After Lily left the tea house, she immediately called Zhuo Jingren, letting him know about the change of plans. She wanted Zhuo Jingren to decide on a safe venue instead, since she wanted to keep her relationship with George Arison a secret for now.
Zhuo Jingren immediately arranged for Lily to transfer to a different car and be transported to a secluded place that he owned. While this was happening, Lily already informed George of the new address and he was also on his way to the private restaurant.
“Meeting Yang Lina was intentional, wasn’t it?” George Arison stared at Lily intently after ordering a cup of coffee. George was talking about the meeting with Yang Lina. Based on his analysis, Lily wouldn’t book a reservation at that restaurant if she knew that it was owned by the Xuan Family. That’s why this must’ve all been a part of her plan.
Lily didn’t answer him. Instead, she said, “He will be here any minute now. He had an emergency meeting this morning and it lasted longer than he expected.” Her eyes roamed the interior of the private room that they were in. It wasn’t a surprise that Zhuo Jingren owned a very luxurious coffee shop that required a VIP card in order to book a reservation. However, what surprised Lily was the fact that the interior of the coffee shop looked more like a luxurious traditional restaurant. To be honest, Lily didn’t know that her husband was rather… unconventional.
In response, George just smiled at Lily. He was actually used to how she wouldn’t reveal any of her cards until after she fulfilled her plans. “It’s alright. I understand,” he nodded. “Ah. I almost forgot… here. This is a thank you gift for helping me out with becoming the new leader of Tang Family’s casino. If you need anything from the Hong Kong black market please let me know. I will do everything to help you out,” George said, as he handed a black velvet box to Lily.
“This is big.” She raised an eyebrow at him while eyeing the box that could fit an entire basketball inside. “There isn’t a head inside it, right?”
“Hahahahaha!” George immediately laughed at Lily’s words. “Of course not! It’s a stone. You like sparkly things. I’m sure you will love my gift.”
Lily just eyed George before she slowly opened the box. She furrowed her brows when she realized that the box was covered with cushions inside. In the middle of the thick cushions was a round cut stone that seemed to sparkle and change colors before Lily’s eyes.
“Alexandrite.” Lily immediately swiveled her head around to look at her husband who was smiling as he walked towards her. “This stone is renowned for how it changes color. It’s also well-known for being an emerald by day and ruby at night,” he said, as he leaned in to kiss Lily’s lips before eyeing George who was now standing in front of him.
“I am Zhuo Jingren,” he said, as he shook the latter’s hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
George smiled at him. “The pleasure is all mine! Please call me George.” While he was smiling on the outside, he was also silently scrutinizing Zhuo Jingren. A gesture that immediately reminded Lily of how a father would scrutinize his daughter’s first boyfriend. This was something that she never experienced from Qin Mo. Lily suddenly let out a small and mocking laugh. Just what kind of father was Qin Mo? The worst one, Lily answered in her thoughts.
“Please take a seat, gentlemen,” Lily uttered and watched as the attendant brought two coffees over. One for George and one for Zhuo Jingren. “I took the liberty of ordering for you.”
In response, Zhuo Jingren nodded and smiled. Did this mean that Lily knew what kind of coffee he liked? This was something that he did not expect ah! Lily would always ask him to make a cup of coffee for her, but she never made coffee for him before. Moreover, she never asked what kind of coffee he liked to drink. Did this mean that Lily was watching over him in secret?
Of course, Zhuo Jingren failed to remember that Lily would sometimes take a sip of his coffee every morning so she was already very familiar with how he wanted his coffee.
Zhuo Jingren’s first meeting with George went smoothly and this… this was actually very surprising for Lily. She knew that George would be quite protective of her and did not expect that the two would hit it off so well the first time they met. At the end of the evening, Lily felt like she was the third wheel instead of it being the other way around. How awkward!
She suddenly realized that she was feeling jealous. Why else would she be so irritated by how Zhuo Jingren was chatting with George so amiably? But why would she be jealous of a person that she considered a mentor and a father figure? Wasn’t this too illogical? With all these things going on inside her head, Lily did not even notice that the duo had been talking about her.
When she realized, she became even more irritated. Why were they talking about her right in front of her? Wasn’t this not giving her any face? Lily immediately made a mental note not to have her husband meet up with George in the future.
“Why are you so silent?” Zhuo Jingren asked, his face a little red from drinking. It was already ten in the evening and the couple drove in Lily’s car towards Sky City.
“I am sleepy,” she lied. “Don’t drink too much next time.”
In response, Zhuo Jingren suddenly hugged Lily and pulled her towards him. “You smell so good…”
“You are sleeping on the couch tonight,” Lily said sternly. Did this man think that ignoring her didn’t have any consequences? Hmph!
“Ah~ Are you jealous of George~? How cute!” he whispered, as he slowly laid his head down behind Lily’s neck. He then silently trailed kisses on the nape of her neck, which made Lily even more irritated.
“What jealous?! I don’t get jealous! That’s immature! Ah… you stink! Stay away from me!”
Though the latter was still kissing her neck, the tone of his voice suddenly changed. “So… someone threatened you today?” This time, it was darker, colder even. For some reason, Lily unknowingly shivered from her husband’s words. “I hate it when someone thinks that they can do whatever they want because they have…connections.”
“Don’t touch Yang Lina! I have my own plans.”
“Hmm… Alright. I won’t touch Yang Lina. How about I ruin the entire Yang Family instead?” Zhuo Jingren calmly asked, making Lily wonder how the man could kiss her neck and hug her while talking about these things.
“I don’t care about them. Do whatever you want,” she answered. Lily wouldn’t be surprised if Zhuo Jingren had some connections to mainland China. She also wouldn’t be surprised if her husband knew a thing or two about the black market as well. As the CEO and owner of a bank, it wasn’t surprising that her husband would know people from the underworld. After all, the best way for people to launder money was to use the most convenient method available, such as a bank.
“If you say so…” Zhuo Jingren’s tone slowly eased up. The demonic atmosphere that he exhibited earlier was gone. However, he was still kissing her neck and his arms were still around her waist. This made Lily wonder if she was just hallucinating earlier. Was it just because he drank a little? Or did she really hear anger in Zhuo Jingren’s voice?
