Iris didn’t force him to accept her offer right away either. There would definitely be a time that he would need to borrow her skills as a hacker.
Bacon was powerful but still immature in so many ways. So was Ketchup. Her two cat AI children would definitely join the war against the Vetrovs’ enemies but both of them still had a lot of growing up to do before that.
There were multiple methods that she could use to power up all of them but everything would be easier with her brother’s full cooperation. He knew more things about the enemies than she did.
If they wanted to completely defeat those enemies, they couldn’t do it alone. They needed to work together.
”Think about it some more, Big Brother,” she told him. “Just remember that regardless of our different personal values, we have the same motivation—to destroy all the enemies and protect the families that we built in this life.”
”Hm, alright,” he finally replied.
Iris smiled and then rushed into his arms. When her brother hugged her back, it felt like home. Her old home. Her brother, Nikolai, was more of a parent to her than their mother and father in their past life.
She rubbed her face against his chest. His appearance and physique might be completely different from what she remembered in their past life but the warmth of her brother’s embrace remained the same.
Lu Zihao chuckled and stroked her long hair. “You’re already a grown woman, not to mention a mother, and yet you still dare to act like a little girl.”
”It’s because you’re my big brother.”
His gaze softened. “Yeah. I’ll always be your big brother.”
###
A week before Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue’s scheduled wedding date, a large portion of their most important invited guests received another invitation.
This time, it was an invitation to an exclusive gala hosted by Lin Yehan to celebrate the national shooting team’s silver medal win at the World Shotgun Championship. He was one of the coaches of the team.
Included in the gala invitation were the national team’s sponsors. The main one was Jin Corporation.
The gala was scheduled at the same exact date and time as Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue’s wedding.
When a portion of their invited guests received Lin Yehan’s gala invitation, they immediately understood that it was a deliberate shady move to undermine the wedding. It wasn’t a secret that Lin Yehan launched a defamation lawsuit against Long Hui and eventually won the case.
Lin Yehan might generally be a low-key person but he was nonetheless an agricultural tycoon in his own right. In terms of wealth and influence, he was leagues above Long Hui’s current status. Lin Yehan was already an emperor of his own agriculture empire while Long Hui could only be considered as a crown prince with an unstable foundation. His other siblings including Iris Long were also vying for their father’s throne.
A group of the wedding guests immediately cancelled their attendance in advance and planned to attend Lin Yehan’s gala instead.
Even when Lin Yehan’s own prestige as an agricultural tycoon was taken out of the equation, just the fact that he was hosting a victory gala for the national shooting team was already enough reason to attend his gala instead of Long Hui’s wedding.
The national team didn’t only take home the silver medal at the world championship but also great pride to the country. Helping celebrate these amazing athletes was more dignified than attending the union of a young, rich couple who were nobodies without their respective families’ backing.
The other group of the wedding guests were more indecisive. They spent some time analyzing which event would be more beneficial to them. Most of them were close to the Long, Mao and Zheng families. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t cancel their attendance just like that.
It was only when they heard from the grapevine that Jin Liwei, Lu Zihao and their other sworn brothers would be attending Lin Yehan’s gala that they finally made a choice. Even Jin Chonglin was rumoured to attend as well, though this information wasn’t confirmed yet.
These invited guests couldn’t help but gossip among themselves.
”Didn’t Miss Mao mention in various interviews a while back that she sent an invitation to CEO Jin and Iris Long?”
”It’s no secret that Iris Long and Long Hui have fallen out after he cheated on that bodyguard with Mao Qiuyue. Iris Long sided with the bodyguard instead of her brother. Of course, she won’t attend Long Hui’s wedding!”
”I don’t care about their family drama. I need to quickly find a dress to attend Mr. Lin’s gala because the one that I commissioned for the wedding is now useless. My husband can’t wait for the gala because he wants the chance to talk to CEO Jin about some business opportunities.”
”My husband have the same plan, too.”
”So many of us cancelled our attendance to the wedding. The Maos have been trying to call me and my husband nonstop. Even the Zhengs are stepping forward. Surprisingly, the Longs don’t have much of a reaction.”
”President Long Tengfei is rumoured to be closer to his daughters than his sons. It’s not surprising because his daughters married extremely well. Iris Long married CEO Jin while his illegitimate daughter married Sir Lu Jianhong’s grandson. Not only that. Both daughters gave birth to twins each. President Long will definitely prioritize his daughters in order to strengthen his in-law relationship with both the Jins and the Lus.”
While these gossips fermented in several circles, Lin Yehan was drinking with his sworn brothers at Dragon Palace Home #10. Except for Wang Yingjie who had hospital duty, everyone was present.
Lin Yehan and Yu Mo drank brandy while Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao stopped at one shot each before contenting themselves with non-alcoholic cocktails for the rest of the evening.
”Eldest Bro, will you be in trouble for using the national team to hurt Long Hui and his bride?” Yu Mo asked.
”What using the national team?” Lin Yehan raised an eyebrow. “The victory gala that I’m hosting is legitimate. It’s only a coincidence that it’s scheduled on the same day as the wedding.”
”Pft! Coincidence. Yeah, right!” Yu Mo rolled his eyes before laughing.
Lin Yehan turned to Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao. “Both of you are going to come, right?”
”En.” Jin Liwei nodded.
Lu Zihao grunted.
Lin Yehan smiled. “Barring any emergencies in the hospital that day, Second Brother Yingjie said that he would be able to come as well.”
”My wife will come, too,” Jin Liwei said.
”Even better!” Lin Yehan was delighted. He turned to his fifth brother.
Lu Zihao swirled his cocktail. “Jinjing still hasn’t decided yet. If she doesn’t want to come, I won’t force her.”
”That’s fine,” Lin Yehan replied and nodded in understanding.
Yu Mo slung an arm over Lin Yehan’s shoulders. “Eldest Bro, will you be escorting a lady in the gala?”
”If the lady agrees, then yes.”
”Oh?” Yu Mo’s eyes lit up. “Who’s she? Do I know her?”
”Yes.”
”Who?”
Lin Yehan only smiled but didn’t reveal anything to his clueless fifth brother.
Yu Mo had been busy teaching Systema to his students in his studio and hanging out with his other less close friends. He didn’t know that his eldest brother had been chasing a certain single mother.
Lin Yehan didn’t publicize it to prevent his lady from feeling uncomfortable. Nobody told Yu Mo.
”Third Bro, Fifth Bro, do you know which lady Eldest Bro is talking about?” Yu Mo asked.
”En,” Jin Liwei said.
Lu Zihao didn’t bother replying. He didn’t care about this topic.
”Tell me!”
Yu Mo whined for a long time but none of his bros revealed anything useful. He could only sulk by himself while downing shot after shot of brandy. In the end, he became too drunk that an annoyed Lu Zihao slung the man over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and tossed him at a random guest bedroom.
”I’m off,” Lu Zihao announced and left without so much as waiting for a reply.
Lin Yehan shook his head while chuckling. He was also a little drunk but in a much better state than Yu Mo.
”You go ahead and return to Xiulan, Third Brother. I’m going to find a balcony for some fresh air to sober up a bit before I head to bed.”
”Alright.” Jin Liwei patted his shoulder before leaving as well. “Good night, Eldest Brother.”
”Good night.”
Lin Yehan went to the nearest balcony after Jin Liwei left. The air was chilly and made him shiver but he stayed put. A few minutes later, his mind cleared up a little.
He fished his phone out of his pocket and called someone.
”Hello?” a female voice answered.
”Miss Ying Yue.”
Pause.
”Are you drunk, Mr. Yehan?” Jiang Ying Yue asked.
”A little,” he admitted.
She sighed. “It’s late now. You should go to sleep.”
”I miss you.”
Silence.
”Miss Ying Yue, I miss you,” he repeated. “I want to see you. Can I?”
”You’re still at the mansion?”
”Yes. Yu Mo and I are staying here tonight. So…can I see you?”
”Right now?”
”Uh-huh.”
”B-but….”
Lin Yehan inhaled the cold air and felt more refreshed. “Please, Miss Ying Yue. I won’t do anything inappropriate. I promise. I really just want to see you, that’s all.”
Jiang Ying Yue didn’t answer for what felt like a long time. Finally, she said, “Okay.”
