Just as Pei Jiangmu had expected, Meng Ruozhao really didn't dare to face him.
She didn't dare to leave her room until she heard Pei Jiangmu go out.
She rubbed her throbbing temples and intended to go into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of warm water.
To relieve the discomfort brought on by the hangover and the embarrassment lingering from those strange "dreams".
As it turned out, on the dining table, she found the hangover soup Pei Jiangmu had left for her and a note.
"Sister, if the hangover soup gets cold, warm it up before drinking. I've gone to class."
Tsk tsk.
He even made hangover soup for her.
And yet she had such a dream.
Meng Ruozhao, you're so stupid!
She picked up the water cup, shaking her head and sighing as she found her phone and turned it on.
The screen was instantly bombarded with a series of missed - call alerts and text messages.
Almost all of them were from the same number—her father, Du Feng.
Her heart sank abruptly, and a sense of foreboding quickly enveloped her.
She could guess the reason for Du Feng's numerous calls.
It must be that he knew she had broken up with Yan Qiubai.
The Du family would find out about this sooner or later, but she didn't expect them to know so quickly.
Just as she frowned, the phone rang again like a death knell.
The words "father" still flashed on the screen.
She took a deep breath and answered the call.
She had to face it sooner or later anyway.
Before she could even say a word, Du Feng's almost roaring voice came through the receiver, making her eardrums ache.
"Meng Ruozhao, you finally turned on your phone? Now get your ass back here immediately! Right now! This instant!"
Meng Ruozhao held the phone away from her ear. When the roaring on the other end paused, she calmly said,
"Dad, what's the matter? I'm busy."
"Busy? What could you be busy with? Busy trying to piss me off?"
Du Feng's voice was distorted with extreme anger.
"You've really grown up, daring to break up with Young Master Yan. Who gave you the guts? Do you still have this family in your eyes?"
Sure enough, it was about this.
Meng Ruozhao closed her eyes. Fatigue washed over her even more.
"Dad, this is a matter between Yan Qiubai and me. I can handle it myself..."
"Handle your ass!"
Du Feng rudely interrupted her.
"How are you going to handle it? Huh? Is this how you handle things?"
"Who gave you the guts to break up? Are you trying to drag our Du family down with you?"
From the other end of the phone came Xia Lian's voice, seemingly trying to persuade but actually adding fuel to the fire.
"Old Du, don't get so excited. Watch out for your health."
"Maybe Ruozhao was just being confused and throwing a tantrum."
"Could it be that after living outside for a while, her mind has become more active and she doesn't like the path arranged by the family..."
Sure enough, Du Feng's anger flared even more.
"Living outside. Right, I was just about to ask you."
"Where the hell are you living now?
"I've had people check all night. There's no property in your name, and no hotel check - in records."
"Did you go and rent some shady apartment just to save a few bucks?"
"Didn't I give you so much money? My Du Feng's daughter living in a place like that. You're deliberately trying to make me look bad."
"Do you want the whole city of Haicheng to laugh at our Du family for mistreating you?"
Meng Ruozhao tightened her fingers around the phone.
Sure enough, just by giving her a card, he could stand on the moral high ground and scold her.
"The place I'm living in is safe and clean. I'll handle my own affairs and won't drag the Du family down," she explained coldly.
"Handle? How are you going to handle it!"
Du Feng's voice was full of contempt and disbelief.
"Let me tell you, Meng Ruozhao, don't be ungrateful.
"Within today, you must go and apologize to Young Master Yan, beg for his forgiveness, and stabilize this engagement! Otherwise..."
He paused, and his tone became extremely gloomy and threatening.
"Isn't that lousy studio of yours what you care about the most?
"If you don't come back obediently and clear things up today, I'll immediately send someone to smash your shop!
"I mean what I say! You can give it a try!"
Meng Ruozhao's breath caught in her throat.
Her face instantly turned pale.
She knew that Du Feng was fully capable of doing it.
For the sake of the Du family's interests and reputation, he would do anything.
[Fuyunxuan] was her life's work, a symbol of her independence.
It was her guarantee for the future, and she couldn't lose it.
Du Feng, as her father, had never helped her with her career, but now he was threatening her with her life's work.
A sense of helplessness and anger intertwined, almost drowning her.
She bit her lower lip hard, trembling with anger.
On the other end of the phone, Du Feng seemed to hear her heavy breathing and knew he had found her weak point.
His tone softened a bit, but still carried an undeniable command.
"Now, go home immediately. I'll give you an hour."
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Meng Ruozhao's reply.
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Meng Ruozhao stood there rigidly, her whole body icy cold.
The sun was shining brightly outside the window, but she only felt a chill all over.
After a long silence, she slowly put down the phone, walked into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face several times, trying to calm herself down.
Looking at herself in the mirror, pale - faced with helplessness and stubbornness in her eyes, she took a deep breath.
She couldn't avoid it anymore.
She had to go back and face it all.
She changed into a decent outfit, put on makeup to cover the traces of the hangover.
Then she picked up her bag and keys and walked out of the apartment.
Every step felt as heavy as if her feet were tied with lead weights.
When she stood outside the heavy carved iron gate of the Du family villa, she took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.
Every time she came back here, it was like stepping into an invisible battlefield, suffocating.
The maid opened the door. Her attitude was far from respectful, just letting her in as a routine.
As soon as she stepped into the living room and before she could even see the situation inside, a voice full of undisguised malice came from the direction of the stairs.
"Yo, I was wondering who it was. Isn't this our precious and noble young lady of the Du family who's too lazy to come home?"
"What, finally willing to crawl out of your god - knows - where doghouse?"
Meng Ruozhao looked up.
She saw Du Xixi lazily leaning on the stair railing.
Looking at Meng Ruozhao, her face wore that classic expression of envy, contempt, and schadenfreude.
Meng Ruozhao was too lazy to pay attention to her. She just wanted to find Du Feng directly and resolve the matter quickly so she could leave.
Seeing that she was being ignored, Du Xixi felt slighted.
She immediately raised her voice, walked down a few steps from the stairs, and blocked Meng Ruozhao's way.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?"
Meng Ruozhao stopped in her tracks and looked at her coldly. "What do you want?"
Du Xixi sized her up and down, her eyes like a poisonous snake slithering over her body.
Then, suddenly, she let out a sneer, lowered her voice, but her tone became even more venomous.