Time flies when school starts.

In early April, Xia Jianguo returned to his hometown alone to pay respects to his parents during the Qingming Festival.

At the end of May, Xia Jianguo went to Pudong, Shanghai with Wang Aimin and his group of friends to buy a house.

Beep beep…

Xia Minmin, who was doing her homework in her room, heard the landline ring and ran to answer it without even putting on her shoes.

"Hello?"

Xiao Wu's anxious and flustered voice came from the other end of the phone, "Xiao Min? This is your uncle. Your aunt is about to give birth and is currently in the maternity ward on the fifth floor of the Second Hospital."

"Uncle, I understand. I'll call my mom right away."

"Okay, okay, come over here right away."

Xia Minmin immediately hung up the phone. Just as she was about to dial the landline number of the wholesale store, she suddenly remembered that Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei had recently bought new mobile phones, so she quickly dialed the mobile number.

Beep beep…

Li Chunmei's phone rang for a long time but no one answered, and finally she hung up. Xia Minmin had to call a second time.

The moment the call connected, Xia Minmin quickly relayed, "Mom, where are you now? My aunt is about to give birth! She's at the Second Hospital! You need to come over right away. I'm taking a car from home to the maternity ward on the fifth floor of the Second Hospital."

"What? Speak slowly." Li Chunmei was a little confused by Xia Minmin's fast speech.

Xia Minmin repeated it again.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll be right there. I'll call your dad; he should be off the plane by now. I'll have him come straight over."

Li Chunmei forgot to hang up the phone, and Xia Minmin heard her giving instructions to the store manager before she hung up.

Xia Minmin took out her backpack from the room, filled it with several bottles of milk, bread, and dark chocolate, changed her shoes, and ran out of the community. She only breathed a sigh of relief after getting into a taxi.

"Driver, Second Hospital, thank you."

The Second Hospital is located between Dudu Garden residential area and Youhui Supermarket, about a 50-minute drive away.

After getting off the bus at the Second Hospital, Xia Minmin followed the hospital's road signs to find the obstetrics department.

Xiao Wu clasped his hands together and muttered something as he paced back and forth at the entrance of the operating room.

Xia Damei sat on a chair outside the maternity ward, with a bag of clothes next to her, probably for the newborn.

"Eldest aunt and younger aunt's husband."

Upon hearing Minmin's voice, the two quickly turned to look at her.

Xia Damei stood up and looked at Xia Minmin with concern, "Why did you come along? This place isn't suitable for young girls like you."

As soon as Xia Damei finished speaking, a desperate cry came from the delivery room. The sound made Xia Minmin tremble all over; it was truly terrifying.

Li Chunmei, wearing eight-centimeter high heels, jogged over to the two of them. "What's the situation now?"

Xia Damei quickly explained, "Little sister has been inside for twenty minutes."

Li Chunmei sat down in the chair and rubbed her ankle. "It should be a while, your second brother should be able to get there."

There were two other families waiting outside the maternity ward, all with the same anxious expression.

Painful cries and various profanities echoed from the delivery room. Xia Minmin's face grew paler and paler. Whether in her past life or this one, this was her first experience with childbirth.

Li Chunmei and Xia Damei both noticed that something was wrong with her.

Li Chunmei patted her daughter's head, "Little one, don't be scared by touching your fur. It's okay, Mommy is here."

Xia Damei looked at her niece with concern, "Second sister-in-law, why don't we let Xiaomin go back first?"

Li Chunmei half-embraced her daughter and kept stroking her back. "We don't know how long we'll be staying here. I'm worried about her being alone at home."

Xia Damei sighed, wondering if it would leave a shadow on the child.

Under Li Chunmei's comforting words, Xia Minmin's complexion finally improved. "Little one, go downstairs to the pharmacy and buy Mom a bottle of safflower oil. While you're at it, grab a quick bite at KFC downstairs. Take your phone; Mom will call you when your aunt comes out."

Xia Minmin nodded and took the phone, leaving the milk, bread, and dark chocolate behind. "These are for you. If you want anything, just call me and I'll pack it up and bring it up."

Standing in the hospital's small garden, the moment I was touched by the warm sunshine, the gloom in my heart dissipated.

There was a pharmacy right across from the hospital entrance. Yes, Minmin went in and bought a bottle of safflower oil as Li Chunmei had asked, and put it in her backpack.

Walking towards the KFC store we saw when we arrived by car, there weren't many people in the KFC at 11 a.m. Xia Minmin ordered a hamburger, fries, and a Coke.

"Sister, could you please give me ketchup number 7?"

The KFC employee was surprised to hear Xia Minmin's question. "How did you know our ketchup has a sweet and sour flavor?"

Xia Minmin said with a smile, "You'll be able to tell the difference once you've eaten enough."

Xia Minmin sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a tray, watching the crowds come and go.

Da la da la…

Li Chunmei's cell phone rang.

It was Xia Jianguo calling.

"Hello, Dad."

"Oh, it's Xiaomin. Where's your mother?"

“My mom and the others are still waiting for my aunt outside the maternity ward on the fifth floor. I’m in KFC.”

"I understand. Be careful when you're out alone. Call Dad if anything happens."

"knew!"

Xia Jianguo hung up the phone and carried his luggage up to the fifth floor.

Li Chunmei and Xia Damei ate their milk and bread in a daze, they were both hungry after all that fuss.

As for Xiao Wu, he probably can't eat right now.

"Second Brother."

Li Chunmei looked up at the shadow on the ground, her expression instantly melting. She reached out her hand to Xia Jianguo, "Jianguo, you've come."

Xia Jianguo grasped Li Chunmei's slightly cold hand.

Xia Damei looked at her second brother and sister-in-law with envy, and then at Xiao Wu's anxious expression. At this moment, she wondered if her decision to keep going with Wang Jie was the right one.

Li Chunmei told Xia Jianguo about how her daughter had been frightened.

Xia Jianguo frowned. "We need to be extra careful tonight; there's a high chance he'll get a fever again."

Li Chunmei said regretfully, "Sigh, I should let her come to the hospital less often in the future. It's all my fault for forgetting about the situation in the obstetrics department. I didn't even know where to buy paper money for burning in Shenzhen."

Li Chunmei recalled that before her daughter was two years old, she would often be frightened by strange things and get a fever. Burning paper money to send her off was the only way to help. After coming to Shenzhen, this basically stopped happening, and she gradually forgot about it.

Xia Jianguo patted Li Chunmei on the back, "It's alright, maybe Xiaomin is already better and won't get a fever from being scared again? Think positively."

The delivery room door opened, and a female nurse came out carrying a baby. All three families crowded around.

"Xu Hui's family, come here! Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!"

When Li Chunmei and the others heard that it wasn't Xia Xiaomei's name, they sat back down. Only Xiao Wu was peering through the glass window on the delivery room door. The window was covered by a piece of paper, leaving only a small gap.

"Don't block the entrance or exit. They'll let you know if there's any news," the nurse holding the baby told Xiao Wu before leaving the maternity ward with Xu Hui's family.