The tears stopped after some time. However, Iris continued to feel down and draw comfort from Jin Liwei. He didn't ask her what was wrong anymore or tried soothing her with words but continued embracing her in silence instead.

Iris pressed one side of her face against Jin Liwei's chest and listened to his strong, rhythmic heartbeat. It was able to calm her down and think about what she was feeling at the moment.

What she felt was that…she was a hypocrite!

She harboured a deep-seated resentment against her family in her past life, the Vetrovs, and to a certain extent, even against her big brother because they were always overprotective of her—no, it was more like repressive—by keeping her inside the estate the majority of the year, surrounding her with an army of bodyguards at all times, and forbidding her to pursue her own dreams. She had always believed that they caged her, forced her to train in various combat skills even when she had no interest, and opposed her desire for independence and freedom because that was the way the Vetrovs lived generation after generation—to showcase their tyrannical authority to everyone.

Now, however, she was beginning to understand why they did all those things to her. Their reason was simple. They only wanted to protect her from the dangerous world outside the estate because the Vetrovs had countless enemies.

She already knew that, of course, but her understanding of the matter was shallow until now. It took Jin Liwei's words to make her understand them on a profound level, making her realize how ignorant and hypocritical she had been acting all this time in regards to her hard feelings against her past life's family, the Vetrovs. She wasn't only ignorant and hypocritical but also selfish!

It felt like she had just been smacked in the face.

She wanted to protect Ketchup, her most powerful and sophisticated creation so far, because exposing the cat AI's unique existence was very dangerous. At the beginning, she was mostly concerned about the danger to herself as the creator and to her loved ones.

Now, however, her main worry was about protecting Ketchup herself because she and Jin Liwei had already grown to love the adorable virtual white cat as their daughter. She loved Ketchup and wanted to protect her from danger, so she disapproved of the white cat's aspirations of starting her own business to the point that Iris was ready to quarrel with Jin Liwei about it, not realizing that she was acting exactly like how the Vetrovs treated her in her past life as Evelina.

[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

'Hah. I'm really my mother's daughter,' she inwardly mocked herself. 'If Liwei's words didn't wake me up, will I turn exactly like Mother in the future without noticing it? Will I also start suppressing my own children's freedom and dreams?'

Her eyes dimmed at these thoughts.

"Maybe I'm really not suited to be a mother."

"You're wrong. You're already a wonderful and amazing mother to our cats and also as a godmother to Little Jun. I'm sure that once we have human children, you'll become an even more wonderful and amazing mother to them. I just know it," Jin Liwei immediately replied, disagreeing with her words which she thought were only spoken in her mind.

"You don't know that," she argued.

He framed the sides of her face with both his hands and forced her to look at him straight in the eyes while at the same time wiping the tears remaining on her face.

"I know it," he told her in a firm voice.

She looked at his serious eyes, wanting to believe his faith in her, but the fear of being a bad mother wasn't so easily erased in her heart. It must have shown on her expression because he tightened the hands sandwiching her face a little bit more, as if silently rebuking her for not believing in him.

"If you don't trust yourself about this, at least trust in me," he told her. "I also don't know how to be a good parent, but we'll learn together and correct each other's mistakes."

His words began to persuade her.

"You're not alone, so don't be afraid and stop doubting yourself. I'm here with you. Right beside you."

For a few moments, she just stared at him, absorbing his words and using them to boost her confidence.

"Okay?" he prompted her.

She eventually nodded and even smiled a little. "Yes. I trust in you, Liwei. Please take care of me, then."

"Always. And please take care of me, too."

"I'll do my best."

He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back, feeling relieved that she had finally calmed down.

"Liwei…"

"Hm?"

"About Ketchup…"

"Are you still against the idea of allowing her to start her own business?" he asked.

She paused and carefully chose her words first before answering, "I'm still hesitant and even afraid for Ketchup's safety, but you're right. If we continue restricting her, she might begin to resent us and even rebel in the future. So…although I don't 100% approve, I won't try to stop Ketchup or you anymore from supporting her."

"Thank you, love." He gave her a soft smile before tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything and make sure that no harm or danger will touch Ketchup when she's working on her own business. Don't forget that I'm still Jin Liwei, the head of Jin Corporation. I have connections in the business industry that will help shield Ketchup and her business from any unwanted close scrutiny."

"Okay. I'll leave her to you."

"En. I'll take care of our daughter."

Jin Liwei was able to reassure Iris but some nervousness still remained within her. Nevertheless, she trusted in him. He was a great father, so she would let him handle this matter, especially since she was still feeling a little insecure about being a bad mother.

Now that they reached an agreement, they called Ketchup to have an important talk with her next.

"Ketchup, have you already decided on what kind of business you want to start?"

"Yes, Daddy! Meow~"

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