Chapter 771 - Consequences
"No!" Iris cried. "Please don't leave. I'll talk! Just don't leave me alone tonight."
Jin Liwei stopped and sighed once again. "As much as I want to know the big secret that you share with Lu Zihao, I don't want to force you if you don't want to tell me. And it's clear to me that you're second-guessing yourself on whether to talk or not."
She opened her mouth but he raised a hand to stop her from speaking. "Let me finish."
Her mouth closed and she nodded.
He ran his fingers through his damp hair. "I feel terrible that I'm upsetting you by wanting to know about the secret, whatever it is. You know that if I could, I would never want to upset you, especially right now that you're pregnant. But baby..." His jaw tightened and his nostrils flared as he tried controlling his temper. "Baby, I'm upset too!"
She hugged herself as she fought another wave of tears from falling down her reddened eyes. She wanted to run to him and throw herself in his arms but she tamped down on the urge. What if he rejected her again?
"I'm not forcing you to tell me all your secrets," he said. "That's not my intention at all. If there's something that you don't want to tell me, I can respect that. It won't diminish my love and loyalty to you. It's just that this particular secret that you and Lu Zihao have is bothering me so much that I want to punch another set of furniture just to ease my frustration. He provoked me with it earlier and now you're reacting so extremely like this as if something bad is going to happen if you tell me. How do you expect me to feel with the two of you doing this to me?"
"Liwei..." Her voice trembled and so did her body. [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 never want to doubt you. I love you so much. But right now, I can't help but feel suspicious. You share what seems like a big secret with another man who isâwas a close sworn brother of mine. Tell me. If our situations were reversed, would you feel comfortable with that? Would you be happy if I share a big secret with another woman and I don't want to tell you?"
Without even thinking, she automatically replied, "Of course not!"
He threw her a hard look full of meaning. There was no need for him to say it out loud. She knew what he meant by that single look. It worsened her guilt as if it was a live creature gnawing at her insides and making her want to vomit.
She closed her eyes and focused on taking deep breaths to regain as much clarity in her mind as possible because she was now feeling lightheaded from all the turbulent emotions.
To be honest, she still felt undecided whether to tell Jin Liwei the truth or not. She really wanted to tell him, especially right now that they reached this boiling point and both of them were hurting because of her not telling him.
There was just so much riding on this. It wasn't just about the danger associated in revealing her past identity as a Vetrov. It was also about the consequences of revealing that the former Long Xiulan and Lu Zihao had been long dead, that they were no longer their original selves but were now completely different people .
It might not affect Jin Liwei that much if she revealed that she wasn't the real Long Xiulan because he really didn't know or cared about that person anyway. In fact, he looked down on the original Long Xiulan, a.k.a. Iris Long, because he thought that she was a shameless girl chasing after his younger brother, Jin Chonglin, and bent on destroying his brother's relationship with his then fiancée, Fan Luo.
Jin Liwei was even instrumental in concealing the truth of the original Long Xiulan's deadly car accident to protect Jin Chonglin and Fan Luo, and of course, the reputation of the Jin family. It was obvious by his cold and ruthless actions that he didn't give a damn about what happened to the original Long Xiulan. His impression and feelings only changed once he met her in person, only that she wasn't Long Xiulan anymore but the transmigrated Evelina instead.
Long Xiulan's death might not be that big of an issue to Jin Liwei but the original Lu Zihao's death would surely affect him in an excruciating way. The five sworn brothers' bond was the strongest friendship that she had ever encountered in her two lives. It was a true bond of brotherhood. In fact, Jin Liwei was closer to his sworn brothers than to his own younger brother, Jin Chonglin.
He would be utterly devastated if he learned that his Fifth Brother was already dead and the one living now as Lu Zihao was a dangerous man who caused countless terrors all over the international criminal underworld. And that man was her big brother in their past lives.
Also, even without adding their dangerous identities as the Vetrovs into the mix, would Jin Liwei even believe and accept the idea of transmigration? If it didn't happen to her and her big brother, she would never in a million years believe that such an absurd thing could happen in the real world. There was no legitimate research and concrete data backing it up.
Just the idea of transmigration or rebirth alone was already ridiculous. She wouldn't be surprised if Jin Liwei would think of her as crazy. Heck, if she were in his shoes and somebody told her that transmigration was real, she would also think that person was crazy.
"Well? Are you going to tell me or not?" Jin Liwei's voice interrupted her chaotic thoughts. "If not, I'll have to leave and sleep in another room. I'm sorry but I'm too upset right now to be with you tonight. We've had a long day. Both of us are tired and upset. We can talk about this another day when you're ready."
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Chapter 772 - I Am Evelinka
Iris jumped off the bed and ran to him.
"Don't run!" Jin Liwei was furious but still caught her when she threw herself at him. "Woman, have you forgotten that you're pregnant?! What if you tripped?! Did you forget what Second Brother told us?! The first trimester is the most dangerous so we need to be careful!"
Her response was to hug his waist tighter and press herself closer to him until there was practically no space between them. She rubbed her head against his chest, not caring at all if the strong medicinal scent from his pain gel was making her sick to her stomach.
He tried loosening her hold on him so that they could talk face to face but she refused to let go. In the end, he could only sigh and wrap his arms around her as well.
"What am I going to do with you?" he murmured in a resigned tone. "You're going to make me crazy. Ah, wait. I'm already crazy for you."
His wry laughter was soft yet exhausted at the same time but still contained an obvious sense of doting for 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]
"Alright, love. That's enough. Go back to bed. We can't sleep together tonight anyway because I know that you can't take the gel's smell."
"No." She tightened her hold on him even further. "I won't let you go."
Sighing again, he maneuvered the two of them towards the bed. He urged her to get on the bed but she refused. They stayed in a deadlock like that for a few minutes.
She was the one who broke the silence. She lifted her head to look at his face. Her voice was small, like that of a child, but it was clear and determined. "I can't tell you the whole truth tonight but I can tell you some part of it. The part about me."
He didn't reply, instead waiting for her to continue speaking.
"The whole truth is too enormous...and too d-dangerousâ"
He frowned after hearing the word "dangerous" but didn't interrupt her.
"âso I need more time to organize everything in my head first and to think about how to say it in a way that you can understand. Liwei...darling, I want to tell you everything. Believe me, I really do. But you already know that it isn't just about me. I need to talk to my big brother first and inform him that I plan to tell you the whole truth."
Although she said this, she had already decided that she would still tell Jin Liwei everything even if her big brother told her no. Regardless of her brother's stance on her decision, informing him beforehand was the least she could do as a sister. She wished that she didn't have to do this because it felt like betraying her brother, especially if he ended up being against her decision to tell Jin Liwei.
However, she couldn't allow this issue to fester between her and Jin Liwei. It would affect their relationship in the long term. He would eventually resent her and she would end up losing his trust. She didn't want that to happen. Experiencing his anger right now about not knowing the truth was already causing her heart great pain. What more if she dragged this issue until later in the future? She feared that it might even destroy their relationship. She couldn't allow that to happen. Never!
Jin Liwei's expression hardened at the mention of her "big brother". In a grim voice, he said, "Fine. Just promise me one thing."
She nodded in eagerness. "Yes, of course. What is it?"
"Promise me that when you talk to Fifthâto Lu Zihao, the two of you won't concoct some sort of lie to bullshit me. I'd rather that you don't tell me anything at all than lie to me. If you don't want to tell me the whole truth, then don't. I'll just have to learn how to accept that I would never know the whole truth. But I don't want you to lie to me. If you do...and I discover that you lied to me, I'm sorry, baby. I'll still love you but I won't be able to rid myself of this suspicion about you."
"I understand. I promise, Liwei."
His expression eased a bit after that. However, it was clear that he was still upset with her and the entire situation.
Knowing this, she finally released him from her tight embrace but took hold of his hand instead and led him to the chaise longue. They sat beside each other. She held his hand, rubbing and squeezing it, as if it was her lifeline because her own hands started trembling again. Her complexion was also still very pale that Jin Liwei couldn't help but worry about her.
"Looks like you still don't know how to start," he commented.
She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. It's just so...hard."
"Let's do it like this. I'll ask you a question and you answer it. Maybe it'll be easier for you that way."
"Okay."
He paused and thought about his first question for a few seconds. Finally, he asked, "Who is Evelinka?"
She froze.
His eyes narrowed again at her reaction but he didn't say anything. He waited for her to answer.
"I am Evelinka," she whispered.
A furrow formed between his brows. "Is that really your handle name in the game you played with Lu Zihao?"
"No."
"So that story is bullshit just like I thought?"
She sighed and nodded.
Jin Liwei cursed under his breath. His expression twisted in anger but he controlled it. "Then where did the name Evelinka come from? Why the need to create such a stupid bullshit story about a game? Wait, is the story about you and FifthâLu Zihao befriending each other in an online computer game even true or is it another bullshit?"
She forced herself to look at him straight in the eyes before taking a few deep breaths and steeling herself. Then in a shaky yet measured tone, she answered him.
"My name is Evelinka. My real name."
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Chapter 773 - Not The Real Long Xiulan
Jin Liwei frowned. His confusion was evident in his expression. He looked at Iris but still couldn't understand what she meant by saying that her real name was Evelinka.
"Explain," he said.
She took a deep breath before continuing. "Actually, it's Evelina. That's my real, actual name. Evelinka is the nickname my big brother calls me. My other nickname is Evelinochka. My faâI mean, another person used to call me that. In Russian culture, each name almost always has its own designated set of nicknames."
He only grew more confused the more he listened. Did she mean that she had a Russian name? Like how many Chinese people had English names? There were so many questions popping inside his mind. This time, however, he chose to stay silent and not ask her additional questions for now, waiting for her instead to elaborate and clarify her confusing words.
"As for the story about Big Brother and I meeting and befriending each other in an online game, I also didn't know that he was going to say that. To be honest, I also thought that it was stupid but he already said it so I just went along."
"Hah," Jin Liwei exhaled a harsh breath.
His nostrils continued to flare as he reined in his temper after finally confirming that the whole story about meeting in an online game was all a lie. A dull throb started in his temples.
This day had already proven itself to be extremely eventful to say the least. It felt like both he and his baby girl had been riding a roller coaster of extreme emotions throughout the entire day. At the beginning, he could still take it. He still had his usual patience to face anything.
But after everything that happened, starting from his confrontation with Lu Zihao, his emotions had become frayed. Coupled with the fact that he had aggravated his injuries when he wrecked the furniture in the piano room earlier out of frustration and they were hurting like a motherfucking son of a bitch since the afternoon, it was taking everything in his willpower to control his temper. He felt exhausted and upset and confused and so many other feelings that he wished he didn't need to feel all at the same time.
He knew that this wasn't his normal. If his physical condition hadn't been this bad, he was certain that he wouldn't have snapped at his baby girl. It gutted him that he made her cry so many times tonight. He had been such a big asshole tonight, that was for sure.
But what could he do? His emotions had gone out of whack that he even thought that perhaps her pregnancy hormones had somehow infected him or something. Knowing that his woman and former sworn brother shared a big secret, he wanted to know the truth. No, he needed know the truth.
And yet now that she started talking, he still couldn't understand what the hell she was saying. In fact, he only felt more confused than ever. He closed his eyes in a futile attempt to try to make sense of everything she told him so far. Then he felt her tug his hand, causing him to open his eyes. [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 know that you're confused," she said. "Perhaps you'll understand better if I say that..." She took a deep breath before continuing to say, "That I'm not the real Long Xiulan."
"Huh?" He no longer knew what kind of expression was on his face.
He understood each and every word she was saying but when she strung them together in a sentence, he somehow couldn't understand them anymore. Was he too exhausted or was he becoming stupid? Or maybe she just wasn't making any sense. He no longer knew what was going on.
She squeezed his hand. "Liwei, I'm not Long Xiulan. The real Xiulan is...she's d-dead."
"What?!" He pulled his hand from her hold and instinctively moved away from her. His whole body tightened like a taut bow. "What do you mean Xiulan is dead?! Who are you?! What did you do to my wife?!"
She gasped, her eyes wide, taken aback by his reaction. She paled and swayed a little, her breathing becoming fast and shallow. Her hands clutched at chest and throat.
Jin Liwei regained his senses and immediately regretted his instinctive actions. He pulled her into his arms and cursed at himself. "Baby? I'm sorry. I'll bring you to the hospital right now."
She grabbed the front of his shirt while fighting off a wave of dizziness. "N-no hospital... Just give me a minute. I'll be...fine."
"Sorry," he repeated again and again. "That was a mistake. You're my wife. You'll always be my wife."
It took her a couple of minutes to recover enough to continue their conversation. He wanted to end it and bring her to the hospital but she refused. She intended to have this conversation tonight no matter what. He could only give in but began to watch over her like a hawk. The moment he deemed that her condition was deteriorating to a dangerous level, he would immediately haul her to the hospital whether she liked it or not.
She covered her mouth and nose with a hand to stop herself from gagging. The strong medicinal scent from the pain gel emanating from him was starting to really affect her. It became too much so she had no choice but to push away from him and move farther to the opposite side of the chaise longue.
At first, he didn't want to let her go but upon realizing that she looked nauseous, he stood up and put distance between them. "Is this better?"
She gave a weak nod.
"I think it's better if I take you to the hospital," he said, his brows pinched with deep worry.
"No. I feel a bit better now."
"Butâ"
Her delicate gaze became sharp and serious when she looked at him again.
"Liwei, I am your wife but I'm not the real Xiulan."
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-Chapter 774 - The Real Me
Although Iris' current physical condition looked worrisome, her shocking words completely stunned Jin Liwei until he stood there like a frozen statue with eyes and mouth wide open. He was unable to insist on taking her to the hospital.
She was still trembling a little but looked more steady now compared to when she couldn't stop crying earlier. It seemed that she had hit her stride once she started talking.
"Long Xiulan died during that car crash, the teenage pop singer Long Xiulan who used to chase Brother Chonglin around back then. The Long Xiulan you looked down on before meeting her in person and helped conceal the truth of her deadly car accident in order to protect your younger brother and his then fiancée, Fan Luo."
The frozen Jin Liwei finally showed some movements. He twitched at the mention of his past sin. Then he frowned and became pensive as her words registered in his mind.
She cleared her throat and licked her lips because her mouth was feeling dry. Despite this, she didn't dare take a water break. The need to tell him the truth felt more urgentânot the whole truth but the part about her at least. He deserved to know that much.
"It was only her body that was kept alive when she was in coma. Only her memories remained but the actual Long Xiulan was already gone. When she woke upâno, when I woke up, I became Long Xiulan."
His frown deepened and his eyes reflected his disbelief. However, underneath the disbelief was a slow realization as if he was finally beginning to piece together a difficult and complicated puzzle. [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]
She pressed a hand on her chest and looked at him with as much steadiness as she could muster at the moment. "Long Xiulan and I were two completely different people. Then we...we both died. For some reason, I was able to live again after my death but I'm not myself anymore. I became another person who already lived her own life before I...before I..." A furrow formed between her brows as she struggled to find a suitable word. "Before I replaced her."
Silence.
Jin Liwei looked at her up and down with a deep gaze that made her feel like it was piercing straight to her soul. Her heart was hammering inside her chest that it was difficult for her to match it with her breathing. She recognized it as an onset of a panic attack but strangely enough, her mind was feeling clearer by the second after she started talking even as her body was trying to collapse. It was such an odd sensation but she would take it any time over the crying mess that she had been earlier.
"So you're telling me..." Jin Liwei finally spoke again. His tone was careful and measured. "You're telling me that you're not the real Long Xiulan. That you were a completely different person before you woke up as her."
She nodded.
"You're Evelinka...Evelina?"
She couldn't help but smile when he called her name. Her real name. It was a small, bittersweet smile. "Yes. I am Evelina."
"The person I met in the hotel lobby back then..."
"It was me."
"The person who measured my penis..."
Her mouth twitched before she pointed a finger at herself.
"The person I fell in love with..."
She looked at him straight in the eyes and whispered, "It's me."
"Then my wife is..."
She stood up on shaky legs and placed both of her hands on her chest. "Your wife is me, Liwei. It has always been me."
His expression finally softened.
Seeing his expression, her smile widened, brightening her entire face, even though there were still traces of wariness and sadness in her expression. She wanted to walk over to him and hug him and kiss him but didn'tânot yetâbecause she still wasn't sure if he believed her or not.
He sat on the edge of the bed and tapped his fingers on the mattress as he continued looking at her. "What you told me...that Xiulan and Evelina are completely different people...all of this..." He blew out a long breath. "This is a little hard for me to believe."
Her smile dimmed.
'So he doesn't believe me.'
She dropped her gaze to the floor as she felt another twinge in her heart, a little more painful this time, while her eyes burned and watered once again.
'Of course, he doesn't. What I told him sounds impossible even to my own ears.'
Her dim smile turned wry. She wanted to laugh at herself.
"But," he said.
She returned her eyes on him and waited for what he was about to say next.
"I do believe that the person I love is you, the one standing in front of me right now."
A hopeful spark brightened her dim smile.
"I still need to think about what you said about the real Xiulan dying and you replacing her after your own death," he continued. "This is all too much for my exhausted brain to process today. Everything just sounds so unbelievable that I'm not even sure anymore if I'm still awake right now or maybe I'm already sleeping and this is all just a dream."
"You're not dreaming, Liwei. This is very real."
He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up. "Part of me can't believe it because it sounds so unreal but the more I think about it, the more things begin to make sense. Although I have never met you in person beforeâI mean, I have never met Long Xiulan in person before, her personality and reputation were widely known by the public. She didn't really leave a good impression on people.
"But then after waking up from that one-year coma, Iris Long suddenly changed a lot. Not only did her musical style took a drastic change but so did her entire personality. People said that it's merely a strategic image change to revive and prolong her showbiz career but I personally know that this is herâno, this is your real personality."
"Yes," she whispered. "This is the real me."
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Chapter 775 - Unknown Effects Of The Merging
"I know," Jin Liwei whispered back. "I know that this is the real you."
Iris smiled and blinked away the tears filling her eyes. He also smiled at her but his expression turned pensive again as he continued his analysis.
"I ordered a background check on youâI mean, of Long Xiulan because of...you already know about me concealing the truth behind the car accident," he said with a heavy sigh before massaging his temples. "It's the most shameful thing that I've ever done in my entire life, my biggest sin. Even if you're telling me now that you aren't really Long Xiulan and that the one I wronged before isn't you, I still shouldn't have done that. It was heartless, ruthless and malicious of me."
"I know, Liwei." Her tone was gentle. She wanted to go and comfort him but decided to give him space for now to process everything in his mind. "Xiulan...her grudge regarding her death had already been resolved including the one that she had against you for your involvement in her car accident."
That caught his attention. He thought for a few moments before his eyes lit up with realization. "That night at the rotunda when I confessed my crime of hiding the truth about the accident, you attacked and beat me up. Both of us were emotional that night but remembering it now, I did notice something weird. Even as you were attacking and cursing me so viciously, sometimes it looked like you didn't want to. It was like...like you were fighting with yourself."
"Because I was," she said. "I was fighting with myself. Or more accurately, I was fighting with a remnant of Long Xiulan left inside this body. Her grudge awakened and went berserk when you confessed your involvement in the car accident that resulted to her own death. The remnant's grudge became too strong at that moment that it wrested control of the body from me. That's why even when I didn't want to hurt you, my body still attacked you."
He looked alarmed. "What do you mean that it wrested control of the body from you? Does it do that all the time? Don't tell me that there are times that the one I'm spending my time with isn't you but that...that...what do you call it again? Remnant?" Then he looked horrified as a thought popped in his mind. "It's you that I'm always making love with, right? The remnant or whatever it is never switches with you during our intimate moments...right?"
She was amused at the direction of his thoughts but recognized that they were all valid concerns. Her tone was serious when she answered him. "Don't worry, Liwei. The one you've been making love with all this time has always been me. Nobody else. And even if the remnant is still there which I don't think it is, I would never allow it to take over and intrude on our intimate moments. You're mine, Jin Liwei. Only mine."
"En, I'm yours." He paused. "But is the remnantâ"
"I think it's no longer inside me. After resolving its grudge last year, I haven't felt it surface again since then. My hope is that it's completely gone but I can't be too sure."
She didn't know that the remnant had now completely merged with her, affecting her own original personality in a subtle way and triggering the expansion of her emotional range. This was why she had become more open with her emotions, sometimes to the point of being extreme. Perhaps her current uncontrollable mood swings due to her pregnancy were also influenced by her merging with the remnant. Nobody could confirm this because she herself wasn't aware of it.
Other unnoticed effects of merging with the remnant were her stronger sense of acceptance of her new identity as Long Xiulan, no longer feeling an instinctive rejection against it, and also why some memories of her past life as Evelina were slowly becoming more distant and slowly forgotten except for the most prominent ones.
If not for the fact that her own brother had also been reborn as Lu Zihao and they both still maintained their strong sibling bond, she most likely would end up slowly forgetting about her entire past life as Evelina Vetrova in the future. It wasn't something she could will herself to do but a natural phenomenon instead because of her lack of strong attachments to her past life, unlike her brother. Without her current connection with her brother, it was possible that she would have integrated more fully into her new life as Long Xiulan without any reservations from her past identity as Evelina.
Back to the present, she was totally clueless about the remnant's real situation inside 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]
Jin Liwei couldn't stop himself from worrying. "What if one day, that...that remnant wrests control of your body again? Then what? How do I get you back?"
She was unable to provide him with a concrete guarantee that it would never happen again. "I don't think it will happen again. I just feel it. But even if it does, I promise that I won't let it win and take over this body from me. I'll fight it and regain control again."
He still looked worried.
"I won't let another lay a claim on you even if it was the remnant of the original owner of this body. You're my man."
This time, the corners of his mouth curved up a little.
"And I also trust you to recognize that it's not me if ever someone else takes over this body," she said.
His smile became more pronounced. "En. Of course, I'll recognize my own wife. I may be confused for a moment or two but I know that I'll never mistake my real wife with somebody else."
She also smiled. Now that she reached this point of her story, it felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt lighter and more at peace with herself.
"Liwei," she called.
"Hm?"
"Do you believe me now?"
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Chapter 776 - Beautiful Name
Jin Liwei didn't reply right away which made Iris feel nervous. But now that she felt more at peace after telling him this much, this small nervousness was nothing. Whether he believed her story or not, she felt confident that his love for her wouldn't diminish based on his words and actions so far. For her, that was the most important.
"I believe the parts that make sense," he finally said. "At least, for now. Like I said, I need some time to process everything."
She nodded. "I understand. I'm not forcing you to believe me but I hope that you will someday because this is the truthâmy truth. But there's no need to rush. Think about everything I told you tonight slowly and carefully and if there are any parts that you need clarification, just ask me and I'll do my best to give you a satisfactory answer."
"Alright," he said. His fingers tapped once again on the mattress. "I always wondered why Long Xiulan's dossier from the background check I ordered didn't match the Long Xiulan I came to know after meeting you. The dossier said that Long Xiulan had terrible school marks and almost flunked out of senior high. If it wasn't for Father-in-law using his connections, youâshe would've failed to even graduate from high school. She had no records of knowing other foreign languages except for English and even then, she could barely speak it fluently.
"And yet here you are, a certified polyglot. Exactly how many languages you're able to speak, even I'm not sure because you learn so fast. The number of languages you tell me today might not necessarily be the same after a couple of months. Even your professors tell me that they're astounded by your ability to master languages so quickly. Not only that, you're also a student of Cross Academy, the legendary school of geniuses. I thought that my grandfather and Grandpa Lu were the only special ones that I personally know who could enter such an exclusive and prestigious institution. I never expected that my own wife would be one as well.
"If I didn't have the dossier I ordered as evidence, I would've assumed that someone deliberately tampered with your records in order to destroy your reputation. I even thought that you did it yourself because you're also a world-class hacker and something like that is very easy for you to do. I just couldn't think of any reason why you would do that to yourself. The most logical explanation that I could think of was that your teenage rebellion overshadowed your real brilliance, that you intentionally suppressed your inner genius and acted like a spoiled brat for attention."
His fingers stopped tapping and he looked at her with a meaningful gaze. "But I guess that's not the case."
"No, it isn't," she replied.
"The dossier didn't match because it belonged to another person. It belonged to Long Xiulan. And the person I met, the genius woman who I fell in love with, isn't actually Long Xiulan. It's you."
She smiled and nodded.
"Evelina."
Her smile shook when she heard him call her real name. Then it bloomed into a smile so bright that it hurt her jaw to maintain it. She didn't care, though. She was so happy hearing him say her real name.
"Yes, Liwei."
"Evelina," he repeated.
"Yes."
"What a beautiful name."
She was now beaming. "Thank you."
"Do you prefer me to call you Evelina from now on?" he asked.
The question caught her off guard. She hadn't thought about that at all. Her head tilted to the side and her expression became serious, as she thought about his question. [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]
"Yes, I would love for you to call me Evelina, if that's okay with you," she finally said after thinking about it. Then she added, "But I don't mind if you continue calling me Xiulan. I already accepted the reality that I'm now Long Xiulan. I don't want any confusion about my name to be a source of awkwardness between us."
"Now that you told me all of this, I'll feel more awkward calling you by something that you don't consider your real name," he said. "I may not yet fully understand or necessarily believe everything you've told me today, but if you prefer to be called Evelina, then I'll do it. Besides, it's weird that I've been calling my lover by the wrong name all this time. It's about time that I call you by the correct one."
Her smile returned. "Thank you, Liwei."
"Let's do it like this. I'll call you Evelina when we're alone. But when there are other people around, I'll continue calling you Xiulan because that's what they know you as. We don't want them asking any questions and pry about why I'm suddenly calling you by another name, right?"
"Right," she agreed.
They spent the next few minutes just looking at each other. The atmosphere had already lightened a great deal.
"You really can't take the smell of the pain gel?" Jin Liwei asked all of a sudden.
She thought for a moment. "I...I can take it!" Then she pleaded, "Liwei, please don't sleep in another room. Our bed is big. We can still sleep together even if we have to lie on the other ends of the bed. There will still be plenty of space between us. Just don't leave me tonight. I need you with me tonight, darling."
His mouth curved up. "Alright."
She released a breath of relief.
"But that's not the reason why I asked," he said. "I asked because I want to hug and kiss you right now."
Her heart skipped a beat. Then off she went, running into his arms again. He caught her.
Both of their mouths sought each other. And when they finally met, groans of pleasure and relief escaped from their throats. It felt so good that she almost cried again. They were gasping when their glistening lips separated.
"I love you, Liwei."
"I love you too, Evelina. So much."
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Chapter 777 - Fifth Brother Is Dead
When Iris couldn't take the pain gel's strong medicinal scent any longer, she left Jin Liwei's embrace with great reluctance and put some distance between them. However, she still felt satisfied about how everything turned out.
"Thank you, Liwei. Even if you still don't fully believe or understand everything that I told you, thank you for continuing to love me."
His expression turned warm and tender. "Don't I always tell you that I love you, whoever you are?"
"Yes, you do."
"It's just that I didn't expect that you'll actually be another person from who I first believed." He exhaled a long, drawn-out breath. "This is...just incredible to the say the least. I still feel like maybe I'm dreaming all along. My pragmatic side says that what you told me can't possibly be real, that it's the stuff of fantasy and fiction. But all the differences and drastic changes between the Long Xiulan from before the car accident and you after waking up from the one-year coma are making me consider the possibility that rebirth or transmigration or whatever the hell it's called might actually be real."
"I know," she whispered. "Even I sometimes find it hard to believe."
"Maybe there's another more logical explanation for all of this without delving into the magical realm of fantasy."
"Maybe," she murmured.
"But let's not think about that for now. My head is hurting just trying to come up with another explanation for what happened to you and the real Long Xiulan."
Her brows furrowed with worry. "Your head is hurting? Do you need me to get your oral pain meds?"
He shook his head. "I'm fine."
She was still worried about him but didn't push it. They might end up arguing again over such a small thing. Both of them were tired and had no energy to fight.
"Evelina," he called.
She smiled. "Yes, Liwei?"
"May I ask about...about your life as Evelina?"
Her smile froze and she stiffened.
"You were...human, right?"
"What?" His first question almost sent her in another panic but his second question bewildered and amused her at the same time. "You think I wasn't human?"
"You can't blame for thinking this way. With all the unbelievable things you told me tonight, I don't think I would be too surprised anymore if you told me next that you were actually a fairy or maybe even a goddess in your past life. You're so amazing, so multi-talented, a genius. How can a mere human being be so extraordinary like you?"
She was already laughing before he could even finish what he was saying. "Oh, darling. That is the sweetest thing that I heard from you today. I love it. Thank you!"
Her laughter infected him. He also started chuckling but quickly turned serious again. "Well? Were you human? A fairy? A goddess?"
It took her longer to control her laughter. She was still giggling when she answered him. "As much as I want to claim that I was indeed a fairy or a goddess, unfortunately I was only a mere human being."
"Really?"
"Really." Then she teased him, "You must be disappointed. I bet you were expecting that your wife was a fairy or a goddess. Or maybe both. A fairy goddess!"
That made her laugh again. Her laughter filled their entire bedroom and drove away any remaining tension between them.
The amused Jin Liwei watched her laughing and rolling on the bed. "I'm not disappointed at all. Human or not, you're a fairy goddess in my eyes. The most beautiful in the world."
She stopped laughing and rolling. Her cheeks turned crimson upon hearing his words and caused her to feel a little shy. Deep inside, however, her heart was soaring like it owned the entire world. It was such a wonderful feeling.
He chuckled seeing her acting shy. "My wife is so cute."
She giggled and batted her eyes at him, feeling playful and desirable at the same time. [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]
"So is it okay?" he asked.
"Okay for what?"
"That you tell me about your past life as Evelina."
Her smile disappeared and she turned wary again. He noticed her reaction, of course, and turned serious.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me," he said. "I'll wait until you're ready. We don't need to talk about everything tonight."
She sat up. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that my identity in my past life is...rather special."
He stayed silent and listened.
"And who I was as Evelina...it's deeply connected to my big brother. I can't tell you who I was without revealing who my brother was as well. That's why I told you earlier that I'm unable to tell you the whole truth right now without talking to him first."
His eyes widened as realization hit him. "Don't tell me that what happened to you also happened to...to Fifth Brother?!"
She bit her lip before nodding.
He gasped. "My fifth brother died in that ski accident? And another person replaced him, too?!"
She turned her eyes away from him, unable to look at his horrified expression. "Yes."
"Hah." His arms fell like lifeless appendages by his sides. "He's dead. Fifth Brother is dead. My sworn brother died and I didn't even know. I should've known! He became like a totally different person after returning to the country. Now everything makes sense!"
"Liwei..."
He inhaled sharply as he realized another thing. "The sudden weird sibling bond between you and Lu Zihao... Don't tell me that you were really brother and sister in your past lives?"
"Yes."
He cursed.
She flinched at the intensity of his expletive.
"Sorry, baby," he immediately said after noticing her reaction. "I wasn't cursing at you. I was cursing at...at the entire situation."
"I know," she said.
"Fuck. Fifth Brother is dead." His eyes reddened. He stood up and started pacing around their bedroom. "Fuck! I can't believe our youngest sworn brother is fucking dead!"
"I'm sorry."
Now he was the one trembling. "It's not your fault," he said through gritted teeth. "I know it's not."
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Chapter 778 - Grief
"Everything is just...too much," Jin Liwei said as his entire body became more taut. He resembled an agitated beast while continuing to stalk inside their bedroom.
Iris could only watch him, knowing that he was grieving for the loss of his sworn brother, the real Lu Zihao, who died in a ski accident far away in a foreign country.
He stopped all of a sudden and faced her. "The one inside my fifth brother...he's really your brother?"
She nodded.
"Are you glad that your brother is alive inside my fifth brother?"
Her eyes filled with tears but she couldn't lie to him about this, so she nodded.
The trembling of his body intensified and his jaw hardened. Contrary to her expectations, however, he also nodded and said in a harsh voice, "Good!"
"G-good?" she asked in confusion.
"Your brother...he has Fifth Brother's memories? Just like how you also have Long Xiulan's memories?"
She nodded.
"That's good," he repeated. "Fifth Brother might be...d-dead but at least his memories are still alive even if another person now owns them including his body."
"Oh, Liwei."
"And he's your brother. I should be thankful that it's not a random stranger. If he's your brother, I'm sure that he's a good person just like you. I can trust him with my fifth brother's body and memories."
Guilt filled her after hearing him say that her brother was a good person. Well, her brother was indeed a good person to her but not necessarily to other people. The truth was that Nikolai Vetrov was regarded by many as the devil incarnate himself, a terror to humanity. She didn't know how to tell Jin Liwei that such a terrifying man now owned his sworn brother's body.
"I know all this now...but fuck." Jin Liwei dropped to a sitting position on the chaise longue. His whole body was bent forward in a defeated pose. He rubbed his face hard before finally covering his eyes with his hands.
The sight caused a great, twisting pain in Iris' heart. She climbed off the bed and hurried towards him, not caring about the medicinal smell on his body. She stood in front of him and pulled him in an embrace.
His arms immediately wrapped around her waist, hugging her so hard that it was almost painful. However, she didn't complain but took it instead. Her man was hurting. If she could share his pain even for just a little, then she would gladly offer herself. He pressed his face against her stomach and not long after, she felt warm dampness soaking the front of her nightdress.
He didn't make a sound, neither did she. But to her, his silent grief was painfully loud. All she could do right now was to provide him with this simple comfort. Her hands caressed his hair and massaged his head. [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]
She didn't notice that she had began singing a soothing Italian song. Her voice was a little husky due to it being dry from all the crying and emotional conversation they had. Despite this, her tone still sounded crystal clear and the melody flowed throughout the entire room like a calming river. It didn't only soothe him but herself as well until the medicinal scent wafting from him didn't bother her anymore.
After some time, Jin Liwei rubbed his face on her nightdress before withdrawing. His eyes were red and swollen and the front of her nightdress was damp but she didn't comment anything about it.
"Feel better?" she whispered while continuing to caress his hair.
"En."
She leaned down and gave his lips a soft, gentle kiss.
"Let's sleep now, okay?"
"En."
She pulled him up by the hand. He followed her like a big child and allowed her to tuck him stomach down on the bed. She lay down right beside him.
Her nose seemed to have gotten immune to the medicinal scent on him. Or perhaps it got too impaired by the foul smell because she also couldn't smell anything anymore. She didn't care about any of this, though. All she cared about at the moment was comforting her grieving man.
She continued singing the Italian aria to him like a lullaby. His arm was wrapped over her, his tight embrace indicating his need for her to stay with him. They looked at each other, both with red, swollen eyes.
Moments later, his eyes began to droop close. She continued singing the same Italian aria over and over, waiting for him to fall asleep. It was usually her who would fall asleep first, but this time, she wanted to let him sleep first.
"That song," he murmured in a sleepy voice.
She stopped singing. "Hm? What about the song, darling?"
"That song, it's beautiful. I like it."
"I'm glad you like it," she said and kissed his shoulder. "Now go to sleep."
"En."
He yawned and closed his eyes. But he still spoke. "Sounds familiar..."
"What sounds familiar?"
"That beautiful song."
She caressed his hair, hoping that her gentle ministrations would ease him into a restful sleep. While doing so, she still satisfied his interest about the song. "It's a classic Italian aria. Not very popular among the general public but most classical musicians should be able to recognize it. Maybe you've heard it from a classic concert or an opera before."
"Hmm..."
"I personally love it," she said.
"Me, too," he murmured. "I love it now because you sang it for me."
"I'll sing it for you whenever you want me to."
"En. Good night, love."
"Good night, darling."
She smiled as she lay there watching him sleep. Gratitude for her man filled her. The beginning of her confession had been painfully rough but everything still ended well for her. Jin Liwei accepted her for who she was and continued to love her despite the absurdity of her rebirth. Now she had to help him through his grief of losing his fifth brother whose body her own brother now occupied.
"Thank you," she whispered to him. "And I love you."
Her eyes also became heavy and soon she joined him to sleep.
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Chapter 779 - Violent Energy
Loud, pulsing beat of music blared inside the club as Lu Zihao sat alone in a private room upstairs overlooking the entire dance floor below. The sounds were muted a lot inside the private room.
His disinterested eyes watched the crowd of gyrating bodies packed together like drowning sardines. All of them, females and males alike, were performing a mating call with their bodies. They were like beasts in heat and rut.
The clink of ice floating in his glass reminded him of the drink he was holding. He swirled it before gulping a mouthful of whiskey. It burned like the sun down his throat to his stomach but his expression never changed.
He appeared deceptively calm but deep inside, he felt restless. The urge to fight and to unleash his inner violent beast shrieked inside him. And that was what he did earlier today with no success. [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]
After his confrontation with his sister's man, Jin Liwei, his emotions went haywire. The fucking remnant inside him fought fiercely, protested against his treatment of its beloved third brother, and berated him for allowing the disintegration of their precious brotherhood. He suppressed it like he always did, but this time, the remnant felt stronger and messed with his head big time. Dealing with it almost made him go insane.
It took him a long time to subdue the irritating existence inside him but he still managed to do so. The only problem was that its turbulent emotions transferred to him as if they were his own. How fucking annoying! He needed some form of release in order to feel normal again.
As a result, he announced an impromptu special training to his strongest subordinates. The content was simple. Spar with him. He was the boss so they couldn't really say no. The ones who worked for him the longest escaped rather quickly while the newer recruits were all pumped up and excited to test their strength and abilities against their boss.
Long story short, he beat all of their asses. He beat them so badly that they had to beg him for their lives. These strong, dangerous and deadly individuals were all reduced to begging. It was quite a huge shocker to all of them. Suffice it to say that the new recruits finally realized that their boss was more than they bargained for.
After everyone managed to run away from him, Lu Zihao still didn't feel like he had enough. Violent energy and raging bloodlust continued to boil inside him. Since fighting didn't satisfy him, he thought of slaking his overwhelming, volatile energy through lust instead. He left Dragon Palace and drove by himself to the club.
Sex usually did its job in helping him regain his inner balance by freeing any residual energy that went unreleased during training or battle. He never thought much about it. For him, sex was just a necessary, natural bodily function like eating or urinating. He never formed any close relationships with his bedmates. Yes, he called them bedmates, not lovers.
As the heirâno, as the "former" heir of what was once the biggest criminal organization in the international underworld, it was extremely difficult for him to form close relationships. Trust was always an issue.
The only person he genuinely trusted in his entire life was his little sister. She was just so pure and untainted despite the dark and bloody life their entire family lived everyday. Even their parents, he never fully trusted them. It was difficult to trust people who regularly thrust him into dangerous, deadly situations for the sake of "training". If he hadn't been strong and sharp-witted enough, he would have died a million times under his own parents' doing. They were brutal, ruthless and merciless, especially Mother, yet their training bore fruit and he grew to be one of the strongest and most brilliant scions in the history of the Vetrovs.
If they hadn't been annihilated, he was confident that he could've led their organization to greater heights. Unfortunately, they were annihilated and that grand ambition would only now remain as a futile dream.
His thoughts were pulled back to the present when he heard a knock and the door to the private room opened. The club manager greeted him with equally great enthusiasm and caution before introducing three pretty and sexy women. All of them acted subservient to him because he was actually this club's new owner after taking over it a few months ago.
The manager excused himself out of the room and left Lu Zihao with the three women. Lu Zihao roved his eyes on their scantily clad bodies. Two sat beside him, one on each side, refilling his glass with alcohol and attempting to make conversation with him while the other woman started dancing in front of them.
They were all trying their best to seduce him. His body started to react, or more specifically, his groin began hardening but the rest of his body especially his face showed no outward reaction or whatsoever.
Moments later, the women started stripping and doing all sorts of things to entice him. He only watched them while continuing to drink his whiskey. With the amount of alcohol that he had consumed since arriving at the club, he should have been drunk by now. However, that wasn't the case at all. He still looked alert as always, as if what he had been drinking all this time was water and not hard liquor.
He continued watching the women who were all naked now. They danced and touched themselves, trying their hardest to elicit a reaction from him.
Although he was already sporting an impressive erection, he didn't feel the urge to fuck these women. He lost interest the moment they started stripping. Despite this, he still stayed in the hopes that they might still awaken his mood to fuck and slake his lust.
One of the women grew bold enough to reach for his belt. But before her hand could touch his erection under his pants, he caught it.
"Stop," he growled at her.
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Chapter 780 - Night Walk
The woman yelped and threw Lu Zihao a frightened look. The other two women also stopped dancing and backed away from him. Realizing his actions, he immediately released the woman's hand.
"Get out!"
All three of them scrambled out of the private room buck naked as if their asses were on fire. He didn't give a fuck about them.
This was one of the reasons why he had no interest in forming an intimate relationship with a lover. Besides the trust issue, he hated the look of fear in the women he was interested in fucking who knew about how dangerous he was. It was only after experiencing the pleasure of sleeping with him would they stop showing such blatant fear on their faces. Although he was a violent and deadly man, he never assaulted the women he bedded unless they deliberately betrayed him and put him in danger from his enemies.
He threw his glass of whiskey. It crashed against the wall and shattered into many pieces while the whiskey formed a dark puddle on the floor. His erection also began to soften after the women ran away, effectively killing any of his desire to fuck tonight. With a terrifying aura, he stood up and left the private room.
The manager met him in the dark hallway. He bowed low while shaking in his shiny, leather shoes. "I'm very sorry about what happened with the girls, sir! P-please forgive me! I'll choose better ones next time! Please grant this humble servant a second chance!"
Lu Zihao swept him with his cold eyes. "Just manage my club properly."
"Y-yes, sir! Certainly, sir! Please leave everything to me!"
He nodded. "Out of my way. I'm leaving."
"Thank you for your mercy, sir! Please have a good night!"
Lu Zihao didn't reply, only waving a hand, as he strode away. He passed through the secret back door to avoid bumping into the crowd of bodies going in and out of the club. Without even checking, he knew that there would be a long line of people waiting by the front entrance outside in the hopes of being the next ones the bouncers would let inside.
His car was in the club's private underground parking lot. He was about to head towards it but changed his mind all of a sudden. He walked out of the parking lot instead until he reached the street. [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]
Fighting and sex didn't work out in calming down the violent energy still raging restlessly inside him. Maybe taking a long walk might help. Hell, even if it took him the entire night, he would walk all the way from the club to Dragon Palace if it would help calm down his current irritating restlessness. Perhaps he might even get lucky and meet some prowling hooligans along the way that he could beat up and help ease his bloodlust even for just a little.
Nobody paid any attention to him as he walked in the streets. That was because he deliberately moved like a shadow, avoiding other people's sight. He also chose the mainly deserted areas. In addition to the late evening hour, even the police doing their nightly routine patrols failed to notice him.
He had been walking for more than an hour when a familiar figure caught his attention. A woman came out of a convenience store carrying a paper bag in her arms. Two men who were smoking on the opposite side of the street had their eyes on her. Although her body was covered with a coat, they still looked like they were undressing her with their eyes. She didn't notice them but Lu Zihao did. His eyes narrowed as he walked forward.
###
The cold, late autumn wind made Long Jinjing shiver. She pulled up the collar of her coat while keeping a firm hold on the large paper bag in her other arm. If she hadn't ran out of toothpaste and most of her other toiletries, she would be all warm and comfy inside her own home right now. Who wanted to go out in the cold at this time of the night?
Her work schedule had been so busy recently that she didn't have any time to shop for essentials. She usually ordered them online but for some reason, she had completely forgotten to do that this month and her supplies at home finally ran out. It was a good thing that there was a convenience store a couple of blocks away from the condo building where she lived. She decided to go out and buy everything she needed tonight at the convenience store because she wouldn't have the time to do it tomorrow.
Fortunately, skincare and bath products weren't a problem because she had free supply from Orchidia Beauty. Perks of being the company CFO.
She walked faster upon reaching an area where there were fewer streetlights. There were a handful people walking about but this wasn't a busy area compared to the city centre, so it was pretty much deserted.
Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared beside her. She let out a short scream before hearing a familiar voice.
"It's me," the man said.
"Oh!" She clutched at her chest and felt her wildly beating heart. "Mr. Lu, you startled me!"
"Miss, are you alright?!" a young man with his buddy called from the other side of the street.
"Ah, yes!" Long Jinjing called back to them. "I'm fine. Thank you!"
"Are you sure?" the buddy asked next. "Do you know that man?"
"Yes! I know this man. I was startled just now. I'm really alright. Thank you for your concern!"
After being reassured, the two young men finally left. Long Jinjing breathed out a sigh of relief. Then she turned to Lu Zihao who was standing beside her.
"Mr. Lu, what are you doing here?"
Instead of replying, he took the large paper bag from her.
"I can carry it myself," she protested.
"Lead the way. I'll walk you home," he said simply.
"You don't have to do this."
"It's not safe for a woman like you to walk alone at night," he told her.
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