The atmosphere instantly became uncomfortable. Jin Liwei was quiet and unmoving, but they knew that he must be boiling with fury inside, as evidenced by his tense jaw and body. His hands were also clenched into tight fists. His cold eyes looked straight at Lu Zihao, silently telling him to back off.
However, Lu Zihao didn't even look at him. He was still looking at Iris, acting oblivious to Jin Liwei. With hands tucked inside the pockets of his jeans and his devilish smile, he looked very much like the handsome rogue that he was.
Iris tilted her head to the side and frowned. There really was something familiar about Lu Zihao, but she was certain that she had never met him before. She couldn't pinpoint in what way he was familiar. It was making her feel confused.
His words sounded like he was out to make trouble with her and Jin Liwei, but she couldn't sense any bad intentions from him. And also for some reason, she couldn't make herself dislike him. Her intuition was telling her that Lu Zihao wouldn't harm her.
"You're weird," she told him.
Indeed, she thought that he was weird. How else would she feel familiar to someone she had never met before? To her, that was weird.
Lu Zihao blinked a couple of times before throwing his head back in laughter. Then he clutched his abdomen and continued laughing.
His brothers looked at him like he was going crazy right in front of their eyes. Jin Liwei's brows scrunched together. The coldness in his eyes dissipated, replaced by concern for his Fifth Brother.
"Why are you laughing?" Iris asked in confusion. "You're a really weird person."
"Pft." Wang Yingjie's expressionless face cracked, but he was able to stop himself from laughing.
Lu Zihao calmed down, but there was a big smile on his face after laughing so much. "Yeah, I guess I'm weird. And you're very straightforward, little sister."
Iris felt her heart jump when he called her "little sister". Excitement stirred within her but confusion drowned it. She didn't know exactly what she was feeling.
Before she knew it, she was already smiling. She couldn't help it. His smile was infectious. She felt very much at ease with Lu Zihao. She didn't understand why, so she just shrugged it off. Perhaps he was just a naturally friendly person.
She grabbed Jin Liwei's arm and hugged it. "Weird Fifth Brother, even if Grandpa Lu intended to pair us together, I won't end up as your girlfriend. I don't think I'll like you the same way that I like Liwei."
"Hmm…" Lu Zihao's eyes narrowed a bit seeing her clinging to Jin Liwei's arm. This only lasted for a second before he reverted back to his usual carefree expression. "Well, regardless of what could've been, you're now Third Brother's girlfriend, so it means that you're now my little sister. Let's get along, little sister."
"Yes!" Iris beamed.
Lu Zihao froze at her smile, his breath catching in his throat. He wasn't the only one. All of the brothers stared at her beautiful smile.
Jin Liwei gently grabbed her chin and turned it so that she was facing him. Then he rubbed her lips with his thumb. Iris opened her mouth and bit his thumb, looking up at him mischievously. His eyes darkened with desire. He was about to dive in for a kiss when he was interrupted.
"Alright, that's enough flirting." Surprisingly, it was Lu Zihao.
Lu Zihao was smiling in amusement, but the observant Wang Yingjie noticed the sharp look in his eyes. Wang Yingjie rubbed his chin, continuing to silently observe everyone, most especially their Fifth Brother who he had not seen for a long time.
After joking around, everyone sat down in the living area. A maid served fresh cups of hot tea blend to Iris and Jin Liwei.
Iris inhaled the steam from her cup. She couldn't determine right away what tea it was. She took a sip. The taste of cranberry, hibiscus and cinnamon were the most detectable. There were other flavours within the tea but they were too weak that she couldn't identify them all.
"Good tea," she murmured, nodding in appreciation.
Lin Yehan heard her. "You like it? I bought it from Canada when we picked up Fifth Brother. Actually, Fifth Brother was the one who chose it."
"You have good taste, Fifth Brother," she said.
"Of course," Lu Zihao replied. He picked up his own cup and sipped tea as well.
The atmosphere was very light. Everyone was chatting with each other. Iris and Lu Zihao seemed to be getting along rather well. Jin Liwei paid close attention at the two of them, but otherwise left them alone. After all, they weren't doing anything other than chatting with each other.
Wang Yingjie quietly observed Iris and Lu Zihao. His sharp eyes noticed a few peculiarities. The way his Fifth Brother and Iris handled their teacups were very similar to each other, even the way they sipped and appreciated the tea. Both looked very elegant and natural in doing so. He didn't think much about Iris because she was already very elegant when he met her. But as for his Fifth Brother, when did he start acting so elegantly?
"I need to take this call. Wait for me here. Okay, baby? I'll be back."
"Okay."
He gave her a quick peck on the lips before leaving the living area to answer the phone call.
At that moment, Yu Mo was telling the story of Iris' first visit to the farm villa to Lu Zihao.
"We were so shocked when Third Bro suddenly brought a girlfriend. I was even more shocked because Xiao Xiu is my beloved Systema student."
Lu Zihao turned to Iris. "Do you like Systema?"
She nodded.
He changed the question. "Do you like fighting?"
"No. I don't like fighting."
Yu Mo continued regaling about Iris.
"She was so cool! She hit the bullseye with every shot and what's even more amazing was that there was only one hole where all the bullets went through! I mean, who else can do that? Eldest Bro was so excited that he tried recruiting her to be a shooting athlete!"
"Hmm…" Lu Zihao was slightly smiling, looking very relaxed, but his eyes looked deep.
"Oh oh! I forgot to mention something very funny!" Yu Mo exclaimed. "Xiao Xiu jumped over the fence because a goat was chasing her. She thought that the goat was going to kill her! Ahaha!"
Iris scowled.
"That's enough, Fourth Brother. You're laughing too much," Lin Yehan gently reprimanded.
"You're afraid of goats?" Lu Zihao asked Iris.
She reluctantly nodded.
Yu Mo: "Ahahaha!"
"Are there other animals that you're afraid of?" Lu Zihao continued to ask.
Iris paused before answering. "No."
"How about cattle? Like bulls, for example."
Her body involuntarily shrank back, her eyes widening in horror.
Yu Mo: "Whoa. Seriously? You're also afraid of bulls?"
She glared at Yu Mo.
Yu Mo: "Well, I guess being afraid of bulls makes much more sense than being afraid of goats. Anything else you're afraid of, Xiao Xiu? Come on and tell Teacher! I promise I won't laugh at you anymore. Ahahaha! Oops."
She decided to ignore him, sipping tea instead.
"You're afraid of animals with horns," Lu Zihao said. It wasn't a question. He said it in a way as if he was certain of it.
"Hmm…" Lu Zihao gently swirled the tea remaining in his cup. "Don't worry, little sister. There's no need to be afraid. Big brother will protect you from all horned animals."
She froze, her eyes widening.
Yu Mo: "That's right, Xiao Xiu! You have us, your four big brothers, plus your boyfriend! With the five of us to protect you, there's no need to be afraid of anything!"
Iris ignored Yu Mo. Her brows knitted together, studying Lu Zihao who looked relaxed. "Fifth Brother, have we met before?"
One corner of his mouth curved up. "Maybe."
Her frown deepened. "I don't remember meeting you, but you feel very familiar."
"Eh? What do you mean by that, Xiao Xiu?" Yu Mo asked.
Lin Yehan and Wang Yingjie also looked very interested.
Not getting an answer from Iris, Yu Mo turned to Lu Zihao instead. "Fifth Bro, do you also find Xiao familiar?"
Yu Mo: "What?! How? When? Tell us!"
Iris was very confused. She had an excellent memory. Did they really meet before? She combed through all the memories of the original Iris Long but she couldn't find anything about Lu Zihao.
"Ah, my dear Evelinka. You haven't changed one bit. You're still as straightforward as ever. I can read you so easily."
Lu Zihao spoke in Russian.