Chapter 135

Octavian was taken aback when he finished reading Franklin's diary and saw his insights on investment banking. He was certain Mr. Zhou must have been equally surprised, as he had spent a long moment pressing his temples in silence before laughing softly and saying, "Interesting."

Having worked with Mr. Zhou for many years, Octavian knew that when he said something was "interesting," it meant he wanted it investigated. So, Octavian discreetly looked into it.

The findings were shocking and startling. What shocked him was that Franklin, despite his apparent hedonistic lifestyle abroad, had actually been a formidable investor in secret, with a sharp eye for opportunities. Those who had dealt with him referred to him as a genius in investment.

The startling part was Franklin's deep affection for Lily.

During his years abroad, Franklin had visited the city where Lily lived every year, staying at a hotel directly opposite her residence, always reserving the same room. The hotel manager, a friendly Chinese man, spoke of Franklin with a mix of admiration and regret.

"Lu is a very devoted man," he had said. "He comes here every year, sometimes staying for a day, sometimes half a month. He told me there's a girl he loves across the street."

"I told him to confess his feelings, but he said the girl already loved someone else deeply."

"I suggested they at least have a meal together, but he said she was ill and didn't want him to visit. He came secretly just to check on her, to make sure she was okay."

"Later, it seemed her health improved, and he visited her. He was very happy."

"Early this year, he passed through on a trip and was in a terrible mood. He drank heavily and collapsed on the hotel steps. It was raining that night. I helped him to his room, and he told me the man the girl loved had broken her heart, but she remained steadfast."

"I joked that he should go and win her over. He was silent for a long time before saying that his love would overshadow her light, and he wanted her to always shine."

The manager had even recognized Lily from a photo Franklin showed him. "Yes, that's her," he had said.

Octavian was stunned to realize the depth of Franklin's feelings for Lily. He still remembered how Mr. Zhou had sat in silence for a long time after reading all the information, smoking two cigarettes. After the second cigarette, he had taken a small black storage box from the car and burned all the documents inside.

Mr. Zhou had explained to him, "If I had known Franklin loved her before we got married, I would have let them be together. Franklin is close to her age and loves her deeply. I could have helped him grow, made him capable of protecting her. But now, it's too late. Lily is already my wife. I can't let her go. I must pretend none of this ever happened."

Octavian understood that this meant he was to keep silent.

"Mr. Pan?"

Lily waved her hand in front of Octavian's eyes, bringing him back to the present. He had been lost in thought, staring at the pomegranate in her hand. The elevator was almost at their floor, and he hadn't said a word, completely zoning out.

"Mr. Pan," she repeated, "Do you want the pomegranate?"

She clutched the fruit to her chest, "This one's for Franklin. Edmond said there are plenty more. I'll get you some when I go back."

Octavian sighed inwardly. Did he want the pomegranate? No, he wanted to tell her to show some compassion for her husband. Edmond knew she loved pomegranates, so he had specially arranged for them to be flown in from the orchard. Each one delivered to the office was handpicked, the best of the lot, all for her. And yet, here she was, giving one to another man—one who secretly loved her.

Octavian finally managed a smile, "I don't like pomegranates, but Mr. Zhou does."

Edmond had said it once, and now Octavian was reiterating it. This time, Lily would remember it: Edmond liked pomegranates.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Octavian held the door for Lily to exit first, then followed her, discussing Franklin's recent activities on the way.

"Franklin has been here for a month and has already focused on a major AI project. During a meeting, Mr. Zhou approved his plan directly. The whole team is busy with it now."

"They've hired more people, and Mr. Zhou gave them the entire 58th floor. Franklin has a larger office now."

As they walked, they reached Franklin's office door just as an investment department meeting was ending. Lily saw Franklin and several colleagues approaching. He was talking to someone and hadn't noticed her yet. Unlike the drunkard she had seen at CLu, Franklin now wore an expensive, sharp grey shirt and black trousers. He looked every bit the professional, an elite in the business world. No one would guess he was also the owner of CLu.

A colleague noticed Lily first and greeted her respectfully. Franklin turned, startled for a moment, then quickly walked over.

"Auntie, what brings you here? Are you here to see Uncle Edmond?"

Lily handed him the pomegranate. "This pomegranate is from a new batch. It's really sweet. I thought you might like it, so Uncle Edmond told me to bring you one."

Franklin took it with a big smile, "Thank Uncle Edmond for me."

Everyone around them thought, "Wow, Mr. Zhou is so good to his nephew. We should definitely stick with him."

Octavian felt increasingly sorry for his boss and decided to leave. He told Lily he had other matters to attend to and excused himself.

Franklin led Lily into his office. She looked around, noticing it was indeed larger and simply furnished, but very comfortable.

"Kyushu has a partnership with the TV station, and I'm the signed photographer for the project," Lily said. "Franklin, we'll soon be colleagues, in a way."

Franklin knew about this. He had met Aria when she came to sign the contract and had chatted with her briefly.

"So, where were you that day?" Lily asked.

She had eaten and drunk upstairs, so Franklin didn't offer her coffee. Instead, he took out two boxes of candies from his drawer and gave them to her.

"These are from overseas. I was going to bring them to your studio at noon, but you came here instead."

Hearing about Zeng Shao, Lily thought of her brother and Selena. She opened a candy box, which contained her favorite round fruit candies, and popped an orange one into her mouth.

"I went to CLu to find you that night," she said, "and ran into Selena. Yes, the big star Selena. She invited me to lunch. We ran into some trouble and had a fight."

She explained briefly. Franklin's face grew darker as he listened, his eyes scanning her for injuries.

"Did you get hurt?"

Lily waved it off, "No, our driver is amazing. He got there just in time and took care of them."

She looked at Franklin, somewhat annoyed. "Didn't you hear my lead-up? I went to CLu to find you that night. Why were you drunk over Wang Niannian? You've liked her for so long, and Zeng Shao had to be the one to tell me. It's infuriating."

She had thought, once he sobered up, that Zeng Shao would have told him she knew and was waiting for him to come to her. But he had just kept silent.

Franklin lowered his head, fiddling with the small sandalwood beads on his wrist, before finally speaking.

"Yes, I was infatuated. But she has someone she loves deeply. You always stand up for me, and I didn't want you to confront her and make things awkward."

So, he admitted it—he liked Wang Niannian.

Lily had been angry with him for hiding it, but after talking with Aria, she forgave him. Now, she was angry about something else.

"I understand that now, but why didn't you tell me Wang Niannian was going to marry Leopold? I told you how my former sister-in-law's marriage ended. You knew Leopold wasn't a good person and still let someone you cared about walk into the fire?"