Jin Liwei said these cheesy words in a low voice, so the members of the branch families present didn’t hear him. If they did, their image of their clan head would be destroyed forever.
Both Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan chuckled at what he said. His overall expression might appear cold but his mother and grandmother could clearly see the proud look in his eyes when talking about his beloved fiancée.
Iris smiled, a little shy.
After greeting Huang Yuyan and Grandma Li, Jin Liwei wrapped his arm around Iris’ shoulders and pulled her close to him. Then they faced the branch families together. Jin Liwei greeted them first before introducing her to them.
“Everyone, this is my fiancée and my future wife, Long Xiulan. Some of you might know her as Iris Long.”
Only some of the older ones greeted her politely. Most of them looked at her from head to toe and then back again in a rude manner, especially the younger female ones. They were Jin Liwei’s distant cousins, mostly teenagers or around Iris’ age in their early twenties.
Their leader was Jin Jiali, eighteen years old. She was pretty and resembled Jin Chonglin a little bit. However, her blatant hostile expression directed at Iris subtracted from her good looks. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her legs spread in a dominant manner. She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips in a mocking expression. Her entire body language looked aggressive. It was obvious that she was looking down on Iris.
The other girls behind her mirrored her. However, there was a couple of girls who separated themselves from the group and looked at Iris with excited expressions on their faces instead.
Another bigger group consisted of older people. Most of them were around Huang Yuyan and Grandma Li’s age, while a few looked to be the same age as Jin Liwei.
Their leader was Jin Chenggong, Jin Jiali’s father. He was a cousin of Jin Liwei’s father and the current head of his own branch family. He was also a member of Jin Corporation’s board of directors.
It was clear that the majority of them didn’t like her. She felt indifferent towards them. She didn’t have the least bit interest in trying to make them like her. For her, they weren’t important. The only important people in the Jin family were Jin Liwei (of course), Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan—all the members of the main family. Oh, and Jin Chonglin too. She almost forgot.
If these Jin branch families didn’t like her, so what? She didn’t even give a whit about the Long branch families, so why would she care about these Jin branch families?
To a certain extent, yes, she wanted the entire Jin clan to accept her as Jin Liwei’s marriage partner, but it didn’t mean that she would slave herself into making them like her. Working hard to be successful in her music career and her own businesses should be enough. If they still didn’t like her even with her accomplishments, then it was their problem, not hers.
The most important thing for Iris was that Jin Liwei loved her and that his mother, grandmother and brother accepted their relationship.
Jin Jiali raised her eyebrow even higher. “So you’re Iris Long, huh?”
Jin Liwei didn’t like the way this little cousin of his—he forgot her name—was looking at his baby girl. He scowled. His aura also became colder.
“Continue looking at my future wife like that and I’ll ban you from entering here ever again,” he warned.
Jin Jiali and her other cousins shuddered under Jin Liwei’s cold gaze. They had always been afraid of their older cousin Jin Liwei. It didn’t help that he was also the current clan head. Even some of the elders were afraid of him.
The atmosphere turned tense. They all just met each other but it was already awkward and uncomfortable.
“Liwei, don’t take your cousin Jia’er too seriously. She’s still a child. Please excuse her,” Jin Chenggong said in a subtle attempt to defend his daughter’s rude behaviour.
“A child?” Jin Liwei turned to Jin Jiali and asked, “How old are you?”
Jin Jiali didn’t respond.
“Answer me,” Jin Liwei said in a commanding voice. His tone brooked no argument.
“I…I’m eighteen,” Jin Jiali finally replied.
Jin Liwei looked at Jin Chenggong. “Uncle, your daughter is already eighteen years old. She already reached the age of majority and no longer a child. Unless there’s something wrong with her brain that her mental development is stunted and is similar to that of a young child, then she should learn how to take responsibility for her own behaviour.”
The father and daughter turned white then red and finally purple from humiliation. Jin Liwei’s indirect insult towards Jin Jiali was clear to most of the people. Only a few slow ones didn’t understand what Jin Liwei meant and looked totally clueless.
Jin Chenggong was the first one to recover. He cleared his throat. “Yes, you’re right,” he said in a tight voice.
Jin Jiali opened her mouth, resentful that her father didn’t say anything to defend her against the insult. However, one fierce warning look from her father made her shut her mouth. She pressed her lips tightly together and glared at Iris instead.
‘This woman is a bad influence on the clan head. Jin Liwei has always been someone who prioritizes family. Now he’s even insulting his own cousin to defend that woman,’ they thought to themselves.
It was true that Jin Liwei always prioritized family. This was a known fact among all members of the Jin clan. What they didn’t know was that Jin Liwei now considered Iris as his number one family. These branch families were demoted several ranks in the family hierarchy in his mind, especially since they were being this rude to his future wife.
The tense atmosphere grew heavier that Huang Yuyan had no choice but to step in and try to diffuse it. She was worried that Iris might feel too uncomfortable.
“Xiulan, my dear! What are all these things that you brought with you? Why are there so many?” she asked, deliberately shifting the attention to the assorted things the bodyguards were carrying.
“Auntie, we bought them for you and Grandma Li from France,” Iris replied.
“Oh, you didn’t have to!” Although Huang Yuyan said this, she actually looked excited.
Even Grandma Li’s eyes lit up seeing the large number of wrapped souvenirs for them.
“The truth is that Liwei and I have been so busy during the Sommet International Film Festival that we only bought a few things for you. Most of these are actually from my mother. She wants Liwei and I to give them to you and to let you know that she can’t wait to meet the two of you.”
