Chapter 32: What Did You Do
Yang Feng stood at the end of the hallway, slightly dumbfounded that he was left in the dust. Did she just abandon him? His brows furrowed together and he walked down the hallway to lean on the wall and wait for her.
Running a hand through his hair, he couldn't believe he was waiting outside of the bathroom for a woman. He felt like a giddy high school boy waiting for his crush to give her his handkerchief.
The minute Zhao Lifei walked into the bathroom, she undid her hair. She sighed to herself when her raven locks tumbled down her back, few droplets of wine falling from it. She winced at the heavy stench of alcohol that reeked from her body.
Zhao Lifei expected her night to brim with backstabbing and gossip left and right, but she didn't expect it to turn sour in ten minutes.
"Whatever, at least I gave Linhua her gift." She muttered as she began to clean her face and hair. The water and soap had left her hair in an awkward texture, but at least the smell was gone. The water had washed off her makeup, leaving her face bare of any products.
Zhao Lifei cringed at the eye bags underneath her eyes. From all the endless nights of tossing and turning, she rarely had a good night of sleep. That's why she usually woke up in the afternoon — she only fell asleep after lying in bed for at least a good few hours.
Just when she was about to step out of the bathroom, Xia Mengxi walked in. She seemed occupied with wiping the tears from her eyes, sniffling to herself as she held her dress to walk easier.
Zhao Lifei eyed the distraught woman in front of her. The two were alone in the enormous bathroom that was twice the size of a moderate bedroom.
She remembered the last time they were ever alone together. It was the same night that Zhao Lifei confronted Xia Mengxi with the discovery of her real birth parents. Her father didn't leave her. As a matter of fact, he was desperately trying to contact Xia Mengxi but the woman refused to meet her birth-father.
And when Mengxi found out Lifei knew the truth, she immediately sought Zheng Tianyi's help. One thing leads to another, and soon, Zhao Lifei was stripped and thrown out of his house.
When Xia Mengxi lifted her head and took a few steps back. Her mouth was parted in shock, as if not believing she was alone with Zhao Lifei.
Zhao Lifei crossed her arms and raised a brow. Why was she pretending to be surprised to see her? She knew Xia Mengxi wasn't deaf nor did she have any hearing problems. Yang Feng announced he was going to take her to the bathroom, so Xia Mengxi should've known she was already inside.
"H-hello." Xia Mengxi timidly greeted her, her head slightly tucked to portray a demure and wholesome woman.
Zhao Lifei noticed the tears and quivering lips. She already knew what happened.
As always, Xia Mengxi couldn't handle the insults from her peers after Yang Feng pointed out how distasteful her dress was. The people probably tore her apart and once again, the female lead couldn't handle the criticism of her peers.
Xia Mengxi was always portrayed to be a gentle, sweet, and simply too innocuous woman. She couldn't handle the harsh and backstabbing upper society.
She sniffled. "I'm sorry to have worn the same dress as you—"
"It's not your fault." Zhao Lifei said with a frown. Why was this woman apologizing? Her dress was publicly announced on national television, shouldn't Zhao Lifei be the one to apologize?
"Oh, I-I guess you're right." Xia Mengxi nervously babbled. "Then I apologize for Tianyi's behavior. You know, he's usually not bad-tempered and mean—"
"Save it." Zhao Lifei sighed, not wanting to hear the excuses. Of course, she would know he was usually not bad tempered, Zheng Tianyi only showed his nice side to her. Zhao Lifei got the harsher end of the stick.
She couldn't help but question Xia Mengxi's behavior. Why was Xia Mengxi always so kind? She was the polar opposite of Zhao Lifei. Instead of fierce independence, Mengxi oozed that soothing sweetness that draws men closer. She apologized for the things that weren't her fault, and would gladly take the blame and fall for something.
Zhao Lifei bitterly thought to herself, was that why Zheng Tianyi loved her so much? Because Xia Mengxi was so naive and pure, filled with sugar and everything good?
When Zhao Lifei realized how awkward the atmosphere was, she decided it was time to leave. "Enjoy the rest of your night here." She curtly said, walking past her, but the minute she did so, Xia Mengxi hurriedly grabbed her forearm in panic.
"Wait! Don't go— oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to grab your attention. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstandings-"
"Let go of me!" Zhao Lifei ignored Xia Mengxi's frantic ramble. Hissing in pain, she yanked her arm back. Damn it, did she have to grab the same arm that Zheng Tianyi harshly gripped?
"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to!" Xia Mengxi cried out, her voice rising higher than ever. Her lips quivered in guilt, her eyes wobbled, and she seemed to be on the verge of another breakdown.
Zheng Tianyi, who had been waiting outside of the bathroom door, immediately banged the bathroom door when he heard the loud commotion inside.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" He worriedly asked. He wanted to walk in there, but Yang Feng was right down the hall watching him.
Zhao Lifei felt her gaze darken at his tone. Even when she was in the hospital for three weeks, after a horrific accident, Zheng Tianyi didn't even have that level of worry and fear in his voice.
Yet, Xia Mengxi only needed to change the tone of her voice, and he'd immediately panic?
Zhao Lifei frowned at the light prickle in her heart. She thought she had moved on from this man, but it seemed a tiny part of her still loved him.
"Y-yes I'm fine. I-I just tripped on some tissue paper." Xia Mengxi nervously laughed, her lie obvious.
"Are you sure?" Zheng Tianyi worriedly asked, beckoning one of his female bodyguards forward.
"Yes, don't worry." Xia Mengxi quickly answered.
Zhao Lifei couldn't handle this mushy and painful scene anymore. She wanted to leave, but her dress was heavy and was beginning to weigh her down. Speaking of the dress, she already had a sneaky intuition on who sent it to her.
Who else could easily replicate an expensive designer dress? It was none other than Song Qiuyu who loved to copy Xia Mengxi's style. She might've pretended to be shocked that Zhao Lifei wore the same dress when in reality, she was the one that fabricated the entire thing.
Not wanting the weight of the dress to drag her down further, Zhao Lifei grabbed the small dagger hidden in her purse. She made a few slits at the bottom of the dress and tore off the long mermaid train.
Xia Mengxi was startled at the loud sound of fabric ripping. She stood there, stunned that Zhao Lifei would rip such an expensive dress into pieces. 'Oh right, she's rich. She can afford to ruin it.' She bitterly thought to herself.
When Zheng Tianyi heard the sound of fabric ripping, he grew worried. Was she ruining her dress? Was it because of what the people said? He knew he would need to have a good, thorough talk with Yang Feng.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, but just then, the bathroom door swung open.
"No, she's not fine. She was crying." Zhao Lifei deadpanned.
Zheng Tianyi was surprised to see Zhao Lifei, but his anger washed over him. Did this girl do something to his Mengxi?
"What did you do to Mengxi?" He snarled, reaching over to grab her, but Zhao Lifei twirled the knife in her hand and then pointed it at him.
"Don't test me, President Zheng." She smiled, the knife catching the light of the chandeliers.
He was startled to see a knife and the way she fluently twirled it as if she was familiar with it. When was she well-acquainted with the handling knives?
Zheng Tianyi chuckled and within seconds, he pulled out a gun hidden in his waist pants, twirling the weapon by its handle.
"You have a lot of nerves to be threatening me." He mused, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
When he glanced down at Zhao Lifei, he was taken back by her nonchalant expression. Most people would've frozen in fear or turned pale at the sight of a weapon that could kill in less than 5 seconds.
But there she stood, completely unfazed by it. As a matter of fact, she looked unimpressed.
"Really, President Zheng? Out of all of the weapons you could've used, you decide to use a puny pistol? How embarrassing." Zhao Lifei mused, clearly knowing the brand and model of the gun.
"I recommend the Desert Eagle Mark XIX Pistol. It can do more damage than the useless pistol in your hand. One bullet can instantly kill a bear." Zhao Lifei chuckled, brushing past him like a crazy woman.
Zheng Tianyi blinked in surprise. Since when did she become knowledgeable in guns? Just who was this woman standing in front of her.
"Hold it, where do you think you're going?" Zheng Tianyi reached over to roughly grab Zhao Lifei when he saw the arrogant expression on her face. How did the tables turn on him so fast? Wasn't she scared of him? He remembered how she used to quiver and shake in his presence.
But Zheng Tianyi's hand didn't reach her skin. Instead, he was met with a rough shove from Yang Feng who glared at him. "Don't touch her so easily. Especially with your dirty hands." His voice was a clear warning, and if his gaze wasn't enough to terrify Zheng Tianyi, the slightly revealed XIX Pistol in his waistband was enough to do so.
Zheng Tianyi's jaw clenched in anger. He didn't expect his friend to betray him for a simple woman.