Chapter 32: Gave birth to twin daughters
The hands of the wall clock in the corridor slowly climbed toward midnight.
The intermittent groans of Wen Xiaoxiao could be heard from the delivery room, a sound that seemed to tug at Zhao Fei's heart outside the door like a thin thread.
He had been pacing in the corridor for more than seven hours, and the terrazzo floor under his feet was almost worn with marks.
Finally, the delivery room door opened.
A nurse came out carrying two tiny babies wrapped in hospital white sheets, a tired smile on her face: "Wen Xiaoxiao's family?"
Zhao Fei rushed forward in one stride: "Here!"
"She's given birth, twin girls." The nurse handed the swaddled babies forward for him to see. "The older one weighs 4.2 pounds and the younger one weighs 3.8 pounds. They were premature and need to be sent to the neonatal intensive care unit."
Zhao Fei only glanced at them briefly—the two little faces were rosy and wrinkled, their eyes were tightly closed, and they looked so small it was heartbreaking.
His gaze quickly moved past the nurse's shoulder and into the delivery room: "Where is she? How is Wen Xiaoxiao?"
"The mother just gave birth and is exhausted. They are stitching up her episiotomy and will be wheeled out in a bit."
The nurse paused for a moment, then said, "That's strange. Everyone else looks after the child first, but you ask about the adults first."
Zhao Fei didn't reply, but simply asked, "Is everyone safe and sound?"
"It's safe, but the mother suffered a lot. It's not easy to have twins delivered naturally." The nurse said, carrying the baby towards the intensive care unit.
Zhao Fei finally let out a long sigh of relief, leaning his back against the cold wall, only to find that his palms were covered in cold sweat.
He took out a cigarette, then, remembering he was in a hospital, irritably put it back in the pack.
About half an hour later, Wen Xiaoxiao was wheeled out.
She lay on the gurney, her hair wet and plastered to her forehead, her face as pale as paper, and her lips marked with deep teeth marks from biting them.
"Xiaoxiao." Zhao Fei bent down and called her softly.
Wen Xiaoxiao's eyelids twitched, her voice barely audible: "Child..."
"The children are all fine and have been taken to the intensive care unit." Zhao Fei walked forward with the gurney, his hand resting lightly on the edge of the gurney.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.
Zhao Qingda came running over, panting heavily. One of his shirt buttons was fastened incorrectly, and his hair was a mess.
"Given up?" His first glance was at Wen Xiaoxiao on the stretcher, then he looked at the empty delivery room door. "Where's the baby?"
"She gave birth, two daughters, and they've been sent to the intensive care unit," Zhao Fei said calmly.
“My daughter…” Zhao Qingda repeated unconsciously, a hint of disappointment flashing across his face.
He scratched his head and asked Zhao Fei if he had paid the hospital fees. Zhao Fei said he had paid one thousand.
Zhao Qingda took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Zhao Fei, saying, "Here you go."
Zhao Fei took the crumpled envelope, and his fingertips could feel a thick stack of ten-yuan bills inside.
He didn't say anything, but simply put the envelope into his pocket.
It was past 1 a.m. when Wen Xiaoxiao was settled in her hospital bed.
As the anesthesia wore off, the pain in the wound became clear.
Wen Xiaoxiao frowned and slowly opened her eyes.
"Awake?" Zhao Fei immediately leaned over.
Wen Xiaoxiao's gaze first fell on Zhao Fei, and then on Zhao Qingda, who was sitting in a chair yawning.
Her eyes darkened, and she looked at Zhao Fei again: "Brother... the child..."
"The child is in the ICU, and the nurse said his condition is stable," Zhao Fei said gently. "Are you hungry? I'll go get you something to eat."
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head weakly.
Zhao Fei quickly poured some warm water and fed it to her little by little with a small spoon.
Zhao Qingda then stood up, took the warm water, and fed it to Wen Xiaoxiao spoonful by spoonful, saying dryly, "You've suffered." He paused, then added, "Mom said you should take good care of yourself."
Wen Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and didn't reply.
Seeing that she had drunk water, Zhao Fei said in a low voice, "Wait here, I'll go check on the cafeteria."
The hospital cafeteria has been closed for a long time.
Zhao Fei found the canteen chef on duty, pleaded with him, and slipped him five yuan before the chef reluctantly started cooking again and steamed another bowl of tender egg custard.
When Zhao Fei returned to the ward with the lunchbox, Wen Xiaoxiao was lying on her side, silently shedding tears.
Seeing him come in, she hurriedly wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"Eat it while it's hot." Zhao Fei placed the porridge and steamed egg on the bedside table, glanced at Zhao Qingda sitting absentmindedly beside him, paused, and said, "Qingda, why don't you feed Xiaoxiao something? She doesn't have the strength in her hands."
Zhao Qingda glanced at Wen Xiaoxiao on the bed, then at the two bowls of food, and moved over.
It was as if their unpleasant conversation had never happened.
He scooped up a spoonful of porridge and awkwardly brought it to Wen Xiaoxiao's lips.
Wen Xiaoxiao mechanically opened her mouth and swallowed.
After eating about half a bowl of porridge, she shook her head: "I'm full."
Zhao Qingda put down the bowl with a sigh of relief, shifted his position in the chair, and clearly couldn't sit still any longer.
He stood up: "Well... I'll go see if I can get a glimpse of the child."
After he left the ward, Wen Xiaoxiao looked at Zhao Fei and said softly, "Big brother, let him go back."
Zhao Fei nodded without saying anything.
After a while, Zhao Qingda returned with a sullen expression: "The nurses wouldn't let me see, saying there are regulations in the ICU."
He paced around the ward a couple more times before finally saying, "Xiaoxiao, you should rest well. I'll have Mom come and take care of you tomorrow... tomorrow."
Wen Xiaoxiao looked at the ceiling and said softly, "You should leave."
Zhao Qingda, as if granted a pardon, immediately said, "Alright, I'm leaving, brother." He looked at Zhao Fei.
"Mm." Zhao Fei nodded.
Zhao Fei couldn't wait for him to leave!
After Zhao Qingda's footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, Zhao Fei walked to the bedside and rearranged the pillows behind Wen Xiaoxiao. "Does it hurt a lot?" he asked.
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Big brother... I'm not in pain, I'm just afraid of the baby..."
"There's a doctor here, don't be afraid." Zhao Fei's voice was very low. "I'll keep the thousand yuan. I'll give it to you when you're better."
Wen Xiaoxiao stared at him blankly, her eyes reddening again.
In the latter half of the night, Wen Xiaoxiao did not sleep well because of the pain in her wound.
Zhao Fei sat on the chair by the bed, occasionally tucking her in and pouring her some warm water.
Around 3 a.m., when the nurse came to check on her, Wen Xiaoxiao had just fallen into a drowsy sleep.
The nurse glanced at the record and said to Zhao Fei, "You're her husband, right? The baby needs to be breastfed, but she doesn't have any milk right now, so she needs to be fed formula. They sell it at the hospital convenience store; go buy two bags and a baby bottle."
Zhao Fei nodded and tiptoed out of the ward.
As soon as I reached the stairwell, I saw Zhao Qingda squatting there smoking.
It turns out he didn't leave at all; he just didn't want to stay in the ward.
Zhao Qingda recalled his conversation with Wen Xiaoxiao earlier.
Wen Xiaoxiao asked him, her lips trembling, "What did you say?"
Zhao Qingda repeated, "Let's get a divorce."
Wen Xiaoxiao was trembling with anger: "Zhao Qingda, are you even human?! I just gave birth, and you're asking me for a divorce!"
Zhao Qingda scratched his head in frustration: "If you don't leave, I won't be able to explain this to Wang Juan."
Wen Xiaoxiao's heart sank into an icy abyss.
Wen Xiaoxiao looked at the man in front of her, a man she no longer recognized: "We've been husband and wife for years, but we couldn't withstand the provocation of this slut."
Wen Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and remained silent for a long time before opening them again, her eyes filled with utter stillness: "Okay, but I'll have to wait until the child is one year old. I'll save up some money and then I'll definitely leave."
She sneered, "Or, you can pay me now and I'll leave immediately."
…………
He looked at Zhao Fei in front of him, his thoughts returning to their own.
"The nurse told me to buy baby formula," Zhao Fei said.
Zhao Qingda stood up, threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out: "I'll go."
Zhao Fei didn't argue with him and turned back to the ward.
"Qingda went to buy milk powder," Zhao Fei said, taking out some brown sugar.
He broke off a small piece, steeped it in boiling water, and sat down on the edge of the bed with the enamel mug in his hand.
"Drink some brown sugar water to replenish your energy." He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it carefully to cool it down, and then held it to Wen Xiaoxiao's lips.
The sweetness of the brown sugar water melted in her mouth, and Wen Xiaoxiao's tears fell down, mixing with the sugar water.
She drank slowly, but her eyes remained fixed on Zhao Fei, her gaze filled with dependence, grievance, and so much more that was hard to describe.
She didn't tell Zhao Fei that Zhao Qingda had just brought up the topic of divorce.
"Big brother..." she choked up, "If it weren't for you..."
"Stop talking," Zhao Fei interrupted her, his voice a little hoarse. "Just rest well and don't think about anything."
After feeding her the brown sugar water, Zhao Fei fetched hot water, soaked a towel in it, wrung it out, and handed it to Wen Xiaoxiao to wipe her face.
Wen Xiaoxiao took the warm towel, covered her face, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
Just before dawn, Zhao Qingda returned with the milk powder and bottles, placing them on the bedside table: "I bought them." He yawned, "Brother, I'm going to take a nap; I have to go back to driving the truck when it gets light."
Zhao Qingda quickly curled up in the chair and fell asleep, even snoring.
Zhao Fei sat on a low stool, not closing his eyes all night.
At six o'clock in the morning, the nurse came to change Wen Xiaoxiao's dressing.
Zhao Qingda was woken up by the noise and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“I have to go,” he said to Wen Xiaoxiao. “There’s another early bus today.” He then looked at Zhao Fei, “Brother, you…”
“I need to go to the feed mill here this morning,” Zhao Fei said, trying to sound calm. “I need to check the quality of the feed we ordered earlier and settle the final payment.” He paused, “I’ll come back this afternoon after I’ve checked it.”
Zhao Qingda nodded, didn't think much of it, and turned to leave the ward.
Once his footsteps had faded into the distance, Zhao Fei got up and walked to the bedside.
Wen Xiaoxiao was already awake and was quietly looking at him.
"I'll go to the ICU in a bit to check on the child," Zhao Fei said softly, "and I'll buy you breakfast too."
She nodded gently, her fingers clutching the corner of the blanket, and asked softly, "Big brother...aren't you going to the feed mill?"
Zhao Fei: "He was lying."
Zhao Fei tucked the blanket around her and then tiptoed out of the ward.
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