August 17, Wednesday
Days passed since Mu Lihua bought the property.
“So his Secretary still refused a meeting?” Mu Lihua raised an eyebrow at her secretary. Seeing her secretary give an affirmative nod in response to her question, Mu Lihua’s brows instantly knitted. Zhuo Jingren valued the orphanage where he grew up. In fact, he had set up various agencies and companies to help the kids when they become adults. Zhuo Jingren arranged everything for these kids, from landing a job to finding accommodation in the first few months after they left the orphanage.
Any logical person would have already agreed to see her. How come Zhuo Jingren is not budging? “Did you ask someone to check for any deed transfers or change of use documents that might have been filed on any of Presidents Zhuo Jingren’s properties lately? Do you know if he is perhaps planning to relocate the orphanage?”
“Of course, CEO Mu. But we found nothing. No movements. No surveys nor any new construction,” the secretary replied while staring at Mu Lihua’s beautiful face. For some reason, Mu Lihua’s furrowed brows only added to her cold air of unattainable beauty. This instantly doubled her charm.
“Strange,” Mu Lihua thought out loud. At first, she really wasn’t interested in a married man. Why waste time chasing after a man who is already in love with some other woman? Her pride wouldn’t allow her to lower herself like that. However, Qi Xia’s request is something that she cannot refuse. Initially, she only planned to keep Zhuo Jingren occupied. She was not planning to create any drama or entangled herself in a relationship with a married man.
She planned to use the orphanage to at least give the man some headaches as distractions. Maybe this would divert his attention away from his wife, creating an opportunity for Qi Xia to get closer to Lily Zhuo, however, she did not expect that Zhuo Jingren would choose to deliberately ignore her.
“Alright. I guess I have no choice. Go release the news that I told you about. I want this on the front page of the tabloids tomorrow,” she said. “He is a businessman who grew up in an orphanage. He is also known for his constant support of orphanages and other organizations that benefit children. How could he ignore this?”
“I understand,” her secretary nodded before she slowly exiting the room, leaving Mu Lihua lost lost in contemplation. After making sure that her secretary was gone, Mu Lihua’s face slowly shifted into something morose. She could understand Zhuo Jingren ignoring her, however, she could not understand why he ignored the orphanage. This should be a very important place for Zhuo Jingren, so why do this?
…..
Meanwhile, Zhuo Jingren and Lily were having lunch together in one of the few Michelin starred restaurants in Hong Kong. The duo both had meetings out of office so they decided to get together after their meetings and have lunch together. They are dining dining in a VIP room at a table big enough to comfortably accommodate ten people.
“I actually prefer this room over the more intimate, smaller VIP rooms,” Lily admitted. Lily found it nice to have both Yang Mi and Go Jichen as well as Daohu joininging them for a change.
“Hmmm,” Zhuo Jingren nodded while adding vegetables toto Lily’s bowl. “Eat some more. You have to eat more foods that are especially good for your brain and your body.”
“True. Thank you. I have been experiencing some killer headaches lately. Must be from the stress of work,” she said nonchalantly. “My contract with the Wang Group in China is done. I’ve already asked Mr. Rossi to take over so I hope I will get some free time to relax this weekend.”
“Mr. Wang is a very cunning person. I want you to be careful around him. He may look like a like a weak and a kind uncle but he is nothing like that in reality.”
“Hmmm,,” Lily nodded. “He underestimated me. The poor man doesn’t realise that doing so is a grave mistake.”
“Smart as always,” Zhuo Jingren smiled gently, making the other people eating with them lower their heads even more. President Zhuo Jingren’s smile was so dazzling it made them feel fear. By now they should be used to this extreme show of affection from the couple, but these three still found it hard to believe how their bosses could change from being cold and ruthless in the business world to being this… sweet, gentle and loving couple.
Is this the amazing power of love?
“What do you mean?” Lily asked. “A man will always find it hard to believe that a woman could be smarter than him. We women are accustomed to being underestimated, so we should use this to our advantage. In this case, it is only normal for me to use his lack of respect for women to my advantage.”
“Mainland China used to be a very male dominant nation. It is no wonder that some of these traits are still passed down to this generation. Though this dominance is virtually nonexistent in the major cities right now, some places that value tradition are still clinging to these beliefs,” he noted.
“True. Which is why the best approach in dealing with these people is to act weak,” Lily agreed while giving him a devious smile. “Make them think that you are dumb, make them lower their guard.”
“True… That is true,” Zhuo Jingren said, his chin in the air like a self-satisfied tomcat high on full-fat cream, his pride in his wife visible to anyone who glanced his way. Who wouldn’t be proud to have a woman like Lily? Moreover, out of all the people who wanted to marry her, she chose him. An exceptional woman would only chose an equally exceptional man, ah. Meaning…
Zhuo Jingren’s train of thought was interrupted when his secretary politely stood up and answered a call. After the call, Go Jichen hastily walked towards Zhuo Jingren and whispered something to him. In response, a sly smile appeared on his face as he stared at Lily. “Seems that your second guess was right. She is planning to ruin my reputation.”
“Oh?” Lily raised an eyebrow. “If that is the case then… my initial conclusion was wrong. She is not trying to attract your attention,” she smiled at him. “She is trying to take your focus away from me.”
“Then shall we go ahead with the plan?” he asked as he propped his chin on his palm, his gaze straight towards his wife.
“We shall,” Lily answered with a smile on her beautiful face.
