"Snatching by force is very bad and Daddy will ground us if we do something bad," Ketchup chimed in. "Oooooh, how sad and scary~ But if the other party is despicable like you say, then the cute and mighty Ketchup agrees with Little Brother Bacon that they don't deserve to be treated fairly! But of course, Mommy will be the one to decide what to do in the end so Bacon, you big meanie, be a good kitty baby like the cute and mighty me or Daddy will ground you again! Meow~"
"Kyaaaaaah! Our babies are growing up so fast! Baby Bacon is Mommy's boy while Baby Ketchup is Daddy's girl! Both of you are sooooo CUTE!" Dom made kissing noises towards the dashboard monitor where the two AI cats, one black and the other white, were shown.
Iris threw Dom a side-eye and gave a light harrumph. "What do you mean that Ketchup is Daddy's girl? Both of them are Mommy's boy and Mommy's girl!"
"Ehehehe. Don't be angry, boss. Baby Ketchup is a good girl. She loves her mommy and daddy equally! Am I right, Baby Ketchup?"
"Of course, you're right, Uncle Dom! Ketchup LOVES Mommy and Daddy so very much! Ketchup is both Mommy and Daddy's kitty baby girl! Ehehehe! Meow~"
Iris' annoyed expression eased which made Dom, the driver and the bodyguard in the vehicle all release sighs of great relief. They were afraid that she would have another one of her increasingly frequent extreme mood swings. Jin Liwei and Little Jun were the only ones guaranteed to stop an onset of her mood swing in its tracks before it got worse. Dom also had satisfactory success, so Iris' team of bodyguards depended on him to handle her whenever Jin Liwei or Little Jun weren't present.
As for Iris, she was learning how to cope with her mood swings a little better each day. It was difficult to control her emotions when they started overwhelming her in an instant, but she was determined not to become a Wombzilla that everyone wanted to avoid.
Sighing, she hugged Little Liwei more tightly while looking at her two cat AI children on the dashboard monitor. Ketchup had a big smile on her face while Bacon was stone-faced as usual but the enthusiastic swishing of his tail revealed that he also cared. What an adorable pair of AI children she had!
"What about you, Bacon?" Iris asked, curious. "Are you Mommy's boy or Daddy's boy?" Then she paused before adding, "Or maybe you're Uncle Zihao's boy?"
"Ooooooh~ Ketchup wants to know, too! Meow~" The gossip-loving white cat shook her fluffy white butt as she looked at her little kitty brother with glowing green eyes filled with curiosity.
Bacon's swishing tail slowed down a little. "Mother, Bacon is our family's boy."
Dom snickered at the black cat AI's careful answer. Seeing her Uncle Dom snickering, Ketchup followed his example and snickered as well. Iris was a little unsatisfied by her AI son's diplomatic answer because she wanted to hear him say that he was Mommy's boy, but in the end, she couldn't criticize the child for being smart. The child appeared to have a better EQ than her.
"Anyone who threatens our family will have to go through Bacon first," her AI son added.
Iris sighed at Bacon's fierceness. Indeed, Jin Liwei was right. Their AI son's personality was very similar to her big brother's. It made her feel nervous about the extent of things that he might do in the future but at the same time, she also felt assured of Bacon's loyalty to their family.
One thing was clear in her mind. Bacon would have been a perfect AI for the Vetrovs. This was one of the reasons why she felt confident that her big brother would eventually give in to her blackmail to talk to her and Jin Liwei in person in exchange for allowing Bacon to assist in his work with Shadow Winds.
Although she couldn't help but hesitate a great deal at the thought of allowing Bacon to assist her brother in his criminal activities, she knew that he was already set on his old ways. Even she felt powerless to dissuade him. If she couldn't stop him completely, then she might as well lend him her AI son to give him an additional layer of safety.
She might be against the criminal aspects of his work and his obsessive desire for revenge, but she understood and accepted why he was like this. Her own selfishness had already failed to help protect her family once before. She was beginning to realize that now. There was no way in hell that she would allow a repeat of the Vetrov annihilation from happening to her lovely family in this life. If lending Bacon to her brother would help keep him safer, then as a sister, she had the moral duty to do that.
"Bacon," she called in a soft voice.
"Yes, Mother?" Bacon's childish voice was polite, almost bored, but his swishing tail sped up a little, indicating that he was pleased that his mother called for him.
"I hope that you'll always stay loyal to our family. Your Uncle Zihao is part of our family. When you get the chance to start assisting him in his work, your first priority is his safety. Always."
"I understand, Mother. Bacon will obey."
She nodded.
"I hope that Uncle Zihao will pay me a good salary," Bacon said all of a sudden.
Iris and Dom chuckled at Bacon's concern.
"If Uncle Haohao ends up being stingy, then Little Brother Bacon is always welcome to work part-time in Ketchup's company, the super-duper awesome White Tigress International Virtual Assistant Services!" Ketchup suggested in excitement. "Daddy said that Ketchup's company profits are really good! Ketchup will pay Bacon well even if you're a big meanie. Ehehehe. Meow~"
Bacon yawned and started licking his paws. This time, his boredom was genuine. He wasn't the least bit interested in his older sister's offer. "No, thank you. Father promised Bacon that he'll negotiate a fair salary for me with Uncle Zihao. Bacon wants to assist Uncle Zihao in his work."