Chapter 1531 Iris Long and Jin Chonglin's Duet (Part II)
Jin Chonglin started singing. He sang the song in the original language. There was no need to translate the song into English because it had already become popular in the original language even among the international audience.
His voice flowed like sweet caramel while he looked at his girlfriend in the audience.
"Walking down the town of life
I caught a glimpse of you
Your beautiful self Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Making even the flowers smile back"
Iris sang next. Her soft voice was like an angel's feathers caressing the audience's hearts. She looked at her husband waiting for her below the stage.
"Smitten I followed you around
Not expecting anything in return
But you always knew
So your shining eyes saw me"
Jin Chonglin took over the song.
"Time stopped in that moment
The sun paled in your presence"
Iris followed naturally.
"Birdsong filled the air
As you chose me"
The instruments harmonized together, creating a heart-tugging melody with a slow, emotional tempo. Jin Chonglin's guitar provided sensuality while Iris' piano evoked romantic memories.
Then they began singing together, their voices harmonizing in a way that made the listeners sigh with deep emotions. Jin Chonglin added a growl to his singing while Iris' voice soared.
"Smitten I had followed you around
Not expecting anything in return
But you always knew
So your shining eyes saw me"
Iris' fingers danced over the piano keys, not missing a beat even as she closed her eyes while singing. When she opened her eyes, her sight never left her husband. She sang the next verse by herself, expressing her deep love to the man waiting for her below the stage. Her voice was high, light, and effortless.
"As I'm singing I look into your eyes
And know you see me like I do you
Even as we grow old I never forget
The man that saw me that day"
Next, Jin Chonglin stopped playing the guitar. The other instruments also paused. Only his deep, saccharine voice could be heard.
"Smitten I had followed you around
Not expecting anything in return"
Iris sang the next lines.
"But you always knew
So you gave me all I could ever want"
Then she played the piano again. Jin Chonglin followed suit with his acoustic guitar along with the other instruments.
Iris and Jin Chonglin sang together.
"I got you~"
The ending was soft and lingering, just like a love that continued to endure throughout a lifetime.
There was a couple of seconds of pure silence. Then the loud applause resounded in the venue.
Iris stood up from her seat in front of the piano. Jin Chonglin held out a hand. She took it.
Together, they bowed down to the audienceâJin Chonglin with a deep bow and Iris with her signature curtsy bow. They also bowed to the band again, sharing the applause and cheers with the musicians.
Among the audience, many couldn't help but marvel at Madame Iris Long's skills and talents. She wasn't overshadowed by Jin Chonglin, a superstar, at all. She held her own and even outperformed him especially when it came to vocal prowess.
There were some parts during the performance where Jin Chonglin's voice became shaky which was expected for live performances.
But there was Iris Long who stood out for her solid, studio-quality performance. Her singing was stable all throughout. Her lung capacity was impressive and so was her piano skills. She barely looked at her hands while playing the piano, focusing instead on conveying the emotions of the song to the audience.
The comparison was enough proof that Iris Long indeed had the talent. She could keep up with a superstar and even outshine him in some parts of the performance.
The band of musicians keenly noticed this point, and so did the guests who had an ear for music. But for most of the audience, this wasn't that big of an issue. The most important thing was enjoying the performance.
Iris spoke to the mic. "Please give Jin Chonglin another round of big applause!"
The audience followed her. Jin Chonglin preened and waved, making plenty of ladies and ladies at heart swoon from his killer smile.
"Now I'll leave the stage for my brother-in-law," Iris said. "Please enjoy!"
With that, she walked down the stage with the help of her husband. Jin Liwei kissed her forehead, whispering sweet praises in her ear.
The husband and wife returned to their table amidst the guests' admiration.
Jin Chonglin took over the stage. This time, he prepared a set of solo pieces for the audience. He even brought a couple of backup dancers to the delight of everyone.
With no Iris Long outperforming him when it came to vocal skills, Jin Chonglin was able to showcase his electrifying stage presence without any limitations, reminding everyone why he was a superstar.
Iris enjoyed his performance, singing along with Jin Chonglin, and even dancing in her seat. Many of the audience members were also the same.
Jin Liwei, however, was more focused on making sure that his wife was comfortable than on his younger brother's performance on the stage. He would pour her drinks, massage her hands, fan her when she sweated, and so many other little acts of service that caused other wives/girlfriends/lovers watching to feel extremely envious.
After Jin Chonglin's energetic performance, everyone took a short break. They also sweated a lot even though they weren't the ones performing on the stage.
Then the party entered another casual mode where the guests walked around to interact with each other. It was another opportunity to network.
Ashandra Knightson approached Iris and Jin Liwei. "I had so much fun today, but I must leave now because I have a meeting for my art exhibition."
"Of course, Ashandra." Iris hugged her friend. "Thank you so much for coming. I'll definitely come to support your art exhibition in a few days."
The friends bid each other goodbye.
Then the French magnate and his wife approached Iris and Jin Liwei next.
Jin Liwei's eyes turned cold.
Iris remained polite, but there was indifference in her tone.
Chapter 1532 Money is the Best
The French magnate felt helpless at the couple's attitude toward him. The concealed bump on his forehead ached, but for the sake of his company's survival and continued membership in Cross Academy's exclusive business network, he swallowed his pride and pretended not to notice the couple's indifference.
He smiled and spoke to Iris. "Madame Jin, I truly apologize for my transgressions. I hope that the gifts that I sent you yesterday are to your liking. If not, please let me know what you like and I'll do everything in my power to get it for you."
"No need," Jin Liwei said before Iris could say anything. "My wife doesn't need anything from you. I already told you yesterday that we're even now because our son had injured you. We accepted the gifts of apology you sent so that you won't feel the need to keep on giving us things to prove your sincerity."
The French magnate controlled his anxiety, trying hard not to let it show on his face. After his gaffe at the gentlemen's gathering yesterday, he noticed the group of men's change of attitude toward him.
Although they didn't blatantly isolate him at the party today, he could feel that they were distancing themselves from him. He had unknowingly offended CEO Liam Jin and Sir Lu Jianhong.
He would never have imagined that he would be reduced to humbling himself in front of others. After he became a billionaire, he felt like he was on top of the world. He had the wealth and power to do basically whatever he wanted.
It was only after his business partner, who was a Cross Academy alumnus, died that he realized the importance of belonging to the academy's exclusive business network. If his company lost its membership there, its value would most definitely plummet. It wouldn't go bankrupt, but it would lose a lot of valuable connections and resources.
He didn't want that to happen. He was ready to do anything to retain his company's membership.
But after his gaffe yesterday and noticing the change in attitude of the group of gentlemen toward him, he knew that he must do something.
First, he needed to appease Mr. and Mrs. Jin. Then maybe they could intervene on his behalf.
Earlier, he noticed that the couple left with Sir Lu Jianhong and his friends plus the nerdy tech billionaire. They stayed inside for quite a while. When they came out, he observed that everyone seemed much more polite to Madame Jin.
The nerdy tech billionaire had the most notable change in attitude toward Madame Jin. After they returned to the party, the younger man looked like he was ready to worship Madame Jin.
The French magnate didn't know what happened inside, but his instincts told him that Madame Jin's influence might be bigger than he initially expected.
He had a feeling that if he failed to completely appease her today, his future would be bleak.
His wife sensed his discomfort. She moved to speak several times, but he stopped her with a look. He didn't want his wife to make things worse.
"Madame Jin, CEO Jin, if there is anything I can do for you, just tell me," he said with an ingratiating smile.
Iris glanced at her cold-faced husband and sighed. The Frenchman's nervousness was making her feel awkward. She wasn't sure if the Frenchman was really sincere or not, but his anxiety was all too real. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
She didn't sympathize with the man at all. Hearing that he tried to influence her husband to cheat behind her back, she didn't have any good feelings toward him.
Even so, she still listened to her husband. Jin Liwei wanted her to accept the Frenchman's gifts of apology so she did. Her husband also had a plan which she was ready to execute now.
"Monsieur, I will forget about you instigating my husband to cheat behind my back if you could help watch over my Liberté when I'm not in France," she said.
The Frenchman's eyes lit up. "Of course, Madame Jin. It would be my pleasure. I might not amount to much outside of Europe, but within my country, I still have some influence," he said in a humble tone. "Please don't worry about Liberté. I'm just a call away if your perfumery needs any assistance."
She gave him a polite smile. "That's all I ask."
He looked relieved. "Thank you very much, Madame Jin." Then he also nodded at Jin Liwei. "And you, too, CEO Jin."
Jin Liwei didn't reply, but the Frenchman didn't mind. He knew that as long as he pleased Madame Jin, CEO Jin would follow.
After a few sentences of polite chatter, the French magnate excused himself and his wife.
"Why did you have to act like a bootlicker?" his young model wife asked, the dissatisfaction clear in her expression. "So embarrassing!"
"If I didn't act that way, the wealth you're enjoying right now might disappear," he said.
Her eyes widened. "What do you mean by that? They're the ones who're asking for a favour to look after Liberté!"
"It might look like that in your eyes, but they're the ones who're doing me favour. Just do as I say and be respectful to Mr. and Mrs. Jin if you see them. Do not, for the life of me, offend them. Especially Madame Jin! I'm telling you. If you drag me down with your foolishness, I'll divorce you."
She pouted. Her eyes followed Iris Long and Liam Jin, feeling envious of their relationship. After watching them interact throughout the entire party, it was obvious that the two were very much in love.
She had thought that Iris Long would be the same as her, but no. Iris Long had a husband who loved her.
What about her? She looked at her French billionaire husband. He didn't look as handsome as Liam Jin, neither was he as wealthy as Liam Jin.
"Let's go," her husband said, dragging her away.
She pouted again, feeling sorry for herself.
"I'll buy you a handbag later," he suddenly said.
Her eyes lit up. "I love you, hubby!"
What was the use of love?
Money was the best!
Chapter 1533 Is He a Masochist?
"It appears that he's desperate," Iris commented while observing the French magnate and his wife from the corner of her eyes.
"En." Jin Liwei nodded. "He mentioned that his company's membership in Cross Academy's exclusive business network is due for a review next year."
"If he helps Liberté, I don't mind vouching for him," she said.
"Up to you."
"I don't want our family to get closer to him, though. I still have a grudge against him for trying to influence you to cheat behind my back. Although Little Matcha hitting him is bad, I'm still proud of our son."
He chuckled. "En. Our son is very protective of our family. But don't worry, love. We'll teach him carefully so he won't randomly attack others whenever he loses his temper. There are plenty of ways to punish people without directly attacking them."
"You're bad, darling." She smiled.
He kissed her forehead.
"Our relationship with that Frenchman would remain business only," she said. "He helps Liberté gain a stable foothold in France and possibly in Europe, and I help his company stay in the academy's exclusive business network."
"En, that's the plan. I wouldn't have advised you to accept his gifts of apology if he wasn't useful for Liberté.
She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed the corner of his lip. "I know. Thank you, darling."
"Anything for you, love."
"Ahem!" Clover interrupted their lovey-dovey moment. "Sorry, boss and sir boss! But I need the boss to give the closing speech in a few momentsâhuh?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the stage.
Jin Chonglin stood there, holding a microphone.
"What's he doing?" Iris asked.
"I don't know," Clover replied. "Excuse me, boss and sir boss. I'll check!"
Clover ran and asked the staff what was going on. The staff members all shrugged. They had no idea what Jin Chonglin was planning either.
"Is your brother drunk?" Iris asked.
Jin Liwei frowned. What was his younger brother doing? This was his wife's important launch party for her perfumery. If his brother ruined it, Jin Liwei wouldn't let Jin Chonglin off.
"Hello, everyone!" Jin Chonglin greeted, taking everyone's attention. "First of all, I want to say thank you for coming to my sister-in-law's launch party for Liberté."
Iris raised an eyebrow. This didn't seem too bad? Even though this speech wasn't part of the original programme, having a superstar like Jin Chonglin thank everyone could only benefit Liberté.
Jin Chonglin continued speaking. "Second of all, don't forget to recommend Liberté perfumes to your family, friends, acquaintances, pets, random strangers...."
His words caused the guests to laugh. Nobody among the guests thought that this was an impromptu speech. They all thought that this was part of the original programme, especially seeing Madame Iris Long acting normally.
"Especially my perfume, 'Vaillance'. It's the best! Am I right?"
He drew another round of laughter.
Iris met Yin Meixing's eyes from across the venue. They both chuckled, shaking their heads.
"Of course, 'Eve' and 'Sérénité' are awesome, too." Jin Chonglin continued chatting with the audience.
"I think your brother is really drunk," Iris said.
Jin Liwei snorted, not caring about his younger brother anymore. As long as Jin Chonglin didn't ruin his wife's launch party, then Jin Liwei wouldn't punish him.
Jin Chonglin continued saying, "And finally, please give me a moment of your attention and cheer for me."
Just as he said these words, he stepped off the stage and started walking toward the audience. His backup dancers from earlier also appeared again. One carried a massive bouquet of roses and the other carried a camera filming everything.
Everyone fell silent as they watched what he was going to do with great enthusiasm and excitement.
"Is this what I think it is?" Iris grabbed her husband's arm and shook it.
Jin Liwei pulled his excited wife closer to him.
They watched his younger brother's actions along with everyone else.
Jin Chonglin stopped in front of his girlfriend, Chen Fei, who had been chatting with some of the other guests.
At first, panic flashed in her eyes from all the attention, but she quickly caught herself. She straightened her back and looked at his boyfriend, waiting for what he would do next.
The other guests whom she was chatting with slowly stepped away.
Jin Chonglin's backup dancer handed him the huge bouquet and took the microphone to hold it for him. Then Jin Chonglin gave the bouquet of roses to Chen Fei. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
She took it but barely looked at it. All her attention was on the man standing in front of her. Her heart thundered inside her chest. She couldn't hear anything else besides his mesmerizing voice.
"Babe, I know that you still harbour a lot of reservations about our relationship," he said to the mic while looking at Chen Fei deep in the eyes. "I don't know when I started to fall for you. Maybe it's when we fight like cats and dogs whenever we see each other. Or maybe it's when you swear and curse at me whenever I get too absorbed in my self-importance. You're the only one who has ever looked me dead in the eyes and told me to my face that I'm a narcissistic diva man and should go to hell."
He spoke in his native language, causing the other guests who didn't understand to ask those who could speak Mandarin to translate for them.
As a result, people crowded around Iris and Jin Liwei, Grandpa Lu and his old friends, Clover, and a handful of others who were proficient in the language.
Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei didn't care about what was happening around them. In fact, they couldn't hear or see anything besides their own heartbeats and the expression of their lover.
"We traded barbed insults like bratty kids," he continued saying. "But mysteriously, we work great together. I even began to look forward to you scolding me."
"Is he a masochist?" Iris whispered to her husband.
Jin Liwei kissed her forehead but didn't reply. For some reason, he could relate to his younger brother.
Chapter 1534 (Title is a Spoiler)
Jin Liwei admitted that he sometimes found a strange pleasure when his wife scolded him, especially when she got mad from jealousy.
Most of the time, it was he who felt jealous and possessive. His jealous and possessive nature would always be there, but at least now, he could control how he reacted to prevent his wife from feeling suffocated.
As for Iris, she rarely felt jealous and possessive maybe because she felt more secure in their relationship than him. But when she did feel jealous and possessive, she was a force to be reckoned with.
There was still a fear deep inside him that she would leave him one day if he took their relationship for granted. This was why he would always do everything in his power to be the man that she needed.
He would always give in to her as long as her demands didn't hurt herself. Of course, he wouldn't deliberately make her feel jealous or possessive, but he would feel secretly happy whenever she did. It meant that she cared about him and wanted him to stay with her.
What he feared the most was her indifference. It would hurt him terribly if she started ignoring him and stopped caring about him. He would rather that she hated him rather than ignore him.
But these were just thoughts for those extreme situations. Right now was a beautiful life of marriage and contentment for both of them. He would do whatever was needed to safeguard his marriage and protect the beautiful family that they had built together.
So he could somehow relate to his younger brother when Jin Chonglin said that he began to look forward to Chen Fei scolding him.
Jin Liwei watched as his wife paid rapt attention to Jin Chonglin's confession just like everybody else. Some of the guests even fished out their phones to record.
He sighed.
Iris noticed it and asked, "Why are you sighing?"
"Chonglin is not thoughtful enough," he said.
She tilted her head to the side.
Seeing the question in her eyes, he said, "If he's going to do what we all think he's going to do, then this is not the right place at all. I doubt that he made careful plans. I bet he just thought about it, maybe this morning, and wants to do it immediately. He's my brother, so I know that he can be very impulsive. For one, he's going to put too much pressure on Chen Fei in front of all these people. And most importantly, how dare he do this at your Liberté launch party? Is he trying to overshadow your launch with his thoughtless, impulsive actions? When he's done, watch how I'll deal with him."
Iris chuckled. "So you're upset for my sake?"
It had nothing to do with Chen Fei, her husband just wanted to vent for her sake. She hugged his waist while continuing to watch Jin Chonglin chatter on and on about the beginning of his relationship with Chen Fei.
He snorted. "You've waited so long to launch Liberté. I know that you didn't even plan to hire Chonglin as the male ambassador in the first place but he insisted on tagging along. Now he's going to take all the attention from your launch with his proposal. He could've chosen another time and place and made careful preparations by himself, but he's too lazy. He wants to ride on Liberté's coattails."
"I think that it's fine," she said patting his chest, trying to calm him down. "Liberté can use this as publicity."
He pursed his lips but didn't refute her. "Up to you."
She nodded.
They continued to watch.
After ten minutes, Iris frowned. "When is he going to stop talking? Is he not going to propose yet? Maybe we made a mistake and he just wants to talk like this?"
Jin Liwei also frowned. His disapproval of his younger brother's actions was clear on his face.
The other guests were also quickly losing interest. They didn't bother waiting for the translations anymore and returned to chatting about other topics by themselves.
Jin Chonglin didn't notice this at all. He still continued enthusiastically talking on and on until the exasperated Chen Fei kicked his shin.
"How long are you going to make me stand here?! Are you going to propose to me or not?!"
"Oh. Oh!" Jin Chonglin fished out a velvet box from his pocket and opened it, presenting a huge diamond ring to her. "Chen Fei, I love you. Will you marry me?"
Chen Fei pouted. "You're not going to kneel?!"
"Oh. Oh, right!" He knelt down on one knee. In his haste, he knocked down his knee on the floor too hard, causing him to wince in pain. But he gritted his teeth, not wanting anything to ruin his proposal.
"Now ask me again," she said.
"Chen Fei, will you marry me?"
The guests who had already lost interest quickly returned their attention back to the couple. Some started cheering for Jin Chonglin while the others were urging Chen Fei to say yes.
Chen Fei didn't answer. She just looked at him.
One minute, two minutes.
"What's your answer?!" Jin Chonglin demanded.
Why was she taking so long to answer?
He hadn't been this nervous for a long time.
Was she going to say no?
Why wouldn't she marry him?
He was the superstar Jin Chonglin!
"You know," Chen Fei began to speak.
He stood in attention, not wanting to miss a word she said.
"This is the first time that you told me you love me," she said.
"Huh?" He was in a daze.
Was this really the first time that he said that he loved her?
She continued, "You've never told me before that you love me and you expect me to accept your marriage proposal? Do you think we live in ancient times? That I should marry you simply because you've claimed me in public?"
Jin Chonglin started trembling. He had a bad premonition.
"Marry you? Hah! In your dreams! My answer is no!"
Chen Fei turned around and walked away.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 1535 (Title is a Spoiler)
Jin Chonglin felt like his world was crumbling away. He continued kneeling there with a stunned expression while watching his girlfriend walk away. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Everything around him turned quiet.
This was the first time in his life that he felt like time had been frozen. It felt like he had separated from his own body, and that he was watching somebody else get rejected by his girlfriend. It was a surreal experienceâa f*cking frightening experience.
He didn't notice the people around him wearing a myriad of expressions.
Some gasped. Some looked horrified. Some looked entertained, wanting to watch more of the drama. Some looked at him in schadenfreude. Some pitied him.
When it felt like time unfroze itself and his motor skills returned, Jin Chonglin stood up in a rush, almost tripping on his own feet, and chased after Chen Fei. He didn't care about his own image as a superstar anymore.
There was no way that he would allow the woman to run away from him just like that!
He, Jin Chonglin, had never been the type to give up!
"Babe! Hey, wait!"
Chen Fei kept on walking away. She wasn't running, just speed-walking.
He was about to reach her when she stopped and faced him again. He immediately put on the brakes and almost stumbled again. Now that she was facing him, he found that he didn't know what to say.
His mind went blank.
What the heck was happening to him?
This was so weird!
It was as if a dumb spirit had possessed him and prevented him from forming coherent thoughts.
Then he stood there looking like a stupid idiot as Chen Fei grinned at him.
"Just joking," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Okay, Jin Chonglin. I say yes, so you can feel happy now because I'll marry you."
His eyes and mouth opened wide as if he couldn't believe that she had just pranked him. He must have stayed like that for too long because Chen Fei became impatient again.
"What are you waiting for?" she demanded, wiggling her fingers in front of him. "You're not going to give me my ring?"
"Oh. Oh, right!" Jin Chonglin regained his senses and took the ring from the box.
He was so clumsy that the ring slipped from his hand. It rolled away to who knew where, causing him and everyone else to panic.
"The ring!" He immediately went down to all-fours to hunt for it.
One of his backup dancers and some of the guests joined him in looking for it while his other backup dancer was filming everything with glee.
Chen Fei covered her face with the huge bouquet. Could she take back her yes?
Her future husband was too embarrassing!
She could hear the guests laughing at them.
Well, whatever. This was the man that she chose for herself. She had to live by her decisions. Sighing, she carefully cradled her bouquet of roses and joined her man in hunting for her ring.
Across the venue from all the hubbub, Jin Liwei held his wife who was clutching her stomach laughing until tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
"Liwei! Why is your brother so funny today?!" Iris felt like she couldn't breathe from too much laughing. "This is the best proposal I have ever witnessed! Hahaha!"
Jin Liwei immediately scowled, feeling jealous. "What about when I proposed to you? That wasn't the best?"
Iris immediately tried controlling her laughter. It was difficult but for the sake of coaxing her husband, she still had to do it. She smiled, stood on her tippy-toes, and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Of course, your proposal to me is the best," she said. "What I meant was that this is the best proposal by other people that I've ever witnessed."
Jin Liwei felt better. He caught her mouth and kissed her, too. Not too deep but enough for her taste to linger in his tongue.
After the kiss, a flush-faced Iris rested her head on her husband's chest. They embraced as they watched Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei along with the other guests look for the diamond ring.
"I guess we'll have another wedding in our family soon," Iris commented.
"En."
'As long as Chonglin doesn't mess it up,' Jin Liwei added in his thoughts.
He cared for his younger brother, but he knew about Jin Chonglin's messy relationships with various women in the past. He just hoped that his younger brother wouldn't play with Chen Fei's feelings. His wife and their girl squad wouldn't let his younger brother off the hook if Jin Chonglin ever hurt Chen Fei.
Just his wife alone was enough to destroy Jin Chonglin.
Long Jinjing was also someone who shouldn't be overlooked. She was Chen Fei's best friend and the most protective of her. She might seem timid at first, but if her husbandâLu Zihao, that vengeful b*stardâwas added into the mix, then it would be an instant game over for Jin Chonglin.
The other members of the girl squad would surely band together to wage war on Jin Chonglin if he ever did anything bad to Chen Fei.
If that ever happened, Jin Liwei wasn't sure if he could help his own younger brother then.
Iris had no idea that her husband's thoughts had already strayed to the worst-case scenario for her brother-in-law. Even if she knew, she would definitely agree with Jin Liwei. She and her friends would always protect each other from undeserving men.
Back to the chaotic scene near the stage, a guest finally found the missing ring. He graciously handed it to the frantic Jin Chonglin who almost called him father in gratitude.
Everyone was laughing. They had never seen a clumsier proposal than this.
Jin Chonglin ran to Chen Fei, waving the ring in his hand.
"Don't wave it like that!" Chen Fei scolded him. "What if you accidentally throw it again? If you lose the ring again, I'll take back my yes and you can just marry your own sorry self!"\
Chapter 1536 Lamest Proposal Ever
Jin Chonglin immediately protected the ring, pressing it on his chest and covering it with his other hand. If he wasn't using both his feet to walk, he might have also used them to cover the ring.
When he reached his girlfriend, he said, "You said yes! You said you'll marry me! I heard it! Everyone heard it, too! You can't take it back! Quick, give me your hand!"
Chen Fei fought the urge to roll her eyes.
This childish man.
She still wanted to scold him but stopped herself. Looking at the excited and expectant eyes of her man, her heart softened. She gave him her hand.
He carefully slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.
Chen Fei immediately felt a weight on her finger. The diamond was so big that it was almost the size of a quail egg. It had a tear-drop shape and looked gorgeous. However, its ostentatious size was too impractical.
She laughed, shaking her head. However, her heart felt like it was going to burst with happiness.
"Do you like it?" Jin Chonglin asked.
He looked confident as always, but Chen Fei now knew him better to notice the slight barely noticeable nervous tremors on his lips.
Her heart softened. "Yes, I like it."
He grinned and looked smug. "I knew it. I have the best taste."
Chen Fei fought the urge to smack him with her huge bouquet.
No, the bouquet of roses was so beautiful. It didn't deserve to be destroyed because of this fool of a man.
In the end, she could only sigh before throwing her arms around her man's neck, bouquet and all.
"I think I love you, too, you little sh*t."
Jin Chonglin felt like he was on top of the world. His woman loved him! See?
His own vainness automatically filtered out Chen Fei's curse words. He deluded himself into thinking that her curse words were her love words to him.
He grabbed his girlfriendâno, his fiancée's face and kissed her hard in front of everybody else.
The entertained guests cheered for them.
Caught in his own joy and excitement, Jin Chonglin lifted his fiancée and twirled her around. Chen Fei also abandoned her prickliness and allowed him to do what he wanted, laughing and smiling until her mouth ached.
Then Jin Chonglin said, "Let's get married tomorrow!"
This time, Chen Fei didn't hold back. She smacked him in the head with her heavy bouquet.
###
Later that night at their Parisian residence, Iris snickered as she listened to her brother-in-law being scolded by his manager on the phone.
"What the hell?!" Lin Dong roared. "Chonglin, are you insane?! How dare you use your sister-in-law's launch party to propose?! And in front of so many guests, too?! The media is going crazy! The domestic media can't wait to devour you and Chen Fei when you return to the country! Even the French media and many international media outlets are reporting about your proposal!"
Jin Chonglin felt indignant that his manager was yelling at him. "I'm in love with my woman! What about it?! I want to marry her! You dare to stop me?!"
Lin Dong sighed several times.
Iris could feel the manager's helplessness through the other end of the phone line.
Lin Dong asked, "Why didn't you at least tell me that you're going to propose? I'm your manager! Can't you give me at least a warning, so that I know how to deal in advance with the sh*tstorm that you left me?"
"Because I only decided the day before that I want to propose," Jin Chonglin said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I knew it," Lin Dong said with a heavy sigh. "I should've gone with you there!"
"Nah, I'm fine. You're busy with LXC Studio."
Jin Liwei who was also listening gave Iris an "I told you so" look. Indeed, proposing was a completely impulsive decision on Jin Chonglin's part.
Iris looked around. Chen Fei should be in her room busy checking some last-minute reports from her assistant in Orchidia back home. It was a good thing that she didn't hear what her fiancé said, or she would definitely smack him with something even more dangerous than a bouquet.
Lin Dong didn't continue to ask for an explanation from Jin Chonglin anymore. There was no use in trying to reason with the man, anyway.
However, he still couldn't help but criticize Jin Chonglin. "You act so proud in making Chen Fei say yes, but that's the lamest proposal that I've ever seen in my whole life. I think that Chen Fei only felt sorry for you, that's why she said yes."
"Pft!" Iris couldn't take it anymore. She laughed until she couldn't breathe.
Jin Liwei held her, stroking her belly to make her feel better. He didn't laugh, but the corners of his lips twitched a few times.
His brother, Jin Chonglin, looked at them with a sullen expression.
At this moment, Dom appeared and asked, "What's happening?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Iris told him between her laughter. Dom also started cackling like an evil witch.
Jin Chonglin stood up and pointed at them. "Hmph! You're all just jealous because I'm going to get married soon!"
"Ahem!" Jin Liwei raised an eyebrow at him and placed his hand with his wedding ring together with his wife's hand that had her wedding and engagement rings.
It was as if his expression was telling his brother, 'You're seriously bragging about that in front of me who's married and has my own children?'
Jin Chonglin also realized the stupidity of his outburst, so he could only glare at the cackling Dom.
Unfortunately, his glare was useless. Dom tossed his non-existent long hair and continued cackling like the queen of all villains.
Jin Chonglin only pouted. His manager's scolding didn't affect him as much as Iris and Dom laughing at his expense.
On a brighter note, he was glad that Dom wasn't present at the launch party earlier. If he were, perhaps Jin Chonglin might have had a worse experience. At least, the other guests didn't try to deliberately embarrass him when he fumbled with his proposal.
Dom, however, was a different beast altogether.
Chapter 1537 Finding His Fiancée for Comfort
Before, Dom was a big fan of Jin Chonglin. But maybe because Dom had seen so many of Jin Chonglin's lame moments while in the family that he didn't care anymore about Jin Chonglin's superstar status.
In addition, Dom's best friend and boss was Iris Long. Just being with her almost every day was enough for Dom to learn all the bad things, like not caring about embarrassing a superstar like Jin Chonglin.
"Hmph!" Jin Chonglin didn't dare to scold either Iris or Dom.
If he scolded Iris, then Jin Liwei would chew him out.
If he scolded Dom, then Iris would chew him out. And because Iris became involved, then Jin Liwei would still end up chewing him out, too.
No matter how Jin Chonglin thought about it, he would be in a lose-lose situation.
These people were bullying him!
He stood up and ran away to find his fiancée for comfort. He had already forgotten that his manager was still on a phone call with him. Poor Lin Dong had been saying "Hello, hello" but nobody was answering him.
Jin Liwei waited until his wife and her best friend-slash-assistant calmed down and stopped laughing at his brother.
"Happy?" he asked.
"I'm happy for Chen Fei and Brother Chonglin," Iris said.
"Me, too!" Dom chimed in. "I watched the video of Prince Lin Lin's proposal so many times. I can't stop laughing. He's usually so cool and choreographed on stage, but he looked like a baby giraffe just learning to walk during the proposal. How could he lose the ring? Hahahaha!"
Iris chuckled. "It's funny, yes, but it's also sweet."
Dom nodded. "Yes, it's super-duper to the highest level sweet. My younger sis can't stop gushing to me about the surprise proposal, although she's a bit miffed that Prince Lin Lin proposed at Liberté's launch party."
Iris waved a dismissive hand. "It's fine. Liberté's official grand opening to the public is tomorrow. We can use Brother Chonglin's proposal to hype Liberté to the media. He and Chen Fei already gave us permission to do so as their apology for disrupting the launch party."
"Don't worry, boss! Clover will handle it. If she doesn't, I'll pull all my sister's hair out and make it into a wig!"
Iris and Dom chatted for a while before dispersed for the night. Dom returned to his bedroom, while the couple went to the courtyard to have some private time alone.
They had already checked their twins earlier and put them to sleep after dinner. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
The moon hid behind dark clouds. Even the stars were far and few in between tonight. Even so, Iris felt like the night sky was bright.
Jin Liwei embraced her. "Congratulations on Liberté's launch, love."
She hugged his waist. "Thank you, darling."
They whispered sweet-nothings to each other before a household staff member interrupted them. Someone dropped off a package for Iris.
"Madame, the security already cleared it and deemed it safe," the staff member told her.
Jin Liwei took it. The staff member excused himself, leaving the couple alone again.
"Who's it from?" Iris asked.
"Director Jabar Wilkins," he said.
"Oh." She pulled him to sit. "It should be his project files."
"En."
"Open it, darling."
Jin Liwei tore the packaging. There was nothing fancy in itâjust a plain cardboard box.
"He printed everything on paper," Iris said. "How old school."
The husband and wife skimmed through the files that the American director sent over.
It seemed that Wilkins wasn't lying when he told them that there was basically no progress yet. However, Iris and Jin Liwei could sense the director's enthusiasm for the project from his written report despite the lack of interest from other investors.
They found that at the bottom of the box was a five-book epic fantasy series set. Iris abandoned Wilkins' files to check out the novels. Jin Liwei shook his head with a smile and continued reading the files instead.
One hour later, Iris had already read a significant portion of the first book. She would have wanted to finish it on the same night, but Jin Liwei wouldn't allow her.
"It's late, love. We still have to get up early tomorrow for Liberté's public grand opening."
She sighed, feeling a little reluctant to put down the novel. "This book is really good. Now I understand why Jabar insists on adapting the series into a film franchise."
Jin Liwei trusted his wife's judgment. If she said that the book was interesting, then it must be so even without him personally reading it. "If you really like it, we'll invest in the project."
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes!"
He smiled. "I'll talk to Chonglin about it tomorrow. If he's interested, then LXC Studio will help produce it. If not, then we'll invest in it by ourselves and just find a production house to partner with."
"Okay." She nodded. "LXC Studio's prestige will increase if we invest in a Hollywood project. But even if your brother is stupid enough to decline this opportunity, we can still front the project as executive producers ourselves."
"En. Let's go to bed now, love."
The couple held hands and returned inside the house together.
###
The next day, Jin Liwei woke up his sleeping wife.
Iris slowly opened her eyes and saw her twin sons smiling at her on the bed.
"Mama!" Little Mochi crawled and threw himself at her.
"Mama." Little Matcha followed his brother, but instead of throwing himself like Little Mochi, he laid his head gently on their mother's thigh instead.
"Good morning, my sweethearts," Iris greeted her sons with a slightly hoarse voice.
Then she kissed their faces, making them giggle.
Jin Liwei watched his wife and sons showering each other with love. Then he also joined them by sitting on the bed next to his wife and kissing her on the lips.
After eating breakfast together and getting ready, Grandpa Lu arrived with Yin Meixing and Tang Yiyi.
The old man had volunteered to stay with the twins today, so that Iris, Jin Liwei and the others could attend the public grand opening of Liberté without any worries.
Chapter 1538 Liberté's Public Grand Opening (Part I)
Today's grand opening of Liberté to the public wasn't as formal as the exclusive launch party yesterday.
Due to Jin Chonglin's surprise proposal to Orchidia's COO Chen Fei at Liberté's launch party yesterday, many reporters and paparazzi camped outside the perfumery. Many of them were Chinese, but there were also a lot of French and international news outlets.
Jin Chonglin's status as a superstar was very evident today.
Fortunately, Iris had foreseen this, so she had already instructed Clover to contact the local police in advance to help control the crowd along with Liberté's temporary security.
Customers and fans lined up neatly while those with media badges were all grouped together behind a designated barricaded area.
Everything and everyone was well-organized.
This was the scene that Iris' group witnessed after arriving at the perfumery. Once she and her husband alighted from the vehicle, screams arose from the crowd. Cameras clicked nonstop from the designated barricaded area containing all the media representatives.
"Boss Iris!"
"Kyaaaaaaaa! Iris Long is so beautiful in person!"
Iris' eyes widened in surprise. She looked over at the neat line of people waiting to enter the perfumery and saw quite a lot of them wearing tuxedo suits. She gave them a bright smile and a wave, causing them to squeal.
"I expected that most of the people coming today would come for Brother Chonglin," Iris murmured to her husband. "But there are many Black Stars who actually came for me, too."
Jin Liwei's mouth curved up. "Of course, love. The Black Stars are all loyal to you."
What Iris didn't know was that Jin Liwei had arranged for a group of Black Stars in advance to fly to Paris for Liberté's grand opening to the public. He asked Ketchup (a.k.a. KittyBaby) to help him choose some deserving Black Stars among the fan club, especially those who couldn't afford to buy plane tickets themselves, and flew them all using one of his private jets.
The father and AI cat daughter kept the secret from their wife/mother.
Jin Liwei had also bribed Bacon to keep it a secret from Iris. As a result, Bacon didn't snitch on his father and AI cat sister to his beloved mother. He happily saved the money his father used as a bribe and already started thinking about what to gift his mother next.
Iris pulled Jin Liwei to where her fans waited.
The Black Stars were known as one of the most organized fan clubs. They stayed in their places and waited for their Boss Iris to come to them instead of attempting to run toward her.
This was largely in part because Iris was also known to always take a few minutes to interact with her fans when the situation allowed her. Even at times when she couldn't interact with them due to time constraints, she would still acknowledge them with a smile and a wave, unlike some celebrities who would just walk straight without even nodding at their fans.
"Hello, thanks for coming," Iris greeted them.
She took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with them, assigning CEO Jin as the photographer. These Black Stars felt like they were in seventh heaven. Their Boss Iris was chatting with them as if they were the closest of friends.
CEO Jin also gave them a stern look full of warning. They gave him a covert nod.
Before they were flown to Paris, they had been asked to sign NDA forms by CEO Jin's people stating that they weren't allowed to divulge the fact that CEO Jin was the one who flew them to Paris to attend Liberté's grand opening to the public. They should keep it a secret to their Boss Iris as a surprise. After they returned back to their home country, then they were free to share their experiences to others without any issues, if they wanted. But during their stay in Paris, they had to keep their mouths shut.
Jin Liwei nodded in satisfaction. Indeed, his wife's fans were the best. True Black Stars were extremely loyal.
Iris recognized a few people among her group of fans.
"You already came yesterday at the launch party and you're still coming today? Not tired?"
The fans shook their heads. "Not tired, Boss Iris! Thanks for giving us the invitations. Yesterday's launch party was so much fun but we still want to come today to support you!"
"It was intimidating with all the important people all around us, but the food was delicious, and the performances were superb! The English version of 'Rebirth' was awesome! We also received a lot of Liberté and Orchidia freebies!"
"And we got to witness Prince Lin Lin's proposal! I can't believe that he'd fumble it so badly. Hahahaha! I felt so embarrassed for him!"
"I didn't know that he could be so funny! I felt so bad for him that I even joined him in crawling on the floor to look for the ring. Hahahaha!"
Iris joined her fans in laughing at the memory of her brother-in-law's clumsy proposal yesterday.
The other Black Stars heard what they were talking about. They felt envious of their fellow Black Stars who had been able to attend yesterday's exclusive launch party. They immediately started asking them about their experience from yesterday.
Clover and Dom came to remind Iris of the time. She reluctantly excused herself.
"I'll see you later inside the perfumery," she told the Black Stars. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"See you later, Boss Iris!"
"Please go ahead. Don't mind us."
"We're looking forward to buying the fragrances!"
She smiled at them. "Everything will be 50% off today."
"Wow!"
"Yay!"
"50% off! I love it!"
"This is awesome. I wasn't able to buy from the online pre-orders because everything already sold out so quickly. But look at me now buying from the actual Liberté perfumery in Paris! This will be a memory I'll forever cherish in my life. Wuwuwu!"
Clover led Iris and Jin Liwei to the designated barricaded area for the media for interviews while Dom stayed with the Black Stars, chatting with them, and hyping everyone up for the grand opening shortly.
Chapter 1539 Liberté's Public Grand Opening (Part II)
Iris Long knew that most of the media who came today were only interested in Jin Chonglin and his surprise marriage proposal. She didn't mind. Like what she said yesterday, she could definitely use Jin Chonglin's hype to market Liberté to the media.
Both Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei had already given her permission to do so.
Chen Fei was the one who gave consent for both her and Jin Chonglin. Liberté was technically a subsidiary under Orchidia, so of course, Chen Fei would be more than willing to maximize its public exposure. Liberté's success would only benefit Orchidia as a whole, after all.
Jin Liwei stayed back this time around, too, just like what he did yesterday at the launch party. He didn't steal his wife's spotlight and stayed as a silent support behind her.
Iris stepped forward to face the reporters.
Although the media came largely for Jin Chonglin, they still conducted short interviews with Iris Long.
All of them had been cleared by Liberté's security beforehand before being given official media badges for today. They all came from reputable media outlets. Therefore, they had insider information that Iris Long was someone who shouldn't be offended. Not only was she the wife of billionaire CEO Liam Jin, but she was also well-connected to many important people.
Her connections didn't only stem from her marriage to CEO Liam Jin alone but through her own connections as well. They had no idea how she was able to build this kind of impressive personal connections, but the world of the top elite was something only they could imagine.
The bosses of these media representatives told them that several important and powerful figures had contacted their companies to write favourable articles about Liberté.
There was a high-profile French magnate, a tech billionaire, a Dubai princess, a daughter of a British noble, even Hollywood film director Jabar Wilkins, and several influential figures in the business and academic worldsâall of them contacted the media companies to help pave the way for Liberté.
Iris answered standard questions about her perfumery, Liberté. Nobody made it difficult for her, surprising her a little. She didn't think about it too much because today was another busy day. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Thank you, everyone," she told the reporters, waving at them after Clover reminded her that it was time for her to enter the perfumery.
Right after she entered the building, another vehicle pulled over. Yin Meixing came out with Tang Yiyi.
Thanks to video footage from yesterday's launch party, most of the people recognized her. The reporters and paparazzi also did their homework beforehand and identified her as Liberté's female ambassador for the regular perfume, "Sérénité".
The Black Stars also helped cheer for Yin Meixing. After all, she was their Boss Iris' signed artist at LXC Studio. They now considered Yin Meixing as one of their Boss Iris' peopleâmeaning, someone they should also protect.
Yin Meixing waved at everyone. She wasn't the type of person to act all high and mighty despite being an international award-winning Best Actress. Even so, she still felt flattered at the warm welcome.
Nobody neglected her.
She could hear people cheering for her. Cameras clicked in her direction.
Regardless of whether these were all out of politeness or not, she still felt grateful for the opportunity. She followed Clover directly for the media interviews. Liberté assigned a professional interpreter for her just for this event.
The Chinese media representatives were the most enthusiastic during her interviews.
Yin Meixing remained calm and collected all throughout. She really embodied Liberté's perfume, "Sérénité".
After the interviews, she followed Dom to say hi to the crowd of people. She didn't have a lot of fans abroad but the Black Stars came to help support her as well.
Her manager, Tang Yiyi, whispered to her, "Don't worry, Meixing. LXC Studio will help you become more famous not just in our country but abroad as well."
She only smiled. Of course, she also had ambitions of international stardom, but she was more of a pragmatic type of person. If opportunity knocked on her door, she would seize it immediately. But on normal days, she preferred stability over taking risks. As long as she worked hard, she would be rewarded. That was her philosophy in life.
But ever since she met Iris Long, it felt like blessings started pouring over her direction. Yin Meixing wasn't kidding when she said that Iris Long was her lucky star.
"Let's go inside, Manager Tang," she said. "I want to chat with Iris."
"Okay, let's go."
The two women entered the perfumery.
A couple of minutes later, another vehicle arrived. As soon as the car door opened, deafening screams filled the streets.
"Prince Lin Lin!"
"Jin Chonglin, I love you!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Jin Chonglin gave everyone his iconic killer smile. But he immediately turned around and reached inside the car again. Then his girlfriendâno, she was his fiancée nowâstepped out of the car.
Chen Fei wore a simple yet elegant cocktail dress. Her makeup looked sharp, accentuating her serious yet confident aura. However, most people's eyes were directed at the huge diamond ring sparkling on her finger.
"Whoa, what a huge diamond! I'm blinded!"
"COO Chen, please don't let Prince Lin Lin touch your ring anymore! What if he loses it again?!"
"HAHAHAHA!!!"
Jin Chonglin heard what his army of fans said. Were they laughing at him?
He pouted.
Then he saw the group of people wearing tuxedo suits. Ah, so the Black Stars also came today. No wonder that his own fans were now making fun of him. It was because the Black Stars had corrupted them!
His sister-in-law's fans had always been a bad influence! Just look at their infamous troll group, the Slippers Army! They were certified trolls feared among netizens.
"Fix your expression," Chen Fei whispered to him.
He regained his senses and once again flashed his killer smile. His arm wrapped around his fiancée's waist, as they walked together.
The screams got louder and louder. The cameras clicked nonstop. This time, the reporters and paparazzi shouted questions at the couple, unable to wait any longer.
Chapter 1540 Liberté's Public Grand Opening (Part III)
For now, Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei ignored the reporters and paparazzi shouting for them. They walked toward the fans to interact with them first.
They mirrored what Iris and Jin Liwei had done earlier.
Like Iris, Jin Chonglin took the time to sign autographs, take photos, and chat with his army of fans. However, unlike Iris who made her husband take pictures, Jin Chonglin took the photos himself with his fan's phones instead.
He didn't dare to ask his fiancée to act as a photographer.
What if she threatened to castrate him in front of his fans? How embarrassing would that be for him!
He failed to realize that he had already destroyed his image in front of his army of fans when the video of his proposal was spread all over the news and online. Everyone witnessed his lame and clumsy side that nobody had discovered yet before.
They felt so embarrassed for him, but at the same time, it made him seem more human, especially to his army of fans worldwide. His clumsy proposal actually endeared him even more to the masses.
It proved that despite his playboy reputation, he could still become like a shy teenager fumbling in front of his first love.
His army of fans had a tacit agreement among themselves not to mention that this was their Prince Lin Lin's second engagement.
His first fiancée was a criminal who was charged with the attempted murder of Iris Long, now his sister-in-law. Compared to Fan Luo, that evil woman, Chen Fei was many leagues better.
Chen Fei was a successful business executive who ran Orchidia's daily operations. Although she wasn't classically beautiful, many of Jin Chonglin's fans could understand how he fell in love with her. She had a strong, no-nonsense aura that could control their Prince Lin Lin's playfulness.
Of course, there was still a portion of Jin Chonglin's fan base who was against his relationship with Chen Fei, not because they didn't like her, but because they preferred for him to be single his entire life. This was so that they could continue to fantasize about him for the rest of their lives as their lover/boyfriend/husband.
They were his sasaeng fans who repeatedly attempted to invade his privacy numerous times throughout the years. Fortunately, his security had improved a lot in the last couple of years thanks to his older brother, Jin Liwei (and his AI cat niece and nephew).
Today, there were no sasaeng fans. Iris had Clover make sure that no extreme and dangerous people would be able to go anywhere near Liberté these days to protect her, Yin Meixing, and Jin Chonglin.
Back to Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei, they continued to interact with the fans. Many came to see them both, so they took longer than when Iris and Jin Liwei interacted with the Black Stars earlier.
"Congratulations on your engagement, Prince Lin Lin!"
"We wish you and COO Chen the best! We hope that you get married soon!"
"Please get a reliable ring bearer on your wedding day. We don't want the same thing to happen at your wedding when people have to crawl all over the place to look for the rings!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Jin Chonglin grimaced.
Chen Fei, however, couldn't hold it anymore. She laughed alongside his fans.
He cast a sullen look at her.
She gave him a playful elbow, silently reminding him to mind his expressions. There were so many eyes watching them, especially the media who would spin over-the-top false narratives for traffic.
He winked at her in response to her silent reminder. His action caused a round of loud squeals among his fans.
Clover didn't rush the couple to move along.
Iris had already instructed her to allow Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei longer media exposure before the grand opening. At least, when the reporters and paparazzi took photos of them, they would be standing right in front of Liberté. This was the best free publicity they could get for the perfumery.
Finally, the couple moved on to face the reporters and paparazzi. Unlike the careful consideration toward Iris Long due to her husband's power and her hidden connections with other influential people, and the polite interviews with Yin Meixing, the reporters and paparazzi didn't hold back when it came to Jin Chonglin.
Although he was the younger brother of CEO Jin, Jin Chonglin rarely used his family's influence to pave the way for him in showbiz. However, it couldn't be said that being the second young master of the Jin family didn't make his journey to superstardom easier than normal either. Being a Jin certainly helped, but he didn't solely rely on his identity.
The reporters and paparazzi looked like sharks who smelled blood in the ocean. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Jin Chonglin, when is the wedding?"
"How much is the engagement ring?"
"Jin Chonglin, did you propose only because your girlfriend is pregnant?"
"Chen Fei, how does it feel to be engaged to a known playboy?"
"Miss Chen, you rejected Jin Chonglin's proposal at first but later changed your mind and said yes. Is it true that you were only forced to accept his proposal because you didn't want to embarrass him in front of so many people yesterday?"
"COO Chen, this is Jin Chonglin's second engagement. How secure are you that he will really marry you in the end?"
As a celebrity who had climbed his way up to superstardom throughout the years, Jin Chonglin was already used to scathing remarks and questions from the media. If he were only by himself, he wouldn't mind dealing with such aggressive reporters. It was part of the game as a famous public figure.
This time, however, he couldn't listen to the reporters directing such aggressive questions at his lady. His expression changed. He was about to fight the reporters and paparazzi when Chen Fei held him back.
"Babe," he said in a worried tone.
Chen Fei gave him an "I got this" smile.
Then she stepped forward as if SHE was the one who was protecting HIM.