Murong Cheng felt a bit embarrassed by his daughter acting strangely. It was obvious to everyone what she had been trying to do. If she had some skills or at least, a little finesse, things would not have been so awkward.

He looked at Zhong Feng in apology. He was glad that Yue was sensible enough to take away Yan before she humiliated herself and the family further. He had never thought that there would be a day that Yue would act more sensibly.

"Please excuse my daughters, Mr Zhong. They are still young." He said with an awkward laugh.

Hu Lei snorted inelegantly. Those women were older than her, and this man had the guts to have them excused for their age. Would he use the same excuse when they had grey hair and were using a walking stick?

"Hu Lei, the thing with your mother… I know that you understand how it reached that point. She cheated me, and I could not bear it." The man ignored her derisive snort and looked at her earnestly.

Hu Lei laughed. "Do you want me to sympathise with you, Mr Murong?"

The man looked at her with righteousness in his eyes and spoke with a saddened voice. "You of all people should know how she can be."

"You should be the actress instead of your daughter, Mr Murong." Hu Lei said with a lifted brow and obvious amusement.

Murong Cheng felt angered by the word 'actress', but he did not have a chance to respond.

"I am aware of how Lu Liang is. I have always understood who she is. But you of all people do not have a right to judge her. Do you think I am unaware that she was the one who helped you take the reins in the Murong family?"

Murong Cheng sputtered and looked around in embarrassment to make sure that no one had heard what Hu Lei had said.

"Lu Liang might be lacking in many things, but she is intelligent. You did not realise her value until she was gone. There may be no love lost between us, but I feel sorry for her. It is truly unfortunate for her that she met someone like you." Hu Lei said with disgust.

Murong Cheng was shocked because he expected Hu Lei to be still angry at her mother and pleased about how far she had fallen. He had hoped that they could connect because he had helped her vent her anger when he had divorced her.

"She cheated me to raise her child. How could I bear the humiliation?" He could not help raising his voice when he realised that Hu Lei was not responding as he had hoped.

"Mr Murong, I am not here to argue or listen to your sad woes, so don't show me this self-directed little play you have made up. You should know by now that Lu Liang is fine. She will survive. As I said, she is intelligent. You don't have to worry about her." There was obvious mocking.

Hu Lei pulled Zhong Feng so that they could keep walking. Then, she paused and looked back at the overweight old man with narrowed eyes with an evil glint.

"If I were you, I would watch my back. She is also a very vengeful person. But you should already know that." She smiled before walking away.

Zhong Feng looked at Hu Lei. "I did not expect you to speak up for Lu Liang."

Hu Lei smiled with a hint of wistfulness in her eyes. "She is a terrible person, but he does not have the right to speak ill of her. And he even tried to manipulate me. He is a hundred years too early to put on a pathetic show before me."

Zhong Feng pulled her to a stop and hugged her. Hu Lei wanted to complain about her dress getting wrinkled, but she instead put her arms around his waist. After a few moments, she pushed him away.

"You should go and get ready. It is almost time for your speech." She smiled to reassure him.

The man held her shoulders and looked at her to make sure that she was alright.

"You are such a worrywart. I am fine. I just saw someone normal among this sea of super important people." She waved at him as she walked away.

In the end, Zhong Feng could do nothing but go on to handle company issues.

Hu Lei walked to Bo Qian and Beatrice, the most unexpected pair in the party of global giants.

"I am so glad to see familiar faces." She sighed with feeling.

Bo Qian smiled with enthusiasm as he saw his fortune goddess. On the other hand, Beatrice blushed a little because she had not told Hu Lei that she was coming to the party.

"Little Ninja Fortune Cat, I love the new book. We are going to adapt the book into a movie, a comic and maybe commission a theme song." His eyes twinkled like bright stars.

Hu Lei's lips twitched, and she decided to ignore him.

"Beatrice!"

"Yes, ma'am."

The young woman felt guiltier by the second as if she had been called out by the school principal. Technically, she had done nothing wrong. She had been diligent in her work, even when Hu Lei was away. Otherwise, Little Ninja Cat fans would have rioted.

But she had hidden a personal secret from Hu Lei. After spending almost every day together with Hu Lei before she left the city, they had become friends. So, Beatrice felt like she had sinned by hiding away a crucial matter.

"Did you get tricked by this man?" Hu Lei asked with suspicion.

She did not need to be a genius to figure out the unspoken thing between the two people.

Bo Qian felt wronged. He was an honest and upright man. "What do you mean? I am an honest man."

Beatrice blushed. She could not say if she had been tricked or not, or if she was the one who had tricked. The thing was, after spending so much time liaising with Bo Qian on Little Ninja Cat issues, they had formed a connection.

Somehow, they had ended up in a relationship.

"We will know if you are honest once you meet her family." Hu Lei levelled a gaze at the man.

The Jiang family was a military dynasty with hardboiled soldiers. She did not know if Bo Qian could survive a single meeting after stealing their princess.

Bo Qian looked a little sick after the statement.

"Don't scare him." Beatrice patted Bo Qian on the back.

"A married daughter is truly like spilt water." Hu Lei sighed.

She was a little worried about Beatrice because she knew that her editor had held some feelings towards Carefree Dreams, also known as Song Yin. If he was not over her, Beatrice could get hurt.

Unfortunately, she could not predict what would happen. She could only hope that there would be no heartbreak.