Unedited
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“Why would you want him to buy you chocolates when I can always buy you one?” Zhou Jingren lifted an eyebrow.
“Because I’m petty.” Lily beamed. “The man did not even give us something when he won against the Corneel twins. Yang Mi was right, you know. I was praying for him.”
Qin Yuanfeng snorted. “He only won because he was familiar with the place. That Corneel sibling was pretty stupid.”
“Speaking of the Corneels… I heard Leon will visit Facci Group soon?”
“Yes, he will.” Lily nodded at Zhou Jingren. “I believe most of the board members wanted to buy the shares. So… he will be here to sign everything. His two oldest sons will accompany him.”
“Not, Veron and Veronica?”
“Of course not.” Lily narrowed her eyes. “If I told them that I hated the twin’s presentation, I am sure that Leon would bring them to this meeting. However, I told them that I love the presentation. So he will do the opposite.”
“You seemed to be sure that Leon is the one who does not like this deal to happen.” Qin Yuanfeng said without lifting his head to look at Lily as he ate his breakfast.
“He is the CEO. He knows everything about the company. Moreover, this is a multi-million dollar deal that could forever change the future of their company. There is no way that he would just assign this to one of his sons.”
“Fair enough.” Qin Yuanfeng nodded. “Don’t worry about it, I will trace every meeting that he had in the past few months. It might take a long time, but it’s not that hard to do.”
“Thank you.” Lily smiled in response.
After their brunch, Lily and Zhou Jingren decided to take some time to relax as they waited for Eliza and Levi to arrive. While Qin Yuanfeng was once again typing on his laptop inside Zhou Jingren’s study.
“Are you going to accompany them around Hong Kong?” Zhou Jingre asked as he sat next to Lily.
“In Hong Kong, yes. But in China, no.”
“They are going to China?”
“Hmmm.” She nodded. “Then Korea, then South East Asia. Eliza likes to travel around the world doing volunteer work here and there while dragging her brother along with her. Mikaela said that the only reason why Levi agreed to accompany her is for her safety.”
Lily continued, “Eliza is a very adventurous type of girl. Totally opposite to her prim and proper elder sister. Of course, I am not saying that this is bad. All I’m saying is… she should be more careful. She is a princess after all.”
“You are also a princess, right?” Zhou Jingren chuckled. “You should be more careful too.”
Lily rolled her eyes in response. “What princess are you talking about?” She laughed. “You know… when I was younger, I loved princesses and their happy endings. However… as I grew older I realized that being a princess does not actually suit me.”
“Really? Why would you say that?” He asked. “If we think about it, Lilian was like your fairy godmother who saved you from the clutches of your stepmother. You are like… Ummm Cinderella?”
“So you are the prince?”
“Of course, I am.” He lifted his chin and winked at her. “I think I look like one, no?”
“Dummy.” Lily beamed. “You don’t look like a prince, my love. You are a king. There’s a difference.”
Zhou Jingren beamed. He then gave her a small kiss on her cheeks. “So? You are not Cinderella?” he asked.
“My story sounds like Cinderella’s story. But… she is too meek for my taste. Considering that the story happened in an era where women are not supposed to be loud and frank, it’s good. The story is good. But I think… The hero of the story is not Cinderella.” Smiling, Lily continued. “It’s the fairy godmother with her beautiful fairy dust.”
Lily added, “First, Cinderella is nothing but a careless woman who still left her shoe even though her fairy godmother made it to perfectly fit her. Second, the prince is nothing but a bloke who can’t even recognize the woman that he loved just because she’s not wearing a princess dress. And third, the story only tells us to be more feminine so we could find our one true love.”
“Isn’t that sad?” Lily lifted an eyebrow. Lilian never taught her to become feminine. She taught her to stand her ground, defend herself, and succeed. Those are the things that the meek Cinderella never learned.
“Just to be clear, I don’t hate Cinderella. I just dislike every fairy tale out there that helps define how a child views themselves as a woman.” She shrugged. “Of course, Cinderella is still popular with everyone as just like Cinderella, most of us have this hidden desire to be rescued. It’s a basic human instinct to want someone to appreciate us and convince us that we are worthy after all.”
“You know… you would make a great motivational speaker.” Zhou Jingren teased before he nodded. “But I do agree with you. The things are …we live in a very cruel society where kind people like Cinderella do not really exist. It’s all about benefits, it’s all about what the society thinks of you.”
“Hmmm.” Lily nodded as she rested her head on Zhou Jingren’s shoulders. “After growing up, I realized that I did not want to become Cinderella, anymore. I wanted to become the fairy godmother. Then I thought… She ignored Cinderella for a lot of years and only approached Cinderella when the ball was about to start. What if… ” Lily made a deliberate pause as her smile grew wider. “What if… the fairy godmother, wanted Cinderella to be the queen so she could use her in manipulating the prince as well as the Kingdom?”
“You really are a wicked one, aren’t you?” Zhou Jingren chuckled. Yep, he will not allow Lily to tell stories to their future children. Never.
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