"The floor is now open for questions," the press conference host announced.
Long Hui took a few deep breaths when all of the reporters present raised their hands. Before the press conference started, they looked bored and uninterested. But now they were like slobbering jackals who smelled prime meat.
"Mr. Long, are you married? If so, how come we don't know about it? Was it kept a secret?" a reporter asked.
"No, I'm not married." he answered.
"Then your child is illegitimate?"
Long Hui had to calm himself down first because a strong urge to punch the son of a b*tch in the face almost made him lose control. He was seething in anger but he forced a calm tone when he answered.
"Yes." Then he quickly added, "But that may change in the future if the mother of my child agrees to marry me."
The reporters' eyes lit up. Their hands became even more aggressive, as if raising them higher or waving them around would make them more likely to be chosen to ask the next question.
"So you proposed to the mother of your child before but she rejected you? There's a woman who doesn't want to marry the heir of the Long family? Can you please tell us who the mother of your child is?"
"My son's mother is a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman. I am glad that she is the mother of my child. Things have not worked out between us, but I'm willing to try again. I hope that I can change her mind and that someday she'll accept my offer of marriage. I hope for the day that the three of us can be a happy family together, not only based on relations but also on paper. I want my son and also her, if she'll accept me, to be proud members of my Long family."
The reporters weren't satisfied by his answer because he didn't reveal the identity of his child's mother. However, no matter how many times they tried asking him in different ways, he remained tight-lipped, only repeating his praises about how she was such as good mother to their son.
After their repeated failures of obtaining more information about Long Hui's son and his former lover, the reporters switched targets and asked about Iris Long instead.
"Mr. Long, seeing that you chose your sister to be your son's godmother, does this mean that you're close to her? There are rumours from long ago saying that Iris Long is estranged from the Long family. Is this still the case right now?"
Long Hui hesitated, choosing his words carefully before answering. "Yes, you can say that my youngest sister and I have gotten closer recently. Actually, she sees my son and my son's mother on a regular basis. They are very close to each other. That's why my son also calls my sister Mama. It only makes sense that she became my son's godmother. She loves my son like her own and for that, I'm very thankful to her. Also, I know that many of you have observed that she has matured a lot ever since she recovered from being in a coma for a year. There had been some misunderstandings between her and our family in the past but at the end of the day, we're all family. She's always welcome in our home and she sometimes visits to eat meals with our father."
The reporters didn't entirely believe what he said. They wanted some family drama, especially since it involved one of the hottest young celebrities at the moment, Iris Long. However, no matter how hard they tried to stir him up, Long Hui refused to badmouth his sister.
After a few more questions and answers, the press conference officially ended. The reporters hurried to their companies to finish the drafts for their articles. At first, they thought that the press conference would be about something uneventful but it surprisingly was full of juicy content. Although it wasn't focused on Iris Long, the reporters decided to increase the focus on her in order to gain more interest to the story.
As for Long Hui, he felt relieved that the press conference was finally over. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted off from his shoulders. He felt lighter and refreshed.
He knew that the elders would be terribly unhappy by what he said during the press conference, but he was unhappy with them as well. Resentment grew within him from their blatant discrimination against his son.
He was only realizing now how hurtful they were for discriminating against his illegitimate siblings. Now that they were doing it to his own son, he felt guilty towards his illegitimate brother and sister for not standing up for them when the other members of the family made snide remarks against them.
Disregarding the elders, the most important thing to him was receiving his father's blessings as the head of the Long family in his decision to claim Little Jun as his son. He was very thankful to Long Tengfei for accepting Little Jun with open arms and open heart.
Thinking about his son made him think about Jiang Ying Yue. He hoped that she watched the press conference. Hopefully, she was able to see his sincerity of wanting to try again with her.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
"Dada! Dada!" Little Jun bounced excitedly on Jin Liwei's lap as he pointed at his father on the TV.
"Yes, Little Jun. That's your daddy," Iris said.
The toddler clapped his hands and continued to bounce. Jin Liwei stroked Little Jun's hair, not the least bit bothered by his wild movements on his lap.
On the other couch, Dom stood up and squealed. He fanned himself with his hands in a dramatic manner. "Oh wow! That was so romantic! Big Brother Boss just announced to the entire nation that he wants to marry you, Big Sis Yue, and become a happy family together with Junie boy. Ah, be still my heart! Why do you not want to marry him? He looked and sounded so sincere!"
A mask covered Jiang Ying Yue's face but it couldn't hide the complicated expression in her eyes. Her hands gripped her pants in a tensed manner. She stared at the now finished press conference on the TV, as if she could still see Long Hui.