Chapter 1347 - Nikolai VS. Evelina (Part I)
"I didn"t just like the surprise you prepared for your brothers and cousins, I love them," Iris said. "The puppies are great presents. Your siblings and cousins love them, too. Thank you, Bacon and Ketchup. Both of you are such wonderful big brother and big sister."
"Well done," Jin Liwei praised next.
The two cat AIs were happy to make everyone happy with their surprise presents. Both of them were learning the joy of generous giving.
Bacon didn"t care much about charity to strangers but he found that he liked giving presents to his loved ones. As for Ketchup, she always loved doings things that would earn praise from her parents.
The next day, Iris found out that her husband sent her an additional 20 million US dollars for the two puppies that were matched to their twins—Pudding and Chowder. It seemed that Jin Liwei considered the two puppies as their own children like the cats.
So far, Jin Liwei had already given Iris a total of 80 million US dollars for their now eight children (feline, human and canine) in accordance to their pre-nuptial agreement.
"At this rate, I might really become a global billionaire just by giving Liwei children of all species," she muttered while getting ready for the day.
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Within a month, Long Hui reportedly started his community service at an orphanage. It seemed that the PR team that he hired for his public apology continued to help him throughout his community service. They were using the community service to spin Long Hui"s punishment into something positive and clean his stinky reputation.
Iris was actually quite impressed by his method. This was a smart move on his part.
The best part was that Mao Qiuyue had finally ceased trying to use Iris Long and Jin Liwei"s name in the media for clout. Someone must have advised the woman.
There was finally some peace. But how long would it last? Iris didn"t know.
Ketchup would sometimes update her about the effects of Lin Yehan"s suppression on Mao Textiles and Jin Liwei"s dogged retaliation against Mao Qiuyue"s malicious clout-chasing attempts in the media. These might be the biggest reasons why Mao Qiuyue finally shut her mouth and stopped trying to drag Iris Long"s name for her own selfish reasons.
Iris had already stopped caring about Mao Qiuyue and Long Hui"s matter. She would just let Jin Liwei and Lin Yehan vent for her and Jiang Ying Yue respectively. There were far more important people and things that needed her attention than those two.
Long Hui and Mao Qiuyue"s wedding was fast approaching but Iris simply tossed the matter out of her mind. The invitation Mao Qiuyue sent to Eve Holdings back then lay forgotten in a drawer somewhere.
By this time, Iris received more serious news from Bacon.
Tian Kong, the bomber who attempted to murder her and so many others during her mall show with Jin Chonglin last year but eventually failed due to her quick reflexes, had been executed via shooting.
Shadow Winds apparently obtained a footage of the actual execution but Iris didn"t want to watch it. Although she already expected this outcome and didn"t pity Tian Kong, she still didn"t have any urge to watch someone being murdered. It didn"t matter if the person deserved to die or not. She refused to watch such a horrific scene.
Iris sought her big brother. Lu Zihao was extremely busy at Shadow Winds but still insisted on spending as much time as possible with his wife and their twin babies in the mansion. This resulted in his mood becoming more temperamental than usual. Almost everyone walked on eggsh.e.l.ls around him during this time for fear of triggering him.
"Big Brother, have you found anything new about Tian Kong before he was executed?" Iris asked after she found her brother in the training grounds.
The sweaty Lu Zihao scowled at her. Still, his treatment of his sister remained many leagues better than other people. He didn"t roar at her at least. Of course, he also treated his own wife and children well.
The siblings moved away from the training grounds so that they could speak more freely.
"Don"t waste your time anymore on this matter, Evelinka," he told her.
"I still want to know," she insisted.
"You"ve always been so willful." He sighed and shook his head but his scowl now had a hint of a nostalgic smile. "Fine, since you"re asking then I"ll share some information with you."
He told her that Shadow Winds finally had smoother progress in everything after using the results of her investigations that found a connection to Alcatraz Organización. It was like finally obtaining a master key that could unlock all doors after searching blindly for so long. This didn"t mean that things got easier to solve though. It only meant that they now had a clearer direction to take.
They also had a better understanding that the enemy was even bigger and more dangerous than they initially thought. With the way Shadow Winds were now, they couldn"t possibly duke it out against Alcatraz just like that. It would be pure suicide if they did that.
However, knowing the enemy was better than working blindly. At least, they now had an idea on what kind of preparations they needed to take in order to have a fighting chance against the current biggest criminal organization in the underworld.
Even though there were still so many things that were unclear about Alcatraz"s true purpose in infiltrating the country, both Iris and Lu Zihao had some theories. At the end of the day, it didn"t really matter what purpose Alcatraz had. They just needed to be eliminated.
Lu Zihao had a h.e.l.l-deep blood feud against the criminal organization while Iris also wanted Alcatraz to disappear in this world to protect the family that she built with her husband in this second chance in life that she had after her death as Evelina Vetrova.
"We detected some movements from them before, during and after Tian Kong"s execution," Lu Zihao informed Iris. "They"re very careful so we haven"t identified any of their core members yet but we managed to monitor a few of their native members. They"re all low-level but it"s a start. We haven"t done anything to them at this point. We"re just focused on monitoring them and learning more about their movements. Hopefully, we can predict their next plans better."
Iris nodded. "It"s a pity that we haven"t found anything more useful from Tian Kong"s involvement with them but this progress is already good. Tian Kong is most likely just an expendable p.a.w.n to them."
"Hm."
"It"s to our advantage that we already have an idea about the enemy while they still don"t know us yet. Just continue to be extra careful, Big Brother. Shadow Winds is a tiny ant compared to Alcatraz."
Lu Zihao"s expression twisted. Then he growled. "I know! You don"t have to remind me!"
She sighed but didn"t mind his tone. It was understandable how much he loathed Alcatraz to death, the one who swallowed a big part of the Vetrov organization after its downfall and replaced it as the new reigning emperor of the international criminal underworld.
"Now go back to your children," he told her. "Leave all this s.h.i.+t to me. No need for you to muddy your shoes in these dirty waters. My Shadow Winds and I are enough."
"But—"
"Evelinka," he warned her.
Iris hesitated before sighing again. "Fine."
He crossed his scarred, muscled arms over his chest and continued glowering at her. "I know that you"re concerned about me but I, Nikolai Vetrov, know what I"m doing."
She copied him and crossed her slender arms over her ample chest. "Of course, you know what you"re doing, Mr. Lu Zihao."
He stared daggers at her. If she wasn"t his sister, he would have already berated her with the foulest of languages until her ears rang.
"I"m Nikolai Vetrov!"
She stood her ground against the onslaught of his scary aura. Deep inside, her soul was still a Vetrov just like him. She wasn"t a fragile flower who would wilt with a little harsh wind.
"You WERE Nikolai Vetrov but not anymore! You"re now living as Lu Zihao! You"re married to Long Jingjing and the father of twins—Lu Tianyu and Lu Zhiyuan. Even if you gave my nephews Russian names, they will still be known as Mikhail Lu and Dmitri Lu, not Mikhail Vetrov and Dmitri Vetrov. You"re Lu Zihao now whether you like it or not! Just like how I"m now Long Xiulan and not Evelina Vetrova! Remember that, Big Brother. Please remember it."
His nose flared and his whole body tensed as he restrained his temper. "So you"re throwing away your past? Is that it? I know that you never wanted to be born as a Vetrov, I accept that. I have long accepted that! But your past is still a part of you whether you like it or not, just like how my past is a f.u.c.king part of me!"
"Of course, I know that! My point is that you shouldn"t let our past consume you too much that you forget to live in the present. Big Brother, you have a family now." She grabbed his arms, trying to make him understand, willing him to see her point of view. "You have a wife who loves you and children who depend on you! Even if you don"t tell me, I can sense that you have a do or die mindset when it comes to avenging what happened to us in our past lives. Must you always put your life on the line like this? Do you want your wife to become a widow and your children orphans?"
"Shut the f.u.c.k up, Evelinka!" he roared in her face.