"Why?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

  "I don’t know you. Isn’t that enough of a reason?" she retorted. What this man did upset her, but for some reason, thinking about their unborn child made Lily a little soft towards him.

  "I don’t really see any problem with that. We could spend the rest of our lives getting to know each other," he insisted, inwardly praising himself for having the courage to say these things to Lily.

  "You use to be a shy little boy," she recounted, her gaze calm.

  "And you used to be nice and sweet."

  "Now you are being shameless," she said, ignoring his previous words.

  "No, Miss Qin, it is you that is being shameless…… You were the one who had taken advantage of me in my drunken state. And now you are refusing to marry me."

  "What drunken state? You were not drunk…… no drunk person could perform like that!"

  Seeing the pointlessness of the conversation, a flash disbelief was seen on Zhuo Jingren’s face as he continued to look at Lily. How could she refuse his proposal?

  "Then what would it take for you to marry me?" he asked.

  This question caught Lily off guard. Was this man really serious? Lily remembered how the rumors said that President Zhuo was a cold and ruthless man, and a leader of a mafia organization from Japan. Before today’s meeting, Lily had the impression that she was going to meet a cold and domineering man who could intimidate you to submission with his deathly glare. However, this man before her…… Lily eyed Zhuo Jingren suspiciously.

  "Are you really President Zhuo?" she asked. "This is just…… I don’t know…… out of your character?" However, her question was met with his intense stare, like a child waiting for his mother to answer his burning question about the stars and the moon.

  Seeing as the man in front of her was not budging, Lily let out a sigh. "There is no way that I will marry you."

  "Why? Am I not good-looking enough? Or do you think that I am not as rich as you? Or is it…… that you want me to court you properly and let you experience being in a relationship before marriage?" Lily’s eyes bulge in surprise and disbelief. How persistent! How could this man talk about marriage so casually as if it was not something that would change their whole lives?

  "I already promised myself that I would live out the rest of my life without a man," she declared.

  "But you need a husband in order to claim your grandfather’s inheritance."

  "Why am I not surprised that you knew that?" Lily said sarcastically. "Let me ask you this, President Zhuo, why do you want to marry me? It wouldn’t be as simple as me being your first love, right?"

  "What if it was really as simple as that?" he asked.

  "I won’t believe you." She looked straight into his troubled eyes. "There is no such thing as love."

  "Then why not marry me, and I will use the rest of my life to prove to you that love exists"

  Lily was speechless at this man’s shamelessness. Zhuo Jingren gave her a smile. "Give me a month to court you. After that if you still think that I don’t deserve to be your husband, I won’t bother you anymore."

  "A month?" she raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes, I will prove to you that I have no ill-intent towards you. I just want a chance."

  Actually, a marriage with Zhuo Jingren would be very advantageous for both parties. They were both accomplished in the business world and working together would only mean profits and more profits. If it was another man with similar accomplishments, wealth and status who was proposing marriage, she would have considered the offer seriously. However, she felt that their past would seriously complicate things. Should this man know that she lost his child due to her carelessness, he would surely change his opinion towards her. Till today, she was still filled with guilt.

  A tinge of sadness flashed in Lily’s eyes as she thought about her unborn child. The grim in Lily’s eyes were so apparent that it turned the atmosphere gloomy. She shook her head and gave him a sad smile. After all that she had been through, Lily was also convinced that nothing is permanent, love is fleeting and people will change. "We should stop this. I have no interest in marrying you."

  "Stop this madness…… love will only make you weak and vulnerable." She rose from her seat before looking straight into his eyes. "I came here with the intention to talk to you about the shares you have in Qin Enterprises. I certainly did not expect today’s meeting to turn out like this. I am no longer in the mood to talk about the shares today so I am going to schedule another meeting with you in the future. I hope that by then we can talk about business properly."

  Lily turned around and walked towards the door. However, before she could reach for the handle of the glass door, Zhuo Jingren grabbed her hand. "I am a very persistent person Miss Qin. I have already waited fifteen years. I wouldn’t mind waiting for another year or two for you."

  "And I am a very stubborn woman. I have been alone for seven years and I wouldn’t change my mind just because of a single one-night stand."

  "Then, let’s see……who will win."

  "I hope you can take disappointment well then." She gave a shrug and pulled her hand away from his grip. "Goodbye President Zhuo."

  "I will see you again Lily……" he muttered while looking at Lily’s retreating back, her frame getting smaller and smaller until she disappeared as she turned a corner.

  Editor: Swaning