"You've already held it longer than me," Iris said. "Little Mochi and Little Matcha were both so impatient to come out. It was a good thing that they were already well-developed even though they didn't reach their actual due date. I'm so relieved."
"My nephews are just like you, little sister," Long Jinjing replied with a laugh. "They are both so strong-willed once they decide on something. They wanted to come out early and so they did just that."
Iris chuckled. "True."
Long Jinjing stroked her swollen belly as she toddled beside his sister. Iris also slowed down to match Long Jinjing's pace.
Then something gushed below.
Iris looked down and saw a small puddle of water on Long Jinjing's feet. Long Jinjing couldn't see it because her huge belly was obstructing her view but she could definitely feel the wetness between her thighs trickling down her legs.
"Big Sister!" Iris immediately supported her. "Ketchup, call my brother! Tell him that his wife's water just broke!"
"Aye aye, Mommy! Hold on, Auntie Jinjing! Meowhoosh!"
Iris called for help. Two guards patrolling the vicinity immediately carried Long Jinjing.
"I…I'm f-fine, actually," Long Jinjing stammered, feeling embarrassed at being carried by the guards. Granted, one of them was female so it wasn't too uncomfortable but it still felt awkward for her.
"How are you feeling, Big Sister?" Iris asked while following them. "Any pain?"
Long Jinjing paused and tried focusing on how she felt. "Uhm, actually, no pain…yet, I think."
Iris didn't believe her at all. She still remembered how much pain she endured when she went into labour to Little Mochi and Little Matcha and thought that Long Jinjing was just trying to reassure her.
While they were rushing to the hospital wing, Iris made sure to alert the doctor and the rest of the medical team. She also contacted Grandpa Lu and even Sun Jingfei, Long Jinjing's mother.
Lu Zihao was already waiting at the hospital wing when they arrived. Since he had been in the training grounds when Ketchup informed him about his wife, he was soaked with sweat.
Iris wrinkled her nose and stopped him from taking Long Jinjing from the two guards. "Go take a quick shower first, Big Brother. You stink! Do you want your wife to be contaminated with bad bacteria while she's giving birth? Don't worry. I'll stay here with Big Sister."
At first, Lu Zihao wanted to insist on staying with his wife no matter what. He didn't want to miss anything while she was in labour or when she started giving birth later. However, his sister's words still penetrated through his jumbled thoughts. Indeed, it was important to protect his wife from any harmful bacteria or viruses while she gave birth.
"Fine, but don't you dare leave her alone!"
"Of course, don't worry, Big Brother," Iris replied in a calm manner, not at all minding his harsh tone.
Lu Zihao gave Long Jinjing a hard kiss. "Wait for me. I'll be back real soon, hm?"
Long Jinjing nodded. "Okay."
Lu Zihao gave his sister another meaningful look before literally running to take a quick shower.
The doctor and medical team arrived in no time. Everything had already been set up for Long Jinjing right after when Iris gave birth. Long Jinjing stayed in the same delivery room.
Soon, Grandpa Lu also arrived but the old man didn't go inside the delivery room but stayed in the waiting lounge outside instead. Later, Dom and Jiang Ying Yue arrived together. Dom stayed with Grandpa Lu in the waiting lounge while Jiang Ying Yue joined Iris to accompany Long Jinjing inside the delivery room.
By this time, the labour pains started. Long Jinjing paled and closed her eyes to endure.
"Ni-nikolai…" Long Jinjing groaned.
"Huh, what did she say?" Jiang Ying Yue asked.
"Nothing," Iris said smoothly. She wasn't surprised by what Long Jinjing said but her gaze still turned thoughtful. "I think she's just mumbling nonsense from the pain."
"I see. Poor thing." Jiang Ying Yue wiped the sweat off her groaning friend.
Both Iris and Jiang Ying Yue already experienced the pain of childbirth so they could relate to what Long Jinjing was going through right now.
True to his word, Lu Zihao returned very quickly after showering. His hair was still damp and his clothes had some wet spots. It was obvious that he didn't dry himself properly in his rush.
"Ni-niko—"
"Yes, I'm here." Lu Zihao held his wife's hand and stayed beside her.
Iris and Jiang Ying Yue left the husband and wife to give them privacy inside the delivery room before joining the others in the waiting lounge. When they came out, Jin Liwei was also there.
"You're done with work?" Iris asked her husband.
"En." He pulled her to sit beside him.
Jin Liwei had been working remotely at home as much as possible. He gave himself a semi-paternity leave. Although he couldn't take a long, full break from work because he was the head of a huge multinational corporation, there was no way in hell that he was going to miss the first few months of his twin babies' life for work. He didn't want to pull a Long Tengfei stunt and become an absent father.
If given a choice, he would choose his family over the company hands down.
Fortunately, he didn't need to make such a choice. He had a beautiful genius wife who understood and supported his dedication of continuing Grandfather Jin and Grandpa Lu's legacy by running Jin Corporation before passing it on to the next generation.
"Don't worry about my work," he reassured his wife. "Your husband can handle it."
"Okay, darling." Iris smiled at him.
"Mother is taking care of the twins with the nannies. Little Jun and the cats are also with them."
She released a big sigh of relief. "That's good."
Jin Liwei nuzzled her head.
Iris glanced at the closed delivery room door. "I hope that Big Sister Jinjing don't suffer too much like I did."
He didn't answer. His brother-in-law was inside with Long Jinjing. Jin Liwei wasn't that worried about Long Jinjing because she had a rather smooth pregnancy compared to his wife.
To be honest, he was more worried about the doctor and the medical staff than Long Jinjing.. Knowing his brother-in-law, Jin Liwei could only pray for the doctor and the medical staff's safety.
