Sitting in a rolling car, driving safely on the highway, Yang Feng turned to face his wife. She was staring out of the window, a distant look on her face. She was physically with him, but her mind was elsewhere.

"Are you going to attend the meeting?"

"I'm not sure." Zhao Lifei clasped her fingers together, tearing her eyes away from the dull window. She could see the city from here and all of its flashing lights. It was a spectacular sight. Shenbei was known for its beauty and because of it, many tourists were inclined to visit the shining city.

"Your shares in the company is quite high." Yang Feng leaned closer to her and drew her small chin in his direction so that he could have her undivided attention.

Zhao Lifei felt her heart skip a beat at the understanding expression on his face. Even with a barely recognizable smile, he was still astonishingly handsome. His eyes were the darkest shade of black she had ever seen. Yet, when he looked at her, her reflection was all that she could see.

His thumb softly rubbed her chin, before giving it a light squeeze. "If you want to become the President of Zhao Corporation, I will support you."

Zhao Lifei knew what he was implying. If she wanted it, she'd get it. Nothing will stop him from giving her what she wanted. The real question was, did she want it? With his shares and her grandfather's favoritism towards her, she could easily take the throne. Like everything else, there would be disagreements and family relations would be further strained— not that she cared.

"Well?"

"I'm not sure." Zhao Lifei let out a small puff of air. Her heart was heavy and leaned towards one side whereas her brain leaned to the polar opposite.

"Whatever you desire to do, I will help you." He edged closer to her and pressed a lingering kiss upon her forehead. She didn't know she was creasing her brows until he kissed the spot again and soothed the lines with his finger. "If you want to become the President, I will give you my shares. If you don't want the position, I will not hold it against you."

"There are a lot more people who have worked harder than me just to dream about the position." Zhao Lifei finally spoke out. "Yet, I do not feel sympathy for the majority of them. All of them have schemed against their kin and blood to acquire status and support."

"As long as I am here, none of the schemes against you will be successful." Unbeknownst to Zhao Lifei, there had been numerous attempts of assassination. Whether it was snipers cocked and loaded on the rooftop or people attempting to hijack her cars, all of it was unsuccessful. Yang Feng's men were always able to spot danger from miles away.

Snipers were shot dead, hijackers were dragged to the Underworld, and anything else was deemed invalid. He had carefully kept her from scheming family members that attempted to poach and reach out to her. She didn't know it, but he had all of those unlawful members blocked from communicating with her. As long as their intentions were bad, even if it was the slightest bit, they would never reach her.

"I know." Zhao Lifei fondly responded, lifting her head, the corners of her lips curving into a full smile. It reached her eyes as she placed a hand upon her stomach, feeling warmth spread through her fingers.

Yang Feng's eyes briefly followed her action before looping his hands around her body, folding it in a knot behind her back. "Something will happen to Xia Mengxi. If you don't want any involvement with her, do not check the news the entirety of tomorrow."

Zhao Lifei wondered why the quote, "It takes two to cheat," popped into her mind. Without knowing it, the words in her head had left her mouth, surprising Yang Feng.

"Which is precisely why Zheng Tianyi also suffered." He leaned in and kissed her upon her jaw, trailing a path to the sensitive mark he had created yesterday. The red mark was hidden under concealer and foundation. With her hair let loose, no one could see it.

"On equal footing?" She genuinely asked.

"If that is what you desire." He drew back from her to read her expression. At times, he wished she was an open book where her emotions were easily predictable. Guarded behind her smile, he couldn't read her true intentions. "I'm currently in the process of finalizing everything. If you would like her to suffer more or less, you're free to tell me."

Zhao Lifei thought back to the moments where Zheng Tianyi furiously pursued Xia Mengxi, even when the woman was unrelenting to his seduction. Maybe it was the fame, money, and power that he offered to her, but for unspecified reasons, Xia Mengxi had finally given in to him.

Why was it that women suffered more when they cheated? Men should also be held accountable for their actions. And in Zhao Lifei's case, she knew Zheng Tianyi had scarred her more than Xia Mengxi did. She was nothing but an irritating thorn in his side. However, Xia Mengxi was a special case. She had helped a man cheat, but also cheated on the cheater. Zheng Tianyi had his fair share of pain and even now, he was living in hell on Earth.

"It's better to be fair." Zhao Lifei's single statement sealed Xia Mengxi's fate.

- - - - -

At a luxury mall, a woman leisurely swung her purse as she looked over the window displays with disinterest. She was used to all of the designer clothing presented here and nothing caught her fancy. Her finger touched the sleeves of her silky dress, long and white. It enhanced the silhouette of her body in the most modest way possible. From the nourishing hair treatment, she had a few hours ago, her hair was a healthy sheen.

Lately, she was growing tired of all of the fancy clothes. Every time she wore something new, she would throw it out the next day. Her lips tugged into a sneer at the nagging from her mother a few days ago. Her mother had helped her land the job as a secretary, and the filial daughter wanted nothing to do with her.

The nagging from a few days ago was the last straw for Xia Mengxi. It was something about wasting money on clothes or wasting clothes, but whatever the reason was, Xia Mengxi was having none of it.

Aggravated at the single mother who raised her, Xia Mengxi had purchased a house for her mother in the next city over, paid the entire mortgage on that house, and then shipped her there. She was tired of seeing her mother every single day.

"Mom, can you put on some make-up today? You look haggard!"

"Ugh, this is such an ugly dress on you. You have extra pounds on you and it makes your short legs look stubby!"

"Please walk behind me or a bit further away. No, no it has nothing to do with your appearance today. Yeah, I know you spent three hours to look nice because you're going out with me. But it's just… I don't like it when someone cuts into my personal bubble."

Xia Mengxi was embarrassed to walk with a woman who obviously looked like she was lifted to wealth and wasn't born into it. Because Xia Mengxi's mother only recently acquired wealth, she still dressed like she was new-money. And because she wasn't previously exposed to the expensive treatment that most women her age would've gotten a long time ago, there were prominent wrinkles and speckles of blemishes scattered throughout her face. It was normal to have it, but Xia Mengxi was too repulsed and embarrassed to walk around with her mother.

"You only drag me down!" Xia Mengxi had shouted at the woman in a fit of rage the last time she saw her mother.

"Is that her?"

"Oh my god, it is."

Xia Mengxi sighed on the inside when she heard the usual whispers of the socialites browsing the mall. She was so tired of their fake smiles and compliments. 'Unlike that stupid Zhao Lifei, I know how to navigate what is right and what is wrong.' She thought to herself, shaking her head at the idiotic woman. 'She's rich and can have any man she wants. Why did she have to go for a loser like Zheng Tianyi? It speaks a lot about her preferences.'

"Yeah, she was crowned the Queen three years ago."

"Look at her walking around in YRQ clothing. I heard it was all sold out within the first hour of its launch."

"Even with the mess going on, she still has the time to shop?"

Xia Mengxi smiled a bit at their obvious compliments. She felt particularly pretty today in her newest edition clothes. It was hard to get her hands on these clothes, but after whining to Zheng Murong, he finally bought it for her. His people contacted someone, but she was too lazy to care who it was.

The hints were laid out before her but she was too naive and ignorant to see past the veil of her blissful life.

"Those clothes cost a lot of money and she's already wasting the little bit of cash she has left. How stupid."

"She must think she's so beautiful today. Look at her admiring herself in the mirror, completely oblivious to what's happening to her."

"Heh, don't worry about it. I already contacted Second Brother that she's at the mall right now. The news people will come any minute now."

"Haha, she thought we were complimenting her! How dumb!"

"Well, she did come from a horrible education and a low-life. Of course, she would be this stupid."

Xia Mengxi's smile dropped when she realized the previous compliments were of people taunting her. They weren't in awe when they saw her like she assumed they would be.

Her eyes burned with fury, "What did you just say?" She turned around with an aggressive smile. Even in the face of backstabbing, she was able to maintain her reputation as a pure and innocent woman. Usually, the very sight of her would cause women to tremble in their high-top and gaudy heels. She had Zheng Tianyi as her backing and no one dared to offend her. All of that was going to change today.