Hu Lei remained in the library after the exchange with Housekeeper Li, but she did not continue fooling around. She instead focussed on checking the legal paperwork organised in the desk drawers. The only reason she had not been anxious to begin doing anything was because she had found these papers earlier.Zhong Feng had been thorough in his preparations for her return. He had handled everything from cancelling her contract with Dong Chen to managing her finances and general legal affairs. Hu Lei could imagine the kind of hold he had to be able to do everything without her approval or signature. She checked all the doc.u.ments and nodded in satisfaction.
The only thing that would need her personal involvement following her disappearance was the effect of her absence on her career as an author. Unfortunately, this aspect was also the most difficult to turn around because the problem could not be solved easily even with a lot of money.
She leaned back in thought. Right now, she had no publisher or editor. Her numerous fans had probably cussed her to the point of death. She understood that it would be impossible for them to be forgiving towards her hiatus.
Three years ago, she had been working simultaneously on two books, and there had been a rumour about a TV series about The Queen of the Apocalypse. Her popularity had been at an all-time high. Then, without warning, she had fallen off the face of the earth.
Her reputation as a prolific novelist must have taken a huge hit. She probably had a lot of blackened fans. She sighed in frustration. Luckily, no one in the industry knew who she was, except for Bo Qian. Well, even if someone looked into her without a deep dive into her background, they would not be able to track her down.
She wondered if she should retire her old penname. Little Ninja Cat was the worst name ever for an author, a ninja or even a cat. Perhaps, it was time to choose a new name. She could go by something fancy like I Drink Strawberry Juice or Great Lady of the Coldlands.
She shook her head. It would not do. If she abandoned her ident.i.ty as Little Ninja cat, she would betray the feelings of the people who had supported her from the beginning. In addition, she would betray herself, allowing an important piece of herself to be stolen by those who had already taken three years from her. It was a terrible name, but it did signify who she was in her heart.
Still, she could not think of another good method for making a comeback. If she returned to her original Little Ninja Cat ident.i.ty, would she continue with the two books she had left incomplete? Did she even remember the characters? Or should she just begin afresh? A lot of authors did leave books incomplete and write something new.
She could not think of a good solution. She decided to let the problem simmer for the night. Maybe the answer would come to her in a dream. She chuckled to herself before leaving the library.
It was about ten o"clock in the night when she went back to her new bedroom. She took a hot bath to relieve her tired body. It seemed her body was still too weak. Afterwards, she put on a pink onesie with a smile.
She realised that she was beginning to get addicted to these pyjamas. With that thought, she decided that she would stop wearing them as soon as it became warmer. She put on the feline hood and paw mittens. These things were too childish even if they felt like getting a hug from super fluffy warm clouds. She went back downstairs and settled in front of the TV.
She could stream something before Zhong Feng came back. She curled up on a couch and put on a thriller series. It was good to be back. Even though she had been able to watch some films during her first year in the lab, the collection primarily consisted of action movies.
When Zhong Feng returned deep in the night, he found Hu Lei sleeping while the TV played in the background. He frowned at the screen because he could see that it was a dark thriller type show. With her nightmares, it couldn"t be a good idea.
He looked down on her sleepy pinkish face and smiled. Somehow, the stress of dealing with work seemed to ebb away. Some land investment deal had gone wrong during his absence, and everyone was pointing fingers at each other, giving him a headache. Spending all that time dealing with people took a toll on him.
But one look at his fluffy Little Lei, he felt refreshed. Still, he could not approve of her waiting for him this late.
"You are back." Her yellow eyes looked at him sleepily, and his mouth stretched into a smile.
"En, did you eat?" He asked sternly but softly.
"I was waiting for you." She responded.
"You should eat something." He admonished with a hand on her head.
She caught his hand and checked his watch. It was past two in the morning. He had to be tired.
"It"s not good to eat this late. Let"s go to bed. I will eat more tomorrow." She rose and rubbed her eyes.
Zhong Feng realised that she was suffering from eyes strain. The orbs looked red and pained. He could guess that it was as a result of using screens. It seemed that it was time to take her to hospital for a long overdue check-up and perhaps eyegla.s.ses. He sighed and picked her up.
The rest of the night pa.s.sed without incident.
In the morning, those late sleepers still woke up quite early and had breakfast together. Hu Lei wanted to keep sleeping, but she did not want to miss out on an opportunity to be with Zhong Feng, especially if he would come back late.
When breakfast was concluded, Zhong Feng destroyed the moment of peace by delivering a lecture on health. Hu Lei wanted to laugh at his school princ.i.p.al aura, but she obediently listened as he instructed her to take breaks from looking at screens, not to watch scary TV and avoid skipping meals.
She did not protest because he was not wrong. Her body was not in the best condition, so she had to be a little more careful.
Before their conversation could continue, Housekeeper Li came back with a woman dressed in black jeans and a white T-shirt. Hu Lei looked at her with a critical eye. The woman was of average height, had short hair and slightly above average looks. She looked trained based on her gait and posture.
It seemed she could not escape the fate of having a guard. But more importantly, she sensed a concealed dislike coming from the woman"s eyes. Though she held it in admirably, nothing could escape Hu Lei"s keen eyes.
Hu Lei smiled at Zhong Feng who had a deep frown on his face. It seemed like he had also noticed the slight animosity. When he would have had Housekeeper Li take that woman out, his little lady shook her head at him.
He felt a little helpless because he knew she was probably thinking something untoward. He could only back down. It was alright for her to have her strange brand of entertainment. He would ensure that she was not in danger.
"Miss Hu, this will be your a.s.sistant. Her name is Ting Wan." Housekeeper Li introduced with a smile.