“I was not prepared for any auction,” Lily said as she stared at herself in the full length mirror in their hotel room. She was wearing the dress that Zhuo Jingren had given her. It was not some extravagant gown but it was a simple off-shoulder cape dress in dirty white with a front slit that would show a little bit of Lily’s legs. There were no expensive stones or gems on the dress, however, the softness and quality of the cloth was enough to tell Lily that it was an exquisite dress.
She was also wearing a choker necklace made of rubies, surrounded by delicately-cut diamonds; a piece that beautifully contrasted her white dress. To highlight her necklace even more, Lily decided to do a simple and loose updo – letting some of her hair fall and frame her face.
She shifted her gaze towards Zhuo Jingren who was also wearing an all-white suit. She narrowed her eyes at her husband before her lips curled into a smile. She then nodded in approval at his appearance. “What is the dress code?” she asked.
“Black and white. Nothing too extravagant,” he answered, mirth apparent in his eyes. “You look good.”
“Did you do something mischievous again?” Lily lifted an eyebrow at him. She did not know why but she could totally feel that her husband was up to something again.
“No. No time for that.”
“Liar. What kind of an invite did you have your men give Dr. Lee?” Lily asked. Last night, Zhuo Jingren had already explained that he was not originally planning to attend this auction as the said auction was organized by Bei Tian and thus, Zhuo Jingren owned most of the things that would be auctioned anyway.
“Just the same,” Zhuo Jingren said. “Everyone received the same invitation.”
“Yeah…. You told him to wear something flashy, didn’t you?” she chuckled at the thought of making that arrogant Doctor a joke in front of everyone. “Lee Group, huh,” Lily thought out loud while walking towards the bed to get her clutch. “Are you going to tell me about them? Or…. Shall I find it out by myself?” she asked as she looked over her shoulders.
“You know I hate going to war without bullets, President Zhuo,” she uttered as she turned towards him. “So? Where would you like to start?”
“If I start to tell you the whole thing now… we would be late,” Zhuo Jingren responded calmly. What more could he expect from his brilliant wife? He had already anticipated this moment. It’s just that he didn’t expect it to arrive this soon. “Why don’t you enjoy yourself tonight and we talk about this after the auction, huh?”
“Over some wine?” Lily walked towards him.
“Over some wine,” he answered as he stared straight into Lily’s light brown eyes.
…
Adrian’s face was dark as he stared at his phone. He had received some information about the couple that he had met yesterday.
“A power couple, huh,” Samantha’s voice echoed to his left. “They are actually CEOs. No wonder that chef knew them.” Samantha was only trying to make Adrian feel better. How could he compare himself with CEOs who had been running multinational companies for years now?
“We are of the same age,” Adrian muttered. “And he is already a CEO.”
Samantha did not answer Adrian immediately but paused to give herself one last look in the mirror. “I think being close to them would bring you benefits. Businessmen always act like this, they will get close to people that will benefit them.” She wanted to indirectly tell him to stop comparing himself to a man who managed to create the Zhuo Capital in less than ten years.
Seeing Adrian silent, Samantha could only let out a sigh. Adrian Lee… the son of Thomas Lee, the current CEO of Lee Group. While both Thomas and Adrian earned their position through hard work, the fact that Thomas was adopted and not the legal heir of the Lee Group still haunted both the father and son like a ghost in the night.
Thomas being adopted was not a secret as the Chairman of the Lee Group had already made it clear to everyone that the heir to his throne would always be his only daughter. And as for the location of the Old Man’s daughter… Well… no one really knew anything about it.
Many had assumed that this said daughter, the mysterious heir was already dead due to her long history of absenteeism. However, the old man still insisted on making her his heir. Some were even of the opinion that the old man was not in his right mind as he chose to ignore the brilliant man standing next to him.
However, this did not stop the old man from publicly declaring to give all of his assets to his only daughter; the non-existent daughter that no one really saw nor recognized. No one was even aware of her real name!
Because of this public announcement, Thomas and Adrian became a laughing stock in their circle. Maybe it was because of this reason that Adrian always acted like a jerk and made everyone treat him as if he was someone really important. Not that he did not deserve it. Adrian’s attitude and competitive nature may be intolerable, but this could not change the fact that he was an outstanding surgeon who had received many awards both in Singapore and abroad.
Samantha shifted her gaze towards the man. A tinge of pity flashed in her eyes. “Hey… I think we should go now?” she gave him a smile while wondering when will he learn that life is unfair. Someday, someone better, smarter, richer and more influential would show up and put us all in our rightful place – a fact that Adrian seemed to have difficulty accepting.
“I remember Father once told me that they were working on a partnership with the Zhuo Capital,” Adrian uttered. He was a little irritated due to the fact that he could not do anything against the man or it will only sabotage the partnership that his father had always wanted. He was sure that Zhuo Jingren must have already known about his identity.
“Then you have more reason to get close to him now,” Samantha said.
“Close?” Adrian snorted. “Yeah right.”
