October in Japan also meant Autumn. Some say it’s the best time to visit the country, to watch the spectacular fall foliage as the leaves changed into various shades of colors, creating a sea of golden background to the temples and lakes.
While some looked forward to the festivities and food during this time, the others loved to watch the moon with their families during the said month.
However, Lily and Zhuo Jingren were not here for any of that.
“I have never introduced you to her.” Lily couldn’t help but shiver from the cold wind that assaulted her senses as they stood in front of Zhuo Jingren’s late adoptive mother’s grave. She maintained her silence as she looked solemnly at the grave in front of her. They were currently in the Tanaka Family’s grave site. A pile of polished marble tombstones could be seen near the grave, each and every one of them bore the Tanaka family’s emblem on top.
“This is my mother, Ida Tanaka,” Zhuo Jingren added before he stood up and looked at Bei Tian beside him. The latter also went and laid a bunch of fresh flowers on the grave.
Then they all fell into a comfortable silence.
Ida Tanaka was a beautiful and kind woman. Contrary to her strict and stern appearance, she was like an angel who had helped a lot of people. While her husband was someone from the Yakuza, Ida worked well with a lot of charities and foundations that helped children. This was mostly because Ida lost her child once because of an accident.
The woman wanted to have more children but she was not able to conceive again. That led to her falling into depression and losing a lot of weight. All this complicated her health even more as she got sicker over the years and suffered from a series of diseases until her old age.
Aside from this, Ida was a truly sweet woman. A small smile escaped Zhuo Jingren’s lips when he remembered how Ida and Lily had a very similar characteristic i.e. both were soft hearted.
Hence, no matter how stern or cold Lily and Ida Tanaka sounded, both women had an undeniable soft spot for children. And even when both women tend to say harsh things, their actions would always betray their words.
He remembered how his mother would repeatedly remind him that no matter what happened, blood related or not, he was her son and nothing..nothing could take that away from him.
Now that Zhuo Jingren thought about it, he felt extremely lucky to have encountered both his adoptive parents. While they looked cold on the outside, both his adoptive parents were really genuine and kind when it came to him and Bei Tian. They truly showed them what it felt like to have parents – someone who truly loved them.
After a few more minutes, the trio made their way out of the cemetery. Bei Tian decided to leave Lily and Zhuo Jingren alone and went to attend to his personal matters. But Lily and Zhuo Jingren decided to stay in Japan for the weekend because they had planned to get Lily’s ovaries checked and to also spend some time shopping in Tokyo as well.
A cloud of silence once again covered the graveyard followed by the soft sound of wind rustling through the beautiful golden leaves. It was already Autumn and the trees in the vicinity had turned gold, mesmerizing whoever laid their eyes on them.
It was a magnificent view.
However, this silence did not last long as it was broken by the sound of stilettos hitting against the concrete pathway. Then a woman wearing a black dress and an oversized hat could be seen walking towards the Tanaka Family gravesite. She was followed by a man who was taller than her by a few inches, despite the woman wearing a pair of four inch heels. The man silently held an umbrella, shielding the woman from the non-existent sunlight.
After a few more steps the woman arrived in front of the tombstone and instantly smiled at Ida Tanaka’s image. Then she slowly put the flowers in front of the tombstone, right next to the ones that Bei Tian laid.
A few seconds of silence passed. she stood up and her lips curled into a beautiful smile. “Hello, Ida. It’s nice to see you again,” she said, as her eyes turned scarlet as a single tear made its way into her cheeks.
…..
In one of the famous hotels in Tokyo.
“He killed himself?” Lily’s brows furrowed when Zhuo Jingren informed her about Qin Wuyang’s suicide. It was truly a surprise to encounter a man who was able to do all these evil things over the years, to just commit suicide one night. However, Lily easily recovered from her shock as she tried to close the zipper of her dress. “It was definitely father,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Hmmmm… or maybe Qin Wuyang just wanted to die.” Zhuo Jingren approached to help her. “It was expected since the man was dying. He had every reason to kill himself after what happened with his brother and everyone in the Qin Family.”
Lily only let out a sigh before turning around. She snaked her arms around Zhuo Jingren’s neck, slowly pulling his head for a kiss. “How do I look?” she asked.
“Perfect.” Zhuo Jingren smiled, giving Lily a kiss. “Where are we going today? I mean… where do you like to shop?”
Lily instantly narrowed her eyes at him before she smiled. “I don’t know. But I want some Japanese food and maybe go to a park and have some fun. Oh! Of course, I will shop too. Tokyo has lots of shopping centers. We should go and visit every one of them. Shopping… Ah… now that I think about it, I have to buy new slippers, and stock up on make-up wipes. Maybe we should get some matching pajamas too. What do you think?”
Lily’s words only earned a small nod from Zhuo Jingren before he gave her a wry smile. Shopping… something that Lily would never miss.
“Why are you giving me that kind of smile?”
“What smile?” Zhuo Jingren asked, feigning ignorance.
“The one, I-will-once-again-act-as-the-chaperone-smile,” Lily mused. She’s a capable woman who earns her own money that a day of retail therapy was her avenue of release. Of course, she needed someone to carry all of her stuff too. Unfortunately, they did not bring Go Jichen and Yang Mi with them this time. Lily instantly made a mental note to bring them along, next time they visited a country.
“Alright…” Lily held her hand up in the air before Zhuo Jingren could even open his mouth to answer her. “First and foremost, I want to inform you that shopping has been proven to strengthen a woman’s immune system, making us more happy, less stressful thus, longer lives,” she said all that while staring straight into her chaperone – ehem, husband’s eyes.
Okay, maybe she was lying but… duh.
