Dragon Palace Home #10.
Jin Liwei arrived home late that night from work. It was already past dinner. The butler told him that both Iris and Dom were in the cat room, so he headed there.
He was about to open the door when he heard some muffled voices inside. Curious and not wanting to disturb them, he quietly opened the door just a crack to eavesdrop. He heard his baby girl and Dom talking inside. The cats meowed now and then. Well, it was actually just Popcorn asking for attention. Jin Liwei couldn’t hear Ice Cream at all. She was probably sleeping like usual.
“No, boss. Your expression still looks flat. You need to harness the emotion of shame,” Dom said. “Let’s go through the scenario again. ‘You are a teenager and you have been caught smoking at school grounds. Your teacher and the school principal scold you and call your parents. Your parents come to pick you up. They are very disappointed.’ Now you have to act guilty and ashamed of yourself. Okay, boss? 3, 2, 1, action!”
“I don’t like this scenario. It’s so stupid. I never smoked and I don’t want to try it. So I have no idea what it’s like. Let’s change it,” Iris complained.
“But boss, this is the scenario your acting coach gave you. We have to practice it. Or if you want another scenario, we can practice the other emotions instead. Oh, here’s a good one. It’s for the emotion of surprise. ‘You receive a letter informing you that a great-grandfather that you’ve never met before has died and left you 50,000 RMB in his will.’ Now you have to act surprised.”
“50,000 RMB? Is that supposed to be surprising? But I’m already a billionaire.”
“Pft!” Jin Liwei couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping from his lips.
“Meow? Meow!” Popcorn ran like an orange rocket and launched himself at his daddy.
Jin Liwei caught him and immediately started petting the needy cat.
“Sir boss!”
It was Iris’ turn to come running. Then she threw herself at him, hugging his waist tightly. Popcorn meowed loudly in complaint as he got squished between his mommy and daddy.
“Sorry,” Iris mumbled before quickly taking Popcorn and putting him on the floor. Then she returned to hugging Jin Liwei tightly, rubbing her face against his chest.
Jin Liwei wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. He could feel her frustration in the stiffness of her body.
“What’s wrong, love?” he asked.
She didn’t answer, continuing to bury her face in his chest instead.
“What happened?” Jin Liwei asked Dom instead.
“Oh. The acting coach told boss earlier today that she sucks in acting. Boss has been in a bad mood because of it.”
“What?” Jin Liwei’s expression turned ugly. “That acting coach is a quack. Fire her. Let’s get a new one. How dare she say that to my Xiulan? That acting coach doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“No, don’t,” Iris finally spoke. “Elder Sister Yiyi says that she’s one of the best acting coaches in the industry. Apparently, many of her past students are now some of the top actors and actresses in the country.”
“She’s only one of the best in the country. Let’s get you a better acting coach from abroad,” Jin Liwei suggested.
Iris was feeling better now after hearing his words. “It’s okay. There’s no need to go that far. I’ll stick with her. I heard that Bright Summit made a lot of effort to persuade her to take me in as a student.”
He gazed down at her beautiful face. Then he stroked her soft and smooth cheek with his fingers. “So what if Bright Summit made a lot of effort? Don’t force yourself to endure it if she’s being mean to you.” Then he asked her, “Do you even like acting?”
She tilted her head to the side and thought about it. “No, I don’t think I like acting…”
“Then there’s no reason for you to do it,” he told her.
In all honesty, he didn’t want her to go into acting. When she first informed him that she was going to take acting workshops and start working with an acting coach, he was taken aback. She said that she wanted to try acting. He didn’t stop her, but he made her agree to certain conditions first.
First, she needed to consult him before accepting an acting project. They would decide together if she should accept it or not. Second, absolutely no love scenes allowed. No kissing, no hugging, and no intimate touching with the opposite sex. Third, she needed to bring her bodyguards to shoots all the time.
Fortunately, she accepted all of his conditions without any protests, even the one about the bodyguards. Then she started going to acting workshops and working with an acting coach. At first, she was very excited. But after a few days, he noticed that she was increasingly becoming downhearted.
“You’re right. But I still want to try acting. I’m struggling right now and I’m starting to dislike it, but I don’t believe that I can’t do it. I already attended a number of acting classes, so I might as well finish what I started. I want to at least try working on an acting project. I want to take on this challenge and see how far I can go. If in the end, I still suck at it, then I’ll stop and stick to music.”
She did say that she just wanted to try and experience it. His baby girl was still young compared to him. He should allow her to experience new things and enjoy herself before they married.
“Alright, love. Do whatever you want, but remember our agreement. Okay?”
Iris gave him a sweet smile and pulled his head for a chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you, Jin Liwei.”
“I love you more, Long Xiulan. So much,” he replied in a serious voice.
“Ehehehe.”
“Meow~ Meow~”
Ice Cream opened her eyes and looked at Slave #1 and her brother Popcorn spying on Mommy and Daddy. Yawning, she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.
“Have you eaten dinner yet, darling?” Iris asked Jin Liwei.
“Not yet.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Iris suddenly said. “I’m writing a theme song for a TV drama. It’s a love song. You’re my inspiration for it, darling. I think of you whenever I’m working on it.”
“Yeah?” Jin Liwei looked extremely pleased and delighted. “Can I hear it?”
“Yes, of course. It’s not finished yet but I’ll play it to you later in our room.”
Jin Liwei nodded, a faint smile on his face.
“Oh. I also forgot to mention that it’s a duet. I’m planning on inviting Brother Chonglin to sing it together with me. I think his voice will be perfect for the song,” she told him.
His smile instantly disappeared.
