Chapter 3

"So, what is your relationship now?"

When Iris introduced Zhuang Zhuoyuan to everyone, the entire Team A was stunned. Zhang Jiguang, seeing the two holding hands, preemptively called out to his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, could you repeat what you just said? Who is A-Yuan to you? And what are you going to do?"

It's no wonder they doubted they'd heard correctly; after all, it's rare for someone to announce the result before proposing the implementation process. Iris looked at Zhuang Zhuoyuan, smiled sweetly, and instead of taking his arm, she wrapped her arms around his neck, practically leaning half her body against him: "Let me introduce you again, this is my long-lost boyfriend, Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Ever since I confirmed he didn't have a girlfriend, I've been seriously pursuing him, and this application has been approved by him and his family, so it's perfectly reasonable. Now, I hope you can help me fend off any rivals so we can get legal status as soon as possible! Well, to win people over, tonight's drinks are on me!"

"Wow! What a generous sister-in-law!" Zhang Jiguang led the cheers as someone offered to pay. Iris picked up the bottle, drank a round of wine, then came back to clink glasses with Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "So you can blush too. Looks like my charm hasn't diminished. Does that count as adding points?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan's ears burned, and he tilted his head toward Iris, speaking in an even deeper voice: "Add, add one point."

"Only one point?" Iris was incredulous; this was at least a five-point performance.

The bottles clinked again, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan winked at his girlfriend: "Because I suddenly feel quite happy being pursued by you, and I hope you can love me for a little longer."

Iris thought his words were silly, but just as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered her own long list of "misdeeds." She was indeed fickle; she'd get tired of the same thing after three months, and want to leave the same place after less than a month. But how could people be like that? "Yuan, if love only has a few months of freshness for me, are you confident you can make me fall in love with you repeatedly?"

This was truly a path he had never imagined. Zhuang Zhuoyuan smiled and came up with an analogy: "It's like playing a never-ending game, with countless chances to be reborn?"

Iris held the glass to his lips: "Why not think of this as a cocktail party? You have unlimited refills."

"Then I'd better hold my wine glass properly."

"You'd better choose a wine glass first."

"Um?"

"Hmm?" Iris smiled and looked at Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Finally, she leaned close to his ear and said, "Only a good glass can hold good wine. You have to let me know how you feel about me first. For example, while I was losing my phone, did you send me any love confession texts, or were you planning to call and confess to me?"

“Wow, Miss,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan exaggeratedly, “I thought you were the one pursuing me.”

Iris mimicked his surprise: "I thought we were tacitly pursuing each other, Brother Yuan, am I not your girlfriend in your heart?"

"Wow, you two! Are you planning to whisper secrets all night long?" Cheng Ban couldn't stand it anymore. "We've already finished a bottle of wine, and you two are still sitting together. Yuan-ge, I'm begging you, someone just said they wanted to pursue you, you're not going to evolve into someone already taken tonight, are you?"

"Ah Yuan is obviously thrilled. It's rare to find a girl with such great qualities, why wouldn't he be eager to pursue her? Iris, if you ask me, you should let him pursue you. Don't agree to be with him so quickly!"

"Hey, are we brothers?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan raised his chin, leaned over and punched Xie Jiaxing, then put his arm around Iris's shoulder, quite smugly: "At least I have a girlfriend to pursue, you can't find a girl for hundreds of miles around!"

"Wow, what about Madam? Madam, beat him up!" Jianren egged on, and Azu and Guangzai also encouraged Su Wenqiang, the only woman in the group. Su Wenqiang couldn't stand it anymore, so she pushed them aside and sat down next to Iris: "These guys are fine, you don't need to pay attention to them."

“Everyone here has a really fun personality,” Iris smiled at her again. “This trip to Hong Kong has been absolutely worthwhile. Not only did I find Ah Yuan, but I also made such special friends like you all. The Hong Kong police, especially the Hong Kong Madams, are truly unique!”

"What, do you know any other Madams?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan asked casually.

Iris nodded: "Madam Zhuang, otherwise how do you think I knew you would be here? I wasn't lying when I said I got your family's consent. Madam Su is courageous, and Madam Zhuang is capable; they both left a very good impression on me."

Su Wenqiang smiled and clinked glasses with Iris. His mother and grandmother joined their conversation: "Iris, how do you know Ah Yuan's sister?"

“Assisting with the investigation!” Iris said excitedly. “I was the one who reported the case of the male corpse found on the mountain a few days ago, so I naturally came into contact with Madam Zhuang.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was shocked: "Could you be the legendary sorceress who goes up the mountain in the middle of the night to pray for the souls of the dead?" He had a wide network of connections and was well-informed, so even after a few days of closed training, he could still receive the latest gossip. But no matter what, Zhuang Zhuoyuan never imagined that the hottest female protagonist recently was actually his new girlfriend.

Zhan Hantao quickly responded: "Buddhist scripture lanterns?"

Iris never expected the rumors to have escalated to this point. She covered her eyes and sighed, quickly clarifying, "I'm not a fortune teller, I'm a writer. I went up the mountain to find writing material. The lantern was just a coincidence. It was a modified work by a friend from the mainland. I was a little scared after calling the police, so I turned it on to bolster my courage. With candlelight and music, it can provide some psychological comfort."

“That song scared a bunch of people to death.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan shook his head with a smile, slightly helpless, but he knew very well that it was 100% Iris’s style. “You’re really brave, daring to go up the mountain to spend the night by yourself.”

"I've even been to a deserted island!" Iris said proudly, patting her chest and beaming. "I can do anything, from flying to diving. After I finish learning how to shoot, I'll learn to fly a plane, and then I'll take you there! If there's no time, we can go to Cappadocia for a hot air balloon ride when you have a vacation!"

"Wow, sister-in-law, your life is quite exciting! Is being a writer so fun? If so, I might consider switching careers after retirement!"

"Tch! You can't even read a few words!"

A few young team members were fooling around on the side, and Zhan Hantao let them be. He asked Iris curiously, "Are you learning to shoot? It's rare to see a girl learning to shoot!"

Iris struck a cool shooting pose: "Yeah, just like going up the mountain, it's all about gathering material for my new novel. Whenever I come across a scene that I can directly experience, I choose to go and experience it firsthand."

"So, Iris, what kind of novels do you write?" Su Wenqiang became interested, and his mother and grandmother also turned their attention to him.

"It's mainly romance, but there are a variety of genres. I've written crime, supernatural, campus, and fantasy novels so far. My next novel is going to take a different approach and make the villain the protagonist. I hope it can be published. If not, it can be published as an online novel."

"Wow, Iris, you're amazing! Hurry up, what's the title of your book or your pen name? I'll go buy it right after the show, and you can sign it for me!"

"Want an autograph? You stingy Guang, you're up to your old tricks again, aren't you?"

Zhang Jiguang slapped Jianren's hand away: "You scoundrel, me, trying to scheme? If I were scheming, I would have had Iris deliver it, why would I have gone to buy it?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan began to feel proud of his girlfriend: "Alright, alright, no need to argue. Iris's books are bestsellers. Go back and look through your bookshelves; you might find one or two that she wrote."

"Ah Yuan, don't joke around. These people might read a magazine at most, how could they collect books? Flipping through books? That's something from when we were in school!"

"Guangzai, that's not very loyal of you. You're not much better than us. We're all in the same boat, so let's not laugh at each other!"

Seeing the group of grown men rolling around together again, Su Wenqiang rolled his eyes: "Iris, ignore them. You just said you've written crime fiction, could you give me a title? I'm very interested!"

“In a way, you might be disappointed, Madam,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said first, earning Iris a puzzled look in return. He patted his girlfriend’s shoulder, quickly reassuring her, “I’m not saying your writing is bad, but according to Madam, she wants to read a new book. But she’s already read your ‘Dead by Daylight’ series countless times, unless you write another book on the same theme.”

"You're Louis? Oh, right! Your name is Yi Shi, which is 11! Iris! I love your work so much!" Su Wenqiang almost screamed. "Before I went to police academy, my favorite thing to do was follow your serials. I even looked up relevant psychology and trace evidence information based on the plot. It was really amazing! It's just a pity that you haven't written anything similar since."

“Because it was a novel that my sister and I co-wrote, and she provided me with a lot of the inspiration,” Iris said, before she could even praise Madam Su’s intelligence. Hearing her next words, she suddenly felt a little melancholy. “I originally wanted to write another work of the same type, but after her accident, that idea was put on hold.”

"Sorry, I didn't know..." Su Wenqiang didn't expect to bring up Iris's sad story.

Iris simply shook her head: "It's alright. She's been missing for many years, and my dad, mom, and I have already accepted it."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew a little about Zhou Yiluo. Years ago, he met Iris in Amsterdam, where she was not only traveling but also searching for her twin sister. It could be said that her years of traveling the world were largely driven by the hope of encountering Ella, who had disappeared at sea at nineteen. However, six years had passed, and that hope was almost nonexistent. He gripped Iris's shoulders, wanting to offer her support and comfort. Iris leaned on Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shoulder and whispered, "I'm OK."

The men on Team A, though rough around the edges, were surprisingly shrewd. After a brief pause, they quickly changed the subject. Ye Shuhui, the leader, nicknamed "Mom-beater," was a truly considerate friend and doting husband. He immediately started talking about books related to his wife: "Iris, so you wrote 'The Long River and the Setting Sun' too? My wife loves it. For a while, she kept it by her bedside every day. Recently, it was adapted into a TV series, and she's been watching it ever since. Next time, I'll ask A-Yuan to bring you the book. Could you please sign it for my wife?"

“Sure, why not?” Zhuang Zhuoyuan winked at Iris, then looked at Ye Shuhui, “But Mom’s calling us, and she’s asking us to run errands and do the work, so you can’t not do something in return!”

Iris received Zhuang Zhuoyuan's signal and continued, "That's right, Mom, this arrangement isn't enough. I've finally gained a reader, so we have to get to know each other. How about this, we set a time to go to a hotel for a buffet, or maybe we can go out for a barbecue."

“Hey, speaking of barbecue, what a coincidence,” Zhan Hantao straightened up. “We have a barbecue party this Saturday. Iris, have A Yuan pick you up and take you to my house. Mom, bring your sister-in-law and Grace along too. Let’s all get together and get to know each other.”

Ah Xing immediately raised his hand: "Then I want to bring my family too!"

The others immediately swarmed forward: "You brought your family? Oh, is there some new development? Tell us the truth! Whatever, you're buying drinks next time."

Ah Xing struggled fiercely: "Hey! How can you take advantage of me like this?"

Watching them play and laugh, Iris felt happy too. Not just Zhuang Zhuoyuan, she herself was increasingly enjoying lively gatherings. Smiling, she turned her head and saw her beloved looking at her. Iris quickly pecked him on the cheek: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, it's so good to see you again."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan snapped out of his thoughts: "That's great, just don't lose me again."

"Absolutely, absolutely not." Iris smiled and held up three fingers as if swearing. Only then did Zhuang Zhuoyuan notice the four letters tattooed on her wrist—"yuen".

"It's me?"

“It’s you.”

Feeling his caresses, Iris recalled the events of that day: "I regretted it as soon as we parted at the airport. I should have taken the same flight as you and gone to the same place. After losing my phone, I missed you terribly. I got all my documents replaced and immediately flew to Hong Kong, but I couldn't find you even after a month. Before I left, I got this tattoo. Ella said that this place is connected to the heart, and once you get it, you can't regret it. I won't regret it."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan held Iris's wrist, his heart pounding: "It's a pity I can't get an Iris tattoo on my hand like you."

“So what?” Iris understood the nature of his work and grasped his hand in return. “As long as we’re together, as long as you have me in your heart, that’s enough.”

They definitely have feelings for each other. The eighteen months of separation were a regret, but also an opportunity for reflection. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris both realized that their feelings for each other were not just a passing fancy.

"Since that's the case, and since you've mentioned guns, can I, your prospective boyfriend, boldly guess that the male protagonist of your next novel will be a sharpshooter?"

Touching the calluses on his hands, Iris's heart skipped a beat, and she asked Zhuang Zhuoyuan, "Could it be that my boyfriend is also a sharpshooter?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was overjoyed: "It seems I have a chance to become your leading man."

Iris slowly made a "V" sign, then poured cold water on his bright smile: "In the novel, you can only be the second male lead."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately felt a pang of heartache, as if to say, "You have other men." His emotions were exaggeratedly displayed on his face, and Iris couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to tease him: "The male lead is the villain, you know. I can't bear to write my righteous boyfriend as the villain. Besides, the male lead belongs to the female lead, so the second male lead can be mine."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was finally relieved.

But after he got home and lay in bed, he suddenly remembered how many male supporting characters Iris had written.