"Poor girl, she has not come out of her room the entire day..."
"Well, you can't blame her. Today is the death anniversary of mother."
"It's not like she can come out anyways, Master and Madam Xia has placed strict orders that she must remain in her room until the banquet is over."
"Look at the bodyguards...they're here to make sure she doesn't leave. How horrible..."
The maid gossiped and talked among themselves, a few feet away from Xia Lifei's room.
In the corner of the pitch black room was a girl who was curled into a ball. Barely over the age of sixteen, the girl was hugging a picture of her deceased mother.
Tiny sobs and sniffles filled the heavy air, as heavy droplets of tears rolled from her broken eyes. Her tiny shoulders quivered and shook with each painful cry, until soon, her body began to rattle.
Today was supposed to be the death anniversary of her mother, yet her father was throwing a banquet downstairs. It was to celebrate his second wife's birthday, and everyone was having the best time of their lives.
The rich and noble were mingling among themselves, happily chatting away. The majority of them were completely oblivious that today was the death day of Tang Lixing, but a small handful of them were aware of it.
Rumors had it that Xia Lifei wasn't Xia Nanmin's legitimate daughter and that's why he was so emotionless towards his wife's death.
But other people gossiped that it was because he was so pained by her death, he needed something to distract his mind from it.
Whatever the reason was, the people didn't mind.
Xia Nanmin was an extremely wealthy man whose influence was enough to buy over the people's opinions.
For his second wife's birthday, he hired the Best Artiste of the Year to sing at the banquet, called for an entire row of Iron Chefs to prepare the food, and even organized a firework show outside of the gardens.
This birthday dinner was extremely costly and expensive, but to Tang Nanmin, it was barely a hit to his bank account.
BANG!
The chatter suddenly died down at the loud sound of two doors slamming open. The people could not believe their eyes when they saw billionaire conglomerate Tang Moyao stroll into the banquet.
Despite being in his early seventies, Tang Moyao was very healthy and strong. He stood proud and tall with his head raised high.
His cold-eagle eyes skimmed the room and the minute he strolled in, the warm temperature dropped considerably.
Tang Moyao was the current Head Monarch of the Tang Hotel Empire.
With the highest shares in the company, he was easily one of the most wealthiest and influential men of this era.
Not only was he highly respected, but the people also feared him. He was a very cold man of few words, but when he was angered, there is no limit to what he could do.
And currently, he was at brink of his patience.
Xia Nanmin, at the sight of the terrifying man, immediately walked forward to greet him. But his steps felt uneasy and his palms were beginning to sweat.
He thought Tang Moyao was out of the country, which was why he had the guts to throw such an enormous banquet.
On the previous years, Tang Moyao was usually within the country, which made Xia Nanmin too fearful to celebrate his second wife's birthday on the exact date.
He would usually push it two or three days back to show Tang Moyao some respect.
"Mr. Tang, to what pleasure do I owe your presence?" Xia Nanmin forced himself to smile.
He nearly shivered in fear when Tang Moyao's dark eyes skimmed over him.
The rage and fury in his eyes were prominent. "You truly have guts to throw a banquet on the death anniversary of my daughter."
And with this simple sentence, the people immediately began to whisper.
A few gasps could be heard because not many people knew today was Tang Lixing's death date.
Xia Nanmin thought of an excuse to say. "I thought you were out of country-" His voice immediately died down when he saw Tang Moyao's murderous glare.
"So because I am out of the country, you would dare throw a celebratory banquet?" Tang Moyao was barely controlling his anger.
His voice was so dark and harsh, Xia Nanmin almost flinched in fear.
Xia Nanmin was at loss of words. He stuttered, but in the end, he couldn't find good things to say.
One deathly stare from the stern Tang Moyao was enough to send his knees shake.
As rich as he was, Xia Nanmin was also very stubborn and proud. He would never admit this elder scared him.
Instead of bowing his head in remorse, Xia Nanmin raised it higher than before.
Xia Nanmin strained his smile. "Let's not cause such a scene, Mr. Tang. Surely, a man of your status did not come here to cause a commotion?" He smirked, proud of his words.
Tang Moyao narrowed his eyes which send a shiver down Xia Nanmin's back.
"Mr. Xia, I hope you are smart enough to hold back your tongue. There is a project you would like to sign with the Ling Corporation. One word from me and it'll never go through." He warned.
The arrogant smirk on Xia Nanmin's face immediately dropped. H-how did this man know about that project? It was supposed to be extremely secretive, and only a handful of people knew about it!
"I-I-" He stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"I don't have time for your pathetic babbling." Brushing past him, Tang Moyao walked into the room. His perfectly polished leather shoe made a light click against the marble floor.
"Where is my granddaughter?" He asked.
Xia Nanmin snapped his head. What did he just say? "Your granddaughter...?" Xia Nanmin asked, his brows furrowing together.
Tang Moyao's secretary, Li Feng nearly shook his head and heaved a sign. He felt so bad for the man...The Xia Corporation's project with the Lings has just ended.
"To have mistreated my granddaughter and not even remember her name, you truly are shameless!" Tang Moyao spat out in anger, slamming his hand on the nearest table besides him.
Xia Nanmin jumped in fear, and it took everything within him to not kneel down and beg for forgiveness.
Tang Moyao didn't bother to spare the pathetic man in front of him a second glance.
He flicked his wrist and immediately the men in black surrounding him ran up the stairs. Their footsteps were loud and heavy, but within minutes, one of the men came back down.
The people silently watched in fear. None of them dared to make a sound. They couldn't afford to offend Tang Moyao as Xia Nanmin had. All of them didn't want their businesses to collapse with a swift snap of his fingers.
A man walked forward and bowed his head. "Sir, we have found her room."
Without another word, Tang Moyao gestured for the man to guide him. Walking up the marble stairs, his head never lowered to look at anyone.
Many people stared at him in awe and disbelief. With his frightening aura, dark eyes, and proud behavior, he had the appearance of a wise King.
The maids standing in front of Xia Lifei's door shook in fear when they saw Tang Moyao. Only a fool wouldn't be able to recognize the man.
But the bodyguards that stood proud and tall in front of Xia Lifei's door didn't care. This was their job: ensuring the door does not open to anyone.
Li Feng tilted his finger towards the bodyguards, and immediately, the Tang men rushed forward to apprehend them.
Before the Xia bodyguards could draw their weapons or make any move, they were forced to kneel on the ground.
Tang Moyao didn't bother to look at the bodyguards.
Li Feng stepped forward to open the door and when he found it was locked, he performed a roundhouse kick.
BANG!
The doors swung open.
Xia Lifei, who was curled up in the dark room, was startled at the sudden noise. She covered her eyes when the light flooded in.
Li Feng flickered on the lights and frowned when it didn't turn on.
A tiny but honey-sweet voice spoke,"F-father had the lights disabled..." Lifei muttered to the unfamiliar men in the room.
Had the lights disabled? What kind of crazy bastard does that to his own daughter?!
"Come into the light, child." Tang Moyao commanded. He didn't mean for his voice to sound so rough and angry, but after hearing her statement, his blood-pressure peaked.
Slowly, but surely, Xia Lifei got up from her position.
She walked towards the door, her tiny feet paddling on the cold ground.
When the light finally shined on her, revealing her appearance, Li Feng could feel his eyes grow wide at the tiny beauty in front of him.
If he hadn't known better, he thought she was Tang Lixing herself!
This teenager was the splitting image of her mother!
Her eyes seemed to shine like the stars, her skin was as pale as snow, her lips were naturally rosy-red, and her brows were soft which gave her a very innocent and angelic appearance.
Li Feng finally understood why Xia Nanmin didn't want anything to do with her...she was the mirror reflection of her mother. Perhaps looking at her reminded him of his dead wife.
Unlike Li Feng who immediately noticed Xia Lifei's appearance, Tang Moyao noticed the object in her hand. It was a framed picture of his daughter...this girl had been crying over her.
He felt his heart clench.
He had multiple granddaughters, but he only had one daughter and she was his favorite child. Tang Lixing was spoiled rotten by her father and as a result, she clung onto him — forever remaining a daddy's girl.
As a result, her child would definitely also become this man's favorite.
"Grandfather...?" Xia Lifei softly said, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She tiredly rubbed her swollen eyes.
Xia Lifei cleared her throat when she realized her voice was hoarse from crying. "W-what are you doing here?"
Tang Moyao took a good look at his granddaughter. "I am here to take you away." He walked into the room and offered her a rough, calloused hand.
Xia Lifei stared at it and tilted her head. "Take me away...?" She repeated.
He nodded, his eyes shinning with fierce determination. "I am here to take you to a place where you will be cherished and loved."
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