Chapter 134: 1331 - 1340

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1331

Nikolai stood there like a cold, towering statue. He didn't speak or move for what felt like forever.

Jin Liwei wanted immediate answers but sensed the great turmoil within his brother-in-law even if the man wasn't showing anything from his unreadable expression.

By this time, Jin Liwei had already calmed down his emotions. He realized that it wasn't his right to demand answers for things that happened in his wife and her brother's past lives from way before he came to know either of them.

Ever since falling in love with his wife and working hard to make her fall in love with him too, he learned the important life lesson of putting aside his pride to apologize for his own mistakes.

He was about to apologize to his brother-in-law when Nikolai finally spoke.

The story he told shocked Jin Liwei so much that he staggered on his feet and had to hold on to the wall to stay upright.

Jin Liwei stared at his brother-in-law with wide eyes. He studied Nikolai's face, looking for any signs that what he had just been told was only a prank, but the reality proved to be harsh.

"Oh my God," he couldn't help but say. "Nikolai, y-you...."

Nikolai turned away and looked at the moonless night sky outside the large windows. His figure looked lonesome and unapproachable.

"Don't tell my sister," he said, his tone gruff.

Jin Liwei looked conflicted.

Nikolai glanced at him and repeated, "Don't tell her. She'll be heartbroken."

"Fine," Jin Liwei forced himself to say through gritted teeth.

"Now you understand why I can't just let it go, why I must pursue revenge against those motherfuckers."

Jin Liwei didn't know what to say.

"There's also one more thing." Nikolai walked back and stopped right in front of Jin Liwei. "They still have Evelinka's dead body."

Jin Liwei's eyes contracted.

"And I plan to take her back from them. I don't give a damn about our parents' corpses or even my own dismembered body, but I must give my sister's body a proper burial."

A great tsunami roared inside Jin Liwei. His eyes became even more crazed than earlier. He clutched Nikolai's thick arms, his own hands shaking from the consecutive shocks he received tonight.

"Count me in!"

Nikolai looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "No."

"Why not?!"

"We already agreed about the division of labour between the two of us. You take care of things in the light while I take care of things in the dark. My sister is now Long Xiulan and it's your job as her husband to take care of her and all of your children. You can't be associated with anything criminal especially anything related to the Vetrovs. I won't allow you to put yourself in danger because that means my sister and her children will be in danger as well."

"But—"

"No buts!" Now it was Nikolai's turn to grab Jin Liwei's collar and shake him. "Be thankful that I even told you about all these things! I didn't plan on telling you a damn thing but you're so fucking persistent and annoying, so—"

He stopped and whipped his head towards the door. Jin Liwei followed his line of sight.

Standing by the now open door and looking at them with wide, disbelieving eyes was Iris.

"Evelinka—"

"Baby." Jin Liwei escaped from his brother-in-law's claws and hurried towards his wife. His turbulent emotions were all temporarily cast aside so that he could focus his whole attention on her.

He checked her temperature with the back of his hand—still a bit feverish but not as hot as before.

"How are you feel—"

Iris pushed her husband's hands away and faced her brother.

She woke up not too long ago and found herself alone in the hospital room. After asking Ketchup, she learned that her husband and big brother were arguing in the hallway outside. She told her AI daughter to not interrupt the two men and not inform them of her waking up. The two must be arguing about her again so she wanted to be the one to mediate between them.

With this intention, she pulled her IV stand and silently opened the door. Imagine her surprise when she heard what her brother said. Her own shock wasn't inferior to Jin Liwei's.

"How much did you hear?" Nikolai asked.

"Is it true that the enemies have my body?"

Nikolai's expression remained unreadable. Deep inside, however, he was relieved that his sister didn't hear the first part of what he told Jin Liwei.

"Big Brother, answer me! Is it true?"

"Yes."

Iris fainted.

"Evelina!"

Jin Liwei caught her and immediately called for the doctor.

The atmosphere in the mansion was grim.

Iris' fever continued the next day. Jin Liwei refused to leave her side. The twins were also kept away from their sick mother to prevent them from catching anything.

As a result, Little Mochi threw a tantrum for almost the entire day. His loud wails and refusal to be coaxed distressed Huang Yuyan and everyone else. Even the usually well-behaved Little Matcha also cried for a long time. The twins wanted their parents. No, they "needed" their mommy and daddy.

Both Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao felt guilty.

In their bedroom, Long Jinjing asked her husband, "Did something happen? Everything feels so tense at home today. Did something more serious than a fever happen to my sister? Do you know something about it, Nikolai?"

"Nothing," Lu Zihao told her. "Don't worry about it. Stressing yourself out is not good for our babies."

Long Jinjing observed his expression but she couldn't read anything from it as usual. Even so, she could sense that something was amiss about him today. He seemed...gloomier than normal.

"I'm your wife now, Nikolai. Can't you just honestly tell me? Please?"

No matter how many times she asked, he refused to tell her anything. It upset her but also made her nervous at the same time. She had the niggling feeling that something grave must have happened without her knowledge.

Lu Zihao kissed her. For the first time ever, he failed in distracting her with seduction.

He sighed and turned her around so that he could hug her from behind and avoid squeezing her swollen belly.

Long Jinjing's bad feeling worsened.

"Nikolai?"

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1332

Long Jinjing tried to turn around and look at her husband but Lu Zihao tightened their embrace, preventing her from moving. The man rarely showed any of his true emotions. Even now, she still found it difficult to read his expressions.

As usual, she could only depend on her intuition. It was telling her that her husband must be going through something serious.

She didn't know if it was somehow related to the grim atmosphere at home today due to Iris falling sick all of a sudden.

Once a home's mistress became sick, the entire family would be affected. Long Jinjing hoped that her sister would recover soon from her fever or whatever sickness Iris was suffering.

Although Long Jinjing wanted to ask her husband about whatever was bothering him, she wasn't going to force him into telling her if he didn't want to. There must be a valid reason why he continued to refuse telling her anything.

The only reason that she could think of was that it would somehow put her in danger if she ever came to know about it. As to what it was or how it would put her in danger, she had no idea.

It was only because she knew about Shadow Winds that she had to get used to not knowing every single thing about her husband's daily life.

She patted his thick, muscled arms that were hugging her. "Alright, I won't ask you anymore. Just take care of yourself, okay? I don't want you to get sick like little sister."

"I won't get sick," Lu Zihao replied. "You should be the one to be careful."

She sighed and nodded. "The doctor won't allow me to visit Xiulan to prevent me from catching anything that might make me sick."

"Listen to the doctor."

"How's Xiulan, Nikolai? Is her condition serious?"

Since he was hugging her from the back, she couldn't see his expression right now. Worry flashed in his eyes but only for a moment.

"Her fever has already broken but is not completely gone yet. The doctor is still monitoring her condition. At least, she didn't fall into another coma. Thank fuck for that."

"You're right. I'm glad that she didn't fall into coma again." Long Jinjing released a sigh of relief.

Her sister's health had really not been the best ever since she woke from her one-year coma after her deadly car crash back then. Long Jinjing once again felt ashamed that she envied her sister's consistently beautiful appearance during and after pregnancy.

Chen Fei was right. Iris might have maintained her physical beauty all throughout her pregnancy and after childbirth but she suffered and continue to suffer so many health issues.

Long Jinjing now felt thankful that her pregnancy was very smooth so far despite gaining a lot of weight. Hopefully, her smooth pregnancy would continue until childbirth.

While she was deep in her thoughts, Lu Zihao's mind was in chaos. He shouldn't have told Jin Liwei anything. This wasn't how Nikolai Vetrov should have acted.

Ever since becoming reborn as Lu Zihao, his emotional control had become so much worse. He wasn't like this before in his past life.

It might be due to his desire for revenge, making him more prone to losing control compared to how he lived as Nikolai Vetrov in the past.

Or maybe it was because the original Lu Zihao's remnant still remained in this body. The original Lu Zihao was a happy-go-lucky guy who lived by acting on his impulses and ignoring consequences.

Perhaps the original Lu Zihao's personality was affecting him in a way that he hadn't noticed yet.

Wait.

Now that he thought about it, his current personality was no longer the same as when he was Nikolai Vetrov. It wasn't the same as the original Lu Zihao's personality either.

His current personality might really be a combination of the two, although the dominant one was still Nikolai's.

He was very unhappy upon reaching this conclusion.

However, he didn't want to think about all this right now. After what happened at the hospital wing last night with his sister and brother-in-law, he felt extremely weary of everything.

He rested his chin on top of his wife's head and hugged her more tightly while making sure that he wasn't hurting her. Long Jinjing's scent wafted to his nose and started to calm him down slowly but surely.

Most of the time, he would get the urge to fuck Long Jinjing whenever the two of them stuck close together like this. He would only suppress his lust when it was clear that she wanted to just cuddle with him.

Now, he felt the same as her and just wanted to cuddle.

He only wanted to stay like this and hug her. It wasn't like he stopped desiring her. Not at all.

He felt...no.

The moment he realized the direction of his thoughts, he immediately stopped it. This wasn't the time to lose himself in that kind of dangerous emotion.

"Nikolai?" Long Jinjing's soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Let me stay like this for a bit longer, hm?"

She hesitated before nodding. Then he felt her leaning back and relaxing on him.

He inhaled her delicate fragrance and focused on that scent. It slowly cleansed away the chaos in his mind.

Long Jinjing must have sensed that he was now calmer. When she turned around to face him, he didn't stop her. She stuck her side close to him to accommodate her huge, swollen belly without completely separating their embrace.

"Feeling better now?" she asked.

"Hm."

"I'm glad." She smiled and caressed his cheek before tracing the long, jagged scar on his face. "I may not know what you're going through but I hope that you'll always do this whenever something is bugging you—come to me until you feel better. I'm your wife now, Nikolai. I may not have the power to help you solve your problems but...at least I can give you a warm home and loving family to return to after a hard day."

Lu Zihao's dark, stormy eyes saw through her sincerity. "You're too fucking good for someone like me, Long Jinjing."

"Don't say that. I just love you, that's all."

"Love, huh."

Lu Zihao felt his chest tighten from an emotion that he would rather not explore.

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1333

In another part of the mansion at the hospital wing, Iris opened her reddened eyes and finally seemed to have regained her full consciousness.

She turned her head to the side and saw her husband sleeping while sitting on a chair with his head on her bed. Their hands were clasped together. He looked so uncomfortable that it made her heart ache.

She shifted to take a closer look at him but her movement alerted him. He awoke with a start. His first concern was her condition as always.

"Love, how are you feeling?" he asked while already checking her temperature with the back of his hand.

She smiled. "I'm fine. How are the twins?"

He paused.

"You haven't checked on them?" she asked, frowning.

He didn't answer.

She sighed but didn't bother scolding him. She had already long known that she was her husband's first priority always. It was a good thing that they were both privileged to have trustworthy people who could watch over their babies in their stead.

"Little Mochi and Little Matcha must be missing us, their mom and dad," she said. "Ketchup."

"Here, Mommy! The cute and mighty Ketchup is here! Meow~"

"How are your twin baby brothers?"

"Little Baby Mochi and Little Baby Matcha have been crying for almost the entire day! They only stop crying when they get tired or hungry. Oh, my poor baby brothers! Ketchup feels so sad for them! Meowuwuwu!"

Iris' heart ached after hearing how her twin babies missed her and their dad. Jin Liwei also looked pained.

"Go check on our babies first, darling," she told him.

"I don't want to leave you alone."

"I won't be alone. I have Ketchup and the doctor does regular checks on me. Please, darling. I'm fine now. Our babies need you more."

Jin Liwei's mouth pressed into a thin line but he still nodded.

"Thank you, Liwei."

He stroked her head. "Are you really okay?"

She knew that he wasn't asking about her physical condition but about her emotional state after what happened last night. The bombshell that her big brother dropped last night was too gigantic. She needed time to process it.

"Go check on our babies first," she could only say to her husband. "We'll...talk about the other thing later."

He studied her expression for a few more moments before nodding again. "Alright."

After he left, Dom soon came to replace him. Jin Liwei didn't want her to be alone for too long.

Dom's lively chatter made Iris temporarily forget about last night's shocking bombshell. The best friends chatted while Dom helped her eat some freshly cooked rice porridge.

Afterwards, Dom left the room to give her privacy while she pumped milk. The female doctor accompanied her instead while also checking her condition.

"How long do I need to stay here in the hospital wing?" Iris asked.

"Young Madam's condition has now stabilized," the doctor replied. "But I want you to stay here for another night for additional monitoring just to make sure that everything is really fine."

Iris sighed. "I understand. I just miss my babies so much."

The doctor smiled in understanding. "I know, Young Madam. But please don't worry. Your mother-in-law and the others are taking great care of the two little masters. They're in good hands."

When the doctor left with the newly-pumped breast milk, Dom also returned.

"I'm going to take a nap, Dom."

"Go ahead, Boss. Don't mind me. I'll just quietly do some work here."

With that, Iris closed her eyes but she didn't fall asleep right away. She continued thinking about everything that happened.

Saying that last night was a huge shock was an understatement.

Hearing from her own brother's mouth that her corpse, Evelina Vetrova's dead body, was still being kept by other people like some kind of a rare collectible creeped her out to no end. It disgusted her!

What kind of sick people would do that? Did they treat her corpse as a prize of war after claiming victory for annihilating the Vetrovs?

Although she didn't want to care about her old body especially now that she was living a happy life as Long Xiulan, she couldn't help but feel violated. Try as she might not to let it affect her, rage started bubbling inside her.

She had no idea what the enemies did to her body. She didn't want to think about it because she might literally choke from fury.

If that was what those sick people did to her body when she wasn't even an active member in the Vetrov organization, then she could only imagine what kind of horror the bodies of her parents and brother received.

This...was unforgivable.

The Vetrovs were not saints. Many had called them the Devils on Earth for many generations.

Their downfall could only be considered as retribution for all the sins they committed.

Before last night, Iris had believed that the Vetrovs—all of them, including her—deserved being wiped out from the face of the planet.

Now, however, she found herself changing her way of thinking.

Yes, the Vetrovs were evil. That was a fact.

But were the forces who partook in their annihilation the saviours of humanity? They might have done a good deed by erasing a big source of evil from the world, but did they deserve all the righteous praise and glory?

Profitting off the Vetrovs' treasures and resources after the powerhouse's downfall was understandable. It was common sense in war.

She wasn't expecting for the enemies to give the Vetrovs a proper burial or anything like that after killing them all off. However, she found it unacceptable that her body and who knew if the bodies of her parents and her brother's or other important figures in the Vetrov organization had also been collected and were still being kept by the enemies until this day.

For her, this was desecration of the dead.

Yes, the Vetrovs were evil but the forces that annihilated them weren't any different.

Iris opened her eyes. They flashed with contempt.

Fine, if her past life refused to let her go in peace, then she could only face it head on and use her own strength to break all of the chains holding her back one by one.

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1334

For the sake of a peaceful life with her husband and their family, Iris decided that she needed to stop running away. The shadows from her past life as a Vetrov kept on following her in the most unexpected ways and disrupting her current happy life.

At this rate, she would never attain full peace of mind to pursue all her passions and continue raising a happy family that she didn't have the opportunity to experience in her past life as Evelina Vetrova.

In her past life, she did her best to escape from her responsibilities as a Vetrov descendant. Even when she couldn't physically escape, her mind shut itself close from the hellish kingdom on earth that the Vetrovs created and reigned supreme as the number one criminal family in the international underworld.

She thought that by becoming reborn as a completely different person in the body of Long Xiulan, she had finally freed herself from the heavy shackles of her past life as Evelina Vetrova.

It seemed that she was completely wrong.

Facts proved that her karma was still deeply connected to her past life. No matter how much she tried to avoid it, her past life would still always find a way to encroach on her current life.

'I can't continue running away like this. What if something from my past life surfaces again but I'm not prepared to block it in time and endanger my family? I'm a mother now. I can't gamble with chance when it comes to my children. I have to always be prepared for the worst so that no matter what happens in the future, my children will always be safe.'

Jin Liwei called her brave. She wanted to prove to herself that she was indeed brave by no longer running away.

As she finally fell asleep, she didn't notice that her chaotic mind went completely calm. So calm that she didn't even dream.

Something clicked inside her, as if an unused gear started rattling before finally moving in action. The neglected part of her old soul lit up and started assimilating to her current self.

The next day, Iris woke up feeling better than she had ever felt before. Her fever was completely gone. Thank goodness.

She sat up and stretched, feeling herself brimming with energy.

Her movements awakened Jin Liwei who once again accompanied her throughout the night. This time, he was lying in bed beside her. Compared to her, he looked disheveled and exhausted.

She beamed at him. "Good morning!"

Her enthusiasm infected him. His sleepy gaze softened and the corners of his mouth curved up. "Morning, beautiful."

After a light breakfast of nutritious chicken noodle soup, the doctor finally cleared Iris' health. The husband and wife left the hospital wing and headed directly to their master suite to clean themselves up.

While Iris was doing her daily morning skincare routine in front of the vanity mirror, Jin Liwei continued observing her.

"Are you really okay now?" he asked while putting on his clothes.

She looked at his reflection on the mirror. "Yes. Honestly, I feel excellent. I don't know if it's a positive effect of falling sick which forced me to take a rest. My mind feels clearer and sharper."

He studied her expression and judged that she must be telling the truth about her current condition. "That's...good. Evelina, about the other night...."

"Since my brother says that the enemies have my dead body in their possession, then it must be true. Big Brother wouldn't lie about something grave like that to me."

He stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "So...how do you feel about this...entire situation?"

"Do you think that I should leave it and let those people keep my body until the end of time?"

"No!" His expression turned ugly. "Evelina, I can't—"

"I know, I can't do it either." She patted his hand on her shoulder. "It's not only my body. I want to know what happened to my brother's body...as well as our parents'."

Jin Liwei did his best not to react but her sharp eyes still noticed the way he flicked his eyes away for a moment to avoid looking at her.

She froze and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Liwei, do you know something? Did my brother tell you anything about it?"

He kissed her head. "Don't overthink it, love. Let's hurry and finish up. The twins miss their mom so much. Little Matcha was easy to coax and stopped crying when I held him yesterday. His elder twin brother is a little harder to deal with. Little Mochi wants his mommy. The little guy even tried sucking my chest while I was consoling him."

This topic about their babies almost distracted her but Iris wasn't stupid. It was obvious that Jin Liwei had something to hide from her. She grabbed his hand before he could leave to grab a pair of socks.

"Liwei, tell me."

He pressed his lips together and looked at her. When it was clear that she wouldn't budge, he sighed and revealed what his brother-in-law told him the other night.

"While you were killed on the spot that night, it was most likely because the enemies knew that you weren't directly involved in running the Vetrov organization. That wasn't the case for your parents and brother. They...uh, how should I say this?"

"You mean they were tortured," she said in flat tone. "I was killed on the spot as an act of mercy. Hah."

She sneered even as her eyes turned red.

Her dry laughter was filled with a combination of fury, mockery, and sorrow which made Jin Liwei's heart ache. Seeing her like this felt even more painful than when she cried.

He pulled her into his arms. "Whatever you want to do, I'll support you. My only request is that you prioritize your safety."

"Don't worry, Liwei. I won't put myself or any of us in danger. Both of us need to live long for our children. I don't want them to grow up as orphans."

"En, good."

She took a few deep breaths and soon regained a calm state of mind.. Jin Liwei noticed that she

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1335

Iris finished up her skincare routine (all Orchidia Beauty products, newly stocked and available online) and looked at her husband who was still observing her as if worried that she might suddenly collapse again. She gave him a reassuring smile.

They clasped their hands and walked the short distance to the nursery room together. Upon reaching their destination, they stopped at the door and didn't enter right away.

"Something wrong, love?" Jin Liwei asked.

She squeezed his hand. "I'm curious but I won't ask you anymore about the specific details of what my brother told you. Knowing him, the truth must have been many times worse than what he decided to tell you. I don't need to know everything about it. It's enough for me to know that all of our previous bodies had been desecrated after our deaths."

He raised her hand and kissed it, trying to transmit his own warmth and support to her through his lips. "Like I always tell you, I'll always stay right here beside you no matter what you decide to do. Just like what we vowed during our marriage, we are partners in life."

Her throat became choked with emotion. She nodded and leaned to him for a hug.

The door opened. Huang Yuyan was startled to find her son and daughter-in-law right outside the door. She pressed her hand over her chest.

"Hai, you too! You almost scared your old mother to death!" But right after scolding them, Huang Yuyan immediately pulled Iris and examined her all over. "Xiulan my dear, I was so worried about you! Are you really okay now?"

"Yes, Mother. Sorry to worry you."

"Don't mention it, my dear. Your health is more important."

"And also thank you for taking care of the twins, Mother. I heard that they gave you a hard time yesterday."

Huang Yuyan sighed but there was a doting smile on her face. "Indeed, my poor grandsons missed their mom so much that they didn't stop crying! That's why you need to take better care of your health, Xiulan. Your babies need you!"

"I understand, Mother."

Iris allowed her mother-in-law to pull her inside the nursery. Jin Liwei trailed behind them. The nannies greeted them before leaving so that the family could spend time together.

"Oh, my babies." Iris immediately went over to kiss her twins. Her eyes watered from missing her babies too much even if she had been gone from their side for only a day.

It was obvious that the babies missed her as well. The twins' vision had now improved and could now stare at people's faces at a close range.

Little Mochi couldn't stop smiling as soon as he saw his mother's face. The pacifier flew out of his mouth but he didn't care. He kept on waving his mittened hands and kicking his socked feet from excitement.

Even the usually quiet Little Matcha was also smiling and followed his mother with his eyes. He looked just like his father whenever Jin Liwei stared at Iris. Unlike his older twin brother who almost couldn't contain his excitement and was waving his little limbs all over the place, Little Matcha continued to obediently lie down on his back.

The babies' toothless smiles melted Iris' heart. They were fraternal twins so they didn't look the same at all. Even their personalities were completely different from each other. Despite this, Iris felt emotional that they were both equally excited to see her after only a day of absence.

Iris and Jin Liwei took turns holding their twins while Huang Yuyan updated her daughter-in-law about how her grandsons fared yesterday without their mother.

After Huang Yuyan left the nursery to let the parents enjoy their babies without an elder like her, Iris once again promised that she would work on improving her health so that what happened yesterday wouldn't happen again. It wasn't just her who suffered whenever she collapsed but also her husband and especially their little babies.

"Poor Little Mochi and Little Matcha," she cooed at her smiling twins. "Mommy is so sorry for leaving you yesterday."

Ice Cream gave her a disgruntled meow as if complaining about how her absence caused her precious baby brothers to cry nonstop yesterday. However, the fat, grey cat still rubbed herself all over her mommy.

"Thank you for looking after your baby brothers, Ice Cream. Such a responsible eldest sister."

Ice Cream responded by rubbing her big, fluffy head against her mommy before returning to the crib to continue guarding her twin baby brothers.

Jin Liwei stroked his eldest feline daughter who immediately started purring.

Iris felt a deep sense of fulfillment watching her family together in their home. The Vetrovs had amassed wealth far beyond what she or Jin Liwei currently have but she had never felt richer than she did right at this moment.

The feeling of richness didn't come from their current financial situation but rather from the happy family that they built together. To her, this was far more important than anything in the whole world.

Later, the parents finally put their babies to sleep.

"Liwei, we have to become stronger," Iris said. "More powerful, more prepared."

"En." Jin Liwei didn't need her to explain what she meant. He already understood.

"This sense of complacency can't go on. Even though I don't plan on openly declaring war against the enemies of the Vetrovs, I just can't let them continue to live in peace after what they had done. I accept that the Vetrovs deserve retribution but I believe that the enemies don't deserve to enjoy the power and riches they plundered after annihilating the former top dog either. If the Vetrovs deserved to be wiped out, then those criminal organizations including the government forces that secretly colluded with them deserved to be erased from this planet as well.

"I know that it's almost close to impossible to extinguish every single criminal group in the world but at least the world will be a so much better place without the biggest criminal organizations that have the power to control entire economies and reign like kings of their own nations."

Jin Liwei asked, "You mean big groups like the Alcatraz Organización?"

She nodded.

"Overthrowing a huge criminal organization like Alcatraz is a difficult task but not impossible.. If the Vetrovs can fall, so can Alcatraz," he said.

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1336

Back at Wei Lan's property, René Alejandro was in a bad mood. He had been in a terrible mood since his birthday bash ended. Because of Emilio Miguel, the damned Matador, Wei Lan left the country and went on a massive shopping spree across Asia. She hadn't been back since then.

René Alejandro tried enticing her to return with the promise of getting her another "heirloom" but she refused. It seemed that Emilio Miguel really had upset her.

But now that her shopping spree had been taking this long, René Alejandro suspected that she was just using her grudge against Emilio Miguel to travel across Asia and continue enjoying herself.

He discovered that her son-in-law, Liam Jin, had been sending her a monthly allowance for her shopping spree. This could only mean that Liam didn't want his mother-in-law to return so soon to meet her grandsons. As expected, Wei Lan continued prolonging her Asian travels so that her son-in-law would keep on sending her a monthly allowance.

Because of her refusal to return, René Alejandro's plans were all messed up. Although his highly-publicized birthday bash allowed him to become acquainted with many members of the country's high society, business and media elites, his main priority remained the same. He needed to wriggle his way inside Liam Jin and Sir Lu Jianhong's close circles.

Wei Lan was an important tool in achieving this mission. He would always accompany her whenever she visited her daughter and son-in-law. But now that she was gone, he had no reason to continue visiting Liam and Iris without arousing the couple's suspicions.

Yu Mo was a good friend who always made it a point to hang out with him. René Alejandro tried hinting a few times without being direct for Yu Mo to bring him to meet Liam and Iris' newborn twins. Contrary to his expectations, Yu Mo pretended not to understand and deliberately changed the subject.

At first, René Alejandro thought that the man was just too dumb to understand his indirect hints but after a few tries, he realized that Yu Mo wasn't so stupid after all.

It seemed that he had miscalculated Yu Mo's intelligence level. Indeed, the guy was friendly but he was still extremely loyal and protective of his true sworn brothers.

"Damn it!" René Alejandro kicked the couch in the guest house.

"Patience, brother."

"We have already come this far. These hurdles are only to be expected."

"Not every mission will go smoothly, brother. So do not become discouraged so soon."

His brothers encouraged him.

René Alejandro took a deep breath and tamped down on his growing frustrations. He forced himself to calm down and nodded at his brothers.

"You are right, my brothers. It is just hard for me to get over the fact the Emilio Miguel always seem to destroy my plans. The man is a big asshole, no?"

His brothers grimaced at the mention of Emilio Miguel. They, too, couldn't forget how Emilio Miguel belittled all of them for being hackers. They felt insulted by the Matador. The man's angelic beauty was a complete opposite of his black, rotten heart.

"For now, we should all focus on things that we can do. Wei Lan will eventually come back. We should not depend entirely on her."

"I agree. Wei Lan is an extremely shallow woman. And that makes it very easy to control her. But at the same time, her impulsive nature also makes her unpredictable and prone to messing up our plans like what we have to deal with right now."

René Alejandro nodded. His brothers were correct.

"How about we ask Uncle to tell Wei Lan to return here as soon as possible? Wei Lan is completely in love with her husband. I am sure that she will listen to Uncle."

René Alejandro frowned. "This is my mission. There is no need to disturb Papá for something trivial like this, no? And if the other higher-ups learn that I had to ask Papá for help, it will surely reflect badly on my record. I cannot risk it. There is no way that I will allow that damned Matador to get another leg up ahead of me. It will only reinforce his misconceptions that we, hackers, are lower level than on-the-ground agents like him."

"That makes sense. I'm sorry for giving such a stupid suggestion, brother. I didn't think it through."

René Alejandro and his brothers re-worked their current plans to accommodate Wei Lan's absence. The situation wasn't grave so there really was no need for them to panic. It was just annoying.

After the brainstorming session, they returned to their other tasks. The most immediate one was to find out who dumped Jin Chenggong at one of their hideouts. This particular hideout wasn't the same one where Rose Young was staying and pretending to be a married couple with Emilio Miguel.

Jin Chenggong, the fallen member of the Jin clan who was disowned by Liam Jin for being a traitor, was found unconscious at the hideout's door. At first, the guards there didn't recognize the emaciated old man at all. It was only when Emilio Miguel personally came over to check that he identified the half-dead person to be Jin Chenggong.

The former proud member of the Jin clan and Jin Corporation's board of directors was now reduced to this. Jin Chenggong's tongue was cut out and all his limbs especially his fingers were also all broken, a few of them were even amputated. But the biggest damage he received was on his sanity. Emilio Miguel tried many methods to communicate with Jin Chenggong and gain even just a single helpful clue about who did this to him but to no avail.

Emilio Miguel could only conclude that the people who did this to Jin Chenggong had similar high-level torture methods as their organization. Actually, maybe even higher level because the results were so horrendous that Matador couldn't help but feel impressed.

In the end, Emilio Miguel ordered to scrap that particular hideout. It wasn't safe anymore. They brought the insane Jin Chenggong to another hideout. For now, Emilio Miguel would keep him alive until they deemed him useless. Then he would ultimately meet his painful end.

And dying in the hands of the Matador? Oh, it wouldn't be pretty.

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1337

They had already been investigating the identity of the people who kidnapped Jin Chenggong and dumped him at one of their hideouts for more than three months now. René Alejandro and his hacker team were doing everything they could to scour the national surveillance system but the perpetrators were several steps ahead of them.

The national surveillance system had been secretly compromised to erase evidence and inject fake footage. The change was so seamless that nobody noticed it despite regular checks. It was only because of René Alejandro and his brothers' skills that they even noticed it in the first place.

Just based on this alone, they couldn't determine for sure which hacker did it. However, they suspected that it might be Drakon and his two irritating disciples, WhiteTigress and BlackPanther, based on the fact that this hacker team already had history of helping and protecting Jin Corporation.

Since Jin Chenggong was a Jin, albeit a disowned one, and his crime was betraying his clan and Jin Corporation, René Alejandro could only think of Drakon as the most likely hacker to help get rid of this traitor.

The problem was that the job done on the national surveillance system was so clean that René Alejandro and his brothers couldn't find any identifying traces of the specific hacker who silently and secretly made the changes without triggering alerts.

In the end, their efforts led to a dead end.

René Alejandro felt frustrated because Emilio Miguel continued disparaging his team for being useless. Of course, he didn't take the insult lying down. He retaliated and said that Emilio Miguel's team was useless as well for not finding any physical clues about who dumped Jin Chenggong and how they did it.

Regardless of their hostile rivalry, both of them were still aware that they had a common mission.

Jin Chenggong alone wasn't a threat. What they were the most concerned about was how the perpetrators learned about their hideout and knew how to dump Jin Chenggong there. They had been extremely careful and yet this kind of mistake still happened.

In addition to digging clues about the people who kidnapped Jin Chenggong, they were also doing internal investigations as well.

One possibility was that there was a traitor among them who divulged information about them to the unknown enemy.

Another possibility was that the enemy was extremely skillful, perhaps even more skilled than them.

Both René Alejandro and Emilio Miguel leaned towards the first possibility—that there was a traitor.

They could always force traitors to reveal themselves before imposing punishment on them. As their organization grew larger and more powerful than ever before, it was already expected for some of their members to begin developing thoughts of betrayal.

As for the second possibility, that the enemy was more skilled than them, their pride as members of their organization automatically made them want to dismiss this idea.

Unless the former top dog of the international underworld was resurrected from the deepest pits of hell, then it was impossible for other criminal groups to defeat their organization. Other criminal groups needed to band together first before they could threaten their organization's current existence. And that was something that they wouldn't allow to happen no matter what.

"Emil is becoming more and more impatient. He keeps on rushing us to produce results. If we don't, he's threatening to kill Jin Chenggong."

René Alejandro rolled his eyes. "If that maniac wants to kill Jin Chenggong, then he should just do it. Why keep on threatening us with that man's life? It is not like we care about that traitor. Emilio Miguel is the one who is going to be in trouble with the higher-ups if he really kills Jin Chenggong without permission. We are just going to receive a slap on our wrists, no?"

"Yes, but I'm also getting annoyed at the lack of progress in our investigation! Can we pin the blame on Liam Jin if we reveal Jin Chenggong's current condition and what he went through to the public?"

René Alejandro pursed his lips before answering his brother's question. "That was the original plan but Liam already had a set of airtight preparations that makes it difficult for us to pin the blame on him. Even before Jin Chenggong disappeared, Liam already handed clear evidence of Jin Chenggong's betrayal directly to the Chief of Police in secret and even implied that he might be framed if something bad happens to Jin Chenggong.

"Of course, the evidence is clean and doesn't contain any information about us. The Youngs' involvement aren't included either. Even if Liam suspects the Youngs, he can't do anything about them because the Youngs are holding Jin Corporation's Singapore branch as hostage. Any wrong move and the Youngs can sabotage Jin Corporation's influence in Asia. Liam wouldn't dare to risk it, no?

"In addition, Liam was the one who reported Jin Chenggong as a missing person to the police. He also mobilized the Jin clan's other branch families to help in the search, but of course, nobody succeeded in locating him. On the contrary, they ended up digging more incriminating evidence of Jin Chenggong's betrayal. To his clan members, the police and the public, Liam has already demonstrated his benevolence as the clan leader by doing all of this for a traitor.

"What's more, he showed mercy to Jin Chenggong's family—his wife and daughter—by sending them abroad with a group of bodyguards. He'll also be the one paying for the salaries of the bodyguards so the wife and daughter didn't need to worry about any of that. The mother and daughter won't live in luxury anymore but at least they won't have to face the humiliation of wearing the label of a traitor's family if they insisted on staying here."

One of his brothers commented, "Bodyguards? More like jail guards to keep an eye on the mother and daughter!"

"True, my brother." René Alejandro nodded and chuckled. His two deep dimples appeared on both cheeks, instantly transforming him into a charming prince charming. "Liam is not the head of Jin Corporation for nothing.. Although we haven't confirmed that he has something to do with kidnapping and torturing Jin Chenggong, just the preliminary preparations he had in place to shift potential accusations away from him are already enough proof of his cunning intellect and skillful maneuvers."

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1338

René Alejandro leaned back on his seat and faced his brothers as he continued saying, "It does not really matter whether Liam had a hand in kidnapping and torturing Jin Chenggong or not. Jin Chenggong, his clansman, betrayed Liam. It is only natural that he would want revenge, no? Even we do worse things in our organization if one of our comrades betray us. Things such as forgiving and forgetting are unnatural dogma used by societies and religions to control people."

One of his brothers asked him, "You sound as if you like Liam?"

The dimpled Spaniard shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure if I 'like' him. But I do know that I do not hate the man. I have met Liam several times already and I can sense that he is a reliable and responsible person. He is the type of person who gets the job done no matter what comes his way. If he were a member of our organization, I would want someone steady like him in our team."

"It is very rare for somebody else to earn such high praises from you, brother," another commented.

René Alejandro shrugged again. "I do not think that I am praising him that much, no? This is me just being honest. But do not worry, my brothers. I know my limits and how not to allow my personal opinions to taint our mission. Liam still remains our target. No matter what kind of opinions I have about the man, I will not show any mercy when it is time for us to attack."

Their conversation stopped at this point. They returned to their task.

The sun had long set outside but they didn't notice or care. Even when their stomachs began to growl, they continued working away in their investigations like busy bees.

As the team leader, it was René Alejandro's responsibility to look after his members and make sure that they were well enough to continue working. He should be ordering for some food for all of them right now but it slipped out of his mind.

Just now, he found a small clue. He wasn't sure if it would be helpful or useless but finding anything at this point was already good after fumbling without any results for more than three months. All of them were working on this tiny clue.

"Got it!" René Alejandro pumped his hand in the air.

His brothers followed his opening.

"Mr. Z? That elusive leader of the relatively new group in this country?"

René Alejandro nodded but then frowned after a few moments. "This bastard!"

"He deliberately left this clue for us to find."

"Insolent asshole," René Alejandro muttered and laughed without humour.

All of them felt played. They had been working their asses to find a clue—any clue at all—and yet what they found was a deliberate "present" left for them.

Wasn't it this a clear provocation?

'Hey, I know that you won't find any clue no matter how much you try, so I'll leave this little something for you because you're so pitiful. Then you'll give me more challenge so I won't be bored.'

René Alejandro could image the mysterious Mr. Z saying these irritating words. He continued laughing, this time from frustration.

"Well played, Mr. Z. Well fucking played!"

He glanced at his brothers and saw that they were as equally frustrated as him.

"We'll focus our investigations on this Mr. Z next," he told them. "But we eat dinner first, yes?"

Dragon Palace Home #10.

It was a morning like any other. Long Jinjing woke up alone in bed. The other side of the bed was already cold but she could still smell her husband's masculine scent all over the sheets.

She inhaled Lu Zihao's scent and stayed in bed for a few more minutes before getting up. Her husband must be in the training grounds again. She knew that he was very strict on his daily physical training. Knowing this, she didn't feel disappointed anymore to wake up without him lying beside her.

Besides, she woke up later in the morning ever since she took a maternity leave from work. Lu Zihao had a large appetite. She couldn't just expect him to wait for her to wake up so that they could eat breakfast together. If the man starved, his already temperamental mood would only become worse.

After freshening up and struggling into her day clothes, she was about to head out of the bedroom when she felt a rather strong contraction.

She froze.

Then nothing.

She sighed and stroked her huge belly. It had already been a few days since she started having this kind of intermittent contractions. They were nothing too painful but still made her panic at first. However, the doctor assured her that some pregnant women experienced false contractions like her.

Thinking that this was yet another false contraction, she headed out in the hallway and made her way to the informal dining area where they usually ate together.

There was nobody there when she arrived. The staff served her a simple yet nutritious breakfast. She learned that everyone else had eaten breakfast except for her younger sister. It seemed that her sister Xiulan was still sleeping after taking care of the twins during the night.

As she started with the hot soup first, she experienced another contraction. She stiffened but like before, everything seemed to be okay afterwards.

"Good morning, Big Sister," Iris greeted as she arrived to join her for breakfast.

The sisters chatted with each other while eating. Long Jinjing ate a lot. Her weight gain still continued to give her low self-esteem but she no longer obsessed about it after registering her marriage with Lu Zihao. All her friends in the girl squad also made sure to shower her with encouraging words.

After breakfast, the sisters planned to spend time the rest of the morning with Little Mochi and Little Matcha at the nursery room. Long Jinjing loved her twin nephews. They looked so adorable. Seeing the fraternal twins, she wondered if her own twins would also be fraternal or would they be identical instead.

"Excited?" Iris asked while looking at her huge belly.

Long Jinjing smiled.. "Very."

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1339

"You've already held it longer than me," Iris said. "Little Mochi and Little Matcha were both so impatient to come out. It was a good thing that they were already well-developed even though they didn't reach their actual due date. I'm so relieved."

"My nephews are just like you, little sister," Long Jinjing replied with a laugh. "They are both so strong-willed once they decide on something. They wanted to come out early and so they did just that."

Iris chuckled. "True."

Long Jinjing stroked her swollen belly as she toddled beside his sister. Iris also slowed down to match Long Jinjing's pace.

Then something gushed below.

Iris looked down and saw a small puddle of water on Long Jinjing's feet. Long Jinjing couldn't see it because her huge belly was obstructing her view but she could definitely feel the wetness between her thighs trickling down her legs.

"Big Sister!" Iris immediately supported her. "Ketchup, call my brother! Tell him that his wife's water just broke!"

"Aye aye, Mommy! Hold on, Auntie Jinjing! Meowhoosh!"

Iris called for help. Two guards patrolling the vicinity immediately carried Long Jinjing.

"I...I'm f-fine, actually," Long Jinjing stammered, feeling embarrassed at being carried by the guards. Granted, one of them was female so it wasn't too uncomfortable but it still felt awkward for her.

"How are you feeling, Big Sister?" Iris asked while following them. "Any pain?"

Long Jinjing paused and tried focusing on how she felt. "Uhm, actually, no pain...yet, I think."

Iris didn't believe her at all. She still remembered how much pain she endured when she went into labour to Little Mochi and Little Matcha and thought that Long Jinjing was just trying to reassure her.

While they were rushing to the hospital wing, Iris made sure to alert the doctor and the rest of the medical team. She also contacted Grandpa Lu and even Sun Jingfei, Long Jinjing's mother.

Lu Zihao was already waiting at the hospital wing when they arrived. Since he had been in the training grounds when Ketchup informed him about his wife, he was soaked with sweat.

Iris wrinkled her nose and stopped him from taking Long Jinjing from the two guards. "Go take a quick shower first, Big Brother. You stink! Do you want your wife to be contaminated with bad bacteria while she's giving birth? Don't worry. I'll stay here with Big Sister."

At first, Lu Zihao wanted to insist on staying with his wife no matter what. He didn't want to miss anything while she was in labour or when she started giving birth later. However, his sister's words still penetrated through his jumbled thoughts. Indeed, it was important to protect his wife from any harmful bacteria or viruses while she gave birth.

"Fine, but don't you dare leave her alone!"

"Of course, don't worry, Big Brother," Iris replied in a calm manner, not at all minding his harsh tone.

Lu Zihao gave Long Jinjing a hard kiss. "Wait for me. I'll be back real soon, hm?"

Long Jinjing nodded. "Okay."

Lu Zihao gave his sister another meaningful look before literally running to take a quick shower.

The doctor and medical team arrived in no time. Everything had already been set up for Long Jinjing right after when Iris gave birth. Long Jinjing stayed in the same delivery room.

Soon, Grandpa Lu also arrived but the old man didn't go inside the delivery room but stayed in the waiting lounge outside instead. Later, Dom and Jiang Ying Yue arrived together. Dom stayed with Grandpa Lu in the waiting lounge while Jiang Ying Yue joined Iris to accompany Long Jinjing inside the delivery room.

By this time, the labour pains started. Long Jinjing paled and closed her eyes to endure.

"Ni-nikolai..." Long Jinjing groaned.

"Huh, what did she say?" Jiang Ying Yue asked.

"Nothing," Iris said smoothly. She wasn't surprised by what Long Jinjing said but her gaze still turned thoughtful. "I think she's just mumbling nonsense from the pain."

"I see. Poor thing." Jiang Ying Yue wiped the sweat off her groaning friend.

Both Iris and Jiang Ying Yue already experienced the pain of childbirth so they could relate to what Long Jinjing was going through right now.

True to his word, Lu Zihao returned very quickly after showering. His hair was still damp and his clothes had some wet spots. It was obvious that he didn't dry himself properly in his rush.

"Ni-niko—"

"Yes, I'm here." Lu Zihao held his wife's hand and stayed beside her.

Iris and Jiang Ying Yue left the husband and wife to give them privacy inside the delivery room before joining the others in the waiting lounge. When they came out, Jin Liwei was also there.

"You're done with work?" Iris asked her husband.

"En." He pulled her to sit beside him.

Jin Liwei had been working remotely at home as much as possible. He gave himself a semi-paternity leave. Although he couldn't take a long, full break from work because he was the head of a huge multinational corporation, there was no way in hell that he was going to miss the first few months of his twin babies' life for work. He didn't want to pull a Long Tengfei stunt and become an absent father.

If given a choice, he would choose his family over the company hands down.

Fortunately, he didn't need to make such a choice. He had a beautiful genius wife who understood and supported his dedication of continuing Grandfather Jin and Grandpa Lu's legacy by running Jin Corporation before passing it on to the next generation.

"Don't worry about my work," he reassured his wife. "Your husband can handle it."

"Okay, darling." Iris smiled at him.

"Mother is taking care of the twins with the nannies. Little Jun and the cats are also with them."

She released a big sigh of relief. "That's good."

Jin Liwei nuzzled her head.

Iris glanced at the closed delivery room door. "I hope that Big Sister Jinjing don't suffer too much like I did."

He didn't answer. His brother-in-law was inside with Long Jinjing. Jin Liwei wasn't that worried about Long Jinjing because she had a rather smooth pregnancy compared to his wife.

To be honest, he was more worried about the doctor and the medical staff than Long Jinjing.. Knowing his brother-in-law, Jin Liwei could only pray for the doctor and the medical staff's safety.

His Genius Wife is a Superstar Chapter 1340

Inside the delivery room, Lu Zihao thought that he was ready for this day. But now that it finally arrived, he couldn't stop the feelings of panic and worry from messing up his logical mind.

He could watch people die right in front of him with cold eyes and without feeling any ripples in his heart, and yet just watching his wife whimpering in pain was enough to make his heart tremble. His expression was so dark and ugly that the doctor and the medical team were already trembling.

The doctor could still take it because she was the one who interacted with the couple the most during Long Jinjing's regular prenatal medical check-ups. The other members of the medical team, however, didn't have enough time to build the barest immunity against Lu Zihao's frightening aura.

In-between the increasingly painful contractions, Long Jinjing noticed the tense atmosphere between her husband and the medical staff. She patted Lu Zihao's big, scarred hand.

"Ni—Zihao, d-don't scare the doctor and her team, okay?" she whispered.

Lu Zihao's scowl worsened as he turned to the medical staff. "Am I scaring you?"

The doctor was still okay but the others jumped at his question.

Wuwuwu. He looked so scary! Mama, they didn't want to stay in the same room as this scary man anymore. Wuwuwu!

Despite feeling like this deep inside, they still shook their heads and maintained their professionalism. There was no way that they would quit this job. Although the doctor was the only permanent staff of the hospital wing and the rest of them were only hired part-time when needed, the pay they received here was something that they couldn't possibly earn at their regular clinic and hospital jobs even after promotions.

Seeing the medical staff's obvious fright, Long Jinjing felt sorry for them. She continued persuading her husband but he continued acting scary. At this rate, the medical staff might faint from fright even before helping her give birth to her babies.

The next sudden painful contraction made her cry out in pain.

"What the fuck are you all doing?!" Lu Zihao roared. "Look at my wife! She's in so much pain! Fucking do something!"

The doctor already had enough of him. Even though she was extremely afraid of Lu Zihao, she still couldn't allow the man to continue yelling at her and her team. In addition, he wasn't their official employer. Jin Liwei and Iris Long were their official employers in the contract they all signed. When it came to situations like this, the doctor knew her rights. She and her team only needed to answer to her official employers.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lu," the doctor said in a firm albeit shaky voice. "But if you continue threatening me and my team, I will have to ask you to leave the delivery room."

"What the fuck did you say?!"

The doctor did her best to stand her ground. "All of us here are qualified medical professionals, hence why Sir Jin and the Young Madam chose to hire us. Remember that we helped Young Madam give birth not too long ago and she has since recovered splendidly. The two little masters were also born without any serious issues. In short, we know what we are doing.

"We understand that Mr. Lu is only acting this way because of your concern for Mrs. Lu but continuously intimidating the medical staff who are just trying to help your wife give birth is not only disruptive but also dangerous. Mr. Lu, you are only adding stress on your wife. All of us should be working hard to reduce stress on Mrs. Lu as much as possible but you are doing the exact opposite. And if kicking you out of the delivery room can give her less stress, then that's what I'll do as the doctor.

"I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Lu. But as the doctor, I have the power to kick out disruptive individuals out of the patient's room even if the individual is the patient's husband."

Lu Zihao's expression was too scary to even describe. The medical staff were too afraid to even look at his shadow.

"Like hell I'll allow you to kick me out and leave my wife alone while she delivers my children," he growled. He glanced at his wife and said, "Tell them that you want me to stay by your side."

Long Jinjing was too preoccupied in enduring the increasingly powerful labour pains. She didn't want to worry about his husband's temperamental mood. After hearing what the doctor said, she agreed with everything.

She was already suffering like this and yet all he could do was to argue with the people helping her to give birth? What if the doctor and her team quit midway? Then wouldn't she have to give birth by herself without medical supervision?

Fine, her husband was an overbearing person but this wasn't the time for him to act like his usual self! What benefit would he receive by acting like a jackass? Nothing! In fact, she would also be implicated as his wife.

Long Jinjing wanted to scold him but she didn't want to waste her precious energy on him. Giving birth to her babies was far more important than dealing with him right now, so she chose to ignore him instead.

If the doctor kicked him out, so be it. The doctor was right, anyway. Long Jinjing didn't need the extra stress.

Unfortunately, Lu Zihao couldn't read her mind. He thought that she would always be on his side.

"Jinjing, hurry and tell the doctor that you want me to stay by your side and that she can't kick me out!"

Long Jinjing finally snapped. Her eyes flashed with anger.

"Niko—Lu Zihao, you motherfucker! Your babies are about to tear my fucking vagina apart and yet you expect ME to care about your trivial matter?! How about you experience trying to push out two new human beings out of your own tiny hole? Let's see if you can still act like a maddening jackass! I need my husband's comfort! If you can't give it to me, then get the fuck out, you useless man!

"I, Long Jinjing, can give birth by myself! I don't need your fucking assholery to add to my stress! Aaaaah! Fuck you, Lu Zihao! It hurts so much!"