Chapter 1287 - Perfect Target Of Envy

After Jin Chonglin received his Artist of the Year Award, he immediately went on to perform the finale. Pillars of fire shot around the stage as sweaty dancers pumped their bodies in time with the music.

True to his original plan, Jin Chonglin performed "Passionate Flames" by himself. There was no need for a substitute female partner. As a superstar, he could hold an entire show on his own without any issue.

The drowsy Iris was completely awakened. She started bouncing on her seat in time with the energetic beat of the music. Jin Liwei had to remind her to take it easy. She acquiesced but it was hard not to let the music affect her.

Performing on stage was something that she terribly missed. She couldn't help but feel a little envious of Jin Chonglin. As a man, he didn't need to take any extended breaks from live performances due to pregnancy.

Beside her, Jin Liwei could sense his wife's mixed emotions while watching his younger brother perform on stage. He knew how much she loved performing in front of a live audience. 

"Don't worry, love," he reassured her. "This is only temporary. You'll definitely stand on the stage again and perform to your heart's content. Our twins will then be able to see how amazing their mom is."

She leaned her head on his chest and smiled. "Thanks, darling."

"Don't mention it, love."

This year's Harmony Music Awards finally ended. Jin Chonglin was the winner of the biggest award but Iris Long's number of wins in the major categories couldn't be ignored either.

Although the two shared most of the wins, nobody could deny that "Shining Eyes", the song that she wrote, defeated Jin Chonglin's "Passionate Flames" in all the categories that the two songs were nominated together.

In the end, the media could only conclude that LXC Studio was the ultimate winner of the night. The newest entertainment company in the country had the biggest backer, Jin Liwei, so only idiots would underestimate its capabilities. 

It had only been operating for a few months but the number of new applicants who wanted to become LXC Studio artists were increasing by the month. The increase became sharper after the music awards. 

Everyone saw how well LXC Studio produced Jin Chonglin and Pandemonium's performances. They weren't stingy at all when it came to the props, back-up dancers and supporting live musicians.

Most importantly, LXC Studio's PR Department handled Iris Long's surprise revelation of her pregnancy at the music award's red carpet very well. The malicious attacks on her were minimized while the positive comments were emphasized. 

This only proved that LXC Studio had the potential to rival the big, long-established entertainment companies in the country like Jin Chonglin and Iris Long's old one, Bright Summit. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]

It was still too early to see if LXC Studio could withstand the test of time, but from how things were going, it seemed that the new entertainment company was on the rise. It just needed to cement its status by nurturing another superstar like Jin Chonglin or produce hit after hit.

Another topic that the media chewed on was about one of Iris Long's speeches when she thanked the legendary hitmaker, Enrique Valdez, and the classical music legend, Maestro Ludovico de Luca, as her mentors. 

This wasn't a big surprise because she indeed had several close interactions with the two foreign music legends. She was also reportedly still working on her collaboration with Enrique Valdez. It was rumoured that the legendary hitmaker was still staying in the country until now because of their collab.

What made people disgruntled about the entire situation was Iris Long's seeming reliance on the façade that she was very close to Enrique Valdez and Maestro Ludovico de Luca. They didn't believe that she was actually close in real life with the two music legends. They thought that she was just using both of their names to increase her reputation.

It should be her husband, Jin Liwei, who was using his power and influence to ask Enrique Valdez and Maestro Ludovico de Luca to cooperate with his wife.

This kind of skeptical commentary was not new or uncommon. Ever since Iris Long's rise to fame after waking up from coma, she had always caused extreme polarity in public opinions. 

Throughout the weekend following the music awards, all kinds of news circulated in the media. The buzz around the award winners, including Iris Long, hadn't died down yet when the following Monday, À la Mode magazine released its latest issue.

It was the magazine that released an exclusive feature of Iris Long and Jin Liwei's private wedding last year.

This time, they once again caused media shockwaves with their latest feature. The cover showed the pregnant Iris Long in an elegant draping white dress posing inside her own mansion with her husband, CEO Jin Liwei.

Inside the magazine showed several photos of Iris Long and a few with CEO Jin along with two of their adorable cats. 

Iris wore different outfits, but in each and every one of them, she looked absolutely blooming with radiance. Her belly hadn't been as big in the magazine photoshoot as it was shown in the music awards.

The only unfortunate thing was that Iris and CEO Jin remained tight-lipped on the gender of their child and the due date. Nevertheless, the wife and husband couldn't hide their excitement in welcoming the newest addition to their family.

This latest issue of À la Mode magazine sold out the same day. Fortunately, they were ready this time. They already experienced the same phenomenon when they featured the couple's private wedding. Additional copies became available the next day and the following day and so on….

Many praised Iris Long for maintaining her beauty and overall figure despite her pregnancy. In fact, she looked more beautiful and radiant than before now that she was pregnant. She really was the perfect target of envy for other pregnant women. 

During the magazine interview, she was asked, "How do you maintain your beauty and figure?"

She smiled and replied with familiar words, "Natural beauty is Orchidia Beauty."

It was Orchidia Beauty's famous tagline.

Those who read the interview thought that her answer to the question was quite corny.. Nevertheless, her deliberate attempt to endorse her own company was very effective.