"Is this about the past?" Xuan Hui immediately shifted his body towards Lily, avoiding her face as he gritted his teeth in annoyance or maybe even fear. "You are a successful woman now Qin Jinghua. Why don't you just move on and forget about what happened in the past? Surely, no one would look down on you now."
"Lily…" she corrected as she dipped her finger into the glass and tasted it in her mouth. "Qin Jinghua is long dead." She then gave Xuan Hui a fake smile. "You should already know that by now. Right? Master Xuan?"
Xuan Hui stared at Lily, this time his gaze contained a tinge of anger and fear. This woman in front of him now was so different from the one that he met at the reading. It was as if this was a totally different person. "Lily… I am warning you… If you do something to Qin Fei I will…"
"What?" she interrupted while raising an eyebrow at him. "You will have someone drug me? Like what you did years ago?"
"You know it was not me! It was Tang Lingyun," he hissed.
"Ahhh… I remember… The actress Tang Lingyun from the Tang family." Lily nodded. "How could I forget?" She smiled at him.
In response, Xuan Hui lifted the glass of wine and drank it in one go. His face immediately contorted as the aftertaste of alcohol hit his throat.
"I like it with a little more gin," Lily said when she noticed Xuan Hui's expression. "I did say it wouldn't be to your taste."
"Tell me honestly Lily, why are you here?" Xuan Hui asked, ignoring Lily's words as he gestured for the bartender to give him another glass of the drink.
"You know that Qin Fei is pregnant. Why don't we leave the past in the past? Do not be vengeful and take revenge anymore. In return, I will compensate you for the damage that was done to your reputation all those years ago. We can discuss more about that. And I also won't ask you to sell the villa that Qin Fei likes. How does that sound?" he asked, hoping that Lily would agree to his propositions without a fight.
"Master Xuan must be joking. Revenge? I, Lily Facci-Qin, had many chances to have you and Qin Fei killed, for the wrong that you two did to me all those years ago. But...I didn't." She laughed. "With the current status that I have, no one would even know who did it. That's the extent of my capabilities!"
"I am not here for revenge Master Xuan. I am here to collect the interest of the debt that you owe me," she added while looking straight into Xuan Hui's eyes. Her lips then tugged upwards into an evil smirk, it was sinister yet beautiful – so beautiful that Xuan Hui was not able to look away.
At that point Xuan Hui could have chosen to walk away and forget about Lily's words. But, he didn't. Instead, he continued to stare at Lily, his expression unfathomable. For some reason, Xuan Hui felt his heart skip a beat as his gaze lingered on Lily's lips, then slowly back to her eyes. Though there was something about Lily's eyes that made Xuan Hui a little uneasy, he still found himself staring into her.
Not that Lily's eyes were showing anything. No. In fact, Lily's eyes were blank. It was almost as if she was just staring at the wall. They were dead with no emotions. And for the first time in his life, he found the look of detachment in Lily's eyes attractive.
Seeing him in a daze, Lily rose from her seat and turned her back to him. She already achieved her primary purpose. There was no reason to stay in this party anymore.
"Where are you going?" Xuan Hui asked, following after Lily.
"To the next party that I will be attending tonight," she answered honestly.
"Is it the Bulgari one?" he asked.
In response, Lily nodded.
"I'm coming with you." His words immediately surprised him. "I… I mean… I..."
"It's alright. You take your own car and you can follow us." Lily was quick to answer him. Then she increased the speed of her steps and walked towards Fernando who was already holding her coat for her.
"Success?" Fernando smiled while helping Lily wear her coat.
"Absolutely." She smiled before she held Fernando's arm. Then, they both walked out of the venue together, leaving a dazed Xuan Hui who was staring at Lily's back.
After a few seconds of being in a daze, Xuan Hui woke up from his stupor and immediately sent a text to his secretary and Qin Fei, to meet him at Bulgari's after-party.
When Qin Fei received his text, she immediately called him, happy that her call finally went through. She started complaining about what happened to her but Xuan Hui's mind was elsewhere.
It was as if Qin Fei's complaints were nothing but murmurs in his ears. His mind was still stuck on Lily's smile and her eyes. In the end, Qin Fei ended the call and told him to wait for her at the party.
….
Lily had changed into another outfit for the Bulgari after-party. This was also the last outfit change for the day. Fernando had prepared in advance many different outfits for Lily to wear to each event and Lily had already changed a few outfits in just a day, not that she was complaining. This was Lily's way of showing support for her best friend, by showcasing his designs on the international fashion scene.
This time, Lily was wearing a black crew neck, long sleeve midi dress that fits perfectly on her body. This dress was specifically designed to flaunt Lily's slim body. The soft wool material was chosen to give the comfort that Lily always wanted and looked for in a dress.
As a designer, Fernando was going for the edgy look while not forsaking comfort in his designs. Since Lily loved to wear edgy couture and her figure was also good, Fernando found Lily to be a perfect model for his clothes.
"Hey! Why are you taking pictures of me?" Lily asked Fernando while fixing her make-up inside the car. "I noticed that you took pictures of me when I was wearing the silver sequin dress earlier too."
"This is for the hubby," he answered while his fingers were tapping away rapidly on his phone.
"For Jingren?" she asked.
"Do you have another husband?" he asked while frowning. "You people are the worst. Always disturbing my peace with nonsensical request!"
"Why are you scolding me and not him? Did I ask you to take photos of me?" she retorted.
"Well… I can't scold Escort Zhuo," he answered before he avoided Lily's gaze.
"Ha… this must be because of the bet that you two had? Hey… Fernando where are you going? I am not yet done!" Lily tried to call for Fernando but the latter already got out of the car without saying another word.
Seeing her friend standing outside of the car while waiting for her, Lily's lips let out a smile. Before she got out of the car, she looked at Yang Mi beside her and asked, "Xuan Hui?"
"Confirmed President. I have photos of him and his secretary at the back of their car. The drug worked. The moment he saw his secretary in the car, he immediately pounced on her," she explained.
Though Xuan Hui was not the one who drugged Lily, he could still be considered an accomplice as he allowed it to happen. In Yang Mi's mind, Lily was just giving him a taste of what it was like for her when she was drugged all those years ago. The helplessness against the effects of the drug that makes you commit acts that you might regret after.
"Good… Very Good. And the Qins?" she asked with a smile on her face. A while ago, she made sure to drug Xuan Hui's drink with something that would not only lower his inhibitions but also cause him to have hallucinations. Then there was Xuan Hui's secretary who was tricked by a stylist in Xuan Films to dress a little more...sexily, making sure that her legs were exposed. A little smile, a show of skin would definitely make Xuan Hui wallow in misery.
Lily was sure that a man with a weak state of mind like in Xuan Hui's case, would easily succumb to temptations. And he did. Once again, Lily won.
But this was just the beginning. Lily was sure that from today onwards, Xuan Hui would fear her even more. Xuan Hui would definitely become more anxious and he would constantly try to guess what her next move would be. Lily wouldn't even care if he chooses to tell Qin Fei or Tang Lingyun or even Qin Mo about her identity. In fact, she would greatly appreciate it.
As there is nothing more frightening than waiting while hoping that Lily would not come knocking on their doors and destroy the empire that they had painstakingly built. And what is even more frightening is that when that happens, they could only watch while everything crumble before their eyes, neither of them having the power or capability to do anything to stop it.
Of course, Lily would show some mercy, provided they know how to behave and leave her alone. Because, the moment they do anything stupid and dig their own graves, Lily would surely lend them a helping hand and bury them in an endless abyss of pain.
"They are on their way to the party too." Yang Mi gave Lily a smile before she took out a diamond bracelet and passed it to Lily. The diamond bracelet was a contrast against the black that Lily donned.
Without another word, Lily slipped on the bracelet on her wrist before she stepped out of the car with a smile on her face. 'The pieces were all in place. Now it's time for a grand show.'
…
Editor: Swaning