1219: Here to Stay

Here to Stay

"El Payaso is an extremely formidable opponent," Iris continued explaining to both her AI children. "Even I'm not sure how much the old guy improved compared to the last time I battled him as Fantom."1

Ketchup asked, "Did Mommy win? Meow~"

"Dumb question," Bacon said. "Of course, Mother must have won because she's the best hacker in the entire universe."

Iris chuckled. "Indeed, I won."

"Meowowow! Mommy is super-duper to the highest level awesome forever and ever! Meowowow!"

Afterwards, Iris couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She took a nap in bed while hugging her husband. Jin Liwei waited until she was in deep sleep before carefully getting up from the bed. He kissed her lips and left the bedroom. 

Later, he met his brother-in-law in the bar again. The broken bar stool and glasses had already been replaced. 

Lu Zihao wasn't downing alcohol like he did the last time. He was drinking mango juice instead before tossing a can to Jin Liwei.

"How's Long Jinjing?" Jin Liwei asked as he sat beside his brother-in-law.

"Better," Lu Zihao replied. "She's acting normally now but I can sense that she's still upset with me."

"That's normal given what you did." Jin Liwei opened his can and drank the mango juice, the tart sweetness refreshing him. 

Lu Zihao grunted. "My sister?"

"The livestream tired her out. She's taking a nap right now."

"Bacon already told me what happened. ShaWn also gave me a more detailed report. Those motherfucking Youngs!"

Jin Liwei didn't reply. There was no need to. Both men understood that this couldn't go on. The Youngs needed to be taught a lesson. 

"The mysterious group backing them is the biggest variable that's preventing us from attacking those shitty Youngs head-on," Lu Zihao said. "But my Shadow Winds should also be a big variable to them. I don't think they know about my group yet."

Jin Liwei nodded. "You also know about my wife saying that they have that El Payaso hacker, right?"

"Yeah." Lu Zihao sneered. "So what if they got El Payaso on their side? We have Fantom with us. Ah, right. My sister now goes by Drakon. Plus we have your two brats."

"En. Ketchup and Bacon might not be able to defeat El Payaso with their current levels, but they're already giving the Eagle hackers a run for their money."

"Of course. That's because my sister is the one who gave life to those two brats and is raising them to become formidable hackers like her. How can a clown compare to a phantom dragon and her two beast offspring?"

Jin Liwei chuckled and raised his can of mango juice to his brother-in-law. Lu Zihao followed suit. 

"Cheers!"

Then the brothers-in-law planned their retaliation against the Young family for what they did to Iris during the livestream. 

###

That same day, the official recorded video of the livestream trended online in three different countries—China, Singapore and the Philippines. It already gained a cumulative total 10 million views before the day was over. 

The views continued to climb as more Singaporeans and Filipinos became aware that their fellow countrymen won a lot of incredible prizes by making tribute to a Chinese celebrity called Iris Long. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]

Who in the world was Iris Long?

Now, they were coming to know more about her.

LXC Studio and Jin Liwei's PR team coordinated in packaging the special contest as a generous thank-you event for the Black Stars from the husband and wife, Jin Liwei and Iris Long. 

They cooperated with Jasper Leung, the PR person from White Tigress International Virtual Assistant Services. White Tigress company was in charge of publicizing the special contest in the international scene.

The most important PR push, however, was in showcasing Iris Long's impromptu song dedicated to her fans titled "All my Black Stars". They emphasized the fact that the lyrics were written and harmonized with an available melody from Iris Long's music repertoire on the spot. 

This was to highlight Iris Long's talent in songwriting. At the same time, they reminded everyone about her list of achievements in the field of music composition. Her fans, the Black Stars, and many Chinese already knew that she was a critically-acclaimed, multi-award-winning musician that was even recognized internationally. 

Her biggest accomplishments as a musician so far were being presented the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Music for creating three new musical techniques in the hit song, "Monster of Insanity", at the Harmony Music Awards and winning a Soleil d'Or for Best Soundtrack at the Sommet International Film Festival in France. 

She literally made history with these achievements under her belt.

Using these awards as evidence, LXC Studio, Jin Liwei's PR team and White Tigress company packaged Iris Long as a musical genius, not knowing that she was a literal certified genius and a student of the legendary Cross Academy. 

The viral livestream video also gave everyone a clear message. 

Iris Long wasn't going to retire from the music industry any time soon just because she married and became Madam Jin. 

She was here to stay. And she would do it in her own terms.

###

"Dammit!"

Rose Young smashed a pillow against the wall because it was the only item in the bedroom that she could direct her rage. The bedroom in the safe house was bare except for a bed and a side table that was screwed to the floor. There were no other items that she could use to escape or hurt herself.

Her guard quietly left after telling her the outcome of her plan to attack Iris Long in the livestream earlier today. She didn't bother with the guard and continued to vent her frustration and fury on the pillow.

It had taken her a long time to coax Emilio Miguel to grant some of her requests. Finally, after paying with her own body almost every day, the Spaniard allowed her to have limited contact with her father, Romeo Young, in Singapore.

The first thing she did wasn't to ask her family how they had been but to instruct them to destroy Iris Long's reputation especially after learning that she established Black Stars Singapore. 

"Damn you, Iris Long! I hate you! I'll kill you!"

Her crazed eyes were filled with murderous intent. 

The door opened and a tall, foreign man entered. He was extremely beautiful like an angel who came down from the heavens.

"Emil!" 

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