Chương 44: Secrets
June 18th, Saturday – 4th day
The plane landed in Tokyo slightly after one in the morning. From the airport, they boarded another helicopter and was in the air for another twenty minutes before landing in a place called Fussa City. By the time they landed, it was almost two in the morning and Lily was really sleepy.
"Where are we?" Lily stifled a yawn when she got off the helicopter.
"I purchased this land years ago and built a resort here. It's called 'The Countryside'," Zhuo Jingren said as he helped Lily carry her travel backpack containing her laptop and other personal items.
Lily roamed her eyes and caught sight of the lighted stone pathway in front of them. Since it was two in the morning, it was rather dark and she could not see much. However, she was certain that they were walking in what seemed to be a garden. Surprisingly, she caught no scent of flowers.
"We are currently in a garden that can be admired from the pavilion over there." Zhuo Jingren pointed at a stylish looking pavilion to his right. "I will give you a tour of the place tomorrow. For now, let's go to our villa."
Lily merely nodded at his words. She was too exhausted to even ask about this villa. All she wanted right now is to lie on a nice warm bed and have a dreamless sleep.
"Alright, here we are," Zhuo Jingren said while eyeing Lily who was in a daze. "This is a two bedroom villa. This is your room and I will be staying in the next room." He then opened the door for Lily and watched her enter the room absentmindedly without a word.
"Our stuff will be delivered later. For now, you can wear this set of pajamas," he said, handing her a set of blue and white striped pajamas for women. The latter accepted the pajamas before going into the bathroom wordlessly. Zhuo Jingren's lips quirked up into a smile. It was inevitable that Lily was this tired, after all, she had been awake for almost twenty-four hours now.
In less than five minutes, Lily walked out of the bathroom and went straight into bed, ignoring Zhuo Jingren who was sitting on her bed reading a Japanese magazine.
Zhuo Jingren looked up from his magazine and stared at Lily who was still as a piece of log. She lay on her stomach with her eyes closed and her hair was sprawled all over her face. "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave..." she muttered, the warmth of the soft mattress underneath her was lulling her to sleep.
When Lily's breathing started to get even, Zhuo Jingren let out a sigh before getting off her bed. He then slowly rolled her over so that she was sleeping on her back and then he covered her with the blanket. "Look at you. Sleeping mindlessly in the presence of a grown man." Zhuo Jingren then sat on his heels, still on the bed, his eyes never leaving her face.
He stared at Lily, his expression soft and gentle. Lily looked peaceful when she's sleeping. The lines that usually crease her brows were gone, making her face looked younger and softer. In her sleep, Lily looked vulnerable and angelic.
"Your walls are too high, my Lily," he muttered before tucking her hair behind her ears. "And you are hiding something from me."
"However, the secrets that you keep will never push me away Lily…" His lips slowly lifted into a smile, his eyes full of gentleness. "No secrets can scare me." Then he got up and turned off all the lights in Lily's room before walking through a connecting door to his own room.
After Zhuo Jingren left, the room fell into complete silence which was almost deafening. Lily rolled to her side with a conflicted expression on her face. Zhuo Jingren's words echoed inside her mind.
Secrets?
Lily bit her lip as tears started to pool in her eyes. She hugged herself, loneliness and sadness apparent in her eyes. Once her first tear fell, it was immediately followed by an unbroken stream. Then she closed her eyes and pressed her lips firmly, trying to suppress a sob. Maybe Li Shanshan was right, Zhuo Jingren should know the truth.
Lily let out a long sigh before she rubbed her cheek against the warm pillow. Warmth and darkness enveloped her as shadow of determination flashed in her eyes. Lily tussled with her conflicting thoughts before she arrived at a conclusion. She would not let this weekend end without letting him know the truth.
…
Upon waking up, Lily snuggled a while in the soft sheets before she hesitantly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She checked her phone that was conveniently placed on her bedside table.
Ten in the morning.
She slowly stretched her arms and legs and let out a yawn before she buried her face into the pillows again. For some reason, Lily felt a little relax today. Her sleepy eyes surveyed the room and that was when she realized that she was not in her apartment. She instantly jolted up, the sleepiness that she felt earlier was gone as her mind caught up with current events.
She was in a luxurious room with beige and white as the theme. To her right, woven textile shutters covered a door that should led her to the patio. To her left, there was a small wooden dining table set with two chairs and a white couch.The room was also furnished with a minibar and refrigerator.
Lily dragged her feet out of her bed and slowly walked towards the woven shutters, highly anticipating the view that she would get to see beyond those shutters. Zhuo Jingren should have arranged a room with the best view for her right? And what she saw did not disappoint her. The floor to ceiling glass door revealed an enchanting view of a sparkling lake.
She opened the door excitedly and walked out of her room, and was welcomed by a whiff of fresh air that made her smile. Just outside her room was an outdoor seating area, furnished with a wooden table and some chairs, with greeneries all around. It was serene and beautiful.
"Morning, beautiful." Turning around towards the sound of the voice, she finally noticed Zhuo Jingren who was sitting on one of the chairs. Today, he was wearing a white slim fit t-shirt, paired with a gray jogger and white trainers. The man look casual and undeniably hot.
However Lily was quick to move her eyes away from his body before she answered, "Morning. What are we going to do today?" Since she had already decided to tell him her secret, she figured that she should try to enjoy this little vacation that seldom come by ever since she started working for her maternal grandmother.
…
Editor: Swaning
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
TheBlips
TheBlips 1st: Fussa City exist but everything that I wrote about it is imaginary since I have never been to Japan. hehe...
2nd: Please dont forget to vote and send some love.
Hugs and Kisses,
Blips
Chương 45: Firefly Festival
"Go get dressed. Let's have brunch first then I will bring you on a tour around the resort," he said. As Zhuo Jingren watched Lily returning to her room quietly, he thought about how amazing it was to be able to spend the weekend with Lily. This was something that he never thought was possible just a few days back. Even though Lily was still treating him like a stranger, Zhuo Jingren was not planning to give up until she agrees to marry him.
While waiting for Lily to get ready, Zhuo Jingren took out his DSLR camera to take some pictures of the scenery. As Zhuo Jingren was adjusting the focus of his lens to capture a bird that was resting on a branch of a tree, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning his head towards the sound, he was blown away by how breathtakingly beautiful Lily looked that his mouth was slightly agape.
Lily was wearing a boat neck long sleeve shirt in beige paired with a rugged blue denim shorts that accentuated her long legs. She had on some comfortable white sneakers. Her eyes were covered by her brown shades and her hair was up in a loose bun.
"Let's go. I'm hungry." Lily's words woke him up from his stupor.
"Alright," he said before walking up to Lily. He started leading to a restaurant that was in the resort which was only a short walk away. "The main highlight of this resort is the natural hot spring that has attracted many visitors here. It is really good. I suggest we try it ourselves tonight. Plus I have something really nice to show you."
"Okay." Lily's positive response surprised Zhuo Jingren. Actually, he thought that Lily might be uncomfortable with the idea of going to the hot spring with him. He instantly beamed, excitement apparent on his face. All the tension pending inside him went away just like that. Now he was excited, maybe even giddy. This would be his first date with Lily and he began to picture everything in his mind. He was planning to take her for a walk first and then take the initiative to hold her hand. They would take a walk around the lake and maybe count some ducks or swans. Maybe they could even end this day with a kiss.
Zhuo Jingren was excited ah.
While Zhuo Jingren was carried away in his thoughts, Lily was calmly examining the winding walkway that they are walking through. Aside from their own villa, Lily saw three more villas spaced apart, with tiled roofs and dark stained cedar walls. She realized that the resort was huge and also very quiet and peaceful. The only thing that Lily could hear apart from their own footsteps were the occasional singing of birds and the humming wind. Moreover, she also realized that she had not seen any other guests in the resort. "This place is so big. What do people use to travel around?" she asked.
"Buggy or bike," Zhuo Jingren answered. "The resort was also designed to be self-sufficient. We grow our own vegetables and we even have our own rice plantation. We also farm our own seafood, like prawns, fish, mussels, clams, oysters, scallops in our lake. In a nutshell, our farms provide supplies for our restaurants."
"Hmm… Impressive." Lily nodded. "By the way, why did you bring me here?"
"I know how busy you are and thought that you needed a break. Besides that, I want to bring you to see the Firefly Festival that this city celebrates. Tonight at nine, the people in town will release at least 500 fireflies at the lakeside. It will be a spectacular view from our villa."
"Oh." After another two minutes of walking, Lily and Zhuo Jingren arrived at the restaurant that was located at the highest point of the resort. The ambience of the restaurant pleasantly surprised Lily. It had minimalist wooden furniture and lanterns hanging all around that exude elegance and luxury. A section of the wall was made of glass, allowing the diners to have a view of the lake and the surrounding mini forest.
There was also an outside seating with an infinity pool next to it. "That's a freshwater infinity pool," Zhuo Jingren remarked when he noticed Lily eyeing the pool.
"Nice," she praised before taking a seat. As Lily studied the menu, Zhuo Jingren made some recommendations. When the waiter came to take their orders, Zhuo Jingren made sure to order all of the restaurant's specialties. It didn't matter to Zhuo Jingren if they had ordered more food than they could finish. More importantly, he wanted to be sure that Lily had an enjoyable meal.
"I never thought that you would agree to come here with me," Zhuo Jingren said as he propped his face up with his hand, watching Lily taking sips from a glass of juice.
"Me too," she answered. "I heard that you are a dangerous man and your business started in this country. Is that right?"
"Hmmm…" he nodded, smiling at her. "I was adopted by my late father when I was seventeen. When he died years ago, he gave me everything that he had… including his organization."
"Yakuza?" she asked.
"Used to be," he answered almost immediately. "After many years of illegal activities, Yakuza's activities began to slow down because of Japan's strict laws. So they chose to switch to the legal business. My father was one of those Yakuza leaders who left the illegal community and switched to the financial industry."
"And by legal, you mean, banks and insurance?"
Zhuo Jingren nodded and smiled.
Lily glanced briefly at Zhuo Jingren before looking away. The man's smile in front of her was like a ray of sunshine, it was warm and blinding. Lily knew that this man treated her differently compared to others. In her knowledge, Zhuo Jingren was ruthless in the business world. Coupled with his involvement in the Yakuza, she was certain that he was a very dangerous man.
"Mr Zhuo." Lily's thoughts were interrupted by a man in a black suit approaching them. "I didn't even know that you are here. You could have given me a call so that I could prepare a grand welcome for you." The man spoke in fluent Nihongo. The man was obviously shorter than Zhuo Jingren. He had a cunning fox like smile on his face as he darted his gaze towards Lily.
"Riku," Zhuo Jingren rose from his seat and shook the man's hand. Then he also spoke in fluent Nihongo. "I was occupied, hence I forgot to call you."
Riku only beamed at Zhuo Jingren before he turned his attention towards Lily. "Who is she?"
"My fiancée," Zhuo Jingren answered without batting an eye. "Lily."
….
Editor: Swaning
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
TheBlips
TheBlips
Firefly Festival exist in Fussa City. Aside from this, I totally made up the date and the number of fireflies. Just so you can picture it. I will post an image of this wonderful festival at my discord.
Or you can look it up on google. It's so nice...
Here is my discord invite: https://discord.gg/vuxM9SC
Don't forget to vote and send some love.
Much love,
Blips
Quà tặng
-- Nhận quà Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
200+ Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
101 Đá
Quyền lực 
bình luận đoạn văn