Chapter 1471 International Black Stars
Iris wrapped her arms around Jin Liwei's waist. "It's so difficult to stay objective and leave justice to the law when it involves someone from our family."
"I know," Jin Liwei murmured.
"I won't stain my hands with blood no matter how much Mao Qiuyue and her parents deserve it," she said. "I don't want our children to have a mother who's a cold-blooded murderer. But I hope that my big brother won't let those Maos get off easily either. I just hope that he still honours his promise to leave them alive enough for the police to deal with. Just like we have our own children, my brother also has his own children now."
"Your brother might break his promise to me or other people, but he won't break his promise to you," Jin Liwei assured her.
"You're right." She sighed. "It's difficult for my brother to change now. I just hope that he won't go any deeper to a point of no return. I'm fine now because I have you and our children. But him? He also has a wife and children now but he still insists on continuing his vendetta with Shadow Winds. I'm just worried about him and his family. I don't want to lose my brother a second time, Liwei."
He gave her another kiss on the head. "You won't lose him again, love. We won't lose anyone from our family in a tragedy. I'll do anything in my power to prevent any of that from happening."
Her response was to rub her face against his firm chest, finding comfort and assurance in his embrace.
The husband and wife embraced each other for a while before returning to Little Jun's private suite.
###
Little Jun had to stay in the hospital for a few more days before Wang Yingjie cleared him for discharge. Of course, it was a conditional discharge because the child hadn't completely recovered from his injuries yet.
The little guy still needed to be confined at Dragon Palace Home #10's medical wing. The adults were just too worried and scared for his safety at this hospital that they constantly asked Wang Yingjie if they could transfer Little Jun home sooner.
Wang Yingjie also understood their concerns, so he used his authority as the child's surgeon and attending doctor to sign the discharge order as soon as possible.
The adults immediately made the arrangements and soon Little Jun was airlifted to Dragon Palace Home #10 using Jin Liwei's helicopter.
Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan accompanied him in the aircraft. Iris and the others were already back home to prepare her godson's room at the medical wing in advance with the in-house doctor.
Jin Liwei stayed back at the hospital to listen to Wang Yingjie's additional instructions.
"I already contacted my friend who's a renowned child psychiatrist," Wang Yingjie said. "She's in America right now and needs to make arrangements with her current patients before she can come here. I already sent her Little Jun's medical records and she says that she'll work with him, no problem. Here's her contact information."
Jin Liwei received a piece of paper. "Thanks, Second Brother. I owe you one."
Wang Yingjie shook his head. "Not at all. I also treat Little Jun like my own nephew. If not for the ethics and the doctors' moral code that I have to follow, I would've also wanted to rush out and kill the monsters who did that to the child. I hope that they're punished."
Jin Liwei's eyes flashed with a cold light. "Don't worry, Second Brother. I'll make sure that those people receive the punishment that they deserve."
Wang Yingjie nodded. "Good."
"Thanks again, Second Brother. I'll have my assistant contact the child psychiatrist and if she wants, I can even send one of my private jets to pick her up in America so that she can meet Little Jun sooner."
"You make the arrangements."
"En."
The two didn't continue chatting anymore because Wang Yingjie was still on duty. He needed to check on his other patients at the hospital.
Jin Liwei didn't stay any longer either. He immediately returned home to check on his godson's situation.
And of course, he was already missing his wife and kids. He couldn't wait to kiss and hug them.
###
The news about the kidnapping of Iris Long's nephew and the Mao family's involvement continued to ferment on national TV, the newspapers, and the web.
Even Iris Long's international fans got wind of the kidnapping. All of them also felt horrified about what happened to their Boss Iris' nephew.
She gained these international fans when her song with Jin Chonglin which was used as the opening theme for the drama "Our Love, Our Destiny" became popular in many other countries, mostly Asian ones. The hit drama's popularity also made her song with Jin Chonglin, "Shining Eyes", climb to the top of these countries' music charts. The song even got adapted into different languages.
The strongest fans outside China were the Black Stars Philippines. The Chua family led the Filipino Black Stars into demanding justice for the kidnapping of their Boss Iris' nephew.
Second only to them was the Black Stars Singapore, secretly led by Jasper Leung, the figurehead of Ketchup's White Tigress International Virtual Assistant Services. Due to Jasper's efforts, Iris Long became more and more known in Singapore despite being still in hiatus after giving birth.
In addition, Iris Long also had a considerable number of fans in Europe where her instrumental album, "Rebirth Melodies", charted in several countries.
She also gained prestige in Europe when she won the Best Soundtrack Award at the Sommet International Film Festival for the indie film, "Strong Yet Broken". All these fans were enchanted by Iris Long's music and her mesmerizing performance. Since then, they joined the international Black Stars.
After learning about what happened to her nephew, they couldn't just sit still. Although they couldn't do anything substantial to pressure another country's legal proceedings, they still did their best to spread the news until it reached the attention of the international media.
This way, Little Jun's country would feel too embarrassed not to give him the justice he deserved especially now that the whole world was watching.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1472 Sense of Crisis
Dragon Palace Home #10.
Little Jun thrived back at the mansion. Everyone did their best to take care of him and make him feel their love and care every single day. They pampered and doted on him, and yet he remained sweet like his usual self.
Despite his serious injuries that prevented him from leaving his bed, he began to laugh again especially whenever his baby cousins, cat cousins, and the dogs visited him.
His uncles and aunts also visited him every day, bringing lots of treats and toys that made him giggle with delight despite his painful injuries.
To stay with the mother and son, Lin Yehan also temporarily moved to the mansion. At the same time, he also worked on improving his farm villa's security. Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao advised him on how to better do it.
Lin Yehan planned to wait for Little Jun to completely recover from his injuries at Dragon Palace and then have their family move back to the farm villa together. Hopefully, the farm villa's security would have already improved by then.
During the days, Little Jun seemed like his normal cheerful self. It was only during the nights that he would exhibit signs of the horrific trauma he went through.
He would frequently wake up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying as he relived all the abuse he suffered in his nightmares.
This broke everyone's hearts.
Jiang Ying Yue would often hide after comforting her son back to sleep and sob at the injustice. Lin Yehan was always there beside her. Both of them felt guilty that their son got kidnapped while on their honeymoon.
Despite their friends' assurances that it wasn't their fault, they still couldn't stop the feeling of guilt from consuming them.
This was why they swore to treat Little Jun better and fight for justice until the end. There was no way that they would forgive the monsters for torturing their son and traumatizing him.
It was possible that this trauma would stay with Little Jun for the rest of his life. Just thinking about it was enough to fill Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan with endless fury.
When Little Jun finally settled at Dragon Palace, Long Tengfei and his wife, Yang Jiahui, together with Meimei started visiting. They could've visited earlier like at the hospital, but they chose to wait a few more days, especially since they had another person following them.
They knew that Long Hui wasn't welcome at Dragon Palace, especially now that everyone knew it was his ex-wife's parents who had tortured Little Jun.
"What are you doing here?!" Jiang Ying Yue's expression turned cold once she saw Long Hui.
"What are you doing here?!" Jiang Ying Yue's expression turned cold once she saw Long Hui.
Meimei stepped away from her aunt and uncle-in-law and joined her friends, clearly stating with her actions that she was on her friends' side.
"I already told my aunt and Uncle Tengfei that we shouldn't bring that person with us, but he just kept shamelessly following us no matter how many times Uncle Tengfei discouraged him," Meimei muttered under her breath.
"Ying Yue, please let me visit my son," Long Hui begged, ignoring the other people's judgmental eyes. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He only looked at the mother of his son, knowing that the final decision was hers.
Just the fact that he was able to enter the gates of this exclusive village without being barred was enough to let him tacitly know that both Jin Liwei and his youngest half-sister had allowed him. This meant that the couple left the final decision to Jiang Ying Yue.
Whether he could see his son today or not would be up to Jiang Ying Yue.
"No!" Jiang Ying Yue rejected him without hesitation.
She was trembling from fury. If not for her husband, Lin Yehan, holding her, she might have already attacked Long Hui as soon as he stepped inside.
In her mind, she understood that it wasn't Long Hui's direct fault that their son had been kidnapped. However, her heart just couldn't forgive his indirect involvement in the matter.
If he had not been married to Mao Qiuyue and then divorced her, then perhaps the Maos wouldn't have hated him so much that they would have gone to great lengths to target his son.
Jiang Ying Yue understood all this in her mind, but she just couldn't let him go for what their son went through. If only she had been the one targeted and not their son, she would have gladly offered her life. Unfortunately, her son had to go through such a horrific trauma instead of her. And it was breaking her heart to a million pieces every single day.
Iris, Jin Liwei, and the others stood aside and watched Jiang Ying Yue take a stand. They also didn't have any good feelings for Long Hui, but this time, they left the final decision to the child's mother about whether to let the father see their child or not.
Long Hui could sense Jiang Ying Yue's strong hatred toward him. It was pure, unadulterated hatred.
But the thought of just walking away was something he couldn't do. His son needed him. Little Jun was his son! He needed to be there for Little Jun right now.
He had a premonition that if stepped back today, then he would lose his son forever. That was something that he didn't want to happen.
No matter what, he needed to stand his ground today.
He felt a sense of crisis, so he did something that he thought he would never do in his lifetime.
He knelt on both knees with a loud thud in front of his ex-lover, the mother of his child.
There was an audible gasp from the group watching them. Even Jiang Ying Yue looked shocked. Lin Yehan frowned but otherwise stayed silent.
For the first time ever, Long Hui swallowed his pride.
"Please, Ying Yue. I'm begging you. I know that you hate me, but please don't prevent me from seeing our son. I promise to not bother you and your husband anymore. I just want a relationship with my son. That's all I want. Please!"
Chapter 1473 Never Again
Iris watched the kneeling Long Hui. He looked sincere, but who knew what was going on in his mind?
But one thing was clear. He really did throw away his precious pride at this moment, especially inside his enemy's territory.
If he was really sincere, then Iris would give it to him for doing whatever was needed to maintain a relationship with his son. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
She couldn't help but sigh. If only he didn't abandon the mother and son. Even if his relationship with Jiang Ying Yue hadn't worked out, at least they could have had an amicable co-parenting relationship without the need to push each other down. Unfortunately, he already made a series of bad decisions.
He lost the mother of his son. Now Jiang Ying Yue was happily married to Lin Yehan who accepted her for who she was including her son whom he treated like his own.
Perhaps Long Hui was beginning to realize his mistakes. Iris wasn't sure about what was going on inside Long Hui's mind at this very moment.
She examined Jiang Ying Yue's dumbfounded expression before looking at Long Tengfei.
The older man appeared conflicted seeing his firstborn son kneeling and begging in front of all of them. Maybe this was also the first time that he had seen his son like this. Thankfully, Long Tengfei didn't intervene. He stayed silent and didn't try to save his son from the embarrassment. Maybe Yang Jiahui's presence prevented him from acting on his paternal instincts of wiping his son's a**.
"Y-you...." Jiang Ying Yue didn't know what to say.
Long Hui gritted his teeth but still persevered. "I beg you, Ying Yue. Please don't stop me from seeing my sonâour son!"
She looked at her husband.
Lin Yehan squeezed her hand, giving her support. "Up to you."
Taking a deep breath, she returned her eyes to the father of her child who was now kneeling in front of her. "Fine, Long Hui."
He released a big sigh of relief, but before he could stand up, she added, "But you must do what you promised just nowâthat you won't bother me and my husband anymore. You must also ensure that whoever you marry again in the future won't harm our child again. Little Jun has suffered too much. Our son doesn't deserve all this trauma that your ex-wife's family has caused!
"Child support also needs to be paid monthly as usual. I'll have to demand more from you this time because of what happened. Don't worry, I'm not a greedy person, you know that. We'll follow what the law stipulates you to pay. Also, rest assured that I'll only use it for our child's needs.
"We must also draft a revised visitation agreement for you. You must follow my rules if you want to continue seeing our son. If you ever violate any of them, then your visitation rights will immediately be terminated until our son grows up to the age where he can legally decide if he wants to have a father-and-son relationship with you or not. If you agree, then I'll allow you to maintain a relationship with our son as you wish."
Long Hui fell into deep silence.
Iris and the others sent Jiang Ying Yue approving looks. Dom and Meimei even gave her big thumbs up. They didn't care if Long Hui saw them or not.
Well, he didn't see them anyway because he was too busy considering Jiang Ying Yue's demands.
Lin Yehan's eyes softened as he looked at his wife with pride. Seeing everyone's support, Jiang Ying Yue straightened her back.
Screw her sense of inferiority! She would crawl on the bloody ground and fight into the deepest pit of hell if it meant that she could protect her son.
Never again would she allow her son and even herself to be bullied! Especially Little Jun. Her little boy was her life.
She would fight for her son to achieve the justice he deserved, even from his own father.
Long Hui owed it to their son.
And she would make sure that he would pay whatever their son deserved down to the last cent.
Finally, Long Hui seemed to have made a decision. He stood up from his kneeling position.
"Alright, Jiang Ying Yue," he said in a soft, resigned voice. "I'll follow your rules, but my only request is for you not to paint me in a bad light to my son."
She glared at him. "You think I'll brainwash my son to hate you? Long Hui, if I wanted to brainwash my son, he would have already hated you long ago and refused to recognize you as his dada. Don't lump me with your vicious ex-wife! I'm not that kind of person!"
"I...I...just please promise me, Jiang Ying Yue," he begged again.
She glared at him harder but still acquiesced. "Fine! You have my promise that I won't badmouth you to our son. But whether he grows up to love you or hate you will depend on your performance. Don't hurt him, and most importantly, don't let anyone from your side harm him again. If anything like this kidnapping happens again, then don't blame me if your son grows up not wanting to have anything to do with you!"
"Alright, I promise." He hesitated but still added, "Thank you, Jiang Ying Yue."
She gave him a stiff nod. "I'll have our lawyer contact you with the new visitation arrangements later."
Long Hui nodded. "Can I visit my son now?"
"Fine."
Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan led the way to the medical wing. Long Hui followed them by his lonesome self.
Long Tengfei looked like as if he wanted to follow them, but Yang Jiahui pinched his arm, warning him with her eyes.
"Give them some privacy," she said. "We'll visit Little Jun later when the atmosphere improves. You'll just make the situation worse if you interfere."
He was reluctant but still nodded. "Let's visit our twin grandsons first then. I hope the Jin twins still remember us."
"Good idea." Yang Jiahui smiled. "It would've been better if our Lu twin grandsons came today as well."
Chapter 1474 Life is Unpredictable
Iris heard their conversation and told them, "The Lu twins also came here yesterday to visit their eldest cousin. I don't think they'll come again today."
"Really?" Yang Jiahui turned to Iris with a gentle smile. "Thanks for letting us know, Xiulan."
"You can always visit them at their new home if you miss the Lu twins," Iris suggested.
"You're right." Yang Jiahui nodded.
Long Tengfei didn't comment.
If it were only his daughter, Long Jinjing, then he would drop by her house to visit his Lu grandsons whenever he wanted. Unfortunately, her husband, Lu Zihao, was quite a scary guy. He must admit that even he, Long Tengfei, felt intimidated by his son-in-law.
Well, to be honest, both his sons-in-law intimidated him. But at least Jin Liwei knew how to be polite to him. Lu Zihao, on the other hand, didn't bother to act nice. Although Lu Zihao wasn't downright rude to him, he didn't cater to him either.
Staying in the same room with this son-in-law of his could be quite awkward if there were no other people to fill in the silence.
He wondered how his daughter fell in love with such a crude man. Sighing, he could only comfort himself with the knowledge that at least both his sons-in-law seemed to treat their wives well.
Both sets of his twin grandsons were also close to their fathers. It appeared that both Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao took their roles as fathers seriously and were even quite active in personally raising their own children.
It was quite rare for men with their wealth and status to become so involved in raising their children. From Long Tengfei's personal experience, most men just left their kids to their wives or mistresses to raise. Depending on their wives or mistresses, the kids might not even spend much time with the parents either, just the nannies or household staff. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
This was how Long Tengfei dealt with his own children, especially the children of his official wives. Only his illegitimate children, Long Jian and Long Jinjing, grew up with relatively normal childhoods.
In contrast, Long Hui and Long Xiulan, both legitimate children of his legal wives, were raised mostly by nannies and household staff.
Long Hui had it better because as the firstborn, Long Tengfei personally groomed him to be his heir starting from a young age.
Long Xiulan didn't have that privilege. In hindsight, their neglect caused her to grow up into a rebellious, spoiled brat.
Good thing that she changed for the better now. If she continued her old ways, Long Tengfei could only imagine how much trouble she would continue to make him clean up after her.
Now, however, she proved herself not only capable but also a genius. She could even contend against her eldest brother, Long Hui, for the position of the next head of Long Industries.
Long Tengfei once again released a heavy sigh. Life was indeed unpredictable.
The ones he initially believed to be reliable were now struggling to even stay afloat, while the ones he thought to be hopeless were now skyrocketing to the top.
"Let's go."
His thoughts were interrupted by his wife.
Yang Jiahui looked at him. "I said let's go see our twin grandsons. Xiulan says that they can now walk without anyone holding them."
Both his eyebrows lifted. "Really? Is that true?"
Iris beamed when the topic shifted to her sons. "Yes. Well, Little Matcha walks but Little Mochi runs. That child doesn't have any brakes. He already fell several times."
"Is he alright?" Yang Jiahui asked in concern.
Long Tengfei also felt worried. "Don't let him run off by himself. What if my grandson is injured?"
Iris sighed but her smile remained. "Little Mochi loves to show off."
"En." Jin Liwei nodded. "Just like his uncle, my younger brother."
Iris gave him a side-eye but didn't refute his words.
Why did so many people think that Little Mochi inherited his Uncle Jin Chonglin's love for showing off?
Maybe they were right, but Iris believed that her son inherited it from the original Iris Long. Even their needy and clingy personalities were almost identical. Indeed, DNA couldn't lie.
Iris kept her thoughts to herself.
If they wanted to delude themselves into thinking that Little Mochi inherited his Uncle Lin Lin's personality, then let them continue believing it.
It was already enough that Iris remembered the original Long Xiulan. Now that she had completely integrated into this body, she would honour Long Xiulan's dream and achieve it for her. At the same time, she would also fulfill her own dreams that she failed to achieve in her past life as Evelina Vetrova.
She smiled at Yang Jiahui. "Let's go to the nursery. I'm sure that Little Mochi and Little Matcha will be delighted that you came to visit."
Yang Jiahui turned to her niece who was busy gossiping with Dom. "Meimei, where are the gifts we bought for the children?"
"I have them, Auntie," Meimei replied.
Iris and Jin Liwei led the group to the nursery where they all fawned on the Jin twins, the cats, and the dogs.
"By the way, where is Little Jun's dog?" Yang Jiahui asked. "Is it still alive?"
"Yes, Gravy is still alive," Iris replied. "But his injuries are extremely serious. Big Brother Zihao took him to...uh...a vet, yes. He took him to a vet. Gravy needs time to heal just like Little Jun."
Yang Jiahui: "Thank goodness!"
"Unfortunately, Gravy might not be suitable to work as a guard dog anymore," Jin Liwei said. "His injuries are too serious and is now handicapped. If not for Fourth Brother's, uh, vet friend, then Gravy might have died already."
"No matter," Yang Jiahui said. "That dog still saved my grandson's life. Your father told me about the surveillance footage of it protecting Little Jun from the kidnappers. Handicapped or not, it's still an excellent dog. If it can't work as a guard dog anymore, then just keep it as my grandson's pet. We can just get him another guard dog."
"En." Jin Liwei nodded. "That's the plan."
She sighed in relief and smiled gently. "Then that's great."
Chapter 1475 Presents for the Children
The next day, Jiang Ying Yue was true to her word. She asked Iris' lawyer, Atty. Hong Shaoqiang, to help draft a new visitation agreement for Long Hui.
When Long Hui received it at his office at Long Industries, he took a pen from his assistant and immediately signed it without any complaints. After sending the special courier away, he wrote a string of numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to his assistant.
He instructed, "Open a bank account for my son and deposit this amount every month. Give extra for special occasions like birthdays. Get a supplementary card and send it to the child's mother. Tell her that it's my son's child support."
Although Long Hui had already been giving child support before this, doing this now would make it more official. Now that it had come to this point, he would follow the arrangement down to the last exact word. He didn't want to provide Jiang Ying Yue with any ammunition to bar him from seeing their son.
There was also no hope for the two of them anymore. She was now married to another man. He saw her pure, unadulterated hatred toward him yesterday.
If not for him swallowing his pride and kneeling in front of her yesterday, then he would've already lost his chance to be a father to their son.
Perhaps this was for the best.
"Any other instructions, sir?" his assistant asked.
He brought back his thoughts to the present. "Buy some toys and gifts that my son might like."
"Understood, sir."
Long Hui hesitated before adding, "Also buy some toys for my nephews. Four of themâthe Jin twins and the Lu twins."
"Yes, sir. I'll take care of it right away."
He nodded. His assistant was about to leave to do his bidding but he called him back.
"Yes, sir?"
"Did...did my sister come to the office today?" he asked.
The assistant blinked a few times before realizing who he was talking about. "Oh, Deputy CMO Long?"
"Yes."
"I'm not sure, sir. But I'll check it for you."
"Alright, go." Long Hui waved him away.
About ten minutes later, his assistant called him on the phone.
"Sir, Deputy CMO Long didn't come to the office today," his assistant reported. "I heard that the CMO gave her special permission to work from home for a few days after hearing about what happened to her nephew, er, your son, sir."
Long Hui took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Okay, got it. Go do your tasks."
"Yes, sir."
The call ended.
Long Hui stood up and gazed at the concrete skyline of the business district from his office's glass windows.
How come Iris got special permission to work from home but he didn't?
He was the father. She was only the aunt.
Granted, Little Jun was recuperating in her home, but it still felt unfair to him.
Everything felt unfair.
Now, however, he just felt exhausted.
The usual hatred he usually felt for Iris had now been transferred to his ex-wife, Mao Qiuyue, and former in-laws. If not for the Maos, then his son wouldn't have been kidnapped and tortured.
"Mao Qiuyue!" He hissed, his eyes filled with burning hatred. "You and your equally despicable family better not show yourselves in front of me, or I swear I'll send you to hell myself!"
###
Later that day, Iris and Jin Liwei looked at each other as the butler handed them two big wrapped boxes addressed to their twins. The sender was Long Hui.
The butler mentioned that Long Hui also sent a bigger present to his son, Little Jun.
"Leave it here, thank you," Iris said.
The butler bowed before leaving.
Before they could decide what to do with the presents, Iris' phone rang. It was Long Jinjing.
"Did Big Brother Hui send presents to your twins?" Long Jinjing asked.
Iris raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he did. Your twins got presents from him, too?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Yes. Zihao almost threw them into the trash but I stopped him in time. What did he get for Little Mochi and Little Matcha? I opened the ones he sent to my sons and they're mostly cute toys and clothes. Little Misha is now sucking on a stuffed panda. Little Dima doesn't look very interested in any of them, though."
"We haven't opened the presents yet," Iris said.
A few seconds pause.
Then Long Jinjing said, "Xiulan, I think our eldest brother is starting to change for the better. I heard what happened yesterday from Dom and Meimei. If he can kneel and humble himself like that, then maybeâ"
"Big Sister," Iris interrupted. "I know what you're trying to say. Whether he changes or not is up to him. I'll only believe his actions, not his promises. If he can change for the better, then good! I'll be so happy for Little Jun. It's as simple as that."
Another pause.
"Alright, Xiulan," Long Jinjing finally said with a sigh. "I'll talk to you again later. It's time for me to feed your nephews."
The two women bid each other goodbye and ended the phone call.
"Should we open the presents?" Jin Liwei asked.
Iris thought about it for a couple of seconds. "Sure. Let our sons open their presents by themselves."
Jin Liwei carried the presents while they headed to the nursery together.
Little Mochi got very excited when his parents told him that an uncle gave him and his twin brother presents. He didn't know which uncle his parents were talking about, but it didn't matter. He had a lot of uncles who doted on him anyway. He would just thank all of them when they came to visit next time.
"Yah yah yah!" He couldn't contain his excitement.
Little Matcha, on the other hand, was less excited. He still showed interest but wasn't as showy about it as his twin brother.
The two of them first worked together on opening the first box. When they finally tore off the wrapper, they checked the contents one by one. Little Mochi squealed with delight as he shook a toy robot, but Little Matcha pulled him to open the second box before he could forget.
Iris and Jin Liwei laughed at their twins' antics.
Chapter 1476 Child Psychiatrist
Seeing their twins' joy, Iris and Jin Liwei also felt happy. It didn't matter anymore that Long Hui was the one who sent the presents. Just looking at the smiles on their sons' faces was enough.
Whether Long Hui was sincere or not was no longer important. The most important was that he made the children happy. The result was more important than the motive.
Finally, the twins unwrapped both boxes. The contents were more or less the same except for the colours. It didn't matter to the twins, though.
The twin brothers weren't calculative with each other. They only took what they liked and played together with gusto. Of course, they also offered their new toys to their cat siblings and their dogs.
Iris and the nannies took the clothes and folded them while Jin Liwei spent time playing with his children.
The children's laughter filled the nursery, and in turn, filled the adults' hearts with contentment.
###
A couple of days later, Little Jun's psychiatrist finally arrived. She was a petite, gentle-voiced Hong Kong Chinese-American woman named Dr. Mary Poon.
Just listening to her speak made a person feel comfortable. No wonder Little Jun immediately liked her.
Dr. Poon was Wang Yingjie's friend from abroad. Since he was the one who recommended her, Iris, Jin Liwei, Jiang Ying Yue, Lin Yehan, and the others all trusted her. Of course, they still had to observe her performance if she could help Little Jun deal with his trauma from the kidnapping.
Jin Liwei had offered to send a private jet to pick her up from America, but Dr. Poon politely refused. She only asked for assistance with the living and transportation arrangements while she stayed in the country to treat Little Jun.
Iris arranged a condo unit for her from one of the newest Gold Heights buildings because Dr. Poon also refused their offer to stay at the Dragon Palace mansion with their in-house doctor.
Jin Liwei had his assistant provide her with a car so that she could drive herself. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The couple respected the doctor's wishes and didn't mind her refusals too much. It just meant that the woman had her principles. But when Dr. Poon offered to pay rent for the condo, it was now Iris' turn to firmly refuse.
"As long as you can help my godson, I'll even give you the condo as a gift," Iris said.
Dr. Poon didn't insist anymore but still warned, "Trauma is a very delicate issue to treat. Each person also deals with it differently. I can't completely erase what happened to Long Jun from his mind, but I'll do my best to make him come to terms with it in a healthy manner."
"We understand," Jin Liwei replied this time. "We'll be counting on you, then."
"Thank you for your trust," Dr. Poon replied. Then she glanced at Jiang Ying Yue. "Mrs. Lin, I suggest that you also undergo therapy. Having a traumatized child is also very traumatizing to the parents, especially the mother. Although my specialty is treating children, I can also help you if you're willing. Only with a clear mind can you help your child."
Jiang Ying Yue hesitated, looking at her husband for his opinion.
Lin Yehan said, "Go ahead, Ying Yue. I think that it's going to benefit you and our son if you also go to therapy. You haven't slept well these days."
She faced the doctor again. "If it's going to help my son, then I'm willing to go to therapy as well."
"Don't worry about it too much," Dr. Poon gave her a kind smile. "I'm here to help you, not interrogate you."
Afterwards, Dr. Poon bid her goodbye to them and left Dragon Palace to the Gold Heights condo she was staying.
"She handled Little Jun well earlier," Iris commented.
"En," Jin Liwei agreed.
"She's indeed an expert recommended by our Second Brother," Lin Yehan said.
Iris looked at the quiet Jiang Ying Yue and patted her shoulder. "Like what Dr. Poon said, she's here to help you and Little Jun, not to interrogate you. Don't worry too much about the therapy. Remember that Big Sister Jinjing has been going to therapy since she got pregnant until now and she's doing better."
"I know." Jiang Ying Yue smiled at her. "I'm just a little nervous because I want to clear my mind faster so that I can be there for my son and help him get better."
"We'll all be there for Little Jun," Iris assured her.
"Thank you, Xiulan."
"What is there to thank me about? Little Jun is Liwei and my precious godson. We'll always be there for him."
Jin Liwei: "En, always."
Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan smiled at them.
Then Lin Yehan told Iris, "Now that Dr. Poon has arrived, you can return to your usual work schedule, Third Sister-in-Law. Ying Yue and I know that you've been rearranging your schedule and have been working from home these days because you're worried about Little Jun. You and Third Brother should return to your normal schedules and leave our son to us. You also have your own children to take care of."
Iris and Jin Liwei looked at each other.
"Alright," Iris finally said. "If you need anything, just tell the butler and he'll help you."
Lin Yehan chuckled but there was gratitude in his eyes. "Yes, we know."
After checking on Little Jun, Iris and Jin Liwei left the family of three and returned to their own children.
Little Mochi and Little Matcha hadn't tired of Long Hui's presents yet. They were still playing with the toys they received.
Little Mochi's favourite was the toy robot that he kept on smacking on the floor. Little Matcha didn't seem to have any favourite, but he gravitated more toward puzzle-type toys.
As for Popcorn, the energetic cat chased balls with the dogs while the lazy Ice Cream didn't bother with any of them and slept her way through all the commotion.
Iris' eyes softened as she watched the mess her children were making.
Ah, this was the warm home and family that she had always been dreaming of in her past life but never dared to openly desire.
Now that she had achieved it in this new life, she was eternally grateful.
Chapter 1477 Vigilante Justice
After a few more days, the construction of a new cafeteria started at Long Industries. It was announced to all the staff that Deputy CMO Long Xiulan was the one who donated 100% of the funds to build the new cafeteria. It was going to be built at the same standard as Orchidia's famous cafeteria. All the employees cheered when they found out. They couldn't wait for it to be completed.
With the CMO and the entire Marketing Department at her side and President Long Tengfei's tacit support, Iris Long's position in the company had also stabilized. There were incidents of sabotage from the opposing camp, but she quickly dodged the dangers, and more often than not, counterattacked.
Of course, she had long noticed that her foundation in the company wasn't as deep as that of Long Hui's or even Long Jian's, but she wasn't discouraged about it at all. She even felt more motivated to compete against the two half-brothers. But still, she never forgot her purpose in joining the battle for succession at Long Industries.
On the same day, they also received news that Mao Qiuyue's parents had finally been found.
The police were at their wits' end about searching for them.
Jin Liwei claimed that the experts he hired only rescued his godson and didn't do anything else. Although the police had their suspicions, they didn't have any evidence to prove otherwise. It also seemed that their resources weren't as good as that of the billionaire CEO. They still failed to catch any clues about the whereabouts of Mao Qiuyue's parents after so long.
Now, the search was finally over.
The police were relieved because the public and the media kept on pressuring them to give justice to the poor child. Even some of the government higher-ups became involved and kept on urging them to indict and arrest all the suspects involved at all costs especially after the international media featured the kidnapping case.
The police force could only focus their sights on Mao Qiuyue herself while her parents were still missing. They charged her additional crimes and then hastened her transfer to a maximum-security prison.
When her parents were finally found, the police force immediately charged them with their original crimes of bribery, extortion, embezzlement, and tax evasion, and the new crimes related to kidnapping and battery. They were also arrested the same day.
The Chief of Police even held a press conference about Father Mao and Mother Mao's arrest due to pressure from the public and media, including some of the government higher-ups.
All the major media news outlets attended the press conference. After listening to the Chief of Police's announcement about the arrest, all the reporters raised their hands. The chief chose one to ask a question.
Reporter 1: "Congratulations to our police force and all members of our law enforcement for finally arresting the criminals.
Chief of Police: "Thank you."
Reporter 1: "Can you please tell us why it took so long to find and arrest Mr. and Mrs. Mao?"
Chief of Police: "Our police officers never stopped searching for them. Remember that the Maos were once a wealthy and powerful family. They may still have hidden resources that they used to evade us, but in the end, justice still prevailed. All of us from the police force are sworn to do our duty to uphold justice and punish all criminals. No matter how long it takes, we will catch them. And we did just that."
Of course, he wasn't going to tell the media that Father Mao and Mother Mao were served on a silver platter to the police, that they didn't actually catch the couple but found them at an alley near a police station. As the Chief of Police, he needed to protect the force's reputation and inflate his officers' achievements.
He chose another reporter to ask a question.
Reporter 2: "Chief, can you tell us more information about where you found Mr. and Mrs. Mao and how you caught them?"
Chief of Police: "Ahem, that is classified information."
Reporter 2: "Why is it classified information?"
Chief of Police: "You've already used up your question. Next!"
Reporter 3: "Except for the classified part, can you tell us some of the details that you're allowed to publicly share about where you found Mr. and Mrs. Mao and how you caught them?"
The Chief of the Police paused for a few seconds. The reporters eagerly awaited his answer.
Finally, he said, "I can't share the place or the process of how we caught the two suspects because they're classified information."
The reporters were disappointed.
Then he continued, "But I can tell you their states or condition when we arrested them."
The eyes of the reporters lit up.
Chief of Police: "Mrs. Mao's hands are both broken. Mr. Mao has become blind and deaf."
This revelation caused a disturbance among the reporters.
Reporter 4: "Sir, did the police cause their injuries?"
Chief of Police: "No. My officers found them already injured." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Reporter 5: "Do you know who caused their injuries? And if you do, who did it?"
Chief of Police: "We are still investigating that at this moment. But we suspect that this is a case of vigilante justice. As we all know here, this kidnapping case has considerable massive media coverage, both nationally and internationally. Of course, we, the law enforcement, stand by the law. We condemn anyone who carries out illegal activities, including those who execute vigilante justice. We don't care if you think that you're doing the right thing. You're still breaking the law and we will apprehend you."
There were some more questions, and the Chief of Police answered most of them. For the other questions, he would say that he couldn't answer because they're classified information. No matter how many times the reporters rephrased their questions, the chief refused to answer.
After the appointed time, the press conference finally ended.
The Chief of Police left without any hesitation, not caring whether the reporters had asked everything they wanted.
Chapter 1478 A Parent's Protective Instinct
Dragon Palace Home #10.
Jin Liwei pressed the remote control and the TV turned off. They just finished watching the Chief of Police's press conference about the arrest of Mao Qiuyue's parents.
Iris asked the others, "What do you think?"
"The Chief of Police did an excellent job dodging some of the questions," Jin Liwei commented.
Lin Yehan nodded. "It may look like he said a lot, but the information he revealed isn't actually that substantial."
"Is it true that Mr. Mao has become blind and deaf while Mrs. Mao broke both of her hands?" Jiang Ying Yue asked.
Both Iris and Jin Liwei didn't reply to her question nor did they react. Lin Yehan observed them, but couldn't read anything from their expressions. But their silence alone meant that they most likely knew something.
"I...I know who rescued Little Jun," Jiang Ying Yue said in a careful tone. "My son told me that his Uncle Haohao is a superhero who saves little children like him."
Iris and Jin Liwei looked at each other.
Lin Yehan sighed. "Don't treat us like we're stupid, Third Brother. I already long noticed that Fifth Brother has been busy with some...hm, shady stuff. I just don't comment on it because I still trust him. And at least, he has settled down a lot now compared to before when he's always running off to the next highest mountain to ski."
"Did...did Sir Zihao do that to Mao Qiuyue's parents?" Jiang Ying Yue asked. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Iris narrowed her eyes and asked her point blank, "If my big brother did, are you against it?"
Jiang Ying Yue froze for a second before shaking her head in a hurry. "That's not what I meant, Xiulan."
"Then why are you asking like that?" Iris asked, the challenge clear in her voice.
"Third Sister-in-law," Lin Yehan said in a warning tone.
In turn, Jin Liwei also warned him, "Eldest Brother."
The tense atmosphere increased until Jiang Ying Yue was the first to be unable to take it.
"Everyone, please stop!" Jiang Ying Yue then patted her husband's hand, trying to calm him down, before addressing the defensive couple.
"Xiulan, Sir Liwei, please don't think that I'm accusing Sir Zihao of anything. That's not my intention at all. I just...I just want to know what really happened. I...you know that I hold great respect for Sir Zihao. He has helped train and improve my hand-to-hand combat skills before alongside my colleagues here. We've always appreciated him. And now that he saved my son from great danger, I now owe him a big debt that I don't think I'll be able to repay in my entire life."
Iris and Jin Liwei remained silent, but at least their defensive aura gradually subsided.
Jiang Ying Yue continued, "I'm not trying to stand on a moral high ground by asking whether Sir Zihao was the one who injured Mao Qiuyue's parents or not. I'm not trying to accuse him of anything. Really, I'm not! I just want to know...because I want to thank him!"
Then she burst into tears.
Lin Yehan immediately wrapped his arm around her and started comforting her.
"I'm okay, Yehan." She wiped her tears, but they kept on flowing. "When I learned that Mao Qiuyue's parents hurt my son, I wanted to kill them with my own hands!"
Iris' eyes softened, and she completely returned to normal. "I know. I felt the same way."
Jin Liwei then said, "Whether Fifth Brother did it or not is not our business to tell. If you want to know, you can ask him directly."
"Okay." Jiang Ying Yue nodded. "I understand."
He added, "But don't forget that Fifth Brother is the one who rescued your son from the kidnappers. Those criminals didn't even demand ransom. It's clear that their motive is to purely hurt the child and devastate us."
"I know," she whispered.
Lin Yehan didn't want to see her so upset anymore. "We'll thank Fifth Brother later when we do see him. Fifth Sister-in-law Jinjing says that he's still very busy until now."
"Little Jun also looks up to him now," Jiang Ying Yue added, her mood improving. She even started to smile again. "He now thinks that his Uncle Haohao is the best uncle in the world because he's a superhero."
Everyone chuckled, completely dispelling the tense atmosphere from before.
"We won't ask you two anymore about Fifth Brother's business," Lin Yehan said afterward. "We'll ask him directly if we have any questions, but the fact that we're grateful for him will never change."
"En." Jin Liwei nodded.
Iris also felt relieved that Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan weren't accusing her big brother of being heavy-handed with Mao Qiuyue's parents.
At the same time, she was glad that her big brother listened to her and hadn't outright killed Mr. and Mrs. Mao. He even fulfilled his promise and dropped off the couple near a police station where the police found them.
Now that she was a parent especially a mother, she understood the bone-deep instinct to protect her children. She and her husband had long considered Little Jun like their own child, so of course, they wanted to punish anyone who dared hurt him.
They didn't feel sorry at all for Mr. and Mrs. Mao.
It wasn't a question of morals and ethics, or of whether they deserved it or not, but of the need for parents to avenge the injustice done to their children.
In a way, Mr. and Mrs. Mao were the same. They also tried to avenge what happened to their daughter, Mao Qiuyue. Unfortunately, they messed with the wrong people.
They shouldn't have touched Little Jun, no matter how much they hated the child's mother and biological father. The child had many elders who loved him and doted on himâpowerful elders who would do anything to keep him happy and safe.
Iris and Jin Liwei had already shown Mr. and Mrs. Mao enough mercy by advising Lu Zihao to leave them alive for the police to handle.
Whatever happened to them during the process was just reaping what they sowed, especially after all the horrific things they did to Little Jun.
Chapter 1479 Dirty Jobs
That night, Iris was lying on the bed with her twin sons while singing them a Russian lullaby. Little Mochi was on her left while Little Matcha was on her right. Both of them hugged her as they gazed at her face in adoration.
Little Matcha was the first one to get drowsy. He yawned once and in no time, he fell asleep. Little Mochi took a bit longer. Iris had no choice but to sing another Russian lullaby before the naughty baby finally succumbed to sleep.
The bedroom door opened and Jin Liwei entered, making sure to move carefully to avoid waking up his sons. "They're asleep?"
Iris nodded, smiling with soft eyes, as she gazed at their adorable sleeping sons.
Jin Liwei carefully carried Little Matcha first who was startled awake, but when he saw that it was his father, he immediately returned to sleep. After placing the baby in the large crib bed a few steps away, Jin Liwei returned to take Little Mochi.
He was more cautious this time. Jin Liwei didn't take any chances especially when it came to his eldest twin son.
Little Mochi was quite an emotional baby. If he ever felt upset, he would wail at the top of his lungs. It would take a lot of kisses, hugs, and coaxing to comfort him.
Jin Liwei and his wife were both tired, especially Iris. If possible, he didn't want his wife to exhaust herself even more by trying to coax their crying baby.
He put Little Mochi beside Little Matcha.
Popcorn and Ice Cream rearranged themselves to make room for the babies. The two dogs, Pudding and Chowder, also wagged their tails before falling asleep beside the large crib bed.
Iris stood beside Jin Liwei, and they both gazed down at the incredible miracles they created together.
She hugged his arm and leaned her head on his chest. "They need to learn self-defence once they're old enough."
"En," he agreed without hesitation.
"I don't want our twins to experience what Little Jun experienced. Liwei, I'll die again if our twins ever get kidnapped or experience something worse."
Jin Liwei's eyes turned cold. "I won't let anything like that happen. Over my dead body."
Before she could reply, Bacon's hushed voice interrupted them.
"Please excuse Bacon for disturbing Mother and Father at this late hour, but Uncle Zihao says that he has something important to tell both of you."
The husband and wife looked at each other before leaving the bedroom and heading to the living area of their suite. On the TV display, they saw their pure black AI cat son. Bacon's golden eyes glowed while his fluffy tail swayed in a leisurely rhythm.
"Greetings, Mother and Father."
"Thank you, Bacon," Iris said with a soft smile. "Hello to you, too. You can connect us to your uncle now."
"Understood, Mother," Bacon's voice returned to a normal volume. "Connecting in 3, 2, 1â"
Beep!
The TV display flickered and Lu Zihao's cold face appeared.
"Big Brother," Iris greeted him.
Lu Zihao acknowledged with a nod. He didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"I already personally interrogated the unidentified armed men that we captured from the mountain. They're unusually tough. I'm 100% certain that they underwent some form of torture resistance training just like we did."
Of course, he was talking about their past lives as children of the Vetrov family.
Iris' eyes dimmed at the nightmarish memories of their past lives.
Jin Liwei frowned when he noticed it. He immediately grabbed her hand and squeezed it. His frown deepened when he felt that her hand had gone ice-cold. He massaged it, trying to transfer his warmth to her.
Gradually, she came to her senses. His warm hand reassured her that the past belonged to the past. This was the present now where she didn't need to undergo a horrific training regimen against her will. She now had a warm, loving home with the beautiful family she built with the love of her life.
She gave her husband a reassuring smile before returning her attention to her brother. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"So they haven't revealed their identities yet?" she asked.
"That's right," Lu Zihao said.
He didn't reveal anything from his stoic expression, but Iris could sense that his frustration.
She thought for a moment before saying, "If you're 100% sure that those men underwent torture resistance training then that means that their origins are far more dangerous than we initially expected."
Lu Zihao sneered but his eyes were dead serious. "There are only a handful of organizations in the world that could survive our Vetrov torture methods. I wonder which ones these mangy mutts belong to."
Her chest tightened after hearing her brother's words. "But if they really belong to one of our enemy organizations, why would they come here to this country and assist Mao Qiuyue and her parents? Why would they kidnap an innocent child like Little Jun? It doesn't make any sense!"
Jin Liwei interjected, "I'll investigate if the Maos still have special hidden connections that we haven't discovered yet."
"The Maos are just pawns," Lu Zihao said. "These mangy mutts have no respect whatsoever for the Mao cockroaches. The key here is the woman in a floral dress who apparently looks like you, little sister."
Jin Liwei scowled at the thought of somebody so evil looking like his wife. Even Iris didn't like the idea.
"As long as they're in my country, I'll do everything in my power to find out that woman's identity," Jin Liwei swore.
Lu Zihao didn't refute him but said instead, "If that woman belongs to one of our past enemy organizations, then her identity shouldn't be simple either. Remember that your priority is to keep my sister and all her children safe. Leave the dirty jobs for me to handle."
It was at this moment that Bacon joined in the conversation.
"Please do excuse Bacon's rudeness for interrupting everyone's adult conversation, but Bacon feels the need to remind Uncle Zihao that you also now have your own familyânamely, Aunt Jinjing, and your twin sons, Little Misha and Little Dima. If Uncle Zihao dies from doing all of these so-called dirty jobs, then Aunt Jinjing and Bacon's twin cousins would become so pitiful. Uncle Zihao, you keep on failing to consider this matter. It's not classy."
Chapter 1480 A Class Act of the Highest Level
Despite the seriousness of their conversation, Iris couldn't help but chuckle after hearing what her AI cat son said. She even snickered upon seeing her big brother roll his eyes.
The TV display now showed Lu Zihao and a small image of Bacon at the lower left corner of the screen.
"Don't blame Bacon, Big Brother," she said when she finally controlled her laughter. "Bacon is right."
"Thank you, Mother, for proving that Bacon is indeed right." The black cat on the TV display looked bored as usual, but his tail started rotating like helicopter rotor blades.
Jin Liwei opened a water bottle and handed it to his wife. His eyes were also filled with amusement.
Iris gave him a smile of thanks before taking a sip of water and handing the bottle back to him.
Lu Zihao couldn't take it anymore. "Enough of this pointless conversation!"
"Uncle Zihao, talking about one's family is never pointless unless you're a useless human being," Bacon once again blocked him.
In the end, Lu Zihao didn't bother arguing with the savage AI cat anymore. He had worked with Bacon for long enough to know that his AI cat nephew would never miss the chance to trade barbed words with him whenever the brat had a chance.
If not for Bacon's extraordinary skills and abilities, Lu Zihao wouldn't even want to spend a lot of time working with such a two-faced, savage brat every day.
He couldn't help but complain and ask his sister, "Which bastard did you base this brat's sh*tty personality on?"
Iris almost couldn't stop her laughter from bursting out.
But before she could think of an excuse to tell her brother, Bacon also made a complaint against his uncle.
"Mother, Uncle Zihao just described Bacon's personality as sh*tty. It's not classy. Bacon's feelings are severely hurt. Father, please help Bacon demand compensation from Uncle Zihao for emotional distress."
Before Iris and Jin Liwei could even react, Lu Zihao was already sighing. Then in a resigned tone, he said, "I'll deposit money to you later, okay? Brat, just let me talk to your parents in peace! Goddammit, this brat is the bane of me!"
Bacon's response was to turn around and show his fluffy butt. Ah, he was now sulking.
Lu Zihao scoffed at the AI cat's attitude.
Iris saw this and shook her head, sighing. Her eyes, however, were still full of amusement. Jin Liwei had a similar expression.
After this lighthearted interlude, the adults finally returned to their earlier serious conversation.
"It's useless for me to continue personally interrogating those mangy mutts," Lu Zihao said. "I'll leave them to my subordinates. Perhaps they would give in and finally open their dirty mouths to confess after some time passes. If not, the sharks in the ocean should be hungry for fresh meat."
Iris didn't comment. This wasn't the time to talk about ethics and morality. Those unidentified armed men were now proven to be extremely dangerous, especially if her brother's suspicion was correct that they belonged to one of the enemy organizations of the Vetrovs.
Any person who could endure the Vetrov's inhuman torture methods without spilling anything was also inhuman.
A person like this most likely had been indoctrinated into becoming a mindless puppet who only followed orders from their organization, just like the minions belonging to the Vetrov criminal empire before its downfall.
Iris rubbed her arms. Just remembering her parents' and brothers' subordinates from before was enough to give her goosebumps.
Those people were like robots programmed to have absolute loyalty to the Vetrovs. If needed, they could literally dig out their hearts and offer them to their lords and ladies.
Jin Liwei once again noticed her disturbed reaction. He pulled her closer and rubbed her arms for her, sending more of his warmth to her.
"Do whatever you want with those people," Iris finally told her brother. "I don't want them near Little Jun again or any member of our family, especially the children."
"You don't have to tell me that, little sister." Lu Zihao glanced at something off-camera. "My wife is calling. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, byeâ"
Before Iris could finish her goodbye, Lu Zihao already ended the call.
Bacon turned around and faced his parents again. "Please do not take offence at Uncle Zihao's rudeness, Mother and Father. Aunt Jinjing is just worried because Uncle Zihao is always out working and comes back home late every night. She always calls around this time to make sure that he's fine and still alive. Sometimes, he doesn't even come home at all. Aunt Jinjing fears that Little Misha and Little Dima might forget what their father looks like one day. Bacon thinks that Uncle Zihao is not classy for not prioritizing his family. Isn't that right, Mother and Father?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Iris sighed. This was what she feared as well.
She already made several attempts to convince her big brother to put his revenge plan against the Vetrov enemies on hold and prioritize enjoying his new life.
She had hoped that Long Jinjing and the birth of the Lu twins would make him re-evaluate his priorities, but by the look of things, it seemed that he was still intent on pursuing his original vendetta.
In addition, Iris felt guilty because Lu Zihao had been working so hard since Little Jun got kidnapped. He was the one who personally rescued the child, captured the perpetrators, interrogated them, and now he was investigating the identities of the real mastermind of the kidnapping.
"I'll visit Big Sister Jinjing and my nephews more," Iris announced.
"En." Jin Liwei supported her decision.
"Bacon is sure that Aunt Jinjing and the Lu twins will appreciate Mother for visiting them more often," Bacon said, his black tail swishing side to side. "Indeed, Bacon's mother is an absolute class act of the highest level. Father is truly lucky to have Mother in his life."
Of course, the black AI cat didn't miss the chance to uplift his mother, while taking a (slight) dig at his father. Not too much compared to what he always did to his Uncle Zihao, though.
Fortunately, Jin Liwei agreed with Bacon. "Yes, I'm indeed lucky to have your mom."
Bacon's tail once again rotated until it blurred.