Jin Liwei's words made Iris smile. It brightened her entire face and made her look even more like a blushing bride.
"I'm also very happy today. I love you, Jin Liwei," she whispered to him.
His eyes darkened with the fullness of his feelings upon hearing her statement of love.
"I love you too, Long Xiulan…or whoever you are. So much," he said, adding the "whoever you are" upon remembering her weird rhetorical questions some months ago.
Iris' smile grew wider.
Before he could even think of what he was doing, he was already leaning towards her and kissing her lips. The thousands of people in the grand theatre around them disappeared from his perception. To him, there was only his beautiful baby girl together with him right now.
The cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken" sitting beside them gasped seeing what the two of them were doing. Even the President of LX Productions looked shocked. Guan Jintao asked what was going on and his wife told him in a whisper. He looked amused after hearing about it. They all thought that the couple was very daring to kiss in the presence of so many people.
As for the foreigners around them, they only chuckled, not really thinking too much about it. To them, it was only a kiss. It wasn't like the two were having sex in public. Now that would be scandalous. Compared to that, lovers kissing in public was considered normal and very tame. Besides, this was France, a country which had an ingrained reputation for passionate romance—although many would argue against this now. But still, generally speaking, France was viewed as a place of love and romance.
And also, the couple were only doing a lips-to-lips kiss. It was very tame compared to French kissing in public. Nevertheless, the couple's sweet and lingering kiss still looked very passionate to the people watching them. As a matter of fact, they felt more entertained watching the lovey-dovey couple than the boring opening ceremony.
Like Jin Liwei, Iris had also lost her awareness of the people around them. After the kiss, she rested her head on the crook of his neck. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
Thus, everyone from "Strong Yet Broken" had to attend as well. They returned to their Oriental hotel to change into semi-formal attires. Iris and Jin Liwei would also attend. They followed the others to the same hotel to change into different outfits.
The VIP guests weren't required to attend the dinner, but they were welcome to do so if they wanted. Since Iris and Jin Liwei were going, Grandpa Lu, Lu Zihao and Wei Lan decided to also attend. They booked one big suite at the hotel, treating it as a dressing room. Tang Yiyi was waiting for them there with some European makeup artists and hairstylists Iris and Jin Liwei hired to service them all. It was more convenient to change at the hotel because it was near the ballroom hall. The villa estate was a bit far away.
As for Jiang Ying Yue, she decided to return to the villa estate ahead of everyone. She was worried about Little Jun. Although Dom was taking care of the toddler, she still felt restless being away from her son for too long especially since they were in a foreign country. The others understood her concern, so they didn't persuade her to join them. One of Jin Liwei's subordinates drove her back to the villa.
Later, they arrived at the welcome dinner venue in separate vehicles. Iris and Jin Liwei joined the group of "Strong Yet Broken", while Grandpa Lu, Lu Zihao and Wei Lan formed another group.
There was another red carpet outside the building, but it was more informal compared to the one before the opening ceremony. This time, interviews were allowed. Basically, it was a free-for-all event with everyone allowed to talk to whoever they wanted, as long as nobody harassed anyone.
Grandpa Lu, Lu Zihao and Wei Lan entered first. Jin Liwei's subordinates who were acting as Wei Lan's bodyguards surrounded them. Once again, Wei Lan had the largest entourage. The media swarmed around them. They were especially curious about Vizcondesa Lan.
Next, Iris and Jin Liwei walked on the red carpet together with the cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken". Guan Jintao and his wife were with them, including the President of LX Productions. The Chinese reporters had been waiting for them and immediately started interviewing the couple.
"Iris, are you really engaged to CEO Jin?" one of them asked.
Jin Liwei sent the reporter a frosty look and said, "That's Miss Iris Long for you."
"Yes, I'm engaged to Jin Liwei," Iris answered with a warm smile.
Since Iris already recounted how she first met her fiancé during her interview with Feng Jiu before, the reporters didn't waste time asking her about it. They turned to Jin Liwei and asked him several questions instead.
"CEO Jin, were you the one who pursued Iris—I mean, Miss Iris Long? Or was it the other way around."
"I pursued her," he replied.
Iris chuckled at the question. There was a teasing glint in her eyes, as she looked at her darling.
"Why would I pursue him? I didn't even like him that time. In fact, what I felt for him back then bordered on hatred. He always bothered me, even though I already made it clear that I didn't want anything to do with him. He was so arrogant, overbearing and annoying that I found myself often wanting to punch him in the face so many times."