Long Jian's voice mail was an urgent "call me as soon as you can" message.
There were no other details but Iris had an idea of what her current ally needed to talk to her about. She called him back without wasting any additional second. He answered on the second ring.
"Your recent attack has turned the board of directors upside-down," he told her in a hushed voice.
"I can imagine," Iris replied in a nonchalant tone.
"The board of directors are becoming very restless when they learned about your recent acquisition of the company shares. Those who belong in Long Hui's camp are panicking." He chuckled while adding, "It's like watching headless chickens running around."
While listening to him talk, Iris' hands were busy accessing Long Industries' system. It was an extremely easy task so there was no need for Ketchup's assistance. However, Ketchup still liked observing her mommy like a studious disciple eager to learn from her master in action.
"Long Hui's so-called 'exile' is officially ending soon," Long Jian said. "Well, it should have ended much earlier but Father extended his temporary demotion."
Long Tengfei's decision didn't surprise Iris in the least. "Father is still intent in protecting him."
"Yeah, that's what I figured. Once Long Hui returns, he can't delay facing Lin Yehan's lawsuit anymore." Long Jian snorted in obvious disdain. "Elder Long Meng is doing everything to rally more support for that coward. His mother, Zheng Suyin, has rejoined high society again and is regularly accompanied by Mao Qiyue, his current fiancée. Lin Yehan's lawsuit has also been putting pressure on the Mao family but the Zheng family's connections can't be underestimated either."
Iris' expression didn't change as her fingers continued flying over the keyboard. Her eyes also rapidly scanned all the information appearing on her computer screen. Despite this, she still continued to listen to what Long Jian was saying. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please
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"You currently have more shares than Long Hui but my sources say that the Zheng and Mao families' allies are trying to buy as much shares as they can for him. Right now, Long Hui's shares under his name are lesser than what you have but I suspect that the shares unofficially acquired for him are already more than yours. Others are just holding on to the shares before transferring them to him when the situation improves especially regarding Lin Yehan's lawsuit against him."
Iris' actions paused while her eyebrow rose.
She already knew about this information due to Jin Liwei and Ketchup's regular monitoring of Long Industries, specifically concerning the battle for succession. Her husband was THE Jin Liwei and Ketchup was a powerful AI hacker in her own right. It was understandable that they would easily obtain this kind of information.
What surprised Iris was that Long Jian also managed to get this kind of information. He didn't have the same resources even though he was Long Industries current Deputy COO. There were also many who still looked down on him because of his illegitimate birth despite his talent as a business executive.
Then she heard him sigh before falling silent.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He chuckled but there was no humour in his tone. "Nothing much." Pause. "I'm just a little amazed at what we're doing right now."
She was confused at his words.
"I can't believe that I'm working with you against Long Hui," he explained. "That I'm even reporting to you and warning you to be careful of his tricks—no, his backers' tricks. With the way things are going right now, it's like I'm helping you to win the battle for succession when I should be competing against all of you."
"Ah." She now understood. "Don't give up."
"Who's giving up? I'm never giving up."
"Good. When we've successfully kicked Long Hui out of the battle for succession, then we can have a proper showdown between the two of us."
"Yeah. When the time comes, you better watch out, Little Sister. I may be grateful for all the help you and your husband did for my mother, but I won't go easy on you. This is my respect for you as a competitor."
"Bring it on."
Iris had a smile after the phone conversation. Long Jian might only be a temporary ally in her eyes but the man was not bad at all. He might not be the most moral person in the world but at least the strength of his character as a whole was many times better than Long Hui's.
She sneered at the thought of Long Hui. Although she was all for strong and powerful females who had the ability to support the men in their lives, she still couldn't stop herself from looking down on someone like Long Hui. Just looking at the current situation was enough to see that he would've already long fallen into ruin without his mother and current fiancée's support.
He had the brains to achieve great success on his own, not to mention that his birth as the firstborn son placed him in an enviable position right from the start, and yet look at his current situation.
His spineless character caused him to fail in consolidating his natural status as the obvious heir. He even went so far as to hide behind his mother and fiancée while they do all the dirty work for him.
What a coward.
If only he had been strong enough to stand by his own decisions no matter the consequences, then Iris wouldn't end up becoming so hostile towards him. The man had no integrity whatsoever. He was driven by his own ambitions and was ready to sacrifice anything and everything to achieve what he wanted.
An image of her beloved godson, Little Jun, flashed in Iris' mind.
Her expression darkened. She immediately turned serious.
Little Jun was the number one reason why she despised Long Hui. Yes, she was indignant for Jiang Ying Yue as well, but her friend was already an adult. Iris trusted Jiang Ying Yue to have the ability to gradually heal and eventually move on from the horrible heartbreak that Long Hui caused her.
There were many examples of good men surrounding Jiang Ying Yue now. All of them were many times better than that scum man, Long Hui.
It was Little Jun who concerned Iris more than Jiang Ying Yue.
