Chapter 511 - Demonic Angel
This year's Sommet International Film Festival finally concluded. The Chinese participants needed to return home to their country soon. Their participation in the film festival wasn't a vacation. It was still part of their work.
Everyone involved in "Strong Yet Broken" was busy. The film helped each of them gain recognition in their own respective fields, especially Yin Meixing who was now a well-respected actress. They had new projects that they were all working on.
Iris Long was also the same. Time was tight for her. The official launch of her company, Orchidia Beauty, was in three days. She and Jin Liwei needed to return as soon as possible in order to make it in time.
At the moment, there was an air of mystery surrounding Orchidia Beauty. They deliberately leaked a portion of the grand launch's guest list to the public. It included many impressive figures.
The Jins: Jin Liwei, Jin Chonglin, Li Zhiruo (Grandma Li) and Huang Yuyan.
When the people saw that the Jins would be attending, they didn't question it because Jin Chonglin was an endorser of Orchidia Beauty. They assumed that his family would be coming to support him. And now that everyone knew that Iris Long and Jin Liwei was engaged, it added another reason for the entire Jin main family to attend. After all, both Iris Long and Jin Chonglin were endorsers of the new company.
The Lus: Sir Lu Jianhong (Grandpa Lu) and Lu Zihao.
People also didn't question their attendance because many knew that the Lus and the Jins were close to each other. Perhaps the Lus would also be attending to support Jin Chonglin. It had also already been reported that Iris Long was close to both the Lu grandfather and grandson.
The Longs: Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui.
Also Vizcondesa Lan of Castillo de Estrellas of España.
/p>It was a given that Iris Long's parents were also invited.
Other than this leaked guest list, there wasn't any substantial information about Orchidia Beauty itself. They hadn't revealed the identities of the people running it yet. On their press release announcing the company's official launch, they only promised to reveal everything to the public during the grand party. This made the people more curious about it.
Why the need to act so mysterious? Was this just a marketing strategy to create hype? Or was there truly something the company was keeping a secret that would shock everyone once revealed?
Iris was feeling very excited for the launch of her company. She had been working on it since last year. That was why she didn't want to stay in France any longer than necessary. She urged Jin Liwei and the others for everyone to return to China as soon as possible.
In the end, they all decided to stay one more day in France in order to rest. Iris wanted to depart immediately but Jin Liwei persuaded her to wait one more day. The two of them had been attending events with everyone from "Strong Yet Broken" throughout the entire duration of the film festival. They almost had no time to rest.
During the final day of their stay in France, Iris and Jin Liwei decided to host both a victory and farewell lunch party. Everyone from "Strong Yet Broken" came. All of them couldn't help but gasp in amazement at the grandeur of Jin Liwei's villa estate. Guan Jintao couldn't see, but his wife described everything to him.
Maestro Ludovico De Luca, his wife and Enrique Valdez also attended. Their arrival made everyone from "Strong Yet Broken" starstruck. They swore that from now on, they would do their best to maintain their relationship with Iris Long. She was connected to all of these impressive people, including Sir Lu Jianhong and Madam Wei Lan, now a Spanish viscountess. Not to mention that she was engaged to the Chinese billionaire, Jin Liwei.
They were in the grand dining hall. The large and long dinner table was removed in preference for lounge chairs and small tables instead. The lunch was buffet-style which Iris and Jin Liwei now preferred whenever they hosted parties, thanks to the Chua family's influence. It was less formal and encouraged everyone to mingle freely.
The atmosphere was light and cheerful. Everyone was still feeling euphoric over Iris Long and Yin Meixing's double wins last night. Their beautiful trophies were displayed on a high table for the others to admire. It was the producer who suggested it, feeling proud of the women's achievements for his film.
While they were all chatting and eating, the French butler announced a surprise guest. Moments later, the stunning Ashandra Knightson walked into the dining hall. The men who hadn't met her yet, except for Lu Zihao, stopped what they were doing when they saw her. Their jaws fell down and their eyes widened upon seeing such a beauty. Lu Zihao wasn't affected at all.Iris smiled brightly when she saw her friend. She and Jin Liwei welcomed the artist. They spoke in English.
"Ashandra, I'm so happy that you dropped by. This is our last day here before we have to go home to China," Iris told her friend after hugging each other.
"Xiulan, I missed you so much! AJ and Theresa also miss you. Florence is in Southeast Asia right now, but I know that she's also missing us," Ashandra said to Iris before giving a friendly hug to Jin Liwei as well. "Good to see you again, Liam. You better take care of my friend or us Cross girls will rip you apart and feed you to the rats."
"Don't worry. If I ever hurt her, you're free to punish me. I'll deserve it," Jin Liwei replied.
Ashandra nodded, satisfied at his answer. Then she turned to Iris again and scolded, "Why did you only tell me now that you're here in France? If I knew, I would've hurried to meet you here. We could've spent more time together!"
"I didn't know that you were in Italy attending an art exhibition. I thought you were still at the Academy busy working on your next masterpiece. I didn't want to disturb you."
"Silly girl. You're welcome to disturb me anytime. What are friends for?"
Iris responded with a warm smile. "Thank you."
"By the way, I heard what happened last night. Congratulations on winning the Best Soundtrack Award! I'm so proud of you. This is for you." Ashandra handed Iris a gift bag.
"May I?" Iris asked."Of course. Please open it."
Iris gasped when she saw what her friend gave her.
"Ashandra, this is beautiful! Thank you!"
"I'm glad you liked it. It's one of my latest works."
The gift was a large, beautiful, silk scarf. Although it was a scarf, it was also an incredible painting. An ethereal woman wearing a pristine white dress was soaring to the heavens among the stormy clouds with her jet-black wings. The woman's angelic beauty was a contrast to her demonic wings. Her eyes looked fierce and determined, as she flew towards whatever was up there.
"I chose this particular scarf to give you because the woman in my painting is very similar to you, Xiulan. As a person, your kindness and generosity are like that of an angel. But once you set your mind into something, you obsessively pursue it like a demon," Ashandra explained.
"Exactly," Jin Liwei wholeheartedly agreed to the artist's brief analysis of his baby girl.
Iris didn't reply to the two. She continued to admire the scarf instead. Then she asked, "What's this painting called?"
"I call it the 'Demonic Angel'."
"Beautiful," Iris whispered.
/p>Later, Ashandra greeted Grandpa Lu, Maestro De Luca and Enrique Valdez. They all knew each other because they were former and current students of Cross Academy.
After Iris introduced her friend to everyone, the party resumed its light and cheerful atmosphere. The people who hadn't met Ashandra yet were all very curious of her. When they learned that she was an accomplished artist whose works always sold out at insane prices in auctions, they were all very impressed.
Once again, everyone from "Strong Yet Broken" were amazed by Iris Long's connections. It seemed that Ashandra Knightson was her personal friend. Meaning, Iris met the respected artist on her own instead of getting connected through Jin Liwei. In fact, even Maestro De Luca and Enrique Valdez seemed to be only close to her and not to Jin Liwei.
If other people started accusing Iris Long of using CEO Jin Liwei to climb socially, then the "Strong Yet Broken" team would be the first ones to defend her.