Zhou Jintao widened his eyes in surprise. It was as if they poured a bucket of cold water all over his body. He could feel his limbs go numb as the aching in his head intensified.
“See? You don’t have to worry. That marriage will happen.” Zhuo Kang added. “I have to tell him to do it… or he won’t help us. You know that he had always been weak since we were children, right?”
“Good. Good. That deal with the Shangguan family needs to happen.” Zhou Jintao can hear the happiness in his father’s voice.
“I know. Do you think I would suggest it if I am not serious about it?”
“Cruel. He is still your brother Kang’er.”
“Father… You are saying it as if I am making such a terrible thing against my own brother. I am doing this for us. For our family. With the Shangguan’s we could rival Zhuo Jingren’s banks and give him some troubles.” Zhou Jintao could hear the excitement in his older brother’s voice as he continued his words. “This is such a crucial matter. We were looking for him in the wrong places. Who would have thought that he would become this rich and influential?”
“Kang’er… that man is smart. You have to be careful about your plans. Do you understand me?”
“Of course. I am sure that man knows that we already know his identity. I would not do anything drastic. Plus… I have my brother. I am sure he will do everything that I tell him too as long as I keep my promise to ‘try’ and convince you to stop that marriage.”
Zhou Jintao seemed to have lost all the colors in his face as he continued to listen. He stood there, frozen, unable to comprehend the words that he just heard. After a few minutes, Zhou Jintao composed himself as he thought of everything that came out from his brother’s mouth. An unfathomable gleam flashed in his eyes as he put on a smile on his face and suddenly walked towards the balcony.
“Brother! You are awake!” Zhou Kang beamed at Zhou Jintao. “Come, let’s have breakfast!” He gestured for him to sit down as he used his other hand to give his younger brother utensils for eating.
In response, Zhou Jintao nodded and smiled at his brother before shifting his gaze towards his father. “I am starving,” he said, his tone calm. Contrary to the emotions that he had been keeping inside. He lowered his head and started eating the western style breakfast that their cooks prepared as he remembered Lily’s face last night.
He needed to find a way to talk to her. He needed to find a way to save his daughter from these monsters that he called family.
…
Sky City
“You look fantastic for someone who was just accused of murder.” Lily smiled before she drank her freshly made orange juice. She eyed Zhuo Jingren as she started to eat her breakfast.
“What you did was dangerous.” He frowned in response, ignoring Lily’s comments. “You didn’t even know if it was a trap. How could you carelessly talk to a witness like that?” Last night, the couple didn’t have this conversation mainly because Zhuo Jingren was unaware of what happened before the gala.
“But it wasn’t,” she answered nonchalantly. “Plus, I only talked to her. No threats, whatsoever. We talked about dogs. I love dogs.”
“Hmmm… you are a bad liar.” Zhuo Jingren let out a sigh. Helplessness flashed on his face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile as he held her hand. “Thank you. I know you did it for me. I just want you to be careful. That’s all.”
“Since you are so troubled about it, then you can pay me for my time.” She teased. “I accept cash.”
Her words earned a burst of laughter from her husband, instantly easing the tense environment. “How was your project? I presumed that you waited for me because you needed something?”
“Smart.” Lily nodded. It was already ten in the morning and Zhuo Jingren just woke up an hour ago. She didn’t want to disturb his sleep as she knew that he had been tired from Yesterday’s fiasco. “The Lee’s are giving me a hard time in Singapore. They are close to some people in the government and asked them to refuse to give me some permits for the construction of the Harmony Isle branch.”
Zhuo Jingren stared at her for a second. He knew that she was not done speaking, so he pursed his lips and waited for her to continue.
“Let’s meet your grandfather as soon as possible,” Lily added. “Also, I found out that Zhou Lanying had been set to marry a man from the Shangguan Family. Shangguan banks are Zhuo Capitals’ direct competitors. I believe we already know where this is going?”
“That marriage will not happen.” He answered. “I believe that the one responsible behind your father and Qin Liwei is Old Man Zhou. He wanted to create some troubles for me so they can do their own plans behind my back. Maybe they don’t want us to talk to the Dongfang’s. I am not sure yet, but… I will find out soon. Any appointments for today?” He asked casually.
“Hmmm… I will go and see my father later in Qin Liwei’s wake later.”
“What will you do this time?” He raised an eyebrow before a tinge of understanding flashed in his eyes. “Alright, I will send some flowers.”
Lily only smiled in response. For some reason, she felt a little regretful that she did not deal with Qin Mo and his family the moment she arrived in Hong Kong. She always thought that they were small flies, not worthy of her schemes. She did not expect that they would find a good backer. Today, she wanted to finish this family and proceed to a bigger agenda, like the Lees and the Zhou Family.
Lily finished eating her breakfast and went to her office. While the news of Zhuo Jingren being invited in the precinct was not in the newspapers and online articles after their efforts last night, Lily still wanted to make sure that Qin Mo and the others would not intentionally spread it today.
She filtered all the news online and on social media, however, she and Zhuo Jingren were not gods. They could not control every circumstance that will happen.
Before the day ended, a news article that was written by some paparazzi still made its way to social media and was easily spread as many people shared it. It detailed all the possible crimes that Zhuo Jingren made and how he had been allegedly funded the government to hide these crimes.
This only infuriated Lily even more. After seeing all the news, Lily immediately made her way into the Qin household with Lawyer Yang in tow.
“You are not welcome here!” Qin Mo’s voice echoed the moment Lily arrived. “How dare you show your face after what you have done to your own brother? To my only son?” Qin Mo’s eyes were swollen, his voice a little raspy as he glared daggers at Lily.
