Dragon Palace Home #10.
Iris was currently taking a walk inside the rotunda that Jin Liwei transformed into an indoor forest. The cats came along with her. Popcorn was running all round as usual, chasing the butterflies and other bugs.
On the other hand, Ice Cream decided to stay with her mommy instead. The big grey cat leisurely trotted close to her mommy's feet. She walked when her mommy walked and stopped when her mommy stopped. When Ice Cream got tired of walking, she meowed cutely at Iris and indicated with her paws that she wanted to be carried.
Iris' heart melted at the adorable cat. She was about to bend down to carry Ice Cream when she remembered what the catsitter told her earlier.
"Mistress, Young Miss Ice Cream has not yet completed her daily exercises today. The vet said that she gained a quarter of a pound since the last appointment."
"Don't worry. We'll take a walk at the forest. I'll make sure that she gets plenty of exercise there," Iris assured the cat sitter.
Remembering what she said earlier, Iris' heart winced at she forced herself to deny her cat's adorable request.
"Ice Cream, no. You haven't exercised enough yet, baby. Why don't you play with your brother Popcorn over there and chase some grasshoppers?"
"Meow~"
Ice Cream continued to meow. When her mommy didn't budge, she decided to change tactics. The grey cat sat on her hind legs like a human and lifted her front paws, gently moving them in a begging position. Her head tilted to the side, while her expression turned pitiful.
It felt like a pink arrow just shot straight to Iris' heart. She immediately bent down and lifted the extremely adorable cat in her arms.
"Oh, Ice Cream! My cute baby~ So smart! So adorable! Mommy loves you so much~ So what if you gain a quarter of a pound? Even if you gain an entire pound or two, you'll still be beautiful and Mommy and Daddy will continue to love you!"
The grey cat rubbed her head against her mommy.
Iris happily petted her cat, not noticing the smirk on Ice Cream's face. The cat's expression looked like that of a secret villain whose evil plans just succeeded. But when Iris looked at Ice Cream's face, the cat's expression turned innocent and adorable once again.
After walking for some time, Iris—still carrying Ice Cream in her arms—decided to rest. She headed to the islet at the centre of the pond. The romantic dinner table was replaced by a comfortable set of couches instead.
She had an endorsement event earlier in the morning with Lin Yehan's Serenity Premium Tea Company. Lin Yehan just signed a partnership with a café chain to serve his company's different tea varieties in their stores.
As Serenity Premium Tea Company's first and only endorser at the moment, Lin Yehan asked Iris to endorse the partnership with the café as well. She signed a separate contract and immediately started fulfilling her endorsement obligations.
After the event, she headed home and checked all the food the chef cooked for Jin Liwei and his employees before the subordinates delivered the packed lunches to Jin Corporation. Only then did she eat lunch with Dom.
She still had a couple of hours before she needed to get ready again to work at Orchidia Beauty later in the afternoon. A bit stressed out with her tight schedule, she decided to relax at the indoor forest with the cats before she returned to work later.
"Popcorn, be careful. You might fall," she warned him.
The hyperactive cat only meowed before continuing to tease the koi fishes. As for Ice Cream, she became sleepy after her "exercise" with her mommy. Ah, that five-metre walk was so exhausting! Curling on top of her mommy's lap, Ice Cream closed her eyes and took a nap.
Iris also closed her eyes, intending to take nap before she needed to get ready for her work in the afternoon. However, her phone rang, jolting her back to wakefulness.
Ice Cream gave an annoyed meow before returning to sleep.
"Hello?" Iris answered the phone.
"Good afternoon, Young Miss," Qiao Yu's voice greeted her.
After a quick exchange of pleasantries, the financial manager discussed the reason for his call.
"Young Miss, a shareholder at Long Industries is planning to put up his 5% shares for sale because he's going to retire soon. He hasn't announced it publicly yet, but he's an old friend of mine, so we're the first to know. He asked me if I know anyone who wants to buy his shares. I immediately thought of you. Are you interested in buying?"
"How much?" she immediately asked.
"Hmm. Pretty expensive…"
"Yes, but it's reasonable given Long Industries' worth. And you can afford it," he said.
"It seems that you really want me to buy the shares."
"I do, Young Miss. By becoming a shareholder at Long Industries, you'll have at least a little say in the company. I know that you're not interested but please hear me out. Owning the shares will particularly be beneficial to you since Orchidia Beauty currently has a shipping deal with Long Industries. You can use your shares as leverage to get more advantageous deals, even if you're not dealing directly with your father. At least once you become a shareholder, even just a minor one, those working at Long Industries will have to start taking you seriously.
"You may not care about what others say about you, but I do. As your financial manager, I invest under your name. There are times when I'm not able to finalize some investments because they won't sell once they learn that I'm buying for you. That's why it's harder for us to invest here in the country than abroad because people know who you are here. Sometimes just having money is not enough when it comes to investing. Having a good reputation is also important.
"Young Miss, let's buy the 5% shares. It will be a great opportunity to increase your reputation in the business world, especially right now that you haven't revealed yet that you have your own companies," Qiao Yu tried to persuade her.
"Hmm. What you say makes sense. Alright. Go ahead and buy the shares." She finally gave him her permission.
"Excellent! I'll have it done immediately!"
After the call, Iris smiled in amusement at her financial manager's eagerness. She could imagine him calling the shareholder immediately after the call with her. Qiao Yu was usually serious, stern and unimpressed, but he would exhibit excitement whenever he encountered some great investment opportunities.
Moments later, her phone rang again.
"Hello?"
"Young Miss, we got it! The shareholder agreed to sell the 5% to us!" Qiao Yu informed her excitedly. "I'll bring the documents you need to sign in a few days."
"Alright. Well done, Mr. Qiao."
They spoke about the matter some more before the call ended once again. Compared to Qiao Yu's excitement, Iris didn't really think much about it. In fact, she had already forgotten about it once she became busy with work at her own company later that afternoon.
Little did she know that her purchase would cause chaos among the Long clan.