316 Broken Facade

"What is that commotion?" Zhao Lifei wondered to herself. She raised her head from the computer desk. She was finishing the homework Zhao Moyao had assigned to her yesterday. 

Through the balcony window, loud chatter could be heard. Out of pure curiosity and the desire to shut the french doors, she clambered off the chair and approached the balcony. She looked down and her eyes brightened at the sight of a luxury car. Was her grandfather coming earlier than planned?

To her disappointment, the door opened and revealed a young boy. He seemed to be four or five years older than her. 

She wished it was Zheng Tianyi. It had been a couple of days since she had last seen her Tiantian ge-ge. Two years ago, he hated the nickname that she gave him, but it finally grew on him and he reluctantly accepted it.

Zhao Lifei could see all of the servants of her household lined up to greet the boy. She wanted to catch a glimpse of his face, but it seemed he was intently distracted by something.

"Welcome honorable guest, Young Master Yang!" All of the butlers and maids greeted him in unison, bowing as low as their bodies would allow them.

"What a fancy greeting. He must be important." She said to herself. She wanted to look longer, but then heard the voice of her younger sister.

"Fengfeng!" 

A pang of pain rushed over Zhao Lifei, causing her knees to wobble. She would've fallen to the floor if she did not grab the balcony fence. The name brought a stabbing pain to her heart, forcing her to grasp her chest, gasping for air. The wind blew past her and she shivered. It was getting cold and too noisy for her liking. She hobbled back to her room and tightly shut the door behind her, closing the curtains. 

Zhao Linhua ran through the large doors that opened slowly for her. She ran outside, her breath caught in her throat when she saw Yang Feng in person. He...he was a lot better looking than the photos! They did not do him justice. She had never seen someone so handsome. It was enough for her to go weak in her knees. Her heart soared to the skies when he raised his head from the present box in his hands. 

The sun was too bright today. Yang Feng hated the light, especially the glaring heat beating down on him. He shielded his eyes. Through his squint, he saw the girl of his dreams. 

Xiao Lili. She was a short distance away, dressed in the same hat he had gifted her a while back. She kept it? It warmed his heart and made him smile a bit. So it seems she did not forget him after all.

Zhao Linhua felt her heart at the back of her throat, erratically thumping. He was suave, chic, and very mature — it was everything she ever wanted. 

Staring at his smooth, slightly-tanned skin that looked softer than silk and his piercing eyes, her heart skipped a beat. What killed her was his loving smile. It was as if cupid shot an arrow at her. She had seen him for less than a minute and was already head-over-heels in love with him. 

"Xiao Lili, I've made you wait long." Yang Feng could not see her face properly, but that hat of hers was the distinctive sign for him. He thought it was strange. 

Five years have passed and she was still into frilly, lacy dresses like those? He believed she would prefer something with less decoration, but he did not mind her current style. It reminded him of how she used to dress back then. 

He decided to send her another gift tomorrow, this time, with dresses similar to the one she was wearing. In his hand was a handcrafted music box and in the trunk, there were many more gifts to come. They were all dresses, hats, shoes, and pieces of jewelry that girls her age would like, but he deemed it would be better if he brought her more dresses. 

Yang Feng motioned for the chauffeur to open the trunk. The man obediently did so and took out the many presents, handing it all off to the servants. He ensured none of them touched the ground. His Young Master would have his head if the young lady dirtied her hands.

"I brought you gifts." Yang Feng warmly said, his smile growing wider when she took a step forward. Was she shy? Or was she showing she had class and etiquette by not running straight towards him when she had the chance to? He wished she forgot about the rules and came to him. 

Usually, he despised little girls who stepped out of line and were not mindful of their manners. There were many times he reprimanded spoiled little brats who didn't know their places. All of them ran off after his scathing glare and equally scornful words. No one could match up to his Xiao Lili who would innocently smile even when he gave her the cold-shoulder.

"I didn't know you were still into lacy dresses and did not buy you any. It's a mistake. Do not fret, I will bring more tomorrow." Yang Feng watched her stay rooted to the ground from a distance. His lips twitched. He wished she would come closer. He was waiting for her to take the first step.

Zhao Linhua was too busy drooling over his face and appearance to realize she was standing there like a fool. She demurely clutched her dress and glanced down in a very innocent manner.

"That's alright, a-anything from Fengfeng will be deeply treasured by me." She purposely made her voice sweeter than usual, so that it resembled her older sister.

Yang Feng was finding her behavior odd. His Xiao Lili never glanced at the ground. She was taught to always look up and jut her chin in the air. He tried to brush it off. It's been five years, of course, she would change.

"Open the gifts. I hope you like them." Yang Feng took a step closer to her, his hand itching to pat her on the head. He had not done that for a while now. 

Zhao Linhua took two steps backward like a frightened bunny. She averted her gaze, her cheeks bursting with redness. She turned towards one of the servants who handed her the first box which so happened to contain jewelry. 

When she opened the box, her eyes widened. It was a matching set including a necklace, earrings, bracelets, and so on. The thing that caught her eyes was the set of rings. It was just a simple gift and nothing more. There were many more sets of jewelry down the line of servants, but she was too fixated on the current box in front of her.

Yang Feng saw her silence as displeasure. He grew antsy. "If you do not like pink diamonds, there are also sapphires, pearls, and—"

"No! I like pink diamonds!" Zhao Linhua was so excited, she forgot to change her voice. Her heart was pounding with excitement, her fingers shaking to put the ring on. It was just a ring, but to a naive child like her, she saw it as a promise ring for their future. She could die happy right now. 

Nanny Wenwen said the Yang family was one of the richest families in the country. She did not believe it until the older woman showed her hundreds of pictures of beautiful, scenic properties, boats, yachts, helicopters, and private islands. Nanny Wenwen also told her Yang Feng's estimated trust fund and the fortune he was rumored to inherit when he turned eighteen. Everything her Nanny showed her belonged to Yang Feng.

Zhao Linhua was brimming with uncontainable happiness. 'My future husband is going to be loaded and he's more handsome than prince charming!' She thought to herself.

Yang Feng's face darkened. She looked greedy. 

She did not sound like his Xiao Lili. 

The facade broke. 

Whilst the little girl was distracted by the jewelry in front of her, he stormed over to her. With force, he yanked the chiffon ribbon hat off of her head.

Zhao Linhua's startled head snapped up, her body flinching. No one had ever roughly handled her like that before.

"Who are you?" The warmth evaporated from his eyes, disappearing into thin air. His face was devoid of a smile and it was frighteningly dark. His lips were curled in disgust. However, that was not what terrified her. It was his eyes. 

Beastly, vicious, like they could snap her body in half if she looked at them long enough. She didn't. She averted her eyes, her shoulders shaking.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

"Lifei! There you are. Why did you run off without mommy?" Wang Nuoli came running down the stairs and out onto the pavement of her front entrance. Her smile was forced and it turned nervous when she felt how tense the air was.

Zhao Linhua was shaking and trembling. She wanted to get out of there. Her prince charming's cruel and menacing stare was boring a hole in her.