His Genius Wife Is A Superstar

Ice Cream and Popcorn would always be Iris Long and Jin Liwei’s first babies. They were integral parts of their family. The cats needed to be present today.

However, Iris was worried that they might not feel comfortable with all the guests roaming around. In addition, this place wasn’t their own home.

Popcorn would be fine. The cat was more dog-like than the children’s German Shepherd guard dogs. On the other hand, Ice Cream would probably freak out.

Fortunately, Yi Mei agreed to Iris’ request. She took care of the cats, treating them like a grandmother who doted on her own grandkitties.

"Let me check on Ice Cream and Popcorn first," Iris said. "You go downstairs." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Mama?"

"Ma?"

Before Little Mochi could throw a tantrum, Long Jinjing expertly distracted the baby while Jiang Ying Yue handled Little Matcha. The nannies also worked together to herd the rest of the children with the dogs.

Iris arrived at another empty room. Yi Mei was rocking on a chair reading a book with a fat, grey cat sleeping on her lap.

"Meow!!!"

An orange cannon shot itself towards Iris. She caught the striped ginger cat.

"Popcorn, you naughty boy," she said while sighing.

She rubbed her cat son’s fluffy fur.

"Meow~" Ice Cream woke up upon hearing the commotion.

She slowly stretched on Yi Mei’s lap before jumping to the floor and jogging to Iris.

"Hi, Ice Cream, my baby girl." Iris bent down to carry her first cat daughter.

Oof.

Not wanting to hurt Ice Cream’s feelings, Iris didn’t voice out her thoughts. It seemed that the staff in this house had been overfeeding this lazy, gluttonous cat. The vet would undoubtedly scold Dom again the next time he brought the cats for a checkup.

"You’re back, Young Miss." Yi Mei stood up and greeted her.

"Thank you," Iris said.

Despite Iris marrying Jin Liwei, Yi Mei still hadn’t changed the way she addressed her. The old housekeeper still called Iris "Young Miss" instead of "Madam". It suited Iris just fine and reminded her where she started after being reborn into the body of Long Xiulan.

Iris hugged and petted her cat children while chatting with Yi Mei about the funeral. Then she left Ice Cream and Popcorn again in Yi Mei’s care before heading downstairs.

Everything was casual for the guests but to the hosts, the Jin and Lu families, it was a hectic time.

They had to navigate this difficult period while dealing with their own grief. The good thing was that they were all united together. Despite this, tears were inevitable.

Even Iris couldn’t escape tearing up.

Yes, she had been close with her grandmother-in-law. But more than her own relationship with Grandma Li, Iris’ heart broke more for her husband.

Jin Liwei had been truly affected by his grandmother’s death. He might not show it to other people, but as his wife, she could sense the extent of his grief. Even so, he was doing his best to remain the pillar of their entire family. He refused to show any weaknesses or vulnerabilities to other people.

Only at night when they were only the two awake in their bedroom would he show her the extent of his grief.

Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Back to the present, the guests shifted their focus from Grandma Li’s funeral to admiring the children.

Little Jun had always been an extroverted, charming child. News of his kidnapping was reported nationwide. The guests were surprised that the child seemed to have recovered with no trauma at all.

None of them knew that the child was still undergoing therapy.

Iris and Jiang Ying Yue worried that the funeral might trigger Little Jun’s trauma but Dr. Poon encouraged them to bring the child. The child psychiatrist commended Little Jun’s resilience.

"He’s much tougher than you give him credit for," Dr. Poon once told them.

And indeed, Little Jun charmed the guests, making them smile despite the sombre atmosphere.

His little cousins, the Jin and Lu twins, also charmed everyone with their cuteness.

Long Jian took this time to find Iris.

"Can we chat?" he asked.

Iris looked for her husband. Jin Liwei was chatting with the other guests. She also checked that the nannies were watching over her sons.

"Okay, let’s go," she said. "Follow me."

They didn’t walk too far.

Iris grabbed two plates of pastries and handed one to Long Jian before sitting down on a corner sofa. Long Jian followed suit and sat beside her.

They didn’t talk right away.

Iris ate the delicate pastry first.

"Well," Long Jian was the first one to break the silence. "Sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." She sighed. "My grandmother-in-law was very good to me."

Silence descended between them again.

When Long Jian couldn’t take it anymore, he cleared his throat. "So…I wanted to chat with you because you’ve been gone from the company for so long. You may not be aware of what happened these past few weeks."

Iris nodded despite being updated by her assistant at Long Industries and Ketchup who had long hijacked the company’s system. Even so, she still wanted to hear another perspective. Long Jian would suffice especially since he was being so proactive in informing her right now.

"Long Hui appears to be turning over a new leaf," he said.

Iris looked at him. "In what way?"

"He’s now focusing on his own work rather than trying to sabotage me, you, and our other competitors in the company. His allies, however, are a different story. I heard that some have already been feeling dissatisfied with his current passive attitude. They might jump ship."

She frowned. "My ship doesn’t want them."

He snorted. "My ship doesn’t want them either. I don’t like traitors."

Iris glanced at Long Jufang. In a way, the elder was also a traitor. He had been a staunch supporter of Long Hui before she began showing her abilities.

But that wasn’t an issue for her. She had always kept the elder at arm’s length, using the carrot-and-stick approach to cooperate with him. Both of them knew from the very beginning that they were just using each other.