"Xiao Mei!" Yang Jiahui wished she could gather his niece's thoughtless words and put them back in her mouth. She hurriedly looked apologetically at everyone. "Please don't mind what this girl said. She doesn't know what she's saying."
Meimei was confused at her aunt's reaction. Her aunt was giving her a warning look, so she shut her mouth, but she still didn't know what she said wrong.
"You are right. Little Sister Xiulan is indeed a legitimate heiress of this family," Long Hui said. "However, she's currently the only one among us siblings who can't work at the company even if she wants to."
Understanding flashed in Iris' eyes, but she remained quiet.
"Eh? Why is that?" Meimei still didn't understand.
"Xiao Mei, please stop talking." Yang Jiahui sighed heavily.
"It's because she's not qualified. Except for her, all of us siblings have university-level education. That's why we're qualified to work at the company, not just because we are the children of the company head. Even you, Little Sister Mei, also need to finish your degree in digital arts before you can work at the company even though you already have a job offer. Do you think that it will sit well with everybody if Little Sister Xiulan was allowed to work at the company despite being undereducated and unqualified? She barely completed senior high school. Even Father will face harsh criticisms if she was allowed to work at the company with her current education level."
"Oh." Meimei finally understood. She glanced guiltily at Iris, wishing that she didn't say anything at all. Now it felt awkward because of her ignorance.
Iris' expression remained calm, but there was a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Long Hui looked directly at Iris' eyes. "That's why I suggest that you stop playing around in showbiz and start attending university. You're a celebrity and popular enough in this country that attending a local university might not be a good idea. If you're willing, I'm sure Father can find a good university abroad where you can get your degree in peace."
A displeased expression appeared on his face. He opened his mouth, about to say something, but closed it again instead.
Silence.
The atmosphere felt very awkward.
Meimei wanted to lighten the mood but stopped herself. What if she said something wrong again? She wanted to console her new friend but saw that Iris still looked unruffled.
'Xiulan must be feeling embarrassed but she's acting like she's not affected at all," Meimei thought. 'Big Brother Hui is really too insensitive.'
Although displeased that Iris didn't seem to be taking his advice seriously, a trace of approval flashed in Long Hui's eyes. If this was before, his youngest sister would have already been throwing a tantrum, fighting with him, and storming out of the residence before he could even utter another word. It seemed that this sister of hers really had matured and grew sensible after waking up from coma.
The four Long siblings were never close to each other due to not growing up together and having different mothers. Long Hui's position as the heir apparent was unshakeable so the other siblings never really challenged him, opting to maintain a civil relationship with him instead. It was only Xiulan who dared to fight him because she felt secured of her status as a legitimate daughter.
All the siblings, including Long Hui, looked down on this youngest sister of theirs who was the most spoiled and entitled of them all. Because she was the youngest, their father would always tell them to back down whenever they had a disagreement with her. They resented that their father was too soft on her and never harshly disciplined or reprimanded her whenever she besmirched the Long family name. It was so unfair because they had to always act their best, careful not to shame the Long family name in any way.
Long Hui had long heard that his youngest sister had a drastic change in personality after waking up from coma. Of course, he didn't believe it at first. But when she made a showbiz comeback and her songs started playing almost everywhere, he began to believe. Her new music was able to affect him to the point that he began to doubt if this new and elegant Iris Long was the same person as his spoiled youngest sister.
Iris finished her cup of tea and then made a show of glancing at her wristwatch. "It's getting late. Please excuse me. I need to call my boyfriend to pick me up."
"Eh? What? You're leaving already?" Meimei whined.
"Not immediately. I'll still have to wait until my boyfriend arrives to pick me up."
"Xiulan, why don't stay over tonight?" Yang Jiahui suggested.
Meimei: "Yes! Then we can continue to hang out."
Iris: "Thank you but I'll have to decline. My workload will increase starting tomorrow. That's why I visited today before I become too busy."
Besides, Iris was already missing Jin Liwei despite it only being a few hours since he dropped her off earlier. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, especially now that both of them were so busy. Now that her workload would start increasing, they would have even less time to spend together.
Meimei: "Aaaw! Fine. But will you visit us here again?"
Iris: "Yes, when I have the time. If you're free and don't have any classes, you can come over to play at my place or accompany me at work if you want."
Iris: "Of course. Just give me a call beforehand."
Meimei: "Yes, of course! Oh wow. I'm so excited. I've always wanted to see what goes on in celebrity's daily life."
Iris chuckled before excusing herself to give Jin Liwei a call. Within half an hour, Jin Liwei called informing her that he was already waiting outside the compound's main gate.