Chapter 13: Unexpected Encounter
After Yang Yulong had readily agreed to the plan within the span of three seconds, Zhao Lifei knew that she was cornered with nowhere to run to. So, she willingly surrendered to Yang Ruqin's plan and prayed for the best.
Right after Yang Yulong agreed to the plan, Yang Ruqin's phone went off. Her manager had called Yang Ruqin to audition, for a perfume campaign of a very prominent company. With no power to go against her stern manager, Yang Ruqin remorsefully parted ways with Zhao Lifei.
Sometimes, it amused Zhao Lifei how clingy Yang Ruqin was. They've been like this since they were in diapers...
Zhao Lifei walked out of the hospital and realized how early in the afternoon it was. The sun was bright in the sky, and it was only two in the afternoon.
Because her schedule was blank without any important meetings with her grandfather, Zhao Lifei decided to burn some time and roam around the streets of Shenbei.
After a few hours of mindless window shopping, enjoying lunch at a cute little cafe, and visiting the closest bookstore, the sun was finally going down.
Zhao Lifei glanced at her watch and was surprised to read it was six o'clock. She was more surprised that even after her long walks, she was still within the vicinity of First Hospital. As a matter of fact, the enormous white building was just across the street.
Deciding that it was best to go home, she was prepared to hail a cab home, but something caught her attention.
An old grandmother was selling vegetables, but she didn't seem to have done a lot of business. Her cart was still full, despite the long day she spent trying to sell them.
Zhao Lifei hurriedly walked to the nearest corner store, bought a packet of hand warmers, then walked to the elderly woman.
"Good afternoon, ma'am." Zhao Lifei politely greeted the old woman.
She was surprised at the sight of a wide variety of locally grown vegetables. They seemed to be really fresh and well-grown.
"Good afternoon, young lady." The woman smiled, revealing fine likes of wrinkles of an aged grandmother.
"It's quite cold tonight, this should warm you up." Zhao Lifei placed the hand warmer into the granny's hand, surprising her in the process.
"Oh my, thank you, dear. I didn't think youngsters these days were so polite." She brightly said, placing a few extra pieces of vegetables into Zhao Lifei's bag for free.
"Ah, there's no need-" But it was too late, the woman had already placed a few additional things into Zhao Lifei's bag.
"Don't worry dear. Kindness is priceless." The woman smiled again, her eyes crinkling.
Zhao Lifei bit her lips and decided that it was best to buy more. The vegetables were decently priced, maybe a bit lower than the commercially grown supermarket plants, but the grandmother was really humble about the prices.
"Oh my, what a big family you have to feed." The granny chuckled at the amount of vegetable that Zhao Lifei was buying.
"No, no, I don't have a family. I just really enjoy eating vegetables." Zhao Lifei chuckled at the idea of a family. Did she look that old? Perhaps a new mother? The sudden thought of becoming a mother prickled her heart. Suddenly, painful memories threatened to resurface, but Zhao Lifei managed to compose herself and push them down.
"My grandfather really like organic and locally grown food from the countryside. He thinks it's healthier." Zhao Lifei explained, picking up a few more leafy greens.
She hadn't made him home-cooked meals in a while and thought it might be a good gesture to visit him soon and cook for him.
"Indeed it is." The woman nodded to herself, weighing the vegetables that Zhao Lifei picked up.
There was something suspicious about this kind and gentle grandmother, but Zhao Lifei ignored it. She blamed it on the night sky and the unflattering light of the street lamps.
"You should go home now, young lady. It's getting quite dark. It's not good for a beautiful woman like you to roam around the streets." The granny worriedly said, hurriedly packing up the vegetables.
"Thank you, granny. I hope you're planning on going home early as well. The cold is settling in. It's not good for your health and body." Zhao Lifei took off the scarf she wore and placed it around the woman's neck.
If this was the old Zhao Lifei, she wouldn't have cared about the elders. She used to think that they talked too slow or nagged too much. But after maturing in two years, she had long retracted that belief.
Now, she valued her elders a lot more and worried about them.
"Oh my, what a lovely scarf! Are you sure you want to give it away?" The woman asked, her hands lightly touching the soft material.
Zhao Lifei readily nodded. "Of course. It will keep you warm." She said, helping the woman wrap it around her neck.
"Thank you, dearie. You're simply too kind. " The women warmly said, as her wrinkled hands patted Zhao Lifei's contrasting smooth hand.
"Now, off you go. Wouldn't want you to get home so late." The woman jokingly shooed Zhao Lifei away. She lightly laughed and after bidding the woman goodbye, she began to walk away.
The entire time she walked off, she didn't realize the heavy stare on her back. The gaze had been on her for a while now, starting from the first moment that Zhao Lifei decided to buy a pack of hand warmers...
The man was surprised to see Zhao Lifei act so politely towards the elderly. He thought she wasn't capable of kindness and placing the need of others above her own...
Was that really Zhao Lifei?
No, it was probably just some woman that looked like her. The Zhao Lifei that he knew, was a vengeful and cruel woman who wouldn't understand the word "kindness" even if you tied her down and forced her to memorize it.
Zheng Tianyi took one last puff of his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stubbing it with the heel of his leather shoes.
He was originally going to visit the hospital when he heard Yang Enterprise's Big Boss was gravely injured in a horrific car accident.
Zheng Tianyi didn't plan to see Zhao Lifei, but his intrigued eyes couldn't help but follow her interactions with the elderly grandmother. He was so surprised to see her act that way, he was inclined to look on further to prove that it was truly Zhao Lifei he was staring at.
But his car was a good few meters away from the cart, so it was hard to catch a glimpse of the woman.
"Sir, it's not good to stand in the cold for so long. We should head inside and pay our respects to CEO Yang." His private secretary, Chen Xing, a beautiful woman in her early twenties, spoke up.
She was curious about what he had been staring at while he was smoking, but because Zheng Tianyi's frame was so tall and she was standing on his left side, she couldn't see anything.
"Fine, let's go." Zheng Tianyi curtly said. He strolled into the hospital with his hands tucked into the pockets of his fitted suit.
Cheng Xing followed him but stood one step behind him out of respect. She checked her tablet and realized there was a new message.
"Madam Wang's daughter, Zhao Linhua's birthday is coming up. She has invited you to come, will you accept the invitation?" Chen Xing relayed the message.
Zheng Tianyi didn't think his decision through before answering her.
"Reject it. I don't have time for these useless birthday banquets." Zheng Tianyi walked through the automatic sliding doors of the hospital and made his way to the elevator.
"Ah, but Ms. Mengxi is a friend of Zhao Linhua and has expressed interests-"
"Then accept the invitation." Zheng Tianyi smiled at the opportunity of making Xia Mengxi happy.
Recently, they've gotten into a small misunderstanding, and she was angry at him.
Perhaps this birthday banquet would cheer her up...