The sound of the ringing phone awakened Long Tengfei. He quickly answered it so as not to disturb his wife, Yang Jiahui, who was sleeping beside him.
It was his assistant, Cao Guang, informing him that the Young Miss Xiulan was rushed to the hospital because she fainted in the middle of the night. It seemed that Cao Guang's nephew, Dominic Chua, called his uncle and wailed nonstop on the phone.
The uncle couldn't understand what his nephew was saying, only able to squeeze out relevant keywords like "boss", "hospital", "fainted", "scary" and "dying". Knowing that his nephew had the tendency to exaggerate, Cao Guang immediately contacted the hospital and was able to speak directly to Dr. Ching. He was assured that the Young Miss Xiulan's condition was not too serious but was concerning enough not to take lightly. With this information, he called President Long and awaited instructions.
Long Tengfei was, of course, worried about his daughter. She was doing so well since she woke up from coma, appearing to live a healthy lifestyle. Then suddenly she was hospitalized again. He wanted to see her but their tense and distant relationship in the past made him hesitate.
"What's wrong?" Yang Jiahui woke up and asked him sleepily.
"Xiulan is in the hospital."
"What?" She was instantly awake.
"She apparently fainted."
"Then what are you waiting for? Go see her."
"But what if she doesn't want to see me?"
Long Tengfei took a couple of minutes to make up his mind. Finally, he agreed with his wife. He rose from the bed.
"Does Wei Lan know?" Yang Jiahui asked.
He scowled, his tone was cold when he replied. "Why would I know whether she knows or not? I don't talk to that woman anymore."
"She's your daughter's mother, Tengfei. You may have parted with bad feelings but she still deserves to know what happened to her daughter."
"Fine. I'll tell Cao Guang to inform her."
Within an hour, Long Tengfei reached the hospital, a bouquet of bright daffodils and daisies in his arms. Cao Guang accompanied him carrying a big basket of various fruits. They took the elevator and headed to the private wing.
However, they were blocked by two men wearing black business suits and earpieces when they reached outside Iris' room.
Long Tengfei frowned, displeased. He wasn't used to being blocked by anyone.
"We are here to visit a patient named Miss Long Xiulan," Cao Guang told the two. "We are quite certain that this is her room."
"My name is Cao Guang and with me is Sir Long Tengfei, Miss Long's father."
"Please wait here," the man said while his companion knocked on the door and entered.
The remaining man just stood there, his expression cold, not bothering to speak to them. A few seconds later, his companion returned and finally allowed Long Tengfei and Cao Guang through the door.
As soon as Long Tengfei entered the room, he saw a tall man in pyjamas sitting on the bed beside his sleeping daughter, buttoning up his shirt. He knew it wasn't Cao Guang's nephew. Dominic Chua was sprawled on the extra bed at the far end of the room, snoring softly.
"Who the hell are you?!" he roared.
Then the man looked at him and he saw his face.
Long Tengfei froze. "C-CEO Jin?"
Jin Liwei stood up and nodded. "CEO Long."
"What are you doing here?" Long Tengfei couldn't believe that he was meeting this man in his daughter's hospital room at this time of the day.
Long Tengfei couldn't make sense of the situation. Cao Guang wasn't any better.
"Xiulan and I are in a relationship. She's my girlfriend and I'm her boyfriend."
"What…"
"CEO Long. I am dating your daughter with the intention of marriage."
Long Tengfei's mind went blank. Cao Guang's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. No one noticed that Dominic Chua suddenly stopped snoring.
It took a good ten minutes before the two older men calmed down. Jin Liwei invited them to sit down on the couches.
"If you want to speak with Xiulan, I suggest you wait until she wakes up naturally," Jin Liwei said. "She had a rough night. I want her to rest up as much as possible. Besides, she's a deep sleeper. It's very hard to wake her up once she's asleep."
"Of course, of course. I understand. Let her sleep. I only want to see her and make sure that she's alright," Long Tengfei replied. Then he realized the meaning behind Jin Liwei's words.
'How did he know that my daughter is a deep sleeper? Don't tell me that they're already sleeping together? Wait, didn't he say that he was the one who brought Xiulan to the hospital? Didn't Cao Guang said that Xiulan was taken to the hospital at around 3 to 4 AM? Oh yes, he was sleeping on the bed with my daughter when we entered the room. So they're really sleeping together?! Ah?!!'
Long Tengfei inhaled sharply. Cao Guang almost dropped the vase he was planning to put the flowers on.
"Y-you…CEO Jin―"
"Please call me Liwei. Once Xiulan agrees to marry me, you are going to be my father-in-law and I your son-in-law. There is no need to be so formal."