Surprisingly, Lily’s face didn’t show even a single tinge of surprise or any reaction whatsoever.
“President, I have been working on the proposal and even discussed all the details with Mr. Wang. I’m afraid that…”
“Let him,” Lily answered. “If he wants to steal your ideas then let him.”
“But…”
“Mr. Han? Let him do it,” Lily answered. “I want you to make sure he pays all the penalties for breaching the contract. The damages that he caused will be paid in double.”
Seeing Lily’s resolute expression, Mr. Han instantly calmed down. For a while, he had forgotten what kind of CEO Lily is. He let out a loud sigh before taking a seat opposite Cathy. “Alright, I will do that, but it won’t make me feel any better at all.”
“I understand,” Lily nodded. “But, if Mr. Wang hadn’t breached the contract then it would be harder for us to get into the Chinese market,” she smiled at the man in front of her. Mr. Wang had been underestimating her since they met, so it was not surprising for him to betray her at the last minute. “He is a shrewd businessman and he is only looking out for his own best interests. Too bad he met someone like me.”
Both Cathy and Mr. Han instantly lifted their gazes and stared at Lily. The captivating smile on her face was enough for them to know that Lily had been expecting this and had already made a contingency plan to lessen the damage. Neither of them would be surprised if Lily informed them that she’d already planned for this betrayal before even meeting with Mr. Wang.
“Alright, you can go now. I still have a lot of things to do,” Lily said after a few seconds. She waited for them to leave before she made a call to George Arison. After taking over the Tang Family’s empire, George Arison had been in and out of Hong Kong and even Mainland China, however, he and Lily seldom met because he didn’t want to implicate Lily in his illegal dealings.
George had many enemies and he would not want to give them the idea that he was close to Lily. He wanted to keep Lily safe and away from the danger of the black market.
“Hey…” Lily said the moment he answered. “Am I disturbing you?”
“Of course not. How may I help you?” George’s voice was a little breathy. Lily looked at the time and realized that it was morning in London right now, so George must have been exercising.
“May I know the value of diamonds on the black market right now?”
“May I ask why you want to know?” George asked.
“Gathering information,” was Lily’s short reply.
“Then you’d better ask your husband instead . He is an expert when it comes to diamonds.”
“Oh…”
“Let me guess… are you planning to acquire a mining company?” George chuckled. “Are you afraid that he might think that you are too greedy?”
“Of course not,” she instantly answered before letting out a sigh. “Alright, I still need to finish a lot of things.” She instantly bid goodbye to George before turning her attention to her laptop. She narrowed her eyes at the Qin’s family tree in front of her then looked at each descendant’s corresponding filewhich had been printed for her convenience.
The Qin Family is known for their mines and jewelry. While they don’t have a diamond mine, the Qin family’s jewelry store is well known for their expensive diamonds. A small smile escaped Lily’s lips as she thought about what Mr. Wang did. She was sure that someone from the Qin family approached him and offered a hefty sum just to compromise Lily’s plans for branching out in China.
This was actually a good plan as it would delay her progress and might even stop her construction company from participating in the bidding. Moreover, Mr. Wang could easily steal their ideas for the bidding so that even if they joined the bidding they would not have a way of winning.
As an international company this was very likely to happen, and they would become a laughing stock throughout the Chinese construction industry.
Lily leaned back in her chair. Her eyes were still on Zhang Yifei’s image on the computer, and her husband, Qin Chuan. According to these reports, Qin Chuan can’t walk and has been in a wheelchair for a long time now. This was the result of an accident that happened more than twenty years ago. This was the reason why, even though he was the eldest son of the current patriarch, their mining company was given to the second son, Qin Hao.
Lily stared at both Qin Hao and Qin Chuan. They were only half-brothers as Qin Hao was the son of the patriarch’s second wife. However, the gap in terms of physical appearance was pretty obvious. Qin Chuan was even more good-looking and taller than his brother. He had also maintained a fit physique even though he had been in a wheelchair for years now.
Compared to his brother’s fat belly, Qin Chuan seemed healthier, and smarter too. Lily’s eyes then turned to the woman who had killed her mother.
Zhang Yifei…
An orphan.
Her father was the patriarch’s old buddy in the military and had sacrificed his life to save the patriarch. Because of this, the patriarch promised to give Zhang Yifei a decent home and even bethroated her to his eldest son.
In the image, Zhang Yifei was smiling gently. Her hands were around Qin Chuan’s shoulders and on her side was Qin Yuanfeng who looked like… Lily could not even explained what her own brother looked like. In their family picture, he looked like a happy,d grinning child. His smile was innocent, too innocent. That instantly made Lily conclude that he was pretending.
But why pretend? Did he know about Zhang Yifei’s sinister nature?
Lily continue to read about Qin Yuanfeng’s childhood and she did not find anything wrong with it. He had a healthy childhood and Zhang Yifei had raised him well. They even seemed close – like a real mother and son. If she followed this train of thought, then… it would only be reasonable that Qin Yuanfeng would like Zhang Yifei, making him gullible to the latter’s brainwashing.
So… is it possible that Zhang Yifei wanted Qin Yuanfeng to become Lily’s enemy?
“I bought you your favorite.” Zhou Jingren’s words made Lily jump out of her seat. She instantly clutched her chest in an attempt to calm her heart. “How many coffees have you haf today?” he asked as he frowned at her.
“No idea,” she answered, turning her attention back to her computer. “Don’t do that again. I might have a heart attack next time.”
“Come,” Zhuo Jingren said before pulling her towards her couch. He didn’t even wait for Lily to answer his question as he made her sit on the couch next to him. “This is bad. I think… I am doting on you too much. You have become even more stubborn,” his words were stern, the exact opposite of his gentle gaze.
“I still have…” Lily’s words were interrupted when Zhuo Jingren pulled her in for a kiss. But then he instantly ended it as he stared straight at her.
“Your company won’t go away. It will be there once you wake up and the day after tomorrow as well as ten years from now,” he said. “Your health won’t stay as it is if you keep on doing this.”
“I…”
“Sleep,” Zhuo Jingren said coldly as he laid on the couch with Lily on his arms. “Don’t make me say it again.”
In the end, Lily let out a sigh before she made herself comfortable in his arms. She breathed into his scent before closing her eyes. In less than five minutes her breathing had become even, prompting Zhuo Jingren to call Secretary Go and ask for something that could cover both of them. A gentle look was on his face as he kissed Lily’s forehead.
Today was supposed to be their wedding monthsary. He was here to surprise her and he even bought some food for them to enjoy. However, the exhaustion in her eyes had been so obvious that he instantly cancelled all of his plans for today.
Zhuo Jingren was sure that Lily had forgotten about this day. Of course, he already expected this when he noticed her hectic schedule in the last few days. She had been so busy running around that he was sure she didn’t have the time to think about him. Not that he had a problem with this.
All he wanted was to make her happy. He knows that Lily’s passion is her business and her success makes her happy. He is always there to support…
“Hey… don’t forget the black velvet box in my left drawer. It’s for you. Happy monthsary,” she uttered in a soft voice before she snuggled into his arms and drifted off to sleep.
“…”
