872 Third Bro, It’s Me (1/2)
The corners of Lu Zihao's mouth made a faint curve upwards after hearing his sister's whisper. The movement was so miniscule that neither Iris nor Jin Liwei noticed it. Also, he wasn't facing them and the dim lighting in the room created more shadows in his spot, further obscuring his expression from the other two. Nobody could see the storm in his eyes that he was trying so hard to bury deep within himself.
Once he was able to regain full control of his expression, he set his unreadable gaze on Jin Liwei. ”If it wasn't for our father, Evelinka would've been either kicked out of the family to fend for herself against our enemies, or in the worst-case scenario—”
”Your family would've 'sacrificed' her,” Jin Liwei said through gritted teeth, filling in the blanks himself.
The siblings didn't reply but their silence was enough confirmation. He told them, ”Your family is…was so fucked-up.”
”Tell me something I don't know,” Lu Zihao said.
”Language, darling,” Iris said. ”Ketchup and Bacon are still listening.”
Jin Liwei sighed before smiling. Then he announced, ”Alright, I think this should be enough for tonight.”
She frowned. ”But we're not finished yet!”
”I am.” His tone was firm. ”I need some time to digest all this information.”
”Oh. That makes sense.”
He made a show of glancing at the wall clock. ”It's already late. Time to sleep, love. You're usually already asleep by this time.”
At his reminder, she automatically yawned. She indeed felt a little sleepy but hadn't noticed it because of her nerves throughout their meeting.
Jin Liwei took her hand and started to lead her to the bedroom. However, he mouthed something to Lu Zihao when she wasn't looking. Lu Zihao nodded in response. Iris didn't notice their silent communication.
”Big Brother, I'm sorry but I need to sleep now,” she said, yawning again.
”No need to apologize. Sleep well, Evelinka,” he answered in Russian.
”Good night, Big Brother.”
”Good night, Evelinka.”
She yawned yet again. Before long, the couple disappeared inside their bedroom. Lu Zihao didn't leave the suite, though. He moved from his spot by the window and sat on the couch. Then he grabbed the tablet and started reading the report his sister prepared for her man.
He was still reading when Jin Liwei returned about half an hour later. Without looking up, he swiped to the next page and said, ”My sister was never part of the organization. And that is reflected in this report. She doesn't know everything about the organization. There are many things that aren't included in this report, things that we kept from her.”
He looked at Jin Liwei straight in the eyes. ”You're already horrified from reading this report. Let me tell you that the actual things were so much worse than what you read from here.”
”Fine.”