Qingyun's family of four
The last breath I was clinging to in the delivery room vanished instantly, as if all the strength I had been holding on had been drained away.
The nurse praised her for not uttering a sound the whole time. She thought she was strong enough, but when she saw his reddened eyes, the unspoken pain suddenly found its outlet, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Yet, she still forced a smile and said, "Our baby is very good."
She gripped his hand tightly with all her might, wanting to say something to reassure him, but a hot tear unexpectedly fell from the back of her hand.
Her fingertips froze, and she stood rooted to the spot. This was the first time she had ever seen Rong Chengzhou shed tears.
For the first time, those dark, cold eyes welled up with tears. Rong Chengzhou's hand trembled almost imperceptibly as he touched her cheek. He cupped her face in his palm, raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and his throat tightened with heat. It took him several seconds to utter a hoarse syllable: "Peipei, thank you."
Jiang Mingxue's pale lips curved into a smile as she tried to smile at him, but she couldn't say anything.
Su Yun and Ren Rushuang also came over. It was supposed to be a happy occasion for everyone, but both mothers simultaneously raised their hands to wipe away tears from the corners of their eyes. They couldn't imagine how deep the incision was or how much suffering Jiang Mingxue had endured in the operating room.
Su Yun had been crying outside the delivery room all night, her eyes were swollen beyond recognition, but she was afraid of making her daughter, who had just given birth, feel even worse, so she held her daughter's hair and forced a smile: "Our Peipei is so amazing."
Ren Rushuang lowered her head and pressed her cheek against hers, her voice also choked with emotion: "Mingxue, you've worked so hard."
The medical staff did not linger at the entrance of the delivery room for long before pushing the hospital bed toward the ward.
Rong Chengzhou held her hand the entire time, accompanying her into the ward, his gaze fixed on her without ever looking away.
The nurse was tidying up the equipment next to him, and he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand and asking, "Does it hurt?"
Jiang Mingxue shook her head and said softly, "I've been given anesthesia, it won't hurt."
But once the anesthesia wears off, the pain will feel like being cut with a knife.
Rong Chengzhou lowered his eyes and kissed her hand, saying with heartache, "We won't have any more children."
He didn't want to see her go through that kind of pain a second time.
Jiang Mingxue smiled gently, raised her hand and touched his hair. Even though she was the one giving birth, he was the one who suffered the most: "Okay, I won't give birth anymore."
"Have you seen our baby?" she asked.
Rong Chengzhou pursed his lips: "Not yet."
Jiang Mingxue sighed softly, "I only glanced at them briefly and didn't have time to remember what they looked like."
Because they were premature, both babies were less than a month old, weighing at most four pounds each, and their vital signs were not fully developed. Jiang Mingxue only saw the two babies briefly when the nurses held them after her cesarean section; as soon as they left the delivery room, they were sent to the neonatal intensive care unit to stay in incubators.
Rong Chengzhou touched her cheek and comforted her, "It's okay. Once you've recovered a bit in the next couple of days, I'll go with you to see them."
Jiang Mingxue: "Okay."
After resting in the ward for three days, I finally got permission from the nurses to visit my newborn baby in the neonatal ward while sitting in a wheelchair.
Jiang Mingxue got up early, changed into a new set of clothes, and had Rong Chengzhou help her wipe her body with warm water and wash her hair. She made sure everything was clean before heading out to the neonatal ward.
Rong Chengzhou stood behind her and pushed her forward slowly, then blurted out, "I've never seen you this serious on our dates before."
Jiang Mingxue chuckled: "We've been married for so long before we started dating, it's not like you haven't seen what I look like before."
“It’s different with our baby. This is our first official meeting, so of course we want to make a good impression on them.”
Sitting in her wheelchair, her heart raced uncontrollably at the thought of seeing her two babies, whom she had carried for nine months, soon.
"Don't you want to see them?" she asked, turning her head.
For the past few days, Rong Chengzhou has been staying by her side in the ward. Every time she wakes up in the middle of the night from the pain of her wound, she can see Rong Chengzhou sitting on the side of the bed, holding her hand tightly. The worry between his brows and the shadow in his eyes are gradually deepening with time.
Even though he had hired a postpartum nanny in advance, he insisted on cleaning her body and taking care of everything for her himself.
Not to mention visiting the babies in incubators, I haven't even slept more than four hours a night these past few days.
Rong Chengzhou pursed his thin lips into a straight line. In the past few days, every time he saw Jiang Mingxue lying on the hospital bed in pain, her body convulsing, he couldn't help but feel guilty and regretful for letting her get pregnant and give birth. He also had no desire to see the two children.
Now that Jiang Mingxue has recovered somewhat, the self-blame and regret in his heart have subsided a little.
Not wanting to extinguish her hope and expectation, he whispered, "Yes, I want to see you."
Jiang Mingxue patted his hand and urged him, "Then walk a little faster."
Rong Chengzhou couldn't help but laugh: "Okay."
Upon arriving at the neonatal ward, they followed the nurse's directions and finally saw two tiny babies in incubators side by side.
On the left is the older brother, who was born five minutes earlier, and on the right is the younger sister, who weighs less than four pounds. The two tiny figures are wrapped in light blue swaddling clothes in the incubator, and their hands are not even as big as her thumbs.
Because they are fraternal twins, their facial features are not the same. Although their skin is still a bit wrinkled, it is already possible to vaguely see that the older brother's features are more prominent, resembling Rong Chengzhou, while the younger sister has round eyes and looks more like Jiang Mingxue.
The warm light from the incubator fell on them, making them look like fragile porcelain dolls. The baby girl had a transparent IV tube stuck in her thin arm. Jiang Mingxue stared at their wrinkled little faces, and tears she had been holding back for a long time suddenly fell down, sliding down her mask and onto her knees.
I finally understand what Rong Chengzhou has always felt.
She gently pressed her hand against the glass of the incubator, her knuckles turning white, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, it's Mom's fault for not taking good care of you."
If she had been more careful during her pregnancy, perhaps they wouldn't have been born prematurely and wouldn't have been so fragile as to need to stay in an incubator.
Rong Chengzhou placed his palm on her shoulder and pressed it down slightly: "Peipei, it's not your fault. The probability of twins being born prematurely is already very high. They are already much healthier than other premature babies."
Jiang Mingxue didn't say anything. She knew the logic, but how could she not feel heartbroken to see her child with tubes inserted right after birth?
The baby girl inside the glass window seemed to sense something, and suddenly moved her leg slightly, turning her big, round eyes to look straight at her.
He was chewing on his fingers with his mouth open, babbling something to her through the glass window, as if he was comforting her: "Mommy, don't be sad."
Jiang Mingxue instantly went from tears to laughter, tears still clinging to her eyes. Her fingers rested on the glass, her entire being radiating a soft light, as she whispered:
"Our little angel must have missed his mom and dad, which is why he couldn't wait to come and see us."
Upon seeing the two babies, Rong Chengzhou's cold and hard face softened slightly: "Yes, they wanted to see us sooner, which is why they came into this world early."
This is his and Jiang Mingxue's child, the fruit of their deepest love. Even though his wife suffered a lot during the process, he will be Jiang Mingxue's family member from now on.
From now on, the two of them will become a family of four.
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Da Bao stayed in the incubator for seven days, and Xiao Bao stayed for ten days before finally being able to be transferred out of the incubator and see the outside world.
Jiang Mingxue's incision had almost fully healed, and she was discharged from the hospital and went home with her two children.
Before leaving, Rong Chengzhou stood in the ward, imitating the nurses by supporting the baby girl's bottom with his other hand and carefully lifting her head.
The little bundle in his arms was as soft as a cloud, and he didn't even dare to breathe too heavily, his brows involuntarily furrowing tightly.
He looked down at the baby in his arms, his 1.9-meter-tall frame stiff as a board, standing motionless.
The two babies were in their cribs when they came out of the incubators, and this was the first time he had held them in his arms.
Jiang Mingxue had just put on her shoes with Madam Rong's help when she turned around and saw this scene. She couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Rong Chengzhou had very large hands; the baby in his arms was smaller than his outstretched hands. He held the baby as if he were holding a thermos, and his movements were awkward and comical.
The little girl lay in his arms, staring at him for several seconds, making Rong Chengzhou even more uneasy. He asked them uncertainly, "Is this how you hold her?"
Ren Rushuang walked over with a smile and adjusted his grip, scolding him with exasperation, "Move closer to your chest! How come you're such a grown man and can't even hold a child properly?"
Rong Chengzhou pursed his lips and remained silent. In his life, he had held anti-aircraft missiles, aircraft cannon ammunition, and the most advanced guns, but this was the first time he had ever held a child.
Jiang Mingxue laughed until her incision almost hurt: "Mom, please stop scolding Chengzhou. Holding a child is harder for him than flying a fighter jet."
Rong Chengzhou nodded mechanically, agreeing wholeheartedly: "It's much more difficult than I imagined."
He didn't dare to use any force, for fear that he might crush the child if he wasn't careful.
Su Yun also wanted to hold her granddaughter. After disinfecting her hands, she came over, smiling, and reached out to take the baby girl: "How about I hold her? Cheng Zhou is not very good at holding a baby for the first time. He will be better after holding her a few more times when we get home."
Rong Chengzhou refused, insisting on carrying her himself, his jawline taut: "It's okay, Mom. I can do it."
The baby girl lay in his arms, her big, beautiful eyes, like grapes, gazing at him curiously. She seemed to hear something and started to giggle, biting her fingers.
Jiang Mingxue laughed and said, "Mom, let him carry you. He'll have more to learn later."
"Alright then."
Su Yun had no choice but to go along with him, but she was still a little worried. When she was discharged from the hospital, she followed him closely, afraid that he might accidentally drop the child.
Two families were already waiting at the ward entrance. The two families, consisting of eight adults, were taking two children home together. Aunt Lian from Songyunting had already prepared the meal. Grandpa Jiang and General Rong were waiting in the living room to welcome Jiang Mingxue and the two children home.
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Author's Note: I originally planned to add today's update later, but I accidentally fell asleep [crying emoji]. I have to work overtime this afternoon, so I can only update before midnight tonight [poor emoji]. I'll add tomorrow's 3,000 words later then [please].
100 RMB red envelope~
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