"That day, the Crown Prince saw how the First Princess held her own against his King. He saw how the First Princess didn't even flinch when his King was glaring at her in an unpleasant way. She refused to bow to his King's glare.
The Crown Prince couldn't believe his ears when the First Princess actually mocked his King for his false claims. He had never seen someone act like this in front of his King and not be beheaded. It was a first and it was very refreshing for the Crown Prince.
Maybe, what has happened before will stop happening from now on."
****************
Lu Zhi's continuous stare had Yi Chen feel a little uncomfortable. They still haven't moved from the spots they were standing at and Lu Zhi hadn't answered his question yet. Instead, she kept on staring at him with such expressions that Yi Chen loosely translated as him being a little prey while Lu Zhi being the predator. He felt his ears heat up under Lu Zhi's unwavering gaze, something he hadn't felt ever before.
"Damn!" Lu Zhi couldn't help but whisper to herself, wowed by Yi Chen's appearance. She hadn't lied when she had told her sister that Yi Chen was really, really hot. Reminded of how she had felt at the gala when she had hooked her arm with his.
She had met a lot of handsome and sexy men in her life but nobody had that effect on her as Yi Chen does. She wanted to wrap her fingers around his biceps, drag them across his shoulder blades, check if he has sick pack abs or not. Lu Zhi wanted to know how it would feel to caress his chiseled face, run her hands through his luxurious hair.
And his long legs, "Damn!" Lu Zhi couldn't help but repeat herself.
Yi Chen cleared his throat in an effort to catch Lu Zhi's attention, "What are you doing here?" he asked again.
Lu Zhi blinked her eyes twice before a wide smile curled upon her lips, "Remember I told you that your father asked me to design an outfit and matching jewelry for their vows renewal ceremony. I came here for that."
Yi Chen froze in slight terror as he was reminded of what his father was trying to do by bringing Lu Zhi close. He had almost forgotten about it.
Yi Chen was about to say something but stopped when he heard his father's voice, "Oh, you are here!"
Lu Zhi and Yi Chen raised their heads to look up. There, at the top of the stairs stood Zhang Dong dressed in a grey suit while his wife Huo Mei stood a step behind him dressed in the burgundy colored tea length dress and a cashmere shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Even as they came down the stairs, Huo Mei stayed a step behind her husband.
Lu Zhi recognized the dress that Huo Mei was wearing. Afterall, Lu Zhi had designed it; the dress and the scarf as well. It was from her semi-casual wear collection that she had released 3 months ago.
"I am glad you could join us. My wife was really excited to meet you." Zhang Dong smiled.
"You have met me and my son already. This beautiful woman beside me is my wife, Huo Mei." introduced Zhang Dong while wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Hello, Mrs. Zhang." Lu Zhi bowed her head slightly in greeting.
Huo Mei gave her a deceptive smile, sizing her up, "Hello." said the elder woman.
"Yi Chen, come sit with us." that was an order Yi Chen could not refute. The four of them took their seats in the living room while a house help replaced the earlier served refreshments with a pot of freshly prepared tea, a platter of assorted pastries and cakes.
"My wife is a huge fan of your work that's why I thought why not have her wedding dress and jewelry designed by her favorite designer." Zhang Dong laughed and it didn't go unnoticed that whatever he said, it all revolved around him and him only.
"I still remember the wedding dress she wore for our wedding. It was a beautiful ball gown with intricate designs on it in gold thread." out of the four of them, only Zhang Dong was speaking.
Lu Zhi hid her mocking smile behind her tea cup. She had already seen the wedding pictures of Zhang Dong and Huo Mei; found them of the internet. It wasn't a ball gown with gold thread work that Huo Mei had wore that day. Instead, she had wore an A-line dress with delicate lace work and a large train. Did the old man really think that Lu Zhi's a fool who wouldn't do her homework before starting working on any project?
Lu Zhi kept quiet because she was waiting for Huo Mei to say something but when the elder woman just smiled and didn't deny her husband's statement, Lu Zhi chose to remain quiet.
On the other hand, Yi Chen was feeling as if he had entered a parallel universe. He had never seen his father behave like this before.
"I want you to design a different style of gown for her this time. You see, something fitting of her age." commented Zhang Dong.
Lu Zhi placed her cup on the table and said, "Well, it depends on what Mrs. Zhang prefers. Afterall, it's her special day and she must have some opinion about what style of dress she wants to wear and what jewelry she should pair it up with."
Lu Zhi took out a catalogue from her bag and handed it to Yi Chen's mother, "This contains the designs of most of the wedding gowns that I have designed. This will help you to form a basic idea of what you want to wear for your 33rd wedding anniversary and the vows renewal ceremony. It also has traditional Chinese bridal wear in case you want to wear something traditional time time."
Huo Mei took the catalogue from Lu Zhi and smiled a genuine smile, "Thank you."
"Take your time and decide what you prefer and what not. We will do the rough sketches during our next appointment." Lu Zhi then stood up, "Now I'll take your leave."
"You are leaving already? Miss Lu, our appointment was supposed to be an hour long and only half of it has passed at this point." the look on Zhang Dong's face would usually make other shudder but Lu Zhi, she just smirked.
"You wasted the first half our appointment time by not arriving, Mr. Zhang. I was here 5 minutes before the designated time. I don't know about your but I have other important things scheduled for today." told Lu Zhi.
Yi Chen couldn't help but glance at Lu Zhi who stood there, unfazed, in front of his father's glare. "I am sure you won't mind it as you must know the importance of time; it's a very precious entity Mr. Zhang. Once gone, it cannot be recovered. So, I suggest let's not waste each other's time the next time we meet for our scheduled appointment."
"Right." nodded Zhang Dong but kept glaring at Lu Zhi.
While Lu Zhi started walking away, the Zhang family remained seated where they were. But before she could finally be out of their sight, Lu Zhi turned around and added, "It was an A-line gown, Mr. Zhang."
"What?"
"The gown that your wife wore for your wedding. It wasn't a ball gown but an A-line gown with lace details. I hope you will not forget. I do my homework very diligently, I hope you'll do yours too." after saying that, Lu Zhi turned around and walked away without looking back again.
She left behind a startled Huo Mei, fuming Zhang Dong and a gaping Zhang Yi Chen.
Zhang Dong stood away and walked away while Huo Mei followed. But Yi Chen couldn't move from the spot where he was sitting. The way Lu Zhi had behaved in front of his father, the way she answered him back, it was a first for Yi Chen.
Not only did she preach him about the importance of time but she also mocked Zhang Dong for not being able to remember what his "beloved" wife actually wore on their wedding day.
An involuntary chuckle escaped his lips while Yi Chen replayed the last few minutes in his mind. He immediately covered his mouth using his hands and looked around in hope that nobody saw him smiling or heard him chuckle.
Zhang Yi Chen was reminded of his best friend's words. He hadn't believed when Ming Ze had told him that Lu Zhi had the capability and the ability to stand against Zhang Dong but now after seeing a glimpse of it and that too when he was present at the scene, Yi Chen was finally able to believe that maybe Lu Zhi is not as powerless as he had thought her to be.
Maybe she truly could withstand whatever Zhang Dong had planned for her. Maybe he didn't need to worry about her so much.
****************
Once Lu Zhi was outside the mansion, she hastily sat inside her car and told her driver to drive away. The moment they were out of the Zhang premises, Lu Zhi burst into laughter as she recalled the face that Zhang Dong had made when she had lectured him about how important her time was and then mocked him over not remembering his wife's wedding outfit.
He had looked greatly pissed, and Lu Zhi enjoyed every second of it. She wished she had clicked a picture of his as he had looked really funny after she had offended him.
She had disliked Zhang Dong since she met him for the first time. He was all about "I, Me and Myself" and Lu Zhi hated self-centered people like that.
Once her laughter died down, Lu Zhi regretted not clicking Zhang Yi Chen's picture as well. He looked extremally handsome today and it would be a shame if she wasn't able to properly admire how his looks.
"Tch." she made a face, "Better luck next time!"