“I am not here because I want filial piety. I am here for forgiveness.”
Silence descended inside the room after Zhou Jingren stopped the video on the large TV inside Zhou Wu Ye’s office. He stared at his mother as he held Lily’s hands.
“He is crazy.” Zhou Wu Ye blurted as he sipped into his tea. “He is making the media dig into your past. I am sure that he will secretly release our ties.”
“Who knows what kind of theories will the media come up after this?” Zhou Dae Un said as she clenched her jaws. “How dare he let the world inside our private lives?”
“Well… since he wanted it so badly, why not give it to him?” Lily’s words immediately got everyone’s attention. She crossed her legs, a nonchalant smile dangled on her face. “For all we know, he was lying when he told Jingren that he was sick. He only wanted you two to get involved in his life.”
“What do you mean by giving it to him?” Zhou Wu Ye asked. “That man only has profits in his eyes. We don’t really know what will happen if we agree to meet him.”
“Exactly,” Lily said. “There is a reason why he is so adamant about creating ties at this moment. So I suggest, we take advantage of the current situation as well.”
“How?” Zhou Dae Un asked, confusion apparent in her eyes.
“Meet him,” Lily answered. “There is no other way.”
“If we won’t meet him, he will only continue using the media for sympathy.” She held her hand. “A frail old man asking for forgiveness and yet his daughter and grandson refused to even see him. What an unfortunate old man. He might have all the money, but he can’t have the forgiveness of his only child.”
“Theatrical, isn’t it?” Lily added, prompting both Zhou Dae Un and Zhou Wu Ye to eye each other. This is the first time that they had actually work with someone like Lily and to say that they were surprised by her aggressive behavior was an understatement.
“What do you think will he do next?” Zhou Wu Ye asked calmly. His gaze steady, his lips pursed into a thin line. No matter what, his priority had always been his wife. He can’t have Isaac create some troubles for them again.
“If I am on his shoes, I would accidentally reveal that Zhou Dae Un is my missing daughter, who ran away to be with his beloved.” She answered without batting an eyelid. “The timing was perfect. You and mother just revealed yourselves after how many years. You told them the media that your father was killed and that you were forced to run with your wife years ago. You just successfully won the board of directors and is now managing the Zhou Enterprise. He could easily use that to his advantage.”
“He could say… actually, make it look like you were the one who manipulated his only daughter to stay away from him. Make you look like you are an abusive and jealous husband who asked your wife to cut ties with her family. He would then plead… in front of the media. He would plead for your forgiveness. He would say, he wants to have a relationship with his only daughter and turn the opinion of the people against you.”
“The worst-case scenario is you will be forced to see him and act cordial. If this happens, it will be hard for you to retaliate without pinning the blame to yourself. If he dies, his people could say it was you. If he gets sick, his people could say you poisoned him. No matter what you do, he could easily paint you as the villain, the evil man.”
A heavy silence blanketed the room. It was as if Lily’s words rung in everyone’s ears like a bell, hurting their senses. The possibilities are endless and Lily just gave them a scenario that Old Man Lee could easily use against them.
Seeing this, a flash of unfathomable expression flashed in Lily’s eyes. “However…” seeing everyone woke up from their stupor and stared at her. “If we see him before he does this… we could easily turn the tides against him.”
“But if we set up a meeting now, the media might get ahold of it and reveal that we are somehow connected. Now that is not a problem with me…” Zhou Wu Ye shrugged. “But Jingren… does not want to involve himself in the Zhou Enterprise for now.” Zhou Dae Un nodded at her husband’s words.
“Well, that is not really a problem.” She said. “We will schedule a meeting with him just Jingren and I. You two just sit tight and manage your business. Lily said as he asked for Zhou Jingren’s phone so she could call Secretary Go and give him some instructions about her plan. She excused herself so she could talk to Secretary Go in private.
The moment she left, both Zhou Dae Un and Zhou Wu Ye let out a sigh of relief. They stared at Zhou Jingren who was only watching them, gauging their reactions.
“I am speechless,” Zhou Dae Un blurted after a few seconds of silence. “What kind of—”
“The best one.” Zhou Jingren interrupted her. “She is the best kind of woman.”
“For some reason, this is making me feel proud.” Zhou Wu Ye cleared his throat. “Our son sure knows how to find a wife.” He laughed, immediately lifting the atmosphere.
Zhou Dae Un smiled at his son’s gentle eyes. She nodded. “I agree. It is making me feel… lighter and assured.” She had heard about Lily’s capabilities before. However, witnessing her brain do all the analysis of the possible outcome is just mind-boggling. This, of course, made Zhou Dae Un and Zhou Wu Ye happy. Lily’s presence could easily make Zhou Jingren stronger, more formidable, and even frightening at some point.
“Of course…” Zhou Jingren nodded as he drank his tea. He is already aware of Lily’s plan as she already mentioned it to him. Aside from this, he also knew that Lily was not doing this out of good faith. She is a businesswoman. As someone who thinks about profits, Lily already calculated all her possible gains even before she opened her mouth to tell him her plans.
“So? Tell me…” Zhou Dae Un suddenly leaned towards Zhou Jingren. “Are you guys planning to have a child anytime soon?” Excitement shone in her eyes.
“I told you not to talk about this matter,” his father shook his head and looked at Zhou Jingren in embarrassment. “I apologize. She just couldn’t help herself.”
“What?” Zhou Dae Un elbowed her husband. “We are all adults here… and they are not getting any younger.”
“And Zhou Wu Ye, this is a perfectly normal topic for us.” She added and rolled her eyes.
“We agreed to do it after the wedding.” Zhou Jingren answered. “I guess… only time will tell.”
“Really?” Zhou Dae Un almost jumped out of her seat as she left the men without saying another word.
“She is going to give her some Korean herbal teas and supplements.” His father said. “I hope it will not offend Lily.” He added. He would not want to make both Zhou Jingren and Lily feel uncomfortable. However, this does not mean that he was less excited about having a grandchild.
