Meng Ruozhao felt like laughing and a wave of disgust welled up in her heart.
What did Du Feng take her for?
The Du Group had nothing to do with her. Now that it was in trouble, he wanted her to cozy up to Yan Qiubai?
In Du Feng's eyes, she was just a tool for seeking benefits.
However, it wasn't the time to fall out yet.
So she raised her eyes, looking at Du Feng's face full of false smiles, and gently spoke, her tone emotionless.
"Dad, what if I fail to strike a deal? Will I, like Du Xixi, not be allowed to come back?"
The smile on Du Feng's face froze. He didn't expect Meng Ruozhao to ask such a question suddenly.
He let out a couple of dry laughs, trying to ease the atmosphere.
"Zhaozhao, what are you talking about? You're different from Xixi."
"As long as you have a good talk with Young Master Yan, he'll definitely give you face."
Meng Ruozhao sneered inwardly. Yan Qiubai wasn't that easy to fool.
Not only was their relationship awkward, but in her heart, she didn't want to do this for Du Feng.
But on the surface, she still replied obediently, "Okay, I'll do my best."
After saying that, she excused herself to go upstairs and change clothes, then left the living room.
Back in her room, she opened the closet. Looking at those gorgeous clothes Du Feng had bought for her, another wave of annoyance welled up in her heart.
Finally, she randomly picked a simple dress and put it on.
When she went downstairs again, she met Du Xixi coming up the stairs at the corner.
The palm print on Du Xixi's face hadn't faded yet. Half of her face was swollen high, looking extremely pitiful.
But when she saw Meng Ruozhao, she sneered and lowered her voice.
"Seeing me like this, are you very pleased?"
What did she have to be pleased about? She wasn't the one who slapped Du Xixi.
Meng Ruozhao was too lazy to play along with her madness. She glanced at her and was about to leave.
Du Xixi said again, "Don't be too happy too soon. We're all just pawns in his hands. If you lose Yan Qiubai, your ending will be even worse than mine."
These words made Meng Ruozhao stop in her tracks.
She turned around, looked at Du Xixi, and then smiled.
"I'm different from you. For example, if he were to slap me, I'd flip the table on the spot instead of taking it out on others."
After saying that, without caring what Du Xixi thought, she directly went downstairs.
Du Xixi might think she was boasting, but she wasn't joking.
Even if Du Feng was her father, she wouldn't just take the beating obediently.
Someone had taught her that if you were bullied, you should fight back.
Downstairs, Du Feng was whispering something to Xia Lian. Xia Lian's face was full of a flattering look.
When she saw Meng Ruozhao coming down, she immediately put on that false smile again.
"Zhaozhao, the Pei family's driver is already waiting outside. You should perform well when you get there."
Meng Ruozhao didn't respond. She walked straight towards the door.
As soon as she went out, sure enough, she saw a black sedan parked there. When the driver saw her, he quickly got out of the car and opened the door for her.
"Miss Meng, Young Master Yan is tied up with work, so he sent me to pick you up and take you directly there."
Meng Ruozhao thought Yan Qiubai would book a restaurant, but unexpectedly, the driver took her directly to a banquet hall.
She got out of the car suspiciously and saw Yan Qiubai waiting at the door.
When he saw her, his eyebrows relaxed and he walked towards her quickly.
Last night, anger and disappointment had made him toss and turn all night, resulting in a splitting headache today.
However, seeing her at this moment, even the pain seemed to dull.
The way her plain white skirt swept across the carpet was like a beam of moonlight splitting open the rational defense line he had carefully built.
"Zhaozhao."
The sound of his Adam's apple rolling was drowned out in the noisy voices.
He almost bumped into others when he strode forward, but he forcefully retracted his strength just as he was about to grab her wrist.
His fingertips hovered three millimeters above her wrist, as if touching fragile glass.
"Why did you choose this place?"
Meng Ruozhao looked up at him. Her eyelashes cast a crow-feather-like shadow on her cheeks.
Seeing her act as if nothing had happened and not mention the disagreement last night, Yan Qiubai felt a slight pain in his heart.
But the next second, he suddenly smiled and stroked the stray hair behind her ear with his thumb.
"If you go missing again next time, remember to charge your phone."
He motioned for her to hold his arm. His movements were so familiar as if he had practiced them thousands of times.
Meng Ruozhao wanted to explain that she hadn't gone missing on purpose and hadn't received his call.
But it seemed inappropriate at this moment.
She just let out a low grunt and let Yan Qiubai lead her into the golden revolving door.
The light reflected by the crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall stabbed at the back of her eyes. The guests gathered around the champagne tower were having a heated discussion.
"Chairman Pei is recalling his youngest son this time. He's probably going to restructure the group."
"I heard that the young Master Pei isn't in his family's good graces, which is why his name hasn't been exposed for so many years."
"Come on. It's because he was kidnapped when he was a kid, which scared the Pei family half to death. That's why they've protected him very well all these years."
"I heard he'll also attend tonight. I don't know if it's true or not."
...
Meng Ruozhao hadn't attended any public banquets in the past six months, so naturally, she didn't know any celebrities.
But she had also heard of the Pei family in Haicheng.
The Pei family was a top-notch family in the business world of Haicheng and even the whole country. Its influence had permeated both the political and business circles for nearly half a century.
As one of the first rising financial groups, the Pei Group started with shipping and gradually built a huge empire covering finance, real estate, and energy.
During the tenure of the current head of the family, Pei Yanting, the family's assets had exceeded one trillion yuan, and three of its listed companies had long been on the list of the world's top 500.
Du Feng had mentioned more than once at home that if they could get in with the Pei family, they wouldn't have to worry for the rest of their lives.
However, she didn't care about the Pei family or the young Master Pei.
The floating aroma in the air made her temples throb. She still wasn't very used to this kind of occasion.
Especially when a bejeweled lady suddenly turned the topic to her.
"This young lady beside Young Master Yan looks very unfamiliar..."
The hand Yan Qiubai had around her waist suddenly tightened, like a branding iron declaring ownership.
However, before Yan Qiubai could say anything, she suddenly pulled away. Her hair brushed against Yan Qiubai's fingers that were frozen in mid-air.
She herself didn't expect that she would be so averse to Yan Qiubai's closeness that every cell in her body was protesting.
"Excuse me. I'll go touch up my makeup."
The terrace door at the end of the corridor was ajar. The night wind carried a hint of pine fragrance and poured into her hot collar.
Just as she was leaning against the pillar to catch her breath, a suppressed argument came from the terrace.
"... If he asks, just say I'm busy..."
That voice, wrapped in ice chips, made Meng Ruozhao's blood run cold. It sounded like Pei Jiangmu's voice!
She involuntarily moved closer along the wall and saw the back of the person inside through the crack in the door.
A well-tailored suit wrapped around his slender waist. The three-dimensional tailoring on his back made his shoulder line as sharp as if it had been carved with a knife.
The way he had one hand in his pocket made the bottom of his suit flap slightly, revealing a corner of his custom-made shirt cuff. The platinum cufflinks glinted coldly in the shadow.
This appearance was completely different from the embarrassed stray puppy she had seen yesterday.
But Meng Ruozhao still felt that this figure was very familiar.
Just as she was about to take a closer look, the person inside suddenly turned around and asked warily, "Who's there?"