It was already Friday and Mu Lihua did not want to drag the issue until Monday. She needed to see Lily as soon as possible so she could explain her side of the story. If Lily would listen to her explanation, that is.
Furthermore, it was already the nineteenth. Little did Mu Lihua know that Lily would not have time to focus on any other matters as she needed to prepare herself for her performance the next day.
August 20, Saturday.
Lily woke up with a smile on her face. As expected, Zhuo Jingren had prepared breakfast for her with a few festive flowers and chocolates added with care. Simple, but Lily liked it a lot.
"What's your plan for today?" Lily asked as an unfathomable glint flashed in her eyes.
"Something special," he answered while reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hmmm… Let me guess? Does it involve a special dinner?"
"No," Zhuo Jingren shook his head. "I was planning something more adventurous. Skydiving maybe? What do you think?"
Lily's head instantly spun towards Zhuo Jingren. "You know that I am not very good with heights. I might faint."
"Oh… then how about we ride a hot air balloon and watch the sunset together?" he asked, feeling a little depressed. He knew that Lily was not fond of heights, but he thought he could convince her to try something different. "Actually, I have a surprise for you but I felt that you deserve more, so I was planning to do something extra. That's why I thought we could go skydiving this weekend."
"No to a hot air balloon," Lily replied firmly. Watching the sunset together was fine, but anything else would only delay her plans for tonight. Lily's fear of heights isn't really that extreme, she just finds it uncomfortable to be in such high places. That did not mean, however, that she would not like to go skydiving with Zhuo Jingren. Just the thought of it is somehow made her heart a little giddy - but Lily still needed energy for her performance for tonight. "Let's skydive tomorrow instead," she suggested. "What do you think?"
"Alright!" Zhuo Jingren beamed before handing her a small brown velvet box. "Here."
Lily instantly accepted the box and opened it. "A key?" she asked.
"Hmmm... I will take you to see it after breakfast."
"What is it? A house?"
"You are really bad at guessing things," Zhuo Jingren chuckled. "It's a surprise."
"…" Lily just rolled her eyes as she continued to eat. She knew it would not be a house, maybe some storage space or a garage. Lily was thinking a garage would be the most reasonable thing that he could give her, but she wouldn't say that in front of Zhuo Jingren as it would only ruin his current bubbly mood.
Lily was not a dense woman. She immediately felt the latter's excitement when he said he wanted to go skydiving. She did not miss the hint of disappointment in his eyes when she said no, and to be honest, she hated seeing him like that. It made Lily a little uncomfortable.
After the couple finished their breakfast, they immediately went for a drive. And just as Lily initially thought, Zhuo Jingren did give her a garage. It was an underground garage. Her Beetle was already parked inside, of course.
"Thank you," she smiled. "This is really a surprise."
"You are really bad at acting," Zhuo Jingren noted before hugging her from behind. "Thank you," he uttered behind her ears.
"What are you thanking me for?" she asked. "I was the one who received a gift."
"I knew you knew," he answered while hugging her a little tighter. Zhuo Jingren knew his wife. He knew that she'd already guessed what his gift would be, but she chose not to say anything to avoid ruining his mood. Two months ago, this would not be something that Lily would do for him. He knew that the Lily before would never consider his feelings. The Lily that he met two months ago would never compromise just to avoid ruining his excitement. But this…
Today, he felt that she was closer, a little closer to him.
"Hmmm…I can see you are becoming bolder and bolder every day. How could a husband call his wife a bad actress? Wouldn't that hurt a wife's feelings?" Lily diverted the topic. To be honest, a topic that involves emotions is something that she is trying to avoid.
It's not that Lily was in denial. In fact, Lily was very clear that she had already fallen madly in love with this man. This was the only explanation that she could come up with after all the compromises that she'd made, from trusting him to telling him her secrets and worries. She knew that she was already in too deep. However, she chose not to tell him this. At least not now.
"My apologies, Your Highness. Your Highness indeed has an outstanding talent for acting," he said. Lily could feel his hot breath against her ears.
"Since you are so kind as to call me Your Highness, I will tell you a little secret," she smiled.
"Hm?"
"I know how to drive," Lily blurted. "But I am too lazy."
Her words earned another chuckle from Zhuo Jingren. "Then just continue pretending that you don't know how to drive. So…"
"Please don't say 'so you can be my driver forever.' That would be too cheesy," she interrupted him as they both broke into laughter.
"Now, you can not only guess my gifts, but even complete my sentences?. I wonder if there is a bit of telepathy between our hearts?"
Lily involuntarily shivered at Zhuo Jingren's words. "You are making me cringe, President Zhuo. Stop being so…"Lily turned around to look at the man who was smiling behind her.
"So… what?"
Lily stared at him, "Being cute does not suit you at all."
"Ah... please don't call me cute. I would rather you call me 'mine' instead," he said in a serious tone, making Lily stifle a laugh.
"Alright…" Lily nodded as she snaked her arms around his neck. Then she rose up on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his. "Mine," she whispered.