Rumors about Lily’s not so pleasant encounter with a certain group of people at the London Village Stables started spreading like a fire among the socialite circle. Did they think that Lily would let this incident pass just because they knew one another?
People started ridiculing the group of men and women for behaving poorly in front of someone like Lily and offending her. After all, Lily Qin’s identity was also not simple. She might not be the Queen bee but the Queen bee was surely afraid of her. Just because Lily had been courteous, they had forgotten that she was someone capable of creating storms with only her wits and that her smile was her weapon.
While some people sympathized with the group yet at the same time felt that they only had themselves to blame for their foolishness.
…
After Lily and Zhuo Jingren were done with riding, they decided to head back to Lily’s apartment and enjoy the remaining hours in each other’s company. After all, Zhuo Jingren was set to fly to New York the next day while Lily would be flying back to Hong Kong.
The events that transpired earlier did not even bother them and they both acted as if nothing unpleasant had happened. When Lily thought about how Zhuo Jingren had made the effort to socialize with her acquaintances earlier, it made her a little happy. She thought that perhaps Zhuo Jingren didn’t want to embarrass her by being standoffish.
“Hey… why are you not possessive?” Lily shifted in her chair and crossed her legs, before propping her chin into her palms with her elbows resting on the kitchen countertop, as she watched Zhuo Jingren cook their dinner.
“What do you mean?” he asked, confused. He eyed Lily for a while before turning his attention back on the steak that was searing in the pan.
“Handsome and hot CEOs should be cold, overly jealous and possessive. I mean… that’s what the novels say. You could be jealous more and behave more childishly like…giving your competition a cold stare or something?” she explained, still staring at his sexy back. Though Zhuo Jingren had said that he was jealous, he didn’t act like it.
Zhuo Jingren remained calm even when Luke didn’t bother to hide his intentions for Lily and didn’t get angry when he was rude to him. On top of that, he remained polite even when her acquaintances at the park were disrespectful to him. This was not what Lily would have expected a jealous man to behave.
Zhuo Jingren only laughed at Lily’s words which made her raise an eyebrow at him. “You are not a thing to be owned and possessed,” he said, while keeping his eyes on the stove. “But this does not mean that you are not the center of my world, because trust me… you are. If one partner is too possessive, the other partner will only feel caged and suffocated. That partner’s world will shrink and she will probably feel guilty if she doesn’t do what her partner wants. Now that is not a healthy relationship.”
“Who wants to be in an unhealthy relationship?” he added as he flipped the steak to sear the other side. “Being overly possessive is a sign of emotional immaturity and neurotic insecurity. Are you saying that you want me to be immature and neurotic?” He laughed again.
“I thought you never had a girlfriend before? Where did you learn all these things?” Lily asked. Zhuo Jingren actually had a point. For an accomplished woman like her and at her age, she wouldn’t want to be with a man who was possessive to the point of being childish, who would limit her world just to ease his insecurities.
For Lily, possessiveness was a sign of low self-esteem and fear of rejection. A person with these traits usually have a need to be in control of things.
Just like her. Her past molded her to become like this. She was aware of her shortcomings.
“My adoptive father used to tell me that when two people are in a relationship, both are equals. No one should feel entitled to lord over the other.” This time, Zhuo Jingren turned around to look at Lily. “I won’t pretend that I don’t have a certain degree of fear or insecurity. I do fear that I might lose you again. I am also insecure whenever I think about how there might be someone out there who is better than me,” he said earnestly while staring into Lily’s eyes. “But, I trust you.”
His words immediately made Lily smile. “My grandmother Lilian used to say that you can love someone without trusting them and you can trust someone without loving them. But the best relationship is when you love someone and trust them at the same time.”
Lily then rose from her seat and walked towards Zhuo Jingren. “I think your trust for me is such a compliment.”
“Too bad, I am not like you.” Lily’s face turned serious as she stood in front of Zhuo Jingren. Since Lily was a foot shorter than Zhuo Jingren, she had to crane her neck to look at him as she continued, “I am possessive and I have my fears. I have trust issues and it’s hard for me to feel secure in a relationship.”
“I am extremely selfish and greedy. In short… I am the exact opposite of you…Ah!” she let out a surprised gasp when Zhuo Jingren suddenly lifted her up and placed her down on the kitchen countertop.
“Opposites always attract yeah?” he said with a small smile on his face. Zhuo Jingren loved having conversations like this. He felt that it was Lily’s own way of letting him know how she felt. Moreover, the knowledge of Lily’s possessiveness over him was making him a little giddy inside.
“Actually, scientists said that the concept of opposites attracting each other is a myth,” Lily said as she snaked her arms around his neck.
“Well… We are both good-looking, smart and rich. In a way we are similar so it’s not a problem.” He shrugged before giving Lily small kisses all over her face, neck and finally on her lips, making the latter giggle with glee.
“The steak,” Lily reminded, in between the kisses. “And don’t forget to let me down,” she said while laughing.
Lily was satisfied at where they are now in their relationship, it was harmonious and happy. For some reason, the thought of being with Zhuo Jingren until old age excited her a little.
Zhuo Jingren chuckled in response before letting Lily down and returning to the stove to resume his cooking. “Trust is a choice my Lily,” he said. “I am not saying that you have to trust me. But you can start thinking that you can always rely on me to meet you halfway.”
Lily wanted to say that she didn’t like to rely on others but for some reason, she can’t seem to utter those words. So she decided to keep those words to herself and just hugged him from behind.
They are still at an early stage in their relationship but Lily was sure that someday, she would be able to rely completely on Zhuo Jingren.
…
Editor: Swaning
