Chapter 601 - Who Is The Real Mastermind?
If this was in her past life, Iris would have continued to fight head on till the end in order to defeat the unknown hacker who made her blood boil and ignited her competitive spirit. However, everything was different now.
It wouldn't be odd for the infamous Vetrov family to be connected to one of the most formidable hackers in the world, so she as Fantom didn't need to act so cautious when hacking during her past life. Her past family's criminal notoriety was also a kind of a safety net for her back then. Even if this was the case then, the Vetrov family still fell from their top position in the criminal underworld and was annihilated.
Having experienced the dangerous darkness of the criminal underworld firsthand in her past life, she didn't want to risk the safety of the loving family she built with Jin Liwei in this current life of hers. Jin Liwei might be a powerful and influential man but he stood openly in the light, not in darkness. It would be a grave sin for her to destroy his sterling reputation including three generations of Jin heads just because she was exposed as an infamous hacker. Not to mention that there were many entities from all around the world who were hunting for both her hacker identities, Fantom and Drakon. She made a lot of enemies from hacking. They might threaten, or heavens forbid, hurt Jin Liwei and their family once it was found out that she was either Fantom or Drakon.
Too dangerous.
This was why she could only sigh in regret and start retreating when the battle with the unknown hacker was just starting to heat up. It was already clear to her that the opponent was someone formidable. He or she wouldn't be an easy opponent to beat even for someone like her. However, it wasn't only her who felt challenged. The unknown hacker should also be finding it difficult to beat her.
It would be too risky to continue battling, especially right now that she had so many things on her plate: her currently weakened body still recovering, her uneasiness about Ketchup, the corrupted part removed from Ketchup's system, and finally, the identities of the real mastermind(s) behind Tian Kong's terrorist attack targeting her.
As if on the same wavelength, the unknown hacker also retreated and didn't pursue her. Iris felt a little disappointed but thought that this was for the best in the current situation.
'I'm sure we'll battle each other again.'
After completely erasing all of her traces and securing her retreat, she began examining the evidence she managed to unearth. They proved that there was indeed a mastermind who instigated Tian Kong to kill her. The problem was that the evidence she uncovered were incomplete and didn't reveal the identities of the real mastermind(s). Even the voices in the call recordings she obtained were choppy and had been heavily disguised to sound like robotic voices. Despite this, her progress was miles ahead compared to the slow pace of the police. At least, she managed to acquire actual evidence no matter how incomplete.
Iris tilted her head to the side, thinking about what she should do next.
'Should I release these findings to the public? To the police? Or maybe both?'
She frowned, feeling her police allergy acting up.
'Maybe I should gather more evidence on my own first before sharing my findings to outsiders...'
Her thoughts were interrupted when one of her computers notified her of the latest public updates in the police investigation regarding the bomb incident. She began reading.
Her eyes widened after a few moments before raising an eyebrow. An excerpt of the latest news article said:
"Bomber Tian Kong, obsessed fan of internationally-acclaimed multi-award-winning musician Iris Long, breaks his silence for the first time since the police arrested him for attempting and eventually failing to murder Iris Long and fellow fans by blowing them up with a bomb at a mall show. Tian Kong confesses to the police that he and Zhu Ning were lovers.
"For those of you who don't know who this woman is, Zhu Ning is a former mistress of Long Industries' President-CEO Long Tengfei, father of Iris Long. Zhu Ning recently got into a catfight with Iris Long's mother, Spanish Viscountess Wei Lan, and threatened to kill the mother and daughter in front of many witnesses who caught the incident on video.
"Tian Kong claims that Zhu Ning manipulated him using her mature womanly charms and took advantage of his youth to twist his admiration for Iris Long into a crazed obsession. According to him, Zhu Ning was the one who instigated him to murder Iris Long...."
Iris leaned back on her comfortable ergonomic seat to think about the alleged affair between Tian Kong and Zhu Ning. She didn't expect this kind of development in this case at all. There were even "evidence" that popped up after his "confession" to prove that he and Zhu Ning were indeed lovers.
One particular evidence caught her attention. It wasn't released to the public but she accessed it from the police's currently vulnerable system.
"A sex video?" she murmured, her eyebrow rising higher.
Iris turned off Ketchup's senses before playing the sex video. Now both of her eyebrows rose. She was actually impressed that the man in the video looked exactly like Tian Kongâmaybe it was really himâand the woman looked so much like Zhu Ning.
If the video was real, then Zhu Ning's name should be written on her virtual black notebook guarded by Ketchup. But if it was fake, then the person who directed and created the video was frightening in his or her ability to manipulate a lie and successfully make it appear as if it was the truth.
After feeling impressed, Iris quickly felt disgusted and stopped watching. Then she closed the video. She loved making love with Jin Liwei but she had no interest or whatsoever in watching other people have sex. That kind of thing wasn't her cup of tea.
Iris closed her eyes to think about what she learned today. After a few minutes, she opened them again.
"Who is the real mastermind? Is it really Zhu Ning?"
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Chapter 602 - Stop Being Naughty
The bombing incident was labelled as a high-priority case early on with the authorities treating it not just as a simple case of a crazy, obsessed fan who wanted to kill Iris Long but also as a serious terrorist case. As a result, the police were under a great deal of pressure from both the government and the citizens to solve the case as soon as possible. Now that there was "evidence" pointing at Zhu Ning as the mastermind behind Tian Kong, Iris predicted that people would crucify the woman for her "sins".
And indeed, a quick search on the internet already resulted in a flood of condemnation towards Zhu Ning. Many of them were from the Black Stars. They remembered how Zhu Ning beat up Wei Lan, insulting her and even threatening to kill to viscountess and her daughter, their beloved Boss Iris Long. To these loyal Black Stars, what Zhu Ning did was unforgivable, especially since there were many of their comrades who were also injured during the bomb incident.
The rumour of a sex video between Zhu Ning and Tian Kong also quickly circulated on the internet, even though there wasn't any proof of its existence because the authorities didn't want such explicit material corrupting the people. Nevertheless, just this rumour was enough to make the general public more disgusted of Zhu Ning. The hatred towards her was even more intense compared to Fan Luo's downfall a year ago.
Iris didn't know for sure whether Zhu Ning was the real mastermind or not. But truth be told, she highly doubted it.
'I don't think Zhu Ning is that smart to plan something as big as the bomb incident. Long Jian certainly didn't inherit his brains from his mother.'
In addition, there was also the mysterious formidable hacker that Iris just battled. The hacker might be the mastermind or someone who was working for the actual mastermind. She doubted that Zhu Ning had the capability to hire a powerful hacker to work for her. Highly-skilled hackers had their own pride and wouldn't stoop to working for someone like Zhu Ning. At least, she wouldn't work for someone like Zhu Ning. Thus, it was clear to Iris that Zhu Ning was being framed for the bombing incident.
Why?
Because Zhu Ning was the most convenient scapegoat. The woman made a spectacle of herself by beating up Wei Lan plus threatening to kill her and Iris in public. Zhu Ning was very easy to hate given her unpleasant personality.
Even though she knew that the woman was being framed, Iris didn't feel sorry for Zhu Ning at all. Iris was still determined to identify the real mastermind behind Tian Kong but she wouldn't do anything to help Zhu Ning. Why should she?
Tossing the matter of Zhu Ning out of her mind, Iris continued searching for clues. The hacker was very thorough, not leaving easily-found traces. It was making Iris feel very excited and challenged. She was deeply absorbed in hacking when....
"Excuse me, Mommy~ It's time for lunch! Daddy says that if you don't come out, he'll rush home and drag you out of the computer room himself even though he's super-duper busy right now. Meow~"
Iris' swift typing fingers faltered on her customized ergonomic keyboard. "Hmmm... Okay. Five more minutes...." Then she continued typing. Where Stories Blossom: Nâ¡vεlB¡n.
"Mooommyyyyyy!!! Ketchup promised Daddy today to make Mommy stop working and eat lunch! Ketchup wants to always be a good kitty from now on and doesn't want to be in trouble with Daddy againâhe gives super bad punishments! Wuwuwuwuwu!!!" Tears gushed out of the cat AI's adorably pitiful green eyes and started pooling around her fluffy white butt. "Ketchup doesn't want to be grounded ever again!!! Wuwuwu!!! So please be good, Mommy, and stop being naughty! Eat lunch or Ketchup will be grounded agaaaaain! Waaaaaah! Poor Ketchup!!! Meeeooow!!! Wuwuwuwu!!!"
Iris couldn't stop herself from laughing at Ketchup's dramatics. "Okay, okay. Stop crying, Ketchup. I'll stop now and eat lunch."
"Wuwuwu! Mommy is being so mean to Ketchup today! Ketchup is so sad... Meow...."
While Iris was setting up a few of her machines to auto-mode, she mentally took note of her observations about Ketchup. It was still too early to make a final conclusion but it seemed that although Ketchup had retained her usual bubbly and chatty personality, the cat AI had become more cautious and a stickler for instructions, as evident of her "fear" of her daddy's punishment. Ketchup was still naughty in the way she talked but had lost the impulsiveness of her actions.
'This is the effect of removing that corrupted part from her system?' Iris wondered. 'This is good...right?'
She decided to continue observing and monitoring Ketchup to make sure that the cat AI was no longer affected by corruption. If Ketchup still became corrupted in the end, then Iris would have no choice but to turn her off...forever. A powerful self-learning AI with a fun and dynamic personality like Ketchup was a dream come true for hackers like her, but if this kind of super advanced technology became uncontrollable, then it was better to destroy it than risk her safety and that of her loved onesâeven though Ketchup had already become one of her loved ones, as well.
Speaking of corruption, Iris also needed to study the part she removed from Ketchup's system. She took a quick glance and it was still developing on its own, making her feel extremely intrigued. She ought to destroy it but put it off for now.
Iris continued mulling these thoughts as she exited the computer room. Ice Cream and Popcorn were waiting for her outside the door and hurled themselves towards her. They walked together to the kitchen while the talkative Ketchup excitedly chatted about random things.
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Two days later, Iris was ready to return to work. She felt a little envious of Jin Chonglin who had already long returned to work, promoting their upcoming next single by himself without her.
He also already left Dragon Palace Home #10 and returned to his own home a few days ago, but not before asking Jin Liwei to recommend skilled bodyguards that he could hire.
Jin Liwei didn't bother with providing recommendations and just directly gave some of his subordinates to his younger brother. After all, Jin Chonglin was still his brother. If he could spare Wei Lan some of his men, he could do so again for his flesh and blood sibling. Jin Liwei might have started prioritizing Iris after he fell in love with her, but he still wouldn't easily abandon his flesh and blood family, especially since Jin Chonglin also became traumatized because of the bomb incident, the same one which almost killed his (future) wife.
It took a long time for Iris to persuade Jin Liwei that she was healthy and fit enough to work again. Lu Zihao also didn't help and told her to stay home for now and focus on resting on the rare occasion that he came home to the mansion. Her big brother clearly sided with Jin Liwei in this matter, making her feel a bit sulky because he always sided with her before this.
She could always defy their wishes and just tell them "To hell with you! I'll go to work if I want to!" and then go to work but chose to use her charms and skills in persuasion instead. This wasn't the time to fight. Besides, she knew that her darling and big brother wouldn't be able to resist her if she continued asking them.
And she was right.
In the end, they could only sigh and "reluctantly" agree to her decision of returning to work. In turn, Lu Zihao warned her not to push herself too hard.
"First sign of trouble or if your health is endangered, I give my subordinates permission to immediately drag you to safety. They'll knock you out, if need be," he told her.
She pursed her lips and sulked while Jin Liwei scowled at his Fifth Brother.
Jin Liwei agreed with Lu Zihao's reason for concern about her safety but not of his Fifth Brother's forceful and dominating methods. Knock her out? No way! Nobody was allowed to be forceful to his baby girl!
Well, except for him in bed when she wanted him to do so! She loved it whenever he...Jin Liwei forcefully and regrettably tamped down his wayward thoughts. He took a few deep breaths to calm his sudden half-arousal. Then he made his expression gentle and pulled Iris' attention to him.
Chapter 603 - Visitor
Lu Zihao used the hard and domineering approach while Jin Liwei used the gentle and loving method to warn Iris to be careful of both her health and safety when she returned to work. Their methods might be different but both were basically just nagging her. She listened to their nagging without any complaints. She was too excited and restless to return to work.
Back to the present, Iris just finished reviewing her schedule for tomorrow with Dom. Her schedule was still busy but due to Jin Liwei's warning, Tang Yiyi didn't dare to fill it to the brim like before. Only the most important work was included while the minor ones were tossed out of Iris' original schedule.
Iris also needed the distraction of immersing herself with work because she only made insignificant progress so far in investigating the true mastermind of the bombing incident behind Tian Kong. What intrigued her the most was the mysterious hacker she battled days ago. Although the thought of going head to head against a formidable hacker thrilled her, she had to restrain herself from doing so this time.
She needed to evaluate the entire situation first, make thorough preparations, and ensure that her safety and that of her loved ones wouldn't be endangered in any way. She was confident that the other hacker didn't know that she was Drakon. Not only Drakon, but the legendary Fantom as well. That would be her trump card.
Returning to work would, to some extent, distance her mind from her current investigations and perhaps even given her an inspiration about how to proceed next. In the meantime, she would enjoy and live life to the fullest with her work, Jin Liwei and their family while waiting for the enemy's next moves. She would be careful but refused to act paranoid. The moment the enemy slipped up, she would pounce.
Iris and Dom climbed down the staircase from her mezzanine home office. Dom carried the lazy Ice Cream and chatted with the equally talkative Ketchup while the hyper-active Popcorn ran down the stairs ahead of them and barrelled towards his daddy who was working on his massive desk downstairs.
Jin Liwei looked up from the documents he was reading and smiled at Iris. His hands automatically petted Popcorn who jumped on his lap.
"Hi, love."
"Hello, darling."
"Ketchup says it's time for dinner," Iris said when she reached Jin Liwei and bent down to kiss him on the lips.
"En." His arms wrapped around her tiny waist, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss.
"Ehehehe." Dom hugged Ice Cream tighter as he watched the lovey-dovey couple with sparkling eyes, eliciting an annoyed growl from the lazy, fat, grey cat.
Later, all of them headed out of their home office to the kitchen for dinner. Before they reached there, however, Ketchup notified them that there was a visitor outside the Dragon Palace Homes village gate who wanted to meet Iris.
"Who is it?" Jin Liwei asked.
Ketchup told them who it was.
Iris lifted an eyebrow.
"What do you want to do?" Jin Liwei asked her. Immerse Yourself in the Storyverse: Nâ¡vεlB¡n.
She tilted her head to the side, thinking for a couple of seconds before replying, "Instruct the guards at the village gate to let him in."
"Okay, Mommy! Meow~"
Ketchup disguised her voice as one of the senior members of Jin Liwei's security team when talking to the guards at the village gate.
"Done, Mommy and Daddy! The visitor will be here in...
"Approximately...45 minutes...to 1 hour...
"Depending on how long he goes through the security checkpoints!
"Meow~"
Iris nodded before falling into deep thought. She already had an idea why that visitor came tonight. Jin Liwei was also thinking the same way.
"You have no obligation to help that person," Jin Liwei told her, distracting her from her thoughts. "If you don't feel comfortable with him, tell me. I'll kick him out immediately. This is our territory."
"I know. But I still want to meet him and hear what he has to say."
"Alright." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "Let's eat dinner first. We still have an hour until he arrives here."
"Okay."
They continued to make their way to kitchen.
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"Good evening, Mr. Long. Welcome to Dragon Palace Home #10," the butler greeted Long Jian when he arrived at the palatial mansion. "The master and the mistress are expecting you. Your coat, please."
Long Jian nodded and handed his coat, feeling weary by his long travel. He just returned from a business trip in Macao on behalf of Long Industries. It was cut short when his mother called from jail (again), already the second time this month. The first time was when Zhu Ning had a public altercation with Wei Lan at the mall spa. She was also detained by the police back then. Fortunately, Wei Lan and her lawyer decided not to press any charges against her.
This time, Zhu Ning was arrested yesterday due to the accusations against her stating that she was lovers with Tian Kong, the bomber, and also the mastermind behind the entire bomb incident. Her current situation was a league more serious than the first time the police detained her.
Long Jian had no choice but to abandon his business trip and ask someone else to replace him before rushing home to help his mother from her predicament. Upon arriving, he immediately called all the people who could possibly help, including some lawyers, Long Industries' COO, and even his father, Long Tengfei. All they could do was give him advice and a clearer picture of what to expect in fighting the case in court. He felt a little hopeless after listening to them. None of them could immediately extricate his mother from the situation, especially after the "evidence" against her popped up. Zhu Ning's position was extremely precarious right now. The authorities didn't tolerate any acts of terrorism and masterminding a bomb incident in public was a big no-no.
The COO felt sorry for him and comforted him, even contacting his own lawyer to review Zhu Ning's case. It would be up to the lawyer if he wanted to handle the case. Although the COO was very helpful to Long Jian, he was still a very upright man. If his lawyer personally judged that Zhu Ning was guilty, it was likely that the COO would distance himself from Long Jian. Associating with a terrorism mastermind was something that the COO would never want to do. Long Jian insisted that his mother was innocent and framed. The COO believed him...for now.
Long Jian was grateful for the COO's goodwill and understood his reservations. It was already more than what he expected anyway. In his mind, he already looked up to the COO more than his real father.
As for his own father, Long Tengfei didn't show much of a reaction when he approached him about the situation. At first, Long Jian didn't want to ask Long Tengfei for help but the COO urged him to do so.
"He is your father," the COO told him.
So Long Jian asked his father for help. Surprisingly, Long Tengfei had already gathered internal information about Zhu Ning's case through his own channels. His father shared what he discovered to him. Long Jian's eyes widened in disbelief after listening.
"A s-sex video?!!"
It was more serious than what he originally expected. He heard about the rumours circulating about the sex video but dismissed it as something made up by drama-loving gossipmongers. He didn't expect that there was actually a real sex video involving his mother. Long Jian didn't want to believe it but there was a small part of him that was unsure. His mother was not the most morally upright person in the world after all. She had several lovers after Long Tengfei broke up with her.
"The one in the video...was it...was it my mother?" he ended up asking.
Long Tengfei took almost a full minute before replying, increasing the apprehension Long Jian felt.
"I'm not entirely sure," Long Tengfei finally replied, frowning a little. "It has been so long since I've been with your mother. Her body surely must have changed a lot since then. However, if my memories serve me right, that's not how..." He cleared his throat. "The way the woman in the video moves is different from your mother."
Long Tengfei didn't blush and his face remained impassive but Long Jian could still sense a bit of embarrassment from his words. Long Jian didn't care about it all. He was already a grown adult and knew that his father and mother had sex in order to make him.
Even though his father's words were uncertain, they still gave him hope. He didn't even take a moment to think before asking, "Can you testify in court and say that the woman in the video is not my mother?"
Long Tengfei's expression hardened. Long Jian held his breath, already expecting his request to be rejected. Contrary to his expectation, however, his father sighed before agreeing. This shocked Long Jian to the core. Long Tengfei had a sour relationship with his past women, except maybe for Long Jinjing's mother. His father detested his mother and Iris' mother the most.
"Really?" he asked, not daring to believe.
"I regret being with your mother but I don't regret fathering an excellent son like you. Zhu Ning has many faults but she did a splendid job in raising you to be goal-oriented, hardworking and disciplined. I first thought that promoting you to Deputy COO would be too early and too much of a pressure and burden to you but good thing I listened to the COO's advice. Now I know that it's one of the best decisions that I made this year for our company.
"So yes, I'll testify in court and tell everyone that I don't think the woman in the video is your mother. This is the least I can do for the woman who bore me such an excellent son."
"Thank you, Father." Long Jian still resented his father for all the years he missed being a stable father figure in his life. However, he did feel a little better after Long Tengfei praised him and also grateful for his promise to testify in court if needed.
Long Tengfei nodded and hesitated a little before saying, "This is all I can do. I suggest that you talk to your youngest sister about this matter. Maybe she can help you."
Long Jian thought that he heard wrongly. Youngest sister?
"Ask Xiulan?" he asked in confusion.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Your sister knows many impressive people. Even more impressive than the people I know."
This surprised Long Jian, initially filling him with disbelief and resentment. Disbelief because there was still a bit of prejudice left in him like so many others when it came to his youngest sister, the former spoiled brat. And resentment because he thought that Long Tengfei bringing up Iris in this matter was just another proof that she was his favourite child among them.
However, he still ended up following his father's advice after thinking about it more carefully. Indeed, Iris knew many impressive people. Or to be more exact, her fiancé, billionaire CEO Jin Liwei did. Long Jian believed that someone like Jin Liwei possessed countless invaluable connections to most of the powerful figures not only in the country but also all around the world. Since the man was Iris' future husband, then it was understandable that Long Tengfei would say that she also had these connections.
In short, Long Jian misunderstood his father's suggestion, thinking that he was indirectly telling him to ask for Jin Liwei's help as a future brother-in-law through his sister. This was why he rushed to Dragon Palace Homes after asking his father for his sister's current address, deciding to come without warning because he thought that Iris would refuse to see him if he called ahead. He thought that she would have no choice but to let him in if he directly showed up at her door.
Chapter 604 - One Goal
It was only when the tight security stopped Long Jian at the place's gates that he remembered that Dragon Palace Homes was one of the most, if not THE most, exclusive villages for the elite in the country. The unimpressed security guards who carried themselves like active soldiers refused to let him in without invitation from any of the exclusive village's property owners, all of them the elite of the most elite in their own fields. Fortunately, someone from Dragon Palace Home #10 called and informed them that he just received permission to enter.
From there, he had to go through several other security checkpoints. His destination, Dragon Palace Home #10, was the largest property in the village and also the farthest. When he finally reached it, he had to go through an even tighter check from the property's own security team.
'What is this? A top-secret military compound?' he inwardly grumbled as the guards performed a body check on him while checking every nook and cranny of his car.
He was in a hurry to meet Iris and Jin Liwei, feeling a tremendous impatience with all of these security checks which he thought were unnecessary. Security checks at airports weren't as strict and were easier and faster than this.
When he was finally cleared to enter the property's massive gates, he felt relieved, already imagining himself meeting his youngest sister and her powerful fiancé soon. He mentally practiced what he was going to say. The time he served as Deputy COO at Long Industries honed his conversation and negotiation skills, effectively increasing the effect of his natural charisma.
Despite this, he still felt uncertain whether he would be able to persuade Iris and Jin Liwei to help his mother. He didn't have much of a relationship with his youngest sister after all. She didn't have a duty to help him, especially since their mothers were enemies. He also didn't expect for her to help him. However, he still hoped that she would at least listen to him. His target was Jin Liwei, but he knew that the man wouldn't help him without Iris' approval. So Long Jian still needed to appeal to his youngest sister.
"I'm already here. Might as well go ahead and try. I don't have anything to lose by trying. I'm desperate right now. Mother is in a very bad situation," he muttered while driving the long, long...looooong driveway. "Where the fuck is the mansion? Did I get lost?"
He drove and drove and drove but hadn't arrived at his destination yet. To his dismay, it took him a full twenty minutes to drive between the property's massive gates to the actual mansion.
TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES!!!
Good thing he drove and didn't walk. If he did, perhaps it would already be dawn by the time he arrived at the mansion.
Back to the present, Long Jian felt mentally and physically exhausted as he looked around the majestic and luxurious grand foyer. His eyes stopped at the huge portrait hanging on top of the twin grand staircases which showed the images of his youngest sister and her fiancé with their one, two...three cats. Huh? Three? He heard that the couple only had two cats after overhearing a few of Iris' fans who were also employees at Long Industries. Iris and Jin Liwei got a new one?
If he remembered correctly, the cats had ridiculous names, something related to food. He was 100% certain that it was his sister who thought up such stupid names. Peanut and Popsicle or something like that. Looking at the portrait of the three cats, he wondered what stupid name his sister gave the third one.
'I bet it's another food name. Maybe Pancake or something.'
Long Jian felt a little sorry for the cats. Jin Liwei shouldn't have allowed Iris to name them. Poor animals.
"Please follow me," the butler said, interrupting his thoughts.
He followed the butler through a series of long hallways. Every part of the place was decorated with more framed portraits of the couple, their cats, and Long Hui's son. He remembered that the boy was Iris and Jin Liwei's godson and that the couple was sheltering the child and the mother, Long Hui's bodyguard ex-girlfriend. This damaged the relationship between Long Hui and Iris.
'Stupid man. Why make Xiulan an enemy so blatantly? Now he has become CEO Jin's enemy, too. Utter stupidity,' he mentally criticized Long Hui.
He continued looking around the luxurious mansion and dreaming that he would also obtain this kind of great wealth for himself and his mother someday. Being successful as the Deputy COO was just the beginning for him. One day, he would surpass his father's success and eventually reach an equal footing with someone like Jin Liwei. Thus, he still wanted to succeed Long Tengfei and become the head of Long Industries in order to achieve this ambition. The strong drive to succeed was still there, but he was gradually losing the original crazed greed planted by his mother since childhood, all thanks to the influence of his new mentor, the COO.
It was obvious from the atmosphere in the mansion that his youngest sister perfectly belonged here. The numerous framed portraits almost always included her. In fact, she had the most photos as far as he noticed, even more than Jin Liwei, the master of the house. All of these indicated a warm, happy and loving family. It felt like home.
Long Jian felt envious of her. However, he felt too exhausted to wallow in this kind of negative emotion at the moment. He had one goal tonight.
The butler continued to lead him through more hallways, passing many patrolling security personnel. A few of them gave Long Jian the shivers because of their cold and deadly aura. They looked like they wouldn't hesitate to break his bones or even shoot him to death if he made any mistakes.
'Maybe this place is actually a secret military compound? And how long do I still need to walk? This place is too big. Dammit!'
Finally, after walking for a long time, the butler led him to an amazing place. It was an indoor forest!
A FUCKING INDOOR FOREST!!! Immerse Yourself in the Storyverse: Nâ¡vεlB¡n.
Long Jian closed his mouth after realizing that his jaw had fallen down as he made sense of the incredible scene around him. The night sky was visible through the glass dome of the rotunda. If not for the warm temperature, he would have thought that he was in an actual natural forest, not a fucking indoor one.
They reached a clearing where he saw a fish pond, the water so clear that the koi fish could be seen swimming under the surface. In the centre of the pond was an islet where a living room set-up was arranged, complete with comfortable couches and a coffee table. Long Jian finally saw his youngest sister and her fiancé lounging on the longest couch together.
"Master, Mistress. Mr. Long has arrived," the butler announced.
The couple stood. Iris wore a guarded smile but her eyes were filled with curiosity as she observed him. On the other hand, Jin Liwei wore his usual cold and indifferent expression. Long Jian already knew that this was the man's default expression but for some reason, there was something else besides the cold indifference.
Was it hostility?
Long Jian cleared his throat and put on his best smile as he greeted his youngest sister and her intimidating fiancé.
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Chapter 605 - Desperation Calls For Extreme Measures
After the polite greetings, Long Jian sat across his youngest sister and her fiancé while the butler served them hot calming herbal tea. The flowing water of the fish pond was supposed to be relaxing but Long Jian started breaking out in cold sweat instead. Now he became certain that Jin Liwei held some sort of hostility against him because the man was coldly glaring at him. It wasn't obvious at first because of Jin Liwei's usual cold and indifferent expression but Long Jian couldn't mistake it. Jin Liwei didn't acknowledge him at all since he arrived, treating him like an unwelcome stray dog.
Long Jian's smile became strained, as he forced himself to relax. Ever since he became the Deputy COO of Long Industries, he received many opportunities to meet with some of the most important figures in the business industry face to face. There were many times that he felt nervous but never did he panic. He thought that he would be able to handle facing Jin Liwei but the most powerful man in the country's business world of his generation was on a whole different level from the ones Long Jian encountered before.
Jin Liwei was extremely intimidating. The aura he was currently emitting, in addition to the not so subtle hostility against him, made Long Jian feel suffocated. His hand trembled a little, making him almost spill the tea from the cup he was holding. Still smiling and pretending that he was perfectly fine and not at all intimidated, Long Jian managed to calm himself a little...barely.
"Second Big Brother, what is the purpose of your visit?" Iris asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.
Since she was being direct to the point, Long Jian didn't waste any more time. He began explaining the current predicament of his mother, Zhu Ning, while enduring the oppressive weight of Jin Liwei's eyes on him.
Iris didn't interrupt him, allowing him to speak freely. She also didn't show any expression but at least it looked like she was actually listening. Jin Liwei also looked like he was listening but his disinterest was clear in his cold eyes. It was obvious that he didn't care about Long Jian at all and was only there because of Iris.
It grated on Long Jian that Jin Liwei was acting like this, especially since the man was his ultimate target. He believed that Jin Liwei had the ability to help his mother in some way. Despite this, he forced himself not to feel too affected even if it bothered him.
'Even if he doesn't care, he'll still lend a hand if Xiulan decides to help me. All I need to do is persuade Xiulan and Jin Liwei will also follow,' Long Jian thought, successfully grasping the nature of the couple's relationship.
"Everyone believes that my mother is the true mastermind who instigated Tian Kong to kill you, Little Sister, but I know that this is not true," he said. "There are even evidence allegedly proving this but they're fake. Don't believe them! My mother is framed. Yet no matter how hard I try to explain this to the police, nobody listens me. I think that even the police believes that my mother did it."
"That's because Zhu Ning threatened to kill Xiulan and Aunt Wei Lan in public before," Jin Liwei interrupted in a cold voice. "After your mother's public death threats to my future wife and mother-in-law, someone tries to kill Xiulan with a bomb. Tell me, Mr. Long Jian, isn't it natural to believe that Zhu Ning is also connected to the bomb incident especially right now that there's also evidence pointing to this?"
Long Jian felt his vision go red so he hurriedly took a few deep breaths before continuing to speak. Jin Liwei's words were infuriating, but logically speaking, he made sense. Fortunately, Long Jian had the ability to control his emotions in highly stressful situations like this.
"I agree, CEO Jin. But please believe me when I say that the evidence is fake. My mother has been framed." Long Jian turned to Iris again. "Little Sister, I know that our mothers don't have the best relationship with each otherâ"
"They're enemies," Iris replied in a matter of fact tone.
"Well...yes...true." Long Jian cleared his throat in an awkward manner. "But even if they're, uh...enemies, and even if my mother said something that can be considered as death threats to you and your mother, I hope that you don't take her words too seriously because my mother always says those kind of things but she's not capable of killing people."
Then he hesitated for a few seconds, thinking about his next words. In the end, he decided to tell them everything. He told them about his discussion with Long Tengfei, the alleged sex video between Zhu Ning and Tian Kong, Long Tengfei's promise to testify in court to say that the woman in the sex video wasn't Zhu Ning, and how Long Tengfei told him to ask Iris and Jin Liwei for help.
Both Iris and Jin Liwei didn't look surprised when he revealed the existence of a sex video. Did they already know about it? The sex video was something that Long Jian felt ashamed of discussing in public, especially with Iris and Jin Liwei. This was why he repeatedly emphasized that the woman in the sex video wasn't his mother but someone impersonating her. He was afraid that it would disgust the couple that they wouldn't even consider helping his mother.
'Desperation calls for extreme measures. Pride won't help me in this situation.'
Gritting his teeth, he decisively tossed away his pride and stood up. Then he bowed low from the waist to the couple all of a sudden.
"Xiulan, CEO Jin, I beg you to please help my mother! Everyone believes that she's the mastermind behind the bomb incident but she's innocent and has been framed! I don't want her to be punished for something that she didn't do! Please!"
Long Jian remained bowing as he held his breath, waiting for the couple's response. The flowing water of the fish pond failed to relax him. It gave him a feeling of drowning instead. All he could see was the rocky ground of the islet from this position. He didn't dare to sneak a peek at the couple, afraid that their expressions would leave him crashing in disappointment. Nâ¡vεlB¡n: Where Every Word Sparks Wonder.
The wait felt very long to Long Jian but actually it was only about five seconds.
"Why should we help you?" Iris asked in a neutral tone.
Long Jian raised his head and finally looked at the couple. Iris' expression looked pleasant, yet he couldn't read her real emotions, while Jin Liwei's remained cold and indifferent with a touch of hostility.
"We're brother and sister..."
"Long Hui is also my brother and I was closer to him than to you for a short period of time before his stupidity ruined our good relationship. Now he and I have basically become enemies. My sibling relationship with you and the others is not reason enough for me to help any of you, especially since we're not really close to each other."
Long Jian clenched his hands into fists. "You're right," he said. "Fine. I'll give you another reason. You want to succeed Father as the next head of Long Industries, right? I'll help you."
###
Chapter 606 - Alliance
Iris' eyes widened in surprise. She lifted an eyebrow before looking at Jin Liwei.Her darling also looked surprised at Long Jian's proposition.
"Explain," Jin Liwei barked.
Long Jian straightened and stood up again. Deep inside, he hated what he was doing but had to do it for the sake of his mother. He couldn't believe that there would come a day that he would grovel in front of his youngest sister who he always thought of before as a good-for-nothing spoiled brat. And yet now, here he was begging her for a favour.
"I know that you want to become the next head of Long Industries," he said. "Our brother Long Hui wants it and I want it too, of course."
"So you want it, too. Then why are you saying that you're going to help me?" Iris asked.
"Let's put aside what I want for now. I'll help you gain more influence in Long Industries. Let's work together in removing our brother Long Hui and the other contenders from the running in the battle for succession. Once they're out of the picture, the only ones left will be the two of us.
"I know that you have more advantages and have a higher chance of succeeding than me. You're a legitimate child, future wife of CEO Jin Liwei, famous celebrity, you have Orchidia Beauty, and Father adores you the most.
"But I won't give up. I'm confident that I'm the most suitable to succeed and become the next head after Father. When the time comes, I promise to fight you head on with my own abilities, skills and qualifications. No funny business. I'll battle it out with you fair and square, unlike our brother who schemes behind the scenes with the help of his maternal family, the Zhengs.
"This is what I'm willing to do in exchange for you helping my mother. I'm going to help you to establish yourself in Long Industries which you'll find difficult to do on your own as a mere brand ambassador. Father can't openly help you because he'll be accused of nepotism. But I can do it. I worked my way up from the bottom, so I have many connections with people from both the bottom and the top, unlike Father who only works with the top brass nowadays.
"If Father helps you, it'll be noticed immediately and will only invite criticism. But if I do it using my seemingly unimportant connections, then you'll be able to successfully build your influence within the company without attracting too much attention."
Long Jian finished speaking. Now he waited for her decision. If she agreed, Jin Liwei would surely step in to help Zhu Ning. If she didn't agree, well, at least he tried.
"Hmm...." Iris tilted her head to the side. Then she looked at Jin Liwei. "What do you think, darling?"
Jin Liwei shot a frosty look at Long Jian. "I don't trust him but I think his proposition is good."
She nodded. "Yes, I think so too."
Hope began to fill Long Jian. "Then do you agree?"
"Yes, I agree." She stood up and offered her hand.
Long Jian immediately grabbed and shook it. "Thank you! I really appreciate it, Little Sister."
Jin Liwei also followed suit and shook his hand.
"Thank you, CEO Jin!"
Jin Liwei tightened his grip on Long Jian's hand, making Long Jian wince. "You said it. No funny business. If you break your promise, I'll destroy you. Remember that Xiulan is no longer just your sister. She's my future wife and the next madam of the Jins. Make an enemy of my wife and you make an enemy of me as well."
Long Jian swallowed, feeling like he had lost the ability to breathe under the full brunt of Jin Liwei's intimidation. He wanted to reach equal footing with Jin Liwei someday? What a joke! He needed to become a monster first.
Fortunately, he was able to maintain some semblance of calmness to mask his intimidated state. Regardless of Jin Liwei's bad impression of him, at least Long Jian was successful in achieving his goal tonight. The price he had to pay was quite heavyâhelping Iris establish influence in Long Industriesâespecially since she already had strong support within the Long clan, headed by the Elder Long Jufang.
However, Long Jian believed in his own abilities and qualifications. He was performing in his job with flying colours while Long Hui continued to struggle in stabilizing himself after his bitter break-up with his bodyguard ex-fiancée and the pending custody battle for their small child. He was already showing everyone at the company that he was more capable than Long Hui. If he could do this against Long Hui, then he could also do the same thing against Iris.
Long Jian meant it when he promised that he would fight Iris fair and square in the battle of succession. His mindset had greatly changed due to the COO's upright influence. However, this didn't mean that he would make it easy for Iris. He would only show her the inner workings of the company, not serve all the opportunities to her on a silver platter. It would still be up to her own abilities to establish herself in Long Industries. If she was really capable, then she would be able to do it. If not, then it wouldn't be Long Jian's problem.
"Don't worry, CEO Jin. I won't go back on my words. As long as you're able to help my mother, I'll help my sister in establishing herself in Long Industries. We'll work together in eliminating our strongest competitors until there's only the two of us left. That's when our alliance will naturally dissolve. Then it'll be the start of the real battle of succession between the two of us."
Jin Liwei nodded and finally released his hand while Iris flashed a bright smile.
"I'm looking forward to our partnership, Second Big Brother Jian." Nâ¡vεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.
"Likewise."
That night, a new alliance that would shake the entire Long clan was born.
###
Chapter 607 - A Man Changes After He Marries
The next day, Iris finally returned to work. She still needed to take care of the wounds on her neck and shoulder but at least they weren't in any danger of being infected anymore. The pain was also manageable and didn't bother her.
She felt excited and energetic at the thought of diving once again in her work. It was just that several teams of bodyguards tailed her wherever she went once outside Dragon Palace Home #10.
One team protected her in close proximity, shielding her from any crowd. A second team followed a few metres away. Two other teams protected her from a distance. Iris couldn't see them with her own eyes but she could somehow sense their presence. She also confirmed their locations from Ketchup.
Originally, Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao wanted to send five teams each of their subordinates to protect her whenever she was outside, for a total of ten teams. However, she negotiated with the two overprotective men and managed to decrease their suggestion to two teams each instead, for a total of four teams. Four teams were already a lot, in her opinion. Any more than these and she would go crazy.
Although she was no longer as distressed by bodyguards as before because it reminded her of her past life as a lonely, sheltered princess of the criminal underworld who didn't have any freedom and independence, she still didn't feel comfortable about bodyguards following her around. This was one of things that she was sensitive about. There had been many times that she lost her temper at Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao when it came to the topic of bodyguards.
The bomb incident finally provided the two overprotective men with ample persuading power to finally make her agree to increase the size of her personal security team. So even though she didn't like it, she had to accept the many bodyguardsâboth visible and hiddenâwho followed her around. She almost died in the bomb incident, after all. Even she agreed that it was a close call. Perhaps it wouldn't have happened if her security had been tighter. Nâ¡vεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.
That morning, Iris and Dom (and her bodyguards) headed to Bright Summit to meet with Tang Yiyi. As soon as she entered, her body immediately went into self-defence mode because there were several loud popping sounds and all she could see were multi-coloured confetti and flower petals raining down on her. Her bodyguards also reacted quickly and surrounded her and Dom.
"WELCOME BACK, IRIS LONG!!!"
It was then that Iris noticed the crowd of people lining up the entire lobby. They were Bright Summit's staff and some of her fellow artists. All were clapping their hands and wearing big smiles on their faces as they shouted her name. Tang Yiyi was there, immediately running to her with a huge bouquet of flowers. Bright Summit's higher-ups were also present, including the company president.
Iris felt a little overwhelmed. She didn't expect this at all! When she turned her head beside her, Dom was giggling with a knowing expression on his face.
"You knew about this?" she asked.
"Ehehe. Of course, boss! Big Sis Yiyi informed me that they're planning to give you a grand welcome back!"
Tang Yiyi reached them and handed Iris the bouquet before pulling her to the group of higher-ups. Iris greeted everyone with a bright smile.
"Iris, you look beautiful as always! Glad to see that you're safe and sound. How are you feeling?"
"I was so worried about you!"
"Thank goodness you're okay!"
"You look paler and thinner! Are you really alright?"
Questions and words of concern bombarded Iris left and right. She did her best to give brief, polite replies. Blaze, Eros, Night and Thunder of Pandemonium were also there, acting like her protective brothers. The boys helped carry all the flowers and other presents the crowd kept on giving her.
The welcome event didn't last long because all of them were busy with their own respective work. Iris and her entourage excused themselves and headed straight to Tang Yiyi's office. The crowd dispersed after they left.
When they arrived at Tang Yiyi's office, they saw Jin Chonglin waiting there, looking like a debonair prince. A few buttons of his long-sleeved shirt were open, revealing his muscled chest. He sat on the edge of Tang Yiyi's desk, playing with some paperclips and linking them to make a chain. His presence added life and energy to the plain office. His manager, Lin Dong, was also there and one of his assistants.
"I've been waiting for you, Sister Xiulan," Jin Chonglin greeted, flashing Iris and her entourage with his famous killer smile. "I didn't join in welcoming you downstairs because I didn't want to upstage you."
Iris raised an eyebrow while Tang Yiyi glared at Lin Dong who threw a warning look at Jin Chonglin.
Jin Chonglin laughed. "I'm just joking. There were just too many people downstairs. I wasn't in mood to squeeze myself in such a great crowd and ruin my hair and newly-shined shoes."
Iris noticed the dark expression that flashed in his eyes, making her understand his true reason for not joining the others downstairs. It seemed that Jin Chonglin had been traumatized by the bomb incident more than she expected. He had become apprehensive about large crowds, choosing to avoid them altogether. At least for now.
The other people behind her filed inside. Blaze, Eros, Night and Thunder also greeted Jin Chonglin before putting all of the flowers and presents that Iris received inside the office. Then Tang Yiyi shooed them all away, reminding them that they still needed to travel to their next show.
Once the Pandemonium boys were gone, it was only Iris and Jin Chonglin's teams who were left in the office. Their bodyguards guarded outside the door, drawing the attention of the staff and other artists passing by. The people thought that perhaps some high-ranking politician or someone of that stature had visited.
Back inside the office, the two managers discussed the combined schedules of Iris and Jin Chonglin. They would be spending a lot of time together again promoting and performing their upcoming next single which would be released very soon by the end of the month.
"How are your wounds, Sister Xiulan? I see that you're still wearing turtlenecks. Will you be fine to perform?" Jin Chonglin asked. "This song needs us to sing and dance. If you're hurting, maybe we can modify our performance. You can just sing and move around a little, I guess."
"I'm fine. Don't worry, Brother Chonglin. I can perform exactly like how we rehearsed it," Iris reassured him.
"If you say so." Jin Chonglin shrugged. "I'm just saying, if something happens to you, my brother will kill all of us here. We don't want to die yet so don't push yourself too hard if you're not completely recovered yet."
Lin Dong and his assistant nodded. So did Dom.
"He's right, Iris," Tang Yiyi said. "Sir Jin also spoke to me to remind you to take it easy for now."
Iris frowned, feeling annoyed, grateful and warm at the same time. Her darling and all of these people cared about her. She was thankful for all of their concern but "don't push yourself too hard" and "take it easy" weren't in her vocabulary when it came to work. She was the type to do her best and give her all, so not pushing too hard and taking it easy were actually quite difficult for her.
"I understand," she replied to them, sighing.
Afterwards, they resumed talking about their schedules.
"The two of you will attend a lot of interviews togetherâTV shows, radio, magazines, web channels...everything. They will ask you a lot about your relationship as future brother and sister-in-law, so you'll also have to talk about CEO Jin... Wait. Will that be okay to him?" Lin Dong asked.
"No way! Big Bro is a very private person."
"Yes, it's fine. Liwei won't mind."
Their two managers and two assistants looked at them with awkward yet also entertained expressions.
"Tsk. So it's true that a man changes after he marries," Jin Chonglin grumbled. "I know that if I, his brother, start talking about what he's like in private, he'll give me hell and scold me for being a big mouth. But it turns out that if it's his wife talking about him, it's fine? Tsk!"
###
Chapter 608 - Traitorous Thoughts
Iris tilted her head to the side as she looked at Jin Chonglin. "Liwei won't get mad at me for something like that."
"Yeah. Big Bro gets mad at ME. Never at you, his beloved wife," Jin Chonglin replied. There was a little whine in his voice which everyone in the office detected except for Iris who still retained some of her denseness. On top of the subtle whining, his manager Lin Dong also detected a bit of envy and loneliness.
Iris didn't notice any of these, instead muttering, "Liwei gets mad at me sometimes."
"Oh?" Jin Chonglin's eyes lit up, burying his hidden feelings behind a teasing expression. "What kind of naughty things did you do for that wife-doting brother of mine to get mad at you, Sister Xiulan?"
She opened her mouth and was about to answer but decided to shut up instead, refusing to say anything no matter how many times Jin Chonglin teased her. Guilt pricked her as she remembered all the times when she locked herself in her computer rooms, both in Gold Heights penthouse and Dragon Palace mansion, where she became absorbed with hacking, making Jin Liwei and everyone in their household constantly worried about her.
Jin Liwei had been very angry at her on those occasions but his anger didn't last long because she always managed to soften him up. Indeed, he rarely got mad at her and if he did, it didn't last long.
The guilty feeling disappeared and was overpowered by her love for Jin Liwei. Her thoughts became filled with him to the point that she had forgotten that she was in a meeting with Jin Chonglin and their managers at the moment. She felt warm all over and couldn't wait to see Jin Liwei again at home tonight. She had intended on correcting Jin Chonglin's repeated comments about her being Jin Liwei's wife because they hadn't married yet, so technically she was still Jin Liwei's fiancée, not his wife. Not yet, at least. However, she had forgotten all about it as thoughts of her darling filled her mind.
Jin Chonglin scowled when he saw the love-filled expression on her face.
'So stupid,' he thought, even as envy and loneliness threatened to overwhelm him deep inside. It was so obvious how in love Iris and his older brother were of each other. His brother was truly a lucky man to find such a beautiful and extraordinary woman as his wife. 'Stop it,' he mentally scolded himself and forcefully stopped himself from harbouring desirous thoughts about his brother's woman.
"The two of you, stop getting distracted!" Lin Dong scolded them.
"Yes, especially you, Iris. You're very behind in your promotional work," Tang Yiyi added in a stern voice. "We have many things to cover during this meeting and we don't have much time until we all need to leave and head for your first guest appearance later."
Iris' back straightened and her expression immediately turned serious. "My apologies, Mr. Lin, Elder Sister Yiyi. Please continue the meeting."
Jin Chonglin also did the same thing and forced his expression to look serious but struggled to pay attention, especially since he kept on getting distracted by the sweet scent of his brother's woman near him. Endless guilt ate at him as he tried to fight his traitorous thoughts.
Then all of a sudden, an image of an annoying and bossy woman popped in his mind.
'Hey, Mr. Indecisive Diva! Stop acting like a pussy and get back to work! Focus and stop dilly-dallying!' Chen Fei barked in his head.
"Fuck," he muttered and then growled, "Stay out of my fucking mind."
Everyone looked at him like he had gone insane. And perhaps he really was going insane. That woman, Chen Fei, was so annoying that she would pop up inside his head now and then without any warning to annoy him.
He would even have nightmares about her sometimes where she always rejected his ideas for his men's product line for Orchidia Beauty and pushed the launch date sooner than planned without any advance notice. These nightmares frightened him so much that he would wake up in the middle of the night shivering in the cold and sweating buckets. Then he would jump off the bed to jot down ideas for his men's line instead of returning to sleep just so his nightmares about her wouldn't come true in real life.
In a way, these nightmares benefitted him because they were forcing him to come up with more creative ideas while at the same time decreasing the moments he felt indecisive about his choices for his men's line. In turn, it lessened Chen Fei's nagging, giving Jin Chonglin a respite but still didn't decrease his opinion that she was a bossy and annoying woman.
"Are you alright?" Iris asked him.
"Huh? What? Yes. Yes, of course. I'm alright," he replied, clearly still distracted.
"Hello? Man, we're in a meeting! Get your head back in the game! We have lots of work to do now that Iris is back," Lin Dong told him in exasperation.
"Ehehe."
Tang Yiyi glared at the giggling Dom who immediately shut up but not before waggling his eyebrows at the distracted Jin Chonglin. Dom could feel it in his bones that Jin Chonglin was thinking about a womanâtwo women to be exactâbased on his changing expressions.
The first woman was already taken and off-limits, as evident from Jin Chonglin's regretful expression that he always tried so hard to hide. The woman in question was dense to Jin Chonglin's feelings but most of the others, including Dom, could sense it. Dom had a feeling that his sir boss also knew about Jin Chonglin's feelings, hence why Jin Liwei was sometimes so mean to his younger brother.
The second woman wasâehehe. Dom knew who it was based on Jin Chonglin's irritated look. There was only one woman who Dom knew could make the male superstar look like he ate something sour. That was another headstrong and stubborn woman. She and Jin Chonglin were so preoccupied by their mutual "dislike" of each other that they were failing to realize the growing attraction between them.
"Ehehehe."
"Dominic Chua!"
Once again, Dom shut up after being scolded by Tang Yiyi.
Back to Jin Chonglin, it took a few more seconds but he was finally able to focus in the meeting. He might be a ladies' manânot denying that factâbut when it came to work, he was always serious and gave his all. Their meeting commenced in no time with no further distractions. Nâ¡vεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.
After the meeting, all of them left Bright Summit and headed to their first work together since the bomb incident. It was a quick guest appearance on a popular variety show.
Jin Chonglin didn't realize yet that his own efforts at killing his own traitorous feelings for his brother's woman were ineffective but a single thought about a certain bossy and annoying woman completely redirected his thoughts.
"This prince's latest idea for my men's line is flawless. Let's see if you still have any room to complain. Hmph," he muttered under his breath while on the road with Lin Dong and his assistants in his executive van.
"What did you say?" Lin Dong asked.
"Nothing."
And they drove on while Jin Chonglin stewed in irritation about a certain bossy woman.
###
Chapter 609 - Still A Long Way To Go
In the next few days, Iris and Jin Chonglin busied themselves promoting their next single together and attended quite a number of interviews while doing so. It was unavoidable that the topic of the bomb incident would be broached in these interviews. Iris was asked the most about it because she was established early on as the main target of the attack.
"It has been revealed that Zhu Ning is the real mastermind behind the bomb incident. Many remember that she has threatened both you and your mother, the Viscountess Lan, in public before. It has also been reported that there is evidence proving her crimes of planning the attack with her alleged lover, Tian Kong, the bomber and main perpetrator of the bomb incident, against you. What's your opinion about this, Iris?" a host asked her during one of the interviews.
Iris kept her expression and tone neutral, not revealing any of her real thoughts. "The investigations regarding the bomb incident and Madam Zhu Ning's alleged involvement are still ongoing. I'll wait for the results of the investigations first before making any final judgment," she replied.
Although she said this, she had no intention of leaving everything up to the authorities to solve, especially right now that their systems hadn't fully recovered yet from Ketchup's crazy hacking attack. In addition, she made a deal with Long Jian. She wouldn't badmouth his mother because of it.
Unsatisfied by her answer, the host tried urging her to say more but Iris used the interview-dodging skills Tang Yiyi repeatedly instilled in her during the past year. Although Iris still mostly retained her straightforward attitude during interviews, she began to realize that being too honest and straightforward might come back to bite her in the rear later. Not everyone appreciated honesty, especially from a popular celebrity like her. Tang Yiyi always lectured her that celebrities like her needed to learn how to pay lip service not only for her fans but also to the general public in order to maintain a peaceful career.
At first, Iris resisted, thinking that it was such a hassle. She also didn't like how she needed to sacrifice her honesty.
"I don't want to lie," she told her manager.
"It's technically not lying, Iris. It's just evading the questions and redirecting the topic of conversation into a completely different one so that you don't have to lie or tell the truth. That's a skill we, the managers, want our artists to learn," Tang Yiyi replied. "Just look at Jin Chonglin. He's an expert at it. That's why he lasted so long in this industry and reached his superstar status in our country."
If this was in the past, Iris wouldn't have given a whit about it but becoming engaged to Jin Liwei and also becoming the godmother to Little Jun gradually changed her mindset. Now she realized that anything that came out of her mouth would affect her loved ones whether she liked it or not. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.
She was now a popular celebrity. Period. Not only that. She was also a rising star in the country's business world with the successful launch of Orchidia Beauty. The general public weren't aware yet that she was also the owner of Planet Monkey and Gold Heights. She wanted to focus on making Orchidia Beauty synonymous with her image first before revealing her ownership of the other companies.
In short, she was a public figure. The general public, especially the often bloodthirsty media who only cared about making sensational headlines regardless of the people they inconvenienced, would constantly try to invade her privacy and that of her loved ones if she loosened her guard. Interest for her would only increase as she became more famous. It reached an all-time high when her relationship with Jin Liwei was revealed to the public.
Iris didn't want to give other people any reason to use her or anything that came out of her mouth to tarnish Jin Liwei's reputation or hurt their godson.
She wasn't the sheltered princess of the infamous Vetrov family anymore. She was now Long Xiulan, a.k.a. Iris Long, an internationally acclaimed multi-award-winning musician, celebrity, businesswoman, and also Jin Liwei's future wife. Maintaining a respectable image was a must in order to protect the family and life she was building with her lover.
Thus, she finally relented and began learning the interview-dodging skills Tang Yiyi always pushed on her.
Back to the interview, Jin Chonglin butted in and redirected the topic to a completely different one. He did it with such smoothness and expertise that the host only realized that she had been played after the interview was over. By that time, it was too late. Even Iris couldn'st help but admire his skills. He truly was a pro. It was no wonder that Tang Yiyi liked using him as an example to prove her points to Iris.
"You still have a long way to go to reach this prince's level, Sister Xiulan," Jin Chonglin teased Iris as they returned to their respective executive vans.
"I know," Iris admitted. Indeed, she was still nowhere near Jin Chonglin's level when it came to handling the media by herself. "But I'll learn. Eventually. No, soon."
"Yeah, yeah. You're a monster of insanity."
She tilted her head to the side. "I don't understand what you mean."
"It means that you learn way too fast that it's insane. You're a monster."
Before Iris could reply, Lin Dong interrupted them. "Time to head to our next destination. Hurry up. Traffic is heavy right now."
"Iris, this way," Tang Yiyi led her, Dom, and the rest of their entourage to their separate executive van. Their bodyguards surrounded the area, keeping eye of any potential dangers.
The two groups made their way to their next work commitment for the day. In the meantime, the makeup artist and hairstylist were busy retouching Iris and helping her change her outfit. She wouldn't have time to do all of these at the radio station because of the heavy traffic.
Her phone rang. Dom answered it.
"Boss, it's sir boss! Ehehehe."
###
Chapter 610 - We Want More Of Iris Long!
"Hello, darling?" Iris answered the phonewhile being glammed up.
Everyone was silent while eavesdropping on the couple's phone conversation. Except for Dom who was already used to it, Tang Yiyi and the others, including the bodyguards at the front, still found it weird listening to the usually cold and indifferent CEO Jin Liwei sound very gentle and loving. It was as if they were seeing a proud and mighty lion acting like a tamed kitten in front of Iris. So deceptive!
Ever since Iris returned to work full-time after the bomb incident, Jin Liwei made it a point to call her despite his busy schedule. He didn't have much time to spare but still didn't miss a day checking up on her. In turn, Iris made sure to arrange hearty lunches to be sent to Jin Corporation for him every day.
"Congratulations, love. I just received word that 'Shining Eyes'reached #1 in Singapore and the Philippines today," he informed her.
"Really?"
"En. I told you that your song will make it to the top outside China."
Iris turned to Tang Yiyi.
Her manager mouthed, "Let me check."
Before Tang Yiyi could confirm the information, her phone started ringing, almost making her throw it away.
"Aiya! Who the hellâoh! It'sâ"
"Hey, Little Tang! Why is that brat not answering her phone? I've called two times already but it's busy! Tell her to answer her damn phone! I have important news!"
"Hello, Mr. JJ," Tang Yiyi greeted in a hurry while wiping imaginary cold sweat from her forehead. Most people would react this way to JJ, the notorious temperamental music producer.
"Well, where's the brat?! Let me talk to her! Hurry!"
"I'm here, Mr. JJ," Iris replied in a relaxed manner while still on the phone with Jin Liwei.
"There you are! Guess what happened today! Hahahaha!"
"My song 'Shining Eyes' has become #1 in the Philippines and Singapore?"
"I bet a brat like you would never guessâhuh? How did you know?!! It's supposed to be a surprise! Have you been monitoring your song's rankings in other countries?"
Iris chuckled, her voice tinkling like crystal bells. "No, I haven't but Liwei did. He just told me about it."
"Oh. Tsk." The music producer sounded disappointed that he wasn't able to surprise her with the news. However, he quickly recovered. "Everyone is crazy about 'Shining Eyes' in other Asian countries. It's now #1 in Singapore and the Philippines but it's also quickly climbing up to the top of the music charts in other countries. The localized versions of the song are #6 in Vietnam, #3 in Cambodia and Indonesia, and #2 in Malaysia and Thailand! It would've been so much better if you and that pipsqueak Jin Chonglin sang the localized versions because I know that you can speak their languages but whatever, this is good too! No, this is awesome! As awesome as me, JJ!"
Iris' smile was bright as she listened to JJ raving about her song's success in other Asian countries. Dom, Tang Yiyi and the others, even the bodyguards in the front seat, were also all beaming.
"I have to go, love. Congrats again," Jin Liwei interrupted.
"Thank you, darling. See you later at home."
"En. I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Kyaaaah~"
Dom began a muted squealing alongside the makeup artist and hairstylist. Tang Yiyi also wanted to squeal but stopped herself because she had to maintain her image as a capable manager. As for the two female bodyguards in the front passenger seat, their expressions twitched for a fraction of a second upon hearing the lovey-doveyness between their employers but quickly recovered and maintained their emotionless countenance as if nothing happened.
"Blegh!" JJ could be heard reacting on the phone and then muttering, "Young people."
After ending the call with Jin Liwei, Iris focused on talking with JJ while continuing to be glammed up. The fact that her song "Shining Eyes" had been released outside the country wasn't news to her. The hit drama "Our Love, Our Destiny" became available for international streaming at the same time it premiered in China. However, it took a few weeks before it gained traction among foreign audience. But once it did, the drama barreled its way to become an international hit.
And as the official theme song, "Shining Eyes" rose to prominence as well along with the drama. Iris was an unknown musician outside of China and Europe but her heavenly voice in the song caught the attention of the foreign viewers. Most of them already knew Jin Chonglin and were fans of him from before but they also became her fans after listening to the two of them sing together. These new fans became even more impressed after learning that she was the one who wrote the song.
As the drama and the song became more popular outside China with each airing episode every week, especially in Asia, Iris Long became one of the most searched for celebrities in the region. There wasn't a lot of information available on the internet about her private life but the new foreign fans were impressed by what they learned so far.
Survived a car crash and a year-long coma!
Successful instrumental album, Rebirth Melodies, especially in Europe!
Performed with Maestro Ludovico De Luca and the hitmaker Enrique Valdezâboth legendary musicians!
Multi-award-winning musician!
History-making musician for creating new musical techniques!
Recipient of the Soleil d'Or Award for Best Soundtrack at the highly-respected Sommet International Film Festival in France!
Skilled polyglot who was appointed official interpreter and translator in the just-finished International Business Conference this year!
Engaged to marry billionaire Jin Liwei, the current President-CEO of Jin Corporation, the top company in China and one of the biggest in Asia!
Future sister-in-law of Chinese superstar Jin Chonglin!
A businesswoman in her own right with the successful and record-breaking launch of her own company, Orchidia Beauty!
And her mother was a viscountess of Spain?! L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ãøvâ¬l--B1n.
The new foreign fans were all asking, "What in the world is with this talented woman?! We want more of Iris Long!!!"
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