Chapter 100

From the start of filming to knowing the results, it took at most half an hour. After Shu Zili asked him about the final competition venue, Derek assumed his little princess would soon issue an order to drive there together. However, he waited and waited, only to receive a message from her in class asking him not to disturb her. It was as if the sun had risen in the west that day.

Is the initial enthusiasm starting to wane?

Considering her past record of never liking something for more than three months, this guess is highly likely to be true. And then what? Derek can hardly help but take a moment to think about the additional work he'll be forced to do in the future. First, Zhuang Zhuoyuan is a person; second, they have a little one. Even if Edward unconditionally supports his daughter's choice, if the situation escalates to a divorce and custody battle, in addition to security, he'll have to mediate everyone's emotions, acting as a mediator between them. At that point, making money won't be so easy.

It's hard to go from luxury to frugality. Having been comfortable here for so long, it seems he's become somewhat attached to life in Hong Kong. This is not a good sign.

Iris, however, hadn't thought that far ahead. Her change in attitude was largely due to her return to school. Although the marks of being a wife and mother remained in her life, resuming her studies independently outside of her family gradually helped her rediscover her initial desire to be an independent woman. She could continue to love Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Tang Yuan, but she absolutely couldn't lose herself because of them.

The academic atmosphere in the humanities colleges remained strong, though students who needed to work part-time to earn a living often discussed their latest financial management methods. In the latest gossip, Iris heard about a rapidly rising new energy stock. She wasn't a fan of such risky investments because, compared to other industries, it seemed more like a way to make quick money, requiring precise timing to maximize profits. She didn't have any urgent need for money, so she was usually unwilling to waste her time or connections on such ventures. Conversely, Ella had tried quick in-and-out trading in stocks a few times. She wasn't short of pocket money at the time; she simply wanted to experience the thrill of having everything under control. Inspired by her sister's past experiences, Iris suddenly had a flash of inspiration and decided to ride this wave of opportunity.

"You want to invest in stocks?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan arrived right on time to pick up his wife from school, expecting her excitement to stem from the completion of his mission. He was prepared to describe to her the thrilling and decisive moments of the final stages, the seamless teamwork of his brothers, and the dejected state of the cult members after their dreams were shattered upon discovering that their so-called biological weapons were nothing more than empty glass bottles. He thought Iris would be eager to guess who the real mastermind was, but the young lady was unpredictable. After expressing her usual joy at his unharmed return with a kiss, she enthusiastically began discussing her plan to divert money from their joint account to invest in stocks.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan naturally had no doubt that his wife had suddenly become obsessed with money. He simply started the car and patiently waited for her to continue. Sure enough, Iris's stock-trading plan wasn't primarily for their own benefit. She encouraged him to borrow money from Tiger and deposit it into their account. That way, after she quickly reaped the profits, they could cover Dingding and Lele's medical expenses. This was much safer than Tiger becoming a bounty hunter.

From a legal and safety standpoint, Iris's method is indeed superior. However, the risks are too great, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan remains hesitant. After all, in real life, he has seen too many people become heavily indebted due to stock speculation, ultimately leading to the ruin of their families.

Iris just wanted to reassure him: "I won't put in a large sum of money, and I promise I'll know when to stop. My goal this time is to help people, not to gamble, so I'm sure I have enough self-control. If I'm really unlucky and end up losing money, just consider it as me spending my salary for the year in advance. We'll just pay Tiger back his share later."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan had a headache, fearing she would say something like "fortune favors the bold." Considering Iris was in high spirits and wouldn't listen to any amount of reasoning, he decided to stall, bringing up Jennie as a decoy: "Let's ask Mommy's opinion when we get home."

In comparison, Jennie was a better listener. Even though she had already watched the final recording of the competition in the video room, as soon as Zhuang Zhuoyuan got home, she was still excited to ask him about the outcome of the case against those cult members.

"When I saw the female host and that man enter the same room, I knew she had a problem, but I never expected that she was the leader."

“Qiang stumbled upon their meeting, and I was worried that they would ambush her, but in the end, Zhang Tao arrested Larine instead. Oh, Larine’s part wasn’t recorded; she just called home to tell me about it.”

“Oh, baby, Larine said she wanted a special feature just for her and Ali, and I’ve already asked someone to edit it. I also told them to edit one for Yuan, and one for Qiang and Ali too.”

Seeing how evenly his mother-in-law treated everyone, Zhuang Zhuoyuan, his mind racing, predicted the outcome of the stock speculation scheme. As soon as his daughter asked, the account would automatically accumulate her and her father's gaming funds, then be managed by a specialist, ultimately returning the principal to them, with the profits going to them as pocket money. He glanced at his wife, noticing her attention elsewhere, and didn't bring it up again. He simply recounted today's actions, adding some details Jennie had mentioned earlier that weren't clear: "When A-Tao and the others arrived, He Zhijie had already dug open the secret chamber. He was holding an old, sealed glass bottle, looking frantic. Seeing us surrounded by armed men, he shouted a cult slogan, preparing to smash the bottle, release the bacteria inside, and take us all down with him."

"The end of the world, divine restoration!" The camera inside the air-raid shelter was damaged during the battle, so Jennie couldn't see the footage for several minutes, only hearing a few muffled sounds. But she clearly heard those eight words shouted by the blue-haired man in a frenzy. Hearing Zhuang Zhuoyuan mention them now, she couldn't help but show disgust: "People who believe in this kind of apocalypse really have something wrong with their brains."

Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan both chuckled. Iris, who hadn't seen the live broadcast, was also listening intently to her husband's story. She couldn't wait to know whether He Zhijie had broken the bottle or whether, like in every Flying Tigers operation, someone had fired a bullet to stop the criminal before he could make any dangerous moves.

"What do you think?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan leaned back on the sofa, a smile playing on his lips. "How do you think we knew the bottle was empty?"

Iris still felt it needed a bit of drama to be exciting: "Could it be that the bottle breaks at the same time you shoot the criminal?"

The scene was pretty much set. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was understanding of Iris's account, smiled at her, shook her hand, and continued, "In the end, He Zhijie died, and we thought it was over. But as soon as we came out of the air-raid shelter, we saw Zhang Tao, who was guarding outside, take Larine hostage."

“Larine wanted to go celebrate with Ali, and she had originally invited me,” Iris frowned. “If I had gone with her this afternoon, perhaps Zhang Tao wouldn’t have succeeded.”

"Or perhaps you two will both be coerced by her." Zhuang Zhuoyuan found it hard not to remind Iris of all the potential dangers. The moment Larine appeared, he immediately glanced around nervously, afraid of seeing Iris. Fortunately, his Iris was slowly maturing and no longer acted willfully all the time.

Iris couldn't help but mutter, "Maybe if I were there, the outcome would be different. I always have a way." She lingered, moving from one embrace to another. Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt the real warmth and weight in his arms, tightened his arms, and coaxed her, "Yes, our Iris is the most resourceful. No one can do anything to you."

Jennie couldn't help but laugh at his cheesy words. She was increasingly satisfied with her son-in-law; the slightest imperfections from their past year together had been gradually overcome. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had high emotional intelligence, and she believed her daughter would be well cared for, which was enough.

After recounting how Larine was rescued by Su Wenqiang, Tangyuanzi returned from a walk with the nanny. The family of four enjoyed a happy meal together, and then Iris pulled her mother aside to discuss her grand plan. Her daughter lacked experience, and Jennie, after studying the stock for a while, felt something was amiss. She knew a bit about the ins and outs of the industry, and after some deliberation, decided it wasn't absolutely off-limits. She simply added a little more money, giving Iris more capital to operate with, so she could enter and exit the market sooner and avoid unnecessary trouble.

With a string of zeros on her checkbook, Iris was overjoyed and skipped into her room to show off to Zhuang Zhuoyuan. She was quite shrewd with her calculations; with this amount of money, she could cover a third of Tiger's expenses for taking the kids abroad in just a few days, and the rest would help Zhuang Zhuoyuan settle his debt on the apartment in the neighborhood.

She rattled off a long list of things, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan grew increasingly alarmed. She'd initially claimed she was using money from their joint account, but at this rate, it seemed she was about to open her own secret stash. No matter how good the stock market was, this was outrageous. He gently tried to persuade Iris, hoping she'd regain her senses. But Iris didn't think she was being impulsive at all; instead, she easily reassured him, "Don't worry, I've just never used my own money to invest in stocks. When Ella made money, I secretly tried it out several times, without my parents knowing! I know exactly how to buy and sell!"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked at the check in her hand and was afraid of the confidence she had built up with money.