Jin Liwei's mind went blank. His body became numb. Even his heart felt like it stopped beating. When he regained senses, the gravity of the situation hit him in full force. He felt utterly devastated.
"Second Brother, you said that she's not in any danger," Jin Liwei whispered. "Then why is she in coma now?"
"I don't know," Wang Yingjie admitted.
"How can you not know?! You're a doctor!"
"Third Bro, calm down." Yu Mo held onto Jin Liwei's shoulders, afraid that he would start attacking Wang Yingjie in his distress.
"I'm a doctor, not a god," Wang Yingjie said. Bafflement could be seen in his eyes. "Her vitals are low but not dangerously low. Her other test results also all came out normal. Medically speaking, she's relatively healthy with only a slightly lowered immune system because of her previous coma. I don't understand why she's not waking up right now."
He already contacted Dr. Ching. Iris' doctor would arrive at the hospital tomorrow. Wang Yingjie planned to discuss Iris' condition and to figure out why she kept on having these fainting episodes.
Jin Liwei rubbed his face with his hands. He looked miserable. He sat beside his unconscious baby girl on the bed. She looked like she was just sleeping. He gently held her hand which was still a bit hot from the fever.
"Baby, please wake up." He lifted her limp hand and kissed it.
"She'll be fine," Lu Zihao said. He sat on one of the couches.
"Fifth Brother, it's late. You should go home first. You're due for a check-up tomorrow morning," Wang Yingjie told him.
"No need. I'll sleep on the extra bed here."
Wang Yingjie was about to argue but sighed instead. "Suit yourself. I'll ask for extra pillows and blankets and also some toiletries for the two of you."
Yu Mo and Wang Yingjie left and went home. Lu Zihao slept on the extra bed while Jin Liwei lay beside Iris. Jin Liwei didn't notice the dark look Lu Zihao gave him when he embraced Iris on the bed.
The next day, Iris still didn't wake up. Dom arrived at the hospital first thing in the morning. He cried his eyes out when he saw his comatose boss. If an outsider saw and heard him, they would think that he was grieving a loved one who just passed away.
Lu Zihao rebuked him. "She's not dead. Don't cry like that. It's bad luck."
Dom immediately stopped crying, staring in wonder at such a handsome hunk. Moments later, a nurse fetched Lu Zihao from the room for his check-up in the same hospital.
After some time, Long Tengfei, Yang Jiahui and Meimei arrived. Meimei immediately sat beside Dom.
"What happened?" Long Tengfei asked Jin Liwei.
"I'm sorry," Jin Liwei said. "I didn't take care of her."
Long Tengfei looked expressionless but Yang Jiahui knew that her husband was distraught inside. She rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.
"It's not your fault," Long Tengfei told Jin Liwei in a stiff voice. "My daughter already had this issue before. Don't be too hard on yourself. She'll wake up soon. I know she will." His voice shook at the last sentence.
About an hour later, another group arrived. Grandpa Lu, Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan came together. Lu Zihao was already back by that time from his check-up, chatting with Dom and Meimei, asking them about Iris.
When Long Tengfei saw the new arrivals, he needed a double take. Of course, he recognized them! Lu Jianhong was a business legend. All serious businessmen in the country knew and looked up to him. As for the two ladies with him, they were two generations of Jin Madams.
Long Tengfei couldn't believe that he was meeting such big-shots in his daughter's hospital room. Then he paused, remembering that it was also in a hospital room that he was shocked by Jin Liwei claiming to be his daughter's boyfriend.
Huang Yuyan burst into tears as soon as she saw Iris and her disheveled son. Grandma Li comforted her daughter-in-law.
"Liwei my boy, go take a shower! Your mother brought you a change of clothes. You look terrible! You'll scare Xiulan looking like that when she wakes up. Hurry up! We also ordered breakfast." Grandpa Lu's voice wasn't as booming this time.
"Later," Jin Liwei mumbled, refusing to let go of his baby girl's hand.
Unlike Jin Liwei, Lu Zihao looked fresh and well-rested. He looked wild and handsome as usual. Both Meimei and Dom were looking at him with sparkling eyes. If their pupils could change shape, their eyes would turn into hearts.
While Lu Zihao showered in the private bathroom, Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui greeted Grandpa Lu, Grandma Li and Huang Yuyan.
"It's unfortunate that we're meeting in this kind of situation," Grandma Li said, sighing. "This wasn't how I imagined meeting Xiulan's family. Yuyan and I were planning to invite you for dinner soon so that our two families can formally meet, yet here we are now. My heart aches for dear Xiulan. I hope she wakes up soon."
Huang Yuyan wiped the tears flowing from her eyes as she looked at her son and her comatose future daughter-in-law.
"She'll be alright!" Grandpa Lu's voice was determined. "If she doesn't wake up soon, I'll ask my doctor friends to fly over here and take a look at Xiulan. They're leading experts in the world's medical field. I'm sure they can figure out what's happening to her."
Breakfast arrived and they all ate together. Everyone tried to persuade Jin Liwei to eat but he refused. In the end, it was Lu Zihao who managed to persuade him with biting words.
"Heh, so you're gonna starve yourself? Go ahead. A weak and useless man like you can't protect Xiulan anyway. How can a man who can't even take care of himself take care of his woman? He can't because he's incompetent!"
Jin Liwei glared at Lu Zihao.
Lu Zihao just raised an eyebrow and smirked while deliberately eating his meal in slow motion.
The others just watched the brothers in silence. Grandpa Lu was surprised at his grandson's savage words but he nodded in approval. Sometimes, being hard to one's loved ones was the way to go.
Lu Zihao responded by giving them a dazzling smile.
It was during the meal that Long Tengfei learned that his daughter was taken by the legendary Lu Jianhong as his student. Of course he was ecstatic. But what he learned next shocked him to the core.
"C-cross Academy?" Long Tengfei stammered, laughing awkwardly. "You must be mistaken, Sir Lu."
"You think that I, Lu Jianhong, will make a mistake in this matter? Hai! How can you not know that your own daughter is a genius? I want to know!"
Long Tengfei didn't know how to respond. He looked at his comatose daughter in disbelief. She was a genius? How come she didn't display any of her genius abilities while she was growing up? Was he really too busy that he never noticed that his daughter was actually a genius? It would take him a while to digest this revelation.
They continued to chat with each other, trying to lighten the mood even though they were all worrying about Iris' condition. In this kind of situation, they grew closer. Nobody said it out loud, but they already considered each other as in-laws in their hearts.
Evening came once again. They went home, except for Jin Liwei, Lu Zihao and Dom who refused to leave Iris.
Three days passed by, yet Iris still failed to wake up.