Jin Liwei's gentle, comforting words and his warm embrace eventually calmed Iris' lost of control over her emotions. Her fear of becoming like her past life's mother subsided thanks to him but didn't entirely disappear.

Afterwards, Jin Liwei wiped away her tears and helped her get dressed. He led her to his office bathroom and washed her tear-stained face which was now red and swollen.

If others saw her right now, they would think that she and Jin Liwei had a big fight and that he made her cry.

Iris felt like a child being taken care of by him. He treated her with extreme gentleness, as if she was a fragile treasure, and was doing his best to comfort her, even though he was also trying to deal with his own emotions.

Guilt started eating at him when she broke down in his arms. Although she assured him that she didn't hate the idea of getting pregnant with his child, it was still one of the reasons why she cried. He could feel her fear and anxiety of becoming a terrible mother. He didn't quite understand why she had this fear, especially since he was certain that she would be a wonderful mother based on how she treated their godson and cats. If only he could remove this fear from her heart and throw it far away, he would've already done so. Unfortunately, only she could overcome her own fear. All he could do was give her love, unwavering support, and assurance that he would be with her every step of the way.

Once they were properly clothed, he led her to the table. Iris didn't have an appetite after what happened but he coaxed her to eat even a little.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked in a worried tone.

This time, she was able to give with him a small smile. "Better. Thank you."

"Good."

She took his hand and pressed it against her cheek. "Darling, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I didn't mean to make you think that I don't want to get pregnant with your child. I think it would be amazing if a child is born into this world who is made from half of you and half of me. It's just that I…I don't…I mean—"

"Shhh." He sealed her lips with a soft yet firm kiss when he saw that she was about to panic again, preventing her from succumbing to her, in his opinion, irrational fear. "You'll be fine, my love. Even if you're not, I'll be here and stay with you until you're okay again. Always remember that you're not alone. I'm here. I'll always be here for you."

She nodded and held on to his hand, absorbing strength from him. Self-reproach filled her, hating how weak she was acting right now, yet she couldn't stop it.

In the end, she was still human. So what if she was a genius? She also had fears like other normal people. She also needed comfort and strength from the person she loved when she felt weak and vulnerable.

"I love you, Jin Liwei."

The corner of his lips lifted into a loving smile. "I love you, too, Long Xiulan. Or whoever you are. So much."

His words touched her deeply. Even though the distinction between the identities of Long Xiulan, a.k.a. Iris Long, and Evelina Vetrova had blurred and started to merge until she didn't have a choice but to fully accept that she was now both, she appreciated that he could still remember their rhetorical discussion from before about her being another person and not Long Xiulan. She knew that he didn't take it seriously but still he humoured her, not making fun of her. His tender consideration was something that she would always be grateful for, not only as the present Iris Long but also as her past self, Evelina Vetrova.

"I think I'm going to cry again," she said in a shaky voice.

"Go ahead, love."

She chuckled even as a sob threatened to make her lose her composure once again. This sob was not out of fear like earlier but of gratefulness instead for Jin Liwei's love for her. She did her best to hold it in, not wanting to make her eyes even redder and swollen than they already were. Tang Yiyi would scold her about her messy appearance for sure when she returned to work later. Thus, she complained instead.

"Why am I so emotional today?"

Before he could even think about it, he replied in a light and playful tone, "Maybe you're pregnant already. That's why you're being so emotional. I heard pregnant women become very emotional."

She froze.

He froze, as well.

"That soon?!! Does conception happen immediately?! Where's your computer?! Let me borrow it! I need to search this up!! Wait, I can use my phone…where's my phone?! Oh, how about your phone—"

Jin Liwei inwardly cursed at himself for causing his baby girl to panic again. "Love, relax…calm down. Love…love!"

He forced her out of her panicked state by shaking her shoulders. It wasn't rough but not light either. It was firm enough to snap her to listen to him. Sighing, he told himself that he should be the one to remain calm for both of them, especially since her emotions were understandably chaotic right now.

"Sorry, love. I was just joking. And to answer your question, no. If I remember correctly from Science class, pregnancy doesn't start the day we have unprotected sex. I think it takes around three to four days or something like that for the sperm to fertilize the egg cell, then another three to four days for the fertilized egg to implant itself in your uterus. Not completely sure, though. I'll have to double check on the specifics but I'm pretty sure that I'm not far off."

"Oh." Iris subconsciously pressed a hand over her flat abdomen. Would she really get pregnant from today?

He followed suit and covered her hand with his large hand.

The two of them looked at each other, imagining a little version of one another growing inside her womb.

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[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

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