Lei Feng stepped into his house, his shoulders relaxed slightly, until he caught the figure seated comfortably on his worn-out couch.
His eyes narrowed, as he tried to be sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Huh? How? What the hell are you doing here?"
Zhi Hui didn't flinch. She tilted her head and crossed her legs with practiced elegance.
"Took you long enough. I was beginning to think you'd decided to stay out tonight."
He didn't move from the doorway. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here? How did you find my place?"
She stood up slowly, letting her gaze sweep the interior. "You live in such a small apartment, unbefitting for you. Don't you think it is quite condescending for someone with Longwangshi blood? No one would be able to tell that you come from such a wealthy family."
"This is my preference, I like simplicity," he replied with a hard voice. "Not all of us are chasing after status, so maybe you should mind your business and get out of my LITTLE APARTMENT."
"Or maybe they just don't think you deserve any," she murmured, watching his reaction.
"They've always treated you like an afterthought. Like you are forgotten and disposable."
Lei Feng's jaw clenched, but he didn't take the bait. "I don't know why you are here but I don't care to know either. Your time is up, please leave."
Zhi Hui stood up, "I'm not here to fight with you," she said, walking toward him. "I came because I need your help."
He gave her a smug look. "You break into my house, insult me, and then ask for help? Very bold of you to think I'll render you my service."
"I didn't break in. Your door's basically begging to be walked through. You should be thanking me for pointing it out."
"Zhi Hui—" he warned, but she cut him off.
"I overheard your little heart-to-heart with Li Na."
His expression froze. "What?"
She smirked. "Both of you were careless. I was behind you both for a long time that day. I heard it all."
His eyes darkened. "You shouldn't play with things like this, you are creating danger for yourself."
"You think I don't know that?" she said.
"Which is why you're going to help me. Unless you want Yong Li to know what you did."
He scoffed. "So now, you're threatening me?"
"I'm offering you a choice. Help me, and we both walk away clean."
He moved closer. "And if I don't?"
"Then people will know what you did to your cousin. And we all know Yong Li isn't going to take it easy on you. You made him throw out the woman he loves. I'll dig it up and toss it into the spotlight."
He glared at her, his voice low and sharp. "You do realize I could stop you from ever leaving this place?"
Zhi Hui's smile didn't falter. "I know, that is the reason I have backups. I am smarter than you can imagine."
"What do you mean?"
"Several people are aware of my whereabouts tonight and newsflash, they all know what I know about what you did. If I disappear, your secret will not die with me, your freedom will."
For a few seconds, silence stretched between them.
Then Lei Feng exhaled, his anger barely contained. "Fine. What do you want?"
Zhi Hui's smile widened. "I need to get married to Yong Li but I can only do that by trapping him with a pregnancy."
He blinked. "And?"
"I need you to help me out."
"Cut to the chase. What does it have to do with me? Or have you simply lost your mind?"
"Maybe," she said, without any hint of shame. "But I know what I want. Yong Li isn't giving me the time of day, so I need to make it happen differently."
He dropped onto the arm of a chair, incredulous. "Okay, what exactly do you need me for?"
"I plan to drug him. All I need is for you to help carry him to the room. That's it."
"Are you being serious?"
"Dead serious."
"And you think he'll just fall into this without suspicion?"
"I'll handle the timing. There are people already setting the groundwork, so there's no need for you to ask questions. All I need from you is muscle. You're strong enough to lift him and loyal enough to keep quiet about it."
He shook his head slowly. "How did you even come up with an idea like this?"
"Like I said, no need to ask questions," Zhi Hui replied coolly. "Now do we have a deal?"
He stared at her, and went silent for a while, tapping a finger on his knee. "And if I help you, will you stay out of my life?
"How can I? I will be marrying into this family and that makes you my family too."
He frowned deeply, "Don't act like you have no idea of what I mean."
She shook her head, a way to tell him that she was clueless about his words.
"Fine, I mean after this, you will not try to threaten or blackmail me, right?"
She flashed him a smile and stretched her hand out to shake his. "Of course."
He ignored her hand. "You better not be lying."
"Do not worry, you can trust me. I always stand by my words," she said softly.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, so what really is the plan?"
"I'll get Yong Li to the villa. We'll make it look like a private party. I will make sure I get him there, while you wait in the back room. Once he's drugged, we bring him to the suite."
"And then?"
"Then I handle the rest."
He sighed, in a low voice. "You're insane."
"Maybe. But this insane plan is going to fulfill all of my dreams."
Lei Feng gave her a final look. "When are we pushing through with this?"
"Three nights from now."
"You have the drug already?"
"Already handled. You have nothing to stress over."
He nodded once. "Remember that after this, we're done. Understand?"
"Crystal clear."
Zhi Hui turned to leave, but paused at the door. "You know if your family had treated you better, maybe we'd both be living very different lives."
He didn't respond and shortly after, the door closed behind her with a quiet click.