The symphony orchestra musicians on the double grand staircases all leaned forward, while the household staff edged closer. They all pricked their ears to listen.
“Are you serious?” Iris asked. She looked up at Jin Liwei in disbelief.
“Of course, I’m serious,” he replied. And indeed, his expression showed that he was.
She released a heavy sigh. “Darling, didn’t I already tell you that I don’t acknowledge being in a relationship with you before you officially asked me and I agreed to be your girlfriend? I don’t understand why you would think that we became lovers when you first kissed me. I remember wanting to punch you on the face that time. I even borderline hated you.”
The eyes of the symphony orchestra musicians and the household staff widened.
Wow! They didn’t know about this. How interesting!
They all leaned forward a bit more to the point that some of the musicians almost fell down the stairs. Fortunately, their colleagues caught them.
A hint of sulkiness appeared on Jin Liwei’s expression when he heard that she hated him in the past. However, it quickly disappeared and he became subdued remembering how he acted that time. He was such an asshole back then, not to mention his despicable role in hiding the truth about the car crash that almost killed her and sent her into coma.
Thinking more deeply about the matter, it was actually quite surprising that he was able to make her fall in love with him. Fate really intertwined their lives in mysterious ways. All of the challenges that they faced to be where they were at now made him love her more.
And now they were even engaged. If things went according to plan, they would get married, have babies and create their dream family together. He was looking forward to achieving all of these.
Iris’ exasperation instantly melted, replaced by a warm and fluffly feeling inside. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at his words.
“Jin Liwei, you’re annoying but I also love that about you. Still annoying, though.”
One corner of his mouth curved up into a lopsided half-smirk.
“Kyaaaaaah!!! Ah, my heart!” Dom squealed and clutched his chest in a dramatic manner.
The household staff looked visibly relieved that their master and mistress weren’t going to fight and were acting lovey-dovey again. They already learned that their mistress could be just as scary as their master when she was angry.
What scared them was her unpredictability. With their master, they already knew what he was like when he was angry. His was more of a cold fury that transformed the entire mansion into frozen hell.
In contrast, they didn’t know exactly what to expect whenever their mistress was angered. Sometimes, she would also go into cold fury like their master. However, there were times when she would go into explosive rages, wreaking destruction throughout the mansion.
These instances happened quite often after the night she attended her father’s birthday party. The first time they experienced one of her explosive rages, they were all shocked and frightened out of their wits.
She was furious at something she read online and smashed her tablet on the floor. Then she went on a smashing spree in one of the lounge rooms. She only calmed down after their master arrived and sweet-talked her.
“Master, I think the mistress is pregnant. Should I buy a few home pregnancy tests? Or should I make an appointment with a doctor to come here to personally examine her?”
“Calm down. She’s not pregnant,” Jin Liwei assured his butler. “Although I wouldn’t mind if she was. We’ve been using the condoms you’re providing us without fail.”
The butler didn’t look convinced. “Master, condoms aren’t 100% effective. Besides, the mistress’ mood swings have become too extreme lately. She’s usually calm and unaffected, but this time, she loses control so easily.”
“Yes, she’s usually calm and unaffected, but she also has this side. She just doesn’t show it often,” Jin Liwei replied calmly.
He remembered the time when she lost control and attacked him after he confessed to her that he hid the truth about her car crash. Her recent explosive rages reminded him of that time.
“This is also a part of her, so we should just accept it,” Jin Liwei told his butler. “Don’t worry about this anymore. Advise the rest of the household staff not to take her rages personally. She’s just stressed out right now. Besides, she feels sorry after raging.”
Despite their master’s reassurances, the household staff still believed that their mistress was pregnant. They treated her with more care and fed her nutritious food. Then after some time, she stopped having these explosive rages. She was back to her usual calm self.
They also noticed that she became more expressive and warmer when interacting with them. It was only then that they believed their master’s reason that she was only stressed out and not really pregnant.
Nevertheless, the household staff remained watchful of her mood. Having experienced her explosive rages before, they wanted to be prepared for when she exploded again in the future.
As for the musicians, they wished they brought some popcorn to snack on while watching such an entertaining real-life drama happening right before their eyes. They were glad to have accepted this gig from Jin Liwei. Of course, they needed to sign an NDA first before they were allowed to perform at this private romantic event.
When they discovered that Jin Liwei, the President-CEO of Jin Corporation, was actually Iris’ real fiancé, they were all extremely shocked. Many of them were already friends with Iris from working closely together on her music.
Their admiration for her only increased after learning who her real fiancé was. If it were any other women, they would’ve already bragged about their relationship with Jin Liwei and used him to their advantage. But not Iris. She did things her way and used her own abilities, instead of relying on a man for everything.
As for the lovey-dovey couple, they had already forgotten that there were other people around them. They had become too preoccupied with each other as usual that they even failed to hear Dom’s loud squealing and cheering.
“Darling, I still don’t recognize today as our anniversary but since you already made all of this effort, let’s not waste it. Let’s call it our pre-anniversary celebration instead. We can celebrate our real anniversary again on the actual date which is in a few days,” Iris said.
Jin Liwei could only sigh. In his mind, today was really their anniversary. But his baby girl had spoken and according to her, today wasn’t their anniversary yet. “Alright, love. I understand. We’ll do this again in a few days.”
She giggled. “Our pre-anniversary is already so extravagant. Let’s do something much simpler on our actual anniversary.”
“If that’s what you want. Anything for you.”
“I’ll plan it.”
“Mmn… Okay. Thank you, darling. Happy Pre-Anniversary. I love you.” She stood on her tippy-toes and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
One of his arms circled around her waist, pulling her closer against his body. The huge bouquet got squished between them. His other hand squeezed her plump butt through her dress.
“Happy Pre-Anniversary. I love you more. Always,” he told her before kissing her deeply.
The symphony orchestra started playing romantic music again, serenading the two lovers kissing above the carpet of red rose petals.
