Chapter 901 - Backlash

Chapter 901 - Backlash

"Darling, that was incredible!" Iris exclaimed later that night when their meeting with her big brother and Lu Zihao's remnant was over. "I never expected that something like that was possible. I wonder if my situation were any different, that I would've also experienced something similar."
Jin Liwei frowned, displeased at the idea. "I'm glad that it didn't happen to you. I might be a jerk to the original Long Xiulan to be thinking like this, but I'm glad that her remnant didn't evolve to be able to take over your body and have conversations like a normal person."
She sighed. "Xiulan was not that bad of a person, Liwei. She was just…immature and shallow in so many ways. If only she had been guided and educated properly while growing up, perhaps she would've developed into a better person than she did."
"Hmm. Maybe you're right. We don't really know what could've happened but there's one thing that I'm sure of. I'm glad that everything turned out the way it did because I got you." He caressed her cheek and gazed into her eyes. "It was a rocky beginning for the two of us but here we are now."
"Yes, here we are now," she whispered, smiling at him. "We're going to be married in a few days."
"En." He placed his hand on her stomach. "And we're going to be welcoming our twin babies in less than a year. You've made me a very happy man, Evelina. I can't wait until you officially become Mrs. Jin. I promise to do my best to make you happy for the rest of our lives."
Her smile turned brighter. Although she still felt scared about becoming a mother, her love for her babies who she hadn't even met yet were growing bigger with each passing day. It was a different kind of love from what she felt for Jin Liwei but was equally if not more profound. It was amazing and a little frightening.
Despite the fear, she knew that no matter what happened, she would fine as long as Jin Liwei was by her side. He was her strongest supporter and she felt like she could do anything together with him. It was such a glorious feeling that she had never experienced before.
It was already past midnight but Iris was still wide awake. Her eyes were sparkling with amazement at the incredible meeting she had with Lu Zihao's remnant. At first, she even suspected that her brother and Jin Liwei might be pranking her but quickly rejected the idea. Jin Liwei might do it, if only for the purpose of entertaining her, but her brother? No way!
She remembered what happened earlier. The meeting with Lu Zihao's remnant was very short but fun. It was obvious that the original Lu Zihao was the total opposite of her brother's very intense character. Lu Zihao was easygoing and somewhat of a jokester. Iris immediately felt comfortable talking to him even though it was the first time that they "met".
Unfortunately, they couldn't talk for too long because the remnant grew tired quickly and needed to "recharge". This concept intrigued Iris. She wanted to know more, perhaps study it and eventually understand how it really worked in the future. To achieve this, she planned on interviewing both her big brother and Lu Zihao's remnant but Jin Liwei told her not to rush anything.
It was only then that she noticed that her brother Nikolai was back in control of the body and was sweating profusely. He was also very pale and looked weak. Her curiosity was quickly replaced by alarm and worry for her brother.
"I'm fine!" Lu Zihao, no, Nikolai told her when she was about to rush to him.
"What happened?!"
Nikolai tried to act nonchalant about it but the slight trembling of his hands and knees betrayed the real state of his body. "It's just a little backlash. That's all. Nothing to be worried about."
"Backlash?!" Iris became even more worried.
"You look better tonight that you did last week," Jin Liwei commented, also in a nonchalant tone, but his arm wrapped firmly around Iris' shoulders to prevent her from running to her brother.
Both men remembered that she couldn't take her brother's scent right now and didn't want to risk her getting sick again.
"Yeah. I guess it gets better with experience."
"Experience, huh? So you're okay with letting my fifth brother's remnant take over more often?"
Nikolai glared at Jin Liwei. "Hell no! F.u.c.k this shit! I don't want to go through this again."
Jin Liwei chuckled but sadness and regret flashed in his eyes.
Upon seeing her frustrated confusion, her brother gave her a brief explanation about the backlash both he and Lu Zihao's remnant would experience every time he allowed the remnant to take over. Nikolai would experience lethargy while the remnant would need to recharge for a longer period of time. Learning from what happened last week, they kept the takeover very short this time to minimize the backlash.
In the end, Nikolai felt too exhausted to leave tonight so he decided to sleep over at the mansion with Long Jinjing again. Iris was glad. She often missed her brother if they didn't see each other for too long.
Back to the present, Iris and Jin Liwei were lying on their bed. She couldn't sleep because her mind was still thinking about everything that happened during the meeting.
"Darling," she called.
"Hm?"
"Do you want Fifth Brother's remnant to stay?"
He stared at the ceiling and didn't answer right away. "I can't lie to you. Yes, I want my fifth brother's remnant to stay."
"Big Brother won't let him," she whispered.
His mouth curved into a sad smirk. "Don't underestimate Fifth Brother. He's happy-go-lucky, yes, but he's still the grandson of Grandpa Lu. He won't be defeated so easily even if it's against your brother, Nikolai Vetrov."
"I just hope that whatever happens to the two of them, that it won't be dangerous. Just like how you care for Fifth Brother, I also care about Big Brother."
"I know, love. I know."