When the couple arrived to where their families and friends were sitting, Jin Liwei finally put his baby girl down on her feet. It was obvious that he was reluctant to let her down by the slowness of his movements.
"Darling, are you alright? Why are you moving so slowly? Are you in pain? Am I too heavy for you?" Iris, her denseness still activated, asked.
"Pft! Bahahaha! Xiulan my girl, your man just doesn't want to let you go, that's why! I bet that if he could, he would carry you for the entire night during this party!" Grandpa Lu's booming voice interrupted the couple's moment.
Iris tilted her head to the side after hearing what the old man said. "Really?" she asked her darling.
"I already told you. I'm just concerned that you'll tire and hurt your feet too soon," Jin Liwei said with straight face again.
Grandpa Lu almost choked on his own booming laughter. The others also watched the scene in amusement. They could all see Jin Liwei's shamelessness. It was only Iris who didn't realize her darling's shameless trickery yet.
Later, everyone was seated by their assigned tables. Wei Lan and Sun Jingfei were seated on separate tables away from Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui.
Long Tengfei, Yang Jiahui, Sun Jingfei, Meimei and Long Jinjing all felt nervous at first about Wei Lan. They were afraid that she would pick a fight with them and create a scene. But to their relief, she only gave them a polite smile before chatting with other people.
She wasn't exactly cordial with them, but at least she wasn't creating trouble that would embarrass all of them. Better to ignore than to fight.
They also didn't attempt to talk to her, afraid that they would trigger her. But if their eyes met, they would smile at each other. Wei Lan's smile didn't look genuine, but at least she was smiling and not snarling.
In the end, Wei Lan could only "endure" attending the grand launch with all those people. She didn't want to fight with her daughter and destroy their current relationship. Iris and Jin Liwei were very generous to the people close to them.
Wei Lan had been enjoying all the perks associated with being close to the couple. Like when Jin Liwei introduced her to one of the best real estate agents in the country so that she could start looking for a property for when her husband and stepson joined her in China after they finished their matters. Also when her daughter agreed to give her regular free samples on new Orchidia Beauty products before they were released in the market.
There were also many other perks aside from these. Wei Lan especially enjoyed Jin Liwei's generosity of lending his own subordinates to act as her bodyguards. Her husband, the viscount, was a very low-profile and down to earth person.
If he didn't whip out his own title, nobody would know that he was an actual viscount from a long line of Spanish nobility. He wasn't showy at all, including in his security details. It was his adopted son, René Alejandro, who provided them with bodyguards while they travelled to the most dangerous and poorest places in North Africa and South America last year. Most of the bodyguards were from the orphanages who were very good with hand-to-hand combat and other practical yet deadly martial arts.
When Wei Lan decided to return to China, René Alejandro didn't give her any bodyguards because he said that she didn't need them. She couldn't argue against him because her husband doted on his adopted son.
That was why Wei Lan enjoyed Jin Liwei's generosity in lending her his subordinates. Having a team of bodyguards protecting and following her whenever she went out in public made her feel more like a true viscountess. If she pissed off her daughter, Jin Liwei would surely side with Iris. Then he would stop lending her his subordinates.
Wei Lan didn't want to risk angering the couple and lose all the perks. More than this, however, she was also rather enjoying being a mother to a full-grown daughter. She also liked Jiang Ying Yue and Little Jun, experiencing great joy in dressing them up in fashionable clothes.
These were the reasons why she was acting so polite to Long Tengfei and his two other women.
'I'm sooooo magnanimous! Truly a great viscountess! The bestest forever and ever!' she praised herself after smiling politely at the three, even though all she wanted was to slap them all.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming tonight! Ehehehe. And welcome to Orchidia Beauty's official grand launch!"
Everyone clapped their hands and cheered.
"My name is Dominic Chua."
"And I'm Clover Chua! We're going to be your emcees tonight!"
The brother and sister looked fabulous tonight.
Dom wore a tailored three-piece tuxedo suit that Iris commissioned to be fully customized just for him. They used Jin Liwei's very own tailor.
Similarly, Clover looked pretty and glowing in her peach midi dress. All the female members of the girl squad had dresses made by the same designer as Iris. They all looked luxe and glamorous.
"I recognize that guy. He's Iris Long's assistant," one of the guests said.
"I knew it! So I was right. He really is Senior Iris' assistant. So that's why he looked so familiar."
"That cute female emcee has the same surname as him. And they resemble each other a little. Maybe they're siblings. Or cousins."
"Yeah. Both of them should be Senior Iris' people. But why are her people acting as emcees in this event? Is Orchidia Beauty short on staff that they need to borrow Senior Iris' people?"
"That's what I want to know, too."
Although they had many questions, they had to stop, be quiet and listen because Dominic and Clover Chua began telling a story.