"Who told you my wife doesn't like little red sandalwood beads? How do you know she doesn't like them? You take all the good things back for Zoya. Zoya doesn't seem like your sister; she seems like your wife."
"You don't want to marry Wang Niannian and want my wife to help you overturn the table, making her the bad guy. She'll offend Director Wang and ruin your marriage plans. How many people who don't know the truth will attack her?"
"You can't think of these things? No, you know. You just don't care about her. You haven't considered her feelings. If you truly regarded her as your sister, would you set her up like this?"
"She is indeed Lily, and she's part of the Jian family. But she married me and took my name, Edmond. When you bully her, you're stepping on my face."
"You should be thankful that L&S is in trouble because, before the call from reporter Sun, I was planning to take away all of L&S's projects for a whole year to avenge my wife."
Leopold's face darkened like charcoal. Edmond turned to Brooks, who was in shock, and said, "With such a biased brother, do you think he won't join forces with Zoya to kick Lily out? Chairman Jian, do you believe that? Because I certainly don't."
He pulled out a napkin and carefully wiped the pomegranate juice from his hands. "It's not impossible to help, nor is it impossible to protect L&S. As I said, I will only help my wife."
Even Brooks, who wasn't particularly bright, understood Edmond's implication: he was demanding shares for Lily. While Brooks hesitated, his secretary called to inform him that reporter Sun was already packing up to leave the hospital.
He could only ask, "How much do you want?"
Edmond was ruthless in his demands, "Within two years, she should hold as many shares as Leopold."
He even kindly suggested, "Chairman Jian, if I were you, I'd give all of Zoya's shares to her. Zoya will get married eventually, and the man on the other side will covet her shares, causing endless trouble."
Brooks, holding back his anger, retorted, "But Lily is also married."
Edmond's response was lethal, "She married me. Do you think I care about L&S? Maybe when the old lady was around, but over the years, L&S has been nearly torn apart by you. I don't have the time to clean up your mess."
Edmond poured a cup of cooling tea for his father-in-law, who was fuming like a pufferfish. "If you need my help in the future, you don't have to go through so much trouble and roundabout tactics. As long as Lily has significant power in L&S, I won't stand by if L&S is in trouble."
Brooks drank the cooling tea and finally realized one thing: Lily was the key to L&S's future prosperity. He had to treat her like a goddess!
...
Lily felt that her father's gaze before he left was a bit strange, almost like he had a sudden revelation while looking at a deity. She pushed open the door to Edmond's office, ready to ask what was going on, but saw him on the phone. She quickly closed her mouth and quietly sat on the sofa. Noticing a plate of peeled pomegranates, she picked a few and was about to eat them but remembered Edmond liked them. So she held the plate and waited for him.
When he finished the call, she ran over and handed him the plate, "For you."
Edmond smiled, "I peeled them myself. You're just offering me my own work."
Seeing her blush with embarrassment, he took a coat from the rack and held her other hand. "You hold them and feed me on the way."
Lily followed him out, protecting the pomegranates carefully. "Where are we going? Home?"
"Reporter Sun is being discharged from the hospital. We're going to pick him up and introduce you to him," Edmond replied.
It was a twenty-minute drive from Jingxiu to the hospital. On the way, Edmond explained why he wanted Lily to meet reporter Sun. "The project Jingxiu is working on with the TV station is being handled by Sun Yimiao. As the on-site photographer, you'll be seeing him often."
They arrived at the hospital just before noon. Two men were standing at the entrance. Lily had never seen Sun Yimiao's program or him on TV. The first time she heard his name was from Leopold's phone call.
Edmond pointed to the man on the left and introduced him, "Sun Yimiao, chief reporter at Jiangyu TV Station."
Following his gaze, Lily saw a tall, slender man, about thirty-five years old, of average appearance, with a buzz cut, dressed in loose and comfortable blue sportswear. His forehead was bandaged, and despite his sickly appearance, his eyes were sharp.
Sun Yimiao extended his hand with a gentle smile, "Hello."
Lily noticed a bite mark on the back of his right hand. Not too deep, but old. The sun overhead was a bit harsh. Though it was September and not hot enough to cause sunstroke, Lily felt dizzy and didn't immediately reach out to shake hands.
Edmond turned to look at her, noticing her pale, almost translucent face and her shaky stance. He quickly put his arm around her shoulders. "Not feeling well?"
Lily clenched her fist, pressing her nails into her palm to steady herself. She shook her head and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Maybe I ate too many pomegranates and my stomach feels a bit off."
Sun Yimiao's sharp eyes lingered on Lily for a few more seconds, then he nonchalantly shifted his gaze, smiling at Edmond, "Eating too many pomegranates can indeed cause digestive issues, especially the seeds, which can accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and lead to indigestion."
Seeing the worry still etched on Edmond's face, Lily tugged on his shirt sleeve. "I'm really fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."
She turned to Sun Yimiao and finally extended her hand, "Director Sun."
Edmond's hand remained on her shoulder, feeling her body tremble slightly despite her efforts to appear calm.
Edmond looked at Sun Yimiao, his eyes filled with growing suspicion.
It was lunchtime, and Edmond had already arranged a meal with Sun Yimiao over the phone before arriving. They went to a private restaurant downtown, with a room reserved by Octavian. There were four of them: Lily and Edmond, Sun Yimiao, and his assistant who had helped with his discharge.
The meal lasted over an hour, during which Edmond and Sun Yimiao chatted. Lily, however, didn't listen to the conversation. She stayed close to Edmond, eating silently and lost in her thoughts. Even when the meal ended and Edmond took her hand to leave, she remained in a daze.
She didn't snap out of it until they arrived at Huachun Mansion, the family villa. The driver had just pulled into the garage. Edmond asked her what she wanted to do in the afternoon. She said she was sleepy and wanted to nap, so Edmond led her to the bedroom.
Knowing he was busy, Lily said, "You can go back to the office. You don't need to stay with me. I'll message you when I wake up."
Edmond didn't let go of her hand, "I don't have anything this afternoon. I'm tired too."
The bedroom's blackout curtains made it almost as dark as night. Lily quickly fell asleep in Edmond's arms, drifting off within ten minutes. Edmond waited until her breathing steadied, then gently got out of bed.
...
Sun Yimiao was smoking on the sofa in his study when he received Edmond's call. Ignoring the doctor's advice, he had succumbed to his craving after several days of abstinence. He had just started his second cigarette when the phone rang.
"I know what you want to ask. You noticed your wife was completely out of sorts after meeting me, and you want to know why."
Edmond was in his study too, resisting the urge to smoke. He still had to go back and cuddle Lily, and he didn't want to smell like smoke. "So, what's going on?"
Sun Yimiao exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the bite mark on his right hand, lost in thought. After a long pause, he said, "Remember when you asked me about the bite mark on my hand, and I told you a young girl did it? I just found out today that the girl who left that mark is your wife."
The incident from years ago was something Sun Yimiao was reluctant to recall. It had been nearly eight years, but some memories, like wounds carved into bones, never faded and haunted him in his nightmares.
"Back then, I wasn't at the TV station yet; I was a news reporter for a newspaper. We received a tip about a mining company that had covered up the deaths of eleven miners in an accident. I was part of the team investigating it."
They had traveled deep into the mountains, interviewing the miners' colleagues and families, covering numerous villages.