Chapter 1551 Let’s Go Home Together
Chapter 1551 Let’s Go Home Together
"I love it," Iris said while admiring the huge painting through tears.
Jin Liwei took his pocket square and used the handkerchief to wipe his wife's tears, careful not to smudge her makeup. He didn't have to worry too much, though, because most of her makeup was waterproof anyway.
"I must have it," Iris declared.
"En, don't worry, love," he assured her. "I'll bid on it."
"No need to bid," Ashandra said. "This is my gift for Xiulan."
Iris gasped. "Ashandra!"
Ashandra hugged her. "I told you that I have a surprise for you. Didn't I also mention that you've been a huge inspiration to me for this collection? To tell you the truth, creating this painting has been such a huge joy for me, unlike the other ones which sent me to therapy. I always looked forward to waking up each day just to paint this."
"But giving this to me for free is a bit…." Iris tried to say.
"What are you saying, Xiulan? Are you treating me as an outsider? You're my friend but I consider you more like a sister. Please don't argue about this with me anymore. I already decided to give it to you and that's final."
Iris could only hug her friend tighter.
Ashandra chuckled. "All I'm asking you is to allow me to display this painting for longer. Once my exhibition ends, then I'll have it sent to your home."
"Okay, Ashandra. Thank you so much." Iris grabbed her husband's dark emerald handkerchief to dab her tears.
Many of the guests also admired the huge painting of Iris and her children. They wanted to bid for it but there was no bidding slot available. They asked and were disappointed to hear that Ashandra Knightson had already given it as a gift to Madame Jin, her muse for the painting.
"So you have two children?" one of the guests asked.
"Two babies, four cats, and two dogs," Iris answered. "They're all my children."
The others didn't think too much about her too-specific reply. They just thought that she must be an animal lover.
It was a good thing that Ashandra painted Little Mochi and Little Matcha in a way that left about half of their faces in the shadows. Nevertheless, anyone looking at the painting could still see their cuteness.
The main focus of the painting was the mother, Iris.
She was depicted in a way that seemed to glow from within.
Jin Liwei also couldn't stop staring at it.
Then Iris noticed something in the painting. She pointed at a shadow in the corner. "Look at that! Is that my husband's shadow?"
Ashandra laughed. "Good eye, Xiulan. I didn't expect you to catch that right away. Indeed, I had to include the whole family in this painting in some way without blatantly showing your husband and the kids' father. So I decided to just include Liwei's shadow."
Jin Liwei didn't notice the shadow at first until his wife pointed it out. Now that he saw it, he couldn't conceal the pleased smile on his face.
"I can't wait to display this in our home," he said.
Iris and Ashandra laughed at his reaction.
"Alright, I've already shown you my surprise," Ashandra said. "I'm going to leave you two for now. I still need to speak and entertain the other guests."
When she left, Iris and Jin Liwei walked closer to the painting. They continued to admire the huge, beautiful painting. Jin Liwei was also envisioning the best place to hang it.
The other guests were also admiring the painting. They even approached the couple to chat about it.
Finally, the first night of the art exhibition was about to end. Iris and Jin Liwei bid goodbye to Ashandra Knightson before leaving with their disguised bodyguards following behind them.
###
Iris, Jin Liwei and their family decided to stay in France for a few extra days.
Tang Yiyi already took Yin Meixing to fly back home a few days ago. Yin Meixing had to return due to prior work arrangements. LXC Studio was working hard to promote her as one of their top artists besides Jin Chonglin and Iris Long.
Inside their Parisian home, Little Mochi and Little Matcha watched as their Uncle Lin Lin hugged their Auntie Fei, refusing to let her go.
"Yah yah yah!" Little Mochi clapped his little hands in delight, urging his Uncle Lin Lin to show something funnier.
Little Matcha sucked on his pacifier while watching the scene with curiosity.
"No, let's go home together!" Jin Chonglin said, acting like a spoiled child.
Chen Fei was so angry but she still couldn't help but laugh. "Let me go! I already told you that I need to go with Xiulan for Orchidia Germany's launch! You go home first."
"No, babe! I don't want to leave you!"
Chen Fei rolled her eyes before looking at her friends with helplessness.
Iris and Dom snickered.
It was a good thing that Jin Liwei wasn't there to witness his younger brother's embarrassingly childish actions or else he might have spanked Jin Chonglin in front of the twins. Jin Liwei was in the study working remotely to run Jin Corporation.
"If you don't let me go, I'll castrate you!" Chen Fei threatened.
It was no use.
Jin Chonglin continued to cling to her waist, refusing to let her go.
"We just got engaged, babe. I don't want us to separate! Either you go home with me or I'll stay here with you and accompany you to Germany!"
A knock on the door interrupted them.
Dom ran to open it.
An exhausted Lin Dong entered. He froze upon seeing his artist crying and clinging to his fiancée's waist. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure that he was seeing it correctly and not just imagining it. Finally, he realized that the scene in front of him was real and not an illusion. His expression turned ugly.
"Chonglin, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Chen Fei used this opportunity to disentangle herself from Jin Chonglin's viselike embrace.
Jin Chonglin stood up quickly and patted his clothes, pretending that everything was normal. "Why are you here?"
Lin Dong's expression remained ugly. "CEO Jin sent a private jet for me. And good thing that he did. If I didn't come, I bet that you wouldn't want to return home."
"Hmph." Jin Chonglin still acted like a petulant kid.
Lin Dong was already exhausted from the long flight. But this time, he looked like he had aged even more after knowing that he still had to coax this spoiled man-child.
"Let's go now, Second Master Chonglin. Have you packed your luggage yet? If not, I'll help you pack up. You still have to report to a TV drama crew tomorrow for your cameo role. We need to hurry up. You also have a couple of magazine cover shoots and an interview in the next couple of days."
"No! I'm staying here with my wife! I'm not going anywhere without my wife!" Jin Chonglin hugged Chen Fei's neck.
Chen Fei felt like she was suffocating. She stomped on Jin Chonglin's foot hard.
"Argh!" He doubled over in pain before looking up at her with accusing eyes.
She coughed. "I'm sorry. You were choking me."
"What?!" Jin Chonglin soon forgot about his aching foot to check on her neck. "Sorry, babe. Here, let me kiss it for you."
He was about to kiss her neck in front of everyone but she pushed his face away.
She cleared her throat, looking uncharacteristically shy, especially in front of Lin Dong.
Then she glared at her fiancé. "Are you going to abandon your work commitments? Because if you are, then we're done!"
"What do you mean?!" he demanded.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not interested in a slacker. I don't care if you're a superstar or not. But I want to be with someone as motivated and hardworking as me. I'm not interested in a lazy a** who'll just abandon his contract obligations whenever he feels like it. If you want to be with me, you have to show me that you have integrity. If you can't, then we're done."
She moved to take off the huge diamond ring on her finger but he stopped her.
"Don't even think about it! Okay, I'll go home with my manager but you must answer my calls every day!"
She released a mental sigh of relief. Lin Dong also sent her a grateful look.
"Come, let's hurry and pack your luggage." She hurriedly pulled Jin Chonglin to their bedroom.
Lin Dong quickly moved to follow them, but Dom pulled him back.
"Why are you stopping me?" Lin Dong asked. "I need to help Chonglin pack. It's faster with more people."
Dom rolled his eyes. "What are you following them for? To be a bright lightbulb? Prince Lin Lin is already annoyed with you for coming to pick him up. Are you going to annoy him even more by disturbing their two-person world? Give the lovebirds some time to say goodbye to each other."
"Oh." Lin Dong finally didn't insist on following the couple.
Iris picked up Little Mochi. "Let's go now, my sweethearts. Mommy will also start packing. We're going for a trip with Daddy and Uncle Dom before we leave France."
"Yah!" Little Mochi clapped his hands.
Dom picked up Little Matcha.
"Make yourself at home, Manager Lin," Iris said while walking to the door. "If you need anything, just call one of my staff."
Lin Dong waved at her. "Don't worry, Iris. I'll be fine. Go ahead and do your own thing. I'll just wait for your brother-in-law to finish packing."
"Then you might as well eat and rest first," she said. "They might take a long time to finish 'packing'."