“B-big Brother!” Iris cried in Russian.
“Hm.”
Lu Zihao’s chest tightened and his throat felt somewhat choked up. He always hated seeing his precious little sister cry. It always made him want to torture and murder any foolish asshole who dared to reduce her to tears. This time, however, the foolish asshole was him. Guilt filled him for making his little sister worry about him so much that she would cry like this. It wasn’t healthy for her especially now that she was pregnant and still in bed rest.
“Are you okay now?” she asked.
“I am. Don’t worry about me anymore.”
“How can I not worry about you?! You’re my big brother!”
He sighed and felt even guiltier. His expression, however, remained impassive, not allowing anyone to read his real thoughts or emotions from his face.
“Don’t cry anymore and risk hurting your babies. We’ll talk later when we arrive there at Dragon Palace. Just try to relax there in bed and wait for us to come to you.”
“Okay.”
Fortunately, his sister didn’t insist on prolonging their phone conversation. He could sense that she was very emotional at the moment. It was better for her to take the time to calm down first or he would feel even guiltier if something happened to her and the twins because she felt too upset with him.
The phone call ended. Grandpa Lu gestured for him to toss the phone back and he did. The old man caught it easily, his reaction time not in any way inferior to young people.
Lu Zihao sensed the old man’s probing gaze. Although he and his sister would openly speak in Russian in front of other people sometimes, doing it in front of the old man must have made Grandpa Lu form his own suspicions for some time now.
To his relief, Grandpa Lu never really asked him about it or demanded a more believable explanation aside from the original excuse he told people that he and his sister met in an online game and became friends years ago and that they both randomly learned Russian.
It sounded stupid even to his own ears but it was the best he could think of during that time especially given the special circumstances that he and his sister were in.
Who would believe that the two of them had been reborn into completely different bodies? That they were originally Russians and hailed from the top criminal family in the underworld?
Only a lovesick fool like Jin Liwei, now his brother-in-law, would cast all of his normal logical beliefs aside to be able to accept and continue loving the woman he loved without thinking that she and her brother (or as Jin Liwei believed before, his own fifth brother) had turned into crazy people.
And now, Lu Zihao was facing the wise, scrutinizing eyes of the original’s grandfather. After waking up from coma, he noticed something from the old man’s gaze whenever Grandpa Lu looked at him. In that instant, he felt that the old man must have known everything even without him saying or admitting anything.
“Old man—Grandpa….”
“Go rest, you smelly boy! Why can’t you stay still and take better care of yourself when you just woke up from coma? Tell me, I want to know! Stop chitter-chattering like a bored old lady! You’ll wake up Jinjing my girl. This old man feels a little tired too so I’ll go take a nap. Stop disturbing me! Hmph!”
With that, Grandpa Lu decisively leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes.
A light chuckle bubbled in Lu Zihao’s throat watching the old man trying to avoid having “the talk” with him. He shook his head and didn’t disturb Grandpa Lu anymore. It seemed that the old man wasn’t ready yet to face the real truth head on and needed some time to prepare himself even though he must have already known deep inside.
In all honesty, he wasn’t ready yet either. However, there was an almost primal force within himself that was urging him to come clean about the truth ever since he woke up from coma. He couldn’t explain this almost mystical feeling. There were no actual words telling him what to do, just a vague but still powerful feeling, that was silently pressuring him. He inexplicably felt that following this feeling would benefit him in lots of ways.
Before he knew it, he also dozed off. He must have been more tired than he expected.
The limo was already in front of his sister and brother-in-law’s Dragon Palace mansion when he woke up.
“We’re here,” a still sleepy Long Jinjing told him, shaking him a little to wake him up.
He grunted and pulled her head for a quick but deep kiss. She became dazed when it was over, her eyes staring at his lips. The corners of his mouth quirked in amusement.
“You naughty boy! Stop seducing your lady sweetheart in front of your beloved old grandpa! Hmph! Wait until we go inside and get a room! Why don’t the kids these days know any modesty? I want to know!”
Although Grandpa Lu’s words were scolding them, his old eyes were actually teasing them. Long Jinjing snapped out of her daze in an instant and ducked her head in Lu Zihao’s embrace, hiding her embarrassment from the old man. Lu Zihao chuckled.
“Let’s go inside,” he urged her.
Later, the butler led the couple straight to the master suite as per Lu Zihao’s request. On the other hand, Grandpa Lu went to his assigned bedroom to resume resting.
Lu Zihao needed to assure his little sister that he was really alright first before he could deal with the other matters that he left behind before collapsing into coma.
“Little Sister!” Long Jinjing left his side and rushed to Iris’ bedside.
Lu Zihao followed behind her.
It was only after his sister finished grilling him with questions and ensuring that he was really fine that Iris finally looked relieved. As a result, Lu Zihao felt relieved as well.
Now it was his turn.
His expression became dark. “You got thinner. Your husband is not taking care of you properly.”
Iris pouted. “Liwei is taking care of me properly. Something is just wrong with my body. It keeps on failing me.”
