Jin Liwei didn’t question his baby girl. He already had an idea of what she was planning.
Whatever his wife—COUGH COUGH—’girlfriend’ (for now) wanted to do, all he needed was to support her with everything he got.
Even if she wanted to take over the world, he would readily provide her with the resources she needed to achieve her goals. Her happiness was his happiness.
They cuddled on the bed for a few moments before they forced themselves to rise. Iris would be very busy today rehearsing for her performances at Maestro De Luca’s orchestra concert. She wasn’t worried for her solo performance because she already mastered the piece in her past life.
It was her performance with the orchestra that she felt nervous about. But at the same time, she was also feeling excited. This would be the first time in both of her lives that she would be performing purely classical music with a live world-class symphony orchestra in front of a large audience. For her, this was a dream come true.
After eating breakfast they ordered through room service, Iris and Jin Liwei headed down to the hotel lobby to wait for Maestro De Luca. While waiting, Iris updated Dom by video calling him.
“Wuwuwu! I miss you so much, boss!” Dom wailed. “I returned to the penthouse with Ice Cream and Popcorn because sir boss is gone from the mansion. It’s too lonely there without the two of you. We’re fine, boss. Don’t worry! Would you like to talk to Ice Cream and Popcorn? Oh, Little Jun is also here. Come here, cutey patootie pies! Look, it’s Mommy! Junie boy, say hi to Mama!”
Iris chuckled as she watched the kittens rush towards Dom’s phone, meowing loudly. She pulled Jin Liwei close beside her so that they could be seen together on the screen. They saw Little Jun squeezing in between the kittens and calling out to them.
“Meow! Meow!”
“Mama…Papa!”
For more than a minute, all they heard were the sounds of the kittens’ meowing, Little Jun’s babbling, and Dom’s sobbing.
“We’ll be back soon, maybe in a couple of weeks,” Iris promised before ending the video call.
Next she called her manager, Tang Yiyi. It was not a video call this time, but only a voice call.
“Oh! Iris! Thank goodness you finally called me! I’ve been so worried! Are you still in the hospital? How are you feeling? Are you alright?”
Iris felt guilty. It was Lu Zihao who made up the excuse of her recuperating at a hospital abroad. Although she indeed spent time to recover from her emotional trauma, she wasn’t really in a hospital. She mentally apologized to her manager and to her fans for lying, but it was necessary. After all, she couldn’t just tell them that a remnant within her tortured Fan Luo and the Alarm Girls, making her suffer from trauma as a result. They would most likely think that she went crazy or throw her in prison.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Elder Sister Yiyi. I feel much better now. I’m planning to return in maybe a couple of weeks before the movie premiere of ‘Strong Yet Broken’ and the launch of my soundtrack album. Sorry for not doing my job of promoting.”
“What are you saying? Don’t apologize! What you went through was horrible! I can’t imagine how you must have felt when you learned that Fan Luo was the one who…sorry. Let’s not talk about this now. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that we understand why you had to disappear so suddenly. If this album isn’t connected to a movie, we could delay its launch until you’re 100% well. Even if it’s a year later or however much time you need. Unfortunately, we have to launch it at the same time as the movie because it’s part of the contract terms.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, Elder Sister Yiyi. I’ll do my part of promoting when I return.”
“Good. Your promotion time will be tight, but we’ll make it work. Mr. JJ is determined to make this album another success.” Then Tang Yiyi sighed. “But it’s true that the interest for the movie and your album has waned a lot after your disappearance and even more so when the scandals about you and Fan Luo started dying down. Mr. JJ is still heavily promoting your album despite your absence but as for Bright Summit…well, since you and Jin Chonglin are on hiatus, they decided to focus on other artists instead. They’re still a business, after all.”
They spoke a bit more before ending the call.
“Are you okay?” Jin Liwei asked, seeing the furrow between her brows.
She nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. Her mind was already organizing what she needed to finish here in Europe, so that she could return to China soon. She was already missing working on her own music and performing for her fans.
“Thank you,” she suddenly said, hugging Jin Liwei.
“Hm? For what?”
“For being with me.”
For some reason, his presence gave her peace of mind to do the things she needed to do without feeling too pressured. Even if he wasn’t saying it in actual words, his actions and just his presence alone were already telling her, “Go ahead and do what you want to do. I’ll be here to support you. Don’t worry.”
“I love you, Liwei.”
He took a sharp inhale of breath, his eyes darkening with emotion. He kissed her hard on the mouth and then hugged her just as hard.
A loud, deliberate cough interrupted them. It was Maestro De Luca, his amused eyes looking at them. The couple greeted him.
“Let’s go,” he announced, leading them out of the hotel.
The three walked to the nearby opera house. Although the maestro gave permission for Jin Liwei to watch the rehearsals, he declined, saying that he had some matters he needed to attend to. Iris was a little disappointed but understood that he was also busy like her.
“I’ll come back and see you later for lunch,” he said, kissing her. “Have fun.”
With that, Maestro De Luca and Iris walked inside the opera house for their rehearsal. Jin Liwei waited until they disappeared from his view before he left to return to the hotel.
Inside the suite, he immediately busied himself making phone calls. Excitement coursed within him as he made plans. He couldn’t wait to…
A grin spread on his face.
“Soon,” he whispered to himself.
