When Hu Lei heard the teasing from Chu Ling, her face darkened. Her mood became worse when Song Lili looked at her Ah Feng with impure thoughts. "Am I a joke to you?" she wondered with a sharp look in her eyes. Her discontent caused her yellow orbs to take on that glowing predatory appearance.Zhong Feng felt her change in mood and linked their fingers together. Hu Lei did not feel better. She wanted to find a mirror and check if she had become invisible again. After all, what other reason would be acceptable for them to behave like this shortly after Zhong Feng had introduced her as his girlfriend?
Unfortunately, she could do nothing. After all, Song Lili had not really done anything, and Chu Ling"s teasing could be considered innocent. This depressed her to no end. She felt like her skin was crawling from her inability to react.
Song Lili had a subtle triumphant gleam in her eyes, but not so much so that it was obvious to the people in the room. Even Hu Lei could not be certain that it was the product of her overly active imagination.
"Feng"er, I know that you like the Divine Comedy. By luck, I found an old edition of Inferno in the original Italian. I thought that you might like it as a collector"s item." She smiled disarmingly.
She took out a wrapped package and untied the twine. She revealed a leather-bound book which had to be highly valuable. Hu Lei could not help but be impressed. This woman must have prepared for a while before coming back to the country. Or her luck really was as outrageously good as she claimed.
"I do not read Italian." Zhong Feng said evenly.
He also would not claim to be a fan of the Divine Comedy. It was simply one of the many books that he had read when he went through a Western Renaissance literature phase as a child. Song Lili had probably made her own a.s.sumptions after seeing him with the book.
"It is still a valuable piece for collecting." Song Ling insisted, turning to him while stretching out the book towards him with both hands. Her bewitching face encouraged no refusal.
When Zhong Feng would have turned her down again, Hu Lei s.n.a.t.c.hed the book out of Song Lili"s hands. She looked at the book with interest. She was not a purist who liked reading only hardcopy books while sniffing the paper smell. However, she would never say no to owning nice books.
"A beautiful book like this is meant to be read. I will accept it in place of Ah Feng." She smiled beautifully at the woman.
Song Lili had always believed that she was able to deal with any situation without feeling embarra.s.sed. With her confidence and beauty, she could be as thick-skinned as she wanted. However, she had not met anyone like Hu Lei.
It was obvious that she had prepared the book as a love token for Zhong Feng. However, Hu Lei had not hesitated when taking it. If she was his girlfriend, she should be annoyed about this gesture. Moreover, in most cases, when a girl is dating above her station like her, she would know when to accommodate her superior opponent.
Hu Lei clearly just wanted the book while spiting her and did not have qualms about taking it. It had not been easy finding the book as she had said. She had travelled to Italy and found an eccentric collector. If she had not had a collection of ancient Chinese poems that he wanted, it would have been impossible. More importantly, the poetry book had belonged to her father, and she had taken it without permission.
Unfortunately, she did not know how to counter Hu Lei"s bold move.
"Hu girl, it is not good for you to take this book. After all, Lili went to a lot of trouble for Feng"er." Chu Ling intervened.
Song Lili looked down in sadness while approving of the older woman"s actions. With the intervention of the elders, it would be difficult for Hu Lei to keep the book.
"Auntie, you don"t have to worry about this matter. Giving the book to me or Ah Feng is the same. I can even read it aloud for him." Hu Lei offered with wide innocent eyes.
She would not lose in a battle of having thick skin. The only reason she could never beat Zhong Feng was because he used underhanded methods. Otherwise, she was not a person who would back down due to fear of shame.
Chu Ling and Song Lili wanted to protest. However, before they could find an argument, another person spoke first.
"Then, I will look forward to it." Zhong Feng smiled at Hu Lei who reddened a little. She had just been counterattacking. But it seems that this evil man had other plans.
Song Lili felt spellbound by the magnificent smile. When Zhong Feng had a cold face, he was like a beautiful immortal banished. However, when he smiled, he became a bewitching demon capturing souls. It was the first time that she had seen his smile.
"It is fine as long as Feng"er does not hate my gift." Song Lili smiled captivatingly.
Hu Lei could not help feeling a throb in her head. It was at this moment that she understood that there were different levels of shamelessness. This woman could even make her attempt to stick to a taken man look righteous and elegant. It was difficult to handle a person like this.
"Hu Lei, you did not explain your gift. I am quite curious." Song Lili suddenly asked.
Chu Ling and Zhong Tian also looked at Hu Lei in curiosity. They wanted to know more about the gift. However, since they had decided to support Song Lili, they had felt that it would not good if they showed too much interest.
"Oh, it is nothing great like the gifts brought by Miss Song. I fear that I will be embarra.s.sed." Hu Lei waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Auntie and Uncle would also like to know." Song Lili insisted with a smile that seemed to hold no ill intentions.
"Well, it is simply some tea that I got from a medicinal shop." Hu Lei responded carelessly.
"So it is like a health supplement?" the woman insisted.
Hu Lei thought for a moment before nodding.
"Oh, medicinal supplements can be good, but if there are taken carelessly, they could cause harm to the body." Song Lili said almost casually.
The words sounded like a general observation. However, the expressions on the face of Chu Ling and Zhong Tian became unpleasant. They did not speak, but it was obvious that they were going to toss the tea out almost immediately.
Before more words could be spoken, an old but energetic man entered the drawing room. Chu Ling immediately went forward to support him while the other people in the room, including Hu Lei, stood. However, the old man waved casually for them to sit back down.
It was obvious that his status was special.