Iris jumped off the bed and ran to him.
"Don't run!" Jin Liwei was furious but still caught her when she threw herself at him. "Woman, have you forgotten that you're pregnant?! What if you tripped?! Did you forget what Second Brother told us?! The first trimester is the most dangerous so we need to be careful!"
Her response was to hug his waist tighter and press herself closer to him until there was practically no space between them. She rubbed her head against his chest, not caring at all if the strong medicinal scent from his pain gel was making her sick to her stomach.
He tried loosening her hold on him so that they could talk face to face but she refused to let go. In the end, he could only sigh and wrap his arms around her as well.
"What am I going to do with you?" he murmured in a resigned tone. "You're going to make me crazy. Ah, wait. I'm already crazy for you."
His wry laughter was soft yet exhausted at the same time but still contained an obvious sense of doting for her. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"Alright, love. That's enough. Go back to bed. We can't sleep together tonight anyway because I know that you can't take the gel's smell."
"No." She tightened her hold on him even further. "I won't let you go."
Sighing again, he maneuvered the two of them towards the bed. He urged her to get on the bed but she refused. They stayed in a deadlock like that for a few minutes.
She was the one who broke the silence. She lifted her head to look at his face. Her voice was small, like that of a child, but it was clear and determined. "I can't tell you the whole truth tonight but I can tell you some part of it. The part about me."
He didn't reply, instead waiting for her to continue speaking.
"The whole truth is too enormous…and too d-dangerous—"
He frowned after hearing the word "dangerous" but didn't interrupt her.
"—so I need more time to organize everything in my head first and to think about how to say it in a way that you can understand. Liwei…darling, I want to tell you everything. Believe me, I really do. But you already know that it isn't just about me. I need to talk to my big brother first and inform him that I plan to tell you the whole truth."
Although she said this, she had already decided that she would still tell Jin Liwei everything even if her big brother told her no. Regardless of her brother's stance on her decision, informing him beforehand was the least she could do as a sister. She wished that she didn't have to do this because it felt like betraying her brother, especially if he ended up being against her decision to tell Jin Liwei.
However, she couldn't allow this issue to fester between her and Jin Liwei. It would affect their relationship in the long term. He would eventually resent her and she would end up losing his trust. She didn't want that to happen. Experiencing his anger right now about not knowing the truth was already causing her heart great pain. What more if she dragged this issue until later in the future? She feared that it might even destroy their relationship. She couldn't allow that to happen. Never!
Jin Liwei's expression hardened at the mention of her "big brother". In a grim voice, he said, "Fine. Just promise me one thing."
She nodded in eagerness. "Yes, of course. What is it?"
"Promise me that when you talk to Fifth—to Lu Zihao, the two of you won't concoct some sort of lie to bullshit me. I'd rather that you don't tell me anything at all than lie to me. If you don't want to tell me the whole truth, then don't. I'll just have to learn how to accept that I would never know the whole truth. But I don't want you to lie to me. If you do…and I discover that you lied to me, I'm sorry, baby. I'll still love you but I won't be able to rid myself of this suspicion about you."
"I understand. I promise, Liwei."
His expression eased a bit after that. However, it was clear that he was still upset with her and the entire situation.
Knowing this, she finally released him from her tight embrace but took hold of his hand instead and led him to the chaise longue. They sat beside each other. She held his hand, rubbing and squeezing it, as if it was her lifeline because her own hands started trembling again. Her complexion was also still very pale that Jin Liwei couldn't help but worry about her.
"Looks like you still don't know how to start," he commented.
She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. It's just so…hard."
"Let's do it like this. I'll ask you a question and you answer it. Maybe it'll be easier for you that way."
"Okay."
He paused and thought about his first question for a few seconds. Finally, he asked, "Who is Evelinka?"
She froze.
His eyes narrowed again at her reaction but he didn't say anything. He waited for her to answer.
"I am Evelinka," she whispered.
A furrow formed between his brows. "Is that really your handle name in the game you played with Lu Zihao?"
"No."
"So that story is bullshit just like I thought?"
She sighed and nodded.
Jin Liwei cursed under his breath. His expression twisted in anger but he controlled it. "Then where did the name Evelinka come from? Why the need to create such a stupid bullshit story about a game? Wait, is the story about you and Fifth—Lu Zihao befriending each other in an online computer game even true or is it another bullshit?"
She forced herself to look at him straight in the eyes before taking a few deep breaths and steeling herself. Then in a shaky yet measured tone, she answered him.
"My name is Evelinka. My real name."