Jin Liwei met Lu Zihao’s gaze full-on without faltering. His own gaze was calm and steady. In his most resolute voice, he answered, “Yes, I am ready.”
Lu Zihao smirked but there was no humour in his eyes. “We’ll see about that.” Then he turned to his sister and spoke to her in Russian. “Evelinka, go ahead and tell your man everything since that’s what you want. I’ll be here to clarify details if needed.”
Jin Liwei frowned because he couldn’t understand what Lu Zihao said.
Iris nodded before standing up. “Wait here a moment, darling. I’m going to get something from our bedroom.”
He nodded.
Then she left.
The two men stared at each other with impassive expressions. [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 support the original author, ArriaCross. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]
“The two of you were…Russians back then?” Jin Liwei asked.
Lu Zihao crossed his arms over his chest and sat down on the window sill. “Yeah. My sister and I are more comfortable speaking in our mother tongue so get used to us speaking in Russian. If you want to understand what the two of us are talking about, then you better start learning the language.”
“I am.”
“Good luck.”
Jin Liwei narrowed his eyes at his fifth brother who wasn’t really his fifth brother anymore. The last time that they saw each other in person, they almost brawled. Lu Zihao—no, Nikolai would often emit a heavy pressure that made people uncomfortable. Sometimes, it wasn’t noticeable especially if he was deliberately acting nice and pretending to be the actual Lu Zihao. Then there were times that he would purposely intimidate others with his force of presence alone, just like what he tried to do to Jin Liwei during their confrontation in Iris’ piano room.
Right now, however, Jin Liwei couldn’t feel anything like that from the other man. “You’re being awfully nice today,” he remarked.
Lu Zihao raised an eyebrow. “What do you expect me to do? Throw a tantrum? My sister is fucking pregnant and that smartass AI son of yours told me to stop giving more stress to his mother or I’ll be the one to blame if something happens to her. Fucking dramatic kid.”
“Good job, Bacon,” Jin Liwei said.
“Thank you, Father,” Bacon’s voice replied.
Although that was what Lu Zihao said, Jin Liwei still felt that there must be another reason why the man was acting extra cautious and even agreeable today. He also sensed something weird ever since the man arrived with Long Jinjing earlier in the afternoon. There was something familiar about him that Jin Liwei hadn’t felt for a long time. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Before he could think more deeply about it, his AI children’s voices distracted him.
“Uncle Haohao said bad words!” Ketchup’s voice exclaimed. “Uh oh! Quick, Bacon! Cover your little kitty ears like the cute and mighty Ketchup! Meow~”
“Father, are you going to ground Uncle Zihao? He said bad words.”
Jin Liwei’s serious face cracked as he laughed at his AI children’s innocent and funny words. Ketchup and Bacon had broken the nervous atmosphere without meaning to.
“You two kids need to remember something,” Lu Zihao said through gritted teeth. “Your father and mother can’t ground me. They hold no authority over me. I’m my own boss.”
“Ooooooh~ Wow, Uncle Haohao! That’s amazing! Oh oh oh! Does Uncle Haohao know that the cute and mighty Ketchup is a boss of my own company, too? It’s called the White Tigress International Virtual Assistant Services! But Mommy and Daddy still ground Ketchup sometimes when the cute and mighty me is being a bad little kitty because I’m still a baby! Uncle Haohao isn’t a baby anymore, that’s why nobody can ground you, not even my mommy and daddy. Meow~”
“So does that mean that Uncle Zihao will pay Bacon a good salary? Father and Mother say that good and responsible bosses pay their employees, including the freelancers, good salary.”
Lu Zihao rolled his eyes and didn’t bother replying. Jin Liwei chuckled at the other man being subjected to his AI’s children’s endless questions.
“That’s enough, Ketchup and Bacon,” Iris’ light but firm voice interrupted. “Don’t annoy your uncle too much. Secure this suite because your dad, uncle and I are going to have an important talk. We want no interruptions during our meeting.”
“Okie dokie, Mommy! Meow~”
“Understood, Mother.”
Afterwards, the two cat AI children stopped talking and obeyed their mother’s instruction. The suite was now one of the most secured places in the whole world. With Iris’ original security framework in addition to her two cat AI children’s powerful systems, most intelligence service agencies all over the world could only dream of such advanced and sophisticated security that was currently protecting the suite from any breaches.
Iris returned to the living room carrying a tablet. She looked paler than usual and there was an anxious energy surrounding her. But her eyes looked determined and she walked with steady, purposeful steps. Without saying anything, she handed the tablet to Jin Liwei before stepping away. She decided not to sit beside him this time.
The atmosphere turned tense once again as soon as she sat down at the small dining table at the other corner of the room.
Jin Liwei frowned. He would have preferred it if she sat down beside him but he restrained himself from calling her back upon sensing her unnatural anxiety. The two siblings both looked at him. Their silence was starting to make him feel nervous. However, this was what he wanted—to know the full truth. He took a few deep breaths before looking down at the tablet.
VETROV.
The word was written in English, Russian and Chinese.
With just the title page, he instantly recognized that it was a report written by his baby girl. The style was the same with the other comprehensive reports she did for him before.
Ah, it seemed that the truth was more complicated than he initially expected if she needed to prepare a report like this. He thought that the siblings would tell him the truth verbally but apparently not.
He straightened his spine and swiped to the next page. Then he began to read with grave concentration.
