Chapter 111 - Something's Up...

Li Fu's car went straight into the parking lot under the International Pengzhan Hotel, going through some private tunnels before reaching the hotel's top floor directly. The place was evidently quite closed off: there weren't any people at all.

Li Fu led the three to a private room, and knocked on the door.

Both Yushu and Mengyao had been to the place countless times, already very familiar with their surroundings.

"Please, come in." Chu Pengzhan's voice sounded from inside the room.

Li Fu pushed open the door, only to step to the side as he turned to them. "Miss Chu, Miss Shu, and Mister Lin- after you."

Mengyao and Yushu entered the room at the gesture, clearly used to Li Fu's position as something of a butler- it was an image long rooted in their minds.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, felt a little uneasy. "Uncle Fu, after you too…"

"You're the guest, Mister Lin." Li Fu said firmly.

Without much of a choice, Lin Yi stepped through the door as well. He smiled in greeting upon sighting Chu Pengzhan. "Good morning, Uncle Chu."

"Yi, come, sit! Haha, it's just a family banquet, relax yourself…" Chu Pengzhan greeted with a smile as well. "Just get used to it slowly, we do this every weekend. Unless I'm out somewhere else on a business trip, that is."

"Ahh…" Lin Yi could only reply with a bitter smile of his- why the h.e.l.l was he partaking in a family banquet, anyway? Li Fu was the Chu Pengzhan's most trusted man, Yushu was Mengyao's best friend, and Mengyao was Pengzhan's daughter… They weren't out of place in a family banquet, for sure, but as for Lin Yi himself……

Mengyao, on the other hand, was absolutely taken aback by her father's words- what did this Lin Yi do to her father, why was he telling him to get used to attending the banquets?? Didn't that mean that Lin Yi would be joining them every weekend from now on?

While it was true that she'd accepted Lin Yi, she'd really rather not admit or submit to a c.o.c.ky and lazy looking guy like him!! How many would line up for the position of her s.h.i.+eld? Where did Lin Yi get off with that nonchalant att.i.tude, even going as far as to frustrate her on a daily basis?

Mengyao didn't know it at the time, but her proud nature would be cause for extreme regret in the near future……

"Hehe, s.h.i.+eld Guy, you're part of the family from now on! Let's be nice to each other, yeah?" Yushu said kindly as she played the good girl role.

Be nice to each other, huh? Maybe you should stop threatening me with something I didn't even do! Coughing 'tissues' every day……

"Yao Yao, what do you think? Are you satisfied with Lin Yi so far?" Pengzhan asked with a smile as he turned to his daughter.

"Does it even matter if I'm satisfied or not? You're obviously not gonna fire him at this point." Mengyao said sulkily.

"Haha, I see Shu getting along with him quite well though! What are your complaints regarding Lin Yi, Yao Yao?" Pengzhan asked.

"Don't have any……" Mengyao said with a shake of her head. In truth, she was still very much confused as to what she thought of the guy- he put his life on the line for her back at the bank, but he always acted as if she wasn't someone he should be treating seriously! He always p.i.s.sed her off, too.

The worst part was how he treated Yushu so much nicer than he treated her!! What was with that, had she lost her appeal or something? She'd have a.s.sumed that she'd gotten ugly recently if it weren't for Zhong Pinliang still bugging her……

"Well, why don't you two try to get along with each other if you don't have any? You're the same age, after all! Daddy wouldn't be so worried about you if you had a companion, too……" Pengzhan nodded satisfyingly upon hearing his daughter's response.

Mengyao only sighed- they were letting a wolf into the house, that's what this was!! What was her father thinking, throwing a stinky man under the same roof as his innocent, fragile daughter? That wasn't even the the worst part- the thing that p.i.s.sed her off the most was Lin Yi's disinterest in her!!

The dishes soon started coming out, clearly made with a great deal of effort. They weren't fancy or luxurious, but the attention to detail was very evident in their presentation.

A man of Chu Pengzhan's caliber had long since lost interest in the luxurious selections of food to dine from- preferring a nice, healthy meal instead.

Lin Yi decided to go all out- both Li Fu did tell him to do so, after all. The chairman was okay with it, as well- there wasn't much of a point in pretending that he was someone he wasn't, either: it was an employer-employee relations.h.i.+p between Pengzhan and him, and he decided to be more genuine when eating together. With that, Lin Yi started stuffing food items into his mouth under Mengyao's disdainful gaze and Yushu's surprised eyes……

A chill went down Mengyao's spine as she watched the man. Can… Can you not… You're my follower you know…… She glanced at Yushu, letting out a sigh of relief- the girl didn't seem to be too shocked or anything……

Hmph, he's just my follower, what do I care? Who cares if he chokes himself to death? Mengyao thought as she tried to comfort herself.

Lin Yi taking all the largest portions was getting on Mengyao's nerves- she couldn't take it anymore. "Lin Yi, maybe you wanna pack some up to eat at home later?!"

"Ah, yeah. I was just thinking of doing that." Lin Yi replied with a nod.

Mengyao died with speechlessness. Meanwhile, Yushu tried to contain her laughter as Chu Pengzhan watched Lin Yi with a smile on his face- his impression of the kid was at its peak after the whole incident at the bank. He didn't think much about the whole thing when his father kept nagging him about it, but it seemed that his eyes were spot on- Lin Yi was quite the man.

"Yao Yao, why don't you go down with Shu and Uncle Fu first? I'll help Yi pack some food up." Pengzhan said as he went to look for some containers. Mengyao only blinked in surprise- her dad wasn't the lavish type, but he'd never done something like that before…

Yushu seemed to be thinking about something as she looked at Chu Pengzhan, when a sudden, incomprehensible change took place in her eyes. They reverted to normal an instant later, and Yushu pulled Mengyao up with her hand. "Let's go, Yao Yao……"

"Oh……" Mengyao couldn't quite understand her father's actions, but it wasn't something she could just ask about. After all, her dad seemed to be finding Lin Yi more likeable than he found his own daughter to be. He's just a follower you hired……

Li Fu moved on to get the car, while Yushu tugged on Mengyao's hand to slow her down.

"Hm? What's up, Shu?" Mengyao asked curiously.

"Yao Yao… I have this feeling……" Yushu said after a little hesitation, deciding to voice her concerns to her friend. She did keep the sudden realization she'd had hidden deep down, however.

"Feeling? What feeling?" Mengyao asked, not quite understanding what Yushu was trying to get at.

"Yao Yao, don't you think… there's something up with how Uncle Chu treats Lin Yi..?" Yushu said softly.

"Yeah…… You felt it too, Shu?" Mengyao nodded in agreement- she was just trying to wrap her head around this a moment ago...

Chapter 112 - b.a.s.t.a.r.d Child

"Dad seems to treat him even better than he treats me… His att.i.tude towards him, too……" Mengyao said with a slight frown.

"I know! Especially how Uncle Chu wanted the two of you getting along with each other… And that bit about you and him being the same age, too… Don't you think that's a bit intimate?" Yushu a.n.a.lyzed. "Would he say something like that if Lin Yi really was just a mere follower he hired? Just take a look at how strict Uncle Chu's been with your relations.h.i.+p with your male cla.s.smates, he'd never just have a man live with us for no reason, right?"

"Yeah……" Mengyao nodded as she thought about it. It was true that her father had been a proper parent since she was small, educating her firmly that there was to be no dating before she reached eighteen. He didn't even allow her to have an outing with any boys in it…

She'd just turned eighteen, but that didn't justify the sudden change in att.i.tude- it'd be way too unreasonably fast if that were the case! Mengyao simply wouldn't believe that her father would get so open minded all of a sudden and decide to put a man inside the house like that!

Something was definitely up! Mengyao wouldn't have given this more thought than just a moment's confusion if Yushu hadn't brought it up- it was hard to get a clear understanding of the situation when you were in the center of it, after all. She'd attributed all of her father's questionable actions to Lin Yi tricking him, but further a.n.a.lysis rendered that possibility unlikely. Her father was no normal man- he was meticulous, and intelligent! It simply didn't seem very likely that the chairman of Pengzhan Industries would just get tricked by a farmer dude like Lin Yi……

That only meant that Lin Yi came here with her father's approval… The question here was: what would've caused her father to make a decision like that?

"And… Uncle Fu treats s.h.i.+eld Guy with respect as well……" Yushu said, hitting the mark. It didn't matter if Pengzhan fancied Lin Yi- he fancied quite a number of people! The elites all got in the company through his jurisdiction, and these people treated Uncle Fu with absolute, undeniable respect- even the vice-chairman of the company addressed Li Fu as 'Li Bro'! Li Fu's att.i.tude towards Lin Yi, however, was extremely questionable… The man clearly treated him the same way he treated Mengyao herself……

"Yeah……" Mengyao's frown intensified as she started having suspicions about her father's true intentions of hiring Lin Yi… What was Lin Yi..?

"Yao Yao, whatever it is, whether it's your dad, or Uncle Fu… their att.i.tude with Lin Yi's just too intimate, it's nothing like an employer-employee relations.h.i.+p at all!! It's like… They're treating him as… family……" Yushu finally decided to reveal the idea she'd tucked away. It was a possibility that would devastate Mengyao, but it was something she had to do as her bestie.

Yushu's a.n.a.lysis shot the idea into Mengyao's mind, and the possibility of it silenced her completely.

"Shu… You think Lin Yi might be… My dad's b.a.s.t.a.r.d child..?" Mengyao said with wide open eyes as she stared at Yushu. "Why else would my dad love him so much?"

"Wha-?!!!" It was Yushu's turn to be shocked- she hadn't considered that crazy possibility! b.a.s.t.a.r.d?! Mengyao had to be really creative to think of something like that! A chill went down Yushu's spine as she thought about it… It wasn't an impossibility, but the two didn't look one bit alike! It didn't seem likely at all, what the h.e.l.l was Mengyao thinking up here?

"What's wrong, Shu?" Mengyao asked as she looked at the stunned Yushu, thinking that perhaps her guess might've been a little too far-fetched. "Am I wrong?"

"Your imagination's really something, Yao Yao… s.h.i.+eld Guy's around the same age as you and me, right? If he really was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, then it'd had to be before or after your dad met your mom, but… does that sound possible to you?" Yushu shook her head speechlessly.

"Ah… So I'm wrong? But what other explanation is there?" Mengyao said, deciding to drop her idea.

"Here's what I think, Yao Yao- I think Uncle Chu's trying to find you a partner!! The way things look, he probably has his mind set on Lin Yi as the only candidate at this point….." Yushu grinned playfully. Although, she did feel a bit uncomfortable inside as she said the words, for some reason.

"Partner?!" Mengyao's mouth gaped wide open as she stared at Yushu, obviously shocked at the notion. "Shu, are you sure about this..?!"

"I dunno. It's just a guess." Yushu said with a shrug. "But it does feel like that's the case, you know- that might just be it…"

"That's impossible, right? I'm j-just eighteen, okay? N-no way, that's impossible..." Mengyao shook her head a couple of times, blus.h.i.+ng as she spoke. "Shu, what do you think?"

"Well… I think the two of you look pretty good as a couple!" Yushu said with a laugh. "Good driver, good cook, good fighter… d.a.m.n, it's pretty nice…"

"No! No way!!" Mengyao rejected subconsciously, surges of unstable emotions welling up inside her as she spoke. Did father really want him to be her boyfriend? Wasn't he just supposed to be a s.h.i.+eld?!!"

Though, he'd be able to protect her if that were the case… The scene back at the bank had given Lin Yi a very reliable image in Mengyao's eyes- her pride, however, insisted that Lin Yi was that much more of an annoyance because of that!

Even if that really were the case, the guy was always outside flirting with a variety of girls!! How could her father recognize a man such as this? It must be a misunderstanding on Shu and Mengyao's part- her father might very well have something more deep planned out…….

It was a while before the two girls made it to the Bentley. Mengyao sighed softly as she seated herself at the back with Yushu. "Shu, tell me- how likely do you think that guess is?"

"Maybe zero percent, or fifty, or a hundred…" Yushu said with a grin, evidently having returned to normal. "Well, I guess it depends on what kind of scenario you'd want it to be?"

"Me? I don't want it to be anything- he likes Song Lingshan, and there's that pretty girl he was with yesterday, too! I've got nothing to do with him!!" Mengyao said, her tone sour even when she was making the stuff up.

"Heh heh…" Yushu grinned- could Mengyao actually be…?

Li Fu got in after checking the car, and both Mengyao and Yushu stopped talking. Mengyao's expressions kept switching between joy and depression, and Yushu was, needless to say, quite curious about what her friend might be fantasizing about…

Yushu pouted her lips. Yao Yao's gotta be in heat right now, maybe I shouldn't have told her…...