the main point. What do you say about me personally investing in your brand as a partner?."

    Thinking about something, he quickly added, "You don''t have to worry about me giving the shares of your brand away. It would be written in the agreement that I can''t transfer my shares to anyone, and if anything happens to me, everything will automatically fall back into your hands."

    Zhang Renshu was afraid that she would think oddly of his move, such as having thoughts about giving out the shares to any of his other children, or any person he wants.

    That was not his intention, hence the reason he had to make it clear.

    Watching her father doing his best to make her feelfortable while trying to convince her to sign some of the rights to Glint over to him, Zhang Liling bit her lips.

    Hs ehad already given the rights he was asking for to Fang Bingwen, but even if there was no Fang Bingwen in her life, she would have thought twice before paying attention to what he had to say.

    But at the moment, she had to reveal the truth to him.

    "Unfortunately, it''s not possible. It''s toote. I already struck a deal with my fiance. Don''t tell mum about it, she doesn''t know yet."

    Immediately, she picked up her bag and dashed out of the room, leaving him no room to say anything.

    But she left him holding unto a revtion, and they was the fact that there was something he knew about which her mother who was the closest family had no idea of.

    Zhang Renshu used this news tofort himself.

    A day before Song Jujing embarked on her journey back to Paris, Zhang Liling revealed the news to her and fortunately, no hard feelings came from her.

    At first, she acted angry while calling her s betrayer. But on her way to the airport, she and Zhang Liling cozied up in the car.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ********

    With Glint''s sess making the rounds in the media, there were bound to be a few enemies, but when the news about Glint partnering with Fang Bingwen''s exclusive perfumepany that belonged solely to him was announced byhim and Zhang Liling, they all turned speechless.

    Everyone was entitled to their own opinion and they went on to do what they felt like.

    There were so manyments on the inte, and also some going on in some homes.

    At the moment, Mrs. Tang could not hide her disdain for Zhang Xiaoling.

    "I heard your step-sister''s makeuppany will soon be officially listed in the market with a top investor like Fang Bingwening to join forces with her."

    Watching her mother-inwe into the sitting room and sit across from her, Zhang Xiaoling turned her face away from her, totally ignoring her.

    Currently she was dressed in a ck dress with her curled ck hair pushed to the side. She looked ready to leave for somewhere important.

    Expecting the silence, Mrs. Tang continued without tearing her gaze off her.

    "What can you do? Are you only going to keep relying on your father or mother to sponsor you? You don''t want to leave Zhang Corp, is it because you are afraid to get cut off from the food chain?"

    The woman couldn''t help but to insinuate things as she didn''t like her anymore.

    Seeing how sessful Zhang Liling was, she couldn''t stop herself fromparing them together.

    Turning her head to face her, Zhang Xiaoling replied without a change in her facial expression.

    "I believe that I should leave my life the way I want. I shouldn''t force myself to turn into some else''s rival because I want to do exceptionally well, or better than them."

    Crossing her legs over the other, she added.

    "Mother-inw, I think you should be a leading example in this situation. I heard a story about you chasing the same dreams as your ssmate simply because you wanted to shine more than her but today, she is still in the business why you mother-inw, has long lost to her."

    As soon as those words reached Mrs. Tang''s ears, her facial expression changed. Her face ckened as her fingers clenched on her sides.

    "How could a dark horse like you speak gibberish as soon as you open that mouth of yours?"

    If it was possible, she would have already stood up and gone to hit her in the face, but it was not eptable.

    "Hahaha...," chuckling a bit, Zhang Xiaoling stood up to taunt her before walking away.

    "Seeing how you got angry so quickly, I can''t help but want to believe how true this is."

 Chapter 394 Mending Broken Relationships

    Mrs. Tang was so angry that she wanted to go after her but then, she had to see her son walking toward them, and that was enough reason to pull away.

    "You are ready?" Zhang Xiaoling smiled while reaching out to take his arm.

    "Yes," Tang Ei replied with a smile before lookingst her shoulder.

    "Mum, we will be out for a while. Don''t keep dinner for us." Looking back to Zhang Xiaoling, he led her toward the entrance as his mother watched in fury.

    Outside, Tang Ei asked, "Did she say anything to you?"

    "No," Zhang Xiaoling replied as they made their way toward the car.

    Hearing that there was no problem, Tang Ei ended the discussion as they got into the car.

    Half an hourter, they arrived at an event centre to attend a birthday party of Tang Ei''s friend.

    From the first event, the after party moved to a club where the celebration continued.

    "If you are tired, we can leave." Tang Ei whispered to Zhang Xiaoling in the middle of the party.

    Being in a noisy environment could be ufortable at times plus, thru couldn''t hear each other very well.

    "No, it''s fine." Zhang Xiaoling replied.

    This was the first time he was every taking her out for an event like this. Besides, she wasn''t ufortable.

    She would rather stay out than stay at home and have that mother-inw of a woman disturb her peaceful life.

    Seeing that she was fine, he nodded just before the birthday celebrant called him up to join in the dance.

    "Ei since you came, you have been sitting at a spot with your wife,e and join us."

    "No, I''m fine here. Go ahead." Tang Ei said, trying to wave him off, but this friend of his was very stubborn.

    ncing at Zhang Xiaoling who was sitting beside him, he asked as he shifted his gaze back to him.

    "Is it because of your wife?"

    Saying that, he didn''t wait for his response before transferring his attention to Zhang Xiaoling.

    "Permit me to steal your husband for a few minutes. Is that fine?" He asked with a small smile.

    Zhang Xiaoling looked a little confused. Since when did Tang Ei need her permission to do what he wanted.

    Though having such thoughts, she still replied to the man who was earnestly waiting for her reply.

    "Sure, you can."

    "Ei, your wife has given you the permission, now you cant escape!"

    With that, Tang Ei got dragged away.

    "I will be back soon. You can order what you want." He managed to say to her before he was far away.

    Sitting by herself on the two-sitter sofa with some other men and women in the room, Zhang Xiaoling kept her gaze moving about while drinking by herself.

    As she didn''t know anyone in the room as this was her second time seeing most of them apart from her wedding day, she could only sit at a ce and watch their interaction with each other.

    As she did not know how to interact with them, she could only smile each time any of them said something to her.

    Tang Ei was gone for almost twenty minutes, but when he returned, he made sure to bring a te of chops with him.

    Going straight to her, he ced the te in front of her. Picking up a piece of grilledmb with a toothpick and passed it to her.

    "Eat something more."

    Taking the meat from him, she reminded with a small smile, "But I''m fine. I already ate a lot at the first party."

    "I know." Leaning in to her side, Tang Ei added, "If you drink too much, you can get hungry easily."

    Watching his facial expression when he leaned away from her, Zhang Xiaoling proceeded to take a bite from the piece of meat in her hand.

    "It''s good." She said after chewing and swallowing it.

    "I agree with you, because I tasted a piece beforeing here." He nodded as he spread his arms and leaned his back into the backrest of the sofa.

    "Then we should eat together because I can''t finish this." Suggesting that, she pushed the te till it was in the centre of the stool.

    Looking at him, he met her gaze which was for the best. "Eat." She added.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes, Ma''am."

    Smiling, Tang Ei decided to listen to her. Picking up a piece ofmb form the te, he sent the whole piece into his mouth.

    And while chewing on it, he picked up another piece and wrapped it inside a fresh cabbage nicely before moving it to her lips.

    "This is how you eat it. Here. Ah!"

    Widening his lips, he urged her to open her mouth.

    Watching her take bits of bite from the piece of meat in her hand, didn''t dwell well with him. Now, he was going to teach her how to eat it properly without bothering about the nces reaching them.

    Seeing the stuff in front of her eyes, Zhang Xiaoling raised the remaining piece in her hand to his eye level just in case he had forgotten she was in the middle of eating.

    "I still have..."

    She was still in the process of reminding him about the nest she still had in hand when she felt a wet cool sensation on her fingers.

    Apparently, Tang Ei had eaten off the meat from her fingers and without dwelling on the situation and circumstance, he continued to insist that she ate the one he was giving it to her.

    Seeing as he did not think of his action as anything wrong, Zhang Xiaoling cleared her throat before opening her mouth to receive the meat wrapped in a piece of cabbage.

    Covering her mouth withy her palm, she hid her lips from being watched by the others. Besides, the stuff was too big for her mouth.

    "That''s good." Giving her a thumbs up after taking the meat from him obediently, Tang Ei proceeded to wrap a piece for himself before sending it into his mouth.

    Nodding his head with his eyes closed, he let out a deep breath of relief. He made it seem like he was having the best food in the whole world.

    Watching him, Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t help chuckling softly with a hand over her mouth. The smile reached her eyes, making him return the gesture.

    He seemed happy to have made her smile.

    As they two of them were left in their own world, they remained that way until the party came to an end and together, thru left for the Tang Residence.

    *******

    With song Jujing leaving for Paris, Zhang Renshu had no choice but to schedule a meeting with the Fang family.

    On his own, he contacted Fang Bingwen for it. He only left a simple sentence for him.

    "I''ming to see your family."

    Normally, the pride Zhang Renshu would have made him be the middle man between him and his fang family, but it seems like he had grown up and decided to act like a man.

    Visiting the Fang Family for the second time since his entire existence, Zhang Renshu found a lot of things to have changed, but he didn''t let his curiosity get the better of him.

    Atst when he sat face to face with them all, he didn''t best around the bush to talk about the marriage of their children that would be taking ce soon.

    "I came to ess the family my daughter would be marrying into." Saying that, his gaze swept pass the two couples in the sitting room.

    One old, and one a little younger.

    "Isn''t it toote?" Fang Huiqing asked as he folded his hands below his chest. His gaze, never leaving his sight.

    "What?" Zhang Renshu did not expect to hear that question. What exactly did he mean by that?

    In summary, Fang Huiqing was telling him that his presence did not mean anything as Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen had decided to get married.

    And even if he said ''No'' now, nothing would change.

    Although understanding his words, Zhang Renshu pretended like stopped there was something wrong with his hearing capabilities.

    Fang Huiqing was going to repeat that question, but his motherstopped him by changing the topic.

    "You finally let us see your face after so many years. Who knew that Liling would be the one to let this happen."

    Instantly, Zhang Renshu turned his gaze away as he was reminded of the past and how he hurt Song Jujing.

    As he was still feeling guilty, he did not have the mind to retort.

    Fortunately, the Fang family didn''t have in mind to tackle him on this day, and just went ahead to proceed with the talk about Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s wedding.

    As the wedding ceremony date had been fixed, they chatted a bit about it before Zhang Renshu left.

    There was nothing much to talk about since their rtionship was still awkward. But at least, he has done one dutiful task as Zhang Liling''s father, and they was fine with everyone.

 Chapter 395 Zhang Mingyus Engagement

    Since the time Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang decided on a date to get married, they have been fully involved with their wedding nning.

    As soon as a wedding nner was contacted, their guest list involving 50 people in attendance was made, and Fang Bingwen released the funds.

    Going for wine tasting was the best task Zhang Liling enjoyed because she got to try different cocktails.

    If Fang Bingwen didn''t know her better, he would have thought that drinking was her hubby, but seeing that she only gets to drink on some asions when she went to eat at a high-end restaurant, he couldn''t ce her there.

    If she was a drunkard, then she would have had a wine cer at her ce, but she did not.

    This was one of the things he was grateful for otherwise, if she had that attribute and as he liked her, he would have had to deal with that part of herter.

    After confirming everything they wanted for their wedding in order, they sent out their wedding invitations.

    On receiving the physical wedding invitation card, JianLi and Fu Hua put a call to them, to congratte them for taking the highest step to seal their rtionship.

    Now with their wedding invitation cards given away, Zhang Liling went to try her wedding dress which she got her mother to send to her from Paris to a store there in S city.

    On the day she went to try out the dress, Fang Bingwen went with her.

    It was really a special day for her, to get her groom to see her in that glorious dress.

    Zhang Liling was thankful, and couldn''t be any happier. Now, she had to wait for a few days to register their marriage and have their wedding ceremony.

    Soon, the news of Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s wedding spread on the inte, making the topic be the talk of town.

    Somehow, this became an opportunity for Shi Wenqian to hold unto something.

    Seeing her step daughter be the talk of town with her booming business, plus her marriage to one of the elite bachelors in town, she couldn''t hide her envy.

    But not wanting to attract attention to what she was about to do, she channelled her energy into something else they could see with their eyes, and that was by pushing Zhang Mingyu''s marriage.

    Seeing that Zhang Renshu had not yet done anything concerning meeting the Ong family, she set up a meeting with Mrs. Ong.

    She was not about to lose out on anything.

    All the glory must not go to Zhang Liling alone. In fact, none should go to her. It was only her children that were meant to shine.

    Waking up in the morning, the first thing Shi Wenqian did before stepping out of her room for breakfast, was to call Mrs. Ong.

    "Hello, Mrs. Ong. Good morning. Yes, we are all good. How is it over there?"

    Exchanging a few pleasantries, she went straight to the point.

    "Mrs. Ong, I don''t know if you have time today with your husband. It would be nice if we can host you in our house to talk about our children''s engagement again."

    Pausing for a moment to listen to what the other woman had to say, Shi Wenqian chuckled for a bit.

    "I know, but the engagement I''m talking about is different from the one of before. It would be best for our families if we hold a big engagement ceremony, at least our children both deserve some attention."

    Mrs. Ong seemed to give a response that put a smile on Shi Wenqian''s face for the next moment, she went on with the conversation.

    "Exactly. Renshu and I will host you and Mr. Ong to go over the details. It would be best if the preparations will start soon."

    Shi Wenqian was happy with Mrs. Ong''spliance to the extent that she couldn''t wait to start nning a big engagement party for Zhang Mingyu.

    It was not like Zhang Mingyu wasn''t engaged already. While Zhang Liling was away in Paris, shortly before she returned, news had spread about his marriage with thest daughter of the Ong family.

    And that was after they both were officially introduced to each other.

    But Shi Wenqian wanted to make some noise now. It was time she took that baton from Zhang Liling.

    The woman had been happy until Mrs. Ong made ament that provoked the spirit to win.

    "I just heard about Zhang Liling''s wedding. It would be best to wait till the wedding is over to have that kind of engagement party. I wouldn''t want my daughter sharing attention with her on the media."

    Mrs. Ong made her stance clear.

    She wouldn''t want a situation where everyone would be talking about Zhang Liling and her daughter at the same time to the extent that they would both bepared with one another.

    Understanding her request, Shi Wenqian quickly agreed even though she was not happy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She would have loved to drag the media attention from Zhang Liling with this engagement.

    But if the ceremony couldn''t hold before Zhang Liling''s wedding, surely, she could take another measure to get some attention before her wedding.

    Concluding the conversation with her, Shi Wenqian dropped her phone.

    At least, she had gotten something positive from that conversation and with that, she left for the dining room to join Zhang Renshu band Zhang Mingyu for breakfast, but that was after she dered a secret mission.

    "The Ong family areing for dinner this evening." Shi Wenqian announced as soon as her butts touched the chair.

    She didn''t even bother greeting the man at the head of the table since they both did not acknowledge each others greeting.

    There was no need to pretend to be kind. It was useless.

    Hearing the news she just broke, both Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu nced her way.

    "What are the Ong familying here to do?" Zhang Renshu asked as ck lines appeared on his face.

    "Mrs. Ong was yet to get a feedback from me concerning the children''s marriage hence, she phoned me as I got out of bed." Shi Wenqian lied.

    "And what did you two talk about?" Zhang Renshu inquired as he turned his full attention on her, keeping his food aside.

    "Well, like I said, she was disappointed about the ns for our children to get married being dyed hence, I pacified her in a good way which she liked." Shi Wenqian said and took a bite from the toasted bread in front of her, leaving Zhang Renshu hanging.

    Angry with her attitude, Zhang Renshu mmed his palm on the table. "Will that food run away before you finish with your words?"

    Flinching a bit, Shi Wenqian stopped herself from rolling her eyes at him.

    "You should be a bit calm. It''s not like I was ignoring you on purpose, I''m hungry, just like you."

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu seemed very uneasy with their conversation, but both were too busy with themselves to notice him.

    ''Who said I want to get married now?''

    Zhang Mingyu had almost forgotten about the engagement he had with the daughter of the Ong family.

    He had been too busy ying with a girl he met from work to even remember about that matter.

    He wasn''t done ying yet, so he can''t get married, but who would he mention that to?

    Sighing to himself, he put down sliced bread in his hand and got up, pushing his seat back in the process which finally attracted some attention to him.

    "Where are you going?" Shi Wenqian asked.

    "I have to meet up with some friends for some business." Zhang Mingyu replied, leaning slightly towards his seat.

    "We are talking about your engagement with the daughter from the Ong family and you are leaving? Does this matter not concern you?" Shi Wenqian scolded while ring at him.

    Could he for once show a bit of serious to this matter.

    Who was she doing a this for?

    His father was yet to promote him to the vice-chairman position, and give him at least half of hispany shares and here he was busy hanging out with friends.

    For how long would she continue to do things for him?

    Couldn''t he try to be a bit ambitious?

    Seeing how angry his mother was, Zhang Mingyu had no choice but to sit back down.

    Judging from the situation, he knew that this was not one of those times he could have his way hence, he chose to respect himself.

    Some secondter, Shi Wenqian turned her attention back to Zhang Renshu who was a little distracted by this son of his that had nothing important interesting to him.

    "I promised Mrs. Ong that Zhang Mingyu and their daughter would redo the engagement with an actual ring. Also, they would prefer a big party that would attract attention to both families. This would be the best for our families businesses and partnership."

    "Why do you go about doing things without my consent?" Zhang Renshu asked.

    "You looked like you were not interested in your son''s affairs anymore. Anyway, one of us has to pay attention and pacify the Ong family for the neglect. Besides, the Ong family would be the one to foot the bills for the engagement party."

 Chapter 396 Have Her Way

    With regards to another engagement party for Zhang Mingyu, Zhang Renshu was not in support of it, but since the Ong family wanted it, he relented to the idea.

    Besides, they would be the ones to take care of the preparation, and that was for the best.

    Unknown to him, a lot of lies were involved in the engagement party.

    As Shi Wenqian had other ns, she made sure to have her way.

    Deeming it very important that she dragged down Zhang Liling''s spotlight concerning her wedding ceremonying up in a few days, she went ahead to do what she knew how to do best.

    Using her contacts, she drew attention to Zhang Mingyu''s former engagement party just as she did with Glint.

    Soon, some made-up ounts began to ask about his engagement party to Ong Emma.

    ''Earlier this year, Zhang Mingyu was confirmed to marry Ong Emma, what happened?''

    ''Did they Zhang and Ong family separate?''

    So many questions began to rise slowly on the inte and with some undivided attention, Shi Wenqian saw a way to push for Zhang Mingyu''s engagement to take ce soon so that wedding ns could begin.

    "Renshu, we have no choice, the engagement must hold soon, the public has been alerted." Shi Wenqian said to the angry Zhang Renshu who was sitting on the sofa in the living room.

    "Are these people in the inte being controlled by a remote? Do they not know how to mind their business?"

    The man looked quite angry regarding the matter going on in the inte.

    He didn''t like being forced to do something as he hates pressure from outsiders.

    As Zhang Liling would be having her wedding soon, he only wanted for the ceremony to pass before he could publicly say anything regarding Zhang Mingyu, but it looked like things were not working in his favour.

    Also given his political ambition, he couldn''t let these little things affect him, this, Shi Wenqian knew so well hence, the reason he was using it to her advantage.

    Knowing that any pinch on her husband''s side would cause him to seek for a soothing effect, she decided to use that measure in order to get him to do her bidding.

    "You already know they maks a living through this means. There is no need dwelling on it."

    Smiling inwardly while looking like she was a little bothered outwardly, Shi Wenqian continued.

    "I suggest we should release a statement concerning the official engagement party of Mingyu and Emma Ong together with the Ong family."

    ring at her, Zhang Renshu inquired, "Are you saying that we should give these brats the kind of news they want? Have you forgotten that Liling''s wedding is in a few days? Are you trying to drag her shine?"

    Zhang Renshu has thought hard about this issue and found out that talking about Zhang Mingyu would make it seem like there was a family feud going on, and that he didn''t want.

    But, Shi Wenqian would never let him have his way. Then what would be the use for a the stress she went through?<novelnext></novelnext>

    Looking straight into his eyes, Shi Wenqian said to him. "Renshu, we have no choice. If you don''t want to do it yourself, we can ask the Ong family to release a statement about Mingyu''s engagement with their daughter, and then we can confirm it. That way, you wouldn''t have to feel bad."

    Letting out a deep breath, she added, "The more the days go by, the more attention this particr topic will have. And things may be worse for your daughter who is getting married."

    Tired of keeping up appearances as she was in good terms with Zhang Liling, Shi Wenqian dropped the cat there and then. That way, it would make it easy for her to be trusted.

    Zhang Renshu pondered over her suggestion and although he was annoyed, he found out to be the best oue hence, he gave her the permission to reach the Ong family to do the bidding.

    The next day, the Ong family revealed their current stance with the Zhang family which was through the engagement of Zhang Mingyu and their daughter, Emma Ong.

    Also, a few hourster, the Zhang family released a statement to confirm the uing engagement party that would take ce a monthter.

    With these news making rounds on the inte, it became a thing of joy for some people, and a thing of anger for others.

    Seeing the news, Zhang Liling felt like shredding the news paper to pieces.

    "Shi Wenqian, I know where you are going with this. This is indeed your handwork."

    Zhang Liling refused to believe that it was a coincidence for people to suddenly be interested in her fake half-brother''s affairs during the time of her wedding.

    Someone must have taken advantage of the opportunity to have something done and pulled some strings.

    Asking herself who that news would favour the most, all fingers pointed to her stepmother.

    With this confirmation, Zhang Liling came to understand something. This was not where Shi Wenqian was heading to. This was only a step to her goal.

    But what was her goal? To give Zhang Corp to Zhang Mingyu.

    Only with his marriage would Zhang Renshu agree to give him some of thepany shares, and an upgrade in position.

    "I can''t let a bastard inherit my father''spany."

    Making that promise, she picked up her phone and ced a call on Fang Bingwen toin about it, but his assurance, put her at ease.

    "Let her have her way for now. It will be more painful to lose everything when it had alreadye in ce."

    In summary, Mr. Fang was telling her to ignore her stepmother for atst, she would never be able to achieve her goal.

    "Do you have a n to bring her down before this wedding takes ce?" Zhang Liling inquired.

    "Not yet. I am only interested in our wedding ns at the moment. After it all, I will face Shi Wenqian directly."Fang Bingwen promised.

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling was happy and relieved with his help as she could trust him only hence, she appreciated him more in her life.

 Chapter 397 Wedding Day (I)

    ~A few dayster~

    Today was a beautiful day in the hearts of many, including Zhang Liling who would be wedding Fang Bingwen, the man after her heart.

    Mr. Fang was the man she made so much effort to chase and at longst, she won his heart over.

    Today being her wedding day, Zhang Liling was so excited that she couldn''t help staring at herself in the mirror asionally while getting ready for the church service.

    "You look so pretty." Song Jujing said as she appeared from behind while Zhang Liling was getting her makeup down.

    Wearing a silky sleeveless long dress that suited her figure perfectly, Song Jujing adorned her neck with white pearls and minimal makeup, making her look so elegant.

    Smiling to herself as she watched her daughter''s smile, she ced her hands gently on her shoulder.

    "Thank you mum!"

    While smiling from ear to ear, Zhang Liling tried her best to stay steady for her makeup artist to finish her work.

    Some minutester, Tungmei walked in her wine-coloured bridesmaid dress. Her hair and makeup were already done and a simple pair of earrings and ne adorned her ears and neck.

    Smiling at her best friend who was almost ready to be a bride, She hurriedly announced. "The guests has started trooping in."

    "They are right on time." Song Jujing said while taking her eyes off her wristwatch.

    ncing between her daughter and her friend, she spoke softly, "I will go make sure they are all settled in. In the meantime, don''t let Bingwen or those crude humans in."

    "Yes, Aunty, I will take care of things at this end." Tungmei promised.

    She fully understood what her best friend''s mother was talking about. Now, it will be her job to keep those people away.

    "Tungmei, can you tell me when Jia Li and Mr. Fu arrives?"

    "Why? So you can run out of here?" Tungmei asked while giving her the side nce.

    "Hahahaha..."

    Zhang Liling could only chuckle softly after being caught in her thoughts.

    There was no way she would sit still if she learned of her favourite couple''s presence at her wedding. She would immediately leave the room to go greet them.

    The previous day, Jia Li and Fu Hua had arrived the hotel Fang Bingwen booked for their International guests and that was the only opportunity Liling had to go see them.

    She had almost annoyed Mr. Fang in the process, but seeing how eager she was to see them, and knowing that after the following day, she would solely belong to him, he gave in for thest time.

    "Tsk...tsk" Watching her best friend smiling sheepishly, Tungmei clicked her tongue.

    "Mrs. Fang, you better focus solely on getting ready because I, Tungmei will never tell you when they arrive so you better turn your attention to some other thing."

    Knowing what her friend was capable of doing, Tungmei took it upon herself to stop things before it even started.

    To protect the soft spot in her heart where her favourite couple lived, Tungmei refrained from mentioning anything about them.

    "Tungmei get ready, I will surely defriend you after today!" Zhang Liling promised as her lips constricted into a pout.

    If her best friend was not going to give her what she wanted, she was going to end their rtionship.

    "Yah! You better do it now. Don''t wait till you finish using me so you can dump me." Tungmei replied while trying to hold in herughter.

    She couldn''t believe the ridiculous idea her Zhang Liling coulde up with.

    To her amazement, the girl wasn''t stopping there.

    "If I end things with you now, who will be my bridesmaid?" Zhang Liling retorted while blinking her eyes cutely as the make up artist application a little blush on her cheeks to finish up the makeup.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Tungmei was speechless.

    This friend of hers was a user. She dared to still think about using her to the end.

    "Bravo! Well done Zhang Liling. Now get ready to go to the altar to get married to your Mr. Fang."

    Rising to her feet as the make-up artist stepped away, Zhang Liling turned to face Tungmei.

    "Don''t you know, Mr. Fang and I picked up our marriage certificate yesterday. So already, I am Mrs. Fang. This wedding ceremony is just a formality."

    Saying that with a proud smile on her face, Zhang Liling fanned her face with her palm in such a dramatic way.

    "Really?" Tungmei was ready to tease her to the fullest now.

    "That means I can run off with your bouquet now."

    Grabbing the white rose bouquet, Tungmei unted it in her front and even went on to twirl around for her to see.

    "Tungmei, return the bouquet now!" Zhang Liling ordered through gritted teeth while clutching the sides of her Cindere-styled wedding dress.

    There were other people in the room that included the videographer, make-up artist and wedding dress designer, but these two women did not mind.

    As Tungmei refused to return the bouquet, Zhang Liling decided to give her a chase, instantly in-scribing fear in the hearts of others.

    "Miss you can run in that dress you may trip and fall." The dress designer cried out in fear as she gawked at them.

    "Miss, you will ruin your makeup!" The make-up artist cried out.

    Seeing how she can easily sweat while engaging in that kind of exercise, The makeup artist tried to stop her on time, but who was Zhang Liling?

    She wouldn''t rest until she got what she wanted. But who knew she wouldn''t be able to get what she wanted before she stopped this time around.

    An important someone had toe in from outside before she could go back to respecting herself as the bride.

    "What''s going on here?"

    Opening door anding in with Jian Cuifen, Song Jujing was shocked with what her eyes had just seen.

    Was it her daughter the bride that was seen running around the room while panting for breath?

    Horror filled her eyes.

    *******

    ~ANNOUNCEMENT~

    Dearest Readers, wee to thest Volume of MFFM.

    I would say I am a bit disappointed with theck of trust and a bit more support for me.

    The reason for the unstable updates is because I have been unwell.

    In summary, there will be a mass release on 22/12/2022 please look for to it.

    Lastly, pleasee and support mytest contemporary romance work, ''Love Past Time'' I need it toe in first ce for the Romance carnival contest.

    Thank you!

    XOXO

 Chapter 398 Wedding Day (II)

    Ever since Zhang Liling and Tungmei were caught ying around by Song Jujing and Jian Cuifen, they had been in the doll mode respectfully.

    From little children ying around, they turned to grown adults that knew their left from their right.

    They were already guilty as charged.

    After retouching her make-up again, Zhang Liling took a few pictures with her both mothers before getting ready to take her wedding vows.

    On the other hand, Fang Bingwen was already standing in front of the door to the hall where their vows will be taken.

    And beside him was Li Chuanli.

    "Man, I can''t believe that this day came for someone like you." Smiling hard, Chuanli hit his arm yfully.

    Giving him the side nce, Fang Bingwen asked, "What is wrong with someone like me?"

    What exactly was he trying to say about his character?

    Sweeping his gaze from his head and down to his feet and back to his face again with a finger under his jaw, Chuanli observed him.

    "You used to look like someone not interested in marriage, but seeing you now, you have changed. This is all thanks to finding the bone of your bones, and the flesh of your flesh."

    "Are you quoting the Bible now?" Fang Bingwen retorted.

    "Ignore it. What is important now, is that finally, you will be taken off the market in a moment from now."

    Dr. Li looked very proud of himself seeing his friend ready to take a lifetime vows with the woman he helped to get into his good books.

    In his mind, he was already considering himself to be a matchmaker.

    Thinking back to the little tips he gave to Zhang Liling then, he was tempted to tell Fang Bingwen about it.

    ''Who knows how his reaction will be?''

    One thing, Chuanli was sure, was that he was not going to react strongly since he now had mutual affection for Zhang Liling.

    At most he would get scolded a little for meddling in his affairs, nothing more.

    For thest time, Fang Bingwen adjusted his ck suit jacket just as the announced his march from inside the hall.

    "I was never in the market, do I look like amodity to you?"

    As the tall double doors in front of them were opening, he quickly added, "Soon, you will be able to get married, but only if you diligently search for your other half."

    Just before Chuanli who was in a matching suit could retort, Fang Bingwen already started taking small steps forward.

    Left with no choice, he quickly followed.

    ''Look at you talking about meeting you other half. Did you ever search for one?''

    Fang Bingwen never searched for a wife instead, he was the one being search for.

    So he was kind of right when he said he was never in the market.

    Marching into the hall in steady light steps, Fang Bingwen''s gaze was ahead. No matter the cheersing from his family and a few guests, his facial expression remained the same.

    Calm and Collected.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As soon as he reached the altar and stopped, he turned to face the pathway he just walked over from as the music changed to wee the bride.

    As ''Herees the Bride'' yed, Zhang Liling walked in in her magnificent wedding dress and an excited smile on her face.

    It was very obvious she was a happy bride.

    Taking small steady light steps as she fixed her gaze ahead, she walked toward the altar.

    She was getting married to the man already standing there and waiting for her.

    How lovely was that.

    On a normal wedding, it was either the father or the mother of the bride that was supposed to walk the bride down the aisle but in Zhang Liling''s case, things were a bit different.

    She didn''t want to use her father who hadn''t contributed much to her while growing up, also, she didn''t let her mother walk her down the aisle because of the jealous man.

    She didn''t want her father to be envious of the right snatched from him and make him carry face throughout the period her wedding celebrationsted hence, she opted to walk alone.

    Arriving in front of the altar, she turned to face Fang Bingwen who had a calm gaze on her all along.

    Smiling from under her veil, she met his gaze and couldn''t help chuckling softly.

    In Fang Bingwen''s mind, he hoped that she would stop giggling and smiling too much. He wished for her to keep her act together and not get overly excited.

    Although he thought that way, his facial expression revealed nothing.

    ''Finally, I''m marrying this trouble maker.'' He said to himself.

    Soon, the song ended as the Priest got ready to carry out the ceremony.

    Taking Vows, and exchanging rings after hearing the message from the priest followed.

    Next, Fang Bingwenand Zhang Liling were pronounced as husband and wife.

    "You may now kiss the bride." The Priest announced and immediately a love song started to y by the choir sitting beside the altar.

    Hearing that, Zhang Liling couldn''t stop her smiles from forming on her face. She was that excited.

    With the veil on her face now off, Fang Bingwen could clearly see the beautiful face of his bride and that expectant smile on her face.

    ''She really can''t wait! Having studied that little woman of his for a long while, he could read her facial expressions so easily.

    She was too easy to read.

    Taking a step forward to close off the distance between them, he cupped her cheeks and leaned in close.

    "You look very impatient." He whispered to her ear, but before she could respond, he captured her pink lips with his mouth to give her a feathery kiss that caused her heart to flutter.

    As soon as their lips locked, Zhang Liling''sshes fluttered close while their wedding guests apuded them and roared excitedly.

    This was indeed a ceremony that has been long awaited to be witnessed by friends and families.

    It was a beautiful one to behold.

 Chapter 399 Wedding Day (III)

    "Mr. Fang, are we finally married?" Zhang Liling inquired while walking out of the hall with Mr. Fang.

    "Yes. Why do you sound as if you went through hell before we could get married?" Fang Bingwen whispered back to her just as the crossed the double doors to the hall.

    Her tone sounded as if their families were against their marriage and after so many hurdles they finally got to get married to each other.

    "I didn''t actually go through hell to finally get married to you instead, I took me a lot to win your heart."

    Tilting her head to the side while still holding his arms, she continued, "Mr. Fang, do you actually know what I went through to pursue and win you over in the first ce?"

    "Do you want me to pay now that we gave signed the marriage register and had our wedding?" Fang Bingwen retorted in a low tone while watching her with a small smile.

    He was sure the little woman was not having any different thoughts from want he was thinking.

    It was not far from it.

    "Of course, you have to pacify me in a good way. I defied society norms to chase after a man and that too, someone who was once my professor in a school. Check out our age."

    Zhang Liling now had the right time toin all about her grievances, and she was going to do it.

    "If you don''t want a mark on your lips, seal it." Mr. Fang warned.

    Instead of shutting her mouth, Zhang Liling got more interested.

    "What will you use to seal it, your lips?'' She inquired as her eyes shone brightly.

    "Naughty girl. Let''s go and take a few pictures." He said as he dragged her away just before the others could starting out of the hall.

    ***

    At the event ce, there was already a small studio that had been set up to take pictures before and after the wedding ceremony.

    Going over to the small room, Zhang Liling sat on the white couch with a few beautiful real flowers and got ready to take her photos first.

    Next, Fang Bingwen went to sit to have his photos taken, but seeing those flowers by his sides, he felt like taking them away but as he couldn''t, he could only endure the sight.

    After taking his photos, Zhang Liling joined him and they bought took so many photos together before their families started toe over.

    Their were special guests the newly married couple took photos with and that included Jia Li and Fu Hua who hade for their wedding.

    Zhang Liling was very excited to see the couple but unlike before where she would just directly run to Jia Li, she actually respected herself and remained sitting with a smile that reached her eyes.

    Seeing her behaviour, Fang Bingwen gave her a thumbs up in his head as he was d that she knew how to act.

    First, she was now his wife. Secondly, today''s event was very important and thankfully, she let these two sink into her head.

    "Liling, I''m going..."

    Just as Mr. Fang had started to speak, Zhang Liling cut him off.

    "Call me Sweetheart." She said in a demanding tone while sending him a wink.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Rising to his feet, Fang Bingwen inquired, "Why should I call you that?"

    "I am your wife now. You shouldn''t call like the others. You have to give me a special one."

    This was Zhang Liling''s current problem now. She wanted him to address her sweetly from that hour onwards, but he found it a little difficult.

    "You are right, but I haven''t thought of a special name for you. Later, I will take my time. For now, let''s focus on important things."

    Saying that, Fang Bingwen waved at her.

    "You should change your clothes and get ready for the reception."

    "Fine. Please call my mother and Tungmei back."

    After taking some photos with everyone, the videographer and camera men left, giving them so alone time together and all Zhang Liling could think of, was the pet name Fang Bingwen should address her with.

    Now left alone, Zhang Liling took away the veil from her head properly. And just when she was getting ready to stretch her body, a soft knock sounded in the door and before she could reply, the door swung open.

    Seeing the identity of the two women that walked into the small room and shut the door behind them, Zhang Liling immediately sat up as a frown reced the smile on her face.

    "What are you doing here?" Zhang Liling questioned immediately as her gaze watched them approach her like a hawk getting ready to attack her enemies.

    Stopping in front of her with a smile on her face, Shi Wenqian let her gaze travel down to her feet from her face before going back to rest on that well-made out face.

    "Why is it so hard to meet you? We even had to wait our turn." Shi Wenqian said instead of replying to her question.

    Although there was a smile on her face, her heart carried evil for her stepdaughter.

    This was the second time she wasing into that room.

    When it was time for Zhang Liling to take a group photo with her entire family, that woman dared to put her shameless face in it.

    "Why do you have to wait to see me? You could have juste in when others were here."

    Zhang Liling didn''t know why her stepmother had to internationally wait till she was alone before she coulde and talk to her.

    What was she nning?

    She always didn''t have a good intention toward her.

    But no matter what, she was not going to show even a hint of fear on her face otherwise, she would quickly take advantage of it.

    She was not going to give her that chance.

    Besides, there were working CCTV cameras watching them.

    As Shi Wenqian hade in with her housekeeper who was also her secretary that helped her carry out her dirty deeds, she wasn''t scared of Zhang Liling doing anything.

 Chapter 400 Shi Wenqian Agitates Zhang Liling

    "You must think that you have it all as you are finally able to get married to the man my daughter first had her eyes on." Shi Wenqian said with a smile that was not a smile.

    Remembering that Fang Bingwen was the man Zhang Xiaoling had wanted to marry from the beginning but was rejected by Zhang Renshu, she felt anger swell in her chest.

    Clenching her fists, she let Zhang to see her unhappy facial expression.

    "What? Zhang Xiaoling liked my man?" Zhang Liling asked as she rose to her feet immediately.

    She looked so surprised that still, she didn''t forget to im rights to Fang Bingwen by addressing her as her man.

    The reaction from Zhang Liling was unexpected. Watching her stepdaughter jump to her feet the second she heard that revtion, Shi Wenqian couldn''t believe her eyes.

    Why did she look like she was ready to have a fight with her daughter?

    This was not the reaction she was hoping for.

    "Your man? The only reason you have so much confidence, was it not because I let you smoothly continue your rtionship with Fang Bingwen?" Shi Wenqian said.

    Her words were very in to understand.

    For real, Shi Wenqian would have tried every possible means to stop Zhang Liling from marrying Fang Bingwen even if Zhang Renshu did not let Zhang Xiaoling to marry him at that time.

    If her daughter couldn''t marry the man she wanted, then other people''s daughter couldn''t either.

    But when she understood Zhang Renshu was going to cut ties off Zhang Liling for going against him, she decided to calm down thinking that her stepdaughter was going to get punished.

    But look what keeping cool caused.

    Not only did Zhang Liling not go down, she also went ahead to start a sessful brand and now, she was married to that one man.

    Hearing her, Zhang Liling calmed down a bit as she no longer looked like she was going to get into a fight.

    What did she just here?

    "Did you think you could have stopped me from getting married to any man of my choice?" She retorted as her gaze narrowed down at her.

    Just what did Shi Wenqian think she could do?

    Her confidence was getting out of hand and needed to be stopped.

    Unknown to them, someone had appeared outside the door, but as the person was going to knock, she heard the conversation between them and decided to stand there and listen.

    "Hahaha..." Shi Wenqian chuckled heartily as her level of confidence increased.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I stopped your mother, what makes you think I didn''t think about you?" She questioned.

    "What did you just say?" Zhang Liling asked angrily as she stepped in real close to hit Shi Wenqian, but her secretary quickly stepped in to stop her by putting herself between them, but she had underestimated Zhang Liling''s anger and strength.

    Just as Zhang Liling saw the woman that came to block her from seeing the face of her enemy, she stretched out her hand and without warning, pushed her out of her sight, causing her to let out a yelp.

    "Did you justy your hands on my person?"

    Seeing her housekeeper almost lose her bnce due to her stepdaughter''s manhandling, Shi Wenqian got furious.

    "Yes, and what can you do about it?" Zhang Liling asked while putting her hands on her waist.

    Zhang Liling didn''t even care if she was going to be happy to angry with her actions. She didn''t care about her feelings as she stood her ground.

    "You two came here looking for trouble and since everyone knows you are my enemy, thru would surely believe whatever I say even if I beat you two to death without even having to check the CCTV cameras here."

    Being reminded that there were CCTV camera in the room, the fire in Shi Wenqian''s eyes died as her secretary came to stand beside her.

    With this new found knowledge, she knew she couldn''t get physical with her, and also she would have to control her facial expression just in case anything would happenter.

    At least no matter what, she had to be the one to appear scene in the camera while Zhang Liling maintained the image of the a hysterical bride.

    Knowing what to do now, Shi Wenqian quickly retorted.

    "I know what your problem is. You can''t seem to bear that I have the power to do what I want just like how I strategically caused your mother''s marriage to fail."

    Smiling to herself, she folded her arms below her belly and walked around the room with her gaze on her as her secretary watched on just in case Zhang Liling would try to attack her given how much she fuming now.

    "As soon as I firstid my eyes on Zhang Renshu, I knew I must get him hence, I began to strategize in this little mind of mine. Well, you can''t me me for not knowing he was engaged and ready to be married.

    I saw a man I liked and wanted to marry him. Falling in love can happen easily which was simr to my case."

    Letting out a small chuckle that annoyed Zhang Liling greatly, she continued.

    "I wanted Zhang Renshu so what did I do? I had to approach him like a helpless woman. Who knew he would be that naive to give me a job to be his housekeeper after a few tries of getting close to him just because I stole his briefcase that contained so many important documents without his knowledge, and then returned it like a good Samaritan.

    Hahaha... He really fell for my trick. And when I learned he frequented that restaurant I saw him earlier in, I knew I had my chance to get closer to him..."

    After learning of how she could see Zhang Renshu again, she decided to use that opportunity and that was how she got him to give him a job and foolishly, Zhang Renshu brought the young woman into his home.

    As someone that had done him a great favour, he felt like he owed her and hearing her made-up pitiful story, he had no choice but to help.

 Chapter 401 Finally Admitting To It

    But who knew that as soon as Shi Wenqian would enter Zhang Renshu''s home, she would immediately continue her plot to the next level just until she got what she wanted.

    It was only when she got into his Josie that she revealed she had a daughter and having epted her already, Zhang Renshu couldn''t turn her away.

    Finally after Shi Wenqian seeded in ruining his rtionship and uing marriage with his fianc¨¦e, Song Jujing, that was the end of Zhang Renshu''s kindness and humanity.

    The man was forced to learn a great lesson he was thought.

    Having recounted the summary of the details of what happened back then, Shi Wenqian turned her attention back to Zhang Liling.

    "So you see how I could easily get what I want?"

    "I see you can go to any length to get what you want but how about you answer one disturbing question I have that''s like a thorn in my flesh?" Zhang Liling queried.

    Seeing the great joy her stepmother derived from making her worked up, she was forced to use her senses.

    She was no longer going to give her that joy of wining.

    "What is it?" Shi Wenqian asked with a proud smile.

    Recalling the past reminded her of how formidable she was. Getting what she wanted at all cost and by all means was truly a talented and a tendency she had

    Thinking that Zhang Liling was baffled with how she was able to make things happen, she decided to grant her one question.

    "Howe Zhang Mingyu has a blood disorder and my father doesn''t have and neither do you?"

    Suddenly, silence ensued in the room as the smile on Shi Wenqian''s face froze.

    As for her housekeeper, that one was shocked to learn of this and with the way she turned to nce at her mistress, it was obvious that this was her first time hearing about it.

    "Why are you not saying anything, cat''s got your tongue?"

    Seeing those clear signs of her assumption being the truth, Zhang Liling couldn''t help but want to punch her.

    Somehow, her question managed to bring Shi Wenqian back to herself and immediately, she retorted.

    "How dare you nder me and my son? Have you gone nuts?"

    ''This rat, how much does she know?'' She thought to herself while ring at her.

    Seeing how strongly she reacted, Zhang Liling nodded.

    "nder? Am I actually ndering you? If you are asking if I have gone crazy, yes, I have!"

    Scoffing, she pointed a finger at her.

    "Don''t you dare try to cover anything up because those times when you drew my blood every time Mingyu got injured, I noticed. It was all thanks to you that I managed to find out about the secret illness no one else apart from you, him and me knew of.

    Seeing you try to deny this fact, I am now quite sure that you are a snake!"

    "Shut your mouth!" Shi Wenqian said immediately, trying to shut her up.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You don''t know anything yet you can not stop assuming things."

    "If I am wrong, then correct me, but you can''t deny the fact that Zhang Mingyu has a bleeding disorder!"

    Zhang Liling refused to let go off that point because she trusted her stepmother to be very good at twisting truths.

    That was what she was born for.

    Seeing that Zhang Liling was very smart and knew much to this level, Shi Wenqian knew that she couldn''t deny this fact.

    Knowing this, she quickly restrategized. "Fine! Mingyu has a bleeding disorder and the only reason I hid it from your Father was so he wouldn''t leave faith in his only son! Apart from that, there is nothing else.

    Yes, Zhang Renshu might not have that trait from his blood line, but what about mine? What do you know about me?!"

    In essence, Shi Wenqian was trying to tell her that the bleeding disorder run''s in her family and the only reason she hid this matter was so Zhang Renshu would not abandon Zhang Mingyu in the course to choosing a sessor.

    Although Zhang Liling did not believe her, she said before walking away.

    "If Zhang Mingyu can bleed to death at any time, then he is not fit to sit on that Chair at Zhang Corp so you better quit your plots."

    Letting out a deep breath, she added as her voice thined down. "Is Zhang Mingyu, truly my father''s son?"

    Zhang Liling left the room with that question but as soon as she opened the door, she saw the young woman that had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

    ring at her, she turned toward her right and stormed off.

    Seeing Zhang Liling getting away, Zhang Xiaoling immediately tried to control the shock on her face and immediately followed her.

    Since they were still close to the room she had just walked out from, she couldn''t shout herand ask her to slow down hence, she continued to chase after her till they had gone safely far from that ce.

    "Zhang Liling!" Pulling her arm, Zhang Xiaoling brought her to stop.

    "What is it?" Turning her face to the side to face her, Zhang Liling posed a question while looking a bit irritated.

    Earlier when she had stepped out of the room and had seen her standing there, she had been shocked, but as she was not in the mood to question her, she decided against it and walked away.

    She really wanted to know much she heard and knew from the conversation she just had with her mother.

    ? Slowly releasing her hand without being asked to, Zhang Xiaoling asked with her gaze on her.

    "Does my brother really have a bleeding disorder?"

    No matter how much she heard, Zhang Xiaoling still needed a confirmation.

    "Did you not hear your mother admit to it or are you trying to pretend all of that didn''t happen?" Zhang Liling retorted as she was to annoyed to exin things to her as if she was ame child.

    What was so hard to hear and understand?

 Chapter 402 Dealing With An Enemy

    Zhang Liling was truly ruthless.

    After saying that, she walked away without waiting to hear her response as she was not interested.

    Left alone along the hallway, Zhang Xiaoling began to recount the number of times she had seen Zhang Mingyu bleed nonstop when they were younger.

    She had always felt it was wrong, but her mother always covered up. Soon, she stopped seeing her brother get injured in front of her and slowly, she totally forgot those incidents.

    As she had rightly heard, her mother admitted to Zhang Mingyu having a bleeding disorder, but why did she choose to hide it from her too?

    Yes, it was understandable for her to hide it from Zhang Renshu since the man would have probably refused to give her brother any position due to his illness but hiding such a big deal from her?

    That was too much.

    What was the reason?

    Back in the room Zhang Liling had walked away from, Shi Wenqian stood at the same spot staring at the tightly shut doors as her fingers clenched in a fist.

    Seething in rage, she said to the woman standing beside her.

    "Do you know how to deal with your enemy if you can''t get close to them? You touch the things around them."

    Saying that, Shi Wenqian finally tilted her head to the side to meet the woman''s gaze.

    "Since Zhang Liling can not be touched so easily as she had now officially joined the Fang family, it will be easier to touch Glint."

    Since Zhang Liling was now under the protection of the Fang family, Shi Wenqian knew it would take a lot of effort to touch her and as she didn''t want to waste that kind of time on her, she decided to use another method to touch her.

    Understanding what her mistress was talking about, the housekeeper nodded in understanding.

    "I will need you to do something for me..."

    ***

    Zhang Liling who had been angry earlier, immediately put on a smile on her face as soon as she entered her dressing room.

    She had almost butter heads with Tungmei who was on her way to look for her.

    "With don''t have a lot of time before the reception starts, but you can rest and eat beforehand." Tungmei said while walking her into the room.

    "If I could wish for a small break, I would like to take a short nap." Zhang Liling said tiredly.

    She could remember waking up very early in the morning just to get ready for her special day. She was already tired and needed to rx her nerves.

    "If you want a massage, you can get one." Song Jujing said as she walked up to take her hand.

    Staring at her face, she saw that she didn''t look good.

    Frowning slightly, she led her into therge room.

    "If you want to sleep a little, you can." There is still half an hour left before the reception starts.

    Refusing to tell anyone what had transpired between her and Shi Wenqian, Zhang Liling went to get some rest. She was disturbed knowing that Zhang Mingyu was not actually her father''s son so she couldn''t sleep.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She could only close her eyes while thinking.

    The rest she was getting was as good as useless because her brain was awake, making her more mentally tired.

    ***

    As the time for the reception approached, Zhang Liling changed into her reception dress and retouched her makeup before stepping into the hall with Fang Bingwen while linking their arms together.

    The rest of the wedding ceremony went on smoothly but nobody noticed that the housekeeper of the Zhang family was no longer there.

    Amongst other things that made Zhang Liling happy on this day apart from marrying the man of her dreams, was the fact that Jia Li and Fu Hua''s faces kept falling in her line of sight.

    Although there were not much guests as this was a private wedding strictly arranged for, everything was perfect.

    With the eventing to an end, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen toasted to their guests before walking up the dance floor.

    Trust Fang Bingwen not to move his body much as dancing in front of the crowd was not his thing.

    If not for Zhang Liling who did not shy away while trying to lead him on, the dance would have been boring.

    A few minutes time, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s wedding ceremony came to and end and together, they started to send off their distinguished guests.

    "Thank you Ms. Jia Li." Zhang Liling said with a big smile on her face while embracing Jia Li as she was about to leave with Fu Hua.

    "It''s nothing. I''m d to be here to share in your joy. You are now a married woman, congrattions." Jia Li said with a warm smile as she returned the hug.

    A few secondster, both women separated.

    "Liling, I will see you at FJ''s show soon. Enjoy your honeymoon and take care of your new family now, including yourself."

    "Yes, see you soon. Always look this good Ms. Jia Li." Zhang Liling said and blew her a kiss thereafter.

    Waving at each other, Zhang Liling stood there with Fang Bingwen standing beside her and watched Jia Li and Fu Hua walk away.

    "I love them." Zhang Liling couldn''t help admitting while leaning her head on Mr. Fang''s shoulder.

    "And I know that you love me more." Fang Bingwen said while giving her the side nce.

    Hearing his husky voice in her ear, Zhang Liling giggled to herself.

    "Mr. Fang, tonight, we will be left alone." shing him a smile, she separated from him and went away, leaving him to stand there and watch her.

    As there were still other guests to greet, Zhang Liling hurried away.

    ***

    ~Mr. Fang''s Vi~

    Walking in through those familiar doors while leaning into the arms of the man who had now be her husband, Zhang Liling let out a groan.

    "I am so tired and my whole body is aching."

 Chapter 403 Mrs. Fang

    "You should sleep on time tonight." Mr. Fang said without looking at her face.

    Hearing him tell her to go straight to be on their wedding night, Zhang Liling frowned. "Honey!"

    "What?" Instantly, Fang Bingwen was startled.

    It felt so strange to hear her use that word on him.

    He would even feel morefortable if she continued to address him as ''Mr. Fang'' but he knew that word was no longer appropriate as they were now married.

    "Why would I sleep on time when tonight is our wedding night?"

    Smiling at him, she winked while staring straight into his eyes, waiting to see any passing emotion on his face.

    Finally they were married and now, he couldn''t get away from her clutches.

    Fang Bingwen stared at her as if something was wrong with her. Not wanting to have that kind of conversation with her when there were people around them, he cleared his throat and led her into the house proper.

    "Wee back, Mr. Fang, Mrs. Fang!" Butler Gu, the maidservants and the housekeeper, weed thetest couple back home.

    They all had attended the wedding, but as they had some work waiting for them, to prepare the ce for the newly married, they had to return to the vi on time.

    Seeing them bow to her, a smile that reached Zhang Liling''s eyes spread across her face.

    While holding unto Fang Bingwen''s arms, she thanked them happily.

    "Thank you!"

    She was excited because of her new mode of address. She was now called, ''Mrs. Fang'' which was a reminder of her marriage to Fang Bingwen.

    Zhang Liling couldn''t be any more happier than now.

    Receiving her permission to rise, they all straightened their backs.

    "Mrs. Fang, a hot bath has been prepared for you in the Master''s bedroom." Housekeeper Chu announced with a straightforward smile while meeting her gaze.

    "Thank you."

    Thanking them once again, as her gaze swept past them, she allowed Mr. Fang to take her away.

    "I''m happy I can share this ce with you forever." Zhang Liling couldn''t help saying as they climbed the stairs together.

    "There is no need to be super hyper about it. This is your home now."

    "No, home is where you are, Honey." Zhang Liling teases.

    Since discovering the new title was too overwhelming for him, she had decided to use it frequently.

    The earlier he got used to it, the better for him.

    Finally, thetest couple in town smoothly made their way into Fang Bingwen''s bedroom, which they would both have to share from then onwards.

    Walking into the room that had some changed to it, Zhang Liling couldn''t help not smiling.

    She could see some of her touches in the room.

    This was only possible as her things were moved to his ce after they had collected their marriage certificates.

    But it was only until now she was seeing the room after her things had been put in ce by the housekeeper and the two servants.

    Seeing the new arrangement, the room made it seem like she had been living with Mr. Fang for a while.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Shutting the door behind them, Mr. Fang strode to her side and followed her gaze to see what in particr she was staring at.

    "Won''t you go and have a bath while the water is still hot?"

    As winter was slowlying, hot things easily got cold hence, he was a little bothered that she might have to wait for a little while for the water to be prepared all over again.

    Recovering from the little distraction, she tilted her head to the side. Meeting his gaze, she shed him a smile.

    "I will go and have my bath now."

    Saying that, she tip-toed and brushed her lips past his left cheek before skipping into the walk-in closet, leaving the man a little stunned.

    ''Right, we are married. She can do as she pleases.''

    Sighing to himself, he went to sit at the foot of the bed but right then, he heard a soft knock on the door and gave his consent for an entry.

    "Come in."

    The next second, the door slowly opened and in came the hosuekeeper who was carrying a bag in her hand.

    Apparently, she had brought in the small items they hade back with from the wedding venue which included their phones, Zhang Liling''s purse.

    With Mr. Fang''s permission, she ced everything where they should be before turning to leave.

    "Ms. Chu, prepare some light snacks and bring them in." Fang Bingwen instructed just as she was about to leave.

    "Yes, Sir."

    Bowing he head slightly, housekeeper Chu turned to leave.

    ***

    In the walk-in closet, Zhang Liling couldn''t keep her eyes off the new arrangement.

    She could clearly see that all of Fang Bingwen''s things had been moved to one side, while her things had been ced on the right side.

    Twirling around on her heels, a smile bloomed on her face.

    "I am married..." She song joyfully while making a rhythmic sound with her throat.

    Finally when she was done embarking on the happiness for a short while, she nodded in satisfaction.

    "Now, it''s time to have s bath." Mumbling to herself, she changed out of her reception dress and got into a white bathrobe before heading for the bathroom.

    Back in the room, Fang Bingwen sat on the sofa across from the foot of the bed to wait for his turn to bath.

    While slowly taking off his wrist watch, he heard the ringing sound going off from one of the phones ced on the nightstand.

    Immediately, he shifted his gaze to that ce. Recognizing that it was Zhang Liling''s phone that was ringing, he looked away and continued to take off the watch from his wrist.

    cing it on the table in front of him, the ringing sound slowed beforeing to a stop.

    Just when he thought some peace and quiet had returned, the phone started to ring again.

    Having no choice, he took off his suit jacket before rising to his feet and making his way their.

    ncing at the lit-up screen of her phone, he saw the caller ID, ''Zhang Xiaoling''

    "Since when did they get close?" Muttering under his breath as his brows furrowed slightly, he reached his hand out to pick up the phone.

 Chapter 404 What Do You Want?

    "Liling, your phone is ringing." Fang Bingwen said as he approached the door to the bathroom with the ringing phone in hand.

    Because that little woman was in the bathroom, he had to increase his tone a but just so she could hear him clearly.

    Fortunately, Zhang Liling was sitting in the bathtub enjoying her hot bath infused with essential oil hence, she was able to hear him fine.

    "You can leave it, I will call back whoever it is when Ie out of here."

    "When youe out? Should I turn off your phone then? Zhang Xiaoling looks like she will not rest until you pick up."

    Thinking about sitting around in the room while having to listen to her ridiculous ring tone, he would rather turn off her phone and wait for her toe out.

    Learning that Zhang Xiaoling was the one calling, Zhang Liling scoffed.

    "Why is she calling me on my wedding night, what is wrong with her?" She mumbled to herself.

    Although she was annoyed with the timing that step-sister of hers had picked, she couldn''t deny that if she was in her shoes, she would be curious bto some extent after eavesdropping and learning of that huge deal.

    Still, she would have exercised some patience. Has she lost her mind calling her at that hour?

    Just when Zhang Liling was going not ask Mr. Fang to answer the call on her behalf, a scene from her wedding yed in front of her.

    Shi Wenqian had said that Zhang Xiaoling liked her man, what if she tries to use this opportunity to get close to him?

    At first, that was Zhang Liling''s thoughts, but knowing who her husband was, she decided to let him handle the case.

    With her gaze on the tightly shut door of the bathroom, she said to him, "Just answer it and tell her I will call her back."

    "Fine." Fang Bingwen said and turned to walk back to the bed with the phone that had stopped ringing.

    But somehow as he sat back on the sofa, it started to ring again.

    Without wasting time, he slid his thumb finger across the screen before cing it on his ear.

    "Zhang Liling."

    That was the first word that passed through his ear as soon as he picked the call.

    "It''s Fang Bingwen. Liling is in the bathroom, she will call you back when shees out."

    Without waiting for her response, he directly ended the call and ced the phone beside him.

    He didn''t need to get an ''Okay'' from her before he would know she heard him. As he had never had a good rtionship with the rest of the Zhang family members, he was not going to start now.

    Besides, Zhang Xiaoling hadn''t treated his wife well in the past and now, she hadn''t also made up for it. There is no need ording her any respect.

    Since his personality was already difficult to deal with in the first ce on a normal circumstance, he would keep it that way.

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling walked into the room in a thin short red nightdress.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sweeping his gaze from her head and down to her feet before moving it back to her face again, he handed the phone to her.

    "I told her you were going to call when youe out from the bathroom."

    Rising to his feet, he took a step closer as she tapped a few buttons on her phone with furrowed brows.

    Leaning in close to her neck, his nose picked up the sweetvender scent from her properly.

    "You smell nice." He said while by passing her to go into the walk-in closet, leaving her with a sweet smile.

    "Thank you, Honey." Zhang Liling smiled from ear to ear at hispliment.

    So he knew how to make her happy?

    Howe he didn''t show this side ofplimenting her when they were still dating, was he waiting till they got married first? Or was he not good with words?

    If she wasn''t so sure that she wanted to be with him, he would have long discouraged her.

    With her newly wedded husband gone, she turned her focus and attention to the call she was making.

    Zhang Xiaoling who was equally dressed in a long night dress was sitting impatiently at the foot of her bed in the room she shared with her husband, Tang Ei in the Tang Mansion when the call came in.

    She immediately jumped up from the bed and answered the call.

    Since meeting Zhang Liling while eavesdropping on the conversation with her mother, she hadn''t found another opportunity to talk with her.

    As soon as they entered the wedding reception event, she became busy.

    Also, Zhang Xiaoling didn''t want her mother to suspect anything by seeing her having a conversation with her.

    She was not going to give her the benefit of doubt.

    "Hello, Zhang Liling." Zhang Xiaoling said immediately the call connected as she was sure of who was on the line.

    "What can I help you with. You just had to call me on my wedding night. Are you asking to solidify our feud?" Zhang Liling threw a question at her immediately.

    She was not going to let the fact that she was calling on a special night as this slide. She even thought they didn''t have each others contact.

    Lo and behold, they had it, but there was no reason tomunicate as they became adults.

    "I apologize for that. There was no opportunity to speak with you again at the party. Also, it wouldn''t be possible to get you on the phone after tonight till after a few days and I can''t wait."

    Zhang Xiaoling quickly apologized and exined which wasn''t a surprise to Zhang Liling who already knew that she would learn to do the right thing if she wanted something from her.

    Crossing her arm below her chest, Zhang Liling sat on the sofa and demanded, "I don''t have time, what do you want?"

 Chapter 405 Good Things

    Hearing the impatience in her tone, Zhang Xiaoling who was far back patient with her, let out a small sigh.

    Her annoyance was well understood. Without wasting time, she went straight to reveal the reason she had to push this urgent call ahead.

    "I want to trade information with you. Tell me all you know about my mother and I will tell you what you never knew about her."

    "Do you think your proposal is appetizing enough for me to have a deal with you? Try againter."

    Did she look like a child that will believe her just like that? If she was desperate, she should be the first to spill any useful information she has about her mother in order to get an exchange from her.

    After all, Shi Wenqian was her mother. There was no impossibility if she was helping her mother behind the scenes by trying to sound her out.

    She was no fool.

    Right as Zhang Liling was about to end the call, she heard Zhang Xiaoling''s desperate voice.

    "Wait!"

    "Do you have a better deal now?"

    "I just wanted you to know something about me." Zhang Xiaoling said with her watchful gaze at the door. Lowering her tone, she continued.

    "If Mingyu does not have any biological rtionship with me, I will punish my mother myself. She is not simply a wicked stepmother, her identity is beyond that."

    "Why would I believe you for wanting to punish your mother because Zhang Mingyu may not even be your brother? That is not enough reason." Zhang Liling said, trying to probe for something more solid to hold unto.

    If she were to be in Zhang Xiaoling''s shoes, she would never punish her mother because of such reasons. It just didn''t make sense.

    After all, they both joined hands to bully her so what if her mother told a great lie to her father just to get a foothold in the Zhang family, she (Zhang Xiaoling) should not be angry as the lies also brought her a perfect identify.

    Why would she go on to punish the woman that made luxury possible for her when she was also not a saint.

    Zhang Liling needed a valid reason to trust her.

    Understanding the thoughts that might be going forth in her head, Zhang Xiaoling''sshes fluttered close.

    "Zhang Liling, haven''t you noticed that the rtionship between my mother and I is no longer the way it used to be?"

    Without waiting for her tond, Zhang Liling cut her off immediately. "Why should I notice? Do I look like I''m jobless?"

    As she was being increasingly rude, Zhang Xiaoling boiled inside.

    It wasn''t just possible to hold a proper conversation with that girl without her getting on your nerves. Her mouth was made just so she could use to cut on people with her words.

    Curling her fingers into a fist by her side, Zhang Xiaoling''s eyes shot open as she questioned in gritted teeth.

    "Why are you making this conversation difficult for both of us?"

    "That''s the way I speak to my enemies when they beg me for some of my time on such an important day!" Zhang Liling retorted while fiddling with her nails.

    She had this ''I don''t care'' attitude.

    It seemed like her main aim was to irritate the hell out of the stepsister that used to bully her a few years back.

    ? "Fine. Sleep with this hint. When you return from your honeymoon, you should be ready to have a chat with someone trying to take everything that belongs to you at a quicker pace."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zhang Xiaoling was also too annoyed to try to convince her to have a good conversation with her. The girl was far too stubborn and saucy to give her a chance for that.

    As for Zhang Liling, she felt more pleased with the conversationing to an end because she had stopped hearing the sound of shower from the bathroom about two minutes ago.

    She couldn''t let Mr. Fang catch her on that call. Also, her mood must remain intact for good things to go down this night.

    "You are smart and for that, I do wish you a lovely night at your end."

    Saying that, she directly ended the call and put her phone aside without a care.

    At the other side, Zhang Xiaoling was still trying to understand if the call had disconnected on its own if Zhang Liling was the one that terminated it when Tang Ei walked into the room from the bathroom in his sleeping robe.

    Seeing him, she immediately brought her phone away from her ear.

    "You were on a call?" He asked as he walked toward his side of the bed toy down.

    "Oh... Yes. I was speaking to Zhang Liling just now." She said as she rose to her feet.

    Choosing to not pay attention to her phone conversation with others, Tang Ei faced her. "I prepared a bath for you. Go, before the water gets cold."

    "Thank you," Zhang Xiaoling said with a small smile.

    cing her phone on the bed, she walked away.

    As soon as she left the room, Tang Ei nced at her phone. ''Of course I believe you.''

    ***

    When Fang Bingwen entered the room, Zhang Liling was already lying in bed with the duvet covering more than half of her body.

    Seeing him in a pyjamas set, a slight frown appeared on her face.

    "Honey, why are you wearing a pyjamas?"

    Hearing her, he walked toward the bedside to pick up his phone before joining in her in bed.

    "Did you want me toe in naked? Are you not wearing clothes yourself?"

    As he didn''t know the reason she suddenly hadints about his nightwear, he just had to say what he had in mind, but Zhang Liling had a different thought.

    "That''s not the case! You should have worn a robe like me so it will be easy to take offter."

    ''So that was her problem?''

    Fang Bingwen wasn''t even shocked. As far as it was Zhang Liling, anything was possible with her.

    Right from time, he has not seen any woman as eager as her to get intimate with a man. The best part about her, was that she never pretends.

    She was that confident and daring.

    That was who the woman he married was.

 Chapter 406 First Night (I)

    "What did Zhang Xiaoling call for?" Mr. Fang inquired while giving her the side nce.

    He was very much interested in his wife''s affairs and didn''t want to wait for her to bring it up on her own before he would ask.

    Also, he had always know that the two sisters had bad blood between them. For Zhang Xiaoling to be calling her out of the blue, something must be happening.

    Being reminded of what transpired during her wedding, a frown appeared on Zhang Liling''s face as she began to recount what happened.

    "...So she wanted to exchange information."

    "I won''t be surprised if she wants to know her mother''s reality since she overheard your conversation. She is already curious and suspicious." Fang Bingwen stated.

    "I don''t care how curious she is. She would have to wait till I return from my honeymoon. Also, she had better have a valid information to exchange with otherwise, I will remember her in my list of people to take care of."

    Zhang Liling promised with pouted lips. She still held a hedge against that step-sister of hers for bullying her when she had no backing.

    But now she had a pir of support, she would not hesitate to get back at her if she doesn''t know her ce.

    "That''s enough, what are you getting angry for?" Fang Bingwen asked as he stretched his arm toward her to being her into his arms.

    His brows were furrowed slightly as he was unhappy to see her in that mood.

    What happened to the woman that had been anticipating sleeping with him?

    It would be good if she became a rascal again than for her to start sucking at remembering the past.

    This special night, was not an opportunity for that.

    Feeling the warmth of the man as she came into his arms, plus perceiving the scented soap he had used to bath, instantly, a smile lit up on Zhang Liling''s face.

    "Honey, I want to be in your embrace forever."

    "Anything you want." Fang Bingwen replied and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

    That soft cool touch of his lips on her forehead seemed to be the spark that awakened the kindled fire in her.

    With that, she quickly sat up with her right elbow propping her weight up.

    Gazing at him, a glint shed past through her eyes.

    Seeing her staring at him so tantly and expectantly, Fang Bingwen asked while trying to hide the smile threatening to break out on his face.

    "While are you staying at me like that?"

    Asking that question, he turned his attention to his phone and pretended to be busy.

    But just as he had randomly taken a look at his phone, he felt a shadow in front of him and before he could get a proper sight of it, he felt the soft lips of the woman in front him, crash into his thin lips.

    The same second, he felt her adjusting her position without breaking her kiss.

    Before he could blink, she had already snatched his phone from him and had sat on his thighs while giving his lips a slow muchy lick.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Hahaha..."

    A hearty chuckle escaped his lips in-between the kiss he was receiving.

    Instead of telling him off for trying to get busy when she was by his side, Zhang Liling decided to use the method of ''actions speak louder than words'' to pass her message across.

    Hearing himugh Zhang Liling leaned away from him as she narrowed her gaze on him. "What''s funny?"

    Instead of replying to her and start an argument, he changed the topic.

    "Let me show you how it''s done." He said with a smile ying at the corner of his lips as his fingers slowly crept up to her waist from his sides.

    Holding her, hisshes fluttered close as his face leaned in. The next second, he captured her lips and sucked on it before thrusting his tongue into her cool mouth.

    Right that that moment, Zhang Liling closed her eyes and moved her palms on his back while adjusting her sitting position to move closer to his body heat.

    But then, she just had to crash directly into something that has been resting peacefully between his legs.

    Feeling the impact of her butts on him, Fang Bingwen held her tightly as he increased his pace while kissing her.

    As their tongues entangled together, their hands continued in the same motion of caressing each others body.

    As the kiss was getting heated, Zhang Liling felt her body was on fire as she could feel something from under her hitting her button.

    Knowing what it was and to satiate her current desires, she started to move her butt back and forth in a rocking manner, thus provoking the man she was sitting on.

    "Hah!"

    Feeling her moving against him without warning, Fang Bingwen let out a gasp into her mouth and broke the kiss.

    "What..."

    "I don''t want to wait." Zhang Liling cut him off as her eyes slowly opened to meet hungry look in his eyes.

    "No. Tonight, I will teach you what patience is." Fang Bingwen replied in his hoarse voice and pped her butts, but the woman was not willing to listen.

    "Honey, I have been waiting for a long time for this. Not this night." Zhang Liling whined as she teased him by moving her butt against him again, causing his grip on her waist to tighten.

    Seeing where she was going, he let out a deep breath. He wasn''t a stone after all. He was a full man whose bodily senses and hormones were still working.

    "Don''t you want to have a lot of fun on our first night together?" He probed as his fingers went about slowly tracing her butts, making her flinch in the process.

    Hearing this, Zhang Liling quickly nodded. She would love to have a lot of fun.

    "Then follow my lead." Fang Bingwen said and leaned in toward her neck area.

    Without warning, he captured an area in her neck, and sucked on it before biting it and then giving her a lick.

    "Hmmphmm" A moan escaped from her lips as she quickly arched her head to give him more ess to neck as her fingers worked it''s way to his hair.

 Chapter 407 First Night (II)

    With the space given, Fang Bingwen''s tongue traced down from her neck area to her chest area where he was immediately met with a barrier.

    Immediately, he raised his head and brought his fingers to her night robe loosened the robe before taking it off her.

    Now with the so much skin she showed, he was able to see properly.

    But just as he wanted to lean in to continue working his way down, Zhang Liling pushed his shoulder.

    Without saying a word, she brought her hands to the hem of his shirt and pulled it up to his head before taking it off him.

    Seeing his naked upper body, she admired it as her fingers ticked.

    Just how much she craved to touch that muscr body that now belonged to her.

    Fang Bingwen who had been paying attention to her, saw the eagerness in her eyes. "You can touch if you want."

    Receiving the reminder that she could touch him at will, her fingers immediately pounced on him.

    Right from his chest muscles, her hand massaged it all the way down to his stomach abs and then back to his chest muscles.

    She continued to feel him up with a satisfied smile ying at the corner of her lips without taking into the king of storm she was stirring up.

    Two minutester, Fang Bingwen snatched her hands off his body.

    "That''s enough. Now, it''s my turn to return the favour."

    Whispering in a hoarse voice with his misty eyes filled with pleasure staring back at her, he moved his gaze back to her neck line.

    Before Zhang Liling could fully guess what he was going to do next, he had already released her hands and picked up the tiny hand if her shirt thin red nightdress that was exposing her thighs to him.

    Without a second thought, he slowly moved it down her shoulders and off her hand and at the same time, her chest was exposed to him and for the first time, he got to see those mounds he had felt once while kissing her.

    "Ahh!" Immediately, Zhang Liling who was embarrassed at baring her chest in front of him, quickly folded her hands and used her arms to hide her breasts from his view.

    Suddenly, she was embarrassed. It felt so weird to do something like that for the first time.

    Seeing that the beautiful view he had only started to admire had been hidden from him so suddenly, Fang Bingwen snorted.

    Meeting her shy gaze, he asked, "What are you embarrassed for? Remove your hands."

    Even with themand he gave, the woman sitting on him, refuted by shaking her head frantically.

    Her arms were still pressing the two mounds on her chest so hard that he was still able to see her cleavage from the soft skin that showed.

    "I see, you are trying to be stubborn even now."

    Saying that, his hands fell to his sides.

    Seeing the signs if giving up, Zhang Liling was still not moved to surrender to him, but that didn''t matter because he found another way to tease her.

    Knowing that she was not wearing anything underneath the dress as he could the wetness of her sweet womanhood wetting his pyjamas trouser, he slipped his hand underneath the dress to grab her butts with both hands.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You''re so soft." He whispered seductively to her ears, feeding her

    "Mr. Fang, your voice is going to make me pregnant." Zhang Liling eximed as she finally let go of her breasts.

    But before he could catch a good glimpse at them, she mmed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

    Now, he could feel her soft chest proudly against his rock-hard chest.

    While lying in his chest, Zhang Liling''sshes fluttered close as she let out short breaths.

    As she had already surrendered herself to him, she let him freely do what he wanted.

    "That''s my goal." He whispered and bit the earlobe at the end before moving his face to her neck to kiss her on that spot.

    Having sucked on that spot for a while, he pulled her away from his body.

    "I''m going to show you what real fun is."

    Leaving her with that promise, he made hery next to him with her back against him with his left hand, serving as a pillow.

    As he stretched himself behind her while breathing heavily next to her ear, his left hand pulled her body close to him and grabbed one of her soft mounds to squeeze it gently as his left hand slowly caressed her thighs from her knee and up to her inner thighs.

    "Hmmm... Ho-ney... Ugh.. hmmm..."

    Series of moan escaped Zhang Liling''s lips as she arched her back toward him while trying to snap her legs close as she could feel something likes. Million ants crawling on her inner thighs.

    Fang Bingwen who had buried his face into her neck, bit her gently. "Open your legs." Hemanded without making any effort.

    Being pushed to the brink of pleasure, she was forced to give in. The moment her thighs parted, he slipped his fingers to the midpoint.

    Bringing 2 fingers upwards, he touched that spot that has been wet, waiting for him.

    Immediately, a loud moan escaped her lips as she tried to wiggle her body away from him, but she was stopped right in time.

    Seeing that she was about to escape, Fang Bingwen released her breast and held her body and mmed her back into his chest without raising his head and stopping the movement of his other hand.

    "Where do you think you are running to? Honey?" His deep sexy voice demanded as he pinched her.

    This is what she had always wanted and now he was giving it to her, she wanted to escape when they haven''t even gone half-way?

    That must be a silly joke.

    He was not going to let her go.

    Tonight, there will be no mercy.

    He would show her never to beg restlessly for something she did not know much about.

    That would be the greatest lesson she would keep in her heart from that night onwards.

 Chapter 408 First Morning Together

    Waking up in the morning, the first thing that fell on Fang Bingwen''s line of sight was the woman sleeping soundly in his arms.

    Seeing her chest rise and fall repeatedly, he couldn''t help leaning in to kiss her forehead.

    "Wake up." He whispered as his warm breath fanned her cheeks.

    The next second, Zhang Liling''sshes fluttered lightly before swinging open to reveal her sleepy set of eyes.

    Seeing the man whose face was in front of her, it took her a little time to remember the scene form the previous day.

    Their wedding and then sleeping together.

    Recalling those wonderful moments fromst night, a smile spread across her face.

    "Good morning." She greeted as she bowed her head shyly.

    Seeing her like that, Fang Bingwen wanted to badly tease her by asking her where her confidence had gone to, but knowing that those little things could be annoying and lead to something else like argument, he changed his mind.

    Instead, he brought her into his arms the more and asked, "Are you hungry?"

    His voice was gentle. So gentle that Zhang Liling doubted if it were possible for him to speak like that.

    Was he acting this way because he was now her husband?

    At least it was better than before.

    He looked and acted more romantic than before and she couldn''t be anymore happier about it.

    To his question, she quickly nodded in response.

    "Yes. Although I had the little food that was sent inst night, I''m still hungry."

    The previous night, the housekeeper had brought in we food as per Fang Bingwen''s order and in the middle of the night when they were done loving each other, they had eaten the food, clearing the te in the process.

    But now, she was very hungry, making her wonder what could be the cause.

    "We did a heavy exercise. It is expected and normal for you to want to eat again by this time." Fang Bingwen replied while meeting her gaze.

    "Do you call that exercise? Does it make you lose weight?" Zhang Liling inquired while staring intently at him as the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

    She wondered if the term ''exercise'' could be used on something like that.

    Hearing her question, he brought his other hand to pay her waist under the duvet.

    "It looks like you are not well informed in this area. You get to lose a ton of ounces when we do this kind of exercise."

    "That means I can''t get fat ever. Not bad." She trailed off as she turned her gaze away from in to sink into contemtion.

    ''I didn''t mean that.'' Fang Bingwen thought to himself.

    Hearing her conclusion, he knew that she had gotten it all wrong, but as he did not want to continue down that topic, he decided to forget about it.

    "You said you are hungry, you should wash up first."

    Saying that, he touched the hem of the duvet about to move it away when the small hands quickly grabbed it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Honey, I think we should stay in bed like this for a 5 more minutes. It feels so nice to finally have the privilege to enjoy a moment like this." Zhang Liling said with an appreciative smile.

    She didn''t want them to separate so soon after waking up.

    This was their first morning together as husband and wife and of course, she wanted to create memories.

    "I thought you wanted to eat?" Fang Bingwen raised his brows in surprise.

    "Food can wait." She replied as she moved his hand away from the duvet and brought it back to her bare waist.

    "If you say so."

    Atst after spending a few minutes in bed chatting about some fun things, Zhang Liling''s stomach could no longer handle the dy in being filled hence, it had to disrupt their conversation with a ''grumble'' repeatedly until Fang Bingwen forced her to get out of bed.

    "We can continue cuddling when next we get into bed." He said handing her the red night robe he picked from the floor.

    Snatching it from him with a pout, she watched him pick up his pyjamas and wear them in front of her before making his way into the washroom.

    By the time the couple were done freshening up separately and gone downstairs, a set of sumptuous breakfast had already been put together and served on the dining table.

    From the stairs, Zhang Liling was already sniffing around like a hungry child the second she started to perceive the aroma of the food.

    Coming down to the dining room with the man walking behind her, her eyes scanned the several dishes on the table with a wowed expression on her face.

    "I''m going to eat a lot." She said as she shifted her gaze to the man that went to draw a chair out for her.

    "Don''t get indigestion." He advised and went to the head table to draw out a seat for himself before sitting.

    "I know, thank you " Zhang Liling smiled and sat on the chair next to him before moving her gaze over to the dishesid out on the table.

    ''Where should I start from?'' She asked herself.

    Seeing the way she was rubbing her hands and still trying to decide on the food to start with, Fang Bingwen shook his head.

    ''She would never stop surprising me.''

    Saying that to himself, he picked up his cutlery as he made up his mind to pick out the dishes he felt she would like for her to start with.

    Receiving the te of food, Zhang Liling quickly grabbed Fang Bingwen''s finger before it could leave her sight.

    Bringing it to her lips, she kissed it and said while meeting his gaze, "Thank you."

    Fang Bingwen was speechless as he quickly took his hand back the moment she let him off.

    "Eat."

    That was all he could say to her before serving some food for himself.

    What kind of woman did he marry?

    In any way, she wasn''t one he had not studied for the past year and hadn''t agreed he could tolerate.

 Chapter 409 Toying With Hearts

    *******

    It has only been a few hours since Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen left to another country for their honeymoon.

    Paris.

    Zhang Liling being a romantic, wanted to have her honeymoon in the City of love.

    She didn''t mind that she had seen a lot of that ce since she basically grew up there.

    Also, she wanted to show Fang Bingwen where she lived, the school''s she attended and some of her memories there as he had no problem with where she wanted to go for their honeymoon, he just epted whatever decision she made.

    But there was something that made this trip more interesting.

    He had received a call after breakfast by one of his men who passed an important information to him.

    Before the call ended, he had delivered an important instruction.

    "Keep an eye on her and know when to apprehend her."

    Not long after the phone conversation, he returned to the bedroom to gather a few things before he set out to the airport with Zhang Liling.

    Zhang Liling was unaware of what was going on as her only thoughts were on the ces she wanted to show to her husband.

    She looked far more excited than him because this was her thing.

    As soon and theynded in Paris, the car Song Jujing arranged came to pick them up and take them to the guest house they would be spending a few days in.

    As Song Jujing had left to Paris the previous day to finalize the arrangement for their stay, to also handle an emergency project at work, they had that wonderful opportunity of being received properly.

    It took less than an hour for the newly married couple to settle down in their new ce.

    "Honey, do you want to see Glint''s make-up factory tomorrow?" Zhang Liling asked as she out away her luggage in therge closet after hanging up her clothes.

    "Won''t it be tiring to do something tedious like that when we have only arrived after long hours of flight."

    They just got out from a 12-hour nonstop flight and this was the middle of the night.

    Did she think she would still have the energy to make rounds in the factory instead of sleeping in and trying to adjust to the new environment?

    Hearing about his worry gave her a reason to tease him.

    Taking slow steps toward, she fold her harms behind her back. Her eyes were like a yground for stars to dance around.

    That goes to show just how much excited she was.

    "What do you say about us staying all cooped up in this room all day?"

    Fang Bingwen scoffed and met her half-way. Stopping in front of her he leaned in to whisper to her ear.

    "What do you say about being bedridden till we leave for home?"

    Hearing the threat in his tone that had more meaning when pondered on softly, Zhang Liling quickly took a step back in defeat.

    "Hahaha... Calm down." She said as her smile slowly died down.

    Also, Fang Bingwen took two steps away from her.

    "You should wash up first so we can eat and go to sleep."

    Twelve hour flight was a big deal and it was ufortable too

    They didn''t get to eat much or enjoy a good sleep while in the ne.

    Imagine spending half of your day on something like that. It wasn''t fun in any way.

    Agreeing with him, Zhang Liling went into the bathroom while Fang Bingwen went to set the table to prepare for their dinner.

    ***

    The next day, a lot of things were going in the lives of a few people.

    For instance, Shi Wenqian was tensed and desperate about something that she had to keep pacing back and forth in her bedroom while clutching her phone in her hands.

    When she felt that enough time had passed, she quickly went to her speed dial to contact her secretary.

    At the first ring, the call was answered.

    "Have you gotten to the factory?" Shi Wenqian asked immediately.

    "I am on my way, Ma''am." Secretary Cha replied immediately while ncing at her surrounding through the car window she was sitting on.

    From the look of things, it was still early where she was, but back in S City, the day had already brightened long ago.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Do you know what time it is that you are still on your way by this time? Do you only want to get there when the production is over?!" Shi Wenqian scolded immediately.

    She didn''t know the reason this right-hand person that belonged to her wouldn''t know how serious and important timing was.

    Factory workers were known to rise early to start their production on time for the day.

    If she doesn''t get there on time and they miss this golden opportunity, they would have to wait for a long time before doing something like this again.

    All efforts would be wasted and that was exactly what she was trying to prevent.

    Hearing the anger in her tone, Secretary Cha quickly exined, "Ma''am, it''s not yet 6 AM in Paris. There is a 7 hour difference between here and S Country."

    "Are you correcting me now?" Immediately, Shi Wenqian picked offense instead of taking note of the correction she made.

    After a little more scolding, she finally focused on the main point.

    "You must be smart with the cooperation and make sure to keep me posted at every point. Don''t let me call you first."

    After the call ended, Shi Wenqian let out a long sigh of relief as she sat at the foot of her bed.

    Looking at the painting on her wall, the corners of her lips slowly curled up.

    "Everything is beginning to fall in ce now, isn''t it?"

    Saying that, she let out a heartyughter. "Hahaha..."

    Somehow, she didn''t get to enjoy that particr moment in full before being called by Mrs. Ong to talk about the engagement party that will be taking ce the next day.

    "You cane to the venue to decide on a few things together. I will be there in an hour." Mrs. Ong revealed.

    "Is that so? Then I will be there." Shi Wenqian replied. Saying a few words more, she dropped her phone.

    While the arrangements for his engagement to another woman was being made, Zhang Mingyu was busy hanging out with another woman in a hotel room.

    "Mingyu, why are you getting married to another woman? Did you only toy with me for so long to break my heart?" Mika asked while tracing her fingers on Zhang Mingyu''s bare chest.

    Currently, they were both lying in bed with the duvet covering them after a long exercise.

    Hearing her ims, a frown appeared on Zhang Mingyu''s face. "Who said I toyed with your heart? You know you''re the only one I love."

    Still, Mika was not satisfied with his response. Pouting her lips, she whined.

    "You say you love me, but I think otherwise. Why would you marry another woman. I know you never promised to marry me but still, this is too much."

    "Mika, you know I have no choice but my marriage ns. My parents are the ones to make that decision for me, and I can''t refute them since I am basically still living off them.

    It''s not like I fancy the woman they chose. My marriage to her is businesswise. Don''t be angry, nothing will change even if I get married to another person."

    Zhang Mingyu did his best to pacify her by spilling whatever thought that came to his mind in a bid to make their rtionship continue down the path he already had nned out.

    "Still, you have topensate me for emotional damage. How can I tolerate you being with another woman while I remain hidden in a corner?"

    Taking the opportunity now that their love was still waxing strong, Mika brought up the topic aboutpensation to ensure she had enough to herself.

    As long as he continued to spoil her, she wouldn''t mind even if he was married to some other woman.

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu was naive to think that she was only jealous and wanted him to show her his sincerity about still keeping her by his side.

    Nodding in eptance, he hugged her and moved the duvet to cover their bodies entirely.

    Soon, giggles escaped from their lips as they went on to have another round of fun.

    *******

    ~Paris~

    Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang were still sleeping in each others arms when the ringing tone of Mr. Fang''s phone reverberated in the room.

    "Honey, get your phone " Zhang Lilingined as she rolled off to the other side of the bed while adjusting the duvet to cover her body Witt her eyes still closed.

    Hearing her grumbling tone plus the ringing of his phone, Fang Bingwen''s flew open and the next moment, he got out of bed.

    ncing at the caller ID disyed on the screen, he picked up his phone and left for the living area after stealing a nce at the little woman.

    "Hello." His deep voice greeted and rxed to listen to the voice at the other end of the phone.

    Listening for a while, he nodded his head.

    "Do as we talked about before. Tell me when you get to the ce." He instructed.

 Chapter 410 Caught

    *******

    "Sir, we have her."

    Two hourster after Fang Bingwen finished making the call to his men, he was having breakfast with Zhang Liling when he got another call from them.

    The woman he had issued a warrant to, had been captured.

    Peeping at the woman who was staring at him, he rose to his feet and walked away.

    "Did you get the evidence?" Fang Bingwen inquired in a low tone to prevent Zhang Liling from overhearing his conversation with the person at the other end of the phone.

    "Yes, Sir. I will send the clip to you immediately."

    "Send the address as well." Fang Bingwen instructed before ending the call.

    Letting out a soft sigh of relief, he walked back to the dining area to rejoin the little woman he had left behind.

    "Who was that on the phone?" Zhang Liling inquired as she watched him take his seat like a hawk.

    She believed that as they were married, there was no need to hide anything from each other. And with them being married, her confidence was sealed.

    Hearing her question, Fang Bingwen picked up a piece of croissant and a cup of caf¨¦ cr¨¦me.

    He made sure to have a bite from his croissant before responding to her. "You don''t know the person."

    Slurping his drink, he chewed on the bread in his mouth for a some time while watching her facial expression change.

    Seeing how annoyed she was bing, heughed inwardly. Just then, he got a notification sound on his phone.

    Taking a moment, he nced at the screen to see it was the address he asked for sent in a text.

    Shifting his gaze back to her face, he said, "I will have to go out to meet someone now."

    Learning from him that he was going out, Zhang Liling was not happy about it.

    Where was he going on their honeymoon without her? Also, he wasn''t saying anything.

    That alone annoyed her greatly.

    "What about our task of cuddling for the whole day since you refused to go to the factory today? Do you know your way around?"

    "Cuddling can happen when I return. Also, I am an adult. I won''t get lost."

    Finishing the croissant in his hand, he hit his head backward and finished his drink.

    Rising to his feet, he went over to her side and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

    "Wifey, do not be annoyed. I will give you the detailster. I don''t want to cut your expectation of the full gist short, hence, you will have to exercise some patience."

    Finally hearing his exnation, a flower bloomed in Zhang Liling''s heart.

    "You should have said it earlier." She muttered under her breath while trying not to smile.

    Seeing that her face had livened up a bit, a low chuckle escaped from his lips.

    "Although I won''t take time, you can visit your mother or go anywhere you want if you are bored." He advised.

    He was worried she would get lonely on her own if he left her alone in the guest house to go off somewhere by himself, but she was fine by herself.

    "I will wait here for you." She said as a smile finally appeared on her face.

    "Fine. Let''s go on a date in the evening." Fang Bingwen said before walking into the washroom to brush his teeth.

    Before leaving the guesthouse, he had kissed her lips softly, causing her face to shine as she waved at him and watched him leave.

    Outside, Fang Bingwen took the same car that had brought them from the airport and to the house. Giving the chauffeur the address to where he wanted to go, they hit the road immediately.

    Aftering how long it would take them to get there, he rxed and watched the morning view while cracking his knuckles.

    Apparently, he couldn''t wait to get his hands on a certain someone.

    In an empty house off the capital City, a woman had her hands and feet tied to the chair she was sitting and her entire face was covered with a sack clothe.

    "Hmmm"

    She struggled to speak while trying to move her body but all actions taken to free herself from the shackles, failed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was very obvious that her lips were sealed given that she was not able to speak properly or scream for help.

    Unlike the normal abandon houses in movies, where the woman in question was taken to, was very different.

    The neighbourhood looked busy even when Fang Bingwen arrived.

    Looking around his environment, he couldn''t believe his eyes due to the confidence of the people he was walking with.

    As his gaze sweptst each house to determine the right block, a man in a hoodie waved at him and quickly ran to his side from the hisue he had been standing in front of.

    Closing the car door, Fang Bingwen turned to the driver. "Wait here."

    Leaving that instruction, he walked ahead to meet with the maning for him in the middle of his journey.

    "Why did you choose such a ce for this?" He asked as he followed the man leading him toward the house in front of them.

    As Fang Bingwen''s eyes were covered, half of his face could not been seen, but judging from the only spot of his face that could be seen, the man walking behind knew he was annoyed and quickly exined.

    "Nobody will interfere in our affairs. It had always been like that."

    "Don''t tell me that!" He said immediately. "This is illegal already, are you trying to tell me it''s normal to do something like this out in the open?"

    Fang Bingwen''s outburst caused the man to flinch before he quickly rendered an apology.

    To be honest, he was surprised with his reaction after all, he was the one that asked the to capture the person current in their possession.

    Shaking his head, Mr. Fang followed him into the house that was in good condition and straight to a room where about 4 more men were waiting and of course, with the woman sitting at the centre.

    After a quick introduction was done by one of the men already in the room who happened to be Fang Bingwen''s men, Fang Bingwen was led to sit on the only single-sitter sofa in front of the woman immediately started to hum on hearing voices around her.

    Sitting down, he fixed his gaze on that pitiful figure. "Take off the clothe from her face." He instructed.

    As soon as the clothe was taken away from her face, the woman who was clearly secretary Cha, squinted her eyes as she tried to let her eyes adjust to the lightening in the room having been in the dark for an hour.

    Before she could start to make out the faces of the men that had abducted her plus the one that had juste in, she heard one of them ask her.

    "Did Shi Wenqian send you to sabotage Glint''s makeup production today?" Fang Bingwen asked with his gaze on her.

    Looking at the foolish woman he had intel on, he really wanted to break her head with a log of wood.

    She dared to try and mess with his business?

    Both Zhang Liling who was now his wife, and Glint were his businesses and no one dares to mess with them yet one foolish one that did not know her ce tried it.

    She was really asking to be killed in broad daylight.

    "Who are you?"

    Instead of responding to the question, secretary Cha who was still trying to let her eyes adjust to the light in the room asked.

    Scoffing, Mr. Fang threatened while ring at her.

    "I dare you to look at my face and ask that question again."

    Since it was so ring that she didn''t like her life that much, he would help her put an end to it so painfully that she would be to live again.

    Hearing that authoritative tone, the woman sealed her lips as the others watched.

    Seeing the man seating on the sofa while the bound woman was in front of him, that image felt like a goon master torturing his enemy.

    Fang Bingwen was like a ring leader of a gang but too bad he couldn''t think of that kind of situation while trying to learn the guts a foolish set of people had by trying to touch his things without fear.

    Atst, Secretary Cha opened her eyes fully, but as soon as she caught sight of the person in front of her, she nearly passed out because of fear.

    ''What is he doing here?''

    Though so many questions were going on in her head, she wasn''t a fool to not realize what was happening.

    But by asking herself so many questions, she got the answers to some of them.

    What was Fang Bingwen doing in Paris? It was obvious that he must be spending his Monty in this city.

    She had only arrived the country the previous day and just today as she had gone to the production factory, she was caught and here he was too.

    He couldn''t have arrived so fast if he wasn''t in the City in the first ce.

 Chapter 411 Fang Bingwens Threat

    Seeing that she was awake now and had realised the situation she was in, Fang Asked directly, "Tell me everything Shi Wenqian instructed you to do."

    Raising his phone in the air, he added, "Everything will be recorded here. Begin!"

    He had no time to joke or y house with her.

    Also, he was being clean from the start by stating his intentions.

    He was not going to deceive her.

    Realizing the state she hade to, Secretary Cha tried to bargain with him by probing now that her lips were free.

    "What do I get for speaking?"

    Mr. Fang scoffed. Crossing his legs, he said without a change in his facial expression, "You will definitely be sent back to spend the rest of your remain days on earth in prison if you don''t speak."

    Secretary Cha most definitely didn''t need to be tortured or bullied before revealing Shi Wenqian''s instruction concerning Glint''s production factory.

    After listening for a while, Fang Bingwen was annoyed. "That woman truly has some guts."

    While he was thinking of what to do to her, the woman in front of him lowered his voice to ask, "I have told you the words she passed to me and her expectation. Will you let me go now considering that I didn''t seed with my mission?"

    Just when she had gotten to the factory and bribed a worker there with the chemicals she brought with her and turned to leave, she was dragged into a car and her lips were immediately sealed before she could scream for help.

    Knowing the way she was abducted in the first ce, Secretary Cha was sure that the worker she tried to bribe didn''t get her way at the end.

    The whole thing seemed like a setup. It was as if they were watching and waiting for her toe out so they could kidnap her.

    "That is not enough. I know Shi Wenqian is into so many shady things. I want information on what she does." Fang Bingwen said, fixing his gaze on her, he drummed his fingers on his thighs.

    "I won''t send you to prison now, but I can keep you here for as long as I want."

    He was practically telling her that he wouldn''t send her to prison for confessing how Shi Wenqian asked her to sabotage Zhang Liling''s business, but that was not enough to let him release her.

    If she wanted to regain her freedom, then she would have to fulfill her second task which was to reveal her Mistress''s secrets.

    Having worked loyally and in submission for Shi Wenqian, this was a difficult thing to do, and seeing that Fang Bingwen had no intentions of torturing her, she remained reluctant to speak.

    While her lips were still moving, she received a p on her face which instantly woke her up.

    With her face moving to the side, her eyes ran wide in shock as she felt the testing pain on her left cheek.

    For almost a minute, she was lost in shock and couldn''t even react from the pain.

    Seeing that she got pped by the man standing by her side, Fang Bingwen shut his eyes as he warned in anger.

    "Don''t you dare hit a woman in front of me." Opening his eyes, he red at the man as he added, "You can do it when I''m not watching."

    Just when Secretary Cha was about to feel reassured where Fang Bingwen''s standing on torturing her, she swallowed back her words and emotions.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''I-I made a mistake!'' She groaned inwardly.

    Fang Bingwen didn''t look like a gang leader but to her, he was no different.

    What did he mean that they couldn''t hit a woman in front of him but they could do it when he wasn''t there?

    Was he trying to tell her that this was how he would turn a blind eye to her if she didn''t do ording to his bidding?

    Secretary Cha was shocked, but what she didn''t know was that Fang Bingwen wouldn''t have minded if Shi Wenqian was the one getting pped.

    He would have probably rxed and watched her getting tortured without feeling an ounce of guilt in him.

    The woman just didn''t know when to give up. Hasn''t she done enough?

    Secretary Cha was still agonizing of the pain of getting pped by some random man when she heard Mr. Fang''s voice again.

    In her life, she had gotten pped by family while growing up but since she started working, on Shi Wenqian had hit her, and the number of times could only be counted on two hands.

    "Are you ready to speak now?" Fang Bingwen asked with underlying threat in his tone.

    Seeing that she had no option than to tell the truth, the woman first started by giving off an information she had just learned.

    "Zhang Mingyu is not Mr. Zhang''s son."

    "How do you think you found out about it? It''s because I made it possible. Don''t waste my time and tell me something I don''t know about!"

    Pointing a finger at her whole choosing to ignore the Surprised look on her face, he warned, "Choose your next words carefully. I will not tolerate you trying to take me for a fool again."

    Unknown to the woman, Fang Bingwen was the one that found out a out this truth before telling it to Zhang Liling who in turn exposed Shi Wenqian when she happened to be in her presence.

    While on the ne to Paris, Zhang Liling had talked about what happened during the wedding withy Shi Wenqian since she was bored, and that was how Mr Fang came to know how Secretary Cha found out about the news.

    Did she think he was a fool?

    Seeing her acting that way, he no longer regretted seeing her getting beaten in front of him.

    Somehow, he wished he could also punch her face if it were possible, but as he was not that kind of person, he would let things slide.

    Fang Bingwen''s words were enough for Secretary Cha to wise up. Now, she was finally aware of who got that information.

    ''So it was him?''

    With his threat on ground now, she decided to trade carefully.

    As there was nothing small she could use to trade, she brought out her only red card.

    "Mrs. Zhang is into human body part trafficking."

 Chapter 412 No Argument

    *******

    ~Country S, City S~

    As Shi Wenqian had nothing better to do given that she wasn''t going to the foundation, she decided to visit the venue for Zhang Mingyu''s engagement party as per Mrs. Ong''s invitation.

    Immediately she arrived at the venue was shown the way into the hall, she walked over to fawn over Mrs. Ong before a ting with dignity.

    No matter the money and connection she had, the Ong family has been in the picture long before her.

    At least she was smart enough not act so high and mighty in front of those that woukd be of great help to her.

    "How do you like it?" Mrs. Ong asked while looking at the little stage that was meant for the uing couple.

    Instantly, Shi Wenqian''s gaze travelled to that ce. Seeing the flower arrangement, she had a few things toin about.

    "There shouldn''t be too many red flowers. Just a few pieces here and there will be enough to enhance the flower decoration on the stage."

    "Right?" Seeing great sense in what she just talked about, Mrs. Ong immediately call over one of the people working there and ryed an instruction concerning the flower arrangement.

    When the staff went back to her earlier position to start making some alterations to the decor, Mrs. Ong said while looking at Shi Wenqian from her peripheral view.

    "If there is anything else, don''t hesitate to point it out. Although I''m paying for everything, it''s still our children that are getting engaged. It will be good if we make the best decision for them."

    Even though Mrs. Ong didn''t mean anything bad with what she said, Shi Wenqian had a way of twisting words and seeing things from a totally different perspective.

    She thought that Mrs. Ong was trying to remind her that the Ong family was the one spending money on the expensive engagement between two families.

    But in actual sense, Mrs. Ong wanted her to contribute to the arrangement of the hall and not let her feel that she shouldn''t do that much because the Zhang family wasn''t going to join hands to foot the bill.

    In the first ce, Mrs. Ong was the one that suggested to foot the bill for the engagement so Shi Wenqian has no reason to feel bad.

    But trust that woman to be strange.

    B

    Having received the right to make some changes to the decors, Shi Wenqian went about pointing out a few things while staying in the same position.

    She liked making arrangements for parties like this moreso, it was her son''s engagement party.

    It needed to be loud.

    From the cutlery and down to the food, she either added or scrapped a few things off the list, but she was smart enough to not offend Mrs. Ong as she kept on asking for her suggestion as well.

    "If things go well tomorrow, our children should get married within two months after this engagement party." Mrs. Ong said with finality in her tone.

    She still needed to observe a few things tomorrow before raising the g for her daughter to be married off to the Zhangs.

    Hearing her condition for a wedding to hold soon, Shi Wenqianplied while already starting to plot a few things in her head.<novelnext></novelnext>

    By all means, things must go on very well for her son tomorrow.

    Thinking about how much Mrs. Ong hated to share attention on the news with others, she made sure that no scandal would be put up the next day and the day after.

    At the same time, she shifted and tried to make a call to her secretary, but when the line wasn''t connecting, she quickly left her a text before rejoining Mrs. Ong in the hall.

    As soon as thest minute setup was done, Shi Wenqian left for the foundation before returning home still, Secretary Cha was still yet to respond to her.

    "What is wrong with her, is she still busy at the factory?"

    Pondering a few things over in her head, she left for her bedroom where she freshened up before appearing at the dining table to have dinner with Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu.

    As soon as she sat down, she fixed her gaze on the man supposed to be a dutiful husband.

    "Won''t you ask me how the engagement arrangement is going?"

    "What is there to ask about? If you can''t even take care of a small task like that, then you shouldn''t be trusted with a bigger one." Zhang Renshu stated without sparring her a nce.

    He didn''t have time to exchange words with her or try to understand the direction she wasing from.

    If she couldn''t speak straight forwardly and summarize what was going on without him having to ask or show interest as she wanted him to, then she can continue to keep her mouth shut.

    He didn''t care.

    "Zhang Mingyu is your son, you should try to show some interest towards things that concern him."

    Letting out a regretful sigh, she quickly said without giving him a chance to start an argument with her.

    She still wanted to retire to be in joy and wake up the next day overflowing in happiness.

    "Mrs. Ong said the kids should get married within two months after the engagement tomorrow."

    Hearing that, Zhang Renshu nodded in agreement while Zhang Mingyu who had been quiet all this while, stopped eating and peered at his parents.

    "Two months is enough time to n the wedding ceremony. This union has taken so much time to happen despite the agreement that was made more than a year ago."

    Zhang Renshu was fine with the arrangement and immediately gave his consent for things to go as nned.

    There was no need holding off the marriage when he was still keen on being rted to the Ong family through the marriage of his son to their daughter.

    Hearing his response, Shi Wenqian was more than satisfied and began to eat.

    When was thest time they ever talked about something and an argument didn''t end it?

    She couldn''t remember but thankfully, they both agreed on something which meant that things were still good on her side.

 Chapter 413 Explanation

    "Are you going to tell me where you went to?" Zhang Liling inquired while peering Fang Bingwen''s face

    Staring at the man who promised he wouldn''t be long before leaving the house in the morning, she couldn''t help but not wait to get a response from him.

    He promised to return in time, but he ended up making in time for the dinner he promised her. She was really very curious now hence the reason she was questioning him as soon as they ced their food order.

    "Don''t you want to enjoy the romantic dinner?" Fang Bingwen asked with a small smile ying at the corner of his lips.

    He knew she couldn''t wait, but he couldn''t just go ahead and began to talk just like that even though she deserved an immediate exnation.

    He didn''t want to ruin her dinner.

    "What romantic dinner after you made me like this?" Zhang Liling queried while pouting her lips

    He dared to leave her all alone for several hours and thene home without offering any exnation to her, how did he think she could enjoy any Romance at the moment?

    It seems like he didn''t know how a woman''s emotion worked.

    "How did I make me?" He asked, but a re from her caused him to chuckle heartily.

    "Alright, I know my wrong now. I''m sorry." He apologized and quickly exined while asking for her understanding at the same time.

    "What I have to talk to you about is very sensitive. Wait till we get back."

    "Really?" Zhang Liling probed.

    "Mmmm..." He admitted with a nod.

    "Fine." She said as she finally let him off.

    If what they were going to talk about was very important, then she could wait till they got home.

    Who knows if she might get annoyed at the end. She would like to enjoy a peaceful dinner with him.

    Seeing that she agreed, he changed the topic and chatted about the tales of the city of love as their food was served.

    "Did you see yourself to be different amongst your peers when you started schooling?" Fang Bingwen asked with a curious gaze.

    He wanted to know all her thoughts in growing up in Paris.

    He was very curious about her life here although they had only talked about it before, but on the surface.

    "I already knew who I was and where I was from because my mum made sure to educate me before I started attending kindergarten. It wasn''t hard I promise you."

    Sending a piece of steak into her mouth, she chewed on it she continued.

    "What was hard, was watching my mother struggle to feed us and send me to a good school. But as I entered high school, things got better."

    Recalling the past, she remained every grateful to her mother who did everything she could to give her the best.

    "Everyone would think you were a princess given who your father is, and who your mother is now." Fang Bingwen said with a smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Anyone that saw Zhang Liling now would think she was a princess who have all her needs met before they could arise not knowing that she had witnessed a fair amount of suffering while growing up.

    Yes, she was fortunate to have a mother who toiled night and day to pave the way for a good future for her. That, she was very proud of.

    "I don''t care what they think, but they should be careful about me learning the lies they spread. I am always impatient."

    "What, are you going to pick a fight with them?" He asked while staring straight into his eyes.

    He looked as if he was waiting for her to say ''yes'' just so he could pull her ears like a child. Fortunately, Liling was smart enough not to fall into the trap.

    As they got home from the date, Fang Bingwen was the first person to bring up the matter he had gone out to take care of as he did not want her to remind him about it.

    "I went to see your Zhang family''s housekeeper." He said while walking into the room, following her behind like a child.

    "What?" Instantly, Zhang Liling turned her back with a shocked expression on her face. ''Housekeeper Cha?''

    "Your stepmother is really something, sending her secretary toe and sabotage your makeup products. Tsk...tsk... What a crazy woman." He revealed while sitting on the bed and unbuttoning his shirt.

    "Shi Wenqian did what?" Zhang Liling was shocked beyond measure as she stood at the same spot, her eyes threatening to producesers.

    She was so angry that her entire face was twisted in a frown.

    Seeing that look on her face, Fang Bingwen thought it wise of him to not have taken her with him in the first ce.

    She would have surely caused amotion.

    "Sit next to me and I will exin everything."

    Though she was impatient, she ended up sitting next to him to hear the rest of the news he brought with her.

    Ten minutester, her eyes were wide in shock. "Did she really put her hands in something like that?" She asked in shock.

    "Yes. That woman told me and I don''t doubt it since I found some traces a while ago. Initially, I had thought she was remotely involved but who knew she was the ring leader of that kind of group." Fang Bingwen revealed further.

    The more Zhang Liling heard, the more she wanted to unhear those revtion.

    "Should I be thanking God she didn''t take my life?"

    Thinking back to those times she lived in the Zhang family and her stepmother was busy running a dirty and inhumane business like that, Zhang Liling felt lucky.

    Truly, Shi Wenqian had the means to kill her, but she didn''t.

    ''Why did she let me live?'' Zhang Liling couldn''t help but wonder.

    Knowing the kind of thoughts she had in her head, Fang Bingwen replied to them.

    "Shi Wenqian didn''t dare to touch your life because she didn''t have the guts. What do you think it would mean for you to join the Zhang family and end up dying even if it was through an ident?"

 Chapter 414 Someone By Her Side

    Fang Bingwen''s analysis were correct.

    Shi Wenqian didn''t dare to touch Zhang Liling''s life at that time because it would be obvious that she would be behind it.

    Knowing how much she was hated, she wouldn''t be able to escape going in for it. That was the only reason she could only bully her step daughter until she left the family.

    Understanding the situation, Zhang Liling wanted nothing more than to want her stepmother to pay with her life.

    "I don''t care about justice, I just want her out of the face of this world."

    "Do you want to drive her tomit suicide because I can''tmit murder for your sake." Fang Bingwen said as he scratched his nose awkwardly.

    Though he loved her, he wouldn''t want to punish someone like Shi Wenqian by killing her. He would prefer for the Law to be take care and grant justice.

    "It would be good if we can drive her to suicide, but what kind of person is Shi Wenqian? I don''t think we can get her that way. Anyway, we have to make sure she lives in prison for the rest of her life. If she dared to escape by any chance, she is to be killed at first sight!" Zhang Liling said without mincing words.

    To those that caused her and her loved ones pain, she would do anything to avenge them. That was how she was.

    No body can offend her and got scot-free. She was not a saint or an Angel.

    "We will do as you want. Send her to prison and let the Law grant you Justice." Fang Bingwen said in agreement.

    "But how are we going to find her den and gather so many evidences? I learned that Zhang Mingyu''s engagement party is taking ce tomorrow. Knowing who that woman is, she would want to do everything for the wedding to take ce as soon as made possible."

    It wasn''t impossible to gather evidences rting to her evil deed rather, the question was how long it would take.

    "Shi Wenqian''s secretary will get the evidence for us." Fang Bingwen revealed as he unbuckled the belt on his waist with a proud smile on his face.

    Before letting Secretary Cha off, he had made sure to set a few instructions for her and one of them happened to be collecting evidence of the headquarter were human parts were being taken and traded.

    Another task was to report to him if every conversation Shi Wenqian held with anyone, plus the ces she goes to and the people she meets.

    He was going to use the person closest to her to gather evidences that will send her to jail.

    Knowing human nature, Mr. Fang made sure to give the woman a good threat that will keep her on her toes and cause her to never go astray from the tasks he assigned to her.

    "If this is so, then we must be very fortunate. It will be easy for someone by her side to do this job." pping her hands excitedly, Zhang Liling seemed to remember something and stopped.

    "This must be what Zhang Xiaoling wanted to talk to me about. She had specifically told me that her mother was dangerous and it wouldn''t be easy to take her down. This must be what she meant."

    "Yes. It shouldn''t be far from this. We are getting there." Fang Bingwen said as he put his shirt on the bed andid his brown leather belt next to it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Frowning again, Zhang Liling couldn''t believe the guts her stepmother had to want to covet things that belonged to her.

    "Shi Wenqian is really crazy to still want to take over my father''spany."

    "Your stepmother is after the Zhangpany shares. With this marriage, she would pressure your father to raise your bro... Zhang Mingyu''s position in thepany and give him some of his shares to appease the Ong family.

    The Ong family have depth is wealth and in politics. They would never want to marry their only child to a mere manager of apany." Mr. Fang said after analysing where Shi Wenqian was headed.

    Being a man in the business for some years, he had the ability to think critically and analyse situations.

    "In her dreams! She shoulde and get it let me see!" Zhang Liling said fearlessly.

    She was ready to engage in a physical battle with that wild woman that came out of nowhere to seduce her father and take her mother off the picture.

    "Why would my father have an affair with his housekeeper in the first ce. All this happened because he couldn''t stay at a ce!"

    Hearing her mention that same word that connected them together, a smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

    "Were you not my housekeeper when you tried to seduce me?"

    "What?" Instantly, she picked an offence with him. "Honey, how could you say that? How could youpare me and that evil wild grass together? Our situation was most definitely different!"

    Without waiting for his response, she continued. "I had no intention of seducing you, that is a wrong word to use. Also, you were single and wasn''t seeing anybody. I ampletely innocent of all your usations!

    If you push it, I will forget you are my husband and surely sue you for ndering and defamation of character!"

    "Hahaha... What kind of wife will you be when you take things so far?" Fang Bingwen chuckled heartily.

    He was daring her to know the limits she could reach.

    "Your wife." Zhang Liling said and stood to her feet, but just as she was about to leave, he pulled her into his arms.

    "Let go!" she demanded angrily but all pleas fell on deaf ears.

    Laughing out loud, he said while wrapping his arms around her waist and forcing their body to glue together.

    "I am letting you touch me without having to ask, shouldn''t you take this as a good repayment?"

    This was how Fang Bingwen ended what would have been a silent cold war between them afterparing her actions of making him fall her, to the actions of Shi Wenqian seducing another woman''s man.

 Chapter 415 Shi Wenqians Patience

    ~A dayter~

    Zhang Mingyu''s engagement went smoothly to the happiness of Shi Wenqian.

    There were a lot of distinguished guests invited for the ceremony, along with the press since someone couldn''t wait to show off how big her son''s engagement party was aspared with Zhang Liling''s wedding.

    Of course, her goal was achieved as people couldn''t help but talking about the vast difference between Zhang Liling''s wedding and Zhang Mingyu''s engagement party.

    Although Mrs. Ong was unhappy with theparison, she didn''t re up since the news that has to do with Zhang Liling didn''t affect the news of her only child''s engagement party.

    Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei were also present at therge engagement party.

    Watching her mother Interact happily with other people whole leaving her out, she had swirled her champagne ss.

    Seeing the big party that was thrown for a fake brother she had always protected since young, Zhang Xiaoling was reminded of the vast difference on their mother''s love.

    As soon as the engagement party came to an end, the fake smile on Zhang Mingyu''s face disappeared as he went into a room upstairs of the hotel to rest.

    It was hard trying to keep up appearances for the press and for the crowd that came to his party.

    Sitting on the couch, he turned the ring on his finger and scoffed.

    The only reason he wasn''t making a fuss over getting married forcefully was because there was a huge advantage waiting for him. Once gets some of his father''s shares and is promoted, his mother wouldn''t have to control him anymore.

    Having such thoughts, he decided to have some patience. It''s not like he was going to stay married to Ong Emma forever.

    After using her to his advantage, he was going to dump her respectfully as long as she doesn''t be a pain in the a**.

    On the other hand, Shi Wenqian had plenty of time to face her secretary whom she had sent on a mission after returning to the Zhang family residence.

    As soon as she returned home, she asked her to send a bowl of fruit to her bedroom before finding her way to her room to wait.

    As she didn''t want things to seem suspicious even though she did not care, she had to use that method to get the hosuekeeper toe and report to her.

    Stepping into her bedroom, she out down her bag and went to sit on the couch facing her bed with her hand under her jaw as her gaze travelled over her surrounding.

    Less than 2 minutester, a soft knock was heard on the door before it swing open gently.

    "Ma''am, you asked for some fruit." Secretary Cha said as she shut the door behind her and came to set the bowl of fruit in front of her.

    Watching as she set the bowl in front of her, Shi Wenqian stretched out her legs to her, a silent sign of instructing her to take off her shoes.

    Understanding the signal, the woman reached out for he legs to take off the pair of shoes while listening to her.

    "What exactly happened in Paris? Do you care to exin?"

    Because she had been messaging her to ask for a heads-up, Shi Wenqian cane to find out on the failed mission and was mad. But because this day was her son''s engagement party, she knew she had toport herself and be happy and leave time to deal with other matters.

    "I was nearly caught so I had to run away." Secretary Cha replied as she out her shoes aside and stood with her back straight, not daring to meet her Mistress''s gaze.

    Hearing that she was almost caught, Shi Wenqian''s eyes flew open in fear.

    "Nearly caught? How did you mess up such a small deal?" She scolded.

    She was angry that the n failed but what was worse, was the possibility of leaving traces behind so she wanted to know the details of what exactly she had done there.

    Knowing that things woulde to this, Secretary Cha spilled the lies she already had packaged for her in return for the questions she was asking.

    At the end of the day, Shi Wenqian was more scared. "The police even came? Hope you did not leave any traces behind?"

    Hearing that the police hade to the production factory for Glint''s makeup products, fear gripped her heart.

    "No ma''am. The only took thedy who was assigned to do the job. She will not be able to point fingers at me since she didn''t get the opportunity to see my face." Secretary Cha replied smoothly.

    Instantly, the fear in Shi Wenqian''s heart seemed to disappear almost at the same time. She seemed a bit relieved, but she was not rxed either.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "To make sure that things are still fine, stay in the city and do the job you have here. It''s a good thing were not caught, but I still won''t forgive you for blowing such an important and one-time opportunity up!"

    Recovering from the shock and relief of not being caught, she forgot the consequences of what her actions would have been started to scold the hell out of her hosuekeeper.

    With the great ns she had prepared to deal with Zhang Liling through herpany, she was bound to be angry and not easily forget it. After all, it would take time to find another opportunity as this.

    Also, with the police getting involved in Paris, that was a big Red g to never try something like that again.

    Now, she would have to think of another method to take care of that disrespectful little girl.

    "Go away first. We will have to focus on Mingyu to make sure this wedding happens within 2 months before taking care of Zhang Liling for good." Shi Wenqian said as she crossed her legs over the other.

    Learning of her intentions, Secretary Cha''s ears immediately perked up.

    "Ma''am, have you thought of how to teach that girl a lesson? We will have to be careful with the Fang family by her side. Also, Fang Bingwen is not to be trifled with."

    By choosing her words carefully and putting it like that, Shi Wenqian will not feel like she was questioning or trying to be nosy.

    Instead, she would think she was worried about them executing their goal carefully without being caught in the radar by Fang Bingwen.

    Understanding the situation that way, a small smile yed at the corner of her lips.

    "It won''t be hard to get rid of that girl. I wouldn''t need to interrogate or torture her before killing her slowly."

    "What do you mean, Ma''am?" Secretary Cha probed.

    Seeing the change in her Mistress''s facial expression, the woman knew she was excited and must havee to a final solution.

    "I no longer want to waste my time by trying to capture. The new instruction would be to kill her on sight. I could use Zhang Renshu to get her on the road and have the job done.

    I won''t care of any of the Fang family member will be in the car with her. I just want her out and as for the unfortunate ones that will want to go with her, I don''t mind sending them off together."

    Nodding her head, she dipped her hand into the bowl to pick up the desert fork that had been stabbed into a piece of watermelon.

    Picking it up, she sent it into her mouth and whole chewing on it, she added, "Because I wouldn''t want to jinx my son''s wedding, I will dy the blood shed till after the wedding. Then, no one would daree my way."

    The sudden death of any member of the Zhang family would bring bad luck for her and her son and that was exactly what Shi Wenqian believed.

    Also, the death would dy Zhang Mingyu''s wedding and so, the dy in transfer of thepany shares to him as the only way for him to get those shares, was for him to marry the person Zhang Renshu appointed as his wife.

    Having thought things through a little more deeply, Shi Wenqian did want to make any mistake.

    What was wrong with exercising a little patience?

    After all, there was a saying that ''The patient dog eats the fattest bone'' and she would dly take it to heart at this point in time.

    ***

    As soon as Secretary Cha left the room she rushed toward her own room in the servant quarters to make a call.

    After several rings, the person she was trying to reach didn''t answer, causing her to be frustrated.

    Cursing a few words under her breath, she decided to try another means which was to send a text since she had been gone from her post for long.

    If she didn''t want to arouse suspicion from Shi Wenqian, then she had to be extremely careful.

    Just as she was about typing a text to the person she failed to reach, a call came in on her phone.

    Immediately, she slid her finger across the screen to answer the call at the first ring without waiting to hear a response from the other end, she spoke first.

    "Sir, Mrs. Zhang ns to get rid of Miss Zhang after her son''s wedding to Miss Ong."

 Chapter 416 Work After Having Fun

    ~Country S, City S~

    It''s been 2 days since Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen returned to home after spending quality time with each other in their honeymoon.

    Now, it was time to get back to work after recovering from jeg at their vi.

    At the moment, thetest couple were getting ready to go to work in their walk-in closet.

    "Honey, how do you see this dress?" Zhang Liling inquired as she twirled around in a shirt dress with a bold brown leather belt on her waist and a matching ankle boot.

    Putting his ash-coloured suit jacket over his shoulder, Fang Bingwen slipped his hands in while staring at her dress.

    "Not bad. It looks a bit casual at first, but after a good second nce, it doesn''t look like that anymore. What matters is that you arefortable. You know, you can''t be thinking about your ufortable outfit while working."

    "You are right." Smiling to herself, she turned her gaze to the mirror to stare at her outfit one more time before moving her long strands of hair to the back.

    "I think I look better with the hair moved behind. Maybe I should visit the saloon after work and get some waves done." She added.

    "Anything you like. Come and have breakfast otherwise I will bete." Mr. Fang said as he took her hand and pulled her along with him to leave the closet.

    Downstairs, as breakfast had already been served, they only had to sit and eat.

    "Honey, would you like me to cook anything for you?" Zhang Liling asked.

    "No, we have a chef here. Just focus on the business you have left for the past few days now, I''m sure there is so much for you to catch up with." He said thoughtfully.

    To him, it didn''t matter who was cooking for him, but first things first.

    He wouldn''t mind if she wanted to cook for him, but he had to remind her of the work she had piled up. She can cook after she had taken care of that one.

    Understanding his thoughtfulness, Zhang Liling gave him a thumbs up. "As expected, you are the best."

    "Hahaha... Eat your food." He said with a smile while pointing at the food before her with his finger.

    After having breakfast together, Fang Bingwen dropped Zhang Liling off at ''Glint'' before leaving for hispany.

    This was the reason he mentioned about beingte because he had to drop her first before driving down to Fang Group.

    Arriving at work, Zhang Liling was well weed by her staff and she made their day better by sharing them some souvenirs she had brought from Paris.

    "Thank you, Ma''am!" They all thanked her with big smiles on their faces.

    "Enjoy!" Zhang Liling waved at them with a smile before stepping into her office that had already been cleaned out and aired the moment thepany was opened for the day.

    Zhang Liling was smiling from ear to ear as she stepped into her office. "It''s been a while." She mumbled to herself as her gaze flew over the ce before she went over to sit on the seat behind her office desk.

    Swirling around on the chair with her arms spread out, she closed her eyes until a few minutester.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Picking up her phone, she took a few photos before choosing one at of all them.

    Going to her SNS, she posted it with the caption, ''Back to grinding after having fun''

    After posting, she dropped her phone a d faced the work for the day.

    Calling in her Heads of Department, she had a meeting with them to get briefed on what happened in thepany while she was away.

    ***

    Zhang Xiaoling who had been earnestly waiting for Zhang Liling to return, scoffed when she saw her SNS post.

    "She came backs and didn''t say anything as expected. Or is this her way of telling me that she is back?" She asked herself as she went back to sit on the chair behind her office desk.

    Checking her recent posts, she found nothing new except for that one photo she just posted.

    On Zhang Liling''s recent post, there was her wedding photo with Fang Bingwen, and going upwards, there was one photo from their honeymoon in Paris andstly, was the picture of her at Glint.

    She was really stingy with feeding the public''s eyes with she and Fang Bingwen''s photos.

    Now aware that her step-sister was back, Zhang Xiaoling waited for a while before giving her a call.

    Fortunately, she didn''t snub or reject her call.

    "You are back." Zhang Xiaoling said with her fingertips tabbing on her work desk.

    "Yes, I am." Zhang Liling replied simply, refusing to lead her on.

    There was silence at the other end until Zhang Xiaoling spoke again. "I don''t know when you returned, but since it looks like you will have some work to do today, let''s meet for brunch tomorrow."

    Hearing her inviting her to have a conversation concerning where they had stopped from thest time, Zhang Liling replied, "I will check my schedule and let you know if I will be free at that time. As you know, I''m just returning from my honeymoon and definitely, there will be a lot of catching up to do."

    "I will send you the address and time." Zhang Xiaoling said, not wanting to hear her excuses.

    She was not feeling entitled in any way. Rather, she was aware that Zhang Liling was only trying to drag things out with her hence, the reason she responded that way.

    "Bring your sincerity along." Zhang Liling said and ended the call.

    Putting her phone on her desk, she mumbled to herself, "Why is she in such a hurry?"

    While the adults were busy with work, Shi Wenqian who was definitely the bigger one, was trying to still have the way for her son, Zhang Mingyu.

    Despite knowing that it was still work hours, she picked up her phone to give him a call as soon as an idea popped up in her head.

 Chapter 417 Something Important

    "Mingyu, whenst did you speak to Emma?" Shi Wenqian probed as soon as Zhang Mingyu answered the call.

    "At the engagement party." He replied.

    "What! That''s not right. It has been so long yet you haven''t reached out to her. What is wrong with you?"

    How was their rtionship going to get stronger if they avoided each other? No! This will be bad for both families.

    "Mum, have you forgotten that I''m currently learning how to be a sessor? How will I age. The time to speak to her or see anyone?" Zhang Mingyu retorted.

    In any case, he was just bluffing because he could make out time out of his busy schedule to fool around, but he couldn''t do that to phone his fianc¨¦e or see her.

    Shi Wenqian was smart enough to not believe him totally. Being aware that he did not feel attracted to Emma Ong, she knew he would most definitely avoid meeting her.

    "Ask Emma out tomorrow. You can take her out for shopping tomorrow. I will send the funds. Make sure you call her now and speak to her about it."

    Before ending the phone conversation, she added, "I will be waiting to hear about the news from Mrs. Ong this evening."

    As soon as she ended the call, she was not rxed in any way as she was troubled by something very important.

    Having realized that Zhang Mingyu was not interested in a beautiful girl like Emma Ong from a rich family and with good educational background, an idea ured to her.

    ''There must be another woman.''

    Just as she came to a conclusion about this matter, her gaze widened. Without wasting time, she picked up her phone again and made a call to someone.

    "Send someone to follow Mingyu and find out what he is and had been up to."

    Passing that instruction, she ended the call.

    "I will be d if I''m just thinking too much." He mumbled to herself before leaving for her foundation to check on the business and the iing orders.

    ***

    As per her his mother''s instruction, Zhang Mingyu reached out to Emma Ong. Instead of calling her directly, he texted her.

    ''Are you free tomorrow? I will take you out to shop for anything you like.''

    Putting down his phone, he continued with his work until an hourter when he finally received a response from her.

    ''Okay.''

    Seeing her reply which meant that she agreed, he quickly sent her the time and their meeting location before ending the conversation.

    Towards work closing hours, Mika knocked and walked into his office with a bright smile as usual.

    As soon as she shut the door behind her, she quickly ran to his side to kiss the side of his face.

    "Darling, I''ve missed you!" she said happily.

    "You were just the happy medicine I was looking for." Zhang Mingyu said as a smile turned up on his face after an annoying day.

    Seeing her made him feel relieved.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Exchanging a few more kisses, she sat on the desk before him.

    "Are you done for the day?" She inquired as she used her hand to move hisptop away from her sight just so she could settle her butts on his desk properly.

    "No. I still have more work to do." He replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

    ncing around for a bit, her gaze finally settled in his face. "Can we meet outside work tomorrow, I have something to tell you."

    "You have something to tell me? Can''t you say it now?" Zhang Mingyu asked while looking at her.

    Wrapping her arms around his neck, she insisted, "No I can''t. This news is very important to both of us. Let''s meet outside work tomorrow."

    "I have something important to do tomorrow after work. Tomorrow can''t work." Zhang Mingyu replied as she met him trace her finger on his neck and go on to loosen his necktie.

    "What will you be doing after work that is so important, more than what I want to tell you?" Mika probed with pouted lips.

    Clearly she was annoyed, but she couldn''t put it exactly that way so as to not a get him.

    Having known him for a long time, she knew that little things usually made him angry, including too much clinginess.

    Hearing her question, Zhang Mingyu was tongue-tied for a few seconds, making her find him suspicious.

    Meeting her intense gaze, he waved the question away after giving a vague response.

    "There is someone I have to meet. I can''t afford to get into trouble. Let''s schedule to meet another day."

    After he said that, Mika noticed that he was avoiding eye contact with her and knee that who he was going to meet was no good, but she didn''t let out show on her face.

    After teasing him a for a bit, she gave smooched his neck area before picking up her things and leaving.

    As soon as she closed the door, the smile on her face disappeared. ''Let''s see where you are going to.'' She thought to herself before walking away.

    Back in the office, Zhang Mingyu let out a sigh of relief.

    He didn''t want to tell Mika whom he was meeting after work so she wouldn''t get jealous. As he didn''t want to exin his entire life to her since she didn''t have to know everything about him, he wanted to keep her out of his other affairs.

    He could take care of those private matters without her interference, and that would be for the best.

    Letting out another sigh, he hurried to finish the work he had on his desk before leaving home the next day.

    Unknown to him, Mika was unhappy with him and wouldn''t rest until she found out where he was going and who he would be meeting.

    Returning back to her department section, Mika shut down her system and picked up her handbag before walking away, almost colliding into Tungmei.

    "Watch where you are going!" Tungmei shouted. Rolling her eyes, she went to her desk to pack her things to leave for the day.

    ****////****

    Dearest Readers, please support mytest contemporary Romance work, ''Love Past Time''

    XOXO

 Chapter 418 Bickering

    The next day, Zhang Liling and Zhang Xiaoling met for brunch at an exclusive restaurant that had private rooms.

    As Zhang Xiaoling''s blood was hot, she arrived at the ns twenty minutes before the time. Fortunately, Zhang Liling was notte as she had expected her to be.

    Since she was the one desperate for answers, she had thought Zhang Liling would take advantage of the situation bying inte but to her surprise, she was only 5 minuteste.

    Watching her as she walked into the room, she noticed her different she looked.

    Was this the glow that radiated from a man who married well?

    Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t tell.

    "Are you surprised that I came in early?" Zhang Liling asked as she sat at the other end of the long table.

    Seeing the way she was staring at her in surprise, she couldn''t help thinking that way.

    "Yeah." Zhang Xiaoling replied without the intention of hiding her thoughts from her.

    If thru were going to exchange information and n to work together, then they needed to build trust between them.

    "I thought you would take your time."She added.

    Putting her bag on the floor next to her feet, Zhang Liling ced her phone in the table in front of her as a smile bloomed on her face.

    "Well, I wouldn''t deny having such thoughts, but as a busy woman who has apany to run, I can''t waste my time. Besides, I have something else to do at the end of today."

    Leaning into the table, she said in a low tone only them could hear.

    "I need to take care of Honey."

    Winking at her, she leaned her back toward the chair she was sitting on.

    A deep breath escaped from Zhang Xiaoling''s lips as she heard those words that made her ears cringe.

    Without uttering a word concerning it, she pressed the bell on the table in front of her and within a minute, a waiter walked in to take their other.

    "I think we should eat before we talk to avoid getting indigestionter." She suggested as she received the menu from the waiter.

    "Why didn''t you think I would get indigestion from dining with you instead?" Zhang Liling asked as she received the second menu from the waiter that hade to take their food order.

    Without raising her head from the booklet in front of her eyes, Zhang Xiaoling fired back in a low tone. "That is the reason I reserved this room that has the longest table so we would stay off each others part while conversing."

    Truthfully, the distance between the two heads of the table was vast.

    The table was long, making it only impossible for the two people sitting at each head to share a bond.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While counting, it would take at least 5 long arms before they would be able to mistakenly brush against the skin of each others finger.

    That was how distant Zhang Liling and Zhang Xiaoling were on the dining table.

    "At least you are still smart like in the past." Zhang Liling retorted as she lifted her gaze to nce at the waiter while returning the menu to him.

    "I will have..."

    For the rest of the time it took for their food and drink order to arrive, the two sisters didn''t say a word to each other.

    While sitting on her chair, Zhang Liling got busy by just replying to somements under her post, as well as some important Mails.

    On the other hand, Zhang Xiaoling''s gaze was busy staring at anywhere except on her phone or on the woman sitting across from her.

    When their order finally arrived, they got something else to keep them upied instead of making things awkward between them.

    Some minutester, a few waiters walked into the room to clear everything in their table except for their drinks.

    Since she was the one that invited Zhang Liling over, Zhang Xiaoling took over the conversation.

    "As you already know, I am curious about every information you have on my mother. First, I will start by telling you what you might not know about her."

    Staring straight into her eyes, Zhang Xiaoling made no effort of holding back on what she knew about her mother.

    "My mother is shrewd in all her way as you already know. The reason I said it will not be easy to take her down is because her roots are deep and she is dangerous.

    Why do you think our rtionship is not close anymore? What do you think I must have seen or found out about her that I couldn''t take when I have been on her side since you came to know me?

    Fiddling with her fingers, Zhang Liling replied. "Something that has to do with butchering and taking out human organs and selling them in the ck market? In summary, body parts trafficking?"

    "You knew about that?"

    Zhang Xiaoling''s eyes widened in their sockets when she heard her response. She couldn''t believe her ears as she began to wonder how she came to know about something so secretive and sensitive.

    "Yes, but only recently, thanks to your mother angering me by trying to sabotage my make-up products at the factory in Paris. I must say, she really has some nerves. But I had to return the favour." Zhang Liling said without batting an eye.

    She was letting her know that the biggest secret she thought she had to tell her had already been found out by her.

    In actual sense, she was telling her that she had nothing to trade with her, but Zhang Xiaoling was not thinking toward that direction.

    "Since you know about a huge matter like this, what are you going to do next? You will need to work hard to get some hardcore evidences that cane be used against her."

    "Zhang Xiaoling, why are you going against your mother instead of taking her side?" Zhang Liling asked curiously as small wrinkles formed on her forehead.

 Chapter 419 Working Together

    "Do you think you are the only that has been bullied by my mother?" Zhang Xiaoling asked.

    Then without waiting for her response, she continued.

    "My mother neglected me most of the times in my life and the only reason I was with her before, was because I was waiting on a glimmer of hope but until the end, I never saw it.

    Fully aware that I would be heading to the path of destruction of I didn''t stay away from her, I had to make a decision and I did."

    Smiling at Zhang Xiaoling, she leaned in to the table. "You must think my mother favoured me and of course, you are not wrong for thinking that way since it was all you could see.

    But all my life, my mother had only cared about my brother while leaving me behind. The only reason I was fortunate to receive money and other necessities instead of her attention and love is because I am her daughter."

    There were so many things Zhang Xiaoling had toin about, but this was not the right time and ce to vent and especially to Zhang Liling who probably didn''t care about her emotions since she had treated her badly in the past.

    There was a stepfather that used all the people under him for his benefits, and there was biological mother who cared more for her son more than her daughter, and used them to gain some power.

    Her life was really pitiful.

    Before, Zhang Xiaoling nned to move and concentrate on building a family with Tang Ei, but on learning that the person her mother gave her everything to might be biological child of Zhang Renshu, she suddenly wanted to drag her down.

    "If you really want to take revenge on your mother, that will be a fun scene for me to watch because I can''t be any happier than now.'' Zhang Liling said without hiding her disdain.

    Ignoring that look on her face, Zhang Xiaoling probed, "You are going to let me work on this with you?"

    "Not really, but I have a task for you. As you said, we need a concrete evidence that shows the bloody mess your mother sank her hands into.

    For this, I would need you to help father the evidences since you know so much about it."

    "No way!"

    Immediately, she turned her down.

    "My mother will get suspicious if I suddenly get close to her and show interest in the ck market business. She is very crafty." Zhang Xiaoling pointed out.

    Knowing her mother very well, she was better off giving advises from the best point of view.

    Understanding what she meant and little but impactful it was, Zhang Liling nodded.

    "Fine."

    While lost in thought, she heard Zhang Xiaoling making a demand. "Can I see the evidence that shows that Zhang Mingyu is not the biological sonof your father?"

    Since she had made mention of this before, it would be pleasing if she saw a proof that would make her garden her heart and turn it to a stone till she was done dealing with someone.

    "I don''t have any evidence and this is the second task I have for you."

    Zhang Liling said as the corner of her lips curled into a smirk.

    Finally, there was something else she could use her step-sister for.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And what is it?" Zhang Xiaoling inquired.

    "I need you get the strands from your mother''s hair, Zhang Mingyu and my father''s. If you can''t get their hair, look for anything that came be used to conduct a DNA test and hand them over to me. And when the resultse out, I will let you be the one to expose this secret."

    ***

    Returning home after work, Zhang Liling immediately spilled the content of the agreement she had reached with Zhang Xiaoling.

    "You did well." Fang Bingwenplimented whole giving her a thumbs-up.

    "Thank you," Zhang Liling said happily before continuing to eat her food.

    Watching her eat with that smile on her face, Fang Bingwen smiled as well before deciding to reveal something to her.

    "Zhang Mingyu''s wedding will be taking ce soon and some arrangements had already begun."

    "I know Shi Wenqian will want to hurry up with her ns, but she is just joking. I will never let that wedding take ce. I will make sure to expose his rtionship with that girl from work a few days to his wedding ceremony." Zhang Liling promised with a sneer.

    "Doing that will not be enough reason for the Ong family to call off the wedding even if Emma Ong is their only daughter. The Ong and the Zhang family hase a long way and only a strong news will force them to take a step back without minding their image."

    "Well, we have to force Zhang Mingyu to do something huge that will discredit him as a good husband and son-inw before the time is toote." Zhang Liling said after agreeing with him.

    Having an idea of how some big families worked, she couldn''t rule out that possibility.

    "Honey, can you send someone to follow Zhang Mingyu and get as many videos, records and pictures that can discredit him?" She pleaded.

    "I will. We have less than 6 weeks to put your stepmother behind bars."

    Fang Bingwen agreed wholeheartedly with her.

    *******

    ~Zhang Cooperation~

    During work hours, Tungmei who always had her eyes in Mika as a favour from herself to her best friend, noticed something wrong with her.

    She couldn''t count the number of times she left her desk and returned looking worse than before.

    Thest time she returned to her desk, her eyes and her nose were red, but she didn''t look like she had been crying.

    She still looked healthy while working efficiently until during the close of work when she started to get distracted.

    With her eyes on the door, she was fortunate to find Zhang Mingyu leaving with his workbag, and quickly clocked off work and followed him without waiting for her superior''s approval.

    Apparently, she didn''t care about getting scolded.

 Chapter 420 Tailing

    "Is she going out with Zhang Mingyu?" Tungmei mumbled to herself as her gaze followed Mika till she disappeared from the translucent ss view.

    Since she came to know about her and Zhang Mingyu''s rtionship, she had been keeping her eyes on her trying to get any evidence of them seeing each other, but things were not easy.

    As the couple would always hang out in an enclosed space of Zhang Mingyu''s office or outside of work, she couldn''t take photos or make a record.

    How annoying!

    Not long after Zhang Xiaoling left did Tungmei clock off work as well.

    She only had to tell her supervisor at work about leaving for the day after she had submitted a detailed report of a task to him.

    Picking up her bag, she went to take the elevator while patting her head.

    After a long day at work, she was sure she was already looking worn out.

    While in the elevator, she picked up her phone to kill some time before it arrived at the ground floor.

    As soon as it arrived, she stepped out of it and walked outside the tall building to g down a cab, but then an exciting scene just had to be ying out there.

    Just when she lifted her head from her phone, she saw Mika standing beside a cab and with her gaze toward a particr side of the building.

    The taxi driver seemed to be fed up for with waiting for her so he brought his head out from the car window and said to her.

    "Miss are you getting in or what? You stopped me for almost 5 minutes now but you haven''t said where you are going to. You only asked me to wait."

    Getting scolded by the cab driver she stopped what was not a part of the n. Being arrogant of the fact that she knew someone from the upper ss, she could do anything she wanted, but today was different.

    Instead of sending the driver off for raising his voice at her, she actually pleaded.

    "Driver, I''m waiting for someone. Don''t get worked up about waiting for a little while more, I will give you 30% extra of my fare."

    Behind, Tungmei''s brows furrowed. "Who is she waiting for?"

    Knowing that Zhang Mingyu had a car that he drives every day of his life, she was confused for a moment, and that made her continue to stand at the same spot to watch Mika.

    Hearing her pleas, the driver put his head back into the car and continued waiting. As along as she would pay him for staying put, then he was all good.

    "Where is he?" Mika bit her lips as her gaze wandered around.

    Though she had managed to calm the driver, she was still impatient while waiting for someone she didn''t even know if he had left already.

    But just as she was about giving up, she saw the familiar car driving out from the underground parking lot and quickly opened the back passenger door of the cab.

    "Driver, quickly follow that car!" Shemanded as she put on her seatbelt, her eyes never leaving Zhang Mingyu''s car.

    Following her finger to the sports car driving off, the driver couldn''t help but get curious as he slowly secured his seatbelt.

    "Is that the person you have been waiting for?"

    Instead of responding to him, Mika gave him a good scolding.

    "Yah! You know that''s a sports car right? If you loose him, I won''t pay you a dime!"

    Hearing her disrespectful tone, the man was tempted to ask her to get down that he wasn''t interested in taking her anywhere again, but because he hadn''t made much money for the day, he decided to out up with her and drove off in speed.

    Watching as the cab drove away in pursuit of Zhang Mingyu''s car, Tungmei was still standing there and trying to get over the little surprise.

    "They are not leaving together? She is tailing him?" At that evaluation, she quickly stepped forward to see if she can find a taxi to follow Mika''s cab before it was tooter.

    Luckily, she found one dropping someone off in front of the building and quickly got into it.

    Normally, she would never take a cab home because of the cost as she had an entire family to support on her back.

    But because of how important this matter with Mika was and in order to help her friend, she didn''t mind spending a bit.

    Also, the conclusion she came up with earlier was because of how sure she was.

    A few times, she had caught Mika and Zhang Mingyu meeting at the underground parking lot and leaving together in his car.

    With the scene that just happened in front of her eyes, she was sure that something was going on between them.

    Even if they were not riding in the same car to avoid suspicion and they were going to meet at a particr ce, Mika would definitely know the address, and there would be no need to worry about losing Zhang Mingyu.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She was definitely tailing him.

    As soon as Tungmei got settled in the car, she picked up her phone and called Zhang Liling to report her findings and suspicion.

    "That''s my friend!"

    As soon as Zhang Liling heard the news she was hyper and couldn''t stop praising her for one bit.

    Tungmei had to put the phone away from her ear to avoid having ear problems in the future.

    At the end, she had to stop that friend of hers from dividing her concentration.

    "Liling, let''s talkter."

    Understanding that she was in on an important mission, Zhang Liling agreed to end the call.

    "Alright! I owe you a party tomorrow."

    "Which party?" Fang Bingwen asked with furrowed brows as he stepped into the room after overhearing her conversation.

    Zhang Liling was smiling from ear to ear until she heard his threatening tone from behind.

    At the other end of the phone, Tungmei who heard Fang Bingwen''s voice in the background, chuckled with a hand over her mouth.

    "Liling, I think you are in trouble." Whispering those words, she terminated the call, her eyes, still filled withughter.

    "I heard you say you owe someone a party. Mrs. Fang, do you care to exin to your husband about what I heard?" Mr. Fang inquired while staring straight into her eyes.

    His brows were creased, just perfectly showcasing his dare and tiny annoyance.

    ''Where was this woman nning to go? Does she want her legs broken?''

    Seeing that her husband was annoyed, Zhang Liling masked her fear with augh and took his hand before pulling him in for a hug.

    "Mr. Fang, it''s nothing." She said, trying to appease him, but she just had to fail as he refused to be deceived.

    Taking her hand, he led her to the sofa. "Exin what your phone conversation."

    Since she didn''t want to confirm what he just heard, then he was going to find out if she would be punished or not after finding out who she was speaking withy on the phone when he caught her.

    He just knew that little woman of his could not stay away from having fun with her friends.

    Which one of them...?

    Being reminded of the conversation she just had with Tungmei, Zhang Liling immediately spilled the content of their conversation.

    "... I think Zhang Mingyu has a little issue with his girlfriend." She concluded.

    "It is not surprising. He is getting married to another woman whose family should not be offended." Fang Bingwen chipped in.

    Nodding in agreement, Zhang Liling said, "If Tungmei can get something or find out something important we can work it and make it huge before using it against Shi Wenqian."

    A deep sigh escaped from Fang Bingwen''s lips as he let his gaze meet hers. "After today, don''t let your friend do something like this again. It can be dangerous. I will take care of things and tell you if I need anything."

    He didn''t like the fact that Tungmei would be doing something like that. What if she got into trouble or an ident in the course of following two people that had nothing to do with her?

    "Alright, when I meet her today or tomorrow, I will speak to her." Zhang Liling replied.

    After listening to his exnation, she came to understand how dangerous things could be. Also, she didn''t want it to seem like she was using her best friend.

    Apart from hearing her agreement, Fang Bingwen heard something else that brought his mind back to the reason they had to start having the conversation in the first ce.

    "Why do you have to meet her when you can give her a call at most?" His eyes threatened as his gaze hardened.

    "I-I mean... I-I... Tungmei is my friend, there is nothing wrong with meeting her. I haven''t seen her since after our wedding." Zhang Liling stammered as her gaze moved all over his face, refusing to stop at a ce.

    "Look at this woman. If you want to see your friend so badly, invite her home!" He said and got up from the sofa.

    Did she think she could y with his brain?

    She didn''t know he had more experience than her.

 Chapter 421 Tailing (II)

    ? As Zhang Liling wasn''t allowed to party outside, she decided to bring the spirit home.

    Picking up her phone after Fang Bingwen left her side, she sent Tungmei a text.

    ''If you are free this evening, can youe to the estate to have a drink with me?''

    Since it hasn''t been long they spoke, she was expecting a reply in no time hence she held unto her phone while waiting.

    Fortunately, Tungmei was still in the cab at that time, and quickly sent a response over.

    ''Mrs. Fang, I will only drop by if I find out something important.''

    Not long after Tungmei sent that SMS did the cab stop. Immediately, she looked ahead to find out that the can ahead of them had also parked in front of a restaurant.

    "Did hee here to see someone else?" she mumbled to herself as she remained sitting inside the vehicle and so did Mika who was in the taxi in front.

    "Mingyu, you''d better not be doing what I what I think." Biting her lips, Mika allowed her gaze to follow Zhang Mingyu stepping out if the car and going into the restaurant.

    Some minutester, Zhang Mingyu stepped out of the restaurant with a group of girls. Stopping in front of his car, he bowed his head slightly to them with a smile on his face.

    "Bye." The girls that were dressed in expensive clothes, waved their hands at a particr girl with a ck long wavy curled hair.

    "Bye." Emma Ong waved back at her friends as she watched them leave.

    Finally when she was left alone with Zhang Mingyu, she turned to nce at him.

    "Ah! Let''s go to the mall."

    Suddenly remembering the reason he had wanted to meet her in the first ce, he quickly went over to the other side of his car to open the front passenger door for her.

    Without a word, Emma Ong went ahead to enter the car and let him close the door for her.

    Quickly, Zhang Mingyu went over to the other side and got into the driver side before driving off.

    "So, this is who he had to see?" Mika said as she watched the interaction.

    Having managed to catch a glimpse of the young girl he hade to pick up, she recognized her to be his fianc¨¦e and was a little mad.

    Fortunately, she was not some ugly girl, and he wasn''t cheating on her with some other girl.

    ''But why didn''t he mention that the person he was seeing was Emma Ong? I wouldn''t have gone to this length of I knew.'' Mika thought to herself.

    Although she was a little bit jealous that he was meeting another woman, she was still d that it wasn''t some random person.

    If Zhang Mingyu had been in in the beginning, she would have understood and would have just whined a little before letting him off.

    But seeing his actions, doubt began to grow in her heart.

    ''Who knows if he is already falling for her.''

    She couldn''t think of any other reason to justify this action of his.

    Behind her cab was Tungmei who was letting the scene that just yed right in front of her into her head.

    ''So, his girlfriend is here to catch him withy his fianc¨¦e. Wow! Zhang Mingyu, you really have a lot of women in your life.''

    "You should add something like an ex-wife to the picture." Tungmeiughed to herself as she couldn''t believe the scene ying right in front of her eyes.

    But as the cars in front started to drive away, the driver carrying her asked, "Miss, should I still follow them?"

    "Why not. This our job for today." Tungmei said with a smile as she couldn''t wait to see what would happen next.

    Twenty minutester, Zhang Mingyu who was unaware that he was being followed by 3 different people, stopped in front of a high-end mall and three his key to a valet that only catered to VIP guests, before going inside with Emma Ong.

    "I didn''t know if you would be satisfied with only shopping for clothes, so I brought you to this y where you can find different options." Zhang Mingyu exined as he led her in.

    "I am fine here." Emma Ong replied, refusing to talk too much.

    Meanwhile, Mika was fuming when she saw them walking inside together.

    "Are they on a date or what?"

    She believed that hanging out in a. Restaurant was not the only ce for a date to take ce. There was an amusement park, a resort, a shopping mall and a designer''s store.

    There were also other options and she knew whom she was dealing with very well.

    Stepping out of the taxi, she paid her fare and walked toward the entrance.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Since we started dating, he never took me out publicly, but he could do that for the woman he doesn''t love?" Mumbling angrily to herself, Mika continued in her steps.

    Since her rtionship with Zhang Mingyu was special, they couldn''t date publicly.

    Each time she wanted to get something new, he would never take her out instead, he would give her a wad of cash to buy anything she wanted.

    That action alone, made her feel like they were having an affair as they only hung out in the hotel.

    Back then, she was fine with it since she got to enjoy his money. But now, she was dissatisfied with it and wanted something more.

    She can''t let him be with another woman peacefully and show her all that attention, especially now that she was no longer alone.

    Mika seemed to have forgotten the reason her rtionship with Zhang Mingyu kicked off in the first ce and hade this far.

    Without knowing, she was letting her greed get the best of her.

    Tungmei refused to be left behind after seeing her clients getting out of the car''s one after the other.

    Stepping out of the car, she asked the driver for the price of her fare and immediately, she was blown away by his response.

    "What? Why is it so expensive?" She asked as ck lines appeared on her face.

    "Do you want me to remind you of where our journey started from before getting to this point?" The driver asked, looking a bit angry.

    He had a business to run, he didn''t have time for negotiation or the patience to start bantering with her.

    He just wanted to get paid and leave for his next customer.

    Although, Tungmei would have loved to argue it with him, she still dipped her hand inside her pocket to pay in full since she didn''t want to lose either Mika or Zhang Mingyu in that big mall.

    Seeing that Mika was about to leave her sightpletely, she quickly handed out her bills and turned to run after her.

    Inside the mall, Zhang Mingyu was acting as if he wanted to impress his fianc¨¦e who seemed like she didn''t like to talk.

    "Which section would you like to check out first?" He asked.

    "Let''s go to the makeup section." Emma Ong replied as she led the way.

    As she had a few items to rece from her makeup box, she figured out that the could start from that section.

    Seeing where they had ventured into, Mika followed suit. Picking up a basket, she from the corner of the makeup hall, she went around the shelves, pretending that she was really busy shopping.

    Standing in front of the section they had gone in, Tungmei felt that her eyes were hurting.

    ''Don''t tell me that I have to spend some money here as well?''

    While following the trio, it never for once came to her mind that she might spend some money during the time her missionsted.

    It never crossed her mind.

    Just when she was troubled, an idea quickly came to her mind.

    "Liling''s makeup products should be here. Although I haven''t finished the ones I have, I can get a new powder and foundation."

    Though her pocket was going to bleed that month, she no longer seemed to care since she had channelled her mind to the fact that she was patronising her best friend''s business.

    "I won''t die."

    Assuring herself, she walked in within picking a basket. Just two items was all she needed.

    As for Mika, she didn''t have any money problem since Zhang Mingyu usually have her a lot each time he wanted to be generous.

    ***

    Stopping in front of Glint makeup stand, Emma Ong reached out to pick a pink blush.

    "I heard that your sister is the owner and founder of Glint." She stated.

    It seems that she was finally looking like she could have a conversation with him.

    "Yes. You saw the news?" Zhang Mingyu asked. ''So, this news blew up after all.''

    "It was everywhere. It was hard to not notice. Also, with the fact that my Ong family is somehow linked to your family, this kind of news will not escape from us." Emma Ong replied as she put the blush back and went over to another makeup brand to shop.

 Chapter 422 Bumping Into Him

    "You don''t like Glint''s product?" Zhang Mingyu asked from the side.

    "I like to stick to the brand I''m used to." Emma Ong replied as she continued with her shopping.

    Hearing her response, he nodded in agreement. "I can say we think alike with our choice to stick to the brand we are used to. Once I get used to a certain product, it is difficult to leave it and go over to a new unless, my health is at risk."

    To his statement, Emma Ong had no words for him. Basically, she was not interested in having any conversation with him, making him wonder why she had epted to go out with him in the first ce.

    Going over to the counter as they were ready to leave Zhang Mingyu passed his card. "I will pay." He said to the girl who was already trying to take out a wad of cash from her purse.

    Seeing that he wanted to foot her bills, she let him do his job since he was the one that asked her out in the first ce.

    From the makeup section, they went to the clothing section to pick out a few things.

    This time around, Tungmei refused to pick any item.

    She had already poked a hole in her pocket for the month so she couldn''t afford any rough y to her finances.

    Having in mind if not getting anything in the store, she still entered and watched over the trio while pretending to be looking for a particr outfit.

    From the corner, a shop attended noticed that she was distraught and quickly approached her.

    "Ma''am, would you like my assistance?" She inquired as she was ready to help her to shop.

    Immediately, Tungmei waved her hand in front of her face. "No. I can help myself, thank you."

    If she needed an assistance, she would have called for one. But since she didn''te to shop, she didn''t need any temptation that may force her to make any other expenses.

    Almost half an hourter, Zhang Mingyu stepped out of the clothing section with Three bags in his hands.

    "Would you like to have dinner? There is a good restaurant nearby."

    Hearing his suggestion, Emma Ong was going to ask him how he knew about it, but then thought that he must have looked up this area before taking her there.

    "Alright." She agreed.

    Although she had finished hanging out with some friends before he hade to pick her up, she couldn''t resist having a little more food or desert before going home.

    The little shopping she did had already taken away some of her energy which she needed to gain back.

    Though his fianc¨¦e to be seemed to not be the talking type probably because she didn''t like him, Zhang Mingyu was not bothered.

    He didn''t like her too.

    When Mika found out they were going to dine somewhere, she just knew that she had to do something.

    It waste and she couldn''t continue to tail him hence, she had to put an end to that ridiculous and time consuming task.

    Pretending to be in a rush, she purposely bumped into Zhang Mingyu''s arm while walking past him and in the process, the 2 bags on his right hand fell on the floor and spilled a box of shoe.

    Not only did the bags in his hand slip out of his hand, but also, the bags in Mika''s hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m sorry! I''m so sorry!" Mika eximed with her palm over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock.

    As soon as Zhang Mingyu heard that familiar voice next to him, he froze as his gaze slowly moved from the bags on the floor to female figure standing at his right side.

    ''What is she doing here?''

    What shocked him more was the fact that she was feigning ignorance and pretending to not know him.

    "Mr. I''m so sorry." Mika quickly apologized to him before squatting immediately to pick her items that had spilled from her bag.

    On the other hand, Tungmei was already giving a thumbs-up to Mika for the drama she had managed to create.

    Since she was not standing far from them, she could see the entire incident as it happened.

    "This girl sure has nothing to fear." She said, making a mental note as she took out her phone to casually make a recording while being careful to not look fishy.

    Seeing the mess on the floor, Emma Ong was annoyed beyond measure. Shutting her eyes, she puffed some air from her mouth.

    She was avoiding looking in order to not cause a fight.

    As Mika lowered her back, Zhang Mingyu quickly squat to pick up the item that had falling out from his bank while trying his best to calm his fast-furious heart and get over his shock.

    "What are you doing here?" He whispered through gritted teeth.

    Instead of responding to his question, Mika had something important to say.

    "Meet me at the washroom area downstairs if you don''t want me to keep following you." She threatened before rising to her feet.

    Shifting her gaze to Emma Ong who looked annoyed, she said just before Zhang Mingyu could straighten her back.

    "I''m sorry, I was in a hurry to meet my loved one." Offering her a polite smile, she turned her gaze to Zhang Mingyu and nodded politely before walking ahead.

    "That woman is so ridiculous!" Emma mmed in annoyance as her gaze red at Mika''s back.

    Seeing the woman seething in rage for only a little mishap, Zhang Mingyu began to wonder if she easily got irritated.

    ''Is this who she is?'' He asked himself.

    When he regained hisposure, he began to persuade.

    "I''m sure she made a mistake because she was in a hurry."

    "What if she had broken any item in that bag?" Emma retorted as he seemed to have forgotten that she had picked a few makeup items.

    At that reminder, Zhang Mingyu sealed his lips. He had indeed forgotten that a breakable item was in one of those bags that fell out of his hands.

    He had almost forgotten about the shock he got from seeing his girlfriend right in front of his eyes. But first things first.

 Chapter 423 Mikaylas Threat

    After managing to calm his fianc¨¦e down, he led her to the ground floor before asking her to wait in the car for him.

    "Emma, can you hold the bags for a while and wait in the car for me? I have to use the washroom, my hands are dirty. I have asked for the valet to send the car over, you can sit and wait there."

    Although, Emma was reluctant, she still took the bags from him and walked away in annoyance.

    Her mood had been entirely ruined after a simple ident.

    ***

    Finding the washroom area by asking around, Zhang Mingyu made his way there and then he saw Mika standing at the end with a smile on her face.

    "Are you crazy? Why did you follow me here?" He inquired as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    "I thought you wouldn''te. I was ready to follow you again until you agreed to see me." Mika said while ying with her fingers like a child .she didn''t care about the changes his facial expression had undergone.

    Apparently, she didn''t care if he got annoyed with her.

    Seeing that she remained unrepentant, Zhang Mingyu didn''t mind taking it easy with her. Approaching her in quick steps, he only stopped when he was in front of her.

    "Mika, you are crossing the line. Do you want to be thrown aside? Are you tired?" He threatened.

    Now, it was his turn to put her in her ce just in case she had forgotten what he could do while she was abusing his kindness.

    Hearing his threats, the smile on her face disappeared.

    She had wanted to threaten him again, but knowing that she would be taking things too far since he didn''t do anything to offend her.

    He was obligated to go out with his fianc¨¦e whom he was going to wed very soon, it''s not like he was cheating or spending time with some ordinary girl.

    Having upgraded her plots, she quickly changed into a different role. Pouting her lips, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

    "I missed you so I followed you. Also, I have an important news to share with you."

    "What kind of important news you have they couldn''t wait until tomorrow?"

    Zhang Mingyu asked, still looking displeased.

    He was angry that she had been following him since the time he left Zhang Corp. What kind of girl had she turned out to be or has she always been like that.

    At the thought of having his life monitored when he was already work out from having his existence and next moves controlled by his parents, he fumed.

    Sensing how pissed off he was, Mika refused to back down and wanted him to hear her out just so he could sleep through her message.

    "It''s a very important one." Mika said as her eyes shined like day light.

    Leaning in to close up the space between them, she ced her lips on his ear and whispered a something to him.

    "What?"

    Instantly, Zhang Mingyu pushed her away from him and took a step back as his face turned dark.

    Seeing the reaction she was expecting, Mika smiled inwardly, but her current facial expression was different.

    She pretended to be hurt.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You don''t like the news?"

    "What news? Have you lost your sense of reasoning?!" Zhang Mingyu screamed, but then, an older man walked out from the male restroom and nced at the both of them before walking away.

    Although the old man didn''t catch their facial features, he still scolded him.

    "What rude brats that do not know how to speak in public ces."

    Unfortunately, the people he was scolding didn''t even care. They didn''t even need ''manners'' in the current situation that surrounded them.

    Realizing that they were in a public ce and could be seen by just anybody, Zhang Mingyu reduces his tone.

    "Mik, you''d better be kidding me."

    Pretending to be hurt by his words, Mika nodded. "You still have someone waiting for you. I will leave you alone for today."

    Saying that, she tightened the hold on her bag and walked away.

    "Yah! Mika, you''d better not think of keeping it!" Zhang Mingyu shouted after her as his eyes red at her back.

    He forgot to keep his temper in check and shouted out those words he thought could be his redemption.

    Taking a turn in the corridor, Mika ced her hand on her abdomen. "Get rid of what? So you can leave me?"

    Smirking, she continued in her steps without a care.

    In less than a minute, Zhang Mingyu walked out from the restroom area and made his way straight to the entrance while fuming.

    "What the hell!" Tungmei cursed as she cane out from her hiding area with a bewildered look on her face.

    "Does Mika have something on him? Why did he shout back there?"

    Up till the time Tungmei left in a taxi, she was still trying to figure out what Mika did to invoke Zhang Mingyu''s rot by ying back the scenes she had witnessed.

    "What did she threaten him with?"

    ***

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu was grateful that Emma Ong was still annoyed with what happened back in the shopping mall, plus his dy in the washroom and asked him to drop her off at home.

    He was happy she cancelled their dinner together because he was not in his right mind to sit at a ce and eat with her as he had something crucial bothering him.

    As soon as he dropped his fianc¨¦e off in front of her house, he did not bother trying to be good to her by helping her out with his shopping bags.

    As soon as she got down from the car, he handed the bags to her and waved at her before stepping back into his car.

    Revolving the car''s engine, he drove away.

    Unknown to him, something was cooking behind his back.

    The person his mother sent to follow him, was currently on a call with her.

 Chapter 424 Rotten Idea

    "Send the photos immediately." Shi Wenqian demanded immediately and ended the call.

    Gritting her teeth, she passed up and down in her room.

    While listening to the details of her son taking his fianc¨¦e out on a date, she had been happy. But after learning that he had met a woman secretly without Emma Ong, she became angry.

    She just knew that there was no way her son of that age will stay without having one fling or the other with a woman.

    "Ding."

    Instantly, her attention was turned back to her phone and she hurriedly opened the message she got to reveal a few photos sent to her.

    In total, there were 5 different photos.

    One by one, she opened the one after the other.

    The first photo was of Zhang Mingyu and Emma Ong in one picture-frame that showed that they actually went on a date.

    As for the remaining 4 photos, it had nothing to do with her supposed daughter-inw.

    In the second and third photo, it showed Mika bumping into Zhang Mingyu and then secretly saying something to him from a very vivid angle.

    In thest two photos, Mika and Zhang Mingyu were shown leaving the restroom area separately.

    Seeing those photos, Shi Wenqian the shrewd woman was able to tell what happened immediately since her mindset was already twisted.

    Immediately after taking a look at that photo, she phoned the man that sent them to her.

    "Did you hear their conversation?"

    "No, Ma''am. They met up in the restroom area."

    "Keep and eye on them and tell me if they meet up again. Also, find out who that girl is. If she bes a threat, take care of her."

    Leaving him with that instruction, Shi Wenqian terminated the call and left her bedroom just in time to see Zhang Renshu returning from work.

    These days, she was no longer interested in him meeting other woman since she was busy with more important matters.

    However, she was slowly taking her revenge on him giving that he would freely cheat on her without caring about being caught by her.

    Maybe he thought she wouldn''t do anything to date retaliate.

    *******

    ~Mr. Fang''s Vi~

    "Honey, Tungmei ising over. She''s got some juicy news for me." Zhang Liling announced immediately she barged into the study room.

    "A Juicy news? It looks like there is finally something that can put your heart at ease." Fang Bingwen replied as he lifted his gaze from hisptop to nce at her.

    "Yes." Zhang Liling ws snot going to deny her feelings since she couldn''t wait to take care of her stepmother.

    Withdrawing his gaze from her, he turned his attention back to the lit screen in front of him.

    "Come and take a look at this financial statement from your brand''s bank." He said, beckoning on her toe over to his side.

    Immediately, she continued in her steps and went over to his side. Leaning with one hand on the desk, she fixed her eyes on the numerous numbers outlined on the screen.

    "Ummm... What does... Yelp!"

    Just when she was trying to understand what was going on with the numbers, she felt a powerful hand grab her waist.

    Thinking that she was going to fall, she braced herself as her eyes automatically shut close. One. Two. Three secondster, hershes slowly flutter open.

    Tilting her head to the side, she found the face of the man up-close.

    Apparently, he had pulled her into his arms.

    "What are you doing?" She asked as her voice got lower as her eyes blinked severally.

    Seeing as her mood had changed, Fang Bingwen flicked her forehead.

    "Ah!" Immediately her voice returned to normal as she quickly brought her hand to her face to rub on the ce he just hit.

    "Don''t get any rotten idea. I only wanted you to sit." He corrected just so she would varnish any ridiculous or fairy tale idea she had in her mind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You are so unromantic!" Zhang Liling mmed him immediately as she quickly turned her gaze to the screen in front of her while making sure to moved her butts against him provocatively before finding a perfect position to befortable.

    ''This girl is crazy.'' Fang Bingwen concluded in his mind as he felt like crying, but no tears coulde out.

    "Seeing as you have so manyints to make, do you want to go back in time just before we signed our marriage certificates?"

    "If I could turn the hands of time, I would really want to go back." Zhang replied without taking her gaze off the screen.

    "Toote. You are stick with me." He said as he leaned his chest to stick to her back before sticking out his face from the side to nce at theptop screen.

    Without giving her the chance to continue with the conversation, he stirred the topic toward another direction.

    "Your product sales are doing very well. Although there is a hype around why is trending, selling out and bringing in profits, it''s still good."

    Wrapping his arms around her waist, he continued. "If they hype goes, away, the sales will drop, but don''t allow it to go below this point.'' He said pointing at somewhere on the graph in front of them.

    "You''re right. With our marriage and our partnership still making rounds on the inte, we still have much attention on Glint''s products." Zhang Liling agreed as she ced her palm on the hand around her waist.

    "You should focus on bringing out the new products soon. It will be best if theye out before FJ''s Christmas fashion show." Mr. Fang suggested.

    Back in Pairs while they were spending their honeymoon, they had visited the factory that produces Glint''s make-up products and had given a recipe for three new products.

    The only thing that had to be done was for some samples to be made and tested. And if nothing went wrong, then the factory will go to produce and package inrge batches.

    "I am also thinking about that. Tomorrow, I will urge the design team to out all hands on deck for the new product design for the packaging as well."

    From a little joke, the business husband and wife into an important conversation about releasing new products for Glint soon just before the butler walked in on them.

    Seeing them sitting like that, the man tried to ignore what his eyes had just seen before announcing to them of Tungmei''s arrival.

    Without waiting to be told, Zhang Liling got up from Fang Bingwen''s thighs.

    "I''m going to meet my friend. Don''t forget toe down and say ''hello'' to her." Kissing his lips, she scurried away without sparing him another nce.

    "It looks like she her friend is more important than I am now. Maybe she had been trying to escape since and finally found an excuse."

    Fang Bingwen couldn''t help but think that way since his wife showed signs of not being interested in chatting about business with him for a long time.

    ***

    Zhang Liling literally flew down the stairs without stopping until she saw the figure sitting in the living room all alone while helping herself to a bottle of cold water.

    "Tungmei!" Immediately, Zhang Liling ran to her side and pulled her into a long tight hug.

    Tungmei returned the hug and was enjoying it until she almost lost her breath.

    "Zhang Liling! Do you want to strangle your dear friend to death?" She said while struggling to get out of her arms.

    Fortunately, that friend of hers had some shred of emotions left in her and managed to release her on time.

    "You are glowing up." Zhang Liling said with a smile as she pulled her to sit on the sofa.

    "What? I should be saying that about you. Do you know how stressed I have been while you were enjoying yourself on your honeymoon?" Tungmei retorted.

    Theses days, was about to swallow her whole but here she was saying she had glowed up. Maybe she would ask her to exchange ced with her.

    "It''s true that I had some fun, but work was involved. I had to make a visit to the factory 3 times during my stay there."

    Hearing that, Tungmei immediately retorted. "You are faulty for wanting bto spend your honeymoon in Paris."

    "I can''t help but find work wherever I go to." Zhang Liling imed while posing like a busy business woman.

    "Ah? I can see how busy you are. Why don''t I take my leave then." Giving her a taste of her own medicine, Tungmei pretended to pick up her bag, but it got dragged away by her.

    "Where do you think you are going to without spilling the juicy news you went through a lot to get?"

    "Feed me first, then I might start talking." Tungmei demanded.

    In less than 5 minutes, the food Zhang Liling had the chef prepare for her arrival, was served at the dining room.

    Seeing the food assembled for them, Tungmei licked her lips. "Where should I get started?"

 Chapter 425 Gist

    "Where should you start from? Are you that confused now?" Zhang Liling chuckled as she joined her.

    "Of course I am. This is the first time I''m visiting your house as a married woman. I am a bit nervous apart from how well you are treating me." Tungmei replied as her gaze moved over the delicacies spread on the table.

    Before Zhang Liling could respond, she already picked up her spoon to scoop some soup.

    "Next time, we will see in the day so I can at least show you the surrounding. Alright, let''s eat."

    Zhang Liling was about to pick up her spoon to eat when it was snatched away from her.

    "Has your husband eaten?" Tungmei inquired with some food in her mouth already.

    "I''m with my friend, he will eat upstairs." Liling was about to take the spoon form her, but that was not easy for the determined friend who wanted to taunt her s bit while eating.

    "I didn''t know a day like today wille where you are not all over Mr. Fang. Is it because of the gist I have for you?"

    Knowing how obsessed her friend was with her husband, she knew that something was out of ce for her to not show some concern.

    Obviously, gossip was more important to her.

    "You know."

    Taking the opportunity of her distraction, Zhang Liling snatched the spoon back and joined her to eat.

    While eating, she couldn''t wait and wanted to Tungmei speak but theter reminded her of the probability of choking on her food while listening to the gist and eating at the same time.

    At the end, she calmed down.

    Some minutester, they were both ready to open the chapter.

    "I think Zhang Mingyu and Mika are having a rtionship problem although I don''t know the genesis."

    "It''s normal to have problems in rtionships. That girl must have been quiet for too long and seeing that things are not that rosy for her, she decided to stop putting up with it. Maybe." Zhang Liling stated.

    ? She had never heard that Zhang Mingyu and his girlfriend had a big fight or broke up before which means that the girl in question must be putting up with everything she doesn''t like probably because she had all the attention from Zhang Mingyu, added to his influence and money.

    "I was thinking they would hang out after work, although I didn''t really think about it, but I happened to catch them going off in different vehicles with Mika looking like she was tailing him."

    "And that boils down to what you found out right?" Zhang Liling probed as her eyes lit up in excitement.

    Without the intention of picking on the matter, Tungmei revealed her findings and the scenes she managed to see.

    "After work, Zhang Mingyu went to pick up ady which Iter found out to be Emma Ong. From the restaurant where she met with her friends, he took her to therge shopping mall.

    I was forced to pick out a few items off the shelf in the make-up section they first headed into."

    Right here, Zhang Liling cut her off. "Hope you chose Glint''s products?"

    It was very important to her that Glint''s products will be picked off the shelves by old and new potential customers.

    She didn''t mind cutting the gist off at that point to find out her answers.

    Sensing the importance of her response, Tungmei really wanted to tease her, but stopped at midpoint. "Yeah...yeah!."

    Pointing at the bag she got from the shopping mall, she asked, "My dear friend, are you aware that your brand is not cheap?"

    "But it''s not expensive either." Zhang Liling said as she picked up the small package to open it. Eighty percent of her attention were on it while the rest were on the conversation.

    "My dear Liling, it''s either something is expensive or cheap."

    Not wanting to continue the argument, Zhang Liling lifted her head after taking a look at her products.

    "Are we going to keep arguing?"

    "You were the one that started first." Tungmei mumbled to herself. Sitting up straight, she continued with her story.

    "Mika is really crazy. She intentionally bumped into Zhang Mingyu and I think that''s where she had the opportunity to whisper something to him.

    Later, I saw them secretly meet up at the restroom area. Because of the angle, I couldn''t get any closer so I was unable to listen to their conversation.

    But when they came out separately, Mika had a triumphant smile on her face while rubbing her stomach. As for Zhang Mingyu, he was red with anger as he walked out."

    Leaning in toward Zhang Liling who looked to have sank into a deep thought, she asked, "Do you think She is pregnant?"

    "I would be really happy if she was pregnant. But we can''t conclude by mere spection. We have to hear her say it or act like it."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Pulling herself back from her thoughts

    "We don''t need the need any pregnancy report?" Tungmei probed.

    Normally, given the kind of goal she had, a hard concrete evidence would be needed to proof anything she was iming. But it seemed like she had other ns.

    "No. As long as Mika is truly pregnant, we can use it. But I don''t think she would make false ims."

    "I still don''t get it, why did she choose to do something like this?"Tungmei looked quite surprised that something like this will unfold.

    For her, there were different ways to approach that kind of sensitive topic instead of using threats.

    But since she didn''t hear their conversation clearly apart from when Zhang Mingyu was shouting for her to take something out, she couldn''t really conclude that he was threatened.

    If Mika actually threatened him with her pregnancy, then she was really foolish.

    After chatting for a bit, Tungmei got ready to go home, and that was when Fang Bingwen appeared.

    Seeing him, she instantly cowered.

    To think that the man before her who used to be her professor in college was now her best friend''s husband, she was still baffled.

    It was a tricky situation for her to handle.

    "Hello, Mr. Fang." She greeted with a small bow while trying to hide how awkward it was for her to be in the same space as him.

    Sensing her nervousness, Zhang Liling quickly cut in as soon as Fang Bingwen replied.

    "Tungmei has done a very good job today. I owe her more than a week worth of lunch to repay her kindness. What do you say?" She asked while moving her brows.

    If she was going to spend money, then he had to pay for it.

    With the way she was staring at him, it was obvious of what she was asking for.

    "That''s a good idea. Anything you do, just let me know." Fang Bingwen said with a smile.

    Getting his positive response and approval, Zhang Liling took Tungmei''s hand and led her outside.

    "I will drive you to where you would get a cab."

    "I can find my way out of the estate by myself." Tungmei argued as soon as she understood what she was going to do.

    For her, it wouldn''t be easy walking out from the estate as she had been sitting for close to two hours. A little strolling would not kill her.

    Instead, it would be good to make blood flow to her legs properly. A cardio exercise like this was very nice.

    But who was Zhang Liling? She was very grateful for the risk her friend took to help her, and it made her want to return the gesture in hundred folds. But as they have been friends for a long time, she knew what and what not to do.

    If she overdid the repayment, her rtionship with Tungmei could change.

    Since she had more money than her, she had to be mindful of the way she unted and acted toward her, so she wouldn''t feel bad and this she was an errand girl who needed her services.

    "I will drop you off. It''s no trouble for me since I haven''t driven in a long time."

    "What!" Immediately Tungmei heard the ending part, she stopped in her steps and refused to be pulled ahead.

    "You haven''t driven for a long time and you want to renew your memory by driving me?"

    Watching how her facial expression changed for the worse, a heartyughter escaped Liling''s throat.

    "Why do you look so scared? I''m not going to kill us. I haven''t has my revenge yet."

    "Even though. You are one crazy person I know that is still existing. What of you change your mind and suddenly want to go to heaven so soon? Liling, you are not going to drive me. I can walk."

    Tungmei didn''t want to lose her life so soon. She was still young, she hasn''t made money and she hasn''t dated anyone yet.

    There was more to life that she hadn''t explore yet.

    "Tungmei, don''t be scared. Although I haven''t driven for a long time, I''ve still got the touch."

    While Zhang Liling was trying to proof herself, Fang Bingwen sent a bodyguard to do the job.

    Even he didn''t trust her.

 Chapter 426 Romantic Man

    When Zhang Liling returned from sending Tungmei off, she was all over Fang Bingwen, calling out to him while wandering about in his line of sight.

    "Honey. Honey. Honey."

    Atst, he was forced to stop working and lifted his head from the stack of papers in front of him.

    Putting down his pen, he asked with a worn out look on his face, acting like she had stressed the life out of him. "What can I do for you?"

    Seeing that she had gotten his attention atst, a beautiful smile bloomed on her face. "Honey." She called out again as she ran to his side.

    "I missed you and wanted your attention." She said with her arms circled around as she leaned her front side on his shoulder from where she was standing behind him.

    Feeling her breath next to his ear, Fang Bingwen shut his eyes. "Do you want to chat?"

    "Mmmmm." She nodded in response. "Something like that."

    There was a few moments of silence before he tapped her arms and she quickly released him.

    ncing at the items in front of him, he moved them to one side of the desk before tilting his head to the side.

    "Come here..." he beckoned while taking her hand to pull her toward the desk.

    Following his leading, Zhang Liling came to stand in between his legs.

    "Sit." He said and she immediately glided unto his desk, sitting in front of him and having her legs dangle from there.

    With the full attention he was giving to her now, Zhang Liling was quite satisfied. Even if this was the only thing she got today, she would be content.

    "You wanted to chat, what did you want to talk about?" Mr. Fang asked as he fixed his attention on her.

    Now that he had made herfortable and given his full attention on her, he wanted to hear what she wanted to talk about.

    Looking him straight in the eye, Zhang Liling started with moving her tongue against her lips before parting them slowly to spew some words.

    "Honey, can we have a child after we finish tackling Shi Wenqian?"

    "A child? Hahaha... What made you want to have a child now? I thought you wanted to focus on your solidifying your brand before taking a break to have a child?"

    At first, Fang Bingwen was taken aback by her concern. She wanted to have a child soon?

    The first time they had talked about having a child, had taken ce before they got married, and she had looked like she didn''t what to have one immediately after their wedding.

    So what had made her change her mind?

    He was really interested in hearing her exnation.

    Pouting her lips, Zhang Liling leaned toward him and ced her arms on his shoulder.

    "I have known you for a long time and there is nothing new to find out. Also, we can spend some quality time together in this few weeks before having a child.

    You know, once a childe in, we can''t spend some time together like we used to."

    "Who told you that?" Immediately, he interjected while holding her waist from both sides. "Nothing will change in our rtionship even if we have ten children. As long as we are both putting in the effort, we can always continue to be as before."

    Although he had made sense, but Zhang Liling still had own worries.

    "Of course I have to be worried now. You don''t even give me that much attention these days. Imagine what would happen if we add another human to our family. It will be over for me. You..."

    She was still speaking when got up and reached his hand behind her neck before leaning in to capture her lips.

    For almost a minute, she was still lost until he brought her attention back to reality by moving his face away and asking her to close her eyes.

    "How long will you continue to leave your eyes open? Close it." He said before Leaning in to capture her lips again with his slightly parted own.

    Two secondster, she began to reciprocate by shutting her eyes and hugging his waist, letting his tongue plunge into her mouth as she returned his kisses equally.

    For over two minutes, Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen were engaged in a battle of tongues until the ringing tone of his phone went off, forcing them to part.

    Noticing that he was going to break the kiss to answer his call, she tried to grab his attention again, but failed.

    "Hold on." He said in-between kisses before she actually let him off.

    Taking a step away from her, Fang Bingwen picked up his phone and swiped the screen to answer the call.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yes? Okay. Yes go ahead. Immediately."

    Watching him go on with the conversation, Zhang Liling thought it was the end of their Romance for the night and wanted to get down from the table, but she didn''t know the man has been keeping an eye on her from his peripheral view.

    Just as she had moved an inch, he predicted what she was about to do and quickly reached out to grab her waist, holding her in ce while staring at her face.

    "What?" She mouthed as her brows moved up a bit.

    Since he was on a call, why was he stopping her from leaving?

    Fang Bingwen chose to ignore her even though he understood her signal. Turning his face away for a bit, he said to the person at the other end, "Follow it properly, thank you."

    The next second, he ended the call and slipped the phone inside his pant pocket.

    "Where did you think you were going to after managing to grab my attention, huh?" He questioned as he turned his full attention to her.

    "I didn''t want to be a nuisance while you were on an important call." Zhang Liling mumbled to herself.

    The current expression on her face revealed just how jealous she was with him breaking the attention on her despite having tried to stop it.

    Seeing how puffed up her cheeks were, the corners of Mr. Fang''s lips curled into a smile. Knowing she was annoyed and wanted hisfort, he couldn''t help chuckling within him.

    "What nuisance?" As soon as those words left his lips, he grabbed her butts from behind and left a kiss on her puffed up cheek before pulling her to his chest.

    "Hold me." He instructed as he lifted her body off his desk.

    Out of reflex Zhang Liling quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where are you taking me?"

    "To a ce where we can continue chatting amicably." He replied with a smile while heading out of the Study room.

    Hearing his response, Zhang Liling grumbled. "No, I don''t want to continue chatting with you. I am tired. I want to go straight to bed."

    "Not on my watch." Fang Bingwen whispered into her ears.

    It was not that easy for him to give anyone his attention and once he had done that, he would make sure to see it to its end.

    His time was precious.

    Although he knew she was only wanting more of his attention, he couldn''t help teasing her.

    "Mr. Fang, let me down!" Zhang Liling insisted as she moved her waist against him in attempt to free herself instead, she caused him to stop in his steps and meet her gaze.

    "If you move your waist on me again, I will take it that you want us to chat in this position."

    Instantly, she stilled on him, prompting him to continue in his steps while letting out a heartyughter.

    From the Study room, he took her the bedroom andid her on the bed.

    As soon as he dropped her, he climbed into the bed after her.

    "Let''s chat before we have our bath and go to bed." He said in a hushed voice before bringing his face close to capture her soft lips with his tin lips.

    That night, Fang Bingwen was so passionate that Zhang Liling begged him to stop a few times.

    Later, after the deed has been done, she couldn''t help questioning what fuelled his enthusiasm while speaking breathlessly.

    "I won''t tell you." Fang Bingwen teased before lifting her off the bed and carrying her into the wash room.

    Before going to sleep that night, Zhang Liling agreed that Fang Bingwen was a romantic man.

    *******

    Zhang Mingyu was restless and full of annoyance when he returned to the Zhang Vi, but as soon as he stepped into the house, he changed his facial expression.

    But when he entered into his room, he locked the door and immediately, his anger came back.

    He couldn''t forget about his encounter with Mika at the shopping mall.

    More than the news she came bearing, he was annoyed at the face that she dared to follow him. What if Emma Song had guessed their rtionship when she intentionally bumped into him?

    Her move was risky. What if she had put him in trouble?

 Chapter 427 One Weird One

    Unable to bear her confidence and dares, he picked up his phone to call her.

    As soon as she answered the call, he started to berate her.

    "Mika, did you not think properly before deciding to tail me? What if someone that knew of our rtionship saw us together at that mall?"

    As soon as it looked like he was done scolding, Mika started to cry. "what did I do so wrong for you to scold me in this manner which you have never done before?"

    Hearing her croaking voice, Zhang Mingyu got more annoyed. He was the one that called, why is she crying when she did something wrong?

    Without waiting for his response, she sniffed as she allowed her eyes turn teary. Since he couldn''t see her, she didn''t bother to make any more effort to let her tears flow.

    "I told you I had something important to talk about so I couldn''t wait. I had followed you in hopes that I would immediately run to you as soon as you were done with your meeting with the person you had to see, but who knew it was some other girl."

    Immediately, he interjected. "Mika, do you have a problem with me going on a date with my fianc¨¦e. Even if you are thinking about that, what right do you think you have? Do you want our rtionship to end?"

    Hearing that, she choked on her tears. "Mingyu, how could you be so heartless because I made a mistake which I have never done before, I..."

    "It''s exactly because you don''t make this kind of mistake, that''s why I''m mad at you." Zhang Mingyu quickly chipped in.

    He didn''t care if she loved him so much or missed him to the point of monitoring his movement. None of that mattered to him.

    Her actions had annoyed and that was what was more important.

    Knowing how angry he was, Mika tried to get his pity while pretending to be so hurt by him.

    "Mingyu, I''m very sorry. I didn''t know you wouldn''t like it. I only did it because I had no choice. I really had that important news to tell you. I was in state where I needed you by my side, but instead youshed out at me in the public restroom area."

    Saying that, she scooped a spoon of ice cream and sent it into her mouth as she moved her phone away from ear and put it on hands-free mode.

    Knowing that he would want to say something in return, she used that opportunity to enjoy her Ice cream a bit while sitting on her bed.

    "Mika, you didn''t need to tell me anything concerning that matter. We had only agreed to see each other secretly with nothing like a child ruining our rtionship. You should get rid of it if you want to continue this rtionship peacefully."

    How could she be pregnant after all the precautions they have been using for over a year, was she kidding him?

    Even if she identally fell pregnant, why did she have to tell him first when there was a clear rule from their onset of their dating in the early days?

    Swallowing the lump of ice cream down her throat, Mika faked breaking out in tears. "Mingyu, I know we had an agreement between us, but how could you be so mean to me? You should at least try tofort me for what I''m going to do next but instead you are telling me off. You are so mean!"

    Screaming thest part into his ears, she tapped the red icon to end the call immediately.

    Pushing the phone aside, she focused on her ice cream without a care.

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu was still trying to get over the fact that she had ended the call on his face.

    "She is bing daring now." He mumbled to himself as he tapped a few bottons on his phone before cing it on his ear.

    After several rings, there was no answer.

    "Is she ignoring me now? Damn it!" He cursed angrily as he got ready to fling his phone away, but the soft knocks sounding on his door cursed him to think twice about it.

    ''Who could it be?''

    Without confirming who the person at the other side of the door was, he walked over and opened it.

    Seeing the person standing there, he called out, "Mum."

    "Can Ie in for a bit?" Though Shi Wenqian sounded like she was seeking his permission before walking into the room, she was only saying it when she had walked in already.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Letting her gaze nce over the items in the room, she turned her smiling gaze to him.

    "Why haven''t you changed your clothes? I was afraid you would already be in the shower by this time but who know, I got lucky."

    In disguise, she was asking him the reason he still hadn''t changed out of his clothes even after it had been a few minutes since he stepped into his room.

    "I was tired and needed to rest." Just as he said that, her gaze travelled to the bed that didn''t look like anyone hadid on it.

    Following her gaze, he saw that she had found that he was lying and quickly added, "I also had to make an important call."

    Still withy a smile on her face, she turned to meet his gaze. "How was your date with Emma?" She inquired with interest.

    Since she was the one that made him go on the date, she needed to find out how it went.

    "That girl is just one weird one." Being reminded of the way Emma Ong acted, he went to sit on his bed with an annoyed expression on his face.

    "How is she weird?" immediately, she followed him to the bed to sit beside him.

    "She doesn''t speak a lot. She is not interesting and she has this sense of superiority. Mum, I would hate for that kind of woman to be my wife. How can I raise my head up high when she is already acting so haughty?"

    ''Mika is more submissive than she is. No, she is not even submissive.'' He said to himself, refusing to voice that thought to his mother''s hearing.

    Hearing hisints, Shi Wenqian''s facial expression did not change. "Is normal. In fact, I''m not surprised. Mika is the only child of her parents, and she had been spoiled silly with their wealth. She is already used to looking down on others."

    "Wait a minute. Mum, are you supporting her actions and ridiculous behaviour? I am your son here, shouldn''t you be supporting me?"

    Zhang Mingyu was annoyed and disappointed with his mother''s words.

    Instead of telling him a few words offort, she was busy saying things that had no meaning.

    "At least, even if you and Dad want me to marry a girl from a wealthy family that has connections we can utilize, shouldn''t you have looked properly. As far as I''m concerned, Emma is hard to tolerate. This is not the first time we are meeting.

    Also, us she the only that was raised in a wealthy family? What about me, do I act like she does?"

    Since his mother was going to shield that girl with a bad upbringing, then he was going topare her with himself.

    Listening to him speak that way, a soft chuckle escaped Shi Wenqian''s lips.

    "Do you think your character is all that good despite being born into a family like this? My dear son, you really know nothing.

    You always leave your room messy, how many women can stand that? You party hard and is more on the side of spending money than on the side of making it. Also, you don''t know how to take care of a wife."

    Having mad ethics list that forced him to get into a deep thought, she probed, "Now, do you still think that you are any better than her?"

    Zhang Mingyu was silent for a while before speaking for himself again.

    Yes, he knew he was arrogant for having the Zhang family as a backing, but he refused to tolerate being looked down on.

    "Still, she shouldn''t at that way to someone that is going to be her husband. How do you think we will leave peacefully together for a lifetime?"

    "Who said you two must be together for a long time in peace and unity?" Finding his statement funny, Shi Wenqian couldn''t control herughter, causing him to be confused.

    "I don''t really like Emma Ong because she looks like someone I can''t fit into a bag. The only reason I allowed your father push you to marry her is because that is the only way for you to your rightful position at thepany and also get a hold of the shares he promised to give you if you married the person of his choice."

    Taking in a breath, she continued...

 Chapter 428 Benefits

    "If you marry Emma, Mr. Ong will expose a lot of connections to you as his son-inw. There will be so many benefits, so just try to handle the marriage for at least 2 years while stretching your arms far enough to rip off the benefits of the Union.

    Then when you are tired and satisfied, you can call it quits, or make Emma divorce you.

    In the long run, this is something we can always n and work out together."

    "Really? You will allow me to divorce her? Will Dad agree?" Hearing his mother give her support, Zhang Mingyu felt it was too good to be true.

    But lest he forgets who arranged the marriage in the first ce, he had to do a proper research and arrangement, hence he had to ask of his father''s opinion.

    Smiling to herself, Shi Wenqian replied. "Your father wouldn''t bother as long he has managed to achieve his dreams or receiving Mr. Ong''s allegiance and support for his political dreams."

    "Does it mean I will be free to marry whomever I want?" Asking that, Zhang Mingyu tapped his fingers on his kneecap while waiting for her response.

    "It can be possible, only if she brings us some benefits. Take a look at how far Zhang Group had gone, and will continue to grow even with the Ong family support and other alies.

    Do you think we can wee just anyone into our family? If you are falling in love, make sure there is something greater attached to the rtionship more than love.

    Make sure you don''t ever fall for a girl from an ordinary background. Just remember that the next woman you might get married to after Emma Ong, can note from a family background less than the Ongs.

    You are the heir to a million dor empire, and the next CEO of Zhang Corp. Only things worth your hierarchy shoulde to you, and only that should you be interested in."

    Patting his shoulder, she added, "Keep that in mind."

    As long as Shi Wenqian was concerned, she was living to rip off the benefits she could get from others.

    Finding out that it was easier to use people to enrich herself in all areas of her life, she decided to be doing that without batting an eye.

    And now knowing that her son had another woman who probably is just an ordinary girl, she would do everything to talk him out of making any mistake that will ruin his path.

    Seeing how he had never mentioned about her, Shi Wenqian was sure that she was just a y thing still, she could not keep her eyes off them especially now that her son was about to get married.

    She could not afford for anything to go wrong at the odd hour.

    After talking some senses into Zhang Mingyu, she reminded him toe down for dinner before leaving his room.

    Somehow, his mother''s words were able to pull his thoughts back together. Before, he didn''t have any appetite, but now, he was ready to enjoy a bountiful meal.

    At the dinner table, a smile spread across Shi Wenqian''s face as she watched her son eat without worries.

    ''It''s a relief that he still has his eyes in the future.''

    Letting out a sigh of relief, she continued to eat heartily.

    After dinner, she found Zhang Renshu in his study room where he was sitting and reading a political book.

    "The wedding date will be agreed upon by tomorrow. I think it''s time for the funds for Zhang Mingyu''s wedding to be released."

    Since she cane for an important matter, Zhang Renshu paid her a little attention.

    Lifting his head from the book in his line of sight, he asked, "Where is the budget? At least give me one if you areing to ask for money."

    "I will bring it with me next time. There is a lot of things to take note of after speaking with Mrs. Ong tomorrow. As we will be meeting some vendors after fixing the date, we will be able to have a budget."

    Shi Wenqian replied without sitting as she did not want to give him the opportunity to have a lot of things toin about.

    "How big is the wedding going to be?" Zhang Renshu inquired.

    "A very big one. We might hand more than 500 guests. Mrs. Ong doesn''t want anything less for her only child''s wedding." Shi Wenqian proudly replied.

    This was one thing that made her very satisfied, and that was the fact that her son was not marrying from a poor family that would be stingy with this kind of budget.

    Being a show-off, Shi Wenqian couldn''t wait to be in the limelight because of the wedding of her son that would cost nothing less than a million Dors.

    On the other hand, Zhang Renshu understood the reason the wedding had to be big, but in a different direction.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Because of his ambition, he needed to invite a lot of important guests through his circle of friends, but business and political friends.

    If possible, he would want to get even those important people with power that wasn''t that close to him, but knowing his limit, he knew when to stop daydreaming.

    "Then, I will trust you to handle this big and important event without messing up a bit." Zhang Renshu spoke like he was entrusting an important business task to her.

    "I understand, after all, Mingyu is my son, and I only want the best for him." Saying that, a smile appeared on her face.

    She was secretly letting him know that she would never mess up with such a matter that had to do with her son.

    Throwing his gaze away, he added, "After meeting me Mrs. Ong tomorrow, you cane back to me."

    At least he was d that there was something she was going to take serious without leaving him any room to worry.

    *******

    ~Zhang Corp~

    As soon as Zhang Mingyu arrived at thepany, he went straight to check Mika, and seeing her looking a little busy when the day has not yet started, he rxed a bit went to his office.

    Taking a seat, he picked up his phone and immediately sent a text to her.

    ''Come to my office as soon as possible.''

    That it seemed like his mother had forced his head back on track did not mean that he had forgotten his unfinished business with his girlfriend.

    It was very important that he sees her immediately to find out more information from her. For the mean time, he would try to concentrate with work.

    After working an hour in the office, he left for a brif meeting with other departmental heads before returning to his office to find Mika waiting for him.

    "Have you been waiting for long?" He inquired as her went over to his desk to sit.

    "No. I only came here when I see that the meeting was over." Mika replied as she sat in front of him like there was no problem between them.

    Well, that was all thanks to the way her approached her now on a brand new day.

    Meeting his gaze, she crossed her arms below her burst, looking unhappy.

    "We really have something important to talk about and because of the sensitivity of the matter, we are not going to chat for too long." Taking in a deep breath, he asked, "Are you pregnant?"

    "Did you think I would say something I wasn''t sure of to you? Mingyu, you are really beginning to show what you truly think of me just because I made a mistake yesterday."

    Saying that, Mika threw her face away as she was especially annoyed with his new attitude.

    Choosing to ignore her words, Zhang Mingyu probed further in a low tone. "How did you know? Did you go to the hospital?"

    Hearing his questions, she scoffed. He didn''t trust her, and she understood.

    "I haven''t gotten any test yet, but I know I''m definitely pregnant because of my missed period and the way I have been feeling ufortabletely."

    "You haven''t even checked and you are so sure. Do you really want to be pregnant that much?" Zhang Mingyu confronted in annoyance.

    He thought that she would be meeting him with some piece of evidence in her hand, but where she wasing to a conclusion from her assumptions.

    Unfolding her hands, Mika stopped herself from ring at him because of his doubts, and this made her want to think twice about her rash actions the previous day.

    It was very obvious that he was still angry with her, but she wasn''t happy with him either.

    After a moment of silence, Zhang Mingyu shut his eyes to calm down a bit, and the next second his eyes snapped open, he instructed.

    "Take a pregnancy test after work and let me know the results,test tomorrow."

    "Fine, I will." Uttering those words, Mika stood up and left his office in annoyance.

 Chapter 429 Her Role

    *******r

    Having learned of the possibility of her fake half-brother''s girlfriend being pregnant, Zhang Liling was not one to joke around or waste time with the information.r

    Also, this was a very good push for her to get even more serious.r

    With a new upgraded mind-set now, she immediately put a call through to Zhang Xiaoling.r

    "Have you don what I asked you to do?" She inquired.r

    "Not yet, but I will get it done today. I have been a little busy at work for thest few days, but as soon as I close for the day, I will return to the Zhang residence to spend the night." Zhang Xiaoling replied.r

    Since she had her own role to y in reaching the ultimate goal, she was going to put all her attention to it now that she had the time.r

    "Alright, it is better you spend the night there. Also, don''t forget that we have to meet in the morning for you to hand over the materials." Zhang Liling reminded.r

    They sooner they got the results for the DNA, the faster their movement will be.r

    "I know. There is no need tomand me." Zhang Xiaoling seemed a little offended with her manner of speaking to her which she found disrespectful.r

    Zhang Liling rolled her eyes and mumbled a few incoherent words under her breath. She was going to end the call when she suddenly changed her mind about something.r

    Before, she had no ns of giving Zhang Xiaoling any news or feedback she got that might help to get their ns moving just in case she might end up betraying their camp, but now, it seems she had a change of mind.r

    "Zhang Xiaoling, I think I should congratte you in advance."r

    "Congratte me for what?" Zhang Xiaoling asked as liked appeared on her forehead.r

    She looked to be confused about what in particr she was talking about.r

    Was there something happening in her life that she needed to be congratted for without her knowing?r

    She doubted it.r

    "It seems you are finally going to be an Aunt before bing a mother. Hahaha... Congrattions!" r

    Having given her an idea of what she wanted her to know, Zhang Liling went ahead to end the conversation with a smile ying at the corner of her lips.r

    Putting her phone down, she swirled around in her chair before standing up on her feet to go have lunch outside with her dear husband.r

    Today, they had scheduled to have lunch together since he would be taking some time off from his schedule to visit Glint.r

    Being the co-partner of Glint, he could use that opportunity to see what was going on, help a bit strategizing and nning and most importantly, get to see his wife and eat with her during lunch.r

    Zhang Liling was all smiles when she met him outside. r

    As soon as she saw his car, she got into the backseat of the car, hugged him and kissed his lips.r

    "Honey, I missed you." She whined like a child without letting go off his body.r

    "I missed you too pretty girl." Fang Bingwen replied with a smile as he kissed the top of her head.r

    Being in her man''s one embrace, Zhang Liling felt a pool of sweetness begin to swirl up in the pit of her stomach, such that she made a cue sound of satisfaction.r

    "What do you want to eat?" He inquired while holding her in his arms.r

    "Anything, as long as we are eating together." Zhang Liling replied.r

    Finding her words romantic, he could not stop himself fromughing from the bottom of his heart.r

    He just couldn''t get over how his girl rushes to say things that should be left for him to say. Why was she always in a hurry? But she was very fun to be with.r

    After having an hour lunch, they went back to Glint to focus on business before he went back to Fang Group to take of matters there.r

    At the end of the day, they met up at home to continue with their Romance. This time around, it was Fang Bingwen that found her, and not the other way round.r

    ***r

    Since hearing about the possibility of bing an Aunt, Zhang Xiaoling had been spacing out in the middle of a huge workload.r

    Different thoughts were indeed ruining through her head, but she still couldn''te to an end.r<novelnext></novelnext>

    After work, she picked up her bag and made her way toward Zhang Mingyu''s office, but approaching the door, she saw him stepping out and quickly hid behind the corridor.r

    She didn''t know why she did that, but somehow, her senses felt the need to find out what he was upto even though she saw him alone.r

    Waiting till it was safe to step out, she dide out and followed the sound of his footsteps.r

    Without knowing, she followed towards another department where he stopped for a while to stare at someone she couldn''t trace his gaze to because of the distance between them.r

    Right there, she saw her brother pick up his phone to type a few things before leaving, and that was when she had to dodge again.r

    As soon as he got out of the way, she fixed her gaze on the transparent wall block to see if anyone in thatrge room would pick up their phone since she kind of guessed that he had sent one of thedies in there a text, but after a few seconds, she had to leave since she didn''t see anyone making any movement.r

    She figured that she could follow Zhang Mingyu instead to find out where he was going to just in case.r

    With that thought, she quickly hurried to the underground parking lot agate taking an empty lift.r

    Fortunately for her, she was there in time to see his car driving off and immediately, she got into her own car and floored the elerator.r

    But at the end, she arrived the Zhang residence while pulling up her car beside him within a span of a few seconds.r

    Seeing the familiar car beside his as soon as he got out of his car, Zhang Mingyu''s gaze widened in surprise.r

    "What''s this?" He muttered under his breath as he watched the car''s engine turn off, and the female driver get off the car.r

    "Sister Xiaoling." He called out on recognizing his sister.r

    Locking her car door, Zhang Xiaoling turned to walk out of the car park and seeing that she was heading for the entrance of the house, he quickly chased after her.r

    "Why were you so shocked to see me?" Zhang Xiaoling asked while keeping her gaze ahead.r

    In her hands, she had different bags. Her handbag in her right hand and three luxury store bags.r

    Looking away from them, Zhang Mingyu didn''t try to offer any help to carry them since he was aware they were probably gifts, and they didn''t look heavy.r

    "I didn''t hear about youing back today and given how you seldome here since you got married, you showing up here sometimes can be surprising." He replied.r

    Hearing that, she sniggered. "I am still a part of this household even if I am married and I cane here any time I want without giving anyone a heads-up." r

    "Oh..." he trailed off. As he had nothing else to say to her, he shut his lips and followed her into the house.r

    At the doorway, they were weed by the few servants going about some walk.r

    "Where is mum, she is not back yet?" Zhang Xiaoling asked why looking around the house.r

    Immediately, Zhang Mingyu probed, "How did you know she is not around?" r

    "Because she knows I would be here." Zhang Xiaoling replied instead of going through the long process of exining that she had called their mother in thete Hours of the morning to tell her she wasing over, and that was when she found out she was busy with his wedding ns.r

    Understanding what she was trying to say, Zhang Mingyu nodded and continued in his steps. "Sister, I will be going up to my room first." r

    As Zhang Xiaoling nodded to him, she turned her gaze back to the servant waiting for their response and immediately, one of them replied.r

    "Ma''am is still not back."r

    "What about my Dad, he is not back yet?" At the underground parking lot, Zhang Xiaoling had not seen her father''s car where it used to park, so she had guessed that he must have left for home.r

    "No, Sires homete these days, but he sometimes meets the time for dinner." The servant replied.r

    "Oh... That''s even better. I will out their gifts in their rooms." Saying that, Zhang Xiaoling turned to walk away, but then she remembered something and stopped.r

    "Where is housekeeper Cha?" r

    "She left with Ma''am." One of the servants replied.r

    "Then make sure my room is all cleaned up." r

    Finally, Zhang Xiaoling disappeared from their sight while acting all natural.r

 Chapter 430 Her Duty

    Maybe it was because Zhang Xiaoling had already nned herself well, that must the reason she was so confident while getting ready to y some tricks.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s first stop while on her mission, was her mother''s room.

    Since the servants already know she was going in there to drop a gift, never would they have even the slightest percent chance to think that something else was going on behind those close doors.

    Normally, there was nothing bad with a daughter going into her mother''s room when she wasn''t around, but for Shi Wenqian''s case, things were different.

    The woman hated anyoneing into he bedroom hence, it was only secretary Cha that can go in there to clean it if she wasn''t around.

    She was the only one trusted since she was her underling.

    With Zhang Xiaoling and Zhang Mingyu having had a fair share of scolding since they were young concerning wandering into their mother''s room when she wasn''t around, they were wise to stay off that path.

    Aware of what her mother was like, Zhang Xiaoling pretended like everything was fine and found her way into her bedroom.

    Going to the centre of the room, she dropped the three bags on the rug and quickly turned to go into the washroom with a pair of new flip-flops.

    Thankfully, she had changed out of her pair of heels before going into the room.

    Going into the bathroom, her eyes quickly nced at the wall where her toothbrush was being held in a toothbrush holder.

    As soon as she set her eyes on it, the corners of her lips curled into a smile and without wasting time, she dipped her hand inside her handbag to bring out 3 different types of toothbrushes.

    Taking one of them, which was a carbon-copy of the one on the wall, she put the rest into her bag.

    "Thankfully, she is still using the same type."

    Happy that there was no mistakes, she quickly went ahead to remove the new toothbrush from the pack and exchanged it with the one on the wall.

    Taking out a medium stic bag from her bag, she wrapped the toothbrush in it before quickly stepping out.

    Going back into the room, she looked around. Although she was tempted to search for a few ces to see if she would find anything incriminating, she refrained from it.

    She was not going to let her curiousity endanger her mission.

    Also, her mother might return any time soon and if she arrives before she is done with her job, then she would find it difficult toplete her task.

    Let''s not forget Zhang Renshu who mighte back at anytime.

    Which other opportunity would she have to do infiltrate their privacy without them watching?

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling checked the bags on floor to be sure of the phone she had gotten for her mother before taking the remaining two to leave.

    Zhang Xiaoling''s next stop was Zhang Renshu''s bedroom and thankfully, it was opened.

    Walking in, she repeated the same process as she had done in her mother''s room before quickly stepping out.

    Again, she was lucky that her stepfather still used the same kind of toothbrush as in the past.

    ''Finally, there is one more stop.'' She mumbled to herself before making her way up the stairs where her bedroom was also located.

    That ce, she could finally finish her next mission without fear.

    For her, it was very easy to take care of Zhang Mingyu because that idiot was not guilty of anything she mighty do, and that will prick his conscious.

    Arriving in front of Zhang Mingyu''s door, she knocked once before stepping into his bedroom.

    Finding it empty, she was about to call out to him when she heard the sound of shower going off in the washroom.

    "Wrong timing." She muttered under her breath before turning to leave for her own room.

    ***

    Finishing from work, Mika went straight to her self-con apartment instead of going to the hospital to do the test Zhang Mingyu orders her to.

    For some reason, she didn''t feel like doing anything he suggested get. But instead of going to the hospital to get an official test done, she bought pregnancy test kits from the store on her way home from work.

    Knowing that the results might be inurate, she bought from three different brands.

    Although she knew she was truly pregnant after a proper calction plus the notes she took online with her present symptoms, she was still a little nervous to see the resulte to her live without any other chance to turn a blind eye to him.

    Having no appetite to eat, she went straight to the bathroom with the three packs of pregnancy test kits after putting her back down on the floor.

    Seven minutester after using them, she finally saw the results bolding inscripted on their screen.

    She was pregnant.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Sighing to herself, she threw everything inside her waste basket before taking off her clothes to have a shower to remove the stress of the day from her body.

    Stepping into her room, she went to her bag to pick up her phone before going to lie on the bed.

    Again, she saw Zhang Mingyu''s test.

    ''You are not saying anything. Have you taken the test yet? When will the results be out?''

    Reading every word, Mika sighed.

    "Zhang Mingyu, don''t think you can dump me so easily. As for this child, I''m keeping it."

    Giving that promise, she turned off her phone just in case he would go crazy from her not replying him, and start to call her again.

    Rising from her bed, she went into her kitchen to find something to eat as she had suddenly regained her lost appetite.

    Maybe she was too excited to know that she could deal with Zhang Mingyu using her pregnancy, after calming down a bit and making up her mind.

    It was her duty to protect a child she wanted to keep even though she had a different reason altogether.

    Before falling asleep, Mika made sure to fill her stomach to her satisfaction, without caring about watching her weight.

    ***

    Coming out from the bathroom, Zhang Mingyu nced around his room with a slight frown on his face.

    "I thought someone was here."

    Seeing that there was no one in his bedroom, he went back into the inner room to look for some clothes to wear.

    Some minutester, a servant came to call him toe down for dinner.

    "Has my mothere back?" He inquired.

    "Yes, she came in a few minutes ago." The servant replied before leaving his bedroom.

    Going over to the room next to his, she knocked and only walked in after receiving a response of approval.

    Giving the same notification to Zhang Xiaoling, she bowed slightly.

    "I will be down in a bit." Zhang Xiaoling replied while dressed in her bathrobe.

    Seeing what she was dressed in, the servant understood and turned to leave.

    As soon as she left, Zhang Xiaoling walked to her small closet to pick a set of her old clothes to put on. Coming into her room, she picked up the remaining gift bag, then dipping her hand into her handbag, she brought out the only toothbrush there.

    Making up he remind to go into Zhang Mingyu''s bedroom since he must have finished worshipping up ages ago, she left her room for hi, just in time to meet him leaving.

    "Are you going down for dinner?" She asked.

    "Yes." Zhang Mingyu replied as his gaze moved from her face to the bag in her hand. "By any chance, did you buy something for me?" He asked as his gaze shifted back to her face.

    Seeing the excitement on his face, Zhang Xiaoling nodded while managing a smile.

    "Really? Let me..."

    Just as he was going to snatch the bag from her, she quickly put it behind her.

    "Go down for dinner, I put the bag in your room. When you are done eating, you can see it all you want." She insisted.

    Watching the adult male whom she had taken as her brother since his birth get happy because he got something for him, Zhang Xiaoling had mixed feelings.

    Somehow, she was beginning to think of quitting this role she took out of nowhere. Even if Zhang Mingyu was not her brother, maybe it will be better off if she didn''t know the truth.

    But on a second thought, she had a duty because of her current marital state.

    There was someone that cared about her wholeheartedly atst, and she wouldn''t want anything to ruin what she had in the long run.

    Making that decision in her head, she watched Zhang Mingyu leave before stepping into his bedroom.

    Without wasting time, she put the bag on the desk in his room and quickly went into his bathroom with the toothbrush she brought with her.

    Five minutester, Zhang Xiaoling walked down the stairs and went straight to the dining room to join her mother and brother for dinner.

 Chapter 431 Offering Her Assistance

    As soon as Zhang Xiaoling walked into the living room, Shi Wenqian turned her head toward her direction, and let he gaze follow her till she took a seat.

    "Xiaoling, you are here?" She said with a smile.

    Remembering the gift she had seen in her room, she couldn''t help being happy.

    "Yes. I thought you would ask about me as soon as you arrived." Zhang Xiaoling replied as she fixed her gaze on her.

    Smiling to herself, Shi Wenqian replied, "I''m looking at you now. I saw the gift you got me, thank you. I didn''t know you could still do something like that."

    "What''s there to be surprised about. Anyway, don''t think too much about it. I got something for Dad and Mingyu as well."

    In order to not let her mother think she only got something for her alone, she mad sit known to her that she got for others as well, just in case she wanted to use this opportunity to get close to her again.

    Seeing her daughter still being her usual self, Shi Wenqian seemed more rxed. ''I almost thought her head got broken.''

    Choosing to drop the topic, she gave her permission for them to start their dinner.

    "Where is Dad? He is not joining us?" Zhang Mingyu inquired.

    "Only if he was back." Shi Wenqian answered in passing, seemingly unbothered at the fact that her husband was snot home yet despite it being dinner time.

    As she had decided not to care about his extramarital affairs, she would for now, focus her attention and energy on getting stronger.

    While eating, she fixed her gaze on Zhang Xiaoling who looked to not be so into the food. Thinking of something, she didn''t fail to mention it.

    "You have beening back a lot frequently. Is everything fine?"

    "My mother-inw is being hectic so Ie here sometimes to show her that I have a ce to go back to just in case she has forgotten. But if you are bothered about me being in your space, I can find somewhere else to be." Zhang Xiaoling spilled without reservation.

    She had purposely exposed her mother-inw just to get her mother''s reaction while knowing deep within herself that her mother would never confront that woman head on.

    Listening to her daughter for the first time tell her what he problem was, Shi Wenqian rubbed her fingers together.

    "No. You can alwayse here if you want. You don''t have to call me like you did earlier today. You are my daughter and this is your home.

    As for your mother-inw, let her be. She is probably disturbing you because you do not want to give her a grandchild."

    Hearing that, Xiaoling''s facial expression changed, but she still let her continue instead of stopping her there.

    "I would say for you to endure what you can and don''t keep quiet on the rest. But for now, don''t let your fight with her escte because Mingyu is getting married in a few weeks.

    I wouldn''t like the media to catch a glimpse of your ugly rtionship with that woman otherwise it would be tiring to exin it to Mrs. Ong who can be a handful at times.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But what I will promise you is that once we secure the bag with Mingyu''s wedding, I will persuade your father to let you divorce Ei and help you get together with Fang Bingwen as you have always wanted."

    Listening to all the thrash her mother was spewing, Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t control herself and mmed her palm on the table.

    "Mum, I will have to stop you there." Almost ring at her, She continued.

    "I don''t like Fang Bingwen any more. I am not interested in him."

    There was a surprised look on Shi Wenqian''s face as she watched her daughter re up.

    "If you don''t want Fang Bingwen any more, it''s fine, you have made your point, but you should learn to control your temper at the dinner table. Are you sure this is not the reason your mother-inw doesn''t take you serious?"

    "What!" Xiaoling eximed in shock as she couldn''t believe what her ears just heard.

    "Mum!" Even Zhang Mingyu was surprised.

    Normally, he would just stay put and listen to them fight, but after getting a gift from his sister after so many years, he was fully showing his support.

    ? Seeing the two of them look like they were ready to attack her, Shi Wenqian paused for a while to look between them.

    But thinking that she had gone to far, she calmed down a bit. "Alright, I shouldn''t have said that. Don''t mind me. If you want to get divorced, let me know so I can speak to your father. As for your next marriage, don''t think too much about it. I can always help you get the best man out there."

    Listening to her mother go on about her getting a divorce, Zhang Xiaoling was tired.

    Picking up the table napkin, she wiped the corner of her lips and got up

    Seeing that she was going to leave, Shi Wenqian tried to stop her. "Where are you going to? You haven''t even touched your food."

    "Whose fault is it? I''m leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and you don''t have to worry about meing here again or telling you what my problem is so you can pay attention to me and ask me what I want instead ofing up with a solution all by yourself."

    As Zhang Xiaoling said what she had in her heart, she threw the napkin on the table and walked away without looking back.

    Watching his sister walk away, Zhang Mingyu felt a bit bad for her, but he couldn''t do anything to help as he hadn''t finished heling himself first.

    "Mum, you really went too far." He said and sat there to continue eating.

    Returning her gaze to him, she said instead, "Your sister is the one who went too far. Why do I feel like she has changed. Before she used to be ambitious but now, I don''t know what has gotten into her. Her heart is softening."

    "Sister Xiaoling did not change rather is you that have changed. Mum, when will you start caring about what we want?" Zhang Mingyu asked using the opportunity to bring up her ways of forcing them into some kind of situations.

 Chapter 432 A Little Accident

    "What you want has to rhyme with my ns for you future and only then will I care about it. Have power, money and influence first before you settle for what you want." Shi Wenqian advised.

    She didn''t believe that one she focus on pleasures instead, they should focus on preparing the road to their destiny to ensure their name lived in the hearts of others, and they became the talk of town.

    As for other menial desires, let ite after they have achieved everything, but Zhang Mingyu didn''t seen to think that way.

    "Mum, at this rate, I think we will end up dying without getting to enjoy the works of our hands."

    Saying that, he wiped his lips clean and got up as well. "I''m done. Have a good night."

    At the end, Shi Wenqian was left all alone, but she was not even bothered as this was not the first time her children had tried to rebel against her.

    "Seems like I have to make them fight for something and only then will their senses awaken." Mumbling those words to herself, she continued to eat.

    *******

    As early as 5 AM, Zhang Xiaoling got up to wash up before getting dressed and without waiting to have breakfast, she picked up her bags and walked out of the house.

    She did not even bother to say her greeting to Zhang Renshu who hase back in the middle of the night before entering her car and zooming off.

    Just as she had told her mother during dinner, she would leave first thing in the morning.

    After yesterday''s experience, she was reminded of the reason she should never join hands with her mother or let her off, because she would never be able to find happiness.

    When she had talked about her mother-inw mistreating her, she didn''t look like she cared much.

    She didn''t re up like a mother who cared about her daughter''s happiness and who others were treating her.

    She didn''t talk about speaking to her mother-inw nor did she say anyforting words to her.

    She didn''t even ask her about her husband and how she was being treated.

    ''Does he love you?''

    ''Does he defend you when his mother is at your throat?''''

    ''Is he going to find a solution to this solution or is he going to continue to let his mother ill-treat you?''

    ''How is your rtionship with him? Are things better?''

    ''Tell me what you want, and I will help you.''

    Not even a single one of those questions was brought up by her mother. Then how did she care about her?

    Was she even her mother?

    As soon as that thought came to her head, she felt her heartbeat elerate and without warning, she lost control of the staring but thankfully, she braked the car, but the problem was that as she did that suddenly, the car that was following behind her, rammed into the rear end of her car.<novelnext></novelnext>

    For almost a minute, Zhang Xiaoling sat in her car without reacting as her fingers clutched the steering wheel tightly.

    She was still shocked about the spection in her mind that she forgot about the car that hit her.

    Her heart almost froze in her chest from there.

    It was the driver in the car that hit her that had toe out and knock on her window to alert her.

    Seeing the expensive car he had hit, and knowing that there was a camera at that spot, he couldn''t escape so Despite the fact that he was afraid of the life of the person in the other car, he took a bold step toe over.

    "Ma''am are you okay."

    With the incessant knocking on her car window, Zhang Xiaoling was able to snap back to the present.

    Turning off her car engine, she removed her seatbelt and stepped out of the car to go see the damage.

    "I am so sorry for hitting you. You suddenly stopped out of nowhere."

    Hearing what the man had to say, Zhang Xiaoling immediately gave him the side nce.

    "There is no traffic on this road because it''s still early, yet you were following me so closely. Am I the only one to be med for stopping out of nowhere? What about you that was following me so closely when it is wrong in the first ce. If you were also focused on the road, you would have seen my break lights!"

    Hearing the ims she made, the man was shocked because she was right. He ended up being tongue-tied and only became alert when he saw her walked back to her car.

    "My bad! You should call your car insurance agency."

    Taking her phone out from her handbag, she said without sparing him a nce. "What car insurance? I''m calling the police."

    Quickly, she dialled a contact and ced the phone on her ear before turning to fix a death stare on the man.

    "What? Why would you involve the police when I didn''t hit you on purpose?"

    Learning that she was going to call the police, the truck driver became rmed because of how messier the case could be.

    Obviously, thedy in front of him was rich and she looked like she was influential, plus the fact that he was guilty.

    "With yourck of concentration, you would have hit another person if you didn''t hit me." Zhang Xiaoling said just before the person she was trying to reach, answered her call from the other end.

    "Hello!" The robust female voice greeted.

    Without waiting to hear a second more word from her, Zhang Xiaoling said, "Liling,e and pick me up at XXXXXXX I just had a little ident and I don''t think I can leave this ce soon."

    Normally, she would have addressed her as ''Zhang'' in front of her first name, but because she didn''t want the man in front of her to guess who she was and the family she wasing from since he seemed oblivious to it, she was forced to forgo the formality with that step-sister of hers.

 Chapter 433 Staring At Her Body As Commanded

    ''Liling?'' Zhang Liling was surprised with her step-sister''s mode of address.

    Since when did they get that close to each for them to be addressed so informally?

    Although she looked a little confused, she was still able to register the main point of her call, but pushed it aside as there was something more important than everything else.

    "Were you able to get those things?"

    That was her main point of worry, as a good response would determine if she woulde to her rescue or not.

    It''s not like she didn''t have anyone else aside her to ask for help.

    Zhang Liling was sure that those years they were apart from each other, she got into a little situation and definitely required help from others.

    So if she was able to survive back then without her, she would definitely be able to do so, even now.

    "Do you think I would have left that house by this time if I didn''t seed?" Zhang Xiaoling retorted.

    There was a moment of silence at the other end before a voice was heard again.

    "Call your insurancepany first, I will be there in twenty minutes." While giving the assurance of her assistance, Zhang Liling removed the towel she sued in wrapping her head and made her way to the walk-in closet from the bathroom.

    As soon as she finished speaking, she terminated the call and quickly went to her side of the closet to browse for an outfit.

    Thankfully, her wardrobe was all sorted out, so she only had to pick one simple outfit and get dressed in it, which took her only a span of 5 minutes.

    When she was thinking of putting on her shoes, Fang Bingwen walked into the closet dressed in a track outfit.

    Seeing her bending over with her bare back on disy, his brows furrowed in confusion. Stepping forward, he asked.

    "Are you going somewhere?"

    Hearing his voice from behind, Zhang Liling continued to struggle with her shoe, without sparing him a nce.

    "Yes. Zhang Xiaoling just called me now. She got those items for DNA test, but she got hit from behind so she wants me to pick her up."

    "She is efficient." Fang Bingwen praised.

    It was only yesterday that she got to the Zhang house yet she was done with the tasking job.

    Was it she just lucky or did she know how to find her way in this kind of task?

    "I''m Surprised as well." Zhang Liling agreed as she couldn''t wait to get the full gist from Zhang Xiaoling.

    "Do you want me to drop you off?" Mr. Fang Inquired.

    "No, I''m good." Responding to his question, Zhang Liling straightened her back and turned to face him.

    "Honey, look at my chest, is it obvious that I''m not wearing a bra?"

    Hearing her question, Fang Bingwen let his gaze fall on her chest. Because her dress was ck, and the distance between them was much, he had to step forward and only stopped in front of her.

    "It is." Shifting his gaze to her face, he instructed, "Jump let me see."

    Obeying his instruction, Zhang Liling held her chest before jumping up, but then, her face changed.

    "If you are notfortable, then you need to wear a bra."

    Frowning slightly, she revealed. "My breasts are heavy and painful. I think I''m about to get my period."

    "Your period ising in a few days?" something shed across his eyes as he begged for a confirmation.

    "Mmmm... We won''t be able to have s*x soon, until a few dayster." Saying that, Zhang Liling pulled open a drawer and picked a ck bra from it.

    Without reservation, she pulled down her dress till it stopped at her waist, then putting the bra around her waist, she interlocked the hook.

    As she was about to pull it up to cover her boobs, she felt his gaze on her. Lifting her head, she noticed his eyes on her breasts and teased, "Like what you see?"

    Indifferently, he shifted his gaze to her face. "Don''t tempt me otherwise your stepsister would have to wait for a long time."

    "What about the meeting you have in thepany this morning? You would prefer going down with me to attending it?" Zhang Liling probed while trying to find out his priority.

    "It''s not every morning that I am in the mood to ravish you." He replied as the corners of her lips curled slightly. "So if there ever be an opportunity, I wouldn''t want to waste it especially now that your period is about toe."

    "Hahaha..." A heartyughter escaped from the pit of Liling''s stomach.<novelnext></novelnext>

    His words didn''t sound cheesy in any way. In fact, she felt that he meant every word he said.

    It was rare for him to talk about things like that which revealed how much quality his words were held.

    For her, they were gold.

    "I don''t know why an adult woman like you wouldn''t take note of your period date." Fang Bingwen sighed as he watched her get dressed properly.

    "I don''t need to mark it on a calendar like an amateur. I have studied my body and have grown to understand it." Zhang Liling replied while selecting a handbag from her bag shelve.

    Picking up the bag she went to work with the other day, she transferred the things in it to the one she would be going out with, before putting the other one away.

    "I know you are an expert, but your husband wouldn''t want to be disappointed to hear you are on your period when he wants you. Why don''t you let me count the date with you?" He suggested with a serious look on his face.

    Again, Zhang Liling burst into a fit ofughter.

    Just by hearing what he had to say, she felt that her day was made.

    Since when did he learn to be so honest with talks like that? Sometimes, she thinks he is a robot, but now, she had confirmed that he wasn''t.

    His problem was that he was usually too serious and more interested in work than in other things. Also, he wasn''t too romantic since she was the first person he ever dated properly.

    He was indeed learning and growing with her.

    "What''s funny?" Mr. Fang asked in a low dangerous tone as his dark gaze narrowed down at her.

    He looked ready to attack her as he took slow steps toward her, but as smart as Zhang Liling was, she was able to tell what he was thinking since she had her eyes glued on him.

    Immediately, she dashed to the other side, letting the jewelry and necktie stand, be between them. And just like that, she made her way toward the door leading to the bedroom.

    "Honey, I will share my circle App with you this night. Also, be expecting me at yourpany as soon as I finish with Zhang Xiaoling."

    With her voice fading away, a soft sigh escaped from his lips as his facial muscles rxed.

    ''Stubborn girl.''

    *******

    Zhang Liling had given Zhang Xiaoling twenty minutes, but she ended up being 5 minuteste.

    At least, she wasn''t anyter.

    By the time she arrived, Zhang Xiaoling''s car was about to be taken away.

    Watching everything from her windshield, she picked up her phone and dialled her contact.

    While Zhang Xiaoling was still trying to settle things with the people from her insurancepany, she got her call and immediately answered it.

    "How long are you going to keep chatting with them?" Zhang Liling asked.

    It was then that she noticed her car and immediately concluded on the matter.

    Going back to her car, Zhang Xiaoling picked up her things before handing her car keys to the people from herpany.

    Seeing hering towards her car, which Fang Bingwen had released to her, Zhang Liling turned to the chauffeur and asked him to go out to help her carry her things.

    Since she couldn''t get out by herself for fear of being recognised and seen together with her step-sister, she could only send someone else.

    Less than 2 minutester, Zhang Xiaoling joined he''d at the back seat of the car before the driver stepped in.

    "Why did youe out early, wouldn''t your mother be suspicious?" Zhang Liling asked while sparing her a nce.

    "She pissed me offst night. My leaving the house by this time shouldn''te as a surprise to her." Zhang Xiaoling replied as she turned her gaze to the road.

    Now seeing her sitting next to her, Zhang Liling was ufortable and was almost tempted to wind down the side of her window to receive fresh air instead of thefort from the air-conditioning in the car, but as that would seem rude, she kept to herself.

    Never had she ever been in the same space like this with Zhang Xiaoling.

    And given their blood bad, things were bound to be awkward especially when they couldn''t talk so freely because of the third person in the car.

    Although the chauffeur was to be trusted since he came from Fang Bingwen, she didn''t think it wasfortable to say some sensitive things in front of him hence, she had to endure the awkwardness in the car until they got to a restaurant.

    Agate ordering food for their breakfast, they began to talk.

 Chapter 434 I Dont Think He Knows

    Dipping her hand inside her handbag, Zhang Xiaoling brought out a polythene bag and handed it to her.

    "I separated the toothbrushes in different stic bags and made tagged their owners with a paper tape for easy differentiation."

    Taking the bag from her, Zhang Liling opened it and peeped inside. To be sure of how many toothbrushes were inside it she dipped her hand inside the bag and fiddled with them.

    Satisfied with the result she folded the bag and put it on her thighs before turning her attention to her.

    "How did you get these without any difficulties?" Zhang Liling was curious to know her means. If she knew that this kind of task would be so easy for her, she would have ropped her in a long time ago.

    Even she couldn''t do this so easily.

    Meeting her gaze, Zhang Xiaoling exined casually.

    "I have been leaving with the trio for more than 25 years, so I can say that I know them very well more than you. Knowing the kind of toothbrushes they used was something I noted a long time ago.

    I only needed to buy the same type and swap them when no one was watching."

    Seeing the way she spoke as if the task given to her was an easy one, Zhang Liling almost thought of her as a smooth criminal and almost choked on her saliva.

    Patting her chest gently, she said, "I must apud you for having a talent that could be worthy for a time as this. Once the results are out, I will forward them to you."

    Nodding in understanding, Zhang Xiaoling turned her gaze away and became lost in thought.

    Although Zhang Liling noticed that she was troubled by something, she refused to ask about it as she believed that if it was something she had to know, then she wouldn''t hold it back from her.

    As their food arrived, they didn''t waste time before started to eat as they had to leave for their various work ces.

    As soon as they finished eating, Zhang Liling picked up her bag and got ready to leave. "Since you made the effort of bringing these items to me, I will drop you off at anywhere you are supposed to be at now."

    "Hold on a minute."

    As Zhang Xiaoling noticed that she was about to leave, she made up her mind and stopped her. Not telling her the reason, she opened her handbag andbrought out a bunch of keys to reveal a nail cutter as the key holder.

    Without wasting time, she easily took off the fake stic nail on her left thumb finger before using the nail cutter to cut the long natural nails off.

    Still not satisfied with the quantity that had been cut off, she repeated the same action with her index finger as Zhang Liling continued to watch her in surprise.

    "What are you doing?" She asked as she didn''t want to dwell on the possible answer that just came into her head just in case she was misunderstanding something.

    Taking out a handkerchief from her handbag, Zhang Xiaoling put in the pieces of her finger nails and tied it up properly before passing it to her.

    "Just in case, I want to confirm if she is actually my biological mother."

    Hearing her reason which matched with the one in her head, Zhang Liling was taken aback as she began to wonder what would have led to this action.

    "Are you by any chance doubting you came from her?" Zhang Liling asked.

    As that question made its way to her ears, Zhang Xiaoling lowered her gaze. "Yes. My mother had let me know several times that I can''t trust or depend on her if she isn''t going to benefit from it."

    Seeing how her supposed mother, loved and supported someone else that is het to be confirmed to not be her child more than her, she had every right to doubt her originality.

    Maybe, if Shi Wenqian was not her birth mother, she would understand that she was just unlucky and this way, she would be able to ept the reason she seemed to be treating Zhang Mingyu better than her, even though she was aiming to get something huge in return.

    ***

    Some minutester, Zhang Liling dropped Zhang Xiaoling in front of Zhang Corp before the chauffeur drove off.

    Having settled the matter with her step-sister she picked up her phone to give Fang Bingwen a call.

    "Honey, I just got the stuff."

    "Good. Where are you now?" Fang Bingwen asked as he got up and picked up his suit jacket from the backrest of his seat while Bolin carried his suit case as they walked out of his office together.

    They both seemed to be in a hurry.

    "I just left Zhang Corp. After having breakfast together, I dropped her off in front of thepany." She exined.

    "Okay. I have to visit a site right now, so we can''t see now." He quickly exined as he walked into the elevator and turned around to face the door.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh... Then I cer..."

    Since he wouldn''t be in the office in the morning, she coulde aroundter to give the things to him. Although she was impatient and wanted the test to get started immediately, she had no choice but to exercise some patience here.

    "No. Go straight to Glint. I will ask Chuanli to go over. He would be the one to get the test settled on my behalf." Fang Bingwen instructed.

    As he also didn''t want any dys with the results, he had to get the test started as soon as possible.

    "I will pick you up after work." He added.

    Instantly, a smile turned up on Zhang Liling''s face. "I will miss you, bye." She said before pressing the ''end'' call button.

    *******

    ~Zhang Family Residence~

    "Where is Xiaoling?" Shi Wenqian asked as she looked at the empty chair the supposed youngdy usually sat on.

    Coming down to the breakfast table, she saw it empty and couldn''t help asking about it as she took her seat.

    "She has left." Zhang Mingyu replied.

    Waking up in the morning, he washed up and got dressed for work. And as he had wanted to thank his sister for the pair of expensive shoes she got him, he didn''t find anyone inside her room.

    Asking around for her, one of the servants who saw her leaving an hour ago, revealed her whereabouts to him.

    "She has left, how? It''s still early. Did you check around the house for her?" Shi Wenqian asked as her brows furrowed slightly.

    Her gaze was confused and doubtful, and she seemed to have forgotten about the exchange with Zhang Xiaoling the previous night.

    "Her car is not at the car park. Like she told you yesterday, she would leave first thing in the morning," Zhang Mingyu said, repeating Zhang Xiaoling''s words to her just in case she had forgotten all about it.

    Just then, Zhang Renshu stepped into the dining area.

    "I heard that Xiaoling was the one that got those leather goods as presents for me." Sitting at the head table, he inquired, unaware of what was going on before his arrival.

    "Where is she?"

    Immediately, Shi Wenqian covered the whole thing up. "She left about an hour ago as she had some work left to do before office hoursmences."

    "She is here, what was the need for a rush?" Zhang Renshu mumbled to himself before changing the topic to ask about how the wedding ns was going.

    Seeing the signs that it was time to leave, Zhang Mingyu ate a bit more before taking their permission to leave.

    Although Shi Wenqian knew the reason he was leaving, she didn''t rat him out.

    Outside the house, Zhang Mingyu got into his car and drove off before putting a call to Mika but after several rings, there was no answer.

    "Is she on her way already?" He muttered under his breath as he put his phone away and focused his attention on the road.

    There were plenty of things for him to be worried about which is inclusive with the result from the pregnancy test he had asked her to carry out.

    Since they worked in the samepany, he figured that he would meet her as soon as he stepped foot into the building.

    Just as he thought, he did. But he was a little unfortunate to not see Mika on seat when he arrived.

    ''She is not here yet?'' He wondered.

    Just as he was about to turn around and leave, his eyes jammed with Tungmei who didn''t bother to hide her gaze from him.

    Seeing her, he recalled that his half-sister''s friend worked in the Zhang Corp. shing her a smile, he waved his hand turned on his heels to leave without waiting for her response.

    He didn''t care about it anyway because all that was in his mind at the moment was how to not arouse her suspicion.

    A soft sigh escaped Tungmei''s lips as she watched him leave. Letting her gazend on Mika''s desk, she thought to herself.

    ''I don''t think he knows.''

 Chapter 435 3 Days

    "Why is she sote today?" Zhang Mingyu said to himself as he stepped into his office

    Mika was neverte for work, and that made him a little anxious when he didn''t see her at her desk, especially now that something huge was going on between them.

    Unknown to him, she wouldn''t clock in that day as she had taken a sick leave the previous day.

    When he found out, it was already past lunch break time.

    ********

    As Fang Bingwen had promised, he sent Dr. Li to Glint to get those DNA items from Zhang Liling but before that, he made a clear warning to him.

    "Don''t you dare spend anything longer than 5 minutes at Glint. I don''t think there will be any need for you to sit and chat with her."

    Hearing the instructions from him, Chuanli chuckled hard.

    "I haven''t spoken to your wife since the wedding day and now you are giving me clear orders to stay away from her when you are asking for my help. Mr. Fang, you are very funny. Why didn''t you go to a police academy instead of going to a business school?"

    At the end, he didn''t get any response as Fang Bingwen terminated the call.

    Sighing to himself, he diverted to his right on the express. He was already on his way to the hospital when his call came in so there was still an opportunity to meet Zhang Liling before stepping into his office.

    With his task in mind, he floored the elerator while listening to a hit song.

    Getting to Glint, he was taken directly to Zhang Liling''s office.

    Stepping into thefy room, he couldn''t stop himself from praising her.

    "Wow! Mrs. Fang has this space of her own and she had never once invited me toe see her hard work pay off."

    "Wee, Dr. Li."

    Smiling from ear to ear, Zhang stepped out from her behind her desk and walked over to give him a handshake before gesturing for him to sit.

    "I thought you would be busy seeing patients hence, I didn''t disturb you about it."

    Taking the seat behind her desk, she immediately called for someone to serve a cup of tea and some cookies to him before continuing with their conversation.

    "You shouldn''t have bothered with this. Your husband gave me only five minutes to spend here."

    "Does he now control your schedule?" Zhang Liling smiled.

    Itching closer as he moved his butt out from the seat a bit, he replied, "It started today. Well, leave him."

    Leaning on the chair, he waved the topic away since it was not important. It''s not like he was worried about what Mr. Fang would do if he found out that he spent more than 5 minutes with his wife.

    Soon, the snacks and tea was served to him and right there, Zhang Liling thought of something and decided to use this golden opportunity to do it.

    "Dr. Li, are you seeing someone currently?"

    "No way. I am not interested in women." Chuanli replied as he picked up a piece of cookie and took a big bite.

    "You are not interested in my gender?" Hearing his response, Zhang Liling''s eyes widened in shock.

    Seeing her reaction, Chuanli knew she had misunderstood his words and chuckled over it.

    "Hahaha... Don''t think too much. I only meant that I am not interested in dating at the moment because of the important research topic I just took on."

    "You are that busy?" Raising a questioning brow, she continued. "I thought with my husband getting off your neck because of the meds that will make his senses whole, you would have a lot of time to yourself."

    Hearing her thoughts, he was reminded about his friends condition and immediately talked about it.

    "That reminds me, since you two got married, Bingwen had stoppeding to me. Also, he hasn''tined about his meds. I guess spending the night together has helped him in many ways."

    "I think so too. Maybe because I always sleep next to him at night, and spend the morning together my scent gets on him, so he doesn''t have toin that much during the day.

    Also, he takes his meds once a day when he is at work. When hees home, he doesn''t touch it."

    Zhang Liling had been taking note of Fang Bingwen''s habits and had since discovered how much he had changed especially with him being picky.

    Remembering all the rules she had to follow as his housekeeper back then, she couldn''t help feeling d with his new health condition.

    He was indeed very picky in the past.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s a relief on his own part, but then, I ended up being the one to lose such a potential customer." Chuanliined.

    Knowing how much Fang Bingwen used to invest in his research, he was now going to miss it since the man didn''t have any need to pursue the project any more.

    With him gone, he was going to miss all that money.

    "Do you want me to rat you out?" Zhang Liling threatened.

    Leaning in, she raised her brows repeatedly.

    "Ah! How can you be so mean. Have you forgotten how I made you end up with Bingwen? Are you going to turn around and bite me now?" Chuanli joked with a fake serious expression on his face.

    "I won''t for old times sake, but don''t try to y my husband." Giving off the good wife vibes, Zhang Liling leaned away and picked up her cup of tea to drink from it.

    She ended up spending an extra ten minutes talking about a few things with Chuanli until Fang Bingwen''s call that came into his phone put an end to their conversation.

    Without wasting time, Zhang Liling handed over the stic bag over to him. Exining to him how she wanted the test to run plus how many DNA results she wanted, she let him leave.

    Leaving Glint, it was only then that Chuanli was able to answer Fang Bingwen''s call.

    Taking the stic bag, Dr. Li Chuanli made a few calls before returning to his hospital. Before stepping into his office, he went over to another doctor''s office to talk about the DNA tests they had to do.

    As soon as they were done talking, work started, but then, Chuanli had to make sure that he reported back to Fang Bingwen who was waiting.

    "So, how long will it take?" Mr. Fang Inquired.

    "Five days." Li Chuanli replied.

    "Make it 3 days." Fang Bingwen informed.

    Hearing his demands, he let out a deep sigh. "Why do you need it in such a short time? You don''t need then now do you?"

    "I don''t need them now, but it also shouldn''t stay that long outside. Chuanli, try your best. I want those results in 3 days because it is important." Fang Bingwen insisted.

    Although the reason he wanted to the result had not gete near, it was still risky to let such material linger outside for a long time.

    Five days was too much hence, he insisted on the time frame of 72 hours he had given.

    Doing his best to understand the situation, Chuanli gave his word before their conversation came to an end.

    As soon as he ended the call, Fang Bingwen picked out a contact from his phone and sent a text message.

    ''Take a step outside and give me a call.''

    On the other side of the City, at the Zhang Residence, Secretary Cha was busy discussing something when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, causing the woman to be annoyed.

    Frowning with that little noise distracting her speech, Shi Wenqian red at her.

    Immediately, secretary Cha quickly apologized with a deep bow.

    "I''m sorry Ma''am, it must be my family reminding me to send them money."

    "They must really see you as a money making machine." Shi Wenqian scoffed.

    Without giving her the chance to continue on that topic by trying to exin or answer her, she continued with what she was saying.

    "We need to visit the factory before the wedding. Prepare for us to leave this weekend."

    "Ma''am, will the young mastere with us? What about the Miss?" Secretary Cha inquired while trying to get some information from her.

    "Did I mention them to you? Xiaoling should stay out of this matter as it is not yet time to rope her in. As for Mingyu, he should focus on his wedding. You can leave." Shi Wenqian said, chasing her away.

    She sounded a bit annoyed, but it didn''t get to the degree of her ring up.

    Turning her head to the side, she had a new problem to think about after being reminded about it.

    Since thest act Zhang Xiaoling pulled when she took them to the factory, she had never tried taking her there again.

    For now, she shouldn''t do it at least.

    While thinking about how to connect Zhang eto her businesses, she got a call from one of her underlings.

 Chapter 436 Seven Weeks

    "Ma''am, we have found out the details of that young woman." The person at the other end of the phone reported.

    Hearing the good news, Shi Wenqian adjusted her sitting position as she urged him to go to spill the details.

    "Her name is Mika XXXX. She is 25 years old. She graduated from XXXX. She came from XXXX home town where her family is currently staying at..."

    *******

    As soon as Secretary Cha stepped out Shi Wenqian''s sight, she slipped her phone out from her trouser pocket to check on the text that hade in.

    Reading the text from Fang Bingwen, she looked around her surrounding apprehensively before shifting to some where our of the house to make a call to him.

    Answering the call, Fang Bingwen didn''t give her a chance to speak before starting to throw questions at her.

    "When next will Shi Wenqian visit that ce?"

    Hearing the question made for an immediate and straight forward answer to be given, the woman released a deep breath before replying.

    "Tomorrow."

    "Find a way toe out of the house by 4 pm. I will text you the address and make sure to delete the evidence after reading it." He instructed.

    "Yes."

    With the call ending, a long sigh of relief escaped Secretary Cha''s lips.

    How was she going to find an excuse to leave Shi Wenqian''s side when she was literally her handbag? This means that she had to work hard to find a good excuse if she didn''t want to offend the man who was ready to take care of her if she didn''tply.

    ******

    During lunch break, Zhang Mingyu finally found a little time to leave his desk to go find Mika.

    From the time he stepped foot into his office up till this moment, he had been texting her but no response came from her.

    He tried calling her, but the call didn''t connect and finally when an opportunity cane by for him to check up on her by himself, he took it.

    Leaving his office, he went straight to therge working area. Unlike before where he would stop outside, he stepped in and went directly to Mika''s empty desk.

    ncing at her desk that seemed so clean, his brows furrowed.

    Seeing hime in, the few people remaining in the office wondered what he was doing.

    But just as they were thinking a lot of different things, he turned his attention to them.

    "Where is Mika?"

    "Mika? She took a sick leave." One of them answered.

    "She didn''te at all today?" Hearing her response, a glint of surprise shed across his eyes as ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    He was so taken aback by the information that he didn''t know what to say for a few minutes.

    Mika never mentioned this part to him when hest spoke to her, and that has even made him to start suspecting if she had a different agenda apart from what they had talked about.

    Uneasy as he didn''t know what that girl had nned, he returned to his office and tried to reach her several times, but failed.

    Deciding to go to her ce as soon work ended, he tried to draw his attention away from her thoughts, but it was quite difficult.

    Right when he left for his office, the few co-workers in the room began to talk about his possible rtionship with Mika.

    "Do any of you know why he came looking for Mika?"

    "I don''t think it has something to do with work otherwise he would have asked any of us."

    "Something must be going on between them." They concluded.

    On the other hand, Mika who was the content of Zhang Mingyu''s worry, didn''t look disturbed in any way as she stepped out of the cab that stopped her in front of the big hospital she hade to.

    As she had purposely blocked out Zhang Mingyu''s call, she didn''t want anything that would distract her.

    Stepping into the hospital, she confirmed the appointment she had booked the previous day before being taken to the waiting area, and a card given to her.

    Since there are still others that came before her, she had to sit and wait for her turn.

    Half an hourter, her number was called.

    "Here!" Raising her hand so she could be seen, she quickly grabbed her hand and stood up to follow the nurse waiting for her.

    Arriving at a room that looked like a little rest area and at the same time ab, she was shown a seat.

    Sitting on the chair she was shown, she looked up to listen to the woman holding a tablet in her hands and reading some information out from it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You made an appointment to see a gynaecologist and also to do a pregnancy tests is that right?"

    "Yes." Mika confirmed.

    Putting the tablet aside, the woman asked, "Whenst did you see your period?"

    As soon as Mika answered, another question was thrown at her.

    "What kind of symptoms are you experiencing? Have you gotten a pregnancy test before?"

    Some minutester, Mika was shown another line to join for her to see the gynaecologist.

    Right as she was sitting at the second waiting area, she saw the nurse that had attended to her, walk past her and go into the gynaecologist office after showing another patient to a seat.

    In a few minutester, Mika heard her name being called by the nurseing out from the doctor''s office.

    Without wasting time, she picked up her bag and walked in while wondering what was dying with the test she had done as she had learned that it didn''t take time toe out.

    Although she was aware that she was pregnant, she couldn''t help be a little nervous with the one she was going to get from the hospital.

    She hoped it wouldn''t be any different from the one she got at home.

    Stepping into the doctor''s office and sitting across from her, she saw the female doctor size her up with her gaze before speaking.

    "Mika right?"

    "Yes."

    "You took a pregnancy tests some minutes ago and the results are here with me. I don''t usually dive much into this kind of topic since I didn''t major in it. But for today, I can help."

    Taking a look at the papers, she ced them into the file and called for the nurse in the same office with her and handed it to her.

    "Take her to Dr. ra, she can handle this now. Tell her it''s from me."

    Shifting her gaze back to Mika, she quickly exined. "Dr. ra is an obgyn..."

    Understanding her exnation, Mika quickly followed the nurse out and fortunately, she didn''t have to waste any time before gaining ess into the doctor''s office.

    As soon as the Doctor nced at her file, she pointed at the end to the corner and said, "You are pregnant."

    "How long gone am I?" Mika asked after secretly sighing in relief.

    "We will see."

    Unknown to Mika, the person Shi Wenqian sent to tail her, was still on her neck.

    ***

    "She went to the hospital instead of going to work?" Shi Wenqian asked.

    "Yes, Ma''am." The man replied.

    "Make sure you find out every detail before you leave that ce. If there is any issue, make sure to use any resources you can to get me answers. I don''t mind you calling back again."

    ***

    "You are Seven weeks gone." Dr. ra announced.

    Up till the time Mika got to her ce,that was the exact words that kept sounding in her ears.

    "I am almost 2 months pregnant."

    Happy with the news, she quickly picked up her phone and was about to call, Zhang Mingyu, but then she remembered something and changed her mind immediately.

    She was not going to tell him the result so easily. She was going to let here on his own to hear the answer and see the evidences in her hands.

    On the other hand, Shi Wenqian was huffing mad after hearing the feedback she got from the man she had sent on assignment.

    "What do you mean the person that attended to her has already clocked off work? What were you doing she was getting away?"

    "I''m sorry, Ma''am! I was a little distracted when she entered took a turn in the hallway. Since patients and visitors were not allowed to go into that ce, I could already return to wait close to theb. But after waiting for a while and not seeing her, I found a different nurse and inquired about her. It turns out that she left as her shift was over."

    Shi Wenqian''s underling was just unlucky as he was not able to get the information he was asked to.

    Now, he had to wait to the following day when the nurse that attended to Mika toe back just so he could bribe her and get answers from her.

    But Shi Wenqian didn''t want to give up just like that as she was in a hurry to know what was going on. "Is there no one else you can find the answer from instead of wasting my god damm time?!"

 Chapter 437 Sweetie

    "There is no one else Ma''am. The other nurses were not in the room with her when she met that girl, so it''s hard to find out what happened behind those walls." The man reported.

    "How could you be so careless to not keep your eyes on her?! What am I paying you for if you can ck of on such an important matter like this? Also, why did you not follow that girl home?" Shi Wenqian inquired angrily.

    Her entire face was constricted in a frown. She was still angry and didn''t want to easily let the matter die because of the ns she already had set out.

    She was painted about her minion''s ipetence so much that she cursed him out.

    "Ma''am, I know where she lives. Should I still keep an eye on her at her ce?"

    "Keep an eye on Mingyu instead. Report all your findings to me instead. Although I won''t be around tomorrow, make sure you find out the reason that girl went to the hospital." Shi Wenqian instructed and ended the call.

    Squeezing her fingers together, she thought to herself while staring off into the distance as her heart raced in her chest.

    ''I hope is not what I''m thinking?'' Letting out a sigh deep sigh, hershes fluttered close.

    Towards evening, Secretary Cha walked into her bedroom to meet her.

    "Ma''am, I want to step outside to get a few things we will need tomorrow."

    Giving her the side nce, Shi Wenqian retorted almost rolling her eyes at her. "And what are those?"

    Knowing that her response would depend on if she would be allowed to leave the house, She put an her armour of confidence.

    One thing with Shi Wenqian was that she was good at scrutinizing someone with her gaze. Since she was doing something bad, she easily felt that the people under her could be a threat to her hence she was always looking carefully.

    And the only way to win against her wits was still act and look loyal to her with the same confidence as in the past, and that was what Secretary Cha was trying to do at the moment.

    "Thest time we visited, the boys asked for a drink."

    "A drink?" Shi Wenqian found that request to be ridiculous. "I pay them heavily for their jobs get the want a drink from me? Can they nit afford it or what?"

    Seeing that her temper was about to rise again, she quickly exined what it was that the guys were talking about.

    "Ma''am sometimes, fulfilling their request once in a while will make them more loyal. The didn''t request for anything much. Just a bottle of any brand of whiskey will do. Or something simple.

    Also, we can use this opportunity to reply to their requests as Mr. Mingyu''s wedding is near. This could be your wedding gift to them. Using this as a disguise, they will know that you can only gift then things when there is something to celebrate..."

    After listening for a while, Shi Wenqian reluctantly agreed. "I have never done this before, and I am not about to start pampering someme humans. This is thest time they should make this kind of request to me."

    "Yes, Ma''am." Secretary Cha replied.

    Standing at the same spot, she made a deal with Shi Wenqian on what to get for the men working for her apart from the whiskey before leaving.

    Since a particr card was left in her care since a long time ago to take care of bills like this, Shi Wenqian asked her to make use of it after confirming the bnce.

    "That will do. You can leave."

    "Yes, Ma''am. Bowing her head slightly, she turned to leave, but she was stopped.

    "Let my driver go with you, how will you carry those things?"

    Immediately, Secretary Cha tried to stop her, while being mindful to not overdo her emotions.

    "There is no problem Ma''am. I will take a cab. Fortunately, they are allowed toe into the estate and I am only getting a few things. Also, you might need you car since the wedding preparations are still ongoing."

    Hearing her advice, Shi Wenqian waved her off.

    "Return before an hour."

    After making a mental note of how long she would spend on the road to get into the main town to shop, she estimated the shopping time before give her the time she would take to return to the house.

    Shi Wenqian didn''t care about the people working for her hence, she didn''t see any reason why so much time should be taken to pick something out for them.

    Again, Secretary Cha nodded before walking away peacefully.

    As soon as she stepped out, she released a deep breath from the button of her belly.

    Clenching her fists, she continued in her steps.

    Leaving the house, she phoned Fang Bingwen to tell him she would be running a few minuteste which he immediately disagreed upon.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Do I look like I care about the genuine reasons you might have for keeping me waiting? Get here by the time I told you earlier." Saying that, he terminated the call before stepping into his at the underground parking lot at Fang Group.

    Securing his seatbelt, he immediately phoned Zhang Liling.

    "Liling, I will be meeting Shi Wenqian''s secretary in a few minutes. I will pick you up after that."

    "Call me Sweetie." Zhang Liling demanded.

    How could she allow him to continue to be so formal with her?

    That was wrong.

    This time around, she was not going to let him off.

    "Is that what you want to be called from now on?" Fang Bingwen probed.

    "Why, is that wrong?"

    "No, it''s very sweet. Hahahaha..." Chuckling heartily as his heart softened a bit he revealed. "For a while now, I have been thinking deeply about a nickname for you, but you are too stubborn for any sweet name toe to my mind."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Instantly, Zhang Liling got ready to tackle him but unfortunately, he didn''t even give her that chance.

    "Nothing." He quickly replied as he didn''t have the time to argue with her. "If you want your own car, learn how to drive professionally and get a licence."

    Ignoring the fact that he smoothly changed the topic, she tried to confirm the meaning of his words as that was what was most important to her.

    "You will buy me a car?"

    "Yes, and only on that condition." Fang Bingwen confirmed.

    "Mr. Fang, you really do not know how to surprise someone. How could talk about buying me a car to my face. Don''t you know you should have surprised me with it instead of spilling the news first?"

    Just like that, the man that was trying to avoid the frying pan, finally jumped into the fire by himself.

    The truth of the whole matter, was that he didn''t know how he would get himself out of that situation because arguing would never get him out of that situation.

    Zhang Liling was someone that made nonsense to make sense. Imagine arguing about how he was supposed to surprise her with a car gift when he felt that setting a goal for her and letting her know the price, would motivate her toplete her task?

    There would be no end to it but somehow, things happened and he finally got his freedom."

    *******

    As soon as Zhang Mingyu finished with his work for the day, he let the building and drove down to Mika''s home address.

    Finding his way to her apartment floor, he knocked on the door while calling out to her until there was a response.

    Form inside, Mika answered him once before opening the door for him.

    Hearing the sound of door unlocking, Zhang Mingyu pushed the door open and walked inside. "Have you lost your mind, why have you not been answering my calls or replying to my texts?"

    Closing the door, Mika made her way to her small living area to sit and continue watching the television.

    "I knew the reason you have been trying so hard to reach me, but as I didn''t have what you wanted, I couldn''t answer your calls."

    As those words reached his ears, his gaze darkened.

    Was this the silly reason she avoided all the callsing into her phone plus the texts he had been sending to her?

    Zhang Mingyu felt like strangling her the same way his heart was being squeezed in his chest due to anger.

    "Are you joking? Mika, is this your true colours? You ignored me on purpose despite knowing how anxious I would get right?"

    Rolling her eyes, she turned down the volume of the TV and rose to her feet.

    "I''m justing back from the hospital. Wait here and I will get the result for you from the hospital for you." She said and left for the room which was a few steps away, totalling ignoring his outburst.

    As she was purposely dealing with him, she didn''t care to exin anything to him anymore and just wanted those evidences he wanted to get into his hands.

    It was as simple as that.

 Chapter 438 Being On The Same Lane

    Less than 2 minutester, Mika came out of the room with a brown envelope. Silently handing it to Zhang Mingyu, she feigned tiredness befrie going to sit on a single sofa.

    Throwing her face to the side, she patiently waited for his reaction.

    Holding the papers in his hands which was equivalent to a bomb ready to explode, Zhang Mingyu wanted to get down to the depths of the matter.

    Trying to control his fidgeting hands, he let his eyes read through the words on the papers. But as there were some grammars he couldn''t ce a hold on, he skipped it and went straight to the result.

    A few secondster, he asked as he lifted his gaze to nce at her. "You''re pregnant?" The test result seemed unbelievable to him.

    Instead of responding to his question, she urged him to finish taking a look at the materials she had handed over to him.

    "There are still a few things you haven''t seen yet."

    Hearing her statement, he quickly put the paper away, but the next thing he saw in his hands, caused chaos inside of him.

    Seeing the scan picture of the child in her womb, he clearly understood what it was and immediately red up.

    Without warning, he threw the photo on her, causing her to flinch in fear.

    "Mika, are you crazy?! How dare you do a scan, what kind of stupid thoughts are going through your mind."

    Afraid that his thoughts about her intentions were right, he continued to scold her angrily while trying to control himself from turning her apartment into a mess.

    Getting a pregnancy test done, was fine with him since he needed a solid evidence to prove her pregnancy, but to go as far as getting a scan done on the child in her womb, he couldn''t help getting angry.

    Was she trying to keep the child?

    Not caring about anything, he posed that question to her with a deadpan expression on his face.

    "Are you thinking of keeping the child?"

    Hearing his question, Mika got up angrily. "Is this the very reason you are throwing a fit? Youe into my apartment and instead of trying to find out how I''m feeling, you go straight to scolding and insulting me? Is this how you truly care for me?"

    "Shut up and don''t change the topic. I am asking you, why did you get a scan done, are you thinking of keeping the child?"

    With his question, Mika finally saw that the feelings he professed to her in the past was all a joke. This was the true reality of their rtionship.

    He didn''t care for her, he only wanted to have fun. She also didn''t truly care for him. Without his money and family background, she would want nothing to do with someone like him.

    Still, he shouldn''t be treating her that way just because she is pregnant. But in order to get him to calm down a bit before he does something worse, she quickly exined.

    "The doctor did it to find out how far long gone I am."

    Hearing her response, Zhang Mingyu was still not satisfied. "Why would you want to know how far long you are when it doesn''t matter?"

    "To support theb result and to proof that particr time frame I took in so you would have enough evidence in your hands."

    Listening to her make her point which didn''t even matter to him any way, Zhang Mingyu tried to put an end to the conversation as he could feel his head banging hard.

    "I don''t care what you have to exin anymore. You have proven that you are truly pregnant. Now, it''s time to do the needful. Get rid of it. How much would it cost to get an abortion done?"

    He refuses to let her keep a child he knows they both didn''t n to have.

    The agreement between then was that they would date for fun. Also, he has had protected s*x with her most of the time and the other days were he didn''t use a condom, he made sure she took the pills.

    How could she had gotten pregnant after all the preventive measures they took?

    Did she y some kind of trick on him?

    Well, it doesn''t matter. As long as she got rid of the pregnancy, he would be at peace before thinking of patching things with her.

    On the other hand, Mika was not surprised hearing him mention about her having an abortion because she already knew that things will boil down to it, but she was very pissed with his heartlessness.

    "I know. You don''t have to remind me of what to do over and over again. It''s not like I want to keep the child to raise on my own when I don''t want it as well."

    Hissing, she sat back down and crossed her legs while folding her arms below her chest.

    Seeing here to an agreement with him so easily, he refused to be rxed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "When are you getting rid of the pregnancy?" He inquired without taking his eyes off her.

    ? He needed to catch every expression that would appear on her face since he did not trust her anymore.

    "You have to give me a little time." Mika replied.

    "What do you need time for after you have agreed to have an abortion done? Don''t even think about doing something that will piss me off!"

    Thinking that she was nning something that wouldn''t dwell well with him concerning the pregnancy, Zhang Mingyu red up again.

    "Zhang Mingyu, I can see that you no longer trust me, and I won''t me your for that. But I won''t tolerate you pointing fingers at me. I am not feeling fit to do an abortion immediately. Since you don''t care about my health, I have to do it myself. You..."

    Mika was yet to finish her statement when she suddenly got very sick

    Immediately, she covered her mouth with her palm and rushed out of the living room and went into the bathroom.

    Mingyu was still trying to figure out the reason she ran away when he heard the sound of her retching. Instantly, ck lines appeared on his forehead.

    "Is she really sick?" Thinking to himself, he patiently waited for her to return.

    After retching her guts out, Mika nced at her sick face in the mirror while washing her face.

    Drying her face a bit with a paper towel, she stepped out and walked back to the living room to sit down while releasing a deep breath.

    Seeing how fast her face changed, the anger in Zhang Mingyu''s heart slowly started to dissipate.

    He could see that the rims of her eyes were already read and not just that, her eyes were testy and her entire fa d looked worn-out.

    "If you are sick, take some meds to feel better. I will give you some time to settle down while I book the operation on your behalf."

    Saying that to her, he turned around to leave.

    As he didn''t want to soften his stance toward her, he had to harden his heart the more and remained fixed on his decision.

    She wanted to take a break, fine. He would let her take a few days off to care for her health while he arranged for her to have the abortion as soon as she got better.

    ''Heartless!'' Spitting in her heart, Mika stopped him from leaving immediately while seething in rage.

    "You will have to find a good apartment for me elsewhere before the abortion."

    "Why?" Zhang Mingyu asked while directing a fierce gaze at her as he stopped in his steps and turned around.

    "I want to stop any firm of rumour about the abortion from spreading. It''s best to move before that and do the operation in a new ce."

    Finding her point valid, he quickly agreed to do it, but then she had to add mother use.

    "I would need you to pay up to 2-3 years ahead for me. It will take some time to save money to afford rent for a good ce."

    Without saying a word, he left her apartment.

    Although no words were said, Mika understood his silence as an agreement to her request.

    ********

    Zhang Liling was gathering her things when she got a call from Fang Bingwen.

    "I''m waiting downstairs, take your time."

    Instantly, the corner of her lips curled into a smile. Slipping her phone inside her handbag, she shut herptop down and carried it with her.

    Stepping out of her office, she announced her exit to her staff before walking away.

    As soon as she stepped out of the building, she saw the car waiting there and ran towards it. "Honey!" She called out and immediately went in for a hug as soon as she sat at the backseat of the car.

    Smiling at her cute antics, he brought her into his arms and kissed her hair. "Did you miss me that much?" He asked from above her head.

 Chapter 439 For The Name Sake

    "Of course I did." Kissing the side of his face, she finally left his arms.

    Patting her head, he rxed his back against the backrest of the car seat.

    "I met someone today, do you want to know who that person is?"

    Hearing that he met someone beforeing to pick her up, she quickly guessed. "Shi Wenqian?"

    "No. I will tell you now." Smiling to himself, Fang Bingwen quickly revealed the identity of the person to her.

    "Zhang family''s housekeeper."

    ***

    Before arriving at their vi, Zhang Liling had already found out about meeting secretary Cha and the n he already had for Shi Wenqian.

    Hearing such good news, Zhang Liling couldn''t stop chatting about it.

    Right there when her hormone was still excited, sheid out the n on what next to do as soon as the seeded in getting those evidences in their hands.

    "Knowing Shi Wenqian, she would never want to go to prison for all her crimes. She mightmit suicide and knowing my father, he would forever live in the deepest part of regret of that woman dies as a member of the Zhang family."

    "So, what do you n to do?" Fang Bingwen probed despite knowing what her possible ns were. He was only trying to create this opportunity where she sees herself a smart woman.

    Hearing that question, Zhang Liling''s quest for revenge was fuelled.

    "Knowing that she wouldn''t want to divorce my father after her sins has been exposed as she would want to die while still being a member of the Zhang family to taint the family''s image, we should get her to divorce my father now."

    Shaking his head, Fang Bingwen brought her into his arms again. Holding her close to his chest, he spoke from above her head.

    "You are hundred percent right, but this will be a difficult task to aplish. No matter what may happen now, no matter how we instigate things, your father would not divorce this woman now."

    "Why do you say so?" Zhang Liling asked curiously.

    She wanted to know the reason her father would not want to divorce Shi Wenqian if she created a reason for it.

    "Zhang Mingyu''s wedding is near. Do you think Zhang Renshu would want to do anything to taint his public images especially with his political ambition at the corner?"

    Seeing how much sense he made, Zhang Liling only became more annoyed and frustrated.

    "Does that mean that woman would get arrested or die while being married to my father? This will be so embarrassing!"

    Although she didn''t care much about her father, she cared more for her family name. After all, people already know her as a member of the Zhang family.

    She would hate for any damage to be done that would ruin the family name and end up touching her business.

    Whether she liked it or not, and whether she admitted it or not, things would be bad of Shi Wenqian doesn''t divorce her father before they exposed her crimes.

    Things will be bad.

    "I had already though of using my father''s new girlfriend to force Shi Wenqian to get a divorce..."

    Hearing her grumbling, Fang Bingwen continued to rub her head. "Do you think Shi Wenqian doesn''t know what she is doing? As long as she hasn''t gotten her hands on thepany''s shares, she would put up with anything.

    How do you think she has been managing to tolerate your father''s infidelity?"

    Bejng reminded of how cunny her stepmother was, Zhang Liling felt like she was still a trainee when beingpared to her.

    How did she think she could use a mere side chick to force that woman to file for a divorce when the big wedding she nned for her ''son'' was yet to happen, plus the fact that the shares she has been waiting so many years for, just to get her hands on was close to happening soon?

    She really has underestimated that woman.

    Sensing her worry and the decrease of her confidence, Mr. Fang tried to cheer her up.

    "Don''t worry too much. Who said that your father and your stepmother can''t get a divorce before we expose her?"

    Immediately, Zhang Liling jumped out of his chest. Taking his hands, she asked as her eyes widened in surprise.

    "Do you have a way?"

    Fang Bingwen nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, but we will need your father''swyer to work with us."

    Over the next few minutes, the couple spent time going over the ns just before they got home.<novelnext></novelnext>

    *******

    The next day, Shi Wenqian got dressed early in the morning and left the house with Secretary Cha in a tinted car.

    Leaving the message that she was going to inspect a site she wanted to buy to build another branch for her organisation, she left.

    She didn''t bother to speak to Zhang Renshu directly before leaving.

    Unknown to Shi Wenqian, the woman she trusted the most who had been loyal to her for so many year, was about to betray her.

    On getting to the site, she stepped out of the car as usual, she was weed by one of them. While asking one or two questions, she walked inside the building with secretary Cha following behind her.

    On the other side of the country, the scene happening over there was being yed and recorded at the same time in a trio set-upputer with a young male nerd working on it.

    Picking up his phone, he made a quick call. "Mr. Fang, the scene cane on."

    "Make sure to record it along with the sounds you are able to pick up." Fang Bingwen''s strict tone ordered.

    "Yes, Sir." The young nerd replied.

    What was going on now was exactly the reason Fang Bingwen had met secretary Cha the previous day. This was his own method of getting the evidence of Shi Wenqian''s involvement in running an organ trafficking organisation.

    *******

    After a long night thinking of how to get revenge on Zhang Mingyu, Mika decided to go work the next day.

    For the first time in a long while, she dressed conservatively.

    Stepping into therge working space, she tried to ignore her colleagues, but it was hard given that she had taken a leave from work for two days but already returned after a day, they were bound to be curious.

    With a few of them stopping by her desk to find out if she was feeling better, Mika felt dizzy and nauseous with the different scents oozing from their bodies.

    Unable to take it any longer, she quickly made an excuse to leave.

    Tilting her head to the side after hearing the rushed footsteps fading away, Tungmei was sharp enough to catch Mika running away.

    Tapping her fingers on her desk, she mumbled to herself. "Interesting." Curious as to what was going in with her, she made an excuse to use the bathroom before leaving her desk.

    But as soon as she was out of their sight, she rushed towards the restroom area as fast as she could.

    Coming to a stop at the door, she slowed her breathing before quietly opening the door to step inside.

    Just before she closed the door, she heard the sound of someone retching their guts out and smiled to herself, but immediately she closed the door, the sound was gone.

    ''Huh? You think you can fool me?'' Knowing that Mika must have heard the sound of someoneing in and stopped throwing up, she was not discouraged.

    Now that she was found out, she could only only use another strategy.

    Walking toward the sink, she turned on two of the taps there before quickly getting on her hands and knees.

    Through the little gap between the door stall and the floor, she checked to see which of them housed the woman and Surprisingly Mika was the one.

    In one of the stalls, she saw her position and knew she was kneeling, which was the perfect position to retch ones guts out.

    Smiling to herself at that discovery, she got up and washed her hands.

    Instead of leaving immediately after wiping her hands, she entered into one of the stalls, which was exactly the one next to the one Mika was in.

    Just to taunt her since she was aware that she hadn''t finished throwing up, Tungmei eased herself os the little urine in her dder before stepping out.

    Using the sink to wash her hands again, she wiped her hands before leaving.

    As soon as Mika heard the sound of the door close, she immediately removed her hand away from her lips, to continue her business.

    After she was done, she went to wash her hands. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she sighed to herself and quickly put her purse on the counter and got ready to retouch her makeup just to cover up her dark circles and the dull face.

    When she was done, she opened the door and was about to take a step out when she met face to face with Tungmei who was standing right outside the door to the female restroom.

    Instantly, her gaze widened in shock as different thoughts began to flood in her head.

 Chapter 440 Plan To Cancel The Wedding

    Seeing Tungmei right outside the door, Mika was scared out of her wits as she was afraid that she must have found out something about her.

    While she was embraced by fear, Tungmei wasughing out hard in her mind.

    Feigning annoyance, she pushed her out of the way and stepped inside the restroom. "Why are you standing there like a dead fish and blocking my path?!"

    While Mika was still there frozen in fear, she heard one of the stalls door open. Turning around to nce toward that direction, she was right on time to see the door closing after Tungmei had stepped inside.

    Without wasting time, she stepped out of that ce and shut the door behind her.

    "Oh my goodness!" She eximed in fright as she literally staggered away from the restroom area.

    Even up to this point, she was still yet to recover from the shock she just got, but that was all. She was no longer afraid and tensed that Tungmei might have found her secret out.

    With the way the other party acted around her, she was convinced that she didn''t know anything but unknown to her, she had underestimated the limit her thoughts could go.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, she touched her emotions up a bit before stepping back into therge working space and fortunately for her, the colleagues that had crowded her desk earlier had already returned to their desks.

    Letting out another sigh, she returned to her seat and got ready to start work for the day.

    Back at the female restroom, Tungmei was definitely up to something whileughing widely inside her heart.

    As soon as she found out that Mika was gone after shutting the door, she quickly dialled Zhang Liling''s contact.

    Luckily after two rings, she answered.

    Without waiting for her to speak, she forgo a the formalities and the greeting and went straight to the point that spilling the news to her.

    "Liling, Mika is pregnant!"

    "How did you confirm it?'' Zhang Liling asked with an interesting tone.

    Since both of them have been suspecting this since two days ago, they only needed a hard evidence to confirm it before they could start to make use of that information.

    Now hearing Tungmei''s excitement over the phone, she knew that she must have gotten hold of a concrete evidence.

    Heating that question, Tungmei who had been ever ready to give the full story, quickly went ahead to speak while keeping her ears on the ground.

    Since she was in a public area, she had to be careful to know when someone else would step into the restroom.

    Right from the first time she set her eyes on Mika that morning when she stepped into the office, Tungmei gave out all of the information, including everything that had transpired with the other colleagues up to the point where Mika left the restroom.

    Having listened up to this point, Zhang Liling could careless about any hard concrete evidence.

    "Since you saw her throwing up with your own eyes, that is enough evidence for me. I think it''s time for this wedding to be called off."

    "Will you tell your stepmother?" Tungmei probed.

    "No, that woman would do the unthinkable. Imagine telling her that kind of information that is like a ck ink poured on top of a nk check that was given to her?"

    Zhang Liling was not going to let her stepmother take advantage of this situation.

    Learning that she had another means, Tungmei got curious. "Then what are you going to do?"

    "Easy pissy. I will just let the media get their hands on this information. We just let to make Zhang Mingyu and Mika meet again so they could have a few photos to release the wonderful news." Zhang Mingyu revealed.

    She was not going to sit tight and watch this kind of information go off the radar just like that. She was going to use to get the Ong family to call off the wedding.

    This way, the burden on getting rid of her stepmother would be faster and easier.

    "I think I have a few photos of them on my phone. Remember when you first asked me to start keeping my eyes on them, I took a few photos." Tungmei revealed.

    There was no need to waste time and their efforts when they already had a good evidence with them.

    Remembering about something like that, Zhang Liling immediately agreed with her and asked for the photos to be sent to her.

    "Tungmei, I owe you again this time around. Once this matter is settled, let''s flex this life." She announced excitedly.

    "Of course. But don''t forget to keep me posted on this news. See you."

    As soon as she ended the conversation, Tungmei stepped out of the stall and went to the sink to wash her hands.

    Arranging a few strands of her hair with a smile, she hummed to herself happily.

    How happy and expectant she was on what was about to go down soon with that lousy colleague of hers, and also her friend''s stepmother.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ***

    Getting off the call with Tungmei, Zhang Liling immediately spilled this information with Fang Bingwen.

    "It looks like it''s time to pay the Zhang family a visit. I have to taunt Shi Wenqian a bit."

    Chuckling at her cuteness and revenge tactics, Fang Bingwen asked, "Your period is starting soon right?"

    "Yes. Why is that on your mind?" Immediately, Zhang Liling''s mood changed as she got more excited.

    "Nothing." Refusing to let the cat out of the bag, Fang Bingwen changed the topic. "Your stepmother just left for her site and I have gotten my hands on the live feed."

    "Hope you are recording it?" She inquired, literally jumping off her chair.

    "That is the very reason I took things this far. I will pick you up after work by 4, get ready."

    "Okay, bye handsome." Giving him a few loud kisses, she dropped the call.

    *******

    Unaware of the antics of betrayal she was going through, Shi Wenqian continued the tour on her site.

    Fortunately for Fang Bingwen, there was a wrestling supposed to take ce that day, so Shi Wenqian sat to watch the fight to the end, giving secretary Cha to get another part of this evidence into his hands.

    As soon as the match was over, Shi Wenqian went to the theatre were an operation was about to take ce.

    As the patient was the same person that lost the match that she had just finished watching, she was worried about something.

    "Are his organs still good?"

    She was worried about having a bad market.

    Immediately, the doctor handling the body replied, "It looks like one of his kidneys are bad. Actually, it got damaged before the fight, but the other one is still good."

    "What a bastard!" Shi Wenqian cursed in anger. "It would have been good if there was a way to check them before dragging them into this arena."

    She was so angry on calcting how much she had list because of one bad organ. If only that man was alive, she could have killed him again with her hands.

    After venting her anger, she asked for the doctor to show her the freezer.

    "Show me the freezer. How many stocks do we have left?"

    Hearing her demands, the doctor who happened to be her rtive and the same person that used to draw Liling''s blood a few years ago, led her into the freezing inner room.

    Getting this opportunity, Secretary Cha who has never seen that ce, immediately wanted to follow, but the doctor stopped her.

    "Two at a time." He stated.

    Understanding his intentions, she quickly stole a nce at her mistress to hear what she would say.

    Seeing no problem with what he said, Shi Wenqian said to her, "Just stay here. It''s not like you would help me to do anything inside. I asked Mousk to do something for me, call him and find out how far he has gotten."

    "Yes, Ma''am." Secretary Cha replied with a small bow before turning to leave.

    Since she was not allowed into that ce, she could only leave to do what she was instructed to do.

    Stepping out of the theatre, she picked up her phone to make a call.

    After several rings, the call was answered. "Where are you?" She asked immediately.

    "The hospital. Ma''am sent me on an errand." The man on the other hand revealed.

    Hearing his response, her gaze narrowed as she wondered what task she could have given to him and howe she didn''t know about it.

    "How far have you gone? She wants to hear the results of your mission."

    "What did he say?" Shi Wenqian asked from behind with a deep frown on her face.

    Instantly, secretary Cha flinched as fear gripped her heart. Since she was guilty of betrayal, she was bound to overreact.

    Normally if anyone wasing from behind, she would be able to hear the footsteps it this time around she was distracted and so failed to hear her Coming.

 Chapter 441 Shi Wenqians Rage

    Witnessing her behaviour, Shi Wenqian was annoyed.

    "Are you dumb?"

    Being reminded of the question, Secretary Cha quickly put her emotions in order. "I''m sorry Ma''am. He is not some with his task yet."

    Quickly snatching the phone from her, Shi Wenqian ced it on her ear.

    "You better give me a good response within twenty minutes if you don''t want all your organs to be donated!"

    Agate leaving behind a threat, she handed the phone back to the woman who did not dare to look at her.

    Quickly taking her phone back from her, secretary Cha followed after her.

    "We will leave now." Shi Wenqian announced. Taking a moment to look at the few men that had gathered around, she remembered that they had gotten something for them.

    "I will return after the wedding. Keep things tidy over here." Making that statement, she finally let a few of them follow her outside to take the bags from the trunk of her car.

    Seeing the gifts she got for them, the gangsters were happy and couldn''t help hailing her.

    Seeing their reaction, Shi Wenqian felt that her housekeeper was smart and quickly stole a nce at her, but that was all.

    She did not bother to praise her for being quick-witted and only got into the car.

    A few minutes into their journey, Shi Wenqian''s phone rang. Thinking it was the underling she had sent on an errand, she quickly took her phone out of her bag to nce at the screen only to discover that it was a call from Mrs. Ong.

    Immediately, a hiss escaped from her throat as she handed the phone over to the woman sitting at the front passenger seat.

    "Tell her that I am a little busy with my foundation."

    Receiving the phone from her, Secretary Cha answered the call.

    "Hello, Mrs. Ong it''s is Secretary Cha."

    Mrs. Ong: "Where is your mistress?"

    Since the call was on speak out, Shi Wenqian was able to hear the voice from the other end.

    Just as she was instructed, Secretary Cha replied, "Ma''am is a little busy with the foundation, but you can drop your message with me, I will be sure to ry it to her."

    "Do assistants these days answer the callsing from their Master''s private phone?" Mumbling to her hearing, Mrs. Ong went on to state the reason for the call.

    "Inform your Mistress that the finally mean n would be ready this evening. We are to meet at the caterer''s office by 2pm for the tasting and rating."

    With the grand wedding ns ongoing, the two women were making sure that everything was perfect and to their taste, and that includes the food that would be served to their guests on that day.

    No single detail would be overlooked.

    "Okay, Ma''am."

    Just as thest word left her lips, the call got disconnected.

    Truly, Mrs. Ong was impatient with people that did not matter to her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Handing the phone over to the owner, Secretary Cha repeated the woman''s words.

    "I heard her clearly." Half-rolling her eyes, Shi Wenqian three her gaze away.

    If she was very free, why did she feign busy to her son''s future mother-inw?

    Well, that was because she wanted to appear like someone who had work to do and was not always avable to answer her calls.

    Knowing how arrogant the Ongs were, she didn''t want anyone to step over her head just because they had more benefits to give in this union of their children.

    Twenty minutes into their journey, Shi Wenqian''s phone started to ring again.

    "It had better be that incapable human calling to tell me about the test results!"

    Cursing a few words under her breath, the lousy woman fiddled with the contents of her bag before sessfully holding up her phone.

    A few seconds after answering the call, her eyes grew in shock.

    "What?!" she eximed as she quickly leaned away from the backrest of the car seat.

    "She is really pregnant?!"

    Waiting for a short while to listen to his response, she immediately gave out an order.

    "I don''t care about the name of that girl, but use whatever means to get rid of that child immediately!"

    "Yes, Ma''am!" Immediately, they call disconnected.

    Learning that Mika was pregnant with her son''s child, Shi Wenqian was disoriented.

    This was such a big deal that could give a big blow to her face and the Zhang family''s reputation.

    If the Ong family should find out that their would-be son-inw got another woman pregnant a few days to their wedding, they would immediately call off the whole ceremony and then the media would be in their face.

    She would never allow some useless grasshopper to ruin her twenty plus years n!

    Although the Ongs might not really care if Zhang Mingyu had another woman outside, but they could only tolerate that much just before the wedding takes ce, and if he is careful to not let it get on the media.

    They were that much considerate since they knew that the wedding was not happening based on love, so they could understand only to that point.

    As for getting the woman pregnant and then appearing on social media with it, they would not sit and watch their family being humiliated.

    Shi Wenqian knew this much hence, She didn''t care about the life of any human that would unknowingly step in the middle of her sess n.

    She would make sure to crush them so that in their next life, they would consider all angles before doing something as stupid as dating someone not in their league, especially, someone that was rted to her and was a part of her goal.

    Watching her Mistress''s outburst, Secretary Cha got curious and dared to inquire of the reason despite the fact that her anger may be transferred to her.

    After all, she was ced on a mission, so she had a duty to report the things she overheard to the man that sent her.

 Chapter 442 Set In Motion

    "Ma''am what happened?"

    ring at her from the backseat, Shi Wenqian retorted. "It has nothing to do with the task I assigned to you, so Keep off!"

    After scolding her, Shi Wenqian continued to mutter a few curse words under her breath.

    "I can''t believe he got someone pregnant at this point! Which mother would want to raise a bastard?!"

    ********

    In the middle of work, Zhang Liling felt weird below her waist and quickly rushed to the bathroom to check herself.

    Lo and behold, her period hade.

    Letting out deep exasperated sighs, she quickly used the toilet paper as an emergency control before going back to her office to pick her purse.

    Luckily she had put a piece of pad in her bag just in case of emergencies like this.

    She really was very fortunate.

    As soon as she settled herself, she immediately put a call to her husband.

    "Honey, I got my period." She announced without warning.

    Right in the middle of a very important meeting, that was what Fang Bingwen heard from his wife. Thankfully the volume of his phone was perfect only for his ears alone.

    "Sweetie, I will call you back in 5." Saying that, he quickly dropped the call and gestured for the woman standing in her seat to continue with her presentation.

    With the Boss saying that he had 5 minutes to leave the meeting, the woman quickened her pace by skipping less important details to go into the major one.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling put down her phone after hearing his response. "What? Is he busy?"

    Making a few guesses, she went back to work and continued until she saw his calling in on her phone. Instantly, a smile smeared on her face like white paint.

    "Honey," she called out.

    "Sorry, I was on the middle of a meeting when you called. What were you saying?" Fang Bingwen''s voice didn''t sound good, but since she didn''t offend him, he could only hold himself.

    "What? You were in a meeting?" Zhang Liling was shocked and curious.

    She almost asked him if anyone heard what she told him, but remembering that he was asking about the same words she had said earlier, she decided to on with his question.

    "My period came a few minutes ago."

    As she was aware of the reason he wanted to see her once they got togetherter in the evening that day, she had to break his heart and burst his bubble with the news.

    She was on her period so they couldn''t do anything.

    Hearing her response, Fang Bingwen forgo the anger from the meeting that he just left and balled his fists as a wave of sharp disappointment hit his face.

    "Why did it have toe now?" He groaned.

    After nning on how to keep her restless till midnight that day just before her period woulde after learning of the sign from her earlier that day, he was gravely disappointed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    How could he wait for about 5 days when he was more than ready?

    Mr. Fang was almost going crazy.

    "Hahahaa..." Zhang Liling could onlyugh out loud. Though she was a little disappointed that when her man was going to take the lead without being led on by her, the connection had to be cut off.

    Afterughing a bit, she quickly tried tofort him in order not to pour cold water on his pride.

    "Honey, it''s just a few days. In 5 days, you can have me again." Wanting to say something a little inappropriate for other people''s ears, she lowered her voice.

    "Then we can try different styles apart from missionary."

    Hearing the kind of hot words that was being spewed from her lips, Fang Bingwen got a little tensed.

    "Are you sitting behind your office desk and talking about things like this?"

    He really was afraid of that woman''s boldness.

    "Yes. Don''t worry, they can''t hear me since their working space is some distance away." Zhang Liling replied while peering at her staff working from the small round ss in the middle of the wooden stuff used to separate her working space from theirs.

    Hearing her response, a soft sigh escaped from his lips as he weaved his hands through his hair.

    "I think this is a sign that we should keep working and not get distracted."

    "I think so too." Being reminded about their goal, Zhang Liling brought up about going to the Zhang family residence. "I need to taunt that woman a bit."

    Agreeing to her request, Fang Bingwen added, "While you are there, get those items from the housekeeper."

    "Are you done collecting the evidence?" Zhang Liling inquired curiously.

    "Yes. We have the tape ready. We only have to get started with the divorce preparation. Speaking of which, I have to meet your father''swyer by 4 today." Checking the time on his wristwatch, he continued.

    "I made an appointment with him. Hopefully, everything will go well from the start. I don''t have a lot of time to persuade him."

    "What about the DNA results?" Zhang Liling asked.

    For Her, the results were more important than getting her father to divorce her stepmother without his knowledge.

    "Chuanli will hand it over to me tomorrow morning. If you want to know the results,e back and see them for yourself." Fang Bingwen teased.

    He was not going to check the envelope after receiving it until she was there with him. That way, she wouldn''t waste time before returning back to his arms.

    If he couldn''t have her now that she was on her period, at least he should be granted ess to fill her up.

    Nodding in understanding, Zhang Liling agreed before revealing about her ns before going over to the Zhang residence.

    "I am going to reveal Mika''s pregnancy to the press. The wedding must be called off now."

    It would be good if all their ns was set in motion almost at the same time so there wouldn''t be any breathing space for that evil woman lying and living off her family''s wealth.

    Although Fang Bingwen was notpletely okay with the n with the press release, he let her do what she wants as he tried to facilitate his own ns with thewyer in case her ns backfires.

 Chapter 443 The Song Family

    *******

    ~Song Family Residence~

    In the sitting area of the Song family located in City H, almost the entire family were gathered as the family patriarch had called for a meeting.

    All the children were present except for his grandchildren whose presence were not necessary when their parents would still rte the message to them

    Old Mr. Song had 4 children in his prime with histe wife Mrs. Song who died just before any of her children could get married.

    The four children the Songs had consisted of 3 boys and a girl, making Song Jujing the only female her parents had.

    Being thest child and only daughter after 3 boys, she was pampered. And in this case, the heavy blow dealt on her by her father because of Zhang Renshu, had her wallowing in pain until she overcame it.

    Currently, there were three grown up men in their fifties with their wives sitting in the sitting room.

    ncing at the head chair, the third son who was directly older than Song Jujing, Song Alex, the same member of the Song family that hade for Glint''sunch party, looked between his two brothers to ask,

    "Does any of you know why father would want to see us?"

    The first son who was clearly older then the others replied, "You know he would never mention anything like that to us."

    "There is no need to rush, father will be here soon." The second son added.

    A few minutester, the old patriarch of the Song family arrived with a walking stick in his hand.

    Without sparing any of them a nce, he went to the head chair to sit down. It was only after he had settled down that he finally raised his head.

    Sweeping his gaze past each of them to confirm that no one was missing, he got ready to address them.

    Old Mr. Song who was currently in his eighties, looked a little older than his age. Back in the days, he used to be very handsome, and it was clear from his aging looks.

    But the reason the man was looking a little older than his age was simply because he was stressed from work.

    The final bellow hade as a result of the dissolvent of the marriage between his only daughter and Zhang Renshu.

    Back then, hispany had just recovered from a setback before another blow was given to him.

    Unable to bear the shock of thepany stocks plummeting, plus the danger of bankruptcy that was just an inch away from knocking on thepany''s door, he had a cardiac arrest and was hospitalised for almost a week.

    And the first thing he did when he woke up was to disown his daughter while his sons ran around to make sure thepany survived the bankruptcy.

    At the end of the day, to save hispany he sold some of his shares to get a good investor that would help withy funds, and banned any member of his Song family that was still interested in being one, from meeting Song Jujing without his permission.

    With the news of Song Jujing''s pregnancy and her fleeing from the country singing in his ears on a daily when listening to his news and reading the papers every morning, he forced himself to swallow the shame for the sake of the sake of his youth.

    Yes, he had invested all his time, money and youth into building a solidpany, so he couldn''t watch and let it perish while he was still alive.

    ***

    Presently, the old man looked like he was about to go somewhere far away.

    "You are all here," he started while letting his gaze fall on the 6 people sitting at his right and his left side.

    "I had something very important to talk about so I invited all of you today."

    Letting out a deep breath, he took almost a minute before speaking again as his sons waited patiently for him.

    "I havee to this stage in my life when I know that I am about to leave, but before then, I want to make sure that I do not leave any room for regrets."

    Hearing him talking about his death, his daughters-inw were ufortable, including his sons.

    "Father, you still have a few more years ahead, there is no need to talk about your death." The second son stated with a little frown on his face.

    Just like his brothers, he was upset with the topic.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Raising his hand to stop him from speaking, the old man said, "I do not need any sympathy message from anyone." Letting his gaze hover over them as he slowly put down his hand, he continued.

    "And I wish that none of you will interrupt when I am still speaking. I do not have the energy to here for an hour."

    Having made his stance clear, he waited to see any of them had any opinion before her went into the main deal for the meeting.

    "I would like to rest in peace when I leave this world with no room for regrets therefore, I want to bring Jujing home."

    As soon as that name was mentioned, silence ensued in the room.

    All were in shock as none of them believed that the old man would want day do something like this given his determination where their sister was.

    For over twenty years, he had been keeping his promise of disowning her.

    Since he was able to ovee those number of years without bringing her home which was exactly the most difficult years, this time when is about to die, should even be the time when his mind shouldn''t be moved since he was already used to not feeling his daughter''s absence.

    But look at him now, he was changing his mind which was so shocking.

    What made him to change his mind?

    ''Jujing? He is finally going to bring her home?'' Song Alex thought to himself.

    He was still in shock so much that he couldn''t speak. Just like his brothers, he wanted to know what got the man to change his mind so quickly.

    As if knowing their thoughts, Old Mr. Song exined.

    "I know what you are all thinking. What made me change my mind?" Managing a smile, he rubbed his hands together.

    "If you truly understand this life, when you get to my age, you will know that holding a grudge is useless. It shortens your life span and makes you restless.

    Now that I am about to leave, I want to do the right thing by trying to bring my daughter back as I still have a little time to right the wrong.

    I don''t need Jujing to forget what I did to her since the consequences of my actions were quite grave back then. I only want her to forgive and join you in sending me off."

    Maybe it was because the Song family''s patriarch was old as he had said, that must be the reason he was thinking a lot more differently.

    He was not going to be self-centred and require that his daughter forgets all the struggles she went through to feed and seed while carrying a child.

    He would really be unrepentant of the sins of his anger of he wanted that from her.

    Left for him, he wouldn''t ask her to forgive him, but knowing that she wouldn''t agree to send him off along with her brothers if she didn''t forgive him, he needed her forgiveness.

    "I am not doing this only because I want peace in the afterlife, but I also want to put the family that I disintegrated by myself, together before I leave."

    Unity was important in every family and the more he saw of it from other families, the more he wanted to put things in order.

    Did he regret his past actions? Of course he did.

    If he did not, he wouldn''t have taken this step.

    He regretted the method he used in punishing Song Jujing. It was too harsh, but at that time he had been furious to the point that he no longer wanted to sight her.

    It was only a few years after thepany regained its stability that his anger started to slowly diminish.

    If the time was rewind for him, he would have taken another measure to punish that stubborn daughter of his.

    "Father, we are happy with your decision to bring Jujing back to the family, but there is a problem." The first son said with concern written all over his face. "I don''t think she will ever want to step foot into this house again."

    "Yes, father, it is true that Jujing wouldn''t want toe back because her grudge against us is heavy." Song Alex added.

    Having experienced his sister''s treatment at her daughter''s brand opening, he could tell that she didn''t have any thoughts of wanting to get close to any of them.

    Even though her brothers were not the ones that sent her away, as long as they didn''t do anything to stop that decision from being made, they were as good as in the same boat with their old man.

 Chapter 444 Zhang Xiaolings Worries

    "I know." Old Mr. Song was not ignorant of his daughter''s attitude and feeling.

    "It is expected of her to behave that way. If after all these years I didn''t reach out to her until now, and then she epts me immediately, I would even question if she is an Angel."

    The old man believed that humans bore grudges that could only be untied after some efforts has been made.

    Having heard and agreed on their father''s decision, the second son had something more to add.

    "Jujing has a daughter, what about her?"

    Since their sister was now allowed toe back into the family what about the child she had out of wedlock?

    "Zhang Liling?." Old Mr. Fang said. "I have epted her mother which means that every other thing rted to her cane in."

    What was the use of asking Song Jujing toe home alone and leave her daughter m it didn''t make any sense.

    Now that a goal and a mission of reconciliation and unification has been set in ce, it was only right that they all gathered to fulfil the old man''sst wish since it was a good decision.

    "After Jujing''s return, I will share all my assets amongst all my children and grandchildren." Mr. Song stated.

    *******

    Unaware of her family''s ns to bring her back into the family, a n spearheaded by her father, Song Jujing was busy nning to relocate back to country S.

    Now that her daughter was grown and married, plus the fact that she was living in the country where she was born and brought up, she didn''t see any use in staying back all alone in such big country.

    Being alone was hard, and she was stating to feel it.

    There was no husband or child by her side, and all she did was to work as the Chief Editor of a famous magazine and spend her money on herself by going for short vacations during work and taking care of her system and skin.

    Apart from that, she was alone most of the time.

    Knowing that her daughter, Zhang Liling was going to start raising little children of her own soon, she thought it right to be by her side.

    At least, she has earned more than enough money and built a solid connection that wouldst a long time.

    After making some calls during lunch, she returned to her office and then remembered that she hadn''t spoken with her daughter in a while.

    "If I don''t call her, she would probably start to forget that I am still existing."

    While muttering those words under her breath, she fiddled with her phone.

    A few minutester, she dumped her phone on her desk with a long sigh.

    ''Why does the call keep disconnecting?''

    Unknown to her, the precious daughter she wanted to speak with, was doing something spectacr.

    ***

    After doing some work on herptop, Zhang Liling packed up and left her office for the day.

    On her way traveling down to another town to meet her Zhang family, she stopped by a mall to get a few things.

    Since there was no time to head home in order to pick a few things, she decided to shop for a few necessary things like toiletries, a simple night dress, a pair of inner wears and another change of clothes for the following day.

    Spending a night at Zhang residence was more than enough for her. At least she would get to taunt her stepmother before leaving.

    Stepping back into the car Fang Bingwen had arranged for her journey with a driver after the little shopping, she picked up her phone to make a call.

    "Xiaoling, did you see the mail I sent to you about 2 hours ago?"

    "What mail?" Zhang Xiaoling asked as her entitled face contoured in a frown.

    She looked to not know what she was talking about.

    "I see you didn''t check your Mail box. Anyways, you can''t me me for leaving you out on this. Check your inbox and call me back." Saying that, Zhang Liling went ahead to end the call to save both of their time.

    Zhang Xiaoling who was still in her office at the hour her step-sister called, decided to check her mailbox despite not getting the hang of the phone conversation.

    "Are the tests results out?" Mumbling a bit to herself, she felt her heart start to race a bit, still, she braced herself to open her inbox to take a look at the file that had been sent to her.

    Downloading the file into her phone, she proceeded to open it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Instantly, her eyes widened once she caught sight of the big headline.

    "What!"

    In a frenzy state, she scrolled up to nce at the remaining content of the message before immediately putting a call to Zhang Liling.

    "Did you confirm this first?" She inquired.

    "Do you think I am like someone who does things without any evidence just to causemotion online? I am not that cheap."

    Zhang Liling had sent over the written content by a News editor, concerning Mika and Zhang Mingyu''s rtionship plus the fact that they were expecting a baby.

    There was also a photo of the two hugging, attached to the written article.

    Remembering the format that she had seen it, Zhang Xiaoling guessed, "Are you doing this so the wedding will be called off?"

    "Why not? I can''t let Zhangpany''s shares get into Shi Wenqian''s hands. She would be unstoppable by then if she is not stopped now."

    There was a moment of silence before Xiaoling spoke again. In her mind, she was feeling a little conflicted because this was still her mother that they were talking about.

    Even though her mother was wrong and evil, she still couldn''t shake off that maternal instinct.

    With the silence from the other end, Liling noticed that something was off and guessed, "Are you regretting doing this?"

    Instead of answering her question, Zhang Xiaoling said, "Although I have nothing against you revealing this news to the media like this, I feel that your actions will backfire. You better get ready for the consequences."

    Knowing how her mother hated to lose and liked to have things done her way, she felt that she will have aeback.

    That woman didn''t know what giving up meant, especially when she was very close to getting what she wanted.

    "It doesn''t matter. I will like to see what will happen next."

    Releasing a sign she didn''t know that she has been holding, she asked, "What about the test results, what is with the dy?"

    "It wille in tomorrow. After tomorrow, I can sessfully being your mother down." Zhang Liling stated, while optioning out from talking about the evidence from the bloody site.

    Although she hasn''t seen the video because she couldn''t take in that sight, she trusted her Honey.

    "Call me as soon as you get the results, I would like to take a look at the original documents by myself."

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t want any soft copy to be sent to her because she wanted to see things for her own eyes.

    In her thoughts, she didn''t even know what she wanted. Maybe, if Shi Wenqian turned out not to be her mother, she may feel better.

    But what will that make her?

    She only became Zhang Renshu''s daughter and married into the Tang family because of her mother. If she turned out to not be her biological daughter, wouldn''t the Tang family, especially Mrs. Tang force her Ei to divorce her.

    The woman who already didn''t like her, will use the Zhang family of fraud and even sue them in court for deceiving her entire family.

    What will be left for her then?

    Zhang Xiaoling didn''t even want to imagine anything further and quickly shook her head.

    Ending the conversation with Zhang Liling, she put her phone down and covered her face with her palms.

    Even if Zhang Xiaoling turned out to be Shi Wenqian''s daughter, she still wouldn''t be totally free of the consequences when the news about her being a bloody criminal will be exposed.

    Mrs. Tang would immediately ask her son to divorce her and ban her from stepping foot into the Tang family again.

    That woman already hated her guts, imagine how she would taunt her because of her mother at the end of the day...

    Although Zhang Liling was ignorant of some certain things, she knew that it would be difficult for a child to directly get involved in her mother''s case, especially one that could directly subject her as a criminal as well.

    And this was one of the reasons she had asked her from the start of the reason she wanted to expose her mother''s dark side.

    Putting herself in her shoes, Zhang Liling know that with how much she loves her mother, she would not do something like that.

    But if her mother was not a good person to her, and did inhumane things, she would definitely dissociate herself from her.

    For her, this stepsister of hers was very brave.

 Chapter 445 Rude Brat

    Getting to the Zhang residence, Zhang Liling asked for her driver to be taken care of before walking into the house with a maid carrying her small travel bag while following her.

    "Where is everyone?" She asked with a smile ying at the corner of her lips.

    "They are not home yet," a servant replied.

    Nodding in understanding, she made a request for a special kind of sweet soup to be prepared for her before going up to her room.

    As soon as she was alone in the room, she made a call to Fang Bingwen to give him a heads-up.

    "Don''t cause any trouble, and don''t get so riled up either. Everything will end soon." Mr. Fang reminded kindly.

    Thest thing he would want is for her to get into a fight when he was not there. He wouldn''t want her to say any word she couldn''t take back.

    Agreeing to hismands, Zhang Liling ended the call, settled a few posts online to continue promoting her brand, made some calls about the new products that will beunching son before the partnership with FJ Styles, before washing up and going downstairs to have the soup she had requested for.

    Checking the time which was perfect for people at work to starting back home, she smiled to herself.

    Zhang Liling at this point looked more like a viin than a heroine without knowing.

    Maybe she had gotten so much invested in getting rid of her stepmother that she was slowly bing bad.

    Yes it was true that she was naturally not a calm person, but to be this good in plotting against other people, maybe the business World had changed her a bit.

    Coming over to the dining room, she sat on the right side of the head chair. At first, she had wanted to sit at the head table, but because she didn''t want to disrespect the man who wasn''t her bone of contentment at the moment, she shifted to one of the chairs next to it.

    Seeing the best bowl of thick soup sitting in front of her, she couldn''t resist taking a photo of it and posting on her social media.

    Done posting, she picked up the spoon and scooped up some of the content before sending it into her mouth.

    As soon as the taste hit her tongue, she hummed in satisfaction. "Mmmm... This is so good."

    Although she wasn''t too surprised that the taste was fine, she was happy that the chef was able to give her the taste she was craving.

    Just five spoons into eating the soup, someone came home. Shi Wenqian.

    Stepping into the house tiredly, she let out a long sigh as Secretary Cha followed behind her with her handbag.

    "I thought I was the only one being picky about things, but who knows that woman will be so troublesome." Letting out another long sigh, she walked into the living room. "I never want to n anything with that woman again."

    "Ma''am..." Handing the bag over to her, they both heard the ng sounding form the dining area.

    At once, their head tilted toward that direction they both heard someone make a sound.

    "Is someone back already?" Muttering under her breath, Shi Wenqian who was looking a little breathless found some strength and got off the chair and walked to the dining area to see who was there.

    Lo and behold, she saw Zhang Liling sitting there and finishing up some kind of weird soup she forgot the name to.

    Surprised with her sudden presence, she inquired about it. "What are you doing here?"

    Hearing her voice, Zhang Liling skipped the greeting she was supposed to give

    Raising her head, a small smile yed at the corner of her lips which seemed very dirty to the older woman.

    "This is my father''s house. I cane here at anytime."

    "Yes, it is your father''s house, but I am the mistress of this family. You can''te into my home whenever you feel like it without giving prior notice. You need to have discipline and follow the order."

    Shi Wenqian was very pissed. After a tiring day, she wanted to just rest, eat and go straight to bed, but who knew that that little witch wille over to taunt her?

    "Does your children ask for permission beforeing over here?" Zhang Liling inquired as she totally abandoned her soup for that moment to face her.

    Already, she was aware that Zhang Xiaoling used toe over to the house sometimes without telling anyone, and she was sure that she never got scolded, then why would she have a problem with her when she is the one doing something she would never scold her children for?

    This was one of the reasons, she must get rid of her.

    "Of course they do. They are well cultured and mannered unlike some rude brat I can''t believe I raised under my roof for a few years!" Shi Wenqian spat.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She had already red up and wanted to so badly hit the little girl that had the courage to talk back at her.

    Only if it was the right time.

    ''Just some days left and you will go to your grave with your mother following next!''

    Shi Wenqian was sure that she had to get rid of Zhang Liling as soon as Zhang Mingyu''s wedding celebration was over.

    That girl was a total nut job and a brat!

    "Hahaha..." Seeing her stepmother talking about her just like that, Zhang Liling could onlyugh out loud since she knew how frustrated the woman was.

    Choosing to wave the topic away because she had a more important matter to make waves of, she started.

    "Forget it, I don''t want to waste your energy by bickering with you."

    "What?" Immediately, Shi Wenqian was going in to p her face, but Secretary Cha quickly helped her back.

    Using that opportunity of the struggling woman, Zhang Liling continued.

    "I saw a very interesting news and had toe here to confirm it, but seeing how the house is still so calm, I doubt that any of you have seen it."

    Shaking her head, she picked up her spoon and scooped some soup to send into her mouth.

    Hearing the suggestive statement she said, Shi Wenqian retorted, "What stupid news is that? What are you up to?"

    "I am not up to anything. Actually, I should be asking Zhang Mingyu that question. Does he still want to get married to the daughter of the Ong family? Hahahaha..."

    Letting out a small chuckle, she faced her food and totally ignored the two women.

    "What news?"

    Leaving the dining area, Shi Wenqian was still confused, although she felt uneasy with Zhang Liling mentioning something rting to her son and the wedding with the Ong''s, she thought she was bluffing and only trying to shake things up.

    Wanting to be left alone, Secretary Cha stood at the same spot and watched her leave before trying to turn and leave, but met face to face with the smiling Zhang Liling.

    Seeing the way she hung her fingers in the air so awkwardly, she let her gaze fall on them only to see that they were dirty.

    "I soiled my fingers, I need to go wash them, but I don''t think I would want to continue staying at the dining room. Bring my soup up to my room, don''t put anything in it."

    Without giving her the chance to retort, Zhang Liling walked away, passing two maids in the hallway.

    Watching her leave, Secretary Cha''s face was dark and seeing that, the two maids quickly walked up to her.

    "Ms. Cha, do you want us to do it?"

    "There is no need." Secretary Cha immediately rejected their offer. "She will cause amotion if she doesn''t get what she wants. She just wants to have fun, let her have it while she can, and now that I''m still in the good mood."

    Feigning anger, Secretary Cha walked to the dining room and picked up the remaining bowl of soup. Taking it with her, she passed the two maids from earlier and proceeded to climb up the stairs.

    As soon as the housekeeper disappeared from their sight, the two maids scurried away and went to the kitchen to gossip about how haughty Zhang Liling was being.

    Every time she visits, she must get them all on their toes.

    Unknown to them, what they had seen was different. Something else was happening behind the scene.

    Entering Zhang Liling''s room, Secretary Cha ced the bowl on the table and waited patiently till she came out of the bathroom.

    "Where is the camera and the microphone?" Zhang Liling demanded as she sat at the foot of her bed.

    This was the only reason she had gotten here up to her room without making mattersplicated.

    Earlier, she was only acting in front of the servants so they and Shi Wenqian wouldn''t suspect that there was anything between her and the housekeeper.

 Chapter 446 The Reason

    Receiving the items her husband had given to her to carry out the operation, Zhang Liling asked.

    "Did anything spectacr happen at the site?"

    Since she hadn''t seen the video yet, and wasn''t nning to any time soon, she wanted to know if there was something she should know.

    Hearing that question, Secretary Cha was mute for a few seconds before speaking.

    "Nothing special happened in the normal routine today."

    "Is that so?" Zhang Liling crossed her legs while sping her fingers.

    Now that the woman standing before her was under her husband''s surveince, she got the confidence that she could act a lot more confident than before.

    To her probing, Secretary Cha remained quiet for a few more seconds before revealing a piece of information to her.

    "It seems like she sent someone to go for an errand in the hospital because she asked me to confirm if the task has been done."

    "And you don''t know the details of the task? I thought you were her assistant?"

    Zhang Liling didn''t want to believe that she was ignorant of some of Shi Wenqian''s antics, but seeing that she had no reason to lie about it, she tackled her.

    "Even though I may be her assistant, she doesn''t tell me everything. She has always been like that, and she gets worse especially when she is worked up."

    Letting out a sigh, Liling inquired further, "What else do you know?"

    "On our way back to the city, she answered a call from one of the men that works for her. It had something to do with Mingyu."

    Hearing that it had something to do with Zhang Mingyu, Zhang Liling quickly uncrossed her legs. "What is it?"

    "Apparently he got someone pregnant."

    Immediately those words reached her ears, her eyes grew wide. ''She knows.''

    Zhang Liling could exactly pinpoint how Shi Wenqian came to find out about this news so soon, and this must mean that she could already guess the hint she gave to her at the dining room.

    Fortunately, the article has been published so she couldn''t even retract it no matter what.

    At most, she could just pay a good sum of money for the news to be taken down but by then, the harm will already be done.

    Just as she was about to rx, she heard Secretary Cha''s next words and froze in shock.

    "And she asked someone to take care of the girl."

    "What?" Zhang Liling felt as if her heart had frozen in her chest as her breathing hitched.

    She didn''t need to ask for more exnation for her to know what her stepmother was going to do.

    At the moment, it was finally dawning on her that her stepmother knew Mika''s identity, her rtionship with Mingyu and the baby involved.

    When did she find out about all of these?

    Suddenly, Zhang Liling was scared of Shi Wenqian.

    The woman was smart and catching up with her. Soon, she would find out about other things.

    Seeing that Zhang Liling seemed to know more about this matter, Secretary Cha turned around left as she was no longer needed.

    It took a while for Zhang Liling to snap out of her daze and picked up her phone to do the needful to find the contact she had cklisted a long time ago.

    Finding Zhang Mingyu''s contact, she gave him a call up to three times, but there was no response.

    As she couldn''t keep still, she phoned Fang Bingwen to tell him about it.

    "I don''t think there is much we can do. Shi Wenqian gave that instruction around 2 in the afternoon and this is a few minutes past 6. It will take a while for me to find Mika as I don''t know where she lives, but I will try."

    Getting a promise that may not yield results, Zhang Liling felt a bitter, but she couldn''t sit tight.

    Carrying the bowl of soup down the stairs as she had lost her appetite, she continued to try Zhang Mingyu''s number, but just then, she heard an ear piercing scream which was followed by a sound of things breaking.

    "She must have finally set her eyes on the article." She mumbled to herself.

    Turning her gaze around, she heard the sound of footsteps from a maning in from the entrance door.<novelnext></novelnext>

    While wondering who was back home at this time, she handed the bowl in her hand to a maid to send away as she remained standing in the hallway to wait for the person to appear.

    ''Zhang Mingyu.''

    Seeing the person she had been trying to reach, walk toward her with surprise stered on his face, the corner of her lips tugged downwards.

    "You are here? The other day is was Sister Xiaoling and today its you. Are you both having problems with your marriages at the same time for you to keeping here?"

    Folding her arms below her chest as he stopped in front of her, Zhang Liling retorted. "Was your stupid conclusion the reason you ignored my calls?"

    Sensing her anger, the smile on Zhang Mingyu''s face became more meaningful. "I was driving. I was going to return the call as soon as I settled in.

    Honestly, I was surprised to get a call from you, and I am even more shocked to see you waiting at home. Perhaps, did youe all the way here for my sake?"

    Seeing that he was still able to have fund and teaser her, Zhang Liling was sure that he was very ignorant of what was happening both with the articles and his mother''s ns.

    He was truly as ignorant as a new born baby.

    "You are right, I came all the way here for your sake. I came to make fun of you." Saying that to his face, she turned half of her attention to her phone and just then, they both heard something breaking from one of the rooms downstairs.

    "Is that my mother?" Zhang Mingyu asked with a look of confusion ncing past Liling''s face.

    "You are right. Wait until you see the reason."

    Knowing that he might want to go check his mother out, she stopped him by showing him the first page of the article published about him.

    "Now you know the reason she is screaming. You better not go anywhere near her."

    Finally, Zhang Mingyu understood the reason she said that she hade all the way to the house just for his sake.

    He was in the news... with Mika.

    Although thedy''s face wasn''t shown clearly, he knew that she was the one. Her outfit and her figure, he could recognize.

    Also, she was the only one he was going out with at the moment, and having been with her for a while, he could recognize her even if her face was blurred out.

    "H-How d-did this news get out?" His quivering lips uttered.

    He was too shocked that he could only utter those words.

    Right where she was standing, Zhang Liling could hear the sound of his heartbeats. ''He must be really scared.''

    Putting her phone away, she heard him say, "No, I must exin to mum. This marriage can''t be called off. S-She will help me."

    Knowing what was at stake with the news currently making rounds in the inte, he was going to go find his mother to beg for mercy and also ask for help, but Liling pulled his arm immediately.

    "Are you a fool? Should you be concerned about your wedding to the Ong family or about someone else?"

    Meeting his confused gaze, she questioned further as she reduced her tone.

    "Now that your mother knows about Mika and the child, what do you think she is going to do to her?"

    As soon as that question reached his ears, a few scenes from his mother''s factory started to y in his head.

    Although he wanted the child to be rid off, he didn''t want anything to happen to Mika because he truly liked her.

    Also, she didn''t do anything that would warrant him to let any harme to her. So without another word, he turned his back and quickly left while trying to get to Mika on phone.

    Seeing him leave the house, Zhang Liling believed that he was not at least heartless like his mother to not care about the life of someone that is close to him just because of some selfish interest.

    A little reassured, Zhang Liling left her room. If she hadn''t found out from Secretary Cha that Shi Wenqian already knew about Mika''s existence and pregnancy before she saw the article, she could have med herself for any harm that maye to that girl''s life.

    ***

    On his way driving to Mika''s ce, Zhang Mingyu began to wonder if she was the one that released that article to the public, but after recalling thest conversation he had with her and the agreement they reached, he changed his train of thoughts.

    Knowing Mika very well, he knew that she wouldn''t do anything that would short-change her.

    She would be running her life if she did something like that when she could lead a better life staying mute and doing the right thing.

 Chapter 447 Zhang Xiaolings Fear

    ~The Tang Family Residence~

    Returning home from work, Zhang Xiaoling was all tired and exhausted to the point that she felt dizzy.

    Stepping out of her car, she pulled off her heels and picked it up with one hand.

    Closing her car door, she locked the car and went inside the building with her bag in hand.

    Since she was feeling a little dizzy, she couldn''t afford to keep her image intact and probably exchange it with falling, so she had to walk into the house on barefoot.

    Thankfully, a maid saw her at the entrance and quickly arrange a pair of flip-flops for her.

    Extending her hand, Zhang Xiaoling handed her things to the mains before putting in the slippers. "Is my husband back?"

    "Not yet." Noticing her dull facial expression, the maid asked worriedly, "Ma''am, are you feeling unwell?"

    "I feel a bit dizzy. I just need to rest, what''s for dinner?" Xiaoling inquired while leading the way toward the stairs.

    For the first time in her life, she was feeling this weak and dizzy.

    The situation about her mother has made her so devastated and confused about her entire life.

    She was afraid of what would be the oue of her mother being exposed of her crimes in public. The Tang family would never want her, but what about her husband, Tang Ei?

    Since he made the first move for them to try and make their marriage work, she has started to genuinely like him, and she could tell that he cares for her, but her lies in something else.

    Did he care for her from the bottom of his heart, or was he doing that out of a sense of duty in order to make their marriage work?

    Whatever the answer was, Zhang Xiaoling couldn''t tell.

    If the matter about her mother gets out, surely, his mother would ask him to divorce her, but where would his stand be?

    Would he really abandon her because he will short-changed by being married to the stepdaughter of Zhang Renshu while being the true daughter of a criminal?

    At this point, Zhang Xiaoling didn''t know if she should pray for Shi Wenqian to be her true mother or if she should pray that she had no blood rtionship with her.

    Zhang Xiaoling was confused, nervous and afraid of what the result will be.

    Only if she had someone reliable to rely on during this period. Thinking about how Fang Bingwen supported Zhang Liling so much, she was a little jealous and wished that her rtionship with Tang Ei would be like that.

    In fact, all of this was her fault. Only if she hadn''t been greedy from the start, then her rtionship with her husband would have been very solid by now, but thinking about the beginning of their rtionship, she didn''t dare to have that trust yet.

    Letting out a deep sigh, she heard the sound of footsteps from the side and automatically turned her head toward that direction to see her mother-inw walking toward her with a magazine in her hand.

    "Good evening, Mum." She greeted and quickly turned her eyes to the flight of stairs before her.

    As she didn''t have the energy to sh with the woman, she had to quickly escape.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Watching the younger woman climbing the stairs in a hurry, Mrs. Tang stood at the same spot and watched her in awe.

    "Has she finally understood what fear is?" Sniggering, she walked toward the direction of the living area.

    Arriving at the second floor, Zhang Xiaoling finally sighed in relief because her stepmother wasn''ting after her.

    Taking her bag and shoes from the maid, she thanked her for the help before going into her bedroom.

    As soon as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, a long sigh escaped from her lips as hershes fluttered close.

    "I''m tired," she breathed.

    A few secondster, she walked straight into the inner room to change out of her clothes and to keep her bag and shoes in the shelf after taking out her phone and some important items from the bag.

    Putting a robe, she walked into the shower to wash away the day''s stress while not letting go of the thoughts of her standing.

    "I wish someone can tell me to stop thinking and that I will be safe." Sighing to herself, she turned on the shower and the water wash off the while soapther on her body.

    With worry filled in her heart and a lot of hormones in her body working against her, Zhang Xiaoling rushed to the toilet seat to throw up after covering herself with a bathrobe.

    *******

    On reaching the street Mika reached, Zhang Mingyu noticed that it was crowded ahead of him, plus there was an ambnce waiting.

    Afraid that something must have happened to the woman with his child, he parked his car and quickly got out to go toward the ambnce in fear.

    Right on time, he saw a young woman on the stretcher, but because of the small crowd, he couldn''t see the face very well, but he became certain on the identity of the woman when he noticed the clothes on her.

    Those were the same clothes Mika wore to work that day. If he hadn''t sighted her at thepany, he would have still been confused.

    Shocked and curious about her condition, he asked the old woman next to him.

    "Grandmother, what happened to her?"

    "The elevator wasn''t working so she took the stairs. But who knew she would slip and fall down. Omo! I heard that she sustained a lot of bruises and cuts. Poor girl!" The olddymented in pity.

    Five minutes after the ambnce left with Mika, Zhang Mingyu didn''t know how he found his way back to his car.

    Sitting on his driver''s seat, he felt his blood run cold.

    Was this really his mother''s doing?

    Almost, he doubted that his mother could do something like this, but immediately the scene from that secret building of hers yed in front of him, he couldn''t deny the possibility any longer.

    This seems like what his mother would do to get rid of the child that may stop his marriage with the daughter of the Ong family, after all, she had people to do the job for her.

 Chapter 448 Trouble With The Ong Family

    Right in the car as different thoughts were going through his head, the ringing sound from his phone went off, instantly jolting him back to reality.

    Picking up his phone, he saw the name calling and felt fear chill his bones. "Mum," he muttered under his breath.

    Watching the phone ring, he hesitated a bit before sliding his finger across the screen.

    As soon as the call connected, he heard her loud voice. "Where are you?!"

    Without waiting for his response, shemanded him toe back home immediately. "Make sure youe back home within the next twenty minutes!"

    The next moment, Zhang Mingyu who was still afraid, tried to hide his fidgeting his fingers before driving off.

    At this point, he was more scared of his mother than before because of what she had just done.

    A woman capable of murder without batting an eye, what more could he expect?

    Back at the Zhang Vi, Zhang Liling had already heard about that happened to Mika from Fang Bingwen who sent someone to check on her and was almost losing her mind.

    "Why don''t I just take a knife and stab her to deaths and end this madness once and for all?" Zhang Liling asked over the phone as she scattered her hair with her left hand.

    "That would be an easy death, and you will get into trouble. I don''t want anything to happen to you, so just stay there for the night ande back to me in the morning." Fang Bingwen said while trying to calm her down.

    He could already feel how angry and worked up she was with what just happened, and it has be very clear to him that not even a second should be wasted before Shi Wenqian would be shown her rightful ce.

    "Liling, don''t do anything out of anger. If you still feel very angry, I wille and get you tonight. Please try to stay calm. With the news blowing up, that Ong family wouldn''t sit at a ce."

    Of course, the Ong family would never allow their faces to be pped in such a disrespectful and open manner. They would want to call off the wedding.

    Understanding this fact, Zhang Liling instantly calmed down. "I will go downstairs and see what is happening. My father is back and the whole house in a mess."

    "Alright, go ahead. Call me if there is anything. I have met with your father''swyer and the conversation went down considerably well. The official divorce documents will be ready tomorrow."Mr. Fang revealed.

    Since he had promised to do this, he went out of hisfort zone to make sure that their ns were proceeding smoothly and quickly.

    It really was not easy to convince Zhang Renshu''swyer to do something outside of thew. It took a lot of time, brain and patience to get him to ride in the same boat.

    "Honey, I will call you at night when I''m sure that everyone has gone to sleep." Zhang Liling said before ending the call.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Slipping her phone inside the trouser of her pants pocket, she left her room and quickly walked down the stairs to see both adults on different calls while walking to and from in therge sitting area.

    "Take everything down this moment! I don''t care how much I have to pay. Yes! Mingyu will release a statement soon!" Shi Wenqian said over the phone while raising her voice.

    The woman who frequented the spa on a daily now looked like she had aged ten years down the line.

    On the other hand, Zhang Renshu was speaking with Mr. Ong over the phone, and from the conversation Zhang Liling could hear, it was very obvious that the other party was very furious and asking to call of the wedding.

    "Chairman Ong, we can''t just call off the wedding because of some rumours and manipted evidences." Zhang Renshu stated with a hand over his face.

    The man could barely keep himself sane with the crazy news about his son that also threatened his career circting on the inte.

    "What rumor? What fabricated evidences? Renshu, I have known you for a while, so you can''t fool me!" Mr. Ong raked angrily while mming his palm on the table in his living room.

    Sitting in the same space was his furious wife with their annoyed daughter asking him to call off the wedding.

    They could not be bothered with such exnation from the other side as they were very ashamed with their names being dragged in the mud.

    "Chairman Ong, things are not like that. You know we have so many enemies, and I''m sure all of them are looking for how to sabotage this wedding because of the great march between our two families!"

    Zhang Renshu refused to give up and tried to redeem himself and his family from the mess because from what he could see, the Ong family looked like they were going to call off the wedding.

    He couldn''t allow all of these efforts he has put into their rtionship toe to nothing. What about the money and the publicity for the wedding?

    This will be a great shame and embarrassment to the family if the wedding should be cancelled.

    While Zhang Renshu was still trying to speak to Mr. Ong, Zhang Mingyu returned home and slowly made his way to the living room where he saw Liling standing there and listen to their father continue to speak with someone over the phone.

    Seeing his father, all shred of confidence to try to confront his mother about what happened to Mika disappeared from his thoughts.

    If not that he was trying to stay sane, he would have fallen to the ground because seeing his father just cleared him in the kind of trouble he was in for.

    He got someone pregnant a few days to his wedding with the daughter of an influential family, has he gone mad?

    Just as he had closed in enough, Zhang Renshu who had seen him, ended the call, and without warning, he walked up to him and pped him hard on the side of his face.

 Chapter 449 Throwing Insults

    ''Paaaaahh!''

    That was the sound that escaped when Zhang Renshu''s palmsnded on Zhang Mingyu''s cheek.

    Instantly, the young man heard a buzzing sound in his ear as his palm immediately flew up to his face to soothe the pain he felt on his cheek.

    Zhang Liling who saw when the p clearly, felt satisfied because she has never seen an unserious human being like Zhang Mingyu before.

    He couldn''t stay at a ce without getting people in trouble. Sometimes, she wondered how he was raised.

    Normally in wealthy homes like hers, the only son of the family was suppose to be drilled, but unfortunately when it got to the Zhang family''s son, they skipped even the basics of the training.

    Well, Zhang Mingyu was Shi Wenqian''s son, so she couldn''t doubt his traits.

    She had indeed raised him at his finest.

    On the other hand, Shi Wenqian was taken aback by thep her son just received, but she quickly got herself because she had nned to do the same to him.

    His stupid and thoughtless mistake was almost costing her all her years of hard work.

    To what reason had she lived and worked hard for more than 24 years if it was not for this day''s sake?

    Was he trying to throw everything down the drain?

    She would kill him with her bare hands before he takes everything away from her.

    Zhang Mingyu was still hearing an annoying noise in his ears even after a few seconds had passed, but he dared not say a word otherwise the furious man still standing before him and contemting if he should hit him again, would surely not spare him.

    As Zhang Renshu''s chest rose and fell, he felt like killing that son of his, but there was something more important than it.

    He must settle things with the Ong family first before facing him.

    He was not yet done with teaching Zhang Mingyu a lesson as this p he gave to him was just a starter.

    Turning his head to the side, he met Shi Wenqian''s gaze.

    "I am going to the Ong''s residence now to do whatever I can to stop this wedding from crashing. In the meantime, make sure all the articles get taken down and a statement is put out there by this fool before I get to their ce." He instructed.

    Then turning to re at Zhang Mingyu who looked like he just lost his soul, he added, "You better pray that this works out otherwise, I will strangle you to death myself."

    Leaving that message and warning to both mother and son, Zhang Renshu stole a nce at Zhang Liling before stroding away in fury.

    Meeting his daughter, he was shocked seeing here there as he was not expecting her visit, but due to the emergency of the current situation, he didn''t have time to endorse her.

    Shi Wenqian watched as Zhang Renshu''s back quickly disappeared from their view, and it was only then that she got the chance to do what she had been aiming for.

    Looking at her son who didn''t seem to realize the situation he just put the whole family in, she walked over and without thinking it twice, she raised her left hand to p his right cheeks.

    ''Paaaaahh!''

    Seeing the angry gesture, Zhang Liling''s eyes flew open.

    The sound of this second p was even louder than the one Zhang Renshu gave to him.

    Was Shi Wenqian this angry?

    Liling never expected that she would one day hit this precious son of hers. So she was this furious?

    This must mean that the marriage between the Ong family meant a lot to her more than even her father if she were to think things properly.

    Shi Wenqian was very ambitious and power hungry, so she would only do anything that would profit her.

    "Mum!" Zhang Mingyu yelled as he held his right cheek as well.

    He was very shocked that his mother would hit him with that fierce look on her face.

    "Shut it!" Shi Wenqian said while staring daggers at him. "I dare you to raise your voice at me one more time and you will see if I won''t p the remaining life span out of you!"

    ''Wow!'' Zhang Liling muttered in surprise as she continued to watch the drama form the side.

    Seeing his mother''s anger, Zhang Mingyu even though he wanted to confront her about what happened to Mika, could only keep his mouth shut.

    Already, he was in a hot pot of boiling water, and he should be crying for mercy so he would be brought out instead of being used to make a soup.

    "Mingyu, you have to start questioning your life from this moment onwards and get some sense! How could you let your dirtyundry be aired in the news when you are about to marry ady from an influence family and be the next Chairman of Zhang Corp?"

    Pointing a finger at his chest, she continued to a old him.

    "Do you think your father will still find you worthy to handle the huge responsibility of carrying the entire Zhang Corp on your shoulder while he focuses on politics?!" She screamed in his ear, forcing him to take a step back.

    Since he was not allowed to retort, he could at least protect his eardrums from getting busted.

    He was too young to start using hearing aids.

    Seeing themotion ongoing about her father''spany, Zhang Liling couldn''t watch her stepmother continue to disy her greed as if she was not there.

    ''Wait a minute, does this woman think I''m deaf?''

    Picking offence with some of her statement, she broke her scolding.

    "Is all Zhang Mingyu''s being alive to sit on that Chair that belongs to the Chairman of Zhang Corp? You know, not everyone can sit on it."

    Hearing her voice from behind, Shi Wenqian left Zhang Mingyu and turned to face her.

    "I believe your opinion is never needed in this family anymore, especially when it has something to do with business. If you are done watching the drama you came here for, take your jobless tiny self back to your room!"

    "What!" Zhang Lilingpletely lost it with her. ''This woman is very rude.'' She realized as her eyes zed with fire.

    Watching that vile woman throw insults at her, she felt like running up to her to hit her a few times. She really felt like beating her up, but could she really do that?

 Chapter 450 Debunking The Rumours

    Although Zhang Liling was very pissed and felt like getting physical with her stepmother, she didn''t take any step forward.

    One, she would never want to hit an older woman who was of her mother''s age and secondly, Fang Bingwen had just told her to control her temper.

    "I would really appreciate it if you controlled your anger and thought carefully about my words instead of throwing insults at me and provoking me ssly. Who gave birth to Zhang Mingyu? Who raised him? Do you think your ns will work?"

    ring at the older woman, she turned her back to her and walked away while mumbling a few words to her hearing.

    "What a joke!"

    Shi Wenqian watched in anger as Zhang Liling stormed off. Clenching her fists, she said through gritted teeth, "Make sure you disappear from my sight tomorrow morning!"

    Taking a deep breath to calm her temper, she turned to face her silly son.

    "From today onwards, you are not allowed to step one foot out of this building. If you try me, you will lead Zhang Corps in a wheelchair!"

    "What about work?" Zhang Mingyu dared to ask while meeting her gaze. Actually, he didn''t know when he let that slip.

    Fortunately, he did not get hit on the face again because of it.

    "Work? You still dare to think about it after the mess you caused? It seems like you really want to die tonight." Shi Wenqian said while giving him a hard stare.

    Looking past his shoulder, he shouted for a few of the bodyguards toe over and in no time, about three of them appeared in the living room.

    Pointing at her son, she passed an instruction over his head.

    "Bundle him and bring him over to the sitting room upstairs. I have a job for him." Saying that, she led the way up the stairs while the men grabbed Zhang Mingyu''s arms.

    The young man was too shocked to react for almost a minute before he started to protest.

    It''s not like he couldn''t make his way up the stairs if he was asked to, so what was the need to maltreat him in order to take him up the stairs?

    No matter how he cried out, no one paid him in any attention and eventually, he had to respectfully quieten down after discovering how worse his situation was getting.

    It seemed even more embarrassing for him to continue to scream and watch the servants that passed by them murmur amongst themselves.

    In the living room, Shi Wenqian ordered for him to be dropped on a sofa.

    "Bring theptop, he has a video to record and send out for the word to see as soon as possible."

    Receiving her instruction, one of the bodyguards bowed and returned 2 minutester with aptop.

    As everything had been prepared for the video recording to start, Shi Wenqian sat on the sofa across from Zhang Mingyu and folded her arms below her chest.

    "You have 20 seconds to make a video that will convince everyone, including the Ong family that you never got another woman pregnant. Make sure you also state that you have been single since your marriage with the Ong family daughter was announced. Don''t forget to debunk the rumours surrounding that photo."

    Shi Wenqian was not going to write, or make anyone write a script for her son to follow, she even made sure that he would be unfit to get the normal treatment of he failed something as simple as that.

    Since she didn''t want to threaten his shares and leadership role in Zhang Corps as she was going to take it away from him, she had to use something else.

    Having made her instruction known to him, she turned to the men in ck. "I need a good cane for punishment. I would be hurting myself if I use my hands on him again."

    Instantly, Zhang Mingyu, sprang up from the sofa.

    Was he going to be beaten by his mother if he doesn''t record the video right? Did she think he was still a child?

    Without thinking much, he raised his voice at her and while that was going on, he felt a sharp pain on his face.

    Apparently, he had been pped by one of the bodyguards who received a signal from his mother to shut him up.

    "Mum!" He screamed while holding the side of his face.

    Shi Wenqian who was sitting and observing everything sniggered. "I bet you haven''t seen this side of your mother before. If you don''t want to get hurt and disgraced any further, you will have to fulfill all my demands." Pointing at the sofa, she added, "Now, sit down and get started."

    Never had Zhang Mingyu been treated in this manner before. Could this be a dream?

    No matter how short he thought about it, he couldn''t believe that he would one day receive this kind of treatment.

    He couldn''t even hold count of how many times he felt like acting out since that level of embarrassment, but one thing still kept him sane.

    He has seen the worst side of his mother, and that was the scene at that warehouse looking home.

    If she could profit from killing a human being, was beating the hell out of him then a big deal?

    ***

    ~Three Hours Later~

    The rumours on the inte change course after the video of Zhang Mingyu debunking the rumours about him getting another woman pregnant, and the Ong family releasing a statement.

    In the video that Zhang Mingyu put online, he followed his mother''s lead by denying that he was still seeing someone after his family and the Ong''s came together. Heter stated that he didn''t get anyone pregnant and that picture that was released was an old picture from hisst rtionship.

    He also said that the rumour on the inte was baseless as there was no proof.

    Zhang Mingyu didn''t forget to spark a spection that someone was trying to harm him a few days to his wedding...

    More than an hour after Zhang Mingyu''s video was released, the Ong family released a statement concerning their stance.

    To most of theizen''s surprise, they debunked the rumour and pushed forward the wedding without giving the new date.

    ording to them, they would hate to alert their public enemy to keep everything safe.

    Seeing the posts, Zhang Liling was very pissed.

    "Are you kidding me!" She cursed angrily, almost smashing her phone.

 Chapter 451 Worth Or Not Worth It

    p¨¤§ád¨¢-¨¾?¦Í¨º¦É.§ã¨®§® "Are the Ong''s fools?!"

    Zhang Liling was already fuming from seeing a part of the verdict, worth more of what her reaction would be when she learns the deeper part and consequences of Zhang Mingyu''s actions.

    Unknown to her, a dead deal has been made between the Zhang and the Ong''s.

    "How did Dad manage to convince them to change their mind ande out to proof their foolishness?"

    While Zhang Liling was still fuming at a certain family''s ratty behaviour, she got a call from Mr. Fang.

    "Honey, are you seeing what is going on?" She immediately spoke into the phone without giving a chance.

    At the other end of the phone, Fang Bingwen could sense her great displeasure and began to rethink of the reason he had called in the first ce.

    ''Should I let her know or not?''

    "I have seen the news, but we don''t have time for that. I have a good and a bad news, which shoulde first?" He asked, letting her hold the key to her first andst reaction after their conservation for the night.

    Hearing that abrupt question from him, Zhang Liling was immediately silenced. Somehow, she could feel that all was not well.

    She could feel that the good news would probably not be strong and effective enough to cover up the bad news, so her breathing slowed.

    Taking a few seconds to think and make up her mind, hershes fluttered close.

    "Good news first." She said, making her choice atst.

    Since the good news wouldn''t have much effect after hearing the bad first, there was no need to feel bad through out so she could just hear the good news first and feel happy for a minute before ushering in the bad news that could possibly keep her awake all through the night.

    Hearing her decision, Fang Bingwen spilled without holding back. "We have found a way to sneak in the divorce documents and make your father and Shi Wenqian sign them without fail."

    "Wow! That is indeed a good news. I haven''t heard something nice about this goal since I''ve been upset. This is a good way to cool of for about a few seconds."

    Letting out a deep sigh, she got ready to hear the bad news.

    "Now tell me the ugly news." She demanded.

    "Your father asked hiswyer to prepare the documents for share transfer and being it to him tomorrow." Mr. Fang revealed, and immediately as predicted, Zhang Liling reacted badly.

    "What! Is he mad? How can he hand over half of his shares to Zhang Mingyu just so they Ong family will not call off the wedding? Is he thinking straight?!" She red up.

    Never did Liling think that her father would go down to this miserable level. What was so special about Zhang Mingyu that he would want to make a huge sacrifice like this?

    It''s not like the young man was intelligent, smart or wise. Most times, he does not do a good job, so why on earth was her father so bent on making him the sessor of Zhang Corp?

    Has he run out of ideas?

    If she didn''t know better, she would have thought that Shi Wenqian had pillow-talked him, but apparently, that wasn''t possible.

    Letting her catch her breath, Fang Bingwen revealed further. "The wedding is in three days. Also, I made a few suggestion to thewyer for the document for the file transfer to be valid, and also the perfect way to get your father and that woman divorced perfectly without any hitches."

    No matter what Mr. Fang said, Zhang Liling was still bitter about her father''s decision.

    After the call with him ended, she decided to head downstairs to await her father''s return.

    Surprisingly, as soon as she made her way downstairs, her father walked into the house and went straight to the living area where Shi Wenqian was sitting and waiting for him.

    Immediately she saw him, she quickly rose her feet with her eyes smiling not too much. "I saw the statement the Ong family made after Mingyu''s video went up. How did you convince them to not cancel the wedding?"

    It was at this moment that Zhang Renshu caught sight of Zhang Liling was slowly stepping with her not-so-good facial expression fixed on him.

    Taking his eyes off her, he went to take a seat and spilled the truth.

    "I promised to give Mingyu half of mypany shares tomorrow."

    The moment those words entered Shi Wenqian''s ears, her eyes shone brightly like a fluorescent bulb.

    "What? Do you mean what you''re saying?" She queried, just to be sure that he wasn''t pulling her legs.

    As you knowing, she didn''t want to rejoice over nothing.

    Although she was happy, Zhang Renshu''s expression turned for the worse. "Have I ever cracked a joke with you before?"

    He didn''t to be in his best mood so, he went straight to reveal the next information without giving her a break.

    "The wedding is in three days. Start tidying up everything." Having made this information known, he ignored the glee on the greedy woman''s face and got to his feet.

    But just before he could walk away, he met face to face with Zhang Liling who had been watching and listening to the entire conversation from the side.

    "Dad, are you telling me that Zhang Mingyu is worth this endangering sacrifice you are about to make?" Liling asked while giving him a stare from the corner of her eyes as she folded her arms below her chest.

    Listening to the question posed at him, Zhang Renshu was quiet for two seconds before giving an answer. "He does not worth this sacrifice, but I will surely take care of loose ends."

    Aware that her father was making this foolish mistake to save his face from the public, his political career and to stop his stocks from plummeting a bit, she was deeply disappointed.

    "Is this all you can say to justify this costly mistake of letting an incapable child rule over your sweat, blood, time and money invested Empire?"

    "Zhang Liling! Cut your crap!" Shi Wenqian scolded from the side.

    How could she sit and watch that little girl try to talk her husband out of a very good n to solidify her worth to the Zhang family?

    She would rather turn deaf that listen and not be able to stop her.

    Seeing that Shi Wenqian had stepped in, Zhang Renshu marched forward, choosing not to render any more exnation to his angry daughter.

 Chapter 452 His Support, Her Backbone

    Hearing that annoying woman''s outburst, Zhang Liling turned to face her. "Hold your peace, you greedy riffraff!"

    "What? Are you insulting me to my face?" Shi Wenqian asked unbelievably as she closed in on her.

    "Yes, and what can you do about it?" Liling dared while maintaining her stance and rolling her eyes.

    At this point, Shi Wenqian felt like the clock ticking in her heart was subdued, but then again, she let herself breath as the thought of the good side of the beneficial deal.

    "I almost forgot that you have the right to rant all you want after what was supposed to belong to you was given to another person." Letting her gaze move from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet and back to her face, she continued.

    "I will let your madness slide just for this night but after tonight, get ready to be treated like a sparrow, and then follow up by withering like a flower without care. I, Shi Wenqian will make sure of that."

    Hearing her promise, Zhang Liling scoffed. "It will be much more preferable if my father hands over his entirepany to an unborn child, than give it to your worthless son."

    Blinking her eyes in an annoying way, she smiled in contempt. "Have a bad night filled with nightmares, you shameless home wrecker!"

    Satisfied with the insults she mmed on her stepmother, Liling turned and walked away as quickly as possible.

    Staying any second longer would have caused her to lose her cool and get physical.

    She was on her period, and that meant that she was leaning more toward her emotion rather than her wisdom.

    If she gets into a physical fight with Shi Wenqian, she may end up ruining some of their ns, hence, she had to ''run'' away.

    Seeing her scooting away, Shi Wenqian took it that she was afraid of her and had to leave quickly.

    Clenching her fingers as she watched her back quickly disappear from her sight, Shi Wenqian cursed under her breath.

    "B*tch! I promise you won''tst nothing more than a day after Mingyu''s wedding. You will be my first project as soon as the celebration is over!"

    Meaning every word she said, she picked up her phone to make a few calls.

    To the person she called, she made and inquiry and also gaze an instruction.

    "How is that girl I asked you to take care of? Did she lose the baby?''

    The person at the other end replied, "A pool of blood pulled underneath her and I made sure she was unconscious before leaving the site. Her child shouldn''t have survived the turbulence."

    "Good. I need you to take care of someone from the evening of my son''s wedding which is in three days time, over to the next day. It shouldn''t be any longer than 24 hours!"

    ***

    ~Tang Family Residence~

    Returning from work, Tang Ei made his way straight to his bedroom where he met Zhang Xiaoling pacing about.

    "Is everything alright?" Slowly putting down his work briefcase, he inquired as his gaze came to rest on her face.

    Hearing his question, Zhang Xiaoling seemed to assemble her thoughts. ''When did hee in?''

    She had been so lost in thought that she failed to hear the footsteps and the closing of door.

    "I think I''m just a little tensed with some issues at home. I have been restless for a while now, so I should get better soon." She answered and then went to take over his briefcase, but he held her hand down.

    Fixing his gaze on her face, he inquired, "Are you afraid of my mother scolding you with the news about your brother making rounds on the inte?"

    ''Huh?'' Zhang Xiaoling looked a little lost when she heard his question.

    She hadn''t even thought toward that area because all that has been on her mind, was the DNA results she was going to see in a few hours, nothing much.

    Although she had seen the news about Zhang Mingyu as Liling had sent her the news article, she wasn''t that troubled.

    She was only interested in the ''truth'' that could disce her lifepletely.

    Thinking that he had caught her thoughts, Tang Ei smiled a little and took her hands while leading her to sit on the foot of the bed.

    "I have told you several times that you don''t have to bother about my mother or my family''s opinion of you in regards to whatever your family does. You are you, and they are they. You shouldn''t be held ountable for whichever thing anyone that is afflicted to you, does. You should stand your ground with this."

    "Really? I am allowed to defend myself?" Zhang Xiaoling probed.

    Since when did she be a softie that anyone could walk over?

    What was the reason for her weakness?

    "Of course! Everyone has the right to defend themselves. If anyone makes a point about why they are right, you should give your own points of you feel you are right." Tang Ei advised.

    Listening to him say these words of endearment, Zhang Xiaoling''s tensed nerves softened as she finally new his stance.

    ''Could this mean I will be safe when the ''truth'' gets out?'' She thought to herself.

    *******

    As early as 5 the next morning, Zhang Liling who had a restless lonely night, freshened up, picked up her things and left, while avoiding having breakfast with the rest of the family.

    Since she already knew that her stepmother was not going to give her a breathing space at the dining table by probably repeatedly talking about Zhang Corps shares and Zhang Mingyu''s wedding, she had to save her peace of mind.

    She would hate for any word from her enemy to ruin her blessed morning. Also, her eyes would finally see the DNA results that would make or mar all their ns.

    On her way leaving the Zhang Residence with the driver Mr. Fang sent to her the previous day, she cried out in her heart.

    ''Mum, can you not make this silly mistake of letting a woman like Shi Wenqian win in the next life?''

 Chapter 453 Too Nervous To Eat

    On her way home, Zhang Liling put a call to Zhang Xiaoling.

    "If you want to see the results, please make a trip down to my house. I am on my way already."

    As soon as Liling finished speaking, she cut off the conversation.

    "Why does she sound mad?" Zhang Xiaoling mumbled to herself as she went back to brushing her hair.

    Last she remembered, she was at the Zhang mansion, so what could have happened over there?

    Shaking the thoughts away, she continued to take care of her hair and when she was done, she used her perfume before picking up her bag. Just then, Tang Ei walked out of the bathroom.

    "Are you leaving for work this early?" He inquired as his gaze ran down her.

    "I have to stop by and meet my step-sister at her ce before going straight to work." Xiaoling replied while managing a smile.

    "Won''t you wait to have breakfast first?" he asked.

    These days, if he was not with her, she wouldn''t go down to have breakfast because his mother would always say something to annoy her.

    "No. I don''t want to eat otherwise I will throw up. But as the day bes brighter, I will feel better and then eat. I have to leave now, bye."

    She was going to see the DNA results that could change her life, how could she bear to eat? She was already nervous as it was, plus she was not feeling okay, so she wouldn''t definitely throw up.

    It was better to avoid anything that would put her in soup.

    "Call me if there is anything." He said after her.

    "Okay."

    Going straight to the garage, she got into her car and drove off towards the direction leading to Zhang Liling and Fang Bingwen''s ce.

    Fortunately, Liling had texted her the address so she could find her way by herself.

    ***

    Arriving at the small vi that belonged to her and Mr. Fang, Zhang Liling quickly got off the car and without caring about her luggage, she walked into the house.

    "Honey!" She called out as she stepped a foot into the house.

    "Here I am. Wee back!" Mr. Fang replied as he emerged from the living room. Spreading his arms for her, he waited till she ran into them, before wrapping his arms around her.

    Knowing she was going to leave her father''s house early, he got up on time, freshened up and came down to the living room to wait for her.

    "Your embrace is so warm! I missed it!" Liling cried as she tightened her hold on him and ced the side of her face on his chest.

    Before leaving that house, she didn''t remember to put her make-up on, so his printed shirt was safe from being stained.

    "You smell so nice. I missed your scent!" Sheined as she sniffed the area around his neck like a dog searching for food.

    Smiling in content, Fang Bingwen replied while patting her back gently, "I missed you more. Imagine that I had to sleep on that big bed andrge room alone. And also your scent that usually puts me to sleep. Next time, I won''t allow you to run off alone."

    "Yes, please, don''t let me leave by myself again." Liling said as hershes fluttered close.

    How much she missed her backbone, the only man she trusted. Having him around her, always gave her the confidence that she could achieve anything.

    This is the sole reason she became very confident about getting rid of her stepmother. If she dared to dream big about getting him to enter her life, then she dared to do any other thing with him by her side because she was sure that she could fall back to him when she became tired of fighting her enemies alone.

    He was her resting ce.

    After an endearing unification, they released their hold on each other.

    "Did you have the time to eat? I doubt that. Come, I have something prepared for you." Taking her hand, Mr. Fanged her to the dining area with a smile.

    He didn''t care if she was going to reject eating or not because he would only ept one answer, and that was the fact that she was willing to eat.

    "I think I''m going to have indigestion if I eat anything now. My stomach is still upset." Zhang Liling replied and she followed him.

    Knowing that she would try to resist him, he was not moved.

    "I know you are nervous about the test results, but nothing new will show up, so eat first so we can get started on business. We have a lot of things to wrap up before 10 this morning. So Sweetie, try to eat."

    Taking her to the dining room, he pulled out a chair for her.

    "I had the chef prepare something simple for you. Don''t worry, there will be some tea to aid in digestion. You have lost some weight from spending a night at that house. My heart aches for you."

    Taking a seat for himself, Mr. Fang unveiled the food and proceeded to serve her as she watched him with glee.

    "Since when did your heart start to ache when you don''t see me for a night? Do you love me so much now?" Zhang Liling asked with a smile.

    Before they got married, she has always know that she was the one that loved more in their rtionship, but she was sad about it.

    She was the one that pursued him first and eventually proved that he could spend the rest of his life with her, so she was very considerate about his feeling and reactions to her.

    "If I don''t love you so much, how would I have been able to tolerate your excesses? You know, you can be a handful at times?" Fang Bingwen said and then forced a piece of sandwich he cut with his cutlery I to her mouth to stop her from responding.

    "You should regain your strength and get ready for work." He said, changing the topic immediately.

    Surprised with his next move, Liling could only chew the bread in her mouth. When she was done swallowing it, she picked up the sandwich in her te.

    "I sent our address to Zhang Xiaoling, she would be here soon." She revealed.

    "Then we have to finish up quickly. We don''t want to keep anyone waiting." Mr. Fang stated.

 Chapter 454 The DNA Results Revealed

    Some minutester, Zhang Xiaoling drove into Fang Bingwen''s residence.

    ''This is where they leave?'' She thought to herself as she parked her car and stepped out with her handbag and phone in hand.

    Letting out a deep sigh, she braced herself for what she was about to witness next before making her way toward the entrance.

    Ringing the bell, the door was opened up for her in no time.

    "You are here," Zhang Liling greeted while stealing a quick nce at her looks.

    "I have to." Zhang Xiaoling replied before stepping inside.

    Shutting the door behind them, Zhang Liling led her to the living room and offered her a seat.

    Zhang Xiaoling sat down and took a moment to look around her environment, before letting her gaze rest on her face.

    "Have you seen the results for yourself yet?" She inquired.

    "I haven''t even set my eyes on the envelope, but my husband will bring it in a few minutes." Zhang Liling replied with a small smile. pping her hands she released a breath.

    ''She looks really tensed.'' She observed. "Would you like anything to drink?" She offered.

    Immediately, Zhang Xiaoling replied, "Water to take my calming pills, thank you."

    ''She is really nervous.'' Liling concluded and then called for a servant to bring a ss of water and some gummy bears.

    When the items were ced before Xiaoling, she looked a little confused as her brows constricted into a frown.

    Knowing the reason for her confusion, Liling quickly exined. "Eating some gummy bears can help calm your nerves."

    For her, eating sweet things helped her whenever she was tensed, so she would rmend it to her for a trial.

    Wasting no second, Zhang Xiaoling went ahead to take her pills before picking a piece of the gummy bear on the te without inquiring how she knew about her emotional state.

    One thing she was sure, is that she could not hide her emotions anymore.

    Two minutester as the step sisters sat in the same space in awkward silence, Fang Bingwen walked in with a big yellow envelope in his hands.

    "Good morning, Mr. Fang." Zhang Xiaoling greeted while remaining seated.

    "Good morning," he replied as he went to take a seat next to Liling.

    "As we all know, this is the DNA tests resultsparing 3 individuals. I''m going to unseal the envelope now." Saying that, he put his phone down and went on to remove the seal on the envelope before taking out the three in white papers.

    Instantly, Liling and Xiaoling''s breathing hitched as they impatiently waited in anticipation.

    "The first result I have here is a paternity test between Mr. Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu. At the end of the long medicalnguage written here,"

    Mr. Fang continued as his gaze moved to the button of the page... "There is only a 1.1222% chance of Mr. Zhang being the father of Zhang Mingyu therefore, paternity is hereby Excluded."

    "I knew it!" Zhang Liling eximed. She wasn''t Surprised with this ruling since she had gotten the clue a long time ago.

    At the other side, Zhang Xiaoling was not that shocked because her mother was more than a liar, but she couldn''t help but to break down a little.

    How could she dare tomit an atrocity like this? She brought in another man''s child as Zhang Renshu''s for more than 25 years?!

    Regardless, Zhang Mingyu was still her half-brother until prove otherwise with the next result announcement.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling has gotten the proof that Zhang Mingyu had no rtionship eih her and the Zhang family.

    After reading the first result out to them, Fang Bingwen handed it to Liling to take a look and then hand it to Xiaoling after.

    He waited patiently until they had seen the result with their own eyes and returned it to him before going over to the next result in his hands.

    "The next one is a DNA test between Mrs. Zhang Wenqian and Zhang Mingyu."

    Again, he let his eyes travel down to the bottom of the page, skipping the bignguage.

    "There is a 0.343% chance..."

    "Oh my goodness!" Zhang Xiaoling covered her face and adjusted her sitting position.

    She was shocked, and Zhang Liling was marvelled by Shi Wenqian''s audacity.

    "Zhang Mingyu is not her child? Hahaha... This woman has a lot of guts. Where did she bring him from? Don''t tell me she snatched some random woman''s son!"

    Zhang Liling couldn''t keep calm. It would have been better if her former half-brother turned out to be her son because What''s with the result?

    How crazy and vicious was she?

    This was the height of it!

    This result alone made Zhang Xiaoling more impatient than ever as she couldn''t wait to hear thest result after seeing the second one wig her eyes.

    Handing the paper back to Fang Bingwen, she returned to her seat.

    It just remained a little for her to clutch her chest. She was that shocked and helpless at the moment.

    ''What if she is not my birth mother? What if she separated me from my real parents just like she did with Mingyu?'' Thinking to this extent, she felt her intelligence and good manners fail her.

    Without wasting another minute, Fang Bingwen showed thest test result to them. Fixing his gaze on Zhang Xiaoling, he sought her permission. "Mrs. Tang, do you permit me to read this one out, or do you want to take it with you?"

    Hearing that question directed at her, Xiaoling lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Please, go ahead."

    What was the use of being secretive at thisst part? It''s not like could read the results herself because as it is, her five senses were failing her.

    She was so tensed that she quickly grabbed some of the gummy bears and put it inside her mouth.

    Receiving her permission, Mr. Fang proceeded to read to result.

    At the end, it was proven that she was indeed Shi Wenqian''s biological child.

    She was the only one whose identity was notpromised.

 Chapter 455 Zhang Lilings Advice

    "Shi Wenqian is indeed my biological mother?" Zhang Xiaoling questioned, with no one in mind.

    She seemed a little lost with negative thoughts fuelling her emotions.

    On the other hand, Zhang Liling couldn''t understand her reaction. Staring at her, she probed, "Did you not want her to be your biological mother?"

    Hearing that question, Xiaoling lifted her gaze. "I just cannot believe that I was indeed her only true child yet, she treated Mingyu better than me. She was never concerned about my challenges. She would only help out when she had some benefits to rip."

    "Then you really do not know who your mother is. The woman I know, will only ''love'' and wholeheartedly support anyone that will bring her the biggest benefits, so in your case, Zhang Mingyu has more to offer to her than you."

    Letting out a soft sigh, Liling continued, "Marrying into a wealthy family like the Tangs, was where your limit reached. With that rich inw, your mother would use that connection to enrich her status. So your worth has been established, unlike Zhang Mingyu who will bring her something more than a wealthy inw."

    "What other benefit can she rip from Mingyu getting married to Ong''s daughter apart from wealthy inws?" Zhang Xiaoling asked as she adjusted her sitting position with keen interest.

    "Don''t tell me you don''t know that." Liling looked disappointed that her once smart step-sister that was good with her job at thepany couldn''t think straight anymore.

    Was she that shocked by the DNA results unveiling?

    Regardless, she went ahead to exin things to her without bothering the man that was sneaking away to give them space.

    "Seeing how your mother went all the way to bring a fake son into the Zhang family, the number one reason would have been to secure her position, and the second reason was to get her hands on thepany shares. This is also the very reason this wedding is still happening."

    Speaking about the wedding, Xiaoling who had no idea how their parents were able to convince the Ong family to go to the wedding after the scandal, inquired about it. And when she got the details, she didn''t know what to think.

    But for the first time, she thought that her stepfather was indeed a fool.

    "I don''t know how my father missed getting a DNA test done when Zhang Mingyu was born, but there is something I''m more interested in. Was your mother actually pregnant back then?"

    Zhang Liling was very disturbed about this because her mother had told her that Shi Wenqian was pregnant back then, and that was the only reason she had called off the wedding.

    So, what happened along the line?

    Listening to Liling''s doubts, Xiaoling hurriedly straightened her thoughts. "If you want to hear the truth, then take this fact from me. My mother was actually pregnant back then. I had seen her bare baby bump on several asions.

    I can also attest to the fact that my mother had gone intobour while your father was away for a business trip. She kept screaming until the car drove away. I was still young, so I was left at home to be taken care of by the servants."

    Recalling the incident from the past that she couldn''t forget in a hurry because of how iconic the scene was, Zhang Xiaoling revealed things as it was.

    "If that is so, there could be only one answer. Your mother lost her biological son during childbirth and came home with another woman''s child." Liling analysed while meeting her gaze.

    A moment of silence in the spacious living area as both women continued to exchange nces with the same thought going on in their heads.

    After the two bad bloods trying to get into one fitting finished their conversation, a deep sigh escaped from Zhang Xiaoling''s lips.

    "I suggest you take care of yourself because things will not be easy for you from now onwards. The public wouldn''t want to know if you are innocent or not before attacking you. If your husband truly loves you, he will do his best to protect you. And on this note, I suggest you let him know what''s going on before the truthes out, that way you will gain his trust."

    With several thoughts going on in her head as nervousness set in, Zhang Xiaoling got up to leave with Liling making the effort to walk her to her car.

    "I see you are dressed for work, but I suggest you don''t go because you won''t be in the right state of mind to work." Leaving thest heartfelt suggestion with her, Liling stood at a spot and watched her drive away before walking into the house.

    Taking the stairs, she went straight to the study to find Fang Bingwen.

    Seeing her walk through the doors, he inquired, "Has she left?"

    "Yes." Taking a seat before him, she added, "I do pity her, and I''m sure she is worried about being left all alone once the crisis sets."

    "She will be fine," Mr. Fang said while looking at her. "You will make sure of that."

    After a few seconds of silence, Liling shifted the topic. "What''s next on the agenda."

    Hearing her question, he pointed at the big brown envelope that contained the DNA results. "You will hand this over to your father tomorrow just before the police arrive to take Shi Wenqian away."

    "The police? Have you made a report already?" Liling inquired.

    "I just made one now. I will be going out in a few minutes to hand over all the pieces of evidence in my hands to themissioner so that investigations can start today itself. By tomorrow morning, they should have at least ticked off a few things on the list so they cane with an arrest warrant."

    Fang Bingwen was very serious with his task and so would not allow for there to be any mistakes.

    Shi Wenqian needed to be arrested a day before the wedding which was the following day.

 Chapter 456 Spilling The Truth

    A few minutester, Fang Bingwen left the house with a few things in his hands. He was going to meet themissioner to tie the loose ends of this particr huge goal of theirs.

    "Be safe! Call me when everything is settled." Zhang Liling said before he closed the car door.

    "I will. Just go back inside and wait for me. Don''t leave the house without telling me. I am afraid that Shi Wenqian will not only be busy swarmed up with thest minute wedding preparations." He advised.

    He couldn''t rule out the possibility of that wench attacking his wife since she feels that everything wasing to her with ease.

    Nodding her head obediently, she watched the car drive away before going back into the house.

    "Mum, is still sleeping by this time." She murmured to herself after checking the time on her phone. She still wanted to check with her about Zhang Mingyu''s DNA results from before as she had heard something important from her before.

    But too bad she wasn''t paying that much attention before.

    Because if the time difference between her country and Paris, she needed to exercise a little patience before making a call to her mother.

    But for the time being, she would just focus on her business.

    She had the FJ''s Style fashion show to coborate with, and attend very soon.

    Since she couldn''t leave the house yet until her stepmother and her minions were apprehended, she could work from home.

    ***

    At the other end, as Zhang Xiaoling left Fang Bingwen and Zhang Liling''s ce, she didn''t head to work immediately.

    She was tired, nervous, worried and restless.

    Thinking back to Zhang Liling''s advise, she contemted hard on it before deciding to make a call to her husband.

    It was better she did her best to be truthful and at the end things don''t workout, than for her to be caught guilty red in hand.

    After taking a in a deep breath, she connected her phone to her car''s Bluetooth before giving Tang Ei a call.

    On the first ring, the call was answered.

    "Hey! Have you gotten to thepany already?" Tang Ei inquired.

    Hearing the concern in his voice, Xiaoling held back her tears. Sniffing, she wiped her painful nose as she chose to ignore his question.

    Trying her best to keep her brain afloat, she asked instead with her eyes on the road. "Whatever will happen from today onwards, will you overlook it and still be with me?"

    It took almost a minute for Tang Ei to respond. He was confused. ''Where was thating from?''

    After taking a little time to contemte on her question, he asked, "Is there disturbing you? Why are you suddenly speaking this way, what is it?"

    For the past few days, he could tell that there had been some changes around her, but he had thought that it was just her not feeling fine like she said to him.

    But from the way she spoke now, he could tell that there was something deep bothering her. Did his mother say something to her when he wasn''t looking?

    "A lot of things has been going on around for the past few days, and I think I''m going to be swallowed up by it. I am so sick and tired of it all that I just want to disappear!" Zhang Xiaoling cried out as tears began to flow from her eyes.

    Was she crying? At this point, she didn''t even know that she had left her emotions out running.

    As soon as her words reached his ears, he became rmed. "Where are you? Tell me where you are, and I wille get you." He said immediately.

    Looking around her surroundings, She answered, "I don''t know where I am. I''ve been driving absentmindedly for some time now, but I think I''m almost out of the city."

    "What do you see around you? Check the signboards. Also, share your GPS with me. Look for a good ce, to park and I will be there soon." He promised.

    Half an hourter, Tang Ei arrived at a local restaurant that was between the city border and a local town.

    As soon as he caught sight of her car, he sighed in relief.

    Parking his own car next to hers, he went into the restaurant to find her.

    Fortunately the restaurant was not so big, so once he stepped into it and turned to his left side, he saw Xiaoling sitting beside the window, lost in deep thought.

    Stopping in front of the table, he called out to her with less worry visible on his face. "Xiaoling."

    Hearing his voice from up close, Xiaoling raised her gaze to meet his. "You are here." She said with a red rimmed eyes.

    Sitting from across her, he asked first, "Have you eaten?"

    "Yes, I ate at Liling''s ce." She revealed.

    "You went there?" Now, he was ready to hear about they has been bothering her.

    "Now that I look at you properly, you seem to have lost a lot of weight. Your eyes have sulked inside. You don''t look well. What has been eating up your mind these past few days?" He inquired.

    Seeing her outside their home, has made him to notice slot of things and now, he didn''t think he would ever leave without knowing the reason she ended up in that state.

    Detecting the huge worry on his face, she stammered for a bit but getting a push from him to speak, she made up her mind. For better for worse.

    Looking him in the eyes, she yed with her fidgeting fingers which didn''t go unnoticed by him.

    "My mother, is not whom she really appears to be and in two days, her mask will be taken away. By then, nobody would want me anymore because I will be tagged the daughter of a criminal and a fraudster. Unfortunately, she is my biological mother so I can''t escape the curses from everyone. They would alle for me and I wish I were dead. My stepfather would probably throw me out after my mother''s betrayal is revealed. Also, your family would want nothing to do with me. And you, I don''t know if you will still be able to look at me in the same light."

 Chapter 457 Approach

    The more Tang Ei listened, the more confused he became hence, he had to take her hands in his. Looking deeply into her eyes, he begged for the full exnation.

    Wiping the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand, Xiaoling sniffed before going on to reveal everything about her mother, the findings and the n to take her out, leaving him more shocked than he already was.

    There were definitely other revtions that was shocking to the ears, but that may not be able to beat the possibility of one''s mother-inw being a top notch organ trafficker who has been faking her way up thedder a these while

    To top it all, she was involved in a paternity fraud. The wedding with the Ong family will be cancelled, his own Tang family will be dragged into the mess.

    It seems like that media will be very busy for a few months.

    Unknown to him, Zhang Liling would never want the matter to be blown up for many important reasons.

    She had her own personal reasons, otherwise, she would want nothing more than to drag Shi Wenqian''s name in the mud because she deserved at least that much.

    While Tang Ei was list in a deep confused devastated thought, Zhang Xiaoling was fighting back throwing up whatever she had in her guts due to apprehension.

    The next minute, the owner of the restaurant who saw her acting up again, brought over a cup of hot water again.

    Bringing it to their table, she startled them both. cing the cup in front of her, she said, "You should have asked for more hot water if you were still not feeling better. Drink it up so you won''t feel like throwing up again."

    Leaving Xiaoling with that message, she sighed and walked away.

    "You threw up before I came? Are you that disturbed?" Tang Ei inquired. And the next second, he felt s little stupid for asking that question since her reaction was not uncalled for.

    Letting out a sigh, he gestured for her to drink up the water which she did.

    As soon as she dropped the cup, he stopped keeping her waiting regarding his opinion and his stance in the waring up plus the revtion as he knew she was waiting for his response.

    *****

    ~Paris~

    Song Jujing was sitting in her office when someone knocked and walked into her office.

    "Ma''am, your application has been approved. This is a letter from the board." Thedy said while passing the envelope to her.

    "They sure took their time," Song Jujing said in passing. Taking the envelope from her, she inspected the document with a stamp on it. "Finally." She eximed.

    Lifting her gaze, she said to the young woman before her, "Thank you. You can leave now, I will take care of things on this end."

    "Alright, Ma''am." The other woman said before turning to leave.

    Just then, the phone on Song Jujing''s desk started to ring. Lifting it to her eye level, her brows furrowed.

    The number calling her wasn''t saved on her phone, so she was reluctant to save it.

    ''Why do all these numbers keep ringing on my phone, who are they?'' She thought to herself. Without a second dy, she declined the call and put her phone down.

    As she was attempting to get back to work, her phone started to ring again. This time around, she had to pick it up as she was tired of the incessant calls. It was beginning to get to her.

    cing the phone on her ear, she listened in silence, refusing to say the first word to a stranger she might not know.

    Two secondster, a voice spoke from the other end"Jujing, it''s me Alex."

    "Which Alex? Am I supposed to know someone in particr with that name?" Song Jujing inquired almost immediately.

    At the other end of the phone, a deep sigh was let into the phone. "Song Alex, your third brother."

    It took almost 5 seconds before she responded after his introduction. "I don''t think I have any brothers. Thest I remember, I have been my own family for the past 25 years."

    Song Jujing was surprised that someone from her ex family would phone her. After a long time, they were calling her. And as for whatever reason it maybe, she was not interested.

    Although she had seen this brother of hers recently after so many years, she wasn''t moved to form any kind of rtionship with him.

    "If you don''t have anything important to say, I will end this call, and don''t bother calling back because I want nothing to do with you lot. My life is very peaceful and blissful today if that is what you want to know."

    Seeing that she was going to end the call if he didn''t say anything, Song Alex quickly said in a gentle tone,

    "I wanted to check on how you''re doing. It took me a lot of effort to get your contact details. I didn''t dare to approach your daughter for it without your permission, so I had to put in a lot of effort. On that note that I am respectful of your boundaries, please permit me to call again soon."

    Listening to his demand after the worthy exnation he gave, Song Jujing had a few questions for him, but she didn''t want to give anything away, so she just closed up.

    "I''m at work now. It would be wrong to remain on this call while I have a lot of work to do. Do take care." She said before ending the call.

    Although she didn''t give any response to his answer, her politeness was enough for Song Alex to take note of. With this, he had a chance of getting her on the phone again.

    About half an hourter, Song Jujing''s phone rang again. ncing at the caller ID, an instant smile lit up on her face.

    "She remembered me today..." She said to herself as she rxed her back on the backrest of her seat.

    Taking a few moments to appreciate that name on her screen she answered the call next.

    "Liling, hello!" She greeted.

    "Mum, how are you?" Zhang Liling asked from the other end.

 Chapter 458 The Big Loophole

    "I''m doing great. I just received the approval letter to be transferred back home." Song Jujing revealed in an excited mood.

    "Really?" Liling was very happy to receive this good news.

    Since today, her day has been moving from one good news to another, and she hoped more would keeping.

    Today was not the first time her mother was mentioning about her dream to return to her roots. At first, she had talked about retiring, but facing off the trouble of not being idle that''s didn''t suit well with her.

    Since she was used to working hard, she figured that she might not survive with being so carefree about life hence, she optioned to keep her position.

    At least she could continue to do what she knows how to do best until she got tired of it.

    Before she permanently retires, she would have found something else that would interest her. Maybe gardening wouldn''t be that bad.

    "Yes," Song Jujing confirmed. "Now, I just need to start tidying up things as quickly as possible."

    With the approval letter confirmed, it was only left for her to give the board the date she would be leaving, so the office back in her home country would be vacated for her.

    "How long will that take you?" Liling probed, seemingly very invested with her mother''s interest, rather than on the very reason she had phone her in the first ce.

    Song Jujing thought carefully for only a few seconds before giving her response. "Two weeks at most. I would want to take onest quick tour here... Hahaha... In order to make things move quickly, I will have to employ the help of the movers to help gather a lot of things and ship them out."

    "Would you be going back to my apartment to stay?" That was the only housing option her mother has at the moment.

    As she didn''t have any connection with her father, Zhang Renshu, or her own family line, she couldn''t move back to any of their houses, so she was left with the only option of going to live in the apartment she used to live in before moving in with Fang Bingwen.

    "Although that''s not an ideal home for me as my retirement would being soon, I can manage in there for at mist a year. The most important things is to leave Paris first. Once Ie home and settle in the house and work, I will begin to look for a nice vi and buy for myself. I may end up picking up gardening as a hobby, and did that, I need a good private space."

    "Not bad." Liling said in agreement. "I just know you won''t befortable being idle even if you retire. Anyway, having a vi is good, at least you get to have enough space for your grandchildren to run around."

    As soon as thest part of her statement reached her ears, Song Jujing got curious. "Are you pregnant? Will you be giving me a grandchild soon?" She beamed with smiles.

    "Hahaha...Not yet mum." Liling said , immediately countering her ideas.

    "Oh!" Song Jujing seemed a little downcasted the next moment. "Then why did you call? I thought you had a good news." She joked.

    Aware of her mother''s ways, Zhang Liling didn''t feel bad. "Mum, I indeed have a good news for you. Shi Wenqian will be put in her ce sooner."

    "How soon?" She probed while irking her ear further into the phone.

    "A couple of hours before the wedding. Bingwen has handed the evidences of her crimes and involvement in organ trafficking, plus some papers that linked her NGO organisation to it. Also, we have the results from the DNA tests results we ran!" Zhang Liling revealed one after the other and only released a deep breath at the end.

    Hearing this good news, Song Jujing couldn''t be any happier, but there was something that piqued her interest after talking about Shi Wenqian''swless crime.

    "What about the DNA tests? Can you tell me more about it?"

    With her mother''s request, Liling left no stone unturned as she went on to reveal the details pertaining to the DNA tests she ran.

    At the end, her mother was torn between being shocked and nonchnt.

    "Although I am shocked that Zhang Mingyu is not your father''s biological son, I am not surprised that Shi Wenqian can pull off a big dare like this."

    "But mum, you mentioned that Dad ran a DNA test before Zhang Mingyu was born and it turned out positive. Howe something like this could happen at the end?" This was what has been keeping Zhang Liling up on her toes.

    This is also the main reason she wanted to reach out to her mother.

    "It is exactly because the DNA test result proving that the male child in Shi Wenqian''s womb belonged to your father, is the sole reason something like this could happen."

    Maybe if Zhang Renshu hadn''t rushed to get a paternity test done before the child was born back then to confirm his link, he wouldn''t have given Shi Wenqian the massive opportunity to exploit things for her own means.

    Maybe, is he had waited patiently for the child to be born back then before taking him to his own doctor to run the paternity test, he would found out the truth.

    This was when he would have found out that the child wasn''t his and right there, Shi Wenqian would have never had to enter the Zhang family officially.

    After listening to her mother''s logic, Zhang Liling finally found out where the big loophole was.

    Is there any opportunity that woman wouldn''t cease the chance to turn to her advantage?

    At this moment, Liling was a little scared of her stepmother. That woman was very cunny.

    "I hope the divorce signing is sessful. This is the best I can do to save dad from that woman''s formal entanglement."

    Zhang Renshu would die several times if he was still legally married to a woman like that when such a heavy criminal verdict was passed onto her.

    A long sigh fell of Song Jujing''s lips. "Just be more careful, and keep me posted if there is anything."

 Chapter 459 Perfectly Fitted

    While a lot of things were happening on this end, the other end wasn''t left out.

    Zhang Renshu''swyer hade in the morning and before the papers he brought with him were signed, he had a closed door meeting with him.

    A meeting that even until this moment, Shi Wenqian was still unable to find out the details.

    No matter how much she poked her nose around, she couldn''t find anything. Well damn the secret that were exchanged as long as the 1% shares that she just signed up for, would be finally hers in a matter of a few days.

    Yes! She was getting a whopping solid amount of 1% shares of Zhang Corps.

    She Wenqian didn''t know the angel that touched Zhang Renshu''s heart for him to think of giving her a gift while they were still married.

    She never saw this oneing.

    From the time she signed those papers after seeing the heading, and getting a rification from thewyer to this moment in the evening, joy unspeakable has never left her sight.

    If only she and the time to float, she would have phoned Zhang Liling to look for her trouble by torturing her mentally but unfortunately, she was very busy finalizing thest minute wedding ns.

    Since Zhang Mingyu was banned from leaving the house until the wedding day, she invited his wedding suit tailor to the house for him to do the final fitting.

    Fortunately, there would be no need for another amendment unless Zhang Mingyu magically adds weight within 48 hours which she doubted would ever happen.

    As soon as Zhang Renshu''swyer left the residence, he phoned Fang Bingwen to give him a heads-up.

    "Mr. Fang, the papers has been signed. I will take them to court straight away to have them signed and approved." Thewyer reported.

    "Please do that before the court closes. I trust with your influence, everything will be finalized today itself. Thank you for your help." Fang Bingwen said gratefully.

    Today was Friday, and court wouldn''t be avable on Saturday and on Sunday. They would only open on Monday which was very far.

    Given the emergency they had at hand, it would be best if they finished everything immediately, once and for all.

    "It''s my pleasure. I would try to get the original documents and the spare ones across to you tomorrow morning, as soon as I can." Thewyer finally said with a smile.

    Being a renownedwyer that has hardly ever lost a case, Zhang Renshu paid a whopping sum to have him by his side, and you can imagine the effort Fang Bingwen made to get him to do something against his discipline.

    Well, as long as it would benefit his client in the end, you only have to convince him about that and then he can have a go.

    "I would be d if you can make your presence avable at the Zhang Residence with all the original and spare documents. It would spring originality if you informed them of the truth. You are thewyer after all..." Fang Bingwen said, hinting at something they both very well understood.

    "I get it. I have to rush to the court now. Bye."

    As soon as Mr. Fang dropped the call with thewyer, he quickly finalized handed over the evidences of Shi Wenqian''s madness over to themissioner, then gave off a few information before leaving.

    While Shi Wenqian was watching in awe as her son stood in his wedding suit, her dungeon was being raided silently by the police.

    "How is it? Is it veryfortable now?" Shi Wenqian asked thoughtfully as she sat on a king chair and watched Zhang Mingyu in his wedding suit.

    "It''s perfectly fitted." Zhang Mingyu replied as his gaze ran down his customized wedding tailored suit.

    "Good." Shifting her gaze to the people from the brand that worked on the suit, she instructed. "He can take it off now. Make sure to preserve it perfectly for next tomorrow. That''s when he will be wearing it."

    "Yes, Ma''am." They all agreed before following Zhang Mingyu to the fitting room downstairs to help him get out of the suit.

    A few minutester, Zhang Mingyu returned to his mother''s side.

    "Mum, can I at least have a bachelor''s party tomorrow evening. If you agree, I can call my friends over to celebrate with me since you don''t want me going out." He suggested.

    After staying at home all day, he wanted nothing more than to escape from the hell hole.

    How could anyone survive staying indoors the whole day? Damn!

    He badly wanted the fresh air but unfortunately, the garden in his house could not give him the imported air he was searching every nook and cranny for even after walking around it ten times in a row.

    At this rate, he might lose his mind.

    "Have you lost your mind?" Shi Wenqian asked while ring daggers at him. "It seems like you didn''t learn a good lesson."

    At her reminder, Zhang Mingyu found his way out of her sight.

    He still hasn''t forgotten the p his father gave to him. She, his mother didn''t let him off as well, and then she had to make the situation worse by embarrassing him.

    How could a full blown adult male get beaten up for not making a proper speech in front of the camera?

    Thinking back to that scene, he shook his head while hugging his body as goose bumps appeared on his arms.

    Reaching his room,he got reminded of someone and immediately picked up his phone to make a call.

    "She didn''t tap this, did she?" He asked himself while tapping on a few buttons.

    Finally sure that his phone was perfectly safe, he went to his call log and dialled thetest number on it.

    "Who knows how she is doing." He mumbled as he dialled the number and ced the phone on his ear.

    Unfortunately, the ca never connected no matter how many times he tried.

    "What the f*ck is wrong with you! Did you lose your phone, or did you block me thinking that I did that to you? Or are you still damn unconscious! Hope you are still alive!"

    Throwing his phone on the bed, he sat at the foot of his bed with a hand ruffling his hair as he got lucky for not having his phone destroyed out of anger.

    Meanwhile, the person he was worrying about, was currently ''very'' busy at the moment, making a statement to the people that came specially to see her.

 Chapter 460 Statement

    ****

    ~RAAT Medical Centre~

    "How did you get hurt?" A man in ck jacket and a pair of blue jeans trousers asked while sitting on a still close to a hospital bed in the smallest ward.

    Apparently, he was not alone. He hade with two more people to get a statement out of a possible Assault victim.

    Lying on the bed next to the detectives that hade to see her was Mika.

    Lying on that bed, she looked very unrecognisable. Her eyes were swollen, a sharp cut happened to kiss the side of her cheek, getting to the corner of her left lips.

    Her arms were bandaged, apanied with one of her legs that was currently hanging on a lift.

    In all, she looked so different and pathetic, but thank goodness that she didn''t hurt her head.

    "Someone pushed me." She managed to say through the sharp pain that numbed her to madness as her lips moved.

    Damn the pain! She just wanted to get out of bed to deal with a certain bastard!

    "Did you see his face?" The detective asked while taking a note with his pen and the small jotter in his hand.

    "No. I never knew there was someone around the stairs until I felt a huge force on my back that sent me rolling over. Ah!" Mika screamed a little due to using her mouth a little too harshly.

    She has not forgotten how that incident happened. Waking up froma, she wanted nothing more than to deal with the bastard that put her in that current state.

    "Take it easy. Don''t talk too much." The man standing behind the detective questioning her, said in pity.

    "Is what the inte saying true? Are you really pregnant for Zhang Mingyu?" The detective asked after waiting a moment for her to recover from her pain.

    "Yes, and I can''t wait to ept an Interview to tell the whole the truth. Before Zhang Mingyu got engaged to the Ong family''s daughter, he and I had been dating, and we still are because we have not yet broken up. But who knew he would do this to me as soon as the news about my pregnancy got out." Mika said angrily like a vampire thirsty for blood.

    Hearing the hint in the message she passed across, the detectives all exchanged nces. "You think Zhang Mingyu had a hand in your attack?"

    "Yes. I wouldn''t rule that out. He has to be the one that did this to me. Who else would do this?" She retorted as veins popped visibly around her neck area.

    A soft sigh escaped the detective lips as he asked one more question. "Why do you think so?"

    "Because he threatened reporting about me to his mother when he was trying to persuade me to get an abortion and I was still contemting. I think he actually did report me to his mother who must have sent that thug that wanted to kill my child. But thank goodness the heavens were on my side. My baby miraculously survived that tragic fall because I''d rather loss my hands than to lose it." Mika said with a triumphant smile.

    At this moment, it would only be right to try and touch her abdomen to feel her baby, but unfortunately, her hands were bandaged so even if they went to her stomach, she wouldn''t be able to feel a thing.

    "Thank you for your time. We maye around again." The detective questioning her said as he closed his jotter and rose to his feet.

    Mika was more than happy to see them off with her eyes. It was only another miracle that they came to get her statement without her making any formalint.

    "Zhang Mingyu, you will never leave a peaceful life! Once I get a little more strength tomorrow, I will be speaking to the press!" She promised through gritted teeth.

    *******

    "She is pregnant?"

    Tang Ei looked very surprised as he shifted his gaze to the doctor examining his wife who wasying on a bed withy her back against it, while a machine that looked like an iron was used to slide against her lower abdomen.

    "Yes, but we have a problem." The doctor said as he finally stopped to share a nce between Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei.

    A few minutester, the three sat around a table in the doctor''s office.

    "Mr. Tang, it''s good that your brought your wife here on time because she is already on the highest possibility of having a miscarriage."

    There were two news blowing up Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei''s mind, and that was the fact that she was pregnant, and probably about to lose it.

    Can their day get any bad?

    "Doctor, why is she prone to having a miscarriage when we are just finding out about the pregnancy?" Tang Ei inquired with worry written all over his face.

    He didn''t even have the time to rejoice over the fact that they had a baby together.

    "Your wife is very stressed, both mentally and physically. And at this rate if nothing is done, she would lose her child, and then it might be a little difficult to conceive again. Her biological state is not really okay." The doctor said to them, and then released a deep sigh.

    "Mrs. Tang, have you ever been pregnant before?"

    As soon as that sensitive question reached their ears, a pin drop silence followed.

    Tang Ei seemed a bit taken aback and couldn''t help looking at the woman sitting next to him as if to ask her the same question as the doctor, but then he met her gaze.

    She looked a little scared and then confused.

    Before a seed of doubt would be sowed in his heart, Zhang Xiaoling quickly turned her gaze back to the doctor.

    "No I haven''t. But I have been on pills since I got married. I only stopped taking them about three months back. Did they damage my system?"

    A deep sigh is relief seemed to escape Tang Ei''s lips but up until tomorrow, he still couldn''t ce a hand on the reason he reacted that way.

 Chapter 461 Tang Enlais Intentionality

    Hearing her confession, the doctor shook his head. "Not really. The drugs may have changed your system a bit, but it should not have caused trouble to this extent."

    Rxing on his seat, he continued, "Well unless a test is done, but I doubt that someone of your status will take drugs not prescribed by a professional."

    "The drugs were prescribed." Zhang Xiaoling confirmed.

    "Then there shouldn''t be any course for rm. What we should be concerned about is how to prevent you from having a miscarriage. Mrs. Tang, you have been stressed both mentally and physically over time."

    From the side, Tang Ei interrupted. "Doctor, how can you help to stabilize the child. We will follow your instructions."

    Tang Ei was more worried about the child they were on the verge of losing more than how to manage the stress.

    At least, they needed to hear a good news first to calm their nerves.

    If the lose the child, it may not be easy for them to take in again and also, they would be very pained. They had only found out about the child, so how could they bear losing it?

    "First of all, cut down on whatever that has been troubling you. If possible, stay away from it as further damage can not be done. Secondly, I will prescribe some drugs and make some changes to her diet, plus some rmendable exercises and healthy routine she has to follow for the foetus to survive this delicate period." The doctor said and immediately got to work.

    While he got busy with putting a few things in writing, Tang Ei reached down to hold Xiaoling''s hand and squeezed it gently, as if to promise her that he would take care of everything.

    It was there that a deep sigh of relief escaped her lips.

    But before the doctor could finish working on the list, Tang Ei tool and excuse and left for a brief moment. When he returned, the doctor handed the paper to him.

    As he was going through it with Xiaoling, the doctor rmended a few more things on the list for them, which included some helpful magazines and books.

    Thanking the doctor, Tang Ei took Zhang Xiaoling''s hand and left his office with determination written all over his face.

    Outside the hospital, he carefully helped her into the car before going over to seat at the driver''s seat.

    You might be wondering what happened to Xiaoling''s car? I bet you, that is not an issue.

    "Are you hungry? No, let''s get your routine drugs first and shop for a few more things before I take you to the restaurant. You know, you need to have the drugs in handy as soon as you finish eating." Tang Ei said while staring at her.

    "Can I see the list again?" Zhang Xiaoling requested. Finally she was saying something.

    "Sure." Dipping his hand into the breast pocket of his suit jacket, he handed the paper to her.

    On their way to the drug store, he kept her busy by asking her if she wanted to eat any special. "I will only allow it for lunch. After that, we have to strictly follow your diet n given by the doctor."

    "I''m fine. I will just have the normal local food with soup." Zhang Xiaoling shook her head before venturing into another space.

    She was still trying to understand her circumstance, or rather she was still trying to digest the whole scene that transpired at the doctor''s office.

    She was pregnant, and on the brink of miscarriage, but her husband wasn''t letting her go even after learning about her mother''s dirty background.

    He was really here for her.

    Even though Zhang Xiaoling tried so many times to doubt her husband''s intentions, she couldn''t seed after all, he had already promised to take care of her before they learnt she was pregnant.

    This man genuinely loved her and she couldn''t help but wonder what she did to deserve that good will.

    ''Zhang Liling, is this your wish?'' She thought to herself.

    Remembering herst moment with her step-sister, she couldn''t help but feel settled because she could sense and see that she no longer bore any grudges against her.

    Even at thest moment, she had wished her well and advised her to take the right step by telling her husband everything before the media helped her.

    Did Zhang Liling genuinely care for her or did she pity her?

    Whichever the answer was, Zhang Xiaoling didn''t want to know any more because it was no longer important.

    What was important was how she was going to survive her mother''s dirtyundry being spread outside, theizens dragging her, and her inws wanting her out of the house.

    Knowing who her mother-inw was, she was sure that she would even throw her out of the Josie with the child in her belly.

    Thinking about the immature child she was carrying, she reached out to touch her belly gently.

    "You still can''t believe it right?" Tang Ei asked with a smile while sparing her a nce.

    "Mmmm." She nodded as a small smile tool its time before forming on her cheeks.

    "We are here." Tang Ei announced before parking the car.

    Together, they walked into the drug store together and handed over the drug list to them plus the doctor''s letter.

    Half an hourter, Zhang Xiaoling was already done eating and taking her meds in the private room of a good restaurant Tang Ei took them to.

    Wiping the corner of her lips while ncing at the tes still containing at least half of the food she didn''t touch, she heard him speak from across her.

    "I booked us a flight to Brazil. Our flight is by 6 in the morning." Tang Ei revealed, while withholding the struggle to ensure that they left the country early the following day, but Xiaoling was a little lost.

    "We are going where?"Her eyes widened in surprise as the napkin dropped from her hands.

    Was she having hearing impairment now?

    Knowing that she was surprised with his ns to save her from distress, he continued instead of repeating his statement.

    "We will be staying for about 3 months there. I used my contact to get us this huge deal even though it cost a lot. Unfortunately, we can''t stay longer than 3 months because of our jobs. This time should be enough to make the media stop pestering us. Although this will depend on how they handle things after the news blow up, I will not hesitate to find another location as long ites to you and our child''s safety."

 Chapter 462 Are You Up For It?

    It took a little more while before Zhang Xiaoling finally understood what was going on.

    She didn''t have to sit at home and wait for her mother''s public mess to get to her. While the drama would be unfolding, she would already be on the flight to Brazil, or would have alreadynded in that country.

    Zhang Xiaoling was very grateful to the extent that her eyes be teary. "Thank you." Her voice choked.

    It''s not as if she was selfish, but she wanted to hide from all of this because she was not sound enough to take in all the negative notions that would be thrown her way.

    She so badly wanted to escape out of he down selfish reasons, and now she had a foetus that was unstable. She was going to be a mother and she could already feel that maternity instinct to do everything to protect her child.

    "Thank you," She said once more as she tried to stop her tears from flowing.

    A deep sigh fell off Tang Ei''s lips. "There is no need to thank me. It''s my responsibility to take care of us. Rest assured that I will not allow any harm toe to you as long as I am here." He promised once more.

    "Thank you!" Zhang Xiaoling took in a sharp breath.

    It took her some time to finally calm down as her husband parted her shoulder gently.

    Wiping thest drop of tears that fell on her cheeks, she inquired, "What of the child? Should we let your family know?"

    Since they would be leaving to a far country in some hours, she was curious about what he thought.

    "There is no need. When we return, they would see it for their eyes." Tang Ei said.

    He didn''t want to cause more pair of eyes to be on them, or for anyone to have more reasons to try to break them apart.

    When they were ready to leave the restaurant, Tang Ei called someone to pick up Zhang Xiaoling''s car from where they left it and bring it back to the Tang house.

    Taking her hand, he led her to the car. Together, they went home, totally skipping work for the entire day. It was only during dinner with the entire family that Tang Ei announced about them leaving for Brazil the next morning.

    Immediately, Mrs. Tang was annoyed. "When did you two decide this that you are only telling us now?" She asked while giving Zhang Xiaoling the side nce as if ming her for leading her son to making that kind of hurried n.

    "It''s been a while, but I only decided to let you in on it today as it had almost slipped my mind." Tang Ei lied.

    "When are youing back then?" Mrs. Tang inquired further.

    "When we get there first," he replied while giving a vague response, much to her displeasure.

    Throughout their dinner time, Mr. Tang did not speak a word while Mrs. Tang keptining about their trip until she was forced to shut her lips.

    As soon as dinner was over, Mr. Tang asked Tang Ei to see him in his study briefly concerning business.

    Fortunately, he didn''t take long before returning to Zhang Xiaoling in their bedroom.

    "Did father ask about the trip?" She asked immediately he stepped into the room.

    "No, it was just business." Sensing the worry washing over her, he couldn''t continue to let her go on like that. "Xiaoling, no matter what happens, turn a blind eye to it. You don''t need to worry."

    Holding her arms, heforted her a bit.

    "I called two servants to help us pack our luggage. Just let them take out the things you need. You don''t have to left a finger." He smiled.

    Zhang Xiaoling released a deep breath.

    ***

    At the same time, Zhang Liling was lying in Mr. Fang''s arms while ying with her hair and spacing out.

    "What are you thinking about?" His thick voice asked as he poked her porcin cheek.

    "I''m nervous and can''t wait for tomorrow. Finally, we are getting rid of a road block after so many ufortable years. I can''t wait to know how that feels like." Zhang Liling said with a smile spreading across her face as she tilted her head to the side.

    Refusing to engage in that conversation with her, Fang Bingwen brought her into his arms properly so she could easily feel the warmth seeping from his body.

    "If you are that bothered, I can help to distract you. Are you up for it?" He winked.

    "What?" She asked while giving him a spectacr look.

    "Chuanli said we can have s*x even if you are on your period. If you wash properly before we do it, it won''t be messy afterward." He whispered into her ear as he roped his arms around her waist.

    Immediately, Liling felt like she was in danger and tried to get away from his tight grip. "Dr. Li said that? D-did you mention something like this to home?" She asked as ck lines appeared on her forehead.

    "No. He mentioned it in passing." Fang Bingwen replied as he rubbed his jaw and cheeks on her face and her neck area.

    Feeling tickled, Liling tried to get away from again, but he was holding her tightly, plus he was not willing to let go.

    "Then let it be that you are also mentioning it in passing to me."

    "How can that be? I am very serious right now. Don''t you believe me?" Fang Bingwen asked as he stopped to meet her gaze, this causing her to stop moving around in his arms.

    Staring deep into his eye, she tried to see any atom of truth in them, but before she could read anything, he took her hand and moved it to his crotch area.

    "What are you looking at when you can feel it yourself? This method is faster."

    As soon as her hand gripped him, she took it away. "Let''s go to sleep." She yawned and turned her back to him, immediately closing her eyes.

    Just like that, she slept off without having troubles. At the end, Fang Bingwen had to stifle augh before joining her in the dreamnd.

    The next morning around 4:30, Zhang Xiaoling and Tang Ei left for the airport.

 Chapter 463 Kidney Issues

    "Are you set for what is toe?" Fang Bingwen asked while staring at the little woman all dressed up.

    "I am. I wish I can crack a few knuckles first, but I am afraid that I can''t wait." Liling replied while puffing some air out of her lungs.

    How much she would have loved to take her time getting ready but where was the time? She only had time to jog in the morning before going to the bathroom to freshen up.

    She had to be in the Zhang Residence before breakfast time as she needed for her father and stepmother to be present before she unboxes the Pandora.

    "Mmm... There is no time. I can''t wait for all of this to end." He said as he ced his hand on his waist and pulled her in for a quick smooching.

    When he released her, she looked him in the eye and asked, "I thought you had low libido."

    "What?" Mr. Fang froze. "W-why do you think so? Because I''m not as proactive as you are?"

    "You even noticed? Good one." She nodded, getting out of his arms.

    A soft sigh escaped his lips. "That''s a misunderstanding. Nothing is wrong with me. I''m perfectly fine. It''s just that we''ve been preupied with work. I know that''s not a good excuse for not being affectionate to my wife. I''m sorry. As soon as this ends, I will take you to the glorynd." He said, intertwining their fingers.

    "I understand that you have been upright as you''ve been single for a long time, but it''s time to loosen up." Kissing his cheek, she leaned away. "I have to leave now, don''t bete."

    "I will be right behind you." Mr. Fang said with a smile as he watched her pick up her bag and then walk away.

    ***

    Since Zhang Liling couldn''t drive, she had a chauffeur driver her down to the Zhang residence. That was her family, and it would be weird for Mr. Fang to follow her, especially, given the situation.

    On the ride to the Zhang residence, she got a text from Zhang Xiaoling.

    "She left?" She scoffed while reading through the lines. "I guess it''s best for her because things are about to get messy." Sighing to herself, she slipped her phone back into her handbag and looked out of the window.

    Honestly, this move Zhang Xiaoling made was the idea Zhang Liling heard for her. She thought it would be better for her to get away, more like hide from the storm that was warming up.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® At the end, learning that her step-sister had gone to some ce far, Liling was not unsupportive instead she focused on how she would make an entrance.

    Some minutester, the car pulled over in the car park of the Zhang residence.

    ''I''m going in now.'' Liling sent a text to Fang Bingwen before climbing out of the car.

    "I think I might be a littlete." She mumbled to herself while going into the house.

    The day had already brightened which meant that breakfast might be already ongoing. Today was Saturday, but she had this confidence that she was going to meet just the right people.

    She knew her father''s schedule and knew he didn''t have any emergency meeting nned till some time after breakfast and as for Shi Wenqian, even if she was running around for the wedding and had ns to leave, she could easily get her secretary to stall her.

    Stepping into the house, Zhang Liling found out that the family was having breakfast after she inquired hence, she walked straight to the dining room with her handbag.

    "Hello!" She greeted with a smile while standing at the entrance watching the family of three enjoying a hearty breakfast.

    Immediately, they all turned their heads toward her direction.

    "What are you here for?" Zhang Renshu asked and looked away. He was surprised to see her again in such a short time.

    Thest time she visited, she had left without a word. It seems like it was bing a habit of hers to shop up without notice and leave the same way.

    That was a bad habit.

    Shi Wenqian was annoyed seeing that the troublemaker was back. The wedding would be taking ce tomorrow, what did shee here to do after leaving in a feet of anger the other day?

    "To have breakfast with you." Zhang Liling replied and went to make room for herself at the dining table.

    Zhang Renshu red at her and continued to eat as she looked at the dishes on the table.

    "Wow! You all are having something I have craving for some time now." Liling said while giving the food on the table a scrutinizing gaze while rubbing her fingers together.

    Nodding, she lifted her head with a smile stered on her face. "I will have some kidney beans. Maybe, I will get to have healthy ones to be able to transnt one to dad in case he develops a problem with hister on."

    Getting her order, the maid standing at the side stepped forward with a small while ceramic bowl te and scooped some cooked sweet red kidney beans into it before dropping it before her.

    "Are you praying for me to develop issues with my kidneys?" Zhang Renshu frowned while looking at her like she was his greatest enemy.

    "Hahaha..." Liling covered her mouth with the back of her hands. "Dad, why would you think so far. It''s just that in life, anything can happen so I''m just looking at for you. These days, it''s difficult to find a match."

    Picking up a table spoon, she scooped some of the red kidney beans and sent it into her mouth. "Since I am your biological daughter, I am one hundred percent certain that we could be a match."

    From her seat, Shi Wenqian who was ying with her table spoon, nced her way. Just talking about kidney transnt and being a biological child, kept her on her toes.

    Why this sudden conversation?

    Zhang Renshu groaned and went back to eating his food. "As if you really care about me."

    Zhang Liling smiled and nced at him. "Dad, you know very well how much I care about you. And you know I would never be able to hide my intentions and feelings. I am good at not holding back, just like right now, you all can tell that I am in a good mood."

    "Do you mind sharing this good news with us cause I don''t think you came because of my wedding tomorrow." Zhang Mingyu said from the side.

    "Wedding?" Liling turned to face him with a slight frown on her face, but the next second, she covered it up with a smile. "Omo! I almost forgot about your wedding because of my happiness. Something more important than your wedding is happening, so I was carried away. Hahaha... Forgive me."

    At that moment, Shi Wenqian who hadn''t said a word was pissed. She could tell through her stepdaughter''s cunning ways that she was up to no good.

    Unable to take her roundabout manner of speaking, she mmed her spoon on the table.

    Ignoring her, Liling asked the servant to give her some tomato soup. "Wow! This soup is red like fresh blood. Did you add artificial colouring?"

    "No Ma''am. We got some very special red tomato fruits from a new farm and the chef added some tomato paste whole cooking." The maid exined after scooping a spoon of the soup in a bowl for her.

    "I have never eaten a soup this red before. I almost mistook it for fresh blood. This soup must be good for my heart." Lilingughed without a care.

    "Zhang Liling!" Shi Wenqian turned toward her direction immediately. "Are you done trying to disgust us during breakfast?"

    The woman was not pleased and had a hard time holding back.

    "Excuse me, my words are not disgusting. Who hasn''t seen blood before? It just like how Mingyu bleeds nonstop every time he gets inju..."

    "Zhang Liling!" Shi Wenqian''s eyes flew open as her heart rate increased. "Watch your tongue." She warned. "I might have to drive you out of my house for being insolent."

 Chapter 464 Bleeding Disorder Issues

    That little brat was trying to expose her secret, how could Shi Wenqian give her some space to do that?

    Just now, she almost had a heart attack.

    Being cut off by her stepmother who was probably about to piss in her pants, Zhang Liling smiled to herself and took a few slices of bread.

    "I think someone is having a hard time." She said before biting into the slice of bread after spreading some of the kidney beans on it. "For healthy kidneys and heart."

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu was ufortable with his illness being mentioned. He was not like his mother that was trying her best to keep her acts together.

    He was nervous.

    If his father finds out at this point that he had an illness that could take his life if the tiniest mistake urred, will he seize from making him his sessor?

    Zhang Mingyu was worried but now, he was sure of the reason Zhang Liling had visited this time. She was here to make trouble and give everyone a hard time.

    Zhang Renshu who was sitting at the head table, wiped his lips with the table napkin before facing her.

    "Tell me, why have youe back this time?" He inquired while staring at her.

    Seeing that the man was willing to pay attention to Zhang Liling, Shi Wenqian immediately tried to stop the conversation from happening because she didn''t know what her stepdaughter was up to.

    It would be better to stop the conversation from happening even if that brat might not have anything up her fingers, than for it to lead to danger.

    "Renshu, I don''t think you have pay her any heed. Don''t waste you breath on her, she must be out to anger us this early morning. I heard you have a meeting..."

    "Why are you in a hurry to send my father away, guilty?" Zhang Liling interrupted as her expression changed.

    Putting her slice of bread down, she fixed a straight stubborn gaze at the woman trying to turn the tides around.

    She was not happy at all.

    "Liling, did I offend you in any way? Are you stirring up trouble because of the shares Dad gave to me?" Zhang Mingyu interjected, deciding to get involved in a bid to stop her from messing around.

    "Yes, you did offend me, but I''m not doing this because of that. I am not that petty. Just rx for a bit more and at the end, you will the k me for setting the records straight."

    Turning to her father who looked like he didn''t have time to waste on her tantrums, she persuaded him.

    "Dad, I think you should spare me at least 5 minutes of your time because I have something important to say. Yes, of course, it''s going to anger us all, but it will also save us from eternal damnation."

    From the side, Shi Wenqian snorted while trying to hide her fears. "Is there ever a time you have something important to say apart from venting your frustration on us when things doesn''t go your way?"

    ''This little brat! What is she up to? Does she know something? No, that can''t be!'' Seeing how insistent Zhang Liling was, Shi Wenqian was shaken.

    "Today, I have something important to say, and ease stop cutting me off. You only need to sit there and listen and only speak when the time is right but as for now, I will be speaking to my father, and you are permitted to listen." Shutting her up for good, Liling rolled her eyes before shifting her gaze to her father.

    ''Shi Wenqian, you think there is a way to turn the hands of the clock around today? Hahaha... I already feel sorry for you.''

    "Dad, to the best of my knowledge you don''t have any bleeding disorder, but I don''t know if it runs in your lineage, so I''m very curious to find out."

    "What bleeding disorder?" Zhang Renshu frowned as Shi Wenqian''s heart froze in her chest. "There is nothing like that in my family. Why do you ask about it?"

    Hearing her father''s response, a smile returned to her face atst. "What about you, stepmother? Is there something like that in your family?"

    As soon as that question was directed at her, Shi Wenqian made up her mind. Trying to hide her anger and her nervousness, she pretended to be annoyed.

    "Yes, what about it?"

    ''Zhang Liling, you think you can y games with me? Unfortunately when I started, you haven''t been born yet.'' She sneered.

    Hearing her response, Zhang Liling went into a feet ofughter as she couldn''t believe her ears.

    This woman dared to lie after discovering that she was going to expose her secret? What a shame!

    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® Smiling to herself, she revealed as she shifted her attention to her father. "Dad, did you know that Mingyu has a bleeding disorder? Any time he gets injured, even the slightest grazing to his skin, he would bleed nonstop unless he is taken to the hospital. Back then when I came to live here, Shi Wenqian would always force me to donate blood to Mingyu every time he gets injured and hospitalized, but I bet you didn''t know seeing how surprised you are."

    Listening to her expose her secret, Shi Wenqian shut her eyes and clenched her fists. Zhang Mingyu seemed a little lost while waiting for his father''s verdict.

    Hearing what she had to say, Zhang Renshu''s brows furrowed.

    "Is that true?" He asked as he turned his gaze to the woman sitting at his right.

    No response.

    Seeing that she wasn''t going to answer him, he could already understand what was going on.

    "Mingyu, is what Liling saying the truth? Look at me and answer my question!" He demanded as anger filled his heart.

    At his father''s thundering voice, Zhang Mingyu lifted his head. Stealing a nce at his mother who didn''t bother to look his way, he replied, "Yes."

    Immediately, Zhang Renshu rose to his feet and pushed back his chair. Pointing at Shi Wenqian, he scolded, "How dare you hide something so serious like this for so many years?!"

    Zhang Liling smiled to herself and used this little opportunity to continue with her breakfast. Revealing top notch secrets like this on an empty stomach was not easy.

    She needed to have her feel before throwing out the grenade. Or maybe, she could just throw out the main bomb and let the police deliver the grenade.

    Yes! She would do just that.

 Chapter 465 Exposing Shi Wenqian

    Meanwhile, Shi Wenqian who had secretly sent out a text message to her right-hand man, put her phone on the table with a pitiful look on her face.

    ''Kill Zhang Liling on sight!'' Her message had read.

    She and seen that there was no need to let Zhang Liling have the opportunity of breathing for even a minute longer.

    She didn''t care if the news of her disappearance and death was going to be more important than the wedding news of her son, she just wanted that mad girl out of her sight immediately.

    "Renshu, it''s not like that. I was afraid that you would drop Mingyu as your sessor if you found out about his illness. I didn''t think he deserved to be pushed to the side because of something that was not his fault. I had no choice. Seeing how my brother bled to death from a knife stab years ago, I did my best to protect our son in fear. I''m so sorry for being selfish!" Shi Wenqian pleaded with teary eyes.

    Even Zhang Mingyu took this as opportunity to plead with Zhang Renshu concerning hiding a deep secret like this from him while Liling nodded to herself.

    ''Continue ying. In fact, I will give you some time to have hope.'' She said to herself and continued to eat as if she wasn''t disturbed by their noise.

    But once she got tired of them, she wiped her lips and put a stop to the annoying drama.

    "Enough!" She released a deep breath while looking at the mother and fake son like they were fools wasting their time.

    Even Zhang Renshu who was scolding their brain cells out, flinched at their sudden outburst but before he could recover, he heard her voice again.

    "Dad, I think you should know the real reason Shi Wenqian hid this important news from you." She said and let her gaze move from each adult to the other, taking in their reaction.

    In Shi Wenqian''s eyes, she could see the fire burning in them, but she didn''t care because that was exactly what she wanted.

    "Zhang Mingyu here, is not your biological son."

    "What?" Zhang Renshu eximed in shock.

    "What nonsense are you saying you ingrate!" Shi Wenqian screamed as she rose to her feet and turned her full body to her while shaking in anger.

    "Liling, what sort of joke is that? You are really getting out of hand!" Zhang Mingyu seemed like he wanted to beat her up, but he couldn''t.

    He looked scared as he asked her to stop ying around as he could no longer tolerate it, but the youngdy wasn''t done yet.

    "Dad, you not Zhang Mingyu''s father, you raised someone else''s son." As soon as Liling repeated her words, she got put in a standstill position because her father refuted it.

    "I understand your concern regarding the bleeding disorder, but Mingyu is my son. I had a DNA test ran when your stepmother was still pregnant with him. I put my eyes on it so there is no way the result had been faked." Zhang Liling said.

    He was grateful that his daughter was worried about him, but he would not hesitate to let her know the truth which he witnessed.

    Hearing her husband''s statement, Shi Wenqian sighed in relief. "I bet you didn''t know about this otherwise you wouldn''t stand there spewing nonsense!" She said, ring at her.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "Who said that I didn''t know Dad ran a DNA test when you were still pregnant that time ? Pfft... Hahaha..." Zhang Liling roared inughter, shocking the trio. "You really must have underestimated me."

    Zhang Renshu checked the wall clock and discovered that his time was up but before he could say anything Liling who had been observing him, quickly interjected.

    "Dad, I know that the test results were correct, and that''s because Shi Wenqian was indeed pregnant back then. But things changed when she went intobour. She lost your son and brought another woman''s son into our family."

    "You bitch!" Shi Wenqian screamed andunched at her, attempting to pull her hair, but as she had seen that moveing, she pushed her to the floor and quickly picked up her handbag.

    "How dare you use me of paternity fraud! Mingyu is your father''s biological son! Did they devil you send you here to destroy my family a day before my son''s grand wedding? How did you know what happened back then? Who has been feeding you with these lies?!" Shi Wenqian cried out while sitting on the floor.

    "Liling, what sort of nonsense is this?!" Zhang Mingyu asked as he red hard at her before going over to his mother''s side. His hands were shaking, and he didn''t even notice.

    Zhang Renshu was no different. In fact, he wa annoyed while thinking that she was trying to put asunder in the family because of thepany shares he gave to Mingyu.

    "Liling, I get that you are angry because of those shares, but there is a limit I can tolerate with you acting up."

    Liling was not surprised that her father didn''t believe her immediately. She had seen iting.

    "Dad, you must not know me very well then if you think I''m acting up." Saying that, she dipped her hand inside her bag and took out a big envelope she had folded.

    She opened it and brought out the two sheets of papers inside the file. "I got two separate DNA tests done at your friend, Dr. Li''s hospital to prove that neither you nor Shi Wenqian is the biological parent of Zhang Mingyu. And, Xiaoling was the one that provided me with the test items thest time she was here."

    Revealing thest secret, she stole a nce at the horrified woman still sitting on the floor. Currently, she was battling with going into shock if not, she would have snatched those papers and torn then to shreds.

    "No! It''s not true! Renshu, don''t listen to her! Xiaoling would never do anything like that!" She cried out while holding her chest.

    With shaking hands, Zhang Renshu received the papers. As soon as he saw the hospital''s logo, he knew that whatever the results would say, would be the truth.

    Hearing her mention about her daughter, Zhang Liling had a goodugh. "Why do you think Xiaoling won''t betray you? Your daughter already left the country more than an hour ago. Hahaha..."

    "What! Xiaoling went where?" Zhang Mingyu asked as he rose to his feet.

    Already, he was questioning his entire existence since the time she brought about those papers, but he has been trying to push it to the back of his mind by denying it.

 Chapter 466 Shi Wenqians Threat

    Zhang Liling scoffed and was about to respond to them when her father fell on his dining chair with his butt.

    Immediately, she returned a concerned gaze to him.

    "Shi Wenqian, i-is this true?" Zhang Renshu asked in a low bitter tone as a lump formed in his throat. His breath, heaving at every second that passed.

    With the question directed at her, Shi Wenqian quickly shook her head. "It''s not true! I told you it''s not true!"

    Almost immediately, Zhang Mingyu snatched up the papers form Zhang Renshu to go through the results with shaky hands.

    Skipping the long texts after seeing the topic of the result, he went down to the button of the page to see the verdict.

    "H-He is not my father?" he stuttered. As if he couldn''t believe his eyes. As if still in doubt, he nced at the other paper to check the test done between him and his mother only to discover that his whole life was a joke.

    "No... Wait! This can''t be true right?" He asked with his gaze on Zhang Liling who didn''t seem to be on his side.

    Receiving no response, he rushed to Shi Wenqian''s side and showed the papers to her. "Mum! This is not true right? I am you and dad''s child right?"

    When Shi Wenqian saw those papers that brought her deep secret to light in front of her eyes, she didn''t waste a second before snatching them from him, and shredding them to pieces.

    "I said it''s not true!" She screamed as she got to her feet.

    "This bitch," she said pointing at Liling, "Is doing this because I maltreated her in the past and finally got you to be your father''s sessor instead of her! Not just that, you got half of your father''s shares so she can''t take it!"

    "Hahaha.... You must be very desperate to deny the truth." Lilingughed.

    Since she was born, she had never seen anyone like Shi Wenqian before. Even after the truth has been exposed, she was still denying it but that was good, because she has also never seen her in that miserable state before.

    "Do you think I don''t have another record of those results? Hahaha... I can always go back to Dr. Li to print those results again since it is recorded in their system. Let''s see how long you are going to continue to deny it." She revealed while sitting on the dining chair.

    Hearing her confession, Shi Wenqian snapped out of her pathetic state. At that point, she found no use of denying the truth anymore, but she swore that she was going to kill Zhang Liling.

    Immediately, she swiped everything on the table to the floor before finally picking up a knife, scaring the maid that was on her way sneaking out.

    Already, the rest of the servants in the house and gathered in one corner and was watching with dread as Shi Wenqian''s secret was exposed.

    "You are right! The test results are correct, but what can you do about it?" Shi Wenqian asked as her eyes red hard at Zhang Liling who had already stood up from her chair in fear.

    Zhang Renshu on the other hand, clutched his chest as he was being pulled into a pool of several negative emotions.

    "This wedding must still happen tomorrow whether you like it or not! Half of your father''s shares has been transferred to Mingy and also, I got 1% shares yesterday. None of this can change the truth and I''m sure your father will not risk his political ambition and his family name just for some paternity test results!" Shi Wenqian roared angrily as Zhang Mingyunded hands and butts down on the floor.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    He was in total shock.

    Shi Wenqian was sure that nothing much will change after the truth hade out. She even went on to start her ground about what will happen based on what she allows.

    She never denied what Liling said about her child dying and how she paid the nurses and the doctors to exchange her dead son with another woman''s son.

    She confessed all of that while pointing at Zhang Liling with the knife.

    "Zhang Liling, I dare you to provoke me again and see if I will not cut you."

    Just then, a series of rushed footsteps were heard, alerting everyone in the house. But Liling got this as a cue smile.

    In no time, the detectives and the police appeared in the dining area.

    As soon as Shi Wenqian saw them, she dropped the knife in her hand. "Y-You called the police? When did you call them?"

    She hadn''t seen her holding any phone so when did she make that call? But immediately she saw Fang Bingwen, she knew what was happening.

    "Save you breath because I''m going to be suing you for paternity fraud on behalf of my father after all of this." Zhang Liling stated and gave way for the police to make an address as Zhang Renshu''swyer made an entrance and walked over to his side.

    "Mrs. Zhang Wenqian, you are under arrest for your involvement with Organ trafficking in the country and abroad. Starting from today, your assets and your foundation has been seized." As soon as the head detective made that announcement, the police closed in on her to handcuff her while trying to manage her struggles and ignoring her protests.

    "Yah! Don''t touch me! Who paid you to ruin my reputation? Is it that bitch?"

    No matter how loud her screams were, it didn''t stop the detective from informing her of her rights to remain silent and her rights towyer.

    On the other hand, Zhang Renshu and Zhang Mingyu were beyond shocked. "She is involved in what?" Zhang Renshu felt like dying.

    As if nothing moved her, Shi Wenqian struggled and turned her attention to him, "Renshu? Are you not going to do something about this? Are you going to sit there like a pathetic chicken and watch them do this?

    Have you forgotten that I have 1% shares of Zhang Corps, and our son has half of your shares? Are you going to cancel the wedding with the Ong''s just for this ridiculous act?

    What about your political ambition? Are you giving it up just for this nderous usation?

    Zhang Corporation''s shares will surely go down if this news leaks so hurry and do something about these ingrates holding me!

    Then what about the Zhang family reputation? You don''t want to give all of these up because of me right? Hurry up and tell them to let me go!"

    Shi Wenqian was like a mad person while trying to escape from the grip of the policemen holding her arms but no matter how much she struggled, it was all in vain!

 Chapter 467 The Internet Explodes

    "Is this the reason for those changes you made?" Zhang Renshu voiced breathlessly while staring at hiswyer with pain evident in his eyes.

    "Yes," Hiswyer affirmed in understanding.

    As soon as Zhang Renshu got the feedback, his vision darkened as he slumped, the voices in the background, fading within a short time.

    "Dad! Dad!" Zhang Liling screamed in fear as she rushed to his side.

    At the same time, one of the detectives picked up the phone and called an ambnce while Fang Bingwen came over to help Zhang Renshu up.

    "We don''t have time to wait for an ambnce. We will take him to the hospital." He said and immediately began to move Zhang Renshu''s body along with the help of hiswyer.

    Seeing her husband copse Shi Wenqian stopped screaming for a moment just to digest what was happening.

    "Yah! Zhang Renshu, are you ying games just to ignore me in this situation? Let me tell you now, I am your wife and nothing can change that!"

    As soon as those words left her lips, Zhang Renshu wiped her face with her palm. "Shut it!" She said through gritted teeth.

    Immediately, one of the policemen cane to hold her back.

    "Did you just hit me?" Shi Wenqian screamed at her while trying to set herself free from those grasps.

    "I will even do it again! You think you are still Mrs. Zhang? You want the entire Zhang family to go down with you? Dream on!" Zhang Liling fired back.

    "Yah! You bitch! Do you think I will divorce your father? Never!"

    Knowing that this would be the next step they would take, Shi Wenqian used this opportunity to let them know her response.

    "Hahaha... I can see you are still dreaming. Why will divorce papers be brought to you when you have already signed them? Also, do you think you or Zhang Mingyu is getting any shares? Dream on!" Zhang Liling posed a question while trying not to hit those cheeks again.

    Apparently, her hand was still itching.

    "What?" Shi Wenqian was still in total shock and confusing when the detectives and the police took her away.

    As for Zhang Mingyu, he remained frozen on the spot as everyone left.

    Right as Shi Wenqian was being dragged away, she saw her Secretary and tried to hit her because it just dawned to her that she betrayed her.

    "You! Bitch! I will kill you once I get my hands on you!"

    Secretary Cha remained unfazed as the policemen dragged her outside.

    "You will be called to the station to give your witness statement soon but for the time being, ensure that thosedies do not upload any videos from here." Liling instructed before walking past her.

    "Yes, Ma''am." Secretary Cha replied with a bow before immediately getting to work.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t undo what has been done as one of the maids has already posted something online, so she could only seize the phones and get the security men in the house to take of the gossipy one amongst them.

    On getting to the hospital, Zhang Liling received a call regarding the already trending news.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    ''Chairman Zhang Renshu sues Shi Wenqian for paternity fraud.''

    ''Shi Wenqian is arrested for her involvement in organ trafficking.''

    ''Chairman Zhang Renshu suffers a heart attack. The wedding with the Ong''scancelled?''

    Within the span of an hour, the inte exploded with different news about the Zhang family.

    On seeing the news, Mr. Ong quickly tried to reach Zhang Renshu, but he was attended to, by hiswyer who regrettably concurred to the news. But since it was not his ce to give the full details, he passed the phone Zhang Liling who gave the order for the wedding to be cancelled.

    From over the phone, Mr. Ong red up and started cursing, prompting her to give the phone back to thewyer.

    She didn''t need any more ache to her head as she wasn''t feeling okay as well.

    Within the next hour, the Ong family released a statement, calling off the wedding and as soon as they did that, they went off the radar as all efforts by the media to contact then, proved abortive.

    In no time, both the Zhang Residence and the Ong''s residence was crowded by reporters seeking a statement from any of them.

    Thankfully, the name of the private hospital Zhang Renshu taken to, did not leak to the press otherwise, it wouldn''t have been easy to take care of.

    At the same time, Mrs. Tang was breaking things in anger after seeing the news.

    "Call that witch Zhang Xiaoling! She must have seen thising and decided to take my son with her! Call her now!" She ordered while holding her head.

    Already, her Tang family was being called out by the media and she could count how many calls she has rejected.

    Even theirndline keeps ringing continuously.

    "Ma''am, we can''t reach Mrs. Xiaoling or your son. Their lines are not connecting." The servant next to her informed in a panicky state.

    "That girl! She did this on purpose! She is so cunning. She dared to deceive us, who knows the kind lies she spewed to my son! The Zhang family is a total joke! I must meet with Mr. Zhang as soon as he gets out of that hospital bed!" She promised.

    On the other hand, her husband Mr. Tang sat in his home study thinking deeply about the news. After some seconds, he shook his head before making a call.

    Knowing that the news on the inte was also going to affect his business, he instructed his two sons to go to thepany and take care of the mess to avoid thepany stocks from plummeting.

    Already, Zhang Corps shares were going down, and the board of directors were not finding things funny at their end.

    *******

    After Zhang Renshu''s condition was stabilized, and receiving a lot of calls from some of Zhang Corps board members and other people, she made a call to her mother.

    "Mum, please you have toe back now. We need you."

    "I know. My flight is about to take off. Hold on till I arrive." Song Jujing said as she terminated the call and put her phone on airne mode before fastening her seatbelt in the first ss cabin of the airne she just boarded.

 Chapter 468 The Real Victim

    *******

    It''s been two solid weeks since the inte was broken into two after the Zhang family''s scandal, and a lot has happened following each passing day of threading around on eggshells.

    Song Jujing arrived the country to take care of the plummeting stocks of Zhang Corps thereby putting a stop to thepany going bankrupt.

    Because of the severity of the heart attack Zhang Renshu suffered, he was given a bed rest and since he couldn''t take care of work, he gave his ex-wife the authority to control Zhang Corps until he returns.

    Through hiswyer, he released a public statement after he left the hospital, apologizing to the Ong''s, the Tang''s and the Fang''s and also to the public as he never knew he was harbouring a criminal in his home, and that he was also a victim.

    Thankfully, Zhang Renshu didn''t have a lot to worry about now that Song Jujing was around to take care of things on his behalf.

    Foremost, he was relieved that the documents for the share transfers he signed with Shi Wenqian and Zhang Mingyu were now invalid, thanks to the terms and conditions hiswyer added.

    He was also a little more relieved after his divorce with Shi Wenqian was processed and stamped by the court.

    With the anger of Shi Wenqian''s betrayal, he sued her for paternity fraud, totally iming all the assets in her hands aspensation for it, and also to the damage she had cause his Zhang family.

    Of course, Shi Wenqian was a criminal that would soon go on trial so whether she liked it or not, she didn''t have a say, and as her bank ounts were frozen and her assets seized by the court, she couldn''t make any decision herself.

    She could only continually bang her body on the wall of her prison cell in her uniform.

    "Damn you! Screw you a billion times, Zhang Renshu!" That''s all she kept screaming each time she remembered her loss.

    After taking care of his ex-wife, Zhang Renshu kicked Zhang Mingyu out of the Zhang family''s household register and the Zhang Residence, leaving nothing to his name.

    He did that mercilessly and bitterly without even meeting him once.

    Fortunately for the young man whose whole life came crashing down in front of him, Song Jujing intervened and helped him out.

    "I know this is nothingpared to what you have lost, but it will be enough for you to start a new life in another country or city of you want." She said while handing him a check.

    Staring at the check in her hand, Zhang Mingyu who looked nothing like the rich sheltered young master of the Zhang family, reached out to take it. "Thank you." He muttered through cracked lips.

    Already, he had packed his things and was on his way leaving the house with his luggage when he met her at the entrance.

    Song Jujing nodded. "Take your car with you. You can chose to sell it when you want to leave this city. It''s your choice to make."

    Again, Zhang Mingyu thanked her before taking the car from her. Having onest look as the only home he had known since he was born, he pulled his luggage and left.

    Arriving at the car park, he loaded all his stuff into the trunk before getting into the driver''s seat where he cried his heart out almost an hour before driving away.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    In all of this mess caused by Shi Wenqian, Zhang Mingyu was the most pitiful.

    With the betrayal and pain in his heart, he stopped by the prison Shi Wenqian was held in.

    "Why did you do this to me? Why?!" He screamed while weeping uncontrobly.

    "Do you even need to ask that after everything has been unfolded before your very eyes?" Shi Wenqian was unfazed by his situation and looked away. "Seeing how pathetic you are looking, Zhang Renshu must have chased you out of his house."

    Zhang Mingyu was dumbfounded by herck of remorse and care. "I thought you loved me. I thought you were my mother." He mumbled to himself as snort ran down from his nose.

    "I am not your mother!" Shi Wenqian mmed while ring hard at him. If there was nothing wedged between them, she would have beaten him up.

    "Then who is my mother? Where is she? Since you stole her child from her, you must know her details! Tell me, where is she?! How do I find her? Where is my true family?!" Zhang Mingyu screamed as he attacked the thick stic separating them.

    Seeing themotion, the policewoman watching them immediately hurried over to stop him from breaking the stic ss wall.

    Flinching backwards because of his sudden outburst, Shi Wenqian screamed back at him. "Your mother is dead! I made sure of that before living in peace!"

    "What? You killed my birth mother?" Zhang Mingyu froze.

    "I don''t know, don''t ask me! Also, you don''t have any family. Your mother was a single mother. In fact, I didn''t kill her. I don''t have a hand in it, okay?" Shi Wenqian retorted and walked back to her cell by herself.

    On the other hand, Zhang Mingyu was screaming for her toe back, but his words fell on deaf ears.

    He was left alone, alone to fend for himself.

    Apparently, a few days earlier, he had gone to the hospital to see Mika, but was told that she had been discharged two days prior to his visit so he went to her apartment only to be told that she had already moved away.

    When he begged thendy on his knees to give him information about her, it was only then that he learned that she had an abortion before moving away.

    After seeing the secrets of the Zhang family unfold online, Mika had first gone into shock and only a few hourster, she registered for an abortion to be done immediately as she didn''t want to keep the child of the fake son of the Zhang family.

    She didn''t want anything to do with Zhang Mingyu again, or any connection hence she immediately quit her job at Zhang Corps the same day she was discharged from the hospital.

    Heartbroken and dejected with everything happening around him, Zhang Mingyu made a tough decision after a few days of secretly staying at a cheap motel to avoid the press.

    He decided to move to a small country to restart his life.

 Chapter 469 EPILOGUE

    *******

    ~Two years and some months Later~

    "Darling," Fang Bingwen called out softly while gathering the naked woman under the sheets in his arms.

    "Mmmm..." Zhang Liling hummed with a smile as she let the man''s hot breath fan her cheeks. "You tired me outst night, let me sleep some more." She pleaded and turned her back to him, in a bid to go back to sleep.

    "How dare you turn you back on your husband?" He asked and immediately turned her over. Looking into her eyes, he probed, "Did I permit it? I haven''t had my fill yet."

    Saying that, he leaned in to kiss the corner of her lips and then trailed it down to her neck before teasing her chest and making a stop between her breasts.

    "Hahaha..." Giggling as he ticked her soft skin with his lips, she pleased for mercy. "Honey stop."

    "Stop what?" he asked as he climbed her, letting the duvet fall to his waist. "You should have gotten dressed as soon as the morning rays came in, or maybe got out of bed, butid on my bed naked waiting for me to wake and ravish youpletely, so why are you trying to stop me?"

    "I was wrong! Hahaha... Please just let me off. Just this once, I promise not to do it again. Hahahaha..." Lilingughed out loud while wriggling her body excitedly.

    At the end, Fang Bingwen had to warn her of the danger ahead. "You better stop moving if you don''t want me slipping inside you without warning. Remember, I don''t know what patience is." Says that man who used to let her take the lead when it came to bed activities as at 3 years ago.

    "You don''t know what patience is? Well, I will teach now. I am pregnant." Liling announced with a smile.

    Instantly, Bingwen froze on top of her for some minutes. "Again?" he eximed as his body shook in shock.

    "What were you expecting? When we''ve been sleeping together on a daily?" Liling retorted with a smile that reached her eyes.

    "You are not joking me with right?" Fang Bingwen tried to confirm while looking into her eyes.

    This sudden news sounded unbelievable to the extent that he wanted nothing more than to drive her to the hospital to have a test done.

    "How can I joke with a serious affair?" Liling asked while hiding behind a big smile.

    She really loved seeing him so worked out and she was currently enjoying his current situation. Serves him right for trying to make love to her first thing in the morning after stressing her the previous night.

    Immediately, Bingwen got off her body. "I thought we were using a very solid pregnancy prevention method, what happened? Has the injection expired?"

    "Yes, it''s been 2 years since thest one." Sitting up, she used the duvet to cover her naked chest and continued, "The date slipped my mind, so I waste for another dose of the injection. I also didn''t check my mail box, so I totally missed the clinic''s reminder."

    "My goodness! I didn''t want us to have another child so soon not after you deprived me of s*x most of the time in your previous pregnancy. Also, our son is not up to 3 years yet." Fang Bingwen felt like retracing his steps, but it was toote.

    He did not have the power to turn back the hand of time.

    If he knew that Zhang Liling would get pregnant so soon, he wouldn''t have been making love to her regrly so confidently. He would have made sure she wouldn''t be prone to taking in before having a go with her.

    "My goodness!" He covered his face with his palms in regret.

    Seeing him in that state, Lilingughed out loud before taking the duvet off her body. "Very soon, you will only be able to look at this goody bag without touching." She teased and then attempted to get off the bed, but who said she could leave?

    "Where do you think you are going to?" Fang Bingwen pulled her back and immediately got her under him and spread her legs with his knees.

    "I was going to let you off because you are pregnant again, but how dare you make fun of me when we are both naked? You must be asking to be spanked."

    "Hahaha... I''m sorry." Liling begged with her eyes shut while trying to get away from his teasing but all attempts proved abortive.

    Fang Bingwen paid her no need as he slipped inside her, causing a soft moan to escape from her lips. "Are you really pregnant?" He asked as he teased her while going in and pulling out of her slowly.

    He was torturing her, and he enjoyed it.

    "Yes, I''m serious." She replied in-between moaning andughter.

    Having confirmed that she was telling the truth, he kissed her lips and regrised moving in and out of her.

    After half an hour of making love to her, he pulled her into the bathroom with him and got washed under the shower.

    A few minutester, they both got dressed and went over to the dining room to have breakfast.

    "Where is Bryan? Has he eaten?" Liling asked after her son.

    "He is ying with his toys." The maid replied and left their sight.

    "Since moving into her retirement home, mum has been asking to bring Bryan over for a vacation." Liling said to Bingwen.

    "We should take him to her this weekend. This will be good for us, and we will have enough time for business and for US." He said with a smile as he took his seat.

    Liling smiled back at him. "I agree on this one. I just hope that mum has finally found the peace she wanted after running away from her Song family."

    "I thought she agreed to visit them once in a while after your grandfather came to her work ce several times." He inquired with a little confusing prominent on his face.

    "Yes, but trust her to get away when she gets tired. Somehow, I think it''s good that they do not know where she is living otherwise, they would have all visited several times."

    "No wonder your mother quickly packed out of that apartment."

    Just as Liling sat down, she got a call from Zhang Xiaoling.

    "Hey! You are just calling now when the date you gave has passed." She said immediately she answered the call.

    Xiaoling released a tired sigh. "I''ve been preupied and then I forgot. I''m still busy, but I remembered the promise to call back and decided to do it now even though the conversation might notst more than 5 minutes. Hahaha..."<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "Dad will be celebrating his 60th birthday. He asked for Mingyu toe, have you gotten a hold of him yet?"

    "Not yet, I think he went fishing again, but I left him a voicemail." Xiaoling replied.

    "That''s fine. If he sees it on time, that will be his luck." Liling said and received a bite of the sliced bread Bingwen fed her.

    A soft sigh escaped Xiaoling''s lips as she added, "I have to go back to the dining room, my mother-inw is here."

    "I thought she said she wasn''t going to ept you or your daughter anymore, what is she doing there?" Zhang Liling scoffed.

    "I need the answers too." Xiaoling had a goodugh.

    This was the woman that asked Ei to throw her out of their lives even after she returned to the country with a visible baby bump but here she was ying with her granddaughter.

    After talking a bit about Mrs. Tang, Zhang Liling announced, "I''m pregnant!"

    "What!" Xiaoling was taken aback by that revtion. "I thought you and Bingwen agreed that you won''t be having another child until 4 yearster. How long as it been? It''s not been up to 3 years."

    "Hahaha... It''s both of our fault. I forgot the date for my next shot, and he, he couldn''t keep his hands to himself, so we ended up making another baby."

    "Good luck on that one. Let''s talkter before something goes amiss here. Hahaha..."

    "Bye."

    As soon as Liling dropped the call, Fang Bingwen asked while giving her the side nce. "I couldn''t keep my hands to myself? What about the other times you seduced me?"

    "It doesn''t count." Liling said and quickly nces at the phone vibrating next to her. Seeing the caller ID, she quickly put her phone on airne mode.

    Seeing that move from her, he got curious. "Who is that?"

    "Housekeeper Cha." She replied and went back to eating her breakfast.

    "Why are you not answering her call?" He probed.

    "Dad must be fighting again with his pregnant new wife. I don''t have the energy to settle their issue today. I have to prepare for another runway show with FJ styles plus the release of another product line from Glint." Liling answered as she pushed her phone away from her line of sight.

    Since Glint was listed, she had be very busy and famous too, along with the money flowing in without reserve.

    "Okay, but don''t forget you have a brunch with Tungmei." Fang Bingwen reminded without tearing his gaze off her.

    The more he looked at his wife, the more happy he felt.

    "I almost forgot." She breathed and paused with her food. "She has been dating secretly for a few months now while refusing to tell me about it because she wanted to get back at me for what I did when we were dating. But today, she said she was going to introduce me to her boyfriend."

    "Hahaha... She got you right there. Bolin will be driving me to the perfume factory today, it''s been long since I created something with my hands. Also, I will be going to see Chuanli, he said he has something to tell me."

    "Good luck!" Liling wished.

    "Good luck!" Bingwen wished back as he stole a quick sultry kiss from her.

    THE END!!!

    *¡ã¡ã*a€¡éa€¡éa€¡éa€¡é*¡ã¡ã*

    DEAREST READERS! WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF "MR. FANG''s FEISTY MISTRESS"

    I DON''T HAVE A LOT OF WORDS TO SAY THAN TO THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ME FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS WORK UNTIL THE VERY END!

    I''M JUST EXCITED TO HAVE REACHED THIS POINT BECAUSE I NEVER EXPECTED I WILL END IT IN ONE SHOT.

    I DIDN''T SEE IT COMING.

    I''M NOT GOING TO BE EMOTIONAL BECAUSE ALL I CAN FEEL IS RELIEF, AND A WEIGHT OFF MY SHOULDERS.

    ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU DEARESTSSSSSS READERS AND FANS FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT.

    I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS IMMENSELY!

    IF YOU HAVE GIFTS FOR ME, PLEASE SEND IT IN... Lol...

    DEARESTSSSSSS, PLEASE DON''T FORGET TO FOLLOW MY ONGOING WORK, ''Love Past Time" I PROMISE, YOU WILL LOVE IT.

    ALSO IN APRIL, I HAVE SOMETHING...

    PLEASE JOIN MY DISCORD SERVER TO FOLLOW FOR MORE UPDATES and ANNOUNCEMENTS!

    https://discord.gg/GywPN7X

    THANK YOU!

    SEE YOU SOON, Dearestssssss XOXO...

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!