Chapter 1254 - To My Wife
It was unfortunate for the reporters that the interview time ran out. They tried to ask more questions but the staff was polite yet firm in rejecting them. It didn't help that CEO Jin quickly stood beside his wife, effectively blocking them with his cold and intimidating aura.
They were once again reminded that Iris Long was no longer just a normal celebrity. She was now the Young Madam of the Jin family. Her status had greatly changed after her marriage. They could no longer approach her like before.
Never mind if they couldn't ask her anymore. CEO Hou Liang's bombshell was enough material.
The grand opening ceremony ended on schedule. The reporters wasted no time in returning to their companies to submit their stories.
Later, Iris and Jin Liwei's group were on their way home. Dom followed them in another car while updating all of Iris' social media accounts with today's grand opening.
Now that the event was done, Iris felt completely drained. She burrowed deeper in her husband's arms while deeply inhaling his scent. A soft sigh of satisfaction escaped her red lips. The husband and wife cuddled in the backseat.
Jin Liwei kissed her forehead and pulled a blanket over her. "Feel sick?"
She shook her head.
Due to her pregnancy, she had to make the decision of forgoing an extravagant grand opening for Eve Holdings. She originally wanted to make the grand opening of Eve Holdings more special and lavish than the grand launch of Orchidia Beauty, but sadly, such an event might put unnecessary stress on her health.
Between the health of her twins and Eve Holdings, she chose her babies. She could always throw a bigger bash for Eve Holdings in the future after she gave birth safely anyway. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]
Outside the bubble of love between the husband and wife, the revelation that Iris Long was the mysterious owner of Planet Monkey started appearing in the headlines. It wasn't even half an hour since the grand opening event of Eve Holdings ended.
Ketchup was the first one to detect the news stories but she didn't want to disturb her tired and drowsy mommy, so she alerted her Uncle Dom in the other car instead.
Dom was already experienced when it came to things like this. He quickly contacted Tang Yiyi and passed the responsibility of crafting an official statement to LXC Studio.
Back to the husband and wife, Jin Liwei's phone vibrated. He fished it out of his pocket and saw Dom's message about the headlines and the actions he had just taken.
The sleepy Iris noticed his movements. "What's that?"
He showed her.
She chuckled, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Everybody will talk about that for a while and not notice that I'm wearing looser and thicker clothing than what I normally wear before."
Jin Liwei's hand touched her small baby bump hiding beneath her clothes. "We'll be the ones to decide when we'll reveal to the world that we're expecting and not the paparazzi or others who don't care about publishing scoops without consent."
"Yes."
When they arrived home, Iris received a surprise the moment she stepped inside.
"Congrats, Xiulan my girl!" Grandpa Lu's lively voice boomed. "This old man is so proud of you!"
It wasn't only him who was present. Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan, Jin Liwei's mother, were there as well.
Jin Chonglin and Chen Fei also arrived before Iris and Jin Liwei. Clover was also virtually present via the tablet that Dom carried.
Hou Liang sent his apologies for not following them because things were hectic at Planet Monkey. He and Wu Chen (a.k.a. the original iEatSlippers) really couldn't afford to be gone from the company for too long at this time.
As for the Gold Heights representative, he wasn't invited to this private gathering because Iris only had a business relationship with him and nothing more.
"Cheers, Little Sister." Long Jinjing handed her a glass of coconut juice with little bits of pulp.
Beside her, Lu Zihao also handed Jin Liwei a flute of champagne.
Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui came together as well. Meimei also took time off from slaving away on her popular webtoon to celebrate with everyone.
Jiang Ying Yue carried her son, Little Jun. Standing not too far away from her was Lin Yehan and Yu Mo. Unfortunately, Wang Yingjie was unable to come because he was on hospital duty.
Even Iris' music mentor, Enrique Valdez came.
Jin Liwei raised his flute of champagne. Everyone followed suit. Iris and Long Jinjing also raised their glasses of coconut juice.
"To my wife and Eve Holdings," he said.
"CHEERS!!!"
Iris' earlier exhaustion was now gone. She couldn't stop smiling as she received everyone's congratulations.
It turned out that even though they decided to throw a rather simple grand opening ceremony for Eve Holdings and not invite many guests, Jin Liwei still wanted to throw her a special private celebratory party with their loved ones at home.
Her eyes watered when she learned about his thoughtfulness. "Thank you, darling."
"My pleasure, love."
It was Monday during work hours so not everyone that Jin Liwei invited to the private party was able to come. Hence, their usual group was incomplete. These people still sent congratulatory messages and presents to Dragon Palace Home #10 for Iris though.
The group moved to the same room where they celebrated Christmas. They ate and drank while chatting with each other.
Moments later, the door opened.
"Xiuuuuuulaaaaaaan, where are yooooouuuuu?" a familiar female voice interrupted. "Mother is heeeeeeeere~"
Everyone watched as Wei Lan strutted inside as if she was on the catwalk (as always). Randy, the Zumba instructor, came with her. There was a third person.
Lu Zihao's eyes flashed with hostility. He looked ready to pounce and was only stopped by a nervous Long Jinjing's firm hand.
René Alejandro greeted everyone with his dimpled smile. He didn't seem bothered by Lu Zihao's antagonism at all. He just ignored the man.
The newly arrived trio headed straight to Iris and Jin Liwei for a greeting before each handing Iris a present of congratulations.
"Thank you," Iris told them with a sincere smile while petting the cats.
She was too happy to feel annoyed at Wei Lan, the prima donna, who believed that the star of the show should always be late.