495 Burning Cookbooks

When Lily arrived in Zhou Jingren's office she immediately gave him his lunch before taking another nap. For some reason, she had been really tired since they arrived from Singapore. Of course, to Lily, this was normal. After all, they spent most of their time walking in Singapore. It is not surprising that the trip would tire her this much.

The sound of soft jazz woke Lily up from her nap. She immediately glanced at the watch and frowned when she realized that it was already three in the afternoon. Who takes a three-hour nap?

"Madam, The President is still in the conference room." Secretary Go spoke when he notice that Lily is already awake. He stood a few feet away from Lher. "He said that if you want to buy cookbooks and other stuff for the kitchen, use his card." He handed her a sleek black card that Lily immediately recognized as one of the invite-only credit cards that Zhou Capital offers.

"I was expecting him to accompany me," she uttered in a gloomy voice. "But yeah… it's alright. He said that some American clients are coming over today?"

"Yes, they will stay in Hong Kong for three days before they visit Zhou Capital's branches in Mainland China. I already sent a copy of the President's schedule for this week and the next to Miss Yang."

Lily smiled as she rose from the couch. "Very efficient, Jichen." She said before going to the bathroom in Zhou Jingren's office so she could freshen up before she started shopping. Since Secretary Go was inside the office, Lily knew that Yang Mi must be waiting for her outside or in the lobby.

For some reason, since the accident, Yang Mi and Go Jichen have stopped talking and had been avoiding each other.

"Alright, tell him to meet me at home. I will cook something special." Lily said before leaving Zhou Jingren's office. While she wanted him to come and shop with her, Lily also understood that he needed to run a business so he could feed her. Lily laughed at her own thoughts.

...

Harmony Isle

"President, I think you should include these baking books too." Yang Mi said as she eyed the pile of cookbooks in Lily's cart. "Maybe some desserts too. I mean… everyone loves sweets."

"Hmmm… alright. Put it in." She looked at the current pile of books before she nodded. When it comes to learning, there is no such as thing as enough. Since she will be staying at home anyway, Lily decided to learn new things- a lot of them. "Also… can you choose some books about self-defense for me? I don't know… maybe archery too."

Yang Mi immediately eyed Lily's thin arms before she pursed her lips and reluctantly nodded. Surely, President Zhou would not allow her to learn these things without proper exercise and preparation, right?

"President, someone is following us, a paparazzi." Yang Mi suddenly lowered her voice as she handed Lily the book that she chose for her. She had notice this guy following them for a while now, yet she chose not to say anything and observed him instead,

"Really?" Of course, this would surprise Lily. She was not a famous celebrity or a scandalous businessman. Why would someone follow her around while taking her boring pictures?

"Should I call President Zhou and let him know?"

"It's alright." Lily shrugged. "I will let him know tonight." She uttered. She wondered what kind of person would decide to follow her around like this? Were they extremely bored that they decide to follow a businesswoman shop for books? "Hmmm… I think we should go and shop for other things too… pillowcases and… towels. Yeah, I think I need a new one. Also... I may need some baking tools as well." Lily said.

The duo then spent the rest of the day shopping some things that Lily needed in Sky City as well as some ingredients for tonight's dinner.

This time Lily decided to make some beef stroganoff. Of course, with the cookbooks that she had, she was sure that she could easily pull it off.

Since Lily was alone in the house, Yang Mi insisted that she stay to help her out with her cooking. Additionally, she also wanted to accompany her and does not like to leave her alone without President Zhou in the house.

"President… I think I smell something… burning?"

"Whatis it!?" Lily roamed her eyes inside the kitchen and just as expected she could smell what seemed like... paper.

Yang Mi furrowed her brows before she eyed the cookbook that Lily accidentally left on the burner and went to get it. As expected, half of the cover was already burnt.

Seeing the surprise and horro in Lily's eyes, Yang Mi immediately said. "Please, don't worry President, I will not tell President Zhou about this." She attempted to comfort Lily. "I will immediately throw this away."

"Throw away what?"

Both Lily and Yang Mi widened their eyes as they turned to look at the devilishly handsome Zhou Jingren a few feet away from them. A smile was already on the man's face as he shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Why are you here?" Lily asked. "I — What I mean was…" she did not finish her sentence when she saw Zhou Jingren looked at the burned cookbook. "I — That was a mistake." She stuttered, her face turning red as she looked at Yang Mi. "I think… I think you can leave now."

Of course, Yang Mi did not wait for Lily to repeat her words. She immediately bolted out, of the kitchen and went straight out of the house. Even Yang Mi could not imagine the amount of embarrassment that Lily must have felt at that moment. Still, when Yang Mi reached the lobby, she was not able to stop herself from laughing.

Who burns their own cookbook while cooking? Lily was extremely good at scheming when it comes to making money. Yet… her cooking skills are…

Yang Mi burst into another puddle of laughter before she shook her head. Ah, she had never seen Lily that flustered before. Yang Mi was sure that she will remember this event her whole life.

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Meanwhile, in Mainland China.

It was dark, suffocating as the only thing that illuminated the room was a scented candle. The smell of jasmine wafted inside the room. Yet, it did not change the cold atmosphere that the woman in the leather chair was immiting.

"Madam, the articles are ready. Shall we go ahead and release it now?"

"No." The woman wearing a long cheongsam shook her head. "Do it tomorrow at six in the morning. I want to wake the whole of Hong Kong and China with a big surprise." She said, her sweet voice echoed inside her room as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

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Mass release today: Total of 5 chapters.

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