In the meeting room.
"30 seconds more and they would be considered late." Chen Gaonan spoke up, his eyes trained on the wristwatch.
He was impressed and very amused. Getting this company to have a meeting with them was beyond difficult and now personally seeing them was becoming a hard task as well. This was the first time in a very long time since anyone dared to make Yang Enterprise wait like this — especially when Yang Feng himself was present.
Just as the clock ticked down to the last 5 seconds, Chen Gaonan was beginning to wonder who was gutsy enough to make them wait.
He internally counted in his head,
,
,
,
,
— A man strolled into the room, dressed in a light grey plaid suit that fitted his body type perfectly. He was a slender man whose charming features surprised the female employees in the room. He had the face of royalty as if he was mixed with a slight percentage of foreign blood. He was very tall and when he walked into the room, commanded the authority of everyone there.
Yang Feng stared at him with disinterest. He was the only one not overwhelmed by the man’s presence.
"I apologize for being late, President Yang." The man had a slightly deep voice, a tinge of accent to it, perhaps a dialect.
Yang Feng knew he was not a simple man. The men surrounding his little lady were indeed very powerful. It seemed this Wei Hantao, who dared to reach for Zhao Lifei in Yang Feng’s presence, was the representative or perhaps CEO of Feili.
It was a surprising turn of events, for he had checked the man’s background and Feili was not mentioned anywhere. He came from a very respected background, his father being the highest shareholder of Weida Law Firm.
"Pardon my late introduction, my name is Wei Hantao, the Vice President of Feili." He revealed a smile, his pearly-white teeth shining.
Su Meixiu was impressed to see the Vice President was such a good looking man. It seems there has been a wave of young VPs and CEOs recently, Ling Fulei being one of them. Given, this man was very appealing with a face blessed by heaven itself, his face and presence could never rival her boss.
"Mr. Wei, it was brought to my attention the CEO of Feili would be joining us, if I may ask, where is the man in question?" Chen Gaonan tactfully spoke up, his eyes landing on another man waiting by the doorway of the meeting room.
Su Meixiu was amused to see another suave man enter the scene. He was slightly muscular and had a similar height to the Vice President, but his aura was not as formidable, which would be quite embarrassing if he was the CEO. To have a Vice President outshine the actual leader, that would be a joke.
"SHE is on her way here as we speak." Wei Hantao responded, placing emphasis on "she." His grin curbed to one that resembled a calculative and conniving fox, his eyes folding into thin lines.
Chen Gaonan was astonished. She? The CEO was a woman? That was quite the feat.
He had expected a man to uplift Feili to the level it was today and as sexist as it sounds, the thought of a woman ruling over the company never crossed his mind. Whoever it was, must’ve been amazing. Not many women could survive in the higher positions of the cruel business world where men often don’t take the words of a woman seriously.
Chen Gaonan leaned back in his chair, waiting in anticipation on who could be in charge of Feili.
Su Meixiu was also eagerly waiting, for she wanted to be of acquaintance to such an outstanding woman. She had never encountered a female CEO who built her company from the ground up and did not inherit the position from her family or husband.
Just then, the small click of heels could be heard, bursting on the floor like small fireworks, the sound echoing down the halls, an oddly comfortable and symmetric sound. Powerful and confident, that much could be heard.
In the silent room, Yang Feng’s team held their breath as the sound got louder with each passing second, a shadow passing onto the floor before a person was in sight. The outline showed a woman with a slender and hourglass body, her small waist the first thing that stood out.
Wei Hantao hid the mirth on his face at the visible curiosity of the people in front of him. When his eyes skimmed to Yang Feng, he was disappointed by what he saw. The man did not look interested at all.
Hu Qiudong stepped away from the door when he saw Zhao Lifei approaching not far off. She walked like a Queen, chin up, shoulders back. The sunlight shined upon her, a gleaming light reflecting off her earrings, enhancing the lightness of her amber eyes, turning it into a molten color of gold. She had the eyes of an alpha tigress, glowing abnormally.
His lips curved upwards in appreciation. She was everything a confident woman overseeing a company worth more than a billion dollars should be.
He bowed his head in respect and took another step back.
"I have kept you waiting, gentlemen, for that, I apologize." When Zhao Lifei’s voice rang throughout the room, it evoked a heavy silence. Not a single sound could be heard, not even a drop of the lightest feather.
Chen Gaonan was stunned to the core, his body rooted to the chair, his brain in a daze. He was bewildered to the point of where he forgot to stand up and greet the woman, as all of Yang Feng’s assistants had done so, except for him and Su Meixiu.
Chen Gaonan opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for words. He had truly underestimated this Zhao Lifei. She was the CEO of Feili? He called himself a fool. Of course, Feili, Lifei, it was the characters of her name backward!
Su Meixiu lost her composure. Her amicable smile slipped, a stunned expression on her petite face.
She did not think Zhao Lifei would go that far in her relationship with their boss, given as her private intel told her Mr. and Mrs. Yang did not seem that pleased to see Zhao Lifei. But with Feili backing her up, this woman would be harder to tackle down.
Yang Feng felt his breath hitch upon seeing his woman standing at the doorway. He didn’t have to, but he stood up in greetings, his eyes skimming every part of her before it went straight to her eyes.
He was worried all night about where she was and after having his men comb the entire city for her, he was able to figure out she was staying at a penthouse suite. He made sure that no other man was able to enter the room.
"Lifei—"
"President Yang, I hope you do not forget professional protocols." She interrupted, her lips uplifting to a smile that did not reach her eyes. "The same way your secretaries have done so." Her eyes landed on Chen Gaonan and Su Meixiu whose expression amused her.
Yang Feng stiffened, his eyes trailblazing to them. "Do you have to be told twice?" There was a rough edge to his voice. They would be punished for this, that much was ensured.
Chen Gaonan hurriedly stumbled to stand up, bowing his head in respect, his arms at his side. He could not believe he was shocked to the point of where all rationality flew out of the window. It was a basic procedure that everyone stood up when the CEO stepped in.
Su Meixiu was the only one who did not stand. She stood out like a sore thumb, everyone’s gaze landing upon her in disapproval. When she saw Zhao Lifei’s lips tilt down in disdain and felt the pressure of her boss’s eyes land on her, she reluctantly did so.
Even then, she did not bow.
Zhao Lifei tilted her head at the secretary, her eyes filled with mockery. "Quite a disrespectful secretary you have there." She mused.
Her eyes skimmed the rest of his private team, impressed to see there were two golden-plated lawyers in front of her.
Yang Feng sent a glowering stare towards Su Meixiu, a lethal chill entering the atmosphere. His entire team held their breath in fear that the slightest sound would set off the ticking time bomb. They shook in their shoes, their heart trembling and poor Su Meixiu who was the center of it, could not help but bow as low as her body would allow her to do so.
"I-I apologize, Miss Zhao—"
"President Zhao to you." Wei Hantao spoke up, clicking his tongue and shaking his head at this foolish woman. One mistake after the other, it made him question why Yang Feng would even keep such a thing around.
"Well then, let’s get this meeting started, shall we?" Zhao Lifei mused, pleased to see the nervous and terrified expression on Su Meixiu’s face, as well as the slightly irked one on Chen Gaonan.
She motioned Huo Qiudong to close the door. He instantly did so, locking it, as Zhao Lifei took a seat directly opposite to Yang Feng. Wei Hantao sat on her right while Huo Qiudong sat on her left. She knew it was bothering Yang Feng whose gaze looked murderous enough to snap the heads of the two men beside her.
She ignored it as Su Meixiu stepped forward with a manila envelope containing a thick contract inside. She didn’t bother thanking the secretary or even sparing her a glance before her eyes went straight to the proposal as she waved her hand to start the presentation.