"Stop talking about insignificant people," Zhuo Jingren said, his gaze fixed on Qi Xia. He gave him a cold smile before adding, "But I do agree, she is indeed very dumb."
"That is true. I wonder if her business will last very long after this?" Lily mused, her gaze landing on the food in front of them. Since Qi Xia arrived, Lily had not looked at the man once. This made Qi Xia even more irritated but he could only grit his teeth in silence.
"It won't," Zhuo Jingren answered. "Why don't we talk about Mr.Qi instead? I wonder why Mr. Wang was not able to come?"
"He had a last minute emergency," Qi Xia answered, his face devoid of any expression. On the inside, however, Qi Xia began to feel a little uncomfortable. Zhuo Jingren was calmly looking at him, however, he didn't miss the latter's provoking smile when he agreed that Mu Lihua is dumb. He instantly wondered if Zhuo Jingren knows that Mu Lihua is working for him.
"That is too unfortunate," Zhuo Jingren noted. "I originally came here to talk about making some investments, but I guess this opportunity is not for Mr. Wang after all."
"It's okay. Why don't you invest in my company instead? I can assure you good profits and some other… advantages," Lily playfully winked at her husband, still ignoring Qi Xia.
"Oh… that is a very good idea indeed. We should discuss this further, perhaps later, over a glass of wine?"
"Perfect idea. I want your Cheval Blanc."
"You've seen it?" Zhuo Jingren gave Lily a surprised look.
"Of course," Lily dazzling smile was especially blinding to Qi Xia. Until now, he still could not understand why Zhuo Jingren joined them. Using an investment as a reason was just too… unbelievable for Qi Xia. However, the thing that he found even more confusing was Lily's attitude towards Zhuo Jingren.
She was laughing and talking amiably with the man. The coldness that Lily showedQi Xia before was nowhere to be found. The Lily right now was too dazzling. How could this Lily be compared with the arctic cow that he'd met previously ? Qi Xia's mind then retrieved the information that he'd just received about Lily.
There had been some speculation that Lily was the one responsible for her ex-fiancé's fall from grace inthe Arison Family. After all, she is a woman. The fact that her arranged marriage fiancé was already cheating on her would definitely count as an insult to her.
At first, Qi Xia felt that he knew Lily simply because of the information that he'd received about her. He was able to analyze her MO's and even her critical mind. In some ways, he found Lily to be a little similar to Mu Lihua. Both women valued their names and reputations, both were cold and calculating, and he was also sure that both would betray anyone to gain an advantage.
Qi Xia thought that both women were ruthless in their own way. The key difference between the two is that Lily's calculating nature is just too… sinister. While, he can't deny that Mu Lihua is indeed a very ruthless individual, he still thought that Lily was hiding a lot of skeletons in her closet. After all, her success in the West is something that even older businessmen have to acknowledge. Qi Xia was sure that Lily had been exposed to a lot of corruption, lying, manipulation and even death to achieve this success.
This could only mean that Lily was therefore much scarier than Mu Lihua.
However, this… watching Lily like this was a little confusing. He remembered how Mu Lihua was always cold, even to her parents and her past lovers. Just like Mu Lihua, Qi Xia expected that Lily would also act the same – if not even colder and more evil. But this was different. Way different from what he had expected.
Could it be that she was only acting right now just to make Zhuo Jingren feel better? No, Qi Xia shook his head inwardly. The spark in Lily's eyes was not a lie. The way the couple teased each other was just too… natural. It was as if they had been doing this for years!
Qi Xia continued to watch, observing the couple's interactions. Was Zhuo Jingren here to show this side of Lily to him? All this time, Lily never even glanced at him, totally ignoring his presence. Qi Xia can't deny that he really felt uncomfortable with this action, however, at the same time, he also felt a little more interested in Lily.
He thought that he completely understood her, then all of a sudden Lily showed him something that was not written in her background check. This side of Lily was a complete surprise to him!
"Look at this!" Lily gave Zhuo Jingren a tablet. "Zhuo Capital is declaring disappointment in the Mu Group? Devious."
"The Mu Group has forgotten that it was Zhuo Capital who helped them up when they were down. Such ungrateful people only deserve to go back where they belong," Zhuo Jingren answered as he eyed Qi Xia. "Do you agree with me, Mr. Qi?"
"Where do you think they belong, President Zhuo?" Qi Xia asked, raising an eyebrow at Zhuo Jingren. From the looks of it, Zhuo Jingren wanted to send the Mu Group's stock prices down. As someone who had been in the financial industry, he knew that one comment from Zhuo Capital could send a company down the drain. If Zhuo Jingren issued a statement about his disappointment, then the Mu Group's investors would take this as a sign that Zhuo Capital might soon sell all their shares in the company.
This would make the investors panic. A move like this would immediately crash the stock price of a company.
In response to Qi Xia's question, Zhuo Jingren lips slowly lifted into smirk. He scoffed lightly before taking a sip of wine."In essence, Mr. Qi, I believe that ungrateful people need to be reminded how easily I can make them crash to the ground."
"Don't you think that this is too ruthless?" Qi Xia answered. How could Zhuo Jingren destroy a company just because Mu Lihua bought a piece of land? Wasn't that too illogical?
"This is a ruthless world. People need to adapt to survive," Zhuo Jingren answered with a small smile plastered on his handsome face.
"Ruining a company would not only ruin the owner, President Zhuo. Let me remind you of the countless people who will lose their jobs once Mu Group comes crashing down," Qi Xia said righteously, his eyes shifting from Lily then back to Zhuo Jingren. "You businessmen are always like this, always prioritizing your own egos instead of the needs of the people who work for you."
"You have a point. But you should tell this to CEO Mu of the Mu Group. It was her choice to cross someone she is incapable of beating. If you want to blame anyone, blame her for her inability to analyze things properly. Her lame strategy will lead to the bankruptcy of her own company. Her selfishness will ruin families and possibly kill people. Why blame me for reacting this way and not blame her for antagonizing me?" Zhuo Jingren's gaze held Qi Xia's, leaving the latter unable to look away. His words were a blatant reminder that he was not the one who antagonized the Mu Group and that he was simply retaliating.
But how could Qi Xia miss the warning behind Zhuo Jingren's tone?