Gold Heights Condominium.
It was already very late at night, so Grandpa Lu had no choice but to wait until tomorrow to play with Little Jun. He slept in the guest bedroom where Lu Zihao stayed before.
Little Jun fell asleep in the cat room with Ice Cream and Popcorn. His nanny and Dom slept together with them. Jiang Ying Yue originally wanted to carry Little Jun to their assigned bedroom in the penthouse, but Long Hui discouraged her, saying that it wasn't good to disturb a growing child's sleep.
As for Iris and Jin Liwei, they returned to their old bedroom. The wall-mounted waterfall fountain felt very nostalgic.
"Hmm. Maybe we should install a waterfall fountain in our bedroom at Dragon Palace, too," Jin Liwei commented.
"That would be nice. I don't mind either way," Iris replied, yawning.
After washing up and changing into pyjamas, Iris lay on the bed with Jin Liwei. They cuddled, as she recounted everything that happened during the party. He chuckled when he heard about how she and her fellow girls ganged up on Wu Qianxi.
"Darling, I felt so weird earlier tonight. Almost everything and everyone irritated me. I almost lost control and wanted to slap people so many times. Good thing I was able to control myself. I felt so evil, but I'm not the least bit sorry," she told him.
He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "So what if you're evil? Don't ever feel sorry, especially if they're being mean to you and your friends first. They're more evil for treating you and your friends badly. You're just letting them have a taste of their own medicine. Besides, even if you become the greatest villain in the world, I'll still love you and stand by your side."
She smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. I'm so glad to be back home with you. That party was too stressful! But Grandpa Lu made it fun in the end."
"Can I ask you a favour?" she asked, looking up at him with her beautiful eyes.
He immediately became extra attentive. "Of course, love. Tell me."
She told him about the consequences of the business break-up between the Longs and the Wus.
"I heard that Long Industries will lose hundreds of millions if their current partnerships are dissolved. Normally, I wouldn't care about Long Industries but this time, I don't want to make to make it hard for Father. Besides, Orchidia Beauty just signed Long Industries as our exclusive shipping partner. My business might be affected too if Long Industries were to take a hit in this conflict with the Wus.
"I promised Father that I won't let Long Industries suffer in this business break-up. I can deal with the Wus, but I currently don't have the means to completely protect Long Industries from those millions of loss. I still don't have your level of influence in the business world. So darling, can you help me find other businesses that might be willing to replace the Wus in their current partnerships with Long Industries?"
He was absolutely delighted that she was finally asking him for help instead of doing everything by herself. He playfully raised an eyebrow at her request. "Why do you want other businesses when Jin Corporation is the best? My company is more than capable of replacing those Wus."
"But won't it be such a hassle to you? I know that you're also very busy like me preparing for the upcoming business conference."
"Love, it's not a problem. Think about it as our investment. Even if we currently don't have any shares in Long Industries, we could still have significant bargaining power if Jin Corporation is involved in some of Long Industries' most important business partnerships."
She pursed her lips. "I don't care about shares in Long Industries, nor do I care about bargaining power with them. Except for my father and Orchidia Beauty's shipping partnership, I don't want to have anything to do with Long Industries."
"I know that you don't care about Long Industries because it's filled with relatives who ostracize you. But I think we need to be more proactive about it this time," he told her. "After all, there's now Little Jun that we have to worry about. Remember that he's still a Long. As Long Hui's firstborn son, he might be the next heir apparent of the Longs. Based on what you're telling me, the elders and your relatives are against this possibility because they don't like Jiang Ying Yue's background.
"So what I'm saying is that it's not enough to deal with the Long clan alone. We need to take as much control as we can to the source of its wealth and power—Long Industries."
Iris was quiet as she thought deeply about what he was telling her.
He continued, "It's good that Long Hui is now taking a more active and assertive stance in protecting his woman and son from your bigoted relatives, but I can't completely trust him. I can sense a weakness in his character for being treated as the most superior among you siblings. When things get hard, he might buckle against the pressure and decide to abandon Little Jun and Jiang Ying Yue just so he can keep his position."
The ill feelings inside Iris flared up once again. "Oh, he can try! I'll strangle him and feed him to the sharks!"
Jin Liwei was a bit taken aback at her sudden vicious outburst. Before he could think about it, his body moved on its own and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly and stroked her back, soothing her.
Her stiff and angry body softened, and she melted into his embrace. Her love for Jin Liwei strengthened her calm and logical self, neutralizing the volatile remnant inside her. She still wasn't aware of her evolving emotions. Rubbing her cheeks against his chest and inhaling his masculine scent, she sighed in contentment.
"Calmed down?" he asked.
"Mmn…yes."
"As I was saying, I think it's better if we try gaining more influence in Long Industries so if Long Hui is unable to fight for Little Jun and Jiang Ying Yue, at least we can do it for them. Long Industries is the lifeblood and the source of power for the Long clan. If we can influence it, we can also influence the entire clan whether the elders or your other relatives like it or not. This way, we can ensure that Little Jun and Jiang Ying Yue have nothing to fear," he told her.
"Oh. That makes sense," she replied. Her head was tilted to the side, thinking about it.
He nodded.
"Alright. Do what you think is best, darling. I'll also work hard so that I can have more influence in the business world. And when I get the chance, I'll join the battle for control of Long Industries," she said with determination in her eyes.
"En."
Then she smiled at him and held his hand. "Thank you."
"I want a reward," he said.
"Hm? What reward?"
He tapped his finger against his lips, puckering it a little.
Jin Liwei's grin was so wide that it felt like it reached both his ears. He looked like he was in total bliss.
She yawned and her head dropped to his chest. Two seconds later, she fell into deep sleep on top of him.
He chuckled, not surprised a bit. His baby girl was the best sleeper he had ever met in his life. He moved the two of them into more comfortable positions. Her regular, deep breathing was also helping him fall asleep. Before sleeping, however, he thought about the things he must do first.
Although his baby girl said that she would take care of the Wus herself, he didn't want her wasting her time on them. He would deal with them as soon as possible before they could recover and think about getting revenge against the Longs. He would also make sure that their daughter, Wu Qianxi, wouldn't be able to get any clients as an interior designer across Asia.
It was their fault for going against his baby girl, her friend Jiang Ying Yue, and their godson. Anyone or anything his baby girl didn't like, he would eliminate.
"Her enemy is my enemy," he murmured before falling asleep.