They all sat back down. Everyone was still feeling tense, except for Lu Zihao who appeared very relaxed. He even requested one of the maids for a fresh cup of tea and pastries.
Jin Liwei's entire body was taut. It was taking almost all his willpower to control his temper. Jealousy was still whirling inside him.
Similarly, Iris' emotions were in turmoil. Waking up in another body was already unbelievable. But if it happened to her, was it possible that it happened to her brother as well?
Jin Liwei wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his body, almost making her sit on his lap but not quite. He was very tense. It wasn't helping her deal with her own emotions.
"Liwei, he's my big brother," she whispered to him. "Don't fight anymore. Okay?"
He looked at her troubled face. She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes still glistened with tears. Her cheeks were wet, her nose and lips tender. She looked beautiful even with such a pitiful expression. He couldn't help but soften seeing her like this.
He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and began gently wiping her face. Afterwards, he lightly kissed her lips and then her forehead. He frowned. Her skin felt too cold.
"Liwei…darling." Her eyes implored him.
Although he still felt jealous, he just couldn't say no to her. "Okay, baby. I won't fight with him. So don't cry anymore, okay?"
She nodded, smiling a little.
Wang Yingjie seemed to notice the direction of Lin Yehan's thoughts. "Eldest Brother, Xiulan is a good person. We recently heard from Grandpa Lu himself that she's his student and that he's very pleased with her. If her character really has a problem, with Grandpa Lu's personality, he would immediately refuse her as his student. I think we should hear Fifth Brother's explanation first before we judge the current situation, don't you think?"
With this voice of reason, Lin Yehan's mind opened up. He was a naturally gentle person but his protectiveness towards his brothers tend to make him close-minded at times. Grandpa Lu was someone who never took sh*t from anybody, so they all trusted the elder's judgment.
"Is everyone ready to listen to what I have to say?" Lu Zihao asked. He lounged on his seat, looking relaxed and sipping tea.
"Yeah! We want to know what's up with you and Xiao Xiu!" Yu Mo said.
The others nodded.
Jin Liwei's lips pressed together into a thin line. Iris felt him tense up again, so she pressed herself closer to him. He kissed her temple and relaxed but only for a bit.
"Xiulan and I were online friends since long ago. That's how we knew each other. We met in an online computer game. Since then, we often played computer games together. We sent each other photos of each other so we knew what the other looks like, but we didn't know each other's real names. I only know her as Evelinka which was one of her online usernames. And she just calls me Big Brother."
Iris blinked, not showing any reaction. She needed to corroborate with whatever he was saying. Inside, however, she was criticizing his made-up story.
'What a stupid story,' she thought.
Iris was displeased with the story, but still nodded, agreeing with everything he said.
Yu Mo: "Oh! So that's why you were calling Xiao Xiu Evelinka. But why were you speaking in Russian earlier?"
Lu Zihao shrugged like it was no big deal. "Evelinka—I mean Xiulan has always been multilingual. She mentioned before that Russian is one of her favourite languages. Before the accident, I wasn't really interested in learning other languages but during my recovery, I suddenly had a lot of free time. I decided why not use my free time to learn some new languages? So I learned Russian because I remembered her. Not to mention that it's really helpful in picking up some hot Russian ladies."
Yu Mo snickered. He and Lu Zihao high-fived.
Iris fought the urge to roll her eyes. This stupid story was making her feel dizzy. Although she was now starting to accept that Lu Zihao might really be her Big Brother Nikolai from her past life, there was a part of her that resisted this idea. A trace of panic was starting to grow from within her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself but her current emotions were still too chaotic.
"Is it true, baby?" Jin Liwei asked her.
She nodded immediately, not daring to hesitate for fear of arousing suspicion. "Yes, everything that Big Brother said is true."
Jin Liwei was still a little suspicious but he knew that his baby girl spent a lot of time online. He even needed to compete with her stupid computers sometimes. So Lu Zihao's explanation sounded reasonable to him.
"Wow! This is so cool!" Yu Mo exclaimed. "Fifth Bro and Xiao Xiu actually knew each other from way before."
"Fifth Brother, have you ever felt attracted to Xiulan?" Lin Yehan asked.
Jin Liwei immediately tensed up again.
Yu Mo: "Eldest Bro! What are you—"
Lin Yehan raised a hand to stop him. His eyes were determined, looking straight at Lu Zihao.
"Eldest Brother, I already said that I only see Eveli—Xiulan as a precious little sister. For us, we are brother and sister. I don't practice incest. Besides, even if we don't have this kind of sibling relationship, she's too young for my taste. I prefer my women mature and well-developed," Lu Zihao said, smirking at Jin Liwei.
Yu Mo: "Ahahaha!"
Lin Yehan's mouth twitched.
"Pft." Wang Yingjie's expressionless face cracked.
Jin Liwei scowled while Iris pouted. She threw a sullen look at Lu Zihao.
After that, the atmosphere lightened up greatly. The brothers chatted. They decided to move on to other topics. Lin Yehan also returned to his usual gentle self, smiling once again at Iris.
Yu Mo asked Lu Zihao about the smooth joint lock move he executed earlier. "That was so awesome, Fifth Bro! Where did you learn it?"
"Oh, that? I just randomly watched an online video showing that technique. Didn't know it'd be so effective," he replied nonchalantly.
Yu Mo: "What?! Are you for real?"
"Yeah."
The brothers continued to chat and the conversation revolved around martial arts techniques. All the brothers, except for Lu Zihao, were trained in martial arts. Yu Mo was, of course, a licensed Systema expert. Jin Liwei, Lin Yehan and Wang Yingjie were all karate black belters. Lin Yehan had a second-degree black belt, Jin Liwei third-degree, while Wang Yingjie surprisingly had a fifth-degree black belt. The three, however, weren't active practitioners anymore.
While they were talking, Iris began to feel unwell. She felt lightheaded and dizzy. It was becoming hard for her to breathe. Her head dropped heavily on Jin Liwei's shoulder.
"Baby?" He looked down and touched her in concern. She was pale, cold and sweating profusely.
Her only response was a soft groan.
Wang Yingjie stood up and quickly walked over to them. "Fourth Brother, get my medical bag from my car."
Yu Mo immediately ran out.
Iris was still conscious but she already lost awareness of her surroundings.
When her eyes started to roll back in her head, Jin Liwei went into full panic mode.
"No no no. Not again. Baby, stay awake! Answer me!"