Chapter 751 - I'll Crush Them All
Iris rubbed her hand on her flat stomach on instinct. She never really thought that this body she had now was that weak and fragile. But when she thought about it, her brother had a point in saying that.
Yes, this body suffered a lot of health problems especially when she just woke up from that one-year coma and discovered that she had been reborn as a completely different person. It took a few months for her to recover that time. There was also the time when she fell into another coma after meeting her Big Brother Nikolai as Lu Zihao for the first time and being overwhelmed by the shock. Next was when she was dealing with the original's remnant, she almost lost total control of this body. And most recently, the bomb incident caused her some serious injuries that left scars on her shoulder.
However, all of these didn't deter her from believing that she was capable of carrying Jin Liwei's babies to full term and giving birth to them. This body was healthy enough to do that. Now that she had accepted the fact that she was going to become a mother to her own biological children, the excitement was trumping any fear that she had before.
She thought for a few moments about how to respond to her brother. As for Lu Zihao, he waited for her to gather her thoughts and just sat there in silence, letting her digest everything he told her.
"I'm sure that there are many women in the world who are far weaker than me physically but still successfully gave birth and they're doing just fine," she finally said. "I'll search it up, gather the appropriate data, and show them to you, if you don't believe me."
He sighed. "That's not the point I want you to focus on, Evelinka."
She avoided his gaze and continued rubbing her abdomen.
He rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned forward. Although she wasn't meeting his gaze, he still maintained his serious gaze on her. "I know that you want to avoid anything that has to do with our past lives. I understand why you're like this. I really do, believe me. In fact, I want you to have the happiness and freedom that you thought you never had in our past lives in this new life of yours. You're my baby sister. I always want the best for you."
Finally, she looked at him. There was a small smile on her face, indicating that his words touched her.
"It makes me happy seeing you happy like this," he continued saying. "Even though I disapprove some of your decisions and think that you often act too liberated for my taste especially when it comes to your relationship with your man, at the end of the day, your brother only wants to see you living your life to the fullest peacefully and safely. The keywords are 'peacefully' and 'safely'."
"I know, Big Brother," she said in a soft voice.
He nodded. "By advising you to retrain your combat skills, especially your specialties Systema and shooting, I don't mean for you to relive the harsh training we experienced in our past lives. All I'm asking you is to strengthen your body, not in the way you're currently maintaining your figure as a celebrity. All it does is make you look good on the outside but does absolutely nothing on the inside.
"We may not be who we were in our past lives anymore, and it may look like we're living peaceful lives right now, but danger is everywhere, Evelinka. It may not be in the same form as we faced as members of the Vetrovs, but it's still there, waiting for an opportunity to strike when we least expect it. Never grow complacent."
All of his words made sense to her and that alone annoyed her. She stood up and started pacing back and forth to calm down. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"Remember the bomb incident. It was targeted towards you. If you were any less lucky that day, you would've died for the second time." He paused and said, "Sit down, Evelinka. Don't tire yourself out."
She threw him a surly look but still grudgingly obeyed and plopped back down on the couch.
Satisfied that she listened to him, he resumed his lecture. "Also remember who your man is."
"Of course I remember who he is," she said, huffing. This conversation was starting to wear down on her. "He'll be my lawful husband in less than a month. So of course I know who I'm marrying!"
He ignored her bad temper and her last two sentences. "Jin Liwei might have a 'normal' background compared to who we were in our past lives, but he's still the current head of the biggest multinational company in this country. He's a billionaire, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world. It might not look like it, but there are plenty of people targeting him. He has enemies, too. I hope you know that."
"Of course I know!" She was now very annoyed. At him, at their conversation, and at her tendency to get annoyed quickly these days. "But they're only a bunch of envious lowlifes who have nothing better to do than try pulling down my man from his top position. As if I'll let them do that. They can try, but I'll destroy them before they could!"
"Good that you know." Now, it was him who stood up and started roaming around the room, touching this and that, trying to distract her with his movements. He didn't want to upset her especially since she was pregnant. But it was because she was pregnant that he needed to have this important talk with her. "Now that you're to become Jin Liwei's wife and the mother of his children, his enemies will also start targeting you."
"I'll deal with them," she snarled. "They're just ants. I'll crush them all!"
Lu Zihao half-sat on the edge of the table and looked a little amused at her fierceness. "I'm sure you will. But remember that even a bite from a single ant will still hurt."
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Chapter 752 Past Body Vs - Present Body
"If a single ant can already cause pain, imagine a swarm of ants biting you at the same time." Lu Zihao's amusement turned into restrained menace. "They may not be on your level, my dear Evelinka, but if you aren't careful enough, those lowlifes as you call them, will be able to find a way to hurt you and your loved ones. Not including me, of course."
Iris' fierce expression transformed into that of exhaustion. She let the rest of her body fall to the couch into a lying position. "I get it, Big Brother."
"Good." The menace disappeared and turned into his usual devilish smile. "Be more careful, more cautious, and take more precautions. Your man is doing his part in protecting you by tightening security. I'll also provide assistance in any way possible. But what if all safety measure fails and neither your man nor I could get to you in time? The best defence starts with one's self. You must be the best person to protect yourself and the babies inside you."
Her gaze once again dropped to her own belly. The following days after Wang Yingjie confirmed her pregnancy, she already began developing maternal feelings for the two little beans growing inside her. If she and her brother had this same tedious conversation before she got pregnant, it was highly likely that she might have brushed him off and insisted that she would be fine.
But now? His words were ultra-effective in triggering a powerful sense of maternal protectiveness inside her. There was no way that she would let anything harm her babies. No way! [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
Then she observed her brother. He was huge and muscular, his skin riddled with different kinds of scars. His current figure was very different from when he was Nikolai Vetrov in the past. Unlike the Lu Zihao now who looked almost like a bodybuilder, Nikolai's figure was more streamlined and refined. Yet despite the smaller-looking muscles on her brother's previous body, she knew that he was stronger back then than now. Those smaller muscles packed more power and lethal punch than what was contained in his current bulky, muscular body as Lu Zihao.
His current body was like a rugged off-road vehicle, still very powerful, but not as much when compared to a sleek sports car with more than a thousand horsepower engine which was akin to Nikolai's body in the past.
"Is that also the reason why you made yourself look like that?" she asked.
He threw his head back and laughed. The sound was absolutely demonic, yet it brought her comfort because it was her brother.
"Correct," he said after laughing. The demonic laughter eased off to his usual devilish smile. "This body is also extremely weak. I already strengthened it as much as I could but it's still very far from reaching my previous body's standards. And I think that it will never reach that level because the foundations are too different. The biggest reason might be because the Vetrov genes are more superior." There was great pride in his voice when he said this.
"Our bodies areâwere naturally stronger," he corrected himself after remembering that the bodies they were talking about were all in the past. "The training and experiences our forefathers honed in their bodies during their time had been passed down on to us, their descendants, making us naturally powerful. Even someone like you, my dear little sister, who didn't partake in our organization's harshest training and missions, and preferred to spend your time in front of your piano and computers, was stronger and more athletic than normal people."
She couldn't deny what he said because it was indeed true. Her previous body as Evelina may look delicate but it was still strong and easily trained. She just didn't train it as much as their mother would have liked because of her rejection to joining the family's business.
There was no doubt that the Vetrovs' strength and skills came largely from their intensive and brutal special training. But for descendants like them, the bodies that they were born with also played a big role in determining how strong and powerful they would grow. It was a case of nature and nurture working together in perfect tandem.
Evelina might not compare to the other Vetrovs who trained their physical strength and skills like machines, but she was the most superior when it came to intellect. She was, after all, a certified genius who had been scouted by the legendary Cross Academy when she was only a teenage girl. It was just that she chose not to use her high-powered brain to contribute to the family business, no matter how many times her father persuaded her or her mother threatened her.
Her thoughts were pulled back to the present as her brother continued to speak about the topic. "My current body can't compare to my past one. I have to always work damn hard pushing it to the limit in order to maintain it because if I don't, it'll just revert to its old weak self. Even so, I'm glad that I could train this body to this level from its pathetic state when I got reborn to it."
"Lu Zihao's body was literally broken and paralyzed when you got it, Big Brother," she told him in wry tone. "Of course it was pathetic. Mine too, actually. Although I heard that Lu Zihao's accident was more terrible than Long Xiulan's. Lots of broken bones."
"And both died."
She sighed. "Yes, both died."
"Us, too. We died."
She closed her eyes and whispered, "Yes. We died, too."
"But we were reborn."
Her eyes were hard steel when she opened them again. "Yes, we did. We were reborn as them. And that's what matters because it gave us a new chance in life."
"Exactly."
She peeked at him and asked, "Big Brother, are you glad that you had been reborn?"
His devilish smile stretched wider but also became more sinister, causing her heart to shake a little.
"Absolutely, my dear little sister. I'm very glad, alright."
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Chapter 753 - Madam Vetrova
To Iris' relief, Lu Zihao's sinister smile only lasted for a few seconds. It was so like him to have total control of his emotions. He could change his expressions at will, only presenting what he wanted to show others. If he didn't want anyone knowing his real thoughts and feelings, then nobody would know except for himself.
Unlike her who was straightforward, he was very much like the sly and manipulative Vetrov. In a sense, Evelina had been a huge anomaly to be born in the Vetrov family.
He left his perch on the edge of the table and returned to sit on the couch opposite her. Then he poured himself a fresh cup of hot tea. "So my point for saying all this to you is, these new bodies of ours might be inferior to what we had in the past, but that doesn't mean that we have to be content with them. We have ways of strengthening them, of making them better, and of pushing them closer to the level of superiority we had in our past bodies. It's not a sin to be weak, but staying weak for your entire life is."
She covered her eyes with her arm and released a heavy sigh. Drowsiness slowly crept up to her, causing her body to feel heavier on the couch she was lying on.
"I understand, Big Brother," she murmured. "Let me think about it. I know that you mean well, but I can't do much right now because I'm pregnant. Liwei will be furious if I suddenly start training my body harder at this point. We were just fighting earlier before you arrived because he changed my work schedule without discussing it with me first. He says that he doesn't want me working while pregnant."
"I agree that it's safer for you to stay at home, pregnant or not," he said in a casual tone.
She removed the arm covering her eyes to glare at him. "The two of you are such cavemen!"
He shrugged, not at all affected by her glare, and continued sipping his tea. Then he looked at her and said, "By the way."
She huffed. "What?"
"If you're not able to find any twins in either your man or Long Xiulan's genealogical records, I may know why you're having twins that isn't caused by random chance."
That triggered her curiosity. "Oh? Tell me!"
He didn't tell her right away but instead observed her for a few moments. It wasn't obvious what he was thinking from his impassive face but she imagined that he might be hesitating whether to tell her or not. In the end, he still told her.
"Actually, our mother's maiden family has had twins through many generations. Our maternal grandaunt was a twin and so were a few distant cousins."
Without him needing to explain, she knew that he was talking about Madam Vetrova. The one who sowed the fear of becoming a bad, cruel mother deep inside her soul. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"I didn't know that," she said, her voice a whisper.
"Of course, you didn't know. Mother never talked about her maiden family. Her entire loyalty rested solely on the Vetrov organization. Nothing was left for the family she was born into."
"How do you know about this? Did you meet our maternal relatives back then?"
"I'm the heirâwas the heir of our organization," he corrected himself again which caused his mood to plunge. "So I had to accompany Father to meet and manage our organization's subordinate groups. A few of the most established ones were families, including Mother's maiden family. But compared to other criminal families, they were nothing special. Almost amateurish, to tell you the truth. You can liken them to a gang lording over a small, insignificant Russian town.
"However, they did produce someone like Mother who later married Father and became the matriarch. Her maiden family used this connection to spread their influence beyond their small town and grow their power. Although their overall abilities were lacking, they still became quite a successful criminal family with the Vetrovs' backing.
"They prided themselves for producing Mother who at a young age had already become a brilliant asset to our organization to the point of catching Grandfather Vetrov's eyes. He recruited her and personally groomed her to become one of our organization's best assassins. She also became an incredible biomedical expert specializing in the concoction of untraceable poisons. Many of the lethal substance weapons that our subordinates used were developed by Mother. Father used to say back then that you got Mother's brains."
His last sentence sent a shiver down her spine. What if it wasn't only her intellect that she inherited from Madam Vetrova? What ifâ
As if he knew what she was thinking, he interrupted and said in a forceful tone, "You're nothing like Mother, Evelinka. Even when you were only a little girl, you're already nothing like her. No matter how hard she tried to mould you to become someone like her, she couldn't. Because you are uniquely you. There's nobody else like you in the world."
Her eyes reddened. She wanted to go over and hug her brother but restrained the urge upon remembering that he stunk so badly that she couldn't take it. "Thank you."
He waved her off. "If you're interested, I'll tell you more about Mother's maiden family another time."
She didn't reply, and he didn't expect her to make a decision so quickly either. They both knew what kind of difficult relationship she had with their mother. It wasn't just a matter of differences in ideologies but something more fundamental. It was like they belonged to two different species altogether and were unable to establish proper communication with each other.
Although her curiosity about Madam Vetrova's maiden family was piqued, she didn't want to touch that topic for now. Instead, she focused on another topic which she was more interested in.
"Big Brother, you're saying that me having twins originated from Mother's maiden family? But that's impossible. This body is in no way connected to her by blood."
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Chapter 754 - Your Children Are My Family
Lu Zihao gave his sister a sidelong glance. "That body may not be connected to Mother by blood but don't forget that your soul is, or spirit or memories, or whatever it is that was transferred from our former bodies into these new ones. You say that it's impossible? What's not possible after dying and being reborn into completely different people? We are still us but also not. Who's to say that you having twins has nothing to do with our bloodline in our past lives? I say that anything is possible at this point after everything both of us have experienced so far. Crazy, I know. But it's still a possibility."
Iris grew silent and thought about her brother's speculation. To be honest, she found it insane yet also extremely fascinating. If he was correct, then it would open a whole new world of wonder. Perhaps they could even find the reason of their rebirth. She itched to study and gather concrete data about the supernatural phenomenon of their rebirth but felt helpless about how to start. If only it was that easy to investigate something so otherworldly.
All this talking and thinking made her yawn. Her eyes were starting to close but there was still one thing that she wanted to clear up with her brother.
"Big Brother?"
"Hm?"
She took a deep breath before dropping the important question. "When are you going to accept that I'm pregnant?"
He raised an eyebrow and countered her question with another question. "When did I say that I don't accept that you're pregnant?"
That made her drowsy eyes light up. "You're not angry anymore?"
"I already told you, Evelinka. I'm furiousâ"
Her hopeful face fell.
"âbut that's only natural because a naughty someone ignored her big brother's words and went ahead and got herself pregnant out of wedlock."
"Hmph!" She rolled her eyes and turned her head away from him. She was so over his old-fashioned ways.
A devilish chuckle made her look at him again, though. When she saw him again, his face had a softer expression.
"I might still feel furious but I never said that I won't accept your children. My dear little sister, all your children are my family, including all your damn cats."
She was already smiling before she even realized it. It was a smile that reached her eyes, making it crinkle with warmth and happiness. She even ignored the part where he said "damn cats". Her brain automatically filtered out the word "damn" and replaced it with "darling", thereby deluding herself into believing that he said "darling cats" instead of "damn cats".
"I only have one request," he said.
With her mood improved, the smile remained on her face as she asked him with eagerness. "What is it?"
Both his expression and tone turned grave. "Remember your promise to let the old man name your children. I don't want the poor kids to have ridiculous names like your damn cats."
Her happy expression turned surly in an instant. She was about to argue but was interrupted when the bedroom door opened. Jin Liwei finally returned and immediately headed to her. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"What happened?" he asked upon seeing her bad-tempered expression. Then he threw a cold glance at Lu Zihao, assuming it was the man's fault. "Did Fifth Brother scold you?"
Iris tried to sit up but her body felt too drowsy, so she raised both her arms and reached for her man instead. "Darling, Big Brother is so mean!"
Jin Liwei's expression turned colder. He hurried to sit by her side and held her hands as he glared at his fifth brother who sat there in a casual manner while looking at them in amusement. He asked her, "What mean things did he say to you? Tell me."
"He said..."
"En?"
"Big Brother said that our cats' names are ridiculous! And that we shouldn't name our twins like our cats. How could he say such a mean thing? Ice Cream, Popcorn and Ketchupâaren't they such adorable names? Right, darling?"
"Yes, of course, love. They're wonderful names."
Lu Zihao snorted.
Jin Liwei threw him a warning glance. Then he started giving both his baby girl's arms a gentle massage to calm her down and hopefully prevent her from having another extreme mood swing. His tender ministrations soon took effect and in just a few seconds, she fell asleep. He sighed in relief and brushed a few strands of hair away from her beautiful face. Then he moved to lift her up.
"I'll do it," Lu Zihao said. "You're still injured, Third Brother. My sister will throw a hissy fit if you hurt yourself again when you should be focused on healing."
Jin Liwei didn't reject the offer. He nodded and moved aside to allow Lu Zihao to carry his baby girl to the bedroom. "Careful. She's pregnant."
"I know."
After Lu Zihao deposited Iris on the bed, Jin Liwei covered her with the duvet and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. Then the two men left the bedroom.
"Fifth Brother, let's go somewhere else," Jin Liwei said. "I want to talk to you."
Lu Zihao followed him outside the suite. They only needed to walk a short distance before arriving at Iris' piano room. Jin Liwei chose this room because firstly, it was near their suite so he could still rush to his baby girl as fast as possible if she needed him. Secondly, it was soundproofed. He didn't want other people passing by overhearing their conversation, including the gossip-loving Ketchup who he already warned not to eavesdrop.
"What do you want to talk about?" Lu Zihao asked as he perched himself on the wide windowsill.
Jin Liwei chose to sit in front of the piano. Then he observed the other man with a profound look in his eyes. "You reek of bloodlust."
"Oh?" Lu Zihao's eyebrows lifted in faint surprise at his words.
"I don't know what the hell you've been doing these days to become like that, Fifth Brother, and I'm not going to pry into your business. But you better be more mindful around Xiulan next time."
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Chapter 755 - Devil
"Xiulan is pregnant now, Fifth Brother," Jin Liwei said. "It's very easy for her to get upset over the littlest of things. I don't want anything or anyone to trigger her, including you."
"Heh~ Third Brother is talking as if you haven't made her upset since confirming that she's pregnant," Lu Zihao drawled. "Little Sister just told me that you two fought over her work schedule before I came over."
Jin Liwei sighed and massaged his temples. "I only did what I thought is best for her and our babies. I don't want to risk her overexerting herself at work because she tends to do that. If nobody monitors her, she'll work herself until she collapses because she's just so passionate." A faint smile improved his weary face. "That's one of the things I love about herâthe passion in everything she does."
Lu Zihao made a sound of agreement.
"But she needs to ease back on her work. I worry about her a lot because she has a tendency to faint and a history of falling into coma. Sometimes she's so healthy while at other times, she seems so...."
"Fragile," Lu Zihao filled in.
"En. If it were up to me alone, she would stop working and stay here at home where I know that she'll be safe and pampered for the entire duration of her pregnancy, our babies' birth, and the twins' first few months."
"Excellent idea."
The two men looked at each other. Then they chuckled because both of them were of the same mind regarding what they thought was best for Iris. However, both also knew that she would never allow either of them to have full control of how she lived her life no matter how much she loved them.
"Her temper has become terrible," Lu Zihao commented after the short silence.
"Mood swings," Jin Liwei muttered.
"That's what you get for getting her pregnant so soon."
Jin Liwei threw a cold look at his fifth brother. "I don't regret getting the woman I love pregnant. On the contrary, I'm ecstatic. Our babies are not a mistake. Never. They're blessings."
Lu Zihao didn't reply. He wasn't even looking at Jin Liwei. Instead, his gaze was directed at the bright and sunny scenery outside the window. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"Which brings me to the matter that I want to talk to you about," Jin Liwei said.
"What is it?" Lu Zihao asked while peering at Jin Liwei out of the corner of his eye.
Jin Liwei rose from his seat and moved a little closer towards his fifth brother. He did so while running his fingers on top of the piano keys but not hard enough to press them and make a sound. He let his hand fall to his side as he continued walking and only stopped once he was a few feet away from Lu Zihao.
"I noticed that Xiulan fears you, Fifth Brother," he said. "She was terrified that you'll get mad because she got pregnant out of wedlock. I told her not to worry, but she dreaded your arrival today. And yet she doesn't dare make excuses to delay seeing you. And it's not only limited to today's case either. I already long noticed some instances in the past when she would constantly worry about how you'll react. I did my best to brush it off because I know that your sibling bond is stronger than what she has with her own biological siblings, even with Long Jinjing who has now become one of her closest friends."
The atmosphere had long turned tense as soon as Jin Liwei began this topic. Lu Zihao's full gaze was now on him. The look on his abyss-like eyes were intimidating but Jin Liwei didn't back down.
"Why does my wife fear you, Fifth Brother? Tell me why. I want to understand but I just can't."
Lu Zihao continued to remain silent. Even Jin Liwei had no idea what was going on inside his friend and brother's head. He couldn't help but frown because his old fifth brother from before the ski accident always wore his heart on his sleeve. What you see was what you get when it came to the Lu Zihao in the past. The Lu Zihao now, however, was the total opposite. There was no way of knowing his real thoughts and emotions just by looking at his expression.
"Xiulan is confident, independent, and strong-minded," Jin Liwei continued speaking even though Lu Zihao still hadn't said anything yet. "She goes all out whenever she wants to achieve something. But why the hell is she afraid of you? I don't like that at all. The wife of Jin Liwei shouldn't be so afraid of anyone or anything, much less you, our own brother."
Lu Zihao finally rose to his full height. At the same time, he stopped restraining his bloodlust, allowing it to flood out of him in suffocating waves.
Jin Liwei was hit with the full brunt of his fifth brother's intense malevolent aura to the point that his heart and breathing stopped for a few seconds. Then adrenaline rushed through his veins and helped him recover his senses. Nevertheless, the back of his shirt had already become drenched in cold sweat in that short moment. He felt shocked at what happened. Then the anger came next.
"What the hell are you trying to do?" he demanded. His whole body was now poised to fight if needed. He felt that what his fifth brother did was an affront to their friendship. "Do you want to kill me?!"
There was not a shred of emotion on Lu Zihao's face, yet the aura he was emitting was enough to cause a weak man to piss his pants. Although Jin Liwei was affected, he didn't back down. He wanted an explanation why his fifth brother was doing this!
"What if I say that I do want to kill you right now?" Lu Zihao spoke in a cold whisper, yet the words seemed to echo everywhere in the room.
In front of Jin Liwei was no longer his fifth brother. It was the devil.
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Chapter 756 - Beyond Death And Through Eternity
But so what if it was the devil? Jin Liwei didn't give a damn. If his fifth brother was playing with him, then he was going too far! Their conversation was about Jin Liwei's beloved woman, so there was no way in hell that he was going to back down. He needed a definite answer from Lu Zihao and he was going to get it even if they end up getting into a brawl.
"You can try to kill me," Jin Liwei said, his voice hard with barely restrained aggression. "You're much bigger and physically stronger than I am now, but if you really want to kill me, I won't go down without a fight. I'm now a family man. My wife is pregnant with twinsâ"
"She's not your wife yet," Lu Zihao interjected in an eerily calm voice yet still managed to sound threatening.
"Xiulan and I may not be married under the law yet, but we've been living like a pair of husband and wife since we became officially engaged. No, even before that." Then Jin Liwei scowled. "And why the hell do I need to explain my relationship with my woman with you? You may be one of my best friends, one of my closest brothers, but don't go too far!"
"I'll go as far as I want. She's my sister. Her business is my business. Deal with it."
Jin Liwei couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Lu Zihao really say that? And he, Jin Liwei, had to deal with it? What the hell?! He had to make sure that he heard it correctly. "Are you serious?"
Lu Zihao's face remained impassive. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Fifth Brotherâno. Lu Zihao, I can't believe you."
"You better believe it."
Jin Liwei's jaws tightened, causing his voice to become gruff. "If I didn't know for sure that the odd bond you have with my woman is strictly like that of a brother and sister, I would've already fallen out with you and destroyed three decades worth of brotherhood between us. Our brothers and I already found your closeness with Xiulan very weird since the beginning. And to be honest, that story about the two of you developing such a tight sibling bond because you were online game buddies in the past sounds like total bullshit. Why? Because you never mentioned anything about her to us. But even with our doubts, we had no choice but accept because the truth is right in front of us. We can see with our own eyes that you and Xiulan genuinely care for each other like brother and sister. It's not something that can be faked.
"All of us already long accepted your odd relationship. Perhaps the fact that the two of you shared nearly identical experiences of almost dying, falling into coma, and your personalities changing afterwards have made us more understanding despite all the questions in our heads. I have to admit, though, that it took quite some time for me to become completely fine with it."
Lu Zihao crossed his big, muscled arms over his chest and leaned back on the wall. His posture looked deceptively relaxed, but the concentrated gaze he had on Jin Liwei was like that of a top hunter. He remained silent while continuing to listen. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
As for Jin Liwei, he had already somewhat gotten used to Lu Zihao's intensity. The other man's aura didn't seem as overwhelming as before. Although Jin Liwei had never encountered such strong bloodlust before, he was still an elite businessman at the top of his game who frequently rubbed shoulders with the most powerful people in the world. He wasn't someone who was easily intimidated. On the contrary, most normal people were the ones intimidated by him. Adapting to all kinds of situations was a trait he had to learn early on as a young businessman.
Feeling more confident now, he straightened his spine and continued talking while looking at Lu Zihao straight in the eyes. "Your closeness with my wife has now become normal to me and to everyone around us. But there are times, like right now, that you're acting too intrusive with my relationship with Xiulan, as if you have the right to meddle in our private affairs. Honestly, it's starting to feel really uncomfortable."
"Does Little Sister also think the same way as you do?" Lu Zihao asked.
Jin Liwei gritted his teeth because he couldn't answer right away.
A faint demonic smirk finally made a change on Lu Zihao's emotionless face. "I thought so."
"Xiulan doesn't dare openly defy you," Jin Liwei growled through his gritted teeth. "I don't like that she's too worried about what you think to the point that she sometimes feels afraid of you. Why is that, FifthâLu Zihao? What kind of tight hold do you have on my wife?"
"Do you want to know the truth?" Lu Zihao drawled.
"Of course I want to know the truth. That's why we're having this conversation."
"Heh~" Lu Zihao's smirk widened as he gave Jin Liwei a mysterious look filled with unknown meaning. "Unfortunately, Third Brother, I don't think you'll be able to handle the truthâthe real secret between my sister and I."
His words caused Jin Liwei to scowl so hard that his nostrils started flaring. "What do you mean by that? Tell me!" he demanded with barely controlled fury and suspicion.
"Ah, like I just told you, Third Brother, the truth is too much for you to handle. It's the kind that binds my sister and I beyond death and through eternity."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Jin Liwei's entire body was trembling with fury because Lu Zihao's words were too easily misunderstood.
Bound beyond death and through eternity? What kind of bullshit words were those? Weren't those words used to describe lovers instead of siblings?
Lu Zihao gestured a hand at Jin Liwei's agitated state. "See? I haven't even told the truth yet and you're already like that. As I thought, you won't be able to handle it if you learn about the truth between my sister and I."
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Chapter 757 - Evelinka
Jin Liwei was quick to turn the other way so he wouldn't have to look at Lu Zihao's goading face anymore. If he continued looking at Lu Zihao for even a second longer, he might have completely lost it and punched his fifth brother in the face. But what should he do about his anger?
He felt like a volcano that was going to erupt at any moment. If he didn't release some of the pressure building up inside him, he would soon explode to the point of no return. So instead of brawling with Lu Zihao, he chose to kick some of the chairs inside the room.
However, he left his baby girl's piano stool alone, not daring to even scratch it. He could replace any other furniture in their home without any problem but she was extremely protective of all her music and computer equipment. Those were off-limits. There would be hell to pay if they were damaged in any way because almost all of them were customized for her. Meaning, they were one of a kind to fit only her.
Loud sounds of banging and crashing soon filled the entire room. Once Jin Liwei started venting his anger on the poor furniture, a kind of triumphant thrill ran through him and spurred him to become even more violent. Within minutes, he completely destroyed the chairs and even the small table. The vase of flowers lay pitiful and broken on the floor.
He was breathing harder after he was done and his clothes were drenched in sweat. But his eyes were now brighter and his skin was flushed with more vigour. He looked healthier now than he had ever since the construction accident a few days ago.
Lu Zihao watched the entire scene while continuing to lean his back on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Amusement was obvious on his face, the only emotion he was allowing to show at the moment. He had already retracted most of his bloodlust, easing the heaviness in the atmosphere by a lot in an instant. Jin Liwei, however, didn't seem to notice or maybe he just didn't care anymore.
"Feel better?" Lu Zihao asked.
Jin Liwei ignored him and instead focused on admiring his "handiwork", a.k.a. the destroyed furniture. There was no way of fixing them so new ones needed to be bought, but he would just leave that task to his butler. At least, he felt better now and didn't feel like brawling with his fifth brother anymore who was ceasing to feel like a brother as the minutes ticked by.
"Did you imagine that I was the furniture while you were kicking them around just now?" Lu Zihao continued to ask, not at all bothered that he didn't receive a reply to his previous question.
This time, Jin Liwei finally responded. He snorted and threw a sidelong glance at Lu Zihao. "What do you think?"
Lu Zihao shrugged. "I honestly don't care. Though it's good that you didn't attack me because if you did, I can't promise that I'll hold back and not hurt you. My mood is fucking terrible today. I'm itching for a good fight myself."
"I don't need you to hold back," Jin Liwei said through gritted teeth. "Don't look down on me. You may be physically stronger than me now but I can at least still land a couple of punches or a kick on your arrogant ass."
Devilish laughter rumbled out of Lu Zihao chest, as he threw his head back and let out his amusement with no restraints. The atmosphere had now lightened a great deal. Even Jin Liwei's mouth twitched a couple of times as he fought hard not to smile and managed to maintain the cold expression on his face.
"As much as I want to fight someone today, it's not going to be you, Third Brother," Lu Zihao said after laughing. "My sister will be upset if you got hurt, especially since you haven't fully recovered from your injuries yet. I even heard from my subordinates that she has become quite paranoid and wanted you to wear a helmet and a bulletproof vest?" He started laughing again after saying that.
The twitch in Jin Liwei's mouth intensified. It was getting more and more difficult to stop himself from joining in the laughter. Thus, he chose to focus on the first part of what Lu Zihao said instead of the latter part about the helmet and bulletproof vest.
"Indeed, Xiulan will be upset if I'm hurt," he said. This time, there was no hint of laughter on his face. There was only seriousness. "You said earlier that you want to kill me? Even if you were joking, let me tell you now that if you ever kill me, you'll have to prepare to face my wife's wrath. Whatever weird sibling bond you have and no matter how strong it is right now, it will all be destroyed in the end because she'll hate you. If you hurt me or worse, kill me, Xiulan will hate you to death. Mark my words."
That killed Lu Zihao's amusement in an instant. His expression darkened and even the air around him seemed to freeze. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"Lu Zihao," Jin Liwei said, no longer calling him Fifth Brother. "I hope that you stamp it inside your head that I, Jin Liwei, am the man Long Xiulan lovesâ"
"Evelinka."
"What?"
"She's Evelinka."
Jin Liwei frowned. "I know that you call her by that name. I remember you saying that it's her online name when you were game buddies before. But her name is Long Xiulan, notâ"
"My sister is Evelinka," Lu Zihao said simply, not bothering to provide any explanations.
Jin Liwei's frowned deepened. Something flashed inside his mind, a scene where his baby girl said something similarly odd, yet it was gone before he could think more deeply about it.
Lu Zihao's words for almost their entire conversation had been too puzzling. Jin Liwei couldn't make heads or tails about what he was talking about. Was the man's goal today to mess up with his head?
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Chapter 758 - Goodbye, Fifth Brother
"Fine. Evelinka then," Jin Liwei finally said. He didn't want to bother thinking too deeply about Lu Zihao's mysterious and confusing words. "I'm the man Evelinka loves. I'm her lover, soon to be her official husband, and the father of her children. She and I are one now. Whoever hurts me also hurts her and vice versa."
"Are you bragging to me?" Lu Zihao asked.
Jin Liwei gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes which remained serious. "Of course I'm bragging to you. But I'm also stating a fact."
Lu Zihao made a low sound in his throat but it wasn't clear if it was acknowledgement of what Jin Liwei said or rejection. Jin Liwei didn't care whichever it was, though. After what happened today, he no longer wanted to care much about what his fifth brotherâno, what Lu Zihao thought.
His baby girl was his bottom line and anyone who crossed too far, no matter if it was his sworn brother who he knew longer than her, he would need to tell them off because his relationship with his woman was their business alone and nobody else's.
"Stamp this in your head, Lu Zihao. Don't meddle too much in my relationship with Xiulan...or Evelinka if that's what you like to call her. And I won't interfere with your sibling bond either. Let's stay in our own places in her heart." Then Jin Liwei walked closer until he stood right in front of Lu Zihao. He stared straight into the other man's eyes and sent his own force of will, not the least bit cowered by Lu Zihao's seemingly endless intensity. "And this is the last time you'll cause my wife to feel afraid of you, Lu Zihao. Or I swear, even if Grandpa Lu beats me up or even disowns me, I'll forget our brotherhood and not allow you anywhere near my wife ever again."
This time, it was Lu Zihao who nearly lost it. He grabbed Jin Liwei's collar, almost lifting the man off his feet. "You dare keep my sister away from me?!"
Jin Liwei retaliated and also grabbed Lu Zihao's collar. However, he didn't even attempt to lift the other man. He knew his limits. "I'll dare anything if it means that my wife can live safely without having to fear anyone. So if you want to maintain your bond with her, then you better adjust your attitude."
"You!" Lu Zihao tightened his hold on Jin Liwei's collar.
Jin Liwei did the same. "I won't tolerate another man having such a strong hold on my woman like you seem to have. I don't give a damn about that 'bound beyond death and through eternity' bullshit you kept on spouting earlier. It doesn't matter, anyway, because from the moment she and I got together, we'll be the ones who'll become bound beyond death and through eternity as soulmates. The babies growing inside her womb right now are the proof of our unbreakable bond."
The two men glared at each other. Nobody was willing to be the first one to look away first. Basically, they were currently in an idiotic macho pissing contest.
After what felt like a long time, Lu Zihao was the first one to let go. Jin Liwei followed suit. However, neither broke eye contact. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"Jin Liwei, remember everything you said to me today," Lu Zihao said in a much calmer yet still threatening voice. "If you ever betray my sister or hurt her or allow her to be harmed..." He leaned closer until they were almost nose to nose and could feel each other's breaths on their faces. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll kill you. Literally."
Jin Liwei pushed a hand against Lu Zihao's chest and stepped away quickly to put an acceptable distance between them. "You don't have to tell me. I'll love, cherish and protect my own woman. And kill me? You can try. I won't allow myself to be killed that easily. I need to be alive and well in order to protect my wife, our children and our whole family."
"Fine." Lu Zihao also moved a few steps to the side and put a greater distance between them.
"Are we clear about everything that we talked about in this room?"
Lu Zihao nodded.
The atmosphere between the two had become cold and distant. Gone was the close brotherhood from before. What replaced it was a tolerant civil treatment of each other for the sake of the most important woman in both their lives.
Lu Zihao left the piano room first. He stalked out like a restless panther looking for another hunting ground because the one he just left sucked big time.
As for Jin Liwei, he stayed in the room for a while. His gaze swept past the wreck he made out of the chairs and table. Now that the confrontation with his fifth brotherâno, with Lu Zihao was over, there was a feeling of emptiness inside his heart. He knew that he just lost one of his sworn brothers forever.
Sighing, he walked to the piano and stood in front of it, imagining his graceful wife playing a heart-rending music. He bet that she would know just the right tune to play to accurately reflect the turmoil of emotions in his heart caused by his falling out with Lu Zihao. Then afterwards, she would play something soothing in order to lift his spirits and allow him to heal from the hurt.
Because fuck if he was going to lie. Losing a friendâno, Lu Zihao wasn't just any friend. Losing a brother fucking hurt, especially one he knew since they were babies due to the same tight brotherhood between their grandfathers.
He pressed a random key on the piano. The sound was high-pitched. He continued pressing a few more random keys until he reached the lowest and deepest note, the sound like the final gong to signal the official end of his brotherhood with Lu Zihao.
"Goodbye, Fifth Brother."
Then the melancholy turned into a smirk.
"Hello, annoying brother-in-law."
With a final glance at the piano, he left the room and headed back to his sleeping wife.
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Chapter 759 - Did He Beat You Up?
It was already mid-afternoon by the time Iris woke up from her after-brunch nap. Her body still felt sluggish but the call of nature won over sleep, so she forced herself to roll off the bed before staggering her way to the bathroom. After finishing her business and cleaning herself up, she searched for Jin Liwei who was nowhere in sight.
She found him outside the bedroom in their suite's living room with the butler. He was lying face-down on the couch with the butler giving him some deep-tissue massage.
"Darling?"
The butler straightened to his perfect professional posture in an instant and gave her a polite gentleman's bow complete with a sweep of an arm. "Mistress."
She greeted him back before focusing all her attention on her man.
"How was your nap, love?" Jin Liwei asked.
"Okay." Although she said that, her tone didn't sound okay at all.
She wasted almost an entire day sleeping, yet why did she still feel tired? This irritated her because she was the type to keep busy. She loved doing something productive and keeping herself occupied. Besides her music and computers, one of her most favourite things to do was spend quality time with Jin Liwei and make love with him.
Today, however, she fought with him the moment she woke up this morning. They made up but they hadn't completely resolved the main cause of their fight yet. Then after having lunch, she fell asleep again, losing precious time that she would've preferred to spend with him. Even though they couldn't make love because of his injuries, they could still do something else, like eat chocolate desserts together and hug while she enjoyed smelling his masculine scent that she loved so much.
Trying to divert her own attention away from the irritation gnawing inside her, she asked him a question as well. "Why are you having your massage so early today? Don't you usually have it in the evening after dinner?"
"I just wanted it earlier today," he said while keeping his expression pleasant.
She didn't notice the faint furrow between his brows or the tightness of his jaw as he stopped the pain from showing on his face. Neither did she become suspicious of why he asked for a massage earlier than usual todayâand a deep-tissue one at that. She believed him so she only nodded and accepted his answer without questioning him further.
"Thanks for taking care of Liwei," she told the butler with a smile and then gestured for him to continue massaging her man.
The butler gave a brief, shallow bow before resuming his work on Jin Liwei's legs. Although they had their own private massage therapists employed at homeâmale for Jin Liwei and female for herâsometimes Jin Liwei liked to call the butler to massage him instead whenever the man wasn't very busy with his duties keeping the entire household in perfect working order.
She learned some time ago that their amazing butler was actually also a registered massage therapist. Jin Liwei made him study and get a licence a few years ago because the man had a natural talent in massage. Jin Liwei said that he preferred the way the butler massaged over the other many ones he tried before.
Because Jin Liwei was still injured, the butler could only massage his head, neck, arms and legs, avoiding the entire back and posterior thighs altogether. Nevertheless, Jin Liwei still looked satisfied. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
Iris walked over to them, intending to sit on the armchair beside the couch where Jin Liwei was lying face-down. But before she could get close, a strong medicinal scent assaulted her nose.
"Ugh!" She covered her nose and mouth and rushed away from them until she could no longer smell the scent in the air.
"Love, what's wrong?"
"Perhaps it's the start of the mistress' morning sickness," the butler suggested.
Iris ignored them both. Instead, her eyes swept around them and found the culprit placed on top of the coffee table in front of the couch. She missed seeing it earlier because the flower vase blocked her sight.
"Why are you using that ultra-strength pain gel?" Her voice had become shrill as she finally became suspicious. "Your prescription says to only use that if the pain level has become so intense that you can barely tolerate it anymore. What happened while I was asleep? Did you hurt yourself again?"
The butler withdrew to a nondescript corner in silence, swiftly and smartly avoiding his mistress' line of fire. However, he wasn't finished massaging his master yet so he didn't dare leave without permission. The poor man had no choice but to stay in the room while doing his best to reduce his presence and not interrupt the couple.
Before Jin Liwei could reply, Iris had already made her own conclusion. Her expression filled with horror. "Oh no! Did Big Brother beat you up? He must've beaten you up because you got me pregnant out of wedlock!" She begun wringing her hands. "I knew this was going to happen!"
Jin Liwei scowled. "I didn't get beaten up."
"I shouldn't have fallen asleep! I'm so sorry, darling. Iâwhat? He didn't beat you up?"
His scowl worsened. "I said no. Wife, do you have such low confidence of your husband that you automatically assumed that Lu Zihao beat me up?"
In her current worried state, she didn't notice that Jin Liwei didn't call her big brother "Fifth Brother" but instead called him by his first name, Lu Zihao.
"It's not like that," she said, quickly denying what he said.
Jin Liwei harrumphed. "I don't like that you're so afraid of how Lu Zihao will react whenever you think you did something that he won't like."
That made her pause. She finally noticed that something was amiss. "Did something happen between you and Big Brother? Why aren't you referring to him as Fifth Brother anymore? Did you fight?"
He didn't answer right away but still gave a brief nod afterwards. But before she could react, he waved a dismissive hand, silently telling her not worry about it anymore.
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Chapter 760 - Why Are You Hurt Again?
"Lu Zihao and I had a serious argument but there was no fistfight if that's what you're concerned about," Jin Liwei explained. "He and I have already resolved the issue between us. This matter is over."
Iris wanted to ask more questions but decided against it after sensing that Jin Liwei wasn't in the mood to share more details about what happened between him and her brother. Although she felt dissatisfied, annoyed and also worried, she restrained herself from bothering Jin Liwei at this time. There was something odd about him that was urging her to let him be for now and to provide him comfort instead.
"Fine," she said.
He looked relieved after she let the matter drop which only made her more curious about what really happened between the two most important men in her current life. For a second, she thought of leaving the suite to look for her brother to ask him instead because Jin Liwei wasn't talking. But seeing Jin Liwei's bruised back slathered with the ultra-strength pain gel, she still chose to stay with her man in the end.
It was so difficult to hold back her curiosity but for her darling, she would do it.
Jin Liwei was doing a great job in enduring the pain which must feel terrible if he had to resort to using the ultra-strength pain gel instead of the regular one. She knew that he was pretending to look fine to prevent her from worrying.
Knowing this made her heart ache for him as if she could also feel the pain of his injuries. And if it were possible, she wished that she could share his pain, if only to lessen what he was enduring. She knew, however, that he would never allow it because he also didn't want her hurting in any way.
She wanted to sit by her man's side and hold him but couldn't because of the strong medicinal scent of the pain gel. It was a strong, sharp scent different from the revolting smell of body odour but nevertheless still made her feel dizzy and nauseous.
Thinking about the pain gel's strong scent, she started to worry whether she and Jin Liwei would be able to sleep on the same bed tonight or not. Since she couldn't take the gel's smell, the only answer was to sleep separately. Her mood plunged in an instant.
"I'm really alright, love," Jin Liwei said after noticing her sullen mood. "Don't worry anymore."
She harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest. "For now, I'm not going to ask anymore what transpired between you and Big Brother while I was sleeping because you clearly don't want to tell me anything. But I still wantâno, I need to know why you're suddenly hurt again. You said that you two didn't fight but why did you end up like that?!"
Jin Liwei was silent. She could see that he was debating whether to tell her or not.
"Husband!"
The moment she said that, Jin Liwei's face broke into a smile. "Yes, my dear wife?"
"You!" Her hand was suddenly itching to smack the stupid grin off his face. "I'm being serious here!"
"I know, dear wife. Can wife say it again?"
"Say what?"
"Husband."
She bared her teeth at him and was about to snarl when his smiling face dimmed into something sad and lonely. That extinguished her annoyance in an instant. His expression squeezed her heart and made her want to fulfill whatever request he had of her right now. Whatever happened between the two men must have been very serious to elicit that kind of expression from her man.
"Husband, tell me what happened. Why are you hurt again?"
Jin Liwei sighed and got up to sit from his face-down lying position on the couch. The butler stepped forward to assist him. Iris also wanted to help but couldn't because of the strong smell of the pain gel. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
Afterwards, he finally told her what happened. He skipped over the details about his confrontation with her brother but he confessed that Lu Zihao had made him so furious that he started destroying the furniture in her piano room.
"Either wreck the furniture or fight with Lu Zihao. I chose the furniture. At least they won't fight back."
"Oh, Liwei." Her feet automatically hurried towards him.
"Stay back, love. The smell will make you feel sick."
She stopped and looked frustrated that she couldn't get near him because of the medicinal scent. Then determination flashed in her eyes.
"I...I'll go and talk to Big Brother. I don't know what you two talked about but he must've said something horrible to you for you to get so mad like that."
He scowled. "No, don't go! You're not going to talk to him today, Xiulan. Leave him for now to process everything we talked about during our argument."
"Butâ"
"No buts. He's also like me and should be in a terrible mood after what happened. He might upset you if you go and talk to him right now." His tone was final that brooked no argument.
She studied his hard expression and decided not to push too hard today. "Fine. I'll talk to Big Brother another day."
Jin Liwei stood up but didn't go to her, mindful of the gel's smell on his body. "And you."
"What about me?"
"I'm not going to stop you if you really want to talk to Lu Zihao. I respect the sibling bond between the two of you."
She tilted her head to the side, feeling a little confused about the direction of their conversation, but still nodded and waited for him to continue.
"I already spoke about this with him. Now, it's your turn." His expression turned grave as he looked at her straight in the eyes. "I don't ever want to see you afraid of Lu Zihao again. Do you understand?"
She wasn't able to reply right away.
"Why do you sometimes fear him, Xiulan?"
Still no reply.
"Evelinka?"
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open with a gasp. "W-what did you just call me?!"
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