Riku widened his eyes, disbelief written all over his face. “You found her?”
“I did.” He nodded before looking at Lily. “Lily, this is Riku Ito, he is the manager of this resort and a very good friend of mine,” he said in English, with a neutral accent.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Riku said in his Japanese-accented English. “I have heard a lot of things about you.”
“Hi, call me Lily,” she said while giving Riku a polite smile. Lily didn’t miss what Riku said earlier. Could it be that Zhuo Jingren went looking for her when she disappeared seven years ago? Or why would Riku have heard things about her?
“Wow,” Riku said in Japanese. “This is… unbelievable. However, I did not expect that she…”
“Onii-sama.” A gentle voice cut off Riku’s words, causing everyone to turn their heads. A lady, wearing a purple kimono was approaching them. Her face was almost identical to Riku’s and she had a bright and beautiful smile on her face.
“Mr. Zhuo, this is my sister.” Riku was quick to introduce the woman in English. “You have met her before. I think that was two years ago. She is here for the festival too. Akane, this is Mr. Zhuo and his fiancée Lily.”
“Mr. Zhuo, I am pleased to see you again.” Akane spoke in Japanese without even sparing a glance at Lily. Zhuo Jingren’s expression immediately darkened, seeing as Akane had intentionally ignored Lily. Riku froze at the sight of Zhuo Jingren’s expression and he began to sweat. Riku shot a glare at his sister. ‘Disrespecting the big boss’ woman is a very big deal. Is this woman trying to get herself killed?’
Feeling her brother’s glare, Akane immediately turned towards Lily and greeted her with a smile, “Nice to meet you Miss Lily. I am Akane. My brother Riku and I have known Mr. Zhuo since we were young.” Akane didn’t have a Japanese accent in her spoken English unlike her brother, Riku. It was obvious that she had spent some time abroad.
“Please call me Lily.” Lily’s mouth curved into a beautiful smile, her eyes turning into crescents. “Oh, so you grew up with Zhuo Jingren then?”
“Ummm… no. I grew up abroad. But my brother…”
“That’s good.” Lily interrupted Akane, her hostility surprised everyone, including herself. Before the situation gets awkward, Lily quickly rose from her seat and addressed at Zhuo Jingren in Mandarin, “I am done. Shall we go now?”
“Of course,” Zhuo Jingren beamed. Lily’s hostility didn’t go unnoticed by him. He perceived that Lily was jealous of Akane and that made him very happy. Zhuo Jingren’s happiness was apparent in his eyes that the siblings were left speechless. This was actually the first time that the siblings get to witness the usually silent and cold Zhuo Jingren smile. He seemed genuinely happy.
Zhuo Jingren bid the siblings goodbye and left with Lily, not sparing them another glance.
“How could you disrespect the Big Boss’ woman like that earlier?” Riku glared at his sister after making sure that Zhou Jingren and Lily are gone.
“I don’t like her.”
“That’s because you like Mr. Zhuo. I already told you to stop this madness a long time ago.”
“If you cannot support me then just shut up,” Akane hissed. “You told me that he had been searching for one particular woman, that’s why he hasn’t been associating himself with any woman. You also told me that many years have passed and this woman was still not found and could possibly be dead. So who is this woman with him now?”
“Miss Lily is the woman that the Big Boss is looking for,” Riku answered. “Can you just stop courting death and be happy for the Big Boss instead?”
“I am not the type of woman that gives up easily,” Akane answered. “I am your younger sister. You should be helping me. Could you help me create an opportunity to be with Zhuo Jingren? Maybe he will like me?”
“What do you mean?” Riku furrowed his brows before widening his eyes in realization. “Don’t you ever think about doing what you are thinking of doing right now. He will personally kill you.”
“He will not,” Akane answered stubbornly. “Just one night, big brother. Just help me get close to his room. That’s all I asked.”
“Akane!” Riku stared in disbelief. “How could you lower yourself like that? Have you gone mad? Our father told us to always respect Zhuo Jingren. You cannot…”
“If you are not going to help then…” Akane stomped her foot and walked away from her brother. When she decided to come back at this time, she was hoping that Zhuo Jingren had also decided to come here for the festival and she could watch it with him.
After studying abroad for years, Akane had finally mastered the courage to confess her feelings to Zhuo Jingren. Who would have thought that the woman that he had been searching for years had finally been found?
An evil glint flashed in Akane’s eyes as she took out her phone and dialed a number. “Hello? This is Akane, I need you to teach someone a lesson.”
…
“She likes you, you know,” Lily said the moment they reached the pathway outside of the restaurant.
“I like you too,” Zhuo Jingren answered.
“No.. not me… I mean she… Akane, likes you,” she clarified.
“Is that why you snapped at her?” he teased. “Are you jealous?”
“Of course not,” she immediately denied. Jealous? She doesn’t even know what happened back then. She just lost control and got irritated at the woman’s words. “I just have no patience with bullshit.”
“Yeah… totally jealous.” Zhuo Jingren chuckled.
“I said, I am not!” she snapped.
“Okay… alright. Relax.” He held up his two hands in surrender while grinning cheekily at her. “I want to bring you to my favorite place in this city. Are you ready?”
….
Editor: Swaning
