316 Counter Attack

"He is alive?" Zhuo Jingren asked the moment Lily walked out of the hospital room. His face was solemn as he awaited Lily's reply.

"He is," she answered. "And the accident?"

"Successful. The world will know in a bit that you got into an accident just a few minutes ago," he said as he draped his coat over Lily's shoulders. "We can't let anyone see you right now."

"Alright," she nodded before she watched as Zhuo Jingren gave instructions to his people in charge of watching over Old Man Qin.  Zhang Yifei's counter attack was unexpected. To be honest, Lily did not anticipate the poisoning. While Zhuo Jingren had already hinted to her that Qin Hao might attack his father sooner or later, Lily did not predict that they would try to poison him just two days after they left Hong Kong.

Were they that afraid that the Old Man would discover everything that they'd done?

Of course, Lily's counter attack was just as unexpected. Since they wanted to frame Lily, why not ride the opportunity and frame them back? Lily was sure that once the media found out that Old Man Qin had been poisoned in her office they would come up with hundreds of theories.

Lily was sure that Qin Hao would use this opportunity to reveal that she is a Qin from the Mainland. He would surely pin the blame on Lily, and he might even label her as someone who wanted the Old Man dead in order to get his money. He might even say that the Old Man was there to discuss his will. Obviously Lily anticipated Qin Hao's every move so she asked Zhuo Jingren to make it appear that she also encountered an accident just a few minutes after the Old Man was poisoned.

This would counter two things. First, this would stop Qin Hao from revealing that she is a Qin from the main branch. Revealing this could only mean that someone's after both the Old Man and Lily's lives, and people would eventually speculate that it has something to do with the inheritance. Of course, the blame would be pinned on Qin Hao as without Lily and the Old Man, Qin Hao stood to reap the most benefits of them all.

Second, this would stop Qin Hao from framing Lily. How could he frame someone who was currently lying on a hospital bed because someone tried to kill them? Wouldn't that only show how ruthless he is?

"We're done," Zhuo Jingren said. "The CCTVs will be cleared once we leave. The Qins might arrive at any time. After that, I will reveal what happened to you," he said as he draped his arm around Lily's shoulders.

The war of schemes has just begun.

….

"Accident?" Naturally, Zhang Yifei would be the first person to know this as she had her eyes on Lily. Unlike Qin Hao who is careless and impulsive, Zhang Yifei wanted to make sure that she had everything covered so she used her resources to spy on Lily. "Cunning brat," she hissed. How could she fail to calculate Lily's logic behind this accident?

"And Qin Hao?" she asked the person on the other side of the phone.

"Clueless," replied the feminine voice. "Listen, I think this is becoming more dangerous. I'm afraid that…"

"No," Zhang Yifei swiftly answered. "I am not letting her win," she declared.

"I am not saying that we let her win. All I'm saying is we devise something more solid against her. Framing Lily didn't work, and if Qin Hao continues to follow his initial plan the world will turn against him."

Zhang Yifei's mood became solemn as she continued listening to the person on the other line. "I will contact you soon," Zhang Yifei said before she destroyed yet another burner phone. She clenched her jaw as she studied at her appearance in the mirror. Will she really allow a child to defeat her?

Zhang Yifei narrowed her eyes at the woman in the reflection, then she adjusted her expression to make it look a little gentler.

Once upon a time, she was but a child when she first joined this family. At first she felt grateful for Old Man Qin's kindness, however this all changed when she met her brother in her teens. When her brother informed her of the facts regarding their father's death, Zhang Yifei learned that he died not because he tried to save the old man but it was because the old man used him as a shield. Zhang Yifei almost lost it! How could Old Man Qin do that to his best friend?

At first she didn't believe Zhang Chen, but everything changed when she heard Old Man Qin apologizing at their father's grave. It all changed when she heard him admit that he was such an incredible coward back then and that he regretted everything that he'd done.

Was an apology really enough?

Old Man Qin ruined Zhang Yifei's family! He was a ruthless man who deserved nothing but the worst of everything. And so she begun scheming… She wanted the Qin Family ruined. She wanted them to suffer day after day without knowing why or how this could have happened.

The Qin Family were people with money and influence. They were men who carried themselves with grace, earning the respect and admiration of people everywhere they went. What better way to make them suffer than tormenting them while they ate from the palm of her hand? Zhang Yifei wanted to show them how vulnerable they were. In spite of their money and education, they were still insipid men who someone as meek and feminine as her could easily manipulate.

She wanted to manipulate them onto the path of their destruction! Every last one of them!

That was until a variable called Lily showed up. How could Zhang Yifei ignore the two groups of people who were searching for the doctor who ruined Lily? How could she ignore the evil deeds that Lily did to Qin Mo and He Xinlan? Lily's unpredictability was a danger to her plans, and then Zhuo Jingren entered the picture as well.

How could she fight against two entities as powerful as that pair? Of course, their power doesn't really mean anything unless they know how to use it - and that was actually the scariest part of it all. Lily and Zhuo Jingren's synced behavior was truly unexpected.

Zhang Yifei couldn't determine if this was all Lily's plan or if it was the work of Zhuo Jingren. Or maybe even both. Nevertheless, Zhang Yifei was sure of one thing and one thing only, and that is… she has encountered a very capable enemy who could topple all of her hard work and schemes.