“Who is it?”
Li Feng was taken aback. He finally understood what Hu Yuanyuan meant by serious trouble. A mayor of Tianhai City who wanted to target Fengyuan Group could render any connections useless.
“Li Zhengxiang,” Hu Yuanyuan said gravely.
“Li Zhengxiang?” The name sounded familiar, but Li Feng could not place him at first.
“Yes, Li Zhengxiang. A member of your Li family,” Hu Yuanyuan confirmed with a nod.
“The Li family?” Li Feng froze, then it clicked. Wasn’t Li Zhengxiang his fourth uncle? How had he become mayor of Tianhai City? And why was he targeting him?
Hang on.
It came back to him. Li Zhengxiang had always been close to Li Xiangyang. If they were divided by family factions, Li Zhengxiang belonged to Li Xiangyang’s side, which meant he was one of Li Wu’s people.
Could Li Zhengxiang’s sudden appointment as mayor be Li Wu’s doing? Was he attacking Fengyuan Group just to help Li Wu?
Li Feng’s brows knitted together. If that were true, things had just become genuinely troublesome. Against anyone else he could use other methods, but Li Zhengxiang was different. No matter what, the man was his elder. Certain extreme measures were off-limits. Moreover, if he did use extraordinary means against Li Zhengxiang and word reached the family, it would be extremely detrimental to both him and Li Chuanwei.
Li Feng had now fully accepted his own identity. He knew Li Chuanwei’s position in the family was precarious. Though he could not yet help Li Chuanwei, he did not want to create more problems for him. One day he would return to Yanjing in triumph.
“Yuanyuan, Li Zhengxiang has only just taken office. He hasn’t yet gained complete control over Tianhai City. As long as he’s using official channels, we can still look for openings among the other officials,” Li Feng said after a moment’s thought.
“Li Feng, it’s not that simple.” Hu Yuanyuan sighed. “The senior officials here all believe Li Zhengxiang is from the Li family, and I’m married into the Li family, so they think Fourth Uncle and I are just playing games with each other.”
Li Feng paused, then smiled. “Yuanyuan, you’re overthinking this. Politicians are all old foxes. Their vision isn’t that shallow. Besides, there are ways around it. We could, for instance, relocate the company abroad and invest there. Given how the authorities work in China, they won’t allow something like that to happen without a fight.”
Hu Yuanyuan blinked, then her eyes brightened. She had been so focused on Tianhai City that she hadn’t considered the bigger picture. Li Feng’s reminder showed her she still had options.
“Of course, if Li Zhengxiang resorts to underhanded methods, we won’t need to hold back either,” Li Feng added, a sharp glint in his eyes. He didn’t want to break the rules of the game, but if someone else broke them first, he saw no reason to play nice.
So what if Li Zhengxiang was his fourth uncle? Did that give him the right to bully him? Li Feng would never tolerate it.
Hu Yuanyuan nodded.
“Yuanyuan, it’s late. Let’s get some rest.” With that, Li Feng scooped her up and carried her towards the bedroom.
“Li Feng, no! Someone might see!” Hu Yuanyuan protested in a panic.
“Don’t worry. At this hour, no one will notice.”
The next day, Li Feng met Ge Feng and Ge Ying. After taking the thousand-year ice dew, both siblings had broken through. Ge Feng had reached the mid Fifth Layer of the Postnatal realm, while Ge Ying, though she had not yet reached the Fifth Layer, was now at the peak of the Fourth Layer.
Li Feng knew this was because they had not fully absorbed the ice dew’s energy. Otherwise their gains would have been far greater. Still, he was confident that once the remaining energy was absorbed, their cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds.
It was the Ge siblings’ first visit to Tianhai City, so Li Feng spent the entire day showing them around. As a major metropolis, Tianhai offered countless attractions, and Ge Ying was practically beside herself with excitement.
After escorting them back to the Tianya Pavilion as night fell, Li Feng checked the time and left for the banquet.
Zhu Yuanyang had chosen a villa at Xingluo Lake, Tianhai City’s most luxurious villa district. Only the rich and powerful lived there.
Li Feng soon arrived. Looking around, he noticed most of the villas were dark; their owners clearly did not reside there often.
Zhu Yuanyang’s villa lay at the very end of the district. It took him nearly ten minutes of walking to reach the gate.
As he approached, luxury cars kept passing him and pulling up outside her villa. Clearly, all these people had been invited by Zhu Yuanyang.
“What exactly is she planning?” Li Feng’s expression grew solemn as he watched the crowd gather.
So she really hadn’t invited only him. What was her game?
What puzzled him further was that, among all the arrivals he had observed, not one appeared to be from another of the eight great families.
Had Zhu Yuanyang not invited any of them?
Just as he neared the villa, under the lights he spotted a woman standing at the entrance, glancing impatiently at her watch.
One look was enough. It was Zhu Yuanyang, though he had no idea whom she was waiting for.
Then she saw him. Excitement flashed across her face, and she hurried over.
Tonight Zhu Yuanyang wore a beige skirt suit. The thin fabric perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure. Sheer glass-silk stockings encased her long legs, and black high-heeled sandals completed the look. Her long hair was pinned in a simple yet elegant bun, her lightly swept brows giving her an air of refined beauty. A white blouse with a floral collar revealed a stretch of fair skin at the neckline, while the fashionable narrow beige skirt hugged her hips. Light makeup enhanced her radiant features, the whole ensemble exuding captivating charm and allure.
“Li Feng, you’re finally here! I was worried you wouldn’t come.” Zhu Yuanyang beamed, slipping her arm naturally through his.
“How could I refuse Miss Zhu’s invitation?” Li Feng raised an eyebrow. She was acting far too casually for his comfort.
There was no such thing as unprovoked kindness; if it wasn’t a trap, it was theft. He and Zhu Yuanyang had no real connection. For her to suddenly be this intimate, Li Feng would never believe there wasn’t an ulterior motive.
But what was it?
“I knew you’d come.” Zhu Yuanyang leaned closer, looking from a distance as though she were pressing her entire body against him.
“Miss Zhu truly understands me,” Li Feng replied, a glint in his eye. He made no move to pull away. A beauty throwing herself at him was an opportunity he would never refuse, regardless of her reasons, especially when the beauty was someone as stunning as Zhu Yuanyang.
“Yuanyang.”
At that moment, a young man in a sharp suit stepped out of the villa. His gaze landed on Zhu Yuanyang. “Yuanyang, there you are. I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Only then did he notice her arm linked tightly through Li Feng’s, her body practically leaning into him. His expression darkened.
“Yuanyang, who is he?” The young man swept a cold glare over Li Feng before fixing it on Zhu Yuanyang.
“He’s my friend.” At those words, Zhu Yuanyang held Li Feng’s arm even tighter, as if trying to meld it into her body.
What is this? Using me as a shield?
The moment Li Feng saw the young man, those three words flashed through his mind.
Last time Xu Qing had dragged him into playing the same role. Was he now Zhu Yuanyang’s shield too? Could her only reason for inviting him tonight really be something so simple?
He thought about it and decided it was unlikely.
Who was Zhu Yuanyang? The direct descendant of the Zhu family, a woman of extraordinary intellect and resourcefulness. How could she possibly need help dealing with one man? It made no sense. So what was her real purpose?
Li Feng racked his brains but still came up empty.
“Friend?” The young man’s face turned ugly, a sinister light flickering in his eyes.
“Exactly. We’re friends.” Li Feng could feel the soft pressure of Zhu Yuanyang’s chest against his arm. Secretly comparing her to Hu Yuanyuan, he decided Zhu Yuanyang was even more impressive. How could he let such a chance to take advantage slip by? Deliberately, he shifted his arm, letting it brush against her.
The young man was about to explode when another stylish young man emerged from the villa. “Young Master Chen, where’s Miss Zhu?”
He caught sight of Zhu Yuanyang clinging to Li Feng, his mouth fell open, and he stood there dumbfounded, making strangled noises but unable to form words.
“Li Feng, let’s go inside,” Zhu Yuanyang said sweetly, ignoring the two men completely.
“Alright.”
Her sugary tone sent shivers down Li Feng’s spine. If Hu Yuanyuan spoke to him like that, he would be thrilled, but coming from Zhu Yuanyang it felt entirely different.
Still, he raised no objection. He wanted to see what her true intentions were. As for the two young masters in front of him, he didn’t even register them as threats. He feared no scions of the eight great families, let alone these two.
As they spoke, Li Feng’s gaze settled on the one called Young Master Chen, a flash of disdain in his eyes.
Instantly, Young Master Chen flew into a rage and pointed at him. “Kid, what’s with that look?”
