Ji Yaoguang quickly reached the entrance and demanded coldly, "Meng Zhe, who gave you the nerve to shout outside my home?"
In the past, hearing Ji Yaoguang speak to him in that tone would have scared Meng Zhe into tucking his tail between his legs. As the future heir of a third-rate family, he knew full well that a colossus like the Ji Family was absolutely not to be provoked.
But times had changed. Meng Zhe was utterly arrogant, taking no heed of Ji Yaoguang's warning. "So what if I shout a little? Who says I can't? Are you going to have the police arrest me?"
"Hurry up and open the gate. Don't tell me the mighty eldest young lady of the Ji Family is afraid to see me?"
Hearing that doglike barking, Lin Fei's gaze instantly chilled. "Noisy."
Ji Yaoguang looked at him, shook her head, and said softly, "Just leave this to me."
Only then did Lin Fei fall silent, his brows slightly furrowed.
Ji Yaoguang pulled the gate open and glared fiercely at the flippant Meng Zhe.
Meng Zhe brazenly took out an invitation and chuckled. "Miss Ji, this is an invitation to the Qing family's CEO's birthday banquet. Young Master Song will be attending, and he hopes you'll come as his date."
Ji Yaoguang's heart jolted. Unable to restrain herself for a moment, she sneered, "What's Song Hao playing at? He wants me to attend a public occasion like this so everyone in Rongcheng's circle will think we're together?"
Song Hao clearly wanted to send precisely that signal, showing that the Ji Family had bowed to the Song Family-even Ji Chongwei's precious daughter was together with him. Once that news spread, the Song Family's standing would rise like a boat on a swelling tide, making it the business standard-bearer of all Rongcheng, an object everyone in the circle would scramble to cooperate with or even curry favor with.
Profit, prestige-everything would be within easy reach.
Meng Zhe shrugged and spread his hands. "Miss Ji, I never said that. If you insist on thinking that way, there's nothing I can do. You should know that receiving this invitation from Young Master Song is an enormous honor. Countless women couldn't get an opportunity like this even in their dreams."
Lin Fei gave Meng Zhe an indifferent glance, making him shudder on the spot.
His earlier performance at the shooting range had been far too stunning, like a god descending to earth, and had left an extremely deep impression on Meng Zhe. Under that intimidating presence, Meng Zhe even took half a step back instinctively, his overbearing arrogance shrinking considerably.
He instantly realized he had embarrassed himself. Frightened like this by a single glance-wouldn't people take him for a coward?
Humiliation turned to anger, and Meng Zhe immediately straightened his back again, stiffened his neck, and held his head high.
Seeing him put on that act, Ji Yaoguang felt both angry and amused. "Meng Zhe, by your reasoning, I should be eternally grateful to that ungrateful wolf Song Hao? Take the invitation back. Tell Song Hao that I, Ji Yaoguang, won't be going!"
"Oh?" Meng Zhe's smile never reached his eyes, and he made no attempt to conceal his threat. "You should think this through, Miss Ji. When Young Master Song loses his temper, he's nowhere near as easy to deal with as I am."
Ji Yaoguang frowned. Thinking of the Ji Family's current predicament, she felt an oppressive weight, as though a huge boulder were lodged in her chest.
Neither Lin Fei nor Ji Chongwei had told her that the fatal threat facing the Ji Family had already been readily resolved. This was mainly Ji Chongwei's idea; Lin Fei did not particularly care.
Ji Chongwei had considered that there were probably quite a few ungrateful wolves like the Song Family. He wanted to use this opportunity to create the illusion that "the Ji Family is finished," identifying who was sincere toward the Ji Family and who was cut from the same cloth as the Song Family.
This incident had sounded an alarm for Ji Chongwei, forcing him to scrutinize the people around him. Otherwise, who knew whether the next time the Ji Family faced some challenge, someone else might step forward like the Song Family and stab them in the back, while the Ji Family had not taken the slightest precaution.
The reason he had not told Ji Yaoguang was that Ji Chongwei felt his daughter was still young and insufficiently worldly and seasoned. If she knew the truth, a little provocation might anger her into showing her hand. And once those harboring ulterior motives saw that the great tree of the Ji Family had not fallen, they would surely go into hiding again.
Ji Yaoguang took deep breaths, her full chest rising and falling. After a little consideration, she said coldly, "I'll accept the invitation, and I'll attend the banquet, but I won't be Song Hao's date."
Meng Zhe laughed, his face wearing an "I knew it" expression, as though he had long expected Ji Yaoguang to submit. "That's more like it. A wise person recognizes the tides of the times. You truly are a smart woman, Miss Ji."
He did not care that Ji Yaoguang had said she would not be Song Hao's date. Like a frog slowly boiled in warm water, Ji Yaoguang and the Ji Family would eventually give in under the pressure of reality.
Once they had bowed their heads and submitted the first time, could the second be far behind?
"Then please accept the invitation, Miss Ji." As Meng Zhe spoke, he held it out.
But just as Ji Yaoguang reached out with her slender fingers to take it, a playful smile flickered at the corner of Meng Zhe's mouth, and he let go.
The invitation fell to the ground.
"Oh dear, how careless of me." Meng Zhe made a show of slapping his forehead, putting on an expression of remorse and frustration.
Paying no heed whatsoever to Ji Yaoguang's hostile expression, he looked at Lin Fei with a smile. "Mr. Bodyguard, could I trouble you to pick that up for Miss Ji?"
Wu Moling, who understood her place and had remained at the side without interjecting, could no longer hold back. She immediately stepped forward. "I'll do it."
But Lin Fei held an arm out in front of her.
He looked at Meng Zhe and said indifferently, "Pick it up."
Meng Zhe put on a troubled expression and smiled bitterly. "I accidentally twisted my back today. I really can't bend over. Please forgive me."
The lie was utterly brazen; anyone could tell it was riddled with holes.
Still, not wanting to cause trouble for the two of them, Wu Moling chose to crouch down and reach for the invitation.
A sneer appeared at the corner of Meng Zhe's mouth. He immediately stepped on the invitation and stared straight at Lin Fei.
His meaning was already perfectly clear: today, I'm going to make you lower your head and bend over!
Wu Moling looked at Meng Zhe angrily. Ji Yaoguang immediately pulled her up, her expression ugly. "Moling, ignore him!"
Lin Fei looked at Meng Zhe, a trace of chill already entering his voice. "I told you to pick it up."
Meng Zhe smiled disdainfully and taunted, "What can you do if I don't pick it up today? The Ji Family is about to be finished. What does a mere bodyguard like you have to be so arrogant about?"
Lin Fei narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "I heard you can't bend over?"
Meng Zhe frowned, not knowing what he meant. "So what?"
Meng Zhe heard only the words "I'll help you," before he saw Lin Fei punch him in the abdomen.
"Pfft!" Meng Zhe instantly spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to his knees with a thud.
Clutching his abdomen, he bent deeply at the waist, curling up like a shrimp.
"Lin Fei, you fucking dare hit me? You're asking to die!" Meng Zhe roared shrilly, even his voice trembling from the pain.
But Lin Fei's answer was to stomp down.