“Of course, love,” Jin Liwei said.
He glanced at Domingo Chua who looked as helpless as him as they watched the ladies sobbing their hearts out. Jasper stayed in the sidelines and looked awkward as hell, not knowing what to do with himself. Nobody anticipated that the cheerful atmosphere would become so emotional like this with the women all ended up crying.
In the end, everyone became concerned for Iris. The Chuas and Jasper all excused themselves and bid good night to the couple. Jin Liwei was left to comfort his wife.
It took some time for Iris to control her emotions again. She pressed herself deeper in her husband’s warm embrace and inhaled his scent for comfort.
“That was so embarrassing,” she murmured, sighing.
“It’s fine,” Jin Liwei assured her. “Are you okay now?”
She nodded. They continued cuddling together in bed in comfortable silence.
After a few moments, Iris said, “Auntie Reina is a wonderful mother. I want to be like her when raising our children.”
“She’s her and you’re you. You’ll be the best mother to our children. You don’t have to imitate anyone.”
She lifted her head up to look at him. “Really? You think so?”
“En.”
She smiled and touched her stomach. It was still flat. “I’ll do my best.”
“Me, too,” he said, putting his own hand over hers.
###
Long Jian peeked outside the window of their house. There was a crowd of reporters camping outside their gates. He scowled. Fortunately, Iris and Jin Liwei were kind enough to send him and his mother home from Dragon Palace with a security escort. They were bombarded by the media as soon as they arrived home.
The bombing incident and the subsequent criminal investigations associated with it had been huge national news because of the many people it involved including big names like Jin Chonglin and Iris Long. So many of the victims and their loved ones wanted someone to blame. The bomber, Tian Kong, was condemned of course, but they hated the mastermind the most.
As the one suspected to be the mastermind, Zhu Ning had been subjected with the harshest denunciation from everyone. She wasn’t tortured in jail but the disgusted mutters didn’t escape her hearing. No matter how indignant she felt at the false accusations, the repeated condemnation from everyone still managed to affect her. She aged a lot inside jail.
The housekeeper called him for dinner. Long Jian stopped looking at the reporters outside and went upstairs to his mother’s bedroom.
“Mom, it’s time to eat,” he called.
There was no response. He opened the door and saw a mound covered under the duvet on the bed. He sighed and walked inside before pulling the duvet away to reveal his mother.
Zhu Ning’s expression was blank. It pained Long Jian to watch his mother acting so unlike her usual self. It was like her soul had left her body into an empty vessel. His hands clenched into fists at the unknown motherfuckers who framed his mother and traumatized her like this. She wasn’t the kindest person in the planet but she didn’t deserve what she experienced.
“Mom.”
It took him a few tries before his presence registered in his mother’s expression.
“Son….”
“I’m here, Mom. You’re okay now.”
Zhu Ning sat up on the bed and grabbed him, clutching the front of his shirt. There was some madness in her frightened eyes as she muttered over and over again, “I don’t want to go back to jail. Don’t let me go back there!”
“You’re not going back to jail, Mom.” He sat down on the bed and did his best to comfort his mother.
After a few minutes, Zhu Ning finally started to calm down. Long Jian sighed in relief.
“It’s all thanks to Xiulan and her husband CEO Jin that we managed to free you not only from jail but also from all the crimes the prosecutors are pinning on you. Mom, I couldn’t do anything with my own power but they helped me.”
She didn’t reply. He couldn’t see her expression clearly because the room was dim.
“What did you pay for the bitch to help you?” she asked in a harsh whisper.
He frowned. “What?”
A fierce Zhu Ning faced him. He could barely make out her appearance in the dark. However, it was clear to him that there was something wrong with his mother’s reaction.
She held his arm and dug her fingers on his skin. It hurt. He tried to pull away but failed.
“That bitch is the daughter of Wei Lan, that slut. There’s no way that she’ll help you without asking for anything in return! What did you exchange for helping me out of jail? Tell me!”
Long Jian kept his mouth shut. He had no intention of revealing his deal with Iris to his mother especially since Zhu Ning had the same ambition as him—to succeed Long Tengfei as the next head of Long Industries and the Long clan. If she knew that he was helping Iris to solidify her position and spread her influence in the company, his mother would surely go crazy. He couldn’t allow that.
“It’s nothing,” he lied. “Mom, don’t think too much about it.”
Zhu Ning glared, not believing him at all.
He avoided her piercing eyes and tried to change the subject. “It’s time for dinner. Let’s go eat, Mom. You’re so thin now.”
“Tell me!” Zhu Ning shrieked.
Long Jian’s entire body tensed. His temper almost flared but he restrained it by force. This was not the time to fight against his own mother.
“Leave it, Mom. At the end of the day, Xiulan and I have the same father. We are siblings. It’s only natural for us to help each other out. Whatever feud our mothers have with each other should have nothing to do with us, the children.”
She slapped him in the face.
His head turned to the side from the force. The sound reverberated in the room and rang inside his head. He was shocked and unable to react in time.
Zhu Ning was screaming at him like a demented banshee while hitting him on the chest.
“Traitor! How dare you betray your own mother like this?! You’re siding with the enemies and abandoning me, your mother?! Why?! Because I went to jail and my reputation is ruined?! You traitor son!!!”
