10,000 Lilies

Zhuo Jingren slumped into his swivel chair, his face dark and jaws clenched. "I want to know everything that happened seven years ago," he said to Secretary Go who had entered his office after Lily left. "And I mean everything. Talk to the doctors who tended to her and her mother then. Something else must have happened that night of the accident." Zhuo Jingren closed his eyes and massaged his temples.

The look in Lily's eyes earlier told him that he must have missed something from his investigations. Why was she so closed off and guarded? What could have made her build such a high wall around her heart?

Truth be told, Zhuo Jingren did not expect to cross paths with Lily seven years ago. He felt that at that time, he still didn't have the right to pursue Lily because he has not established himself well enough and his status was still not befitting of Lily's status. When he heard that Lily was engaged to Xuan Hui, he couldn't resist the urge to see her. He immediately booked a flight back to Hong Kong, hoping to see Lily for one last time before her wedding.

With a broken heart, Zhuo Jingren went to the bar that he knew Lily was at and was secretly staring at the woman who was drowning glass after glass of alcohol as if they were water. At first, he was not planning to have any form of contact with Lily. How could he when she was an engaged woman who was going to get married soon?

However, this all changed when Lily voluntarily approached him for a dance. The way that Lily swayed her hips as she sauntered towards him was like the bursting of beautiful fireworks. At the same time, a fire was also ignited inside him. They danced and flirted, they hugged and they kissed and the night ended with them sleeping together.

For Zhuo Jingren, that night was the most memorable time of his life. He would never forget that fateful night until he dies. He initially thought that Lily was also attracted to him or else, why would she initiate the first kiss? But when he woke up the next morning to a thank you note and a bundle of cash, he knew that she had mistaken him for an escort; someone who required payment for pleasuring her.

Zhuo Jingren raged because of what Lily did. How could she think so lowly of him? He immediately booked a flight out of Hong Kong, promising himself that he would not ever see her again.

But two months after their encounter, he received the most devastating news in his life. Not only was Lily's wedding cancelled, her family had abandoned her and she was involved in a road accident and sustained serious injuries. That accident caused her to lose her mother and she was also admitted into a mental facility as the entire ordeal broke her. All this happened when Zhuo Jingren was busy building his empire, away from Hong Kong.

Just the thought of Lily experiencing all these tragedies within a short period of time broke Zhuo Jingren's heart. He felt so dumb for being angry with her. He was dumb for not protecting her and most of all, he was dumb for assuming that she was happy with that bastard.

By the time that Zhuo Jingren arrived in Hong Kong, Lily was long gone from the mental facility. And no matter how hard he tried looking for her, his search always ended with nothing. However, Zhuo Jingren never once gave up looking for her. It was only a matter of time, he thought.

These past seven years, Zhuo Jingren never once gave up in his search for the love of his life. If she was dead, he needed to see her body. If she was alive, he needed to know if she was okay. He was desperate.

He used all of his connections to find her in Asia - Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, thinking these were the most likely places she had escaped to. He searched and searched. With every failure, he would start a new search again, hoping that it would succeed this time.

Of course, he also did not forget to make the Qin family suffer along the way. He felt that the Qin family had conspired against Lily and wanted to help Lily take revenge on the Qin family. He also believed that the Qin family might have had a hand in Lily's disappearance. Until Lily is found, he would continue to wreak havoc on the Qin family.

After seeing Lily today, he realized that something else must have happened that night of the accident, something that he had missed during his investigations.

"Go Jichen, I need your help in courting Lily Qin."

"Ah?"

"I want to know how to properly court a woman," he clarified. As long as Lily is guarded, it would be hard to convince her to marry him. Zhuo Jingren decided that he needed to do his best to climb up the high walls around Lily's heart. Unfortunately, he never once courted a woman before. He knew he needed help and the best ideas around to court her.

"I… President, the best way to court a woman is by giving her flowers," Secretary Go suggested. "But giving flowers alone would be too ordinary for someone of your status." Secretary Go stroke his chin before his eyes glinted with mischief.

"I know!" he exclaimed. "You should court Miss Qin actively, every day, for thirty days straight! Let her know how much you really like her!"

"Wouldn't that irritate her?" he raised an eyebrow.

"How is that possible? All the women I know loves to be courted with flowers and… chocolates. The more the merrier." Secretary Go beamed. This was based on his real life experience ah.

"That's my point. She is not just some normal woman."

"Then… you could make it extra special by sending an extravagant amount of flowers and chocolates!" Secretary Go answered while inwardly patting himself on the back. He felt like such a genius. Not only would this impress Miss Qin, it would also push President Zhuo closer to his goal of marriage.

And when President Zhuo should finally marry the love of his life, he would surely be happier and become warmer as a person.

Secretary Go had been around President Zhuo for many years now and he knew how much Lily's arrival had changed President Zhuo. If Lily is here to stay in the president's life, he was sure that it would have a positive change on the president.

"You have a point. Starting tomorrow… I will woo Lily Qin every day, until she says yes to my proposal." Zhuo Jingren rose from his seat. "To start with, I want you to buy 10,000 lilies and have them delivered to Lily's door tomorrow morning. Wait, you know what? I will personally deliver it to her doorstep tomorrow morning."

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Editor: Swaning