The veteran male singer crashed into another table. The sounds of loud banging and glasses shattering stopped the party and caught everyone's attention. Audible gasps and screams punctuated the suddenly tensed air.
"Y-you! How dare you, Jin Chonglin?!" the fallen veteran singer roared. "You d-dare—hic—hit me?!!"
"Sir, you are a great singer and I looked up to you before this. But all my respect for you are now gone. You are a disgusting pervert," Jin Chonglin told him.
The veteran singer struggled to get up from all the broken debris on the floor. "What did you say?! Jin Chonglin, you have become too full of yourself! Just b-because—hic—you have won so many awards tonight. So you t-think that you're—hic—such a b-big shot now, huh?! You're a hundred years too early to act like that in f-front of me!"
Jin Chonglin ignored the man, turned around, and headed to Iris' group. "Junior Iris, let's go."
Iris looked at the four posh ladies.
"Go, Iris. We can take care of ourselves," Feng Wan assured her.
She nodded and then followed Jin Chonglin.
"Hah! So you two are really—hic—engaged?" The veteran man, who was now standing on shaky feet, cackled at them. His tone was filled with mockery. "What a p-perfect combination! A gigolo and a sl*t!"
"Anyone who dares to work with that degenerate from now on will become an enemy of the Jins," a cold voice cut through the air.
Watching another man (his brother) defend his woman left a bitter taste in his mouth. If it weren't because he wanted to honour his agreement with his baby girl not to reveal their relationship before she was ready, he would've already beaten up the bastard into a pulp with his own bare fists.
He turned to the person beside him. It was the President of the Harmony Music Awards.
"So this is the kind of people you invite to your events?"
The president shivered. "CEO Jin, i-it's not like that! We have no idea that he's like this! Security! Where's the security?! Go kick that person out of here!"
"Security?" Jin Liwei's voice turned colder. "You mean the police, don't you? From what I understand, that disgusting man was harassing the ladies. That's why my brother hit him."
"I…CEO Jin, involving the police is a little… This is an important event. Can we...I mean, it's not that serious that we have to call the police…"
"Not. That. Serious?" Jin Liwei emphasized each syllable with a cold voice. His expression became even more frightening.
The president stepped back.
"Don't worry. The police are already on their way," Si Xinyue suddenly interjected.
"Don't worry. There are many people here who can serve as witnesses. He won't be able to escape from justice."
He nodded. Then he turned to Jin Chonglin. "Let's go."
"Yes, Big Bro. Come with us, Junior Iris. We'll take you home."
"Thank you, Senior Chonglin," Iris replied.
"No need! We'll send Iris home!" JJ interrupted in a loud voice.
He and DJ Song finally made their way to them from the other side of the hall. They looked tipsy.
Jin Liwei frowned. "Mr. JJ, DJ Song. Both of you are intoxicated. Rest assured that we will send Miss Long home safe and sound. There is no need to worry."
He began walking away. Jin Chonglin and Iris followed him.
"Please don't worry about me. I'll send a message when I get home," Iris reassured JJ.
"Old J, CEO Jin is a man of integrity. If he says that he'll send Iris home safe and sound, he'll do it. Besides, he's right. Both of us are drunk. We are not reliable companions for her at the moment."
JJ grumpily allowed the Jin brothers to take Iris away. "The two of you better take care of her! She's my most precious protégé. If you h-hurt a hair from her head, I'll…I'll declare war against you! I d-don't care if you're the Jins!"
Jin Liwei's mouth twitched but that was his only reaction to JJ's words. His expression still remained cold.
Iris smiled warmly at JJ and DJ Song.
And with that, the three left the after-party. They took Iris' awards from JJ's limousine first before driving away in Jin Liwei's own limo. Iris and Jin Chonglin remained silent as they observed Jin Liwei. Both of them could sense that he was extremely furious at the moment.
After a few blocks, the limo stopped at the side of the road.
"Get off," Jin Liwei ordered his brother.
Both Iris and Jin Chonglin looked at him in disbelief.
"Darling—"
"There's another car behind us. It'll take you home," Jin Liwei said.
"Oh." Iris turned to Jin Chonglin. "Goodnight, Brother Chonglin. Thank you for defending me earlier. Please take care on your way home."
"You…" Jin Chonglin could only sigh at the lovers who were now kicking him out after doing so much favour for them tonight. "Fine. Whatever. Goodnight. Bye," he muttered as he opened the door and climbed off the limo.
His feet barely touched the ground when the limo sped off. Jin Chonglin staggered back and fell on his butt.
"Eff you!" he shouted and gave the quickly disappearing vehicle two middle fingers.
Back inside the limousine, Jin Liwei pulled Iris in a tight embrace.
"Sorry, love."
She laid her head against his chest, feeling relieved that she was now back safely in her man's arms. "It's not your fault."
"I shouldn't have left you alone at the party. I needed to take a call, so I stepped out of the hall to talk for some time. When I returned, my brother was already punching that scumbag. I wish I was the one who defended you."
"No, love. It's my pleasure. I'm so proud of you," he told her.
They gazed into each other's eyes. Jin Liwei's head dipped and captured her sweet lips. The kiss was slow and sensual at first, but Jin Liwei deepened it after just a few seconds.
Iris moaned and held on to him as he ravished her mouth. She could feel his fury in his kiss. It seemed that he was still very much affected by what happened during the after-party.
His hands touched her all over, pressing and squeezing her softness through her dress. Panting, he sucked her lower lip as his movements became more desperate and hungrier for her. Then he pushed her down the seat and laid his body on top of her.
She immediately felt his hardness pressing against her thigh. His wet kisses trailed down her neck. He was trying to find the opening of her dress.
Annoyed that he couldn't seem to find any opening, he gripped her dress by the neckline and prepared to rip it off of her.