Zhao Lifei glanced out the car when she noticed someone very familiar. "Stop the car." She instructed. The chauffeur parked by a sidewalk and Zhao Lifei rushed out of the door.

"Bing Qiaoyi?!" Zhao Lifei called out to the petite woman walking off in the distance, accompanied by an equally familiar man. They turned around, their faces filled with confusion until they landed on Zhao Lifei.

"Oh my gosh, Zhao Lifei?!" Bing Qiaoyi gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. She shoved all of her shopping bags onto the man and practically ran to hug the woman whom she had not seen in half a year.

"It really is you!" Bing Qiaoyi laughed, pulling Zhao Lifei into a quick hug before kissing both of her cheeks. She spent the majority of her life overseas and adapted their culture of greeting, which Zhao Lifei had gotten familiar with during their time together in the military.

"How are you?" Bing Qiaoyi kept Zhao Lifei at arm’s length, a bright smile on her face. "Wow, what’s your skin care routine? You’re glowing!"

"Xiao Yi, don’t push all of these bags on me! They’re so heavy." Dai Lang complained, setting the bags down beside him.

Zhao Lifei laughed. "You’re still so lazy, Dai Lang. All these years in the military and you have the audacity to cry over the weight of some shopping bags?" She rolled her eyes.

Dai Lang smirked. "I’m a soldier on the battlefield, a lazy man in the streets, and a beast in the sheets— OW!" He yelped when Bing Qiaoyi whacked him in the head.

Bing Qiaoyi muttered insults under her breath for her godforsaken boyfriend. "We’re in public."

"So?" Dai Lang scoffed.

An amused smile rested on Zhao Lifei’s lips as she watched the loving couple bicker back and forth. They were always like this, even in the military. Their petty arguments often got them scolded by the higher-ups and it was not a rare sight to see them on the track fields or doing punishment push-ups.

Bing Qiaoyi decided to ignore her boyfriend for now. "So, Xiao Li, what have you been up to? I saw on the news that you were going out with the infamous Yang Feng?"

Zhao Lifei did not realize the worried look on Dai Lang’s face when Yang Feng’s name was brought up. "Hm, aside from lazing around most of the time, I haven’t been doing much. And yes, I am."

Bing Qiaoyi nervously glanced at her boyfriend before she pulled Zhao Lifei closer and in an extremely low voice, she whispered, "H-he knows."

Zhao Lifei tilted her head in confusion. "Dai Lang knows? Yeah, I think half the country does." She retorted.

"No, Xiao Li, I’m talking about...well, you know who."

Zhao Lifei’s carefree face morphed into confusion before it became sickly pale as if she had encountered a ghost. The very idea of him terrified her. Her blood went cold.

"H-how much does he know?" Zhao Lifei quietly asked, her entire body began to tremble a bit.

Dai Lang answered for Bing Qiaoyi since he knew the man a lot better than his girlfriend. "Everything. From the day you were announced as his girlfriend to all of the public events you’ve attended with Yang Feng."

"Xiao Li, I was just dispatched a couple of days ago." Bing Qiaoyi gulped. "You should’ve seen his face when the news came to him." She shuddered at the memory of watching her fellow soldiers being punished for things they did not commit, just because their General was furious. That man, he truly was brutal...

All of the poor underlings had to run the entire day and even when they were sore, they were forced to do other exercises. If any of them asked for a break, they would be brutally beaten by the General. With his father being a Major General and his mother holding an extremely high position in the government, he was untouchable. The only thing people could do was grit their teeth and obey him, bowing down before his dictatorship.

historical

Dai Lang saw how shaken up Zhao Lifei was and roughly nudged Bing Qiaoyi to stop it. "Anyways, you should steer away from the military from now on. Don’t even think about going back there, no matter how much you crave the thrill of the battlefield."

Bing Qiaoyi readily nodded. "I think you should inform your grandfather about this."

Dai Lang added on, "He’s really furious this time, Xiao Li. I heard he has sent many officers to your grandfather in hopes of poaching you back legally." He let out a tired sigh, remembering the day his father was approached to call Zhao Moyao into a private meeting in hopes of convincing Zhao Lifei to come back to the military.

"My grandfather will never let me go back there." Zhao Lifei felt an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She was visibly shaking, her eyes darting elsewhere. Cold-sweat gathered on her forehead and her palms became clammy.

Bing Qiaoyi nodded. "Good. For now, I recommend you have more security around you. Once he finds out that all of the legal approaches were rejected, he will go through any lengths, even if its a violation of the military codes and honor, or law, just to obtain you."

Dai Lang sighed at his girlfriend’s crude approach. The more she opened her mouth, the more she was beginning to scare the poor woman. His phone buzzed and he glanced down to see it was a text from his father. He opened his WeChat and saw it was a message requesting him to come home for lunch.

Dai Lang placed a hand on Zhao Lifei’s shoulder. "Try not to overthink it, okay?’

Zhao Lifei merely nodded her head. She could try, but it would be to no avail. She was scared. For the first time in a long time, she was worried for her life.

Bing Qiaoyi felt guilty when she saw Zhao Lifei’s expression. Her heart was prickling in pain. "I’m sorry, Xiao Li. I didn’t mean to scare you."

"It’s fine, I’m not scared." Zhao Lifei lied with a wry smile on her face.

Dai Lang turned back to the private car Zhao Lifei had stepped out of. "You should get home now. Go and sleep off your worries. It’s going to be fine."

Bing Qiaoyi bobbed her head as she guided Zhao Lifei towards the car. "Don’t be so anxious. You have Yang Feng on your side, remember? I’m sure a man as elite and influential as him won’t let any harm come your way."

Yang Feng. Just the thought of him eased her worries the slightest bit.

Dai Lang noticed this and said, "How about this. Why don’t you go and see him?"

"I think he’s still working right now." Zhao Lifei didn’t want to see him. She was too prideful to admit her mistakes that indeed, he was right. Wei Hantao did have feelings for her.

"Well, go to his workplace then." Dai Lang opened the car door for her and helped her get in.

Bing Qiaoyi brushed away Zhao Lifei’s stray hairs. "It’s going to be alright. As Dai Lang said, don’t overthink it."

Dai Lang jogged to the driver’s window and knocked on it. The chauffeur rolled down his window.

"Drive her to her boyfriend’s place."

The chauffeur hesitated. He did not take orders from random people. But upon seeing the state of his Young Miss, he knew he had no choice but to oblige. He nodded his head, the gesture so small, Dai Lang almost missed it.

Bing Qiaoyi helped Zhao Lifei put on her seatbelt and closed the door. Dai Lang stepped back and allowed the car to drive off. All the while, the couple stared at the vehicle. Their eyes were filled with worry for the young woman who will not be prepared for the tornado coming her way.