His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1341
Lu Zihao froze and stared at his wife in disbelief. He couldn't believe all the foul words flowing out of his usually gentle wife's mouth.
It wasn't like he had never heard her curse. Of course, he did, but this was the first time that she said so many foul words in quick succession.
This was also the first time that he realized that she could be a little...scary.
Huh?! Wait a minute!
There was no way that he, Nikolai Vetrov, would feel scared of a small woman who wasn't his mother (Madam Vetrova) even if that woman was his wife!
If another person cursed at him like this, he would have already taught them a harsh and painful lesson but this was his wife. Not to mention that she was about to give birth to his children.
Although he didn't like what Long Jinjing yelled at him just now especially when she called him a useless man, he wasn't an immature person to argue with her in this kind of stressful situation.
Sense returned to him. He calmed down but not completely. Long Jinjing's whimpers and cries of pain continued to affect his self-control but he didn't want to leave her side while she gave birth to his babies. What he needed to do was try to reduce her stress like the doctor said and become her source of comfort like Long Jinjing herself said.
It was hard for someone like him to do these things, but for the sake of his wife, he would do it! Dammit, he would fucking do it! Even if she continued raging at him with a storm of foul words.
"It's so painful, Lu Zihao! I won't let you t-touch, noâI won't let you fuck me anymore after this! Damn you!"
Lu Zihao's mouth twitched. "I know that you don't mean what you're spouting right now. We'll talk about this unreasonable declaration of yours another time."
Long Jinjing glared at him and slapped his hand that he was using to hold her. The pain and stress were so overwhelming that all she wanted to do was to release her pent-up frustrations on her husband.
She loved the man so much, but at the moment, she actually wanted to bite his head off. He felt so aggravating to her right now. It was as if each word that he spoke was intended to infuriate her to no end.
She felt so aggrieved and indignant at the same time. Her emotions were all over the place. This was the first time that she felt so out of control, even more than when she fell so completely in love with him. The increasingly painful labour pains weren't helping either. In fact, the pain was only magnifying her negative emotions.
Lu Zihao could only consider himself to be unlucky that he was the best target right now for her to vent her negative emotions.
"Unreasonable?!" Long Jinjing's shrill voice filled the delivery room. "You're calling ME unreasonable?! How dare you?!!! Listen to meâ"
"Okay, that's enough, Jinjing. I won't be an asshole to the doctor and her team anymore. So can you just calm the fuck down? You can shout at me all you want after this but doing this right now is not good for you or the babies."
He tried his hardest to make his tone as calm as possible to avoid agitating her any further but it seemed that he was really bad at this. She actually became angrier. What the hell? He didn't understand what he was doing wrong.
"Shut up, jerk!!! Don't tell me to calm down! I was trying to calm down but you just had to stress me out by trying to fight with the doctor and her team! Are you trying to anger me to death? Is that what you're trying to do?! Argh! It hurts!!! Lu Zihao, come here and give birth to your babies yourself!!! There's no way! No fucking way in hell that I'm letting you get me pregnant again!!!"
"Okay, okay," he tried reassuring her. "If you don't want to get pregnant again, then don't. These twins are enough. They're already more than enough! Jinjing, just fucking calm down, okay?"
Tears flowed down her face. "You bastard, NikoâZihao! You don't want to have kids with me anymore, is that it?! I knew it! You don't like me anymore 'cuz I've become so fat and ugly! Fine! If that's what you want! Go get a vasectomy! If you dare impregnate other women besides me while we're married, see if I don't chop off your dick myself! Aaaaaaah!!! Doctor, how long until I give birth?"
Lu Zihao was pushed aside as the doctor took over in comforting his wife. He caught the nurses throwing him looks of disdain beneath their fear of him as they wiped his wife's sweat and helped her drink some water.
This was the first time since being reborn as Lu Zihao that he felt so helpless...and yes, useless. Hearing his wife's painful screams filling the room felt like his heart was being squeezed.
Gritting his teeth with determination, he took the towel and glass of water from the nurses. Even when Long Jinjing continuing scolding him, he refused to back down. He treated her curses as fartsâunpleasant but harmless and could still be ignored.
Throughout Long Jinjing's pregnancy, almost everything had been smooth sailing compared to his sister's experience. Lu Zihao even felt smug every time he watched Jin Liwei suffering the full brunt of his sister's extreme mood swings.
Long Jinjing didn't have the same extreme mood swings. She remained her usual gentle self.
This was why Lu Zihao felt so caught off guard at his wife's sudden mood swing. And it wasn't just a simple loss of temper either. She was full-on cursing at him using foul words that he normally used on a daily basis. It felt like his own words were coming back right at this moment to bite him in the ass.
Instead of irritation or anger, amusement filled him. His furious wife looked so adorable while cursing him.
"What are you laughing at?!" Long Jinjing demanded. "You still dare to laugh at me?!"
He chuckled and kissed her on the mouth. "There will be no other women. I can only fuck you now, woman. So you have to take responsibility.. Only you, wife."
His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1342
Long Jinjing's next furious tirade got stuck in her throat after hearing what her husband said just now. She stared at him and could see the clear amusement in his eyes despite the rest of his expression remaining unreadable as usual. Before she knew it, her entire body turned redder and not because of the labour pains but due to shyness instead.
"Y-you...stop it," she mumbled but her mouth was already curving up.
The doctor and her team looked at each other. If not for their remaining fear for Lu Zihao, they would have already rolled their eyes at the scene playing in front of them. Well, they did roll their eyes inside their minds.
Even so, the female nurses couldn't help but steal a few glances at Lu Zihao. He was extremely scary with all his scars and huge muscled body, not to mention his threatening aura and rude attitude. Regardless of all these shortcomings, Lu Zihao was without a doubt an attractive man. He oozed masculinity in a way that normal men couldn't rival.
He had a different kind of attractiveness compared to Jin Liwei. CEO Jin was the cold, polished, handsome and perfect type of dream man while Lu Zihao was the rough, dangerous, sinful yet hot type of lover.
The way he spouted foul words was offensive yet also sexy at the same time. If Lu Zihao weren't so scary, the nurses might even entertain indecent thoughts about him, especially since Long Jinjing seemed to be the timid type which was unlike her confident and brutally honest half-sister, Iris Long.
If there were any mistress wannabes, they would certainly feel that Long Jinjing was easier to contend with compared to Iris Long.
Long Jinjing seemed like the type to be a martyr wife and endure emotional torture rather than openly confront her husband's mistress. On the other hand, Iris Long already had a history of getting into actual physical fights with her enemies, not the mention that she had a straightforward personality and a poisonous tongue that would hit opponents where they hurt the most.
If anyone dared to have any designs on Jin Liwei, Iris Long would surely not sit still and take things lying down. Nobody would be surprised at all if in addition to eliminating the mistress, she would also destroy her husband Jin Liwei for betraying her. Despite successfully building an elegant goddess reputation after her major comeback, people still remembered her wild days where she caused chaos left and right as a spoiled young miss.
Compared to her, Long Jinjing didn't look to be the confrontational type at all. Today, however, the doctor and her team learned that she wasn't as sweet and innocent as she appeared.
All the foul words flying out of her mouth as she cursed her own husband were too shocking. The gap between her meek appearance and the explicitness of the words was too big.
They realized that Long Jinjing wasn't that simple after all. Heck, if they thought about it more carefully, she was actually quite abnormal for marrying a dangerous-looking man like Lu Zihao.
As expected, both the Long sisters weren't normal at all. They successfully snagged two of the country's most eligible bachelors, married them, and even produced twins each.
These were the nurses' thoughts. They could only admire the sisters, Iris Long and Long Jinjing, for being capable.
The doctor didn't care too much about gossip-like thoughts like these. She had already seen and experienced a lot ever since working as a live-in medical professional at Dragon Palace Home #10.
To be honest, compared to Lu Zihao or even Jin Liwei, the doctor was the most scared of Iris Long. The part-time members of the medical team didn't know the truth but she did.
The real boss in this place was Iris Long.
It wasn't only because Jin Liwei handed her this much power. On the contrary, the doctor noticed that everyone in the mansion genuinely respected her status as the mistress not just because she was the master's wife but because of her own capabilities.
Their household's situation was more like both Jin Liwei and Iris Long shared the status as equal heads of the family, unlike other normal families where the husband or father was the undisputed head of the family while the wife or mother took the supporting role.
Back to the present, the doctor called for everyone's attention and forced them to focus on their current jobâassisting Long Jinjing in giving birth.
"Get ready, everyone. This looks like it will be a short labour."
Long Jinjing looked surprised and relieved at the same time. "R-really? Mine won't take as long as my sister's long labour?"
"I think so, Mrs. Lu." The doctor glanced at Lu Zihao and did her best not to shudder from fright. "Mr. Lu, please conduct yourself properly and don't disrupt me or my team while we're helping your wife give birth. I really won't hesitate to kick you out of the delivery room if you make any trouble."
Lu Zihao scowled but he still grunted his assent.
Everyone was relieved.
Long Jinjing gave him a serious look. "Don't make trouble!"
He snorted but caught himself when his wife's glare turned fierce once again. He coughed and did his best to appear as non-threatening as possible. To be honest, it wasn't very easy especially since he couldn't completely calm himself down while watching his own wife suffer these damned labour pains.
"Ugh!" Long Jinjing clutched her swollen stomach before looking at the doctor in panic. "I...I think I need to go to the toilet first."
"Do you need to urinate?" the doctor asked.
"N-no...I think...uh, I need to uh...you know."
"You want to poo?" Lu Zihao asked.
Long Jinjing looked embarrassed but still nodded. He was about to help her but she pushed him away. Although they were husband and wife, she still felt embarrassed about tackling certain topics like this. She preferred to let a nurse accompany her to the toilet than her husband.
"Ugh! I really need to go...to the t-toilet now."
The doctor held her down. "I'm afraid that's not poo you're feeling, Mrs. Lu, but the head of your first baby about to come out."
Long Jinjing had no time to think about anything anymore because a wave of strong contractions assaulted her.
His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1343
Three hours later, the doctor personally came out of the delivery room into the waiting lounge to announce the good news.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lu have welcomed two healthy baby boysâidentical twins," she announced. "The mother and babies are all doing well."
Long Jinjing's mother, Sun Jingfei, arrived not too long ago. She lived quite far from Dragon Palace so it took her quite some time to travel from home to the mansion. She also brought luggage because she was going to stay and help her daughter with the month-long confinement just like how Huang Yuyan did for Iris.
"Oh, twin boys!" Sun Jingfei burst into joyful tears.
"Bahahahahaha, another set of twins!" Grandpa Lu was also beside himself with excitement. "Xiulan my girl and Jinjing my girl are truly sisters! Both giving birth to twin boys! How can such blessed sisters marry my two pinheaded grandsons? Tell me, I want to know! Those two dunderheads don't deserve such wonderful women! Bahahahaha! Two sets of twins! This old man is glad to have lived this long! It's worth it!"
Jin Liwei's mouth twitched. Although he agreed that he didn't fully deserve his beautiful genius wife because nobody in the face of the planet completely deserved her, he still didn't like being called a pinhead or a dunderhead. But what could he do when the one insulting him was Grandpa Lu?
Beside him, Iris was also smiling. "Identical twins! I wonder what they look like. I can't wait to see my twin nephews."
"En. Me, too." Jin Liwei was also curious.
Their own human sons were fraternal twins. Little Mochi took after the maternal side the most in terms of appearance while Little Matcha resembled Jin Liwei to a frightening degree. The twins looked so different from each other, not to mention that their personalities were also poles apart.
Both Iris and Jin Liwei wanted to see what Long Jinjing and Lu Zihao's identical twins looked like.
Who would the twins resemble? Their mother or father? Or maybe both?
While Sun Jingfei and Grandpa Lu were asking the doctor a series of questions, the others were chatting with each other. Dom and Jiang Ying Yue were busy updating the other members of the girl squad in their group chat.
Chen Fei immediately called back. Meimei was probably absorbed in working on her webtoon while Clover might still be asleep in France.
"I'm a little envious of Big Sister," Iris said. "She gave birth so quickly."
Jin Liwei hugged her. Indeed, even he felt a little envious as well. He watched his wife suffer during labour for so many hours after finally giving birth. He thought that his brother-in-law was so lucky. And in extension, the doctor and the medical staff also dodged a bullet.
He wouldn't be surprised if Lu Zihao made trouble with the medical staff if Long Jinjing suffered for as long as Iris did. To be honest, Jin Liwei was a little surprised that everything seemed to have gone well inside the delivery room. Lu Zihao hadn't strangled anyone and no medical staff member had fainted from fright.
Inside the delivery room, Long Jinjing's tears flowed freely down her face as she gazed at her newborn babies. They had already been cleaned. Lu Zihao also personally cut their umbilical cords.
Her husband held the eldest twin son while she cradled the youngest.
"So ugly," Lu Zihao commented.
Long Jinjing's expression twisted. "How could you say that? They're your sons!"
While she berated him, the nurses who were cleaning up in the background looked at each other. Why did this scene look familiar?
Lu Zihao's "so ugly" comment was the exact words that Iris used when she saw her twins after giving birth. The only difference was that Long Jinjing reacted like how other normal new mothers should reactâto defend her babies from any insults even from her own husband.
In Iris' case not too long ago, her husband Jin Liwei also acted in an abnormal way and agreed with her, even calling their second twin son who resembled him the most as looking like a "drowned rat".
Iris and Jin Liwei were both abnormal. Lu Zihao was also an abnormal one but at least his wife was still normal.
Indeed, Long Jinjing reacted how normal parents should react upon seeing their newborns for the first time and not call their own poor babies ugly.
The nurses were glad for the identical twins that their mother was sane. Never mind their father. Having one normal parent was already a good thing.
At least, the identical twins weren't as pitiful as their older fraternal twin cousins who had been insulted by their own parents for being ugly as soon as they were born.
Lu Zihao didn't bother arguing with his furious wife. He could only stay silent and take the scolding.
Deep inside, however, his opinion remained unchanged. His twin sons were really so ugly. They looked even uglier than Little Mochi and Little Matcha when his nephews were just born.
His mouth curved up as he gazed at his first descendants. Ugly or not, these little brats were his own sons. It would be a lie if he said that he wasn't happy.
The truth was...he was happy. Extremely so.
An unfamiliar sense of accomplishment filled him. And pride. Oh, the pride he felt!
"My sons, Mikhail and Dmitri," he murmured.
Long Jinjing stopped in the middle of her rant. "W-what did you just say?"
He smiled. "Our eldest son will be named Mikhail or Little Misha while our second son will be called Dmitri or Little Dima."
"Oh." She blinked a few times and rolled the foreign names in her tongue. "Little Misha, Little Dima...these nicknames are so cute. I'm so relieved that you're not like my sister who wants to give our babies ridiculous food names." Then she frowned. "B-but...Michael and D-dirty?"
"Mikhail and Dmitri," he corrected.
"Mehell and Demetery?"
He sighed but didn't correct her anymore. His wife would slowly learn how to pronounce their sons' names properly.
"I like these names. We can use Mehell and Demetery as their English names but...we're Chinese. I still want our babies to have traditional Chinese names. Okay, NiâZihao?"
"Hm, fine. You give them Chinese names, then."
"I, uh...how about we ask Grandpa Lu to name our twins, too?" she suggested.
"That's fine."
His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1344
After all the necessary medical examinations were completed, the new parents allowed the medical staff to show their newborn identical twins to family and friends in another room. Lu Zihao stayed with Long Jinjing in the delivery room.
Although Long Jinjing experienced a shorter labour and quicker childbirth than Iris, she still felt completely drained. She quickly fell asleep after the nurses cleaned her up.
Sun Jingfei entered the delivery room to check on her daughter first. She was excited to meet her new grandsons but her daughter's wellbeing still came first for her. As a mother herself, she knew how difficult it was to give birth.
"Zihao, how's Jing'er?"
"Aunt...Mother." Lu Zihao stood up and pulled another chair for his mother-in-law. "The doctor says that she's fine."
Sun Jingfei released a big sigh of relief before stroking the forehead of her sleeping daughter. "I'm glad. Go to the other room and show off your sons to your grandfather and the others, Zihao. I'll accompany Jing'er until you return."
"No need, Mother. I'll accompany my wife. You should meet your grandsons instead."
She smiled but shook her head. "Please go, Zihao. I want to spend a few minutes with my daughter alone. I have plenty of time to dote on my grandsons later. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to your wife. She's my daughter. I'll take care of her."
Lu Zihao looked reluctant but still nodded. He didn't care if his mother-in-law was in front of him. He went ahead and kissed his sleeping wife on the lips. Sun Jingfei was completely red when he left.
In the other room, Lu Zihao saw Grandpa Lu carrying one baby while Jin Liwei held the other one.
"Haohao my boy!" Grandpa Lu was ecstatic but still made sure to lower the volume of his voice to avoid frightening his newest set of twin great-grandsons. "You did well for a dunderhead! You and your third brother both did well! But of course, the biggest credit goes to both of your wives! Without Xiulan my girl and Jinjing my girl, how could stinky pinheads like the two of you sire a set of twins each? This old man is over the moon from joy!"
Lu Zihao grunted but his expression was soft as he gazed at his twins. Even without looking at the tags the nurses placed on the babies, he could still instantly recognize which one was the eldest and which one was the youngest.
Iris gave him a hug. "Congratulations, Big Brother!"
"Hm, thanks."
Jin Liwei handed the baby that he was holding to him. Lu Zihao cradled his eldest twin son. Although he looked awkward due to his huge size, his movements were still smooth and natural. He already had plenty of practice with his twin nephews, Little Mochi and Little Matcha.
"This is Mikhail," he murmured.
Iris' eyes lit up. "Oh, so he's a Misha? Little Misha?"
"Hm."
"What about the other one?" she asked next.
"Dmitri."
"What a lovely name. So he's Little Dima?"
Lu Zihao nodded. He was in a good mood. As expected, his sister was the only one who didn't need any additional explanations. She understood the names of his sons right away.
Jin Liwei was still fine because he already had an understanding why Lu Zihao wanted to give Russian names to his own twins sons, but this wasn't the case for the others. They looked surprised at the foreign-sounding names Lu Zihao gave to his sons, especially Grandpa Lu.
"What Shasha? What Mima? Are these the names you chose? Tell me, I want to know! How dare you name my precious great-grandsons so carelessly, you stinky dunderhead? These names don't sound good at all! This old man rejects these careless names!"
"Ahem, I think they sound nice," Dom interjected. "I think Misha and Dima sound better than what Boss wants to call her new nephews."
Lu Zihao had a bad premonition but still asked, "What did my sister want to name my kids?"
"Chicharon and Burrito! So creative, right? Perfect pair like Mochi and Matcha! I actually suggested Tabasco and Sriracha to be a bit different than usual, but on further thought, I agree that boss is right, Chicharon and Burrito sound cuter! Huh, no? Okay...ahem, I'll zip my mouth shut now. Ehehehe."
Jiang Ying Yue pulled her talkative friend away from the line of fire.
Even the mischievous Grandpa Lu couldn't stop himself from revealing a horrified expression. "Chicharon and Burrito?! Tabasco and Sriracha?! Xiulan my girl and Dom you brat, don't even think about it! You too, Haohao! Don't follow your little sister's example of giving weird names to children!"
Lu Zihao threw his sister an exasperated side eye and a warning glare at the sheepish Dom. Iris only shrugged while Dom continued ehehe-ing to Jiang Ying Yue. Jin Liwei didn't join the ridiculous conversation but the amusement was obvious in his expression.
"Jinjing and I had already agreed that our sons will have Mikhail and Dmitri as their official English names. Their nicknames will be Little Misha and Little Dima, not Shasha or Mima. Mikhail and Dmitri are excellent Russian names that fit my sons."
Iris nodded at her brothers' words, agreeing that Mikhail and Dmitri were indeed excellent names. She glanced at Jin Liwei and whispered, "I want to give our sons Russian names, too."
"Alright," Jin Liwei immediately agreed. "Whatever Russian names you come up with, we'll register them as Little Mochi and Little Matcha's official English names.
After seeing Lu Zihao's stubborn determination and Iris' wholehearted agreement, Grandpa Lu was persuaded. "Hmph! Fine, if that's what you want, you stinky boy!"
"But Jinjing still wants you to give our sons their Chinese names," Lu Zihao said.
The old man's expression immediately brightened. "Of course! I have several names prepared this time after being caught off guard last time. Oh, wait! Do we wait for your father-in-law to arrive so that he can name one of the twins again?"
"Just name both, old man. Who knows what time Jinjing's father will arrive here?" Lu Zihao didn't give a fuck about Long Tengfei at all.
In the end, Grandpa Lu named the eldest twin Lu Tianyu and the youngest twin Lu Zhiyuan.
Chapter 1345: Failure As A Mother
Lu Zihao made the right call in letting Grandpa Lu name both of the Lu twins because Long Tengfei was unable to come to Dragon Palace the day of the birth or even the next day.
Long Tengfei had been on a business trip abroad when his wife informed him that Long Jinjing was in labour. Even when he already cut his business trip short and rushed back home in a private jet, he still only managed to arrive three days later.
Fortunately for him, his wife Yang Jiahui and Meimei already went ahead to visit the new twins the same day that they were born.
When Long Tengfei finally met his newest grandsons, he was once again shocked to learn that his other daughter also gave birth to twins. Nobody told him, not even his wife. They kept it a complete secret from him. At first, he was stunned before feeling extremely proud.
His two daughters were so capable! Both of them produced a set of twins each in just one shot!
Although there were no precedent of producing twins in the Long genealogy before this, it couldn't be a coincidence that his two daughter were able to give birth to twins one after another. Iris and Long Jinjing were sisters while Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao weren't blood-related at all despite calling each other brothers. Hence, the common factor could only come from Iris and Long Jinjing being blood sisters.
Long Tengfei felt like he could hold his head high in front of both the Jin and Lu clans for having such blessed daughters. Because of his daughters, the Jin and Lu clans no longer had to worry about producing the next generation. They were two heirs per clan in one go!
This excitement allowed Long Tengfei to ignore his disappointment for not making it in time to name one of his grandsons again. Even so, he was still satisfied with the names Sir Lu Jianhong gave to the Lu twins.
"Lu Tianyu and Lu Zhiyuan, excellent names," he commented as he held one of the twins.
His wife, Yang Jiahui, carried the other one. Neither of them had an idea which one was the eldest and which one was the youngest. Unlike the Jin twins who were fraternal, the Lu twins were completely identical.
Mysteriously though, only Lu Zihao and Iris could differentiate between the identical Lu twins at this point without having to look at the tags. Even the mother, Long Jinjing, still couldn't differentiate her own twin babies from each other.
"How can the two of you recognize who's who?" Long Jinjing asked, feeling amazed and frustrated at the same time.
"Of course, I know who's who," Lu Zihao replied. "Although they're identical twins, they still don't look completely the same."
Iris nodded. "Little Misha has a slightly lopsided mouth while Little Dima has a...hmmm, how should I describe it? Little Dima has this same gentle aura as Big Sister Jinjing."
Everyone crowded around the twins to search for what Iris just saidâLittle Misha's lopsided mouth and Little Dima's gentle aura.
They turned their heads to the right but couldn't see any lopsided mouth or sense any "gentle" aura. Then they turned their heads to the left but still failed.
Disappointed, they could only look at Iris and Lu Zihao in envy and awe.
What kind of monstrous vision did these two have?
Even Long Jinjing felt envious of her husband and sister. She was the mother yet she still couldn't differentiate between her babies.
The doctor assured her, "Don't worry, Mrs. Lu. You'll eventually be able to differentiate your twins. Mothers will always be the one who knows their children the best."
"That's right," Sun Jingfei interjected and patted her daughter's hand.
Long Jinjing felt comforted. "Thanks, Doctor. You too, Mother."
After the check-up, the doctor left the delivery room which was once again transformed into a comfy bedroom. Long Jinjing was in bed while watching everyone doting on her newborn babies.
"How was Big Brother when he was accompanying you during the childbirth?" Iris asked.
Everyone pricked their ears. They also wanted to know.
Long Jinjing pouted and rolled her eyes at her husband. Her expression was enough to give the others idea of what transpired.
"Did Haohao give you a hard time, Jinjing my girl?" Grandpa Lu demanded. "Tell me, I want to know!"
Lu Zihao frowned. "Nonsense. I was perfectly supportive of my wife!"
"Supportive?" Long Jinjing remembered all her grievances. "You were about to beat up the doctor and her team! I was so stressed out because of you that I was already prepared to give birth by myself!"
"What?!!!" Grandpa Lu was enraged. He smacked Lu Zihao's back several times and scolded his stinky pinheaded grandson.
Long Jinjing: "And..and...you even called your own sons ugly!"
Lu Zihao: "Well, they are ugly."
Grandpa Lu: "Haohao!!!" (smack, smack, more smacks!!!)
Iris chuckled. "I said the same thing as soon as I saw my own twins. Newborn babies are so ugly. Right, darling?"
"En." Jin Liwei nodded.
Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui shook their heads.
"But don't worry, Big Sister," Iris said. "Little Misha and Little Dima will soon become cute in a few days. That's what happened to your nephews."
"Er, t-thanks?" Long Jinjing felt helpless at her husband and sister.
She and Iris were sisters and yet her husband and her sister felt more like the real siblings. They were so similar! Both had no filter at all.
Later, everyone left except for Lu Zihao and Sun Jingfei to let Long Jinjing and the newborn twins rest more.
Long Jinjing was trying to breastfeed Little Mishaâor was it Little Dima? She wasn't sure which one.
"It's Little Dima," Lu Zihao told her.
"Oh, thanks."
Long Jinjing tried hard. Her mother, Sun Jingfei, even assisted her.
"This.." Sun Jingfei shook her head. "There's not enough milk."
"N-no, I'll try again." Long Jinjing was determined to breastfeed her babies.
Unfortunately, her mother was right. She didn't have enough milk. Her eyes watered.
"I'm such a failure as a mother," she cried.
Lu Zihao scowled. "The hell you are! Don't ever say that again."
"It's just the third day and my milk has already run out!" Long Jinjing felt useless and depressed..
Chapter 1346: Do You Want It?
No matter how much Lu Zihao and Sun Jingfei tried comforting Long Jinjing in their own way, it still didn't change the fact that she couldn't produce enough breast milk.
Something so basic and natural as producing milk to feed her babies and arm them with vital immunity boosters in this early critical stage of their development, she couldn't even do it. She truly felt like an utter failure as a mother.
Sun Jingfei sighed before preparing formula milk for her twin grandsons. It couldn't be helped. The babies needed to be fed and nourished.
Yesterday, Long Jinjing already started to struggle producing milk. However, she still persisted and was able to feed her babies until they were satiated. Her breast milk had just been enough then. She literally couldn't afford to waste a single drop of it.
That was when she realized that she would have issues with her natural breast milk production. She had hoped that what little milk she could produce would last at least a week. By then, the babies should have received the minimum immunity boosters that her breast milk could give them. After that, she had to resign herself to feeding them with formula instead.
Unfortunately, her fear was realized only on the third day after giving birth. She literally couldn't produce any milk for her babies.
Her low self-esteem caused by her weight gain throughout her pregnancy was exacerbated at the realization that her breast milk only lasted for three days. It wasn't even for three full days.
"I'm so sorry, my babies," she cried. "Mommy has failed you."
"You!" Lu Zihao felt angry.
He wanted to shake his wife until she woke up. To be honest, he didn't think that it was a big deal whether she could produce breast milk or not.
Why the hell was there such a large selection of different baby formula to choose from? Wasn't it for situations like this? Just looking at the dizzying variety of baby formula available in the market, it was already obvious that inadequate breast milk was not that rare.
Although these were his thoughts, he wisely didn't speak them out loud. The way his wife cursed him out while she was giving birth was still fresh in his mind. In addition to the fact that she already had a history of low self-esteem, he didn't want to trigger anything.
His sister had already warned him before to be more careful and considerate of Long Jinjing. Iris even sent him hundreds of proven scientific studies from all around the world about post-partum depression. He only needed to read a couple of them before stopping.
Once he read that suicide was a real possible effect of severe post-partum depression, he couldn't read the rest of the other scientific studies anymore.
A scene had flashed in his mind. A depressed Long Jinjing stealing one of his guns and shooting herself in the head.
The image felt so realistic that he almost went crazy.
If his wife had to resort to suicide, then the failure wasn't on her but on him instead. As a husband, he had the responsibility to protect her and their children from any danger even if the danger came from herself.
This was why he couldn't allow her to spiral into depression no matter what. Seeing her so upset and defeated because she couldn't produce enough breast milk was already a red flag.
He grabbed a handful of tissue and wiped her tears. His movements were clumsy because he wasn't used to being gentle.
Sun Jingfei returned with two tiny bottles filled with formula. Long Jinjing burst into another round of tears upon seeing the formula milk.
"Jing'er." Sun Jingfei wanted to comfort her suffering daughter but her grandsons were also crying from hunger.
Before any of them could feed the babies with formula, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Iris entered the room followed by a few household staff wheeling a small freezer. She was also holding a stylish baby bag (cute Kkitty design, only available at Orchidia Baby).
She sighed upon seeing Long Jinjing's face covered with tears.
"What are all these?" Lu Zihao asked.
She bypassed her brother and faced Long Jinjing instead. "I have a lot of extra breast milk. Do you want it?"
Long Jinjing's eyes widened. It wasn't only her. Sun Jingfei was also surprised by Iris' offer. She glanced at the small freezer and already had an idea of what it contained. Lu Zihao, on the hand, had an ugly, disbelieving expression.
"What the hell-"
"Do you want it?" Iris asked Long Jinjing again, ignoring her brother.
"Are you s-sure?"
Iris nodded. "I've already filled up several freezers in the mansion with all my extra breast milk. I originally planned on donating them to a hospital's maternity department or maybe a milk bank but Liwei isn't keen on the idea. He doesn't like giving something my body produced to total strangers. If he's left in charge of my extra milk that our twins can't finish before they're weaned, he'd rather discard everything than give them away. But my nephews aren't strangers. Little Misha and Little Dima are family. You and my brother are family."
"Xiu-xiulan..." Long Jinjing watched as Iris opened the baby bag she was holding and take out two tiny bottles filled with milkâbreast milk.
"If you don't disdain my breast milk and don't mind feeding your sons with milk from another motherâ"
"How could I d-disdain your breast milk? You're already being so kind and generous and open-minded for even thinking of doing this...."
Iris asked for the final time, "So do you accept my offer?"
"Y-yes! Of course! Oh, little sister. T-thank you so much!!!" Long Jinjing cried again. This time, from gratefulness and relief.
Iris smiled and handed the two tiny bottles filled with fresh milk to her brother. Lu Zihao gave her a hard look but she only gestured for him to hurry up and feed his hungry babies.
"I'll talk to you later about this," he told her through gritted teeth.
"Nothing you can do anymore, Big Brother. Your wife already agreed to this. Don't be so narrow-minded like my husband. Sharing breast milk is not that big of a deal."
Long Jinjing forced herself to calm down. She and Lu Zihao began feeding their twins with Iris' milk..
Chapter 1347 - Nikolai VS. Evelina (Part I)
"I didn't just like the surprise you prepared for your brothers and cousins, I love them," Iris said. "The puppies are great presents. Your siblings and cousins love them, too. Thank you, Bacon and Ketchup. Both of you are such wonderful big brother and big sister."
"Well done," Jin Liwei praised next.
The two cat AIs were happy to make everyone happy with their surprise presents. Both of them were learning the joy of generous giving.
Bacon didn't care much about charity to strangers but he found that he liked giving presents to his loved ones. As for Ketchup, she always loved doings things that would earn praise from her parents.
The next day, Iris found out that her husband sent her an additional 20 million US dollars for the two puppies that were matched to their twinsâPudding and Chowder. It seemed that Jin Liwei considered the two puppies as their own children like the cats.
So far, Jin Liwei had already given Iris a total of 80 million US dollars for their now eight children (feline, human and canine) in accordance to their pre-nuptial agreement.
"At this rate, I might really become a global billionaire just by giving Liwei children of all species," she muttered while getting ready for the day.
###
Within a month, Long Hui reportedly started his community service at an orphanage. It seemed that the PR team that he hired for his public apology continued to help him throughout his community service. They were using the community service to spin Long Hui's punishment into something positive and clean his stinky reputation.
Iris was actually quite impressed by his method. This was a smart move on his part.
The best part was that Mao Qiuyue had finally ceased trying to use Iris Long and Jin Liwei's name in the media for clout. Someone must have advised the woman.
There was finally some peace. But how long would it last? Iris didn't know.
Ketchup would sometimes update her about the effects of Lin Yehan's suppression on Mao Textiles and Jin Liwei's dogged retaliation against Mao Qiuyue's malicious clout-chasing attempts in the media. These might be the biggest reasons why Mao Qiuyue finally shut her mouth and stopped trying to drag Iris Long's name for her own selfish reasons.
Iris had already stopped caring about Mao Qiuyue and Long Hui's matter. She would just let Jin Liwei and Lin Yehan vent for her and Jiang Ying Yue respectively. There were far more important people and things that needed her attention than those two.
Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue's wedding was fast approaching but Iris simply tossed the matter out of her mind. The invitation Mao Qiuyue sent to Eve Holdings back then lay forgotten in a drawer somewhere.
By this time, Iris received more serious news from Bacon.
Tian Kong, the bomber who attempted to murder her and so many others during her mall show with Jin Chonglin last year but eventually failed due to her quick reflexes, had been executed via shooting.
Shadow Winds apparently obtained a footage of the actual execution but Iris didn't want to watch it. Although she already expected this outcome and didn't pity Tian Kong, she still didn't have any urge to watch someone being murdered. It didn't matter if the person deserved to die or not. She refused to watch such a horrific scene.
Iris sought her big brother. Lu Zihao was extremely busy at Shadow Winds but still insisted on spending as much time as possible with his wife and their twin babies in the mansion. This resulted in his mood becoming more temperamental than usual. Almost everyone walked on eggshells around him during this time for fear of triggering him.
"Big Brother, have you found anything new about Tian Kong before he was executed?" Iris asked after she found her brother in the training grounds.
The sweaty Lu Zihao scowled at her. Still, his treatment of his sister remained many leagues better than other people. He didn't roar at her at least. Of course, he also treated his own wife and children well.
The siblings moved away from the training grounds so that they could speak more freely.
"Don't waste your time anymore on this matter, Evelinka," he told her.
"I still want to know," she insisted.
"You've always been so willful." He sighed and shook his head but his scowl now had a hint of a nostalgic smile. "Fine, since you're asking then I'll share some information with you."
He told her that Shadow Winds finally had smoother progress in everything after using the results of her investigations that found a connection to Alcatraz Organización. It was like finally obtaining a master key that could unlock all doors after searching blindly for so long. This didn't mean that things got easier to solve though. It only meant that they now had a clearer direction to take.
They also had a better understanding that the enemy was even bigger and more dangerous than they initially thought. With the way Shadow Winds were now, they couldn't possibly duke it out against Alcatraz just like that. It would be pure suicide if they did that.
However, knowing the enemy was better than working blindly. At least, they now had an idea on what kind of preparations they needed to take in order to have a fighting chance against the current biggest criminal organization in the underworld.
Even though there were still so many things that were unclear about Alcatraz's true purpose in infiltrating the country, both Iris and Lu Zihao had some theories. At the end of the day, it didn't really matter what purpose Alcatraz had. They just needed to be eliminated.
Lu Zihao had a hell-deep blood feud against the criminal organization while Iris also wanted Alcatraz to disappear in this world to protect the family that she built with her husband in this second chance in life that she had after her death as Evelina Vetrova.
"We detected some movements from them before, during and after Tian Kong's execution," Lu Zihao informed Iris. "They're very careful so we haven't identified any of their core members yet but we managed to monitor a few of their native members. They're all low-level but it's a start. We haven't done anything to them at this point. We're just focused on monitoring them and learning more about their movements. Hopefully, we can predict their next plans better."
Iris nodded. "It's a pity that we haven't found anything more useful from Tian Kong's involvement with them but this progress is already good. Tian Kong is most likely just an expendable pawn to them."
"Hm."
"It's to our advantage that we already have an idea about the enemy while they still don't know us yet. Just continue to be extra careful, Big Brother. Shadow Winds is a tiny ant compared to Alcatraz."
Lu Zihao's expression twisted. Then he growled. "I know! You don't have to remind me!"
She sighed but didn't mind his tone. It was understandable how much he loathed Alcatraz to death, the one who swallowed a big part of the Vetrov organization after its downfall and replaced it as the new reigning emperor of the international criminal underworld.
"Now go back to your children," he told her. "Leave all this shit to me. No need for you to muddy your shoes in these dirty waters. My Shadow Winds and I are enough."
"Butâ"
"Evelinka," he warned her.
Iris hesitated before sighing again. "Fine."
He crossed his scarred, muscled arms over his chest and continued glowering at her. "I know that you're concerned about me but I, Nikolai Vetrov, know what I'm doing."
She copied him and crossed her slender arms over her ample chest. "Of course, you know what you're doing, Mr. Lu Zihao."
He stared daggers at her. If she wasn't his sister, he would have already berated her with the foulest of languages until her ears rang.
"I'm Nikolai Vetrov!"
She stood her ground against the onslaught of his scary aura. Deep inside, her soul was still a Vetrov just like him. She wasn't a fragile flower who would wilt with a little harsh wind.
"You WERE Nikolai Vetrov but not anymore! You're now living as Lu Zihao! You're married to Long Jingjing and the father of twinsâLu Tianyu and Lu Zhiyuan. Even if you gave my nephews Russian names, they will still be known as Mikhail Lu and Dmitri Lu, not Mikhail Vetrov and Dmitri Vetrov. You're Lu Zihao now whether you like it or not! Just like how I'm now Long Xiulan and not Evelina Vetrova! Remember that, Big Brother. Please remember it."
His nose flared and his whole body tensed as he restrained his temper. "So you're throwing away your past? Is that it? I know that you never wanted to be born as a Vetrov, I accept that. I have long accepted that! But your past is still a part of you whether you like it or not, just like how my past is a fucking part of me!"
"Of course, I know that! My point is that you shouldn't let our past consume you too much that you forget to live in the present. Big Brother, you have a family now." She grabbed his arms, trying to make him understand, willing him to see her point of view. "You have a wife who loves you and children who depend on you! Even if you don't tell me, I can sense that you have a do or die mindset when it comes to avenging what happened to us in our past lives. Must you always put your life on the line like this? Do you want your wife to become a widow and your children orphans?"
"Shut the fuck up, Evelinka!" he roared in her face.
Chapter 1348 - Nikolai VS. Evelina (Part II)
"Whoa!" Jin Liwei appeared all of a sudden and placed himself between the siblings. He blocked Lu Zihao with a hand and protected his wife behind him. "Easy there. There's no need to shout at your sister."
Lu Zihao snarled at him. "Don't poke your nosy ass here. This conversation is between me and my sister. Get out of the way!"
Jin Liwei didn't allow himself to be intimidated. He looked at his brother-in-law straight in the eyes. "Your sister is my wife. So no, I'm not getting out of your way unless you stop shouting at my wife."
"You motherfuckingâ"
"Big Brother, that's enough." Iris pulled her husband away.
Sensing that the two men might fight each other, her stimulated emotions calmed down quickly. Her logical reasoning returned. She analyzed that it wouldn't benefit anyone if this argument continued.
Unfortunately, her brother remained in a triggered state. This was the first time that he looked at her with such fury as if he wanted to lop her head off from her neck.
"Don't you fucking tell me what to do, Evelinka," he growled. "Someone who has forgotten her true origins and refuse to acknowledge it has no right to lecture me on how I deal with my own past."
His words were like an arrow shot straight into her heart. It hurt. She actually had to clutch her chest from the pain. "Big Brother, that's notâ"
"That's low, Nikolai," Jin Liwei defended his wife.
"What low?" Lu Zihao sneered. "It's the fucking truth! Your wife's soul is a Vetrov! Don't delude yourself into thinking that she's Long Xiulan because she's not! Just like how I'm Nikolai Vetrov and not your fucking fifth brother!"
Jin Liwei snapped. "You fucking asshole!"
"Liwei, no!" Iris grabbed him by the waist and pulled her husband with all her might. "Stop it, please!"
It was a good thing that Jin Liwei still had a sliver of his sanity remaining amidst his own anger. He immediately stopped when his wife told him to stop. His main priority was to protect his wife. Anything else was secondary, including teaching his brother-in-law a lesson which he wanted to do so badly especially right now that the man was being such a big jerk.
Iris faced her brother while Jin Liwei embraced her in a protective manner.
She told Lu Zihao, "It's true that I have been running away from my past, from our past as Vetrovs. But that's because I've never felt so alive than I am right now as Long Xiulan. I was a walking dead as Evelina Vetrova, Big Brother. I thought you knew that. I thought you understood me. But how could you really understand what I felt? You were the heir, the one Mother and Father had been grooming to lead the organization in the next generation, while I was the worthless daughter. You know what? You're right. I hold no bonds whatsoever with the past.
"You want to know the truth? I was actually glad to die that night. I thought that I was going to be free at last from the life that I believed was a suffocating cage for me. I thought that there was nothing after death and I accepted that. Then I woke up as Long Xiulan. Do you know how happy, how ecstatic, how thrilled I felt? This new life is a new beginning for me. I love it! You may not like to hear this but I love my life now as Long Xiulan more than my life as Evelina Vetrova.
"You may think that I'm a traitor, and in a way, maybe I am. Yes, I'm selfish and only think about my own happiness. But am I wrong to want to be happy? Am I wrong to chase after my passions and dreams now that I'm free to do so? Am I wrong to build a wonderful family with my husband and our children? Big Brother, tell me, am I wrong? In your eyes, am I really wrong?!"
Lu Zihao's expression was unreadable but his eyes revealed the chaotic tempest of his emotions.
Iris closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there was only calmness fortified with resolution in them. "Just as you dislike me lecturing you about how you handle your past, then I also dislike you lecturing me about how I handle my own past."
He gritted his teeth but still didn't say anything.
"Big Brother, you may not believe me but I also want the people who caused our downfall and annihilation in the past to pay, not because I have deep hatred for them like you do but because they are a danger to my peaceful life that I have with my family. You want revenge? In a way, so do I. But I believe that there are better, smarter methods to get revenge than a reckless zero-sum game.
"It wasn't my intention to criticize you or to fight with you. All I want is to remind you that you also have your own family now just like me. Even if you don't care about yourself, please don't be so blinded by revenge that you forget about your wife and children. If something happens to you, Big Sister Jinjing will be so heartbroken. Look at her. She's in therapy to help her avoid getting post-partum depression. If she loses you, she'll go crazy! Therapy might not even save her. Also, don't you want to watch Little Misha and Little Dima grow up with your own eyes? Your family needs you, Big Brother."
Silence.
Jin Liwei's entire body was taut as he observed the situation. He was worried that his wife would completely provoke Lu Zihao into going out of control. Even though he didn't think that the man would lay a hand on his own sister, there was always a first time for everything. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"Ugh!" Lu Zihao clutched his head and groaned. He also staggered on his feet.
"Big Brother?" Iris stepped forward to help him but the wary Jin Liwei held her back.
Lu Zihao threw her a final glare before turning and leaving in a rush, almost stumbling on his own feet.
Iris wanted to follow him. He didn't look alright. She was worried about him.
"Leave him," Jin Liwei told her.
"Butâ"
"Love, give him some time," he said in a firm tone. He also held her firmly, not allowing her to slip past him. "Your brother needs some space by himself to process what happened and all the things both of you said to each other. I'm sure that you also need to do the same."
She sighed. Now that her brother left, the gravity of what just happened was starting to catch up to her. The quarrel left her reeling and hurt.
Her eyes stung but she was calm enough not to cry. Nevertheless, the pain still made it a challenge to breathe properly. Her chest felt like it was being squeezed.
"I can't believe that just happened," she murmured.
Jin Liwei hugged her and kissed her forehead. "You'll be fine, love. You did the right thing in saying those words to him."
Truth be told, Jin Liwei was pissed off at his brother-in-law. The words that the man said to his own sister were really hurtful. If it weren't for his wife stopping him, Jin Liwei might really have punched Lu Zihao. The chances of winning was almost close to zero but it didn't matter. His brother-in-law deserved a punch in the face for hurting his wife's heart.
At the same time, Jin Liwei felt proud of his wife. She managed to remain calm despite the volatile situation and conveyed her thoughts in a clear manner to her brother. Whether Lu Zihao accepted what she said or not was another matter.
Neither Iris nor Jin Liwei could force Lu Zihao to change his way of thinking. Only Lu Zihao could change it himself. All they could do was try to persuade him. If it worked, then great. If not, then it would be a pity.
Iris sighed again. "I regret triggering my brother. This is the first time that we quarreled so seriously like this. But...I don't regret the things that I said to him. Those were my real thoughts."
"I know." He stroked her back, trying to soothe her. "Your brother has been on edge for a while now. If it wasn't you today, he would have been triggered by someone or something else. It's not your fault."
She took comfort in his arms and his scent. The fight with her brother was really hurtful, but oddly enough, it also felt cathartic.
There was a sense of relief that she was finally able to share the truth with her brother regarding her true thoughts and feelings about her past as Evelina Vetrova and her present as Long Xiulan.
She didn't know if her relationship with her brother would change for the better or worse after this. Regardless of what happened in the future, she would always love her brother no matter what. Even if he ceased treating her the same way as before, it was enough that she still cared for him as her beloved brother. She would continue to help keep him safe whether he liked it or not.
Not wanting to dwell on the matter anymore, she changed the subject and asked her husband, "How come you're here so quickly?"
"Ketchup alerted me," Jin Liwei replied. "I rushed here from our home office."
She understood. There was no need for additional explanation.
"Let's go see our babies," she said.
"En."
They headed to the nursery room while holding hands. There was a tacit understanding between them not to speak about Lu Zihao for the rest of the day.
Chapter 1349 - Delirium
The atmosphere in the mansion was dark and tense after Iris and Lu Zihao fought.
Although Iris disliked this strain in the relationship between her and her brother and wanted to fix it as soon as possible, she also needed some time to process the sudden fight. Everything escalated so quickly that the two of them were already quarrelling before she knew it.
Both of them could be quite willful to a fault. It wasn't easy for others to influence their thoughts and decisions except for when they allowed it.
At this point, she was certain that her brother wouldn't change his mind so easily just like how she wouldn't change her mind easily just because of their argument.
He was blinded by revenge while she only wanted to protect everything that she built in this life, including her family with Jin Liwei. Even so, they had the same goalâto destroy all the enemies who annihilated the Vetrovs.
It was only very recently that she realized the necessity of this goal. Constantly running away from the shadows of her past life would only catch her unawares someday and might destroy everything that she treasured in this new life of hers as Long Xiulan. She couldn't allow that kind of risk to exist. If she could do something to prevent it, then she would do it.
This was what she wanted to communicate with her brother during their quarrel. She thought that she had been able to calm down enough and convey her thoughts in a clear manner, but based on his reaction, it didn't seem to be successful.
"Hard-headed brother," Iris muttered to herself while changing Little Matcha's baby onesie in the nursery room. "Why won't you listen to me? So frustrating!"
Long Jinjing was also there bottle-feeding Little Dima with Iris' breast milk. She heard what her sister said just now.
"What did you and Zihao fight about anyway?" she asked. "His already bad mood had worsened since yesterday. I couldn't take it. I asked him to chill down a bit but he took it badly. He stormed out of our room. I thought that he was going to sleep in a guest room but when I woke up this morning, he was already gone. I still don't know where he went. He won't answer my calls or messages. It was only when Bacon assured me that his uncle is safe that I stopped worrying so much about him. Well, I still worry about him but I'm too preoccupied with the twins."
Iris sighed and felt sorry for Long Jinjing. As the wife of her brother, Long Jinjing was also affected in the fight.
"Big Brother has been on edge these past few weeks. I unintentionally said something that triggered him and we ended up quarrelling. Let's just say that it got ugly. To be honest, I'm still in shock. Of course, I want to make up with him, but at the same time, I also don't want to see his face right now. I guess both of us are still upset with each other at this point, that's why he left today."
Long Jinjing pouted but still said, "It's okay, little sister. I may not know what you two fought about but I do know that my husband often acts unreasonable."
'Well, you also act unreasonable sometimes,' she added in her heart. 'You were completely unreasonable when we were younger. You've improved a lot as an adult but the trait is still there. Even though you're my blood sister, you and my husband resemble each other to the point that the two of you seem like the real siblings than the two of us, especially when it comes to troublesome personality traits like this.'
Iris had no idea about Long Jinjing's real thoughts. She only agreed that her brother was indeed oftentimes unreasonable.
"Zihao is already an adult," Long Jinjing added. "He might have a bad temper at times but he cares. You might not be his real sister but he treats you better than any of our biological brothers."
Iris didn't reply. She knew in her heart that she and her brother were truer siblings than Long Jinjing and her.
"I'm just concerned because Zihao looked like he was having a painful headache last night." Long Jinjing bit her lower lip.
"Really? Did it look bad?" Iris also became worried. She remembered that her brother didn't look alright yesterday when he left in a hurry after they fought.
"I don't know. I think so. You know him. His expression is always so difficult to read. If he looks like he's hurting, then it must really be painful for it to show on his face."
Iris muttered something in a foreign language. Long Jinjing didn't understand but it sounded like something Lu Zihao would sometimes utter when he was cursing in Russian. She wasn't 100% sure, though.
###
Platinum Sky Condominium.
Inside his penthouse unit, Lu Zihao curled in his large bed and groaned as his head pounded with pain. He was only wearing his boxersâalmost naked. His body was drenched with sweat as he struggled with his pounding head. He had been like this since yesterday after he fought with his sister.
The pain this time was almost too much. It wasn't a simple headache. There was no pain in the rest of his body, yet everything hurt. The pain transcended his physical body. It was mental, emotional...and yes, spiritual. It felt like his consciousnessâno, his soulâwas being ripped out.
He was literally holding on for dear life. If not, he might really die and leave this body forever.
The original Lu Zihao's remnant was not its usual talkative, jokester self. Right now, it was assailing him like magma and incinerating the hold he had over this body. The gradual loss of control was excruciating, not to mention terrifying. It was like being slowly drowned and burned at the same time.
For him who was adept in all kinds of torture, this was the worst. It was like losing himself bit by bit until nothing was left.
Through his tormenting delirium, he didn't realize that he was muttering.
"Jin...jing...Mi...sha...Di...ma...Jin...Jing...."
He had no knowledge of this, yet his subconscious was yearning for his family amidst the agony.
In the end, everything was too much.
He wasn't afraid of any enemy. Even when he had already been defeated once and killed in his past life, he still wasn't afraid. As a matter of fact, he only became more resolved to fight the enemies again to the death.
Now, however, it was extremely difficult to hold on to all his resolutions. How could he defend against an enemy that was within him?
All he could do was persist...and persevere...and endure...until he couldn't do it anymore.
Finally, he was battered until the remainder of his life was like a tiny ember about to be extinguished with the littlest blow.
It felt familiar.
This was how he felt when he was about to die in his past life as Nikolai Vetrov.
There wasn't any panic, only despair, and grudging reluctance of all the things he failed to finish before passing away.
When he was about to go, he opened his eyes and stared unseeingly at the ceiling. He was looking at something that he could only see. He reached his arm up but touched nothing.
"Jin...jing...I...love you...."
Then everything went dark.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
Long Jinjing's anguished sobs filled the hospital wing as the doctor declared her husband comatose.
Nobody knew what happened.
They only learned that something was wrong when Bacon alerted Iris that his Uncle Zihao displayed abnormal sleeping patterns. It seemed that Bacon had attempted to wake his uncle up but failed. If this was before, the always alert Lu Zihao would wake up immediately with the slightest noise. This time, however, he remained unmoving even when Bacon played a variety of deafening sounds.
Iris quickly instructed Bacon to send some Shadow Winds members to check on Lu Zihao in person. They confirmed that he was indeed unconscious and unresponsive. She then sent Jin Liwei's helicopter and had the Shadow Winds members fly Lu Zihao straight to Dragon Palace where he was directly wheeled to the hospital wing.
Outside the hospital room where Lu Zihao was in coma, Iris was filled with guilt. Even so, she appeared calm on the outside. Her mind was running multiple miles per second as she thought about several reasons why her brother fell into coma.
This already happened to both of them before. It must have something to do with the remnant of the original owner of his body again.
Although the two of them had vastly different experiences with the remnants of the original owners of their respective bodies, it was undeniable that they were more or less in exactly the same situationâreborn in completely another bodies after their deaths.
Dom and Jiang Ying Yue were helping comfort the distraught Long Jinjing. Grandpa Lu also arrived not too long ago. The old man also looked like his soul had flown out of his body as he stared at the closed door of the hospital room.
Iris couldn't make herself comfort any of them because she also had to deal with her own worry and fear for her brother. Knowing that this happened after their shocking fight from yesterday was eating at her conscience.
It seemed that she wasn't the only one who thought about the possible cause and effect between their fight yesterday and Lu Zihao suddenly falling into coma today.
"Xiulan!" Long Jinjing shifted her attention on Iris. "If my husband doesn't wake up, I'll make you pay for this! This is all your fault!!!"
Chapter 1350 - Another Newer Version
Iris' expression became cold and hard as she glanced at Long Jinjing. She didn't retort but her eyes looked like they could kill. Even the furious Long Jinjing was intimidated and had to step back.
"Don't say that, Sis Jing!" Dom immediately defended Iris. "It's not boss' fault that Big Brother Boss fell into coma all of a sudden."
"You're upset," Jiang Ying Yue said next. "That's why you're saying that. But I know that you don't really blame your own sister for what happened to your husband."
Dom nodded. "Boss cares about Big Brother Boss and vice versa!"
Long Jinjing avoided all of their gazes and just focused on the closed door of the hospital room where the doctor was still performing various tests on the comatose Lu Zihao. Her emotions were all over the place. If something happened to her husband at this point of her life when she just gave birth to their children, she didn't know what to do.
Grandpa Lu who had been silent all this time slapped his thigh. The sound startled almost everyone except for the cold-faced Iris. "This already happened before to Haohao. He woke up back then so I know that he'll wake up from this again soon. Jinjing my girl, stay strong! I know that you love my grandson but there's no need to blame anybody about this matter. This old man suspects that falling into coma is one of the sequelae resulting from his serious ski injury back then."
Long Jinjing continued sobbing.
The old man sighed. "Dom, Ying Yue, accompany Jinjing my girl, alright?"
The two agreed.
Grandpa Lu stood up and patted Iris' shoulder next. "Don't mind your sister's words just now, my girl. She's just upset."
Iris didn't reply but still nodded. Even so, Long Jinjing's accusation still affected her. She didn't want to stay here anymore and left.
Grandpa Lu looked like he wanted to tell her something but decided to let her go. Dom and Jiang Ying Yue looked worried but they didn't stop her either. Long Jinjing didn't even glance at her.
Well, Iris didn't look at her either.
She encountered her husband at the hospital wing's entryway. Jin Liwei had been waiting for her. His expression looked dark...and furious.
Looking at him, she understood. "You heard?"
"Long Jinjing is too much!" Jin Liwei didn't appreciate what the woman said to his wife.
He had thought highly of Long Jinjing before this because of her kindness and competency at work. Now, however, his impression of her had plunged down the drain. It was understandable that she would be upset because of what happened to her husband but that wasn't a valid reason to blame his wife.
Jin Liwei felt so indignant for his wife's sake. He almost marched to Long Jinjing when he overheard what she said to his wife and wanted to slap the woman's face. It was only because he noticed his wife maintaining her composure despite the hurtful words that he managed to restrain his temper. He knew by instinct that his wife wouldn't want him to interfere in how she handled her friendships. Nevertheless, he still couldn't stop himself from boiling in anger.
"You just arrived?" Iris asked while taking his hand and interlacing their fingers together.
"En. I rushed home from the company as soon as I heard what happened to my brother-in-law."
The two of them left the hospital wing and headed to the indoor forest. Both of them were upset. They didn't want to bring this kind of negative energy around their babies. It was better to cool their heads off first before seeing the twins.
"How do you feel?" Jin Liwei asked as they walked through the lush vegetation in the indoor forest.
Iris touched a hibiscus blossom along the trail where they were walking. She didn't replyâno, she couldn't reply because she honestly didn't know how to name all the exact emotions that she was feeling at the moment. Everything felt so chaotic.
Jin Liwei stopped walking, forcing her to stop as well. He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. "Everything will be okay, baby. Whatever happens, you'll always have me."
"Yeah." She wrapped her arms around his waist and tried to let go of the weight bearing down on her shoulders even for just a few moments.
Ever since her fight with her brother yesterday, she felt awful. When her brother fell into coma today, she felt more horrible. Then when Long Jinjing blamed her for what happened, it was like gravity tripled for her, pressuring her down until she almost fell flat on the ground.
"I hope Big Brother wakes up soon," she murmured.
"En." Then Jin Liwei added, "I also hope that Long Jinjing wakes up soon from her sudden foolishness."
She sighed. It seemed that her husband was truly upset with Long Jinjing this time. Well, she was also upset but she also understood why Long Jinjing said those hurtful words to her.
Long Jinjing's mental health hadn't been that good since she gained a lot of weight throughout her pregnancy. Her self-esteem almost hit rock bottom. The weekly therapy appeared to be helping but what happened today might have been too much for her already fragile mental state. This might be the reason why she lashed out at Iris and blamed her.
Even though Iris could understand Long Jinjing's situation, she didn't have the energy to defend her in front of her husband. She was also affected. It was only because her mental state was tougher that she didn't crumble like Long Jinjing.
"I'm not 100% certain but I suspect that my brother fell into coma because of the original Lu Zihao's remnant again," Iris said as they continued walking around the indoor forest. "His experience has been very different from my experience with the original Long Xiulan's remnant, so I can't really predict what's going to happen with him this time."
Jin Liwei was quiet for a few seconds as he processed what he could about this out-of-the-ordinary situation.
Then he finally said, "My fifth brother isn't someone vicious. Among us five sworn brothers, he's the most open-minded and inclusive. I'm sure that he doesn't discriminate against Nikolai because of his criminal background. If Fifth Brother is acting against Nikolai like this, then he must have been triggered in some way. I think that he disliked how Nikolai fought with you yesterday."
"That's...possible."
Iris didn't really know the original Lu Zihao so she could only construct a version of the man's personality in her mind based on her husband's anecdotes about his much-loved fifth brother.
In addition, she could also tell a little what the original Lu Zihao was like after observing how her brother acted in front of everyone else before he bulked up from his thin, sickly self after returning to the country from Canada. Even when her brother began acting more and more like Nikolai Vetrov later on, she noticed that his personality was no longer exactly the same compared to how he normally acted back in their past life.
Just like how she was no longer the same Evelina Vetrova now that she became Long Xiulan, her brother was also no longer the same Nikolai Vetrov when he became Lu Zihao in this life.
Even though her mind and emotions were chaotic, she still appeared calm on the outside. Jin Liwei also noticed this.
He kissed her forehead. "I feel like you've also changed a little."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You're less...volatile than before."
"Oh? I feel like I've always been like this. Wait." She paused and thought about it, frowning. Then her eyes widened as she realized something. "I've always been like this when I was Evelina. It just feels natural so I didn't really think about it much recently. Now that you noticed it, I was indeed very emotional, and yes, volatile like you said, especially when I just became reborn as Long Xiulan. It might be because the original Long Xiulan's personality has been deeply embedded in this body even when I no longer sense the remnant."
"I see." Jin Liwei stroked a lock of her long, silky hair and twirled it around his finger. "So it's like this."
She looked at his eyes. "Would you still love me if my personality continues changing like this? Even I can't control it."
"Of course. You can doubt whatever you want in the world but please don't doubt my love for you."
"Really?"
"En." He pulled her in another embrace while still looking at her face. "I love you, Evelina. So much. You might be living as Long Xiulan but it's you who I love.
Her heart shook. She couldn't help it. This was the man she loved. He was declaring his love for her once again. She would never get tired at him telling her he loved her.
Then Jin Liwei changed the subject which Iris welcomed because it made her temporarily forget about Lu Zihao and Long Jinjing.
"Long Tengfei always say that our Little Mochi is like Long Xiulan, the original Long Xiulan. Our eldest twin son is demanding, craves attention, and already a little narcissistic. Have you seen how he would stare and smile at his own reflection in the mirror?"
Iris chuckled. Indeed, she also noticed that about their son. It was adorable.
"But that's okay," Jin Liwei continued saying. "It's because he's our son. Through him, I feel like I'm beginning to really understand the original Long Xiulan's not-so-pleasant personality on a much deeper level than before. And even appreciate it. She wasn't necessarily a bad person. What made her grow that way was her upbringing."
"I feel the same way," Iris replied, nodding. "In a way, it's like we're raising another newer version of the original Long Xiulan through Little Mochi."