The Villain's Wife

"I have the same thoughts as you." Zhuo Jingren nodded which made Lily freeze. Did she just voice her thoughts out loud to Zhuo Jingren?

"I presume you didn't find anything when you checked the CCTVs?" Lily asked.

"Hmmm…it is possible that they were hacked. I am still working on it but I know I will soon find out the identity of the person who left behind those images," he answered confidently before grabbing one of the lunch boxes in front of him. He placed it in front of Lily, gesturing for her to open it. "Let's not talk about this right now and have our lunch. I will keep you up to date."

As Zhuo Jingren had lived in Japan for many years, he had been influenced by Japanese culture and had even learned how to prepare a few specialty dishes in Japanese cuisine. For lunch, he had specially prepared a bento box for the both of them.

Lily gave him a curious look before she opened her bento box. She immediately raised an eyebrow in amazement at what she saw inside. It was an assortment of colours and the food looked like they had been arranged with great care.

"Those are sesame crusted tofu," Zhuo Jingren pointed out before he eagerly explained each dish inside the big bento box. "Stir-fry green veggies; broccoli and carrots. I'm not sure if you like seaweed, you can leave it aside if you don't like it. And some turkey spinach wraps." Then he picked up a turkey wrap with his chopsticks and brought it to Lily's mouth. "You should try this."

Lily gave Zhuo Jingren a look of disbelief. Was he going to fed her in front of their secretaries? Seeing as Zhuo Jingren was not budging, Lily shook her head inwardly before she opened her mouth to take a bite at the wrap.

"How is it?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yang Mi, Go Jichen, you may go and have your lunch now, unless you want to join us?" Lily casually said but in fact, she was embarrassed. She was glad that she had chosen to wear a turtleneck today for it hid the redness that was spreading from her neck.

Yang Mi and Go Jichen had been trying to make themselves invisible by working silently at the far end of Zhuo Jingren's office. At Lily's suggestion, they simply nodded their heads before walking out of the office together with their heads lowered. Staying would only mean being fed more dog food ah. What was more awkward than being fed dog food from your own boss? They might even get diabetes just by watching the two of them being all sweet with each other.

"You scared them away," Lily said as she started to eat.

"You were the one who asked them to leave," Zhuo Jingren said. "Not that I am complaining. You read my mind. I was about to ask them to leave too. Don't you think we have so much chemistry? We even think alike."

Lily rolled her eyes at Zhuo Jingren while she continued eating. As expected, the food tasted as good as it looked. She also noticed that Zhuo Jingren's mood seemed better now, as if a weight had been lifted from his mind.

"Speaking of minds… I remember you were a little dumb before, no? How did you become so intelligent now?"

Though Lily knew that he was just teasing her, she looked at him and answered seriously, "I am not intelligent. But I am smart and I work extra hard. There's a difference."

Zhuo Jingren nodded at her words. Intelligence was indeed different from being smart.

"So do you know who spread the news about your marriage?" Lily asked.

"Someone from the Mu family."

"Mu Qingling?" she furrowed her brows.

"Possibly. Her father and mother had requested a meeting with me."

Lily turned silent. Mu Qingling was the only person who would have the guts to spread the news. Though Lily didn't understand the reason behind her actions, it couldn't possibly come with a good intent.

The couple enjoyed the rest of their lunch silently, each occupied with their own thoughts. While Lily was thinking about Liam and Xuan Hui's scheme, Zhuo Jingren was mulling about Secretary Go's update about Lily's past.

The only person he could think of who might have a motive to harm Lily's baby was Xuan Hui's mother. As she was a very close friend of the Madam of the Mu family, she might have borrowed her friend's influence to get rid of all the hospital staff who had worked on that particular night shift.

But the only question is why? Why harm an innocent soul?

After their lunch, Lily worked for a little while longer before taking her leave. She intended to go shopping for new clothes. As she had originally planning on staying here for only for a month, she hadn't brought much clothes with her. Who would have thought that she would get married and would even make a decision to settle down in Hong Kong.

"Shopping for new clothes? But haven't I got you a wardrobe full of clothes. I could always-"

"I love it," Lily responded. "But I will be buying some personal stuff." She winked and gave him a smile.

"Oh… Alright," Zhuo Jingren said, oblivious to the hidden meaning behind Lily's words as he went to fetch a sleek black card from his drawer. "This is for you. My salary is credited inside here. You can use it however you want."

Lily immediately gave him a look of disbelief. "No thanks. I have my own-"

"I was not asking," he said. "You are my wife. It's my responsibility, joy and privilege to pamper you."

"It's okay… I don't need-"

"Lily…" Zhuo Jingren rose from his seat and walked towards her. "You are earning for yourself and I am earning for you," he sincerely said as he placed the card in her hand. Even though his wife was capable of making her own money, he was traditional in his mindset and believed that a wife needed to be pampered by her husband.

Moreover, everything that he had worked to achieve all these years, was all for Lily. All these years, Zhuo Jingren had been diligently saving up his salary and bonuses so that he could hand them all to Lily one day. In his heart, all the money he had belonged to Lily.

Seeing the latter being so resolute, Lily simply nodded and accepted the card with a smile. Who was she kidding? 'Money is still money after all. You can't really have enough of it. Right?'

Of course, Lily still preferred to use her own money. It was not because of her pride, but the fact that it gave her great satisfaction to be able to afford things on her own.

…

Panda Novel