“I like the sound of that,” Long Jian replied with a smirk.
“The harder Long Hui clashes against us will determine how harsh our punishment for him will be,” Iris said.
He snorted. “You’re being too fair, little sister.”
“I know,” she sighed. “As much as I want to beat him up for all the horrible things he said and did because of his stupidity and insecurity, at the end of the day, he’s still the father of my godson whether I like it or not.”
Long Jian grunted.
Iris wasn’t sure if he agreed with her or not from his vague response, so she looked at him directly in the eyes with a serious expression. “Our nephew, Little Jun, is a very cute, sweet and lovable child. I can’t bear to do anything excessive that might scar him for life. That’s why even though I’m furious at my godson’s stupid father, I need to consider their parent-child relationship. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future and what kind of relationship they’ll have or how close or distant they’ll be. If we destroy Long Hui to the point of no return now, but then in the future Little Jun decides that his father has been wronged by us…” Her eyes became troubled. “I don’t want my godson to hate me,” she whispered.
He didn’t reply right away because he wasn’t sure what to say. If this was before, he would probably have scoffed at his youngest sister’s words for being overly emotional and dramatic. She had always been a drama queen since she was a little girl after all, taking after her mother Wei Lan…that was until the car accident.
Now, however, for some reason, he no longer had the heart to dismiss her concerns like he had done before. He didn’t have any special feelings for his nephew because there hadn’t been a chance for him to form a meaningful relationship with the child nor had the desire to form one (or so he believed). This was why he couldn’t really relate to Iris’ deep love and affection for Long Hui’s son. But seeing the sincerity of her protectiveness towards the child in her eyes, he couldn’t help but become interested in their nephew. Could he also become close to the child like her, even though the child was Long Hui’s son, the man he considered to be his greatest rival in life?
A furrow formed between his brows. How did his thoughts turn like this? It seemed that his relationship with his youngest sister had greatly changed without him noticing since they began their temporary alliance. Was this good or bad? He wasn’t sure.
‘Let’s just go with the flow,’ he thought. ‘We have a deal. As long as Xiulan and CEO Jin help free my mother from jail, I’ll fulfill my end of the bargain and help Xiulan in the company. For now.’
Iris rolled her eyes before gesturing for him to pay attention to where she was looking. He followed and saw Long Hui a few tables away talking with a group of old but distinguished people. It only took him a couple of seconds to recognize that some of them were minor shareholders in the company. [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]
“He’s expressing his interest to purchase their shares and based on their pleasant conversation, it seems that he might just succeed,” Iris murmured.
“How do you know that’s what they’re talking about?”
“I’m reading their lips. Hmm. Just now, they arranged a meeting to formally negotiate the matter in two days.”
Long Jian was speechless. He almost blurted out “You’re kidding me” but decided to hold his tongue instead after seeing that she was serious.
Huh. Did she really have such an amazing ability? If it was true, then he could only envy her. He wished that he could also read lips from a distance. This kind of ability was a huge advantage for creating opportunities and also for protecting oneself. So when he looked at his youngest sister again, there was now a touch of genuine admiration in his eyes.
As for Iris, she didn’t notice Long Jian’s admiring gaze because she was still focused on “eavesdropping” on Long Hui’s attempts of courting the shareholders, the majority of them were the ones Elder Long Jufang pointed out to her earlier.
“He’s working fast,” she said.
“He’s getting desperate,” Long Jian corrected after recovering from his initial shock of her ability to read lips.
“He can’t afford to buy all those shares…” He paused when he remembered something. “Oh, right. He might not be able to afford those shares by himself but the Zhengs and his fiancée’s family, the Maos, are backing him. I also won’t be surprised if Elder Meng and his other supporters in the clan will pitch in to help him buy more company shares. Although it’s insanely reckless and expensive for him at this stage of his career, he still has the highest chance among us siblings to succeed in doing so. At this rate, he’ll eventually become a major shareholder.” He turned to her. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll just have to move faster than him,” she replied.
“How? With the help of Elder Jufang? That ancient fossil is a scheming snake. Do you really trust him?”
She gave him a side-eye. “No, I don’t. I also don’t trust you but look at us—allies.”
