Dragon Palace Homes #10.
Jin Liwei breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally at home. Thank goodness!
There was a part of him that wished their honeymoon didn’t end so soon but another bigger part of him wanted Iris to focus on resting in the comfort of their own home.
He continued to worry about his wife who still looked sick and listless. They were supposed to return home yesterday but they had to cancel their original plan because the doctor had evaluated that Iris wasn’t fit to travel in her condition. Her morning sickness had worsened and lasted for almost the entire day. She had barely eaten or drank anything, almost sending Jin Liwei into panic mode. They had to stay at the private island villa for an extra day until she got better earlier this morning.
Iris was now lying on their bed with their two cats who missed them very much. Popcorn was circling around his mommy nonstop while meowing loudly, checking her from head to toe to confirm whether she really returned unharmed. On the other hand, Ice Cream contented herself with cuddling with her mommy, taking her daddy’s usual spot on the bed and looking like she was never going to leave.
Jin Liwei sat on the bed and caressed his wife’s pale cheek. “How are you feeling, love? Better?”
She hummed an assent and gave him a soft, reassuring smile. She didn’t look convincing though, given her worrisome pallor.
Although she didn’t say it, he could sense that her body was exhausted yet her mind was active. This was normal for her. Geniuses like her possessed minds that almost never rested.
“I already finished all of Ketchup and Bacon’s new configurations.” She stroked Ice Cream in a lazy manner. “All they need to do is to adjust to the changes and continue the training I assigned to them. Their overall functions should become much more powerful after this.”
He nodded and started petting Popcorn who bumped his furry head against him, seeking his attention. “I can monitor the progress of their daily training. You already showed me how to do it. I can do that much, so you don’t have to constantly worry about the two of them. Ketchup and Bacon are very smart and obedient to us. I’ll let you know if I encounter any problems with them that I can’t solve by myself.”
She smiled and nodded but not before releasing a small sigh. He could tell that it was a challenge for her to delegate this kind of tasks, especially when she was used to doing it by herself. Nevertheless, he felt pleased that she was putting the effort to slow down and focus on her pregnancy even though it was proving to be more difficult than expected.
Her other hand started rubbing her stomach where their twin babies were growing inside. She continued this gentle and comforting action while thinking about something.
He lay down beside her and pulled her in an embrace, earning him an annoyed glare from Ice Cream who suddenly got squeezed between the two of them. He stroked their eldest’s head to appease her but neither did he let go of his wife. The fat, grey cat snorted before moving to her mommy’s other side with great reluctance, grudgingly giving up her place to her daddy.
“What a brat,” he muttered under his breath.
Iris chuckled. “Dom says Ice Cream is grumpier than usual these days because the vet recommended for her to lose weight again.”
Jin Liwei grunted and hugged his wife more tightly.
They stayed in this comfortable silence but it was obvious that Iris’ mind felt too active to fall asleep. [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! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]
“Bacon?”
A response came in an instant. “Yes, Mother? Bacon is here.”
Popcorn greeted his younger kitty brother’s voice with a friendly meow at a random wall while Ice Cream only opened her eyes briefly before closing them again and returning to sleep.
“Are you at work right now?”
“Yes, Mother.” Bacon paused for a moment before elaborating before he was asked to do so. “But don’t worry. Bacon can still chat with Mother and Father without any problems. Also, my work is currently lighter than usual because Uncle Zihao scolded all the ShaWn members for being lazy asses—”
A certain white cat AI gasped in a familiar dramatic manner and butted in the conversation. “Uh-oh, Bacon! That’s a bad word! Daddy will ground you! Ooooh, so sad and scary! Meow~”
“You are overreacting, Big Sister Ketchup.” Bacon’s tone was still polite but Iris and Jin Liwei could detect the faint annoyance underneath his words. Then he addressed them. “My apologies, Mother and Father. It wasn’t Bacon’s intention to use a term included in our bad words list. I am only paraphrasing Uncle Zihao’s exact words. Please excuse Bacon. And Father, I hope that you put Uncle Zihao’s role in this case into consideration before you decide whether to ground me or not.”
Jin Liwei’s mouth twitched while Iris laughed. His wife’s melodious voice filled their entire room with warmth and tenderness. He almost laughed with her but stopped the urge just in time. Their AI children already knew that he was the strict parent.
Bacon, the cunning rascal, already knew how to throw his own uncle under the bus and push all the blame on Lu Zihao.
Jin Liwei sighed. He couldn’t really put all the blame on his AI son because it was true that his brother-in-law had a foul mouth.
He made a decision. “Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. I won’t ground you but don’t always copy what your uncle says. And don’t always use paraphrasing as an excuse. You’re smart. Find other words that are more appropriate.”
“Bacon understands, Father.”
“Wow wow! Why is Daddy so kind today? Ketchup wishes that Daddy will be less strict to us kitty babies like this forever and ever! Meow~”
Jin Liwei’s mouth twitched again. “I only ground you when you deserve it.”
Iris patted his hand and looked amused at his conversation with their AI children. “Go on, Bacon. Tell us more about your work right now.”
