“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” Lily poked a finger at Olivia’s forehead, pushing the latter back into her seat.“Hey! There are just some things we can’t explain in this world!” As Olivia took a seat, she explained herself, thinking that her words made a lot of sense. “Well, I think God is helping you punish him for all his bad deeds!”Lily shook her head. “That’s enough. I’m going to get the bill. Wait for me, gossip girl!” “You’re going to be so bored if I didn’t have all this gossip for you!” Olivia retorted in defense. When Lily stood up, she saw Olivia’s phone on the table. It still displayed pictures of the accident, making her think, ‘Is this really karma for Nathaniel?’After parting ways with Olivia, Lily went to Collectors Street. She looked around for interesting items, spending her rare free time in relaxation. This was a street that sold antiques, both authentic and fake ones. Buyers had to determine the authenticity of the goods by themselves.After wal
‘This boy is interesting. He looks so young, but his words are harsh. However, he still has much to learn when arguing with someone else. Just look at how mad he is after I retorted.’“Go away! Leave now if you’re not going to buy anything! You’re going to distract me from my work.” Instead of saying that Lily would disrupt his business, he said she would distract him from working. This shop owner was indeed an interesting one.However, Lily found it more fascinating to talk to him the more he talked back to her. “Who says I’m not buying anything? I just haven’t found an item I liked yet.”“There’s nothing you’ll like here! Just leave now!”‘Wow! It’s my first time seeing a business owner who shoos his customers away.’ Just as Lily was about to say something, she saw the curtain pushed aside, revealing an older man who rebuked the young man as soon as he came out. “You’re scaring away our customers again! Do you still want to work here? Get out if you don’t!”“I-I…” The young ma
"I think it has a unique scent," Lily said without beating around the bush. "Your shop has a scent that's a mixture of many things, so I'm guessing that you used different woods for your carvings, am I right?" At first, it puzzled the owner, but he finally understood what Lily meant. "Oh my! I see you're an expert. We use the best wood in our shop, and I assure you that you'll find what you want here. Ma'am, what type of wood would you like your carvings to be made from? You can also place an order if none of the goods here piqued your interest. Price-wise…""You take private orders for customization here, too?" Lily asked with interest. "Sure we do! After all, different customers have different likings and preferences. Although this is a small shop, we could meet most of our customers' needs. The customized items would cost more, but it's worth the price. The most important thing is you get what you want, making you happy."Lily could save a lot of time thanks to the owner's e
The owner stopped Lily since he could not miss such a money-making opportunity. "Ma'am, hold on! Thank you for appreciating and taking a liking to his work. That's a great affirmation to him. I'm in charge here, so he has no right to choose his tasks. He’ll take your order, and I promise he’ll create the perfect craft for you. You won't be disappointed!""Boss, I…""Shut up! Get out forever if you don't want to do this!"After Lily paid the deposit and took her receipt, she walked over to the block of wood that the young man was still carving. She lowered her gaze to look at it before bending down to pick up a scrap of wood. "Sir, can I take this with me?""Of course!" the owner said casually because it was just a tiny scrap of wood.Lily heard footsteps behind her a short while after she left the shop. She stopped without turning back and noticed that the person behind her had stopped too.She smiled and continued walking, then turned into an alley quickly. Her back was pressed
The young man was silent for a moment before he said in determination, “Yes! Is there a problem?”“Nope! Since that’s the case, I want you to use this type of wood for my order. As for what to carve, I need to think about it. Once I’ve decided, I’ll tell your boss about it,” she said, waving the scrap wood between her fingers and turning to leave.“Wait!” the young man called out anxiously behind her.Lily stood in her spot before she turned to face him again.“I’m not sure of the size you’d like. There might not be enough wood for that.” He was frowning, looking troubled. “That shouldn’t be a problem. You can let your boss know, and then he can purchase more wood.” Lily smiled and said casually, “You don’t need to worry about that. That’s your boss’ job.”“Well…” He pursed his lips. “The factory won’t have enough wood as well. Anyway, you just can’t use this type of wood.”He was hiding something from Lily. She did not force him to tell her but just smiled and looked at him. “
“Sigh,” The boy had lost his previous aggressive momentum and softened to let down his guard. “Frankly, this isn’t considered much for this type of timber. It’s not easy to enter the goods channel. If you want me to make small items, I’ll only manage to make one or two, but there’s no way I can make a big one.”Lily looked at his side profile and believed what he said was true. “This type of wood is expensive, yet you’re using it for practice?”“I’m not practicing. I’m carving it for myself,” the boy said softly. “My point is that you shouldn’t force it. It’s okay if there aren’t any.”“All right, I won’t force it.” Lily nodded since she had the answer she wanted. “How about this? You can use other kinds of wood for my order; I won’t force you to use this one. Still, you must let me have this piece of wood.”The boy was astonished when he heard what she said. “Why do you need that small piece?”“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s not anything bad.” She smiled. “Just tell me
No one would have expected Frank to be so daring as he did something like that in broad daylight. Lily grabbed his wrist with one hand and twisted it with all her might.“Gah!’ It was so painful that Frank cried out. However, he remained rooted on the spot.Lily blundered because she forgot that foreigners had different physiques, as Frank’s wrist was thicker. In contrast, her strength was little, so all she could do was twist his hand without breaking his wrist.Unbeknownst to Lily, she had ignited Frank’s desire to retaliate. There was a look of excitement in his blue eyes as he said, “What a wild and beautiful woman. I must say that I like you a lot.”“A*shole!” Lily spat and kicked his lower abdomen.This time, Frank was ready. He took a quick step backward to dodge and reached out to grab her leg so he could position himself for the next move. However, he did not anticipate that although he caught Lily’s leg, he could not handle her strength and flew backward.Bang!He land
"What's most important in modern society? It's your connections and resources. Do you think you’d go far without these or a famous person to guide you? I know the new product you invented was a success, but what will you do without connections? You think they’d allow a newcomer to win the annual perfume championship?" Frank stated menacingly."Your point being?" Lily stared at him coldly. She just wanted him to get to the point after making her listen to his gibberish."You should think wisely," Frank continued to smile at her. At that moment, he thought he was showing Lily his most handsome smile, but it was pretty contorted as he was still in pain. He tried his best to charm her. "A smart lady should know how to grab on to opportunities presented to her. Now, I'm giving you a chance. It's your choice whether or not to take it."Lily turned her head to the left and right, "Really? I don't see anything." "Aww," Frank immediately came closer to her. They were so close he could
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust