Jin Liwei woke up that morning feeling refreshed. As usual, he finished work very late last night, returning to the penthouse past 1 AM. His baby girl was already deeply sleeping. He joined her under the warm covers after a quick shower.
Yawning, he looked at the time. 8:19 AM. This was the first time since working on his company's current business project that he slept for so long. He felt lighter and energetic. He almost forgot the wonderful feeling of being well-rested.
His baby girl was still deeply asleep in his embrace. He ran his fingers through her long, silky hair and inhaled her sweet scent that was unique to her. Thankfully, she didn't experience any nightmare last night. He also noticed that the frequency of her nightmares gradually dwindled now that she was preoccupied with work. This was a good sign, right? He hoped that they would disappear altogether.
Aside from feeling refreshed, he was also feeling very excited. Ever since both of them started becoming very busy at their own respective work, this was the first time that his baby girl had a full day off. As the boss of his own company, he scheduled a day off for himself on the same day even though it was in the middle of a workday week. The business project was important but it would survive a single day without him. Besides, he needed to spend more quality time with his girlfriend.
Every time he watched her on TV or read Dominic's reports about her activities, he knew that she encountered a lot of other men while working. It would always take a lot of his self-control not to abandon work and rush to where she was to personally drive away all those salivating wolves eyeing his woman. If he ever did that, he knew that she would be very upset with him. He didn't want to give her any reason to harbour any negative feelings for him.
Finally, today was the day they agreed to have their second date. A date with only the two of them. No annoying flies this time (a.k.a. his brothers). That was why he felt so excited upon waking up. He researched (a.k.a. ask his assistant Xu Tian) on how to make a date romantic and made plans for today accordingly.
He nuzzled her hair and tried to wake her up. Alas, she continued to sleep peacefully. After a few more failed attempts, he could only give up and wait for her to wake up naturally later. Besides, she deserved to rest as much as possible especially after working almost nonstop for weeks.
After showering her face with light kisses, he reluctantly rose from the bed.
He worked out at the gym. He added a lot of machines and equipment to the sadly lacking place. Now it looked like a proper gym instead of a plain dance studio. Then he showered and ate a big breakfast. The old housekeeper was still cold towards him, but at least she treated him politely and stopped trying to attack him. He didn't mind the treatment. After all, the only important person to him in this place was his baby girl. Oh, and their kids, Ice Cream and Popcorn.
Two hours later, he returned to the bedroom yet his baby girl was still sleeping soundly. He tried waking her up but to no avail. He was very excited for their date today. He was looking forward to it for days now.
Unfortunately for him, it looked like she had no intention of waking up anytime soon.
And he was right.
When Iris woke up, it was almost noon.
Already a third of the activities on his date plan now had to be cancelled because they could only do them in the morning.
"Good morning, baby," he greeted her. He walked to the bed, leaned down and gave a light kiss on her lips. "Are you excited for today?"
"Mmn…morning… Hm?" She yawned, stretching her body. "Why?"
His face fell.
Then she remembered. "Oh. It's our date today."
His expression brightened. "Yes."
Jin Liwei suggested that they wear matching outfits again, but she declined.
"I want to wear a dress today," she told him.
He felt a little disappointed that she didn't want to match outfits but seeing her beautiful figure accentuated by a long, flowing floral sundress, the disappointment instantly flew away. She looked very casual yet still elegant. Looking down at his formal dress shirt and trousers, he took them off and changed into a casual long-sleeved navy blue polo shirt and black jeans instead.
The two left the bedroom. Iris wanted to eat brunch first at home but Jin Liwei said that they would eat outside. She nodded but still grabbed a banana from the kitchen to tide her hunger.
They rode the elevator down to the private underground parking area. Three of the cars were Jin Liwei's. This time, they chose a red two-door coupe.
As they drove away from the condo building, Iris ate her banana.
Jin Liwei mentally reviewed his plans for today's date. First would be a romantic lunch at the best French restaurant in the country which was conveniently located just half an hour drive away.
On the way, however, Iris saw a lively street food market. She turned to him, her eyes bright and curious.
"Liwei, can we eat there?"
"Oh. Okay. Never mind."
Her obvious look of disappointment stabbed at his heart. He cleared his throat. "Do you really want to eat at that market?"
Her eyes immediately lit up. "Yes! Can we?"
"Of course, baby." He smiled at her while sighing inside. He turned the car towards the street food market.
It was unfortunate that they couldn't do exactly as he planned. Oh well. As long as his baby girl was happy. Besides, he had many other activities planned for today. Crossing one out wasn't a big deal.
Or so he thought.