Chapter 45: 441 - 450

Chapter 441 - Death Wish

Jin Chonglin removed his manager's hand from his arm.

"Chill, man. I'm just going to chat with my sister-in-law. What's wrong with that? Besides, I'm so nervous for our performance later that I need to talk to her to calm down," he said, looking as relaxed as always, not nervous at all.

Lin Dong rolled his eyes. "Nervous, my ass. I would believe it if those words came from another artist but from Jin Chonglin? No way. You've already performed all over Asia and even in other continents. You certainly have more experience than Iris in performing live and you want to talk to her to calm down? Think of something more believable next time."

Jin Chonglin just shrugged and still moved to enter Iris' dressing room. However, Lin Dong blocked his way with his own body.

"Chonglin! I said let's go to your own dressing room! I know that she's your future sister-in-law but others don't know that. If people saw you entering or exiting her dressing room, it'll surely create even more misunderstanding."

Lin Dong was already made aware of Iris and Jin Liwei's relationship because Jin Chonglin frequently went to Dragon Palace mansion to work with Iris on their music collaboration. As Jin Chonglin's manager, Lin Dong was responsible for checking the progress of anything related to his artist's showbiz career.

One weekend during the summer, Jin Chonglin brought him to Dragon Palace Home #10 to watch him work with Iris. At first, Lin Dong was very impressed that Iris lived in such a palatial property. When he and Jin Chonglin walked into the grand foyer, he saw the large portrait displayed prominently on top of the twin grand staircases. It was obviously a portrait of Iris with her cats...and a very familiar man.

"Huh? Chonglin, is that man Iris' mysterious fiancé?" he asked.

"Uh huh," Jin Chonglin carelessly replied.

"Wow. For a moment, I thought that it was your older brother, CEO Jin. But that's too unbelievable. Ahahaha..."

Jin Chonglin gave him a side-eye. "Unbelievable, huh. But that's actually my big bro."

"Pft! Yeah, right. As if the President-CEO of Jin Corporation, the number one company in the country, would want to marry a mere young singer like Iris Long—"

"Say that again," a cold voice suddenly interrupted Lin Dong's next words like a whip.

Jin Liwei appeared from upstairs. He gave a cold glare at Lin Dong, as he climbed down on one of the twin grand staircases with steady steps. N♡vεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

"Did I just hear you describe my beloved fiancée as a 'mere young singer'? I dare you to say that again in my face." Jin Liwei's tone was so cold that it could freeze hell itself.

"C-CEO Jin!!!"

Lin Dong was shocked out of his wits upon seeing the most powerful man in the country's business world of his generation. He shivered from the enormous pressure of Jin Liwei's cold and intimidating glare.

"Idiot," Jin Chonglin murmured to his manager under his breath.

The tense and heavy atmosphere was interrupted by the loud, welcoming meows of Popcorn. The friendly cat ran towards Jin Chonglin and greeted his uncle with much enthusiasm.

"Hey there, Popcorn." Jin Chonglin immediately started petting the affectionate cat.

"Hm? What's wrong, darling? Why do you look like you want to kill someone? Did Brother Chonglin annoy you again?" they heard Iris' voice say.

She appeared from a side hallway carrying the lazy Ice Cream in her arms. Her eyes were trained at Jin Liwei who was now almost at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oy oy, Sister Xiulan. Why do you always think that it's my fault? It's not me who annoyed Big Bro this time," Jin Chonglin protested, and then carried Popcorn in his arms as well.

Iris tilted her head to the side. "It's because you always annoy my darling whenever you're here. If you're not brothers and we're not working together on an important music collaboration, he would've already thrown you out of here so many times already. Stop trying to tease your older brother so much, Brother Chonglin. He might run out of patience with you, you know."

By this time, Jin Liwei had already reached the bottom of the stairs. She headed directly to him and tilted her head up for a kiss.

Of course, Jin Liwei gave her what she wanted. He pulled her close to him by the waist, careful not to squish Ice Cream between them. Then he dipped his head and gave his baby girla light but lingering kiss on the lips.

As usual, the two didn't care that there were other people around them. They were inside their own home, after all. They could do whatever they wanted. The visitors were the ones who needed to adjust, not them.

"Che... We just arrived and you shameless couple are already drowning us in dogfood," Jin Chonglin muttered.

Lin Dong's shock this time was even more severe than when he first saw Jin Liwei climbing down the stairs a few moments ago. His eyes almost popped out of his head, and his mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish out of water at the unbelievable sight before him.

"C-CEO Jin and Iris Long are e-engaged?!!!"

After that day, Lin Dong never dared to belittle Iris Long ever again or do anything that might offend her.He saw with his own eyes how CEO Jin Liwei doted on her. Anyone who became enemies with her would also automatically become CEO Jin's enemy as well. Who in their right mind would be stupid enough to do that? Not Lin Dong!

That was why he felt so exasperated at Jin Chonglin right now. Back to the present, Lin Dong wanted to smack Jin Chonglin in the head.

Lin Dong leaned close and said in a low voice, "You want your older brother to kill you that much? I saw with my own eyes how much CEO Jin loves Iris Long. I'm telling you this right now, Chonglin. Listen to me and believe me when I say this. If CEO Jin is forced to choose between his woman and his own brother, I'm 200% sure that he'll choose Iris Long over you any time!"

Jin Chonglin scowled. "Tsk. You don't have to tell me. I already know."

"You already know and yet you keep on chasing Iris Long? Do you have a death wish or something?!"

Jin Chonglin's scowl deepened even more. "I'm not chasing her! Watch your words, you bastard. She's my sister-in-law. I'm just being friendly."

Lin Dong looked at the stoic-faced bodyguards guarding the door to Iris' dressing room. He pulled Jin Chonglin away from them. Then in a lower voice so that the bodyguards couldn't hear him, he told Jin Chonglin:

"I think you're acting too friendly with your future sister-in-law. Anyone who sees how you're acting towards her will describe what you're doing as 'flirting'. Is that how a brother-in-law should act towards his sister-in-law? To flirt?"

Jin Chonglin just waved his manager's words away with a dismissive hand. "If you think this is me 'flirting', then you haven't seen me flirt yet. I just like teasing her, that's all. She has become much more expressive lately compared to the detached woman we met after she made her first comeback to showbiz. Besides, it's also fun riling up my brother. I've actually never seen him get so visibly annoyed with me before. It's so refreshing to see him showing so much emotion and all because of a woman."

He chuckled in amusement.

Lin Dong shook his head at him and muttered, "You're gonna get yourself killed one of these days."

Jin Chonglin only laughed even more. He patted his manager's shoulder. "I told you to chill, man. I like teasing both of them, but I know my limits. I might have seduced other men's women before but I would never do that to my own brother. I respect him, you know. I would never steal his woman. I may not be the best person in the world, but I'm not such an immoral person as to cuckold my own brother. So stop colouring my friendliness to Sister Xiulan with your dirty mind. I don't have any ulterior motives towards her."

Lin Dong looked relieved after hearing Jin Chonglin's words. But for some reason, he still couldn't completely rid himself of the bad feeling that kept on bothering him whenever he saw Jin Chonglin interacting with Iris Long. He had been with Jin Chonglin for many years now, so he could immediately tell when something was off about him.

Jin Chonglin would have this deep look in his eyes and his expression would become gentle whenever he was with Iris. Sure, this may just be him as a brother-in-law, but Lin Dong couldn't help but feel bothered about it.

"Tell me, Chonglin. Do you like Iris Long?"

Chapter 442 - Do You Like Her As A Woman?

Jin Chonglin looked surprised by Lin Dong's question, but he made a quick recovery and chuckled.

"Of course, I like her. She'll become my sister-in-law. I have no choice but to like her or my brother will give me hell. Besides, I admire her as a fellow musician. So of course, I like her," he replied, his eyes dancing in amusement.

Lin Dong sighed in exasperation. "That's not what I mean."

"What do you mean then?" Jin Chonglin asked, pretending not to understand what Lin Dong was trying to say.

"I'm asking if you like Iris Long as a woman. I know you already mentioned before that she isn't your type when she was chasing you before, but that was when she was just a teenager. She was like a totally different person that time. She has changed so much since then. Now she has become so much more desirable. If your brother, CEO Jin, isn't already in a relationship with her, would you pursue her?"

Jin Chonglin's playful smile dimmed a bit. His lips might still be smiling, but his eyes certainly weren't. They looked serious.

"Hmm... You just said it yourself. She has become so much more desirable now," he said in a soft voice, almost a whisper. "Who wouldn't want such a beautiful, captivating and talented woman? I know that a lot of men desire her even after knowing that she's already engaged." N♡vεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

Lin Dong frowned, not liking the implication of Jin Chonglin's words.

"Too bad she's already taken by my brother. It might not seem like it to other people because they have never seen my brother in a relationship before, but he's actually very possessive as you've witnessed when I took you to their mansion. He would probably have gouged out our eyes if we looked at Sister Xiulan a few seconds longer than he would allow. He would never let her go, much less allow other men to steal her away from him," Jin Chonglin said.

Then his eyes dimmed even more, but the smile remained on his lips. He continued, "Besides, why would Sister Xiulan want another man when she already has my brother? My brother was the most eligible bachelor in the country before he got engaged. He could give her almost anything and everything she'll ever want in her lifetime."

Lin Dong nodded, agreeing with him. Then he felt confused because Jin Chonglin said so much, but he hadn't really answered his question yet.

"So? Do you like Iris Long as a woman or not?" Lin Dong asked again.

Jin Chonglin's smile completely disappeared, replaced by a deep and serious expression. However, this only lasted for a second before he flashed his killer smile at his manager.

"Of course not! I don't see her that way. She's my sister-in-law. We're going to be family once my brother marries her. My mom and grandma also adore her. They'll all kill me if I do anything indecent to her. Not that I'm planning on doing anything like that," he quickly added. "I just like her as a fellow musician, as a person, and of course as a future sister-in-law."

Lin Dong stared at Jin Chonglin for a long time, trying to determine whether he was lying or not.

No luck.

Once Jin Chonglin made an effort in concealing his real emotions, nobody would know about them. Not even the people closest to him like Lin Dong. In addition to being a skilled musician, Jin Chonglin was quite talented in acting as well.

He had starred in many blockbuster movies and TV dramas throughout his showbiz career. However, he wasn't such a phenomenal actor to win serious acting awards. At the end of the day, he was still a musician. But at least he could act and be believable. This was one of the reasons why he became a superstar in the country, not to mention that he was such a naturally charismatic person and could charm the pants off of almost any person.

Lin Dong could only sigh and tried to toss out his misgivings about the nature of Jin Chonglin's feelings for his future sister-in-law. It was just a very dangerous area to explore, as it could destroy not only the showbiz careers of both Jin Chonglin and Iris Long but also the relationship between flesh and blood brothers.

"Just be careful, Chonglin," he couldn't help but warn.

Jin Chonglin's eyes became serious again but his lips maintained his killer smile. "Of course. Don't worry about this anymore. You're thinking too much. Anyway, let's go to my dressing room. Might as well start preparing now, even though Sister Xiulan and I will be the grand finale and have the most time before our performance later."

The two headed to their own dressing room where the rest of Jin Chonglin's entourage were already waiting for him.

###

A palpable excitement and anticipation ran through the hyped audience as the second to the last performance and its subsequent interview finally ended.

Many thought that this episode of "MusicFest Tonight" would all be about Jin Chonglin and Iris Long, but surprisingly, many of the other artists shone in their performances. They gave their all. A few of them even performed their best tonight.

Even though the audience consisted mostly of the Black Stars and Jin Chonglin's army of fans, they still gave enthusiastic reactions to the other performers. Despite this, not one of them forgot the grand finale performance of the evening.

The show went to a commercial break first, eliciting a groan from the impatiently excited audience, despite knowing that it always happened before the finale act no matter who was performing.

"Uwah! I'm so excited, Big Sis! Soon we'll get to watch Boss Iris perform with a superstar like Prince Lin Lin," Ming Li, a.k.a. LittlePhoenix, bounced on her seat.

"Yes," Zhou Mei'er, a.k.a. CaptainBlackStar, nodded. "Someday, our boss will definitely become a superstar like Jin Chonglin too. No, she'll become an even bigger superstar than him."

The two grinned at each other, feeling like their Boss Iris' successes were their own as well.

Chapter 443 - Shining Eyes

Zhou Mei'er and Ming Li led their fellow Black Stars to raise all of their banners to welcome their Boss Iris. Jin Chonglin's army of fans also did the same.

Almost the entire audience was filled with banners of all sizes showing Iris Long and Jin Chonglin's names and images with messages of support from their adoring fans. It was an impressive sight. The cameras recorded everything, even though the show was still on commercial break. Director He planned on showing these shots once the show resumed.

Finally, the commercial break ended. The two hosts on the side of the stage flashed their best smiles to the camera.

Male host: "Welcome back to 'MusicFest Tonight'!"

Female host: "Wow! Listen to the audience! They're so loud that I can barely hear myself talking! I know that everyone can't wait for the final performers!"

Male host: "How are you feeling, everyone? Are you excited?"

Audience: "YES!!! Iris!!! Lin Lin!!! LinRis!!! LINRIS!!! LINRIS!!!"

Female host: "I think we should hurry up and introduce the grand finale act or the audience might drag us off the stage in their impatience."

Everyone laughed at her joke, temporarily interrupting the audience's loud chants. However, this only lasted for a few seconds before everyone resumed calling for the long-awaited finale performers of the night.

Male host: "Please be quiet so that we can make the introductions..."

The leaders of the Black Stars and Jin Chonglin's army of fans immediately controlled their respective group members. Soon, the entire audience became quiet. Nevertheless, their excitement and anticipation could almost be felt as tangible vibrations in the air.

Even backstage, none of the artists who finished performing earlier left yet. They all stayed in order to watch the finale performance.

Female host: "The moment that you've all been waiting for has finally arrived!"

Male host: "The next performers are award-winning musicians who are considered to be two of the most talented young artists our country has to offer in the field of pop music. Their first collaboration single is the theme song of the highly-anticipated TV drama 'Our Love, Our Destiny'which is currently airing this season."

Female: "Yes. Their new single debuted at #1 in the music charts, demonstrating not only their musical prowess but also the magnitude of their combined popularity across the country."

Male host: "Performing their new hit single together for the first time on live television, please welcome the beautiful Iris Long and the handsome Jin Chonglin singing—"

Both: "Shining Eyes!"

The audience cheered loudly once again. Everyone was on their feet. They waved the banners of their Boss Iris and Prince Lin Lin while screaming in excitement. However, they stopped when the lights suddenly turned off.

A dim light gradually illuminated the chamber orchestra at the back of the stage. There were fewer musicians this time compared to Iris Long's usual full symphony orchestra. There was also a four-piece pop band consisting of an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar and drums. The acoustic guitarist sat prominently on a high stool in front of the other musicians. The grand pianist (not Iris Long this time) also took up the other prominent position. To the side, there were three back-up singers. Two females and one male.

The acoustic guitarist opened the music by fingerpicking his guitar strings to produce a brief but silky five-chord melody. The Spanish-flavoured guitar chords suggested passion, tugging directly at the audience's romantic sensibilities. The audience's anticipation and excitement for the song only increased.

He repeated this action two more times, until the stringed instruments from the orchestra led by the violin began playing softly in the background. The flute joined shortly after, leading the other woodwind instruments.

The opening melody was like a delicate drizzle subtly enhancing a beautiful, hot sunny day of passion. The overall melody was light and airy, almost feeling like a gentle breeze to the audience.

Next, the pianist began playing the full melody. It sounded sentimental and emotional, definitely heavier than the light and airy opening melody.

The acoustic guitar and the piano worked together to provide the passion, while the other instruments delicately playing in the background added a gentle sweetness to the music.

All of a sudden, the centre of the stage lit up. The combined spotlights were so bright that the two people standing centre stage looked like they were divine beings glowing from the inside out.

The audience immediately started cheering upon seeing the pair.

Jin Chonglin looked dashing in his ivory semi-formal tuxedo suit. He wore no neckties or bowties, opting instead to show a little bit of skin by opening a couple of extra buttons on his dress shirt beneath his tuxedo jacket. His fans squealed upon seeing a hint of his hard, muscled chest.

As for the beautiful lady standing beside him, Iris Long wore a magenta, off the shoulders, wrap midi dress. The dress showed a lot of neck, shoulders and a hint of cleavage, but didn't look too risqué with its long, flowing sleeves. The waist tie accentuated her tiny waist and hourglass figure. Like Jin Chonglin, Iris' outfit wasn't too formal. The hem of her dress fell to her mid-calf. Not too long but not too short either. It was sexy yet elegant at the same time.

The rest of her lower legs were accentuated by a pair of sheer nude high-heeled shoes embellished with small crystals. From far away, it looked like she wasn't wearing any shoes at all but just standing on her sparkling tippy-toes.

Her hair was in a simple straight blow-dried style, and her makeup smoky and soft, emphasizing her natural feminine aura.

The cameras lingered longer on Iris than they did on Jin Chonglin. The cameramen couldn't tear their gazes away from her beauty. That was until they had to focus the cameras on Jin Chonglin because Director He instructed them to do so through their earpieces.

Jin Chonglin lifted his mic and began singing. His voice was deep and masculine, yet also flowed like sweet caramel. He was looking at Iris beside him with a deep look in his eyes.

"Walking down the town of life

I caught a glimpse of you

Your beautiful self

Making even the flowers smile back"

He lowered his mic, continuing to look at Iris. All of his attention was on her.

Iris smiled at him and raised her own mic to sing next. Her voice sounded light yet was still exquisite, harmonizing perfectly with the music.

"Smitten I followed you around

Not expecting anything in return

But you always knew

So your shining eyes saw me"

At this moment, the rest of the orchestra joined in playing the melody, making the music sound fuller. The other guitars and the drums added a modern vibe to the song at the same time.

Jin Chonglin gestured towards Iris and sang as if she was the only person he could see at that moment. His expression was so passionate that a few LinRis shippers in the audience already started fainting from overexcitement. He sang more to her than to the audience.

"Time stopped in that moment

The sun paled in your presence"

Iris placed a hand on her chest and also sang with much passion.

"Birdsong filled the air

As you chose me"

The pop band of electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums took the lead with a heart-tugging melody and slow tempo. The classical instruments balanced this with the light and soaring background melody.

But the stars of the instruments remained the acoustic guitar and the piano. They provided the main melody that both Iris and Jin Chonglin harmonized with. The Spanish-flavoured playing of the acoustic guitar especially added a sensual quality to the romantic music. N♡vεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

Iris and Jin Chonglin started singing together. Their voices sounded very different, yet they harmonized so perfectly that the audience felt goosebumps listening to them. There was a bit of a growl to Jin Chonglin's voice, while Iris' was just soaring smoothly to the heavens.

"Smitten I had followed you around

Not expecting anything in return

But you always knew

So your shining eyes saw me"

They walked together to the front of the stage, exciting their fans sitting at the front seats of the audience. More fainted.

Iris looked and interacted with the audience more than Jin Chonglin. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her during the performance. So even when she wasn't looking at him, he continued to gaze at her with deep eyes burning with passion.

The LinRis shippers took this as proof that their Prince Lin Lin was completely in love with their Boss Iris. After all, he couldn't stop looking at her! Wasn't it so obvious? They squealed with giddy delight, already feeling certain that the two were really in a romantic relationship.

Iris finally returned her eyes to Jin Chonglin and looked at him. She also looked like she was professing her love to him with her eyes and her singing. The LinRis shippers squealed even harder.

She sang with so much tenderness and emotion that she looked exactly like a woman in love. There was no mistaking such a pure expression filled with love.

"As I'm singing I look into your eyes

And know you see me like I do you

Even as we grow old I never forget

The man who saw me that day"

The audience were squealing so hard from watching the romantic pair on the stage that they felt like they might vomit out their throats. To these fans, especially the LinRis shippers, the love song was more than a simple sentimental ballad. It was a love letter of their Boss Iris and Prince Lin Lin to each other.

Chapter 444 - Jin Liwei's Fiancée

As the one singing with Iris, Jin Chonglin knew from the slightly detached look in her eyes that she was imagining another man standing beside her on stage right now. He had no doubt that it was his older brother, Jin Liwei, who was in her mind while singing. All the love and passion she was expressing wasn't for him but for his brother.

The thought suddenly depressed him, transforming his passionate expression into a heartbroken one. It gave his singing an extra layer of deep emotion as he sung the next part solo.

"Smitten I had followed you around

Not expecting anything in return"

His hand subconsciously extended to Iris. It was already too late when he realized what he was doing. He was about to pretend that he was just gesturing his arm as part of his singing when Iris accepted his offered hand and held it. His heart skipped a beat.

As for Iris, she was just very into the performance. It felt natural at that moment to hold hands. Besides, she only treated Jin Chonglin as a brother-in-law, and in this situation, as a teammate working together towards the same goal of giving their best performance to the audience. She didn't see anything wrong with holding his hand, especially since it was a love song they were singing together.

In addition to this, her entire mind was filled with only her darling. She knew that he was watching theperformance on TV at home. She also hoped that he could feel that she was singing the song to him. That was why she gave her best, expressing so much emotion in her singing. This love song was for him.

Her voice rose high in a light and effortless way, and then falling just as effortlessly as she sang the last two lines of her solo.

"But you always knew

So you gave me all I could ever want"

Then both Iris and Jin Chonglin sang the last notes together. Their voices melded into an almost perfect yin and yang harmony that also showcased their undeniable chemistry together as a duet.

"I got you~"

The song ended on a light, nostalgic note, just like the rainbow after a rainy day. It filled everyone with good vibes, but at the same time, there was a slight heart-wrenching feeling deep inside them.

It was the feeling of loving someone so much that it hurt. The happiness was so overwhelming that there was a covert fear of losing it.

This was the kind of feeling the audience were experiencing from the song, especially after noticing the heartbroken expression Jin Chonglin wore during the last part.

As soon as the music stopped completely, the audience's full emotions burst out in an explosive tempest of applause. Of course, they gave the performance a standing ovation. They were cheering, screaming, clapping, whistling, crying and fainting.

The ones in a relationship felt like they were falling in love all over again with their significant others. The heartbroken ones either missed their exes or wanted to move on and find new love. The single ones wanted to fall in love, especially those who had never fallen before.

This was the kind of effect the song had on them. No, it wasn't just the song by itself. This was the effect of watching Iris Long and Jin Chonglin's heart-fluttering live performance of the song.

The two just looked so great together and performed with so much emotions that it was easy to believe that they were actually in love with each other. This was especially true from watching Jin Chonglin. The way he looked at Iris was exactly like that of a man completely head over heels in love with a woman. At least, that was how it appeared to people's eyes.

"LINRIS! LINRIS!! LINRIS!!!"

The LinRis shippers started to chant, and soon everyone was chanting along with them.

Jin Chonglin tightened his hold of Iris' hand and raised it up. They bowed together to their exultant fans and the rest of the cheering audience.

The applause only grew louder.

Afterwards, Iris loosened her hand but Jin Chonglin didn't let her go. In fact, he even tightened his hold on her hand when she tried gently tugging it away. She knew several moves to force him to let go of her hand, but she obviously couldn't do any of them in front of all of these people and on national television.

So in the most natural way possible while still maintaining her bright smile, she leaned close to him and without moving her lips too much to hinder any lip readers, she whispered to him.

"Brother Chonglin, release my hand now. Your older brother is watching us on TV tonight. You're going to make him angry again. Stop teasing him like this. It's not funny anymore."

He flashed his killer smile at her, arousing another wave of wild squealing from the audience. He squeezed her hand before finally letting it go.

Iris inwardly sighed in relief. It wasn't that she was afraid of making Jin Liwei jealous. Of course, she didn't want to make her darling jealous because she now knew what an ugly feeling jealousy felt like. She didn't want any of them to experience it as much as possible.

Her rejection of Jin Chonglin's touch was more of her body's instinctive response against any man getting physically close to her who wasn't Jin Liwei, and to a certain extent, her Big Brother Lu Zihao.

Despite this, Iris was committed to being a performer tonight. She stood beside Jin Chonglin and acted like they were close to each other. And indeed, to some degree, they were close to each other because they were future in-laws. They were basically family now.

The two hosts finally reached them. They sandwiched Iris and Jin Chonglin between them.

Female host: "Wow! What a sensational performance! My heart was fluttering the entire time I was watching you!"

Both Iris and Jin Chonglin thanked her.

The hosts focused their questions on their song "Shining Eyes" first. Since Iris was the one who wrote it, she answered most of the questions. Jin Chonglin just shared his experiences working with Iris and with the notorious hothead music producer, JJ.

Fortunately, these questions were over quickly. It seemed that the audience wasn't the only ones who felt impatient. The hosts would've already asked the juiciest questions as soon as the interview started, if it weren't that they were required to ask questions about the song first.

Male host: "Now let's move on the most anticipated part of the interview. The two of you have mentioned before that you'll announce something important to everyone. The floor is yours."

The entire studio became quiet, as everyone leaned forward in anticipation. They didn't want to miss any word of the important announcement. The LinRis shippers were trembling in excitement, their expressions hopeful.

Iris gestured for Jin Chonglin to make the announcement. He nodded.

"We have a very important announcement to make, so please listen very carefully," he began talking. "Junior Iris wrote 'Shining Eyes' by herself. This is our first ever music collaboration but it is most definitely not our last. We have another collaboration coming up which we will release next month. This time, I wrote the song. We will release the teasers and previews in the next few days, so please look forward to them. Thank you very much for supporting 'Shining Eyes'. We hope that you'll continue to support our next collab single again when we release it next month."

Jin Chonglin stopped speaking and lowered his mic. Iris nodded and continued to smile.

Everyone blinked several times and waited for him to say more, but he didn't.

'Huh? That's it?'

Female host: "Uh... Jin Chonglin, is that it?"

"Yes," he replied with a nod.

Iris tilted her head to the side, wondering why the atmosphere suddenly felt awkward. She had already tossed out the fans' earlier misunderstandings about her relationship with Jin Chonglin out of her mind. So she didn't fully understand what was causing this awkward silence. Wanting to ease awkward atmosphere, she lifted her mic and spoke as well.

"Our next collab single will be very different from 'Shining Eyes'. It will be...hmm...sexier."

Eyes lit up after hearing what she said. N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

"Oooooh!"

People started recovering from their earlier disappointment. Now they began to feel excited for this next music collaboration. However, they still felt unsatisfied by the interview.

The hosts were of the same mind as them.

Female host: "Jin Chonglin, Iris. Just to clarify everything once and for all, are the two of you in a romantic relationship? Is it true that you're engaged?"

"No," Iris immediately answered. Her expression remained pleasant but her tone was firm. "I already said this many times before. I am engaged to another man who I love very much. In fact, my fiancé who is NOT Senior Jin Chonglin is my inspiration for writing 'Shining Eyes'."

Throughout Iris' answer, Jin Chonglin didn't say anything. He just maintained his smile.

The LinRis shippers felt their dreams shatter right before their eyes. Some of them even started crying from heartbreak.

It was unfortunate that they already ran out of time. The hosts wanted to ask more, but they received directions from their earpieces to finish up the interview.

Everyone didn't know exactly what to feel about the finale. The performance was amazing, but the interview was very anti-climactic. Sure, a new collab song was exciting but it wasn't the announcement that many hoped for.

When the show officially ended, Iris and Jin Chonglin returned backstage. The staff and the other artists welcomed them with a warm round of applause and congratulations. Despite the anti-climactic interview, the two still gave the best performance of the night. They were the night's bigshots, so everyone gave them the respect they were due.

Many of these people wanted to take pictures with both Jin Chonglin and Iris. Surprisingly, more asked Iris than Jin Chonglin this time. They were very curious about her. Jin Chonglin hovered around her, making sure that the males didn't get too close. He was doing his "duty" as her senior.

Their managers, Tang Yiyi and Lin Dong, alongside a few of their bodyguards began to escort them back to their dressing rooms.

Along the hallway, Iris heard something with her great ears that made her stop in her tracks. Jin Chonglin and their entourage also stopped, confused at her sudden action. Then they saw her focusing her attention on a group of female idols gossiping among themselves in a corner. The girls were looking at something on their phones.

"So this is what CEO Jin Liwei's fiancée looks like."

"Let me see. Oooh. She's pretty."

"Yeah. She's apparently a successful businesswoman. It seems like CEO Jin personally hired her to be a new executive at Jin Corporation. The two of them are a perfect match."

"Eh? She's Singaporean?"

"Yup. Her name is Rose Young."

Chapter 445 - Perfect For EaChapter Other

"What a load of rubbish!" Iris' cold voice interrupted the female idols' conversation.

The girls all turned their heads in annoyance at being disturbed. However, when they saw that it was Iris Long and Jin Chonglin's group, they looked surprised and amazed at the same time. They all straightened their backs and presented their best behaviours.

"S-senior Jin Ch-chonglin!"

"Senior Iris Long!"

As a domestic superstar, Jin Chonglin was respected and admired by many young artists in the music industry. It wasn't surprising that these young female idols would feel starstruck by his presence.

Although Iris Long didn't have Jin Chonglin's same level of fame (yet), there were still quite a lot of musicians who looked up to her, especially those who focused on music techniques.After all, she was the recipient of a special award for her brilliance in this area.

The female idols felt like total fangirls in front of Jin Chonglin, while they felt intimidated by Iris Long. Her aura up close was on another level, especially right now that she was looking at them with such a cold expression.

Jin Chonglin glanced at Iris who now looked like she wanted to murder someone in cold blood. She might not be showing much emotion on her face, but the potent aura emanating from her was enough to chill weak-hearted people to the core. And indeed, some of the timider girls in front of them were already looking like they were about to cry. If others saw their current situation, they would think that Iris was bullying these poor girls.

Right now, Iris reminded Jin Chonglin of his older brother whenever he teased him. Jin Liwei would also turn cold like this and unnerve people with just his sheer aura alone.

'They're really a couple. Both so damn tyrannical in their possessiveness of each other,' he thought to himself.

Iris started to stride towards the female idols like a predator about to swoop in on her prey, but her manager Tang Yiyi pulled her back and stopped her. Lin Dong looked around with a paranoid expression, afraid that other people might see them and misconstrue the situation as Iris pushing her weight around on the newbies.

The female idols didn't know what they did to anger Iris Long. They cowered from her scary aura.

"Calm down, Iris," Tang Yiyi whispered to her in an urgent tone.

Iris briefly closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. When she opened her eyes, her expression somewhat became gentler.

"Hello, my apologies for disturbing you," she told the female idols in a pleasant tone. Her eyes, however, remained cold. "I think I heard you talking about CEO Jin's supposed fiancée? Since CEO Jin is our Senior Jin Chonglin's brother, your conversation made me very curious. May I know more about what you're talking about?"

The girls looked at each other. They were relieved when Iris Long talked to them. She was actually nice and polite. Maybe they were just imagining that she was angry at them earlier. Or maybe her expression earlier was just her resting bitch face and had nothing to do with her actual mood.

"S-senior Iris! Uhm... We normally don't talk about CEO Jin but he's recently trending online after he commented on Prince Lin Lin—I mean, Senior Jin Chonglin's blog post a few days ago. After all, CEO Jin never used his account before. People have become very interested in him lately so...uhm, there are a lot of gossips about him online right now," one of them explained to Iris.

"Yeah! We were just gossiping—uh, I mean chatting about what we read online. Someone posted a few photos of CEO Jin with his fiancée at an online gossip forum just a few minutes ago. Here, Senior Iris and...uhm, Prince—Senior Jin Chonglin. Let me show you the post."

The girl held up her phone to let Iris and Jin Chonglin see. She blushed when Jin Chonglin smiled at her.

Iris looked at the alleged photos posted online on the girl's phone. Jin Chonglin also peeked over her shoulder. Even Tang Yiyi and Lin Dong stretched their necks to take a look.

Indeed, there were candid pictures of Jin Liwei together with another woman. The person who snapped them must have been far away because Jin Liwei and the woman looked completely unaware that someone was taking photos of them. The quality of the photos wasn't that great either, so Iris ruled out the paparazzi. It might just be a regular person who used his or her phone camera.

Jin Liwei looked tall and handsome as always with his usual cold and indifferent expression. He was in his business suit. Beside him was a woman Iris recognized as Rose Young from the headshots Ketchup gathered from her public records.

The anonymous user who made the post claimed that he or she took the photos at a five-star hotel. Indeed, the background behind Jin Liwei and the woman looked like a hotel lobby. The user wrote an accompanying post with the photos. It said:

"I was waiting for someone at the hotel lobby when I immediately recognized CEO Jin Liwei. I also happened to recognize the woman walking beside him. She is Rose Young, a Chinese Singaporean businesswoman. Her mother's side of the family are members of high society here in China, that's why I managed to recognize her even though Rose Young mostly lived in Singapore. The Jins are close to her mother's family. I heard that the two families have been hoping to pair Rose Young to CEO Jin Liwei for a long time now because they're both high achievers in the field of business. However, they have always been unsuccessful because everyone knows that CEO Jin never showed any romantic interest in anyone before.

"Then all of a sudden, CEO Jin revealed that he's engaged a few months ago. He hasn't introduced his fiancée yet, but seeing him and Rose Young together at a HOTEL made me connect the dots. The most eligible bachelor in the country suddenly got engaged. Then months later, Rose Young suddenly gets promoted to work as an executive at Jin Corporation and moves from Singapore to permanently live here in China. Coincidence? I think not! I bet that Rose Young is actually CEO Jin Liwei's fiancée. After all, the Jins and her mother's side of the family have been hoping to pair them together since a long time ago.

"Both CEO Jin Liwei and Rose Young are smart businesspeople who work at the most elite level of the business industry. They also come from wealthy and influential families. They're also close in age. I personally think that they're perfect for each other. And I know that there are many in high society and in the business world who think the same way. Jin Corporation will surely become an even more successful company if CEO Jin Liwei and Rose Young unite in both business and marriage. Don't you think so, too?"

Then the user suggested that Jin Liwei and Rose Young must have spent an hour or two at a hotel room to find time for some quick loving despite their busy schedules as business executives.

"Hmm... That's Rose Young, alright," Jin Chonglin murmured behind Iris.

"Oh! You know her, Prince Lin—I mean, Senior Jin Chonglin? Is that woman really your brother's fiancée?" one of the female idols asked him.

"No, she's not." Iris quickly shot down the question.

The female idols were surprised that it was Iris who answered instead of Jin Chonglin. They turned to Jin Chonglin for confirmation.

He flashed them his killer smile, dazing them. Then he said, "Junior Iris is right. That woman is not my brother's fiancée. His real fiancée is more beautiful and more amazing than Rose Young."

Iris gave him a side-eye, showing no expression on her face.

Jin Chonglin winked at her.

Iris borrowed the phone from the female idol and scrolled through the photos herself. Her thumb froze at the last three photos.

The first one showed Rose Young leaning very close to Jin Liwei, almost rubbing her (non-existent) breasts against his shoulder. The second one showed her touching his arm. The final photo showed her fully holding his arm with her two hands.

Iris gripped the phone in her hand and squeezed it, as a colder and more frightening aura emanated from her in suffocating waves.

Chapter 446 - Not In My League

Although Iris' expression didn't change that much and remained pleasant, the female idols still instinctively shrank away from her. They sensed some sort of danger coming from her at that moment.

"Alright! Time to go, Junior Iris," Jin Chonglin announced after being warned by Lin Dong that some people were heading their way.

He grabbed the phone out of Iris' tight grip and returned it to the owner. After thanking the female idols and dazing them once again with his killer smile, he dragged Iris away. Their managers and bodyguards followed, forming a protective circle around the two of them.

When they left, the female idols finally regained their senses from Jin Chonglin's killer smile. Fortunately, these girls weren't too smart to think deeply about what just happened, nor try to decipher Iris' weird reactions. They already concluded that Iris only had a scary resting bitch face but was actually quite a nice and kind person.

In addition, they also figured that Iris Long and Jin Chonglin were close friends. Though some of them still believed that the two had something more. The two were so close that Iris Long gained the privilege of knowing some of the most personal details about Jin Chonglin's family. They heard that even the Jin family relatives still didn't know who CEO Jin Liwei's fiancée was, but it seemed that Iris Long knew because she was close to Jin Chonglin.

"If Iris Long and Prince Lin Lin are really NOT engaged, then it's such a waste," one of them commented. "They look so perfect together, and yet she chose another man? Why wouldn't she want to marry a member of the Jin family? She'll be set for life."

"Maybe she likes businessmen. Didn't she say before that her fiancé is a businessman? Prince Lin Lin already announced before that he has no interest in working for Jin Corporation."

"Well, CEO Jin Liwei is a businessman...but he's already engaged to another woman, whoever she may be. Prince Lin Lin just said that it's not Rose Young. I also doubt that CEO Jin wants to marry a singer like Iris Long who's clearly below his level. Powerful people of his status only see showbiz celebrities like Iris Long and us as mere showgirls. Even Prince Lin Lin didn't have an easy time with his family when he decided to pursue a showbiz career all those years ago."

"Yeah. What's more, Iris Long is too young for CEO Jin. I'm sure that someone like him would want a mature wife who he could talk to about...uh, serious adult thingies or whatever. Although she's been acting like a mature woman ever since her image change after her comeback, she's actually only a bit older than us."

These female idols continued to gossip about Iris Long, Jin Chonglin, Jin Liwei and his mysterious fiancée. N♡vεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

Back to Iris and Jin Chonglin, they all headed to her dressing room.

Lin Dong didn't stop Jin Chonglin from following Iris to her dressing room this time. He even followed them himself. He didn't worry about any scandals this time because he could always say that he accompanied Jin Chonglin with his capacity as a manager.

As soon as the group opened the door to the dressing room, they immediately heard Dom in the middle of an angry rant about some homewrecking ho stealing his boss' man. He paced back and forth in front of the hairstylist and makeup artist, gesturing wildly with his hands. His mouth shot insults to the "homewrecking ho" like a machine gun.

"How dare that ho touch sir boss with her dirty paws?! What if sir boss got infected with some yucky disease?! Did you look at her chest? No? Of course, you didn't! Because there's nothing to look at! Her boobies are flatter than mine—and I'm male! Yet she dares to try rub her imaginary boobies against sir boss?! Oh puh-leaze! As if he'll want other boobies when boss has more than enough to last him AND their future babies a lifetime!

"Whazzername again? Rose Young, is it? What "rose"? As if sir boss will ever want another flower. He already has the most beautiful flower by his side, Iris! That ho is not a rose! She should be named Rafflesia instead. Because she stinks like the corpse flower, Rafflesia Arnoldii! And what "young"? Hello? Compared to boss, she's OLD!!! Pweh!!!

"And so what if she's a business executive?! Isn't she still a mere employee of sir boss' company?! But MY boss has her own company—oh, excuse me. My boss has SEVERAL companies of her own. That's plural, as in more than one! How about that ho? Does she own anything? No! Not even her own boobies!

"All those stupid people who think that she's a perfect match for sir boss are all blind and have holes in their brains! Hah! The only one who's the most perfect match for sir boss is of course MY BOSS!!! They're all stupid morons for not knowing that MY boss is in a completely different league than that ho! MY boss is the best in the world...no, in the whole universe! Nobody will ever come close to comparing to her! Sir boss will NEVER replace her with that Rose...I mean, Rafflesia No-boobie ArnOLDdii!!! Argh! I'm so mad!!! I want to fight her!!!"

Iris stopped at the door and watched her assistant raging for her sake. Her own fury gradually simmered down, as she listened to Dom's words. The seething green-eyed monster inside her gave a last growl before settling down. Calmness washed over her entire being, giving her a refreshed feeling. It was as if her own cold fury was all expressed by Dom and therefore removed completely from her system.

Dom continued ranting when the hairstylist and makeup artist finally noticed Iris and the others standing by the door.

"Miss Iris!"

The most up-to-date novels are published on lightnovelworld[.]com

Dom's machine gun mouth immediately stopped. He turned to Iris and exclaimed:

"Boss!!! I've been waiting for you!!! You won't believe what just happened!!! Please calm down and let me explain clearly and slowly!!! Some ho—I mean, some insignificant woman just—"

Iris' phone started ringing. She left it with Dom during her performance.

"Oh! That must be sir boss! He has been calling nonstop but you weren't here yet, boss," Dom informed her.

When Iris didn't make a move, he picked up the phone and answered it himself. A few moments later, he handed it to her.

"Hm. Hi, Mr. Jin," Iris answered, as she finally walked inside the room.

Tang Yiyi, Jin Chonglin and Lin Dong all followed her. The door closed behind them.

"..." Jin Liwei didn't speak for a few seconds before saying, "Based on your tone, it seems like you already know."

"Hmm..." Iris gestured to Dom to get her tablet in Chinese Sign Language.

Both of them learned it from Professor Hisakawa. The two of them also learned the American Sign Language. And for her, the Russian Sign Language as well. She had never learned any sign languages in her past life, so she was very interested in them. However, she and Dom only learned the basics because the sign languages weren't their main priority. They were nice to learn, though, for some additional language skills. Besides, sign languages were helpful to a singer like Iris. She could converse with Dom without actually speaking whenever she needed to rest her vocal cords.

The most up-to-date novels are published on lightnovelworld[.]com

Dom immediately understood and began rummaging through her handbag. He found her tablet and handed it to her.

Iris sat down on one of the couches and began using her tablet. Jin Chonglin sat on the arm of the couch beside her. He watched what she was doing. Their managers, Tang Yiyi and Lin Dong, were whispering to each other at a corner.

"Love, I can explain everything," Jin Liwei said on the phone. "Remember when I told you last night that I have a business lunch today, so you don't have to send lunch to me at the company? Well, the business lunch was at a hotel restaurant. Several of my fellow executives attended it with me, including Rose Young because she is our new CMO. The photos posted online cropped out the others, only showing Rose Young and me. But I assure you, love, we were with the others including Xu Tian."

"Hmm..." Iris didn't answer.

She was busy checking the reports Ketchup sent her. Iris instructed Ketchup not to speak out loud whenever there were other people around not belonging directly to her and Jin Liwei's households. Ketchup was too much of an advanced and sophisticated AI technology that Iris and Jin Liwei were careful not to let strangers know about her. Ketchup might attract unwanted and even dangerous attention. That was why when they were in a public place, Ketchup communicated to them via written messages instead.

Ketchup faithfully obeyed her mommy's instructions. Rose Young was on their watch list, so Ketchup had been monitoring the woman. Ketchup automatically sent Iris various specific cuts from the hotel's video surveillance system capturing the exact moment shown in the photos uploaded online. Each of the videos showed different angles and Iris played all of them at the same time.

They showed Jin Liwei and Rose Young walking out of the hotel restaurant to the lobby. And indeed, Jin Liwei was telling the truth. Xu Tian and the other executives were with them. In fact, Rose Young was walking at the back of the group but she quickly caught up and walked beside Jin Liwei instead.

Then when they reached some steps and began to climb down, Rose Young "tripped" and fell towards Jin Liwei's direction. She grabbed his arm. That was the moment captured in the photos posted online.

Iris narrowed her eyes, and she replayed the scene again. She concentrated on Rose Young's feet. The woman was wearing high heels but they weren't too high. Her feet looked stable enough, but she suddenly tripped?

Who was she kidding? She obviously did it on purpose.

Iris curled her lip and softly snorted.

Jin Liwei was a gentleman so he quickly helped stabilize the woman before firmly removing her hands from his arm. Then he stepped far away from her and even dusted off his suit as if removing dirt from where she touched him.

Iris couldn't help but smile at his actions.

"Love? Why are you so quiet? Talk to me, please," Jin Liwei said. His voice sounded calm but Iris detected a hint of anxiety in it. "Rose Young doesn't mean anything to me. You're the only one I love. Don't be jealous anymore, okay?"

She suddenly remembered Dom's rant earlier. Raising an eyebrow, she replied to Jin Liwei with a faint smile on her lips.

"Darling, in order for me to feel jealous of that woman, she has to be in MY league first. Is she on my level, hm?"Also called "corpse lily". It's the largest individual flower on Earth. It produces a very strong and unpleasant smelly odour of decaying flesh, hence it's called "corpse flower". It is also one of the Indonesia's three national flowers.

Chapter 447 - Burn Into Ashes

"Of course not. Rose Young, or other women for that matter, can never compare to you. You're in a league of your own, love," Jin Liwei said to Iris during their phone call earlier.

His words somewhat eased her irked feelings about the entire situation with Rose Young who was obviously trying to get close to her man. Iris didn't feel threatened by Rose Young. Not at all. She also trusted Jin Liwei's love for her.

Nevertheless, the woman needed to be taught a lesson for coveting a taken man. For now, however, Iris felt that Jin Liwei should be the one to make the decisive move because Rose Young was his direct colleague and employee. Not to mention that she was someone the majority of the board of directors voted for the position of Chief Marketing Officer. In simple terms, Rose Young was basically the current darling of Jin Corporation's shareholders.

Iris was curious how Jin Liwei would handle the entire situation with Rose Young and her popularity among the higher-ups of Jin Corporation. But regardless of whatever he chose to do, Iris would still start making her moves behind-the-scenes.

She and Dom were currently on their way home to the mansion. Dom exhausted himself from his impassioned rant against Rose Young earlier. He was now snoring softly on his seat besides Iris in the executive van.

Iris remembered what happened in the dressing room earlier.

Jin Liwei obviously wanted to explain everything in detail to her, but Iris preferred to speak to him in person. She told him to wait for her at home and ended the call. Although she said that she didn't feel jealous of Rose Young, something from the online post bothered her.

She turned to Jin Chonglin beside her and asked, "The Jins are close to Rose Young's maternal relatives?"

"Close to some of the branch families, yes. But to us from the main family? Not really. We're acquainted, that's all," he told her, shrugging.

"They tried to pair Liwei with Rose Young?" she continued to ask.

"Yeah. She's not the only one, though. Actually, the relatives tried pairing Big Bro with a lot of potential marriage partners in the past but they never succeeded. They did it to me, too, just so you know. Before you came along, Big Bro had never shown any romantic or even sexual interest in anyone to the point that people started believing he's gay." Jin Chonglin coughed a few times after saying this.

He continued, "You have to remember that he's the head of our Jin family and Jin Corporation. His choice of marriage partner is extremely important to all the Jins. After all, his wife will become the next Madam Jin so everyone in the family—except me—cares about who he marries."

"Hmm..." Iris went into deep thought.

"Feeling scared now, sister-in-law?" Jin Chonglin smirked and teased her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why should I feel scared? I never once cared about what the Long relatives think about me, so why should I care about whether your Jin relatives like me or not? The only people from the Jin family who I deem important and care about are Liwei, Grandma Li and Aunt Yuyan. And they already treat me as family."

"Hey! What about me?" he protested.

She ignored him. "I may not care about what your relatives or other people think about me, but I do care about what they think about your brother. I don't want Liwei to lose his position as head of the family and Jin Corporation because of me. It's not that I care about the position itself or its accompanying status and wealth—to be honest, I couldn't care less—but it's something that was bestowed upon him by your late grandfather, father, and Grandpa Lu. It's his right, and I don't want to take that away from him."

Her words made everyone quiet in the dressing room. Jin Chonglin studied her, not saying anything. Iris also didn't say anything more afterwards.

Jin Chonglin was the one who broke the serious atmosphere. He leaned down and whispered to Iris' ear.

"Introduce me to the hacker who gave you access to that hotel's surveillance system, okay?"

Iris covered her ear and scooted away from himwhile giving him a side-eye. He was too close again. She didn't reply.

"Come on, Sister Xiulan," he continued to whisper so the others wouldn't hear him. "I've asked Big Bro several times before to lend me some of his tech people but he's so stingy. You're not going to be stingy too, are you? Have some pity for your brother-in-law."

"You want to hire a hacker? Why?" she asked him in a whisper as well.

He nodded. "Well, you see...I have some friends with, uh, benefits and they might have, you know, some pictures and videos—"

"You mean sex tapes?"

"No! Not sex tapes. But maybe some naughty photos and short videos. If you know what I mean." He winked at her.

"Not interested," she said.

"Aaw. Come on! I'll pay!"

Iris' eyes lit up. "Hmm... The hacker I know is one of the best in the world. Can you afford?"

Jin Chonglin looked insulted by her words. "Can I afford? Are you seriously asking this prince that question? This prince is one of the biggest superstars in the country, so of course I can afford!"

"Okay," she agreed. "Wait to be contacted by the hacker in the next few days."

She was currently saving up to buy more Long Industries shares if any were put on sale again. As much as possible, she wanted to use her own money instead of asking Jin Liwei for help. If she could earn some easy money deleting Jin Chonglin's sex tapes or whatever, then it would be great for her bank account.

Grandpa Lu's shameless booming laughter echoed inside her mind at that moment.

Back to the present, Iris and Dom finally arrived at Dragon Palace Home #10. It was already late at night. The sky was dark. Shadowy clouds covered the moon and the stars. A slight chill was in the air.

The butler greeted them as soon as they entered the grand foyer. Beside him was Jin Liwei.

"Welcome back, love," he said and moved to hug Iris.

However, she held up a hand and stopped him from getting near her.

"Where's your business suit?" she asked him instead.

A look of hurt flashed in Jin Liwei's eyes for about a second before he put up an impassive expression on his face. His arms which were reaching out for her fell awkwardly to his sides.

The butler and the other household staff pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere while sweating bullets inside their clothes. Were the master and the mistress fighting?!

"What business suit?" Jin Liwei asked her.

Iris looked like a woman on a mission. Her expression, tone—everything was serious. "The one you wore at work today. Where is it?"

He frowned and felt confused as to why she was asking about it. But he still answered her. "It's in the laundry hamper in our bathroom. Why?" Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

She didn't reply, walking past him instead. She gestured for a maid and a houseboy to follow her.

"Love? Can we talk, please? Wait for me." Jin Liwei followed and walked beside her.

Of course, the drama-hungry Dom also followed after them. His sleepiness was completely gone.

Jin Liwei's lips pressed together into a thin line, and his hands clenched into tight fists. He wanted to pull his baby girl, to force her to stop and to listen to what he had to say. However, it was obvious that she didn't want him to touch her. He felt frustrated and also hurt. Not wanting to fight with her, especially in front of their household staff, he refrained from talking for now and just kept on following her in silence.

Moments later, they finally arrived at their bedroom suite. Everyone followed Iris inside all the way to the bathroom. She marched towards the laundry hamper. When she confirmed that Jin Liwei's business suit was inside, she turned to the maid and the houseboy.

"Take this hamper and burn it. I want it burned until all the clothes inside turn into ashes. Understood?"

"Yes, Mistress! Right away, Mistress!"

Although the maid and the houseboy were confused as to why she wanted the laundry hamper and the clothes burned, they immediately obeyed her order 100%, no questions asked. They started to carry the hamper out of the bathroom.

Jin Liwei didn't understand what was going on. "Wait!"

The maid and the houseboy paused.

"What are you doing?" Jin Liwei asked his baby girl. "You have so many nice dresses and lingerie in there. Let me take them out first."

"No! Don't touch them! You'll get dirty! I don't want them anymore. They're contaminated now. I'll just get new ones," she said. Then she pointed at his body. "Take off your clothes and go in the shower. I'm going to wash and scrub you thoroughly until you're squeaky clean tonight!"

His eyes went widened in surprise before darkening with desire. Then his mouth curved up into the faintest of smile.

"But I already showered," he told her, even as his hands already started removing his shirt.

"I need to wash you again myself to make sure that you're completely clean of that woman's contamination."

"Hmm... Alright, love."

The maid and the houseboy averted their eyes and hurried out of the bathroom.

Dom snickered by the door. After giving a final "ehehehe", he followed the maid and the houseboy to give his boss and sir boss some privacy.

Chapter 448 - Thoroughly Clean The Contamination

Jin Liwei was already hard when Iris joined him in the shower after removing her clothes and makeup. He reached for her but she slapped his hands away.

"Be good. I need to wash and scrub you thoroughly to make sure you're clean. Don't distract me," she told him in a strict voice.

"Hmm... Okay," he murmured while admiring her beautiful, naked body.

His eyes lingered on her full, shapely breasts. He licked his lips slowly. His hands were itching to hold her soft mounds and to suck them with his mouth, but he controlled himself...for now.

Anticipation bubbled within him, as he turned on the shower. Warm water began raining down, immediately drenching both of them. His earlier frustration and hurt were all being washed down the drain. This play that she was initiating was turning him on. He couldn't wait to be "thoroughly cleaned" by his baby girl.

True to her word, Iris intended on washing and cleaning Jin Liwei until he was completely clean from the imaginary stains that Rose Young left on his body. She poured a generous amount of men's body wash on her hand (Orchidia Beauty, of course) and began soaping his entire body. Then she started scrubbing him with a small towel, creating a thick lather. Her movements were clinical, not seductive at all, even though Jin Liwei's little brother down below kept on waving at her, trying to get her attention.

Focusing on his shoulder and arm that Rose Young touched, shescrubbed so hard that his skin turned raw.

Despite this, he made no move to stop her. He just continued to watch her with half-lidded eyes, his breath lightly panting. The slight pain from her overscrubbing was nothing to the enjoyment he was feeling right now.

Seeing his skin red and tender, Iris finally caught herself and stopped. She bit her lip and flashed him an apologetic look before rinsing him off with water.

Next, she started cleaning him with her mouth as well. She trailed wet kisses along his shoulder and arm, leaving small red love bites, marking her territory. Satisfied by her handiwork, she nodded and straightened.

"There, you're clean now," she announced.

Jin Liwei didn't want it to be over yet, so he said, "Not yet. I think some microscopic dirt also contaminated me here." He pointed at his lips.

A giggle escaped from her lips. She batted her eyes at him. "We can't have that. I must make you thoroughly clean."

Then she pulled his head down and kissed him. She sucked and nibbled on his lips before stabbing her tongue and sweeping it inside his hot, eager mouth.

He only allowed her to lead the kiss for a few seconds before taking over. He held her head with one hand and locked her in place, as he slanted his head and deepened the kiss. He devoured her sweet mouth like a hungry man who didn't eat for days. Meanwhile, his other hand started roaming her body. His hand traced her sexy curves and made its way to the curve of her buttocks. But before he could reach lower, she forcefully ended the kiss and stepped away, earning a frustrated growl from him.

She wasn't at all bothered by his growl, even finding it cute.

"You're clean now. Wait for me on the bed, darling. I'm going to shower now," she told him.

There was no way he was going to leave. "I'm not completely clean yet," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He began stroking his hard length in a slow and leisurely manner. "I think I'm contaminated here, too. You need to finish cleaning me."

Her eyes darkened with desire, looking entranced by what he was doing. "I see. You're very dirty today. That's why next time, don't allow anything—or anyone—filthy to contaminate you. Don't you know that it's very tiring for me to clean you up?"

"En. Sorry, love. I'll be more careful next time. But if I get careless again, I'll have to trouble you to clean me up again." Then he urged her," Hurry. The contamination might spread."

Giggling, she squatted in front of him until she was face to face with his "contaminated" hard length. Since he was so worried about being dirty, she decided to give him a double cleanse with her hands and mouth.

He moaned and held her head, lightly grabbing her hair. He closed his eyes and panted more heavily. His hips began thrusting in time with the bobbing of her head. However, he stopped when she whined in protest.

As the speed and suction force of her mouth increased, so did the sound volume of his groans and moans. His body started clenching and stiffening. He tried pulling her head away, but she held on to his legs and refused to let go.

"Ah, fuck! Xiulan!"

His eyes rolled to the back of his head, as he pumped his release inside her mouth while groaning deeply.

Iris swallowed everything while watching him in the midst of his climax above her. She stood up when he was done.

"Now you're clean."

He grabbed her head and clumsily kissed her mouth, tasting a bit of himself in the process. Then he stood back, a satisfied smile on his face.

"En. I feel very clean. Now it's my turn to clean you."

"No need. I'm not contaminated."

"Yes, you are. You held hands with that rat."

"Rat?" She tilted her head to the side before realizing what he meant. "You mean Brother Chonglin?"

"En. He contaminated you. I need to clean you up, too."

She giggled. "Okay."

Now it was his turn to wash her. He was gentler with her than she was with him. They kissed each other, as he lathered a different body wash (still Orchidia Beauty, of course) all over her body.

Although his brother only "contaminated" her hand, Jin Liwei focused on "cleaning" her breasts and the apex between her thighs. He even inserted a finger inside just to make sure that everything was clean inside and out.

"Let's finish showering and move to the bed," he told her in a low, husky voice after removing his finger inside her.

A whine of protest escaped from her throat. She hadn't orgasmed yet but still nodded. It was more comfortable on the bed, after all.

They dried themselves in a hurry and slathered lotion and moisturizers (Orchidia Beauty again, of course) all over their skin before stumbling their way to the bed.

Iris fell on her back and Jin Liwei followed on top of her. They continued kissing and touching, their bodies tangling on top of the sheets. She felt him growing hard again.

"Ketchup, cover your ears," Iris instructed.

"Meow~ Yes, Mommy! Ketchup can't hear anything now unless Mommy or Daddy say the magic words," a child's voice replied.

Iris had successfully integrated Ketchup into their home security system, so she could be contacted from virtually every corner of the property.

After protecting their third kitty baby's innocence, the parents resumed their lovemaking.

Jin Liwei broke the kiss and moved down to focus on loving her breasts—his beloved and precious treasures. He kneaded them with his hands and sucked the nipples inside his mouth. He couldn't seem to get enough of them.

One of his hands trailed down until it reached her wet entrance and started rubbing. When her hips moved up, silently asking for more, he slid a finger inside. He moved it in and out following a slow rhythm.

"Oh..." Iris threw her head back on the bed, closed her eyes, and moaned deeply.

He gave one last lick to her nipple before lifting his body from above her and moving farther down the bed. Then he spread her legs wide open and lowered his head to eat her. He licked and sucked her button of pleasure even as two of his fingers were thrusting inside her.

A phone started ringing. It was Jin Liwei's phone on the bedside table. The ringtone indicated that it was a business call. The two were too busy, so they ignored it. The ringing stopped a few moments later.

Iris grabbed his hair and moved her hips in a rhythmic dance, synchronizing with the movements of his mouth and fingers.

"So good, darling...ah..."

Jin Liwei's phone started ringing again. But just like before, they ignored it.

Her moans only fueled his desire to pleasure her. He lapped up her sweet nectar with all he got.

"Liwei! Oh Liwei!"

The pleasure was building quickly inside her. She was close.

So close.

But then the damn phone started ringing again.

Iris did her best to ignore it, focusing instead on reaching the peak of her pleasure.

The ringing stopped.

Her body started bucking and tightening. Jin Liwei increased the intensity, sucking harder and thrusting his fingers even faster.

She was almost there.

"Yes yes yes! Oh Liwei, I'm comi—"

Ring ring ring!

The blasted phone interrupted her concentration, making her fail to reach her climax.

Frustrated, she roared, "WHO IS IT?!!!"

Jin Liwei paused. "Love, ignore the phone. Don't worry. I'll do it again until you come."

The phone continued ringing, frustrating Iris even more. She was now in a bad mood.

"Ketchup, who is it?" she asked.

No answer.

"I love you, Ketchup!" Iris said instead.

"Magic words detected...

"Accepted! I love you too, Mommy! Meow~

"Ketchup can hear again. What can I do for you, Mommy? Meow~"

Iris gently pushed Jin Liwei's head away. "Who's calling your dad?"

"Meow~" Ketchup mentioned a name. It was one of Jin Liwei's fellow executives at work.

Jin Liwei scowled at being interrupted. "Reject the call and put my phone on silent mode."

"Meow~ Okay, Dad—"

"No, answer it. He keeps on calling. It must be important," Iris said.

"Meow? Should Ketchup answer or not?"

Jin Liwei sighed in regret when his baby girl closed her legs. "Answer it, Ketchup."

"Okay, Daddy! Meow~ Answering the call in 3...2...1—"

"Hello, Big Brother Liwei? I mean President Jin," a familiar female voice spoke on the phone.

Iris' expression contorted in fury and turned murderous. She shot a deadly glare at Jin Liwei.

"Love...I already instructed Ketchup to block her number earlier," he whispered to her. "It looks like she's using our colleague's phone now because she can't contact me with her own number anymore."

Then it was his turn to glare at his phone.

In her anger, Iris threw a pillow at him. She wouldn't have been this mad if it weren't for the fact that she felt extremely frustrated by having her orgasm interrupted because of Rose Young. At the moment, Rose Young's image in Iris' mind had become that of a big, fat, and nasty cockroach. Not being able to reach climax filled Iris with hatred towards the woman.

"Jin Liwei, I swear. If you don't deal with that woman quickly, I'll drive to where she's at right now and choke her to death," she hissed at him.

Chapter 449 - Loose Woman

Hearing Iris say that she would drive to where Rose Young was at and choke the woman to death, Jin Liwei knew that his baby girl was truly angered this time. Everyone in their household knew that she had a phobia of driving—meaning, she couldn't drive without freaking out—and yet, here she was, saying that she would do just that in order to kill someone. This Rose Young had crossed her line tonight.

Pissed off that his baby girl was mad at him and didn't want to make love anymore, Jin Liwei also wanted to choke Rose Young to death.

"Hello? Big Brother—I mean, President Jin, are you there?" Rose Young continued to talk on the phone. "I think something is wrong with my phone. I can't seem to contact you using it no matter how many times I try. So I asked our colleague if I could borrow his phone...."

"Miss Young, why do you keep on calling me? Is there an emergency?" Jin Liwei finally spoke. He almost snarled but managed to control his temper just in case there really was a work emergency.

He watched his baby girl climb off the bed and grab her satin robe hanging nearby. Her expression was cold as she put it on. He could feel her frustration and fury emanating from her in almost tangible waves.

"No, I... Actually, I don't think it's an emergency but...I thought that it might bother you, that's why I keep on trying to contact you," Rose Young replied. "I don't know if you've seen them, but there are photos of us online—"

"I've seen them. Is that all?" Jin Liwei cut her off.

"What, really? You've seen them?"

Iris scowled. It was a very subtle change in tone, but she was able to detect Rose Young's excitement when Jin Liwei said that he had seen the photos.

Rose Young continued in an "aggrieved" tone, "I don't know who posted them online, but they seem to know a lot about us. They even know the relationship between our families. Did you read the accompanying post? They're saying that I'm your fiancée—"

"Miss Young, since it's not an emergency, I have no interest in listening to you any longer. Don't call or message me again. You even bothered our colleague and used his phone to contact me. So unprofessional," he scolded. "If you wish to discuss something with me about work, you can leave a message to my assistant. That's all—"

"Wait, Big Brother! I still have something—"

"Miss Young. Your name is Rose Young, am I correct?" Iris finally butted in the conversation. She strode like a queen, almost floating on the floor until she reached the bedside table where the phone was at.

Silence descended in the bedroom. The only sound came from the gentle flowing water of the wall-mounted fountain.

Rose Young didn't reply. It seemed that she was surprised that a female voice interrupted her call with Jin Liwei.

"What's wrong, Miss Young? You were talking so much with MY fiancé just a few moments ago. Why aren't you talking anymore?" Iris asked in a cool, almost snooty tone.

"Fi-fiancé... Are you Big Brother's—"

"Yes, I'm Jin Liwei's one and only fiancée. And why do you keep calling MY fiancé 'Big Brother'? Are you his sister? As far as I know, MY fiancé only has one sibling and that is Brother Chonglin. Aren't you the new CMO at Jin Corporation? Is it appropriate for you to call the President-CEO as 'Big Brother'? I can't believe that the board of directors would vote for someone who is so unprofessional."

"Miss...uh, may I know your name?"

"No, you may not," Iris replied without hesitation.

Jin Liwei moved and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled his baby girl to sit on his lap but she refused. However, she allowed him to place her between his legs. She remained standing while he pressed his head against her soft chest and hugged her tiny waist. He allowed her to take over the phone conversation with Rose Young. His baby girl needed to vent some of her anger and frustration. Afterwards, he would deal with the woman as soon as possible so that she couldn't bother them anymore and make his baby girl mad again.

A faint exhalation of disbelief sounded from the phone, then a deep intake of breath. "Fine. Miss, I assure you that I'm a very professional businesswoman and fully qualified for my position as the new Chief Marketing Officer of Jin Corporation. My education, experience, and overall credentials are all top-notch—"

"How unfortunate that the morals aren't top-notch as well," Iris "murmured" in a clear voice.

Another deep intake of breath from Rose Young. "What do you mean?" Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

"Miss Young, let me ask you this. Are you aware that Jin Liwei is an engaged man? And that he already has a fiancée who he plans on marrying?"

Rose Young didn't answer for a few seconds. Finally, she said, "Yes...I'm aware..."

Her reply sounded like she just forced herself to say it.

"Oh? Really? You knew?" Iris acted like she was surprised. "I thought you didn't know from the way you've been chasing after MY fiancé."

"I am NOT chasing—"

"Calling and messaging MY fiancé several times a day about something that is not work-related, walking beside him, pretending to trip just to touch him, calling him 'Big Brother and acting like you're close to him, borrowing someone else's phone just to call him at almost midnight when he already blocked your number because you're so annoying...what else? Oh right. Feeling happy that others mistook you as his fiancée."

Iris felt Jin Liwei's arms tighten around her waist. She looked down and saw him frowning at Rose Young on the phone. He was about to open his mouth, but she quickly pressed a finger on his lips to prevent him from speaking. Then she pinched his earlobe, silently telling him to let her be the one to talk for now.

"Tell me, Miss Young. What do you call a woman doing all of these just to catch the attention of a taken man? Are these something a moral woman would do? You just described yourself as a 'very professional businesswoman', but all I see from my point of view is a loose woman trying to seduce my man."

"L-loose woman?! How dare you call me a loose woman?! I'm a member of the Young family!" Rose Young finally lost her composure.

"What does being a member of the Young family have to do with you being a loose woman?" Iris asked, unperturbed. "I am just describing what I observe."

"I deny your allegations. You are sorely mistaken and blinded by your own jealousy. Big Brother Liwei—I mean President Jin and I are colleagues and friends—"

"We are not friends," Jin Liwei interrupted.

"Big Brother Liwei!"

"Stop calling me that. I'm not your big brother."

"I...alright. President Jin, have you been listening to our conversation the entire time?"

"En."

"Then please speak to your...to the person beside you to watch her words. She is letting her jealousy cloud her judgment and has accused me of being something that I am not. President, this is defamation!" Rose Young complained to Jin Liwei.

Iris snorted.

"Miss Young, you are the one who should be watching your words," Jin Liwei warned her instead. "The person beside me is my fiancée, my future wife. Accusing the future Madam Jin of defamation is not very smart."

Rose Young was unable to reply back.

Iris spoke again. "As far as I know, a relationship is only meant for two people but unfortunately, it seems that some people don't know how to count. There is no room for one more in a relationship between two people. Some people just keep on trying to insert themselves where they don't belong."

They could hear Rose Young's deep and rapid breathing on the phone.

Iris continued, "Miss Young, all I'm saying is that regardless of background or achievements, I have no respect for women who go after taken men. For me, that is the very definition of a 'loose woman'."

"I still deny your allegations. I am NOT a loose woman," Rose Young said in tight voice. "Miss, you are overthinking things because of jealousy. I suggest for you to cool your head first."

"Jealous? Me? Of you?" Iris scoffed. "Don't think too highly of yourself. I'm just being territorial and warning trespassers from encroaching on my territory. Miss Young, I'm only going to say this one time so you better listen. Stay away from MY fiancé, Jin Liwei, or you'll regret it. I don't give second warnings. That's all. Goodbye."

Chapter 450 - Infiltrated

Iris ended the phone call before Rose Young could reply.

"Ketchup," she called.

"Meow~ Yes, Mommy?"

"Put Rose Young's name on our virtual black notebook."

"Recording the name of...Rose Young...to the virtual notebook...

"New name added!

"Done, Mommy! Meow~"

Iris nodded and disentangled herself from Jin Liwei.

"Ketchup, prepare the computer room," she instructed. "We'll work on destroying Rose Young tonight."

"Ehehehe. Yes, Mommy! Ketchup is excited! Meow~"

Jin Liwei stood. He didn't react much upon hearing that his baby girl put Rose Young's name on her virtual black notebook. He couldn't care less about the woman. However, he cared very much about his baby girl's health, so he tried to delay her plan.

"Love, it's already so late. It's midnight now. If you do that now, who knows what time you'll finish? Both of us have an early start for work tomorrow. Let's sleep for now, okay?"

Iris was completely in a bad mood. She still hadn't recovered from her failure to orgasmearlier because of Rose Young. Her temper was not the best right now. However, she didn't want to fight with Jin Liwei. With a cold expression, she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll be fine. Go to sleep now, darling. Ketchup is helping me so it should be quick this time. I'll return and sleep with you when we're done."

"Meow~ Yes, Daddy! Ketchup has gotten so much smarter compared to the first time you met me! Ketchup will do her best to help Mommy finish this task as quickly as possible! Meow~"

Still, Jin Liwei didn't give up just yet.

"You have a very busy work schedule this month. Don't waste your time with someone insignificant like Rose Young. She's not worth your precious time, love. I'll fire her first thing in the morning. I don't care if the board of directors protests against my decision. If worse comes to worst, I'll just trouble Grandpa Lu to involve himself in the company again. I'm sure that he'll come to our aid if I explain the situation to him. You're his current favourite grandchild. He won't say no if it concerns you. So don't worry about that woman anymore. Let's sleep and rest tonight. Okay, love?"

Iris' expression didn't change. She tightened the sash of her satin robe and looked for her fluffy indoor slippers. Then she glanced at him.

"Do what you think is best. I'll do what I think best as well," she said. "You go to sleep first, darling. Goodnight."

Then she walked out of the bedroom.

Jin Liwei sighed, already knowing that he couldn't persuade her this time. He was just worried about her. She had a history of sudden health failures resulting in fainting episodes and even coma. Anything that might cause her health to suffer troubled him to no end. In addition, she was the type who valued sleep very highly. His baby girl foregoing sleep to do something else was, of course, a cause of great concern for him.

Although he already accepted her decision to skip sleep tonight, he had no intention of leaving her alone so that he could sleep himself. He hurriedly grabbed his own satin robe and wore it over his naked body.

He was on his way to follow his baby girl when his phone started ringing again. It was his fellow executive's number, the same one Rose Young used to call just a few moments ago. Jin Liwei scowled and grabbed his phone, intending to block the number. But before he could do so, the ringing stopped, followed by a short ding. It was a text message.

His colleague, not Rose Young but the actual owner of the phone, was apologizing for what happened. The man didn't expect that Rose Young would create so much trouble with Jin Liwei and his fiancée.

Jin Liwei only thought for a moment about the apology before blocking the man's number. If the man wanted to contact Jin Liwei, he would need to do so through Xu Tian from now on.

His baby girl was already gone, so he slipped the phone in his robe's pocket, and then followed after her.

The computer room was closed and locked when he arrived. He was about to press the built-in intercom but the door clicked open before he could do so.

"Meow~ Mommy says Daddy can come inside, but don't disturb her," Ketchup informed him.

"En. I understand," Jin Liwei replied.

The heavy, bullet-proof, stainless steel door fully opened to let him in.

The computer room in the mansion was several times bigger than the one at the penthouse. While the one at the penthouse was basically just a single room, this computer room was actually more like a suite. There were several interconnected rooms, so Jin Liwei had to navigate the place a bit before he finally found his baby girl.

She was sitting on her ergonomic chair...a more apt description would be that she was reclining on her large ergonomic computer station which looked like a futuristic cabin seat. Several keyboards surrounded her in layers. She could easily move the layers to change keyboards without interrupting her work. In front of her was a wall completely covered with flat screen computer monitors.

Her fingers were typing so fast that they were like a blur to Jin Liwei's eyes. He quietly walked to her and kissed her cheek. He thought that she was going to ignore him, but she slightly turned her head towards him and puckered her lips, silently asking him to kiss her there. She did this without taking her eyes off from what she was doing. Of course, he gave her what he wanted and kissed her on the lips.

After that, he didn't bother her again. He glanced at the computer monitors. They were all information about Rose Young. He didn't care about the woman, so none of the information interested him. If destroying the woman would give his baby girl peace, then he would just let her do whatever she wanted. He already made up his mind to fire Rose Young in the morning, anyway.

Since he didn't want to sleep while his baby girl was busy working, he decided to spend his time in a productive way instead. He asked Ketchup to direct him to a computer station he could use. It was one of the most basic ones in the place, but at least it also had the comfortable ergonomic cabin-like seat. He might as well complete some work while he was here. After a while, he also became absorbed in his own work.

The couple worked on their own respective tasks.

"Meow? Mommy, Ketchup has found something!"

"Send it here."

A few seconds later...

"Darling?" Iris called for Jin Liwei. "Can you come here for a moment?"

He paused his work and went to her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Look at this."

It took him almost a minute before he understood what he was looking at. They were data from Jin Corporation's Singapore branch. The Youngs were basically the ones running it. Rose Young worked as the head manager of the Marketing Department before she got promoted to work as CMO at the main headquarters in China.

Iris pointed at one of the computer monitors. "See here. Ketchup found several traces of digital footprints nearly identical to the hacker Eagle even before he hacked into Jin Corporation and several other top companies in the country this past summer."

He frowned. "The son of a bitch hacked into our Singapore branch?"

"Hmm... I wouldn't call this hacking. Someone gave him full access to the system. It's like giving a key to a thief and then rolling the red carpet when he enters your home."

"What?!"

Iris tilted her head to side, studying the data Ketchup had gathered so far. Iris was also helping speed up the process, but otherwise allowed Ketchup to do the bulk of the work in order to aid her self-learning function. Iris only provided the guidance.

"It's not only Eagle. There are also others... I'm not familiar with any of these digital footprints." She looked at him. "Darling, they've infiltrated Jin Corporation's Singapore branch. Hm?"

She narrowed her eyes, noticing something. Her fingers flew over the keyboard. Moments later, a completely new set of data appeared on the computer monitor directly in front of them.

Jin Liwei also saw it. His frown only deepened. "I'm aware that the Singapore branch hires a lot of foreign employees, but the reports sent to me didn't show this! Who are all these people? Where did they come from? They're all young and yet they already hold such high positions? Where are the older employees? What happened to them?"

The more Jin Liwei looked at the data, the more uneasy and confused he felt. This was such a weird situation.

"I should've paid more attention to the Singapore branch," he said.

"I don't think it's your fault, darling. I detect traces of falsifying information within the branch's system itself. Whoever did it don't want you to know," she told him. Then she instructed her virtual cat, "Ketchup, help me find more information about the Young family, especially those who are working or have worked at Jin Corporation's Singapore branch."

"Okay, Mommy! Meow~"

One of the side monitors showed the white cat lying on its belly like a sphinx. Her green eyes glowed brightly, as she focused on the new task her mommy gave her.

Almost immediately, information about Rose Young's father, the current head of the Singapore branch, started flooding the monitors. It wasn't only him. Ketchup unearthed a slew of unorganized information about various members of the Young family. Of course, it included Rose Young's as well. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

This time, Jin Liwei helped his wife and child in organizing and making sense of all the information. He wanted to know what the hell the Youngs had been doing with the Singapore branch of his company.

Then all of a sudden, Iris jolted on her seat and shouted.

"Ketchup, stop! Retreat! Retreat now!! No!!!"