”Ehehehe!” Ketchup laughed inside the elevator. “Thanks, Mommy! The cute and mighty Ketchup also wants to see Daddy’s surprised face. Oooooh, it’s super-duper to the highest level awesome! I’ll send a copy to Mommy. Meow~”
Finally, they reached the top floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, they saw an eager Jin Liwei waiting for them. He hugged his wife and kissed her and their babies. Then he took the baby that Dom was carrying.
The hats with face covers were removed. Iris had been carrying Little Matcha while Jin Liwei was now carrying Little Mochi.
Both babies’ eyes lit up as soon as they saw their dad. Little Mochi was particularly sticky to his father. Little Matcha also couldn’t stop staring at Jin Liwei as if making sure that his dad was real. For the twins, it felt like they hadn’t seen their father for a long time.
Jin Liwei did his best to video call home every day from work and talk to his wife and their babies this way. However, spending time together in person would always be better than anything else.
The family entered his office where the caterer already prepared food for them. Dom, Xu Tian and the others stayed in the dining area to eat their own lunch.
Little Mochi and Little Matcha sat in their own high chairs while their parents fed them puréed foods.
Jin Liwei was extremely happy while looking at his family. The food was also extra delicious today because of his wife and their babies’ presence.
”The twins have been really good today,” Iris shared. “They didn’t whine or throw a tantrum when I put on their little hats that covered their faces.”
He looked at their twins and felt proud of them. “It’s good that I had a crib, these high chairs, and other baby stuff brought to my office bedroom a while ago just in case. I didn’t expect that we’re going to use them today. Thanks for bringing our twins here, love.”
She smiled. “We miss you. I’m still on maternity leave so I can bring our family to you when you’re too busy to accompany us.”
”You and the twins should take a nap here later before you head home. I’ll find some time for a little break in the afternoon to be with you.”
”Alright, darling. Work hard but not too hard that you’ll neglect your health.”
”En.”
Iris’ heart ached for her husband’s hectic schedule. She could sense how much he missed them. She missed him, too.
He would come home very late at night. She and the twins would already be asleep by then. He would also wake up very early in the morning. Although she would try to wake up and see him off, sometimes it was too hard. She was also tired taking care of the babies’ needs whenever they woke up in the middle of the night.
Jin Liwei’s stomach was full after lunch. His heart was also full.
His only complaint was that lunch time was too short. He was tempted to delay his next meeting appointment but Iris stopped him from doing so.
”Go. The twins and I will stay here for a little longer.”
He sighed and kissed all of them. He was about to leave when Xu Tian made a report.
”Ketchup just informed me that there is a big group of paparazzi and reporters waiting outside the building. Young Madam’s arrival with the two little masters must have been leaked to the media.”
Jin Liwei frowned but Iris looked relaxed.
”I wasn’t exactly trying to hide our arrival,” she said. “It’s fine. The babies’ faces are covered anyway. And I made sure to bring a lot of bodyguards.”
Even though she made ample preparations, Jin Liwei still called for extra bodyguards from home and amped up the company’s security. He would never risk his family’s security ever. It was better to be safe than sorry.
After dawdling for a few more minutes and kissing his wife and their babies a few more times, Jin Liwei finally left his office for his next meeting with great reluctance.
Little Mochi and Little Matcha were starting to become drowsy. Iris and Dom carried them to the adjoining bedroom. They put the twins in the large crib. The nannies also went to check the bedroom’s baby supplies and added what was missing from the ones they brought.
Iris sang a lullaby and the babies quickly fell asleep.
She and Dom quietly chatted while watching over the twins.
Ring! Ring!
Iris frowned when she saw the caller ID. She went outside the bedroom into her husband’s office and picked up the call.
”Hello?”
Then she flinched at the loud sound on the other end of the line. It took her a few seconds to recognize that it was the sound of someone wailing.
”M-mother?”
Wei Lan continued to cry as if her entire world had ended. It was a gut-wrenching cry that pierced the eardrums.
”Mother, what’s happening?”
”Xiuuuuuuulaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!”
The cries were so loud that they could be heard even when the call wasn’t set to loudspeaker. Dom followed Iris out to the office in concern.
Wei Lan continued wailing. Iris became impatient asking questions without getting any answers so she handed the phone to Dom instead. Dom was more patient than her. After a few more minutes, he was able to gather the real reason why Wei Lan was acting like this.
Long story short, Wei Lan received a call informing her that her husband had been involved in a serious accident somewhere in the Caribbean. She didn’t know the full extent of the accident or even the cause. All she knew was that her husband, the Spanish viscount, had been seriously injured and was fighting for his life at this very moment.
Even though Iris didn’t care about the viscount who she had never met in person before, the man was still the current husband of her body’s biological mother. In short, the viscount was her body’s step-father. She couldn’t just ignore the situation especially since Wei Lan was wailing to her like this.
”Does René Alejandro know about this already?” Iris asked.
”Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees, he knows!!!! Xiuuuuuuulaaaaaaan, what should I doooooooooooo?!!!!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! I don’t want to become a widoooooooooooooooow yet!!!!!”
Iris was starting to have a headache from Wei Lan’s wailing. However, she still remained calm and thought about what to do, or specifically, if she should do something.
In the end, she arranged a private jet to fly Wei Lan and René Alejandro to where the viscount was reportedly hospitalized. They could leave as soon as today.
After the call, Iris texted her husband about it. He had a few private jets so there shouldn’t be a problem with her dispatching one of them for Wei Lan.
His reply came quickly.
Jin Liwei: “OK.”
Iris didn’t disturb him anymore. He must be in the middle of another important meeting. She could handle the other arrangements according to how the current situation developed. There was no need to bother her husband about it.
At the same time, she called Bacon to contact his Uncle Zihao.
Lu Zihao immediately called her back. Iris told him what happened. She didn’t have much information to offer him because Wei Lan herself didn’t know much.
”I’ll have my subordinates check on the viscount’s situation,” Lu Zihao told her.
”Okay, Big Brother. Thanks.”
”Send me Wei Lan’s flight schedule. I’ll send some of my people with her.”
”Alright. I’ll send the details to Bacon when I get them. Oh, right. I almost forgot. René Alejandro might also be in the flight.”
Lu Zihao grunted.
Iris knew that her brother began to hate the Spaniard even more after Jin Liwei used René Alejandro to goad Lu Zihao into waking up from his latest coma. He became even more possessive of Long Jinjing especially after hearing that René Alejandro visited last time with Wei Lan.
His bad temper only eased after learning that the babies gave the Spaniard a hard time. One nanny reported hearing Lu Zihao whisper some dubious words to the babies the next day.
”I’ll teach the four of you how to beat up all the bad men like that Spaniard when you grow up,” was what he allegedly said to the children.
Long Jinjing became angry and lectured him after hearing about it from the nanny.
On the other hand, Iris only chuckled. Her big brother was indeed still her big brother. His first instinct of solving anything was through violence. Of course, she wasn’t supportive of him teaching the babies to beat up other people without any valid reason. However, she agreed that teaching the children self-defence was important.
After talking with her brother on the phone, Iris returned to the bedroom and watched over the sleeping babies while doing homework given by her language professors. She had Dom look out for news about Wei Lan’s husband.
###
René Alejandro’s expression was ugly as he and his brothers stuffed their small luggage in the vehicles. He and half of their group would be flying with Wei Lan tonight via Jin Liwei’s private jet that Iris sent for them. Half of their other brothers would be left behind to continue coordinating with the Matador’s team in the country.
”I still think that this is some kind of a sick joke,” one brother said. “Uncle isn’t a weakling.”
”I hope you are right, brother,” René Alejandro said. “It’s good that we are using Liam’s private jet instead of having the organization send us one. It is safer and gives us excellent alibi, yes?”
”Indeed, brother. But you all need to be careful and discreet. Liam will most likely send a few of his most elite bodyguards. We can’t look down on those people.”
