The next day, Zhao Lifei headed out early in the afternoon to select a gift for Fan Jielan. She had personally contacted a friend of hers who plays a major role in the jewelry business. To be exact, artifacts worn by famed women of history.The private chauffeur opened the door of the s.h.i.+ning, but lowkey black Bugatti. When Zhao Lifei"s foot graced the ground, the visible bodyguards a.s.signed for her also got out from the cars behind hers.
Her lips twitched.
This morning, she had woken up to an unfortunate surprise in the form of three men in suits and three women in dress pants, all of which were going to be her 24/7 bodyguards. They were to accompany her at all times, regardless if she tried to send them away or make them wait outside for her. In the near distance, there were also Yang Feng"s people watching her from afar and a few others blended into the crowd.
"Wow, your entrance has gotten very flashy." Sun Renjun commented from the entrance of the stunningly tall skysc.r.a.per that resembled the kinds found in New York City. After their renovation, the entire building"s design and appeal relied upon their endless array of windows that caught the sunlight, which made the building gleam and glisten.
"I can only blame the brute." Zhao Lifei glumly replied. She walked over to the lean-framed man whose amused eyes were hidden behind a pair of thin-framed gla.s.ses.
"All men, by nature, are protective of their women. It just so happens, your man is overly possessive of you as well. How cute." He teased her, a grin resting on his lips.
"Is that your excuse when your wife asks about the high-security fencing around the house?" Zhao Lifei retorted with a disdainful expression on her face.
"That is indeed one of my excuses." Sun Renjun laughed at her expression, ruffling the head of his junior. The silver ring on his finger caught her eye, but she glanced away a moment after.
"Men." She scoffed, rolling her eyes whilst she swatted his hand away.
Sun Renjun"s amused smile grew wider at her reaction. He guided her into the building and gave a nod of acknowledgment to the security guards stationed by the entrance. Swiping a keycard, they went through multiple levels of heavy security. Soon, they were five levels underground in a heavily guarded bas.e.m.e.nt where the most priceless artifacts were found.
"I"m surprised that museums haven"t chased you down yet to acquire these earrings." Zhao Lifei commented when she walked past a pair of earrings on display. The pair had pearls the size of marbles with sapphires attached to the bottom and then a gold leaf right below it. She glanced at the name tag below, "Earrings Worn by Queen Elizabeth The First On Her Second Painting."
"My company was nice enough to donate a majority of our artifacts. That is the limit of my kindness." Sun Renjun walked to one of the walls and did an entire hand and face scan. Finally, a panel opened right beside him, revealing his favorite collection from ancient China.
Zhao Lifei slowly nodded her head. She knew the company usually sold its pieces of jewelry and other priceless items to private collectors and people with enough money to cover all traces of them.
Sun Renjun placed on a pair of black gloves that clung to his skin. He carefully took out something from the panel and then shut it. "As requested by you, this is the hairpin you were talking about." Sun Renjun placed the hairpin upon a box with a cus.h.i.+oned, white pillow in it.
Zhao Lifei"s eyes widened upon the gorgeous piece in front of her. It was beyond her wildest expectations. The base was an elegant silver color, but it was decorated with strings of pearls that entwined with the gilding kingfisher feathers. Small beads of coral jadeites hung from the pearls, and the main attraction of the hairpin was tourmaline [1] gems arranged in the shape of a large peony surrounded by diamonds and lined with silver to make the petals more prominent.
"You really have a keen eye for these types of things. This was worn by—"
"Empress Ma." Zhao Lifei breathlessly said, in complete awe at the fine piece in front of her.
Empress Ma [2] was one of her favorite historical figures because of her virtue, modesty, intelligence, and benevolence. She married her husband when he was a simple soldier and together they rose into establis.h.i.+ng and founded the Ming Dynasty. Even when she was the Queen of the country, she still did her own sewing and cooking, as well as teaching her kids to be humble and diligent. She was a wise helper to her husband and helped save countless lives from demise.
"Because it was worn by her, the value of this hairpin is tenfold the items in this room—"Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.
"I"ll take it." She said in a heartbeat, pulling out the blank cheque in her purse. She handed Sun Renjun a pen. "Write down whatever amount you want."
"I can see why Lu Minhong is so fond of you." Sun Renjun warmly chuckled. He placed the cheque in the drawer to worry about later. Next, he went to the corner of the room to grab a suitable box for the hairpin as well as the paperwork she would need to fill out. Sun Renjun became great friends with Zhao Lifei after she had helped him in a hacking crisis that occurred in his company.
Zhao Lifei rarely helped others without a future goal or plan in mind. She was never kind-hearted enough to hand out favors for "goodwill" beliefs. Everything she did was strategically planned out to ensure, that one day, the person will pay back the favor, one way or another.
"He"s fond of everyone who has money." Zhao Lifei remarked, picking up the discreet navy blue box placed in front of her. The hairpin was securely resting in the box thanks to the nearly invisible strings holding it in place.
- - - - -
Zhao Lifei placed the box onto the vanity, then paused, and decided it would be better if she store it somewhere safer. She was worried she might knock the box onto the floor. She placed it in one of the drawers and checked the time. It was a quarter past five — a suitable time to start preparing dinner.
She sent a quick text to Yang Ruqin about buying one of the tailored dresses from YRQ. Later, she was prepared to get ready to cook dinner when her phone buzzed. It was a text from Yang Feng.
[Wifey: We"re heading out for dinner.]
She raised a brow at how cold his message was. She was prepared to respond but stopped when three vibrating bubbles popped up. He was in the process of typing something. A second later, the bubble disappeared, but then popped up again.
She was confused. What was he typing and deleting?
[Wifey: ♥]
She blinked at the heart emoticon before a smile bloomed on her face. She wanted to tease him. Was he nervous that his first message gave off the wrong impression? That"s adorable.
[Xiao Lili: Casual or dressed-up?]
[Wifey: Anything you like.]
Zhao Lifei huffed. How else am I going to choose an outfit then?! She set down her phone and decided to wear a simple black dress that would be suitable for any occasion. She paired it with light and natural make-up then a few pieces of minimalistic jewelry. Lastly, she went downstairs to wait for Yang Feng.
The housekeeper walked towards her with a respectful smile, her hands folded over her ap.r.o.n. She did a small bow and said, "Madam, there is a car waiting for you outside."
Zhao Lifei slowly nodded her head and stood up. She made her way towards the door where the housekeeper opened to reveal the car sitting on the smooth pavement.
When Zhao Lifei approached the car, the chauffeur came out and opened the door for her. She got into the car and curiously glanced out the window. It seemed he will be meeting her there. She originally thought it was strange that he did not send her the address to the restaurant, but it seems he already had something planned out.