Chapter 311 - The Long Family Elders
Long Ancestral Residence.
The elders gathered together to speak with Long Tengfei and Long Hui at the compound's main wing. All of the elders were very displeased at the recent scandal of their Young Miss Xiulan.
The atmosphere within the meeting hall was so oppressive that Yang Jiahui wanted to bolt out of the place. However, she endured and stayed beside her husband to give him moral support. She had always been ill at ease with the Long elders. They only treated her as "barely acceptable" as the current madam of the Long family. She wasn't from a wealthy, aristocratic or influential family, but she was well-educated and had a modestly successful career before she married Long Tengfei.
This was the only reason that they weren't treating her like a complete sh*t, unlike how they treated Wei Lan, Iris' mother, and Long Tengfei's former mistresses, the mothers of his two illegitimate children.
Although this gathering pertained to their Young Miss's latest scandal, it wasn't their main concern. After all, they were already used to her being featured on the news all the time and "shaming" the Long family name again and again.
This time, everyone was more concerned about the inclusion of Long Jun, a.k.a. Little Jun, in the recent tabloid news.
"Hai! The Young Miss Xiulan only knows how to bring trouble to our family! Because of her, it's only a matter of time before the existence of Young Master Hui's bastard son is exposed to the public!" Long Meng complained.
She was the second most prominent elder in the clan. She was the cousin of Long Tengfei's father and the head of one of the branch families.
Long Hui's expression darkened when his son was called a bastard. Although it was true in the literal meaning of the word, the way Elder Long Meng said it sounded too offensive for him as a father. He was about to protest when Long Tengfei gestured for him to calm down. It was difficult, but he sat back and tried to control himself.
"Hmph! I've already said this a million times before. Xiulan will one day cause our Long family's downfall! She has always been the shame of our family. And now she is the reason why the newest shame of our family will be exposed for all the world to see! At this rate, our Long family won't have any face left to show other people!" Another Long family elder added.
Long Jufang was the most prominent elder in the family. He was Long Tengfei's uncle, his father's younger brother. He was also the head of the most powerful branch in the family after the main family headed by Long Tengfei. If the main family ever collapsed, his branch family would be the next in line to take over as head of the entire Long clan.
"Newest shame? Are you calling my son a shame of the family, Granduncle Jufang?" Long Hui could no longer stop himself from speaking out. He stood up with a furious expression on his face.
"You dare speak and look at your elder like that, Little Hui? Perhaps being the heir has already gone to your head that you think that you can order your elders around and disrespect us?" Elder Long Jufang's sharp tone was like a whip.
Long Hui couldn't help but flinch a bit at the memory of the elder disciplining him in his childhood. The other family members in the meeting hall also had similar reactions to him. Elder Long Jufang was a frightening existence to most of them. Only Long Tengfei faced him without any fear.
"Well, Little Hui?"
"Son, Uncle Jufang. Both of you please calm down. This is not the time for arguments like this. Remember the reason why you all came and gathered here today," Long Tengfei spoke in a voice filled with authority.
Long Hui took a couple of deep breaths and returned to his seat. Elder Long Jufang was still disgruntled, but he listened to Long Tengfei and stopped reprimanding Long Hui. For now.
"So...let's hear what you want to do regarding this matter with my grandson, Long Jun," Long Tengfei said to start the discussion.
Before anyone could do so, Long Hui spoke up. "Father, I would like to make a public statement and claim Long Jun as my son."
"Absolutely not!" Elder Long Meng fiercely rejected the idea. The disapproval on her face was obvious to everyone. "Young Master Hui, if you do that, everyone will know that your firstborn is a bastard. Your heir shouldn't be illegitimate! It will be a great embarrassment to our Long family! And we would never accept a bastard as our next heir! We should keep the existence of your illegitimate child as a secret for now until you marry a nice woman from a good family. When you produce your first legitimate child and name the child as your heir, then it won't matter as much anymore for others to know the existence of your bastard son. We can just say that he was a mistake with a former mistress."
Elder Long Jufang nodded in agreement with her.
Both Long Tengfei and Long Hui felt angry at the words she uttered. The father and son didn't appreciate the elders repeatedly calling Long Jun as a bastard child. The two of them were similar in the sense that they loved their own children very much regardless of whether they were legitimate or not.
Long Hui was barely controlling his temper. The respect he had for these elders was slowly being chipped away every time they referred to his child as a bastard.
"You don't look like you want to listen to your elders' advice. We're only saying this for your own good, Young Master Hui," Elder Long Meng told him in a lecturing tone.
'For my own good? It's not for my own good but for your own sense of bigotry that you're spouting all of these bullsh*t,' Long Hui thought to himself. 'Now I'm beginning to see why my sister Xiulan can't bear to see any of you.'
Another elder spoke up and suggested, "If you really want to claim the child as your son in public, why don't you go and register your marriage with the child's mother? This way, your son will automatically become legitimate. Then we wouldn't have this problem anymore."
"I wish it's that easy. I already tried asking her to marry me many times already," Long Hui muttered.
"What a ridiculous idea!" Elder Long Jufang exclaimed. The disapproval on his face was even more intense than what Elder Long Meng wore earlier. "That woman is just a lowly bodyguard! There's no way that she's appropriate to be our Long family's next madam! What will the people say? That we, the Longs, are sleeping and breeding with our own servants? How shameful! We barely recovered from the black mark that...that gold-digging model...Wei Lan left when she became our madam for a short period of time. Such an embarrassment! Little Hui, keep that bodyguard as your mistress if you really want her, but she's not fit to be your legal wife!"
"Don't talk about Ying Yue like that!" Long Hui finally exploded. His expression was extremely ugly, his eyes blazing in fury. "She's a strong and intelligent woman! She's the mother of my child and as soon as she agrees to be my wife, I'll marry her in an instant! Nobody is allowed to insult her in my presence!"
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Chapter 312 - Blessings, Not Weapons
"You disrespectful child! You dare raise your voice at me, your elder?!" Elder Long Jufang was apoplectic with rage at Long Hui's attitude to him.
"I'm not a child anymore, Granduncle Jufang. I'm now an adult and have my own son who I intend to claim proudly in front of everyone!"
"You—"
"Enough!" Long Tengfei's authoritative voice was like thunder which stopped everyone and put them in their place.
He was very displeased at the elders. As a man who loved all of his children, he was opposed to the elders' discrimination against illegitimate children. It was laughable that they would be so critical when many of them also fathered their own illegitimate offspring. They thought that he, the head of the family, wouldn't know about their secrets? They were clearly underestimating him. However, he wasn't the kind of man to use illegitimate children to blackmail people to get them to do his bidding. For him, children were blessings, not weapons.
"Son, if you really want to make a public statement and claim Long Jun as your child, go ahead. I'll support you as the head of our Long family," Long Tengfei told his son, ignoring the elders' protests around him.
"Thank you, Father!" Long Hui was greatly relieved that his father approved of his decision.
"But be decisive about it and don't dawdle. Your sister is also suffering in this. The more time you take, the more her reputation will be damaged," Long Tengfei reminded him.
"Yes, Father. I'll do it right away."
Elder Long Meng scoffed. "Young Miss Xiulan is suffering? I don't believe that even for a second. I bet she's enjoying all the attention right now. Isn't that what she loves the most? The attention? She always gives us headaches. All she knows is to create scandal after scandal to shame our entire family! And because of her, another bastard child of our family will be exposed to the entire nation! I also heard that your bodyguard mistress is working for her now? Birds of a feather really do flock together! They will be the ones who'll cause irreparable damage to our family's noble name!"
"You're wrong, Grandaunt Meng. My sister Xiulan is not a shame at all! In fact, she's the greatest pride of our family! You have no idea how amazing all of her achievements are! If you continue to look down on her, you'll be the one shaming our family to the entire world instead!" Long Hui had enough of the elders' bigotry towards his son, his son's mother and his youngest sister. After saying his piece, he stormed out of the meeting hall.
Of course, his action and attitude angered the elders, especially Elder Long Jufang and Elder Long Meng. They complained to Long Tengfei.
Storming off without the family head's permission was a great affront to his authority, but Long Tengfei didn't take it personally. He understood his son's feelings and agreed to everything Long Hui said.
"Unbelievable! Xiulan is the greatest pride of our family and has amazing achievements?" Elder Long Jufang snorted. "Did he mean the three music techniques she accidentally invented? What's so great about them? That song she created is such a torture to listen to."
"Ah, you're absolutely right, Brother Jufang," Elder Long Meng sighed in agreement. "I get a bad headache every time I hear that dreadful song."
Long Tengfei narrowed his eyes at the elders mocking his daughter's accomplishments. He felt Yang Jiahui's gentle touches on his arm, trying to calm him down.
"I'm more surprised that Little Hui is defending Xiulan," Elder Long Jufang said. "What kind of poison Xiulan has been feeding him? I hear that they've been pretty close lately."
"Of course they are. They are brother and sister. They're both my children. They're family. Uncle Jufang, I'll appreciate it more if you stop creating discord among my children and our family," Long Tengfei told the elder in a warning tone.
Elder Long Jufang looked indignant, but he didn't retort. For someone like him who maintained an old-fashioned thinking, the family head shouldn't be disrespected without good reason. Long Tengfei was the undisputed family head. Even if Long Jufang was the elder between the two, their status within the family was completely different.
"Long Jun is my grandson. If my son wants to name him as his heir and if in the future, Long Jun proves himself to be capable in leading our entire family, then I have no problems with that. Legitimacy of birth is not the ultimate requirement to inherit the Long family's head position and business. Rather, it is ability. Long Hui is my heir, not because he's the eldest legitimate son, but because I deemed him to be the most capable of succeeding after me. If his illegitimate siblings prove themselves more capable than him, then I'll change my will and let them inherit instead."
Everyone was shocked when they heard Long Tengfei's declaration. To them, allowing an illegitimate child to inherit the family's head position was absolutely unacceptable! They thought that Long Tengfei was losing his mind to even think this way.
"The same goes for my youngest daughter, Xiulan. But I don't think that she wants to work with Long Industries even if I name her as the heiress of the business."
"Get a hold of yourself, Tengfei! I beg you not to make such a frightening joke," Elder Long Jufang said. "Xiulan as heiress of Long Industries? Aiyo! Do you really want to end our Long family so badly? She'll waste away all of our fortune in a heartbeat as soon as she gets her hands on it."
The other elders also shuddered at the idea of their Young Miss Xiulan inheriting the family head position and the business. They imagined her as a big black hole swallowing all the family's wealth until nothing was left.
Long Tengfei wanted to tell everyone that giving the family business to his youngest daughter would probably be the smartest decision he could make for the entire family. After all, she was the student of the business legend Sir Lu Jianhong. They had no idea that his daughter was actually receiving direct tutelage from the business legend himself. It was just too bad that he couldn't sense any interest in her to become involved in the family business.
In addition to this, his daughter was also enrolled in the legendary school for geniuses, Cross Academy. He wanted to shout to the whole world how proud he was of his youngest daughter. And most importantly, to show these elders that the girl they were ridiculing was actually a genius and would ultimately become the most famous and most respected Long in the world.
What was more, once she married Jin Liwei, her status would immediately raise her up to the highest level within their circles' hierarchies. As the Madam of the Jin family, not a lot of people would dare disrespect her.
He wanted to reveal all of these but stopped himself. He didn't want to be the one to reveal the truth to everyone. It was difficult, but he needed to be patient and wait until his daughter made the revelation herself. Besides, he thought that it would be more fun to see the shocked expressions of the elders when they finally learned about his daughter's real abilities and secret status.
The gathering ended with many ruffled feathers. The elders were very unhappy about Long Tengfei's decision to allow Long Hui to publicly claim his illegitimate son.
The ones content with the current status quo just shrugged their shoulders and returned to their comfortable lives. The discontented ones were already busy making plans.
A great storm was about to descend over the entire Long clan.
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Chapter 313 - Give It To Me Or I'll...
Later that night, Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui released big sighs of relief when they finally lay down on their bed. They talked about what happened earlier during the meeting with the elders.
The tense atmosphere and arguments during the meeting was very exhausting to both of them. Even more so for Long Tengfei who had to mediate between his son and the elders. But he wasn't the head of the family for nothing. After a few moments of venting his frustrations to his wife, he put the matter of the elders aside.
He began to worry about his youngest daughter instead. He partly blamed himself for not properly monitoring contents about Iris in the news. If he had caught a whiff of the latest tabloid news about her, then perhaps he would've been able to stop it from being published.
Yang Jiahui comforted him. "Tengfei, Xiulan is a celebrity. Something like this is common and a way of life for celebrities like her. This is the choice she made for her career. I know that you don't want your daughter to suffer, but she's already an adult. Besides, it's impossible for you to protect her from the harsh realities of life. She also needs to experience all of these in order for her to grow stronger and become more independent. She's doing an excellent job so far, isn't she? All you can do as her parent is to watch over her and lend her a helping hand whenever she needs it."
"You're right."
"And you don't need to worry about her too much anymore. Not only has she grown into an amazing young woman, but she also has Jin Liwei by her side. That boy loves your daughter very much."
A complicated expression appeared on Long Tengfei's face. On one hand, he was happy that his daughter was engaged to a powerful man like Jin Liwei. But on another hand, he thought that his daughter was too young to marry. She should be enjoying her youth more as a single lady. Being a father to a daughter was really difficult. It was hard to let go of his beloved princess and give her hand away in marriage to another man.
He could only sigh and nod. Then he frowned, remembering something.
"I wonder where Wei Lan is right now. What is that woman doing? Our daughter has suffered so many things, yet she has not visited our Xiulan. She hasn't shown herself ever since Xiulan's second coma. The last time we heard from her, she was somewhere in the Mediterranean. Has she abandoned our daughter just because Xiulan is now an adult? Is she still a mother?
Long Tengfei was very displeased about his ex-wife.
Yang Jiahui wasn't a mother herself, so she chose her words carefully before speaking. "Of course, she's a mother. I'm sure she'll never abandon her own daughter. Perhaps she has been really busy."
"Busy? You mean busy enjoying herself."
"I don't really know Wei Lan personally, but as a fellow woman, I'm sure that she loves her own daughter. She may not know how to act like a proper and caring mother, but there's no way that she'll forget about Xiulan. Your daughter is not someone that is easily forgotten, you know."
Long Tengfei smiled. "Indeed. My daughter is unforgettable."
"I think I heard from Xiao Mei before that Wei Lan sometimes sends Xiulan text messages or pictures of places she visited. I think the last message was sent from Egypt. I'm not very sure."
He frowned. "What's she doing in Egypt? Building a pyramid? Raiding a pharaoh's tomb?"
Yang Jiahui only sighed at her husband's sarcasm. "Anyway, Xiulan doesn't look bothered by her mother's absence, so you shouldn't be. But I still think that it's better to try to find Wei Lan and check up on her just to make sure that she's safe and alright."
"Why should I? We're not married anymore. She's no longer my responsibility."
"I know, but she's still the mother your child. What if we discover that something bad happened to her? Xiulan will be so heartbroken."
Long Tengfei looked unwilling. However, at the mention of his daughter, he could only sigh. "Fine," he muttered, massaging his temples. "I'll ask Cao Guang to assign some people to try and locate Wei Lan. But I bet she's having the time of her life living in luxury with a lover."
"You're one to talk," Yang Jiahui harrumphed in a playful manner. "You had many lovers, too."
"My beloved wife, that was before I met you. Now I only have you in my heart."
Giggles gradually turned into quick breaths and then gentle moans of pleasure. The night drew to a close with satisfied smiles on the husband and wife's faces, as they slept in each other's arms.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
Everyone at the mansion felt absolutely terrified. Their master was like a walking, seething, furious beast that could explode and rain terror on them at any given moment. Their mistress wasn't any better either. She was like a cold demon queen who could freeze even hell with just a single look. The two of them weren't talking, so the staff didn't dare make any unnecessary sounds.
Jin Liwei fished out his phone from his pocket, but before he could use it, Iris took it from him. He scowled at her.
"Don't be rash," she told him.
"The longer we leave those motherf*ckers alone, the more damaged your reputation becomes," he said through gritted teeth.
She gave him a cold glance but he didn't flinch at all, unlike the poor staff who quaked and quailed. He was too upset to be affected by her icy look.
"We need to ensure that our godson is safe first. It's not only me or your brother that's involved in this matter. My damaged reputation can wait. Our priority right now should be Little Jun," Iris reminded him.
Jin Liwei looked torn, on the verge of going berserk against the people slandering his baby girl, but he forced himself to nod at her. If she wasn't there trying to stop him, he would've already razed the tabloid paper and the paparazzo who secretly took the photos to the ground. It was difficult, but he controlled his fury.
Yi Mei called them earlier saying that the condo building was once again surrounded by reporters. Although Jin Liwei already upgraded the building's overall security, the risk was still great as there were some residents who began talking to the reporters, telling them stories about seeing Iris with a toddler.
Iris felt furious after hearing about it. When this ordeal was over, she would send out eviction notices to some of the building's loose-tongued residents. It wouldn't be too hard to find reasons for the evictions. Besides, she was the new owner of Gold Heights company. She had all the authority to evict people.
The reporters and rumourmongers wanted to catch sight of Little Jun. It came to a point that some of the reporters managed to infiltrate inside the building with the help of the loose-tongued residents.
It alarmed Jiang Ying Yue. She carried her son and ran to the penthouse, not daring to come out for fear of being mobbed by reporters. The penthouse had the best security in the entire building. However, they couldn't just lock themselves up there forever.
That was why Iris and Jin Liwei sent several groups of his subordinates to help the mother and son escape from the penthouse. Iris would only feel at ease once Little Jun and Jiang Ying Yue safely arrived at the mansion.
Jin Liwei's phone beeped in Iris' hand. It was a message from his subordinate. It read:
"We got them. On our way to the mansion."
Iris felt relieved after reading the message. Then it was her phone that rang next. It was a call from Jin Chonglin. But before she could answer it, Jin Liwei grabbed the phone from her and rejected the call.
She stared at him, incredulous at his action. "Darling! How could you do that to your own brother?"
"I'm not in the mood to talk to him at the moment. Maybe in a few days," he told her.
"Well, it's my phone he's calling. You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."
"I'm not in the mood to allow him to talk to you either."
Her phone started ringing once again. It was still Jin Chonglin. And just like before, Jin Liwei rejected the call.
"You're so childish, Jin Liwei! Give me my phone." She tried reaching for it, but he refused to return it to her. "Give it to me or I'll...I'll...I'll bite you! Very hard!" It was the only threat the she could think of at the moment.
Then the man pulled down his collar and offered his chest to her. "Here, love. Bite me all you want."
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Chapter 314 - Dog Food Overdose
Iris glared at Jin Liwei, but he only pulled his collar lower, exposing more of his flesh to her. She saw all of the previous hickeys she left on his skin.
"What are you doing?" She scolded him, but her tone didn't really sound angry.
"Hm? I thought you want to bite me?"
"I do not! Well, maybe a little..." Her eyes darkened with desire as she looked longer at the exposed part of his chest. Saliva began to pool in her mouth. A strong urge to kiss his bare skin fogged her mind before she realized what was happening. "Wait! Stop distracting me. That's not the point. I said give me my phone!"
Jin Liwei looked at her for a few seconds. "My chest is not enough for you? Alright then."
He grabbed the bottom hem of his long-sleeved shirt and began to take it off. His tight, hard abs were exposed for everyone to see.
Iris was shocked by his sudden action. Then she heard the loud gasps of some of the maids. Her own green-eyed monster started rearing its ugly head within her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!!!" She leaped towards him and quickly pulled his shirt down before he could completely take it off. Then she glared at the blushing maids and houseboys. "Don't look!"
The startled staff immediately covered their eyes and turned around.
'Uwah! The mistress is so scary...how cute...'
Jin Liwei looked extremely smug at her overreaction. He chuckled softly before pulling her to sit on his lap. Then he began hugging and nuzzling her.
"You! Are you crazy?!" Annoyed at him, she tried getting off his lap, but he just pulled her back down again.
"Yeah. Crazy for you." He smirked at her.
She pursed her lips at him, trying to stay annoyed. However, her own mouth betrayed her by twitching until it smiled. Then without her control, she began giggling. "You're so annoying."
"Yeah. But you love me."
She nodded, confirming his words, and then hid her face against his neck.
The household staff were all speechless. One moment, they were terrified of their master and mistress. Then the next moment, they were being drowned by dog food. They were also beginning to realize just how shameless their master could be in front of their mistress. It was such a shock. If they weren't seeing him with their own eyes, they would suspect that their current master was an impostor.
Fortunately, they were saved from dog food overdose by the arrival of Jiang Ying Yue and Little Jun. The toddler was currently sleeping in his mother's embrace. Although half of Jiang Ying Yue's face was covered by a mask from her recent cold, the worry and exhaustion could be clearly seen in her eyes.
Iris jumped off Jin Liwei's lap and headed to meet the mother and son. He didn't stop her. The sight of Little Jun instantly reminded him of his fury about the tabloid scandal involving his baby girl and godson (oh, and his brother too).
After laying Little Jun on the couch and covering him with a blanket, the adults began their serious talk.
"Ying Yue, I'm very sorry. Because of me, Little Jun's image has been plastered all over the news. Although his face is blurred out in the photos, there are still people who are trying to dig out what he looks like. It's my fault for being careless." Iris apologized to Jiang Ying Yue.
Jiang Ying Yue shook her head, releasing a weary sigh. "Xiulan, it's not your fault. Yes, I can't stop myself from feeling upset but I can never blame you. You and Sir Liwei have been very good to me and my son. I'm very thankful to both of you. Actually, I'm the one feeling guilty because people are now thinking that Little Jun is your love child with Jin Chonglin."
Jin Liwei's eyes narrowed and the temperature around him turned colder. However, Iris wasn't affected. She waved Jiang Ying Yue's concerns away.
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. We should focus on Little Jun's safety above anything else. There are people who are now trying to find out more about him. The two of you will have to stay here for a while until it's safe for you to return to the condo," Iris told her.
Jiang Ying Yue nodded but still couldn't stop herself from feeling guilty. She wanted to help Iris, but she just couldn't reveal to everyone that Little Jun was her illegitimate son with Long Hui. A memory of those people insulting and threatening her while she was still pregnant surfaced in her mind. Anger, humiliation and fear almost overwhelmed her before she was able to control herself.
While she was dealing with her own emotions, the couple continued to discuss the tabloid scandal.
"Love, let's announce our relationship. All of these will be over once everyone knows that I'm your fiancé. Only stupid people will dare slander you even after knowing that you're engaged to Jin Liwei," he suggested.
Iris tilted her head, seriously considering it. However, she shook her head after much thought. "It's not the right time yet."
He was unhappy with her decision, but he didn't force her to follow his suggestion. For him, any time was the right time to reveal their relationship. But he also wanted the revelation to be agreed upon by both of them. It would make the moment more special and memorable.
"Fine," he mumbled, sulking a little bit. "Now that Little Jun and Jiang Ying Yue are both safe and here with us, I can now take care of those motherf*ckers, right?"
His rage started burning once again. He couldn't wait to make the people behind the tabloid paper and the paparazzo who took the photos realize their idiocy for targeting his baby girl and godson (oh, and his brother too) just to make up a scandalous story.
"Darling, I know that you can't wait to punish them, but can you leave them to me instead?"
He frowned. He was about to insist on doing it himself, but when he saw her directly looking at him with her beautiful eyes, he found that he couldn't deny her request. Sighing, he reluctantly nodded. "Alright, love. But don't hesitate to tell me if you need my help."
"Of course." Iris smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
Then she looked at Little Jun who was sleeping peacefully on the couch. He looked so angelic. He was her body's nephew, her body's flesh and blood. He was also her godson and that connection was stronger for her. She vowed to protect his innocence and to allow him to enjoy his childhood.
While Jin Liwei was enraged about the slander being thrown at her, she was furious about the fact that the tabloid involved Little Jun. She wouldn't have cared so much if it were only her and Jin Chonglin. But they just had to drag an innocent child into the mix.
What made her the most furious, however, was the fact that the tabloid and the people's comments began referring to Little Jun as a "child born from immorality". Although they didn't know his name or his identity, they were saying all of these malicious things about him. To Iris, this was simply unforgivable.
Her eyes turned cold. Anyone who dared try to harm her beloved godson must be punished.
If only Lu Zihao could see her expression at the moment, he would say that she looked very much like a Vetrov.
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Chapter 315 - I Need Your Help
With a clear goal in mind, Iris headed to her new computer room.
Jin Liwei didn't follow her, knowing that he wouldn't be of much help to her when it came to hacking. He met with his subordinates instead and ordered them to monitor the tabloid publisher and the paparazzo. Although he promised his baby girl earlier to leave everything to her, it wouldn't hurt to observe the situation and make sure that the mice wouldn't be able to escape from her trap.
Iris' computer room at the penthouse was already impressive, but this new computer room in the mansion was many times more so. Jin Liwei surprised her by building a computer room that was basically a giant vault made of tens of thousands of bulletproof stainless steel. It had state-of-the-art security. A fingerprint and retina scanner, voice recognition system, plus a password entered into a keypad were needed in order to unlock the door. Jin Liwei presented it to her as a computer room but it could also serve as a panic room in times of danger.
She was extremely impressed and delighted by its design and features. She could see that Jin Liwei spared no expense in building the space for her.
It took many weeks to fill up the room but it was worth it. Her new computer room now contained some of the fastest, most sophisticated and advanced computers and devices in existence so far. Her complete set-up could rival that of the best research, security and even space agencies in the world.
Now that she was wealthier, she splurged a bit more compared to when she was filling up her computer room at the penthouse before.
It was time to fully utilize her new computer room for the first time.
She hacked into the tabloid publisher. She initially only intended on digging dirt on the people who were directly involved in the tabloid story about her, but she unexpectedly stumbled upon a cesspool of materials regarding various forms of corruption and illegal activities. The discovery was unexpected but not very surprising.
She copied everything. Afterwards, she made sure to delete all copies of Little Jun's photos. There were unedited versions fully showing his adorable little face.
Just to be thorough, she deleted everything pertaining to her, Jin Chonglin and even Jin Liwei. She scowled as she read through many alleged accounts of several women and even men claiming to be lovers with her darling. However, these stories never saw the light of day. It seemed that there really were quite a number of people who feared incurring the wrath of Jin Liwei.
Unfortunately, this fear didn't extend to his brother, Jin Chonglin. By the vast number of rumours and fake stories being released about Jin Chonglin, it appeared that sometimes people were forgetting that Jin Liwei and Jin Chonglin were brothers.
Her next target was the paparazzo. What she discovered creeped her out.
For the sake of snapping photos of his various celebrity targets, the man would covertly trespass on private properties, bribe hotel employees, illegally plant surveillance devices, stalk, and hide in bushes, closets, garbage bins and even sewers.
He was basically a paid stalker.
Yet, it didn't seem that he was living well. His meagre and irregular income made him hover around the urban poverty line. It was only when he snapped incriminating photos of big celebrities that he received good pay. But this was very rare. Most of the time, he survived by taking photos of starlets or non-famous celebrities.
If it were any other time, Iris would perhaps feel sorry for the man. This time, however, he made the mistake of involving her godson, Little Jun. She hardened her heart and dug all the dirt about him.
Unlike the tabloid publisher, there wasn't a lot of dirt about him. It was just that his choice of work inevitably ended a lot of celebrity careers. He wasn't entirely innocent in destroying the bright futures of these celebrities.
After erasing all the digital photos of her, Little Jun and the others, she felt that she wasn't thorough enough. What if the paparazzo and the tabloid kept physical copies? She couldn't hack into them.
Putting this concern aside for now, Iris sifted through the mountains of information she just gathered. Using her powerful computers and customized software she developed, the speed of this task was extremely fast.
After organizing everything, she sent a copy directly to the Chief of Police before releasing a public copy to the internet for everyone to see. In the public version, however, she blacked out names. Despite this, the celebrities would still be recognizable based on the other information in the exposé.
She released everything anonymously this time instead of using her hacker name, Drakon. She didn't want people drawing connections between Drakon and Iris Long.
It was already enough that the hacker KeymonSTER became a wanted figure because he tried to clean her name on the web before. People, or worse, the authorities might began suspecting her if another world-famous hacker became connected to her name yet again.
When she finished everything, it was already a couple of hours past midnight. There was one more thing that she needed to do, but it was already so late.
"I wonder if he's still awake," she muttered.
She thought for only a moment before deciding to just go ahead with it. She grabbed her phone and dialed.
"Hello?" An alluring male voice answered her call.
"Big brother, it's me."
"I know." She could hear the smile in Lu Zihao's voice. "Why are you still awake? Is it about the trouble you got yourself into with those tabloid pests? Dealing with them should be easy. Don't tell me you haven't solved it yet."
"I did...well, not quite. Big Brother, I need your help."
"Heh~ Let's hear it, then."
She explained to him her concern about the tabloid publisher and the paparazzo having physical copies of the photos and the information about her, Little Jun and the others. She also told him about all the dirt she found about them.
"Oh? Blackmail material? Interesting but not surprising. Tabloids are usually filled with shady business like that," Lu Zihao said.
When she told him that she already released the incriminating evidence of the tabloid's illegal activities online and even sent a copy to the police, he was clearly displeased by her decision. She understood his aversion to the police (she had it, too), but they were living different lives now. They should be learning how to live as responsible, law-abiding citizens as much as possible. (Well, except when it came to hacking for her.)
"So will you help me, Big Brother?" she asked him. "But no need to hurt any of them, especially that paparazzo. I just need all the physical data to be destroyed."
"No problem. I'll send several teams right away. There's still a lot of time before sunrise. It will be done before the workday starts." he assured her.
She was relieved hearing his words. If her brother said that it would be done, it would certainly be done. "Thank you."
"Anything for my little sister."
After a few seconds of silence...
"I want to see you," she told him in a soft voice. "The last time we saw each other was when we celebrated New Year with the Chua family."
"I'm really busy right now, but I'll try to see you again sometime."
"Can we celebrate Spring Festival together?" she asked.
"Hmm..." He didn't answer right away.
"Please, Big Brother."
"Alright. I'll find time to celebrate with you."
She instantly felt happy.
"Little sister?"
"Yes?"
He paused before asking her, "If I ask you for help about something extremely difficult, would you help me?"
"Of course!" There was no hesitation in her answer. "As long as it's within my abilities, I'll help you no matter how difficult it is. You're my brother. Is there anything you need help with?"
"I..." He sighed. "No, I was just asking. Don't think about it too much. But I'm glad to hear your answer. Go to sleep now. You'll receive an update from me about the matter with the tabloid and the paparazzo when you wake up later."
The brother and sister chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. Iris returned to the bedroom suite. Her darling was already sleeping. After cleaning herself up, she snuggled close to Jin Liwei and fell asleep as well.
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Chapter 316 - Press Conference
The next morning, the tabloid publisher's illegal activities hit the news. It originated from an online exposé released by an anonymous source. Many of the netizens speculated that perhaps it was the hacker KeymonSTER who did it, but the veteran hackers disagreed.
The thorough, organized and detailed style was very similar to how Drakon usually released exposés, but the impression it evoked to them felt slightly different. It wasn't destructive enough. The hackers concluded that it must not be Drakon.
This hacker was too cautious with all the blacking out of names. Drakon usually didn't care for how many people his exposés affected. Besides, they thought that for a fast-rising hacking superstar like Drakon, he would never do something anonymously. Claiming responsibility of every hacking feat was a must-do to increase one's reputation and prestige.
As for the blacked-out names, the general public and the media were having a field day identifying all of them. It became a fun guessing game.
The celebrities involved were horrified, especially the ones who were blackmailed and already paid the tabloid huge amounts of hush money to not release the scandalous stories about them.
For the celebrities who couldn't pay or refused to do so, they surfaced once again to use this is an opportunity to finally clear up their names. Many of them suffered tremendous damage to their reputations, while some of them had to prematurely end their careers as a result of the stories released by the tabloid about them.
Not only the celebrities and their families were enraged but also their fans. As a result, many of them stepped forward to officially sue the tabloid. In the next few days, the tabloid was sued for a number of crimes such as libel, extortion, corruption, trespassing and invasion of privacy.
The police was very quick in responding to all of these lawsuits. They quickly apprehended the key people from the tabloid. It seemed that the Police Chief personally involved himself in the investigations of these cases. He eventually revealed that he held a more detailed version of the exposé containing names that weren't blacked out.
While the press was busy gathering more information about these cases, they were suddenly invited for a press conference. The heir of Long Industries, Long Hui, wanted to make an announcement.
Only a few representatives from the media attended. Although the Longs were included in the list of the country's most prominent families, their importance wasn't very significant compared to the likes of the Jins, the Lus, and most especially the Fengs whose influence went beyond wealth.
Not many people were interested in hearing announcements from them. They thought that Long Hui would just probably announce some new business acquisitions, or perhaps an engagement or even a marriage.
'Why bother calling for a press conference? A simple press release or a social media post should suffice. The Longs think too highly of themselves,' the reporters sent to the press conference grumbled to themselves.
The only member of the Long family that they were interested in at the moment was Iris Long. However, most of them already knew that she had an estranged relationship with the Long family. Though there were rumours that she had been repairing her relationship with her family in recent months.
As if anticipating the poor turn-out, the place Long Hui booked for the press conference was not very big. He had participated in other press conferences in the past, but most of them were regarding Long Industries. This was the first time that he would be conducting a press conference for a personal matter concerning him and his family. He felt nervous but also excited at the same time.
Remembering his conversation with Jiang Ying Yue on the phone earlier today, he was surprised that she was agreeable to his plan. Although she wasn't happy, she didn't resist. Then he learned that it was because of his sister.
"Xiulan's reputation has taken a severe hit because people are thinking that Little Jun is her love child with Jin Chonglin. If you announce that Little Jun is actually your son, then all these bad rumours about her will stop," Jiang Ying Yue told him.
He sulked a little after hearing her reason for giving permission. Actually, with or without her approval, he would still go ahead and make the announcement. He just informed her as courtesy and respect as the mother of their child. And of course, he was hoping to earn some brownie points from her.
"Do...does your family know that you're doing this?" she asked in a cautious and anxious manner.
"Yes, of course. Father approved of my plan," he told her.
"Only your father?"
He hesitated before replying. "Uh, yes..."
Silence.
"Ying Yue?"
She chuckled bitterly. Then she sighed and said, "At least your father permitted you to do this."
"Yeah."
"Long Hui..."
He frowned, not liking how she was addressing him using his full name.
"Please, I beg you. Protect our son." Her voice shook a bit. "I know that we'll never be good enough for your family...but please, don't let them hurt our son. I can't...I can't bear it..."
"What are you talking about? Ying Yue, tell me!"
"I...just promise me, please."
"Yes, of course. I'll naturally protect Long Jun. He's my son, our son. I won't let anyone hurt him."
When the call ended, he couldn't stop thinking about what she said. He felt confused but also suspicious, especially after personally experiencing the elders' extreme discrimination against his son.
But before he could think more deeply and carefully about the matter, he received a signal that the press conference was about the start. He cleared his mind of any unnecessary thoughts. He focused instead on the important task that he was about to accomplish in this press conference.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
The huge flat screen TV was showing the live telecast of Long Hui's press conference. It was currently being broadcast on a minor news channel.
Iris' head was laying on Jin Liwei's shoulder while they watched the press conference together on the couch. Little Jun sat on Jin Liwei's lap while playing with a toy given to him by his Great-Grandpa Lu a few days ago.
Jiang Ying Yue sat on another couch with Dom. The two of them were still wearing masks just until they were sure that they were fully recovered from their colds. She wore her neutral bodyguard expression, not showing any emotions as she watched her ex-lover and the father of her child on TV.
Long Hui looked very dashing with his crisp business suit. He was cold, handsome and graceful.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Long Hui. I am also Iris Long's eldest brother. I am here to announce today that the child pictured with my sister in a recent tabloid story is my son. The child is my biological son, my own flesh and blood. I had him with my lover. He is not, I repeat, he is NOT the son of my sister Iris Long or the celebrity Jin Chonglin."
The cameras began flashing, snapping photos of him. The reporters suddenly grew interested in what he had to say.
He continued, "My son looks a little like my sister because he's her nephew. She is also my son's godmother, that's why he calls her Mama. My sister was never pregnant before. Based on my son's age, she couldn't have given birth to him. She was comatose at that time. Please stop spreading false rumours about my sister and my son. That's all I have to say."
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Chapter 317 - Happy Family
"The floor is now open for questions," the press conference host announced.
Long Hui took a few deep breaths when all of the reporters present raised their hands. Before the press conference started, they looked bored and uninterested. But now they were like slobbering jackals who smelled prime meat.
"Mr. Long, are you married? If so, how come we don't know about it? Was it kept a secret?" a reporter asked.
"No, I'm not married." he answered.
"Then your child is illegitimate?"
Long Hui had to calm himself down first because a strong urge to punch the son of a b*tch in the face almost made him lose control. He was seething in anger but he forced a calm tone when he answered.
"Yes." Then he quickly added, "But that may change in the future if the mother of my child agrees to marry me."
The reporters' eyes lit up. Their hands became even more aggressive, as if raising them higher or waving them around would make them more likely to be chosen to ask the next question.
"So you proposed to the mother of your child before but she rejected you? There's a woman who doesn't want to marry the heir of the Long family? Can you please tell us who the mother of your child is?"
"My son's mother is a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman. I am glad that she is the mother of my child. Things have not worked out between us, but I'm willing to try again. I hope that I can change her mind and that someday she'll accept my offer of marriage. I hope for the day that the three of us can be a happy family together, not only based on relations but also on paper. I want my son and also her, if she'll accept me, to be proud members of my Long family."
He looked directly at the camera while he said these words slowly and clearly, conveying his sincerity and seriousness as much as possible through the telecast.
The reporters weren't satisfied by his answer because he didn't reveal the identity of his child's mother. However, no matter how many times they tried asking him in different ways, he remained tight-lipped, only repeating his praises about how she was such as good mother to their son.
After their repeated failures of obtaining more information about Long Hui's son and his former lover, the reporters switched targets and asked about Iris Long instead.
"Mr. Long, seeing that you chose your sister to be your son's godmother, does this mean that you're close to her? There are rumours from long ago saying that Iris Long is estranged from the Long family. Is this still the case right now?"
Long Hui hesitated, choosing his words carefully before answering. "Yes, you can say that my youngest sister and I have gotten closer recently. Actually, she sees my son and my son's mother on a regular basis. They are very close to each other. That's why my son also calls my sister Mama. It only makes sense that she became my son's godmother. She loves my son like her own and for that, I'm very thankful to her. Also, I know that many of you have observed that she has matured a lot ever since she recovered from being in a coma for a year. There had been some misunderstandings between her and our family in the past but at the end of the day, we're all family. She's always welcome in our home and she sometimes visits to eat meals with our father."
The reporters didn't entirely believe what he said. They wanted some family drama, especially since it involved one of the hottest young celebrities at the moment, Iris Long. However, no matter how hard they tried to stir him up, Long Hui refused to badmouth his sister.
After a few more questions and answers, the press conference officially ended. The reporters hurried to their companies to finish the drafts for their articles. At first, they thought that the press conference would be about something uneventful but it surprisingly was full of juicy content. Although it wasn't focused on Iris Long, the reporters decided to increase the focus on her in order to gain more interest to the story.
As for Long Hui, he felt relieved that the press conference was finally over. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted off from his shoulders. He felt lighter and refreshed.
He knew that the elders would be terribly unhappy by what he said during the press conference, but he was unhappy with them as well. Resentment grew within him from their blatant discrimination against his son.
He was only realizing now how hurtful they were for discriminating against his illegitimate siblings. Now that they were doing it to his own son, he felt guilty towards his illegitimate brother and sister for not standing up for them when the other members of the family made snide remarks against them.
'Now I know. I have to treat my other siblings better,' he inwardly promised.
Disregarding the elders, the most important thing to him was receiving his father's blessings as the head of the Long family in his decision to claim Little Jun as his son. He was very thankful to Long Tengfei for accepting Little Jun with open arms and open heart.
Thinking about his son made him think about Jiang Ying Yue. He hoped that she watched the press conference. Hopefully, she was able to see his sincerity of wanting to try again with her.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
"Dada! Dada!" Little Jun bounced excitedly on Jin Liwei's lap as he pointed at his father on the TV.
"Yes, Little Jun. That's your daddy," Iris said.
The toddler clapped his hands and continued to bounce. Jin Liwei stroked Little Jun's hair, not the least bit bothered by his wild movements on his lap.
On the other couch, Dom stood up and squealed. He fanned himself with his hands in a dramatic manner. "Oh wow! That was so romantic! Big Brother Boss just announced to the entire nation that he wants to marry you, Big Sis Yue, and become a happy family together with Junie boy. Ah, be still my heart! Why do you not want to marry him? He looked and sounded so sincere!"
A mask covered Jiang Ying Yue's face but it couldn't hide the complicated expression in her eyes. Her hands gripped her pants in a tensed manner. She stared at the now finished press conference on the TV, as if she could still see Long Hui.
There was deep longing in her eyes, but there was also hurt...and humiliation.
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Chapter 318 - More Capable
Iris observed Jiang Ying Yue's expression. She could sense that Jiang Ying Yue still had feelings for Long Hui. Something must've happened for her to reject Long Hui's repeated proposals. She inwardly shrugged, not wanting to interfere in other people's relationships. As long as her godson was safe and well, she didn't care how Jiang Ying Yue and Long Hui dealt with their own relationship with each other.
Dom continued to prattle on and on about Long Hui's heartfelt "confession" on TV. Iris could see that Jiang Ying Yue was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Your voice still sounds a little stuffy, Dom. Why don't you go rest?" she suggested just to get him off of Jiang Ying Yue.
"Eh? But I feel alright, boss. Don't worry! I'm already reco—" Dom sneezed hard, not once but two times. "Who is it?! Who's talking badly about my handsome and gorgeous self?!" Then he sneezed again.
"See? You're not fully recovered yet. Go take a rest, Dom," Iris told him.
Dom could only nod his head. He excused himself and headed to his own room.
Jiang Ying Yue's eyes showed a grateful expression to Iris. Then her gaze fell on her son cuddling with Jin Liwei. If only it was Long Hui who was doting on Little Jun right now... She forcefully stopped herself from going in that direction.
Thinking about Long Hui and looking at their son, she didn't realize that her expression was becoming more and more worried and troubled.
Seeing her expression, Iris told her, "Ying Yue, you don't have to worry about Little Jun. He is my and Liwei's godson. We'll protect him no matter what and won't let anything bad happen to him. So calm your mind and just focus on being a good mother to him."
"En." Jin Liwei nodded.
Jiang Ying Yue teared up. "Thank you so much, Xiulan and Sir Liwei."
"Mommi?" Little Jun stopped playing with his toy when he saw his mother's tearful eyes. Then he stretched his little arms, reaching for her.
Jiang Ying Yue walked over and took him from Jin Liwei. She hugged her son tightly without hurting him. There was a sense of desperation in her embrace.
"Mommi?" Little Jun touched her face. "No cwy, Mommi."
Everyone was shocked by what he said. Iris and Jin Liwei looked excited. He whipped out his phone, hoping for Little Jun to talk more.
"Oh!" Jiang Ying Yue burst into tears.
###
At a middle-class neighbourhood, there stood a big two-storey house. It wasn't a mansion but it was the largest and most impressive house in the neighbourhood. The people living in it were a popular topic of discussion among the residents.
Many years ago, the big house wasn't there yet and the actual property was quite small. However, when the daughter of the family who lived there returned with a baby son, everything started to change.
She bought the surrounding properties and expanded her family's own property. Then she had the small house demolished and built a bigger house in its place. Throughout the years, various renovations were made to the house, making it more impressive.
When asked about how she was able to make such grand improvements, she said that it was all thanks to her husband, her son's father. However, they later discovered that she was never married and that she was only a mistress. By giving birth to a son for a wealthy man, she was able to elevate her entire family's economic status.
More than two decades later, her son was now a handsome twenty-five year old young man who graduated from a C9 League university at the top of his class. He was currently working at a small branch division of his father's company with the intention of being eventually transferred to the main company in the near future. He was the pride and joy of his mother and everyone from his maternal side of the family. All the young ladies in the neighbourhood desired to marry him.
Long Jian was the second son of Long Tengfei with a former mistress. Long Tengfei was very pleased with this son of his. Long Jian was smart, hard-working and ambitious. He had high expectations of himself and always pushed himself to be the best in almost everything. Long Tengfei hoped that Long Jian would help his elder brother, Long Hui, to run Long Industries in the future when he was gone from this world.
At the moment, Long Jian was leaning against the glass window, looking out at the night sky. Light snow was currently falling down.
"Is that true? Tengfei really said that?" His mother, Zhu Ning, asked an older man sitting across from her in the living room.
"Yes, I heard his words loud and clear with my own ears during the family meeting with the elders and the other members of the branch families. My cousin Tengfei said that he'll change his will if any of his other children proves to be more capable than Young Master Hui," Long Xiaopeng informed them.
He was Long Tengfei's distant cousin from a less powerful branch family. For a number of years now, he had become Zhu Ning's informant about the happenings within the Long family.
Zhu Ning looked excitedly at Long Jian. "Son, this is your chance! Long Hui's reputation will surely take a dive now that he announced in a press conference that his firstborn is illegitimate."
Long Jian scowled. He hated the word "illegitimate". However, he still nodded in agreement with his mother. Great determination and ambition burned in his eyes as he glared at their small yard.
Someday, he would be the most important and respected member of the Long family. He would buy himself and his mother a big mansion fit for a king. He would prove to everyone that despite being illegitimate, he could still achieve the highest heights in wealth, status and power. Then no one would dare mock him for being illegitimate again.
"Don't worry. Just continue to work hard and focus on being transferred to the main company as soon as possible, Jian'er. Leave the inner workings of the Long family to me. The members, especially the elders, are very incensed by Young Master Hui right now. I'll try influencing the other branches and make them believe that Young Master Hui is unfit to become the next head of the family and Long Industries," Long Xiaopeng assured them.
Zhu Ning smiled, looking very pleased at what she was hearing.
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Chapter 319 - Team Up
Long Jian straightened to his full height. He was taller than either his father Long Tengfei or his older brother Long Hui. He walked to the living room and sat on the couch beside his mother.
Zhu Ning poured hot tea for her son.
"There is no need to remind me, Uncle Xiaopeng. I already received information from my business insiders that Father is planning on promoting me to work at the main company soon. Maybe within this year. When that happens, everyone will soon know that I'm more capable than Long Hui. I'll make it into a situation that Father will have no choice but to appoint me as his successor because it will be for the company's best interests to do so."
"That's my son!"
Zhu Ning looked very proud. An almost maniacal ambition danced in her eyes. She couldn't wait for the moment when her son succeeded as the next head of the Longs. Wouldn't that make her the Long family's Old Madam? She felt absolutely gleeful at the thought.
"Mother, I would like to talk with Uncle Xiaopeng alone," Long Jian told her.
"Fine, fine. I'll leave the two of you with your manly talk, then." She chuckled. "It's time for my beauty sleep anyway. Goodnight!"
The two men waited until she was gone before they began talking once again.
"I asked my mother to go because she has a tendency to become too caught up in her emotions whenever we talk about the Longs."
Long Xiaopeng nodded in agreement.
"Now tell me the real situation regarding Long Hui and the elders, Uncle Xiaopeng. You make it sound as if it's so easy to influence the other branches and to decrease Long Hui's influence within the family." Long Jian steepled his fingers together as he laid inquisitive eyes on the older man sitting across from him. "Although I very much believe that the elders are furious about Long Hui's decision to reveal his son to everyone, I doubt that they'll try to unseat him from his position of heir."
Long Xiaopeng cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable by the younger man's heavy gaze. He sighed. "You're right. The elders' way of thinking are too old-fashioned. You already know this. To them, only Young Master Hui is the one fit to succeed by virtue of him being the eldest legitimate son."
Despite hating the words "legitimate" and "illegitimate", Long Jian still nodded and encouraged the older man to continue talking. His steepled fingers, however, were now clasped together so hard that his hands shook a little and veins popped on the surface of his arms.
"Even if Young Master Hui isn't in the picture, if given the choice between you, your other sister, and the Young Miss Xiulan, the elders will most likely choose Young Miss Xiulan over the two of you just because she's a legitimate child and you are not. Even when they hate her guts, they'll grudgingly let her succeed the head position. That's just how backward the elders' minds work."
Long Hui's face contorted in fury, but he was able to quickly control his expression. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. This was to prevent himself from flipping the low table in front of him or from punching the wall.
When he calmed down enough, he opened his eyes and spoke in a much calmer voice. "Let's stay focused. Long Hui is the biggest block in my way. Xiulan is a good-for-nothing spoiled brat. She's a pathetic excuse for a Long heiress. She'll never be a threat to me."
"Don't underestimate her, Jian'er," Long Xiaopeng cautioned him. "She has grown more sensible ever since she woke up from her coma. Your father is very pleased with the improvements in her attitude. He and Madam Yang Jiahui are growing increasingly close to her right now. Young Master Hui, too. If Young Miss Xiulan and Young Master Hui team up, they'll definitely have the advantage compared to you."
Long Jian laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Then he sneered. "Go ahead. Let them team up. What good does it do for Long Hui to team up with a good-for-nothing like Xiulan? Isn't he just dragging himself down? Sure, she has achieved some little successes recently but she's still nothing but a showgirl. What does she know other than singing and dancing and selling her pretty face to the public? What does she know when it comes to working in the business industry? Nothing! By teaming up with her, Long Hui will just obtain a useless burden for himself."
"You're right," Long Xiapeng nodded. "But it's still better to be cautious. I hear that Young Miss Xiulan is like a completely different person now. She doesn't act like a spoiled brat anymore."
Long Jian scoffed. "A leopard cannot change its spots. Don't forget that Xiulan works in showbiz. People of her kind excel in acting. She's probably just acting to be more mature and sensible to butter up our father. Let's see how long she can maintain her act. She'll revert back to her usual b*tchy and bratty self again one day."
"Hmm. Maybe..."
Long Xiaopeng sank into deep thought. He agreed with Long Jian's opinions, but there was a niggling feeling inside him, warning him to be cautious of Young Miss Xiulan. He had not personally met with her yet since she woke up from coma, but he had heard many things about her from his informants within the Long ancestral residence.
He just hoped that it was just as Long Jian suspected, that she was just acting and would eventually revert to her previous unpleasant personality. If not, she would be a tough adversary to beat especially if she started gaining the elders' good graces.
"Regardless of whether Young Miss Xiulan is a threat or not, I think we should still have some plans in place for when she and Young Master Hui really decide to team up together," Long Xiaopeng insisted. "What about you team up with your other sister? Both of you are in a similar situation of being ostracized by the elders just because of your illegitimacy. If you unite, you'll have a higher chance of succeeding. Especially since your sister is also a high-achiever like you. The two of you can show everyone that despite being illegitimate, you're more capable than the legitimate children."
"Stop calling us illegitimate!" Long Jian finally couldn't stop himself from exploding.
"I..." Long Xiaopeng was shocked at his outburst.
Long Jian sat back down and sighed heavily. "Sorry for raising my voice at you, Uncle. Anyway, about my other sister. Yes, she's a high-achiever but she has no ambitious bones in her body at all. I already tried pulling her to my side before but she's already content of her own position. It's beyond my comprehension how she can tolerate being treated like sh*t by the elders and the other members of the Longs. She's definitely so much better than that good-for-nothing Xiulan, yet she doesn't complain when our father shows obvious favouritism to that spoiled brat."
"Is that so? How unfortunate. And here I thought we can use her..."
"Let's forget about her." Long Jian waved a dismissive hand. "Besides, my mother will be upset if I team up with any of my siblings. She hates the guts of Father's other women and their children."
The two men continued to talk about their plans. As the night grew deeper, their ambitions also grew bigger and hungrier.
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Chapter 320 - Family Banquets
Dragon Palace Home #10.
As the competition and disunity started simmering beneath the surface among the members of the Long family, Spring Festival finally arrived. Wanting to impress their mistress, the household staff went all out in decorating the entire mansion. There was red and gold colours everywhere.
On the day of the Lunar New Year's Eve, Yi Mei, the cook and the older staff from the penthouse all came to the mansion to celebrate with their Young Miss. The younger staff from both the mansion and the penthouse returned to their hometowns to celebrate the holidays with their own families. The older staff stayed and prepared for the celebration.
As this was an important occasion, both the Jin, the Long and the Lu families all had their own respective reunion banquets. All relatives from the branch families would come over to celebrate with the main families.
Since Iris and Jin Liwei hadn't publicly announced their relationship yet, they decided not to attend together. It wasn't the right time yet.
Jin Liwei had to attend the Jins' New Year banquet because he was the head of the family. It was part of his duty to attend important family occasions like these.
On the other hand, Iris had no interest whatsoever in attending the Long family's reunion banquet. Except for Long Tengfei, Long Hui, Yang Jiahui and Meimei, she had no attachments to anyone from the Long family. She didn't consider them as family at all. Even the original Iris already stopped attending such occasions before because all she received from the relatives were constant mocking and criticisms.
When Iris and Jin Liwei informed Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan that Iris wouldn't be coming to the New Year's Eve banquet, they were disappointed but they understood the couple's current situation. Although they adored Iris and couldn't wait for her to marry Jin Liwei, it didn't mean that the other Jin relatives would accept her immediately as their next madam.
Similarly, Long Tengfei was very disappointed when Iris informed her that she wouldn't be attending the family's banquet. He thought that perhaps she would be willing to attend this year because she had been so agreeable in repairing their father-daughter relationship. But it turned out that her willingness didn't extend to the other members of the family.
"Liwei and I will visit you some other time," Iris compromised and then quickly added, "We'll bring Little Jun."
Long Tengfei immediately softened after hearing about his beloved first grandson. He no longer tried persuading her to attend the banquet.
The Lunar New Year's Eve celebrations began all throughout the nation and in other countries celebrating this important occasion.
Jin Liwei was unhappy and his heart heavy. He almost didn't want to attend the Jin family's banquet because he didn't want to leave his baby girl. However, she persuaded him to go.
"I'll come back as soon as I can," he promised her.
"Okay. Take care, darling. Come back to me safely," she told him before standing on her tippy-toes to give him a hard and hot kiss on the mouth.
He groaned and lifted her up, and then deepened the kiss. They reluctantly ended the kiss. "On second thought, how about I don't go and just stay here with you?"
Iris giggled and hugged him. "No, you should go. I don't want any of your relatives complaining that their family head has become irresponsible. Next Lunar New Year, we'll surely celebrate together with everyone else in your family."
His eyes widened and then a joyful expression broke out of his face. "I'm looking forward to that. I can't wait."
She hugged him and inhaled his masculine scent that she liked so much. "Mmn. Have fun tonight."
"It's not going to be fun because you won't be with me."
"Well, I'll be having fun tonight with Little Jun, Big Brother Zihao and the others," she told him.
He sulked for a bit hearing her words before she made him feel better by giving him another mind-blowing kiss. Afterwards, he really needed to go. He left the mansion in a not so pleasant mood. He just left but he already couldn't wait to come back home to her.
Later, Lu Zihao was on his way to mansion. It turned out that he came from the Lu family's own New Year's Eve banquet. Just like Iris to the Longs, he had no close attachments to the other members of the Lu family except for Grandpa Lu. Bored out of his mind, he slipped away and drove directly to Dragon Palace Homes. Of course, his phone started ringing just a few minutes after he disappeared.
"Hello? Hello?! Haohao my boy, where in the bloody hell are you right now? Tell me! I want to know!" Grandpa Lu's voice boomed when he answered the phone on speaker while driving.
He decided to answer the call because if he just ignored it, the old man might send his army of subordinates to follow him and drag him back to the banquet.
"How dare you leave our family gathering at New Year?! Come back here right now or I'll have you dragged back here!"
See?
Lu Zihao forced the annoyance out of his voice and explained to the old man, "I'm heading to Third Brother's place. Xiulan is alone there right now because Third Brother has to attend the Jin family's banquet. And she's not attending the Longs' banquet. So I'm accompanying her to celebrate the New Year. Are you telling me to leave her alone instead?"
"What?! My girl Xiulan is left alone on such an important occasion?! Poor girl! Why didn't any of you tell me?! I want to know! Pick her up quickly and bring her here! If she doesn't want to celebrate with the Jins or the Longs, she's more than welcome to celebrate Lunar New Year with us, the Lus!"
"No, it's fine. She doesn't know anyone else in our family. She'll just feel uncomfortable and out of place."
Grandpa Lu grumbled for a bit before acquiescing. Lu Zihao was relieved when the phone call ended.
When he finally arrived at the mansion, he was surprised by the festive atmosphere. Some of the male staff already started lighting up firecrackers outside while the others were busy preparing the dinner table.
He found Iris at the living area watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV. She was petting Ice Cream on her lap. The grey cat wasn't as fat as before, but still nowhere as slim as her brother. Popcorn already recovered from his neutering procedure and was now playing with Little Jun and Dom (a.k.a. Slave #1). Jiang Ying Yue watched over them, making sure that her son and the cat wouldn't hurt themselves.
Iris' face lit up when she saw Lu Zihao. "You came."
"Of course. I promised you."
She smiled.
Popcorn immediately ran over to him and leaped into his arms. He stroked the needy cat as he walked over and sat beside his sister. He looked at the TV show. "They didn't invite you to perform?"
"No," she said, shrugging. "I heard that they initially planned on inviting me but then the matter about...about Fan Luo happened." Her expression darkened. She took a few deep breaths before continuing, "They sent the invitations to perform around that time. Everything happened and I disappeared, so they ended up not inviting me. Oh well. I don't really care. I'd rather spend these holidays resting and spending time with family than working."
"Heh... I see. Then this gala must be boring to watch because you're not performing."
She giggled. "Jin Chonglin will be performing later tonight."
Lu Zihao didn't look interested at all.
As they watched the different performances at the gala on TV, Iris kept on receiving messages from Jin Liwei, asking him what she was doing, if she was alright, etc.
She also received a message from Wei Lan, greeting her Happy New Year. This time, Wei Lan seemed to be in Brazil. Iris only sent a quick reply, greeting the older woman back, before putting Wei Lan out of her mind.
Next was a phone call from Meimei.
"Oh, Xiulan! Your relatives are so horrible, especially the elders! I had to excuse myself from the dining table because if I stay and listen more to them, I would've exploded! They're trash talking you nonstop, saying that you're unfilial and disrespectful for not attending the banquet. Blah blah blah! They're also all being so mean to Big Brother Hui. They'll temporarily shut up whenever they see Uncle Tengfei but when he's not near, they'll start trash talking again. I can't believe them! How can they do such negative things during New Year? Aren't they inviting bad luck? You did the right thing by not attending such an unpleasant party. Hmph! If it weren't because I don't want to leave my aunt alone, I would've headed there right now. I'd rather celebrate the Lunar New Year with you and my twin Dom and the others, instead of with this pack of hyenas!"
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