A hand pressed down on Iris’ shoulder, the firm yet gentle weight giving her a silent warning. Thanks to the sudden touch, she was able to regain control of her violent emotions which until a couple of seconds ago were in serious danger of erupting because of Long Jufang’s careless and insulting remark about her showbiz career.
“Did you wait long, little sister? Here, I got you some cakes, mousse, and pudding. I got a little bit of everything that is chocolate,” Long Jian announced from behind her before placing a big plate of various small slices of chocolate-flavoured desserts on the table with his right hand while his left hand remained on her shoulder.
Iris’ eyes lit up, saliva immediately flooding inside her mouth, as soon as she saw the plate of delicious-looking desserts. The sweet and rich chocolate aroma wafted to her nose and somehow masked the foul smell of everybody else in the party.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, unable to stop herself from taking the small spoon from Long Jian and starting to eat.
Long Jufang scowled, first at Long Jian’s interruption, second at his presence which the elder deemed horribly unpleasant because of Long Jian’s illegitimate child status, and third at Iris’ disrespect of prioritizing food over his “sage” words.
“Granduncle.” Long Jian greeted the scowling elder with a nod, his expression cool and unreadable, before removing his hand on Iris’ shoulder and taking a seat on her other side.
“Hmph!” Long Jufang wanted to drive the bastard away and resume his conversation with Iris but he sensed that Long Jian wouldn’t comply. They were also in a public setting at the moment with many eyes watching them. As a proud Long, he wouldn’t allow their noble clan to lose face by exposing his derision of his bastard grandnephew in front of everyone.
In the end, he chose to ignore Long Jian’s presence and turned to Iris. “Remember my words, Xiulan. You’ll do well if you follow them.”
Iris paused eating. She finished swallowing before facing Long Jufang. Her mood had greatly improved after tasting the mouth-watering chocolate desserts. Although she still felt insulted by the elder’s disregard for her current showbiz career, she tamped the anger down.
“Granduncle, I’ll think about your words,” she replied. Well, it was true…to some extent. She would certainly think about what he said but it didn’t mean that she would follow his advice.
“Is your offer to help me negotiate with the shareholders still available?” she asked next.
The elder’s pleased expression changed into a sly one, while on the other side of Iris, Long Jian’s eyes glinted with curiosity.
“Of course,” Long Jufang said. “I’ll gladly act as an intermediary for you. But! I have a few conditions.”
Iris didn’t reply right away, observing the elder’s expression instead and trying to decipher his thoughts. Although her expression-reading skills weren’t very skillful, she was certain that his motives weren’t entirely pure. Despite this, she was still willing to cooperate with the elder in order to reach her goals. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
Finally, she nodded. “I understand. What are your conditions, Granduncle?” she asked in a solemn tone.
Long Jufang smiled in triumph. “Let’s talk more about this another time. It’s not appropriate to discuss this kind of important matter in front outsiders,” he said before throwing a shady look at Long Jian.
He didn’t wait for them to reply before excusing himself and leaving.
“That nasty ancient fossil,” Long Jian grumbled under his breath when Long Jufang was finally out of earshot.
Iris resumed eating.
Long Jian was quiet afterwards. A touch of envy flashed in his eyes before it was replaced by determination and self-confidence.
The two didn’t speak with each other for a few minutes. He was absorbed in his own thoughts while she was absorbed in finishing her desserts.
Afterwards, the two of them stood up and began roaming around the party to chat with the other guests. Iris didn’t want to do it at first but Long Jian reminded her that if she wanted to grow her influence within the company, she needed to suck it up and follow his suggestion as an ally. In between chatting with other people, they also whispered to each other.
“Before I forget, let me you tell now that when I was getting you the desserts, I learned from a trusted source the punishment Father gave Long Hui,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to elaborate.
“No bonus pay starting right now for two years. No salary raises for three years. Plus cancellation of other perks.”
Iris frowned.
“Apparently, he’ll also be sent to a tiny branch in a rural place somewhere up north where he’ll stay until the remainder of the year.”
Iris’ frown deepened.
“Indeed,” she murmured.
“Tsk!” Long Jian was pissed off, but he still managed to flash a bright smile whenever someone greeted them.
“Father doesn’t have the heart to give a harsh punishment to his eldest son, so that means that it’ll be up to us to mete out our own punishment to him,” she said.
