In the house, Chu Ling heard the scream and knew that it was Hu Fai. She stood up, wanting to check up on the child. She would not forgive herself if something happened to him. Song Lili's eyes hardened when she saw Chu Ling wanting to leave the room.
"Madam Zhong, are you not taking me seriously enough?" She asked angrily.
Chu Ling looked at her. "You also heard the scream. I naturally want to know what happened."
"What could happen in the glorious Zhong mansion? There are people everywhere to take care of problems for you." The voice was filled with contempt.
Chu Ling realised that leaving without care for the conversation would look too suspicious. She did not want to reveal to Song Lili any information about Hu Fai. With her callous personality, she would probably use it immediately and get Hu Lei and Zhong Feng in trouble.
If anything happened to Hu Fai, someone would let her know immediately.
"What do you want?" She asked after sitting down again.
Song Lili smiled with satisfaction as if she has already won. "In the beginning, I wanted to say that I wanted Zhong Feng to abandon that woman and marry me. But I realise that it is not a smart request. Zhong Feng will not agree."
"So you have some self-awareness." Chu Ling said with heavy sarcasm.
Anger flashed in Song Lili's eyes, but she did not respond to the bait. "What I would like is fifteen per cent of the Zhong Industries shares."
"Little Fai, do not be scared of the old man." The butler said with a kind smile and amusement in his eyes.
"Who are you calling old, you relic? You are only some years younger than me. Do you think that I cannot beat you up just like when we were young?" Elder Zhong shook a fist at the butler.
Hu Fai looked between them with confusion. He realised that the two people knew each other, and the strange old man was even a member of the Zhong family. He felt like he needed to explain why he had screamed, or people might misunderstand him.
"He was behaving suspiciously. He looked like he wanted to kidnap me." He spoke with complete honesty in his voice and eyes.
Elder Zhong pointed at the boy while sputtering in anger. He could not believe someone dared to speak like that about him. And now, this brat had just…
"No one wants to kidnap you. And if anyone kidnapped you, they would return you immediately." He retorted with a derisive snort before looking away.
The butler looked at the two people, especially Elder Zhong, and felt a headache coming on. He wondered how he could make peace between the two of them. After a moment, his old eyes lit up.
"Elder Zhong, this young boy has been staying with us here while his sister is handling some business." He said nonchalantly.
Elder Zhong looked at the butler with casual interest. He knew that the words had some significance.
"Who is this brat's sister?" He asked.
"I don't know if you remember Hu Lei." The butler responded as if Elder Zhong could forget her.
Elder Zhong looked at Hu Fai and found that he did have a lot of resemblance to that little girl. Although he liked Hu Lei more, the brat did not seem so unpleasant to the eyes anymore.
"You are Little Lei's brother?" He asked while stroking his beard.
Hu Fai felt that the man was still suspicious, but he seemed to know his sister. "You know my sister?"
Elder Zhong laughed heartily. "I have come to see her this time around. I was hoping she has more tea. The last batch was quite excellent."
Hu Fai felt aggrieved. His sister had not given him a gift. How could she be kind to the strange man?
Sensing dissatisfaction from his new rival, Elder Zhong felt even better and became even friendlier. He felt like he had won this round, so he decided to behave magnanimously.
"I see you have an interest in plants. Would you like to see some precious herbs?" Elder Zhong offered.
Hu Fai's eyes lit up. "Yeah, where are they?"
The butler looked at the two people and sighed. These people who were acting like mortal enemies were now behaving like they had known each other from a long time ago. However, he also felt satisfied with his quick thinking.
As he was basking in the glory of his wisdom, his phone beeped. He looked at it and realised it was an emergency alert from the sunroom. He felt a bit of panic.
Madam Zhong was in the sunroom with Song Lili, and she would not use the emergency alert if it was not critical. Could the woman have done something to Madam Zhong?
He shook his head and cleared the panic. Even though Song Lili was bold, she would not harm the Madam physically. She knew how tight the security at the Zhong home was, so she would not cut off all her hope for escape.
Shortly after, Zhong Tian called to inquire him about the cause for the alert because he had also received it. The butler explained briefly as he rushed to the sunroom. The anger from the man at the other end of the line was palpable.
Zhong Tian knew that his wife was a proud and stubborn woman. If she had pressed the panic buŧŧon, she had to have a good reason. Moreover, she must have run out of options.
He needed to go home and deal with Song Lili.