บท 14: Old Money

After hauling the vegetables into a cab, Zhao Lifei made a mental note to start using her car. She sometimes liked riding in a cab because she didn't have to do the driving.

But as much as she liked it when other people, drove her, she was very reluctant on the idea of hiring a personal chauffeur.

Her grandfather had consistently insisted she get one, but Zhao Lifei liked the cabs better.

It was always at her disposal and didn't require the awkwardness of having a person wait for you the entire day, only to realize she might not leave her house.

Half way into the route, Zhao Lifei decided it might be a good time to pay her grandfather a visit and cook him the dishes with the new vegetables she brought. She told the cab driver the change in direction and after seeing her place a hefty tip into the jar, he happily obliged.

Zhao Lifei decided to text her grandfather in advance to warn him that she would be coming over. Because Zhao Moyao was such a workaholic, if no one told him to come home, he would probably be buried within his office.

Luckily, Li Xuan was always there to remind him of the time. Zhao Lifei's grandmother had passed away long before she was born, so she never got to know the woman.

She sometimes thought her grandfather was very lonely because he wasn't surrounded by any of his grandchildren.

But then Zhao Lifei realized he enjoyed the quiet life more than a loud and bubbly one.

He refused to stay-in contact with many of his grandchildren. So far, there was only three that was able to capture his attention. He placed his business over family, and unless his grandchildren had something to contribute to the Zhao Corp., he wouldn't spare them a second glance.

Zhao Lifei knew half of the reason why her grandfather was so fond of her was because she was the youngest in the family to get a decree from Harvard's Business School.

Zhao Lifei was only twenty when she graduated from college earlier than any of her peers. Because of her demonstrated abilities of handling Zheng Corp. by herself in Zheng Tianyi's absence, Zhao Moyao had realized there was actually a very important worth in Zhao Lifei.

Zhao Moyao had seen Zhao Lifei's hidden potential. Luckily, she was still young and was at the ripe age of twenty-three, which made her a very suitable candidate for training — not that she needed a lot.

He was very impressed with her capabilities.

Within the short span of one year, she had significantly increased Zheng Corp's value in the stock market, something nearly impossible.

It made Zhao Moyao very curious of what else she could do. He was very good at keeping a close eye on Lifei, but there was one thing she was able to effortlessly hide from him: her private investment company, Feili Corp., which was run by a decoy CEO.

"Ma'am, the front entrance is blocked." The cab driver nervously told the woman.

Standing tall in all of its full glory was a high and unscalable fence. There was an intricately designed metal door with incredibly high security placed in front of the entrance.

"That's alright, I can handle it from here. Thank you for the ride." Zhao Lifei paid for the ride and gathered her bags of vegetables.

There were four men, two on each side of the tall entrance, guarding the door. They were dressed in black from head to toe, with sunglasses, and a face of cold determination. Zhao Lifei knew they had concealed weapons within their suits.

She ignored the men and walked to the private keypad. The men didn't move, but their eyes silently scrutinized her for any threats.

Zhao Lifei pressed an overly complicated password, did an eye and finger print scan, then finally, the monitor beeped to reveal an elderly butler.

It was hard for people to gain access to Zhao Moyao's main mansion. Only a handful of people had free access, whereas the rest had to meet him in his second or third mansion. Not even Zhao Lifei's own father or other cousins had the freedom to enter and leave the Main Mansion as they pleased — unlike Zhao Lifei.

"Mr. Tang, it has been a while." Zhao Lifei smiled when she saw the familiar butler whose family had served the Zhaos for many generations. Because the Zhao was old money who held wealth for many generations, their roots in this country was deep.

The Tang family had been very close friends with the Zhao family, since a century ago. Their bond ran deep and was practically inseparable.

"Indeed, Miss Zhao, it has been quite a while since you've visited the main mansion. As per usual, there will be a private chauffeur that will come to pick you up."

The front entrance was only the first layer of security.

Beyond it was a well-guarded long path that was lined with hidden weapons and men.

Since the path to the mansion was so long, there was always a private driver that would take the people from the front entrance all the way up the hill and into the house.

Just when the butler finished speaking, the gate opened and a sleek black car greeted Zhao Lifei. She carefully climbed into the car. The men in front immediately moved to place her groceries into the car.

"Thank you." She warmly told them.

If they were surprised by her words, they didn't show it. Instead, the men politely nodded at her and shut the door.

The car ride to the main mansion was quick and within three minutes, she had reached the front door. Mr. Tang was already at the entrance waiting for her with a warm towel in his hand. A small group of maids accompanied him with their head bend.

"Welcome home, Miss Lifei." The butler warmly greeted her, offering a gentle smile.

"Yes, it's good to be home." Zhao Lifei fondly said, chuckling to herself at the good memories spend in this house.

"Please, come in. Master Zhao has been informed of your presence and should arrive very soon." The butler guided Zhao Lifei into the expansive and enormous house.

He signaled the maid to bring the groceries into the kitchen. Judging by the large amount of food, she brought, he figured she would probably cook for Zhao Moyao.

"I will take your coat and inform the chefs to prepare the kitchen for you." The butler said. He elegantly took Zhao Lifei's coat and then guided her to the living room.

"Thank you, Mr. Tang," She said with a bright smile.

Despite the long years that she had known this man, he was forever polite.

It was within his blood to be this regal and elegant. He had always been this way, ever since she was a baby.

"Please, Miss Lifei, there is no need to thank me." Mr. Tang had a very fond expression on his typically stern-face. The maid accompanying him was new to the mansion and was quite surprised to see the typically stony face man have such an adoring expression.

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Xincerely

Hope you're enjoying the mass releases so far!

Thank you guys so much for supporting this book and being patient with the update schedule of this story!♥

Because the SAT is approaching soon, I will be focusing most of my time on studying. So, the updates would most likely remain 1 updates per 2 days, but I will try to do more mass releases in the future! :D

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