“I still have a flight to catch early in the morning,” Lily grunted while clutching to her robe a little tighter. Her gaze bore daggers into the man lying across from her. She was only being grumpy because her sleep had been interrupted.
“Qin Wuyang told me everything.” Qin Chuan continued while ignoring his daughter’s dark face. He was standing facing the painting of Lily smiling in their living room with his hands in his pockets. “This is a very nice painting by the way. It suits you.” Noticing Lily’s silence, Qin Chuan let out a deep sigh and shifted his gaze towards Zhuo Jingren, approaching them.
“I apologize for disturbing your rest. I just thought to let you know about this before you leave for Japan tomorrow,” Qin Chuan said as he accepted the cup of coffee that Zhuo Jingren handed to him. “Thank you.”
“Hmmm… take a seat.” Zhuo Jingren sat beside Lily while he gestured with his hand for the older man to sit on the couch to their left.
“It has something to do with my mother,” Qin Chuan started after taking a sip of hot coffee, his voice was calm with a tinge of melancholy. He had trusted Qin Wuyang deeply but in the end, the man only used him. “Qin Wuyang loved my mother and she loved him. But… my father… he came between them. Qin Wuyang said that it was because my father relished taking everything that he had. In the end, my mother married my father because… she got pregnant with me. Qin Wuyang did not tell me if she was raped or anything… but the hatred in his voice was apparent. He hated my father for snatching away his beloved and hated me… the product of my father and mother’s relationship.”
Silence ensued after he finished his story. He quickly checked Lily’s expression before shifting his gaze towards Zhuo Jingren. For some reason, the deafening silence made his heart race a little. Was he nervous? But why?
“What did you do to him?” Zhuo Jingren was the first to ask. His breathing was steady as he clutched Lily’s hand, placing her hand underneath his.
“Nothing. I am here to ask you about that.”
“What are your plans?” Lily asked before sighing. All this… all the years of destruction and blood…everything was just because of a woman. At the thought of this, Lily let out another sigh. All men in the Qin Family are truly fools when it comes to love.
“He is dying,” Qin Chuan said. “Cancer.”
Another round of silence followed. Great, a dying man who destroyed innocent lives because of his broken heart. Lily shook her head inwardly. “So what do you want to do with him?”
“I don’t plan on killing him. That’s for sure.”
“Huh!” Zhuo Jingren lifted an eyebrow, “Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’? He is already dying,” Qin Chuan expressed his opinion honestly . After all the chaos and schemes, after all the meticulous planning and trying not to get killed, all he wanted now was to live peacefully. He wanted to move forward while watching Zhang Yifei suffer every now and then. Qin Chuan was actually contented. Lily and Qin Yuanfeng were finally safe and this was the only thing that mattered to him. While Lily was still rather cold towards him, it didn’t bother him as he had vowed to himself, to work on his relationship with his daughter as well as his son.
“Irrespective of whether he is dying or not, he is the one responsible for the death of your wife and also for the sufferings of your son and daughter for all these years. Are you telling me that you are just going to ignore this fact and move on from this? We – your daughter and I lost our child because of that man.” The tone in Zhuo Jingren’s voice was cold and full of authority which instantly surprised both the father and the daughter.
The mention of their child instantly made Lily’s face fall as she tightened her grip on Zhuo Jingren’s hand. Because of these people, her child was taken away from her. Months ago, the mere mention of this incident would have thrown her into an emotional spiral. She would have cried or maybe thrown and smashed things or even drank some wine to cope with the pain. But now, however…
Everything was different.
She looked at the man next to her intently as she swallowed her nonexistent saliva. The beating of her heart had quickened before it slowed and eventually calmed. Then she slowly loosened her grip on Zhuo Jingren’s hand.
She waited for Qin Chuan’s answer, interest apparent in her eyes. “And killing him would do what?” Qin Chuan asked as he lowered his head. There was a certain calmness in his voice as he spoke, seemingly unaffected by Zhuo Jingren’s words and attitude.
Lily and Zhuo Jingren did not answer him immediately.
“I agree with your plan. Let him live,” Lily said after a few seconds of silence. This was a declaration of her inner feelings. A sign that all she wanted right now was to move on and start a new life with Zhuo Jingren. Let them live…
It’s not that she had forgiven them or that she had forgotten everything that they did to her and her family. No. In fact, she would never forgive any of them… she could never forget any of it. However, this did not mean that she would let these unhappy episodes hinder her growth and her relationship with Zhuo Jingren and the people who mattered to her. Then Lily rose from her seat. “I won’t send you out,” she said as she left the two gentlemen to stare at each other.
“You love her.” This was the first time that Qin Chuan spoke to Zhuo Jingren in private.
“I do.” Zhuo Jingren nodded. “And I will not let anyone hurt her.”
“It’s good that she found someone like you.” Qin Chuan was aware that he didn’t have any right to meddle in his daughter’s personal life. However, he was truly thankful that Lily was able to find a man like Zhuo Jingren.
“Hmmm… I know you are planning to get close to her,” Zhuo Jingren said as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Family or not… I have to warn you not to hurt her.”
“I know.” Qin Chuan stared at Zhuo Jingren, his gaze didn’t contain any enmity. In fact, it was full of respect – almost reverence. Qin Chuan could see just how much Zhuo Jingren loved his daughter. By now, Qin Chuan already knew just how strong Lily’s personality is. And to him, a weak man could never handle a strong and independent woman like his daughter.
