His Genius Wife Is A Superstar

1576  Night Vigil

The first night of vigil was excruciating.

Jin Liwei couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tried. Lying beside him on the sofa bed, Iris couldn't sleep properly either. She could feel her husband's fear and anxiety like invisible waves emanating from him.

However, she was too exhausted. She fell into a light sleep for about a couple of hours before waking up. Her eyes opened and saw her husband tiptoeing in the darkness toward the patient room. He didn't enter the enclosed room but stood outside the glass windows to watch his unconscious grandmother.

Sighing, Iris couldn't sleep anymore. She also rose and walked towards him.

"Sorry, love," he said when he noticed her approaching him. "Did I wake you up?"

She didn't answer him but asked a question instead. "You didn't sleep at all?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she told him before he could: "Don't you dare lie to me."

He sighed. "I can't sleep, love." He pulled her into an embrace as they watched the unconscious Grandma Li inside the patient room.

"I feel like my grandmother is slipping away from us. She's the one who has a cold personality similar to mine, so we've always had a special bond. I know that she misses my grandfather every single day and is still terribly heartbroken over having to bury her only son, my father. Maybe she thinks that it's time for her to rest, but I feel selfish. I don't want to let her go yet. I hope that she can still watch our children grow up."

Iris wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

Other people might think that her husband was a heartless, cold-blooded capitalist. Indeed, he could be extremely cold and ruthless, especially to other people, but to those he considered his family and close friends, he would do everything to protect them, even discarding his morals to do so.

She already knew him long enough to understand his real private persona was different from his public façade.

As someone who was only beginning to learn how to embrace having a beautiful family and close circle of friends in her present life, she couldn't fully relate to this kind of deep connection to any parental figure. But seeing her husband suffering this kind of anguish was enough to distress her.

"I'm sorry, darling," she said while rubbing his back.

If only she had the power to heal Grandma Li for her husband, she would have already done so. Unfortunately, despite the mystical thing of being reborn into another body, she held no other special power except for her past life's memories.

"Don't be sorry, love. Grandma Li being ill like this is not something any of us can control."

"I know. I hope that Grandma Li wakes up soon."

"Me too, love. Me, too."

The husband and wife stood watching over the old woman for hours.

When Huang Yuyan and Grandpa Lu returned the next morning, they found Iris still sleeping on the sofa bed. Jin Liwei was already awake—no, he looked like he didn't sleep at all. He had huge eye bags. The white in his eyes had also turned red.

Seeing this, Huang Yuyan felt distressed for her son.

"You didn't sleep, son?" she asked.

Jin Liwei pressed his index finger on his lips, warning his mother and the old man to be quiet so as not to disturb his sleeping wife.

"My wife and I stayed up almost all night," he said. "She only managed to fall asleep just now."

Thankfully, Huang Yuyan wasn't the typical evil mother-in-law who always went against her daughter-in-law. On the contrary, she sometimes felt closer to Iris than she did to her eldest son. Although Jin Liwei was her son, she often found him intimidating, especially after he grew up and became an adult.

Knowing that her daughter-in-law basically stayed up all night with her eldest son to watch over her mother-in-law, Huang Yuyan felt touched and very emotional.

"Okay, let Xiulan sleep more," she whispered. "You should've insisted that she sleep, son. Being a mother and a wife is not easy."

"I know I'm wrong." Jin Liwei didn't argue and readily admitted his fault.

"How's your grandmother, my boy? I want to know!" Grandpa Lu's usually loud voice didn't boom this time. He did his best to control the volume of his voice.

Jin Liwei sighed. "The doctor and nurses came several times last night to check on Grandma but there are no improvements yet. Let's hope that she wakes up soon."

This time, Iris stirred. She opened her eyes and saw her mother-in-law and Grandpa Lu. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Mom, Grandpa, you're here," she murmured.

"Go back to sleep, my dear," Huang Yuyan said with a soft smile. "Don't mind us."

Iris shook her head. "I'm awake now."

There was a knock on the door before it opened.

"We brought breakfast~" Jin Chonglin announced while carrying several bags of take-out meals.

Chen Fei followed him carrying smaller bags, probably snacks.

Everyone's spirits had somewhat recovered after last night. There was still a tense atmosphere filled with dread and anxiety, but at least nobody was sobbing anymore.

Huang Yuyan's face looked a little puffy. She also had dark circles around her eyes but she did something to minimize their appearance.

Her younger son, Jin Chonglin, looked worse than her. He wore big, dark sunglasses to cover his swollen, bloodshot eyes and the big, dark bags underneath. He refused to take off his sunglasses inside.

"You just woke up, Xiulan?" Chen Fei asked while handing her a breakfast set meal.

Iris nodded. "Were you able to sleep?"

"I did," Chen Fei said. "But it was a rough sleep. Your brother-in-law kept on crying and waking me up. I don't dare to lose my temper because I feel sorry for him. How about your husband?"

Iris glanced at Jin Liwei before sighing. "He must've stayed up all night. I was going to stay up with him but I felt too exhausted."

"Chonglin and I will take the vigil later tonight so you and your husband should rest in the hotel. It's much more comfortable there."

"Okay." Iris nodded. "I'm worried about Liwei. His body will collapse at this rate if he doesn't rest."

"You can handle him. He loves you so much. He listens to you."

Iris smiled, not denying it. "Well, Brother Chonglin also listens to you."

Chen Fei smirked. "He does, doesn't he?"

The two women smiled at each other, their eyes filled with meaning.

The brothers, Jin Liwei and Jin Chonglin, couldn't hear what their women were whispering about. They weren't too curious, however. If their women didn't want to tell, nobody could force them. It was better to remain ignorant than to die from too much curiosity especially when it came to their women's secrets.

"What's the situation outside?" Jin Liwei asked. "You want me to call for more security?"

Jin Chonglin grimaced. "Yeah, Big Bro. When the leak happened, the media immediately came and surrounded the hospital's vicinity. Some fans even started camping outside. At this rate, the other patients' families might start complaining about us causing all this nuisance. The crowd has gotten bigger this morning. The hospital admin already called the police to help maintain order and safety."

Jin Liwei frowned. "If not for our grandmother's fragile condition, I would've already insisted on transferring her to another hospital with better security and privacy."

"I also wanted to transfer her to another hospital but the doctor warned me against it," Jin Chonglin said. "This is the best hospital that's nearest to Grandma's mountain villa. I guess we can only make do with it for now."

Iris appeared beside her husband. She heard what they were talking about. "I think that this hospital is not bad. It's just the security and privacy that are the main concerns. Let's just add more security, Liwei."

"En." Jin Liwei's expression eased up a lot when she appeared next to him.

"Let's eat now," Chen Fei announced.

Everyone agreed.

The doctor and nurse came once again while they were eating. There were still no improvements in Grandma Li's condition.

The couples alternated taking the night vigil.

Grandpa Lu was already old so they discouraged him from staying overnight. Huang Yuyan was emotionally fragile when it came to her mother-in-law, so she wasn't really a reliable choice as a night watcher. Instead of helping, she might just break down in tears.

Iris and Jin Liwei missed their children, so they would fly home using the helicopter when it wasn't their turn to watch Grandma Li. The kids also missed them terribly, bawling like there was no tomorrow. Even Little Matcha would be inconsolable as he and his brother clung to their parents, refusing to let them go.

The husband and wife were tempted to bring their children with them, but there were too many paparazzi and reporters camping around the hospital vicinity. It was already not safe for the adults, much less for the children.

So with heavy hearts, the couple could only leave their children with Dom and the nannies at home.

This went on for a full week.

Grandma Li still hadn't woken up yet.

Their other friends had already visited at least once—namely, Jin Liwei's brothers and Iris Long's girl squad members.

Lu Zihao arrived with his wife, Long Jinjing. They left their twins at Dragon Palace to play with their cousins.

Long Jinjing joined Chen Fei and Iris while Lu Zihao went outside to talk to Jin Liwei.

"The security in this hospital is a f*cking sh*thole," Lu Zihao commented. "You really can't transfer your grandmother to another place?"