Chapter 968 - No Need To Choose Sides
This was the first time that Iris heard this kind of dejected tone from her brother. "Are you sad?"
"No." Lu Zihao snorted as if the very idea of him being sad over a breakup was ridiculous.
"Don’t believe what Uncle Zihao is saying, Mother," Bacon interrupted in his usual bored, polite and no-nonsense tone. "He’s lying. The truth is that Uncle Zihao has been moping around and drinking alcohol like a loser ever since he broke up with Aunt Jinjing. Everyone at Shadow Winds is avoiding him because he snarls at them like a grumpy lion who has a splinter stuck on his butt—I mean, his derrière but couldn’t get it out. He has been beating up everyone at the headquarters in the name of ’training’. As his young nephew, Bacon is ashamed to watch such pathetic behaviour from my uncle. Uncle Zihao is not being classy at all."
"Gasp! Uncle Haohao is acting like a pathetic loser?! Shocking! And he’s bullying his subordinates?! Uh-oh! What a big meanie, even bigger than my little kitty brother! Bacon, don’t be like Uncle Haohao or you’ll break our mommy’s heart! Then Daddy will ground you forever and ever because Daddy hates seeing Mommy hurt. Oh no! That’s too sad! Meowuwuwu!"
"You brats!" Lu Zihao growled through gritted teeth.
"See? Uncle Zihao is very grumpy," Bacon commented in a bored I-told-you-so tone.
"Bacon, Ketchup, that’s enough." Iris pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing at her brother’s expense. She knew his temper. If her AI children continued to tease him like this, he would explode at any moment and might traumatize them.
"Did you call just to make fun of me, huh? I’m hanging up now. I don’t have time for this shit."
And indeed, Lu Zihao hung up in the next second.
"Oopsie daisy! Looks like Uncle Haohao is angry! Oh no! Ketchup feels bad! What should we kitty babies do? Meow!"
"It’ll be alright. Uncle Zihao won’t stay mad at us for too long because we are family. Most importantly, we are Mother’s beloved children. Uncle Zihao loves his sister, our mother, very much, so he’ll always care about us, her children, whether he actually likes us or not."
Iris interrupted the two. "Try calling your uncle again."
"Okie dokie, Mommy! Meow~"
The phone kept ringing but Lu Zihao didn’t answer.
"Just make his phone automatically answer the call," Bacon suggested.
"But that’s bad manners! Ketchup is a good kitty baby! Right, Mommy and Daddy? Meow~"
Iris didn’t reply but looked at her husband instead before sighing. "What do you think happened between my brother and Big Sister Jinjing? They couldn’t keep their hands off each other during our wedding, yet they broke up so soon."
Jin Liwei shrugged. "Maybe they’re just not meant for each other."
"And they were even the ones who caught my bouquet and garter. Although I don’t really believe in the superstition about being the next one to marry after catching a wedding bouquet and garter, I didn’t expect for the two of them to break up so soon after our wedding."
"Both of them are already grown-ups. I’m sure that they can figure it out by themselves."
She looked reluctant, thinking of something. Then she asked Ketchup to text Long Jinjing asking her if she was alright. A few minutes passed by but Long Jinjing didn’t reply.
"Should I call her?"
"Not today, love. Maybe tomorrow."
"I wonder how she’s feeling right now. I hope she’s okay. I could tell that she likes my brother very much. Maybe she already loves him." She released a deep sigh. "Now I feel bad and also torn. I consider Big Brother as my real sibling but Big Sister Jinjing is also a close friend of mine. They’re basically both my siblings. Since we don’t know the real reason why they broke up, I don’t know who to side with."
"There’s no need to choose sides. Like you said, they’re both your siblings. Meaning, they’re members of our family. We just need to be there for them." He paused before admitting, "But things might be awkward for the two of them during our gatherings."
She nodded.
He pulled her back down to a lying position on the bed and tightened their embrace. "Stop stressing yourself over their relationship. I’m sure that they don’t want to worry you about their problem knowing that you’re pregnant."
"Fine." She rubbed her face against his chest and inhaled his scent. Her simple actions made him smile. A few minutes later, she finally fell asleep.
"Father, is my mother asleep?" Bacon’s polite whisper interrupted the comfortable silence in the bedroom.
"En."
"May I have a few minutes of Father’s time, then? Bacon is ready to report on the things you asked me before."
"Oh oh oh! The cute and almost mighty again Ketchup also has something to report to Daddy! Ketchup will report after my little kitty brother because I’m a kind and understanding big sister! Meow~"
Jin Liwei stilled and glanced at his sleeping wife before sighing in relief after seeing that she didn’t stir. Although Ketchup also whispered, her excited voice might still awaken Iris who had great hearing. He carefully disentangled his arms around her before going out of the bedroom to the suite’s living area.
Bacon immediately provided him with the latest updates about Shadow Winds. Jin Liwei frowned after he was done reporting.
"Shadow Winds is handling too much at once. This doesn’t look good. The authorities are beginning to take notice of them especially after that issue with the latest shipment of weapons. They’re acting too conspicuous."
"Bacon agrees with Father. I also already warned Uncle Zihao about possible complications if things continued to progress in this way, but so far, he has not made any significant steps to err on the side of caution."
Jin Liwei’s frown deepened.
"Bacon told Uncle Zihao that he’s being too reckless but he threatened to cancel my upcoming holiday bonus. His actions are not classy at all. Father, please fight for a salary raise for me as compensation for my emotional injury caused by Uncle Zihao’s threat."