Firefly Festival

"Go get dressed. Let's have brunch first then I will bring you on a tour around the resort," he said. As Zhuo Jingren watched Lily returning to her room quietly, he thought about how amazing it was to be able to spend the weekend with Lily. This was something that he never thought was possible just a few days back. Even though Lily was still treating him like a stranger, Zhuo Jingren was not planning to give up until she agrees to marry him.

While waiting for Lily to get ready, Zhuo Jingren took out his DSLR camera to take some pictures of the scenery. As Zhuo Jingren was adjusting the focus of his lens to capture a bird that was resting on a branch of a tree, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning his head towards the sound, he was blown away by how breathtakingly beautiful Lily looked that his mouth was slightly agape. 

Lily was wearing a boat neck long sleeve shirt in beige paired with a rugged blue denim shorts that accentuated her long legs. She had on some comfortable white sneakers. Her eyes were covered by her brown shades and her hair was up in a loose bun.

"Let's go. I'm hungry." Lily's words woke him up from his stupor.

"Alright," he said before walking up to Lily. He started leading to a restaurant that was in the resort which was only a short walk away. "The main highlight of this resort is the natural hot spring that has attracted many visitors here. It is really good. I suggest we try it ourselves tonight. Plus I have something really nice to show you."

"Okay." Lily's positive response surprised Zhuo Jingren. Actually, he thought that Lily might be uncomfortable with the idea of going to the hot spring with him. He instantly beamed, excitement apparent on his face. All the tension pending inside him went away just like that. Now he was excited, maybe even giddy. This would be his first date with Lily and he began to picture everything in his mind. He was planning to take her for a walk first and then take the initiative to hold her hand. They would take a walk around the lake and maybe count some ducks or swans. Maybe they could even end this day with a kiss.

Zhuo Jingren was excited ah.

While Zhuo Jingren was carried away in his thoughts, Lily was calmly examining the winding walkway that they are walking through. Aside from their own villa, Lily saw three more villas spaced apart, with tiled roofs and dark stained cedar walls. She realized that the resort was huge and also very quiet and peaceful. The only thing that Lily could hear apart from their own footsteps were the occasional singing of birds and the humming wind. Moreover, she also realized that she had not seen any other guests in the resort. "This place is so big. What do people use to travel around?" she asked.

"Buggy or bike," Zhuo Jingren answered. "The resort was also designed to be self-sufficient. We grow our own vegetables and we even have our own rice plantation. We also farm our own seafood, like prawns, fish, mussels, clams, oysters, scallops in our lake. In a nutshell, our farms provide supplies for our restaurants."

"Hmm… Impressive." Lily nodded. "By the way, why did you bring me here?"

"I know how busy you are and thought that you needed a break. Besides that, I want to bring you to see the Firefly Festival that this city celebrates. Tonight at nine, the people in town will release at least 500 fireflies at the lakeside. It will be a spectacular view from our villa."

"Oh." After another two minutes of walking, Lily and Zhuo Jingren arrived at the restaurant that was located at the highest point of the resort. The ambience of the restaurant pleasantly surprised Lily. It had minimalist wooden furniture and lanterns hanging all around that exude elegance and luxury. A section of the wall was made of glass, allowing the diners to have a view of the lake and the surrounding mini forest.

There was also an outside seating with an infinity pool next to it. "That's a freshwater infinity pool," Zhuo Jingren remarked when he noticed Lily eyeing the pool.

"Nice," she praised before taking a seat. As Lily studied the menu, Zhuo Jingren made some recommendations. When the waiter came to take their orders, Zhuo Jingren made sure to order all of the restaurant's specialties. It didn't matter to Zhuo Jingren if they had ordered more food than they could finish. More importantly, he wanted to be sure that Lily had an enjoyable meal.

"I never thought that you would agree to come here with me," Zhuo Jingren said as he propped his face up with his hand, watching Lily taking sips from a glass of juice.

"Me too," she answered. "I heard that you are a dangerous man and your business started in this country. Is that right?"

"Hmmm…" he nodded, smiling at her. "I was adopted by my late father when I was seventeen. When he died years ago, he gave me everything that he had… including his organization."

"Yakuza?" she asked.

"Used to be," he answered almost immediately. "After many years of illegal activities, Yakuza's activities began to slow down because of Japan's strict laws. So they chose to switch to the legal business. My father was one of those Yakuza leaders who left the illegal community and switched to the financial industry."

"And by legal, you mean, banks and insurance?"

Zhuo Jingren nodded and smiled.

Lily glanced briefly at Zhuo Jingren before looking away. The man's smile in front of her was like a ray of sunshine, it was warm and blinding. Lily knew that this man treated her differently compared to others. In her knowledge, Zhuo Jingren was ruthless in the business world. Coupled with his involvement in the Yakuza, she was certain that he was a very dangerous man.

"Mr Zhuo." Lily's thoughts were interrupted by a man in a black suit approaching them. "I didn't even know that you are here. You could have given me a call so that I could prepare a grand welcome for you." The man spoke in fluent Nihongo. The man was obviously shorter than Zhuo Jingren. He had a cunning fox like smile on his face as he darted his gaze towards Lily.

"Riku," Zhuo Jingren rose from his seat and shook the man's hand. Then he also spoke in fluent Nihongo. "I was occupied, hence I forgot to call you."

Riku only beamed at Zhuo Jingren before he turned his attention towards Lily. "Who is she?"

"My fiancée," Zhuo Jingren answered without batting an eye. "Lily."

….

Editor: Swaning