Seeing Tang Lingyun’s reaction, Qin Mo quickly opened his box as well. Qin Mo widened his eyes when he saw a black ring with a black gem on it. “Is this… Opal?” His face immediately turned ugly as he took the ring out from the box to look more closely at it. The ring was made of white gold, he was sure of it but why did it have to come with a black cushion cut opal on top?
“Do you know the meaning behind an opal?” he asked, feeling anger rising inside him.
“Isn’t it supposed to bring good luck? Like a good luck charm?” Lily smiled. “I specially selected them just for the two of you.”
“A good luck charm you say?” he asked. “Opal brings luck only for people who are born in the month of october! Your mother and I are both not born in the month of october. Are you trying to curse us with bad luck? You are so malicious…” Qin Mo was interrupted when Tang Lingyun elbowed him. Qin Mo looked at Tang Lingyun with an obvious look of irritation. Tang Lingyun didn’t hold Qin Mo’s reaction to heart but gestured for Qin Mo to look at the price tag of her opal necklace.
“…” Qin Mo was speechless when he saw a price tag attached to the opal necklace.
13.5 million HKD
Out of curiosity, he hurriedly went to check the price tag of his ring.
11 million HKD.
What kind of jewelry would cost this much?
Qin Mo couldn’t find it in his heart to be appreciative or thankful towards Qin Jinghua for the gifts. After all, the gifts came with their price tags. Who would leave the price tag on a gift? Why did she do this? He glared at Qin Jinghua. Before he could say something, he was interrupted by an attendant who came in to serve their food. Only after the attendant left did Qin Mo let out a loud harrumphed.
“What do you mean by this?” he asked.
“Hmmm? I honestly didn’t think that these gifts would offend you and mother Lingyun so much. Ai… never mind…” Lily suddenly snatched the jewelry back from them, catching them by surprise. “Let me take these back. I will just give you two another gift instead. I wouldn’t have asked my husband to buy them if I had known that they would only bring bad luck to my own parents.” She let out a dramatic sigh while shaking her head and looking at the opal necklace and ring in her hands. “Maybe I’ll just donate these items to a charity auction. The proceeds would go to a good cause.”
“Qin Jinghua!” Qin Mo raised his voice. Even though Qin Mo disliked the jewelry, he couldn’t deny the fact that they were still rather valuable and expensive. Maybe they could sell the jewelry and get some money back? “Those are your gifts to us! How could you take back something that you have already given us? That’s rude.”
“Hmm? I thought you didn’t like my gifts? That they will only bring you bad luck?” Lily asked while putting on a look of confusion. “My intentions were pure when I chose these jewelry but you berated me and called me malicious. Is that fair?” Lily said with a tone full of grievance before returning the jewelry to Qin Mo. “Forget it. Here, keep them if you want or sell them if you wish. Since I’ve given them to you, you can do whatever you want with them…”
At this juncture, the door of the VIP room suddenly opened, revealing a tall man in a black suit. Qin Mo and Tang Lingyun immediately stared at the man’s cold face and naturally concluded that this man was Qin Jinghua’s husband. The man might be a little good-looking but his aura couldn’t compare to Xuan Hui or any other bachelor in the city.
Tang Lingyun heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. Qin Jinghua’s husband seemed to be just your average guy. Perhaps getting this man to leave Qin Jinghua would be easier than they thought. A little intimidation should do the trick…
While Tang Lingyun was engrossed in her own thoughts, the man suddenly sidestepped and bowed to a person who came up behind him. Another man, taller than the first one entered the room. His aura was so imposing that the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a few degrees. Qin Mo and Tang Lingyun stared at the man for a moment and paled when they recognized who he was.
“Mr. Zhuo?” Qin Mo quickly rose from his seat and walked towards Zhuo Jingren with a look of confusion on his face. “This is a private meeting… what…” he trailed when he noticed that the latter was not even looking at him. Then he shifted his gaze towards Lily and saw her smiling lovingly at Zhuo Jingren. To his surprise, Zhuo Jingren reciprocated the smile and had a gentle expression on his face as he looked at Lily.
Zhuo Jingren walked straight towards Lily without sparing Qin Mo and Tang Lingyun a glance.
Qin Mo stood there frozen as Zhuo Jingren kissed Lily’s cheek and apologized for being late. It was as if lightning had struck him. He felt suffocated. Everything seemed to be in slow-motion and warped as he saw the provocation in Lily’s eyes as she looked at him, as if she was challenging him to speak freely in front of Zhuo Jingren.
Not many people knew how Zhuo Jingren looked like or have personally met the man, but Qin Mo could say that he had met the man on a couple of occasions before which was why he was able to recognize Zhuo Jingren. As a businessman who had been around in the industry for years, Qin Mo had seen Zhuo Jingren in a few high-end galas and events where the latter was there to receive some award or to give a speech.
Qin Mo’s mind seemed to gone blank as he continued to stare at the couple with his mouth agape. ‘Is he really Qin Jinghua’s husband?’
“Honey… Are you alright?” Tang Lingyun’s tug on his suit immediately woke him from his stupor. He noticed that his wife was now standing next to him with a face was full of worry and unmasked nervousness. Tang Lingyun had often accompanied her husband to events and galas, so naturally she also came across Zhuo Jingren. Like her husband, she was incredulous. How could it be that Zhuo Jingren was Qin Jinghua’s husband? How could the world be so small?
“Please, take a seat,” Qin Mo gestured towards a seat with one hand and with the other hand, he held his wife’s shaky hands. Tang Lingyun must be truly afraid of Zhuo Jingren, understandably so. The man in front of them was a legend in the business world. The fact that he was Qin Jinghua’s husband was truly shocking.
“Mr. and Mrs. Qin, I am Zhuo Jingren,” Zhuo Jingren said cooly but he did not even spare them a glance. Instead, his eyes were glued to Lily’s side profile.
“Ehem… I did not expect Jinghua to actually find such an outstanding husband,” Tang Lingyun spoke first as she knew that Qin Mo needed more time to compose himself.
“Mr. Zhuo, I am Tang Lingyun. I am Qin Jinghua’s stepmother. I am very pleased to meet you.” Her words were calm and collected but the sinister glint in her eyes did not go unnoticed by both Lily and Zhuo Jingren.
Even after being spoken to, Zhuo Jingren didn’t even bother to respond. Noticing that Lily didn’t look too well, he asked, “What is wrong? Why do you look so sad?”
Lily turned her head to the other side, away from Zhuo Jingren and sadly said, “They did not like my gifts and said I was being malicious by giving something that would only bring bad luck to them. It seems like the millions we spent on getting them were all for nothing…” Lily dramatically propped her face on her palm and pouted which instantly made Zhuo Jingren frown. He sent a hateful glare at Qin Mo and Tang Lingyun.
“If they don’t like it, then just throw them away. Isn’t it just millions? Don’t get upset over it, alright?” he said dotingly as he stroke Lily’s back, sending another wave of shock to Qin Mo and Tang Lingyun.
‘This… What is happening?’
…
Editor: Swaning
