Chapter 8 - Shattered Ambition

"I told you not to regret it, Didn't I?" Feng remarked, snapping Mei out of her thoughts who stared at the folder, her eyes getting blurry.

"Think before you let your impulsiveness decide for you Mei Ling. I can't help you anymore." he said lightly, flipping a page and revealing the document in front of her.

"I don't seem to recall the help that you so graciously mentioned," she replied in a sarcastic tone with a gentle smile on her face.

"I am in no mood to discuss this further with you Mei. Remember you are in no place to be showcasing any arrogant attitude." Feng warned her almost threateningly and went off again. " I just called you here to remind you of our deal."

"You don't need to worry about that, You made a lot of effort in making sure I never forget about it." Mei retorted, standing up and walking to the door. "Find whomever you want to. As you had said, I won't be your problem anymore."

Sighing, Feng shook his head and placed his hand on his forehead. "Then start mentally preparing yourself Mei because tomorrow we'll be meeting my oldest friend and his family. Hopefully I will introduce you to your future husband."

"Wasn't it Suyin who was supposed to be choosing someone for me?" she replied, with a confused look.

"Does it matter who gets to choose?" Feng asked, arching his eyebrow in response to her.

"Wouldn't she get mad at you for not consulting her on this?" Mei questioned him, a slight smirk forming on her lips.

"You are my daughter. I would be the one making sure you don't end up in the wrong hands. I'm sure Suyin is capable of understanding this at the very least."

"I see. Not that I have a say in this anyway." She said, closing the door, letting the sarcastic tone linger in the air.

When she returned to her room, Mei saw her stepmother lying against the wall, a wide grin printed across her face.

"Finally," she snorted, "Took you long enough to come to your senses huh? You should have just left years back Ling. Instead, you kept on fighting and now here you are; such a pitiful sight."

"Why don't you bother your own daughter rather than fretting on me? I'm sure she would be much more grateful of whatever comes out of your mouth." Mei assured her confidently as she walked into her room, ignoring the enraged Suyin, who yelled out curses at her back.

Mei spent the night staring at the still darkness and the fading moonlight. She stood on her balcony, observing the twinkling stars while she kept counting them over and over again, not letting her mind wander to the depths of her despairing thoughts.

She saw the screen of her phone lit up as Lien kept sending her messages in vain.

"It's no use anyway. Nothing really matters anymore when your life is in the hands of people you despise." she thought, picking up the phone and switching it off and throwing it under her bed.

"Not like I would be needing this anymore."

The following afternoon, Mei stood in front of the mirror, glancing upon herself as she tried to not irk her father further. Previously, she had worn a rather dull, tedious T-shirt with bland and wearisome sweatpants. Feng was infuriated as he grimaced, "We have no time for your nonsense right now, Mei Ling. Choose from one of the dresses that Mrs. Lan laid out for you. Don't try to test my patience."

Muttering under her breath, Mei grumbled lightly, "Don't what? I was just staying in a comfortable outfit, sheesh."

Sending her back with one of their most trusted maids, Mrs. Lan, to make sure she wore an imposing and elegant attire.

She picked up a gown that was placed on the bed and put it in her hands, telling her how beautiful it would look on her. Mei peeked down, running her hands through the silky material and smiled at Mrs. Lan.

When they finished dressing her up, Mei looked absolutely stunning.

She wore an open-back silt mermaid gown of deep scarlet color that wrapped around her slender body perfectly.

Mrs. Lan smiled and told her that red represented luck. She took out a purple hairpin and slid it next to her ear.

"And Purple, Denotes Love and Happiness Sweetheart." she beamed at her.

Mei looked in the mirror and smiled to herself softly.

"If only Mum was here to see this...."

Slowly and steadily, she walked out of the room.

For the entire ride, Mei didn't utter a word. Her blank face stared at the passing buildings and the cars.

Feng sensed her tension as he pointed ahead, "Look ahead, We have reached."

She looked up and saw a wide glass gate, behind which was a beautiful mansion painted in a golden and cream color.

A splendid marble tiered fountain stood in the middle of the driveway with yellow and white lilies surrounding it.

Mei was in great awe at how luxurious everything was. She lived in a decently wealthy family her entire life but nothing she owned could be compared to anything like this mansion.

Feng swerved the car in the driveway and in a matter of seconds, they were standing in front of the large door.

Near the entrance, a man in a linen black tuxedo, rushed up towards Feng while he smacked him on the back, and started chortling.

Mei stared in shock at him, recognizing him as no other than the CEO of Liu Entertainment.

"I'm sure you are aware of who this is." Feng bellowed while laughing with Chen.

'Didn't realize these guys were so close to each other but oh well.' She thought, bowing down to greet him, "Good evening, Sir."

"There is no need to be so formal Dear, this isn't a work place, is it?" Chen prattled on, "Let's head in now Ai has been eagerly waiting to meet you."