"Mr. Secretary, I am sorry. I didn't want to interrupt at first. But seeing her getting out of line, I wasn't able to hold back for a moment. I hope you didn't mind." Li Xue said when they were already away at a distance. Given the personality of the secretary, Li Xue knew it must be hard to take her, a woman's protection.
Gao Fan shook his head. "Thank you, Madam. Without you, it would have gotten tough for me. Ms. Zhang held the grudge from before and then …"
He was in the middle of his words when Li Xue turned to look at him with surprise. Was the great secretary with always-stoic face gossiping with her now? Though she doesn't want to believe it, she felt it was like that.
Li Xue shook her head, shrugging the thought off her head. She didn't hear the later part of the words but what she heard before, she replied to it, "Be it grudge or anything, Mr. Secretary, nothing would keep me back from helping the people who are on my side. You are one of them so, I stood for you."
She said and hearing her say that, for the first time in his lifetime, Gao Fan felt like smiling. Li Xue's eyes grew wider at him when she saw him like that. The secretary felt embarrassed and immediately got back to the stoic expression, to apologize, "I am sorry Madam."
"For what? Smiling?" Li Xue laughed out, but then shaking her head, she didn't plan to embarrass him more. So, switching to the topic that was something important, she composed herself to a slightly solemn composure.
"Anyway Mr. Secretary, there is something I needed you to help me with if you have time." She said and Gao Fan looked at her with solemnity.
"President Feng has asked me to assist you, Madam. You just have to order me."
He stated and Li Xue nodded to him. "Help me find out in recent times if Ms. Zhang has met anyone related to my Royal Project?" She said and giving a slight thought to it, Gao Fan agreed.
"Okay Madam, I will let you know once I find it out."
Gao Fan said and knowing the sincerity of his words, Li Xue nodded with a smile to add, "Fine then, let's get back to your President first. I feel like he must be feeling that I would get swallowed without him around." She said and then again, they started to walk.
And as she had expected him, far from a distance, she saw his grey orbs searching for her. Her lips curled up as soon the pairs found her and his feet advanced in her direction.
Before he could ask her, Li Xue smiled at him to question all innocently, "Were you looking for me?" And Feng Shufen frowned at her.
"I have asked you to sit and wait for me. Where have you gone?"
Li Xue's smile grew deeper as raising her hands she reached out to soothe the frowning wrinkles on his forehead. "I was getting bored inside, sitting at a place. So, when you didn't return, I asked Yi Lan to show me around."
She spoke and at her explanation like that, the man turned to look around which Li Xue understood very well. So, she added, "Yi Lan was with me before but then a maid came to call her saying that your mother has been calling her for a talk. So, I sent her away. Don't worry I wasn't lost, it's just that on my way back someone halted me to offer me a great deal." She said and right at the moment from the corner of her eyes saw Zhang Xiaotong reappearing in the hall.
The expression of Li Xue's eyes changed and Feng Shufen didn't fail to notice it. His gaze trailed as well to look in the direction she was looking for a brief second and then turned back to ask with a bit of sternness in his expression, "Did something happen?"
Li Xue had tranced off slightly but was snapped back the moment she heard the man's voice near her. Turning she looked at him with some caution at first then smiling, she shrugged it. "What can happen? The plot of every love triangle drama is always cliché. I can only take my chance to play the lead female role. Also, what do you think of me? I am not some easy person who would get bullied by anyone."
She said, virtually patting her shoulders, herself. But at her words, Feng Shufen frowned deeper. "I am not interested in any drama with cliché plot or love triangle. We could only be the leads in our story with no side characters involved." He said and his words screamed the seriousness that Li Xue didn't expect to come.
She paused at his words for a moment but then pouting at his comments, she retorted, "If no side characters get involved, won't our story become too boring, Mr. Beelzebub? What are you even thinking?"
She said and expected a comment in return to come, but Feng Shufen said nothing. He just stood there with all firm in his stance, which only meant one thing that he wasn't budging from what he had already said.
Only lead characters without any side ones!
Li Xue pursed her lips and was about to say something when Feng Yi Lan came crashing to her, panting for her breath. "L-Li Xue, darling, y-you have to help me now. I am in a dire situation so no matter what you have to do but help me coax your Devil husband to support me later." She said, looking at her brother standing on the side before turning to look back at her friend.
Li Xue didn't understand any of her words before but she could very well understand from where her heavy breathing was coming. So, patting her shoulders, her first attempt was to calm her down. "Yi Lan, from where are you running? Relax first and cool yourself down before telling me everything." She said and then looking at Gao Fan, she signaled him to help her with a glass of water.
But Feng Yi Lan was nowhere near to the calm. Shaking her head, to Li Xue, she again urged her as if her life was at stake, "No, no Li Xue, at this moment I can't afford to relax.. Just assure me first that later you and brother would stand on my side, no matter what."