Chapter 869 - Vetrov Report Part IV
"Thank you," Iris whispered in Russian.
Jin Liwei who had started to learn a bit of Russian understood what she said. "No need to thank me, love. It’s the truth."
Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, not allowing her to leave his side again like earlier, before continuing to read the summary about his wife.
Daughter: Evelina Armanovna Vetrova
Iris didn’t take her eyes off him. Her heart was still hammering inside her chest but his close proximity and the warmth of his embrace managed to calm her irregular breathing. She remained silent so as not to disturb him.
"Fantom," he murmured. He paused reading and looked like he was trying to remember something. "Where did I hear this name before?"
She restrained herself from explaining to him. If he asked her directly, then she would tell her the facts. For now, however, she would allow him to digest everything in his own pace.
"En, I think I remember now."
Her body stiffened a little but she still didn’t say anything.
"Back when I was still attending business school in the U.S., I had a friend back then who majored in computer science. He was a good hacker...well, we friends thought that he was pretty good. But I now know that he was nothing compared to a genius hacker like you. He sucked in school and almost flunked his subjects but he was making good money on his own through side jobs like designing simple software for start-up companies and things like that. He always told us that the person he admired the most in the world was a legendary hacker named Fantom."
Jin Liwei faced her. "Is that...was that you?"
She nodded.
He gave her a soft smile. "That friend eventually dropped out of university to start his own cybersecurity company. Then he sold it to a large competitor which swallowed his company afterwards. That competitor is currently one of the biggest players in the commercial cybersecurity industry. He became an instant millionaire after that."
His story piqued her interest. She liked hearing anecdotes about other people who loved computers just like her. She especially liked hearing about success stories because it made her proud of the field that she specialized in.
"He always bragged about Fantom’s exploits as if they were his own," Jin Liwei continued telling her. "He told us that you hacked into the Central Intelligence Agency’s database and left some pretty funny comments on highly classified reports as if you were reviewing movies or fictional books instead of actual incidents in real life."
"Ah, those." She chuckled while her expression became filled with nostalgia. "I did that on a lot of intelligence agencies all over the world, not just that one in particular. Not only intelligence agencies but also government and private institutions from various countries. I was so bored and I found a lot of those classified reports quite entertaining, that’s why I did that."
Jin Liwei shook his head but there was a doting smile on his face. "That university friend of mine said that what you did wouldn’t have been revealed to the general public because it would be a giant embarrassment to the agency but a whistleblower exposed it in the end before fleeing to Switzerland."
She shrugged, not really caring whether her exploits as Fantom had been exposed to the public or not. All she cared about back then was entertaining herself. She wasn’t looking for attention or admiration from other people. What she craved, however, was the competition with other hackers, especially with those who were on-par or had higher skills than her. Competing against other highly-skilled hackers fired her up, and in turn, always triggered her to improve her own skills.
"You’re amazing," he told her. "You were amazing back then but you’re still amazing now."
She felt a little shy but warmth filled her heart and made her feel so much better about this entire situation of telling him about where she and her big brother came from in their past lives. However, he wasn’t finished reading the entire report yet. It was quite long. He might still change his tune and end up pushing her away after reading something he didn’t like.
But no matter what happened, she was determined to work everything out with him in the end. She was carrying his children and needed him in her life because of her own great anxiety about becoming a mother. And most importantly, she loved him so much. She couldn’t imagine the rest of her life anymore without him.
It would be extremely painful if he abandoned her. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen. She trusted in his repeated assurances that he would accept her past no matter what, but there was still a lingering fear of rejection in her heart.
As if sensing her remaining anxiety, Jin Liwei gave her another quick peck on the lips before resuming to read the section in the report about her.
Afterwards, he asked, "You didn’t participate in the organization’s activities?"
She stiffened before forcing herself to relax. "No."
"Why?"
It was Lu Zihao who answered his question. "Because she is an angel whose heart refused to be tainted even by being born into a family of devils."
"Big Brother...."
"What? It’s true, isn’t it? We all tried to make you join the family organization but you refused to budge no matter what. Father and I enticed you using different methods while Mother threatened you a lot, even tortured you harder—"
"WHAT?!" Jin Liwei shot from his seat and snarled at Lu Zihao. "Say that again! Who tortured who?!"
"D-darling...."
"Evelina, let me talk to your brother."
Iris alternated looking between her man and brother. She felt stuck between them and it felt horrible.
Lu Zihao appeared casual but the desolate look in his eyes hinted that he was not proud of what happened to his sister in their past lives. "Being tortured was part of our training. It was supposed to increase our tolerance to pain and strengthen our mental resilience. Everyone went through that training, including Evelinka. She is...was a Vetrov, after all."
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