"That—" Lily gave the old man a knowing smile. "and I know you are lying." The old man lifted an eyebrow at her.
"What lie are you talking about?"
"You know who is trying to kill your wife." Zhou Jingren said.
Surprised flashed on the old man's face. He then let out a burst of heartfelt laughter. "Do you read each other's mind?" he asked before he took a sip of his wine. "Ah… young love." His face then turned serious.
"I didn't say I didn't know. I said… one of my children is doing it."
Lily's eyes drifted from the old man to the wine in his hand. She then nodded. "So… everyone in your family knows." She stated. This is the only reason why the old man would want to punish everyone in his family. "But… what were you expecting? You raised them to be like this. You should have expected this to happen."
If Lily was one of his children, she would probably do the same. Having a parent who only values your achievements is pretty tiresome. Sometimes, Lily would still say that she was lucky. She grew up in a toxic environment, but she still grew up to be the kind of woman that she is.
True, she is a sinner. But who isn't? Still, she is very proud of what she had become.
"Your words may hurt. But it is true. I raised them to be like this. But do I regret it? No. I believe that I still did the right thing. I do not want to associate myself with lazy people." A flash of disgust gleam in the old man's eyes. He then let out a deep sigh. "I understand. I will wait for your decision."
Lily didn't have to say anything anymore. She rose from her seat and left the old man alone. The world is such a dangerous place.
"Someone wanted to drug you," Zhou Jingren suddenly said beside her. She turned to see him reading a text from his phone. "Do you want to let her drink it instead?"
"Hmmm." She nodded. She already understood that Zhou Jingren is talking about Qiao Qiao. As expected, the woman was dumb enough to big a grave for herself. "Let's watch and stay for a couple of minutes." Would Lily really miss a show like this?
Of course not! She was too petty for that. Since this woman wanted to scheme against her, then… she would happily watch her succumb to her own schemes.
...
"I think this is enough," Yu Jing tried to grab the glass of champagne from Qiao Qiao's hands. She staggered, and he immediately held her, letting her leaned against him.
"I'm fine. It's alright." Qiao Qiao cleared her throat as she gestured for another waiter to give her another glass of alcohol. "I have a surprise for you." She smiled. "I know you will — love it." She already paid the waiter to give Lily and beverage with a drug that she gave him. All she needed now is to wait.
Qiao Qiao eyed Lily and Zhou Jingren from afar. They were seriously talking to the old man at the terrace of the mansion. "Your grandfather… didn't even look at me." She noted. "Not even once."
"He is always like that." Yu Jing comforted his woman. He grew up in a very tense environment. He always felt that talking to the old man was like walking on eggshells. He could not really remember a moment where the old man had joked around with his cousins. In fact, he never remembered him play with them. Not even once.
When Yu Jing was younger, he used to wonder if the old man hated children. He was always away and does not really say anything warm to them. He would only ask them about their grades, their achievements. Then he would reward the outstanding ones and move on to the next topic.
As someone who grew up mediocre, Yu Jing never once received a gift from the old man. As a child, Yu Jing hated this fact. However, no matter how much he worked hard, his cousins and even younger brother would always win.
In the end, Yu Jing decided to use other methods just to achieve his goals. He might not be intelligent, but his grandfather had once said that Yu Jing is very clever. Until now, Yu Jing felt that this is the best compliment that he received from anyone.
Qiao Qiao downed another glass of wine before she frowned at him. "Do you think… he hated me? Does he look down on me because I am an actress?" He shifted her gaze back to the terrace and immediately smiled when she saw that Lily and Zhou Jingren are not there anymore.
This only meant that the waiter would have the chance to give the drink to Lily. A smirk hung on her lips as she accepted another glass of champagne and finished it in one go. She could not wait to embarrass Lily in front of everyone.
"Hey… look. Lily and Zhou Jingren are done talking to your grandfather." She made her voice a little louder, making sure that the other members of the Yu Family heard her. "I believe your grandfather likes Lily a lot. Not that I blamed him. Lily is a very accomplished woman."
On the outside, she sounded like she was praising Lily. However, her words had the exact opposite. As expected, everyone in the Yu Family immediately frowned when they heard her words. Most of them scowled while some whispered some words towards each other.
The hate that the old man created towards Lily was very apparent that Qiao Qiao immediately felt elated. "Hey… do you think… we can find something as rare as Lily's gift? Maybe this will make your grandfather like me." She decided to add fuel to the fire.
"Stop it." Yu Jing suddenly said. "Don't talk about this anymore." Yu Jing is not stupid. How could he miss the fact that Qiao Qiao was trying to provoke them into doing something to Lily?
Some of his cousins were already drunk. If provoked, some of them have a quick temper and would blow up on someone for the most unreasonable reasons.
For the first time, Yu Jing felt irritated towards Qiao Qiao.
........
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