-||chapter thirteen - the intervention||-

"After the rumors about the Crown prince and the First Princess were eliminated, the two lost contact for a while. While the First Princess was busy preparing for her friend's marriage, the Crown Prince on the other hand was deliberately avoiding any contact. He was relieved that the First Princess would no longer be in danger of falling into the same hell that he's been suffering through since he was a child.

But the Crown Prince made the mistake of underestimating his King.

The King, had finally found a suitable candidate for the position of the Crown Princess and if the Crown Prince wasn't going to court the First Princess on his own, then the King decided that he would made the Crown Prince do it."

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After four days of planning and sketching multiple drafts for Arianna's wedding gown, Lu Zhi finally came up with a stunning design in which she was able to incorporate the fabric from Arianna's grandmother's wedding dress. The old dress had a beautiful applique around the bust area. Lu Zhi was able to salvage a decent size after cutting off the burnt edges. As Arianna's gown was going to be a backless one, Lu Zhi sketched the applique into her design to cleverly hide the zipper at the back.

As there was enough fabric from the old gown that could be used, Lu Zhi decided it would be better to create a statement bow out of it that would look wonderful at her waist, at the side of the slit in the gown.

Satisfied with her creation, Lu Zhi emailed the sketch to Arianna and Julian hoping that they would like it. She then began working on the latest collection that she was going to launch. She had decided on the Chinese Fairy and Folk Tales as the theme for her upcoming collection. Lu Zhi was also going to design jewelry pieces to pair with the clothing line.

She had no further appointments for today so Lu Zhi was going to focus on her upcoming collection only. Putting on some music, Lu Zhi began carefully crafting draft sketched for the collection. Her first design was going to be inspired by The Bird With Nine Heads, so Lu Zhi worked on sketching the mythical bird first and was about half way done when her assistant Dai Xi knocked at the door.

"What is it?" asked Lu Zhi without looking up. She continued moving the stylus over the screen of her tablet to draw the feathers of the bird.

Dai Xi entered the room and came to stand in front of Lu Zhi. "Ma'am there a guest at the reception who want to meet you."

"Weren't my schedule clear for the day? Did you miss an appointment?" questioned Lu Zhi.

"No. The said guest did not book an appointment -" Dai Xi was about to explain but stopped when Lu Zhi interrupted her and asked, "Did you not inform this guest that I do not meet people without an appointment? Tell the guest to book an appointment with you first." she then went back to her sketching, "Go."

"It's Mr. Zhang, ma'am." Lu Zhi's stopped sketching, her stylus just hovering over the tablet. "Zhang Yi Chen?" she asked to make sure that it was him.

"No. It's his father." told Dai Xi.

A frown of confusion marred Lu Zhi's beautiful features as she wondered why would Zhang Yi Chen's father come to meet her that too without any prior appointment and just out of nowhere.

"Send him in." Lu Zhi saved the half finished sketch before putting her tablet on sleeping mode as she awaited for Zhang Dong's arrival.

"Hello, Miss Lu." Zhang Dong came in 5 minutes later and took a seat opposite hers. "You have quite a nice office here. It's very aesthetically pleasing and apt for it's name."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I would let my designers know of your praise." Lu Zhi gave him a polite smile before asking, "So, can I know of the purpose of this visit?"

"My wife and I are celebrating 33 years of marriage on 14th of November. We are planning to renew our wedding vows and recreate our wedding day. My wife loves your work, that's why I want you to design the outfits, jewelry, and other accessories for our special day. I am willing the price, it is a special gift for my wonderful wife after-all. She should get the best of best." explained Zhang Dong.

Lu Zhi straightened a little while her facial features remained relaxed, "It would be my pleasure to make your special day, a little bit more special." she then handed Zhang Dong her business card that had her assistant's phone number on it.

"So the next time you are here with your for the consultation, please book at appointment first, alright." Zhang Dong's smile faded but he still grabbed the business card from Lu Zhi's hand and put it in his trousers' pocket.

"That won't be the case." stated Zhang Dong.

"You see my wife's condition is delicate. She doesn't go out much because of how weak she is and I do not want to compromise with her health. This is why I want you to visit my house for the consultations. I hope you understand my concerns." explained Zhang Dong.

Without faltering, Lu Zhi said, "I do." she placed her entwined hands on the desk and continued, "I really do understand your concerns. It's fine, I'll visit but you still have to book an appointment, sir as I have other things in my bucket as well. I hope you understand."

Lu Zhi felt a slight chill run up her spine as Zhang Dong stared at her with no expression on his face but then he smiled and said, "Of-course I do! My assistant will be in contact with yours for our next appointment." he stood up from his seat and added, "It's nice doing business with you, Miss Lu."

Lu Zhi smiled and nodded but she didn't stand up from her seat as Zhang Dong left. Once he was out of sight, Lu Zhi let out a deep breath and leaned back on her chair to relax.

After this brief visit, Zhang Dong went outside where his car was waiting for him. He sat on the backseat and told the driver to start the car. As they drove away, Zhang Dong took Lu Zhi's business card out of his pocket and let out a mirthless chuckle while looking at the card.

Letting the car window down, Zhang Dong threw away Lu Zhi's business card, "The things that I have to do. Hhhmm."

****************

Zhang Yi Chen was looking through some project files when Ming Ze barged inside his office. "What is it now?" he asked while continuing reading the documents.

"I need your help." Ming Ze pleaded.

Yi Chen sighed and closed the file as he looked up at Ming Ze who was pouting and looked as if he would start crying at any moment.

Shaking his head, Yi Chen asked, "What do you need my help with?"

Ming Ze quickly took a chair and explained, "I have been hiding a little secret from you. It's about a special power that my family has."

Yi Chen looked at Ming Ze as if he had grown a horn on his head, "Special power? Explain."

"You see, I didn't believe it either until it happened with me. The members of my family have this special power with which they are able to recognize their destined partner, their one true love at first glance. You have seen how lovey-dovey my grandparents, parents, and my sister and her husband are. It is because of this gift only." explained Ming Ze.

"Really?" this time Yi Chen looked at Ming Ze as if he had not one but two horns on his head.

"Really! Like I said, I didn't believe it either until I found her." a dreamy expression softened Ming Ze's facial features.

"Did you take a fancy to another woman? Weren't you dating that pink haired woman?" asked Ming Ze.

"Nah! That wasn't serious at all. In fact none of my past relationships were serious."

"And you had sex with them when you weren't serious? So the media is right about you." commented Yi Chen and picked up a glass of water drink.

"No, it isn't!" Ming Ze stood up, appalled that his best friend would think of him like that, "I am a virgin!"

Yi Chen spat out the water that was in his mouth, "You, what?!" he coughed.

"I am a virgin." confessed Ming Ze, "For some reason I could never go through it and now that I have found my one and only, I realize that it was because of her. I was saving myself for her!"

"Are you serious right now? Or is this another prank of yours?"

"I am serious." admitted Ming Ze, "I know it is hard to believe but it is the truth."

Yi Chen took a few minutes to comprehend what Ming Ze had just explained and confessed, "Why do you need my help then? Shouldn't you be with your 'one and only' instead of being with me?" he asked.

"It is her, that I need your help with. The love of my life, my destined partner is actually Lu Ying, Lu Zhi's twin sister."

Hearing Lu Zhi's name, Yi Chen stilled but Ming Ze continued, "You know how about my reputation and I have already scared my Ying Ying. She thinks that I am creep, a perverted stalker."

"So?"

"So, I need your help to contact Lu Zhi and ask about Ying Ying's likes and dislikes, everything about her so that I can impress my sweetheart and have her fall in love with me. Please." Ming Ze pouted, "Help."

Zhang Yi Chen let out a harsh breath. It seems that his plans to avoid Lu Zhi and maintain no contact just went down the drain.