When the crowd finally dispersed and everyone finished greeting them, Zhao Lifei was finally able to take a breather. Her eyes wandered around the banquet, seeking for Yang Ruqin who she had not seen the entire night. Zhao Lifei was surprised when she saw Yang Ruqin standing in a very secluded area by the corner of the banquet sipping wine next to a statue. She appeared to be alone, but right beside the statue was a man.
Zhao Lifei realized he was the rising actor Mu Ting who recently won an award for his leading role in Yang Ruqin"s proclaimed "current favorite movie." She squinted to get a better look at them and saw their lips were slowly moving. Were they having a conversation with each other?
"What are you looking at?" Yang Feng tried to follow the direction of her eyes but she quickly averted it and turned her head towards him.
"Nothing in particular." Zhao Lifei nonchalantly said, her face as blank as a piece of paper.
She understood what was happening between Yang Ruqin and Mu Ting. Both of them were incredibly famous celebrities. If a dating scandal were to break out, it would tarnish their reputation and branding.
Zhao Lifei could not bear the idea of Yang Ruqin"s name being dragged through the mud and decided to keep this a secret from everyone, including Yang Feng.
Yang Feng narrowed his eyes onto her suspicious expression and was about to question her, but she spoke up first.
"He"s right, you know." She took a sip of the grape juice he personally grabbed for her. Ensuring she didn"t touch any alcohol or unsupervised drinks, Yang Feng had one of his a.s.sistants travel ten minutes from the banquet just to pick up a drink for her.
"Who?"
"Whoever you told to scram."
Yang Feng frowned when he pieced the puzzle together. "Don"t believe him—"
"I was using your influence too much tonight. It"s not good for either of us if I keep on leaning on you like this—"
"I want you to do so." He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
When she saw the dangerous flames in his eyes, she was confused. Why was he angry?
"Rely on me as much as you want, use me as you"d like, I don"t care about all of it. If you become solely dependent on me, that would be even better." He affirmed, his obsidian eyes clas.h.i.+ng with her light auburn ones.
"Are you that scared I"m going to run off?" Her words sounded as if she was trying to start a fight and Yang Feng would"ve thought that was her motive, but her gentle tone said otherwise.
She saw his fear as clear as day. Why was he so terrified she would leave him? He acted as if she had done that to him before…
"You"re so unpredictable at times—"
"And you"re too paranoid." She mused, reaching up to caress his face, his velvety skin made her envious of him.
Her fingers traced his dark circles, a worried expression on her face. She decided it was better to change the topic. "Have you been sleeping well? The bags under your eyes are heavy."
"I can"t sleep properly without you." He answered in a heartbeat, his words taking her by surprise.
Since when was he so flirtatious? "I—"
He bent down, curving her body towards him. "I worry over your safety, worry over whether or not you will still be in this city when I open my eyes the next day."
She was perplexed by this fear of his. "Have I left before in the past for you to be this traumatized?" The words left her mouth before she could even think straight.
Yes.
Yang Feng did not voice the truth. He would not confront her on her selective amnesia, not unless he finished his digging of what happened in the past for her to easily forget him.
He would never tell her this, but when she was in First Hospital, he had the doctors perform an MRI scan on her. The doctors noticed there was strong activity in the hippocampus [1] of her brain, as if she was trying to constantly block some parts of her memories. But why was she doing it? Was she even aware of her actions? Unless...there was someone else that might"ve done something to her.
"I"m just worried." He answered her after a long silence.
"Well, you shouldn"t." She beamed up at him, shaking her head at his foolish fears.
Yang Feng wordlessly stared at her, a conflicted expression on his face. She could give him all the rea.s.surances in the world, yet his heart would not lay still, for he knew, there might truly be a day where she might leave without a word.
He had an inkling suspicion of who was behind her initial amnesia, but the thought of it made him uneasy, for that man could do it again if he"d like, but this time, Yang Feng would not allow it without a fight.
This woman, her entire being, despite their arguments, was the primary source of his happiness. She had walked into his dark world, a gleaming white light, and when she suddenly left during her youthful years, the shadows came back again. He could not afford to lose her once more.
The crowd became a hushed whisper when someone emerged from the top of a staircase, a stunning tall man with a lean figure. He walked with the confidence of a King. He had a laidback smile on his face which made him look very relaxed, but Zhao Lifei noticed the guarded expression tucked behind his eyes. His facial features were symmetrical, paired with outstanding high cheekbones, and high-arched nose.
Zhao Lifei could feel disdain to swarm her eyes upon seeing the man.
Ling Fulei. The star of tonight"s show, the new CEO of Ling Conglomerate, the sworn enemy of her good friend, Lu Minhong.
He looked so carefree, completely ignorant to all of the people"s lives he had ruined in his adolescent years where tormenting people was a game for him to see which one of his chess pieces would break the fastest.
She could still remember the pain-stricken face of Lu Minhong when he barely managed to escape from a beating initiated by Ling Fulei"s little underlings. Given, Ling Fulei was not present to witness it, but Lu Minhong had still greatly suffered. Though, she remembered hearing a rumor that Ling Fulei"s subordinates faced a wrath worse than h.e.l.l when he discovered his men acted without permission, it did not excuse the fact that Lu Minhong had bruises on his body for a week.
It was strange though, Lu Minhong, compared to other students, usually got the better end of the stick and was one of the selected few who did not get beaten or forced into humiliating things…
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for attending tonight"s debuting banquet of mine." Ling Fulei announced, his voice steady and self-a.s.sured he would succeed.
Zhao Lifei zoned out while he continued to speak. Her eyes bounced around the room, completely unaware of three pairs of eyes trained onto her.
While she was dozing off into La La Land, Yang Feng looked at no one else except for her. The world was a blur whenever she was present and right now, she was the only thing he saw in his line of sight, despite the many people that surrounded him.
Ling Fulei was delivering his well-planned out speech, but his eyes were momentarily centered on Zhao Lifei. So that old man really did get her to come after all…
Xiao Nai, who was hiding at the top of the staircase where Ling Fulei had just walked down from, was able to easily spot Zhao Lifei. Even when so many people were present, and a tiny handful of women was sporting yellow gowns, Xiao Nai realized Zhao Lifei"s presence and beauty was simply too hard to ignore. She was surprised to see the woman in the hospital was Zhao Lifei after all… Wasn"t the rumors about her all stained with sins? Why was she so kind that day… Unless, they were simply falsified rumors created by the media?