The next day, Iris and Jin Liwei along with their bridesmaids and groomsmen ate a rather light brunch together because most of them still felt full after last night’s feast, except for the glutton Dom who always had infinite room for more food in his bottomless stomach. The entire wedding party slept over at the mansion.
Some family members also didn’t leave last night. On Jin Liwei’s side, Huang Yuyan, Grandma Li and Grandpa Lu also slept over. And on Iris’ side, Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui decided to stay as well. Wei Lan had been invited to stay but she decided to leave with Randy and return to the penthouse along with Yi Mei and the others because she felt uncomfortable after Jin Liwei confronted her yesterday just before the wedding ceremony.
At the dining table, everyone was extra attentive to Iris because all of them now knew that she was pregnant.
“How are you feeling, my dear?” Huang Yuyan asked her. “Are you still nauseous? Dizzy?”
“I’m fine now, Mother. Thank you. I felt nauseous when I woke up earlier but I’m alright now after sipping some of the herbal soup that you asked the chef to make for me.”
Huang Yuyan nodded. “That soup was really effective when I got pregnant with your Brother-in-law Chonglin. I suffered so much when I got pregnant with him. What a troublesome kid!”
“Mom!” Jin Chonglin made a face but his mother ignored him.
“As for your husband, Liwei was such a calm baby. I didn’t have any trouble when I was pregnant with him. Almost no symptoms. If it wasn’t for my ballooning belly, nobody would think that I was actually pregnant. I thought pregnancy was like that. Then I had Chonglin.” She sighed.
Iris glanced at Jin Liwei, feeling very interested about what he was like as a child. He caught her looking at him and smiled at her. She smiled back before pressing her hand on her flat stomach.
“It seems like Liwei’s firstborn won’t be as calm as him,” she said, sighing. “I feel sick almost everyday now.”
Jin Liwei nodded. “As troublesome as Uncle Chonglin.”
Jin Chonglin’s expression became bitter. Why did it feel as if they were blaming him for all troublesome pregnancies? What did that have to do with him? It wasn’t his fault!
He could see that his brother and new sister-in-law’s friends were all quietly making fun of him in their minds. His mood dove even lower when he noticed the bossy COO of Orchidia Beauty, Chen Fei, who was sitting opposite him at the dining table, also laughing at him with her eyes. Unfortunately for him, his mother, the elders and the newlyweds didn’t care about his feelings.
“Yuyan, send the homemade recipes for alleviating pregnancy symptoms to Liwei and Xiulan’s chef,” Grandma Li instructed.
“Yes, Mother. That’s what I’m planning.”
Iris smiled at them. “Thank you, Mother and Grandma Li.”
“It’s our pleasure, my dear,” Huang Yuyan replied. “Hopefully, they would be helpful to you. This is the least we can do since you’re carrying my first human grandchild. All of us are very happy for you and Liwei.”
Iris and Jin Liwei glanced at each other. Except for those who knew already, they hadn’t yet informed the others that Iris was actually carrying twins. The rest of them were still under the assumption that she and Jin Liwei were having only one child.
“Xiulan, have you informed your mother that you’re pregnant yet?” Yang Jiahui asked.
“Not yet, Auntie. I was planning to inform her today but unfortunately she declined Liwei’s invitation to sleep over last night.”
Long Tengfei gave a light snort. Yang Jiahui threw him a warning glance before talking to Iris again.
“You should still inform her, Xiulan. She’s your mother.”
“I understand, Auntie. Liwei and I will find a good time to share the news with Mother. We’re being very extra careful with the news of my pregnancy for now because we want to be the ones to make the official announcement to the public. I don’t want people especially my fans to learn that I’m pregnant through rumours or tabloid news.”
Everyone nodded and continued to enjoy the food. They all accepted the newlyweds’ invitation to sleep over at the mansion. They understood that the couple had no interest in following the old marriage customs and traditions. There was no visiting the parents after the wedding day, so the parents came to the newlyweds’ house instead.
Iris and Jin Liwei didn’t want to be bound by rigid customs and traditions but to focus on their own marriage by following their own terms instead. They didn’t marry to please anyone, only themselves. Their marriage was a symbolic and lawful binding of their love to each other, not to conform to their relatives’ expectations of their relationship. Nevertheless, the two still intended to keep both sides of the families involved to a certain degree in their married life especially now that Iris was going to give birth to the next generation of Jin children in less than a year.
After the meal, everyone rested for about an hour before gathering together again. Since Iris became unwell and had to withdraw early from her own wedding banquet last night, she and Jin Liwei decided to do the tossing of the bouquet and the garter today instead.
Iris held her draping bouquet as she glanced at her friends taking positions a few metres behind her. She chuckled after seeing them. [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 profiting from my hard work. Please support the original author, ArriaCross. Thank you!]
Dom had his eyes focused on the prize. There was a slight sheen of sweat and reddish tinge on his skin. He was like a warmed-up athlete just before the start of a major competition.
Beside him was his sister, Clover, who looked excited for the bouquet toss. Like her brother, she also wanted to catch the bouquet. On Dom’s other side was Meimei. Her eyes reflected her desire for the bouquet but it was unfortunate that her sleep-deprived zombie-like body might not be able to move as energetically as she wanted.
Jiang Ying Yue stood at the side. She didn’t look interested in the bouquet at all and was only participating as a courtesy to her friends.
